"Doctor Smith, I presume," Reynolds called loudly. "That is what you are
called on this planet, isn't it? In this era at least."
"I prefer just Doctor, thank you," the Doctor called. He slipped his hands into his pockets. A sudden pinching to his arm had him glancing to his side. Tegan was there, gripping his skin in a vice-like hold. He patted her hand. "Easy now, Tegan," he encouraged.
"He's a.a."
"Duplicate. Yes, Mrs. Jones, I believe that's an adequate but not quite accurate term for what I am."
"A clone on the sub-molecular level," the Doctor retorted, his eyes wide. Turlough could feel another scientific lecture approaching and rolled his eyes. "A genetic graft on an existing chromosomal framework of the basic bipedal form. Ingenious, but not quite to Gallifreyan standard. At least we've been able to engineer the bioelectronic field to hold and maintain the soul. Something I doubt the Daleks would want to do even if they could."
Al, despite his obvious fear, gaped at the Doctor and stumbled over next to him. After two unsuccessful tries at speech, he gutted out: "But that's impossible."
"For twentieth century Earth, definitely," the Doctor agreed. "The whole idea is quite mad, isn't it?"
"But it isn't impossible for the Dalek Empire, Dr. Pendrall," Reynolds chuckled. "Thank you for the most excellent lecture, Doctor. I understand from my predecessor that you do excel at lecturing when given the chance. If you're quite finished, however, I would advise you to surrender."
"Surrender?" Penny called out. She brushed back her hair. Tegan appreciated the sour frown on the girl's face. "You've the guns. You make it sound like we've a choice."
The Doctor ignored the interaction. His mind was otherwise occupied. "The Brigadier here; he is unharmed, I hope?"
"Yes, for now-"
"Ah, of course," the Doctor nodded. He whipped his hands out of his pockets to motion to the guards. "Of course. And now that you have us? As my new friend Penny has pointed out, we obviously don't have a choice and have, for all intents of purpose, surrendered."
"You can't be serious," Tegan hissed at his elbow. "You can't surrender."
"Hush, Tegan," he reiterated and raised an eyebrow at Reynolds. "I would love to take the opportunity to ask some questions-"
"I'm sure you would, Doctor. Your curiosity is galactically known. Unfortunately, there is little time now to engage in an educational conversation."
"I see," the Doctor replied, his tone very downtrodden. To Turlough the Time Lord looked like a boy who had had his candy taken away. "Of course. And I suppose you will be imprisoning us?"
Reynolds gave a curt nod as he walked around the table that held the Brigadier. "Very astute, dear Doctor. You and your friends will be imprisoned here until we've procured your method of transfer to the Dalek fleet."
"Ah, very good," the Doctor said, leaning forward. "The time corridor is-"
"Quite operational although-"
"You're having problems with the energy, I would suppose. Up to now you've only been able to transmit information down it to Earth." The Doctor bit his lip and glanced around at his friends. "You've had little time to perfect it. We are to be the guinea pigs so to speak. If we can pass through, then the Daleks can return, yes?"
Reynolds smiled widely. "You understand your purpose well. We never waste an opportunity." Turning, the man glared at the surrounding guards. "There are no other ways out of this room; guard them from the corridor." As he walked toward the door, he addressed Pendrall. "You'll find that your computer password has been rescinded and that all of the technology herein is non-functional. Expect to be moved in the hour."
The Doctor stood facing the door, his shoulders back and his head reared. As the door slid shut, leaving the friends in the room, the silence was disrupted by loud conversation.
"That is simply wonderful," Penny voiced, turning to Alfred. "You've led us back into prison, Doctor whoever you are." Tegan was surprised the girl didn't stamp her feet. "What can you hope to accomplish here?"
Alfred sighed and joined Turlough as the boy freed the Brigadier. "Penny, please. Relax, lass."
"Relax? We're back into the fire. We skipped the damn frying pan."
