Hello everyone!
Here is the next chapter - Waters of Mars. So be prepared, obviously warnings for the content of this video (e.g. suicide at the end) but you should all know what was coming! So just keep that in mind and if that triggers you maybe skip this one or be careful, please. Your mental health is very important!
Hope it lives up to your expectations as it was hard to write (and I'm still not a 100% happy with it but you're getting it anyway).
There are a few notes at the end so please read those too!
Anyway, hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!
Let me know what you think!
Thanks,
Robyn
The group were all shifting in their seats waiting impatiently for the next video title to appear on screen. They all had a bad feeling settling in the pit of their stomachs that this video wasn't going to be pleasant so they were all nervous to see who would be involved in it.
"Waters of Mars." Bill read out as the title finally appeared, tilting her head to the side in consideration. "We went to Mars, Doctor, but I don't think there was any water involved." Victorian explorers? Yes, but water like this title suggested? Not really.
She turned to the Doctor after having not heard a reply after a second, only to find the Doctor, wide-eyed staring at the screen with what could only be called dread on her expression. "Doctor?" She asked cautiously, accidently bringing everyone else's attention to the horror-struck Doctor.
"No, no, no, no, no. Please, no. Anything but this. Please, I know I was wrong. They don't need to see it! Please! No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor was muttering to herself frantically, looking up to the roof as if talking to the Tardis, but as ever, the Tardis remained silent.
"Doctor? What's wrong?" River asked her wife gently, sharing a concerned look with Jack. Neither of them knew what the title could be referring too which was worrying in itself if it was terrifying the Doctor this much.
The Doctor only kept muttering to herself and the ever-unresponsive Tardis, "Please, I can't watch this! Please, no. Anything but this. No, no, no, no, no."
"Doctor, come on Doc. Just tell us, I don't think you have a choice here. Surely, it's not that bad?" Jack winced as he registered what he'd said, Last time the Doctor had reacted like this to a video it had been about her getting tortured for 4.5 billion years, it definitely could be that bad.
River shot him a glare quickly, before reaching over to grab her wife's hand and squeeze it in an attempt to help ground her. "Whatever it's about, we're here for you Doctor. Always."
River's quiet but sincere words silenced the Doctor, her face finally turning down towards the rest of the group with a troubled expression. She scanned the room with dark eyes, lingering for a while on the Master who raised an eyebrow in question. The Doctor quickly moved on before letting out a small sigh, the group needed a waring at the very least. "This video is bad. And I don't say that lightly. I made several mistakes, some of the worse mistakes of my life and several people paid for it. I regret what happened and would do almost anything to change it but I can't and I have to love with it. I'm just sorry you'll have to see it."
The group was silent, taking in that speech from the Doctor, as their concerns only rose. This was serious then and they weren't sure how to react just now, unsure what they were actually going to be shown that the Doctor considered so bad.
"Well, with that ominous opening statement, let's start." Jack spoke up, breaking the awkward silence with an attempt to lighten the darker atmosphere. He earned a few smiles but everyone was far too worried about what was coming to relax. They had definitely been lulled into a false sense of security after that last video and they were now paying for it. They could only hope they were prepared to deal with what they were going to be shown this time.
[Central dome]
(An image of a young woman holding a baby on her lap comes up through the static.)
EMILY [on monitor]: Hello, Mum. Susie says hello, don't you, sweetheart? That's it. Give a little wave. Er, oh, what was I going to say? Uncle Soon called in, he says hello. He keeps saying, you must be missing her. I said, she's been gone for over two years now, I'm getting used to it.
The Doctor winced upon seeing Emily on screen, Adelaide's daughter. She'd ruined their family and Adelaide herself because of her own selfishness and desire to win, she'd given in to her insanity, she'd become like the Master in her grief and loneliness and this poor family had paid for it. She'd changed Adelaide's' legacy for the worst and there wasn't anything she could do to change that and she'd regret that for as long as she was alive.
(Static.)
EMILY [on monitor]: Oh, no, it's breaking up. It must be the solar flares.
ADELAIDE: Talk faster.
EMILY [on monitor]: About the deposit on the house. Oh, er, I've spoken to the bank
(Transmission lost.)
The group all shifted uncomfortable, even without the Doctor's reaction at the start they were getting a bad feeling from the start of the video already, the transmission cutting of the family seemed foreboding and it was not helping the terrible pit building in their stomachs.
[Mars]
(The Tardis materialises and the Doctor steps out, wearing a red spacesuit.)
DOCTOR: The red planet.
"Mars." Bill nodded at the screen taking in the familiar planet, her own adventure on Mars had been … interesting, but apparently you could call it pleasant compared to this.
Both River and Jack were looking thoughtful, they were both trying to think of any significant incidents on Mars that the Doctor could have been involved in and that this video could be showing. The title was pulling at their memories but neither had quite connected the dots yet.
[Central dome]
(A man in a white spacesuit leaves an airlock carrying a device with a solar panel attached to the tripod.)
ED [OC]: Sun sets in ten minutes, Yuri. You're going to lose the light.
MIA: That's it. Got you on External Ten.
YURI [on monitor]: Almost there. That's the radial clamp down. One more thing.
ED: Get back inside, you're using power and oxygen.
[Outside the airlock]
YURI: Oh, hold on. Get this on camera. What do you think?
(He holds up the solar panel. It has No Trespassers written on it.)
"What are they up to?" Rose asked, unable to stop her curiosity even with the bad feeling surrounding this video.
The Doctor shrugged; she didn't really know all the specifics (she tried to avoid thinking about it most times). "Experiments. The base was an international venture to research more about Mars." No one missed the use of past tense, whatever happened this video, that base apparently wasn't surviving, which didn't bode well for the people they were watching.
[Central dome]
MIA: Hey, looks good. Nice one, Yuri.
ED: You wasted an entire solar panel just to make that.
YURI [on monitor]: Oh, lighten up. It's a joke.
ED: We come all this way to an empty planet, untouched by civilisation, and what do we do? Put up cheap jokes. That's not funny, that's pollution.
"No that's human nature." Mickey commented, "They'd have to get bored being up there with only a few other people, jokes are healthy."
ADELAIDE: Having fun?
ED: I was just telling him.
ADELAIDE: I expect better of you, Ed. Now get back to work, all of you.
"She's the boss then." Martha grinned, glad to see that a woman was in charge of this base seemingly. From the little they'd seen so far Adelaide didn't seem like she took any nonsense from her teammates.
[Mars]
(The Doctor looks over a crater rim and down onto the Base with its five outlying domes and shuttle pad connected to the central dome by modular walkways.)
DOCTOR: Oh, beautiful.
Several people shook their heads fondly at the Doctor's excitement over seeing the base on Mars, they were very easily entertained by science sometimes.
(Something jabs him in the back.)
GADGET: Rotate slowly.
(He does. It is a little robot.)
GADGET: You are under arrest for trespassing. Gadget gadget.
"You've been arrested by a robot!" Donna laughed at the Doctor who just gave her a thin smile. She was far too focussed and worried about what was going to be shown to really enjoy anything, but she'd had years of practise pretending to be okay.
[Central dome]
(Adelaide points a gun at the Doctor, who is now out of his spacesuit.)
"They really don't want any trespassers." Amy whistled lowly upon seeing the gun pointed at the Doctor.
"How many people can they be expecting, I mean they're on Mars!" Rory asked confused.
"Well, they have guns so they clearly expected something." Amy countered.
No one noticed the dark expression on the Doctor's face.
ADELAIDE: State your name, rank, and intention.
DOCTOR: The Doctor. Doctor. Fun.
Everyone snorted at that, turning to face the Doctor who quickly schooled her face (while her intent had been fun, this whole mess had turned out to be anything but).
"I wouldn't describe your rank as Doctor." Martha smiled.
"Troublemaker, maybe." Rose added, sharing a smile with Martha.
The Doctor spluttered, "I don't make trouble!"
"Yes, you do Spaceman. "But maybe trouble-finder is a better description." Donna spoke up.
"I mean anytime there's trouble you do find it, Doctor." Clara added her own thoughts, the women all shared a grin.
The Doctor groaned, "You're all teaming up against me. This isn't fair!" The small smile on her face was real, even if a bit wobbly as she reminded herself that they would likely all be against her after they saw what she'd done later in the video, and this time it wouldn't be for a bit of fun or a joke.
(A dark-skinned man runs in.)
TARAK: What the hell? It's a man. A man on Mars. How?
"The Tardis." Ryan grinned. The group couldn't deny they enjoyed the space station staff's confusion a little, it felt nice to have the answers for once, even for something simple like this.
STEFFI: He was wearing this thing. I have never seen anything like it.
TARAK: What did Mission Control say?
STEFFI: They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares.
The horrible feeling of something being wrong swiftly took over the group again. "No communications, great. I'm sure that's not going to come back to bite them later." Jack frowned with a glance at the Doctor whose expression was deceptively blank. That didn't sound good by anybody's standards.
ADELAIDE: If we could cut the chat, everyone.
DOCTOR: Actually, chat's second on my list, the first being gun pointed at my head. Which then puts my head second and chat third, I think. Gun, head, chat, yeah. I hate lists. But you could hurt someone with that thing. Just put it down.
"You love to ramble." Donna rolled her eyes at the Doctor who didn't even bother to protest, knowing it would do no good and that she really couldn't fake that much energy right now.
ADELAIDE: Oh, you'd like that.
"I think most people with a gun being pointed at their heads would like the gun to not be pointed at their heads." Bill remarked.
DOCTOR: Can you find me someone who wouldn't?
Bill grinned at the Doctor who matched her thoughts, only to frown when the Doctor didn't even look her way; eye slocked on the screen with a schooled expression. Whatever this episode was going to show them was bad, the only time the Doctor had been like this in the room was with the Timeless Child mess and the Confession Dial, and neither of those had been pleasant. Things were going to get rough this video.
ADELAIDE: Why should I trust you?
DOCTOR: Because I give you my word. And forty million miles away from home, my word is all you've got.
"What are they expecting? A reference list or something?" Yaz asked, sarcastically.
"To be fair, how would you react to some stranger showing up at unexpectedly at your base on a supposedly uninhabited planet?" Graham offered a defence for Adelaide.
Yaz paused for a moment to consider that before sighing, "Okay, I get your point. I'd be hella suspicious. Still, I don't exactly know what she wants from him here."
"I don't think even she knows." Ryan shrugged; Adelaide was probably just trying to protect her team from the seemingly impossible stranger.
ADELAIDE: Keep Gadget covering him.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
DOCTOR: Oh right, so you control that thing. Auto-glove response.
ROMAN: You got it. To the right.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
ROMAN: And to the left.
"That's awesome." Ryan remarked with a grin, his mind racing through to try and work out the mechanics of the thing. It was great to get a glimpse of what they could do in the future and how technology continued to evolve.
DOCTOR: It's a bit flimsy.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
DOCTOR: Does it have to keep saying that?
ROMAN: I think it's funny.
DOCTOR: I hate funny robots.
"Bad experience?" Clara raised an eyebrow; this Doctor was before her one(s) so none of her own experiences could be attributed to his dislike of robots here.
The Doctor just grimaced, she'd encountered a lot of robots over her travels, some friendly and some less than friendly. Give her a few minutes and she could have given a whole lecture on why she hated funny robots but this wasn't really the time for that (as much as she'd like to delay the inevitable), instead she answered, "Don't ask."
MAGGIE [OC]: Excuse me, boss. Computer log says we've got an
[Biodome]
MAGGIE: Extra person on site. How's that possible?
ADELAIDE [OC]: Keep the Biodome closed.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE: And when using open comms, you call me Captain.
MAGGIE [OC]: Yeah, but
"She's out of the loop." Mickey remarked, feeling a bit sorry for the young woman who just wanted info on what was going on.
No one noticed the Doctor's frown as she watched Maggie, Maggie who'd died at only 31, who's she'd been unable to do anything to save.
[Biodome]
MAGGIE: Who is it? Disconnected. She's cut me off. Can you believe her? It's like we're just gardeners.
ANDY: As long as they leave us alone, that's fine with me. Oh, you beauties. Look at this.
The Doctor watched the screen carefully, she'd never seen Andy before he'd been overtaken and from her memories this couldn't be more than a few minutes before the infection took over. At the very least, the video gave her the opportunity to see what had happened at the times/places she hadn't been there, not that was worth watching the horrors of this video.
(He holds off a couple of carrots.)
MAGGIE: Better start planting some more if there's an extra mouth to feed.
ANDY: The very first garden off Earth. Everything brand new. Eden. That's what we should've called this place.
"First garden off Earth?" Rose asked, "I would have thought we'd try to colonise the moon first."
The Doctor shrugged, "There was several attempts to colonise the Moon before this mission to Mars. Some more successful tot others but things always … got in the way." She glanced at Clara, both thinking about the fact that the moon had turned out to be a giant egg and had hatched in 2049, not even a decade before this mission.
(He washes the carrots and takes a bite.)
MAGGIE: It's the Philippines. I bet. If there's someone else on Mars, it's got to be the Philippines. All those stories about them building a rocket. Adelaide's going to love that. Stealing her thunder. Mind you, worth it to see her face.
