They were back in the control room, Romana and Braxiatel arguing with Zach. "The ground gave way beneath our TARDIS. Our TARDIS must have fallen down right into the heart of the planet. You got robot drills heading the same way." Romana protested, trying to make Zach see her way.
"We can't divert the drilling." Zach told them and he walked off, Romana staring after him before following him.
"But we need our ship back! Our TARDIS is the only thing left we got from our home planet. Literally the only thing. I've sworn a promise to Braxiatel's brother to look after it! And I can't break that promise."
Zach looked irritated. "Romana, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source and that's it. No diversions, no distractions and no machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that...is the end of it." He left and Braxiatel wrapped his arms around Romana, both feeling numb. Now they have nothing left of Gallifrey except for the Time-Lord robes he was wearing.
Ida approached the two Time-lords who were still wrapped up in their embrace, both feeling completely lost and she could see the pain in their eyes. They must have been through so much to feel this way. "I'll uh, put you on the duty roaster. We need someone in the laundry." She quickly followed Zach from the room.
"Open Door 1."
The remaining of the Ood left them, leaving the two-time lords and Rose alone.
"Close Door 1."
Romana and Braxiatel broke their embrace and settle against the control panel next to her. Romana staring blankly against the wall for a few seconds. "I've trapped you both here." She whispered.
"No, don't worry about us." Rose told her gently just as the base shook again. Rose looked upwards through the window. "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exists, under a black hole...no way out." Braxiatel looked at her. "Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about us." She laughed nervously and the three of them sat there, feeling numb and lost.
"Entering night shift. Your chosen track for transition is Ravel's Bolero." The computer announced and Ravel's Bolero played in the distance as the Ood worked in the base. Jefferson wondered amongst them. He watched Scooti at work on the planet's surface. A few seconds later, she stopped what she was doing before she spoke into the communication device on her wrist, grinning.
"All finished. Heading back inside." She started to head back to the base. Inside Danny was ticking off the Ood on a clipboard as they file past him.
"Ood 7 Gamma 10. Oo7 Gamma 11. Ood 7 Gamma 12..." This was going to be a long shift.
Ravel's Bolero music carried off to where Toby sat in his bedroom and office. He was examining fragments of the ancient scrolls beneath a microscope. Suddenly, the music was cut off sharply and there was a sound of the buzz of electricity and Toby looked up before dismissing it, knowing it was just the computer and went back to his work.
"Toby..."
Toby's head jerked sharply around, his eyes searching the room. Nobody was there and he shrugged it off and goes back to his examining the scrolls. He was becoming paranoid that was all.
"I can see you..."
Toby stopped his working and looked irritated. He just wanted to be left alone in piece. He was going to have words with Danny to tell him to stop messing around with him, especially when he was trying to work. "Danny, is that you? It's, it's not funny, all right?" There was no reply and Toby got up and strode towards the door, ready to confront Danny. "Dan?" He opened the door and emerged onto the corridor only to find nobody there. "I'm trying to work, Daniel." He looked slightly disturbed. Who could possibly be calling his name? "Look, if that's you then can you just stop it...?"
The lights flicker again and Toby headed back to his door when suddenly he heard a low, indistinct growl from out of nowhere and he tensed and he quickly glanced up and down the corridor only to find it deserted and the growling stopped.
Romana, Braxiatel and Rose were sat by the ancient text in the canteen area. Romana was trying to translate it but with what happened from before she couldn't help but still feel paranoid about it.
"Danny, check the temperature of the Ood Habitation. It seems to be rising." Zach called and Rose got up and walked over to the hatch through which the food was being served. Danny stood up and went over to the Ood Habitation. Scooti was already by the hatch with her tray.
Scooti gestured to the tray. "Help yourself. Just don't have the green. Or the blue." She laughed and Rose picked up a tray and went over to the hatch where she saw the Ood serving.
Rose pointed randomly at the food. "Uh, bit of that, thanks."
The Ood spoons some sloppy blue gloop onto her tray. "Would you like sauce with that?"
"I'll have a go yeah," The Ood shook some sauce onto the tray and Rose grinned. "I did that job once. I was a...a dinner lady! Not that I'm calling you a lady. Although, I dunno, you might be. Do you actually get paid, though? Do they give you money?"
"The Beast and His Armies shall rise from the Pit to make war against God." The Ood replied.
Rose blinked, looking at it uneasily. What on earth did that mean? "...I'm sorry?"
The Ood tapped his communication orb. "Apologies. I said, 'I hope you enjoy your meal.'"
Rose felt completely thrown off course and she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She was pretty sure whatever the Ood said, it meant something serious. "Yeah." She picked up her tray and walked off, brushing off the Ood's message. Something was just wrong with it's communication device, that was all.
