Post by Fitz Kreiner on Feb 6, 2009 18:37:47 GMT
Jess started at the plume of smoke and flame, her mouth agape in shock. She seemed to have lost all feeling in her legs and a numbing sensation seemed to flow rapidly through her. She blinked several times, the flash of the explosion still in her eyes and the roar still in her ears as it echoed round the valley. Slowly she turned to face Olbrich.
“You just left him,” she managed, her voice shaking. “You just left him. You may as well have killed him yourself you bastard!”
“Easy, take it easy.”
Jess didn’t realise she’d stepped forwards, her hand raised to strike Olbrich until both Sauer and Rossini stepped forwards to restrain her.
“That won’t get you anywhere.” Sauer said, gently into her ear. “There was nothing any of us could have done. Your friend was trying to save us all.”
“Tom-” Jess managed before a wailing cry echoed through the valley.
The whole group paused and looked around them trying to locate the source of the cry, suddenly realising that the sounds of the jungle had ceased in the wake of the explosion. The wail came again, closely followed by a chilling two toned scream.
“Sir,” Neruda said stepping forwards, looking around. “That sounded like the cry of whatever it was that took Mendez’s body. I don’t think we’re quite safe out here, especially if they were the things that attacked the other Lander.”
“Yes, you’re quite right Corporal.” Olbrich said as he un-holstered his pistol and hefted it in his hand, looking about the upper branches of the trees.
“Will you be ok?” Rossini asked Jess, who she was now almost supporting.
“I’ll have to be,” Jess said shakily, glaring at Olbrich, who was still scouring the branches of the trees. “For Tifa at least.”
“Drew, Lucien, could you help me with the girl?” Sauer said, helping the semi-conscious Tifa to her feet, supporting her immensely.
A bleep from Olbrich’s communicator caused him to remove the object from his belt. “Yes,” he snapped into the small box.
“Sir, we heard an explosion.” The concern was evident in the tinny voice.
“There was some serious sabotage in the first Lander; the engines overloaded destroying the ship.” Olbrich said, before glancing over towards Jess. “We lost one man.”
“His name was Tom.” Jess said quietly, still not quite able to feel her legs, leaning against Rossini for support.
“What’s the situation with Number Two Lander?” Olbrich asked into his communicator.
“We’ve got in no troubles sir. No sight of the alien creatures.” The tinny voice reported. “But we’ve got casualties; two crewmembers are dead and one of the student team is seriously injured.”
“Well, keep guard. We’re going to make our way over to your Lander.” Olbrich said into the communicator. “We’ve one injured member of the party, so may make slow progress. In the meantime, I want you to get in touch with Mother Ship and tell them to inform Doctor Le Druier’s passenger that one of his companions was killed in the explosion.”
“Sir.” The tinny voice replied before the communicator bleeped off.
“Right, listen up.” Olbrich shouted to the group as he put his communicator back into the pouch on his belt. “Now, I know that you’re a civilian team, and mostly a student team at that, but I’m sure you’re all full well aware of the situation. We’re currently stranded in a hostile jungle with a good three mile or so trek to undertake. We’ve one injured member, who will slow us down-”
“You’re not leaving Tifa behind too!” Jess said loudly, cutting Olbrich off. “You don’t like us, that’s obvious, but one of my friends has just been killed helping you.”
Olbrich glared round at Jess, his mouth still open. “If you had allowed me to continue Miss,” he said curtly. “Your friend is injured so she will slow us down, but I shall head the procession and Corporal Neruda, you shall bring up the rear. Be on guard, there are hostile creatures in the jungle. No one touches anything and watch where you step.”
Nodding, Neruda un-holstered her pistol and looked around the jungle as Olbrich nodded and set off into the jungle.
“You ok?” Rossini asked Jess.
Nodding, Jess set off with Rossini still supporting her with Sauer and Dufeyal carrying Tifa between them, Drew following on behind, looking cautiously about him. Taking another look behind her at the plume of smoke that still billowed from the wreckage of the Lander, Neruda set off behind the rest of the party, scouring the vegetation for any sight of any alien life.
Doctor Le Druier sighed and looked over at her travelling companion. They had been sat in the small travel pod for ten minutes now and were leaving the upper stratosphere and heading towards the mother ship in higher orbit. The Doctor had seemed rather impatient since the doors had closed, jostling his feet and tapping his fingers together. Still, he hadn’t spent the journey quietly so far.
Instead of talking about the fact that one of his companions had developed an alien infection, he had instead been name dropping most of the trip. Notable scientists and even historical figures this strange Doctor was claiming to have met. Now he was muttering to himself and looking up to the top of the travel pod.
“How long is it now?” The Doctor asked, still staring at the bulkhead.
“It should only be about another ten minutes.” Le Druier said, almost jumping when the Doctor turned to face her, fixing her with his blue-green eyes.
“You really haven’t said much during the journey. Are you alright, Amelie?” He said a large smile across his face. “How’re the husband and kids? You heard from them recently?”
Doctor Le Druier gaped. How did he know about them? OK, he had probably spotted the wedding ring, but how he had known that she had two children back with her husband on Pluto, she didn’t know. She was just about to ask him about this when the travel pod gave a shudder.
“What was that?” She asked looking around.
