Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen (13 page)

Gavrok stopped and sniffed the air like some kind of jungle animal. He could sense danger but couldn’t see where it was coming from. Directly in his path was the TARDIS. Gavrok unclipped a fragmentation grenade from his belt and pulled the pin with his teeth, his red eyes scanning the horizon like lazer beams.

Up on the roof Billy was squirming with tension. ‘Now?’

‘A moment’s impatience would mean our certain annihilation,’ snapped the Doctor. The strain was beginning to show. The Doctor knew that they would only have one chance against Gavrok, and if that chance were squandered then the ferocious Bannermen would triumph, with disastrous results for all.

Gavrok’s regular scanning motion picked something up.

‘Snipers come forwards,’ he hissed. Two Bannermen armed with long slim silver assassin weapons, complete with high powered magnascopes, came abreast of their leader.

However, Gavrok wanted to choose his moment – nearly as exquisite as the pleasure of victory was the look in the victim’s eyes when they knew for certain they had been defeated. And in this case Gavrok was adamant that they would all be made to pay for the bee attack. Yes, he would choose his moment with care.

Gavrok unhooked the spiral horn from his belt...

Up on the roof Billy could barely contain his nerves.

‘I think they’ve spotted us, Billy,’ said the Doctor. ‘Stand by...’ The Doctor pulled a lump of beeswax from his pocket and gave half of it to Billy who quickly stuffed it into his ears. Mel and the others were standing on a table, peering through an airbrick at the Bannermen massing outside.

Gavrok was within spitting distance of the TARDIS

when he noticed the circle drawn in the dirt around the base of the craft. He stopped and raised the horn to his lips.

A low mournful bellow rang out through the camp, sending icy shivers amongst his intended victims.

The snipers came alongside and raised their weapons, taking careful aim at the Doctor and Billy perched on the rooftop.

‘NOW!’ cried the Doctor. Billy frantically tugged on the wire which led from his speaker box. Inside the office Delta felt the signal and propelled her daughter towards the microphone. She opened her mouth and started

‘singing’ at full volume into the microphone.

The Chimeron warcry echoed across the valley, amplified a thousand times by the PA system and thrown out at a huge wattage from Billy’s roof-mounted speaker box.

It was as if the Bannermen had walked into a concrete wall. They stopped dead, hands clamped over their ears.

Their weapons fell to the ground with a clatter as they dropped to their knees. The ‘singing’ hit the precise frequency which was necessary to immobilize them. As the keening sound reverberated around the valley the Bannermen looked a spent force.

All except for Gavrok who tossed his head like a wounded bull and refused to go down. He let out a bellow of rage and pain as he staggered around, his hands locked over his ears, trying to keep the immobilizing noise out of his head. But Billy’s system was standing up well and throwing out a high number of decibels. Gavrok’s eyes were screwed up in pain as he tottered from side to side, each step carrying him closer and closer to the ring circumscribing the TARDIS. His feet shuffled nearer to the circle until the young girl’s voice rose in a final crescendo which sent Gavrok spinning straight into the beam of the sonic cone.

BOOM!

Gavrok pulsed with purple light for an instant before being reduced to his component molecules by the powerful weapon of his own devising. His men, lying weakly in the dust nearby, could only watch horrified as their beloved leader vanished in a puff.

The Doctor was running from the camp, followed by Billy brandishing his sword. Weismuller and Ray trailed along behind carrying a sports bag crammed with skipping ropes. The Bannermen were still in a groggy state.

The Doctor opened the sports bag and took out several skipping ropes. ‘Secure them with these,’ he said, handing them to Weismuller.

‘Be my pleasure, Doctor. When I was an eagle scout knots were my favourite thing.’ Weismuller began to truss up the Bannermen, pulling the knots as tightly as he could.

It was his revenge for that awful contraption he and Hawk were forced to wear. Maybe he had been a little hard on Hawk. After all, there was the possibility that his head wound was more severe than he had originally thought. As soon as he had finished his task he would check Hawk out.

As he worked he gave the Bannermen a running commentary: ‘This is my speciality. A running noose combined with a dog shank.’

Finally, the Doctor signalled to Delta and the ‘singing’

stopped, much to everyone’s relief. The Bannermen were lying tightly trussed on the ground. The Doctor checked that no damage had occurred to the TARDIS and then turned, walking back towards the camp.

