Doctor Who - [113] - [E-Space 2] - [Vampire Trilogy 1] - State Of Decay

by Terrance Dicks

'Very educational. So?'

  'Oh, it's probably nothing. It's just that I once came across a reference to something called the Record of Rassilon, in one of the old data banks.'

  The Doctor held up his hand. `Sssh!' There seemed to be a muffled thumping coming from outside the door. 'Thought I heard something. Go on. What was it this Record of Rassilon?'

  'An emergency instruction. A copy was to be installed in all time vehicles. Nobody remembered why, though, and in time the practice was discontinued. I suppose the older type of vehicles might still have one.'

  `How old?'

  'Oh, as old as the Type Forties, for instance.'

  `The TARDIS happens to be a Type Forty.'

  `Oh, does it?' asked Romana innocently.

  The Doctor grinned. 'Romana, you're wonderful.'

  `I suppose I am. I've never really thought about it!'

  The Doctor listened. The muffled thumps. were still going on. They grew louder and then suddenly stopped. Something was going on, thought the Doctor, and he might as well try to do his share.

  He called to the guard. 'Can't you hear that row? Something's happening out there.'

  `Never mind about out there,' said the guard stoically. 'My orders are to keep an eye on you in here.'

  'Then in that case I think there's something you ought to know.'

  `Oh yes? What?' The guard came over to the bunk and stared suspiciously down at the Doctor.

  'This,' said the Doctor. A long arm shot straight up, and a bony fist took the guard under the chin. The Doctor caught him as he fell and laid him out on the bunk, just as the door swung violently open, almost crushing him behind it.

  Tarak stood in the doorway. `Where's the Doctor?'

  'Here,' said the Doctor with dignity, and emerged from behind the door, rubbing his nose.

  `Are you all right?'

  'I'm fine.'

  'We'd better get a move on, then.'

  Tarak dragged the guard he had just knocked out into the cell, dumped him beside the one on the bunk, and ushered the Doctor and Romana into the corridor, locking the cell door on the two guards with his stolen code-key.

  'Come on, then, this way.'

  `Where to?'

  'I know a back door that might still be unguarded - if we're lucky. But we'd better hurry.'

  In the rebel HQ, Veros lay stretched out on his bunk, wondering when Tarak would get back from the Tower - wondering if he would ever get back at all. Perhaps Tarak was right, perhaps they had all waited too long.

  Unable to rest, Veros rose and stretched, and wandered over to Kalmar, who was still hunched over the video console. 'Still tinkering with that thing, are you? Should have thought you'd be fed up with all those old records by now.'

  'It isn't just records,' said Kalmar proudly. `I've discovered a new facility.' Kalmar produced the technical word with pride.

  'A how much?'

  'Something else it can do. Look!'

  Veros looked. On the screen was a kind of computer-stylised map. 'What's that? More history?'

  'Not history, Veros, the present. I'm scanning the surrounding countryside.'

  'You're what?'

  'Scanning, Veros,' said Kalmar patiently. 'With this machine I can see all around us. Don't you understand? We can never be taken by surprise.'

  Veros peered at the screen. 'Thought I saw something moving.'

  'There's a full choice of frequencies,' said Kalmar proudly. 'I'll switch over to infra-red.' The picture blurred and cleared, and this time a small dot could be seen moving across the screen. 'Look,' said Kalmar. 'You see? There's someone out there, and he's moving this way!'

  He seemed far more excited by his ability to spot the approaching newcomer than by any possible danger the stranger might represent.

  Veros had a more practical turn of mind. 'I'll go and check.' He grabbed a spear and hurried out, returning a few minutes later with a grey-cloaked figure. 'It's Ivo!'

  Kalmar looked up in astonishment. Ivo's whole value to the rebels lay in the fact that he was thought to be a loyal servant of the Lords. It was unlike him to compromise his position. 'It's dangerous for you to come here, Ivo. Dangerous for all of us. Suppose you were followed? Why didn't you use the communicator.'

  Ivo's face was grim. 'I needed to talk to you face to face, not through that squawk-box. How did Veros know I was coming?'

  'We have a scanner now,' said Kalmar proudly. `We can cover all the surrounding area. Maybe even reach the Village and the Tower, if I can boost the range a little.'

  Ivo stared blankly at the little screen.

