A silvery-matte cylinder of a ship descended through the atmosphere, though it had no wings, nor obvious means of propulsion. It came to rest while it was still some five meters above the bridge between structures. It would not be landing, for cautionary reasons. Three well-trained people in skin-tight white full-body suits jumped out the side hatch the moment it opened. They took up defensive positions while the last two stepped out flanking a white ovoid pod that hovered on its own, and came to rest about a meter off the ground. One of the group signaled toward the nearest opening, and they rushed forward, but stop at the entrance. Another one tossed a couple of disk-shaped pucks into the darkness beyond, which clattered across the marble floor and sparked to life as soon as they came to rest. The room inside instantly became too bright to look at, as the chemical flares activated.
The group ran in, two of them keeping a hand on the floating pod like angelic pall-bearers. The woman at the front of the group took some readings with a hand-held scanner, and pointed toward an off-kilter square hole in the far side of the room. "There," she said.
The man holding the flare pucks pulled another from his bag and threw it through the hole, banishing the darkness beyond.
"Move," Captain Hadrox commanded, and the group quickly stepped over into the room beyond. The pod scraped its underside against the bottom of the hole as it floated past.
The group had done this seventeen times in Matrix simulation already, and they'd only succeeded four of those times. Hadrox looked at her chronometer and shook her head. Hopefully the omnipresent threat of death would make them work more efficiently that they had in simulation.
The one with the scanner lead them off to the left, and they continued on in this way, through a maze of bookcases, stopping occasionally for the woman to wave her scanner about, collecting another reading, or for another chemical puck to be thrown out in front of them, lighting the way ahead.
They soon came to a round marble room with a compass rose at its center. Another member of the group ran to a terminal on the far side of the room. He pulled off his backpack and unzipped it. A computer unfolded and came to life within the backpack, and he quickly took two cables from his computer and plugged them into the terminal. After a few moments of furious typing, he disconnected the computer and re-zipped the backpack, nodding to the captain. She looked at her chronometer again. "Nine minutes, fourteen seconds. We're doing well. Everyone to the gravity platform."
They all step inside inside the borders of the compass rose, and they were surrounded by a curtain of energy, then swiftly plummeted into the depths of the world's core.
Captain Hadrox took a moment to examine the readings on the side of the floating pod. Satisfied that it was operating at peak efficiency, she nodded, stood, and addressed the man with the flare pucks. "Lisson, how many pucks remaining?"
He looked inside his pouch. "Only two," he said.
"Damn. You used up too many already. We won't have any for the return journey."
"Well, maybe you're okay risking the shadows up there, but I'm for safe rather than sorry."
"Not much we can do about it now, but we need another on this platform."
He pulled one out of the bag and held it grimly for a moment before dropping it. The air around the group was flooded with a bright white light.
The platform came to rest in an area as different from the Library above as it was possible to be. Metal and concrete instead of wood and marble. Cramped and oppressive instead of open and inviting.
The woman with the scanner pointed off down one of the artificially lit corridors. "There."
Lisson held onto the last puck until they reached the edge of the flare light, then rolled it into the darkened chamber ahead. It sparked to life, illuminating their destination: the computer interface at the core of the Library.
They ran into the room, and quickly identified the access ports. The man with the backpack whipped it off and set up next to the terminal. Captain Hadrox kept a close eye on the chronometer, and one hand on the pod. She kept glancing up to verify her team were putting everything in place.
They maneuvered the floating pod next to the access port, while the other one pulled the cables out of his computer. He swore.
"What is it?" Hadrax asked urgently.
"The ports are fried. It looks like someone used a sonic torch on them! This is going to take a lot longer than expected."
"We should abort!" Lisson said.
"No, there's no going back at this point. This mission is paramount. You know what it means for the fate of the universe if we fail." She looked around the room, nodding meaningfully to each of them, and waiting for them to nod in return.
"All in," said the woman with the scanner.
Lisson scowled, but in the end, he too nodded. "All in," he spat.
"Damn it, Doctor," Hadrax said under her breath. "Okay, Braden, pull off the access panel and splice in directly. Kidrick, help him." This had never happened in simulation. She could almost hear the flare pucks in the Library above sputtering their last.
