Atissa stepped forward. 'Be silent, Chancellor, or you will be next. Aggedor has rea.s.serted his rule over our planet. His will is ours. Yours, mine, our king's.'

Geban was still protesting. And just who is to perform this execution, Atissa? You?' The double doors crashed open, knocking the guards back slightly. Framed in the doorway stood High Lord Savaar.

'No, Chancellor Geban. Atissa will not be beheading anybody tomorrow.'

Oh thank G.o.d for that,' said Bernice.

Alpha Centauri's silent but gesticulating hysteria abated as well. Slightly.

'Your Majesty, Pels and Federation members. I, Savaar of the family of La.s.saal, supreme commander of the Martian fleet and chief executive of the Federation Corps have claimed my right as the arbitrator of Federation law regarding Federation citizens. Tomorrow, at midday, I will have the glorious honour of beheading the Doctor. For his crimes against Mars. For his crimes against New Mars. For his crimes against Peladon and for his crimes against Federation Unity.' Savaar pushed past the astonished grouping and crossed to the Doctor. He hauled him to his feet, ignoring the flash of pain that crossed the Time Lord's face. 'Tomorrow, Doctor, the "Ice Warriors" will finally get their revenge!'

Bernice almost screamed in shock. Instead she composed herself and walked up to Savaar. She looked him straight in the face. 'You b.a.s.t.a.r.d.'

6: Are Friends Electric?

'Actually, it's really quite comfortable here. Not too dark, not too light. Not too loud, not too quiet. And you brought me my chess set. Thank you.'

'Need anything else?' said Bernice.

The Doctor shook his head. 'No. Everything's just right.'

except of course that Savaar there has about as much brains in his head as Centauri has natural valium.' Bernice didn't even cast the Martian the look of loathing she wanted to. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

The Doctor tutted. 'Never judge a book by its cover, Benny. Remember that.'

Bernice stared at the Doctor, trying to read the message in the words. He obviously thought Savaar was up to something, but she wasn't convinced.

The venom in his voice as he had made his proclamation the previous night was totally convincing. She hoped the Doctor was right, but wasn't convinced. I hope you're right,' was the only response she could manage.

'So, Doctor,' said Savaar from behind her, 'why were you in the Lady Lianna's room at the time of the murder?'

'I wasn't. I arrived about a minute later.'

'Why did you have your hands on the Lance of Aggedor?' was Sskeet's contribution.

Oddly enough, I was trying to save her.'

Bernice tried not to look at Savaar as he walked past her and stood directly in front of the cell. 'How long had she been dead when you arrived?'

'She was still alive. She died in my arms.'

Bernice registered this with the same degree of surprise as the two Martians evidently did, although without the hissing. 'Did she say anything?' she asked.

'Shsurr Summerfield, please let me continue the questioning. This is important.'

'Don't you Shsurr me, Savaar.'

'Benny,' warned the Doctor. 'Let the High Lord do this his way.'

'Thank you. Both,' Savaar said 'Nevertheless, a good question from the Professor. Did the Lady Lianna say anything before she died?'

The Doctor grinned broadly. Oh yes. She told me who killed her.'

It took a second for this to sink into Bernice's angry consciousness. 'What?

Why didn't you say? Who killed her?'

The Doctor just smiled. And put his finger to his lips to indicate silence.

Geban slammed the door to his chancellery as he entered. He collapsed into his chair and shook his head.

Why? Why had the Doctor killed Lianna? Had he? Why did Savaar want to execute the Doctor? Would he? And why had King Tarrol suddenly done a complete about-face? And why was Atissa there in the throne room when no one had got any sense out of her since the Doctor's interrogation?

There was a soft knock on his door. 'Come,' he yelled, louder than he'd intended, and tried to smile as Nic Reece sheepishly entered.

I can come back later,' the human suggested but Geban waved him in.

I could do with some rational company. Things are not going well.'

'Too right, Geban, old man. I'll get straight to the nitty-gritty. Upstairs is a room full of priceless Pel antiques. First the Lance goes, now the Crown of Sherak. If the double-bladed Sword of Truth is lost, Peladon is going to lose its attraction to the Federation mult.i.tudes.'

Geban stared at Reece. Am I to understand that you are concerned with a few of Atissa's trinkets while your friend is to be executed?'

'Hey, don't get me wrong. I like the Doctor a lot. Good soul and all that. But my job is ensuring this planet's economic survival - and while you go around hiding your heads in the clouds, holding executions and suchlike, there will be serious repercussions. Apart from no pretty things to show the punters, an execution during the restatement vows bash isn't going to sit well either. Neal Corry will have a field day. Where is he, by the way?'

