Furiously Fast
"Ok, I'm back now," Broxa said irritably, "you can go now."
"But we're only just getting acquainted," the man who had been sent to look for her insisted.
"I don't want to get acquainted," Broxa bit back. "It sounds painful."
He chuckled and sidled up to her again. "I like you, you're funny. So many girls these days are so serious."
"I was being serious," Broxa insisted.
He ignored this comment as he took hold of her hand. "I'm a sort of secret agent you know," he drawled, "I help protect the world from alien threats."
She pulled her hand away sharply and gave a perplexed look. "You trying to impress me?"
"Is it working?"
"No, I fight aliens all the time."
"Really?" He exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "Wow, we do have a lot in common."
Broxa was saved from further courting attempts as the Doctor, Sally and Larry came sprinting out of the crater that the asteroid was in. She quickly intercepted and was pleased to find that the man had not followed; he recognised when he was pushing his luck.
He sighed and strolled over to a woman who was sat at a table, staring intently at a laptop screen. "You're single at the moment aren't you Lois?" He asked casually.
"Not that it's any of your business," she replied without looking up, "but yes."
"Well there was this nice girl here a second ago that-"
"Oh for the last time, Toby!" She snapped. "Me refusing to sleep with you does not make me a lesbian!"
"Sure," he smirked. "You keep telling yourself that."
"Same applies to that poor girl as well," she continued. "You can be a right pig sometimes, Toby."
He would have replied to that but he was interrupted by a scream that echoed around the entire area. A gun appeared in his hand as he rushed towards the sound, his demeanour completely changing. Before he could blink the Arekorn that had been selected to chase down the Doctor and his party came charging out of the crater. He fired a few shots at it but the giant ignored him so intent it was in its task.
He and Lois watched as it charged through the camp, completely ignoring everything; at one point even jumping over a man who had fallen over in its way. "Weird," he commented.
"It must have come out of the asteroid," Lois deducted, glancing towards it nervously.
"We'll keep a close watch on it," he said decisively. "You try to get hold of the captain."
There were no arguments as he rushed over to the asteroid, she quickly fumbled her phone out of her pocket and hurriedly found the number that would hopefully find the captain. He would know what to do. After all, he used to be a Time Agent.
"I'm surprised you didn't just hit him," the Doctor commented.
Broxa's eyes glazed over as if trying to remember something. "Violence never solves your problems?"
He almost stopped running as he stared back at her in shock. "Who are you and what have you done with Broxa?" He said eventually.
"I am Broxa," she replied uncertainly.
"It's just an expression."
Whatever Broxa was trying to say next was completely drowned out by a deep sonorous bleat, loudly echoing around the entire area, followed by a deep voice that shouted: "Rock killers!"
"Rock killers?" Sally echoed.
"Yes that's us," the Doctor nodded. "Silicon based life forms you see, their body structure is effectively rock, as such they feel a strong connection to all things mineral based. Almost all carbon based life forms in the universe at one point in their history or another partake in the act of mining, in doing so they end up destroying vast quantities of rock."
"And those Arry corn creatures liken that to murder do they?" Larry questioned.
"Effectively," the Doctor nodded. "And it's Arekorn, rhymes with Aragorn."
"Did you get to see the asteroid then?" The policeman who had let them in asked as they scrambled through the barrier.
"Do us a favour would you," the Doctor said in response. "Just on the off chance that some monster, something like, oh I don't know, a giant goat headed statue perhaps, comes running down here, don't antagonise it in any way. And certainly don't go pointing any lit cigarettes in its general direction."
"You what?"
The Doctor didn't respond straight away, he had already rushed over to the driver's side of the car. "As I said," he called back to him, "in the unlikely event that that does happen, I just wanted to make sure that you are prepared."
He slammed the door, the engine roared to life and the car reversed backwards followed by a j-turn to make it face the opposite direction. As the officer pondered as to what could have caused them to want to leave in such a hurry he heard a succession of booms behind him. He turned and froze in shock at the sight of the giant goat headed statue, that the Doctor had just described to him, charging towards him. The Arekorn gave an angry bleat and leaped over the top of him, not faltering in its pursuit for one second.
"They are completely single minded in all aspects," the Doctor explained as he drove. "When sent on a task they will not stop until they have completed it, at the expense of all else. So for once driving into the middle of a populated area is actually a very good idea."
"That doesn't sound very reassuring," Larry commented.
"Hold on, you mean they will ignore everyone else except for us?" Sally questioned.
