Doctor Who: The Doomsday Weapon (11 page)

Jo wriggled in Allen's grip, but the arm now round her waist was like a steel vice. After a moment Dent's voice replied over the little radio. '
Captain Dent to Security Guard Allen. Re-attach female to explosive charge, and from now on stay where you can see her. if f intend to activate the explosive, I shall give you ample warning.
'

'
What about the escaped male?
' Allen asked.

'
Other guards will be sent to pursue,
' said Dent's voice, '
and he need not be brought in alive...
'

Winton stood gasping for breath at the top of another of the little hills. The position of the sun told him which direction to go to get back to the colony. He fingered the bullet graze that ran along one shoulder. There was some blood, but it wasn't serious. His heart had stopped pounding now, and he started to jog-trot down the slope. Then he saw an IMC buggy coming over the crest of another hill. It wasn't Security Guard Allen this time, it carried four men in IMC uniforms, and they carried long guns. They spotted Winton almost instantly, and the buggy started to come towards him.

He stopped, and looked about him. There was no hiding-place, only open dusty ground and the little hills. For a moment he thought of giving in to them. He was tired and exhausted and the wound was beginning to hurt. All they'd do was take him prisoner again. He turned back to look at the buggy, with the half-formed idea of raising his hands in surrender. To his surprise, the buggy had stopped. Two of the guards were aiming their long guns at him. They both fired at the same time, and Winton heard bullets whistle past him and hit the ground beyond. These men had no intention of taking him prisoner they were there to hunt him down and kill him.

In panic he ran away from the buggy, then suddenly realised he was making for a sharp incline of craggy rocks that the buggy couldn't possibly climb. Two more bullets were fired. One hit the rock ahead of him, and the other ripped through the trousers of his old work-denims. Now he started to dart from side to side as he climbed the steep embankment of rocks, thus presenting the IMC men with a more difficult target. As he climbed higher and higher, he looked over his shoulder to see what the IMC men were doing now. The driver had brought the buggy to the foot of the rocky steep, and now three of the IMC men were climbing after him.

But Winton was already well ahead now. He reached the top of the incline, raced over its crest, and then stopped dead when he saw what lay in the valley now below him. Next to a big plastic tent carrying the letters 'IMC' was a mechanical robot using a drill in the ground. An IMC man emerged from the tent and stood watching the work of the robot, but hadn't yet seen Winton. Winton calculated that on this downward slope he might be able to flash past the tent and the IMC man before the latter knew what had happened. Winton started running downhill at full speed.

The three IMC security guards found the rocky slope hard going. They weren't used to this kind of physical activity, and their uniforms restricted them. But they pressed on as best they could because they all had IMC living units back on Earth that they didn't want to lose, and IMC wives, and their children were in IMC schools that were very exclusive, and if they got the duralinium from this planet they would all get good IMC bonuses. Above all, they hated all colonists because they were eccentric and didn't conform to the society on Earth, and sometimes they smelt of sweat.

As the three IMC men reached the crest of the hill they heard two shots ring out. By the sound of the shots they knew they had come from one of the specially-made IMC handguns. Curious, they ran over the crest of the hill until they saw below them Caldwell 's IMC tent, the robot, and Winton's body sprawled on the dusty hillside. Caldwell stood over the body, gun in hand. He looked up the hill.

'I got him for you,' he shouted up to them. 'Don't worry. Charlie here will dig a grave.'

The three IMC men turned back, to go down the rocky side of the hill again to their waiting buggy. One of them brought out his little-two-way radio and reported the success of the mission to Captain Dent, who seemed very pleased.

Outside the IMC tent, Caldwell remained exactly where the three security guards had seen him. When they were well out of sight he pocketed his gun and sauntered over to where Winton was sprawled on the ground.

'It's all right,' he said, 'they've gone.'

Winton slowly got to his feet. 'Thanks.'

Caldwell had gone into the tent, and gestured for Winton to follow. Inside there was a collapsible work table, and on its surface were various samples of rock which the robot had drilled out of the ground. Caldwell opened a fast-aid box, took from it some antiseptic and started to clean up Winton's shoulder wound.

Winton said, 'Why are you helping me?'

