Doctor Who: The Mutation of Time Page 16

  The eight Daleks had vanished without a trace in the screaming landscape.

  The ground began to shudder, and to re-form as the Time Destructor continued to reverse the flow of the ages. It had taken Kembel back to the era of geological changes. The processes that had formed the hills and the caves used by the Daleks for their hidden bases were abruptly reversed. The hills fell, the caverns closed, the ground shook...

  And all was abruptly still. The Time Destructor suddenly stopped glowing, and died. The wind fell, the ground steadied, and an empty silence settled. The dust stopped blowing, and fell like rain back to the surface of Kembel.

  As far as the Doctor and Steven could see, everything was desert.

  Chapter 15

  The Nightmare is Ended

  The TARDIS doors opened, and the Doctor and Steven stepped out on to the planet Kembel. The dust and sands stretched for miles, with nothing else visible. Silently, Steven strode over to a battered piece of metal, rusted and corroded. He picked it up and stared at it.

  ‘The Time Destructor; he said, softly. ‘All that’s left of it.’

  ‘Yes,’ the Doctor nodded. ‘The Taranium core finally burnt itself out.’

  Steven threw the shapeless chunk back to the ground. ‘I wish Sara could have seen the end. She deserved to know that...’ His voice caught in his throat.

  The Doctor patted him on the back, comfortingly, ‘Try not to mourn her death too much, Steven,’ he advised. ‘She wouldn’t have wanted that. All she lived for was the destruction of the Dalek threat. It’s over now, and without her help, it could never have been achieved.’

  Steven nodded, not trusting himself to reply. The Doctor moved off, poking about with his walking stick. Finally, Steven joined him. If the Doctor saw tears on Steven’s face, he didn’t comment on them.

  ‘Do you think that the Dalek fleet is totally destroyed?’ Steven asked.

  ‘Undoubtedly. You saw those Daleks that were after us, how they collapsed back into nothingness. The same most have happened to every Dalek on this planet.’ Another thought struck him, and he looked off into the distance. ‘Even if it hadn’t, the geological upheavals must have totally wrecked everything below ground. No, the Dalek menace is finally finished – at least for here and now.’

  ‘And the future’?’

  ‘Mmmm?’ The Doctor looked up. ‘Ihe future? Who’s to say’?’ He clapped Steven on the back. ‘I think we’ve both seen quite enough of this planet. I think it’s time we were on our way.’

  Together, they walked back to the TARDIS. The doors closed behind them, and moments later it vanished with its usual noise. It left behind a planet devoid of life, and wiped clean of the horrors that had once existed on it.

  The Dalek Prime brooded to itself. About it, the sounds of the capital city of Skaro echoed with activity as its Daleks moved on their tasks, efficiently fulfilling every order, and obeying the Dalek Prime in all things.

  The invasion fleet an Kembel had abruptly ceased contact, and that could mean only one thing: it had somehow been defeated. Bearing in mind the reports of the Black Dalek that the Doctor had been involved, this suggested that the wandering time-traveller had somehow managed to defeat the Daleks again. Not only that, but this time, he had also destroyed the Black Dalek, the second-in-command of the Dalek race. Both the invasion fleet and the Black Dalek were irreplaceable.

  The Dalek Prime considered. Regret was an emotion he could no longer feel, but there could still burn within him the desire for revenge The next time that the Daleks met the Doctor, the outcome would be very different indeed...

  The Universe was safe from the Daleks, for now, but the war was not over yet.

  Karlton was close to the edge of panic. There had been no word from Mavic Chen, and the deadline for the Dalek invasion of Earth had come and passed without any report from his advance operatives in the small fleet he had stationed about Venus. Something had clearly gone wrong.

  What could have happened? Chen must be dead by now, or perhaps a prisoner. Karlton was not an incisive thinker, and had risen to his position as head of the SSS because of his ability to follow the commands of Mavic Chen and for no other reason. Without Chen to tell him what to do, Karlton was unsure of himself.

  lf Chen had been discovered by the Daleks, then he must be dead. But something had to have happened to the Daleks as well, or they would have invaded the Earth by now... The door to his office opened, and Senator Diksen strode in, flanked by two security men. Karlton sprang to his feet, a protest ready on his lips. He shut his mouth again when he saw the grim fury on Diksen’s face.

  ‘Karlton,’ the Senator said, in disgust, ‘you’re under arrest. The charge is high treason.’

  ‘Treason?’ Karlton tried to calm down, and act normally. His hands were shaking, and he wanted to collapse.’ What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean, you contemptible creature, that you conspired with Mavic Chen to betray the Earth into the clutches of the Daleks. At this moment, a force is on its way to Kembel to arrest the traitor Chen also, and to bring him back here for trial and execution.’

  Striving to retain his dignity, Karlton said: ‘These charges are ridiculous! Who would accuse me – and Mavic Chen, the Guardian! – of treason?’

  Diksen growled, and struck at Karlton with his hand. Karlton reeled, and felt a trickle of blood on his face. ‘You scum!’ the Senator snapped. ‘Did you think your double-dealing, lying ways could remain hidden for ever?’ He opened his other hand, to reveal a small cassette recorder, of the kind used in message rockets. ‘You and Chen had Bret Vyon killed, but one of the agents you assigned to the task found this in Vyon’s possession, and brought it directly to me.’ He pressed the button on it to play the recording.

  In the background on the tape were the sounds of the jungle of Kembel. Then a hasty, strained voice began: ‘This is Marc Cory, SSS agent, to anyone on Earth. Guardian of the Solar System, Mavic Chen, and his aide, Karlton, have been conspiring with the Daleks to wipe out the human race and...’

  Diksen stopped the tape, and watched the colour slowly drain from Karlton’s face. ‘You and Chen thought you had covered your tracks,’ Diksen smiled. ‘But the dead have come back to haunt you. Neither Marc Cory nor Bret Vyon died in vain, traitor: they will have their final revenge yet!’

  Wind whipped across the icy wastelands, driving the snows in huge clouds across the surface of the world. Blocks of ice and snow-laden rocks were the only things to be seen on the barren tundra. Into this white hell, a shape arrived – apparently another block of ice.

  A door in the block cracked open, and the Monk peered out. Instantly, his face and hair were covered in the fine, driven snow. He looked about the ship incredulously. ‘A planet of ice?’ he exclaimed in disbelief. ‘But I didn’t set course for this!’ He slammed his doors again, kicking at the snow that had drifted inside. Rubbing his face and hair on his sleeve, he scuttled back to the central console to recheck his figures. They had been laid in correctly – there was simply no reason why he should be here.

  Unless.

  With a sinking feeling, he bent down to examine the underside of the mushroom-shaped console. There, dangling teasingly, were several wires... howling, the Monk examined them, and then straightened up. ‘The Doctor’s done it again!’ he screamed. ‘He’s stolen my directional unit! I’ll have to wander around in space and time as lost as he is!’ Furiously, he kicked the console, and then winced with pain. Shaking his fist at the roof, he vowed: ‘I’ll get you for this, Doctor! Somehow, someday – I’ll get you for this!’

 

 

 
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