Doctor Who_ Warmonger Part 5

'Very efficient,' said Peri. 'Does your Supremo often entertain female guests?'

Vidal gave her a shocked look and ignored the question.

'Drinks and other refreshments are available in the bedside cabinet,' he said stiffly. 'I will return to fetch you in due course.'

He bowed and left.

Peri went into the bathroom where a wall-length mirror confirmed her worst fears. Fiddling with unfamiliar controls, she managed to fill the bath with warm, scented water and enjoyed a long luxurious soak. Wrapped in a long silk robe, she explored the bedroom and found that it held a selection of clothes in every imaginable style.

The Supremo, she thought, had things very wel organised.

When Ensign Vidal returned he found Peri stretched out on a divan, sipping a gla.s.s of green Arcturan wine. She wore a white silk gown with matching bolero jacket, and her hair was brushed smoothly back, secured in a chignon with a black velvet ribbon.

Ensign Vidal surveyed her with approval. 'Better. Much better. Now, come with me.'

It occurred to Peri that he showed none of the reverence accorded her by High Commander Aril. But then, as the Supremo's aide, he was close to the source of ultimate power.

As he led her along luxuriously carpeted corridors, Vidal said, 'The Supremo's conference is over-running a little, but we hope that it will soon draw to an end. Then he will see you.'

Feeling suddenly stroppy, Peri came to a halt. 'Look, if the conference isn't over yet, why don't I wait in comfort in the guest suite? Then you can fetch me when the Supremo's free?'

Ensign Vidal stopped as well, looking at her in blank incomprehension.

'But then the Supremo would have to wait!'

Which was clearly unthinkable.

Vidal continued along the corridor. Mutinously, Peri followed. He led her, by a circuitous route, to a small door at the end of a narrow corridor. The door was guarded by two Ogron sentries armed with the usual ma.s.sive blaster-rifles. At the sight of Ensign Vidal they came clumsily to attention, making a rudimentary attempt at presenting arms.

Vidal looked at them and sighed. The door opened and he ushered Peri into a brightly lit dressing-room.

'Why the Supremo insists on using those clumsy apes when every sentient life form in the galaxy would be proud to serve in his personal bodyguard ' muttered Vidal. He broke off, realising perhaps, thought Peri, that he had come perilously close to criticising the Supremo.

He indicated a small open door on the far side of the little room. Putting his lips to her ear he whispered, 'We are at the rear of the conference chamber. Look through that door and you will see him!'

Peri went over to the door and looked out. It was like being backstage in the biggest theatre in the world.

She was standing directly behind a lean, medium-sized, black-uniformed figure on a raised podium. (So much for her military giant, thought Peri.) The uniform was both simple and ornate with gold epaulettes and gold braid at collar and cuffs.

Beyond was an enormous circular chamber, about the size of a baseball stadium. Row upon row of tiered seats rose into the distance. The seats were occupied by an amazingly diverse crowd of uniformed officers. Every sentient species in the galaxy seemed to be represented. Draconians, Sontarans and Ogrons, like the ones she'd already met, predominated, but there were many other species Peri was unable to identify, together with an amazing variety of humans and humanoids.

The whole extraordinary a.s.sembly was dominated by the black-clad figure of the Supremo. He was speaking in a voice Peri found at once familiar and strange.

It was a quiet, calm voice, yet it crackled with authority.

Every word, every syllable was icily distinct. The vast, interspecies audience listened in utter silence.

'So, to conclude,' said the Supremo. 'The next stage of our plan is complete. The planet of Sylvana has been wrested from the enemy's grasp.'

A cheer erupted from the audience.

The Supremo held up his hand, and absolute silence fell once more.

'Do not be too quick to congratulate yourselves. Parts of the operation ran smoothly. Others were little more than a total shambles, succeeding only because the enemy exceeded us in inefficiency. We were lucky. We cannot depend on luck.' He paused. 'The problem, as always, lies in faulty interspecies cooperation and communication. Let me remind you, I hope for the last time, that you are no longer Draconians, Sontarans, Cybermen or anything else. Until this conflict is concluded, and the enemy finally defeated, you are all soldiers of the Alliance.

After that, you can return to cutting each other's throats with my good will.' With terrifying suddenness, his voice rose to an angry shout. 'By the beard of Ra.s.silon! If you cannot do better than this, I'll pack you all off home and defeat the enemy with an army of Ogrons. They, at least, know how to obey orders.'

A stunned silence fell. Peri saw a group of Ogrons in the front row beaming and slapping each other on the back.

She turned to Vidal who was standing close behind her. 'Not entering any popularity contests, is he?'

'Don't you believe it,' whispered Vidal. 'The more he abuses them, the more they love him. That was the stick. Now comes the carrot.'

'However, gentlemen,' said the Supremo. 'Despite your occasional failings and because of your courage, hard work and military skill victory is ours! I congratulate you and I thank you.'

There was another moment of silence as the audience took in what he had said. Then they came to their feet with a roar of 'Supremo! Supremo! Supremo!' that shook the hall.

The Supremo nodded briefly, then turned and strode from the podium.

Vidal ran to a closet, emerging with a silken robe.

Peri stepped back as the Supremo marched into the dressing room, ripping open the high collar of his jacket. It had, Peri could see now, a gold 'S' embroidered over the heart. He stopped dead at the sight of Peri.

Vidal came forward with the robe. The Supremo took it from him and waved him towards the door.

Vidal bowed and retreated.

Peri stared in fascination at the man before her, so familiar and yet so utterly different. In the harsh glare of the dressing-room lighting, the body was stiff and erect, the face harsh and closed. The fair hair was clipped short, the skin seemed darker, the eyes were burning with energy.

