30
SHOCKER
Twirling the ring on her left forefinger Martha watched him really watched him as he circled the console, his fingers moving like those of a master violinist over the arcane looking knobs and dials. He was very attractive she decided even desirable, but also remote, distant, a wall-builder. Was this because he'd been hurt in the past, cheated on or ignored and now chose to ignore others or was there a more fundamental reason – because he was so…so alien?
She wasn't sure but one thing she did know was that he hadn't been kissed in a long time, not properly kissed and maybe the situation needed rectifying.
Sauntering up the main ramp that led to the console with a playful grin on her lips she caught his eye, humour danced between them a mutual respect then she added a slight flirty smile part of her come-on routine. He returned it and her heart skipped a beat, oh my god he'd encouraged her given the green light. A spring in her step now she covered the couple of meters distance with impressive speed but before she could reach him there was a flash, not a big one but it broke the spell and made her cry out in shock, a purple after burn obscuring her vision.
Something had blown, sparking and flaring angrily like a hornet's nest and she juddered back, arms parted - now what?
"Don't panic," he said hurrying to the source of the trouble but of course she was panicking people did when objects blew up in their face. "External feedback," he added unhelpfully did this mean they were under attack or had just blundered into some kind of energy field.
"What kind of feedback," Martha asked blinking her eyes to try and clear them all thoughts of flirting temporarily forgotten; it was just her luck that this should happen now.
"High voltage," he murmured spraying something on the small fire that put it out instantly and left no mess, the metal didn't even seemed burned and before her eyes the buttons and knobs reformed back into their previous shapes.
"An electric shock," she gasped and his eyes went big on her…yeah something like that?
"Some sort of blow back," he muttered gazing at her hard now, quizzically as he changed subject in mid-flow.
"You've done something to your hair," he said. Yes she thought I restyled it a few days ago nice of you to only just notice; but he redeemed himself when he added. "I like it, it suits you."
Yes she mused it does it's more me, bolder, brasher then she noticed a red bulb flashing and pointed it out to him, his shrug was noncommittal.
"Oh that just means we're in for another…."
The next explosion was bigger, sharper, cracklier and with more sparks fat blue shimmery ones. To protect her, the Doctor wrapped his arms around Martha and guided her off the ramp and out of the direct path of the fire burst it wasn't a tight hug but it was a hug and she didn't resist – why should she after all it was contact?
His face was two inches from her she could feel his breath and see his teeth; such perfectly white teeth and so even maybe a slight overbite but hey why be picky? Then he was gone letting her go and spraying the new fire, putting it out. "This can't go on," he said, "We need to land to get out of this electrical arc."
"Is there anything close by," Martha asked thinking that there had to be something if only the source of the current?
He checked, "Small planet with an orbiting space station, I think we'll try the latter."
"Oh great," said Martha with heavy irony and eyes fixed on her snagged by the disfavour. She went on, "Another corridor."
The eyes looked hurt, "Might not be," he retorted.
"Of course it will…. it always is," she told him, "We'll materialise in a corridor probably narrow, undoubtedly dark and unquestionably sinister." Cynical but rarely wrong they were all the same these corridors, uniformly drab and nasty like they were all made by the same company – Doctor Catchers Inc or TARDIS Landing Sites are Us – Martha wished she had shares she'd be a millionaire by now.
"It could be a room," the Doctor offered by means of an alternative.
"No it'll be a corridor," she stuck to her guns, "Maybe a corridor near a room."
He frowned, "How about a room with a corridor leading off it would that be better," his face bore mock-anguish?
Arms folded Martha gave him the kind of stare her mother practised on the family as kids that oh give me a break look mums are so good at when excuses pour out of kids ten to the dozen. His scowl melted into a smile then a shrug as he conceded the point, okay it might be a corridor but if it was then so what corridors could still be fun?
A meter to her left began to count down from 13, nothing in the TARDIS counted down from 10 or 20 it was always odd numbers or fractions and 13 was supposed to be unlucky wasn't it?
"I've tried to pick somewhere obscure," he said, "No sense advertising our presence not with all this electrical activity, I wonder what they're up to down there?"
Definitely not flirting she mused or kissing probably a bunch of robots, she went back to playing with her ring.
