by Clive May

Dr Who characters copyright to the BBC.

------------------------------------------------------------------

The garm stood before a great blank plate which took up one entire wall of
his private domain.  Though the plate was a dull lifeless grey to human eyes,
the Garm watched it with a straining intensity, seeing in it patterns and
meanings that only his perception could resolve, and only his mind could
comprehend.  From time to time, he leaned in closer studying some aspect
of the blankness more closely.  There was about his huge frame, an air of
majestic sadness.

Suddenly, he jerked erect. Cocking his massive head on one side, he
listened to the still small voice that spoke to him in the soughing of a
gentle breeze through a great stand of trees.

Nodding his head in comprehension, he held his great right arm out in front
of himself and opened the paw.  In the middle of the palm was a little
silvery seed, somewhat like an acorn.  He gazed at the silver seed, his body
posture perfectly expressing the depth of feeling with which he longed for
 the reassuring bulk of his God Tree.

The Garm had a dilemma.

There was a decision that HAD to be made. This troubled him deeply. Decisions
were for the God Tree, not the Gardener.

He leaned over, peering at the seed, as though it might supply the answer to
 his problem that the distant God Tree could not provide. It lay
forlorn in his mighty palm, mute.  It contained only the wisdom of growing
things. There nestled within its silvery shell no wisdom that might help in
making decisions.  It could not aid him - save in that the sight of his
seed ever had strength to firm his resolve.

There had been one such once, who had the wisdom to help,  another being who
bestrode the gulf of time, another with a mind that would have comprehended;
but he had gone again. The Garm knew that this was in the past, but not how
long ago.  He could not perceive linear time well, his sense of time was
tuned to the turn of the seasons, even here, where there was no season, he
still felt and moved to the needs of the seasons of the Great God Tree.

He straightened and cocked his head, listening to the hum of the Terminus
Construct.  It, like his communication panel, spoke to his perception in a
way that none of the ephemerals could be made to understand. The hum
spoke to him of the well being of the alien machinery. He nodded slightly,
that was good.

Turning slowly around, he scanned his domain.  The chamber was overgrown with
greenery. Plants festooned every ledge, pipe and projection, covering the
metal walls, snaking tendrils of green over the floor, climbing up to make a
green ceiling.

Originally it had just been the plant he had taken from the broken air
machinery.  It had flourished under his loving hand, filling his chamber with
benevolent green and easing the ache of loss in his heart. Lately, he had
stolen plants from the Garden planted by the Little Queen.

He snapped suddenly alert.  Brutally, he shut out of his mind the acute
desire to walk among the trees,  to enjoy the soughing of the wind in the
leaves and branches, to touch and commune with his God Tree.

The Little Queen was in danger!

With sudden decisiveness, his great paw snapped shut around the little
silvery seed.  He looked around the green grown room once more, before
with his completely silent, almost floating grace, he moved out of his home.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 In a vast, dead darkness, on a cleared area of floor under a cone of
light, a naked woman went through an energetic exercise routine.  A small,
but deadly, hand weapon lay glinting in the light, well within arms reach.
At the edge of the darkness lay a crumpled, white jump-suit and belt.  Near
the suit, seated on a pile of rubbish, barely visible in the encroaching
gloom, was a young woman.  Deeper in the darkness, death lurked, awaiting
its chance.

At last, the woman under the light finished her exercise.  She stood with
hands on hips for a long moment, breathing hard.  Then she reached up with
sweat glistening arms and undid the tight knot of hair at her neck.  She
shook her head vigorously and a great blond mane tumbled down her sweaty
back to her shoulder blades.

With a fluid motion she gathered up the gun and paced easily over to the
half - seen figure.

'Nyssa?  I thought it was you.  Is anything wrong?'

The young woman, who had been watching so intently a few moments earlier,
now looked past the lithe form of the woman, peering into the darkness
beyond the light.

'Put some clothes on, Kari please?'

