Doctor Who_ The Zarbi - Bill Strutton [41]
She said, ‘There’s another panic on — look!’
Doctor Who nodded grimly. ‘They’re putting their army on the alert, no doubt. They didn’t take long, you see, to act on what I did tell them!’
Suddenly the slaves toiling in the Crater of Needles stopped and looked up and around them.
Warning hooters were sounding all along the crater rim.
There was frenzied activity among their Zarbi guards, who were scuttling down from their vantage points in the rocks to assemble information — then hurrying off in directions pointed out by their leaders.
‘What is it?’ Barbara asked. ‘Some kind of alarm?’
Hrostar was listening, watching everything keenly. He glanced at the sky anxiously.
‘Yes. I hope they haven’t found...’ Hrostar didn’t finish the sentence. Several Zarbi guards came scuttling down to the clearing where they worked. Prapillus saw them first.
‘Look out,’ the old Menoptera said. ‘They’re bringing their stings with them.’
‘Stings...?’ Barbara was bewildered.
Hrostar pointed at the evil venom grubs with their long deadly projectile snouts. ‘Venom grubs,’ he said curtly.
‘They can spit death as far as a cannon.’
The ‘stings’ halted at a sign from the Zarbi, covering the slaves. The Zarbi reared and waved at the slaves, pointing towards the crude prison huts.
‘They want us to go to our huts,’ Hrostar said.
The weary slaves downed their tools and responded slowly. The Zarbi harried them angrily, urgently, to move more quickly. As the slaves crowded into their prison huts the sting grubs turned, keeping them covered.
Hrostar paused inside the door of their hut and remained there looking out cautiously. A sting under the control of a Zarbi guard remained pointing at their, door.
The other Zarbi were climbing back to join the squads marshalling on the crater rim.
Old Prapillus hobbled forward to join Hrostar’s anxious watch. He stared outward and ventured a question.
‘Hrostar — it is the invasion, do you think?’
Hrostar stared upward uneasily. ‘The spearhead, yes, I think so...’
‘Then tell us what we must do!’ The old Menoptera said excitedly.
Hrostar paused. ‘Nothing!’ he said. ‘Not yet...’
A discontented mutter arose among the expectant slaves. Hlynia, Prapillus’ beautiful daughter, turned indignantly on Hrostar.
‘Do nothing? We have waited generations for this moment!’
Hrostar did not answer. He pondered and paced restlessly.
He muttered, ‘The spearhead was intended to create a bridgehead for the main force. It was to be a complete surprise. He stared outward. ‘If this is an alert — how did the Zarbi know?’
Suddenly a thought struck him. He turned suspiciously on Barbara, pointed at her. ‘Your earth friends! This man of science you tell me of — could he be helping them?’
Barbara, taken aback, hesitated uncertainly. ‘Well... no!’
she protested. ‘I’m... I’m sure he wouldn’t...!’
‘If they have captured him, as they did you, they could make him help!’
‘The Doctor would not give in easily,’ Barbara said stoutly.
Hrostar shook his head, unconvinced. ‘They are powerful! They have uncanny means of persuasion.’ He turned to Prapillus. ‘Prapillus — do you know the Sayo Plateau?’
Prapillus nodded. ‘Of course. It borders on this crater.’
Hrostar stared. ‘Here? Then they do know!’
‘Know what?’ Barbara asked.
Hrostar fretted and paced to and fro like a caged animal.
‘Our spearhead planned to land on Sayo Plateau!’ he said. He pointed out towards the sting which covered their hut unwaveringly.’ And with these Zarbi weapons — they will be massacred!’
‘But your force will be armed!’ Barbara argued.
Hrostar hesitated. ‘Not sufficiently to deal with the hosts of the Zarbi. We aimed to land in secret and to destroy the building which controls them! Everything depended on surprise, secrecy. And now... the Zarbi know!’
Prapillus and his daughter Hlynia had been conferring with the slaves crowded in the back of the hut. Now they came forward.
Prapillus said gravely, ‘Then your spearhead must be warned.’
Hrostar shrugged helplessly.