Chapter Twenty One
Almost fifteen minutes later, the trio had reached the crest of the hill. It was a particularly jagged one and the Doctor was grateful his fellow climbers were in good shape. The Professor would have definitely had a rough time getting up here and slowed them down. Once they looked around it was easy to see Eagle Four. It had been abandoned in the wasteland. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and took a reading. "Looks to be about half a mile from here, once we're on the ground anyway." he added while scrubbing at his head.
"Could I see those glasses Bettan gave you?" John Koenig asked.
The Doctor reached inside his jacket and pulled them out and handed them to John. "So Alan, you said you were a pilot right?"
"I'm the chief pilot. The Eagles are my division." Alan admitted with a sense of pride. Even on this dreadful planet it was good to see one of the fleet standing there waiting for them.
"Think you could drop some explosives on top of the Dalek bunker with that?" the Doctor asked while pointing to Eagle Four. Even with his limited knowledge of an Eagle, with its size, stealth would not be one of its attributes. But it did look as though it could do the job at hand, with the right person behind the wheel that is.
"It depends. If the Daleks damaged it when they brought it here, I may or may not be able to fix it. But if anyone can fix it, it'll be me." Alan smiled. He decided it wasn't bragging if you could back up your words.
"From what I can see from here," John Koenig started with the glasses against his eyes, "the landing pods look good, the hydraulics look good, to my eyes anyway."
"Can I have a look?" Alan asked. He didn't doubt John's word but being a pilot, he needed to see it for himself.
The Doctor took his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanned the area. "So far, so good boys." he commented as he continued his sweep. "No sign of Daleks or anyone else for that matter. "Are you up for a little recce?"
"Am I ever!" Alan said excitedly.
"Hold on there. We'll hopefully be able to board her and check her out but that's it. We can't risk starting her up and drawing attention to ourselves. Remember, this could be a trap so if you want to go back with the others, now's your chance." The Doctor wanted them to be sure they knew what they were getting involved with. There was a good chance this was a trap but he needed that Eagle to drop whatever explosives Bettan could get her hands on. If he had his way, he'd level that bunker till every speck of dust from it was obliterated.
John and Alan exchanged a quick look of resolution before John answered, "We're with you Doctor. We need that Eagle and you need us to check it out."
"Just checking." the Doctor gave the pair a big smile. "What do your people say, out of the frying pan and into the fire?" The Doctor turned and began his descent. "You know this reminds me of a little climb Sarah and I went on. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time." the Doctor recalled.
"Where was that?" Alan asked as he slid his hand over the rocks' face, now sore from all the sharp edges they'd encountered.
"Krakatoa, I think the date was in…oh, when was it? A few hundred years ago the date would have come at me in a flash. It was…1883."
John Koenig thought back through his history courses and asked, "Isn't that when it exploded?"
"Yes but luckily we made it back to the Tardis. She was parked at the bottom and it was just beginning to rumble. Don't remind Sarah of this, it's a bit of a touchy subject with her. She lost her watch as we were running to the Tardis."
"You were in 1883?" Alan asked incredulously.
"My ship travels in time and space. I thought I told you that." the Doctor commented as he continued climbing downward.
"Then why couldn't you…?" John started only to be cut off by the Doctor.
"Arrive on Alpha before you met the Daleks? Because it was too close to the time my prior self and Sarah had been here and a few other of my selves had been in the area. I can't cross my own timeline. Let's call it the biggest rule of time travel. My people had lots of rules. I was never a big fan of rules but there are a few that can't be broken, apparently."
The trio had reached the bottom of the hill and the Doctor was using his sonic screwdriver to check for Daleks again. "I'm going to let everyone know what we're doing." John stated. The Doctor was lost in his readings and seemed not to hear or care.
"Koenig to Bettan and Moonbase Alpha." he called.
"We're here John." Tony answered with Maya and Helena crowded round the screen.
With Victor's help, Bettan answered as well. "I'm here Commander."
"We have found Eagle Four to the south of the encampment. It's sitting about a half mile away. The Doctor has scanned for and hasn't detected any Dalek movement. From what I could see, it seems Eagle Four is intact but we'll be taking a closer look." He looked over at the Time Lord and asked, "Doctor, any questions?"
"Yea, ask Bettan if her people found any more explosives."
"Yes Doctor," Bettan replied, "my people have found a large cache of explosives hidden in a secret room in one of the archives."
"They say knowledge is power and I guess with the Thals that was never truer." the Doctor commented quietly.
"Do you wish the explosives to be brought to you?" Bettan asked. She assumed they would use the Eagle to transport the explosives to the bunker and detonate them there.
"No. Can you place them near the surface but not within the Daleks' sight?" the Doctor asked as plans ran through his head.
"Yes, we can."
"Bettan, I need to talk to Sarah." the Doctor said as he approached the Commander and took the commlock from his hand. In a few seconds he could see Sarah's beautiful face on it.
"So what's up?" Sarah asked lightly. She knew he wasn't checking to see if she were still there due to her condition which meant he was worried. The Doctor rarely worried, Sarah reminded herself.
"I just wanted to check on you." Which if truth were told and he was to admit it to himself, was only a half-truth.
"Liar, but I'll let it go, this time." Sarah smiled at the Doctor's face. "Please don't walk into a trap."
"When have I ever walked into a trap?" he asked, his face mirroring pure innocence.
"Many more times than I have the time or strength to mention. Please, just be careful." Sarah sternly looked at the Doctor.
"I'm always careful." Knowing Sarah as well as he did, he added, "And don't roll your eyes."
So instead, she stuck out her tongue and simply added, "I love you!"
"I love you too." he replied before handing the commlock back to the Commander.
