Chapter Fourteen
One by one, the Alphans were herded back into the metal ventilation shaft by the four Dalek drones. When they'd been in the shaft before, Sarah had noticed a tunnel branching off to the right about halfway. From her previous trip she knew this one would take them to an outer corridor in the Dalek city. She still wasn't sure how she knew this, but knew it she did. She decided that if she led the Alphans back to the detention cell they were as good as dead, so when she came to the opening of the other tunnel she glanced back at the Professor and met his eye. "This way." she almost whispered with a smile.
The Professor did his best to return her smile but he was exhausted. The strain of all this climbing was detrimental to his mechanical heart. At this point he was beginning to wonder if he would make it to the end. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he knew if he gave up, the Dalek drones behind him would surely kill the Alphans. So he did his best and used the last of his reserve of energy to follow Elisabeth.
After another five minutes of climbing through the shaft, Sarah could see the opening and the pressure fitted grating that covered it ahead. From the appearance of Dalek drones, Sarah doubted they were capable of doing anything as complex as individual thinking. Two of them hadn't the luxury of being with the Alphans when they came through the first time, so they wouldn't know they were taking a different path. Sarah was hoping those two would be in the front. Looking back after she removed the grating's cover and checked to make sure the corridor was empty, she gave what she hoped was an encouraging smile to the Professor.
As she remembered, there was a work room directly across from the grate's opening. In it she saw a table with an array of Dalek experimental gun prototypes. She remembered the Doctor using one to destroy the recording Davros had made. She remembered looking at Harry and smiling at the irony of using a piece of a Dalek to destroy…wait a minute, she could see the Doctor. She could see the Doctor and Harry in her mind. They were there, her Doctor and her Harry. Younger than when she'd last seen him at the college, but definitely Harry. She could feel that lost part of her returning. Not quite there yet, but returning. At the end of the table she recognized a cache of the Alphans confiscated firearms. She grabbed three of the stun guns and handed one to the Professor and slipped the other in her belt.
"Professor", Sarah whispered as the first of the remaining Alphans emerged from the hatch, "as soon as the others get free, fire on the Dalek drones." Sarah knew this wouldn't be a popular solution for Professor Bergman, who given his own choice would prefer to talk things over and try to convince the Dalek drones to help the Alphans. But they had never faced the Daleks and didn't realize how deadly they were. Unfortunately, Sarah did.
"But…" Professor Bergman began.
"Trust me. Please Professor we don't have time to debate this." Sarah finished harshly. The first Alphan out was Bill Frazer. Sarah took the other gun from her belt and handed it to him. She directed him to stand next to the Professor. She knew he'd have heard the exchange between the two and with a look, she knew he'd follow through with her plan. They'd been flying together for quite a while now and they trusted each other implicitly.
One by one the Alphans emerged from the shaft, each seeing Sarah with her finger against her pursed lips urging them to remain quiet. As soon as the first Dalek drone appeared, Sarah shot him, stunning him with an Alphan pulling him aside before he had the chance to hit the floor. Without hesitation, the second Dalek drone came out, all but falling over his contemporary before being stunned by Frazer. Sarah had been right; these poor souls were simply mindless drones. They only knew to do the task they had been given, nothing more and nothing less. Sarah and Frazer repeated their task as the last two Dalek drones emerged from the tunnel.
Looking to the two remaining security guards she ordered them, "Put them in here." She went into the room and returned the remaining firearms that had been taken from them.
"Now what?" Dimi asked the Professor.
"Elisabeth, you seem to know this planet. What do you suggest?" he smiled at her.
"First off, call me Sarah Jane." Sarah said with a smile. "I'll try to explain more as it comes to me. It's still coming back to me in flashes. But for now we need to survive until we can leave Skaro." She could see questions forming, questions she didn't have answers to and they didn't have time for. "I know this won't be popular, but we have to go back through the ventilation shaft and get to the cave again, quickly. It's our only way out. If the Daleks or Davros find us, we'll become one of them." She pointed to the drones. "Speaking of which," Sarah pulled some wiring she saw in a cabinet to her right out, "we need to tie them up so they can't get away." She handed the wiring to the security guards who immediately began to bind the drone's hands and feet.