(Behind her back, Andy starts jerking.)
"What's happening?" Someone muttered. No one answered, everyone just watching in confusion and horror as Andy seemed to change with Maggie still talking oblivious to the danger she was in.
MAGGIE: Or it could be the Spanish. They kept that Spacelink project under wraps. Didn't your sister work for them? Are you all right, mate? Come on, stop mucking about. Andy? Are you okay?
(Andy turns around. His eyes are white, the skin around his mouth has big cracks in it and water is dribbling out. Margaret screams.)
"Oh god." Martha muttered as the group all watched the screen in horror, apparently the action was starting immediately. They didn't know if that was a good thing or not. The Doctor grimaced darkly at the screen, the faces of those infected by the Flood would likely always haunt her, no one on that station had survived outside of herself.
"What is that? What's wrong with him!" Donna turned on the Doctor, demanding answers.
"You just have to watch." The Doctor answered, not giving anything away. This was hard enough without having to explain it all now, they'd just have to watch it unfold on screen. No one liked that but they didn't argue upon seeing the deep tiredness on the Doctor's face, this wasn't something she was going to change her mind on.
[Central dome]
ED: He can't be a World State flight, because we'd know about it. Therefore, he's got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years.
DOCTOR: Right, yes, okay, you got me. So, I'm the Doctor, and you are?
"That'll confuse them." River smiled although it was weakened with her worry over what was going to happen this video. Something was pulling at her memory, telling her she needed to put the pieces together, but she hadn't quite managed it yet. "Most people don't turn up at a remote space station and have no clue who the people are."
"Most people aren't me." The Doctor joked, in an attempt to calm the group who were getting tenser by the second, they still had a while to go before her mistakes were shown after all.
"No, no they aren't." River answered fondly.
ADELAIDE: Oh, come on. We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are.
"I'm pretty sure that's not true actually. The Moon was definitely inhabited first, though those missions didn't always last very long." The Doctor scrunched up her eyebrows in thought, "She probably just means Mars."
DOCTOR: You're the first? The very first humans on Mars? Then this is
BOTH: Bowie Base One.
DOCTOR: Number one. Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater. You've been here how long?
River and Jack's heads snapped to face each other, both connecting the dots finally as the feeling of dread only intensified tenfold. They knew exactly why they'd gotten a bad feeling from this video, while they didn't know the details of the fate of Bowie Base One they knew it had ended very badly, and to know the Doctor was involved somehow? Things were going to be even worse than they'd expected.
Oblivious to the two time-traveller's panicking, the rest of the group was watching intrigued and interested by the new information. "2058? That's only 38 years in the future, that's so close." Ryan spoke up wide eyed.
"There's a couple of rovers up there now, right?" Yaz turned to Graham and Ryan for confirmation.
"Yeah, Perseverance, I think is one. Isn't it studying the rocks and looking for possible water or something? And another one, Leonardo I think is up there too." Graham contributed, travelling with the Doctor had certainly left them all with anew appreciation for science and they'd all kept an eye out on developments in the Space field.
"Yes!" Yaz nodded, continuing on. "It's weird to think we go from that to an actual colonisation mission in less than 40 years. It seems so quick." The rest of the group seemed to share the same kind of awe from that, distracting them temporarily from the horror of what had happened to Andy, and Maggie's uncertain fate.
(The Doctor remembers an article about it.)
ADELAIDE: Seventeen months.
"Long time to be stuck with a small group of people on Mars." Rory muttered.
DOCTOR: 2059. It's 2059, right now. Oh! My head is so stupid. You're Captain Adelaide Brooke. And Ed. You're Deputy Edward Gold. Tarak Ital, MD. Nurse Yuri Kerenski. Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich. Junior Technician Roman Groom. Geologist Mia Bennett. You're only twenty seven years old.
"Fanboy much?" Nardole snickered with Bill joining in. Normally the Doctor would have rolled her eyes or made a comment at least but she was far too distracted with her thoughts on their terrible fates, which they were about to all witness (her for the second time).
(And his memories say they all died in 2059.)
The mood in the room instantly plummeted as the Doctor introduced the group, his memories flashing back to their obituary's all saying they died in 2059. Whatever they were watching was going to apparently end in the deaths of all these people, and the Doctor was very likely going to be there for it all. A few couldn't help but think about is the mistake the Doctor mentioned had contributed to the deaths of the crew.
ADELAIDE: As I said, Doctor, everyone knows our names.
DOCTOR: Oh, they'll never forget them. What's the date, today? What is it? Tell me the exact date.
ADELAIDE: November 21st, 2059.
(Bowie Base destroyed. World in mourning. Nuclear blast crater - November 21 2059.)
"That's not good." Jack was serious in the way he inly was in severe situations, turning to five the Doctor a stern look, "You need to leave."
The Doctor grimaced, "You know it's too late for that."
"That's what I hate about this situation." Jack answered back. He knew all too well about dealing with delicate events like this, and he had a funny feeling the destruction of this base was a fixed event; he many not remember all his time with the Time Agency but he knew better than to mess with those kinds of events.
DOCTOR: Right. Okay, fine.
STEFFI: Is there something wrong?
MIA: What's so important about my age?
"God, she's 27." Donna muttered, it hitting her (and many of the others) that those people were all going to die today, and most of them had barely started to live their lives.
DOCTOR: I should go. I really should go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry with all of my hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when I've got no choice. It's been an honour. Seriously, a very great honour to meet you all. The Martian pioneers.
(He shakes all their hands, except Roman who has the auto-gloves on, so he pads Gadget instead.)
The group all blinked, instantly off kilter. They'd never seen the Doctor just give up and retreat like that even in bad situations and it shocked them all even if they knew that's what the Doctor should do in this situation. Something must have also gone very wrong with his plans to leave otherwise they wouldn't be watching this.
DOCTOR: Oh, thank you. Ah.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
(He salutes Adelaide.)
"You're just going to leave knowing their all going to die?" Amy asked tone serious as she stared down the Doctor.
"It's a fixed point, Amelia." The Doctor grimaced. Amy's face softened at that comment, sharing a glance with Rory and River, they all knew what fixed points were like and how they shouldn't be messed with, but still … it felt wrong to just leave like that.
The Doctor sighed, this event, this mess and her own stupid selfish decisions were part of the reason she'd been so firm on not avoiding fixed points. It had been a key part in her resonating for just giving in and dyeing as she was supposed to at Lake Silencio, but at the end of the day she hadn't. It had been the second time she'd messed with a fixed point in time, only that time it had gone far better than this time.
DOCTOR: Thank you. There's the other two. Hold on. Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone.
ED: Maggie, if you want to meet the only new human being that you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look.
(A roar comes over the speaker.)
"And that's where you get distracted and don't get out when you should." Bill grimaced giving the Doctor a knowing look, they were predictable (sometimes) at least.
"Creepy noises, why do we always go towards the creepy noises?" Nardole shook his head, resigned despite his fear.
"Tell me about it." Rory sighed, giving Nardole a sympathetic look.
MIA: What was that?
DOCTOR: Oh, I really should go.
"You should." River gave the Doctor a look. The Doctor in turn put up her hands in surrender, pointing at the screen to remind River that this was in the past and she could do nothing about it now.
ED: This is Central. Biodome report immediately.
ADELAIDE: Show me the Biodome.
ED: Internal cameras are down.
ADELAIDE: Show me the exterior.
(The lights are going out in the biodome.)
ADELAIDE: I'm going over. Doctor, with me.
DOCTOR: Yeah, I'm sorry. Er, I'd love to help, but I'm leaving right now.
ADELAIDE: Take his spacesuit, lock it up. This started as soon as you arrived, so you're not going anywhere except with me.
"Oh, and now you're a prisoner, because things can't get much worse." Martha sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"At least it's not entirely the Doctor's fault for cone." Mickey offered with a shrug, the Doctor perked up at that pointing to Mickey and nodding. She'd tried her best to leave for once, but she'd been prevented which wasn't her fault – so River stop giving her that look!
[Tunnel 1]
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
ADELAIDE: What's so important about Mia's age? You said she's only twenty seven. Why does it matter? What did you mean?
"That's going to be a fun one to talk your way out of." Yaz grimaced. It wasn't like the Doctor could tell the truth; she didn't think 'oh I'm focused on her age because you're all going to die today!' would go down well.
DOCTOR: Oh, I just open my mouth and words come out. They don't make much sense.
"You finally admit it." Rose grinned.
TARAK: Telling me.
DOCTOR: Thank you, Doctor.
TARAK: Any time, Doctor.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
"Oh, you're making friends!" Clara mocked good naturedly, although it left a bad taste in her mouth as she remembered they were all going to die within the day.
[Central dome]
(Gadget is relaying the scene back.)
DOCTOR [on monitor]: I hate robots. Did I say?
"Don't let poor K9 hear you say that!" River smirked at her wife, trying to get the Doctor's attention as she'd been focused on the screen with a scary intensity and blank expression. It was concerning to say the least, especially knowing where she was. The Doctor didn't even give a sign she'd heard River.
ROMAN: Yeah, and he's not too fond of you. What's wrong with robots?
[Tunnel 1]
DOCTOR: It's not the robots, it's the people. Dressing them up and giving them silly voices. Like you're reducing them.
ROMAN [OC]: Yeah. Friend of mine
[Central dome]
ROMAN: She made her domestic robot look like a dog.
[Tunnel 1]
DOCTOR: Ah well, dogs. That's different.
"Of course, it is." Rose shook her head fondly, aware of how attached the Doctor was to K9. She (alongside most of the group) could understand the Doctor's apprehension about robots, all having had a bad experience with them at some point; the Clockwork droids, Handbots and Vardy being a few examples (not to mention the Daleks and Cybermen, if they could simply be considered 'robots').
ROMAN [OC]: But I adapted Gadget out of the
[Central dome]
ROMAN: Worker drones. Those things are huge. They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got a strength capacity of fifteen tons.
ADELAIDE [OC]: The channel is open for essential
[Tunnel 1]
ADELAIDE: Communications only.
[Central dome]
ROMAN: Sorry. Love those drones.
"Yeah, we were getting that much, mate." Graham said.
[Tunnel 1]
DOCTOR: I've read all that stuff about you, Captain Adelaide. But one thing they never said. Was it worth it, the mission?
ADELAIDE: We've got excellent results from the soil analysis.
DOCTOR: No, but all of it. Because they say you sacrificed everything. Devoted your whole life to get here.
"You might want to be a bit more careful with your wording Doctor, you're already on thin ice." Jack raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. At this rate Adelaide was going to figure out something was wrong or ask how he had so much knowledge of things he shouldn't (especially as he hadn't originally known where he was or who they were). The Doctor gave a vague shrug but her eyes never left the screen.
ADELAIDE: It's been chaos back home. Forty long years. The climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. Then to fly above that, to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight? Yes. It's worth it.
"Oil apocalypse?" Rory questioned, feeling nervous at the not so positive mention of the close future (or rather close from before he and Amy got sent back in time).
"Don't worry about it." The Doctor tore her eyes away from the screen to give Rory a small reassuring smile (which only wobbled a little).
"I feel like that's something we should be worrying about." Bill interjected, several people nodding along.
The Doctor's smile fell a little, glancing at the screen briefly, before almost visibly deciding this was something the group wanted addressed now. "I'm not saying climate change isn't something to be worried about obviously, I just mean there's nothing you can do in this room right now so don't dwell on it. The human race isn't always the best in terms of dealing with this crisis but people are and do make a difference, people are speaking up and things are manageable if we actually listen to the scientists and work together to help." She glanced across the room, taking in all the listening faces (and ignoring the Master's roll of his eyes, she didn't want to deal with him any earlier this video than she had to). "And if that fails to comfort you; just remember the planet will be okay. It has survived periods of far more intense climate shifts and will always recover eventually. The human race (and other species) less so, but the planet will be fine, just not maybe humans."
"I … That's … You know I can't actually tell if that's comforting or not." Yaz decided.
DOCTOR: Ah. That's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul.
ADELAIDE: What's that?
(They run to a figure lying on the floor.)
ADELAIDE: It's Maggie.
DOCTOR: Don't touch her!
TARAK: I know the procedure. Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie? It's okay, she's still breathing. She's alive. Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full medpack.
The people on screen reaching Maggie brought the group back to an awareness of the actual danger in the video which they had briefly been distracted from. The group let out a breath upon hearing she was alive, they still had no idea what had actually happened to Adam to make him suddenly change like that but at least Maggie was alive, a dark part of their thoughts added 'for the moment', after all the entire station was supposed to be destroyed today.
[Sickbay]
YURI: I've got it. Medpack on its way.
[Central dome]
ED: I'm going to help!
STEFFI: In the absence of the Captain, you're in charge, sir! You've got to stay in the Dome.
(Too late, he's gone.)
"They're getting separated and we don't know where Adam went." Clara announced with worry in her eyes. The feeling of dread had started creeping around again.
[Tunnel 1]
(Ed and Yuri arrive at the double with a stretcher.)
DOCTOR: Don't touch her. Use the gloves.
TARAK: Do what he says. Get her to Sickbay. Put her in isolation.