"Ten out of ten Martha," said the Doctor emerging first and looking around she had called it just right, squeezing past him the dark girl wrinkled her nose just above the police box a light was flickering madly, along the corridor its cousins didn't look too safe either, a few had gone out and two had burst sprinkling glass tears on the floor. There was a niff in the air that she recognized, ozone like you get before a storm.
"Well," he said, "At least it's not narrow in fact I'd say it's fairly spacious."
Maybe she thought but it is gloomy and creepy and I'm not inclined to hang around even though I'll probably have to with you in explorer-mode. "No dead bodies," he said trying to cheer her up, "At least not so far," he sounded a note of caution like death was their constant companion which it frequently was.
"No live people either," she pointed out wondering if the station was automated but then why include air and central heating, no there had to be someone here human or otherwise? Moving away from the blue box in slow cautious steps they looked in every direction, why were the light bulbs so dodgy here? A flash made Martha jump it had been blue and spiralling and it had come from behind her, it was lassoing the TARDIS circling it madly from top to bottom as if punishing it.
"Now that definitely shouldn't be happening," said the Doctor more confused then annoyed. The lamp on top of the police box turned soft blue and flickered just like the bulbs in the corridor then with a savage pop it exploded, Martha was amazed and distressed she'd grown fond of that lamp, had found it reassuring and wasn't it meant to be indestructible like the rest of the ship?
"The lamp," she said and found him chewing a lip.
"It'll self-repair," he said not sounding so sure, "Eventually."
But as they watched nothing happened the lamp did not recreate itself did not regenerate, and the blue jagged arc continued to encircle the ship. Will we be able to get back inside Martha worried or are we stranded here, and what if the electricity comes after us?
Come on said his nudge nothing we can do here let's have a look around. Martha let him lead as she asked a question, "Do you recognise any of this is it familiar is it human?"
His expression was negative, "These things are much of a muchness regardless of species."
"All made by the same firm," she asked recalling her musings of earlier? He gave her an odd look like it was a queer thing to say then they turned a corner and froze well she froze, he moved closer to have a look at the big door or rather what was adhered to it, stuck there, fused there. Martha felt her stomach turn over flipping and squirming inside her, there was no way she could go any closer.
"Oh my god," she said looking away for a moment.
"Incredible," was his first comment.
"It's revolting," she corrected.
"Yes it is," he agreed taking out a pencil to poke at the thing, to actually touch it; yuk how could he? It was a man or the remains of one and he had been cooked or more accurately burned to a crisp and his body had melted into the door to become part of it.
"Electrocution," the Doctor decided which wasn't a total surprise based on recent events. Holding herself Martha moved to one side and looked down away from the horror, what a way to go she thought a horrible death? Gingerly the Doctor tapped his pencil against the door, but it wasn't live there was no current going through the metal at least not anymore.
"What electrocuted him," she asked, "Could it be one of those jagged arcs like the one around the TARDIS?"
Pursing his lips the time lord dug at the body, "Not dead long I'd say."
Arms folded Martha swallowed hard, "I don't know how you can bare to do that, how you can be so detached?"
This earned her a glance and the glance said I've seen a lot of violent death you get used to it. "He's wearing some kind of uniform with a flash on it but it's not a spacesuit so I'd say he worked here."
"Was he human," she ventured?
"Humaniod is the best I can do at the moment," with a kick the Doctor opened the door fully to reveal a room beyond containing a small terminal, two soft chairs and a bunk bed – living quarters perhaps belonging to the dead man.
Martha wondered why no one was investigating this death apart from them, if this man had been staff then surely someone would miss him? Then her boot kicked something on the floor, bending down glad of the distraction she had a closer look at the artificial object it wasn't a gun but it could have been an electronic tool, "What do you make of this," she asked surprised he'd missed it?
"Voltometer," the Doctor said casually, "Used for measuring current."
Martha picked it up surprised to find that it was still working it hadn't been destroyed the dial jumped a little not much just enough to give her a turn.
"It's registering something," she said.
"Yes you can smell it in the air," he agreed.
"If the dead guy had this how come he got electrocuted, I mean wouldn't the meter warn him of dangerous current?"
Yes said the bright blue eyes that's right so he wasn't just unlucky, "This was not an accidental death Martha," he replied and her stomach did another squirm.
"You can't be sure of that."
"Someone or something here is harnessing electrical power, directing it, applying it in ways it wasn't meant to be used. This man was murdered, he was attacked and destroyed deliberately and we have to find out why."
