Doctor Who_ The Ice Warriors - Brian Hayles [40]
‘You don’t know what you’re doing!’ cried Victoria, trying to draw back, ‘No—I wont go to them! They’ll kill me!’
Storr was in no mood for argument. Grasping Victoria’s arm, he bundled her brutally along the ice tunnel, and away from the imminent avalanche. ‘They’re against Clent and his sort and the Ioniser—that’s good enough for me!’ he growled.
‘And if you stay here, you’ll die anyway! Come on!’
Victoria followed Storr out to the safety of the main cavern. But there they stopped—abruptly. Facing them, guns at the ready, were Varga and his warriors—and they looked anything but friendly. Storr seeing them for the first time, at last understood why Penley and Victoria had been afraid.
Fearsome brutes, no doubt about that—but what allies they would make against the scientists! Varga stepped closer to Victoria and spoke, his voice harsh. ‘Where is Turoc?’ he demanded.
Aware how close she and Storr were to death, Victoria answered weakly, ‘He was crushed to death... by the ice.’ She sensed Varga’s rising anger, and quailed before it. ‘It wasn’t my fault!’ she cried.
‘I gave you your life,’ the warlord hissed venomously,
‘but you ran away. Because of that, one of my men is dead!’
He gestured to Isbur, the warrior closest to the girl. ‘Take her inside!’
Victoria didn’t resist—there was no point. But as she entered the spaceship’s gleaming airlock, lsbur’s fist upon her arm, she threw Storr one last anguished look.
With a broad smile, Storr extended his hand to the Ice Warrior. The gesture was ignored.
‘Identify yourself!’ rasped the alien leader.
‘My name’s Storr,’ stated the hunter pleasantly. ‘I’m a scavenger—a Loyalist!’
Varga was interested—Storr could see that. ‘You are from the Base?’ the Martian whispered keenly.
‘No fear! I’m against the scientists! They’re devils, the lot of them!’
‘Then you know nothing of their machines?’
‘I don’t want to! They’re out to destroy our world—and I want to help you destroy them! I’m on your side!’
It was Zondal who spoke now, as Varga lost interest.
‘What good are you to us?’
‘I know the land here—lived here all my life. I can help you!’ But he had seen Varga’s chilling response, and knew the truth at last.
‘You are not a scientist...’ uttered the warlord, coldly,
‘therefore you are useless and unnecessary.’ He gave a nod—
and Storr crumpled before him, scythed dawn by the sonic guns.
‘Now to question the girl...’ Varga whispered hoarsely, and turned back towards the spaceship.
Clent turned from studying the Ioniser monitors to find Miss Garrett standing at his shoulder. Her face was tense as she passed him a seismic print-out. ‘The glacier is moving again!’
Clent drew in a sharp breath. ‘The fifth surge today,’ he exclaimed, and moved across to the electronic wall chart that marked the glacier’s grim progress. ‘The Ioniser isn’t holding it...’
‘We’re down to half power,’ Jan pointed out nervously.
‘We daren’t go above that level...’
Clent’s features tightened with anger. ‘If only we knew what was inside that spaceship. Until we do, we’re helpless!’
Because of the one missing factor, they couldn’t put their problem to ECCO, the all-knowing computer; Clent had not even notified World Control—for him, an unprecedented omission.
‘We most decide soon,’ insisted Jan.
‘Not until we know the facts, Miss Garrett!’
‘Supposing the Doctor fails?’ she demanded. ‘Suppose we never find out?’
‘We’ll face that when we have to.’
‘But we must be prepared! There has to be a contingency plan if everything else goes wrong!’
Clent looked at Jan dispassionately. ‘Nothing will go wrong. The Doctor will succeed. He has to!’
When the Doctor at last reached the ice cavern, he found Penley crouched over Storr’s dead body. After a moment’s pause, Penley covered the lifeless face for the last time.
Penley attempted to explain. ‘Storr came up here to talk to the aliens. He thought they’d be able to do some good for the youngster I found here.’
‘Jamie?’ asked