4. Star of Mystery
Back in simi-suite #2, Barbara and Admiral Brown walked down a dark dank corridor. They searched for any signs of life.
“Not sure what to make of this place, Miss Wright,” the Admiral said. “There’s such a stench! And the corridor’s so narrow. Makes me long to be back on the fields playing cricket and winning a century.”
“This is still Victorian London,” Barbara told him. “We must be in an ally during the night. I can hear the waters of the Thames. That’s probably where the stench is coming from.”
“Well I hope we’ll be out of here alive once this is over,” the Admiral said. “Especially for you Miss Wright.”
Barbara smiled. “It’s very kind of you to keep me company and look after me.”
“Oh the Doctor asked and I couldn’t refuse,” the Admiral declared. “And I couldn’t abandon a lady down here in these rotten holes. Of course, due to my technical expertise in what we’re about to venture on, I’m the perfect man for the job.”
“Yes of course.”
“I remember years ago during my youth when I was only a field ensign on a starship, that I was very highly regarded…”
“How much longer does this corridor go on for?” Barbara interrupted.
“Hmm? Oh about a few kilometres away towards the end of the light I think,” the Admiral replied. “It’s not as if we’re in a hurry, is it?”
“No. I just wonder what we’ll find when we get to the end of the tunnel.”
“Oh yes, yes. I see your angle,” the Admiral realised. “Well, we shall find out, won’t we? Now to get back to my story…”
Barbara then hushed the Admiral, telling him to keep quiet.
“Do you hear something?” she asked.
“Hear what?” the Admiral enquired.
“That sound. Of footsteps.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t hear anything…”
Barbara hushed him again as they listened carefully. The thudding of footsteps echoed. It was metallic and mechanical.
“There! You hear it now?” Barbara asked. “Someone’s coming towards us!”
They then got a shock. Bruce the android appeared out of the shadows. Barbara gasped once she saw the android. She held onto the Admiral’s arm. The Admiral was quite oblivious, but not sinister as Barbara observed.
“Sorry,” Bruce apologised drearily. “Did I scare you?”
Barbara was quite surprised by the android’s question.
“Err…yes,” she said politely. “You just appeared so suddenly.”
“Sorry. That’s my habit I’m afraid,” Bruce replied. “People often get scared of me when I walk by myself. Or even when I’m with someone. Even if I had a happy face, I would scare people out of their wits.” He then groaned, “Oh I’m so tired.”
“Good show, what?” said the Admiral. “Do you happen to know where Melbourne and Thomas are? Or if you’ve seen a wolf prowling about?”
“The wolf’s already been dealt with Admiral,” Barbara whispered. “Mr. Rotenhend was the wolf, remember? He’s back to normal now.”
The admiral was confused at first until, “Oh yes, yes, I see, see.” He then addressed Bruce. “Well, my dear android? Are Melbourne and Thomas about?”
Bruce looked curiously at the admiral. “They are near, yes. Melbourne and Thomas are in their hideout with their client. They’re expecting you and your friend the Doctor. They wished me to patrol and see if anyone approaches near their base. I agreed to do it. But I’d rather not bother you know.”
“Ah! Splendid!” the Admiral said delighted. “You see, Miss Wright. I knew those two men were looking for us. Isn’t that nice?”
Barbara was determined to get away. She said to Bruce, “Well, err…we won’t keep you! Come along, Admiral!”
Barbara pushed the Admiral along before they got caught in the grip of the android. Both cried out in pain. The android held them in his hands.
“I have orders to take any who are friends of the Doctor,” Bruce said, “to Mr. Melbourne and Mr. Thomas – the Zondor robbers. You are registered as friends of the Doctor. I must take you now.”
“You refused to obey your masters when they ordered you to kill us!” Barbara protested. “You disobeyed! Surely you can disobey them now and not take us to them? Well, can’t you?”
“Androids aren’t meant to kill human beings,” Bruce replied. “It is their Prime Directive. I must abide by that.”
“Glad to hear it,” said the Admiral.
“But I must comply with these orders,” Bruce continued. “You will come with me now.”
Bruce dragged Barbara and the Admiral with him as they made for the Zondor robbers’ hideout. They headed down the corridor towards the light at the end.
“Is the light at the end of the tunnel where their base is?” Barbara asked. “Where Mr. Melbourne and Mr. Thomas are?”
“It is,” Bruce confirmed. “Melbourne and Thomas aren’t the most please-worthy of people to be working for. And I wish I could go to sleep. Or work for somebody else.”
Barbara and the Admiral looked at each other as they were escorted down the corridor.
“Seems we were right,” said Barbara, worried. “There is danger at the end of that tunnel. Mr. Melbourne and Mr. Thomas are waiting for us.”
“Yes, indeed,” the Admiral concurred. “I’m looking forward to having a nice chat with them. Or perhaps even have a cup of tea.”
Whilst Bruce escorted Barbara and the Admiral, a fair distance away, Ian and Susan came out of hiding. They’d been following and keeping close watch on their friends who were now captured by Bruce.
“Barbara and the Admiral managed to distract that android alright,” said Susan.
“He’s not stupid,” Ian remarked. “But he has no sense of people being deceptive, has he?”
“That’s the trouble with androids and robots. No sense of imagination. Grandfather can’t stand them for that.”
“Well at least Barbara and Admiral Brown are keeping Bruce the android occupied. Let’s hope they can do the second part of the Doctor’s plan.”
“Not wishing to rush, but ought we to be going to the hideout where Melbourne and Thomas are?”
