Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship – Part Two
"Find out-what?" the Doctor asked in bewilderment, as he found himself on a beach, except it wasn't a beach. Theta, are you alright? asked Romana. Yeah, everyone's fine – we've really got to stop getting separated like this. See what else you can find out about this place, and I'll see you later he replied.
"We're outside" Brian said dumbfounded, "We're on a beach". The Corsair looked at the Doctor, grimaced and stated "Teleport". The Doctor groaned. "I hate teleports! Must have activated on my voice" he realised; those were the worst kind, so many misunderstandings… "Ah, yes, well, thank you, Arthur C Clarke" Brian snapped sarcastically "Teleport, obviously. I mean, we're on a spaceship with dinosaurs. Why wouldn't there be a teleport? In fact, why don't we just teleport now?" he cried, throwing his hands in the air and walking off a little way. The Doctor looked at Rory and asked, "Is he alright?"
"No, he hates travelling. Makes him really anxious. He only goes to the paper shop and golf" explained Rory. Then the Doctor asked why he'd had brought his dad along, much to Rory's frustration. "I didn't! Why can't you just phone ahead like a normal person?" he asked exasperatedly. "Because he isn't normal?" the Corsair suggested, and Rory rolled his eyes. "Somebody tell me where we are, now" Brian demanded. Both the Doctor and the Corsair promptly stuck their tongues out. "Blegh, tastes like zinc" the Corsair pulled a face.
"Well, it's not Earth. Doesn't taste right, too metallic" the Doctor added. Something high above them screeched as it glided overhead. "Is that a kestrel?" wondered Brian, looking up at it. The Doctor had a suspicion of what it was, but decided not to bring it up. "I do hope so" he said instead, just before Rory announced "The beach is humming".
"Is it? Oh yes. Right, well, don't just stand there, you two. Dig" the Doctor instructed, before he and the Corsair walked away, "We're going to look at rocks. Love a rock". Rory stared at their retreating backs with an incredulous expression. "Dig, with what?" he asked. "Your hands?" the Corsair called over his shoulder. "Ah, well!" Brian announced, pulling out a trowel and getting to work. Rory stared at him. "Did you just have that on you?"
Apparently he had. "Of course; what sort of man doesn't carry a trowel? Put it on your Christmas list" Brian told him. Rory crouched down beside him and explained, "Dad, I'm thirty one. I don't have a Christmas list anymore". The Doctor spun around and called back, "I do!" Rory nodded and gave him a thumbs up, inwardly thinking How has he survived this long? Brian meanwhile had not dug far before his trowel hit something hard, which turned out to be metal. "There's a floor under this beach" he realised.
He and Rory hurried to tell the Doctor, unaware that they were being observed. "Do you hear that?" rasped an old man's voice, "Did you hear what he called him? Doctor…after all this time. Bring them to me" he ordered.
/
Whilst the men were finding metal beneath sand, the women – and Riddell – were making their way cautiously through the spaceship. Romana and Flavia took the lead, with Romana scanning the area ahead to check for danger. Then came Nefertiti and Amy, carrying Melody with one arm and holding her torch with the other. Riddell came up at the rear. "There's clearly more than two of these creatures" he pointed out rather obviously, before drinking from a small flask.
Amy spotted him and warned "Hey, put that away. I don't want a drunk near my daughter". Riddell lowered the flask and raised an eyebrow. "It's medicinal" he replied, "and if that's the case, why did you bring her?" he questioned. The kid was cute and all, but this was a dangerous mission they were on.
"It was this, or leave her home alone"
"Yeah, well I don't take orders from females"
"Then learn" said Nefertiti, "Any man who speaks to me that way, I execute". This didn't seem to bother Riddell in the slightest. "You're very welcome to try" he challenged in a flirting tone. To head off what was sure to be a very uncomfortable to hear conversation, Amy asked Nefertiti "Sorry, what was your name again?" The Doctor had called her 'Neffy' but goodness knew the man had a habit of giving daft nicknames to people.
