Leela was polishing her best hunting knife, much to the annoyance of the Doctor, who wished she would give up such savage things and accept his preaching of non-violence. He frowned, watching how the light of the console room caught the shiny surface.
She looked up from her work, catching the look of distaste on his face. "What is wrong, Doctor?" she asked, though she had a pretty good idea what the answer would be.
"That is," he replied, pointing to the knife in her hands. "I wish I could persuade you to stop using it."
"I have had this knife since I was first able to join the adults of my tribe in the great hunt," she told him. "It is a good knife and has killed much."
"I'm hardly surprised," the Doctor said. "But we have left your world far behind. Its time you put away the trappings of your savage background and accepted that killing isn't the answer to every problem."
Leela frowned. It was not the first time they had had this argument, nor would it be the last. How could she make the Doctor understand what the knife symbolised to her? That it was her one firm link to her past, to her home. She had wanted to leave, to explore the universe with the Doctor, but her knife was part of who she was. She could no more give it up than cut off her own arm.
"I need something to protect us against the hostiles we encounter," she told him stiffly. "We never go anywhere that isn't dangerous."
"Poppycock!" the Doctor exclaimed suddenly. "We have been to loads of places that were not at all dangerous." He paused, his mind seeming to catch up with what his mouth had said. "Well, a few places anyway," he amended. Then he thought again. "Alright, we have landed in some dangerous places, I admit, but when has your knife been any good against our opponents? Hmm?"
Now it was Leela's turn to think. Her knife had been no use against the creepy metal men aboard the Sandminer, which was true. Or against the little wooden creature controlled by Weng-Chiang. Nor against the creature the Doctor had called a Rutan Scout. Then another thought occurred to her.
"You're right, Doctor, my knife is of little use against the creatures we have met."
"Exactly my point," he said, grinning.
"So, if it isn't any use, there seems little point me not taking it. I can't kill any of our opponents, at your own admission. But it makes me feel safe. So I'll continue to carry it." She smiled sweetly at him.
The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He realised, with a shock, that he had been outmanoeuvred. He opened his mouth to speak again.
Before he could, a warbling sound started to come from the console speakers. The Doctor knew instantly what it was.
"Intergalactic distress call," he muttered, before Leela could ask him. He dashed round the console, trying to get a precise fix on the signal.
"Someone needs our help," Leela deduced. She slid her newly polished knife into its sheath on her belt.
"So it would seem," the Doctor replied, fingers still dancing over the console. "Got it! Earth light cruiser Victory, sector 24/6/01. She seems to be drifting."
Leela watched as he entered new co-ordinates into the navigation panel and the note of the TARDIS engines changed.
"There, we're on our way. Should arrive shortly," the Doctor announced.
"Any idea why they are in distress?" Leela asked the Time Lord.
The Doctor shrugged. "Could be anything. Pirates, ion storm damage, space plague, hull breach. A hundred and one possibilities." He beamed at her, white teeth flashing. "But help is now on the way."
"Us?"
"Of course us! Who did you think I meant?"
"I just hope they appreciate our help," Leela commented.
***
Sudden light and sound broke the dark stillness of the corridor.
A noise like an elephant in labour was followed by the flashing of a light, which appeared to be fixed to the top of a blue box that was materialising out of thin air, to the accompaniment of the sound. As the box solidified with a thump, so the sound died away and the flashing stopped. The corridor returned to peaceful dimness.
But not for long. A door in the side of the box creaked open and a curly haired head poked out. The head was followed by the rest of the Doctor, up to and including the far end of his scarf, which nearly got trapped in the door of the TARDIS as he locked it after Leela.
The Doctor fished in his pocket for a moment, producing a torch. Its weak beam illuminated little, fading and fizzling out. The Doctor bashed it against the frame of the TARDIS, but to no effect.
"Everlasting batteries are not what they used to be," he sighed, setting off down the corridor.
"We will just have to let our eyes adapt naturally," Leela said, falling in step beside him.
"The wisdom of the hunter?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"You could call it that," she replied with a slight smile.
They walked in silence for some minutes, both intent in their own ways, listening for any sounds in the darkened ship. But apart from the natural creaks and groans of an artificial environment, there was nothing.
"I do not believe there are living creatures aboard this vessel," Leela told her companion.
