CHAPTER 7

DEATH BY CUTS

The crowd of grey-furred creatures, thronging to look at Ian Chesterton and the Doctor, melted back ahead of them as they were marched towards a large tent that was set on the far side of the huge cavern. As they swept past the rows of expressionless compound eyes, the dog-like smell exuding from the bodies of the now silent creatures close-by grew to being almost overpowering. As they neared the tent, the Doctor's gaze keenly roved over its construction. Ian's attention was on the creatures surrounding them.

"Halt!" barked one of the captors. The group stopped a couple of metres from the tent flap, which was guarded by two more of the native creatures. Each sentry held a long spear.

"I, Yarlic of the Chron, crave an audience with the exalted Kanga!" growled one of the escorting creatures to the guards. One guard gave a slight bow and then turned and moved into the tent. Muffled voices from within floated out on the frigid air. A moment later the sentry emerged once more.

"The great Kanga will see you now. Enter, Yarlic of the Chron," he announced. Yarlic and the two sentries bowed low to each other and Yarlic proudly marched into the tent. The Doctor keenly watched the almost ceremonial proceedings.

"What do you think we're in for now?" whispered Ian. He nervously glanced around and then looked at the Doctor, who did not answer but had thoughtfully pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. All outside the tent were now completely silent while muffled voices were audible from within it.

At length the tent flap opened and Yarlic appeared once more. "Bring these animals inside," he growled. Ian and the Doctor were once again roughly marched forward. A moment later they were inside the tent.

While the outside of the tent was prosaic, plain even, inside it all was splendour. Flames flickered in ornate glass globes which were dotted liberally about inside the enclosure. Some of the transparent orbs were free standing on elaborate green glass stands. Others hung on long cords from the thin trusses and spars that supported the sheets of dark brown animal skin in the roof. Carpets and rugs, mostly coloured with intricate patterns in red and brown, covered the floor. A huge circular and fantastically ornate table, with a top made of some shiny black material set in a golden frame and supported on curved legs of gold, occupied the central position.

Other splendidly decorated, but oddly shaped, pieces of furniture lay dotted about but dominating the entire scene was a huge golden throne set upon a sumptuously thick white rug. On this throne was seated one who obviously was the leader of the grey-furred creatures. His compound eyes seemed to stare impassively at the new arrivals. His dog-like mouth was open revealing yellowish-brown needle-like teeth. The creature's wheezing breath rasped and gurgled loudly. This creature was rather fatter than the average and it wore a large metal shield on its chest. The shield was covered in intricate detail and was held in place by purple and gold straps which girdled the creature's waist and crossed over its shoulders. Streaks of greyish-white laced the creature's fur, especially around the head, suggesting that it was of advancing years.

Talon-like hands clamped onto Ian's and the Doctor's shoulders and forced them to their knees.

The Doctor turned his head back to the creature holding him down. "I wish to offer my greetings to the Great Kanga," he bellowed angrily, "How can I pay my respects properly when you carry on in this rough manner. Unhand me, sir!" Ian braced himself for the worst as a heard a steadily increasing snarl from the creature holding the Doctor but the growling was silenced by an upheld hand from Kanga, who was now leaning forward on his throne.

"He is quite correct," gurgled Kanga. "Let them stand and address me."

The Doctor gave a short grunt of satisfaction as the creatures holding the two captives released them and stepped back in response to the command. The old man's face puckered with righteous indignation as he glared back at the back-peddling creatures. He then struggled to his feet. Ian also stood up.

The Doctor faced Kanga and hooked his hands onto the lapels of his fur coat, striking an imperious pose. "Oh, Great Kanga." he announced, "We visitors to your world greet you. We come in friendship and are honoured to be in your presence." The Doctor bowed low, releasing his left hand to sweep in an arc, in a gesture that might well have been given by some elderly courtier on Earth. Ian copied the Doctor's action.

The ruler's rattling breath grew softer in tone. "Kanga, ruler of the Yakenta, welcomes you as friends." Kanga then looked at one of the guards. "Fetch some seating for our honoured visitors," he barked. The guard bowed slightly to Kanga, then touched one of his peers on his arm and they both moved to one side of the tent where they lifted a long bench seat, sumptuously padded with a brown patterned material, and carried it towards Kanga. They put the seat down in front of the throne, in a position indicated by Kanga's extended finger.

Kanga beckoned the Doctor and Ian. "Do be seated honoured visitors from afar," he began, "I'm sorry if you have been roughly treated until now but we live in troubled times. We must talk. I wish to learn much about you but first let me offer you food and drink." The Doctor's old features lit up with a smile of satisfaction.

