Part 17 (1/2)

'Wait!' Barclay, who had recovered a little, was sitting up and calling him back. As the new commander of the base, he spoke with a new sense of authority and purpose. Ben halted and turned to him.

'If you try to tackle the s.p.a.cecraft single-handed, you haven't a chance. We don't know how many more Cybermen there are.'

'So?' asked Ben.

For answer, Barclay pointed to the Cyberleader's transmitter which had been left on the top of the console. 'There's the thing they use to contact each other.'

Ben shrugged and lifted up the black box-it resembled a portable transistor radio.

'I don't know how to work it ! '

'Do anything,' said Barclay. 'Send out a signal-draw them here.'

The other men within earshot murmured their disapproval. Dyson, who had been testing the various life support systems to ensure that none had suffered in the recent emergency, turned to him. 'Is that wise?'

'If they take off in their s.h.i.+p,' said Ben, 'we'll never see the Doctor and Polly again.'

He picked up the Cyberman transmitter.

'Hold on.' Dyson rose to his feet. 'You may bring them all back again.'

'That's a risk we've got to take,' said Ben. He looked down at the many b.u.t.tons on the Cyberman transmitter. His hand hovered indecisively, then he started pressing them.

Immediately, the small transmitting light began to twinkle; the set emitted a high-pitched buzz.

'That should do it!' said Ben. 'It sounds like some sort of warning signal, anyway.

How long do you reckon we've got before they arrive?'

Barclay rose to his feet. 'We'd better get ready for them.'

'I'll go down and get the weapons,' volunteered Ben. As he spoke, the tracking room lights started to flicker and dim down.

'What's happening?' said Ben.

'The emergency power supply must be running out. Why haven't they got those rods back in? We'll freeze to death here within twenty minutes without the base reactor.'

The lights had now become so dim that-apart from the glow from the various monitor screens-the long low room had become a collection of dim black shapes.

''Are can't face them in the dark,' called Ben. 'Are there no torches here?'

'Yes,' said Barclay. He was feeling his way over to the side wall.

Behind him, Dyson flicked the PA switch connecting the console mike to the reactor room. 'Philips, Barker,' he called, 'can you hear me? Why aren't those rods back in?'

Ben turned; all he could see of Dyson was a vague shape outlined against the blue projection screen.

'You're forgetting, mate,' he said. 'We ripped the wires out, didn't we?'

Dyson cursed. Barclay turned round, flashlight in hand, and switched it on. He turned the light beam towards Ben. 'I've got one for you.'

As Ben moved to get it, Barclay shone the light towards the door. The beam flicked over the rows of consoles, the faces of the waiting technicians and, by the door, three silent silver figures...

For a moment, the torch shook in Barclay's hand. The voice of one of the three Cybermen rang out: 'Further resistance is useless. Drop your weapons!'

As the Cyberman spoke, the lights began to brighten back to full power.

The tired, strained men turned to face the third Cyberman invasion of the Snowcap Polar Base.

'You fool!' screamed Dyson. He turned to Ben. For a moment Ben thought he was about to break into tears. 'I warned you not to activate that thing.' He pointed to the black Cyberman transmitter box.

Barclay shook his head wearily. 'No, some kind of warning must have gone out earlier-at the time of the fight. They'd never have made it here in time otherwise.'

'Silence!' snapped the voice of one of the Cybermen. 'We have been patient with you. But this will not continue. You have fought us and destroyed many of our number.

Your bomb must be activated immediately, otherwise we shall commence killing every single man in this room.'

He pointed at Ben. 'Starting with this man.'

The Cyberman raised his weapon and aimed it at the sailor. But they were interrupted by a high-pitched shout from the R/T technician. He had been staring at the large screen, and adjusting the controls of the radio-telescope to bring it into sharp focus.

'Look at Mondas ! ' he cried.

Everyone in the room, men and Cybermen alike, turned to look at the screen. The planet's alternation from light to dark had now speeded up to such a rate that it seemed to visibly flicker-like a slow-running movie projector showing a silent film. The land ma.s.ses and the dried-up seas that so closely parallelled those on Earth were still visible-but something new was happening!

'Fantastic!' Dyson exclaimed. 'It seems to be... melting!'

As they watched, huge fissures and cracks appeared. Trickles of white-hot lava were running from the cracks and down the face of the planet. The whole surface seemed to be bubbling and erupting, creating thousands of minor volcanoes. The land ma.s.ses began distorting and running together. The glare from the planet was now so intense that they had to s.h.i.+eld their eyes to look at it.

'It's falling to bits!' exclaimed Ben.

'The end of Mondas,' Barclay's voice rang out triumphantly. 'The Doctor was right.'

In their excitement, they had forgotten the Cybermen standing behind them. The cosmic drama on the huge screen had taken all their attention. Now Ben turned to see how the Cybermen were reacting to the end of their planet.

'Look!' he called. The men turned to look at the three silver figures.

Like their planet, the Cybermen seemed to be suffering a visible change. Their arms had dropped; the Cyberweapons had fallen to the floor; each was teetering slightly on his feet.

As the men watched, they slowly began collapsing down on one knee, then the other. Finally, they pitched forwards on to the floor.

Ben ran over and picked up one of the Cyberweapons-but it was unnecessary.