"Twelve out of ten! He has been ordered to kill us, but not anyone else, therefore he will ignore all others despite its deeply ingrained xenophobia." He glanced to the passenger seat where Broxa was sitting. "That excludes you obviously Broxa as you weren't with us. Actually you should probably have stayed back at the landing site and kept an eye on the rest for us."
"And missed all this?" She questioned in response. "No xessing way!"
"Um I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Larry said uncertainly, glancing out of the rear window, "but its gaining on us."
"Don't Arekorns know about speed limits?" the Doctor tutted. "Oh well, I'll have to put up with a few extra points on my licence."
He gunned the accelerator pedal and the little fiat slowly gained velocity. An uneasy silence overcame the interior of the car with the Doctor concentrating on driving and the rest glancing nervously out of the back window at the Arekorn.
Broxa eventually broke the silence. "So, these Arekorns," she said. "What are their weaknesses? How do we fight them."
"By running and hiding until they go away," the Doctor replied.
"What? But you said-"
"Doesn't stop that from being the best thing to do," he interrupted. "I have met them a few times, true but I have yet to discover any weakness that can be easily exploited. There's no probic vent to hit or an eye stalk to shoot at, they slow down in the cold but that's not much use."
"Well what's wrong with that?" Broxa questioned.
"Praying for it to snow isn't a very reliable action to take," the Doctor replied. "But having said that..." he turned to Sally and Larry, "what sort of weather are we expecting?"
"It's July," Sally replied matter-of-factly.
"Ok, forget that then," he turned his attention back to the road and swerved around a slower moving vehicle.
"So we're buggered then," Larry stated. "You can't kill stone."
"Not strictly true," the Doctor corrected as his next overtaking manoeuvre caused a car horn to blare at him. "They are very like us in many respects, you cut my skin and I will bleed and it will hurt the same applies to the Arekorns, the difference being their skin is like rock so harder to break than ours and their blood is gritty. These aren't angels Larry."
Broxa nodded thoughtfully. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?" she questioned.
"I have yet to come across something with death on its mind that will react to being scratched with anything other than anger," the Doctor replied, "and he's angry enough don't you think."
"Well how have you defeated them before?" Sally questioned.
"Turned off the oxygen to the area they are populating, tricked them into an airlock, switched off the heating, allowed one to go toe to toe with a Judoon," The Doctor listed. "Not really anything I can recreate here, unless there is a freeze ray in the boot that I am not aware of."
Several horns blared as he went on the wrong side of the road to avoid a queue leading up to a roundabout, an Audi coming towards them in the opposite direction swerved to avoid them and two other cars collided on the roundabout. The Arekorn ignored the chaos as he came charging through a few seconds later, other than to bleat angrily at the people who had stepped out of their cars to survey the damage.
"Where are you going?" Sally questioned. "This will lead us straight to the village."
"Is that a problem? A densely populated area will slow him down," the Doctor replied.
"And us too," she pointed out, "probably more so, it's only a village."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "True, it'll be sparsely populated enough for him to only be slowed a little bit while we will be very slow. The Arekorn will have passed the roundabout by now so turning round will probably be suicide."
He pulled on the handbrake and spun the steering wheel all the way to the right making the car violently spin all the way round. Once they were facing the opposite direction he gunned the accelerator again.
"What happened to going that way being suicide?" Larry exclaimed.
"I only said probably," the Doctor replied. "Let's see if our friend knows the rules to chicken."
Sally and Larry glanced at one another nervously and tenderly took each other by the hand. Even Broxa looked slightly worried, continuously glancing at the manic grin on the Doctor's face with concern. "Larry?" she glanced back at him. "Which one's chicken again?"
"The one where two cars face off and drive headlong at each other," he replied.
"Right, but we're the good guys right," she said hopefully, "we'll win wont we?"
"Oh why so glum chums," the Doctor chided. "You all need something to turn those frowns upside down." He switched the radio on and flicked through a few radio stations until he found an especially jolly tune; Love Today by Mika. "There, doesn't that make you feel much better!"
The chasing Arekorn performed its equivalent of a frown as it watched the vehicle that contained its targets turn around and start accelerating towards him. He didn't falter, he merely lowered his head slightly and bleated softly. It was about time those cowardly rock killers finally stood up to him like Billies. They may think that their pathetic Earth vehicle would be able to stop him, but he was going to show them.
"Girl in a groove with a big bust on, big bust on, big bust on! Wait till your mother and your papa's gone, papa's gone!" the Doctor sang along with the radio, keeping his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the Arekorn, pleased to see it lower its head as it charged. "Momma, momma papa! Shock shock me, shock shock me. Now!" He shouted this last word as the Arekorn leaped into the air and brought its axe above its head.
