Doctor Who: Space War (8 page)

Jo was incensed. ‘That isn’t true! What have you done to him to make him say that?’ She turned to the President. ‘I want to see him.’

The President nodded to the guards by the door. ‘Take her to the other prisoner. We shall talk again later.’ She waited until Jo had gone. ‘Well?’

General Williams sat down, defeated. ‘He admitted nothing. I thought if I said that the girl might confess.’

He took a deep breath. ‘We must use the mind probe on her.’

‘No General. She’s no more than a child. Perhaps there are other ways of getting the truth from her.’

‘What other ways? Madam, if you won’t let me use the mind probe

She raised her hand for silence. ‘We could try kindness. It’s that man’s influence that’s making her stick to her story. I want to talk to him, to try to make him see reason, for the girl’s sake.’

The Doctor stood before the President’s desk, flanked by armed palace guards.

‘This is your final chance,’ said the President, ‘to tell the truth.’

‘I have told you everything truthfully, Madam President,’ the Doctor replied. He turned to General Williams. ‘Sorry about your mind probe machine, old man.’

The General coughed and looked away.

The President continued. ‘If it’s a question of money, I will double any offer the Draconians made to you, and guarantee you and your companion freedom and a new identity on one of the colony planets.’

The General couldn’t contain himself. ‘Really, Madam President, this man’s a traitor! We should make no trade with him.’

She politely ignored the outburst. ‘Well, what do you say?’

‘I can only repeat that I am not a Draconian agent, that so far as I know the Draconians do not intend to start a war, that the people who boarded the cargo ship were—’

She raised her hand. ‘That’s enough. We’ve heard it all before. Under the powers invested in me by the Special Security Act I am sending you to the Luna Penal Colony, the prison on the Moon.’

‘Without a trial? With no chance to state my case? I thought Earth was a democracy.’

‘The public trial of a Draconian agent,’ said the President, ‘will only increase the existing demand for war with Draconia. If at some later time you decide to help us by confessing everything, I may consider releasing you.’

The Doctor looked about himself. Surrounded by armed guards, there was no chance of escape from this place. ‘What about my companion?’

‘She will remain here,’ said the President. ‘Without your influence, I hope to make her see the error of her ways. General Williams, when is the next ship to the penal colony?’

‘In half an hour, Madam President.’

‘Good.’ She turned back to the Doctor. ‘This is your last thirty minutes on the planet of your birth, which you have tried to betray. You still have time to re-consider.’

The Doctor said, ‘I don’t wish to seem rude, Madam President, but since your mind is closed to anything beyond your immediate understanding, nothing that I say will be of the slightest interest to you. This is a great pity, since thousands of millions may die and two great empires will be destroyed through your unwillingness to grasp that I may have been speaking the truth.’

The General exploded. ‘He’s raving mad!’

‘Then best that he go to the Moon,’ said the President, averting her eyes from the Doctor’s, ‘for the rest of his life.’

The Doctor saw neither Earth nor the Moon on the short journey to Earth’s satellite. The penal spaceship shuttle was windowless, a series of tiny cells just large enough for a prisoner to sit clown, knees touching the metal door. From the ship the prisoners were shuffled through a narrow corridor that led directly into the prison. The Doctor’s first sight of the Moon was when they were taken into a huge room with metallic walls, and here a big window looked out on to the bleak rocky moonscape. the airless world where any escaping prisoner would die instantly through lack of oxygen.

A Security guard lined the newly arrived prisoners against the wall facing the big window. Except for the Doctor, they all wore the prison uniforms issued to them before the journey.

‘Don’t move and don’t talk,’ said the guard before leaving.

The moment the guard had left, all the prisoners stretched and shuffled cramped feet. A young, fair-haired man with a keenly intelligent face turned to the Doctor. ‘My name’s Doughty. What did they get you for?’

The Doctor smiled. ‘You’d never believe me.’

‘But you’re political, aren’t you?’

This interested the Doctor. ‘Are there many political prisoners here?’

Doughty shrugged. ‘Who knows? The Government doesn’t give away secrets! But yes—there’s probably thousands here. Are you in the Peace Party?’

‘You might say that I’ve been trying to stop a war.’ ‘Me too. I tried to sabotage a rocket launching base.’

