WARRIORS' GATE

Written By: STEVE GALLAGHER

PART FOUR

First Air Date: 24 January, 1981
5:10pm - 6:35pm

DOCTOR: And for me, too.

ROMANA: We must have jumped back over the striations.

DOCTOR: Yes.

RORVIK: You seem to come and go around here with a great deal of freedom.

DOCTOR: Yes. It's alarming, isn't it? And the culinary arrangements are variable, too.

RORVIK: What's the secret? Something you'd care to share with us?

ROMANA: You won't get the Doctor's help by pointing g*n at him.

RORVIK: I negotiate from strength.

DOCTOR: Much the best way, if you can do it.

ROMANA: So you've mended your warp motors, then? Found a new navigator?

DOCTOR: Shush. Not so aggressive. We're all in the same boat and they know it.

RORVIK: Except that you know the way out.

DOCTOR: I do?

RORVIK: That way.

DOCTOR: Oh, no, no. One way only. That's for Tharils.

RORVIK: I don't believe you, and neither do my men. Do you, men?

ALL: No. No.

DOCTOR: A hungry bunch. Now, listen. There's nothing beyond those mirrors for people like us, except the reflection of what's here. Only the Tharils can enter your universe that way and that's a talent they're born with. The talent that you hunt them for.

ROMANA: A cul-de-sac?

DOCTOR: Yes. Now, unless we work very closely together, we could be caught here until the crack of doom. Oh, what's the use. Could I have one of your pickles? I had a rush lunch.

RORVIK: All right, why not. It's his last meal.

DOCTOR: Well, that goes for all of us. Yeah, soon we won't be better off than that chap over there.

DOCTOR: When the pickles run out.

RORVIK: Enough of the gossip. The secret, Doctor.

K9: Orders, master. Orders.

PACKARD: I don't believe it!

DOCTOR: K9! Where have you been, my dear old thing?

RORVIK: Is that yours?

K9: Mass conversion anomaly. Alert. Danger. Warning.

RORVIK: Oh, shut him up.

DOCTOR: Don't say that! He may have a point. What mass conversion anomaly?

K9: Dimensional contraction of the microcosmic system. Orders.

DOCTOR: Contraction? This could be serious.

ROMANA: It's the memory wafers, Doctor.

DOCTOR: What?

ROMANA: He's going a bit funny.

K9: Mathematical vanishing imminent. Warning.

DOCTOR: No, that's not funny. That's. What's causing it?

K9: Impossible to compute. Space time instability.

RORVIK: Time to play with your toys later, Doctor.

DOCTOR: I think not! If K9's right, and he usually is, this place is in worse shape than we thought it was.

PACKARD: You can't get worse than the back of beyond.

DOCTOR: Soon it may not even be that.

ROMANA: K9 says its dimensions are contracting.

RORVIK: Well, that's the silliest thing I've heard all day. Who's going to believe that?

PACKARD: Well

RORVIK: I thought you might. It's ridiculous. Space contracting?

ROMANA: And time.

PACKARD: At least hear him out. What's the hurry?

DOCTOR: Quite a lot. How long have we got, K9?

K9: Contraction curve exponential. Estimate on present data beyond capability of this unit.

ROMANA: So it's starting?

DOCTOR: Slowly.

ROMANA: But might collapse completely at any minute.

DOCTOR: Yes, yes, but it would need a huge mass to disturb time and space to that extent. Even the TARDIS doesn't weigh that much. Neither does their ship.

ROMANA: It might. The hull is made of dwarf star alloy.

DOCTOR: What?

ROMANA: Dwarf star alloy.

DOCTOR: Dwarf star alloy? What are you playing at? Is it something to do with these?

ROMANA: They're slavers.

DOCTOR: Yes. Trading in time sensitives. And dwarf star alloy is the only material that will hold them.

RORVIK: And it's very expensive.

DOCTOR: How many more of those poor creatures have you got in that hulk of yours?

RORVIK: Poor creatures? Each one's worth a king's ransom, Doctor. You seem to understand business even less than you understand science. This wild theory about contraction.

DOCTOR: No wild theory about contraction. K9. No, K9. K9!

RORVIK: Hold it.

RORVIK: Your machine seems to know as much about it as you do. Get up!

PACKARD: So what you're saying is, the distances are getting shorter.

LANE: Like between the ship and here.

DOCTOR: Yes. As the domain contracts.

RORVIK: Shut up! He's playing for time.

DOCTOR: Playing for time? Quite the reverse.

LANE: He's right about one thing. The trip between here and the ship. Each time we've done it, it has been shorter.

DOCTOR: Yes, and if I can get back to my TARDIS, I can prove it and find out exactly how much time we have left.

