1x08: The Wretched Hive (2/2)
Title: The Wretched Hive 2/2
Author: ivydoor
Rating: PG
Pairing: Rose/Ten II
Summary: When a stowaway manages to sneak aboard the TARDIS, the Doctor & Rose find themselves caught up in a kidnapping conspiracy.
Author's notes: This fic would not have happened without the help of ginamak. Her expertise and knowledge has been invaluable, and her use of pointy sticks ensured I actually managed to finish this off. Also, the patience of our fearless leader shinyopals knows no bounds. Apologies to everyone for being so late with this.
Episode 8 of a virtual series at the_altverse, following The Stolen Scion last week.
Virtual Series Masterlist
Part 1
…………………………
Rose walked as nonchalantly as she could to the door the concessions girl went through. She looked at Tony and put her finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet. He nodded eagerly. Tightening her grip on his hand, she reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly, not daring even to breathe for fear of making a sound. The soft click of the latch seemed deafening to her anxious ears.
She cracked the door slowly and peered inside. A dimly lit landing led to a stairway that faded into darkness. She led Tony through the door and slowly they made their way down the steps. Pale blue lights flickered to life, gently illuminating each step in time with their descent.
Tony tugged on Rose’s arm. “Where are we going?” he whispered.
“I’m not sure,” Rose replied, “but there’s definitely something weird about this place.”
“But what about Mum?”
“She’s fine. She’s with the Doctor.” Rose glanced down at Tony to give him a reassuring smile, but he looked sceptical.
“All right, so maybe leaving Mum and the Doctor alone together isn’t the best idea,” Rose admitted. “But trust me, Tony, there’s no safer place to be than with the Doctor.”
“If you say so.” Tony’s hushed voice was laced with sarcasm. “I’m not so sure the safest place for the Doctor is with Mum.”
Rose snorted a bit louder than she should have.
A thump and scuffling sound came from nearby. Rose froze and Tony gripped her hand with both of his.
“What was that?” he squeaked.
“Hello?” Rose called tentatively.
A soft shuffling, now further away and barely loud enough to notice, was the only reply.
Rose mustered her best smile. “Sorry! We were looking for the loo. Must’ve taken a wrong turn. Silly, I know!”
She took another step down and realised they had reached the bottom.
“Hello?”
No answer.
“Look!” Tony said, pointing to a large switch on the wall nearby.
Rose walked over and threw the switch up; suddenly the room they were in was flooded with light.
“Oh my God,” she said, putting her hand to her mouth.
The room was massive. Enormous columns loomed in rows, rising from the floor to the ceiling some thirty-odd feet above. The columns were composed of three compartments, roughly nine to ten feet in height, that appeared to be covered in ice and frost. Each compartment had a little plaque on the door. She stepped closer to read the plaque, but as she neared it, she noticed the contents within. Wiping the frost away revealed the truth. It was a cryogenic chamber; each compartment was a containment unit holding a human.
Not just any human. A child. She went on to the next chamber and the next. Each one revealed another child, frozen solid.
Tony was the first to speak after a long silence. “Wow.”
Rose suddenly turned to face Tony and crouched down to his level.
“Tony, this is important. You have to do exactly as I say.” Tony nodded vigourously, eyes wide. “We have to stop this. Mum and the Doctor will be safe where they are. It’s up to us. Can you do this?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now,” she stood and looked around, “There has to be a way of shutting this down and getting the kids out of here.”
“What about that big button on each of the poles?” he asked pointing at the back of one of the columns.
Rose looked to see where he was pointing; sure enough, there was a big yellow button located halfway up the column.
She sighed. “How are we going to get up there, then?”
“Easy,” Tony grinned, “Pick me up.”
She returned the smile and hoisted the boy up onto her shoulders.
“Oof. Has anybody told you lately you’ve grown too big?”
“Almost there…” Tony grunted. “Got it!”
There was a hiss and a bang as the column shuddered to life.
Tony punched the air. “We did it!”
Still carrying him on her shoulders, Rose moved on to the next one. One by one, the columns shuddered to life as she and Tony worked their way around the room. Row after row of stasis units began to thaw. After the last button, Rose slipped Tony over her head and set him down on the ground.
“Come on.” she said, taking his hand and leading him to the first unit they’d managed to thaw.
The doors to the units were open. The children were coughing and shivering, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Rose gave instructions guiding them to climb down from their tubes.
“You guys okay?” she asked. The kids nodded. Most seemed to be around Tony’s age or a bit older.
“Okay, my name is Rose, this is Tony.” She patted Tony on the head. “We’re here to help you, but we need your help. There are a lot more kids here, and we have to spread out and make sure everyone is okay.” She smiled. “Do you think you can do that?”
They nodded again.
“All right then, let’s go. If someone is hurt or needs help, call for me. You start on this end, I’ll start at the other, and we’ll work our way to the middle. Once everyone is out, I’ll explain what we’re going to do next.”
“C’mon!” Tony called to the others signalling them to follow him to the next pillar.
Rose moved to the other end of the room; the children from those units were finally showing signs of life. One at a time, they climbed down from their capsules and as they did, Rose would check them over for injuries then send them off to help others.
By the time they had rescued the final group, there were easily seventy-five children in all. As she looked over the crowd, she realised she would never find the underlying cause of this with so many kids tagging along.
“Tony, I want you to take these kids and get out of here.”
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“Just get away from this place. You can go back to the TARDIS. Here.” She pulled her key out and handed it to him, then turned to the group of children. “Okay, I want all of you to get out of here as quickly as you can. The stairs will lead you to an exit. Don’t stop until you’re far away from here. Get to a phone and call for help. Tell them you need Special Ops. Just don’t tell them where you heard that.”
Tony looked distressed. “But I want to go with you!”
