005 - Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor

VIP免费

2024-12-24 0 0 275.3KB 65 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor

Terrance Dicks

ISBN 0 426 20103 5

Some time ago, the White Guardian, one of the most powerul beings in the Cosmos, had

set the Doctor an urgent task - to find and reassemble the six segments of the Key to Time.

The Doctor and Romana had successfully retrieved five of the segments and now they had

reached the planet Atrios in the middle of an atomic war, to search for the last, most vital

piece.

Sinister dangers await them in this final stage of their quest...

THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR is a novel in the Key to Time Sequence. Also available

THE RIBOS OPERATION, THE STONES OF BLOOD, THE ANDROIDS OF TARA and

THE POWER OF KROLL.

CONTENTS

1 The Vanishing Planet

2 Missile Strike

3 Kidnapped

4 A Trap for K9

5 The Furnace

6 Behind the Mirror

7 The Shadow

8 Lost on Zeos

9 The Armageddon Factor

10 The Planet of Evil

11 Drax

12 The Bargain

13 Small World

14 The Key to Time

1 The Vanishing Planet

'Atrios!' said the Doctor. 'Do you know, I've never been to Atrios.'

Romana looked up from the TARDIS's control console. 'What about Zeos?'

'Where?'

'Zeos, its twin. "Atrios and Zeos are twin planets at the edge of the helical galaxy."

Didn't they teach you anything at the Academy?'

'But we're not going to Zeos!' protested the Doctor.

'No, we're going to Atrios.'

'Well, what are we hanging about for? Why don't you get on with it?'

Romana's hands moved skillfully over the controls.

'Atrios, here we come! I wonder what it's like?'

The wandering Time Lord known as the Doctor and Romana his Time Lady

companion, were nearing the end of a long and dangerous quest. Some time ago, the

White Guardian, one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos had set them a vital task—

to find and reassemble the six fragments of the Key to Time. Long ago the Key had been

divided, and the segments scattered to the far corners of the cosmos.

Now the Key was needed again, to enable the White Guardian to correct a state of

temporal imbalance which was threatening the universe, and frustrate the schemes of the

evil Black Guardian.

The Doctor's task was complicated by the fact that the segments of the Key had a

number of mysterious powers, including that of transmutation. They could take on the

shape of anything from a pendant to a planet. To aid them in their search, the Doctor and

Romana had been given the Tracer, a slender wand-like device which could be plugged

into the TARDIS console. The Tracer could lead them to the planet on which a segment of

the Key was located. Unplugged, it could be used as a detector, once the planet had been

reached. Finally, it had the power to make the segment assume its proper form—a large,

irregularly-shaped chunk of crystal.

After many dangerous adventures, five segments were now in the Doctor's

possession, merged together to form one large crystal. Only the sixth and final segment

remained to be found. According to the Tracer, that final segment was somewhere on

Atrios. Some time later, Romana looked up from the console. 'We're almost there, Doctor.

Time to materialise.'

The Doctor moved her aside. 'Right. I'll handle this bit myself.' His hands flicked

over the controls, and the TARDIS left the space/time continuum, appearing in normal

space in the incongruous shape of a police box. 'I've put us in a parking orbit around Atrios.

Let's take a look.'

The Doctor switched on the scanner. The screen was blank. 'That's very odd!

Wouldn't you say that was very odd, Romana?'

'That's very odd,' said Romana obediently. 'Better re-check your coordinates,

Doctor.'

'I fed in the ones you gave me. Are you sure they were correct?'

'Quite sure, Doctor. Your TARDIS must have gone astray again.'

'Give me another reading.'

Romana moved round to the part of the console that held the Tracer. 'Zero, zero,

four, zero, eight, zero, one, zero.'

'What a lot of zeros!' The Doctor operated the controls again. The TARDIS

dematerialised almost immediately. He looked at the scanner. A tiny reddish-brown sphere

was just visible in the centre of the screen. 'There's something anyway!'

Romana checked the navigational readings. 'That's Atrios all right, but it's millions

of miles away. And where's the twin planet, Zeos? There's no sign of it.'

'You know what I think?' asked the Doctor solemnly. 'I think something's gone

wrong. Only some very powerful force could confuse the TARDIS's navigational circuits like

that. It's as if someone doesn't want us to find Atrios.'

'The Black Guardian?'

'Well, it could just be coincidence...'

'I wouldn't like to bet on it,' said Romana grimly.

'Nor would I. But there's only one way to find out what's going on.'

'I know... Why don't you take us in on manual, Doctor?'

'You know what? I think I'll take us in on manual—with considerable

circumspection...'

The space pilot was impossibly handsome, the nurse in his arms a vision of

loveliness.

'Don't go, my love,' she begged. 'You'll be killed! I love you!'

