Doctor Who MA23 - Killing Ground by Steve Lyons

Author:Steve Lyons
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-07-13T02:22:12+00:00

* * *

The cyborg creatures were in the building. Madrox could hear their ponderous footsteps reverberating through the metal corridors as they drew closer. His hands were sweating, his shoulders ached and the blaster almost slipped through his fingers, seeming to grow heavier.

The control centre doors had been propped open; he and the remaining three men of Patrol Two had a clear view down the access corridor.

Behind them, the Cybermen waited outside the line of fire. The humans were merely cannon fodder — but any objections would have made their deaths more certain and instant.

They came into sight, then, at last - all six of them, lumbering steadily up the passageway with no pretence at caution. Madrox boggled through his sights. In person, they seemed larger, even more imposing, more deadly. For a moment, he didn‘t have the strength to pull the trigger. But then he remembered the fate of Overseer 2/4 and he obeyed the Cyberleader‘s instructions. As did his colleagues. As always.

The intruders shook but didn‘t fall beneath the concentrated onslaught. Madrox was reminded of tales he had heard of the first rebellion; of how the Cybermen had proved resistant to the same weapons. The strength of their casings had been only one factor. The microwave emissions of the guns had been useless against inorganic matter. Madrox‘s current targets had to have almost as many artificial components as did the Cybermen themselves. He wondered how far Henneker‘s fanaticism had made him go.

The answering fire, conversely, was instantly fatal. Two Overseers fell, their body armour useless against the blue spears of flame which impaled them. The intruders were almost upon them and Madrox‘s nerve gave way. He rolled beneath the next volley and scrambled for cover within the control centre. A Cyberman tried to take a bearing on him, but he was too fast - and, within seconds, the cyborgs had arrived and it had more urgent business to contend with.

The Cybermen reacted with their customary efficiency. The Leader‘s gun was ready; it fired three times into the nearest intruder, which buckled and fell. But others were already retaliating. The Cybermen were obviously affected - if not felled - as jets of fire ripped through them. One of the silver creatures staggered forward, closing the distance until it could use its head-mounted weapon. It fired repeatedly, but its targets were unharmed. It found itself surrounded by three cyborgs and, as Madrox watched, its limbs were torn from it like wings from a fly. The odds were five to two now and he was beginning to realize that the Cybermen may be defeated. Not that it mattered either way. Both sides had reason to kill him. He glanced to where the only other surviving human cowered beneath a console, tears staining his cheeks. They exchanged a brief helpless look.

The Cyberleader had pressed its gun into service again. The already damaged, one-armed attacker fell, giving out a horrendous rattling wail.

But two more copper-coloured cyborgs had managed to close in and seize the deadly weapon, fighting to wrench it from its owner‘s hands.

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