Chapter 9 Past and cost part 6
This time, the group opened their eyes to find themselves in what looked like a big white room. Somehow, it looked very futuristic.
“Right, get your hands up. I said, get your hands up!” A voice shouted and the ponies turned around to see 2 men in beige uniforms, holding three humans at gunpoint.
Of the 2 armed men had white hair and brown eyes, noticeable older than the other one, who had brown hair and blue eyes.
The group now got a look at the three people they were holding at gunpoint, two men and a woman, yet one of the men stood out in appearance.
Large, expressive blue eyes, a large hooked nose, a round chin, bright white teeth and a large head of wild curly brown hair, with a long, rainbow-styled scarf around his neck. His clothing consisting of trousers and a red frock coat, underneath a white dress shirt, and an emerald green skinny tie.
He introduced himself as the Doctor, the slim, dark-haired woman with matching eyes, dressed in a green jacket as Sarah Jane Smith, with the other man as Harry Sullivan. The latter had the same hair and eye color as Sarah, dressed in a blue suit.
Then a man with blond hair and green eyes, dressed in a black suit walked in. “You'd better step in here, Commander.” He said to the older man, who asked,
“What is it?”
“See for yourself.”
In response, the older man looked at the other man with gun. “Watch them.”
His fellow nodded, ordering the Doctor and his two friends, “Follow them. Come on, move.”
They all entered another room, seeing another man in beige uniform, lying on the ground, unconscious and breathing heavily.
The elderly man checked him before stepping back. To the horror of the ponies, he raised his weapon to shoot the unconscious man.
However, the Doctor rushed forward, insisting to treat the man, but the elderly human stated that he had the plague and killing him was the only way to prevent it from spreading.
But as the Doctor came up with the lie that he and his companions were a medical team sent from Earth, they got granted permission to look at the infected man.
Sarah and Harry took care of that, while the Doctor followed the elderly man into what looked like a control room, monitor screens and panels everywhere.
The Doctor got explained that he was on Nerva Beacon, a space station currently under quarantine due to that plague. Of the fifty strong crew, only three had survived: The elderly man, being the commander, called Stevenson, and his fellow crewman Lester and Warner, the latter now falling been infected too.
Stevenson also explained that the other man was Professor Kellman, an exographer and that the station was here to warn spacecraft about an asteroid, as it hadn’t been on the charts yet. It used to be called Neo Phobos, but got renamed Voga by Kellman.
This waked an old memory in the Doctor. “Voga. Voga. Planet of gold. Yes, it's all coming back to me now. He mumbled.
With a confused expression, the commander asked. “What's coming back to you?”
“Cybermen. That's what we're up against, Commander. Cybermen.” The Doctor stated in a serious tone.
“But surely, Doctor, Cybermen died out centuries ago.” Stevenson replied in disbelief, yet did not matter for the mysterious man.
“They disappeared after their attack on Voga at the end of the Cyber War. Not the same thing as dying out, Commander. They're utterly ruthless. Total machine creatures.”
This took the group by surprise, the Cybermen had been in a war? Nothing of the previous memories had hinted of this.
Before they could form any more thought, they saw the Doctor running from the control room, with Stevenson grabbing his weapon to follow him. Then they saw how Kellman got a large device from his desk, it looked like a typewriter. He plugged it into a wall power unit and started sending a Morse code message.
Blinking, the scene switched to a sleek silver spaceship. Their eyes went wide to see it were Cybermen, the ones with the helmet gun. One of them had a black helmet and made a gesture, causing another one to press a button and the ship moved.
Then they saw Sarah looking at a monitor and turned around to see a metal snake-like creature. It leaped for her neck and she instinctively caught it in mid-air, struggling, her expression terrified.
She screamed as it bit her, and the Doctor ran in as she managed to throw it to the floor. In response, he threw gold dust at it, and it writhed like a slug sprinkled with salt.
Moments after, the woman collapsed, veins on her neck were fluorescing, breathing heavily.
“That sounded like Sarah. What's happened?” Harry asked as he ran in with the 2 crewmembers, shocked at the sight.