“I was rather hoping you’d be able to tell me,” the Doctor said, gripping hold of a small hand rail just above his head. “After all, you’ve used these things more than me.”
“Not that many times.” Le Druier said as the travel pod gave another shudder.
“How are they guided?” The Doctor asked, studying the controls before him. “These controls aren’t very sophisticated. Slave control to the Landers and mother ship I suppose.”
“I think so. I’m a medical Doctor, not a technician.”
The pod gave another shudder and Le Druier felt her stomach rise as the pod started to fall.
“Oh dear,” the Doctor said quietly as the pod started to tremble as it fell.
“What is it? We’re falling aren’t we?”
“Yes,” the Doctor said, reaching for the controls before him. “We’ve lost contact with one end of our journey.”
“Which?” Le Druier asked, panic rushing through her.
“I’m not sure. I’m not too familiar with these systems.” The Doctor said, struggling furiously with the controls. “If it’s the Landing Craft, then I hope it’s a systems failure and nothing else. If it’s the mother ship-”
Le Druier looked at the Doctor as he tailed off. He had now raised his leg and was kicking at the control panel before him. “Well?” she asked.
“If it’s the mother ship, then again I hope it’s a systems failure, otherwise everyone on the planet is stranded quite a way from the outer colonies.” The Doctor said looking over at Le Druier and patting his pockets, his face falling. “Oh dear,” he repeated.
“What now?” Le Druier asked. She wasn’t sure how worse the situation could get.
“I’ve left my sonic screwdriver in my coat pocket back in the TARDIS.”
Le Druier didn’t have a clue what the Doctor was on about, let alone what a TARDIS was. However, it was clear from the look on his face that it was something he could have done with. As she watched, he gave the panel another kick and then gave a cry of triumph.
“Now, if I’m very clever here, I could manage to save us plummeting back towards the surface.” He winked at her.
How could he be so damn calm? Something had happened to either the Lander or the mother ship, and if it was the mother ship, then getting them back into orbit would be a futile gesture.
“Oh dear,” He repeated again. “Dear, oh dear, oh dear. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all. There’s absolutely no trace of the Lander here at all.”
“I’m guessing by the fact we’re falling that we were being controlled by the Lander.” Le Druier said before realisation started to sink in. “What happened to the Lander?”
“I don’t know,” the Doctor admitted. “Now if I can find any communication controls-”
Le Druier gripped hold of the rail beside her head, her knuckles turning white as she watched the Doctors head and shoulders disappear into the workings of the travel pod controls. “I do wish you’d hurry up!” she said as the trembling of the pod increased.
“I’m going as fast as I can,” the Doctors muffled voice came from inside the control panel. “I’ve got to try to engage the pods travel unit with the capture scoop from the mother ship. If I can hook it on, we can complete our journey in comfort.”
Le Druier wasn’t sure how she got the feeling, but she was sure that the Doctor had a large grin on his face. He seemed to be relishing the fact that they were in mortal danger of crashing into the planet’s surface at such a speed that would create a large and lasting impression on the surface.
“You know, I remember being in such a similar situation to this once with a chap called Leif Erikson. Well, almost. I joined him in sailing across the Atlantic, some five hundred years before Columbus, not sure whether he was going to fall off the edge of the Earth or not.” The Doctor gave a short laugh.
“I fail to see how that’s similar to this!” Le Druier almost screamed at the Doctor.
“Well, he didn’t know if he was going to fall off the edge of the planet and we don’t know if we’re going to crash into one!” The Doctor laughed.
“I really don’t think it’s funny.” Le Druier shouted, unable to keep it back any longer as she was almost thrown from her seat as the pod jolted violently. “We’re falling to our deaths and there’s the distinct possibility that the Lander has been destroyed somehow, killing your friends and mine.”
The Doctor pulled himself out of the controls and fixed Le Druier with his piercing eyes. “I’d really rather hope that that isn’t the case, Amelie,” he said, pulling two wires out from the control panel and twisting them together and smiling. “I’m sure that it’s just the system is down. Don’t worry, Tom’s good with the computers of this era, he should manage to get them back online.”
“I wish I had your confidence.” Le Druier muttered quietly as the pod started shuddering even more and a creaking noise started to come from the hull. “Doctor,” she warned.
With a sudden jolt, the falling sensation stopped and the pod became smooth again. “A-ha!” the Doctor cried in triumph. “Who said anything about falling to our deaths?” He grinned.
Le Druier breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “For a moment there, I wasn’t sure whether we were going to make it.”
“Really?” the Doctor said, his face forming a look of pure surprise. “I never doubted it.” He added with a grin.
“You could have fooled me!” Le Druier said, letting go of the hand rail.
“It was only a matter of time,” the Doctor smiled. “I’m used to much higher levels of technology than this. I do like a good challenge every now and then.”
“Oh really?” Le Druier asked; her eyes wide. “Well next time, make sure that it’s without me or if it is with me, make sure it doesn’t have the other option of us plummeting to our deaths.”
“I’ve been a lot closer to death that that in my lives.” The Doctor grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
Amelie found herself relaxing again. The Doctor had said that they would be fine, and she found herself believing him.
