Future Shock

by Steve61

The Third Doctor and Jo arrive in a future where their actions could alter the events of the Doctor's past.

Amid the ear-shattering ricochet of bullets bouncing off of the impenetrable TARDIS shell, and the terrified screams of his cowering companion, the Doctor held his head low while he fought to maintain control of his horse. Jo was practically ready to fall off of the steed, even as their bastion of safety raced up towards them, and hostile forces sought to catch up to them from behind. The horse grunted and struggled to run over the cumbersome, rough terrain as per the Third Doctor's wishes, and released a satisfied grunt and whelp as the Doctor pulled up on the reins, and jumped off the animal.

More shots rang out across the edge of the forest near the stream where he'd landed the space-time machine, and with the prospect of a nasty death by gunfire threatening to end their adventure then and there, he yanked Jo off of the horse, and practically dragged her to their safe haven. He fumbled with the TARDIS key, and eventually gained access within, yanking his young friend inside after him, even as the last few shots from numerous rifles and six-shooters squealed and screamed around them.

He slammed the outer door shut, even as the inner console room door slowly closed with annoying nonchalance, and leaped for the controls to begin take-off procedures.

"Doctor?" Jo gasped behind him.

"Not now, Jo; I need to get us out of here now. Barbarians! Now that is why I never visit the Old West!'

"But...Doctor..."

"Nobody settled disputes with diplomacy back then, Jo," he continued, his eyes intent on various switches and buttons. He activated the monitor, and observed a posse of ragged cowboys arrive on horseback outside. One more fired off a couple shots,. before the leader shouted at him to stop shooting. "Everyone settled things with firearms, for goodness sake! Now do you believe me when I tell you that Billy the Kid was as brutal and violent as history makes him out to be, and not some kind of misunderstood pretty boy? The bounder! And look at my jacket! I'll have to sew these bullet holes the first chance I get!" he complained, poking a pair of fingers through a hole at the top of the shoulder where the bullet had thankfully not passed through his arm, but rather the padding in the lining of the jacket. "Winston Churchill gave me this jacket just before the Blitzkrieg-"

"Doc..tor...help!" Jo whimpered, before she slumped to the floor, her bloody hands clenched around her right calf.

"Jehosaphat!" the Doctor exclaimed, finally noticing his companions condition. "You've been shot!'

Jo managed a weak smile. "Might even be...from Billy, himself! Not the kind of-oowww, of souvenir...I was hoping from this trip!"

The Doctor examined the bullet wound. "Mm. Not too bad, my dear, but we will have to look after it immediately. It's a deep graze and not life-threatening, but there's no time like the present to fix you up. Come along."

The Doctor hefted Jo Grant to her feet, then picked her up in his surprisingly strong arms, carrying her through the only other door present in the console room, which would lead to a medical bay several corridors from the console room.

"But what about them, Doctor?" she asked, indicating with a tilt of her head the hostile cowboys on the monitor screen, who were now slamming the butts of their rifles against the doors, thinking the TARDIS was nothing more than a wooden blue box.

The Doctor sniffed derisively, "The combined forces of Genghis Khan couldn't break through the TARDIS doors, my dear- and believe me, they've tried! They'll soon leave when they see the TARDIS dematerialize. Now let's get you to sickbay- you're bleeding all over my nice clean floor." Jo stared incredulously up at his serious face, before he broke out into a kindly smile. "Sorry. Little joke."

"Benny Hill, you are not, Doctor!" Jo grunted.

Outside, the outlaws shouted threats to the two cowards inside the blue box, and were becoming angrier by the second when the opaque windows refused to crack from the smashing of rifle butts against them, or the peculiar way the seemingly-wooden box could deflect their bullets. Suddenly the air was rent with an unnatural breeze, and even more unnatural wheezing and groaning of an engine, which spooked the horses. Billy the Kid's horse panicked and reared up, throwing him to the ground, even as the blue box faded from view and existence before their very eyes.

The TARDIS returned to the expanse of the space/time vortex...her console room conspicuously empty of the usual occupants.

The Doctor had tended to Jo's leg wound using contemporary and alien technology, which came in handy in speeding up the healing process of the damaged muscle tissue in the calf from the primitive projectile weapon used.

"There! Good as new!" the Doctor beamed. "Just don't go running down too many corridors just yet!"

Jo grinned her sweet smile, the pain completely gone from her gunshot wound. "Well, at least you're giving me 10 minutes to rest, instead of the usual two!"

The Doctor shared a chuckle with his companion, and helped her down from the treatment table. Despite what Jo had said, she intended to go easy on herself, even going so far as to suggest returning to UNIT headquarters for a couple days. The Doctor was crestfallen, having only recently regained freedom from his Earthly-exile, but accepted the suggestion. He walked slower than usual back to the console room, allowing Jo to rest a hand on his shoulder for extra support. He was startled to find the central column on the console was still rising and falling.

"Good grief! The Ship's in motion!"

He dashed for the console, nearly causing Jo to fall from lack of balance. Clutching the edge of the door for support, she watched as he scurried about all six sides of the console, clicking his tongue and tutting at his incompetence.

"How could I have been so foolish! I was so close to finishing my calculations; now look at what you've done!"

"What did I do, Doctor?" Jo wanted to know, hobbling over to the opposite side of the mushroom-shaped console.

He reigned in his initial annoyance, embarrassed that he was blaming his injured companion for a careless mistake he'd made. "I was nearly finished the dematerialization sequence when you distracted me, Jo. We left the Old Girl with only partial instructions, and so the automatic systems engaged in my absence, sending us on an unscheduled trip into the vortex with out a single coordinate input as our next destination."

Jo shrugged. "So? Isn't that how you usually fly the TARDIS?"

The Doctor frowned deeply. "It most certainly is not, young lady! Anyways, that's only half of the problem. According to these readings, we're out of control, and flying forward in time at an increasingly alarming speed!"

Jo limped over to him to stand by his side. "How far forward in time? The 1990's? 2001?"

"Quite a but further than that, I'm afraid, Jo," the Doctor admitted, looking down at her. He rubbed the back of his neck in consternation as he added, "We're already past on what on your calendar would be the year 634,722!"

"WHAT?" Jo shrieked, a year with that number far too gigantic to even comprehend.

"Now, now, don't worry, Jo. I'll have this figured out in no time."

"By which time It'll be the year 700,000!"

If it had been nearly any other companion, Chesterton, Steven, or even Jamie, the Doctor would have replied with his own biting remark. But Jo was just too sweet to shout at, and truth be told, it had mainly been his fault for not completing the dematerialization sequence properly, and then tending to Jo's injury.

He adjusted his controls and grunted to himself, mumbling something about 'reversing the polarity of the neutron flow', uttering numbers like 'five', 'six', and 'seven', in between strange, unrecognizable words (or unknown Gallifreyan numbers, perhaps?), but nothing seemed to work. He grimaced and set about a more desperate braking attempt, as her eyes begged him for an answer, so he told her what was happening.

"We're over two million years into your future, Jo, and the only way I can think of stopping the Old Girl from running straight into the Big Crunch is to latch onto a previous vortex trail and trace it back to its origin point. Uh, at least, one direction or the other."

"Huh?" was all Jo could think of to say.

The Doctor sighed and tried to explain without sounding condescending. "What I intend to do is to home in on a time-trail left by the TARDIS, or even another time lord's TARDIS, from a previous trip this far into the future. Theoretically, I should be able to lock onto it, hitch a ride, and follow it top where she was previously. Think of it as finding footprints in the middle of a forest; follow them one way and you'd find your way out of the forest. Follow them the other way and, well, you're deeper into the forest, but you can always backtrack the other way, back home."

"So...we could be lost forever if we go the wrong way?" Jo whispered, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, no, I shouldn't think so, Jo. We'll be side-tracked somewhat, once we land, but after that I'll be free to reset the coordinates to somewhere that we both want to be." He looked at the console, and shook his head with disappointment. "The problem is is that I'm beginning to realize just how rarely I've travelled this far into the future. Still, my people aren't called 'Time Lords' because they've explored the odd millennium here and there. They're very well travelled, and I'm sure they've been this way before." He looked at the console again, and then back at his friend. She could tell that his next words weren't going to encourage her. "We've already passed the year Five Million A.D...but at least we're slowing down."

'Slowing down' was a relative statement, as it was several nerve-racking minutes before the TARDIS wheezed and groaned into existence with an exhausted grinding and final deep drum-like 'throoom!', taking longer than normal to solidify within a strange jungle. A pair of tiny lizards took several steps away from the blue box, then seemed too bored to care how an object arrived out of nowhere.

The doors opened and the Doctor poked his head out, breathing air that seemed close enough to what Jo was used to, so he took a cautious step outward. Bird song could be heard in several directions amongst trees that obscured the view of the sky as they curved inward like a canopy, but it was daylight wherever they'd landed. He stepped out all the way and smiled at the two little lizards, hunching down to them, and clapped his fist twice into his palm before offering them his open palm.

"How do you do, sir and madam? We come in peace."

"Doctor! Really!" What do you think you're doing, talking to a couple lizards like that?" Jo berated with a chuckle as she exited the Ship.

"My dear, Jo, I'll have you know that not every intelligent species in the universe is the same size as you or even humanoid in appearance! I'll have you know that I've had several fascinating conversations with the Dreemaks of Yoringar, and they look like your average rocking chair!" Jo couldn't be sure if he was making that up, but let it go. The distinct lack of conversational skills on the part of the little lizards soon proved that they were no more alien ambassadors to welcome them than she and the Doctor were hostile invaders. He bent down to the lizards again, and gave them a salute, and then a bow, both without a response from the little creatures. "I bring you tidings of friendship, sir and madame. Your Graces? Your Highnesses?" Jo rolled her eyes, and covered her wide grin with a ringed hand. The Doctor tried once more. "Resistance is useless. You will be exterminated...or turned into lizard soup!"