“That cybermat's happened, Harry. Quick, into the transmat beam, quickly as you can. It's the only way to get the poison out of her system.” The Doctor explained, gently lifting Sarah up as Lester commented emotionlessly,
“She's got the plague.”
In response, the Doctor looked briefly at the metal snake. “No, sir. That's your so-called plague, Commander.”
“Is this thing still dangerous, Doctor?” Stevenson asked, eyeing it carefully
“Not anymore, but there are bound to be others around.” Taking his warning seriously, the commander gave the Cybermat a tentative kick to check if it was dead. It didn’t move anymore.
In another control room, the Doctor said to Harry, “Hang on to her, Harry. You'd better travel with her.” His companion took the woman in his arms as told.
“Where are we going?” Harry asked as he stepped into what looked like a blue tube, with the Doctor working on a console.
“I'll set the beam for Voga. Do you know how to work the reciprocator?”
He nodded with a slightly surprised expression. “Er, yes, I've seen you do it.”
“Off you go. No time to lose.” With that, the Doctor pushed a button, the tube made a faint whirring sound that faded quickly. Nothing happened.
This caused the Doctor to suspect it had been sabotaged, accusing Kellman of this, that he worked together with the Cybermen.
As both crewmen left to confront the Professor, the Doctor worked with a screwdriver on a circuit. Suddenly, there was a bang and Flash.
It caused the man to recoil, hands over his eyes. He blinked a few times in disorientation, yet smiled weakly to see that it worked, as both his companions were gone.
In a hallway, both Stevenson and Kellman held each other at gunpoint.
“Put that gun down, Kellman.
“All right, Commander. Go ahead and shoot. Neither of us can miss at this range.” The Professor taunted, yet the commander was not fazed.
“I said, put that gun down.” Stevenson raised his voice slightly, yet Kellman shook his head.
“Oh, no.”
“You can't get away.”
“That's right, Commander. I'm going into my cabin. You can lock me in if you like. Just don't try to follow-“
Before Kellman could finish, Lester leaped on him from behind, pulling his gun against his throat.
“Well done, Lester. You walked right into it.” His commander praised him.
They then brought him back to the Doctor, who explained, “Voga, otherwise known as the Planet of Gold, is hated and feared by Cybermen because gold is lethal to them.”
“How?” Stevenson did not understand.
“It's the perfect non-corrodible metal. It plates their breathing apparatus and in effect suffocates them. Doesn't it, Professor?” The Doctor asked as he walked over to him.
However, Kellman refused to answer, even as the Doctor mentioned that a piece called pentalium drive, he couldn’t get Harry and Sarah back.
Then the scene switched to the Cyber-ship, with different numbers letters appearing on a screen.
“Computer reports heavy phobic energy discharge between the beacon and Voga.” One Cyberman reported, with the black helmet one concluding,
“That means the humans have recently used their transmat beam.”
“Yes, Leader.”
“Time to docking?”
“Sixteen minutes.”
“Good. Order the boarding party to the forward hatch.” The Cyber-leader ordered.
Back at Nova, the ponies saw now how The Doctor was holding a small box, with Kellman sitting restrained on a chair.
“Look.” Lester turned around as a Cybermat came out from behind a set of drawers.
“Leave it. Don't shoot, Commander.” The Doctor advised as Stevenson took aim, with the creature moving towards the Professor.
His eyes went wide in panic, while the other 3 men had neutral expressions as he yelled in fear, “Stop it! For heaven's sake, do something!”
“After you've been bitten, Kellman, you'll have just ten seconds to remember where that pentalium drive is, if you want to live.” The Doctor warned with a slight grin as the Cybermat reared up.
“All right, all right! It's around my neck. Take it.” Kellman yelled and the Doctor nodded, as his captive let out a breath of relief.
“Splendid.” He said, turning off the Cybermat and grabbed inside the Professor’s collar. “Good. Now we can get Harry and Sarah back.”
Only a short time later, Lester detected an incoming ship on radar, but it did not respond to their signals.
