"You"re right, Jamie. We"ve got to find her! They couldn"t have got far!"

Clent, too, had reacted sharply to the reminder that an undesirable alien menace was loose within the Base complex; less important was its helpless hostage. He moved quickly to the video-communicator.

"Danger. Red alert!" he snapped to all channels within the Base. "Intruders within Base perimeter. Capture and control-priority one!"

But Jamie wasn"t impressed. "What good"s that? Suppose they"re already out of it? We"ve got to go after them-now!"

"My dear chap, I"m very sorry, but we"re down to emergency personnel only. I cannot release men to go wandering off outside this Base. It"d be madness!"

"But the girl"s life may be at stake!" added the Doctor.

"You have have to make a search party available!" to make a search party available!"

Jan Garrett saw Clent"s mouth tighten stubbornly. No matter how much the Doctor argued, the Leader had made up his mind. But there was one possible way out.

"Leader Clent," she suggested calmly, "we must inform the computer." She paused, knowing he had to agree, then went on, "It could soon tell us whether it is possible to reallocate the work schedule to release a rescue party."

The others watched tensely as Clent considered Jan"s shrewd suggestion. He reluctantly nodded his head. "Very well, we will put it to the computer..."

Unknown to Clent and the Doctor, Victoria was being held prisoner only a hundred yards away. At the first sound of the security alarm, the Ice Warrior had entered the nearest convenient bolt hole-a medical store room.

Victoria had still been unconscious when they had taken cover. Coming round now, she had no idea where she was. All that she could see from the corner where she lay huddled, was the gigantic form of the lee Warrior. He was standing by the door, listening intently. The distant alarm call stopped abruptly. Seemingly satisfied, the creature now turned towards Victoria-and she saw his cruel face clearly for the first time.

Her throat became so tight with fear that she could scarcely gasp... The so-called armour of the helmet-head and ma.s.sive body was in fact tough, and reptilian in substance- but unlike animal eyes, its hard gla.s.s-covered eye sockets revealed no emotion. Only a vaguely flickering light illuminated their dark depths.

Like the eyes, the creature"s ears looked mechanical in design-electronic, as the Doctor had said. But the mouth was different: mobile, leathery, lizard-like. It seemed to he forever struggling to s.n.a.t.c.h in precious air, with the result that every breath, every word it uttered, hissed snake-like from that menacing head. From the huge shoulders downwards, the armoured skin took on the shape of a great protective sh.e.l.l.

Victoria noticed with a shudder that instead of hands, or even webbed, reptilian claws, the arms ended in what looked like metallic clamps. And from the right forearm, compact and sleek, but as though part of the creature"s physical anatomy, projected a strange, tubular device-rather like the telescopic sights of a rifle. Victoria had no time for further speculation. The Ice Warrior was now looming over her, cruel and menacing.

"Stand!" it commanded.

Victoria forced herself upright. Her knees were like water. Only by spreading herself back against the wall, could she safely stay on her feet. She tried to keep the terror out of her voice; her chin tilted upwards bravely.

"Who are you?" she demanded, looking up defiantly at the warrior head. At first, she heard only the eerie sound of its hissing breath; Victoria shivered beneath its dark, inscrutable gaze. What sort of creature was part reptile, part machine?

"Where are you from?" she cried out boldly, knowing all the while that if the creature made another sudden more, she would probably faint. The response from the creature made Victoria"s eyes grow round with wonder.

"My name... is Varga..." came the slow, faltering reply.

"My home... is the Red Planet!"

It can"t be true, Victoria thought to herself desperately.

But she forced her voice to frame the question, "Mars?"

Varga nodded proudly. Unearthly as he was, everything about him echoed the famous legends that Victoria had heard about the G.o.d of war; his pride, his strength and his savagery in battle. But this was a living, hideous alien-not a Greek G.o.d. And one who had been dead and buried in the glacier"s ice only hours ago. For a moment, curiosity overcame her fear.

"But you were dead!" exclaimed Victoria. "How did you come back to life?" She stopped and flinched as Varga gestured angrily.

"Enough questions!" he hissed furiously. "Give me answers!"

"Why should I?" She never had liked being ordered about-even when frightened. But her defiance wavered. The Ice Warrior was now pointing the strange tubular device straight at her head.

"Answers!" came the insistent demand. Victoria nodded dumbly. The Ice Warrior continued. "How long was I trapped in the ice?"

"I don"t know-" Victoria started to say, then remembered that answers were compulsory. "One of the scientists here thinks you must have been inside the glacier sincethe First Ice Age..." she faltered. hardly able to believe it herself,"... thousands of years ago."

The Ice Warrior hissed with astonishment. "As long ago as that?" He paused in wonderment, and then quickly demanded, "They found nothing else?"

Alarm flared suddenly in Victoria"s mind. She steeled herself to look into his expressionless face. "You mean... there are others like you?" she whispered.

The Ice Warrior lowered his arm, and stood strangely rigid. Victoria sensed the brooding change within Varga"s mind as he cast back through centuries of time, struggling to remember.

"We were hovering... over the frozen lands. A sudden turbulence... our s.p.a.cecraft crashed at the foot of the Ice Mountain." He paused. His memory was clearing. "We went outside our craft to investigate. The ice mountain shook...

split open... swallowed us in a great whirlwind of snow, and there was only darkness."

He fell silent. Only the gentle labouring of his breath told Victoria anything of his state of mind. She spoke with sympathy.

"The others with you," murmured Victoria, "did they all die-trapped inside the glacier?"

