Satellite Five: Floor 500
The Editor entered the spike room, frowning.
He had no idea why his master wanted him to get information from the man laying in the seat before him, but he could admit that the man was a curious case.
The Editor could get information from anyone on the satellite, or the Earth below, but this man was different. Anything the Editor tried resulted in the same thing, nothing.
There wasn't a titbit of information he had pulled from the man, not even his name or where he had come from and the Editor knew his masters were getting frustrated with the results.
"Are you going to give me anything useful today?" he asked.
Black eyes bore into the Editor and he sighed.
"I guess we'll do this the hard way...again," the Editor said before clicking his fingers.
A blue stream of light hit the mans now open forehead and he writhed and jerked on the chair, though not a sound passed his lips.
"Who are you?!" the Editor demanded.
Floor 139
It was only minutes later when the TARDIS materialized and Aries and the Doctor stepped out of the door, Rose following silently after them, still fuming over the Doctor's decision.
"So, where are we?" Aries asked as she looked around, raising an eyebrow when she noticed multiple screens broadcasting what looked to be some kind of news.
"It's the year 200,000 and we're on a spaceship...no, wait a minute, space station," the Doctor explained as he lent against his ship, watching Aries, waiting.
"200,000," Aries breathed in awe, "This...this is impossible," she said, looking back to the Doctor, who was now grinning.
Rose muttered something under her breath, though the pair took no notice.
The Doctor pushed himself off the side of his ship and gestured to a gate behind Aries. "Why don't you check out the gate," he told her.
Aries looked at the gate then back to the Doctor. "Can I? I mean it won't..." she trailed off, feeling a little foolish.
It hardly seemed like the Doctor would have taken her somewhere dangerous, but the warnings about time travel that had been drilled into her from her father were circling her mind.
"You'll be fine, I promise," he said, nodding to the gate again and he felt as though the wind had been knocked from him when Aries smiled, truly smiled at him before heading off toward the gate.
"So, why are we here?" Rose asked grumpily as she followed after the Doctor, wondering why he had brought them to somewhere that looked rather boring. Seriously, if I wanted to watch the news, I could have done that at home, she thought.
"Why not," the Doctor shrugged as he passed through the gate that led to an observation deck, grinning when he noticed Aries staring transfixed at the view of the Earth below.
Aries didn't look away from the view as the Doctor and Rose stepped up beside her.
"The fourth great and bountiful human empire," the Doctor started to explain, glancing at Aries, "And there it is. Planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety-six billion. The hub of the galactic domain, stretching across a million planets, a million species – with mankind right in the middle."
"Its amazing," Aries breathed, and this time Rose had nothing to say, awestruck herself.
The Doctor looked back to the view, not having looked away from Aries as he spoke and grinned. "It's something," he agreed.
"Oh, come on, Aries," the Doctor whined as they walked down a corridor, his arm draped around the red heads shoulders, "You're gonna love this fantastic period of history."
"I don't know, Doctor," she replied with a slight frown as something niggled at her, something unknown but wrong.
Rose just rolled her eyes as she followed, wondering if it would have been better to have stayed in the TARDIS since the Doctor had just seemed to have forgotten she was even there.
"The human race at its most intelligent – culture, art, politics," the Doctor continued, "This era has got fine food, good manners-"
"Out of the way!" a man cut him off as he pushed passed them, causing Aries to stumble into the Doctor, who glared after the man.
"You okay?" he asked as the whole floor seemed to spring to life around them with food stalls being set up and people bustled past the trio to queue up.
"Yeah, fine," Aries muttered, glancing around at all the activity warily. She couldn't say what it was, but something was wrong with what she was seeing.
"Fine cuisine?" Rose scoffed as she looked at the food in the stalls.
"My watch must be wrong," the Doctor muttered, sounding a little wrong-footed and Aries glanced at him as he looked to his watch, "No, it's fine...weird."
"That's what comes of showing off," Rose said teasingly as she grinned at him, "Your history's not as good as you thought it was."
"My history's perfect," the Time Lord shot back, offended.
"Well, obviously not..." Rose continued wryly, rolling her eyes.
Aries looked around, trying to figure out why she was getting the feeling that something was wrong. It took her a moment to see, but when she did, the red head wanted to hit herself.
