Chapter Three

'London Control, this is Michaels. Condition violet should now be in place, you've had your ten minutes. Cut the live feed. I can't wait any longer.'

Bambera was scowling at one of the waiters who was moving to pull out the lead from the loudspeaker. The Doctor leapt over a row of seats, ran to the front of the room and yanked the curtain that had been blocking their view of Mission Control.

Captain Michaels' helmet filled the giant screen that dominated the room down there. 'We've found an archway,' the loudspeaker crackled, 'Repeat, an archway, in the sand.'

The picture panned around away from the commander and settled on a circular shape cut into the side of a low rock formation. It was indeed a high archway, leading into a cave. It was too dark to see anything more than a few feet inside, but the archway was clearly not a natural feature - there was definitely a keystone there, and what looked like carved symbols.

'Please advise, London Control.'