  'We'll be safe now,' urged Kalmar. 'We'll have warning of any attack, we can spot Zargo's patrols. It's heat-sensitive, you see, it can detect the presence of life.'

  'Then it won't help me find my son, will it?'

  Kalmar's face was grave. 'Karl? He's dead?'

  'They dumped his body outside my door at dusk. Those monsters drank his blood.'

  'Why?' whispered Veros. `Why?'

  'For a warning, I suppose, and to frighten the others. Maybe they suspect me, because I talked to the strangers.' Ivo laughed bitterly. 'Don't let it worry you, Kalmar, you're safe enough, aren't you? Technological rats, living safely in your little hole.'

  'I'm sorry; Ivo,' said Kalmar slowly. 'We're all sorry, you must know that.'

  Ivo said gruffly. 'I didn't come to tell you about Karl. I've discovered something important - one of the guards had too much wine. There's something happening at the Tower tonight, some kind of ceremony to make the power of the Lords greater than ever. They'll all be busy. Whatever's going on, we've got to stop it. I'm going to attack - tonight. I've got quite a few supporters in the Village now, and they're almost as angry as I am about Karl's death. I shall wait until tonight, gather all my people and attack the Tower.'

  Kalmar was horrified. 'Ivo, it's too soon.'

  'No, Kalmar it's too late. Too late for Karl, and probably for me as well, but I can wait no longer. We attack tonight. Are you with me?'

  Kalmar was silent.

  Ivo looked round the room. 'I see. Well, it's what I expected. You and the rest of your heroes can watch us die on the scanner, Kalmar. But remember this - very soon, when they've finished with us, they'll be coming for you!'

  Tarak led the Doctor and Romana unerringly along through the Tower. Avoiding the main corridors and using sub-corridors and access tunnels, be brought them at last to the still-unguarded door by which he had entered.

  The Doctor paused in the doorway. Briefly he told Tarak of their discoveries. 'Now, listen, Tarak, we've got to go back to our ship for some vital information. Something I hope will help us to defeat the Lords. I want you to go to Kalmar. Tell him to prepare a full-scale attack, but not to move before I join you.'

  'Very well, Doctor, I'll try. And you needn't worry about old Kalmar acting too quickly. The problem will be to get him to attack at all.'

  'Well, do your best. Come along, Romana.'

  Romana did not move. 'Doctor, we've forgotten something.'

  'What?'

  'Adric. He's still a prisoner here. We've got to rescue him.'

  'Romana, if that thing down there is what I think it is, and if it escapes into our universe, billions of lives will be lost. I can't endanger all those lives for the sake of just one stowaway.'

  "I'm afraid I can't think in billions,' said Romana. 'I can only think of Adric - alone and a prisoner in this Tower. You go to the TARDIS, I'll join you as soon as I can.'

  'But I can't leave you here alone,' insisted the Doctor.

  'She won't be alone, Doctor,' said Tarak. 'I'll stay here with her.'

  'But I've no right to ask that of you.'

  'You're not asking, are you? Now, you go and do whatever you have to, and Romana and I will find the boy.'

  The Doctor still hesitated. 'Are you sure?'

  'I've already rescued two prisoners, what's one more? On your way, Doctor, we'll see you at the TARDIS or at Kalmar's HQ.'

  The Doctor
nodded. 'Goodbye Tarak. Thank you. Goodbye Romana.' He slipped out into the night.

  Romana turned to Tarak. 'Where do we start?'

  'Well, if he's a prisoner, he'll be where you were, somewhere in the detention area.'

  'I don't think he is a prisoner, not exactly, or if he is, he's a very privileged one. They said something about him being chosen to become one of them.'

  Tarak frowned. 'There's a place they call the Inner Sanctum. No one is ever allowed there but the Three, and it's always guarded.'

  'Right,' said Romana firmly. 'Inner Sanctum, please!'

  They turned and began their journey, back into the heart of the Tower.

  The Vampires

  The Doctor flattened himself against a tree trunk, as a bat fluttered through the leaves above him. But it went on its way without showing any particular interest in him, and when it did not swoop down to attack, or return with hordes of its fellows, the Doctor moved on, reassured. Maybe without the telepathic mind of Aukon to control them, the vampire bats of this planet were like the vampire bats of Earth, timid nocturnal creatures, a danger only to the sleeping cattle in the fields.

