Peri shouted as Tegan stepped back. "Oh Cripes..."
In the central part of the courtyard, a small metallic ship waited. It was normal enough to see one for a person who had been traveling as they had for the last few years. The ship wasn't menacing, Tegan thought. There weren't guns pointed at them and she supposed that was something.
No, it was the apparent occupants of the ship littering the lawn that shouted at her that there was a problem. They were large, dwarfing even the Doctor in height, and encased completely in environmental suits that were black and gold. Their stance and the way that they carried their weaponry reminded her of Cybermen. Their presence seemed to bleed to the surroundings; even the bird song couldn't be heard. Several other men and women appeared to be retreating, like a sea from the beach before a tidal wave.
She took another step back, her hand closing like a vice on Peri's. The Doctor stood where he was and allowed his hands to flop, uselessly and obviously in studied shock, to his sides. His actions almost shouted to her that the Doctor didn't have a clue who or with what they were being confronted. Clearly the suits weren't a dead give away to the origin of those they encased even to him.
"Ah."
Tegan heard the inhale that told her that he was going to extend his hand in friendship. And she wasn't proven wrong. He stepped forward with his best 'company's expected' smile and his hand offered in friendship. She, however, reacted with an innate response and grabbed his arm, not allowing him to move more than two steps. It didn't faze him. He patted her hand absently. "Ah...hello? I'm the Doctor..."
One of the beings stepped forward, the face mask betrayed nothing of what the expression was on its face.
"Doc..." Peri whispered.
"Yes, well...the weather here is beautiful and quite temperate universally speaking. The temperature acceptance levels are well within a large majority of life forms, wouldn't you agree?" He asked as he leaned forward and slipped his hands in his pockets. "The only reason I can see for the suits you're wearing is either the microbial flora, or the air contents are harmful to your systems."
"That's neither here nor there, however..." he continued. "As I was saying: I'm the Doctor and these are my friends...Tegan and Peri. Is there something we can help you with?"
The being neared them and Tegan stepped forward with the Doctor, her hand still holding his arm. Peri remained as she was. When words were emanated from its faceplate, they were low, almost mechanically enhanced. It was inhuman to Tegan's ears, reminding her of past experiences with Cybermen and general robotic type baddies. But what immediately drew her attention, shocked Peri and made the Doctor straighten almost reflexively was the language used.
It was a basal Gallifreyan...all consonants and rumbled words, or at least what Tegan would recognize as the language. She didn't know whether to be comforted that she at least knew what the language was or worried because she knew what the language was. She took her cues from the Doctor.
With his back straightened and with a muscle twinge from the still open wounds there, he looked indignant that someone was using his native language without his permission. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set. After a few seconds, he moved his lips and then rumbled across several words in a similar language.
The being shook his head forcefully and called a few other words.
"What are you saying to him, Doctor?" Peri asked quietly.
"I tried to tell him we were friends..." the Doctor whispered in return, barely sparing his two companions a look. "But it appears that our visitor isn't interested in social niceties. He has an agenda and is looking for a wayward item that he knows has made its way here..."
"The Gatherer? Cripes, so quickly? Did it have a homing device or something?"
The being centered his gaze on Tegan and Peri and rumbled out a few words. The Doctor lifted an eyebrow and moved in front of his two companions protectively, responding in equally low warning tones.
Peri's grip on Tegan's wrist grew rough. "What's going on? What's that they're speaking? Do you know who they are?"
"I haven't a clue. It's a language that's like the Doc's native one and I don't have a bloody idea who they are...in that order."
"Wonderful," Peri returned.
"Not a homing beacon, Tegan," the Doctor responded. Tegan had to remember her question. "Remember, the Gatherer spent tenure on this planet prior to traveling to Earth. It wouldn't require much to retrace its steps...a paper trail as it were."
"Then we're all right..." Tegan sputtered.
