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Dalek capsule. We re going to lay in the cable you wanted.
Instantly, the door slid open. Janley s soft tones had
produced the response Lesterson s hammering had not. A
Dalek appeared in the doorway. Good, it grated.
Valmar stared at the thing somewhat uncertainly. It was
the first time he d really been close to one of the things. It
gave him the creeps. He turned to Janley. You sure this is
okay?
Get on with it, she told him impatiently. Then she
smiled at the Dalek. We help them. They help us. Isn t
that correct?
Yes, the Dalek agreed. We are your servants.
Valmar wasn t too certain exactly who was giving the
orders here. Still, he couldn t grumble, since the Daleks
were supplying the weapons that he and the rebels needed.
And don t take too long, Janley added. You saw the
notice, did you?
I saw it, Valmar told her. He looked from Janley to the
waiting Dalek. Then he crossed to where a waiting drum of
cable sat. It wouldn t be too long now. The death knell of
the old order was about to sound.
If only he didn t feel so disturbed when the Dalek was
looking at him, all would be right with his world.
20
We Want No Accidents
Ben felt there was a sense of inevitability about it when the
Doctor stopped off again at the bulletin board. He sighed
as the Doctor pulled a battered index card and pencil from
his pocket and started studying the notices.
You ve got a thing about those notes, haven t you? he
muttered. Look, Doctor, we re still no nearer finding
Polly. What are we hanging about here for?
Because I can never resist a challenge, Ben the Doctor
replied, tapping one of the notes with his pencil. It s very
ingenious, but not quite clever enough. He chuckled, then
turned to Ben. I ve discovered a message in code. It s very
simple: you just take the last letter of every word. Work it
out for yourself.
Tired of hanging about, Ben shook his head. Just tell
me, will you?
A little annoyed that Ben wasn t admiring his brilliance,
the Doctor sighed. Very well. It says: "Meeting tonight at
2200 hours. Rocket Room P". He smiled at Ben. It s the
rebels way of calling a meeting. I think we should attend,
don t you?
Ben finally caught on. Maybe get there a bit early, he
suggested.
The Doctor clapped him on the arm. That s the spirit.
Perhaps we re closer to finding Polly than you thought.
The Rocket Room was one of the storage areas for the
supply rockets that were regularly launched back to Earth
with the refined metals aboard. It was lined with cheap
metal shelving and huge plastic drums for the extracted
chemicals. Along one wall was a rack of spacesuits, which
had clearly not seen use for quite some time. Spare parts
for the rocket engines lay on the shelving, a lot of which
needed dusting. There were weights and balances on
another stack of shelves, and assaying equipment stacked
along the floor.
It was the perfect room for the Doctor s needs: plenty of
hiding places. He and Ben had taken up spots behind a
stack of the plastic drums. They were in a pool of the many
shadows that were cast about the room. Only three of the
lights were still working. Either the room was hardly ever
used, or else the colony was running short of spare lights
for non-essential rooms. Either way, it was obvious why
the rebels had selected it to meet in. It was out near the
landing pads, away from the regular foot-traffic. The
chances of being overheard here had to be virtually nil.
Unless someone knew about the meeting in advance.
I m getting pins and needles, Ben grumbled. He
shifted a bit to relieve his cramps and sighed. What time is
it?
Five minutes after the last time you asked me.
Honestly, Ben, do keep quiet, there s a good chap. He
peered out between the small gaps in the drums. Close to
one of the remaining lights, what looked like the screen for
a slide projector had been set up. The only difference was
this was made of metal. And under another of the lights
was a table with a number of chairs. The far end of the
table was lost in the gloom. Behind it, barely visible, was a
second door. The main entrance was opposite it. The
Doctor hastily shushed Ben as the door opened.
Several people entered the room. Some of them the
Doctor recognized, while others were strangers. There
appeared to be six of them. One was the medical officer,
Thane, and another was the tubby man Kebble. Quietly,
they filed over to the table. None of them sat or spoke. It
was obvious that they were waiting for other arrivals.
The door opened again and Valmar walked in. Behind
him glided a Dalek, with its gun socket empty as ever.
Following it came Janley, holding a bulky case. There was
a low murmur of voices as Janley crossed to the table.
Hauling the case on to it, she clicked its catches and let it
fall open. The Doctor stiffened as he recognized what lay
within.
It was a Dalek gun.
Valmar picked it up, and everyone could see there was a
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