1: SPACE
(The Pirates' Beta Dart detaches from the beacon and moves off.)
2: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(PENN calls up to the commanding officers on the upper deck.)
TECHNICIAN PENN: They're leaving Beacon Alpha Four, sir.
3: SPACE
(The Beta Dart continues to speed off.)
4: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
MAJOR IAN WARNE: It's exactly what happened before.
GENERAL HERMACK: What is our arrival time?
TECHNICIAN PENN: Still ninety minutes to go, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Furiously.) We are going to be too late again!
(They suddenly hear the detonation radio signal.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: The beacon should blow any second now.
5: SPACE
(Space Beacon Alpha Four explodes.)
6: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(The TARDIS crew is thrown to the floor screaming, as smoke fills the exploding beacon.)
"THE SPACE PIRATES"
BY
ROBERT HOLMES
EPISODE TWO
7: SPACE
(The huge V-Ship continues its journey.)
8: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(HERMACK and WARNE have come down to the lower deck where they walk over to PENN'S station where the soldier is furiously adjusting controls on his console.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Penn! Give me a bearing on that pirate ship.
TECHNICIAN PENN: I can't pick her up, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Furiously.) What?
(No signal now shows on the radar sweep.)
TECHNICIAN PENN: The debris from that beacon's jammed the signals.
GENERAL HERMACK: Oh, Penn, you are an incompetent, useless...
(With a choked-off growl, HERMACK turns and strides away. MAJOR IAN WARNE gives PENN a reassuring tap on the shoulder.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Keep trying, Penn.
TECHNICIAN PENN: (Gratefully.) Yes, sir.
(WARNE moves to the upper level of the bridge to join HERMACK. The GENERAL is standing by a refreshment station, watching black coffee trickle into a plastic cup.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Ah, coffee?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Yes please, sir.
(HERMACK passes a cup to WARNE.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Thank you.
(For a moment the two men stand sipping their coffee in silence. HERMACK sees the look on WARNE'S face.)
GENERAL HERMACK: All right, I know. The men are doing their best.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: General?
GENERAL HERMACK: Isn't that what you were going to say?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Something like that, yah.
(HERMACK turns and looks at the upper deck monitor screen, which shows the eight disconnected sections of the beacon.)
GENERAL HERMACK: You see? They're moving out of range already.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (Ruefully.) If only we could have sustained continual main boost, it might have been a different story. They must have a base somewhere in this system. We're more than fifty days out from home planet.
GENERAL HERMACK: Quite, they can have main boost the whole time. Our only chance is getting close enough to launch the minnows.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Or locate their base. They must have dispatched pieces of that beacon to it. If we could just locate one of the pieces.
(HERMACK shakes his head.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Can't be done. If those auxiliary rockets cut out, we've nowhere to track on.
(He gestures towards the screen. Each piece of the beacon is disappearing.)
GENERAL HERMACK: You see - there's nothing left now.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: We've got the tactile scanner, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: That would be like looking for a single speck of dust at the bottom of an Argonite mine.
(WARNE puts his coffee down and stares at the main screen on the lower deck.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Do you think there's any chance they're still alive out there?
GENERAL HERMACK: You mean Sorba's men?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Yeah.
GENERAL HERMACK: I doubt it. I doubt if anyone's alive on that beacon now.
(He too stares over at the large lower deck monitor.)
9: SPACE
(The eight segments of the Beacon quietly drift in space.)
10: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(Inside their segment, the TARDIS crew is still and lifeless. Smoke from the explosion still hangs in the air.)
11: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(TECHNICIAN PENN spots a reading on his scanner and yells up to the upper deck.)
TECHNICIAN PENN: Major Warne!
(WARNE hurries over to the edge of the deck.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: What is it, Penn?
TECHNICIAN PENN: Rocket ship, sir.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Are you sure?
TECHNICIAN PENN: No doubt of it, sir, and she's right in the area where Beacon Alpha Four went up!
(WARNE hurries over to controls and starts turning them.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Right, can I get it on the TS?
TECHNICIAN PENN: We should be able to, sir, bearing starboard nineteen from SDC.
(WARNE adjusts his controls.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Nineteen SDC...
(GENERAL HERMACK comes over.)
GENERAL HERMACK: What is it, Ian?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: There's something on the radar, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: The pirates?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Well, if it is, there's something wrong with their ship. She's hardly moving.
