States of Matter
Chapter 1: Rescue
The Doctor walked around a vast underground cave with Graham, Yaz, and Ryan. Large pumps the size of double-decker buses made it difficult for the group members to hear each other, so the Doctor led the way out, back towards the TARDIS.
Near the entrance of the cave, debris started falling from above.
"Be careful," the Doctor warned.
Graham and Yaz proceeded through. As Ryan was approaching the exit, part of the ceiling collapsed.
"Ryan!" Graham yelled.
"I'm fine," Ryan soon assured. "I see another path. I'll meet you outside."
"Are you sure you're okay?" the Doctor asked.
"Yeah, I'm all right."
Taking an indirect route, Ryan noticed a pile of partially buried orange sticks that looked ceramic. He eventually reached the rest of the group and dusted himself off.
Graham saw clusters of small buildings in the distance. "That looks like civilization over there."
The group walked around a small city while humanoid beings watched them with curiosity.
Yaz noticed the plethora of dried vegetables and dried meats on display for sale.
A rocket suddenly launched from a different part of the city. The group looked up and the Doctor mapped the trajectory in her head.
"It's going to the moon," the Doctor said.
"It's carrying building parts," Ryan noted.
"How do you know that?" asked Yaz.
"This news clip explains today's launch," Ryan answered, pointing to a small screen on a kiosk.
"That's convenient," said Graham with a smile. "Why can't we find these every place we go?"
"The rocket is full of building materials and robots programmed to set up residential areas to maintain a population that will keep the moon stable," Yaz read from the news clip.
"I think we're on the planet Suttor," said the Doctor.
"You know what's happening here, then?" Graham asked.
"This planet's moon is called Taffott, and it became unstable," the Doctor answered. "The population here is concerned the moon will fall apart. So many things on this planet depend on the gravity from the moon - tides, the rotational speed, its axis. The governments here have been sending up tools to stabilize the moon, but if they want to do a sufficient job maintaining it, they'll need to set up long-term residences for geologists to live on the moon and observe it closely. That launch must be preparation for the workers."
"That's convenient knowledge, too," said Graham.
"I've heard of this place. Never been here before," the Doctor explained.
"How can the workers being sent up there know for certain the moon will be safe and stable enough for them?" Yaz asked.
"They don't," the Doctor replied. "The ones that apply for employment there have faith in scientific models."
"Or maybe they're too keen on finding employment," Graham added.
"Possibly," said the Doctor.
The Doctor and her companions continued a walking tour of the city.
"There's someone standing on the ledge over there," Ryan pointed out. He was looking up at an adjacent building.
Two bystanders were also watching the individual, wavering over the edge.
The Doctor noticed a flag hanging on a wall below the potential jumper and used her sonic screwdriver to undo the binds on the top half of the flag.
"He's going to jump," Graham noticed.
Just as the individual walked over the ledge, the top of the flag slowly drifted down and got caught on overhang carvings. The jumper landed on the flag ungracefully. Under the pressure of the jumper's weight, the flag slipped through the carvings and the jumper landed on the ground with a thud. The Doctor ran up to him.
"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked. "You survived because of that stop, but you still fell a long way."
"I'm in pain. This is worse than my plan."
"I guess some gratitude would be too much to ask for, then?" Graham noted.
"Gratitude for what?"
"For saving you!" Graham replied. "The flag caught you because of the Doctor here."
"You did no favors for me. My application to work on Taffott was rejected. I will be staying on this planet for the rest of my life."
"Why is that such a bad thing?" Yaz asked.
"Because of the sheets in the flow."
"The what in the what?" Graham asked.
"I am a believer," the jumper answered. "If you are adamant that they don't exist, you should just leave me be."
"So you can try to kill yourself again?" Ryan snapped.
"My family is well known for our strong resolves."
"We don't know what you're talking about with the sheets," said Yaz. "We're not from around here."
"Even those on the other side of the planet know about the sheets."
"We're not from this planet," Ryan explained. "We're visitors."
"Does that mean you have transport off this planet? Does that mean you can take me away?"