Varga drew himself up proudly, and giving the staccato, dry cough that pa.s.sed in his race for laughter, replied harshly. "If they are dead as I was... then they can be freed- and made to live!"

The full meaning of what Varga was saying didn"t strike home to Victoria immediately. She could only see the impossibility of ever finding Varga"s companions-let alone recovering them from the glacier. "You"ll never be able to get them out by yourself!" she declared.

"You do not yet understand my capabilities," he murmured harshly. "But I will need your help!"

" My My help?" questioned Victoria, surprised. "How?" "Tell me... how I was brought to life? What is the process? What did these earthling scientists do?" help?" questioned Victoria, surprised. "How?" "Tell me... how I was brought to life? What is the process? What did these earthling scientists do?"

"How do I know?" said Victoria in exasperation. "I"m not one of them."

"You saw, you were with them. Tell me!"

"Why ask me? Why not let me take you to the scientists- to the Doctor? They"ll help you!"

"I am a stranger-an alien. Why should they help me?

They would take me prisoner-keep me as a scientific curiosity-and leave my men for dead in the ice."

"They wouldn"t!" exclaimed Victoria. But this was no human castaway she was speaking to-this was a Martian warlord.

"With my men, I can talk from strength-not beg." He coughed abruptly-a sharp, sneering rasp-and Victoria shivered at the menace in the sound, as he continued. "Then we shall decide!"

"Decide...?" Victoria"s alarm was gradually changing to panic. "Decide what?"

There was no mistaking the grim confidence in Varga"s voice. "Whether to return to our own planet," he replied sternly, "or conquer yours!"

In the great hall, Clent had finished putting the situation to ECCO. The others were gathered about him, tensely waiting for its judgement.

"Those are the relevant factors," finished Clent. "How should we proceed?"

Jamie could keep quiet no longer, and blurted out in anger, "How"s a machine to know?"

"Be quiet, Jamie," admonished the Doctor, as the crisp voice of the computer began to discharge its answer.

" The ionisation programme should continue as instructed-but The ionisation programme should continue as instructed-but the presence of an alien s.p.a.cecraft must be investigated. the presence of an alien s.p.a.cecraft must be investigated. " "

The computer paused fractionally. Clent"s look of bland superiority changed to a frown.

"But how can we?" he asked the computer. "Our reduced manpower-"

The computer chose to ignore Clent, and continued coldly. " Suspected fissionable material must take priority, Suspected fissionable material must take priority, " it clipped out. " " it clipped out. " Glacial status can be held for limited period. Glacial status can be held for limited period. " "

"But what about Victoria?" interrupted Jamie.

" The emergency operating schedule has been rearranged to free The emergency operating schedule has been rearranged to free one scientist for the investigation, one scientist for the investigation, " continued the machine calmly." " continued the machine calmly." In the present circ.u.mstances, the nominated member should be In the present circ.u.mstances, the nominated member should be scientist Arlen. Effect these instructions immediately. scientist Arlen. Effect these instructions immediately. " "

The computer fell silent. Clent turned to Arden, who could barely hide his excitement.

"You heard what"s to be done, Arden. Do you think you can handle it?"

"He"ll never cope with that Ice Warrior by himself!"

insisted Jamie.

"I could do with a security guard," agreed Arden nervously.

"The computer has nominated one man only," snapped Clent irritably. "It will have to be enough!" "What about me?"

asked Jamie eagerly. "Let me go with him!"

Clent frowned, about to give a sharp retort, but the Doctor cut in quickly. "He"s a capable lad-and he"s not on your staff. He"s extra."

Clent studied the Doctor thoughtfully, then shrugged. It was true: this boy was surplus, and as such, not Clent"s responsibility. He was also something of a troublemaker- better out of the way.

"Very well. As the Doctor is going to help us with the Ioniser, the boy can go." As Jamie glanced triumphantly at the Doctor, Clent scowled. But there must be no delay!" he insisted harshly. "Go-now!"

Jan Garrett smoothly explained Clent"s apprehension.

"The sooner we know whether there is is a nuclear reactor buried inside the glacier, the better: a nuclear reactor buried inside the glacier, the better: "Aye, mebbe," replied Jamie curdy. "But our Victoria"s important too, to know."

Clent turned on him savagely. "Don"t you realise, boy?

The fate of the whole of Europe could be at stake! That"s what"s important-not this prehistoric freak of Arden"s, nor the girl! She"ll just have to take her chance!"

4.

Back from the Dead Storr gritted his teeth against the pain. Penley threw a quick glance at his drawn, pallid face, then deftly completed the task of bandaging the now swollen arm. It was a bad break; the bone-torn muscle was rapidly going septic, and Storr wasn"t far from a coma. But it was his own pigheaded stubbornness that had brought about his present critical state.

Penley knotted the make-shift bandage tight, and felt Storr wince.

"What"re you trying to do? Cripple me?"

"Sorry, old chap," soothed Penley. He tried to make his surly patient more comfortable. "The trouble with you, you know, is that you will insist on being stupid."

Storr turned his face away. He hated admitting he was wrong-but he had to be honest. "How was I to know it"d get infected?" he growled, then sank back weakly.

Penley looked round at Storrs bizarre den-the abandoned Victorian conservatory in which, years before, Storr had established his plant museum. How much longer would it last, he wondered? How long would it take before the ice-which was again rumbling ominously outside-was in there with them?

"You should"ve listened to me in the first place," said Penley, "shouldn"t you?"

"And given you the chance to stuff me with anti-this, and anti-that?" grumbled Story. "I"d"ve been flat on my back for months...!"