Satellite Five: Floor 139 Spike Room
As Cathica entered the spike room, the woman couldn't help but roll her eyes as she was followed by the Doctor, Rose, and Rieka.
"Look, they only give us twenty minutes maintenance, can't you give it a rest?" she asked, getting fed up with their constant stream of questions.
"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" the Doctor continued as he settled himself down comfortably in the chair on the platform, tensing slightly when Rose rested against the back of it. He glanced towards Rieka, finding that she had been rather quiet, and there was a thoughtful expression in her face. One that the Time Lord had seen before, and he knew that she was just as intrigued about the happenings going on in Satellite Five as he was.
"I went to Floor 16 when I first arrived," Cathica retorted, regaining the Doctor's attention, "That's medical. That's where I got my head done, and then I, I came straight here. Satellite Five; you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all... You're not management, are you?" she suddenly asked, eyeing the three time travellers suspiciously.
"At last! She's clever!" the Time Lord suddenly exclaimed, and Rieka jumped at his sudden outburst, having been lost in thought. The Doctor offered her an apologetic look.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, don't involve me," Cathica told them as she shook her head, "I don't know anything."
"Don't you even ask?" Rieka enquired, her eyebrows creasing in confusion as she looked at the other woman. This was a news satellite, and unless the news was done far differently in the future, Rieka knew that journalists were the most annoying, in-you-face people that never seemed to stop asking questioned – always digging for something interesting and tasty to print.
It didn't even matter if it was all lies.
"Well, why would I?" Cathica replied, frowning.
"You're a journalist," Rieka stated matter-of-factually, "Questioning things should be the first thing you'd do."
When Cathica continued to stare at Rieka rather dumbly, the Doctor decided to change the subject. "Why's all the crew human?" he asked, knowing that his Nesdra had provided a valid point, but it just seemed as though the other woman wasn't seeing it.
Cathica turned to him, growing increasingly confused and irritated by their never-ending questions. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"There's no aliens on board. Why?" he pressed, ignoring her question.
"I don't know – no real reason, they're not banned or anything," Cathica admitted.
"Then where are they?" Rose asked as she pointedly looked around the room.
Cathica seemed to slump at her question, though still tried to ignore what they were trying to say. "I supposed immigration's tightened up," she surmised, "It had to, what, with all the threats."
"What threats?" Rieka cut in with a frown, unknowingly taking the words straight from the Doctor's mouth.
"I don't know..." the woman trailed off, looking a little lost, "All of them. Usual stuff. And the price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away..."
The trio watched Cathica intently, causing her to shift uncomfortably.
"Oh, and the government on Traffic Five's collapsed, so that lot stopped coming, you see...just...lots of little reasons, that's all."
"Adding up to one great big fact, and you didn't even notice," the Doctor stated.
"Doctor, I think if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything," Cathica remarked, offended by his words.
"I can see better," the Doctor was quick to retort, "The society's the wrong shape. Even the technology."
"It's cutting edge!"
"No," Rieka cut in before either could say any more. She paused, her lip tugging downwards slightly before she added, "It's all wrong... backwards."
"There's a great big door in your head," the Doctor continued on from where Rieka had stopped, "You should've chucked this out years ago."
"So, what do you think is going on?" Rose asked the Time Lord, who paused in thought.
"It's not just this space station, it's the whole attitude," he explained, "It's the way people think. The great and bountiful human empire stunted. Something's holding it back."
"Or controlling it," Rieka muttered.
"And how would you know?" Cathica asked a little sharply – affronted.
"Trust me. Humanity's been set back about ninety years," the Doctor replied easily.
"When did Satellite Five start broadcasting?" Rieka questioned, coming to finally stand beside the chair the Doctor was sitting in.
Cathica hesitated before replying, realising that they may be onto something, "Ninety-one years ago..."
The Doctor nodded at her and she looked away with a troubled, but thoughtful expression.
Floor 500 Spike Room
Strolling into the spike room, the Editor wore a smirk on his face as he approached the spike chair.
