Chapter CX

Doctor

"Space station," Mira said.

"Could be a space ship though," Jack replied.

The Doctor locked the TARDIS door and looked around as well. Definitely somewhere in space, as far as he could tell. But that was sort of true for any place in space, even a planet. Or a moon. Or an asteroid. Of course he would know if it was a planet or moon or another bigger object, and this wasn't the case here.

"Nah. Space station," Mira said. "A big one."

The TARDIS stood in a big storage room, snugly placed between heaps of boxes and crates. High, industrial looking shelves were covering the walls, filled with boxes, parts of machinery, tools, and various other things. The lighting was dim but sufficient, at least for him. As neither Jack nor Mira had collided with anything yet he assumed they were able to see as well. Low frequency humming of machinery filled the air, which had a distinct smell to it, telling him it had been recycled more than once already.

"Why is it big?" Jack asked. "And what makes you so sure it's a space station?"

"What makes you two so sure we're in space?" he asked.

"Gut feeling," Mira replied. "It's huge, with lots of people, and were definitely in space. So it's a space station." She turned around and smiled at them. "No, seriously. It just feels like space. There's no planet underneath my feet." She hopped as if to demonstrate it. "I can feel it. It must be something about the artificial gravitation or whatever."

"You can't feel that!" he said indignantly and frowned at her. He could if he wanted to, just as feeling a planet's rotation, but certainly no human could. At the same time he couldn't help but notice that she was definitely changed since they had encountered the HECATE. He hoped it hadn't just been cheap talk, and that her newly found optimism and enthusiasm would last.

"You're right, I can't," she admitted with a lob-sided grin. "But I'm often right. Which might be highly biased because I probably just tend to forget the times I was wrong. But seriously, this place is filled with people. They are in some distance though, so the place must be rather big. I think they're civilians, at least most of them seem to go about their daily business, but not in a military-duty sort of way. It's hard to describe, but civilian places feel absolutely different compared to military places. Apart from that, the air smells like recycled once to often already. So my bet is still: Space station, though it could also be a planet with a non-breathable atmosphere. I just hope there's no black hole this time."

"Black hole?" Jack asked.

"A region of spacetime with such strong gravitational effects that nothing can escape," he started to explain, whilst still taking in their surroundings. "Not light, not particles, not even time itself. Or well, sort of, that's a quite simplified explanation, so-"

"Thanks very much, but I do know what a black hole is," Jack interrupted him.

"So why do you ask then?"

"I didn't ask for a definition, I-"

"Long story," Mira interrupted Jack. "Save to say: Stay away from them as far as possible. Beautiful sight but just not worth the trouble. By the way, I think we're at the outer region of the station. There are people all around but there." She pointed behind herself.

"Then lets go and meet some of those people," he said and walked towards the door. It was locked but he had no trouble unlocking it with his sonic. "Come on!"

They stepped out into a corridor, leading to the left and right, wide enough for them to walk side by side. It looked a bit like the corridors on the HECATE, just the moving walkways were missing, and the ceiling was higher. And it looked a lot less tidy; it was more that on some basic level every corridor on a stations/ship like that looked sort of similar. The lights were still dim, though slightly brighter than in the storage room. Above the door was a sign reading: "Section 1067c84 Level 49F"

"Think we have to head to the right," Mira said. "Should bring us closer to the people."

"Right it is then," he replied and followed her together with Jack.

After a few minutes and passing more doors they'd left alone as there were no-one behind them they came by a window. He had almost missed it as it was covered by metal blinds. It took just a quick swipe with his Sonic for them to raise.

"You were right Mira," Jack said after they had stared in awe for a few moments. "It is a space-station."

"And it's massive," Mira replied.

They were right, both of them. He could see a huge octahedron, suspended on something that could be called a cantilever but for the sheer size of it. It was round and about two-hundred yards in diameter and rather a part of the station than merely a supportive structure. The height – and width as for that – of the octahedron was about a mile, and the cantilever was about two miles long. There were two more of those structures, the cantilevers fixed at a central octahedron about one-and-a-half miles high. He couldn't see it no matter how he tilted his head against the window but he assumed there was another octahedron further down in the direction they had come from. They were actually quite close to the central one, otherwise Mira hadn't been able to make out the people in there – yet he wasn't completely sure up to which distance she could tell things like that. At least they wouldn't have to walk that far now; he assumed they were no more than three-hundred yards away from the central part. At the same time he wondered what might be in the octahedron they came from – according to Mira at least no living beings.

After another thirty minutes they entered the central octahedron and the corridors became slowly but surely more crowded. Crowded by humans, looking pretty much like they did, with normal clothes, nothing fancy, and they would have blended in the twenty-first century on Earth. He followed the stream of people until they reached a part that could be best described as market place, the size of the centre of a small town. Stalls were put up, selling all sorts of goods, even produce, so there must be hydroponic gardens. They must be living here for a very long time, as it all in all looked like it had developed over time, and not like whoever had build the station had planned it out like that. It looked like the people had taken it over by time, slowly but surely forming it to their own needs.

"Look at him," Jack whispered and he turned in the direction Jack was pointing.

