Chapter 6

AN: When I started working on this, the last chapter of Cyberstrike, like many fans of Doctor Who, I was sad to hear on 2/22/2011 the death of Nicholas Courtney, know to one and all as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Leftbridge Stewart. He was on who was loved by fans of the show, and he will be missed by one and all.

"Are you serious about doing this? If you blow this base up, you'll kill your friends yourself, your C and C personnel, as well as destroy a base that cost U.N.I.T. several million pounds to build" said Bambera. Just then, the com-link on Schmidt's belt sounded.

"Ja, what!" he snapped.

"Linda here sir. The Cybermen seem to be retreating" she reported. "Impossible. My sensors still indicate Cybermen on the base. Contact the others. Inform them that I'm leading the hunt myself, and that we have ten minutes left till Code Terminator's delay expires. Schmidt out." With that, he broke the link and started out the door. As he did so, the enteryway locked behind him. Quickly, Brigadier Bambera, Ace, and the Doctor, tried to open the door, but to their dismay, the thuds that they had heard indicated that it was locked.

"Well Doctor, what do we do now?" asked Bambera.

While the one group was trapped in the control room, things were coming to a head in other areas. Schmidt was in an access tube stalking Cybermen, when they began to pull back! They Cyber Controller had ordered the Cyber Commander to have the forces to return to Telos! The order went out and, of the original 500 Cybermen, only 100 were left. Also, Linda had managed to contact the rest of the C and C personnel, to try and override self-destruct.

As some of the Cybermen moved past his position, Schmidt pulled the trigger on the Auto Mag. Two Cybermen turned as they sensed the bullets coming toward them, but it was too late. The gold magnum bullets went out and blew holes in them that would crack a cylinder block in a semi-trailer rig. However, other Cybermen captured him.

"Take him to the ships. We will process him and make him into one of us" stated one of the Cybermen in an emotionless voice.

In the Control Room, the Doctor was trying to figure a way out of this situation. "Maybe if we tried to remove the hinges?" suggested Bambera. "It wouldn't do any good. By the time we got them off, we would probably have run out of time or suffocate" replied the Doctor, very darkly.

Suddenly, the intercom in the room came to life. "Doctor, this is Thomas. We're going to try and open the hatch from this side. So please stay clear of the door" he told them.

"Go ahead and try and open it from your side. If you can't, then we'll blow it from this end" replied the Doctor. "And Thomas, not to put any more pressure on the situation, but Schmidt has activated the self destruct sequence" called out the Doctor.

Five minutes later, Thomas called back over the intercom. "Doctor, it looks like you're going to have to open it from your side. Its frozen solid on our side" he stated. With that, the Doctor gave a signal to Ace, who planted some Nitro 9 along the portal. Then everybody in the room covered their ears as the explosive went off. As the smoke cleared, Thomas, Linda Mayes, and some of the other members of the base entered.

"Are you folks alright?" asked Linda.

"We're fine" answered Bambera.

"We'll have time for civilities later" snapped the Doctor.

"What do you mean 'later' "asked both Thomas and Mayes.

"Before Schmidt left, he put a 20 minute delay on the self destruct and activated it!" he retorted.

That news stunned the two C and C members. "How long ago was that?" asked Brian, concern on his face and in the tone of his voice.

"About five minutes ago" answered the Doctor.

"Then we've got trouble. If Heinrich did activate the self destruct, then we had better either find Heinrich, or, if that is impossible, try and abort the self-destruct" said Brian, as a grim look appeared on his face.

"What's this about a self destruct mechanism?" asked a concerned Bambera.

"Unless the proper command phrase is given before the one minute mark, both the regular generator and the fusion generator will overload, causing a bolt of energy to be unleashed" said Mayes.

"How much energy" asked the Doctor?

"About 100 gigawatts" answered Thomas.

"What does that mean Doctor?" asked Ace. "A normal bolt of lightning has a rating of 10 gigawatts. This one would be 10 times more powerful" he answered.

"I don't understand Professor. What would happen if it hits here?" asked Ace.

"Anything within 5 square miles would be completely obliterated without a trace" said the Doctor, very seriously.

"How do you want to handle the situation Doctor?" asked Bambera.

"You and Ace try and recover Schmidt from the Cybermen. If we can get him back, we can get him to cancel self-destruct. Brian Thomas and I will try to figure out a way to counter the self destruct from here. Linda, I want you and the rest of the C and C personnel to begin evacuation of the rest of the people, in case we can't stop the self –destruct, "answered the Doctor. With that, the three groups split up and went to work.

A few minutes later, Thomas and the Doctor were at work trying to come up with the cancellation code, to stop the self-destruct sequence. "Doctor, are you sure that you remember the proper code used by Schmidt?" inquired the American.

"I'm positive. Code Terminator, Access Code Cyberdyne 101, 800" snapped the Doctor. Suddenly the computer's voice came over the intercom.

"Delay period is over. 15 minutes to self-destruct. Repeat: 15 minutes to self destruct" announced the female voice.

The human and the Time Lord looked at each other, and intensified their efforts.

As the Doctor and Thomas worked at trying to find the abort code, Bambera and Ace moved toward the craft, and spotted Cybermen returning toward their craft. As Bambera scanned the area with binoculars, she quickly spotted one of the Cyber craft and people being brought toward them. "Ace, how much of your Nitro-Nine do you have left?" she asked in a low, tight voice.

