Touch The Sky: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 3]

Voyage of the Damned (Part 5)

With a deep breath, Astrid put her acquired forklift in gear and slammed down the accelerator.

"Astrid, don't!" the Doctor cried, as her lift collided with Max's life support system. His front wheels lifted up off the ground, but his rear wheels stayed put, giving him just enough traction that while both vehicles' tires squealed, neither moved.

As if in slow motion, one of the Hosts threw a halo and Astrid screamed, ducking it. It collided with the side of the forklift in a shower of sparks.

"He's cut the brake line!"

She looked over just long enough for him to catch that devastating glint in her eye.

"No!"

With finality, she lifted the fork higher, picking Max fully off the ground and accelerating forward.

Straight down into the engine.

"Astrid!"

The Doctor struggled free from the grasp of the Hosts, darting forward to the edge of the railing. He got there just in time to see her fall.

~~~

Frame continued to struggle desperately to keep the Titanic in the sky, but it did no good. Just when he was ready to give up hope, there was a crash and splinter of wood as two Hosts burst through the floor.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame!" the Doctor said, clambering up beside them. "At last."

"Er, but-but the Hosts," Frame stammered.

"Controller dead, they divert to the next highest authority, and that's me," the Doctor explained, already dashing for the controls.

"There's nothing we can do. There's no power. The ship's going to fall."

"Titanic falling," the computer intoned, right on cue.

"What's your first name?" the Doctor asked.

"Alonso," Frame said, looking startled.

The Doctor paused, staring at him wide eyed. "You're kidding me."

"What?" Frame asked blankly.

"That's something else I've always wanted to say. Allons-y, Alonso!" He gave the wheel a hard yank, spinning the ship's nose toward the Earth. As another alarm began to blare, he slammed a lever with his foot, causing a map to light up on the screen. "Oh," he said, resigned, as he saw the marker labeled Impact Zone. With another flip of a switch, he turned the comms from internal to external. "Hello, yes. Could you get my Buckingham Palace?"

Far below, an old man selling newspapers darted out from his shop. "Don't you dare, you aliens!" he yelled at the sky as the Titanic grew in size. "Don't you dare!"

"Listen to me, security code seven seven one. Now get out of there!"

A few more breathless moments passed as the ship continued to pick up speed.

"Engines active."

As soon as the words reached the Doctor's ears, he yanked back hard on the wheel, throwing his weight against it in one last desperate attempt to get the ship's nose up.

Those in London that morning would see the Titanic fall, disappearing behind Buckingham Palace, a collision seeming inevitable for a few moments.