A man dressed in ragged clothes made his way through the crowd, which in return was staring at him in a rather unfriendly way. One old man even spat at him.

"Oi!" he said. "That's not a way to treat people. So much for friendly and civilised people, Mira," he added, referring to the conversation they'd had on the way here about what to expect.

"Well, they are," she replied and shrugged. "Until they see someone they don't like. But overall they are civilised amongst themselves."

"What's that?" Jack asked. "That thing on his hand."

"No idea," he replied and gave the round thing with a flashing light on the man's palm a closer look. "Looks like it's pierced through his palm. Somehow I don't think that happened by choice. We could just ask him."

But just as he started to walk over to the poor fellow two men dressed in black appeared, waving at them and the crowd around the man, saying, "There's nothing to see here, move on." Then they turned to the man. "You go back where you came from. You don't want to cause any trouble, do you?"

"What was that all about?" Jack asked again as they were dragged along by the crowed and out of sight of that man.

"Don't know," he replied. "Let's have a word with those guys in black."

"Yeah, and admit that we're not from here, and sticking our nose in things which aren't our business, siding with their outcasts? Not sure that's the best strategy here."

Jack had a point there, he had to admit, and Mira agreed as well.


Mira

They had decided to split up to gather more information – or rather, Jack and she had convinced the Doctor that it would be a good idea to do so. It was easier to listen in to conversations or sticking one's nose around corners alone than walking around in a group of three. Right now she was following a group of people, listening to their conversation, which was actually pretty boring, and hardly even noticed the gate separating one part of the market from another as they walked through. Why would she? Nothing happened to the group in front of her, and-

Suddenly she was hit by something and an incredible pain spreading through her body as if every single one of her nerves was on fire – thankfully it didn't last long. Her world went black before she had time to scream.

She woke up hearing voices, at first unable to make out single words. The sharp pain was now replaced by a feeling of pins and needles in her limbs, her upper body, everywhere, just as if she had sat on her foot for too long and life was returning into it – just hundred times worse.

Shock-Blaster, she thought, being only too familiar with the nasty feeling of waking up again. Shock-Blasters were working with a low-frequency electric field, influencing the nervous system, leading to unconsciousness. A non-lethal weapon, ideal for stopping people without killing them, but certainly not the most pleasant one.

"She's moving already; hold her," a male voice said. "Guess we have to check the neutralisers at 586a85, she should still be out."

Someone grabbed her, leaving her no chance to move. Not that she had much control over her body anyway, and it would take several more minutes until she would be able to stand up, not to talk about defending herself – but it was still faster than any other human would recover. But before she could spend any more thoughts on defence or getting away another pain shot through her left hand, a pain which would certainly be quite high on the list of the worst ones in her life so far. It felt as if her hand got pierced by something scorching hot. This time she screamed and unfortunately didn't pass out.

"Shut up!"

"We should have knocked her out again, I told you," another voice said, reaching her ears as if through a thick blanket. "That's not right."

"What? Not right? You feel sorry for that scum now or what?"

"No, it's just – My ears. Seriously. Can't have them screaming like that."

"Whatever. As soon as she can walk get her out. I'm off, it's lunch time."

The first person walked out and closed a door whilst the other one finally let go of her. She stayed on the floor, lying there and trying to get herself together. Finally the mist in front of her eyes cleared and she could get a better sight of the room. It was not big, looking very much like a prison cell with the naked walls. There was a chair and a desk on which the second man was sitting, one leg on the floor, arms crossed. He was rather young, in his twenties, wearing the black guard-uniform. She tried to read the expression on his face but failed. She found it also rather hard to focus on his emotions, but that might be due to her brain still not fully working again. Shock-Blasters could have that effect on her. At least he wasn't the one who had called her scum – just the one who had complained about his ears. She absolutely hoped his ears were damaged now – if not permanent then at least some long lasting tinnitus.

She got into a more sitting position, supporting herself on her right arm, slowly turning around her left hand so the palm was facing her. It took a few seconds for her mind to comprehend what she was seeing. Something had indeed been pierced through her hand. On her palm was a large, round part, about a fifth of an inch high and a bit more than an inch in diameter, looking like some sort of grey metal with a dim, orange flashing LED on it. The part on the back of her hand was much smaller and probably only there to keep the whole thing in place. It was still hurting, but not as painful as it looked like. And there was no blood. She didn't even dare to touch it, just tried to not get sick at the sight of something sticking right through her hand. It was mostly a psychological effect; having something stick through one's body could add a whole new level or horror, even if the actual injury wasn't that bad.

"What is that?" she asked whilst trying to get up, but her legs were still too weak.

She looked at the guard, but he didn't answer. She was still unable to tell his intentions, which was weird at this point. Was he a robot?

"What's going on?" she tried it again.

He remained silent and just walked over to a small basin, filling a plastic cup with water. Then he offered it to her, keeping as much distance as possible. Finally she had enough strength in her legs to get up. He instantly took a step back, still holding the cup with water out for her.

What am I? An animal in a zoo? Contagious?

