This section is dedicated to warinbabylon, who asked nicely for it. g
Rina started to speak when the guards turned towards the cell. "Time to begin work!" One said. He jabbed a finger at the four of them huddled together. "You two. You explain first. Then work."
"Yes," Lils answered. "Yes, we will teach them quickly."
"Not too quick," the other guard snapped. "Make sure they know all they need to know. If you don't, you will both be punished," he said, pointing at Rina.
Tegan gasped softly, and Rina paled.
"We will learn," the Doctor said firmly. "We will learn everything. No need to threaten them."
The guard rolled his eyes. "Just like Halda said, this one talks too much at the wrong times." He brandished his shock stick at the Doctor. "Shut up and listen, one called Doctor!"
"Right. Shutting up now," he said rapidly.
The guards sat down in chairs on the opposite side of the room, watching the cell with bored expressions. Tegan noticed that at the earlier command, the others in the room had begun doing various tasks at long wooden tables. Some were sewing, others were carving, and a few more were grinding what looked like herbs with a pestle. Something nagged at her, but she couldn't quite place it.
She turned as Lils and Rina led them to the end of the back table. "Ok," she said quietly after sitting down, "what's the story?"
"Our captors call themselves the Azim," Rina began in a soft voice.
The Doctor frowned. "I've never heard of them."
"Shame, that. They have such lovely manners," Tegan muttered.
Rina continued. "This is a massive complex, from what we guess. There are hundreds of prisoners here from many races, all probably like us, like yourselves, who wandered here or crashed here and were captured. We're used as labor. We make clothes, prepare food, bottle water: the list of possible tasks are endless."
"How do they keep it all under control so well?" Tegan broke in.
"There are quite a lot of them: well, more than there are of us, anyway. And as I'm sure you've noticed, the Azim do have some very persuasive methods of keeping order," Lils said, fingering a collar similar to theirs.
"They keep us in small groups, scattered all over the complex. We travel in a lot of a dozen at a time usually, and if we'd taken outside we're shackled so we can walk but not kick or run," Lils continued. "The collars are very sophisticated devices, and frankly I'm not certain that the Azim are the ones who developed them. You've seen the inconsistencies in their speech patterns, I'm sure: one minute they sound like regressed humanoids, the next very precise, almost clinical."
"I'd noticed that, yes," the Doctor agreed. "And I agree with you: they definitely have borrowed or stolen technology."
"So why haven't any of you found a way to short out these collars and escape?" Tegan asked.
Rina sighed. "Because we are given very limited freedom, very limited access to anything even remotely technological. There have been a few to try and escape regardless: I don't wish to detail what happened to them. Suffice it to say, they are no longer alive."
The Doctor waved a hand. "I plan on taking care of that," he said in a whisper.
Lils shook his head. "You don't understand, Doctor. You'll not be given a chance to go anywhere near real equipment or tools. These collars... not only do they indicate our exact locations at all times, they're constantly monitored. If a prisoner is so much as ten feet away from where he or she is supposed to be, guards are dispatched, and the errant captive has to watch his or her mate being tortured."
Tegan sighed. Rina nodded sympathetically and picked up the narrative. "And there's more about the collars. They register differences in brain chemistries, different emotions. If a prisoner is angry or about to become violent these waves transmit to control units and that person gets a very bad shock, or is paralyzed. I think they must have medical scanners as well, because Lils and I once pretended to be sick, to try and escape, but they somehow knew we were lying and we both got zapped."
"This is getting better and better," Tegan huffed. She subsided when the Doctor gave her a pleading look.
"They said something about lifetasks," the Doctor said.
Lils nodded. "You will be given a series of simple tests to determine where your skills lie. Then you'll be assigned jobs to do every day based on that."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "When we woke up, we were in a cell alone," he said. "What about that?"
"That was a processing cell," Rina replied. "But don't worry, you and Tegan will be given your own cell in the main ward. The Azim seem to understand and respect the need for privacy for mates."
Lils nodded. "Speaking of mates," he began somberly.
"Lils!" Rina said anxiously.
"They have to be told everything, Rina."
The Doctor felt the first prickle of apprehension sting him. He took a deep breath. "Go on, Lils."
"Well," the Alderon continued, "It won't be expected for a while. You're new here, and that'll be taken into account. Plus there's the matter of the cycles. It's done very precisely, only a certain number every cycle. But when your time comes..."
Tegan found she was staring in a mixture of fear and confusion. "When our time comes?"
Lils sighed. "You'll be expected to... I can't say it to a woman, Rina!" he finished helplessly.
Rina nodded, then looked at Tegan sadly. "They'll expect the Doctor to impregnate you."