“There she is.” Lester reported as the ship got into visual range and the Cyber-ship appeared on screen, much to the Commander’s confusion.
“I don't recognize that type.”
“Never seen anything like it before.” Lester added in slight awe
“There are missile tubes in the nose cone.”
“It must be an alien.” Lester assumed as his superior spoke into the comm.
“This is Nerva Beacon. You are approaching Nerva Beacon.” He said as the ship swung round to point straight at the screen, “We are in quarantine by orders from Earth Centre. I repeat, we are in quarantine. Stand away.
“They're deliberately ignoring our signals, Commander. Look, they're moving into docking orbit.” His fellow crewmate pointed out, causing him to curse.
“The fools!”
“They're docking!” A rumble echoed through the beacon and the Doctor realized who this ship belonged too, a determined expression on his face.
“We've got to stop them getting in.” He ran towards the docking hatch and Stevenson asked confused,
“But who?”
“Cybermen!” He heard the Doctor yelling and his eyes went small, yet wasted no time with Lester to follow, weapons ready, with Kellman looking after them with a smug grin.
The Doctor tried in vain to turn the locking mechanism., stepping away from the door to cover. “No good.”
“Good grief!” Stevenson exclaimed slightly nervous. Seconds later, the Cyber-leader and two normal Cybermen entered.
Both Crewmen fired, but their weapons had no effect, bouncing harmlessly off. I return, the cyborgs used their helmet weapons and the two humans fell to the ground with painful expressions.
The Doctor watched hidden with a shocked expression, attempting to sneak away, but he got spotted. His enemies opened fire and he fell too to the ground with a painful expression, not moving.
“All resistance overcome.” A Cyberman reported and the leader said,
“The Beacon is ours.”
Kellman then walked in, seeing the bodies and asking with a neutral expression, “You haven't killed them?”
“Of course not. We have neutralized them. They are necessary to our plan.” The leader explained, “What are you doing, Kellman?” He added as the man searched the Doctor’s pockets.
“This is the stranger I reported. He calls himself the Doctor.” The Professor explained.
“And because of him, our plan was advanced?”
“It had to be. He was interfering. I'd just like to know who and what he is.” To his surprise, he only found a bag of jelly babies in the Doctor's trouser pocket, and an apple core in his waistcoat.
A short moment later, the three men were sitting cross-legged against the wall, Lester had his hands over his ears, the Doctor his hands over his eyes and Stevenson was covering his mouth.
“Once our landing is detected, the Vogans will attack in force.” The Cyber-leader explained to his human ally as they looked on a map, showing what looked like a tunnel network.
“Oh, they have only light armaments. Nothing that can affect your Cybermen.” Kellman assured him as the cyborg pointed at the map
“This is the main shaft?”
“Yes, this is a shaft I explored for you. It runs right to the core of Voga.”
“How far from the shaft entrance is the transmat receptor area?”
“Just a matter of yards. I set the receptors as close as possible.” The Professor assured him
“Excellent, Kellman. You have done well. The humans will carry the explosives into the shaft.”
“What's your cut, Kellman? Voga's gold?” The Doctor spoke up, sounding curious, although his expression was neutral, with the leader turning towards him
“There will be no gold. Voga is to be utterly destroyed, and this time we shall not fail.”
“Oh, really.” Came flatly from the human.
“And you, Doctor, and your two friends will help us in this task. That is why your lives have been spared.”
“I was wondering why you hadn't killed us.” Stevenson commented, with his crewmate adding,
“We don't have to help them. They can't force us.”
“Oh, you are mistaken.” The Cyber-leader interjected, only for Lester to taunt,
“You'll discover who's mistaken, chum.”
“The heart of Voga is almost pure gold. Gold is hostile to our function, therefore Kellman was asked to preserve three animal organisms for this purpose.”
“Isn't it wonderful to feel needed, Commander?” The Doctor looked at Stevenson with a faked smile that quickly faded as the Cyber-leader turned to the Professor
“Kellman, on our approach run, we detected an operational discharge from the transmat area. Explain that.”
