THE BELLATRIX EQUATION
By Liam Birch
Prologue
In the deep abyss of black space, a ship cruised silently, inexorably towards its home in the Orion system. Stowed on board, and the source of most of the crew's anxiety and stress, were two metallic structures of anthium needed on the homeworld. It was a very precious cargo, sought after for decades in a bid to halt their planet from impending destruction. But the journey had been long and the ship was not built for such harrowing travels. As the ever-expanding blackness threatened to swallow them, an explosion ripped through the vessel, tearing the hull apart and sending the valued anthium pieces hurtling through space on their fateful trajectories…
Seventeen-year-old Kelly Richards fumed in the passenger seat of her mother's sandalwood Volvo. She gripped the door handle as she turned and fired her latest angst-ridden salvo.
"Do you even care what I want to do? You keep trying to plan my life like it's yours, but it's not!" She swiveled back again, folding her arms in anger.
The imperious woman in the driver's seat snapped back, "You know what your father and I want. We're not paying for another school when you can get your tuition paid at Dal. It's a benefit of being the daughter of two professors."
"I don't care! I don't want to go to Dal. I don't even want to go to university. I need a year to figure things out." Tears started flowing down Kelly's cheeks as a sob heaved from her chest. Her mother's fingers gripped the steering wheel even tighter.
"Why? So you can fetter away your savings and gallivant around with that aimless boyfriend of yours?" The cruel words stung the young girl next to her.
"He's not aimless…" she whispered. "And neither am I."
Kelly's mother creased her brow as she prepared her response. "You treat me like I'm some sort of a witch or warden. I sometimes wonder what you even think of me."
Without missing a beat, Kelly replied, "I hate you." Then the glaring lights of an oncoming car suddenly appeared before them on the road. Kelly's eyes widened in fear.
"Mom, swerve!" she instinctively reached out to grab the wheel, but her mother held firm.
"It's my lane –"
Moments after the crash, the crumpled passenger door popped open with a crack. As it sluggishly eased open, a bloodied young girl tumbled out and onto the glass-strewn asphalt. She slowly picked herself up and staggered towards the grass by the shoulder. Raising a hand to her head, she turned and watched as the wreckage exploded, knocking her to the ground with the force and the weight of the words that had preceded this indescribable horror.
ONE
The Doctor spun the last few dials on the console of his beloved time machine with an almighty flourish, announcing the latest information to his current traveling companion.
"Calstirra! Third planet from Bellatrix in the Orion arm of the Milky Way. Lovely place. Lovely people. Most of them."
"You've been here before?" inquired the tall red-head on the opposite side of the elaborate console.
"Never." The Doctor, as usual, confounded Amy with his conflicting statements. Amy Pond had been traveling with the eccentric Time Lord for quite some time now, but still wasn't prepared to judge whether he was brilliant or bonkers. "But I hear they're lovely people. At least most of the people who tell me about them think they're lovely. Most of the time."
"You're losing me." Amy countered bluntly.
"Oh, Amy, have some faith. I can't possibly have visited every planet in the universe." She remained stoic as he broke out in a devilish grin. "Not yet, anyway. Come along, Pond!" He flicked the control for the door lock and raced to the two tiny police box doors that marked their path to the outside world.
Exiting the TARDIS, the Doctor and Amy found themselves in probably the least interesting place they had ever visited together; walls of drab grey and the lingering scent of institutional cleanliness. There was a hum of electrical activity in the distance.
"Hmm, lovely." Amy commented.
"Another corridor!" the Doctor exhaled sadly. "Just as well, we'll have to go and find loveliness elsewhere." He marched on down the dull corridor and onto a metal gantry just past their present location. His boots echoed their rhythm as he thundered on with a sulky purpose. Amy followed, running her hands along the smooth walls as she went. As she did so, she made note of the warmth exuding from the material beneath her fingertips.
Moments later, the Doctor entered a large atrium full of the electrical noise noted after their arrival. Banks of machinery lined the walls of the massive space, yellow-skinned humanoids buzzing about them in a hive of activity. The Doctor marched up to one who looked somewhat in charge.
"What's all this then?" he waved sporadically at the controlled mayhem. "I see you have lots of pinging machines and whirring mechanisms. Sounds good. Looks good too. Well done." He clapped his hands together. "Sorry, who did you say you were?"
