The Doctor grabbed the captain's arm and threw him against the Ogrons.
"Back to the Tardis!" ordered the Doctor and the three of them made a run back to the cargo hold. Unfortunately, another shot hit the Doctor in the back and he fell to the ground.
"Doctor!" cried Jo and Beatrice simultaneously. Before they could do anything several of the Ogrons came round the corner. They grabbed Jo and Beatrice who both struggled, though it did little good, and threw them back into the cell they had previously occupied. Although Beatrice noticed they didn't bolt it. Not that this helped much.
One of the Ogrons stood guard as they began taking the cargo.
"Jo! Are you alright?" asked Beatrice as she helped her friend to her feet.
"Yes, but what about the Doctor? Is he dead?" asked Jo fearfully.
"I'm not sure, I can't tell from here if his chest is moving," replied Beatrice.
"Oh no! They're taking the TARDIS!" Jo cried out. Beatrice gasped. Sure enough, the Ogrons were now removing the blue police box. Beatrice was at a loss for what to do.
The Ogrons finished loading and left. Beatrice quickly opened the door and both she and Jo rushed to the Doctor's side. Beatrice felt his pulse it was still beating, if slightly fainter than would be normal."
"He's alive Jo," she said and the young blond woman looked slightly relieved. The Doctor's eyes flew open and he slowly sat up.
"Jo? Beatrice?" he asked.
"Right here Doctor," said Beatrice.
"We worried they'd killed you!" said Jo as she and Beatrice helped the Timelord up.
"It must have been some sort of neuronic stun gun," said the Doctor. "I wonder why they didn't kill me. What happened?"
"They shot you, threw us in that cell, stole the cargo and the TARDIS, then left," Beatrice explained.
"We're stranded. What do we do?" asked Jo.
"Try and get the TARDIS back. The question is why the Ogrons should attack the ship," said the Doctor.
"To steal the cargo?" suggested Beatrice.
"No. There's more to this than that. The sound you two heard. It was too sophisticated for the Ogrons."
"Well, they're gone now," said Jo.
"Yes, the question is, where?" replied the Doctor. Jo straightened slightly as if an idea had just come to her.
"Hey, Doctor, last time we met the Ogrons they were working for the Daleks, right? Well, you don't suppose that that..." The Doctor shook his head cutting her off.
"No, no, not necessarily. No, the Ogrons are mercenaries. Other life forms use them to do their dirty work. Come on you two, let's go and find the crew." They made their way back to the area where the Ogrons had entered. Beatrice made a mental note to ask Jo about when the hell she had run into Daleks.
They found the guard and the captain lying unconscious on the floor in front of the now-closed airlock
"Beatrice, Jo, take a look at the guard," ordered the Doctor. Beatrice knelt and felt the guard's pulse.
"Just stunned," said Beatrice.
"This one as well, just as I was." stated the Doctor as he walked over to the airlock.
"That's funny - the Ogrons have repaired the airlock door."
"Well, that was nice of them," Beatrice said sarcastically.
"Well, if they hadn't, we'd have both been done for. All the air would have escaped when the ships unlocked," explained the Doctor.
"Why should they go to all that trouble?" asked Jo.
"Well, maybe they've got kind hearts. There's good in everyone you know," said the Doctor. Beatrice scoffed in disbelief.
"You and your optimism."
"I'm not sure you're one to talk," the Doctor replied raising an eyebrow and giving her a meaningful look. Beatrice rolled her eyes. Suddenly a voice was heard coming from the radio in the bridge of the ship.
"Earth Battle Cruiser to Earth cargo ship number C982. We are now approaching you. Do you read me?"
"Look after them, will you?" asked the Doctor indicating the two unconscious men.
"Right," said Jo. The Doctor walked off.
"What did he mean when he said you aren't one to talk?" asked Jo. Beatrice cleared her throat.
"I'm sure I don't have the faintest idea. You know the Doctor can be a bit nonsensical at times."
"Really?" said Jo sounding slightly suspicious. Before the conversation could head into more dangerous waters they were interrupted by the guard and the Captain waking.
"How are you feeling?" asked Jo.
"I'm not sure." said the Captain. There were footsteps and the Doctor returned.
"It's alright. We're being rescued."
"What happened?" asked the Captain
"You were knocked out," said Beatrice bluntly.
"Well, don't worry, old chap. You'll be all right now. I think..." The airlock door began to open and the Captain began to panic.
"Draconians! They're boarding!" Two men in grey and red puffy futuristic space suits with guns entered.
"Stewart?" said one of the men to the Captain before pointing his gun at the Doctor.
"Who are you?"
"Passengers" replied the Doctor.
"I see. Having a fancy dress party?" the man turned back to Captain Stewart. "What happened?"
"Dragons - attacked us."
"Did they get the cargo?" asked the who seemed to be the leader.
