DOCTOR WHO AND THE REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN Page 7

  The Doctor came around to find himself being buckled into a kind of harness by the giant hands of the Cybermen. He moved his shoulders, and felt the weight of the bomb pack. Lester and the Commander were already strapped into their packs. The Doctor struggled to his feet, shaking his head to clear it.

  'Two bombs should be sufficient to complete the destruction of Voga,' the Cyberleader was saying. 'To make completely certain, we are using three.' Cybermen hands twisted the giant metal buckles on the three backpacks carried by the humans, locking them into place.

  A little shakily, but cheerful as ever, the Doctor said, 'We seem to have reached a rather interesting stage. Perhaps you could explain what's going on?'

  'You would do well, all of you, to concentrate on what I am saying,' said the Cyberleader. 'Your lives depend on your understanding.' He indicated the buckles on the bomb packs they were wearing. 'The buckles contain explosive charges, which are now primed.' He pointed to a piece of portable communications equipment, standing between two Cybermen. Its main feature was a large countdown clock, the last segment of which was colored red. 'Any attempt to remove the harness before the countdown enters the red zone will cause a secondary explosion. It will not detonate the main bombs, which are now shielded, but it will destroy the human carrier and his companions. Do you understand?'

  'Oh I think so,' said the Doctor. 'If we try to take off the bombs before we've put them where you want them, then we get blown to bits?'

  'Correct. You would do well to hold that thought in your mind.'

  'I shall,' promised the Doctor. 'Still, it doesn't really matter to us, does it? When we do place your bombs for you, we'll be blown up in the big explosion anyway.'

  'Incorrect. Your journey will be timed so that you place the bombs in position just as the countdown enters the red zone.'

  The Doctor looked at the clock. 'Ah, I see. At quarter to twelve, so to speak. Then what happens?'

  'You will have most of the red zone period, something in excess of fourteen minutes, to make the return journey to the transmat beam and send yourself back to this Beacon. When you arrive, you will be rewarded and given your freedom.'

  An old twentieth-century slang phrase popped into the Doctor's mind. 'You must be pulling my leg.' But he didn't try it on the Cybermen. Instead he asked, 'How will you know if we're obeying your instructions?'

  'We shall follow your progress by radar. If you deviate from your directed route, we shall send a signal to Voga, and the relay device will explode the bombs.'

  The Doctor looked at the piece of equipment crowned by the big countdown clock. 'I see. So this is the relay device, this thing with the alarm clock on? And it will be coming down to Voga with us?'

  'Correct. Two guards will beam down to Voga with you, taking the relay device. They will wait by the tunnel, next to the transmat station. When you have completed your mission, you will all return to the Beacon, before the final explosion.'

  'But if we stray off our route, you'll see it on your radar, the guards will beam back to the Beacon, leaving the relay, you'll press the button here, and up we go?'

  'Correct. Your only hope of survival is to obey. You will leave now.'

  The Doctor settled his bomb pack more comfortably, for all the world like a hiker about to set off on a day's walk. 'Why not? I think we've covered everything.' The Doctor's mind was racing as he went over and over the plan. If we try to take the packs off too soon, we'll below ourselves up, he thought. If we don't go where they want us to, they'll blow us up. If we do do what they want, we'll blow up an entire planet. The Doctor could see only one possible loophole. He could take the bombs to the detonation zone, take off the packs once the countdown clock was in the final red sector, then use his fifteen minutes not to escape, but to attempt to defuse the three cobalt bombs. It was the slimmest of chances but it was the only one he could see.

  One of the Cybermen bustled the Doctor impatiently toward the transmat booth. The Doctor raised a warning hand. 'Careful, old chap! You never know, I might go off.'

  The Doctor and his guard stepped into the transmat booth and were dematerialized. The two other humans, the other guard and the relay equipment were all dispatched after him. The Cyberleader watched them go with satisfaction. How transparent and emotional these animal organisms were. It had been easy to follow the thoughts in the Doctor's mind. That single loophole had been left deliberately, left to give him a hope of escape, to be sure that he would follow the plan to the last. What the Doctor did not know was that his fifteen minutes' grace after removing the packs did not exist. Once the countdown clock entered the red sector, which should be just as the Doctor and his friends put the bombs in position, the bombs would explode immediately, putting an end to the Doctor, his friends and the Planet Voga. The Doctor would trouble them no more. Neither would the Vogans and their gold.