"Was that so hard?" he asked the brunet that was strapped to the chair. Though when he didn't get a response, he just shook his head, "You can fight us all you want, but sooner or later you will give up all your secrets."
"Who said I was fighting?'
The Editor froze, his eyes darting up to the brunet's face, though frowned when he noticed that nothing had changed.
The man still had his head turned away; his eyes closed.
"So be it!" the Editor suddenly snapped before leaving the room. His eyes darted around as he did so, and if he had looked back, he would have found a set of black eyes watching him; a smirk on their owner's lips.
-0-
The Editor approached one of the drones at the computers in the control room, his expression angry.
"Direct all information through the spike room," he ordered, "Every titbit of information, every last drop. I want him to scream!"
There was a growling roar from above, though for the first time in his tenure, the Editor ignored it as he watched the monitor as the drone did as he asked.
It took a moment, but when it did, the Editor took a step away from the screen as his head turned in the direction of the spike room; a dark grin appearing on his lips as the first screams started.
"Let's see how resistant you will be now," he muttered to himself.
Floor 139
"We're so gonna get into trouble," Cathica complained as she glanced around once more, making sure that no one was watching as the Doctor scanned the side of a door with his sonic. "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off," she continued, taking a step closer to the trio.
"Rose, tell her to button it," the Time Lord grumbled as he continued with what he was doing. He could have asked Rieka, but he had noticed that his Nesdra had been distracted the moment Suki had gotten her promotion, and he couldn't help but wonder what was going through her mind. She had seemed a little uneasy since they had appeared here, and he was curious to know why.
"You can't just vandalise the place, someone's gonna notice!" Cathica hissed in a harsh whisper – just as the Doctor wrenched the door open.
Floor 500 Control Room
The Editor watched the preceding's happening on Floor 139 with a perplexed expression.
"I don't understand! We did a full security scan," he stated, rather confused as to what he was seeing, "That man was there when we found Suki Macrae Cantrell. There were no indications about him. And yet, here he is..." He lent forwards and over the frosted form of Eva, who was now hard at work at a terminal. "Clearly acting out of the parameters," he continued as he watched the Time Lord begin to mess around with the mainframe. "Fascinating."
The man jumped when the beast above him roared, and he was quick to respond, knowing that he behaviour earlier hadn't really been seen as appropriate.
"Yes, sir. Absolutely. At once."
He moved down the line of drones, speaking to each one in turn.
"Check him. Double check him. Triple check him. Quadruple!"
The beast rumbled again and the Editor paused before a smirk appeared on his face.
"Of course," he said, leaving the room once more.
Floor 139
A frown marred Rieka's face as she continued to observe the Doctor as he tried to work his way through the wires that made up Satellite Five's mainframe.
The red head's mind was swirling with everything that was going on, but the one thing she couldn't get out of her mind was the hug Suki had given her earlier. And as much as Rieka thought that the place could do with some air-conditioning, there was no reason for Suki's touch to have felt like ice, and the witch was curious to know why.
Something was telling her that whatever she had felt was important - vital even – but Rieka just couldn't figure out why.
"This has nothing to do with me," Cathica spoke up, drawing Rieka from her thoughts. "I'm going back to work," the woman added before walking away.
"Go on then! See you!" the Doctor called cheerily after her, not even looking up from the wires he was working through. Though his words did have Cathica stopping.
"I can't just leave you, can I?" the woman stated.
"If you want to be useful," Rose said, "Get 'em to turn the heating down. It's boiling." She fanned herself as if to drive the point home and Rieka's frown deepened. "What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?" the blonde continued to ask.
"I don't know, we keep asking," Cathica replied, "Something to do with the turbine."
"Something to do with the turbine," the Doctor repeated mockingly, which only earned him a unhappy look from Rieka before she finally spoke up.
"I don't think It would be the turbine," she stated, only to earn a confused look from both Cathica and Rose. "I... I'm not too sure, but I think it's something else."
"What else could it be?" Rose enquired, all the while Cathica was looking between them in disbelief.
"One minute you're worried about the Empire, and the next it's central heating!" the woman cut in before Rieka could reply to Rose's question.
