out a target area on the ice face, and gave the order.
‘Sonic destructors at the ready!’
The four warriors raised their forearms in unison. The four tubular devices, pointed towards the target area.
‘Set to wide impact,’ Zondal paused briefly as his men made the necessary adjustments. ‘Fire!’
The effect of the combined sonic weapons was devastating. The ice face crazed, shattered and erupted into fragments under the impact of the invisible beams, which clawed their way deeper and deeper into the heart of the glacier. Inside minutes, the once jagged mark on the ice had been gouged hollow – then it became a cave, and still later a massive crystalline cavern…
Victoria was not the only amazed observer. Hidden by an outcrop of frozen snow, Penley was taking in the scene from below. What the purpose of this task force was, he had no way of knowing – but they were armed, and had a human hostage! He looked towards the girl. Rescuing her was not going to be easy. Until the opportunity arose, he could only watch, and wait…
Clent stood in the doorway of the medicare laboratory, and nodded his head in disbelief. The area that had been assigned to the Doctor was no longer a neat and tidy desk unit – it was almost buried under an untidy mountain of torn and crumpled paper. And the Doctor – totally unaware of Clent’s presence – was on his knees, searching desperately for the vital scrap of calculation… Clent moved forward until he was standing almost directly in front of the scavenging Doctor. But he still wasn’t noticed – until the Doctor came to the particular piece of paper that Clent was standing on. ‘Excuse me…’ he murmured, and snatched it up. Suddenly his face broke into a broad grin. ‘Ah! I thought so! Of course! Reverse the sequence and it gives a density ratio to the power of ten!’ he exclaimed gleefully, throwing his arms into the air and discarding the items that he had just been grovelling for so diligently – and at the same time seeing Clent for the first time.
‘Genius at work, I see,’ remarked the Base Leader drily. ‘Wouldn’t it be simpler if you used our computer?’
The Doctor paused in his frantic scurrying about, and, catching sight of a marker scribe in Clent’s lapel, snatched it with a smile.
‘Just the thing!’ he exclaimed, and started writing an extended series of calculations at shoulder height all along the nearest bare wall. Suddenly the Doctor stopped, bit his lip thoughtfully, and shook his head. ‘It’s not right!’ he muttered. ‘Something’s missing!’
At that moment, Jan Garrett entered, carrying a small sheaf of notes. She handed them to the Doctor. He took them eagerly.
‘Your instructions were to help the Doctor, Miss Garrett,’ said Clent coldly. ‘Where have you been?’
‘Obtaining these notes from Scientist Penley’s file.’
‘You had no authority—’ Clent ranted. But the Doctor cut short his angry reaction with a cry of triumph.
‘That’s it!’ he blurted out, elated. ‘The Omega factor! Clever chap, your friend Penley. Why did you ever get rid of him?’
Clent was too preoccupied with checking the formula to react to this sharp observation. As he reached the final equation, his face smiled in admiration and pride.
‘It’s amazing! And it was staring us in the face all the time…’
Jan hadn’t the same theoretical training as Clent or Penley. She had been trained to rely on the computer for formula analysis. ‘Will it work?’ she asked Clent anxiously.
Clent quickly copied down the essential numbers. ‘I’ll run it through the computer myself!’ the Leader exclaimed, and hurried out, followed by Jan and the Doctor. The Doctor, turning to Jan, sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.
‘It doesn’t need running through a computer,’ he complained, ‘it’s perfect!’ He glanced mischievously at Jan, as they hurried along the corridor leading to the control room and the computer. ‘I deserve
‘Sonic destructors at the ready!’
The four warriors raised their forearms in unison. The four tubular devices, pointed towards the target area.
‘Set to wide impact,’ Zondal paused briefly as his men made the necessary adjustments. ‘Fire!’
The effect of the combined sonic weapons was devastating. The ice face crazed, shattered and erupted into fragments under the impact of the invisible beams, which clawed their way deeper and deeper into the heart of the glacier. Inside minutes, the once jagged mark on the ice had been gouged hollow – then it became a cave, and still later a massive crystalline cavern…
Victoria was not the only amazed observer. Hidden by an outcrop of frozen snow, Penley was taking in the scene from below. What the purpose of this task force was, he had no way of knowing – but they were armed, and had a human hostage! He looked towards the girl. Rescuing her was not going to be easy. Until the opportunity arose, he could only watch, and wait…
Clent stood in the doorway of the medicare laboratory, and nodded his head in disbelief. The area that had been assigned to the Doctor was no longer a neat and tidy desk unit – it was almost buried under an untidy mountain of torn and crumpled paper. And the Doctor – totally unaware of Clent’s presence – was on his knees, searching desperately for the vital scrap of calculation… Clent moved forward until he was standing almost directly in front of the scavenging Doctor. But he still wasn’t noticed – until the Doctor came to the particular piece of paper that Clent was standing on. ‘Excuse me…’ he murmured, and snatched it up. Suddenly his face broke into a broad grin. ‘Ah! I thought so! Of course! Reverse the sequence and it gives a density ratio to the power of ten!’ he exclaimed gleefully, throwing his arms into the air and discarding the items that he had just been grovelling for so diligently – and at the same time seeing Clent for the first time.
‘Genius at work, I see,’ remarked the Base Leader drily. ‘Wouldn’t it be simpler if you used our computer?’
The Doctor paused in his frantic scurrying about, and, catching sight of a marker scribe in Clent’s lapel, snatched it with a smile.
‘Just the thing!’ he exclaimed, and started writing an extended series of calculations at shoulder height all along the nearest bare wall. Suddenly the Doctor stopped, bit his lip thoughtfully, and shook his head. ‘It’s not right!’ he muttered. ‘Something’s missing!’
At that moment, Jan Garrett entered, carrying a small sheaf of notes. She handed them to the Doctor. He took them eagerly.
‘Your instructions were to help the Doctor, Miss Garrett,’ said Clent coldly. ‘Where have you been?’
‘Obtaining these notes from Scientist Penley’s file.’
‘You had no authority—’ Clent ranted. But the Doctor cut short his angry reaction with a cry of triumph.
‘That’s it!’ he blurted out, elated. ‘The Omega factor! Clever chap, your friend Penley. Why did you ever get rid of him?’
Clent was too preoccupied with checking the formula to react to this sharp observation. As he reached the final equation, his face smiled in admiration and pride.
‘It’s amazing! And it was staring us in the face all the time…’
Jan hadn’t the same theoretical training as Clent or Penley. She had been trained to rely on the computer for formula analysis. ‘Will it work?’ she asked Clent anxiously.
Clent quickly copied down the essential numbers. ‘I’ll run it through the computer myself!’ the Leader exclaimed, and hurried out, followed by Jan and the Doctor. The Doctor, turning to Jan, sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.
‘It doesn’t need running through a computer,’ he complained, ‘it’s perfect!’ He glanced mischievously at Jan, as they hurried along the corridor leading to the control room and the computer. ‘I deserve
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