Doctor Who: The Devil Goblins From Neptune (33 page)

Then the Brigadier had blacked out.

Once he was conscious again, he looked around with amazement. The invisible bubble of the ship was still intact, keeping the flames at bay. It seemed to have landed on the desert floor.

'What's burning?' Lethbridge-Stewart asked through clenched teeth, his head still throbbing.

'We are discarding one layer of the hull.' replied one of the Nedenah while working calmly at a near-visible console.

'It can be replaced, in time. 'The Waro will think that we have been destroyed.'

'Ah.' The Brigadier smiled. 'Good plan.'

The Nedenah pressed a sensor, and the walls sprang back into focus, a burnished silver blocking out the angry red of the desert. The door appeared in the bottom of the craft, falling downward to create a ramp.

'Please.' said the alien. 'There is much to be done, and this craft is now inoperative. We must evacuate it immediately.'

The Brigadier nodded, then patted the groaning professor on the shoulder. 'Come on, old chap.' he said gently. 'Let's not get in the way.'

The Nedenah craft had landed on a small ridge behind the air base. From here, Lethbridge-Stewart could see that the horrific war in the air was over. The desert floor was strewn with the bodies of thousands of dead and dying Waro, and yet their numbers in the air - now diving down towards the base - seemed undiminished.

Numerous craft lay wrecked on the sand. The Waro crawled over the debris, searching for survivors.

'Carnage.' said the Brigadier.

Trainor didn't reply. He just stared coldly at the killing grounds, a blank expression of utter incomprehension on his face. 'Rose told me they wanted to be our friends.' he said at last.

'I imagine that's what they told him, too.'

'Oh, no.' continued the professor. 'Rose knew what he was doing. Power corrupts, Brigadier. And absolute power corrupts absolutely.'

There was a noise behind them, and they turned to find several of the Nedenah emerging from their craft, bringing with them a bulky cylindrical container.

'We have revived a number of our kind from suspended animation.' explained the leading Nedenah.

'With all due respect.' said the Brigadier, 'I think we have more important things to worry about than waking up your comrades.'

All the Nedenah made simultaneous sideways movements of their heads, as if to disagree. 'This chemical.'

said one of them, pointing with a sticklike finger to the cylinder, 'was developed recently. It will interfere with the Waro's genetic enhancements and turn their violence against themselves.'

'You worked on that in the CIA bunker?' asked Trainor.

'Those of us trapped within the craft detected the approach of the Waro.'

'What exactly will this chemical do?' asked the Brigadier.

'In the short term, it will inhibit the creatures' group mentality.' The Nedenah paused for a moment before continuing. The Waro are very angry and aggressive. For decades their planet was plagued by destruction, conflict and infighting. Empires rose and fell. There was little technology, no exchange of ideas.'

'So what happened?'

'They genetically and chemically limited their anger. They were still creatures of hatred, but now that hatred was directed against "not-Waro". This substance will reverse that

"progress", turn the Waro against each other once again.'

'And in the longer term?'

'The tempo of aggression will increase exponentially.

Eventually the aggressive feelings will overload their nervous systems.'

'So they will literally die of anger?' asked Trainor.

'Fascinating.' The Brigadier understood. 'It's a kind of mental laxative, then.' he said with a suppressed grin.

The Nedenah looked at him blankly.

'Never mind. What must we do with it?'

The alien looked towards the air base. 'Flood the skies,' it said simply. 'A tiny amount of the fluid will destroy hundreds of Waro.'

'I'm glad you've got a vat the size of Bedfordshire,' said the Brigadier, remembering how many Waro he'd seen. 'Now, how to get it up there?'

As he mused on this problem, a familiar voice echoed up from beneath the ridge.

'Sir?'

'Captain Yates?'

'Yes, sir,' came the distant reply. don't believe it, sir. I thought you were in Europe.'

'Evidently not, Captain,' said the Brigadier. 'Get up here.

We've got a job to do.'

It took Yates, Shuskin, Liz and the other soldiers a few minutes to fully comprehend that standing before them were a group of aliens who weren't interested in taking over the world.

'Something unique in my experience,' observed Liz. As she listened to the Brigadier's story, it had become clear to Liz that Bernard Trainor, a man who had been like a father to her, was implicated in the conspiracy up to his neck, and possibly beyond. She found herself unable to look at him as the Brigadier, Shuskin, and Yates discussed tactics.

