023 - Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon by Malcolm Hulke

Author:Malcolm Hulke [Hulke, Malcolm]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-07-12T01:21:02+00:00

and persuade your friends to get off this planet.’

‘See those silver-coloured veins in this rock?’ said Caldwell.

‘That’s pure duralinium.’

‘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.’

13

The Attack

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.

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