Chapter Six

If there was one thing the Doctor had learned about certain races it was that they never gave up, that they lived only for conquest and would crush all those who stood in their way.

The Sontarans were one such race, clone warriors bred for war whose only ambition, aside from wiping out the Rutans, was to conquer as much of the Universe as possible. And, if you were unlucky enough to be in the way, you would be crushed without mercy unless you had some means of fighting back. However, fighting back against the Sontarans was far from easy; they were tremendously strong and could only be put out of action by a blow to the probic vent, a part of their anatomy they were careful to avoid exposing to the enemy. Nonetheless, the Doctor knew from past experience that they could be defeated and he meant to defeat them again. Whatever they were up to on Aneth, he would put a stop to it; he had promised the late King Aigus as much.

First, though, he had to get down to the cells and free Adric and the king's family. It would be difficult and, even if he could get them out, there was still the matter of dealing with the Sontarans, of seeing that they left this planet and stayed off it. Somehow, he would have to make Aneth seem like a less attractive proposition than Sontaran High Command believed it to be; only then was there a chance that they might retreat, though they would probably call it a strategic withdrawal.

The Doctor scoffed at terms like "strategic withdrawal", considering them to be little more than empty rhetoric, an attempt to sugar-coat the bitter pill of defeat. Anyone who claimed to be "making a strategic withdrawal" was, in fact, just a bad loser who hated having their pride dented. And bad losers almost invariably tried to salvage their wounded pride at a later date by attempting to complete what they had set out to do in the first place. Unless they were defeated so thoroughly that they never dared to even consider it . . .

Even if the Sontarans could be persuaded to leave Aneth alone, it would not mark the end of the Sontaran Empire, merely the end of their plans to add the planet to their list of conquered worlds. Nonetheless, if the Doctor could stop their plans, it would be a major setback, one which might even tip the balance of power in favour of the Rutans. Although, in the Doctor's opinion, the Rutans were little better than their old enemies. He and Leela had once encountered a Rutan when they landed on Earth at the beginning of the 20th Century; that particular adventure had been one of those where everyone who was not a member of the TARDIS crew ended up dead. Usually, there were at least some survivors among those who became caught up in one of the Doctor's adventures, but the Rutan had killed the entire crew of a lighthouse, plus the survivors of a shipwreck, by the time the Doctor defeated it. No, the Rutans were just as bad as the Sontarans, besides which they were not the Doctor's main concern right now.

The Doctor knew enough about the Sontarans and the Rutans to know that neither side would give up on their endless war. The chances were they would continue fighting each other until one or both of the two warring races were completely wiped out. And they were far too evenly matched for that, which was why the Sontarans in particular were constantly searching for some means to gain the upper hand. To that end, they were prepared to threaten a peaceful planet that had already been conquered once in its history, not that the Sontarans cared about things like that. All they could see was a world whose resources they could exploit.


Meridda had taken charge of Sopea while Seth, Teka and Adric worked on getting the door to the cell open. To do this, they would have to figure out the keycode which would trigger the lock, something which only the palace guards were supposed to know. However, whoever had designed this security system had not counted on two things, namely that a guard might turn traitor or that those locked in this cell might include a mathematical genius from another universe. Right now, Adric was standing at the control panel which unlocked the door from the inside, calculating the first digit in the code while Seth and Teka listened for the sound of anyone approaching. If they heard movements outside the cell, they were to warn Adric to step away from the panel in case it was a Sontaran.

Maths was a subject which had fascinated Adric for as long as he could remember. He had no memory of the incident, but Jendra had once told him about a time when she was teaching Varsh to count using pebbles as markers. Adric, at the time just under two years old, had wandered over and watched the lesson with what Jendra at first thought was the general interest of any young child. But, when she asked her elder son to show her what three plus two equalled, it had been Adric who picked up three pebbles and laid them out in a row, followed by two more. He had then pointed to each of the pebbles in turn and counted out loud: "One, two, three, four, five." Jendra quickly recognised the implications; somehow, Adric had made the connection between the pebbles and the numbers she had been teaching Varsh, even though he had not been directly involved in the lesson. That meant he had an understanding of maths beyond that of most children his age, an understanding which had later prompted Jendra to joke that he knew how to count before he had learned to talk.

Now, Adric had to draw on his skills as a mathematician to crack the code which would unlock this door. Frowning with concentration, he studied the panel closely, noting as he did so that it required the input of a six-digit number, followed by a space, then two more numbers. Eight digits in total - that should be easy enough for someone with his skills. "You're almost up to my standard," the Doctor had once told him after the two of them had finished a session of what the Doctor referred to as "Recreational Mathematics". Adric smiled at the memory, but his smile turned to a frown as he recalled how the Doctor had been shot down.

Adric shook his head; he could not afford to waste time right now, not when he had a code to crack. The trouble was, until he knew the first digit, he had no way of knowing the base for that code. Once he knew that, the rest would be easy, but how to figure out that first digit . . .? There was nothing else for it; he would have to try a number at random and keep trying until he got a result. Romana, he recalled, had called this the "press-any-button-and-hope-for-the-best approach".

