"Show me Christopher's last known location," the Major ordered as soon as he stormed back into the main control room. Marishka threw her hands up in the air in what looked like exasperation.
"And how would you like me to do that now that we've lost track of our IT specialist?" Marishka asked and the Doctor stepped forward smoothly as he pulled his sonic out of his pocket and scanned it over one of the monitors in the centre of the room.
"There's a start," the Doctor said as a holographic map appeared over the table. I grinned.
"Holographs are still cool. So, is this Vulcan expedition ten?" I asked and gestured at the series of hallways and rooms hovering in front of my face.
"It is and if we expand the reach just a touch," the Doctor said and soniced the table a little more until the Vulcan expedition part of the map shrunk and another larger series of tunnels appeared next to it. "We can see the Homo Reptilia village."
"Holy shit. It's huge," Justine said from beside me.
"Definitely big enough to have been seen by UNIT's preliminary scans," I said while I circled my finger around it. I saw the Major bristle out of the corner of my eye as the Doctor smiled at me and winked.
"How is this supposed to help us find Christopher?" Major Campbell asked.
"Tetchy," I said, and the Doctor laughed before turning on the sonic again.
"There we go. Every person who is awake," the Doctor said as ten blinking dots appeared with seven of them clustered in a room. I assumed that was us and that the other three dots were Christopher, Vax and our other Homo Reptilian friend.
"There's too many dots," Paul said, and Cecelia glared at him.
"The Doctor said every person who is awake. Just because the Homo Reptilia aren't human doesn't mean they aren't people," Cecelia snapped. I grinned.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," I said, and the Doctor dropped a quick kiss to my temple.
"No, but we only saw one of the Silurians on the video, so there should only be nine dots, but there's ten," Paul said. The Major frowned and leaned in towards the map like he was trying to glare one of the dots into non-existence.
"Why would there be more than one out of hibernation?" The Major asked and I rolled my eyes.
"We don't even know why the one that was on video was out of hibernation. There is literally no reason to assume that what caused one awakening didn't cause another awakening," I said, and the Doctor dropped another kiss to my temple.
"You're utterly brilliant," he said. I felt like that one was a little undeserved since, while my logic was probably true, I'd made that up on the spot so that we didn't have to worry about Vax yet.
"The real question is why Christopher isn't answering the radio," Marishka said as she pointed at his dot. "He's well within the radio's range and neither of the Silurians are near him."
"Then I suppose we should go check on him," the Doctor said and we both stepped away from the table only to be stopped by Major Campbell. "You're welcome to come along Major."
"Emma will be staying here," Major Campbell said, and I planted my hands on my hips and raised my eyebrow up at him.
"Oh, I will, will I?" I asked and the Major nodded tersely.
"I don't trust either of you and I believe it will be less of a risk if I keep you separated. Emma will be remaining here as she doesn't have capacity to alter any of our technology." I took an angry step forward at that and the Doctor caught my arm before I could swing my fist into the Major's face.
"Kicking his ass is justified," I hissed through my teeth as the Doctor dragged me a few steps away.
"It is Emma, it definitely is, but if you punch him he'll have you thrown in whatever holding cell he can throw together and I don't want that for you," the Doctor said as he gently pulled me to face him. I frowned at him before I crossed my arms in defeat.
"Fine." The Doctor smiled at me and leaned forward to press a kiss to my forehead.
"Thank you. Your restraint is noted and appreciated," he said, and I over dramatically flopped into a chair.
"Good. I would hate for my sacrifices to go unappreciated," I said which made Cecelia and the Doctor laugh before the Doctor sobered as he faced the Major.
"If you say something like that again Emma won't get the chance to punch you." I blinked in surprised delight at the Doctor's threat and the Major looked between the two of us before he nodded stiffly and spun on his heel to leave the room after he had waved at Justine to join them. The Doctor gave me one last glance and followed Major Campbell after I gave him a thumbs up.
"Apparently he's a great tactician, but Major Campbell is absolutely terrible with people," Marishka said comfortingly.
"Not that there's been much opportunity for him to show off his tactics here," Cecelia said.
"Personally, I hope that continues," I said as I rolled back and forth on my chair to entertain myself and bumped into Paul who was standing right behind me. "Oh, hello I didn't see you there. Are you here to make sure I don't touch anything?"
"No," Paul said hesitantly.
"Very convincing Paul," Cecelia said, and I rolled my chair closer to hers slightly before my phone rang and I dug it out of my pocket and answered it.
"Hello," I said.
"Just checking in," the Doctor said lightly, and I laughed.
"I'm supposed to be the one with abandonment issues Doctor," I teased, and he laughed.
"I would hate to lose track of you," he said. I reached up to play with my key idly.
"You do remember that you gifted me a homing beacon, right? Anywhere any when, remember?" I asked before my eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Or are you phoning to antagonize the Major?"
"Emma sometimes I think you know me too well," the Doctor said, and Cecelia chuckled slightly. I spun in my chair so that I could follow their progress towards Christopher on the map.
"Flatterer," I said, and the Doctor laughed. I watched them take a corner before they stopped.
"Well that's different," the Doctor said.
"Oh?" I asked.
"Christopher is facing the corner of the room and he's just standing there. He almost looks hypnotized," the Doctor said, and I heard the Major's voice though I couldn't make out his words. "No, I wouldn't touch him Major."
"Almost?" I asked. I really hated the fact that I couldn't see what the Doctor was seeing, I knew it wouldn't make a difference about me knowing anything, but it would make me feel a little bit more in the loop.
"Hard to describe," he said, and I sighed.
"Of course, it is." Cecelia nudged me and I looked at her and she pointed to the map. I shifted my gaze up at it and realized the two dots to represent the Homo Reptilia were moving towards the Vulcan Ten part of the map. "Well that's probably not good."
"What's not good?" The Doctor asked instantly in concern, even though he'd been mid conversation with the Major. I stood up to double check that the Homo Reptilia were in fact headed towards us and that I hadn't just misjudged the depth of the map.
"The Homo Reptilia are heading towards us," I said as calmly as I could manage, and Paul walked over to the other side of the room and picked up his rifle. "And Paul has a gun."
"Tell him to put the gun away," the Doctor ordered, and I heard a brief scuffle on the other end of the phone as I pulled it away from my ear slightly.
"Put the gun away Paul," I said, and he shook his head. I noticed that his hands were trembling and that did not fill me with confidence.
"What if I need it? To defend you?" Paul asked and Cecelia, Marishka and I all rolled our eyes in tandem.
"I think you'll find that it's not 1840 Paul and we won't need defending unless you shoot first," I said as I moved the phone next to my ear properly again and heard what sounded like a bit of a fight on the other end. "Doctor what on Earth are you doing?"
"Christopher is under the impression that the Homo Reptilia are gods returned from a forgotten age and they require a sacrifice from their loyal acolyte to fully regain their powers," the Doctor said. I could hear the tension in his voice, and I bit my lip worriedly.
"Okay you sound busy so I'm going to call you back later," I said and hung up over the Doctor's noises of protest. I turned the volume off so that I could justify not answering him when he inevitably called me back in two seconds before I shoved it back in my pocket and flattened my hands against the map and looked at the two dots.
"Paul please put the gun away. We are going to operate diplomatically," I said, and he looked at me in shock. He was alarmingly pale and if I hadn't been concerned about the gun in his shaking hands, I would have suggested that he sit down before he passed out.
"Paul please put the gun away," Marishka said placatingly with her hands extended towards him. Paul looked at her with a little bit of wild terror in his eyes.
"Major Campbell said I need to keep you safe," Paul said and Marishka gave him a shaky smile. I was starting to feel better about the fact that everyone was as nervous about Paul as I was.
"You're shaking like a leaf. You're not a solider and asking you to be one is not the Major's job," Marishka said and I breathed a small sigh of relief as Paul wordlessly handed the gun over before collapsing in the chair behind him. I took a quick glance at the map and my stomach dropped as I realized that one dot had disappeared from the map where the Doctor had been.
"Okay it looks like we have a few minutes because the Homo Reptilians have stopped moving. Let's go rendezvous with everyone else," I said and Cecelia bit down on her lip worriedly and rubbed the back of her hand.
