Doctor Who: Space War (6 page)

‘No doubt about it, Madam. They locked on and boarded us. We both saw them. ‘They were Dragons—’ Hardy corrected himself. ‘I mean, they were Draconians all right.’

‘Thank you,’ said the President. ‘You can go now. I hope you will soon be fully recovered from your ordeal.’ She nodded to General Williams who ushered the two pilots to the door. Then she turned to the Ambassador. ‘Well, Your Highness?’

‘With all respect that is due to you, Madam President,’ said the Draconian, his voice cold and words clipped, ‘those men are your servants.’ He stole a glance at Williams, now returning to the desk. ‘They say what they have been ordered to say.’

‘Ordered by whom?’

The Ambassador spoke as though from a prepared speech. ‘It is not the policy of the Emperor’s Government to interfere in the internal politics of a neighbouring empire, but clearly there are those among you who seek hostility with us.’

Williams, who realised all this was directed against himself, spoke up. ‘On this occasion, Your Highness, we have more than our servants to confront you with. We captured two of your human agents.’

A deep hiss of anger came from the Ambassador’s green snout. ‘We have no human agents! Subversion and espionage is expressly forbidden by the Treaty of Peace between our two empires.’

‘A treaty which you have broken,’ remarked the General.

The Ambassador gathered his cloak. ‘With your permission, Madam President, I shall return to my embassy—’

She rose, a restraining hand outstretched. ‘No, please, Your Highness. I’m sure the General regrets his rudeness. But I would like you to see these two human prisoners.’ She nodded to the General. He was already half way to the opening in the wall, where guards were bringing in the Doctor and Jo. ‘General Williams, please explain to His Highness who these people are.’

The Doctor and Jo, flanked by palace guards, were brought forward to the President’s desk.

‘These people,’ said the General, ‘stowed away on the cargo ship that your battle cruiser attacked, Your Highness. They transmitted signals which enabled your people to home-in on their prey.’

The Ambassador stared at the two prisoners. ‘I know nothing of these humans.’

‘Perhaps you don’t,’ said the President. ‘But someone in the Draconian Empire employed them.’

Jo blurted out, ‘This is all stupid! You’ve all got it wrong!’

‘If someone would have the courtesy to listen to me,’ said the Doctor, ‘perhaps I might explain that we are not employed by anyone.’

The Ambassador turned from the prisoners to face the President. ‘How can these two humans, found on an Earth spaceship. concern the Draconian Empire?’

‘Because you put them there!’ General Williams face reddened with anger at what he thought was the Ambassador’s evasion. ‘They are traitors to their own race, bribed by you!’

‘We aren’t bribed by anyone,’ insisted the Doctor. ‘We are harmless civilian travellers, being very badly treated—’

‘Quiet! ‘ stormed the General. ‘You were part of the Draconian attack on our cargo ship.’

‘There was no Draconian attack,’ answered the Doc-tor. ‘The attack was made by Ogrons.’

The President looked to General Williams. No one had explained this to her. ‘What are they talking about, General?’

He scoffed. ‘They’ve invented some ridiculous story about a totally unknown life-form. It’s obviously an attempt to protect their Draconian masters.’

The Doctor asked patiently, ‘If we were working for the Draconians, why did they leave us on your ship after the attack?’

‘To act as spies,’ replied the General, ‘when you were brought back to Earth.’

‘Allow me to congratulate you, sir. You have the most totally closed mind I have ever met.’

‘You’ll regret your insolence.’ The General turned to the palace guards. ‘Take them away. Security Headquarters have my personal permission to use any means to extract the truth from them!’

The guards closed in on the Doctor and Jo.

‘Madam President,’ pleaded the Doctor, ‘I beg you to listen to me. Some third party is trying to provoke war between Earth and Draconia. You’re both being duped.’

‘I said take them away,’ the General commanded.

The guard twisted the prisoners’ arms behind their backs, yanked them round to propel them out of the room.

‘One moment,’ said the President calmly. She looked to the Doctor who had turned his head round to see her. ‘Why should a third party, as you claim, wish to do this?’

‘I’ve no idea, Madam, but I believe that is what’s happening.’

The General stepped forward, blocking the Doctor’s view of the President. ‘Madam President, may I suggest that you leave these prisoners to me?’

