"The delegate from Alpha Centauri has arrived, Your Majesty." "He will present his credentials to you shortly." "Thank you, Torbis." "We wait now only for the chairman delegate from Earth." "Then the discussions can begin." "You will persist then in this folly?" "Nothing I can say will deter you?" "Hepesh, you have already had your say in the Grand Council." "The question has been discussed and decided." "Decided by you, Torbis, and the fools who support you." "You mislead the King, you abandon the ancient ways of our people." "Nothing but ignorance and superstition." "You will bring the curse of Aggedor upon us." "It'll take much more than your childish mumbo-jumbo to frighten me." "Enough!" "I will not have my chancellor and my high priest squabbling on the steps of the throne!" "Your Majesty is right to rebuke us." "Nevertheless, I must pursue..." "Must I remind you, priest..." "My friends!" "My good friends, you are more to me than my chancellors, my regents, much more." "It grieves my heart to hear such hate between two brothers." "May I speak, Your Majesty?" "Very well." "It was not I who chose to quarrel." "Ever since the death of his exhalted Majesty, your father," "I have been as a parent to you." "If you should forget now all that I have ever taught you, if you should let the superstitious fear of this foolish man..." "Folly has not been mine..." "Your Majesty, my whole life would be a failure." "As a sacred trust, I undertook to..." "Hepesh, please!" "Torbis, I shall not betray you." "But, sire..." "No, Hepesh!" "The decision has been taken." "If the committee of assessment judges favourably, then Peladon will join the Galactic Federation." "And I shall expect your loyal help and support at this difficult time." "Your Majesty." "Torbis, please inform the others that Alpha Centauri has arrived." "Torbis!" "Torbis!" "Grun, what happened?" "What happened, Grun?" "So, the spirit of Aggedor has risen again." "The ancient curse of Peladon will be fulfilled." "There you are, Jo." "A perfect landing." "And about time, too." "Now, now, Miss Grant, let's not be impatient." "Impatient?" "Look, I'm all dolled up..." "I'm all dolled up for a night out on the town with Mike Yates when you talk me into a joyride in this thing..." "It's hardly a joyride, Jo." "This is the TARDIS' first test flight since I've got it working again." "Yes, I know." "But you said we'd only..." "You said we'd only be a few minutes, right?" "Mmm-hmm." "Well, we've been simply ages." "Look, I'm going to be very late, so if you'll just open the door" "and let me out, I'll be..." "One minute, Jo." "Routine landing procedures first, eh?" "Let's see what the scanners have to tell us." "Precisely nothing." "Must be on the blink." "I might have expected it." "The TARDIS always is." "I hope you're as in good condition when you're as old as she is." "Let's have a look." "Yes." "This is a tiny fault in the interstitial beam synthesiser." "Still, I can put that right later." "Doctor?" "Mmm-hmm?" "You're sure we're back at base?" "Yes, well, everything outside seems perfectly normal." "Atmosphere, temperature, gravity, yeah." "Cheer up, Jo." "It's a perfect landing." "You did say "perfect"?" "Doctor, what's the matter?" "Where are we?" "Well, we seem to be halfway up a mountain." "We're balanced on the edge." "Well, what we're gonna do?" "Come towards me." "Come on!" "Now, give me your hand very, very gently." "Ready now?" "Yes." "Right, jump!" "It's smashed to pieces." "Jo, the TARDIS may have its faults, but it is indestructible." "Our main worry is how to get to it." "We certainly can't climb down there." "Jo!" "Jo, look up there!" "Ooh, looks a bit doomy." "Well, we certainly can't recover the TARDIS by ourselves." "We'd better get up there and see if we can find help." "Up there?" "Yeah, that's right." "But I'm not exactly dressed for mountaineering." "Well, you could always wait here, I suppose." "No, thanks." "Anyway we don't even know where we are." "Exactly." "So the sooner we find out, the better." "Come on." "The delegate from Alpha Centauri, member of the Galactic Federation, presents his credentials before His Majesty, King Peladon." "Peladon welcomes the delegate from Alpha Centauri." "As a member of the preliminary assessment commission," "I have great hopes that your planet will be acceptable as a candidate for the Galactic Federation." "That is my firm intention." "My