The Doctor pulled on the handbrake once again and spun the steering wheel to make the car spin, this time, however, he ended the slide when the car had only turned through 90 degrees and made the car shoot across the other side of the road and off road. The Arekorn twisted through the air in an attempt to follow the cars sudden change of direction but only succeeded in causing himself to crash land on his side.
The car bounced wildly on the uneven surface so the Doctor aimed for road again as quickly as possible, keeping a close eye on the Arekorn as it struggled back to its feet. "Motorway sound like a better idea?" he questioned.
Sally nodded mutely, still stunned by the near death experience. Broxa on the other hand was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, that was totally wicked!" she exclaimed.
The scientists had stopped their work under Toby's orders and several armed operatives were maintaining a careful perimeter around the asteroid's crater. Toby himself stood a few yards behind on a chair so that he could have the best view of the asteroid whilst avoiding standing on the front line. He looked down briefly as Lois came up to him before returning his gaze to the asteroid.
"Well?" he said.
"We've got Arekorns," she said. "Silicon based life forms with an irrational hatred of all other life forms."
Toby sighed heavily. "Why do we never get a species that simply wants to be loved? Is this an invasion force?"
"Unlikely," Lois replied. "He reckons that this is merely a scout ship, crew of five at a rough estimate."
"Minus the one that went running off into the countryside," he added. "What's happening with that one by the way?"
"He's dealing with that one apparently," she shrugged.
"Ok, how does he advise us to deal with the four that we have?"
"Don't attack unless they attack first and try not to antagonise them in any way."
"Is that it?"
She shrugged helplessly. "I guess he can't know how to deal with everything, he didn't seem very happy when he learnt it was them."
He smirked in amusement at this. "So our captain is fallible after all," he said. "Hold up something's happening." The asteroid slowly opened up in exactly the same way that it had for the Doctor. "Go hide somewhere," he said to Lois, she nodded meekly and disappeared.
Toby turned back to asteroid as something emerged from the opening that had just appeared. Another goat headed statue, just like the one he had seen charging out of the area, an Arekorn. It wasn't alone, three more followed, these ones armed with great, long handled axes. Four, the entire crew were out.
He heard the sound of several automatic weapons being cocked. "Hold your fire," he ordered.
The Arekorns stared at them, those that were armed tightening the grip on their weapons, snorting and bleating threateningly; mercifully no one attacked. That all changed when the unarmed one took a step forwards, one lad lost his nerve and fired a single shot.
"No!" Toby shouted, but the damage had already been done.
The Arekorn that had been struck examined the wound on its shoulder before rounding on the lad with an angry bleat; which was echoed by the others.
"Rock killers," the lead Arekorn growled.
It leaped forwards and headbutted the lad so hard that his skull shattered like an egg. The other armed men turned and unleashed relentless fire on the Arekorn which roared and flailed its arms sending those around flying. In their fervour to take down this one Arekorn they completely forgot about the other three and were taken unawares. The axes descended, there were screams of terror, the spurting and gushing as red fountains sprouted from freshly severed necks. Then there was silence.
"Bravo." They straitened up and turned to the new arrival who had spoken, a fat, old man with a bushy, white moustache, who was clapping his hands vigorously. "You truly are fine warriors," he continued.
"Your words will not save you, rock killer," the lead Arekorn boomed.
Morsprima looked down at the dead bodies with mock surprise. "You don't think I am with them do you?" He exclaimed. "No, no, no, I am completely independent from all governments in the known galaxy. You may call me Shest. I am the one who summoned you here."
"You did?" The lead Arekorn questioned. "Why?"
"I think it would be better if we discussed that matter somewhere more private," Shest responded. He beckoned them towards the observatory. "This way, oh Soldiers of Stone."
Without looking back he turned and strode back to the observatory, the Arekorns reluctantly following in his wake. All was still and Toby finally dared to poke his head out from under the table he had been cowering under.
"What is it about the phrase: hold your fire, that people don't understand?" He wondered aloud.
The little Fiat containing the Doctor and his party sped through another set of lights, narrowly avoiding a people carrier travelling perpendicularly. "Motorway," the Doctor pointed. "How is our friend?"
"Still with us," Larry replied. "That lorry slowed him a bit, but he's still coming."
"To be expected," the Doctor shrugged as he sped up the slip road. "But we can really put the hammer down now, nothing to slow us. He may be quick but we can, oh shit."
"I don't like the sound of that?" Sally said. "What's happening?"
"Traffic jam," he replied, as he brought the fiat to a standstill, behind the stationary traffic. "We need to get out of here." He switched off the engine and frantically pulled the door open.