The Doctor frowned. "You might be right. But we have to investigate fully and that means going to the bridge, if only to turn off the signal and save anybody else from wasting their time here." He turned left instinctively at an intersection, striding purposefully along as if he knew exactly where he was going.
Which probably wasn't too far from the truth, as shortly afterwards they arrived at a large, open area with viewing screens and banks of controls.
"How did you know where this would be?" Leela asked, impressed but trying not to show it.
The Doctor grinned. "Standard layout for an Earth military vessel of this time period."
Leela frowned. "I thought it would be something impressive," she complained.
The Doctor looked hurt. "I thought it was impressive. I suppose you would have been impressed if I said it was magic."
"You told me magic doesn't exist," Leela reminded him.
"So I did," the Doctor said, stroking his chin. "And it doesn't exist. Well, not outside the stage act of Ali Bongo. Did I ever tell you about the time I saw him perform live?"
"No, you didn't," Leela replied, feeling a long and possibly boring story coming on.
But she was saved by the Doctor noticing a flashing light on the console nearby. He bent to examine the panel.
"This is where the distress call is emanating from," he told her. "Now, if I can use the ships internal scanners to confirm our theory..." He started operating the controls, attempting to trace any life signs still on board the cruiser. As he did so, Leela looked around the bridge.
Through the forward screen, a scattering of stars cloud be seen. The colourful splash of a local nebula added to the spectacle. At the rear of the bridge was a closed door. She pushed the access plate beside it but nothing happened.
Bored, she turned back to the Doctor. "Anything yet?"
"Well, there are no human life signs on board, but there is a strange reading coming from the next compartment."
There was a hiss from behind them and the door that Leela had been inspecting slid open. Standing in the opening was an imposing silver figure.
The Doctor's face fell. "Cybermen!" he hissed.
"You know these metal things?" Leela asked.
"Our paths have crossed before."
"Move away from the control panel," ordered the lead Cyberman. It was nearly seven feet tall, basically humanoid, with a blank metal faceplate which featured a mouth-slit and two eyeholes, each with a teardrop section cut from them. There was a bank of controls on the creature's chest and piping running along its arms and legs.
The Doctor held his hands above his head and moved to the centre of the room. Leela did the same.
"Are they like the metal men of the Sandminer, Doctor?"
He grimaced. "Worse. They were human once. Their technology increased to a level where they could replace diseased limbs with metal and plastic. They replaced their internal organs with synthetic ones, even their brains became sophisticated artificial intelligences. But along the way, they sacrificed the most basic thing of all. Their individuality."
The lead Cyberman, however, had picked up on something Leela had said. "Doctor? You are the Doctor?"
"I might be," replied the Time Lord. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
The Cyberleader stepped forward quickly, closing the distance between them. It seized the Doctor by the throat and lifted him into the air.
"External sensors report Gallifreyan body chemistry," it said flatly. "Probability of successful match with Time Lord known as the Doctor 97%." It lowered the Time Lord to the deck. "I ask once more. Are you the Time Lord known as the Doctor?"
The Doctor nodded, rubbing his bruised throat. "Yes, I am the Doctor. Do you want my autograph?"
The Cyberleader raised its metal fist to strike the Doctor, but Leela stepped in front of her friend. The Leader paused, surprised by this action.
"Leave him alone," she said, brandishing her knife.
The silver giant reached out, grasping her knife arm at the wrist. It exerted pressure and watched impassively as Leela's face registered the agony building in her arm. She dropped the knife and the Cyberman relaxed its grip.
Bending, it picked up the knife Leela had dropped. With a casual gesture, it broke the weapon in two, letting the bits fall back to the deck.
Leela looked down at her broken weapon, various emotions flickering across her face. Anger, fear, loss. All had their place in her expression as she looked up once more into the impassive face of the Cyberleader.
"Were you human, I would tear out your heart," she spat.
If the Cyberman had been capable of emotion its voice would have dripped with contempt. "We are better than mere human beings. We are the pinnacle of evolution."
"If that's true, why are there so few of you about the universe?" the Doctor inquired.
"The Cyber race needs to increase its numbers. Now we have your TARDIS, we shall be able to convert races across time and space."
"But you don't have my TARDIS," the Doctor said. "Why would I give you the secrets of time travel and condemn untold billions to cybernisation?"
