14
SUB ZERO
She walked from bright, comfortable warmth into glaring, bitter, hostile cold and it was as quick as that, one second, one step over a threshold – hot to hot and she shuddered. Despite the tight fitting thermal body suit under her clothing she felt the icy chill bite into her like a thousand small teeth. She would have retreated out of it but a figure was moving in the opposite direction and they bumped together, he smiling, she not.
Minus 200 degrees he had said, the body suit would protect her down to that level so how damn cold could this place be. A cavern, vast and box-like with a high ceiling and frost furry floor, big icy teeth stalag-what they were called, jutting both up and down and a little way off near the far wall these smooth oblongs of ice, tall upright coffins a set of three, gap, two, gap, then four. The coffins formed a kind of semi-circle and struck Kate as odd, sort of manufactured or moulded.
"I'm freezing to death," she forced the words out, forced her teeth to unglue.
"You'll be fine," the Doctor annoyingly didn't seem remotely bothered by any of this.
"No I won't it's too cold, my blood is congealing."
"It's only minus 220," he responded taking several steps across the furry frost and leaving no prints at all the ground was so hard, bone hard.
"You said minus 200 was our limit," Kate pointed out, "That these suits stop functioning below that."
Another smile, stop worrying it said but it was alright for him he wasn't human. Kate hovered in the doorway ready to bolt back inside, drawn by the soft glow of the ship interior.
"There's a little leeway these things were built to be tough," the doctor squatted to poke at something, glanced up then spied the coffins.
"I wasn't," Kate muttered sulkily under her breath, "Where are we," a louder expulsion.
"Not sure, the old girl was annoyingly vague and unhelpful."
Not like you at all then Doctor Kate mused, "What did she tell you this old girl?"
"One three one one eight one nine," he responded."
"What does that mean," random numbers as far as she could tell just gibberish.
"Nothing at all it doesn't refer to a galaxy or dimension it isn't even a proper coordinate as far as I can tell," he edged back towards her, "Odd place this isn't it like a cave but not a cave."
Kate wasn't sure she cared as she wiped her eyes on a hanky, "Are we underground?"
"No we're 22 kilometres above ground level," the Doctor's enthusiasm failed to transfer then he stopped smiling, "22 that rings a distant bell."
One hell of a mountain she was thinking higher than she'd ever climbed that was for sure and she'd been a keen mountaineer in her youth – hills, cliffs, crags, she and max had…forget about Max ancient history, past life.
"So we're on some frozen wilderness, an ice planet way too cold to support any life, no reason to stay."
He rubbed his chin as if considering departure but she knew, just knew they weren't going just yet, the Doctor was too nosey too curious he couldn't bare mysteries or riddles, he had to know where he'd been if only for the record.
"We could leave," he murmured.
"But we're not going to – I get the drill. Kate was resigned to staying, "I'll wait inside the…."
That was when it started, the pulsing glow, greenish and eerie sinister, first one of the coffins then another and a third like they were setting each other off. A slow pulsation at first but gathering momentum, the light becoming more vivid more green illuminating walls and ceiling.
The Doctor aimed something at the biggest coffin, "Life," he gasped, "A definite life reading."
She was unbelieving – no way not here it was impossible.
"You mean there's something living inside those boxes."
"Sarcophagi," the Doctor corrected, "And yes it would seem so the bio-energetic signature is unmistakable, something alive and becoming more active."
Kate thought of something hibernating, creatures woken up by their arrival by the noise perhaps, the ship made a hell of a racket when it just appeared out of thin air. Oh maybe it was their voices, their speech then again why not body heat, after all there was precious little of that here.
It's just a glowing green light she told herself nothing to worry about, light can't kill you surely.
"Pulsation," she breathed, "Almost like a…"
He finished for her, "Heartbeat."
"Only three of them I wonder why, I still can't actually see anything inside the ice."
The Doctor took four bold steps closer to the flashing sarcophagi waving an instrument over them, "No solid mass, no hint of a body that's odd; life but not as we know it."
Maybe the bodies had to form or be created by some form of gestation then Kate noticed something else, it was getting colder. She associated life with warmth but this was different, whatever was coming to life here like it cold, colder than minus 220.
"We should bail out they might be hostile," she said.
"Possibly," he said in a voice that both agreed and disagreed.
