 an it be true?' asked Liz, staring incredulously at the Doctor.
'All too true, I'm afraid, Liz,' he replied, almost as stunned as she. 'Water-rationing in North America. Water wars in the Middle East. Welcome to the 21st Century, Liz!'
He was referring to the tale told by the Earth president on the recorded video-message they had witnessed, and which had originally served as a send-off speech for the crew of the space-craft, the remnants of which lay about them.
'Let me get this straight,' said Liz, trying to explain the thing to himself. 'Their mission was to ferry H2O back to Earth from Mars in one case, and from the outer planets and their moons in the case of the ship. Right?'
'Ten out of ten, my dear Miss Shaw.'
'But they were sent in 2052. And that probe back there - why, it was sent in 1997, yet it's still 198_!'
'Of course - how stupid of me!' exclaimed the Doctor, 'I should have guessed!'
Liz looked horrified and puzzled, 'Guessed what, Doctor?'
'Don't you see, Liz?' he explained. 'The people of this world were, in fact, the descendants of the crew of this space-craft. The Master must have used the Time-Scoop to throw them back a thousand years or more - all part of his plan to sow the seeds of the mastery-army with himself as its chief!'
'Just think,' said Liz, 'Perhaps a kind of region did evolve around these bits and pieces and that probe back there. This tunnel may have been their temple. And the crew never did get back to Earth with the water needed to save millions of lives.'
'In which case, there must be an underground lake or two on this planet,' he replied.
'Correct, Doctor,' said a voice from behind them. 'That is precisely why we are here!'
The Doctor spun around. 'Cybermen!' he gasped.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 he Brigadier had been eyeing one particular switch o the TARDIS console. Clearly labelled "Fast Return", its function had been explained to him before by the Doctor; that is, that it immediately instigated a violent reversal of the ship's previous journey through space-time.
The Dalek extended its arm and removed the magnetic clamps with which he was tethered. The Brigadier knew that to stand anywhere near to the Dalek's death-ray was hazardous. He glanced back at the console - there was no other way. He had to get back to UNIT HQ. He looked the Dalek in the eye and raised his arms as though to surrender. He stepped forward and the Skarosion semi-robot reciprocated with a backward glide. The Brig was now adjacent to the console.
'You will move a head of me,' commanded the Dalek.
'Whatever you say,' said the Brigadier, resignedly, 'but don't you think I'll need an oxygen mask?'
Not waiting for a reply, the Brig dived on the console and threw the "Fast Return" switch. At once, the TARDIS doors slammed shut and the ship lurched and rocked and rolled; the Dalek was sent flying across to the other side of the room where it used its suction-arm to secure itself to the wall.
Back on Earth - somewhere in England - Benton had just come back on duty and had been ordered by Captain Yates to look for the Brigadier. He was now scouting around the UNIT garages. Bessie was there, and the Brig's jeep, and even the Whomobile - but where on Earth...?
Just then, he heard the sound made by the TARDIS materializing, outside in the car park. He rushed off to look. Yes - there was the Police Box.
Suddenly, the doors were flung open, and a blurred figure in uniform came flying out in a backward somersault. Landing on his feet, the Brigadier congratulated himself on tackling that assault course in Ottawa and, turning to Benton, yelled, 'Sergeant Benton! Get a Centurion tank down here at once! On the double man!'
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 
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