The Rani sat silently fuming to herself in her cell, perched on a cold stone bench.  Outside the crowds of Argos 6 were yelling and cheering.  It was just like humans to celebrate the execution of another, even another of their own colony.  Had the situation been different the Rani would have found at least some small measure of amusement in these ungrateful primitives, but this was no laughing matter.  The Rani was a prisoner... and the execution was for her!  Outside, in the damp corridor, the Rani’s two guards stood perfectly still and silent, with their backs to the cell.  Although the Rani preferred to put her faith in chemistry and science, she was still a Time Lady, which meant she still had the power to entrance others with her hypnotic glare. 

‘You can stop the celebrations you fools!’ she snapped, standing up.  ‘The result of this trial was decided long ago so why bother to prolong this humiliating farce?’

One of the guards turned to face her.  She stood ridged with rage, her imperious face was set into a scowl.  Her dignified red outfit was becoming tatty from her days in prison.  Even her brunette hair was becoming matted.  The Rani wasn’t sentimental, but liked to keep her appearance in top form.  She was a woman of great ambition after all.  The guard avoided her chilling eyes as best he could as he replied.

‘The celebrations will continue until the queen considers it necessary to cease them.’

The Rani looked back at the guard with uninterested disgust.  He had a square jawed face with stubble and long curly brown hair that grew out from underneath his helmet.  He looked rather like a soldier of ancient Earth with a breastplate and spear.  But this was no ancient civilization.  He had a blaster pistol in his holster, and the spear was fitted with a powerful electronic charge.  Argos 6 had been isolated from Earth for a long time, but thanks to the Rani, technology had slowly seeped back into the culture of this degenerative colony.

‘You don’t know who you’re dealing with... Marcus.’ said the Rani, slowly and venomously.

‘How did you know my...?’

‘There are some things in this universe far more powerful and terrible that you could ever understand.’ added the Rani, turning her back on the bewildered guard.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, the guard wandered down the corridor to check on the other prisoners.  Like all Argosians, he was highly suspicious.  A childhood tale crept from the back of his mind, and reached his dry lips.

Let no man cross the Seas of Blood, for he shall find harsh judgment by the denizens of Hades.  Let no man swim below the waters where the Devil and his minions await the moment to rise from the waves and crush this world...

The watcher studied the Colony carefully from afar, in a dark lair beneath the waves.  A monstrous pulse throbbed through the chamber, like a heartbeat of some huge leviathan.  The cold light of the watchers ever-glaring eye widened as it realised the time had come to rise from the seas of Argos and take the prize which it had sought for so long.  A door slid open at the rear of the shadowy chamber and a dark shape slid smoothly into the room, only visible because of the glowing of it’s single eye.  The watcher turned to face the low caste warrior.

‘Report!’ grated the watcher in a harsh, hateful tone.

‘Stormtroopers are ready for assault on the Argosian colony.  Battle computer advises that the weapons of the human beings will not be effective against us.’

‘Understood.’ Replied the watcher.  ‘Begin assault on the colony immediately.’

‘I obey.’ Rasped the warrior.

Something was wrong.  It was so quiet.  The Rani paced up and down in her cell.  Was this it?  Had her time come?  She turned to the remaining guard.  She was just about to speak when she noticed the strange tang in the air.  There was a sudden feeling of irresistible nostalgia, even for someone as heartless as the Rani.  It was ozone!  What was it?  A storm?  Then there was a flash of light brighter than the sun itself.  Sparks crackled round the holding cells as the guard nearest the door was suddenly thrown through the air, landing with a thud of the floor, his body smoking and sizzling.

‘Oh my god!” yelled the other guard near the Rani’s cell.

The Rani tried to peer round but she could see nothing from her cell.  Whatever killed the guard had weaponry far too destructive for this colony’s level of technology.  In fact, weapons like this couldn’t even be safely used by hand... they would be mounted on war machines!  The Rani didn’t like where her thoughts were leading her.  As the last of the guards fell screaming in agony, the Rani stepped back, unsure of how to react.  Her form and features were scanned by the evil thing in front of her.  A telescopic sucker cup reached out and scanned over her like a radar dish as the air rippled with the electronic waves of a sensor sweep.  A slender barrel was trained on the dumbstruck Time Lady, and the cold light of an eye-stalk contracted slightly as the invader pondered the Rani deep within it’s twisted hateful mind.  The Rani finally breathed one of the most hated words in the humanoid language.

‘A Dalek!’

‘Do not move!’ bellowed the machine.  ‘Do not move!  You are my prisoner!’  It smashed through the cell door with it’s armored hull.  ‘Do not move... or you will be exterminated!’

Blackmoor was in his eighth incarnation right now.  He had spent almost all of his lives on the planet Earth, which he had an affinity for which even surpassed that of the Doctor.  Throughout history he had protected his favorite planet by helping the weak and expanding the minds of his followers.  He had gone through many names and faces as heroes of myth and legend.  But this time something had changed.  A fatal crossbow shot had changed him from a dashing outlaw hero to a monstrous figure of much mystery and speculation.  He paced up and down in the chilling blue lit control room of his TARDIS like a warrior-wizard of old English legend.  His bestial eyes glowed a mysterious green under the sea of silvery white hair that flowed down his back.  He didn’t know how to take on his new persona.  Most of his belongings and furniture had suffered a brutal attack shortly after his regeneration.  One of the few items intact was an ugly scaled head of some kind of woman.  Snakes hung limply around her hideous features like hair.  Scrolls and diplomas from ancient lands remained in their places over the walls of the room.  Blackmoor held a cracked picture in his steel gauntlet, a picture of a beautiful maiden with long brown hair and milky white skin.

‘My dear Marion, what have I become?  What would you think if you saw me like this?’

He strode towards the console with heavy footsteps in his suit of armour.  A black cloak swept along behind him, bearing the seal of Rassilon in silver.  His fierce eyes widened as the screen display showed something rare and inspiring, possibly a chance to atone for his new-found barbarity.  It was an SOS call from another TARDIS.

‘If this is you again, Master, I shall give you the long overdue death you should have had last time we met.’ grunted Blackmoor.  He pressed a few buttons on the console and examined the origin.  One thing was for certain.  The TARDIS was far too advanced to have been that of the Master.  Perhaps it was that ridiculous Monk!  Either way, he had spent his whole life defending those who couldn’t protect themselves, and even as this sinister necromancer, he decided he must play the hero once more.

