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 this isn't right I'm supposed to stop all this I'm supposed to be
here to 
More missiles came from the west. More rocket planes needed to
be despatched. Jo instructed them to send details of the missiles'
construction, to disable one for analysis if possible.
Weapons must be met with equivalent weapons, until there was
peace.
From the bridge of the USS Eisenhower, the Kebiriz coast was a
smudge on the horizon, brown beyond the blue of the sea. The bow of
the vessel pointed directly at the coast; the white painted lines on the
flat grey deck seemed to be aimed at it, like sighting lines for an
oversize gun.
Admiral Kent J. Carver of the US Navy stared at the scene for a
moment, and wished it had been that easy. He shook his head, turned
to the Eisenhower's captain.
'Missile status?'
The captain didn't glance up from the radar screen. 'They've all
gone, sir. Intercepted, every single one.'
'Anything coming in?'
'Plenty.' The captain glanced up for a moment. 'If they keep this up
we aren't going to be able to hold them much longer. They'll be all
over southern Europe by tonight.'
Carver looked away from the man's eyes. Looked out to sea for a
few seconds.
It all looked so peaceful. So 
He saw the moving dots a second too late. They were skimming the
surface of the sea, below the level of radar. He opened his mouth to
speak, to warn the captain, but was beaten to it by a brilliant flash of
light at the bows.
The blastproof glass held, just. Carver saw cracks in it, then
focused on the ruined bows beyond, the buckled deck.
Every alarm on the panel shone a red light; somewhere, a klaxon
started to sound. Next to him, the captain began bellowing orders into
a microphone.
Carver walked away, across the deck that was already canting to
one side. He knew that there was nothing to stop the aliens putting a
nuclear warhead on their missiles next time. They'd been given a
more than adequate supply.
There was only one course of action left.
But it wasn't up to him to decide on it.
He picked up a red telephone handset on one side of the bridge,
ignoring the men racing round him, the shouts about firefighting
crews and evacuation procedures. He took a key from his pocket,
inserted it in the panel to which the handset was connected, put the
handset to his ear.
The phone at the other end rang once, then a woman answered.
'Pentagon Navy five?'
'Carver here,' said the Admiral quietly. 'Put me through to the
President. Now.'
Thirty-One
Jo's legs were cramped with constant kneeling and the skin of her
face was crawling with sweat, but she couldn't let her concentration
slip now.
She felt, rather than saw, the new missile coming in on its unusual
trajectory over Europe. It was slower than the missiles from the ships,
and there was something odd about its radio signals 
' honey honey good good sweet sweet honey to be honey dancing
to be sweet sweet  '
It was Xarax.
 that means the Doctor's lost or he never got there and the Xarax
have taken over England as well it's all over all over unless I can
persuade the defenders to destroy the missile 
 after all it might be dangerous 
 yes make the Xarax turn on themselves 
She issued the instructions: new missile is dangerous is fake Xarax
will destroy nest destroy honey no dancing no honey no sweet sweet

Jo watched as the defenders closed in on the missile. She could
almost hear the Doctor's voice: 'This ought to confuse them.'
For the first time in hours, she smiled.
The phone on the Brigadier's desk made a few awkward,
experimental tinkling noises. He snatched up the receiver, was
immensely relieved to hear a dialling tone.
'Good old Osgood,' he muttered as he dialled the emergency MoD
number.
The phone was answered at once.
'Who is this?' The Minister's voice.
'Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Minister. We've got an emergency
here  '
'I know we've got an emergency! Where on Earth have you been
for the last twelve hours?'
'I'm sorry, Minister, I've been  '
'Well, it doesn't matter now,' interrupted the Minister. There was a
pause: a phone rang, someone spoke, too quietly for the Brigadier to
hear the words. Then the Minister's voice, muffled, 'Have the
Russians been informed? And the Chinese?' A moment later he came
back full volume: 'You'll have to get off the line, I'm afraid. We're
about to go for a full strategic nuclear strike against these Xarax
things. Wipe them out.'
'But Minister, with all due respect, that's not advisable! I've been
told that  '
'I'm sorry, Brigadier, it's been agreed at the highest level. It's out of
your hands now.'
The line went dead.
Jo couldn't believe the way the thing was dodging her defenders. It
seemed to stop in mid-air, drop, or reverse direction with impossible
speed. Once it disappeared altogether and reappeared in a completely
different part of the sky.
It seemed to be playing with the Xarax.
It was then that she began to think it just might possibly be 
 but keep the thought to yourself or else 
The intruder was now too near the ground to be visible on radar,
but Xarax all over the city saw it as it skimmed over the rooftops,
swerving and dodging all the way, before finally skidding to a
landing along the main boulevard outside the People's Palace.
A door opened in the side, and a familiar figure got out.
 Doctor! But what am I going to tell them how can I keep them
from 
He was a Xarax copy. He had to be. The original Doctor was dead.
Jo bit her lip.
Watched as the eyes of the Xarax defenders showed the figure of
the Doctor running across the lawns, into the Palace, put his hands on
his hips and stare around him 
 down, Doctor, down here 
 the Doctor was heading for the hole in the ground which led to
the honey chamber, but then he stopped, made as if to turn back 
 no Doctor DOWN HERE 
One of the nest defenders pushed its head through the hole: Jo saw
the Doctor jump back, turn to run 
 down the ventway 
 and she could hear his footsteps ringing on the stone, and then
his voice 
'Jo!'
She wrenched at the sticky tongue attached to her neck, felt it flick
back in pain. She tried to stand, couldn't.
The Doctor reached her, put his arms around her.
'Doctor! I've been so scared I didn't know whether I was doing the
right thing and Catriona's dead and Vincent's dead and I don't know
what's happened to Mike and  '
'Steady on, Jo,' said the Doctor. 'First of all I've got to  '
There was a clatter of chitin on stone. The Doctor let her go, and Jo
saw that several nest defenders were closing in on them, jaws wide.
Of course, she thought. Now I'm no longer in control they know
the Doctor's not Xarax. They'll 
But the Doctor took a test-tube full of honey from his pocket and
flung it into the queen's mouth. Almost immediately, her tongue
flicked out and wrapped itself around the Doctor's neck.
'Doctor, be careful!' she shouted. 'They'll take you over!'
'Not now, Jo. That test-tube contained Xarax anti-pheromones. I've
changed the programming of the queen, and she'll change the
programming of the nest. Everything's under  ' There was a pause.
'Oh. That might be a problem.' There was a longer pause. Jo saw the
nest defenders crouch down, their mandibles twitching. They formed
a ring around the queen.
'Doctor, what's the matter?'
'The fools!' exclaimed the Doctor. 'The absolute fools!' He rammed
a fist into his palm.
'Doctor, what is it?' asked Jo. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]