Part Three! Liz gets angry, Rose is ambushed, and the team investigates a plastics factory.
Also, I fixed the scene dividers in the previous chapters. Apparently FFnet doesn't like my original method.
The Brigadier had sent her out in the field, since the Doctor was in the lab. "Divide and conquer," he explained and Rose soon found herself in a hastily erected tent with several UNIT officers. It took a while to explain why she was there, but after mentioning the Doctor and the Brigadier a few times they seemed to settle down and explain what little they had found.
"All the meteorites seem to have vanished," the captain explained. "We can't make hide nor hair of it."
"The Doctor thinks someone got to them before you did," Rose replied. "Would explain why the one at the accident went missing."
The Captain looked perturbed by this. "Is he sure?"
Rose shrugged. "Only reason why the disappeared, Sir."
"Sir!" a private said, carrying in a man who was shaking like a leaf. "We caught a trespasser. Keeps mumbling about plastic men."
"Bring him in."
The man was sat down on a crate, eyes wide and staring at some unknown horror. Rose immediately went to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You alright, mate?" she asked, quietly.
He was trembling under her palm. "No hair, no eyes, just stares," he muttered.
"We can help you, you just need to tell us what's wrong," Rose said.
He continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Men, creatures… made in the factory!"
Rose blinked, but didn't show her surprise. "It's alright now, we've got you. You're safe here."
The man moaned and curled in on himself.
Once the Brigadier and Rose had left, Liz and the Doctor started their tests with gusto. To her immense surprise, she genuinely enjoyed working with him- he was intelligent, witty, and asked all the right questions. Though he tended to order her around a bit, she didn't mind- she was learning, and it had been ages since she had been this excited about a project.
The Doctor had requested different equipment and, after they had cleared and disposed of the chemistry instruments, their work began again. They were currently monitoring for electrical impulses, based off the Doctor's theory that the shell they had was the actual ship. It was crazy, in Liz's opinion, and she was certain he was just grasping at straws, but she went along with it. After all, none of her ideas had worked either.
"Are you getting a reading?" she asked, watching as the instrument flickered in the red.
"Nope," he replied, clearly disappointed.
Aggravated, Liz threw her pencil down in a fit of rage. "Well, that's it. I can't think of anything else we can try!"
The Doctor scribbled down some of his readings. "Don't worry m'dear. We've done our best."
Liz didn't want to hear that. Never had there been a problem she couldn't solve. " I can't understand it. We've tried a dozen different methods of analysis and haven't identified a single element!"
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Well, what can you expect with such primitive equipment?"
She stared at him in disbelief. "Primitive?!" she couldn't believe this man! All her previous good thoughts were forgotten. "We have lasers, spectrographs, micron probes…"
He waved his hand in dismissal, cutting her off. "Yes yes yes, I know all that. What we really need is a lateral molecular rectifier."
She didn't catch his hesitation before saying the name. "What on earth is that?" she asked, convinced he was yanking her chain.
"Not on Earth, unfortunately," he replied, looking thoughtful. "But I think I have one in the TARDIS."
She looked at him skeptically, then directed the look at his presumed spaceship. "In there?"
He nodded and looked up at the ceiling, as if running through a mental catalogue. "Yes. I'm sure I have one somewhere." He paused and tilted his head. "But I'm sure I used one some time in the past, or was it the future?"
Liz remained skeptical. "Doctor, you really do have scientific equipment in there?"
He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "My dear Liz, I have an entire laboratory."
She couldn't help it- she laughed. There was no way half of her equipment could fit in the police box, let alone an entire laboratory. And as for the incident with Rose and the Brig… well, they were probably pulling a long, elaborate prank on her. She wouldn't be surprised if hidden cameramen popped out saying that she'd been had.
"I'm sure you do," she replied, after she stopped giggling.
The Doctor was watching her patiently. "It's true. Well, you think that the TARDIS isn't big enough, don't you? That's because you keep looking at it simply as a police box."
"Well it is only a police box!"
