CODE: S2/S20
Episode Twenty
Simon Catlow
Road to Dead
Commander Sshaarp looked in disbelief at the scene that presented itself to him. The Emperor, His Majesty Izlyr, lay in the corner, broken and possibly dying with the priests of the Order of Oras tending him. The situation had spiralled out of control now that the GodEngine had been activated, with some strange Cyber-technology effecting it. And in the centre of the room stood the Martian Priest whom the Cyber Controller had possessed. He stood, eyes dulled with the cold, emotionless state of a Cyberman. The Cybermen held the rest of the surviving Chosen Ones back and only the human and the child were left unguarded - as if they didn’t matter. The human, Nick, seemed unconcerned by their failure as if it had been inevitable, but the child seemed completely afraid of the Cybermen and what was happening around them. Sshaarp mused to himself - not for the first time when he thought about the presence of this Falex onboard their mission - which it was no place for a child and he was a danger to the mission.
The GodEngine had become fused with raw energy that poured into its circuits, activating mechanisms that hadn’t been operational before. The whole room started to shake as the GodEngine, powered by unseen devices, began it’s slow ascent towards the summit of the Chamber which had begun to slowly part, illuminating the room with the light from above.
Sub-Commander Ha’rpaar stood by his side. “What are we going to do, sir?”
“I’ll make a run at it, and remove the Sword. Without it the GodEngine will de-activate and they won’t have their weapon.”
“I’ll give you a suitable distraction, Commander,” Ha’rpaar said with a hint of a smile. They may have been bruised and beaten down by the Cybermen but they were still the Chosen of Wellarzlee. They were honourable and the best, neither Sshaarp nor Ha’rpaar or any of the other Chosen Ones would ever forget that.
Sshaarp nodded at his friend. “Good luck.”
“And you.”
Ha’rpaar walked casually over to the Cybermen that was standing ahead of him. He took his massive claw and swiped powerfully at the silver head of the machine man, taking it clean off. The other Chosen Ones saw this as their cue and began fighting out against the Cybermen holding them in place. They had seen what Ha’rpaar did and they knew that they could do the same. They would fight like the lives of every Martian depended on them and make sure that the damn Cybermen knew that they were in a fight.
Sshaarp took the opportunity that the distraction gave him with relish. He was onto the GodEngine within seconds of dashing across the room. He scrambled up onto the platform, feeling it rise slowly and surely beneath him, to be presented by the Sword of Tuburr, the handle still visible but the rest hidden away inside the machine. Sshaarp grabbed it with both of his hands and could feel it move slightly as he pulled.
The Cyber Controller saw what Sshaarp was up to and fired one of the weapons concealed in the implanted technology of the Martian Priest. The blast hit Sshaarp in the back of his shoulder, sending him sprawling from the platform, yet the blast didn’t hurt anywhere near as much as the impact when he hit the ground did.
The platform had continued to rise up and was now far too high up for him to reach to try again, yet there had to be a way. He saw Nick in the corner of the room, shying away from the fight that the Martians were engaging in, with Falex hiding behind him.
“Nick!” he shouted, but the human didn’t seem to hear. “Nick, damn you!” This caught his attention and he made to say something but Sshaarp didn’t care about that. “You have to get to the platform. You’re the only one who can now!”
Nick didn’t know what he meant for a moment, but then he realised that the implants could enable him to get to the platform and stop the GodEngine. Nick had not tried to go too high with it since he was trained in how to use them back on the Martian warship. He focused his mind, putting all the fears and doubts behind him and concentrated on making himself rise up into the air. It was surprisingly easy and Nick found himself hovering again very quickly. He rose through the air with a naturalness that belied his belief in himself and soon he was at the platform. The handle of the Sword of Tuburr presented itself to him and he grabbed at it.
Nick pulled as hard as he could, but the damn thing wouldn’t move an inch. He tried over and over but it wouldn’t move for him. He just didn’t have the strength to be able to remove it from the ironclad grip of the GodEngine. He could feel the heat of the surface of Mars as he and the platform reached the hatch in the ceiling of the Palace of Light. It was futile. The GodEngine was lost to the Cybermen.