“That was his doing. He beamed his two friends down to Voga. I tried to put the transmat out of action, but he managed to fix it somehow.” Kellman pointed at the Doctor and the cyborg asked in return,
“And how much do these humans know?”
“Look, I've done everything I can to help. I set up the transmat, I directed the Cybermen. You might never have found Voga if it hadn't been for me.” Kellman pointed out, which the Leader understood.
“That is true, and you have been promised great rewards for your assistance.”
“That's why I must go down to Voga to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the transmat.” He demanded and the cyborg relented,
“Very well. But return as soon as possible. Once the detonator cycle commences, it cannot be stopped.” The leader warned before beaming him down.
As this was done, some Cybermen brought in three black round balls, bombs the ponies figured, putting them on a table.
“What great rewards have you promised Kellman?” The Doctor spoke up, demanding to know, but the leader wasn’t interested.
“The matter is of no interest to you.”
“Everything's of interest to me, and Cybermen possess nothing that a human might want.” His human enemy countered calmly.
“You are incorrect.”
This caused the Doctor to respond in a taunting tone,“ Then what is it? You've no home planet, no influence, nothing. You're just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship.”
“You speak unwisely. We are destined to be rulers of all the cosmos.”
“No, I don't think so, somehow. You tried that once and you were nearly wiped out.” The man countered, only for the Cyber-leader to explain,
“Because of Voga and its gold. If humans had not had the resources of Voga, the Cyber War would have ended in glorious triumph.”
“It was a glorious triumph, for human ingenuity. They discovered your weakness and invented the glitter gun, and that was the end of Cybermen except as gold-plated souvenirs that people use as hat stands.” Came as taunt from the Doctor, and the Leader flinched slightly, as if offended.
“Watch it, Doctor. I think you've riled him.” Lester warned as the cyborg walked towards him to face his enemy.
“That is why Voga must be destroyed before we begin our second campaign.”
With a taunting grin, the human asked “Oh, there's to be a second campaign, is there?”
“We have enough parts in our ship to build an entirely new Cyber Army, and this time, Doctor, it will be invincible. Cybermen function- “ The Cyber Leader grabbed the Doctor around the throat with both hands, causing him to grunt in pain.
“More efficiently than animal organisms. That is why we will rule the galaxy.”
Despite the pain, the man managed to taunt, “Loose thinking. The trouble with Cybermen is they've got hydraulic muscles, and of course hydraulic brains to go with them.”
The Leader threw the Doctor across the room. On the way he picked up one of the bombs from a table, his expression determined.
“Put that down!” Came from the Cyber-leader, it sounded slightly scared.
“Thank you. Now, if I'm correct about what this contains, and should accidentally drop it.” He dropped then caught it midair, as the Leader also stepped forward to catch it. “Now, I want some information from you, Cyber Leader.”
As the Doctor paused, the Cyber Leader pushed a button on his chest plate. A Cyberman standing guard at the docking hatch started walking towards them as the human opened his mouth again.
“What's Kellman expecting to get out of all this?”
“Kellman wants power. He will be ruler of this solar system when we have conquered it.”
“In exchange. I wouldn't have thought his ambitions lay in that direction.”
“Look out, Doctor.” Stevenson tried to warn him as the summoned Cybermen came from behind but it was too late as he got grabbed.
The Leader took back the bomb and the three men were pushed back down onto the floor.
“Do not kill them.” Came the order from the Cyber-leader, with the Doctor giving a weak, relieved smile.
A look of worry overcame the ponies as they saw how the bombs were strapped to the three men's backs.
“Cyberbombs, the most compact and powerful explosive devices ever invented.” The leader explained with a slight hint of pride in his voice
With a disguised expression, the Doctor taunted, “Yes, and their use was banned by the Armageddon Convention.”
It didn’t matter to the leader as he replied, “Cybermen do not subscribe to any theory of morality in war, Doctor. Our calculations indicate that two bombs placed in the central fissure of Voga will fragmentize the planet.”