'And I love you. But there is a greater love than ours, and out there my friends are

dying for it. Dying, so that Atrios may live! You must be strong, my love, till victory is won,

evil vanquished, peace restored. Only then can we love again.' He kissed her tenderly.

'Now I must go. Kiss the children for me. Tell them that one day their daddy will come

home again.'

Martial music swelled to a climax; the young lovers faded from the screen, to be

replaced by the stylised eagle that was the symbol of Atrios.

The music merged with the distant scream of an air raid siren and the thud of an

explosion.

Irritably the Marshal flicked off the video screen. Sentimental rubbish, but no doubt

it served to hearten the more simple-minded citizens of Atrios for the continuing struggle.

Those of them who were still alive...

The Marshal of Atrios gazed gloomily around his War Room. It was an enormous

circular chamber with thick metal walls decorated in green and black. Underground, of

course. Everything on Atrios was underground now, and had been for years. The high

radiation levels made life on most of the surface impossible.

The War Room was a giant communications centre, with instrument consoles and

computer terminals and read-out screens everywhere. It was from here that the unending

war with Zeos was directed. All over the room technicians were working feverishly. Black-

helmeted, black uniformed guards stood at the doors.

Major Shapp, the Marshal's aide and assistant, was studying the read-out screen

on the main battle computer. He was a rather stout and intensely serious young man, and

his round face looked somehow incongruous above the high collar of his plain black

uniform.

The Marshal himself was a far more imposing figure. Tall and broad shouldered,

straight-backed with iron-grey hair, he wore a magnificent scarlet tunic with gold

epaulettes, the eagle of Atrios emblazoned in silver on the breast. His stern face was

rugged and handsome, his voice deep and commanding.

A flood of reports was coming in from the missile sites that studded the planetary

surface. 'Area six, obliterated... Section seven, heavy damage... District ten, no contact.

Level fourteen, holding and functional... Area three, no contact. Heavy casualties on all

upper levels...'

As the reports came in, Shapp punched them into the main computer, which was

constantly revising and updating the grid map on the main display screen.

Beside Shapp, stood a slender purple-gowned figure, the gold circlet of royalty on

her golden hair. This was the Princess Astra, in theory the ruler of the planet. In reality,

Atrios had been so long at war that all real power was now in the hands of the military

establishment—which meant the Marshal.

He crossed the War Room to stand between them, his uniformed bulk towering

over them both. 'What news of our counter-attack, Shapp?'

'None, Marshal. Our space fleet is still trying to locate the target.'

'The target, Major Sharp, is the planet Zeos! Isn't it big enough for them?'

'The navigational systems are being blocked. The Zeons must be using some new

screening device. The whole spacefleet's flying blind.'

'Is it? Or have they all turned cowards? I want that attack pressed home, Shapp,

before the Zeons smash our planet to pieces. Is that clear?'

Shapp bowed his head. 'Yes, sir.'

An urgent voice crackled from one of the loudspeakers. 'Direct hit reported on

hospital complex. Wards seven to ten destroyed.'

Princess Astra caught her breath in horror. 'I must go there at once.'

She headed for the door but a guard barred her way. 'I'm sorry, Your Highness.

You can't leave here without an escort—Marshal's orders.'

Astra swung round on the Marshal. 'I insist on going to the hospital immediately.'

He shook his head. 'Too dangerous.'

'But they've been hit!'

'So has everywhere else, Your Highness. We happen to be under nuclear attack.'

Princess Astra glared up at him furiously. 'How much longer must this futile war go

on? Atrios is being destroyed around us. We must negotiate before it's too late. We must

have peace!'

'You don't beg for peace, Princess. You win it. Our counter-attack is already under

way. When it has succeeded, victory will be within our grasp. Then we shall have peace.'

'But don't you understand? If the war goes on we shall all be wiped out, Zeons and

Atrians alike.'

'I understand only my duty, Princess—which is to bring this war to a successful

conclusion.' The Marshal paused. 'Your duty is to comfort and inspire your people.'

'Then let me go to the hospital and do it. I can do no good here.'

The Marshal sighed, wondering, not for the first time how so much obstinacy could

be packed into one slim body. 'What's the situation, Shapp. Is the raid over?'

'Yes sir, at least for the moment.'

'Very well. Princess Astra, one of my guards will escort you to the hospital. No

doubt Chief-Surgeon Merak is anxiously awaiting you.'

Princess Astra gave him a resentful look and swept from the room, a guard at her

heels. The Marshal went to the massive throne-like command chair which dominated the

centre of the room. 'Set up the video-links, Shapp.' I shall address the people.'

The hospital complex looked like a scene from hell. The dead and dying were

everywhere. Patients from the bombed-out wards had to be transferred to wards that had

been overcrowded to begin with and were now full to bursting point. The bodies of the

wounded were strewn along the corridors.