"Well we are the intruders here the aliens."
"You know this is familiar to me, the mountain, the cold, the fact we have to chew on oxygen tablets, our body suits."
Hugging herself Kate briefly marvelled at how well travelled this man was, he seemed to have been everywhere even though he claimed to have seen a 'mere fraction' of what the universe had to offer.
"Yes," he finally clapped, "We should…" he looked at her then beyond her, his features sagged and shoulders slumped, she turned to see what he'd seen.
Oh no, oh fantastic, the tardis was encased in a block of ice like a giant ice cube or rather an ice oblong, the damn tardis – their only way out – had become another sarcophagus. Kate slapped at the ice it was as solid as titanium; she kicked at it and bruised a toe, reaching into her coat she produced a small pick but knew it would be useless.
"Frozen out," the Doctor breathed as a shrill note jumped from his hands having no effect whatsoever, the note jumped and split producing various octaves and quavers, nothing not a crack or a split, "We can't get back in the ice is a meter thick and getting denser by the second."
"But you told me that couldn't happen that the exterior was heat producing and ice resistant."
Reduced to tapping the ice with his sonic the tall man gave a slow shake of the head, "It is," he said, "This has never happened before and it shouldn't be happing now."
A crack made them turn, one of the sarcophagi had split vertically down the middle and was leaking green vapour or plasma, oily expanding stuff that gushed outwards rapidly to swirl and congeal. Kate didn't like the look of it, green stuff had always bothered her especially this stuff. It was too vibrant too alive it had purpose and it was turning into something else.
"Bio-plasma," the Doctor remarked, "But of what I wonder?"
A second coffin cracked and began to leak, noxious green fog spilling forwards and upwards.
"That life you mentioned is getting livelier," Kate was surprised at the levity in her tone; she didn't feel amused or light-hearted.
"Yes it is," the Doctor agreed rummaging in a top pocket to produce what looked like two lolly pop sticks, which under the circumstances looked absurdly inadequate, what possible use could they be?
"Have you still got those goggles I gave you," he asked? Kate took hers out sure that her eyes were adjusting to the temps in the cave.
"Why do I need them?"
"For outside," he said worryingly.
"Hang on what do you mean," he surely wasn't suggesting – no he couldn't be, "We can't go outside it'll be even colder."
Plus they were up a mountain a 22 kilometre mountain.
Rapidly the Doctor dashed around his frozen useless tardis to scan the rest of the cave, "There has to be a way out a fissure, a cave mouth or an airlock, this place can't be totally sealed."
The third coffin cracked and began to leak, there was now an awful lot of green plasma in the air and it was swelling towards Kate in a way she didn't like but to go outside onto some mountain ledge was insane, if they didn't freeze they'd fall and fall a long way.
"Over here Kate," a voice drew her away from the tardis to a depression in the cave wall where the cave skin was seemingly thinner, "I think we can get through this," the Doctor began to sonic, "I'm sure this is an exit of some sort."
"How cold will it be outside," Kate hated to be negative it wasn't in her nature but one of them had to be practical, "minus 250, lower, minus 350," she demanded.
"I'm not sure maybe," he admitted.
"Then we'll freeze to death and very quickly, why not stay here and," Kate blinked looking at the green plasma able to see something inside it now, shapes, forms, bits of something else bleeding through.
"I know where we are Kate I've worked it out and we aren't safe in here at all, at least I'm not."
"So where are we," Kate demanded?
"If every letter of the alphabet had a numerical value A would be one, B would be two and so on, right?"
Yeah she supposed so, he went on, "One three one one eight one nine, what if they are thirteen, one, eighteen and nineteen?"
Kate's tired, frosty brain tried to picture the alphabet, all right she was up for this, the letter A was obvious but what about the others the thirteen, eighteen and nineteen.
The Doctor continued to sonic and the exterior wall became a web of cracks, "Thirteen is M," he said, "Eighteen is R and nineteen must be…"
"S," said Kate, "A, M, R and S but that doesn't make any sense that isn't a planet," she choked off, rearrange the words, M before A and you had, "Mars, we're on mars," she gulped very impressed.
"22 kilometres high, we're inside Olympus Mons," said the Doctor, "Highest Mountain in the solar system," the thinning crumbling wall tinkled and splintered, it cracked and flaked, a gust of burningly cold air hit Kate in the right ear making her scream.
