by John Peel
‘Or else,’ Sara suggested, ‘they think they are now in no danger and did not bother posting guards.’
The Doctor snorted. ‘Personally, I find both of your explanations completely unconvincing.’
‘Then where’s your answer?’ Steven asked.
‘Somewhere ahead of us,’ the Doctor murmured, leading the way again. He had been here before, when he had played the part of one of the delegates to enable him to steal the Taranium core. In his escape route from the city that time, he had memorized as many corridors as possible. Now he led his companions through the deserted passages, and into a large, two-storey room.
This was the Dalek control room, from which the Black Dalek had overseen all the plans, the construction of the Time Destructor, the pursuit through time and the final betrayal of the Galactic Council of traitors.
It was completely empty of Daleks.
The wall panels still flashed, the screens still showed scenes from the city and the space-port, and the time-machine still stood in the middle of the room. The only thing missing – though the Doctor and his friends could not know this – was the Time Destructor itself.
‘Uncanny,’ the Doctor muttered. ‘Uncanny.’
He wandered over to the door that led to the conference chamber. As ever, the door hissed open. He led Steven and Sara inside. They walked through the gloom to the brightly lit table, showing the Solar System map and the lecterns for the delegates. This room, too, was deserted.
‘I don’t understand it, Steven,’ Sara whispered. ‘I just don’t understand it.’
‘It’s unbelievable,’ Steven agreed.
The Doctor stood at the Dalek Supreme’s position at the head of the table, and rapped it with his walking stick. The noise sounded like a gun-shot in the stillness. ‘Where are they, mmm?’ he demanded. ‘Where have all the Daleks gone?’
Since none of them could answer this, he hurried back out of the room. Feeling useless and somewhat foolish, Steven and Sara followed him. This running around seemed to be getting them absolutely nowhere at all.
In the control room again, the Doctor studied the layout for a moment, and then headed for one of the panels, a purposeful gleam in his eye. He started to adjust the controls that he found there.
‘Can we help?’ Steven asked, with strained politeness.
‘Yes,’ the Doctor replied, absently. ‘You can both do something very important.’
‘What’s that?’ asked Sara.
‘Shut up.’ The Doctor finished fiddling with the controls, then tapped a microphone experimentally. When it hummed, he bent to speak into it. ‘This is the control room. Can anybody hear me?’
Sara, annoyed with the Doctor again, snapped at Steven: ‘Do you have any idea what he’s trying to do?’
Suddenly, it hit the astronaut. ‘The spaceships we saw!’ he exclaimed.
‘What about them?’
‘Well, they belong to the representatives of the Dalek Alliance,’ Steven explained. ‘If the ships are still here, perhaps the delegates are. They may know what happened to the Daleks.’
‘Well done, young man!’ the Doctor said, happily, patting his arm. ‘I knew you’d work it out.’ He turned back to the microphone and added: ‘Eventually...’
Sara looked from one smug face to the other. ‘It’s not that brilliant. They could have left with the Daleks.’
‘No,’ the Doctor replied. ‘They would be of no use to the Daleks during the invasion. They would have been left behind once they had stopped being useful.’
‘Or killed,’ Sara suggested.
‘I don’t think so,’ the Doctor answered.
‘Right!’ Steven said, with sudden insight. ‘The Daleks wouldn’t execute them unless they had absolutely no further use for them. If they might need them in the invasion plans, they’d keep them alive!’
The Doctor patted his arm again, and smiled. ‘I can see that you’re beginning to understand the way that the Daleks think. Good! Good!’
Annoyed by the pair of them congratulating one another on their brilliance, Sara snapped: ‘Well, you could be wrong! There hasn’t been any answer yet.’
‘I’ll try a wider circuit,’ the Doctor decided. He increased the power, and manipulated more of the dials, ‘This is the central control room,’ he began.
From the speaker came the unmistakable tones of Mavic Chen: ‘Who is that?’
‘Where are you from?’ added Celation’s voice.
The Doctor looked smugly at his companions, and then turned his attention back to the microphone. ‘Where are you?’
‘In detention four,’ came back Mavic Chen’s reply. ‘You go through the conference hall to...’
