Fourth chapter. what can I say. I might have rushed this one a bit. I'm eager to get down to the good stuff. I had originally intended for this one to be longer but had to cut it down and save the rest for chapter 5. oh well
"They didn't tell us it was a nude beach." Mickey complained, as he and Rose walked along the smooth sand of the second beach they were visiting, searching for a place where they could lay down.
"Well, maybe some of the beaches are clothing optional" said Rose. "Good thing this one seems to be deserted."
"I guess" Mickey shrugged. "It was just weird seeing all those things with their, ya know, things."
Rose suppressed a laugh. She knew Mickey was new to the whole 'space time travel thing'. But she still couldn't help but find it amusing the way he reacted to everything around him.
They finally found a nice spot overlooking the rest of the beach.
"I mean" Mickey continued. "How can we be on a beach and still be on a space ship? I mean, I was looking outside the window in the room before and could see outer space" he then pointed up "and that's a blue sky staring up at me."
"Actually it's not a real sky." They heard some one say from behind them.
A young girl, about Rose's age with long silvery hair and also wearing a bikini walked over and sat down beside them. "They use super projection to make it look like there's a sky up there." she continued to explain. "Helps maintain the illusion, that this is a real beach. Which of course, it isn't."
Rose and Mickey, slightly taken aback by the girl's forwardness, couldn't think of anything to say in reply.
"So, have you two just arrived?" the girl asked.
"Oh yeah" said Rose, trying to match the girl's friendly manner. "We're just travelling with a friend of ours. What about you?"
"Oh I'm just on vacation with my dad." the girl answered. She held out her hand to introduce herself "I'm Rora by the way."
Rose took it, smiling politely. "I'm Rose, this is Mickey."
"So where are you lot from?" Rora asked.
"Earth" Rose answered.
"What, New Earth?" said Rora.
"No" said Rose, suddenly remembering "the old one."
"Rora." a voice shouted. A woman, who Rose had never seen before walked down from a nearby hill and stood right beside them. Her eyes fixed on Rora.
"What are you doing here Eva" Rora asked the woman.
"Your father requested that you not leave the suite Rora." said the woman, who suddenly stared at Rose and Mickey.
Rose did not know what to make of this 'Eva'. She certainly didn't give off the impression as someone who had come to the beach for a tan. And by the way she dressed and the way she carried herself, she looked more like a bodyguard then a nanny.
She had long red hair that stopped at her shoulders. She was dressed in camo patterned trousers, tucked into black combat boots, with a matching leather vest worn over a black sleeveless tank top. She had a gun belt strapped to her waist and on her right hip a holster with small fire arm inside it.
If Rose knew one thing from travelling with the Doctor, it was to never argue with some one with a gun. Rora however, did not seem to follow this example. She continued to argue with Eva.
"I can't stay in there all day Eva. You have no idea how boring it is in there."
"It's for your own protection Rora." said Eva. She beckoned Rora to get up. "Now common, I haven't got all day for you."
Rora got up, sulking. Looked back at Rose and Mickey "see ya later maybe" and walked off with Eva.
"Well, she seemed nice." said Mickey. Rose suddenly looked at him. "Well not that nice" he quickly added, noticing the glare in Rose's eyes.
Rose however dismissed the matter instantly, turning away from Mickey to watch Rora disappear off in the distance. "Wonder what that was all about?"
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In his unsuccessful quest to find some one who might know where the bridge was located, the Doctor had already encountered at least one Sarconian, two Franilo's and one Rexicoricophalvitorian. Who all seemed to give similar answers in the form of words such as "Sorry." "Nope." and "Can't help you."
To which the Doctor would always reply "thanks anyway." Except for the Sarconian, who the Doctor said while wiping the green saliva off his pint striped suit to "say it don't spray it."
So far he'd had little success with finding some one who could help him. Many of the guests seemed to keep to themselves.
He decided the best thing to do was to just go back to the suite and find out from the info screen how to find the bridge.
He started down an unfamiliar corridor he'd not been down before and was stopped by a security guard.
"Sorry sir, but this area is off limits to guests" the guard told him. "You'll have to find another way around."
"Why's it off limits?" said the Doctor.
"One of the guests has requested extra security around his suite" the guard explained.
"And this guest would be who?"
"Professor Roan, of course" said the guard. "Now please sir. I can't let you pass without proper clearance."
The Doctor flashed the psychic paper in front of the guard, trying to invent in his head a decent enough lie. "I'm the Doctor, here to see Professor Roan regarding his health" he told the guard.
