DOCTOR WHO AND THE REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN Page 6

  The Doctor, whose system was far more resilient than that of any human, had recovered full consciousness some time ago, and had been listening to this conversation with keen interest. Bored with his role of mere audience, he suddenly chimed in. 'One thing intrigues me, Kellman, what do you get out of this—Voga's gold?'

  The Cyberleader swung around. 'There will be no gold, human. Voga is to be totally destroyed.'

  'Didn't you try that once before?' the Doctor asked chattily.

  'This time we shall not fail. You three will help us. That is why your lives have been spared.'

  'I was wondering why you hadn't killed us. But I'm curious to know why you need our help.'

  The Cyberleader pointed to the center of the map. 'The heart of Voga, is almost pure gold.'

  The Doctor stood up, and strolled casually over to the map. The Cyberman on guard at the door raised its weapon threateningly, but the Doctor ignored the gesture. 'Yes, I see. And gold is poison to you, isn't it?'

  'Gold is inimical to our functioning,' confirmed the Cyberleader. 'Therefore three human organisms have been preserved.'

  'And what are we three organisms supposed to do for you?'

  'You will carry the bombs into the main shaft. Once they are all in position, they will be detonated by remote control, destroying Voga completely.'

  'Killing us too, of course?' said the Doctor calmly.

  'Of course. That is of no importance. You will have served your purpose.'

  The Doctor looked at the grim face of Kellman, and at the impassive features of the Cybermen. Then, incredibly, he grinned.

  'Well, well, well,' he said cheerily. 'Isn't it wonderful to feel wanted!'

  7

  The Living Bombs

  Captain Sheprah, the commander of Tyrum's City Militia, reported back to his chief. 'There is no further resistance in the mine galleries. The Guardians are holding a defensive position outside the Guild Chambers.'

  Tyrum nodded. 'That is as I expected. Let them hold their precious Guild Hall—for the moment. Offer them a truce.'

  'We could take the Guild Chambers with one determined assault.'

  'And lose the lives of many of our people? No—we shall wait.'

  Reluctantly Sheprah accepted the decision. 'There is one further matter, Councillor. Two humans have been captured in the galleries.'

  Tyrum listened keenly as Sheprah told of the discovery of Harry and Sarah. 'It appears they were escaping from Vorus,' concluded Sheprah. 'We also captured a squad of Vorus's men. They were hunting the humans. Their instructions were to find and kill them.'

  Tyrum brooded over the implications of Sheprah's story. 'Let me see the humans,' he ordered. Sheprah beckoned to a guard and dispatched him to fetch Harry and Sarah. Tyrum looked grimly at his Captain. 'If Vorus has committed treason, he will be fortunate if he dies in battle before I reach him.'

  'You think he is a traitor, Councillor?'

  'I think he has been holding secret negotiations with the humans. Promising them gold in return for weapons.'

  Sheprah, who was no politician, was baffled. 'Why should he do that? Ah, I see... ' He answered his own question. 'To seize power here on Voga!'

  'Vorus has never concealed his ambition to replace me. But I never thought that even he would be reckless enough to expose us to our enemies.'

  Sheprah was out of his depth again. 'You think that the humans are now our enemies? Surely they were our allies long ago?'

  'After the cataclysm of our ancient past, we have survived only by regarding all outsiders as hostile. Now I must discover how far Vorus has involved us with these aliens.' He turned as the guard brought in the two prisoners. Sheprah left, to return to his troops.

  For the second time, Harry and Sarah were brought as captives before a high-ranking Vogan. But the mild-mannered Tyrum made a far more favorable impression on them than had the blustering Vorus, though both sensed an edge of steel beneath the mildness.

  Tyrum rose as they entered, and made a formal bow. 'Greetings. I am Tyrum, Chief Councillor of Voga.'

  Harry was rather taken aback by the politeness of this reception, but did his best to rise to the occasion. 'Er... how d'you do?' he stammered. 'I'm Harry Sullivan. This is my friend, Sarah Jane Smith.' Tyrum bowed again. Sarah wondered if she ought to curtsy, but decided against it, contenting herself with a short bob.

  'Tell me,' said Tyrum, 'what is your mission here on Voga?' For all Tyrum's gentle manner, it was clear that he was determined to get a satisfactory answer from them.