***
To say that the Doctor felt physically drained would have been an understatement. He felt as if his whole body had been destroyed from the inside outwards. He had collapsed to the floor and had hardly moved a muscle since the effects of what he’d attempted had hit him.
Kostaash stood next to him, the concern on his face verging on total panic. “Doctor! Come on!” He shouted, but received no reply from the fallen Time Lord.
Kostaash stood up and went to his fellow Draconian, Huurshi, who was observing the oncoming mass of Cybermen forces. The rest of the Draconian army they had brought with them to Nova Mondas was sheltered further ahead while they decided what to do in order to help the Doctor.
“They’re getting closer all the time.”
“How long before they’re on our position?”
“At the rate they’re approaching, less than five minutes unless we can start moving again.”
Kostaash looked on the Doctor once more - he still didn’t appear to have moved. “We can’t do anything without the Doctor.”
“And he can’t move. It’s hopeless.”
The Doctor could hear their conversation and knew the truth of what they said. Unless they could get away from this place now, they would die and the mission to destroy the Cybermen once and for all would have failed. He couldn’t allow that to happen. They could not defeat him again, this time. He couldn’t see well but he sensed an abrupt change in the atmosphere around him. It had grown colder all of a sudden as the wintry winds begin to pirouette around him with added gusto.
He knew what was happening, and that he’d have to act quickly if they weren’t to be killed.
“Huurshi! What is happening?” Kostaash shouted, the wailing blast of air almost drowning him out. He looked over towards the oncoming Cybermen but they didn’t seem affected by the sudden storm in the slightest and were continuing their relentless march towards their position.
“I don’t know, sir!” Huurshi said, checking his scanner. “There appears to be ...”
Whatever he said was lost to the winds as the clouds above them darkened, stained crimson as a downpour of destruction began. The scarlet mists came out of nowhere and enveloped the whole of the area that they were situated in. Kostaash’s eyes stung with whatever it was that was surrounding them.
“It’s the Red Death!” the Doctor said. His voice was weak but it was enough for Kostaash to hear. He dropped back down to face the Doctor. “The Red Death sent by the Ice Warriors.”
“Will it affect us?”
“Possibly. It all depends.” The Doctor went quiet.
“Depends on what?”
“Depends on how it was programmed.” The voice of the Doctor had become so faint that Kostaash had had to struggle to hear what was said, especially against the howling winds that accompanied the Red Death. His head slumped forward and the Draconian had to catch him.
“Doctor!”
The Doctor knew that he was bordering on death at this moment. He couldn’t allow that to happen, not yet. He couldn’t find his sweet release until all of this was over. There was only one option available to him. It was dangerous, but given the circumstances he had to try it.
His mind concentrated on modifying his body to do what was necessary.
“Doctor!” Kostaash repeated. He sat back as the Doctor’s eyes snapped open, his face beginning to twist and contort in front of Kostaash. The Doctor screamed out in anguish as if his body was being forced through the fires of eternal torment. For a moment, Kostaash thought the Doctor had become someone else. His features taking on a much more youthful appearance and his grey beard disappearing completely, but then the familiar Doctor returned as the contortions ended. “Doctor!”
“I’m fine, Kostaash. Let’s get undercover and away from this before it kills us all.”
The Doctor had leapt to his feet and was bounding away towards shelter to join the rest of their party and Kostaash and Huurshi followed.
“What happened just then, Doctor?” Kostaash said as he ran after him.
“I’ll explain later.”
“No, Doctor, you’ll explain now - once we’ve got into the shelter.” The three of them continued their run to the shelter where the rest of the Draconians were waiting. “Now Doctor, an explanation please.”
Huurshi went to the edge of the shelter, and continued to look out at the mist that was forming but couldn’t make out what - if anything - it was doing.
“Quite simply a forced a partial regeneration on myself. It was the only way that I could recover my energy after the strain that was placed upon my mind and body in speedy fashion. One of the luxuries of my race.” The Doctor didn’t like telling half-truths, but sometimes the situation demanded it.
“I see.” Kostaash said, although he didn’t let on that he still had no real idea about what the Doctor had done to himself. “So what does this Red Death do?”
“It’s essentially a weapon used to seek out and locate the enemies of the Martians. I suspect that it’s been programmed to kill only the Cybermen, but you never can be sure when technology like this will go wrong. That was why it was paramount for us to get out of the way.”
