DOCTOR WHO AND THE REVENGE OF THE CYBERMEN Page 8

  In the work area of engineer Magrik, Harry, Tyrum and Kellman stood looking at the embodiment of Vorus's dream. His rocket, the Skystriker, towered above them. It had been built in a shaft that led directly to the planet surface, forming a kind of underground launch pad. Vorus gestured proudly toward the slim, deadly looking rocket. 'Magrik and his team worked on this rocket for two years,' he said bitterly. 'Two years, and now we lose the race by minutes!'

  Kellman grabbed his arm. 'There could still be a chance. If you can fire the rocket before the Cyberbombs are in position...'

  Vorus shook his head disgustedly. 'Magrik reports a delay in fitting the bomb head. It will be another twenty minutes at least. We have gambled and lost, Kellman.'

  Everyone stood looking at the rocket in gloomy, fatalistic silence. Everyone but Harry Sullivan, who had decided that it was time for some positive action. He was bitterly aware of the dilemma that faced him. If the rocket was fired, Sarah would die on the Beacon with the Cybermen. If it wasn't fired, everyone on Voga would die, himself and the Doctor included. Harry worked out the only possible course of action. The Vogans, naturally enough, would refuse to think of anything else while their planet was in danger. First, he had somehow to stop the firing of the Cyberbombs, thus saving himself, the Doctor and the Planet Voga. Then, and only then, could he plead with the Vogans to delay the firing of the rocket long enough to allow Sarah to be rescued.

  Harry started putting his decision into effect. He turned to Kellman, who cowered away nervously, and said, 'Is there any way, any way at all, we can stop those bombs going off?'

  Kellman shook his head. 'They'll be detonated by remote control and... the relay! That's it. If we can destroy the relay...' Excitedly, Kellman explained. The Cybermen's detonation signal from Nerva Beacon could only work if it was boosted by an on-planet relay device. This was the piece of apparatus the Cybermen had brought with them to Voga.

  'That's it,' said Harry decisively. 'Vorus, Tyrum, you must combine your men and make an all-out attack on the Cybermen. There are only two of them, you'll have to overwhelm them by sheer numbers. Tell your troops the survival of the planet depends on it.'

  'We can try,' said Tyrum. 'It is probably hopeless, but we can try.' He sent for Sheprah and gave the necessary orders. Vorus called in his Guard Captain and did the same. When the two soldiers, allies instead of enemies now, had left, Tyrum turned angrily on Vorus. 'You are insane, Vorus, do you realize that? We have both sent our men out to die—and you have brought about the destruction of your race.'

  Vorus was unrepentant. 'I brought them freedom! Freedom to live on the surface, freedom from fear... Freedom to live like Vogans, not like worms cowering in the dirt!'

  Tyrum waved scornfully at Kellman. 'And this great plan was conceived in the company of such as this one. A double agent, a traitor, a murderer of his own kind... a man whose only loyalty was to himself, and to the gold he hoped to win.'

  Vorus hammered his fist on the rocket gantry. 'The plan would have worked. Just a little more time, that's all we needed...'

  Harry decided he'd heard enough speech-making. 'Look, all this recrimination is pretty pointless. There's one more thing we can try. We can get into the main shaft and somehow stop those bombs being planted. That may puzzle the Cybermen, give us a bit more time to take the relay.'

  'And how do we do that?' demanded Kellman scornfully. 'The Cybermen are holding the entrance. If an army of Vogans can't get past them...'

  'Well, isn't there some other way into the shaft? This place is riddled with tunnels. There jolly well should be something we can use.'

  'Only that central shaft penetrates so deep,' explained Kellman wearily. 'The other galleries simply don't connect with it.'

  Tyrum intervened. 'Wait—let me think... the shaft was widened when I was young. There was a cross shaft, a narrow one for ventilation purposes. It might still be passable...'

  Harry made for the door. 'Well, for Pete's sake, let's go and see.'

  Tyrum led them out of Magrik's workshop and through a maze of mine galleries. At last he paused before a dusty, hanging arras and ripped it aside. A dark, narrow opening was revealed.

  'There it is,' said Tyrum delightedly. 'I am no longer young, but my memory does not play me false. I was serving as an Engineering Apprentice in those years and...'

  Harry was in no mood for reminiscences. 'Will we be able to get through it?'

  Tyrum frowned. 'The passage runs for a very long way. It should still be passable, but it has been long disused. The rock is loose... it will be very dangerous.'

