Doctor Who: The Visitation (12 page)

As Adric pondered, he noticed, at the same moment one of the villagers did, what appeared to be an enormous firefly drifting along the path ahead of them.

'Run, lads!' a villager shouted. 'Run for your lives!'

Screaming, the villagers fled into the forest in a state of self-induced panic.

Finding himself unexpectedly free, Adric crouched behind a thick bush and waited to see what had upset them so much. As the light grew nearer, he could see that it was the luminous death's-head mask the android was still wearing.

Adric waited, allowing the robot to pass before cautiously relinquishing the cover of the bush and following.

Although it was now quite dark, Adric had little trouble in keeping up, even though the android changed direction several times. If he hadn't been so pleased with himself, Adric might have realised that the robot had made every effort to ensure the boy did not lose track of him.

The Doctor stood before the Terileptil's computer examining the controls.

'Now what do we do?' said Tegan.

'Look around,' the Doctor said distractedly. 'See what there is.'

Tegan flicked through a computer print-out.

'You think he'll have left a forwarding address?'

The Doctor didn't reply, having become engrossed in studying the machinery before him.

Tegan and Mace searched the room as thoroughly as they could, but all the paper they found was either covered in Terileptilian script or mathematical formulae, none of which they could understand.

The Doctor slowly moved along the computer switchboard to the control-bracelet panel.

'You know,' he said, 'I didn't realise the Terileptils were so technologically advanced.'

'I'm pleased you're impressed,' muttered Tegan.

After carefully examining the control panel, the Doctor began to manipulate a row of needle-like levers. This done, he then removed the casing of the panel and studied the banks of printed circuits inside. After a moment's thought, he removed one. 'Let me see them replace that in a hurry,' he said smiling.

'What have you done?' said Tegan crossing to examine the Doctor's work.

'Made the control panel inoperable,' and he slipped the circuit into his pocket.

'But we still don't know where the Terileptil has gone.'

'We must keep looking'.

'For what?' Tegan was beginning to get annoyed with the Doctor's vagueness. 'I'm not sure...until we find it.'

With work completed on the sonic booster, all that remained was to test it.

Nyssa entered the console room and switched on the power. For a moment, she stood listening to the hum of electricity, as it surged along the heavy cable. Without first having her work inspected by the Doctor, she was concerned at having to test the booster inside the TARD IS. In theory she knew the machine would work, but if it wasn't adjusted properly, such was its concentrated power, it could quite easily destroy the time machine.

Wishing the Doctor would hurry up, Nyssa looked at the scanner-screen, but could see very little. She then fiddled with the light-intensity control and the picture improved, showing Adric hurriedly entering the clearing where the TARDIS stood. He looked worried, as in fact he was, by the android's sudden disappearance. He was concerned that the robot had discovered he was being followed and had taken evasive action.

Adric increased speed. As he got nearer, the door of the time machine opened and Nyssa stepped out waving. Pleased to see her, he smiled and returned the wave. But his expression turned to one of horror when he saw the android appear at the side of the TARDIS.

'Look out!' screamed Adric.

Nyssa turned and fled into the TARDIS, attempting to close the doors, but the android was already on top of her.

Adric sped across the remaining distance and bravely jumped onto the robot's back, but once again, he was flicked effortlessly away. Stunned by the fall, the boy lay motionless on the ground.

The android paused as he entered the console room, his defence mechanisms alerted by the presence of high technology that was not of Terileptil design.

Although he had caught a glimpse of Nyssa, as she disappeared into the corridor, he could not follow until he had checked that it was safe to do so. This he proceeded to do.

Nyssa crouched at the side of the sonic booster and slipped on a pair of ear-mufflers.

Stealthily, she set the booster's slide control on tick-over then switched on the power.

The machine quietly started to hum.

She then scrambled across the floor and eased her bed from the wall. This was to be her bolt-hole after the booster was switched to full power. This, she thought, is where I will be triumphant...or die.

The android moved along the corridor towards Nyssa's room, scanning the way ahead.

He paused as his attention fixed on the heavy duty cable running along the floor, his sensors indicating a flow of power.

Nyssa repositioned herself by the booster just as the shadow of the android fell across the floor outside the door. She froze in terror, hardly daring to breathe, her hand poised on the booster control.

A moment passed before the android cautiously moved into the doorway.

Instantly Nyssa hit the slide control on the booster and the machine screamed into life, a narrow, highly concentrated beam of ultra-sonic sound striking the robot in the chest.

Quickly she locked off the control and started to scramble towards her refuge. The android fired, catching the booster a glancing blow and sending her tumbling across the floor.

Although unhurt, Nyssa lay where she fell, pretending to be dead. The android fired again, and although scoring a direct hit, the booster continued angrily to roar and scream, its sonic beam tearing into him. Unable to advance, because of the beam's resistance, he was forced to stand his ground and continue to fire. But his power supply was dangerously low.

Suddenly he stumbled as the room began to vibrate. The mirror on Nyssa's dressing table split, then shattered. Ornaments and loose furnishings danced and jigged about, some of them tumbling from their shelves.

The android continued to fire, his aim now less accurate. Again he wobbled badly, as though the strength had been drained from his legs. Nyssa half opened an eye and saw that wisps of smoke were drifting from the android's left knee and that he was having to support himself against the door frame.