He didn't seemed phased by her answer. Instead, he continued regarding her with that serious look, as if willing her to believe him. "Oh no, not once you get inside it, it isn't. You see, Liz, the TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental."
Liz frowned. She understood what he meant, in theory- but the actual application was impossible. "I see," she said, not wanting to encourage his delusions further. She couldn't help the smile, though, because he was clearly quite mad.
"Yes, it would take far too long to try and explain that to you." He stood up and walked over to the TARDIS. "The important thing is that we've got to get this material analysed."
"And you can do that with your equipment?" she challenged.
"Oh, it's child's play," he replied, turning back to her. "Only trouble is, it requires two people to operate, and Rose isn't here. And in order to get Rose, I need the key to the TARDIS, which Lethbridge-Stewart has taken so I can't get inside."
Liz considered. Lethbridge-Stewart was obviously a powerful man, even if his organization was slightly shady. But she was still certain that the Doctor was delusional, and if this was the best way to break it, well, so be it. "I suppose it is your property," she said at last.
(she ignored the small part of herself that believed him and was fascinated to see if his claim held true. If so, it would be an extremely important scientific find)
"Yes," he said, a conspiratorial note in his voice. "Of course, there is always the possibility that you might be able to persuade him to part with it."
She stared at him in astonishment. He winked.
Rose was in charge of mapping the areas the patrols had already covered and coordinating the various groups, while the captain reported in with HQ. He had been on the phone for a while now already, updating the various people in charge and relating the news of their current visitor. So far no one seemed too serious on the shaken man's claim of plastic people, but from what Rose could tell the Brigadier, at least, was being sensible and asking the right questions. He had yet to arrive at HQ, but from the captain's replies it seemed that the Brigadier was going to question him.
He set the phone down at last and turned to Rose. "How is the search going?" he asked.
Rose shrugged. "Everyone is accounted for, but so far nothing. Not even fragments. Whoever took the meteorite is probably long gone."
He sighed. "Concentrate more to the north, then. If the man's story is right, they may have headed to the factory."
They were interrupted by an older man barging in the field tent, a harried UNIT officer following him. The captain frowned. "What's going on?"
"Civilian, sir," the officer replied. "Wants to know how much reward for finding a thunderball."
"Thunderball?" Rose asked, amused. "Is that what people are calling it now?"
The captain frowned at her, then turned back to the newcomer. "What's your name?"
Now that he had, apparently, gotten what he wanted, the man looked surly. "Seeley, sir. Sam Seeley." He peeked at Rose then stared at the grass, as if intent on counting each blade.
The captain handed Rose a pen and paper, and though she glared at him she held her tongue. It wasn't the man's fault he was born in an era where women were still seen like trophies. Still, if he continued, she'd let him have it once they were alone. Irritated or not, she wasn't about to usurp his power in front of those he was over.
She wrote down the information Sam Seeley gave, listening closely and watching his body language. It was immediately clear that he was testing the waters, not wanting to give away any information unless it was to his benefit.
"Captain," Rose asked, when the questioning proved to be ineffective, "if I may?"
He looked ready to argue, but as he was getting nowhere with Seeley he finally gave in. Rose knew from the look on his face that he wasn't expecting much. She, however, had travelled with the Doctor, and knew how to interrogate like the best of them.
She stood up, eyeing Seeley for a moment. He met her gaze for a second, and she knew the exact moment he wrote her off as the more sympathetic person. His next words only cemented it. "I'm a poor man, missus, I don't know nothin'."
Rose smiled grimly. "Seeley, you do realize that UNIT is a part of the United Nations?"
He looked confused. "Ma'am?"
"As a result, we are outside the law of London, sir. We only answer to the UN, and while Her Majesty graciously allows us to maintain a base, we do not directly answer to her." She narrowed her eyes. "And because we do not answer to Her Majesty, we are allowed to legally search your house for anything we consider hostile. So either you tell us what you know and maybe get something in return for your help, or you continue to stand here and waste our time while I send out a unit to search your house and not give you anything. Do you understand me?"
He stared at her wordlessly.