  'That's all right,' said Harry. 'It's worth a try.'

  Kellman said scornfully, 'Well, I wish you luck...'

  He turned to move away but Harry grabbed his arm. 'You'll do more than that, Kellman, my friend. You're coming with me.'

  Kellman backed away in panic. 'No... I won't. You're crazy...'

  Harry turned to Tyrum. 'You said yourself that this man is a traitor and a murderer. Thanks to him, your planet and my friends are in danger of being blown up. Isn't it right that he should come with me, try to undo some of the harm he has done?'

  Tyrum nodded gravely. 'It is just.'

  Kellman ran to Vorus. 'Please, don't let them make me. We were allies, partners...'

  Vorus pushed him away. 'The alliance is over. You failed. What do I care what becomes of you?' He turned away.

  Kellman looked around at the circle of grim faces. At a nod from Tyrum, the Militiamen of his escort raised their blasters.

  'Come on,' said Harry, 'what are we waiting for?'

  He shoved Kellman into the dark opening, and crawled in after him.

  10

  Explosion!

  The cross shaft was just wide enough to edge through, just high enough to move along in a semi-crouch. Jagged pieces of rock tore at their clothing, and sometimes chunks of loose rock, disturbed by their passage, crashed to the tunnel floor behind them. The air soon became filled with rock dust and they coughed and choked as they struggled along. From time to time Kellman stopped, pleading that he couldn't go on. Harry ignored the protests, shoving him ahead ruthlessly. If there was danger at the end of the passage, Harry was quite prepared for Kellman to run into it first. He soon lost all track of Time. The passage led on and on, down and down, and the journey seemed endless.

  The Doctor and his two companions had very similar feelings. Their traveling conditions were somewhat better, since the shaft they were following was big enough to walk along in comparative comfort. But there was always the weight of the bomb packs to contend with, loading down their bodies, and filling their minds with the thought of sudden death. They spoke little. Each bomb pack bore a slave clock, which reproduced the movements of the countdown clock on Nerva Beacon. Each one of them could see the clocks on his companions' packs, could see how soon the countdown pointer would enter the red sector.

  'Soon be there, Doctor,' said Lester. There was an appeal in his voice.

  The Doctor gave him a cheery nod. 'Won't be long.'

  'One way or the other,' grunted the Commander. He was the older of the two humans, and he was already showing signs of physical exhaustion.

  The Doctor walked on. Soon he must make a decision. Should he stop now, try to get the packs off, try to defuse the bombs? Should he wait till they were in the detonation zone, where the packs could be taken off safely? Would the Cybermen give them any time? Or would the bombs explode the minute they were in place?

  The Doctor looked at the slave clock on Lester's pack, estimated times and distances, and came to a decision. In fact he did have a plan, but it was so desperate and suicidal that he had left it till the last possible moment in the hope that something safer would occur to him. Nothing had. He stopped walking, and the others stopped too. 'Time to get busy, gentlemen,' he said. 'Now let me tell you my plan...'

  Although they had no way of realizing it, Kellman and Harry were moving in a line that would make their path intersect with that of the Docto
r. They were moving—until they found the end of the tunnel blocked by a rock-fall. Kellman turned in relief. 'It's blocked. We'll have to go back.'

  Harry shook his head. 'Oh no. If it's blocked, we unblock it.' He squeezed to a position by Kellman and started heaving at the rock pile. The rocks shifted—and so did other loose rocks somewhere in the tunnel roof.

  'This is friable rock,' said Kellman. 'It's dangerous. You could easily bring the whole tunnel down.'

  Harry went on heaving. 'One way or another, Kellman, we're probably going to cash in our chips soon. So we might as well die trying. Now get to work.'

  Reluctantly Kellman began shifting rocks. The rock pile was loose, and it was easy enough to move the boulders. In fact the ease with which the rocks moved away was alarming, as they brought others tumbling after them. Harry found a big, central boulder which seemed to be the keystone of the pile. 'Come on,' he grunted, 'If we get this one moved, we're through!' He heaved at the boulder, Kellman unwillingly helping him. The boulder stirred, came loose and shot free. Other rocks tumbled down in a growing cascade.

  'Look out,' Kellman yelled his last words, 'The whole lot's coming down...' They were surrounded by falling rocks.