"Lady of the Two Lands, wife of the great King Amenhotep, Queen Nefertiti of Egypt" the Queen replied with regal grace. Riddell paused and took his hat off in a rare show of respect. "I'll be damned" he breathed. Amy's eyes widened in surprise and excitement. "Oh, my god. Queen Nefertiti? I learned all about you at school, you're awesome. Big fan…yeah, bit behind the times on that" she admitted when Nefertiti gave her an odd look. "It's not so impressive when you're a Lady of Time" Romana pointed out.
Before anyone could comment on that, Riddell held up a hand and hissed "Shh, listen". They did so, and heard heavy breathing nearby. When they looked down, it was to discover a large, clearly carnivorous and very familiar dinosaur lying asleep on the floor beside them. "I must've been distracted…it's a T-Rex, but it's just a juvenile" Romana explained. "Can I pet it?" Melody asked, looking at the dinosaur curiously. Amy shushed her and shook her head.
"I propose a retreat" suggested Riddell, and they all began to move back when an ominous shadow appeared on the wall behind them. "Perhaps forward" he decided, turning around. "Agreed, just don't wake the baby" Amy whispered, creeping past it very carefully. Riddell was on the wrong side and had to step over the T-Rex's neck – he accidentally stepped on a broken egg, and the dinosaur growled before falling back asleep. Riddell pretended to nearly fall over before grinning and standing up.
Amy was starting to see why he and the Corsair would make friends. "Oh, my God…who are you, anyway?" she asked. "John Riddell, big game hunter on the African plains. I'm sure you've heard of me, too" he replied. Amy shook her head. "No".
"Then you clearly have some alarming gaps in your education" Riddell informed Amy arrogantly. "Or men who hunt defenceless creatures just don't impact on history. Face it, she's way cooler than you" Amy sing-songed, teasing him. "And you, Amy, are you also a Queen?" inquired Nefertiti. Amy paused at that. "I might be" she said slowly, "hey, that would make you a princess!" she told Melody, who scrunched her nose up at the thought. "I don't wanna be a princess" she said stubbornly. "No?"
"No, I wanna be a Time Lady" announced Melody, and everyone chuckled.
/
Meanwhile, the rest of their party were peering at another computer terminal embedded in the cliffs. "See? Metal floors, screens in rocks. It was just a matter of a short range teleport. We're still on the ship" the Doctor explained, not that Brian understood or believed him. "No, we're outside on a beach" he protested. "It's part of the ship, dad" Rory explained with strained patience.
"Don't be ridiculous"
"Well, it is quite ridiculous, also brilliant. That's why the system teleported us here. I wanted the engines, this is the engine room! Hydro-generators! Ha!" the Doctor shouted gleefully, grinning like mad. Brian looked at Rory and muttered "I have literally no idea what he's saying".
"A spaceship powered by waves" Rory explained; he was beginning to realise why the Doctor got so exasperated with him and Amy when they didn't keep up with him. Granted, it was the Doctor's fault his dad was with them in the first place... "Fabulously impossible" the Doctor was saying, "Oh, think of the things we could learn from this ship if we manage to stop it being blown to pieces"
"Oh, and also stop ourselves from being blown to pieces" the Corsair added. "Bad news, can't shut the wave system down in time. Takes, takes way too long" the Doctor sighed. Rory then realised that there must be a control room somewhere, to which the Doctor replied "Exactly. That's what we need to find. Now, what do we do about the things that aren't kestrels?"
A loud screech alerted them to the fact that the sky was filling with large shapes, none of which were a kestrel or indeed any kind of bird. "Oh my lord. Are those pterodactyls?" asked Brian. "Yes. On any other occasion, I'd be thrilled. Exposed on a beach, less thrilled" the Doctor admitted, "We should be going".
"Where?"
"Anywhere but here" the Corsair replied, and Rory raised an eyebrow. "That's the plan?" he asked. "That's the plan. Amendments welcome. Move away from the pterodactyls" the Doctor ushered. The wheeling reptiles were coming closer to them, and no longer milling aimlessly. "I think they might be noticing" Rory pointed out.
"Amendment one, run!" announced the Doctor; the others didn't need telling twice. They ran as fast as they could across the beach as the pterodactyls swooped, screeching loudly. "Why don't we just teleport or something?" asked Rory. "No, local teleport burnt out on arrival!" the Doctor explained, just before the Corsair pointed at the cliffs and shouted, "Over there, there's an opening!" All four of them made a beeline for it. "Come on!" Rory urged Brian to hurry. "I'm trying!" he snapped back breathlessly.
