Chapter 60
The bridge exploded with a bang. Nate had his shield up so he wasn't damaged, and he tried to extend it to protect Galaxy and the Doctor behind him, but it didn't stop him from being moved. He was slammed back, and down, slightly. He hit the canyon wall and started down, bouncing off the butte as well, about halfway down.
In his imaginary room, Nate fell against a side wall, while the books on the opposite side slid off the shelf, some hitting him. His rib hurt. Not that he really had a rib. He knew that. On the rare occasions he was in pain, he knew that better than usual. He had to really focus to imagine the room, and his human form in it, instead of where the pain was actually coming from.
Nate glared and stood up on the wall, it seemed he'd landed on his side, and brushed himself off. He'd have to put the imaginary books away later, and shove the beanbag chair back to the eyestalk. At least his bed was fixed to the ceiling, and wouldn't move.
Well, if he was alright, he should check on the others. Yes, that was something useful and good to do.
Nate got the dalek armor back into an upright position, looking out around where he'd fallen. The first thing he saw was a black scaled snake-like shape lying near the cliff.
"GALAXY!" Nate cried. She had to be alright. She was a dragon for crying out loud. "GALAXY, WAKE UP!"
And there was the sound of someone groaning and shifting slightly, probably sitting up, but it wasn't from Galaxy. He spun his head, dome, around fully, in time to see the Doctor sit up. She spotted him, and he recognized the look in those eyes. That was someone who saw him a treat. And given what he knew about the Doctor, he didn't want her to consider him a threat.
"IT'S NATE," he reminded her.
"Right," the Doctor said, voice cool. "The human."
The way she said human was laced with skepticism. Nate didn't have a heartbeat per say, but he remembered the feeling of it bumping harder, the beat going in his ears. He curled his hands into fists.
"YOU'RE MAKING ME ANGRY," he said.
In this body, he had to be honest about these things. He couldn't just let the feelings build up until they blew out of him.
"A common feeling for you?" the Doctor asked.
Nate snapped. "I AM A HUMAN! I GET ANGRY LIKE ONE! AND I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU SUGGESTING I AM NOT. I THINK I'M A BETTER JUDGE OF WHAT I AM THAN YOU."
"Do you go through this a lot with new comers?" the Doctor asked.
He didn't like her question, but it wasn't filled with hostility so he answered. "YES."
"And do you usually yell at them for it?"
"I, WELL, NO," Nate admitted. It got tiring, or worse, at times. Other people's reactions had certainly made him angry before. This was why he tried to avoid meeting people in person unless they would be staying on the planet long-term. But when he had to, many people were naturally scared to see a dalek tank. He couldn't blame them for that. Yelling at people he'd just rescued wouldn't help either. "BUT THEY DON'T TAKE AS LONG. AND THEY DON'T KNOW BETTER."
"Is that true? Or are you angry because it's me?"
Nate tipped his head in confusion. Outside, his eyestalk rotated.
The Doctor sighed, and seemed genuinely sad. "I don't doubt you're human right now. But being taken over by a dalek isn't always obvious. It could be subtle. And daleks don't exactly like me."
Nate wanted to be angry at the accusation (in fact some part of him was) but he knew he was reacting harsher than usual, so something was probably wrong, and he tried to get a grip on it. Had she been as hostile as he'd thought, or had he imagined some of it? Not a pleasant thought.
"I AM STILL A HUMAN RIGHT NOW. AND IF THERE'S EVER A DAY WHERE . . . I'M . . . NOT, THE OTHERES HAVE FAILSAFES IN PLACE. DEFENSES. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, AS THAT WOULD RATHER DEFEAT THE POINT. BUT THE OTHERES HAVE A PLAN, AND IN THE MEANTIME THAT DAY HASN'T COME. MY LIFE IS STILL WORTH LVING, AND I'M STILL ME ENOUGH TO MAKE THAT DECISION."
"Ah. The others didn't mention that."
"I DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD NEED TO."
"There's one other thing."
Nate rolled his mental eyes. At least the hostility had gone down, by a lot actually. "OH?"
"I've met people who were converted into other species before. They don't usually live long. The ones who do resist the transformation, or aren't killed by complications, usually go out in a self sacrifice. Pride is one of the longest lasting conversions of any kind that I've met."
"AH." That was a completely different problem. "WELL, I'M NOT KNOCKING OFF YET."
"We should go help the others then."
Good enough. "I CAN FLY US TO THEM."
"No. We need to go to the TARDIS first. I've got a plan."
"I'M TAKING GLAXY," Nate said, gesturing behind him as best as he could. He wouldn't leave her down there.
The Doctor seemed a little strained. She probably didn't like the idea of taking either of them to the TARDIS. "Sure," she said. "Just make sure we don't slow down."
The Doctor had gone back to the TARDIS. She was creating some kind of device. She said she'd need Nate's help with it later, but she hadn't explained much beyond that.
"You're going about your voice the wrong way, by the way," the Doctor said.
"WHAT?" Nate lifted his eyestalk.
"You've been trying to change your voice, but you can already speak with your human voice. You do so over the radio. It's just the dalek shell has to amplify your voice for it to be heard in person, and when it does so it does that with the dalek voice. So if we connect that device you made with the amplifier, instead of your actual voice. . ."
The Doctor pointed her sonic at Nate.
"Hey!" Nate shouted, feeling something changing in his shell. "Warn me before you mess with my-wait." He'd been speaking, and his human voice was clearly coming out. A smile spread across his voice in the imaginary room. He let out a short laugh, followed by a longer one. He looked back up at the Doctor. He still wasn't really happy with her, but he knew when to be grateful. "Thank you."