As they talked the Doctor tried to take in his surroundings. Doors and corridors seemed to lead off from this large room in all directions. It was, he thought, some central area. Metal tables and chairs suggested prisoners could meet at this point. ‘How long is your sentence?’

‘Are you joking? When Security sends you to the Moon it’s for ever. This is home for the rest of our lives.’

A stocky prisoner with short-cropped hair entered from one of the corridors. He wore the same drab grey prison uniform, though on his left arm was a bright red armband. He strutted up to the line of new prisoners.

‘All of you shut up and listen to me.’ He shouted rather than spoke. A small bulge in Doughty’s tunic pocket caught his eye. ‘What have you got there?’

Doughty produced a small block wrapped in tin foil. ‘Chocolate. My allowance from the remand prison.’

The man with the armband laughed. ‘No chocolate allowed here, son. Give it over.’ Without waiting, he snatched the little block from Doughty’s hand.

The Doctor said, ‘Do you realise that’s stealing?’

‘That’s what I’m in for,’ said the armband man. ‘All of you, stand to attention! The Governor’s going to speak to you.’

The prisoners made some attempt to stand to attention as required. The Prison Governor entered, a tall man in black tunic and trousers. With him were four Security guards, all armed. He walked down the line of prisoners, eyeing them, then stopped to speak.

‘I am the Governor of this penal colony. There is one rule here—to obey. If you behave you will be reasonably treated. If you misbehave you will be very badly treated. You are no longer people, you are things—my playthings. You have absolutely no rights, and there is no means of escape. Remember that you are here for the rest of your lives. Why isn’t that man in uniform?’

The question seemed so much part of the speech that at first the armband man didn’t react. When he did he sprang to attention.

‘Don’t know, sir. That’s how they sent him.’

‘See he’s kitted out immediately,’ said the Governor and left the room.

The armband man stepped forward. ‘Now listen, all of you. My name’s Cross. and that’s my nature. I run a quiet, tidy section here. Any trouble from you and it’s a black mark against me. So there’s never any trouble. Got it?’

Doughty again spoke up. ‘You talk as though you run this prison. Don’t you realise you’re really one of us? We’re all victims of the system!’

‘You,’ said Cross, ‘are making yourself highly eligible for the punishment block.’

But Doughty wasn’t listening. His attention was riveted on an older prisoner who had just wandered in from one of the corridors. The newcomer had white hair and a long, sensitive face.

‘Professor Dale,’ said Doughty in awe.

Cross sneered. ‘Yes, a real professor among us. You’ll find a lot of your intellectual friends up here.’ He spun round to the professor. ‘This prisoner in the frilly shirt,’ he shouted, indicating the Doctor. ‘Get him kitted out double quick.’ He turned away and strutted off down the corridor where the Governor had gone.

Professor Dale came across to Doughty, the man who had recognised him. ‘Welcome to prison,’ he said, wryly. ‘You were on our Youth Committee, weren’t you?’

The two men shook hands. ‘That’s right, professor. We met last year just before your arrest.’

‘You’ll be in good company here,’ said the older man. ‘I sometimes think there are more members of the Peace Party in this terrible prison than back on earth!’

‘If I may ask,’ said the Doctor, ‘does anyone ever try to escape?’

The professor reacted with suspicion. ‘Occasionally. Come with me. I’ll get you a uniform.’

The Doctor hurried after Professor Dale. ‘I was asking you a simple question.’

Dale did not reply until they arrived at a cupboard containing shelves of prison uniforms. ‘Let’s see.’ he said, measuring the Doctor with his eyes, ‘you’re quite tall. I think you’ll be size number fourteen or fifteen.’ He reached up for a pair of trousers.

‘Let me ask another question,’ said the Doctor. ‘What do we do all day here?’

‘There is no day and no night. We’re on the Moon. We go to bed when we feel like it. Food, that is to say tasteless soup, is served at regular intervals. We pass the time playing three-dimensional chess, listening to audio-books, pursuing handicrafts, and forming discussion groups. Try these on.’ Dale offered the trousers to the Doctor.

‘Do you ever discuss escape?’ asked the Doctor, slipping off his own trousers.

‘Of course not,’ said Dale. He looked around uneasily. ‘If you want to know, there was an escape attempt last month. The three men involved were all killed. Why are you asking about escape?’

The Doctor pulled on the prison trousers. They fitted fairly well. ‘Because it’s what I intend to do.’

