A Trick of the Dark

So, this one’s been a long time coming, and I can only apologise for that. I hope you enjoy it, despite me considering it far from my finest work – hey, if the writer can’t be brutally honest, who can? Without further ado, here are the Third Doctor and Liz in:

A Trick of the Dark

                “The world will not wait. Now is the time and you are with us or against us.”

                A cheer rose up from the audience, each member rising to their feet, applauding with enthusiasm. All that is save for the Doctor who sat cross-legged, unmoved by the speaker’s rhetoric. He looked around at the assembled crowd, the righteous expressions on their faces causing him to stifle a smirk on his own. He still wasn’t sure where she was, but he knew she was around somewhere, she had to be. That was the one certainty in this endeavour.

                Without anyone noticing he stood, walking through the crowd to the stage. He stared up at the speaker then surveyed the whole room once again. They were enraptured, gazing at their messiah with reverence.

                The Doctor sighed, striding up to the security guard at the steps leading onto the stage. The man immediately moved to block him. “Steady on old chap, I was just wondering if...” The Doctor held out a clenched fist, followed by a second. “A coin in here, y’see,” he said indicating his right hand. “Now, if I give my hand a little flick, like this...” He held his arms up, fingers outstretched to show the lack of any item. The Doctor watched as the guard studied the empty hands held before him, then smiled. With a deft movement he reached behind the guard’s ear with one hand revealing the coin, while bringing his other open hand down on the man’s neck. Soundlessly, the man fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, strangely quiet for a person of his stature.

                The audience were still clapping, though the motion seemed wrong somehow, as if it were slowed. The Doctor found himself able to move normally, yet the crowd were moving as if stuck in treacle, their movements sluggish. The Doctor bounded up the steps to confront the instigator of the applause, grabbing the figure by the shoulders. He whirled it round, the look on his face one of pure horror.

                “Hello Doctor,” said Liz, “What kept you?”

Earlier...

                The TARDIS solidified, grinding into reality beside a stone lion. Perched precariously on the steps of the Guildhall, the ship had finally landed back on Earth. The door opened and Dr Elizabeth Shaw stepped out and took a deep breath of air, before becoming suddenly aware of her footing. The Doctor followed, closing the door then hopping down a couple of steps to meet his companion.    “There we are, Earth, as requested!” The Doctor grinned, taking in the sights. “A little after your time though by the looks of it though. Early twenty-first century at a guess.”

                Liz sat down on the stone beneath her, the Doctor joining her. “Well, you could have tried a better landing! I know we had to flee from those...what did you call them?...but still!”

                The Doctor turned to look at the TARDIS. “Well, the old girl’s not perfect you know. Those Nimon gave her quite a start. Luckily they couldn’t get in though, thanks to your quick thinking.” He sniffed the air. “Ah, a sea breeze. We must be on the coast. Portsmouth perhaps? Not been here since...” For a moment, the Doctor’s mind wandered, unable to collate his thoughts. “You know that’s odd. I had this word, ‘UNIT’, floating round in my head. Does it mean anything to you Liz?”

                Dr Shaw got up and helped the Doctor to his feet. “No idea Doctor. Since we bumped into each other at Cambridge we’ve   not had time to stop!”

                The Doctor smiled. “Yes, we have been rather busy haven’t we? How about a spot of lunch by the sea, a little ‘breather’?”

                Liz nodded. “It sounds delightful.”

                They headed down the steps to the nearby taxi rank, though Liz – unseen by the Doctor – was scratching the arm of her blouse. Something was irritating her. Probably whatever chemicals the TARDIS laundry room uses, she surmised, and thought no more about it.

*****

                The Guildhall was spacious with seating for at least 2000 people. Lorimar Aickman stood on the stage and tested the acoustics. Even without a microphone it was more than adequate for his needs. With sound amplification, the desired effect would be far above what he had expected. The technicians were checking all was correctly wired up. He wasn’t going to need fancy lighting though. It was billed as a ‘lecture’ but it was oh so much more than that. This was the day he was going to shine, the day he’d be remembered.

                Aickman’s stomach was a knot. Nerves had always been his Achilles’ heel, but now he had to practice the relaxation techniques he’d been taught. There was no room for error in his ‘performance’. If he could do everything right, then this was the beginning. The start of something new; exactly what he needed at this moment.

                In his head he laughed, the memory of recent hardships drifting away as he embraced the opportunity he had been given. Everything would change. All the memories, all the sadness, lost forever, bathed in the renewing power of the aftermath of the event.               

                He just hoped that the screaming in his mind would stop too.

*****

                The Doctor threw a chip to the gulls, then dusted his hands free of salt. Liz sat eating the remains of her cod, gazing out to sea. She pointed out to a large round brick edifice in the middle of the water. “Those sea forts, we should go and visit one. Or a trip to the Isle of Wight perhaps?” Before the Doctor could speak, she added, “On the ferry of course. I’m not sure I trust the TARDIS to make a short hop successfully. Knowing you we’d end up back on Traken!”

                The Doctor was only half listening, once more deep in thought as he looked out at the water. “You know, that fort does seem oddly familiar...”

                Liz screwed up her chip paper and threw it in the nearby bin. “Well you’ve been around a lot. You did say you’d been here before remember?”

                The Doctor shook his head, whatever image it was fading just as rapidly as it had appeared.        They began strolling back towards the fair, the slight breeze causing Liz to pull her jacket tighter around her. The Doctor offered his, but she declined.

                The Doctor looked around him, aware that something wasn’t quite right. For one thing there was a distinct lack of traffic, unusual for such a generally pleasant day. He stopped, watching the road. There were cars parked all along, from past the aquarium to the distant pyramid structure that housed a swimming pool. Yet there were no people, no moving vehicles.

                Whirling around, Liz had vanished.

                “So,” said the Doctor quietly to himself, “that’s the game we’re playing is it?”

                He stepped forward towards the road, lifting a hand up to hail a taxi despite the lack of traffic.  Immediately, seemingly from nowhere, one materialised.  The Doctor looked it over, walking round it and nodding appreciatively. Opening a back door he stepped inside the black cab, saying nothing to the driver.

                The car sped away, the Doctor taking in the scenery once more. “You know, I have a good idea where we’re headed, but let’s not ruin the surprise, eh?”

                The driver said nothing, simply delivering the Doctor back to his original starting point at the Guildhall. The Doctor gave a knowing nod as he exited, riffling through his pockets for money, but knowing he wouldn’t need it.

                As soon as he left the taxi, it was gone into the ether; the Doctor though was unsurprised.

                “Well, at least I know my theory was right then,” he muttered as he bounded up to the entrance. He clocked the TARDIS as he went past, but knew that was the least of his worries.

               

*****

                Yes, this is going far better than anticipated, far better. Aickman felt the words flow out of him, filling the ears and minds of the bodies who now filled the hall. He watched as there were appreciative nods from all around, occasional murmurs of agreement with his words. Yes, this will work, this will be the day that it happens.

                He’d already selected a ‘volunteer’ from the audience, and she’d been brought on stage. She sat now in a chair next to him as he moved around and, guided by the voice, did as instructed. She soon fell under his influence, eyelids and limbs heavy.

                The voice told him that it was all going well. The audience were entranced. This was it, his moment.

                He hoped he could live up to his promise.

*****

                The Doctor looked at Liz standing in front of him on the stage, though neither were confused. “So, you finally found me then,” she said but rather as a statement than a question.

                “It rather looks that way, doesn’t it?” the Doctor offered by way of reply. “The real question is, just what’s happening?” He rubbed the back of his neck in contemplation. “You see when we arrived here it was all rather quiet, wasn’t it? A city like this should be teeming with life, especially in the middle of the day.” The Doctor turned to the crowd of frozen faces. “Is that normal Liz?”

                Liz shrugged. “It depends where we are, doesn’t it? I mean, are we even on Earth?”

                The Doctor took a seat on the edge of the stage. “Oh do you mind? Everyone else is sitting, I thought I might join them.”

                “DOCTOR!” The word echoed around the hall, the voice immediately recognisable to the man it named. He looked up to what he’d assumed was the source of the noise, but saw that Liz was standing tight-lipped.

                Suddenly, harsh laughter followed the word through the air, boring into the Time Lord’s mind. This time as he looked, he could see that Liz’s mouth was wide open, the raucous unsettling noise pouring forth. He stood up once again as she continued, looking to her eyes. Around them was a redness, as if she’d been crying, and the eyes themselves looked darker.

                With a sudden movement, she thrust her arm up and held it out to the Doctor. She turned her attention to him and quietly proclaimed, “We are here.”

                To her surprise the Doctor almost smiled. “Good, I was rather hoping you would be.”

*****

                Aickman staggered back, unsure what had just happened. He clutched at his head, the stagehands wondering if it was part of the act. He waved a hand at them to indicate all was well. He stood back up, the woman still slumped in the chair.

                The screaming was gone. In his ear, he could still hear the voice, but the deafening cacophony in his head was no longer there. He looked down at the woman and saw what he’d been told he should see if this had all worked out correctly.

                He held up his arm to the audience, and next to it the woman’s. Somehow, impossibly but much to the crowd’s delight, the strange image had moved from his arm to hers.

                Where it had come from, he had no idea, nor why it was that particular image.

                He hated snakes.