“Yes,” Ian agreed. “The shortcut should be over there. Let’s hope we can get to that base before Barbara, the Admiral and Bruce arrive.”
“It should be that way,” Susan said. “According to Grandfather’s map. Come on! This way!”
Clutching the map, Susan and Ian made their way to Melbourne and Thomas’ hideout via the shortcut given to them by the Doctor.
At Melbourne and Thomas’ base of operations in the curiosity shop, the two Zondor robbers were waiting impatiently.
“Bruce hasn’t reported in,” said Thomas. “He hasn’t found anybody! Why must this waiting take so long?! Why can’t we just get the job over and done with?”
“You just want to have a holiday, don’t you?” Melbourne remarked.
“Of course I do!” Thomas retorted. “Wouldn’t you, buddy? We could have drinks and cocktails with nice women on a beach somewhere on a distant planet.”
“Pleasure we get after the job is done,” Melbourne told him. “And the job will soon be done, my dear friend. I assure you of that.”
“Really?” Thomas enquired, unconvinced. “That Zorbius crystal has become nothing but trouble. And our client desperately wants it.”
“I don’t like this any more than you, Thomas. But we can’t do anything about it now. We must…”
At that moment, they were interrupted. Susan and Ian entered the shop. Both Melbourne and Thomas were surprised.
“Hello!” greeted Susan. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”
“How did you two get in here?!” Melbourne demanded to know. “Where is the android? Why didn’t he capture you before you got in here?!”
“Your robot’s obviously not got his heart on capturing us,” Ian remarked. “Perhaps we managed to avoid his gaze when we slipped past him.”
“What are you two are doing here?!” Thomas repeated for Melbourne. “And what do you want?!”
“We want to see this client of yours,” Susan insisted. “The one who’s got such a grudge against my grandfather!”
“Oh yes!” Melbourne realised. “Susan Foreman! Your grandfather and our client go a long way back. We know so much about you, Susan.”
“Let’s not have our guessing and mind games again,” Ian rebuked. “Just let us talk to the creature. Let us reason with him. Seek a bargain with him.”
“We shall be the ones who will be making the business arrangements,” Thomas retorted. “Not our client. And our client’s not interested in you two.”
“Really?!” Susan challenged. “That sounds very unfriendly. Grandfather wouldn’t approve of that.”
At that moment, the creature appeared out of the shadows and stood before Ian and Susan.
“Your grandfather has been the cause of my affliction!” the creature declared. “Of my pain! And he won’t give me what I want! Not even Zorbius itself!”
Still in the simi-suite, the Doctor had sneaked off with Gordon and Joel whilst Barbara and the Admiral distracted the android and Ian and Susan distracted Melbourne and Thomas with the creature. The Doctor was now working on the holographic projectors with Gordon and Joel nearby.
“Doctor, please be careful with what you’re doing!” Gordon said anxiously. “This is expensive equipment you’re dealing with.”
“Please stop bothering me, Rotenhend!” the Doctor retorted. “Or else you’ll get an electric shock!”
“But be careful with those wires!” Gordon insisted. “They’ll get damaged if you fiddle around with them too much.”
“Well then, if you’re so worried about your technology, why don’t you help me out?” the Doctor said shrewdly. “I assume you know so much about holographic projectors.”
“I want nothing to do with this!” Gordon sulked. “I won’t have my hotel spoiled further! You’re ruining my reputation Doctor! For real hotel guests to come! Real hotel guests! Those of class and distinction! Not of low down sloth…”
“Oh you really are tiresome, Rotenhend!” the Doctor said. “Please go away and leave me alone!”
The Doctor then turned to Joel. “You young man! You seem like a reasonable chap. Help me with this technology and these holographic projectors.”
“Yes,” Joel replied. “By all means, Doctor.”
Joel knelt beside the Doctor whilst Gordon Rotenhend paced to and fro, agitated.
“What is it you’re trying to do, Doctor?” Joel asked.
“Well young man,” the Doctor replied, “I hope to trick the creature or client of those two thieves with a little trap of mine. By adjusting the memory buffers and holo-grids in this box of wonders here on the wall, I shall create a hologram that will fool him!” The Doctor chuckled, “Very ingenious, wouldn’t you say? Hmm? Wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh very ingenious,” Joel agreed. “But will it work?”
“Of course it will, my dear boy!” the Doctor retorted. “Of course it will! Why, even your Earth civilisation demands holographic technology and fantasy for relaxation and they think it’s real. Why shouldn’t this be any different?”
“And what exactly are you going to be making, Doctor?” Joel asked. “A house; a prison cell or throw the creature in the water.”
“Nothing so mundane or drastic,” the Doctor said. “No, no, no. I’ll be making an object.”
“An object? What object?”
“Wait and see, my dear boy!” the Doctor told him. “Wait and see! I hope my little trick will tie in with the length of time Susan and Ian; or Barbara and the Admiral take with their little distractions. Now do help me, dear boy! Adjust those wire connections in that grid there.”
Joel obeyed as he used a cutting tool from the Doctor’s toolkit. The Doctor attended to his work whilst Gordon continued pacing about.
“This can’t be happening to me!” Gordon declared. “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING TO ME!!!”
“Oh do be quiet, dear man!” the Doctor told him, irritated. “You have yourself to blame!”
Gordon was hurt as Joel and the Doctor continued to work.
Susan shuddered at the sight of the wretched creature. Ian held her by the arms.