GENERAL HERMACK: But they don't even know we're in the same area.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Oh, I don't know, sir. They must be aware there's a V-Ship in the system. They ran into our picket on Alpha Four. Which is why, somehow, I don't think this can be their ship.
GENERAL HERMACK: But according to flight information, there should be nothing in this solar system for the next eighty hours.
(WARNE looks at the upper level monitor screen on which the shape of a rocket ship starts to become clear.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: There she is, sir. And that isn't the ship we saw before.
GENERAL HERMACK: No, it isn't. Can you get a closer shot?
(WARNE adjusts controls, and the image on the screen grows larger. It now shows a battered, stubby, curiously old-fashioned rocket ship. Its battered hull is dented and pitted by numerous meteor scars, and it bears the insignia LIZ 79, painted in sprawling letters on the clumsy nosecone. WARNE stares at it in disbelief and starts to laugh.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: That's one of the old C-class freighters, sir. I didn't know they were still flying.
12: INT. LIZ-79
(Inside the battered old spaceship that is causing the V-Ship so much concern, an equally battered old space pilot is about to start breakfast. An egg emerges seemingly from a side panel in a control console, as the owner of the ship comes into the room. MILO CLANCEY is a stocky, heavily-moustached man in his early sixties. He comes into the main room of the ship singing "Over the Rainbow" to himself and sits down in the pilot's chair. It is a stark metallic flight cabin, surrounded by old-fashioned patched-up controls. He's currently wearing the trousers to an old-fashioned heavy-duty space-suit, the tunic of which is draped over the back of his chair, together with a garish tartan shirt and a gaudy neck-scarf. Scooping up the egg, MILO pops it into the egg-cup which stands with a coffee pot and mug on a nearby tray together with various other bowls and cups. Drawing a formidable-looking knife from its belt-sheath, MILO lops off the top of the egg. He then stares expectantly at a smoking metal container on top of the console. He pulls the hinged lid of the back and takes out two blackened objects, that had once been slices of toast. MILO looks at them in disgust, and then, since the burned toast is still too hot, he drops them onto the floor. He speaks to himself in an American accent.)
MILO CLANCEY: The last of me nutty sliced bread! Rubbishy new-fangled solar toasters!
(He gets ready to eat again but a power drain causes the light in the room to flare and MILO hops on his chair over to a nearby control and presses a switch. Getting no response, he hits the console, causing the power to come back on.)
MILO CLANCEY: Ah, that's better.
(Above his head, as he tries to eat his breakfast, an illuminated panel bearing the word "CALL" begins flash. MILO puts down his tray, puts his tray down and gets up. He flicks a switch and puts on a pair of headphones with an attached microphone. A speaker gives out a whine of static. He twiddles a knob and a familiar voice emerges through the crackle.)
GENERAL HERMACK: (OOV: Over communicator.) This is V-41. V-41 calling LIZ-79. LIZ 7-9, can you hear me?
MILO CLANCEY: (Into radio.) LIZ-79, LIZ-79, I can hear you V-41. Go away!
(MILO shoves a spoonful of egg in his mouth.)
GENERAL HERMACK: (OOV: Over communicator, angrily.) What?! Now listen - this is General Nikolai Hermack, Commander of the Space First Division. Give me your identity registration.
MILO CLANCEY: (Into radio.) A general, a real general. Oh, General, why don't you...take yourself off? I'm trying to have mah breakfast!
(He eats another spoonful of egg.)
13: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into radio.) LIZ 79, give me your identity registration. That is an order.
MILO CLANCEY: (OOV: Over communicator.) Oh come on, General, I lost that thing about thirty years ago. Now why don't you go about your business and leave me alone.
(WARNE has hurried up with a computer print out. He feeds it into the console and on the upper level scanner, screen data appears.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: That's LIZ 79's registration, sir. She's a real old-timer - she's been afloat for about forty years.
(HERMACK looks at the information sheet and, his attitude transforming, starts laughing.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Milo Clancey! I might have known.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: You know him, sir?
GENERAL HERMACK: Of him. Out in Reja Magnum, where I did my first tour, he was something of a legend.
(HERMACK turns back to the communicator microphone.)
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into radio.) Milo Clancey! I have your identity registration here.
MILO CLANCEY: (OOV: Over communicator.) I'm very glad for you, General. That's great work. That's very good. Now...now, good day.
(HERMACK holds onto his temper...)
