'It's done,' whispered Stewart triumphantly. 'Peter Hamilton will take command. That is an order... an order...' Stewart's head fell back. A spasm of coughing shook the wounded body, and then he lay still.
Dan Galloway stared down at his Commander's body. They had never got on—not that Galloway got on with anyone very much. They had clashed over Galloway's ruthless methods on previous expeditions, and Galloway suspected that the Commander had blocked his overdue promotion.
Dan Galloway was essentially a simple man. He had lost all his family in one of the early Dalek wars, grown up as a ragged poverty-stricken refugee, joined the Marine Space Corps at the first opportunity, and clawed his way up from the ranks. Morals and ideals were the kind of luxuries he had never been able to afford. He had only one standard of behaviour—whatever helped Dan Galloway to succeed was justified. Even if it meant co-operation with the Daleks...
He wondered if Commander Stewart had been right about his motives. The man who brought this expedition to a successful conclusion would be a hero on a hundred planets, rich and famous for the rest of his life.
Why shouldn't he be that man? In any case motives were unimportant. Results were what counted. This expedition had to succeed. But not with Peter Hamilton in command. He was too soft—like Railton and Stewart before him.
The sound of chanting came from the cavern outside. The sacrifice was under way. Once the girl and the Doctor were dead, he would find some way of outwitting both Daleks and Exxilons, and getting the Parrinium away from the planet.
Galloway pulled the space-blanket over the dead man's face. 'I'm sorry, Commander,' he said quietly. 'I didn't quite catch what you said.'
He turned and went out of the cage.
7
Escape to the Unknown
Sarah felt trapped in a recurring nightmare. Once again she stood before the altar, surrounded by black-robed figures. Once again the air was filled with low, chanting voices and the sweet sickly reek of the narcotic incense. The only difference, though it was a considerable one, was the fact that now the Doctor was at her side.
They had reached the point at which the Doctor had interrupted the earlier ceremony. Sarah glanced up at him and gave a slight jerk of her head. Should they make a run for it? The Doctor shook his head, and Sarah. saw his lips form the words, 'Not yet.' No doubt the Doctor had some brilliant plan...
In fact the Doctor had no plan at all, though he was desperately trying to think of one. His only thought was that it would be better to let the ceremony get well under way before making any move. He was confident that he could resist the drugged incense smoke, and there was a chance that the Exxilons, half hypnotised by their own ritual, might react too slowly to prevent their getaway. What he desperately needed now was a diversion.
Jill Tarrant and Peter Hamilton watched in unbelieving horror. Hamilton was in an agony of indecision. He felt he couldn't stand by and see two people sacrificed—yet there was nothing he could do to help. He glanced at Dan Galloway who stood watching the ceremony, his heavy features impassive. Behind him were the three Daleks.
In the corner of his eye Hamilton saw movement at the cave mouth, and turned to look behind him. To his astonishment three more Daleks were standing there. There was something different about them, about their weapons... Some instinct made him yell, 'Look out!' and shove Jill and Galloway to one side.
The cavern echoed with the roar of the Dalek machine-guns. The three Daleks fired ruthlessly into the packed crowd and all around Exxilons were smashed to the ground by the impact of the heavy bullets. They milled round frantically in a useless attempt to escape, and the Daleks mowed them down in rows. The air was filled with the harsh chatter of the guns and the screams of the dying.
Even though the Doctor and Sarah were some way from the re-armed Daleks, bullets were whistling around them. The Exxilon priest at Sarah's side staggered and fell, blood spreading over the front of his ceremonial robes. The Doctor grabbed Sarah's hand and dragged her behind the altar. He looked round for a way of escape. There was only one.
Holding Sarah by the hand he pulled her across the cavern, past the bodies of dead and wounded Exxilons, and into the mouth of the tunnel.
They ran on into the darkness until the sounds of slaughter faded away behind them. Sarah stumbled, and fell, feeling suddenly exhausted. She lay gasping for a moment, and the Doctor helped her to sit up. 'Just rest for a moment. The Daleks don't seem to be following us, and the Exxilons have got other things to worry about.'