"I don't know, Gardiner," replied Stewart.
"Yes, they took everything," said Jo helpfully.
"Including some rather valuable property of mine," added the Doctor.
"Well, tough luck." said the man who Captain Stewart had called Gardiner.
"Oh, thank you very much." said the Doctor in a slightly annoyed tone. The guard who had first found the three of them stood shakily.
"Dragons...they attacked us."
"Yes, we know," said Gardiner. He turned to the Doctor. "You say you're passengers. Isn't that a little unusual on a cargo ship?:
"Well, we're here, aren't we?" Beatrice said defensively.
"Where did you pick these two up?" asked Gardiner
"I don't know. I can't seem to remember..." Stewart trailed off.
"Pull yourself together! How did they get on board?" demanded Gardiner harshly.
"Stowaways...that's it - they were stowaways. They were sending messages!" said Captain Stewart. The guard from earlier jumped in.
"That's right - they were helping the Dragons! They're traitors!"
"Oh for Christ's sake!" said Beatrice in exasperation as blasters were pointed at them.
"But that's absolute nonsense! Look, we didn't want to be on this ship - it was an accident!" insisted Jo.
"You said you were passengers?" demanded Gardiner. The Doctor sighed.
"I was merely trying to avoid a lot of tiresome explanations, old chap."
"Stewart, I'll leave Kemp on board to take your ship back to Earth. Put those three back in the hold. They can explain themselves to earth security.
"But we haven't done anything!" said Beatrice.
"They say you have! Take them away." snapped Gardiner. The man who he had called Kemp pointed his blaster at them.
"Get moving!"
/
Once again they found themselves locked in the cell. Both Beatrice and the Doctor had taken the route of quiet acceptance of their current position but Jo was pacing back and forth. Suddenly her face lit up.
"Right! We'll give it a few minutes, then I'll start groaning and pretending I'm ill. When he comes in, you can use your Venusian karate!"
"And then what?" asked the Doctor.
"Then, we'll take his gun, go to the flight deck and make somebody take us back to Earth."
"Jo? The ship is going back to Earth," pointed out Beatrice. Jo's face fell.
"Oh... Oh, dear, mm." she continued pacing. After another minute of her pacing, the Doctor finally spoke up again.
"Will you stop pacing up and down like a perishing panda! Now come and sit down. Let me think, will you?" Jo sat quietly.
"That's better," said the Doctor.
"Doctor?" asked Beatrice. "Now the Ogrons have gone, why don't the crewmen remember what really happened? Wouldn't the hypnosis have worn off?"
"Because the true facts have been erased from their minds, that's why."
"Well, yes, but why do they keep telling lies about us?" asked Jo.
"Well, they don't know that they're lying, Jo. They're desperately trying to fit us into their version of things."
"Well, what's the plan now? Wait till we see someone in authority?" suggested Beatrice.
"Correct Beatrice, we've got to reach someone in authority whose mind isn't already closed."
"Closed to what?" asked Jo.
"Look, these people believe that the Draconians are attacking their spaceships, right?"
"Right," said Beatrice.
"And we know that they're wrong, don't we?"
"Well, yes, it was Ogrons," said Jo nodding.
"Well, we also know that the Ogrons couldn't possibly have created that hallucinatory device that makes the Earthmen think they're Draconians."
"So someone far cleverer is pulling the strings," Beatrice said. "Like a puppetmaster". Jo's face lit up.
"Oh, well that's simple then. I mean, all we've got to do is: find out what's going on, who's behind the Ogrons, where they've taken the TARDIS, go and get it back and then we can all go home - right?" Beatrice smiled at how simple Jo made it sound but didn't want to dampen her spirits.
"Right." said the Doctor.
"Oh. I don't know what I've been worrying about..." said Jo cheerfully. Beatrice only hoped things would be simpler once they talked to someone in authority. She doubted it but one could always hope.
/
They had been taken from their cell in the ship once it landed and moved to another holding room in some sort of security building. The corridors were plain and utilitarian. Before leaving the room Gardiner turned to them.
"Look, I'll give you a piece of advice. Tell them everything. They'll use the mind probe and find out anyway. Make things easier for yourselves." he then left. Beatrice sighed.
"As if we were trying to make them more difficult. I don't like the idea of someone poking around in my mind though." shivered remembering the War Chief. There was only one person she fully trusted with going inside her mind and he was probably halfway across the galaxy causing chaos.
"I don't like the sound of it either," said Jo. The Doctor took her hand and guided her to sit next to him and Beatrice.
"You don't want to worry about those things. As long as you tell 'em the truth, they can't do you any harm."
"They can't?" said Jo.
"No, of course not. Well, they're a sort of computers with a few extra knobs on. And you know how stupid computers can be, don't you?"
"You have a point, computers are usually just extremely sophisticated idiots," said Beatrice trying to help comfort the worried Jo.