“I take it you’re Mr. Melbourne and Mr. Thomas’ client,” he enquired.
“The creature as they call me,” it responded. “Very flattering, wouldn’t you say?”
“Your face!” said Susan, shocked. “It’s scarred all over! You’re such a wretch!”
“Yes!” the creature replied. “Very kind of you to notice my disgusting appearance. I can see how terrified and shocked you are. And you should be! Since it’s the fault of you and your kind, Susan, granddaughter of the Doctor!”
Susan became terribly afraid at creature’s harshness. Ian protected her as he stepped forward to confront the creature.
“You have a bad way of treating young women,” Ian said. “I wonder how you manage to live with yourself!”
“Your concern for me is unappreciated,” the creature hissed. “I demand to see the Doctor! I demand him to give me the crystal! If he does not show up, I shall kill you!”
“We don’t know where the Doctor is,” Ian told him.
“You’re lying!” the creature spat.
“It’s true!” Susan insisted. “We don’t know! And even if we did, Grandfather would never give you the crystal of time. It’s too dangerous. You know that as much as he does.”
“Don’t try to make a fool of me, girl!” the creature said. “I am already that power! I am already the being the crystal energy gives!”
“What are you talking about?” Ian asked, curious. “What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t you see?!” the creature demanded. “Your grandfather made me what I am! Zorbius is the energy of the being that controls all time and space! That’s what I’ve become! That’s who I’m meant to be!”
“No!” Susan protested. “No one has the right to have that power! Not even Grandfather! You can’t have the crystal!”
“I must, Susan!” the creature declared. “I must!!!”
“Susan?” Ian enquired. “Is he trying to tell us…?”
“Yes, Ian,” Susan replied. “He not only thinks it, he believes it. He’s called the creature because he comes from the crystal of time!”
“So…he and the crystal…are one and the same thing?” Ian asked.
“I not only need the Zorbius energy,” the creature said. “I am part of the Zorbius energy! The crystal and I are one! We are the same being! And once combined, we shall unite to travel the cosmos! The Doctor realises that! He must! He will be lenient with me! He will grant me my request! FOR I AM HE! I AM….ZORBIUS!!!!!!!!!!”
Susan shuddered at the creature’s roar. Ian braved through it.
“Now aliens,” the creature demanded vengefully. “Tell me where the Doctor is! Or I shall slice off your heads with either the guillotine or leeches!”
“All arranged and provided by us,” Melbourne said.
“Melbourne and Thomas Incorporated,” Thomas added.
Melbourne and Thomas laughed mockingly at Susan and Ian.
Meanwhile, the Doctor managed to set up the object he created. He and Joel stood back from the simi-suite control panel.
“There!” the Doctor declared. “That’s done it! Yes, that’s done it!”
“What’s done it, Doctor?” Joel asked.
“My object to fool Zorbius of course,” the Doctor replied. “Now all we have to do is wait until the hologram’s fully loaded up. Then we can begin and carry on with our plans. And hopefully not to keep Susan, Ian, Barbara and the Admiral waiting any longer.”
Whilst Joel and the Doctor waited, Gordon turned to see Elizabeth appear from behind. Gordon gave a shocked cry before eventually calming down.
“Elizabeth!” Gordon declared. “You woman! You stupid, stupid woman! What are you doing creeping up on us like that?! Have you no sense…?”
Gordon stopped mid-sentence as he saw Elizabeth pull out a gun and point it at him. The Doctor and Joel were equally shocked.
“Doctor!” Joel cried. “My mum! She’s got a gun! She’s pointing a gun at my father!”
“Yes; yes,” the Doctor concurred. “So I see, my boy!”
“Elizabeth, what do you think you’re doing?!” Gordon demanded. “Put that gun away!”
Elizabeth then spoke like a robot. “You are enemies of my masters – the Zondor robbers! You are to be punished! You must be dealt with!”
“Your masters?!” Gordon enquired, baffled. “I am your husband for crying out loud! YOUR HUSBAND!!!”
Gordon angrily stepped forward before Elizabeth fired a shot at him with her gun. Gordon groaned as he collapsed to the floor.
“Dad?!” Joel cried.
Joel reached out before the Doctor stopped him. “Be quiet, my boy! Keep still! This could be serious!”
They looked to Elizabeth who continued to have the same blank expression on her face.
“She killed him!” Joel exclaimed, shocked. “My mum killed my dad!”
“Hold on, my boy!” the Doctor said earnestly. “I’m going to try something! Now keep absolutely silent, if you wouldn’t mind.”
The Doctor then took out the Zorbius crystal from his coat pocket. He held it out towards Elizabeth.
“That’s the crystal, Doctor!” Joel exclaimed. “What are you doing with that…?”
“Quiet I said, boy!” the Doctor insisted. “Quiet!”
Joel remained quiet whilst Elizabeth looked curiously at the crystal in the Doctor’s hand.
“The crystal,” stated Elizabeth coldly. “The crystal of time. The one belonging to Zorbius. He must have it. He must have it back.”
Elizabeth reached out for the crystal, but the Doctor was too quick for her. He focused his mind on the crystal itself. The sensation was very uplifting and the Doctor found himself in a whirl of space and time like no other. He focused hard, concentrating on the crystal’s power. Eventually he looked up at Elizabeth and said to her with insistent authority, “Go away, whatever you are! You are not real! Be off with you! You have no existence! Be off! Be off I say!”
With that, Elizabeth vanished into thin air. No trace and no footprint was left of her. Joel became astonished.
“My mother,” he uttered. “Where did she go?”