As Vicki was marched between her yellowish-white furred captors round one final corner and through an opening into a cavern of colossal proportions, all her feelings of misery and despair were temporarily swept away by the grandeur of the spectacle she now beheld.

It was like a palace straight out of 'The Arabian Nights', she thought. Was it a vast castle or a small town? Vicki couldn't decide. She could see the tops of fantastically shaped buildings crammed closely together behind the surrounding walls and ramparts. There were block-shaped buildings and wedge-shaped constructions. There were what appeared to be battlements. There were domes and towers, the tallest of which seemed almost to touch the glowing icy roof of the incredibly vast cavern. The whole edifice, bathed in an eldritch golden glow that seemed even brighter than the light provided by the mottled patches of orange radiating from the cavern walls and roof, was perched on a plateau of dark rock that had steep walls that plunged down into a swirling grey mist far below.

The plateau was on a level with the wide ledge of ice that that skirted the perimeter of the colossal cavern. The edge of the ice also dropped nearly vertically down into the swirling mists. Here and there vast bridges of glittering gold and crystal spanned the chasm between openings in the cavern walls and massive gates set into the walls of the citadel.

Vicki could see more of the white-furred creatures, the Caspicooga, milling about high up in the walkways and bridges between the buildings of the wondrous citadel. Her captors marched her onto a wide bridge. She could see two sentries on guard to either side of the jewel-encrusted gates ahead. She shivered. It was not just the frigid air. Deepening despair began to re-establish itself as the foremost of her feelings.

"Quankor of the Froll," announced one of her captors, bowing slightly, as they all came to rest close to the gates. The two guards bowed in return.

"Kerlag of the Froll," announced the other, also bowing. "We have captured this strange animal and wish to take it to Kalrach."

The two guards again bowed in reply. One turned and reached to a jewelled handle on the wall next to him and gave it a sharp twist. The two huge gates swung back with hardly a noise. Vicki could see into a small courtyard surrounded by buildings. Between the buildings were archways leading to roadways and passages. Hordes of the Caspicooga were milling about, moving in and out of the courtyard. Vicki was surprised that most paid her very little attention as she was marched through the great portal. Then she felt, more than saw, the great gates closing behind her. Her despair further deepened.

"…and we were, er, captured by your people and brought here," said the Doctor, finishing the telling of his tale to Kanga. He took another sip of the huge goblet of reddish-brown liquid that he had been given as refreshment. To either side of Ian and the Doctor lay platters of half-eaten meats and slabs of a mushroom-like material.

"Yes, I am sorry that you were so badly treated," began the Yakenta leader. "To think that the first ever visitors from beyond our world should experience such inhospitality is a sad indication of the time in which we live. We can only offer our apologies and express our hope for the safe return of your two friends."

Ian had cheered up considerably and he now smiled and glanced at the Doctor who beamed back at Kanga and opened his hands in a gesture of accepted forgiveness. "We quite understand, er, but you say that times are bad for your people at the moment, hmm?"

"Yes. We are aware of the evil presence you speak of. At one time our land was one of palaces and cities with our various races living mostly in harmony with each other. Of course, there were disagreements from time to time, violent conflicts even, but such was not the norm. Though our earliest history was one of battles and sometimes even wars, we had over the ages become peaceful people. Our time was then mostly spent in the labours of improving the ease and beauty of life for us all. Our scientists probed the mysteries of our world and studied the other worlds visible in our skies. Our artists, musicians, builders…" Kanga's voice tailed off. At length the creature gave a long, shuddering, gurgle and sagged forwards a little on his throne.

The Doctor coughed gently. "Er, what has happened to change all that, hmm?"

Kanga straightened up in his seated pose once again. "A long time ago an aggressive fraction emerged amongst the race known as the Caspicooga. It was they that first captured you." The Doctor nodded and Kanga continued, "They waged ferocious wars on all the other races, wars the like of which had not been seen since our earliest history. They destroyed most of our beautiful palaces and cities, both those on top and those underneath our lands. Our caverns and galleries ran red with the blood of our ancestors. Those few that survived were enslaved. Some escaped to the remote regions of our planet but there the conditions were too harsh for most of them to survive."

"Dreadful! Dreadful!" commented the Doctor as he shook his head in sadness. Ian slowly nodded in sad agreement.

