TWILIGHT OF THE GODS Christopher Bulis First published in Great Britain in 1996 by Doctor Who Books an imprint of Virgin Publishing Ltd 332 Ladbroke Grove London W10 5AH Copyright © Christopher Bulis 1996 The right of Christopher Bulis to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 'Doctor Who' series copyright © British Broadcasting Corporation 1996 ISBN 426 20480 Cover illustration by Alister Pearson Typeset by Galleon Typesetting, Ipswich Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham PLC All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser Prologue T he lonely world, with its small host of attendant moons, continued on its long journey through the depths of space It was a sunless place illuminated only by starlight, but it was neither cold nor dead; though death had come close to claiming it in recent times But the menace had been defeated and now life in all its variety re-emerged to spread unopposed over its surface, bringing colour once more to the rugged land Time was hard to measure here Without a parent sun there could be no seasons or years, and charting the motions of its many moons was a complex affair The planet's rotation about its own axis, however, did provide a form of day, marked by the rising of the great nebulous mass of dust and brilliant stars that was the centre of the cluster about which the free world drifted By this measure some seventy thousand days passed after the great crisis had been averted Then, gradually, one star began to shine brighter than the rest in the wandering world's skies For the first time in many millennia, as time might be measured elsewhere, it was approaching another planetary system bearing intelligent life And in due course the inhabitants of the new system detected its presence Driven both by curiosity and more complex motivations, they set out to investigate the intruder So it was that strangers once again broke the lonely world's isolation. 1 One F ather Li Modeenus, Hand of the Church of Rhumon in the new world, lived by certainties His belief in Omnimon, the Creator, the One Light, was absolute Anything less would be like questioning the existence of gravity He was equally assured of his present objectives, which were to see that those in his care did not deviate from the high principles of Omnimonism, and to spread its teachings to the natives and so convert them to the one truth His current lack of progress towards his second goal might have depressed a lesser man But Omnimon was with him always and would provide him with whatever strength was necessary to complete his allotted task Any delay was merely a test of his belief Since that would never waver, ultimate success was certain To Modeenus, doubt was a problem that afflicted other people So it was that he directed the Royalist's Communications Officer to relay a broadcast via the ship's main speaker system, so that it echoed through the cabins and corridors and out across the compound He was certain it would lift the men's spirits and help steer them from the dangerous paths of doubt and introspection, down which their present isolation was leading them Despite being intended primarily for the inner system worlds and having travelled almost four light hours through space, the transmission was unusually clear with hardly a trace of cosmic interference To Modeenus this was simply a minor manifestation of divine providence, and further proof that Omnimon wished all to share in the news 2 This is Imperial City, Rhumos Prime, with the morning bulletin on Landay, Fourteenth of Druna, Twenty sixth Year of the reign of his Gracious Majesty Mommorrencious the Third, Imperium Year 2306 The Imperial Palace has announced today that his Majesty has sent a personal message of congratulations and encouragement to Lord Kai Shallvar of House Hokossion, presently on a mission in the most distant, and newest, outpost of the Imperium As reported over a year ago, our astronomers detected a new planet entering our system from deep space, and an expedition was despatched to investigate A simple society of alien beings was discovered on its surface and peaceful contact established With their full agreement and understanding the Imperial banner was raised and their planet, now named Mallaveria after his Majesty's eldest daughter, was made part of the Imperium The wisdom of this move was amply justified when a Republican spacecraft landed some time later, claiming the planet as their own, and attempted to spread dissent amongst the natives These moves were of course stoutly resisted by the Imperial troops, who repulsed the Republican forces, succeeding in severely damaging their spacecraft Nobly, Lord Shallvar volunteered to remain on the new world and oversee the social and spiritual integration of its inhabitants into the great family of nations that is the Imperium There was a sharp crack as a single energy bolt etched a searing path through the air of the flower forest, leaving a flickering purple afterimage in its wake The predator trantis's head, severed cleanly at the junction with its thorax, rolled to the forest floor The trantis's body, still frozen in its stalking posture, twitched once or twice, then dropped from the branches in a tangle of wickedly barbed claws and many-jointed legs 'A fine shot, my Lord,' complimented Cansonn, viewing the remains through electronic binoculars from the shadows on the other side of the clearing Lord Kai Shallvar smiled in satisfaction, and handed the 3 ... Couldn't they see it was all for the best? The Imperium looked after its subjects well if they gave their loyalty and service in return Well, they would learn in time The commander of the squad of. .. from the thought After all, the Royals were in just the same predicament as she was in every other way Father Modeenus was waiting in the shadow of the scarred and slightly listing hull of the. .. Victoria clasped the edge of the console Some of the roundels that dimpled the walls of the room in regular rows lit up, flickering in an erratic pattern The TARDIS swayed slightly, sending the incongruous