Soon he has the other passengers laughing and joking with him as they travel across the surface. He sits happily with Biff, his wife Val and there son Jethro, as they tell stories about there trip. He shares a drink with Dee Dee and hears he speak of the lost moon of Poosh. For lunch him and Kiam sit with Sky and they talk about traveling while he tries to figure out if they are eating beef or chicken. Then as Professor Hobbes is giving a lecture on the planet Midnight the aerobus comes to a sudden stop.
"We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Val asked.
"Are we there?" Her husband Biff asked.
"We can't be, it's too soon." Dee Dee responds.
"They don't stop. Crusader vehicles never stop." Hobbes replied.
"If you could just return to your seats. It's just a small delay." The hostess says heading to the intercom phone. "What's going on?" She ask into it.
"There's no pit to stop in. I've been on this expedition fourteen times. They never stop."
"Well, evidently we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it." Sky says finally speaking up.
"We've broken down. In the middle of nowhere."
"Thanks, Jethro." Val says.
"Ladies and gentlemen, and variations thereupon. We're just experiencing a short delay. The driver needs to stabilize the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats."
Knowing she is lying, he takes Kiam by the hand and heads to the cockpit door.
"No, I'm sorry, sir, I. Could you please?"
He flashes the psychic paper at her "There you go. Engine expert. Two ticks." He opens the driver's door and heads into the compartment.
The driver turns around and looks at him. "Sorry. If you could return to your seat, sir."
"Company insurance." He flashes the psychic paper at him. "Let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"
"We're stabilising the engine feeds. Won't take long."
"Er, no, because that's the engine feed, that line there," He points at it. "and it's fine. And it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilising doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry. I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?"
"We just stopped. Look, all systems fine, everything's working, but we're not moving." The other man answers.
He scans it with his screwdriver "Yeah, you're right. No faults. And who are you?"
"Claude. I'm the mechanic. Trainee."
"Nice to meet you."
"I've sent a distress signal. They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed." The driver says.
"How long till they get here?"
"About an hour."
"Well, since we're waiting, shall we take a look outside? Just lift the screens a bit?" He really wanted to see what the planet looked like.
"It's a hundred percent Xtonic out there. We'd be vaporized." The driver says.
He picks up Kiam so he can see over the seats. "Nah. Those windows are Finitoglass. They'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on, live a little."
"Well." He watches happily as the driver raises the screen.
"Oh, that is beautiful."
"Look at all those diamonds. Poisoned by the sun. No-one can ever touch them."
"Joe, you said we took a detour?" He ask not taking his eyes off the diamonds.
"Just about forty kliks to the west."
"Is that a recognized path?"
"No, it's a new one. The computer worked it out on automatic."
He continured to stare in awe. "So we're the first. This piece of ground. No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history."
"Did you just? No, sorry, it's nothing." Claude said.
"What did you see?" He says finally turning his attention away from the window.
"Just there. That ridge. Like, like a shadow. Just, just for a second." He looks where the man is pointing.
"What sort of shadow?" An alarm goes off.
"Xtonic rising. Shields down."
"What was it?" He ask as the shields go down.
"Like just something shifting. Something sort of dark, like it was running."
"Running which way?"
"Towards us." Claude says.
"Right, Doctor, back to your seat. And, er, not a word. Rescue's on its way. If you could close the door. Thank you."
He exits the cockpit and runs into sky who is standing by the doors. He explains to her that everything is fine, and the engines just need to stabilize, the group starts to calm down until Dee Dee leans to him and says.
"Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they? My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilize. What does stabilize mean?"
"Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out." He admits. "It's just a little pause, that's all."
"How much air have we got?" Hobbes asks.
"Professor, it's fine." He says but val starts freaking out about running out air. Soon her husband has joined her and they are yelling at the hostess. Hearing Dee Dee trying to explain it he yells.
"Everyone! Quiet! Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee."
"Oh. Er, it's just that, well, the air's on a circular filter, so we could stay breathing for ten years."
"There you go. And I've spoken to the Captain. I can guarantee you everything's fine."
But even as he says the words there comes a thump thump on the outside of the aerobus.
"What was that?" Val asked.
"It must be the metal. We're cooling down. It's just settling."
The thumping comes again from another side.
"There's someone out there."
"Now, don't be ridiculous." Hobbes says.
As the Thumping comes again he can't resist saying. "Knock, Knock."
"Who's there?" Jethro replies
"Is there something out there? Well? Anyone?" Sky says shakily. "What the hell is making that noise?"
"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic. That means it would destroy any living thing in a split second. It is impossible for someone to be outside."
Thump Thump.
"Well, what the hell is that, then?"
He pulls out his stethoscope at puts it on the hull. "Hello," He says as the thumping comes quicker and the emergency door rattles.
"It's trying the door." Val says.
"There is no it. There's nothing out there. Can't be." Hobbes says. but even as he says it the emergency door rattles, then seconds later there are thumps on the roof, followed by more thumps on the side.
"That's the entrance. Can it get in?" Val asked.
Biff heads to the door. "Mister Cane, better not." Biff knocks three times, and gets three thumps in reply.
"Three times. Did you hear that? It did it three times." Val cried out.
"All right, everyone calm down." He said but he was starting to get worried himself. He looked down for Kiam and not seeing the baby right away he frowned. He headed away from the door and saw Kiam sitting in one of the seats. He walked over and picked him up and headed back to the door as Sky said.
"But it answered. It answered. Don't tell me that thing's not alive. It answered him." More thumping came and the hostess tried to take charge.
"I really must insist you get back to your seats."
He knocks on the door four times. There is a long pause before he gets the four thumps in reply. Sky continues to freak out. "What is it? What the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it. Make it stop. Somebody make it stop. Don't just stand there looking at me. It's not my fault. He started it with his stories." She points at him accusingly. "Why didn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me. Just tell me what the hell it is."
"Calm down!" Dee Dee says as the thumping starts again.
"It's coming for me. Oh, it's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me. It's coming for me." She backs up to the driver's door and starts screaming. Kiam starts crying and trying his best to comfort the baby as he tells Sky, "Get out of there."