"I think it would be better if they met us here," Marishka said and for the first time I could hear fear leaking into her voice. I realized that she had counted the dots on the map as well and took a deep breath as I dug my phone out of my pocket and called the Doctor back.
"Never do that again," he said as soon as he answered on the second ring. I smiled weakly.
"Sorry I couldn't concentrate," I said as a tiny bit of tension eased out of my shoulders.
"Everyone all right over there?" he asked.
"Paul's probably on the brink of a breakdown, but yeah we're all okay." I swallowed carefully and wrapped an arm around myself. "What happened?"
"Christopher tried to attack Justine and the Major reacted," he said, and I flinched at his implication. "We're going to make our way back to you. Is it clear?"
"Yeah the Homo Reptilians stopped a few floors away from us. I don't know why, but I'll take it." I inhaled and paused at the fact that my lungs suddenly felt very tight, like they did whenever I was having a panic attack. Which didn't make any sense because I wasn't having a panic attack as far as I knew. "Doctor something's wrong."
"What do you mean? What is it?" I watched one dot suddenly start moving away from the others on the map and felt a tiny hint of relief.
"My lungs feel tight like when I have a panic attack, but I don't feel like I'm having a panic attack," I said and rubbed my chest idly. "I'm not hyperventilating, am I?"
"No. Can't you tell?" He asked.
"I didn't think so, but I figured it would be better to ask." Suddenly Paul shouted and I jerked my head to him to see him dive for the gun that was still in Marishka's hands. Marishka and Paul started fighting for the gun and I grabbed Cecelia by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground on the opposite side of the console from the other two. Our knees hit the ground at the same time the gun fired, and Cecelia screamed at the sound of someone hitting the floor. I took several choked breaths to make sure I didn't actually have a panic attack.
"EMMA!" I realized that I had dropped my phone when I heard the Doctor's tinny bellow coming from my right. I took one final deep breath and scooped the phone up as I stood up from the floor and swallowed at Marishka lying on the floor.
"Sorry again Doctor. I dropped my phone," I said just as the Doctor came skidding into the room. He looked between me, Paul and Marishka in a millisecond before he was sweeping me up off my feet in a crushing hug.
"Jesus Christ Emma you scared a hundred years off me." He set me down and cupped my face. "Are you alright?"
"Probably bruised my knees on the floor honestly," I said with a weak smile and he hugged me again before he smoothly removed his overcoat and laid it over Marishka. He took a few more steps and knelt down next to Paul who had pressed himself into a crouch in the corner.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I helped Cecelia up off the floor and she shook her head desperately with her eyes locked on Marishka.
"No," Cecelia said as shocked tears started to spill down her cheeks.
"I meant physically, did you get hurt when we hit the floor?" I asked and Cecelia shook her head, so I lead her into a chair as the Major and Justine entered the room. Justine gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth as the Major's steps stuttered and a brief flash of pain crossed his face.
"Doctor, Emma leave this room immediately," he ordered, and I raised my eyebrow up at him.
"First he wants us separated and then he wants us together. He really needs to make up his mind," I muttered under my breath and Cecelia gave a disjointed laugh in between her sobs. Justine knelt next to Cecelia and grabbed her hand gently.
"Major you cannot really think that Emma is the one who caused this," the Doctor said as he sprung up to his feet with an incredulous look on his face and I had either missed the Major's implication or the Doctor was leaping to conclusions.
"I have no proof that she didn't," Major Campbell said and the Doctor's face darkened.
"It was Paul," Cecelia said in between her slowing sobs. "He was trying to get the gun back from Marishka. She told him to give it to her because he was shaking so badly that we thought he would shoot one of us by accident."
"I'd still like to get Paul's version of events," Major Campbell said, and I sighed deeply in exasperation.
"I'll go stand in the hallway then if that will make you feel more secure Major," I said pointedly before I spun on my heel and headed for the door. The Doctor jogged up next to me and held the door open for me. As soon as the door fell shut behind us, I folded in half, pressed my hands into my knees and took a few desperate breaths.
"Easy Emma easy," the Doctor soothed as he reached over to rub my back.
