'Doctor,' she yelled before Reece could stop her. It's not here anymore.

One of them is possessed and-' Reece let go of her hand and savagely kicked her in the back. As she sprawled forward, he fired at the Doctor.

Taking this as a command, Cooper and Townsend did likewise.

As the Doctor ducked, he caught Bernice's eye. He followed her gaze - Ra.s.sbur and his troops had arrived behind the mercenaries from the other tunnel which Cooper had been guarding.

Some sixth sense warned Cooper and she whirled around, firing wildly. Her first shot blew the head off one of Ra.s.sbur's warriors but it was the last thing she ever did.

They fired in unison and Cooper's body was caught in a ma.s.sive sonic crossfire. Unable to scream, she arched back, held momentarily in position by the blasts. Thousands of capillaries across her body bulged and burst.

The sonic waves scrambled her internal organs and blood seeped from her mouth, nose and ears. She was long dead before the blasts stopped and she dropped.

Townsend dived for cover behind a ridiculously small rock, unwittingly exposing himself to Savaar and Sskeet who had joined the Doctor. Sskeet moved into view and despite a warning from Reece, Townsend never even felt the blast as Sskeet's gun shattered his body, killing him instantly.

Reece lowered his blaster and apparently surrendered, placing his other hand in his pocket.

Bernice realized what he was doing and jumped at him, knocking the primed Sontaran fragmentation grenade from his hand. It rolled towards the edge of the ravine and the two of them desperately scrabbled for it.

Bernice's fingers got there first and flicked it over the ravine. Seconds later the cavern shook as Peladon's second-largest ever recorded explosion ripped out a section of the mountain from under them.

Rocks poured from above, crashing down, bounding around. Reece toppled backwards but avoided being hit. Bernice wasn't so lucky and flying shrapnel sent her into a corner, dazed.

It seemed like an eternity but eventually the world stopped shaking.

Gingerly, Bernice propped herself up. The gap where the Doctor had stood was completely sealed off by a rock fall - she had no idea whether or not he was safely behind it or squashed underneath. The opposite entrance where Ra.s.sbur and his warriors had stood was similarly closed, although a jumble of crushed green limbs suggested that not all of his soldiers had moved quickly enough.

Coughing, she crawled over to Reece, hoping he was dead.

As the blaster nozzle slammed into her chin, she wished she'd stayed put.

excuse me, Mister Reece, but it might be worth pointing out that we're trapped here,' she said tartly.

'So?'

'So I don't think either of us are strong enough to shift these rocks on our own. Together, we just might. The only other option of course is to jump down, but I can't say that appeals right now.' Bernice moved away from Reece. I guess it's up to you, "old man".'

The Doctor was pulled, coughing and hacking, from the rocks by Savaar.

'Shsurr Summerfield is very brave.'

'Shsurr Summerfield is very stupid, actually. Playing catch with a Sontaran frag grenade is not a sensible hobby.' The Doctor looked over at Sskeet, lying on the floor. His earlier wounds had been reopened and added to by the blast. 'What about Sskeet?' Savaar waved an arm impotently. 'He is unconscious but still alive. Just. I cannot reach Commander Ra.s.sbur on any frequency. We must a.s.sume he and his warriors are dead.'

Shouts and yells alerted them to people coming up behind them. A familiar flash of green and yellow in the middle of the melee told them that Alpha Centauri had got help. About twenty Pel guards rushed over, swords drawn and ready. A few paces behind was Tarrol.

The Doctor stared at the young king, dirty and grimy, his fine robes looking in need of a good wash. But it was his face that drew the Doctor's attention.

The waiflike child appeared to have been replaced by a grim warrior, a man prepared to fight for his planet. In his hand he held the double-bladed Sword of Truth. His eyes were like steel: a true cold warrior. He reminded the Doctor of Peladon of Peladon, the boy-king he'd met on his first visit.

The traumas of that period helped shaped Peladon into a great leader. Had it done the same with Tarrol? The king followed the Doctor's gaze. 'Reece left the sword with his valise by the Martian shuttle.'

'He still has the Lance and the Crown.' The Doctor reached for the Sword but Tarrol pulled back.

'This is my battle, Doctor. My war. And my planet.'

And how do you propose fighting this war, Your Majesty?' was Savaar's contribution.

The king didn't answer, he merely shoved the sword into his belt and joined his men pulling rocks from the entrance. Within ten minutes, there was a s.p.a.ce small enough for the Doctor to crawl through.

I'll be careful,' he a.s.sured Savaar.

Tarrol suddenly blocked the way. 'My war, Doctor. Not yours, remember.

Certainly not the Federation's. Peladon is my planet and its people are under my protection. This,' he waved the Sword around the rubble, 'this is the legacy of my forefathers.'

With that, he clambered through the hole and guards moved across it to stop the Doctor following.

'You fool, Tarrol. He'll kill you easily. He's got a gun!' But the king was not listening.

Bernice looked up as Tarrol crawled through.

She had been expecting the Doctor or a couple of guards maybe, but not the king himself.

'Your Majesty,' she said lamely.

He bowed fractionally to her, then turned his attention to an amused Reece.

'My G.o.d, the king himself. Come to talk me into giving these back?' He kicked out at the casket still attached to Cooper's corpse. The Lance was shattered under her weight, but the box had probably protected the Crown.