GENERAL HERMACK: Listen Clancey! Where are you from and where are you bound?
14: INT. LIZ-79
MILO CLANCEY: (Into radio.) Might I ask, General, what tarnation business that might be of yours?
(He eats more egg as HERMACK'S patience snaps.)
GENERAL HERMACK: (OOV: Over communicator.) Clancey, I'm coming alongside with a boarding party. I warn you - don't try and resist.
(MILO shrugs philosophically.)
MILO CLANCEY: (Into radio.) I won't tangle with you, General. You come on in, join the party. Oh, mind you don't scratch your nice shiny white paint.
15: SPACE
(Meanwhile, the Beacon segments continue to drift on their journey.)
16: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(On board the detached segment of Beacon Alpha Four, the DOCTOR suddenly stirs and sits up, clutching his aching head. He looks at his two motionless companions and shakes JAMIE gently in an attempt to rouse him.)
DOCTOR: Jamie...Jamie...
(He doesn't move. Looking round the cramped cabin the DOCTOR sees an oxygen tank clamped to the wall. Struggling to his feet he unhooks it and starts to carry it over to his unconscious companions.)
17: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(WARNE comes onto the upper deck.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: I've sent a guard aboard, sir, to pick up Clancey. I don't think he'll give us any trouble.
GENERAL HERMACK: Yes...well, he won't co-operate though. Ian, have you ever run across any of these old-timers?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: No, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: Well, they think they're a law unto themselves. They don't like the Space Corps either.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Why?
GENERAL HERMACK: Well these old mining prospectors - like Clancey - were the first men to go out into deep space. For a time they had the place to themselves. Roaming the space-ways, looking for planets, jumping each other's claims. They were a wild breed, Ian, and they learned to live without the law.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: And then the Space Corps came along and started to enforce law and order, right?
GENERAL HERMACK: Yes, much to their resentment. Clancey must be the last of the type.
(At that moment, MILO CLANCEY strolls onto the bridge, under the escort of a couple of troopers. MILO is still wearing his ancient space-suit trousers and tartan shirt. The only addition is an old, but still serviceable, blaster rifle resting casually over one shoulder. He glances round the upper deck.)
MILO CLANCEY: My, my, my. Well they certainly do you slickers proud don't they? Aye, this is like a whole floating fun-palace up here!
GENERAL HERMACK: Clancey! I am General Hermack.
MILO CLANCEY: Howdy!
GENERAL HERMACK: And this is Major Warne, my ADC.
MILO CLANCEY: Major?
GENERAL HERMACK: What are you doing in this system and why you are not on feed-back to Central Flight Information?
MILO CLANCEY: (Feigning surprise.) Oh, er, am I not, General?
GENERAL HERMACK: No.
(CLANCEY steps down to the lower deck and also starts to "inspect" it as HERMACK and WARNE watch.)
MILO CLANCEY: Oh? No, you're right, no, you're right. I remember now. That old feed-back of mine, it just sort of fell to bits about, er, five year ago now.
GENERAL HERMACK: Five years?!
MILO CLANCEY: Or could it be ten? (Laughs.) Yep, certainly could be ten. I've been always meaning to get that thing fixed.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: You know it's an offence to operate without a feed-back to CFI?
MILO CLANCEY: An offence?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Right.
MILO CLANCEY: Oh, I didn't realise that, sonny, no. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. There are so many offences these days.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Sternly.) Clancey, what are you doing in this system?
MILO CLANCEY: Well, I am the head of the Milo Clancey Space Mining Company.
(HERMACK glances at the data on the upper deck monitor.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Yes, we know all about that, we have your identity registration here.
MILO CLANCEY: Oh, that must be great for you, General, to have all of those facts at your fingertips like that!
GENERAL HERMACK: (Patiently.) Get to the point, Clancey.
(MILO'S voice hardens.)
MILO CLANCEY: You would know the point if you'd been reading my reports I've been sending to you the last two years.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: What do you mean?
MILO CLANCEY: Argonite pirates - that's what I mean, sonny.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Interested.) Go on, Clancey.
MILO CLANCEY: Over the last two years, I have lost five floaters, carrying Argonite ore back to home planet. They were hijacked, General, and they were brought into this system.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: You reported this, you say?
MILO CLANCEY: Ah, aye, I reported this, sonny, about a dozen times I reported it, but it didn't do me any good did it?
(CLANCEY steps back up to the upper level.)