'I'm a miner,' said Caldwell, 'not one of Dent's killers.' He took hold of a dressing and put it on Winton's shoulder. 'Listen friend,' he said, 'go back to your colony and persuade your friends to get off this planet.'

'We're waiting for the Adjudicator,' said Winton.

Caldwell picked up one of the rocks from the table. 'See those silver-coloured veins in this rock? That's pure duralinium. This is the biggest strike we've ever made. IMC want this planet, and they're going to get it.'

'But an Adjudicator's decision is law,' Winton protested. 'If he says we can stay, then it's all right'

Caldwell stood back and grinned, but it was not a happy grin. 'I've just saved your life, young man,' he said, 'so that gives me the right to give you a little fatherly advice. Adjudicators can be fixed, understand?' He rubbed his fingers against his thumb. 'Money,' he said, 'that's all that really matters, I don't like it, and you don't like it, but that's how things work. So just you set about persuading your good people to get off this planet before anyone else gets killed.'

Ashe called together the search party of a dozen men in the main meeting-room of the big dome. The Doctor explained to the men exactly what had happened - how he had been called back to the IMC spaceship where Dent had told him that Jo and Winton were chained to a bomb. When the Doctor had finished, Ashe spoke to the men.

'There are only two things we can do,' said Ashe. 'We can let ourselves be blackmailed by IMC, or we can go out and search for the prisoners.'

The response from the men made it quite clear that they were in no mood to give in to IMC.

'Fine,' said Ashe. 'With the IMC spaceship sitting on our doorstep, we'll have to wait till its dark before we leave.'

Norton spoke up. 'The prisoners could be anywhere. How do you expect to find them after dark?'

'There aren't many places to hide,' Ashe said. He went to a wall-map and pointed. 'There are some caves here, some Primitive ruins here and there, and that's about all.'

'But aren't we wasting our time with this proposal,' asked Norton. He pointed at the Doctor. 'We've only got
his
word about all this

'Why should I lie?' asked the Doctor.

Norton had his answer ready. 'Maybe you're really working for IMC. This is a trick to get all the men to leave the main dome so that the IMC men can walk in and take over!'

And at this point Winton staggered in clutching his wounded shoulder. He slumped down onto a chair and immediately told his story about the way in which he escaped from the bomb. Because of his state of exhaustion, the wall-map was taken down and brought over to him so that he could point to the ruins where he and Jo had been chained to the explosive charge. 'But your wasting your time going there,' said Winton. 'My guess is they'll have moved her somewhere else by now.'

'Why should they?' said Ashe, 'if they think you are dead?'

Winton didn't answer the logic of that. He rushed on to his next point instead. 'I've got a better idea. We'll take over their spaceship and send them packing!' There was a murmur of approval from the colonists. But Ashe spoke up against the idea. 'We're not going to start a war, Winton.'

Winton looked up at Ashe. 'Look, I've been chained to a bomb, hunted, and shot at. As far as I'm concerned, the war's already started!'

'We must wait for the Adjudicator,' said Ashe.

'Remember what that IMC miner told me - the Adjudicator will be fixed,' said Winton. He went on, 'We'll take over their spaceship, make them release Jo, and send them back to Earth.'

'I absolutely forbid it,' said Ashe.

Winton summoned up the strength to struggle to his feet. 'We've listened to you for long enough, Ashe.'

'I'm the elected leader of this colony,' Ashe said. 'It says in our Constitution, to which you agreed, that although we run the colony on democratic lines, in a state of emergency the leader has the authority to act as he thinks best.'

'Then my best is better than your best,' retorted Winton. He turned his back on Ashe and said to the onlooking colonists, 'We'll attack in force in the morning!'

The male colonists gathered round Winton, to discuss the attack. Ashe found himself pushed out of the way. He turned to the Doctor. 'What can I do?'

The Doctor pushed his way through the crowd of colonists to Winton. 'You said one of the IMC men helped you. Where can he be found?'

Winton said, 'His name's Caldwell . He's got a tent pitched in the north sector.'

The Doctor looked at the map to check what was meant by the 'north sector', then quickly hurried out into the oncoming night.