The scream became an echo and it went on and on, the effect ton the green plasma was interesting. It stopped expanding outwards but its inner core began to accelerate, the miasmic forms acquiring shape and cohesion and a very definite mass.
Kate saw what might be eyes or at least eye holes, eyes with shielding with some protective film like hers had inside the goggles.
"So those things are Martians," she said.
"No they aren't," the Doctor kicked at his widening exist.
"They must be otherwise they wouldn't be here," she argued.
"Well then let me say that they aren't like the Martians I'm familiar with."
He squeezed his head and shoulders through the gap, when he came back in his head and cheeks were covered in white frost, "You were right Kate it is colder outside," was he being sarcastic, "But it's survivable, sort of."
He hoisted the lolly sticks which still seemed like pointless rubbish to her, "A cross for our joint grave," she said sourly.
"Not quite, come on."
"Oh after you Doctor," she was in no hurry so whilst he squirmed and grunted she looked back at the green fog and at the shapes congealing within it – snakes, dragons maybe demons she wasn't sure but didn't like the look of them; they were horrible creatures, nightmare things.
A hand grabbed her and tugged, she went with it out onto a ledge and onto the side of Olympus Mons. Not too windy that was one good thing, not too snowy so she could see all the way down and my god it was a long drop, a very long drop, so far down that there were clouds between them at the foot of the mountain.
Climbing down seemed insane so what did that leave given that the Doctor didn't seem to possess a parachute or a toboggan, all he had were two lolly sticks which he place don the snow and gave a sonic. To her disbelief the sticks began to grow and grow, doubling, trebling in length and on they went expanding, swelling – one foot, two, five.
She worked out what they were before they'd stopped growing, "Skis but just one pair."
"One pair big enough for two people," he said, "Tandem skis."
Kate looked around for somewhere they could ski down the mountain, but it was just sheer cliff face, "How can we ski anywhere I don't see any place where we could use skis even tandem skis."
The Doctor hadn't finished, he was still sonicing the two pieces of wood, "Not just tandem skis but anti gravity skis," he said.
"But we're 22 kilometres up and its sub zero, subber zero than I've ever known."
Not remotely bothered by that he climbed onto the front section of the skis waving her to get behind him, the moment she did her shoes were gripped by an intense magnetism, the skis were full of power they were live even humming, the tips glowing bright orange, the rest glowing reddish gold.
"Where did you get these things?"
"I made them, well assembled them from a kit but I also upgraded them."
"You're sure they'll work in this cold and at this altitude? You're not are you, this is a gamble? Oh great what a way to go."
"Indeed," he yelled, "What a way to go."
Behind them green gas and green forms filled the broken rent in the cave wall, looking back the Doctor frowned, "No it's definitely not them," he said then with a sonic burst Kate found herself shooting forwards and down to certain death.
The jaws of death opened around her as she screamed in pure white knuckle terror – but they did not close because Kate was not dying, she was flying. Hovering downwards at a stately pace the buzzing, humming skis did not collapse beneath her.
Clinging to a time lord she stopped screaming and blinked through her goggles, the anti-grav system actually worked. Grinning like a kid the Doctor let out a whoop of delight as though he to were momentarily surprised, just how much of a mad gamble had this been for him she wondered? He acted with such confidence but maybe some of it was faked.
"What a fabulous view," he said and it was an awesome expanse of mountains, valleys and glaciers that stretched on for miles. That said Kate could feel parts of her body going numb and knew they couldn't be out in this Martian cold for too long.
"Doctor, the tardis is behind us in that cave so where are we going?"
"Base of the mountain," his reply was not illuminating.
"Why what's there, apart from warmer temperatures I hope?"
"Olympus Mons isn't just a mountain Kate it's a volcano and not just a volcano either but a huge and incredibly powerful generator."
"And that helps us…how?"
"You'll see, I'm hoping to get it working properly and to find someone to give us a hand."
"A real Martian you mean, how do you know those green things back there aren't native?"
"I've met Martians before they call themselves ice warriors – big, clunky, armoured, pincers, asthmatic and reptilian quite unlike those things in the cave."