  'Mission?' said Sarah hurriedly. 'We haven't got any mission. Have we, Harry?'

  'That's true enough,' Harry confirmed. 'We just came here more or less by accident. Nothing to do with us, really.'

  Tyrum looked from one to the other of them. 'Explain,' he ordered.

  Harry Sullivan sighed and mopped his brow. 'All right, I'll have a shot, if you insist. But I warn you, it's a very long story.'

  Helped and prompted by Sarah, Harry stumbled through an edited account of their arrival on the Beacon and subsequent journey to Voga. 'And here we are,' he ended, a little lamely.

  Tyrum thought over what he had heard. 'One thing confuses me. At first you spoke of this scourge that attacked the humans as a space-plague. Then, later, you said that it was poison.'

  Sarah shrugged. 'We're as puzzled as you are. At first everyone was convinced that it was an illness.'

  Harry joined in. 'Then the Doctor discovered it was some kind of poison.'

  Tyrum considered for a moment longer then said decisively, 'I believe your story, humans.'

  Sarah sighed with relief. 'Well, it is the truth,' she said.

  'However, if you are simply innocent travelers, why did Vorus send guards after you to kill you, before you fell into my hands?' Tyrum persisted.

  'I say, did he do that?' asked Harry indignantly. Tyrum explained about the captured guards and the story they had told.

  'Well I'm sure I don't know why,' said Sarah, 'unless it's just pure nastiness. We haven't done him any harm.'

  Tyrum was thinking aloud. 'Clearly, he feels that you are capable of harming him. He must think you know something that would incriminate him.'

  'Incriminate him in what?' asked Sarah.

  'Some plot against the state—and against me!'

  'But we only met him for a few minutes—didn't we, Harry?' Harry nodded. Tyrum began to pace about the room in his agitation.

  'It is something about the Beacon,' he muttered, almost to himself. 'My suspicions about Vorus harden into certainty. He has always had vast ambitions.' Tyrum turned to Harry and Sarah. 'This city in which you stand was once the underground survival chamber for our people. We have lived here ever since, those who remained of us, hidden beneath the surface of our shattered planet, unseen and safe from further attack by our enemies, the Cybermen.' There were centuries of fear and hatred in the way that Tyrum hissed this last word. He looked keenly at them. 'You have heard of the Cybermen?'

  Sarah frowned. 'I've heard the Doctor speak of them. Weren't they supposed to be wiped out hundreds of years ago?'

  'That reminds me,' Harry interrupted. 'The metal thing that attacked Sarah... well, earlier the Doctor said it was called a Cybermat.' Harry could still hear the Doctor's unconscious rhyme, 'Not a rat—a Cybermat.'

  There was a look of horror on Tyrum's face. 'Can it be? Has Vorus, in his madness, brought upon our heads the revenge of the Cybermen?' Tyrum made for the door. 'You will both come with me,' he ordered.

  Sarah and Harry followed. 'Where to?' asked Sarah.

  'To the gold mines. It is high time that Vorus explained himself!'

  Vorus, at that moment, was confronting Sheprah in the area just before the Guild Hall. The two leaders had met for an arranged parley, at the heads of their respective troops.

  Arrogant as ever, Vorus said, 'Well, Sheprah, what have you to say to me?'

  'I offer a truce. My soldiers will hold their present positions. For the time being, we shal
l not attack your Guild Chambers.'

  'You show good sense. Your city scum would be badly beaten.'

  Sheprah controlled himself, remembering Tyrum's orders. 'We shall not attack unless we are provoked, Vorus,' he snapped. 'If we do attack, we shall sweep you aside and destroy you.' Pleased with his parting shot, Sheprah went back to his men. Vorus glowered after him, then returned to the Guild Chambers. Magrik was waiting for him. Vorus glared furiously down at the little scientist.

  'Well, is the rocket prepared?'

  'Another hour,' said Magrik nervously.

  'We may not have an hour,' growled Vorus. 'By now the Cybermen will be on the Beacon. And we don't know how much longer Tyrum and his scum will hold off.'

  'But our human agent, Kellman. Surely he too is still on the Beacon. Did we not promise to wait until he was safe on Voga?'

  It was clear that Vorus was in no mood to worry about Kellman's safety. 'Circumstances have changed. It is simpler this way. Even if the Cybermen suspect Kellman's story, he will die with them before he can betray us.'