Kanga continued, "We did not realise it at first but we now think that some malevolent force is at work, driving the Caspicooga. Some have spoken of a strange creature, the Derlag, that lives deep below the Great Citadel of the Caspicooga. Some say that the Derlag is just a fable. Others say that it did exist but that it died long ago. Most of us think that the Derlag is real and it continues to live and to grow even today. It is said that the creature can influence the minds of others, even to the extent of forcing them to do its evil bidding. Most of us are sure that it is the Derlag that is responsible for the misery and evil that now pervades our land." The bitterness in Kanga's voice was unmistakable.

Ian turned to the old man, "That settles it Doctor," he said. "The Derlag, as they call it, is another creature like the Animus."

"Yes, my boy. I agree. The similarities are too close for mere coincidence."

"Similarities to what?" chipped in Kanga, "You have seen something like this before?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak but Ian beat him to it. "We have just come from visiting a planet where…" After a sideways glance of irritation at Ian, the old man pursed his lips and cocked his head to one side and listened, as did Kanga and the other Yakenta creatures in the tent, while Ian began to relate the tale of their recent strange adventure on the nearby orb of Vortis.

Vicki felt wave after wave of dread wash over her as she was marched headlong through the crowds of ferocious Caspicooga thronging the narrow streets and walkways between the ornate buildings. Cold, icy dread. Deeper and deeper into the citadel she was being marched. Further and further away from any hope of rescue. She could see no end to it. Was she to die on this cold orb, tortured and eventually killed by these hideous monsters? Was there no hope, no salvation, no escape from these terrors? For the first time in the young girl's life she wished for her existence to come to an end. She began to wish for the mercy of a painless death. She longed just to quietly slip away from this nightmare, without having to face unspeakable horrors at the hands of these creatures. Vicki began to cry.

"That will not help you, animal!" growled one of her captors as it dug its claw-like fingers into her shoulder. "Give up your useless attempts to deceive us!" Vicki's sobs grew louder. "Silence!" it barked again. Moments later the group stopped outside a squat, rather plain and box-like, building set on the far side of an otherwise deserted courtyard. Two more Caspicoogas stood guard to either side of its doorway. Both were armed with long spears, which they held vertically beside them. They wore belts from which hung a variety of sheathed blades and other weapons.

Vicki choked back her tears as she felt the inhuman grip on her shoulder tighten again, while her other captor stepped up to address the guards. "I, Kerlag of the Froll and my kin, Quankor, have captured this strange creature. We wish an audience with Kalrach."

"No one sees Kalrach without he first orders it. You will leave this thing with us and we will take it inside. Shergon, the jailer, will inform the office of Kalrach."

"No! We will take it to Kalrach in person," bristled Kerlag.

The guard hissed menacingly. "No one sees Kalrach unless he first wishes it. You seek to earn yourself favour with Kalrach - fool! You WILL leave this creature with us and you will go!"

Kerlag started to pant loudly and Vicki was startled by a rattling hiss from Quankor beside her.

"You will leave this creature with us!" blasted the guard as the other gave a dog-like bark and a menacing growl. Both of the guards lowered their spears to point at Kerlag.

A long moment passed with all four Caspicooga hissing and growling. Suddenly Vicki was thrust towards the guards. Her arm was caught by one of them in a vice-like grip.

"Come Kerlag!" blasted Quankor. His kin gave a defiant growl and both swung round and started to march away.

Suddenly Kerlag stopped and swung back. "I will see that you both…" Kerlag suddenly howled with pain and sank to his knees as a spear thudded into his chest.

"You gruk!" yelled Quankor as three more of the heavily armed Caspicooga appeared from the building.

"Take your kin away to die, or you will die now as well!" snarled the guard, "No-one threatens me and lives!" Vicki was nearly fainting with fear and revulsion.

"Get it inside!" Vicki heard a guttural voice order. She felt her arm being painfully wrenched as she was swung round and rapidly marched into the deep gloom inside the building. Her mind was beginning to close itself against the unending horrors. She was barely aware of passing through a small entrance chamber and along a short corridor, round a corner and then through a door and into a small room. She hardly noticed that the room was divided into half by a complete screen of thick metal bars.

"Vicki!" cried a voice from behind the bars. It was a wonderfully familiar and friendly human voice.

"Barbara! Oh, Barbara!"

"…and then I succeeded in cutting through wall into the chamber in the Carcinome where the Animus was rooted," said Ian, having for a third time taken over from the Doctor the telling of the account of their recent adventure on the planet Vortis, "Barbara was aiming the - what was it?" He looked at the Doctor.

"Isop-tope the Menoptra called it, some sort of tissue destructor. I've already said about that!" replied the Doctor tartly.