"I'm sorry Professor. I know this is hard on you but it's our only chance to stay alive till the Commander can find a way to rescue us." In her mind Sarah added, 'And hopefully the Doctor'.
Victor Bergman returned a weak smile. "I understand Sarah Jane." He lovingly clasped her forearm, giving it an affectionate squeeze. "Not quite done in yet."
Sarah returned the smile, checked to make sure the corridor was clear and looked back at the Alphans. "Remember, as quiet and quickly as you can." she whispered.
Leading the group, she climbed in with the Professor behind her leading the rest of her group out of the Dalek city.
"What's taking them so long?" Davros complained to himself as he poised him mangled hand over the switches on his chair. He'd been watching that open vent in the prisoner's cell intently for over thirty minutes now. They should have been returned to their cell. He knew the drones were limited…still. Pulling another switch on his chair, he summoned two additional Dalek drones. "You are to go to the cave opening and find the other drones. Bring the prisoners back through the ventilation shaft and return them to their cell. Then return to me and report!" Davros yelled.
Looking at the communication switch on his chair, he flipped it and tried again, "Moonbase Alpha, this is King Sorvad. Are you receiving?" He listened and heard nothing but static. "Stupid humans! They will be sorry they angered me! I will have every single one of them turned into drones!" he yelled angrily. He still felt they were holding back. Why was their Commander too busy to speak with him? He instinctually felt something was wrong but fortunately for them, he had no way to address it…for now.
Back in the cave, the Doctor, Commander Koenig and Alan Carter were discretely peering around a huge stalagmite at the two Dalek drones that had entered the cave. The Doctor pulled back around the corner, a huge smile on his face. He could feel her! Not someone who thought she was Elisabeth Baker, but his one and only Sarah Jane Smith! He felt her adrenalin rise momentarily then peacefulness settled over her. She was coming back to herself, of that he was sure. But it wasn't supposed to happen, not yet anyway which meant something triggered it. Someone had to have hurt her. There was a possibility she may regenerate and if that happened, he wanted to be there to help see her through it.
"What is it mate?" Alan asked, his Australian good looks shining through as he considered the Doctor. If the Doctor was happy, then things had to be looking up, right?
Glancing around the corner hurriedly, all John Koenig could see was the pair of Dalek drones coming through the tunnel entrance. "Doctor we need to move them and go after my people."
"Oh I agree, I most definitely agree." the Doctor whispered enthusiastically, the smile on his face only slightly fading as he contemplated this problem. "I think your friends and Sarah are heading back through the vent now and I don't want them to have to deal with them." The Doctor looked back toward the direction of the fallen Alphan. He wasn't sure the drones were capable of the distinction between destroying the Alphans and destroying Sarah, someone he knew Davros wouldn't want destroyed…not yet anyway. He'd want to interrogate her thoroughly, as would Dalek Jast.
"Well, I can take care of that." Alan drew his gun as did John.
The Doctor quickly pulled down both of their arms. "No! No guns! Especially not in here!" he whispered tersely. Pointing up at the ceiling, he said, "You could force all the stalactites to fall down and seal them in the vent permanently and come down on our heads as well. Guns are a last resort." Looking directly over the pair guarding the entrance, he added, "Especially when there's another way." He made some adjustments on his sonic screwdriver. "Stay here. No matter what, stay here."
"We're going with you." John said. He'd let the Doctor get them this far but how much could he actually trust the Doctor? He knew Maya respected him but they'd been fooled before. Now he was here on a strange planet without an Eagle or any way other than the Doctor's ship to return them to Alpha. He'd known that when he stepped into the Tardis but still… He didn't like being out of control.
"If this works we'll only be separated a few seconds. I have a more precise way of handling this." the Doctor said, agitation creeping into his voice. "Now forgive me but I don't have time for niceties. Stay here and I'll be right back. Don't be like everyone else who's ever traveled with me and follow me. Wait on me to call you."
