The Doctor stuck his head out and smiled. His eyes were clear and normal, his skin unblemished. "Good afternoon," he said expansively.
"Are you OK, Doctor?" Tegan asked.
He strode out, a dripping Turlough, rubbing his head ruefully with a towel, in tow, and patted her on the shoulder.
"Never better."
"What"s the situation, Doctor?" Mike asked.
The Doctor turned to him. "The Xaranti have gone. I managed to persuade them that humanity was a bit too gristly for their tastes."
"And this infection of theirs?" Charlotte asked, rising from behind the bed.
"I asked them if they wouldn"t mind taking their litter home with them. They were only too happy to oblige."
Mike"s hand dropped to his side again. "So everyone"s cured?"
Suddenly the Doctor looked sombre. "Those who weren"t too badly affected should recover relatively quickly. But there"ll be a great many casualties. A large number of people won"t recover from the injuries that the Xaranti persuaded them to inflict on themselves."
"On themselves?" Mike said. "I"m not sure I follow."
"The catalyst for the infection was not viral or bacterial, but mental, which was why it resisted conventional a.n.a.lysis. It was caused by an incredibly powerful telepathic suggestion.
Pure thought in physical form." He looked around at the roomful of blank faces and said hastily, "Yes, well, best not to get caught up in idle chit-chat. I"ve got a console room full of battle-weary soldiers in need of urgent medical attention.
Mike, if you would be so kind...?"
Several minutes later, the Brigadier, Sergeant Benton and the four soldiers were laid out on the dormitory floor between the two rows of beds, being attended to by the medical staff.
"Will they be all right, Doctor?" Mike asked, trying not to sound anxious.
"Good as new," the Doctor said encouragingly. "Their systems have had a bit of a shake-up, that"s all."
Max sidled up, regarding the Doctor a little suspiciously. "Is it safe to leave this place yet?" he asked.
"Perfectly," said the Doctor, but stopped him as he turned away, with a hand on the arm. "But there are some nasty sights out there. Many of the people here will find them distressing."
Max met the Doctor"s eyes for a moment, then gave a brief nod. "I"ll get on to it."
"Good man," said the Doctor. As Max left, he turned back to Mike and thrust out his hand. "Well, we"d better be off.
Goodbye, Mike."
Mike looked taken aback by the Doctor"s abruptness.
"Aren"t you going to wait until the Brigadier wakes up?"
"Best not, eh? That way we can avoid unnecessary explanations."
"If his memory"s anything like mine," said Tegan, who had risen to her feet and was now standing at the Doctor"s shoulder, "he"s not going to know who we are. We"re going to have to introduce ourselves all over again."
"Just so," said the Doctor.
"All the same -" Mike began to protest.
Turlough sneezed loudly.
The Doctor turned and patted his companion on the shoulder, his hand splatting on sodden material. "Into the TARDIS," he said. "Have a hot shower and put some dry clothes on. I"ll make us all some cocoa."
Tegan and Turlough entered the TARDIS. The Doctor stepped after them. Just as he was about to disappear into the strange eye-defying darkness beyond the doors, Mike stepped forward and took hold of his arm. "Doctor?"
The Doctor looked back, blond hair swishing. "Yes?"
Mike suddenly realised he wasn"t sure what to say. "I just...
thanks for your help, Doctor."
"Thanks for yours," the Doctor said. An odd, unreadable expression flitted across his eyes, and just for a moment Mike had the impression that he was about to say something momentous or significant. Then abruptly the Doctor said, "Goodbye," and, before Mike could respond, stepped smartly in to the TARDIS, slamming the door behind him.