The aliens neared them and Tegan straightened to her full height behind the Doctor. The face masks of their environmental suits became more distinct in sunlight. There were metallic eyes, no mouth and the lack of a nose bothered her human sensibilities. The body was overall a very boxy type, with arms shorter than they should have been and their legs were overly long. They seemed almost too inhuman for her. She wondered if their feet were normal. And glancing down, she decided there was no way to tell. The feet parts of the suit were round; for all she knew they might have had hooves.
She set her chin and faced their approaching aliens like she had most threats in the last year: with anger blazing.
"Step back, you two," the Doctor said gently, quietly. He patted the air with his hand. "At least two paces. Be prepared to run..."
The alien stopped as though understanding what was being said. Tegan glanced from the alien to the ship to the other aliens to the rapidly dwindling collection of the Eye population from the main courtyard. It was becoming quite clear that many others could sense the threat as well as she could.
"Hell's teeth, Doc...they have guns and we don't know that they know about..."
"Ah, yes, Tegan," he warned. "I do know that. Trust me. When I tell you to run, I expect..."
"I'm going nowhere without you."
"Neither am I," Peri piped from next to Tegan. The Doctor hesitated, casting a glance over his shoulder at the both of them. His sigh told her that he was at the edge of his patience.
"I might not be able to negotiate with them," he commented, nearly through his teeth. "I have nothing of worth to them."
"There's no threat..."
"Ah, but there is, Tegan. What did he just mutter in-"
"Gallifrey-"
"No, but close enough to worry me. And the etchings here and on the obelisks in Babylon-"
"The same language-"
"Quite."
Tegan sighed. That bout of conversation had taken less than one minute to rattle between the two of them. "Then they are that...Federation chaps..." she began, nearly under her breath.
"No," he replied. "At least, I don't think so."
"What? Why?"
"Because, Tegan, Peri...Federation chaps needed oxygen. And these chaps...I think...do not..."
"Do you know who they are?" Peri asked smally.
The Doctor turned back to their again approaching aliens. "I'm afraid I might. Now please...when I say run..."
Tegan frowned; she had a feeling there was a lot more going on than what her friend was telling them. Still, with the overbearing presence of these unidentifiable aliens, she knew that running and retreating was her best bet. She backed, rising up on her toes slightly, readying herself to rocket back the way they had come. "You'll-"
"Be right behind you."
She believed him.
He muttered a few words in Gallifreyan to their visitors. Peri grasped her hand.
And then.
"Run!"
Tegan turned and ran, Peri's hand slipping from hers to run quickly. Her arms pumped in the air, in time with her feet. Although the slippers were soft, they gave her grips as her toes dug into the ground to propel her. Peri lagged only slightly behind her. The Doctor's hand at her back and his shouting made her run faster. She rocketed around a corner and the Doctor slid in along side her.
Peri never appeared.
With a gasp, Tegan turned. The Doctor roughly pressed her into the wall. "No, Tegan."
"Peri..."
"I know," he responded. He glanced around the edge of the wall and into the courtyard. Barely ten meters from them, one of the large beings held Peri's arm. She looked fiercely angry, but overpowered physically.
The being shouted something as it turned, holding Peri out like a doll in its grip. Tegan couldn't understand what was said, but she could hear Peri growling under her breath even at that distance.
"Hell," Tegan muttered. The Doctor breathed an hmmm in agreement.
"We've got to get her..."
"Yes," the Doctor sighed. He shushed her by shaking his head; he was listening.
"What do they want?"
"They don't know that the Gatherer is here," the Doctor replied with a frown. "But they're guessing it is...and they guess that I have something to do with it, but they aren't sure."
"Rather presumptive of them and egotistical of you."
"Yes, thank you, Tegan. I spoke a language like their own. It was a like an advert for knowledge..."
"Well bully for us and them, but what about...Peri, Doc? What's going on? What are they saying about her?"
The Doctor glanced down at her. She could see the tight urgent look in his eyes and knew that he is worried about their friend. "They say she will remain with them until someone tells them about their civilization builder."