The booster continued its relentless pounding. Desperate to relieve the onslaught, the robot fired at the power cable, causing its casing to burst into flames. He fired again, but still the booster did its work.

Smoke was now pouring from both the android's legs as he attempted to drag himself out of the room. Again he wobbled, this time almost overbalancing. In one last frantic attempt, the robot fired at the booster, but his power was virtually exhausted and the beam fell short, scorching the floor.

Even though she was wearing tightly fitting ear-mufflers, Nyssa was still able to hear the scream of the booster. Suddenly it was joined by another high-pitched note. She opened her eyes and saw that the android's face had started to dissolve. A moment later, he exploded, showering the room with burning debris.

Quickly, Nyssa jumped to her feet and ran to the booster, but was unable to switch it off, the control having been damaged by the android's high-energy beam. She continued to struggle, but the sliding switch would not budge. The sonic beam that had so effectively destroyed the robot was now beginning to attack the structure of the TARDIS.

Nyssa began to panic. She abandoned the switch and worked on the clamp which was holding the cable to the booster. Even that proved an enormous struggle, but at last it came away and the machine fel silent. Nyssa removed her ear-mufflers and quickly ran into the corridor, broke open a locker, removed a fire-extinguisher and sped back to her room where she attacked the burning cable.

When the fire was out, she collapsed onto her bed exhausted. Although she had won, she felt neither elated nor triumphant.

The crunch of footsteps in the corridor announced the arrival of Adric, who had regained consciousness after his fal .

'Nyssa!' he said delightedly, rubbing his head as he entered the room. 'You did it! You destroyed the android.'

'I did it,' she said quietly.

Such was her lack of enthusiasm, Adric feared she had been hurt. 'Are you all right?'

'I'm fine. Just a little sad... it was such a magnificent machine.'

Adric was amazed. 'That machine tried to kill you!'

'It was a slave. It was only doing what it was told.'

Nyssa stood up and started to brush the dust from her tunic. 'I think we should check to see how much damage has been done to the TARDIS.'

Unable to comprehend why Nyssa should be so depressed, he followed her into the corridor. 'What about the Doctor and Tegan?' he said as they entered the console room.

'Where do you think we should start looking?' said Nyssa as she examined the console.

Adric felt the bump on his head again. It was beginning to throb. 'Tegan must still be at the house. And with that thing destroyed,' he said, indicating a piece of the android which had been blown into the console room, 'it's safe to go back there now.'

Nyssa pointed at the scanner.

'It's dark. Aren't you forgetting the woods are full of your friendly villagers?' She looked pointedly at Adric. 'I would have thought you'd had enough of their company for one day.' Nyssa continued to move around the console removing fragments of metal and examining the switching mechanisms for damage.

Adric watched. He knew what he was about to say would not meet with her approval.

'There is a fast way of getting to the house,' he said quietly. 'We could go in the TARDIS.'

Nyssa looked up, her face flushed with anger. 'No!' she shouted. 'If you move this ship, we could finish up anywhere.'

'And if we don't,' he said solemnly, 'the Doctor and Tegan could finish up dead.'

At the manor house the Doctor examined the heavy lock on the front door.

'Wel ?' said Tegan.

He shrugged. 'Without the sonic screwdriver, there's little I can do.'

'Maybe our actor friend could pick it.'

The Doctor stood up. 'Not this time... We'll have to use the window.'

Quickly they made their way back into the main hall. As the Doctor tried the window, Richard Mace appeared at the landing door, loaded down with weapons and flasks of gunpowder.

Tegan was amazed. 'Where did you find those?'

'In a cupboard on the landing,' said Mace, somewhat embarrassed, 'I felt that as the owners are no longer of this world, they wouldn't mind a poor thespian borrowing them.'

The Doctor smiled to himself as he struggled to open the window.

'Is that the way you propose to leave this building?' Mace asked.

'The main door's locked,' said Tegan.

Mace waved a hand over his portly frame, now made even larger by an array of pistols protruding from his waistband. 'I would never get through.'

'You might if you abandoned some of that junk,' said Tegan tartly.

'Junk!' screamed Mace theatrically. 'This, madam, is our insurance!'

The Doctor jumped down from the sill. 'You can stop arguing. None of us will be able to get through the window. It's been sealed.' Mace held up one of the powder flasks draped across his broad chest and said, 'I could blow out the main lock.'

'It would be quicker and safer to find the back door,' said the Doctor, making for the landing.

Suddenly they heard the familiar sound of the TARDIS.

Mace unshouldered his musket. 'What's that?' he said, ready to fire his weapon.

The Doctor smiled. 'It's all right. It's help, if we're lucky.'

But something was wrong. The TARDIS had almost materialised when it started to fade again.

'What's wrong?' said Tegan.

'I don't know.' The Time Lord looked worried.

'What's this?' said Mace, watching the fading blue shadow in amazement.

The Doctor and Tegan exchanged worried glances.

'It may be the only glimpse you'll get of my TARDlS,' the Doctor said quietly.

Inside the TARDIS, some very strange noises were coming from the console.

Although she felt on the verge of hysteria, Nyssa said, 'We must try and stay calm.'

The TARDIS creaked and lurched. Nyssa looked around the console room, worried that it might be about to break up.

'I should never have allowed you to talk me into moving the TARDIS.' Adric flicked more switches, which only seemed to aggravate the instability of the time machine.

'Now what are you doing?' shouted Nyssa.