Looking at him hard she shook her head, "How can you know that for sure?"
He directed her gaze to the inside of the door, written there in red marker pen were the words I'M GOING TO DIE.
"Premonition is one thing," said the Doctor, "But this man's accuracy was remarkable."
Making his way over to the room's computer and switching it on he studied the menu, selecting an option he came up with 'password protected', the sonic screwdriver trilled a melodious number and this obstacle was soon overcome. Martha busied herself exploring the drawers and cupboards to find any personal details about the dead man things he owned, mementos, photographs of loved ones maybe. Whoever the guy had been he'd lived a life there had to be elements of it here, but the room was surprising bland and uninformative as though all he'd done was slept in it and spent the rest of his life working.
"Found him," the Doctor announced drawing her over to the screen, "Maintenance engineer Charlie Simms, he was human but he wasn't born on earth."
Lunar colony, Martha read, born 18th March 2234 so they were in the future but this place wasn't the moon surely.
"Was he married, any children," she asked hoping not, hoping that some faceless bureaucrat wouldn't be delivering bad news to a young woman with a couple of kids. But the file didn't say it was surprisingly sparse, and then it was gone winking out of existence at the same time that the ozone stench grew sharp.
The Doctor flung her back and shielded her but she still saw the tongues of electrical energy birth out of the keyboard to climb the screen like spider webbing, hissing, spitting and then igniting. The computer cracked, it popped, the screen became crazy paving then smoke gushed out of it along with sparks and flames.
The killer doesn't want us knowing too much she thought it wants to obliterate its victim totally and all information about him.
"Thank you," she said finding that she was in the Doctor's embrace once again. She looked up into his cobalt eyes but they were focused elsewhere, beyond her to the door and beyond this. Martha let go of him and turned seeing the two figures stood out in the corridor, the man gazing horrified at the crispy remains of Charlie Simms, the droid peering emotionlessly at the two intruders with crystalline eyes as cold as nuggets of ice, they were oddly pink, reddish pink like recent bloodstains and they chilled Martha to the core; she didn't like robots of any kind especially not those built in the future and therefore too smart for their own good.
Summoning a toothy smile the Doctor became a genial host, "Hello," he said brightly, "Am I glad to see you two."
The man wore a blue and tan uniform with a logo that consisted of 7 dots forming a loose triangle, he carried a gun and had taken it out; the gun was aimed right at the Doctor.
"I can't say the feeling is mutual," he said. Martha hoped he didn't suspect them of this killing and was about to arrest/execute them but the man entered the room to gaze at the computer, he sighed, "Same as the others."
"What others," Martha demanded in a shrill voice?
"Same MO," said the Doctor, "A focused burst of direct current?"
The man eyed him, "I'm Harris, head of security and you two definitely shouldn't be here," But Harris surprised Martha by lowering his gun, the threat of arrest/execution began to recede but there was still the droid stood there impassive and menacing.
"You're lucky to have us," announced the Doctor as though he was the solution to every prayer it was his usual reaction to mistrust, act as though you belong. "My background is science and Martha is a doctor."
Junior she almost corrected, I'm a junior doctor a trainee well a student really.
"We need both rather urgently," said Harris he looked tired, angry and dispirited a man out of his depth turning to the droid he said, "X3 search the area for any trail of the killer," his voice betrayed no confidence but Martha was glad to see the droid float away, float not walk moving about two inches off the floor with a soft buzz.
"I think there are more tangible clues in here," said the Doctor brazenly.
"But the computer's been destroyed," Martha felt she had to point this out.
"Yes it has but maybe some vital threads have not," her companion returned to the blackened, smoking shell to play his sonic screwdriver over it. Harris looked on confused but he didn't hinder the investigation in any way, appearing pleased someone else was involved.
"Simms doesn't seem to have had much of a personal life," Martha was fishing and the Doctor grinned at her. Harris shrugged saying,
"Not many of us here do, this is a bleak area of space."
"So why are you here," asked the girl.
"We were sent here, we're conscripts," Harris replied with an edge of resentment.
"Military," Martha asked? But Harris had turned to the Doctor who was fishing something from the innards of the computer with a pair of salad tongs, the same tongs he used during dinner the evening before. It was a pile of circuit boards welded together by wires and bits of crud, the central processing unit or what was left of it. Well that's not going to tell us anything Martha decided, but the Doctor seemed pleased with himself like he found a lottery jackpot.