'Those Dalek things,' gasped Sarah. 'Where did they come from? They're not locals, are they?'
'No, indeed. The Daleks originated on the planet Skaro. They're probably the most technically advanced and utterly ruthless life-form in the galaxy—a fact you've just seen demonstrated. The Daleks are old enemies of mine.'
'If they're robots, why isn't their power affected? How come they can still move?'
'Probably because they're not really robots at all. Inside each of those metal shells is a living, bubbling lump of hate!' The Doctor helped Sarah to her feet. 'Come on, we'd better be on our way.'
They moved off down the tunnel.
Those Exxilons who were still left alive clustered together in a terrified group, covered by two of the newly armed Daleks. The other Dalek reported to the leader. 'All resistance has ceased.'
'I will speak to the high priest. Bring him to me.' As the Dalek moved away, Galloway came forward. 'What are you going to talk to him about?'
'We still require the co-operation of the Exxilons. Now they will co-operate on our terms.'
'What will you do if they don't agree?'
'We shall select groups of hostages for extermination until they obey.'
Galloway nodded, quite unmoved. 'That should bring them round to our way of thinking. The first thing to do is make them supply working parties to mine the Parrinium. Then we must start tackling that power block—'
'Silence. Your advice is not required.'
'Now wait a minute,' began Galloway angrily. 'We agreed to work together...'
'The Daleks are in command. You will obey.'
Galloway took an angry step forward and one of the Daleks guarding the Exxilons swung its machine-gun to cover him. He bowed his head. 'All right, all right. Whatever you say...'
The tunnel wound on and on and Sarah began to wonder if it went clear to the centre of the planet. Luckily they weren't in complete darkness. Here and there glowing crystals set into the rocky walls gave a kind of subdued glow. As they trudged along Sarah looked up at the Doctor, who seemed lost in thought.
'Doctor?'
'What is it?'
'You remember all that mumbo jumbo back there—it was a sacrificial ceremony of some hind, wasn't it?'
'That seemed to be the general idea.'
'Well, as far as I can remember, the high point of the ceremony was going to be when I was sent off down this tunnel.'
'That's right.'
'Well, how were they sacrificing me by just dumping me down here?'
'Ah! I was afraid you'd think of that sooner or later.'
'Well?'
'Well, what?' said the Doctor evasively.
'You do have an idea—about what they were up to?'
'Yes, but it isn't one of my favourites. In fact I don't much care for it at all.'
'Come on, Doctor. You might as well share it.'
'If you insist. I think the Exxilons expected the sacrifice to be completed for them—by something that lives in the tunnel.'
'Sort of like throwing us to the sacred crocodiles?'
'That's right. I could be wrong of course...'
An ear-splitting howl echoed down the tunnel from somewhere ahead of them.
Sarah shivered. 'Doctor—next time you get an idea—just keep it to yourself, will you?'
Ignored and apparently forgotten, Jill Tarrant and Peter Hamilton waited in a quiet corner of the cavern, wondering what was going on. Leaving the three armed Daleks in charge, th
e three rescued Daleks had left, presumably to go back to their ship. Shortly afterwards they had returned, and now they too were fitted with machine-guns.
The Dalek leader was dictating his terms to the high priest. Dan Galloway hovered on the fringe of the group, not daring to speak, but desperate to keep some vestige of his status as a Dalek ally.
The Daleks and Exxilons moved away, and Galloway came over to rejoin the others.
Jill looked at him. 'Well? What are your new friends up to now?'
'Oh, it's all agreed. We've finalised a deal with the Exxilons.'
Hamilton laughed scornfully. 'We?'
Galloway's face darkened with anger. 'The Exxilons will provide a work force to help mine the Parrinium. We'll be in charge of that, together with some of the Daleks.'
'What about the rest of them?'
'They're sending a patrol to the City to investigate the cause of the power block.'
'And what are the Exxilons getting out of this deal?'
'Oh, nothing much.'
'Tell us,' insisted Jill.