ADELAIDE: We're going on to the Biodome. Tarak, with me. Yuri can take care of her. Ed, go back. Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
ED: Captain, you're going to need me. Andy is the only other crew member out here, and if that wasn't an accident, then he's gone wild.
ADELAIDE: You've deserted your post. Consider that an official warning. Now get back to work. Doctor.
"She's serious about her job." Donna said.
"She likely needs to be in this sort of field. And he did abandon post, that can be dangerous in emergency situations like this." The Doctor shrugged, she felt an all-new understanding and sympathy for Adelaide, having noticed that a lot of people (namely humans) treat her less serious now because of her perceived gender. To get to where she was, and be in charge of the base and mission, Adelaide would have had to not only be the best but likely work that much harder just to prove it.
[Central dome]
STEFFI: Captain, that sound we heard from the Biodome. I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, it's, it's Andy.
[Biodome airlock]
STEFFI [OC]: It registers as the voice print of Andy Stone.
ADELAIDE: Understood. Double check, thanks.
TARAK: Air pressure stabilised.
"What the hell has happened to the guy?" Amy asked, she was already on edge because of the Doctor's reactions to and behaviour throughout the video so far, the lack of answers and clear danger really wasn't helping calm down. No one had any answers for her, and the one person that did refused to say anything.
[Biodome]
ADELAIDE: Andrew? Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooke. Andy, report. I need to see you. Where are you?
(The Doctor sonics a computer terminal and the lights come back on.)
DOCTOR: There you go.
ADELAIDE: What's that device?
DOCTOR: Screwdriver.
"I'm not sure she'd going to take that as an answer." Martha raised an eyebrow at the Doctor who didn't even glance her way.
Mickey shrugged, distracting Martha from the Doctor's lack of answer/expression; "I don't know. She's in a stressful and mysterious situation she might juts go with it. Plus, the Doctor's already proven to be a weird one."
ADELAIDE: Are you the Doctor or the janitor?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Sounds like me. The maintenance man of the universe.
"Another title to add to your long list." Jack joked, nudging the Doctor slightly. The Doctor only grimaced, thinking of a different title she had tried to claim during this video.
ADELAIDE: You stay with me. Don't step out of my sight. Tarak, go to External Door South. Make sure it's intact.
TARAK: Yes, ma'am.
DOCTOR: Quite an achievement. First flower on Mars in ten thousand years. And you're growing veg!
"Ten thousand years? Are you saying there were flowers on Mars ten thousand years ago?" Bill asked, curiosity winning out over everything else.
"Oh yes, very nice place back then. Snow capped green hills, lovely canals and greenery. Shame it all fell apart." The Doctor answered almost absentmindedly, unable to hide a grimace as she mentioned the canals, water had been the whole reason this mess occurred after all.
ADELAIDE: It's that lot. They're already planning Christmas dinner. Last year it was dehydrated protein, this year they want the real thing.
DOCTOR: Still, fair enough. Christmas.
Everyone was thinking the same thing even if no one actually voiced it; no one on that base was going to live to see Christmas.
ADELAIDE: If we must.
DOCTOR: You've got birds!
ADELAIDE: It's part of the project, to keep the insect population down.
DOCTOR: Good sign.
"Why are the birds a good sign?" Ryan blinked not understanding what the Doctor was talking about.
"Well, they're still alive, aren't they?" It was Nardole that actually answered, the Doctor far too focused on the screen again. "The thing wasn't just trying to kill everything."
"If it wasn't trying to kill everything, what does it want?" Rose declared quietly, the tension in the atmosphere rising again.
ADELAIDE: In what way?
DOCTOR: Well, they're still alive.
YURI [OC]: Captain, good news.
"Good news would be nice for a change." Rory sighed, that was different from how things normally went.
Amy snorted darkly, "Don't worry, I'm sure it won't last long."
[Sickbay]
YURI: It's Maggie. She's awake. She's back with us. Hey. How are you, soldier? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?
MAGGIE: I was just working. Then I woke up here.
The group all let out a breath at seeing Maggie up and seemingly okay, even if they could feel apprehension and dread sinking further into the pit of their stomachs – something was wrong.
[Biodome]
ADELAIDE: What about Andy? We can't find him.
[Sickbay]
ADELAIDE [OC]: Was he all right?
MAGGIE: I don't know. I just
ADELAIDE [OC]: If you remember anything, let me know straight away.
[Central dome]
ED: Yuri, does she know how she ended up in the tunnel?
"That's a good point. They were in the dome when Andy attacked her. Did he drag her out there?" Martha theorised; face scrunched up in thought.
"Why though? Why attack her and then leave her there for them to find?" Rose questioned. Then she and Martha exchanged a look both reaching the conclusion at the same time.
"Unless it's a trap." Martha finished for the pair. The group turned back to the screen with apprehension, something was very wrong.
[Biodome]
ADELAIDE: And keep the comms clear.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE [OC]: Everything goes through me, got that?
[Sickbay]
MAGGIE: Come on. Just let me out of here. I'm fine. Just groggy.
YURI: You know the rules. Twenty four hours.
[Biodome]
TARAK: Andy? Andy! Andy! There you are. Are you all right?
(Andy has his back to Tarak, and he is soaking wet, pouring onto the floor.)
TARAK: Andy. Andrew. Look at me.
"Oh god." Mickey muttered, watching the screen with growing horror.
"Don't get any closer." Rory added, his own horror clear. The picture of not-Andy dripping like that was terrifying to say the least and they still didn't even know what was wrong with him or what 'he' wanted.
[Sickbay]
(Yuri is watching a man speaking Russian on the monitor.)
MAGGIE: Is that your brother?
YURI: It's only a repeat. The solar flares are still up. Are you okay?
MAGGIE: Yeah. Just, you know.
YURI: He makes me laugh, though. It's his husband. He spends money like an idiot! Last year, for Mikhail's birthday, he said don't buy me anything.
Several people let out little smiles at the very causal mention of the gay couple, it was nice to see it so casually mentioned like it didn't matter (because it shouldn't) in such the near future.
(Behind Yuri, Maggie starts to jerk.)
"Oh no." Rose muttered, eyes widening. Something was wrong with Maggie too.
YURI: Let's save money. Georg says fine, okay. His birthday comes around, turns out Georg has bought him a car. Top of the range. And the thing is, he's used Mikhail's credit stamp. So Mik's saying, that means I bought it myself. Georg says it's the thought that counts.
(Maggie's lips are cracked. She stops jerking.)
No one could enjoy the story, all far too focused watching Maggie's transformation in fascinated horror.
MAGGIE: Where does he live?
YURI: Oh, just outside Dagestan.
MAGGIE: Where's that?
YURI On the Caspian Sea. Here you go.
(He pulls up a map.)
MAGGIE: By the sea.
YURI: Well, technically it's more of a lake.
MAGGIE: Earth is so much water.
"They're fascinated with water." Donna muttered mostly to herself, eyes scrunched up in thought, that was interesting even if she still didn't know why. The Doctor was just watching the screen with a carefully schooled expression; she hadn't seen this the first time around and it was horrible to watch especially knowing the outcome.
YURI: Yeah. Just look at her. Forty million miles away.
MAGGIE: It has so much beauty.
The Master spoke up for the first time in a while (several people mourned his silence), "There are so many better planets than Earth." He manged to inject a lot of disgust into the final word, earning glares from all of Earth's inhabitants and a sigh from the Doctor.
(Her voice changes, as if she is many in one.)
MAGGIE: We should like that world.
(Yuri turns around and sees Maggie, water pouring out her mouth.)
"It's an infection." Martha realised, going all doctor and analysing everything they'd seen so far.
"And she's talking in the plural." Jack added, nodding along as he tried to scroll through his mental list of creatures he had run into/knew about for any matches.
"That's why Andy left her there." Clara announced, "He infected her and left her there for the others to find, so she could find out some information and infect others."
"But what's their end goal?" Amy joined the conversation, "They aren't trying to kill everyone yet, just infect them. But what's the point?" The group were all thinking about that, mentally coming up with theories and dismissing them just as quickly.
The Doctor watched in fascination, starting to fidgeting in her seat; she loved seeing her friends like this, it was one of the reasons she travelled with people (though she would prefer they didn't have to theorise about an alien species because they were in danger). She was impressed by how quickly they were piecing things together, although they did have the advantage of seeing everything going on and not being in actual physical danger. Still, she couldn't decide whether she wanted them to keep taking and delay the inevitable or she just wanted it all to be over with as quickly as possible.
"The water!" Donna announced (loudly) suddenly, drawing the room's attention to her. "They're dripping water, Maggie was obsessed with the water on Earth when Yuri mentioned it, and Andy became infected after washing the carrot. Something's wrong with the water on Mars." She finished her reasoning to find everyone nodding along with her, eyes wide as they realised that she was likely correct, it explained far too much.
"They want to go to Earth." Yaz announced, significantly quieter than Donna but still audible to everyone. "That's why their infecting everyone, so they can get back to Earth and the water there." The group was quiet after that, the significance of what was going on hitting them. If those things got to the water on Earth everyone would get infected very quickly and no one could do much to stop them.
YURI: This is Sickbay. We have a situation. Maggie's condition has. I don't know. I don't know what it is. It's water, just pouring out.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Yuri, calm down.
"I don't think that's going to help much." Bill grimaced.
"Would you be calm in that situation?" Ryan asked her.
Bill shook her head immediately, "No, I'd get the hell out of there."
[Biodome]
ADELAIDE: Just tell me what's happened to her.
YURI [OC]: The skin is
[Sickbay]
YURI: Sort of broken around the mouth. And she's exuding
[Biodome]
YURI [OC]: Water, like she's drowning.
"She's brave to just stay there and actually be able to explain what's going on." River said. Yuri may be brave, but that bravery wasn't going to do anything to save her.
ADELAIDE: Tarak, this area's unsafe. We're going back. Tarak? Tarak!
DOCTOR: Where was he?
"God, it's spreading quickly." Rory muttered, the group all having figured out that Andy had likely infected Tarak already.
[Central dome]
ED: Yuri, keep her contained. Seal the door at maximum. I'm on my way!
"He's ignoring orders and running straight into the danger zone." Rose grimaced, that wasn't going to end well.
[Biodome]
(The Doctor and Adelaide see Tarak on his knees with Andy's hand on his head. Water is pouring from both of them.)
"Too late." Mickey commented quietly as the pair on screen found Tarak with Andy. The situation was deteriorating very quickly.
DOCTOR: Andy, just leave him alone.
ADELAIDE: Step away from him.
DOCTOR: I can help, I promise. I can help. Just leave that man alone.
ADELAIDE: I order you to stop. Stop, or I'll shoot.
"Two very different approaches." Amy joked even as she grimaced. "I don't think he's going to listen to either though."
DOCTOR: Andy, I'm asking you to take your hand away from him and listen to me.
(Andy releases Tarak.)
"I stand corrected." Amy muttered; she really hadn't thought that would work. The grimace the Doctor sent her told her that t hadn't.
DOCTOR: There now, that's better, hmm? So, you must be Andy. Hello.
(Tarak looks at them. He has been transformed, too.)
"Far too late." Mickey repeated his words from moments before.
"Run." Martha said, glancing at the Doctor in the room in concern.
DOCTOR: We've got to go.
(The chase is on. Adelaide and the Doctor get to the airlock first.)
DOCTOR: Set the seals on maximum!
(They get into the airlock just before Andy fires a jet of water at them.)
"Thank god." Clara muttered as they saw Adelaide and the Doctor reach the airlock before Andy could get them. The tension in the room was high, but the pair were at least safe for the second from Andy. Still the rest of the group was all split up, some not even aware of the danger they were in, and the infection seemed to spread quickly. Things weren't looking promising for anyone. It didn't help that they knew the fate of the station and people, usually they didn't know how an adventure ended unless they were involved, but this time they al knew the eventual outcome, and it didn't make watching the video better or less stressful.
[Sickbay]
ED: What the hell?
[Central dome]
MIA: That's not Maggie. What's happened to her? Yuri, what is she?
"I don't think Yuri has any answers to those questions." Bill muttered, quite frankly they'd all appreciate answers to those questions too.
STEFFI: Captain, we need you back here.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Just tell me that Maggie is contained.
[Biodome airlock]
ADELAIDE: Can you confirm, Ed?
[Sickbay]
ED: Confirmed. She's locked in.
"They have all three of them contained at least." Ryan said.
"For now." Yaz added darkly.
Ryan immediately turned to give her a look, "Did you have to add that?"
"Yes."
ADELAIDE [OC]: Keep surveillance till I get back.
[Biodome airlock]
ADELAIDE: And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets. Don't consume anything.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE: Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water.
[Biodome airlock]
ADELAIDE: Don't even touch it. Not one drop.
"Smart but not a good long-term plan." Martha nodded at Adelaide's orders. It made sense for the moment, an would give them a chance to try and figure out some sort of plan but they couldn't last very long without drinking, especially if they would have to be running to escape.
DOCTOR: Can you talk? Human beings are sixty percent water, which makes them the perfect host.
ADELAIDE: What for?
"Nothing good." Graham said. The group all grimaced at the reminder of their water content; that wasn't a good thing to remember when faced with a water virus/infection like the others were displaying.