She actually was thirsty, but for some reason didn't dare to take the water from him. Something was wrong, seriously wrong. Was he really feeling sorry for her? Did he just bring up his ears as an excuse? Or would he just shove the water in her face and slap her for being so insolent to assume he would be kind to her?

"Fine," he said eventually and put the cup on the desk. "Seems you can go now. Best head over to area D where the rest of your kind is."

He took her by the arm, dragged her out of the room and down a short corridor, through another door and slammed it in her face just as she made another attempt to ask him what this was all about. She hammered against the door (only with her right hand though), and yelled, "Hey! Get out here and tell me what the hell is going on!" Silence. "Really? You can at least tell me what this is all about!"

As she tried to listen for movement behind the closed door she heard shuffling and whispering behind her back, which was weird as she had thought to be alone here. She spun around only to look into faces of people hastily trying to give the impression of not having stopped just to stare at her. It was actually rather busy around, a fact she should have noticed without seeing all the people. She slowly looked down at her left hand, then back at the people and her surroundings. She was at the spot of the busy market place where they had split up earlier. And suddenly she realised what was wrong.

She made her way through the crowed, looking for Jack and the Doctor, trying not to panic, hiding her left hand, already feeling like a leper. But then again, there was no real reason for panic, was there? Apart from that thing sticking through her hand and blocking her psychic abilities she was feeling fine. So it didn't seem to harm her, at least not immediately, and she still had her cell-activator, so all in all it could be much worse. She just hoped whatever that thing was doing wasn't irreversible. And certainly there was a way to remove it once they were back in the TARDIS. Which wasn't much longer than a thirty minutes walk from here.

She finally found both of them in a quieter place of the market, staring out of a huge window. Well, rather a screen than a window as the market was quite far from the outer hull according to the Doctor.

"Here you are," she sighed and squeezed between them, arms crossed and still hiding her left hand.

"Where have you been?" the Doctor replied, without turning his head. "I almost started to worry."

"Yeah, well. I found out a few things."

"Did you?" Jack said. "Because we still don't have clue."

"First, stay away from those weird gates separating the different areas of the market," she said to the Doctor. "The ones with the things that look like projectors? They're actually Shock-Blasters and most likely sensors can detect psychic energy. Second, this flashing thingy on the guy's palm seem to suppress psychic abilities. And yes, it is pierced through his hand."

"How did you figure that out?" the Doctor asked, finally turning around to her. "Are you alright? You're quite pale."

Instead of answering she just showed her left hand – only to pull it away immediately as he tried to take it.

"How did that happen?" he asked. "Let me see," he added and tried to take her hand again.

"Yes, see with your eyes, not with your hands!"

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Not really any more, just... be careful please!"

They walked over to a less busy corner and she finally let him take her hand in his, and indeed, he didn't touch the strange thing sticking through it, just turned her hand to get a better look at it. Then he pulled out his Sonic to scan it, after Jack had placed himself in a way that they were shielded from unwanted looks.

"Please tell me you can remove it," she said.

"It's grown together with your nervous system," he said disbelievingly, making her notice how much better she was with reading his emotions out of his voice than for example Jack's. She'd had to learn it before they had gotten as close as they were now, back when he had been able to sneak up on her. "I'm sorry, but I can't remove that-"

"What!?"

"-Right now," he finished. "Shouldn't be much of a problem back in the TARDIS. It's quite advanced technology though. Essentially muting a part of your brain."

"Yeah, thanks, I already know that."

"But it's also messing with your neurotransmitters. Guess it's a good thing they were designed for humans and that you are a human. Not sure what it'll do with non-humans."

"You for example?" Jack asked. "You're some sort of telepath, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I already went through one of those gates. Guess my brain's too complex for their scanners. Come on, let's go back to the TARDIS."

She followed him, increasingly irritated by the sudden silence in her head. For all she knew all those people around her could be androids. Or dead. They just didn't exist for her. Just as Jack and the Doctor. And it weren't just the people she couldn't feel any more. The whole universe had gone silent. When closing her eyes she could have sworn to be the only living being in a dead universe. In a dead, non-existent universe. Sure, her abilities had been suppressed before, by drugs or a block in her brain as the Doctor had done when dealing with the Cybermen – but it had always been with rather debilitating side effects, and never so absolutely and completely shut off. Was that how normal humans were supposed to feel? Lonely, disconnected and blind?

"Looks like trouble," Jack suddenly said as they reached the bulkhead leading from the central octahedron into the cantilever. It was shut and two of the black dressed guards were standing there, talking to some people dressed in overalls and tool boxes in their hands.

"Stop, you can't go there," one of the guards told them as they approached.

"Why not? What's going on?" the Doctor asked.

"We've lost oxygen in the first quarter of the connection to the C area," he replied. "There was a serious explosion, right here, not quite twenty foot into the corridor. I guess it will be cut off for a few days."


djmegamouth, OneWhoReadsTooMuch, NicoleR85, bored411, lautaro94: Thanks for reading&leaving a review :-)

time-twilight: It's the story which I started in this chapter and then another one (approx. three or four chapters each, just like the others) and then I continue with the 4th season.