Chief-Surgeon Merak moved through the chaos, directing the efforts of the doctors,

nurses and orderlies, trying to create some order in the chaos. He was a darkly handsome

man in the black and red gown of a surgeon, still young and virile, though at the moment

his face was lined with weariness. Merak was the son of one of the oldest families on

Atrios, who had rejected high political office in favour of the life of a healer. He had been in

love with Princess Astra since they were both children, and she with him, although the fact

was known only to their closest friends.

Merak paused for a moment in the main ward examining a badly wounded pilot

who lay in a coma on a mattress on the floor. The sudden move had worsened the man's

condition and his pulse was failing.

A booming voice interrupted Merak's examination. 'Citizens of Atrios!'

Merak looked up. The video screen on the wall of the ward was functioning again,

and it was filled with a giant close-up of the Marshal's face. 'Once more the hated forces of

Zeos clamour at our gates. Once more they shall not pass. Be brave, my people. Be

steadfast. Be strong!'

Merak's patient groaned suddenly and his head fell back. He was dead.

Merak shot an angry glance at the screen, where the Marshal was still mouthing

inspiring platitudes, and signalled two orderlies to carry the body away.

He was about to move on, when a familiar voice called 'Surgeon Merak!'

Princess Astra had just entered the ward, her face white and angry. 'Why are brave

men and women being left to lie in the corridors like rubbish?'

Merak gestured around him. Except for the central aisle., not an inch of floor-space

was free. 'Because as Your Highness can see, the wards are full.' He rose and walked

down the aisle towards her, studying the plastic indicator clipped to the breast of her gown.

'If Your Highness will excuse me, your rad-check is due for renewal. If you would

come this way?' He led her to the little corner cubicle that served as his office, closing the

door in the face of the suspicious guard. Once alone they embraced briefly, and then drew

apart. Astra looked anxiously at Merak. 'Are you all right? When they told me the hospital

had been hit... I was so worried.'

Merak nodded wearily. 'I was lucky.'

Astra was close to tears. 'When will it end, Merak?'

'Have you been able to contact the Zeons?'

Merak and Astra were the leaders of an underground peace party, trying to end the

war by negotiation.

Astra shook her head despairingly. 'None of our messages seem to get through.'

Merak frowned. 'Is it possible the transmissions are being jammed from this end?'

'No. That would mean the Marshal suspected us—and if he did, he'd have us

arrested. I sent the last message myself. On the palace transmitter. There was no contact-

signal, no bounce back—nothing! It's as if Zeos wasn't there!'

The rumble of a nearby explosion shook the room. The atomic bombardment had

started again. Merak looked up. 'Zeos is there, all right.'

A voice from the doorway said, 'Forgive me, Your Highness but we are behind

schedule.'

They turned. It was the guard.

Merak took a new rad-check from his desk, took off the one the Princess was

wearing, and put the new one in its place. 'You really must be careful to keep your rad-

check renewed, Princess,' he said severely.

Astra nodded coolly. 'Thank you, Surgeon Merak.' She turned and followed the

guard from the room.

Merak watched her go, his face grim. They must make contact with Zeos—before

their entire planet was destroyed.

2 Missile Strike

The Marshal sat slumped in his command chair, staring broodingly at the busy War

Room. They were losing, he thought gloomily. Unless something happened soon...

Shapp's voice aroused him from his reverie. Marshal, I think we're getting

something. An unidentified object.'

The Marshal rose, and went over to the main radar section. A tiny blip was moving

slowly across the main screen.

'It's a completely unknown signal profile, sir,' said Shapp excitedly. 'It's hardly

moving at all.'

The Marshal slammed his fist down on the console. 'It's the Zeon secret weapon.

The device that's interfering with our navigation. Keep tracking until it's within missile

range. Destroy that—thing and we can still win! I'll show Princess Astra and her pacifist

friends.'

The Marshal moved away from the radar section and went over to an alcove in a

quiet corner of the War Room. There was a mirror in the rear wall of the alcove—a very

strange mirror. It had an elaborately decorated metal border and its glass was so darkened

that one seemed to stare through it rather than into it. The Marshal gazed at his shadowy

reflection, and spoke, as if addressing someone else. 'She is beginning to panic, becoming

a thorn in my flesh, an irritant. She could be useful to my enemies.' The Marshal paused,

almost as if expecting a reply. Then he nodded slowly. 'Yes... something tells me her

usefulness is coming to an end.' He moved over to the communications area.

At the sound of the subdued bleep, Princess Astra's guard paused. 'Excuse me,

Your Highness.' He lifted his wrist communicator to his ear. 'Yes, sir, she's with me now.'

He paused... 'Yes, sir. Very good sir. I'll see to it immediately.' He turned to the Princess.

