Read Doctor Who: Space War Online

Authors: Malcolm Hulke

Tags: #Science-Fiction:Doctor Who

Doctor Who: Space War (16 page)

BOOK: Doctor Who: Space War
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They looked at the Doctor in astonishment. ‘What did you do?’ asked the General.

‘Put it down to magic,’ the Doctor grinned. He showed them the hypno-sound device. ‘This little thing almost caused you two to blow each other to smithereens. I’d love to explain how it works but there isn’t time. We’ve got to find the Master.’ He turned to Jo. ‘Where did you send your May Day message from?’

Jo looked down the corridor where the terrified Ogron had run. ‘I
think
it was that way.’

‘Try your best to remember, Jo,’ said the Doctor. ‘A lot depends on it.’

The Master was using his transmitting equipment to talk to the departing Daleks whose spaceship was now in flight. ‘You have no need to worry. The Doctor is safe in my hands. When I bring him to you, he will be a broken man.’

A Dalek voice answered over the loudspeaker. ‘Do not fail the Daleks. We are about to enter hyper-drive and return to our planet. Do not fail the Daleks.’

The Master replied, ‘I shall not fail you.’

Nothing further came over the loudspeaker so he presumed that was the end of the conversation. The Daleks were not given to the normal pleasantries of bidding farewell. He switched off the transmitter. ‘Stupid tin boxes,’ he said to himself. ‘We’ll see who really rules the galaxy once this war has ruined Earth and Draconia.’ Imitating a Dalek voice he said, ‘
Exterminate
—indeed! ‘

The Ogron guard from the cells stumbled into the cave-room. He was too terrified and confused to speak, but stood there panting.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ said the Master. ‘Why aren’t you guarding the prisoners?’

The Ogron caught his breath. ‘The Dalek sent me away.’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ said the Master. ‘There are no Daleks here now. They’ve all left. Go back to your post and stop imagining things.’ As he said the word
imagining
, a terrible thought crossed his mind. He searched quickly among his equipment for the hypno-sound device.

The Ogron persisted, ‘Dalek said open the gate.’

‘And you, of course, opened it.’ The Master tried to conceal any panic in his voice. ‘Get the others. I want them here at once.’

The Ogron looked blank. ‘The other Daleks?’

The Master closed his eyes and tried to keep a grip on his sanity. ‘No, you stupid moron, the other Ogrons. Big, idiot imbeciles like yourself. Got the idea?’

As understanding dawned, the Ogron’s face cracked into a grin. ‘Other Ogrons like me.’ Then he frowned, his mind troubled again. ‘Why you want them?’

‘I thought we could all have afternoon tea together. Now go!’

The escaping prisoners had arrived at the brightly-lit area where previously Jo had seen the Ogron make a food sacrifice. The Doctor looked up at the drawing, intensely interested.

‘Fascinating,’ he murmured.

‘I think the Ogrons worship it,’ explained Jo.

‘Not surprising,’ said the Doctor. ‘They’re probably more frightened of those giant lizards than they are of the Daleks. A pity we can’t stay here long enough to learn more about their culture. Now Jo, where did you go from here?’

She looked at the corridors leading in various directions. ‘That’s the way out of here,’ she said emphatically, pointing to a wide corridor. ‘But that wasn’t the way I went.’

‘Even so,’ said the Doctor, ‘that’s the way for you two—General—Your Highness. Get back to your peoples as fast as you can. Make sure they never contemplate war again.’

The Draconian Prince stepped forward. ‘I wish to thank you on behalf of the Draconian Empire.’

‘And I on behalf of Earth,’ said General Williams. ‘May you live a long life—’

The Doctor cut in with a smile. ‘Yes, yes indeed, but I think we should all hurry now. Goodbye. Come on, Jo, lead me to the TARDIS.’

He hurried Jo away.

The TARDIS stood in the corner where Jo had seen it before. When the Doctor and Jo entered the Master’s cave it seemed to be completely deserted.

‘There it is,’ Jo pointed excitedly. ‘Have you got the key?’

‘Right here, Jo.’ The Doctor fished in his pocket.

As they approached the TARDIS, Jo asked, ‘Where are we going this time, Doctor?’

‘I should think that’s pretty obvious,’ he said, about to insert the key in the lock of the old-fashioned London police box. ‘We’re going to—’

The Master stepped out from behind the TARDIS, a blaster gun pointed at the Doctor. ‘I don’t think you’re going anywhere, Doctor. I believe you have some property of mine, something Miss Grant stole when she was in here before.’ He raised his voice. ‘Ogrons forward, please.’

From all sides Ogrons appeared, shuffling out of the gloom.

‘Are you referring to this?’ asked the Doctor as he produced the hypno-sound device. ‘A most ingenious gadget, if I may say so. You could cause a lot of trouble with it.’

As he spoke the Doctor turned the device on to full volume. The sudden sound sent the Master reeling backwards, clutching his ears and dropping his blaster gun. The Doctor spun round to face the encircling Ogrons.

The terrible sound roaring through their midget minds, the Ogrons saw the shape of the Doctor blurr before their eyes. Then he re-formed into the thing they feared most—a giant, Ogron-eating lizard, rearing up its great head and roaring at them. They turned and fled, fighting and stumbling over each other to run away.

The Master regained his senses. ‘Come back!’ he screamed at the Ogrons. ‘There’s nothing to be frightened of. It’s an illusion.’ Then he saw his blaster gun on the ground, reached down to retrieve it.

The Doctor got there first and picked up the gun. The Master stepped back, hands raised, his face contorted in fear. ‘Are you going to kill me?’

With his free hand, the Doctor unlocked the door to the TARDIS. ‘Go inside, Jo.’

She hesitated. ‘Doctor, you couldn’t, not in cold blood...’

‘Go inside,’ he repeated.

Jo went into the safety of the TARDiS.

‘Well,’ said the Master, ‘you only have to squeeze the trigger.’

‘You know that I couldn’t kill you,’ said the Doctor. ‘Perhaps I should take you prisoner and return you to serve your prison sentence on Earth. But there’s something more important for me to do at the moment.’

‘What’s that?’

‘To go after the Daleks, of course. Stand well back.’

The Master, hands still raised, walked slowly backwards. ‘This far enough?’ His old spirit was already returning and a smile touched his lips.

‘That’s far enough for safety.’ The Doctor hurled the blaster gun into a distant corner, well away from the Master’s reach.

The Master grinned. ‘Perhaps we shall meet again, Doctor.’

‘Yes, perhaps we shall.’

The Doctor closed the door of the TARDIS. The Master watched as it dematerialised. Then he went back to his big table and started to collect his star charts and other papers. ‘Oh well,’ he said to himself, ‘there’s always tomorrow.’

BOOK: Doctor Who: Space War
9.84Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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