"Do you have a laboratory here with a thermal imaging scanner and particle analyzer," he enquired?
Lousy coffee, Martha almost gagged but good manners made her keep a straight face and swallow slowly. Why was coffee always disgusting in outer space, didn't the beans travel well or was it the freeze drying process? Ignoring his own cup of 'tea', the Doctor was busy running the charred CPU through a series of exotic looking machines that despite being futuristic in nature were clearly not new, in fact a couple of them looked knackered to Martha.
Harris was stood to one side speaking to a wall-mounting screen: on this an older grey haired man listened impassively. Apparently he was the head honcho around here and his name was Lysander he had a shifty, conniving sort of face all thin and scrunched up with tiny eyes; Martha found she didn't like him at all which was a bit of snap judgement but she'd come to trust them. That said Harris deferred to Lysander like he had no choice; was the older man a soldier or some kind of manager? He reminded Martha of a hospital administrator, she'd never liked them few medical staff did…damned accountants!
When Harris had finished and Lysander's face had faded away the security man turned to ask, "Any luck Doctor?"
All he got back were a grunt, a shrug and a shake of the head none were exactly helpful.
"Why were you conscripted to work here," Martha probed unable to contain her curiosity any longer?
"Just lucky I suppose," Harris evaded with a sour expression he drank his coffee like it was the finest wine, maybe you got used to it after a while as your taste buds shrivelled up. "The other two victims were engineers to," he said.
"Did they know they were going to die as well," asked the time lord not looking up, "Simms did he wrote it on his room door in marker pen."
Yes thought Martha then someone wrote him all over the other side of it, "Was Simms a conscript as well?"
Harris nodded, "Two years, one of the lucky ones."
Not anymore she thought, his luck just ran out, "And you?"
Longer said the eyes much longer, "This rogue electricity is everywhere it's slowly burning out every system."
"Any ideas where it's coming from," asked Martha it was the Doctor who answered.
"Here," he said glancing up at last, "Or rather the planet below."
Harris looked dubious, "A dead world, barren and unoccupied," he said. But the Doctor clearly didn't agree his posture said as much as his face,
"Have you ever been there Mr Harris?"
"A survey mission when we were first put in orbit, surveys are allowed."
"And it was during that survey that the killer got aboard this station, he, she or it came back with you an unwelcome house guest."
Martha had picked up on something, "What do you mean – surveys are allowed – aren't you allowed to travel any further?"
A screen flashed on, upon it were chunks of text and a few diagrams, within the diagrams were faces – Harris, Lysander and several others but it was what was printed above them that caught her eye. CONVICT MANIFEST and under this ENFORCED EXILE MANDATE.
She gazed at Harris, convict?
"You're all prisoners," said the Doctor, "Convicted rather than conscripted," he peered down at Harris's photo, under it was appended life sentence no appeal. Harris sighed and sat down, Martha was instantly sorry for him fancy being sent to this place for the rest of your life with no hope of appeal, then she began to wonder – why, what had he done?
A flash of blue distracted her - distracted all of them, it was a vertical jagged column climbing up the far right side wall. She and Harris backed away from it as further branches of electricity were born out of this crackling, deadly parent to steal across the walls but the Doctor moved towards it more fascinated than afraid.
Martha shouted a warning but his gesture said 'its okay I'll be careful I just have to see more of this'
The shimmering tree of blue current bent towards him, doubling over to reach out with cobalt tendrils. My God thought Martha it's alive it's aware of him, somehow this current has sentience.
Waving something at the blue light the Doctor murmured to himself, casting a look at Harris Martha made up her mind and ran forwards, she grabbed the Doctor's left arm and yanked hard just in time; in almost the same second the blue serpent lashed out with its fangs scorching the air seeking but missing the time lord, finding instead the imagining scanner…this exploded spectacularly in a multi-coloured burst of sparks.
"Thanks," the Doctor panted, "Now get out…both of you."
Harris looked only too keen but Martha knew she wasn't going anywhere she wasn't abandoning this man. Please said his eyes just go, her expression replied no way and they stood there in the middle of the lab as the many limbed electrical hydra advanced across it on writhing blue roots.