Zach was working in the computer room. The three time-travellers visit had surprised everybody and he knew that Romana and Braxiatel must be powerful people and to see them so lost and stuck was overwhelming.
"Drill head now at Point 16." The computer announced as it showed an illustrative diagram. The hologram appeared again and Zach tapped away at some keys. "Drill head speed increasing."
"Keep pressure at 60." Zach told them and he stood up and walked to another set of controls. Whilst his back was turned, an image of a horned beast replaced the hologram of the planet. It roared quietly and Zach spun around but it was already gone. Zach looked around him nervously, wondering what all that was about and he hoped it was just a glitch in the computer system.
He hoped.
Danny was in a corridor and was turning a wheel to open another door, the door was refusing to open. "Close door 3."
"I've closed door 3." Danny told the computer with irritation.
"He is awake."
Danny blinked and stopped spinning the wheel, wondering what the computer meant. "What did you say?"
"Close Door 3." Danny peered through the circular window in the window, wondering what was on the other side.
Toby was still examining the fragments of the ancient text and his room was deadly silent. Just the way he liked it. He wondered if he could use Romana or Braxiatel to help him translate the language but he knew they were both mourning the loss of their ship, wherever that was now. He couldn't understand why the pair of them got so upset about losing a ship.
"Toby..." The same voice that Toby had been hearing spoke again and Toby was about turn around but the voice stopped him. "Don't turn around." Toby stiffened and he knew he was being watched. What the hell was happening? Was it Dan again?
"Dan..." He spoke fearfully. He was not a soldier. He was only an archaeologist, nothing else. He began to breathe heavily, fear striking him. "That's not Dan." He knew Dan's voice anywhere and he knew that whatever was speaking to him wasn't something human. He began to turn around again.
"Don't look at me." The voice demanded.
Toby was happy to obey. "Who, who are you?" He asked fearfully.
"I have so many names."
"If, If I could-" He wanted to turn around again, wanting to see what was speaking to him.
"If you look at me, you will die." The voice warned.
"But who are you?"
"I'm behind you, Toby. I'm right behind you." Toby's head jerked again and it was a huge effort for him not to turn and look. "Don't look, don't look at me." Toby resisted the urge once more, trembling. "One look and you will die. I'm reaching out, Toby. I'm so close. Don't turn around. Oh, I can touch you..." The voice sounded almost gleeful and Toby found it too much and he snapped and spun around and the voice stopped. Toby found the room deserted like it had always been and he breathed a sigh of relief, wondering if he had imagined the whole thing and wondered if it was just stress but he still looked confused. What if he didn't imagine it? What would happen then?
The lights flicker out in the corridor and Toby paused and look down at his gloved hands as he felt a strange feeling over him, as though someone walked over his grave. He turned them over and looked at them before he put down the broken pieces of the artefact he was studying and pulled off the gloves and looked at the back of his hands which looked normal. Slowly, he turned his hands around and they were covered with the ancient symbols he had been studying as though it had been stained into his skin. He stared in shock before he slowly picked up a mirror, afraid of what he was going to see and he looked at the mirror and knew his worst fears came true. Not only has his hands have broken out but also his face and his eyes have turned red and he looked at himself with horror before he threw the mirror back down on the desk. His whole body arched and he felt nothing but pain everywhere and he fell to his knees in agony and he fell forwards unconscious on the floor.
In the canteen, the lights flickered. Ida lifted her wrist so she could speak into the comm. "Zach, have we got a problem?"
"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up, it might be worth a look." Zach replied.
Ida looked at the Time-Lords and Rose. Romana and Braxiatel were sitting next to each other closely, as though neither one wanted to leave each other side as though afraid that they too might disappear. Rose was sat opposite them, now finished with her food. "You might wanna see this moment in history." She told them and she pulled a lever which opened the overhead shutters, revealing the black hole and the room was flooding with a soft red light. Ida pointed upwards. "There. On the edge." A stream of red light was spiralling into the black hole. "That red cloud...that used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi...a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years...disappearing. Forever. Their planets and suns consumed." She gazed up at it, fascinated by what was happening. "Ladies and gentlemen...we have witnessed its passing." She goes to pull the lever to close the shutters again but Romana stopped her.
"Could you leave it open, please?" She asked and Rose looked at her. "Just for a few more minutes. We won't go insane."
"How would you know?" Ida asked but Romana merely gave her a small smile. Ida nodded before turning to Jefferson. "Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me." She and Jefferson left the room, leaving the three of them alone again.
"Open Door 18."
Rose sighed. "I've seen films and things, yeah, they say black holes are like gateways to another universe."
"Close Door 18."