“Fragmentize? Oh well, I suppose we can't expect decent English from a machine.” The man taunted unimpressed as the cyborg continued.
“Prime the buckles.” A whirring sound entered their ears. “Two bombs should be sufficient. Three will make certain.”
“Now what have they done?” Stevenson asked confused and the leader answered for him.
“The buckles are now primed. Any attempt to remove the harness before the countdown reaches the red zone will cause a secondary explosion. Do you understand?”
“You mean, if we attempt to release the harness before then, we'll get blown up.” Lester figured out, sounding disgusted as the Cyber-leader reached for a small suitcase-like device.
“Correct. It is as well to keep that thought in your minds.”
“And when we reach the center of Voga, we'll be fragmentized, as you put it.” The Doctor added flatly, only to be corrected by the leader.
“Incorrect. You will have fourteen minutes, the time period of the red zone, to reach your surface and save yourselves by the transmat beam.”
“That is not long enough.” Stevenson stated.
“Fourteen minutes is considered adequate.”
“Anything else before we go?” The Doctor asked flatly
“Yes, Doctor. Your progress will be followed by radar. Any attempt to deviate from the planned course will be immediately detected and the bombs exploded by means of these manual controls.”
“Thank you.”
Then the cyborg pushed a button on the device and it started to beep. “Countdown has commenced. You, Doctor, will leave first.”
The three got beamed down, together with two Cybermen, one of them carried the briefcase.
Loud bangs started the ponies briefly and they turned in the direction the sounds came from. Several humanoids with grey-brown skin and white hair were firing ineffectively at the Cyborgs. It took the ponies only a few seconds to understand that those were Vogans.
Apart from the color, the Vogans had a large domed head and deep-set, large eyes.
As the bullets bounced harmlessly off, the Cybermen returned fire. With screams, the natives of the planet stumbled before falling dead to the ground.
Despite their losses, the natives kept on firing, their eyes showing determination and desperation. It might be a losing battle, yet they know they had tried to defend their home, their life, or everything would be lost.
None of the three men believed that the Cyber-Leader would keep his word and let them escape, but they know they had to move on due to being monitored.
Back on the station, the Cyber-Leader received a report.
“Our warriors report all initial opposition has been crushed.”
“Excellent. They are now one hundred meters below the surface.”
“Kellman has not returned.” His second in command pointed out, only for the Leader to state,
“He is of no importance now. His part in our operation is at an end.”
“Average progress rate is fifty meters per minute.”
“Excellent. They will be in the central chamber of Voga. In seventeen minutes.”
“Distortion on our radar scope is increasing. The three humans who are carrying our bombs can no longer be identified by separate signals.” The other Cyberman warned but it didn’t matter.
“That is of no importance now. Even the Doctor believes they will be given time to escape before our bombs explode. They do not know the detonators will fire when the countdown enters the red zone.”
However, on the surface, Harry managed to find the three men and they formed a plan. Stevenson shall go on and create a radar trail, while the rest would attack the Cybermen from the rear.
On a slight cliff, they waited until the Cybermen were underneath them, with the Doctor and Harry jumping on the Cyborgs.
They struggled but the Cybermen easily shrugged off any attempt, throwing them back. Realizing they had no change, Lester made a hard decision.
As Harry and his friend retreated, the crewman jumped on the cyborgs. With a determined expression, fully aware of the consequences, Lester pressed the button on his harness buckle.
With a shocked expression, the Doctor and Harry watched as the explosion killed him, but also the Cybermen. Yet, they wasted no time to get to the still intact briefcase.
This went not unnoticed by the Cybermen, as their radar became nothing but a blank screen, causing the leader to exclaim, “They have lost radar contact.”
“Our information flow from the surface has ceased. The countdown has stopped.” His second in command informed.
“Select video picture of Voga. Detonation by manual control.”
“No! No, don't!” Sarah screamed horrified as she charged in but the leader pushed her to the ground, with his second in command standing over her.
“Shall I destroy the human female?”