DOCTOR: I don't know. I never will. Because I've got to go. Whatever's started here, I can't see it to the end. I can't.
Several people raised eyebrows at that, glancing at the Doctor in surprise. They hadn't expected the Doctor to still be trying to leave, normally when they were this far involved in a situation their curiosity and desire to help people took over and stopped them being able to leave, despite the danger. Whatever was going on with Bowie Base One, it was serious enough that the Doctor was going against what they normally did, which was very worrying, especially taking into account that their attempts clearly hadn't worked.
(Andy and Tarak start gushing water at the airlock seals.)
"They're trying to get out." Nardole pointed out.
"Kind of noticed that Nardole." The Doctor remarked back.
"Just thought I'd mention it, it wouldn't be the first time you've missed the obvious after all." Nardole snarked.
"Ooh, burn!" Bill snickered.
DOCTOR: This thing's airtight, yeah?
ADELAIDE: And therefore watertight.
DOCTOR: It depends how clever the water is.
"Thank you for that ominous statement." Rose grimaced, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's apparent need for dramatics.
(Bang.)
ADELAIDE: They're fusing the system.
"Now might be the time to run." Jack decided, glancing concerned between the Doctor in the room and the screen. He had the horrible feeling the worst was still to come, and it was going to hit hard.
DOCTOR: Abandon ship!
(They run out into the walkway. Andy and Tarak get through the airlock and chase them.)
"Well, that didn't last long." Rory sighed, of course with their luck the infected staff couldn't remain trapped for any longer than five minutes.
[Tunnel 1]
(They get back to where Gadget is standing guard. The Doctor gets out his sonic screwdriver.)
ADELAIDE: Doctor, we haven't got time.
DOCTOR: They can run faster than us. We need a lift.
"What are you up too?" River asked her wife confused by her actions on screen. It wasn't often the Doctor gave up on the running. The Doctor simply waved to the screen in answer, all would be explained in a moment.
[Central dome]
(Whatever the Doctor is doing gives Roman a jolt.)
ROMAN: Hey!
The Doctor winced at that, having not thought about how it might affect Roman, being far too focused on getting away from the infected staff members.
[Tunnel 1]
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
DOCTOR: Get on behind me.
ADELAIDE: That thing goes at two miles an hour.
DOCTOR: Not any more. Trust me.
"You increased its speed." River realised, turning to her wife with an approving look, that was a clever idea. The Doctor gave her a small proud grin before her attention was stolen back by the video.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
DOCTOR: Gadget gadget.
(Flames come out of Gadget's exhaust. Roman shakes like he's being electrocuted. Gadget zooms off leaving burning tyre marks.)
Several people winced as they saw poor Roman being affected by the Doctor's adjustments to Gadget, but they were happy to see the pair get out of their and further away from the infected people.
"Guess robots aren't so bad after all." Mickey grinned at the Doctor pointedly, the Doctor rolled her eyes a bit before turning back to the screen again.
ADELAIDE: The Central Dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals. There's no way they can get in.
"That's what you thought about the other doors too." Ryan muttered with concern. He didn't understand what Hardinger seals were but based on Adelaide's hope it was likely good enough to stop the infected getting through, or so they could hope.
DOCTOR: Come on. Come on.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
DOCTOR: Come on. Come on.
ADELAIDE: I thought you hated robots.
DOCTOR: I do.
(They get Gadget into the airlock just before Andy and Tarak arrive.)
The group all let out a breath at seeing the pair get away and seal the airlock before they were caught. They were still in lots of danger and missing plenty of answers but they were (hopefully) in less imminent danger than they had been moments prior which with these adventures was often something to celebrate. There were still other members of the base in danger too though.
[Airlock]
ADELAIDE: We're safe. It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in.
DOCTOR: Water is patient, Adelaide. Water just waits. It wears down the clifftops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins. Come on.
"Very dramatic." Nardole commented.
"And ominous." Bill added, the pair sharing a glance before they both turned to the Doctor.
"Not very helpful." The Doctor sighed at the pair, she hated when they teamed up against her.
"Neither was your statement." River joined in with a smile. The Doctor had to resist the urge to throw her hand up in the air as everyone started teaming up against her again.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE: Biodome Tunnel is out of bounds. Andy and Tarak are infected.
[Passageway]
ADELAIDE: Repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if they make the slightest move, tell me.
"So that's three infected, and what?" Yaz mentally tallied up the staff members on base and did the mental math, "And six not affected, not counting the Doctor. That's not very good odds with a third of the station being infected."
"You really did the maths for that." Ryan grinned at her.
"Oh, shut up." Yaz shot back as Graham sighed, he didn't know how he dealt with the two of them sometimes (especially when the Doctor joined in their antics).
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE [OC]: I'm going to the Medical Dome.
"Time to get some answers." Donna nodded approvingly, very eager for some herself. They may have theorised what the water infected people wanted, but confirmation would be nice and they still didn't know what they actually were or where they had come from.
[Tunnel 2]
DOCTOR: Blimey, it's a distance. You could do with bikes in this place.
ADELAIDE: Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel.
DOCTOR: Yeah, I know. But bikes.
"At least it keeps you fit, walking everywhere." Rory shrugged.
"I mean it's a given that they're in decent shape if they're on this mission." Amy argued, "They would have had to go through training before being allowed to go."
[Sickbay]
ADELAIDE: Has that door got a Hardinger seal?
ED: No, just basic.
ADELAIDE: Then the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?
"They'd have to be fast if Maggie is anywhere near as quick as the other two." Rose said with a bit of worry, they'd barely escaped Andy and Tarak and no one knew if that luck would hold up twice.
ED: Pulse is low. Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire.
ADELAIDE: Can she talk?
YURI: Don't know. She was talking before we noticed the change, but
"Interesting." Martha muttered, "This is probably the only time they're going to get a chance to get some answers with minimal danger. They just need to be careful and not push it." Things could very quickly go wrong if they kept pushing it and didn't retreat at the first sign of danger.
ADELAIDE: Maggie, can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?
DOCTOR: Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn.
The room all turned to stare at the Doctor, bewildered by the seeming gibberish he'd just come out with. Only the Master seemed to recognise the language and understood what the Doctor had said.
The Doctor blinked upon seeing the whole room's attention on her, "What?"
"What the hell was that, Spaceman!?" Donna exclaimed voicing the thoughts (if not the exact wording) of the group.
"It's Ancient North Martian. Thought it was worth a shot, not that its used much anymore." The Doctor answered with a vague shrug, she wasn't surprised that River and Jack had never heard it – not many people spoke it anymore. The group just gave her incredulous stares before deciding that was just typical Doctor behaviour and it was better to not question it any further.
ED: What language is that?
DOCTOR: Ancient North Martian.
ADELAIDE: Don't be ridiculous.
ED: It's like she recognised it.
"So, whatever it is, it's old and Martian. Or at least been around on Mars long enough to have heard it before." Clara theorised; the group was all watching the screen carefully trying to piece together the missing pieces of the puzzle in a way to distract themselves from the foreboding feeling still eating away at them. They hadn't seen the Doctor's big mistake yet and it was making them more and more nervous as the danger got worse.
DOCTOR: And her eyes are different. They're clear, like she's closer to human.
ED: Not close enough for me.
DOCTOR: Where do you get your water from?
ADELAIDE: The ice field. That's why we chose the crater. We're on top of an underground glacier.
"There's glaciers on Mars?" Ryan asked, wide eyed. He hadn't been expecting to learn as much about Mars as he was during this video.
The Doctor nodded, "Oh yes. They're deep underground in your time but there used to be massive glaciers on the surface."
DOCTOR: Tons of water. Marvellous.
YURI: But every single drop is filtered. It's screened. It's safe.
"Clearly not." Amy snorted.
DOCTOR: Looks like it, yeah.
ED: If something was frozen down there. A viral life form held in the ice for all those years.
DOCTOR: Look at her mouth. All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it creates water. Tell me what you want.
YURI: She was looking at the screen. At Earth. She wanted Earth. A world full of water.
"Okay, they know what they want now. Just need to figure out how to stop them now." Mickey nodded, it was always an important step to figure out what the 'enemy' wanted, because you could then stop them from getting it.
ED: Captain, With me.
(Adelaide and Ed turn their backs on Maggie and walk away.)
ED: I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading. That demands Action Procedure One.
The tension in the room rose again, "I don't like the sound of that." Bill declared, when people started talking in hushed tones about procedures like that, it was rarely anything good.
ADELAIDE: Do you think I don't know that?
ED: I think you need reminding.
ADELAIDE: Yeah.
ED: Well, at least I'm good for something.
ADELAIDE: Now and again.
ED: That's almost a compliment. Things must be serious.
DOCTOR: Sorry, sorry, but, Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?
ADELAIDE: We're going home. This is Captain Brooke. I'm declaring Action One. Repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One with immediate effect. Evacuate the base.
"But isn't that what the things want? They want an opportunity to get to Earth and the evacuation is going to give them exactly that." Rory shook his head at Adelaide's decision.
"Yes, but what else is she supposed to do? They can't stay around long term if the water is infected." Martha argued with a concerned look. Adelaide was stuck between a rock and a hard place; on one hand they couldn't stay around with this threat, but on the other they would have to be very careful with the evacuation to avoid bringing any of the infected home. Then the group all remembered that no one was making it home – they all died. The evacuation must have gone very wrong.
[Central dome]
STEFFI: I'll store the central computer. Mia, strip the cargo down to essentials. Roman, on your feet.
ROMAN: But we came all this way.
"You did and you spent 17 months there but this situation is too dangerous to stick around for." Clara declared.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
STEFFI: And you can kiss that robot goodbye. It's too heavy. Now shove it in storage and hurry up.
"Poor gadget." Yaz frowned, that robot had saved the Doctor and Adelaide's lives and they would just have to abandon it.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?
STEFFI: It's a nine month flight. It'll take us at least three hours to load up everything we need.
"Nine months?!" Bill exclaimed wide-eyed, "Yeah, no thanks, not for me." Several people were rapidly nodding their heads in agreement. Nine months on s space ship with a small group of people was a serious commitment. At least the Tardis was huge and they had several stops, and could stop when they wanted too – apparently, they were travelling in luxury.
ADELAIDE [OC]: You've got twenty minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak.
STEFFI: Still in the Biodome tunnel. They're just standing there, like they're waiting.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Keep an eye on them.
"Waiting on what?" Rose asked concerned. The group was all thinking the same – were they waiting on Maggie? As she was the only one not completely trapped at the moment.
[Sickbay]
ADELAIDE: And make that twenty minutes fifteen. Ed, line up the shuttle. Go straight to ignition status.
ED: Doing it now.
YURI: But what about Maggie?
ADELAIDE: She stays behind. We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle.
The room shared uneasy looks as the group on screen started preparations. They all understood the need to leave Maggie behind as much as they hated the idea, but they were all more concerned with the impending destruction of the base and deaths of the remaining crew. No matter the preparations the group were undertaking none of them were getting out of their alive, they could only watch to see how the cards would fall.
DOCTOR: Of course, the only problem is
ADELAIDE: Thank you, Doctor. Your spacesuit will be returned. And good luck to you.
DOCTOR: The problem is, this thing is clever. It didn't infect the birds or the insects in the biodome, it chose the humans. You were chosen. And I told you, Adelaide, water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her, no doubt so it could infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means
Martha's eyes widened as she understood what the Doctor was trying to hint at, "It could be dormant in any of them. They've all been drinking the same water for a while. Unless there's an actual trigger, anyone could be infected and you wouldn't know until they become active. Any of them could be sleeper agents." The group all shared worried glances – because things could just keep getting worse and worse apparently.
ADELAIDE: Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water.
DOCTOR: And if you take that back to Earth, one drop. Just one drop.
"You need to figure out if there's a trigger and who is infected before you leave." River declared giving the Doctor a worried look.
"They don't have time to waste." Jack disagreed, shaking his head. He knew they had to stop the infection spreading to Earth but they were on a very tight time limit with the evacuation and temporarily trapped infected. The group were worryingly starting to see why no one had made it off of Mars; time was ticking and they had far too much to do.
ADELAIDE: But we're only presuming infection. If we can find out how this thing got through. When it got through. Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice field.
"Splitting up is maybe the only way they'll have a chance of figuring everything out." Rory grimaced.
"It's also the best way to get into trouble. Have they never seen a horror movie?" Amy argued.
DOCTOR: Right. I should leave. Finally, I should leave. Yuri, me old mate, no point in me seeing the ice field. No point at all. No. Adelaide!
"Your curiosity and need to investigate and get involved is going to be your downfall." Clara stared the Doctor down; for some reason this mess was giving her a similar feeling to the mess she and Eyebrows had dealt with in that underwater mining base, and she hated that.
The Doctor met her eyes for the first time in a while, uncharacteristically serious and answered with an ominous statement that sent chills down the spines of the group, "You have no idea."
[Tunnel 3]
(The Doctor catches up with Adelaide.)
DOCTOR: All I'm saying is, bikes. Little foldaway bikes. Don't weigh a thing.
Yaz snorted, "You're going to die on that mountain."
[Sickbay]
(Yuri wheels his trolley of medical supplies to the door.)
YURI: I'm sorry.