"About two or three canisters are left. Why do you ask?" inquired the younger girl.

Before the U.N.I.T. officer could answer, she saw something that shocked her. It was a pair of Cybermen, carrying somebody. Adjusting the binoculars, Bambera saw that they were carrying Schmidt! "Alright Ace, here's the plan" whispered Bambera, motioning Ace closer.

As the Cybermen carrying Schmidt moved toward their craft, their audio sensors picked up the sound of what humans called "whistling". Proceeding toward the sound, they found Ace, leaning against a rock formation, lazily sunning herself wearing only her shirt and pants. "Hello Schmidt. Hot enough for you?" she asked in a throaty voice. Schmidt just looked at her blankly. Ace then turned toward the Cybermen. "What about you big silver guys? Do you want to party?" she cooed.

As the two Cybermen put Schmidt down, and turned toward Ace, shots rang out from behind them, as Bambera fired her Israeli Dessert Eagle .357 Automatic Magnum. The first bullet hit the back of the Cybermen and ripped through the systems and its control unit. The second bullet went into the head and completely destroyed the other silver being. Ace then grabbed Schmidt and started pulling him toward the Brigadier.

"Nice job Ace" said the black officer.

"It was your idea" responded Ace, as they carried him back to the control center.

With about five minutes left, all the members of the C and C group, Bambera, Ace, and the Doctor, were trying to revive Schmidt. "Any luck Doctor?" asked Rogers.

"None at all. I've tried everything that I can think of to revive him with no luck. In fact," said the Doctor, "I'm tempted to do something I've only done a few times since I learned it."

"And what is that Professor?" asked Ace.

"A mind meld Ace. It's the only way that I know of to get the information with less than five minutes to go" responded the Doctor.

"Brian, have you had any luck in getting the Cancellation code?" asked Rogers.

Brian just shook his head. "I've tried everything that I could think of Neil. Nothing works. If the Doctor can't get the code from Schmidt, then we're sunk" said a downhearted Brian Thomas. With that, the Doctor proceeded with the mind meld.

Placing his hands along the temples, and the forehead, the Doctor began calling out "My mind to your mind, open your mind tome Schmidt" he called out over and over again. As he did so, his consciousness merged with Schmidt's, and found himself in the midst of a maze. Quickly making his way through the mental maze, he found Schmidt curled up in a little ball. Mentally shaking his head, he called out "Schmidt, it's me, The Doctor. Look at me" he said.

Schmidt carefully opened one eye and looked at the Doctor. "Have they gone?" he asked.

"Yes, the Cybermen have left. But, we need the cancellation code to prevent the self destruction of Thunder Island. We need the code!" snapped the Doctor.

"Why should I give you the cancellation code? Its better that this base be destroyed than ever let it be overrun by aliens" retorted Schmidt.

"And if the base is destroyed, you go with it Schmidt! Now, give me the code" roared the Doctor.

That news got to Schmidt. He quickly gave the Doctor the information that he needed to cancel the self-destruct. The Doctor hurriedly returned from Schmidt's mind to his own, to let the others know what he had recovered.

As the Doctor came out of the link, he became aware of the people around him: Bambera, Ace, the comatose Schmidt, Brian Thomas, Neil Rodgers, and Linda Meyers. "Did you succeed Doctor? Did you get the cancellation code?" asked Thomas, worry evident on his voice.

Sighing, as he got up, the Doctor turned toward Thomas. "Yes, I got the information. Unfortunately, "turning toward Schmidt, "your controller is going to be out of events for a while" said the Doctor.

"Doctor, we are running out of time" said Rogers.

Nodding, the Doctor turned toward the members of the C and C group. "You're right. We are down to" "One minute and 30 seconds to self destruct" said the computer, as it interrupted the Time Lord.

Scowling, the Doctor picked up Schmidt's com-link and activated it. "Computer, this is The Doctor, U.N.I.T.'s Scientific Advisor. Please acknowledge" he stated.

"Name acknowledged" responded the computer.

"Cancel Self Destruct: Code Cyberdyne T-1000, the Thunder Rolls. Repeat Cyberdyne T-1000 The Thunder Rolls. Acknowledge" The Time Lord spat out. As seconds passed, the people in the room, except for the Doctor, saw their lives pass before their eyes.

Suddenly the com-link beeped and the computer was heard to say "Self-Destruct canceled at 30 seconds. All systems returning to normal operations." A cry of relief and jubilation rang out in the control room

Epilogue

Over the next few days, memorial services were held for the 30 men and women that lost their lives defending Thunder Island, and the 10 that were captured by the Cybermen.

Finally, after all was said and done, it was time for the Doctor, Ace, and Bambera to leave Thunder Island and return to England.

"You sure you won't stay Doctor? We need a new Controller now that Schmidt is going to need major help to regain his mind" half asked, half pleaded Brian Thomas.

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm no leader. I'm just someone who works to balance the forces of light and darkness when needed. Besides, I think you'll make a better controller than I would" said the Doctor.

"Professor, come on. The launch won't wait much longer" called out Ace. With that, the trio left the base. Would they ever return? Only time and the Time Lords of Gallifrey know for certain.