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DOCTOR WHO
WARRIORS' GATE
Written by
Steve Gallagher
Part Two
(Overlap from 'Well?')
[INT. Grand hall]
(Hearing noise and/or seeing shadows above him, the DOCTOR steps out of the way. He runs off, and the animated armour jerkily follows after him. It pauses before stiller equivalents of itself... next to which the DOCTOR stands in a similar frozen pose with a pike. After examining the others, the metal moves to the DOCTOR and passes him. The DOCTOR turns his head, following it, and the axe extends to chop the end off his pike, moving toward him again.)
DOCTOR: This could be a very short friendship.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
ROMANA: Mmm, if they've got a mass detector, they may have compatible memory wafers.
ADRIC: For K9?
ROMANA: Mmm.
ADRIC: Why don't we go out and ask them?
ROMANA: What, trust them? Remember what Biroc said?
ADRIC: And why believe Biroc?
ROMANA: Because he was running. (she pivots his head with her hand) Keep your eyes on the screen.
ADRIC: Well, then, what are we going to do?
ROMANA: I'll go. If they're all right, I'll give you a signal and you can come out. If not, stay put, especially if I do this.
(She slowly raises her right arm above her head, then the left, clasps her hands, and puts the interlocked hands behind her head.)
[EXT. Just outside the TARDIS]
(As PACKARD is kicking the door, it opens.)
ROMANA: Hello.
RORVIK: Who are you?
ROMANA: Romanadvoratrelundar.
PACKARD: Are you alone?
(She exits the rest of the way and pulls the door closed.)
ROMANA: Not now you're here. Can I help you?
RORVIK: Or can we help you?
ROMANA: It depends. Isn't that a mass detector? Rather handy for finding your way around in all this. Where are you from?
LANE: Our ship. The warp drive packed up.
RORVIK: She doesn't mean that. We're traders. Do you know what a Tharil looks like?
ROMANA: Would that be a sort of leonine mesomorph, with a lot of hair?
PACKARD: Yeah, that's him. Our navigator.
RORVIK: Have you seen him?
ROMANA: Vision is subjective, particularly if the object is loosely connected to the time lines.
RORVIK: What do you know about the time lines?
ROMANA: My ship travels through them. So does yours.
PACKARD: How do you know that?
ROMANA: It must do. That's how we've all got stuck here. We are in the theoretical medium between the striations of the continuum.
PACKARD: Stuck? Who says we're stuck?
RORVIK: If you're time-travelling, where's your Tharil?
ROMANA: Tharils? I don't use Tharils.
PACKARD: You must use Tharils. How can you navigate if you can't see where you're going?
ROMANA: I use a digitally modelled time cone isometry parallel bussed into the image translator. Local motion is mapped in each refresh cycle-
RORVIK: Yes, well, never mind all that. Biroc. Where did he go?
ROMANA: That's an interesting philosophical question.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
ADRIC: They may have compatible memory wafers. (he stops looking at the scanner and speaks to K9) That's what Romana said.
K9: Wafers memory compatible have may they.
ADRIC: What?
K9: Query imprecise. Additional data required.
[EXT. Just outside the TARDIS]
ROMANA: What's the matter with your warp drive?
LANE: It's the main power line. The insulation's gone. A few more-
PACKARD: Nothing we can't fix.
RORVIK: No, wait a minute. You know about warp drive?
ROMANA: What are you using, continuum warp or implicate theory?
LANE: Supralight speed with dampers.
ROMANA: Hmp. Well, it's probably your toroidal time dilators. They're usually the first to go.
(She stretches her arms and clasps her hands behind her head.)
ROMANA: Where is your ship?
(RORVIK points. ROMANA consults the display of the mass detector.)
ROMANA: This way.
(She heads off. LANE follows.)
PACKARD: We don't want her snooping round.
RORVIK: You don't think so?
PACKARD: No.
RORVIK: Good job you're not running this outfit. She must be a time-sensitive, like the Tharils.
(RORVIK and PACKARD follow the other two. ADRIC opens the TARDIS door and peers outside.)
[INT. Grand hall]
(The DOCTOR now has a bevy of broken pike shafts in his arms.)
DOCTOR: You're a machine. I usually get on so well with machines. I don't suppose you happen to know the way out into N-space, do you? I believe it's somewhere around here. It's, uh.
