'Productive, are they?' the Doctor asked, giving a little toot on his recorder.

'Very.' Thane gave him a strange look. 'Surely you know all this? I mean, Earth really needs all the precious metals and trace elements that we mine here. The home world's about exhausted its own. That's the only reason this colony was approved. We're only the third ever established, and quite a way out on the frontier. If it weren't for the mines, we'd still be waiting, no doubt.'

'But there's plenty here?' Ben prompted, interested despite himself.

'It's the vulcanism, Ben,' the Doctor told him. 'It brings up the elements from beneath the crust and virtually coats the surface with them. Like the mercury pools.'

'Exactly.' Thane seemed happier now that this odd Examiner had shown a little understanding. 'And we can extract and refine the metals at low cost'

'Are there a lot of people here?' Polly asked.

'About eight thousand, all in all.' Shrugging, Thane added: 'Admin can give you an exact figure. Most are on the periphery, in the mines and plants, naturally. There's only about a thousand of us here in the city. Mostly the technical staff and Admin.' She slapped her forehead.

'Which reminds me, I'd better let the Governor know you're awake and feeling fine.' She smiled and gave Polly a friendly pat on the arm. 'Take it easy for a bit, okay?'

As the door closed behind her, Ben rounded on the Doctor. 'That murdered man you claim to have seen must have been the real Examiner, then?'

The Doctor blew a single, high note on his recorder.

Yes.

Ben rolled his eyes. 'And he just got up and walked away?'

'He was quite dead, I a.s.sure you.' The Doctor looked thoughtful. 'I picked up his card.' Fingering the tender area on the back of his neck, he added: 'You don't think I bonked myself over the head, do you?'

Maybe, Ben thought, but knew it was wiser not to say it.

'And you didn't see who did it?' he said.

The Doctor blew a long, low, mournful note. No No. Then he fished in his pocket and held something out to them in his hand. It was a b.u.t.ton, attached to a torn piece of material. 'Just after I was. .h.i.t, I caught hold of the man who did it. I suppose I must have pulled this off his clothing.'

Polly examined the b.u.t.ton, but it didn't tell her anything. 'They were all wearing shiny white suits,' she objected. She couldn't recall much about the journey here, but the image of men in white had stuck with her.

'Protective coverings,' the Doctor replied. 'This must come from whatever the man who attacked me wore under his suit.'

Ben shook his head. 'Look, I think it's pretty dull aronnd here myself. Surely this murder isn't anything to do with us? Why don't we just nip back to the TARDIS and scarper?'

The Doctor blew his low, mournful no again. 'We seem to have explained our presence here,' he told the two of them. 'Let's leave it like that for the present, shall we?'

'You mean that you're going to go on letting them think you're the Examiner?' Polly asked. The Doctor gave her a chirpy note on the recorder. 'But - somebody killed the last one. Won't it be dangerous?' The Doctor raised an eyebrow, and blew a high, a low and then another high note. Clearly he wasn't sure.

Ben was getting pretty annoyed by all of this. 'Why don't you stop blowing that thing?' he asked. If he were honest, what bothered him the most was that Polly seemed to be accepting him as the real Doctor. And, in the back of his own mind, he was beginning to wonder if there wasn't something in all of this renewal malarkey after all. To cover up his own confusion, he had to do something.

Reaching out, he yanked the offending recorder from the Doctor's hands and then jammed it into his pocket.

'Ben!' Polly said reprovingly.

'Now, don't you start!' Ben told her. He felt he was very much on the defensive here. 'It's bad enough with him.'

'He hasn't done anything.'

'Yeah,' Ben agreed, 'that's the trouble. He '

There was a rap on the door. The Doctor gave a small smile and called out: 'Come in!'