Tegan whipped around to face Penny. Her grip on the Doctor's arm was still intense and he could feel her shaking, but when she spoke, her voice held some of her old strength. "I haven't seen you give a better idea."
"I did," Penny nearly yelled back. "I said not to come back this way."
"Stop bickering," Turlough stated, as if very tired. "You can argue later, you two. Brigadier, are you all right?"
"Never been better, Turlough. You all took your time getting here, however."
"Glad to hear it, Brigadier," the Doctor called, rubbing his neck. He moved towards the table and leaned heavily on its surface as he stared at his old friend. "Have they processed you in any way, Alastair? Have they- "
"Hooked me up to that brute of a computer? No."
"Ah, good. That means that they haven't had the chance to copy and use your life's memories," the Doctor said, checking the old soldier's eyes. "Hmm, it seems all is in order. Good, good." Straightening, he addressed Penny. "We are exactly where they wish us to be. The object, like a good chess game or an excellent cricket game, is to use complacency to our advantage. They'll be complacent that we're here, correct? That gives us an advantage. A chance to throw a spanner into the works so to speak."
"And what on Earth can you hope to accomplish locked in a laboratory with guards with guns at the door? We can't even properly use the computers," Penny croaked out. "I don't understand what we're doing here."
"I assure you," the Doctor retorted, bending to look in her eyes. "Using the computer won't be a problem. And I intend to use it."
"But Smith." Pendrall voiced. "They've."
"Rescinded your password. That doesn't mean the Doctor can't get in to the mainframe." Turlough walked forward and clicked on the computer with a smile. Within moments, a prompt was blinking on the terminal. "But what you hope to-" he shook his head.
The Doctor sat down at the terminal and placed his spectacles on the end of his nose. He glanced at Turlough over the top of them and gave his companion a look. "Oh, Turlough," he began disappointedly. "Think. This is a military biological research station. They've been doing work on a vaccine for the Movellian virus."
Turlough nodded once curtly, giving the Brigadier a sideways glance. "We could change the structure of the vaccine?"
Al Pendrall shook his head. "The work was completed yesterday. The commander of this base-"
"A duplicate if Turlough can be believed," Penny interjected.
"-took the vaccine to have it tested. I dare say it will work, though," Pendrall grimaced. "Sometimes I wish that I wasn't such a perfectionist with my work."
"Hmm. Don't blame yourself for a job well done," the Doctor stated affectionately. "It does make this situation much worse than I expected, however." He shifted in the chair and began to experiment with different key strokes. His eyes narrowed. "The basic structure of three administrative levels for the program mainframe still exists."
"That's all well fine and good," Tegan said, her voice heightened from the beginning of panic. "Doctor, if you're through with the Magical Mystery Tour of that computer, I think you should get what you need and we should get out of here."
"For once," Penny murmured. "I agree with her."
"What do you need?" Turlough asked.
"Well, if the vaccine was already made and has been tested, it can be either isolated or reproduced. Destruction of the information on chemical and biological composition is useless then. What we need is the research on the virus itself."
Pendrall frowned. "You'll need primary administration level. I hid the files on that work in a hidden folder in under my heading. They can't get in there, but neither can I. If you get to the primary level, I can give you the password-"
"Excellent, Pendrall." The Doctor began to tap quickly on the computer. He bit his lip as his fingers flew over the keyboard.
Penny laid her hand on Tegan's arm and took her a small distance away from the others. "Your friend is insane, you know."
"He's never led me wrong; I've never come to harm with him," Tegan narrowed her eyes in anger. "The Doctor's quite all right, you'll see."
"He'll never get in that computer mainframe. It's been created and challenged by the best programmers in both the States and Britain-"
"Eureka!" the Doctor called loudly, before the Brigadier warned him to be quieter. "We're in, Pendrall."
Al raised his eyebrows in surprise and glanced at the Doctor with new found respect. "You must be Smith. Only he would have been able to get into that computer that quickly. Move aside. Penny, girl, get me two disks. You'll have that information in a moment, Smith."
