Doctor Who_ Delta and the Bannermen - Malcolm Kohll [2]
The TARDIS had stopped outside a huge hangar with the toll identification boldly written on the side, in all the major languages of the galaxy. To the right of the hangar was a small tollbooth with the toll fees displayed on a large board beside it. The TARDIS was lit by a single harsh spotlight, the rest of the complex being cloaked in the inky blackness of deep space. Trails of mist blew across the cold runway, adding to the impression that the station had been sacked or abandoned in great haste.
The TARDIS door slowly eased open and the Doctor peered cautiously out. ’Hmmm, I don’t like it one little bit,’ he muttered.
‘Me too. It’s spooky,’ said Mel, emerging stealthily behind him.
‘Be ready to get back to the TARDIS at the first sign of trouble,’ said the Doctor. He was straining to pierce the murky gloom when suddenly a brilliant spotlight flashed on, catching Mel and the Doctor in its harsh glare. A loud
’HALT!’ echoed across the runway.
The Doctor shielded his eyes against the glare. ’Who’s there!’ he demanded. ’Why don’t you come into the light and show yourself?’
The tollbooth and the runway became a blaze of lights.
Revealed in the tollbooth window was the Tollmaster, a scaly alien wearing a spangly jacket and party hat. He was blowing a party razzer and grinning from ear to ear, his lips curling back to exhibit a fine set of large white teeth.
He seemed in high spirits and gave his razzer one last blow before crying excitedly, ’Surprise! Surprise! Welcome friends. A thousand times welcome.’
The Doctor, realizing that danger was past, now became irritable at having been the butt of a joke.
‘I must say, you have a funny way of showing your friendship. I thought you’d been robbed by space pirates.
We were about to warn the authorities. Now, about the toll fee...’ He started rummaging through his pockets again.
Although he knew it would be fruitless, he always thought it was worth making the gesture.
The Tollmaster dismissed the Doctor’s efforts with a wave.
‘Tonight is your lucky night. You are out ten billionth customers!’ said the Tollmaster. Leaning out of the window he pointed to a flashing string of digits pulsing above the tollbooth.
The Doctor, however, had no plans to stay and join in the celebrations. ‘Ten billionth, eh? Well, congratulations.
Now, if we can just settle up and be on our way...’
The Tollmaster, temporarily deflated, quickly interrupted the Doctor. ’But you’ve won our Grand Prize!
Mel, who until now had watched the exchange in silence, suddenly became animated. ‘Oh really! What is it?
I’ve never won anything before,’ she cried, hopping from foot to foot in excitement.
The Tollmaster, delighted at last to have a receptive audience, directed his answer to Mel. ‘You have won... our Fabulous Fifties Tour – a week in Disneyland, Planet Earth. Back in time to 1959, a great year. I wish I was as lucky as you.’
Mel’s face broke into a huge smile. ‘That’s fantastic! Oh, let’s go Doctor – please say yes – I haven’t been to Earth in ages. Oh please...’ Mel turned her soft eyes to the Doctor, using her best Spaniel look to try and melt his heart and change his mind. She was put in mind of the sparrow trying to sharpen its beak on the rock of time.
But surprisingly it worked, because the next thing the Doctor found himself saying was, ‘Yes, a week’s holiday might in fact be quite pleasant, now that I think about it. A rolling green sward, a cool stream, birds twittering. Exactly what’s needed, a large dose of tranquillity.’ He closed his eyes in thought; he could almost feel the cool breeze and smell the sweet scent of new-mown grass.
Chapter Two
The sustained fire from a squad of Bannermen soldiers sent rock chips flying from the rough-hewn walls of the Frontier. Huge boulders which acted as defence barriers for the Chimerons were almost obliterated in palls of sulphurous smoke. The battlefield was littered with dead and dying Chimerons.
Chumeria, known as the Garden Planet of the Universe, was under attack. The warlike Bannermen, after making