"Well, if that's what it takes . . ." Adric began, then stopped when he saw Teka looking at him questioningly. "Sorry, thinking out loud," he added. "Look, you and Seth concentrate on keeping watch and let me do this."


Vaak staggered to his feet, rubbing his neck where the Doctor had struck him. A blow to the probic vent was not always fatal, but it could be painful, though the Sontarans inevitably prided themselves on their indifference to pain. They were a race of soldiers, after all, and only by learning to ignore discomfort could you become a truly efficient fighting force. Of course, one couldn't expect the same of other races, most of whom lacked the endurance of the Sontaran race and also derived energy from organic chemicals which they obtained through activities they called "eating" and "drinking". The Sontarans did neither of those things; they "fed" by absorbing energy directly into their probic vents and kept their mouths for the issuing and acknowledgement of orders. As was only fitting for a military race . . .

Vaak growled to himself as he recalled how the Doctor, whom he had been informed was dead, had appeared on the scene just as he was trying to force that fool of a king to abdicate. The Sontaran troopers he had sent to assassinate the Doctor had obviously failed - they would be dealt with. First, though, he had other matters to attend to. If he failed to secure this planet for the Sontaran Empire, he would answer to General Stulve. And the order to dispose of the Doctor had come from the General himself; he would not be pleased to learn that the Doctor was still alive.

Examining Aigus, still lying on the table, Vaak quickly established that the old king was dead. "Worm," the Sontaran muttered to himself. "Too stupid to realise that Sontaran might always prevails." Now, he intended to prove it to the rest of the Anethans; their king was dead and his heir was a young female who shouldn't pose too much of a threat. From what he had seen of Teka, he was sure he could set her up as a puppet queen, at least until the Anethans had outlived their usefulness.

The failed attempt on the Doctor's life was a setback, but it was one that Vaak meant to have rectified as soon as possible. Aside from that, everything was going according to plan and Vaak was certain that Aneth would soon be just another outpost of the Sontaran Empire. King Aigus had died in a foolish attempt to defy Sontaran might, his family were safely locked away and the Sontaran battle fleet was in orbit around Aneth, awaiting the order to descend on the planet. Just as soon as the Sontarans' agent on Aneth made contact . . .


Unknown to Vaak, the prisoners his fellow Sontarans had locked in the cells were only one digit away from opening their cell door and escaping.

As Adric had suspected, once he had discovered the first digit in the keycode, the rest was easy, at least for someone with his talent for mathematics. He doubted many people could have solved it, certainly not as quickly as he had - well, with one or two exceptions such as Nyssa or Zoe, the young human girl the Doctor had once told him about who had travelled in the TARDIS for a time. Adric had never met Zoe face to face, but he had been told that she too was a teen genius with a photographic memory and a talent for mathematics.

However, she and Nyssa were the last thing on his mind as he worked to crack the code that would open the cell door. His mind was entirely focused on the keypad in front of him and, though he was aware of the others in the cell, they might as well have been on the other side of whichever galaxy Aneth's solar system was located in. Seth and Teka, still listening for the sound of anyone approaching, were silent, but he could hear Meridda talking to Sopea in the sing-song tone used to address infant humanoids across much of the Universe. Sopea was responding with cooing noises which were beginning to sound almost like speech. But Adric paid no attention to anything except the task at hand. One more digit to go . . .

Just as Adric figured out what the last digit was and prepared to enter it into the keypad, he was interrupted by an urgent whisper from Teka. "Someone's coming!" She and Seth immediately stepped away from the door, but Adric stayed where he was. He did not want to leave off solving the code, not when he was so close to completing the task and getting himself and the others out of here. "Adric!" Teka hissed when he didn't move. "Get back!"

He gave her no response, except to say: "Just let me finish this!" With that, he quickly entered the final digit and the hum of an electronic lock was heard. Adric smiled to himself and patted his badge. He had done it; he had succeeded in cracking the code. He moved towards the now unlocked door, but, before he could push it open, Teka was pulling on his sleeve.

"What are you doing?! I said someone was coming!"

"Getting us out of here!" He shrugged her off irritably and made for the door again. This time, it was Seth who grabbed him and pulled him away, dragging him into the far corner of the cell. Adric seethed with silent frustration. They had been so close to getting out of here, only to be thwarted at the last moment. And, if whoever was approaching the cell was a Sontaran . . . Adric could hear movements in the corridor outside: footsteps and the sound of someone whistling. But who could it be? Surely not a Sontaran; they didn't seem like the sort to engage in activities like whistling. An Anethan, then? But, if it was, how had they managed to slip past the Sontarans?


"Seth?" Teka whispered, as the five of them crouched in silence, waiting. Even Sopea seemed to have sensed the seriousness of the situation and did not utter a sound. "Who do you think it is out there?"

