"Really Doctor, does this look anything like UNIT HQ?"

The Brigadier stood with his hands on his hips in the middle of a grassy field frosted with winter dew, gazing around, clearly peeved. Behind him, the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Terribly sorry, Alistair ... directional seekers must be on the blink again."

Two more people emerged from the TARDIS, Sarah Jane Smith and Jeremy Fitzoliver, who looked around the pretty winter countryside with awe.

"I say! Not bad at all! Better than that Parakon place anyway!" He strolled around a bit and sniffed the cool air. "Rather reminiscent of Provence ... Mater has a little place there. I say, do you think that's where we are?" he said excitedly.

"I wouldn't bet on it!" exclaimed Sarah. She joined the Doctor and the Brigadier, who were arguing about the merits of the Doctor's navigational skills. She cleared her throat noisily. They stopped arguing and looked at her. She pointed into the distance.

"Jeremy seems to think this is Provence. There's a little town over there. What say we go and find out?"

The Brigadier sighed irritably. "Miss Smith, may I remind you that the Doctor and I are employees of UNIT ..." he ignored the Doctor's indignant look - "And we have better things to do than swan around France! If it is indeed France we are in!" He shot a glare at the Doctor.

"Well it could be France ... could indeed." He slapped his hands together and grinned. "Why not? Stretch our legs after that long journey, maybe take a little wine ..." He trailed off after catching sight of the Brigadier's stormy expression.

"We are not on holiday! Doctor, I insist that ..."

The Doctor cut him off. "No, no, Brigadier, we can't leave straight away. The, er, Helmic Orientators will need a little while to, er, re-orientate." He winked slyly at Sarah. "That gives us a splendid opportunity to explore. Sarah, Jeremy ... come along."

With Sarah and Jeremy in tow the Doctor strode through the damp grass towards the town in the distance. The Brigadier sighed exasperatedly and stamped off after them.

They came out of the field on a dusty single track road. Jeremy said "Brrrr!" and jammed his hands deeper into his pockets.

"Bit chilly, isn't it? Pity we didn't arrive in the summer." He looked up into the grey sky. "Must be winter, I suppose .... Mmm, a nice bowl of fresh hot onion soup will set us off a treat!"

He was shaken from his revere by the sound of a motor behind them. They looked round and saw a truck bouncing down the road towards them. "Hey, look! Maybe we can hitch a ride!"

The truck got nearer, nearer ... "Hey, he's a bit close!"

"Look out!" The Doctor shoved them both into the ditch as it roared past them, narrowly missing them.

The truck screeched to halt and the tarpaulin at the back was flung back and out lept a heavily-armed group of black uniformed men with distinctive steel helmets ...

And swastika armbands.

"Good grief! Quick - back to the TARDIS!" They turned to run but the soldiers were already shouting at them to halt, weapons raised. They were too far from proper cover, so arms raised, they reluctantly complied ...

The Brigadier, some way behind, ducked back down when he saw what was happening. He instinctively groped for his pistol, and swore when he remembered he'd left back in his desk at UNIT HQ. What he wouldn't have given for one of those Parakon stun guns ... he started to move forward to get a better view when a twig snapped behind him and he spun round. Two scruffy men with machine pistols emerged from the undergrowth.

"Pssst! Monsieur - this way! Hurry - or the SS will see you too!" Giving a last look at his captured friends, the Brigadier followed them into the bushes ...

"Doctor, we're in the middle of World War 2, aren't we? They're Nazi soldiers!" hissed Sarah as they were marched into the town square.

The Doctor nodded, looking round for the Brigadier. No sign - maybe he got away. They might have a chance after all.

"I'm afraid so ... and these chaps are the worst of the lot. S.S. Punishment Squad, by the looks of them."

"What are they going to do to us?" Jeremy quavered. The Doctor didn't answer, but his face told a horror story ...

The S.S. men went round the entire village, kicking open doors and dragging out the villagers, who were all driven into a huddle by the monument in the town square. The Doctor and his friends were brutally shoved into the group as well. Voices were raised in French and German and there came the horrible sound of hard metal on soft flesh. Women & children were sobbing, the men looked afraid. The soldiers surrounded them in a ring and pulled back the bolts on their rifles and machine pistols ...

The Brigadier crouched in a clearing with the two men and five others, all similarly armed. The resistance, he guessed. He knew his WW2 history quite well and had heard that they had performed with a great deal of courage, but the Brigadier had always been of the opinion that if they'd shown more backbone in 1940 after the invasion things might not have got as bad as they did. Like most Englishmen, he didn't have a high regard for the French, especially their involvement in the war.

"Marcel, who is this?" one of the men whispered.

Marcel shook his head. "I do not know Maurice... I saw him and three others approaching the village. I was too late to save them from being captured."

One of the others was studying the Brigadier intently. "He is wearing a British uniform! Are you a pilot - were you shot down?"

The Brigadier cleared his throat. "Not exactly ... I am in the British army, but I'm afraid I'm here by accident with my three friends... on a secret mission for the British Government, naturally!" He added hastily. Well, that wasn't far from the truth. "Listen, can you help me get them free?"

Maurice shook his head. "No chance. We came here to warn the villagers that the SS were on their way to exact revenge for the death of one of their officers ... but they moved to quick for us. We can do nothing!"