“Oh she’s probably sitting quite comfortably in her room outside the simi-suite,” the Doctor suggested. “She was probably there all the time, my dear boy.”
“But my mother…”
“That wasn’t your mother, Joel,” the Doctor told him. “She was a projection. A holographic simulation. Very ingenious her likeness by her makers. Except for one small thing of course.”
“And what’s that?” Joel asked.
“Well, my dear boy! Didn’t you see? She didn’t act like your mother! Didn’t sound like your mother! She was more like a robot! Did it ever cross your mind your mother wasn’t acting in the familiar way you’re used to.”
“No,” Joel admitted. “Well, she’s never fired a shot at my dad before with a gun.”
“No. And she was clearly a lousy shot,” the Doctor remarked. “Couldn’t get the aim right even if she wanted to kill your father.”
“But my dad,” Joel enquired. “What about him? Is he…?”
The Doctor got on his hands and knees to check Gordon. Eventually, the Doctor surmised Gordon’s condition.
“Hmm. He’ll be alright. Don’t worry, my dear boy.”
Gordon’s groaning confirmed he was alive. Joel however was sceptical. “Are you sure?”
“Perfectly, my dear boy,” the Doctor answered. “Perfectly. Your father’s managed to survive the shot. It missed him by two inches. Caught his arm, which is bleeding. But nothing too severe I assure you.”
“Yes, well if only we could get him to a doctor,” Joel remarked.
The Doctor eyed Joel suspiciously for a moment. He eventually ignored the remark in an instant.
“Yes, well we haven’t got time for that now. Let’s concentrate on our other problems, shall we?”
The Doctor pocketed the Zorbius crystal in his coat pocket, just as the sound of something being materialised was heard. The Doctor turned to look.
“Aha!” he cheered. “Yes! It’s ready! My object’s ready!”
The Doctor went over to the newly formed object in the room with Joel following him.
“Oh that’s tremendous!” Joel remarked. “So what is it?”
Joel and the Doctor reached the area where the holographic object was created. The Doctor picked it up from the floor. Joel became baffled. “I…err…I don’t understand.”
“This, my dear boy, is an exact duplicate…of the Zorbius crystal,” the Doctor told him. “Which I managed to scan into the holo-recorder whilst you’ve been so good in helping with the holographic projectors. This is exactly what I wanted in order to fool the robbers as well as the creature Zorbius.”
“You created another crystal,” Joel realised.
“Yes.”
“Why? What are you going to do with that?”
The Doctor giggled under his breath. He became eager to carry out his trick on the creature as he held the holographic crystal in his hand.
Back in Victorian London, Bruce escorted Barbara and the Admiral down a street. Bruce’s arms and legs were giving off a wheezing sound as he walked.
“You’re lost, aren’t you Bruce?” Barbara remarked.
“No,” Bruce replied. “I usually prefer going the long way. Delays time before we meet up with Mr. Melbourne and Mr. Thomas. I don’t usually like seeing them.”
“You’re not very motivated in your life are you, android.” the Admiral observed.
“Life?” Bruce scoffed. “What’s the point of life? I don’t get much out of it.”
“Don’t you want to be free, Bruce?” Barbara asked. “Free from your masters? Why can’t you stop working for your masters? Why don’t you work for someone else?”
“There’s nobody else to work for,” Bruce replied. “They’re all the same. Dull uninteresting humans who don’t care about their androids and robots.”
“So you wouldn’t work for the Doctor,” Barbara commented. “Not by your own choice.”
“It’s not mine to have,” Bruce said
“And you couldn’t let us go even if you wanted to,” said Barbara.
“I have my instructions,” Bruce reminded her. “As an android, it is my function to obey. I cannot escape that improbability factor.”
“Then I’m very sorry,” Barbara apologised before turning to the Admiral. “Admiral Brown! Quickly now!”
Bruce got a shock as Admiral Brown knocked him out with an electric phaser. Bruce shuddered and shook as he was being electrocuted.
“Got him!” the Admiral cried. “By Jiminy, I’ve got him!”
“Well done, Admiral,” Barbara applauded. “Now we can put our next part of the plan into operation.”
Bruce continued to shudder and shake from being electrocuted. He eventually stopped and collapsed to the floor. His circuitry died down as he was being deactivated.
“Oh dear,” Bruce said. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m getting…deactivated…”
Soon, Bruce was knocked out cold. He lay on the floor of the Victorian street within the simi-suite. Barbara and the Admiral knelt beside the collapsed Bruce as they began to tinker with his circuitry.
“Right Admiral,” said a determined Barbara. “You know what to do?”
“Yes I do,” the Admiral replied. “I shall alter his circuitry.”
With that, the Admiral opened up Bruce’s chest unit as he began to work away on changing the circuitry inside for the better.
“I suppose you don’t know the first thing about androids, my dear,” he enquired Barbara.
“I’m afraid not,” she replied. “All this technology; place and time are unfamiliar to me. If we were in the past with Marco Polo or with the Aztecs, I’d be able to help you. But all of this is beyond me.”
“Most extraordinary,” the Admiral remarked. “I’ve never met a woman who didn’t understand technology. All the women I’ve met are experts.”
“Are they?” asked Barbara.
“Oh yes indeed,” the Admiral said. “But you my dear are the exception. Of course I’m not saying I disapprove. I find it commendable. You being so lovely; kind…and very beautiful makes it all worthwhile being in your interesting company.”