"Who are they?"
He maintained eye contact with her. "Not Federation, as I said, Tegan. I don't know who they are, completely."
"But you said that it traveled the same distance..." she hissed. "That from where it came leads back to..."
"The Scripts lead back, but Federation wouldn't...need..."
The Doctor stopped, seemingly skipping a breath. "I'm an imbecile..."
"Are you? Doc, we need to get her..."
"We do. But not without a bargaining chip."
"The Gatherer?"
She needed only breathe the response before he grabbed her hand. "Come with me, Tegan...."
"Peri..." she protested as she hung back on his hand.
"Trust me, brave heart," came the cool, breathy reply. And with a worried, tight glance back at Peri, she followed him. Her friend looked in pain, but if the Doc thought they had a better chance getting her back in one piece, she had to trust him.
What she didn't expect was the shots at them as they dodged across the open space. She ran, screaming more for support than out of fear. By the time she reached the pathway towards their rooms, the smell of ozone and scorched earth filled her nose. And for the last time, she hoped she was leaving her friend in a dire situation. She wasn't aware she was crying until the tears salted her lips.
The Doctor burst into his room, frantically searching for the Gatherer. He had left it locked in a safe. By the time Tegan caught him, he had thrown the left over bandages to the ground and was digging through the drawer. "But..."
"I know, Tegan-"
"No, you don't." She joined him at the bed, watching as he plowed through the drawer. "That thing...that Gatherer..." She drew back as he uncovered it and took it in hand. "That...builds civilizations, but when it's used in places...it could destroy civilizations to build something else..."
The Doctor stood. His eyes were harsh in the incandescent light. "Yes, Tegan."
"It could kill..."
"And it did kill. Countless hundreds of planets in nameless systems were decimated to build new civilizations for the Federation."
She gaped at him. "And you're planning on turning it over to them? Just like that? A thing that can wipe out..."
"Tegan..." He became motionless, gazing at her with an endless, pained stare. She could see the same look that had crossed his face with the Daleks; a look of resignation in the face of a moral surety.
She sat down hard on the bed and shook her head. "How...could..."
"I won't let them have it to indiscriminately kill, Tegan. We need to save Peri and deal with these aliens in the same move. Trust me..."
Tegan winced at his words. In her mind, she saw the warehouse and the Doctor, poised, his back straight, slowly, silently becoming a murderer simply by uttering a few words.
"I won't allow that to happen, Tegan. Trust me..." He cupped her chin gently in his free hand. As she met his eyes again, she sighed. Supremo, the Doctor, her friend...they all stood in front of her and she understood him now more than ever. He had to do something.
"Then what will you do?" she asked smally.
"Ah, well..." he grinned. "I do rather think improvisation is in order."
"Improv-"
He lifted an eyebrow and nodded to the object in his hand. "Yes, well, Tegan, I am good at it."
Tegan frowned at him and turned, retreating across the floor to where she had dropped various clothes earlier in the day. In a small case under her clothes, she pulled out a gun that she had asked for and gotten earlier that day. The Doctor stilled, watching her with mournful eyes. She straightened and weighed its unfamiliar weight in her hand.
"Please understand..." she said. "If we're going back, I need...after the last year..."
The Doctor glanced down at the gun in her hand and then joined her, holding out his hand to her free one. He squeezed it, but said nothing. She knew that he wouldn't.
They entered the courtyard at a dead run, hand in hand. The gun shots rained down on them as they rocketed across courtyard. Before they could get to a vantage point of safety, scored earth and fire made them stop.
"We're not going to make it back...where's Peri?" Tegan shouted, covering her head from fire. "This place is becoming a war zone!"
"They have lost patience," the Doctor yelled back.
"Just great!"
"Hold on," the Doctor muttered and pressed the Gatherer against her back, pulling her out of line of fire. His arms rounded her to keep her safe as he hit the button on the back of the Gatherer. She felt a jolt of energy rush through her system and then...