Bragen was the first into the room, glaring suspiciously at the trio. He was followed in by another man, again in the fatigues that all of the colonists seemed to wear like a uniform. This man was in his fifties, thick-set and with a definite air of authority about him. His hair was almost pure white, with occasional shots of grey in it, and he sported a neat beard. His eyes were deep and calculating, surveying each of the three occupants of the room. Clearly, though, he was not impressed by what he saw.

'I am Hensell,' he announced. 'The Governor,' he added, when the name didn't seem to register. 'I gather that you're all feeling better.' It was not a question.

The Doctor had recognized Hensel for what he was immediately - a minor cog in the government on Earth who had seized his chance for real power by getting the governorship of a far-flung colony world. With the vast distances that separated Vulcan from Earth, Hensell would be virtually in sole command, his orders unquestioned.

People with Hensell's kind of mind would then run amuck, laying down laws as if they were paving stones and expecting implicit obedience.

Only... He was an Earth Examiner. The Doctor had absolutely no idea what an Examiner was, or what he was expected to do, but Hensell knew. Reading the man's challenging stance, the Doctor gauged how far he could fling his own weight around in return before Hensell would balk. 'You may a.s.sume that if you wish,' he said mildly. Rule One when working with officious idiots: knowledge is power. If you have it and they don't, they'll soon make jacka.s.ses of themselves. If he kept Hensell on the defensive and forced the man to supply information while at the same time giving nothing away himself, then 'If Earth had seen fit to warn us that you were coming,'

Hensell said frostily, 'we might possibly have been able to guide you down to a safe landing.' The Doctor caught the implication: Don't blame us for your problems. Don't blame us for your problems.

'If Earth didn't inform you that an Examiner was coming.' the Doctor countered gently, 'then I expect they must have had a very good reason. Don't you, Governor?'

He saw from Hensell's angry flush that this had hit him hard. The implication for Hensell was that either he was not considered important enough to bother telling or that it was his behaviour that the Examiner was here to check up on. Either way, Hensell was losing ground here very quickly.

In an attempt to regain control of the situation, he reverted to type. When in doubt, bl.u.s.ter. 'I'm ent.i.tled to know these things. I'm in charge of this colony. Why have you come to Vulcan? We aren't due an Examiner for two more years yet. How does Earth expect me to get this place in shape if I'm constantly interrupted? I don't like spot checks! Furthermore, I'm going to say so! Is that understood? I am to send a message to Earth!'

The Doctor jumped to his feet. Hensell, alarmed, took a step back, but the Doctor grabbed his hand and pumped it enthusiastically, grinning like a maniac. 'Oh, I understand perfectly. You're delighted to see us and I must thank you for the warmth of your enthusiastic welcome.' He dropped Hensell's hand and marched over to the door, staring at it thoughtfully.

Hensell was now clearly so far out of his depth that he was in danger of drowning. 'Why have you come to Vulcan?' he repeated. 'What's your brief?'

Since the Doctor had absolutely no idea, he couldn't have answered that directly if he'd wanted to. 'I am the Examiner,' he said, whirling back to face the two men. His hand went into his pocket and touched the b.u.t.ton there.

'And I intend to start my examination at once.' Whatever Hensell might imagine that meant, he was clearly taken aback when the Doctor crossed to Bragen and began to peer myopically at the Security Head's uniform.

Bragan stared down at the odd man who was fingering the b.u.t.tons on his tunic. He seemed to be upset by this.

Guilt? the Doctor wondered.

'May I suggest, Governor,' Bragen began.

'You may not!' Hensell almost yelled. It was bad enough with this ridiculous Examiner challenging his command of the situation. He didn't need Bragen to start suggesting anything at all. As the Doctor straightened up from his examination of Bragen's tunic, Hensell glared down at him. There was only one possible reason he could think of that might prompt the arrival of an Earth Examiner.

'Somebody's leaked a report about these rebel groups, haven't they?' he demanded. 'That's it, isn't it?'

'Is it?' the Doctor asked infuriatingly. He started to look over Hensell's tunic next.