  The Doctor had just finished explaining his plan to Lester and the Commander when a whole section of shaft wall fell in on them, burying all three in a rumbling cascade which included rocks large and small, dirt, dust and debris, and the bodies of Kellman and Harry Sullivan as they hurtled through the air and dropped down into the main shaft. A glancing rock grazed the Doctor's head and he took a sudden and unexpected nap.

  Coughing and choking, his head ringing and bruises all over him, Harry Sullivan struggled to his feet. He seemed to be surrounded by fallen rocks and fallen bodies. The nearest was Kellman, his neck twisted at a strange angle, obviously broken in the fall. Harry felt no sympathy. As far as he was concerned, Kellman had been luckier than he deserved. But next to Kellman was the body of the Doctor, slumped face down with the bomb pack on his back. Lester and the Commander lay in a heap near by, both similarly loaded.

  The pulse in the Doctor's neck was beating steadily, and Harry decided he'd soon wake up. The first thing was to get this wretched bomb away from him. Be a nice surprise when he woke up. Harry studied the complex arrangement of steel webbing and heavy buckles holding the pack in place. Surely, if he unfastened this main clip here.... Wonder the Doctor hadn't thought of that himself. As Harry reached out to touch the steel buckle a croaking voice behind him called out, 'No! Don't touch that!'

  Harry turned. Lester had struggled to his feet, face blackened with grime. He was waving desperately at Harry. 'Don't touch that...'

  'Just going to get the pack off him,' said Harry, rather hurt at this lack of welcome.

  'Booby trapped,' coughed Lester. 'It'll explode.'

  Hurriedly Harry snatched his fingers away. The Doctor meanwhile was stirring. He struggled over onto his back, and lay looking upwards. 'Harry,' he said gently. 'Well, if it isn't Harry Sullivan.'

  'That's right, Doctor,' said Harry. 'Come to give you a hand.' He looked at the Doctor with concern. There seemed to be something odd about his manner. Maybe that knock on the head, touch of concussion perhaps. Harry gave the Doctor a reassuring smile.

  'Harry,' said the Doctor, 'was it you who brought the wall of the shaft crashing down on us?'

  'Well, I'm afraid it was, Doctor,' admitted Harry. 'You see, I was trying to get to you through the ventilation shaft and...'

  'And were you just about to undo my exploding pack buckle?'

  'Ah—well, you see, Doctor, I didn't know they were explosive.and...'

  The Doctor struggled to a sitting position. He threw back his head and bellowed at the top of his voice, 'Harry Sullivan is an idiot!' The shout echoed around the tunnel. The Doctor got to his feet, slapped Harry on the back and said, 'Nevertheless I'm very glad to see you again.' He looked across to where Lester was helping the Commander to his feet. 'Now then, gentlemen, as I was saying when we were interrupted, it's time to carry out my plan. Commander, are you fit enough to go on?'

  Stevenson stretched and winced. 'I'll manage. Won't be for very much longer anyway—whatever happens.' Stevenson moved on down the shaft.

  To Harry's astonishment the Doctor led the rest of them in the opposite direction. At a sharp trot, he set off back the way they had come. Stevenson continued toward the detonation area alone. The clock on his bomb pack showed nine more minutes to zone red.

  The Cyberleader had not broken his concentration on the radar screen for a solitary second. His second-in-command approached. 'Our surface party reports constant Vogan attacks. The Vogans have been driven off with heavy casualties.'

  The Cyberleader did not look up from the screen. 'Intensify the radar signal amplification.'

  The Cyberman checked controls. 'It is already at maximum, leader.'

  The great silver head, with its blank circles for eyes, swung round angrily. 'The signal is not satisfactory. It is impossible to interpret clearly.'

  'That is due to the high gold concentration of the planet. Gold impairs the functioning of all our technology.'

  The Cyberleader knew this well enough, But his instincts told him that something was wrong. But what? 'The signal appears to indicate movement forward and backward. That is not possible.'

  'Perhaps the humans have divided, leader. Shall we detonate now?'

  The Cyberleader considered. From her hiding place, Sarah watched him, waiting in agony for his answer.

  'What depths have the bomb carriers reached?'

  'Sixteen hundred meters, leader.'