The companions exchanged awkward looks with the Doctor.
"I am Ardstil Coyell Dunner. I am gifted in the trades of sculpture and flat design. I am renowned for my style of motion drawings. My gifts are clearly useless on Taffott, but they could be useful to you. Perhaps you would be interested in my work. It would be a fair exchange. I only require passage to another world. We have not had visitors to our planet since I was a baby. I would be willing to offer half my collection so that I do not miss this opportunity."
"Can we go back to the sheets in the flow?" Graham requested. "What are you talking about?"
"There is something in the water systems. I know it. Many don't believe, but I do. They are malevolent. They have taken away so many of our children. Those who believe soon disappear. I fear I am next."
"And these things look like sheets?" Ryan asked.
"They are flat and big," Ardstil explained.
"You don't think there will be any on Taffott?" asked Yaz. "How do you know they won't make it there?"
"The screening procedures for the rockets have been very thorough because the artificial ecosystem on Taffott must be as clean as possible," replied Ardstil.
"Would you show us the way to wherever we can see your art?" the Doctor requested.
"Of course!"
Ardstil led the way to his home.
"Are you really going to give him a ride?" Ryan asked. "Do you know a place that's good for him?"
"How is he going to get by?" Graham asked. "Does he hope to sell the rest of his work?"
"Maybe he hasn't thought that far," the Doctor answered. "I'd like to find out more about these sheets. I don't think giving him a ride somewhere else would be a good idea, but I don't want to dismiss anything right now."
"We're arriving soon." Ardstil said.
"Is there an actual name for these sheets in the water?" the Doctor asked.
"Most call them Bartzes. I will not dignify them by using a name for them."
The group reached Ardstil's one-story home. He led the Doctor and her companions into the main living area at the front, which was clearly used as a studio. Paintings adorned the walls and the Doctor's companions contemplated how to walk around the many statues on the ground. Numerous tiny ornaments hung from the ceiling.
"This is all I have made and still have," Ardstil said. "I use only the purest materials, including jade that I picked myself off the walls of Green Beach Cave. Name your price for a trip to another planet suitable for me."
"How about we talk more about the Bartzes, instead?" the Doctor suggested. "Where are they found?"
"They can potentially be found in any large body of water."
"Where's the closest body you think has one?"
"That would be Blue Ridge Reservoir. My water here comes from that reservoir. That's how the sheets are trying to poison me."
"Where is it?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm not going there. I'm not going."
"Just tell us where it is," the Doctor answered. "We'll go there ourselves."
"Will you come back? I wish to continue discussing trade."
"We'll be back," the Doctor promised.
The Doctor and her companions walked slightly over one kilometer to the reservoir, and the Doctor scanned the area.
"There is something there," the Doctor remarked. "They're hidden well in the water."
"You said you knew of this planet," Graham noted. "This didn't come up?"
"No, it didn't. I doubt the technology here can detect them. They're very well hidden. They're the color of the water and their bodies are so flexible they move with the flow. Our eyes can't detect them, and neither can the planet's instruments. That's why they're still myth."
"What do you want to do about it, Doctor?" Yaz asked.
The Doctor crouched down and felt the water with her fingers. "They're slightly telepathic. That might be how they know to target Ardstil, if they are in fact targeting him."
"Doctor, are these things dangerous?" Graham asked.
"Possibly," the Doctor answered. "Let's go back to Ardstil's house. I'd like to know more about his interactions with these things."
From a distance, the group noticed clamoring around Ardstil's house. When they got closer, Ardstil saw them returning.
"That's them!" Ardstil said to a crowd of fourteen individuals.
Someone ran up to the Doctor. "I am Murren Park Amzol. I am gifted in the trades of medicine and therapy. I can look after all your ailments if you take me away with Ardstil."
Soon, the others gathered around the Doctor and the companions, asking for passage off the planet.
"I am Bregkurk Corlian Parrish. I am gifted in the trades of weaponry and targeting. Please take me off this planet. I will serve as your bodyguard for whatever term of time you wish."
"Well, this is going to be difficult," the Doctor remarked.