The yellow humanoid just gaped at the Doctor, but then, seeming to remember something, took a look at one of the papers in his clipboard. After a quick search through the entries, he looked back at the Doctor with a huge grin. "You must be the engineer from Metallurgy I asked for. Good of you to come. Um," he paused in his overview of the newcomer. "You aren't one of us."
Amy took the opportunity to step further forward to show that she was with the Doctor. "Neither am I. Comes with the job description." The Doctor looked sideways at her and then back at the yellow humanoid.
"No, I'm the Doctor, I'm Gallifreyan. This is Amy; say hello, Amy. She's Scottish. I apologise for that." He leaned forward and squinted. "You have flutes on your head," he observed.
The man with the yellow, fluted head seemed puzzled. "Well, yes. All Calstirrans have flutes. Have you never been here before?"
"Never." Amy answered for the Doctor.
"Yes, well, there's always a good time for firsts, and this is a lovely first. Isn't it Amy?"
"Lovely," Amy concurred with a knowing grin.
"Well thank-you for coming all the same. I'm Genneth." The man offered his hand which, the Doctor noted, did not have flutes, but did have two opposable thumbs, one on either side of the hand.
"Good to meet you Genneth. What's the story? Need a new whiz-bang machine to add to this impressive display?" The Doctor suggested. Genneth frowned.
"Actually, I need to know how to track down anthium from a distance of at least fifteen parsecs, if you can assist me with that." He motioned for the Doctor and Amy to join him at a nearby terminal. "Doctor, if you're not from Calstirra, can I ask, do you know about its orbit?"
The Doctor scratched his head, looked to Amy who shook hers quickly, then conceded that he did not. Genneth was eager to fill them in.
"Calstirra is gradually moving closer to its star with each annual orbit. We're almost in crisis stage right now. Hence the conflagration of activity you see about you. Everyone with any scientific know-how is trying to solve the equation needed to halt the dilation towards Bellatrix. We've been working on it for decades with little success. This here is the closest we've come to solving it."
Genneth pointed to a sunken area to the right where two massive depressions in the floor of the complex yawned wide in anticipation. "The maths team has generated a flux pattern that can only be stabilised by anthium. The amount needed, as you can see, would fill the two openings in the shape of two massive keys. We need those keys in order to complete the equation, you see."
The Doctor ruffled his hair and fingered the navy blue bowtie attached to his neck. "I don't think anything I suggest is going to help you. I'm assuming you don't have enough anthium on Calstirra to do the trick."
Genneth nodded resolutely. "But we have found enough, on Alpha Centauri 5. Our transport ship was due back two years ago but vanished without trace."
Amy put a hand on Genneth's arm. "That's terrible. So you still don't have enough of this metal that you need?"
"That's right. We exhausted most of Alpha's known ore deposits. It's such a rare metal. I've been on to IMC but they don't even know of another source of anthium in this sector of the spiral. It seems like a lost cause, but we will not give up, Doctor."
"You only just sent for a metallurgist who could trace the anthium. Haven't you done that already?" the Doctor asked.
"We did manage to track one of the keys to the Beta Centauri system. The problem is that we only have one working hyperdrive starship capable of making the journey. All of our other resources have been poured into this generator facility where the equation is housed." Genneth's eyes seemed to well with tears as he spoke. "Our race is in danger, Doctor."
Genneth turned and flicked a switch on his console. A giant metal screen near the ceiling started to rise, letting in burning shafts of light from the sun outside. Switching to infrared, the view became much easier to see. Amy marvelled at the sight. Beyond the dome, in the skies above Calstirra, a massive red star burned in the sky. It took up more than half of the viewing window which meant it was at least ten times the size of Earth's sun.
"Is that Bellatrix?" Amy asked? Genneth nodded. "It's a red giant?"
"It should be bluey-whitey normally." The Doctor interceded. "Bellatrix is about eight times the size of your sun, Amy. But in order for Calstirra to maintain life, it would be further away from its sun than Earth. That," he pointed an accusatory finger at the window, "is three to four times larger than it should be. I can see why you're worried, Genneth."
"You must help us, Doctor. It is imperative that we trace the second key."