Flying reptiles swooped into the air with panicked screams as the warping tide of noise and light swept into the jungle and a stony statue of a winged horse formed out of thin air.  From nowhere, a doorway opened on the pedestal at the base of the rearing Pegasus and Blackmoor staggered out, spluttering as smoke drifted out after him.

‘What the hell was that?’ he hissed.  ‘Oh by the beard of bloody Rassilon!  Even my chameleon’s not working!  Well at least my ship’s going to be easy to find.’

Then the Jungle came to life!  Trees rustled and small mammals and reptiles of varied forms and colours scurried past.  Blackmoor drew his broadsword and waited.  After having his handsome body turned into a monster and his TARDIS crippled he was quite happy to walk into a fight right now.  Then the ground shook.  Blackmoor licked his dry lips and tightened the grip on his sword.  Then the attacker came!  A massive head crashed through the trees, roaring in a deafening bellow as it opened it’s fang filled mouth.  An enormous scaled body followed with muscular legs but very short frail arms.  A Tyrannosaur!  Blackmoor cursed in Galifreyan as he pulled out his backup weapon, a blaster pistol.  He fired at the thing’s head and cursed once again as the ray hit the monster with little more than an annoying slap on its’ snout.  Nearby, the trickling of water could just about be heard over the tyrannosaur’s roaring.  Blackmoor dashed towards it, hoping for any kind of hiding place.  The huge monster lunged forwards in pursuit.  As the desperate time traveller crashed through the trees he came to a small pool.  A small waterfall trickled down from the rocky hills above.

‘Emergency!  Emergency!’ chanted the Dalek at the scanner console.  ‘Sensors indicate temporal disturbance in jungle section nine.’

The Black Dalek rumbled across the bare metal room quickly and investigated.  It was brief, and very erratic, but there was no doubt as to what it was.  A time vessel of some kind.  Possibly a TARDIS.

‘All guard units to maximum alert!’ shrieked the Black Dalek.  ‘Defence of this facility is to be maximum priority.  Inform the battlefleet of the incident immediately.  It is vital that we gain reinforcements on this planet.’

‘Understood.’ grated the Dalek drone. 

‘Prepare to implement emergency evacuation procedure if I deem it necessary.  There must be no interference in this operation.’

‘I obey.’ replied the drone. 

Another Dalek voice crackled through the console.  It was a patrol Dalek, transmitting a message to the control centre from outside.

‘Transolar Disc Patrol to Dalek Control.  My squadron has swept over the jungle area and sighted an unknown humanoid near a newly arrived structure in the undergrowth.  He is being pursued by one of the reptilian creatures.’

‘Advise your patrol to observe and take no further action until ordered.’ Snapped the Black Dalek.  ‘I shall order the capture of this humanoid in due course.’

‘Biorhythm sensor sweep suggests that the alien is a Galifreyan.’ added the voice.  ‘Under these circumstances, are we to exterminate him?’

‘Only on my command.’ said the Black Dalek.

A door opened and a Red Dalek entered the room.  It’s movements were slightly jerky as if it was agitated.  The Black Dalek turned to face the newcomer, which was a scientist.  It spoke in a deep, very grating tone.

‘Scientific division reports that another Dalek test subject has perished.  Subject Delta has also shown adverse effects from the experiment and has been sedated.’

‘We must continue!’ ordered the Black Dalek.

‘We have not the defences to hold our position here on Irra 4.’ stated the Chief Scientist.

‘We must continue!’ repeated the Black Dalek.

‘Understood.’ grated the Scientist, raising it’s clawed appendage in salute before turning round and gliding out.

Diving through the waterfall, Blackmoor rolled uncomfortably in his suit of armour.  He scrambled to his feet and crept to the back of the small damp cave.  The rumbling footsteps of the dinosaur kept crashing around outside.  Blackmoor froze, perfectly still, and breathed very slowly.  The footsteps eventually faded.  The great time warrior poked his head out to see the jungle, silent and peaceful once again. 

‘No wonder you’re extinct!’ sneered Blackmoor.  ‘Great clumsy oaf!  How did you hunt anyway?’

Suddenly, he was taken by supprise.  There was a roar and a smell of rotting meat.  Blackmoor turned to see the open jaws of the Tyrannosaur closing towards him.  He ducked back into the waterfall as the great maw snapped shut right where he had been stood.  ‘Okay, I take it back!’ he gasped.  ‘You’re pretty light on your feet for such a big fellow.’

A cold wind howled through the ruins of Irra Temple.  It was a sand coloured ziggurat on the large mountain which overlooked the jungle.  At one time, this had been lovingly built by the Irrans, a race of mystical triclops people who harnessed the power of their planet’s core through this holy building.  One of the great mysteries of the universe is how the Irrans vanished so suddenly, and exactly what this artefact did.  The answer lay in the central chamber, where the legendary Staff of Irra was kept.  It’s base was deeply embedded in the stone altar of the dark chamber.  The only light came from the glowing crystal at the top of the staff, held in a three fingered talon-shaped clutch of pure gold.  But an eye-sore drifted into the chamber, spoiling the peaceful atmosphere of the ancient temple.  It was ugly and bulky, but graceful in it’s fluidic movements.  It scanned the area with a cold glowing eye before backing out of the chamber and hovering like a ghost over the jagged rocks outside.

‘Patrol Nine to Black Dalek.  Ziggurat area clear.’ it grated. 

‘Understood.’ was the answer.  ‘Proceed to area ten at once.  Capture the Galifreyan immediately.  You will rendezvous with patrol units six and eight.’

‘I obey’.

Blackmoor washed his face in the pool of bubbling water and sighed deeply.  Finally, the Tyrannosaur had gone.  Perhaps he had learned to respect nature a little more now, but that was all he had learned.  Everything else remained a mystery.  Blackmoor turned back on his tracks, intending to have a half-hearted attempt at fixing his TARDIS.  Whoever sent the distress call was likely to be T-Rex fodder by now.  Besides, with a working ship, he may be able to trace the source of the transmission a little better.  Blackmoor had got about a hundred yards through the jungle when his warrior’s instincts finally decided to make a comeback.  He sensed he was being watched.  His twin hearts raced and he slowly took hold of his sword.  He felt the presence of something bitter and evil behind him, and it was getting closer.  He spun round, sword stretched out.  The blade clashed uselessly on hardened metal.

‘Resistance is useless!’ shrieked the Dalek.

Blackmoor turned to run, but noticed another Dalek smashing it’s way through the undergrowth.