The other woman who had been escorting the pod joined Braden at the access panel and started sorting and splicing wires. The captain tried to distract herself from checking the time by checking the status of the pod. All was still green.
After several tense minutes, they got the computer connected. They took another cable out and hooked it directly to the pod, then Braden pulled a switch beside the access port, and it hummed with activity. The pod began to glow, and a progress bar on the status panel began to fill in. The hum grew in pitch as the bar filled.
Once it reached a hundred percent, the humming stopped. The pod hissed vapor, and a seam appeared around the edge. The top half slid away. There was a woman inside, dressed identically to the rest of them, but with wild blonde hair. The vapor enshrouding her slowly dissipated. Kidrick returned to the side of the floating pod and pressed three fingers against the glowing white side of it, then twisted. There was an electric whine, like a flashbulb powering up. She slammed her fist down on the center of the invisible circle she had described, and the whine was replaced with a loud thunk.
The woman in the pod sat bolt upright with a pained gasp. She looked around at them all, her eyes wild and frightened.
"Pretney!" the captain called out.
The woman with the scanner ran around the side of the pod to kneel next to the woman. She held the scanner in front of her face. "Don't be afraid. You're safe. Do you remember your name?"
"Quickly, everyone. The moment she's able to walk, we have to be prepared to move. Braden, leave the computer. Don't waste time packing it. Kidrick. I want that gravity platform ready to return to the surface as soon as we get there." The group leapt into action.
The woman in the pod pushed the scanner away from her face. "Who… Where am I?"
"You're in the Library. Try to remember how you got here. A little disorientation is normal. Do you remember your name?" Pretney repeated.
"River. Professor River Song," she finally managed.
"Good," Pretney said. She put the scanner in a pouch at her belt and nodded to the captain. "Do you think you can stand, Professor Song? We have to move."
"Vashta Nerada!" River said. She swung her legs numbly over the side of the pod, and tried to put some weight on them. "No, I don't think so."
The captain lifted one of River's arms and put it around her shoulder. "That's to be expected. They've never had blood circulating through them before."
The dim electric lights of the room began to blink, and everyone looked up at them in fear. "Pretney, get the other side," the captain ordered.
River put out her arm toward Pretney, and the two lifted her to her feet. "To the platform, now," the captain said, and they ran River across the room, the toes of her shoes dragging behind her. The group moved on down the corridor and gathered on the center of the platform. It immediately shot upward.
"How much time did we lose?" Lisson asked.
"It doesn't matter," the captain scolded. "We move as fast as we can either way, and we pray to Omega that the pucks hold out against them."
"What's going on? Who are you?" River asked. "Why did you come for me?"
"I'm Captain Hadrax. We're from the CIA."
"Central Intelligence Agency?" River asked in surprise.
"Celestial Intervention Agency. We're Time Lords," Captain Hadrax said.
The platform arrived at the surface, forestalling any more questions. The chemical flares closest to them were still burning brightly, but in the distance, they could see the darkness encroaching.
"River, do your best to help. Everyone else, run!"
Lisson lead the way, followed by Kidrick. Hadrax and Pretney helped River to hobble along after them, and Braden took up the rear. River did her best, but it felt like both her legs were asleep. Each step was painful pins and needles along the full length.
They made it to a corridor that had bookshelves coming in from alternating sides, and as the pucks began to run out of fuel, the radii of safety began to shrink and separate.
Lisson stepped across the gap between two lighted areas and immediately began to convulse. Kidrick grabbed him by the arm, trying to pull him back into the light. Lisson turned toward her, a look of shock, rather than fear or pain, on his face. The arm of his suit came away in Kidrick's hand, revealing only bone underneath. In an instant, the skin was eaten away from his skull, and his hair drifted to the floor. A moment later, his suit toppled over.
Kidrick dropped the arm she was holding, and the remaining group huddled together around the puck.
"Shields on, everyone. We still have to move." She pressed a small button at the collar of River's suit, then did her own. River felt a tingling sensation over her face and scalp.
The captain nudged the puck with her foot, pushing it forward until the circle of light they were in met the next one. "Go. We haven't time to waste."