               

*****

                The Doctor looked at the snake on Liz’s arm. “So you’re here then. Now what is it you want I wonder? The subjugation of the human race, or universal domination?”

                Liz looked at the Doctor. “The mind is our domain Doctor. We inhabit the dark places of the inside. We shall have dominion over all thought.”

                The Doctor gave a small chuckle. “Oh I see. Well nothing like ambition is there?”

                Liz clutched at her head, a sudden wave of pain washing over her. Her eyes looked at the Doctor, seemingly herself momentarily. “Is it working? Do you know what it is?”

                The Doctor nodded sternly. “I’ve a good idea. Just hang in there Liz, it won’t last much longer.”

                Liz’s head bowed, then suddenly jerked upright once more, the discolouration to her skin immediately apparent once more. “We weave into the minds we connect with, subsuming them.”

                “Yes, that’s just as I thought.” The Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m assuming of course that I’m included in this intellectual banquet of yours?”

                The snake writhed on Liz’s arm, as if reaching out to the Doctor, willing him to become one with it. The remnants of the real Liz looked horrified behind the glazed eyes of the possessed woman who stood in front of the Time Lord. He had interlocked fingers with her, letting the snake move from her arm to his. As soon as the serpent had transferred to him, he pulled away, conscious that the creature not return to his companion.

                The Doctor and Liz both fell to the floor as if strings had been cut. Liz slowly sat up...

                ...and opened her eyes to see the audience looking at her, applauding. A man stood next to her, bowing at the crowd, and whispering to her. “He did it then? You’re free of it?”

                Liz’s head felt fuzzy, like she was back at Cambridge, challenging one of her peers to one of those drinking contests they’d once been so fond of. It was the hangover to end them all. “Yes, I...suppose he must have.” She looked down at her arm, at where she could have sworn there’d been something before.

                A spotlight flashed briefly, the man next to her giving the thumbs up to whoever was in the gallery. Liz shook her head. “I’m confused. What happened?”

                The man looked at her. “The creature. It left me and went into you. The Doctor made it happen. Then he went in and cured you.”

                Liz shook her head again. “No, it doesn’t make sense. I mean...”

                She looked up, the audience had stopped clapping. The house lights came on briefly and immediately she saw them, all with a snake skull in place of their own faces.

                Inside her mind she screamed, but no sound left her body.

                And then she fell to the floor once more.

*****

                “You’re a lucky woman, Doctor Shaw.” Liz opened her eyes. From what she could see, she was lying in a hospital bed, and standing over her was a woman – a doctor, she presumed – looking at her medical chart.

                Liz blinked a few times, clearing her vision. Her head felt much emptier, as if it had been freed of a terrible pain. Looking to her right she saw the Doctor, unconscious it seemed, laying completely still.

                “What happened?” Her mouth felt dry, like she’d not drunk in a week. The woman leant forward and handed her a glass of water, which she remembered to sip rather than gulp.

                The woman flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “You were trapped, in your own nightmares. The Doctor went in to save you. Only there was no one to save him.” She looked over at the prone form of the Time Lord. “At least not until I arrived.” She gave a grin at the Doctor. “Makes a change for me to have to leap in and save you, but it had to happen sometime.” She bent over the Doctor and kissed him lightly on the forehead. “Sleep well sweetie. I’ll see you again before you know it.”

                Liz sat abruptly. “Who are you? And what happened? How did you save him?”

                The woman put a finger to her lips as if to shush Liz. “He’ll tell you when he wakes. For now you need to rest.”

                Liz felt her eyelids become heavy as if the woman had some kind of control over her.

                She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

*****

                Daylight streamed in through the window, the brightness causing Liz to wake suddenly. On a chair next to the bed sat the Doctor, a pleasant smile on his face. “Hello Liz. Feeling better?”

                She stared at him. “I should be asking you that. The last time I saw you you were unconscious!”

                The Doctor straightened up. “Yes, funny that. Not quite sure what happened. I remember being inside your mind, trying to coax that creature across to my own and then...” He shook his head as if trying to clear a fog from his memory. “I thought there was someone else. Another doctor...a woman...” He looked into the distance, musing on the possibility. Suddenly he was back to reality. “No, completely gone. But we’re both free of it now, whatever it was.”

                “So, where are we?” Liz was as confused as she’d been throughout the whole ordeal.

                “The same place we’ve been this whole time – the TARDIS. Your mind created the illusion of us visiting Earth, and I, well, played along with it. We needed that creature to think it’d disorientated us.” He paused. “It worked – eventually.”

                Liz sat up. “What do you mean, eventually?”

                “Well, it’s been...”the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck as he delivered the awkward news, “...six months.”

                “What?! Six months of my life gone like that?” Liz made to move out of bed, but hadn’t taken into account the weakened state she’d be in.

                “I’m sorry m’dear. If it’s any consolation the TARDIS sickbay is fully equipped with its own temporal stasis field, so you won’t have aged in all that time.” He gave her a weak smile.

                She scowled, then her face softened. “Well, you did save my life, so I think I can forgive you.” She moved around to get more comfortable, the Doctor assisting her. “Just one more thing Doctor – where did the creature come from?”

                “Well that’s the thing. I’m not entirely sure. Nor am I that we’ve seen the last of it. We can’t live in fear though Liz. I’ve put up some mental blocks in both our minds. That should stop it getting in so easily again.” He turned away and muttered to himself. “At least I hope so anyway.”

                The Doctor stood up and moved to leave the room. “Some breakfast?”

                Liz smiled and watched him leave.

                Momentarily she could have sworn she’d heard laughter ringing in her ears, but she closed her eyes and it was gone.

                For now.

The Never Ending Story of War

The end of series 3 draws ever closer, and we continue with story 8 and a new writer for Consequences in the form of Andy Wyllie. Andy is the brains behind the 10^th Doctor Script Series on Gallifrey Base, but here he's stepped out of his comfort zone to embrace prose, and he's done a fine job. He's back again in series 4 too, which I'm very pleased about. But for now, enjoy the Sixth Doctor and Peri as they become a part of:

The Never Ending Story of War

    In the history of any species, there are stories of mythical creatures, wonderful kings and heroes, knights who'd slain terrible beasts. These are the stories fathers tell their sons, these are the stories that everybody knows, and everybody loves. Of course, in any species' history, there are also stories of war, and murder, a never ending struggle for power and land, fuelled by a thirst for freedom, or the nagging lust of greed.

    Yes, every species knows a war...



    Harzok had spent his entire childhood starved of those wonderful stories of heroes who'd saved worlds, although it was fair to say that he didn't exactly know what he was missing. Instead Harzok was raised on tales of war, and indeed tales of fact: of a war his species had fought for millennia, a war which had only ended some two years before Harzok had existed.

    Harzok stayed close to the others. It wasn't safe for any of them to be making their way through the devastated forest, but they each knew they stood a far better chance as a group than when alone. They stuck close together, heading to the feeding grounds before the great ceremony, to celebrate the anniversary and passing of war. Harzok felt a pang in his stomach, a mixture between excitement and dread. The mourning they must all have felt, today more so than others.



    The Doctor flew back, his whole mass smacking the floor hard. Peri winced, she was almost certain the whole world contained inside the small blue box had shaken after his fall.

    'I'll get the extinguisher!' She shouted it almost uselessly. As she ran off, the Doctor heaved himself to his feet, shaking himself down like a great old dog.

    'That should do it! Didn't I say that Peri, hmm?'

    'You also said it was completely safe. You could have died Doctor!' retorted Peri. The Doctor gasped, almost falling over again.

    'Nonsense, it was perfectly safe, just a simple miscalculation, mainly because of your consistent nagging!' boomed the Doctor. She flung the extinguisher to the ground in a huff, furious at his constant heaping on the blame. She watched the Time Lord set back to the work on the console, setting the co-ordinates for their next 'adventure'. The word adventure seemed like a cheat. Peri was almost certain it'd lead to her eventual demise. She shivered, throwing the thought off.

    'I have just the place!' he proclaimed with an air of overriding arrogance. It was just the change, she thought. He was still adjusting to his new face and attitude. He'd mellow out. Of course she couldn't be sure of that but she hoped, or rather needed, it to be true. She forced a smile, and the TARDIS set off.



    The landscape was cold and jagged, harsh burnt rocks overlooking a forest of devastation. The wind howled all around, it was so furious that even the sound of mighty alien engines went unheard, as if they'd never cried. The TARDIS solidified with the reality around it, bringing its occupants to new found adventures. The Doctor bundled out, sporting a massive smile and an enormous sense of pride. Peri on the other hand couldn't have been less impressed. A rubbish heap she thought, he'd brought her to a rubbish heap! Ever since the Doctor has changed Peri couldn't help but believe (despite his insistence that changing was completely normal) that something had gone horribly wrong.

     'Where have you brought us this time?'

    'No idea! We should be on the sun kissed lakes on Kruntias 5 by now. Oh well never mind, this place has a sort of...ambience one just wouldn't find anywhere else.' The Doctor laughed with delight. Peri frowned.

    'Do you have any idea what you've just said?' she moaned.