Fl.u.s.tered, Hensell glared down at the man. 'Internal affairs are my business,' he stormed. 'Don't interfere!'

When the Doctor glanced up sharply, Hensell snapped: 'According to the charter, as defined in section nine, paragraph twenty '

'Yes, yes, yes,' the Doctor said, finishing his examination of Hensell. He hated people trying to claim authority on the basis of some silly little by-law that made them little tin G.o.ds. It was probably the most inefficient system of government he could think of. When all else fails, quote rules by the million.

'Governor,' Bragen interrupted again, 'there is Lesterson's capsule.'

Hensell was about to reprimand Bragen again for breaking in when he considered the man's point. Maybe the Examiner wasn't here for it but the artefact could provide a distraction, maybe even derail this meddling Examiner until Hensell could apply a little pressure of his own and have the man recalled. Hensell was not without influence back at the Colony Office in Berne... 'The capsule was found in the mercury swamps here while we were excavating for the city foundations,' he explained. 'It must have been here for years, long before Earth decided to colonize Vulcan. Lesterson wants to open it, but I'm not at all sure that it's wise'

'The Governor feels it may be dangerous,' Bragen added. 'It could contain alien bacteria start a plague anything!'

The Doctor sighed. Typically narrow-minded bureaucrats terrified of the unknown. The chances of an alien bacteria actually being able to infect a human being were incredibly remote. Most germs were terribly fussy about who and what they infected. And anyway, if Lesterson had even an ounce of scientific caution, he'd open the capsule in a sealed, sterile environment.

'Yes, all right, Bragen,' Hensell muttered. To the Doctor, he added: 'I suggest that you concentrate your attention on the capsule, Examiner.'

Why? the Doctor wondered. He could see in a second that this was an attempt to sidetrack him. But he had to admit that his curiosity had been roused. Vulcan had shown no signs at all during his brief investigation of having any native life forms. If the capsule wasn't from the Earth, then it was logically from some alien planet. It might be inactive now, but he'd better make sure about that. 'I shall examine the capsule later,' he promised. 'You may leave us now.'

Hensell flushed at this abrupt dismissal. Refusing to grant the Doctor the final word, he nodded curtly. 'I shall look forward to your report.' He gave the Doctor's odd clothing a look of utter disgust. 'And, Bragen, see that the Examiner and his party get some proper clothes to wear.'

He swept out. Bragen, with a chilly smile towards the Doctor, followed.

As the door closed, the Doctor flopped on to the closest bed. 'What a cheek!' he exclaimed. 'I am wearing "proper clothes"!'

Ben was staring at the closed door when he heard the tootling of the Doctor's recorder again. His hand flashed to his pocket, which was empty. What a nerve! The Doctor had picked his pocket during all of that chatter. Ben almost had to admire him for it. 'You were pushing it a bit, weren't you?' he asked the Doctor. 'Seeing if that b.u.t.ton of yours came off the Governor's tunic.'

'Yes,' the Doctor agreed with a happy grin. 'Very rude, wasn't I? Terrible manners.' He didn't look at all ashamed; quite the contrary, he looked rather pleased with himself.

He blew a few more notes on his recorder, then tucked it into an inside pocket. 'We have to have a look at that capsule.'

'You want to watch that you don't push this Examiner thing a bit too far,' Ben warned him.

Ignoring his advice, the Doctor said: 'The Examiner was killed in the mercury swamp. The capsule came out of the swamp. Could that be coincidental?'

Ben pressed on. 'At least one person isn't going to be fooled by your act.'

Looking at Polly, the Doctor said thoughtfully: 'And when Bragen found us, he distinctly called it a s.p.a.ce s.p.a.ce capsule.' capsule.'

Exasperated at the lack of attention the Doctor was paying to him, Ben snapped: 'You ain't going to fool the bloke that did the real Examiner in!' He was happy to see the worry on the Doctor's face. He was less happy to see the same on Polly's.