Speaking of which she looked back and saw to her horror that the billowing green vapour was leaking out of the rent in the mountainside, through it the serpentine, dragon-like nature of the aliens was more evident, she saw sinewy, coiling bodies, scales, barbs running down crested backs, flared necks and gaping jaws filled with needle-sharp teeth plus eyes, blazing yellow eyes big and slanted and fixed on her at that moment, or rather her and the Doctor.
"Oh no I think they're following us."
He didn't seem surprised, "To be expected, let's see if we can move up to third gear on these things."
With a sudden violent jolt the skis did two things, firstly they dropped at an alarming rate at a sharper angle (which was stomach-wrenching) and they uttered a louder more piercing whine that Kate hoped was an increase in power not some kind of fault.
"Oh my god I'm going to be sick," she gulped?
The Doctor threw her a wary look, "I sincerely hope not," he said, "Given where that would end up."
They were dropping with disturbing speed towards the Martian clouds, as they did he used his sonic and she saw a halo around them a convex bubble of purple and green light.
"Force field," he said.
"To keep the monsters out?"
"No I'm more concerned about these," but they were in the clouds now and Kate soon saw what the problem was.
Millions and millions of ice crystals, sharp tiny nuggets like broken glass that smashed into the force field like heavy rain drumming on a tin roof, the noise was ear splitting and she drew up her mufflers.
Not affected by the racket her driver looked on in wonder as the myriad glistening prisms around them, prisms that without the force field would be shredding their bodies like a host of lethal daggers.
"Mars, I'd quite forgotten how exhilarating it can be," the Doctor sounded like he was enjoying himself.
"Been often have you," Kate hoped this was a one-off for her?
"Now and again, not recently; turbulent history."
"These ice warriors I hope they're friendly."
"Depends what period this is, if it's the diplomatic era we're fine but Mars has gone through several military expansion eras; I hope we've missed them."
That was a point just what period in time was this, the Doctor was usually quite good on that, "You didn't check?"
His sigh and head shake said it all, "I think we're some way in the future, I mean your future; post empire."
"Mars had an empire," she was impressed?
"Oh yes they once ruled a large tract of the galaxy especially the Knights of Zzar, an elite imperial task-force; it was they who fashioned Olympus Mons."
"I take it you're hoping these Knights are still around?"
"Not really they tried to kill me last time," and they were out of the clouds sinking down into a natural valley of icy boulders, snow and vast shimmering pools more like epic mirrors welded to the ground.
The Doctor pointed and she saw it, an opening, an arched gap in the rock face that led to a clearly mined tunnel.
"Cut into the rock by sonic disruptors," the Doctor was explaining, "The ice warriors use sound as a weapon, for engineering and even for healing their culture is based upon it."
"How does that help us," Kate wondered?
"I don't know, not yet anyway," and they diverted off course speeding towards the tunnel. She wondered how the Doctor flew the skis as there were no obvious controls unless it was the pressure of his toes and heels – true pedal power or maybe he used telekinesis – she'd ask him…later.
Above them a swirling green storm exploded from the clouds, apparently unaffected by the ice crystals the huge monstrous dragons bore down, writhing and coiling insanely.
"We're being followed," said Kate anxiously dismayed at how much faster the dragons seemed able to move.
"Yes I know," said the Doctor as they swooped into the tunnel and halted beside a wall mounted terminal like six big TV's welded together, the sonic played over this contraption making green lights wink to red and behind them a shimmering haze formed in the air; another force field Kate hoped one strong enough to keep unwanted guests out.
"Will that hold them Doctor?"
His look said it all – we're soon going to find out.
The first dragon hit the haze and bounced off in a cauldron of fizzing silver sparks, the second was ejected in a sea of burning red sparks and the third seemed to dissolve in midair as if blown to atoms – but it quickly reformed some way off.
The barrier was working for now at least and no more dragons flung themselves at it, congregating in an aerial scrum some yards away their bodies intertwining like a grotesque ball of wool.
"What are they," Kate wondered, "And what can they want?"
"Oh that's obvious Kate, they want to kill the two of us," said the Doctor and the skis jolted back into momentum.
It was like a huge underground railway station with platforms either side but in the trench between them there were no rail tracks, there were frozen statues, at least Kate thought they were statues to begin with. Hideous heraldic creatures, vast gargoyles like knights in armour but knights who were more like dinosaurs than humans.