Barbara blushed at that. “You flatter me, Admiral. I suppose you say those things to all the women you meet at this hotel.”
“You have to forgive me of course, my dear,” the Admiral replied. “For I’m an old man, and I’ve seen so much in my career. I can’t help but like charming women. And you certainly fit the bill. I find you admirable and it’s why I like you so much.”
“Well, I’m pleased I made an impression on you,” said Barbara. “Now, Admiral. About the circuitry…”
“Oh yes, of course,” the Admiral said. “I was forgetting myself. How silly of me.”
The Admiral continued adjusting Bruce’s circuitry. He altered it with new modifications and settings.
“Ah!” the Admiral declared. “Now I’ve implemented the new codes and platforms of command in the positronic brain of this chappy. I’m not certain as to how he’ll behave when he wakes up. I suppose he’ll turn violent and emotional. It’ll confirm then that we’ve failed. Unless the android manages to kill the two thieves and the creature in the process.”
“Yes well, we’ll just have to see what happens,” Barbara said. “We can’t back out of this not even now.” She took a deep breath and said, “Switch the android on, Admiral. Please.”
Reluctantly, the Admiral sealed the chest unit. He switched Bruce the android back on. Barbara and the Admiral watched as uncertainty about Bruce’s new programming fell upon them.
Back in the old curiosity shop, Ian and Susan were still being threatened by the creature, Melbourne and Thomas.
“You’ve got a nerve to treat us this way,” Ian told them. “What harm have we done to you?! What gives you the right to condemn Susan, me and all the others to death?”
“All those not connected to the ways and paths of the crystal of time are to be condemned to death,” the creature said bitterly. “It is the order. My order. I shall see to it that all die in my name!”
“No!” Susan said defiantly. “Grandfather will stop you! You can’t condemn everybody to death! My grandfather abhors tyranny!”
“You know nothing of compassion and consideration towards others,” Ian said to the creature, before turning to Melbourne and Thomas. “And you two have the nerve to be working for him.”
“He made a promise to pay us!” Melbourne said. “We will honour his word! We rob; we steal; we get our money!”
“The man Ian Chesterton has a point though, Melbourne,” Thomas pointed out. “How long will we be able to spend our money after he finishes with us?”
“He won’t kill us, Thomas,” Melbourne insisted.
“You can’t be sure of that, Melbourne,” Ian told him.
“He signed a contract with us!” Melbourne said.
“That means nothing to him,” Susan retorted. “The legendary Zorbius crystal grants the person power and knowledge through all time and space. But it also corrupts the person. That’s what the creature – your employer has become. He’s just a wretched waste!”
“ENOUGH!!!” screamed the creature. Then it yelled, “Melbourne; Thomas! Kill these two! Leeches; guillotines! I don’t care which! Just kill them, will you?!”
Melbourne and Thomas advanced whilst Ian held and protected Susan. It was at that moment, the Doctor appeared entering the room, preventing Melbourne and Thomas’ attack on Ian and Susan.
“Stop right there, Zorbius!” the Doctor demanded. “You shall not harm the young man or my grandchild, do you hear?!”
“Grandfather?!” cheered Susan, relieved. “Thank goodness you’ve come!”
Susan ran over to her grandfather and hugged him lovingly. The Doctor took Susan in his arms, patting her on the head.
“It’s quite alright, my dear child,” the Doctor said reassuringly. “I’m here.”
The Doctor then looked to Ian, shaking him by the hand. “My dear boy, how are you? Did they hurt you much?”
“No fortunately,” Ian replied. “But Susan and I were nearly running out of ways to keep them distracted before you got here.”
“Yes, yes,” the Doctor said irritably. “I’m afraid my little tinkering took a little longer than I anticipated. For which I apologise in keeping you waiting. But never mind. It’s done!”
“You managed to do it, Grandfather?” asked Susan eagerly. “Sort out the…”
“Yes, yes, my dear Susan,” the Doctor interjected. “I have done it! Don’t worry.”
Melbourne and Thomas became suspicious. The Doctor eventually made his way past them to confront the creature who was now Zorbius himself.
“Doctor!” Zorbius said fiercely.
“Well now,” the Doctor began. “You got here at last, have you? Hmm?”
“Waiting for you, Doctor,” said Zorbius. “I was able to track your timeline. I was so determined to meet you at this point in your life!”
“Really?” said the Doctor, unimpressed. “Hmm! Nice to be appreciated, isn’t it.”
“You will give me the crystal, Doctor!” Zorbius demanded fiercely. “You will give it to me at once!”
“Don’t you tell me what I can and cannot do, Zorbius!” the Doctor said angrily.
“I could smite you with one strike of my claws of power right into you!” Zorbius threatened him.
“Yes, you could,” the Doctor agreed. “Yes, yes, you could. But where would that get you?”
Zorbius remained silent, unable to answer. Tension stirred in the air.
“Tell you what, Zorbius,” the Doctor said gradually. “I shall give you the crystal of time now and then you can slaughter me. How about that? Hmm!”
“You…you will give it to me?” Zorbius said eagerly. “You will give me the crystal?”
“Provided of course,” the Doctor added, “that you’ll grant all these other people in this room the freedom to leave and go out alive. Everyone in this hotel in fact.”
“Everyone, Doctor?”
“Everyone! Including those two vagabonds. Though I don’t know why I should care for them. They’ve caused enough trouble already.”
Zorbius the creature thought carefully as he considered the Doctor’s offer.
“Very well, Doctor,” it answered. “Give me the crystal and I shall spare your friends.”
