STRANGE PRISONERS

It was a six sided room and all but one wall were made of metal; the exception seemed to be composed of polished glass and gave off a soft hum. But it was the people who attracted the Doctor's attention, they were stood in a huddle group to one side a diverse mix of alien humanoids all different sizes and colours, clearly they were from a host of planets.

There was a tall bald purple skinned man, an attractive lime green girl, a short squat hairy man with a pot belly, a two legged fish covered in grey scales who had to breathe through a mask, a slightly reptilian man with a lizard-like snout and a woman with spots like a cheetah, a tail lashing behind her.

These aliens all shared one feature however, bare feet; none wore any shoes. They had something else in common to – fear, the Doctor could see it in their eyes and postures they were cowed.

"Good day to you," he tried to inject some cheer into his voice, "I'm the Doctor," nobody responded indeed they viewed him with suspicion, "Where you all abducted like I was by men in visors," he asked, "Then teleported down here?"

Not one of them responded, rather they edged further away from him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of I'm quite harmless," he offered another smile, "Although I can't vouch for our hosts," he waved at the glass wall, "Does anyone know the point of this peculiar thing?"

As if one cue the glass screen suddenly pulsed with a spectrum of bright colours as if back-lit and from somewhere boomed an amplified voice it was electronic and sexless not to mention rather sinister and arrogant.

"Your number is now complete the hunt can begin."

Raising a hand the Doctor interrupted, "Excuse me," he said sharply but the voice continued like he hadn't even spoken.

"You will be released into the jungle and given a head start, time enough to secure a hiding place or fashion weapons."

"I say," again the Doctor's voice rang out, "Why are we being hunted, for what purpose and by whom; what happens if we get caught?"

At last one of the strange prisoners the green-skinned girl spoke, she was about Jo's age and pretty, "we die," she said, "They kill us."

Appalled the Doctor swung back to the glass screen, "Is this true," he thundered and this time the disembodied voice deigned to respond.

"It is correct."

"That," said the Doctor, "Is murder," moving closer to the glass he peered deeply into it trying to make out who or what was behind but all he could see was his own reflection indignant with rage.

"Not," said the voice, "On sigma."

"Who are you," the Doctor demanded realising he'd become the unofficial spokesman for the prisoners, "Why can't we see you?"

"The hunt will begin in eleven minutes," the reply was cold in the extreme.

"Oh no it won't," the Doctor responded, "Not if we refuse to cooperate and I for one will not."

"You have no choice," flashed the glass screen displaying a touch more red in its spectrum, "You are the property of sigma you must comply, you will be hunted."

"I," the Doctor snapped, "Am nobody's property and neither are these other people, I demand you let us go freely at once."

The reply to this was bleak in the extreme, "The prisoners of sigma have no freedom except death."

Even the Doctor was rendered speechless at least for a few moments as he took in the information then he asked in a calmer voice, "Who is sigma, is it you?"

Ignoring him the voice declared, "Your objective is merely to survive until moonfall, those that do will have earned their freedom."

"Why do we need to earn something you stole from us illegally," The Doctor had a nasty feeling he was wasting his breath trying to reason with the voice but he had to try, to register some kind of protest.

There was no response the alien speaker, whatever it was, seemed to have finished so turning to his fellow sufferers the Doctor decided to appeal to them.

"We must not take part in this obscene charade, if they don't cooperate…"

But the girl of before interrupted, "We don't have a choice, they beam us into the jungle directly and then the hunt has begun; nobody can refuse to take part."

"But why us," he threw back, "What have we done to deserve this?"

The bald purple man answered this, "Sigma can do what it likes it has absolute power."

"It," the Doctor pounced on this word, "Is sigma a being, a government, a machine?"

"Nobody knows," said the girl then her tone softened, "We were all picked at random you probably were to, once they have their quota the hunt begins."

"This quota," the Doctor began, "Why is it so important," he counted the prisoners, "eleven of you plus me that makes a dozen, is it always the same number of people?"

The small hairy being scratched the top of his head in a Stan Laurel kind of way.

"Why do you ask so many questions?"

"How else is one meant to learn anything," the Doctor threw back?

"We're going to die what else is there to know," said hairy.

"That sir is a defeatist attitude," the Doctor looked around the six sided room hoping to find some means of escape or some way of sabotaging his new enemies, if only he knew who they were, "We must to be able to fight back in some way, turn the tables."

The girl seemed to find this amusing, "You're not like anyone I've ever met before but they'll kill you just like the rest of us."

Not if I can help it thought the time lord, at least he still wore his boots what else did he have, he checked his pockets, aha his sonic screwdriver was still there that was good news and he had that small compass, useful for direction finding.

"Nobody's hunting me like some kind of animal," he said under his breath and going over to the glass screen he placed his sonic close to it, the energy reading told him there was a room behind the glass with lots of complex equipment but no life signs.

"I wonder if that voice was a computer," he said?

"Does that matter," said the girl?

"Everything matters my dear, know your enemy is a god maxim to live by, we need to know more about sigma if we're going to get out of this alive."

"He's mad," said Mr Purple, "Nobody survives the hunt," the others all nodded except the girl she had a different expression on her face now.

"Maybe not," she said, "At least he hasn't given up all hope."

It was an attitude the Doctor approved of this girl had a spark in her that reminded him a lot of Jo and he liked Jo.

"What is your name," he asked?

"Nobody's asked me that before, I'm Delva."

It was a nice name, "Did they pick you up in the jungle like me," he asked?

"No I was on a pleasure yacht several hundred miles away, I was nowhere near the island."

An interesting snippet of information so sigma was an island not the whole planet, "What is this world called?"

Delva's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean you don't know?"

Cheeks colouring slightly the Doctor offered a weak smile and the girl said, "It's called Sanctuary the planet of peace and tolerance."

NEXT EPISODE 'The Hunt'