Journey Amongst the Stars

By Lumendea

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Forest of Cheem: Mystery Building

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

…

The building wasn't large, but Rose couldn't understand how it could have been built without anyone in the city knowing. They were less than an hour from the city proper and with the technology that had to be in place given what she'd seen on Platform One, it just didn't seem possible. The sides weren't exactly metal despite the sheen to them as they weren't reflecting sunlight.

"No guards," Jack said. "And no visible cameras."

They had parked the hover cart a ways from the building, moving it after Rose had pointed out the building. If someone was watching then they would have already been seen. But there was no movement.

"Is it possible that Jabe just forgot to tell us about this building?" Jack asked.

"It doesn't match the architecture of the city at all," Rose said. "Their buildings are smooth curves, glass, and some sharp angles. This is a box."

"Rose is right," the Doctor agreed. "I think this is someone else."

"It looks a bit like a generated building," Jack said. "I've heard about the tech."

"Likely it," the Doctor said.

"Generated building?" Rose asked.

"Created using molecular rearrangement," the Doctor explained. "Imagine 3D printing times a million and you'll get close. You can make buildings in an instant, but you need a lot of energy…." The Doctor paused and glanced around. "Which you could manage in a vibrant forest, but it would impact some of the trees."

"Bu pulling energy out of them?" Rose asked. She was stunned. That sounded more like magic than science, but they were a billion years in the future. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Yep." The Doctor's answer was short and Rose let it drop. There were more important issues to be concerned with.

"It's just hard to believe that this is here," Rose admitted. "We're not that far from the city."

"We're in a ravine which doesn't help and I doubt they keep everything monitored," the Doctor said.

"But we're so far in the future."

"Technology comes and goes as civilization changes," the Doctor said. "And the Trees of Cheem don't put as much focus on technology as other cultures. This is the Forest, it's meant to be a bit wilder and grow free. Honestly, it's impressive that they even caught on to the fact that something was young."

"Good thing they did," Jack said. "Given that they are plant lifeforms themselves."

"Do you think making the building is the only problem?" Rose asked.

"Not sure," the Doctor said. "If it was just this one building then the problems would have stopped. It wouldn't be spreading."

"So whoever made this is still working on something or there is something else," Jack summarized. "Sounds like we need to take a closer look."

Rose and the Doctor agreed, but there was no good approach. There was an open radius around the building that was free of trees and any vegetation that could offer cover. If that was by design as a defensive measure or sheer coincidence after building the structure, Rose wasn't sure. She had no idea what to look for when it came to weapons. There were no visible holes where a weapon could be deployed and she realized a moment later that there weren't even any windows. The closest comparison was that it was a large shipping container and that didn't make her feel any better.

The Doctor didn't seem that worried. He walked right up to the doorway, slipping away from Rose and the Jack as they tried to stop him. Rose wasn't military, but some of the habits UNIT had taught her held on. She hissed at the Doctor, but he calmly knocked on the doorway. Rose and Jack shared another look, but then followed the Doctor up to the door.

"He's lucky we like him," Jack grumbled.

Nothing happened. The Doctor dropped his hand to the small panel beside the door. Rose expected him to pull out the sonic screwdriver, but instead, he simply pressed one large rectangular button at the bottom of the panel.

"They didn't lock it," the Doctor said pleasantly.

The door slid open, making no sound and Rose tensed, her senses on high as she tried to be ready for anything. Before them was a short lit corridor with five doors, two on each side and one at the far end. There were no windows and panels in the ceiling lit the way. No decorations hung on the walls and there were no personal effects that hinted as to who had built this place.

"I don't like this," Jack murmured.

"We'll take a quick look and see what we can find," the Doctor said. "If we don't answer any questions, we'll get the samples and let Jabe know this is here."

"Let's hope they're gone," Rose said. She had a hopeful thought that someone had come to the planet, built this place before realizing that the world was already colonized and then left. But someone with this kind of tech would surely know that people lived here.

They stood in the corridor for a few long moments, waiting to see if anything happened. But there were no alarms and no one came looking for them. Jack and Rose shared a worried glance and she saw Jack adjust his stance. He was ready to fight if need be. Then the Doctor went to the first door on the right and pushed it open slowly.

Inside was a sterile-looking white room with several large pieces of equipment that were too alien for Rose to identify. The Doctor strode across the room and began to examine one. There were shelves with samples fixed to the wall and a small closed-off area made of clear glass with gloves fixed inside of it. That Rose recognized as a way of working with dangerous samples.