Ian and Susan stepped to the Doctor.
“Doctor, you can’t give him the crystal,” Ian said. “After all you said about it.”
“It’s too dangerous, Grandfather,” Susan insisted. “You can’t…”
“I shall take responsibility for this,” the Doctor said irritably to them. “I don’t need you schoolmaster or you Susan to dictate what I can and can’t do. I shall do what I must.”
The Doctor then fumbled in his coat pocket. He took out the crystal of time before handing it over to the Zorbius creature.
“Here we are, Zorbius,” he said. “Here is the crystal of time. Take it, I say! Take it!”
Zorbius stepped forward, staring wildly at the crystal. He eventually snatched it from the Doctor’s hand. The creature held it up in the air, staring intently as he gave a wild laugh of triumph and victory.
“At last, I have it!” Zorbius declared, laughing. “At last!!! Now Doctor, you shall see the folly of your actions! Everyone in the universe shall die when I use the crystal in my hands!”
“No!” Susan protested. “You can’t! You promised not to harm anybody!”
“The Doctor gave you the crystal!” Ian reminded Zorbius. “He kept his part of the bargain!”
“Ah, but I shall not harm anybody in this hotel,” Zorbius said. “The Doctor asked. But I shall destroy every other planet; every living thing in this universe. The Doctor will suffer for his actions. He will suffer because I am Zorbius!!! I have complete mastery over everything!”
Zorbius the creature laughed so victoriously as he began to put his mind to the crystal. A moment’s silence ensued. Nothing happened. Ian and Susan were confused as much as Zorbius was.
“What’s happening?” Susan trembled.
“I don’t know,” Ian replied.
“Has he…are there people…I can’t hear the screams echoing through space.”
Zorbius shook the crystal in his hands. He realised it wasn’t working. He became angry and turned on the Doctor.
“What’s the meaning of this?!” it demanded. “What have you done, Doctor? Why isn’t the crystal working?!”
“Just a little precaution of mine,” the Doctor replied. “I knew you wouldn’t keep your side of the bargain. So I gave you a fake crystal instead.”
“A fake crystal?” Thomas repeated.
“Yes,” the Doctor confirmed. “The real crystal I have…is in my coat pocket. The one I’ve given to you Zorbius is a holographic one. One which can easily be deactivated.” The Doctor cleared his throat before calling out loud, “Hologram! Disperse!”
At that, the holographic crystal did indeed disperse and vanished out of the creature’s hand. Zorbius became shocked and angry, looking to the Doctor.
“What have you done?!” it demanded angrily. “Why have you done to this to me?!”
“Oh do get a grip on yourself, dear sir!” the Doctor insisted. “No need to be so theatrical! I gave you the fake crystal because I knew you would use it to bring chaos out of order! I couldn’t let you do that, could I? Hmm? Could I?”
Zorbius howled angrily. It was at that moment Bruce the android entered, escorting Admiral Brown and Barbara into the curiosity shop.
“Barbara!” Ian called out to her.
“Admiral Brown,” Susan called. “Thank goodness you and Barbara got here!”
Once Zorbius saw Barbara and the Admiral enter, escorted by Bruce the android, he turned to Melbourne and Thomas.
“Melbourne; Thomas! Your android is here! Order him to take the real crystal out from the Doctor’s coat pocket! At once!”
The Zondor robbers nodded and turned to Bruce.
“You heard our client, Bruce!” said Melbourne. “Get the green-blue crystal from the Doctor’s coat pocket, will you?”
“Sorry,” said Bruce, confused. “Do I know you from somewhere?”
Thomas was aghast. “Bruce! You will do as we say! Take the crystal from the Doctor at once! Do it now or else we’ll burn you for spare parts!”
“Sorry,” Bruce continued, blatantly. “Do not know you. Can’t take orders from strangers.”
Melbourne and Thomas addressed Admiral Brown and Barbara.
“You two!” Melbourne pointed at them. “You’ve done something to our android”
“What have you done?!” Thomas demanded.
“It’s simple really, old boy,” the Admiral replied. “I, as a technical expert, managed to rewire your android’s circuitry. It no longer remembers or has any records of you two as the Zondor robbers. I deleted them.”
“And hopefully Admiral Brown’s tinkering of Bruce will stop causing any more pain to others,” added Barbara.
“Melbourne; Thomas!” Zorbius shouted angrily. “Take the crystal from the Doctor! He’s an old man! He’s fragile! Take it from him!”
Melbourne and Thomas were immediately onto the Doctor. They began to rummage his coat pockets.
“Unhand me, sir!” the Doctor shouted angrily. “How dare you! Take your hands off me! You’ll damage my coat!”
“Ian, help him!” Barbara called out.
Ian rushed in and grabbed Melbourne, taking him off the Doctor. But it was Thomas who snatched the crystal off the Doctor and gave it to Zorbius the creature.
“The crystal, my boy!” the Doctor called to Ian. “The other man’s got the crystal! Retrieve it before Zorbius…”
But it was too late. Zorbius had the crystal in his hands. The creature laughed with glee and triumph.
“At last!” it declared. “At last! I’ve finally got the crystal at last!” The creature then turned to the Doctor. “And as for you, Doctor! You shall be the first to die in my new dominion! Die for your defiance against me!!!”
At that point, Susan stepped forward. “Get away, you horrid thing! I won’t let you hurt my grandfather! I won’t!”
“Get back, you stupid child!” Zorbius hissed. “I shall not have my moment of glory spoilt by a mere girl! Move away!”