‘You are our prisoner!’ it bellowed.

Blackmoor rolled into the bushes and fired his blaster pistol several times.  Bolts of energy bounced off the nearest Dalek with little effect except in agitating it.

Blackmoor scurried along the ground, keeping low.  He finally found himself alone.  He relaxed his body, stopping to think.  Did Daleks have heat vision?  He couldn’t remember.  It was at least ten minutes before Blackmoor finally figured out roughly where he was.  He saw the batch of gnawed plants that he had walked past earlier.  His TARDIS couldn’t have been more than a short dash from here!  Then a shadow fell upon him.  He looked slowly up to see the hideous metal monster looming over him.  It fired, at minimal power.  There was little more than a gentle humming and soft blue glow, but even this rocked and jerked Blackmoor’s agonised body.  He collapsed to the floor, unable to move a muscle.  His skin prickled as his nerves fought with his circulation and his hair frizzed with static as it stood on end.  He was vaguely aware of a sucker stalk prodding at him for a few seconds before his mind gave in, and all went black...

When Blackmoor came round the first thing he felt was a decrease in size and bulk.  Had he regenerated?  Surely not... two new personas in one day was far too much for him to handle!  Then he realised what it was.  His armour was missing.  He was wearing a simple black outfit, of modern manufacture.  He still couldn’t move, but this was likely to be closely linked to the fact that he was strapped tightly to a table of some kind.  The room he was in was brightly lit and wondrously sophisticated, but somewhat sterile.  There was a shape looming over him too.  Not a Dalek, for sure, but it’s essence was no less cold, Blackmoor felt.  Long brunette hair tumbled from her head, and a dignified face with high cheekbones and intense eyes began to emerge from the haze as Blackmoor blinked several times.  The woman leaned over and gently whispered in his ear.

‘Keep absolutely still and don’t say anything louder than a whisper.  I don’t intend to harm you, but understand that we are both prisoners here.’

‘Where am I?’ whispered Blackmoor, his throat dry and sore.

‘I shall explain everything to you when we have a little more privacy.’ she replied.

As the woman rose back up and adjusted a few instruments at the side of the table, Blackmoor’s blood froze.  She was another Galifreyan, and one that Blackmoor had not seen in years.

‘Rani?’ he gasped.  ‘Let me out of here!  I’m no use to you, let me go.’

‘Have you listened to anything I’ve told you?’ she rasped.  ‘Keep quiet until I’ve made sure we are alone.  I’ve disabled the security monitors in here but there’s a guard out here who’s just heard everything you’ve said.’

‘Don’t you recognise me?’ said Blackmoor, a little disappointed.

‘Does it really matter?’ said the Rani, tutting to herself.  Then she took another look.  ‘Morphius?  Is that you in there?’

‘Yes... but it’s Blackmoor now.’

‘You change names like some Time Lords change faces, not mentioning any names.’ said the Rani, almost smiling for a second.  ‘Nice persona, what have you come as this time, the Black Knight?’

‘Black Knight... I like that!’ chuckled Blackmoor.  ‘You know, if you tried adapting to your surroundings a little more you might have a few more friends in the universe.’

‘Listen to yourself!’ laughed the Rani.  ‘We are a superior form of life.  Why adapt to my surroundings when I can change them to suit me?’

‘So what happens now?’ asked Blackmoor.  ‘Are you cutting me open or is this some kinky game?’

‘Neither.’ sighed the Rani, picking up a small disc and striding towards the door.

‘Damn.’ whispered Blackmoor to himself as the Rani left the room and the door slid shut.

It was quiet for a few moments, before Blackmoor heard what was clearly an argument of some kind.  Blackmoor had hoped the Rani had got him away from the Daleks, but there was no mistaking the voice she was trying to shout over right now.

‘Mental defects have increased by twenty percent!’ bellowed the machine.  ‘The Black Dalek is becoming concerned that...’

‘Tell the Black Dalek that any more interruptions will cause the death of yet another test subject!’ snapped the Rani.  ‘And while we’re on the subject, my laboratory is not a Dalek tourist attraction.  I need time alone to calculate the correct percentage of chemicals to alter, or your test subject will end up as a mental vegetable!’

‘You will show more respect for your masters!’ roared the Dalek voice.

‘I see no masters here... only captors!’ sneered the Rani.  ‘Get your filthy sucker off of me!’

‘The Daleks are the superior species.  All other life forms are our subjects.  We are to become the rulers of the universe!’

‘Don’t give me your propaganda, you metallic moron!’ shouted the Rani.  ‘Tell your shiny black leader to keep his killer-cans out of my way.  I shall send a report when I’ve got a result.  If you’re so superior then why did you lay waste to a whole colony just to kidnap me?’  There was a pause.  ‘Well?’

‘The chief scientist demands to know the significance of the Time Lord you are holding in the laboratory.’

‘It will speed my research greatly to have a living Galifreyan specimen to take DNA from.’ replied the Rani.  ‘Now deliver the disc to your leaders before they get impatient and blow you to pieces!’

‘I... obey!’ said the Dalek, uncertain of which reply would be appropriate.  It turned and glided away, it’s eye contracted to the size of a marble and it’s gunstalk twitching.  It almost considered blasting a hole in the nearest wall to satisfy the need to fire, but sedatives were pumped into it’s vile body to calm it.

The Rani had hoped to avoid too many questions about Blackmoor’s presence, but Dalek efficiency never made allowances for pure coincidence.  The Black Dalek had ordered that Blackmoor was to be interrigated before any major decisions were made.  Lucky for the Rani, the Daleks knew little of compassion either, and the thought that Blackmoor had selflessly responded to an SOS call didn’t seem to have occured to them.  This was an accurate and deeply important prediction by the Rani, for if her captors had known that she forced down a Time Lord to help her they would certainly be far from hospitable to her, and Blackmoor would be disposed of immedietly.  Blackmoor was still weak and disorientated during the questioning, but the Daleks showed no understanding of such weakness, it just wasn’t  in their nature.

‘Answer!’ bellowed the Black Dalek.  ‘Answer!’

‘No!’ yelled Blackmoor, panting with stress and exhaustion.  His tried once again to free himself from the restraint, but the glowing force shield kept him pinned to the wall, painfully burning each time he attempted to struggle.

‘Question... you are in the employment of the Time Lord Council and have been sent here to halt the Rani’s experiments.  Is this true?’

‘Of course not!’ Blackmoor rasped.  ‘I have never met her in my life!’