  Magrik nodded. No doubt Vorus knew best, as always. 'Very well,' he said. 'I will notify you as soon as countdown is ready to begin.'

  Unaware that he had just been callously abandoned by his Vogan allies, Kellman stood looking on as the Cyberleader tested the transmat beam. The blank silver mask swung round toward him. 'All is in order here. There is no malfunction at this end.'

  Kellman fought to make his voice casual but convincing. 'There's a fault at the Vogan end, you see. The Doctor was unable to get his two friends back. Must be a faulty reciprocator diode. Unless you send me down to fix it, the Cybermen you send to Voga will be unable to return.'

  The flat mechanical voice said, 'Your concern for humans has been replaced by concern for Cybermen, Kellman? Explain.'

  Kellman felt a wave of panic. If he didn't get down to Voga in time to warn them of the Cybermen's plan, the gold he hungered for would be blown to smithereens. Worse still, he himself might be trapped on the Beacon when the Vogan rocket struck. Unaware of each other's plans, Cybermen and Vogans were about to attempt mutual destruction—with Kellman caught in the middle. Forcing himself to speak with calm indifference, Kellman said, 'Suit yourself, but I'm only trying to help, just as I've always done. I set up the transmat on Voga, didn't I? I controlled the Cybermats for you.'

  'That is true. You have been promised great rewards for your assistance.'

  'And that's why I want to go down to Voga. To see that nothing goes wrong with the transmat and spoils your plans. After all, if the trouble spreads to this end, you may not even be able to get your bombs down onto the planet.'

  Kellman held his breath, as the Cyberleader considered. Then to his vast relief it said tonelessly. 'Very well. But you would be wise to return as soon as possible. Once the detonation cycle commences on the bombs, it will not be arrested.'

  Kellman stepped into the transmat booth, the Cyberleader operated the controls and Kellman vanished.

  Marched along by his Cybermen guards, the Doctor arrived just in time to hear the end of the conversation and see Kellman dematerialize. Other guards brought Lester and the Commander along with him. Still more Cybermen were carrying objects that resembled metal rucksacks, very much like the backpacks worn by the early astronauts. The little party assembled by the transmat booth, and the Cybermen put their burdens down in.a corner, handling them, the Doctor noticed, with enormous care.

  The Doctor nodded toward the backpacks. 'And what have we got there then—are we going camping?'

  The Cyberleader showed no reaction to the Doctor's joke. Very hard to get a laugh out of a Cyberman, thought the Doctor ruefully. But at least it gave him the information he was after. 'These are cobalt bombs. The most compact and powerful explosive devices ever invented.'

  'Wasn't their use banned by the Armageddon Convention?' The Doctor was referring to a famous interplanetary treaty, in which the more intelligent races of the galaxy had attempted to outlaw some of the more lethal weapons of destruction. The Cybermen, like the Daleks, had refused to sign, or even to attend the convention. Cybermen did not subscribe to any theory of morality when it came to war. Total destruction of the enemy was their one aim.

  Taking careful note of the position of the bombs, the Doctor asked casually, 'Tell me, what inducements did you offer Kellman?'

  'The matter is of no concern to you.'

  'Oh, everything interests me,' said the Doctor sincerely. 'But what puzzles me is the fact that Cybermen have nothing any human could possibly want.'

  'Your statement is incorrect.'

  The Doctor seemed determined to be as tactless as possible. 'Well, what have you got?' he asked scornfully. 'No home planet, no position in the galaxy, no influence, nothing. You're just a pathetic collection of tin soldiers, skulking about the galaxy in a worn-out spaceship.'

  The Commander and Lester looked at each other in horror, wondering why the Doctor seemed so set on provoking their captors.

  The Cyberleader took a pace closer to the Doctor, towering over him menacingly. 'You speak unwisely. The Cybermen are destined to become rulers of all the cosmos.'

  'I don't think so, somehow. You tried that once, and were very nearly wiped out.'

  It seemed almost possible to detect the overtones of hate in the Cyberman's voice. 'Because of Voga, and its gold. If the humans had not been able to call upon the resources of Voga, the Cyberwar would have ended in glorious triumph.'

  'But it did end in glorious triumph,' said the Doctor infuriatingly. 'Triumph for the humans. Once they'd found your weakness, that was the end of the Cybermen.'