  And Aukon, the Doctor hoped, was convinced that he was still a prisoner, and with any luck was preoccupied with his unholy ceremony.

  At last the familiar blue shape of the TARDIS appeared beneath the trees. The Doctor hurried towards it, opened the door and went inside.

  With a sigh of relief, he looked round the familiar control room, patting the control console like an old friend. It was nice to be back, especially after a spell in the sinister environment of the Tower.

  K9 glided forward to greet him. `Master, we have had an unauthorised intruder-the young humanoid Adric.'

  'I know, I know,' said the Doctor impatiently. `What do you mean, letting stowaways on board the TARDIS? It's supposed to be a time capsule, not a number 9 bus.'

  K9 was hurt. 'Culpability factor zero, Master.'

  'Well, never mind about Adric now, he's caused quite enough trouble already. You and I have got work to do, K9.'

  K9's tail antenna wagged happily. 'Please specify nature of task, Master.'

  'I want you to help me tap the memory core of the TARDIS.'

  'More data please, Master. What is the information required?'

  'That's the trouble, I'm not really sure. It will probably be classified as obsolete by now, and it'll be buried deep in the data core. It's called the Record of Rassilon.'

  'Please specify subject matter of this Record, Master. It will be of help in my search.'

  The Doctor cleared his throat. 'Well, as a matter of fact, K9,' he said a little awkwardly, 'to the best of my belief, the Record of Rassilon is about ... well, it concerns...'

  'Please specify, Master.'

  `Vampires,' said the Doctor hollowly.

  K9's head swung round, and his dye screen scanned the Doctor as if checking his mental balance. 'Vampires, Master?'

  'Vampires!' said the Doctor firmly. 'Now, stop arguing and get on with it.'

  Plugging himself into the TARDIS console, K9 got on with it. While the Doctor waited impatiently, he searched the antiquated data banks of the TARDIS with all the skill at his command. Finally, he swung round to the Doctor.

  'Investigation completed, Master.'

  'Well?'

  'Nothing, Master.' K9's tail antenna drooped disconsolately. He hated to feel he was letting the Doctor down.

  'Nothing?' said the Doctor outraged. 'What do you mean, nothing?'

  'Nothing, Master. No data available. There is no mention of the Record of Rassilon.'

  'Have you tried " Rassilon, Record of ' ?' suggested the Doctor despairingly, though he already knew what K9's answer would be.

  'Access has been attempted under all possible permutations, Master.'

  'What about "Vampires"?' demanded the Doctor. 'Did you try "Vampires"?'

  'Information on vampires totally absent from TARDIS data banks.'

  The Doctor's face fell, and K9 went on consolingly, 'However, the folklore section of my data banks contains vampire legends from seventeen inhabited planets. I will begin with your favourite planet, Earth. The legend of Count Dracula ...'

  The Doctor shuddered. ' No, thank you, not Count Dracula. Try "Emergency Instructions" as a general category.'

  'There are 18,348 emergency instructions,' said K9 obligingly. 'I will now list them in order of coding ...'

  ' No !' yelled the Doctor. ' No ! No! No!' He calmed himself. 'Sorry! No, thank you, K9.'

  Mollified by the apology, K9 said, 'There is one other source of information on this vehicle, Master.'

  'There is?'

  'It is an antiquated magnetic-card system, Master.'

  'Well, why didn't you say so? Of course, that's where it'll be!'

  The Doctor rummaged in a seldom-used locker, and after rooting about for some time emerged in a dusty state, clutching a tray of circular plastic discs. Scratching his head, he walked round and round the many-sided console, paused, and then thrust the first card into an inconspicuous slot. 'I've always wondered what that was for!'

  For a moment nothing happened, and then there came the whirring, grinding sound of antiquated machinery lumbering into life. A strip of closely printed paper emerged from a nearby slit, projecting jerkily from the console, growing longer and longer.

  The Doctor grabbed the first section, holding it up to read it. 'The Record of Rassilon! We've got it! Well done, K9 !' Passing the strip rapidly through his hands, he began reading aloud. ' "The Vampire Army." Listen to this, K9. "So powerful were the bodies of these great creatures, and so fiercely did they cling to life, that they were impossible to kill, save by the use of bow-ships."' He looked up. 'Bow-ships? What are bow-ships?'