(We now see a second metal form lurch toward him.)
DOCTOR: Uh-oh.
[INT. TARDIS console room]
K9: Alert. Danger.
ADRIC: Romana's in danger? Come on, let's get after her. No, I forgot. You stay there.
K9: Orientation in the void dangerous without computer assistance.
(K9 backs out through the doorway.)
ADRIC: But are you up to it, K9?
K9: Question irrelevant. This unit will function at practical optimum.
(ADRIC sighs and follows him out.)
[EXT. In the void]
RORVIK: That's her.
(They head toward a large, dark-grey dog-shaped ship sitting in the void.)
ROMANA: It does have a certain legendary quality. What is she? Passenger transport?
RORVIK: Bulk freighter. Full of questions, aren't you?
ROMANA: Mmm!
[INT. Grand hall]
(With one robot on either side of him, the DOCTOR bows deeply, crossing his hands over his chest, and the ROBOTS swing downward, hitting each other's head and landing on the ground. The DOCTOR stands.)
DOCTOR: (jolly) They've cut each other dead.
[INT. Rorvik's ship]
(ROMANA in the lead, the group step up to the ship, after waiting a moment for the door to open. PACKARD, last to enter, lifts a telephone handset inside the entrance.)
PACKARD: Packard here. Party aboard. Make safe the hatchway.
MAN [OC]: What?
PACKARD: Close the door.
(The door in front of him closes.)
PACKARD [OC]: After I've gone through!
(The door opens. PACKARD slams down the handset and walks through before it closes again. Ahead, ROMANA follows RORVIK up a set of metal stairs. She turns to the right, but he grabs her arm and directs her leftward.)
RORVIK: This way.
(She grabs her arm back and follows him.)
[EXT. In the void]
ADRIC: Well, I thought she went that way.
K9: Mass-detection circuits indicate maximum reading on current vector. Probability of error... (He calculates.)
ADRIC: Well, what is the probability of error, K9?
K9: Recomputing. (he does so) Probability of error eighty-seven point seven nine four eight per cent.
ADRIC: Eighty-sev-? But that's terrible!
K9: The accuracy of this unit has deteriorated below zero utility.
ADRIC: You mean you're worse than useless?
K9: Affirmative.
(ADRIC places his head in his hand.)
[INT. Bridge]
(RORVIK enters, with ROMANA behind him.)
RORVIK: You two, get off my bridge, and stow that junk.
(ALDO and ROYCE head down the stairs.)
RORVIK: And this is the bridge, nerve centre of the whole operation.
ROMANA: What operation? What are you actually up to?
RORVIK: Oh, more questions.
ROMANA: Not many answers.
RORVIK: These are the lads with all the answers. My team. Best drill you can get. Efficient as anything on the space race, isn't that right, lads?
ALL: (not very enthusiastically) Yeah.
RORVIK: Isn't that right, lads?
ALL: (with only slightly more vigour) Yes, Captain.
RORVIK: Nothing these boys can't do when they put their minds to it. Look what Captain Rorvik's brought you, lads. A new navigator.
ROMANA: Me? I can't navigate this.
RORVIK: Oh, you'll surprise yourself. Fix her up.
(PACKARD and SAGAN grab ROMANA by the arms and push her down into Biroc's seat. They pull up a large metal earpiece on either side of her hand.)
ALDO: Navigator? Wouldn't give her five minutes.
ROYCE: Wanna bet?
ALDO: You?
(They both shake their heads and return to slouching.)
[EXT. In the void]
ADRIC: Perhaps you could teach me to detect mass. (He sits on K9.)
K9: Zero feasibility, young master. Mass detection dependent on articulated sensors, thus.
(He wiggles his 'ears'.)
ADRIC: Oh, I see. I suppose you use triangulation.
K9: Affirmative, young Adric.
ADRIC: Then your accuracy depends on the distance between your sensors.
K9: Deduction is correct. To anticipate logically consequent question, affirmative.
[INT. Bridge]
RORVIK: Let us start her off at 70.
PACKARD: Are you sure she's a time-sensitive?
RORVIK: No.
PACKARD: Oh. Because if she isn't, she'll be burnt to a frazzle.