"They're films Rose. There's a huge difference. That black-hole just eats everything in it's way." Romana replied. "Our people created and destroyed black-holes. We should know everything about them."
"Long way from home..."
Braxiatel pointed above them. "Go that way, turn right, keep going for five hundred years...then you'll reach planet Earth."
Rose took her phone out of her pocket and pressed a few buttons before frowning. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could...what would I tell her...? Can you build another TARDIS?" She laughed half-heartedly, knowing it was impossible.
Romana winced, remembering all the TARDIS farms being destroyed back on Gallifrey during the war. "TARDISes were grown, not built. They are a living specimen. There used to be hundreds of TARDISes growing back on Gallifrey but now with our planet gone...we're very much stuck."
"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift." Rose said, keeping the lone light. Knowing it must be hard for them.
"Then what?" Braxiatel asked.
Rose shrugged. "I dunno...find a planet...get a job...live a life, same as the rest of the universe."
Romana looked alarmed at the thought and Braxiatel looked uneasy. Normal life? That was a life neither of them have never had. They have always been doing something different. Always running. Always fighting...but was it really the time to settle down even if it meant for them to be staying in one place that wasn't their actual planet? No, they couldn't do that. It was too much to ask. Romana threw her hands in the air. "That means we'll have to settle down in a house or something. Us? Settling down? Outrageous! I could never do that even if I tried."
Rose laughed. "You'd have to get a mortgage." Rose said in a teasing sing-song voice.
Braxiatel looked horrified. "...No."
"Oh yes."
"Right Braxiatel, end all of my remaining regenerations this instant. I am not getting a mortgage. Nope." Romana shook her head, refusing to do such a thing.
Rose looked at Braxiatel, knowing it was now the time to hint her feelings for him."What about me? I'd have to get one too. I dunno, could...could be the same one, we could both..." Braxiatel looked at her, confused. "I dunno...share. Or not, you know. Whatever."
Braxiatel looked uncomfortable at the thought. If he had to share a house or a mortgage with anyone in the entire universe, he would chose Romana. He couldn't imagine settling down, not after all the history he has been through. Perhaps he could start another collection somewhere with Romana by his side as they preserve beautiful artefacts through out the universe.
"I dunno, we'll sort something out-" Rose said rather quickly as she saw how uncomfortable the Time-Lord's were getting. "We'll see!" She laughed it off before the three of them sat in silence for a few moments.
Romana looked at her companion. "I promised Jackie I'd take you back home."
"Everyone leaves home in the end."
"Not to end up here though."
"Yeah, but stuck with you guys, that's not so bad." Rose shared a glance with Braxiatel, a smile on her face.
"Really?" Braxiatel asked.
"Yes." Rose replied sincerely and he nodded. The moment was broken by Rose's ringing phone and she answered it.
"He is awake." Shocked, Rose flung the phone onto the floor and Romana was over to the phone in an instant, looking at it with a frown upon a face. This couldn't be good.
The three of them bounded down the stairs to see Danny working in the Ood habitation. "Evening!" Braxiatel called as they walked up to him. Danny nodded slightly, not taking his eyes away from the computer screen.
"Only us!" Rose continued.
"Ah. The mysterious golden trio. How are you then? Settling in?" He asked.
"I'm afraid this is business matters." Romana told him as Rose peered at the Ood who were sitting in an area below them in what looked like an animal like pen. A balcony looked over the area and there were steps leading down. "With the Ood's low level telepathic field, can it pick up messages?"
"'Cos I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something...well, odd." Rose told him.
"Oh. An odd Ood." Danny grinned.
"And then I got something else on my er..." She glanced at Braxiatel. "Communicator thing."
"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing." He shook his head, unfazed. But the trio stared at him, far from convinced. "Look...if there was something wrong it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill."
"I take it monitoring the field is that thing?" Braxiatel asked as he indicated towards Danny's computer, and he saw that the reading on the screen said 'Basic 5.'
"Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register Basic 5." Danny replied but whilst he was speaking, the reading began to rise to Basic 6.
"Are you sure about that?" Braxiatel asked as it rose even higher and it kept on rising. "10..."
Rose and Romana watched as the Ood suddenly raised their heads in unison as the reading ascended.
"They've gone up to Basic 30." Braxiatel told them.
"But they can't..." Danny couldn't believe his eyes.
"Braxiatel, the Ood..." Rose told him, not taking her eyes away. The Ood turned as if as one and they looked up at the four of them on the balcony. "What does Basic 30 mean?"
"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads." Danny replied, looking baffled.
"Or something's shouting at them..." Romana replied quietly and she flinched as she felt something try and get inside her mind and she quickly build up even more protection. She wouldn't let anything get in her mind. Nothing! She will make sure of that.