‘Alert!’ grated a Dalek from the other side of the room.  It’s sucker arm was plugged into a bank of computers which registered brainwaves and bodily reactions.  ‘Sensors indicate untruthful response!’

‘You are lying!’ snapped the Black Dalek.  ‘You are attempting to deceive the Daleks!  Increase electrical flow!’

Blackmoor grunted as the force field struck at him with a shockwave of electricity.  He was determined not to scream aloud, especially if the Rani could see or hear this.  He gritted his teeth, his eyes glowing a ghastly green as he told the Black Dalek the truth.

‘Alright, I have met her before.’

‘In what circumstance?’ demanded the Black Dalek.

‘Galefrey Academy.’ sighed Blackmoor.  ‘I haven’t seen her in over eight hundred years.’

‘Answer is certified as truthful.’ confirmed the Dalek at the console.

‘There!’ snorted Blackmoor.  ‘I’ve told you the truth, now let me out of this thing!’

‘Speak when you are told to speak!’ bellowed the Black Dalek, thrusting it’s sucker arm into Blackmoor’s stomach, winding him severely.  He spluttered and wheezed.

‘Analysis proves that this Time Lord is of no threat to Dalek operations.’ said the console operator.  ‘Shall I have him exterminated?’

‘No.’ replied the Black Dalek.  ‘The Rani will have use for him in her experiments.  Return him to the laboratory and supply him with nutrient intake.  If he will not eat then he will be fed by force.’

‘Understood.’

The next few hours that Blackmoor had spent in here with the Rani were very quiet and soulless on the whole.  He had been released from the interrigation field and given some kind of tasteless food.  Finally, the Rani had negotiated something with the Black Dalek, and he was taken on a short walk through the surrounding area.  It was a warm afternoon, and a gentle breeze rustled the trees on the hillside as the two Galifreyans hiked up the hill towards the ziggurat.  No Daleks had been posted nearby.  There was no need.  Neither of the Time Lords had anywhere to run to, and the planet was deserted so there was no help at hand.  Blackmoor pondered the Rani as she walked alongside him.  She had changed a little since he had first met her in the Capital of Galifrey, although not very much.  She had never really cared much for her fellow Time Lords back then.  Blackmoor had always found her fascinating though.  As with many situations of this kind, of course, she barely used to acknowledge his existence.

‘Remember graduation day at the Academy?’ chuckled Blackmoor, trying to break up the silence.

‘How could I forget?’ sighed the Rani, rolling her eyes.  ‘You challenged the Master to a brawl in an attempt to gain my favour and got your nose broken.’

‘And after all my valiant efforts you didn’t even show up and I turned up to the ball alone like some kind of lonely loser.  Well at least you didn’t drop me for the Master.’

‘Is this leading anywhere productive?’ snapped the Rani.  There was a pause.  Blackmoor looked to the ground, sheepishly.  ‘I thought not.  We must press on.  The ziggurat is very important to me and I will need your help.’

‘That’s all you’ve ever needed from me!’  groaned Blackmoor.  ‘Why should I help you get away?  The Daleks are probably the perfect companions for you.’

The Rani stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.  She put her hands on her hips and blocked his path, glaring furiously at the Time Lord.

‘And just what is that supposed to mean?’ she demanded.

Blackmoor found himself stepping back.  It was said by many that it was a mistake to anger the Rani, and perhaps they were right.  Blackmoor’s huge form, almost seven feet high, suddenly seemed to shrink as the Rani stepped forward and clutched his face in her hand.  Strangely, even with all his muscle and experience, Blackmoor got the impression that he could be in for a beating here.

‘Don’t make me elaborate, Rani.’ he said, in a sorry tone.  ‘You know exactly what I’m talking about.  I got my nose busted for you and you were too busy tampering with mice and cutting things open to spend a single night with me so we could get our graduation ceremony together.’

‘If it weren’t for me you’d still be at the academy.’ snorted the Rani.  ‘Now cease this drivel before we both get ourselves exterminated!’

In the main chamber of the ziggurat, the Rani strolled around the altar, looking intensely at the staff of Irra while Blackmoor paced up and down, feeling a little embarrassed and rather hurt by his recent encounter with the Rani.  It pained him to know that he had upset her, but somebody needed to reach her somehow, or she would simply grown more and more detached as time went on.

‘Morphius, this is the most important artefact you will ever see on this miserable little world.’ she said to Blackmoor.  ‘The staff of Irra harnesses the power of this planet’s core, and that is exactly what we need to teach the Daleks a lesson.’

‘What is this core?  Why is it supposed to give power?’

‘Due to my planning, and a little sabotage on the scanners, I have tricked the Daleks into bringing me here.  This planet has an entire core of pure, uncontaminated taranium!  One of the most powerful sources of energy in the known universe.  The Daleks use it to power their own time ships.’

‘Taranium?’ gasped Blackmoor.  ‘What monstrous scheme are you dabbling in this time?’

‘Get your TARDIS fixed, Blackmoor.  I will help you.  We need both of our ships functional and in this chamber without the Daleks knowing about it.  The power source of a TARDIS ship, the Eye of Harmony if you like, has the power to ravage an entire planet if left open long enough.  We need that power, only twice as fast.’

‘How do you know I won’t just leave you to it.’ said Blackmoor, knowing within his heart that this was one of the most hollow attempts at bluffing he had ever tried.

‘I would be very grateful.’ said the Rani, giving a true smile for the first time in centuries.  ‘A warrior like yourself surely wouldn’t abandon a damsel in distress.’

‘So how do you think we’re going to drag two time ships up this hill then?’

‘We don’t need to.’ answered the Rani.  ‘I have perfected a remote control for my TARDIS, and if you still have that ridiculous robot in one piece then you have a crude version yourself.’

‘Leave K9 alone!’ exclaimed Blackmoor.  ‘He’s more than just a robot!  He can make tea, and sing and dance...’

The Rani chuckled to herself, trying to keep her giggles secret from Blackmoor. 

‘If I can persuade the Daleks to let me fetch some supplies from my ship I will attain the controller device.  Now to fix your ship, we shall have to merge minds.’

‘Oh, wait a moment!’ said Blackmoor.  ‘The thought of sharing my rich and noble thoughts with a barren mind like yours does disturbing things to my pallet.’

‘Don’t make excuses.’ sighed the Rani.  ‘I know why you don’t want me poking around in your mind, and I know exactly how you used to feel about me from the way you blundered about at the Academy.  It’s irrelevant!  We need to beat the Daleks and the only weapons we have are our ships, the staff of Irra and the core of this planet.’  She pressed a few buttons on her wrist-communicator.  ‘And our brains... well my brain anyway.’