Liberating the TARDIS key from the Brigadier was surprisingly easy. He was in the middle of an interrogation and as soon as his back was turned, Liz grabbed it off his desk. Heart pounding and something suspiciously like excitement rising up within her, Liz hurried back to the lab and handed the key back to the Doctor.
"He's going to be terribly cross with you, you know," the Doctor remarked.
She smirked. "Well, if you hurry he mightn't even miss it."
He smiled, although she noted with interest that it wasn't the same smile that he used when Rose was around. The key slid in with little difficulty, and he was soon inside the TARDIS.
Almost immediately after she heard the Brigadier enter and she leaned against the TARDIS nonchalantly. He didn't seem amused and his voice was angry. "Miss Shaw, where is the key?"
She didn't reply. The less said, the better, she figured.
"You've given it to him," he realized. He seemed resigned.
"He needed some equipment," she replied, more amused at the Brigadier's irritation than the Doctor's absence.
"Equipment?" the Brigadier asked. "I had no idea you could be so gullible. It's just an excuse. We shan't see him again."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You said yourself he wouldn't leave without Rose, and he has no idea where she is."
The Brigadier looked grim. "Just listen."
Liz jumped as a groaning, echoing noise sounded out and the Brigadier gently pulled her away from the TARDIS. Though it sounded a bit like an engine about to die, Liz was upset that the Brigadier was right. She was gullible. Excited at the opportunity to see a piece of machinery that she had never used, she had let the Doctor manipulate her.
An explosion sounded and smoke started pouring out of the TARDIS. The Doctor emerged like a guilty child. "Just testing," he said with an attempt at an innocent smile. "I wanted to see if the controls-"
"You tricked me," Liz accused, unconsciously slipping into the voice she used when reprimanding her graduate students.
He had the decency to look ashamed. "Yes." He looked mournfully at the TARDIS as he closed the door. "The temptation was too strong, my dear. It's just that I couldn't bear the thought of being tied to one planet and one time." To make the image complete, he sat down on a stool and hunched over. She could almost imagine a dunce cap on his head. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
The Brigadier strolled over, holding out his hand. "Give me the key, Doctor."
The Doctor looked at him pitifully. "Must I? The TARDIS no longer works, as you saw."
Oh god, Liz thought. They look like a parent and child. Despite the Doctor being several years older, there was a definite connection there. It was like the key was some beloved stuffed animal and he was being punished for peeing on the wall. The Doctor was even avoiding eye contact.
"Will you give me your word you will not try to escape again?" the Brigadier asked sternly.
The Doctor straightened a bit. "I couldn't escape even if I wanted to. They've trapped us here!"
"Who have?" Liz asked.
"That mean, despicable, underhanded lot! They've changed the dematerialisation code," he grumbled.
Even the Brigadier looked properly confused. "The what?"
"The demateriali-" At their blank looks he sighed. "It doesn't matter, you wouldn't understand anyway."
"There's a great deal that I don't understand," the Brigadier said, apparently trying to be diplomatic. "But one thing I did understand, Doctor, was that you promised your help."
"Yes, well, I've tried to help you the best way I can, but I need more evidence. I need more to go on." The Doctor sounded frustrated and Liz wondered if he had given up.
Calmly, the Brigadier replied, "Well, in that I may be able to help you."
They all trooped back to the Brigadier's office. "This is Ransome," the Brigadier said. "He found something at his former place of employment that you might find interesting, Doctor."
Liz listened as the man explained what had happened. Apparently his business partner had cut him out of the profits, and when he went to complain he found the warehouse completely empty and fully automated- something he had never even imagined his business partner doing, since he was firmly convinced that jobs were something that England couldn't have enough of. By the time he reached his partner's office, he knew something was off, especially when his partner refused to give a straight answer on why he had cut him out of their deals. What really tipped him off, however, was when a man he had never met before came into the office just after his partner begged him to stay away from his former workplace. Almost immediately it was like he flipped a switch, becoming cold and impersonal.