'I suppose you had your reasons,' she said eventually.

'Of course, Elizabeth. Reasons are important. I taught you that much, surely?'

'Why?' she asked.

'Why? Why is the sky blue? Why is grass green? Some things simply "are", my dear.'

'That's no answer, and you know it!' she said, rounding on him with an anger that surprised her. 'You once told me truth was the only part of science that mattered.'

'I lied,' he said, shamefaced. 'The only science that matters is the search for truth.'

Liz turned away as the Brigadier, Shuskin, and Yates walked over with several of the Nedenah. 'The repercussions can wait,' said the Brigadier, seeming to have overheard the stormy conclusion to their argument. 'For UNIT, for the CIA, for all of us. We must concentrate on stopping the Waro.' He turned to Shuskin. 'Now, Captain, you say the Doctor is still out there.' - he indicated the wide expanse of desert before them - 'building some form of jamming contraption.'

'Yes, sir.'

'I trust you left a radio with him?'

'Of course, sir,' said Shuskin, seemingly astonished that the Brigadier could think for a second that she would have neglected to do so. She produced the hand-held UNIT

walkie-talkie. 'Channel five, sir,' she said.

'I am aware of the standard frequency, Captain,' noted the Brigadier, and operated the radio, which crackled into life.

'Hello?' said a distant voice. 'Is anybody there?'

'Doctor?'

'Well, it's hardly going to be Round the Horne, is it?'

joked the Doctor. 'Lethbridge-Stewart? I thought you were in Europe.' 'Where are you?' asked the Brigadier.

'Close to the air base. I've got the jamming device working but its range is a bit limited. What I really need is a power-boosted, open-ended frequency modulator.'

'I have something better than that for you,' said the Brigadier enigmatically. 'We'll meet you inside the compound in fifteen minutes.'

The Doctor approached the US Air Force base with trepidation, the bulky jamming device tucked under his arm.

There had been a certain grotesque symmetry about recent events, the destruction of the armoured column in the snowy wastes of the Soviet Union now reflected in the devastation of the American aircraft in the Nevada desert. The smoking remains of the planes littered the surrounding area like the carcasses of electrocuted animals. Thankfully most of the Waro seemed to have retreated, drawn towards the stored cobalt. Only vultures picked at the human corpses.

Groom Lake AFB had not escaped the slaughter. A couple of planes had crashed into the complex, shattering buildings and covering the runways with debris. The grounds were littered with the bodies of the individuals who had tried to flee.

The Doctor crept in through the remains of the main gate, keeping to the comparative safety of the walls. The sky was still dark with swarming Waro, but hundreds of them were descending gently towards the building that seemed to contain the precious cobalt-60. From a distance the Waro resembled a stationary tornado, the tip of the vortex just touching the ground. 'Come on, Brigadier,' he breathed, don't like being kept in suspense.'

Suddenly a tiny creature clattered into the Doctor, shrieking in delight. The Doctor tumbled on to the rough tarmac, but kept a tight grip on his jamming machine. The moment he hit the ground he switched it on, pointing the machine in the direction of the attacking Waro. With a comic squawk, the Waro flew backwards, before being dashed down on to one of outlying runways. The Doctor saw the creature try to pull itself to its feet, its wings still flapping uncontrollably, and then slump into death. One down, two and a half million to go, he thought.

He turned quickly, expecting more Waro, but they seemed occupied with looting the cobalt-60 stores. As if on cue, the Brigadier, Liz, Trainor, and the two UNIT captains came cautiously through the air force base entrance, followed by a handful of accompanying soldiers. Even the Brigadier could not conceal his delight. 'Ah, good to see you, Doctor.'

'There you are, Lethbridge-Stewart. I'm afraid you've just missed the first demonstration of my new jamming machine.'

'Does it work?' asked the Brigadier.

'Of course it does,' said the Doctor, sounding hurt. 'Now, what have you got to show me?'

A group of aliens crept through the shattered gateway, dragging a canister on what seemed to be an antigravity device.

'Allow me to introduce the Nedenah.' said the Brigadier.

'They're aliens.'