No one could have predicted the arrival of the droid but X3 entered via a door just to the right of the blue storm, had Harris summoned it or had it just concluded its search there was no way of knowing but the second it appeared the blue current veered off course and struck; hitting the droid dead centre of its oval head.
Martha steeled herself for another explosion but it didn't come, X3 wasn't destroyed the current poured into it being soaked up meter by meter as electricity and robot merged.
"It's found a host," said the Doctor with agitation, "The perfect medium," he added, "Harris can X3 be deactivated?"
"No Doctor," the security man replied, "It's one of the prison warders who guard us."
Blinking in amazement Martha glared at the droid, so it was in command of the people here not the other way around; she had thought X3 a servant the way Harris had talked to it earlier but clearly not.
Pulsating with blue vitality, eyes now cobalt not ruby the machine hovered towards her sparks jumping from its smooth skin, tiny flames dancing inside the slot-shaped mouth box. To Martha the droid seemed larger, more energized and even more malevolent than before its outer edges rippling, expanding, jagged arcs of blue clawing from top and base to sting the air.
The Doctor looked at Harris, "How many of these prison warders are there?"
"Three," said the convict.
Three thought Martha is that all, "Why so few," she asked?
"They have another way of keeping us here," came the sober reply before Martha could ask what this was the Doctor was on the move saying,
"This could be our best chance to beat the alien," he was actually smiling although to Martha there seemed nothing to smile about.
"What alien," Harris was asking as they left the lab at a jog?
"Pure electrical energy," the time lord responded pulling ahead, "And it can manipulate all other forms of electricity to strengthen itself or to kill others, it came here to feed and that means its going to absorb every amp of current you have."
"Without life-support we'd all die," Harris didn't sound as disappointed as Martha might have expected.
"It will use X3 to jump to the other droids," the Doctor was theorising, "And from them to your computer systems," he came to a jarring halt, "I take it the droids have a centralised control system?"
Harris nodded of course they did, "But it's off-limits, believe me several cons have tried including some very good techs but it destroyed them all."
"How," Martha asked.
"Inbuilt defensive matrix probably keyed to your bioprints," the Doctor whispered looking at Harris, "That and the implants given to you after sentence, standard practise in this century."
Martha felt disgusted, the idea of enforced implants seemed inhuman to her but then this whole set up was inhuman.
"Doctor, won't this matrix attack us as well?"
"We have two advantages," he said, "Firstly we're not convicts so it won't recognise us."
"And the other advantage," she asked hoping it was a good one. He smiled, arched his eyebrows and stood back with parted hands. Oh yes of course she should have cottoned on, it was him!
"I'll take you to the matrix entrance," said Harris, "After that you're on your own."
Good man said the Doctor's radiant smile, "How many cons are there here at the moment?"
"Thirty."
"Get them all into the most remote part of the prison and well away from the droids, I don't think they'll begin the cull for a while yet."
Cull? The word made Martha shudder as did the thought of this matrix, this automated killing machine.
It looked so bland and innocuous on the outside just a square grey metal door with a brick archway above it, no keep out sign no warnings no hint of the danger beyond. With Harris gone the Doctor became intense he looked at Martha questioningly and she knew what he was thinking, she gave a simple nod back I'm coming with you.
Going over to a portion of wall he ran his fingers over it, "See if you can find anything it must be here somewhere."
On the other side of the door Martha aped his actions, presumably they were looking for a lock, her hands moved over metal and stone finding nothing until…something clicked inwards and a dent appeared, it was a big dent to and within it she could see a grid of numbers made of light. The Doctor dashed over with a nod of congratulations, "Oh yes a simple logarithmic key," he said peering at the incomprehensive grid like it said – just press here.
"Oh yeah, simple," Martha said dryly.
"Just a matter of isolating the sines, cosines and tangents," and mentally he began to do so tapping his left palm with the forefinger of his right hand then announcing, "Oh yes it's so obvious," he used the finger to poke several numbers in sequence at high speed like a touch typist.
When the door opened Martha steeled herself for death rays, metal claws or some kind of tentacled alien horror but all she could see was a tunnel made of stone and carved into the stone were hieroglyphics, it looked ancient, low-tech and…well rather bland.
"Is that it," she cried, "The terrible matrix, how boring." But as she made to enter the Doctor eased her back all caution now, his body poised and eyes alert for danger as he scanned the hieroglyphics.