'Perhaps.'

'Well forget it, Your Majesty.' Reece fired his blaster at point-blank range.

Bernice gasped. The king expertly raised the double bladed Sword of Truth and the blast hit that. The king staggered slightly but both Bernice and Reece stared in amazement. If nothing else the Sword ought to have melted.

Between breaths the king managed a smile. 'Aggedor protects his own, alien.'

'Does he indeed?' Reece fired again.

This time the king fell back, but again the Sword had absorbed the blast.

Seeing an opportunity, Bernice dived down, grabbing Townsend's discarded blaster and aimed it at Reece.

'Drop it, Nic. It's all over.'

He laughed. 'The Martian blast destroyed that. I checked it earlier.'

Angrily Bernice tried to fire it but Reece was correct.

Tarrol staggered towards Reece and Bernice saw that his hands were blistered - the Sword absorbed the blast somehow but it also channelled the heat and Tarrol was receiving third-degree burns. She winced at the pain she could only imagine.

Reece sprung up but suddenly froze. Trickles of sand and roak dust ran underfoot. He was too close to the edge of the drop. One more move and he'd drop like a stone.

He grinned and dropped the blaster over the edge. I know when to give up.'

Bernice watched as Tarrol visibly relaxed and the Sword lowered a fraction.

No. Something was wrong.

Reece lunged forward and gripped the blades of the Sword, tugging forward slightly, trying to wrest it from Tarrol's damaged grip. The king yelped as lumps of charred flesh came away from his hands as the Sword moved, but he didn't let go completely. Instead, he caused Reece to tug harder.

And Reece screamed.

Bernice looked on in horror as Reece's fingers, severed by the blades, dribbled to the ground one by one.

Reece's face was a picture of complete amazement, disbelief and pain as he soundlessly pitched backwards over the ravine.

A split second later he apparently remembered to scream but his anguished cry swiftly faded as he plummeted to his death.

Bernice jumped forward as Tarrol staggered, dropping the Sword. He fell to his knees, letting all the pain of the burns finally flood out in wracked sobs.

'Doctor! Savaar! Quickly,' she yelled.

Within moments, the rocks had been pulled back sufficiently to let the guards and the Doctor through.

The king's men extracted his form, stiff with shock, away from Bernice. As he was half-walked, half-carried away, Bernice hugged the Doctor.

He smiled up at her. I'm sorry I had to deceive you about Reece. Or whoever he really was.'

Oh, don't mention it. I've had the time of my life. I don't think.' She pulled away and shook her head at him. 'Sometimes you really push me a bit far.'

I know.'

Suddenly she gripped his arm. 'The Diadem. What about your precious Diadem?' Savaar hauled himself through the rocks in a somewhat undignified manner. If Marshal Hissel is obeying orders, that should have been dealt with by now.'

The shuttle was taking off. Inside, the Ancient Diadem operated its new body, using the new voice to order the computer to fly straight towards Jupiter. From what little information the primitive female had possessed, it knew that the first phase of its plan required total domination over the body known as the Galactic Federation.

A noise alerted it. Nothing inside the shuttle. Using the damaged eyes of the female it stared straight out of the shuttle windows. A ma.s.sive s.p.a.cecraft was descending through the atmosphere towards it at colossal speed.

'Change course,' shrieked the Diadem through Sadler's throat.

'State course and direction,' was the computer's response.

Anywhere. Away from that ship.'

'The Bruk is capable of matching any manoeuvre this shuttle can make.'

'Do it!' screamed the Diadem/Sadler.

'Warning. The Bruk is powering up her forward staser array. This shuttle is unprotected against such firepower.'

Frantically the Diadem used Sadler's rapidly decaying eyes to search for the vacuum case. Inside its adamantium safety, it would be protected from the blast.

The Bruk drew closer.

'Warning. The Brisk . . . '

'Shut up!' screeched the Diadem/Sadler.

The computer fell silent.

The Diadem used Sadler's hands to clasp at the circlet, intending to place itself into the safety of the vacuum case.

It had forgotten that it had destroyed Sadler's own mind. It had nothing to control any more.

As the circlet came away from Sadler's head, Sadler's body simply crumpled, a reflex grasping the circlet tighter.

No! No! No! Sadler's dead body slumped to the side, away from the safety of the case, the Ancient Pakhar Diadem gripped tightly in her dead hands.

I am unprotected. I am The first barrage of fire hit the shuttle head-on.

The shuttle, Sadler's corpse and the vacuum case were hit by a flash of heat that seemed to vaporize everything in less than point five of a second.

Apparently satisfied that not a molecule of the shuttle or any occupants remained in existence, the Bruk headed back to the outer atmosphere of Peladon, to resume its...o...b..t.

PART THREE

THE FUTURE?

1: Dark Mountain

Whether through luck, poetic conceit or the spirit of Aggedor, the following morning a bright if distant sun spread its light and warmth across the plains of Peladon.

Small foraging animals poked their noses out of their burrows and quickly dashed around finding food, relaxed in the realization that they weren't going to drown in the terrible rains or be blown away by harsh winds.

Some of the Pel miners were holding street parties, acknowledging the start of the biennial restatement day vows.

Deep within the cloisters of the Citadel, guards and courtiers tried to rea.s.semble their lives. For some, those lives were irrevocably changed.