'I am Gloor,' came the thin impatient voice. 'Do you think the Mogul would descend without a retinue to greet him? He comes now.'

An even taller and broader robed figure had appeared on the ramp, followed by an attendant carrying the golden casket they had seen earlier. The Mogul's head was encased in a fantastic golden headpiece incorporating his breathing mask and goggles, and which was sculpted to symbolize a sun head with streaming radiants. The Mogul descended the ramp to the ground and looked about him, then spoke in a rapid series of glottal clicks and trills.

Gloor interpreted: 'His Highness wishes to acquire one hundred of your machines, which we believe are called Synthonic Mobile Infantry Units, Trooper Cla.s.s, for the consideration already indicated.' The attendant set the golden casket down before Kambril and opened the lid, revealing the same dazzling collection of gems and precious metals they had seen earlier. 'You will no doubt wish to have the items a.s.sessed to confirm their value.'

'Purely a formality,' Kambril said smoothly. 'I'm sure they will be most satisfactory. Now as to delivery '

'The Mogul will take the troopers this day, naturally. We have a transport in hypers.p.a.ce awaiting our signal.'

'Ah, now that is very short notice '

'You do not have the items available? You cannot supply them? Then the matter is ended.' Gloor gestured and the attendant closed the lid of the casket.

Kambril turned quickly to Andez. 'That new batch of troopers for Heliotrix: are they loaded yet?'

'No, I don't think so.'

Kambril turned back to Gloor and the Mogul. 'We shall be delighted to supply His Highness's requirements within the hour.'

'That is acceptable,' said Gloor, and the casket was opened again. Gloor produced a small program disk from the voluminous sleeve of his robe and handed it to Kambril. 'This contains details of ceremonial drill and marching formations.

You will enter this data. The Mogul will observe the troopers perform satisfactorily to demonstrate their systems are compatible with our command codes.'

Kambril pa.s.sed the disk to Oban. 'Have this tubed over to the factory immediately.' She hurried off and he turned back to Gloor. 'If you would kindly ask the Mogul to step this way, we shall take you through our travel tubes to an observation lounge where you can watch the demonstration in comfort.'

Gloor exchanged a few words with the Mogul, then announced, 'That will be satisfactory. Meanwhile do you have any other devices that may be of interest to the Mogul? If he is pleased with what he sees, he may wish to acquire them also.'

'Well, we were about to test a new weapons system called MICA...'

Andez suddenly started, turned aside and spoke urgently into his wrist communicator.

Cara heard the soft crunch of gravel and knew MICA had been activated. She struggled to pull away from the synthoid's grasp, even though she knew it was futile. She saw a glitter of silver through a gap in a crumbling wall. In a moment MICA would lock on to her bio-signs and she would be released. But then it would be too late. Now she appreciated what it was to be a soldier facing such a device, and she learnt the taste of actual stomach-churning fear. She had collaborated in building a so-called humane weapon because it killed precisely and not indiscriminately, but could anything that killed in whatever fashion truly be called humane? In reality was it really any better than those devices of ma.s.s destruction she so despised?

You ended up just as dead. Now in her last moments she understood why the Doctor had suggested they make battlefield manikins that could bleed.

The crunch of gravel stopped. MICA had disa.s.sembled into its autonomous components. She would not see them but they would be stalking the ruins, blending perfectly in with their surroundings. Any of a hundred robot eyes might this moment be watching her, deciding the most efficient method by which she should die. The synthoid's grip relaxed and she ran for the nearest shelter, expecting to be struck down any moment. She ducked and twisted between the walls and piles of rubble.

Half a minute pa.s.sed. A minute.

Why was she still alive?

In the panoramic-windowed observation lounge overlooking the Valley and test zones, Kambril was explaining MICA enthusiastically to the Mogul and his party. The screen behind him showed a silvery sphere twice the height of a man, formed of many smaller interlocked units with curving armoured sh.e.l.ls, like huge beetles.

'MICA stands for Multiple Independent Combat a.s.sembly.

It is a weapon comprised of many smaller identical autonomous fighting units, each equipped with an integral energy weapon and various mechanical tools and manipulators. In combination they can synchronize their weapons to produce a field gun strength beam for use against larger targets. They have a variable surface refractivity capability, which means they can a.s.sume the exact colour and tone of their surroundings. In this mode they can approach individual enemy units un.o.btrusively and dispose of them silently by a variety of physical means as you will shortly see demonstrated with our battlefield simulation.'

While Gloor translated this, Andez pulled Kambril aside and whispered urgently, 'Tarron's still out there there's been no chance to bring her back.'

'What? MICA should have dealt with her by now.'

'I called it off when you started offering to show it to them did you want to begin by watching her being killed and not lifting a finger to prevent it? It's meant to be an accident.'

'You fool! Is she free?'

'Ah, I'll have to check.'

