The Lair of Zarbi Supremo (short story)

The Doctor finds himself back on Vortis and must rescue groups of humans and Menoptera from an intelligent Zarbi power.

Summary
The Doctor arrives back on Vortis and hears a voice calling through the radio to warn Earth about the Zarbi Supremo. Using the directional aerial on his radio the Doctor locates the source of the transmission, a metal sphere half buried between two Zarbi anthills. Once inside he finds that it is a spaceship, the Solar Queen, and that a tape recorder is producing the radio warning. Upon further investigation the Doctor finds a boy, Gordon Hamilton, and his unconscious father. Gordon tells the Doctor that the other six crew members had gone to explore nearby spaceships that were also on the planet's surface, ships that they believe the inhabitants of Vortis are planning to use for an invasion of Earth. The Doctor, confused because of Vortis' distance from the Earth, isn't sure of the boy's story, but Gordon tells the Doctor of how his father, before falling unconscious, was able to eavesdrop on the Zarbi's telepathic communications. Gordon's father understood that the Zarbi were after the Earth's water and vegetation, and that the invasion was being planned by the Zarbi Supremo. The Doctor takes Gordon and they begin the search for the ship's missing crew members.

Once outside the Doctor and Gordon come across motionless Zarbi. At first thinking they may be dead, the Doctor finds that these Zarbi are made of metal and seem to be robots. Opening the robot Zarbi the Doctor discovers a dead Menoptera, one of the peaceful butterfly like inhabitants of Vortis. Removing the Menoptera bodies from two of the robot Zarbi, the Doctor and Gordon crawl inside and the Doctor determins how to control them. Using his radio, the Doctor send a powerful signal to try and locate the missing crewmembers. Instead of raising the crew, the signal stops the Zarbi in their tracks. Once the Zarbi began moving again the Doctor tells Gordon that the radio almost gave them away and Gordon realizes that the radios carried by the other crew members likely caused their capture. The Zarbi, now all moving in one direction, sweep the Doctor and Gordon along into a large, squat anthill containing great machines and engines manned by Zarbi workers. Finally, the Doctor and Gordon arrive at a great, underground ampitheater, and at its center is the Zarbi Supremo, three times the size of an average specimen. Standing before the Zarbi Supremo are the six missing crew members from the Solar Queen and a party of Menoptera, all with collars around their necks holding them motionless. Slowly, the Doctor guides the two robot Zarbi through the crowd to the front of the throng. The lead Menoptera informs the Zarbi Supremo that they will not help in his invasion plans of Earth and that they will go to war against the Zarbi to stop them. After the Zarbi Supremo kills the lead Menoptera, the Doctor and Gordon use their robot Zarbis' mandibles to remove the collars from the crew members necks. The Doctor calls to the crew members to shoot the Zarbi Supremo, and while most of the bullet miss or bounce harmlessly off, enough find their way through to kill the Zarbi Supremo.

Once the Zarbi Supremo dies, the rest of the Zarbi begin to wander around the chamber paying no attention to the humans and Menoptera. After freeing the Menoptera from their collars, they tell the Doctor and crew that over the years the Zarbi had evolved an intelligent leader who dreamt of conquest. The Menoptera began building their first weapons to combat the Zarbi and had many robot Zarbi throughout the ampitheater. The Doctor and crew of the "Solar Queen" return to check on Gordon's father who, while still unconscious, is doing better. Once there one of the crew verifies Gordon's story that Vortis is in the vicinity of Jupiter's moons, and one of the Menoptera explains that great engines had been built by the Zarbi to guide their world in search of a green, wet world like Earth.

The Menoptera fly the Doctor back to the TARDIS and say goodbye telling him of their legends about him and his ship.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * The Doctor is referred to as an Earthman.
 * The Doctor is surprised to hear a voice speaking English through his radio.


 * Gordon Hamilton
 * Zarbi Supremo

Continuity

 * This is the Doctor's second visit to Vortis. His last visit had been in DWA: The Lost Ones, and he would next visit in TVC: On the Web Planet.
 * The Second Doctor returns to Vortis in MA: Twilight of the Gods.
 * The Fourth Doctor returns to Vortis in DWM: The Naked Flame.
 * The Fifth Doctor returns to Vortis in BFA: Return to the Web Planet.
 * There is a vague reference to the Zarbi Supremo in CP: Campaign.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DWA: The Monsters from Earth
 * This story occurs before TVC: The Klepton Parasites