"The Doctor's right," she said, looking to the pair, wanting to roll her eyes when she noticed Rose glaring at her. "He said this was the height of the human empire. Millions of planets, millions of species..." she looked back to the hustle and bustle around them, "But where are they?"
The Doctor and Rose looked around, finally seeing what Aries had pointed out.
"Oh," Rose breathed.
"That's a good question," the Doctor remarked, glancing back to Aries, "A very good question."
The red head glanced around, blushing slightly when the different scents of food made her stomach remind her she hadn't eaten since breakfast before taking Luka and Mickey to the park.
"Hungry?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her, causing Aries' cheeks to darken. "When did you last eat?" he asked, wanting to hit himself for not asking sooner.
He still had no idea where Aries had appeared from in Van Statten's museum and hadn't even considered that she may not have eaten before then.
"A little," the red head admitted, "It has been a rather...eventful day," she continued, thinking back on what had happened since she had woken up that day.
The Doctor just grinned and turned to the closest chef. "Oi, mate, how much is a cronk burger?" he asked.
"Two credits twenty, sweetheart," the chef told him, "Now join the queue."
"Money," the Doctor muttered, "We need money."
"You don't carry any?" Aries asked curiously, although she really didn't think she wanted a cronk burger, whatever that was. It wasn't that she was picky with what she ate, but the red head wasn't fond of takeaway.
"Nope," the Doctor replied with a grin, "We need a cash point," he explained, leading the pair over to a machine.
He waved his sonic at it and Aries' eyebrow raised when a metal strip that she guessed to be some kind of futuristic credit card was dispensed.
"There you are," he said, handing the strip to Aries, "Pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets."
Aries' eyebrows furrowed as she accepted it and looked it over. "How does it work?" she asked curiously, not seeing any sign as to how to use it.
The Doctor grinned, "Why don't you find out," he told her, only to earn a raised eyebrow in response. "Think of it as visiting Paris," he tried to explain, "You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing strangers."
Rose laughed, although Aries' other eyebrow joined the first and the Doctor was quick to amend what he had said, realising how it had sounded.
"Not that I actually do that, kissing strangers, that is," he told Aries. Well, not anymore, he added mentally, knowing that after finding out who Aries was to him, there was only one person he wanted to kiss.
"And what about that tree on Platform One?" Rose couldn't help but question, remembering the way he had flirted shamelessly with Jabe.
"I didn't kiss her," the Doctor was quick to correct, causing Rose to just raise an eyebrow while Aries' creased in confusion. "Now, stop asking questions," he said, shooting Rose a look before turning to Aries, "Go get something to eat. I'll meet you back here in say," he glanced at his watch again, "Thirty minutes?"
Aries didn't say anything, just nodded and the Doctor grinned. She turned to look at the stalls, wondering what she wanted to eat before something caught her eye and she moved off.
The Doctor's grin faded as she left and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"Oh, I know that look," Rose said, glad that the red head had gone, "Trouble?" she asked.
The Doctor didn't say anything to her, though he stopped two people as they passed.
"Erm...this is gonna sound daft, but can you tell me where I am?" he asked the pair.
Back up on Floor 500, the Editor was watching two screens.
One had an image of Aries as she wondered around, while the other was showing Rose and the Doctor as they talked with Cathica and Suki.
"Something...is wrong," he muttered, "Something fictional."
He bent over the shoulder of the man seated in front of one of the screens, though he was covered in ice. He pointed to the monitor that showed the Doctor and Rose with the others.
"Those people. Security check. Go deep," he ordered before there was a growl from above him and he paused to listen.
"Yes, of course," he agreed, "Send those images to the spike room," he added, "Let's see what our mystery friend thinks of these people," he muttered as the frozen worker did as instructed.
In the spike room, the man gasped as images of the Doctor, Rose and Aries was shown to him and he gritted his teeth, trying not to give anything away.
Aries nibbled on the strange fruit she had brought, finding it to taste somewhere between a pineapple and a raspberry. It was an odd combination, but considering the 'fine cuisine' she had seen, it seemed to be the safest option.
She frowned, tugging off her jacket as the temperature seemed to get warmer the longer she was there and briefly wondered if it was possible to tuck it inside itself, before draping it over her shoulder.
There was still something that seemed off about the station, but no matter how hard she tried to pinpoint what it was, the answer evaded her.
Aries? a distorted, broken voice whispered in her mind, causing her to jump, almost dropping the fruit she was holding.