The Doctor flared into action, grabbing the scientist by the arms. "I want you to open a comm link so that I can patch into it once I'm back at my transport. Amy?" Amy perked up, ready to do her part. "Amy, I need you to copy down the frequency and bring it back to the TARDIS." Amy nodded and hurried with the scientist to the communications panels further down the gantry. As she did so, the Doctor whirled and raced back to the TARDIS waiting in its drab and drearily clean corridor.
"So, what's the frequency, Genneth?" Amy asked the Calstirran scientist, trying hard to suppress the chuckle bubbling towards her lips.
Once back in the TARDIS, the Doctor activated so many dials and levers on the console, that Amy seemed sure the thing would just quit. "What's the frequency, Amy?" he called out.
She muttered, "A87-~~/98," and then paused. "Is squiggle a good name for that thingy?"
The Doctor didn't look up from his intense scrutiny of the console. "That thingy is called a tildy. But it should have been called a squiggle. Clearly, no one asked a Scot." Amy smiled, and then yelped as the TARDIS bucked suddenly, causing her to grab for the nearest secured piece of structure.
"Gotcha!" The Doctor spun around and punched the air. "Sol 3! Who would have guessed?" Amy, still gripping the railing despite the return to normal flight, asked him to explain. "Sol 3, Amy! Earth! The second key is on Earth!"
"Yay." Amy's response was a bit less enthusiastic than the Doctor had expected. He turned back to the console and opened the comm link.
"Genneth?"
"Yes, Doctor?" the Calstirran's voice crackled through the speaker with apparent urgency.
"We know where the key is, but it's further than Beta Centauri. You'll just have to trust me that when I find it, I'll get it to you."
"I trust you, Doctor. With our lives." This left a pit of despair in Amy's stomach knowing that the fate of an entire species, indeed, the entire planet, was in their hands.
The Doctor came over to Amy and asked for her cell phone. With a quick flick of the sonic screwdriver, he handed it back to her. "What did you do?" she asked.
"Put a picture of the anthium key on your phone, built from the negative space of the openings in the generator floor." Looking at her phone's screen, Amy could see a long, thin triangular structure with four distinct sections along the hypoteneuse. She certainly didn't recognise it and neither did the Doctor.
"Well, at least it's a start." Amy observed.
TWO
The breeze along the shores of Bedford Basin scooped up the scattered rose petals and carried them aloft on its current and into the softly lapping waves. Kelly pulled at another heart-shaped bunch and slowly let her fingers open to let them fall freely into the waters. A young man standing just behind her reached out a tentative hand to rest on her shoulder.
"She knows you're sorry, Kelly." He took another deep breath. "I'm sure of it." He squeezed as she reached up and put her hand to his.
"Thanks Sean." Kelly heaved as she tried to stifle the sobs of regret. She laid the remaining rose stems on the ground just at the edge of Sherwood Point. "I needed this. I just can't go to the cemetery right now." Turning, Sean took her hands in his, turning them over to inspect the deep scars along her hands and wrists.
"They're healing nicely," he observed.
Kelly smiled as Sean took a slight step closer, leaning knowingly towards her, his arm moving up to cradle her head. As he did so, a strange noise disturbed the peaceful serenity of the shoreline. A great wheezing vworp echoed across the tracks making the two youngsters turn suddenly in stunned silence. Out of nowhere, a big blue box appeared next to a tree, suddenly as silent as they were. Then one of its doors cracked open spewing a lunatic onto the grass before them.
"Hello!" the newcomer shouted. "Is this Sol 3?" He spun around, licking a finger and testing the air for something favourable. After licking his finger again, he commented nonchalantly, "Bit salty, Earth-y, American-y. Haven't tasted that in yonks." He looked back at Kelly and Sean, finally noticing his audience. "Hello!" He waved with both hands. Turning back towards the strange blue box, he shouted, "Amy, phone! Got people!"
A slender red-head appeared in the door wearing a denim mini-skirt and green pullover. She shivered a smidge as she stepped out into the cool air. Approaching the couple, she pulled out her phone which offered them the image of the anthium key. "So," she let out a sultry drawl. "Ever seen this before?"
Sean took a peek at the phone and shook his head. Kelly did the same. Kelly was the first to break their silence. "Sorry, where exactly did you come from?" She pointed to the blue box. "That wasn't there a moment ago."
