Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen by Malcolm Kohll Read Free Book Online Page A

she could be sure of Mel. She decided to take a chance and, taking a deep breath, said, ‘Mel, there’s something you should know.’
    Keillor had the Doctor and Ray backed up against the stack of linen, his gun held level with their heads. In his hand Keillor still held the flashing transmitter. ‘What a fine bonus. You’re the traveller called the Doctor. Your death will make me richer still,’ said Keillor, licking his lips like a hungry wolf.
    ‘If you kill for money then let the girl go. She isn’t worth anything to you,’ said the Doctor. The colour had drained from Ray’s face as she stared down the muzzle of a weapon which could annihilate her in a millisecond.
    Keillor listened to what the Doctor said, then drew his lips back in an ugly leer.
    ‘I don’t just kill for money, it’s something I enjoy,’ he hissed, cocking his weapon. Ray stifled a scream as the Doctor stepped in front of her.
    Mel was transfixed by the orb beside her. She wondered what it could be. Her curiosity was soon rewarded as the orb began to wobble and a maze of fine cracks spread across its surface.
    Outside, Billy slicked back his hair and tried to revive the drooping bunch of flowers in his hand. His heart was beating hard as he prepared to knock on the door. The camp’s public address system crackled into life with the traditional song, ‘Goodnight Campers’. Billy grinned and raised his knuckles. As he did so he heard a piercing scream from inside. Billy, tossing the flowers aside, backed up and shoulder-punched the door.
    He flew into the room and was brought up short by what he saw. Mel was against the wall, her hand covering her mouth in shock. Billy followed the line of her appalled gaze and his own mouth fell open. There on the bed beside the silver orb, now cracked open like an eggshell, was the ugliest creature he had ever seen. Small, wrinkled, bright green and covered in slime, the baby Chimeron opened its mouth and bawled.
    Delta, her face lit by a radiant smile, advanced with open arms towards the ugly hatchling. ‘My baby. My beautiful baby,’ she cooed.
    Billy sank down onto the bed, his mouth trying to say something which his brain couldn’t quite formulate.
     

Chapter Fourteen
    Hurtling across the void was the Bannermen fighter.
    Gavrok’s shoulders heaved as he uttered a laugh which sounded like a drain unblocking. ‘That bounty hunter will be paid off sooner than he thinks. Arm the Beacon Hunter!’
    For all his experience Keillor had made a fatal slip. He should have know better than to trust a Bannerman, especially Gavrok their leader, who was the epitome of all evil. Gavrok cared nothing for fair play or justice. Even men like Keillor who were despised throughout the solar systems had their own special brand of conduct. Keillor was about to pay the ultimate price for his error.
    The pilot opened the cover of the red attack module and pressed the ‘FIRE’ button. The ship rocked under the sudden surge of energy as a colossal stream of ions flashed along the radio path being emitted by Keillor’s transmitter.
    In the linen store Keillor smiled, raised his weapon and took aim. Ray clung speechlessly to the Doctor, paralysed by the prospect of imminent death.
    As Keillor’s fingers curled around the trigger the pulsing beacon in his other hand suddenly exploded with tremendous force. There was a brilliant flash and the linen store was bathed in a cold blue aura.
    The blue was very intense at the spot where Keillor stood. It was as if he had been turned to stone, his cruel features frozen in an ugly grimace like a medieval gargoyle.
    As the blue light faded, Keillor cracked apan and disintegrated in a haze of dust. The smoke slowly cleared, revealing the Doctor and Ray lying motionless on the floor. As for Keillor, there was only one sign that he had ever existed – his blue suede shoes with a thin tendril of smoke curling out of each. A strong smell of ozone filled the room.
    In Delta’s cabin,