Chapter Thirteen
Elisabeth and the Alphans had traversed what felt like miles of ventilation tunnels. Elisabeth knew she had to keep the group moving quickly so that they would be as far away as possible when the Daleks discovered them missing. She knew their new Dalek drones would give them an advantage they didn't have before. But how she knew that piece of information was still unclear. Elisabeth could hear the Professor breathing heavily behind her. "Professor Bergman," she began quietly without slowing, "are you doing all right back there?" She knew that for herself alone this had been a grueling climb and she considered herself very fit. Oddly enough, she felt an indescribable glow and a slight rumbling inside her. She didn't know what to make of it and there wasn't time to think about it any further.
With a winded reply, the Professor answered, "I'm sorry Elisabeth, I don't know how much more I can crawl." It seemed like he'd focused on putting one hand and knee in front of the other for an eternity. He realized if he stopped, they were doomed. He absolutely had to keep moving.
Trying to lighten the mood, Elisabeth began in a hushed tone, "I wouldn't tell anyone behind you. They're depending on us to get to the end." No sooner had the words left her mouth when she could see the opening was suddenly ahead. "Good news Professor, we're clear." Elisabeth climbed out and with a bit of difficulty, straightened up. She then leaned in and helped the Professor climb out. She helped him scoot away from the opening a bit and looking down at him said, "Stay still a moment Professor Bergman till you catch your breath." She looked down worriedly at her companion.
One by one the Alphans climbed wearily from the vent, each nursing their own set of aches and pains. They began talking among themselves, when Elisabeth cautioned them, "Shhh, you must be quiet. Davros has carried out many experiments over the years and he puts the rejects down here." As she said this, further in the cave could be heard a roaring and hissing. Something was fighting. After exchanging a quick look with her fellow Alphans she added, "Trust me, I would much rather face anything in this cave than face a single Dalek." To her right, Elisabeth heard a loud rumbling indicating an immense creature was in that direction. She leaned over and with Ed's help, hauled Victor Bergman to his feet. Exchanging a quick smile with him, she said, "It's a good thing we're going left."
Two of the security men exchanged an aggravated look and begrudgingly followed the group, still not trusting Elisabeth. It was one thing to follow the Commander or any of the senior staff blindly, but with the new information that was emerging about Elisabeth, in their minds anyway, loyalties had changed.
As they walked, Elisabeth had more time to analyze the changes she began to feel in her body. Oddly enough, she wasn't afraid, she was more curious. The warmth that was once centered in her torso was now slowly spreading to her limbs. The rumbling had slowed to what she'd now determined was a sound mimicking her own heartbeat with a nearly unnoticeable echo. Up ahead was what appeared to be a massive clam. In her mind's eye, she could see it opening and shutting and Harry was there, with his foot inside the clam. But how could he be? Harry Sullivan the government education inspector? But it was him that much she was sure of. He was much younger and looked as he did when she had a vision of him before at the school. Thanks to Davros, she was sure he was also part of her hidden past.
Looking back at the group of Alphans that followed her, she quietly cautioned, "The opening of the cave is right up here. Be very quiet and avoid the clam." She smiled as she pointed ahead.
Victor and Ed exchanged a quick glance of confusion. They couldn't see an opening ahead. Victor stated, "Elisabeth dear, I don't see an opening."
"It's just around the next bend." Elisabeth continued on to the shock and awe of the group, each lost in their own wonder of Elisabeth's knowledge of this planet.
"King Sorvad calling Moonbase Alpha." Davros began. He would turn those Alphans into Dalek drones before the day was out. "King Sorvad calling Moonbase Alpha. Do you read me?"
On Moonbase Alpha Sandra Benes looked nervously to Tony Verdeschi who was sitting at the Commander's desk.
"Let him call a bit more." Seeing the nervous looks from those around him, he added, "Now we're having communication problems." He threw his hands towards the ceiling.
"Tony," Helena Russell began, "isn't there any way we can contact John and Alan?" She had been pacing since the pair had left with the Doctor in his strange blue box.
"Helena, even if we could contact them it might be picked up by this King Sorvad or whoever the hell he really is. We don't want to give them away, right?"
Maya stood and put her arms around the other woman and gave her what she hoped was a comforting squeeze. She knew what Helena was going through but there was really nothing they could do. "I'm sure as soon as there's any information they'll let us know Helena."
"We're putting a lot of faith in someone we never laid eyes on before today." Helena said with exasperation.
