Doctor Who: Ribos Operation Read Online Free PDF Page A

discretion,’ he
muttered with yet another bow. ‘The natives on this planet are
primitive people, easily intimidated...’
    ‘Well?’ cried the Levithian Prince with a dangerous scowl.
    ‘Your escort, Highness...’ Garron went on. ‘There is a strict
curfew in force, and it would be foolish to risk upsetting the...’
    ‘His Highness is never without his personal bodyguard,’
snapped a tall craggy-faced figure who carried his helmet under
his arm.
    ‘How I detest these covert operations...’ the young Prince
murmured, studying Garron’s obsequious, fish-eyed expression
with an icy stare. He turned to the tall bare-headed Guard at his
side. ‘Send the squad back to the cruiser, Sholakh,’ he ordered.
    The Guard hesitated, staring at Garron through narrowed
eyes. ‘But, Highness...’ he began in an undertone.
    The Graff Vynda Ka silenced him with a gesture and turned
to Garron. ‘Lead the way,’ he ordered.
    Garron glanced at the departing squad with a secret smile of
triumphant satisfaction. Then, with an expansive sweep of the
arm, he invited the Graff Vynda Ka and Sholakh to follow him.

Chapter 3
A Shaky Start
    The column of elite Levithian Guards had only just disappeared
over the brow of the low ridge bordering the outer wall of the
city, when a pulsating whining and trumpeting sound tore
through the freezing air, and a faint yellow light flashed in the
shadows by the archway leading into the settlement. Beneath the
pulsing light a blue box-like structure gradually took. shape as
the TARDIS materialised. For some time the image hovered
fitfully in the air, fading and reappearing with an undulating
groaning. At last it finally solidified with a shudder. The light
stopped flashing and there was silence, except for the moan of
the wind and a faint hiss of steam from the melted snow around
the base of the Police Box.
    After a few moments the door burst open and the Doctor
stepped out. He glanced around and then took several deep
breaths. ‘Very fresh,’ he murmured appreciatively. ‘Faint smell
of burning—but very refreshing.’
    ‘It’s freezing,’ gasped Romanadvoratrelundar, hesitating in
the doorway as she clasped her delicate white robe closer to her.
    ‘We have obviously arrived in wintertime,’ the Doctor
exclaimed. ‘Ribos orbits its sun elliptically, so the climate is one
of extremes.’
    Eagerly the Doctor scanned the low snow-covered ridge and
the massive icicle-clustered walls of the city. ‘Well, which way?’
he demanded. His shivering companion fumbled with the
bleeping Locatormutor Core. ‘Do come along,’ he cried
impatiently.
    ‘We most be quite close, Doctor,’ she answered through
chattering teeth. ‘It’s a strong signal.
    ‘Which way then?’ the Doctor repeated, setting off at a
cracking pace across the slippery steppe towards the ridge.
    ‘That way,’ she called, pointing to the gateway in the city wall
in the opposite direction. Abruptly the Doctor wheeled round
and advanced rapidly towards the arch.
    ‘Now I’m not expecting any trouble here,’ he cried over his
shoulder, ‘but there are certain ground rules to be observed at
all times...’
    His unfortunate companion set off in pursuit, slithering and
sliding all over the uneven surface, her thin robes flapping
flimsily in the freezing wind.
    ‘One: stay close to me. Two: do exactly as I tell you. Three:
let me do all the talking...’ the Doctor continued, disappearing
under the archway. ‘Oh, and by the way,’ he said stopping and
turning, ‘your name. Too long. Sounds like a Siamese railway
station. I’ll call you Romana’
    Just then his struggling assistant caught up with him. ‘I
don’t like Romana,’ she objected, panting for breath.
    The Doctor shrugged. ‘It’s either that or Fred,’ he said.
    ‘I prefer Fred,’ she said after a brief pause.
    ‘Good. Come on, Romana,’ the Doctor cried, setting off once
again. ‘Four...’ he went on, darting down a narrow side turning
between high walls, ‘always keep