"What?" she exclaimed, her eyes darting around the floor, trying to locate the source, but an alarm sounded and everyone started to disperse, making it impossible for her to see where the voice could have come from.
"Aries, over here!" the Doctor's voice called and she noticed he was standing with two others besides Rose and wondered what he was doing.
"Something wrong?" she asked when she reached the small group, frowning at Cathica and Suki.
"Nah," the Doctor grinned, "But I knew you'd want to see this," he told her as they headed towards a spike room.
'Security check cleared,' the computer told the Editor, who frowned.
"No, something's wrong. I can taste it," he said, "Tiny little shift in the information. Someone down there shouldn't be here."
The camera refocused on the Doctor, Rose, Cathica, Suki, and Aries and the Editor's frown deepened.
"Double check. Triple check. Follow them," he ordered as he left, wanting to see if there was any progress with showing the images to the unknown male.
He had felt something the moment the images had been sent to the spike room, but other than that, there had been nothing.
But there had been something, he thought, knowing that was better than nothing.
Now all he had to do was figure out what that something was.
The small group entered the spike room and Aries raised an eyebrow when they were joined by several others.
Her gaze took the room in and her interest was perked as the others took their places around a raised octagonal platform in the middle of the room, each one sitting cross-legged before some odd shaped pads that looked to be where they would place their hands.
"What is this place?" she couldn't help but question, only to be shushed by Rose as Cathica made her way to the central chair.
"Now. Everybody behave," the woman addressed the group around her, "We have a management inspection," she looked to the Doctor, "How do you want it? By the book?"
"Oh, right from scratch, thanks," the Time Lord replied and Cathica nodded and turned back to the group.
"Why does she think you're management?" Aries whispered as Cathica continued speaking.
"Psychic paper," the Doctor whispered back, pulling out the small wallet and showed it to Aries.
Before she could say anything about not being able to read what it said, Cathica regained their attention and the Doctor put the paper away.
"...with a 'C', in case you want to write to Floor 500 praising me, and please...do..."
The Doctor just grinned at the woman, giving her a non-committal jerk of his head in response while Aries was confused, wondering what was so important about Floor 500.
"Now, please feel free to ask any questions," Cathica continued, "The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and be non-biased. That's company policy," she explained, smiling at the Doctor.
"Actually...it's the law," Suki, the other woman whom had been with the Doctor and Rose spoke up, though Aries frowned at her when she also smiled at the Doctor.
"Yes, thank you, Suki," Cathica said, rather irritated by the woman's interruption, "Okay, keep it calm...don't show off for the guests," Aries raised an eyebrow, glancing at the Doctor and Rose, the former shrugging, "Here we go," Cathica laid down on the chair, "And...engage safety..."
The staff around Cathica placed their hands out over the pads before them, confirming to Aries that was what they were for, though the red head watched curiously as each of the eight walls behind them lit up as they did so.
The moment Cathica clicked her fingers, Aries gasped when a door in her forehead opened, revealing the woman's brain. The red head glanced at the others, seeing that the Doctor looked mildly disgusted while Rose looked alarmed.
The staff placed their hands down onto the pads and closed there eyes.
"And three...two...and, spike," Cathica said, just before a blue light shot down into her brain, flowing into her.
Aries eyebrows creased, trying to work out what she was seeing, never having seen or read anything like this before.
"Compressed information, streaming into her," the Doctor explained, seeing his companions expressions, "Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer."
"If it all goes through her, she must be a genius," Rose remarked in awe as she stared at Cathica.
"Nah," the Doctor denied, "She wouldn't remember any. There's too much, her head would blow up."
"So, it's like a processor?" Aries asked as they started walking around the room, "Her brain, I mean. And as soon as that, er...doorway closes, she would forget," she continued.
Sure, she was interested in what she was seeing, but it nauseated her to think that people were so willing to allow anyone inside their mind. Even knowing that the Doctor and his ship were telepathic in some way still made her wary, even though she really didn't have anything to hide from them.
Well, except my magic, age, and the fact I come from a completely different universe, she corrected herself with a frown.
"Yep," the Doctor nodded.
"So, what about all these people round the edge?" Rose questioned, nodding to one as they passed.
"They've all got tiny, little chips in their head, connecting them to her..."
Rose paused to kneel down next to one of the people, wanting to get a closer look.
"...and they transmit six hundred channels. Every single fact in the empire beams out of this place," the Doctor continued as they completed the circuit and leant against the railing, "Now, that's what I call power," he remarked.
The Editor frowned as he watched the unknown man writhe in the chair as he tried to pull information from his mind.
'Analyse confirmed. Security breech,' the computer spoke up and he grinned.
"I knew it," the Editor stated gleefully, "Which one?" he ordered and an image of Floor 139's spike room appeared before him on a holo-monitor, "It's someone inside that room, which one?"
The image on the holo-monitor changed, showing each person in the spike room individually.
'Isolating breech,' the computer told him, and he muttered impatiently, "Come on, show me. Who is it?"
The camera focussed on Rose, Aries and the Doctor.
"You alright?" the Doctor asked Aries, seeing her troubled expression.
Aries' eyebrows furrowed as she watched Cathica. "Why does it feel wrong?" she asked, turning to the Doctor, "I..." she frowned, searching for the words to describe what she was feeling, "This whole place, the technology, missing aliens, even the food. It just feels..."
"Wrong?" the Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow at the red head. He was a little surprised that she had picked up on what he was feeling about the technology, although she did raise an important point about the food and aliens.
"Trouble?" Rose asked, looking between the pair, though she frowned at Aries.
"Oh yeah," the Doctor grinned.
"Why do I get the feeling this is a regular thing for yo-" Aries was cut off when she felt a shift in the air and looked around.
"What is it?" the Doctor asked, causing her to look back at him, missing Suki twitch where she was sitting.
"That's it!" the Editor exclaimed, pointing at the holo-monitor and laughed in triumph, "Yes! She's the liar."
He completely missed the man's lip twitched upwards as the camera focused on Suki and not the time travellers, knowing it would be a cold day in hell before he gave Aries up.
Just a little more time, the man thought to himself in a fortified part of his mind. A part where the Editor couldn't access, knowing if the man got even a sliver of information that lay hidden there, it was the end of everything he had fought for.
"Intercept and scan," the Editor continued, oblivious to his captives thoughts, "Gotcha."
Suki gasped, removing her hands from the pad as if she had received an electric shock, causing the others around them to lift theirs as well and the lights in the walls flickered off.
The compressed information streaming into Cathica's mind stopped and the door to her brain closed.
Aries frowned as she watched on, her eyes falling onto Suki as the woman rubbed her hands together, breathing heavily.
"Come off it, Suki," Cathica snapped, rather annoyed with the interruption, "I wasn't even halfway, what was that for?" she questioned.
"Sorry, must have been a glitch..." the woman replied.
I doubt that was a glitch, Aries thought, her eyes narrowing on Suki.
"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked quietly as he stepped up beside Aries, having seen her expression.
"I...don't know," the red head replied slowly as Cathica stood up with a huff.
"Her information's been tempered with. There's a second biography hidden underneath" the Editor stated as the holo-monitor switched off.
He glanced at the man before leaving the room, needing to figure out just how Suki had slipped through the cracks. Though there was a grin on his face as he entered the main room, having felt the information shift from the man.
For whatever reason, he had finally given them something and the Editor couldn't wait to see what other security breeches the man could find.
The moment he stepped into the main room however, the grin slipped from his face as there was a roar from above him and he looked up.
"Yes, sir?" he questioned, listening intently as there was more roaring, "Absolutely, sir," he agreed, "Yeah, well – her data was encrypted, so there's no way we could've found her sooner."
The roar that came after his words was angry and the Editor nodded quickly.
"Yeah. I...sorry, sir," he gave the beast above him the thumbs up, "Absolutely," he added before turning to one of the frozen workers at the computers, "Get her up here. Now!" he snapped.
There was another roar, causing the Editor to pause.
"Well, yes," he said, nodding his head slowly, "But why would he giving us information now?" he asked, though his answer was another roar that caused him to jump, "Of course, sir. I'll try and find out what has changed."
Inside the spike room, the man opened his eyes the moment the blue stream stopped and he let out a heavy breath.
He hadn't wanted to expose Suki, having known who she was the moment the Editor had first tried to pull information from him, but he knew if the Editor looked too closely at the Doctor, he would also look at Aries.
"I'm sorry, Suki," he whispered, knowing that he had just handed her over to the Editor, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Until he knew that Aries was safe and back on the Doctor's ship, there was nothing that would stop him from protecting her. It was the least he could do after all he had done.