The Doctor swiveled and took in the sight of the TARDIS as if he himself had never seen it before. "Wowzah!" He swiveled back. "Neat trick, huh? Dimensional transcendentalism's pretty neat if you're a neaty-liking person." He stepped closer. "Are you neat-y?"
Amy reached out and pulled the Doctor back. "Doctor, personal space." She smiled at Kelly and offered her hand. "I'm Amy." Kelly grinned and offered hers in return. "This crazy spacey man is the Doctor." She jerked her thumb towards him. "The blue box is, well… It just is. So, no luck then?" She motioned again to the image of the anthium key.
Sean frowned. "It rings a bell, but I'm not sure. It looks like a monument or something. Are you tourists?"
The Doctor took his turn to frown. "Tourists? I don't do tourist-y. Do we look like tourists?" He wagged a finger between himself and his companion. Sean took the bait.
"Well, yes. You sound it too. Are you British or something?" He turned to Amy. "You sound Scottish."
Amy broke into a grin and stepped up to Sean, putting an arm around him as she did. "Atta boy." Kelly instinctively pulled Sean back closer to her. Amy turned to the Doctor. "You said American-y?"
The Doctor nodded and licked his finger again. "Atlantic-y. Could be Boston-y." He interrogated Sean with his eyes. "Is this Boston?" Sean laughed. "That'll be a no."
Amy wracked her memories for more American cities on the north Atlantic shore. "Umm, thingummy. You know, Portland?"
It was Kelly's turn to laugh. "A bit further north. You're in the wrong country!" The Doctor suddenly spasmed as their location dawned on him. He grabbed Amy in a two armed, won-the-lottery grip.
"We're in Canada!"
Amy jumped up and down with the Doctor as he did his happy dance. "Yay! Canada!" Then she did a double take and said, "Canada's huge. We could be anywhere."
Sean interjected. "If you're really Scottish, you should know."
The Doctor licked his finger one last time. He deflated. "Nova Scotia. Should have known." He looked like a down-trodden school boy after failing an exam. "Lobster-y."
"Hey," Kelly perked up. "My dad's a history professor. He might know what that thing is you're looking for." She pointed at the phone and took Sean's hand in hers. "Come on, it's getting dark. He'll probably have dinner ready."
As Kelly pulled Sean with her across the tracks, the Doctor and Amy shrugged and followed suit. Amy shivered in the darkening gust. "It's freezing." The Doctor looked down at her mini-skirt.
"You may want to change. It's winter." He trudged, leaving her suddenly very aware of the cold.
"So what are you a doctor of?" Kelly's father inquired of the newcomer. "Philosophy, I presume. The other doctorates don't wear bowties."
"Bowties are—" the Doctor instinctively responded before Amy elbowed him in the ribs. "Well, I suppose in answer to your question, many things. I'm a bit of a multi-practitioner." The Doctor waggled his many fingers to impress his point.
"Hmm." Carl Richards mused as he spooned out some mashed potatoes, handing the bowl to his daughter at his right. He paused for a moment as his eyes alighted on the unoccupied seat on the opposite side of the table. The spot normally reserved for Kelly's late mother, the Doctor noted. With a quick blink and a slight shake of the head, Carl resumed the doling out of food to his guests.
"So what brings you to Halifax? Research at one of the universities?" The Doctor nodded through a mouthful of buttered peas. Amy coughed.
Kelly perked up. "They're doing some tourist stuff too. Show them the picture." She motioned to Amy's phone sitting neatly in her jean jacket pocket. When Amy retrieved it to show to Professor Richards, Sean piped up.
"I thought it looked like a monument. But I'm not sure where."
Carl sighed, saying, "You're right, Sean. It is a monument. Although you ought to know which one." His brow creased in tandem with Kelly's supportive hand on Sean's. "Considering today's date, especially."
The Doctor leaned in. "And what is today's date?" Carl stared back at him quizzically. "No really, I lose track of the days with all the travel." The Doctor explained.
"Todays' the fifth of December. That," he motioned to the picture still on the phone's display, "is the Fort Needham memorial to those who lost their lives in the Halifax Explosion. December 6th, 1917." Amy's mouth made an 'O' while the Doctor's fork hovered potato-smothered in midair. Carl sat back in his chair and waved a hand to convey his disappointment in either their lack of memory or lack of knowledge. "The centennial's tomorrow."
