Chapter 10
The Doctor and the girls enter Ace's room, where they find Glitz looking around.
"Ace?" calls Mel.
"Hey, you nicked it," accuses Glitz, pointing to the crystal.
"Where's Ace?" asks Nita.
"I don't know," replies Glitz.
"This is not good enough," says the Doctor, looking worried.
"Well, she wasn't with me," Glitz defends.
"Come on, we've got to find her," urges Mel, from the doorway.
"You lost her," says Glitz, reluctantly.
In the control room, Kane has Ace in a painful arm lock. He speaks into the intercom: "Doctor? Glitz? I know you can hear me. I'd like to propose a transaction. My very final transaction before I leave Svartos. The Dragonfire for the girl. Bring me the Dragonfire and you can have the girl. Special closing down sale, you might call it. But hurry, while stocks last."
The Doctor, Glitz and the girls are listening from the refrigeration room.
"I think he means it, Doctor," says Glitz.
"No doubt," agrees the Doctor.
"But we can't give him the treasure," objects Nita.
"We've no choice," says the Doctor. "The creature's already dead. Ace is still alive."
In the restricted zone, Stellar puts her teddy in Kane's cabinet, and covers his legs with a handkerchief.
"Current ambient temperature minus ten Celsius. Target temperature minus a hundred and ninety three Celsius," says the computer.
"Goodnight, teddy," says Stellar.
The Doctor, Glitz, Nita and Mel enter the control room.
"At last, after three thousand years," says Kane. "Bring it here."
"Three thousand years, eh?" asks the Doctor. "Long enough for an entire civilisation to have come and gone."
"Are you some kind of idiot?" asks Kane.
"You know, for someone who's had the patience to wait around for three thousand years, you seem to be in rather a hurry suddenly," says the Doctor.
"What's all this three thousand years?" asks Glitz.
"Three thousand years since you were exiled here from Proamon, along with the creature," continues the Doctor.
"Who are you?" asks Kane.
"Just a traveler," the Doctor replies.
"What do you know about Proamon?" Kane asks.
"We all know," Nita replies. "The creature showed us on the hologram."
"Oh, the archives," realizes Kane. "I should have destroyed them."
"No, no, no, you should keep them for souvenir value, along with the Ice Garden," the Doctor disagrees.
"Why was the creature doing time as well?" asks Glitz.
"The biomechanoid was my jailor," Kane explains. "Look around you. The controls laying dead, waiting for an energy source. The Dragonfire is that energy source."
"And without it you are powerless," says the Doctor.
"They thought they could imprison me on this wretched planet by implanting the power source inside the creature. They shall learn of their folly," says Kane, vengefully.
"And the living creature was created to keep you prisoner," says the Doctor.
"There were times when I ached for death. I considered journeying round from the cold dark side of Svartos to the sun blistered surface on the other side, where I would quickly die. Now, with the Dragonfire, I have the power to return to Proamon and exact my revenge," says Kane. He turns to Mel. "You, girl. Bring me the Dragonfire."
"No. I'm not going to lift a finger to help you," says Mel.
"Melanie?" questions Ace. She turns to Kane desperately. "Don't listen to her. She doesn't mean it." She turns back to Mel. "Doughnut, give him the treasure. I'm sixteen, I'm too young to be freeze dried."
"Come on, Mel," urges Glitz. "This is no time to be fastidious."
"Doctor?" asks Mel.
"Look, let me explain," says the Doctor.
Kane lets go of Ace's arms to reveal he is not wearing gloves. He holds his hands by her face. "You're wasting my time. The Dragonfire is mine now. You can either give it to me alive or I shall take it from your dead bodies."
"The logic is inescapable," admits the Doctor.
"Place it in the circuit," instructs Kane.
Mel puts the crystal on top of the console. The energy plays over it as Ace rushes to her companions and Kane works the controls. Wall panels come to life as the energy grows and a section comes down from the ceiling above the crystal.
"Doctor, what's happening?" asks Nita.
"It sounds like a starflight drive," replies the Doctor.
"Starflight drive?" asks Glitz. "It can't be."
Iceworld takes off from Svartos.
"This is a spacecraft," Glitz realizes. "The whole colony's a spacecraft!"
"My hour of vengeance."
"Vengeance on whom, Kane?" asks the Doctor. "You're too late."
"All your mercenaries are dead," says Nita.
"I can soon find more."
"But where will you find another home planet?"
"You're talking in riddles, Doctor. Proamon is my home planet."