"Yes, yes, I know!" Ian retorted, "er, Barbara was aiming the isop-tope at the Animus and then it just sort of whithered and died. With the Animus dead the Zarbi became quite docile and we left the Menoptra to re-colonise their planet. That's about right, isn't it Doctor?" The old man gave Ian a huffish look and sniffed loudly, as if to imply that Ian's account was barely adequate but would have to do.

Ian's irritation was quickly forgotten as the portly Kanga leaned forward on his throne. "But you don't know how the Menoptra's device worked?" pressed Kanga.

The Doctor sighed and shook his head, "No, I'm afraid not. No," he said gently.

"A great pity. This Animus of the planet Vortis does seem to be the same sort of creature that has invaded our world," wheezed Kanga.

"Yes, indeed," said the Doctor with a growing look of inspiration on his face, "and maybe, just maybe, the answer lays in, er, osmotic pressure, mmm? eh?" The Doctor sat more upright and stared around at Ian and the Yakenta in the tent as if he were expecting them to congratulate him on his pronouncement.

Ian was first to break the silence. "Osmotic pressure?"

"Oh, my dear Cheston! I thought you were supposed to be a science teacher, although I…"

Ian railed, "Ches-TER-ton! Ian Ches-TER-ton! And what's more I do know…"

"Yes! Yes! Quite so! Now, don't let your mind wander so, young man! I've told you before, eh? Keep it on the problem in hand!"

The Doctor, ignoring Ian's snort of frustration, turned back to Kanga. "Now, er, where was I? Ah, yes, osmotic pressure. You see, the cells of living tissue are filled with a fluid which has just the right pressure, the osmotic pressure, to keep them properly inflated. Now, the cell walls are made of a material which acts as a semi-permeable membrane. Er, it keeps some molecules out but lets others through, you see. Now then, to solve our problem we need a chemical agent; one which can penetrate the cells of living tissue of the creature and combine with the fluid within the cells in order to lower the osmotic pressure. The cells will then collapse and the tissue will shrivel and die. Alternatively, one may introduce an agent that has the opposite effect, em, increasing the osmotic pressure and causing the cells to burst. Again the result is tissue death. Flood the creature with enough of the poison and the whole of it will be killed."

"Yes, Doctor! Yes," enthused Ian, "Like putting salt on slugs."

"Putting salt on slugs…hmm!" the note of distaste in the Doctor's voice was matched by the expression on his face.

"Are you sure that this could work?" pressed Kanga.

"Yes", replied the old man, "Actually I rather suspect that the Menoptra's device was able to produce the same effect. Perhaps by projecting electrostatic fields to cause polarisation within the cells but I am not sure. Anyway, for our purpose the problem is to find the correct chemical to act as the poison. Also, of course, one must also be able to get close enough to apply it." There followed a long silence as the Doctor's words sank in.

"I am not sure if I understand you but I know that we have a small store of chemicals nearby," began Kanga. "We have a few scientists amongst us. Would you please talk to them? Perhaps something can be arranged? If only…if only…" Kanga's voice tailed off.

"…and that was when I was brought in here. Oh, thank goodness I've found you!"

Barbara put a comforting arm around the girl's shoulder. "Shh! Shh, now! It'll be alright. It'll be alright!" Vicki looked into Barbara's face again. Barbara forced a weary smile back at the girl.

"What happened to you?" asked Vicki, "How did you wind up here?"

"Oh, Vicki! I've been trying to remember that myself. Well, I do remember what happened in the cavern, when Ian and I found you and the Doctor. After that…"

"Was it true?" interrupted the girl, "You know, what Ian said about the Doctor trying to kill me?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

As Barbara said the words, so Vicki visibly paled. "But the Doctor…?" she said in a half whisper.

"Oh Vicki!" blasted Barbara angrily, startling the girl into a wide-eyed stare, "You know very well that he is not human like us. Who knows how he really thinks. He has probably had enough of us travelling with him. He wants us all out of the way, so that he can get up to goodness knows what evil!"

"Baba…!" squealed the girl in alarm but Barbara Wright continued her ranting, a new fury chiselling her features and a diamond hard gleam sparkling in her eyes.

"Ian and I didn't choose to travel with him, he kidnapped us. Several times we nearly lost our lives because of his trickery. He even threatened to kill us…"

"Barbara! Barbara! No!" shrieked Vicki.

Suddenly a look of deep shock came on to Barbara's face. "Oh! Vicki, I…" Barbara raised her gloved hands to cover her face and she sobbed loudly.