LANE: That's how you tell.
[EXT. Void]
(ADRIC has K9's right 'ear' in his hand and starts walking away.)
ADRIC: You stay where you are.
K9: Mass-detection error resolved. Resume.
(K9 starts moving forward. ADRIC does not follow.)
[INT. Bridge]
(ROMANA sits gasping. Above her head, the monitor shows a ghost of the archway construction.)
PACKARD: That's it. Look!
RORVIK: Yes. Not very good. Step it up. Another twenty-five. That's ninety-five.
(ROMANA grunts. The picture weakens if anything.)
RORVIK: Right, cut it. Everybody here, shut up and listen. The girl was a long shot, and she isn't working out, so we're going to have to start reviving some of our precious cargo. And that'll lose a lot of bonuses if it goes wrong, and it will. We'll just have to keep at it until we find something we can use. This is a democratic ship, right? So I want to hear now from anyone who has any different ideas.
(ROMANA cries out. The image is clear.)
RORVIK: What in the name of all that's sacred's that? Quick, boost that voltage. Sagan, can you get a fix?
SAGAN: It's not a time picture. It's geographical.
PACKARD: You mean something out there now?
RORVIK: Expedition gear. We're going out to it. Move! (grabbing ROMANA's hair) Time-sensitive, huh? Don't think I've finished with you yet.
[INT. Grand hall]
(The DOCTOR has removed the tops of the robots' heads.)
DOCTOR: Poor things. Hardly any better off than K9. Ah-ha. Memory wafer.
(He places it in his pocket. Then he inserts a screwdriver into the head of the other robot and starts turning it. The robot speaks.)
GUNDAN: No Tharil shall outlive the day of the feast.
[INT. Bridge]
(RORVIK, PACKARD, LANE, KILROY, and SAGAN are all dressed for heading out into the void.)
PACKARD: Right, stow her below.
RORVIK: No, leave her. Let's get this moving.
PACKARD: What's the hurry?
RORVIK: Up to you, Packard. Personally, I think we've just seen the way out.
[EXT. Just outside Rorvik's ship]
(ALDO and ROYCE go as far as the ramp.)
RORVIK: Not joining us, gentlemen?
ROYCE: Er, well, sir, it's the string in me leg. It's gone again.
ALDO: It's the truth, sir. I saw it go.
RORVIK: Tragic. Right, you'd better break out one of the cargo and set it up for revival.
ROYCE: Revival? What, with no facilities? We can't do that.
RORVIK: I don't expect you to. We'll take care of it when we get back. Just set it up.
[INT. Grand hall]
(The DOCTOR taps the ROBOT's head.)
GUNDAN: We are Gundan. We exist to kill. Slaves made the Gundan to kill the brutes who rule.
DOCTOR: What particular brutes did you have in mind?
GUNDAN: The Gundan were sent where no slaves could go. We faced the time winds, and we lived. They had only the gateway to flee for safety.
DOCTOR: The gateway? Gateway to where?
GUNDAN: Gateway. (the DOCTOR turns the screwdriver) Gateway. (more turning) Gateway.
DOCTOR: Gateway to where? Just as it was getting interesting. If only I had an alternative source of energy.
K9: Orders, Master. Orders.
DOCTOR: K9. Just the chap I wanted.
(K9 reverses into the hall.)
[INT. Cargo hold]
(It's dark. ALDO uses a torch, illuminating the Tharils lying within.)
ALDO: Heads you choose. (He tosses the coin.)
(We cut to ADRIC doing the same outside.)
[INT. Rorvik's ship]
(ALDO wheels a Tharil into the corridor at the base of the stairs. ROYCE places a curved bit of metal, with leads coming off it, over the top of its head.)
ROYCE: Right, that's the way it goes, I think.
ALDO: No, the other way round.
ROYCE: It don't matter. Works either way.
ALDO: Oh.
(ROYCE plugs a lead from the metal structure into a console.)
ALDO: What happens next?
ROYCE: Close down that solenoid, and you're away. It's not as complicated as it looks.
ALDO: Go on, then.
ROYCE: Uh, no, well, we'd better leave it to them.
ALDO: How do you know so much about it? You seen it done before?
ROYCE: Uh, no, not on a ship. Something usually goes wrong. They don't like it.