Nothing.
In the central part of the courtyard, a small metallic ship waited. It was normal enough to see one for a person who had been traveling as they had for the last few years. The ship wasn't menacing, Tegan thought. There weren't guns pointed at them and she supposed that was something.
No, it was the apparent occupants of the ship littering the lawn that shouted at her that there was a problem. They were large, dwarfing even the Doctor in height, and encased completely in environmental suits that were black and gold. Their stance and the way that they carried their weaponry reminded her of Cybermen. Their presence seemed to bleed to the surroundings; even the bird song couldn't be heard. Several other men and women appeared to be retreating, like a sea from the beach before a tidal wave.
She took another step back, her hand closing like a vice on Peri's. The Doctor stood where he was and allowed his hands to flop, uselessly and obviously in studied shock, to his sides. His actions almost shouted to her that the Doctor didn't have a clue who or with what they were being confronted. Clearly the suits weren't a dead give away to the origin of those they encased even to him.
"Ah."
Tegan heard the inhale that told her that he was going to extend his hand in friendship. And she wasn't proven wrong. He stepped forward with his best 'company's expected' smile and his hand offered in friendship. She, however, reacted with an innate response and grabbed his arm, not allowing him to move more than two steps. It didn't faze him. He patted her hand absently. "Ah...hello? I'm the Doctor..."
One of the beings stepped forward, the face mask betrayed nothing of what the expression was on its face.
"Doc..." Peri whispered.
"Yes, well...the weather here is beautiful and quite temperate universally speaking. The temperature acceptance levels are well within a large majority of life forms, wouldn't you agree?" He asked as he leaned forward and slipped his hands in his pockets. "The only reason I can see for the suits you're wearing is either the microbial flora, or the air contents are harmful to your systems."
"That's neither here nor there, however..." he continued. "As I was saying: I'm the Doctor and these are my friends...Tegan and Peri. Is there something we can help you with?"
The being neared them and Tegan stepped forward with the Doctor, her hand still holding his arm. Peri remained as she was. When words were emanated from its faceplate, they were low, almost mechanically enhanced. It was inhuman to Tegan's ears, reminding her of past experiences with Cybermen and general robotic type baddies. But what immediately drew her attention, shocked Peri and made the Doctor straighten almost reflexively was the language used.
It was a basal Gallifreyan...all consonants and rumbled words, or at least what Tegan would recognize as the language. She didn't know whether to be comforted that she at least knew what the language was or worried because she knew what the language was. She took her cues from the Doctor.
With his back straightened and with a muscle twinge from the still open wounds there, he looked indignant that someone was using his native language without his permission. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set. After a few seconds, he moved his lips and then rumbled across several words in a similar language.
The being shook his head forcefully and called a few other words.
"What are you saying to him, Doctor?" Peri asked quietly.
"I tried to tell him we were friends..." the Doctor whispered in return, barely sparing his two companions a look. "But it appears that our visitor isn't interested in social niceties. He has an agenda and is looking for a wayward item that he knows has made its way here..."
"The Gatherer? Cripes, so quickly? Did it have a homing device or something?"
The being centered his gaze on Tegan and Peri and rumbled out a few words. The Doctor lifted an eyebrow and moved in front of his two companions protectively, responding in equally low warning tones.
Peri's grip on Tegan's wrist grew rough. "What's going on? What's that they're speaking? Do you know who they are?"
"I haven't a clue. It's a language that's like the Doc's native one and I don't have a bloody idea who they are...in that order."
"Wonderful," Peri returned.
"Not a homing beacon, Tegan," the Doctor responded. Tegan had to remember her question. "Remember, the Gatherer spent tenure on this planet prior to traveling to Earth. It wouldn't require much to retrace its steps...a paper trail as it were."
"Then we're all right..." Tegan sputtered.