Worried about his partner, he figured out a way to sneak into the factory in order to talk to his partner alone and find out why his workshop was off-limits. Once he knew that the coast was clear, he had sneaked back inside and broke into his workshop, only to find a line of life-like plastic dummies and equipment he had never seen before. He had only fled when one dummy came to life, and tried to shoot him with some sort of laser that was hidden in its hand.
"I think," the Doctor said, after listening to the man's story, "that a trip to the factory is in order."
After Rose had her way with him, Seeley was submissive and answered every question they had, shooting Rose nervous glances. The Captain continued to question him as a private rung the Brigadier, informing him of one of the orb's existence. Rose bit back a smile as the new name was used. She really hoped they settled on one soon.
"You hid it in a trunk?" the captain asked, outraged, once the man finished his story. Apparently he had been poaching for rabbits when one landed near him, and he had smuggled it passed the UNIT officers on patrol.
"Couldn't think of no other place to hide it," he said, meekly.
"Don't you realize these things could be dangerous?" the captain exclaimed.
The sound of slamming car doors cut them off and Rose grinned as she bounced over to the Doctor. "Have fun?" she asked, grabbing his hand and swinging it.
He smiled down at her. "Not as much as fun as you, I heard. You didn't break him, did you?"
Rose rolled her eyes. "I was gentle, Doctor. As you can quite clearly see for yourself."
The Brigadier joined them. "Doctor, I'm going to Seeley's house to retrieve the orb. You are welcome to join us. Rose, I would like you to stay here with Ransome. I think what happened at his factory and the meteorites are connected, and I would rather keep him away from them."
Rose nodded. "Understood." She turned back to the Doctor. "You, be good."
"I'm always good," he protested. At her narrowed eyes, he sighed. "I'll try my best."
Seeley's cottage wasn't far and, as they walked up, Liz thought that the house was quite cozy. It wasn't her ideal place to live, but when she was a little girl her grandmother owned a house quite similar, and she had spent many summers playing in the surrounding fields. Her Uncle Fred and his family had since inherited it, but she was still invited 'round for Christmas dinners.
After no response, the Brigadier tried the door, only to find it was unlocked. Liz fought an uneasy feeling as they entered, and when she saw the ransacked home, she feared she knew exactly why Mrs. Seeley hadn't opened the door.
The Brigadier and the captain ran outside when they heard movement as Liz examined a picture frame that had fallen to the floor. The young couple in the photo were dressed as if in a wedding, the woman staring adoringly up at her husband, he staring imposingly at the camera. She assumed it was of the Seeley's, since it looked like it had been directly over the fireplace.
Gunshots suddenly erupted from outside, and she and the Doctor quickly picked their way through the rubble to see the two UNIT officers firing at a plastic man dressed in blue jumpsuit.
Liz immediately ran over to the fallen Mrs. Seeley, who was, thankfully, still breathing, although there was a nasty gash in her head that was still bleeding. The Doctor went over to a trunk that was lying open, pulling out the glowing orb that was resting within. It was giving off a faint ringing sound, the light within pulsing to the sound.
She was carefully lying her coat over Mrs. Seeley when the Brigadier came over, the Captain chasing after the dummy. "How is she?" he asked.
"Alright so far as I can tell," Liz replied. "I think we need to get her to the hospital though." She tucked the ends of her coat around the woman gently.
"I'll call an ambulance," he replied, then made his way to the house.
The Doctor was staring intently at the orb. "This is really most interesting," he muttered. "We must examine it in the laboratory."
Liz looked at him. There was a woman not a foot from him, bleeding, and he was looking at the orb like it was some undiscovered species of… beetle. She could imagine now, more than ever, that he was an alien. "What do you make of it?" she sighed.
"Rose was right about the shape," he said, turning it over in his hands. "The signal it's giving off must have been muffled by the metal of the trunk. It's most interesting."
Liz remembered the fragments in her laboratory and shuddered. "Suppose it explodes like the other one?"
"There's no reason why it should as long as we treat it gently," he denied. "Well, unless…" He stared at the orb pensively.
"Unless what?" Liz asked, alarmed.
"Unless it has a built-in destruct impulse," he replied. "In that case, we'll just have to risk it."
