Chapter 25: All We Ever Knew
A/N- Hey everyone! So I'm going to apologize now because the next couple of chapter are going to be shorter. Also, this episode gave me a lot of grief. It wasn't the most exciting episode so I did the best I could with it so, it might not be the best chapter. But I hope you guys enjoy it anyways!
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, it belongs to BBC
Yesterday Was Hard On All of Us- Fink
Where are we going now?
Where do we go?
Cause if it's the same as yesterday
You know I'm out, just so you know
Everything was pretty chaotic after they announced who got the promotion. There were congratulations as well as some hostility. Apparently Cathica wasn't the only one who'd been applying for a promotion. More than half of the room had too. Suki didn't seem to notice the glares she got. She simply rushed out of the room talking about everything she needed. The Doctor, Kit, Rose and Adam left the room and waited around for Suki to return.
Suki finally came back like a hurricane. She babbled on about this and that, and Kit had trouble keeping up on what she was saying.
Suki tried to give Cathica a hug but Cathica was having none of it. "Cathica, I'm going to miss you." Cathica just grumbled in response so Suki turned to the Doctor and Kit. "Floor five hundred, thank you both."
"We didn't do anything," the Doctor responded.
Suki smiled. "Well, you two are my lucky charms."
The Doctor shrugged. "All right. I'll hug anyone."
The two embraced. Kit saw Rose walk over to Adam and tried to follow in hopes Suki wouldn't hug her as well. That plan fell apart when a hand grabbed her arm.
"I need to give you a hug too!" Suki exclaimed.
"I don't really do hu—"
She was cut short when Suki engulfed her into a tight hug. Kit stood there awkwardly not really sure what she should do with her arms. She chose to awkwardly pat Suki on the back. Finally, she let go and Kit took a large step back.
"So, what's with the bag?" The Doctor asked pointing to the duffle bag. "You're only going up a couple levels."
"I know. It's too much. Floor five hundred's supposed to have everything for you. People say you don't need to bring a thing. I don't know. I just want to bring some personal stuff," Suki replied looing anxious.
"Is all of it really necessary?" Kit asked. "I mean, it's not like you're living there forever."
Suki was about to respond when a voice interrupted. "All staff are reminded that the sixteen forty break session has been shortened by ten minutes. Thank you."
Suki eyes widened. "Oh, my God, I've got to go. I can't keep them waiting. I'm sorry." She ran over to the elevator and went inside. "Say goodbye to Steve for me. Bye!" The elevator closed.
Cathica huffed. "Good riddance."
"Seriously? Why is everyone acting like she's never coming back?" Kit inquired.
"Because she won't," Cathica explained. "Once you go to Floor five hundred you never come back."
"And that doesn't worry anyone?" Kit asked in astonishment.
"Why should it?"
"Um because that's not normal?"
"Well, it is here."
"Which should worry you more!"
Cathica rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't have time for this childish conversation. I need to get back to work."
Kit glared. "It's not childish if people are disappearing."
"They're not disappearing. We know where they are."
"To a place where they never come back," the Doctor pointed out.
An uneasiness showed in Cathica's eyes but she shook her head. "Like I said before, I need to go back to work."
Cathica started to walk away, probably hoping to get rid of them. Unfortunately for her, the Doctor, Kit and Rose followed anyways. Kit looked around and felt like someone was missing but she couldn't think who so she just shrugged it off.
"Have you ever been up there?" The Doctor questioned.
"I can't. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to five hundred except for the chosen few," she replied in annoyance.
"And these chosen few, how are they picked? What are the qualifications?"
Cathica shrugged. "I'm not sure. It seems pretty random sometimes."
"And you don't find that weird?" Kit asked.
"I'm sure they have their reasons and I just haven't figured it out."
"That's pretty trusting of you," Rose added.
"Well, why would they lie?" Cathica snapped.
"Why would they tell you the truth?" The Doctor countered.
Cathica didn't answer but they could tell they took a major blow to her confidence. The three of them kept following her. They tried to ask her more questions but she wasn't answering any of them anymore.
They came to a door and Cathica picked up a clipboard that was attached to the wall beside the door. She opened the door and they were in a white room that was exactly the same as the one they were in before.
"Look, they only give us twenty minutes' maintenance. Can't you give it a rest?" Cathica snapped finally.
"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" The Doctor asked sitting down on the chair in the middle of the room.
"I went to floor sixteen when I first arrived. That's medical. That's when I got my head done, and then I came straight here. Satellite Five, you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all." Realization suddenly dawned on her and she narrowed her eyes at them. "You're not management, are you?"
"What gave it away?" Kit asked sarcastically.
Cathica gave her a hard glare. "Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me. I don't know anything."
"Don't you even ask?" The Doctor questioned.
"Well, why would I?"
"You're a journalist," he argued. "Why's all the crew human?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"There's no aliens on board. Why?" He asked again.