Huurshi was consulting with one of the other Draconian Warriors over the readings of his scanner. The Doctor saw this and went over to inspect the readings for himself. “Ha!” He smiled. “It’s working.” The readout showed that the Cybermen outside who had pursued them so callously were now being destroyed in their thousands. “Give it a few more minutes and it should have ensured that there would be no more Cybermen to trouble us until we get to the Cyber control Complex.”
Kostaash ordered the other Draconians to rest for a while until the devastating destruction had died down outside. It would be their last chance to before their assault on the heart of the Cyber race. “Where is Grakuuph?” he said loudly, with the response that the weapons specialist appeared from the shadows that he’d been lurking within.
“Here, sir.”
“The Fusion bombs?”
“All safe, sir. We have enough power to utterly destroy the Cyber control Complex once and for all.”
“Good. Arm them, and prepare for their installation once we’re inside the Complex.” Grakuuph nodded his compliance. Kostaash knew that they didn’t stand much chance of actually breaching the inner sanctum of the Complex as it stood, but he was certain that if they were to fail they would succeed in destroying a large part of it by ensuring that these Fusion bombs would ravage the base whatever happened.
Huurshi checked the readings of his scanner once more, and showed the Doctor what he found. “It seems to be finished.”
“Yes, the Red Death has been most effective,” the Doctor said stepping back outside. The atmosphere was still slightly rose tinted, but the blood like crimson that had filled the sky only minutes earlier had now all but dissipated. A mass of ruined Cybermen lay scattered all around them.
Kostaash had joined them and saw the carnage. He couldn’t believe that the Cybermen had gotten so close to them as he stepped over a decapitated corpse, its head lolling lifelessly to one side.
“Now Doctor, onto the Cyber control base?”
“Indeed.” The Doctor smiled, the old vigour and enthusiasm returning to his face. “And victory!”
***
Admiral Kiirc struggled to find his way back to his position in the centre of the ‘Draconia’s’ command bridge in the darkened state. “What the hell’s happening here? Lieutenant?”
Lieutenant Uhhuutha answered almost immediately. “We’ve suffered a massive power loss, sir!”
“That is inherently obvious, Lieutenant,” the Admiral said, stumbling in the dark. “I want reasons why! And why hasn’t the emergency lighting been brought online yet?”
“All systems including the backups and reserve systems are non responsive Admiral,” the calm voice of science officer Iaanohh said. “Communication with the rest of the fleet and the other sections of the ‘Draconia’ is impossible.”
Admiral Kiirc finally found his way back to his command seat, and sat down trying to get a sense of just what had happened to them. “So we’re dead in space?”
“Yes, sir.”
Kiirc couldn’t believe the situation. Makaara had brought into play some kind of new secret weapon for the Federation forces which seemed to have been doing the trick for them, and almost as swiftly as the changes to the ship happened, it seemed to die. Kiirc felt helpless by his inability to do anything. “Iaanohh.”
“Sir?”
“I want you to proceed to the engine room, and find out what the state of the engines is. This power drain is almost certainly related to what’s affected the Imperial War Destroyer, but we need to know whether we can recover. Render all assistance necessary to Engineer Salbasca, and do whatever is necessary to get there.’’
“Very well, sir.”
Despite what had happened, the bridge of the ‘Draconia’ retained a sense of calm and Kiirc was proud of the crew for that. “Uhhuutha, is the observation dome still open?”
“Affirmative, Admiral, well it was before the scanners went down.”
“Come with me.”
***
“Still no response from the ‘Draconia?’” General Lord Wellarzlee said.
“None - nor any of the other Draconian ships,” replied Izylaxx. “They are totally without power at this time, and the computer estimates that they will have only an hour of oxygen left at most for them to survive.”
“What about the other races?”
“The Qux are engaging the enemy, although the majority of their fleet is holding back.” Wellarzlee had no love for that species at all. There was something about them that made him suspicious and the fact that they had tended to hide away at the back of the conflict didn’t appease him at all. Izylaxx had continued with his report, “The Taureans have suffered heavy casualties; the Arcturians are fighting bravely and have many ships still in tact.”
