Chapter Thirteen
The skimmer flew over the Sahara Desert. As it sailed over the sands, it passed a few nomads. Thanks to the cloaking device, it remained undetected by them. It flew on until it reached the heart of the Sahara, a place where few traveled to except for nomads and even then they didn't linger for long. They reached their destination and hovered over the sand. The pilot pressed a button and a huge door slid back revealing a large hangar bay. The skimmer slowly sank down through the door and landed in the huge room. The door slid back overhead as the pilot shut the engines off. The co-pilot got on the radio.
"We have landed. We need men to come and take the capsule off the ship." He said.
"Yes, sir." He heard someone reply.
They unbuckled their seatbelts and the pilot lowered the ramp. A few minutes later, eight guards appeared in the hangar bay.
"They're right there." The pilot said pointing to the capsule.
The guards walked over, took the chains off and picked up the capsule. The pilot and co-pilot watched as they took it down the ramp and out of the hangar bay. Once they were clear, the pilot raised the ramp, started the engines and prepared to go back to Antarctica.
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The Doctor gasped as he felt a hot steam envelop him. He opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. It took him a minute to register where he was and who was beside him.
"Doctor?" Rose murmured.
The Doctor kissed her forehead.
"It's alright, Rose. I'm here." He said to her.
"Where are we? Are we still in the cryo-stasis room?" she asked.
The Doctor looked up through the capsule window. Instead of the darkened room, he could see a fluorescent light burning overhead.
"I don't know. Somehow I don't think so." He said to her.
Rose looked up through the window with him. As they stared at the light, they suddenly saw a man leaning over to look at them. The Doctor tightened his grip on Rose as he gave the man a warning look. The man leaned back up and a few minutes later there was a hissing sound as the door slid back. The Doctor made a move to get up when suddenly he and Rose were surrounded by 8 men all pointing their semi-automatic guns at them. The Doctor held Rose close wondering what was going to happen to them. He got his answer when two of the men stepped aside and a red haired man in his late thirties stared down at them.
"Both of you get up slowly." He said. "Don't try anything or my men will shoot."
The Doctor and Rose kept their eyes on the guards and they sat up. Slowly they stood up as the guards kept their guns trained on them. They held one another as they bravely faced the circle of guns. The Doctor looked around and saw that they were in a white room that held a few crates in it, but otherwise it was empty. He knew now that they had been moved. Where they had been moved was the question, but he sensed that if he asked that, he wasn't going to get an answer. His suspicions were confirmed when someone slipped a blindfold over Rose's eyes and then someone put one on him obscuring his vision. He felt someone grab his arms and pull him.
"Gently, they're very valuable." He heard someone say.
The men helped him step out of the stasis chamber. He stood still feeling Rose step up beside him.
"The two of you will obey every command." They heard the man say. "You will not resist or you will both be killed without mercy. Is that understood?"
"Yes." The Doctor said.
"Yes." Rose said.
"Then start walking, my men will guide you." The man said.
The Doctor felt a tug on his arm. He offered no resistance; he only walked where the men led him. As he walked, he remembered every sound, every scent so that he could determine where they were. He sensed Rose beside him. He sensed that she was calm and he took comfort in that. At least she was safe for the moment and he would do everything in his power to see she stayed that way.
They walked along in silence. The Doctor's nose wrinkled as he smelled the scent of ammonia. It reminded him of a hospital. He hated hospitals. After a few more minutes of walking, he could no longer stand the silence. He had to make an effort to find out where they were.
"Where have you brought us?" he spoke aloud.
"You will find out in time, Doctor, just keep walking." A man replied
The Doctor sighed.
"Will we be allowed to see where we are or will we just wear these blindfolds 24/7?" he asked.
"The blindfolds will come off in a moment. I assure you nothing will happen to you or to Rose while you are blindfolded. I will not kill you unawares, Doctor, I am not that coldblooded."
The Doctor snorted.
"Well, it's nice to know when Rose and I finally die, we'll be fully aware of everything that's happening." He said bitterly.
"Are you going to put us back in the capsule when you're done with us?" Rose asked.
"That depends on how well you behave," The man said. "If you make trouble then yes, you will be put back into suspended animation. Keep that in mind when you're making your escape plans."
"So, in other words," the Doctor said. "We're just supposed to go quietly like sheep to the slaughter because if we don't we'll be frozen. But, if we don't resist, then we get our brains drained and become mindless vegetables. So, it's really a question of which is the lesser of two evils here."
"You don't have to have your brain emptied, Doctor," the man said. "You could cooperate with us willingly and give us your knowledge without mind probes."
"Become your servant then."
"If you like."
"Sorry, I scored low marks in my servitude class." The Doctor said.
"So, did I." Rose added.
"Well, we'll take your knowledge by force then, I guess."
Or we'll just fight our way out and escape from here. The Doctor thought. Of course, this will be after we destroy this base.
After a few minutes, the Doctor felt someone tug on his arm.
"We're here." The man said.
The Doctor and Rose stood still. He listened as someone unlocked a door and then they were led inside. The Doctor felt another tug on his arm and he stood still as he heard the sound of chairs scraping across the floor. The man pulled on the Doctor's arm and he let the man lead him over and sit him down. He heard the sound of Rose sitting down beside him and without thinking, he reached over, found her hand and held it.
After another minute, the blindfold was pulled off his face and the Doctor blinked as bright light flooded his eyes. Once his eyes adjusted, he noticed the red haired man sitting behind a desk across from him.
"Now, I will give you both another choice. You can sit here unrestrained and behave or you can resist and be tied to the chairs. What will it be?"
"We won't resist." The Doctor said quickly.
The man looked at Rose.
"I won't fight back. You don't need to tie me to the chair." She said quietly.
The man smiled and nodded. He waved the guards away.
"Excellent, then we can have a pleasant little chat here." He said as the guards exited the room. "So, let's begin."