“No!!!!!!” Susan shouted defiantly.
Susan then focused her mind on the Zorbius creature. Her eyes shone with fire. Eventually with enough focus, Susan attacked the Zorbius creature who shrieked with pain. It staggered back, dropping the crystal to the floor. The crystal smashed. Everything in the simi-suite was reverted from a Victorian setting to a bland yellow-like grid. Everyone became astonished once this occurred.
“Susan, you did it!” Barbara cheered. “You made Zorbius release the crystal!”
“Yes, and everything’s reverted back to its original setting,” Ian added. “The holograms have been deactivated.”
“The Victorian settings,” Barbara remarked. “The crystal did something.”
They then looked to the floor. The broken crystal began to release sizzling energy from its fragments. This made the Zorbius creature angry once he recovered. He turned vengefully on Susan.
“You stupid; stupid girl!” it yelled. “You made me drop the crystal! It’s smashed! The crystal’s energy has been released! It is useless to me now!”
The creature advanced to attack Susan. The Doctor thankfully barred Zorbius’ way, confronting him and preventing his attack on Susan.
“Go back Zorbius!” he admonished. “Go back to where you came from! You do not belong in this time period! In this dimension! Not anymore! Go back while you can! If you have any will left in you!”
Zorbius stared at the Doctor angrily before he backed away, realising his defeat. He laughed defiantly at the Doctor.
“This isn’t over!” Zorbius said. “Remember that, Doctor! It isn’t over! I’ll hunt you down! I shall retrieve my Zorbius crystal energy! I’ll track you to another point in your own timeline! Watch out for me, Doctor! Watch out! That is, if you can escape the simi-suite in time!”
With that, the Zorbius creature disappeared. Ian and Barbara met up and hugged each other before going over to join Susan and the Doctor. Susan hugged her grandfather.
“It’s all over then,” Barbara said, relieved.
“Not quite, my dear,” the Doctor warned her. “Not quite. We have fifty seconds to escape.”
“That creature Zorbius!” Ian began to point out. “He challenged us to escape the simi-suite!”
“The energy’s escaping from that crystal!” the Doctor told Ian. “If we remain in here whilst the energy’s still escaping by the time fifty seconds has passed, we’ll be absorbed into the time energy forever. Possibly we’ll be atomised.”
At that moment, the Admiral and Joel rejoined the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara.
“Doctor, there you are!” said the Admiral. “Joel said he found his real mother Mrs. Rotenhend as well as his father. He’s waiting outside the simi-suite. That’s Joel’s father, not him.”
“What’s been going on in here?” Joel wanted to know.
“What are you both doing in here?!” the Doctor said irritably. “Go on; get out of here! Get out; get out! We must escape from this place!”
“We’d better get moving then!” Ian agreed.
“Does that include the Zondor robbers too, Grandfather?” Susan asked.
“You can’t leave us in here!” Melbourne insisted.
“Yes, yes, they come too,” the Doctor said impatiently before he harrumphed. “Everybody must be out within the next thirty seconds! Come on; come on! And everybody must be prepared for the inevitable! There’ll be a huge temporal explosion coming up next once we’re out of here!”
“Let’s get ourselves out of here first and worry about that later, Doctor!” suggested Ian.
Reluctantly and agreeing, everyone ran out of the simi-suite to escape.
Out in the corridor of the simi-suites, the Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara, the Admiral, Joel, Melbourne, Thomas and Bruce the android escaped simi-suite #2. Gordon was waiting for them outside. They all ducked for cover once they were out.
“Come on everyone!” the Doctor called. “Behind this wall! Come on, come on! We don’t want to be affected by the crystal energy, do we?!”
They all hid behind the wall as they ducked for cover. The crystal energy inside the simi-suite glowed ever brighter, causing the whole hotel to shudder violently. Barbara held onto to Susan for comfort as she shuddered by what was happening. Everyone waited for the explosion to occur.
But instead of an explosion occurring, the energy from the crystal shot out through the simi-suite doors in a beam of light and into space. The Doctor and Ian saw this. They watched as the beam of light zoomed off into space. This lasted for fifteen seconds, until all the crystal energy expired and was sent out into space. The sound of the crystal shattering echoed inside the simi-suite.
All who ducked for cover remained silent. They were puzzled by what just occurred. It took a while for anybody to speak.
“We’re safe!” Barbara exclaimed. “We’re all here! We’re safe!”
“Doctor?” Ian began gradually. “What just happened?”
“I don’t know, my dear boy,” the Doctor replied. “I really don’t know. The crystal energy…simply…shot into space. It’s out there somewhere. Among the stars.”
“But where?” Ian asked
“I’ve no idea,” the Doctor admitted. “I’ve never encountered something like this before.”
“Are we safe, grandfather?” Susan asked. “It is all over, isn’t it?”
“Yes, my child,” the Doctor told her. “Yes, we’re all still here. It is over for now.”
All breathed a sigh of relief. Susan hugged her grandfather, causing the Doctor to chuckle amused.
“Well, that’s good all around,” said Ian. “I wonder where the crystal energy is now. Or what it really is.”
“Perhaps it’s something we’ll never find out,” Barbara remarked. “Or should never really find out.”
Ian laughed as he put his arm around Barbara. Barbara embraced Ian.
Meanwhile, Gordon was upset. “My hotel! It’s in a mess! It’s in ruins! WHAT ARE WE TO DO?! HOW AM I TO COPE?! I DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO CALL THE BUILDERS?!”