"I don't like the look of this," Jack said. "Could it be some kind of weapon that is being created, someone looking to kill off the forest? Maybe so they can mine or some other sort of profit?"

"The Forest of Cheem was established on a post-industrial mining world," the Doctor said. "The planet was stripped almost a million years ago. The Trees brought it back to life when they made it a colony world so there's nothing left to mine in the ground."

"Then what's with the mad scientist lab?" Jack was leaning towards the samples, frowning at the labels thoughtfully. "There's got to be a connection between this place and what's happening to the trees."

"Likely, but we don't know what that connection is yet Jack," the Doctor said.

"Is any of this something we can use?" Rose asked. "Nothing is familiar to me, but maybe some files would shed some light on this."

"I don't see anything that looks like a data recorder," Jack agreed. He was frowning and began checking the tables for anything unusual. "No computer, no journal. Whoever is here much have it on them."

"Not surprising," the Doctor said. "They have equipment for chemical experimentation and even a genetic sequencer."

"So they're working on something big," Rose said.

A snarl from the doorway made Rose jump. Spinning around on her heels, she found that they were not alone. The figure that strode forward through the doorway was shorter than them with thick fur covering most of its face. The nose protruded a little and had a soft moist tip rather like a dog's. Its general shape was humanoid, but it was short and stout with only three fingers and a thumb. Dressed in a simple tunic and pair of pants, it didn't seem threatening, but the expression on its face was thunderous.

"What?" It looked between them in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"We're investigating the area. Something is harming local trees," the Doctor explained. His jaw was tight. "We came to collect samples, but found a lab instead."

"Trees? Oh yes, I've been using them as subjects," the alien said. It seemed to recover its poise and glared large brown eyes at them. "This isn't any of your concern. You shouldn't have come into my lab."

"We were asked by the locals to take a look," the Doctor snapped.

"Locals?"

"There's a city not far from here," Rose pointed out. She was watching the alien carefully. "How could you miss it?"

"I did scan for life," the alien answered. There was a tone in its voice that Rose didn't like.

"The Trees of Cheem register as plantlife to most scans." The Doctor was frowning deeply. "So you set down without realizing that you were endangering others."

The alien paused and seemed to struggle for a moment. Rose held her breath, waiting for an apology, but instead the alien shook its head. Then it shrugged and headed for a cabinet.

"It doesn't matter," it said. "The experiments are almost done. I didn't know they were there, but this place is perfect."

"We just told you that you're potentially endangering a city," Jack said. His eyes were wide. "What could be so important that you don't care?"

"I'm gathering information," the alien snapped. They puffed up their chest, looking up at Jack and trying to make themselves larger. "My work is critical! I am Hibeurt Gampus! My work is known across the galaxy and you have no right to interfere."

"Never heard you," the Doctor said dismissively. "But what are your experiments for?"

"I don't have time for these questions," Gampus huffed. He pointed at the door. "Clearly I should be locking up. Out! Get out now!"

"Your equipment is impressive," the Doctor said, ignoring the demands. "But that one," the Doctor nodded to an odd-looking metal box that had buttons on one side and an odd screen on the other. It looked a bit like an old fashioned television to Rose, but there were also lots of strange wires. "That one is very interesting, never seen anything like it."

"It's my own invention," Gampus said. There was a hint of pride and his earlier anger was fading. "A bit beyond you I'm afraid, but at least you know good workmanship when you see it." Then he shook his head, seemingly to recenter himself. Glaring at the Doctor, he pointed towards the door. "Leave."

"Whatever you're doing poses a risk to the trees," the Doctor said firmly.

"My work is more important," Gampus hissed. "They can live with it."

"What are you trying to do?" Jack asked. "Are you taking samples of the trees for terraforming because if you are, then I think you should talk with the trees. They terraformed this planet themselves."

"Terraforming has nothing to do with it."

Gampus eyed the three of them and suddenly lunged towards one of the cabinets. Jack grabbed him, trapping him in a headlock. Gampus lashed around, trying to free himself and Rose grimaced in sympathy. Something was clearly going on with this man, but she didn't like having a confrontation like this. Jack made a soft shushing sound and a wild gleam appeared in Gampus's eyes.

Then Hibeurt Gampus slumped to the floor with a groan. Jack gently lowered the man and moved him to the side of the room. The Doctor looked at Jack and nodded with something like approval much to Rose's surprise. A shiver escaped her. It was a relief that the man was unconscious. Something in the way he'd been talking put her on edge.

"So are dealing with a mad scientist here?" Jack asked. "Just doing this for kicks?"

"I don't know," Rose said. "It could be."

