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to collapse,’ whispered Romana.
    ‘Taking everything here with it.’ The Doctor put a forefinger in his mouth and made a solemn ‘pop’. A thought occurred to him. ‘One thing, K-9. How do you know all this?’
    K-9 paused. ‘That information is unavailable.’
    ‘What do you mean, “that information is unavailable”?’
    ‘My meaning was unambiguous. That information is unavailable.’
    ‘No,’ sighed the Doctor. ‘Why is that information unavailable?’
    ‘That information is also unavailable.’
    ‘So you’re telling us that this hyperspace tunnel is going to collapse, but you can’t tell us how you know this, and you also can’t tell us why you can’t tell us how you know this.’
    K-9 spent a few moments unscrambling the Doctor’s syntax. ‘Affirmative, master.’
    ‘Well, I’m glad we got that clear,’ said the Doctor caustically. He crouched down. ‘K-9, I’m sorry for leaving you in the TARDIS. Next time, you can come outside with us. I promise. All right?’
    ‘Affirmative,’ said K-9 happily.
    ‘Why do you think this hyperspace tunnel is about to collapse?’
    ‘That information is unavailable.’
    ‘Useless machine,’ the Doctor snorted, and gave K-9 a kick.
    Romana swallowed. ‘Doctor, if what K-9 says is true, then everyone here is in the most terrible danger.’
    The Doctor awoke to action. ‘Yes, of course. K-9, how long do we have until this “loss of viability”?’
    ‘Approximately four hours seventeen minutes. Master, although I am unable to divulge the source of my information, I can lead you to the hyperspace–real-space interface, where you will be able to verify my assertion.’
    The Doctor regarded K-9 down a suspicious nose. ‘You know where the geostatic build-up is located?’
    ‘Affirmative. Corridor 79.’
    ‘Well, I think I shall have to go and see this.’ The Doctor took Romana to one side. ‘And if he turns out to be correct… well, I don’t know what we’ll do, but we’ll do something. Coming?’
    Romana glanced around the medical bay. As the beds ran out, mattresses were being unrolled on to the floor and filled by more of the injured. Survivors had also started to gather uncertainly on the fringes of the ward, blocking the trolleys and adding to the chaos . Parents cuddled their shrieking children. There was a sense of desperation in the air.
    ‘I’ll wait here,’ she decided. ‘These people need our help.’
    ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’ The Doctor strode out of the medical bay, K-9 at his heels. Romana watched them go and then turned back to the lizard. She lifted its kaftan to reveal a deep, grisly burn.
    She replaced the fabric and dodged across the ward to the supplies unit, a bank of cubicles along one wall. She collected some vacuum-sealed bags of dressings but found the cubicle marked
Anaesthetics and Analgesics
empty.
    She turned to the nearest medic, the bearded man she had spoken to earlier. He was hoisting one of the milky creatures to a sitting position. ‘Where are the rest of the painkillers?’
    ‘They’ve all gone.’
    ‘What?’ said Romana angrily.
    ‘We’ve exhausted all the supplies.’ The man shrugged, wiping his forehead on his sleeve. ‘The number of casualties is too great, we can’t cope. The situation is critical.’
    Rige unclipped a small device from his utility belt and reviewed its reading.
    ‘I’m getting a positive ID, Dunkal.’ He pointed the tracker down the corridor. ‘This way.’
    ‘Give me a moment, Rige,’ heaved Dunkal. He leaned back against a column. He was getting too old for this sort of thing. He couldn’t run more than twenty metres without getting a stitch. Drinking cheap coffee, slamming his fist on desks and roughing up suspects against fenders; that was more his style. Not running around a grotty space station in the middle of nowhere. He dabbed at his forehead. ‘Now I know why they call it hot pursuit.’
    ‘They’re evading capture, sir,’ Rige reminded