Ace tried to take some cover under the Doctor's umbrella but she ended up getting soaked. The Doctor should have a bigger brolly she thought. Then again he had insisted she wore a rain coat and she hadn't.

"Nearly there now, in the warmth and dryness of the ship." He began to whistle a Venusian skipping song.

"Can't be a second too soon for me Professor." Ace usually referred to her friend in this manner, especially as he preferred to be called Doctor.

Finally they reached the safety of their ship. To the people who passed it, it looked like just another blue police call box. If it was not for the out of order sign people might try and use it. When they travelled anytime in the mid 20th century such precautions were necessary. They had picked up a new travelling companion a few weeks ago, Shou Yuing, after she helped them defeat Morgaine and Mordred from instigating a thermonuclear war. She was waiting for them back at the TARDIS, she was soaked to the bone and looked as angry as she was drenched.

"Ah there you are. I must remember to give you a key." The Doctor tried to smile as he unlocked the door.

"I'd have settled for a coat, I'm soaked through." Yuing looked like a drowned rat, as she squelched inside the TARDIS. "I'm going for a shower unless I die of pneumonia first." She went off to her room.

"Professor, you didn't tell her about the rain. Why?"

"Didn't I? It must have slipped my mind."

"The day anything slips your mind will be the day the world ends."

"Now Ace, I've got things on my mind."

"You were testing her, weren't you? Seeing how she reacts in a crisis."

"Well, now that you mention it, she's going to do fine. Independent, strong minded and stubborn. Remind you of anyone?" He smiled and set the controls to dematerialise. "Where to now I wonder...ah there's a small planet in Gamma Perseus I've been keeping my eye on. Local government is starting to tax it's citizens unfairly. We'll just pop in and have a look around."

"Professor, this is a bit small scale for you, isn't it?"

"Evil comes in small packets as well as large ones Ace. Besides we're just going to have a look around. Now I don't want you to carry any Nitro-9 at all. Remember Ace, none what-so-ever."

"Message received Doctor." Ace wondered how quickly she could brew up a new batch before they landed. "I'll go and change then, give us a shout when we've landed." Ace left and went to her room.

To call it untidy was to insult untidiness. Everything was strewn everywhere, books, blouses, bomb casings. Nothing was where you could reasonably expect it to be. She pulled out the explosive making equipment and set about getting it all sorted out. There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

Yuing entered, she had a large towel wrapped around her body and a smaller one around her hair. "Hey you've tidied up." Last week Ace's room had been a lot tidier she thought to herself. "You really making some more Nitro then?"

"Shhh, keep it down. He'll hear. Yes, although this lot's gonna have a bit of extra oomph. That last batch wasn't so great. Did you get the stuff I asked for?"

"Yes, I'll bring it round in a minute." The real reason behind Yuing getting separated from the others was that Ace had asked her to get a few supplies for her while the Doctor wasn't there. "I'll get ready and bring it round."

"This lot is going to be so impressive, I just know it."

The TARDIS materialised in a public park on the planet Yoff unnoticed except for a few animals. The Doctor opened the doors and emerged. "Get a move on you two." Ace and Yuing emerged a few seconds later, both sporting identical looking backpacks that clanked in a familiar manner. "Each of you are allowed two questions."

Ace went first. "Where are we and how far is the nearest chip shop?"

"We've landed in a small park in the middle of the main population centre and there are no chip shops on this planet."

Shou Yuing took her turn now. "Erm...Why are we here and where are we going?"

"We are here for a look around and we'll go this way." He pointed the direction with his umbrella.

"Is it going to rain?" Ace asked.

"I said two questions Ace."

Ace muttered rebelliously under her breath.

They wandered through several empty streets until they found an unconscious figure lying in the middle of the street. The Doctor checked the stranger for injuries and they carried him over to the nearest unoccupied dwelling. They made him comfortable and then searched the dwelling for medical supplies.

"Will he be all right Doctor?" Yuing was concerned. She was no medical expert but the guy looked worse than some of the soldiers at Carbury after that terrifying final battle.

"Yes, his body is in perfect condition but his mind is the problem. I can't sense anything at all about him. My people used to have a great gift for telepathy but over the years it has diminished through lack of contact with other species. The Master for example is able to use it to hypnotise people so completely, where as all I can get are vague impressions if someone is trying to kill me." The Doctor took his hand off the strangers forehead.

