Chapter 23

The mob was furious, shouting as they marched, and waving their guns and sticks in the air. Clara thought that any moment now, a shot would be fired by pure accident because of their agitated state. She stumbled more than she walked, her balance disturbed because her arms were tied together on her back. The rope cut through her skin like a blunt knife - slowly but relentlessly - and the occasional push from the shouting men didn't help at all. The worst part, however, was that Geoffrey was leading this insane procession. Without him, the colonists would never find the ship and she half hoped that once they arrived, the villagers wouldn't see a thing and move on because of the Q'Uartar's perception filter. However, as they pushed her forward, Clara soon realised that she had no such luck. The impressive ship sat there in plain view.

"What kind of magic is that?" Governor Johnson asked, his voice filled with both awe and fear at the same time. Behind him, the procession came to an abrupt halt.

"It's not magic!" Clara insisted instantly and took a step in the governor's direction. "It's tech more advanced than you could ever imagine. And they could use that tech to help you! All you need to do is call off the attack!"

The governor shot around and glared at her for a while, pondering his reply. Clara knew in her heart that he would never give in, but that didn't stop her from hoping.

"Or they could use it to kill us all," he argued eventually. His brows were furrowed and his gaze darkened even more. "I am responsible for these people and I will do everything in my power to protect them from whatever might do them harm. Do you hear me? They're my responsibility, not yours, not the Doctor's, not anyone else's. And I will do what I think is best for their survival."

Clara took a deep breath, ready to reply, ready to tell him that he was making a mistake and that at least, he should listen to the council of others, but she never got the chance before Governor Johnson turned around and started addressing his people.

"Listen up, all of you," he said, his voice loud and determined, "why did we come here?"

The noise of the crowd abated abruptly, growing quieter until it was only a murmur, hushed voices coming to an end of their conversation. The men seemed confused for a moment, unsure of whether Johnson demanded their reply or not. Then, he answered for them.

"We came here to start a new life," Johnson determined. "We came here to build our homes, to farm our land, to raise our children in the name of the Queen, didn't we?"

The mob agreed with a cheer.

"We didn't come here to give it all up at the first sight of trouble! We didn't come here to let them take it away from us! We came here to defend what is ours!"

The cheering grew louder and Clara rolled her eyes at them, just resisting the temptation to tell them nothing here actually belonged to them, but she knew that anything she said would fall on deaf ears.

"Attack!" Johnson yelled and the crowd shouted with him before Clara was once again pushed towards the ship.

The ship's doors were closed and even though the colonists had brought every man they had, Clara hoped that their technology was strong and clever enough to withstand the attack. As long as they didn't breach the hull, the Doctor inside the ship stood a chance. Given enough time, Clara knew that he would be able to fix this mess. He always did.

As the men pushed forward, hammering against the metal, Clara took a step back. Maybe, with a bit of luck, she could slip away without anyone noticing. She could go to the TARDIS and… nothing. She couldn't do anything, not while her hands were tied, but she could get away and try to find help.

While she was still pondering her options, a rough hand grabbed her arm and pulled her along and when Clara looked up, she noticed Johnson's angry face as he moved her towards the entrance of the ship.

"Hey," Clara complained loudly, "let me go!"

Governor Johnson did no such thing. Instead, he made his way through the crowd, pushing everyone aside as he strode towards the entrance as if he was sure it would open for him. It never would. The Doctor was on the inside and he would never allow anything to happen to the Q'Uartar. Whatever Johnson was trying, it was useless.

"There are two ways this could go," Johnson shouted at the closed door above him while his grip tightened on Clara's arm. He was probably hoping that someone on the inside was actually listening, "either you open these doors or we kill your friend and take the ship by force."

Clara's heart sank into her boots in an instance when the realisation hit her. She wasn't afraid of dying, not anymore, not after facing death so many times while travelling with the Doctor. But she was afraid of what the Doctor might do to anyone who tried to harm her.

A long, terrible moment passed in which nothing happened and Clara could feel her heartbeat as it pounded against her chest. Right now, she found it impossible to predict what was going to happen.

Then, with a loud, agonising creaking sound, the door of the ship slid open and she realised that they had lost. Governor Johnson had beaten them.

Clara braced herself for the imminent attack, trying not to think about what was going to happen to the Doctor or the Q'Uartar, trying to find a solution that didn't involve people getting hurt when she suddenly heard it. It was a quiet sound at first, hardly audible among the excited crowd, but once she had noticed it, the sound grew louder. It was the sound of approaching footsteps and the longer it went on, the harder it became for Clara to tell just how many people there were. Had the women come to join them? No, there were more than that. Much more.

When Johnson and his men finally noticed them, too, it was too late to do anything about it. The Croatoans had already surrounded them, outnumbering and overpowering the colonists despite their more powerful weapons. An entire horde of Natives had come, pointing their spears and arrows straight at Johnson.

The one who eventually stepped forward was a man Clara recognised and the sight of his face caused a weight to drop off her shoulders.

"Lay down your weapons," Chief spoke calmly but determinedly, "and I promise nothing will happen to you."

Clara looked around and waited for their reactions, but she noticed it instantly in the look in their eyes. They were thirty men and they didn't stand a chance against the entire tribe of the Croatoans and the friends they had brought along. She figured that somehow, they had gathered all the local tribes and even though she didn't understand why, Clara was glad that they had. One after the other, the colonists started laying down their sticks and their pistols. All but Johnson.

"If you think I am going to surrender to the enemy, you are mistaken!" he hissed at Chief. "Pick up your weapons, you cowards. They only have spears, we have pistols!"

Looking around the crowd, Clara spotted Geoffrey once again and he still wore that apologetic look on his face. He was the only one still clutching his weapon.

Don't you dare, Clara tried to tell him with her eyes, but when he struck, he didn't strike against the Q'Uartar or the Croatoans. He hit Johnson straight across the back of the head before the governor fell to the ground. It was over at last.