"I suppose immigration's tightened up. It's had to, what with all the threats."
Kit raised an eyebrow. "Threats? What threats?"
Cathica seemed hesitant now. "I don't know all of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled so that kept the visitors away. Oh, and the government on Chavic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see. Just lots of little reasons, that's all."
"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice," the Doctor countered.
Cathica sighed in frustration. "Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."
"Except for what's right under your nose," Kit argued.
"And this society," the Doctor continued. "It's all wrong. Even the shape is wrong and worse, the technology."
"It's cutting edge."
"It's backwards. There's a great big door in your head. You should've chucked this out years ago," the Doctor stressed which caused Cathica to look down at the ground in shame.
"So, what do you think's going on?" Rose asked.
"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude. It's the way people think," the Doctor explained. "The great and bountiful Human Empire's stunted. Something's holding it back."
"And how would you know?" Cathica bit out.
"Trust me, humanity's been set back about ninety years. When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
"Ninety-one years ago," she replied slowly. She looked to be putting the pieces together.
"Well, that can't be a coincidence," Kit muttered.
The Doctor frowned. "No, it's definitely not a coincidence. Do you have some sort of maintenance computer? Something that's connected to the whole station?"
"Yes, of course we do."
"Then show me."
Cathica's eyes widened. "No! No, I do not want to be a part of this anymore!"
The Doctor sighed. "If you show us this last thing we'll never bother you again. You can go about your normal day in that bubble you live in. Deal?"
Cathica pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine."
They followed Cathica out of the room. They headed down to the opposite end of the room. Cathica pointed to a two medal doors. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and went to work trying to open one of the doors.
Cathica looked around nervously. "We are so going to get in trouble. You're not allowed to touch the mainframe. You're going to get told off."
"Kit, tell her to button it," the Doctor told her.
"Gladly," Kit muttered then turned to Cathica. "You can either shut up or leave. Take your pick. Either one would be very nice right about now."
"I will not shut up!" She snapped defensively. "I'm only trying to warn you people. This is vandalising and someone will notice."
"Seeing that no one questions anything here, I seriously doubt it," Kit argued. "I mean; would you care if you saw people doing this or would you ignore it?"
Cathica was quiet for a moment but then shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The people higher up will notice then I'll get fired!"
"Oh my god, then leave!" Kit snapped.
Cathica straightened. "Fine, I will. I'm going back to work."
"Go on, then. See you!" The Doctor encouraged finally getting the door open.
Cathica started walking but then stopped. "I can't just leave you, can I?"
Kit groaned. "My god! Make up your mind. Are you staying or leaving?"
"Staying."
"Then shut up!"
"If you want to be useful, get them to turn the heating down. It's boiling," Rose piped in. "What's wrong with this place? Can't they do something about it?"
"I don't know. We keep asking. Something to do with the turbine," Cathica rushed out.
"And no one's looked into why they haven't fixed it?" Kit questioned.
"I don't know!" Cathica snapped.
"Exactly. I give up on you, Cathica," the Doctor told her. "Now, Rose and Kit. Look at them. They're asking the right kind of questions."
Rose smiled. "Oh, thank you."
"Why is it so hot?" He repeated, fiddling with the wires.
"One minutes you're worried about the Empire and the next it's the central heating!"
"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important."
The Doctor then ripped out a bunch of wires by accident. Cathica rolled her eyes and looked away nervously. The Doctor reached in and pulled out a small screen. He soniced it and an image popped up.
"Here we go. Satellite Five, pipes and plumbing. Look at the layout," he told Cathica, pointing to the monitor.
She looked over the monitor. "This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange and you're looking at pipes?"
"But there's something wrong."
"I suppose."
"And that something would be…?" Kit asked impatiently.
"The ventilation system. Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out channelling massive amounts of heat down," She explained.
"All the way from the top," the Doctor finished.
"Floor five hundred," Rose added.
"Something up there is generating tons and tons of heat," the Doctor explained.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?" Rose inquired.
Kit smiled. "I'm always down to crash a party."
"You can't," Cathica stopped them. "You need a key."
"Keys are just codes, and I've got the codes right here. Here we go," the Doctor pushed past everyone and started typing. "Override two one five point nine."
The monitor popped up a set of numbers. Kit frowned thinking they got the code way too easily.
"How come it's given you the code?" Cathica asked.
The Doctor looked up to a security camera. "Someone up there likes me."
"Well, let's not keep them waiting," Kit announced.
They made their way over to the elevator Suki went in. On their way they tried their best to ignore Cathica warnings and complaints. It wasn't until they were almost near the elevator that Kit finally realized who was missing.
"Rose? Where Adam?" She asked.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Did you just notice he's gone?"
"Um, possibly."
Rose looked like she was trying not to smile. "You're something else, Kittredge. He wasn't feeling good about everything and needed something away."
