"Lady Victoria," said Alendar, "you must be quiet. These trees are not as empty as they seem."
Victoria pulled her arm away and stumbled into a small clearing behind a thick stand of the ubiquitous iridescent vines. "Be quiet? Let me go! Who are you, anyway? How do you know my name?"
Another commando figure came out of the bushes. "There is no time to explain. You came straight from the cave?"
"Yes, but I–"
"There is no time. Alendar, the cave." The second of the Royal Guards vanished back up the hill and the first turned back and grabbed Victoria's arm again as she was about to escape down the hill. "Listen to me! This place is heavily guarded. If the watchers follow the pattern we have observed, we have less than two minutes."
"What watchers?" As far as Victoria was concerned, present company was bad enough. "I've got to go down there–"
The Guard was looking out between a few stems. "You would never get across the path."
Victoria looked over his shoulder. There were four soldiers in purple running along the path to the TARDIS, wielding what looked like bayoneted rifles.
"When Alendar comes," said the Guard, "you must get into the hoverboat. It is shielded."
"Who are all those other soldiers?"
"Not our problem. Less than one minute."
"Until what?"
Shrubbery exploded and shredded as the red hovercraft blasted out of the hillside. Several men in shades of brown flung themselves off of the ledge above the mouth of the cave just seconds too late, and fell behind in a wake of dust and leaves. There was shouting and a hail of gunfire from the path as Alendar brought the craft straight up, spun it around all three axes of rotation and stopped it neatly two feet away from his colleague.
The blast shield over the back seat was already open. "Hang on," protested Victoria. "Stop! I've got to get to the TARDIS!" But Gamra had her by the arm again and was helping her over the side. He vaulted into the front seat and the craft spiraled into the air.
-
"I knew it," said Cerf, laughing exultantly. "I knew it." He reached through the bars to shake Jamie's hands. "On behalf of my people, welcome to Efes."
Jamie had just finished telling him something of the true nature of the TARDIS and its crew of three. "Thanks," he said, returning the Prince's firm grip. "'Tisn't often we get such a warm welcome, I can tell you. But now we have to find a way to get out of here."
"That should not be difficult..."
Jamie flinched at the voice and turned, wondering how much Tellisn had heard. The subcommander was now standing by the bars that separated their cells. Cerf, obviously furious with himself for keeping an inadequate watch, stood back with his arms folded, and one hand ready near the cuff of his loose sleeve.
"You have only to call for the guard and ask for some food," said Tellisn solemnly. The gravel voice seemed to be directed at Jamie. "He will have the keys, for the cell must be opened to let anything in. Or out. There will be no others."
Jamie stared. Cerf stared. The two astronomers, who had only heard part of the exchange, looked very confused.
"And you're telling us all this... exactly why?" asked Cerf.
Tellisn's stare did not change. "I left you your needler for a reason, Highness."
Cerf closed his eyes for a moment, adjusting to the new state of affairs, and then turned to the two astronomers and said, "Kapik, please call the guard."
Bar Kapik Shotith shook her head. "It might seem funny. We've been here long enough to know when mealtimes are. If I may make a suggestion, Highness, my sister is an excellent shot, and the guard would not expect any disturbance from this direction."
Cerf nodded. "All right, Jamie, you call the guard. Keep him talking for as long as it takes." He handed the tiny needler gun to Elfik through the bars and then stretched out in his bunk, pretending to be asleep. Tellisn, with one last thin stare at Jamie, sat down again and focused on an invisible point somewhere between himself and the wall in the back of the cell.
Jamie stepped up to his door and rattled his chains against the bars. "Hallo! Hey, guard! Anybody out there?"
Silence. Then, faint movement. Jamie shouted again. "Hey, can anybody hear me? We're starving down here!"
A long-faced soldier shuffled in through a side corridor, trying to pretend he had not been asleep. "Evening meal in one hour, prisoner."
"But we haven't had anything to eat all day," complained Jamie. "How long're you going to keep us down here, anyway? We haven't done anything wrong!"
"All right, all right." The guard shuffled over to a cabinet near the corridor and extracted a flat package wrapped in silver foil. As he walked over to Jamie's door, fumbling at his belt for the keys, Elfik stepped silently forward and raised her hand. There was a faint pinging sound from the needler gun and the guard slumped to the floor near Cerf's cell.
"Well done, Elfik!" cried Cerf, springing from his bunk and dragging the fallen guard closer to the door. He unhooked the key ring and started opening the cells.
"Hey," said Jamie, "are the keys to these things in there?" He rattled his cuffs again.
Tellisn spoke up. "One key fits all."
"Lucky us," said Cerf. "Here it is." He turned back to Tellisn. "Do you want to get out?"
Tellisn came over to the front of his cell. "I assume your needler can be set for stun."
"It already is. The guard will be fine in an hour or so."
Tellisn bowed his head gravely. "When we come to," he said, "we will probably be reprimanded, and nothing further will come of it. My... scolding... will probably be more severe because I missed your needler, but by that time General Sode will have forgotten why he had me incarcerated."
"General Sode," interrupted Kapik, "is completely mad, as far as we can tell."
Tellisn nodded impassively. "True, although I would not have put it as bluntly."
"Why are you doing this?" said Cerf.
Tellisn ignored the question. "That tunnel leads straight back to the main cavern. That one leads deeper into the Labyrinth. Much of it has never been mapped." He wrapped his long hands around two of the bars. "Highness."
Cerf shot him and they all ran down the second tunnel, straight into the Great Labyrinth.
-
They could have taken any other tunnel. But, as it happened, they didn't.
"Jamie!"
"Doctor!"
"What on Efes are you doing down here?"
"How on Earth did you get up there?"
"It's antigravity, Jamie, you've seen it before, on the Moonbase – oh, good heavens, Your Highness. What on Earth are you doing down here?"
"How on Efes do you know who I am?"
"Oh dear. It's a rather long story. I'm the Doctor, how do you do?"
"Be better once we get out of this tunnel."
"Yes, of course, that's certainly understandable. Jamie, I take it we don't want to go that way."
"Aye, you've got that right. Did you find Victoria? Where is she?"
"I sent her back to the TARDIS. That's also a long story."
"Well, we can't hang around talking here. Can you not come down?"
"Yes, all right. Just a minute... there we are. Now, Your Highness, where exactly were you going?"
"We've been looking for a way out, or at least a place to hide for a while."
"Just the thing. I used to know my way around these tunnels, and I think I can find a place where we can be safe for a while."
"Sounds good to me."
"Right, then, this way. Or maybe... no, definitely this way. Come on."