Geban shrugged. I have no idea. Haven't seen him since yesterday morning. On his shuttle with his drink?'

Reece grinned. 'Should have known you'd find out about that. No, he's not there, I checked earlier. Oh well, he'll turn up.' He got up to go. I know you've a lot on your plate, Geban, but I thought you ought to think about these things. Sorry.'

Reece left, leaving Geban to think over the new problems as well as well as the old.

Atissa looked up at the empty s.p.a.ce in the relic room where the Lance of Aggedor ought to be, and smiled.

'You have been returned. Savagely abused and tainted with my mother's irreverent blood, but returned nevertheless. Although the Crown is gone, you shall a.s.sume your place as the most important, most beloved of our treasures.'

She picked up the Lance from the mauve velvet bag it rested in at her feet.

As her fingers touched it, she heard the door open behind her but didn't turn around. I would be alone,' she said.

Behind her came a deep breathing and a sibilant breath. Alien,' she said, I thank you for your offer to execute the Doctor. Please accept my grat.i.tude but also my refusal. He is my . . . our enemy. Not yours.' She stood up and started to turn to where she imagined Savaar was standing.

Instead, something large and heavy crashed across the back of her neck and she fell senseless to the floor, the Lance rolling across to the feet of her attacker.

'Back where you belong indeed, Lance of Aggedor. And where you really belong is with me.'

The Doctor was alone at last. Bernice had gone to rest, and probably vent her frustrations on Nic Reece. Savaar and Sskeet had gone to prepare for the execution. He was finally alone with his chess set.

I have lost my queen. Once again, I'm in check. I hope Ace is doing better than this.' The Doctor reached out and swivelled the set around, then moved the horse-headed piece up and along, directly in front of his king.

'Still, I think my shining knight has saved me. For now, at least. Still my planning still leaves a lot to be desired.' He leaned over and placed a black night in the path of his white one. One p.a.w.n was removed, two others were next to go because the Doctor had to move his king out of check. I don't like this game much,' murmured the Time Lord. 'Still, I should have thought of that before I started.'

Bernice knocked on his door but there was no reply. Shrugging, she pushed and it slowly opened.

The room said 'Nic Reece' in big letters, she decided. Untidy in a designer sort of way, as if the crumpled clothing and awkwardly positioned bed had been deliberately set to look messy. She smiled. How like him.

She crossed to the larger-than-normal window and stared out. The rain lashed against the Perspex, smearing everything although she could just about make out the blackened slope of Mount Megeshra as it dropped hundreds of feet away below.

Bernice looked down at the chest by the window. On it, a comb, a toothbrush and a data-pad. She smiled as she picked up the toothbrush - in an era of sonic hygiene, a toothbrush was rather parochial. Perhaps he felt it fitted in with the primitiveness of Peladon. She scooped up the pad and flicked it open. No microfilaments. Then again, he'd clearly had them removed from his head as well, so perhaps his operated in the old-fashioned way. She pressed a stud and the pad's screen glowed. 'Home,'

she said.

A small hologram floated in front of her. A small dome, obviously white plastic but with a network of metallic struts built across it honeycomb-style.

There was thick green gra.s.s all around it and some large blue flowers growing up in a translucent trellis. One was nearly five metres tall, and was swaying in a slight breeze. The wall of the dome melted away, as the walls of the Bruk had done, to reveal an opening.

Three people came out, smiling and waving. A woman about Bernice's age with long blonde hair and huge blue eyes. Holding her hand was a young girl, about four or five, sucking her thumb and desperately trying to hide behind the woman. Camera-shy, Bernice decided. The boy, a year or two older, was anything but camera-shy as he ran and rolled around on the ground, playing with what appeared to be a very large rabbit with three ears and a long tail. The date floating at the bottom of the hologram, displayed as a red LED, suggested that this was only a few months old.

She hadn't heard him come in, so the first she knew of Nic Reece's presence behind her was a howl of anger as he grabbed the pad away from her.

Shocked, she swung round and tried to speak, but the murderous look in his eye instantly showed her a side of him she'd never imagined existed.

And never wished to.

'Get out of my room,' he spat. 'How dare you even think of coming in here?

Just . . . just get the frag out!'

Bernice backed towards the door. 'Nic . . . I . . . I'm sorry.. .' was the best she could manage and she ran out. Behind her she could just hear a savage crunch as Reece presumably stamped on the data-pad, destroying it completely.

