Web in Space! (novel)

Web in Space! was a novel in the Doctor Who 2 in 1 books range.

Publisher's summary
In The Web In Space, a distress signal calls the TARDIS to the Black Horizon, a spaceship under attack from the Empire of Eternal Victory. But the robotic scavengers are the least of the Doctor's worries. Something terrifying is waiting to trap him in space...

Plot
The Gloriana Scattering is apparently far from anywhere else. Nothing lives there, it is lifeless. And yet, when one ship arrives, dangerous things begin to happen.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory inside the TARDIS are experiencing some difficulties as usual. There's a confusing alarm, which is either a distress signal or the phone ringing. The Doctor neglects to tell Amy and Rory which one it is. They finally land, the Doctor deciding it was a distress signal and appear inside some sort of space ship, with guns being pointed at them. They claim that they are there to help. Sam Appleseed introduces himself as the technical officer. He explains that they are about to be invaded. He escorts the newcomers to the Captain.

The captain is Captain Jones who explains that they are on the space ship Black Horizon and are trapped in the Gloriana Scattering. The Doctor deciphers that they are being invaded by the Empire of Eternal Victory. The Captain explains that the engines are somehow not working, and they are apparently being kept by a shiny cable attached to the outer casing of the ship. Deciding to help, the Doctor and Amy head with a few guards to meet the invaders, leaving Rory with the Captain.

The Doctor and Amy run through the endless corridors of the Black Horizon with the guards following them. They finally reach the airlock and the Doctor has a plan. After using his sonic screwdriver to increase the melting point of the airlock door, he then finds a cupboard-like storage space, filled with junk. He orders the guards to gather as much rubbish together and place it on the ground in front of the airlock. It opens after about a minute and silhouettes of robots appear. One of them exclaims at the sight of a coffee machine.

In the control room, Rory is getting anxious, because something weird is happening. Sam soon discovers that the cable is not artificial, but organic. It holds the remains of ships, scattered across it. Suddenly, they realise what it is, a trap and a giant spindly creature appears from the bright light. A spider! It crawls towards the Black Horizon on its web, ready to engulf it entirely.

The robots are now picking there way through the bits of junk. Amy watches closely as they examine the different pieces of pure of rubbish on the ground. The leader is obviously not pleased and faces the Doctor with a grim expression. He is unimpressed with the junk and declares that there is a better prize inside the hold. Suddenly, the ship begins to jolt once again, but this time with more power.

Back on the bridge, Sam has managed to make the ship stable as the spider crawls towards them. Captain Jones then realises that there only hope is the Doctor. She sends Rory and Sam to find him and the others.

Rory and Sam are walking down a corridor in silence. Rory believes that they are being followed. They can definitely see blue light in the gloom behind them. Hiding around the next corner, Rory wrenches a door from its hinges. He prepares himself and then swings. The door connects with a robot who begins to squeal for mercy.

The Doctor and Amy wake up after their tumble. They discover that the gravity is a bit faulty; the Doctor is now standing on the wall instead of the floor. Scrambling up a shelf on its side, the Doctor and Amy emerge into the corridor and find a dark abyss where they believe the robots might have fallen. The Doctor grabs a rope from the cupboard and says that they should abseil down the abyss. Amy isn't sure, but is forced to comply and they begin to descend. They pass many rooms that have been upturned, but finally arrive at another junction where a robot is standing. It raises its cutting weapon, ready to cut the rope. Amy manages to kick the creature in its face and she and the Doctor slide down the rope a little further. The robot recovers though and cuts the rope. Amy and the Doctor tumble into the darkness below.

The robot is one of the evil robots, but doesn't seem that scary. He claims that he is Messy and Rory agrees due to the condition of his body, which is a large jumble of different parts. After being asked, the robot explains that they are part of the second Empire of Eternal Victory. The first mysteriously disappeared two thousand years beforehand. Any robot who'd survived their disappearance, including Messy, had their memories wiped. Due to Rory managing to defeat him, the robot is forced to swear allegiance to him. He offers to help find the Doctor and Amy.

more to be added

Characters

 * Eleventh Doctor
 * Amy Pond
 * Rory Williams
 * Captain Jones
 * Ensign Sam Appleseed
 * Commander Designate Gluon-Alpha-Sierra-Zero-1
 * Messy

Continuity
to be added