They ran to the next puck, then edged it forward and ran to the next. River pushed away from Hadrax and Pretney. "I think I can manage now." The captain nodded and let go, then rushed with Kidrick on to the next light. River joined them, then the others.
They pushed on in this accordion style, through the stacks of books. All the while, the light was getting fainter and the urgency to progress faster became more urgent. That's why everyone was surprised when River stopped them.
"Do you need help?" the captain asked.
"No, it's not me. It's her." River pointed to Kidrick. "She's got two shadows."
Kidrick looked down, and everyone else backed away, as far as the light circle would allow. The captain tried to keep them on track. "Don't panic. They can't swarm if you keep to the light. The shield should keep them out if there aren't too many."
"It really won't," River said. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It feels like centuries ago, but at the same time, only yesterday. I watched my friends get eaten one by one. Once the Vashta Nerada latch onto a food source, they never let go."
"We can't just leave her here," Braden said.
"She can come with us," the captain said. "Just don't cross her shadow." She pushed the puck forward with her foot, then looked back up. Where Kidrick had been standing a moment ago, only her skeleton remained. The suit fell to the ground.
"Run!" River said.
They ran to the next circle of light, and River didn't even stop when they got there, she kicked the puck forward and ran along with it, staying just inside the circle of light. They reached the next puck, and she kicked both of them forward, but the next one was sputtering out, and it lay in front of a square hole cut in the wall. There would be no kicking a puck through that.
"Torches out!" the captain called out. River watched frantically as the Time Lords all pulled a torch from a pouch at their back. She felt around for hers, and pulled the torch out and switched it on.
They stood in a circle with their torches pointed outward. "Through the hole, quickly," River said.
They climbed over, two at a time, and made for the atrium, under the skylight, backs pressed together. They breathed again once they reached it. River shone her torch at the exit, daylight visible outside. No more than five meters. So close, but certain death between them and escape.
"How long can we stay here?" River asked, pointing her torch at the skylight above them.
"There are several hours still before sunset, but what does it gain us to wait?"
"Time to think. Which direction is sunset?"
Pretney pointed her torch at the opposite wall.
"Damn. You couldn't have found a westward-facing exit? How about guns? Do we have any weapons?"
"The Doctor doesn't approve of guns… we thought—"
"Rule number seven: Never confuse me with my husband!"
"What good would guns be against the Vashta Nerada?"
"Not against them! To blow a hole through the wall and let the sunlight in! Okay. Torches it is, then. If we lay them here, side by side, we can create a path…" She set hers down.
"Captain, your shadow…" Braden said. The captain looked down to see she had two.
"Damn," she said. Her voice was full of resignation. "It was an honor serving with you all. Remember the mission is more important than our lives. River Song must survive." She dug into a pouch at her side and threw something to River.
River unwrapped the chamois-like material to find a vortex manipulator and her sonic screwdriver. She looked back up just in time to see the captain's face peeled from the bone beneath. She looked to the two remaining Time Lords. "But why? What is the mission? What did you gain by resurrecting me? What could possibly be worth so many Time Lord deaths?"
"It's the Doctor, ma'am," Braden said. "And it had to be you. He is in desperate trouble, and he would never accept our aid."
Pretney stood with her back to them, shining her torch in a wide arc. "Here ma'am." She held a pistol out toward River without looking. River took it with numb fingers. "It wouldn't do much good against masonry, ma'am, but hopefully you'll find use for a staser."
"Why are you talking like that? We've got a vortex manipulator! It can take three!"
"Sorry ma'am, it's too late for me." She lowered her head to look at their feet. "For us. Both of the Time Lords had multiple shadows.
The Doctor sat against the bars of his bare cell, whistling a somber Venusian tune and idly tapping at the bars with his handcuffs as a percussive accompaniment.
The security door at the end of his little hallway buzzed, and a light turned green over the top of it before it slid open. Eric marched in, flanked by the two smaller hunters, Wilkit and Spine. Despite the emotionless appearance of the metallic blue armor that the Doctor never saw him without, Eric was obviously infuriated. He came to a stop just in front of the bars, staring down at the Doctor with his glowing electronic eyes. "Search him," he said in his gravelly voice.
