Full_Circle

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Romana had left something of a trail of debris behind her, various scattered items which the Doctor
and Adric were able to follow through the ship's passageways.
The Doctor was a little put out to find one half of one of his very finest waistcoats lying on the floor
of one passageway.
A short distance away they found another crumpled piece of cloth on the floor.
'The other half of my waistcoat,' said the Doctor solemnly. He saw Adric pick something up. 'What's
that?'
Adric proffered his catch. 'The image translator.'
The Doctor examined it. It was badly damaged, a number of its wires bared, its central diffusion
crystal fractured. 'No more pictures of Gallifrey, then,' he said with finality. Thrusting the useless
object into Adric's hand, he turned and walked off. 'Come on.'
Adric shoved the image translator into his pocket and followed the Doctor.
The sign on the wall by the immense hatchway read: EMERGENCY ESCAPE - TO BE USED ONLY
WHEN SHIP HAS ACHIEVED PLANETFALL. Romana barely noticed. With a wide smile on her face, she
reached out with both hands to grip the door's wheel lock. At first it stubbornly refused to budge,
having been out of use for some time, but even this area of the starliner had been maintained by
the citizens, and after a determined effort Romana felt the wheel give.
In that instant, the banging on the hull stopped.
Romana turned the wheel through three revolutions.
The hatchway swung slowly open with a hum of power.
Beyond the entrance there was a thick wall of fog, ebbing, swirling, beckoning.
Romana stepped back, and waited.
Then they appeared, emerging slowly from the grey vapour, snarling quietly, ominously, heads
twisting to and
fro, assessing this new environment.
The Marshmen had at last achieved their objective. They were aboard the starliner.
10
'We've Come Full Circle'
They surged into the starliner, a wave of snarling bestiality, a number of the creatures wielding
lengths of wood as weapons.
This was the group Romana had encountered in the cave. Their leader stopped next to Romana,
staring at her.
She returned his gaze, unafraid - kindred.
The Marshleader lifted his hand. Romana pressed her own palm into his. Their hands caressed for a
moment, and they shared one another's minds.
Releasing Romana's hand, the Marshleader moved off with the rest of the Marshmen.
Romana watched him go.
The Marshmen made their way up into the main body of the starliner, spilling out into the
passageways in search of the humans.
Romana continued her task, moving along to the other escape hatchways, opening them, letting in
the other Marshmen gathered outside the hull. They numbered in their hundreds, originating from
marshes all over this continent of Alzarius.
Foreman Rok stood in the boarding area with his maintenance crew of Outlers, directing them as
they opened the wall power-point by the door to fit yet another new component.
Varsh, standing at the back of the group, released a heavy sigh which drew a scornful look from
Rok. Varsh didn't care. He was bored, and it didn't matter to him who knew it.
Suddenly his ears pricked up. Had he heard something?
Some small, shuffling movement? He turned his head, looking past the TARDIS, into the
passageway beyond. He couldn't be sure, and yet... He moved away from the others, across to the
TARDIS, from where he could look right along the passageway.
Varsh felt his spine chill. A procession of Marshmen was heading straight down the passageway
towards them.
Varsh staggered back towards the others. 'Marshmen!' he called hoarsely.
The others turned to him. Rok was flustered. 'Don't - don't be silly,' he began.
And then the Marshmen appeared from the passageway, pausing to assess the humans. Their
chests rose and fell, their lungs rasped out swinish snorts.
'Gulnar, run!' Refnal shouted, breaking and running up the second passageway. Gulnar was right
behind him. They ran as fast as they could.
Refnal was so frightened he didn't see the second group of Marshmen until he collided with them.
Before either he or Gulnar could run off, the Marshmen's hands were at their throats, pressing,
tearing.
In the boarding area, Varsh, Tylos, Keara and Rok heard the youngsters' death-screams
reverberate eerily around the metal walls.
As both groups of Marshmen entered the boarding area en masse, the three remaining Outlers
backed against the TARDIS for protection. Rok held back by the starliner door, hoping the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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