3

Tornado Sky

The elephantine groan of the Tardis' engines had shuddered to a halt. Ian, Barbara, Susan and the Doctor were clustered around the small scanner set into the hexagonal console talking to each other. Silver wandered around the room, taking in the odd layout.

The walls and the floor were all a pristine white that matched the Doctor's shoulder length white hair. Set into the wall on every side were roundels, for which Silver didn't quite understand the reason, but then she didn't understand much of anything that was going on. By the large doors was a hat stand, a vase, and a table.

In the corridor, it was much the same. An antiseptic white, with doors at nearly every opportunity for there to be a door. She walked down the corridor for some time, then turned back and to the console room. She didn't know that she would be able to find her way back if she went too far. Upon her return, Susan ran to her and grabbed her by the arm. She was very eager, and friendly.

"Come on!" She said excitedly. "Grandfather's quite certain that the air is breathable, and the gravity is very much like earth's. He says we can go out and have a look around while he takes notes. Are you coming?"

Silver hesitated. "Oh, come on, please?" Susan said. "You might as well come, there isn't much to do in here. Grandfather's still trying to build up the library, and we don't have many things to do."

Well. She had wanted an escape from boredom. Was she really going to back down at the first opportunity that presented itself? "Alright," Silver said. "Do you know where we are?"

"No, Grandfather isn't at all certain. But he says it should be safe."

As the girls walked back to join the group, Silver frowned at a thought that had just occurred to her. "Can he control the ship?"

Ian heard her words as they drew near. "No," he said ahead of Susan's defense. "No, he really can't."

"Be fair, Ian." This was Barbara as she joined in. "He at least knows how to fly it."

"Much to my dismay. I would have preferred to stay right where I was; flightless."

"Please, don't argue again. We only just made up."

"They didn't get to finish their apologies," the Doctor said over his shoulder.

"Oh, Grandfather..."

"Well, they didn't. It's the least they could do, after all."

"Is the sky supposed to be green?" Silver felt the need for a tactful change of subject had arisen. She took advantage of the image on the scanner to do it, and the others stopped their conversation to look at her. She really hoped that wasn't going to become a thing.

"How interesting," the Doctor said. "The moisture particles in the air are so small, they can bend the light and alter its appearance to the observer. They absorb the red light and make the scattered light appear blue. If the scattered blue light is set against an environment with heavy red light and a dark grey thundercloud, the net effect makes the sky seem green."

"It's beautiful." Silver looked at the scanner in awe. The Doctor looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Yes. It is, isn't it?" He flicked a switch on the console, and the doors hummed open.

"Would you like to see it up close?" He smiled at her, and she saw in his old and grumpy face a kind of child like eagerness and mischief. His eyes sparkled, and Silver found herself smiling back. Susan was already out the door, and Ian and Barbara went off to join her quickly. The Doctor shooed Silver on, and she didn't waste any time in running after the trio as the Doctor went to get whatever things he needed to take notes. She slipped past the three travelers and stopped, staring in amazement.

The scanner did no justice to the sight before her eyes. The green light spilled from the heavens like emerald satin, staining their surroundings bottle green. Darker greens and streaks of red were painted onto the sky as well, like the strokes of an artist's brush. The four were silenced, unable to speak for fear of breaking the spell the planet had cast upon them. Silver suddenly felt extraordinarily blessed to witness this, no matter the insanity of 'this.' She turned to see if the Doctor was coming, the desire to share the experience overwhelming. She froze as she did so, blinking in confusion. She turned completely, uncomprehending.

Instead of a vast metal ship, with engines and turbines, cargo holds and portholes like she expected; she was greeted by a blue box. Written on the top were the words, Police Public Call Box. She walked towards it, her eyes wide. She walked around it, covering the space the box occupied quickly. She came back to the doors, small and blue, and peered inside.

Largeness. That was what was conveyed to her. Largeness, and a space that stretched on and on in endless corridors. The Doctor came out as she was looking in, holding a notebook and some kind of measuring equipment. He closed and locked the doors, chuckling as he turned to Silver.

"Well, my dear? What do you think?"

"It's... Your ship... But that's impossible!"

He chuckled again. "Dimensionally transcendental. Not impossible, just unlikely for someone like you."

Silver didn't know whether to feel insulted, but the Doctor had moved past her before she could make up her mind. He glanced at the sky appreciatively, before walking off with a gay step. He was spry for his age, and he had gone far past them and halfway up the hill in front of them in almost no time at all. Shaking her head at the old man's antics, Silver looked away from him and back to Ian, Barbara and Susan. They seemed to be discussing something, and Barbara caught Silver's eye and motioned for her to come and join in.

"I think we should follow Grandfather," Susan was saying.

"No," Ian said. "The old boy can look after himself. I want to have a look at that forest."

"But remember what happened with the savages? We barely escaped with our lives, and Grandfather was the first to be captured."

"All the more reason to go our own way, Susan! If he's captured, the young and strong can save him. If we're captured, there isn't really all that much he can do, is there?'

"Grandfather's quite clever. He'd think of something."

"Look, all I'm saying is that he can go and see whatever it is that's over the hill, while we go and see something new. If we see something worth calling him over for, we will! And he can do the same with us."

"Wait," Barbara cut in. "I think we're forgetting something. This is Silver's first time on an alien planet. She should get the vote."

Ian and Susan looked at Silver. She hesitated uncertainly. "Well..." She looked to the forest ahead, and then back to the rapidly disappearing figure of the Doctor as he crested the hill. "The forest," she said firmly.

Ian looked triumphant, and Susan sighed but gave no argument. Barbara smiled at Silver kindly, and while Silver felt the smile was like that one would give to a child, she took no offense at the genuine warmth. Ian turned and set off for the woods, the three girls following him closely.

Ahead in the silence, shining eyes watched them with animal curiosity and hungering...