(He goes out, turning off the power and sealing the door. Maggie goes to short out the isolation room door.)
"Great she's escaped already." Mickey sighed.
"I mean we were expecting it." Rose shrugged, a worried look on her face despite the seemingly unaffected attitude.
"It's still not good news. It might be a while before any of the crew notices giving her time to free the others." Donna frowned. Things weren't looking good. Anytime they thought the situation couldn't possibly get worse they were proven wrong.
[Central dome]
ROMAN: Even if she gets past the Medical Dome, she'll never get past the Hardinger seal at this end, right?
ED: So we keep saying. Camera's down. We've lost her.
(Maggie gets out of the isolation chamber and calls out. Andy and Tarak hear her, and walk back down Tunnel 1.)
The group all grimaced as Maggie made her call, with Andy and Tarak apparently understanding the scream and moving somewhere with purpose.
"At least they know she's escaped." Graham tried to find a silver lining in a frankly terrible situation.
Bill snorted, "Maybe, but they're practically challenging the universe with that comment about the others escaping."
[Water extraction module]
DOCTOR: They tell legends of Mars from long ago, of a fine and noble race who built an empire out of snow. The Ice Warriors.
Those that had encountered Ice Warriors before, namely Bill, Clara and Jack all grimaced at the reminder of the Martian warriors, they weren't exactly pleasant to encounter.
ADELAIDE: I haven't got time for stories.
"Stories are important." Amy muttered, glancing at her husband, daughter and daughter-in-law.
DOCTOR: Perhaps they found something down there. Used their might and their wisdom to freeze it.
ADELAIDE: Doctor, we need to find any sort of change in the water process. We've got to date the infection.
COMPUTER: Access denied.
ADELAIDE: You don't look like a coward, but all you've wanted to do is leave. You know so much about us.
"She's suspicious." Ryan said.
"Who wouldn't be with the Doctor's behaviour?" Yaz asked incredulous.
DOCTOR: Well, you're famous.
ADELAIDE: It's like you know more.
DOCTOR: This moment, this precise moment in time, it's like. I mean, it's only a theory, what do I know, but I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments. Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand. This base on Mars with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen.
"A fixed point." River grimaced. They were always tricky to navigate as a time traveller and her own experiences with them didn't give her any confidence for how this video was going to play out (the Doctor's behaviour about their 'death' might be starting to make a bit more sense depending on how this played out – she had a sneaking suspicion about how it was going to end but she was sincerely hoping she was wrong).
ADELAIDE: Which is what?
DOCTOR: I don't know. I think something wonderful happens. Something that started fifty years ago, isn't that right?
ADELAIDE: I've never told anyone that.
"Good job on not making the human suspicious." Nardole deadpanned, the Doctor just rolled her eyes while Bill cackled.
DOCTOR: You told your daughter. And maybe one day she tells the story to her daughter. The day the Earth was stolen and moved across the universe. And you
ADELAIDE: I saw the Daleks. We looked up. The sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my father took hold of me.
Rose, Martha, Mickey, Donna and Jack all shared a glance, thinking back to that mess. It had been a tense and frightening day mixed with the joy of reunions and new friends, but still they'd be glad if they never got a repeat. The rest of the group perked up, not aware of what had actually happened despite how much it seemed to have been mentioned it – they were hoping they would be shown that video at some point soon.
[Memory - attic]
BROOKE: Stay here. Don't move. I've got to go out. I'm going to find your mother, but I'm coming back. I promise you. I'm coming back.
ADELAIDE [OC]: I never saw him again.
The group al grimaced; even those that hadn't been there didn't need to know any details outside of the Daleks being there to know what had happened.
[Water extraction module]
ADELAIDE: Nor my mother. They were never found. But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window, and there, in the sky, I saw it, Doctor. And it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then it simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it.
DOCTOR: But not for revenge.
ADELAIDE: What would be the point of that?
Several people blinked at that surprised, "Well that's a nice change. Twenty first century humans never fail to surprise." Jack shook his head with a fond smile. It was nice to see people looking to the sky in wonder instead of in fear or for revenge, especially after an event such as the Dalek invasion.
DOCTOR: That's what makes you remarkable. And that's how you create history.
"That's really going to confuse her." Rose shook her head but couldn't hide her own smile.
ADELAIDE: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: Imagine it, Adelaide, if you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you, and then your granddaughter, you inspire her, so that in thirty years Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first lightspeed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere, with her children, and her children's children forging the way. To the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Watersnake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will even fall in love with a Tandonian prince, that's the start of a whole new species. But everything starts with you, Adelaide. From fifty years ago to right here, today. Imagine.
"Oh, so you're just giving up on the whole 'normal person, nothing to see here' thing and just giving her answers she shouldn't have?" Amy raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, thinking back to al the times the Doctor had told her they 'didn't interfere with history', another brilliant example of the Doctor not keeping to their own rules. The Doctor just shrugged, not looking away from the screen, too caught up in Adelaide's altered fate.
ADELAIDE: Who are you? Why are you telling me this? Doctor, why tell me?
DOCTOR: As consolation.
"Because that's not a worrying statement at all." Martha sighed; really, they shouldn't expect anything different from the Doctor.
(The maintenance log pops up on screen.)
ADELAIDE: Andy Stone. He logged on yesterday.
ANDY [on screen]: Maintenance log, twenty one twenty, November 2059. Number three water filter's bust. And guess what? The spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Over and out.
DOCTOR: A filter! One tiny little filter and then the Flood.
"It's always surprising how a small thing can have such a large impact." Graham shook his head in disbelief.
ADELAIDE: But that means the infection arrived today, and the water's only cycled out of the biodome after a week. The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave. Ed, we're clean.
The group all cheered at that, thankful for that bit of good news. They were surprised by how quickly they'd gotten an answer, but no less thankful. They were still tense though as they all realised that even with this knowledge, something else must have gone drastically wrong to prevent them being able to successfully evacuate, and anyone would bet it had something to do with the three infected.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE [OC]: How are we doing?
ED: Shuttle's active. Stage one. I haven't got time to convey the protein packs. If you want food you're going to have to carry it by hand. Start loading, right now.
"You have to carry a lot of food if the journey is for nine months. They better get moving and quickly." Clara worried, her words felt a bit pointless as they clearly weren't ever going to need the food as they all died.
[Tunnel 3]
ADELAIDE: You were right, Doctor.
DOCTOR: What about?
ADELAIDE: Bikes!
The Doctor grinned triumphantly although the grin lasted less than a second, guilt and dread quickly overwhelming any more positive feelings. Adelaide, nor any one else on that base, deserved the terrible fate that befell them.
[Central dome]
(Adelaide gives the Doctor his spacesuit.)
ADELAIDE: Now get to your ship. I'm saving my people, you save yourself. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out.
Everyone winced at Adelaide's words, she was so determined to try and save her team and it was all going to end in vain. The only thing they could do was watch as the disaster unfolded, all still on edge to see this big 'mistake' that the Doctor had mentioned at the start – it had to be something big to make this already disastrous situation worse and have the Doctor so distraught.
ED: Everyone, stay focused.
MIA: I'll swap them round. Roman, what about you?
ROMAN: Protein packs thirty to thirty six.
"Sounds like thrilling meals for nine months. Space travel is sounding less and less appealing." Bill made a disgusted face.
"I think we've been spoiled with the Tardis." Yaz agreed.
Donna snorted, "And no one ever thought anyone would ever say that."
"Hey!" The Doctor protested, as defensive as ever when it came to the Tardis.
ED: Hurry up, Roman.
(Andy and Tarak have climbed onto the roof of Tunnel One and are walking to the dome, but no one notices the schematic showing this. In the hubbub, an alarm sounds.)
"They're free and far too close for comfort." Rory muttered, the group's concern skyrocketing as they saw the infected getting closer to the rushing group without anyone having a clue.
ADELAIDE: Ditch the central containers. We don't need them.
STEFFI: Units forty one, forty two and forty three.
YURI: Unit forty one is here.
ADELAIDE: Roman, try to condense the oxygen membranes. We can lose ten pounds. Faster, come on! Ed, how's the fuel jets?
ED: Cooling down in about thirty seconds.
STEFFI: Captain, we've got all the hard drives.
(Andy and Tarak lie face down on the dome.)
"What are they doing?" Ryan asked confused by the weird behaviour of the infected people.
The group all looked as confused as Ryan, until Amy's eyes lit up, "They want to go to Earth!"
The room turned to look at her, not connecting the dots as she had. "We already worked that part out?" Ryan said, although it came out more like a question.
Amy shook her head, "No, well yes. They want to go to Earth so of course they aren't going to try and stop the evacuation. They want the evacuation to go ahead, they're probably trying to lure them away so they can sneak onboard or infect the rest of the group." The rest of the group nodded along finally connecting the dots as Amy had, they turned back to the screen as the tensions rose.
ADELAIDE: What the hell's that noise? Mia, you lot, shut up.
ED: It's the module sensors. Exterior twelve. The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals right above us.
STEFFI: That means they're on the roof?
YURI: How did they get inside the Dome?
"I think the more important question is what are you going to do about them?" Mickey grimaced. How they got in was less important, they needed to figure out how to get out of there without the rest of them getting infected.
ED: They used the maintenance shafts.
MIA: The shaft's open and they haven't got spacesuits.
ED: They breathe water.
STEFFI: But they'd freeze.
YURI: They've got that internal fission.
"Stop debating the logistics and biology of the infected and get back to the evacuation. You don't have any time to waste." Martha shook her head.
MIA: But we're safe, they can't get through, can they? Can they?
(The roof creaks.)
"I think they definitely can." Rose muttered watching the screen with concern.
ROMAN: This place is airtight.
STEFFI: Can it get through? Ed, can it get through?
ED: I don't know! Water itself isn't motile, but it has some sort of persistence.
ADELAIDE: Everyone, listen to me. That's ten feet of steel-combination up there. We need all the protein packs or we're going to starve. Now keep working. Roman, watch the ceiling. Ed, get to the shuttle. Fire it up.
"At least some one has a good head on their shoulders." Jack sighed, glad that Adelaide was taking charge in a sensible way, even as he sat there tense waiting for the final nail on the coffin that they all knew was to come.
"She was a brilliant Captain. There was a good reason, several actually, that she was chosen as the head of the mission." The Doctor said, face blank as she watched the screen. Jack glanced over at her but she didn't look away from the screen, there were several things unsaid in that sentence but no one was able to read between the lines, still it was enough to worry them.
ED: I can carry more than this lot, Captain.
ADELAIDE: That's an order!
ED: Captain.
(And the Doctor continues to stand there, holding his spacesuit, and remembering how history recorded the end of Bowie Base One. Finally he turns and leaves.)
The group watched the screen in tense silence, they hated watching the Doctor try to walk away as much as they knew they needed too. It went so against they're normal thing of helping people even when the situation seemed impossible and it was enough to make them uncomfortable. They felt a bit like they were watching one of those animal documentaries where they knew the fate of the gazelle once the lion got a hold of it and could do nothing about it.
[Airlock]
COMPUTER: Access denied. Access denied.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Tell me what happens.
DOCTOR: I don't know.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Yes, you do.
"She's figured out you know something now; she's not just going to let that go." River spoke quietly to her wife, eyes full of understanding and sympathy for Adelaide who was fighting a losing battle.
"She needs too." The Doctor answered back equally quiet, neither of the pair taking their eyes off the screen.
"Would you?" River asked. There was no answer needed, both knowing full well that neither of them were capable of leaving anything alone even when logic dictated they should.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE: Now tell me.
DOCTOR [OC]: You should be with the others.
ADELAIDE: Tell me! I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you.
"Resorting to threats, she's desperate." Clara grimaced; she couldn't help but feel sympathy for the captain who was just trying to protect her crew.
"Of course, she is. She's in an impossible situation and a stranger shows up with answers, you'd want to know them too." Donna spoke up, calmer and quieter than she normally was. She knew that this was set not too long after her own (forced) departure from the Doctor and couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt, she knew what the Doctor was like when they were on their own and she had a feeling this was going to show the effect the time alone had had on his mental health (and it wasn't going to be pretty). She knew logically that she hadn't chosen to leave him and it was partially his own damn fault, but the guilt still sat uncomfortably in her stomach.
DOCTOR [on monitor]: Except you won't. You could have shot Andy Stone, but you didn't.
[Airlock]
DOCTOR: I loved you for that. Imagine, imagine you knew something. Imagine you found yourself somewhere. I don't know, Pompeii.
Donna shot the Doctor an unreadable look, thinking back to her own time in Pompeii. The Doctor met her eyes with her own unreadable look that only concerned Donna more. This situation was very like Pompeii, but the large difference was that no one was there to help the Doctor or keep them from doing anything tremendously stupid.
[Central dome]
DOCTOR [OC]: Imagine you were in Pompeii.
ADELAIDE: What the hell's that got to do with it?
DOCTOR [OC]: And you tried to save them.
[Airlock]
DOCTOR: But in doing so, you make it happen. Anything I do just makes it happen.