With the ‘Draconia’ and the rest of the Draconian fleet out of commission, Wellarzlee knew that the Martians should take the initiative and the lead. “Yuulyz. Order the Arcturians to the front line of the battle, and tell those damn Qux to fight with honour, rather than skulking at the back.”
“Yes, my Lord,’ Yuulyz replied, already opening up the COMMlines to the flagships of those races.
The ‘Sou'the'zzx’ was rocked by an explosion which sent several of the Martians flying.
“Damage report!”
“Minor damage to the port side, with a hull breach detected on level 24. The repair crews are already moving to contain the damage.”
The course of the battle was not to Wellarzlee’s liking. They had heard nothing from the surface of Mars for some time and he worried about the state of the mission there, and now the Draconian forces, which next to the Martians were the most important part of the alliance against the Cybermen, were immobilised. “Bring us to bear.” The view screen was filled with several Cyber ships, their advanced technology almost mocking the Martian vessel. “Lock all weapons on target.”
“Weapons locked, my Lord,” said Shaaki’ra, the tactical officer.
“Fire!” Wellarzlee demanded. Streaks of energy flashed brightly across the view screen, impacting on the Cyber ship, causing an explosion of immense proportions. But if there was one thing that Wellarzlee had learned during this battle, it was that Cyber ships were resilient and couldn’t be trusted to die when they should. Before Izylaxx could even declare that it was still approaching, Wellarzlee gave the order to fire again repeatedly.
Izylaxx did speak though. “My Lord, a large group of Cyber ships have disengaged from battle and diverted their course.”
Wellarzlee turned to him instantly. “Where are they going?”
“Scanners indicate their destination is Mars.”
Another explosion hit the ‘Sou'the'zzx’ but it was relatively minor and the General ignored it. Mars? Why would they pull back to Mars? He turned to his communications officer. “Have you been able to raise Emperor Izlyr yet?”
Yuulyz turned around from his position on the bridge. “Negative, my Lord.”
“General,” Izylaxx said, his voice uncertain, “I’m detecting a large build up of power in the atmosphere of Mars.”
“What sort of power?”
“The trace signature indicates that it’s the GodEngine.” Wellarzlee’s fist clenched when he heard the name of the sacred device. “But I’m also detecting Cyber-energy pulses as well.”
“Can you put it onscreen?”
Izylaxx obliged and the view screen changed from the immediate threat of the Cyber ships, which had been considerably slowed down by the power and accuracy of the weaponry of the ‘Sou'the'zzx‘, to a view of the Martian homeworld. Just the sight of Mars was enough to instil a sense of pride within the crew of the bridge as memories of their ancestral home flooded back to them. Wellarzlee ordered magnification, and the screen focused in on what appeared to be some sort of machinery, being transported into space. Wellarzlee knew what it was almost immediately.
“It’s the GodEngine,” he said, disbelief tainting is voice. “And the Cybermen has it.”
Silence greeted this revelation from the rest of the bridge crew as the implications of this set in. Somehow the Cybermen had gained control of the GodEngine which meant the Emperor’s mission had failed. The Draconians had transmitted information from the Doctor saying that he believed the Cybermen were restructuring their star to protect it from the GodEngine, but if they controlled the GodEngine then why would they do that? Wellarzlee had no answer as of yet to that question, but he would never surrender to the inevitable. He knew what had to be done.
“Launch all fighters; tell them to destroy the GodEngine. Now!”
***
Admiral Kiirc and Uhhuutha had taken quite a while to break their way through to the observation dome, considering the number of doors that had to be opened manually they had passed through. The view of the raging battle above them they could see the full effect of what had happened to the Draconian fleet, which floated around them aimlessly and showed no signs of life.
“This is infuriating!” Kiirc said, exclaiming his anger at the situation. The Draconian fleet was dead in space and there was nothing he could do about it.
Uhhuutha had become more focused on what was happening in the battle elsewhere. The observation dome was equipped with telescopic devices to enable closer viewing, and he’d taken the opportunity to follow what was happening with the rest of the battle. It hadn’t taken him long to find the Martian ships and he recognised the ‘Sou'the'zzx’ with its distinctive green outer shell easily. He witnessed the outpouring of fighters from the flight bays and looked in the direction where they were heading. “Admiral?”