Green, scaly and plated with pincers instead of hands the creatures were dreadnoughts, enormous two-legged tanks, each a lumbering, lumpen mass as if it had an exo-skeleton.
Ice Warriors the doctor had called them and it was a good description because warriors was exactly what this lot looked like, only they weren't statues they were living beings frozen in stasis; dozens of them like a still, silent, waiting regiment.
Oddly the doctor ignored them they weren't what he was looking for, dancing over a narrow walkway he moved further into the bunker area frowning and muttering, finally he dove into an alcove and exclaimed, "Finally."
Joining him she found a solitary being different from the others, slighter, narrower and imperious. Small for a Martian he was tall by human standards with a cloak and a more stylised helmet.
There were odd symbols on a sign below him, "What do those say."
"Blink your eyes a few times and roll your neck; now read them"
ICE LORD IXILDAR, IMPERIAL KNIGHT COMMANDER, 3RD GALACTIC WAR FLEET.
"Oh my god I can read it now but how can I read ancient Martian script?"
Waving this aside the doctor turned his attention to what lay either side of Ixildar, on the left was a chunky box of chip[s and wiring on the right a display of fearsome looking medieval weapons – swords, pikes and maces.
"I need to thaw this guy out and I have to do it fairly quickly," setting to work with the sonic, the doctor dropped onto a knee, "Ixildar can help us he has the rank and the experience."
"Yes but why should he help us," Kate mused out loud after all this Martian didn't owe them anything, might not even like being rudely awakened?
"I can pull rank on him," the doctor smiled cheekily.
"You can, how; I mean what rank do you have on Mars?"
It was an alarm klaxon even if it was a discordant buzz rather than a clang and Kate knew what it meant, the enemy were in they'd beaten the barrier.
"Oh great," she sighed, "Doctor can we hurry this up?"
"Only by defrosting them all; although that might not be a bad idea," he said.
One look at the frozen giants didn't fill her with much confidence, what would they do if this all turned nasty?
But to her astonishment Ixildar was already moving if sluggishly, just his arms and head but the frost that coated him was flaking off, ice cracked and crumbled, moisture ran down his visor and breast plate, his claws began to flex.
"Wow that is fast," she said and she was sure Ixildar heard her, his head rose and the snake-like eyes behind the visor blinked a few times.
Taking her place in front of the ice lord the doctor offered a smile and a short wave like a visiting tourist, "Hello," he said jauntily, "Sorry to disturb you but…"
Closing around his throat in a vicious strangle hold the single claw cut off the spurt of words at once and gagging the doctor began to die, his eyes bulging and cheeks turning blue.
Gripping the thick coarse arm Kate tried to pull it free but it like trying to wrestle a tree truck, so taking out her reporter's notepad she drew on quickly with a stylus, she was a good artist and did a fair if basic likeness of one of the alien invaders, thrusting her sketch between Ixildar and his choking victim.
"These dragon things are on the way here," she screamed hoping Ixildar could understand English and actually gave a damn, "We need your help."
The doctor gasped and sucked in air; his neck and windpipe liberated as the claw relaxed and the arm lowered Kate held him hoping he was permanently damaged because she wasn't sure she could negotiate with this brutes.
Around them the big warriors were becoming mobile to at a slower rate, from the throat of Ixildar rasped a word.
"Explain," he said making the word 3 times longer than Kate would have by hissing it.
"There isn't time," said Kate, "4 of these dragons are on the way here right now, do you have any weapons?"
Before the Martian could answer, the doctor went over to the display case of swords, kicked away its icy front window and plucked a sword free of its hook, giving it an experimental twirl.
My god he wasn't planning to take on the dragons with that was he, Kate couldn't believe it?
The next thing she knew there was a rushing, spitting sound and something vast invaded the bunker, writhing and coiling, eyes flashing brightly and jaws snapping the creature flew over the almost inert warriors ignoring them as it bore down on her and the doctor. Before Kate's eyes the monster seemed to swell and lengthen gaining a longer tail, more spines and extra teeth as it snapped from side to side then zeroed in on its targets.
Ixildar gaped shocked disbelief but he didn't do anything maybe he couldn't, suddenly a blade scythed through the misty air slashing into the scaly neck of the dragon taking a big chunk out and causing the beast to veer off course with a whelp of pain.
