Storm Warning (audio Drama) - Part 3

Part 3

Frayling is astounded by the saucer, which is over two miles wide and capable of flying through space. The alien seems better now that its people have returned, and it identifies itself as the Engineer Prime of the Triskele. Rathbone still objects to the Doctor's presence, but the Doctor forces him to admit that he is himself an agent for British Intelligence, here to ensure the safety of the passenger. It would appear that his task is now over. The Engineer Prime announces that the airship may proceed, and the hull of the Triskele ship becomes insubstantial to let the R101 pass through. Charley has always wanted adventure; she only stowed away on the R101 because the young trader who told her stories of his travels laughed when she impulsively told him she'd meet him on the terrace of the Singapore Hilton on New Year's Eve. But this is more adventure than she'd ever dreamed possible, and the Doctor is in his element. Everything he told her was true.

The R101 enters the darkness of the saucer's interior, but as Tamworth prepares to march out the guard of honour, the Engineer Prime gently -- but firmly -- tells him that this will not be permitted. Only three persons will be allowed aboard the saucer, and the Engineer Prime has chosen the three; Tamworth, Frayling, and the Doctor. Tamworth is deeply insulted by this apparent affront to the British Empire, but he's diplomatic enough not to show it too much, especially when the Doctor advises him to play along; why share the glory of first contact? Charley will have to remain aboard the ship, and although the Doctor isn't particularly keen on leaving her in Rathbone's company he has little choice. Tamworth privately admits that he too is concerned about what Rathbone might get up to if things don't go according to plan. He's right to be concerned. As soon as the delegation has departed, Rathbone orders the crew to unpack crates from the sealed compartments, and Charley's unease grows when she sees that the crates contain weapons and ammunition -- enough to fight a small war...

Once back in its own territory, the Engineer Prime can move without touching the ground. As the delegation proceeds, Tamworth explains that the Engineer Prime apparently crashed to Earth last winter. At first British Intelligence thought that the alien had been bred by a foreign power, and Tamworth is now rather contrite about the "intensity" of the interrogation. The breakthrough came when Rathbone contacted a spiritualist from Shoreditch, "Madame Zelda", who turned out to be a genuine psychic capable of making telepathic contact with the Triskele. The Engineer Prime claims that it had not communicated with its captors beforehand, for fear that this world was populated only by "Uncreators"; its opinion changed when it met Madame Zelda. Through Zelda, the British arranged to return the Engineer Prime to its people, and as they didn't want to risk authorising a public landing where the Triskele saucer could be seen, they decided to outfit the R101 to make contact in the air. This explains the modifications made to the airship -- but the Doctor doesn't think Tamworth's motives were entirely altruistic...

The delegation finally arrives at the Triskelion, a three-armed sigil which the Doctor has seen on many other worlds before. The Triskele are a very old race indeed, and were once feared across the Universe... The Doctor, Tamworth and Frayling each take a place on the sigil, and it seems to transport them through the ship at blinding speed -- but in fact, it's the ship which is remaking itself around the Triskelion. The Doctor is so excited that he can barely keep still as they arrive in the home of the Engineers, the part of the Triskele whom Frayling has been chosen to represent; the rational, thinking side of the race. But then the Triskelion takes them to the Uncreators -- the dark, twisted id of the Triskele, bound in chains by the Engineers for fear of what they could do. Or rather, un-do; for the Uncreators represent the Triskele's suppressed urge to destroy. The Uncreator Prime stands behind Tamworth just as the Engineer Prime stands behind Frayling; for Frayling is a builder, a designer, and Tamworth has the smell of blood on him. Tamworth admits to fighting in the Boer campaign, but he has no taste for war; he's seen too many young men shattered, their lives frozen forever in the horror of combat. The Uncreator Prime is furious, and accuses the Engineer Prime of cheating the Uncreators of their representative. It forces its way into the Engineer's thoughts, and senses that there is a true Uncreator aboard the airship... a man named Rathbone. Aboard the R101, Rathbone hesitates in his preparations, hearing a voice in his mind...

The delegates have only seen two parts of the tripartite Triskelion, and the Doctor has already guessed what the third must be. He's proven right when they travel once again, to an echoing void inhabited by only one creature, the Lawgiver. The Engineers are the creative, rational side of the race; the Uncreators are the destructive, emotional side; and the Lawgiver is the free will, the one who mediates between the head and the heart and decides what is to be done. When the Triskele were individuals they allowed their base desires to corrupt them, and their race committed atrocities throughout the Universe. To save themselves from themselves, they redesigned their species, dividing themselves into three parts; but whereas there are whole populations of Engineers and Uncreators, there is only one Lawgiver. And the Lawgiver is now very old indeed. When it dies, the Uncreators will be released from neurological bondage and run amok -- but they cannot select a new Lawgiver from amongst the Engineers or the Uncreators, for then the new Lawgiver would only represent half of the race. The Engineer Prime came to Earth in the hope of finding a new Lawgiver from outside, but it has failed; it was ordered to select an Engineer, an Uncreator and one other Earthling, but the Doctor is not from Earth and Tamworth has rejected his birthright of destruction. The Uncreator takes the opportunity to inform the Lawgiver that there is a more suitable Uncreator aboard the airship -- Rathbone. Tamworth, suddenly reminded of how much time has passed, realises that he must get back to the R101 at once. Rathbone has certain orders to carry out in the event of Tamworth's failure, and it's imperative that Tamworth stop him...

But Tamworth is too late. He's failed to return after half an hour and Colonel Peter Rathbone is about to carry out his instructions. Dismissing the voice in his head as a momentary lapse, Rathbone orders Weeks to escort the VIPs to their cabins, and to shoot Charley if she disobeys. Any failure to comply will be regarded as an act of treason -- and once the VIPs are safe then Rathbone will lead the airship's crew out into the Triskele saucer to take it by force. They haven't come all this way to return empty-handed, and the aliens must be made to respect the superiority of the British Empire. Charley and Weeks, knowing that Rathbone is making a grave mistake, follow him out into the airship, but the moment Rathbone steps out of the R101 he is transported to the Triskelion. There, the Uncreator Prime is greatly pleased by the violence in his mind, but the Doctor is appalled and disappointed when Rathbone reveals that they only came here for the Triskele saucer. Tamworth was in the delegation at Versailles, and he knows that the "war reparations" only postponed an even greater tragedy; with the technology of the Triskele in the hands of the British Empire he'd hoped to avert it all. Even he can see that this act of piracy won't bring peace to the world -- but Rathbone isn't exactly under his control any more...

Charley arrives to warn the others of the danger Rathbone poses, but he simply fires a warning shot at her and demands to speak to the alien leader. The Uncreator sits back gloating as Rathbone demands the immediate surrender of the saucer. He refuses to listen to the others, strikes down the protesting Tamworth, gives the Lawgiver one final chance to surrender -- and shoots the Lawgiver through the head when he doesn't get what he wants immediately. And with that act, all hell breaks loose. The Lawgiver's death has freed the Uncreators, and as the Engineer Prime brought the humans here, the Uncreator Prime judges it guilty of betraying their species. For this act of unwarranted aggression, the Uncreator Prime declares war on the human race. As the appalled Rathbone watches, the Uncreators' bonds snap, their forms becoming even more bestial than before as the suppressed savagery of generations is let loose. The Doctor realises that this is what the Uncreator wanted all along, as the hordes of Uncreators move forward to tear the delegates apart...