"But he came with proof of who he is." Tony answered thinking of his own letter from none other than his own sweet Italian mother. "Your letter Helena, who was it from?"
"Was definitely from my father but…" She hung her head, tears filling her eyes.
"I know. It's not the same as being with him. But we just have to have faith that the Doctor will find the Alphans, bring everyone back and then we can kiss this rock goodbye." Tony tried consoling Helena. He knew it was just a matter of time before the Commander and Helena would marry whether it was on the Moon or the Earth. He rose and crossed over to Helena, taking her hands in his. "We haven't come this far and survived everything we have only to have the Earth dangled in front of our faces to be taken away. You have to believe that."
He elicited a small smile from Helena. "I hope you're right Tony. I hope you're right."
Over the loudspeakers once again they heard King Sorvad calling, "Moonbase Alpha are you receiving me? Planet Gamma Z calling Moonbase Alpha." Davros called, failing to keep the irritation from his grating voice.
"Sahn, when I signal you I want you to connect me to Gamma Z but I want you to flip the signal off and on. I want it to appear that we're having communication difficulties."
"Yes Sir." Sahn said as her fingers flew across the keyboard and switches making the required adjustments. Looking back at Tony she nodded her head to let him know she was ready.
With a wave of his hand he began. On Davros' end he heard, "Ga..a Z th..is Moon…. Al…We are hav… commu….. difficu…..
To no one in particular Davros said with great aggravation, "These humans should welcome a Dalek takeover. Their base is falling apart." Looking across the room at hearing the sound of one of his children entering the room, he noticed Dalek Jast glide in. 'He was truly magnificent in his appearance', Davros thought with great pride. Superlative in his golden visage, he was everything that Davros hoped his children would be. He wasn't exactly sure why but he felt this particular Dalek looked down on him. He told himself it was an irrational fear, however after witnessing the acts of his children against his faithful companion Nider and the other chief scientists, he didn't feeling as comfortable with his children as he would have liked to.
"When will the humans arrive?" Jast mechanically droned on. "We are in need of human drones. The Mutos are at best barely compatible."
"The humans' base is malfunctioning. Currently, their communication equipment is experiencing outages so a conversation with them is nearly impossible." Davros complained, tapping the disfigured nails of his good hand on his chair.
"Soon with the upgrades to the Daleks, we will overpower their base and take them by force." Jast turned to leave.
"Upgrades?" Davros yelled at Jast with fury in his voice. "I have authorized no upgrades!"
Dalek Jast turned around. "I do not require your authorization. The Emperor of the Daleks has authorized this."
"But…" Davros began only to be cut off by Jast.
"Your life was spared because the Emperor decreed it so. Your authority with the Daleks is minimal. You will answer to me." Dalek Jast spun around and left the room before Davros could protest.
Davros stared after Jast aghast, and then a small smile crept across his lips. "But Jast, I have someone in custody that could possible change the balance of power, in my favor if I use her correctly. If I deliver the Doctor to your Emperor, then you will all see that you still need your creator. I will have accomplished what you have been unable to from your own account in centuries." He spun his chair around towards the monitor and flipped the switch that would allow him to see into the detention cell holding the Alphans. As soon as the screen flickered into life, the smile left his lips at once. The screen showed nothing but an empty cell.
Thinking quickly, he flipped another switch calling his private Dalek drones. When they entered, he said, "Two of you will go to the holding cell that housed the Alphans. Search the room to find the means of escape they used and go after them. I believe they will be headed for the caves. Two of you go to the cave entrance and look for the Alphans. Assist the others in returning them to their cell." As they left the room, Davros slammed his good hand down on his chair in aggravation. He should have never left them unguarded. He knew this girl had a propensity to escape. He blamed the distraction on Dalek Jast. Still, if he could recapture the group he could still get the upper hand over Jast. It was just as well he'd never told Jast the true identity of one of his prisoners. It would all work out in the end he decided. It had to.
Looking back at the screen he could see two of his Dalek drones enter and scan the room. They pulled off a vent cover. It pulled easily away, proving this was the group's means of escape. He called them over the loudspeaker and reminded them of their task, "They'll be heading for the caves. Go to the opening of the cave and wait for them. Bring them back but do not take them through the city. Make them return through the vent." When they were returned, he'd see to sealing that vent up permanently himself.
The Doctor, John Koenig, Alan Carter and Sevrin were now about a quarter of a mile away from the cave opening that the Doctor remembered from their last trip here. The sky was becoming a lighter mauve, a sign that dawn had arrived on Skaro.
