Doctor Who_ The Doomsday Weapon - Malcolm Hulke [7]
'Go in,' said the man.
The Doctor and Jo entered the dome. It was very simply furnished - just an old bed, a rough kitchen table, some hardback chairs. A woman dressed in a long skirt and blue denim shirt was cooking something, using a portable infra-red oven. Her simple clothes were faded and had been patched many times.
'Good afternoon,' said the Doctor.
The woman spun round in astonishment.
The man followed them inside, still keeping his gun trained on them. 'I found them spying in Sector 27,' he told the woman, who was obviously his wife. 'Cover them.'
Without a word the woman took a shotgun from the wall, and aimed it at Jo and the Doctor. Now the man put down his gun. 'Hands above your heads,' he said 'I want your weapons.'
'We have no weapons,' the Doctor said. 'And why do you have guns? Who are you afraid of?'
But the man didn't answer. He crossed to the Doctor, and felt his pockets for concealed arms. Satisfied that he had none. he turned his attention to Jo.
'You're not touching me ,' said Jo.
'Maybe not,' said the man. He fumed to his wife. 'Keep an eye on them. I'll radio-telephone Ashe, and tell him that I'm bringing them in.' He went to a corner of the one main room, sat himself before a radio-telephone, put on earphones and quietly had a conversation with whomever he was calling.
'I asked,' said the Doctor, 'why you have guns?'
'The Primitives,' said the woman. 'We heard a band of them roaming about in this area.'
'Are they the original inhabitants of this planet?' the Doctor asked.
She said, 'Didn't they tell you?'
'Didn't who tell me?' asked the Doctor.
'The combine that you're working for,' she said. 'We're not working for anybody,' said the Doctor.
'Then who sent you?' she said.
'No one,' said the Doctor. 'We came here of our own accord. We're from the planet Earth.'
'This is our planet,' said the woman. 'We don't need any more settlers.'
'Settlers?' said the Doctor. 'We're not settlers. We are explorers.'
The man returned from the radio-telephone and heard what the Doctor said, 'So you admit it! You're explorers, prospecting for one of the mining cornbines!' He turned to his wife. 'Ashe says for me to take them to the main dome right away.' He picked up his gun, trained it on the Doctor. 'Right! Move! And you, too, Miss!'
Jo said, 'I do wish you'd let us explain.'
'You can do your explaining at the main dome,' the man replied. 'On your way, now! And if either of you try to run for it, I'll kill you both.' He turned to his wife , 'You come too, and bring your gun.'
Nothing was said during the second part of their journey, except for an occasional 'Move to the right' or 'Move to the left' from the man behind them with the gun. All the ground they covered was rocky and bare, although once Jo saw a pretty little flower with alternate red and blue petals - something she could never see on Earth. But she thought it best not to stop to inspect the flower; the man with the gun might have fired instantly. After four or five little hills they came into sight again of the big dome with its spaceship. Being closer now to the spaceship she could see that it was rather battered in appearance, and some lettering on its side had been partly burned off so that she could not make out any of the words.
'In there?' the Doctor asked, not turning his head but indicating the main entrance to the dome.
'In there,' said the voice behind them.
Jo and the Doctor went into the main dome, the man and woman following them. The man said, 'Stop where