Vanessa and her brother Nick arrived at the carnival to find it bustling with excitement. Kids ran around with show bags and fairy floss and screams could be heard from the assortment of rides. The carnival came annually to Surrey and was always greeted with the same excitement and joy by all those who attended. The air carried the warm scent of hot jam doughnuts and popcorn, and the ringing bells of games being played sounded throughout the grounds. They strolled through the various array of stalls, looking at home-made soaps and 70s tie-dyed t-shirts. Just as Vanessa was inspecting some homemade rings, a tall, grey-haired man in a black suit with a white button up shirt bumped into her knocking the ring out of her hand. The man, looking up from a buzzing, green device in his hand, apologised and shook Vanessa's hand. Vanessa looked back at the man, curiously, as she picked up the ring from the beaten down grass, while he continued following the lead of the green-lit device.

As Vanessa was trying on some bracelets, her brother informed her that he was 'just going to duck to the bathroom' and would be back in a few minutes'. Deciding not to buy the bracelet, she wandered over to a food truck and purchased some nachos and a bottle of water. To make sure that she didn't miss her brother coming to find her, she leant against an empty, wooden stall and surveyed the mass of people.

Abruptly, whilst munching on the nachos, twenty short, blue men in blue armour and helmets, carrying guns, teleported themselves around the carnival declaring in the same kind of deep, chesty voice that they were looking for the 'Doctor'. The crowds immediately began to scream and run for the exits and in the immediate rush of action, Vanessa was knocked to ground and kicked unconscious by the stampeding feet.

The sky seemed darker when Vanessa finally came to, and unaware of how much time had passed, she wearily sat up from the damp, earthy ground to find she had a giant headache pulsating through her head. Her attention however was captured when she looked up and found that the short, blue men had positioned themselves around her, guns aimed.

"I am Captain Brok, of the twenty-first Sontaran battle fleet," declared one of the men, "and I demand to know where the Doctor is."

"I'm sorry," Vanessa replied, "but I don't know who you're talking about. I can give you the number of my doctor..."

"We are not interested in a puny human physician," Captain Brok interrupted. "Our scanners indicate traces of the Doctor's DNA on your hand. So where is the Doctor?" he asked again.

Confused and head pounding, Vanessa got to her feet and began to wipe the damp grass off of her jeans and jacket only to have the blue armoured men reaffirm their positions of men with guns by aiming them higher at her chest. Vanessa froze and raised her arms.

"I don't know who you are talking about. Please. I don't know who this 'Doctor' is. I swear," she replied.

"Our scanners indicate that the Doctor has left traces of DNA on your hand," Brok repeated.

Vanessa, suddenly remembering how that tall man had shaken her hand, looked down at her right hand quickly. The sudden realisation was noticed by the leader and he stepped forward stating, "Any associate of the Doctor must be detained and questioned."

Three of the men begin to move forward, guns still raised as Vanessa retreated against the empty, wooden stall again.

"Please, I swear I don't know who he is. A man bumped into me and shook my hand but that was it! I'm telling the truth!" she explained, panic rising in her voice.

Brok only repeated that any associate of the Doctor must be detained. As the three men got closer, one took out a pair of chunky, metal handcuffs. The other two lowered their guns and grabbed Vanessa's side and turned her around to face the wooden stall. Her arms were then pinned behind her back as the handcuffs were placed around her left wrist. Vanessa began yelling louder and louder, trying to shake the men off her, that she didn't know the man and couldn't help them. Just as the cuff was being tightened around her right wrist, a loud crunching noise was heard and Vanessa looked through the waist-high window of the stall to find the tall, grey-haired man eating her nachos.

"You!" she exclaimed, surprise and relief flooding her voice.

"Me!" the man replied, jumping over the bench and into the middle of the encroaching Sontarans.

"So some Sontarans have come to Earth, looking for me. The question is, why?"

The Doctor spun around addressing all of the Sontarans, continuing to feast on the nachos.

"Sontarans will not be interrogated," Captain Brok replied. "We have need of your services Doctor, you will come with us or perish!"

"Now, now. Let's slow down a bit, I've only just arrived," the Doctor said, yawning. "At least put your guns down, I'm not armed so you can put yours away," he went on, signalling with his hands to lower their weapons.

"Doctor, you will be apprehended for the glory of the Sontaran Empire!" Brok stated. "Check the Doctor for any weaponry and secure him," he continued.

Three more Sontarans stepped forward, advancing towards the Doctor.

"Time out, time out," the Doctor replied, making a 'T' with his hands, "I'll agree to go with you... let's just leave her here though, okay?"

He looked over at Vanessa, along with Captain Brok.

Brok marched over taking up position merely centimetres from Vanessa's face. At such a close proximity, Vanessa had to look down at Brok to be able to look into where she thought his eyes must have been through the helmet.

"Oi, you, don't give them anything," the Doctor exclaimed, pointing a finger at Vanessa. "It will just be one more thing that they can use against you, so give them nothing."

"If that's how it will be then Doctor," Brok replied, looking back at the grey-haired man, "Then we will have to take the human with us."

