Doctor Who_ Attack of the Cybermen - Eric Saward [47]
The Doctor was sceptical. ‘Oh, I don’t know.’
‘It brought you back for your friend, and therefore your death.’
As the Controller inspected the damage, Lytton summoned up his last reserves of strength and attempted to drive the knife into his respirator. But such was the thickness of metal, it harmlessly skidded across its surface.
Lytton stabbed again, and this time caught a hydraulic line near the top of the Controller’s arm. Pressing with all his might, he twisted and turned the knife, until he finally managed to rupture it. Green fluid spurted from the wound, causing the arm to go into spasm, and the Controller to drop his gun. Lytton, exhausted by his efforts, collapsed into unconsciousness. With his damaged arm now under control, the Cyber Controller turned on Lytton, raised his good arm and, with a mighty blow across his neck, killed him.
Seeing his chance, the Doctor snatched up the dropped gun. As he did so, two Cybermen entered the room.
Quickly he threw himself onto the floor, firing as he fell.
Luck was on his side. The laser beams from his gun tore into the leading Cyberman. As he collapsed, the Doctor fired again and the second Cyberman was destroyed.
Roaring like a wild animal, and slashing at the air with his fist, the Controller ran at the Time Lord. Holding up the gun, and using it like a quarterstaff, the Doctor managed to parry the killer blows and struggle to his feet.
The Controller continued to chop savagely and wildly, catching him several painful blows. The furious onslaught prevented the Doctor from manipulating his gun into the firing position. What was more, the blows he had received, and the effort of fighting, were beginning to exhaust him.
The Controller continued to press home his ruthless attack, forcing the Doctor to retreat across the room and into a corner. Seeing his prey was trapped, the Controller momentarily paused before delivering his death blow. The Doctor watched as the mighty fist was driven down towards him. Blindly he leapt to one side, the fist missing by millimetres. The effort behind the attack caused the Controller to overbalance. This was what the Doctor had been waiting for, as it gave him the vital seconds to level his gun. He fired angrily, aggressively, repeatedly. The Cyber Controller staggered. Then his enormous frame exploded.
Discarding the gun, the Time Lord lurched exhaustedly to where Lytton lay. Peri, who had been watching the fight on the scanner inside the TARDIS, ran from the time machine and attempted to grab hold of him. ‘There’s nothing you can do, Doctor.’
‘I’ve got to help him,’ he protested.
Peri could see from the dreadful angle of Lytton’s head that it was useless. ‘It’s too late,’ she pleaded, ‘he’s dead!’
Both physically and emotionally exhausted, the Time Lord didn’t want to believe what he was told. ‘There’s absolutely nothing you can do,’ Peri repeated attempting to steer the Doctor back towards the TARDIS.
He glanced back at Lytton’s body then reluctantly allowed himself to be led inside. ‘Why didn’t he say something?’ he muttered.
Peri closed the door of the TARDIS and a few moments later the time machine dematerialised.
Strict logic and lack of empathy had always restricted the Cybermen’s ability to think laterally. This occasion was no exception. Believing that to hide something well meant burying it, they had wasted valuable time pulling down and searching the enormous stacks of vastial boxes. It did not for a moment occur to them that the one left casually in a dark shadow could contain the sonic lance.
While they searched, the device had done its work.
Slowly it warmed the chemical, raising the temperature to above zero.
It wasn’t until a Cyberman picked up the box that he noticed it was smoking. But it was all too late. As he ripped off the lid the vastial flashed, then exploded. Acting as a perfect detonator, its violent eruption set off the remaining boxes, creating an enormous fireball which tore its angry way through Cyber Control, destroying everything in its path. It travelled on into the tombs terminating