'Never mind. The Mogul won't know the difference between a human and an android as long as there are no other witnesses.' He moved to the lounge's communication console. 'Attention zone seven test team. In deference to our distinguished guests, the test will start immediately. Do not take up your positions in the bunkers. This demonstration will be monitored and run from the observation lounge only.' He waited for the rather puzzled acknowledgement, then tapped in a command code: 'Activating test zone targets. Activating MICA.'

In central control Oban sat back in her seat and admired the image of the Mogul's ship on a monitor. Obviously the hull couldn't be solid gold, but just how much was there plated on it? Even if it was only a few atoms thick it must add up to a tidy sum. The monitor picture appeared to blur slightly and she leant forward to adjust the controls and froze, unable to believe her eyes.

The intercom sounded in the lounge. Kambril tore his gaze away from the screens showing MICA's progress and answered. After hearing a few soft but urgent words his face set. He switched off and let his eye catch that of Morven, who headed the City security guard detail that had accompanied them.

'Cover our guests,' he commanded. 'If they move shoot!'

Uncomprehending but obedient, guns swung into position.

Kambril strode over to Gloor and tore his goggles and breathing mask aside.

The Doctor's face stared defiantly back at him.

26.

'People of Deepcity...'

en paces in front of Cara, a MICA unit dropped on to the back of a T.

robot Glarrock.

Knife-sharp mechanical claws hugged the ma.s.sive torso in an unbreakable grip even as a microfilament noose circled its neck and drew tight. Cara ducked down behind a wall and crawled rapidly away before the grisly antiseptic simulation of death was concluded. The Doctor had been right there should have been blood. The ruins were full of creeping forms, the hiss and crack of energy bolts and the crump of blast charges as the test zone robots battled MICA units. So far she had seen a dozen robots 'killed', but only one MICA unit destroyed. It was only a matter of time before a unit found her, and then it would be no simulation and there would be blood.

Oban turned off the link to the observation lounge and looked at the s.p.a.ceport monitor screen once more. An oddly shaped but familiar blue box was standing improbably on the crater floor where the majestic form of the Mogul's golden ship had been only half a minute earlier. Still staring at the image she pressed the b.u.t.ton for the port control room, to alert them just in case they had not yet noticed the transformation. Just then a narrow door opened in the side of the box and a Jand soldier emerged. As her jaw dropped he was rapidly followed by a second, a third, a fourth...a tenth.

They sprinted for the doorway recessed into the crater wall that led up to the port control room, firing into the hangar cave and at any of the loading crew who hadn't yet dived for cover.

Only then did Oban's mind accommodate this second apparent impossibility and direct her finger to the general alarm b.u.t.ton.

The Doctor suddenly beamed at Kambril and broke the silence in the observation lounge. 'I did intend to introduce myself again properly, but not quite as soon as this,' he admitted. He removed his gloves with the finger extensions and bent down, parting his flowing robes, and pulled off the lightweight blocks strapped to the soles of his boots that had given 'Gloor'

his impressive height.

Kambril stared at him, then at the other robed figures. 'And who are your companions?'

'Just some friends who are also interested in the truth.

Sarah and Harry, who you may have seen from a distance.'

The two staff-carrying attendants pulled off their masks and threw back their hoods. 'And Brin Vender.' The figure who had carried the golden casket revealed his face. 'He's just come from Landor and he'd like to see his sister Cara Tarron.'

For a moment Kambril gaped at him in disbelief. Then he turned to the Doctor. 'You've been to Landor?'

'Amongst other places. We know everything. It's finished Kambril.'

'Where's Cara?' Vender demanded.

Kambril's eyes automatically flicked to the monitor screen where the battle in the test zone still raged.

Vender looked horrified. 'She's out there? Stop it now!'

At that moment the general alarm sounded. Vender took his chance and lunged at Kambril.

Scout's gun arm jerked across to target Vender even as the Mogul's arm swung up and round in a blur. A narrow energy beam ripped open the trailing sleeve of his robe and smashed against Scout's chest, sending the synthoid staggering backwards. Half a dozen rapid lower powered stun blasts cracked out from the Mogul's smouldering sleeve at Morven and the guards, dropping them in their tracks. Scout recovered, its gun arm raised once more and a full power blast exploded against the Mogul's chest, knocking him off his feet and crashing to the floor with a thud that shook the room. For a moment he lay still, smoke curling up from a blackened hole in his chest. Then his arm lifted and an equally powerful energy bolt struck Scout, sending it staggering back against the wall, with sticky fluid oozing from the smoking hole in its own chest. The light in its eyes faded, its legs gave way and it collapsed with a metallic clatter.

Andez belatedly made a grab for his own gun, only to find Harry had produced a pistol from the recesses of his robes and was covering him. Sarah rushed over to the Mogul's side and helped him as he laboriously got to his feet, pulling off the robes and golden headpiece.

'Max are you all right?' she asked anxiously.

'The damage is not critical I shall regenerate.'

The Doctor turned to Kambril who was struggling on the floor in Vender's grasp. 'Now call off MICA,' he commanded.

'Deactivate every synthonic unit in the Valley total shutdown.' He hauled him to his feet and pushed him towards the console.

