Entranced by the sight below them neither the Doctor nor David noticed the Cyberman move toward them. Standing directly behind David the Cyberman gripped his shoulder just to turn him away but the grip was so strong and sudden that David stumbled. The Doctor swung around quickly and, with a yell, tackled the Cyberman causing all three of them to fall to the floor. David was loose from the grasp and grabbed the Cyberman by the arm and struggled for the Cyberweapon while the Doctor stabbed at the chest unit. His hands were not strong enough to break through the bonded metal. Briefly taken by the attack the Cyberman dropped the weapon and it skittered across the floor.

        The Cyberman tilted slightly and both of its huge arms tightened around the Doctor's chest. David grabbed the Cyberweapon and examined it quickly but found no recognizable trigger. The Doctor gasped in pain and David jumped at them and began using the Cyberweapon as a club. The Doctor took advantage of the distraction and rolled free. He took the Cyberweapon from David and fired at their enemy. The Cyberman's chest unit burst into flames as it's mechanical movements slowed to a halt.

        The Doctor motioned to David and David responded with an all clear sign. The Doctor tossed the lethal weapon to the floor and returned to the observation window.

        "So this is what they are hiding."

        David went to the Doctor and stared at the fleet. Even unmanned and unpowered the ships bore an evil presence.

        "The end of the universe..." David said. "Tell me, Doctor, you've seen so many things, have you ever seen a fleet like this?"

        "No," the Doctor said flatly. "We have work to do. Come on."

        They moved away from the window. David began studying control screens while the Doctor began typing on a keyboard.

        "What are you doing?"

        "As much as I hate to admit it we will need some explosives here and you would probably like a better weapon. Something smaller than the one you tried to clobber our friend with." He studied the display on a screen. "There's the closest arsenal," he said, tapping the screen. "Now, if I can find us a the best way there." Several building designs appeared on the screen. The came and went so fast that David could not read them but the Doctor memorized them instantly. The designs came to a stop and the Doctor nodded.

        "Let's go."

        "Wait," the Doctor said and began typing again.

        David grabbed the discarded Cyberweapon and began to examine it closely.

        "There's a trigger at the bottom of the grip," the Doctor said without looking up. "But if you pull it now you'll destroy a computer display, a terminal, and myself."

        David pointed the gun away.

        "What are you doing now," he asked.

        "Giving my compliments to the computer system of this base. Rerouting supply shipments, distribution of materials, and the like. The mix up will throw them into a tither for hours." The Doctor finished his work. "Ready to go?"

        The Doctor quickly lead David into the corridor and then onto a broad, deserted balcony with a wall railing three feet high on the ledge. At the end was an elevator that also had a solid railing around it that blended it into the curve of the balcony. The Doctor found two sets of controls, one was waist high, for the Daleks, and the other was about shoulder height, for the Cybermen. He activated the lower set and the elevator began to descend.

        "They're on to us by now," the Doctor said.

        They dropped a dozen feet until they reached a second balcony and the Doctor slowed them to a stop. There was only one room on this level and it was at the far end. They ran to it, crouched low, and the Doctor made quick work on the door lock.

        The interior of the room was covered, wall to wall, with every imaginable Cyberweapon. On a table, partially dismantled, was David's blaster. He checked the energy charge, it was good, then quickly reassembled his gun and placed it back in the holster at his side.

        "Find some explosives," the Doctor ordered as he watched the balcony.

        "Aren't you going to take anything?" David asked quietly.

        "I have other weapons to use first. If all else fails we will use those."

        David stopped, wondering just what is was the Doctor meant. Then he remembered the Doctor's disgust of the events that had taken place at the outpost and how he had thrown the Cyberweapon away just a few minutes before. Obviously the Doctor meant the use of nonviolent weapons, like what he had done with the computer before, but David could not see how that would be accomplished. He appreciated the Doctor's regard for any kind of life form but David's visions of his lost friends and his lost ship were still very clear in his memory.

        He was broken from this thoughts as the Doctor signaled to him that it was time to leave.