“No. I’m sorry, but no. It’s too dangerous. I can’t risk you getting hurt. Anybody who would do this to kids is capable of anything. Promise me you’ll go back to the TARDIS.”
“I don’t want to!”
Rose sighed. “Tony, maybe one day you can travel with the Doctor and me.” He perked up and grinned. “But for right now, you are too young. You need to do as I say.”
Tony slumped. “It’s not fair.”
“Sometimes things just aren’t fair.” Rose said sadly. “Now, I have to go on. You need to get out of here.”
Tony pouted. “All right. Fine.”
Rose watched as the kids started up the stairs. Tony stood at the bottom, looking back at her despondently . She waved slightly and blew a kiss at him, then turned to head down a arching tunnel at the opposite end of the room.
…………………………
“I’ll tell you what,” Jackie said as she looked around, “You were right about one thing.”
The Doctor glanced up from his readings. “What’s that?”
“It’s absolutely freezing in here!”
The Doctor nodded. “Come on, we’re getting closer.”
They crept down a long, darkened corridor; only the pale gleam of the lights that preceded them kept them from stumbling into the walls. After what the Doctor estimated was a hundred metres or so, they reached a fork in the path.
A sudden commotion from the left made them both jump. The Doctor cast an uneasy glance at Jackie. “Let’s go right.”
They continued on until they reached another room similar in size to the one they'd left, but filled with towering columns. The columns were translucent and covered in frost.
“These are very bad news,” the Doctor said as he rubbed the frost off to reveal a man in cryogenic stasis.
Jackie gasped. “Oh my God!”
The Doctor glanced around the room, looking for a way out, but it was too dark to see more than a few feet ahead.
Jackie watched as he moved swiftly away from the columns and felt along the wall until he came to a table-like surface. He passed the sonic screwdriver over the table and it lit up like a Christmas tree; buttons blinked and a screen flickered to life. The Doctor slipped on his glasses and watched as images and symbols flashed by far too quickly for Jackie to comprehend.
“What is it?" she finally asked.
“They’re Acridiods.” At Jackie’s puzzled look, he continued “Traders and suppliers, mostly. Generally peaceful, if a bit too keen on making a profit. Question is, what are they doing here?”
He pressed a few more buttons next to the screen. “But that doesn’t even make sense…” he looked around the room at the cryogenic columns. “Oh, no. This is not good.”
Suddenly, an alarm sounded.
“And that is very bad. Jackie! RUN!”
…………………………
Tony watched Rose disappear down the corridor, wishing he could go with her. For the entirety of his short life, he’d heard stories about the adventures of Rose and the Doctor. Stories filled with alien planets and farting monsters. He especially liked the farting monsters.
Now here he was, so close to being a part of one, and he had to sit it out.
Forget that.
“Hey, guys!” he called up the stairs to the other children. “Wanna have an adventure?”
…………………………
The alarm startled Rose as she travelled quietly down the corridor. She reflexively began to run, although she wasn’t sure if it was towards or away from the danger. Rounding a bend, she saw an intersection of sorts, and then blinked as she watched the Doctor and her mother running from the hall on the left to the one on the right.
“Mum! Doctor!”
“Rose!” Jackie exclaimed, rushing towards her.
“What is going on?” she asked. “How did you get down here?”
“Yeah, let’s answer that later, shall we?” the Doctor replied. “Long story and I don’t think those sirens mean it’s tea time.”
“Wait a minute! Where’s Tony?” Jackie asked frantically as they began running down the hall towards the main chamber.
“He’s fine. I gave him my key and sent him back to the TARDIS.”
They reached the cavernous room and skidded to a halt. Jackie whirled around to look at Rose. “But what if those things find him? Rose, you should see what they’re doing!”
“I have! That’s why I sent them out of here.”
“Them?” asked the Doctor. “Them who?”
“All the children! Tony and I managed to free them and I sent them out to call for help. Then I gave Tony the key and sent him back to the TARDIS.”
“So Tony is safe. You see, Jackie?” the Doctor explained. “Now we really have to go!”
Jackie paused. “I should find him. I need to get back to the TARDIS.”
…………………………
Tony knew without a doubt that they would get in Very Big Trouble should they be caught. Since avoiding being caught was something he was very practised in, he felt confident they would be successful.
Successful at what was the question.
He knew they wouldn’t be able to go the same way Rose had. That would lead to Being Caught. He scanned the room for any other means of escape. There, close to the floor, in the far corner of the room, was a ventilation shaft.
“Come on,” he pointed to two of the biggest kids in the room, “Help me get this cover off.”
After a brief struggle, the older children managed to pry it off. The grill hit the ground with a resounding “bang”.
Tony looked at the others. “Last chance to back out.” Some of the children looked apprehensive, but none of them chose to leave.
Tony nodded and crawled into the narrow duct. It was dark and dusty, but there were patches of light ahead of them. As they got closer to the first patch of light, he saw it was from another vent. He crouched even further down to see where it led. It looked like a storage or wardrobe of some sort.
With dozens of children following, he stopped and checked every vent they came to, hoping they would lead to somewhere useful.
After what seemed like hours (but was in reality five minutes) they came across one that led to a room full of electronic equipment. Some had screens and all had buttons and dials. He looked for any signs of people or green farting aliens, but there were none.
“This is it!” he called back. He turned, pressed his feet against the vent cover, and kicked as hard as he could. It fell away with clang, and he slid out. The kids behind him followed suit.
“Right!” He called over the murmurs and whispering crowd. “We need to tear this place apart. Break it all.”
With that, the kids burst into a flurry of destruction. Knobs were turned until they broke off. Buttons were pushed on, then off. Switches were flipped back and forth.
Almost immediately, sirens went off, but it was too late. The machinery started spewing sparks and smoke.
A door swung open, and through the smoke, only the dark shadow of multiple figures could be seen. They were tall, taller than any human Tony had ever seen.
“Get the net!” a deep voice rumbled.