Vicki composed herself as Barbara sniffed back her tears and fought to recover her own composure. "It is the evil on this planet," said the girl at length, "It is affecting all of us."

Barbara nodded and gave the girl a grim smile. The two clasped hands. "Yes you are right, of course, though you don't seem to be as affected as the rest of us, thank goodness. Perhaps it is because you are young. Perhaps, also, you don't have such a dark side to your character as the rest of us."

"Oh, Barbara! That can't be true. The Doctor seems the worst affected of any of us. Yet there's so much good in him!" Vicki's hands clasped tightly around Barbara's.

Barbara forced another weary smile at the girl. "Yes, I know, but even he has a dark side you know. Although I didn't really mean what I was saying just then, it is true that the Doctor virtually kidnapped us, though by accident I must admit. But we certainly weren't all friends to start off with."

Vicki looked at Barbara quizzically. "What happened?" she said.

"Well. It all began when a girl called Susan started to attend Coal Hill School in London, where Ian and I were teaching. She was a little odd to say the least. For instance, she was very good at some subjects but very bad at others. We wanted to get in touch with her family to discuss her progress but the address the school office had for her wasn't even a house. It was the address of an old junkyard. We became curious about her and one evening decided to follow her home. To cut a long story short, home turned out to be the TARDIS. It was disguised as an old police box, as it is now, and was in the middle of the junk yard. The Doctor came into the yard and the door of the police box opened and we heard Susan call out from inside. The Doctor was acting suspiciously and so we forced our way past him and got into the TARDIS for the first time. We had thought that this old man was keeping her prisoner you see."

"Oh!" commented Vicki.

"The Doctor followed us in and ordered Susan to close the doors. It was then that we learned that Susan really was the granddaughter of this old man. We all had a bit of an argument and the Doctor announced to Susan that they would have to leave, their secret having been discovered. Susan protested that she didn't want to leave Earth in the twentieth century and she threatened to stay behind." In response to Vicki's puzzled look Barbara continued, "She was obviously growing up and wanted the security of belonging somewhere. Anyway, the Doctor seemed to agree to her demand and he crossed over to the controls. But it was a trick and before we all realised and could stop him he had set the TARDIS going. It was obviously a rushed attempt to leave as the TARDIS seemed to be out of control. The room seemed to spin and be filled with pulsing lights and both Ian and I became unconscious. When we came to the ship had landed on Earth again but back in the Stone Age. That was how our travels began."

"Oh!" commented Vicki, "But he only wanted to protect Susan, and keep her with him."

"Oh, yes, I know," sighed Barbara, "but that was not the last time he would resort to trickery to get his own way, even if it put the rest of us in danger. But I think the worst of all was the time when the TARDIS developed a fault while in flight. Odd things started happening. He jumped to the conclusion that Ian and I had sabotaged the ship in some way. As it turned out what really happened was that the ship's computers were trying to warn us all of impending disaster if the fault wasn't repaired. The really awful thing, though, was that the Doctor said some terrible things to us. At one point he even threatened to put us off the ship."

"No!" blurted Vicki. "Oh, I see! That's what Ian meant when the Doctor went strange before we landed, you know, when the TARDIS was stuck in space?"

"Yes, that's right Vicki. Anyway, it took a little while before the Doctor fully trusted us. We might all be friends now but at first the Doctor seemed to be very cold, and, well, selfish even. Back then he seemed as if he treated everyone and everything as far less important than himself. I think in all the time Ian and I have been with the Doctor we have all changed quite a bit. I think we've grown together, so to speak. Both Ian and I got more used to our life with the Doctor and Susan. More resilient, I suppose. Also the Doctor, himself, seemed to become mellower and a bit more caring. Certainly more human. At one point in our travels he even recognised that Susan needed somewhere to call home and he finally did let her go when she fell in love with one of the freedom fighters we encountered when we arrived on Earth at the time of the Dalek invasion. It caused him great pain but he knew that it was the best thing for her."

"That was shortly before you arrived on Dido, wasn't it?" said the girl.

"Yes Vicki. The Doctor seems very fond of you. Perhaps you remind him of Susan in some ways but I think that it is more than that. I think that he can see the good in you and he wants to look after you. Certainly Ian and I were going to ask him if he would take you onboard with us but we didn't have to. He had already decided to do that himself."

The two women took comfort in each others smiles. "Do you think the Doctor and Ian are alright?" asked Vicki at length.

