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'So you want to plunder Earth?' the Doctor countered.

'There's no question of "plunder", Doctor,' Greyhaven snapped. 'We wil open a trading relationship with the Martian people. Both planets will benefit.'

'In the lasst few centuriess, our major citiess have become depopulated. Our people are impotent and disseassed.

Our fieldss are barren. Lord Geryahavunn hass been assssissting uss.'

'Staines,' Greyhaven prompted.

The Home Secretary pul ed a test tube from his jacket pocket.

'Martian soil,' Benny said. It was one of the tubes from the crashed helicopter, or one very similar.

'Not quite,' Greyhaven said, taking it from his colleague. 'Martian soil is little more than rust. It's mildly radioactive and completely sterile. You have as much chance as growing crops on the hul of this spaceship as in Martian soil.'

He handed the test tube to the Martian Lord. 'But when Xznaal's men analyse the contents of this test tube, they will discover that our scientists have reintroduced biological agents that make the soil fertile. It is a simple chemical treatment process.'

64

Xznaal's held the tube in his vast pincers. 'Our sscientisstss theorissed that ssuch a processss would exisst, but without raw materialss, it remained just a theory.'

'One of my refineries is already producing the fertiliser. To human eyes it is a laughably cheap procedure, but it will save an entire planet. Soon, space freighters built by British Aerospace will be transporting the fertiliser, and raw materials like it to Mars. '

The Doctor straightened. 'Not Martian warships?'

Xznaal hissed. 'Thiss will be the only war rocket needed to ssecure our interesstss here. Thiss iss not an invassion, Doctor, thiss iss a trading partnersship.'

'The Martian ship is here for the same reason we maintain the garrison on Gibraltar,' Greyhaven explained.

'Exactly,' Staines brightened. He was plucking up his courage now. 'I must say, Teddy, I was a little sceptical before, but the more I hear, the more it sounds like an excel ent idea.'

'I take it Staines gets to keep his job in the new order?' Benny said.

'Oh yes. He will be Home Secretary and Chancel or, I wil be the Prime Minister, serving Xznaal as head of state.'

'This doesn't sound very democratic,' the Doctor noted. 'Don't the British people get a say in all this?'

'No,' Greyhaven said coldly. 'There is nothing to discuss. Once the situation has stabilised, dissenters may be allowed to emigrate.'

'And if they don't want to?'

'Then they won't be allowed to dissent. The ill-informed opinions of a rabble won't stand in the way of mankind's destiny. People want strong government, they want security, they want a better standard of living. Do you seriously think that the current generation of politicians can provide that when they spend most of their time arguing amongst themselves over trivia and they are afraid to look beyond next week, let alone into the new millennium?

No offence, David.'

'None taken, Teddy.' The second half of the speech was almost word-for-word what Staines had put in his electoral address.

The Doctor's mouth was open, ready to object when there was a rumbling noise far away from them. Another sound the same. Benny turned to the Doctor, who was frowning.

'Lord Xznaal,' a disembodied voice echoed, 'we are under attack.'

The Martian roared, turning to face Greyhaven.

'What is happening?' the human asked. He couldn't speak Martian.

'Vissual,' Xznaal barked. A hologlobe lit up between them all. It showed the underside of the Martian vessel. The engine cowlings at the rear were flaring and flashing with tiny explosions. A combination of anti-aircraft fire and surface-to-air missiles, and quite a fierce attack. The compartment that they were in was at the other end of the vast craft, and they could feel the blasts.

'Are we threatened?' Greyhaven asked.

Xznaal was studying a damage report that was scrolling across the screen. 'No,' he concluded. 'You told me that you had your country'ss