    'Of course I do,' he retorted. 'I'm not a bumbling idiot you know!' Before Peri could fight back he was marching across the wilderness like a man with a huge task ahead of him. She waited for a minute, watching him go, honestly wondering if he'd even notice she was gone if she just slipped back inside the TARDIS. She decided that he probably wouldn't, but thought it best to go after him. After all, someone had to keep him from an untimely death!

    'Doctor, wait up!' she called as she raced after him.





    The feeding grounds had been grouped together since the early days of the war. He remembered the stories his dad would tell him, of when you could have all the lactic milk in the universe and no one would bat an eyelid. Harzok wept for those days gone, now every last drop was rationed and you simply had to make what you got last. It wasn't easy. He was still growing and needed all the energy he could get. However he knew better than to argue with the elders of the community, and accepted what judgment had passed. After all, it was generally the view that Harzok and the other young ones had thus far had an easy run of events! That in short was the reason why every trip to the feeding ground was acted out to look like the best thing that had happened to him in forever. Maybe it was.



    The Doctor and Peri stormed forward, he sucking air in in massive mouthfuls, whilst she panted behind him like a dog in desperate need of a drink.

    'Doctor...there isn't anything here!' Protestation was all Peri thought she had now, and pointing out the obvious worked for her.

    'Nonsense, look down there, a forest!' he beamed.

    'It's dead, what could possibly be interesting about a dead forest?' He shot her a gaze which told her everything she needed to know. She knew what his answer would be right then - everything was interesting about a dead forest. She thought it best to leave the argument behind her, and do as the Doctor wished.



    The journey back through the forest had been as mundane as the journey there. Almost nothing actually ever happened, but you still had to be careful. The journey was well orchestrated and timed to perfection; they were in no real danger when everyone stuck to the path. It served them well, and therefore made sense to be stuck by. They would return to the community and begin the great celebration. The passing of war, and the birth of peace, he often wondered how many people actually believed it!



    The Doctor came to an abrupt halt. Suddenly Peri could see concern etched all too clearly on his face. She paused, giving it a moment, and then, she asked, 'What's wrong? You look worried!'

    'Hmm. I'm not quite sure, but I have a very distinct feeling...' he replied, stroking his chin, with one hand on his hip.

    'And that feeling would be what?'

    'Something to be concerned about. Come along Peri!' With that he burst off again at a brisk pace. She groaned, getting herself together, before racing after him once more.



    The clouds swarmed in the atmosphere of the planet below. It was not the most enlightening sight the universe has to offer, but they made this happen, and by the right of such an act they deserved to watch it.

    General Stitch was a proud veteran of the war. The many ceremonial badges he wore on his lapel were a powerful testament to that. His yellow feathers fluttered in a nonexistent breeze as he opened his beak in a yawn. He glanced at the screen on the command board at his fingers, the life signs showed the Zygon disgrace was making its way back to their homes. He couldn't rid himself of the now growing hatred for these creatures. It was a crime that so many had been allowed to survive in the guise of a victory. Victory to him meant total annihilation of the enemy, to rid the universe of their very existence.     Whilst the Zygons roamed, no matter how miserable a life they led, victory could NEVER be claimed. General Stitch scratched his beak; something on the screen concerned him, something he had never seen before. An extra two life signs, neither of which were Zygon. He roared in fury. The outrage! Foreign ambassadors perhaps? Interfering where they did not belong!!! His whole body shook with anger.



    Harzok looked round, suddenly aware that he was at the back of the returning crowd. Normally this was not something he would have been aware of. Normally even if he had, it would not have concerned him in the slightest. Today however it was the most terrifying thing he could ever have encountered. There it was again...the sounds of movement, as if someone was approaching from behind!

    He took a deep breath, attempting to hold himself together. He wondered if he should alert the others...no, they might ridicule him, especially if it was a false alarm, and after all, no one else appeared to hear anything. He turned away, watching his people before him, attempting to ignore the sounds he'd heard before. It's nothing. he told himself. It's NOTHING.



    Peri suddenly felt herself being tugged backwards. She meant to scream, but before she had a chance she was aware of a mighty hand clamping her jaw shut. Kick him! she thought. She did. The Doctor yelped, freeing her from his grasp.

     'What did you do that for!?' he whispered.

     'I thought someone was attacking me!' she yelled furiously. How could he be so stupid!?

    'Shhhhhh!' he pressed his finger to his lip, hushing her. She was ready to protest when she heard it too – a slow slurping, dragging sound, like the sort of sound you might here from a huge snail. She thought of Mestor and his kind, a cold shiver running through her. The Doctor reached out, taking her hand and pulling her in close. His eyes darted from left to right, then up and down, scanning the forestry around them.

    'Do exactly as I say,' he ordered, again in a hushed whisper. Peri nodded. She was definitely not going to argue now. They both waited in silence, an unseen threat approaching through the thick of the trees.



    General Stitch performed every task with an infallible air of superiority and elegance. He marched through the corridor of the space ship, with every moment and facial expression timed to perfection. Behind him, three other creatures, all rather similar to him (yellow, feather covered, chicken look-alike people) marched in unison.

    'It is time to teach ambassadors a lesson!' he barked. They came to a halt, perfectly timed, and turned to the left, walking into a teleport booth. Within seconds, they were engrossed in a bright green light, fizzing out of existence.



    The Zygons continued through the forest, staying in perfect formation. Except for one. The young Harzok had stopped completely. He didn't turn and run away, or make any obvious signs that one of them had dropped ranks. He just stood where he had stopped and watched them. He waited five or maybe ten minutes, it was hard to tell, but long enough to make sure that none of them had spotted him. He smiled, rather pleased with himself; this was his big chance to show what he could do! He could investigate the noises and sort out the problem, then everybody would hail him as a hero...he'd get extra lactic milk...extra praise...a good life! Now that he certain no one was coming back for him, he ran back the way they had come, ready to investigate.



    The Doctor and Peri stayed close. Neither daring to move or speak, eyes darting in every possible direction, a vain attempt to spot oncoming enemies.

     'This is silly Doctor we can't just stand here all day!' she complained.

    'We might not have to!' His voice sounded uneasy. Peri could guess why. She looked over her shoulder, and could see what had caused the Doctor to lose his confidence.

    It was a disgusting sight: a six foot tall, four foot wide blob of slime was heading right for them. Its basic shape was rather like a human, with a sheet flung over them as if they where a ghost.

    'Ewww, what on Earth...?'

    'A casualty of war! On my count, run! 1...2...3...run!' He grabbed her arm, and they started running through the forest. The blob almost seemed angered by that action, opening up a massive mewling mouth that seemed to go nowhere, just into endless darkness.

    'He likes us huh?' cried Peri as he continued to drag her. The blob was furious and relentless, right on their backs. Death seemed inevitable.

     'Leave them alone!' came a valiant cry. Harzok the Zygon ran at the blob, furiously growling and attempting to roar.

    'Doctor?' questioned Peri, but he immediately hushed her with his finger once more. The Doctor and Peri watched in amazement as the little Zygon roared and flapped about in front of the Blob in an amazing attempt to frighten it off.

    'Go!' screamed Harzok, pleading with them to flee. The Doctor instead, always one to argue, bundled forward with an unshakable air of arrogance.

    'Who are you, where are we, and what in the name of Shakespeare is that!?'

     'I'm Harzok –'

    'I think he means what are you?' piped in Peri.

    'You're being attacked by a blob and I've just saved you...and you're being rude now?!' Harzok moaned.

    'Saving us!? SAVING US!?' boomed the Doctor in a state of disbelief.

    'Yes, saving you!'

    'And now the blob's eating your arm!' When the Doctor pointed this out Peri couldn't quite believe just how happy he sounded about the whole thing. The Zygon let out a shrill shriek as he became aware of the blob pushing itself over his arm. 'Saving us indeed!'

     'Doctor help him!' begged Peri.

    'I'm not just going to stand here and watch an innocent creature being eaten now am I?' Peri didn't bother questioning whether he actually would or not. She wasn't keen on finding out and knew more than anyone that the Doctor liked proving a point! He moved further forward, sizing the creature up, from what could have been its front, or back, or possibly even its side. 'Listen here, my name is the Doctor and you will stop this right now. Or else.'

    'Not your best attempt at a threat Doctor!' He chose to ignore that, waiting for the creature to weigh up its options. It didn't take long, the blob thinking it probably best to just keep eating!

    'Ah OK then. Now you're asking for it!' he exclaimed. And just like that, the blob blew into several hundred smaller blob-y pieces.

     'It was eating my arm!'

     'Yes, yes it was. That's what happens when you choose the bad path!' grinned the Doctor. Peri wondered if it was just her.

    'Shut it fools. Who are you?' They all turned on their heels to witness four yellow (and what Peri could only describe as chicken people) feathered beings with guns, stood on a small ridge above them.

     'Hello up there. My name is the Doctor, this is Peri and Harzok I believe,' smiled the Doctor, trying his best to disarm the fellows with charm.

     'Zygon scum!' roared the man at the front, the leader, General Stitch. The Doctor flashed Harzok a look, spotting that the small Zygon had shrunk further back in fear.

    'He's only a child!' protested Peri. 'Try showing a bit of tact!' General Stitch obviously didn't approve of being answered back, and rounded his gun on Peri. The Doctor bolstered forward, shielding her from attack.