"But...where's it coming from? What is it saying? I mean..." Danny looked at Rose. "What did it say to you?"
"Something about the beast in the pit."
Danny blinked. "What about your communicator? What did that say?"
There was a slight pause, Rose thinking. "He is awake."
"And you will worship him." The Ood replied as one.
Danny turned around to face the Ood, looking horrified. "What the hell?"
"He is awake." Romana addressed the Ood.
"And you will worship him."
"Worship who?" The Ood gave no reply. Of course they wouldn't, it was never that simple. She wanted to know what was trying to get inside her mind and what was taking over the Ood. "Who is it you want us to worship? I command you to tell me!"
Scooti goes into Toby's room, holding a large file for him. "Toby, I've got your expenditure-" She paused, noticing that the room was empty and she put the file down on the desk.
"Open Door 41."
Scoot paused, looking confused. Door 41, you shouldn't be allowed to open! All that had given way few days ago and she heard the sound of a door opening.
"Close Door 41."
She heard the sound of the door closing. Scooti looked around, perturbed. "41..." She whispered. It was utterly impossible. If you went outside Door 41, you were dead in a matter of minutes. She dashed out of the corridor and headed for door 41, wanting to see who had left.
"Close door 40."
She went to the control panel next to door 4.1. "Computer, did you open and close Door 41?"
"Confirmed."
She frowned. "But...that's the airlock. Why would you open the airlock? It's the night shift, we're not allowed to outside. Has someone gone out?"
"Confirmed."
"But who was it?" Scooti asked.
"Cannot confirm."
These computers really did irritate her at the best of times but Scooti knew that she could not be impatient, not at this point. "Okay...but hold on, I know, tell me whose spacesuit's been logged out."
"No spacesuit has been logged out."
That made absolutely no sense at all! Nobody could survive out there without a spacesuit unless they were some indestructible being which was highly unlikely. "But you're not making any sense, you can't go outside without..." She gave up with the computer, knowing something must be wrong with it but she better tell the captain first. She spoke into her wrist device. "Zach, I think we've got breakdown on Door 41, it's saying somebody's gone outside onto the planet's surface." The communication device cracked and fizzled but there was a no reply. Strange. That's the first time their communication devices have been blocked out. "Zach? Zach?"
She spoke into the control panel. "Computer, trace fault."
"There is no fault."
Scooti was starting to get irritated. When she had the chance, she was going to rewire this computer from the core. "Tell me who went through that door!"
"He is awake."
Scooti blinked, surprised at the change of topic. "What?"
"He is awake."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"He bathes in the black sun."
Scooti stepped away from the control panel, feeling very disturbed. A virus must have gone int the computer or something. The computer has never behaved like this She suddenly heard a shutter open on a window onto the planet's surface and she looked out and saw Toby standing there with no spacesuit with his back turned on the window. Scooti's eyes widen with horror before Toby turned and Scooti saw that he had ancient symbols written all over him with a menacing smile across his face and his eyes bright red. What the hell was wrong with him.
She stared at him with horror. "Toby...but there's no air, there's no..."
Toby still with that horrible smile, raised his hands and beckons to Scooti. Scooti reached out towards him as though hypnotised, her eyes becoming slightly moist and she walked forwards before she forced herself to stop. "No! Stop it! You can't be!"
The smile faded from Toby's face. His outstretched hand clenched into a fist and the sound of glass cracking fills the air. Scooti gasped, realizing what Toby was about to do and she rushed back to the door. "Open Door 40! Open Door 40!" She cried frantically as she was rattling at the door just as the cracks got bigger. "Open Door 40! Open Door 40!" She screamed and the cracks got larger and larger and Scooti's face was screwed up with terror. She was going to get killed. "Open Door 40-!" Finally, the glass exploded outwards and Scooti was sucked backwards, screaming.
The entire base shook and Romana, Rose were in the pen with the Ood whilst Danny and Braxiatel were still on the overhead balcony when they were thrown violently around and they struggled to regain their balance.
"Emergency hull breach. Emergency hull breach." The computer blared.
Danny looked scared. He had never seen the Ood behave that way before and never have anything as serious as this happened before either. He tapped something into his wrist device before speaking through it. "Which section?
"Everyone...evacuate 11 to 13, we've got a breach! The base is open. Repeat; the base is open!" Zach shouted through the device.
Romana and Rose ran out of the pen and the four of them ran back into the canteen area. "Come on! Keep moving!" They heard Jefferson shout as they came from one direction and Ida and other crew members came from the other. "And you too, Toby!" Toby's fell flat on his face through the door as Jefferson slammed it shut.
"Breach sealed. Breach sealed."