The Doctor bounced out of the chair with a flourish. "Make two copies, Pendrall. It's always best to have a duplicate."
Tegan shook her head at his poor humor and crossed her arms as he drew alongside her. He suddenly leaned down and stared in her eyes. "Are you all right?" he pressed. He could see that her coloring had paled and her hands were shaking.
With a weak smile, she gave the age old answer. "Of course. I'm indestructible."
"No. You're not," he said with a lifted eyebrow.
"If you must know," she said with venom. "I feel like my ears and eyes are in a tunnel and my heart is pounding. I thought I left this all behind. I nearly screamed when those men pulled guns on us."
He nodded, as though he had expected the answer. "Stay with me, Tegan. I promise I'll get you home safe and sound. Just keep thinking about that, all right?"
"Done, Smith," Pendrall called out. He held up two sets of floppies. "What do you want to do with them?"
"You take a set, Pendrall and give me the other. I trust," the Doctor said as he took a set of disks and slipped it into his pocket. "I trust that you'll know what to do with them-"
As he spoke the door in the corner of the room slid open. A sole humanoid entered the room, holding a gun. "We have orders to transfer you to the transmit chamber. Move!"
"Ah, wonderful. You'll have tea there? Hmm?" the Doctor asked. He put his hand at Tegan's back and urged her towards the door. He gave a glance to Turlough and Al, saving a nod for the Brigadier. As he passed Penny, he took her arm. "Come along, you two," he said jovially.
As they entered the corridor, the Doctor back pedaled slightly. His sudden move made the others crowd in close to him. Then suddenly, he shot forward and grasped the gun of the nearest guard. He caused the man to teeter, unbalanced. At the same time, Turlough pressed hard on Tegan's back and Penny's arm to get them to move in another direction. He reached behind himself in the next breath to grab the Brigadier's arm. "With all due respect," he whispered harshly. "Move, sir."
The Doctor released the gun suddenly and the guard fell back against the wall. He twisted and grabbed Tegan's hand and Penny's arm as the two girls ran in the other direction. After two strides, he passed them, dragging them behind him as he sprinted around the corner. Turlough shoved the Brigadier ahead of him as the man called out: "Of all the cheek, boy!"
Al was the last one out of the room and Turlough, in a sudden fit of heroism, stayed behind to usher the man along. A fleeting thought that Pendrall reminded Turlough of his father flew through his mind, but the gun that appeared under his nose stopped him from doing much. The Trion officer watched as his friends ran away from him and sighed. Al panted next to him. "I don't suppose that if we say we surrender, it'll stop you from using that thing," Turlough commented as he straightened his tie.
**
"Keep your heads down," the Doctor muttered as he ran. Penny grimaced from the vice-like strength in the man's grip. She heard running feet behind her and prayed that it was the others instead of the guards. A sudden gunshot to the ceiling over their heads deadened that hope. She gasped, but the sound was overwhelmed by a quiet moan from Tegan. Glancing over at the other girl, Penny saw one of Tegan's hands fly to her head and heard her muttering under her breath.
"Tegan," the Doctor shouted. He dropped Penny's arm and shouted to the Brigadier who Penny was surprised to see was right behind them. "Take Penny, Brigadier. Run for the perimeter. You'll see my coat in the Eastern quarter."
Another shot whizzed over their heads and Penny shot ahead of both the Brigadier and the Doctor, her white lab coat flapping behind her as she ran. "You don't have to tell me twice," she yelled.
The Doctor released Tegan's hand and slipped his arm around her waist. He grabbed her other hand and somehow kept the both of them running. His voice was harsh to drown out the sound of her mutterings. "Run, Tegan."
"No, no. Not again," Tegan whimpered, struggling to back out of his arm while he kept her sprinting forward. "No more guns."
"Run, Tegan," he chanted, trying to overwhelm her moans. He could hear her struggling to take deep breaths as the door ahead of them bounced open against the outer wall. Two steps later, he followed the Brigadier out the door, half-dragging, half-carrying Tegan. Another shot hit a tree near them and it was the last thing Tegan heard or saw for a long time.