The guard looked at the paper, slightly confused. "The Professor didn't say anything about you coming."
The Doctor chuckled. "Funny of old Roan, forgetting stuff like that, but then again he is getting senile in his old age isn't he?"
The guard looked as if he was about to let the Doctor through, but then was suddenly distracted by something.
He saw something behind the Doctor. The Doctor turned to see a red headed woman escorting a young silver haired girl down the hall towards them.
"Found her, Mank" said the redhead to the guard.
"Where was she." the guard asked.
"She was on the beach, talking to two kids" the redhead answered.
"I was just trying to get out for a while" said the girl.
"Your fathers waiting for you, Rora" the redhead told the girl. "Go inside."
"Some paradise" the girl muttered, walking through the only door that occupied the corridor.
The red headed woman suddenly turned her attention to the Doctor. "Who are you?" she asked.
"It's alright Eva" said the guard. "He's just here to see the professor, he has clearance."
"Alright" said Eva "Go in, but be quick."
The Doctor nodded to her and walked through the door, into the suite.
He seemed to have walked into what was apparently the middle of an argument between the silver haired girl Rora and an older man who he assumed had to be her father.
"Professor Roan" said the Doctor, addressing the man, whose hair seemed to resemble his daughters.
"Yes" the Professor said. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Professor Illious Roan" the man introduced himself. He turned to the girl "Rora, we'll talk about this later." The girl took one last look at her father and walked away, out of sight.
"So tell me, Doctor" said Professor Roan politely. "What brings you here?"
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Outside the suite, Eva paced herself impatiently, wondering to herself if she would regret her decision to allow a complete stranger in to see the professor.
Something just didn't add up. The Professor had not received visits from anyone ever since he had arrived on the ship. And all of a sudden this 'Doctor' as Mank called him, comes along.
"What exactly did he say he was here for?" she asked Mank.
"He said he was a Doctor, here to see the Professor, about his health or something."
"The Professor never told me about having an appointment with any Doctor" said Eva. "And if there was something wrong with him why didn't he just go to the sick bay."
She suddenly had a thought. "Pull up the file on this 'Doctor' person" she ordered Mank. "Find out who he is, and what he's doing here."
……………………………………………………………………
Professor Roan was not taken aback by the Doctors visit. If anything, he seemed more pleased by the company of someone with a similar title to his own.
He invited the Doctor to sit with him in his study room. He poured himself a drink and sat down opposite the Doctor, who seemed a bit surprised by the Professors generous hospitality.
"Why all this security?" the Doctor started asking. "What are you afraid of?"
"It's not me I'm trying to protect" said Roan, taking another sip of his drink. "It's what's in my safe."
"And what's that?" the Doctor asked.
"A very valuable item I've been keeping under lock and key ever since I arrived here."
The Doctor suddenly became intrigued by this new information. "This item, what is it?"
"I'm not at liberty to say" replied Roan.
The Doctor saw no point in grilling Roan any further. Information may be fun sometimes, but not when it occupies one's time for this long. "Do you know what sector this ship is in?" he asked.
"I've studied the whole of the universe, Doctor" said Roan "I know very well what sector this is."
"Then you know what danger you're in?"
"Very much so." said Roan. "Not that I'm worried."
"Professor" said the Doctor, finally getting to the point "you and your daughter are at risk as long as this ship remains in sector five."
"And what do you propose I do about it, Doctor?" Roan asked.
"I need to see the captain, can you arrange something?"
"I suppose I could" Roan started to say. The door to the study suddenly hissed open and Eva walked in. "The Captain has agreed to see you, Doctor. If you'll just follow me."
The Doctor stood up and smiled. "Now that's more like it."
"Just one thing" said Eva. "I need to see the ID you showed to Mank, earlier."
The Doctor showed Eva the psychic paper using the same cover he had used before.
"I see" she said looking at the paper, smiling. "That'll do. Come this way."
Happy to finally be making some progress, the Doctor followed Eva out of the professor's suite and down to a deserted corridor which he assumed led to the lifts that would take them to the bridge.
Eva motioned the Doctor to take the lead and go in front of her. "After you" she said. The Doctor passed by her and in a split second; Eva grabbed his arm, pulled it behind his back and slammed him against the wall. His free hand pressed on the wall for support.
"Alright" said Eva, keeping the Doctor pinned. "Start from the beginning."
"Well," said the Doctor "I was born at a very early age and from that time on..."
Eva twisted his arm, turning his last words into a groan and ending his sentence entirely. "Don't get cute with me. I know what you're doing here, and you're not gonna get away with it."