Kambril evidently realized the futility of defiance because without further encouragement he tapped in a code and said, 'Command override: total deactivation of MICA units in Valley, all synthonic devices and test zone robots.' Then he turned to face the Doctor, apparently having regained his composure. 'And what now, Doctor? You can't expect to hold us here for ever and you're hopelessly outnumbered. I can't shut down the guard units that simply. You'll still be eliminated before you can convince anybody of the truth.'

Cara looked about her in disbelief. The smoke-wreathed ruins had become a macabre tableau of test robots and MICA units frozen in the throes of battle. Saved for the second time that day without explanation she did not linger. She took the shortest route out of the ruins she could find as fast as she could run and headed back towards the City.

Both doors of the observation lounge were simultaneously blown inwards. Grenades were tossed inside and burst into clouds of dense smoke. Shadowy figures dived through the doors and began to spray the interior with stun bolts. Their fire was returned from the hastily erected shelter of overturned tables and reclining chairs.

One of the figures, sprawled on the ground beyond the barricade, suddenly jerked into life, despite the blackened hole in its chest. Scout swung its head around and ponderously crawled forward on its hands and knees. A single blow knocked a chair aside to reveal Vender sitting on Kambril whilst taking snap shots at the attackers with a pistol. Scout lunged forward, swept Vender aside, grabbed Kambril, hauled both of them upright and vanished into the smoke. Harry, who had been similarly immobilizing Andez, turned round at the sudden commotion, only to have Andez twist violently, sending him toppling over backwards. In a second Andez had also vanished.

'We've lost our hostages,' Sarah shouted, firing into the smoke again. 'Are you all right, Mr Vender?'

'Fine,' said Vender, wiping blood from his mouth.

'Well, I don't like taking hostages anyway,' the Doctor admitted.

'But they do tend to make the enemy restrain themselves somewhat,' Harry pointed out, getting back on to his hands and knees and snapping off a couple of shots. Now they can throw the lot at us. I just hope Ch.e.l.l comes through in time.'

Scout put Kambril down only after they had rounded a corner and were clear of the fighting. It then stood ready for further orders once more, insensitive to the rapidly healing wound in its chest. Andez leant against a wall beside them, looking shaken.

'Kill all of them,' Kambril told the City guards simply, nodding back in the direction of the observation lounge. As he dusted down his suit the gunfire redoubled.

'How are we going to explain all this away?' Andez wondered.

'The Mogul tried to double-cross us, of course. Everybody knows you can't really trust aliens. The staff will never know the truth.'

The public address screen a little way down the corridor inexplicably crackled and flickered into life without a hand touching its controls. 'People of Deepcity,' came the Doctor's voice from its speaker, 'for the past twenty years your leaders have been perpetrating one of the most cruel deceptions imaginable on you...'

Andez groaned aloud.

In the blaster-bolt-riddled, smoke-hazed s.p.a.ceport control room, Callon'mal watched the indicator lights flicker on the long silver box-shaped device clamped to the bundle of wiring that he had exposed behind the cover of the wall conduit. He turned to Ch.e.l.l'lak. 'It's working, sir.'

'They won't be able to switch it off?'

'Not easily, sir. The first pulse overrode the manual switches and every general screen in the City must be live.

The signal is now heterodyned on the main power lines as well as the comm links, with enough amplitude to drown their regular transmissions. The only way to stop it is to smash every screen by hand or this.' He tapped the box.

An energy bolt scarred the control room window and everyone in the squad ducked.

'Good,' said Ch.e.l.l. 'Now all we've got to do is hold out until the end of the broadcast.'

The wall screens showed an image of a metallic sphere picked out by thousands of tiny portholes hanging majestically in s.p.a.ce.

'This is one of the so-called guardian fortresses that orbit the system of Averon,' the Doctor's voiceover explained, 'and one reason why n.o.body has dared attack the system for twenty years...' The picture dissolved to show a huge curving concave wall braced by struts and layered with a fine webwork of wiring. 'And this is the interior of the same fortress. Not quite as impressive, is it? Just an awful lot of lightbulbs, essentially.

But a lot cheaper to build and maintain since it's unmanned and hasn't enough firepower to light a match. A hollow deception you might say. Of course, all this might be a deception on our part but can you be certain?'

Deepcity's factory supervisor was hunched over his console trying to get through to central control. His wall screen was showing the same broadcast. Because his back was to the door, he didn't notice when it quietly opened.

'h.e.l.lo? What's the alarm for? Anything to do with this thing on the screens? Look, the rush order has been reprogrammed. Shall I still send it over to the port? h.e.l.lo '

A synthoid arm reached over his shoulder and firmly turned the console communicator off.

The City's screens now showed a desolate landscape under a heavy grey sky.

'This is the surface of Averon,' the Doctor continued. 'It's radioactive, polluted by chemical and biological weapons and very dead. It has been for nearly twenty years. But somebody wants to pretend otherwise, so they've set up automatic transmitter stations like this one which sends out multiple frequency chatter to resemble the radio noise of a busy world.