"Because you will become one of us." The Cyberleader gestured to its two subordinates. "Take them to the conversion bay. Start work on the Doctor immediately."
"What did it mean, conversion?" Leela asked as they were shepherded through the doorway into a large room beyond.
"Well, the Cybermen do not reproduce like other species. They take humanoid life forms, like me and you, and convert them into Cybermen, like themselves. It's a bit like playing God, making man in their own image."
"It sounds horrible," Leela commented.
"It is," confirmed the Doctor. "Once you've been converted, the only way out is death." He frowned. "By the way, sorry about your knife. I know it had significant meaning for you."
Leela shrugged. "It is just an object," she said, hiding her true feelings.
They were now standing in the centre of the large room. Along the walls were alcoves and in these were dormant Cybermen and humanoid forms, in various stages of conversion.
"So these Cybermen have been luring people to this ship to convert them, using that distress call?" Leela asked.
The Doctor nodded. "Rather like the Sirens on Earth." He saw Leela's blank expression. "They were creatures of legend, beautiful women who would appear to sailors. They sang wondrous songs that would lure many a sailing ship to its doom on the rocks they inhabited."
One of the Cybermen pushed the Doctor towards an empty alcove. He tried to resist but the creature was too strong.
"Stop! Leave him alone!" Leela shouted, jumping onto the creature's back. It shook her off with ease and before she could continue her attack, the second Cyberman had her securely by the wrist.
The Doctor was pushed into the alcove roughly by the Cyberman. A pair of silver earphones were placed over his head.
"Do you have Classic FM by any chance?" he asked. "I'd like to put in a request for Pachebel please."
"Silence!" ordered the Cyberman, securing his arms and legs in restraints. It moved away from the alcove and around to a control panel.
"Don't grieve for me, Leela," the Doctor said, his expression as serious as she had ever seen it.
"I will see you on the other side, Doctor," she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
The Cyberman flicked a switch and pain coursed through the Doctor's body. His mouth opened in a silent scream. Then, with a sigh, he collapsed against the restraints in the alcove and was still.
Leela looked on, her expression set in granite. Inside, she was a seething mass of emotion.
***
A short time later, the Cyberleader entered the chamber. "The distress call is being transmitted once more," it reported to its fellows.
"The Doctor has undergone stage one of conversion," said the Cyberman behind the control panel.
"Has he recovered consciousness yet?"
"No Leader."
"Then revive him. Then we can learn the secrets of the Time Lords."
The Cyberman operated the controls again. With a jerk, the Doctor recovered.
The Cyberleader walked over to his alcove. "Who do you serve?"
The Doctor paused for only a moment. "I serve the cause of the Cyber race," he said in a flat monotone.
Inside Leela, a spark of hope died.
"The conversion has gone well. Now, begin work on the girl."
The Cyberman holding Leela dragged her towards an empty alcove. She tried to pull away but the creature held her too tightly.
"Wait!" commanded a flat but familiar voice. The Doctor.
The Cyberleader turned to its newest convert. "What is wrong?" it asked, wondering if there was still a spark of the Time Lord under the surface.
"I thought you wanted the secrets of the Time Lords," the Doctor said in a monotone.
The Cyberleader considered for a microsecond. "You are correct. The principles of time travel are more important than the conversion of the female."
"Then we should begin," the Doctor said, indicating the restraints on his arms.
The Cyberleader gestured to the Cyberman holding Leela. It let her go, moving over to remove the bindings from the Doctor's wrists and legs.
The Doctor stepped from the alcove; his movements stiff like a Cyberman.
"The TARDIS is this way," the Doctor said, pointing towards the exit.
"What about the female?" asked the Leader.
"She is no threat," the Doctor stated. "She is a primitive, a savage. There is no way she could ever find the hibernation code," he continued, brushing his hand over the panel the Cyberman had used to convert him.
"Very well. There is no need to guard the female. Leave her locked in the chamber," it instructed the Cybermen.
"Yes, Leader," they chorused, closing the door behind them as they followed their Leader and the Doctor out into the corridor.
Leela fumed silently. Primitive savage indeed. The Doctor she knew would never talk about her like that. He was always trying to change her. Now he had been changed, leaving her alone in the universe.