ALDO: Yeah, because it means their bonus is up the spout.
ROYCE: But we're on the all-in contract.
(They reach up and together close the solenoid. We see flashes and hear the creature scream. ROMANA opens her eyes. We then see the THARIL screaming and convulsing. Smoke rises from its hand.)
ALDO: Switch it off!
ROYCE: You switch it off!
(ALDO removes the plug from the console. The THARIL is now limp, but its hand still twitches, unseen by the men.)
[INT. Grand hall]
(K9 sits on the banquet table, where he is connected to the GUNDAN.)
DOCTOR: Listen, K9, I'm sorry to have to ask you to do this, but all this stuff about the gateway is terribly important.
K9: Energy levels critical. (His eyes go dark.)
DOCTOR: The whole thing's critically critical, old chap. This could be the way out. Now come on, be a good dog and power up.
(He places a crocodile clip on K9's 'ear'.)
DOCTOR: Come on, power up. (K9's antenna extends) Up, up, up, up. Good dog. Now. Now. What's all this about the gateway?
(The men from Rorvik's ship arrive at the arched doorway. RORVIK opens the doors after beckoning the others to follow.)
GUNDAN: There were always slaves from the beginning of time. The masters descended out of the air, riding the winds, and took men as their prize, growing powerful on their stolen labours and their looted skills.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, look, look, I'm sure this is frightfully interesting. Could you get back on to the bit about the gateway, please?
GUNDAN: The masters created an empire, drained the life of the ordinary world.
DOCTOR: Your ordinary world. I'm from N-space. See-
GUNDAN: They came from the gateway.
DOCTOR: Ah-ha.
GUNDAN: There are three physical gateways, and the three are one.
DOCTOR: Well
(Rorvik's party slowly enter.)
GUNDAN: The whole of this domain, the ancient arch, the mirrors.
DOCTOR: The thing is it's not actually a physical gateway that I'm looking for.
GUNDAN: All the gateways are one.
DOCTOR: Ah. So it is here. The way out.
RORVIK: Something we're all interested in, I think.
DOCTOR: Oh, hello. (to the GUNDAN) You seem to have attracted a big audience.
RORVIK: Let's have the rest of the recital.
DOCTOR: Ah. (clears his throat) Er, um, he, uh, he doesn't seem to be too sure of his lines.
(RORVIK and LANE produce blasters, pointing them at the DOCTOR.)
RORVIK: Prompt him. Go on, more.
DOCTOR: All the gateways are one. All the gateways are one. You see, I'm so sorry, he's completely run down. I'm the Doctor, by the way, and that's K9, and we just happened to-
GUNDAN: There are three physical gateways, and the three are one. This is the place from which the masters came. Here a great empire once stood, ruling all known space.
SAGAN: This must be the place-
RORVIK: Sssssh!
GUNDAN: For all their skills, the slaves could not approach the gateway in their own persons. But once they learned its secret, we were built, the Gundan robots, to wage war on them.
DOCTOR: Gundans, eh?
RORVIK: And the secret of the gateway is?
GUNDAN: The secret of the gateway is-
(The ROBOT from which the Doctor removed the memory wafer knocks off the head of the other and heads toward the mirror. RORVIK shoots it in the head, to no effect.)
RORVIK: Yes? Yes?
DOCTOR: Stop that Gundan!
RORVIK: Move!
(We watch the THARIL rise from the gurney.)
PACKARD: (contemplating the mirror) There's a way out through here.
RORVIK: If you know the trick.
PACKARD: We'll just have to find it, won't we?
RORVIK: That Doctor knows. Where's he gone? Find him!
(The DOCTOR is carrying K9 along a gallery above the grand hall.)
PACKARD: There he is! Look!
(They run to intercept him. We briefly see the THARIL walking upstairs toward the bridge.)
DOCTOR: Come on, K9. Nearly there.
(But RORVIK and his crew stand in the way. He backs away as they press forward with weapons drawn. The DOCTOR backs through the mirror.)
K9: Orders, Master. Access required. Immediate priority.
(As the THARIL nears the bridge, ROMANA is having little success in trying to escape the navigator's chair. The THARIL enters the room and heads toward the gasping ROMANA. It extends a paw toward her face, and she screams.)
The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl
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