Kari stood gazing at her thoughtfully for a long moment, then she shrugged.
Being Naked did not embarrass her, not even in front of the men she worked
with.  She gathered up the jump-suit and slid into it with a single action,
still holding onto the weapon.  She sat down on the pile of rubbish beside
Nyssa.

'What's up? Olvir getting stroppy again?'

'Olvir's left!' said Nyssa.

'Left?  Has he gone off exploring again?'

'No - he's just left!'

Kari sighed heavily.  'Nobody leaves the Terminus Construct - except the
patients who get well!  Certainly not Olvir or me.  We've nowhere to go,
not with that whacking price on our heads.  It's only the reputation of this
damned place that keeps the bounty hunters away.'

She fingered the little security chief badge on the breast of her suit.
'Besides, I've got a nice steady job here - one I'm good at - of course
it's a bit quiet - the patients don't cause any trouble, but the Vanir need
keeping in line from time to time.'

She waved the weapon for emphasis, A singularly unattractive smile curving
her lips.

At any other time, Nyssa would have reproached her sternly for her
violent attitude but just now she was too wrapped up in her own unhappiness.
She stared gloomily into the dark.  The silence lengthened uncomfortably,
filled by the ever-present background hum of the Terminus Construct.  At
last, turning eyes glistening with the beginnings of tears on Kari, she said:

'We had a row - and he left.'

'The little rat!  it's well past time I gave that young puppy a sound
thrashing.' She had been threatening to do this almost daily since they had
come to the Terminus Construct, some ten years ago.  She had never really
forgiven him for his momentary cowardice on the old converted liner that
they had broken into just before it docked with the Terminus Construct.

Gingerly she put an arm around Nyssa's shoulders.  This sort of thing was
unknown territory to her.  Give her an enemy, a charged burner and half a
chance and she would have been happy, but this, this intimate personal
stuff, this was a path she had trod rarely, and never willingly.

Nyssa collapsed against her, burying her head in Kari's breast and gave way
to tears - something she had not done in public for many years.

'It's alright,' Kari said gently, experimentally.  'He can't have gone far,
there really is nowhere to go.'

'He said he didn't want to see me ever again,' Nyssa mumbled into Kari's
jump-suit.  'He said he didn't love me any more.' A shudder wracked her
slender frame.  'I don't think I can go on with this if he doesn't come
back.'

'there, there,' Kari soothed.  'He'll be back.  He loves you, you know, he
would move the galaxy for you.'

A strange feeling of maternal concern for the younger woman stirred within
her, a nice warm feeling which lent her a new confidence.

'It's only because I remind him of his sister.'

'Nonsense!  He loves you for yourself,' said Kari, not knowing if it was
true or not.

Olvir had never really got over the death of his sister.  It made him very
moody and withdrawn sometimes.  Although she would never admit it, she
feared him when he was in one of those moods.  And Kari did not fear very
much in this world.

'Do you think so?' The note of pleading in Nyssa's voice went to Kari's
heart.  She really was going to have to have it out with that little puppy.

'Of course, I wouldn't say so if I didn't think so.  I expect he just got a
bit wound up, what with all this extra work the company keeps pushing onto
us.'

Nyssa straightened.  'No, it's not just that.'

'What then?'

'He wants us to have children.'

Despite herself Kari stiffened a little.  'Surely - that's not possible?  I
mean, you're not even from the same heritage?  And there's all the
radiation damage we'll have sustained by this time.'

'He still wants to try.'

'But how?'

'He wants me to do it - he seems to think that I am some kind of biological
miracle worker.'

'It's possible then?'

'I don't know - perhaps, but I'm not sure that I can do it.  Not even sure
that I want to.'

'Why not?  Wouldn't you like to have children?'

Nyssa thought about that for a moment then said emphatically: 'Yes, I would
like to have Olvir's children - not just because i know it would keep him
by me either.  But...but...what if I can't do it?  What if I try and can't
do it?'

Kari hugged her tightly.  'He loves you, Nyssa, he'd understand, I'm sure
he would.' And wished that she was as certain as she was trying to sound.