"You were always a part of the story, so no matter what you do that's how it will end. Fate, a fixed point, inevitable, destiny, whatever you want to call it – it will always happen." The Doctor spoke up, eyes glazed even as they rested on the screen. She seemed barely aware that she was speaking, concerning the rest of the group. Things seemed to be coming to ahead and they were all dreading whatever the Doctor had done that she regretted so much.
"But sometimes you allow one disaster to happen to prevent an even worse one." Donna whispered; voice unusually calm as if she was dealing with a wild animal in distress. The Doctor's head snapped to face her again, both still lost in memories of Pompeii. Of how they had chosen to allow Vesuvius to erupt like in history in order to prevent a larger disaster killing everything. The choice of everyone on the planet or twenty thousand innocent people.
"But is it worth it? Are the lives lost to a small disaster less worthy of loving than those that were saved?" The Doctor whispered, hoarse and face reflecting an ancient grief that they rarely saw. Usually, the Doctor did so well at pretending, at being almost normal, and not showing truly how old they were.
"No life is worth less than another." River interjected calmly, hand moving to rest gently on the Doctor's leg even as the Doctor's head whipped away from Donna to face her. "But we grieve and we move on because what else can we do? In those dark moments all you can do is celebrate those lost and those you saved. There are always going to be bad days and bad decisions but you can't linger on them or they'll overwhelm you until you can never see the good in anything again."
"It's hard Doctor." Jack spoke up this time, his tone matching the others as he offered the Doctor a bittersweet smile. "No one's denying that, but it needs to be done. It's time to move forward. You can't forget the past but you also can't live in it. Live for the future." The Doctor audibly swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment as she took a deep breath to steady herself. Unsure what to say, she just turned back to the screen; maybe they'd understand more when they saw. When they finally saw what she'd done.
[Central dome]
STEFFI: Captain, we need you right now.
[Airlock]
ADELAIDE [OC]: I'm still here.
[Central dome]
DOCTOR [on monitor]: You're taking Action One. There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is?
ADELAIDE: Detonation.
"Why is the final option for humans always complete obliteration of everything?" The Doctor tried to joke, smile paper thin and tone not quite right but the others appreciated she was trying about as much as they hated the fact that she was still trying to hide from them. "I mean the Osterhagen Project," She nodded at Martha, "The Tsuranga," She nodded at Yaz, Ryan and Graham, "And here. I swear humans just love explosives."
"Like you can say anything." The Master chuckled from his corner. The Doctor met his eyes, both for once wearing similar looks of madness barely contained behind calm facades. The Master had been watching the video quietly, not particularly bothered by another one of the human's little projects ending in disaster. He was far more interested in why the Tardis was showing them this, why the Doctor seemed to fear this video and the mistake she had mentioned.
DOCTOR [on monitor]: The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the twenty first of November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy because you die on Mars. You die today. She flies out there like she's trying to meet you.
"Perseverance even in the face of the unknown and destruction." Nardole muttered, "Only humans."
"She's not going to take that well." Amy grimaced, recognising the look on Adelaide's face. Plus, who would react well to being told they were going to kill themselves and everyone they were responsible for especially as they were so close to escaping?
ADELAIDE: I won't die. I will not.
DOCTOR [on monitor]: But your death creates the future.
"That's not much consolation at the moment Doctor." Rory muttered quietly; it was moments like this that reminded the group how in-human the Doctor truly was. It also made them so thankful that they weren't in the Doctor's shoes, unsure how they'd be able to deal with such an impossible situation.
ADELAIDE: Help me. Why won't you help, Doctor? If you know all of this, why can't you change it?
DOCTOR [on monitor]: I can't.
"A fixed point." River said knowingly, glancing at the Doctor out of the corner of her eye. This wasn't going to end well; she had a very bad feeling.
ADELAIDE: Why can't you find a way? You could tell me, I don't know
DOCTOR [on monitor]: I'm sorry, but I can't. Sometimes I can, sometimes I do. Most times I can save someone, or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed in time for ever. And that's right.
The group grimaced, watching the screen with conflicted emotions. They'd known since near the start how this one was going to play out but they stull hated to see it happen. It was so against everything hey stood for, normally they managed to save someone (as the Doctor had said) but this time no one could be saved, no one should be saved; and that was horrible to just have to watch.
"I really need to get you new cue cards." Clara shook her head, taking a leaf out of the Doctor's book and trying for humour to deal with her emotions. "You can't just tell people they're death is 'right'." The Doctor didn't even glance away from the screen.
ADELAIDE: You'll die here too.
DOCTOR [on monitor]: No.
ADELAIDE: What's going to save you?
DOCTOR [on monitor]: Captain Adelaide Brooke.
(Adelaide releases the airlock.)
ADELAIDE: Damn you.
"She's far too good." Martha said, thankful that she had released the Doctor even as the group was already mourning the staff's deaths.
"She always does what is right." The Doctor seemingly agreed, although there was an edge to her words that unsettled the group. The Doctor's expression far too dark and guilty for comfort.
(Water pours through the storage area ceiling.)
ROMAN: Water! We've got water!
"Just what you need." Mickey grimaced. Why, for once, couldn't something go right? They all knew logically that the situation had to deteriorate enough for Action Five to be the only option but they had all been holding on to some faint hope that it wouldn't get that bad.
MIA: Captain! Get back! Get back! Captain! Don't touch it, Roman. Get back. Get back.
ADELAIDE: Everyone, we're abandoning this section. Get to the shuttle. Yuri, lead the way. Section B corridor, now.
MIA: Get that, and that.
ADELAIDE: Close it!
(Yuri closes the storage area door where the water is pouring in.)
MIA: Yuri, did that water touch you?
YURI: I'm safe
The room watched tensely as the group on screen escaped the water temporarily, all waiting for the other shoe to drop even as they dreaded the fall.
STEFFI: Did it touch you?
[Airlock]
STEFFI [OC]: Yuri, did that water touch you?
YURI [OC]: I'm clean. I'm dry.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Everyone
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE: Section B is out.
MIA: But we can get
ADELAIDE: Listen to me.
[Airlock]
ADELAIDE [OC]: Take every pack that you can. We'll go round. We'll make our way out through Section F.
No one knew what to say as they watched the slow downfall of Bowie Base One. They were all impressed by how determined Adelaide was even tough she now knew their ultimate fate, she was still problem solving and trying her best to get everyone out safe, likely holding on to some hope that the Doctor was wrong.
STEFFI [OC]: Transferring oxygenation to Section F. Mia you take the redline stock. And hurry up!
(The dome ceiling cracks, and Steffi gets trapped behind a curtain of water.)
"No." Someone muttered, even as it seemed inevitable that Steffi would be the next to be infected, they hoped she would be able to escape.
YURI: Steffi, come!
[Airlock]
MIA [OC]: Steffi, get back!
ADELAIDE [OC]: Steffi, keep back.
YURI [OC]: Get back!
MIA [OC]: Steffi!
YURI [OC]: Get back, Steffi!
[Central dome]
(Steffi backs into the communications alcove.)
ADELAIDE: Screen!
YURI: Shut the door! Close the door!
ROMAN: Steffi, we'll come get you, okay? We'll come get you!
"I think it's too late." Rose said quietly, hating the words even though she knew they were the truth.
ADELAIDE: Steffi!
STEFFI: Captain!
ADELAIDE: We'll open the access panel.
[Airlock]
ADELAIDE [OC]: We'll get you out through the back.
[Central dome]
ADELAIDE: Get out of here. Move it!
STEFFI: Captain, it's inside!
The group all grimaced knowing that it was far too late for Steffi now. As horrible as it was, the group needed to leave her if they wanted a better chance of escaping themselves.
[Airlock]
ADELAIDE [OC]: Steffi!
MIA [OC]: Steffi, get back!
ADELAIDE [OC]: We're coming, Steffi. Hold on!
It was admirable to see the crew's dedication to each other, though after 17 months together plus nine months in a shuttle and however long training it would be expected they had some sort of relation to each other and had come to care for the others. In a way it only made it all the more horrible to watch as they tried desperately to save Steffi from her fate.
[Tunnel 0]
(The Doctor leaves the airlock.)
ROMAN [OC]: The access panel's fused, Captain. We can't open it.
YURI [OC]: We can't get through!
STEFFI [OC]: I can't move!
[Central dome]
(Steffi is pressed up against the bank of monitors. She presses a play button and a message plays from a little girl.)
ULRIKA [on monitor]: Hallo, Mutti. Hallo, Mars! Sag hallo. (continues in German.)
"Her poor family." Yaz said, "They're never going to know what happened to her. None of their families are." That was often the hard part of these adventures, sometimes there was people you couldn't save and their families would likely never know what had truly happened to their lost loved ones.
(Water pours onto Steffi.
(The Doctor walks slowly back, listening to the little girl's message.)
ADELAIDE: Steffi! Can you hear me?
MIA: Oh, my God.
ADELAIDE: Out. Get out.
(Mia leaves. Steffi has been transformed. She leaves the communications alcove.)
"Now there's four of them, against five uninfected. The odds are getting further weighed against them." Jack grimaced.
"Where's Maggie?" Bill suddenly asked, drawing the room's attention to her. "We've seen Tarak and Andy, but Maggie's nowhere to be seen."
"That's not good." Ryan declared. The room all wondering just when Maggie was going to show up, because knowing their luck and how this mess was to end, it was inevitable that she would show up again.
[Corridor]
ADELAIDE: Ed, we're going round the long way. How are we doing?
[Shuttle]
ED: All systems online one hundred percent. Not a single delay. Don't you worry, Captain, we are going to fly.
(The shuttle's engines fire up.)
"They need to get out of there quickly." Graham said even as he knew they weren't going to get out of there.
[Outside the Base]
(The Doctor is walking outside, silhouetted against the shuttle exhaust.)
The group watched; glad that the Doctor was away from the base, and therefore away from the infection and upcoming detonation but also hating that they could just walk away while everyone else was slowly infected as they made a futile attempt to escape.
ADELAIDE [OC]: I need air in section F right now. All of you
YURI [OC]: Locking chamber three. Locking chamber four.
ROMAN [OC]: The water is going to get through.
ADELAIDE [OC]: Keep moving!
YURI [OC]: Gate five is open. Gate six is open.
[Section F]
YURI [OC} Quickly, come on.
(Roman looks up at the ceiling.)
MIA: I've got twenty five to thirty locked down.
(A drop of water falls on Roman's face.)
"Oh no." Rory muttered.
"It's only a drop. Surely that's not enough?" Yaz tried to argue even as she grimaced.
Amy shook her head with a frown, "A few drops off a carrot was enough to infect Andy at the start. I think it's too late for Roman." The group all grimaced at that.
"That makes it five to four. They're officially outnumbered and out of time." Mickey declared, getting no enjoyment from the terrible realisation.
ADELAIDE: Roman, come on. With me.
ROMAN: You'd better go.
[Outside the base]
ADELAIDE: Don't just stand there. Move.
ROMAN [OC]: You'd really better go without me.
"He knows he is compromised and doesn't want to infect the others." Rose realised; eyes sad as the group watched waiting for the transformation that was imminent.
"They're not going to take that well." Martha frowned thinking about how hard they'd tried to save Steffi.
"They don't really have a choice." Donna grimaced.
[Section F]
ROMAN: I'm sorry, Captain. One drop.
(Roman starts jerking.)
MIA: Roman! Roman!
YURI: Leave him, come on.
[Outside the base]
MIA [OC]: We can't just leave him.
YURI [OC]: Come on.
MIA [OC]: Let me go!
YURI [OC]: We've got to go.
MIA [OC]: Roman!
The group grimaced as Yuri had to drag Mia away from poor Roman, they knew the remainders of the crew weren't going to take it well but it still hurt to watch. The numbers of the uninfected were dwindling rapidly and the time to try and escape was rapidly closing. They could do nothing but watch as the last members made their hopeless dash for a shuttle that was never going to take off.
[Section F]
YURI: I'm so sorry.
(Maggie enters the shuttle and aims a jet of water at Ed. He closes the bulkhead, but not in time.)
ED [OC]: Captain. The shuttle is down.
ADELAIDE: What the hell do you mean?
"And there's Maggie." Bill grimaced hating how she was right.
"They were smart enough to split up." Clara realised. "Andy and Tarak would work to infect as much of the crew as they could while Maggie would try and deal with Ed at the shuttle."
"They're really determined to get to Earth." Graham joked, although it fell flat.
[Outside the base]
ED [OC]: Compromised. It was Maggie.
ADELAIDE: Get out of there.
ED [OC]: Too late.
"Six down, that only leaves three left – Yuri, Mia and Adelaide." Mickey ticked the people off on his fingers. The group were all thinking the same, would everyone get infected before Adelaide activated Action Five? They could only hope for that small mercy.
[Shuttle]
(Ed activates the autodestruct.)
ED: They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice.
"It's the right choice." Jack nodded approvingly even as he frowned. It was the right choice but still a horrible one to make. If Ed hadn't destroyed the shuttle than the infected would be able to reach the Earth, however it also meant -.
"They're all stranded now. No other way off of Mars." Martha sighed, hating how powerless she felt to help these people even though she knew it was all in the past (/in the future – actually would she live long enough to learn about this mission in her own time and have to sit quietly knowing the fate of all these people? That was a horrible thought she was going to put to the side for now to save a meltdown) and that she wouldn't actually be able to do anything but it was still horrible to only be able to watch.
