The Master is delayed…Seska goes further down the dark path…Jack may be out of luck…..and they really shouldn't have done that set of tests.
The Master's patience was slowly running out. He'd used the vortex creator and the fleet had been making good time. But the technology was new and apparently unpredictable; so the fleet were now having to make best speed in normal space.
He'd taken his anger and frustration out on the unfortunate planets that got in his and the Church's way.
Their ranks had now almost doubled; the confessor's had been busy. A shiver of delight went through him, and he had to admit that they were a magnificent creation of the Doctor's. Who'd of thought that a little tweak of one piece on a single strand of DNA would produce such delightful results? The Doctor's genetic genius was unparalleled.
He'd retired to their quarters, and the two nannies bowed and moved away. He sat by the twin's cots; they were fractious, missing their mother, as he was. The bond was a blessing and a curse, as the twins were too young to control the feeling of loss.
"Ssh now. I will have your mother and your brothers back soon."
The twins began to settle as he tried his best to comfort them; sadly he was not their mother. It wouldn't be long before they were near enough for him to reconnect with the Doctor, and then between them they would bring Earth to its knees.
Seska had been busy since his mother's abduction. He had by default become his father's second-in-command; not that he could replace his mother. He was determined to make his parents proud.
He was studying the device his mother had been working on. It was a stinger off one of the 'mosquito' drones. He could see that there had been some kind of modification, but what he didn't know. He looked at it under a micro-viewer; it looked part-organic, but not cyberised.
He almost dropped it when it moved…it shouldn't move on its own. He reached for a sharp tool and stuck it in the appendage. It responded by trying to get away.
He took in a sharp breath….this thing was alive!
He sighed, not that it mattered, as without his mother he doubted it would be nothing but an experiment.
There were, however other things that would be of use.
He moved into the 'clean' area of his mother's laboratory, and carefully removed the phials from a chiller.
Before his mother had tinkered with them, they had been virulent pathogens, capable of causing misery and death….but now, some of them could wipe out entire species.
He knew his father had his hearts set on bringing war to Earth, but to Seska that was too quick a revenge. He would talk to his father; make him see it his way.
He'd actually hesitated before asking permission to enter.
"What do you want Seska?" his father said.
His father sounded weary and the strain of doing the job his mother did was evident in his voice.
"Father, I was thinking, there will be more worlds to conquer after Earth won't there?"
"So, what of it?"
"Those other planets, some of them will have move advanced technology than Earth?"
"Get to the point!" his farther snapped.
"Why risk losing unknown numbers in a pointless battle. War is brutal, but it would be short and unfulfilling."
"Still not getting to the point."
"Why not make their suffering tenfold, by using this."
He held out a phial containing a pale blue liquid.
"And what is that?" his father said, but Seska could see his interest was piqued.
"It's one of mother's creations."
His father took the phial and read the label. Seska saw the glint in his father's eyes, and the smile that graced his lips was feral.
"You think more like your mother every day," and Seska's pride went up a notch.
Jack looked at his watch again, time seemed to be flying, just when you didn't want it to. He was standing by the railings, looking out at the bay; he was waiting for someone.
"We always seem to meet at the worst of times," a voice said.
Jack turned just as Doctor Stoneleigh stopped.
"You look…bothered," he said.
"Lot on my mind."
"Then I'm about to make it worse. Your reinforcements, you're looking at it."
"What?"
"The government, specifically the PM, will not sanction a covert attack by special forces on American soil."
"You did explain the situation?"
"In minute detail, but even the chance of having the Doctor in their hands didn't sway them."
"You did tell them what was coming?" Jack said.
"Graphically, but they seem to be of the same opinion as the Doctor's abductors."
"So, what are they going to do? Hope the Master and a horde of religious fanatics are going to knock and politely ask 'mister can we have our Messiah back?' "
"Looks like it, sorry Jack," Doctor Stoneleigh replied.
Jack sighed, "Doesn't matter."
"Perhaps its better this way," Doctor Stoneleigh continued. "I have the feeling the Doctor wouldn't be any safer here."
"He would be safe with me," Jack said.
"I don't think he would have made it that far."
Jack went pale when he realised what Doctor Stoneleigh was implying.
"But it doesn't mean we'll be undermanned. I have people who owe me favours. Time to call a few in, I believe," Doctor Stoneleigh said.
Jack looked up as a street light flickered into life.
"We can't do much tonight, you can use my office."
Doctor Stoneleigh put a hand on Jack's shoulder and asked.
"Is he as bad as you say?"
Jack looked at him and with a sinking heart said.
"Yes."
The Doctor was tired, and his mood was foul. They'd kept him awake all night, bright lights glaring in his eyes; some rubbish about sleep deprivation.
His chest still hurt and his left heart still had that odd flutter. He wanted to move, work the kinks out of his spine, but he'd been restrained after attacking the person that had brought him breakfast.
He hadn't eaten it, he could smell whatever drug they'd put in it; good try. To make matters worse, he was getting the tell-tale signs of a migraine, and that made his mood even fouler.
When they came for him, his temper flared and this time he fought them, but all it earned him was the indignity of being carried to the place of his torture.
White hot pain lanced through him and he felt every nerve in his body shredding.
"Observation show that neurological stimulus has the same effect on the subject as it does a human. We will now attempt to stimulate the neuro-receptors in the subject's brain."
He could feel the cold metal as the device was attached to his head, but his nerves were too jangled for him too protest. He heard the whine of the device as it powered up and then there was nothing but agony as fire ran through his brain.
He knew he was screaming but he couldn't hear it, couldn't feel the tiny chip inside his brain spark and burn as electric current ran through it…then he knew nothing.
"Subject's pain threshold was considerably higher than that of a human. Subject passed out after five minutes. Observation as to the after-effects will be made back in the subject's cell."
The camera footage when it was later found amongst the ruins of what had been a secret underground facility showed exactly what happened.
The subject was standing, which it shouldn't be; not after the amount of electricity that had gone through its body. The subject was looking straight into the camera, with eye that had been brown now black and soulless.
An unpleasant sound came over the sound system…it was laughter.
Then the subject did something, it was reaching for the camera. A few seconds later the picture went black and then everything went to hell.