MILO CLANCEY: Ah, so I said to myself, all right, all righty, I'll just have to do something about this meself!
GENERAL HERMACK: How much Argonite did you have on each floater?
MILO CLANCEY: I had a full load. Fifty thousand tons unrefined ore.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: What makes you so sure that your floaters were bought into this system?
MILO CLANCEY: Time, sonny, time. This system is the closest to where they left the space-way. And my old, er...floaters, they've got no propulsion units - they're...they're unmanned. They don't move very fast, sonny.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: I know that!
MILO CLANCEY: (To HERMACK.) Oh, he's a good lad. He's a bright lad, this boy of yours! (Laughs.) That's good thinking. Hey, is it all right if I, er, blow my nose, or is that another offence?
(Without waiting for a reply, MILO produces a grubby handkerchief and blows a resounding blast, much to the soldier's disgust.)
MILO CLANCEY: My old nose. I can't get used to all your fancy air-conditioning.
GENERAL HERMACK: Yes, well, that's a pity, Clancey, but I'm afraid you'll have to put up with it a bit longer.
MILO CLANCEY: Ah?
GENERAL HERMACK: Now, how long have you been in the area of, er, Beacon Alpha Four?
MILO CLANCEY: Beacon Alpha Four?
GENERAL HERMACK: Yes.
MILO CLANCEY: Er, er, have you a chart, General?
(HERMACK jabs a finger at the star chart on a nearby table.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Here!
(MILO peers at the chart.)
MILO CLANCEY: Er...oh, that's where we are! Well, well, well. You see my charts don't pick up these new fanged beacons. I don't trust them.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Ah, just an astral pointer and a piece of string, huh?
MILO CLANCEY: That is right, sonny.
(He looks at the map again.)
MILO CLANCEY: Hey listen, I can't see Beal...Beacon Alpha Four here either. That's what I'm telling you. They're unreliable. It's...they're a waste of public money!
GENERAL HERMACK: (Snaps.) Beacon Alpha Four is not registering because it's not there any more.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: The Argonite pirates blew it up three hours ago.
MILO CLANCEY: Oh, did they so? Well that'd be for salvage, I guess. Yeah, that would be it...
GENERAL HERMACK: (Coldly.) You don't seem very surprised, Clancey.
MILO CLANCEY: No, no, I'm not, General. This is clearing up a whole heap of things in mah head. I can lose every floater I've got and your fancy Space Corps won't do a thing about it. But the government loses one government beacon and that's a different matter - then you come running. That's what you're here now for.
GENERAL HERMACK: Well, if there is any truth in your story, Clancey, and we do catch up with the pirates, you'll be entitled to put in a claim for compensation.
MILO CLANCEY: Ho, ho! If I waited for you to catch these critters, I'd catch mah death of cold, waiting forever. I should think this old crate of yours has about half the speed of a Beta Dart, right?
(CLANCEY tries to look over WARNE'S shoulder at the deck controls but the MAJOR tries to block his view.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (Suspiciously.) Our speed is classified information.
MILO CLANCEY: Oh, that may be, sonny. But this marauding band of sharks, you know they're using Beta Darts - one of the latest. You're in the wrong league, boys. Why don't you just go home where you came from?!
MAJOR IAN WARNE: How do you know what ship they have?
MILO CLANCEY: (Angrily.) Because I crossed their thieving flight path a couple of times. And if my old LIZ had any speed about her, I'd have rammed 'em!
18: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(The DOCTOR is standing on a ledge and peering through an observation port set high in the wall. JAMIE and ZOE support him.)
ZOE: Can you see anything, Doctor?
DOCTOR: I'm...I'm coming down, look out.
(He climbs down looking worried.)
JAMIE: Well what's on the other side? Could you see?
DOCTOR: Jamie, I'm a...I'm afraid that there's nothing on the other side - just space.
JAMIE: Hey?
DOCTOR: It appears that this machine we're on has been blown into about eight separate pieces.
ZOE: (Amazed.) Are you sure?
DOCTOR: Well, of course I'm sure. Get up and look for yourself if you don't believe me.
ZOE: Well then, that must have been the explosion?
JAMIE: Doctor, does...does that mean the TARDIS has gone?
DOCTOR: Yes, Jamie.
JAMIE: Well that means we'll never get it back!
(JAMIE himself climbs up to look out.)
ZOE: (To the DOCTOR.) I don't understand. Why would anybody want to blow up a space machine?
