"Alison, I really should be getting back to the Tardis."
Holding him by the arms she gently pulled him through the entrance to the indoor gardens. "The Master can wait." She smiled mischievously "Besides, he has Telk to entertain him remember?" She guided him to an open area that was covered in grass and sweet smelling flowers. Releasing his arms, she sank to the ground and sat cross legged on its lush green surface. The Doctor continued to stand. Alison looked up at him and patted the ground beside her. He exhaled sharply, rolled his eyes, and finally sat down next to her. For a long time they were silent.
"It really is quite beautiful here" the Doctor finally said.
"Yes it is."
"For as long as it lasts."
"How much time do they have left?"
The Doctor pondered this "At the rate Malik's men are working... perhaps a week."
"But they will live."
"As long as Malik rules... yes I believe they will, but if Stron takes over..." his voice trailed away.
Somewhere a gentle bell sounded. The indoor gardens began to fill with Toroth children and parents. The adults gave the Doctor and Alison only the briefest of glances as they strolled by with their young ones in tow. The children on the other hand were far more curious, their heads bobbed excitedly as they passed, watching the alien visitors with great interest. The large group began to settle in the distance, in an open clearing surrounded by trees
"As we're Brinbek's personal guests they're not permitted to speak with us." Alison explained.
"I see."
Alison startled when a Toroth mother began calling out to her eager toddler. The child had somehow managed to break away from her and was quickly running toward the Doctor on unsteady legs. Twice it fell as it closed the distance between them. Its mother continued calling, a sort of embarrassed panic rising in her voice, but this only made the small bird move faster toward the object of its curiosity. Finally, less than three feet in front of the Doctor, it came to an abrupt halt. The child stared at him with wide white eyes. Its head tipped to one side as it flitted its wings nervously. For a moment the Doctor simply looked at the little bird, then he suddenly laughed out loud. The child's feathers instantly puffed outward in an attempt to make itself as large as possible. The Doctor laughed again, and with a high pitched squeal the fledgling turned and ran back to it's mother.
"Doctor, did you see that?"
"Of course I saw it, he was right in front of me."
"But his eyes..." Alison persisted "His eyes were white like the Antazi."
He shrugged "Many newborns have an eye colour that differs from the adult form, it will change as he..." the Doctor suddenly stopped. He slowly raised his hands to eye level and examined them thoughtfully. "Of course" he muttered "the webbing... it's a throw-back trait."
"Excuse me?"
The Doctor stood up abruptly. "Ferns!" he shouted "Ferns and mosses!"
Alison quickly stood. The nearby Toroth were eyeing the Doctor with a sort of perplexed distrust. "What are you going on about?" said Alison "There's nothing like that here."
He turned to face her. "The haploid-diploid life cycle... alternation of generations!"
"The what what who?"
He grasped her shoulders "The woman from the ritual... you spoke with her when we went to the apothecary, what did she say?"
Alison hesitated "We... talked about the baby, how it was doing."
The Doctor's eyes grew more intense. "Did she say anything about the ritual itself?"
"The ritual?" Alison's eyes widened "Only that some families wait years for the children to return..." she shook her head "I didn't understand what she meant."
The Doctor released her. "I believe I do" he said quietly.
A quiet shuffling in the grass alerted them. They turned to find Brinbek walking in their direction. He was gazing past them at the Toroth in the distance "I trust they are not disturbing you."
"Not at all" the Doctor replied "they've been most informative."
Brinbek looked surprised. "My father gave express orders that they should not speak with you."
"And they haven't said a word" the Doctor assured him. He put an arm around Brinbek's narrow shoulders and began leading him away from the group. Alison followed closely. "Brinbek, the Toroth children... what exactly do they look like?"
Brinbek turned to look at him "As you see them now of course."
"And when they've just hatched... do they look different then?"
Brinbek stopped abruptly, a look of embarrassment crossed his face. "Doctor, there are certain questions..."
"Which are inappropriate to ask. I know, but I must. The answer could be very important."
Brinbek sighed heavily "We are a cursed people," he said softly "our children are born in the form of our enemies... a primitive trace of our tainted ancestry. Only when they are brought to the nesting grounds is the curse lifted."
"I see," said the Doctor "and these nesting grounds, do the Antazi have access to them?"
Brinbek shifted uneasily "It has always been neutral territory... by the sovereign's orders."
"And that doesn't seem the least bit strange to you?"
