doctor who and the sunmakers

[...]... here.’ The man called Mandrel surveyed the Doctor and his companions with disfavour He turned back to Goudry Who are they? Come to that, what are they?’ ‘I questioned them when we caught them, Mandrel They say they’re from another planet.’ ‘There is no life on the other planets,’ said Mandrel positively ‘Oh no?’ said the Doctor And how many have you visited recently?’ The whip in Mandrel’s hand jerked... him, their attention concentrated on the figure in the booth Cordo turned and ran The guards halted beside the booth and their Captain unlocked a control panel He pushed a button and the vents reversed their flow, sucking the gas from the cubicle He touched another, and the armoured glass shutter slid back Two guards came forward, bundled the Doctor onto a stretcher and swiftly carried him away Mandrel... leaped up ‘I must go to the Company Palace and warn the Collector We shall need his special guards to deal with this – the Inner Retinue!’ The Doctor and Cordo made their way up to the clean, brightly lit corridors of the upper levels They walked on until they reached a junction and Cordo pointed down a cul-de-sac There was a glassed-in cubicle at the end ‘There it is, Doctor. ’ The Doctor nodded ‘All right... in a Correction Centre.’ The ladder took them to a landing, and to a lift door Cordo stabbed at a control button and the door slid open ‘Quickly now!’ He bustled the Doctor and Leela inside, and followed them The door slid closed, and the lift began its descent Gatherer Hade paced around the TARDIS, deep in thought ‘An intriguing case, this, Marn.’ Marn was still reeling under the shock ‘It is almost... wait here.’ The Doctor marched along the corridor and stepped inside the cubicle which contained a slot, a keyboard and a scanner lens He produced the card, slipped it into the slot, and pressed the Enter button The machine whirred and clicked The Doctor smiled winningly up at the lens In tens, please,’ he said firmly An electronic alarm filled the corridor with a high-pitched shriek, and an armoured... Mandrel ‘Just in case you think of making off with our thousand talmars.’ He snatched out his knife, and made a notch in the side of one of the smoking candles ‘If you’re not back by the time the flame burns down to the notch, the girl dies.’ The inspection hatch slid back and the Doctor and Cordo clambered out Cordo sighed with relief, looking around the more familiar surroundings ‘I couldn’t breathe... into the cubicle, and the Doctor slid choking to the ground 4 The Collector Cordo looked in horror at the Doctor slumped unconscious in the bottom of the booth He took an involuntary step forward and then checked himself What could he do? Nothing – except get caught himself Black uniformed, black-helmeted Company guards came pounding along the corridor and Cordo flattened himself against the wall They... decision, Doctor, ’ said Mandrel He turned to Leela’s attacker, who was in the process of picking herself up ‘You Veet! You remember that consumcard?’ He looked thoughtfully at the Doctor The one we got from that Ajack ’ In itself, tracking the doctor and Leela wasn’t particularly difficult A bloodhound can register even the faintest of scent traces, and K9’s sensors, keyed as they were to both the Doctor and. .. lay another man, trussed up like the Doctor He wore coveralls rather like Cordo’s, pale blue not yellow, with the Sunmakers symbol He had a shrewd, intelligent face, and he was watching the Doctor thoughtfully The Doctor tried to say ‘Hello’, but managed only a kind of croak ‘Don’t try to talk yet my friend,’ said the man soothingly ‘Balarium gas affects the throat.’ The Doctor looked round the room... so it won’t be in the computer records.’ ‘Why don’t you use it yourselves then?’ ‘We can’t, Doctor, ’ said Goudry ‘We’re not respectable enough None of us looks like an Ajack.’ Who are the Ajacks?’ asked the Doctor ‘After all, if I’m supposed to be one ’ The Ajacks are all miners They’re a wild, ruffian lot, most of them live in Megropolis Three.’ Mandrel handed the card to the Doctor ‘You know how . Leela went to the parapet and looked over. ‘Come and look, Doctor! ’ The Doctor followed her. Peering over the parapet he looked down – and down and down. The building on which they stood was. Centre.’ The ladder took them to a landing, and to a lift door. Cordo stabbed at a control button and the door slid open. ‘Quickly now!’ He bustled the Doctor and Leela inside, and followed them undeveloped part of the universe With the help of his companion Leela and the faithful K9, the Doctor takes on the mysterious and powerful Company, ruthless exploiter of planets and their people.