The hammock swung gently in the warm breeze. The Doctor lay, eyes closed and arms crossed in its cradle. The sound of the nearby lake with it's slow lazy waves moving with the air caught his attention. He raised himself on his elbows and gazed at it. In the dappled light that reached her body he could just make out Rose, her figure distorted by the rippling water as she glided below its surface. He exhaled and rested in the hammock once more. She was safe here, he was reasonably certain of that. It wouldn't last, but the assurance of it settled his spirit in ways he couldn't begin to explain, even to himself. The sound of the water breaking as she surfaced reached his ears, he smiled. Safe, the word was like a beacon, and he felt himself begin to drift off.
"It's like heaven," she called out and his eyes snapped open "this is earth?"
He closed his eyes once more. "Sort of," he answered slowly "but it's more a revamped earth... earth 2.0" he grinned.
She tread water and gazed into the blue green sky. "Where's the sun?"
"The what?"
"The sun, you can't tell me this is earth if there's no sun."
"It's there, it's just diffused by the radiation shield." He pointed upward.
Rose followed the direction with her eyes. In the distance a yellow pink spot hung fuzzily over the horizon. She looked at it quietly for a moment, then the silence was broken by the growling of her stomach. What time was it anyway, she thought. It was difficult to keep track in the TARDIS. They could only have been here a couple of hours, but was that a sunrise or a sunset? If the light was diffused it could be either. Her stomach growled again insisting it was sunrise and breakfast was in order.
She swam for the shore. As she left the water she began to examine the small net that hung from her hip. She'd found mostly small shells, nothing special, but the stone was something else. She fished into the net and pulled it out carefully. Gasping, she held it out at arms length, it was glowing. Under the water it simply looked like it was reflecting the sunlight. Now in her own element she could clearly see it emanating light. She walked toward the hammock. "Doctor what it this thing?"
He sat up quickly. "Drop it Rose, drop it now!" She drew back her hand as though it had been slapped. The rough sphere dropped heavily into the sand. He stood up and walked to the object, his eyes narrowed as he examined it. The light began to pulse faintly as he approached, and he broke out in a broad grin. "Oh, it's nothing" he laughed, relief evident in his voice. "just a piece of Earth junk, a radiation detector, probably to test the effectiveness of the shield in this area..." he paused as Rose knelt to retrieve the sphere "look its not even working properly."
Rose turned the object in her hand, its quartz-like surface glittered with the pulsing light. "How can you tell?"
"It's indicating an increase in UV radiation" he turned to look at her "you getting a burn?"
She smiled sweetly "no."
"Then it's junk... keep it."
She shot him an incredulous glance "it's not yours to give."
"It's going to be replaced anyway, keep it." He gazed at her attire as she replaced the sphere in the mesh bag. "I've never understood why humans insist on covering up to swim, it's not as if that bathing suit will keep you warm."
"What?" Rose smiled "Am I just supposed to swim naked?" She watched him carefully to gauge his reaction.
He didn't even blink, but shrugged and shifted his gaze to the to the rising sun. "You can do what you like, I was just saying."
"Well I'd like to get some breakfast, any chance?"
"I think there's an open market that way..." he pointed east, then thought about it a bit and pointed north instead "that way" he repeated.
"My hero" she teased. He gave her a goofy grin and put out an arm for her to take. Threading her arm through his, they walked north up the sandy path.
Ti began putting down the tellescreen on his desk, closing it with a satisfying snap. The office was winding down and its occupants were already getting ready to leave. He turned to Polly as she sat preening herself on her perch. Holopets were not allowed as a rule, but today was not an inspection day and nearly everyone in the office had one. He smiled and switched her off. She faded from existence with an angry squawk He was never quite sure why he had chosen a parrot, in real life they scared the hell out of him.
