'The Vault of Secrets' (Part 1) by Phil Ford

A young girl runs through the abandoned ruins of St Jude’s Hospital, following the directions of a strange device; as she makes her way through the old asylum she is unaware that her progress has set off a hidden warning system, which awakes three black-suited figures from their slumber… Arriving at a blank wall, the girl uses the device to open a secret door, beyond which stands a formidable vault door; the girl tries using her device to open it, but her attempts fail – she needs a second device. At that moment the sinister trio of Men in Black appear: they each remove their left hand, revealing high-tech blasters! The girl runs for her life, but as she emerges from the building she breaks her ankle; as she passes out from the pain the alien possessing her abandons her body: Androvax the Veil has returned! When the Men in Black finally catch up to the unconscious girl, they realise that their quarry has escaped… Elsewhere, at Bannerman Road, Rani joins Sarah and Clyde in the attic as they and Luke, who is watching via webcam from university, monitor the progress of the latest Mars Probe via Mr Smith; at Sarah’s behest Mr Smith sabotages the robot just before it can transmit the image of an ancient pyramid – Sarah wants to protect the secrets of Mars’ ancient prison… Meanwhile, Gita has dragged an unwilling Haresh to the latest meeting of B.U.R.P.S.S. – the British Research and Paranormal Studies Society (Ealing Branch) – where she regales everyone of her encounter with the Judoon and their escaped Veil prisoner. Later, after bidding goodbye to the group’s organiser, Ocean Waters, and her friend Minty, Gita and Haresh return to Bannerman Road, arriving just as Androvax sneaks into Sarah’s driveway. Gita sends her husband after the alien, but Haresh’s search is interrupted by the arrival of Sarah, Clyde and Rani; warning Sarah of the Veil, Gita goes home with Haresh – unaware that her daughter has just been taken over by Androvax. Luckily Sarah isn’t fooled, and when she confronts ‘Rani’ the alien bolts into the house and up to the attic, where he activates Mr Smith; fortunately, Mr Smith sees through ‘Rani’ too, and Androvax is quickly trapped inside a containment vortex. To Sarah and Clyde’s amazement, Androvax then asks for their help! It seems that while escaping from the Judoons’ prison planet of Moxolon, Androvax was bitten by a Swamp Viper; now dying from the poison, he needs Sarah’s assistance to find the remains of a Veil ship that crashed on Earth forty years ago, a vessel that carries the last of his people in cryo-sleep. Androvax explains that the ship was captured and placed in the Vault of Secrets, which can only be opened by two special locks: he has one, but he still needs the second… Ever compassionate, Sarah decides to help and so sets off with Clyde and Rani to investigate the ruined asylum; as they leave they bump into Gita, who has brought with her Ocean and Minty from B.U.R.P.S.S. After sabotaging the U.F.O. hunters’ homemade alien detector, Sarah drives off with her friends, and it isn’t long before they arrive at St. Jude’s. Following Sarah’s detector, the trio make their way down to the basement – unaware that they have just tripped a hidden alarm: in a car parked in Bannerman Road, the Men in Black learn of the intrusion and set off in pursuit… Searching the depths of the asylum, Sarah and her friends uncover a hidden base beneath the building, filled with alien equipment and three empty ‘coffins’; they also find a wall covered in newspaper clippings, reports of U.F.O. sightings dating back to the 1950s – including the story of Ocean Waters, who was abducted by aliens in 1972. Just then the Men in Black arrive on the scene. After determining that none of their intruders are the Androvax in disguise, the MiBs’ leader, Mr Dread, demands the return of the Vault’s activator disc; Sarah refuses to comply – and so the android MiBs open fire with their arm blasters! Hastily dodging energy blasts, Sarah, Clyde and Rani manage to reach their car, and they race back to Bannerman Road; here Mr Smith informs them that the Men in Black are from the Alliance of Shades, on a mission to cover up all signs of alien activity on Earth. Deciding to speak to Ocean, Sarah releases Androvax and agrees to let him travel in her body; however, Clyde intervenes, and allows the alien to possess him instead. When the gang question Ocean about the Men in Black the woman is overjoyed: her wild claims of alien abduction have finally been vindicated. At that moment Ocean’s pendant begins to glow: she has the second activator disc! Elated, Androvax snatches the discs from Ocean and Sarah, but before he can leave the door is smashed open – Mr Dread steps through the wreckage and declares that he will incinerate everyone present…

Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Thomas Knight (Luke), Daniel Anthony (Clyde Langer), Anjli Mohindra (Rani Chandra), Alexander Armstrong (Mr Smith [Voice]), Mina Anwar (Gita Chandra), Ace Bhatti (Haresh Chandra), Angus Wright (Mr Dread), Mark Goldthorp (Androvax), Cheryl Campbell (Ocean Waters), David Webber (Melvyn ‘Minty’ Minton), Sophie Benjamin (Gill)

Directed by Joss Agnew
Produced by Brian Minchin
Executive Producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Piers Wenger
A BBC Wales production

TX:
18th October 2010 CBBC @ 5.15 pm
20th October 2010 BBC2 @ 4.30 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Sarah Jane Smith, Luke, Clyde, Rani and Mr Smith

*The Men in Black were first seen in the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘Dreamland’

*The pyramid glimpsed on the Martian surface was originally seen in the 'Doctor Who' story 'Pyramids of Mars'