"Did I ever tell you two the story about how I was once captured by the Medusoids?"
"What are they?" asked Jo.
"How can I describe them to you? Well, they're a hairy jellyfish with claws, teeth and a leg." Jo wrinkled her nose.
"Eurgh!"
"Anyway, they put me under one of these mind probes things, you see, and tried to get me to tell them where I was going. So, I said I was on my way to meet a giant rabbit, a pink elephant and a purple horse with yellow spots." Beatrice smiled and Jo giggled.
"What happened?" asked Beatrice.
"Well, the poor old machine just couldn't believe it - had a nervous breakdown. So, they put me under another one of these mind probe things and the same thing happened." Jo looked confused.
"But you weren't telling the truth - I mean, you weren't really going to meet a giant rabbit, a pink elephant and a...? What was it?"
"A purple horse with yellow spots. Yes, I was. You see, they were all delegates for the third Intergalactic Peace Conference." The three of them burst out laughing.
"How did you get away," choked out Beatrice.
"Well, they had to turn me loose eventually."
"Why?" asked Jo.
"They ran out of mind probes!" this sent them all into more fits of laughter.
/
After what seemed like an eternity they were removed from the cell and taken to a large white room. A telescreen took up part of one wall. Behind a glass desk a woman with dark hair in an orange dress sat with her hands folded.
Next to her was a grim man with short dark hair and who was wearing a gold buttoned tunic with a ridiculous high collar that looked like he had stolen it from the Disney Princess, Snowwhite.
By the door stood two of the same Lizard like creatures as they had seen on the monitor back on the ship. Beatrice assumed they were Draconians. They wore dark green regal robes with winged shoulders. One of them who Beatrice guessed was the leader had a gold pendant around his neck.
"Now these people stowed away on the cargo ship. They transmitted signals which enabled your battlecruiser to home in on its prey." said the woman.
"I know nothing of this," said the Draconian leader.
"Perhaps you do not, but some servant of the Draconian empire employed them."
"Madam? I can assure that I've never been employed by anybody! Least of all by the Draconians." protested the Doctor.
"We have nothing to do with the Draconian's as we've told your guards, multiple times," added Beatrice.
"Your servants should have been better rehearsed in their lies," said the Draconian leader with a smile.
"Or they're showing a misguided loyalty to their Draconian masters," said the man with the Snowwhite collar.
"If we really were working for the Draconians, why did they leave us in your ship?" countered the Doctor.
"To act as spies when you were brought back to Earth." the man replied. Beatrice sighed and closed her eyes praying for patience.
"Allow me to congratulate you, sir. You have the most totally closed mind that I've ever encountered!" said the Doctor he turned to the woman. "Madam, I beg of you to listen to me. Some third-party is trying to provoke a war between Earth and Draconia. You are both being duped."
"Take them away," the man with the gold collar ordered. Beatrice raised an eyebrow at how quickly he wanted to get them out of there. The woman raised her hand to stop the guards.
"Just a minute, please. Why should a third party wish to do this?"
"I've no idea, Madam, but believe me, that is what is happening." said the Doctor.
"Take them away!" the man ordered again more harshly. They were grabbed by soldiers who started to drag them away.
"Now please listen to me! If you don't you'll be involved in a war that could cause the death millions!" protested the Doctor. His protests were ignored as they were taken away.
/
They hadn't been in there long before one of the guards entered.
"On your feet." The Doctor looked at him sceptically.
"Mmm, why?"
"You heard me - move."
"And you heard us, not unless you give some good reason."
"The President wants you. Is that good enough?" Jo looked hopeful.
"Perhaps she believed you!" They all stood.
"Are you sure it's the President? Not another ridiculous interrogation." asked the Doctor.
"I said move!" ordered the guard.
"Come on, you two, Perhaps we can convince them after all."
"I just wish they'd make up their minds about where they want us to be," muttered Beatrice. She was getting sick of being put in prison, taken out, told she was lying, and then getting thrown right back in prison.
They were marched out and were making their way across an open part of the fortress when suddenly one of their guards fell dead. Shot in the head. The Doctor pushed Jo and Beatrice out of the way.
The Doctor made to run with them but one of the Draconians pressed a gun to his neck.
"Run!" the Doctor ordered. Beatrice grabbed Jo's hand and they ran. They were quickly pursued and grabbed by what remained of their guard.
"But you don't understand! The Doctor's in trouble!" cried Jo. Beatrice felt fear fill her. They didn't have the Doctor now. He was in trouble and they were alone among enemies who wouldn't listen to them.
What are we to do?
Author's note: There's part 2 looks like trouble is brewing. Just a warning, these chapters will be longer than normal. I did borrow the computers are idiots line from the fourth doctor. (Maybe he heard it from Bea and used it later). Please Like and COMMENT. Thanks so much for reading. I'll update soon. Until next time Whovians!