"Well, never underestimate plumbing. Plumbing's very important," the Time Lord remarked, just before he accidently snapped a bunch of wires, causing Cathica to look away exasperated.
Floor 500 Spike Room
"Who is he?!" the Editor demanded as the brunet in the spike chair writhed and jerked; the blue stream of energy trying to force information from his mind.
Though much to the Editor's annoyance, it was to no avail.
The man's mind was like an impenetrable fortress.
A projection of the three time travellers and Cathica showed them a liv recording, and the Editor was getting beyond frustrated with the brunet's continued defiance. He had never had trouble getting information from anyone before, but for some reason this man was resistant to anything he tried.
'Security scan complete,' a computer spoke up.
"Well, who is he?" the Editor asked impatiently.
'He is no-one,' the computer informed him and he laughed, not comprehending what it meant.
"What does that mean?" he questioned, now ignoring the man in the spike chair as he turned his complete focus on the computer.
'He is no-one,' the computer repeated.
The Editor frowned. "What, you mean he has a fake ID?" he asked, trying to understand what the A.I. was saying.
'He has no identification.'
"But everyone's registered. We have a census for the entire Empire," he remarked, now becoming baffled.
'He is no-one.'
"What, he doesn't exist? Not anywhere?"
'He is no-one.'
The Editor was now beyond baffled. He was utterly confused.
"What about the red head and the blonde?" he enquired, and there was a delay before the computer spoke up again.
'They are no-one.'
"Both of them?!" the Editor exclaimed, incredulous. He looked back to the man and shut down the stream of energy with a click of his fingers before he grinned, "Well! We all know what happens to non-entities. They get promoted."
He then left the room, returning to the control room and immediately got one of the drones to bring the unknown trio up to Floor 500.
Floor 139
The Doctor managed to successfully hack into Satellite Five's mainframe and turned the screen he was using to show Cathica – along with an ever curious Rieka.
"He we go, Satellite Five. Pipes and plumbing," he explained as he moved to stand behind the pair so they could all see the monitor. "Look at the layout," he instructed.
Both women, along with a rather put-out Rose, examined the screen, and it was only Rieka's expression that turned troubled at what they were seeing.
"This is ridiculous," Cathica exclaimed, rather bemused as to what she was to be looking for, "You've got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archive, the news, the stock exchange... and you're looking at pipes?"
"But there's something wrong with them," Rieka pointed out, and it caused the other woman to study the schematics a bit closer.
"I suppose..."
"Why, what is it?" Rose piped up, not seeing what they were.
"The ventilation system," Rieka explained as she pointed to the screen, "Cooling ducts, ice filters, all working flat out..." A crease appeared between her eyebrows as she continued, "Channelling massive amounts of heat down."
The red head looked upwards and towards the ceiling.
"All the way from the top," the Doctor agreed as he followed her gaze.
"Floor Five Hundred," Rose added.
The Time Lord nodded in agreement. "Something up there is generating tonnes and tonnes of heat," he confirmed.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party," Rose stated with a grin, causing Rieka to blink at her. "It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?" the blonde continued, turning to look at the Doctor.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Rieka informed Rose, all the while wondering two things. The first being that the blonde must be completely mental to want to willingly walk into a place without the foggiest idea as to what could be going on, and reminded the witch of how Rose had brushed off the fact that she had been caught in the middle of a German air-raid with the Union Jack plastered across her chest.
The second thing that kept circling Rieka's mind was if whatever she had felt when Suki had hugged her had anything to do with what could possibly be happening up on Floor 500. From what she had seen on the schematics, there was enough heat being cycled down from the top floor to create a winter wonderland, and she wanted to know why.
"And anyway, you can't," Cathica added, "You need a key."
"Keys are just codes, and I have the codes right here," the Doctor remarked as he tapped a few keys on the monitor. He grinned a moment later, "Here we go, override 215.9."
"How come it's given you the code?" Cathica asked in disbelief, having spent years trying to get a promotion to Floor 500, only to have these three people given it without a fuss.