‘What are you doing now?’ demanded Blackmoor.

‘Calling the Dalek base and telling them I need some supplies from my TARDIS.  If I can locate my own wristband I’ll have a few useful gadgets to play with.’

‘Look, I not sure if I can remote pilot my TARDIS.’ said Blackmoor.  K9’s been broken for weeks now and I can’t fix him up.’

‘I will help you.’  said the Rani, finishing her message and transmitting it.  ‘Besides, I need your kind of bravery for the hard part of all this.’

‘As in...’

‘We also need the Daleks’ time vessel to channel the taranium energy flow and convert it into temporal energy.’  said the Rani, already seeing how baffling this was to Blackmoor.  ‘Our ships will not do much with taranium, but the Dalek ship will convert it into a usable energy source for both our ships.’

‘That much energy would destroy both our TARDISes.’ said Blackmoor.  ‘We couldn’t hold that much power.’

‘We don’t need to.  Haven’t you figured out what I’m planning yet?’

‘No, I’m afraid maniac scheme interpretation is a skill I seem to have lost in my new regeneration.’  replied Blackmoor.  ‘As I asked you before, what monstrous plan have you worked up?’

‘We turn this whole planet into a temporal superconductor, a time manipulator large enough to destroy the entire Dalek fleet!’

‘What will it do to them?’ gasped Blackmoor.

‘What do you feel like doing to them?  We can age them until they crumble if you’d like.  We can regress them back to their humanoid forms and watch them die in their own casings if it suits you.’

‘How about we simply get out of here.’

‘Oh no, Blackmoor.’ the Rani hissed.  ‘The Daleks don’t get out of it that easy.  Nobody kidnaps me and gets away with it.’

‘I thought you weren’t sentimental enough to appreciate the virtues of terrible revenges.’ laughed Blackmoor.

‘I do have my limits, Blackmoor.’ said the Rani.  ‘Now, there are barely a dozen Daleks left in the base.  Can you pilot one of their time ships?’

‘How hard could it be?  They’ve only got suckers for hands.’

‘That’s the attitude!  Pilot it straight to your own TARDIS and wait there for me to contact you.  Remember to clear your mind or I can’t focus on you properly.  I will get your ship working and fix your robot.  It can then pilot your TARDIS for you while you steer the Dalek vessel.’

‘What about you?’ asked Blackmoor.  ‘I don’t like the idea of leaving you with the Daleks.’

‘Don’t play the hero with me, Blackmoor.’ sneered the Rani.  ‘Get ready to steal that vessel.  Adjust your blaster to neutral frequency.’

‘Neutral?’ exclaimed Blackmoor.

‘It will disrupt the force shields on the Dalek casing.  At least then you may have a chance of blasting the eye stalk out or hitting a weak joint.’

When the Time Lords returned to the base, Blackmoor finally had the unpleasant experience of seeing some of the Rani’s scarred guinea pigs.  She had left him here, awaiting a diversion signal.  As he paced through the chambers of the Rani’s testing rooms he felt physically sick at the creatures squirming in glass tanks.  The Daleks were indeed hideous mutants, and Blackmoor almost felt pity for them.  As he turned the next corner his hearts felt like they had collided together as a fully armoured Dalek stood in front of him.  It’s eye weakly slid upwards to view him, the lens erratically growing and contracting as it tired to focus. 

‘Black.. moor.’ it croaked.  ‘Help... me.’

 ‘How did you know my name?’ gasped the Time Lord, as a sucker weakly pawed at his chest.

‘Time Lord neuro-chemical flow has increased my psychic awareness.’ croaked the Dalek.  ‘Link with battle computer has been lost.  Unable to self-destruct.’

‘I never thought I’d feel so sorry for a Dalek.’ sighed Blackmoor.  ‘Can’t you shoot?’

‘Weaponry off-line.’ replied the Dalek.  ‘Kill... me.’

‘But don’t you see, you’re free from your network.  You could begin a whole new era for the Daleks, turn their cause around.  Perhaps you could even become a force for good.’

‘There is no data.’ grated the Dalek, obliviously.  ‘What are my tasks?  I must find my tasks.  What is my function?’

Blackmoor grabbed a few of the Rani’s tools from a nearby cabinet and carefully removed the gunstalk from it’s joint.  A compact nuclear powerpack hung to the end of the weapon.

‘I suppose I’m doing you a favour.’ said Blackmoor, pressing home the test button on the gunstalk and exterminating the Dalek in a flash of heat and ozone.  The charred shell of the Dalek slid backwards as the monster inside gurgled and writhed for a few seconds.

‘I think I’ve got an idea what the Daleks need from you, my dear Rani.’ said Blackmoor to himself.  ‘And I’m glad to hear you don’t approve of it either.’

The Rani grabbed her wristband from the tool cabinet quickly, slipping it on under her sleeve before the guard caught up with her.  She also grabbed a box of tools to use as a prop and turned round to meet the hateful glare of her captor.

‘Have you acquired the equipment you need?’ it asked.

‘I have.’ replied the Rani, holding up the toolbox.

‘Then you must return to your laboratory and complete the final tests immediately.  The Emperor of the Daleks will be here within one Irran day.’

‘The Emperor?’ gasped the Rani.

‘Correct.  When you have proven your skills on our test subject, you will augment the Emperor as planned.’  The Dalek pulled out of the way before prodding the Rani towards the console room.  ‘When we have discovered the power of the Time Lords, we will become the masters of all!’

‘Good for you.’ sighed the Rani.  ‘And our agreement?’

‘The Black Dalek has made no changes to our bargain.  Your life will be spared and you will be allocated a portion of the Dalek Empire to research without intervention from aliens.’

Without the Dalek spotting her, the Rani pushed a button on her communicator.  The frequency was far out of humanoid hearing range, but it confused the Dalek guard.

‘What is that?’ is yelled.

‘I hear nothing.’ replied the Rani.  She told the truth, but it was not only the Daleks that could hear the signal.  Attracted by the call of the sound, something approached the Dalek base, and Blackmoor’s mission had begun.