"Hibeurt Gampus," the Doctor repeated. "Now that I think about it, that name is a bit familiar."

"Good familiar or bad familiar?" Rose asked.

"I'm leaning towards bad familiar," the Doctor said. He knelt beside Gampus and started digging around his pockets.

"He was avoiding telling us what he was working on," Jack said. "If he was only studying the trees that would be something, but he's definitely impacted them."

"So should we take him to the city?" Rose suggested. "They must have a legal system. I'm sure he's violated at least one law."

"More than one," the Doctor said. "In this era, there are a lot of regulations about establishing yourself on planets. Most of them are already owned." The Doctor pulled what looked like a small notebook from Gampus's pocket. It was an old fashioned item that startled Rose with even existing in this time period. "And he's got to know that. A lush planet like this…." The Doctor shook his head and began flipping through the notebook. "That's interesting."

"What is?"

"Some sort of formula and a lot of notes. It's incomplete, whatever it is." The Doctor stood up and pocketed the notebook, staring down at Gampus. "He's definitely working on something."

"And not having any regard for the locals," Jack said.

"I don't know," Rose said. She shook her head. "Let's check the other rooms before we assume too much."

Jack nodded. "Right, you stay here," he said and before Rose could argue, he slipped through the door.

The Doctor chuckled and Rose shot him a glare before she followed Jack. When she'd brought him onboard, she hadn't considered the possibility of him already falling into the overprotective big brother pattern. Especially not since he'd been digging into her romantic life just that morning.

Moving back into the corridor, Rose once again searched for any signs of cameras or security. Nothing stood out. Jack listened at the door across from them for a moment before easing it open. The room was dark, but lights flashed to life as soon as they stepped inside. It was a room roughly the same size as the first, but rather than lab equipment there were three large tubes that clearly opened set up in the room on heavy metal tables.

The capsules were roughly six feet long and domed. Rose had a bad feeling that she knew what they were as they walked over. All three were hooked up to tubes and machines that were monitoring them. Jack stopped beside her and visibly winced.

"I'm going to hope that these aren't what I think they are."

"They're stasis pods," the Doctor said. He slipped between them, pushing Jack a little. "The questions are: is there someone in them and are they there willingly."

The Doctor glanced their way and Rose forced herself to relax. This day just kept getting worse and worse. He stepped up next to the nearest pod and studied it for a moment. Without a word, the Doctor became to mess with a small series of controls on the side. Jack approached and Rose followed after a quick glance back into the hall to make sure they were alone.

The top of the pod shimmered and the outer layer that hid the inside slid back in a series of tiny folding prices. Rose didn't even have the chance to appreciate the very futuristic technology because her eyes fell on the figure inside of the pod. It was just as she'd feared. The humanoid figure was vaguely female with soft features, but their skin was a deep strangely textured green color. They were dressed in a simple white medical gown and their eyes were closed in slumber. Rose noted that the inside of the pod had bright lights that were a bit like glow lamps. She and Jack stayed back as the Doctor examined the figure through the glass.

"Plant based lifeform," the Doctor announced. "But not a tree. She's something else." He spun to one of the monitors and began tapping different parts of it to bring up new charts and images. "And she's ill."

"Okay, okay, then maybe the mad scientist back there is trying to help them," Jack said.

The Doctor said nothing. He moved to the next pod and retracted the screen. There was another planetoid figure slumbering inside. This one seemed roughly the same age as the first. The third had a small and slighter figure that Rose gasped at the sight of it. At best, it was a teenager.

"Doctor?" Jack pressed. "Do we wake them up?"

"I have no idea what species this is," the Doctor said. He shook his head and kept flipping through the monitor's information. "I don't know if he's helping or hurting them. And I don't know if it's safe to wake them up."

"Are they stable?" Jack asked. He leaned over to examine one. "And how can you not know what they are?"

"I don't know everything, Jack," the Doctor snapped. He stopped flipping through the screens and then dug out the journal. "I think-" The Doctor cut himself off and Rose slipped up beside him to look at the notes. "They're the experiment. This is some kind of formula…." The Doctor looked down into the pod again. "I've seen something like them before. They weren't this humanoid, but-"

"Those giant plants things?" Rose asked. "Mel told me about them. Weren't they made as slaves?"

"They were."

The Doctor did something else with the screen, changing it to an image of body heat and a strange internal organ set up. His eyes grew cold and he looked over at Jack. "Go and tie up Gampus. That name is becoming more familiar now."

"Bad familiar?" Rose guessed.

"Bad familiar. I think these people are weapons. Something is growing inside of them and it isn't good."