"I expect so," Barbara tried to sound convincing. "They are both very resourceful and very good at finding their way out of tight situations. We have all had to learn that skill in our travels with the Doctor!" They again broke into smiles.

"On your feet animals!" rasped a harsh voice and the smiles on the women's faces vanished. They both stared at the three Caspicooga creatures, each carrying a short spear, that were marching into the room the other side of the bars. "On your feet!" the creature repeated, this time louder, "You will do well not to keep Kalrach waiting." The icy air seemed to rattle with the rasping sniggers of the other two guards.

Having been roughly marched on a short journey through more of the alleyways and narrow streets of the glittering citadel, Barbara and Vicki now found themselves standing in front of a very fat Caspicooga official sitting behind a large desk in a richly decorated room. A small bejewelled medallion hung around the creature's neck on red sashes which also criss-crossed around its expansive waist and chest. Sitting on its head, and with its rim resting up against the creature's antennae, was for all the world what looked like a large black bowler hat! The almost comic juxtaposition of this thing so similar to a twentieth-century earthly piece of apparel with the hideous features of the alien creature wearing it might have made Barbara laugh had she been not so afraid. The wide-eyed, pale and trembling, Vicki was also most certainly not in the mood for laughter.

"Here are the creatures we captured, Kalrach," announced one of the guards. "We hope you will think well of our deed."

"You address me as 'Your Esteemed Grountis Kalrach!'", wheezed the fat official angrily.

"Please forgive me Your Esteemed Grountis, I forget myself in my eagerness to serve you," rasped the guard urgently as he bowed low.

"I should think so, too! Now, where did you say that you found these strange animals?"

"In the caverns outside the palace. We hope that you think we have done well?"

"Yes! Yes! I will recommend you for a reward," said Kalrach wearily.

"Oh, we thank you, Your Esteemed Grountis Kalrach! Thank you!" The guards bowed their heads and purred in appreciation.

"Do these things communicate?" asked Kalrach at length, roving his hideous compound eyes over the women.

"Yes, indeed, Your Esteemed Grountis. They can speak."

"Remarkable!" wheezed Kalrach, "What are you and where are you from?"

"We are…human…from the planet Earth…" Barbara hesitatingly began her explanation.

During the next few minutes Barbara continued to try to explain about the Earth and how they had arrived on the planet but the Caspicooga official seemed less and less interested. He fidgeted even more and even belched loudly several times during Barbara's discourse.

"You are obviously a deranged mutant!" announced Kalrach when Barbara had finished. "All that you say is nonsense. You are from another planet! You came in a machine that bought you to this world! Ridiculous!"

"We are!" protested Barbara but she was silenced by a loud snarl and a raised hand from Kalrach. Barbara felt the clawed hands of two of the guards sink into her upper arms.

"I have listened to enough!" snarled Kalrach, "It must be time for a meal and I'm hungry." Kalrach belched loudly once more. Then the stained fur around his mouth parted revealing his needle-like teeth. His breath rattled and gurgled as his thin black lips curled into a sneer. "We will have some entertainment when I have eaten. Take them outside and prepare them for public execution," he hissed venomously to the guards. "We will enjoy watching them suffer death by cuts!"

Ian Chesterton looked up from his long conversation with the Yakenta ruler as the tent flap opened and the Doctor was escorted back into the tent by a Yakenta guard. More than two hours had passed since the Doctor had left on his errand. The escort bowed low towards Kanga and the Doctor did the same.

"Do come close, Doctor," beckoned Kanga. "You spoke to our chief scientist?"

"Indeed your majesty, indeed! And more than that, he showed me your records. Fascinating! Fascinating!" The Doctor glanced at the bench seat in front of Kanga and then looked at the ruler expectantly. Kanga swept a hand in a gesture that indicated his permission for the Doctor to resume his seat next to Ian.

Settling himself down, the Doctor assumed the pose of a story teller, his hands out before him with his fingertips touching. "It seems that a long time ago, em, a little before your troubles started, a small deposit of strange material was once found in the caverns near the Caspicooga's main citadel. At the time the material was a complete mystery. The scientists of all your great nations collaborated in the study of it."

The Doctor moved his hands to rest on his knees and he arched his head back and grinned in a manner that indicated his self-satisfaction in solving the mystery. "That sample baffled your scientists. It appeared to have similarities to some vegetable matter and yet in other ways it was similar to marine animal tissue. It's cellular structure seemed not to match anything indigenous to your planet. Apparently, in time, a few of your scientists had the notion that the traces might be related to the fable of the Derlag but with little proof and subsequent, er, emphasis on war little progress could be made."