"Doctor!" Jo chided, giving his arm a light swipe.

The Time Lord straightened up, a mischievous smile on his aged face. "Just wanted to say that once. No harm done."

"So you've established that they are-?"

"Little lizards," he admitted, sheepishly.

"Little lizards," Jo nodded, a smug smile playing across her youthful features. "Chalk up one for women's intuition!'

"Of all the confounded conceit!"The Doctor frowned, playing along, before breaking out into a sheepish smile.

With a victorious grin, she hobbled on a little further into the jungle, until a squawking caused her to start. A pair of wings carried a bird from a nearby branch to one that was even higher, the creature preferring to remain safe from the two newcomers.

"Doctor! That was a parrot!"

The Doctor spied the bird, squinting his eyes to focus on it as he rubbed his chin. "Yes, it is, isn't it? An African Gray, I believe."

"Oh, then we're on Earth millions of years into the future," she sighed, calming herself with the fact that at least they were back on her planet.

"I can't be certain, Jo. I latched onto a TARDIS trail, but wasn't able to ascertain our location. I can't believe that such a species has lasted so long. Let's look around some more if you're up to it."

Jo agreed with little choice, as her own curiosity overrode her aching leg, which was feeling better. Prior to disembarking, the Doctor had told her that the TARDIS would need a rest after the marathon journey. She breathed in the fresh air deeply, but sensed that it wasn't quite right. There was a slight breeze, but it wasn't like walking through the park in London. It was almost-

"Artificial! We're on a man-made planet, Jo! Perhaps a space station. Look up there."

Finally in a clearing, the two time travellers could observe a series of girders and supports overhead, and dozens upon dozens of high-power lights that simulated daylight. The Doctor's words seemed to bring forth a scurry of activity from beyond the trees and bushes, as buried memories from a long time ago resurfaced for the Doctor as realization struck him a moment later.

And by that time the two of them were completely surrounded.

Jo yelped in shock at the sight of so many aliens around her, even as the Doctor gave them a name...

"Monoids!'

The Doctor and Jo weren't mistreated by the silent one-eyed humanoid creatures, but they were pushed ahead of the group of six towards an open area that was the control area of the Ark, a massive spaceship from the far, distant future, containing the combined remnants of every last human and animal of the dead planet Earth, but shrunk down into micro-cell size, and those of the equally nearly-extinct, Monoids. A Monoid Ark of sorts arrived at Earth just prior to the human exodus, unaware that their own one-way voyage to a new world was towards a doomed planet. Working together, humans and Monoids constructed a new ship, this Ark, and travelled together towards their new home of the planet, Refusis. The Doctor told her all of this, ending with,

"I visited here once before. Or rather twice, but in succession. I was in my first body, along with my companions Steven and Dodo-"

"Steven and...who?" she found herself instantly interested.

"Dodo. A young lady with a peculiar name, I'll admit, but-"

"'Dodo'! Dodo Chaplet? Her real name was 'Dorothy'?"

"Well, yes. How did you-?"

"That's unbelievable, Doctor! I knew Dodo when we were 13 years old! We were best friends living on the same street, until my family moved to Southampton, and we lost contact! How is she? How did you wind up travelling with her? How is she? Is she back on Earth? Was Steven her boyfriend or-"

"Jo, please, let's talk about this later, shall we? More importantly, I'm starting to get my bearings, at last. I know that the Ark was launched ten million years into your future, and it's on a one-way trip to the planet Refusis, which will take 700 years. That narrows down our time by that 700 years."

"Okay, but what about them?" she asked, gesturing at the Beatle-mop-haired, blue-scaled, asexual aliens. Their arms and hands were thick and unwieldy, the trunks of their bodies twice as long as a humans so that their two flat 18-inch-long feet were connected to two stump-like legs. Not one had spoken since they'd been found- they'd only gesticulated their requests so far, which made sense, since Jo couldn't see a mouth on their scaly faces. Their single eyeballs, which were constantly squinting and looking about, were much lower on their faces than a humans- roughly where the bottom of Jo's nose would be. They didn't have mouths as far as she could tell, or even noses or ears, although those might be hidden above their eyeball, under the massive purplish head of hair the aliens had on their heads.

"Can they be trusted?" she added.

The Doctor grimaced. "Possibly. Dodo infected the humans and Monoids alike with a virulent strain of the common cold that killed several members of both races before I was allowed to help seek a cure. However, in the space of that 700 years, the humans were exposed to an even more powerful cold virus that allowed the Monoids to take over the Ark and subjugate the human survivors. The Monoids almost blew up the Ark when it finally arrived at Refusis, but not all of their kind wished to kill off the human race. I left the Ark with the impression that the planet was in good hands with both of them, but that hasn't happened yet. This could be a year after I left the first time, or a year before I returned. The Monoids don't have their voice-box translators or their disruptor weapons yet, so that's something."

"And the Monoids can only speak through sign language?" Jo wondered.

The Doctor nodded. "Through a complicated version with their human shipmates, yes. However, I did some research on them years later, and discovered that they have their own language that only their kind can hear- it's beyond the range of the human ear, and not used with vocal chords. Not exactly telepathy, but not quite speech as you know it."

Jo frowned at the gesticulating aliens that were 'conversing'. "Why're they still using hand gestures if they're speaking in their own high-pitched language?"

The Doctor looked between them and back at Jo with a wry smile. "Come, come, Jo. Surely you've seen you're own people, or some such nationality like Italians that feel the need to express their thoughts with the use of constantly moving hands?"

The Doctor and Jo were brought before a collection of humans and Monoids in an open area where foliage and control consoles shared the same auditorium-sized area. To the Doctor's dissatisfaction, he didn't recognize any of the faces presented him, despite the fact that the humans continued to wear their unusual, colorful toga-like outfits, and refer to themselves as the Ark's 'Guardians'.

One of his captors spoke in sign language to one of the humans, who translated aloud, "Commander...my patrol found these intruders...in the south parkland. There was the sound of...machinery...in distress...then the man and woman appeared. It would appear that we've located...the source of our numerous malfunctions!"

"I assure you, sir," the Doctor insisted stepped forward a couple feet before his arms were restrained again, "that we are most certainly not the cause of any malfunctions that you've been experiencing! What you heard was the arrival of my Ship."

"Indeed?" the human translator sneered. "You pierced the shell of the Ark, and somehow prevented the explosive decompression that would have surely followed?"

"It's no ordinary craft, young man. It materializes without damaging another ship in doing so."

"Quite the miracle-craft, then," he replied, skeptical and mocking.

"Avron, would you kindly direct this exchange in my general direction?" a white-haired man asked from his elevated seat behind a huge console. "I am still in command here for another week, after all!"

The one named 'Avron' bowed apologetically, and waved the two strangers forward. "Identify yourselves for the Commander."

"Well, finally someone in authority! How do you do, sir? I am the Doctor, and this is my companion, Jo Grant. We're merely visitors here, and didn't mean to intrude, any more than the last time I visited this splendid Ark of yours."

"You're a doctor of what, sir?" asked the Commander.

"Practically everything, sir!" the Doctor proclaimed honestly, bringing out a suppressed smile from Jo for his lack of modesty.

The Commander paused in mid-though, and leaned forward. "You claim to have been here before? And you call yourself 'The Doctor', you say? Just 'The Doctor'?" The Time Lord nodded, cautiously. "The Doctor! How can this be? No, my memory must be playing tricks with me! I don't recall your white hair being so thick and in that style. You're even younger than I recall, and most certainly taller. And your female companion was a brunette, not a blond!"

"Commander?" Avron asked, curious.

"As I said, I've been here before, but may I ask, sir, have you and I met before?" the Doctor wondered.

"I was present when the Doctor and his companions arrived and spread an illness to humans and Monoids, alike. In fact, I was present at the one called Steven's trial, in this very control room. I was just a child back then," the Commander admitted.

The Doctor seized upon the chance to calculate his location in time and space. "How long ago was that, if I may ask, sir?"

The old man shrugged. "It must be a good 90 years or so. My father was Zentos. If you are the Doctor, then can you tell me what my father's sentence of your party was, until the Commander overrode his decision?"

"Certainly. We were sentenced to 'expulsion from the Ship'- to be cast out an airlock. Fortunately, the Commander, who was gravely-ill at the time spoke in our defense and saved my life and those of my companions."

The Commander accessed computer records and found that this visitor was correct. "Extraordinary! But you haven't explained how you look so different?"

"Not to brag, Commander, but I am not from Earth. I have the capability to regenerate my body, which I've done twice since I left your fine ship. Inspect my TARDIS if you wish with photographic evidence from my previous visit, and you'll see that it's a virtual match." Jo looked up at him quizzically. "She likes to give herself a minor face-lift every hundred or so trips," he admitted. This only made her blink in surprise, as the comment seemed to imply that the TARDIS, itself, had a choice in it's outer appearance.

"He says he's the Doctor, but does that mean he's not responsible for the serious malfunctions plaguing the Ark this past week, Commander?"" Avron questioned. "Surely the coincidence of his arrivals coinciding with illness and malfunctions must be addressed!"