Alpha Centauri had been downloading everything he could find on Federation protocol regarding one member of a diplomatic party declaring war on another while on neutral territory. It wasn't a subject that had cropped up too often in Federation history and the downloading hadn't taken long. He was just ordering his pad off when Bernice walked in and sat down at the table.

'Professor Summerfield? Are you all right?'

Composing herself as best she could, Bernice turned. One look at Centauri bobbing up and down, blue patches flicking intermittently over his head, crushed her resolve to be flippant. I've had better days, certainly.'

With a blink of understanding, two of Centauri's arms reached out and poured her a drink, which he then brought over. 'This awful business with the Doctor is quite unacceptable. I would contact Io immediately but my main relay station would be the Bruk. As High Lord Savaar's flagship, it hardly seems prudent to expect them to forward a complaint against their commander.'

Bernice nodded her agreement. 'Savaar's weird. Last night he wanted the Doctor dead. Today he and Sskeet are as thick as thieves with the Doctor and no one will tell me what's going on.'

Centauri considered. 'Well, under Federation Law, which Peladon is obliged to follow, Savaar does have the authority to proceed with the execution.'

'But surely under Federation Law, he can't interfere with planetary justice.'

A dichotomy, indeed,' Centauri said.

'Well, let's ponder something else then. What can you tell me about Nic Reece?'

'Why?'

'Look, Centauri, b.u.g.g.e.r your Federation resolve and chumminess, just tell me everything you can. Like, is he married?'

'Strictly speaking, no.'

'Don't speak strictly, then.'

'He was married, with two children. They were killed about five weeks ago, in a shuttle crash apparently. He took me alone into his confidence, not wanting to let the news get in the way of the restatement ceremony. He blamed himself for it and only arrived back on Peladon a few days before you arrived. He took their deaths very badly indeed.'

I can imagine. I thought he was hiding something under that casual veneer. h.e.l.l, I'm stupid.'

Oh, I'm sure that's not true, Professor,' Centauri said. 'Why do you think you are?'

'Because I blundered into his room just now. I found a holo of his family and he came back. He wasn't happy to find me. I thought he thought I'd discovered he was, well, cheating on his wife. But of course, he was hurt by seeing the holo.'

'Cheating on her? If I understand your meaning, are you suggesting there is a relationship between the two of you?'

'No! Well, not yet . . . well, probably not ever, now . . . Oh grief, I don't know!' Bernice got up and began pacing around the room. I mean, I ought to be better at handling this kind of situation. I've had my share of relationships - none of them particularly wonderful, I know, but some quite decent. But him. I mean, he just radiates something . . . I don't know what.

An image, a personality that's so refreshing, so . . . b.l.o.o.d.y dynamic.'

Centauri shuffled a little uncomfortably, slightly embarra.s.sed at the human female's soul-bearing.

Bernice continued, 'Maybe I've been cooped up in the TARDIS for too long - perhaps I need a break. Am I just taking the first opportunity with an apparently uncomplicated man? Of course, he's not uncomplicated really, is he? Oh no, I have to fall for someone completely screwed up inside. Oh, it's all so obvious now. I should have seen the writing on the wall. I mean, his face, his posture. I knew he was covering up for something.' She paused for breath before turning and looking Alpha Centauri squarely in the eye.

Am I making sense?'

Centauri had to think carefully on that one. Humanoids, especially females, tended to be very emotive, very p.r.o.ne to over-reaction and almost hysteria.

And when involving procreation. . . Centauri mentally shook his head in confusion. What should he say? His species of course were far more rational, far more sensible. With no romances, nlove' to be involved in, everything was far simpler. Every few years the urge to replicate came naturally and with the correct mental urges, a new member of the species was created. One became two. He decided he would never understand why humans had to become so emotional in times of personal crisis.

'Well,' he started, I'm not sure I -'

Oh, you're right of course,' Bernice carried on, much to Centauri's relief. I mean, obviously it can't go anywhere. He's grieving and temporarily looking for a surrogate wife - and that's not a criticism - and I'll be shooting away as soon as the Doctor's free. Or dead.' Bernice stopped suddenly. 'Grief - why am I worrying about me? They're going to cut the Doctor's head off later!'

She reached out and grabbed three of Centauri's arms, bewildering him totally. 'What are we going to do, Centauri?'

'I . . . I really do not know. Rescue him? In the past, the Doctor tended to rescue himself, actually. Any help we gave tended to, well, upset his plans a bit.'

Bernice grimaced. 'Yeah. Know the problem.'

eTA?'.

About eight hours. It's a b.l.o.o.d.y long way even in this cla.s.s of shuttle.'