Jess had recovered her composure as the party had progressed through the jungle. She had no idea whether they were heading near the TARDIS at all, she was completely lost. Olbrich, however, seemed to have an idea of where they were going, guiding them through thick undergrowth, constantly checking what she assumed to be a space age compass or directional unit or something.
She had left Cristina after thanking her for her support and taken over from Dufeyal in helping Doctor Sauer support Tifa through the jungle. Her friend was now fully conscious and aware of the numbing pain in her arm. Jess had tried to talk to her to calm her down and reassure her, but it wasn’t easy. There were moments when Tifa became near hysterical. Doctor Sauer had called forward to Olbrich to stop and had administered more injections and drugs to Tifa. Jess hoped that they would hold off the infection long enough for the Doctor to reach the mother ship, develop a cure, and bring it back down.
She would rather Olbrich had not told his crewman to tell the Doctor that Tom had been killed. She would have rather that she could have told him in person when he got down. Tom. Oh God. Had she actually come to terms with it already? One minute he was with her laughing and joking and now, rather ironically, gone, after his talk of leaving and saying that he’d not leave. Fate could be cruel.
Looking ahead, Jess noticed that the jungle seemed to end, coming to a clearing. Upon reaching it, the party slowed to a stop, to take another breather. They’d be walking through the jungle for what seemed like hours. A look at her watch told her that it had been fifty minutes. They’d made good time with Tifa in the state that she was. They were on the brow of a hill that had what seemed like sweeping grassland to more jungle below, and there in another clearing was the second Lander. They’d almost made it. If it was the same size as the other, then Jess assumed that it was least a mile away at the most. Maybe less.
“Jess?”
Jess turned at the sound of her name. Tifa was looking up at her and reaching out with her hand.
“Where’s Tom? I can’t see him.”
Jess swallowed hard and suddenly realised there was a lump in her throat. A tear rolled from her eye down her cheek.
“He,” she paused, not sure what to say. “He didn’t make it.”
“He didn’t- What happened?”
Jess swallowed hard again. “The ship blew up, he was still inside it.” She said softly looking up at Olbrich. The Commander was staring towards the sun, his hand shielding his eyes from the glare. He had the classic explorers pose; one foot up on a rock, one hand at his hip, the other at his eyes.
“We’d better get a move on.” He said turning back to the group. “The sun is setting and I don’t fancy making my way through this jungle in the dark.” Stepping down from where he was stood he walked over to Jess and Tifa. “Are you going to be ok?” He asked, holding his hand out to the young Thal.
Doctor Amelie Le Druier looked up from her work and across at her companion in the sterile section of the sick bay, the Doctor. His mood had nosedived since they had arrived back on the mother ship after one of the Bridge officers had met them at the travel pod docking bay and informed them of what had happened on the surface.
They had been working some hours now and so far had found no results that they could use to develop a cure for the Doctors friend of her infection. Amelie had raised this point with the Doctor about an hour and a half ago and got quite the shocking response. The Time Lord had slammed his hand down on the worktop and screamed;
“I’ve already lost one of my friends today, I will not lose another!”
His eye’s had seemed to burn with a fiery rage that had made Amelie take a couple of steps back, surprised by his sudden turn. Since then, they had worked in an uncomfortable silence, the Doctor fixed intently on his work. He had skimmed through every data pad and snipped of information that had been collected by everyone in the expedition since they had left port in a matter of minutes, claiming that he now knew it all. Somehow, she wondered how, but he seemed to mention things relating to the mission. Well, before his outburst anyway.
With a motion which almost made Amelie jump out of her skin, the Doctor looked up, a huge grin across his face, and his whole demeanour seemingly more brighter.
“Aha! Yes, gotcha!” He cried out, jumping up from his stool and bounding over to Amelie and grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’ve found it.” He said, guiding her by the shoulders to the station he was working at.
Amelie looked at the image on the small display screen as the Doctor pointed to the motif resembling Tifa’s blood cells.
“Those green shapes there are the aggressive foreign cells that have migrated from the touch of the creature into Tifa’s bloodstream. There they’re attacking and converting the white blood cells, thus stopping the natural defences of the body from having any chance of defending themselves.”
“We know this already.” Amelie said looking up at the Doctor, almost exasperated.
“Ah yes, but look at this!” the Doctor smiled, pointing to some readings on the left of the screen. “But there, right there, a point oh five variance in the attacking cellular structure. These creatures are genetically engineered, and this little flicker in their cellular structure is what we needed.” The Doctor paused and drew breath. “Whoever it was who created them wasn’t quite as clever as they think they were. The cellular attack is reversible and I’m not too sure whether the structure of the creatures is either. Although there is a chance that they’ll find a way to adapt and become strong. I’d hate to think of a life form coming into existence and then to dissolve into a puddle of cells and proteins.”
“But Doctor, these creatures have infected your friend with an aggressive alien contagion and from reports from the surface, have injured another and killed two more.” Amelie protested.
“They’re animals, Amelie.” The Doctor said, fixing her with his dazzling eyes. “They can’t help what they were made. Should lions be stopped if one attacks a tourist on Safari? Should all sharks be exterminated because some have taken bites out of swimmers or surfers? They’re not doing it on purpose, they’ve been created and thrust into an alien environment and are doing all they can to survive. As are we all.”
