Doctor Who_ Ten Little Aliens Part 49

Tovel shrugged. 'I guess. That's what I joined up to do.'

'There'll be other wars to fight,' Shade agreed. He looked at Polly and smiled.

'Yes,' said the Doctor sadly. 'Yes, you've won a decisive battle here today, it is true, but I suppose the war you began with the Schirr will continue.'

'The Ten-strong were heroes to the Schirr dissidents. Meant to be indestructible.' Tovel grinned. 'We've taken them. We can take the rest.'

The Doctor looked disappointed with him. 'Can you not take understanding away with you from your experiences here? Compa.s.sion for those whose plight seems desperate?

Go to your leaders. Urge them to speak with the Schirr, to take this opportunity to negotiate a peace. You may prevent similar atrocities in the future, hmm?'

'The future,' Ben heard Frog whisper dreamily. 'We've actually got one. Whatever it holds.' She smiled slyly. 'And it might just hold a lot of cash.'

Tovel looked at her doubtfully. 'Oh yeah?'

'We've still got Shel floating round somewhere in these websets,' she reminded him. 'All that top-secret AI stuff...

Reckon Pent Central would pay quite a bit to get him back, don't you?'

'I think we'll pretend we didn't hear that,' Tovel said with a smile.

Frog shrugged. 'It was just a thought...' She looked furtively at Ben and winked. 'Well if I can't make a mint off Shel, maybe I'll ask old Princ.i.p.al Cellmek if Haunt's job's up for grabs. Active service will seem pretty tame after all this.' She did a fair impersonation of Haunt's voice: 'Today you're all school kids and I'm your teacher. So what did we take away from today's lesson, children?'

'Don't judge by appearances?' Shade suggested.

Creben shook his head, actually joining in with the others.

'How about, don't follow orders blindly?'

'Who's got a disk?' Shade called. 'Play him that back when he's the big man in Intelligence...'

As the relaxed banter continued to fly, the Doctor caught Ben's eye. He indicated the TARDIS, steepled his fingers and smiled.

Ben nudged Polly and started to head towards the blue box. Its door stood ajar now, waiting for them.

'Come on then, dolly rocker d.u.c.h.ess,' he murmured. 'Time to go.'

'Hey, I know,' Tovel cried. 'I know what we've learned: Believe in magic. After all we've seen today...'

Shade agreed. 'Magic, must be. Just the fact that any of us are here at all - let alone so pretty.'

Frog laughed and even Creben raised an eyebrow. But the Doctor cut across them sternly as he walked up to his precious s.h.i.+p. 'No, no, dear me, no,' he fussed. 'Believing in magic is easy, the reaction of a cowardly mind to explain away any phenomenon that vexes the intellect. But finding finding magic in the realities of existence... seeking out some hidden truth to cling to from every painful experience we endure... magic in the realities of existence... seeking out some hidden truth to cling to from every painful experience we endure...

that is never easy.' He looked at each of them in turn. 'That takes courage.'

Tovel cleared his throat. 'Yeah, well, I was actually joking about the magic stuff, Doctor, but... whatever.'

The Doctor looked aghast for a moment. Then his expression softened into a smile. 'Joking, yes, of course. I suppose... Well, it has been an extremely taxing day for us all.'

With that, shaking his head, he walked into the TARDIS.

'What're the three of you gonna do in there?' Frog called.

'And are you gonna sell tickets?'

Polly blushed. She waved goodbye to everyone - her gaze lingering a little longer than Ben would've liked on Shade - and followed the Doctor inside.

'We're gonna clean up, rest up, and then it's on to the next place,' Ben told her. 'Just like you lot.'

He winked and closed the door behind him.

II.

Frog - or rather, Mel Narda as she would be known from here on in - watched the blue box start to wheeze and groan. Her jaw dropped as it slowly faded into thin air.

She gave Tovel a wry look as the last echoes of the weird sound died away.

'Don't believe in magic, he says.'

About the Novel

Ten Little Aliens was conceived in Rome in January 2001 by Stephen Cole, then a tired twenty-nine-year-old living in London. After spending its formative weeks as scribbles on pieces of paper and sticky-notes it became a draft outline in early March and an accepted storyline in early April. was conceived in Rome in January 2001 by Stephen Cole, then a tired twenty-nine-year-old living in London. After spending its formative weeks as scribbles on pieces of paper and sticky-notes it became a draft outline in early March and an accepted storyline in early April.

After several months of sitting on a back-burner in both Hanger Lane and Finchley, the first chapters of Ten Little Ten Little Aliens Aliens were written in late September 2001 in Cornwall. Over the next three months, were written in late September 2001 in Cornwall. Over the next three months, Ten Little Aliens Ten Little Aliens grew very long very quickly in a number of locations, including Miami, Mexico, London, Bedford, Huddersfield, Aylesbury Vale and New York. grew very long very quickly in a number of locations, including Miami, Mexico, London, Bedford, Huddersfield, Aylesbury Vale and New York.

Ten Little Aliens was completed in early March 2002. was completed in early March 2002.

Stephen Cole is now a tired thirty-year-old no longer living in London.