James West turned on The Doctor with a hand clasping his gun handle. The Doctor's eyes flickered to the motion absentmindedly and seemed unconcerned.
"The TARDIS will not allow the firing of a weapon inside her confines." He tossed off as he raced to the controls he manipulated from the console. Not that he would have shot the strange man. But his confident interference in everything they did was getting on his nerves. West was unused to having his decisions second-guessed...much less quashed with ridiculous ease. And as for the gun not working inside this room they were in. Well maybe it wouldn't, but with the way Leela scowled at him, her devoted and protective nature sparked by any perceived threat to The Doctor, he was pretty sure that the "TARDIS" would be hard pressed to stop a knife. The tall man seemed confident in his ability to restrain anyone from bloodshed, though Jim was doubtful that his confidence had prevented much in his lifetime. The Doctor threw a switch. The "window" disappeared. West was annoyed. The Doctor was squeamish of violence, and while he could respect that he would prefer to know what moves his enemy was making so he could counter them.
That is if The Doctor would let him.
"I could have saved some of those people!" he growled.
"With what?" asked The Doctor calmly. "Lead projectiles? Overdeveloped musculature? Your keen intellect? You don't know the vulnerabilities of the Cybermen."
"Do you?" asked Artie. His voice pained after watching the cold and remorseless murders by Silver To...The Cyberman.
"As a matter of fact I do." The Doctor flopped down to the floor of the honeycomb-paneled room and put his hand under his chin.
"Would you care to share?" asked Jim with exacerbation.
"Well..." The Doctor mused. "We could probably use a cannon of some kind....that might put a dent in him." He turned his great curly head towards Jim, his expression pure annoyance. "Have one of those on you?"
Jim waited woodenly, The Doctor continued.
"They are slower then human's but fighting them with those muscles of yours would be suicide. They are twenty times stronger then you, and feel no pain. Plus he would probably just rather melt you down to the size of a postage stamp with that clever red beam of his."
"What else?" Jim wasn't going to allow himself to get any further flustered by the odd man. He clasped his hands behind his back and conducted his tone and temperament as he would an interrogation.
The Doctor smiled. "Well...mental powers have been known to work....you wouldn't have any of those would you?
Artie stifled a choking chuckle. Jim refused to yield.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and stood towering over West.
"The reason the Cyber Leader is so interested in keeping your white miners out is that they are "allergic" to gold dust. It chokes their breathing units. To keep himself safe he needed to secure the only element in the area that could really harm him." He lowered his face until it was close to Jim's meeting it almost nose to nose. "If you could just run up to the fellow and throw some gold dust into his breathing unit we could all be on our way."
Artie stood staring at the place the magic window had opened and was clearly digesting the information. "Maybe a hollowed projectile of some kind?"
"It would have to be one that couldn't have its working parts jammed by the Cyber Leader's mechanics." The Doctor frowned. "Your guns would be as useless outside against him as they are inside the TARDIS. The Cybermen have adapted their own versions to many Time lord inventions."
Jim looked up suddenly and his wide smile seemed to catch The Doctor somewhere between delight and startlement. He grabbed Leela by the arm and pulled her off to the side and whispered in her ear.
Leela looked at him with stunned joy. With a predator's rapture....truly savage. But Jim no longer found it strange. She was fully a woman, but more then a woman and perfectly, naturally, capable of the task ahead.
"Would you have gold dust Doctor?" Leela asked smiling slyly.
The Doctor shifted uneasily but the corners of his mouth slowly curled up in a childish anticipation that Jim could see Artie looking nervous about.
"Yeeesssss." He intoned slowly.
"Artie...can you rig a soft pack that will burst on impact?" Jim asked his companion.
Artie nodded, waiting for the word.
The Doctor smiled. "But how will you deliver its contents? Your guns will not work."
Jim smiled. "Then Leela and I will have to use our "overdeveloped musculature"."
