Entry Sixteen - Above Jacowitz (4)

I wasn't really thinking when I said what I did, but up in an alien ship I didn't quite feel the panic that I would have expected. Cause I knew that if I had been thinking, I would have made the same choice. Of course that didn't mean I wasn't terrified.

From Jacowitz the ship had looked like something straight out of film they would've shown on a Bank Holiday Monday sort of like this:


Of course we were far away and it was through a psychic layer, but from the inside it looked vaguely as if it might look like that from the outside. Everything was chrome and smooth and it couldn't very well see any seems, like the whole thing had been made out of one smooth piece of metal. Or grown that way, if that was possible.

I had expected to teleport directly into some sort of holding cell with a big burly looking crocodile thing guarding me, and was a bit surprised to see that it was on the case. I was in some sort of hallway that seemed to lead endlessly in both directions. I wasn't sure which way to go, but I knew that I had to pick a direction. And I wasn't naive enough to think that the Lizard King bloke had just given me free range of their ship, I just wasn't sure how this was meant to work, so I started walking in one direction figuring that it had to lead somewhere.

The first place that I reach seemed to be some sort of canteen. I am not sure why I was not expecting to find a canteen on this spaceship, of course the lizard creatures had to eat but with their giant jaws and claws and so on I had sort of, well, I'm ashamed to say, I had figured them to be a bit more savage than to each regular space food. That's not to say I expected them to eat people but that wouldn't have surprised me. Instead I recognised synthetic vegetables and fruits. And those little pudding pellets that the Doctor always said were pointless because what was the use of pudding if you were ingesting quickly. There was nobody about so I took a couple of the pudding capsules, just cause they were more portable, and stuck them in my pocket in case I couldn't find anything to eat later on. Then I went back round and continued my exploration.

After a while more of smooth hallway I cam across a set of doors. There was nothing written on them so I pushed through hoping for something. Inside was a stench like I've never smelled before. And I have smelled some very foul things throughout time and space. It was like rotting flesh and excrement and sour milk all at the same time and I gagged. Might've vomited if I hadn't covered up my face and mouth immediately. And as disgusting as it was, I had to see what it was that could have made that sort of smell.

Inside there were more people than I could have imagine fit into the space. They were piled in some sections, I wondered if they were even alive, others were laid out in rows, asleep, but clearly breathing. There was rotting food placed to one side of the room, waste in the other. I'd never seen anything so disgusting in my entire life or travels. I could hardly move for shock.

I didn't move, in fact, until I heard a voice behind me. "Rose Tyler," it said and I spun. The Lizard King.

"What is this?!" I said, in a bit of a shakey voice, "Why are all these people just stuffed in here? Why isn't it clean? What's going on!" I realised that my voice was slowly raising so that by the time I finished the sentence I was full on yelling.

"They are being incubated, we are waiting for them to reach the right age."

"Right age for what?!"

"For slavery of course, we do not get a good price for the children. Once they are eighteen. That is the right age, until then, they wait."

I was shocked. Slaves? "What's the point?!" I yelled, unable to quite hold back my anger. "Why?"

"Our economy was destroyed, we must continue the Antalusian way."

"And what is that? Killing? You've no other way to boost your bloody economy? You have to use humans as test subjects and slaves?"

"You are an inferior species. A young species. We have been around for billions of years beyond the human Empire. You are arrogant. You are small. And you are predicatable. Even you, Miss Tyler, have done exactly as you were thought to do. You brought yourself here of your own free will."

I swallowed, "What's that meant to mean?"

"As I said, we have done our research." And with that he lumbered away, gigantic tale swinging and left. Leaving the door wide open. I'd expected him to lock it. Not quite knowing what else to do I started following but as soon as I reached the door I was thrown backwards by some sort of invisible force and skidded on the floor, the wind knocked out of me for a moment.

"It's the bracelets," a voice said and I followed it to a, well frankly quite fit, bloke who was huddled among the other, mostly unconscious, would be slaves. "Hi," he looked a bit bashful actually, "I'm Nikitarunatar, people call me Kit."

I smiled, despite the situation. He looked like maybe he was a couple of years younger than me, I'd peg him at about seventeen, but he was tall and strong looking, blondish dirty hair chiseled features. The kind of bloke you saw in films that took place at American schools. "Hi, Kit," I said after a moment, "I'm Rose. What do you mean it's the bracelets?" I examined the teleporter that was still strapped to my wrist.

"They keep us in. Once a boy, Jules, got his off, broke his hand in the process, and ran through the doors. He lasted three days before he was brought back. There's nowhere to run."

I thought for a moment. They clearly had pods, and teleport technology. There was a way off this ship, I just didn't quite fancy breaking my hand in five places to find it. I looked around the room, and sighed, "How long have you been here, Kit?" I asked.

He shook his head, surprised at my question and then laughed a bit before he realised that I was serious. "But," he paused, confused, "I was born here."

I gaped. "What?"

"We all were."

I looked around. There were probably hundreds of people crammed in here. Unsanitary and reeking. I couldn't imagine it, and I wondered if I had just sold myself into slavery. I asked him about their lives here and he told me, about how their parents had been taken away before they could remember and how they'd been raised by a droidbot, how that they didn't know where they were from besides here, but that they'd been told they were humans who originated on the planet Earth. I told him about Earth and he was rapt with attention. He told me how they were put into a kind of sleep for all the hours of the day besides three, when they ate and fraternised, which he seemed surprised was encouraged. I wasn't surprised, I knew why the Antalusians would want them to fraternise. So that they could make more slaves, the next generation of slaves. It made me feel a bit sick. I asked him why it was that he wasn't sleeping and he told me it was because he didn't drink the tea, he'd tried to convince more of them not to drink it, but they'd said it was better to sleep. I made a mental point not to drink any tea.

It was only then that something caught my eye above me, a vent. It didn't make sense to me that it would be there and no one would try to ever use it to escape. I pointed upwards, "Ever try that?" I asked, but Kit was looking me up and down in a way that I wasn't entirely sure about. "Kit?"

He reached out and touched my side, running his hand over my stomach in, well, quite a seductive way. I started, "Kit, what are you doing?"

"Have you already got a copulation partner?" he asked sort of confused.

My mouth dropped open, "Uh, no. Yes? Which would stop you from looking at me like that?" I said. Yeah, he was attractive, I'd say, but that didn't mean I was gonna start shagging him an hour after we'd met, or ever. "Let's go with yes?"

"I understand, what was it you were referring to earlier?"

I was a bit taken aback by his rapid change of subject, I shook my head, "Oh, mate, we've got to get you socialised," I said and then stood pointing at the vent. "Has anyone ever tried climbing through there?"

He looked at it like he'd never seen it before. "No. What is it?"

"It-" I broke off, this bloke knew nothing, I supposed that 'copulation partner' should have been my first clue. I explained to him about climbing through vents and then he helped me up by putting me on his shoulders and I went into the vent, pulling him up behind me.

It was roomy enough for humans, but an Antalusian wouldn't ever make it through this tight space. I wasn't sure where it was that we were heading but we obviously went in the right direction when we came out to a very good viewing area, just about the Antalusian craft's bridge.
More tomorrow...