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Chapter 8 – The Attack

The Doctor collapsed onto the sofa in his suite and said, "Friday, route the call through here."

He saw Pete's image come on the screen. Pete laughed as he looked up, "Hey, son! I just got a great video! Why did you have that sock on your head?"

He rubbed his face and laughed, "Damn that Lewis. That was quick."

Pete laughed, "I'm telling you. She's a deadly creature. Be careful there."

"That was my last fight with your daughter. Trust me. Damn."

Pete laughed proudly, "That's my girl. Alright, onto business. Lewis gave me a list of names. Has Rose talked to you about this?"

He nodded his head. "Sortof. She told me she looked in those guys' minds and she got some names. That's all she really said."

"Names. Woah. She really did. That damn Deputy Director of the CIA was involved, too. I never liked him. Always seemed….hell, I don't know….."

He snapped his fingers. "He sat at the table with us at the State Dinner. Richard something."

"Richard Crowe. That's him. Howie, Harriet and I are here at Camp David sorting through this. It's amazing. He had a name of someone….hell…everywhere. These Quauthin seem to be the only ones that haven't been infiltrated."

The Doctor shook his head as he rubbed his face. "Nah, that's in the oaths and stuff. That's complex. I'm not going into that."

"Well, the reason I'm calling you is because I think we should sit on this for a bit. Maybe see if they lead us to others."

"Is that what Lewis is recommending?"

"He is. I agree with him. It makes sense. As he says, it's just names from one man. He could be full of shit and they are innocent. But, it gives us a new place to look. Meanwhile, Lewis has put men on as many of these people as he can. In the shadows, of course. Keeping an eye on them. "

He nodded. "That is an excellent idea. What does Summus say?"

"Summus has given Lewis a very high complement. He said he wishes he had put him in charge of this a long time ago. Let him know."

"You forget I have to live with this man."

Pete laughed, "Well, that's true. Summus wishes there were more Quauthin here with us. He's requested another unit. Lewis and him are working it out. Hopefully they can get to Plentitude before you leave so they can return with you. Just a temporary measure."

He shook his head as he rubbed his beard. "That's a good idea. I need to talk to Lewis about all of this. I have a thought about that, as well."

"Why hasn't Lewis told you about this? You are a …..whatever…."

He rolled his eyes. "Primus on suspension. That's what I currently am."

Pete chuckled, "I'm not even going to ask. I bet it has something to do with you and Poltious racing yesterday."

"Right in one. Yes. Poltious is on suspension, too. Lewis believes we both have a death wish and wants us to see the psychologist, or whatever she is."

"Just go ahead and get it over with. I could set you up a conference call-"

"Nah. He'll get over it."

"You still need to see Pat before you can come back to work at Torchwood, too. Don't think I've forgotten." Pete pointed forcefully at him.

He rubbed his face and groaned. "I'm fine, Pete. Don't need to talk to anyone. I have Rose. That's who I talk to."

Pete bit his lip and looked suspicious. "Right. Well, speaking of her, Lewis was certain to make it very clear that he was against Rose looking into the minds of those men. He said she got upset. Is she alright?"

"She said she saw some stuff. She talked to me about it. Well, as much as she will at the moment."

"Give it time. Don't push her on it. Rose doesn't do well when she's backed in a corner."

He chuckled. "On the contrary. She's a lot more able to take care of herself than I imagined. Geez."

Pete smiled proudly, "You didn't realize that was her?"

"I thought it was Jake. But, after when I touched her skin, I could feel her in my mind. I knew it was her from that point. I think I did."

Pete chuckled. "You guys get up to some strange entertainment. How far away are you?"

"We'll be there in 6 hours and 12 minutes. Poltious is flying us out. We're only using the engines at 57%. There's no reason to rush. I might even have us slow down a bit."

Pete nodded his head. "Well, I'll ring if come across anything or whatever. Take care of my girls. Oh, did you need me to take care of your weird plant?"

The Doctor smiled. He knew Pete was referring to his TARDIS he was growing. "I actually brought it with me. I put it in that bigger than the inside box when we cloned the house, and I never took it out. I've got it. Thanks though."

Pete nodded. "You bet."

