031 - Doctor Who and the Horns of Nimon

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In the great maze of the Power Complex dwells the dreaded

Nimon, a fearsome monster with immense scientific powers.

The Nimon has promised to restore the Skonnan Empire to

its former glory. But first it demands sacrifice—youths and

maidens from the peaceful planet Aneth.

The Tardis collides with the space ship delivering the

victims, and the captured Romana is condemned to be

sacrificed to the Nimon.

Aided by the faithful K9, the Doctor goes to the rescue. In

the heart of the maze he confronts the Nimon and uncovers

a terrifying plot to enslave the galaxy.

ISBN 0 426 20131 0

DOCTOR WHO

AND THE

HORNS OF NIMON

Based on the BBC television serial by Anthony Read by

arrangement with the British Broadcasting Corporation

TERRANCE DICKS

published by

The Paperback Division of

W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd

A Target Book

Published in 1980

by the Paperback Division of W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd.

A Howard & Wyndham Company

44 Hill Street, London W1X 8LB

Broadcasting Corporation

Printed and bound in Great Britain by

Anchor Brendon Ltd, Tiptree, Essex

ISBN 0 426 20131 0

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way

of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise

circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of

binding or cover other than that in which it is published and

without a similar condition including this condition being

imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

CONTENTS

Prologue

1 Ship of Sacrifice

2 The Skonnons

3 Sardor in Command

4 Asteroid

5 The Nimon

6 The Maze

7 Sardor’s Bluff

8 K9 in Trouble

9 The Journey of the Nimon

10 Journey to Crinoth

11 Time Bomb

12 The Legend

Prologue

The Coming of the Nimon

Next to the crumbling Palace of the Emperor, on the edge of the

sprawling ruins that were the capital of Skonnos, there rose the

Power Complex. It was a gleaming, metallic, star-shaped edifice,

dominated by the two enormous horns that rose from its central

unit. All around, mile upon mile of ruined and half-ruined

buildings bore silent witness to the end of a once-great star

empire.

No enemy had ever defeated the Skonnons. They destroyed

themselves. An aggressive race, with a talent for war and

conquest, they had discovered high technology and space flight

much earlier than their neighbouring planets. Armed with

superior weaponry they had swept over the galaxy in an

expanding wave of conquest. In an astonishingly short time they

were the masters of a hundred worlds, the famous First Skonnan

Empire.

The aggressive streak that had brought them success was to

cause their downfall. The noble families fell to fighting amongst

themselves, Emperor followed Emperor in quick succession,

rival Emperors set up against each other, and soon the Skonnan

Empire, like ancient Rome before it, collapsed from within.

Planet after planet took advantage of the confusion to throw

off the Skonnan yoke, the occupying armies retreated, and the

last devastating civil war was fought on Skonnos itself. It left the

planet in ruins. When the fighting ended, a handful of well-

protected senior officers commanding a few squads of Skonnan

troops were the sole survivors in a shattered capital, victors in a

civil war that had ended through sheer exhaustion.

Then came the Nimon.

One day a mysterious silver sphere appeared, just outside

the Palace. General Sato, Commander of the few remaining

Skonnan troops, routed out Soldeed, a middle-aged laboratory

technician, and sent him to investigate. Soldeed protested that

he was no scientist. Sato pointed out that he was the nearest

they’d got, and drove him out to the capsule at blaster point.

Long hours later, Soldeed returned, swollen with new self-

importance, and carrying a metal staff ending in two strange

horn-like prongs. The sphere, he said, was the abode of a god-

like being called the Nimon, who had come to offer help to the

people of Skonnos. Provided that the proper conditions were

met, the Nimon was prepared to offer nothing less than the

restoration of the Skonnan Empire. Soldeed was to be the voice

of the Nimon from now on.

Sato scoffed and demanded to see the Nimon for himself.

Soldeed pointed the staff at him, a ray shot from the horns, and

Sato fell dead. Captain Sorak, Sato’s aide-de-camp, became a

prompt convert to the Nimon’s cause. So did the rest of the

officers and their men.

Under Soldeed’s orders, work began. First the Power

Complex was constructed, swallowing up the original sphere

which lay concealed somewhere at its centre. A spaceship was

found, and patched up into working order with the help of

certain new equipment provided by the Nimon. Finally all was

ready and the spaceship was despatched on the Nimon’s

business.