Stood with legs wide sword held in both fists the doctor looked every inch the swashbuckling hero of some old movie, "You never lose it," he panted, "The moves, the style."
"Speaking of which," said Kate as the dragon came back snapping viciously as its tormentor, angered by the gash in its side but not dissuaded he was a bad choice of meal.
Once again the blade circled in an arc and came back to strike at the hide of the alien but this time instead of gouging deep into its scaly flesh the sword just bounced off as if hitting stone and jarred by the impact the doctor was sent flying head over heels in an ungainly tumble.
With a scream Kate ducked behind a pillar of ice to peer out terrified but it was Ixildar the ice lord who came to her rescue, raising his right fist he revealed a swollen tube welded to the upper portion of his arm, from this came the most horrendous screech, think Sherlock Holmes murdering a violin concerto and you have some idea only in stereophonic sound surround.
The dragon seemed to distort in the air, contracting, bending, imploding, swelling, shimmering and dividing. It was quite surreal and for a moment Kate wondered if her eyesight was going funny.
Then with a final shriek the monster belly flopped onto the ground smoking and twitching, parts of it clearly cooked, the eyes blackened and jaws frozen open in a hideous kind of death spasm grin.
Picking himself up the doctor jabbed his sword tip straight down and leaned on the handle, "Done and dusted, good shooting Ixildar, come out Kate nothing to fear."
Staying right where she was Kate gazed at the thing on the Martian's arm then at the smouldering corpse strewn around the reviving warriors like grotesque Halloween bunting.
"What happened?"
"Sonic disruptor," the Doctor sounded almost bored, "Just when I was winning to."
Oh yeah right thought Kate I really noticed that, but Ixildar turned to the time lord.
"Your sword skills are impressive for an alien."
"They should be," said the doctor, "I am an honorary knight of Zzar, field promoted by grand admiral Nethrax himself."
The ice lord seemed bewildered by this, "But Nethrax died over 2000 years ago."
"Time lord," Kate explained, "Time travel."
"I'm the doctor, your race should have several references to me, our paths have crossed more than once."
Ixildar blinked behind his visor; taking the sword from the doctor he gave it a twirl himself, it seemed better in his hands.
Jumping down into the recess with the warriors, the doctor inspected the vast elongated body. "They're adapting and transforming by the minute, look at this Kate - extra spines, more teeth, longer head, even two more eyes."
Kate, who had been avoiding looking too closely, remained where she was close to Ixildar and that sonic gun of his.
"What is it doctor?"
He shrugged and ran his sonic over the huge head, "These things have taken up residence in the mountain above us Ixildar, to get rid of them we're going to have to power up the Phason Generators."
"Meaning," Kate mused.
"Turn the dormant volcano into a live one."
"You mean cook the dragons, I like it?"
But the ice lord shook his helmet from side to side as though he didn't approve of the plan, "The generator no longer functions, it is defective."
"Is it," bounding back up onto the platform the doctor went over to a wall on which was a schematic diagram made of coloured frost, blobs linked by webbing as far as Kate could see, it made no sense to her.
"This should work," he mused, "All the connections seem fine," he lifted his fingers to the upper right quadrant, "Oh I see what's happened, but this is fixable, repairable."
"Given time," Ixildar qualified. Good point thought Kate and time was against them, the dragons were already active
"Could you fix it," Kate asked, "Quickly I mean, bring the volcano back to life."
Frowning and calculating the doctor said, "I need access to the parent circuit board," he looked at Ixildar, "That means your secret codes my lord, if you trust me."
A deep angry roar echoed around them from close by, the other dragons were massing, did they know one of their number had been killed, it sounded to Kate as though they did and were not best pleased about it.
Sweeping over to a low vertical column of ice Ixildar unscrewed its cap one handed to expose some delicate keys, hitting these in sequence he made the schematic diagram light up like a Christmas display, flashing and winking prettily.
"Perfect," said the doctor and set to work with his sonic.
"How long," asked Kate?
"I'm not sure, Ixildar position your troops to defend all entrances; I've a nasty feeling we're about to be attacked in force."