    'I suggest you put that away right now, or blobs will be the least of your worries sir!'     The General surveyed the Doctor with cold beady eyes. For a moment the two men stared each other down, neither one speaking or moving. 'Are you Ambassadors from the Earth Empire?'

    'No, myself and my friend are simple travellers, humble specks on the map of the universe, taking in what we can.' The Doctor smiled at the thought of the imagery he had conjured up.

    'Any and every traveller within distance would know this world had nothing to offer, and was riddled with vermin.' General Stitch spat the words out like they offended his very mouth.

    'One could almost get a sense you didn't like it here very much,' offered the Doctor.

    The General glared. 'How could anyone 'like' this place!? It hoards travesties and the Zygon race.'

    'Just what I wanted to ask about, you and the Zygons, you don't get on?' The Doctor feigned ignorance, but could understand the truth without waiting for an answer.

     'We are at War!!!' roared General Stitch, like he was giving some kind of victory rally.

    The Doctor stood, open-mouthed, slowly nodding his head. 'A reason to hate, and that explains why you got so funny over Ambassadors, which is why I should have been clearer. I'm only ever an Ambassador for peace and free living. Isn't it terribly annoying when you find that out about a person and you happen to be a war monger?' The Doctor's tone was clearly patronising. General Stitch shook with rage.

    'The war isn't even on! It ended ages ago!' shouted Harzok, finding his voice for the first time in a while.

    'The War isn't over until you lot have ceased to be!' retorted the General.

    The Doctor was furious. 'Now listen here, if you think I'm just going to stand back whilst you wipe out another species then you sir, you have another thing coming! A very big thing indeed. I told you before, ambassador for PEACE AND FREE LIVING!!!' the Doctor's voice filled the forest, he was the biggest and strongest person here, and the General now knew it.

    'You would destroy us Doctor?' called the reply, if a little feeble.

    'You have a decision to make right now. You can leave here, return to your people and make plans for peace, build on a new foundation. Or you can declare war right now, make a declaration for victory, and wipe a species from the face of the universe. But know this: if you choose the latter course of action, I'll be there, and once I start, I find it very difficult to stop. The choice is yours.'

    Harzok whimpered slightly, more at the thought of war than anything else. He shuddered, watching the General think it over. The feathers around his eyes and beak rustled in the wind as he made this most grave of decisions.

    'You say you would destroy us,' replied General Stitch. 'You stand as these people's protectors. Then there will be no war today.' The Doctor, Peri and Harzok broke into wide grins. General Stitch and his hence men disappeared in a blaze of light, returning to their ship. Harzok hugged the Doctor; this was the man, who would join the story of war. The man who had saved the Zygons from certain existence, he was their hero!



    As time moved on the other Zygons whom Harzok had known his whole life had never become aware of just how close their species had come to war that day, and of how with sheer bravery and words, the Doctor has saved them all. Harzok thought of how every species, had a story of war, he was just glad, that his was in the past, and never ending war, appeared to be a thing, of long ago. He felt safe, for himself and his people!




 

Forged in Fire

So, here it is, the VERY long awaited Forged in Fire by Mr Russell Williams. This story effectively serves as the introduction into Russell's own series 'Reversed Polarities' which will launch later this year. This story features the 10^th Doctor and Donna, though in a reduced role. Needless to say they'll be front and centre of Russell's series, and I hope you'll be good enough to support it once it does launch. For now, please enjoy his penultimate story for Consequences...

Forged In Fire

By Russell Williams

BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!



God that's an annoying noise! That was the first thought that passed through the Doctor's mind as he regained consciousness, registering the ever present noise of the Cloister Bell. Slowly opening his eyes, he gazed around at the devastated, fiery console room looking for Donna. Almost every part of the room, including the magnificent console itself, was ablaze.



Eventually, he found Donna sprawled across the seating with a gash across her forehead. Quickly getting to his feet he dashed over to his companion, checking her pulse and that she was still breathing. All was OK, thankfully. He shook her shoulders. "Donna! Donna can you hear me?"



Donna slowly opened her eyes and gazed in the direction of the voice calling her name. "Nice driving, spaceman," she said with a slight smile, before getting up. "I take it we got away then?"



The Doctor moved over to what was left of the main console and began bagging away at the controls. "From what I'm able to tell, but the poor girls just about had it." The Doctor looked sadly at his companion. "The TARDIS has an escape pod of sorts. She'll be a bit cosy for the two of us, but it's better than choking or burning to death."



Donna stroked the Doctor's arm and they shared a sad smile. "How do we get into this escape pod of yours?"



Without speaking, the Doctor activated a control and a piece of metal grating on the floor separated and revealed a slide leading to the escape pod.



"You've got to be kidding me!" Donna gasped.



"After you!" The Doctor indicated the chute.



"I'm gonna start claiming hazard pay soon, y'know," Donna joked as she summoned up her courage and descended into the darkness. The Doctor took one last look around the console room and, with a tear running down his cheek, he too jumped into the blackness beyond.

 

*****

 

"This is Captain Emily Taub of the UES Pioneer. To any vessels in range, please respond. We have passed through a spatial anomaly, our navigational systems are fried and we have many dead and wounded. Anyone, please come in."



A cry from the dark permeated the radio and subspace channels as the UES Pioneer, a top-of-the-line Constitution-class starship drifted, dead, in the depths of space. This once proud vessel and her gleaming ivory coloured hull was now charred black and a pot-marked hull. Her engine nacelles, once glowing with energy, had dulled.



On the bridge of the stricken Pioneer, Captain Taub and her crew were struggling to hold the dying starship together. All of the maintenance hatches were open and all available hands were trying to hotwire the systems or spraying fire damaged consoles to put out the blaze. Sat at the centre of the chaos was Taub herself, hammering and banging the communications console in the hopes of getting a message out. From her expression it could be gleaned that she held out little hope of success.



"Mitchell! Report!" Taub shouted at her first officer, Connor Mitchell.



"Massive damage, Captain, and I mean massive. We've got hull breaches all over, warp drive, sub-light engines and thrusters are all offline, as well as the weapons and life support below deck 7. Security and medical teams are working to evacuate everyone to the saucer section, but it'll take time."



"Time is a luxury we don't have, Commander. We can't afford to use the emergency power to keep those decks going. Inform the crew that if everyone isn't evacuated in the next fifteen minutes then we'll have to cut the power."



Mitchell gulped and looked at Taub, before nodding his ascent, and attending to the damaged comm system to pass on the captain's message. Assured that her orders would be carried out, Taub manipulated the comm panel on the arm of her command chair and opened an internal channel to Main Engineering.



"Engineering."



"MacPherson here, Captain." The Scottish chief engineer, Jack MacPherson, answered over the comm panel.



"Give me some good news, Jack."



"Cannae do, I'm afraid. The warp core is offline for the moment, but I cannae guarantee that the containment fields will hold. It's my professional opinion that we run like a bat out of hell before the whole bleedin' lot goes up."



Despite the severity of the report, Taub couldn't help but smile to herself. "Do what you can, Jack, and then get your ass up top. Good luck."



"To us all, Cap'n." MacPherson signed off.



Over the next ten minutes or so, Taub found herself just staring at the swiftness and professionalism of her crew as they struggled to hold the ship together, all in absolute silence. Unfortunately, that silence was soon shattered when klaxons started to wail and alarms rung out from the half functioning engineering console. Racing over to the console, Taub manipulated the controls and discovered the cause of the problem. Dipping her head in sadness, Taub looked to her crew who all stopped what they were doing and gathered around her.



"Warp core integrity is down to 9%. Prepare to separate the saucer section immediately," Taub ordered sadly.



"Captain!" several of the crew shouted at once.



Before Taub could say anything, Mitchell took his place at her side. "Yes, ma'am! You have your orders people, carry them out."



After the crew exchanged a few worried glances, they both set to their duties. Taub looked to her first officer, barely holding her emotions in check. "And may God have mercy on their souls", she said to the crew that remained aboard the doomed drive section.



Minutes later, the explosive bolts were fired and the once great United Earth Starship Pioneer separated into two distinct sections. As the saucer section powered up its depleted sub-light engines, the drive section tumbled away into the darkness, as she faced her destruction.

 

*****

 

Planet E-4721 "Farpoint"

Tecker township

One Hundred Years Later



Farpoint. Never a more clear example of humanity (and various alien affiliates) triumphing over adversity. When the stricken saucer section of the great Earth ship Pioneer smashed into the planet's surface a century earlier, the survivors vowed that they would survive against the harsh, ice age conditions present on the planet which they now called home. Using the wreckage of the Pioneer, the brave officers and crew constructed themselves humble little abodes, from which they went forth and multiplied.



A century later, Farpoint was home to over thirty thousand, many descendants of the original "settlers", but many more had been welcomed into the society as they too had been ensnared in the same trap as the Pioneer. As the population grew, so too did the settlement, branching off into various settlements, including the Tecker township.



The Tecker township pretty much resembled a frontier town from the time of America's Wild West period, albeit with metal buildings and snow and ice, instead of wood and sand and mud. The township had all the facilities that anyone could ever need: a surgery and attached chemist, a small general store, a post office, a train station and most importantly: a saloon. To the younger inhabitants of Tecker township, it didn't offer much, but even they could enjoy the alcoholic beverages and the bawdy shenanigans of Bullwark's Saloon Bar.