Rieka frowned as she looked at the monitor. She wanted to try and find out more on what could be happening upstairs before even thinking of going up there, but as her gaze shifted to a security camera nearby, she had the feeling that she didn't have the choice.
"Someone up there likes us," she remarked.
-0-
Up on Floor 500, the Editor laughed to himself as he watched the group on the computer screen, all unaware of what lay instore for them.
-0-
When the lift door opened, Rieka was chewing on her bottom lip as she watched the Doctor and Rose step inside. She released her lip and took a deep breath before following, ignoring the instincts that where shouting at her that it was all a trap. The witch knew that no matter how much she still wanted to look into what was happening on Satellite Five before going to the top floor, she also wouldn't let the Doctor and Rose go up without her.
Bloody Gryffindors, she thought with a fond shake of her head, seeing that both of them were quite happy to figure out what was going on by heading straight to the source.
It seemed that no matter where the witch went, she was always going to run into someone that had her thinking of her previous life. Nancy was another she would have called a Gryffindor, though she had mused over the years that Jamie would have been a Hufflepuff.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
But she found the man to be someone she'd had come to see as almost family; having watched not only him, but his own son slowly grow up. He was dedicated to his work as a doctor, though always managed to have enough time to spend time with his family. His loyalty to them knew no bounds, and Rieka felt rather honoured to have watched him become the man he was today.
"Come on, come with us!" Rose interrupted Rieka's train of thought as she continued to try and get Cathica to join them, but the woman continued to refuse.
"No way!"
"Bye!" the Doctor waved cheerily, not really fazed on whether Cathica went with them or not. Just meant one less person he had to watch over.
"Well, don't mention my name. When you get into trouble, just don't involve me!" the woman told them before stalking off, and Rieka blinked at her retreating form.
Why in Salazar's name is she still so eager to keep her job when she knows that there's something shady going on here?
"That's her gone," the Doctor stated as he spared a glance to his companions, "Looks like it's just you two and me." He inserted a card into the controls and the lift doors closed.
"Yeah, great," Rose huffed, unhappy with the red head's presence. She had been enjoying her time with the Doctor while Rieka had been gone, and had turned irritated when the moment the red head returned, he had ignored her once more. And now that they were all in a lift together, the blonde found it impossible to try and forget that Rieka was there when she stood right next to her.
The Time Lord just rolled his eyes at his companion before turning to Rieka, who he found was chewing on her bottom lip. "What is it?" he asked, dragging his gaze up to meet her eyes.
"I don't like this," Rieka said with a sigh. Her eyebrows furrowed, "It's just that..." She paused and slipped her coat back on, buying some time to figure out how to say what she was feeling. It also helped that if it was going to be as cold as she suspected, the charms on her coat keep her warm. "I just don't like walking into something I have no idea about," she explained when she was done, "All we know is that for whatever reason, someone or something is producing enough heat to cause the temperature to raise on floor hundred and ninety-nine floors, all the while managing to not only deceive the people that live here, but also control anything and everything that comes and goes from this satellite – and possibly the Earth below."
Rieka ran a hand through her hair as she looked to the doors. The feeling she had been getting about the satellite had been only growing steadily stronger the closer she got to Floor 500, and she wasn't too certain as to its meaning.
Though before she could voice this, the lift slowed down as it reached their destination before the doors opened. As the trio stepped out and onto the floor, they found themselves in an area that was completely frozen. Frost covered the floor and walls, and Rieka shivered as the memory of what she had felt when Suki had hugged her chased its way across her skin; causing goosebumps to appear and the hairs on her arms and neck to raise.
But what does it mean? the witch asked herself as she tugged her coat closer around her. It was more of a self-comforting gesture than anything else as she tried to figure out why she had received a bone-chilling, frozen feeling from a hug with someone she didn't even know.
That thought was quickly replaced by another, however. One that wasn't her own.
Rieka?
The red head froze.
"The walls are not made of gold," the Doctor stated before he glanced at Rieka and Rose, "You two should go back down," he added, not wanting either of them in danger. One was his companion, and the other his Nesdra; both whom he didn't want to lose, no matter how annoying the blonde may be at times. He was quite happy to figure out what was going on without putting either at risk. And his Nesdra had brought up a valid point.
