The Doctor couldn't wait any longer.

He picked up his soldering iron, and the rather ramshackle dematerialisation circuit, and set to work.

True to form, Jo crashed through the double-doors, dropping a welter of papers onto his workbench, smashing a test-tube and almost knocking a beaker of nitric acid onto the floor.

"Good morning, Jo," was all he could bring himself to say. Idly, he wondered if Jo counted as a force of nature.

"The Brigadier sent me straight here. He's got a job for you!"

As if one whirling dervish wasn't bad enough, he thought. "Did he say what about?"

She beamed, still oblivious to the damage she had wreaked to his experiments. "Yes, UNIT have been called out to Reykjavik. Some local farmer found some strange material in an old tunnel on his land. Something extraordinary."

He sighed even deeper. Another wild goose chase in the offing. Ah well, he had plenty of time to fix the TARDIS, even if he had to outlive everyone else around to do it.

"So, UNIT are investigating, is that all?"

"No," she seemed to perk up, as if the crux of what she had been told was coming to mind, "apparently, this new material is a wonder chemical with advantages for the development of mankind."

"Jo, have you been watching commercial television again?"

She frowned, not grasping his meaning. "The Brigadier thought it was just your sort of show. You being the foremost scientific mind."

He stopped, and beamed at the compliment. "Alistair said that?"

"Oh yes. He also said 'when it suits him'."

Resigned to the inevitable, the Doctor switched the soldering iron off, leaving it securely packed away.

"Well, perhaps we ought to be going. Are we going by ship, perhaps?"

"No, helicopter."

"Oh, I am surprised."

***

They met Sergeant Benton in the chopper.

"Is Mike not coming?" asked Jo.

"Someone has to keep UNIT UK ticking over," replied the Doctor. "Never mind, Jo, we'll probably be back tomorrow."

She failed to hide her disappointment. "Has the Brigadier found anything else out?"

"He doesn't like the volcanic atmosphere much." They shared the joke. "The chap who made the discovery claims to have named it, too."

"Oh, good," commented the Doctor. "Let's hear it, then."

"Melegium, Doctor."

The change in expression in the Doctor's face was astonishing. "Melegium? Are you sure?"

Benton looked perplexed to be on the defensive. "Yes. M-e-l-e-g-i-u-m. The chap was most adamant that that was what it was. Going to revolutionise the world, he says."

"It would! Melegium... Jo, it doesn't ring true."

"What's the matter, Doctor?"

He seemed on the point of talking, but then shook his head. "Probably a simple mistake. I'll know more when I see it."

***

The Brigadier had had better days. He slipped the top off his UNIT-issue Thermos, and poured himself a cup of oxtail soup.

"Ah, Brigadier!"

Spitting his mouthful onto the grass, he poured the rest back into storage, then put the Thermos down.

"Doctor! Miss Grant. Sergeant Benton, perhaps you could tell Mr Magnusson that we wish to examine his discovery."

"Very good, Sir." He scurried off.

"Good to see you, Doctor. Another chance to see the world?"

"It still looks nicer from space. I believe you've made a great find?"

"Well, this farmer made it, to be accurate. But UNIT are trying to keep a lid on it before the eyes of the world tear the place apart. If half the claims this chap makes are true, the world situation could become even more dangerously unstable. We have to handle the matter sensitively."

"Of course. Mineral rights going to Her Majesty would be helpful, too."

"Come, Doctor. This is not the time to be churlish. Ah, Sergeant Benton! And the redoubtable Mr Magnusson. Doctor, Miss Grant, may I introduce you to Odmund Magnusson - the discoverer of Melegium!"

Odmund was a slim, middle-aged man with riotous grey hair, and a fashion for terracotta trousers. Jo fancied he looked like a cross between Magnus Pike and Patrick Moore.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Magnusson," the Doctor didn't seem to be waiting for formality. "I'm fascinated by the news of your discovery. My assistant and I are greatly looking forward to seeing it."

Odmund looked non-plussed, but shrugged his shoulders anyway.

The Doctor goggled. No wonder the Brigadier looked so weary, if this man was causing him such consternation.