DOCTOR: Sabotage perhaps.
ZOE: Well, what about those men that tried to killed us?
DOCTOR: Oh, I...I think they were here to defend the machine. That would explain why they were so unfriendly towards us.
(JAMIE climbs down.)
JAMIE: Well, what you're saying is that we've landed ourselves in the middle of some sort of war in space?
ZOE: And now we're just floating aimlessly on a bit of debris.
DOCTOR: No, Zoe, not aimlessly. There appear to be rockets attached to each part of the machine. And they're all moving along together.
JAMIE: Hey?
DOCTOR: Well, as you know, Jamie, when something explodes in space, all the pieces separate and go on separating indefinitely. But this machine has separated just so far, perhaps a mile and now, as I said, they're all moving along together at the same speed.
ZOE: Because of the rockets. Oh I see! So whoever broke up the machine, is sending all the pieces to the same place?
DOCTOR: It looks like it, Zoe.
JAMIE: Oh, so we can get back to the TARDIS then - if it's only a mile away.
DOCTOR: (Gently.) A mile in space, Jamie, with no oxygen or means of propulsion?
(The DOCTOR looks beyond JAMIE to a wall of the compartment. He has a look of interest on his face.)
ZOE: It might just as well be a thousand miles.
JAMIE: (Disgusted.) Oh, that's just fine then.
(The DOCTOR moves closer to the wall, listening intently.)
ZOE: Have you got an idea, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Shh, shh, just a minute.
(There is a faint buzzing.)
DOCTOR: Now what on earth is that?
19: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(MILO has finally lost patience.)
MILO CLANCEY: Oh, look here, General. If you've finished with all your fool questions, I've got work to do. I want to get back to my ship.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Smiling.) All right, Clancey, I'm sorry to have detained you.
(WARNE looks at his commander in puzzlement.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Sir?
MILO CLANCEY: (Cautiously.) What...what, you mean I can go?
GENERAL HERMACK: Of course.
MILO CLANCEY: Oh, that's great. That's very kind of you. I'll...I'll just say goodbye then, General...er. goodbye.
(CLANCEY goes watched by a disapproving WARNE. The MAJOR then stands to attention.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (Crisply.) The navigators are standing by for orders, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: Obviously, you think I've done the wrong thing.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: It's not for me to say, General.
GENERAL HERMACK: You think I let Clancey go too easily.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: I would have put him through the mind probe, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: That did occur to me. He does seem to be mixed up with these Argonite pirates.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Too much.
GENERAL HERMACK: You think he's in league with them?
MAJOR IAN WARNE: It's possible, sir. You said he's no respecter of the law. That story about floaters and pirates could have just been a cover story.
GENERAL HERMACK: I quite agree.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (Puzzled.) You agree sir?
GENERAL HERMACK: Oh yes, Ian. Not only do I think that Milo Clancey is in league with the Argonite pirates, I think he is the mastermind behind the whole organisation - which is precisely why I let him go!
20: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(The DOCTOR has succeeded in removing an inspection panel and is examining the circuitry behind it. JAMIE and a weary looking ZOE watch him from the steps.)
JAMIE: Oh, what's he doing now?
ZOE: I've no idea - ask him.
JAMIE: Oh, what's the use? He's got his mysterious face on.
ZOE: Well I think he's just trying to keep our hopes up.
JAMIE: Hopes?
ZOE: By looking busy. There's nothing anyone can do now. I'd say we've got a few hours at the outside.
(JAMIE stares at her in alarm.)
JAMIE: What do you mean by a few hours?
ZOE: Well, haven't you noticed, Jamie? Haven't you noticed how difficult it is to breathe properly now?
(JAMIE looks worried and feels his throat.)
21: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(WARNE talks into the communicator microphone.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: Bridge to armoury - this is Major Warne. I want a Minnow readied for immediate launching. Fit contact warheads to the Martian missiles.
22: SPACE
(The V-Ship continues on its journey. In the central part of the hull two a hatch falls back and a smaller pointed craft appears from the on a ramp. The small ship takes off with a great burst of speed, and flies off into space.)
23: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
(HERMACK leans down over the ledge of the upper deck.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Navigator Penn.
TECHNICIAN PENN: Sir?
GENERAL HERMACK: Keep contact with Major Warne in the minnow, until he reports he's within visual range of LIZ-79.
TECHNICIAN PENN: Very good, sir.