'I think the Doctor can see that.' said Liz.

'They want to help us defeat the Waro,' continued Lethbridge-Stewart. 'The cylinder contains a substance that...'

He paused. 'Well, it will kill the Waro. That's all we need to know.'

The Doctor walked over to the aliens. 'I'm delighted to meet you.'

The Nedenah looked him up and down quizzically. 'You appear to be human, but are not.'

'No, indeed,' said the Doctor. 'I'm a Time L-' He stopped, remembering his trial. 'I'm an exile.'

The Nedenah seemed satisfied with this.

'Now then.' said Professor Trainor, glancing at the Doctor with an uneasy smile. 'We need a plane of some sort.'

The Doctor noticed Trainor shudder. 'Are you all right, old chap?'

The professor nodded. was just getting used to terra firma again!

'Well, it's good to see you.' said the Doctor. It didn't occur to him to ask what the professor was doing in the middle of the Nevada desert. 'Now, that hangar looks largely undamaged,' the Doctor said, pointing across the airfield.

'Permission to take some men across to scout the area, sir?' Yates was as impatient for involvement as usual.

The Doctor shook his head. 'No, Mike. I've only got the one jamming device. Let's all go, very carefully.'

The group proceeded across the rubble-strewn runway and towards the undamaged hangar. The UNIT soldiers scanned the sky, weapons drawn, a protective ring around the others. The Doctor kept his finger on the switch of the jamming device. He knew that they would be noticed in time.

Suddenly a group of some thirty Waro came towards them, flying low over the airfield. The goblins tumbled over each other in their enthusiasm to reach their targets.

The soldiers began firing, automatic weapons spraying bullets that caught a few of the goblin creatures and tugged them harshly down towards the ground. One flipped on to the tarmac just in front of Shuskin, still twitching. A bayonet appeared in her hand, and flashed down into the creature's face.

The Doctor switched on his device, and pointed it upwards as the next wave of Waro wheeled in their direction.

In an instant the formation became chaotic, Waro crashing into each other, skidding off in different directions. 'The power output of this device is much higher than the Heath Robinson contraption I came up with in Siberia, Liz,' explained the Doctor calmly, as if giving a lecture. 'But I'm sure the Waro will become resistant to it as time passes.'

'Fascinating,' said Trainor. 'How does the device work?'

The Doctor opened his mouth to respond, but thought better

of it. think it would be easier to tell you later, Professor.'

'Oh, of course,' said Trainor, as if comprehending their situation

for the first time. 'Sorry.'

Yates shouted a warning. Another group were spinning towards them from the rear. A handful survived the withering machine gun fire, flying into the UNIT soldiers before the Doctor could turn his device in their direction. Three of the soldiers and one of the Nedenah - its bland eyes still wide with passive acceptance - collapsed under the ferocious attack and lay still. Then the Doctor's device took effect, and the wings flapped randomly, pulling the Waro away.

'Almost there,' breathed the professor between pants of terror.

Liz screamed suddenly. A lone Waro had skidded unnoticed over their heads, and had reached down towards her with its massive claws. The talons were buried in her hair and scalp, and her feet were losing contact with the ground, the Waro beginning to flap upward. A trickle of blood ran down the bridge of her nose.

Yates swivelled and fired, ripping the creature in two. Liz crumpled to the ground, falling awkwardly on her weak ankle.

In an instant Yates and Shuskin were at her side, dragging her to her feet, and then supporting her between them, her arms around their shoulders, as they trudged forward.

'When we're back home.' said Yates through gritted teeth, 'I'll treat you to a weekend in a health farm. Sort your ankle out, get a nice haircut.' He glanced at her scalp, wet with blood and perspiration.

Liz went to say something, but lapsed into semi consciousness, her head lolling.

They reached the hangar and pulled open the vast metal doors. The Doctor stood in the entrance, pointing his device in the direction of the pursuing Waro. It was already becoming clear that the software controlling the Waro's wings was learning and developing. Each time the Doctor used the device the effects became less pronounced.

'Hurry!' he shouted, twisting his head to see the others running towards a seemingly undamaged C-133 Cargo master. Without warning, gunfire sounded, as the Brigadier and the remaining pair of soldiers shot at a group of Waro who were spilling through a hole in the roof.