Amy turned to the Doctor and mouthed 'two-thousand seventeen?' The Doctor nodded. "Well, we'll just have to pop on by, shan't we Amy?" Amy smiled reluctantly.
"It'll be busy." Carl added. The Doctor's face fell as he realised that retrieving the anthium key may be a little harder to pull off unnoticed.
Kelly joined in. "We can go with you." But her father's hand immediately gripped the edge of the table as he straightened in his chair and raised his voice.
"You'll do no such thing. We're going to the cemetery tomorrow. Pay our respects." He said this through slightly clenched teeth.
"But dad, we only just buried her yesterday. We don't have to visit every day." Kelly visibly tried to prevent the tears from falling. Her father's eyes quelled her so she couldn't look him in the face.
Sean tried to comfort her, but he didn't want to be seen to ignore her father's wishes. "We'll go to the cemetery first. We can go to the memorial afterwards." Everyone agreed as Carl Richards rose and walked resolutely out of the dining room.
The Doctor put his napkin down on the table and folded his hands together as he softly addressed his host. "The roses. They were for your mother?" Kelly nodded, wiping another stray droplet from her cheek. "I lost a mother once, too. It's not easy." Amy looked sideways at the Doctor, realising for the first time that he was much more human than she had first thought.
Early the next morning, the Doctor, Amy, Kelly and Sean sat on the #88 bus bound for the north end along the Bedford Highway. The Doctor was quickly leafing through some brochures and books Kelly had borrowed from her father's library.
"1985, Pond! That's when the monument was built. Well, built as in conveniently disguised as a monument when it fell from the sky." Amy glanced around at the other passengers before responding.
"Not sure we all heard that, Doctor."
"I said," the Doctor spoke more loudly this time, but was silenced by a Scottish finger on his lips. "I said," he resorted to a whisper once his mouth was unimpeded, "it fell to Earth in 1985."
"Yes, what's so exciting about that?" Amy whispered in return.
"It's 2017, Pond. We've shown up over thirty years later. It had only been two years on Calstirra. We're going to need the TARDIS to get this one back. Not sure the old girl has it in her."
Amy relaxed but then leaned over to Sean. "What's with those girls at the back." She jerked her thumb to guide him. "They keep looking at us and then whispering."
Sean stole a glance and then sighed. "They're in Kelly's class at school. Ever since the accident, there have been rumours going around that Kelly was responsible. She was cleared by the police two days ago – no charges, nothing. But that doesn't mean anything to them."
"How did it happen?" Amy inquired. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it." She put a hand on Kelly's arm to put her at ease. Sean answered for her, already knowing the full story.
"Kelly's mom was driving and they were arguing. A car drifted across the median into their path. Kelly tried to get her mom to swerve but she wouldn't. It was a head-on collision. Kelly got out, but the tank exploded before she could get her mom out. She barely made it alive to the hospital, but died of her injuries shortly after. The passenger in the other car died as well."
At this point, Kelly had had enough of the girls at the back of the bus. She stood up, gripping the steel support pole. "Just shut your mouths! I didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't my fault!" She slumped back in her seat as the gossipers resorted to staring out the windows instead.
At Needham Hill, there was a flurry of activity. Lots of military personnel, cadets, boy scouts and several politicians were on hand to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the disaster. Amy could barely conceal her laughter when the Doctor, who had gone off on a recce, appeared out of nowhere in a slate blue uniform, two sizes too small, a stiff cap on his head. He saluted with a hand that barely fit the crisp white glove.
"That's a kid's cadet uniform!" she exclaimed.
The Doctor grinned. "Yeah. I'm a cadet now. Cadets are cool! Going to go sonic the monument. Back in a moment." He bounced off towards the pyramidal structure in the distance. Every time he encountered someone, up went the salute, much to Amy's chagrin.
While the Doctor was sonicing, Carl Richards arrived at the ceremony. He had elected to stay later at the cemetery to offer his private prayers. Amy took the opportunity to ask him about the tragedy for which he was more than willing to oblige.
"Two ships, the Imo and the Mont Blanc. Imo going out of harbour, the Mont Blanc coming in. You can see the Narrows out there." He pointed to the strip of water linking the open sea with the sheltered Bedford Basin. "The bridges weren't built till the fifties. Not a lot of room to get by, but most sailors knew how to navigate the port, seeing how much it was used in the relief effort."