Bullwark's resembled its Old West counterparts more so than anything else, a long bar, a piano in the corner and even swing doors, although it lost something when you had to pass through the outer set of doors before passing the interior swing doors. At this time of the evening, Bullwark's was full of the usual patrons: people looking for "companionship" and those who wanted to get away from "the wife". However, the third type of patron that frequented Bullwark's were the disenchanted teenagers with nothing else to do. Two of which were entering the saloon now.



Adric and Kelin were both in their late teens and had been the best of friends ever since they were eight years old. Despite the years of friendship between, there was the usual ups and downs, and of course the almost sibling rivalry. Their entry into the saloon drew the odd look from various patrons sat at the tables, but basically their entrance went unheralded until the two young men arrived at the bar and were met with the stern face of Bullwark himself. How the Trevanian landlord had been in business for so long remained a mystery to many on Farpoint, but to those in the know, the large blue skinned man was praised for his legendary lock-ins.



"What'll it be?" Bullwark droned in a monotone.



Taken aback by the booming voice, Kelin stepped back, leaving Adric to face the full effect of the Trevanian.



"Two of your finest ales, please, my man," Adric said with a grin.



"Are you tryin' to be funny? I.D." Bullwark's face betrayed no emotion.



"Aw, c'mon, don't we look old enough to you?" Adric asked hopefully.



Bullwark took a long glance at the two teenagers, looking them over, and then looked Adric straight in the eye. "No."



Unfazed, Adric reached into the top inner pocket of his jacket and produced his identification card, before nudging Kelin and making him produce his. Bullwark looked both of the passes over, especially scrutinizing Adric's. "Alright. Two ales coming up."



Bullwark went away for a couple of minutes before finally returning with two large mugs of ale, placing them on the bar in front of the two teenagers. By this time, Kelin had worked up the courage and asked Bullwark for a packet of Clavrin tongues, which the bartender grudgingly served up.



"Is that all?" Still there was no emotion or inflection in the voice.



"Yes, thank you." Adric replied.



"Good. That'll be, erm..." Bullwark reached underneath the bar and pulled out a price list. Adric was amazed that Bullwark couldn't work out a simple equation like that, especially when he'd been in the business so long.



"3 crezits, 45 scrips." Adric offered.



Bullwark looked up in annoyance, his feelings now very evident. "Yeah, whatever."



Adric handed over the money, and the two teenagers went over to a table and sat down. After they had sat for a few minutes, sipping their drinks and soaking up the ambiance, much as it was, Adric turned to his friend.



"Y'know we've got to find somewhere else to go."



"Oh, I don't know. Its fun, coming here, winding Bullwark up," Kelin smiled.



Adric took another sip of his ale, grimacing slightly at the bitterness. "I suppose. But don't you just want to get out of here, away from boringsville and back to civilization?"



Kelin looked up at his friend. "What, move into Polis city, y'mean?"



"Maybe. Or even get off of this planet altogether." Adric gesticulated, narrowly missing knocking over his drink. "There's a whole universe to explore out there y'know."



Kelin sighed. "Yeah, and run straight into the Brotherhood or some other bandit out for profit."



"You can't think like that, Kel. At least the Professor is actually trying to do something to improve the conditions on Farpoint. What is everyone else doing? Nothing. They get up, go to work, come home and go to bed."



"He still having trouble with the lawgivers?" Kelin asked politely.



Adric shook his head. "Not anymore. The mayor overturned the charges and agreed to allow the Professor to continue his research. Ever since, he's been like a man possessed. We used to have a few laughs, y'know, but lately he's been all work, work, work."



"Be fair, Adric, he's getting on a bit now. Probably just wants to finish his work before it's too late." Kelin drained the last of his ale, then thrust his glass down on the table in a triumphant gesture.



Adric followed suit, and both boys stood up, heading back to the bar. "I know that, it's just he's been so distant lately, not letting me in on any of the research. I'm worried."

*****

 

 

"Professor! Professor Ethers!"



A loud voice penetrated the beautiful silence, followed by a rather loud rapping noise. Shaken out of his trance, Ethers slowly opened his eyes and checked his surroundings: He was back in his modest abode on Farpoint. How disappointing. Sighing, the elderly gentlemen stiffly rose out of his chair and moved over to the door to see what the commotion was all about. Taking a quick peak through the little view finder, the Professor sighed and opened the door to find his old friend, Padraig and his son, Kelin, carrying the prone form of a teenager who was clearly the worse for ware.



"Adric." The Professor complained wearily. "Padraig, I'm sorry that you've had to do this again. And you, Kelin. Oh dear. Please just bring him in and put him on the chair."



The two men stuggled in with Adric and did as the Professor asked. As the teenager was deposited in the chair, he slumped down, a small snore escaping from him. The Professor looked on, ashamed. "How much trouble did he get into this time?"



"Oh, Tam, there isn't anything to worry about. He was quite well-behaved, just had a bit too much ale as you can clearly see," Padraig replied.



The Professor looked down at the snoring young man. "Well, I shall be having a few words with him in the morning, that's for sure."



"I wouldn't be so hard on him, Tam. The problem around here is that there is nothing for these youngsters to do. Unless you like skiing. I had trouble enough with this one here." Padraig indicated Kelin, who just glared back incredulously.



"I wasn't that bad." Kelin finally answered.



"Oh no. What about that incident with ole' Trendleworth, the sealant and a box of Crellis fireflies?"



Kelin blushed slightly and chuckled. "Aye. But she did light up a treat, didn't she?"



Padraig chuckled and shook his head, before looking back to the Professor. "Well, Tam, we'd best be off."



"Yes of course. Thank you very much, both. I'm only sorry that this had to spoil your evening."



Seeing Padraig and Kelin out of the front door, the Professor returned to the main room and found Adric had curled up and was now dosing quite peacefully in front of the fire. Tutting, Ethers made his way into the study. At least I can get some work done.

 

*****

 

Departing the Professor's house, Padraig and Kelin made there way down across the village square. This time of the year, like most of the year really, the ground was covered in the purest white snow, with just a few footprints and wheel marks left by coaches. As the pair travelled along, they shared a laugh and a joke as only a father and son can. However, the laughter soon died down as Kelin noticed a brilliant flash light up the night sky. For once, the skies above Tecker township were actually clear and the stars could be seen, a rarity on this frozen iceball. Kelin noticed the flash first and slapped his father on the back as he pointed up.



"Did you notice that, dad?"



Padraig began staring up at the sky in the direction that his son was pointing. "Ah, don't be daft, lad. I can't see anything."



"It was there, in the sky! There was a flash, honest." Kelin was determined that he'd convince him of the what he'd seen.



"Ah, probably just a shooting star. Quite a regular occurence, y'know. Either that, or some poor souls have fallen into the same trap our ancestors did. God bless their souls." Padraig looked wistfully up at the sky.



"I don't know." Kelin sighed uncertainly, still gazing upwards.



"Well, whatever it was, it doesn't change the fact that your mother will kill me when we get back." Padraig paused before tapping his son on the arm. "Come on, lad."

*****

 

"Morning, Professor." Adric said warily as he entered the smallish kitchen.



The Professor, who was preparing a modest breakfast of bacon and eggs, turned and watched his protégé enter.



"Aha, you're awake then. Hurry up and eat your breakfast and then we can go out to the Pointed Peaks and take some readings."



"Look, I'm sorry about last night." Adric apologized sheepishly as he sat down at the table.



"Yes, well. I'll chalk it up to youthful exuberance, but it is getting to be quite an occurrence of late, young Adric." The Professor attempted to make eye contact, but Adric shied away.



"Come on, even you were young once, Professor," said Adric, still avoiding the older man's gaze as he sat down to eat .Then he dared to look up at his mentor. "Don't tell me you never indulged?"



The Professor looked thoughtful for a minute. "Yes, I suppose I did once upon a time. In fact, my old best friend and I often used to sneak out of..." The Professor's expression suddenly darkened for a second, before he shuddered and went on preparing breakfast.

*****

 

After eating a hearty breakfast, Adric and the Professor got all of their apparatus together: back packs full of scanning equipment, rations and some additional warm clothing in case conditions on the Pointed Peaks were even worse than they usually were. The journey up was strangely quiet, Adric still nursing a sore head and the Professor far too busy taking some readings from the portable scanners that they had previously planted up the mountain path.



After they had been travelling and checking for a couple of hours, the Professor noticed some smoke billowing out from around a rocky outcropping. Naturally intrigued, he indicated the smoke to Adric and then set off in that direction, surprisingly sprightly for a man of his advancing years. As the pair grew nearer and nearer, Adric could make out some kind of jade-coloured box at the centre of the smoke.



"What is that, Professor? Some kind of caravan or something?" Adric asked.



"I wouldn't have thought so, my boy. No one in their right minds would go on a camping trip up here." The Professor asked, absolutely fascinated at the sight of a jade box with an elaborate Oriental roof pattern on the top. "It seems somewhat familiar, but I can't place it."



"Maybe there's someone in there, Professor. We've got to have a look." Adric ran forward, and the Professor tried to grab him and pull him back. Adric however was too quick for the old man.



Approaching the jade box, the smoke got a little thicker, but Adric pressed on, holding his left arm up to his face. Suddenly, the door at the side of the box opened and out stepped a woman. She was unlike any woman that Adric had met before: flame-haired, and from the look on her face, she had a fiery temper to match it.



