Doctor Who and the Final Confrontation (The Future Doctor Chronicles Part Two)

Chapter Nine

The holographic image projected above the table in front of him showed the entrance to the Cyber control. Flashing red dots highlighted the location of the guards and there appeared to be many. He tapped the edge of the image and leaned back in his seat as it zoomed in to show a real-time video.  

He watched as a dozen Cybermen marched in formation outside the cold metallic structure. Scans confirmed an equal number of them lay in wait behind the door ready for anyone stupid enough to try and force their way in. He had a far simpler plan for gaining access. He would walk right up to the front door and announce his intentions. The direct approach was often the fastest and most effective way of getting what you wanted. It'd worked in the past and there was no reason why it wouldn't work now. 

As the gangway extended towards the surface of the planet he could clearly make out an increase in activity. That was ok though he'd planned for that. He hadn't expected to go unnoticed. A race as advanced as the Cybermen hadn't survived so long by being careless. He slowly walked down giving the patrol a chance to reach him before he set foot on their planet.  

"Halt," screamed the Cyber Leader in a harsh artificial voice "leave this planet now or suffer the consequences." 

"Wait," he demanded as the Cyber Leader levelled his weapon at him "I think you'll be interested in what I have to say and if you're not then by all means kill me." he stated confidently. 

The Cyber Leader clearly confused by his confident manner slowly lowered the cybergun until it pointed harmlessly at the ground.  

"Very well. You will come with us." 

"After you." he said smiling as he gestured for him to lead the way.

Without warning the central column ceased to rise and fall and the entire console went dead. Either the Tardis had broken down or she'd arrived. There was only one way to find out. She pushed herself up from the chair and faced the door. Before she'd even taken one step forwards it opened and she was forced to shield her eyes from the glare. 

They were sensible she'd give them that. The Tardis had landed some distance from the back of cyber control allowing her with luck to remain undetected. She glanced down at her wrist and was thankful for the transmit device she'd managed to pilfer from the storage bay on the way to the launch pads.  

The soft lush vegetation contrasted starkly with the cold metal walls of the base. It struck her as strange that such a cruel and emotionless race like the Cybermen inhabited such a beautiful planet. She had to remind herself that centuries ago they looked much like her. They'd chosen to replace whole parts of their body with artificial components until there was very little of the original person left.  

As she'd suspected the back of the base was undefended. There wasn't any need due to the lack of openings or weak points. Her plan required a head for heights coupled with a slender figure. Luckily she had both she thought as she gazed up at the roof. It did look a little higher than she'd imagined but she was certain the magnetic gauntlets would be up to the task. Reaching into her pockets she brought them out, put them on and took a deep before attaching herself to the wall.  

It was with deep sadness that she reflected on her many adventures with the Doctor and thought how different things were without him. He'd have walked right up to the front door and dealt with the consequences of his overconfidence later. She could no longer match that confidence so instead she was reduced to sneaking in.

Romana scanned her surroundings and quickly found what she was looking for. Protruding from the roof twenty yards ahead of her was a ventilation shaft that should in theory lead to the main corridor. Gaining access to that would be simple she thought as she reached into the pocket of her black jacket and brought out her sonic screwdriver. It made easy work of the seal around the grill and within a short space of time she was in the ventilation shaft. 

As predicted it was a rather tight fit but with luck she wouldn't be in it for long. One thing she hadn't considered though was whether it could actually take her weight. Her heart leapt with each crack and groan as she wondered whether she'd come crashing down onto a passing patrol.  

She paused and held her breath straining to hear a distant sound above the noise of the airflow around her. It sounded like a conversation was taking place, which in itself wasn't unusual but one of the voices sounded distinctly humanoid. The Cybermen rarely worked with inferior races and it was almost unheard of for them to allow others onto their planet. 

As she peered through the opening onto the floor below her suspicions were immediately confirmed. A figure with his face completely obscured by a hood walked obediently behind what was unmistakably the Cyber Leader. 

Although humanoid in shape the Cybermen still looked completely artificial. It was almost as if they'd retained facial features in metal form in order to scare people more effectively. Presenting their enemies with a face not far removed from their own but attached to an immensely powerful body had a horrifying effect.  

She had to get closer to them and find out what was going on. The hooded man must be connected to the increase in activity both on Mondas and Skaro. Just from the brief glimpse of him she could sense that there was so much more danger here than Rassilon had expected.