Doctor Who_ Curse of Peladon - Brian Hayles [46]
Grun, his face gaping with amazement, let himself be hauled up. And it was at that moment that the Doctor heard Izlyr’s harsh warning. When he looked up, the warlords face was turned to Ssorg, and his grime gloved hand was pointing across the length of the Pit.
‘Doctor!’ came the explosive whisper, then ‘Ssorg—kill!’
In the same split second that Jo screamed again, Grun flung the Doctor to the ground. The ground on which he had been standing exploded into white heat as the laser beam from Arcturus’s gun seared into action. But it was the last shot that Arcturus ever fired. Ssorg’s sonic destructor, ordered into action by Izlyr, fired also—and it was the sight of Arcturus’s destruction that brought the scream of horror to Jo’s throat. Under the impact of the intense sonic pulse, the shape of the neuroplasm first distorted, horribly, then vanished in a burst of particles. Jo, turning away from the dreadful sight, could only gasp what she and the others all about her at last knew: the secret enemy of Peladon and the evil force behind Hepesh was delegate Arcturus.
9
A Conspiracy of Terror
Hepesh had lingered only, long enough to see the swift destruction of his alien ally. While the confusion over Arcturus’s clumsy attack on the Doctor still raged, the High Priest took what he knew would be his only chance of escape. With the Doctor alive, and the link between Hepesh and the alien explained, nothing remained but to fall back on the plan that had lurked in his mind long before Arcturus had suggested the sharing of power... This defeat, and what he had heard from the King’s own mouth in the temple before the ritual combat, convinced Hepesh that the last resort—a palace revolution—was inevitable. The plans had been prepared; armed men that he could count on were at hand. What he would tell those who were loyal to the old ways, to the spirit of Aggedor, would send them swiftly against these arrogant aliens and even against the king himself. It was enough to claim that the young king was possessed, invaded by the alien evil. Once Hepesh became regent once more, that evil would be forever purged. The Federation would be only too glad to rid itself of such a source of trouble. The delegates would return to their planets and peace would reign on Peladon once more—with, or without its present king. Hepesh had ruled with honour before, and he could do so again. But this time, it would be on his terms!
In the throne room, celebration mingled with sadness. The revelation of Hepesh’s strange ally had profoundly distressed Peladon. To have Hepesh disagree with him was almost natural, given the difference in their age and outlook. But to find himself betrayed by a man he had trusted all his life... Not even the quiet wisdom of the Doctor could heal that wound.
‘There was no malice towards you, your majesty,’ the Doctor murmured, ‘only a fanatical love of the past.’
‘And a corresponding hatred of the future’, whispered Izlyr.
‘He would stop at nothing to prevent the Federation gaining a foothold here.’
‘It is almost inconceivable...’ wailed Alpha Centauri, ‘that a Federation delegate should be involved in subversive activities of such a violent nature! I would have trusted Arcturus with my life.’
‘That would have been most unwise,’ hissed Izlyr.
‘But the attack on Arcturus,’ wondered Jo, ‘it nearly killed him.’
‘Faked,’ said the Doctor. ‘He simply told Hepesh what to do to make it look as though he had been the victim of an assassination plot.’
Izlyr nodded. ‘As I suspected. But there was no proof.’
‘What about the things I found on the balcony, and in Izlyr’s room?’ queried Jo.
‘Planted by Hepesh, Jo,’ replied the Doctor, ‘to stir up suspicion amongst the delegates themselves. If you hadn’t discovered them, someone would have.’
‘But the manifestation of Aggedor—’ interrupted Peladon.
‘That wasn’t easy, your majesty,’ said the Doctor. ‘You must’ve noticed yourself, it didn’t happen every time...’
‘The Royal Beast didn’t appear when that huge statue fell,’
trilled Alpha Centauri, ‘nor when Arcturus was attacked.