Not noticing Adric, the woman looked back into the box and shouted. "Nice landing, spaceman! We've no idea where we are and it's bloody FREEZING!"



A male voice then came from inside the craft. "I can take you back to the TARDIS if you like. Toasty warm up there."



As Adric stared on in amazement, his presence was noted by the woman, who seemed surprised that someone was watching her. Her expression softening, she made her way over to Adric.



"Oh, hello. My name's Donna. What's your name sweetheart?"



Adric was aghast. "Er... erm. Adric."



"Don't be scared, Adric. I won't hurt you. Me and my friend are travellers, we just got a little lost that's all."



Before Adric could answer, the Professor had finally made his way up to the area and was just as surprised to encounter Donna as Adric was. After introductions were made, Donna made her way back into the jade box and seconds later, emerged with her friend. He didn't appear to be that much older than Adric, maybe in his third decade, but sported a dull brown pin-stripe suit underneath a lighter-coloured brown coat. Immediately upon noting Adric and the Professor, he bounded over and shook hands with them both, grinning inanely as he did so.



"Hello, I'm the Doctor. Sorry to surprise you like this, had to leave my ship in a bit of a rush. Haven't used the Jade Pagoda in years, I guess the coordinates were off a bit. And you are?" The Doctor indicated Adric.



"I'm Adric," Adric said, uncertainly.



The Doctor looked confused for a minute, deep in thought, before he finally shrugged whatever it was off, flashing him another smile before turning to the Professor.



"Now you look like a man who can help me. Professor?" He grinned in anticipation.



"Ethers. Tam Ethers. Of course, anything I can do to help you. But, tell me, Doctor, Donna. How did you get to be here on Farpoint?"



"Well, it's a long story and very cold. Is there somewhere we can go to warm up a bit? The Pagoda's not as roomy as the TARDIS." The Doctor make a show of stretching his limbs as if to indicate the confined space they'd been occupying.



The Professor stammered at the Doctor's directness. "Of course. Our home is just down there. It's humble, but we can offer you a nice cup of tea and a warm meal."



"Sounds good to me," Donna said, visibly getting more cheerful at the mention of food.



That decided the foursome headed on down the mountain.



The Doctor remained at the back of the party, wary of his surroundings and of his host. Something wasn't quite right, but he wasn't sure exactly what. He shrugged it off, and continued on his way, having no idea of just what lay ahead.



Unknown to him and beyond his control, everything was about to change...

 

TO BE CONTINUED IN...

 

"THE BROTHERHOOD OF IZLAYR"

 

A Murder of Crows

 

Story 6, and it's the return of Kevin Rhodes, with a rather splendid take on the Ninth Doctor and Rose. Hope you enjoy it, and make sure you're back next week for Russell Williams' long in the planning Forged in Fire, which is actually going to be the springboard to his very own series...though more on that later.



For now, please be upstanding for:

A Murder of Crows

 

Jack Redditch clambered out of his Land Rover and surveyed the fields in front of him: a vast expanse of corn which stretched far into the distance, before culminating in a range of small hills. Dotted periodically throughout the fields, an array of menacing scarecrows stood statically, their malevolent features staring unnervingly into the middle distance.



Noticing that one of the scarecrows had fallen from its fixtures, Jack pulled his heavy-duty green raincoat tight around his torso, before marching over to the dismounted figure.



As he approached, Jack immediately saw what the problem had been – the bindings which held the scarecrow in place had been severed.



"Completely useless," he mumbled to himself, shaking his head. He knew exactly what had happened; the bindings had been pecked away by the very crows that were supposed to be scared off by the effigy.



Hoisting the scarecrow up, Jack quickly re-attached it to its moorings. Taking a moment to survey his work, he nodded in satisfaction before turning to head back to the Land Rover.



Jack stopped in his tracks as he heard a flapping noise from behind. Turning back to face the scarecrow, he saw that three crows had landed atop it; one on each shoulder and one right on top of its head.



"Oh, for God's sake!" exclaimed Jack, as he marched back the way he had just come. "Shoo!" he cried, waving his hands in an attempt to disperse the unwelcome intruders.



But they wouldn't move.



Jack continued his approach, so that he was now standing directly in front of the scarecrow. He persisted in his attempts to usher the crows away but they did not react. They just stood, staring back at him.



Beat, beat, beat...



"What's that noise?" Jack thought to himself.



Beat, beat, beat...



Jack looked upwards and his eyes widened in terror.



"No... Dear God, no!"



For the next few minutes, Jack screamed in horror. And then everything went quiet.

~~~oOo~~~

 

Rose Tyler stood in the middle of the cornfield, the wind mercilessly grabbing at her long, blonde hair. "A field," Rose said, shaking her head as she feigned disgust. "You are so rubbish!"



The Doctor tapped his leather jacket, indicating the sonic screwdriver he was carrying in his inside pocket. "Something's not right here, Rose," he declared. "The sonic picked up some weird readings as we were driving past..."



"Nothing's ever simple with you, is it?" Rose teased.



"How'd ya mean?" the Doctor asked, his brow furrowed with genuine confusion.



"It was supposed to be a quick trip to Stangmoor Prison, to see what was going on," Rose said, reminding him of their previous destination. "And look how that turned out!"



"Not my fault!" the Doctor protested, holding his hands aloft in a gesture of innocence.



"And now, heading back for London, you want to stop in the middle of a field, 'cause your Spidey-Sense in tingling." Rose rolled her eyes mockingly.



"Yeah," the Doctor breathed, leaning in closer to Rose. "But you love it, don't ya'?"



Rose smirked. "It's not too bad."



Rose had first met the Doctor four months ago, when her world had been turned upside down forever. She had been visiting her father who, at the time, had been working at the experimental nuclear power station in Wenley Moor. And that was when things had started to go wrong. Very wrong.



It hadn't been long before the Doctor turned up and, before she had known what was happening, she had become immersed in his hectic lifestyle of Silurians, dinosaurs and invaders from Mars.



Beat, beat, beat...



"What's that noise?" Rose asked, the interruption hurriedly bringing her thoughts back to the here-and-now.



It seemed to be coming from some way in the distance. It sounded like the rhythmic beat of a flag, fluttering in the breeze. Beat, beat, beat...



The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Just something blowing in the wind."



"Doctor, look." Rose's voice suddenly took on a tone of urgency, as she extended her arm outwards.



The Doctor turned his head, following Rose's gesticulation. About twenty yards away, a pair of legs was horizontally jutting out from amongst a clump of corn.

"Stay here," the Doctor commanded, as he headed for the body.

 

"No chance," Rose mumbled, immediately following the Doctor.

 

Beat, beat, beat...

 

As they approached, the full corpse became visible. The man, clad in a heavy-duty green

raincoat, was laying face-down. Crouching beside him, the Doctor quickly scanned him with

the sonic screwdriver.

 

"He's dead," the Doctor said quietly, shaking his head. Gently reaching for the man's face, he slid his eyelids closed and into their final resting position.

 

Beat, beat, beat... The noise was getting louder now.

 

"What happened?" asked Rose.

 

"Judging by these injuries, it looks like..." The Doctor frowned.

 

Beat, beat, beat...

 

"Like what?" Rose pressed.

 

Beat, beat, beat...

 

"Some sort of an avian attack."

 

Beat, beat, beat...

 

"Avian?" Rose repeated, incredulously. "As in... bird?"

 

Beat, beat, beat...

 

"Yeah," the Doctor replied.

 

"Doctor..." Rose took a long gulp. "Why's it gone so dark...?"

 

Beat, beat, beat...



The Doctor and Rose stared at each other, looks of horrified realisation spreading across their faces. Slowly, they cranked their heads skywards...



The sky was covered with a thick, black sea of feathers, blotting out the sunlight. Hundreds of crows, their wings spread wide and flapping with the hypnotic beat, beat, beat. And they were heading straight for the Doctor and Rose.



Grabbing Rose by the hand, an all-too-familiar glint appeared in the Doctor's eye. "Run!" he hissed.



And with that, the Doctor and Rose were sprinting, away from the thick, black menace.



Crashing through the tall corn crops, they kept their eyes focused firmly in front of them, not daring to even chance a glance backwards.



Beat, beat, beat.



They were running as fast as they could but the noise kept getting louder and louder...



Reaching the end of the cornfield, the Doctor and Rose halted briefly, finding themselves in a clearing. The Doctor pointed to a structure in the distance. "We'll head for that building."



Quickly glancing up and over her shoulder, Rose could see the swarm of crows, now perilously close to them. "We'll never make it!"



By now, a few of the crows had broken formation and were swooping low, heading straight for the Doctor and Rose. Reaching into his pocket, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, before brandishing it and activating a high-pitched hum. The crows momentarily retreated.



"That should buy us a bit of time," explained the Doctor. "But it won't last long." With that, he and Rose resumed their sprint, now heading for the sanctuary of the distant building.



Once again, several of the crows started to break formation and dive at the fleeing travellers. The Doctor and Rose brought their arms up around their heads, trying to protect themselves from the sharp, deadly beaks now pecking at them, whilst also continuing their dash towards what they hoped would be a safe haven.



"It's no good!" conceded Rose, as she came to a complete standstill, desperately trying to fend off her attackers.



At the same time, the Doctor also came to a stop, the crows forcing him to his knees. Again flaunting the sonic screwdriver, he used it to emit the same high-pitched hum as before. This time, it was completely ineffective.



"They've adapted to the sonic frequency," he explained, as he frantically prodded and poked at the sonic screwdriver.



"Adapted!?!" Rose spluttered. "But they're birds!"



"I don't think it's as simple as that, Rose..." the Doctor said, desperately searching for another method of escape. But there was none.



He was defeated.



The Doctor closed his eyes, feeling the pricks of pain as the crows sunk their beaks and their claws into the back of his neck. It was over...



BANG! BANG! BANG!



The Doctor's eyes snapped open, in time to see the crows retreating back into the sky, driven away by the sudden noise.



Moments later, a green Land Rover came screeching to a halt, just a few feet from the Doctor and Rose. The driver's door swung open, allowing a middle-aged man to hop out. Looking at him, Rose immediately got an impression of an authoritative figure; his thin, dark moustache and piercing, commanding eyes combining to demand instant respect. He was wearing a simple navy-blue suit and in his right hand, he was carrying a revolver – presumably the source of the noise that had repelled the crows, fired through the Land Rover's open window.



"Get in!" he instructed, using his gun to indicate the back door of the vehicle.



With no hesitation, Rose opened the door and scrambled inside, closely followed by the Doctor. As they were doing this, their rescuer retook his position in the driver's seat, before setting the Land Rover in motion and heading straight for the building.