RORVIK: Oh, gobbledygook. We can deal with this in very short order. Get us through. Time's run out for you, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Hello, Biroc.

BIROC: Doctor. You've seen our past, you've seen our present. You were right. We abused our power. But judge whether we've not suffered enough.

DOCTOR: As you said, the weak enslave themselves.

BIROC: The time of our enslavement is over. We will be free.

DOCTOR: I wish you luck. But what about us? Have you got any ideas on that count?

BIROC: Do nothing.

DOCTOR: What?

BIROC: It is done.

DOCTOR: Biroc? Biroc? It's all very well for you, but

RORVIK: Time's run out for you, Doctor.

ADRIC: Please! Please! Just let the Doctor go. I don't know what these levers do, but it's pointing in your direction.

RORVIK: Don't touch anything!

RORVIK: You poisonous runt. Who is this boy?

DOCTOR: Oh, he's just a friend of mine. Adric, Romana, get K9 outside, quickly.

RORVIK: You'll never get away with this, Doctor.

DOCTOR: Don't move, lads. It's on a*t*matic.

DOCTOR: Come on, let's find the TARDIS.

RORVIK: All right, lads, get them!

SAGAN: It's on a*t*matic.

LANE: It doesn't have an a*t*matic.

RORVIK: Get them!

DOCTOR: There she blows.

ADRIC: We found it.

DOCTOR: Yes, well, that's one of the advantages of living in a rapidly shrinking micro-universe.

ROMANA: What are the others?

DOCTOR: Other what?

ROMANA: Other advantages?

DOCTOR (OOV.): Ah, well, it's difficult to say.

PACKARD: The ship's moved!

RORVIK: Contracting continuum.

PACKARD: Gobbledygook.

RORVIK: Oh, you never learn anything, do you. There's only one thing for it. Right, everybody. The MZ.

ALDO: I'm not going near that thing. That's a dangerous w*apon, that it.

ROYCE: No, Rorvik knows what he's doing. He's seen us right up to now. Hasn't he?

RORVIK: Don't give up, lads. We'll go for the back blast.

ADRIC: Why don't we just dematerialise and go?

DOCTOR + ROMANA: No.

ROMANA: We can't just dematerialise and leave them. There are slaves on that ship.

ROMANA: What's happening?

DOCTOR: Shush. Mass attraction. There's something moving out there. It's shaking the entire gateway.

ADRIC: Look!

ROMANA: What's he doing? He can't take off with his warp motors in that state.

DOCTOR: Back blast.

ROMANA: What?

DOCTOR: Back blast. He's going to use the jets to try and smash through the mirrors.

ROMANA: He's mad. The back blast backlash will bounce back and destroy everything.

DOCTOR: Yes.

ROMANA: It's bound to accelerate the collapse of space around here.

DOCTOR: Yes.

ADRIC: But surely that would flip you back into N-space if you dematerialised at the right moment?

DOCTOR: Shush.

ROMANA: We cannot even think of that with those slaves on board. We've got to do something.

DOCTOR: I'm not hopeful.

ROMANA: Neither am I.

ADRIC: Wait a minute. There is that damaged area.

DOCTOR: Yes. What damaged area?

ROMANA: Of course.

DOCTOR: What?

ROMANA: By the warp motors.

DOCTOR: Yes?

ROMANA: The main cable insulation is exposed. We might be able to short out his power.

DOCTOR: No.

DOCTOR: Right. Stop! If I'm not back for whatever reason in thirteen and a half minutes, I want you to dematerialise.

ADRIC: Without you?

ROMANA: I am not letting you go alone.

DOCTOR: That's an order. It's about time you started accepting orders.

ROMANA: It is long past time, but how do you think you're going to find the cable?

DOCTOR: With my eyes.

ROMANA: Adric and I have seen it.

DOCTOR: Good. Come on.

ADRIC: I'm coming too.

ROMANA: You are not. It's long past time you learnt to obey orders. Now stay here, and if we are not back for whatever reason in thirteen and a half minutes, I want you to dematerialise. Do you understand?

DOCTOR: I like that. I think you're improving.

ROMANA: It's a matter of complete indifference to me.

DOCTOR: Indifference? Thirteen and a half minutes.

ADRIC: I'm sure you will.

RORVIK: Steady now. I want a landing that wouldn't ripple the skin on a custard.

RORVIK: Good lads. Who's got control of the overload power?

MAN (OOV.): I think it's me.

RORVIK: You think? Listen, everyone. This isn't the MZ we're messing around with here, it's a full blown back blast. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep your eye on the controls.

PACKARD: Back blast activated, and building.

RORVIK: How long till full power?

PACKARD: It's hard to tell with the motors in this state. About ten minutes.

RORVIK: Revivals. Break out the cargo.

