Doctor Who: Target - Novelisations [137] - Dragonfire by Ian Briggs

Author:Ian Briggs
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science-Fiction - Doctor Who
ISBN: 9780426203223
Publisher: Target Books
Published: 1989-06-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

The Creature strode through the Ice Passages without hesitating; the others had to struggle to keep up.

Occasionally, it would stop and look back, as if checking that they were still behind him, but it never waited long enough for them to catch up and rest. It was already in the chamber of the Singing Trees when the others reached it.

The long strings of ice swayed in the cool air currents. Mel and Ace, who had never seen in here before, looked about in wonder.

‘This is beautiful,’ murmured Mel.

‘Here, I can hear singing! Where’s it coming from, Professor?’

‘Shh. I think it wants us to watch.’

The Creature was standing a few metres to one side of the large crystalline structure that stood in the centre of the chamber. Once the others were all watching it, the Creature turned to face the interlocking formation of crystals. Two beams of fire shone from its eyes and seemed to penetrate right to the heart of the structure. Inside the crystals, the beams split into a thousand streaks of colour as they reflected and refracted throughout the perfect optical system.

‘What’s it doing, Professor?’ whispered Ace.

The thousand beams of light seemed to be concentrating round the centre of the structure, and once they reached a certain intensity, they rose up out of the crystalline formation. It was as though they had physical substance, forming themselves into the image of a regally dressed woman – some kind of elder stateswoman. She seemed to hang in the air over the crystalline structure.

‘So that’s what all this is for!’ murmured the Doctor in admiration. ‘It’s a polydimensional scanning imager. And our friend the Creature is using itself as the energy source.’

The elder stateswoman had started to speak. ‘Planetary archives. Criminal history, segment 93-12-03. Two of the most vicious examples of the criminal mentality have been the leaders of the notorious Kane-Xana Gang. Until its demise, this gang carried out systematic violence and extortion, unequalled in its brutality.’

The image changed to a static criminal-record hologram of Kane, but the woman’s voice continued. ‘In view of the sheer evil of his crimes, Kane is to be exiled from the planet Proamon and never allowed to return. He will be banished to the barren planet of Svartos, which has a permanently frozen dark side on which he can survive.’

The image flickered, and changed into a criminal-record hologram of the woman of the Ice Statue.

‘Kane’s partner, the woman Xana, killed herself during the final siege of the gang’s headquarters, to avoid being arrested and tried for her crimes.’

The Creature’s beams of fire disappeared, and the images evaporated. The Creature turned to the others.

‘Yes, I think we’ve heard enough,’ muttered the Doctor grimly.

Mel turned to the Doctor. ‘That explains about Kane. But where does the Creature come from?’

‘And what about the treasure?’ asked Glitz looking at the fabulous crystalline structure. ‘Is this it?’

The Doctor frowned. ‘No. We may be deep beneath Iceworld now, but Kane could find this easily enough if he wanted to. No, the real treasure must be somewhere else.

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