“Papers arrived yet, Rotenhend?” asked the Admiral.
“NOT YET, ADMIRAL!” Gordon bellowed. “NOT YET!”
Joel then spotted Melbourne and Thomas running away. “Hey! Where are you two going?! Come back!”
“We’re not staying here!” Melbourne said. “We’ve had enough! We’re going to commit another robbery somewhere else!”
“‘Ere, Rotenhend!” shouted Thomas. “Keep that android Bruce of ours! It’s yours! Yours and Mrs. Rotenhend’s! Use it as a butler if you wish!”
“That’s right,” said Bruce drearily. “Use me…a super-advanced android…as a butler, would you?! I’m happy all around!”
“Don’t go!” shouted Gordon to Melbourne and Thomas. “Please stay! You’ll still like it here at this hotel! Let me honour you two as our guests tonight at dinner!”
“What?!” Melbourne retorted. “In a dump like this? We’ve never been in such a rotten place as this in our lives! And that’s rotten for you, Rotenhend!”
“Come on, Melbourne!” prompted Thomas. “Let’s leave rotters to rot, shall we?!”
With that, Melbourne and Thomas escaped. Nobody tried to stop them. Not even the Doctor or his companions. Gordon remained standing still, completely affronted by the Zondor robbers’ manners.
“Snobs!!!” Gordon shouted. “Those two are nothing but stupid, stuck-up, toffee-nosed, half-witted, upper-class…”
“Oh do be quiet, sir!” said the Doctor annoyed. “You are so tiresome. As if class and aristocracy really matter now.”
“To me, Doctor!” Gordon retorted. “It matters to me!”
The Doctor harrumphed for a bit as he eventually left the corridor with Ian, Susan and Barbara behind him.
Next morning in the hotel dining room; Ian, Barbara, Susan and the Doctor were having breakfast. They continued to enjoy their stay at Rotenhend Hotel, despite the current dispute between Gordon, Elizabeth and Joel about their new ownership of Bruce the android and how they were to cope with adapting to the new changes being made to put the hotel back together again.
The four TARDIS travellers laughed. Ian and Barbara cherished the times they met and had adventures in time and space.
“To think Doctor, that all that time ago we were bickering and not working with each other,” Barbara said. “Now we work as a team when we sorted the Zorbius creature, didn’t we?”
“Yes I know,” the Doctor said. “I was a little tetchy with you two school teachers since the day you forced your way into my TARDIS.”
“A little?!” smirked Ian.
The Doctor laughed with Ian and Barbara.
Susan was filled with joy. “We’ve all changed so much. Think of all the times we spent. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon; Marinus; the Sensorites…”
“Marco Polo; the Aztecs; the French Revolution,” Barbara continued.
“Seems quite unbelievable,” Ian remarked. “I wonder what else lies in store for us.”
“Our truth lies in the stars, Chawton,” the Doctor said. “At least my truth does.”
Ian shook his head, smiling to himself. Barbara then noticed the Doctor clutching something in his hands.
“What’s that you’ve got there, Doctor?” she asked.
“Hmm? Oh, these are the remains of shard crystal that was smashed whilst we were in that simi-suite,” the Doctor replied. He then turned to Susan. “Which I must say Susan, I’m very proud of you. You’ve put your telepathic skills to the best of your ability. You must practice them more often, my dear.”
“I couldn’t let that monster hurt you, grandfather,” Susan said. “I couldn’t let it kill you. It was the only thing I could think of at the time.”
“Well, that’s very good,” the Doctor told her. “Very good, my dear Susan. Thank you.”
The Doctor patted Susan on the shoulder affectionately. Susan smiled.
“So Doctor,” Ian began, “you’ve put the shards back together to make a crystal again.”
“Yes my dear boy, it is,” the Doctor replied. “Very observant of you.”
“Why did you want to put it back together again?” Barbara asked. “As the crystal’s broken.”
“I intend to keep this in order to be ready the next time I encounter the crystal energy out there in space and time,” the Doctor said. “When that’ll be, I cannot say.”
“You think you might bump into that crystal energy again?” Ian asked.
“Oh yes, I’m afraid so,” the Doctor said. “Quite so, my dear boy. You see, the energy from the crystal…or the crystal itself…is connected to the stars. Zorbius was once claimed to be the star of mystery. I always seek truth in the stars, my dear boy. And perhaps that’s where I’ll find the crystal energy. In the stars.”
“Grandfather?” Susan began, worried.
“Hmm? What is it, my dear?” The Doctor enquired his granddaughter.
“That Zorbius creature. He said he’ll hunt you down. Hunt you in another point in your timeline.”
The Doctor grimaced, as he stood up holding his jacket. “Yes, my dear. I’m afraid he did say that.”
Ian, Susan and Barbara noticed the concern on the old man’s face.
“That means you’ll have to face him again,” Barbara remarked. “You’ll have to face Zorbius in another time.”
“Yes my dear,” the Doctor said. “It’s very likely.”
“In your future, grandfather.” Susan said. “He’ll seek to destroy you. You know that, grandfather. Don’t you?”
The Doctor took Susan by the shoulder affectionately, as he sat himself down again. He became thoughtful at the dining table.
“Do you know what you’re going to do, Doctor?” Ian asked. “When you face him again? How to deal with him?”
The Doctor was thoughtful. “I don’t know, my dear boy. I don’t know.” He paused for a moment. “Perhaps we’ll find out the answer – someday. In the stars – maybe.”
© Tim Bradley, 2020
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