Blackmoor heard the fierce roar of a Tyrannosaur as he pelted down the corridor.  Outside, he could hear Daleks bellowing commands and firing.  The Rani had told him to head to the top level of this base, and there he would find the Dalek time machine.  He crashed into an open lift and pressed a large control pad.  The lift stopped and daylight poured in.  From the top platform of the base he could clearly see Daleks closing in around two huge Tyrannosaurs.  One of them raced forward.  It’s great jaws struck at a nearby Dalek unit, mangling metal and ripping though the electronics.  The Damaged Dalek was then thrown aside, screeching in a distorted way that shattered Blackmoor’s ears.  Even the power of the Dalek blasters didn’t seem to kill these monsters, or at least not in a single shot.  As Daleks swarmed out of the base and fired, one of the dinosaurs fell dead and the other backed away. 

‘I like that girl’s style.’ chuckled Blackmoor to himself.  ‘That Doctor fellow doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’

He ran to what must have been the Dalek time machine.  It was about the size of a TARDIS, but without a cloaking device it appeared as a tubular pod with a single doorway, like an upturned metal cup.  But how did he get in?  The answer came right out of the lift behind him.

‘Do not move!’ ordered a Dalek drone.

Blackmoor spun round and let loose with the Dalek gunstalk he had taken.  The Drone was exterminated, the upper half of it’s vehicle blasted into chunks of smoking metal.  Blackmoor winced with pain as the powerful discharge sent crackles of radiation up his arms.  The hairs on his hands and forearms were singed.  He had to use the Dalek gun sparingly or he’d fall ill with radiation sickness.  He grabbed the sucker stalk from the burned Dalek and held it up to the sensor at the side of the doorway.  The timeship opened!  Blackmoor dove into the machine and looked around.  The layout was similar to that of a TARDIS ship, larger inside than out and dominated by a single console.  He flexed his great hands and got to work.  With a spilling blur of sound and colour the vessel vanished into the vortex.

At the temple, the Rani worked furiously on her own ship.  The Daleks had wisely fitted a disabling device to the central console.  She could pilot it by remote control, but not across time, and being stranded in one time period was bad for a Galifreyan.  Just look at Blackmoor she thought.  His exile on Earth had turned him into some kind of barbaric hero.  With a last fizz and a few sparks, the device finally came free. 

‘I could just leave you, Blackmoor.’ she breathed to herself.  ‘Petty revenge on the Daleks isn’t really my style.’  She thought for a moment.  Blackmoor was somewhat flippant, but he didn’t deserve to be left in the lurch like that.  He certainly wouldn’t do the same to her, and at the very least she wouldn’t give the Daleks the satisfaction of killing him.  It would only be a matter of time until they found that vessel, and there would be hell to pay if they burst in and found that a Time Lord had taken it.  She focused her mind on Blackmoor and stretched out with her telepathic senses.

Blackmoor stepped out of the Dalek vessel and hurriedly entered his own TARDIS, which he had named Pegasus.  He felt the cold presence of the Rani, seeping into his soul.  It was unpleasant at first, feeling her icy fingers gripping at his mind and dissecting his soul, but then came the wonder of discovery.  It was like downloading a lifetime of knowledge into his mind in one swift second.  He felt like he had read his way through fifteen libraries all at once.  His outlook changed somewhat as the Rani’s calculating mind merged with his own, and he dove straight for the console like a child in a toy shop.  It was incredible to suddenly become a genius for a few minutes.  The console took a lot of work to repair, but fixing K9 was child’s play.  As the Rani finally faded from his thoughts he collapsed to the floor, exhausted.  He felt violated and used, but satisfied as the glorius sound of his raspy console finally churned back to life.

‘I’m not supprised you managed to fix her so easily.’ he said, regarding the Rani.  ‘I just wonder how you forced me down here in the first place.’

‘Master, I have detected hostile aliens moving towards us.’ said a polite meachanical voice.

‘As always, K9.’ chuckled Blackmoor.  ‘Can you pilot this old thing to the ziggurat if I give you a sensor sweep of this area?’

‘Yes, Master.’ replied the robotic dog.  ‘Where will you be?’

‘I’ve got a date with a devil of a woman.’ sighed Blackmoor.  ‘And we’ve no time to lose.  There are Daleks on this planet, and if we don’t act soon there might be plenty more.  I also have a bad feeling that they’re also on the verge of a great discovery.  Even without any further help from the Rani, they might just about crack it!’

The Dalek vessel warped into existence at the back of the Temple as the Rani stepped out of her TARDIS.  It was a simple but elegant triangular shaped vessel, in black and red.  Blackmoor stepped out of the Dalek ship, and to his supprise, the Rani was smiling.

‘What?’ he said.

‘So you were the phantom poet.’ laughed the Rani.  ‘You certainly have unique style of writing.  I didn’t even know you knew words like that!’

‘Okay, okay!’ said Blackmoor, blushing.  ‘That was a long time ago you know!’

‘I should wash your mouth out with soap!’ said the Rani, throwing a bundle of wires onto the floor.

‘That was then, this is now.’ said Blackmoor.  ‘Now I’ve gathered one thing, you planted the dinosaurs in the jungle yourself, that’s obvious, seeing as they’re about the only thing you actually like about the planet Earth.  Now I’ve also gathered vaguely that we must disrupt the physical nature of this planet with our ships, and you need the Dalek ship to turn the taranium flow into useable power to flow through our vessels.  What’s with the wires and gadgets though?’

‘The means of control.’ said the Rani, smiling a wicked smile.  ‘All the power we flow through our ships can be regulated and altered through the TARDIS control console in the same way that you pilot your own ship.’

‘I get it.’ said Blackmoor.  ‘So if you set the controls for three centuries ago, it won’t take the ship back in time, it will manipulate the target by three centuries.  If you set it for a millenium into the future the target is aged by a thousand... you’re a genius Rani!’

‘I thought you already knew that.’ said the Rani, briefly strolling into the Dalek ship and tampering with the main control console.  ‘If perhaps the Time Lords had listened to me instead of shunning what they’re afraid of I could have been the next Omega or Rassilon, instead of an exile.’  She leant close to Blackmoor as if to get personal about it and hissed.  ‘Well there’s the Time Lords for you.’

The third and final vessel materialised in the chamber.  Blackmoor’s TARDIS had taken the form of a large pillar, blending in well with the interior of the temple, even down to the mystical carvings and hieroglyphs. 

‘Master, the Daleks are heading this way.’ said K9, rolling out of the pillar.

The Rani was busy, wiring cables between the vessels and attaching them to the glowing taranium crystal at the top of the staff.

‘What now?’ asked Blackmoor.  ‘How do we get this operation working?’