‘We’ll find it,’ the Doctor replied. He switched off the circuits, and looked at Steven and Sara. ‘Well, don’t dawdle!’ He led the way back into the conference room. With a shrug, Steven and Sara followed him.
The five ‘allies’ of the Daleks were now confined to a small cell, where they had spent several hours bickering and calling one another names. Feelings against Mavic Chen ranged from fury to contempt.
Malpha asked: ‘Who was it? Do you know?’
‘Yes,’ Chen replied slowly. ‘The time-traveller who calls himself the Doctor.’
‘The one who stole the Taranium core?’ Malpha asked, in surprise.
‘The same.’
Thinking for a moment, Malpha whirled and pointed at Chen. ‘Already you have betrayed us! This could be another trick! You could have made some private arrangement with this Doctor!’
‘Nonsense,’ Chen replied. ‘He is not the type to make deals.’
‘Then why should he come back?’
Chen shrugged, not really caring why the Doctor did anything. ‘I dare say that when he arrives, he will tell us. The important thing is that once he releases us, we can destroy the Daleks! Between us, we can muster a greater force than they can! We can form our own Galactic Council!’ Already, Chen was planning with his usual gigantic visionary strokes.
This dream was punctured by Celation’s crisp retort: ‘So that you can betray us again and seek to rule once more? I think not!’
Before the discussion could get more heated, a panel in the door hissed open, and the Doctor stood in the doorway, looking at them in grim amusement. ‘Well, well, well!’ he murmured. ‘What an extraordinary sight! The rulers of five mighty galaxies – in one tiny cell!’
‘I wish I could share your amusement, Doctor,’ Mavic Chen said, smoothly. ‘But unfortunately, the joke is very much on us.’
‘Yes, I’m afraid it is,’ the Doctor answered. ‘However, you do have one last chance of saving yourselves.’
‘How?’ asked Malpha, eagerly.
‘It is impossible,’ Celation hissed. ‘The Daleks betrayed us!’
‘As you betrayed your people,’ the Doctor snapped back.
‘You said that there was a chance,’ Malpha reminded him.
‘Yes, I did.’ The Doctor looked them over carefully. ‘The Daleks have left Kembel. From somewhere in the universe they will strike at, and conquer, your galaxies. Galaxies that will not be prepared for war, because of your treacheries!’
Mavic Chen winced. ‘Must you moralize, Doctor?’
‘Yes.’ The Doctor glared hard at him in particular. ‘Especially if it will help you to see reason. The one chance that I spoke of for you is to return to your people and warn them.’
‘They would kill us!’ Celation protested.
‘You deserve no less,’ the Doctor said, coldly. ‘But they will not kill you if you warn them. You could redeem yourselves by inventing some plausible cover story to excuse your knowledge. Then you could get your revenge on the Daleks!’
The five members of the dissociated Alliance looked at one another. Eventually, they nodded their agreement. Malpha crossed to the Doctor.
‘You are right,’ he agreed. ‘We shall do as you suggest.’
Celation moved eagerly to join him. ‘Not only will we defend ou
r galaxies,’ he promised, ‘but we shall warn those of the perished members of the Alliance. And we shall organize an enormous search of all the planets for the Dalek invasion force!’
‘Wherever they are hiding,’ vowed Malpha, ‘we shall find them – and we shall destroy them, as they planned to destroy us!’
Their sincerity was self-evident. The Doctor nodded. ‘Release them, Steven,’ he ordered over his shoulder. Steven hit the control pad by the door, which hissed open.
Celation moved forward, giving a small half-bow. ‘Thank you, Doctor.’
‘We must return to our ships,’ Malpha urged. ‘We cannot afford to waste any of the valuable time that remains us.’ He and his fellow aliens rushed off down the corridor towards the landing field.
As Mavic Chen moved to follow them, Sara brought up her blaster, and pointed it between his eyes. Her own were pools of dark thoughts. ‘The time of retribution,’ she announced, ‘is now !’
As her finger tightened on the trigger, the Doctor’s stick caught her on the arm, deflecting the shot. ‘No!’ he exclaimed, as the ray melted a hole in the door-frame. For a second, the look in Sara’s eyes was that of a savage animal, and she seemed set to leap on the Doctor. Then, with terrible strain on her self-control, she returned to normal. ‘ Why?’ she hissed.