chancellor will..." "My high priest will give you all assistance to this end." "We willingly accept the hands of true friendship." "Unfortunately, discussions cannot begin until the arrival of the chairman delegate from Earth." "He will be here soon, Hepesh, never fear." "Earth is many light years away from us?" "Is that not so, Alpha Centauri?" "Indeed, Your Majesty." "A remote and unattractive planet at best." "I say again the omens are not good." "Hepesh..." "Once before Your Majesty saw fit to ignore my warnings, and now your chancellor Torbis lies dead," "slain by the wrath of Aggedor..." "Hepesh, enough!" "Slain?" "Danger here?" "Then the conference must be cancelled." "This is not a matter to trouble the delegates." "Torbis, my former chancellor, died earlier tonight in mysterious circumstances." "But the truth will be brought to light." "Meanwhile, there is no danger to you or to your fellow delegates." "I accept Your Majesty's assurances." "Thank you." "Lord Hepesh will take you to your fellow delegates." "It's no good." "I can't go any further." "I nearly... broke my neck coming up this far." "Well, we certainly can't stay here, Jo." "I tell you what." "Let's traverse along this ledge a bit." "I'll see if there's another way out." "Have a look that way." "Okay." "Doctor!" "Yes, what is it?" "Jo?" "Jo, where are you?" "Jo, where are you?" "Over here." "Come on." "What is it?" "A tunnel." "Come on." "This chamber is reserved for the delegates' private meetings." "Greetings." "You are the delegate from Alpha Centauri?" "The delegate from Arcturus." "Greetings, delegate." "There has been an incident." "A court official has been slain." "Slain?" "There has been violence?" "I am in danger?" "An internal matter, Delegate Arcturus." "Do not be concerned." "The delegation must be concerned, if only for its own safety." "We are committed to the rejection of violence." "But we are capable of self defence, should it prove necessary." "Allow me to demonstrate." "So, be warned." "Do not provoke us." "We desire only your friendship." "Then make sure that our mission is not endangered." "Jo, come and look at this." "What on earth is it?" "It looks like some sort of shrine." "I've never seen anything like it before." "No." "Neither have I." "At least not on Earth." "Come on." "I remember when you and Torbis first brought me to this throne room." "At first you refused to sit upon the throne." "You said that rightfully it could only be your father's place." "But Torbis lifted me up and set me here." "And then you said..." "And then I said," ""Though the royal blood that flows in your veins" ""is mingled with that of strangers, yet you shall be Peladon of Peladon." ""Greater than your father, greater than any past or future king. "" "And then the Earth woman..." "And then my mother, Hepesh." "She smiled and placed my left hand in yours" "and my right hand in Torbis's." "And together we made a boy into a king." "And now Torbis is dead." "His task was almost done, as mine will be when once I have anointed you king." "Why did he die, Hepesh?" "He saw your future as a servant of the Galactic Federation." "I see you as the independent ruler of a great and glorious kingdom." "You really believe he was destroyed by Aggedor, don't you?" "Yes, it was a warning." "But the Federation delegates are here at my invitation." "It should have been me that was struck down." "No, it was Torbis's blind advice that would have destroyed your kingdom." "You would have become a slave, not a king." "But, Hepesh, you were always telling me," ""A king must choose and choose courageously. "" "Aggedor has shown the way." "Backwards, into superstition." "It was you who taught me to fight, to ride and to think." "Help me to realise my dream." "I know what is best for my people." "I do not trust these aliens." "Well then, trust me." "I tell you, I know their minds." "I will not let them lead you into a trap." "But their motives are open and honest." "To them, Peladon, we are merely savages." "Savages to be tamed." "They despise and distrust us." "Then I will talk to them." "Convince them." "Summon the delegates." "Now, Hepesh!" "Which way now?" "Which way indeed." "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." "Meeny?" "Oh, no." "It's blocked up." "Yes." "If the tunnel's never used, why is this torch still alight?" "Right again, Doctor." "Where are we?" "Somewhere inside