The Doctor placed his finger against the button on his sonic that would bring a very concentrated beam to one perhaps two particular stalactites. He very quietly walked forward about a hundred feet. "Hello." he said very calmly to the pair of Dalek drones who were immediately caught off guard. They immediately trained their guns on the Doctor. The Doctor was walking towards the pair with his hands up in the air.
The drones were confused. They'd been told to go to the entrance and bring back the prisoners. But didn't the prisoners already go through? Taking advantage of their misperception, the Doctor continued to move forward and ever so slightly angled his hand holding the sonic screwdriver, pointing it to the pair of stalactites directly overhead of the drones. "Excuse me but I'm lost. I'm looking for Peladon and I think I might have taken a wrong turn at the last black hole. Do you have a star map on you by chance?" the Doctor asked with a big smile. The drones looked at each other in confusion. The Doctor saw his chance and pressed the button on his sonic. The beam hit the stalactites with precision. The pair of small stalactites came down and hit the drones in the head and knocked them unconscious.
The Doctor called out to the Alphans while spreading his arms to illustrate his point, "There you are no muss and no fuss. Two itty bitty stalactites fell and nothing else. But they will wake up in a few minutes so we best be on our way boys." Not hearing a reply or movement, the Doctor frowned. He looked back to see the Alphans with their hands up. Two new Dalek drones with guns trained on them standing directly behind them. Fearing for the safety of the Alphans, the Doctor raised his hands and walked over to the Alphans and the drones. "I suppose this is where I say, take me to your leader?"
Alan rolled his eyes. "Sorry Doctor, they were behind us before we knew it."
"It's all right Alan. It's the kind of day we're having isn't it?" the Doctor replied. Looking to the Commander, hoping to reassure him, the Doctor noticed that John Koenig wasn't interested in him. He was watching something intently over his shoulder. Quickly checking with the Dalek drones, he could see that they hadn't noticed whatever it was that had caught the Commander's attention.
On Moonbase, Alpha Helena Russell had a bad feeling. She could almost feel John Koenig's anxiety and for her it was heart wrenching. "Tony, don't you think we should have heard something by now?"
Tony Verdeschi swiveled around from his desk. He'd been doing his best to keep busy while keeping one eye on the scanners hoping for something…anything to prove the Alphans and the Doctor on the planet were alive and well. As each hour passed, so did his expectation of a good outcome. But he was in charge now and it was up to him to keep up everyone's morale. He'd been looking at the same faces since this whole nightmare began knowing that no one wanted to leave their post. They'd all been surviving on coffee or what passed for coffee on Moonbase Alpha anyway. They all needed rest and food. He may not be able to do anything about rest but food of sorts he could handle. But first things first, he needed to answer Helena. He knew what he would say were only empty words, but it was all he had to offer.
Quickly exchanging a look with Maya, he said, "Helena, you know that if the opportunity presents itself that John will contact us." He stood in front of her and took her hands in his. "I know this is hard. I know you haven't eaten since all this began." Looking around the Command Center he added, "I also know that nobody else have left their post to eat either."
Maya joined the pair and placed her arm around Helena's shoulders. "It will do us good to take a walk Helena. Why don't we go and get everyone some sandwiches?" Knowing what was going through Helena's mind added, "We're only a commlock call away."
"I will call the second I hear anything Helena." Tony reassured her.
"We won't be gone long Helena. I promise." Maya tried.
Once again the communications board erupted with life. "This is King Sorvad calling Moonbase Alpha." Davros' gravelly voice sounded over the speakers. Sandra's eyes met Tony's and looked their question.
Tony walked away from Maya and Helena and returned to his seat. "Okay Sahn, this time make the sound go up and down." He told her with almost a smile. "Let's make him believe we're making some progress on the repairs anyway."
"Yes Tony." Sandra replied. "Ready when you are."
Tony met Sandra's eyes and pointed a finger at her, signaling now. "This is Moonbase Alpha. Can you hear us King Sorvad?" Tony asked, knowing that the sound on his end was going up and down.
"Yes Moonbase Alpha, although there is still some inconsistency with your communication." Davros answered.
"Yes we're aware of the problem and are working on it. We're still experiencing a massive power drain brought on by a problem with our nuclear generators." Tony lied once again with what he hoped was a conveyance of despair and aggravation.