The Doctor did not see or hear the President’s reply. At a nod from the General, the palace guards increased their grip on the Doctor’s twisted arms and pushed him forward out of the room. He called back, ‘Your two empires are going to be plunged into the most terrible war if you don’t listen. For heaven’s sake show some sense...’ But by now he and Jo were outside the office. Black uniformed Security guards were waiting for them.

With the prisoners gone, the Ambassador turned to the President. ‘Is that the evidence upon which you accuse me?’

The President sat down at her desk. For some moments she was lost in thought. Then, solemnly, she spoke. ‘Your Highness, I must ask you to convey a formal protest to your Emperor.’

The Draconian bristled. ‘I shall certainly report to him this latest insult to the honour of the Draconian Empire!’ He stood to his full height. ‘May you live a long life and may energy shine on you from a million suns.’ Without waiting for the formal reply, he turned and left the room.

For a few moments neither the President nor the General spoke. She broke the silence. ‘We have greatly offended him, you know.’

‘Possibly.’ The General was not one to mind causing offence. ‘We should have used the mind probe
before
showing these prisoners to the Ambassador. We should have confronted him with a full confession.’

‘Does it occur to you that they may be telling the truth?’

He looked quizzically at her. ‘Are you serious?’

She nodded. ‘I’m putting the possibility to you.’

‘A possibility we should discount,’ he said emphatically. ‘Can you seriously believe in a life-form that can change its appearance and look like something else—in a pocket spaceship that materialises inside another?’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ she replied slowly. ‘The whole thing is rather nonsensical. But who are these two people?’

‘Leave me to find that out,’ answered the General, preparing to go. ‘I’ll get the truth out of them. They’ll regret the day they tried lying to us!’

The Draconian Embassy was one of the few houses in the city to stand in its own quiet gardens. From the Ambassador’s main office he could look out on a small lawn, a few stunted trees and carefully tended flowers. Though the house was typical of Earth design, with straight walls and windows, the interior had been decorated in Draconian style. Clever interior designers had re-fashioned some of the walls to make then curve in the way Draconian eyes found pleasant. The pre-dominant colour of the paintwork and also the curved, rounded furniture was green.

The Ambassador and his First Secretary, an older Draconian with many years experience in the Draconian Diplomatic Service, stood as they talked. ‘I ask myself,’ said the Ambassador, ‘why should the Earthmen produce such an elaborate lie?’

The First Secretary nodded his green head, a form of politeness when talking to a social superior. ‘Their ways are devious, Your Highness. They are an inscrutable species.’

‘Obviously they are preparing the second stage of their plan. First the attacks on our cargo ships, and now this.’

The First Secretary nodded again. ‘Is it possible, Your Highness, that for once the Earthmen spoke the truth? Some plan of your father the Emperor, of which even Your Highness has not been informed?’

The Ambassador’s right nostril twitched. a sign of disagreement. ‘The Emperor would not contemplate such a plan. We do not break the Treaty of Peace.’

The First Secretary realised he had said the wrong thing. He quickly changed the subject. ‘Shall I prepare Your Higness’s report to the Emperor on your meeting with the Earth President?’

The Ambassador considered. ‘I must have more information.’

‘Would it not be useful to interrogate the humans who were found on the Earth cargo ship?’

‘You do not understand,’ replied the Ambassador. ‘They are prisoners, accused of treachery to their planet.’

‘Agreed,’ said the First Secretary. ‘But prisoners have been known to escape.’

The Ambassador studied the First Secretary’s snout. ‘I could not countenance such a plan. It would be undiplomatic.’

‘Of course, Your Highness. But should two escaping prisoners seek sanctuary in this embassy it would be less than Draconian to turn them away.’

The Ambassador slowly turned his back on the First Secretary. ‘I must not detain you longer. No doubt you have important duties demanding your attention.’

The First Secretary, understanding exactly the meaning of this last remark, bowed to the Ambassador’s back, turned and left the room. He had an important telephone call to make.

A girl telephonist spoke to the President on her desk videophone. ‘The First Secretary of the Draconian Embassy wishes to speak to you, Madam President.’

‘Put him through.’

