Chapter Eighteen
Commander John Lyons was sitting at a table in his favourite restaurant on London's south bank. The restaurant was modern, lit only by natural light which came from the fourteen windows which gave an amazing view of the river Thames. Lyons wasn't in uniform instead he had changed into a dark blue suit with a white shirt which was open at the neck. Since the case involving X10 had started Lyons had been working for over seventy-two hours and had decided to give himself a four-day weekend. The case had been resolved the previous day which was a Thursday and Lyons was giving himself Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday off.
He had ordered his starter and main course and was now relaxing in his chair. He wasn't a man who drank a lot of alcohol so he was drinking mineral water. Just then his smartphone went off, taking it from his jacket Lyons saw that he had an e-mail in from Colonel Dettelbach.
"'Dear John'" it read "'Glad to hear that the Business at Tenworth is over. The A.A.I.A. will be assisting the FBI in taking down the site of the Tenworth Factory. X10's main circuits and motherboard will be dismantled and shipped to the US. Heard that you were off until Tuesday. But we'll be landing in England at the start of the week so see you then.'"
Lyons paused and took a sip of water before carrying on "'I also look forward in getting a statement from this Doctor character who both you and your minister talk about! He seems to be the only one who managed to stop this machine. Yours Sincerely col. Chris Dettlebach. PS What is it about the British not wanting to work on a weekend"
The final comment made Lyons smile. He had returned to the main menu and was about to return his phone to his jacket pocket when it began to ring. The single letter 'M' flashed across the screen. Lyons sighed and pressed the green button "John Lyons" he said
In the bowls of Whitehall The Minister for internal security was also leaning back in her chair, after taking off her shoes she rested them on the desk. "I suppose you think that was funny" she said
"What was?" Lyons asked
"Thanks to our friendly-neighbourhood-Doctor-in-a-blue-box. We have to pay over £580,000 to spend on brand new computers and software as everything that was manufactured by Skylight Electronics which are now only good for the rubbish tip."
"But on the positive side Minister" Lyons replied "X10 is now shut down, Chris Dettlebach has just e-mailed me, the Tenworth side if now the business of A.A.I.A. and the Yanks."
"Still" The Minister added "Next time The Doctor saves the country and your job, try to achieve both without bankrupting the entire British Government" there was a click and the line went dead
"Ungrateful Cow" Lyons muttered returning the phone to his pocket.
Just then a waiter in a white shirt, black tie and waistcoat came over "Excuse me, sir there is a young lady to see you." Lyons turned to see Becky Gibbs waiting at the main entrance. She came over and sat in a chair opposite him
"Hi how are you feeling?" she asked
"Been better" Lyons sat "Just had an ear-grilling from the Minister, she is never satisfied, have you come straight from G.I.N. HQ?"
Becky nodded "The Doctor wants to know how long those motivational circuits are going to be?"
"I spoke to Miss Barrett yesterday and she said that it was totally impossible to replicate such complex circuitry." Lyons said
"Oh" Becky replied "I spoke to Jemima just now and she said you never spoke to her about them."
Lyons said nothing "I mean The Doctor is a valuable asset to both G.I.N. and the country."
"You promised him freedom if he rescued me and defeated X10" Becky insisted
"I'm not keeping him here, I'm ordered to keep him here" Lyons replied "He's a fantastic asset to us."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this" Becky said "Let me remind you of something John Lyons, that if you abuse the Doctor's assistance, he will get into that box of his, go and the next time some hostile alien decides to invade, you will be helpless to help and then what will your precious Minister say? Bon Appetite John" she said and standing up she headed for the exit,
She met the waiter coming the opposite way. "Is everything to your liking Miss?" He asked
"The food is nice, but it's the company that makes me lose my appetite" Becky said coldly and left Lyons alone to enjoy his meal.
"Right, give me five minutes and I'll be free" The Doctor said, he was under the Tardis console in one hand he held a pair of pliers,
Miss Barrett was leaning on the console "What are you doing anyway?"
"Trying to disconnect the G.I.N. call button" The Doctor replied
"I thought that Commander Lyons said you were free to go?" Miss Barrett asked?
"He may have done, but I trust him as much as I trust that infernal machine X10 so I'm prepared for anything, I also promised the Skymaster that I would help him return the Skybase to the 72nd Century."
"But some things still don't make sense?" Miss Barrett asked "Like how on earth were you able to shut down X10?"
"Simple" The Doctor said "Computers rely on logic, humans do too, But we have imagination that can cope with the more illogical thoughts. Computers have no imagination and can't explain the problem. I used illogical possibilities and errors to confuse X10's circuits then I used the timegem to destroy both his control console and power supply. With no power X10 simply de-activated."
"And he was safe." Miss Barrett finished
The Doctor nodded "Well he is now, the timegem burned out the main motherboard. But that's a safety measure in case the Americans think of re-activating it."
"What is a Timegem?" Miss Barrett asked
"This" The Doctor said pulling a small object from his trouser pocket it looked like a diamond but was shaped like a cone "There are six timegems its these that give the Tardis its power. So when I fired that at X10 it got the full force of the Time Vortex, I'd better return it." He crouched down and re-inserted the timegem into the console. "Now I've linked the Tardis with the Skybase's main navigational circuits meaning that both ships can travel easily from the 21st to the 72nd Centuries"
"But without the motivational circuits, you'd be trapped." Miss Barrett said
The Doctor nodded sadly "Yeah, but I stand more of a chance of getting decent motivational circuits in the 72nd Century"
"Will you ever come back?" Miss Barrett asked
"I will" The Doctor sighed "But Commander Lyons has to learn that I work for no-one and answer to no-one! It's a hard lesson but everyone has to learn it. I suppose this is goodbye" he said
"No it's not" Miss Barrett replied "I want to stay on board the Skybase."
"Do you?" The Doctor said "Will you like the 72nd Century?"
"I'm sure she will." Came a voice from The Tardis doorway both of them turned to see The Skymaster walking towards them "After all we have seen, we are happy to make her a Skycaptain, of the Techbranch! After she completes all the relevant training and we will do all our best to make her feel welcome." The Doctor smiled and pulled the main take off lever.
On the Earth Commander Lyons' phone was ringing again "John Lyons"
"Ah Commander, This is the Doctor, just saying goodbye from both myself and Jemima! We are off to the 72nd Century! Cherrio!" Lyons snarled and cursed under his breath and hung up.
The Skybase was back in it normal orbit in the 72nd Century, it had taken the Tardis less than fifteen minutes "One final question" Miss Barrett asked "How did the Skybase end up above Earth?"
"Simple" The Doctor said he took a notebook and pencil from his pocket and scribbled some numbers onto it. "Lock you laser cannon onto this and fire it."
The Skymaster nodded and it was done "That will knock out Commander Lyons' famous 'Gravitational Radiator' when G.I.N. pulled my Tardis through the vortex it open loads of small holes and through one of these The Skybase must have fallen through."
Miss Barrett came forward "Doctor, Commander Lyons wouldn't let you go, but we manage to take the motivational circuits and created some replicas." She pulled to identical pieces of circuitry from her jacket pocket and gave them to the Doctor, Who smiled and hugged her tightly "Thanks" he said "I need to go somewhere urgently."
He walked back to the Tardis in inserted the Circuits and instantly the console glowed brighter and he flicked on of the many switched and began turning one of the dials "I have to say sorry" he said to himself "Firstly March 2014 to say goodbye."
He pulled the main take off lever and the familiar whooshing noise could be heard outside The Skymaster and Miss Barrett watched and the light on the top flashed and a strong gust of wind filled the area in a few seconds the box was gone.