The aliens neared them and Tegan straightened to her full height behind the Doctor. The face masks of their environmental suits became more distinct in sunlight. There were metallic eyes, no mouth and the lack of a nose bothered her human sensibilities. The body was overall a very boxy type, with arms shorter than they should have been and their legs were overly long. They seemed almost too inhuman for her. She wondered if their feet were normal. And glancing down, she decided there was no way to tell. The feet parts of the suit were round; for all she knew they might have had hooves.
She set her chin and faced their approaching aliens like she had most threats in the last year: with anger blazing.
"Step back, you two," the Doctor said gently, quietly. He patted the air with his hand. "At least two paces. Be prepared to run..."
The alien stopped as though understanding what was being said. Tegan glanced from the alien to the ship to the other aliens to the rapidly dwindling collection of the Eye population from the main courtyard. It was becoming quite clear that many others could sense the threat as well as she could.
"Hell's teeth, Doc...they have guns and we don't know that they know about..."
"Ah, yes, Tegan," he warned. "I do know that. Trust me. When I tell you to run, I expect..."
"I'm going nowhere without you."
"Neither am I," Peri piped from next to Tegan. The Doctor hesitated, casting a glance over his shoulder at the both of them. His sigh told her that he was at the edge of his patience.
"I might not be able to negotiate with them," he commented, nearly through his teeth. "I have nothing of worth to them."
"There's no threat..."
"Ah, but there is, Tegan. What did he just mutter in-"
"Gallifrey-"
"No, but close enough to worry me. And the etchings here and on the obelisks in Babylon-"
"The same language-"
"Quite."
Tegan sighed. That bout of conversation had taken less than one minute to rattle between the two of them. "Then they are that...Federation chaps..." she began, nearly under her breath.
"No," he replied. "At least, I don't think so."
"What? Why?"
"Because, Tegan, Peri...Federation chaps needed oxygen. And these chaps...I think...do not..."
"Do you know who they are?" Peri asked smally.
The Doctor turned back to their again approaching aliens. "I'm afraid I might. Now please...when I say run..."
Tegan frowned; she had a feeling there was a lot more going on than what her friend was telling them. Still, with the overbearing presence of these unidentifiable aliens, she knew that running and retreating was her best bet. She backed, rising up on her toes slightly, readying herself to rocket back the way they had come. "You'll-"
"Be right behind you."
She believed him.
He muttered a few words in Gallifreyan to their visitors. Peri grasped her hand.
And then.
"Run!"
Tegan turned and ran, Peri's hand slipping from hers to run quickly. Her arms pumped in the air, in time with her feet. Although the slippers were soft, they gave her grips as her toes dug into the ground to propel her. Peri lagged only slightly behind her. The Doctor's hand at her back and his shouting made her run faster. She rocketed around a corner and the Doctor slid in along side her.
Peri never appeared.
With a gasp, Tegan turned. The Doctor roughly pressed her into the wall. "No, Tegan."
"Peri..."
"I know," he responded. He glanced around the edge of the wall and into the courtyard. Barely ten meters from them, one of the large beings held Peri's arm. She looked fiercely angry, but overpowered physically.
The being shouted something as it turned, holding Peri out like a doll in its grip. Tegan couldn't understand what was said, but she could hear Peri growling under her breath even at that distance.
"Hell," Tegan muttered. The Doctor breathed an hmmm in agreement.
"We've got to get her..."
"Yes," the Doctor sighed. He shushed her by shaking his head; he was listening.
"What do they want?"
"They don't know that the Gatherer is here," the Doctor replied with a frown. "But they're guessing it is...and they guess that I have something to do with it, but they aren't sure."
"Rather presumptive of them and egotistical of you."
"Yes, thank you, Tegan. I spoke a language like their own. It was a like an advert for knowledge..."
"Well bully for us and them, but what about...Peri, Doc? What's going on? What are they saying about her?"
The Doctor glanced down at her. She could see the tight urgent look in his eyes and knew that he is worried about their friend. "They say she will remain with them until someone tells them about their civilization builder."