"But we already searched him," either Wilkit or Spine said. It was impossible to tell them apart. They were born twins, and any trace of individuality was completely overwhelmed by the effects of the drugs being constantly pumped into their systems. "Took us forever to empty his pockets."
"Yeah. We pulled out five bags of random dren!" the other one agreed.
"Speaking of… If I could just get my harmonica back… my mouth is getting sore from whistling," the Doctor said.
"Well search him again!" Eric yelled, ignoring the Doctor's request. "If he has so much as a sonic navel-piercing, I want it ripped out of him! I know he's getting out of this cell, I just don't know how!"
They opened up the cell and picked the Doctor up by the handcuffs. They slammed him against the wall and one started sticking his hands, elbow deep, into the Doctor's pants pockets, while the other lifted his shirt and hoodie up over his head, patting him down.
"Save yourself some trouble, Doctor, and tell me how you're doing it," Eric growled.
"Doing what, exactly, if you don't mind? Sorry if it sounds like I'm enjoying this a bit, it's just that this is the first real conversation I've had in the last month."
"Getting out of your cell!" Eric yelled, slamming a huge fist against the bars, denting them slightly. "Every now and then, that camera glitches, and when it comes back, you're not in your cell. By the time I send someone down here, you're back where you belong, but when we review the footage, there's another convenient glitch.
"Well, that makes no sense at all. If I can get out of this cell so easily, why do you always find me back in it?"
"I don't know! But I've never seen so many things go wrong on board this ship, and I'm certain you're responsible. The soup dispenser in my cabin gave me a bowl of toxic mud this morning!"
"I don't know about you, but I'd get my engineer on that right away," the Doctor advised.
"Glorr was my engineer, and she hasn't been seen in days!" Eric yelled. "I sent her down here to check on you when you disappeared from the camera, and nobody's seen her since!"
"Talk about your dereliction of duty!" the Doctor sympathized.
Eric growled with rage and punched the wall, leaving behind a sizable impression of his fist.
"He's clean, Eric," the twins announced timidly.
"Well then, scan him! He must have swallowed something, or its behind his eyeball, or in the filling of a molar!"
"There's really not, you know," the Doctor said levelly.
Eric stood staring through the bars of the Doctor's cell at him for a long while. The Doctor stared right back into the LED eyes of his suit. Finally, Eric took a more relaxed posture. "In case you thought you got rid of Z'krith as well, you didn't. We had to turn the ship around, but we found him floating out in space. He'll make a full recovery, and I can't wait to hear his story. Do you want to give me your version first?"
"There's not much to tell, really," the Doctor said with exaggerated innocence. "He came to visit me. She? I can never really tell with Krellians."
"He. Go on." Eric refused to rise to the taunting.
"He seemed to think like you do. That I had something to do with Glorr's disappearance. I told him that she had come to see me, but she left soon afterward. I told him I had reason to believe that Glorr may have gone to inspect Port Airlock 51-B." He shrugged.
"And why did you tell him that?" Eric growled at him.
"Well, mostly because I didn't know his species could survive in a vacuum without an environment suit."
Eric looked like he was going to lose it entirely. He pulled back his fist as if to punch the wall again, but stopped himself. He grasped the bars of the cell as if he would pull them apart, but didn't. Finally, he reached between the bars for the Doctor's throat, but once again stopped before reaching him.
"Spine!" he yelled.
The twin on the Doctor's right flinched. "Yes Eric?"
"Hit him. A lot. I'm going to see if Z'krith is able to speak yet." He turned to leave. "I want to hear from you later about the Doctor's screams."
Spine smiled broadly and punched the Doctor hard in the lower back. The Doctor gasped, and would have fallen to his knees except Wilkit was holding him pressed against the wall. As soon as he had breath to speak, he called out, "Eric!"
The hulking beast in baby blue armor stopped, and turned in place just before reaching the security door.
"It's not your fault. You were just doing what bounty hunters do. I went with you because I wanted to go. I have to put a stop to this, and you were a means to that end. But understand this. After I've dealt with the Droge, if you are subjugating a star system, you'll be next on my list."
Eric stood in place for a long time. "I'll be on the bridge. Bring me stories of his pain."
