The bodies of a dozen Yahanans littered the narrow street and the remnants of two Surti vehicles smouldered from the impact of a ground-assault missile. The banshee wail of sirens filled the air and screams could be heard some distance away, almost drowning the sound of blaster fire.

The nine-strong squad of Sontarans emerged from the armoured personnel carrier to stand amid the carnage of their own creation. As General Sontaris had predicted, official response to their cleansing of the city had been weak and disorganised. Now they had orders to start clearing the surrounding buildings. It seemed strategically sound to start with the largest building in the street - a deserted warehouse.

The squadleader directed two of his troops to go ahead while the missile team remained poised to destroy any vehicles that might emerge from inside. When the point troopers indicated that the way was apparently safe, the squadleader led his remaining four Sontarans into what used to be a lactic depot.

Activating torches on their armoured wrists, the nine clones moved cautiously into the warehouse, sweeping the darkness with the million candle light beams. Spotting a structure covered in a tarpaulin, two troopers opened fire, strafing it with blaster fire. As nothing could have survived the barrage, two further troopers moved forward to investigate.

Without warning a dark orb appeared from the scaffolding and raced at the nearest Sontaran. Seven weapons opened fire on the shadow and initially the hovering form was thrown back, but the effect lessened with each blast. As the creature reached the first trooper, it blazed into life, sending arcs of lethal electricity sweeping over the clone's helmet and torso, throwing him 50 feet across the depot floor.

'Missile team!' shouted the squadleader. Immediately a projectile was loosed at the creature, hitting it full on in a dazzling explosion. The Sontarans gaped at the creature as it emerged unscathed and flashed past them, killing the two-man missile team before advancing on another trooper.

'Fallback to the APC!' squealed the squadleader.

The remaining Sontarans fled from the warehouse, pursued by the crystalline creature.




The silvery skimmer weaved between the dunes, seeming to hug the ground for comfort. Kovalis was piloting the Yahanan vehicle with the Doctor beside him, while Nick sat just behind them in what should have been the communications officer's position. So far their journey had taken under ten minutes, but the Doctor knew that while he was flying to Dar-Es-Buraq, Seth would be attempting to navigate the dimensional tempest around the anomaly.

Kovalis had radioed ahead to inform Buliseye HQ of their ETA and had been told of Marshal Jarah's death. As the most senior Commander, it fell to Kovalis to take on the position. It also seemed that the Wasi had been busy since night had fallen. First reports had reached the Surti of an attack at Seth's villa and then teams of Wasi had cropped up all over the city, massacring Cufic and citizens alike - including members of the security services.

'One thing's niggling me, Doctor,' said Nick.

'What's that?' asked the Doctor, seemingly distracted by the view below him.

'Seth says he wants to help the Time Lords, right? But why didn't he send out a distress signal?'

'I have been pondering the same conundrum, Nick,' replied the Doctor, turning to his companion. 'Once thing is certain. I suspect our Mr Seth hasn't been entirely truthful with us.'

'And you said he would not deceive us,' added Kovalis reproachfully.

'Pah! I was just persuading him to reveal more than he wanted.' The Doctor shook his head. 'Alas he did not reveal everything.'

'What do you think's happened to Alf?' asked Nick. 'I'd kill myslef if she's not okay…'

'Nick, don't ever say that.' The Doctor placed a bear-like hand on his friend's shoulder.

'We've got to find her, though!' said Nick desperately.

'For once, time is not on our side, Nick ,' the Doctor said gently. 'I need you and Kovalis to pull things together when we reach Buliseye HQ.'

'What do you mean?'

'If I can't find any of the drug Seth mentioned, we will need a fallback position,' said the Time Lord clone gravely.

'I presume by your tone that this fallback position is not a pleasant one?' asked Kovalis.

'No,' replied the Doctor, fixing the Yahanan with an intense stare. 'It is very far from pleasant; indeed, it is cataclysmic.'

'What about Alf?' demanded Nick.

'Alf is very important, Nick, but the truth is we must prioritise.'

'Prioritise?' shouted Nick. 'What the bloody hell does that mean?'

'Please, Nick,' the Doctor said; his gruff voice edged with anxiety. 'Alf is my friend, too. We both know that she would want us to stop Seth and the Tiger's Eye before we embarked on a search for her.'

'I s'pose you're right,' said Nick with a sigh. 'It's just difficult…'

'Please hear me out,' implored the Doctor. Nick fell silent and concentrated on what his friend was saying. 'Seth will try to capture all the Tiger's Eye in their dimension. However, he will want to complete the set. To do that he will need to bring the TARDIS and the creatures back here to summon the last one. When he does, we will need to be ready.' The Doctor turned to Kovalis. 'Does Yahanis have any space-based planetary defences?'

'It does. A network of satellites armed with lasers.'

'I presume their primary function is to destroy asteroids?' Kovalis bobbed his head. ' You must issue an order for those satellites to be aimed at Dar-Es-Buraq.'

'To destroy the creatures?' asked Nick hopefully.

'No, Nick, to destroy the city.'

'What?' cried Kovalis incredulously. 'Have you lost your mind again, Doctor?'

'Maret, I am afraid that these creatures are virtually indestructible and cannot be affected by mere laser fire - no matter how powerful the weapon. There is one thing that might, though. Molten lava.'

'And where are we going to lay our hands on that?' asked Nick.

'Dar-Es-Buraq is built in the crater of a dormant volcano,' explained Kovalis quietly. 'Are you sure this is necessary, Doctor?'

'It may be - but I hope to avoid it. However, to do so, I will need to get in to the dimension as soon as possible.'

'We're not going to blow up the bloody city if Alf is still missing,' said Nick darkly.

'We'll have to organise the evacuation of the city,' said Kovalis, attempting to mollify the younger man.

'Nick, help Maret. I must go to Seth's villa. If there is any of this drug left, that is where it will be.'

A whine of VTOL engines told the three passengers that the aircraft was about to touch down. The Doctor glanced out of the window to see a landing-platform atop the gleaming structure of Buliseye HQ. Kovalis clambered from his seat and jumped out of the door with a salute to the Doctor. Nick unbuckled his seatbelt and with a swift nod, followed the Yahanan on to the tarmac. The Doctor waved and then sat forward to address the controls.

'Seth's villa,' he said to himself. 'And don't spare the horses.'




At last the spinning mirror on the console came to a halt. Seth exhaled slowly and his shoulders bowed. The hard work was done and now all he had to do was find the Tiger's Eye. He reached out and eagerly operated the scanner. The TARDIS seemed to have landed on a hill overlooking a structure that bore an uncanny resemblance to the nose cone of a missile.

Seth moved around the console, setting up the TARDIS instruments to mimic those he had in his villa, searching for trans-dimensional or trans-temporal readings. After a few frustrating minutes familiarising himself with the archaic controls, he had succeeded in producing a map on the scanner that showed almost a hundred yellow dots. Seth gazed at the screen incredulously.

There were only meant to be 12 of the creatures here. What were all these other readings? Then the truth dawned on him. Anyone who had used the emphazine would have travelled to this bubble of unreality and would subsequently show up on his scans. Seth hurriedly altered the instruments to scan only for crystalline life forms.

The image on the scanner flickered and was replaced by one showing just 12 readings, all located in the in the missile cone structure below the TARDIS's position.

'Come, Rasa. We have work to do,' Seth said. He operated the door control and, with the Raston Warrior robot ahead of him, left the ship.



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