Most of the troops were still very sluggish and only half-awake; they didn't look like a fighting force to Kate. That said Ixildar raised his sonic gun and from it emitted a softer, more melodious note, Martian synth rock she thought. The effect on the warriors was to perk them up, red light glowed in their breast plates and Perspex eye shields and their lumbering movements acquired purpose.
"Defend strategy alpha," the ice lord intoned and the lumpy giants formed themselves into distinct groupings of three and four, each group facing a cave entrance, right fists raised. They to had sonic gun attachments she noticed.
The roars outside rose to a pitch…and stopped, they just cut off leaving an eerie, pregnant silence.
All Kate could hear was the pounding of her heart, a thunderous intonation to her ears.
"The prelude to battle," Ixildar sounded almost pleased and she realised he was in his element even looking forwards to this.
"Had many of those have you," she muttered?
"War was my whole life, I am a true warrior of the red planet although I have never faced a foe like this before," the green eyes washed over Kate, "Are you experienced in battle?"
Good grief she thought I'm a reporter a correspondent, I write about conflict I don't get caught up in it – usually.
"Not much I just travel with him," he indicated the man in the long jacket.
"Ah yes," Ixildar purred, "The companion, the doctor is noted for them usually humans."
That's me thought Kate human as they come. The air became charged and heavy, it grew warmer, a lot warmer and then the attack began.
Not dragons but fire, a scorching wall of flames that tore into the cavern and swelled alarmingly into a bright reddish ball of magma.
The ice warriors were consumed as the fire washed over them and clung to their shells like napalm, Kate was sure she could hear them screaming in agony as they were roasted on the spot.
Then the dragons flew in, each belching a stream of fire from those vast jaws and nostrils like dragons of mythology.
Ixildar fired his sonic weapon, Kate heard other sonic guns whirring but the effect on the intruders was negligible this time, the distortion hardly noticeable. Grasping the sword Ixildar stepped forwards circling the weapon overhead in a heroic gesture that was both brave and foolhardy.
Blackened to crusts the ice warriors fell one by one, some disintegrated on the spot crumbling to dust to ash. Those that didn't turned and continued to fire; one of the dragons was caught by several beams and blasted out of the air but the others were too fast, too agile and had too much fire in their bellies.
Then suddenly without warning the cavern began to fill with this strange silvery mist, an icy paralysing fog that billowed from walls and ceiling. Ixildar swung his sword and missed, a lashing tail sent him flying and jaws came for Kate, wider and wider, the teeth seeming to grow as she watched and then…
The attacked stopped, everything stopped, the cavern froze into a bizarre white tableau, Martians rooted where they stood, dragons frozen in the air their bodies iced over and white, the ice thickening and firming as Kate watched.
"Thank goodness that worked," said the doctor edging over, the dragon that had attacked Kate was less than a meter from her in midair frozen solid, "Stasis vapour, useful stuff."
"But you've frozen the ice warriors to," she pointed out, "I thought they were meant to help us."
Not frozen Ixildar regained his feet, "Well done doctor, but I fear my troops are badly damaged."
"At this reduced temperature they should be able to regenerate, well some of them at least," said the doctor always the optimist.
"That is true," the ice lord agreed, "But what of these other things, will they survive sub zero freezing at high speed?"
Instead of replying the time lord walked under two of the nearest dragons who hung there like insane, ugly works of art, monstrous sculptures.
"Good question, not sure, not yet at least," then the ground beneath Kate rumbled, it shook and vibrated, above her she heard a rattling sound growing in strength and around the walls of the cavern soft lights flashed forming strange Martian symbols some of which looked like erupting volcanoes.
"It begins," Ixildar sounded impressed as well he might, "Zerazar awakens."
The Doctor whispered, "Zerazar is their name for this mountain, well you wouldn't expect them to call it Olympus Mons would you; that's a silly human invention. Zerazar is the Martian god of fire and rebirth."
Kate was amazed that Martians had a pantheon of gods, then again why shouldn't they.
"So what happens now, Zerazar blows her top?"
The Doctor nodded, "You could say that."
"Destroying the chamber above in which the dragons are sleeping?"
"Yep."
"Where the tardis is sat inside an ice cube," Kate said pointedly because the doctor seemed to have forgotten.
He opened his mouth to reply made a humming note instead, spun around and peered at the schematic, "Yes right good point, err Ixildar is there a quick way up this mountain, preferably internal, we need to get somewhere fast?"