'I could try,' Nyssa murmured thoughtfully.  'But if I can't, do you think
Olvir would believe me?  and not just that I was going through the motions
to hang onto him?'

'I don't think it would ever occur to him - he's really not very devious
you know.  With Olvir, what you see is what you get.'

Nyssa tried on a fragile smile.  'I know, he's a dear thing.'

'Well, I wouldn't quite go that far.  But, frankly, he wouldn't have lasted
as a raider.  He's far too tender hearted.'

Nyssa was silent for a while, turning things over in her mind.  In the
darkness, death waited patiently.  Its time would come, it had only to
wait.

AT last Nyssa said quietly.  'My heart says yes.  But my head says no.'

Kari reached over and smoothed the thick brown hair from Nyssa's face.  She
gently eased Nyssa away from her so that she could look at her.  Nyssa's
habitually solemn face was red and blotchy and tears streaks rand own her
cheeks.  Kari produced a scrap of cloth and gently began to clean her up.
When she was done, she gave the cloth to Nyssa and waited while she blew
her nose.  Then she said carefully.

'Since I've known you, Nyssa, I've never known you to give way to your
heart once...Why not give that a try now and give your head a rest?  I
think you've earned that much.'

'WEll...I could try.  I can't lose anything by it.  And,' she brightened
suddenly, 'At least I'll have Olvir back.' She fell into a thoughtful
silence already planning the research she would need to undertake.  Then an
unpleasant thought struck her.

'what worries me most,' she said, 'is that I might succeed.'

Kari was puzzled.  'Why would that worry you?'

'What if I get it only half right and we make a monster!'

Kari could think of nothing to say to that.  Fortunately the lengthening
silence was interrupted by the beeping of the comm unit slung on a chain
around Nyssa's neck.  She jumped up her old business like air settling back
easily onto her shoulders.

'Ship's in!  We're going to be busy.  I'll have to go.' She moved away a
few steps then turned back.

'Kari, thanks for listening.'

Kari felt no embarrassment.  that's ok.  sorry I couldn't be more help.'

There's one thing you can do.'

'Yes?'

'Find Olvir for me.' She hurried off into the darkness.

'Find him and tell him.' Her voice drifted back almost smothered by the
dead darkness.

In that darkness death stirred.  Its time had come.  With deliberate care
it raised the lethal hand weapon and sighted carefully at the middle of the
back of the blond haired woman.  Slowly, carefully a finger pressed the
firing stud.


Just as the firing stud clicked home a great paw closed over the weapon and
squeezed.  The burner crumpled as though it were made of paper.  The woman
holding it cried out in pain as her hand was crushed.

Kari went off the pile of junk in a smooth roll and came up in the blink of
an eye, the burner aimed unerringly at the unseen source of the sound.

A shadowy movement stirred in the wall of black.  Kari tensed, then relaxed
as the massive form of the Garm glided silently out of the darkness.  He
half carried, half dragged the body of a woman in the first stages of the
Lazar

disease.  He stopped in front of her and held out his other hand.  In the
palm lay the crushed remains of a beamer smeared with streaks of the
woman's blood from her mangled hand.



Kari understood instantly.  "Bounty hunter," she grated and swung the
beamer to take a new aim at the woman's head.  The thin whimpering died
away and the woman's eyes went round with fear as she saw that she was
going to die.



'Who sent you?' Kari demanded.

The woman did not answer.

'Oh well, I don't suppose it matters anyway.' Kari addressed the Garm.  Put
her down and move away.'



The Garm did not move.  He favoured her with his sternest stare.  He
dropped the remains of the weapon, swung the woman up into his arms and
turning his back on her glided into the darkness.



Kari watched him go with a feeling of mild annoyance.  with her toe she
stirred the bits of metal at her feet, then putting the matter aside,
holstered her beamer and faded as silently as the Garm into the dark.


------------------------------------------------------------------

The end.