~~~oOo~~~

 

The Doctor and Rose followed their saviour into the building, where he proceeded to slam the thick, metal door closed and bolted it into position. Turning to Rose, he extended his hand in greeting.



"My name's Alistair," he said, firmly shaking Rose's hand. "I'm a teacher here, over at Brendon School. This..." He indicated the smallish room in which they now stood, "...is the groundkeeper's storeroom. We should be safe in here for a while."



"I'm Rose Tyler. And this is the Doctor."



"What's going on here?" the Doctor asked, stepping forward.



"That's a good question, Doctor," Alistair sighed. "It all started about a month ago. The school was just coming to the end of term and the boys were being sent home for the summer. Which is when the first person was found..." He trailed off, clearly affected by the memory.



"One of the boys?" Rose asked, her soft voice soothing the atmosphere.



Alistair nodded. "A freak animal attack. That was the official diagnosis. But then it just kept happening. Local people from the village, farm-hands..."



"And now that man we found out in the field," added the Doctor.



"Is it alien?" Rose asked, directly addressing the Doctor.



He nodded solemnly. "Definitely alien. The readings picked up by the sonic screwdriver confirmed it. That's the only way they could have adapted to it like they did."



"Alien?" Alistair repeated evenly.



"That's right, Brigadier." The Doctor turned to face Alistair, before a puzzled look took over his face. "I'm sorry... have we met before?"



Alistair frowned, his eyes intently locked on the Doctor's. "I... I don't..."



The two men seemed to be absorbed in the other, each meticulously inspecting his counterpart's face.



A sudden banging noise filled the room, causing the Doctor and Alistair to break away from their stare-down.



"They're trying to get in," Alistair hissed.



"They're crows!" exclaimed Rose. "They can't peck through a metal door."



"They're not just crows," reasoned the Doctor, once again holding his sonic screwdriver up as he cautiously approached the door. "I wouldn't rule anything out just yet." After several seconds, the Doctor angrily stuffed the screwdriver back into his pocket. "It's no good," he barked. "I need more information."



"Like?" Rose asked.



The Doctor paused for an instant, before shifting his gaze between Rose and Alistair. "I need one of the creatures," he replied.



"You can't go out there!" Rose protested. "It's suicide!"



"What other option do we have?" the Doctor retorted. "Stay in here indefinitely and live on..." The Doctor picked up a canister from a shelf, to highlight his point. "...pesticide?"



"Actually," Alistair interjected. "Maybe there is another option."



The Doctor and Rose turned to face Alistair, intrigued.



"Would a dead creature be of any use to you, Doctor?"



A grin appeared on the Doctor's face. "Oh, Alistair... You don't?"



Alistair nodded. "I do."



"Fantastic!"   



Manoeuvring himself over to a shelf at the back of the room, Alistair moved aside several tools and containers, before dragging a tarpaulin-wrapped bundle to the front. Lifting it up, Alistair marched over to the Doctor and deposited it on the floor in front of him.



"I hit it with one of my shots earlier today," explained Alistair, as he carefully unwrapped the tarpaulin.



"Yeah, about that..." Rose wondered aloud. "I don't know how it works in the country but revolvers aren't exactly standard issue for school teachers back in London..."



Alistair allowed a small smirk to dance across his face. "Indeed, Miss Tyler." He halted for several seconds, weighing up his options. "I've not been entirely honest with you," he eventually conceded.



The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Alistair. We're under attack from a bunch of crows, possessed by aliens. It would help if we weren't keeping secrets from each other, don't you think?"



Alistair nodded, before pulling what looked like a small radio from his pocket, which he then held close to his mouth. "This is Greyhound to Bad Wolf, do you copy? I repeat: this is Greyhound to Bad Wolf. Do you copy? Over." His attempted transmission was met only with static, leaving him to re-pocket the radio and again address the Doctor. "Doctor, how do you know me?"



"I'm not sure if I do."



"Earlier on... you called me Brigadier."



"Did I?"



"Yes." Alistair's eyes were narrow now, as he carefully assessed every inch of the Doctor's face. "Why did you do that?"



The Doctor looked uncomfortable. Something was tugging at his memories but he couldn't quite place what it was... "Are you a Brigadier?"



"Yes."



The Doctor grinned and dismissively shrugged his shoulders. "No problem, then!"



Alistair drew himself up to his full height. "I am on an undercover operation at this school, here to look into these bizarre deaths. I am Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, commanding officer of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. But I think you already know that, Doctor, don't you?"



The Doctor stared back at the Brigadier, as memories danced on the very edge of his consciousness, desperately trying to break through.



Yeti in the Underground.



Silver giants, storming their way through London.



Shop window dummies coming to life.



And then, as quickly as they had fleetingly appeared, the flashes were gone. "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce?" repeated the Doctor.



"That's right," the Brigadier confirmed. "UNIT."



"Never heard of 'em." And with that, the Doctor crouched to inspect the dead crow in front of him.



As the Doctor undertook his examination, Rose nodded towards the Brigadier's pocket. "That radio," she queried. "Who were you trying to reach?"



"My men," replied the Brigadier. "But there seems to be some sort of radio interference affecting this whole area."



"Yeah, your radio's going to be completely useless," declared the Doctor, as he stood up once more, his examination now complete.



"Do you know what it is?" Rose questioned, indicating the crow.



The Doctor responded with a slow nod. "Yes. But it's impossible..."



The Brigadier stroked his chin in contemplation. "Well, what is it?"



"Nothing either of you will ever have heard of," the Doctor retorted, somewhat condescendingly.



"Oh, you'd be surprised, Doctor," the Brigadier asserted. "I've got a bit of experience in this field: Autons, Cybermen, Axons... And, of course, those Yeti in the Underground."



"What did you say?" the Doctor snapped, a tone of urgency gripping his vocal chords at the mention of his fleeting memory from before. "Yeti in the Underground?"



"Sounds like a bad reality TV show," mumbled Rose.



The Brigadier shook his head, in an attempt to regain some clarity. "I really don't know why I said those things... Doctor, I have just committed a severe breach of the Official Secrets Act and I have absolutely no idea why. You're not another one of those hypnotist fellows, are you?"



"No, Brigadier. Something much bigger is going on here. For some reason, you instinctively feel like you can trust me, don't you?" The Brigadier gave a concise nod, as the Doctor continued. "I feel it too. As soon as we met, something..." He trailed off, lost for words.



"Is it something to do with whatever's possessed the crows?" Rose theorised.



"No, I think it's something much bigger..." the Doctor said absently, his mind clearly a million miles away. Suddenly his expression changed, as his thoughts snapped back to their current predicament. "But we can worry about that later. Right now, I need to go out there." He pointed to the door.



"Didn't we already talk about this?" exclaimed Rose. "Those things'll tear you apart!"



"No they won't. Because I'm going armed with this." The Doctor produced his psychic paper and proudly held it in front of him.



"The psychic paper?" Rose deadpanned. "Seriously?"



"I know what's controlling those crows, Rose. And I know how to communicate with them. Psychically. But... crows aren't exactly renowned for their latent psychic abilities, so I need an outlet for them, to make it a two-way conversation."



"So let me get this straight," Rose surmised. "You're going to march out there, thinking pleasant thoughts, and hope that not only are these aliens nice enough to actually listen to you but that they actually talk back to you."



"Yup." The Doctor turned on his heels and headed straight for the door, before pausing and turning back towards his two friends. "You two, wait here."



"But..." Rose started to protest, only to be immediately cut short by the Doctor.



"I mean it, Rose. I don't know what's going to happen out there. Stay put."



"Alright," Rose reluctantly conceded, as the Doctor started to unbolt the door.



"The world is in my hands," he muttered, stepping through the door.



Rose stared into space, as memories that were not her own fought their way to the surface.



