Chapter Ten.
A few more soldiers had been signed in, but not that many. Tegan wondered if the book had been updated fully. Most of the time it wasn't. There was rarely a chance.
The death book also needed updating. That meant looking through all the dead bodies for any personal objects or identifying marks to discover who they were. Tegan decided that chore could wait until much later on. She'd had enough death already, for one night. She needed to escape it for one evening, and relax with her troops and friends.
She sneaked back into the main area to watch the performances. Sat on a box right at the back of the room and tried to pretend that she wasn't really there. Often her troops wouldn't enjoy themselves so much if they knew that the Commander was hanging around watching.
After a few minutes, Tegan could here someone sneaking up behind her. She drew her combat knife from her belt slowly, instinctively, and swung around, ready to use it on her enemy.
"May I sit here?" the Doctor asked gently.
Tegan lowered her blade and moved over slightly, to make enough room for him too.
"I don't think you need the knife," he said, sitting down.
She blushed and put it away. "Sorry, old habits. You know the story."
"I saw you on the stage. I didn't know that you danced," he commented.
"I didn't dance when I knew you. I took it up soon after settling here, but I gave it up a while ago," Tegan answered.
"I thought you only learned skills important to your survival?" he taunted.
"What can I say?" Tegan asked with a shrug, "I had a free afternoon!"
"What made you give up your dancing?" the Doctor asked.
"I lost my husband in a raid. After that it just seemed pointless. Anyway I had enough to do taking over as Commander," she said.
"Turlough said something about your husband's death being my fault," he said carefully.
Tegan wasn't sure how to answer him. Long minutes passed by while she thought. "I guess I did blame you. I always thought that if you'd stayed here with me, he wouldn't have died. You would have found a way to save him, that I didn't. It was either blame you or myself.
"You see, I froze up. Something I never thought possible, I'd been through all the training. The Daleks had gone to ground, we thought they were gone. Clearly we'd made a mistake, and my husband paid for our naivety," she admitted, "Blaming you, I guess it was a stupid thing to do, but it was the only way I could cope with it. Having to take over everything and overnight become responsible for hundreds of lives. I don't know how he coped with it all."
"Maybe because, like you, he had no choice?"
"Possibly at first, but he enjoyed what he did. Not the battles and the deaths, but the Prison ship raids. Saving what was left of a human mind and rehabilitating it back into a person instead of an expendable slave worker."
"I can only imagine what you've had to go through," the Doctor commented.
"I'm sorry that I blamed you, can you ever forgive me?" she asked.
"Are we going to be friends again?" he asked.
Tegan smiled, "Could we be anything else?" she asked.
"Well, I wouldn't want you as an enemy. You know too much about me," the Doctor joked.
"If I say anything else horrible, I don't mean it. Its just, I never really got over my loss. There was never time, grief always had to take second place to battle tactics." she said.
The Doctor nodded. "Thank you, for saving my life earlier."
Tegan shrugged, "Only fair. You saved mine at least twice today!"
"How did you know to use the celery?" the Doctor asked, "I never told you about its healing properties."
"Come to think of it, I don't remember you telling me about it!" Tegan said, "Something just told me that it was the right thing to do."
"Maybe you read my mind," he joked, hiding his inner worries. How could she have known? Was she under something's influence after all?
"Oh, neat new skill. Mind reading," Tegan said, "I know a few people I'd enjoy trying that on!"
They both laughed.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"This is Main Base, I'd give you a tour, but its not really worth it. The communal area you've seen already. The rest is work stations, beds and storage places, the Morgue and hospital wing. After a raid, you really don't want to have to visit either of those! Bodies everywhere, some dead already, some nearly.
"This is built underneath Southwark Park, and possibly a few streets either side. I've never mapped out to see just how large it is. The Commander built it long before I came here, or even heard of the resistance group. I had a less interesting career, although almost as dangerous!"
"I wonder where Lt. Brown is" she muttered looking around, hoping he wouldn't ask her old job. Too embarrassing. If she told him about that, there would be other things she'd have to tell about too, things she wanted to leave buried.
"He's busy, told me to keep an eye on you. Make sure that you had some fun tonight," he answered.
"I have battle plans to make. Countless small bases to contact. Weapon's to adjust. Death records to update. The hospital to visit. Dozens of people to tell that their loved ones have died. New code words to develop and the other million and one things I have to do as Commander" she commented, "There is no time to spare!"
"You aren't alone Tegan, you have friends. Let them do some of the work." he insisted.
She shook her head, "These things are only allowed to be done by me or Lt. Brown. He needs a rest even more than I do, it'll be better if I do it."
"I'd like to help" the Doctor said.
"Can you use a radio, without taking it apart for spares to build one of your usual last minute alien devices?" she asked.
"I'll try," he said dryly, not missing his friend's sarcasm.
"This way then" Tegan said, "I could use a second pair of hands."
She lead him through the long, twisting, dark tunnels as quickly as possible. Tegan had no torch, and the Doctor couldn't see more than a few inches in front of his face.
"How do you know where you are going in this?" he asked.
She stopped. "I'm sorry, I've got used to the dark. I could find my way around blindfolded!"
She took a light stick from her belt and snapped it. An eerie greenish glow shone from it as she passed it to her friend.
"If you ever got lost, check the walls," Tegan suggested. She guided his hand, so that the light shone on the wall around eye height. He saw a large red arrow painted on the rock face, pointing the way they'd come.
"These arrows are in every tunnel and show the way back to the main area. Follow any one for long enough and you'll get there," Tegan said.
They continued in silence for another dozen passageways.
"Are we going much further?" he asked as the glowing stick gave out.
She pressed the wall to reveal a secret door and lead him inside.
There was a large room the other side, filled with all kinds of basic radio equipment and scraps of old electrical devices. She switched on the nearest radio and tested it.
"What do I have to do?" the Doctor asked.
"Where is that girl?" Tegan muttered, "If she is kissing with her boyfriend down the tunnel again, instead of working, I'll kill her!"
"What should she be doing?" the Doctor asked.
"Radioing all the bases to give them a coded message. I've lost one base, the others need to be called in for safety," she answered.
"Would you mind taking over?" she asked.
The Doctor sat down and looked at the primitive radio system.
"Don't complain, we haven't the time or materials to improve our radio systems," Tegan said.
She dug out the code book and checked up some words. "All the bases are marked. Our call sign is simple, Base 23. When they ask for a verification code, you answer Rassilon. Our orders are Dream team to camp, through the dream route before it closes."
"Rassilon?" the Doctor asked.
"How are the Daleks going to know that phrase?" she asked with a smile.
A young girl walked into the room repairing her lipstick in a small mirrored compact. Her clothes were different to everyone else's. The material was the same, but she'd made her own, personal modifications. The vest top had the bottom sections hacked off to form a cropped top, the top of which had been slit into an extremely low cut V neck, showing a great deal of her mammoth 'personality'.
The trousers had been unpicked at the seems and re-stitched to be skin tight. Over the top was a loose fitting shirt, which she pulled across her chest, to hide the slashed vest, when Lt. Brown or anyone in charge walked passed. Knowing she'd be in a great deal of trouble if discovered! The clothes were designed loose for ease of movement on raids. Fighting in her tight and revealing clothes would have been difficult if not impossible!
"Sub-lieutenant Claire Johnson!" Tegan shouted, instantly dropping back into her quite vicious Commander role.
The girl looked up guiltily and hid her make up. "Where were you?" Tegan demanded.
"I was called away, Commander," Claire replied.
"Kissing your boyfriend down the tunnel?" she asked.
Claire went red, "No harm was done!" she insisted.
"No harm?" Tegan asked, "Do you have any idea what has happened today?"
Claire shook her head. "I've been gone for a few hours," she admitted.
"One base has fallen, near Clements Road. Dozens of people have been murdered. The Daleks are hot on our trail, we don't have long left. Because of your stupidity more bases and countless lives could have been lost!" the Commander snapped.
"I'm sorry, Commander."
"Do you think sorry covers it?" Tegan asked, still furious.
The girl shook her head.
"If just one more base is taken, the Daleks can find their way back to us. Not every tunnel can be bombed without risking the collapse of this base!" she explained carefully.
"Have we lost that many?"
Tegan nodded, "Get back to work, Lt. Brown will punish you both in the morning. For the disappearance and those clothes. How do you suggest you fight in that?"
"Yes Commander," she said hanging her head, "My orders please?"
"Standard Dream code," was the reply.
"That will bring everyone here. We'll be slaughtered!" Claire objected.
That was the last straw for her Commander.
"You are just a Sub-lieutenant, I am Commander. I choose your orders, not you. Get used to it!" she snapped, " If you question orders one more time or go AWOL again, you will be stripped of rank and imprisoned!"
Claire sullenly sat down and started to get her radio sorted out.
The Doctor looked up, he'd heard the whole argument. Tegan was being hard on her troops, although he wondered if she had a choice. Her main worries seemed to still be keeping everyone alive. What she'd said to him in the TARDIS would confirm that.
He wondered how the strain of command was effecting Tegan, she had enough loss to cope with as it was.
She noticed that he was watching her so closely. "Don't fuss!" she mouthed, before checking on Sub-lieutenant Johnson, who was still unhappy. Thinking the Commander had left she'd pulled back out her compact and started smearing on more powder. Caking her face in the stuff.
The Commander was furious now. She felt the white hot glowing rage rise up inside her, that she'd been holding in for a long time. Trying to keep it for a raid, to channel it the most productive way she could. This time there would be no holding back!
Tegan slapped the make up from the girls hand. It landed on the floor, where she drove her spiked heels deeply into the compact. She didn't stop until it was completely mangled and smashed.
She picked up the mess and threw it at the girl. "Next time, this will be you!" she warned.
Claire glared at her Commander, wishing she dared say something.
"Behave yourself, stupid child!" Tegan warned.
Claire stood up, "I don't have to take this from you. The only reason that you are Commander is because you killed your husband!"
Tegan punched her, breaking the girl's nose and throwing her backwards across the table. "Get out, before I kill you!" she snapped.
The girl ran.
"Daleks killed my husband!" she said softly.
"Tegan?" the Doctor asked just as quietly. Instantly at her side.
She shook her head. "I'm fine. Or I will be ...I need to do some work. I'll be next door. Call me if there is a problem."
Tegan couldn't get out of the room fast enough. Knocking piles of broken radio equipment from a table as she went.
Next door was full of shelves covered in the same kind of electrical junk as before. There was a large workbench across one end. She spent a lot of her spare time there mucking about with her husbands plans and inventions.
As soon as she'd pulled the curtain across behind her, Tegan was fighting tears. Taking a few deep breaths, she managed to control her feelings once again. She was used to bottling up her emotions, if she didn't she'd be dead by now.
To take her mind off the evil words of Claire Johnson, she pulled out a box of oddly shaped micro-chips and started fitting them into the pile of guns. Mentally thinking of all the different ways she'd like to kill her. Her personal favourite was solitary on a Prison Ship, that would destroy what little mind she had before death.
Tegan knew exactly what solitary was like, six months in there had nearly killed her. Claire was young, naive. Never been on a raid, always working in the base. She hadn't even completed her basic training yet, probably never would, so empty headed. Tegan, Lt. Brown and most of the other members of the Resistance group had been through several other survival courses, each one more difficult and painful. Claire would never reach those.
The girl hadn't even been in the hospital, hated the sight of blood. Had no idea what kind of state troops could come back in. Claire had been protected from the horrors facing life on Earth for too long. Tegan would send her on the next raid, with protective soldiers. She wouldn't die, but it would change her point of view. If Claire was left as she was now, she'd be a wild card. Dangerous to them all.