"I prefer just Doctor, thank you," the Doctor called. He slipped his hands into his pockets. A sudden pinching to his arm had him glancing to his side. Tegan was there, gripping his skin in a vice-like hold. He patted her hand. "Easy now, Tegan," he encouraged.
"He's a.a."
"Duplicate. Yes, Mrs. Jones, I believe that's an adequate but not quite accurate term for what I am."
"A clone on the sub-molecular level," the Doctor retorted, his eyes wide. Turlough could feel another scientific lecture approaching and rolled his eyes. "A genetic graft on an existing chromosomal framework of the basic bipedal form. Ingenious, but not quite to Gallifreyan standard. At least we've been able to engineer the bioelectronic field to hold and maintain the soul. Something I doubt the Daleks would want to do even if they could."
Al, despite his obvious fear, gaped at the Doctor and stumbled over next to him. After two unsuccessful tries at speech, he gutted out: "But that's impossible."
"For twentieth century Earth, definitely," the Doctor agreed. "The whole idea is quite mad, isn't it?"
"But it isn't impossible for the Dalek Empire, Dr. Pendrall," Reynolds chuckled. "Thank you for the most excellent lecture, Doctor. I understand from my predecessor that you do excel at lecturing when given the chance. If you're quite finished, however, I would advise you to surrender."
"Surrender?" Penny called out. She brushed back her hair. Tegan appreciated the sour frown on the girl's face. "You've the guns. You make it sound like we've a choice."
The Doctor ignored the interaction. His mind was otherwise occupied. "The Brigadier here; he is unharmed, I hope?"
"Yes, for now-"
"Ah, of course," the Doctor nodded. He whipped his hands out of his pockets to motion to the guards. "Of course. And now that you have us? As my new friend Penny has pointed out, we obviously don't have a choice and have, for all intents of purpose, surrendered."
"You can't be serious," Tegan hissed at his elbow. "You can't surrender."
"Hush, Tegan," he reiterated and raised an eyebrow at Reynolds. "I would love to take the opportunity to ask some questions-"
"I'm sure you would, Doctor. Your curiosity is galactically known. Unfortunately, there is little time now to engage in an educational conversation."
"I see," the Doctor replied, his tone very downtrodden. To Turlough the Time Lord looked like a boy who had had his candy taken away. "Of course. And I suppose you will be imprisoning us?"
Reynolds gave a curt nod as he walked around the table that held the Brigadier. "Very astute, dear Doctor. You and your friends will be imprisoned here until we've procured your method of transfer to the Dalek fleet."
"Ah, very good," the Doctor said, leaning forward. "The time corridor is-"
"Quite operational although-"
"You're having problems with the energy, I would suppose. Up to now you've only been able to transmit information down it to Earth." The Doctor bit his lip and glanced around at his friends. "You've had little time to perfect it. We are to be the guinea pigs so to speak. If we can pass through, then the Daleks can return, yes?"
Reynolds smiled widely. "You understand your purpose well. We never waste an opportunity." Turning, the man glared at the surrounding guards. "There are no other ways out of this room; guard them from the corridor." As he walked toward the door, he addressed Pendrall. "You'll find that your computer password has been rescinded and that all of the technology herein is non-functional. Expect to be moved in the hour."
The Doctor stood facing the door, his shoulders back and his head reared. As the door slid shut, leaving the friends in the room, the silence was disrupted by loud conversation.
"That is simply wonderful," Penny voiced, turning to Alfred. "You've led us back into prison, Doctor whoever you are." Tegan was surprised the girl didn't stamp her feet. "What can you hope to accomplish here?"
Alfred sighed and joined Turlough as the boy freed the Brigadier. "Penny, please. Relax, lass."
"Relax? We're back into the fire. We skipped the damn frying pan."
Tegan whipped around to face Penny. Her grip on the Doctor's arm was still intense and he could feel her shaking, but when she spoke, her voice held some of her old strength. "I haven't seen you give a better idea."
