From: pih@doc.ic.ac.uk (Paul Ian Harman) Newsgroups: alt.drwho.creative,alt.ql.creative Subject: Doctor, Samuel Beckett (Part Nine) Date: 19 Jan 1995 13:44:32 -0000 Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK. Message-Id: <3flqc0$5n2@oak72.doc.ic.ac.uk> ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Doctor, Samuel Beckett ---------------------- or A Leap in Time -------------- by Paul Harman ============== Part Nine ~~~~~~~~~ Alia advanced on the busy figure of Sam Beckett, cricket bat raised high in the air. Sam was dancing around the console, rapidly flicking switches and turning dials, typing into the keyboard and such like. He ducked one blow, and then another, until he tripped over the moving body of K9, and fell to the floor. Spotting her chance, Alia brought the bat down hard onto Sam's head. Sam dropped, his muscles letting go. "At last, Doctor - I have you!" said the Master, laughing to himself. "What are you saying?" Alia asked. "With Sam Beckett unconcious, there is no-one left to pilot the TARDIS back to Earth. So the Doctor will remain in Sam's body for too long, and his mind will be destroyed." Alia thought for a few moments. She spotted K9 moving slowly round the console towards the main door. "There's something you have forgotten..." she began, but then caught herself. She could still get home without this Master. "And that is what, exactly?" Alia thought quickly. "You are still trapped in my body, and I in yours. You will come to the same fate soon enough." "True, but not important. You see, I have total control over the Leap Project of yours. With the touch of a switch, I could bring you back here." Alia ran over to Sam, and shook him. He seemed to be coming round... Then she felt that familiar dizzy feeling come over her, and her world turned blue... Back in Project Quantum Leap, the Doctor had passed into a deep coma. "Well, that's the last signal." said Al, turning away from the Imaging Chamber. "Zero room? What could he mean by a Zero room?" Gooshie was asking nobody in particular. Al began to fret, and started shouting at Ziggy every so often, and even Tina was feeling down. Suddenly a lod bell started ringing, and a red light began to flash. A few sparks flashed from underneath Ziggy's main control panel, and there was a puff of smoke. "Fire" said Ziggy in her usual calm, computerised voice. "Fire in the generation room." "It's the generator!" shouted an engineer running into the room from the corridor. "It couldn't take the strain, she just blew." "Imaging chamber inoperative," Ziggy continued. "Particle Accelerator inoperative." "Oh, sweet Jesus..." said Al. "I hope that Sam got those switches right." The blue flashes cleared, and the Master (now back in his own body) approached the sleeping figure of Sam Beckett. "At last, Doctor, after so many years, I have you just where I want you." He reached into his velvet robe, and pulled out his Tissue Compression Eliminator. "I'm sorry, Doctor Beckett, but I can't take the chance of the Doctor getting his body back." He took aim... K9 whirred round from behind the console where he had been hiding. "Danger, Master!" he said, and fired his paralysing laser towards the Master. The Master fell. "Pain!" he said. "Such pain..." he crawled slowly towards the doors of the TARDIS. "The Leaping... has triggered... No! Not again..." Slowly but surely, and muttering to himself, he crawled back to his TARDIS, and from there into his own Zero Room. He began to float, but he was still restless. Sam shook his head, he was in great pain. He managed, with the help of a wooden hatstand in the corner, to lift himself onto his feet. "Must complete... program..." he said, looking towards the doors of the craft. But, due to the exploded generator back at the Project, the hologram was no longer there. Sam was trapped, unless... "K9... sequence..." he said. "Affirmative, Master. Key 3 9 0 1 A J..." K9 began, slowly reciting the last few controls which would get Sam home. The TARDIS dematerialised from Gallifrey. "About the Presidency..." said Chancellor Flavia, arriving just in time to watch the TARDIS disappear. "Off again, Doctor? I'm sure we will see you soon." There was a grinding sound, and a blue monolith in the shape of a Police Telephone Call-Box appeared in the control room of Project Quantum Leap. Sam threw the door leaver, and fell out of the doors. "Quick!" said Al. "Get the Doctor!" "He said something about a Zero room..." Gooshie said. "No time." said Sam. "Get me to the Accelerator." "The generator has expired, Sam." said Al. "You're going to have to wait for an hour or so..." "No time..." Sam repeated, and collapsed onto the floor. "It's got to be the Zero Room," Gooshie said. "But where?" "Zero room - follow me." said K9, and whirred off into the TARDIS. "Hell, why not?" said Gooshie, and between the two of them Al and Gooshie wheeled the Doctor and Sam into the TARDIS while the engineers began an emergency once-only power hookup to the Accelerator. Meanwhile, in another part of the Universe, the Master was suffering from the one most important and destructive force in Creation: change. Even though he was in the Zero room, there was a swirling of the vortex around his head. Old faces and new appeared to him, voices spoke in the turmoil. Above all of this was the face of the Doctor, smiling down at him... Then the swirling mistiness vanished, and the newly regenerated Master looked down at his body in horror. "Number thirteen... well, they said it was unlucky..." He left the Zero room, and set a course. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Al asked Sam, now almost fully recovered, as they headed towards the Accelerator. "Of course, I have to. Ziggy, are the co-ordinates set?" "Yes, Sam. Good luck." "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He salpped Al on the back, walked through the pressurised airlock-style doors as they were sealed behind him. He made his way to the launch-pad, as the countdown was broadcast all over the Project. There was a brilliant white flare from the Accelerator, and Sam began to leap once more... ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Paul `Ozymandias' Harman : pih@doc.ic.ac.uk -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- +-+-+-+-+-+ The amazing changing quote currently stands as follows: +-+-+-+-+-+ Lister: Come on, what are you, a man or a munchkin? Rimmer: I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz.