Doctor Who: The Mutation of Time

by John Peel

  ‘We must have been knocked out.’

  The Doctor shook his head. ‘Overcome by noxious fumes, I suspect. Luckily for us, the TARDIS refines the air immediately, which must have revived us again.’ Shaking off Steven’s help, he moved to the console. ‘I’ll see how bad the damage is – you look after the young woman.’

  ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ Steven asked, warily. The Doctor had been the closest to the explosion.

  ‘Yes, yes, perfectly. Don’t fuss, dear boy.’ He peered at the console. ‘Dear me, dear me, what a mess.’ He started to unhook the black, melted mess from the panel. As he worked, Sara came up behind him.

  ‘Is it true?’ she demanded.

  ‘Mmm?’ the Doctor mused. ‘Is what true, my dear?’

  ‘ That we can’t go after the Daleks!’ Sara yelled.

  ‘Yes, yes, I’m afraid it is.’ He sighed, heavily. ‘I’m afraid my little scheme wasn’t such a good idea, was it?’

  ‘Then you’ll have to repair the TARDIS’s mechanism, Doctor.’ Sara told him firmly. ‘You’d better begin at once.’

  ‘It isn’t as easy as that, child!’ The Doctor stared at the controls despondently. If he was to be honest, he should tell her that he didn’t even know how to begin a major overhaul of the TARDIS’s systems. There were so many minor broken parts, so much work to do – and very few spares aboard with which to do them. He simply didn’t like to be cluttered up with too many mechanical things. ‘No – we must face the fact that we tried. And we failed.’

  Steven had joined them by now. ‘So we’re back to just wandering aimlessly through space and time like we’ve always done,’ he said, heavily.

  The Doctor ignored this remark, turning back to the panel. He had prised free the noxious mess of the directional unit. Glancing about, he saw nowhere to put it, so he gestured for Steven to hold out his hands. Steven did so, and discovered the sticky circuit dropped into them. With a scowl, Steven went off to find somewhere to get rid of it. The Doctor returned his own attention to the panels, and began using his hankie to polish up the controls again. He hated it when they looked dirty.

  ‘So,’ Steven said, having dumped the circuit in a small waste disposal unit in the dining room. ‘Where are we now, Doctor?’

  ‘Still in ancient Egypt, I suppose,’ Sara answered. ‘If what he said is true.’ She hated the thought that the Daleks had escaped them, and wanted nothing more than to be after them again. She realized, however, that this was obviously impossible now. She felt like a total failure. In the back of her mind, she could see Bret’s dying face again. Was it all for nothing? she wondered.

  ‘Just look at those dials!’ the Doctor exclaimed. ‘Not one of them is giving a correct reading.’

  Steven glanced at them, though they made no sense to him at all. The Doctor had never bothered explaining what any of them were designed to measure. A thought struck him. ‘Turn the scanner on, Doctor,’ he said, eagerly.

  ‘Mmmm?’ The Doctor nodded. ‘Yes – if it’s still working.’ He flicked the correct switch, and the screen lit up as they watched it.

  It showed a jungle with trees reaching for the sky, and brightly coloured blooms scattered about. The three of them were astonished, and watched silently as the camera panned about them in a circle.

  ‘One thing’s for sure,’ Steven commented. ‘It isn’t ancient Egypt. It looks more like Kembel.’

  The Doctor nodded, happily. ‘It is Kembel,’ he exclaimed with relish. ‘The unit must have burnt itself out after effecting dematerialization!’ He abruptly rounded on Sara. ‘Perhaps that will teach you not to say that my scheme was not a good one!’

  ‘I say... ?’ Sara objected. ‘But...’

  ‘ Failedindeed! Huh!’ The Doctor looked quite insulted as he snapped off the viewer and headed for the doors.

  Steven, trying to hide his grin, said: ‘You’ll have to excuse her, Doctor – but she hasn’t known you for very long.’

  The Doctor took up his walking stick from the rack, and fastened on his cloak. ‘Yes, well, she’ll know in future, won’t she, my boy? If I say we’re going to do a thing – then we’ll do it !’ He raised his stick, pointed outside, and marched out.

  Sara was speechless at the injustice of it all. She looked as if she might hit the Doctor, so Steven called out: ‘How far do you think we are from the Dalek City?’

  ‘Just a couple of miles, according to my calculations,’ the Doctor answered, taking his bearings. ‘Yes,’ he decided, pointing the way they were to take, ‘we should be able to make it on foot.’ He spun around, slamming the TARDIS doors behind them.

  ‘What are we going to do when we get there?’ Steven asked.

  ‘Plenty of time to think about that on the journey,’ the Doctor hedged, since his plans hadn’t got that far yet. ‘Plenty of time. Well, come along – the quicker we start, the quicker we’ll be there. Follow me.’ He started off at a jaunty pace.

  Sara was boiling. ‘How can you stand him?’ she snapped at Steven.

  ‘You get used to it,’ he assured her. ‘I did.’

  ‘Before we turned on the scanner, he had about as much idea that we were here as we did!’ she complained. ‘Then, before you can turn around, he’s claiming all the credit and I’m the one who said it couldn’t be done!’

  ‘Very good,’ said Steven, approvingly. ‘You’re getting to know him quite well.’

  ‘Before this is finished,’ Sara vowed, ‘I’m going to...’

  ‘ No you won’t,’ Steven said. ‘Save all of that anger for the Daleks, eh?’

  Abruptly, Sara realized he was right. She shook her head and managed a slight smile. ‘Come on,’ she said, finally. ‘Let’s go after him before he gets lost and blames us for it!’

  The Galactic Council of the allies of the Daleks – or, rather, what was left of it – was not in good shape. Only five of them had survived this far: Gearon, Malpha, Sentreal, Beaus and Celation, and they were not at all happy with the way that they had been treated. The five of them were gathered in the conference room, clustered angrily about the circular table bearing the map of the Solar System.

  ‘There has been so much time wasted!’ Beaus hissed. ‘What has happened to the projected invasion?’

  ‘We cannot begin it without Mavic Chen,’ Celation objected. ‘He alone can supply the Taranium.’

  Malpha shook his head. ‘No! The Daleks have assured me that they will recover the core.’

  ‘Then we do not need Mavic Chen?’ Celation said, the thought appealing. None of them could tolerate his arrogant manner.

  ‘He no longer merits a place on this Galactic Council,’ Beaus hissed.

  ‘Silence!’ The Black Dalek had entered the room unobserved. It now glided forward to the table, its eye-stick carefully examining each of the rebellious members of the Alliance. ‘The final meeting of the Galactic Council is now in session. Mavic Chen, representative of the Solar System, will now address the meeting.’

  There was a mutter of disapproval at this announcement, then Mavic Chen himself strode into the room. He moved directly to the head of the table, and all eyes centred on him. ‘Fellow delegates,’ he said, grandly. ‘Even as we are assembled here, the great war fleet is awaiting its final orders to begin.’

  Surprised by this news, the delegates glanced at one another. Angrily, Celation muttered to Malpha: ‘Since when has Mavic Chen spoken for the Dalek Supreme?’

  Unaware of the hostile feelings towards him, Mavic Chen continued his little pep-talk. ‘Once the ships are all fuelled – a matter of a few hours only – then only the command to proceed will be required!’

  Malpha slammed down his fist in fury. ‘Why is Mavic Chen in possession of information denied to the Council?’ The Black Dalek said nothing.

  ‘Were not the great powers of the outer galaxies to be as one?’ Beaus exclaimed. There was a good deal of support over this point, and Mavic Chen was forced to hold up his hands and demand quiet. Reluctantly, the delegates paid
attention to him.

  ‘We are, of course, all equal partners with our powerful Dalek allies,’ Mavic Chen assured them with a smile – a smile that suddenly vanished. ‘But even some equal partners can prove to be more equal than others.’

  ‘We have all served the common good!’ protested Celation.

  ‘Indeed we have,’ Chen agreed, unctuously. ‘But I, Mavic Chen, Guardian of the Solar System, supplied the vital ingredient, the Taranium core. And I am solely responsible for its safe return!’

  ‘Any one of us would have accompanied the Daleks,’ Beaus objected.

  ‘And succeeded as I did?’ Chen asked, scornfully. ‘ No! My contribution is greater than all of yours!’

  Beaus turned to his four fellow delegates. ‘With this speech, Mavic Chen has violated every agreement between us!’

  ‘Arrest him,’ Malpha insisted, backing up Beaus.

  ‘Such overwhelming ambition must condemn him in the eyes of this conference!’ Beaus cried.

  ‘Yes,’ Celation hissed in agreement. ‘His greed calls for only one reward!’

  ‘Death!’ exclaimed Beaus.

  Chen turned cold eyes on to him, and then something appeared in his hands. The blaster fired once, and Beaus crumpled to the floor, lifeless. The remaining four delegates stared in horror at Chen and the blaster he held.

  Smiling softly, Chen explained: ‘The Black Dalek and I had a small discussion before this conference began.’ The smile vanished. ‘I am now the undisputed leader of this Alliance for the Daleks!’

  The four delegates looked at one another in horror, and then to the Black Dalek, hoping for a denial of Mavic Chen’s claim. He had gone – there were only the five of them left in the room.

  ‘Where is the Dalek Supreme?’ Celation demanded.

  Chen was as surprised as the rest, but found a speedy answer in his mind. ‘It is clear that he knows I can run this meeting without his help.’ Placing the blaster down in front of him, he continued: ‘Now we come to the main point of this meeting – the apportioning of the Universe after its conquest. All of you will be responsible for the overseeing of your own galaxies. You will be answerable to the Dalek Supreme.’ He smiled. ‘And to me!’

  Malpha had had quite enough of this. ‘We shall see whether or not your rantings have any meaning,’ he snarled, and marched to the door. The others followed him, all save Mavic Chen. He remained at the table, a superior smile on his lips. Malpha attempted to trigger the door’s opening by touching the sensor pad, but nothing happened. ‘It is locked!’ he exclaimed, shocked.

  At the table, Mavic Chen reacted with disbelief, then fury. He picked up his gun and strode to the door. ‘Nonsense,’ he declared firmly. He tried his own hand on the pad, assuming that only the other delegates had been excluded from leaving. The door remained closed.

  Celation hissed into his ear: ‘So you – the great Mavic Chen – made an agreement with the Dalek Supreme!’

  ‘You fool!’ Malpha added, bitterly. ‘The Daleks used you to double-cross us and keep us occupied. And you, the great Guardian of the Solar System, gullibly believed everything that they told you!’

  Though all four delegates were worried, they could at least gloat at Mavic Chen’s expense. As for the would-be conqueror of the Universe, he could do little but hammer on the one small door that kept him from his destiny and beg, whimper and threaten to try to get out. All about him, the delegates laughed and jeered at his utter stupidity at being taken in so thoroughly.

  The Doctor led the way through the jungle, occasionally slashing at some growth with his stick. The Daleks had burned down a section of the trees in an attempt to flush out the Doctor when he and Steven had been here before. The jungle was so prolific, however, that they might even be in that portion again, which had by now regrown. This was Sara’s first experience of this nightmare place, and Steven was being careful to alert her to the dangers. He pointed out the gorgeous, orchid-like blooms that spat fire, and the lovely bell-shaped flowers that could snap over her head and constrict to throttle her. He didn’t tell her that his source of information was her dead brother, Bret Vyon. She had enough to think about without being reminded of the brother she had killed.

  ‘Come along, come along,’ the Doctor fussed. ‘We must make good time.’

  ‘This jungle is hardly the place I’d choose for a quiet stroll,’ Sara remarked, bypassing a small patch of lethal moss. It seethed in the acid that it produced to digest its victims.

  ‘Just be especially careful of the Varga plants,’ Steven warned. Of all the plants in the jungle, they were the worst – huge, hairy, white cactus plants. They could move, slowly, and their spines were tipped with a viral poison – once inside a victim, it would attack their cells and re-form them gradually as another Varga plant. Rational thought would be excluded, and the new Varga plant would have no memory of being human. It would feel only the urge to kill and feed...

  ‘Varga plants?’ Sara frowned. ‘I’ve not seen any of them.’

  ‘Now that you mention it,’ Steven said, thoughtfully, ‘neither have I. Yet I thought the Daleks had planted them as guards all over Kembel.’ He turned to the Doctor for advice.

  ‘Whether the Daleks destroyed them or simply let them die out,’ the Doctor told him, ‘it can mean only one thing: they no longer need guards. Their invasion plans must be almost ready!’

  Sara had another thought. ‘Are you sure we’re on Kembel?’

  ‘Certain,’ Steven told her. ‘I can recognize all the rest of these lovely specimens. It must be as the Doctor says – the Daleks don’t need the Vargas any more. They are ready to strike.’

  The Black Dalek glided into the invasion control room. This was not the centre in the Dalek city, but another, larger one – one that the delegates had never seen, nor suspected. Activity here was more determined, and there were larger numbers of Daleks in it. There were many, many more Daleks in this base than the foolish ‘allies’ had ever suspected.

  The chief scientist glanced across at the Dalek Supreme. ‘Final preparations have been completed,’ it reported.

  ‘Order the withdrawal of all patrols to invasion positions,’ the Black Dalek answered.

  ‘I obey.’ The Dalek moved to the communications section, to begin issuing the necessary instructions.

  The Black Dalek felt an overwhelming satisfaction as the final moments approached. ‘The outer worlds will soon be conquered!’ it exclaimed. ‘The Universe will soon be under Dalek domination!’

  Another of the technicians moved across to report. ‘The Galactic representatives have been detained as you instructed.’

  ‘They will be exterminated as the invasion begins.’ The Black Dalek moved to the main panel. In the centre was a huge status screen, filled with green lights. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

  Turning to the assembled Dalek hordes, the Black Dalek commanded: ‘Commence invasion count-down!’

  Chapter 12

  The Secret Of Kembel

  The Doctor halted, and gestured through the final fringe of vegetation. ‘The launching pad!’ he exclaimed. ‘And the spaceships of the traitors who sit on the Dalek Alliance!’

  Moving up to join him, Sara and Steven could see stretched out in front of them the space-port connected to the buildings of the Dalek city. In their launch cradles sat eight ships, all of differing designs – each belonging to one member of the alien allies of the Daleks. One of the craft was another of the Spar class – Mavic Chen’s replacement for the vessel stolen by the Doctor and crashed on the Earth.

  The Dalek city was small, merely a dozen metallic buildings. The jungle about the city was cleared in a swath, but sufficiently overgrown to allow them to sneak in without being seen through the space-port.

  ‘So what do we do now?’ Steven asked.

  ‘We enter their stronghold,’ the Doctor replied, simply.

  ‘I never doubted that,’ Steven answered. ‘But to do what?’

  Sara slipped her gun
from its holster. ‘To fight!’

  Steven looked at her in disgust, then swept his arm over the space-port. ‘In front of us is the greatest war force ever assembled in the Universe! And here – the three of us! We’ll need more than a few good intentions to defeat that lot!’

  ‘We can sabotage,’ Sara objected. ‘Delay...’

  And get ourselves killed,’ Steven pointed out, realistically. ‘Look, I know we’ve got to do something , I’m not arguing about that. I just think we ought to have – well, a plan. Something that will at least give us a chance.’

  The Doctor chuckled. ‘Oh, but we have that, my boy – we have that!’

  Steven looked all about them, in mock amazement. ‘What?’

  ‘Me!’ The Doctor smiled, and tapped his own chest. Then he turned his gaze back towards the buildings below them. ‘Shall we proceed? After all, we have to find some way of getting into the city.’ He started off, with Sara following him.

  Steven was appalled, but he had no option. He tagged along behind, grimly wishing for a small army, a tank, or anything that would make him feel less vulnerable. Was he the only one with the sense to be terrified by this?

  There was no sign of any activity at all. They slid through the shadows into the space-port. The ships all lay in their cradles, ready for take-off. But no ground-crew was working on them, no Daleks glided across the open spaces. In the windows of the buildings beyond, there wasn’t even the slightest suggestion of movement. It was as silent and still as the grave. If the Daleks were getting ready to invade the Galaxy, there was absolutely no sign of it.

  In silence, they entered the closest building. The machinery was all operational, and the doors hissed open as they approached. Aside from this, though, there was no sign of life.

  ‘Completely silent,’ Sara said, quietly.

  ‘Yes,’ replied the Doctor, in worried tones. ‘We should have been challenged by now.’

  ‘We haven’t come very far yet,’ Steven offered.

  ‘What’s that got to do with it?’ the Doctor snapped.

  ‘Perhaps they’re all too busy elsewhere getting ready for the invasion.’