'Well, it appears the Exxilons have some kind of enemy—a sort of breakaway group of their own people. We've agreed to help the Exxilons wipe them out.'
'You've agreed to what?'
'In return the Exxilons guarantee us all the Parrinium we need. We'll save the lives of millions...'
'Arid how many will you murder to do it?' asked Jill furiously. 'You can't accept terms like that!'
'They're only Exxilons, primitives,' said Galloway calmly. 'They don't count.' He hesitated. 'There's one more thing...'
'All right,' said Hamilton grimly. 'Tell us the rest of it. What else have you agreed?'
Galloway looked shamefaced. 'This is the bit you won't like. That fellow they call the Doctor... The Exxilons want him punished, and so do the Daleks. He's to be found and brought back—dead or alive.'
Hamilton said wearily, 'You're totally ruthless, aren't you, Galloway? So now the Daleks are hunting the Doctor too?'
Galloway nodded. 'A couple of them have gone down the tunnel after him—just in case whatever lives down there doesn't get him first.'
The Doctor and Sarah moved cautiously onwards. The Doctor noticed an increasing number of fissures appearing the rock walls, but they all seemed too narrow to offer any chance of escape. Another of the mysterious howls echoed down the tunnel. Sarah looked uneasily at the Doctor. 'That sounded awfully close.'
'Oh, just some sort of subterranean wind effect, I imagine.'
'Who are you trying to kid?'
'Myself, chiefly!' admitted the Doctor.
There was another roar, louder this time.
Further back down the tunnel, the pursuing Daleks heard the sound. They paused for a moment, then glided swiftly onwards.
The Doctor and Sarah came to another, deeper fissure in the rock wall on their left. The Doctor glanced cautiously at it as they went past. It was impossible to tell how deep it was, but the Doctor thought it was probably too narrow to conceal any life form. They hurried on their way.
The Doctor was wrong. As soon as he had moved past, a hand and a long thin arm appeared out of the crack. The hand was totally white, like that of some creature that never sees the light. The rest of the creature's body was grey and it oozed out of the crack like toothpaste from a tube. It padded softly down the tunnel after the Doctor and Sarah.
The tunnel began to widen, and rounding a bend they suddenly found themselves at a junction point. Here the tunnel suddenly divided itself in three. They could carry on straight ahead, they could follow the tunnel on the left, or they could turn down the equally large tunnel on the right.
It was like some old fable, thought Sarah. Three choices to make. Suppose only one of the tunnels led to safety, and the other two meant death? How were they going to choose? With three choices you couldn't even spin a coin.
The weird howling filled the air again. By some freak of the tunnel's acoustics it seemed to come from all around them. It was impossible to tell from which of the three tunnels it was coming.
'I can hear your wind effect gnashing its teeth, Doctor,' said Sarah nervously.
'Pure imagination—I hope!' The Doctor listened keenly as the uncanny sound came again. 'There's something funny about that noise. It sounds mechanical, or electronic. Not like an animal sound at all.'
'That's a great consolation. Well, which way do we go?'
The Doctor indicated the left hand tunnel. 'I think I'll make a little reconnaissance down this one.'
'Right!' Sarah moved forward.
'Alone, Sarah.'
'Alone?'
'I don't want anything coming down that tunnel behind me to cut off my retreat. With you on watch here, you can give me a warning.'
'And who's going to warn me?' asked Sarah indignantly.
The Doctor grinned. 'Oh, you're in a good safe position. After all, you've got three different ways to run!' He paused at the left-hand opening. 'I'll try it for about half a mile. If things look promising, I'll come back to fetch you.'
'And if they don't?'
'I'll come back even quicker, and we'll try another tunnel.' With a nod of farewell, the Doctor disappeared, and Sarah was left alone.
Or was she? She seemed to hear the faintest of sounds—a soft, almost inaudible padding. Sarah whirled round and listened. For a moment there was only silence, then she heard the sound again. Something was creeping along the main tunnel towards her.
She peered into the semi-darkness, but there was nothing to be seen. 'Anybody there?' she called. There was no reply.