Sighing, Amelie le Druier nodded. “I guess you’re right. So, we need to work on getting an anti aggressor, that destroys the invading alien cells?”
“Spot on,” the Doctor smiled. “Don’t forget, these creatures aren’t the villain of the piece, it’s whoever it is has been tampering with nature. And believe me, once this is done, I will waste no time in finding out just who it is; because they’re responsible for the death of your colleague and one of my friends.”
Amelie looked into the Time Lords eyes. They had gone cold again, and she felt really relieved that she was not the one who would be feeling the wrath of the Doctor, when he found out who it was that was responsible for his friend’s death. It had really upset him and she was sure that he would make whoever was responsible pay.
Commander Olbrich looked around as Professor Mori and Doctor Sauer entered the cockpit of the Lander. He could see Corporal Neruda stood at the door.
“You two have been on this planet longer than anyone else in this expedition. Are there any humanoid life forms?” He said, noting their confused looks.
“What do you mean?” Sauer asked.
Olbrich turned and nodded to the pilot, who was sat at the controls of the craft, running a scan of the local area. A small white dot was registering on the screen.
“I’ve run a scan of the local area, a mile radius to see if I can spot any of these creatures, so we can ward off a potential attack, and I found this. It’s anomalous as everyone has been accounted for, and they seem to be making their way towards us.” The pilot said.
“Hmm.” Sauer mused, rubbing his chin. “All our initial scans and searches have proved that there are no native humanoid species on this planet. There is, however, one possibility.”
Olbrich looked at him and raised his eyebrow. “You think the boy survived?”
“It’s a possibility.” Sauer nodded. “We never checked the remains of the other Lander after the explosion, just assumed that he’d perished.”
Olbrich nodded. “It’s a slim chance, but we should check it out.” Pausing, he turned to the door. “Neruda.”
“Sir.” The Corporal saluted entering the cockpit.
“I want you to set up a perimeter around the craft, flood lights pointing in,” Olbrich paused and looked at the scanner screen. “North-west direction, the way we arrived, and send out two armed personnel with flashlights to check the immediate area.”
“What is it we’re looking for?” Neruda asked.
“We don’t know.” Olbrich confessed. “From the scans, it’s a possibility that the young man, Rowan, survived the explosion and is making his way here. He may be injured and in need of help, and we’re going to give him that help.”
“Sir.” Neruda said, saluting.”
“Oh, Corporal.” Olbrich shouted after her, drawing her back into the cockpit. “Don’t tell the girl. We don’t want to get her hopes up if we’re wrong. She’s already been through enough stresses already.”
“Sir.” Neruda saluted before exiting. Her voice could be heard ordering the troops through the door.
“I do hope you are right.” Mori said. “Although I still don’t understand what he was doing that made the Lander explode. Could he be the one behind this?”
“I don’t know yet, Professor.” Olbrich admitted. “But if this is him, then I can assure you that I will be questioning him.”
Jess sat near where Tifa was laying, unconscious, soothingly stroking her golden hair. Doctor Sauer had given her another dose of sedatives and anti-biotics to stem the infection. He had done the same to a student who had a large, deep gash across his shoulder. The young man was in a lot worse state than Tifa, delirious and the flesh around the wound seemed to be mutating, Sauer said, becoming a tough green, almost like a tough woody vegetable matter.
She had been in the Lander for some hours now. There had been no word from the Doctor since they had arrived and she had insisted fervently to get in touch with the mother ship in orbit and speak to him and told him about Tom. She spotted a grim determination come across his face as she told him what happened. She’d never seen him like that before.
Since then, things had quietened. Until now that is. Olbrich had been called into the cockpit of the Lander by the pilot, and then the Commander had called both Sauer and Mori and then Neruda into the cockpit. Something was happening, of that she was well aware of. Neruda had emerged from the cockpit and ordered the military crew to sort something out outside the Lander. She didn’t envy them running around a hostile jungle in the dark. Although it had created some much needed room in the now over cramped Lander.
She could see that most of the soldiers were stood behind some large floodlights, heavily armed, two had slowly moved out towards the edge of the clearing, even more heavily armed than those who were closer to the Lander. Perhapse they were preparing for an attack by the creatures. Sighing, she looked back down at Tifa, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She couldn’t imagine what was happening in the poor girls mind.
Jess looked up as private Doritz re-entered the Lander. He was supporting a weary and dirty looking figure that was also leaning heavily on a large, thick stick, as a rudimentary crutch. She instantly recognised the figure, her heart almost leaping in joy.
“Tom!” She cried rushing over.
The young Time Lords face was covered in mud and blood. He was protecting his left leg and looking down, Jess saw why; he had rolled his shirt up and was using it as a makeshift tourniquet, a jagged piece of metal was stuck out of his calf.
“You’re alive!” She cried hugging him and hearing him gasp in pain. “Don’t you ever do that again.” She said, stepping back and hitting him on the arm. “We thought you were dead.”
“Not quite,” he gasped. “We Time Lords are tough old sticks.” He hefted the stick as he said it, a thin smile on his face. “I almost was,” he added.
Jess turned and shot a look at Olbrich.