***

An hour later, they were all at the top of a hill. Odmund led the party on foot, and the Brigadier was torn between keeping up with the Doctor and Odmund, and holding back for Jo.

"So you're not a Professor?" The Doctor had been asking questions for almost the whole hour, but thankfully they had mostly been about the Icelandic countryside. Now, at the point of excitement, his interrogation was aimed specifically at the great discovery that had been made.

"I am not a chemist, either."

Oddly, Odmund was resisting the Doctor's usual techniques. "But you're quite certain this is Melegium?"

Odmund paused, and looked his interrogator square in the cravat. "You pronounce the word as if it is familiar to you. All the others are reverential. They all say Me-le-ge-um."

This brought a smile of relief at least. "Yes, well, as a matter of fact, I think it is familiar. To me."

The Icelander seemed to scowl at that, so the Doctor continued, "but I might have made a mistake. I won't know until I've seen this site, and had a chance to examine your new discovery for myself."

Clearly, this wasn't good enough, but they resumed walking.

***

The Brigadier was alert to Jo's curiosity.

"So, you think he knows something."

"The way he said it, yes."

"But he's not letting on, is he? I wonder what it can be."

"What did Mr Magnusson tell you it was?"

"A wonder chemical. A huge discovery. Salvation of humanity." The Brigadier paused, and smiled. "I don't suppose I can blame him. If I was in his shoes, I'd overstate the case, too."

Jo smiled at that. It was always a reassurance when the Brigadier let his army mask slip, to show the man underneath.

"Still, if the Doctor has justified reservations, it will need to be isolated fast. Better to be stored by UNIT than anyone else, whatever it is."

A mask that flashed down again like a portcullis, and just as impervious.

***

They had arrived. It was an entrance rather reminiscent of a mine tunnel. A UNIT soldier was stood ready with his rifle, but he recognised the Doctor by sight, and waved him in. He also saw Lethbridge-Stewart scurrying up, and knew that this party was kosher.

It was dim in the tunnel, and the Doctor found his anticipation growing. Was he going to be right, again?

"Here we are. The Melegium seam."

Odmund showed off the sparkling trace on the wall, that shone out bright against the dull grey-blackness of the rest of the tunnel.

The Doctor ran his fingers over the substance, rubbing it, sniffing it, almost tasting it. He nodded, but it was a resigned nod, as if he was having an unpleasant theory confirmed.

"Yes. Well done, Mr Magnusson. That's definitely Melegium, no question."

Odmund beamed for politeness, but the Brigadier saw the look in the man's eyes. He was disquieted by the Doctor's insight. Well, that was understandable! "So, what can you tell us about it, Doctor?" Better to keep him flattered and chatty, he might explain himself, for once.

"Melegium is a very useful element. It is not radioactive, safe for human contact, and combines with silicon to create a useful metal that can be used in construction. Also, it can be tough, and hard-wearing, and doesn't erode easily. That would have benefits to the electrical industry. Is that enough for you, Brigadier, or would you like to know how many protons it has?"

"No, Doctor, that's more than enough information. I'll get onto Geneva, we'll declare this site a ZSS."

"Declare it a what?"

The military smile, polite but false. "A Zone of Scientific Study. The sooner we get this into general use, the better." He turned, and walked back to the tunnel entrance.

Odmund seemed crestfallen. "How do you know so much about Melegium? I am its discoverer!"

"No, Mr Magnusson. I'm afraid you aren't. Melegium is a semi-common element on many planets. You may be the first to find it on Earth, if that's any consolation."

Odmund just gaped at talk of 'many planets'. He was out of his depth, and his dreams of glory were being washed away. Shoulders sagged, he walked after the Brigadier, wondering if there would be any money left over from this ZSS. He deserved a finder's fee, if nothing else.

***

Jo watched him go, then turned to see the Doctor scooping some of the Melegium into a test tube.

"He doesn't seem too thrilled."

"No. Still, on the plus side, he has done something remarkable."

"Oh?"

He turned to look at her. "Jo, Melegium doesn't get discovered anywhere until the 27th Century, by your calendar. I may be wrong, but I'm not altogether sure whether it ever gets discovered on Earth."