        The elevator came to a halt, apparently empty, on the hanger floor. Two Daleks passed on a routine patrol. After they were gone the Doctor popped his head over the railing, made sure it was clear, then gave David a signal. David leaped over the elevator's railing and sprinted across an open space to hide near one of the parked fighters. After a moment the Doctor followed.

        They charted a course through the hanger.

        The Cyberleader was addressing a group of his personal Cyberwarriors. They stood in silent, sharp ranks with glistening Cyberweapon's at their sides. They were only twelve in number yet they had the fighting power of many more.

        "Initiate standard search patterns. The entire base must be searched and the humans must be found. Do not fail me."

        The Cyberwarriors moved to their small vehicles and set about their task. The Cyberleader watched them go, doubtless that they would fulfill their orders.

        The Dalek mutation that the Doctor had tossed out of the outpost window was barely alive. The heat from the burning building had warmed the Kaled mutation's natural secretions. It had managed to create a clear pool around itself and was now using the pool as a shield.

        The Dalek noticed instantly that the water was beginning to cloud. It had kept itself warm and alive despite the danger from the fog planet's natural elements, it had sensed the approach of the Cyberman that had chose to ignore it's existence, but now it felt itself being surrounded by something different. It was not water or even the gelatinous substance that it noted but it was some other intelligence.

        It's mind began to drag. It knew it should have been able to live for several more hours until help came but suddenly it sensed that something was not right. It had just begun to speculate what was wrong before it died.

        Barely satisfied, the pool of liquid flowed into the remains of the building for more nourishment. It was stronger now. The elements that mixed it's chemistry solidified more with every feeding. Nerves and sense became firm.

        It tried to stand again but failed.

        It became aware of its location.

        A bone structure began to develop but was not yet strong enough to support the weight of the creature. It was not worried and it knew that it would soon become a creature of rapidly growing dimensions.

        It no longer flowed, it moved more in a crawl, back to the woods.

        "Do you think you could fly one of these things?" David asked quietly.

        "Probably," the Doctor whispered back. "Even if I could I doubt that we would be able to make it out of here."

        "I've been wondering about that, Doctor," David said. They had travelled halfway across the hanger and had successfully hidden from one patrol after another. The Doctor and David were now resting in the shadow of a Dalek ship. "Why would they waste that much time and energy to hide a fleet of this size? What are they afraid of? Earth doesn't have the defensive or offensive capabilities to hold off something like this."

        "No, but they have more than just the people of the planet Earth to count as their enemies. The Daleks and Cyberman have waged uncountable wars throughout history. If word were to get around that they were united those enemies may become united as well. It would be good strategy to keep their fleet quiet until they were completely ready to fight."

        The Doctor knew that time was very near. He also knew that planets and systems like Earth's would be on the list of first strike targets. Once sufficient bases were taken the Dalek/Cyberman fleet would have foot holds throughout the galaxy.

        The Doctor and David were quiet for a few minutes as a patrol passed. Across the deck from them was a metal grill that covered a ladder leading down into the tunnels. After the patrol moved along and all was safe they stepped onto open ground. The sound of a second patrol approaching made them dive back for cover. After a few precious seconds a group of Cyberwarriors came into view and marched past them.

        "That first patrol were Daleks. Now this second one completely filled with Cybermen," David pointed out.

        "Yes," the Doctor nodded. "Both the Daleks and the Cybermen have a specific goal. Total domination of the universe for their race and their race only. Neither of them would be happy with this alliance but they would have to find it necessary. I suspect that they have each made plans to eliminate the other once their conquests are made."

        "So mutual suspicion is pretty high?"

        "Yes, hopefully they haven't caught on to the changes I made on the computer. Supply shipments and transfers suddenly being changed may only increase their suspicion of each other. If it's bad enough and lasts long enough they may forget all about us."

        The Doctor listened for any sound that would tell them of any other patrols.

        "I hope this works, Doctor."

        "We will be the first to know if it doesn't," the Doctor smiled. "Comforting isn't it?"

        "We've been lucky so far."

        "Lucky?" the Doctor scolded him. "I believe that ingenuity is responsible for most of our success. Calling on ourselves in times of trouble," he paused, then added, "we've been very lucky."

        Without a word they ran to the grill, removed it, and descended into darkness.