(He turns to the main communicator. Meanwhile, HERMACK snatches up a communications microphone.)
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into microphone.) V-Master to XX-1. Come in, Ian.
24: INT. MINNOW FIGHTER
(WARNE, helmeted, sits in the cramped cockpit of the Minnow fighter.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (Into communicator.) Okay, General. I'm following Clancey without his knowing.
25: INT. V-SHIP FLIGHT DECK
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into microphone.) Yes, but remember he's no fool. If he suspects he's being followed, you'll be in trouble. Meanwhile I'm going in to land on Ta. Relay reports to the nearest beacon.
26: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(The DOCTOR is mixing around some of the circuits and wires in the panel. All three are now finding it very difficult to breathe and JAMIE and ZOE are now sprawled on the steps of the compartment.)
ZOE: Oh Doctor, can we have some more oxygen?
DOCTOR: No, I'm afraid not, Zoe. We've got to conserve it.
JAMIE: Oh, what's the use? We'll never get out of this.
DOCTOR: Come here, both of you.
(ZOE and JAMIE heave themselves to their feet and slowly walk over to the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: Look...look at these.
(He points at several boxes in the panel.)
JAMIE: What are they?
DOCTOR: They're solar powered magnets. It's a force field!
JAMIE: Hey?
DOCTOR: Well, don't you see? The explosive charges that blew this machine apart didn't damage its structure. They simply divided it along the lines of its electromagnetic fields.
ZOE: Well, how do you know?
DOCTOR: Because there was no damage to the structure.
ZOE: Oh, you mean...the machine was built in separate sections and assembled in space by magnetism?
(The DOCTOR digs out two magnets from his pocket, one held on a piece of string.)
DOCTOR: Yes, you see, Jamie, opposite poles attract and...
(He shows JAMIE the opposite ends of the magnets locking together.)
DOCTOR: ...and...and the same poles repel.
(The other ends of the magnets push each other away.)
DOCTOR: You see, try it. There...
(He gives the magnets to JAMIE and, as the DOCTOR and ZOE talk, JAMIE plays with them.)
ZOE: Oh, so the explosion was just strong enough to break the magnetic attraction, but between each section?
DOCTOR: Yes.
JAMIE: But that doesn't do us any good does it?
DOCTOR: Yeah, but it just might Jamie! Supposing I could step up the electromagnetic power enough to bridge the space between this section and the next...
ZOE: You mean draw it towards us?
DOCTOR: Yes, and then repeat the process with each section and so on until we reach the TARDIS!
JAMIE: Hey, well do you think you could do it?
DOCTOR: Well, I've got a screwdriver.
(He holds up a screwdriver. JAMIE groans.)
JAMIE: Oh.
DOCTOR: I've...I've got a slight knowledge of electromagnetism.
ZOE: (Nervously.) Yes, there's just one thing, Doctor...
(The DOCTOR indicates the oxygen cylinder at his feet.)
DOCTOR: Oh, er, Jamie, would you move this, er, cylinder out of the way?
(JAMIE does so.)
ZOE: How do you know the next section to this one is an opposite pole?
DOCTOR: Well, I don't, Zoe.
ZOE: Well then, if it's similar, your idea won't work, will it? We'll just shoot off in the opposite direction!
DOCTOR: (Reproachfully.) Zoe, don't be such a pessimist.
27: SPACE
(The V-Ship flies towards the planet of Ta in the distance.)
28: INT. TA. MADELEINE'S OFFICE
(MADELEINE ISSIGRI, the president of the Issigri Mining Corporation, is as impressive as her plush metallic office. A tall, dark-haired, strikingly beautiful young woman, she the calm authority of someone accustomed to wealth and power. She wears a futuristic dress and a helmet type hat that totally fits the contours of her head. At the moment she is leaning back in her chair, a faint smile on her lips, watching as GENERAL HERMACK talks to WARNE whose image appears on a monitor built into a pillar. A female secretary, dressed in a similar fashion to MADELEINE, comes in with a big flask of liquid.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (On monitor.) Thirteen hundred: XX-1 to V-Master. I have made visual contact with LIZ-7-9. We're still orbiting in the same dimensional plain. Nothing further to report.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: It must be very...uncomfortable after a few hours in one of those minnows, General.
GENERAL HERMACK: Ah, it is.
(MADELEINE pours a drink into the GENERAL'S thin metal goblet.)
