Doctor Who_ Tenth Planet Part 14

Krang pointed to the Doctor and his companions. 'You four go over there and join the others.'

The Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Barclay moved backwards with the two guards towards the end of the tracking room where the Cybermen were herding the base technicians.

'That's grat.i.tude for yer!' Ben had recovered his wits and voice. 'We save their grotty planet-for what?'

'Shh,' whispered the Doctor. But it was too late. The Cybermen had heard. Krang turned to face them. 'Saved Mondas? We do not believe you. We have seen a rocket missile aimed at Mondas.'

Again the Doctor stepped forward, hands grasping the lapels of his long black cloak. 'That is so. And we have prevented it being fired at you. We have therefore helped you. Now I suggest you help us in return.'

Ben shrugged his shoulders and turned away in disgust. 'You're wasting your time talking to them geezers.'

But the Cyberleader raised his hand for silence. 'What do you ask in return for this?'

The Doctor looked at him, his head tilted back, his authority-now that Cutler was gone-pre-eminent in the room. Even the technicians and guards hung on his every word, seeming to recognise that he was their new spokesman.

'Your planet is finished. It will disintegrate. We know that is why you have come here. So why not stay and live in peace with us?'

The impa.s.sive black mask of the Cyberman stared back at him. 'We will confer,'

conceded Krang. 'Keep your places. Anyone who moves will be killed instantly.'

He motioned to the other two Cybermen and, together, they walked to the control end of the tracking room, and gathered behind Cutler's console.

Dyson turned nervously to the Doctor. 'Can we trust them?'

Ben shook his head gloomily. 'You kidding? Course we can't!'

'Tch!' The Doctor gestured nervously with his long hands. 'It is all we can do. We must play for time.'

The Cybermen now turned back towards the men.

'Well?' asked the Doctor. 'What have you decided?'

'We cannot talk while that missile is still aimed at Mondas. It must be disarmed first.'

The Doctor held up his hand. 'One moment.' He turned and beckoned Dyson and Barclay towards him. As they put their heads together, he whispered, 'Can you disarm the rocket?'

Barclay nodded. 'Why yes, Doctor, but...'

The Doctor nodded. 'Good, this will give us time.'

Ben had also caught the Doctor's remarks, and now nodded excitedly. 'Time for Mondas to burn itself out?' he asked in a hoa.r.s.e whisper.

The Doctor gave him a quick nod, flicked his finger to his lips for silence, and turned back again. 'We have agreed to your terms,' he called across the tracking room.

'We will remove the warhead from the rocket.'

'It must be removed below ground level.'

For answer, the Doctor turned to Barclay. The physicist nodded. 'It can be moved to the radiation room-the deepest room in the base.'

'That will do,' replied the Cyberleader. 'And to make sure you do this, we will take a hostage.' He pointed to Polly. 'That girl will go to our s.p.a.ce craft. You will go with the others to the rocket,' he said to Ben and Barclay.

'Doctor!' exclaimed Polly, frightened.

But the Doctor only shook his head. 'We must do as they say-go, child.'

'Not ruddy likely!' Ben blurted out. He turned to the Cyberleader. 'If you want a hostage, what about me?'

'All the men are needed to help with the warhead.'

'Oh yes?' Ben moved forward, threateningly. 'Now look here. I say you're not going to take her...'

The Cyberleader raised his gun.

The Doctor stepped forward, grasped Ben's arm and eased him back. 'Ben, please let me handle this.'

'But, Doctor,' protested Ben, 'we can't let Poll...'

'It's all right, Ben,' Polly stepped forward. 'Let the Doctor decide.' She swallowed nervously. 'If the Doctor wants me to go... at least it will be a new experience. I've never seen the inside of a Cybercraft.'

The Doctor turned to the Cyberleader, his voice sharp and controlled. 'Do you give us your word that she will be returned safely when the bomb is stowed away?'

'Yes. I give you my word,' replied the Cyberleader in his icy monotone.

To her surprise, Polly had been blindfolded for the trip across to the s.p.a.cecraft.

Before leaving the base, she had put on one of the thick fur parkas worn by the guards.

Now, seated in a small cabin aboard the Cybercraft, her blindfold removed, she felt extremely grateful for the thick Polar clothing.

The chair to which she had been fastened by metal clamps across her waist and around her wrist, reminded her of an electric chair. She shuddered at the thought.

The Cybercraft seemed to be unheated. Then she remembered that the Doctor had said that the Cybermen, being creatures of plastic and metal, not flesh and blood, would have no need of heat-they were impervious to heat and cold alike. But what about their human hostage? The South Pole ground temperature must be thirty or more below zero!

As the cold began to chill her, she tried to move her arms-but the clamps held her firmly in place. She struggled and began to cry out. Suddenly, the door slid open and one of her tall silver guards stepped into the room. Realising it was useless to plead, she decided to bl.u.s.ter.