"I keep telling you, young man, that Jo and I have only just arrived, and completely by accident, I might add. The Monoids heard my Ship's arrival less than a half hour ago- we were certainly nowhere near your Ark a week ago. Now, as for your technical problems, I would be more than happy to fix them for you and help you to continue on to Refusis."
"I believe him," the Commander said, staring at an image of the TARDIS from the past on a viewscreen, and the TARDIS sitting a half mile away, on another viewscreen monitor. "It's no more fantastical than the visit we had from those aliens years ago- what were they called, Avron?"

"Draconians, Commander."

The Doctor smiled inwardly at the mentioning of the name of the honorable alien race. It was nice to hear that their civilization lasted as long as the human race's, and Avron added that they'd visited without incident approximately three years ago. He asked about the illness that Dodo had inadvertently spread, and was told that although it would still pop up occasionally, it was easily dealt with, and no one had died since the initial infection. Jo was glad to hear about that, although she felt sorry for her old friend, Dodo, who would have surely felt terribly guilty about inadvertently infecting strangers with a simple common cold. It made her wonder where Dodo had picked up such an illness during her travels with the Doctor. She smiled to herself with memories of her and Dodo playing in the park as little girls, until the Doctor's words brought her back to the present.

"I notice you still use sign language with your Monoid friends?" he said.

"indeed. It's been that way for decades, but no better communication has been created," the Commander admitted.

"I've equipment in my Ship that could be of use. It would be a small device worn around the neck, and much more practical than a bunch of hand gestures."
The Commander agreed to it, and offered the services of his scientists to help replicate additional versions, once the Doctor had created the first one. The Time Lord knew he was coming perilously close to creating a paradox; he couldn't know for sure if it had, in fact, been his handy-work that saw the future Monoids using the translators he'd observed in his return to the Ark with Steven and Dodo. But the fact that he possessed the raw materials to make them, and the lack of prior interest in outfitting the aliens with the devices seemed to indicate his hand in their creation. In fact, Time might be flowing as it was meant to be, if he was here to repair the damage to the Ark, and create the translator voice boxes he'd seen on his last visit here.

However, he would most certainly not be responsible for the creation of those wretched heat pod weapons used in the future that were similar to disruptor guns! Perhaps the Monoids had always possessed the technology to build them, when the original alien survivors landed on the doomed Earth?

Avron wouldn't allow the two strangers out of his sight, so he accompanied them, along with a Monoid and a human called Trebon, on a travel cart back to the TARDIS. The Doctor questioned him about the previously mentioned malfunctions.

"The first one was a minor one; a secondary heat exchanger down on deck 14. That was followed a day later by the break down of a water purification tank on deck 12. Yesterday we lost all power on deck 10, and we've been unable to restart it. There would be minimum life support down there...but you don't know about that, do you?"

"No, Avron, we do not," the Doctor insisted with a frown. "Let me ask you this; what could have caused the malfunctions?"

"Nothing that we can trace with our computers. That's why I believe it was caused by...well...by someone."

"Could you be any more subtle, Avron?" Jo asked, insulted to be implicated in a crime she was innocent of.

"Your own people? Perhaps even...?" the Doctor asked, nodding his head to the back of the Monoid driver.

Avron's eyes widened with shock, as if he'd been accused of treachery, himself. "Absolutely not! The Monoids are completely loyal to us! We saved their kind from extinction! They're eternally grateful to us- they have said it themselves!"

"And as payment they're treated like second-class citizens, from what I've seen."

"How dare you!"
"How dare you, sir! Nine decades without a cohesive attempt at normal communications with an intelligent alien race! Using them to create your gigantic statue of vanity back there, and placing them in positions of subservience on the Ark!"

"Untrue!"

"Really? Then why isn't this chap doing the driving, and your Monoid friend sitting beside you?"

Avron sputtered and stated that that was how society had developed aboard the Ark. The Monoids were partners on the trip and not a human present wished them ill will; it was just how things worked out, and what everyone was used to. Once they'd landed on Refusis he believed that the two species might even live apart, allowing two distinct life forms to prosper on the alien world.

"Those that want to stay with their human friends would certainly be welcomed amongst the human colony," Avron assured.

"Obviously, the old saying, 'Two heads are better than one' hasn't survived this far into the future. Or perhaps these days it should be 'Three eyes are better than two!'" the Time Lord quipped.

The Doctor considered the facts. One; the second virus hadn't appeared yet to decimate the will of the humans, allowing the future Monoids to take over the Ark. He'd noticed that the huge statue was still designed in Man's image, but would end up being completed with a Monoid head, an alteration that would take some time to perform. Two; it was still some time before the Monoid revolt, but if they weren't responsible for the Ark's malfunctions, then who was? Three; he had to tread very carefully with his knowledge of the Ark's future, in order to ensure that events of his own past played out as he knew them to be. He couldn't warn the Commander or Avron about the future revolt and subjugation of the human race by the Monoids. He was as powerless to change it as if he'd landed on Earth prior to the carnage of Pearl Harbor or the sinking of the Titanic. He could only help in small ways that didn't affect his previous actions, which meant that he was free to repair the Ark's damage to ensure that it did arrive at Refusis as his own personal history had shown would occur. And four; an outside force, possibly even the aforementioned Draconians, threatened the future of the Ark, which meant he would have to take steps to stop future malfunctions and possibly confront the would-be saboteurs, if they existed.

They arrived at the TARDIS and the Doctor jumped off the travel cart to go inside, leaving Jo by Avron's side. He reappeared with a toolkit, and asked to be taken down to deck 10 so he could effect repairs on the impaired life support system.

"What about the translators? I thought you were in a hurry to build them and bring forth a new era of equality between our two peoples?" Avron asked, sounding sarcastic.

"That can wait for another day. I'll have half a dozen ready and working in a matter of hours, but your Ark's well-being is far more important. Let me help before a domino-effect begins to knock out several decks."
"The air is colder and thinner down there, though, Doctor," Trebon warned. "We're not dressed for it."
"Oh, very well. Excuse me while I rummage through my TARDIS for a pair of environmental suits for you," he said, as he unlocked the TARDIS door again. "What about this Monoid chap? Can he survive in those conditions?"
Avron shrugged noncommittally. "I suppose so."

One of the Doctor's eyebrows lifted. "Indeed? Most interesting, I should say. Excuse me."

He left, giving Trebon a chance to ask Jo, "What did he mean by that?"

Jo looked at the soft-spoken Ark-men like they'd just asked her what 2 plus 2 added up to. "Bit of a coincidence that the Monoids could live under those severe conditions and you can't, wouldn't you say?"

"You're accusing them of sabotage?" Avron asked, incredulous. "Nonsense! They're completely obed-, uh, content with their lives. They have no reason to harm a single human on this ship!"

A half hour later, the five people had arrived at a lift that could take them down into the bowels of the great ship. A schematic viewscreen was present beside the level indicator, giving the Doctor his first good look at the Ark from the outside. It was basically a massive saucer with six bulbous reactor domes on top, and a single large oval dome on the belly of the 10-mile wide space ark. For such an enormous ship, it had a surprisingly small number of people looking after its functioning, but after ten million years automated computer controls had probably reduced to the size of a paperback novel, and required as little human interaction.

The group entered the lift, and experienced various stages of anticipation in the 30 seconds that it took to go below. When the doors opened a blast of chilly air assaulted them. It reminded Jo of the coldest winter she'd experienced back home, while the Guardians, Avron and Trebon, shivered with discomfort, and even a little fear, as they were completely unused to such a drastic change in their environment. The Monoid and the Doctor ignored the frigid air. Instructed to show him the location of the damage, Avron led the Doctor to where he'd isolated the problem.

There was frost in the corridors, pipes, and conduits smeared with ice or bits of frosty flakes, while the dim lighting did nothing to improve the situation and aura of the lower level. Avron complained of this, even going so far as to suggest that they go back topside.

"Tell me, Avron; despite having a single eye, how visually acute are Monoid eyes?"

"I understand that they have superior vision to humans."

"Could you ask your Monoid friend to lead us towards the location of the malfunction?"

Avron agreed, signing to the alien his request, as Jo tugged on the Doctor's sleeve. "Shouldn't we be calling the Monoid by his given name, Doctor?"

The Third Doctor grimaced with a kindly, sympathetic expression at his friend. "They haven't bothered to address each Monoid as an individual. They have no names, as far as your descendants are concerned."

The alien bowed at Avron, and waved a lumpy hand ahead of them down a specific corridor. The pace was slow, thanks to the limited mobility of the alien's 'legs, but after several turns they located the proper junction. Jo rubbed her arms against the chill, and revealed to everyone that she felt like she was already lost amongst the Arks' corridors.

"You surprise me, Jo!" the Doctor smiled, using a small pen torch to peer inside an open hatch. "I'd have thought that after all this time with me that you would have developed an impeccable sense of direction!"

"Yes, well, maybe if I could actually see where I'm going, I might do better next ti-"

"What was that?" Trebon snapped, looking around the near-dark.

"What was what?" Jo asked.

"I...thought I heard a growl."

"A what?" Jo asked, nervously.

"Probably just metal fatigue," the Doctor ascertained, dismissively, as he pulled out wires that he shouldn't know the function of, but evidently did. "This deck probably hasn't been exposed to this level of cold since it was sealed up after the Ark was constructed."

"No, no, I heard-"

They all heard it this time.

"Doctor," Jo whispered, seeing a glint of something down the corridor.

"Now listen to me, all of you; when I say 'run', run!"

"What about the Monoid?" Avron asked, annoyed. "Monoids can't run!"

"Then carry him if you have to, man, just get ready!"