"Is everybody okay?" Romana shouted over noise as she dashed over to them. "What happened?"
"Oxygen levels normal."
Jefferson panted. He certainly wasn't as young as he used to be. "Hull breach! We were open to the elements. A couple of minutes and we'd been inspecting the black hole at close quarters."
Rose crouched to help Toby, who was still sweating and panting on the floor.
"That wasn't a quake. I have a terrible feeling that was something much worse. But the question is, what caused it?" Braxiatel mused.
"We've lost section 11 to 13. Everyone all right?" Zach told them.
Jefferson began to speak into his wrist device. "We've got everyone here except Scooti. Scooti, report." There was no reply except from static and a beep coming from his communication device. "Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report." Again, he only came with the blank beep and static.
"She's all right." Zach informed them and Jefferson and Ida breathed a sigh of relief. "I picked up her bio chip, she's in Habitation 3. Better go and check if she's not responding, she might be unconscious."
Toby looked at his hands and turned them over, feeling shaken and panicky, he couldn't remember anything that has happened but he saw that his hands were clean and that was all that mattered.
"How about that, eh? We survived." Zach stated, sounding relieved.
"Habitation 3...come on, I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on." Jefferson stated. Braxiatel looked far too eager to join Jefferson but Romana sent him a warning glare and he sighed, knowing he wasn't allowed before they followed Jefferson down the corridor.
Romana crouched down next to Toby who looked severely shaken. "What happened?" Romana asked him.
"I don't, I dunno, I-I was working and then I can't remember. All, all that noise, the room was falling apart, there was no air-" Toby spoke quickly, feeling flustered.
Rose looked at them as Romana helped Toby to his feet. "Come on. Up you get. Come and have some protein one." She linked her arm through his, taking him off Romana as they walked him along the corridor.
"Looks like you've gone native." Romana mused as she followed them.
"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein One with just a," She clicked her fingers as though she remembered something. "Dash of Three."
They arrived in the canteen only to see it being slightly chaotic, all looking for their missing crew member Scooti, all talking each other loudly. Rose and Toby came through the door, followed by Romana and Braxiatel and Jefferson came to greet them. "Have you seen Scooti?" Jefferson asked Toby.
Toby shook his head. "No, no, no, I don't think so."
"Scooti, please respond, if you can hear this please respo-Habitation 6." Ida commented as she spoke into her device, her face showing concern and worry for her friend.
"Nowhere here." Jefferson replied before speaking into his own communication device. "Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing."
"It says Habitation 3." Zach replied, sounding very confused.
"Yeah, well that's where I am and I'm telling you she's not here!" Jefferson replied, slightly irritated.
Romana and Braxiatel gazed upwards through the overhead, spotting Scooti floating eerily just outside the window. "I've found her." Romana told them and they all looked upwards, following her gaze.
Rose's hands flew over her mouth. "Oh, my god..."
"I'm sorry." Braxiatel muttered quietly, not tearing his gaze away from Scooti.
The rest of the crew stared at Scooti's body with horrified expressions upon their faces. They couldn't believe it! She was so young and to die this way was just horrible. Jefferson spoke into the wrist device quietly, as though not wanting to disturb Scooti's last moments. "Captain...report Officer Scootori Manista PKD...deceased. 43K2...1."
Ida stopped herself from crying, knowing she would cry later when she was alone. "She was twenty...twenty years old." She went over to the controls and pulled the lever to close the shutters as Scooti body drifted further and further towards the black hole as they close.
Jefferson was the first to break the silence. "For how should Man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father...and the temples of his gods." His voice dropped to a whisper. The shutters have closed completely, leaving the room noticeably darker and gloomier than before. A strange silence had fallen amongst them.
Ida frowned before she cocked her head to the side, listening. "It's stopped..." There was a loud sudden distant crash.
Rose stood close to Braxiatel, her eyes wide. "What was that? What was it?"
"The drill." Braxiatel replied.
"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero."
All the crew were at the exploration deck as they were preparing to down the mineshaft. "Capsule established. All systems functioning...the mineshaft is go...bring systems online now." Ida told them who was all ready in her space suit.
Romana, all ready in her spacesuit much to the dismay of Braxiatel who actually wanted to go but was out right refused by Romana approached Zach. Zach stared at her. "Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force."
Zach looked at her in disbelief. "Romana, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are."
"You trust me don't you? Besides, you can't very well let Ida go down there on her own. Plus, I have had more experiences with mine shafting. Look at me in the eyes, I can see it there in your eyes Zach. You trust me." Romana told him sincerely.
"I should be going down there." Zach protested.
"That's what he said." Romana pointed to Braxiatel. "But the Captain doesn't lead the mission does he? He stays here by being in charge."
