Note: This takes place after 42.
Chapter 1: Flight Theories
Martha was the first to step out of the TARDIS. As soon as she opened the doors, she could hear water and an off-key chorus of what sounded like woodwinds. She knew the Doctor meant for the pair to see the waterfall, so Martha went ahead with the Doctor trailing along. Soon, she saw a waterfall with a straight line crest measuring what she'd guess to be nearly 100 meters in length.
"Is that music coming from the waterfall?" Martha asked when the Doctor caught up with her.
"Yeah. Behind the waterfall are burrows with double entrances. The wind from the falling water produces the sounds that vary based on how much water happens to be in those burrows."
"I once listened to a fellow medical student named Deven Beerison try to play the recorder. This waterfall reminds me of that. It's a wretched sound, but all the same, this one's amazing at the same time."
After another minute of admiring the scenery and its odd sounds, Martha noticed a body floating in the water. She directed the Doctor's attention to it and they pulled it out. A quick scan from the sonic screwdriver confirmed death. Martha thought that the deceased resembled a normal human being. Another visitor passed by and realized what was going on, so he summoned the authorities. This passerby also looked like a normal human being except that he had wings in place of arms protruding from his sides. Soon after, regional security, represented by four individuals, arrived.
The Doctor approached a man who looked like he was in charge. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. This is Martha. She's the one who noticed the body."
"I am Ruven,"the man replied. He also had wings instead of arms. "Thank you for removing him from the water." Ruven looked closely at the corpse, taking a close look at his eyes and running a small scanner through the body. "He is a Glet."
"Really?" the Doctor asked. "It takes a lot to kill a Glet, yet this man looks fine."
"You are familiar with Glet physiology, Doctor?" Ruven asked.
"Just a little bit."
"This is the fourth Glet we've seen dead in such a short amount of time, but we don't know what's happening. The Glet population on this planet has been growing rapidly and this planet is not yet ready to accommodate them all."
"Perhaps illness?" the Doctor offered. Using his sonic screwdriver, he concluded that the Glet was sick. Indications pointed to a recent history of seizures and irregular blood flow. "Muhban's disease is common among the Glets; less so on this planet, but still . . . "
"We'll take him back so our labs can make a confirmation."
"Well, we'll be off then," the Doctor said as he motioned to Martha. "Good luck with your investigation."
"Doctor," Martha began when they entered the TARDIS. "We haven't been here long. Can we visit another part of the planet?"
"Of course," the Doctor replied as he started to control the TARDIS. He was reluctant to leave as well, even though he knew he couldn't do much to solve the rest of Ruven's case.
A short time later, the Doctor and Martha walked along another scenic view.
"So what planet is this, anyway?" Martha asked as she noticed a figure flying overhead, propelled by his own wings. "And when is this?"
"It's called Chebott. It's a part of the Kian Empire. Teters are the dominant species here, they're the ones with wings instead of arms, but the empire's social structure is introducing many other species to the planet. We're thirty years into your future."
"How big is the Kian Empire?"
"It spans the entire galaxy, so this galaxy is named after it. It used to be bigger, but it cut back. All the planets in the galaxy belong to the Kian Empire except for four planets belonging to two very close allies."
At that moment, the Doctor and Martha heard a cry from the sky. The Teter that Martha saw dropped onto the ground. By the time the Doctor and Martha arrived to help the Teter, they saw a group of three individuals trying to restrain the Teeter and haul him off. The attempted kidnappers were gray with long heads and eyes that reminded the Doctor of the Ood. These three, Larodeens, also had long fingers and flabby necks. Martha noticed knobs on their backs around ten centimeters in length.
"Stop!" the Doctor demanded of the Larodeens.
"Keep away, whoever you are!" one of them cried back as a small ship arrived by remote.
The Larodeens' divided attention allowed the Teter to break free momentarily and kick two Larodeens while hovering before turning to the third in an arm-to-wing fight. Before the other two Larodeens fully recovered, Martha took hold of a gun that a Larodeen dropped and aimed it.
"The Doctor said 'Stop!'" Martha yelled.
"And who are you supposed to be?" one of the Larodeens asked.
"I'm Martha Jones."
The Teter used the opportunity to remove a different gun from a Larodeen and zapped all three into unconsciousness.
"Thank you," the Teter said to Martha and the Doctor. "I am Amlin."
"You can put that gun down now, Martha," the Doctor remarked.
Martha noted the Doctor's tone and facial expression. "You don't have to worry; I wasn't actually going to use it." She turned to Amlin. "We just spoke to an investigator called Ruven for something else. We could try to get him back for you."
"No. The authorities would be far too kind on them and I need answers they won't be able to get."
"Do you know why these three were after you?" Martha asked.
"It's because of your wings, isn't it?" the Doctor guessed.
"Yes," Amlin replied. "Hundreds of millennia ago, the Larodeens had wings, but what were once appendages more beautiful than my own wings are insignificant nubs now. I've heard of stories lately of other Teters being abducted for experimentation so that the Larodeens will have the means to fly again." Amlin kneeled down next to a Larodeen, put his wings on its head, and bowed his own.
"What are you doing?" Martha asked.
"Teters have some telepathic abilities," the Doctor answered for Amlin.
"It takes a while after a stunner blast for the brainwaves to reorganize. After that, I might be able to glean some information that was on these Larodeens' minds if I'm quick enough." Amlin frowned. "This is difficult."