"You can't go out there!" Sally exclaimed.
"We can hardly stay in there," the Doctor responded. "We have to keep moving or the Arekorn will get us for sure."
They sprinted down the sides of the stationary cars, glancing back occasionally, causing people in the cars they passed to glance back themselves in attempts to determine what they were running from. Except for one middle aged woman who stared at the Doctor with a look of horror.
"What happens if the traffic starts moving again?" Larry questioned suddenly.
The Doctor glanced back in time to spot the cars at the rear of the jam empty and the inhabitants started to run, screaming, towards them. "Not something we should be worrying about," he said.
As more people exited their cars the Arekorn reached the rear of the jam, snorted and leaped onto the roof of the nearest car and continued its pursuit, leaping from car roof to car roof. Broxa watched its advance with interest. It was slower than before, cautiously ensuring it had both feet on the car before leaping onto the next one, always landing on the same foot.
"Broxa come on, we need to keep moving," Sally called back to her.
Her head snapped round to them. "Doctor, give me your knife," she ordered.
"Are you mad!" Larry exclaimed, realising what she planned to do.
"He won't attack me," Broxa said matter-of-factly. "He is entirely focused on you three, I can use that to my advantage."
The Doctor regarded her very seriously. "The second you attack him his focus will include you as well, you will no longer be safe from him. You understand that?"
"I understand," she nodded.
"Very well," he tossed his golden penknife to her. She caught it expertly and she turned and started running back the way she had come.
"You're just letting her throw her life away like that?" Sally questioned.
"Broxa is made of far sterner stuff than you give her credit," he responded. "Either way, she's giving us a chance to get away, we should take it."
Broxa stalked down the road, eyeing up her prey with calculated precision. She had missed this, the hunt, the build up to a clash of wills that would leave one on the floor dead or dying with the other standing triumphant. Something that she had missed even on Mondas, not since she became leader of her tribe; leaders don't tend to go out hunting very often.
She hopped up onto the bonnet of a red car, crouching down low to avoid detection. As the Arekorn landed she leaped up and wrapped her arms around its left leg, pushing with her shoulder. It gave no indication of having even felt her, simply leaping onto the next car, taking her with him. As he landed she stabbed the golden blade into the back of its leg; right behind the knee.
The leg buckled and the Arekorn roared in pain. Unable to support his own weight the giant toppled over sideways like a falling tree, crashing into the barrier at the side of the road, sending sand flying in all directions. It teetered there for a second before toppling over the edge and falling to the road below.
Broxa lay panting on the ground, clutching her shoulder and coughing in between pants. She smiled as she heard a satisfying crash followed by a screech of brakes and an even louder crash. Her vision swam for a few moments, when it cleared she found the Doctor in her face calling her name.
"I got it," she grinned.
"You did," he agreed. "Never seen anything like that in my life, and I've had a very long life. What did you do?"
"Stabbed it behind the knees," she replied. "You said it was much like us apart from the skin being tougher so I guessed it would be similarly frail behind the knees."
"Good logic," he commended, "all the armour would be concentrated towards the front where attacks are most likely to come from leaving softer, frailer parts behind, the joints by the looks of things. Why did I never think of anything like this before? Perhaps the eyes are similarly frail, neck and elbows and under the armpits as well, should have asked Kabrok more about his defeat of the Arekorn. Suddenly these guys are looking beatable, well they were beatable before anyway, but now I have some clear strategy should I be attacked by one, like with the Sontarans' probic vent."
"I've done something to my shoulder," Broxa cut in.
He quickly shut up and tenderly massaged the area, she hissed as he did this. "You've dislocated it," he remarked. "Larry could I have a hand?"
Larry obediently dropped down and held her steady in a sitting position whilst the Doctor forced the shoulder back into its socket; Broxa was unable to suppress a scream this time.
"Surprised that's all you've picked up," Larry remarked.
"We're durable things us cannibals," Broxa winked, stretching her arm carefully.
"Is that it then?" Sally questioned. "Have we stopped it?"
The Doctor appeared beside her and also gazed down at the mess of sand and orange rubble amongst a motionless lorry. "He's not dead, if that's what you mean," he replied. "His outer shell has merely shattered. He'll be back on his feet soon."
"So that was for nothing," Larry exclaimed.
"He won't get up straight away, we still have plenty of time to get away and build up a good lead," he began jogging down the motorway.
"Hold on!" Sally called after him. "Shouldn't we be going this way?"
"He'll assume we are going to go that way," the Doctor responded, "this will probably confuse him. I'm thinking that hiding in that village might work out for us."
He continued jogging and slowly his companions followed him.