Brinbek awoke to the sound of a crackling fire. He blinked his eyes, and looked up to find Telk beside him. He surveyed the room, only to find that he and the young Antazi were it's only occupants.
"I'm afraid this may not have been the best day for us to meet..." he drew in his breath as he noticed the boy's raw red face and bruised eye. "they... they did this to you."
"Malik," Telk stated "he'll be returning soon... I think it's best if you pretend that you're still unconscious."
Brinbek shifted on the wall and placed more of his weight on his legs, relieving the muscles of his stretched wings. "I'll do no such thing. I'm certain that what you are suffering is on my behalf." He looked into the boy's eyes and found a strength there that he never thought possible, especially considering the circumstances. "Why did you stay with me? You could have easily gotten away."
"I... I couldn't let anything happen to you... not again. I mean, not like before."
Brinbek's puzzled look faded as Telk spoke. "You knew my brother?" he asked quietly.
"Yes... he was my friend."
Brinbek nodded "What is your name Antazi?"
"Telk."
"I am honored to stand by your side Telk, and should we survive this you will never have need to doubt my friendship. This day I count you as a brother, and when my time comes I will remember your name to the stars."
Stron held fast to the tilted scaffolding with one hand while the other remained clamped around Alison's throat. The Doctor dropped the iron spike and swung quickly around the rocket casing. He looked down just as Stron began to lift Alison upward. Her feet kicked weakly below her and her cheeks puffed outward as she gasped for air.
"Come away from there or I kill her!" Stron shouted.
There was a moment of silence. The Doctor's eyes never left Stron's.
"Well!" Stron shouted again.
"Well if you're going to kill her you'd better get on with it."
Stron's mouth dropped open. "You wouldn't let her die."
"No? Of what possible use is she to me? She gave away my position..." the Doctor turned to look at her "and honestly Alison if you're just going to get yourself captured like that you deserve what's coming to you." Alison's eyes began to roll back in her head.
"But, Malik said..."
"Malik said... Malik said..." the Doctor mimicked Stron's confused tone. "Think about it Stron, if you were in my place would you bother to save her?"
Stron looked at Alison as she dangled from his grip. Her hands were still prying at his wrist, but their strength was giving out. Her kicking slowed and her legs began to hang loosely. "No..." Stron muttered "no I wouldn't." He released her neck and let her drop. The Doctor lunged forward over the rail but was too late to catch her. She fell backward and landed on the inclined path. She gasped for air and quickly caught what was left of the Southern railing, just stopping herself from slipping into the ocean.
The scaffolding shook as Stron began to climb toward the rocket head. The Doctor backed up the incline and braced himself against the surrounding framework. As Stron moved around the weapon's casing the Doctor kicked forward and knocked him to the rail. Stron's eyes widened in surprise, then a smile crossed his face. He steadied himself and with one swift motion tore a chunk of the railing from it's post. He swung for the Doctor's head. The Doctor ducked as the makeshift club impacted with the hole in the casing. Small bits of sodium trickled out and rattled their way down the framework, popping like firecrackers as they hit the water.
"Careful Stron, or you'll do my work for me." He ducked again as Stron raised his arm for a second swing.
"You're nothing!" laughed Stron "Do you know how many I've killed? I'm a hero to my people!" He dashed the club into the casing.
"You're a petty thug with a taste for killing." The Doctor caught the club on Stron's next swing "You hide behind Malik's skirt and your people despise you." With his right arm he landed a blow on Stron's jaw. Stron released the club and staggered back. Dazed, he ran his hand along his lower lip and found blood there. He looked up at the Doctor with a reddening, rage filled face. As his eyes refocused, he reached back an arm to steady himself on the rail... only to find it was no longer there. He flailed out helplessly as he tipped backward over the scaffoldings edge.
Stron plummeted into the water, bobbed once and then smashed into the crude retaining wall. The Doctor ran down the tipped pathway as blood began to surface near the wall's edge in a watery red foam. Once more Stron's body surfaced. It hung face down on the current, then drifted below the waves and out of sight.
The Doctor reached Alison and found her kneeling on the incline, one hand gripping the rail, the other massaging her neck. "I deserve what's coming to me?" she rasped.
"Sorry about that." He helped her to her feet, only to nearly fall over himself as the scaffolding shifted. He clutched the railing and held tight to Alison's arm.
"What was that?"
He looked back at the retaining wall. Its uppermost stones shifted under the weight of the weapon and began to drop into the ocean below. "The wall's collapsing!" He shouted. "We have to get off of this now!"
They ran along the diagonal path as the ropes around them began to strain and snap. The framework behind them twisted and splintered as they reached the rocket's exhaust nozzle. The scaffolding was now upended and the path hung over a thirty foot drop. Behind them the sound of stones grinding together filled the air as the payload neared the water's surface. They leapt from the edge of the wooden path just as a blinding white wall of fire hurtled forward and blossomed into a glaring molten red.