A pterodactyl snapped at them as they hurried into a cave, briefly biting down on Rory's shoulder before Brian knocked it away. "Are you alright?" he asked his son once he'd gotten his breath back. Rory moved his shoulder gingerly; it wasn't bad, just sore. "Yeah, I'm fine. Right, what do we do now? There's no way back out there" he pointed out, as the pterodactyls continued to screech outside. "Through the cave, come on" the Doctor said decisively. He started to go deeper into the cave when they heard stomping noises from up ahead. "We're trapped" said Brian.
"Yes, thanks for spelling it out"
"Doctor, whatever's down there is coming this way"
"Spelling it out is hereditary, wonderful"
"Ooh, let me do it. Whatever that thing is, it's getting closer" the Corsair said in a deadpan tone. The Doctor glared at him, not very effectually. It turned out to be two something's; rusted yellow robots. "We're very cross with you" one of the robots informed them. They glanced at one another.
/
The intrepid explorers came across a laboratory, to judge by the beakers and test tubes that could just be seen beneath the rampant vines that had grown over everything. "Whatever keeps these plants fed and watered must be an independently controlled system" Flavia commented, mainly to Romana, who merely hummed and nodded. "Whoever was running this vessel left in a hurry" Riddell pointed out.
"Maybe a plague came and took them" suggested Nefertiti.
"No, there'd be corpses and bones"
"Unless the animals ate them"
"If there are any remains left, they could be anywhere" Romana told them as she tapped buttons on a computer keyboard and switched the lights on. "Your highness, Riddell, keep an eye out for dinosaurs" she said without looking round. Neither of them moved; Riddell didn't want to be bossed around by a woman and Nefertiti didn't want to be bossed around by Romana, even if the woman was a 'Lady of Time'. What did that even mean, anyway? It was only when Amy glared pointedly at him did Riddell consent to keep look-out.
A small hand tugged at Amy's blouse. "Mummy, I'm hungry" Melody pouted. Straight away, Romana pulled a banana from her pocket and peeled it, handing it to the little girl. "The Doctor gets peckish sometimes" she told Amy by way of explanation, "it's healthier than the snacks he carries around". Then she went back to the computer, and soon a voice began speaking from it. "One hundred and seventeen years" the male voice announced.
"Data records" Amy grinned. Romana nodded and flexed her fingers. "Time to see who owned this ship" she murmured, typing away. The voice faded in and out, interspersed with static. "Mainly cryogenic…" Riddell spotted a T-Rex shadow on the far wall, but before he could warn the others it slunk away. "I will continue to work…Far beyond our…" an image began to form out of the static on the screen.
"Look. Oh, it's beautiful" Nefertiti murmured softly. The image resolved itself into that of a Silurian. "I can't tell how far we have come. Far enough to avoid the destructive impact forecast for our planet. Far enough for me to feel a profound sense of loss" he spoke solemnly. Riddell came to see what everyone was looking at. "What is that?" he asked, staring. "Silurian" replied Amy.
/
The two robots marched their four captives, side by side with their hands up, through the spaceship. "You're going straight on the naughty step" the first robot warned them. The Doctor was walking between Rory and Brian, the latter of which leaned over to him and asked "What's the escape plan?"
"Why do we want to escape?" he replied in a stage whisper. Brian looked at him like he'd gone mad. "They have us hostage!" he pointed out, not bothering to keep his voice down. "They're taking us somewhere. We might learn from it" Rory told him, and the Doctor pinched the younger human's cheeks. "Oh, you see? He's so clever. I've missed you, Rory" he beamed. Rory rubbed his cheek and frowned at him. "Don't do that".
"What if they kill us?" Brian questioned nervously. "They wouldn't do that. You're not going to kill us, are you, Rusty?" he asked the robots. "Who are you calling Rusty?" the first robot asked indignantly.
"Have you seen yourselves lately?"