"I did," Penny nearly yelled back. "I said not to come back this way."
"Stop bickering," Turlough stated, as if very tired. "You can argue later, you two. Brigadier, are you all right?"
"Never been better, Turlough. You all took your time getting here, however."
"Glad to hear it, Brigadier," the Doctor called, rubbing his neck. He moved towards the table and leaned heavily on its surface as he stared at his old friend. "Have they processed you in any way, Alastair? Have they- "
"Hooked me up to that brute of a computer? No."
"Ah, good. That means that they haven't had the chance to copy and use your life's memories," the Doctor said, checking the old soldier's eyes. "Hmm, it seems all is in order. Good, good." Straightening, he addressed Penny. "We are exactly where they wish us to be. The object, like a good chess game or an excellent cricket game, is to use complacency to our advantage. They'll be complacent that we're here, correct? That gives us an advantage. A chance to throw a spanner into the works so to speak."
"And what on Earth can you hope to accomplish locked in a laboratory with guards with guns at the door? We can't even properly use the computers," Penny croaked out. "I don't understand what we're doing here."
"I assure you," the Doctor retorted, bending to look in her eyes. "Using the computer won't be a problem. And I intend to use it."
"But Smith." Pendrall voiced. "They've."
"Rescinded your password. That doesn't mean the Doctor can't get in to the mainframe." Turlough walked forward and clicked on the computer with a smile. Within moments, a prompt was blinking on the terminal. "But what you hope to-" he shook his head.
The Doctor sat down at the terminal and placed his spectacles on the end of his nose. He glanced at Turlough over the top of them and gave his companion a look. "Oh, Turlough," he began disappointedly. "Think. This is a military biological research station. They've been doing work on a vaccine for the Movellian virus."
Turlough nodded once curtly, giving the Brigadier a sideways glance. "We could change the structure of the vaccine?"
Al Pendrall shook his head. "The work was completed yesterday. The commander of this base-"
"A duplicate if Turlough can be believed," Penny interjected.
"-took the vaccine to have it tested. I dare say it will work, though," Pendrall grimaced. "Sometimes I wish that I wasn't such a perfectionist with my work."
"Hmm. Don't blame yourself for a job well done," the Doctor stated affectionately. "It does make this situation much worse than I expected, however." He shifted in the chair and began to experiment with different key strokes. His eyes narrowed. "The basic structure of three administrative levels for the program mainframe still exists."
"That's all well fine and good," Tegan said, her voice heightened from the beginning of panic. "Doctor, if you're through with the Magical Mystery Tour of that computer, I think you should get what you need and we should get out of here."
"For once," Penny murmured. "I agree with her."
"What do you need?" Turlough asked.
"Well, if the vaccine was already made and has been tested, it can be either isolated or reproduced. Destruction of the information on chemical and biological composition is useless then. What we need is the research on the virus itself."
Pendrall frowned. "You'll need primary administration level. I hid the files on that work in a hidden folder in under my heading. They can't get in there, but neither can I. If you get to the primary level, I can give you the password-"
"Excellent, Pendrall." The Doctor began to tap quickly on the computer. He bit his lip as his fingers flew over the keyboard.
Penny laid her hand on Tegan's arm and took her a small distance away from the others. "Your friend is insane, you know."
"He's never led me wrong; I've never come to harm with him," Tegan narrowed her eyes in anger. "The Doctor's quite all right, you'll see."
"He'll never get in that computer mainframe. It's been created and challenged by the best programmers in both the States and Britain-"
"Eureka!" the Doctor called loudly, before the Brigadier warned him to be quieter. "We're in, Pendrall."
Al raised his eyebrows in surprise and glanced at the Doctor with new found respect. "You must be Smith. Only he would have been able to get into that computer that quickly. Move aside. Penny, girl, get me two disks. You'll have that information in a moment, Smith."
The Doctor bounced out of the chair with a flourish. "Make two copies, Pendrall. It's always best to have a duplicate."