  'Bow-ships unknown, Master.'

  'Never mind, it'll be here somewhere.' The Doctor went on reading. ' "Yet slain they were, every last one, the Lords of Time destroying them utterly." ' He looked at K9. 'Well, that's good news! "However, when the bodies were counted, after the last great battle-"I knew it, just like the legend-"the King Vampire, mightiest and most malevolent of all, had vanished, even to his shadow, from Time and Space."'

  The Doctor stared broodingly into space. 'Until now, K9. Until now!'

  'Please continue, Master.'

  The Doctor read on. ' "Hence it is the Directive of Rassilon, that any Time Lord who comes upon this enemy of our people, and of all living things, shall use all his efforts to destroy him, even at the cost of his own life." '

  'Query, Master. How may this creature be destroyed?'

  'That's a very good question,' said the Doctor solemnly. 'Let's see what it says about the battle.' He ran the printout rapidly through his fingers. 'Ah, here we are! "Energy-weapons proved useless, because the monsters absorbed and transmuted the energy, using it to become stronger. Rassilon thought long and hard on this, and at last he ordered the construction of bow-ships - " Aha! - swift vessels that fired a mighty bolt of steel that transfixed the monsters through the heart. For only if his heart be utterly destroyed will the vampire die." '

  'Query, Master.'

  'What is it, K9?'

  'Is this data of practical value?'

  'Well, it might come in very handy,' said the Doctor. 'Provided we can lay our hands on a mighty bolt of steel!'

  The journey back into the Tower seemed both longer and more dangerous than the journey out. Night was falling by now, and the Tower seemed to be waking into life. Guards moved constantly through the corridors, and more than once Tarak and Romana had to duck into a side corridor or service tunnel to escape capture.

  At last Tarak peered cautiously around a corner, and beckoned Romana to join him. He pointed. 'There!'

  Romana saw an arched doorway, with a guard standing sentry outside. 'It's guarded.'

  'I told you, it's the Inner Sanctum. It's always guarded.'

  Romana considered. 'What about the old prisoner trick, then?'

  'What about what?'

 
Romana explained.

  Tarak grinned, and drew the heavy dagger from his belt. Holding it to Romana's back, Tarak marched her briskly along the corridor, halting before the sentry.

  'Lord Zargo wishes to see the alien prisoner.'

  'Lord Zargo sleeps. It is forbidden to disturb him.'

  'He wishes to see the prisoner immediately,' repeated Tarak. ' I have my orders.'

  'And I have mine,' said the sentry obstinately. 'No one must pass this door.'

  Tarak decided on a final bluff: 'You will hand over the code-key immediately,' he roared. ' I take full responsibility. The code-key!'

  Intimidated by Tarak's air of authority, the guard handed over the key.

  Tarak snatched it and thrust it into the slot. Unfortunately he put it in upside down, and the door stayed closed.

  Romana saw the error and corrected it instinctively. 'No, no, not like that, like this!' Taking the code-key out, she put it back the right way up. The door slid open. Too late she realised that her un-prisoner-like behaviour had aroused the guard's suspicions. He was staring hard, first at her, then at Tarak. 'Wait a minute, I know you! You're Tarak. Tarak the traitor!'

  'People's memories are too good around here,' said Tarak and clubbed him with the hilt of his dagger. Catching the unconscious guard as he fell, Tarak lugged the body through the doorway, which slid closed behind the three of them.

  Dumping the guard at the head of the stairs, Romana and Tarak descended the dark staircase. 'This way,' whispered Tarak. 'Move quietly.'

  'Let's hope they're sleeping.'

  'Let's hope they don't wake up,' said Tarak grimly. 'I've heard that when they do wake, they wake hungry!'

  They reached the bottom of the stairs and looked round the dank and gloomy chamber.

  Zargo and Camilla lay side by side, stretched out on their backs on the central bier. Presumably they were sleeping, but they might almost have been dead. Only the very slightest rise and fall of their chests showed they were still breathing. Stretched out in their ornate robes, they looked like statues on the tomb of some ancient king and queen.

  Tarak stared down at them. 'We could destroy them now, while they are sleeping.'

  'It takes a wooden stake to kill them,' said Romana practically. 'We forgot to bring one.'