"Neat set up," was his judgement, "You see those symbols they're a code keyed to the DNA of humans," he nodded at her, "Your noble species," the irony was astringent.
"So what's supposed to happen do the walls move inwards, does a trapdoor open?"
He chuckled, taking out his screwdriver and adjusting it with a few delicate twists, a new note filled the air that soon blossomed into a series of tinkling notes. Martha was amazed when light danced from the stone blocks that made up the walls each block flashing either soft green or red in sequence, some of the blocks bulged outwards whilst others receded.
"All right," said the Doctor, "It should be safe to proceed now but move quickly and keep up with me, don't stop for any reason. I've created a neutralised nul-field but it won't last for long." He took her by the hand like they were going on a trip through the tunnel of love, he counted down and off they went haring through the tunnel at top speed Martha expecting to be zapped at any moment or the floor to spin away.
It was a tense few seconds and at the end of it was an altar with a statue dead centre; the stone effigy of an elderly bearded man in some kind of robe the features imperious and condemning it had to be thirty meters tall. Looking at the Doctor she shuddered but he just beamed in that boyish way of his, "Martha," he said, "Meet the prison governor unless I'm very much mistaken."
She didn't get it this was just a lump of inert stone, "You're not serious," she said but the gleam in his eyes told her he was. Then his head half-turned, "Oh dear," he gasped, "I think we've got company." Turning she went back towards the tunnel without entering it, cruising along towards her was X3 and with the droid were two identical robots all with the same vibrant blue aura of jagged sparks.
"We're out of time," she said just as a lassoo of blue fury snaked along the tunnel to whip into the altar room causing the Doctor to duck down instantly, his hands probing the base of the statue, "Come on," he grunted, "I know you're here."
X3 was almost in the room he was slightly ahead of the other droids and upon his formerly bland features Martha could now see a pair of slanted eyes, a hawk-like nose and a wide mouth full of teeth. X3 was assuming a personality an identity and she didn't like the look of it.
Still on his knees the Doctor was exploring the base of the statue looking frantic, joining him she squatted down.
"What are you looking for?"
"This room has a door we need to close it."
"That would trap us inside Doctor."
Just help me pleaded the whites of his eyes so Martha went around the far side to finger-search hoping she'd have as much luck as before, X3 was at the entrance now and had stopped the slanted eyes flashing over the two people inside, tongues of blue fire vomited from the large mouth to create flying serpents in the air, hissing, snapping monsters of pure voltage.
"I can't find it," Martha screamed ducking one of the monsters.
"Nor can I but it must be here," The Doctor joined her behind the statue. In her view they'd failed it had been a good attempt but they were just too slow or their opponent was just too fast, either way they were trapped here and about to be fried just like poor Charlie Simms.
Suddenly glancing up the Doctor frowned, "I wonder," He pointed, "Can you see what I can see Dr Jones?"
She could see the roof, the back of the statue, the head of the statue lots of crackling blue snakes getting ever closer. She shook her head.
"I'll have to risk it," said the Doctor giving her the screwdriver, "Aim this at X3 and twist the base anti-clockwise a few degrees at a time."
"Will it destroy him?"
"No but hopefully it will bleed off some of that current, only one thing will destroy the droids."
Martha frowned as she realised what he was planning to do and how insane it was, "No Doctor."
What choice is there said his pale face I have to try is or we're dead anyway.
Knowing she was close to death and with nothing to lose she kissed him, she took him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him onto the biggest, wettest smacker she was capable of. He didn't resist he couldn't and when she let him go those blue eyes of his were wide, "Dr Jones," he said as though outraged but the hint of a smile made it plain he wasn't.
"For luck," she heard herself say but it was more than that a lot more.
He began to climb she began to sonic, as he went higher so did she. X3 shuddered he actually rippled, the he moved back and the ugly alien face faded a bit so did the voltage, drawing back, receding and thinning, snakes breaking up into worms. The other droids came to a halt.
Up and up went the Doctor climbing the statue – legs, hips, arms, elbows…he made good progress.
Keep going thought Martha don't stop because I'm not sure how long I can hold this alien, she licked her lips and they were tingling after that kiss as though the Doctor was electric himself; the thought made her smile how nice to have a man wired to the mains.