"Was your home planet," the Doctor corrected him. "Take a look at your navigational equipment. It's fully operative now."
"There must be something wrong."
"Sadly not. Your planet, your people, your entire race were destroyed one thousand years after you were exiled."
"No. No, it's not possible."
"Look at the sun of Proamon. When you left, it was a cold red giant surrounded by freezing planets."
"There's nothing there but a neutron star."
"Your sun turned supernova two thousand years ago, and all its planets were engulfed in the explosion. Your people were annihilated, your planet obliterated. You're too late, Kane, for your revenge. You have no home. Time has flowed by."
"No. No! It shall not be!"
Kane opens a shutter to the outside.
"Danger, unfiltered sunlight," says the computer.
"What's he doing?" asks Glitz. "It's scorching."
Kane walks up to the porthole and promptly melts, screaming.
Later…
"Good afternoon, shoppers," comes Glitz's voice over the loudspeaker. "This is the new management speaking, Captain Glitz. It's time for a few changes."
The Doctor, Mel and Nita have returned to the TARDIS.
"Well, I suppose it's time," says Mel, mysteriously. Nita looks at her in confusion.
"Time? Funny old business, time. It delights in frustrating your plans. All Kane's perfidious aims thwarted by a quirk of time."
"No, I meant I suppose it's time I should be going."
"Oh," the Doctor realizes what she means.
"Time that I left."
"Yes, well, you could be right," the Doctor says, nonchalantly, trying to hide his disappointment. "Time for you to go."
"The Doctor becomes very interested in the console.
"Before I go, I…"
"Well, it is time," the Doctor cuts her off.
"Doctor."
"You must go."
"Before I go I'd like to say…"
"There's no point, Mel," the Doctor interrupts again. "No point hanging around wasting time"
"No, I'm not going until I've said my piece. I just want to say that…"
"There's no time, Mel."
"Oh, all right, you win," Mel gives up.
"I do. I usually do."
"I'm going now."
"That's right, yes, you're going. Been gone for ages. Already gone, still here, just arrived, haven't even met you yet. It all depends on who you are and how you look at it. Strange business, time."
"Goodbye, Doctor."
"I'm sorry, Mel. Think about me when you're living your life one day after another, all in a neat pattern. Think about the homeless traveller and his old police box, with his days like crazy paving."
"Who said anything about home? I've got much more crazy things to do yet."
They hug. Mel turns to Nita. "Bye, Nita, look after him for me."
"I will," says Nita, hugging her.
Glitz enters with Ace.
"Well, we've officially renamed my new spacecraft the Nosferatu Two, just cracked a bottle of ye old carbonated fruit alcohol over the bows and next stop sunny Perivale, eh, sprog?"
"Suppose so."
"Have you got room for another one?" asks Mel.
"Are you Perivale bound as well?" asks Glitz.
"Well, I was thinking of going a bit further."
"How much further?"
"How much further are you going?"
"Hang on half a millisecond."
"Excellent," says the Doctor. "Yes, Mel can keep you out of trouble, Glitz."
"And that means no more dodgy deals," says Mel.
"Thanks a billion, Doctor," Glitz grumbles.
"Glitz," the Doctor warns.
"Ace doesn't have anywhere to go," Nita hints.
"Nonsense," the Doctor argues. "An idyllic place, Perivale. It's got lush green fields and a village blacksmith, and…"
"Doctor, she comes from the twentieth century," Mel reminds him.
"Oh."
"Come on, Mel. Extract your digit," says Glitz, impatiently.
"I'll send you a postcard."
"But I don't have an address," says the Doctor.
"Oh, I'll put it in a bottle and throw it into space. It'll reach you, in time."
Glitz and Mel leave. Ace started to follow them.
"Ace, where do you think you're going?" the Doctor stops her.
"Perivale."
"Ah yes, but by which route? The direct route with Glitz, or the scenic route? Well? Do you fancy a quick trip round the twelve galaxies and then back to Perivale in time for tea?"
"Ace!"
Nita grinned at her in delight.
"But there are three rules. One, I'm in charge."
"Whatever you say, Professor."
"Two, I'm not the Professor, I'm the Doctor."
"Whatever you want."
"And the third. Well, I'll think up the third by the time we get back to Perivale."
Outside, little Stellar reaches for the Tardis door handle.
"There you are!" cries her mother, running up to her. "I've been looking all over for you. Now come on."
Her mother leaves, and the Tardis dematerialises.