  The Cyberleader touched a control on the special console in front of him. The countdown had begun.

  On Voga, the Doctor, Stevenson and Lester, and the two Cybermen with the relay equipment, stood by the transmat station. One of the Cybermen pointed. 'That tunnel will lead you to the main shaft, which leads to the explosion area. Here is your chart. Go.'

  The Doctor took the chart and the three set off, weighed down by their bomb packs. On top of the relay device, the countdown clock ticked remorselessly. Beside it the two silver giants waited. Suddenly one of them alerted, pointed down the gallery. The sound of marching feet, coming nearer. The Cybermen concealed themselves in the tunnel mouth.

  A squad of City Militia, on their way to join the siege of the Guild Hall, were amazed to find a piece of obviously alien equipment ticking away in one of their galleries. Breaking ranks they crowded round, examining it. One of them stretched out a hand to touch it. A Cyberman stepped from the tunnel mouth and blasted him down. A second Cyberman joined him, and the Militia broke and fled, making no attempt to return the fire. They ran along the galleries screaming with panic. The ancient nightmares had come to life. Cybermen had returned to Voga.

  Trudging along the tunnel, the Doctor and his companions heard the crackle of Cyberweapons. The looked at each other but said nothing. It was easy enough to imagine what had happened. There was nothing they could do to help, and the ghastly weight of the bomb packs on their backs was a constant reminder of their own peril.

  After a moment, Lester said, 'Doctor, do you reckon they meant that stuff about giving us time to escape?'

  The Doctor sighed. 'I doubt it. Once we get the bombs to the explosion zone, we'll have outlived our usefulness.'

  Stevenson nodded. He too had little faith in the promises of the Cybermen. 'So what do we do, then?'

  'We keep moving,' said the Doctor simply.

  'Why bother?' demanded Lester. 'Why don't we just stay here?'

  'Because they'll blow us up if we do—and that's a moment I'm anxious to postpone as long as possible. While there's life, you know... something will turn up.'

  'It had better,' said Lester grimly. They all trudged on their way.

  In the control room on Nerva Beacon, the Cyberleader tracked their progress on his radar-scanner. A Cyberman approached with a message from the relay guards. 'All initial resistance has been easily crushed.'

  'That is good.' The Cyberleader studied the moving dot on the radar scope that monitored the progress of the Doctor and his two companions. 'The bomb party is now one hundred meters below the surface.'

  Offering the remark as a simple statement of fact, the Cyberman said, 'Kellman has failed to return.'

  'It is of no importance,' replied the Cyberleader. 'His part in the operation is now at an end.'

  Kellman, by now, was standing before Tyrum, flanked by two City Militiamen. They had brought him in just as Tyrum was setting off with Sarah and Harry to see Vorus. Tyrum was subjecting Kellman to a long and patient interrogation, determined to discover exactly what had been happening on Nerva Beacon, and how it would affect the safety of his beloved Voga. Sarah and Har
ry stood by listening impatiently, as Tyrum went over and over the same ground. 'Tell me again,' he persisted, 'what exactly is your connection with Vorus?'

  Kellman was in a difficult position. He did not know or trust Tyrum, knowing only that Vorus considered him an enemy. Under the circumstances, Kellman dared not reveal his knowledge of the Cybermen's plans to send living bombs to the heart of Voga. He feared this would so anger the aliens that they might execute him immediately. His only hope was to persuade Vorus to fire the rocket before the bombs could be detonated. Picking his words carefully, Kellman said, 'Vorus and I were working together. We planned to lure the Cybermen into a trap and destroy them.'

  'How? What trap?'

  'Nerva Beacon itself is the trap. Vorus has a rocket with an armed warhead pointed straight at the Beacon.'

  Sarah looked at Harry. Neither of them was surprised to learn that Kellman had been working with the Cybermen, and also conspiring to betray the Cybermen to the Vogans. And frankly they didn't much care whether Kellman was a double or only a single traitor. But the threat to the Beacon did concern them. As far as they knew (thanks to Kellman's silence about the Cybermen's plan) the Doctor was still on the Beacon.