“Not him.” Tom said. He paused until he was sure that everyone in the Lander was looking at him. “Commander Olbrich,” he said, taking his arm from Doritz and, standing by his self and leaning heavily on the crutch, raised it to point at Professor Mori. “Arrest that man.”
“You just left him,” she managed, her voice shaking. “You just left him. You may as well have killed him yourself you bastard!”
“Easy, take it easy.”
Jess didn’t realise she’d stepped forwards, her hand raised to strike Olbrich until both Sauer and Rossini stepped forwards to restrain her.
“That won’t get you anywhere.” Sauer said, gently into her ear. “There was nothing any of us could have done. Your friend was trying to save us all.”
“Tom-” Jess managed before a wailing cry echoed through the valley.
The whole group paused and looked around them trying to locate the source of the cry, suddenly realising that the sounds of the jungle had ceased in the wake of the explosion. The wail came again, closely followed by a chilling two toned scream.
“Sir,” Neruda said stepping forwards, looking around. “That sounded like the cry of whatever it was that took Mendez’s body. I don’t think we’re quite safe out here, especially if they were the things that attacked the other Lander.”
“Yes, you’re quite right Corporal.” Olbrich said as he un-holstered his pistol and hefted it in his hand, looking about the upper branches of the trees.
“Will you be ok?” Rossini asked Jess, who she was now almost supporting.
“I’ll have to be,” Jess said shakily, glaring at Olbrich, who was still scouring the branches of the trees. “For Tifa at least.”
“Drew, Lucien, could you help me with the girl?” Sauer said, helping the semi-conscious Tifa to her feet, supporting her immensely.
A bleep from Olbrich’s communicator caused him to remove the object from his belt. “Yes,” he snapped into the small box.
“Sir, we heard an explosion.” The concern was evident in the tinny voice.
“There was some serious sabotage in the first Lander; the engines overloaded destroying the ship.” Olbrich said, before glancing over towards Jess. “We lost one man.”
“His name was Tom.” Jess said quietly, still not quite able to feel her legs, leaning against Rossini for support.
“What’s the situation with Number Two Lander?” Olbrich asked into his communicator.
“We’ve got in no troubles sir. No sight of the alien creatures.” The tinny voice reported. “But we’ve got casualties; two crewmembers are dead and one of the student team is seriously injured.”
“Well, keep guard. We’re going to make our way over to your Lander.” Olbrich said into the communicator. “We’ve one injured member of the party, so may make slow progress. In the meantime, I want you to get in touch with Mother Ship and tell them to inform Doctor Le Druier’s passenger that one of his companions was killed in the explosion.”
“Sir.” The tinny voice replied before the communicator bleeped off.
“Right, listen up.” Olbrich shouted to the group as he put his communicator back into the pouch on his belt. “Now, I know that you’re a civilian team, and mostly a student team at that, but I’m sure you’re all full well aware of the situation. We’re currently stranded in a hostile jungle with a good three mile or so trek to undertake. We’ve one injured member, who will slow us down-”
“You’re not leaving Tifa behind too!” Jess said loudly, cutting Olbrich off. “You don’t like us, that’s obvious, but one of my friends has just been killed helping you.”
Olbrich glared round at Jess, his mouth still open. “If you had allowed me to continue Miss,” he said curtly. “Your friend is injured so she will slow us down, but I shall head the procession and Corporal Neruda, you shall bring up the rear. Be on guard, there are hostile creatures in the jungle. No one touches anything and watch where you step.”
Nodding, Neruda un-holstered her pistol and looked around the jungle as Olbrich nodded and set off into the jungle.
“You ok?” Rossini asked Jess.
Nodding, Jess set off with Rossini still supporting her with Sauer and Dufeyal carrying Tifa between them, Drew following on behind, looking cautiously about him. Taking another look behind her at the plume of smoke that still billowed from the wreckage of the Lander, Neruda set off behind the rest of the party, scouring the vegetation for any sight of any alien life.
*
Doctor Le Druier sighed and looked over at her travelling companion. They had been sat in the small travel pod for ten minutes now and were leaving the upper stratosphere and heading towards the mother ship in higher orbit. The Doctor had seemed rather impatient since the doors had closed, jostling his feet and tapping his fingers together. Still, he hadn’t spent the journey quietly so far.
Instead of talking about the fact that one of his companions had developed an alien infection, he had instead been name dropping most of the trip. Notable scientists and even historical figures this strange Doctor was claiming to have met. Now he was muttering to himself and looking up to the top of the travel pod.
“How long is it now?” The Doctor asked, still staring at the bulkhead.
“It should only be about another ten minutes.” Le Druier said, almost jumping when the Doctor turned to face her, fixing her with his blue-green eyes.
“You really haven’t said much during the journey. Are you alright, Amelie?” He said a large smile across his face. “How’re the husband and kids? You heard from them recently?”
Doctor Le Druier gaped. How did he know about them? OK, he had probably spotted the wedding ring, but how he had known that she had two children back with her husband on Pluto, she didn’t know. She was just about to ask him about this when the travel pod gave a shudder.
“What was that?” She asked looking around.
“I was rather hoping you’d be able to tell me,” the Doctor said, gripping hold of a small hand rail just above his head. “After all, you’ve used these things more than me.”
“Not that many times.” Le Druier said as the travel pod gave another shudder.