"Doctor," Liz said worriedly, "suppose that thing comes back for it?"
He shook his head. "The Brigadier and the captain scared it off; it shouldn't come back." He placed the orb back in the trunk and closed the lid. "And this way, it can't follow us."
She still couldn't shake her unease.
Ransome, having been through the wringer at UNIT and exhausted after his fright, had fallen asleep on the makeshift bed Rose had made out of the bench. It wasn't much, admittedly, but the man was grateful for just a moment's peace. He was asleep within seconds and Rose spent the time jotting down notes, trying to find a correlation between what Ransome had told her and what she knew herself.
Ransome had been gone from the facilities for six months and, according to the Brigadier, that was when the first volley of 'meteorites' had arrived. Just like this time, none had been recovered.
She estimated that was when the factory had been taken over. Whatever had been inside the orbs headed for the first sign of civilization it could find, and Ransome's business partner had been unable to stop it.
What Rose didn't know was what had been in the orbs originally. Ransome had described plastic men, but they were much bigger than the orbs. Unless… she frowned. Were they also bigger on the inside, like the TARDIS? He had assured her that it was Time Lord technology, but that didn't mean other species couldn't have figured it out as well.
Maybe plastic was some form of temporary containment until the creature inside could find- or build- a suitable host? Rose added it to her list.
Something tore and movement caught her eye. She stared in shock as a plastic dummy tore into the tent. Ransome woke up with a garbled scream, staring at the intruder in horror.
Rose grabbed for the nearest object- a tea kettle on a portable stove- and threw it at the dummy. Unfazed, it focused on Ransome and, when part of its hand unhinged to reveal a gun, she panicked. A UNIT officer had left a spare gun lying on the table, and she grabbed it and fired.
However, so did the dummy. Ransome was flung off the bench from the force and Rose didn't have to look at him to see that he was dead. She aimed and shot its hand, where the built-in gun shattered. Behind her, the corporal stationed to watch over Seeley rushed in. Clearly outmatched, the dummy ran, exiting the same way it came.
Rose dropped the gun with shaking hands, then walked over to Ransome. Her mind numb, she checked his pulse and shook her head at the Corporal's look. "He didn't stand a chance," she said, quietly.
He looked upset. "It's my fault. I should have-"
She shook her head. "No one expected this. It's not your fault." Carefully, she rearranged Ransome's body, folding his arms over his chest and straightening his legs. "You best call the Brigadier and let him know what happened."
Mrs. Seeley had been picked up by an ambulance when the captain returned from the house, troubled. "I just got off the phone with the corporal, Sir. The dummy went there after it lost me in the woods. Ransome has been killed."
The Doctor looked up sharply. "And Rose?"
"She's fine, Doctor. A bit shaken up, but otherwise unharmed."
The Brigadier's face had taken on a blank expression, but Liz had seen it often enough that she knew it was an effort to not let his emotions get the better of him. "I want a cordon around that plastics factory. That.. creature, robot, obviously came from there. Ransome described something exactly like it, and judging from this incident, whoever is in charge wants no witnesses."
The Doctor's face had hardened. "And until we know more about these things, we'd best proceed cautiously."
Liz knew what he did not say- now that Rose had also been exposed, he would do anything to protect her. She only wondered if that courtesy would also extend to her as well.
The Brigadier was interrogating the corporal who had remained to watch Seeley, who was now at the hospital with his wife. "He cut his way in, Sir. I had no idea he was even approaching; Seeley was putting up a fuss, and while I was trying to calm him down Ransome was attacked."
"Regardless, a man is now dead," the Brigadier replied. "You're lucky Rose wasn't injured either."
"Sir?"
He gestured to where the Doctor was squatting by Rose, both talking quietly. His hand was cupping her face and he was plainly worried. "Ranks don't matter to the Doctor. And since he isn't a citizen of Earth, he is outside of my control. Only a shared history allows me the slightest modicum of respect. Had Rose gotten hurt, or worse, there would have been nothing I could do."
The corporal blanched at his hidden meaning and nodded.