The last thing Tony saw before a dark cloth was thrown over him was a giant insect leg narrowly missing his head.
…………………………
“Jackie, you can’t go back there.” The Doctor said impatiently. “We need to find a better way out.”
“Tell you what,” she retorted, “You go on ahead, I’ll go back. If we split up, there’s a better chance of one of us getting out and calling for help.”
The Doctor glanced at Rose to gauge her response. She gave him a look of resigned frustration.
“Fine. Jackie, you go back for him. Rose and I will try another route. Just be careful.”
Jackie nodded and hugged Rose. “Be careful, love.”
“You, too, Mum.”
Rose took the Doctor’s hand and they ran towards the archway at the far end of the room. Jackie hesitated for only a moment before setting back the way they had come.
…………………………
“Do you think she’ll be all right?” Rose asked breathlessly as they dashed down the corridor.
The Doctor skidded to a halt in front of a door, causing Rose to nearly crash into him.
“I hope so,” he said, fumbling to unlock the door with the sonic screwdriver.
Rose kept a lookout until he finally found a setting that worked. The latch clicked open, and they slipped through the door.
“I think,” the Doctor said slowly, “we’ve taken a wrong turn.”
Rose looked around and saw a table surrounded by chairs. Several hulking aliens occupied the chairs. They had immense oval heads with antennae and mandibles, long curved bodies and gangly, hairy arms and legs.
“Whatever would give you that idea?” said one of the aliens, as he nodded to one standing to the side.
“Oh,” the Doctor smiled, “Just a guess.”
The alien standing to the side brandished what looked like a weapon, and slowly Rose and the Doctor raised their arms.
…………………………
Jackie rushed down the corridor, praying fervently that this experience had put Tony off disobedience. It wasn’t likely, but she could hope.
She’d almost reached the junction where they had run into Rose when she heard heavy footsteps from the other direction. Looking around desperately, she found a small recess in the wall and tucked herself as far back as she could.
A pair of tall, bug-like aliens, carrying weapons of some sort, marched by. They were a few feet past Jackie when their communication devices crackled to life.
All security personnel, please report to the cryogenic lab. I repeat, all security personnel, please report to the cryogenic lab. There’s been a breach. We currently have two rogue human adults and multiple pups under containment. Reinforcements are needed.
“There goes lunch, then.” one said.
“It’s always something.” the other muttered.
They turned on their heels and left the way they'd come. Jackie let them get a good distance ahead of her before slipping out and following them down the hall.
Eventually, they stopped at a door in the hall, held up some sort of key card to a scanner and the door swung open. Jackie hung back until the door was almost shut behind them, then grabbed the handle and slowly crept in.
She found herself in a cramped booth with enormous glass windows overlooking what seemed to be a factory floor. Several cranes lined the sides, while there were multiple stations set up with what looked to be cylinders.
A glance to the left showed that the aliens she'd tailed had left the room, heading to the factory floor via a catwalk staircase. Crouching down, she snuck to the dashboard of controls that was mounted to the windows.
Scanning the floor again, she saw the Doctor and Rose being marched up steps to a platform around one of the cylinders. Not far behind was a line of kids, and she quickly picked Tony out of the group, dressed as oddly as he was. She was relieved he was unharmed, but her stomach was in knots at the sight of him being held captive.
It appeared that the Doctor and one of the aliens were having some sort of animated discussion, but she couldn’t hear a thing through the glass. She looked around for anything that might let her listen in. A small, round speaker grille was built into the dash; taking a chance, she turned the dial immediately next to it. The speaker crackled to life and the Doctor’s voice came through loud and clear.
“The thing I don’t understand is why? Your people are more than capable of making money the honest way. You excel at it. What makes this such a draw?”
The alien laughed. “Do you honestly think I could get away with legally breeding? These animals go for a small fortune on the black market. And I get twice as much for the pups as I do for the adults.”
“You can’t sell humans as pets!” Rose exclaimed, “It’s wrong!”
“Hence the whole black market thing.” The insect explained in a very patronising tone.
“So what are you going to do?” the Doctor asked. “Keep this up and hope no one notices that people come in but they don’t come out of here? Do you really think you can keep this up forever?”
Jackie looked around at the controls in front of her for something -- anything -- to help Tony, Rose, and the Doctor escape.
“Oh, it’s not sustainable, to be sure.” The alien replied “At least not here. We’ll move on to another part of the planet in a few weeks. In the next year, I’ll have enough stock in frozen storage to support myself very comfortably well into old age.”
“But it’s still wrong!” Rose protested.
“Wrong? Is it wrong for your people to poach and steal from the wildlife of your planet to make money from them? Do your people not steal from the coral reefs or the rainforests just to make a fortune? Talk to me when your people are not so hypocritical. Just because you are the merchandise in this particular scheme doesn’t make it any different.”
Up in the booth, Jackie was searching for some sort of sense in the controls. Something that would open a door or shut down the lighting. A sound from behind her made her spin and jump backwards, and when she landed, her backside pushed a lever.
One of the cranes along the wall leapt to life, and Jackie pounced. She seized the lever, jerking it this way and that in an attempt to steer it. Once she matched the lever movements to the crane’s, she started to guide it towards the alien lecturing the Doctor and Rose.
At this point, the aliens began to notice, as did the Doctor and Rose.
The alien on the platform with them began shouting orders at the security guards as Jackie manoeuvred the crane around the room. Some of the guards shot at the crane while others aimed for the control booth. Jackie fell to her knees, one arm protectively over her head in an attempt to shield herself from the shards of splintered glass which fell around her. She tried to keep steering, but the gunfire was coming too quickly for her to see where she was guiding the crane.
“Mum! Over here! Left! Left!” Rose called up to her. Jackie swung the crane to the left.
“No! Jackie, the other left! Our left, not your left! No, right!”