'h.e.l.lo, Peri,' said the Supremo. 'Nice to see you again.'

'h.e.l.lo, Doctor,' said Perpugilliam Brown.

Book II

Hospice.

One standard galactic year earlier

Chapter One.

R&R.

'Just a bit of peace and quiet, Doctor,' pleaded Peri. 'Fresh air, beautiful scenery, unspoiled nature. Surely there must be at least one planet in the galaxy which isn't awash with murderous monsters or hostile intelligent life forms!'

The Doctor took a sip of tea and smiled. 'Of course there are, Peri,' he said amiably. 'Of course, you have to pick your era.

A time when the savage dinosaur-type creatures have died out and the one really dangerous species hasn't yet evolved.'

'What one really dangerous species?'

'Man, of course or his equivalent!'

They were sitting in the Doctor's study in the TARDIS, a cosy, oak-panelled, book-lined room, recovering from their latest adventure. At least, Peri was still recovering. The Doctor, on the other hand, seemed completely at ease. He was sitting in a deep leather armchair by the coal fire that flickered perpetually in the old-fas.h.i.+oned grate. As usual, he looked immaculately Edwardian in striped trousers, fawn blazer and crisp white s.h.i.+rt, his fair hair brushed sleekly back. He was drinking tea and leafing through his beloved first edition of The Time Machine The Time Machine. He smiled as he read the scrawled inscription on the t.i.tle page.

'To the Doctor with affection and respect H.G.'

Peri, on the other hand, felt restless and jangled.

'It's all right for him,' she thought resentfully, looking at the Doctor's placid figure. 'He's used to risking his neck and saving the universe on a regular basis. He doesn't seem to realise other people have nerves.'

At which point she made her impa.s.sioned plea for peace and quiet and the joys of unspoiled nature.

'All I want is a bit of R & R,' she concluded.

The Doctor raised an interrogative eyebrow.

'Rest and Recreation,' explained Peri.

'Ah!' said the Doctor. 'An Americanism!'

He studied her for a moment.

She was wearing a simple white linen dress and her dark hair was brushed neatly back. She looked, thought the Doctor dispa.s.sionately, quite beautiful. But some of her usual warmth and vitality was lacking, and there were lines of strain about her eyes and the corners of her mouth.

He finished his tea, laid down his book on a leather-topped occasional table, stood up and moved towards the door. 'Where are you off to?' demanded Peri.

'Control room to set a course for a nice peaceful planet still unspoiled by civilization,' He paused. 'You might want to change into something more suitable.'

'Like what?'

'Safari suit, boots, a nice big hat. Basic explorer's gear.'

'Right,' said Peri happily, and followed him from the room.

She felt better already.

An hour later, subjective time, the Doctor and Peri stood outside the TARDIS, gazing at a landscape of spectacular beauty.

The TARDIS had landed on a mountain ledge and the scenery all around them was breathtaking. Behind rose a range of jagged mountain crags, their misty peaks tipped with snow.

Below the terrain fell away steeply, down to a jungle plateau.

A broad river flowed across it, fed by a mighty waterfall that thundered down the mountainside, its turbulent waters gleaming in the morning sunlight.

Peri looked at the Doctor, her face aglow with delight. 'You certainly delivered, Doctor. This place is terrific.'

'Not bad, is it,' said the Doctor modestly. 'Maybe I should set up a galactic tourist agency.'

Peri looked at the jungle below. 'And it's safe?'

'I don't think there's much down there that would harm you, not if you were careful. If I got my temporal coordinates right, we've arrived after the dinosaurs and before the sabre-toothed tigers.'

'Do the life forms on all planets evolve like those on Earth?'

'Only very roughly, there are all kinds of variations. But you often find an age of huge, clumsy, armoured beasts, followed by a time of sharp-toothed predators. Then a variety of life forms, one of which evolves into the dominant intelligent species. Not always the apes, of course. The fish people of Aquaria, for instance...'

'Maybe later, Doctor,' said Peri, cutting short the impending lecture. Sometimes the Doctor had a tendency to tell you a lot more than you wanted to know. 'Can we take a look around down there?' She pointed. 'There seems to be some kind of path.'

'Why not? We could take something to eat and drink and have a picnic down by the river. Maybe even do a bit of fis.h.i.+ng.

Old Isaac always said there was nothing like '

Peri never heard the rest of what old Isaac used to say.

Death dropped down from the sky.

As the Doctor had said, evolution allows for many variations.

One of them was watching them from a rocky spur high above.

Its ancestors had been very much like pterodactyls. Its descendants would turn into something closely resembling Earth's feathered birds.

The creature on the crag was still at an evolutionary stage somewhere in between, a hangover from the days of savage armoured beasts. Its vast, leathery wings were spa.r.s.ely scattered with feathers. It glided more than flew, though it could achieve laborious upward motion by clumsily flapping its wings and using the upward thermals. Once in a suitably high place, it waited and watched. It had an oversized head on the end of a long, scrawny neck, a powerful beak lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth and huge, incredibly efficient eyes.

Its hunting method was simple. Once it had attained a suitably high vantage point, it would watch and wait. The big head on the long neck circled to and fro, the saucer-like eyes alert for any flicker of movement.

Once movement was detected, the huge eyes focused, magnifying the image, checking for size and strength and ability to resist attack. If the prey looked too dangerous, too powerful, it would be ignored. But if it was small and weak...

The sudden appearance of the blue box on the ledge had alarmed the watching beast. It crouched motionless, a.s.sessing the situation. But when the two creatures emerged, its interest was aroused. It studied their magnified images for a moment or two, chose its prey and struck.