The Doctor paused and narrowed his eyes. "I am convinced that the tissue sample IS part of the creature you call the Derlag. I think that it arrived on the surface of your planet and found its way into your caverns, looking for a home. As it worked its way towards its destination, so small deposits may have been left here and there. Perhaps they were, er, scraped off as it moved, eh? Mmm?"

"Yes, Doctor, yes," pressed Ian as Kanga nodded slowly, "but did you discover how to kill it?"

"Yes! Yes!" snapped the Doctor as he gave Ian a sideways glance of irritation, "I'm coming to that, if you will allow me, eh?"

"Sorry Doctor!" sighed Ian, ruefully accepting the reproach.

The old man sniffed loudly and then continued. "Now, er, as I said, the records of the tests your scientists made and the results obtained are quite extensive. From these I have been able to devise a suitable chemical agent that should be able to penetrate the cell walls of the Derlag's tissue and greatly increase the osmotic pressure of the fluid inside. Unlike my young friend's salt to kill slugs, this agent is rather more sophisticated. It will have an effect which will spread from cell to cell and it should, in short order, kill the entire creature. Of course, I can't be absolutely sure. The creature may be able to offer some defence but the indications are that it should work. We will just have to take the chance. A relatively small amount of the poison should do the job, I think." The Doctor beamed a broad smile at Kanga. The air was filled with the whispers of the Yakenta in the tent.

"That is wonderful!" gurgled the Yakenta ruler, unable to contain his growing excitement. "I will order that quantities of the chemical be taken from our stores."

"Ah, yes, well, your majesty, there is a slight problem. Unfortunately the chemical has to have a rather complex molecular structure. If I can explain, er, it has to have a structure that fits along with some of that of the cell wall structure, er, rather like a specific key to fit a specific lock, in order that the substance can penetrate the cell itself. Anyway, you don't have the substance needed amongst your stocks but you DO have the raw materials to manufacture it. Luckily the apparatus needed for the synthesis is only basic. Your chief scientist is awaiting your orders to manufacture some. He has all the details."

"Oh Doctor!" gurgled an emotional Kanga. The ruler then looked towards one of the Yakenta standing in the tent. "Go to our chief scientist and order him to begin the manufacture of the poison!" The whisperings in the tent grew louder.

"At once, Oh Great Kanga!" replied the Yakenta bowing low as he left.

"Doctor!" exclaimed Kanga at length. "You may well be the saviour of our race. To think, one of your great knowledge should arrive from another world and provide us with the means of defeating the terrible evil force that has invaded this world. Incredible! Incredible! The g..." Kanga's voice faltered and the aged ruler leaned sideways against the arm of his throne and he whined and gurgled, obviously overcome with emotion. Ian and the Doctor looked at one another awkwardly as all others in the imperial tent became silent once more.

"Oh Barbara! Barbara!" sobbed Vicki.

"Shhh, Vicki. I know it seems bad but…" Barbara could not think what to say next. In reality she was terrified almost to the point of breaking down herself. The two Earth women were chained, hands and arms outstretched, between pairs of pillars mounted on a raised dais in the large courtyard outside Kalrach's headquarters. The several Caspicooga that had chained them up now stood around the dais on guard. Otherwise, the courtyard was empty. A loud 'Clang! Clang!…" began to fill the air from an unseen bell striking every couple of seconds. 'For whom the bell tolls…' thought Barbara. Her lips quivered as she struggled to maintain her composure.

"Forgive me," said the now recovered Kanga, "It is just the thought that the terrible evil and suffering that has befallen us might at last be at an end."

The Doctor gave a slight smile and he airily waved a hand to dismiss any imagined discourtesy. "We quite understand, your majesty. Yes, we quite understand, er, but," he added clenching his hands together and adopting a very stern pose, "having a poison that will kill the Derlag is itself not enough. We have to be able to apply that poison, hmm, eh?"

Kanga heaved a long, gurgling, sigh, "Yes my friend, I know, but you have provided the means. We must capitalise on that."

Ian spoke, sitting forward and glancing between Kanga and the Doctor. "The Animus on Vortis had a huge network that was part of itself, the Carcinome. Do you know of anything like that, perhaps where your creature - the Derlag - lives?"

"No, there is nothing like that," said Kanga shaking his head. "We believe that the Derlag lives deep in the caverns below the Caspicooga's citadel but apart from some rumours and superstitions, and the small amount of alien matter found nearby, we have no real evidence. Ian sat back and the Doctor pursed his lips as a sombre silence fell once more over all in the imperial tent.