The bounty hunters' ship put down just below the steps to the Droge's Grand Palace. The ramp lowered onto the red carpet, and Eric walked out, standing for a moment on the solid ground of the steps, the began ascending to the palace high above. The twins followed, back in their sleeveless armor. The two could easily be told apart at this point, as one had his arm in a cast, and the other walked with a limp. Then came the crystalline Mantis form of Z'krith, seemingly recovered from the trauma he had suffered in the rigors of deep space. Last down the ramp was the two-headed giant they called Mycotis. In one massive hand it was carrying the Doctor, wrapped in chains from head to toe, with a metal plate clamped over his mouth.
Both sides of the red carpet were flanked by guards in symbolic regalia, holding halberds at rest. A crowd, more massive than the population of many planets, had gathered in the open area at the bottom of the stairs, surrounding the ship. The bounty hunters carried the Doctor up the seemingly endless stairs to the sounds of the cheering crowd.
At the top of the steps was a wide open area. A mountain top had been leveled and paved to put the palace on. Pools and fountains lined both sides of the path to the grand doors of the palace. The red-trimmed golden flags of the Droge hung down on either sides of the massive doors behind corinthian columns. The palace sprawled for miles, a triumph of romanesque architecture, with white marble and red tile roofs, accented with shining gold inlays.
They crossed the courtyard and entered under the tall doors. The Droge's receiving room looked more like a cathedral. It was well lit, with orb lights suspended from mighty pillars, and a large stained-glass skylight depicting the Droge floating in the open sky surrounded by cherubim. There were pews set up from just inside the doors, as far as the eye could see, to the distant curtains of red-trimmed gold. From here, the Droge's throne looked like a spec, but still, all the pews were filled with pilgrims, penitents and visitors. The ones lining the aisle held rotten fruits which they hurled at the Doctor as he passed, careful not to strike the bounty hunters, whom they were cheering loudly.
By the time they got to the dais, the Doctor was dripping with liquid from some of the juicier vegetables and covered with leafy bits that had stuck to it.
The Droge sat on a golden throne, padded in red velvet. She watched the procession with a joyous smile. She was a pretty waif of a girl who looked to be barely out of her teens, with dramatic makeup and a long ponytail braided with gold. Her apparent youth was a facade though, because it had been nearly a thousand years since the Doctor had last met her, and she had been busy during that time, rebuilding and then expanding her empire.
On one side of the throne stood her husbands, dressed only in loincloths. One held a bowl of fruit, the next a pitcher and chalice, and the last held a tincture of perfume. On the other side of her stood her wives. They wore full length gowns, nearly sheer, with bejeweled necklaces, and veils across their faces. One held a pitcher of water, another held a data display tablet, and the last held a lute. Each stood ready to service the Droge's slightest whim at a moment's notice.
Mycotis set the Doctor down on his feet, keeping a hand on the end of his chain to keep him from falling over. The rest of the bounty hunters stood at attention in a row in front of the Droge's throne. Eric gave a silent signal and the group bowed as one. If anything, the cheering from the crowd got louder.
The Droge rocked back and forth in her throne with excitement. She relished the cheering of the crowd for another several moments, then finally, held up one finger. The crowd instantly fell silent. She waited a few moments more before speaking.
"You know," she said, "there were days — dark days indeed — when I thought this moment would never come. But this day?" She smiled a dazzling white smile. "This is a good one. Damn, it's good! I'm thinking of declaring this a holiday. The whole galaxy, today only, party like we just caught the Doctor."
She looked around at the crowd, then back at him. An evil glint entered her eye. "Yeah. That's what I'm doing. Work can wait until tomorrow. From this day forward, every Gabrielidan year, everyone is to party. If I hear of anyone having anything less than a stellar time, that's the last drop of milk they ever get."
There was silence after her words, until she looked up at the crowd, and a deafening cheer went up. She smiled and held up a finger. The crowd quieted once more.
"So, I get all the chains. A bit kinky, really, but I understand. You don't want him to escape. Very smart, he's pretty wily. But what's up with the gag? My favorite part is hearing them beg." She put on a mock whiny voice. "Please, I'm sorry, I'll never do it again. Someone help me for god's sake. Hey, those were my favorite fingers." The smile disappeared from her face, and her voice returned to normal. "What's the point of torturing them if you can't hear them beg?"