For the Nimon demanded tribute—tribute and sacrifice.

Seven times the sacrifice was to be made. Seven youths and

maidens of high birth were to be provided on each occasion,

each carrying a crystal of Hymetusite, the most radioactive

substance in the galaxy.

Neither sacrifice nor tribute was available on Skonnos, but

fortunately the planet Aneth was their nearest neighbour. The

Anethans were a peace-loving people, and their planet had

suffered far less than Skonnos itself in the Empire wars. But

when the black Skonnan battle cruiser appeared in their skies,

the memory of past defeats paralysed the Anethans with terror.

Meekly they handed over the sacrifices and tribute, as

demanded. Six times already the sacrifice had taken place. The

terrified young Anethans had been brought to Skonnos as

captives. Holding lead caskets of Hymetusite, they had been

driven into the Power Complex, never to be seen again.

Now the return of the battle cruiser with the seventh and

final sacrifice was eagerly awaited on Skonnos. But the seventh

sacrifice failed to arrive on time.

Ship of Sacrifice

The spaceship was old.

It was a Skonnan battle cruiser, massive, black, threatening,

sole survivor of a fleet that had once dominated the galaxy. As it

lumbered towards its home planet, Skonnos, gun-ports bristling

with space-cannon, it was still a terrifying sight—but the ship was

old, almost obsolete.

Drive systems were erratic, navigational circuits unreliable,

main computers on overload, the automatic pilot at break-down

point. Few of the laser-cannon would still fire and those that did

were as likely to blow up the ship as destroy the enemy.

In the main control room, the crew laboured worriedly at

the failing controls. There were two of them, black-uniformed,

and red-helmeted in typical Skonnan style. Sekkoth, the

Captain, was a wizened, grey-haired veteran of the First Empire.

Sardor, his co-pilot, was a younger man, plump-faced and

overweight. He had been too young to serve in the First Empire

Wars and, perhaps as a result, he was even more fiercely

militaristic than his superior.

The ship was operating on minimum power and the gloomy

control room was cluttered with a hodge-podge of obsolete

equipment, festooned with trailing cables and dangling power

leads.

Sardor studied the faint, erratic display on the read-out

screen of an antiquated computer. ‘Seems to be malfunctioning

again. Still, not long to go now.’

Captain Sekkoth looked up from the feebly flickering

instrument dials. ‘You’ve been overloading it,’ he said pettishly.

‘I warned you what would happen, my instructions were quite

clear, all subsidiary functions have to be rerouted through the

back-up computer.’

‘But that takes hours!’

Sekkoth shrugged. ‘We’re only twelve hours out from

Aneth. It’ll be at least another twelve back to Skonnos.’

Grunting, Sardor straightened up. ‘It’d be a lot less if this

ship was working properly. When are we going to get these new

ships they keep promising. When are we going to fight?’

‘Soon—when the Nimon fulfills his promise. Be patient.’

‘Patience?’ snarled Sardor. ‘Patience is for the weak.

Skonnans were made to fight, to conquer, to rule—as we did in

the days when this ship was built. You remember, Sekkoth, you

were there.’

The older man smiled. ‘You’ll get all the fighting you want

soon. The Nimon will give us new weapons, we’ll reconquer the

galaxy—’

‘When?’

‘When we have fulfilled our part of the bargain.’

‘And when will that be?’

Sekkoth paused impressively. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t tell you

this, but this is the last shipment! Once it is delivered, our side of

the contract will be fulfilled. Now do you see the importance of

our mission?’

Sardor stared at him, unable to believe that the military

glory he lusted for was so close. ‘This cargo is the last one?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’d better go and check that it’s safe,’ Sardor hurried from

the control room.

He made his way along grey metal corridors to a heavy door

in which was set a small window. Sardor peered through the

window, studying the half-dozen figures huddled together in the

hold. Three youths and four maidens, all wearing the short

golden robes of Anethan nobility. ‘Weakling scum,’ growled

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摘要：

InthegreatmazeofthePowerComplexdwellsthedreadedNimon,afearsomemonsterwithimmensescientificpowers.TheNimonhaspromisedtorestoretheSkonnanEmpiretoitsformerglory.Butfirstitdemandssacrifice—youthsandmaidensfromthepeacefulplanetAneth.TheTardiscollideswiththespaceshipdeliveringthevictims,andthecapturedRoma...

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