  Kellman was beginning to panic. 'Look, we're wasting time. While we stand here, the Cybermen are planning to blow up your planet.'

  'How are they planning to do this?' demanded Tyrum.

  Kellman hesitated. Perhaps he'd better tell them about the bombs after all. Perhaps their technology was sufficiently advanced to be able to disarm the cobalt bombs. He was about to speak, when Sheprah rushed into the room. 'Councillor, the Cybermen are already on Voga. They've landed on the first level.'

  'How many? What are they doing?'

  Sheprah was puzzled. 'According to my reports, only two. And they do nothing. They have some apparatus, and they wait, killing all who approach. Our weapons have no effect on them.'

  'What about back in the Cyberwar?' interrupted Harry. 'You had weapons to defeat them then.' He vaguely remembered what the Doctor had told him about the Cyberwar.

  Tyrum turned on him angrily. 'We provided only the gold. The weapons, the technology to use the gold, came from the Earthmen. That is why we were defenseless when the Cybermen attacked us.'

  'You'll never stop the Cybermen,' shouted Kellman. 'Vorus's rocket is your only hope. He can blast that Beacon out of the sky.'

  Tyrum came to a decision. 'Sheprah, keep guard on the Cybermen. If they attempt to move, if more come to join them, attack with every weapon we have. The rest of you, follow me. We're going to speak with Vorus!'

  As Tyrum and his Militiamen bustled them along the mine galleries toward the Guild Hall, one thought filled Kellman's mind. Somewhere, deep below them, three trudging figures were carrying the deadly cobalt bombs to the heart of Voga.

  The Cyberleader had only to press a button, and the whole of Voga would disintegrate into a shower of flaming planetary debris. He wondered how much time they had left....

  9

  Countdown on Voga

  As Tyrum and his party entered the big cave that opened out before the golden doors of the Guild Hall, guards stepped from hiding, covering them with blasters. Tyrum attempted to wave them away. 'Do you not recognize me? I am Tyrum, Chief Councillor of all Voga. Stand aside!'

  The Guard Captain looked dubious, but seemed prepared to listen. Tyrum was just about to demand that a messenger be sent to Vorus when Kellman, the remorselessly ticking countdown clock of the Cybermen filling his mind, ran forward in blind panic, trying to force his way through the guards. 'Get out of the way, you fools,' he screamed. 'We've got to see Vorus, or we'll all be killed.'

  Faced with sudden attack from a screaming alien shrieking threats at them, the guards' reaction was natural enough. One of them shoved Kellman brutally away, another clubbed him down with his blaster. Instinctively, Tyrum's Militiamen came to Kellman's defense, blasters were fired and a general, confused struggle broke out, with both Tyrum and the Guard Captain trying to restrain their men and sort things out.

  Harry grabbed Sarah and pulled her out of harm's way; they crouched out of sight in an alcove of rocks. Sarah peeped out. No one seemed to have noticed them. She turned back to Harry. 'I'm going to try to reach the transmat. Someone's got to get back to the Beacon and warn the Doctor.'

  Harry looked worried, but didn't try to stop her. He knew that Sarah had always refused to accept the role of the helpless heroine, and her mind was obviously made up. He patted her on the shoulder and said, 'All right, old girl, off you go. I'll stay here, there may be something I can do on this end.'

  Sarah slipped away from the fighting, going back the way they had come. Harry turned his attention back to the battle, and was just in time to see Vorus stride out through the golden doors of the Guild Hall and bellow, 'Stop! What is happening here?'

  For all his faults, thought Harry, Vorus certainly had personality. The City Guards stopped firing, and the Militia did the same. Vorus spotted Tyrum and strode toward him. 'You should know better than to use force, Tyrum. Why do you break the truce?'

  'Simply a misunderstanding. Vorus, our planet is being invaded. At such a time Vogans should fight together, not against each other.'

  Kellman, his head bleeding from the blaster blow, staggered toward them, thrusting Tyrum aside. 'The rocket,' he gasped. 'Is it ready to fire?'

  Vorus glanced at Tyrum, then decided there was no more point in deception. 'Almost. The bomb head is now being fitted.'

