7. Against the Odds.
Chloe's instinct is to run out of the Tardis after her sister to save her. If she can save her Uncle Meran as well, then so much the better!
She pauses to think just how to pursue this.
She is certain to be seen and captured if she so much as opens the Tardis door. All her instincts tell her that it's the only way out and the only way to help her sister. Then she thinks about the Tardis she's in. It's so powerful! It can track her sister and Meran; it may have its limits, but it's a good start!
She recalls personally having to put on a Cyberman's suit and then having to speak to a huge audience of Cybermen and try to persuade them to try peace (ref. 31). But the Doctor had merely told her that the Cybermen would use peace to their advantage and amass an even greater army, ready for when the peace ended (ref. 33).
She definitely doesn't want to be the cause of the end of any peaceful time!
"Tardis, can you track Alyssa and Meran, please."
Having walked along the track, they're marched into a massive fortress which appears to be built of steel, like the Cybermen! Tracking ceases immediately.
"Tardis, can we go into that fortress?"
An internal schematic of the floor plan appears on the screen. Chloe selects a large central room. The familiar zizz is brief, and the screen shows a large interrogation room.
"Who are you? Name?"
Alyssa is fastened to some device to prevent her escape.
"Alyssa." She appears to be resigned to some sort of difficulty, but she's not rattled. Does she recognise the difficulty she's in?
"How did you get here?"
"I walked!" she snaps angrily, resentful of having been force marched. .
"You do not walk onto Cyberium One!" .
A parallel interrogation is under way with Uncle Meran, but Chloe focusses more on her sister, understandably more concerned.
"Do you know what we do to miscreant Humans?"
"N, no?" Alyssa stammers. Her day has gone from bad to worse. Far worse! She's lost her house and home, endangered a little old man who was too bossy by far, re-bought herself a wardrobe full of clothes only to find there were some already, been taken to a planet she hadn't known existed except in her mother's stories that she hadn't believed at all, and been captured and force marched somewhere where they've entrapped her and are interrogating her aggressively. Her day has been the worst ever!
But worse is to come.
"We remove the body and implant the brain into these metal Cyber bodies. Then..."
A primal scream is heard that makes Chloe's hair stand on end! .
"It is all arranged for you." the Cyberman says flatly and evenly. .
Alyssa can hardly breathe she is so scared.
Chloe decides she must act now!
"Tardis, please enclose Alyssa."
The interrogation apparatus chaining Alyssa appears in the Tardis. The chains fall off and Chloe runs to hug her sister.
Alyssa faints and Chloe quickly drags her away from the middle of the Control room to a low glistening seat near the side. She hasn't seen this seat before; it's hard and metallic; there's no cushion at all! .
Chloe returns to the Console and looks for her Uncle Meran. She can't see him now.
"Tardis, please take me to observe Uncle Meran."
A brief zizz and the Tardis has parked itself in a different wall with a different view.
Meran is being taken towards a Cyber conversion machine. There's a queue, but they're taking him past the queue of volunteers, straight to the machine!
Meran is then strapped into the Cyber conversion machine. Conversion is imminent!
A parallel machine has some poor person in it, maybe even a volunteer, but the conversion to Cyberman is always painful, and the person screams.
Meran expects the worst!
A Cyberman comes and stands before him and explains what is about to happen to him.
Chloe sees her chance. "Tardis, can you make a tool to release those shackles?"
A brief moment later, a tool emerges from the Console unit and Chloe grasps it. A brief instruction on its use appears on the screen. Chloe glances at it and runs for the door.
Alyssa has recovered and watches as her sister opens the Tardis door and runs towards Meran. She's horrified that the Tardis door is still open and gets up to go and close it, at least to a small gap. She'll feel much safer then!
Chloe passes the Cyberman easily and starts releasing Meran, but it takes time.
"Run to the Tardis door," she instructs him.
As Meran runs, but Chloe is captured. Meran looks back from the Tardis door, helplessly.
Alyssa grabs him and pulls him inside, closing the door rapidly. They're safe at least!
Meran runs to the Console to watch on the monitor screen.
Chloe is taken to the interrogation part of the room and strapped in.
"How did you arrive here? What's your purpose here apart from rescuing Meran?"
Chloe wriggles, but she can't bring her wrists together at all. She has a trick up her sleeve!
Chloe once had the opportunity to use some Gallifreyan information to build for herself, and miniaturise, what she likes to call a Tardis in her wristwatch. Unfortunately, she must activate it by pressing a button which is most inconvenient just now! . (Ref. 29.)
Then Alyssa and Meran see Rimba taken through to the Cyber conversion equipment. She's been around a corner so far, out of sight. They watch helplessly as she's strapped in and told what's going to happen. She wants to fight but is firmly restrained. The Cybermen are used to Human struggles.
They watch Chloe. But the moment she's released from interrogation, she suddenly disappears... And re-appears right behind them in the Tardis!
"Surprised you!" Chloe says, then giggles.
"How did you get here?" Alyssa asks.
"A magician never reveals their secrets!" Chloe carefully avoids telling them she simply activated her wristwatch transport! .
All is far from over.
Alyssa points out Rimba. She's now having to endure the explanation of what's about to happen to her.
Chloe becomes aware that Rimba is part of the crew and views the room. The Cybermen have increased their security since she saved Meran. She can't possibly get past them now!
She changes her focus to the immediate vicinity of Rimba. Then she grips her releasing tool and activates her wristwatch...
Alyssa is horrified that Chloe has disappeared from being with them, but Meran points her out on the screen by Rimba.
Immediately, Chloe starts to release Rimba.
Seeing their quarry being released, the Cybermen accelerate their conversion process for Rimba. She screams.
Chloe thinks of being in the Tardis and activates her wristwatch. She's never tried bringing someone who's tied up before, she just has to hope it will work, at least a bit!
They appear in the Tardis with Rimba only partly released, part of the conversion equipment is still attached. Chloe quickly completes releasing her.
Then Chloe looks at Rimba. "Who are you?"
Chloe's never met Rimba. She's been Alyssa's friend at school, but never been invited back to Alyssa's home.
Later.
"I've had the most awful day," Alyssa says indignantly, "and it's your fault!" She's talking directly to Chloe. .
"I don't think you can blame everything on me!"
"You dragged me off to a party of yours, and when I come back, my house has been destroyed and I'm mutilated by metal men!"
"But none of that's my fault!"
"If I hadn't left the house, everything would have been alright!"
"If you'd been in the house when it was destroyed, you'd be dead!"
Meran can't bear to have the sisters arguing so much.
"Please, please, ladies, we can all move on from here. We're all still alive and well, if a little bent."
A little sympathy and empathy can go a long way to patching things up, but Alyssa is maybe tired, upset, and not seeing things straight. She should wait for another day, exercise forgiveness and avoid pointing the finger.