Haze

By Vanya

Part 2

The pair ran towards the cliff side where the craft had disappeared, each nimbly hopping the fence to get to the edge. As they approached Haze had expected the run to been in vain, that the craft would be long gone. But it was there, hovering a few meters above the water. The light from the ship was now focused downwards. It moved quickly, darting back and forth getting progressively further away from the shore.

"Search pattern," muttered the Doctor, "They're looking for something."

"But what?" Haze only had half her attention the Doctor, the other half was firmly on the ship, still snapping as may pictures as the camera would allow. She'd been in such a hurry to chase the ship that she'd forgotten to go back for her hi-res digital camera and so was stuck with the more low tech option.

"No idea." admitted the Doctor, but he proceeded to produce a silver, tubular device with a bright blue glowing end. He held the device out arms length pointing it at the spacecraft.

"What are you doing?" the ship had gotten to far away for any more photos, so Haze had turned full attention to the Doctor.

"Scanning for energy signatures, this is the closest I've got to one of these ships and I want to see if I can get a reading."

Haze nodded, she understood what he was saying, but he was talking about technology which was advance beyond her field of expertise and so couldn't think of a response. Instead she subtly raised the camera used the last photo on the film to capture the Doctor in action. He seemed not to notice, still fixated on his device. After another minute or two he seemed satisfied that he had all the evidence he could get from the crime scene and the two of them walked wordlessly back to the camp sight as the ship disappeared back into the sky.

--

They settled down back inside the camper van, sitting across from each other at the little table. The kettle had once again been boiled and the Doctor sat with a fresh cup of tea in front of him.

"So tell me Doctor, what did you find?"

"Well I've analysed the energy signature from the ship, and that hasn't revealed anything useful, it's a pretty standard signature used by hundreds of ships in the known universe, and that's... I'm sorry, do you have to eat that?"

"What's wrong with it?" inquired Haze, looking up from her imitation Pot Noodle.

"It's barely classified as food! When humanity enters the wider universe those will be one of their most infamous contributions. They're banned on over a hundred civilised worlds, they were believed to be the primary cause of the uprising of the laborers on Teerstkin 7. Any species in the universe is capable of making weapons and creating pollution, but only humans are capable of creating freeze dried snacks with anything resembling nutrition removed. They..." He restrained himself before he lost control completely.

There was a moments silence, then Haze proceeded to consume the remaining contents of the pot and dropped it into a nearby bin.

"There, the bad noodles won't bother you any more. Feel better?"

"Not really. But as I was saying, the most unusual thing here is that there is nothing special about any of it. Well nothing more than the fact that there are spaceships flying around over Scotland anyway"

"I don't follow."

"Someone is going to great lengths not to attract any attention beyond the average UFO sighting. You see aliens, come to Earth all the time, most UFO sightings are a form of tourism, the Torchwood office in Glasgow probably clocked them as soon as they came in and dismissed them just as quickly because thats all they appear to be. And they haven't done anything to make the authorities suspect otherwise, as long as they don't start abducting people or mutilating cattle they can carry on unhindered. More importantly they have ensured they have left no clues as to who they are or where they're from, meaning that this is very secret, and possibly very dangerous."

This piqued Haze's interest, more than meets the eye always made for good reading as did 'secret' and 'dangerous', low key however did not.

"So what do you think they really want?"

"Hard to say at this point, all I know is that they're looking for something and whatever it is they think it's in the sea. Other that that I really don't know"

"Well then, it looks like the best way forward is still Dr Impossible."

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'Dr Impossible'?"

"Yes, he's my contact. Why, does the name ring a bell?"

"No, just sounds a little pretentious that's all."

"And this coming from a man calling himself 'the Doctor'."

"But I am the Doctor."

"I know." There was a brief pause, "Anyway, Dr Impossible is just an online name, people use them to protect their identity. People still seem to think you're mad if you just start babbling about aliens, unless there are giant space ships hovering in the sky or Daleks on the streets of London people still refuse to believe. You'd be amazed at how many sightings get written off as hoaxes or paranoia." he was not, humanity always had a capacity for ignoring the obvious.

"But this way he gets to report and to keep his dignity. Plus it can get you attention from the wrong sort of people."

"But you're going to meet him," countered the Doctor, "So obviously you're going to learn who he really is."

"I'm discreet," she responded with a smile, "That's what they love about me. Plus I'm the only one doing what I do, everything else is done by agencies and they're more interested in keeping things quiet. With me they will learn the truth."

Her words hung in the air for a moment.

"Our meetings arranged for 6 o'clock, out doctor friend is clearly an early riser so we leave at first light. So if you don't mind I'm going to bed. Blankets are in that cupboard and you get the floor. Good night Doctor."

--

The Doctor sat bolt upright has a high pitched ringing roused him. It took him a moment to get his bearings and realise that it was the sound of an alarm clock, albeit a particularly loud and piercing one. Glancing down at his wristwatch he noted that it was just after 5am. He thought back to the night before. How had this girl convinced him to sleep on the floor of a camper van? She was going to be trouble he thought to himself, but she certainly made things more interesting, maybe even fun. He got to his feet and moved over to the van's one bed where Haze lay, a shapeless lump. As the alarm continued to shriek he reached over to shake the girl awake, and dived backwards to avoid the arm which shot out of nowhere trying to hit him. Haze rolled over and opened her eyes. "Sorry Doctor," she muttered, "Not really a morning person. Can you get the alarm?" and with that she rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a dull thud.

The Doctor looked around for a moment trying to find the source of the noise, but in the dark in an unfamiliar environment this proved surprisingly difficult. Instead he produced his sonic screwdriver and pointed it in the vague direction of the sound and was satisfied when it went quiet.

Haze had got to her feet and had shuffled into the kitchen area and had boiled the kettle. As she wondered around the Doctor noted that he's seen walking corpses that displayed more life than this girl. He mentioned it to her, and she responded with a grunt, but he was unable to tell if it was protest or agreement. Yet she was methodically going round the kitchen preparing coffee with her eyes barely open. She sat down and quickly consumed the first cup of strong coffee, black, no sugar, before stumbling into the bathroom. Unsure what else to do the Doctor entered the kitchen and began to boil the kettle again for his own drink. Several minutes passed and when Haze returned to the kitchen the change was remarkable. She now appeared fully awake and alert, and was dressed in the same jeans as the night before, a fresh blue top and a pair of sports sandals, several years out of season. She picked up her glasses from the sideboard where they had been left and put them on, before picking up the second cup she had made. Then she turned to the Doctor and smiled.

"Caffeine, only thing that gets me up in the morning. Now, lets find the other doctor."

--

Haze sat in the drivers seat with the Doctor next to her as she drove out of the campsite. She loved her camper van, it functioned as both her home and her primary mode of transportation and she'd had it since the beginning of her mission. It was getting on in years and had a tendency to break down at awkward moments, but was an essential tool to her lifestyle. She had to admit that she had grown used to its quirks and even though it was nearing the end of its life she wasn't ready to trade up just yet. Aided by nothing more than willpower the camper made the half hour drive to a small village, just outside of the town to the address she had been given.

The village had grown to serve the purposes of the better off members of the community as well as providing holiday homes, so expensive houses lined both sides of the road. Once the camper was parked Haze and the Doctor approached the house. The door was answered by a man in his late forties with thinning hair, pale blue eyes and a high quality suit, although currently lacking a tie.

"Haze?" he inquired, "Haze McCall?"

She nodded. "And you would be Dr. Impossible?"

He nodded and ushered then in. "Dave McKenzie," he said offering out his hand, "May as well dispense with the user names now we're face to face. I'm really a doctor by the way."

"I'm sure you are, what's your specialty?" asked the Doctor, shaking his hand.

"GP, I'm sorry, who are you? Are you the..."

But he was cut off by Haze."He's an expert," she injected quickly, still not wanting to show how much she knew about him, "I found him in town last night, I thought he could help, offer some fresh perspective and such."

"Of course, thank you," responded the man now identified as Dave, catching on to what was happening "Now if you will all join me in the living room I'd like to go through things from the top."

--

All three took their seats on the comfortable furniture. Haze produced her digital voice recorder and placed in on the coffee table in the center of the room.

"Haze: Case no. 127," she spoke slowly and clearly for the benefit of the recorder, "With me is website subscriber no. 6, user name 'Dr. Impossible' who is the subject of the interview. I am joined by an observer. Dr Impossible has invited us here as he is able to tell us more about the current sightings. Dr Impossible, if you please."

"OK, thank you. I want to start out by saying that I am a lifelong believer in UFOs and aliens, and for me it all started here, in this town. I love this town, I've lived here all my life, my parents are from here, everyone I know here. I left for a few years to study medicine, but I always knew I would come back. I..."

Haze cleared her throat, signaling for the doctor to get a move on.

"Sorry, but my story does start many years ago, I was ten years old at the time, I remember it well. This was always a quiet town, never what you'd call a hot spot of alien activity. But one day something changed. It started with lights in the sky. Back then people dismissed them, tried to explain them away rationally, but I dared to believe. Maybe it was that I wanted it to be true but I alone remained firmly convinced that there were aliens visiting us. This went on for several nights, and then came the most incredible thing I've seen in my whole life. I had taken to sneaking out of the house at night and going out to the cliff side to watch the lights, I lived in the town in those days. They would usually just dance around in the sky for a while, but it was beautiful. But one night things changed. The lights got closer, bigger, and for the first time in my life I saw an alien spaceship. It was dark and I was on my own with no way of recording it but I know what I saw. It was a few miles off shore, it kept getting lower until it had immersed itself completely in the water. The sea glowed for a second, and then it was gone. I must have stayed there for hours, just watching the spot where it went down. When it started to get light I headed home, it was a miracle my parents never noticed I was gone. I've never told anyone about this before. For years after I thought about going out to look for it, I don't know why I didn't, I suppose I wanted to hold onto the memory."

"I think they're connected, that ship coming down all those years and the ones of late. They seem to be following the same patter, it starts out as lights in the sky and then they get closer and closer, I heard there was a full blown sighting last night."

"I know," the Doctor spoke up for the first time since the interview had started, "We were right in the middle of it. The ship we saw was definitely searching for something, and now I'd guess it would be your ship from back then. Since it's been inactive for more than thirty years they can't pick up an energy reading, which means they're looking for it the old fashioned way, one square at a time."

"Which gives us the advantage, because we now know where exactly it came down. Dr. Impossible, care to draw us a map?" Haze added excitedly.

The doctor obliged, marking the position from where he watched onto a coastal map as well as indicating where he believed the craft came down. The Doctor stared at it for a second, committing every curve and contour to memory before passing it over to Haze who pocketed it.

"Is that everything you know doctor?"

"It is, I never saw the ship again, and until recently there were no more lights."

"Thank you very much Dr Impossible," and then to the recorder, "Interview concludes."

--

After they finished Dr. McKenzie left for the surgery where he was based. The Doctor leaned against the side of the camper van while Haze stood over the engine trying to work out why it wouldn't start.

"So tell me Doctor, what's our next move?"

"At this rate the nearest garage!" he replied with a chuckle, for which Haze shot him a dirty look.

"OK, so we know what they're looking for and where it is, but we still don't know who they are, so that's something we need to establish."

"And how do you propose we do that?" With this statement she thumped the inside of the engine in frustration."

"I do have one idea. Do you want me to give you a hand with that?"

"Go for it," she was ready to admit defeat, and she usually knew the quirks of her van, but this time it was truly dead, "So what's your plan?"

Haze stepped back and the Doctor took her place in front of the engine.

"Take a look at the map Dr. McKenzie, sorry, Dr. Impossible gave you."

She wiped the worst of the engine grease off onto her jeans and took out the map the other doctor had given her.

"OK, what am I looking for?"

"Well you see where he thinks the ship is, well compare that to where we saw our ship last night."

"It was reasonably close."

"Exactly! Given the size and shape of the search quadrant and assuming they're moving north to south, which they must be since they haven't fount it yet, then the next search will uncover it. And I think we need to be there."

"That's tonight taken care of, so what about the rest of the day?"

"Anything you like!" The Doctor had produced the sonic screwdriver and was pointing it at tactical parts of the engine, which roared back to life with the last statement.

The two of them drove back towards the town. As they passed an old, rundown church the Doctor suddenly piped up.

"If you could just drop me out here that would be grand."

"But there's nothing here."

"Trust me. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning you. I'll meet you back at the camp sight at 9 o'clock and we can check out that landing sight together, but for now there's something I need to do by

myself."

He stepped out of the van and walked up the path, though the rusted gate and round the back of the church. It was overgrown, but one thing stood out amongst all the plant life, a blue wooden box. As the Doctor stepped inside Haze continued on her journey alone.

--

Haze returned to the camp sight. Her first order of business was to transcribe the report from the day's interview and upload it to the section on her current investigation. She'd also received a message reporting the previous nights UFO activity. She smiled to herself, perhaps one of the other campers was a subscriber, she wondered if they knew she was here, in this camp sight. Probably not. Once that was taken care of she researched the town, widening her search to include almost anything from local folklore to any colourful characters who may not be from 'around here'. She had started to yield some interesting results, but by this time the caffeine had worn off and the sleep deprivation was kicking in. So with all her data safely stored she darkened the camper and lay down to catch up on some sleep.