        Directly beneath the deck of the underground launch pad was the solid crust of Botan, several hundred feet below that was the tunnels. It had taken Ruth a long time to understand just what the tunnels were for. She knew that both the Daleks and the Cybermen had a small portion of their compliments devoted to science but hardly enough to warrant tunnels of this magnitude. She knew, then, that they were here for military purposes. Ruth had concluded that when the launch of the armada took place the tunnels would be flushed and scorched clean with the exhaust of the ships. All the would remain would be a dark crater that would change the face of the planet forever. Ruth, like David Bauer, pledged not to let that happen.

        "If we climb this ladder," Tom Henry was saying, "we come right into the heart of the bay. Then we can conceal ourselves in one of the ships of the fleet and ride it home. Once there we could hijack the fighter and warn Earth."

        Ruth simply nodded. The plan was as foolish and as faulty as the others he had suggested to her. They had few weapons and neither was sure that they could fly a Dalek or Cyberman fighter. Would a Dalek ship even have controls that their hands could use?

        Does he want to get caught, she asked herself. Perhaps the strain had gotten to him and he figured capture, or maybe suicide, would make things much easier. She felt a tinge of sorrow for him. At one point he had been one of the most promising cadets at the academy but something had gone wrong. His erratic behavior and lack of self discipline had cost him dearly.

        "You follow me, Ruth, and don't do anything unless I tell you. OK?"

        "OK," Ruth replied quietly, looking into all the nearby tunnels. She had decided that she was not going up the ladder and that it was time for them to separate. As soon as he was to high to see which direction she went she would be gone in the shadows.

        As Tom started to climb they heard the signs of someone coming down the ladder.

        "Cybermen," Ruth gasped.

        Before she could protest Tom grabbed her and pulled her into a corridor. They watched, expecting to see the silver boots of a Cyberman, and were surprised when they saw the end of a long multicolored scarf drop into the tunnel and hang a few feet from the ground. The scarf swayed for a moment then bounced around like some mad puppet. Ruth could barely stop herself from laughing. Finally the scarf disappeared as it was pulled up the ladder before the Doctor finished his climb down. David quickly followed.

        "Commander!" Ruth cried in relief.

        David swung around, his hand already going for his blaster, when Ruth ran from their hiding place and flung her arms around him.

        "Ruth? You made it," he burst out in surprise and hugged her tightly.

        "I knew you'd come back just like you said."

        David stepped back. "Ruth, this is the Doctor."

        The Doctor shook her hand warmly. Tom finally stepped forward and the Doctor saw the happiness in David's face change.

        "Hello, Tom," David said dryly.

        "Commander," Tom acknowledged, his face solid.

        David broke the tension by looking at the Cyberweapon Ruth was holding. He pointed out to her that it was smaller than the one that he had held earlier. They had no time to debate why as a laser bolt slammed into the wall just over the Doctor's head. David turned and opened fire as several figures approached them.

        "Go! Run for it!" David cried. He had to admit it was good to be in command again even if his first command was to retreat.

        The Cyberleader stood listening to a report from one of his Cyberwarriors. He listened to the bad news silently. The humans were roaming freely through the tunnels.

        He reconsidered whether they may be valuable to him. They did know secrets of Earth's defence capabilities that would be useful to him but they had been more than he bargained for. He began to doubt that they were worth the trouble they had caused. They would tell him nothing unless he had something to hold over their heads. He knew that they would not tell him any information in exchange for their lives but, he questioned, would they tell in exchange for another's life?

        He remembered that humans had a fatal flaw that was easily exploited. They cared for each other and he knew they would tell him what he needed to know.

        The only advantage he had from their escape right now was that the Daleks did not know that fact. The Daleks. They were up to something and even his sources could not discover what. They had also had their time alone with the captives at the outpost. What had they learned, even more important, what were they planning? He had to find out and in the fastest way possible.

        The Cyberleader gave the order to recall all the Cyberwarriors and to release the Cybermats.

        Within a minute the Cybermats that had been smuggled into the base without the Daleks knowledge were becoming active. Their silvery, metallic shells, their glowing eyes, and their wiry antenna sparked into action. Thousands of them swept into the tunnels.