PACKARD: What, now?

RORVIK: Well, if this works, we'll need to see where we're going.

PACKARD: You can't do a proper revival in ten minutes!

RORVIK: We'll revive them all. One of them might come through. Well, try it. Let's do something round here for a change.

ROYCE: Don't switch the light on.

ALDO: Why not?

ROYCE: Well, it's bad for them.

ALDO: What, you think this is going to do them any good?

ALDO: I don't know. Ten minutes to plug them all up. Rush, rush, rush.

SAGAN: Ready?

ROYCE: Yes, sir. Just as the Captain ordered. Meet the sardines.

SAGAN: Prepare for revival. Switch on now. Well, what's the matter?

ALDO: Er, I feel I'm coming over a bit nauseous, sir. I'll be all right with a breath of air.

SAGAN: And where do you think you're going?

ROYCE: Oh, I'll just go and make sure he's all right, sir. I'll be back in a minute.

ALDO: Psst.

ALDO: I can't stand a lot of that.

ROYCE: Funny you signed on with Rorvik.

ALDO: Light duties is what he said.

ROYCE: It'll all end in tears, mark my words.

SAGAN: Sorry, sir. It's no good.

RORVIK: No good? What kind of report's that?

SAGAN: Three tries, three rejects.

LANE: Could be the power fluctuation where we had the damage. I'll go and look.

RORVIK: Since when do you give yourself orders on my ship? I'll check the cable, you get back to the bridge. Well, break out some more.

ROMANA: The clipboard marks the spot. I'll stand guard.

RORVIK: Is this what you're looking for, Doctor?

DOCTOR: Look here, Rorvik. You've got to stop this back blast. You'll k*ll us all.

RORVIK: So you say, Doctor. I say it's the only way out of here.

DOCTOR: You can't blast through those mirrors. You must realise by now it just throws the energy straight back.

RORVIK: They've got to break. Everything breaks eventually.

DOCTOR: Never mind the clipboard, short the cables.

DOCTOR: Drain the main power line. Earth it to the ladder.

ROMANA: I know. I've done it.

DOCTOR: Biroc? What are you doing here?

BIROC: Nothing.

DOCTOR: It's all right for you.

BIROC: And for you, too. Do nothing.

DOCTOR: Do nothing?

ROMANA: Of course, Doctor. Don't you see?

DOCTOR: Yes, that's right. Do nothing, if it's the right sort of nothing.

RORVIK: Run, Doctor. Scurry off back to your blue box. You're like all the rest. Lizards when there's a man's work to be done. I'm sick of your kind. Faint-hearted, do-nothing, lily-livered deadweights. This is the end for all of you! I'm finally getting something done! Bwahahahaha!

SAGAN: Here, where did you spring from? I haven't done you. Never mind, you're just what we need.

SAGAN: Just a minute! Argh!

DOCTOR: We've made it. Quick, quick, inside. What's the matter?

ROMANA: I'm not coming with you.

DOCTOR: Inside. That's an order.

ROMANA: No more orders, Doctor. Goodbye.

DOCTOR: What? What a moment to choose.

ROMANA: But it is, isn't it? A moment to choose. I've got to be my own Romana.

BIROC: And we need a Time Lord.

ROMANA: Goodbye, Doctor.

DOCTOR: No, no, no. Wait, wait. There's something else. K9. He'll be all right with you behind the mirrors.

ROMANA: I'll take care of him.

DOCTOR: I'll miss you. You were the noblest Romana of them all.

ROMANA: The TARDIS. Gone.

K9: TARDIS preserved in concept, mistress. This unit contains all necessary schedules for duplication of the TARDIS, mistress.

ROMANA: Exactly, K9. Biroc will help us use the gateway to travel anywhere in E-space, and we can give him time technology.

BIROC: You shall be our Time Lord, and we will travel far. Our people are enslaved on many planets.

ROMANA: And you and I, K9, are going to Biroc free them. That's something we've got to do, don't you think?

K9: Affirmative, mistress.

ADRIC: The picture's fading.

DOCTOR: Yes.

ADRIC: It's gone. Nothing there.

DOCTOR: So it has. Nothing. Well, that's something.

ADRIC: How can nothing be something?

DOCTOR: Well, if the E-space image translator doesn't work, I'm hoping we're in N-space.

ADRIC: Back in your own universe.

DOCTOR: Yes.

ADRIC: Can you be sure?

DOCTOR: Did I say sure?

ADRIC: No.

DOCTOR: Yes. One solid hope's worth a cartload of certainties.

ADRIC: Will Romana be all right?

DOCTOR: All right? She'll be superb.
{"type": "series", "show": "Doctor Who", "episode": "18x20 - Warriors' Gate - part 4"}