Suddenly the weird howling sound rang out again. Caught between two terrors, Sarah turned. Had the Doctor chosen the wrong tunnel and run straight into the monster? The howl died away. The silence returned and Sarah heard that faint padding sound again. She looked over her shoulder—and jumped with horror. A ghostly grey figure was standing in the tunnel behind her.
The Doctor had just reached a sharp turning in the tunnel, when the howl came again, louder this time. Whatever was making it was very close. Clearly he'd chosen the wrong tunnel after all. The Doctor knew he ought to turn back for Sarah, but curiosity drove him on. At least he could get a look at the thing before he retreated. He rounded the bend—and found himself facing an enormous silvery snake. It was rearing up so that its blunt head hung in mid-air high above him. Its one eye glowing a fiery red, the giant creature loomed over him. The great, flat head weaved to and fro as if searching for prey.
8
Bellal
The Doctor hacked slowly away.
The silver snake reared higher, weaving its head to and fro as if searching for him. It gave a weird electronic howl. The blunt head stabbed suddenly towards him, and now the Doctor saw that it wasn't a living creature at all. It was made of flexible metallic tubing, and the red eye was a monitor lens. The length of the thing was enormous. It stretched back and back, until it disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.
Not a snake then, decided the Doctor, but part of a mechanised root system—a kind of extendable probe, presumably sent out by the City. In that case why the howl? To scare off intruders? Or perhaps the noise acted as a kind of sonar, detecting the presence of intruders by bouncing off sound waves... The Doctor received sudden, unwelcome confirmation of his theory. The probe howled again, then, as if the sound had given it a fix, it slithered suddenly towards him.
The Doctor backed away, and tripped over a loose chunk of rock. The fall saved his life. The probe lunged with the speed of a striking cobra, and a bolt of energy sizzled over the Doctor's head, blasting a chunk out of the tunnel wall. The Doctor rolled over, sprang to his feet, and ran. The probe undulated after him, making a hungry, moaning sound.
The Doctor shot back round the bend, spotted another rock-fissure on his right and squeezed himself into it. He wriggled back and back into the darkness until the fissure became too narrow for him to go further. He saw the gleaming metal probe shoot past the fissure. It howled again, th
en stopped and hovered, realising that somehow it had lost its prey. Red eye glowing in the darkness, the blunt head hovered in mid-air, hunting for the Doctor...
Sarah gazed at the ghastly apparition in horror. It took a pace forward, and Sarah backed hurriedly away. 'Keep back! Keep away from me...'
The apparition spoke. 'Please... do not be afraid.' Its voice was low and gentle, almost child-like.
As she began to recover from the shock of its sudden appearance, Sarah realised the creature wasn't so very terrifying after all. To begin with it was very small, not much bigger than a child. It wore a tattered greenish garment that covered arms and legs and body so closely that at first sight it looked like the creature's skin. The head was small and round, completely hairless, with small ears and enormous staring eyes. The face was a dull, fish-belly white, and seemed to be faintly luminous. With a sudden lizard-like movement, the creature scuttled closer. 'I mean you no harm. I will help you if I can.'
'Who are you?' whispered Sarah.
'I am called Bellal. I am an Exxilon, a native of this planet. But my people do not share the belief's of those others, the ones who tried to sacrifice you. They consider us their enemies.'
Sarah thought it was bad enough being on this planet, without having to listen to a lecture on its politics. But there was something curiously appealing about the white-faced little creature, and it seemed anxious to enlighten her. 'And are you?' she asked. 'Are you their enemies?'
Rellal shook his head. 'We seek only to save the entire Exxilon race from destruction. But we do not share their beliefs, or worship the City as they do, and for that we are persecuted and driven to live in secret, deep beneath the planet. We are the Subterranean Exxilons.'
'How many of you are there?'
'We are very few—few, against so many enemies. Please, I will answer all your questions, but it is too dangerous here. Let me take you to a place of safety.'
DOCTOR WHO - DEATH TO THE DALEKS Page 5