The Doctor rummaged through his burgundy-colored smoking jacket, fumbling about with his frilled cuffs as he removed a small candle which he gave to Jo. With shaking hands, she held it even as he struggled to light it with a match, while a second growling thing appeared beyond the first, its existence denoted solely by a pair of unblinking, glowing eyes. The Doctor took the candle from her, lit it, waited two seconds, told everyone to shield their eyes, then tossed it at the lifeforms. It exploded with the glare of a search light for six seconds, giving them a look at their uninvited visitors, as well as blinding the creatures for several seconds later.

"RUN!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing Jo's hand.

The creatures weren't human, Monoid, or even Draconian, which had occurred to the Doctor as possible suspects of sabotage. In fact, the creatures weren't even humanoid in form, either, appearing more like four-foot tall 3-legged tree stumps. A trio of the bony arms (legs?) protruded from the chunky body that was topped with a jagged crop of hair or fur in the center of the main body, while a three-tiered organ at the center of the main body body was probably the eyes of the creature that had been blinded in the flash.

Avron and Trebon took one arm each of the Monoid to hurry it along, while the Doctor led the way with a limping, grunting Jo in hand. A few seconds later growls and the skittering of the alien's three hooves could be detected in pursuit. As luck would have it, the Doctor inadvertently took a wrong turn, away from the lift, sending them down unfamiliar corridors, and...

"A dead end!" shouted Avron.

The creatures seemed to anticipate this, and slowly approached their exhausted, chilled prey.

"Doctor! Do something!" Jo implored.

He felt around in his jacket, frowning at the two bullet holes he noticed in the dim lighting. "Too bad we used the sonic lance on Billy the Kid to escape, eh, Jo? It would have come in handy right about now."

"What did you do with it?"

"Tossed it out amongst a pile of tumbleweeds, Jo. It was burnt out, useless, and probably won't be found for a hundred years."

"Then use your sonic screwdriver, Doctor! They're getting closer!" Jo cried, cowering behind him and covering her ears to block out the intimidating growling.

"These are living beings, Jo, not locked doors!"

"Whatever else it can do, Doctor, just try it on a different setting! You fought off the Drashigs with it, remember?"

"Right; cover your ears!"

The Doctor aimed his remarkable device and adjusted the sonic range several times. It caused Jo's ears to whistle and pop, as if she were in a descending airplane, but the monsters simply growled angrily, hissing for good measure.

"It's not stopping them!" Trebon shouted, stating the obvious.

The Doctor suddenly realized what was around him, now that his own eyes had adjusted to the dark areas of deck 10. He swung his sonic screwdriver to the left and changed the setting. Lights came on a small console, and a dimly-lit lift door swung open. He pushed the group inside it, even as the two alien creatures advanced towards them.

Sacrificing himself so that the others could escape, the Doctor leaped at the first creature, giving it a swift kick using his martial arts skills, but received a small electrical charge for his efforts. Jo called out for him to get into the lift, but the Monoid pushed its way out, instead. A second electrical charge sent the Doctor to a bulkhead, dazed, then the Monoid fell onto the creatures in a display of electrical arcs. The doors shut, and the elevator ascended.

"We have to go back to help him! To help both of them!" Jo insisted.

"Not me! We'll ask the Commander what to do first," Avron countered.

"What kind of man are you?" Jo demanded, her eyes welling with tears. "The Doctor and the Monoid are sacrificing for themselves for you! Doesn't that count for something?"

"This is beyond anything I've ever seen, Jo, and we're hardly trained for something like this! I was expecting mechanical trouble, not an invasion by those- those things!"

The lift opened up back into the warm air of the 'outside' level, birds and crickets greeting them as they shuffled out of the elevator, climbed back onto the travel cart and headed back in silence towards the control room and the Commander.

The Doctor was subtly aware of his surroundings, barely able to look through squinting, semi-paralyzed eyes up at the moving ceiling, dim lights and long conduits passing from the top of his vision to the bottom, as he was dragged by his arms somewhere. Occasionally he felt a gentle series of collisions brush against his numb leg, which he assumed was the form of the Monoid, which was also being dragged somewhere. The creatures that had given him the electrical shocks were unlike anything he'd ever seen before, so he couldn't begin to figure out what they were or where they came from, especially this far beyond the time frames he was so used to visiting. The year was something like 10,000,000, which was so very very far away from the Great and Bountiful Human Empire of the year 200,000 that he'd heard so much about. That period of history seemed so alien compared to what he had become accustomed to, let alone the astronomical date of ten million A.D.

The cold air and the freezing metal plates of the decks were only just beginning to return to their original discomfort, as his senses slowly returned to him. First bullet holes courtesy of that misanthropic Billy the Kid, and how considerable electrical discharges from tri-legged monsters- his nice jacket was surely being damaged beyond repair! He'd been able to fight off unconsciousness by sheer force of will, and was certain that Jo and Avron were safely back on the upper deck. He and the Monoid, however, weren't so lucky. The creatures seemed to have a purpose- perhaps dragging them to their hidden lair? If they were about to be fed to tri-legged offspring, then he would have no alternative but to defend himself to the death. Despite their alienness, the Doctor would learn all that he could about these latest visions of the dark before he took serious action. Judging by Avron's reaction, they didn't belong here, so the question was, where did they come from?

The Doctor and the Monoid were dragged into a large engine room of some sort, judging by the noise of machinery, and the blinking of lights and control panels. And as before, the room was mainly in shadows, which seemed to suggest the tri-legged creatures preferred lower lighting to operate in. The both of them were released, and left in the middle of the room, whatever it was. He opened his eyes wider, and looked about himself, even as the Monoid rolled side to side, struggling to rise. The tri-legs backed off, but seemed to stand guard, observing their...prey? Prisoners? The Doctor sat up and felt now was the time to find out.

"So...can you speak?" he asked, addressing the tri-leg closest to him. The creature just 'stared' back at him from its 3-tiered eye appendage. "I come in peace, I hope you know that?" Still nothing, so the Doctor looked at the Monoid, and said, "How about you, old chap? Do these beings look familiar to you?" The Monoid only looked back at him, apparently hearing the question, but not understanding it if the tilt of his head was anything to go by. "This started out as a human Ark, but I wonder, did you bring your own livestock from Monos with you? Is this your version of a cow or chicken? Hm? Well. If I keep this up I might just wind up talking to myself!" He looked back at the strange creature. "You're large enough to eat me a little at a time, but now that I get a good look at you...I don't actually see a mouth or teeth. But if you're living down here, I wonder what you do ingest for nourishment?"

The Doctor adjusted his sitting position, watching for any reaction by the tri-leg. It was either standing guard or didn't know what to do with him and the Monoid now that it had brought them back to its lair. The Time Lord slowly began to climb to his feet, when the nearest tri-leg hissed and took a few steps forward, halting the Doctors ascension. An unearthly electrical buzzing and display of blue electrical current around its stump-like body encouraged the Doctor to return to the cold floor and sitting position.

"All right. You're guarding me. But why? And for whom?"

Jo leaped off the travel cart when she saw the control room in sight, instead of waiting for the overly-cautious Avron to consult the Commander. She called out to the leader of the human, forcing her eyes not to release the tears that were burning her eyes in their efforts to break out.

"Commander, we need help down below! You need to send a rescue mission to save the Doctor!"

"Avron, what's the meaning of this?" the old Commander asked, practically ignoring Jo.

Avron appeared, his own emotions of fear and foreboding held in check. "There are creatures down below, Commander. Like nothing we have on the Ark in full form or micro-cell form! They attacked our party, and now the Doctor and a Monoid are its prisoners. Or dead. I don't know which."

"What kind of creature? Surely not the Draconians?"

"No, sir. Something hideous...alien...unrecognizable. It has the capability of rendering a victim powerless by discharging an electrical charge. It's like no animal I've ever seen- it has three legs and a stalk-like eye appendage."

The crowd of human Guardians broke out into near-panicked conversation at once, which worried Jo considerably. They were acting like it was the end of the world (which it might be), as if the biggest crisis the humans had survived was whether or not a monkey would wander too close to the landing bay!

"Silence! I will have order!" the Commander insisted, to which his people obediently did. "Avron, what would you have me do? Would you like to return to the lower levels to effect a rescue?"

Avron bit his lower lip and hesitated. He caught Jo's look of astonishment and looked away, while Trebon offered not a single thought of his own. With the weight of his leader boring down upon him, watching him for any signs of weakness. The Commander was old, and would soon need to be replaced, of which Avron had been the logical choice. Now, however, his lack of strength and decision-making ability was seriously hindering his future.

"The Doctor saved you, Avron! He saved all of us!" Jo snapped, clutching his bare arm. "You owe him your life!"
"Is this so, Avron?" the Commander demanded.

"We would have escaped-" Avron shrugged, until Trebon spoke up.

"Not without him! The Doctor was a brave man, Commander, and was instrumental in our escape. I fear he must surely be dead, however. If you'd seen those monsters down below..." he finished, shaking his head.

But Jo would not be denied a chance to rescue her friend. "Monsters are afraid of him, Commander! The doors closed before we could see what happened next!"
"It's cold and dangerous down there!" Avron cried.

"So what? I've been to places on alien worlds that make your lower levels look like Piccadilly Circus on a Saturday afternoon! If none of you will come with me, I'll go back...alone!"

The young Earth-woman's bravery shamed Avron, and brought out admiring smiles from those gathered around, including the old Commander.

"I'll...accompany her."

Jo smiled at Trebon, and looked at Avron.

The second in command merely shuffled towards the main control console, his eyes downcast, his decision made.