As Amlin concentrated more, Martha looked on in curiosity and the Doctor started to waver. After another minute, the Doctor fell to the ground. While Martha tended to the Doctor but failed to understand the problem, Amlin got his answer and stood up.
"Is your friend telepathic?" Amlin asked.
"I'm pretty sure he is. I haven't had the chance to ask him about it yet, but I think there was some sort of exchange between him and a star."
"A star?"
"Never mind that. What's wrong with the Doctor?"
"You have nothing to worry about. The process I used to extract information produced a lot of backlash and your friend was sensitive to it. It's not an uncommon phenomenon. He'll be all right after a little while." Amlin launched into the air.
"Where are you going?" Martha yelled loudly.
"I'm going to save my brethren!" Amlin yelled back before he was too far away for communication.
Martha turned to the Doctor and saw that he was starting to stir. She knelt down next to him. "Doctor, can you hear me?" Martha suddenly felt something touch the back of her head. She turned to see the three Larodeens pointing their weapons at her.
"You cost us a catch, woman."
Martha put her hands up. "Should we have let you taken him, hmm?"
"Forget about him now. You look like an Oyrosian, yet you don't seem to have the same abilities as one. Perhaps we can take you both instead and sell you to some interested scientists."
The Doctor opened his eyes and slowly pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Now why would you want to do that when we know how to obtain tenecthyl selomycillium?" he asked as he stood up.
The Larodeens looked confused. "What's that?" one asked.
"Just something I made up." The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the Larodeens' ship and caused a series of loud and bright sparks inside it. He then took Martha's hand and ran to the TARDIS.
"That will distract them," the Doctor said. "And strand them for a very long time."
"We can just leave them there?"
"They're not going to be able to do anything against Teters for a while and there's something else needing our attention."
"What?" Martha asked as they approached the TARDIS. Martha reflexively smiled as she pulled out her key.
"During Amlin's probing, I found out where the Teters are being held. He's going there now."
"We're going to help him?"
"There are several Larodeens there. Either Amlin didn't pick up on that or he's ignoring it."
"He seems like someone with enough pride for the second, I suppose," Martha remarked.
The Doctor and Martha soon arrived in a cavern.
"This is the Grisselbain Cave. Teters don't come because of the low cover. Not many other species know about it. It's perfect for the Larodeens," the Doctor explained.
The Doctor and Martha crept along the cavern walls and saw a large cage holding five Teters. Another Teter was strapped down on a table with many sensors cut into his wings. The Doctor and Martha hesitated to act after they noticed eleven Larodeens entering the area holding all the Teters. The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the cage's door and pressed down, allowing the door to open.
Everyone saw the door open, but the Teters in the cage were too fearful to act. Before a Larodeen could close the door, though, Amlin ran in from a different entrance with a group of eight other Teters, all carrying heavy firearms. Seeing them, the Larodeens brought out their own weapons and a firefight began.
"You should help the one on the table," Martha told the Doctor. As the Doctor started to pull the sensors off the bound Teeter and released the restraints, Martha ran to the cage. "What are you waiting for? Move!" she told the five Teters.
The Teters remained in the cage until Martha started to push one out. Another suddenly sprinted out and into another area of the cave. While ducking potential crossfire, the Doctor and the bound Teter joined the group. They opted to take refuge near a section that offered a little bit of cover.
Martha's thoughts turned to the Teter that ran off. "I saw one running towards there, Doctor. I'll go check to see what else is going on." While taking great care among the firefight, Martha ran towards where the other Teter went. When she turned the corner, however, she stopped and gasped. In front of her lay three dead Teters with their wings amputated. The previous Teter kneeled down by one of them, caressing his face.
"I'm so sorry, I can't even imagine what you must be feeling." Martha put her left hand on the Teter's right shoulder.
The firefight finally ended with the last Larodeen shot to death. Three other Teters also died and two were injured, including Amlin. When everything had cleared, the Doctor went to check on Martha. He saw her standing near the corpses in silent vigil. The Doctor approached her and gave her a hug.
The authorities eventually came to take care of the situation. Amlin tried to find the Doctor and Martha, but they had slipped away quietly.
The Doctor and Martha had boarded the TARDIS and traveled to another part of Chebott. At a park, they saw several Teter families being oblivious to the tragedies that transpired and were instead having fun. Seeing that joy raised Martha's spirits and she took the Doctor to walk along a forest. Their walk was stopped by another dead humanoid they found. A stick was protruding from its mouth.
The Doctor bent over to investigate. "It's another Glet," he said. "It has to be self-inflicted. Glets are immensely powerful. They can shoot energy beams out of their eyes and are virtually indestructible – from the outside. I don't think anything on the planet could get close enough to do this."
"Could the other Glet have committed suicide as well?"
The Doctor exhaled. "It's possible that I was wrong." The Doctor took notice of something and leaned in closer.
"What is it?"
"Some psychic residue, but Glets aren't telepathic. This can't be right." The Doctor looked at the Glet's fingers. "It didn't just come from the mind, but from something else, too."
"Doctor, can we stay here and try to find out what happened? I'm glad we saved those Teters and all, but what happened is still alarming."
"You'd like to find out what happened? See if you can help?"
"Yes. That Ruven guy said others had died, too. I'd like to try to do some more good on this planet."
"Let's see what we can do, then."