"Nothing? You've got guns - attack them! There only seems to be a truckload ... a lightning strike might do it. If those SS men are going to do what I think they're going to do, you have to stop them!"

Marcel shook his head. "No chance. There are too many. It would be certain death!"

The Brigadier stood up, expression grim. His feelings about French cowardice had been confirmed. "Indeed. Well gentlemen, I intend to try anyway. If you could lend me one of your machine guns and some ammunition ..."

Maurice stood as well. "Don't be a fool! Face facts, they've had it!"

"Maybe ... but I owe it them to try. Will you give me a weapon?"

Marcel hesitated, then nodded wearily and one of the men gave the Brigadier his machine gun and a couple of clips. Maurice tossed him a grenade as well.

"Bon chance, monsieur ..."

"Thank you. I will need it." He paused before leaving the clearing. "And I heard the French resistance were brave men ..." He turned and jogged away, his words hanging in the chill winter air.

Marcel's face contorted in anger and he slammed his fist into the ground ...

The Doctor was pleading unsuccessfully with the SS commander, Kaltz, a haughty, typically aryan type with cruel blue eyes.

"Herr Major, please listen to me ... these people are not to blame for the actions of the men who killed your officer. Let them go."

Kaltz smiled nastily. "I think not. Colonel Von Mander was very popular with the High Command ... and with my men." He rose his voice so everyone could hear. "Let this be a lesson to all those in this district - hostile action against members of the Greater German Reich will be met with the severest punishment." He turned away but a Priest rushed forward and caught his arm. An SS sergeant jammed his pistol in his face but Kaltz pushed his arm aside.

"Herr Major, at least spare the women and children ... show a little mercy ... it is Christmas, after all!"

Kaltz considered. He could afford to be magnanimous. They were the masters of Europe, after all, and these were French citizens, not godless Slavs. "Very well. Remove the children and the women." He cast a lascivious eye over Sarah and winked at the Sergeant. "It is Christmas, after all!"

The Doctor tensed, ready to make a last desperate move to avoid their fates. At least Sarah and the Brigadier will escape ... though into what kind of future? He wondered where the Brigadier was now. Still waiting by the TARDIS, perhaps, to be stranded forever, some 40 years from his own time ... He stared bleakly down the muzzles of the German rifles. Even regeneration would be impossible after this. He had to do something ...

A machine pistol clattered to his right. Kaltz spun suddenly under the impact of bullets and fell. A voice yelled out - "Run Doctor - RUN!" The SS troops hesitated, temporarily leaderless, then Kaltz's adjutant started barking orders and the men began firing back.

The Brigadier dashed desperately from cover to cover. He was glad to see the villagers, the Doctor, Sarah and Jeremy among them, dash for safety, but for how long? If they could make it back to the TARDIS ... bullets ricocheted around him. It was only a matter of time before one hit. If the Doctor and the others could escape, it would not have been in vain.

Then his machine gun jammed. He struggled furiously with the bolt, but to no avail. The Germans pressed forward, emboldened by the lull in shooting, ready for the kill ...

The German truck suddenly exploded in a ball of flame. Looking round, the Brigadier could see Marcel and his men dashing around the village, shooting and throwing grenades. The Germans responded with equal ferocity and quickly two of the partizans had been shot down, but suddenly the villagers reappeared from their homes, attacking the Germans with whatever they could lay their hands on. The Doctor launched into the Germans with a flurry of blows and kicks from his Venusian Akido repetoire, and even Sarah & Jeremy lashed out with makeshift clubs.

Bewildered and disheartened, the remaining German troops fled for the safety of the countryside ...

***

The Doctor led his friends back to the TARDIS, Marcel accompanying them part of the way.

"What will happen to the villagers?" asked Sarah.

"They will be taken in by the neighbouring villages. The SS will be sure to come back and exact revenge. But while they may burn the buildings, they will not burn any of the people. The town will be rebuilt ... as will France, one day."

"Sooner than you think, my friend. Goodbye." The Doctor shook his hand. The Brigadier stepped forward and did likewise.

"Goodbye, and thank you, Marcel. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, and for ever doubting the bravery of you or your people."

He shrugged and smiled. "Forget it, my friend. Just go back to England and tell them what you have seen here. Tell them how we are suffering ... and how we are dealing with our suffering!" He slapped the Brigadier on the shoulder and with a final wave to the others disappeared back into the woods.

"A brave people ..." said the Brigadier thoughtfully.

The Doctor smiled. The Germans weren't the only ones who'd been taught a lesson that day, then.

"Always will and always have been, Alistair. It's only a pity that it seems to take conflict to bring out the best in the human race."

The Brigadier looked thoughtfully at him for a moment, then nodded. "We're a fighting species, Doctor." He echoed the Doctor's words. "Always will, and always have been."

"For better or worse," the Doctor whispered sadly, but only Sarah heard him ...

Jeremy paused on the threshold of the TARDIS. "Did that vicar really say it was Christmas?"

"Yes ... listen!" They heard the sound of church bells in the still, chill evening air. The Doctor smiled. "You know, I think I still have some mulled wine leftover somewhere ... how about it?"

The Brigadier nodded. "Why not? It is Christmas, after all. Here, at any rate!"

"But it's July back home!" said Jeremy.

The Doctor grinned. "Well it's not every year you get to celebrate two Christmases! Bon Noel!"

Laughing, they entered the TARDIS, which dematerialised to the sound of Christmas bells ...