Meanwhile, Rose had grown quite impatient with the Doctor's fussing. "I'm fine!" she insisted. "Just shaken up. This isn't the first time I've seen someone die in front of me."
"You're still shaking, Rose," he replied sternly. "At least get back to HQ so I know that you will be fine."
She stared at him defiantly. "I'm going with you. I'm not afraid of them, Doctor. And the safest place I can be right now is with you."
He frowned, but gave in. "Don't wander off," he said, sternly, and she gave a mock salute before joining Liz.
Rose was clearly irritated with him, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His memories of what had transpired on Gallifrey were still fuzzy, but with the lack of Jamie and Zoe, and his regeneration, he could connect the dots. Why Rose had been allowed to stay with him he did not know, but he wasn't questioning it too hard. Yes, the loss of Jamie and Zoe pained him, but without Rose…
He removed that train from its tracks and walked up to the Brigadier. "From Rose's description, the thing that attacked Ransome was the same one we saw," he said. "We'd best head to the factory and find out just what is going on there."
The Brigadier nodded. "It sounds best." He hesitated. "Should I ask Rose to head back to headquarters and stay with the orb?"
A wry smile crossed the Doctor's face. "Brigadier, if there's one thing I've learned about Rose Tyler, it's that she refuses to stand by meekly when she can do it herself. And woe befall the one who tries to say otherwise."
The Brigadier considered this. "I would rather not find out," he said, gravely, the Doctor clapped him on the shoulder.
"Good man. Now, let's be off!"
The factory was eerie. Rose stayed close to the Doctor's side, hand in his, as the unnervingly silent woman led them to the owner's office. "Bit ominous, isn't it?" she asked, quietly, as the machinery towered above them.
He squeezed his hand but didn't respond, and Rose realized that he wasn't going to respond with some ridiculous saying to reassure her. He was different, now. She still wasn't quite sure how it happened. When this was over she intended to sit him down and demand answers. Especially on where Jamie and Zoe were. She had asked him on the ride to the factory, but he had deflected it. Even though she hadn't yet grown to know this new him, she could tell that he hiding something.
"Surely someone must be monitoring all this equipment," Liz said, quietly. She and Rose exchanged uneasy looks.
They finally reached the office, the silent woman walking into the room and pointedly closing the door, making it clear they could not enter until allowed to do so.
"Captain Munro phoned ahead, right?" Rose asked.
The Brigadier nodded. "He knows to expect us, even though he may not know the true nature of our visit."
Moments passed, until the silent lady from before finally opened the door. They filed in and she closed it behind them, the door closing ominously.
The man behind the desk smiled at them. "Hello, Brigadier. I was waiting for you. Do sit, and you too ladies."
Liz accepted a chair, but Rose declined, opting to stay by the Doctor. He looked down at her and she nodded, relieved that some things stayed the same.
"How can I help you?" George Hibbert asked, to all accounts open and relaxed. Rose eyed him critically, seeing how his hands, hidden behind the desk, shook slightly, and the thin bead of sweat on his forehead trickled down. He was nervous.
The Brigadier explained their story, starting with the meteorites that had first fallen, six months ago, and ending with Ransome's death. Throughout the narrative Hibbert's eyes periodically flicked towards the door, as if he was expecting someone to come in. His hands also fidgeted with his cuffs, and though it seemed as if he was making eye contact with the Brigadier, Rose estimated he was really staring at his nose or his hairline.
"What an extraordinary story!" Hibbert finally said once the Brigadier was done. "Meteorites containing some sort of alien from space, robot men… though Ransome's death is upsetting, the man clearly hadn't recovered from his stay in the hospital. He was clearly delusional."
"We have to check on every story, Mr. Hibbert, however extraordinary they may seem," the Brigadier replied.
Hibbert tilted his head. "I'd like to hear this story from someone who actually saw it happen."
The Doctor gave Rose a sharp glance, but she was already stepping forward. "I was there when Ransome was killed. The thing that killed him was indeed a plastic dummy, one that we believe originated from this factory."