  Kellman wiped the blood from his eyes. 'Too late! The Cybermen have already landed.'

  Vorus grabbed him and shook him. 'What? If you have betrayed us, human... '

  Kellman wrenched himself free. 'I tried to warn you. Once they were on the Beacon they moved faster than I'd allowed for... there was no way I could stop them.'

  Tyrum pushed his way forward. 'Where is this rocket that you speak of, Vorus? It really exists?'

  'Indeed it does. Come, I will show you.' Vorus was almost glad that his long-cherished master plan was at last out in the open.

  Tyrum paused, looked around, then turned to Harry. 'Where is the human female?'

  'She's gone. She's going to try to get back to the Beacon and warn the Doctor.'

  Kellman looked appalled. 'She mustn't...'

  'Well, if your friend here's going to aim rocket missiles at the Beacon, of course she wants to warn the Doctor and the others. What do you expect?'

  'But the Doctor's here,' shrieked Kellman. 'They're using him and the others to carry the bombs to the heart of the planet. The Cybermen can't do it themselves because of the way gold affects them...' His voice choked off as Harry grabbed him.

  It took Vorus and two of his strongest guards to drag Harry away from Kellman's throat. Harry was shaking with rage. 'You knew about this—and you still helped them?'

  'I didn't know,' said Kellman defensively. 'Not about the plan to use humans, not at first anyway. I knew they wanted humans left alive, but I thought it was for hostages, or for interrogation. At least I came down here to warn you; I could have stayed safe on the Beacon.'

  'And let your precious gold be blown to pieces,' said Harry scornfully. 'Oh no, you couldn't face that.' He pulled himself free of the guards.

  Kellman moved closer to Vorus for protection. 'I didn't know about the bomb plan. I thought they'd mass on the Beacon ready to invade, and you could blow them all up.'

  'And so we shall,' said Vorus confidently. 'The rocket will soon be ready.'

  'Soon?' shouted Kellman. 'You fools, don't you realize what's happened? The girl knows about the rocket. If she starts blabbing to the Cybermen, they won't wait for their zero-hour. They'll explode their bombs now!'

  Luckily for Sarah, the approach tunnel she emerged from took her out quite close to the Cybermen as they stood guarding their relay device. She looked at it curiously, wondering what was the purpose of the ticking clock. The single pointer was now very close to the red sector, though Sarah, of course, was still un
aware of its deadly significance. She was unaware, too, that the Doctor was already on Voga. She was determined to reach the Beacon and warn him.

  The transmat booth was fairly near to the guarding Cybermen, and Sarah wondered how she was going to reach it undetected. Then she heard shooting further down the tunnel. A squad of Sheprah's Militia had managed to work their way along the tunnel toward the Cybermen, and had embarked on a brave but foolhardy attack, quite against Sheprah's orders. Ignoring the blasters, the silver giants strode forward, firing as they came. The tips of their Cyberweapons glowed red, and Vogan after Vogan crumpled and fell.

  Sarah seized her opportunity. She ran to the transmat booth, set the controls and transmitted herself back to the Beacon. By the time the Cybermen resumed position, their attackers driven back or destroyed, the transmat booth was empty.

  As Sarah materialized on the Beacon, the Cyberleader and his second-in-command were intent upon their radar screen, and she was able to slip unseen into hiding, behind a seemingly unused control console in one corner. She heard the Cybermen say, 'Average progression rate is fifty meters per minute.' Sarah wondered what they could be talking about, not realizing that the one doing the progressing was the Doctor.

  The Cyberleader said, 'Excellent. They will reach the detonation area in seventeen minutes.'

  The second Cyberman studied the radar screen more intently. 'Distortion on our radar scope is increasing, because of the heavy gold concentration. The three humans carrying the bombs can no longer be identified by separate signals.'

  'It is not important. The Doctor does not know it. Since he believes he will still have time to escape after reaching the detonation area., he will follow our plan. He does not know that the bombs will explode when the countdown reaches the red sector.'

  By now Sarah realized what was happening. She was trapped on the Beacon. And the Doctor was on Voga, carrying a bomb that was going to explode... in seventeen minutes.