“What is it?” Kiirc said as he walked across to the position that Uhhuutha had taken up.
“The Martians appear to be launching a fighter attack against something.”
Kiirc took over the telescopic device. He saw the fighters and looked ahead to their target. With the power down he was unable to boost the magnification on the device and couldn’t make out what it was. “This doesn’t look good at all,” he said, mumbling to himself.
***
“Delta wing, punch us a hole through there,” said Flight-Commander Ziilxx, as the Martian fighters he led flew through the blaze of energy that pulsed against them as the Cyber ships fired their weapons in an attempt to repel their attack. He saw Delta wing break away from the main group, heading forwards and launching their deadly missiles into the Cyber ships, some impacting and others not, but failing to halt the enemy’s fire for a moment.
But it had bought them enough space for Alpha wing to manoeuvre past the Cyber ships and closer to their target. Ziilxx couldn’t believe that they were going to destroy the sacred GodEngine but times were desperate.
“All fighters, open fire when target is in range.” All of his surviving fighters checked in, they had only lost five so far and still had enough to destroy the machine. He checked his instrumentation; five clicks and they’d be in firing range.
When the Cybermen had equipped the GodEngine for transport, they had left nothing to chance and foresaw the possibility that the GodEngine would be attacked before it was in place and ensured that such an attack would fail. As the Martian fighters approached, they triggered a signal within the GodEngine that caused its defence systems to be activated. A powerful pulse cannon emerged from the bottom of the transport nodules and prepared to fire.
Neither Ziilxx, nor any of his other pilots detected this subtle movement on their scanners. Two clicks, one click, Ziilxx thought as he counted down the distance. “Fire!” he said, shouting his command to the other pilots.
But as they fired, so did the pulse cannon.
***
Wellarzlee stood up as he saw the fighters totally annihilated by the GodEngine’s defence systems before they had had any real chance to even damage it, never mind destroy it. There was nothing they could do as the GodEngine carried on its way to its destination.
Izylaxx moved quickly to the General’s side. “My Lord,” he said, “We have analysed the path that the GodEngine is taking and I surmise that they are planning to merge it with their star. This will create a weapon of immense power and destruction.”
“On what scale?”
“It would be powerful enough to be able to wipe out most of the Federation Fleet with only a few shots, sir.”
***
In his minds’ eye, the Cyber Controller could sense what was happening in space above Nova Mondas. The GodEngine was being placed into position. Through the systems installed in the GodEngine he had total control over it and he could feel the power that the machine would wield once it had been given the source of the star.
The feeble Martian attempts to destroy the GodEngine had been rebuffed, and now nothing stood in his way. If he had any semblance of emotion left at this time he would have smiled, but as he was brutally unemotional to everything he took no satisfaction in what was happening. It was a mere necessity.
Then the moment had been reached, and the power he brandished was dramatically increased as he prepared his weapon of mass destruction for use. Nothing could stop the Cybermen now. But with so many targets to choose from it would prove difficult to decide which one to destroy first...
***
The priest who had become the Cyber Controller stood resolutely in the middle of the Palace of Light. Nick’s failure to remove the Sword had caused the Cybermen to gain control of the situation with the Martians knowing that to struggle any further would be foolish.
The Martians had been herded together into one corner of the room, away from all exits and points of contact. Nick and Falex had been brought there as well.
“Bring the human to me,” said the Cyber Controller, his voice a bizarre mixture of the Martian Priest and the unmistakable metallic rasping of his Cyber-counterpart back on Nova Mondas. Two Cybermen grabbed Nick by his arms and brought him to the Cyber Controller. “You have cybernetic implants within you.”
It wasn’t a question, but Nick answered it as if it was. “So what if I have?”
“It is excellent. You have taken your first steps to becoming a Cyberman.”
Nick was struck by a mix of apathy and terror at the prospect of becoming one of these things. Apathy because part of him didn’t really care about what happened to him now, and terror because ultimately deep down he didn’t want to die. Even though everything that had happened to him recently, he still wanted to live.
“But for the moment, it is an obstacle to be avoided.” A spike appeared from the implant that enveloped the hand of the Martian. He plunged it into Nick’s throat.
