Chapter Fifteen

The radio crackled. 'This is Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, commanding officer of the British forces to the Martian vessel. I have just received the unconditional surrender of the Provisional Government. Your occupation of our territory is over. I give you three minutes to withdraw your forces from British airspace or to signal your surrender. Lethbridge-Stewart out.'

Xznaal peered deep into the hologlobe. 'These Earth soldiers are weak,' he said, giving a great gurgling laugh. 'They have the chance to destroy me, yet they give me time enough to wipe them out. The Red Death will cleanse the Earth of human filth. It will feast on them, their women and their primate offspring. This vast green world will be scoured clean, its oceans and skies will be emptied. Humanity will die.'

He turned to face the Doctor, and found himself staring into the lens of a holocamera.

'You should never underestimate the power of public opinion,' the Doctor smiled, lowering the camera. 'Congratulations, King Xznaal, I think you've just made your abdication speech.'

The giant hologram faded from the skies. All around, there was silence. The crowd were holding their breath.

'Commit,' said Lethbridge-Stewart.

There was a deep rumbling explosion, far away. Then another, much nearer. Within seconds it had become a sustained assault, salvo after salvo hitting home. The warship might not have forcefields, but the armour-plating was several metres thick in places. Unless the RAF were very lucky, the first wave of the attack would weaken the superstructure of the warship rather than hit anything more vulnerable, like a power cable or the magnetic engines.

Here in the hold they were sheltered from the worst of the bombardment, but the lighting was flickering and the whole ship was lurching from one side to another. The intercom was crackling. However much of a pounding the warship took, Xznaal's men wouldn't move it without an express order from their Lord.

Xznaal had disappeared into the shadows. The Doctor peered into the gloom. He was sure that the Martian Lord wouldn't leave the Dispersion Chamber. Above him, the Red Death was straining inside its tank. The Doctor bounded over to the release controls, slipping the sonic screwdriver from his pocket.