• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

The hologram faded.

'Activate the poacher and his aides.' The android obeyed instantly, gliding to the control-bracelet panel. 'I want them to bring me the Doctor.'

Switches were pressed and half a mile away in the forest instructions were received.

Immediately, two villagers and the local poacher abandoned their respective tasks and made their way to a prearranged spot.

'Soon the Doctor will be my prisoner,' the voice purred, 'and his time machine will be mine.

Tegan and Adric looked at each other in despair.

Richard Mace stood with mouth wide open, staring at the enormous shape.

'What is it?' he said, sounding as though he wasn't too certain he wanted an answer.

'It's an escape pod,' said the Doctor, casually strolling up its ramp.

'Do you think it wise to enter, Doctor?' said Nyssa urgently.

'Whatever was in this thing is now safely ensconced in the manor house.'

Mace looked up at the pod. It was huge, conical in form, and a beautiful shade of gun-metal blue. On its underbelly were savage black scars acquired during its rapid descent through the Earth's atmosphere. It had half buried itself on impact, throwing up tons of soil and vegetation.

Nyssa joined the Doctor on the ramp.

'Are you coming?' she said to Mace. The actor pointed to himself as though he was being selected from a crowd and was uncertain the invitation was directed towards him or someone standing nearby. 'Come on!' shouted Nyssa as she followed the Doctor into the pod.

Richard Mace gazed at the conical shape. He didn't want to go inside the curious structure, but neither did he want to wait in the forest, alone.

Gingerly he mounted the ramp.

Inside the pod, the Doctor wandered around. 'The place has been stripped,' he said.

'And I bet the hardware's up at the house.'

Richard Mace stood in the hatchway and nervously peered inside.

'It's quite safe,' said the Doctor.

Cautiously Mace entered. 'You said it was an escape pod?'

'That's right. A sort of lifeboat. Only it comes from a ship that flies.'

Mace didn't believe a word.

'This is all that is left of the craft that brought the android to Earth.'

The actor smiled benignly, as though in the company of harmless fools and imbeciles.

'The lights you saw in the sky a few weeks ago', the Doctor said examining an insignia on an internal hatchway, 'were caused by the main part of the ship burning up in the atmosphere.'

'It's true,' said Nyssa.

'And how do you know these things?' asked Mace, his scepticism in no way concealed.

The Doctor smiled. 'That would be difficult to explain. But at least we're friendly.' He tapped the insignia on the hatch. 'Which is more than can be said for the owners of this ship.'

'Who are they?'

The Doctor turned from the hatchway. 'The insignia identifies them as Terileptils. A very clever race of warrior.'

'Warriors?' replied the actor dourly.

'Don't worry, they haven't come here to fight.'

If Mace believed the Doctor, it didn't reassure him, as his face remained drawn and tense.

'How many Terileptils could this pod carry?' said Nyssa, fiddling with the mechanism which operated the main door.

'That doesn't concern me at the moment. It's the number of androids there are. The Terileptils build those things too well.'

Silently the main door of the pod slid to.

'Are you sure the sonic booster can deal with them?'

The Doctor continued his tour of inspection.

'It has to. Their androids are programmed to protect. And the only way round them is to destroy them before they destroy you.'

This news didn't help to relax Mace's grey countenance either.

'Then we'd better hurry up with the booster.' Nyssa tapped the door-opening mechanism and watched the door slide open.

'A refresher course in android design would help,' added the Doctor.

'Android design?' Mace was flabbergasted. 'And how could you possibly get that?'

The Doctor paused in front of the actor and placed his hands together as though he were about to pray. 'Well,' he said, 'I too, have