Hibbert sighed. "I'm afraid you have been caught up in a hoax." He sat forward, crossing his hands on top of the desk- Rose blinked when all previous signs of anxiety vanished. It was like Ransome described, even down to the change of tone. "My former partner was a brilliant man, but quite caught up in visions of grandeur. Before he left he approached me with an idea- mechanical dolls, he said. I turned him down because the design was impractical. I gave him free reign while he worked here, and I'm afraid that was what partially caused this delusion; when he told me his plans, I said no. Shortly thereafter he got sick, and I blocked off his workshop so that it wouldn't be touched until he returned. I didn't think to check what was inside- he must have already started the project before he told me."
"So you think he made his… experiments… kill him?" Liz asked, skeptically.
"Or at least programmed them to fake his death," Hibbert replied. "I wouldn't be surprised to find him missing from the morgue when you return."
Rose felt the Doctor stiffen slightly. "What exactly are you making here in the factory, then?" he asked.
Hibbert looked surprised, as if he had forgotten about the Doctor's presence. "Plastic dolls, of course, but our new line is display mannequins for shops. We send them all over the country."
"And can these mannequins actually move?"
Hibbert forced a laugh. "Well, they're flexible, of course. That's why we captured the market. But I assure you they can't move on their own."
He was once again avoiding eye contact. Even with the sudden confidence boost, he really was an awful liar.
The Brigadier spoke up. "So Ransome must have simply been making trouble?"
"Can't think of another explanation," Hibbert replied.
The Doctor relaxed suddenly. "Well, I think we've seen all that we can see here. I'm sorry if we've been a nuisance."
"Not at all," Hibbert said. "I'll show you out."
Rose waited until they were in the car before speaking. "He said programmed," she said, and the Brigadier and Liz looked at her in confusion. "When talking about Ransome, he said he may have programmed the dolls to fake his death."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "I caught that, too. Whatever is happening is definitely happening there."
Liz frowned. "What does programming have to do with it?"
"Liz," the Doctor replied impatiently, "does Earth have any technology on this planet that will allow programming something the size of a mannequin?"
She opened her mouth, then closed it. He was right.
"So something alien is going on there, then," the Brigadier said.
The Doctor nodded. "I have a theory. But I need to inspect the orb before I try anything."
Rose helped the Doctor set up some equipment and take down readings as the Brigadier explained what he saw in the factory. "There was another man there, behind some dividing glass. Ransome talked about him- called him 'Channing', I believe. It took me a while to realize it, but I know that he's the man who led the raid on the hospital. I recognized him from his photograph."
Liz looked concerned. "And what will you do now?"
"I've put a call through to General Scobie. If I can get his authority, I'll surround the place and raid it."
"You might want to put a call down to the morgue as well," the Doctor replied. "From Hibbert's words, it seems they are trying to erase all evidence of what they are doing, and may find some way to dispose of Ransome's body."
"I'll get one of my men on it," the Brigadier replied. "But since we were all exposed to the dummy and are suspicious towards their goals, I suggest we all stay in pairs when not here at HQ. We can't be too careful."
Liz asked about procuring dinner, and they had a short, heated argument over going to the canteen or having someone make a food run. The Doctor interrupted them just as Liz was offering to pay. "Here, come over here, you two," he said and Liz immediately ran over in excitement, though the look she gave the Brigadier was enough to ensure the man that the debate wasn't over. "Look at this."
"You got something?" Liz asked, amazed.
"We have more than something," Rose retorted, holding out the paper as the machine the orb was connected to spat it out.
"What does that thing do?" the Brigadier asked.
"It measures mental activity," The Doctor replied, gleefully. "It's fascinating, isn't it?"
Liz stared at the globe in disbelief. "You mean… there's some form of intelligence in there?"
The Doctor answered in the affirmative. "Rose guessed correctly. This globe is only a container. I wonder how we can communicate with it?"
The Brigadier left when his call went through and Rose smiled at Liz. "Isn't this great? A brain in a globe, without a body! Not something you see every day."
Liz's eyes glowed. "It certainly isn't."
Dear god, they were contagious. If she kept this up, she wouldn't want to leave!