'New orders, Your Highness. Your visit to the children's ward has been cancelled, danger

of subsidence. The children are being evacuated to K block. We're to go there now, so that

you can meet them in their new quarters.'

'I thought K block was closed by radiation contamination.'

'That was some time ago, Your Highness, apparently it's clear now. This way

please.'

'Very well.'

Their route led them into a wing that seemed completely deserted. The guard

paused before an arched metal doorway. 'In here, Your Highness. The children are waiting

for you.' He opened the door. There was darkness beyond the doorway, and no sound of

children's voices.

Princess Astra hesitated, and the guard said, almost regretfully, 'You must go in,

Your Highness. I have my orders.'

'I understand.' She went through the doorway, and the guard slammed and locked

the door behind her. As he straightened up, a shadow fell across him.

The Marshal was standing over him, blaster in hand.

The guard came to attention. 'Your orders have been carried out, sir.'

'Excellent,' said the Marshal, and shot him down.

Princess Astra found herself in a long, dimly-lit, metal-walled room. It was

completely empty, and the walls and floor were thick with dust. She spun round and tried

the door. It was shut fast. There was a warning bleep from the rad-check in her lapel.

Princess Astra looked down. The little device was pulsing steadily with light. It was the

alarm signal. K block wasn't clear of radiation after all.

Romana looked up from her instrument-readings. 'Still no sign of Zeos, Doctor. But

I'm getting a clear reading for Atrios. Radiation levels you wouldn't believe. Look!'

The Doctor looked. 'Good grief! You could fry eggs on the streets.'

'There must be a nuclear war going on down there!'

'Not necessarily.'

'What other explanation is there?'

'Maybe someone's holding a very large breakfast party! Why do you always

assume the worst, Romana?'

'Because it usually happens!'

'Empirical poppycock! Where's your joy in life? Where's your optimism?'

'It opted out,' said Romana gloomily.

An inner door opened and a creature rather like a metal dog glided into the control

room. This was K9, the Doctor's other companion. In appearance he was rather like a

robot dog, but in reality he was a fully mobile self-powered computer, with defensive

capabilities. The Doctor looked down at him. 'You know what optimism means, don't you,

K9?' K9 whirred and clicked as he consulted his data banks. 'Optimism. Irrational belief,

bordering on the insane, that everything will work out well.'

'Oh shut up, K9,' snapped the Doctor, none too pleased with this definition. 'Now

listen, Romana, whenever you approach a new situation, you must always believe the best

until you find out what's really going on. Then you can believe the worst!'

'But suppose it turns out not to be the worst after all?'

'Don't be ridiculous, it always does!' The Doctor rubbed his chin. 'Nuclear war, eh?

It's always difficult walking into these situations, you never know who's fighting who.'

'Or why,' said Romana gloomily.

'Oh, I think we can guess why.'

'We can?'

The Doctor's face was grave. 'It's got to be something to do with what we're looking

for, hasn't it? The sixth and most important segment of the Key to Time!'

The Marshal strode briskly into the War Room. 'All well, Shapp? What about our

mystery object?'

'Still there, sir. It's not moving at all now. It could be on surveillance sir, monitoring

and observing us.'

'Is it within missile range yet?'

'Yes, sir.'

The Marshal rubbed his hands. 'Then it won't be spying on us much longer.' His

voice hardened. 'Vaporise it, Shapp. Now!'

Romana was studying the scanner. 'Doctor, something seems to be approaching

us from the planet surface.'

'Maybe it's a welcoming party. What do you make of it, K9?'

文档加载中……请稍候！
如果长时间未打开，您也可以点击刷新试试。

下载文档到电脑，查找使用更方便

5.9 玖币 0人已下载

立即下载 VIP免费下载

摘要：

DoctorWhoandtheArmageddonFactorTerranceDicksISBN0426201035Sometimeago,theWhiteGuardian,oneofthemostpowerulbeingsintheCosmos,hadsettheDoctoranurgenttask-tofindandreassemblethesixsegmentsoftheKeytoTime.TheDoctorandRomanahadsuccessfullyretrievedfiveofthesegmentsandnowtheyhadreachedtheplanetAtriosinthem...

展开>> 收起<<

005 - Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor.pdf

共65页,预览13页

还剩页未读，继续阅读

声明：本站为文档C2C交易模式，即用户上传的文档直接被用户下载，本站只是中间服务平台，本站所有文档下载所得的收益归上传人(含作者)所有。玖贝云文库仅提供信息存储空间，仅对用户上传内容的表现方式做保护处理，对上载内容本身不做任何修改或编辑。若文档所含内容侵犯了您的版权或隐私，请立即通知玖贝云文库，我们立即给予删除！

005 - Doctor Who and the Armageddon Factor

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: