Everyone spoke over each other. The only two lines that Hanna really made out being the two that made her smile most. That being; the Colonel's bemused "I just don't understand what's happening" and Jamie in surprise telling the Professor "You're Travers" that being something that everyone – including Travers himself – was already aware of.
Hanna cracked her eyes opened as Travers started to speak, "I am the Intelligence." He said in a low hissing voice each breath seeming deep and laboured. The others started to protest but he silenced them, "Listen to me. I speak to you with this man's voice because the time has come for you to understand my purpose."
"I already understand." Hanna mumbled, "Does that mean I can nap instead of listen?" She curled up in her chair and closed her eyes again.
"Quiet," The Intelligence continued, "You defeated me in Tibet, Doctor."
"Yes." The Doctor replied, not sure where this was going.
"Now, you have fallen into the trap that I have so carefully prepared for you."
"Oh, I see," The Doctor said, "So that's why you've brought me here. Revenge."
"Oh no." The Intelligence told him, "Revenge is a petty human emotion. My purpose for you is far more interesting."
"And what's that?" The Doctor asked it.
"Through time and space I have observed you, Doctor. Your mind surpasses that of all other creatures." It said.
"No shit," Hanna muttered sleepily, "He's the Doctor. Being more intelligent than most other things and saving the world is pretty much his MO..."
"What do you want?" The Doctor insisted.
"You!" The Intelligence told him bluntly. "Your mind will be invaluable to me. Therefore I have invented a machine that will drain all past knowledge and experience from your mind."
"But you'll kill him!" Victoria protested.
"No, he will survive with his mind unharmed, only empty as a newborn child's." The Intelligence told them.
"And if I refuse?" The Doctor asked it.
"Then I shall have to seek the help of lesser mortals, like your companions here. And many, many others." It said.
"But you can't!" The Doctor argued.
"I can and I will." The Intelligence replied firmly.
"Yes, I believe you." The Doctor conceded.
"You can't, we'll fight!" Hanna was almost asleep but she smiled at Jamie's defiant protest, his willingness to fight to the end being one of the things she loved most about the Highlander.
"But that will not do." The Intelligence said to them, "The Doctor must submit willingly."
The Doctor seemed to not see any other way out of the situation, "And if I do submit, what of the others?"
"Then the others will go free." It replied.
"And my father too?" Anne Travers asked, having been silently listening to the others talk.
"Oh, him, too." The Intelligence agreed. "I am only using this body to communicate with you."
"Oh, he... he didn't help you before, then?" Anne replied, relieved.
"Oh, no. I have many other human hands at my command." It told them, almost triumphant in the way it wheezed out this piece of information.
"And who are they?" The Doctor asked hopefully.
"Always questioning!" The Intelligence replied, "Even now, you're seeking to destroy me. I see, I shall have to guide your thoughts." It moved forwards, reaching out and grabbed Victoria's arm, pulling her away from the group. Hanna forced her eyes open and watched as the others moved forwards to try to stop him but the two Yeti roared, blocking their path. The Intelligence turned to face them again, "Cooperate and the child will be unharmed." It told them. "You have twenty minutes to make up your mind."
"Let me go, Doctor!" Jamie shouted, struggling in his friend's grip, wanting to stop the Intelligence from taking the girl away.
"Jamie, don't be a fool, you don't stand a chance!" The Doctor replied.
"Let me go!" Jamie continued to protest, "Victoria!"
The desperation in his voice as he continued to fight the Doctor made Hanna's inside twist with sadness. She forced herself to her feet, going over and putting a soft hand on his shoulder, "Stop." She said softly, "We'll get her back but... but this isn't helping."
"I've got to try!" He argued, pulling away from them and running to the door. The Colonel got their first and closed it. "Let me past, Colonel." Jamie insisted.
"No." The Colonel replied firmly. "The Doctor's right. There have been enough lives wasted."
"What are we going to do? Just sit around and wait for the next thing to happen?" Jamie continued to protest.
"Of course not." Hanna snapped, "We're going to bloody well fight it. But just blundering out there is going to do nothing except get you killed! We need to stop... just take stock of the situation. Do you really think that going out there and letting yourself get killed by a Yeti is the best way to help Victoria because if so then be my guest! But if not then shut the hell up unless you have something constructive to say!"
"So what do you suggest we do?" He replied sharply.
Hanna let out a long sigh, "Try not to argue amongst ourselves. Let the Doctor get on with the work that needs to be done. Look, I'm not saying we should do nothing I'm just saying that we need to come up with a plan instead of blundering into anything." She swallowed, "Plus there's a Yeti guarding the door so you wouldn't be able to get out after her anyway."
"I'm sure Victoria is quite safe," The Doctor said.
"Safe?" Jamie turned to face him, still angry.
"The Intelligence knows that if it harms her, I won't cooperate." The Doctor continued reassuringly.
"Does that go for my father, too?" Anne asked.
"Of course it does." Hanna replied, slumping back into her chair. "The Intelligence is just that, intelligent. Harming the Doctor's friends is the one thing that is guaranteed to making sure he will never cooperate."
"Permission to speak, sir?" Evans asked the Colonel.
"Yes, what is it, Evans?" The Colonel replied wearily.
"Well, stop me if I've got it wrong, sir, but if this Intelligence thing here gets the Doctor, will he leave us all alone?"
"Yes, that's what it looks like." The Colonel told him, "What's on your mind?"
"Well, sir, why don't we just let it have him?" Evans ventured. "Then we could all go home."
"Because it's a bloody stupid idea. At least for now. We've got twenty minutes to come up with a proper plan." Hanna said from where she was sitting, watching them. "The Doctor has saved the lives of so many people and will continue to do so for thousands of years to come. He is brilliant and mad and amazing and definitely not deserving of some coward like you wanting to give him up for the sake of saving your own pathetic skin."
"Yes, thank you, that'll do, Hanna." The Doctor glanced over at her with a smile.
"Will this Intelligence keeps its word, do you think?" The Colonel asked.
"It didn't in Tibet," Jamie said sullenly.
"Jamie," The Doctor chided.
"Least ways it's a chance." Evans said.
"But it's not you that's taking the risk, is it?" Jamie snapped at him.
"Well I reckon he ought to give himself up now." The Welshman replied stubbornly.
"Evans, when I want your opinion, I'll ask for it." The Colonel told him.
"It's all right, Evans." The Doctor said, "If I don't come up with the answer, I will give myself up, I promise."
"Only doing it now would be stupid." Hanna added, "We've still got time and a chance to come up with another plan."
While the Doctor and Jamie talked amongst themselves, Hanna went over and sat beside the Colonel, "This will all work itself out, you know." She told him, "It may seem hard and hopeless now but everything is going to be fine."
"Ah, yes," he replied, "You're the girl from the future."
"Well, yes," She admitted, "But it's not just because of that. I wholeheartedly trust in the Doctor. And one day, you will too. He's smart and brave, strong and clever and... and so are you. I trust you as much as I trust him, Colonel. Science leads, Colonel. The military is a strong and necessary power but without the scientist to create the technology and drive it forwards, it wouldn't amount to much more than men with pointy sticks shouting at each other from across a field."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Evans interrupted from over by the door.
"Oh what is it, Evans." The Colonel said, exasperated, "What's the matter now?"
"Stand back everyone," Evans said before throwing the door open. The Yetis had gone. "I thought I heard it go," he continued proudly.
"Yes, we'd better make sure," The Colonel replied slowly, "Evans, you, myself and McCrimmon will go and search the place. Doctor, you'd better stay behind here and get on with your tinkering."
"I'm coming with you," Hanna said, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, glad Knight had left it in the lab when he took the Doctor to the surface.
"All right, I doubt very much I'd be able to stop you." The Colonel replied. The four of them left the room, looking around tentatively but it seemed that Evans was right, the Yeti had gone. They stopped in the ops room, looking at the map solemnly.
"I Suppose that Yeti was left there as a kind of rear guard," Jamie mused out loud.
"Possibly," The Colonel replied.
"If we went into the tunnels, we'd run into them again." Jamie continued.
"Yes, probably would." The Colonel didn't quite see where this was going.
"But supposing we were to go over the top?" The Highlander said, "You see, Colonel, as I see it, there's only one way for them to go, south."
"Jamie..." Hanna sighed.
Unperturbed, Jamie continued, "So we could get ahead of them..."
"What, take them by surprise you mean?" The Colonel seemed to be getting what he was saying.
"It's not going to work." Hanna replied, "There are hundreds of Yeti both in the tunnels and above ground."
"What's the point." The Colonel said to them, "We can't fight those things. Trust me, I've tried."
"Anyway, we'd never get back in, sir." Evans pointed out, "All the stations are locked."
"Well we might find one that's open." Jamie said fairly, "I mean, after all, the Yeti get in and out. Why can't we?"
"But we don't know where they're taking Victoria. What's the point in trying to cut them off if we don't know where they're heading." Hanna argued, "And if we get lost out above ground or murderised by the Yeti, who's going to help the Doctor?"
"Well if you're all too scared, I'll go myself." Jamie said, turning away and heading towards the door.
"I didn't say I was scared, I was saying it's a stupid idea!" Hanna protested. "It's pointless!"
"Well maybe it is," The Colonel said, going over towards Jamie, "But at least we'll be doing something active."
"What about the Doctor and Miss Travers, sir?" Evans asked, joining them.
"Oh, yes. Mustn't leave them unprotected." The Colonel agreed, "You stay here, Evans."
"Right, sir." Evans agreed.
"And don't go taking any chances." The Colonel told him before he and Jamie started to leave the room.
"Oh for goodness sake," Hanna muttered, "You're all completely barmy!" She said to no one in particular before following them out, "But there's no way you're leaving me behind."
"Good to have you on side, Miss MacKay," The Colonel said to her. "Let's get this scoped out as soon as possible and report back." They walked until they reached the door that would lead them up to the surface. The Colonel and Jamie listened against it, "You think it's safe?" The Colonel queried.
"There's only one way to find out," Jamie told him.
"Two ways, actually." Hanna put in, "You could always listen to me."
"Well, what do you think, then?" The Colonel asked her.
"I think this whole thing is completely pointless and puts everyone in danger. That more likely than not, there's either going to be a Yeti or fungus behind that door." She replied, folding her arms.
"Shall we chance it?" Jamie asked the Colonel.
Lethbridge-Stewart seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding, "Why not?"
"I tried to warn you..." Hanna muttered as the pair of them opened the door, only to find the corridor behind was filled with pulsating fungus. "Shut the door!" She shouted at them.
"Hard as you can," The Colonel instructed as he and Jamie struggled to get the door shut again. "Put your back into it." Once they had it closed as much as possible the Colonel nodded to Hanna, "Fire door by the stairs, you go and unhitch it while we hold it back."
"You better get a shufty on!" She told them over her shoulder as she ran down the stairs to the door and shoved it open with her shoulder, "It's open! Now!" She yelled to them, hearing their footsteps as they ran to the door, "I told you!" She said once they were through and the door had been closed again behind them, "I bloody told you!"
They ran back to the lab, pushing their way in and closing the door behind them. "Doctor!" Jamie exclaimed.
"It's homing!" The Doctor told them in delight.
"Oh, never mind that!" Jamie argued.
"Why, what's happened?" The Doctor asked them, now worried.
"We tried to get out of the surface door but the fungus was there!"
"Well, I'm not surprised." The Doctor replied. "I thought the Intelligence would try to hem us in."
"I did try to warn them." Hanna said, "But they decided to open it anyway."
"Unfortunately it's got into HQ." The Colonel told them. "Don't worry. Managed to get a fire door closed, should hold it."
"Come on, Anne. We must get to work." The Doctor said, picking up the sphere from the floor and going back over to the bench.
"Doctor, tell me, this sphere of yours, exactly how is it going to help us?" The Colonel asked.
"Well the sphere itself? It won't." The Doctor replied, "But it will help us to test the control box."
"Is that all?" Jamie protested. "You mean to say you've wasted all this time just to..."
"Wasted? We haven't been wasting our time!" The Doctor argued back.
"I must agree with the boy, Doctor. You don't seem to have achieved very much." The Colonel put in.
"A lot more than you have," Hanna told him. "The control box means the ability to override the Intelligence's commands and control a Yeti. Which I think is a lot more productive than letting the fungus into the base!"
"And if you left us alone, we'd get along much quicker." Anne added.
"Right. Well come on, McCrimmon. We'll leave them to it." The Colonel replied, leaving the room with Jamie following.
"Mind if I just sit here and watch?" Hanna asked, sitting down and leaning back, "I'll be quiet and good. Just don't fancy going into the tunnels again on a wild goose chase."
"Be my guest. Though I do wish those two would stop wandering off." The Doctor smiled at her before he and Anne returned to their work.
Hanna watched them quietly, enjoying being able to just listen to the technical talk and not being expected to in some way contribute. The Doctor and Anne were in their element here and there was nothing she could do but let them get on with it. She watched the sphere travel back and forth across the floor as they tested it but as it left the room she forced herself up and followed them.
"No, don't shoot!" The Doctor shouted from ahead of her and she quickened her step, turning into the room to find the Doctor and Anne looked down at the sphere and Evans standing on a chair watching it, his gun still aimed.
"Is that on our side, then?" Evans asked.
"It is now." The Doctor replied, fumbling for a small device and speaking into it. The sphere stopped when he told it to. "Were you scared?" He asked Evans teasingly.
"What? No!" Evans scoffed, "I mean, I just got up here to get a better aim, that's all."
"Lies!" Hanna grinned, "Glad you didn't shoot it though."
"How did you make it stop, then?" Evans asked the Doctor.
"Simple, I told it to." He replied.
Evans looked confused for a moment before stepping down off the chair and crouching beside the sphere, "Here, ball." He said, "Why don't you do back to where you've come from?" When the sphere didn't move he stood up and looked at the Doctor, "Now pull the other one."
"Oh, show him, Doctor." Anne said with a smile.
"All right, I will." He replied before speaking into the device he was holding, "Move forward." At his command the silver sphere started to move, rolling forwards. "Stop. Move to the left." He continued. "Stop." Once the ball had followed all his commands he looked at Evans, "There you are. How about that?"
Hanna laughed at the look of amusement on Evans' face. "That's great!" The Welshman grinned, "Make a smashing toy, that would."
"Toy? That's a highly complex piece of equipment." Anne said sharply.
"Oh hush." Hanna grinned, "Whether it is or not, it'd still be a fun toy. If it was a toy. We had something like that in my classroom at school when I was small. Only instead of speaking you'd type the commands into a system on top of it and watch where it went. Loads of fun trying to get it to navigate around chairs and tables... and other students. Though it crashed into things a lot."
"I still don't see how this is going to help us," Evans said.
"But it obeys our commands." The Doctor replied like it was obvious.
"So?" Evans was still confused.
"Well once we get it inside a Yeti, we'll have a powerful ally!" The Doctor told him excitedly.
"Inside a Yeti?" Evans echoed in shock.
"Yes. Will you help us?" Anne asked.
"You must be joking! Go near one of them things? I may be stupid but I'm not daft."
"Oh. Very well, Anne, I shall have to do it by myself." The Doctor said, crouching to pick up the sphere.