"Not much good at it, am I?" Zach asked bitterly.
"I think you're doing a wonderful job as Captain. Stop doubting yourself." Romana told him honestly and Zach could see that she meant it and he sighed in defeat.
"Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions!"
Romana caught Braxiatel eye and he walked over to her, Rose trailing slightly behind.
"Mr Jefferson! I want maximum systems..." Zach's voice faded as he walked away, giving orders.
Romana and Braxiatel stood facing one another as Romana checked a device on the wrist of the spacesuit. "Oxygen...nitro-balance...gravity. Oh, it's been a while since I wore one of these!"
"I should be in that spacesuit." Braxiatel sighed. He didn't want to see Romana hurt, not when whatever was trying to get into her mind was still lurking about but he knew she could take perfectly care of herself. But that didn't mean he shouldn't worry.
"You're hardly in the right dress code for it!" Romana told him as she eyed his time-lord robes. "Those robes are really not for climbing in."
He scowled. She had a point. "I want you back safe and sound you hear?"
"Yes sir." She sent him a cocky grin before giving him a mock Time-Lord salute before putting on the helmet. "I'll be back in one piece. I've done this a few times with that brother of yours."
"Ah, knew he would be the one to lead you off into trouble." Braxiatel replied and Romana laughed. "I'll see you later."
"Not if I see you first." Romana smiled and Braxiatel grinned back before he did a very unusual thing. He embraced Romana tightly, despite the equipment she was wearing and Rose looked at them in shock as Braxiatel placed a kiss on her helmet. "You must be getting sentimental again Braxiatel."
Braxiatel was about to reply but was interrupted by Jefferson ordering Romana to go into the capsule. Romana nodded and she and Ida went into the capsule, Jefferson closing the door behind them as Zach counted down through the speakers. Jefferson and Braxiatel did two different salutes at them, one a human salute and one Time-Lord and Ida frowned in puzzlement at Braxiatel's salute but Romana merely beamed. Rose waved good-bye, trying to hide her feeling of burning jealously at the interaction of the two time-lords.
"1...release." Zach ordered and the capsule descended into the shaft. Toby was sitting hunched in a corner. He was twitchy and paranoid and kept checking his hands. "Gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own."
Romana and Ida switched on their oxygen tanks. Braxiatel wanted to talk with Romana telepathically but he knew he couldn't. Not when something dangerous was lurking in the shadows. Rose looked at him. "Will she be all right?"
He nodded. "Of course. Romana will always be all right." He couldn't help but feel a slight doubt.
The capsule that held Romana and Rose shook rather too violently and the pair of them were thrown off their feet. They hung on to the sides of the capsule to steady themselves.
Rose picked up a comm, feeling slightly concerned as the diagram on the computer screen indicated that the capsule had reached point zero. It caused the whole base to shake and as soon as Rose managed to steady herself, she's back on the comm. "Romana?" There was no reply. "Roman-"
Braxiatel cut her off, stopping her. "She's fine Rose. There's no need to be on the comm. Not only that, I can sense and feel Romana and I can tell you she's perfectly fine."
"Ida, report to me..." Zach ordered. "Romana?"
Romana and Ida were at Point Zero, both feeling completely fine in the capsule despite the bumpy journey they had. "We're fine!" Romana reported back. "We've made it. Coming out of the capsule now." They stepped slowly out into the darkness, flashing their torches around.
"What's it like down there?" They heard Rose asked.
Romana squinted. "Some sort of cavern. It's hard to tell."
"Well, this should help. Gravity globe." Ida tossed a white orb up into the air. It flooded the entire cavern with light, revealing what was quite clearly ancient architecture. The cavern was enormous, with a huge fact etched into a rock. Ida looked at it with awe. "That's...that's...my god, that's beautiful."
Romana looked around. "Braxiatel, Rose, you can tell Toby we have found his civilisation." She grinned.
Rose looked at Toby cheerfully. "Oi, Toby, sounds like you've got plenty of work."
Toby barely looked up and he twitched slightly and wasn't interested in what Rose was saying as he normally would be. "Good, good. Good."
"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida...what about the power source?" Zach cut through, keeping Rose off the comm.
Romana and Ida traipsed alongside a rocky wall, Ida holding the flashlight in front of them. "We're close. Energy signature indicates north, north west. Are you getting pictures up there?"
"You should see this Braxiatel." Romana told Braxiatel telepathically despite her still being paranoid. But she had to show Braxiatel this. How could she not? This was just to beautiful not to show. Quickly, she sent him the view that she was seeing and she could feel Braxiatel smiling at it with an appreciative manner.
"It is beautiful." He agreed. "Thank you." Romana beamed before she quickly built up her walls around her mind again.
