Part 26 (1/2)

They had carried on in silence for about twenty minutes, the air getting thinner. It was a good thing he'd sent Benny back, he decided. She'd have coped admirably but he knew she would have been uncomfortable. His own respiratory system was designed to cope with most atmospheres, although one of those old cream atmospheric density jackets from the TARDIS would have helped. Would have gone quite nicely with his suit as well. And as for Sskeet well, Martian physiology wasn't his strong point but he imagined they could cope quite easily down here.

As the air got staler and staler, the Doctor suddenly recognized where they were. A few odd tools lay scattered around a few more broken wheelbarrows. They were in the heart of the now-defunct mining core of Peladon. The place where the Pel miners had so bravely defended their world against the oppressive Martian traitor, Commander Azaxyr and the devious human engineer Eckersley the last time the Doctor was here. Back then Azaxyr had sabotaged the air ducts, causing the miners to return to the surface points where his Ice Warriors had systematically begun fighting back. And almost winning, until he'd helped the n.o.bles and miners alike to hit back.

Brave Queen Thalira. Poor obstinate Chancellor Ortron. Even a young Lianna. They'd all fought the Ice Warriors alongside him.

Now, here he was trusting them once again.

Funny old universe, really. He spent so much time telling Ace, Tegan, Sarah Jane, Polly and all the others not to judge by appearances. Yet he had done just that with Savaar and Sskeet - tried to make enemies rather than friends.

Oh well, he thought. It proved that it's never too late to teach an old Doc new tricks.

Eventually they had reached the site that the Doctor had guessed they were heading for. The old disused refinery. There, Eckersley had manufactured the ghostly appearances of Aggedor, using a purpose-built Aggedor statue fitted with a high resolution disrupter that literally transmatted around the planet, vaporizing all who got in its way. Such a devious but cunningly crafted plan. He'd never told Sarah, his friend at the time, but he held a grudging respect for both Azaxyr and Eckersley for that.

A magnificent piece of engineering but wholly evil.

The Doctor had stood to one side as Sskeet approached the rusted old door. The Ice Warrior raised his sonic disrupter and an almost imperceptible whine began.

'K9 would have gone mad,' murmured the Doctor as he placed his fingers in his ears.

The door suddenly clunked and bright light shone out of the window. The Doctor could see movement from within and had guessed what they were as the door opened.

Sskeet slammed his arm across his chest in a salute as a taller Ice Warrior walked out.

'Commander Ra.s.sbur,' he rasped.

Ra.s.sbur nodded a greeting. He then turned and looked at the Doctor.

'Greetings, Doctor. My Lord Savaar informed me of your arrival. Please accept my apologies regarding the mysterious way in which you were brought here.'

'Not at all, Commander. A most pleasant journey.' The Doctor doffed his hat before continuing: I must say I am surprised to see you down here. I wasn't aware that any other Federation s.h.i.+ps had been in the area since we arrived on the Bruk.'

Ra.s.sbur inhaled noisily. 'That, Doctor, is because there hasn't been one.

My team and I have been on Peladon for six weeks.'

And now the Doctor understood everything. Almost.

He and Sskeet entered the refinery. The Doctor remembered it as a spa.r.s.e and quite small room, just a few banks of equipment for judging Peladon's trisilicate ores, plus of course Eckersley's additions such as the transmat and his neurological anti-theft devices.

However, the Martians had been busy. They had carved out a much larger area which reminded the Doctor of a government war room. In the centre was a three-dimensional hologram of the Citadel. To the left of that were further holograms, larger reconstructions of certain rooms and areas around the throne room. The relic room was represented. as was the shuttle bay where they had first landed. Equally s.p.a.ced around the walls were consoles with banks upon banks of slim computer nets, holograms and even rather archaic electrical equipment. The Doctor was drawn to a small black box with a red light on top.

'How fascinating. What does this do?'

'Not a lot,' replied Ra.s.sbur. Occasionally it receives messages from a group of human mercenaries employed by whoever is stealing Peladon's treasures. That is what we are here to observe and eventually stop. We guessed that events would climax around the restatement vows. With so much traffic in and around the planet, it would be the ideal opportunity for the criminal to escape.'

The Doctor dropped into a hard seat. Wincing slightly - and remembering that Martians were not renowned for their love of comfort - he removed his hat and began folding it. And the mercenaries?'

'We believe they are bringing something else for our mystery criminal.'

Oh, they are.' The Doctor paused and then frowned. 'Commander Ra.s.sbur, are you telling me that with all this equipment, with six weeks of illegal hiding down here, you haven't actually ascertained firstly why the mercenaries are coming is?'

'They thought it was me,' said a plaintive voice.

The Doctor didn't bother to turn: he recognized the tone. 'Mister Corry, I think a lot of people up top are - and secondly who the villain of the piece going to be - very pleased to see you alive. Your Ker'a'nol is especially upset.'

Corry wandered into his field of vision. 'That's nice to know. What's going on up top?'

The Doctor sat back. Oh. Lots. King Tarrol had me executed. High Priestess Atissa had High Lord Savaar executed. Both failed. Did Savaar know you were here?'

Ra.s.sbur answered: 'Lord Savaar and the Lady Lianna knew everything from the moment we landed here.'

'Good. Then by now Savaar should have sussed who our mystery man is.'

The Doctor stood up. 'Commander Ra.s.sbur, those human mercenaries are bringing with them the Ancient Pakhar Diadem. I'm sure I don't need to lecture you regarding its legendary power or its fiscal value. I suspect that our mystery man isn't going to take the Peladon relics himself at all - I think he's trading them for the Diadem because that's what he was after when he murdered the Federation Chair's daughter on Pakha. You and your men are likely to have a war on your hands. I hope you are prepared.'

Ra.s.sbur saluted. Always.'

'Good. I think you should stay hidden until the time is right. I take it you are monitoring the presence of the mercenaries.'

'They are less than an hour from here.'

'Good, good. Now, it is imperative we let them get quite some way in. I abhor violence but the most important thing is the destruction of the Diadem. I hope no lives will be lost but it is a possibility. Nevertheless, I shall be the one to retrieve the Diadem at my own risk. None of your men are to try, is that understood?'

Ra.s.sbur nodded. The Doctor scooped up his umbrella and pointed to Sskeet.

'Come on Sskeet - time to take me back. Mister Corry and I have a resurrection to stage.'

Geban gently shook Alpha Centauri awake.

With a slight cry of pain, Centauri began to stir, colour seeping back into his arms and head. He looked up at Geban. 'Chancellor? Someone pretending to be you attacked me!' As Geban pulled Centauri upright he asked who it was, but Centauri miserably confirmed that he hadn't seen.

The chancellor reached down and picked up the bloodsoaked ball of cloth.

'Someone really wanted it to look like me. Who?'

'We should go and tell someone about this.'

Again, who? The king will not be interested. Savaar is dead. The Doctor is dead. I cannot find Nic Reece or Professor Summerfield and the holocrew are all packed and waiting by the Martian shuttle.'

Suddenly there was a crash and scamper of feet from outside the door.

Geban flung it open to see Keri and Kort, breathless.

'He's dead, yeah. The pilot is dead.'

Geban looked at Centauri who merely said, I wondered why he wasn't replying to my call.'

I suspect he's been dead only a short while,' said a Scottish accent behind them all.

The unanimous shouts of 'Doctor!' nearly deafened the Time Lord but eventually he waved their questions away. 'Keri here can explain how it was done, we have work to do. We must find Savaar.'