"Except the Tardis." Donna spoke up, glancing at the Doctor like many others in the room had. The Doctor didn't take her eyes off the screen despite feeling the weight of the room's eyes on her.
[Outside the base]
ED: Hated it, Adelaide.
[Shuttle]
ED: This bloody job. Argh.
[Outside the base]
ED [OC]: You never gave me a chance.
[Section F]
ED [OC]: You never could forgive me.
[Shuttle]
(Ed's eyes have changed.)
ED: See you later.
"He's out of time." Amy said as she noticed his eyes change. A few people in the room had managed small smiles at Ed's final words, his own attempt at humour and to reassure poor Adeliade but all they could do was watch the inevitable.
(He hits the destruct button and the shuttle goes KaBOOM. The blast knocks the Doctor off his feet and wreaks havoc in Section F.)
They grimaced as the blast made visible damage to Section F where the last three uninfected had been trying to navigate. They now had nowhere to go to escape, the last thing they needed was for anything else to go wrong but that was what had happened. A few people winced at the size of the blast which had been enough to knock the Doctor to the ground, that can't have been pleasant.
[Section F]
YURI: We're losing oxygen!
"Because things can't get any worse." Rory sighed, that was oh so typical. Nowhere to go, water people after them and they were losing oxygen – sounded like a brilliant day on Mars.
[Outside the base]
YURI [OC]: The hull is broken!
DOCTOR [memory]: I'm not just a Time Lord, I'm the Last of the Time Lords. They'll never come back. Not now. I've got a Tardis. Same old life, last of the Time Lords. And they died and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed, gone for ever. The Time Lords kept their eye on everything. It's gone now. But they died, the Time Lords! All of them, they died. I'm the last of the Time Lords.
(The Doctor returns to Bowie Base One.)
The room recognised that the Doctor was going to go back as soon as he looked back at the Base and pulled himself to his feet; there was no way he could just abandon them despite knowing how it should play out. They all shifted uncomfortable with the development; they'd almost resigned themselves to the fate of the last three and now the Doctor was going against his own words and interfering, it gave them some hope which they didn't want. The Doctor's words and tone almost made them uncomfortable; those more familiar with the Doctor's darker moods glanced at her, recognising that her mental state in the video was not in a good place which meant this wasn't likely to end well.
"The last?" Ryan asked quietly, he winced as he realised, he'd actually spoken out loud having not meant to break the tense silence. The Doctor's face was carefully schooled blank, briefly glancing at the Master and then at Martha and Jack before turning to answer Ryan's question.
"This was before I knew that Gallifrey hadn't been surprised and I'd witnessed the Master die not too long before. As far as I was aware back then I was the only one left, and I'd just lost Rose, Martha, Mickey, Jack and Donna in one go so I'd been travelling on my own for a while. My mental state wasn't in a good place. I can freely admit that, I don't do well on my own after things like that." She refused to meet anyone's eyes, her hands fidgeting as the shame started to overwhelm her. She had no excuses for the mess that was about to happen, she'd allowed herself to wallow in her misery instead of doing something about it and it had led to one of the biggest regrets of her life. She'd given into the madness that lingered in her mind and ended up like the Master, which never gave her a good feeling.
[Section F]
DOCTOR: Mia, take this sealant, fix that leak. Yuri, open emergency oxygen. Adelaide, don't just sit there. That's better. The Dome's still got integrity! It's ten feet of steel-combination, made in Liverpool. Magnificent workmanship.
"Not as good as Yorkshire steel." Yaz tried to joke, hoping for a positive response from the Doctor who seemed to keep curling in on herself with every passing minute. No such luck.
ADELAIDE: It can't be stopped. Don't die with us.
DOCTOR: No, because someone told me just recently. They said I was going to die. They said he will knock four times, and I think I know what that means, and it doesn't mean right here, right now, because I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?
The Doctor grimaced in memory of how the Ood's prophecy/words had lingered over her. Pinstripes had been so scared of death, whereas Chinny and Eyebrows had last longed for it. She wasn't sure where she stood anymore. She no longer held Pinstripe's fear, but her time in the movie room with her friends and family surrounding her had also helped deal with the lingering desire for the end. Eyebrow's regrets had lingered into her current regeneration, as they tended to, which hadn't helped to begin with but her time with her friends had helped her at least push it away, until the Master's revelations and her time alone in the prison cell. The prison cell had given her far too much time alone with her thoughts which was never good for someone as old as her, being so old only meant she had more regrets and mistakes than most, and they tended to b the thoughts you lingered on when you were alone.
"They?" The Master asked, eyes sharp and dark as he glared at the Doctor until she met his gaze. He knew logically that the Doctor must have regenerated not too long after his 'revival' and trip back to Gallifrey but he didn't know any details (which always frustrated him).
The Doctor hesitated, but did give in under the weight of his gaze, "The Ood. They told me that he will knock four time and I'd die, and you know what Pinstripes was like. Overly dramatic and far too vain, he was scared of death." She tried to act nonchalant, eager to distract from the details of that particular regeneration, it had been a messy one and not all too pleasant to remember between the Master and Gallifrey. The Master gave her a dark look that told her he knew exactly what she was doing but for once didn't pry any further, likely far too eager to see what she was about to do onscreen, he had always loved her darker moments.
(Andy thumps three times on the bulkhead door.)
DOCTOR: Three knocks is all you're getting.
(He electrifies the bulkhead.)
DOCTOR: Water and electricity, bad mix. Now then, what else have we got?
"Smart." River nodded, "Though I doubt it would stop them for long." She had edged closer to her wife in anticipation as she felt dread curl in her stomach. Whatever mistake the Doctor kept referring to. It was about to happen and she had a good guess as to what it involved., and she wanted to be close for the inevitable fallout.
ADELAIDE: But there's no way to fight them.
DOCTOR: Heat! They use water, so we can use heat. Works against the Ice Warriors, works against the Flood. Ramp up the environment controls and steam them.
"Good tip for fighting aliens on Mars. Heat is usually the answer apparently." Bill joked, thinking back to her own trip to Mars with the Victorian explorers and Ice Warriors.
ADELAIDE: But you said we die. For the future, for the human race.
"Not really the time to break that to Yuri and Mia." Rory winced, feeling sympathetic for the pair. That was the last thing you wanted to hear when you were in serious trouble – that it didn't matter what you did as you were going to die anyway, but don't worry! It's better for the human race! Yeah, that wasn't exactly comforting after everything they'd been through.
DOCTOR: Yes, because there are laws. There are Laws of Time. Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me! It's taken me all these years to realise the Laws of Time are mine, and they will obey me!
There was silence in the room, tension heavy in the air, as the group slowly all turned their eyes to land on the Doctor who was curled up on herself, head on her knees. Jack tried to reach out to put a comforting hand on her knee but she flinched away. Even those that hadn't seen the Doctor like that before or hadn't known Pinstripes recognised that the Doctor on screen was unstable. As much as the thought hurt; they couldn't help but think that when the Doctor gave into her madness like that it was so much easier to see how the Master and her ad ever been friends.
"Doctor …" Jack spoke softly, not reaching out again despite the way his hand twitched as if he wanted to do so. His time travelling as a Time Agent, with the Doctor and on his own had given him a vast knowledge of the universe and experiences that most never got, and he could understand all too well what the Doctor was feeling but he also knew how dangerous both those ideas and the Doctor themselves was.
The Doctor's head shot up, eyes dark and face angry as she went on the defensive like an injured animal that had been cornered. "What, Jack?! Want to tell me that I was wrong, that I was stupid and that the consequences for trying to change a fixed point like this aren't horrific?! You think I don't know that! You think I don't know exactly how dangerous that was! How stupid it was! I regret it! I regret not leaving as soon as I could! I regret everything about that day! But most importantly I regret that they died and I could do nothing! That I went against everything I stood for because I was selfish and needed a win! So, what are you going to say Harkness? I already know the consequences of my choices and I'll always have to live with them …" The Doctor broke off, her anger fizzing out as soon as it had started only to be replaced with anguish.
Jack's face was impossibly sad and sympathetic which only served to make the Doctor feel worse. "No Doctor. You know better than anyone the consequences, you just need to learn to actually live with them. I get where you are, more than most ever could. We see such horrible things sometimes out there and we only want to help people, that's not wrong." He was struggling to try and articulate what he wanted to say, he glanced at River for help.
"You were trying to save them Sweetie. That's not wrong, it's never wrong to try and help. You just went about it the wrong way, but you weren't in a good place mentally and you recognise that. You know what you're like on your own which is why you travel with people, you have your ways to cope with everything, you recognise your triggers and try to deal with them and that's half the battle sometimes. We all have bad days, love. It's just that a bad day for us can have large consequences for others if we're not careful." River tried to comfort her wife, heart aching as she recognised how this day had been eating away at the Doctor. The way the Doctor glanced up at her, eyes shining, made her look so much younger than she was. Recognising the honesty in her eyes, the Doctor glanced around the room, expecting disgust and horror from the group, only to find understanding and sympathy. It eased some weight in her heart that she hadn't even noticed had been weighing her down for years.
The Master broke the peaceful moment. He chuckled, arm thrown casually over the back of his armchair and one leg crossed over the other, a picture of causal arrogance. "Well, I for once, love it when you're like this dear. The madness looks so beautiful on you." The Doctor shivered at his purr, head snapping away and back to the screen, she didn't want to deal with him, she couldn't deal with him right now.
"Shut up!" Jack snapped at the Master, several others glaring angrily alongside him.
"Oh, but isn't she just beautiful when she gives in to the darkness, Captain? Shows you we aren't so different after all." The Master kept going, unrepentant and enjoying himself far too much.
Jack practically snarled, ready to lunge over and punch him again. He likely would have if the Doctor hadn't garbed him by the elbow, holding him back despite how light the touch was. She shook her head at him, a wordless 'he's not worth it', that Jack wanted to ignore but a stern look from River cooled his anger for the moment even as the Master kept chuckling. Another time.
(Bang! Sparks! Alarms!)
ADELAIDE: Environment controls are down. Sorry, Doctor, it looks like history's got other ideas.
"She's accepted it." Rose muttered sadly. The sight on screen wasn't pretty – the Doctor giving into his madness, a Captain accepting death, and the two remaining members of crew slowly dying.
"No." The Doctor shook her head which felt heavy with guilt and regret, "She just understand the weight of history and time."
DOCTOR: I'm not beaten yet. I'll go outside, find the heat regulator.
(His spacesuit helmet is damaged.)
DOCTOR: Not beaten. Not beaten! You've got spacesuits in the next section.
(But water is pouring through the ceiling.)
No one spoke up even as they all thought the same – the situation was only worsening and the ending was inevitable so despite the Doctor's words the group certainly was beaten. They also didn't want to mention how unnerving the Doctor on screen was, especially when they glanced at the Doctor in the room with them who just looked so sad as she watched her past self.
DOCTOR: We're not just fighting the Flood, we're fighting time itself. And I'm going to win!
(Maggie is in the Water Extraction module. She emits a high pitched noise and the glacier starts to crack.)
"What is she doing?" Donna asked bewildered, there was no way for them to get back to Earth now so why were they still attacking? No one had any answers for her.
YURI: Something is happening to the glacier.
DOCTOR: Think-a think-a think-a think. What have we got? Not enough oxygen. Protein packs, useless. Glacier, glacier mints, minty, Monty, molto bene, bunny, bonny, bish bash bosh. Argh. The room, the room, look at the room. Section F. What's in Section F? Anyone!
YURI: Nothing. It's just storage.
DOCTOR: Storing what?
YURI: I don't know. Er, the weather spikes, the robots, the atom clamps.
DOCTOR: Atom clamps. Atom clamps? Who needs atom clamps? I love a funny robot.
"Hypocrite." Martha rolled her eyes fondly at the Doctor's turn in attitude towards robots, it seemed he had a plan.
(The Doctor opens a unit to reveal -)
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
(The Doctor gives Gadget something to hold.)
DOCTOR: You take that. Good boy.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
(The Doctor puts on the auto-remote gloves.)
DOCTOR: Off we go then.
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
"How is gadget going to help?" Ryan asked confused, he was a bit fond of the robot at this point (as well as very curious about how it worked) but he couldn't figure out what the Doctor's plan was.
"And what did you give it?" Mickey added with a nod at Ryan. The Doctor just gave a sad smile at the pair before waving at the screen in answer.
(Adelaide presses a button on a computer keyboard. The monitor lights up with Warning.)
DOCTOR: Come on, come on!
(The Doctor steers Gadget through fire and water.)
COMPUTER: Implementing Captain's protocol.
DOCTOR: Adelaide? What are you doing?
"What she needs to." Amy grimaced, recognising the steel and determination in the captain's eyes. The Doctor had told her exactly what was supposed to happen and with no way off the planet and unknown threats incoming she was going to do what she was supposed to do.
MIA: Oh, my God. Action Five.
DOCTOR: If I have to fight you as well, then I will.
COMPUTER: Nuclear device now active and primed.
(The countdown has started at 100.)
"Not a lot of time." Rory muttered, 100 seconds wasn't long for the Doctor to attempt whatever plan they had in mind and get out of there.