“Detonation now!” The leader pressed a button on a box, the asteroid on screen.
Nothing happened.
“It has failed. Why?” He wondered, unable to come up with an explanation. Yet that didn’t stop them from tying Sarah up, putting her into the console chair as he said they had an alternative plan, with her countering that the Vogans had aimed a rocket at the cyborgs through Kellman.
“Kellman? So they have a rocket, but they have not used it. Logical conclusion, the rocket has a malfunction, therefore this information does not affect our plans. We shall proceed. Voga will be destroyed.” The Cyber-leader stated, not impressed at all.
They loaded the Beacon with Bombs, intending to crash it into Voga, confident it would work as the leader oversaw the preparations in the control room as one of his soldiers reported as he worked on the console.
“All engines normal. Zero thrust.”
“Increase ten levels. If it was the Doctor, he will make a further attempt to thwart my plan. Therefore he will still be concealed aboard. Search the forward compartments. Locate and destroy all animal organisms.” Two Cybermen bowed and left at his orders, as they had noticed Sarah had been freed.
“Control response normal. Engine response effective. Thrust five thousand.”
“Engage hyperdrive.”
In the crew quarters, the Doctor outfitted a Cybermat with gold dust, then activated it via remote control as a Cyberman entered. With what liked like surprise, the cyborg looked at it before it leaped at him and he struggled briefly.
It was in vain as it managed to bite the chest unit and the cyborg collapsed.
“We must evacuate the Beacon in three minutes.” The leader ordered and a fellow cyborg looked at the controls, with the asteroid coming closer
“Our calculations indicate the fireball will extend one point five million miles.” He reported before spotting the Cybermat, looking surprised at it. It then leaped at him and he struggled before collapsing.
But the leader and another Cyberman took notice, managing to grab the intruders before they got far. Both Cyborgs used neck pressure points to force the intruders to their knees.”
“All right, all right, all right. You've made your point. We surrender. We surrender.” The Doctor exclaimed in pain, with Sarah screaming.
“You have interfered once too often, Doctor.” Said the Cyber-leader and the two got tied back to back. “The Beacon is approaching Voga at ten thousand light units. It is time for us to leave. You two are especially privileged. You are about to die in the biggest explosion ever witnessed in this solar system. It will be a magnificent spectacle. Unhappily, you will be unable to appreciate it.” The Leader announced before leaving with his soldiers.
Yet they hadn’t noticed a trick of the Doctor. He had tied them loose, allowing both easy to get free. Stevenson then radioed in, telling that he hadn’t a clue how to operate the controls of the rocket but the Doctor instructed him.
“There are two levers on the left of the panel. Got them?” He asked and the Commander confirmed.
“Yes, I've got them.”
“The top lever controls the angle of flight, and the lower one must be the direction and stabilizer control.”
Both instinctively ducked as the rocket just missed the station.
“There's a missile on our port bow.” A Cyberman reported and the leader yelled,
“Engage full thrust! Deploy-“
He couldn’t finish as the rocket hit the ship, completely destroying it in a big explosion.
To the surprise of the ponies, they saw a small arrow formed ship escaped the blast. Inside were 6 Cybermen, another part of Tysons force they realized.
The ship stopped and the rough cyborgs looked at the Beacon. From the outside, it looked like a cylinder with s circle attached to it.
Nova Beacon missed the asteroid barely, missing the surface by inches before swooshing back into space where it belonged. Tyson’s soldiers took this as sign to fly away.
This was where the memory ended.
“So the Cybermen are vulnerable towards gold? Interesting.” Time Turner commented.
“Yes, and we now know another reason they went almost extinct, a war against humanity.” The stallion with peculiar patchy coat added slightly fascinated.
“And from a tactical view, destroying a critical asset before the main attack is a smart move.” Wagensroll spoke as he analyzed, “Still, they weren’t defeated yet.”
“Indeed,” Luna nodded as she prepared to show the next memory, “This is very interesting to say the least.”
By now, they all could tell that Tyson’s soldiers had been through a lot. But they were tensed about what was to come next.