Difficulty

The Doctor stared at the jigsaw - it was almost impossible to do. The pieces were double-sided, so each was effectively two pieces which would go on different sides of the puzzle.

Oh, and there was one other thing the Toymaker had omitted to mention - every time the Doctor put a wrong piece in place, it fell out, bringing with it half a dozen more.

'I wish you‘d chosen something more appealing,‘ he moaned, hoping to bait the Toymaker into using up a bit more energy. Whatever was occurring between him and Rallon, the Toymaker‘s grip on reality - both inside and outside his mind - was lessening. The Doctor saw Stefan and LeFevre shoot the odd look in their master‘s direction, confirming that the Toymaker was occasionally lapsing into his internal struggle.

Excellent.

'Oh, look at the memory mirror, Doctor.‘

The Doctor turned as the Toymaker waved an ornate ring in front of the mirror. An aerial view of the chess board materialised. The viewpoint was rarely still, however, and the Doctor began to feel nauseous trying to stay focused. The Toymaker was shaking his head.‘

'I fear, dear Gaylord, that our pilot may not be all she was cracked up to be.‘

'I fear not, Lord,‘ LeFevre admitted.

'Dreadful at cribbage, too, Doctor. Bit of a time-waster I feel. Ah well. Let‘s change the camera.‘

The Doctor watched. The chess board could now be seen from the point of view of one of the players.

'I‘m using the red king‘s perspective, Doctor, as I wish you to see how your team, the white ones naturally, do.‘

'White representing the force for good. A guardian thing, I suppose.‘

The Toymaker shrugged. 'That hadn‘t crossed my mind, old friend. No, I chose white because I thought of the little flag they wave on Earth to signal surrender.‘ He gazed back at the screen. 'Oh, this is very tedious, all very traditional.‘ He cleared his throat. 'Go to move queen‘s rook four.‘

Suddenly the picture blurred. When it refocused, the pieces had moved, some quite significantly.

'Oh dear, I appear to have lost a couple of pawns and a rook. And why, Doctor, how delightful for you. You‘ve lost no one. Yet. Oh, let me introduce your team.‘ He tapped on the mirror with his ring, against the image of a pawn. Carved into its front was Braune‘s face.

To the Doctor‘s horror, it blinked.

The ring touched the king‘s rook. Etched into that was Townsend‘s face, twisted into a scream of fear. The bishop was Dieter and the knight was young Desorgher.

'Oh, who might your queen be? I wonder if it‘s... oh yes, so it is. Tell me, Doctor, do they play chess on Traken?‘

'Are they... are they dead?‘

'Oh no. Well, not yet. But if rooks, knights or bishops fall, then yes. Ditto the pawns - poor Mr Braune. Lots of chances but, like all good security men, he‘s in the front line. That‘s what he gets paid for. As for Nyssa and your king, as there is only one of them... yes, they get zapped more quickly.‘

'Adric?‘

Is the king, yes. And that‘s probably why your team are doing so well. He‘s instinctively good at playing. His mathematical skills make him an ideal strategist, organising his players. He‘s far better than my man, dear old Sir Henry.‘

The Toymaker shot the Doctor a quick grin. 'Doctor, would you mind awfully if I hung on to Adric when the game is over? He could be very useful around here.‘

'I‘d like him back, please.‘

'Oh look, Doctor! Adric has sacrificed a bishop to get a pawn to put Sir Henry in check. Oh, that‘s so clever. King moves to king‘s bishop one I think, Sir Henry.‘ The camera moved, suggesting the move was being made. 'Of course, Doctor, that was a bluff on our part. Dear Queen Nyssa is now exposed to my rook. Eliza I think she‘s called.‘

The Doctor watched in mute horror, impotent to do anything but stare as Adric tried to configure a way to save Nyssa.

He did so by moving his remaining bishop directly in front of the queen. The rook would have to take it, and, in turn, the queen could take the rook without placing herself in further danger.

But the Doctor realised that Adric was in a quandary. He was down a bishop Arcady - when he lost this one, Dieter would be gone too.

The bishop moved into position.

'Adric…‘

'Oh, sorry, another thing I forgot.‘ The Toymaker was enthralled by the game. 'The players don‘t actually know the fate that befalls the lost players. Whoops - there goes Nurse Dieter and Eliza the maid in one fell swoop.‘

***

Divided Loyalties, Round 3, Chapter 5