How cruel the universe was, the Doctor thought mournfully to himself, as he watched the ship spin into oblivion.
The ship began to disintegrate. Would it be so terrible if….? He didn't think he could cope with much more guilt. People had died on his watch before, but never on this scale.. Thousands of people. Surely letting them live wouldn't effect time all that much..
"Doctor," Romana began.
He'd expected Romana to be the voice of reason, but now knew she was about to suggest a rescue attempt. He sighed. He had to be the responsible one, then.
"Species die, we cant change that." He said, simply.
"Sometimes we do. Doctor, if we know that the ship will be torn apart, why cant we do something? We can save earth from Skaroth, and the Daleks, and we can destroy Davros, and any number of megalomaniacs, why cant we save a peace loving species from dying in a horrible accident?"
"We cant interfere!" The Doctor shouted.
-
They had arrived on the Satellite to find the Fayrath, an old race, defending the last of their species against the Rainol, a vicious species. The Rainol threat hadn't been difficult to repel, but now the Doctor recalled how the Fayrath had met their end, after their departure from a Satellite. Fayrath technology was not very advanced, and a clash with a meteor storm in the asteroid belt saw the last of the Fayrath die in space as their ship was torn apart.
-
"Doctor, look," Romana said, shocked.
"And watch an entire race die?" The Doctor asked, disgusted.
"Look, there, a ship!" Romana pointed, and the Doctor turned, in time to see a large white ship appear in front of the Fayrath ship, they were heading straight for each other. The white ship dwarfed the first ship.
"That shouldn't be happening," The Doctor said, worriedly, "They're going to-"
The front of the ship opened up, like a gaping mouth, and drew the ship in to it. The metallic white jaws closed up, and the ship disappeared. "Into the TARDIS, quick!" The Doctor said.
Romana and K9 followed the Doctor into the TARDIS, leaving the now deserted Satellite.
"What are we going to do?" Romana asked him.
"Follow it,"
"Why? If it means-"
"Romana, I'm only going to say it once more, that ship has just meddled with the fate of an entire species! That causes paradoxes, and what do paradoxes cause? Filthy great bacteria, feeding of the disturbances, picking at frayed ends, that cannot happen!"
"Not always, Doctor. Anyway, maybe that's what was meant to happen. The Fayrath were meant to be eaten by a dirty great ship,"
"Negative, Mistress, historical documents state the Fayrath race was destroyed by a collision in the asteroid belt." K9 said.
The TARDIS plunged into the vortex, following the White ship.
"Come on! Come on," The Doctor shouted at the TARDIS, "Why wont you let me materialise?" He shouted, thumping the console in frustration. The TARDIS was unable to materialise on the White Ship.
"The ship is still in the Vortex, master," K9 reminded him, unhelpfully.
"Yes, I know!" The Doctor shouted.
The White Ship abruptly pulled out of the Vortex, the TARDIS followed it out, into a stretch of space that looked empty, except for a large burning shuttle.
The Doctor watched, horrified, as the White Ship opened its jaws and swallowed the shuttle.
"it's going around the whole universe," Romana said, after they had witnessed the ship save 3 satellites and 2 ships about to collide. "There must be millions of people on that ship. What's the that?" Romana said, quickly, as the TARDIS began lighting up, blipping. A distress call. "Aren't we going to answer it?" She asked, "It might be important,"
"I've got a feeling that it might be a result of the ship we're following. Interference, that ship is causing wars, accidents, trouble. We've got to get on it, Romana," the Doctor said.
"How? If it wont let us materialise.." She began, then realised what he meant. "Oh, no. We're not-"
"Oh yes we are," the Doctor cut her off.
"You want to materialise into certain death?" Romana asked, trying to pretend the idea wasn't exciting.
"Not quite 'certain death'. Hopefully the ship will turn up and eat us before any real damage is inflicted on the TARDIS."
"'hopefully'?"
The TARDIS leapt out of the Vortex into a meteor storm, much the same as the one that was supposed to have destroyed the Fayrath race.
They waited, the TARDIS jerked occasionally as it collided with a lump of rock.
"K9, can you detect another ship coming?" The Doctor asked the robot dog.
"Negative, Master, I can detect no other forms of life or technology in the vicinity."
-