“How are they guided?” The Doctor asked, studying the controls before him. “These controls aren’t very sophisticated. Slave control to the Landers and mother ship I suppose.”
“I think so. I’m a medical Doctor, not a technician.”
The pod gave another shudder and Le Druier felt her stomach rise as the pod started to fall.
“Oh dear,” the Doctor said quietly as the pod started to tremble as it fell.
“What is it? We’re falling aren’t we?”
“Yes,” the Doctor said, reaching for the controls before him. “We’ve lost contact with one end of our journey.”
“Which?” Le Druier asked, panic rushing through her.
“I’m not sure. I’m not too familiar with these systems.” The Doctor said, struggling furiously with the controls. “If it’s the Landing Craft, then I hope it’s a systems failure and nothing else. If it’s the mother ship-”
Le Druier looked at the Doctor as he tailed off. He had now raised his leg and was kicking at the control panel before him. “Well?” she asked.
“If it’s the mother ship, then again I hope it’s a systems failure, otherwise everyone on the planet is stranded quite a way from the outer colonies.” The Doctor said looking over at Le Druier and patting his pockets, his face falling. “Oh dear,” he repeated.
“What now?” Le Druier asked. She wasn’t sure how worse the situation could get.
“I’ve left my sonic screwdriver in my coat pocket back in the TARDIS.”
Le Druier didn’t have a clue what the Doctor was on about, let alone what a TARDIS was. However, it was clear from the look on his face that it was something he could have done with. As she watched, he gave the panel another kick and then gave a cry of triumph.
“Now, if I’m very clever here, I could manage to save us plummeting back towards the surface.” He winked at her.
How could he be so damn calm? Something had happened to either the Lander or the mother ship, and if it was the mother ship, then getting them back into orbit would be a futile gesture.
“Oh dear,” He repeated again. “Dear, oh dear, oh dear. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all. There’s absolutely no trace of the Lander here at all.”
“I’m guessing by the fact we’re falling that we were being controlled by the Lander.” Le Druier said before realisation started to sink in. “What happened to the Lander?”
“I don’t know,” the Doctor admitted. “Now if I can find any communication controls-”
Le Druier gripped hold of the rail beside her head, her knuckles turning white as she watched the Doctors head and shoulders disappear into the workings of the travel pod controls. “I do wish you’d hurry up!” she said as the trembling of the pod increased.
“I’m going as fast as I can,” the Doctors muffled voice came from inside the control panel. “I’ve got to try to engage the pods travel unit with the capture scoop from the mother ship. If I can hook it on, we can complete our journey in comfort.”
Le Druier wasn’t sure how she got the feeling, but she was sure that the Doctor had a large grin on his face. He seemed to be relishing the fact that they were in mortal danger of crashing into the planet’s surface at such a speed that would create a large and lasting impression on the surface.
“You know, I remember being in such a similar situation to this once with a chap called Leif Erikson. Well, almost. I joined him in sailing across the Atlantic, some five hundred years before Columbus, not sure whether he was going to fall off the edge of the Earth or not.” The Doctor gave a short laugh.
“I fail to see how that’s similar to this!” Le Druier almost screamed at the Doctor.
“Well, he didn’t know if he was going to fall off the edge of the planet and we don’t know if we’re going to crash into one!” The Doctor laughed.
“I really don’t think it’s funny.” Le Druier shouted, unable to keep it back any longer as she was almost thrown from her seat as the pod jolted violently. “We’re falling to our deaths and there’s the distinct possibility that the Lander has been destroyed somehow, killing your friends and mine.”
The Doctor pulled himself out of the controls and fixed Le Druier with his piercing eyes. “I’d really rather hope that that isn’t the case, Amelie,” he said, pulling two wires out from the control panel and twisting them together and smiling. “I’m sure that it’s just the system is down. Don’t worry, Tom’s good with the computers of this era, he should manage to get them back online.”
“I wish I had your confidence.” Le Druier muttered quietly as the pod started shuddering even more and a creaking noise started to come from the hull. “Doctor,” she warned.
With a sudden jolt, the falling sensation stopped and the pod became smooth again. “A-ha!” the Doctor cried in triumph. “Who said anything about falling to our deaths?” He grinned.
Le Druier breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “For a moment there, I wasn’t sure whether we were going to make it.”
“Really?” the Doctor said, his face forming a look of pure surprise. “I never doubted it.” He added with a grin.
“You could have fooled me!” Le Druier said, letting go of the hand rail.
“It was only a matter of time,” the Doctor smiled. “I’m used to much higher levels of technology than this. I do like a good challenge every now and then.”
“Oh really?” Le Druier asked; her eyes wide. “Well next time, make sure that it’s without me or if it is with me, make sure it doesn’t have the other option of us plummeting to our deaths.”
“I’ve been a lot closer to death that that in my lives.” The Doctor grinned. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
Amelie found herself relaxing again. The Doctor had said that they would be fine, and she found herself believing him.
*
Jess had recovered her composure as the party had progressed through the jungle. She had no idea whether they were heading near the TARDIS at all, she was completely lost. Olbrich, however, seemed to have an idea of where they were going, guiding them through thick undergrowth, constantly checking what she assumed to be a space age compass or directional unit or something.