"What do you mean?"

"Melegium is dangerous if misused. The worlds which do find it experience enormous technological advance, without the logic and understanding that should come with progress. Power without responsibility, you could say."

A pause. "That's why you were so quiet on the way here. You knew this was going to be trouble."

He had the grace to give her a smile. "Well, I might have been wrong. This poor chap might have discovered something completely harmless. It was the insistence of the name that intrigued me." Seeing her interested expression, he continued. "Many of your recently discovered elements are named after their discoverer. Or after someone important. So why didn't Odmund call it Odmundium? Sounds reasonable. But he was specific about it being Melegium. Not only was he specific, he was dead right. Which suggests something rather unwelcome."

"What?"

He took a good, hard look down the tunnel. "Someone told him the correct name. Which means that same someone told him how to find it here."

Jo gasped. "The Master?"

He shook his head. "He's a possibility, but I think it's not the sort of thing he would set off from his cell. No, whoever is behind this is probably long gone. This is a small-scale piece of meddling, really." He also set off for the tunnel entrance.

***

The Brigadier had resorted to feeding Odmund some of the soup from his Thermos to cheer him up.

"Don't worry about it too much, Mr Magnusson. The Doctor is our finest intelligence in UNIT, and has proved an invaluable asset over the years. He makes nearly all of us seem dim, by comparison. He just acts a little brusque, sometimes."

"My ears seem to be burning, Brigadier, " called a voice. A familiar face soon accompanied it. "Is that soup?"

"I suppose you'd like some, too?"

The Doctor sniffed, wrinkled his nose, then poured it back into its container. "No, thank you, I don't seem to have the stomach for it today."

Even Jo raised a quizzical eyebrow at that.

"Well, Doctor, Geneva say that they will send a team out to investigate. Then, if they agree with your opinion, they'll rush through the ZSS process."

"Hmm. Well, Brigadier, is there anything else you need me for, or can Miss Grant and I start our journey home?"

"I suppose so. You've earned your keep, today, Doctor. Thank you for coming."

"My dear chap, I wouldn't have missed it for the world." He shook his friend's hand with an unusual determination. Then he turned to Odmund, "Mr Magnusson, perhaps you'd like to walk back with us? I wanted to have a word..."

***

Jo had soon caught on to the jist of the Doctor's conversation (more of a monologue, really), and decided that it would be best to walk a few metres behind, so as not to been seen to help him.

"Odmund, there is only one way to preserve your discovery. When UNIT have this area under their control, your efforts will be forgotten. Just a footnote."

"But what can one man do?"

"It is rather an extreme step, I'm afraid. But there's no alternative. Your discovery deserves a better response than that of these soldiers."

"The Americans..?"

"No, Odmund, they would be faster, less polite, and you'd have a fast-food outlet on your doorstep for your troubles."

"The Russians, then..?"

"They would be slower, less tidy and declare this a Soviet outpost."

"Well... the Chinese..?"

"No, Odmund. There is only one solution."

They stopped walking, and the Icelander looked square into the eyes of the Time Lord. The Doctor nodded, with a sad expression. Odmund nodded, too.

Jo kept her own counsel.

***

The Brigadier awoke the next morning to a frantic banging on the door to his room. Damn and blast, was there no civility in peacetime?

"Brigadier! You've got to come quickly!"

He sighed, and pulled on his uniform. It was taking an increasing effort not to simply sleep in it. But that would be surrender, he knew.

The man at the door was the guard from the Melegium site, Private Andrews.

***

When he arrived, his heart uncharacteristically sank.

The tunnel entrance was gone, covered with trees, stones and rubble. Some kind of landslip had buried the way in, which was now only distinguishable for a leg sticking out.

It was Mr Magnusson's leg.

The Brigadier had fought many military campaigns, and understood strategy. It took a matter of moments to take in the scene, and the reasons for it.

For a second, he remembered Wenley Moor.

The Doctor did bear grudges, it appeared.

He smiled. That was one reason he liked the man so much.

"Andrews, get me Geneva on the line."