Leela elbowed Jim in the ribs and she laughed. "And our "keen intellects"!"
"The TARDIS will not allow the firing of a weapon inside her confines." He tossed off as he raced to the controls he manipulated from the console. Not that he would have shot the strange man. But his confident interference in everything they did was getting on his nerves. West was unused to having his decisions second-guessed...much less quashed with ridiculous ease. And as for the gun not working inside this room they were in. Well maybe it wouldn't, but with the way Leela scowled at him, her devoted and protective nature sparked by any perceived threat to The Doctor, he was pretty sure that the "TARDIS" would be hard pressed to stop a knife. The tall man seemed confident in his ability to restrain anyone from bloodshed, though Jim was doubtful that his confidence had prevented much in his lifetime. The Doctor threw a switch. The "window" disappeared. West was annoyed. The Doctor was squeamish of violence, and while he could respect that he would prefer to know what moves his enemy was making so he could counter them.
That is if The Doctor would let him.
"I could have saved some of those people!" he growled.
"With what?" asked The Doctor calmly. "Lead projectiles? Overdeveloped musculature? Your keen intellect? You don't know the vulnerabilities of the Cybermen."
"Do you?" asked Artie. His voice pained after watching the cold and remorseless murders by Silver To...The Cyberman.
"As a matter of fact I do." The Doctor flopped down to the floor of the honeycomb-paneled room and put his hand under his chin.
"Would you care to share?" asked Jim with exacerbation.
"Well..." The Doctor mused. "We could probably use a cannon of some kind....that might put a dent in him." He turned his great curly head towards Jim, his expression pure annoyance. "Have one of those on you?"
Jim waited woodenly, The Doctor continued.
"They are slower then human's but fighting them with those muscles of yours would be suicide. They are twenty times stronger then you, and feel no pain. Plus he would probably just rather melt you down to the size of a postage stamp with that clever red beam of his."
"What else?" Jim wasn't going to allow himself to get any further flustered by the odd man. He clasped his hands behind his back and conducted his tone and temperament as he would an interrogation.
The Doctor smiled. "Well...mental powers have been known to work....you wouldn't have any of those would you?
Artie stifled a choking chuckle. Jim refused to yield.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and stood towering over West.
"The reason the Cyber Leader is so interested in keeping your white miners out is that they are "allergic" to gold dust. It chokes their breathing units. To keep himself safe he needed to secure the only element in the area that could really harm him." He lowered his face until it was close to Jim's meeting it almost nose to nose. "If you could just run up to the fellow and throw some gold dust into his breathing unit we could all be on our way."
Artie stood staring at the place the magic window had opened and was clearly digesting the information. "Maybe a hollowed projectile of some kind?"
"It would have to be one that couldn't have its working parts jammed by the Cyber Leader's mechanics." The Doctor frowned. "Your guns would be as useless outside against him as they are inside the TARDIS. The Cybermen have adapted their own versions to many Time lord inventions."
Jim looked up suddenly and his wide smile seemed to catch The Doctor somewhere between delight and startlement. He grabbed Leela by the arm and pulled her off to the side and whispered in her ear.
Leela looked at him with stunned joy. With a predator's rapture....truly savage. But Jim no longer found it strange. She was fully a woman, but more then a woman and perfectly, naturally, capable of the task ahead.
"Would you have gold dust Doctor?" Leela asked smiling slyly.
The Doctor shifted uneasily but the corners of his mouth slowly curled up in a childish anticipation that Jim could see Artie looking nervous about.
"Yeeesssss." He intoned slowly.
"Artie...can you rig a soft pack that will burst on impact?" Jim asked his companion.
Artie nodded, waiting for the word.
The Doctor smiled. "But how will you deliver its contents? Your guns will not work."
Jim smiled. "Then Leela and I will have to use our "overdeveloped musculature"."
Leela elbowed Jim in the ribs and she laughed. "And our "keen intellects"!"