Doctor Who – Series 4b
Gwen – Part 3
"Doctor." she grinned broadly.
"Martha! How have you been?" he placed his teeth over his bottom lip and smiled.
"Oh, business as usual. It's nice that you've come, actually, Doctor."
"Oh, really?" he was still grinning in his distinctive fashion, desperately trying to suppress the happiness welling up inside him. "I was feeling lonely myself. A good dose of Martha, just what the doctor ordered."
"We were going to call you down anyway. We've got a bit of a predicament on our hands. Sergeant Etherington reported hearing screaming from the transmitter belonging to a search team sent by UNIT to investigate sightings at a local manor. They never returned." she began to walk down the pavement with him, hands behind her back with a spring in her step. She was happy her Doctor had returned too. "After sending in another search team we've received some rather disturbing messages."
"Ok..."
"A girl seems to be sending these messages to UNIT specifically." Martha pulled out some paper and read the contents aloud. "You will all die. My father controls you from within. You cannot escape the rift. You cannot escape us."
"Interesting..."
"We have also lost contact with the majority of the search team. They were nineteen to begin with. Now we have six. Their signals on our tracking devices have been going on and off as if they had a weak signal, but our trackers have a range that can reach to France, yet the manor is barely a mile away. It suggests that they are either underground or surrounded in some base metal like lead which is blocking our signal. If this is the case they may be trapped." She paused.
"On another matter," she continued. "The messages mention a rift which provokes the idea that we're dealing with aliens. Who better to deal with aliens than the time lord himself?" she beamed at him. The Doctor smiled back, faintly, but the news was now worrying him.
"Shall we go then?" he asked.
"Where?"
"UNIT."
*
"Doctor. Jones." One of the highly ranked officers stopped and saluted them.
"Please, don't salute." He moaned, more distracted by the array of shiny panels and flashing lights. "What does this button do?" His finger reached out to touch it. The officer took a sharp intake of breath. The Doctor flicked his finger away. The officer sighed in relief.
"Now, officer, do you think me stupid enough to press the button on a dimensional rift splitter?" he smiled, looking at the officer dead on in the face.
"No, of course not, Doctor."
A flamboyantly dressed commander strolled into the room with two armed guards marching behind him. Martha saluted. The Doctor waved.
"Doctor." he saluted.
"Don't salute!" he cried.
"Yes, very good. As you've heard from Miss Jones, we need your help investigating a series of disappearances. Considering you're technically still a member of UNIT, we would like to ask you if you could help us out."
"Do I really have any choice in the matter?" he replied, eyeing the piece of paper.
"No, the word 'ask' is just friendlier." he held out the paper and handed it to the Doctor. "I trust you'll cooperate?"
"Yeah, why not? Should be a bit of fun."
*
The gate swung open, squeaking as the Doctor stepped through. As he walked he kicked outwards every step and smiled on his way to the sinister manor.
"Laugh in the face of danger, eh Martha?" he smiled. The Doctor had accepted the mission on the one condition he could bring Martha along with him.
"Whatever you say, Doctor. As usual you're not phased by the almost certain promise of death."
"Ah, it's just a bit of fun. We always make it through in the end, right?"
"Not always..." she murmured as they approached the door. Gripping the rusty brass doorknob she frowned then turned it.
Here we go again, she thought as she entered the manor.