She prowled around the chamber, her anger at these metal men increasing. If only these were some way she could hurt them, damage them. Throw a spanner in the works, as the Doctor would have said. But he had been right. She wasn't smart enough to hurt the Cybermen.
Not unless she had help. What was it the Doctor had said? Something about a hibernation code, whatever that was. But how did that help her?
He had been standing beside the panel near the centre of the room. He had run his hand over it. She crossed to the panel, hoping to find something, anything, to use against the Cybermen.
One of the first things the Doctor had done when Leela had come aboard the TARDIS was give her basic reading lessons. From there, he had encouraged her to learn more, to improve the basic skills he had given her. Now she silently thanked him for his patience.
On the screen before her were the words :- Hibernation code authorisation activated. Enter command?
Beside the screen was a button, pulsing slightly with an inner light.
"I hope I understood you correctly, Doctor," she said under her breath, pressing the button hard.
***
The Doctor and the Cybermen were approaching the TARDIS. The Time Lord's hand went automatically to his pocket, producing the key. A small voice in his mind screamed.
The conversion process had been successful. Mostly. The Doctor was now as unthinking as an ordinary Cyberman, obeying orders without question. But in a small part of his mind, the old Doctor was still there. He had briefly seized control earlier, enough to save Leela from instant conversion and to provide her with a clue, however obscure, of how to deactivate his new masters.
Now that part of his mind was recoiling from the idea of letting the Cybermen get their tin hands on the TARDIS. The part of him that was still him hoped Leela had figured out his clue.
The Doctor slid the key into the lock and stepped away, leaving the door open for the Cyberleader. The Leader stepped forward. As its foot crossed the threshold of the TARDIS, a signal activated in its brain, and in the brains of all the Cybermen. They came to a precise halt, wherever they were.
Being only partly converted, the signal blasted through the Doctor's brain like a dog whistle set on full volume. He let out a piercing scream, agony forcing him to his knees. Mercifully, the agony gave way to the oblivion of unconsciousness.
***
Leela had seen no instant effect when she had pressed the button. She had at least expected the screen to say she had done it, she had deactivated the Cybermen. Instead, it just went blank.
Just to be certain, she had pressed the button again. And a third time. Then she had taken to prowling around the chamber she had been left in. After a while, she had come to realise that she couldn't get out. All the doors were sealed, with no way for her to break them down.
Now she sat on the floor, her back pressed up against the door that the Doctor and the Cybermen had disappeared through. She was coming to the conclusion that if she had been successful, then she was going to spend the rest of her life in this room. She would either run out of air, or starve to death.
She was just considering the remains of her knife when she felt the door move behind her.
Quickly, Leela scrambled out of the way of the door as it slid back into the wall. Standing impassively in the doorway was the Doctor.
Leela was about to run to him when she realised he still had the silver headpiece that one of the Cyberman had fitted. As she watched him carefully he walked stiffly into the room.
He fixed her with a blank stare. "Did you trigger the hibernation signal?" he asked in a flat voice.
Leela almost groaned. He was still one of them!
"Did you trigger the hibernation signal?" the Cyber-Doctor asked again.
"Yes!" Leela snapped, all her disappointment and rage parcelled up in that one small word.
Suddenly, the Doctor grinned. "Good, I can take these off now." He reached up and removed the silver headphones, tossing them aside.
Leela's mouth gaped open. "What? Why, you..!" She swung her fist at his arm, expecting him to catch it in flight. He didn't disappoint her.
"I thought you would be glad to see me."
"I am," Leela admitted. "You did that trick once before," she remembered. "Next time, I'll leave you for dead."
"I hope there won't be a next time," the Doctor replied, suddenly serious. He searched among the Cyberman control panels until he found the one he wanted. He set some controls and pulled Leela towards the door.
"What's the hurry?" she protested.
"No hurry," the Doctor said, pushing her ahead of him. "Providing you don't want to be part of the biggest explosion in this part of space since the Big Bang."
"What have you done?" she asked as they pushed past the Cyberleader, still frozen in the TARDIS doorway.
"I set the self-destruct mechanism," he told her, shutting the TARDIS door on his trailing scarf. He opened it again, just enough to tug the offending clothing in through the doors, then slammed them shut once more.
With its usual cacophony, the TARDIS dematerialised from the Earth light cruiser Victory, just as it was atomised.