'Look,' she shouted indignantly, putting on what Ben would have called her best 'd.u.c.h.ess' voice, 'I agreed to act as hostage. I gave you my word I wouldn't escape. Isn't that enough for you? It's freezing here. I'm flesh and blood-not like you. I'll freeze to death in minutes.'

Without answering, the Cyberman advanced towards her. She shrank back, and screamed slightly, as his helmet almost brushed her face. The Cyberman pressed a b.u.t.ton on his chest unit; a flash shot from his helmet to her temple, and Polly fell forward unconscious.

The Cyberman looked down at her for a moment, then turned to the temperature control on the wall. He hesitated for a moment. What temperature would be needed to keep alive someone from Earth? Then he sharply twisted the control.

As Polly slept, warm air began filtering into the cabin. The Cyberman had obviously been ordered to keep his captive alive. But for how long?

12 Resistance in the Radiation Room

'Geneva calling. South Polar base. Geneva to South Pole. Are you receiving me?'

The voice of the Geneva technician boomed through the loudspeaker, filling the tracking room. The Doctor was sitting in Barclay's chair. Behind him stood the ma.s.sive figure of Krang, easily dominating the whole room. Without moving, Krang spoke to the Doctor.

'Answer them.'

The R/T technician indicated the radio-phone on the Doctor's right.

'Into here?' asked the Doctor.

The technician nodded.

'h.e.l.lo, Geneva. Snowcap Snowcap base here.' base here.'

To his surprise, his own voice echoed through the loudspeaker. The R/T technician hurried over, and pulled a switch down.

'You were speaking into the public address system for the base. This is the one to use,' he said.

'Thank you.' The Doctor nodded. 'h.e.l.lo, Geneva,' he repeated.

'Geneva here. Secretary Wigner to speak with General Cutler.'

The Doctor glanced involuntarily over to the place where Cutler's body had been- but it had been taken away by the guards.

'The General is... not here at the moment. I... have been...'

He suddenly became aware of the cold metal shaft of a Cyberweapon pressing against the side of his neck. '... left in charge here temporarily.'

'Who is that speaking?' asked Wigner.

The Doctor shook his head impatiently : 'There's no time to discuss that now, sir.'

'Tell General Cutler that there have been ma.s.s landings of Cybermen in many parts of the world. We have had no report for...'

Suddenly, cries and screams came over the loudspeaker system-followed by the dreaded rattle of a Cyberweapon.

The s.p.a.ce technicians glanced at each other in horrified silence.

'Geneva,' called the Doctor urgently. 'Geneva-are you there? What has happened? Secretary Wigner?'

After a moment's silence, a new voice came over the loudspeaker. It was harsh, metallic, unmistakably similar to the other Cybermen-but with a slightly deeper tone.

'Geneva is now ours. The Earth has been taken over by Mondas. Only scattered pockets of resistance remain, and these are being dealt with.'

'Remove yourself,' rasped the voice of Krang behind the Doctor's ear.

He rose from his seat, and Krang sat down in Barclay's chair. The Cyberleader leant forward and spoke into the mike.

'South Pole take-over completed.'

Again, the voice of the Cyberleader came over the loudspeaker. 'This is Cyberleader Gern. I am now in control of the Earth. No time must be wasted. Mondas is in great danger. We cannot absorb much more energy from Earth.'

The Doctor nodded his head in confirmation. 'You must proceed with your second objective.'

'We are proceeding according to plan,' confirmed the flat tones of Krang.

'Report to me as soon as you are ready,' the Cybercontroller said. 'We must have time to evacuate.' There was a click and then silence.

The Doctor, who had been listening to the exchange, gasped as a thought struck him. He leant forward. 'I don't understand your friend. What does he mean : evacuate?

How can you return to Mondas now?'

The Cyberleader looked stolidly ahead. 'We will not discuss our plans with you.'

'Oh!' commented the Doctor. He raised his sharp eagle profile and looked down at the Cyberleader-as if pitting his will and intelligence against that of the man of steel. 'Just what is your plan?'

No reply.

'It's obvious then, isn't it?' the Doctor continued. 'Your second objective is the destruction of Earth!'

Quickly, the Doctor turned, ran across and shouted into the mike : 'Barclay! Ben! Do not help them. Do you hear me?'

Before he could explain further, the steel hand of the Cyberleader clamped over the Doctor's, flung it aside and pushed back the switch with such violence that it almost broke in his steel grip..

The base radiation room, a long, low, vault-like chamber, lined with lead to prevent the escape of radiation, was situated beneath the rocket silo. The Z-Bomb had now been taken out of the rocket warhead, into the silo room, and from there had been lowered by cradle through a trap door to the floor of the radiation room.