He looked at his wife and shrugged. "I don't know." As he spoke, he recalled crouching behind the equipment the Nimon had secretly installed on Skonnos, watched as the horned creature activated the device which opened the hyperspace tunnel to allow the Nimon race to escape from Crinoth and invade Skonnos. Teka had asked him what the Nimon was doing, but he could only respond with the same three words he had just uttered; he had no more idea than she did.

"Could it be a Sontaran?" was Teka's next question. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but the fact that Seth, the great hero of Aneth, was here helped to reassure her. Just as it had done during the journey to Skonnos and the subsequent fight to defeat the Nimon.

"Perhaps, but I didn't know Sontarans could whistle."

Teka gripped his arm tightly. "Whoever it is, you'll deal with them, won't you?"

"Of course I will," Seth told her with more conviction than he felt. Having a reputation for being a hero really was trying at times, especially when all you had ever wanted was a quiet life. But Seth's life had been anything but quiet. His father, whose name he refused even to think, had been a callous and unfeeling man, traits so rare in Anethans that some had speculated that he might have Skonnon blood in him somewhere. Whether that was true or not, he had never shown Seth any love, especially after his wife died a few years after his son was born, instead subjecting the boy to regular beatings and hours locked in a dark cupboard. Eventually, this had led to Seth running away from home and becoming involved in a series of adventures which culminated in him being found by Aigus's men. That was when he had told the lie about being the son of one of Aigus's mistresses . . .

Aigus, who had had a string of mistresses in his younger days, had believed the story. Or perhaps he wanted to believe it because Meridda had failed to provide him with any children. Whatever the reason, Seth had found himself installed at the palace, living as a prince even though he knew he was far from being royalty. Meridda had never objected to his presence, even though she believed he was the result of her husband's liaison with some other woman; Anethan kings often took mistresses, though any children born as a result had no claim on the throne. Besides, by the time Seth appeared on the scene, Aigus had already chosen Teka to be his heir.

Teka, the young woman Seth loved . . . They had been little more than children when they first met, but they had been close right from the start and he had always looked out for her. And she had always had such complete faith in him, a faith he could never bring himself to shatter by telling her the truth about who he was and how he felt about being a hero. He had thought it would get easier as the years passed, but it just seemed to get harder . . .

Just then, the sound of the door opening interrupted Seth's train of thought. Seconds later, he and the others were staring at the figure standing in the doorway - a tall man wearing a characteristic long scarf.


Adric broke the silence first. "Doctor?" he said, blinking in an attempt to reassure himself that what he was seeing was not an apparition. "But you're dead! One of the Sontarans killed you."

"Rubbish!" retorted the Doctor. "I merely suspended my life functions until he and his comrade were gone. We Time Lords can do that, you know," he added, recalling how this ability to effectively play dead had got him out of some tight corners in the past. Or, rather, his personal past; for someone who travelled in time as much as he did, the concepts of "past", "present" and "future" were virtually meaningless unless applied to his own personal time-line.

"You could have warned me." Adric felt acutely embarrassed as he remembered how he had broken down in tears as he knelt beside the Doctor. Now, he found out that all his grief had been unnecessary, that the Doctor had not really been dead.

"How could I, with two Sontarans hovering around?"

Adric frowned; there was still a lot he did not understand about the Doctor and about Time Lords in general. He knew about them having two hearts, but the idea of anyone being able to suspend their life functions was beyond his realm of experience. Nor did he know about another little trick the Time Lords could utilise if their bodies suffered irreparable damage, though he would presently witness it at first hand.

"Look, never mind about that," the Doctor said at length, turning to the Anethans. "How many Sontarans have you seen?"

"Vaak, of course," Seth replied, counting on his fingers. "Then, while you and Adric were gone, about six or seven of them burst into the throne-room and herded us all down here . . ."

"Doctor," Meridda said, cutting across Seth, "where is my husband?" Aigus, she recalled, had been separated from the others shortly after they were brought down to the cells, taken somewhere while Vaak tried to "persuade" him to give up his throne. She had not seen him since, but the revelation that the Doctor was still alive had given her hope that the king might also be safe and well. Now, however . . .

The Doctor shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry," he told her, his tone of voice belying the anger he felt as he recalled the way in which Aigus had died. Like Rilph before him, the old king had become a fatality of the Sontarans' plans, plans which would have to be defeated before any more innocent Anethans lost their lives. The Doctor turned to Teka, now queen of this troubled planet, though she would not be officially recognised as such until her coronation. Until then, Aneth would be in a state of limbo between the end of one monarch's reign and the beginning of the next. The Doctor, needless to say, was determined not to give the Sontarans a chance to take advantage of the power vacuum.

"What are we going to do?" Adric asked, breaking the gloomy silence which had followed the news of Aigus's death.

"There are nine, possibly ten, Sontarans on this planet," the Doctor replied. "And, unless we can stop them, we'll soon have a whole army of them. Come on."