She had left Cristina after thanking her for her support and taken over from Dufeyal in helping Doctor Sauer support Tifa through the jungle. Her friend was now fully conscious and aware of the numbing pain in her arm. Jess had tried to talk to her to calm her down and reassure her, but it wasn’t easy. There were moments when Tifa became near hysterical. Doctor Sauer had called forward to Olbrich to stop and had administered more injections and drugs to Tifa. Jess hoped that they would hold off the infection long enough for the Doctor to reach the mother ship, develop a cure, and bring it back down.
She would rather Olbrich had not told his crewman to tell the Doctor that Tom had been killed. She would have rather that she could have told him in person when he got down. Tom. Oh God. Had she actually come to terms with it already? One minute he was with her laughing and joking and now, rather ironically, gone, after his talk of leaving and saying that he’d not leave. Fate could be cruel.
Looking ahead, Jess noticed that the jungle seemed to end, coming to a clearing. Upon reaching it, the party slowed to a stop, to take another breather. They’d be walking through the jungle for what seemed like hours. A look at her watch told her that it had been fifty minutes. They’d made good time with Tifa in the state that she was. They were on the brow of a hill that had what seemed like sweeping grassland to more jungle below, and there in another clearing was the second Lander. They’d almost made it. If it was the same size as the other, then Jess assumed that it was least a mile away at the most. Maybe less.
“Jess?”
Jess turned at the sound of her name. Tifa was looking up at her and reaching out with her hand.
“Where’s Tom? I can’t see him.”
Jess swallowed hard and suddenly realised there was a lump in her throat. A tear rolled from her eye down her cheek.
“He,” she paused, not sure what to say. “He didn’t make it.”
“He didn’t- What happened?”
Jess swallowed hard again. “The ship blew up, he was still inside it.” She said softly looking up at Olbrich. The Commander was staring towards the sun, his hand shielding his eyes from the glare. He had the classic explorers pose; one foot up on a rock, one hand at his hip, the other at his eyes.
“We’d better get a move on.” He said turning back to the group. “The sun is setting and I don’t fancy making my way through this jungle in the dark.” Stepping down from where he was stood he walked over to Jess and Tifa. “Are you going to be ok?” He asked, holding his hand out to the young Thal.
*
Doctor Amelie Le Druier looked up from her work and across at her companion in the sterile section of the sick bay, the Doctor. His mood had nosedived since they had arrived back on the mother ship after one of the Bridge officers had met them at the travel pod docking bay and informed them of what had happened on the surface.
They had been working some hours now and so far had found no results that they could use to develop a cure for the Doctors friend of her infection. Amelie had raised this point with the Doctor about an hour and a half ago and got quite the shocking response. The Time Lord had slammed his hand down on the worktop and screamed;
“I’ve already lost one of my friends today, I will not lose another!”
His eye’s had seemed to burn with a fiery rage that had made Amelie take a couple of steps back, surprised by his sudden turn. Since then, they had worked in an uncomfortable silence, the Doctor fixed intently on his work. He had skimmed through every data pad and snipped of information that had been collected by everyone in the expedition since they had left port in a matter of minutes, claiming that he now knew it all. Somehow, she wondered how, but he seemed to mention things relating to the mission. Well, before his outburst anyway.
With a motion which almost made Amelie jump out of her skin, the Doctor looked up, a huge grin across his face, and his whole demeanour seemingly more brighter.
“Aha! Yes, gotcha!” He cried out, jumping up from his stool and bounding over to Amelie and grabbing her by the shoulders. “I’ve found it.” He said, guiding her by the shoulders to the station he was working at.
Amelie looked at the image on the small display screen as the Doctor pointed to the motif resembling Tifa’s blood cells.
“Those green shapes there are the aggressive foreign cells that have migrated from the touch of the creature into Tifa’s bloodstream. There they’re attacking and converting the white blood cells, thus stopping the natural defences of the body from having any chance of defending themselves.”
“We know this already.” Amelie said looking up at the Doctor, almost exasperated.
“Ah yes, but look at this!” the Doctor smiled, pointing to some readings on the left of the screen. “But there, right there, a point oh five variance in the attacking cellular structure. These creatures are genetically engineered, and this little flicker in their cellular structure is what we needed.” The Doctor paused and drew breath. “Whoever it was who created them wasn’t quite as clever as they think they were. The cellular attack is reversible and I’m not too sure whether the structure of the creatures is either. Although there is a chance that they’ll find a way to adapt and become strong. I’d hate to think of a life form coming into existence and then to dissolve into a puddle of cells and proteins.”
“But Doctor, these creatures have infected your friend with an aggressive alien contagion and from reports from the surface, have injured another and killed two more.” Amelie protested.
“They’re animals, Amelie.” The Doctor said, fixing her with his dazzling eyes. “They can’t help what they were made. Should lions be stopped if one attacks a tourist on Safari? Should all sharks be exterminated because some have taken bites out of swimmers or surfers? They’re not doing it on purpose, they’ve been created and thrust into an alien environment and are doing all they can to survive. As are we all.”
Sighing, Amelie le Druier nodded. “I guess you’re right. So, we need to work on getting an anti aggressor, that destroys the invading alien cells?”