‘Go back into your ship and seal off the doors.’ said the Rani.  Open communication channels and await my instructions.’

Blackmoor and K9 went into Pegasus and manned the console.  The Rani’s face appeared on the communications monitor.  Blackmoor readied his ship and looked up.

‘All systems go!’ he said.

‘I have linked a cable to the outside of your ship.  Reroute your main power interface to the outer shell of your TARDIS and you’ll be linked to the staff.’

‘That links it directly to the eye of harmony, right?.’ gasped Blackmoor.

‘Correct.’

‘Okay, I hope you’re as clever as you seemed in my head.’

‘Don’t you worry.’ chuckled the Rani.  ‘I even ran a computer simulation of this while I was waiting for you.’

‘Very efficient.’ sighed Blackmoor.  ‘Wait a minute, I’m getting something on my scanners.’

‘Master!’ shrieked K9.  ‘I have detected a large Dalek force coming into orbit of this planet.’

‘The Imperial fleet!’ yelled Blackmoor.  ‘Rani, they’re coming!’

‘Let them come!’ cackled the Rani, feverishly.  ‘In just under a minute, this whole planet will become a gigantic death trap - a time vortex storm large enough to vanquish anything!  Don’t worry about the fleet, Blackmoor.  Stay calm and follw my instructions very carefully.  Now, there is a remote link to you cloister room from the console.’

‘There is?  That’s the room where the Eye of Harmony is.  I alway’s wondered what it was called!’ exclaimed Blackmoor.  Perhaps if he hadn’t stole this machine he would have acquired one with an instruction manual.  He saw the link under the ridge of the console.  He was sure it hadn’t been there before.

‘Did you put this thing here... when you were merged to me?’

‘Very good.’ said the Rani.  ‘For a barbarian you’ve developed impressive powers of perception.  Now get ready for the grand opening.  Simply touch the sensor pad and concentrate.  Your TARDIS should do the rest for you.’

‘I’m in.’ said Blackmoor.  ‘I’ve reached the cloister room.’

‘Now open the eye of harmony!’ ordered the Rani.  ‘Do it now!’

‘But...’

‘Blackmoor, you crettin!’ snapped the Rani.  ‘We must both unlock the energy together or this won’t work.  Open the eye!’

Blackmoor willed the TARDIS to open the power source, deep in the bowels of the ship.  The massive globe-like structure rumbled open to reveal a misty glow and shining array of coloured light.  The whole vessel shuddered and complained.  Blackmoor’s face dripped with sweat.  Was this make-or-break time?  The Rani’s face was set in stone on the screen.

‘Do you have a single fibre of emotion in you?’ he mouthed to himself.

‘Perhaps I’ll let you know some day.’ replied the Rani, sensing what Blackmoor had just thought.  ‘Now hold on tight, the Taranium is charged.  We’ll both receive a wave of energy.’

The TARDIS shook violently and the console’s grating grew louder as it complained and struggled to keep control.  The Rani looked deeply involved on the screen.  For the first time ever, sweat trickled down her forehead and she cursed in Galifreyan as her own TARDIS struggled to contain the flow.

‘Any idea how the Dalek ship’s doing?’ asked Blackmoor.

‘It must be holding out all right, or we wouldn’t be getting this much power!’ replied the Rani.  She looked down at her console readouts.  ‘The structure of the planet has begun to give way.  When you set your ship to take off, it will merge the planet into the vortex - not the ship.  Get ready to dematerialise on three... two... one... now!’

Everything stopped.  Time stood still as the winds halted and the rivers froze.  Daleks stood like statues around the base, perfectly still streams of energy sticking out of their guns like blue and white ice.  Then, all began to break up.  Distorted electronic screams filled the air as the Daleks were ripped apart, cell by cell, and imploding into nothing.  The great jungles of Irra 4 swirled into emptiness, like green paint down a plug hole.  Fearsome storms erupted over the skies of the world as the force of time begun to lash out in frustration, reclaiming the planet in bolts of lightning.  Amid the devastation, only the two TARDIS ships remained.  The Dalek ship had imploded into itself.  The staff of Irra had melted into nothing as the planet’s core sent energy flooding into the ships.  Blackmoor panted as his TARDIS finally stopped shuddering. 

‘So how do we make this set up work?’ he asked.  It was doubtless that the Rani had taken that responsibility herself.  She looked back to the monitor and replied.

‘I have locked on to the Dalek fleet.  They’re already retreating.’

‘Leave them , Rani.’

‘Nobody crosses me!’ she hissed.  ‘The Dalek Emperor made a mistake when he ordered his forces to kidnap me.’

‘It’s not worth it!’ urged Blackmoor.

‘Perhaps not.’ said the Rani.  While we have the chance... maybe we should hit them at their heart.’  A star map came up on Blackmoor’s screen.  It showed a fierce red planet with rings like Saturn.

‘Where is this?’

‘The planet Skaro.’ snorted the Rani.  ‘Or perhaps you’re right after all.  Why waste a burst of energy like this on a galactic plague like the Daleks?’  She looked deeply into the distance, or perhaps the past thought Blackmoor.  His powers of perception were indeed growing strong.  He looked deep into the Rani’s soul and almost felt the anger and resentment she felt for her exile.  Always a woman of no emotion, her contempt had been bottled up for years and finally it was getting ready to blow!  She looked back to Blackmoor and spoke.  ‘ How about... Galifrey?’

Blackmoor blinked at the Rani’s fiendish grin on the screen.  She couldn’t be serious!  No matter what trouble the Time Lords had caused her, the Rani couldn’t seriously be considering genocide!

‘Rani!  Stay still and do nothing!  I’m going to transmat over to you.’

‘Why?’ laughed the Rani.

‘We’ve got to talk this through.’ yelled Blackmoor.  ‘You can’t be serious about this!’

‘You of all people should know, Blackmoor... I’m always serious!’

Then the screen hazed over.  Blackmoor heard the Rani scream before contact was lost. 

‘K9, prepare to teleport me into that ship now!’