"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands. Fire!"



Rose shook her head and the memories were gone.

~~~oOo~~~

The metal door creaked open, allowing the Doctor to step through. Calmly surveying his surroundings, he hurriedly closed the door behind him, before slowly marching forward, holding both hands aloft in a gesture of amity.



He approached the murder of crows directly in front of him, who were now sat passively at the edge of the field. "I seek audience with your people under peaceful contract, according to Convention Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation." The Doctor braced himself, desperately hoping that he sounded more convincing than he felt.



The crows retained their inert demeanour, each of them training their small, beady eyes on their adversary.



Encouraged by their lack of a hostile reaction, the Doctor made an exaggerated effort to reach into his inside pocket. Moments later he withdrew his hand, now clutching the psychic paper.



"I know who you are," the Doctor continued, trying to get a response from them. "Something's gone wrong with time. I don't know what or how but you shouldn't be here. You can't be here, it's impossible." Still no response. "I can help you. I can get you home."



Following this statement from the Doctor, a message started to take form on the psychic paper:

YOU CANNOT HELP US, PUNY LORD OF TIME. YOU ARE JUST LIKE US, STRANDED ON THIS PATHETIC PLANET. HOW CAN YOU HELP US, WITH NO TARDIS?

 

"I can contact the Time Lords," the Doctor insisted. "They can take you back to the Time Vortex."



No answer.



"You can't be here," the Doctor stressed. "It shouldn't even be possible for you to exist here! You're not just inhabitants of the Time Vortex, like the Chronvores or the Vortisaurs... You are a part of the Time Vortex. How did you even get here?"

THE TIME LORD DOESN'T KNOW? TIME IS WOUNDED. WE FELL THROUGH THE SCAR, DOCTOR; THE TEARS OF THE VORTEX, AS THE UNIVERSE WEPT. WE FELL THOUGH TIME, ARRIVING ON THIS PLANET. WE STOLE THE FORMS OF THE FIRST CREATURES WE ENCOUNTERED – IT WAS THE ONLY CHANCE WE HAD OF SURVIVAL.

 

"I can help," the Doctor reiterated.

BUT WHY WOULD WE WANT TO LEAVE THIS PLACE? WHY WOULD WE WANT TO RETURN TO THE DARKNESS AND THE BURNING AND THE PAIN?

 

"The energy of the Time Vortex is what keeps you alive; you can't survive without it!"

WE FEED ON THE CORPSES OF THESE FEEBLE HUMANS.

 

"But you can't! You need to feed on temporal energy. These humans don't have any."



The hairs on the back of the Doctor's neck stood to attention, as the entire murder of crows emitted a shrill, cackling laughter.

POOR, STUPID, NAIVE TIME LORD! YOU STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND, DO YOU? TIME IS WRONG. EVERY SINGLE POINT IN THIS TIMELINE IS SCREAMING OUT IN AGONY. WE ARE FEASTING ON THE ABUNDANCE OF TEMPORAL ENERGY! BUT NOW YOU, DOCTOR... YOU ARE SOMETHING SPECIAL!

 

The Doctor's eyes widened in terror, as beams of blue energy came shooting from the crows, each fixating on him. With a scream of agony, the Doctor dropped to his knees.



The creatures were feasting on the soul of a Time Lord.

~~~oOo~~~

 

Rose and the Brigadier exchanged troubled looks, as the muffled yells of the Doctor reached them.



"That's it!" bellowed the Brigadier. "He needs help, now." The Brigadier drew his revolver and headed for the door. "Stay here, Miss Tyler."



"No chance!" countered Rose, hot on his heels.



Bursting through the now-open door, the Brigadier emptied the chambers of his firearm in the direction of the crows. Several of the creatures dropped lifelessly to the ground but the others remained undisturbed, as their relentless consumption of the Doctor's life-force persisted.



"It's no good!" the Brigadier admitted, throwing his ineffective weapon to the ground.



"They're killing him!" Rose observed, helplessly. "We need to help!" With that, Rose started a steady run, desperate to come to the aide of her friend.



"Please accept my apologies, Miss Tyler," the Brigadier lamented, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and firmly dragged her back. With Rose suitably delayed, the Brigadier now broke into his own sprint.



Reaching the Doctor, the Brigadier clutched him and hauled him free from the converging beams of energy.



Gratefully taking a deep breath, the Doctor staggered back to his feet and turned to thank his rescuer. But as he turned he saw, to his horror, that the streams of Vortex power were now congregating on the Brigadier instead.



"Brigadier!" The Doctor stepped forward, ready to help him. But then he stopped.



The Brigadier wasn't showing any signs of pain. Not even mild discomfort.



"But that's impossible..."



"Doctor!" Rose skidded to a halt at the Doctor's side, throwing her arms around him in delight. "We need to help Alistair..."



"Don't you see, Rose? The energy's not having any effect on him. It's..."



In unison, a blood-curdling screech erupted from each of the crows.



"...it's killing them!" the Doctor finished, astonished.



The beams of energy vanished and all of the crows came clattering to the ground, dead.



Rose rushed to the Brigadier, grabbing him in anticipation. "Are you OK?"



The Brigadier nodded. "I'm fine. Completely fine." He looked at the Doctor, completely baffled. "Doctor... What the devil just happened?"



"You know, I'd like to know the exact same thing..." The Doctor gave the Brigadier a quick scan with the sonic screwdriver. "This might be a stupid question but... you've never crossed your own timestream, have you?"



"If I had the faintest idea what you were talking about, I just might be able to answer that question."



"Hmm..." the Doctor pondered.



"Doctor?" Rose pressed.



"Those creatures were feeding on temporal energy," the Doctor started to explain.



"Which makes you an all-you-can-eat buffet?" reasoned Rose.



"Exactly. And then Alistair here came along and disrupted everything..."



Confused, Rose ran a hand through her hair. "But why were you asking him about crossing his own timestream?"



"The Blinovitch Limitation Effect," the Doctor stated. "Basically, in part, the discharge of energy that occurs when someone or something comes into contact with the exact same being, from a different time period."



"Are you talking about time travel?" exclaimed the Brigadier. "Don't be preposterous, man!"



"That's exactly what I'm talking about, Brigadier. I scanned you with the sonic and the readings are definitely there – residual temporal energy, left over by a really big Blinovitch Limitation Effect."



"And that's what killed the creatures?" Rose realised.



"Exactly. They feed off pure temporal energy... they couldn't handle such a huge paradox as the Brig here."



"A huge paradox? You sound just like Doris," the Brigadier said, his lips twisting into a wry smile.



"But something's not right..." acknowledged the Doctor. "Although there's no doubt this energy is all around you, Brigadier, it's... wrong."



Rose drew closer to the Doctor, now sharing in his obvious unease. "Wrong how?"



"Almost as if it was in flux. As if it has happened and yet... it hasn't happened at the same time... Something that was meant to happen but never did."



"Like...?" the Brigadier asked.



All three of them drifted into silence, the Doctor's words still lingering in the air. Several long moments passed, before the Brigadier's radio crackled into life.



"This is Bad Wolf to Greyhound, do you copy? Over?"



The Brigadier grabbed his radio and promptly replied. "Bad Wolf, this is Greyhound. The situation here has been neutralised. Over."



"Understood, Sir," came the voice on the other end of the radio. "Are you ready for collection? Over."



"Confirmed, Bad Wolf. ETA, over?"



"ETA five minutes, Sir. Over."



"That'll be all, Benton. Over and out."



The Brigadier re-pocketed the radio.



"Brigadier," the Doctor stated. "Thank you."



"I was just doing my duty, Doctor."



"No." The Doctor's eyes were sharp and sincere, fixated on the Brigadier. "You are so much more than that. It's because of people like you and Rose that I love this stupid little planet of yours. Brigadier, you were... you are fantastic."



The Brigadier shifted, slightly uncomfortable at the glowing compliments. "You're a splendid sort of chap yourself, Doctor."



The Brigadier was in an ornate tomb, two men standing in front of him: a tall man with a shock of white hair and a somewhat superfluous dress sense; and a much younger, fair-haired man in a cricket outfit. "Splendid fellows," the Brigadier declared. "All of you."



And then, the brief fragment of memory all but forgotten, the Brigadier continued to address the Doctor and Rose. "I don't suppose the two of you would like to come and work for me at UNIT?" he asked.



The Doctor laughed. "Me? Working for the army? I think I'll pass on that."



"Yeah, no thanks," Rose corroborated. "I'll stick with the Doctor."



"Can I at least provide you with some transport?"



"No need," the Doctor asserted. "We've got Bessie." And with that, the Doctor and Rose started to walk away.



"Can I at least get in touch with you if I need to?" the Brigadier bellowed after them.



"Oh, Brigadier," smiled the Doctor. "In your line of work, I really don't think it'll be too long before we meet again."



The Brigadier returned the smile, as he watched the Doctor and Rose disappear into the distance.

~~~oOo~~~

 

"So what's going on, Doctor? Really?" Rose looked at the Doctor expectantly, as he settled himself into the driver's seat of Bessie.



He sighed. "Something's wrong with time, Rose. Something's very, very wrong."



"Like what?"



"That's the worst part, Rose. I haven't got a clue."



The Doctor fired up Bessie and started the long drive back to London.