  The Cyberleader came to a decision. 'Then we shall wait. I estimate that they are eight minutes from the detonation zone. One bomb at least will be in place, and that will be enough. In eight minutes the accursed planet of gold will be totally destroyed.' Even in the flat, toneless voice, Sarah could detect his eager anticipation. 'The planet will be annihilated. It will be totally vaporized. Eight more minutes... '

  At a point quite close to the tunnel entrance, but well out of sight of the two Cybermen, the Doctor, Harry and Lester were crouching down. All three were crunching up small rocks, using big ones as hammers, producing an ever-growing pile of rock dust. Or rather gold dust, thought Harry. The concentration of the precious metal in the soft Vogan rock was astonishingly high, and Harry estimated that the rock dust was at least 50 percent pure gold, and maybe more. As they worked, the Doctor suddenly asked, 'Where's Sarah?'

  Harry sighed. 'I'm not too sure, Doctor. She left me to try and get back to the Beacon...'

  'What? Whatever for?'

  'Well, she thought you were still up there. She wanted to warn you about this rocket.'

  The Doctor struggled to remain calm. 'Er—what rocket would that be, Harry?'

  Harry scratched his head. It all seemed very complicated. 'It seems the late Professor Kellman—he bought it back in that rockfall—wasn't really working for the Cybermen. At least he was—but he was planning to double-cross them with these other guys...'

  'The Vogans?' prompted the Doctor.

  'That's right. I'm awfully bad on names. So anyway, he lured the Cybermen onto the Beacon so they'd be a sitting target for this whacking great rocket.' Harry paused for breath. 'The only thing is, the rocket isn't ready yet, so things have gone a bit wrong.'

  'Yes they have, haven't they,' agreed the Doctor. 'Just as well, if Sarah's on the Beacon.'

  Lester glanced at the clock on the Doctor's bomb pack. 'Only another five minutes, Doctor.'

  The Doctor looked at the dust pile. 'How much have we got then? Oh well, it'll have to do. Harry, are you sure you've grasped all the implications of my plan?'

  Harry straightened up. 'Well, it's pretty simple, isn't it? We just creep up on the Cybermen and chuck this gold dust into their chest units. Straightforward enough.'

  Lester shook his head, and the Doctor grinned at Harry affectionately. 'That's the idea, Harry. Well, good luck. Let's get mov
ing.'

  Tyrum and Vorus stood waiting in the workshop. The rocket was still not ready and the nerves of both Vogans were frayed. They were locked in bitter, useless argument. 'I promise you this,' Tyrum was saying, 'if our planet survives your folly, you will stand trial for treason.'

  'I shall stand my trial gladly,' boasted Vorus. 'I shall tell the people my reasons, of my plan to free them...'

  The entry of Sheprah interrupted. him. The soldier's face was grim and despairing. 'We are beaten, Councillor. Our people have withdrawn. So many have died that they refuse to attack the Cybermen again.'

  'Order them back,' stormed Vorus. 'Command them. Unless they succeed we shall all die.'

  Sheprah shook his head. 'It would be useless. They need time to regroup, to recover morale.'

  'There is no time,' shouted Vorus. 'They must attack!'

  Ignoring him, Tyrum put his hand on Sheprah's arm. 'Come, old friend, I will speak to them. I am no longer young... but if I lead the last attack, perhaps they will be shamed into following me.'

  The Doctor, Harry and Lester stood waiting at the head of the shaft. Peering around the corner, the Doctor could just see the two silver giants, guarding their relay apparatus. Their attention seemed concentrated away from the shaft as they looked down the tunnel, alert for further Vogan attacks. The Doctor glanced at the clock on Lester's pack. Only a couple of minutes to go. He tapped Harry and Lester on the shoulder. 'Now!' he whispered. One by one they crept from the tunnel toward the Cybermen. Each had hands full of gold dust.

  For an amazingly long time, their luck held good. The Cybermen were concerned only with danger from the Vogans, and the thought that the humans might come back down the shaft had not occurred to them. The Doctor's party was almost within striking distance, he was poised to spring, when one of the Cybermen turned around. It was Harry Sullivan who saved them. Fresher than the Doctor and Lester, unencumbered by the heavy packs, he sprinted forward like a champion, legs pumping desperately. He moved so fast that before the Cyberman could even raise his weapon, Harry was attacking it. Since Harry was now too close to be shot at, the Cyberman caught him in its crushing steel hug, increasing the pressure remorselessly. For a moment Harry's arms were trapped by his sides, but he managed to wrench one arm free, and obeying the Doctor's instructions, he ground the gold dust mixture into the Cyberman's chest unit. The effect was amazing. The grip on him loosened at once and the Cyberman staggered back. Freeing his other arm, Harry applied the second dose and the Cyberman gave a weird electronic howl. It staggered back, buckled at the knees and collapsed, green fluid oozing from its joints...