GENERAL HERMACK: Thank you. But then after a week you get quite used to it.
(She calls up LIZ 79's information on the screen.)
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: I thought so! LIZ-79 is Milo Clancey's ship.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Laughs.) Your records are very comprehensive.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Why is he being followed?
GENERAL HERMACK: Well, I explained to you the purpose of this mission. I believe that Cal...Clancey has connection with the Argonite pirates.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: That seems unlikely.
GENERAL HERMACK: Oh why?
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: He has Argonite mines on the planet Lobos.
GENERAL HERMACK: Which I hear are pretty well worked out.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: (Proudly.) They used to say this planet was worked out. But I brought in new machinery and today it's the most productive in the galaxy.
GENERAL HERMACK: I must say I'm...surprised to find you of all people defending Clancey.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Why?
GENERAL HERMACK: Well, because of the rumours connecting him with the death of your father - Dom Issigri.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Well, I tried to prove that at the time but...but nobody knows what happened between them so...now I prefer to forget it.
GENERAL HERMACK: But you took over the Argonite holdings from your father and split away from Clancey?
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Yes.
GENERAL HERMACK: And now you run the most successful Argonite mining business in the galaxy, while Clancey, because of your competition, must be pretty nearly bankrupt.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Is that why you think he's taken up with piracy?
GENERAL HERMACK: Well, jealousy of your great success would be a pretty strong motive - unless of course, you disagree.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Oh, you may be right. Well, I haven't seen him since the day the partnership was dissolved, so...well I don't know what he feels.
GENERAL HERMACK: Well, I can understand it. For a man like Clancey, to be defeated by an attractive woman like you at his own game - he'd take any risk to get his revenge.
(MADELEINE thinks about this.)
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Well, I wouldn't like to think that that was true.
GENERAL HERMACK: Your concern does you credit. But I'm convinced I shall have the proof I need within a few hours.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Really? How?
GENERAL HERMACK: Warne has reported that Clancey is still on the same dimensional orbit as he was when we left him. Obviously he is expecting a rendezvous.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: With the pirate ship?
GENERAL HERMACK: I think so.
29: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(The DOCTOR, JAMIE and ZOE congregate round the cylinder of oxygen, breathing in the gas. The DOCTOR closes the valve.)
DOCTOR: (Softly.) I think that's all we can spare.
JAMIE: How much longer?
DOCTOR: I've nearly done it, Jamie. I've just got one more connection to make.
JAMIE: Well, I hope it works.
DOCTOR: Yes, of course it will work. The theory is perfectly sound.
(JAMIE looks at the wiring, as the DOCTOR starts to make the final connection.)
JAMIE: Aye, maybe. That wiring looks like a cat's cradle to me.
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, it's...a little bit of a mess, Jamie, but I assure you it's...it's thoroughly functional. Thoroughly functional. Here we are, now...you two had better hold on.
(Breathing with difficulty, JAMIE and ZOE grab the rail by the steps.)
DOCTOR: Are you ready?
JAMIE: Yes.
ZOE: Yes, ready Doctor.
DOCTOR: Hold tight. Here we go.
(The DOCTOR pulls a switch and a low humming noise fills the little cabin. All three start to lie back as the force pushes hard against their bodies. Rising steadily in frequency, the noise soon turns into an ear-splitting shriek.)
DOCTOR: Oh, oh, oh!
JAMIE: Oh, what's happened?!
ZOE: Oh Doctor, you've got it wrong! We're gathering speed!
DOCTOR: I know! I know! I... I... I...
(As JAMIE and ZOE desperately hold onto the rail, the DOCTOR tries to pull back the switch, but it won't budge.)
DOCTOR: I can't turn it off! Ah!
ZOE: (Appalled.) What?!
DOCTOR: Ah! Ah... ah no! I'm stuck! The power's too great!
JAMIE: Well, isn't it working?
ZOE: Oh yes, it's working all right, but the wrong way! We're being shot further into space!
30: SPACE
(The beacon segments float peacefully together but the far right segment flies off to the left and into space.)
31: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
ZOE: (Shouts.) Oh, Doctor, for goodness sake, do something!
DOCTOR: I'm trying to, Zoe. I...I'm trying to...
(The DOCTOR holds on with one hand and desperately struggles to shut down his magnetic lash-up with the other. The DOCTOR succeeds at last, the high-pitched howling dies away and the room becomes still. The three companions fall to the floor.)