"You try being on this ship for two millennia. See how your paintwork does" the first robot retorted, and the second said dismissively "Don't listen to him. He's just being mean because we captured him". Cries of surprise and alarm from the humans drew the Doctor's attention…to the lovely Triceratops that was ambling towards them. Melody would love to see this, the Corsair thought to himself with a grin. "Herbivore, don't panic - triceratops, ha! Beautiful" the Doctor smiled.
"Shall I shoot it?" asked one of the robots. "We're not supposed to shoot the creatures, stupid" its partner retorted. "Don't call me stupid!"
The triceratops roared in the Doctor's face. "'Rargh', yourself" he laughed, unfazed, "Hello, cutie. Good boy. Who's a lovely Tricey then? Yes, you are. Yes, you are" he cooed over the dinosaur like it was a puppy, stroking its snout. The Corsair reached over and petted it as well. Brian stiffened as the huge beast lumbered towards him. "What do I do? What do I do?" he asked, panicked. The dinosaur sniffed at his trousers. "What are you doing, what are you doing?" he asked it, too afraid to move.
"You don't have any vegetable matter in your trousers, do you, Brian?" the Doctor asked him. "Only my balls" he replied, much to Rory's embarrassment; he face-palmed. "I'm sorry?" the Doctor inquired in confusion. "Golf balls" Brian explained, pulling a couple from his pocket, "grassy residue". Rory stared at his dad as if he'd gone mad. "What are you carrying those around for?" he asked incredulously. "So he's prepared for an impromptu golfing session, obviously" the Corsair replied unamusingly.
The triceratops licked Brian's face, much to his disgust. "Aww, bless" the Doctor smiled. "Get it away from me" Brian pleaded, so the Doctor told him to throw a golf ball. "Really, is this what you want, is it?" he asked the dinosaur, waving the golf balls in front of it before chucking one of them far over its shoulder. The triceratops turned and hurried after the bouncing white ball. "And breath out. Right, take us to your leader" he ordered the robots, as they began walking again. "Really?" said Rory, giving him a sceptical look. He grinned. "Too good to resist".
/
They continued to listen to the data records. "Of the fifty species loaded, only one has had any difficulty surviving. All the others are thriving, and we expect them to be able to repopulate" the Silurian elder stated. "The Silurians evolved on Earth before humans; they discovered an asteroid on a collision course for their planet and believed it would impact, when it ended up becoming the moon. Some of them must have built this spaceship to act as an Ark and gone to populate another planet" Romana explained.
Riddell was stubbornly sceptical. "Lizard people herding dinosaurs onto a Space Ark? Absolute tommyrot" he scoffed. "Nuh-uh!" Melody stuck her tongue out at him, "it's true!" Her mother had put her down with strict instructions to not wander off, and she folded her little arms and frowned at him.
"She is right" Nefertiti agreed, "and besides, only an idiot denies the evidence of their own eyes" she pointed out, gesturing to the screen. "Egyptian Queen or not, I shall put you across my knee and spank you" Riddell threatened, and Amy put her hands over Melody's ears. Nefertiti glared at him. "Try, and I'll snap your neck in a heartbeat" she warned Riddell, who merely smirked. "They certainly bred firecrackers in your time" he commented.
Flavia had enough. "I think we have bigger things to worry about, everyone" she pointed out. Something occurred to Romana; "If this is a Silurian vessel, then where are all the Silurians?" she wondered. Then something else occurred to her. "Oh, I know. Computer, display the ship at launch and the ship today, with all life signals, side by side" she instructed. Two images, before and after, appeared on the screen. One was filled with life signs – the other was not. "Spot the difference –what's changed?" she asked. They all looked at the pictures, trying to spot something amiss.
"Wait!" said Melody, standing on her tip toes and pointing at the image with less life signals. She began to count the little dots. "One, two… three, um...four, five, err…six, err…"
"Seven" Amy prompted gently. "Seven, eight, nine, ten" Melody finished, pointing at the middle of the screen. "So she knows her numbers, what good is that?" asked Riddell. Amy rolled her eyes. "No, don't you see? Only nine of us came here, so who's the tenth? Oh sweetie, you are such a clever girl" she praised Melody, hugging her. Romana zoomed into the centre of the image. An out of place shape could be seen nestled within. "Is that what I think it is?" asked Flavia. Romana nodded. "Another spacecraft. This ship's been boarded before".