"Who are they?"
He maintained eye contact with her. "Not Federation, as I said, Tegan. I don't know who they are, completely."
"But you said that it traveled the same distance..." she hissed. "That from where it came leads back to..."
"The Scripts lead back, but Federation wouldn't...need..."
The Doctor stopped, seemingly skipping a breath. "I'm an imbecile..."
"Are you? Doc, we need to get her..."
"We do. But not without a bargaining chip."
"The Gatherer?"
She needed only breathe the response before he grabbed her hand. "Come with me, Tegan...."
"Peri..." she protested as she hung back on his hand.
"Trust me, brave heart," came the cool, breathy reply. And with a worried, tight glance back at Peri, she followed him. Her friend looked in pain, but if the Doc thought they had a better chance getting her back in one piece, she had to trust him.
What she didn't expect was the shots at them as they dodged across the open space. She ran, screaming more for support than out of fear. By the time she reached the pathway towards their rooms, the smell of ozone and scorched earth filled her nose. And for the last time, she hoped she was leaving her friend in a dire situation. She wasn't aware she was crying until the tears salted her lips.
The Doctor burst into his room, frantically searching for the Gatherer. He had left it locked in a safe. By the time Tegan caught him, he had thrown the left over bandages to the ground and was digging through the drawer. "But..."
"I know, Tegan-"
"No, you don't." She joined him at the bed, watching as he plowed through the drawer. "That thing...that Gatherer..." She drew back as he uncovered it and took it in hand. "That...builds civilizations, but when it's used in places...it could destroy civilizations to build something else..."
The Doctor stood. His eyes were harsh in the incandescent light. "Yes, Tegan."
"It could kill..."
"And it did kill. Countless hundreds of planets in nameless systems were decimated to build new civilizations for the Federation."
She gaped at him. "And you're planning on turning it over to them? Just like that? A thing that can wipe out..."
"Tegan..." He became motionless, gazing at her with an endless, pained stare. She could see the same look that had crossed his face with the Daleks; a look of resignation in the face of a moral surety.
She sat down hard on the bed and shook her head. "How...could..."
"I won't let them have it to indiscriminately kill, Tegan. We need to save Peri and deal with these aliens in the same move. Trust me..."
Tegan winced at his words. In her mind, she saw the warehouse and the Doctor, poised, his back straight, slowly, silently becoming a murderer simply by uttering a few words.
"I won't allow that to happen, Tegan. Trust me..." He cupped her chin gently in his free hand. As she met his eyes again, she sighed. Supremo, the Doctor, her friend...they all stood in front of her and she understood him now more than ever. He had to do something.
"Then what will you do?" she asked smally.
"Ah, well..." he grinned. "I do rather think improvisation is in order."
"Improv-"
He lifted an eyebrow and nodded to the object in his hand. "Yes, well, Tegan, I am good at it."
Tegan frowned at him and turned, retreating across the floor to where she had dropped various clothes earlier in the day. In a small case under her clothes, she pulled out a gun that she had asked for and gotten earlier that day. The Doctor stilled, watching her with mournful eyes. She straightened and weighed its unfamiliar weight in her hand.
"Please understand..." she said. "If we're going back, I need...after the last year..."
The Doctor glanced down at the gun in her hand and then joined her, holding out his hand to her free one. He squeezed it, but said nothing. She knew that he wouldn't.
They entered the courtyard at a dead run, hand in hand. The gun shots rained down on them as they rocketed across courtyard. Before they could get to a vantage point of safety, scored earth and fire made them stop.
"We're not going to make it back...where's Peri?" Tegan shouted, covering her head from fire. "This place is becoming a war zone!"
"They have lost patience," the Doctor yelled back.
"Just great!"
"Hold on," the Doctor muttered and pressed the Gatherer against her back, pulling her out of line of fire. His arms rounded her to keep her safe as he hit the button on the back of the Gatherer. She felt a jolt of energy rush through her system and then...
Nothing.