“Spot on,” the Doctor smiled. “Don’t forget, these creatures aren’t the villain of the piece, it’s whoever it is has been tampering with nature. And believe me, once this is done, I will waste no time in finding out just who it is; because they’re responsible for the death of your colleague and one of my friends.”
Amelie looked into the Time Lords eyes. They had gone cold again, and she felt really relieved that she was not the one who would be feeling the wrath of the Doctor, when he found out who it was that was responsible for his friend’s death. It had really upset him and she was sure that he would make whoever was responsible pay.
*
Commander Olbrich looked around as Professor Mori and Doctor Sauer entered the cockpit of the Lander. He could see Corporal Neruda stood at the door.
“You two have been on this planet longer than anyone else in this expedition. Are there any humanoid life forms?” He said, noting their confused looks.
“What do you mean?” Sauer asked.
Olbrich turned and nodded to the pilot, who was sat at the controls of the craft, running a scan of the local area. A small white dot was registering on the screen.
“I’ve run a scan of the local area, a mile radius to see if I can spot any of these creatures, so we can ward off a potential attack, and I found this. It’s anomalous as everyone has been accounted for, and they seem to be making their way towards us.” The pilot said.
“Hmm.” Sauer mused, rubbing his chin. “All our initial scans and searches have proved that there are no native humanoid species on this planet. There is, however, one possibility.”
Olbrich looked at him and raised his eyebrow. “You think the boy survived?”
“It’s a possibility.” Sauer nodded. “We never checked the remains of the other Lander after the explosion, just assumed that he’d perished.”
Olbrich nodded. “It’s a slim chance, but we should check it out.” Pausing, he turned to the door. “Neruda.”
“Sir.” The Corporal saluted entering the cockpit.
“I want you to set up a perimeter around the craft, flood lights pointing in,” Olbrich paused and looked at the scanner screen. “North-west direction, the way we arrived, and send out two armed personnel with flashlights to check the immediate area.”
“What is it we’re looking for?” Neruda asked.
“We don’t know.” Olbrich confessed. “From the scans, it’s a possibility that the young man, Rowan, survived the explosion and is making his way here. He may be injured and in need of help, and we’re going to give him that help.”
“Sir.” Neruda said, saluting.”
“Oh, Corporal.” Olbrich shouted after her, drawing her back into the cockpit. “Don’t tell the girl. We don’t want to get her hopes up if we’re wrong. She’s already been through enough stresses already.”
“Sir.” Neruda saluted before exiting. Her voice could be heard ordering the troops through the door.
“I do hope you are right.” Mori said. “Although I still don’t understand what he was doing that made the Lander explode. Could he be the one behind this?”
“I don’t know yet, Professor.” Olbrich admitted. “But if this is him, then I can assure you that I will be questioning him.”
*
Jess sat near where Tifa was laying, unconscious, soothingly stroking her golden hair. Doctor Sauer had given her another dose of sedatives and anti-biotics to stem the infection. He had done the same to a student who had a large, deep gash across his shoulder. The young man was in a lot worse state than Tifa, delirious and the flesh around the wound seemed to be mutating, Sauer said, becoming a tough green, almost like a tough woody vegetable matter.
She had been in the Lander for some hours now. There had been no word from the Doctor since they had arrived and she had insisted fervently to get in touch with the mother ship in orbit and speak to him and told him about Tom. She spotted a grim determination come across his face as she told him what happened. She’d never seen him like that before.
Since then, things had quietened. Until now that is. Olbrich had been called into the cockpit of the Lander by the pilot, and then the Commander had called both Sauer and Mori and then Neruda into the cockpit. Something was happening, of that she was well aware of. Neruda had emerged from the cockpit and ordered the military crew to sort something out outside the Lander. She didn’t envy them running around a hostile jungle in the dark. Although it had created some much needed room in the now over cramped Lander.
She could see that most of the soldiers were stood behind some large floodlights, heavily armed, two had slowly moved out towards the edge of the clearing, even more heavily armed than those who were closer to the Lander. Perhapse they were preparing for an attack by the creatures. Sighing, she looked back down at Tifa, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. She couldn’t imagine what was happening in the poor girls mind.
Jess looked up as private Doritz re-entered the Lander. He was supporting a weary and dirty looking figure that was also leaning heavily on a large, thick stick, as a rudimentary crutch. She instantly recognised the figure, her heart almost leaping in joy.
“Tom!” She cried rushing over.
The young Time Lords face was covered in mud and blood. He was protecting his left leg and looking down, Jess saw why; he had rolled his shirt up and was using it as a makeshift tourniquet, a jagged piece of metal was stuck out of his calf.
“You’re alive!” She cried hugging him and hearing him gasp in pain. “Don’t you ever do that again.” She said, stepping back and hitting him on the arm. “We thought you were dead.”
“Not quite,” he gasped. “We Time Lords are tough old sticks.” He hefted the stick as he said it, a thin smile on his face. “I almost was,” he added.
Jess turned and shot a look at Olbrich.
“Not him.” Tom said. He paused until he was sure that everyone in the Lander was looking at him. “Commander Olbrich,” he said, taking his arm from Doritz and, standing by his self and leaning heavily on the crutch, raised it to point at Professor Mori. “Arrest that man.”