He was turning to leave when he nearly ran into Jenna. "Whoa, I'm sorry, where are you off to so quickly anyway?" he paused as he gazed into her panic stricken face. Her red hair hung in a tousled heap from her head and a deepening bruise decorated her left eye. "What the hell happened?" He glanced up as other workers from fifth level began to press reluctantly into the room, each in a similar state of disarray. Behind them three hooded men followed with photon pistols, herding his coworkers into third level.
"Shield resistance." Jenna whispered to him softly.
"What, those nutters who want the shield down because they think all's well and the levels are safe?" She nodded. "But they've never done anything like this" he stammered.
"There will be silence!" one of the men shouted as the last of the workers entered the area.
From behind him a man dressed entirely in black came forward, he carried no weapon and stood a foot taller than his beige clad companions. He pulled the hood back from his head. Raven black hair tumbled out of the hood as his dark eyes examined the crowd. "This is the place," she said simply "the one we seek is here." He moved towards the crowd and they shrunk at his approach. "One of you will finish this" he said softly, and then he began to recite: "To go into the dark with a light, is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark..." he spread his arms outward, palms up and waited for a response.
The crowd stared at him in fearful expectation
"Will no one answer?" He scanned them solemnly, his eyes unreadable. Seconds ticked by.
"Very well," he responded he turned to his men "select one of them for the test, I don't care which."
One of the men lowered his pistol and grabbed hold of Ti's shoulder. "What is this?" he screamed as he was pulled from the group "What are you going do to me?" He struggled violently until he felt a cool blade sink into his skin just below his shoulder. "No!" he started to scream once more but a hand clamped over his mouth. The blood pooled silently into his shirt. Ti realized through his terror that the flow was slow, not the regular pulse of a severed artery. The man who held him knew what he was doing and he didn't want him dead. At least not yet.
The man in black began again. "To go into the dark with a light, is to know the light. To know the dark,
go dark..."
"...go without sight," a voice whispered in response "and find that dark, too blooms and sings and is traveled
by dark feet, and dark wings."
He strode toward the source of the voice, a small red haired woman with downcast eyes. The crowd began to draw away from her as he approached, but she remained still.
"I am Meridian," he said in a comforting tone "and you are?"
"Jenna" she replied, her voice breaking.
"Which camp did your grandparents come from?"
She glanced up at him briefly and lowered her eyes again. "I don't know what you mean."
"Again!" Meridian called to his men. The blade was raised to Ti's throat. Then suddenly a metallic hum filled the air and the knife was wrenched from the attacker's grasp. It lurched to the center of the room and hung unsteadily on a shifting air current as the hum continued. Meridian examined the girl, her eyes closed in a concentrated effort. He gently clasped her shoulder and her eyes opened, the humming ceased, and the blade clattered to the office floor.
"Is that the first time you've ever done that?" he asked her.
"No" she said softly. She glanced up at Ti's face, which was now a mask of awe and disgust. Her shoulders sank and her head lowered once more.
Meridian stepped forward "You've nothing to fear from him," he said softly "he's not of our kind, and unworthy of being your judge." He lifted her chin so that she faced him. With his face now revealed and so close to hers, she could see a strange grayness, a faint silver hue in his pale skin.
"What are you?" she asked with a shudder.
"What am I?" he smiled "I'm like you..." he reached forward and gently cupped her cheek in his other hand. Her fear drained from her instantly, and a new sensation took it's place. She could sense it... she was no longer alone, no longer the pretender hiding her true self from the world. She was suddenly whole. "I gather my children together," he whispered "each of them gives me a gift..." he released her and strode to where Ti was still held. "and I give them gifts in return." With a slow steady motion, he waved his hand over Ti's shoulder. The circle of blood in his shirt began to disappear, slowly fading from the outside in. Ti's eyes began to roll back in his head, but when the blood had vanished he regained his composure. The man holding him stepped back. Ti raised a shaking hand to his shoulder.
"It's gone" he gasped.
Meridian turned back to the girl. "Which camp?" he insisted.
"Red camp" she said softly "Sector R1."