"Is that a good idea to leave him alone?"
"It's fine. He has my phone and the Tardis key."
"Oh."
Kit had an uneasy feeling about that but decided not to vocalize it to Rose. There was nothing she could really do now. Kit just hoped Adam wasn't getting himself in trouble.
They came to the elevator and it opened. Rose and the Doctor went in but when Kit tried to go in as well, the Doctor stopped her. Kit looked up at him with a questioning look.
"Kit, I—er, I need you to stay behind," he told her nervously.
"I'm sorry, I think I heard you wrong. Did you just say you wanted me to stay behind?" Kit questioned.
"Yes."
Kit opened and closed her mouth like a fish. "What!?"
The Doctor sighed. "Kit, I don't know what's up there. I need someone to stay behind just in case something goes wrong."
"We have Adam."
"Okay, someone I trust."
Kit clench her jaw. "This is such bullshit."
"Kittredge," the Doctor warned.
She crossed her arms. "Fine but one hour. If you're not back in one hour or if there's no explosion, I'm coming up. Deal?"
The Doctor sighed again. "Deal."
Kit backed away from the elevator. "Just be careful, okay?"
"We'll try."
Kit looked over to Cathica who was waiting around nervously. "Are you going with them or staying?"
"Of course I'm staying here. The last thing I want to do is get in trouble. I don't want to be involved," she snapped but it sounded less convincing then before.
"Bye then," the Doctor waved.
Cathica huffed and then left. Kit gave a small wave to Rose and the Doctor. The elevator doors closed and Kit was left alone. Kit went over and sat down in a chair by one of the booths. She sighed in frustration and threw she head into her arms.
She hated feeling useless but most of all she didn't like this feeling of being left behind. It almost felt like being abandoned and she's been abandoned quite a bit. Her parents left her. Her Doctor left her. She knew it was none of their faults but being left alone had become one of her biggest fears. Being separated from her Doctor didn't help and this Doctor leaving her behind was only making her feel worse.
She suddenly heard the sound of a chair beside her moving and then someone sit down. Kit lifted her head from her arms and looked up to see Cathica. She was sitting beside her looking down at her hands with an anxious expression on her face.
"Yes?" Kit snapped
Cathica frowned. "You're in a bad mood."
"Well, I don't particularly like being left behind," she grumbled. "I just don't understand why he made me stay behind and not Rose."
"It's pretty obvious."
Kit gave her a questioning look. "It is?"
Cathica gave her a smug grin. "Look who's the clever one now."
Kit rolled her eyes. "Still not you. Now tell me how it's obvious."
Cathica huffed. "You're a bit rube. You realize that, right?"
"Yes, now tell me."
It was Cathica's turn to roll her eyes. "I don't have kids but if I did I wouldn't want them to be in a situation that could get them killed."
"Yeah but I've been in much worse situations in the last twenty-four hours," she argued. "Couple hours ago I was trapped with a death machine and yesterday I almost died too."
Cathica just shrugged. "Isn't that even more of a reason? You almost died twice. If I were him, I wouldn't want to risk it a third time."
Kit opened and closed her mouth trying to figure out what to say. "But I'm not really his—why would he…"
The words hung in the air. Why would he care? This Doctor hadn't known her for that long. Sure, she expected this from her Doctor. He did it all the time after she got herself into a dangerous situation. He would be all worried and overprotective but she didn't understand why this Doctor would do it. Did he really care about her that much? Maybe this Doctor and her Doctor weren't as different as she thought.
"Why would he what?" Cathica asked after a moment of silence.
"Nothing, it doesn't matter," Kit replied quickly.
"Well, since I helped you, you can help me."
Kit raise her eyebrow. "Help you with what?"
Cathica hesitated. "I thought about everything you've talked about and I can't stop thinking. I want to know why all this is happening. I just need to put my mind at ease and—and to prove how ridiculous you all are." She forced out the last part.
"And you want me to help you figure it out?"
"Yes!"
Kit grinned. "Looks like she has a brain after all… well, I know you have a brain. I saw it but—never mind. I'll help you but to do that we need to get to floor five hundred."
"But didn't the Doctor tell you to wait for at least an hour?"
Kit snorted. "The day I listen to the Doctor will be the day I lose my mind. Trust me, I wouldn't be a good companion if I didn't do this."
"A companion? I thought you were his daughter?"
"Er, just forget about what I just said. We need to figure out how to get up there."
"The Doctor got the codes from the computer, right? Maybe it's still there."
Kit smiled. "I like how you think now, Cathica. Come on!"
They got up and ran back to the two doors. They opened the one the Doctor used and pulled out the monitor. Sure enough Cathica was right and the codes were still there. They ran back to the elevator and went in. They plugged in the codes and the elevator door closed and went up.
Floor five hundred, Kit thought. Here we come.