"That is not necessary," the Doctor rationalised. "She is of no value to you, nothing at all."

"That is for General Stret to decide. Secure the Doctor and prepare for teleportation," Brok commanded.

Three more Sontarans stepped forward from the circle towards the Doctor as he backed away, still trying to negotiate a way for Vanessa to be left behind. Not realising where he was walking, the Doctor walked backwards to the other side of the circle where he was brought to his knees with a knock behind the knee caps and immediately had his wrists restrained with same set of chunky, metal handcuffs.

Captain Brok then walked over and reached into the Doctor's left, inside jacket pocket and produced the green, whirring device that Vanessa had seen him using earlier. The Doctor tried to prevent the theft by attempting to stand up, only to be held back down by the surrounding Sontarans.

"Right, that is not yours to play around with," he exclaimed, anger tainting his words.

"General Stret was very explicit in his orders that the Doctor must not retain his sonic screwdriver. Now," he continued, addressing the Sontarans, "take the captives to the transmat."

The Doctor and Vanessa were then marched forward by their captors, through the deserted carnival grounds and out into the surrounding field, where a large black mat lay on the overgrown grass. Vanessa, desparate for answers to the terrifying questions that were swirling in her head, looked up at the Doctor. The Doctor only nodded and resolutely squared his jaw as he was placed first onto the black mat.

The Doctor turned to face Vanessa. "Stay calm," he ordered, before vanishing from sight.

At the sudden disappearance of the Doctor, the panic rising in Vanessa broke its thresh-hold and she began fighting her captors. The Sontarans, through sheer force of numbers, were able to stand Vanessa on the mat at last, and as she stood there, terrified, she remembered the Doctor's words and took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A small vibration coursed through her body which stopped as quickly as it started. She opened her eyes to discover that she was no longer in the field, but in a huge metal spaceship! The entire room was made of metal, which, along with the dim, blue lighting, gave the whole scene a rather eerie atmosphere. As a result of the mass amounts of metal, the ship had the harsh smell of rust and iron. The room itself was completely circular with various corridors leading away from what must have been the main deck, and in the middle of the deck, was a smaller, rounded platform with railing.

From the platform, stepped another Sontaran who walked over to the two captives.

"I am General Stret, commander of the 21st Sontaran battle fleet."

"Right Stret," the Doctor said, stepping forward. "You've got us here, very nice. Job well done, but let's get a move on."

"Your flippant attitude will not help you Doctor, you see we have need of your services, and we will require maximum co-operation," General Stret replied.

"What's the problem then? Got a blockage in the drain? Neighbours nicking the newspaper?"

"Enough! You will contain yourself Doctor or pay the price!" Stret ordered.

The Doctor, not entirely keen on testing the Sontaran's threats, shut his mouth.

"The Sontaran nursery was severely damaged in our last battle against the Daleks and so we have not been able to reproduce since. We are in fact the last twenty Sontarans left. As Sontarans are only born to fight in noble battles, we are unable to repair our machinery, and that is where you must come in Doctor. Repair our nursery to earn your freedom and that of your friend's," Stret explained.

"The last twenty! Left it a bit late there Stret. What if I refuse to fix the machine?" the Doctor asked.

"I thought you might ask that," General Stret replied and nodded to Captain Brok.

Captain Brok then stepped forward towards Vanessa, brandishing a long metal stick and touched it to her waist. Immediately Vanessa collapsed to her knees in a series of spasms as 2000 V of electricity rushed through her body. With her jaw clamped shut from the shock, she could only scream through clenched teeth. The whole ordeal only lasted three seconds but it resulted in Vanessa panting for breath, eyes closed.

"Don't you dare touch her!" the Doctor yelled, advancing towards Brok.

Four of the remaining Sontarans pulled the Doctor back, holding him in place by his arms.

"We have learned Doctor, that while you have no regard for your own personal safety, you have acquired a weakness for the human race. Therefore, do as we instruct and no one will be harmed," Stret informed.

At this stage, the Doctor was fuming but all that appeared on the outside was a cold glare.

"Now take them to the cells, work shall begin tomorrow."

The Doctor and Vanessa were once again marched by the Sontarans through one of the corridors leading off the main deck. Vanessa, still weak from the volts of electricity stumbled through the winding corridors and down a flight of stairs, while the Doctor tried to lend assistance by offering his torso as a prop to lean against for support. At last they reached a room at the end of another corridor with a heavy, metal door. The prisoners were pushed inside but before the door was closed behind them, one of the guards removed the cuff from Vanessa's left hand but kept the right one locked. The Doctor then had his fully removed but was moved closer so that the cuff remaining on Vanessa's right hand was attached to his left. The guards then left, locking the big metal door behind them.

Like the rest of the ship, the cell was metal and lifeless. It was roughly 3x4 metres and contained one metal sink and toilet, fused to the floor and wall and two long thin mats on the ground. Exhausted from the electro-shocks and the confusion of what had happened, Vanessa leaned towards the mats and collapsed on the ground. The Doctor was pulled over by the weight of her unconscious body and rearranged himself so that he was sitting against the wall with her head on his lap and their handcuffed hands in as a comfortable position as they could get.