“Left, right?” Jackie was so disoriented at this point; she didn’t know which way to go.
“No! Right!”
Jackie pulled the lever hard to the right.
There was a whirring of gears as the crane shifted direction. It hurtled towards the alien on the platform, who waved his arms wildly in a vain attempt at self-defense. Suddenly the guns went silent; all eyes were fixed on the crane as it swung across the room. The Doctor fell flat onto his stomach, feeling the crane arm whizz by overhead and hearing the sickening crunch of it slamming square into the insectoid alien leader's exoskeleton. The creature toppled backward, off the platform and into the cylinder below. The cylinder began to light up in stages from the base to the top.
The alien clambered to his feet and stood, dazed, for a moment. There was a hiss: the alien, realizing what was about to happen, began frantically climbing up the sides, but it was too late. Clouds of steam filled the chamber, drowning out his anguished cries. Rose and the Doctor stepped back instinctively from the edge as the machine powered down and another crane burst into automated action. It reached down and pulled out a pod just like the ones seen in the cryogenic chamber. There, frozen in the act of trying to escape, was the alien.
The other Acridiods gathered around the capsule.
The Doctor spoke to them. “I believe this marks the end of this business venture. I’m sure you’ll all be compensated well for your grief. Now, if you don’t start reviving all the humans you have stored here, I’m afraid I’ll have to have my esteemed associate up there,” He waved at Jackie, who had stood and was picking pieces of broken glass from her hair with visible annoyance, “ensure you end up like your good friend here.”
There was no argument from any of the workers. Those with weapons laid them down and began making their way towards the exits.
“Rose!” Tony came barrelling at them through the crowd of children and Acridiods, jumping into Rose’s open arms. Jackie was making her way down the catwalk steps, the Acridiods she passed gave her a wide berth, some even visibly flinched when she brushed by.
When she reached the bottom, Tony squirmed out of Rose’s arms and ran towards Jackie. “Mum!”
Jackie scooped him up. “Careful, love, I’ve got glass all over me.”
“That was BRILLIANT!” Tony exclaimed. He looked at the alien then back at Jackie. “Can we take our next holiday trip on the TARDIS?”
“No!” the Doctor and Jackie said in unison.
“I’ve had quite enough travelling for now,” Jackie said, “and so have you.”
“But…”
“No. Besides, you have school in the morning.”
“Speaking of,” the Doctor interjected, “What time is it?”
Rose checked her watch. “It’s been at least five hours. The TARIDS should be done with the diagnostics by now, yeah?”
“Should be. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be able to leave. It depends on the results of the tests. Still, we won’t know until we get back there.”
“Well, then I’m going.” Jackie said. “I’m far too tired for any more of this nonsense.”
They followed the steps up to the hall, then down to the room where the children had been kept. As they made their way up the stairs into the lobby, they could hear the sounds of families being reunited.
By the time they reached the lobby, a group of black vehicles had swarmed the front of the building.
Rose looked puzzled. “Is that who I think it is?”
“I think it is.” The Doctor replied quietly. “We don’t need to draw any attention to ourselves. Let’s go.”
They slipped around the corner into an empty theater and found an emergency exit next to the screen. Opening the door set the alarms off again, but when the Torchwood agents finally traced the source of the alarm, all they found was an open door--and no one in sight.
…………………………
Safe in the TARDIS, the Doctor went over the readout of the diagnostic.
“It doesn’t make any sense.” The Doctor scratched his head. “Everything is showing as normal.”
“Fluke occurrence with a new TARDIS, then?” Rose asked.
“Hmmm. Maybe.”
“Well, can we go home, or can’t we?” asked an exhausted Jackie. "I already let Tony stay up past his bedtime to watch his favourite show. It's long past time we were all in bed."
The Doctor stood straight. “I don’t see why not. There’s nothing indicating it would be dangerous to attempt again.”
He moved around the console and began the dematerialisation sequence, occasionally directing Rose to a switch or dial here or there.
The TARDIS finally came to a stop; Jackie cast a perturbed look at the Doctor as she pulled herself back up to her feet.
The Doctor went to the door and opened it slowly. There, about ten feet from him, Frederick the Swan was chasing a small grasshopper across the yard.
“Home again!” he called back to the trio.
Jackie picked Tony up and carried him out the door. “To bed with you, mister.” She said.
“No bath?” Tony grinned.
“No bath. I’m too tired and I’m in need of a good scrub, myself. You get a pass, for now.”
Tony waved his arms in the air. “Woo!”
Rose laughed as she hugged Jackie and Tony. “Bye, Mum. Bye, Squirt.” She ruffled his hair.
Jackie returned the hug. “You know, you weren’t half bad with those kids in there. I just know you’d make a fabulous mum.”
Rose’s eyes went wide. The Doctor went into a spasm of coughing.
“Um. Yeah. Maybe.” Rose patted the Doctor’s back. “We’ll see, Mum.”
“Think about it! You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
The Doctor composed himself. “Well, hate to rush off, lovely to see you, as always, must get going. Bye now!” He fairly bolted to the TARDIS.
Rose laughed and waved goodbye to her mother and brother. “See you later. Love you.”
“Love you. Be careful.” Jackie replied.
Rose waited until they reached the door. As Tony and Jackie headed into the house, they waved back at her. She returned the wave and turned to go.
Rose returned to the TARDIS, only to find the Doctor wasn’t in the console room. She went straight back to their room, and discovered him already sound asleep in their bed. She toed her shoes off and slipped under the covers. She threw a pillow that was between them onto the floor and snuggled up to him. He grunted at the disturbance, but didn’t shift. Her eyes closed, and she felt an arm settle over her. As she drifted off, she thought about what Tony had said. A holiday sounded like a lovely idea.
The TARDIS hummed as the lights dimmed for the night. Even she’d had enough excitement for one day.