"So, , I've been thinking." the Doctor said, making conversation to pass the time. "The malfunctions of the Ark have begun to work their way up. It started with a heat exchanger on deck 14, then a water purification tank in deck 12, and now the majority of power down here, just minimal life support. Considering all of this higgery-jiggery humming and rumbling around me, I'd say the power was being rerouted away from the upper levels and back down to the lower levels where the malfunctions began a week ago."

The Monoid simply stared at him, his eye moving about.

"And judging by these tri-legs, I'm beginning to think that they're not responsible at all for the damage caused. What possible use would they have for such technological equipment, hm? I usually refrain from judging an alien by its shape and dexterity, but the more I observe our tri-legs here, the less I'm convinced it's a species with an intelligence capable of star flight. So that makes them little more than guard dogs, go-fers...enforcers. The real enemy is still out there, somewhere, so you might as well show yourself!" The Doctor paused and smiled slightly to himself. "No, really, you might as well stop hiding behind that wall, because I can smell you. Quite an obvious odor, in fact."

From out of the darkness shuffled four creatures that were tall and barely humanoid in shape. Dim overhead lighting offered little help in discerning the true visage of the aliens, which shambled out from the blackest depths of the machinery-laden room to stand before the Doctor and Monoid. The aliens stopped a few yards from him, as one touched a control panel and increased the dim lighting slightly. In the subdued illumination, the Doctor's face revealed his recognition of the aliens.

"I see. Certainly seems like my visit to the Ark has become 'Old Faces Week'!"

Jo's optimism was soon dashed, as it became evident that only she and Trebon would venture below decks. The Commander asked for volunteers, but of the twenty-five adults present, not one was willing to join them, and truth be told, she could understand. Avron created a nightmarish encounter with his objections, further frightening any potential help from the gathered Guardians, some of whom now clutched their frightened children. And Jo was under no delusions that with only a single man beside her, and an unarmed one at that, who had never known battle, gave her about as much chance of success as if she were paired with her Auntie Agatha from Gillingham!

"I'm sorry, Jo. It would appear that a rescue mission is out of the question," the Commander admitted, sadly.

"As if!" Jo countered! "I'm not about to abandon the Doctor down there! You lot can do what you want, but I'm going back!"

"And I'm joining her!" Trebon reiterated. She smiled at him, and had to reign in her emotions somewhat, as she saw 'the look' in his eyes. She'd seen it before in chaps in clubs like Inferno or Club 23, when a bloke chatted her up and was attracted to her. Well, if he was doing this because he liked her, that was okay- he'd be doubly protective of her. But once the Doctor was rescued he'd either have to accept that she was leaving, or make a big decision to leave the Ark with her (Doctor permitting).

"Fine. Then it's two against whatever we find down there," Jo said, pulling Trebon by the arm towards a travel cart.

"STOP!" the Commander called out, standing up in dramatic fashion. His people murmured amongst one another, wondering what he was about to say, or if he was going to offer joining Jo and Trebon in the dark lower decks of the Ark. The couple looked back at him, waiting for him to continue. "It's not fair to ask the Guardians standing before you to accompany you on a mission where their lives could be put in jeopardy. Most of them are parents, as you can see. And although I am greatly disappointed that my successor, Avron, does not possess the courage to face a danger head-on," he said, leering at Avron, who cast his eyes downward, "I cannot allow the pair of you to do this alone."

Jo frowned. "Then what? Are you going to 'draft' the Monoids to do your dirty work?"

The Commander grimaced. "Hardly, young woman. Come with me for your answer."

Jo and Trebon followed the Commander as he left the control room area, Avron trailing behind with his own expression of confusion on his features.

"You know us?" one of the aliens growled.

"Not specifically you and your friends, but I know of your race. My, my, my, but you're a long way from home, aren't you?"

"Explain?"

"The last time I saw you, your people were residing in Galaxy 4, as I recall."

"That was untold millennia ago. We have resided on our nearby planet for millions of years."

"Which is where you gradually evolved into this new shape, I should think. Tell me...do you still call yourselves 'The Rill'?"

"We do."

The Doctor nodded, thinking back to an age when he was in his first body, and first met the reptilian-like aliens that were in conflict with the female-dominated Drahvin race. The Drahvins were humanoid and attractive, while the Rill were reptilian and quite unappealing, not to mention somewhat odorous. On the surface it seemed like the logical choice to side with people that looked like humans, but the Drahvins true colors and warlike behavior soon made it known that the Rill were the troubled species, and they were the ones that needed his help. However, from this creature's perspective that occurred millions of years ago, so in essence he was dealing with an entirely new race of Rill.

The alien's head was basically triangular, toadish, as if the flesh had been molded of the Earthly amphibian to taper upwards towards a pointed, cone head. The eyes were large and gel-like in their blackness, their nostrils a pair of downward-shaped slashes, wet with mucous, while their mouths retained a permanent frown, and a pair of ancestral 3-inch fangs in the center of the slimy lower jaw. The flesh of the creatures glistened from oil glands beneath the surface, as each displayed a slight variation in texture and colorization. For the most part they were green or navy blue in hue, but there were patches of red or yellow spots or rashes across their naked bodies. Very similar to what he'd met long ago, but with an evolved nature in the preceding 10 million years.

"Isn't this rather chilly for you down here, as reptilian-based life forms?" the Time Lord wondered.

"We've evolved far beyond such primitive needs," the Leader replied. "Our new home world was substantially cooler than our original home planet, but we adapted, so that now the higher temperatures are uncomfortable to us. The cold does not bother us, and we can function perfectly within this environment. Now...who are you? And what are you doing down in the bowels of the Ark?"

"Oh, strolling. I find it keeps me fit and relaxes me. And I'm called the Doctor."
The second Rill snapped, taking a threatening step forward, "You say you were simply walking about, and yet you came here with others! With tools!" He turned to the first one and growled, "They know of our arrival here!"

"Is this true?" asked the first Rill, which was clearly the leader. "Stay within the lines of truth if you don't wish to be handed over to our Jektars."

The Doctor noticed that the tri-legs were aware that they'd been mentioned, and displayed an air of impatience or interest. He didn't know if it meant that he'd be devoured or toyed with the way a cat plays with a rubber mouse, but he wasn't about to go down that path!

"Very well, yes, yes, I'm here to see what you people have been fiddling with! It's not as if your work or sabotage down here wouldn't go unnoticed up top, you know!"

"When we're finished with our alterations, it won't matter if the humans above notice us or not. The Ark is nearly ours anyway!" the second Rill proclaimed.

"But you can't do that! The humans and Monoids aboard this ship are the last of their kind in the universe! They must be allowed to continue on to Refusis and settle there!" The Rills chuckled and grunted amongst themselves, prompting the Doctor to look amongst them with confusion. The frowning mouths of the reptilioids were incapable of turning upwards into smiles and laughing faces, but the sounds were definitely that of amusement. "Why does that strike you as funny?"

"You've just proven to us that your people are completely unaware of us, Doctor! The Ark's voyage to Refusis was interrupted five years ago!"

"What?" the Doctor gasped.

The first Rill continued to speak and chuckle at the same time. "The Ark's engines were turned off by us five years ago when we first boarded this ship, and tried to have the Ark's course altered, but the computers aboard rejected the commands, so for the past five years...the Ark has been sitting stationary, just outside our star system!"

"But why?" demanded the Doctor, barely able to restrain his outrage. "These people mean no harm to you!"
"It wasn't a matter of harming the Rill," the first alien replied. "It was the lure of this technological wonder they possess. We craved their technology, their livestock, and whatever else we could gain from this Ark of theirs. When we first boarded it five years ago we explored the bowels in freedom, and avoided contact with them even when we located the bridge and tried to alter the vessel's course. It fought us, and refused to be reprogrammed by us."

The second Rill continued with the story. "But it couldn't fight us when we rendered the engines inoperative. If we couldn't have it attain orbit over Rilliax, then nobody would have it. It has drifted in space for half a decade, moving perhaps one kilometre in that time. We have only just begun to reconfigure the Ark to our own purposes."

The Doctor shook his head in dismay. The Ark should have been light years from this position, not the puny single kilometre she'd shuffled past. The nearest post office was even further away from UNIT Headquarters by comparison! "And what purpose is that?"

"We are going to alter the climate to our natural environment, and shortly thereafter our cargo-carriers will arrive to connect booster rocket engines to the hull of the Ark," the first Rill explained. "They'll be used to place the Ark in orbit over our dying world, and then the transfer will begin."
"'Transfer'?" the Doctor whispered, not liking the sound of that.

The Rill nodded its big head. "All humans and Monoids will be removed, as well as all those reduced to micro-cell size, which we'll destroy. The millions of Rill on our dying world will be brought to the Ark to assume control, and replace the micro-celled humans. The livestock aboard will either be used for food or destroyed, as our needs dictate. We might even test the humans and Monoids for their nutritional content to learn if they can be used as food by us! This vessel will become the Ark of Rills, populated by our kind and those of the Jektars, and with it we shall find a new world to settle. Perhaps this 'Refusis' that the humans and Monoids were en route for."

The Doctor knew that the Rills were flirting with a disastrous paradox, since he was aware of the future for the Earthlings and Monoids that shared the Ark. He would have to correct the situation soon, or else the five-year delay in the Ark's human voyage would be the beginning of the end of Humanity and the true course of Time.

Jo followed the Commander and Trebon down a couple corridors in to a large room filled with technologically advanced equipment, and more rows of drawers than your typical library had of book shelves. "What is this place?" she asked.