They really didn't have any idea as to what was going on, and the last thing the Doctor wanted to do was put Rieka in unnecessary danger.
Rose let out a snort as she glanced at Rieka. "She can if she's too chicken, but I'm not," she told the Time Lord before striding off like she owned the joint.
The Doctor watched his companion go before shaking his head and looking to Rieka, only to find that she was looking around the room with a confused expression on her face. "Aries?" he placed a hand on her shoulder, which had her head turning to him, "You should go back. I'll get Rose and meet you downstairs."
The red head didn't say anything, only nodded her head and the Doctor went off after his wayward companion... again. The moment he disappeared from Rieka's view however, she closed her eyes as she sought the one who had spoken to her mentally. She had brushed the first time off as hearing things, but the last time had been clear and loud - close.
But her effort was for nought, finding nothing, not even a trace of someone having entered her mind. Not even briefly.
"Odd," she muttered as her eyes opened. She looked behind her to the lift and the thought of going back down crossed her mind, but that would leave the Doctor and Rose up here on their own with no protection, and the witch found that she couldn't do that. Even if the blonde didn't seem to like her, there was no way Rieka was going to let them willingly walk into danger and walk away.
Letting out a huff of frosted air, her decision made, Rieka followed in the direction she had seen the pair go; all the while idly wondering if this was a regular thing for them.
The few times that she had run into the pair, there always seemed to be some kind of trouble that followed them. And although there was a little voice in the back of her mind that whispered the fact that she had dealt with enough danger and life-threatening events in her life; that she was quite happy with how her life currently was, Rieka couldn't help but acknowledge that she had also felt that she had been drifting. Waiting for the day she would run into the Doctor again.
It was almost as if she was just living on autopilot at times... just waiting for him to show up again. And Rieka had no idea why.
The witch continued to walk down a corridor, lost in her musings before she found herself outside a room labelled 'Spike Room'. She didn't know what it was, but before she realised what she was doing, she stepped into the room.
A gasp left her when she saw what was inside and went to back out, but stopped short when a somewhat familiar voice reached her.
"Rieka?"
Swallowing heavily, the red-headed witch stepped further into the room, giving the frost-cover drones a wide berth as she approached the spike chair where a brunet was laying; his black eyes watching her every move.
"You... how do you know me?" she asked, her eyes darting to the workers before resting back on the man.
"Ah," the brunet breathed, a smile appearing on his lips as his obsidian gaze looked into her eyes, "So it has begun."
Floor 500 Control Room
By the time the Doctor had managed to catch up to Rose, the blonde had made it to the control room.
There was a man with white hair, his back to them as he watched the screens in front of him and the Doctor took notice of the drones that were working tirelessly before the monitors.
"I started without you," the Editor said as he turned to the Doctor and Rose. He hid his surprise when he noticed that the red head wasn't with them, but shrugged it off. There was only one other place where she could be, and that worked into his plans quite well. "This is fascinating," he continued, looking between the pair in front of him, "Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you two and your little red-headed friend... you all don't exist!"
The duo just continued to stare at the man, and it caused him to laugh.
"Not a trace! No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?" he asked, though neither answered.
"Suki! Suki!" Rose suddenly exclaimed the moment she spotted the now frost-covered woman and rushed forwards, kneeling next to the woman. But the drone didn't respond as she continued working. "Hello? Can you hear me? Suki?" Rose continued before she turned to the Editor, "What've you done to her?"
"I think she's dead," the Doctor stated as he watched the drone, managing to keep his voice level despite the way his hearts were pounding away in his chest. He wanted to kick himself for splitting up with his Nesdra and not taking straight back to the TARDIS himself.
"She's working-"
"They've all got chips in their head," the Time Lord snapped, cutting his companion off, "And the chips keep going." He glared at the Editor, "Like puppets."
