"Faster!" "Faster!" "We have a problem." "Well, several problems." "Mentalis knows, but won't tell about Astra." "Refuses us access to the memory banks, but tells us that the Marshal is on his way here to blow this place to smithereens!" "But won't it react?" "Oh, yes." "Mentalis is convinced it's invincible." "It's been programmed not to accept defeat." "Then it'll stop him." "It'll counterattack." "Unfortunately, it's been programmed that the war is over." "So it can't attack." "It thinks it's won." "That's the trouble with machines." "So, what will happen?" "Well, it will self destruct." "I think "obliteration" was the term it used." "So, if the Marshal attacks..." "Which he will!" "There will be a rather large...bang." "Big enough to blow up Zeos, take Atrios with it and make certain the whole thing ends in a sort of draw." "That's the way these military minds work." "The Armageddon factor." "Target located, sir." "Excellent." "Prepare to attack." "Has it ever occurred to you, Shapp, that you and the Marshal and this thing are in an arena playing out a game for some evil, alien spectator?" "The third force?" "Yes, I think I've met him." "Calls himself the Shadow." "Astra." "Princess Astra." "Do you hear me?" "Yes, I hear you." "Good." "There are certain duties you must perform." "Yes." "You will help me in my quest." "You understand?" "Yes." "Astra, you are to meet your lover." "Smile." "What are you going to do?" "Well, we're going to try and neutralize and dismantle Mentalis here." "It's absolutely essential that while I'm fiddling it doesn't have to be distracted by an attack from the Marshal." "Now, listen, I want you two to go back to Atrios via the transmat." "You, Shapp, are to contact the Marshal." "Tell him he's won." "Tell him the war's over." "Tell him anything you like, but stop him taking any further action." "And if I can't?" "Well, then, Mentalis..." "If the Marshal refuses to listen?" "Well, then, Mentalis..." "If he insists on going ahead?" "Well, then, Mentalis will go into its Armageddon sequence, we'll be bits of dust flying around the cosmos, including the Marshal." "You might even tell him that." "What are you waiting for?" "What about Astra?" "Merak, don't worry about Astra." "We'll find her." "Your duty lies with your patients." "You must go back to Atrios with Shapp." "Oh, very well." "Merak." "What are you doing, Merak?" "Come on!" "Ah." "Merak!" "Astra?" "Astra, it's me, Merak!" "Astra, where are you?" "Astra!" "Merak." "Astra!" "Merak." "K9, are you sure this is all right?" "Affirmative." "I mean, it doesn't feel threatened or anything?" "Negative." "Proceed." "Doctor, do you think it was the Shadow who built this?" "Oh, more than likely." "Yeah." "Well, since there don't seem to be any Zeons on Zeos, if you know what I mean, presumably, it's the Shadow who's got the Princess." "More than likely." "The question is where?" "What about between Atrios and Zeos?" "Do you remember?" "Romana, that's brilliant!" "Of course!" "He's got a third planet all to himself." "Right!" "All we have to do is find it!" "After I've stopped this." "Well, if you can stop it!" "What?" "What have you done?" "I don't know!" "K9, what have I done?" "You have triggered primary alert function." "Blast!" "Affirmative." "And now it's waiting to blow itself up." "If required, to resist attack." "Let's hope Shapp reaches the Marshal before he does anything silly." "We're very vulnerable till that's done." "Yes, rather like sitting inside a time bomb." "What's that, K9?" "Well?" "Assimilating information!" "Sorry." "Well?" "Hostile craft approaching." "What?" "There!" "Zeos at last!" "I shall crush it like a rotten egg!" "Faster, man, faster!" "The Marshal!" "Shapp must have missed him." "Entering self-destruct sequence." "In self-destruct sequence." "It's going to blow itself up!" "Yes." "And us with it." "Unless!" "Doctor, look out!" "Arm all warheads." "Missiles armed and targeted, sir." "That was close." "How did they manage to miss?" "Well, they weren't aiming at me." "They were aiming at that, the control centre." "Like a scorpion stinging itself to death, as soon as it sensed I was trying to interfere with the sequence, it destroyed its own control centre." "It's mindless now." "Clicking towards oblivion." "How long, K9?" "Damage renders data unavailable." "The TARDIS!" "Come on, K9!" "Within range, sir." "Go in closer." "As close as you dare." "Here, take a look at this." "Ah, you put the five pieces together." "Good." "Have you got the Tracer?" "Yes." "Lock it, lock it." "Now what?" "Well, it was just an idea." "I thought if we had five-sixths of the pieces, it might give us some power." "Obviously, Guardian technology doesn't work that way." "If only we had the sixth piece!" "Yeah." "Or a sixth piece!" "What do you mean?" "What do you see there?" "A gap." "Exactly!" "A gap the shape of the sixth piece." "Oh!" "We know what it looks like." "We can make one." "Steady now." "Atrion Control to Marshal." "Marshal?" "Come in, Marshal!" "This is Shapp." "Imperative you abort." "Repeat." "Imperative you abort mission." "Turn that thing off!" "Sir." "Useless bureaucrats trying to steal our thunder!" "Closer." "Closer!" "Prepare to strike!" "Wait for it, man!" "Wait for the order!" "There we are." "Ah, what did you use?" "Chronodyne." "Is that compatible?" "Well, it's as compatible as anything we've got!" "Compatibility ratio, 74%." "Component, therefore, unstable and liable to deteriorate." "Yes, and so are we if this doesn't work." "This should, in theory, give us powers of balance and stasis." "We should be able to create a neutral, timeless zone, for a while." "Now, how does it go?" "Hang on, let me just..." "Lock it!" "Lock it!" "All right." "Fire!" "We've failed." "Have we?" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Doctor, I've got it!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "We did it!" "Well, 99%." "Correction. 99.6%." "Even better!" "We haven't stopped them dead." "We got them in a three-second time loop!" "What?" "I've stopped the universe." "Still, they'll never notice." "Just imagine, somewhere someone's just slipped on a banana skin, and he'll be wondering forever when he's gonna hit the ground!" "Doctor, why isn't it affecting us?" "Oh, come on, Romana!" "I mean, if it affected the operators, no one would be able to use it!" "Even the Guardians would think of that!" "So, at the moment, we've got absolute power over everything, everywhere." "Yes." "Yes, it's quite a feeling, isn't it?" "Gods for an hour or two." "Negative." "Deterioration rate of chronodyne chip is in direct proportion to area affected." "Well, of course it is!" "Just imagine the amount of power required to stop the entire universe." "How long have we got, K9?" "Insufficient information for accurate prediction." "Probability, then." "Probability is for maximum 3.25 minutes." "Three and a quarter minutes!" "Maximum." "Now 3.13 minutes." "Hang on, if we've got so much power, we ought to be able to localise it in some way." "That should help." "Yes." "How do you set about localising a time loop?" "Well, if one has godlike powers, one ought to be able to use them," "oughtn't one?" "Eh?" "Command it." "Oh, yes." "Yeah." "Step aside." "I..." "Hey, I'd better get this right." "Affirmative." "I command that the spatial temporal loop be confined to the vicinity of the Marshal's vessel, the coordinates of which are already known." "There." "And the Zeon computer room!" "And the Zeon computer room!" "Let it be done!" "I thought I handled that rather well." "All power corrupts, Doctor." "Oh, come on!" "It's only a three-second time loop." "Negative." "Time loop stretching." "Already?" "How much?" "0.3 milliseconds per second." "And the chronodyne chip?" "Now deteriorating." "Yes, I thought you'd say that." "I think we should move." "Yes." "Nothing lasts forever." "The Doctor has been forced to use the Key to Time." "It is no longer in a place of safety." "You will lure the Doctor here and help me gain access to the TARDIS." "You understand?" "I understand." "Go with her." "Come on, quickly." "Remember, that