The green dragon face of the First Secretary appeared on the screen. ‘I am honoured that you consent to speak to me, Madam President.’

The President answered, ‘It is always my pleasure to be in communication with representatives of your Emperor. How may I be of service to you?’

‘His Highness the Ambassador wishes to speak again to the two Earth people found on the cargo ship—in your presence of course, Madam President.’

The request surprised her. ‘May I ask why?’

‘His Highness feels that such an interrogation would convince you’--He paused slightly, to underline his next words—’you and your closest advisers that they are not agents of Draconia.’

The request seemed reasonable. Anything which might improve relations between the two empires appealed to the President. ‘I shall have them brought here immediately. I suggest that His Highness joins me. We will question them together.’

‘The President is most kind,’ said the Draconian First Secretary. ‘May you live a long life and may energy shine...’

The Doctor and Jo were marched down another long concrete corridor inside the vast Security Headquarters prison.

Jo turned to one of the guards, ‘You’re sure it’s the President who wants to see us again?’

The guard nodded. ‘Instructions to take you to the presidential palace right away.’ This summons seemed to impress the guards and they no longer shouted at the prisoners.

‘Perhaps,’ said the Doctor, ‘she took heed of my good advice. Anyway, we shall soon see.’

The party approached one of the metal sliding doors. It slid upwards, revealing a walkway in a garden.

‘
This
is part of the prison?’ asked the Doctor.

A guard answered. ‘It leads directly to the palace. A short cut. Come on.’

They moved forward. Jo was relieved to be in the open air again. She looked up at the trees and the cloudless blue sky. To her astonishment she saw a Draconian perched on a high wall, aiming a rifle at the party. At that instant the Draconian fired. The Security guard next to her fell backwards, sprawling on the concrete walkway. Before anyone could react, another Draconian fired his weapon, and a second Earth guard fell to the ground. The remaining two Security guards, who had now seen the Draconian snipers, tried to grab the Doctor and Jo. But the Doctor already had Jo by the arm and was rushing her towards a small cluster of trees. Realising their danger, the Security guards ran for cover. Alarm bells started clanging from the main prison building. As the fleeing prisoners approached the trees, other Draconians emerged suddenly from hiding, and rushed up to the prisoners to drag them away. The Doctor knocked down the first Draconian with a glancing blow, but three others moved forward to capture him.

‘Jo,’ he cried out, ‘run for it. Get help!’

Jo ran in a frenzy across the lawn. Looking back for a moment she saw a Draconian fire a handgun point blank at the Doctor. He fell, stunned and was picked up by the Draconians and carried into the trees.

‘We must demand the immediate withdrawal of the Draconian Embassy!’ General Williams’s face was flushed with anger. As he stood before the President’s desk he seemed to quiver in rage.

‘Break all diplomatic relations?’ said the President. ‘We don’t know that the Ambassador was behind this abduction.’

‘He is responsible for what his staff does, Madam President. The First Secretary deliberately tricked you.’

The President remained calm. ‘Have the girl brought in, please.’

‘What about their Embassy? The people of Earth will run riot when they hear of this insult.’

‘In that case.’ she said, ‘they must not be told. It is your responsibility, General Williams, to ensure a complete blackout of the incident.’ She knew he could not disobey a presidential order. ‘Please bring in the girl.’

With difficulty the General controlled himself. He went to the round doorway and nodded for Jo to be brought forward. She was accompanied by two palace guards, whom the President dismissed.

‘Young woman,’ began the President, ‘the escape of your colleague puts you in a very serious position.’

‘But it wasn’t an escape,’ said Jo. ‘The Doctor was kidnapped.’

‘Speak when you are spoken to,’ barked the General.

‘He was rescued by your Draconian paymasters.’

The President continued. ‘Your wisest course is to make a full confession. Remember, your accomplice has left you to your fate.’

‘But I haven’t got anything
to
confess,’ Jo insisted. ‘You’ve got it all wrong. The Doctor wanted to come here and talk to you. He was taken away by force.’

The General shook Jo by the shoulder. ‘Your lies won’t help you! When were you recruited? How many other agents do they have on Earth? What are their plans?’ His temper mounting, he spun Jo round and glared into her face. ‘Tell us voluntarily or under the mind probe—it makes no difference, except to you!’