"Oh, I'm coming with you, Doctor." Anne said.
"No, it's far too dangerous." The Doctor told her.
"There you are! What did I tell you?" Evans said triumphantly.
"I'll go with you." Hanna said firmly, "Anne, make sure Evans doesn't do anything stupid, won't you?"
Anne sighed, "Oh I suppose so." She replied.
"Good, good." The Doctor smiled at her, "Come along, Hanna. Let's try Warren Street." He said and the pair of them left the room.
"So what's the plan, Doctor?" Hanna asked as they left the building, emerging once more into a dark tunnel.
"Well, we go find a Yeti, use the control box to make it stop and then swap the spheres. It's all very simple really." He told her.
She smiled, "Sounds it. In theory. In practice..."
"It'll be fine," He assured her as they walked, searching for a suitable Yeti to take command of.
They found themselves face to face with a wall of fungus before they could reach Warren Street. "Let's take a closer look," The Doctor said and moved closer, examining it, "Do you think it's mutating?"
"No idea," Hanna replied, "I'm not a scientist, but it does look different to how it did earlier. Maybe we should try Yeti hunting somewhere else?"
"Perhaps you're right," He replied. The pair of them turned away, starting to walk back they way they had come. Before they could take more than half a dozen steps a lumbering shape loomed out of the dark towards them. "Give me the control box, Hanna." The Doctor said, holding out his hand for it.
"You've got it," She told him, not taking her eyes off the Yeti.
"What? Hold the sphere." He passed it to her as he searched his expansive pockets for the small control box. He pulled it out and pressed the button.
"Not close enough..." Hanna mumbled, "Stupid short range." She started at the Yeti as it moved closer, lifting a hand to strike them.
"It's going to work." He replied, then more desperately, "It's got to work!"
Work it did. The Yeti was barely half a metre ahead of them before it froze and Hanna breathed a sigh of relief, "Well that was cutting it a bit fine."
"Don't tell me you were worried," The Doctor looked at her.
"Of course not." She replied, "It's something you helped make, how could it ever not work!"
"Is that sarcasm?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps," She answered sheepishly. "Let's get these spheres switched and then Fred here will be all ready to go."
"Good idea." He replied, "Would you like to hold this for me?" He passed her the control box by balancing it on top of the sphere she was already holding, before getting something out of his pockets and digging the other sphere out of the Yeti's chest. He passed that to her as well before taking their own modified sphere and putting that in place of the old one. Once he was done he took a step back and picked up the microphone device from where it was hanging around his neck, "Now, then. Turn around!" They both laughed as the Yeti turned to face the other way. The Doctor continued, "Now, then. With my reprogrammed sphere and the control box, we should be able to work him over quite a distance." He looked up at the Yeti, "Oh, put your arm down." He looked back at Hanna with a grin, "Now we've got a chance. Come on." They turned and started to move along the tunnel back towards HQ. "Oh, we mustn't forget him." The Doctor turned and spoke into the microphone again, "Come on, Fred, at the double." He told it before the three of them started to walk through the tunnel.
"This is so cool." Hanna grinned as they walked, "Fred the friendly Yeti."
Author's Note: Got to love Fred the friendly Yeti!
Question time! (Send me questions if you have any! The more random, the better!)
Happy-Rea:
1. If Hanna was President of the US she would... probably try to do something with the health system
2. Coffee. Particularly Mocha. Though really she would go for hot chocolate!
3. If she had unlimited storage of anything, it would have to be books.
Greenapplprincss:
1. No. She will never get the hang of not calling the Colonel 'Brigadier'. To her, he is the Brigadier. He always has been and always will be
2. She has a GCSE in German but that's as far as her knowledge of foreign languages go
3. She currently has a Nokia Lumia which she is very happy with. It was brand new for her birthday when she ended up in this world so technically it's a year or so ahead of time they're in! She's not wanting to upgrade any time soon!