Unfortunately it was about at this time that I felt the vent start to buckle, which was frankly the last thing that I needed. We were just above a large group of the Antalusians and if this ventilation shaft didn’t hold we’d soon be in a heap among them, I didn’t quite fancy the idea. I gestured towards Kit to get back. He looked at me curiously. I had to try very hard not to roll my eyes at him. “Go backward, there’s too much weight here, this thing’s not gonna hold, it’ll break and we’ll fall.”
“And falling is bad, yes?”
I nodded, “Yes.” But my explanation was cut short as Kit started backing up and suddenly the whole metal structure around us splintered and collapsed sending us sprawling to the room down below. I didn’t move immediately, not because I was hurt, but mostly because I was aware that I would soon be surrounded by a great many large lizard like creatures who’d be snapping their jaws at me for not being where I was meant to be. I wasn’t even entirely sure what it was that I was doing on this ship so I didn’t even know if they would or would not kill me. I was fairly sure that my stillness was meant to be some form of playing opossum.
But that couldn’t really last for long, and I knew that, and I opened my eyes. The Lizard King already had Kit’s arm grasped in his meaty paw and that caused me to sit straight up. “Let him go, it wasn’t his idea,” I said, not thinking because if I had been I would have been sure that the Lizard King was not exactly one to care who’s idea it was.
“It seems that you are a feisty one, Miss Tyler,” he said to me. “I suppose that we should not be surprised. Our sources tell us that the Doctor’s companions are often feisty.”
I stood to my full height, which was about one half of the Lizard’s and put my hands on my hips. “Well, I’m here. I’ve been stuck in your prison, I’ve seen what you’re doing. I think its sick, which you know, and I am fully convinced that this has nothing to do with your economy in the slightest degree; I think it’s all about revenge. All because the Doctor foiled your little plan back on New Earth, well I was there to. I pulled the lever, I doused all those new humans with the disinfectant cure so you might as well just take your revenge out on me and leave the Doctor and Jacowitz alone. And while we’re on the subject why Jacowitz at all?!” I sucked in a breath then, realising that I’d gone on quite a bit.
The Lizard King looked me up and down and then began to chuckle, a deep belly laugh that shook his own body. He let go of Kit’s arm and he moved quickly over to me, standing in front of me a bit in a very gentlemanly manor, though I thought it was just as likely to get him killed as anything else.
“You amuse me, girl,” the Lizard King said, “perhaps when all is said and done I shall make sure that you find a place in my household. I could use an amusing slave such as yourself.”
The amount of unworry I had to that remark should have frightened me but it didn’t, because the king was on the move now. He went over to a strange and intricate looking machine, large buttons, perfect for his large hands, and wires that I could tell would have been exposed, were covered in a thin glass. It as shiney and new and I wondered very briefly what it was before my question was answered for me.
“You have many questions, Miss Tyler, this is not a surprise. But this is not a film from your planet. I am neither villain nor hero, and I feel no need to relay my entire plan for you. You insist upon misbehaving, do you want your friends to suffer for it?” And then he pushed a button on the machine and I realised, that was the telepathic inhibitor. It was sending waves through everyone and everything that had telepathic abilities right now and they were in pain.
“No!” I shouted, “Stop it!” He flipped the switch again.
Now obviously I didn’t want everyone on Jacowitz to be in pain, especially not Ariella or the Doctor, but the Antalusian’s demonstration had just helped me enormously.
I edged my way closer to Kit so that we could converse quietly and I explain my plan. This whole time the King had been focusing all his attentions on me. Kit was seemly just some sort of extra piece that had happened along. But if travelling with the Doctor had taught me anything it was to never underestimate the abilities of simple people. I told him my plan and then I ran.
The Lizard King did not seem bothered, not in the slightest with a wave of his hand there were instantly several guards upon me, holding both my arms quite tightly, actually. But the purpose had been served. Because at the same moment I ran, so did Kit and he ran towards the telepathic inhibitor and quickly smashed it with the bracelet around his wrist. The Lizard King had opened his mouth in a sneer towards me but spun when he heard the shattered glass. For a moment everything was still and then he spun in a roar, slapping me hard across the face, I could tell there’d be bruises in the morning, he might even kill me but now everyone on the planet was safe, small price to pay. And if everyone on the planet was safe then that meant the Doctor was safe, and the TARDIS would work again and that might just mean-
My train of thought broke off as the familiar sounds of the TARDIS materialising filled the room. Everyone froze. I nearly cried.
“What is that?!” Kit called to me from his captive station across the room.
“That’s help,” I said back and couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as the TARDIS door opened and the Doctor stepped out, hands in pockets and with that really very menacing look he gets on his face from time to time.
“Right,” he said, searching out the Lizard King and then making eye contact, “you have something that I want back. You okay, Rose?” he asked not taking his eyes off the Lizard King, and probably his peripheral vision on the rest of them.