"There's too much interference. We're in your hands." Zach replied to Ida.
"Well...we've come this far. There's no turning back." Ida told him.
Romana looked at her. "That's almost as bad as 'nothing can possibly go wrong.'" She looked amused and Ida shared a slight grin back. "Come on then." She walked off. Ida watched her, looking amused before following her.
Back in the Ood habitation, one of the Ood blinked at Danny. Danny spoke into his wrist device. "Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood."
"What are they doing?"
"They're staring at me." Danny whispered as though afraid what would happen if he spoke any louder. "I've told them to stop, but they won't." He glanced at them nervously.
"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at."
"But the telepathic field sir. It's at Basic 100! I've checked, there isn't any fault. It's definitely 100."
"But that's impossible!" Zach stated in disbelief.
Braxiatel, Rose and Jefferson could hear the conversation from the exploration deck. Rose looked at Braxiatel. "What's Basic 100 mean?"
"They should be dead." Braxiatel replied and Jefferson nodded. "I have a bad feeling this may just get worse."
"But they're safe? They're not actually moving?" Zach asked, concerned.
"No sir." Danny replied.
"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson, keep a guard on the Ood."
"Officer at arms!" Jefferson shouted and he readied his gun. Braxiatel took a small gun off the desk and loaded it, just in case.
"Yes sir." Another member of the crew replied, loading his gun.
Rose glanced at Jefferson and Braxiatel, looking concerned. "You can't fire a gun in here. What if they hit a wall?"
Braxiatel showed her the bullets. "These are firing stock 15. They won't kill them, will just knock them out and perhaps injure them slightly but nothing serious."
Jefferson nodded. "They are the only packs upon organics we have." He turned to the guards. "Keep watch. Guard them."
"Yes sir."
"Is everything all right up there?" Romana asked through the comma and Braxiatel could hear the concern in her voice. "Braxiatel? What's going on?"
"Nothing Romana. Everything is under control." He told her or at least he hoped everything was under control.
"Yeah, yeah." Rose replied quickly.
"It's fine." Zach replied.
"Great!" Danny replied sarcastically before sighing.
Romana and Ida approached an enormous circular trapdoor with engravings on the top. "We've found something. It looks like some type of seal. Not the seal of Rassilon mind you. However, I have a nasty feeling this seal might be another word for 'trapdoor.' Not a pleasant feeling either."
Ida shone the torch around the edge. "The edge is covered with those symbols."
Romana touched one but again, she reeled back and hissed. Ida ran to her. "Romana?" She asked slightly concerned.
"The same thing happened to me when I was trying to translate the language up at the base," Romana told her as she protected her mind. "Something powerful is trying to get into my mind. Whatever's down there can't be good."
"Do you think it opens?" Zach asked.
"That's what a trapdoor tends to do." Romana replied as she built up shields around her mind. "And I have a feeling that whatever is trying to read my mind is kept hidden underneath the trap door for a reason."
Ida walked around it. "Trapdoor doesn't do it justice. It's massive Zach. About thirty feet in diameter."
"Anyway of opening it?"
"I don't know. I can't see any sort of mechanism."
Romana peered at the symbols again. The burning feeling still there in her mind. "I suppose the writing is one of the ways to open the trap door. The letters that defy translation."
"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?" Zach asked Toby.
Braxiatel turned to look at Toby who was had his head in his arms, crouched in the corner. Braxiatel frowned, looking at him and he held his gun by his side. "Toby?" He asked slowly as he crept forwards. "Did you get anywhere with translating the language? Can you translate it for us?"
"I know what it says." Toby replied quietly and Braxiatel stiffened, stopping in his track.
"Then tell them." Rose frowned.
"When did you work that out?" Jefferson asked.
Rose shook her head. "It doesn't matter, just tell them."
Toby stood and turned towards them, revealing the symbols he was covered in, his eyes red. Braxiatel swore and moved back slightly next to Rose and Jefferson. "These are the words of the Beast." The voice of whatever took over Toby spoke. "And he has woken." Jefferson and Braxiatel raised their guns at Toby, ready to fire if necessary. "He is the heart that beats in the darkness, he is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise."
"Officer, stand down. Stand down!" Jefferson told Toby.
Braxiatel shook his head. "It's too late Jefferson. The beast has all ready took over Toby. Look at him!"
Romana could hear the conversations through her comm and knew something bad was happening up at the base. "What's wrong? What is happening up there? I demand to know! Braxiatel, what the hell is going on?" But there was no reply except for the static that only came through the comm.
Back at the exploration deck, Toby flexed his arms.
Jefferson and Braxiatel still had their guns raised at Toby. "Officer, as commander of security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately."
Rose looked at Braxiatel, slightly scared. "What's happened to him?!"