The Doctor ended the transmission and rubbed his face. 'Lewis. Where are you? Can you come up to my suite for a bit? There is a lot we need to discuss.'

'Sure, mate! Oh, my way!' Lewis told him in his head.

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Ashena, Logan and Genie walked down the halls of the ship. Genie skipped in front of them.

"Logan, you did well! It was only your first time." Genie encouraged him.

Logan shook his head. "Your Mum took it easy on me. There's so much I need to learn."

Ashena held his arm, "It's a process. You remember what John said, 'You can't learn it all in a day.' Give yourself some credit."

He smiled at her. "That's true. Those guys have been fighting for years."

"Centuries." Ashena assured him.

Genie turned around and pointed at them. "You know what you need, Logan? Ice cream. That will make you feel bett-"

One of the men who had been sedated, grabbed Genie. Ashena and Logan both yelled. Logan looked behind him in time to see another one of the men taking a swing at him. He quickly blocked his punch and using his elbow, he swung up and hit the man in the nose. The man fell to the floor, face full of blood.

Ashena shouted as another man grabbed her and held her throat tightly.

Genie was crying as the fourth man walked up to Logan. "So, big man. What do you plan to do?"

Ashena kicked the man who held her. It only made him more cross and he gripped her neck tighter. Logan punched the man threatening him across the face. It didn't faze the man. He pushed Logan against the wall but his neck, cutting off his airway.

Genie was so upset. She screamed, "Help!"

The men holding her shook her violently and demanded she be quiet. She continued to cry.

Tony and Jake ran down the hallway and met them at the scene. Tony looked at them, "Oh, shit."

Genie cried, "Tony….help me."

Tony held his hand out. "Gene. I'm here. It's going to be alright." He spoke to the men. "Guys, you have no idea who this kid is. You need to let her go."

The man only held her tighter. Genie screamed in pain. He said, "I'll give her to you in just a few minutes. She's too pretty not to see what she really looks like."

Tony suddenly remembered. "Gene. Tell this man not to touch you."

Genie was crying and could only get out, "Don't…."

"Scream it, Gene!" Tony insisted.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Genie shouted.

Her bracelet activated and the man holding her was blown away from her in a blast of light. He hit the man who held Ashena and then the man who held Logan. All three of them fell to the floor and shook from the electronic charge.

Tony held his hands up, "Gene! Don't look at them. Look at me. You are alright. Say, 'You can touch me.' It's all over."

Genie wiped her eyes and continued to cry as she lay on the floor where she had been dropped by the man. She picked herself up and ran to Tony. He quickly held his hands out to her. "Whoa! Hey! Stop! Say, 'You can touch me'!"

Genie stopped and whimpered, "You can touch me."

Tony smiled and dropped to the floor to hold her. "You are okay, Gene."

Ashena rubbed her neck and Logan coughed. Logan looked at Ashena. "Are you alright?"

She nodded her head. "You?"

Genie continued to cry in Tony's arms.

The Doctor and Lewis ran into the hallway. They stood behind Genie so she couldn't see their arrival.

"What the hell happened?" Lewis asked.

The Doctor saw Genie and Tony.

Tony nodded his head as he continued to hold young Genie. She continued to sob. "She's alright."

Within seconds, the hallway was full of the remainder of the Quauhtin. Lewis knelt down and checked the pulses of the men. He shook his head. "These two have had it. These other two are just unconscious."

Tony heard Lewis say the men were dead. He spoke to Genie quietly. "Gene. Let me take you to Rose. Alright? Just me and you."

Genie continued to cry. He picked her up and was careful to put her face into his chest. "Shhh…. You're safe. I'm taking you to your Mom. We'll find Daddy in a bit. He's safe. Don't worry about Daddy."

The Doctor shook his head as he looked at Ashena. "Your neck is really bruised. Are you okay?"

Ashena nodded her head. "Yes. I'm fine. I can use a dermal regenerator on this and no one will know."

"Don't use it for 12 hours. Trust me. Guys. Do you have this?"

Lance nodded his head. "Yeah. They won't get out again. I'll keep an eye on them, personally."

"Logan. Take Ashena and get something to eat. If you find you need me, just ring me. I need to go make a call."

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