Delta was hugging her daughter. Burton was unplugging the PA when the Doctor appeared in the window. ‘It’s all over,’ he said with relief. The others stared blankly at him.

‘I said it’s safe to come out now!’ said the Doctor a bit louder, thinking that the ‘singing’ may have left them temporarily deaf.

Just then the door burst open and Billy entered, beaming triumphantly. He carefully unbuckled the ceremonial sword and returned it to Burton. ‘We did it!’ he cried. The others in the office stared blankly at him. Billy pointed at his ears and suddenly they smiled, removing the beeswax plugs from their ears. The Doctor leaned in through the window, grinning. ‘Let’s go and run a flight check on your new ship, Delta,’ he said.

‘You all go ahead,’ said Billy. ‘I have to go and pack...’ A frown crossed the Doctor’s face.

‘I’il catch up with you later. I must have a word with Billy,’ said the Doctor, disappearing from sight. He managed to intercept Billy en route to his cabin.

The Bannermen were all tied in a neat bundle outside the TARDIS. Weismuller was walking along the line of captives, shaking his head. ‘You’re as sorry a bunch of Bannermen as I’ve ever seen!’ he said smugly.

Just then Hawk wandered up, looking puzzled.

Weismuller saw him and called him over saying, ‘Hawk, come here partner. You wanted to get even and now we are.

About as even as we can get, I reckon. They don’t look much do they, all trussed up like Thanksgiving turkeys,’

he said, trying to coax a reaction from his partner.

Delta and her daughter emerged hand-in-hand from the camp. She stopped beside the TARDIS and addressed everyone present. ‘Thank you for your help and courage.

All of you,’ she said.

‘Are Billy and the Doctor all right?’ asked Ray.

‘Yes,’ said Delta, ‘Billy’s just changing...’

Ray bit her lip and looked sad. Mel put a comforting arm about her. Ray knew that she was about to lose Billy for ever. All her hopes and plans would come to nothing.

She also knew that Billy had no choice but to follow the dictates of his heart, and being a basically decent person, Ray bore neither him nor Delta any ill will. She had to be practical. She would just have to organize her life differently, that’s all. The hardest thing of all to bear was the probability that she would never again be able to see Billy.

She didn’t know where Chumeria was, but she was wise enough to know that it was too far to travel for a weekend.

She was happy to have made such good friends with Mel and the Doctor and thought that they were very special people. Although it wouldn’t be long before they too were taking off in their funny little spaceship, to strange planets she had never even heard of. Ray sniffed a couple of times and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Ah well, Wales wasn’t that bad...

Billy was indeed changing. His eyes and hair had become recognizably Chimeron. The Doctor stole a sideways glance at him as they entered his cabin. The room was identical to the others, except that it had been decorated by the addition of posters of large motorbikes.

They covered every door and all available wall space.

Billy’s portable record player had ‘Gamblin’ Man’ on the turntable. His suitcase was open on the bed as he packed his few remaining possessions.

The Doctor was pacing restlessly. Finally, he stopped and faced Billy. ‘It’s true that they need a male or the race will die out. But I haven’t seen many examples of species-crossing. There could be the most dreadful mutation.’

Billy opened another tube of the high-protein food and squeezed it into his mouth. ‘But it’s our only chance, Doctor,’ he mumbled through the gooey slime.

‘That’s exactly why it shouldn’t be squandered on reckless experimentation!’ said the Doctor with mounting exasperation. Exasperation because he knew that whatever he said to Billy would have no effect in changing his mind.

Still, the Doctor had a responsibility to try and warn him of any pitfalls.

‘Well, I reckon it’s too late now,’ said Billy with a cheerful grin. He removed the seven-inch single from the turntable and put it into his suitcase. He closed the record player and reached under the bed for his guitar case.

The Doctor finally sat down on the bed and gave a long sigh. ‘I can’t condone this foolishness – but then love has never been noted for its rationality,’ he said. Billy gave him a wide grin. The Doctor noticed how the sunlight bounced off his skin, which now had a silvery-green hue.

They left Billy’s cabin and went to the boatshed. The Doctor waited impatiently while Billy fiddled around inside before finally appearing with a box full of mechanical bits. The Doctor hopped into the sidecar and Billy kicked the Vincent into life. ‘Did you manage to get it all?’ shouted the Doctor above the roar of the engine.