--

Meanwhile

The Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS armed with a new sense of determination, and more importantly, a new set of coordinates. He strode over the the main control console and started calibrating for his first destination, which consisted of a combination of fine tuning and hitting it until it worked. The roaring and wheezing sound and the movement of the central column showed that it was working as the ship disappeared from its hiding place in the church yard and reappeared at its new destination. Flipping a switch under the main panel as he went the Doctor walked up to the doors and pulled them open. He was greeted with a wall of water. Good he though at least I got that part right. Visibility through the sea was limited, but he could see far enough, straight in front of him was perfectly preserved spacecraft. It was disc shaped in a dull metallic gray, although a variety of marine plant life had made it their home. A series of 'bumps' underneath held a variety of equipment associated with the sensors and beaming technologies. Satisfied the Doctor closed the door and and deactivated the filter. "For my next trick..." he began, before remembering that he was alone. Wordlessly he continued entering the coordinates for the second jump. He opened the doors again, this time stepping out into the central room of the craft. He was surrounded on all sides by computers and equipment, several doors led off to the crew quarters and research station and a moving platform gave access to the transportation chamber below. A central column contained the ship's heart, the drive that enabled faster than light travel. The doctor looked around, trying to see what would work. The basic system such as lights and life support were on one circuit powered by one low yield power source, but one an almost infinite lifespan. The computers had a second power supply, but a closer inspection revealed that this had been remove and the central core had been gutted, and so could tell him nothing. Fortunately they had not been foolish to tamper with the drive, although it had been inactive for so long it emitted only the smallest amount of background radiation. Without access to the computers the Doctor was still unable to learn the important answers as to where the ship came from, it was a standard model which could be used by any of a hundred species. He reflected again on how whoever was behind this was desperately trying not to leave any identifying markers. And it still left the burning question, why? Why had they come, why abandon the ship and who was looking for them? A rescue party, or something more sinister? The only way to get these answers was a face to face encounter with the searchers. He stepped back aboard the TARDIS and once again began to set the coordinates. He wanted to meet these aliens, whoever they were and he wanted Haze to be with him when it happened. She may be a handful and a little bit cheeky, but she was unfazed by the appearance of aliens, in fact she sought it out and relished it. She was certainly better prepared for the encounter than other companions of recent years. Thinking back he realised that things were more fun when he had someone to share his adventures with, but would he allow himself to put another innocent civilian in harms way? Throughout his many years there had been so many tragic endings for those who traveled with him. There were those who had left, sometimes of their own free will and sometimes not, because what traveling with him had done to them, there were those who had died, each one still weighing heavily on the Doctor's conscience. But there were so many others who were alive and had achieved great things, and that's what he saw in Haze, a curiosity and confidence which held much potential for greatness. He also had to admit he wouldn't have even found the ship if she hadn't shown him where to look, he needed to see this through with her, he owed her that much. Finally he decided that someone like Haze would join him on the TARDIS, whether he invited her or not, so he'd better get used to the idea of having her around. And he did enjoy this little game they seemed to be playing. He selected a landing sight in the woods behind he camp and set the local time for 20:50. For the third time that day he shifted the TARDIS.

--

It was 21:00 and Haze waited. Feeling refreshed from her earlier nap she had continued her research and had even found time for a run before it reached the time of the meeting A knock on the door signaled the Doctor's arrival and leapt up to answer.

"Good evening Haze McCall," he greeted her cheerfully, "Are you ready to look for a spaceship?"

"I certainly am Doctor, I've even arranged us some transportation."

"Oh?"

"Late night fishing trip, I've booked us on and we leave in half an hour. Would you mind covering this one, it's just that I'm a little strapped for cash right now?"

The Doctor laughed, "Of course, now, lets get going."

They walked across the edge of the town. The Doctor acquired the funds they needed through a little sonic trickery on a cash point. "It's not technically stealing," he explained, "I'm just tapping into certain 'expense' accounts, they won't even notice it's gone." This was all fine with Haze, who felt the government owed her anyway. They reached the pier and found their boatman, a rough looking but friendly fisherman named Douglass who made more from taking tourists out at odd hours than her ever did from actually catching fish. The Doctor directed them to the spot where the ship was submerged and soon all three of them were sitting out in the open water, waiting.

"So what are you hoping to catch?" inquired the fisherman.

"We're not really here for the fish." admitted the Doctor.

"We're looking for something a little, higher." Added Haze, pointing up at the sky.

Douglass laughed. "If I'd realised there was money in UFO spotting then I would have opened for business a long time ago. Although in the last few weeks folk do seem to getting quite excited. Maybe..."

As he spoke a light in the sky approached them fast. Increasingly large ripples ran across the surface of the water and the whole boat began to shake. The electric light and on board navigation system cut out along with the engine. All three passengers shielded their eyes as a disc shaped craft, identical to the one below them hovered over head. The light from the ship intensified and then went dark, leaving behind it an empty boat, just floating on the water.

End of Part 2