…………………………
Next week: The Embers of Alexandria by principia_coh
Author: ivydoor
Rating: PG
Pairing: Rose/Ten II
Summary: When a stowaway manages to sneak aboard the TARDIS, the Doctor & Rose find themselves caught up in a kidnapping conspiracy.
Author's notes: This fic would not have happened without the help of ginamak. Her expertise and knowledge has been invaluable, and her use of pointy sticks ensured I actually managed to finish this off. Also, the patience of our fearless leader shinyopals knows no bounds. Apologies to everyone for being so late with this.
Episode 8 of a virtual series at the_altverse, following The Stolen Scion last week.
Virtual Series Masterlist
Part 1
…………………………
Rose walked as nonchalantly as she could to the door the concessions girl went through. She looked at Tony and put her finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet. He nodded eagerly. Tightening her grip on his hand, she reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly, not daring even to breathe for fear of making a sound. The soft click of the latch seemed deafening to her anxious ears.
She cracked the door slowly and peered inside. A dimly lit landing led to a stairway that faded into darkness. She led Tony through the door and slowly they made their way down the steps. Pale blue lights flickered to life, gently illuminating each step in time with their descent.
Tony tugged on Rose’s arm. “Where are we going?” he whispered.
“I’m not sure,” Rose replied, “but there’s definitely something weird about this place.”
“But what about Mum?”
“She’s fine. She’s with the Doctor.” Rose glanced down at Tony to give him a reassuring smile, but he looked sceptical.
“All right, so maybe leaving Mum and the Doctor alone together isn’t the best idea,” Rose admitted. “But trust me, Tony, there’s no safer place to be than with the Doctor.”
“If you say so.” Tony’s hushed voice was laced with sarcasm. “I’m not so sure the safest place for the Doctor is with Mum.”
Rose snorted a bit louder than she should have.
A thump and scuffling sound came from nearby. Rose froze and Tony gripped her hand with both of his.
“What was that?” he squeaked.
“Hello?” Rose called tentatively.
A soft shuffling, now further away and barely loud enough to notice, was the only reply.
Rose mustered her best smile. “Sorry! We were looking for the loo. Must’ve taken a wrong turn. Silly, I know!”
She took another step down and realised they had reached the bottom.
“Hello?”
No answer.
“Look!” Tony said, pointing to a large switch on the wall nearby.
Rose walked over and threw the switch up; suddenly the room they were in was flooded with light.
“Oh my God,” she said, putting her hand to her mouth.
The room was massive. Enormous columns loomed in rows, rising from the floor to the ceiling some thirty-odd feet above. The columns were composed of three compartments, roughly nine to ten feet in height, that appeared to be covered in ice and frost. Each compartment had a little plaque on the door. She stepped closer to read the plaque, but as she neared it, she noticed the contents within. Wiping the frost away revealed the truth. It was a cryogenic chamber; each compartment was a containment unit holding a human.
Not just any human. A child. She went on to the next chamber and the next. Each one revealed another child, frozen solid.
Tony was the first to speak after a long silence. “Wow.”
Rose suddenly turned to face Tony and crouched down to his level.
“Tony, this is important. You have to do exactly as I say.” Tony nodded vigourously, eyes wide. “We have to stop this. Mum and the Doctor will be safe where they are. It’s up to us. Can you do this?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now,” she stood and looked around, “There has to be a way of shutting this down and getting the kids out of here.”
“What about that big button on each of the poles?” he asked pointing at the back of one of the columns.
Rose looked to see where he was pointing; sure enough, there was a big yellow button located halfway up the column.
She sighed. “How are we going to get up there, then?”
“Easy,” Tony grinned, “Pick me up.”
She returned the smile and hoisted the boy up onto her shoulders.
“Oof. Has anybody told you lately you’ve grown too big?”
“Almost there…” Tony grunted. “Got it!”
There was a hiss and a bang as the column shuddered to life.
Tony punched the air. “We did it!”
Still carrying him on her shoulders, Rose moved on to the next one. One by one, the columns shuddered to life as she and Tony worked their way around the room. Row after row of stasis units began to thaw. After the last button, Rose slipped Tony over her head and set him down on the ground.
“Come on.” she said, taking his hand and leading him to the first unit they’d managed to thaw.
The doors to the units were open. The children were coughing and shivering, but otherwise seemed unharmed. Rose gave instructions guiding them to climb down from their tubes.
“You guys okay?” she asked. The kids nodded. Most seemed to be around Tony’s age or a bit older.
“Okay, my name is Rose, this is Tony.” She patted Tony on the head. “We’re here to help you, but we need your help. There are a lot more kids here, and we have to spread out and make sure everyone is okay.” She smiled. “Do you think you can do that?”
They nodded again.
“All right then, let’s go. If someone is hurt or needs help, call for me. You start on this end, I’ll start at the other, and we’ll work our way to the middle. Once everyone is out, I’ll explain what we’re going to do next.”
“C’mon!” Tony called to the others signalling them to follow him to the next pillar.
Rose moved to the other end of the room; the children from those units were finally showing signs of life. One at a time, they climbed down from their capsules and as they did, Rose would check them over for injuries then send them off to help others.
By the time they had rescued the final group, there were easily seventy-five children in all. As she looked over the crowd, she realised she would never find the underlying cause of this with so many kids tagging along.
“Tony, I want you to take these kids and get out of here.”
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“Just get away from this place. You can go back to the TARDIS. Here.” She pulled her key out and handed it to him, then turned to the group of children. “Okay, I want all of you to get out of here as quickly as you can. The stairs will lead you to an exit. Don’t stop until you’re far away from here. Get to a phone and call for help. Tell them you need Special Ops. Just don’t tell them where you heard that.”
Tony looked distressed. “But I want to go with you!”
“No. I’m sorry, but no. It’s too dangerous. I can’t risk you getting hurt. Anybody who would do this to kids is capable of anything. Promise me you’ll go back to the TARDIS.”