COMPUTER: Nuclear device now active and primed.
DOCTOR: Blast off!
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
(Gadget zooms forward.)
DOCTOR: Faster!
(Gadget streaks across the sands of Mars. All the infected people add their voice to the sonics that are making the crack bigger. Gadget reaches the Tardis.)
"Oh!" Ryan realised exactly what the Doctor's plan was, feeling a bit stupid for not figuring it out earlier. "You gave Gadget the key to the Tardis." The Doctor nodded once, expression schooled blank as she watched the last part of the disaster unfold on screen.
COMPUTER: Nuclear device entering final process.
[Outside the Tardis]
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
(Gadget raises the key to the lock.)
[Section F]
DOCTOR: And we're in! Ha, ha.
(The countdown reaches 43.)
The room was tense, several people bouncing in their seats as time ticked quickly down. It had taken Gadget a while to reach the Tardis, how long would it take for the Doctor to get it to work the Tardis to pick them up? Clearly the Doctor had succeeded as she hadn't been killed in a nuclear blast on Mars but it must have been tight.
[Tardis]
(The Doctor sets the Tardis controls remotely via Gadget.)
GADGET: Gadget gadget.
[Section F]
(23, 22 and the wind of a materialising Tardis fills the area. 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Bowie Base One goes KaBOOM!)
The group watched the base blow up in a spectacular explosion, unable to hold back winces as they thought about the six people that they knew for sure were dead - a mystery that Earth would apparently never solve. There thoughts couldn't help but linger on the last three remaining; they knew the Doctor had to survive but surely, they hadn't just abandoned the other three even if they were supposed to die.
[Street]
(The Tardis materialises on a snow covered Georgian street. The Doctor leads Adelaide, Mia, Yuri and Gadget out.)
The group let out a breath, glad the three had survived although confused and worried. A fixed point was serious and the Doctor had just messed with one, there was no way there weren't going to be consequences.
DOCTOR: Isn't anyone going to thank me?
The Doctor herself winced at that comment, scowling at her past self on screen. It was such an arrogant thing to say – she'd gone against everything she stood for and was just acting like she hadn't gone insane and done something terrible. A small part of her still couldn't help but be proud that she had saved them, unsure she could have dealt with the guilt of just leaving them behind even though she knew she should have. The guilt for the effects of her decision was heavier though.
(Gadget shuts down.)
DOCTOR: He's lost his signal. Doesn't know where he is.
ADELAIDE: That's my house.
DOCTOR: Don't you get it? This is the twenty first of November 2059. It's the same day on Earth. And it's snowing. I love snow.
"That is going to be very hard to explain." Rose winced, feeling sympathetic for the three. It had been hard to explain where she'd disappeared to for a year the first time she'd gone with the Doctor. These three would have to explain what had happened to the base and the rest of the crew, and the Doctor showing up and saving them in the Tardis, that wasn't going to be fun.
"That's an understatement." Bill snorted. "How can they explain getting back on the same day their base exploded despite the shuttle also exploding which should have stranded them on Mars. Let alone the nine-month journey which they accomplished in less than an hour or so."
"They've got to hope UNIT is still around for when they mention the Doctor." Rory grimaced, they'd likely not have any joy in explaining everything unless UNIT got involved once the word Doctor was mentioned and cleared everything up/sweep it under the rug. Though the public would likely want to know too, that was going to be a giant mess for someone to deal with.
MIA: What is that thing? It's bigger. I mean, it's bigger on the inside. Who the hell are you?
(Mia runs away.)
"Fair reaction after the day they've had." Mickey nodded. "I can relate." After all he'd run away the first time he'd been faced with the Doctor too, and look at him now.
ADELAIDE: Look after her.
YURI: Yes, ma'am.
(Yuri runs after Mia.)
"Good idea." Martha nodded approvingly, it was safer to have someone with Mia after everything that had happened to them, it wouldn't be good if she was on her own and started going through shock.
ADELAIDE: You saved us.
"She doesn't exactly sound thankful." Yaz frowned, Adelaide's tone ringing all the wrong bells in the back of her head. Something was still very wrong here; the Doctor's grimace only made the dread curl tighter around her.
DOCTOR: Just think though. Your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again. Family reunion.
ADELAIDE: But I'm supposed to be dead.
DOCTOR: Not any more.
"Because you meddled with a fixed point." Graham clarified. Many of the newer companions were still a bit unsure on why that was such a bad thing, they got the whole 'certain things are supposed to happen and you can't change them' thing but this seemed good – the three of them had survived and could go home to their families. Yes, they shouldn't be alive and things had been altered and there would be a mess to explain to the public, but they were alive and (if they were believed) people would know what had happened on Mars.
The Doctor nodded; expression blank as she recognised Graham's confusion. "Just watch." She managed to choke out solemnly. Those more familiar with the consequences of fixed-point alteration shared concerned glances.
ADELAIDE: But Susie, my granddaughter. The person she's supposed to become might never exist now.
"You potentially altered the course of human history." Bill realised; eyes wide as she linked that thought with every movie she'd watched about similar ideas – those had never ended well. The Doctor managed a small fond smile as she recognised where Bill's train of thought had gone; it wouldn't give her the exact right idea thinking about those movies made by unknowing humans but it would give her an idea of the weight of the Doctor's mistake.
DOCTOR: Nah! Captain Adelaide can inspire her face to face. Different details, but the story's the same.
ADELAIDE: You can't know that. And if my family changes, the whole of history could change. The future of the human race. No-one should have that much power.
"No one should." The Doctor agreed, a silent almost promise hidden in her words. Adelaide had recognised that immediately but it had only hit the Doctor what she had done after Adelaide's choice.
"But you do know that. You know it won't completely alter human history, right?" Ryan asked, a bit more uncertain as he finished his sentence.
"Yes, like I said. The details will change but the idea stays the same, you still make it out into the stars. But her point still stands; no one should have that power." The Doctor was solemn and serious. Maybe there was a reason Gallifrey had been so firm on the rules for no interference; if they had Time Lords interfering left, right and centre it wasn't hard to believe one would eventually go rogue and completely alter everything.
DOCTOR: Tough.
ADELAIDE: You should have left us there.
The group all winced at that. They understood Adelaide's reasoning and the logic of it, she was right after all, but it was still a horrible thing to say and to suggest.
DOCTOR: Adelaide, I've done this sort of thing before. In small ways, saved some little people, but never someone as important as you. Oh, I'm good.
ADELAIDE: Little people? What, like Mia and Yuri? Who decides they're so unimportant? You?
"No. No, no, no." The Doctor rapidly shook her head, eyes closed. "That wasn't what I meant. No one is unimportant. Everyone is important to someone." She desperately tried to clarify, much saner than her counterpart on screen but Adelaide could not hear her.
DOCTOR: For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious.
"No. No I'm not." The Doctor glared at the screen, she just wanted this to be over with now. She didn't think she could deal with watching her past-self much longer before she tried to figure out a way to cross timelines and punch him.
ADELAIDE: And there's no one to stop you.
"There's us." Donna declared; eyes serious in promise as the Doctor gave her a thankful look. There was a reason she always travelled with people, a reason she chose her companions carefully, they had to be able to stop her after all.
"And we're not going anywhere." Yaz offered her own promise, face determined as she looked to the Doctor who nodded her thanks.
DOCTOR: No.
ADELAIDE: This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong.
DOCTOR: That's for me to decide. Now, you'd better get home. Oh, it's all locked up. You've been away. Still, that's easy.
(He points his sonic screwdriver at the front door, and it opens.)
"Always the sonic." Clara shook her head, going for the age-old strategy of humour to deal with the tension.
"Well, it's not like she had her keys!" The Doctor protested, thankful for Clara's attempts to distract her even if it didn't work so well.
DOCTOR: All yours.
ADELAIDE: Is there nothing you can't do?
DOCTOR: Not any more.
"Oh, there's a lot this idiot can't do!" Donna announced, everyone quickly latched onto her words in an attempt to distract themselves and comfort the Doctor, offering their own suggestions for things the Doctor couldn't do.
"They can't dance."
"Definitely can't be undramatic."
"Terrible with social cues."
"Horrible fashion choices."
"Don't get me started on their taste in food."
"They're a right idiot sometimes."
"Hey!" The Doctor gave out feeble protests, almost glowing with the joy of her friends and family not hating her for her mistakes. She's been so scared that they'd turn away from her after seeing this, but she should have known better, they were a family and that meant dealing with each other's trauma and helping each other cope. Maybe the Tardis had the right idea with making them watch these videos, it would give them the chance to support each other and actually communicate for once in their lives. Teach them to deal with their trauma instead of brush it aside.
(Adelaide goes inside, drawing her gun and closing the door. Then we hear the shot and see the energy blast light up the window. The Doctor turns around and in his head, he watches the history record change her place of death from Mars to Earth. Susie Fontana Brooke still goes into space, though.)
ADELAIDE [OC]: I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong.
The nicer atmosphere in the room plummeted instantly as the group recognised what Adelaide had done. A few let out a small breath at seeing that history remained largely unaltered, with Susie still going into space even. River reached out silently to grab the Doctor's hand and squeeze it tightly, knowing that Adelaide's death had to have hit the Doctor hard. They would certainly blame themselves, and in some way, they did have a large hand in Adelaide's fate having altered a fixed point enough that fate decided to step in and ensure Adelaide's death. But at the end of the day, it had still been Adelaide's choice, not that it was necessarily a wrong one from Adelaide's view as she knew she was supposed to die for the better of humanity but it was a hard situation.
A few people in the group couldn't help but quietly think that the Doctor had altered it all for the better; at least this way Yuri and Mia survived and Erath got to learn what had happened on Mars as well as the potential danger there, and they still made the same path into space as before. But no one was going to voice that thought. They recognised that the main issue with this video (and likely the reason they'd been shown it) was the Doctor's precarious mental state and the idea of fixed points.
(The Doctor turns to see an Ood looking at him.)
DOCTOR: I've gone too far. Is this it? My death? Is it time?
"Just about." The Doctor whispered quietly to herself. It wasn't long at all after this that the Master was revived and she ended up ding to save Wilf – a decision she had never regretted despite her dramatics at the time. She was thankful no one had heard her, all too focused on the last moments of the video.
(The Doctor falls to his knees. The Ood vanishes. He gets up again and goes inside the Tardis.)
[Tardis]
(The Cloister bell tolls.)
DOCTOR: No.
The Doctor's denial and tone on screen gained the Doctor in the room many confused and concerned looks, it was a stark change to have the Doctor so firmly denying the idea of their death compared to the two regenerations they'd seen on screen. But no one wanted to poke that with a stick just yet, all wanting a bit of a moment to breath after the mess of that video.
The Doctor glanced around the room, waiting for someone to speak, to say anything quite frankly. She was thankful when Amy finally broke the silence several moments later, "So that's why you were so fixed on dying at Lake Silencio." She started, glancing at River and Rory before turning back to the Doctor, "You had experience with fixed points enough to know you couldn't avoid it so you gave in."
"Yes." The Doctor admitted, not quite liking how Amy phrased it but not wanting to fight about it.
"But you still got around it. So that's at least two fixed points you've altered." Amy continued.
"That's not a good thing!" The Doctor protested, not seeing Amy's point at all now.
"It means, idiot, that things don't go completely to disaster when you mess with fixed points so stop worrying." Amy gave her a stern look.
"You still shouldn't do it." The Doctor argued, mostly because she could but also to try and get the point across. Just because the universe hadn't burned down (and the time it had collapsed they'd fixed it) didn't mean it was something you should just casually do. He didn't like that spark in Amy's eyes; things never went well when she got ideas like that.
The Doctor glanced around the room again, able to feel the tension slowly leaking out of the room as they caught their breaths after that video. "One more and then a break?" She offered, it wasn't as many videos as they normally did between breaks but they were stressful ones and she had an odd feeling the next one wasn't going to be great either. Seeing the round of agreeing nods she received she turned back to the screen expectantly, anticipation building as they waited to see what they'd be shown next.
End notes:
First: Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think of the chapter and the story as a whole (also keep your episode suggestions coming)! The End of Time is next.
Second: The Mars Rovers - this episode came out in 2009 so Perseverance wasn't an idea back then but I wanted to include it. Tardis Wiki says there is a rover in this universe called Leonardo in 2020 ish so I also included that - hence two rovers. Linked in there, I push climate stuff a bit because I can (for contexts, I study Earth Science in university which is geology and climate stuff etc, so I do know what I'm talking about mostly).
Third: A confession (or two). I have not actually watched this episode in literal years. When I re-watch episodes this is one I often skip out on because I am usually not in the right emotional state for it so it was weird to come back to it like this. Also, someone mentioned that I was bullying Nardole and they were absolutely right so this chapter is hopefully better in this regard, I just struggle to write his character.
Fourth and Final: This is mostly from the Doctor's pov, so things are sometimes a bit skewed and bias, just keep that in mind. Also for the bit with Adelaide - I am absolutely NOT saying suicide is alright, I just mean logistically Adelaide thought it was the right choice as she wasn't supposed to be alive. Do not take that out of context.
Anyway, thank you again for reading. See you next time!
Robyn