Doctor Who: Galaxy Four Read Free Page B

our purpose. The rest were killed. They consumed valuable food and served no particular purpose. After all, why keep parasites? No civilization can go on doing that, especially when its planet is dying.’ She gestured disdainfully in the direction of her crew. ‘And these are not what you would call... human. They are ‘cultivated in test tubes as and when called for. We have very good scientists.’
    ‘All female, of course,’ Vicki said, noting that the crew still sat rigid and motionless despite the condescension of Maaga’s words.
    ‘Naturally,’ Maaga said. ‘I, by the way, am a normal life form. My crew are mere products and inferior at that.’ She surveyed them with no look of fondness in her eyes. ‘They are grown for a purpose and are capable of nothing more.’
    ‘And what is the purpose?’ the Doctor asked. ‘To serve. To fight. To kill.’
    ‘What an interesting place Drahva must be.’ He pondered a moment. ‘You’re quite sure the Rills attacked you?’
    Maaga sighed. ‘We were in space above this planet when we saw a ship such as we had never seen before. We didn’t know it, but it was the Rills’ ship. It fired on us and we were brought down. But before we did we succeeded in firing back so that their ship crashed as well. They managed to kill one of my soldiers.’
    Steven remembered what the two Drahvins had told him at the outset. ‘What do they look like, these Rills?’
    ‘Disgusting,’ Maaga said.
    ‘That’s no description– no description at all.’ ‘It’s all I will say.’
    ‘But now I begin to understand,’ the Doctor murmured.
    ‘So do I,’ Steven said. ‘This planet is going to explode and they’re managing to repair their ship in time. You haven’t, so you want theirs.’
    ‘We do not wish to be here when this planet ceases to exist. Do you?’
    Before Steven could reply, Drahvin Three, who had been on watch at an observation window, turned and called, ‘Machine approaching.’
    ‘To your stations,’ Maaga snapped, crossing to the window. The other did the same, at another window. They saw one of the Rills’ machines chumbling across the landscape toward them, visor flashing and gun at the ready. Vicki thought again that she found them most attractive little machines. There was something almost human about them, though she knew such a thing was almost certainly impossible. A machine was a machine was a machine was a machine and that was the end of it. Even so... She thought it a pity that they would very likely turn out to be the enemy, particularly since that would make the Drahvins their allies. The situation was not overly full of promise.
    Maaga and her soldiers had now crossed to protrusions from the bulkhead and were pressing numerous buttons. Canopies swung away, revealing two-grip guns and aiming ports. The guns looked as though they could do their job effectively, as did the Drahvins manning them.
    Maaga peered through her aiming port, her expression one of determination. ‘Load,’ she commanded.
    Each pressed another button and quiet red lights glowed forward of the grips.
    ‘Prepare to fire. Switch off the outside radio.’ Drahvin Two knocked up a switch.
    ‘Why do that?’ the Doctor asked.
    ‘They send the machines to tell us lies,’ Maaga said tightly. ‘We do not want to hear them.’
    ‘Possibly not, but we’d like to.’
    But Maaga ignored him. The Chumbley was stationary now and the Doctor could see that it was speaking its message. It seemed a pity he couldn’t hear it,. There was something odd about the Rills trying to contact the Drahvins and receiving nothing but animosity in return. But then, he would put nothing past the hard-faced Maaga and her mindless minions.
    ‘Fire!’ Maaga snapped.
    There was a harsh hissing sound and rays leapt out from the guns at the Chumbley. The machine was enveloped in smoke and glowed bright red from the attack. But its visor was covered now and it remained where it was. Still the rays