The pain flooded through Nick instantly and he could feel the hot blood erupt from his neck and dribble down him.
“What are you doing to me?” He managed to say.
“The connections between your brain and the devices are being disabled by Cyber-nanos. This will mean you can’t use your implants to aid an escape attempt. It did surprise me that you didn’t attempt to escape through the hatch at the top of the Palace. Your lack of forethought is your downfall.”
The spike disappeared back into the implant and Nick instantly went to feel his neck. While his hands met the blood there was no sign of any puncture wound. He tried to activate his implants to resume his hover mode, but they wouldn’t respond. He couldn’t walk again.
“Put him back with the others.”
The two Cybermen grabbed Nick once more and forcibly put him back with the Martians. Falex came up to him and Nick looked him straight in the eye.
“Are you okay, Nick?”
Nick wanted to shout out that of course he wasn’t all right, but he didn’t. “Yeah, super. I’ll be fine.”
Sshaarp saw the exchange and told one of the Priests attending the Emperor to assist Nick. Izlyr’s condition was improving he was assured. His reinforced suit of armour had protected and absorbed most of the Cyber Controller’s attack limiting the damage caused, although the fact that Izlyr still hadn’t regained consciousness bothered Sshaarp immensely. It pained him to see the Emperor in such a condition, yet strengthened his resolve to beat back these Cybermen whatever the cost.
The giant form of Sub-Commander Ha’rpaar stood back away from the rest and Sshaarp went over to him. “Ha’rpaar.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you remember the raid on T’lvra Fourteen?”
“Could hardly forget it sir. We beat back the X! and captured their colours.”
“It was a good battle.” Both Martians momentarily lost in the memory of glorious past battles. “But you remember how Saaarlxz and P’yzrr had communication devices implanted in their armour?”
“Now that you mention it, that information had slipped my mind.” Both of them turned around to where the rest of the Chosen Ones were waiting to see P’yzrr standing there. When he looked in the direction of his two commanding officers, Ha’rpaar subtly nodded to attract his attention.
P’yzrr got off the ground where he’d been sitting and walked up to them. “Commander. Sub-Commander.” P’yzrr was one of the longest serving members of the Chosen Ones. He had been a member of the Order since before both Sshaarp and Ha’rpaar, and no one really knew exactly how old he was. But he was a fine soldier and Sshaarp knew that he could be relied on.
“P’yzrr, you remember that transmitter which was installed into your armour at T’lvra?”
“Of course, sir,” P'yzrr said. “I figured it might be useful again one day so I made sure that Doctor Xylat left it in.”
Sshaarp could hardly believe his luck. “Good, P'yzrr. When this is all over remind me to buy you a drink. Now here’s what I want you to send.”
***
“We couldn’t get in before, what makes you think we can this time?”
The Doctor smiled at Kostaash’s question. “It’s quite simple really. The Red Death will have affected all Cybermen within a considerable radius of this point, including the ones guarding the entrance to the Complex.” The group of Draconians led by the Doctor, now full of energy once more, were walking quickly towards the Cyber control Complex which stood before them, vast and impenetrable silver standing in their way.
“That’s your plan? We just walk up to the front door and let ourselves in?”
“Well if you want to express it in such glib terms, then yes.”
“It’s insane.”
“Quite possibly, but with a bit of luck, it’ll work.”
It took the group some twenty more minutes before they arrived at the massive steel doors that blocked their path. The Doctor was apparently right about the consequences of the Red Death with the decimated bodies of the Cyber guards now lying on the floor.
“Surely there must be other defences apart from a few guards?” Huurshi said, his voice conveying a sense of unease.
“Nonsense,” the Doctor said. “The Cybermen are slaves to logic and given the fact that this world of Nova Mondas is heavily protected in outer space the chances of anyone wishing to cause them harm getting this far is infinitesimally remote. Frankly I’m surprised that they even bothered with guards.” The Doctor walked up to the doors and reached inside his pocket. He pulled out a small device and as Kostaash went forward to see what is was, the Doctor shooed him away. “It’s always best to be on the safe side though, and I have encountered similar situations with the Cybermen in the past.” He placed the device on the door, swiftly pulling his hand back the moment contact was made. A flash of sparks erupted around the door instantly and the Doctor was lucky not to get shocked by the current.