‘Because he is the only one who can unite the Earth right now against the Daleks!’ the Doctor answered. ‘Yes, he deserves to die a hundred times for what he has done – but if he is dead, who can lead the fight? You know that the political chaos that would follow Chen’s death would fragment the leadership of the Solar System. He has to live!’
Sara’s inner struggle was dreadful to watch. Both Steven and the Doctor knew that she wanted to kill Mavic Chen to avenge her brother’s death. But she could see the logic of what the Doctor was saying. Logic and vengeance warred within her for a moment, and finally logic won. With great reluctance, she holstered her weapon.
‘Thank you, Doctor,’ Mavic Chen said, pleasantly.
With a furious face, the Doctor rounded on him. ‘Don’t thank me,’ he snarled. ‘In other circumstances, I might well have pulled the trigger myself.’
‘Then what are you going to do?’
‘I shall continue on my wanderings,’ the Doctor said, simply. ‘My ship is not built to help in this fight. I must leave it to you and the others.’
Chen nodded. ‘We shall not fail you, Doctor.’ He moved off after the other delegates towards the launch field.
With a sigh, the Doctor placed a hand on Sara’s shoulder. ‘And what of you?’ he asked. ‘Will you return to Earth with him – or continue with us on our journeys?’
Sara avoided looking at him. ‘If I return with Mavic Chen, I might not be able to stop myself from killing him tomorrow,’ she said, bitterly. ‘Perhaps the Solar System would be safer if I stayed with you.’
‘Well, not the most positive of acceptances, but no doubt heart-felt,’ the Doctor observed. ‘Come along, both of you – let’s get back to the TARDIS.’
Together, they left the strangely deserted city, and plunged back into the jungle. A short while later, the noise of the first of the ships lifting off reached their ears. They paused to look back. A bright streak lit the sky as Malpha’s ship rose into the air.
‘That’s the first of them, Doctor,’ Steven commented.
‘Yes,’ the old man agreed. ‘And we must wish them well.’
Three further ships – Celation’s, Gearon’s and Sentreal’s – followed the first into the sky. In moments, all of then had vanished. The only powered-up vessel left now was the Spar bearing Mavic Chen back to the Earth. It still lay in the launch cradle, though it was obviously ready for launch.
‘What’s the matter with him?’ Sara muttered. ‘Why doesn’t he take off?’
‘Something’s gone wrong!’ Steven exclaimed, pointing. ‘Look!’
As they watched in helpless shock, they could see a small jet of flame shoot from the afterburners of the Spar. Smoke started to belch from the sleek craft, then, suddenly, the whole ship was an immense fireball, which then collapsed back on to itself. The sound reached them seconds later. The wreckage was showering burning debris all over the space-port. Only the fact that the city was almost entirely constructed from metal prevented all of the buildings from catching fire.
‘He couldn’t have escaped from that,’ said Steven, softly. The Spar was little more than scattered metal fragments and blazing fuel now.
‘So Mavic Chen has finally paid for his crimes,’ the Doctor said. ‘In full.’
‘Good,’ Sara commented. ‘At least the others got away.’
‘Yes,’ nodded the Doctor. ‘And I think we can be fairly certain that they’ll do as they promised.’
‘Then it’s all over,’ Steven observed.
With a grin, Sara added: ‘We warned the Universe and stopped the Daleks!’
‘Feeling pretty pleased with yourself, aren’t you, young lady?’ the Doctor said. ‘Well, I suppose it’s understandable. Perfectly understandable.’
‘Well, we don’t have to stand here and congratulate ourselves,’ Steven muttered. The stench from the burning fuel was almost overpowering. ‘Let’s go back to the TARDIS.’
Relieved now that it all seemed to be over, the Doctor smiled broadly. ‘A splendid suggestion,’ he agreed. ‘Would you care to lead the way?’
‘I would count it an honour,’ Steven laughed, executing a pretty good bow. Talking and joking, the three of them set off through the jungle in high spirits – yet nevertheless keeping a wary eye on the lethal vegetation.
The trek back proved to be much more relaxed, despite their alertness, but after a while, Steven said, doubtfully: ‘You know, I don’t think letting me lead was such a good idea. I think we’re lost.’
‘Nonsense,’ the Doctor snorted. ‘This was the way that we came. I can remember it like the back of my hand.’