Toby considered them. "Irving Braxiatel, tell me, sir...did you ever tell your lady President why Rassilon blackmailed you?"
"I don't know what you mean." Braxiatel lied but he clearly knew what they meant and Rose and Jefferson glanced at him, looking in confusion.
"Tell me, does she ever forgive you for the past you hold?" Toby smirked before turning to Jefferson. "Mr Jefferson, tell me...did your wife ever forgive you?" He didn't reply, too stunned. "Let me tell you a secret to you both; she never did."
Jefferson swallowed and Braxiatel twitched. "I command you Beast to leave this human alone." Braxiatel ordered, despite the uneasy feeling twisting in his stomach. "Or under the jurisdiction of Condition Red, we are authorised to shoot you." He cocked his gun at Toby.
"But how many more times can you kill?" Toby seemed to hiss as his eyes light up and his mouth opened in a low roar as the symbols evaporate off Toby's skin and left him in a swirl of black smoke. The smoke then entered the Ood who jerked. Toby coughed before he collapsed and Jefferson and Braxiatel turned and pointed their guns at the Ood that were on the exploration deck.
Back in the Ood Habitation, all of the Ood were possessed. "We are the Legion of the Beast."
Romana spoke frantically into her communication device. "Braxiatel? What is it? I demand to know what's going on!" There was no reply and she turned to Ida. "We need to go back up. I don't want anyone harming Braxiatel or Rose." She stormed off.
The Ood held their communication orbs out in front of them. "The legion shall be many. And the legion shall be few..."
Jefferson spoke into his wrist device, Braxiatel still had his gun raised at the Ood. "Sir, we have a contamination in the livestock. They won't listen to us."
Braxiatel glared at the Ood. "Beast, listen to this. I command you to leave the Ood and Toby alone peacefully. We shall communicate with you but not in this way. Is that understood?"
Back in the Ood habitation the Ood continued to speak. "He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time." A single Ood separated himself from the rest and walked up the stairs towards Danny and the other crew member. "Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some call him Satan..." Danny turned to the computer, frantic. The other crew member had his gun at the ready. "Or Lucifer..."
Danny spoke to through his communication device. "Or the Bringer of Despair..." Danny and the other crew member backed away as the single Ood approached them.
"The Deathless Prince. The Bringer of night." The Ood stood a few feet away from the two of them, and the communication orb suddenly shot out and attached to the crew members forehead and he appeared to be electrocuted. The soldier fell to the floor, dead and Danny ran as fast as he could from the scene and the Ood made no move to follow him. "These are the words that shall set him free."
Back in the exploration deck, Braxiatel, Jefferson and Rose and another crew member were backing as far away from the advancing Ood. The beast had took no warning from Braxiatel's words. "Back up to the door!" He ordered to the humans, not taking his eyes away from the Ood.
"I shall become manifest."
"Move quickly!" Jefferson ordered.
"I shall walk in might!"
"To the door! Get it open!" Braxiatel shouted.
"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds..."
Ida pointed her flashlight in the direction of the trapdoor as the ground beneath them started to shake violently. The trapdoor began to open quickly and her eyes widened. "Romana! It's opening!"
The whole base shook violently and Zach grabbed onto the console to steady himself before looking at his monitor. "We're moving! The whole thing's moving! The planet's moving!" He shouted through the comm as he stared upwards as the overhead shutters open.
Rocks shower down on Romana and Ida and Ida was having trouble getting through them. Romana quickly turned back to help Ida and Romana stumbled through the rocks to make her way to her as Ida whimpered, clearly terrified as Romana helped her through the rocks but it was no use. The rocks were too many and heavy to make there way through.
The Ood were still advancing towards Braxiatel, Rose and Jefferson. Braxiatel made his way towards the door, sonicing it to get it open.
"I am the sin and the temptation. And the desire. I am the pain and the loss and the dead will come." The Ood continued.
"Get that door open Braxiatel!" Jefferson snapped.
"The gravity field...it's going! We're losing orbit!" Zach shouted frantically through the comm. "We're gonna fall into the black hole!"
Braxiatel and Rose desperately tried to get the door open but it wouldn't budge, not even with Braxiatel's highest level of sonicing. Jefferson had his gun aimed at the advancing Ood but they ignored his weapon completely. "I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more."
"Door sealed."
"Come on!" Rose shouted as she and Braxiatel struggled.
"Door sealed."
The pit was now fully open and Romana felt a burning sensation in her mind and she knew that whatever down there was trying to get in her mind. Billows of smoke rose from the pit and the ground shook. "The pit is open. And I am free." The beast announced and Romana and Ida stared down into the pit, horror struck as the voice of the beast laughed menacingly.