"The very core of the Human Race, Jo," he answered, a note of pride coloring his tone. "Within these drawers are the last survivors of Earth; our people and the future of all Mankind, reduced down to micro-cell size. Once the Ark arrives at Refusis, my ancestors will colonize that planet along with whatever descendants are born during our voyage there. The cells are categorized under various titles, but for your purposes I'm going to offer you the services of several soldiers. We're a peaceful people, but there has always been need for those that possess the bravery and instinct to defend and protect."

The Commander used a device that Jo assumed was an electronic catalog to locate the needed soldiers, even though she wondered if they would take action on their own or would the Commander expect her to 'command them'. Either way, she was glad for the help. She stepped away and examined the rows and rows of drawers, all labelled with whoever or whatever was inside. As she moved away from the white-colored labels and into the red labels she saw the names of animals, blue labels for birds, and even green for reptiles.

"Jo?" he said, to bring her back. She approached him and he handed her a disc embedded within a square plastic frame, and told her, "Within this disc are stored a total of one hundred soldiers-"

"A hundred?" Jo gasped. "It'll be a bit crowded down there with that many blokes, won't it?"

The Commander chuckled, "Oh, nonono! You'll have to be much more selective...with this." he handed her a device that was the size of a cereal box with controls on it. "This is a portable device to reactivate humans. Press this restoration button once per soldier to return a cell-form to human size. Each has been shrunk down in full gear in protective armor and weaponry. You and Trebon shall have to inform them of their mission rather quickly, I should think, but they were micro-celled knowing that they might have been reactivated at a moments notice, so there should be few questions on their part. Now, Trebon, may I have a few words with you?"

Jo stepped away and went back to the rows on discs that displayed micro-celled animals. She surreptitiously looked over her shoulder casually, and then quickly pulled out a couple discs and shoved them inside her jacket pocket. She trusted the soldiers, but she was a great believer in insurance. After the Commander had given Trebon his 'pep talk', the two left to acquire a travel cart to return to the lift that would lower them back down into the innards of the Ark, and the location of the Doctor.

The Doctor's courses of action were severely limited by the presence of the Monoid. His conscience wouldn't allow him to simply abandon the alien to the Rill. He could probably outrun the stocky reptiliods, even distract the tri-legs, but the Monoid was incapable of running. He was a double liability by being a mute that couldn't understand what was being said by him or the Rills. He would surely know that these unfamiliar aliens lurking down below were a threat, and not to be trusted. If only the lazy humans had done their part and created the voice-box translators he'd seen the future Monoids use. He would certainly build a proto-type for these Ark's passengers to put into production, even if it meant he was tip-toeing around a paradox to do it. For all he knew, what he saw was the result of this visit, after all.

"Well, , things are not looking good for you or the humans at the moment," he said to the alien beside him, hoping the tone in his voice was carrying within it the strong sense of danger he hoped he was conveying. He tilted his head towards the Rill, and shook his head with a frown, hoping it would understand the basic humanoid expressions. "These aliens don't belong here, and are a threat to you. They're not to be trusted."

"Trust is irrelevant, Doctor. We have power over this ship, and time is running out for its crew," the Rill leader told him. "The question is...what shall we do with you?"

The Doctor grinned, his eyes twinkling, "Don't mind us. Feel free to leave us here and you go about your business."

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" the creature asked him. "Just allow you and the Monoid to go free and warn your people of us?"

The Doctor smirked. "Or we could just keep chatting like this? I'm quite content to slow down whatever progress you're trying to make. I can just keep talking like this to the four of you until the cows come home. With just four of you to deal with it shan't be very difficult."

"You won't distract the three others on the bridge, Doc-"

"Geltch! Don't say anymore!" the lead Rill snapped at his assistant.

The Doctor nodded to himself. "Seven of you aboard a ship of this size? I'd be surprised if you even knew that the other team was in trouble before it was all over for you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked the second Rill.

"Ignore him, Geltch!" the leader snapped, becoming even more annoyed. "He seeks merely to confuse us."

The Doctor shrugged. "Or to let you in on a little secret."

The Rill spun around, bending over the Doctor. "'Secret'? Secret? What secret?"

The Time Lord shrugged, crossed his arms, and looked away, trying not to breath in the Rill's fishy-breath. "Oh, sure; now you want to talk to me. However, I'm not in the mood to cooperate. You've all been most inhospitable!"

"We can become most deadly if you don't impart your knowledge, Doctor!"

The Doctor pretended to consider this, and nodded, opening his mouth, and then shutting it. "No, no, no, this won't do at all. I'll gladly tell you everything you wish to know...but release my Monoid friend here, first."

The Rill straightened up, and released a derisive wheeze. "You have no information! You think us stupid enough to release a hostage? He will simply warn the others above!"

"Or...warn them away, if that is what you wish."
"Uhhh?" the Rill leader grunted.

"For the price of the Monoid's freedom, I will instruct him to return to the upper levels with word of my unfortunate and untimely death. That'll prevent the humans and his Monoid friends from snooping down here again. In return, you'll be free to pilot the Ark to Rilliax- in fact I'll help you do it, if it means sparing my life, in exchange for the secret I offer you."

"You lie! The Monoids will attack us! They'll come down here for revenge!" the second Rill argued, stomping forward and waving his paws over the Doctor.

"My dear old chap, have you not been watching our one-eyed friend here? He hasn't made a single belligerent move in all the time we've been your prisoners! He doesn't even understand English- just the sign language of the humans, so for all he knows you're a species of semi-intelligent Earth animal. He has no need to fear you!"

"Perhaps..." the Leader mumbled.

"I do not trust the alien, Leader," the second in command sneered.

"You will after I give you valuable information that only I know," the Doctor insisted.

"You would turn your back on your own people? Are you that callous, human?" asked the Leader.

The Doctor snorted. "They're not my people, sir. I'm just a...travelling Mister Fix-it. I stumbled upon the Ark by chance, they had some technical problems down here and I offered to mend it for them. Whether or not the Ark is fixed is no skin off my nose! So what about my offer? Release the Monoid, who I'll instruct not to reveal your existence to his friends, I tell you the information that I've discovered, and you let me go on my way." The Rills considered this, so he added, "It's not exactly 7 against a thousand, if they don't know about you. It's really 7 on 1 against me, isn't it? And what I know can make all the difference in your pointing this vessel towards your planet."

The Rills agreed to this, and getting back onto their feet, the Doctor turned the Monoid around to face him, all too aware that he didn't know a single 'word' of the human-Monoid sign language, but that was all the better for both of them. The 'message' wasn't so much a message as a slap-dash improvisation of dance and nonsensical movement, but the Rills didn't need to know that!

The Doctor started out by patting both of his arms and working his way up to his head like he was dancing the 'Macarana', then mimicked a mishmash of marching and strutting that would have made Lethbridge-Stewart blush from how badly it was done. The Monoid's eye never looked away from the Doctor, and if the creature's stoic features could display confusion, it would have done so. The Doctor used both hands to 'talk' to each other, as if he was wearing a pair of sock puppets, then clapped his hands, wagged his finger in the air as he'd seen during a dance in the Roaring '20's on Earth, as he did a jig, turning around 360 degrees twice. He finished his faked message by doing a few moves of the 'Charleston' wiggling his legs and resting his hands on his knees, standing straight, and playing Peak-A-Boo with the Monoid by covering his face with his hands, and then revealing his eyes, and a goofy smile on his features, as if he was trying to make a baby laugh. He finished with cupping his hands around his ears, and opening and closing his mouth in his imitation of a fish.

The Monoid just stood there.

The Doctor nodded, and regained his composure, and with a friendly nod, pointed the Monoid towards the exit. "There you go, old chap. Return to the upper levels and remember to keep all this a secret. Nothing wrong down here."

The Monoid continued to just stand there, glancing towards the exit, but not making a move to leave.

"The Monoid doesn't leave. Did it understand you?" asked the Rill leader.

"I should think so. Probably just frightened of your jektars- they imparted a sizable electrical shock against both of us. Trust me, my friend. Go home."

Finally, the Monoid seemed to understand the Doctor's motives and pointed finger, slowly, cautiously edged towards the door, but stopped when a Rill took a step closer.

"Look, just allow the poor fellow to leave and-"

"He will be allowed to return, but under guard, Doctor. It would be...unfortunate...if he wasn't returned safely...would it?" the Rill leader suggested.

Still, that meant one less Rill to deal with in his vicinity, so the Doctor agreed to the escort, hoping the invading aliens would hold their part of the bargain. Once the door slammed shut behind the two aliens, the Rill leader took a couple steps closer, assaulting the Doctor's nose with his fishy breath.

"And now...your information, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded, feigning defeat and rubbing the back of his neck, when in fact his mind was racing to come up with what exactly he was supposed to know that the Rills didn't...and more importantly, couldn't do without!

The lower corridors were just as chilly as Jo remembered them to be, and just as dark and foreboding, even with torches to lead the way. Alone down here with just Trebon, she could only hope that when and if she reactivated the human soldiers, bringing them to life-size, that it was instantaneously, and not an operation that would take even 60 seconds, because they might be needed at the flick of a button. The only reason she and her escort didn't already have them brought to life was out of respect for their sacrifice of being shrunk down to cell-size. They'd have to be shrunk down once again as a call of action, rather than landing on the colony world, and that seemed like a cruel trick to play on someone who probably expected to be shrunk for 700 years only once and then become fully human again.

"I think we went this way," Trebon suggested, and Jo had to agree, after noticing the yellow-painted junction box on the wall that her eyes had noticed the first time they'd come down here. It was the running about the corridors that had made her lose her directions. They walked around the bowels of the Ark for several corridor-lengths until Trebon held her back, his head titled in one direction as he strained to listen. "I thought I heard something."