On his end, Davros was beginning to have a few suspicions of his own. Why was it the Commander was suddenly not available to speak to him? Had they discovered a way around the Dalek defenses and landed on Skaro in an attempt to rescue their people? "I would like to speak to Commander Koenig." Davros tried, hoping to confirm his theory.
"I'm sorry King Sorvad but Commander Koenig is currently at our water recycling and storage plant attempting to keep it from failing. As soon as he…"
Davros cut Tony off. "Is there any other reason that the Commander won't or can't speak to me?"
Maya leaned in to whisper in Helena's ear, "I'm sorry." Maya stepped away from Helena and changed herself into a replica of John Koenig.
"That's all right Tony. I can talk to the King." Maya took a seat in the Commander's chair now in the complete guise of John Koenig, body and voice.
When Tony heard John's voice, he quickly looked back in shock. Helena mouthed the word Maya and Tony immediately understood the situation.
Practicing all the diplomacy she'd witnessed the Commander use in her years on Alpha, she began, "I'm terribly sorry I wasn't here to speak with you King Sorvad. We've had quite a few problems on our end to contend with. I'm sure you can understand." Maya finished in what she hoped was an almost conspiratorial tone.
Davros was confused. He was obviously speaking to Commander Koenig so that meant that the Commander was indeed on Moonbase Alpha and not on his way to Skaro. "Does this mean you're ready to come to Gamma Z to collect your friends?" Davros tried. He would have their bodies yet, one way or another.
"I'm sorry King Sorvad but we're not even close to finishing the repairs to the base. We still have no power going to our launch pads and no way to launch and leave the base. I only stopped back in Command Center to check in on things since our base intercommunications are down as well. Is there any way we can speak with our people?"
"Your people still haven't been located. We are few and I was hoping you would be here by now and take up the search yourself." Davros was finding it hard to keep the aggravation out of his voice. The Commander may be on Alpha but he still felt something was wrong.
"I as well had hoped to be there by now. But I'm sure you can understand till we can return power to our launch pads we cannot leave Alpha. Our life support system is also now in jeopardy," Maya began hoping to buy them a little more time, "and that is something that must be repaired first."
At this point Davros wasn't sure what to think. If their base was this decrepit, they should welcome the Daleks plans for them when the opportunity presented itself. Till then, he would have to go along with them. He knew they wouldn't abandon their people. Speaking of which, he glanced down at the monitor and noticed the room was still empty. Where were the drones and the Alphans? He needed to check and find them before Dalek Jast found out what was going on. "Commander, I will let you return to your repairs so that you can come to Gamma Z and locate your people. I only hope that they have survived and it's not too late." Davros added with a double meaning he was sure they wouldn't understand.
"Thank you for your understanding King Sorvad. Moonbase Alpha out." Maya answered as she stood while signaling Sandra to cut the communication. She transformed from John Koenig back to herself. "Think he believed me?" Maya asked Tony and Helena.
"You did great!" Tony reached forward and embraced Maya, kissing her on the cheek. "I really think he was beginning to suspect something when he couldn't talk to John."
"He's right Maya. That was wonderful. I'm sure it bought John, Alan, the Doctor and hopefully the Eagle crew some time." Inside Helena was crestfallen, seeing the image of John but not John standing right in front of her. She couldn't shake the feeling he was in danger.
Tony and Maya exchanged a look of understanding. They had been separated before too and knew exactly what Helena was going through. "Maya, Helena, you two were about to get us something to eat and after Maya's wonderful performance I think we deserve it." Helena attempted to smile.
"Listen Helena, we didn't just stall him. We found out that he doesn't have John, Alan or the Doctor. So that means they're still down there searching for our people." Tony clasped Helena's shoulders. "That's great news, right?"
"Yes of course Tony, you're right. We'll get sandwiches for everyone." Helena turned and walked away.
Tony and Maya weren't fooled. They knew their friend and could recognize she was trying to put on a brave face. Maya reached out and squeezed Tony's hand before following Helena out of the Command Center. "Helena, wait up." she called after her friend.