time loop is stretching." "Doctor, come on!" "The time loop is stretching!" "Merak?" "Merak, I'm here!" "Are you hurt?" "My leg." "It's twisted." "What happened?" "You fell." "I tried to save you, but..." "I thought you were..." "Can you stand?" "I think so." "Here, let me help you." "Not very hopeful, is it?" "Whoever built this had a very twisted mind." "Oh!" "Halt, who goes there?" "Identify." "K9, it's me, Merak." "Affirmative." "You may enter." "Stop!" "Identify second unit." "What is it?" "It's called K9." "It belongs to the Doctor." "Affirmative." "Repeat." "Identify second unit." "K9, this is Astra." "Princess Astra." "The Doctor thinks that she may be able to help him." "Hostile presence detected." "Where?" "Hostiles approaching." "Take cover." "Quick, hide!" "What's this?" "It belongs to the Doctor." "What's inside?" "I must see inside!" "It's no use, Astra." "Only the Doctor and Romana can get in." "What's the matter?" "It's the air in here." "Perhaps we should go back to Atrios." "No, we must go on!" "We must find your friends!" "Hostiles repulsed." "Most satisfactory." "Who is there?" "Identify." "Galactic computer distress call received." "Please identify." "K9 answering computer distress call." "Please identify." "Please identify source of distress." "Doctor, I found her!" "This is Astra!" "She was captured by the Zeons." "Was she, now?" "How do you do?" "I'm delighted to see you." "I'm the Doctor." "This is Romana." "Hello." "Merak's told me about you." "So, you rescued her from the Zeons?" "I escaped." "How did you manage that?" "Through a tunnel of light." "I was on my way to the transmat when I heard her calling." "Then I fell and hurt myself." "I think one of the guards who was after me took a shot at him." "Very likely." "Very likely." "Where are they now?" "Well, they were coming after us, but K9 chased them away." "Good." "Good." "I think Merak needs medical attention." "Yes." "Look, Astra, why don't you and Merak go back to Atrios via the transmat?" "He'll show you the way." "I'd feel safer with you." "Well, I dare say, but we've got a few complicated things to do and Merak does need attention." "I think the thing you should do is go back and show your people that you're free." "He's right, Astra." "Of course I'm right." "Off you go, now." "Hope to see you soon." "Come on, this way." "Odd." "Very odd." "I think we should concentrate on the Shadow and the third planet." "All right." "This is not Atrios." "Neither is this Zeos." "What is this place?" "It's not far now." "Just over there." "Oh, my leg!" "You'll have to help me up, Astra." "I have more important work to do." "What do you mean?" "I'd stay and watch you die, but I haven't the time." "You're..." "You're not Astra!" "You fool!" "K9?" "K9?" "He was on guard." "Yeah." "Something must have happened." "Doctor!" "What's that?" "Doctor!" "Help!" "They're after me!" "Doctor!" "Yes, what is it?" "Shh." "What is it?" "Quick." "Key?" "Doctor, quickly!" "All right." "All right." "Where's Merak?" "Is he all right?" "I got him into the transmat shaft, but they were on me before I could follow." "He's safe, though." "Good." "Doctor, the time loop." "It has stretched to about five seconds by the look of it." "Yes." "That gives us about an hour of real time." "If it goes on stretching and if the false piece lasts long enough!" "Listen, I'll get a fix on the third planet." "It's a pretty little thing, isn't it?" "What is it?" "It's the Key to Time." "Are you all right, Astra?" "Yes, perfectly." "Well, now you've seen it, does it trigger off any hidden memories?" "No." "It means nothing to me." "That's a pity." "I was hoping you'd be able to tell us where the sixth piece is." "The sixth piece?" "Yes, look." "We have the other five segments." "Now we're looking for the sixth and final one." "Think, Astra." "Think." "I wouldn't touch it." "It's hot." "Got it!" "Good!" "Good!" "Set the coordinates." "Let's get on our way." "Your friends have arrived." "We must greet them." "Affirmative, Master." "You fool, Doctor!" "The Key to Time is mine!"