Sara wasn’t so sure. She glanced around. ‘It all looks so alike...’
‘And I’m sure it wasn’t this far,’ Steven began, when Sara shushed him, and gestured for them to listen.
They could all hear something moving through the jungle. ‘Quickly!’ the Doctor hissed, leading the way behind one of the relatively safe tree-like growths. This attacked only smaller animals, and it ignored the three of them completely. After a moment, the vegetation parted, and into sight came a Dalek.
It paused for a moment, as if getting its bearings, and then moved off down the path that the travellers had been taking.
The three of them were astounded at the sight, not knowing that this was one of the final patrol members recalled by the orders of the Dalek Supreme. As soon as it was out of earshot, the Doctor whispered: ‘We must follow it! Come on!’
The three of them trailed the Dalek silently through the jungle paths. It seemed to be heading for a small range of hills a couple of miles away. After half an hour or so, the Doctor gestured for Sara and Steven to halt.
The Dalek had vanished.
‘Where’s it gone?’ Sara asked, puzzled.
‘Apparently,’ the Doctor observed, ‘into the ground...’ he pointed.
To the right of the pathway, there was a dark shadow. As they drew level, they could see that it was clearly the mouth of a tunnel, leading into the face of a small, rocky hill. They could see that it was simply dirt for the first twenty feet or so, then they caught the unmistakable glint of metal.
‘Down there,’ Sara breathed.
‘Do you think there are more of them?’ Steven asked, worried. Just when everything had seemed to be settled...
‘ Moreof them?’ the Doctor echoed. ‘My dear boy, I think that’s where all of the Daleks are. The whole of their invasion force.’ He looked at them both in turn for their thoughts.
‘Underground!’ Steven exclaimed. ‘Yes, of course! It’s a pity we didn’t think of it before!’
‘And we’re the only ones who know,’ Sara added, slowly. ‘The Daleks planned thi
s in case the representatives did escape. They realized their one-time allies would warn their own galaxies, and start a hunt for the Daleks. This planet, their supposedly abandoned base, will be the only place no one will look for them...’
The Doctor shook his head in disgust at his own foolishness in not having seen this possibility. He started to turn away, and then froze in shock.
‘What’s the matter, Doctor?’ asked Mavic Chen, smoothly. ‘Surprised to see me?’
Sara and Steven whirled round, and saw the arch-traitor covering them with a small blaster and a large smile. He looked quite healthy, and very smug.
‘You’re dead!’ Sara accused him.
‘No,’ Chen replied, drily. ‘But I’m pleased my little pyrotechnic display impressed you. I have returned, soon to be the master of the Universe!’ He gestured at the tunnel with his gun. ‘Perhaps, Kingdom, you would lead the way?’
‘Down there?’ asked the Doctor, dully.
‘That’s right,’ Chen smiled. ‘Down there. I’m quite certain that the Daleks will be delighted to see you all...’
Chapter 13
Beginning of the End
Faced with no alternative, Sara led the way into the tunnel. She felt foolish and furious with herself, having simply assumed that Mavic Chen was dead, even after all his examples of trickery. Steven seemed bemused, and at a loss, but the Doctor lingered back, walking closest to Chen and attempting to reason with him.
‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’ he asked, trying to get through the Guardian’s massive ego.
‘Quite sure, Doctor,’ Chen said, evenly. ‘Quite sure.’ He smiled at Sara. ‘Well, Kingdom, I thought you’d have something to say to me.’
She glared at him. ‘The only talking I’d do with you would be with that gun you’re holding.’
Chen smirked, as though vastly amused by her hatred. He looked at his gun thoughtfully. ‘Once a special agent, always a special agent, eh?’ he laughed. ‘You know, Doctor, Kingdom here once thanked me for the honour of being asked to kill you...’
‘That was a long time ago!’ Sara spat.
Chen’s grin grew even wider, knowing he’d punctured her pride. ‘Oh, but I remember it very well. I even considered the possibility of letting you join me, you know. Karlton – my right-hand imbecile,’ he added, for the benefit of the Doctor and Steven, ‘thought it would have been nice. He found Kingdom most attractive. I simply liked the way she obeyed orders without question – as Bret Vyon discovered to his cost.’
