Doctor Who: Galaxy Four Read Free Page A

‘Mission accomplished. We have brought the prisoners.’
    ‘Prisoners?’ Vicki wondered aloud.
    But Maaga was not yet interested in her. ‘And the mesh sheet?’
    ‘It stopped the machine.’
    ‘Good.’
    Now One spoke, though the Doctor was interested to note that she now showed a trace of emotion – that of fear. ‘We could not get the mesh back again. It became affixed to the machine.’
    Maaga was clearly angry. The Doctor felt he should intervene in the interests of fair play. ‘I think you’ll find it was magnetised,’ he said.
    Maaga glanced briefly at him, then returned to her two subordinates. ‘I will deal with you both later. Sit.’
    They crossed to the chairs and did so, though they sat to attention, obviously in awe of their leader. Their faces lapsed into the normal lack of expression.
    Maaga turned back to the Doctor. ‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, but I had to hear the report first. Please sit down.’
    The Doctor grunted his thanks and did so. He waited expectantly for her to speak.
    ‘We are at war, you see,’ she said.
    Now the Doctor really was interested. ‘War? With whom?’
    ‘The Rills and their machines. It’s a fight to the death. One of us has to be obliterated.’
    ‘As bad as that?’ the Doctor asked.
    ‘Very bad indeed. So bad that it is conceivable you too will be obliterated.’
    Vicki was angry. She had no liking at all either for the ship or its inhabitants. Nor did she greatly care for what seemed to be a threat. Who did this woman think she was? ‘Who’s going to do that: you or the Rills?’
    Maaga was unmoved by her anger. ‘When a planet disintegrates nothing survives.’
    The Doctor was suddenly alert. ‘Disintegrates? I take it you mean this planet?’
    ‘Correct. It is in its last moments of life. Soon it will explode, taking all life forms with it. If my calculations are correct – and they usually are – that will happen in fourteen dawns’ time.’
    Steven was not only alarmed. He was suspicious. ‘How can you be so certain?’
    ‘You don’t have to take my word for it. The Rills contacted us by radio and confirmed my figures. That is why they are repairing their spaceship – so that they can escape.’ A look of determination came onto her face. ‘And that is why we must capture it from them.’
    Steven raised an eyebrow at Vicki. He was far from used to women having such an attitude. He preferred the old-fashioned type, gentle, loving, fond of homely things. The warlike variety did not win him over at all.
    ‘Our ship is powerless,’ Maaga continued. ‘We were innocently seeking a planet we could colonise when the Rills appeared and attacked us. My crew fought well, but the Rills’ armament was superior to ours. We damaged them all right and they had to come down, as we did. But I think their problems are less serious than ours, which is why we want their ship.’
    ‘And how will you get it?’ the Doctor asked.
    ‘We shall fight our way in and take over.’
    ‘And the Rills?’
    ‘They are of no importance.’
    The Doctor nodded. He could see that the Drahvins had little respect for life. But the question uppermost in his mind was: would they respect that of Vicki, Steven and himself? The woman before him gave little evidence of such an inclination. Nor did her subordinates, sitting like graven images at the table. He wondered briefly why he always managed to materialise in a trouble spot, then returned his attention to Maaga. ‘Have you travelled far?’
    ‘We come from Drahva. But the vegetation is dying there. Our planet is cooling, so we have to find another which is habitable. There is not a lot of time left.
    ‘Where are your men?’ Steven asked. ‘Or are they back at home feeding the swans?’
    She looked at him in puzzlement. ‘Men?’
    ‘Males,’ the Doctor prompted. ‘The counterpart of the female species.’
    Her face cleared. ‘Ah, those. We have a small number of them, but no more than is necessary for