Chapter Eight

The Doctor was moving forward. Benny caught his arm. 'I'll do it,' she offered.

The Doctor nodded, stepping aside. 'Xznaal,' he reminded her.

Benny stepped off the disc and walked calmly up to the Martian, keeping her head bowed. 'Dass hunnur, ssli hoos-urr, Xznaal.'

'Ssperr hunnur urr tass.' The reply came automatically, but Benny thought she detected a grudging tone in his voice. He'd also left off the honorific form. 'You know of us. 'he wheezed. It was a statement, delivered with a hint of suspicion. Benny wondered for a moment whether she'd betrayed too much knowledge.

The Doctor stepped forwards. 'Good evening, my Lord,' he glanced back at Greyhaven. 'My apologies. Good evening, my Lords. I am the Doctor, and this is my friend Bernice Summerfield. I believe that you need my help.'

'Inssolent commoner,' Xznaal hissed, straightening his claw. Nestling in the patch of green hair at his wrist was a stubby metal tube. It flowed out of the joint, like a protruding bone rather than something that had been grafted on. It was a weapon, of course, a sonic disruptor.

The Doctor stared right down the barrel. 'You, sir, may be a Lord of Mars, but I am a Lord of Time. You will show the respect due to me.'

'A Gallifreyan?' Xznaal whispered. He lowered his arm, and bowed his head.

The Doctor's lip curled until he was almost sneering. 'That's right. As I was saying, you need my help. Tell me everything you know.'

The Doctor stood there, listening to them as first Xznaal, then Greyhaven recounted their versions of events. The Home Secretary, Staines, was hanging on every word as well. It didn't need an expert in body language to tell that he was terrified. Benny watched the Doctor closely. Before he had changed, he rarely referred to his home planet, and had never used it to pull rank on anyone. On the other hand, it was the perfect way to gain the respect of a Martian noblebeing.