Reaching the shoulders of the statue the time lord paused to gather his breath, it was then that the great stone head began to move; it rotated towards him until those bleak dismissive stone eyes were fixed on him. Appalled though he was he didn't entertain the idea of going back down and giving up that simply wasn't an option.
He heard Martha call out, "Hurry", and glancing at the trio of robots he saw them holding hands as if for support. By taking them over the alien consciousness was anchored in this reality, for anchored read trapped and if he could deactivate all 3 droids then with any luck the alien entity would perish. Yes it was a long shot and yes it might not work but he couldn't think what else to do.
A hiss distracted him, turning back to the statue's head he saw that its mouth had opened to form a slot and out of this was billowing an acrid, toxic yellow vapour. Suspending his respiratory system as only a time lord can the Doctor clambered up onto the granite shoulders so that he could reach the crown of the head, taking out a slim tool he dug at this until finding a groove and within moments he had lifted a small flap to expose a circuit board.
"Oh no," he heard Martha groan but he couldn't be distracted now there wasn't time. "Doctor," the cry was strident and almost broke his concentration but he paid it no heed until three android heads rose to peer at him, the robots had levitated until they were hovering at the same height as him surrounding him. Oh dear he hadn't expected that nor had he anticipated the way the statue was getting hot, very hot; its stone beginning to blister the skin of his hands. To protect them the Doctor leaned his elbow patches on the statue but within moments these were smoking as the leather began to melt.
Instinct made him look down and he wasn't sure why until he saw Martha clambering up towards him, "What are you doing," he cried, "Go back down?"
"Why," the girl asked, "All the action's up here?"
"Yes and all the danger," he told her.
Well I'm not leaving you to cope with it on your own, Martha mused as her fingers became scalded. She aimed the sonic screwdriver at the robots and upped the signal, this time there was no noticeable effect like they'd become immune.
Plucking the device from her hands the Doctor applied it to the open scalp of the statue, "I'm not sure what this will do the whole thing might blow," he shouted, "So jump off."
You jump off she thought back then the tall stone figure gave a convulsive shudder, its arms shot out sideways and from the mouth came a groan of pain, the scalp sparked and the eyes glowed bright red then Martha was falling, tumbling out of control thrown clear of her purchase with a scream.
She knew it would be a bad landing because the ground was hard she was going to break something, hopefully just a wrist or an ankle and not her neck.
However the landing was soft, somebody caught her in his arms.
It wasn't the Doctor - how could it be – it was Harris?
Placing her down on her feet the prisoner gave an anxious look, "I couldn't just leave you to do this alone," he said.
One second later the Doctor joined him, had he jumped right from the top if so it didn't seem to affect him.
"Out," he said leading the way glancing up Martha saw the trio of droids still suspended in the air. The statue's head was on fire and cracks were spreading down the torso and arms, as she watched one of the arms broke off and crashed to the floor.
"Is the alien dead," Harris asked the question on Martha's mind? Not responding the Doctor took them out of the matrix then took several deep gulps of much needed air, there was an explosion from behind and a lot of smoke.
"I dunno," he said, "But your prison warders are out of action," he coughed, "The governor to."
"But that means the prison is defunct," said Harris.
"Your implants to," the Doctor pointed out.
"So you're free," Martha realised. Harris gazed at her as if not understanding the word at first then a curious expression crossed his features it wasn't at all what she expected.
The other prisoners soon emerged from hiding once Harris told them what had happened, the Doctor listened to their discussion without contributing anything but he didn't seem remotely surprised when Harris came over to announce, "We've decided to stay."
The offer to ferry them off in the TARDIS had been made in good faith, but the Doctor merely nodded. Martha was less accepting,
"But why," she cried, "You can leave you can go anywhere you like you're not prisoners anymore."
Harris chuckled but left it to the Doctor to explain, which he did as he and Martha headed back to the corridor that had so singularly unimpressed her before.
"This is home, for some of them it's the only home they have if they left here they'd have nothing not even each other. With a lick of paint, a bit of rewiring and a dose of Feng Shui this place could be made very cosy."
She didn't get it wasn't freedom better than anything; she couldn't imagine not being able to travel the universe?
"No more corridors," she told him as they re entered the TARDIS.
"Oh absolutely," came the blithe response.
"You mean it," she caught up with him.
"Definitely, corridors are out from now on."
That left just one more issue, kisses; where they still on the menu?