Gariton stumbled, in the woods, as his arm was caught and he was yanked back.
A gun pointed squarely in his face.
"Tell me where you got it," Major Pelor demanded. "Now."
Gariton hesitated.
"Got… got…?" he tried.
Major Pelor grabbed him by the collar and thrust him against a tree. "You heard the Doctor," the Major said, through her teeth. "That girl's an unstoppable killer, and she's out of our control. Property of the Cybermen. That means the only way to stop her is to find the people who made her — and her Activator." She got right in his face. "So where did you get the Activator?!"
"I… I…" Gariton shuddered. "He wanted it back. That's why she showed up — to get me!"
Major Pelor smacked him across the face.
"Don't play games with me, Gariton!" Pelor shouted. "The Activator was the only thing that could control that Weapon. Do you want to die?"
"No."
"So who'd you steal the Activator from?" Pelor demanded. "Who made the Weapon? Where can I find…?!"
"Good questions, all," the Doctor interrupted. Stepping out beside them, and — before she had time to react — grabbing the gun out of Pelor's hands. "And some of them, I'd quite like to know the answers to, myself."
He handed the gun to Fernor.
"The Activator doesn't control her," Gariton blubbered. "Not completely. Nothing can control her completely. That's what he told me, when he first showed up with it. She is the most dangerous—"
"Who told you?!" Pelor interrupted.
Gariton didn't answer.
"Who made her?" Pelor shouted. "How can we stop her from…?!"
"I don't know!" Gariton cried. "I never did. I just stole the Activator. We were losing against the Cybermen, and… when I heard about a Weapon that powerful… I knew we needed it! More than he did!"
"You stole it?" Fernor said.
"From whom?" the Doctor interrupted. "Not Seo's creators — they're all dead. And they'd never have created anything mechanical to control her, anyways. Not their style."
Pelor dropped Gariton.
Spinning around to face the Doctor. "You know who created…?"
"If you're asking because you want another way to control her," the Doctor interrupted, with a wave of his hand, "don't bother. They didn't know any more than you, even when they built her."
He turned back to Gariton.
"But… this Activator…" the Doctor muttered. "Fernor said you used it to program her. And not even Seo could do that."
He planted a smile on his face, as he strode towards Gariton.
"Gariton, was it? Nice to meet you." The Doctor shook Gariton's hand. "I'm the Doctor. And if you want to save the universe, I think you better tell us about the Activator."
Gariton went very quiet.
Then, in a soft voice, "You mean… you don't know?"
"That's why I'm asking," said the Doctor.
"He said… he was on a mission," Gariton babbled. "Had to take the thing away from the person who'd made it. He told me about the Weapon's power! He told me what it could do. I was desperate, Doctor — we've thrown everything we can against the Cybermen, and nothing works! And I thought… no one in the universe could need that power more than us."
"But who built the Activator?" the Doctor said. "Who could possibly manage to pull that off? Who'd even know enough about Seo to pull it off? And who is this mysterious 'he' you keep talking…?"
Gariton cowered away from him. "I'll give her back, if she's yours," he pleaded. "I'd give back the Activator, too, if she hadn't smashed it. Just tell him I didn't mean to do any harm! Tell him to call her off!"
The Doctor scratched his head. Thinking furiously.
"How'd you know it activated her?!" Fernor demanded.
"He didn't," said Major Pelor. A proud smile on her face. "He told me it controlled a weapon able to defeat the Cybermen. I saw her abilities… and guessed."
"It was the Major who tried to kill your friend by throwing him into a crowd of Cybermen," Gariton agreed, hurriedly. "Not me! I didn't do anything!"
"I don't deny it," said Pelor. "I froze the Weapon. Jack wanted to take her from me. I did what I had to."
Fernor's eyes narrowed. "You didn't tell the rest of us about this."
"Did it matter, if we got the Weapon?" Pelor looked at him, steadily. "Whatever my motives, Fernor, my actions were right. They always are."
Before anyone could stop her, she'd thrown herself at Fernor, grabbing for the gun. He wrestled her for control of it, the two rolling across the ground.
It went off.
And Gariton cried, slumping down with his hands against his chest.
"No!" the Doctor shouted. Caught Gariton before he fell, checking him over. Then… grimaced. "You're… going to be fine," he lied. Putting pressure on the wound. "Just breathe. Keep calm."
But Gariton didn't have long.
And they both knew it.
"Please," the Doctor said. "For the sake of the universe. Who is this 'he'? Where'd you get that Activator?"
Gariton stared at the Doctor, through pain and blood loss.
"You… really don't… know?" Gariton gasped. Grabbed the Doctor's arms, in a death-grip. "You really don't know!"
"No, I really don't!" the Doctor said, easing him to the ground.
From behind him, Fernor shouted out, as he managed to wrench the gun from Major Pelor. Charged it, pointing it at her head.
"Kill me, and the bomb goes off," Pelor threatened. She showed him her activation-signal. "I've got it set on a timer — my bargaining chip if the Weapon comes for me. Only I can stop it."
"He was transporting the Activator to give it to… 'someone else' who wanted to control her," gasped Gariton. "Someone he was working for. I thought… when you showed up here… that 'someone else' was you. Except… it isn't. Because you don't know."
"Don't know what?!" the Doctor shouted. "Who is he?!"
Fernor stared at Major Pelor. "Are you insane?!" he cried. "That's no threat to her! Bombs won't kill her!"
"Most bombs don't," Pelor agreed. "Mine will. I know it. She will, too."
"I say I 'stole' the Activator," Gariton gasped out. Clinging to the Doctor even tighter. "But… that's… an exaggeration. He… practically left it for me. Like he wanted me to have it. I thought it was a gift. And when he showed up, the second time — I was sure he wanted to help us!"
"Who?!" the Doctor shouted. "I need… to know… who…"
The Doctor stopped.
Frozen.
As he worked it out.
"But when we tried to take the girl, he got angry," Gariton said. His voice growing weaker and weaker. "Followed us. Tried to stop us. I realized… I must have got it wrong. He brought her here… so she could get rid of me. Get rid of all of us. I stole his Activator, and… he wanted… it back…!"
"So you flushed him out the airlock, didn't you?" the Doctor muttered. Shook his head. "Oh, Jack. What have you done?"
"Don't trust him," Gariton warned. "He doesn't care about her! He… he's…"
The voice died away.
As Gariton died.