“Yeah, you know,” I said back, not quite able to keep the grin out of my voice.
The edges of his lips quirked a little too but his expression remained stoney. “You have one chance. Give her back to me and leave Jacowitz in peace.”
“Doctor, they’ve got slaves,” I called out.
“Right, give her back to me, leave Jacowitz in peace, and free your slaves and I’ll let you go. It’s a good offer, you should take it.”
The Lizard King was still for a moment and then he began his belly laugh again. “We have heard of your arrogance, Doctor. There is nothing that you can do to stop us, we know of your abhorrence of violence, we know-”
“I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from,” the Doctor said, “but don’t ever mistake an abhorrence for violence with peaceful. But you’re right. There’s nothing I can do to you. I’ve done my research too, you’re a very impressive lot, doesn’t mean you can’t be stopped.” The Lizard King laughed and the Doctor sighed and then opened up the door to the TARDIS. Ariella stepped out.
She was wearing some sort of weird… well I’d have to say headdress, but it looked more like one of those things they put on people’s heads when they’ve fractured their spine. And it connected from her head to a sort of… ray gun? There really wasn’t much of a way to describe it. But she exchanged glances with the Doctor and he nodded and she closed her eyes and the next thing that I knew every single one of the Antalusians were unconscious on the floor.
Kit gaped, “Are they dead?” he asked me.
I leaned over them, “No, sleeping. What happened?”
“Time for explaining later,” the Doctor said bounding over to the ships controls, a very proud look on his face. I picked my way across the room and stood near him. His hand sort of hovered for a moment and then he turned back. “Rose, don’t you ever do that again.”
I opened my mouth and left it hanging there, I realised I looked a bit like a fish. I supposed I should have expected that sort of reaction, but I, well, I didn’t really fancy being yelled at right at the moment. And I was about to say so but all speech was muffled cause I found myself pressed into one of the most phenomenal hugs that have ever come round. I couldn’t quite help burying my face in his shoulder.
About three hours later (yes vast exaggeration) it felt like everything had just gone back to normal, all that scary stormy Doctorness that freaked me out sometimes was gone and he was back to his grinny self. “Basically,” he said, setting some controls, “I build that… thing, which will obviously be needing a snazzy name, to enhance Ariella’s telepathy and tap into a particular wavelength and-” he seemed to notice Kit for the first time as he rounded about to flip some more switches. “Hello, sorry, Rose, who’s your new boyfriend?”
“This is Kit, he’s been a slave here since-” I didn’t get to finish my sentence because the Doctor had pressed a button and the whole ship started to shake. There were several loud explosions and we all ducked for cover.
The Doctor was the first one up again, “No no no no no! They were isomorphic controls! An unfamiliar finger touches it and the whole thing goes kablewy!”
“Technical term? Kablewy?”
“Very!” he flipped some more switches, “there’s… I can’t do anything, we’re being pulled towards the largest heat source, which is of course the pink sun. Sort of a self destruct. We have about five minutes.”
Kit took off running down the hall, no doubt back to where the rest of the slaves were being held. I looked at my wrist, “They’ve all got teleport bracelets on, it’s sort of like a prison thing. Like a, um, force field! But it does both, can you fix the teleports?”
The Doctor grinned, “Oh, just watch me!” he said and started pulling out all kinds of wires and tubes and lots of things I just didn’t recognise. Neither Ariella or I could do much to help so we went to keep an eye on the sun and our approach while the Doctor worked. It took all of two minutes and when he was done the sun was looming so large and pink that it almost filled the whole frontal shield and both Ari and I were pretty damned nervous.
“Rose,” he said after a moment, and we both turned back, “you know what to do if something happens to me, right? You remember.”
I hesitated before answering. “Yes, I remember.”
“Okay,” he said, “Good.” Then, I’m sending them all to Jacowitz, hospital wing, we’ll go check on them, I promise.”
“Doctor,” I said a bit warily and Ariella at my side took a step forward.
“Doctor what are you going to do?” she asked, and he just kept his eyes trained on the teleporting device and then he flipped a switch.
The whole table shook and a blue light started from the core of the device and worked its way out blindingly. Ariella and I were both thrown backwards and once we’d both recovered from having the wind knocked out we both looked towards the Doctor, who was now lying in a crumpled lump on the floor.
I think I might’ve screamed, and Ariella scrambled over to him and checked his pulses. “He’s alive!” she said, the relief evident in her voice, “Only one of his hearts is working though.”
“But,” I felt a bit paralysed.
“Rose,” Ariella said, “Come on, help me get him to the TARDIS, we’ve got to get out of here. Now.” I looked out the window and realised just how right she was. We’d have moments before being getting too close to the sun. We each grabbed onto the Doctor and pulled him into the TARDIS. Slammed the door shut, and I activated Emergency Protocol One.