Huurshi walked towards the door. “I told you there would be other defences,” he glared at the Doctor.
“Yes, you were right. Always pays to keep your wits around you.” He took the device off the door and pocketed it once more. “Shall we enter?” he said, pulling open the doors that led deep into the Cyber control Complex.
***
In the engine room of the ‘Draconia’, Chief Engineer Salbasca was hard at work. Whatever the Soul Weapon on the Imperial War Ship had done, it had totally drained the power of the ‘Draconia‘. He and Science Officer Iaanohh were having a terrible time in even restoring the backup systems.
“Have you tried reversing the polarity...” Iaanohh said.
“I’ve tried reversing everything.” Salbasca respected Iaanohh, he had a fine mind, but he didn’t have the experience when it came to engineering matters.
“The Admiral was insistent that we get power back online.”
“The Admiral is insistent in most matters, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any easier to accomplish the task.” Salbasca’s face broke into a grin. “Unless...” He paused. “Of course! Come on, Iaanohh!”
***
Once inside, the group had found the Complex strangely deserted. The ubiquitous silver metal was everywhere with no signs of any form of life being immediately evident.
“Where are all the Cybermen?” asked Grakuuph.
“I don’t know,” the Doctor said. “You’d have expected there to have been some around. It’s almost a disappointment that there isn’t a shoot out with them.” Kostaash gave him a funny look. “Well, perhaps not,” the Doctor grinned.
“Maybe the Cybermen have diverted their forces elsewhere?” Huurshi said.
“Possibly,” the Doctor surveyed the scene. “But I get the feeling that all of this is an illusion in the sense that we’re missing the point somehow.”
Kostaash knew it was time to plant the next of the Fusion bombs. They’d put one close to the entrance after they had entered the Complex and they had set more up periodically as they ventured deeper and deeper into the heart of the Cyber base. “Grakuuph, set another one up here.”
“Yes, sir.” Grakuuph got to work on the fusion bomb, planting it against the silver wall of the corridor. He checked the timing device was operational and like the others it was set to explode within the next hour should the remote signal to detonate not be received in the time before hand. This possibility worried Grakuuph no end as it meant that most likely they’d all be dead. He finished the task and turned back to Kostaash. “All set, sir.”
“Good,” Kostaash turned around ready to continue on their way when he saw the silver form of a solitary Cyberman approaching, and to his surprise the Cybermen was almost upon him. His gun, already in his hand in readiness for this situation, fired almost instantly. The Cybermen kept on coming though. It had no weapons and lunged in the direction of the Draconian group towards Kostaash.
More of the Draconians had realised what was happening now and joined Kostaash in firing at the Cybermen, whose resistance couldn’t last too long. The continued barrage of fire from the Draconians inflicted too much damage for it to survive and a final volley of shots resulted in its destruction.
The Doctor went over the remains. He looked up at Kostaash. “We have to be more alert. We can’t afford to loose any more men.”
“Agreed.”
***
High above the Doctor and the Draconians, the GodEngine device was all powered up and ready to fire. It was directed by the unseen hand of the Cyber Controller towards its target, facing in the direction of the helpless Draconian vessels.
***
In the observation dome, Kiirc was still observing the battle with an ever-growing sense of frustration that he couldn’t play a part in it. Uhhuutha had returned to the bridge, but Kiirc had wanted to stay here to see what was happening. After the Martians fighter attack had been wiped out, he had kept an eye on the device that had left Mars and where it had gone. Nothing seemed to have happened with it yet, and he was checking it again when a massive beam of energy flashed through the Draconian fleet, illuminating the observation dome with brilliant white light.
For a moment Kiirc thought that the Draconian fleet had been targeted, but he followed the beam through and discovered that the real target was the Arcturan forces. Where they had been fighting valiantly there was now nothing but debris. All of their fleet had been wiped out with a single blast. Whatever this new weapon of the Cybermen was, it was damn dangerous and Kiirc had no intention that the ‘Draconia’ would suffer the same fate.
A faint hum grew up around him and the emergency lighting systems kicked in. Kiirc looked around him as power began trickling back into the ‘Draconia’s’ systems.