the castle, I should think." "Let's take a look around." "What was that?" "That, Jo, is an Ice Warrior, a native of the planet Mars." "You've seen them before?" "Yes, indeed I have." "And believe me, they're not very pleasant company." "Oh, come on, let's get back to the tunnel." "Quickly." "Thank you." "By now, you all know of the tragic incident involving my chancellor Torbis." "He was more than an advisor." "He was, like Hepesh, a trusted friend." "And yet, he was killed." "Why?" "It was a supernatural warning." "My high priest connects this death with one of our ancient legends." "Your priest speaks of a warning." "Perhaps it is more than that." "Superstition, nothing more." "This incident could well mean a threat to us and to the Federation." "But it was Torbis who died." "The legend only concerns my people." "Your legend seems violent and unpleasant." "And rather too convenient." "The legend of the curse of Peladon has been handed down through countless centuries." "I think perhaps we should hear this legend." "It concerns the royal beast of Peladon, now extinct." "It is written, "Mighty is Aggedor, fiercest of all the beasts of Peladon. "" "Young men would hunt it to prove their courage." "His fur trims our royal garment." "His head is our royal emblem." "It is also written," ""There will come a day when the spirit of Aggedor will rise again" ""to warn and defend his royal master King Peladon." ""For, at that day, a stranger will appear in the land," ""bringing peril to Peladon and great tribulation to its kingdom. "" "Chairman delegate from Earth, greetings." "Delegate Izlyr from Mars." "Sub-delegate Ssorg." "Delegate Alpha Centauri." "The Galactic Committee is terribly in need of your experience and judgment." "I am Delegate Arcturus." "You are late." "Late?" "Uh, yes, my apologies to the committee, but our space shuttle crash-landed down the mountain." "I wonder if something could be done about rescuing it." "That will be arranged." "I am Hepesh, High Priest of Peladon." "How do you do?" "Protocol demands that you should present formally your credentials to King Peladon." "Hand them to me." "I'm afraid that will not be possible." "We have lost everything in the crash." "Uh, we can deal with protocol later, Hepesh." "Present the chairman delegate from Earth and his companion." "I presume this female is of royal blood." "Well, naturally." "Why... why do you bother to ask?" "We are standing in the royal throne room of Peladon, only men of rank and females of royal blood may set foot here." "The penalty for trespass is death." "Doctor, I do not deal through intermediaries." "Kindly present us to our royal host." "Yes, of course." "Will you excuse me?" "Your Majesty, as delegate from Earth, I greet you." "May I present Her Royal Highness the Princess Josephine." "Of TARDIS." "Greetings, Princess." "I'm sorry to hear that your journey ended so uncomfortably." "The whole affair was most deplorable." "The pilot was exceedingly inefficient." "Well, I'm glad it was nothing more." "You bring a welcome beauty to a serious occasion." "Thank you, Your Majesty." "Royal Highness," "what are your powers on the committee of assessment?" "Erm..." "The Princess is here in the capacity of a royal observer only." "Ah." "As on my planet, you still retain the aristocratic process." "Yes, in a democratic sort of way." "Chairman delegate from Earth, we are not here to indulge in social diplomacy." "No, no, of course not." "We are here to consider admitting this somewhat primitive planet into the Galactic Federation." "Yes, thank you for reminding me." "Unfortunately, the success of our mission is threatened, violently." "Threatened?" "Perhaps you'd be kind enough to explain that to me from the beginning." "This is an internal affair, we need not trouble the chairman delegate..." "By a legend we are told..." "Or a blatant attempt to intimidate this commission." "I cannot..." "Gentlemen, please!" "... are of no concern." "Do my ears deceive me?" "Members of the Galactic Federation squabbling like a gang of small children?" "You are right, Chairman Delegate." "Moreover, the throne room is hardly the place for such discussions." "Then perhaps we should withdraw" "to the delegates' conference room." "Yes, that is a splendid idea." "Princess," "I do look forward to speaking with you again, less formally." "Thank you." "That would be very nice." "See you later."