  The silver giant took another step toward the Doctor. 'That is why Voga must be destroyed, before we begin our second campaign.'

  The Doctor didn't seem impressed. 'Having another go, are you?'

  The Cyberleader's voice rose in volume and intensity. 'We have parts stored in secret hiding places to build a new Cyberarmy. This time it will be invincible. Cybermen function more efficiently than animal organisms. Therefore we must rule the galaxy.'

  The Doctor shook his head. 'Loose thinking, old chap,' he said, almost sympathetically. 'The trouble with you Cybermen is you've got hydraulic muscles and hydraulic brains to go with 'em.'

  For some reason this childish insult finally broke through the Cyberleader's control. It took a final step forward, the silver arm sweeping upward for a blow. As Lester yelled, 'Look out,' the silver arm swept down toward the Doctor.

  The Doctor grabbed the arm, already moving backward, converting its momentum into a series of reverse head-over-heels rolls that landed him in the corner by the silver packs containing the bombs. He grabbed one of the backpacks and jumped to his feet, holding it out before him. 'Very unstable things, these cobalt bombs,' gasped the Doctor. 'Could be very dangerous if I dropped this...' Deliberately, the Doctor let go of the bomb...

  8

  Journey into Peril

  Time seemed frozen as the bomb dropped from the Doctor's hands. Then, deftly, he caught it by one of the dangling straps. Lester and Stevenson gasped with relief, and even the Cyberleader took a sudden step backward.

  Pleased with the effect of his demonstration, the Doctor looked around. 'Now I'll tell you what you're going to do, Cyberleader. You and your crew are going back to the airlock, back into your ship, and away from here as fast as you can. If you don't I'll explode this cobalt bomb, and we'll all turn into space dust together.'

  'If you explode the bomb you will destroy yourself and your fellow humans,' droned the Cyberman.

  'I know. But then we stand a good chance of being blown up anyway, so there's really nothing to lose, is there?'

  From somewhere in the Cyberleader's chest unit, an alarm signal was sending out a steady, inaudible pulse. Inaudible to human beings, that is. But in a nearby corridor the lamp in the head of a patrolling Cyberman suddenly glowed brightly, and it swung round to answer the signal.

  'Well, what's it to be?' the Doctor
was asking. 'I trust you'll have the sense to live and fight another day?'

  'We accept your terms' said the Cyberleader in his emotionless voice. Scarcely able to believe what was happening, the Commander and Lester watchbd as the Cyberleader and his men began moving slowly in the direction of the airlock. Still clutching the bomb, the Doctor backed away before them—and straight into the arms of a Cyberman sentry, who had loomed suddenly up behind him.

  Giant silver arms crushed the breath from the Doctor's body. With a final effort he threw the bomb pack away from him. The Cyberleader glided forward and caught it before it touched the ground, lowering it delicately into the corner with the other bombs.

  The Doctor, meanwhile, was struggling and choking in the steely hug of the Cyberman. One massive arm was locked around his throat, cutting off the air. The Cyberleader spoke. 'Do not kill him. He can still be useful to us.' The Cyberman released the Doctor, who crumpled unconscious to the ground.

  As soon as he arrived on Voga, Kellman began hurrying along the mine galleries on his way to warn Vorus of the coming attack. As he ran through the gloomy tunnels, he was worried by the sound of distant blaster fire. Something was happening on Voga, something that wasn't part of the plan.

  Suddenly a powerful beam of light pinned him to the wall of the gallery. He looked around, blinking. He could see shadowy armed figures moving behind the light beam. 'It's all right,' Kellman called, 'I'm a friend. Take me to Vorus, he's expecting me.'

  Unfortunately for Kellman, he had run into a patrol of Tyrum's City Militia, who were unimpressed by the mention of Vorus's name.

  'Vorus is no longer in charge here,' said the Militia Captain gruffly. 'We shall take you to see Tyrum.'

  As the soldiers began to bustle him away, Kellman kicked and struggled wildly. 'No, no,' he yelled, 'you don't understand. I must see Vorus. I've got something to tell him. You're in danger, all of you... ' He subsided as one of the guards gave him a thump with a blaster butt to quiet him, and he was half-dragged, half-carried away. The Militia Captain sighed. These wretched humans were popping up all over the place nowadays. Still, Tyrum would know how to deal with them.