It was just as the Rani was about to press the button when the attacker emerged.  The air across the room rippled like water.  A shape had begun to form.  Bulky and grey, it uncloaked and moved straight forward with stalk-like limbs outstretched and intentions quite clear.  The Rani screamed as it fired, just missing her while she ducked, and smashing a hole into the communications panel.  More bolts of energy crashed through the air.  The Rani trembled behind the console.  She should have known the Daleks would do something like this.  Perhaps she had underestimated them after all.  The machine slid round the console, bringing it’s gun down to fire.  The Rani rolled back and the blast just about missed, but not by enough.  Pain crackled through the Rani’s legs as her proximity to the Dalek death ray caused her to get caught by some of the neutronic streams.  She screamed aloud and dragged her form across the floor with her arms.  From behind the Dalek, the soft humming of a teleport began.  It was Blackmoor!  His eyes glowed fiercly with feral rage as he saw the Rani helplessly writhing at the mercy of the Dalek, her legs totally paralysed. She dragged herself back and tearfully turned to face the killing machine.  It’s cold eye glared back at her, uncaring, unfeeling, like her own chilling glare there was not a hint of pity or regret.  The gun glowed as the radiation charged up.  The focusing probe emerged from the front of the barrel.

‘Ex-ter-min-ate!’

But no blast came.  Blackmoor threw his cloak over the Dalek, blinding and confusing it.  He swung with his sword, crashing the blade onto the casing with great strength.  The Dalek’s voice squawked and shuddered with each strike as it complained.

‘Vision impaired!  I cannot see!  Assist!’

Blackmoor crashed his blade down onto the dome of the machine again and again.  It’s armour was too strong for Blackmoor to break.  His sword would give way first... and he was given the weapon by an Ice Warrior.  He charged the Dalek with his great strength, holding it against the wall.

‘Open the doors!’ he cried.

The Rani dragged herself onto the console, barely able to see as the pain forced her eyes to water.  Her hands fumbled over the array of switches as Blackmoor was thrown across the room by the Dalek.  The cloak drifted to the floor.  It advanced on the Rani as the doors opened behind it.  A barren wasteland lay outside, warped and twisted with time distortion.  The Dalek fired as the Rani collapsed.  The energy flew over her and blew one of her cabinets to pieces!  Blackmoor picked up his cloak and used it like a garrotte, roping around the Dalek’s grille section beneath the dome.  He pulled, grunting as his muscles were pushed to the limit.  The Dalek was sent hurling back towards the open doorway, spinning out of control.  Blackmoor released one end of the cloak, and whipped it back with the other hand, flipping it over his shoulder triumphantly.  The Dalek jerked and smoked outside, meeting a grisly death from the temporal storm.  One of it’s dome lights and several sensor pods dropped from the rusting casing as it gurgled and croaked.

‘You... will be... exterminat....’

The light of the Daleks eye faded slowly and the sucker stalk dropped limp.  The creature looked to the ground, only it’s gun remaining poised.  Blackmoor looked at the gunstalk nervously until it finally gave in and hung lifeless.

‘A killer to the last.’ he murmured, as the Dalek started to crumble inwards.  Green ooze sprayed through the joints and grille of the machine as the dead Dalek inside was crushed like a grape.  Blackmoor turned away in disgust and closed the doors.  The Rani lay shaking on the floor, silently sobbing to herself under her mass of hair.  Blackmoor dropped to his knees, physically and mentally exhausted.

‘The Daleks never cease to terrify me.’ he sighed.  ‘You can blow thousands of them to pieces on a hundred different worlds and yet after nine hundred years you can barely get through a fight with just one.’  He put his hand on the Rani’s shoulder. ‘It’s over.’

‘Not yet!’ sobbed the Rani.  ‘They’ve pushed me too far this time.  I’m going to kill every blasted Dalek in the galaxy!’

‘Leave it, Rani.’ said Blackmoor, helping her to sit up.  ‘You know they’ll be back, no matter what you do to them.  You can’t blame them for being what they are, they can’t help it.  As far as they’re concerned they are justified in their actions.’

‘I know, Blackmoor.’ said the Rani, bitterly.  ‘Their creator gave them no sense of good or evil... but they are evil!  Curse the very day their inventor was born!’

‘Davros?’ chuckled Blackmoor.  ‘For all that knowledge, my dear Rani, you still don’t see the irony of it all.  It could have easily have been you.  I may not be a neuro-chemist, or a genetic genius but at least I’m not blinded by my own abilities.’

‘Very poetic, Blackmoor.’ sobbed the Rani.  ‘And you think you’re speach has moved me to abandon my experiments and lead a life of heroism?’

‘You once described the Daleks as a plague to the universe.’ said Blackmoor, getting up and pulling a small palm-sized device from his belt.  ‘What’s so different about your army of aliens on Mia-simia-goria?  Give it some thought.  I’ll see you around some time.’

‘You can’t leave!’ yelled the Rani.  ‘You’ll break up the time manipulator!’

‘I think we’ve seen enough killing for one day, Rani.’ said Blackmoor.  ‘If you have a change of heart, perhaps I’ll hear from you some time.  You know where you’ll find me.’

As Blackmoor teleported away, the Rani dragged herself onto the console and flicked a few switches until an all too familiar planet appeared on the monitor screen.  It was a pleasant looking orb of blue and green.  It was Earth.

‘Perhaps you will hear from me sometime...’ whispered the Rani.  ‘And I guarentee the Daleks will hear from me too.  I’ll teach them the meaning of superiority!’

On course for Earth and working like a dream, the trusty Pegasus whirled through the vortex carrying Blackmoor and K9 back to their adopted home.  Blackmoor sat in his throne-like chair and watched his console room thoughtfully.  His cloak was wrapped proudly around his shoulders, the cloak that saved the Rani’s life. 

‘You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had a day like this, K9.’

‘Master?’

‘I hope the Rani does come looking for me.  I was obsessed with her back at the Academy, you know.  She was an outcast throughout her life, even in those early days.  I used to hate the way the others ignored her.  If she could have made more friends back then perhaps she wouldn’t be so cold hearted now.  Maybe some of what I said may rub off on her a little.  The Daleks always seem to bring out people’s true nature... perhaps because they’re so unnatural themselves.  Maybe now the Rani’s been on the receiving end of Davros’ handiwork she may think about the consequences of her own work a little more.’

‘We are now nearing landing range for Earth, Master.’ said K9.

‘You know, I wonder if the Rani would ever consider trying to find her hearts again.’ said Blackmoor, ignoring K9.  ‘Could there ever be a time when she finally becomes sick of her lonely existence?  She might even like Earth if she gives it a chance... for I would give her a royal welcome!  Do you think she’d make a good queen?’

‘Master, do you require a response?’

‘No thanks, K9.’ chuckled Blackmoor.  ‘You wouldn’t understand.  I’ll have to make do with a smooth landing back in England and a keg of hearty ale.  That’s all I need right now.’