"Ohhh! You're full of information!" the man exclaimed with a shark-like grin. "But it's only fair we get information back, because apparently, you're no-one," he finished with a laugh, and the Doctor nodded. "It's so rare not to know something," the Editor continued before he turned serious, "Who are you?" he demanded.
"It doesn't matter, 'cause we're off. Nice to meet you," the Doctor replied with a false grin before he turned to Rose, "Come on."
However, the moment he made to leave, two of the workers restrained him. And when Rose had tried to follow, the drone she had once known as Suki grabbed her arm.
"Tell me who you are!" the Editor persisted, his voice rising.
The Time Lord tried to get the workers to release him as he glared at the Editor, even though he felt a sense of déjà vu at the situation he was in. "Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly gonna say, am I?" he retorted, rather glad that his Nesdra wasn't with them. If the Editor had even dared to lay a finger on her, the Doctor knew that he'd be introducing the man to the Oncoming Storm.
The Editor's smile was none to nice as he spoke his next words.
"Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise."
"And who's that?" the Doctor asked.
"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live." There was a low, rumbling growl that came from above, and the Editor was quick to correct himself, "Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by the kind permission of my client."
The man snapped his fingers and pointed upwards towards the ceiling. The Doctor and Rose followed where he was pointing, only to see a huge, slobbering alien with a mouth full of sharp, snapping teeth.
"Wh-what is that?" Rose asked nervously.
"You mean, that thing's in charge of Satellite Five?" the Doctor questioned in alarm.
"That 'thing', as you put it, is in charge of the human race," the Editor corrected smoothly, causing the Doctor to turn his horrified eyes onto him. "For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by its broadcast news. Edited by my superior, you maser, and humanities guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe."
The Jagrafess roared.
"I like to call him Max."
The Doctor smiled sarcastically and nodded, all the while wondering how the hell he was going to get himself and Rose out of this mess and back to Rieka.
-0-
In the spike room, the brunet shook his head at Rieka.
"I... have heard of you," he told her, though his words had the red head frowning.
"But that's not possible," she stated, "This is almost tw-"
"No!" the man hissed, his gaze darting to the drones around the room.
Rieka followed his gaze and realisation set in. If this place was being controlled, it was probably for the best that she didn't say anything about herself... no matter how curious she was to know how the man knew her.
"You need to leave, rieka," the brunet told her, "All of you."
"What's even going on here?" the witch asked, motioning towards the drones, "And who are you? I know I..." Rieka paused, tilting her head to the side before she tugged on her ear.
"You need to leave," the brunet repeated, shaking his head when Rieka opened her mouth, "No. Listen to me. If you stay, you're gonna put everything I've done into jeopardy."
Rieka's lips pursed. "I can't just leave you here," she stated firmly, and something flickered across the man's face. She would have guessed it to be irritation, or maybe even admiration, but it was gone as quick as it had appeared before she could put a name to it.
"You have to," the man argued as he turned his gaze up to the ceiling, "Get them out of here before it begins," he added as he closed his eyes.
The red head frowned, wanting to know what he was talking about, but the brunet said no more. She let out a sigh and turned back to the door. Though as she started to walk away, she paused when the man spoke up again.
"And rieka?"
She looked over her shoulder at him, her expression confused. He didn't see it however, his eyes still closed.
"You can trust him."
"Who?" she questioned as she turned to the man. She stopped mid-turn when she heard the door open and made a sound of surprise when four frost-covered drones entered the room.
"No!" the brunet shouted as he went to get up despite his restraints, though was stopped by two of the drones that had been sitting around his chair. "Leave her alone!" he demanded as the four drones that had entered went to grab Rieka.
The red head was quick however, and managed to get passed the first three; knocking the first two down with a stunner, and the third by grabbing their arm when the drone went to grab her, twisting their arm behind their back before kicking them away.
But the witch wasn't fast enough, and the brunet struggled in earnest when he saw Rieka drop to the floor like a stone after the fourth had knocked her out with a blow to the back of the head.
"Let me go!"
His struggles only caused the two drones that were holding him down to be joined by two others, and the man bared his teeth at them.
"Let me go!" he roared before everything suddenly went white.