"Well," began the Doctor at length, "this creature will probably be different to the Vortis Animus in many ways. It will have adapted itself to the conditions on this planet. However, the problem remains getting near enough to it to apply the poison. Is there any way of getting into the caverns below the, er, Casp, er Caspicooga was it? Er, their capitol, or citadel, er, you know…" The Doctor waved a hand irritably, impatient with himself to communicate his ideas.

"No. The only way to the caverns is from within the citadel," began the Yakenta leader, "but for the chance of using the poison it is worth risking an attack. We certainly would not be able to capture the citadel and many of us are sure to be killed but some might be able to get through to the entrance to the catacombs."

"Hmm! I wonder…I take it you do have suitable maps of the Caspicooga citadel?" began the Doctor, narrowing his eyes and putting a long finger thoughtfully to his lips. 'Do you think your forces might stage an attack, perhaps something more in the manner of a diversion, so that a small group can be free to get through to the catacombs? Then, with the party inside and on their way, the main force can withdraw, you know, feign a retreat. That should allow us to minimise casualties, hmm? Eh?"

"Yes, Doctor, Yes! A brilliant idea!" Kanga was once again brimming with excitement. "I will summon the commanders and we will begin our plans immediately. Oh! Truly our annals will record this as one of the greatest days in our history! The day you and your friend arrived with your great knowledge and wisdom to help us!" Once again the Yakenta chief whined and gurgled with emotion.

Ian turned to the Doctor with a look of urgency. "Barbara and Vicki, we might…"

"Yes, yes, I know dear boy, I know. We might be able to free them, if they are there of course. I hope we can. Our main effort, though, must be to destroy the evil creature, this, er, Derlag. Then and only then will we all be safe. And of course we still have to recover the TARDIS."

"Doctor! We must…" protested Ian.

The Doctor raised a dismissive hand and interrupted again. "Now, now! I'm as worried about them as you are. Remember, we can't even be sure that they are there, or even…" the Doctor stopped himself and looked awkwardly down at the ground.

"Yes! I know," said Ian ruefully, "we can't even be sure that they are still alive. But they've got to be! They've just got to be!"

Crowds of Caspicooga were now pouring into the courtyard as the bell continued to sound. The creatures leered and pointed at the spectacle of the two quivering and distraught Earth women held, ready for agonising execution, on the dais.

The bell ceased its tolling and the excited, jabbering, crowd fell silent. Kalrach, still wearing his bowler hat and medallion and now also sporting a short golden cape, emerged from the building behind the dais into the golden light flooding the courtyard. He had several Caspicooga in escort. Behind them followed a Caspicooga, obviously the executioner, wearing a red tunic and bearing a huge curved wide-bladed sword.

Kalrach stepped onto the dais and stood facing the crowd, in front of the two women. "Citizens! With great danger and inconvenience to myself I have arranged for you the capture of these strange creatures. I now present them to you for your entertainment. It has been a while, now, since our last public execution…" Kalrach paused as the crowd erupted into excited jabbering once more. He gurgled proudly in response to the sounds of the crowd's approval.

At length Kalrach nodded and the crowd fell silent once more. "Today you shall savour a particularly fascinating spectacle." He turned sideways and swept a hand in the direction of the two captives. "Enjoy! Enjoy as these strange creatures die very slowly! Enjoy their agony! Watch them suffer and squirm! Enjoy! Enjoy as they…endure death by cuts!" The crowd once again erupted and Kalrach theatrically raised a hand up high as he swept off the dais.

He indicated to the Caspicooga with the sword. The crowd roared again as the executioner mounted the dais. He stepped to the front of it and bowed low to the crowd. Barbara's face was deathly white but she now watched the proceedings almost calmly. Her terror had been so great that her brain retreated from it. She now watched numbly almost as if she was a bystander rather than a participant in what was to follow. Vicki continued to squirm and cry.

The crowd once more fell silent as the executioner turned to face the women. Looking from one to the other he ceremoniously adopted a lupine pose and twirled the blade and sliced it in a figure of eight. The frigid air hissed as the blade cut through it. After a long pause he stepped in front of Barbara. He raised the blade up and Barbara felt its razor sharp edge gently touch the side of her face.

"Barbara!" shrieked Vicki. Barbara did not seem to hear but impassively stared into the inhuman compound eyes of her tormentor. The executioner slowly withdrew the blade and poised ready for the first stroke. Vicki clenched her eyes shut. The young girl heard the hiss of the air being cut by the blade…and Barbara's piercing scream!