‘Are you a spy for the Governor, trying to draw me out?’

The Doctor looked at the man. ‘If I were, I’d scarcely draw attention to myself so quickly.’

‘A fine point of logic. Are you a member of the Peace Party?’

‘I don’t even know what it stands for,’ said the Doctor. ‘Tell me about it.’

Professor Dale sighed. ‘We support the President’s People’s Party when it stands for peace. But when the President gives way to pressure from the warmongers, we oppose her. It’s as simple as that. Let’s find a jacket for you.’ He hunted through the shelves for the right size. ‘Since you don’t seem to know anything about politics, why were you sent here?’

‘Perhaps because I know there’s a conspiracy to start a war.’

The professor showed no interest. ‘We all know that, my dear man. Put this on.’ He held out an illshapen grey jacket.

‘I mean there is a third force at work,’ the Doctor explained. ‘The incidents between the two great Space empires are all faked. Would you like me to tell you about it?’

Professor Dale nodded. ‘It would pass the time.’ Then he smiled. ‘After all, we’ve got nothing else to do.’

The President studied the two documents that General Williams had laid on her desk. Both carried the impressive emblem of Alderberan Four, a newly-created dominion within the Earth Empire. Both also carried photographs, one of the Doctor and the other of Jo. Under each photograph were details of these much-wanted criminals.

‘There is no doubt about it,’ said the President at last. ‘These are the same two people. This explains many things, though I’m surprised about the girl. We shall have to hand them over.’

‘But Madam,’ said the General, ‘they are in the pay of the Draconians. Surely we have prior claim to them? We still may extract vital information about the Draconians’ war plans.’

‘Relations with colony planets are always tricky, General Williams. If there is war, we’ll need all our allies. These criminals must be very important to the Dominion Government of Alderberan Four. I think we should co-operate. Bring in their representative.’

‘If you insist, Madam.’ General Williams crossed to the doorway and gave a polite signal.

The Master entered, wearing a uniform of a high-ranking diplomat of the Earth Empire. A vain roan, he was particularly pleased how well the simple tunic of metallic orange fitted his athletic figure. He crossed to the President’s desk, his short black beard jutting forward, eyes dancing, and bowed graciously.

‘Madam President,’ he said, ‘this is indeed a very great honour. Allow me to present my credentials as Special Commissioner Master from your dominion planet, Alderberan Four.’

It was not the Master’s first disguise in his long fight against the Doctor. Both renegade Time Lords, while the Doctor’s long journeys through Time and Space had allowed him to help many Space species in need, the Master had used his wisdom and intelligence to spread fear and evil in his relentless quest for personal power.

With a flourish, the Master placed on the desk a document which he had forged with ingenious care. The President glanced at it, a mere formality.

‘We have a problem,’ she explained. ‘These two people are already in our custody, one on Earth and the other in our penal colony on the Moon. We believe they are paid agents of the Draconians.’

The Master pretended amazement. ‘These criminals? Still, I am not surprised. They will turn their hands to anything for money. However, Madam President, they are citizens of Alderberan Four, and we have sought them throughout the galaxy to bring them to trial for crimes on our planet.’

General Williams interrupted, ‘But your planet is part of Earth’s empire!’

‘And has been granted dominion status,’ the Master reminded him with a deferential smile.

The President interceded. ‘He has a point, General Williams. Once a colony has been raised to dominion status, it enjoys certain autonomous rights, including the right to try and punish its own citizens.’

‘If you concede to my request,’ said the Master, ‘we shall gladly return these people to you for interrogation once they have stood trial on Alderberan.’

‘All right,’ said the President. ‘Your request is granted.’

The Master bowed deeply. ‘I am most grateful to you, Madam President. May you live a long life and may energy shine on you from a million suns.’

Jo sat on her cell bunk facing the wall, playing mental games to avoid thinking about her fate.

Footsteps came down the passage outside, two or three men. She looked to the door, half hoping they were approaching her cell and half fearing them. The footsteps stopped and Jo nerved herself. The door opened and the Master stepped into the cell, smart in his diplomatic dress. Jo’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. She had encountered the Master before in her travels with the Doctor. Yet though she knew of his evil, her immediate reaction was joy at seeing a familiar face. ‘What are you doing here?’ she exclaimed.