“I don’t want to!”
Rose sighed. “Tony, maybe one day you can travel with the Doctor and me.” He perked up and grinned. “But for right now, you are too young. You need to do as I say.”
Tony slumped. “It’s not fair.”
“Sometimes things just aren’t fair.” Rose said sadly. “Now, I have to go on. You need to get out of here.”
Tony pouted. “All right. Fine.”
Rose watched as the kids started up the stairs. Tony stood at the bottom, looking back at her despondently . She waved slightly and blew a kiss at him, then turned to head down a arching tunnel at the opposite end of the room.
…………………………
“I’ll tell you what,” Jackie said as she looked around, “You were right about one thing.”
The Doctor glanced up from his readings. “What’s that?”
“It’s absolutely freezing in here!”
The Doctor nodded. “Come on, we’re getting closer.”
They crept down a long, darkened corridor; only the pale gleam of the lights that preceded them kept them from stumbling into the walls. After what the Doctor estimated was a hundred metres or so, they reached a fork in the path.
A sudden commotion from the left made them both jump. The Doctor cast an uneasy glance at Jackie. “Let’s go right.”
They continued on until they reached another room similar in size to the one they'd left, but filled with towering columns. The columns were translucent and covered in frost.
“These are very bad news,” the Doctor said as he rubbed the frost off to reveal a man in cryogenic stasis.
Jackie gasped. “Oh my God!”
The Doctor glanced around the room, looking for a way out, but it was too dark to see more than a few feet ahead.
Jackie watched as he moved swiftly away from the columns and felt along the wall until he came to a table-like surface. He passed the sonic screwdriver over the table and it lit up like a Christmas tree; buttons blinked and a screen flickered to life. The Doctor slipped on his glasses and watched as images and symbols flashed by far too quickly for Jackie to comprehend.
“What is it?" she finally asked.
“They’re Acridiods.” At Jackie’s puzzled look, he continued “Traders and suppliers, mostly. Generally peaceful, if a bit too keen on making a profit. Question is, what are they doing here?”
He pressed a few more buttons next to the screen. “But that doesn’t even make sense…” he looked around the room at the cryogenic columns. “Oh, no. This is not good.”
Suddenly, an alarm sounded.
“And that is very bad. Jackie! RUN!”
…………………………
Tony watched Rose disappear down the corridor, wishing he could go with her. For the entirety of his short life, he’d heard stories about the adventures of Rose and the Doctor. Stories filled with alien planets and farting monsters. He especially liked the farting monsters.
Now here he was, so close to being a part of one, and he had to sit it out.
Forget that.
“Hey, guys!” he called up the stairs to the other children. “Wanna have an adventure?”
…………………………
The alarm startled Rose as she travelled quietly down the corridor. She reflexively began to run, although she wasn’t sure if it was towards or away from the danger. Rounding a bend, she saw an intersection of sorts, and then blinked as she watched the Doctor and her mother running from the hall on the left to the one on the right.
“Mum! Doctor!”
“Rose!” Jackie exclaimed, rushing towards her.
“What is going on?” she asked. “How did you get down here?”
“Yeah, let’s answer that later, shall we?” the Doctor replied. “Long story and I don’t think those sirens mean it’s tea time.”
“Wait a minute! Where’s Tony?” Jackie asked frantically as they began running down the hall towards the main chamber.
“He’s fine. I gave him my key and sent him back to the TARDIS.”
They reached the cavernous room and skidded to a halt. Jackie whirled around to look at Rose. “But what if those things find him? Rose, you should see what they’re doing!”
“I have! That’s why I sent them out of here.”
“Them?” asked the Doctor. “Them who?”
“All the children! Tony and I managed to free them and I sent them out to call for help. Then I gave Tony the key and sent him back to the TARDIS.”
“So Tony is safe. You see, Jackie?” the Doctor explained. “Now we really have to go!”
Jackie paused. “I should find him. I need to get back to the TARDIS.”
…………………………
Tony knew without a doubt that they would get in Very Big Trouble should they be caught. Since avoiding being caught was something he was very practised in, he felt confident they would be successful.
Successful at what was the question.
He knew they wouldn’t be able to go the same way Rose had. That would lead to Being Caught. He scanned the room for any other means of escape. There, close to the floor, in the far corner of the room, was a ventilation shaft.
“Come on,” he pointed to two of the biggest kids in the room, “Help me get this cover off.”
After a brief struggle, the older children managed to pry it off. The grill hit the ground with a resounding “bang”.
Tony looked at the others. “Last chance to back out.” Some of the children looked apprehensive, but none of them chose to leave.
Tony nodded and crawled into the narrow duct. It was dark and dusty, but there were patches of light ahead of them. As they got closer to the first patch of light, he saw it was from another vent. He crouched even further down to see where it led. It looked like a storage or wardrobe of some sort.
With dozens of children following, he stopped and checked every vent they came to, hoping they would lead to somewhere useful.
After what seemed like hours (but was in reality five minutes) they came across one that led to a room full of electronic equipment. Some had screens and all had buttons and dials. He looked for any signs of people or green farting aliens, but there were none.
“This is it!” he called back. He turned, pressed his feet against the vent cover, and kicked as hard as he could. It fell away with clang, and he slid out. The kids behind him followed suit.
“Right!” He called over the murmurs and whispering crowd. “We need to tear this place apart. Break it all.”
With that, the kids burst into a flurry of destruction. Knobs were turned until they broke off. Buttons were pushed on, then off. Switches were flipped back and forth.
Almost immediately, sirens went off, but it was too late. The machinery started spewing sparks and smoke.
A door swung open, and through the smoke, only the dark shadow of multiple figures could be seen. They were tall, taller than any human Tony had ever seen.
“Get the net!” a deep voice rumbled.
