3
UNDER THE DOME
As the top of the tree exploded into the skimmer and shot towards her like a vast arrow Delva began to recite a prayer she'd learned as a small girl, something she hadn't done in years as her spiritual beliefs made way for a kind of hardened acceptance.
The only other thing she was aware of was the buzz of the sonic screwdriver as the Doctor continued optimistically to revive the lifeless teleport system, she'd give him one thing – he never gave up.
Then
Magically
She was somewhere else
A grey walled corridor with a smooth floor and orange globe lights, stood next to her the Doctor had something under his left arm, a bulky mass, it was the android head.
Absurd though this looked, a man with a head under his arm, Delva was just glad to be alive she could have wept.
"All right my dear," the Doctor enquired as though they'd been out for a stroll and she'd stubbed her toe?
"I can't believe we're alive."
"How could you ever doubt me," he said without a trace of irony?
"So we're inside the dome."
"In a corridor that runs parallel to the room we were held captive in, which means the room next door must be," he took a few steps forwards to a sealed door, "In here, this is where that disembodied voice originated."
"Why did you bring that," she indicated the droid head?
"I had a feeling it might come in useful, positronic brain linked to a neural net."
Delva frowned, "How does that help us?"
The Doctor shrugged like he was just playing it all by ear and improvising as he went along; which couldn't be true could it?
Studying the door opening controls the Doctor hummed to himself, "Seems straight forward enough, so if I just override the alarm mechanism and automatic defence code there shouldn't be a loud annoying klaxon or a burst of lethal voltage," a couple more buzzes with the sonic and the door opened.
Taking an automatic step back Delva steeled herself for what may be inside, some monstrous obscenity or horned devil but a sit turned out – there was nothing like that.
A nest of small terminals and a large, a very large glass sphere that glowed soft orange.
"Yes I was afraid of this," said the Doctor, "It's a relay system; sigma was speaking from somewhere else," taking the head he placed it on one of the terminals then taking some wires from its neck he began to tie these into the back of the terminal with amazing speed and dexterity.
"How do you know what to do, it's like you understand this technology; I've never seen anything like it,
The lean face softened into a knowing smile, "Much of this is fairly routine, technology evolves in a fairly universal way."
"How do you know that, you speak as though you've seen a lot of the universe?"
"Just a few byways and highways," he answered with a degree of nostalgia.
"So why attach the android's head," Delva couldn't see the point of it?
"Well I've made a few adjustments to our robotic friend here, a bit resequencing and retooling."
"You mean it's now more amenable to our needs," Delva remarked?
"You catch on quickly."
"I'm not without some technical knowledge myself Doctor."
"Your skill with the skimmer proved that," straightening up he pressed on the head's left eye then applied pressure to first one temple then the other. Both eyes lit up, the head jerked from side to side and from the voice grill came an odd warbling moan.
"Now if I've done this properly our friend here should be able to give us some information about sigma like who he is and where he's hiding."
"What if sigma is just another machine, I mean everything we've seen so far is artificial?"
Worrying his chin the Doctor went over to the large sphere, "Machines don't hunt for pleasure, they don't abduct beings from various worlds and give them a head start it isn't rational or logical. Sigma behaves in a more organic way like a living intelligence, one might almost say spiteful."
"So sigma is a man or woman," Delva enquired?
Not answering the Doctor did a complete circuit of the sphere, "You know I can't help thinking I'm missing something obvious about all this," he said, "Something I should have picked up on right away," he returned to the head, "Are you online yet can you respond?"
More electronic burbling then one of the eyes changed colour green to blue and from the voice grill came a tinny voice, "System…functioning."
The Doctor, "This is more like it," he bent over, "Tell me about sigma, where is sigma?"
A painful pause then, "No information."
Face falling the time lord massaged his neck as though flummoxed, "But there must be sigma was the last user of this communication net."
The droid garbled then, "No information."
"Sounds like a dead end," Delva sighed. Sonic out her companion resumed his tinkering like this was a problem he could solve with a bit of rewiring.
"I was so sure the positronic brain could overcome any resistance."
Stiffening she went to the door to listen intently, "I think someone's coming," taking a step outside and craning her neck Delva added, "I can hear footsteps," she dashed back inside, "How do I close this door?"
Frustrated the Doctor joined her studying the keys, he several in sequence, nothing. The booted feet were now audible to him, hurried, precise and in formation – guards, quite a few of them as well and it was obvious where they were heading.
The Doctor hit more keys and slowly the door began to shut, "I suggest we hide anyway jus tin case."
They picked a spot each, him behind the sphere and she began a large upright cabinet. The feet stopped outside, there were no voices but they heard the keypad being used.
Its light remained on red, access denied; the Doctor permitted himself a smug grin.
More keys were tapped; still red his little ruse was working.
"They can't get in," Delva hissed.
Then the huge sphere began to pulsate with varicoloured light and from it came a voice they both knew and dreaded the voice of sigma.
"You have won nothing Doctor you cannot defeat me, I sigma am completely superior – observe."
The door hissed open and in they came six of them, androids this time without the visors so that their waxy unfeeling faces were clear, they stood in a line and raised their guns.
NEXT EPISODE 'Sigma Supreme'