Doctor Who_ The Ice Warriors - Brian Hayles [51]
‘Varga!’ came that relentless voice once more, ‘Answer—
or I fire again!’
There was no other choice but to obey. With a furious, sweeping gesture, the warlord ordered his warriors from the building. Furious, Varga shouted aloud the message to the Doctor: ‘You will suffer for this!’ Then, lurching past the crumpled body of the human in the vestibule outside, the Ice Warriors streamed out into the freedom of the snowy wastes—and the protection of their spaceship.
But when they reached the ice cavern, they discovered the sonic cannon fused and destroyed, Zondal unconscious, and both their prisoners gone...
10
On the Brink of Destruction!
Jamie, who had just recovered consciousness, was helped out of the snug confines of the diagnostic unit by an almost hysterically relieved Victoria. The Doctor had gone on ahead to the control room without explanations. He had told the two youngsters to follow as soon as possible.
‘What’s been happening?’ asked Jamie, stretching his cramped limbs. Then, as memories crowded back, he looked at Victoria more thoughtfully. ‘Arden—is he—?’
She nodded quickly. Then, as they walked through the empty corridors to the control room, she filled in what had happened during Jamie’s healing sleep, and what they might expect to find. On arrival, the Doctor quickly made it clear that there was no time for questions or answers. As he helped Penley to his feet, he indicated the reviving bodies of the scientists and technicians who were littered all over the control room floor.
‘We’ve no time to waste. Help some of the others, will you?’
‘That was rather a neat trick,’ commented Penley. ‘How did you do it?’
The Doctor smiled, mildly apologetic. ‘Made a mess of the Ice Warriors’ weapon system, I’m afraid. I’ll tell you about it another time.’
Jan, quickly recovering, turned to the Doctor in dismay.
‘The Ioniser—they made me disconnect it!’
‘Then link it up again—fast as you can!’
Jan looked to Clent for confirmation.
‘That’ll be perfectly in line with the computer’s directive, Miss Garrett. You may proceed.’ Jan hurried to put his order into action. Clent turned to the Doctor, his tired face filled with relief. ‘Thank you, Doctor,’ he said, and then. seeing Penley standing at the Doctor’s shoulder, frowned. ‘You played your part well. I gather,’ he conceded. But his eyes still looked unfriendly.
‘Clent’—the Doctor interjected urgently—‘the spaceship’s reactor is ion-powered. Mercury isotopes—’
The Leader’s face fell. One of the main reasons why the Base reactor didn’t use mercury isotopes was that their critical fusion level had proved uncontrollable on a large scale. ‘Then we dare not use the Ioniser at full force,’ he said dejectedly.
‘It’s our last chance gone...’
‘You still haven’t taken the degeneration factor into account!’ exclaimed Penley.
‘But there could still be enough residual particles to form a prolonged chain reaction!’ barked Clent. ‘Don’t you understand the risk? We could all be wiped out in an instant!’
‘It’s a risk you have to take,’ insisted the Doctor. ‘If you don’t, the Base will go down under the glaciers anyway.’
‘Not forgetting the aliens,’ Penley reminded them.
There was a moment’s pause as this threat sank in. Jan had brought the Ioniser into operation once more, and it hummed quietly in the background as she came to report,
‘It’s on minimal power, Leader Clent,’ she said. ‘We can use it at any time you want.’
Clent turned away, not wanting the others to see his fear. He knew the next step that most be taken—but he could only draw back.
‘The computer said wait!’ he stated vehemently.
Jan looked at him in surprise. ‘It said wait until we had more information. We’ve got it now!’
‘Can’t you see it won’t make any difference? It dare not act— we dare not act!’
‘And why’s that?’ asked Jamie, who had overheard Clent