The Doctor found Caldwell in the IMC tent. He was testing rock samples, using an instrument about the size of a fountain-pen that bleeped furiously every time it was pointed at a duralinium vein.

'Working out your future bonuses?' asked the Doctor from the doorway to the tent.

Caldwell looked up, surprised. 'Sort of. What do you want?'

'Your help,' said the Doctor.

Caldwell turned back to his work. 'I'm an IMC man,' he said quietly.

'Do you know that Captain Dent has got my companion, Jo Grant, chained to a bomb?' said the Doctor.

'That's just to scare you into keeping quiet,' said Caldwell . He went on working, or pretending to work. To the Doctor it was obvious that Caldwell 's conscience was bothering him.

'Tomorrow morning,' said the Doctor, 'the colonists are going to attack your spaceship. I believe that might provoke Captain Dent to press the button.'

Now Caldwell stopped working and looked up. 'If those idiots attack the IMC ship,' he said, 'the guards will mow them down. You'd better stop that attack before it happens.'

'I don't know that I can,' said the Doctor, 'although I'm going to try. But there's something you can do.'

'What?' asked Caldwell .

'Release Jo,' said the Doctor, 'before the attack starts.'

Caldwell looked from the Doctor back to the bits of precious rock. He stared at the rock samples for some time. Then he drew a long breath. 'Why do you have to pick on me?' he said, still staring at the lumps of rock.

'Because,' said the Doctor, 'I believe that at heart you're really a good man.'

Caldwell continued to look at the rocks on the table top. Then, finally, he said, 'I'll do what I can. But you'd better stop that attack, Doctor. It won't be a battle. It'll be a slaughter.'

The Doctor left Caldwell staring at the rock samples.

An hour later saw Caldwell back in the control room of the spaceship. Morgan had just received news on the radio that an Adjudicator was on the way and would arrive soon. Dent was about to send another IMC guard to the Primitive ruin to relieve Security Guard Allen who was still keeping an eye on Jo.

'Don't bother about relieving the guard,' Caldwell said. 'Just have the girl brought back here.'

Captain Dent was taken aback by Caldwell 's remark. 'What do you mean?' he asked.

'I've gone along with you in a whole lot of things,' said Caldwell . 'But chaining a girl to a bomb, that's pretty low! I want her brought back here immediately.'

Now Dent knew that Caldwell was serious. Had the man gone out of his mind? 'She stays where she is,' said Dent. 'And in case you've forgotten, I'm in command,' he added icily.

'And in case
you've
forgotten,' said Caldwell evenly, 'I'm your mineralogical expert. Either the girl's brought back, or the survey stops.'

Captain Dent had never met with insubordination like this before. He tried to remember what he had learnt during his staff management training. ' Caldwell ,' he said, putting on smile, 'we're sitting on the biggest duralinium strike in the history of IMC! This is no time for two old buddies to fall out about some stupid girl!' This was from page 44 of the Corporation's staff management handbook.

'We aren't buddies,' said Caldwell , 'and never have been. Bring the girl back, or I'm on strike.'

To strike was expressly forbidden by the IMC Terms of Employment, but Dent thought it best not to mention that. He tried another ploy. 'If you fall out with IMC,' said Dent, keeping up his smile, 'you've got an awful lot to lose. Your wife isn't going to like it if you don't have that nice IMC living unit back on Earth.'

'There's something the great IMC staff index doesn't know about me,' said Caldwell . 'My wife walked out on me just before this trip, so you can't use that on me any more. Bring the girl back, and you can keep my share of the bonus if you like.'

Dent held down his rising temper, and turned to Morgan. 'Have her brought back.'

Morgan just stared.

'Did you hear me?' Dent barked.

Morgan jumped to his feet. 'Yes sir. Right away, sir.' He hurried out of the control room.

Dent turned back to Caldwell . 'I don't know what game you're playing, Caldwell , but I hope you realise that you have committed professional suicide.'

Jo felt her arm being tugged. She opened her eyes, saw Security Guard Allen looking down at her. 'Wake up,' he said. 'You're going back to the spaceship.'

She sat up stiffly, and saw that she was now manacled by both wrists to the bomb. Its light was no longer flashing.'What's happening?' she asked.