Tegan shook her head at his poor humor and crossed her arms as he drew alongside her. He suddenly leaned down and stared in her eyes. "Are you all right?" he pressed. He could see that her coloring had paled and her hands were shaking.
With a weak smile, she gave the age old answer. "Of course. I'm indestructible."
"No. You're not," he said with a lifted eyebrow.
"If you must know," she said with venom. "I feel like my ears and eyes are in a tunnel and my heart is pounding. I thought I left this all behind. I nearly screamed when those men pulled guns on us."
He nodded, as though he had expected the answer. "Stay with me, Tegan. I promise I'll get you home safe and sound. Just keep thinking about that, all right?"
"Done, Smith," Pendrall called out. He held up two sets of floppies. "What do you want to do with them?"
"You take a set, Pendrall and give me the other. I trust," the Doctor said as he took a set of disks and slipped it into his pocket. "I trust that you'll know what to do with them-"
As he spoke the door in the corner of the room slid open. A sole humanoid entered the room, holding a gun. "We have orders to transfer you to the transmit chamber. Move!"
"Ah, wonderful. You'll have tea there? Hmm?" the Doctor asked. He put his hand at Tegan's back and urged her towards the door. He gave a glance to Turlough and Al, saving a nod for the Brigadier. As he passed Penny, he took her arm. "Come along, you two," he said jovially.
As they entered the corridor, the Doctor back pedaled slightly. His sudden move made the others crowd in close to him. Then suddenly, he shot forward and grasped the gun of the nearest guard. He caused the man to teeter, unbalanced. At the same time, Turlough pressed hard on Tegan's back and Penny's arm to get them to move in another direction. He reached behind himself in the next breath to grab the Brigadier's arm. "With all due respect," he whispered harshly. "Move, sir."
The Doctor released the gun suddenly and the guard fell back against the wall. He twisted and grabbed Tegan's hand and Penny's arm as the two girls ran in the other direction. After two strides, he passed them, dragging them behind him as he sprinted around the corner. Turlough shoved the Brigadier ahead of him as the man called out: "Of all the cheek, boy!"
Al was the last one out of the room and Turlough, in a sudden fit of heroism, stayed behind to usher the man along. A fleeting thought that Pendrall reminded Turlough of his father flew through his mind, but the gun that appeared under his nose stopped him from doing much. The Trion officer watched as his friends ran away from him and sighed. Al panted next to him. "I don't suppose that if we say we surrender, it'll stop you from using that thing," Turlough commented as he straightened his tie.
**
"Keep your heads down," the Doctor muttered as he ran. Penny grimaced from the vice-like strength in the man's grip. She heard running feet behind her and prayed that it was the others instead of the guards. A sudden gunshot to the ceiling over their heads deadened that hope. She gasped, but the sound was overwhelmed by a quiet moan from Tegan. Glancing over at the other girl, Penny saw one of Tegan's hands fly to her head and heard her muttering under her breath.
"Tegan," the Doctor shouted. He dropped Penny's arm and shouted to the Brigadier who Penny was surprised to see was right behind them. "Take Penny, Brigadier. Run for the perimeter. You'll see my coat in the Eastern quarter."
Another shot whizzed over their heads and Penny shot ahead of both the Brigadier and the Doctor, her white lab coat flapping behind her as she ran. "You don't have to tell me twice," she yelled.
The Doctor released Tegan's hand and slipped his arm around her waist. He grabbed her other hand and somehow kept the both of them running. His voice was harsh to drown out the sound of her mutterings. "Run, Tegan."
"No, no. Not again," Tegan whimpered, struggling to back out of his arm while he kept her sprinting forward. "No more guns."
"Run, Tegan," he chanted, trying to overwhelm her moans. He could hear her struggling to take deep breaths as the door ahead of them bounced open against the outer wall. Two steps later, he followed the Brigadier out the door, half-dragging, half-carrying Tegan. Another shot hit a tree near them and it was the last thing Tegan heard or saw for a long time.