"I'd apologize, but I feel like you wouldn't accept it," I said as I gasped slightly and locked my elbows to stop them from quaking. I was pretty sure that it was due to the adrenaline that had come and gone in such a brief span of time, but still decided to try and keep it contained.
"You're right I wouldn't. Do you want to sit down?" He asked and I shook my head.
"There weren't supposed to be bodies were there?" I asked as I tipped my head up so that I could look at him and realized that he had knelt down in front of me at some point. He shook his head.
"So that means that something's changed," I said, and he nodded. "Probably nothing good?"
"I doubt it," he said.
"I need you to just put a pin in your upcoming martyr trip because I am not currently in the place to talk you out of it. Give me like two minutes," I said, and he laughed.
"Martyr trip?" He repeated and I nodded.
"One of your favourite pass times is making things your fault. Phrased like that I suppose that martyr trip probably wasn't the proper word choice, but I am trying my best," I said, and he laughed again as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"What happened?" He asked and I took a deep breath.
"Paul grabbed the gun from some cabinet somewhere when we noticed that the Homo Reptilia were moving towards us and he was shaking so bad that I had very serious concerns he was going to drop it. That's when I hung up on you. Marishka got him to give the gun to her, and then I called you back and then suddenly he just dove for the gun again and he and Marishka struggled for it and I shoved Cecelia onto the floor with me which is when I dropped the phone and the gun went off," I said slowly. The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut tightly before he pressed another lingering kiss to my forehead.
"I know I said this before, but never ever do that again Emma Bradley," he said.
"Hang up on you?" I said teasingly and he gave me a look.
"Hang up on me immediately after telling me that someone in the same room as you has a gun," he said and I smiled.
"I needed to think," I said.
"You said that your lungs felt tight," he said like he had just remembered, and I nodded.
"Yeah that was weird. It was right before Paul went for the gun again. It just suddenly felt like I was about to have a panic attack, but I wasn't panicking about anything."
"Did anyone besides you and Paul have a similar reaction?" He asked and I could tell that there was a bit of a theory cooking in his brain.
"Marishka sounded scared. It was the first time I'd heard her sound like that." I swallowed and pushed up on my knees to stand upright. The Doctor followed me up out of his crouch without a word. "What are you thinking?"
"The Homo Reptilia might have piped a chemical weapon through to the control room. It could have affected your fear receptors, which would explain why it felt like you were having a panic attack even though you weren't," he said, and I bit my lip as he ran a hand over his face.
"Which means that they technically attacked first, which would give the Major the legibility to respond with hostility," I said, and the Doctor nodded worriedly. "But how would they have accessed the ventilation system?"
"Christopher might have told them while he was out of sight from us," he said just as the lights went out over us and it sounded like the generators quit running.
"Great," I said grumpily. It wasn't very long after that that the Major stuck his head out the door. I sent him a look, because I was pretty sure that he was about to accuse us of doing something, but instead he just waved us back in the room. I stood by Cecelia again and rested my hand on her shoulder as the Doctor and the Major stared at each other in the middle of the room.
"Once again I request your aid in fighting the threat that these Silurians present to this expedition. As they have attacked us first by affecting our life support systems, I am well within my rights as UNIT's representative to respond with hostility," the Major said in what I was pretty sure that he thought was a reasonable tone.
"Have you considered not responding with hostility?" the Doctor asked genially with an eyebrow raise. I thought it was good of him to try, but I also was pretty sure that the Major was not going to back down from this.
"They have quadrupled their numbers since you exited the room. They could have further increased their numbers and we have no way to confirm that since we have lost power," Major Campbell said, and I tilted my head to one side.
"You mean when you kicked us out?" I asked with as much fake innocence as I could muster. The Doctor shot me a sideways look of mixed amusement and exasperation while the Major just gave me a look full of disdain before turning all his attention back to the Doctor.
"You will assist us," the Major said firmly and both of the Doctor's eyebrows went up.
"Is that so?" He asked. The Major pulled out his sidearm and pointed it at me and undid the safety.
"Yes." I looked between Major Campbell, the gun and the Doctor before I sighed loudly and lifted my hands in the air slightly.
"I don't know if I've said this out loud before, but being a hostage sucks," I said.