The last thing Tony saw before a dark cloth was thrown over him was a giant insect leg narrowly missing his head.
…………………………
“Jackie, you can’t go back there.” The Doctor said impatiently. “We need to find a better way out.”
“Tell you what,” she retorted, “You go on ahead, I’ll go back. If we split up, there’s a better chance of one of us getting out and calling for help.”
The Doctor glanced at Rose to gauge her response. She gave him a look of resigned frustration.
“Fine. Jackie, you go back for him. Rose and I will try another route. Just be careful.”
Jackie nodded and hugged Rose. “Be careful, love.”
“You, too, Mum.”
Rose took the Doctor’s hand and they ran towards the archway at the far end of the room. Jackie hesitated for only a moment before setting back the way they had come.
…………………………
“Do you think she’ll be all right?” Rose asked breathlessly as they dashed down the corridor.
The Doctor skidded to a halt in front of a door, causing Rose to nearly crash into him.
“I hope so,” he said, fumbling to unlock the door with the sonic screwdriver.
Rose kept a lookout until he finally found a setting that worked. The latch clicked open, and they slipped through the door.
“I think,” the Doctor said slowly, “we’ve taken a wrong turn.”
Rose looked around and saw a table surrounded by chairs. Several hulking aliens occupied the chairs. They had immense oval heads with antennae and mandibles, long curved bodies and gangly, hairy arms and legs.
“Whatever would give you that idea?” said one of the aliens, as he nodded to one standing to the side.
“Oh,” the Doctor smiled, “Just a guess.”
The alien standing to the side brandished what looked like a weapon, and slowly Rose and the Doctor raised their arms.
…………………………
Jackie rushed down the corridor, praying fervently that this experience had put Tony off disobedience. It wasn’t likely, but she could hope.
She’d almost reached the junction where they had run into Rose when she heard heavy footsteps from the other direction. Looking around desperately, she found a small recess in the wall and tucked herself as far back as she could.
A pair of tall, bug-like aliens, carrying weapons of some sort, marched by. They were a few feet past Jackie when their communication devices crackled to life.
All security personnel, please report to the cryogenic lab. I repeat, all security personnel, please report to the cryogenic lab. There’s been a breach. We currently have two rogue human adults and multiple pups under containment. Reinforcements are needed.
“There goes lunch, then.” one said.
“It’s always something.” the other muttered.
They turned on their heels and left the way they'd come. Jackie let them get a good distance ahead of her before slipping out and following them down the hall.
Eventually, they stopped at a door in the hall, held up some sort of key card to a scanner and the door swung open. Jackie hung back until the door was almost shut behind them, then grabbed the handle and slowly crept in.
She found herself in a cramped booth with enormous glass windows overlooking what seemed to be a factory floor. Several cranes lined the sides, while there were multiple stations set up with what looked to be cylinders.
A glance to the left showed that the aliens she'd tailed had left the room, heading to the factory floor via a catwalk staircase. Crouching down, she snuck to the dashboard of controls that was mounted to the windows.
Scanning the floor again, she saw the Doctor and Rose being marched up steps to a platform around one of the cylinders. Not far behind was a line of kids, and she quickly picked Tony out of the group, dressed as oddly as he was. She was relieved he was unharmed, but her stomach was in knots at the sight of him being held captive.
It appeared that the Doctor and one of the aliens were having some sort of animated discussion, but she couldn’t hear a thing through the glass. She looked around for anything that might let her listen in. A small, round speaker grille was built into the dash; taking a chance, she turned the dial immediately next to it. The speaker crackled to life and the Doctor’s voice came through loud and clear.
“The thing I don’t understand is why? Your people are more than capable of making money the honest way. You excel at it. What makes this such a draw?”
The alien laughed. “Do you honestly think I could get away with legally breeding? These animals go for a small fortune on the black market. And I get twice as much for the pups as I do for the adults.”
“You can’t sell humans as pets!” Rose exclaimed, “It’s wrong!”
“Hence the whole black market thing.” The insect explained in a very patronising tone.
“So what are you going to do?” the Doctor asked. “Keep this up and hope no one notices that people come in but they don’t come out of here? Do you really think you can keep this up forever?”
Jackie looked around at the controls in front of her for something -- anything -- to help Tony, Rose, and the Doctor escape.
“Oh, it’s not sustainable, to be sure.” The alien replied “At least not here. We’ll move on to another part of the planet in a few weeks. In the next year, I’ll have enough stock in frozen storage to support myself very comfortably well into old age.”
“But it’s still wrong!” Rose protested.
“Wrong? Is it wrong for your people to poach and steal from the wildlife of your planet to make money from them? Do your people not steal from the coral reefs or the rainforests just to make a fortune? Talk to me when your people are not so hypocritical. Just because you are the merchandise in this particular scheme doesn’t make it any different.”
Up in the booth, Jackie was searching for some sort of sense in the controls. Something that would open a door or shut down the lighting. A sound from behind her made her spin and jump backwards, and when she landed, her backside pushed a lever.
One of the cranes along the wall leapt to life, and Jackie pounced. She seized the lever, jerking it this way and that in an attempt to steer it. Once she matched the lever movements to the crane’s, she started to guide it towards the alien lecturing the Doctor and Rose.
At this point, the aliens began to notice, as did the Doctor and Rose.
The alien on the platform with them began shouting orders at the security guards as Jackie manoeuvred the crane around the room. Some of the guards shot at the crane while others aimed for the control booth. Jackie fell to her knees, one arm protectively over her head in an attempt to shield herself from the shards of splintered glass which fell around her. She tried to keep steering, but the gunfire was coming too quickly for her to see where she was guiding the crane.
“Mum! Over here! Left! Left!” Rose called up to her. Jackie swung the crane to the left.
“No! Jackie, the other left! Our left, not your left! No, right!”
“Left, right?” Jackie was so disoriented at this point; she didn’t know which way to go.