Rina started to speak when the guards turned towards the cell. "Time to begin work!" One said. He jabbed a finger at the four of them huddled together. "You two. You explain first. Then work."
"Yes," Lils answered. "Yes, we will teach them quickly."
"Not too quick," the other guard snapped. "Make sure they know all they need to know. If you don't, you will both be punished," he said, pointing at Rina.
Tegan gasped softly, and Rina paled.
"We will learn," the Doctor said firmly. "We will learn everything. No need to threaten them."
The guard rolled his eyes. "Just like Halda said, this one talks too much at the wrong times." He brandished his shock stick at the Doctor. "Shut up and listen, one called Doctor!"
"Right. Shutting up now," he said rapidly.
The guards sat down in chairs on the opposite side of the room, watching the cell with bored expressions. Tegan noticed that at the earlier command, the others in the room had begun doing various tasks at long wooden tables. Some were sewing, others were carving, and a few more were grinding what looked like herbs with a pestle. Something nagged at her, but she couldn't quite place it.
She turned as Lils and Rina led them to the end of the back table. "Ok," she said quietly after sitting down, "what's the story?"
"Our captors call themselves the Azim," Rina began in a soft voice.
The Doctor frowned. "I've never heard of them."
"Shame, that. They have such lovely manners," Tegan muttered.
Rina continued. "This is a massive complex, from what we guess. There are hundreds of prisoners here from many races, all probably like us, like yourselves, who wandered here or crashed here and were captured. We're used as labor. We make clothes, prepare food, bottle water: the list of possible tasks are endless."
"How do they keep it all under control so well?" Tegan broke in.
"There are quite a lot of them: well, more than there are of us, anyway. And as I'm sure you've noticed, the Azim do have some very persuasive methods of keeping order," Lils said, fingering a collar similar to theirs.
"They keep us in small groups, scattered all over the complex. We travel in a lot of a dozen at a time usually, and if we'd taken outside we're shackled so we can walk but not kick or run," Lils continued. "The collars are very sophisticated devices, and frankly I'm not certain that the Azim are the ones who developed them. You've seen the inconsistencies in their speech patterns, I'm sure: one minute they sound like regressed humanoids, the next very precise, almost clinical."
"I'd noticed that, yes," the Doctor agreed. "And I agree with you: they definitely have borrowed or stolen technology."
"So why haven't any of you found a way to short out these collars and escape?" Tegan asked.
Rina sighed. "Because we are given very limited freedom, very limited access to anything even remotely technological. There have been a few to try and escape regardless: I don't wish to detail what happened to them. Suffice it to say, they are no longer alive."
The Doctor waved a hand. "I plan on taking care of that," he said in a whisper.
Lils shook his head. "You don't understand, Doctor. You'll not be given a chance to go anywhere near real equipment or tools. These collars... not only do they indicate our exact locations at all times, they're constantly monitored. If a prisoner is so much as ten feet away from where he or she is supposed to be, guards are dispatched, and the errant captive has to watch his or her mate being tortured."
Tegan sighed. Rina nodded sympathetically and picked up the narrative. "And there's more about the collars. They register differences in brain chemistries, different emotions. If a prisoner is angry or about to become violent these waves transmit to control units and that person gets a very bad shock, or is paralyzed. I think they must have medical scanners as well, because Lils and I once pretended to be sick, to try and escape, but they somehow knew we were lying and we both got zapped."
"This is getting better and better," Tegan huffed. She subsided when the Doctor gave her a pleading look.
"They said something about lifetasks," the Doctor said.
Lils nodded. "You will be given a series of simple tests to determine where your skills lie. Then you'll be assigned jobs to do every day based on that."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "When we woke up, we were in a cell alone," he said. "What about that?"
"That was a processing cell," Rina replied. "But don't worry, you and Tegan will be given your own cell in the main ward. The Azim seem to understand and respect the need for privacy for mates."
Lils nodded. "Speaking of mates," he began somberly.
"Lils!" Rina said anxiously.
"They have to be told everything, Rina."
The Doctor felt the first prickle of apprehension sting him. He took a deep breath. "Go on, Lils."
"Well," the Alderon continued, "It won't be expected for a while. You're new here, and that'll be taken into account. Plus there's the matter of the cycles. It's done very precisely, only a certain number every cycle. But when your time comes..."
Tegan found she was staring in a mixture of fear and confusion. "When our time comes?"
Lils sighed. "You'll be expected to... I can't say it to a woman, Rina!" he finished helplessly.
Rina nodded, then looked at Tegan sadly. "They'll expect the Doctor to impregnate you."