Jo swallowed, nervously. "L-like what?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

Trebon pulled her back around a corner, and listened for whatever it was that was much further down the hallway. "Not sure. Regular tapping or maybe footsteps," he whispered back.

"Coming this way?" she asked, and was rewarded by a silent, nervous nod from her male companion. Jo desperately wished she was accompanied by the Brigadier or Mike Yates...even good ol' Sergeant Benton, at this rate. Still, Trebon had showed much more courage then Avron, who was probably up-deck sipping space tea and doing space crosswords, for all the good he could offer.

The movements of footsteps became ever more obvious as they approached their hidden location, but to Jo's keen ear neither sounded like the Doctor. This was more like the trudging of bare feet, animal feet, and not shoes. A savage shiver ran down her back as she recalled the horrifying sight of the totally-alien tri-legged creatures that had electrocuted the Doctor, the memory enough to make her mouth go completely dry from fear.

Neither human uttered a word, or released a breath as they observed their former Monoid companion shuffle past them, accompanied by a new creature neither had ever seen before. The only clue that this alien was of an intelligent race was the tool belt the thing wore, and most disturbingly, the hand-held weapon it carried in one clawed hand. As their footsteps began to recede back the way they came, Jo and Trebon garnered enough courage to look around the corner to see where the aliens were heading.

"They're going back the way we came. Are they going above deck? And what was that creature with the Monoid?" Trebon wondered.

"I-I don't know. I've never seen such a creature during my travels with the Doctor," Jo had to admit. "C'mon."

She started to continue on deeper into the tunnels, when Trebon grabbed her arm and held her back. "We must follow them."

"B-but the Doctor-!"

"We'll search for him as soon as possible, Jo, but this deserves our immediate attention! That's probably the Monoid that came below with us, and he's our only clue of knowing where the Doctor is, and who this alien is with him, and what they're doing on the Ark."

Jo had no choice but to agree, her loyalty to the Doctor tempered by the logic of the situation. After all, they could spend the next half hour wandering these dark corridors with nothing to show for it. Cautiously, they trailed the Rill and the Monoid.

The Rills had accepted that the Doctor knew what he was talking about, and simply followed him to their destination.

In fact, they had no choice but to do so.

"Well, you see the quandary that imposes upon your official status as rulers of this brobdingnagian, discommodious vessel is that the Prime-Negatory Impulse Facilitator on the Control Board X-97531 Disc Drive above deck indicated a point zero null shaft reading of five to the nineteenth power, conversely affecting the Multi-linear Taco Bell X-Factor Injectors of the Life Support Status Cubicles that I was sent to repair, you see? Without those aligned to the nano-sect tri-glycite status that the pulmonary-ulterior sensor matrix fields require for localised life support and burger manifestation symbols, well...I shan't want to be standing too close to the VR-1984 generators when they blow hot methane expulsion drive plasma."

"Uhhh..." grunted the Leader.

"Er...obviously!" Geltch nodded, pretending he knew what he'd just heard. "It would be extremely...serious."

"Indeed. So if you'll kindly allow me to go about my work, to prevent this catastrophe, we can join forces, work together, ensure that we all live to see tomorrow, and the silly human apes above will remain oblivious to your presence and your plans for their ship. Follow me as I show you what needs to be mended, hm?"

The Doctor didn't even wait for them to contradict him, and simply followed the helpful Time Lord.

The Monoid nervously shuffled all the way to the lift that he and his companions had used to enter the lower levels, and began to reach for the recall button, only to have his arm slapped away by the Rill. The silent one-eyed alien stared at the reptiliod, tilting his shaggy head one way or the other as he wondered what the bulky alien had in mind. The creature chuckled in a strange, gurgling echo, as he raised his weapon at his charge.

"I was told to take you back, alien," the Rill sneered, "but in my judgement it's not worth you returning to your people, simply to warn them of my boarding party's intentions. They won't miss one more of your kind down here in the guts of this giant ship..."

Down the corridor, Jo and Trebon watched, but were just out of ear-shot to hear what was being said. However, considering the Rill stopped the Monoid from leaving, and was now aiming a weapon at him spoke volumes, so Jo took out a disc of her own and slid it across the floor, gaining the attention of the Rill. He gave a warning gesture to the Monoid to stay where he was as he investigated. Cautiously stepping forward, he noticed the disc, wondering what it was, since he hadn't noticed it as he'd walked over that flooring just now. Jo took her portable cell device and aimed it at the disc. It bleeped and whined, and suddenly on top of the device a glowing form appeared and quickly expanded to full size.

Jo wasn't sure what she'd tossed down the hallway, but she was instantly pleased as a fully-mature male lion appeared before the startled eyes of all that witnessed the transformation. Trebon gasped and hid behind the edge of the wall again, as the Earth lion roared angrily at the alien Rill. The creature released an alien gurgle-like yelp as the lion took form just a couple yards from him. He fired blindly, missing the lion that seemed to instinctively take a dislike to the reptiliod, and showed it by leaping on him. The alien only made his situation worse by fighting with the earthly savage beast, who locked his jaws on the Rill's arm that was holding the weapon, as he pounced on top of the terrified alien invader. The struggle was over in a minute, as the Rill died in an over-matched battle.

Jo nervously looked around the corner and watched as the lion began to feast on the alien, its first meal in decades, even as the Monoid wisely entered the lift to the surface. Before she could argue, Trebon yanked her by the hand and led her back the way they came, back towards where they hoped they'd find the Doctor. You didn't have to tell her twice, but she still asked him in a whisper if it wouldn't be a good idea to shrink the lion back down to micro-cell size.

Trebon frowned at her, annoyed. "You didn't tell me that you'd stolen one of our animal discs, Jo, because if you had I would have told you that your restoration device can only enlarge someone or some thing, and can't shrink them again!"

"But, then...that means...!"
Trebon nodded nervously. "You've released a wild animal down here with us...and it's going to be very hungry!"

The Rills watched as the Doctor made several stops down this corridor and that junction, using a tool kit he'd found in a wall-mounted storage bay to make adjustments to several control panels and tubing, none of which would do more than temporarily turn off inconsequential mechanisms, but the Rills didn't need to know that. He puttered about, sometimes humming to himself as the Rills watched carefully, occasionally assured that whatever the Doctor was working on was essential, until he came to a set of controls that he'd been looking for all this time.

As he made adjustments, in the distance some footsteps could be heard echoing in the distance, but couldn't quite be located. The Doctor immediately assumed it to be Jo and someone from the Ark's crew, so he began to hum even louder and smack a metal pipe in a loud fashion, sending out a distinct dot-dot-dot-dash-dash-dash-dot-dot-dot rhythm to spell out S-O-S to whomever was approaching. The Rill Leader snatched his arm away and shushed him.

"I think I hear something!" the Rill leader hissed, looking down the corridor, however the footsteps had been silenced.

"Really?" the Doctor feigned with over-zealous curiosity. "Like what?" he asked, his voice nearly echoing back the way they came.

The Rill shushed him again, but the corridor remained quite silent. Still, he motioned for his two comrades to go and search out the source of the noise, which the Doctor allowed to happen. If someone was following them, then they'd now hear the trudging feet of the Rills coming closer, so there was little need for him to make his presence known any further. There was also no logic in upsetting the Leader or the two jektars that remained behind.

The heavy footsteps of the Rills were suddenly outnumbered by what sounded like five times as many, as well as voices that called out muffled instructions. The Rill and the Doctor stared down the corridor in confusion and anticipation, until the Leader could hold back no longer. He called out the names of his comrades, ordering them to respond, which resulted in him receiving not one, but three shots in the chest from energy weapons, knocking him to the deck, unconscious.

The jektars seemed to panic and run towards the source of the attack, buzzing and releasing arcs of electricity to scare off the unseen threats, but were also sent into unconsciousness by an attack from superior forces. The Doctor remained where he was, hunched behind a control panel, unsure of what was happening, until he noticed a shadow hovering over him. He looked up and was rewarded by a view of Jo grinning ear to ear.

"Ninety-year old frozen human soldiers one, Rill...nil!"

The Doctor smiled back at her, and stood up, pleased to see Trebon present with her, as well as several unfamiliar human faces, but as well armed as a batch of Lethbridge-Stewart's soldiers.

The excitement that the humans felt for a job well done, and alien invaders dealt with was squashed rather unceremoniously by the Doctor's proclamation, "There's just one problem. There are still three more Rills located on the bridge. Add to that we need to re-start the Ark's engines to continue her voyage to Refusis."

Jo's shoulders sunk from defeat, but the Doctor patted her on the shoulder. "But you did very well getting to this point, my dear. Couldn't have done it without you."

"Thank you, Doctor?" she smiled at him, cheerfully, even though he knew in his hearts of hearts that he could have succeeded without them...but why put a damper on the celebration? "I don't understand, however, why the Commander and everyone else up above didn't notice that the Ark wasn't moving! Surely they have monitors for that sort of thing?"

The Doctor nodded and explained, "A bit of computer hacking, Jo."
"Computer what?" asked the wide-eyed not-so-computer-savvy companion.

"Ah, yes, you're a couple decades behind those times, aren't you? Well, put simply, the Rills fed their own data into the Ark's computers so that they'd show the humans and Monoids what they wanted to see; the ship travelling faster than light and still on course for Refusis. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, the Ark has been sitting still for five years while they tinkered with the controls. Now I'm afraid that the real control room of the Ark, the bridge, is occupied by the remaining hostile forces, and are on the verge of igniting the engines of the Ark and sending it towards Rilliax."
"Well, you've got to stop them!" Jo insisted, worried.