"Where's Ace?"

"She said something about checking out the back door."

"Oh go and give her a hand would you? I'll have a look around and see what provisions I'll have to pay for when the owners return."

Professor Plume examined the results once again. The victim was in perfect health but her mind had been scrambled completely, resulting in total system shut down. "Ellie check this brain scan against the others, we may as well go through the formalities." Plume pulled the shroud back over the victim's face. "What could be doing this?" he mused out loud.

When Ace and Yuing returned they found the Doctor had removed his jacket and put it over the man's head and upper body. "Total system failure. His body just stopped working. His autonomic mind kept forgetting to breathe in and out. I didn't want you two to get upset."

"What about you Doctor? Are you alright?"

"No one should die alone Yuing. We should contact the authorities."

"I thought you said they were a bunch of right wing jerks Professor."

"Yes Ace, but his family should be informed."

"Tests confirm the hypothesis. Same pattern as the others, total neural paralysis leading to systemic shutdown." Ellie read the computer readout.

"So it is the Mind Fade, after all these years."

"It looks that way," Ellie agreed. "And they promised it was over too."

"Do you really believe Central Command's word about anything anymore?"

"Helicopters?" The Doctor's acute hearing detected the faint sound of approaching airships. "This doesn't bode well at all. We have to leave, now."

"They'll see us a mile off if we leg it," Ace pointed out.

"No Ace, this is a colony world, not a very advanced one at that. We'll be fine."

They left via the back door, over the short garden and into the back alley. Travelling quickly and quietly they made their way northwards. The Doctor pulled out a location detector to keep them on the right track. Just when they thought they were safe they found themselves in a large clearing surrounded by the military.

"Oh dear." This was all the Doctor could think to say.

"I'll ask you once more. Why did you kill Zebbah Greene?" The interrogator was tall and built like an armour-plated privy. He was currently asking Ace a few questions.

"Look scumbag we found him lying in the street okay? We tried to help him but it wasn't us, okay? The Doctor said he died of system failure."

"So you admit that then?"

"Admit what? The truth? I was checking out the back of the house."

"I see, well thank you miss. You've been most helpful." The interrogator left.

"Now then, we have your friend Ace's confession so there's no need for you to keep up this story of yours is there?" The interrogator had now moved on to Shou Yuing.

"Look mister we did nothing. Unless trying to help people is a crime here." She gave a brief recount of their actions.

"I see, you left this John Smith friend of yours alone with Zebbah Greene. Thank you this will be most helpful." He left without another word.

"Oh dear Doctor Smith, you are in it up to your neck. Both of your little friends have implicated you in the murder of one Zebbah Greene. What do you have to say that could possibly help your defence?"

The Doctor looked sad. "Murder? Yes that would be convenient, wouldn't it? A nice simple solution, but what's my motive?"

"Jealousy, bungled theft attempt, he tried it on with one of your girls. It doesn't matter in the long room. Justice must be seen to be done, the people must know we are working in their best interests."

"And if a couple of tourists get framed then that's all right, as long as you're seen to be doing your job. The fact that that poor man's brain had been scrambled is irrelevant right?" The Doctor saw a twitch in the policeman's face. "You know what's happening don't you? You know and you're trying to cover it up, but why?"

"That's none of your concern, now is it?"

"I think it is. I have a nasty suspicion forming and if I'm right, which I usually am, then you had better ask for my help now rather than later."

Professor Plume examined the police report for Mr Greene. He checked the references for Dr John Smith in the Federation databanks. He discovered five different people all claiming to be the same person and none of them were the face on the arrest sheet. He was ready to dismiss it as some sort of conspiracy but the details of each person seemed to weave together too well. "Ellie, tell security to bring that Smith chap up here ASAP. Use my medical authority if they protest."

Ten minutes later the Doctor, Ace and Yuing found themselves eating a late supper with Professor Plume. "Now Dr Smith..." Plume began.

"Doctor will do fine. John Smith is just an alias I developed over the years, it saves a lot of awkward questions."

"Doctor then. You know your ID has five different pictures of you listed and none of them match your face."

"Only five? I wonder which me they left out?"

Plume tried not to show his irritation. "Yes well, I gather you were there when Mr Greene passed away."

"Yes, I tried to keep him comfortable but piece by piece his body was just shut down and there was nothing I could do. His mind had been scrambled."