Sevrin in the lead stopped and leaned against a jagged outcropping of rocks that they'd' been keeping close to for hours now. "That's the cave over there." Sevrin pointed across the field. "From here you have to cross the wasteland. There is no more cover. We'll be in the open."
The finality and despair in the Muto's words weren't lost on the two Alphans who looked at one another with worry. "Doctor who are we avoiding, Sevrin's friends or the Daleks?"
Not one to mince answers in this regeneration, the Doctor looked to the Alphans and simply answered, "Yes." Then turned back to Sevrin, "Once again Sevrin, Sarah and I are eternally grateful to you." He reached out to shake Sevrin's hand but the Muto stopped him.
Sevrin's head bowed at the sound of Sarah's name. "For Sarah Jane, I will stay with you a while longer." Looking back at the Alphans, Sevrin attempted to give them a look of optimism. "With luck we should find your friends soon." With that he turned his back and started across the rugged and rocky field.
The terrain was far from smooth. Something the Doctor remembered and the Alphans were discovering. Several times the Alphans found themselves walking on Skaro's equivalent of large strange bugs with an unbelievable amount of limbs, the crackling sound leaving a sickening feeling in the pit of the Alphans' stomachs.
Halfway across the group stopped when there was a loud crunching sound around them. Each man tensed and prepared to fight. Alan suddenly felt something crawling up his leg. He looked down to see something that appeared to be a cross between a snake and a slug crawling up his leg. Upon hearing the sudden intake of air from Alan the group turned as one to find the four foot long monstrosity attached to Alan's left pant leg.
John Koenig started to reach for the creature when the Doctor pulled him back. "Sevrin do you recognize this?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, it's what my people call a Guilliope. Some hunt them for food. They aren't deadly though they will give you a nasty bite."
"Alan don't move." the Doctor advised.
"No problem." Alan answered exchanging a quick look with John. So far their journey had gone better than they expected. This was an unexpected danger however.
The Doctor removed his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and made a few adjustments and upon seeing the look of concern on the Commander's face said,
"This should just stun the Guilliope quickly and painlessly and free the Captain in the process." After making several more adjustments, he added, "Just be very still Alan." He pointed the sonic screwdriver at Alan's leg and depressed the button. A whirling was heard and the snake like creature seemed to vibrate before falling to the ground seemingly unconscious. "There, he'll take a little nap and be none the worse." the Doctor said with a broad smile before replacing the sonic screwdriver back in the inside pocket of his jacket.
This time more slowly, the group progressed across the field having to stop several times while the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to stun a few more Guilliope. After thirty minutes the group closed in on the cave. As they approached the opening they were surprised by a group of Dalek drones. Two war scarred Mutos with Dalek eye stalks protruding from their foreheads with guns drawn approached the cave opening. The Doctor, the Alphans and Sevrin barely had time to retreat behind a huge boulder before being spotted.
The drones entered the cave. The Doctor looked back at the others when gunfire was heard. The Doctor recognized it as the unmistakable sound the Dalek lasers and now their drones laser guns make. As one the group quickly moved to the mouth of the cave. They peered around the rock's edge in time to see the end of the line of Alphans being forced back into the ventilation shaft. As they quietly moved further into the cavern, they found the body of one of Alpha's security team on the ground. He'd been shot with a Dalek laser gun. John Koenig bent down and checked for a pulse he knew he wouldn't find.
"I'm sorry Doctor. I can't go in there." Sevrin quietly admitted.
"Not even for Sarah?" the Doctor asked.
"I've lost three friends in the last several days in that cave. You'll have to find Sarah Jane without me."
Reaching over the Doctor clasped Sevrin's hand. "Thank you for everything Sevrin. Be safe."
Returning to the Alphans the Doctor watched as he exchanged a look that confirmed all the hurt and anger he knew the Alphans must be feeling with Alan. The Doctor whispered to the Commander, "I'm sorry but we have to keep moving." He saw Alan about to comment and cut him off. "I know that you want revenge but we have nine other Alphans and Sarah who are still alive up ahead. We have to save them, all right?"
Alan glumly nodded and hung his head, stealing one last look at his fallen friend. The security guard's name was Matt Spencer. He'd been a hard and sometimes unpleasant man to work with but he didn't deserve this. Alan decided he'd be the one to tell his girlfriend Imani when they returned to the base.