“No! Right!”
Jackie pulled the lever hard to the right.
There was a whirring of gears as the crane shifted direction. It hurtled towards the alien on the platform, who waved his arms wildly in a vain attempt at self-defense. Suddenly the guns went silent; all eyes were fixed on the crane as it swung across the room. The Doctor fell flat onto his stomach, feeling the crane arm whizz by overhead and hearing the sickening crunch of it slamming square into the insectoid alien leader's exoskeleton. The creature toppled backward, off the platform and into the cylinder below. The cylinder began to light up in stages from the base to the top.
The alien clambered to his feet and stood, dazed, for a moment. There was a hiss: the alien, realizing what was about to happen, began frantically climbing up the sides, but it was too late. Clouds of steam filled the chamber, drowning out his anguished cries. Rose and the Doctor stepped back instinctively from the edge as the machine powered down and another crane burst into automated action. It reached down and pulled out a pod just like the ones seen in the cryogenic chamber. There, frozen in the act of trying to escape, was the alien.
The other Acridiods gathered around the capsule.
The Doctor spoke to them. “I believe this marks the end of this business venture. I’m sure you’ll all be compensated well for your grief. Now, if you don’t start reviving all the humans you have stored here, I’m afraid I’ll have to have my esteemed associate up there,” He waved at Jackie, who had stood and was picking pieces of broken glass from her hair with visible annoyance, “ensure you end up like your good friend here.”
There was no argument from any of the workers. Those with weapons laid them down and began making their way towards the exits.
“Rose!” Tony came barrelling at them through the crowd of children and Acridiods, jumping into Rose’s open arms. Jackie was making her way down the catwalk steps, the Acridiods she passed gave her a wide berth, some even visibly flinched when she brushed by.
When she reached the bottom, Tony squirmed out of Rose’s arms and ran towards Jackie. “Mum!”
Jackie scooped him up. “Careful, love, I’ve got glass all over me.”
“That was BRILLIANT!” Tony exclaimed. He looked at the alien then back at Jackie. “Can we take our next holiday trip on the TARDIS?”
“No!” the Doctor and Jackie said in unison.
“I’ve had quite enough travelling for now,” Jackie said, “and so have you.”
“But…”
“No. Besides, you have school in the morning.”
“Speaking of,” the Doctor interjected, “What time is it?”
Rose checked her watch. “It’s been at least five hours. The TARIDS should be done with the diagnostics by now, yeah?”
“Should be. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be able to leave. It depends on the results of the tests. Still, we won’t know until we get back there.”
“Well, then I’m going.” Jackie said. “I’m far too tired for any more of this nonsense.”
They followed the steps up to the hall, then down to the room where the children had been kept. As they made their way up the stairs into the lobby, they could hear the sounds of families being reunited.
By the time they reached the lobby, a group of black vehicles had swarmed the front of the building.
Rose looked puzzled. “Is that who I think it is?”
“I think it is.” The Doctor replied quietly. “We don’t need to draw any attention to ourselves. Let’s go.”
They slipped around the corner into an empty theater and found an emergency exit next to the screen. Opening the door set the alarms off again, but when the Torchwood agents finally traced the source of the alarm, all they found was an open door--and no one in sight.
…………………………
Safe in the TARDIS, the Doctor went over the readout of the diagnostic.
“It doesn’t make any sense.” The Doctor scratched his head. “Everything is showing as normal.”
“Fluke occurrence with a new TARDIS, then?” Rose asked.
“Hmmm. Maybe.”
“Well, can we go home, or can’t we?” asked an exhausted Jackie. "I already let Tony stay up past his bedtime to watch his favourite show. It's long past time we were all in bed."
The Doctor stood straight. “I don’t see why not. There’s nothing indicating it would be dangerous to attempt again.”
He moved around the console and began the dematerialisation sequence, occasionally directing Rose to a switch or dial here or there.
The TARDIS finally came to a stop; Jackie cast a perturbed look at the Doctor as she pulled herself back up to her feet.
The Doctor went to the door and opened it slowly. There, about ten feet from him, Frederick the Swan was chasing a small grasshopper across the yard.
“Home again!” he called back to the trio.
Jackie picked Tony up and carried him out the door. “To bed with you, mister.” She said.
“No bath?” Tony grinned.
“No bath. I’m too tired and I’m in need of a good scrub, myself. You get a pass, for now.”
Tony waved his arms in the air. “Woo!”
Rose laughed as she hugged Jackie and Tony. “Bye, Mum. Bye, Squirt.” She ruffled his hair.
Jackie returned the hug. “You know, you weren’t half bad with those kids in there. I just know you’d make a fabulous mum.”
Rose’s eyes went wide. The Doctor went into a spasm of coughing.
“Um. Yeah. Maybe.” Rose patted the Doctor’s back. “We’ll see, Mum.”
“Think about it! You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
The Doctor composed himself. “Well, hate to rush off, lovely to see you, as always, must get going. Bye now!” He fairly bolted to the TARDIS.
Rose laughed and waved goodbye to her mother and brother. “See you later. Love you.”
“Love you. Be careful.” Jackie replied.
Rose waited until they reached the door. As Tony and Jackie headed into the house, they waved back at her. She returned the wave and turned to go.
Rose returned to the TARDIS, only to find the Doctor wasn’t in the console room. She went straight back to their room, and discovered him already sound asleep in their bed. She toed her shoes off and slipped under the covers. She threw a pillow that was between them onto the floor and snuggled up to him. He grunted at the disturbance, but didn’t shift. Her eyes closed, and she felt an arm settle over her. As she drifted off, she thought about what Tony had said. A holiday sounded like a lovely idea.
The TARDIS hummed as the lights dimmed for the night. Even she’d had enough excitement for one day.
…………………………
Next week: The Embers of Alexandria by principia_coh