Eric cleared his throat. "Yes, well, your majesty. We discovered a little late, that the Doctor is just as dangerous with his tongue left free as the rest of him. He talked two of my crew separately into stepping out of an airlock into deep space, then he convinced these two geniuses that he'd wired up the self-destruct, and it was up to them to fix it."
The Droge laughed, a hearty, genuine laugh. "That's rich!" she said when she could speak again. She wiped away a tear. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I will make him pay a thousand times over for that. And besides, you have fewer ways to split your prize now, don't you?"
"Yes, your majesty," Eric said with a bow.
"Well, off with you then. Don't spend your star system all in one place. Guards! Get him out of those chains and that muzzle."
A group of guards in golden armor took hold of the Doctor and started unwinding the chains. One of the approached, and grabbed his muzzle.
"Are you sure that is wise, majesty?" Eric asked. Everyone stopped, and the room went silent as the entire assemblage held their breath.
"You bring me a wanted fugitive, and suddenly you think you're my bloody counsel? Of course I think it was wise, or else I wouldn't have said it. If he runs he's not going to get very far, and I want to hear his next words. I bet he's been planning them since you left Earth. I bet he's got a whole speech prepared, and I bet it starts with, 'I'm going to give you one chance.' Am I right, Doctor?" She leaned forward in her throne.
The guard removed the muzzle clamped over the Doctor's mouth. He licked his lips and exercised his jaw, then blew at a piece of lettuce that had stuck to his face. He turned to Eric and said, "Remember what I said. Don't get on my bad side."
"Hey! Eyes front, Time Lord!" the Droge shouted. She pointed a finger at Eric. "And what are you still doing here? Stop distracting my prisoner and get the hell out of here before my patience and my bounty expire."
Eric bowed again, then turned and left, preceded by the rest of his crew.
"Bring him to me. Cast him to the ground in front of me!" The guards finished cutting through the chains and shoved the Doctor roughly to the ground in front of her throne. "Now beg! Beg me for mercy. I want to hear it. I want to televise it across the galaxy!"
The Doctor looked up at her. "I'm not going to beg you. I'm going to stop you. Again."
"No! You did it wrong. You went with the boring, predictable, unrealistic answer. Guards!"
One of the guards shoved an electric prod into the base of his spine. The Doctor screamed in pain, his back arching reflexively.
"Now do its right this time."
The Doctor looked up again, breathing heavily. For the first time, he noticed the woman directly to the Droge's left. Even with the veil, he'd know those eyes, that hair anywhere. And she was edging closer to the Droge. Their eyes locked.
"No!" the Doctor yelled.
The Droge's expression changed to one of confusion. She saw his gaze, and started to turn toward River.
"Do your worst to me, Droge of Gabrielides, I will never submit!" he yelled. The Droge turned back toward him. "The only reason I'm here now is because I wanted this face-off. I don't know how you've risen to power once again after I defeated you the last time, but I promise that I will bring you down, and that no one will rise to replace you!"
The Doctor was saying all this to the Droge, but River understood that it was really directed at her. She hesitated a moment longer, with her hand inside the mouth of the water pitcher, the butt of a staser pistol barely visible to him there. In the end, she gave one small nod toward the Doctor, and stepped back away from the Droge, removing her hand from the pitcher.
"Well, then," the Droge said, in a low, dangerous voice. "I'll take your advice and do my worst. Guards! Dose him!"
One of the guards grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up into a kneeling position, while another couple guards grabbed him by the arms.
"Wait, wait, wait," the Doctor said. "You don't have to do this."
The smile returned to the Droge's face, and a twinkle to her eye. "I'm the Droge. I don't have to do anything."
A fourth guard pushed the Doctor's face to the side and jammed a syringe deep into his neck. A rush of euphoria went with it.
The guards let go of the Doctor, and he slumped back onto all fours. The Droge sat back in her throne.
She sighed. "That was the moment, right there, where you became mine. But the moment when you realize it comes a little later. The bit in the middle is boring as hell. Guards, take him to a cell. Bring him back to me when he starts screaming."