"Perhaps," Brinbek hesitated "but it's not my place to question..."
"Of course it isn't" interrupted the Doctor, he quickly grasped the Toroth's wing in a fierce handshake "Well it's been most enjoyable. Please thank your father for his hospitality, I'm afraid Alison and I must be going." He took Alison's arm and began to lead her to the exit.
"You will return to the Antazi?"
"As soon as possible," the Doctor called back "someone has to stop that weapon."
"But my father... he has retracted the protection I offered. You will be alone out there."
They had just reached the door when the Doctor turned to look back at him. "Oh, I think we're quite used to that by now." He smiled. "Good-bye!" And they left the baffled Prince staring at a closing glass door.
Instead of returning straight to the village, the Doctor had taken the Tardis back to the very spot they had originally landed. Alison watched Telk as he gazed fitfully about the console room. He jumped reflexively each time a new shower of sparks flew from the underside of the console. She sighed, despite having told Telk that the Doctor was better and that he knew what he was doing, the youth still seemed unconvinced. He sat in the Master's favorite armchair staring at the Doctor as he worked. When he noticed Alison watching him he put on as brave a face as he could and gave her a halfhearted smile. She dipped her head under the console and gently nudged the Doctor with the tip of her shoe.
"What exactly are you doing?"
"Trying to repair the external gravitational tractor beam" he replied.
"Then you plan to pull the rocket off course?" she asked doubtfully.
He swung his head out sideways and gave her a reprimanding look. "Well it has been known to work in the past."
"The very distant past" added the Master as he entered the room.
The Doctor returned to his work. "If neither of you has anything useful to do would you please keep quiet, this is very delicate work, requiring the utmost..." a bright flash burst from the console innards. Sparks flew, and acrid tendrils of smoke rose up from under the panel.
The Master approached the console and gazed at a small screen imbedded in its surface. "And there goes the beam's connection to the power source" he muttered.
The Doctor rose from the floor, his face speckled with small black flecks. He pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket and began to roughly wipe the spots from his face. "It wouldn't have mattered anyway" the Doctor said in frustration "Malik would try again... fifteen years, twenty years..."
"I certainly hope we're not staying here that long" groaned the Master.
"But I don't understand" said Alison "Malik wants the city's technology, he can't use it without the Toroth's help, and you said he wouldn't harm..."
"He won't" the Doctor answered "but Stron will. He's been waiting his whole life to take out the Toroth and I very much doubt he'll be merciful once his people have the advantage. The Doctor shoved the handkerchief back into his pocket. "It'll be self genocide" he muttered.
Alison felt like her head was spinning again. "What are you talking about?"
He turned to look her. "How many sentient species have we encountered on this world?"
"Well... two. The Antazi and the Toroth."
"One." the Doctor responded "One species, two distinctly different adult forms. Each generation giving rise to the alternate characteristics of the other. Much like the ferns of your home planet... though most humans pay little attention to the other form, it still exists." Telk gripped the side of the armchair as he listened. His face filled with disbelief.
"Well, well..." said the Master "'he has his grandfather's eyes' takes on a whole new meaning." He clasped his hands behind his back "Fascinating, a bit of an evolutionary cul-de-sac, but still... most entertaining."
"But..." Alison hesitated "then the Antazi would have more Toroth children wouldn't they?"
The Doctor looked past her to Telk "What happens to those impure Antazi infants who never change to the true form?"
Telk sat upright "They are left to the animals of the forest" he replied "they can never be taken back." The Doctor gave Alison a pointed look.
"So what do we do" she asked in a resolved tone.
"We aren't going to do anything, you're going to stay with Telk while I make my way back to the village." He started for the door.
"But I want to help" Alison called out.
He looked back and scanned her carefully. "You can help" he said after a pause.
"Yes?" she stepped forward hopefully.
"You can give me your cloak" he held out his hand expectantly. Alison's lips turned to a slight pout as she unfastened the garment and handed it to him. He gave the cloak an appraising look then turned and walked out the Tardis door.
Alison crossed her arms. "What do you suppose he's going to do?"
The Master activated the scanner and turned to watch the Doctor's retreat "At a guess I'd say he was planning to disable the weapon." He crossed his arms "Typical, he never could leave well enough alone. Always putting his nose in where it doesn't belong. Be glad you're not with him my dear, you'd probably be bored to tears." He waited for her usual dry retort... which never came. "Miss Cheney?" He turned to find the console room empty. Telk and Alison were gone.