The Doctor stared at her, but his mouth still curled into an ironic smile. "Yes, and I think you know that I haven't exactly been playing Conkers with them, my dear."

"Of course not, Doctor."

"No, I've been involved in a rather one-sided chess match! I gained their confidence and little by little I've been placing pieces in their way to either block their advances or taking away their players! I've set up a number of computer commands that'll shortly go into effect to work to our advantage."

"That's terrific, Doctor!" Jo cheered.

He rubbed the back of his neck, and admitted, "Unfortunately, I might not be around to see their success."

"Oh, that's bad."

"But even if I can't reach the bridge, my sabotage is guaranteed to slow the Rills down."
"Jolly good again!"

"But for all I know they're aware of my subterfuge and have taken steps to stop them from happening."

"Not so good. Look, let's just get up there and stop them, shall we? Trebon and I have reactivated the Ark's version of the Marines!"

The Doctor nodded to the soldiers gathered and back to Jo and Trebon. "We'll need all the help we can get, especially if the Rills on the bridge have their own batch of jektars. Can you get us to the Ark's main control room, then, Trebon?"
"Certainly, Doctor. Just need to take a couple lifts and travel carts to the other side of the Ark to do so."

The Doctor tilted his head, curious. "Why not just go back the way we came?"
Jo swallowed nervously. "Not with the King of the Beasts back there!"

"Jo restored a full-grown adult lion before I had a chance to reconstitute our soldiers, and well..."

"He's awfully hungry!" Jo interrupted.

The Doctor nodded, his enthusiasm sufficiently muted as he nodded, "Yes, yes, I think the way to go is this way then, isn't it? Better to leave sleeping lions with full bellies lying where they are, hm?"

Nobody argued with the Doctor as he led them in a new direction, opposite of the way that would lead them to a confrontation with the re-awakened beast, as half of the soldiers remained behind to deal with the captured Rills and their tri-legged pets.

The route to the bridge of the Ark was circuitous and complicated, but the group finally arrived there, with the Doctor in the lead. A lift deposited them in a large open area before a pair of large doors that they soon discovered were sealed from the inside. It was an obstacle the Doctor was used to and had anticipated, anyway, so he removed the cover of a control box on the outside, fiddled with some controls, and then gradually began to work on something as if he knew the mechanism intimately.

"We're ready to fire on your command, Doctor," a soldier told him, holding what the Time Lord recognized as the so-called 'heat pods', the rifle-like energy weapons used by the Monoids during his first visit here. Now he knew where they came from.

"Good grief, young man, your enthusiasm to use your weapon would make the Brigadier proud," the Doctor chided, his concentration virtually unbroken as he delved into the control panel.

"The...what?" the confused soldier asked.

"Mm. Never mind. Anyways, I'm not trying to open the door just yet. You might just be on the receiving end of a nasty bit of firepower yourself if the doors are suddenly opened. No, I'm tapping into the internal communications system so we can hear-"

"...Gevidge, do you hear me? Gevidge?"

"-what the Rills are saying," the Doctor finished, listening in on the interior conversation. The others kept quiet and listened, too.

"Gevidge is not responding, Secondary Leader."
"I can hear his silence, too, fool! Keep trying! The engines are now primed and I've set the directional controls for our planet, at last. If he doesn't respond, I don't care. I'm sending this Ark-ship home now!"

"We've got to stop them!" the soldier hissed.

"Exactly my intention, sir."
"Great! Open the doors!"

The Doctor pulled out some fiber controls, and used his sonic screwdriver on an exposed module, replying as he did so, "My dear chap, we're much safer with them locked in there, then spilling out here to exchange enemy fire."
"Then what...?"

"The Rills are susceptible to extreme heat, so I'm switching off the air conditioning and giving them a taste of deepest, darkest, hottest Africa! That should render them inert and listless, and easily disarmed."
The soldier looked like he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to fire his weapon, but he needn't worry. With the intercom still on, the assembled humans and Time Lord could hear the increased panic of the Rills within, and were temporarily lulled into a false sense of security, thinking that the reptilioids were going to remain inside. When the doors suddenly burst open with the staggering Rills making an appearance, the soldiers were ready, and stunned them with their weapons before they could register the presence of the human warriors. The Doctor yanked Jo out of the way from the melee, which lasted all of thirty seconds as the creatures tried to return fire, but were too disoriented to effectively fight back.

"There. Piece of tronto!" the soldier gleefully proclaimed, staring down at the incapacitated Rills on the deck.

The Doctor gave him a sour expression usually devoted to Lethbridge-Stewart's enthusiasm for all-guns-blazing, and entered the hot and stuffy bridge, followed by Jo.

The humans of this age were not murderers, and there seemed little reason for the Rills to be incarcerated or killed for their crimes against the Ark, as far as the Commander was concerned. With the Doctor's support, the Rills were sent back to their ship, and left in their home system, as the Ark's engines were powered up to full speed, leaving the aliens eating their space dust.

"I've also increased your engine capacity and output by enough of a percentage, Commander, so that the Ark will arrive on time to Refusis, to make up for the five years of motionless drifting the Rills imposed upon you," the Doctor said. "You'll catch up to where you were supposed to be a little bit every day, but I also didn't want to overload them and cause you further problems, old chap."

"You've done so much for us, Doctor! Won't you stay for a while longer with us? Or at least tell us if the journey is successful?" the Commander asked, shaking his hand.

The Time Lord offered a smile and a nod, but it became forced as he reminded himself that the humans would eventually lose control of the Ark, and become slaves to the Monoids in the future. It would only be his first incarnation's second visit to the Ark when the Ark arrived at Refusis in 610 years that the crisis would be settled. Still, it was a part of known history to him, and he mustn't interfere in a way that would effect the time line of his first incarnation. However, he could make his own mark here and now, and handed the voice-box translation-collar to Commander that Jo offered him that she'd been holding.

"I'm afraid my companion and I must follow our own path. But I can offer you this as an incentive to create full dialogue with the Monoids. I've also provided instructions for you to re-create more for all of the Monoids that you share this Ark with. You'll be needing them in the future."

The Commander smiled and his eyes lit up as he took the implication that the two races would be successful and live together in peace and harmony. If only he knew, thought the Doctor.

"Good-bye, Jo. Thank you for your help," Trebon said, holding her hand and covering it with his other.

"You're welcome, Trebon. Um...sorry about the lion..."

He grinned and shook his head, "It was caught, and was brought to the surface to be raised in its own enclosure."

"Far enough away from this area to not get hungry for people, I hope!"

Trebon chuckled and released her hand. "Our technology is advanced enough that we can control the temperament of all of our charges. That's why nobody's panicking from a visit by Brutus."
"'Brutus'? Who's-?" Jo asked, slowly turning around as she noticed a large shadow swelling behind her, as well as Trebon's eyes looking beyond and above her. Jo gasped and stood frozen to her spot, as she came face to face with a medium-sized African elephant, that had casually arrived on the scene, much to the pleasure of the gathered Guardians. The animal appeared quite docile, enjoying the company of humans and Monoids alike, so close to the control panels of the Control Room, on the edge of the jungle.

The Doctor raised the voice-box collar over the Monoid's shaggy head, and allowed it to rest on the alien's shoulders. The being looked down at the device with its huge single eye, and suddenly a strange, asexual voice was heard by all gathered.

"I have...no gift...for you...Doc-tor."

"Not one expected, old chap. Consider it a down payment for the future!"

It's head looked up with surprise, as if it had heard something it had never heard before- translated human language into its own mother tongue.

"I can...hear you! Under-stand you!"

"My gift to you and all aboard the Ark, my dear chap, and a great advantage over this," the Doctor said, waving his hands and arms around in a nonsensical, chaotic mess.

The Doctor smiled at the staring Monoid, who paused, looked down at the collar, then at the Commander, and asked, "Why did the Doc-tor just ask for the recipe of a computer cucumber sandwich?"

The Time Lord nearly blushed from his inadvertent mangling of the sign language and garnered the laughter of the humans around him and Jo. With the help of another Monoid to drive the travel cart to the TARDIS, still parked where they'd left her, the Doctor and Jo bid the alien good-bye, pausing by the door, as the Doctor spared one last look at the unfinished statue, a behemoth construct rising above the trees of the jungle, that would eventually show the humanoid visage of a man holding a sphere, only to be completed with a Monoid head, and be armed with a Monoid bomb when it was finished.

"Looks like it was a good thing we came here by accident, Doctor, huh?" Jo commented. "Your second visit, which will actually your third trip here, would have turned out a lot more different if we hadn't shown up when we did."
The Doctor nodded, thinking back to that visit by himself and Steven and simple things seemed to be all those years ago, as opposed to the darker days that lay ahead. He felt a bit of a kinship with the Ark now, now that he'd gotten involved in her journey three times.

"I suppose you're right, Jo. And who knows...we might just come here in a couple decades or a century's time to see how they're making out."

Jo smirked. "By choice...or by accident?"

The Doctor was about to offer a biting remark, but he couldn't argue with that cute, cherubic face of Jo. Taking her comment as gentle teasing, he nudged her into the TARDIS, and set a course for home. The time machine wheezed and as the rooftop lamp illuminated off and on, the blue box fading from view of the Monoid on the cart, his stoic face unable to display the thoughts running through his mind.

The Monoid followed the Doctor's gaze into the jungle towards the statue that the humans were constructing, then back at the empty spot where the TARDIS stood, and back to the statue, his single eye squinting, his head sinking into his shoulders to display his silent feelings, which only a body language expert could decipher.

Annoyance...and contempt.

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