ZOE: Oh, thank goodness!
JAMIE: Are we all right now?
(The DOCTOR remains silent but looks desperately concerned.)
ZOE: Doctor?
DOCTOR: No Zoe, I...I'm afraid we're not. Even if I could reverse the magnetic field, I'm afraid we're...too far away from the next section.
ZOE: Then we're worse off now - just floating hopelessly in space.
DOCTOR: Yes. Oh dear. What a silly idiot I am...
32: INT. TA. MADELEINE'S OFFICE
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Well, naturally General, I'm prepared to give all the help I can.
(The communicator bleeps, MADELEINE presses a button on her desk and the monitor shows WARNE'S face in the minnow.)
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (On monitor.) 13:10. XX-1 to V-Master.
GENERAL HERMACK: (To MADELEINE.) Something must be happening. He's not due to report.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (On monitor.) LIZ-7-9 is now on retro-drive. She's linking with a section of Alpha Four. Standing by for orders.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Triumphantly.) You see? Clancey's in the collection area. He's awaiting the beacon sections.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Well, it could be coincidence. He's seen the drifting wreckage and he's curious.
GENERAL HERMACK: Madam, you'll need a 90M computer to work that out. No, this is the proof I need!
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: What are you going to do? Arrest him?
GENERAL HERMACK: Could I use your audio-board?
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Of course.
(HERMACK crosses to a console on which their is another monitor and picks up a microphone.)
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into microphone.) V-Master to XX-1. Can you hear me, Ian?
33: INT. MINNOW FIGHTER
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (Into communicator.) Yes sir. LIZ-7-9 is now completing the link-up. I'm standing by for orders.
34: INT. TA. MADELEINE'S OFFICE
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into microphone.) Good, that means he can't make a sudden move. I want you to go in and arrest him.
MADELEINE ISSIGRI: Oh, well your man to be careful, General. Clancey has a terrible temper - he's likely to explode like glycerol trinitrate.
GENERAL HERMACK: (Into microphone.) Ian, if he shows any sign of resistance, use your missiles. Otherwise, escort him back here.
MAJOR IAN WARNE: (On monitor.) I understand, sir.
GENERAL HERMACK: Report back when the arrest is made.
(Behind him, MADELEINE turns away and smiles to herself...)
35: INT. SPACE BEACON ALPHA FOUR. COMPARTMENT
(JAMIE and ZOE are slumped back, scarcely able to breathe. The DOCTOR divides the last bit of oxygen between them from the canister. He too is very weak.)
DOCTOR: Here you are.
(The two breathe in the air. JAMIE turns the wheel on the oxygen cylinder but nothing happens.)
JAMIE: Empty.
ZOE: Oh, Doctor, what about you?
DOCTOR: I...I don't need so much as you.
(Suddenly a loud, grinding thump comes from outside the compartment.)
JAMIE: What's that?
DOCTOR: Just a minute, Jamie, listen.
(Bolts begin dropping from the sealed door one by one.)
ZOE: They're cutting through the bolts in the hull.
(JAMIE staggers to his feet.)
JAMIE: We've been discovered!
(He starts to stagger to the newly-cut entrance.)
DOCTOR: Oh, wait a minute, Jamie!
(A panel bursts and a bulky space-suited figure, wearing a helmet appears, covering them with a blaster rifle. JAMIE spots it.)
JAMIE: Oh no, you don't!
(He springs to the attack.)
DOCTOR: Jamie! No!
(There is a fierce crackle of energy from the blaster as it lights up and JAMIE falls to the ground. ZOE shrieks up at the new arrival.)
ZOE: You murderer!
DR. WHO
PATRICK
TROUGHTON
MILO CLANCEY
GORDON
GOSTELOW
GENERAL HERMACK
JACK
MAY
JAMIE
FRAZER
HINES
MADELEINE ISSIGRI
LISA
DANIELY
MAJOR IAN WARNE
DONALD
GEE
ZOE
WENDY
PADBURY
TECHNICIAN PENN
GEORGE
LAYTON
MUSIC COMPOSED BY
DUDLEY
SIMPSON
TITLE MUSIC BY
RON GRAINER
AND THE BBC
RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP
SCRIPT EDITOR
DERRICK
SHERWIN
DESIGNER
IAN
WATSON
PRODUCER
PETER BRYANT
DIRECTED BY
MICHAEL
HART