"Well it may come as a surprise but he was not the first to succumb to the Mind Fade."

"Mind Fade?" Ace asked.

"Don't interrupt Ace."

"Oh that's what some of us have started to call it, fellow researchers like myself. On the surface it seems like an epidemic but there's no sign of it being transmitted from person to person which makes me think external stimuli."

"You think there's someone or something here, don't you?" Yuing remembered an old story her grandfather had once told her about his chickens being poisoned by a jealous neighbour. She recounted the story to the others.

"Yes young lady that's not a bad theory. Now if we could only find out what was causing it."

"Have you checked their backgrounds, what groups they belonged to, who they talked to recently, what they may have said to offend anybody."

"Oh we know who's responsible Doctor, we just can't prove how they've done it."

"That sort of information should be made available to the public, don't you think?"

"There would be panic Doctor. Several centuries ago, when we first arrived, a rival colony also arrived from the Taranq Holding and tried to get rid of us. When we drove them off they released something into the oceans, we identified it and neutralised it. Then a few years later a number of small meteors began to land all over the planet at the same time. Shortly after that people began to die of this Mind Fade. Back then they called it the Sleeping Fever but it seemed to have stopped of its own accord. Then thirteen months ago we had our first new case and since then there have been seventy deaths

attributed to it."

"These meteors, presumably they brought this illness here but what happened to them all I wonder?"

"They were all found and smashed up as far as I can tell."

"All of them? What if one of them wasn't found?"

"Then it would still be active Professor." Ace leapt to the obvious conclusion.

"I think a search of the immediate area of where we found Mr Greene is in order, don't you?"

"Yes, I'll get onto security and arrange it."

The three time travellers had been waiting around for what seemed like hours when Ellie handed Ace a note. Ace read it out to the others. They had then talked to the captain of the security detail for a few minutes.

"What did that message say again Ace?" the Doctor asked.

"They found a Taranq agent with lots of quote 'exotic artefacts'."

"Ah well then, we had better go and have a short talk about diplomacy then."

They found the Taranq agent heavily secured by security personnel. He was a typical Taranq, seven feet tall with skin like a crocodile and with the facial features of a snake. Before they could act he spat at two of the security guards; their helmets were dissolved in seconds and their faces quicker still. The remaining guards opened fire and did not stop until their weapons were out of ammunition.

"We could have learned all sorts of valuable information from him." The Doctor was angry, witnessing such brutal slaughter always upset him. "Wait a minute, what is this?" He pulled a small piece of paper from under a body part. It was a list of names, several of them were crossed off. "I think you will find this list most useful sergeant. A list of Taranq collaborators. I'm beginning to see the truth of things. The Taranq infiltrated your government and began to find out which senators could be bribed to further their campaign here. This poor chap is a decoy, to draw you away from the truth. Justice must be seen to be done after all. Well gentlemen it's up to you, it's obvious by now that your ruling body has been compromised. We were aware of a few repressive laws being introduced for a while now. Now that we have the truth, all this must be released to the people. Otherwise they will be sold out by these traitors and the Taranq sweep you aside into the history books."

"This is lies, all lies," a trooper spoke up.

"Quiet D'Matsure. What he's said makes sense. All those secret projects, I've heard whispers of the space defence budget being cut back. There's too much coincidence here for my liking," Sergeant Labck said.

Trooper D'Matsure raised his gun to fire at the Doctor but he was cut down by Sergeant Labck. "Sorry Paul but firing on civilians is a capital offence outside of riot orders."

The Doctor led the way back to the TARDIS. "I think the forthcoming election will be interesting to follow, don't you?"

"Yes, I wonder how many of the collaborators will try and wriggle out of it," Yuing wondered.

"Too many I think, they should have put the lot of them in prison, scumbags like that don't deserve thirty years smashing rocks."

"Just one question Ace, what happened to all the Nitro I specifically told you not to carry with you?"

"Erm they confiscated it Doctor. Gave me a long lecture on public safety."

"Yeah me too."

"Well maybe next time you will both listen to me?"

"Yes Professor," Ace replied for both herself and Yuing.

The two women giggled as they entered the TARDIS, bound for pastures new.

After the election sergeant Labck found himself promoted to head of security by the new liberal government. He was put in charge of finding all the collaborators and bringing them to trial. He looked for the Doctor but he was nowhere to be found although his Federation ID was updated to include his latest picture.