It wasn't quite as fast as their descent but it was rapid - a sort of lift made of clear ice, a lozenge that made Kate's ears ache although it didn't affect the doctor (of course not), he hummed a little ditty all the way up. Ixildar insisted on coming with them, it was the least he could do for a fellow knight. Around them Zerazar rattled and coughed, shaking itself violently; the lift to which Kate was sure would be splattered any second.
Finally, and thank god, they arrived – only to find a scene of horror.
Yes the tardis was thawed out, yes they could reach it if they tried, yes the cavern was no longer icy it was made of hot steaming rock, but the remaining dragons were not dormant, out of their sarcophagi they were congregated on the far side of the cavern writhing with anger.
She shrank back, going back down seemed a good option but the doctor strode out boldly to face the dozen or so snapping jaws, jaws that could burp fire; had he forgotten that? Moving into clear view he stood hands on hips in his best 'face the monsters' pose, features devoid of the naked terror Kate was sure she was exhibiting.
To her further dismay Ixildar stepped up alongside the doctor; the only guy who could work the lift.
Two small humanoids against a dozen vast fire breathing dinosaurs; it wasn't much of a contest, not as the latter were advancing towards them already producing flames from nostril and tongue.
"You lot have a straight choice," the doctor bellowed his voice somehow cutting across the snarls and snaps; "You can abandon Mars now or be destroyed by a massive release of Phason radiation; which is due…any second."
Ixildar nodded, "He speaks the truth, there is no deception; leave or die."
The biggest of the dragons and my god he was huge, slid forwards ahead of the others to peep down at these two tiny opponents, flames licking around his teeth and snout; one puff and the doctor would be blackened toast thought Kate.
"There is no place for two war-like species on this planet," the doctor lectured, "You'd destroy each other, we can't have that or rather I can't have that; I like the ice warriors too much to inflict a long genocidal civil war on them. I don't know your lot but I believe in giving you the benefit of the doubt."
Eyes flashing bright yellow that rapidly turned to orange the dragon leader dipped his vast T-Rex head until it was almost level with that of the doctor, his teeth were twice the length of a time lord arm.
Was he going to speak, could these creatures use words; they hadn't so far. Then a gout of flames, Kate steeled herself for disaster, not that she could do anything.
But the flames didn't consume the 2 figures they widened out to create a pattern of large and small fires in the air, a fiery hologram. Kate blinked at it not understanding at first what she was seeing, how could she read dragon hieroglyphics?
But something clicked and shifted in her brain, new neural patterns instantly formed where none had existed before and she found she could read the hologram. We are lost, nowhere to go, home world destroyed; Mars is idea for us because…and a list of reasons such as size, mass, temperature and so on.
"I can help you, lead you to a new home," the doctor was saying indicating the tardis, "A world like Mars but unoccupied; better in fact from your point of view, somewhere newer."
He mentioned travelling in time and space, how easily he could do it and how he could 'tow' other craft through the vortex. He kept it simple, no jargon or 25 letter words about quantum physics.
Indeed with the sonic he added to the fiery hologram, putting up new hieroglyphics in the dragon language words such as hope, peace, a better world.
Kate hoped the diplomacy worked because if it didn't soon this mountain was going to blow and she was sat right inside it.
"Go in peace with our blessing," said Ixildar sounding every inch the elder statesman which she supposed he was.
"Let the deaths so far be the last," added the doctor.
"Doctor," Kate shouted, "We're running out of time," there was a distinct niff of sulphur in the air.
"So we are, do we have your agreement high regent of the," he pronounced a complicated poly syllable word that made her brain ache presumably the name of the dragon race.
The doctor and Ixildar didn't hug "ice warriors aren't tactile" but they did exchange a sort of bow and salute then it was on into the tardis (much to her relief) and her extremities stopped being numb, she felt every finger and toe burn as the doctor locked onto the alien ship.
"Is it a long trip this Mars-like planet, dare I call it Mars two?"
"Please don't," the doctor pulled, twisted and kicked like a demented dancer, "No it shouldn't take too long."
"And can we trust these dragons to stay there?"
"Three billion light years and an ice age back in time, pardon the pun; so yes I think so."
Kate found she quite missed Ixildar even if he wasn't tactile.
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