"John, I…" Helena began but wasn't sure what she should say on an open channel.
"I know. I'll be careful." John said as he met Helena's eyes. He decided long ago that they were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen and today was no different. He only wished he could promise he'd be growing old by her side, but he couldn't.
"Good luck John. Let us know if there's anything we can do." Tony added as Helena turned away to compose herself.
"I will, Koenig out." John said as he closed the link and placed the commlock in his jacket pocket.
The Doctor raised one of his hands and pointed forward. "Off we go." Then stopped and looked back to Alan saying, "Everybody watch out for the Guiliopes."
Sarah sat on the ground of the makeshift base camp. She'd listened to the chatter across the commlocks and she'd listened to the Doctor's plan. She looked around her at the refugees from a war neither side thought they'd ever be fighting, against a horror none had ever dreamed possible. She'd been in this situation many times before. Left behind for one reason or the other, to rally the troops or provide a diversion. The results were often different but in the end Sarah knew she'd done her best. This time she'd been left behind with well-meaning people that only had the most minuscule idea of what the Daleks were ultimately capable of. This time she was almost powerless to help herself or any of them. Powerless with the exception that she felt if the need arose, she may have one more good run in her. After that…would she regenerate? She knew the Doctor wanted to get her to the Zero Room in the Tardis to help stabilize her but the Daleks had the Tardis and that wasn't going to be possible.
"Sarah Jane my dear, how are you feeling?" Professor Bergman sat down beside her on the ground.
Looking up she saw that her Alphan friends had joined the Professor. "First Professor,"
and then looking at each of her friends in turn, "Bill, Dimi, Ed, I want you to know that I had no idea who I was when I came to Alpha. I never knowingly tried to deceive any of you."
"We know that Sarah Jane." Bill said. "Alan told us what the Doctor did to hide you."
"We understand he did what he thought was right." Dimi added.
"I just wish there were something I could do for you." Ed admitted with his head bowed. In his medical opinion, Sarah Jane wasn't long for this world. Regardless of what Alan had told him about regeneration, it would take a literal miracle in his mind to save her. He knew she was in pain and only wished he had something to give her.
"Hey," Sarah reached out and took Ed's hand. "I'm going to be fine. I'm just going through a rough patch right now. You have all been great to me and I will never ever forget that. You'll see, it'll all work out in the end." Sarah hadn't meant to say that aloud but the belief in her heart was so great, she felt the need to share it.
It had been about thirty minutes since their last contact with the Doctor and internally, Sarah was worried. She thought back to all the times she'd had to stay behind and worry and as with every time before, it made her anxiety level go through the roof.
"Hello Sarah Jane. I haven't had time to talk to you before now." Bettan stated.
"Hello Bettan, I wish this were a happier meeting." Sarah sighed.
"Me too." Bettan admitted. "We have gathered a great amount of explosives and placed them on a fallen metal wall from the Thal dome. They covered the explosives with their cloaks, though if the Daleks scan for them…"
"They'll find them. The Thal dome is to the… Sorry Bettan it's been a long time for me since I was here last. Which direction is the Thal dome from here?" Sarah asked trying to orient herself.
"It's to the east, not terribly far away. In case you speak with the Doctor before I do, I thought you should know." Bettan explained.
At the cave's opening, there were shouts. "The Daleks have found us!" Screams could be heard as the refugees began to panic.
Sevrin moved closer to Sarah. Though what he could do to protect his friend remained to be seen.
Bettan put the commlock she'd been given into Sarah Jane's hands. "Sevrin there's a small niche in this wall that's big enough for two. Take Sarah Jane and hide there. Don't come out for any reason." She squeezed his arm and said again, "Nothing, do you understand?"
Sevrin grabbed Sarah under the arms and literally flung her into his arms as he quickly followed Bettan. They approached the small opening behind a rock, that had it not been pointed out he would not have known it was there. Sevrin climbed inside and with Bettan's help dragged Sarah Jane inside with him. He used his cloak and covered the two of them. The dirty brown color of the cloak blended in with the ground perfectly.
Bettan quickly moved away and returned to the open part of the cavern. She could see eight Dalek drones with their weapons trained on her people and the Alphans. She quickly met the Professor's eyes and nodded, letting him know that at least Sarah Jane wouldn't succumb to the Daleks, if she had anything to do with it.
Across the cavern, accented by the flames of the fire was the shadow of a Dalek as it entered. 'How could a Dalek climb the hillside?' Bettan wondered, till it came closer.
Dalek Jast, his bronze metallic casing floated across the dirt and rock strewn floor entered. "You are prisoners of the Daleks. You will be taken to the bunker for processing!" he screamed at the frightened group.
"No!" screamed out several Mutos as they attempted to run. The Dalek drones shot them dead.
Meeting the Professor's eyes again, Bettan shouted, "Just do as they say."
All guns were trained on her. "We do not require your help. All prisoners are to leave now!" the Dalek droned as the group headed for the cavern's opening. Dalek Jast stopped Bettan as she was passing and added, "We have captured your friends at the spacecraft. You have no hope. Move! Move! Move!" Bettan bowed her head, in mock despair. With any kind of luck at all, Alpha or Sarah Jane and Sevrin could help them.
The cavern had wonderful acoustics and Sarah and Sevrin had heard everything. When Sarah heard the Doctor had been captured, Sevrin struggled to hold on to her. "We can't help him by being caught." Sevrin had whispered in her ear.
The pair waited several minutes and listened to the silence before crawling out from their hiding spot. Sevrin, mostly supporting Sarah took her back to the rock she'd been sitting next to before carefully placing her on the ground. "Now what do we do?" Sevrin asked.
"I don't know but I'm sure something will come to me. It generally does." Sarah said.