“Mr Salbasca, you’re amazing!” he said to himself as he turned around with the intention of getting back to his bridge.
***
Uhhuutha was at his station as power returned to the ‘Draconia‘.
Kiirc entered the bridge bearing a sense of determination about him. “Status report, Uhhuutha.”
“Power is partially restored to all main systems - life support, environmental controls, and forward weapons are now online. We have auxiliary engines only at this time. Communications systems are now back online as well.”
“Kiirc to Salbasca,” the Admiral said, activating the internal ship COMMsystem.
“Salbasca here, Admiral.”
“How soon before full power is restored?”
“It’ll be a few minutes now. The systems were totally drained but by tapping the reserve I’ve managed to get the emergency ones working and main systems shouldn’t take too long.”
"Good work Salbasca. Is Mr Iaanohh still with you?”
“He’s on his way back to the bridge now.”
“Kiirc out.” The Admiral broke the connection. Lieutenant Commander Tkoorsh was standing in for the communications officer after they had been injured in an earlier battle. “Tkoorsh, can we raise the Imperial War Destroyer?”
“Negative, sir.”
Uhhuutha chipped in. “We appear to be the only Draconian vessel to recover power so far.”
“Patch me through to the main Martian vessel.”
Tkoorsh complied. “Opening a channel to the ‘Sou’the’zzx’ now sir.”
***
Yuulyz was surprised when the communication came through. “My lord, General,” he said attracting Wellarzlee’s attention. “We are receiving a communiqué from the ‘Draconia‘.”
“Put it through,” Wellarzlee commanded.
The proud face of Admiral Kiirc, commander of the Draconian forces was presented to the bridge of the ‘Sou'the'zzx‘.
“Good day to you, Admiral,” Wellarzlee said. “We thought you were out of commission.”
“We were, but we’re better now, General. I’m sad to say that I can’t say the same of the rest of the Draconian fleet though. What’s the situation overall?”
“The Cybermen have captured the GodEngine and merged it with their star to form some kind of super weapon.”
“That was what attacked the Arcturan forces?”
“Yes,” Wellarzlee said. “I think that was just a test though before they turn the weapon on the rest of us.”
“Is there anyway to stop it?”
“The GodEngine itself is a phenomenally powerful device, and it seems that the Cybermen have adapted it to their own ends. The scope of the power it now wields could be incomprehensible. We attempted an attack on the device using our small fighters, with no success.”
“And a full out attack on the GodEngine using our capital ships would be tantamount to being suicidal.”
“Indeed. Even without the Cyber ships guarding it, it would still be difficult to destroy without significant loss to the fleet. Which is why I believe that there is only one option available to us."
“Which is?”
“We destroy the GodEngine weapon by any means necessary. I have come to the conclusion that our only solution is to sacrifice ourselves to save the rest of the universe.” Wellarzlee spoke with great consideration. He knew that it would be asking a lot of his crew, and the others who would attempt it with them, but it had to be done. “It’ll only take one to get past the Cyber ships defence line, and to ram the GodEngine at high velocity. The resulting impact and the explosion that follows should be enough to destroy it. It’s the only way, Admiral.”
“And if it fails?”
“Then all is lost.”
Next Episode:
The Final Solution
CAST
starring:
Brian Blessed as The Doctor
Nick Pereira as Nick
and
Haley Joel Osment as Rahlena Falex
with
Sean Bean as Commander Sshaarp
Greg Miller as Emperor Izlyr
Richard O’Brien as Martian Priest
Daragh O’Malley as Sub-Commander Ha’rpaar
Edward Norton as Kostaash
Steve Buscemi as Huurshi
Peter Stormare as Grakuuph
Al Pacino as Admiral Kiirc
Jeff Bridges as Lieutenant Uhhuutha
Chris Barrie as Science Officer Iaanohh
Hugh Fraser as General Lord Wellarzlee
Laurence Fishburne as Izylaxx
Joe Pantoliano as Yuulyz
Tim Blake Nelson as Shaaki’ra
Dan Akroyd as P'yzrr
Will Smith as Flight-Commander Ziilxx
James Doohan as Engineer Salbasca
Christoph Lopez as The Cyber Controller
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