The hub of the city was close to the medical wing, in the Admin Centre. Here was the Community Hall, where concerts, plays and other activities were held. Outside the Hall was a community bulletin board. Eventually, when the city was completed, everything would be on computer.

At the moment, older technology still ruled. Bragen was pinning up a note under the Personals Personals section when Quinn found him. section when Quinn found him.

'What's all this nonsense about having to have a pa.s.s to see the Examiner?' he demanded curtly. He'd been turned back politely, true, but obviously by two of Bragen's goons posted in the medical wing.

Attempting to look apologetic, Bragen replied: 'It's the Governor's idea.'

'Surely that doesn't apply to me me!' Quinn insisted.

'It isn't my order, Quinn,' Bragen explained patiently.

'Hensell said everyone. I suppose the Governor wants to stop people from bothering him.'

Quinn's eyes narrowed, suspiciously. 'It sounds to me more like one of your red-tape ideas to keep your men employed.' Or, he added mentally, like someone's afraid that the wrong information will reach the Examiner.

Bragen spread his hands as a gesture of helplessness.

'It's really nothing to do with me.'

Quinn glared at the piece of paper Bragen had tacked to the board. It was something about wanting a partner to play chess with. Rapping the notice with one hand, Quinn snapped: 'If this is what occupies your time, you should find something better for you and your muscle-men to do!'

'We don't have any crime on Vulcan,' Bragen said, as if taking personal credit for this amazing piece of law enforcement. 'My security men '

'Security men!' Quinn laughed scornfully. 'If brains were dynamite, they wouldn't have enough to blow their own noses!' With an annoyed snarl, he turned to stalk away. He didn't see the filthy look that Bragen gave him as he marched off. Lost in his foul mood, Quinn almost slammed into Janley as he turned the corner. 'Oh, sorry,'

he apologized.

She gave him one of her devastating smiles, and Quinn's mood brightened considerably. 'My fault,' she told him cheerfully. 'Lesterson's just cleared me out of his lab.'

Lowering her voice, she asked him: 'Is the Examiner going to let him open up the capsule?'

'I don't know,' Quinn admitted. 'I'm on my way to see the Examiner now if I can push past Bragen's army of layabouts.'

Janley chuckled. Then she touched Quinn's sleeve. For a moment, he thought she was going to get personal. No such luck, though.

'You've torn your jacket,' she observed.

Quinn glanced down. The b.u.t.ton on the edge of his sleeve was missing, along with a bit of the cloth. 'Oh, curses,' he muttered, annoyed. 'Well, it'll have to do for now. I haven't the time to fix it.'

'Want me to do it?' Janley offered.

Much as he'd have liked an excuse to get better acquainted with her, Quinn reluctantly shook his head.

'I'm late as it is,' he said. He gave her a nod and hurried on.

Janley watched him leave, thoughtfully tapping the notice she had for the bulletin board in the palm of her other hand.

7.

Alien? Yes Very Alien The Doctor stared at the triangular piece of metal that Lesterson had polished to an impressive shine. Even to Ben's unpractised eyes, he looked very disturbed. Ben was distracted by Lesterson's incessant fiddling with items of equipment that he was setting up beside the capsule. Ben had no idea what any of it was for, but it looked quite formidable.

He and Polly were close to the maybe-Doctor by Lesterson's bench. Gathered by the door ready to bolt in case of trouble? were the Admin staff. Hensell and Quinn were there, along with Bragen and one of his silent security men. Over the door a lighted sign was flashing: QUARANTINE ON. It didn't make Ben feel any better to know that if there was some form of alien plague inside that capsule then only the inhabitants of this room would be infected. He might have taken the chance himself, to keep an eye on the bloke claiming to be the Doctor. He would certainly have insisted on Polly being outside, though. Neither she nor the Doctor would listen to his arguments, however, and here she was, taking her chances with the rest of them.

'Where did you get this?' the Doctor called out to Lesterson, holding up the piece of metal.