‘Uh-huh,’ nodded Billy, ‘Cables, chain, plugs, points, condenser, rings, brake shoes and a spare clutch.’

‘That should do it,’ muttered the Doctor as Billy slipped the bike into gear. ‘I can’t think of anyone who’d appreciate it more,’ said Billy as they headed for the gate.

Inside the fighter the groggy Bannermen had been bound back-to-back and were stacked like a miserable cord of firewood, waiting to be transported through space. Delta, Hawk and Weismuller were standing over them.

Weismuller nodded towards the Bannermen. ‘That should hold them until they get back to Mars or wherever it is they’re going,’ he said.

‘Considerably further than that,’ replied Delta.

Hawk seemed to have partially recovered from his stupor and looked like he was rather enjoying the spectacle. Every now and then he would nudge or prod a Bannerman. ‘That will teach you to mess with us earthlings. Earthlings! What am I saying?’ he chuckled to himself.

Weismuller hoped Hawk was beginning to get back to his old self. He was feeling slightly apprehensive about what he was going to put in his report. He thought that there was a strong possibility that his explanation of the recent events would be met with some scepticism.

The young girl came running in, pointing towards the camp.

Billy and the Doctor appeared on the Vincent and stopped beside the Bannermen craft. Billy had become pure Chimeron. Delta stepped out to meet them, her arm still around her daughter. ‘Everything ship-shape?’ said Billy grinning.

Delta nodded and turned towards the others. ‘I don’t know how I can ever thank you for what you’ve done. You have saved our planet and our race. You will always be welcomed there as heroes,’ she said.

Billy put an arm around her. ‘Goodbye everyone.’ He turned to Ray who was gulping back a tear. ‘I’ll always think of you here at Shangri-La, Ray,’ he said, smiling at her.

Ray swallowed a lump. ‘G’bye Billy. I won’t forget you either...’ she stammered as the hatch started to close.

‘Hey! I nearly forgot,’ yelled Billy, ‘The Vincent’s yours now. Remember to feather the clutch,’ were his final words.

Ray’s face lit up as she looked at the gleaming Vincent standing beside her. She climbed aboard, awed by its magnificence. She turned to thank Billy but the hatch had already closed. The ship gave a brief judder then took off.

‘Thanks Billy. Take care of yourself,’ she whispered and blew a kiss into the clear blue sky.

The Doctor circled the bike studying it closely. ‘What are you thinking Doctor?’ asked Ray.

‘I was just speculating what this vehicle would be like with a sophisticated suspension and braking system.’

‘Are you kidding? This is the best there is.’ Ray swung her weight onto the kickstart lever and the huge engine coughed into life. ‘BYE!’ she cried and roared away.

The Doctor turned and started walking towards the TARDIS.

‘STOP!’ said Mel.

‘It’s quite safe now,’ said the Doctor, ‘Gavrok absorbed such a huge amount of energy that the device used up all of its power.’

Hawk, who had now developed a nervous twitch, was blinking furiously. ‘Now I can call Washington,’ he said decisively. But then he stopped and his jaw hung slack.

‘But I don’t know what to say...’ he trailed off. Weismuller put a comforting arm around him.

‘No one has to call them old buddy. We can take it easy,’

he said.

‘That sounds like a good idea. How does a holiday sound to you, Mel?’ said the Doctor.

‘A month at least,’ she replied with a grin.

‘Good. Please accept our thanks for everything, Mr Burton,’ said the Doctor.

‘Thank you, Doctor. I haven’t seen such a shindig since I went buffalo hunting in Africa. Treacherous brutes, buffalo...’ said Burton, trailing off into reminiscence.

Goronwy appeared and, reaching into his pocket, he produced a jar of fine golden honey. ‘1928 hibiscus blossom,’ he said, handing the jar to the Doctor. The Doctor’s eyes lit up.

‘Ah! The nectar of honey or the honey of nectar. You’re more than a collector, Goronwy – you’re a man of taste!’

‘Thank you Doctor. And now I must get back to my little friends. They will be expecting me and we have a lot of work to do,’ said the old man, winking at the Doctor. He turned towards Hawk and Weismuller. ‘Ah, my American friends. If you are ever again in the vicinity looking for strange objects that fall from the sky, drop in for tea. I enjoyed our little chat before.’