"You picked the right guy." Sean offered. "Head of the History Department at Dal."
Amy motioned for Carl to continue. "Imo was in the Mont Blanc's channel. Refused to change course and didn't even put on its reverse engines until the last moment. But Mont Blanc, she shouldn't even have been there. Her captain loaded too much ammunition in New York, arrived too late to enter the harbour the night before, and somehow forgot to raise the red munitions flag which would have kept any ship well away from her. Sure it was his channel, but he could have moved, knowing a collision could cause an explosion." He sighed and shook his head. "Idiotic captain."
There was a stifled cry from Kelly which made Amy jump. "Are you alright?"
Kelly just stared daggers at her father. "Was mom an idiotic captain too?" Carl Richards just gazed impassively at his daughter, unable to answer her laden question. He huffed, clenched his jaw, turned, and marched away.
"The Mont Blanc had twice as much ammo as it should have had. The sparks from the collision set it on fire and it blew up just after nine in the morning." Amy swirled around to see the Doctor, still in his stretched cadet uniform, arms half folded, wagging the sonic like a utensil. "Nasty explosion. Biggest on Earth until the atomic bomb. Something about Boston. Hmm, maybe there is something Boston-y about this place." He licked his gloved finger and held it up in the air.
Kelly turned to Sean and whispered, "I don't think I'll be able to drive again. Not after this." Sean pulled her into yet another hug.
"Doctor?" Amy's voice snapped the Doctor out of his air-testing. "Sonic?" She motioned to the tool.
"Ah yes. Monument is definitely the anthium key. Covered in a layer of concrete. No problem, we'll just chisel that off. Sean!" He turned to Kelly's boyfriend. "Fancy some chiseling?"
Before Sean could reply, Amy said, "Not now, Doctor. The ceremony's starting. A lot of dignitaries. I doubt they'd appreciate a bowtied maniac chiseling up their memorial stone." The Doctor stuck his lower lip out to pout.
"Okay, then we should contact Genneth and let him know that we found the key." His face beamed as he yanked Amy's phone from her hand. With some twiddling and button pushing, and a muttered 'squiggle, squiggle,' he managed to input the Calstirran frequency. He waited for a few seconds for the line to connect.
"Genneth?" There was a crackle from the phone. "Genneth, is that you? It's the Doctor." Another string of pops issued from the device before a distant voice began to speak.
"Doctor? Doctor? Have you found the key?" It was Genneth.
"Yes, key's here, safe and sound. Bit big. Bit covered in concrete, but here all the same. We're a few years out. Not sure if you can come and get it."
There was a pause. "Our ship will never get there, Doctor. We're out of fuel and can't make another journey out of our system. It's up to you." There was desperation in the voice, despite the far away sound.
The Doctor looked at Amy before responding. "We'll try, Genneth. How are things going there?"
Genneth choked as he delivered his reply. "The surface is burning. Doctor, our lives depend on you!"
THREE
On Calstirra, Genneth whirled around from his command station to see the Doctor strolling down the metal rampart, a goofy grin on his face and arms waggling in greeting. Behind him came three other people, seemingly all human, the two newest companions staring around in awe at the machinery and technology.
"There are more of you?" Genneth questioned of his guests.
"Genneth, meet Kelly and Sean." The Haligonians waved shyly at the sound of their names. "Fantastic people. Had to bring them. I needed help chiseling." When Genneth failed to respond, the Doctor added, "The key. Covered in concrete, remember?" Genneth's eyes lit up at the mention of the anthium key. "Bit difficult getting it here. Had to cajole the TARDIS into thinking it was smaller than its actual size. Not too shabby, tricking a dimensionally transcendental ship into thinking something non-dimensionally transcendental was actually dimensionally transcendental…"
Amy's withering look ceased the Doctor's rambling. "We've got the key, Genneth." She translated. "It's in one of the TARDIS's storage bays." Genneth suddenly sprang into action.
"Well let's get it into the slots!" He rushed up the rampart, egging the rest of them on after him.
About an hour later, without Sean and Kelly who had been offered refreshment and leisure to help with the culture shock, the Doctor had managed, after several desperate attempts, to make the short hop with the TARDIS onto the lower floor, dematerialising away without the precious cargo he had brought. The anthium key stood like an imposing edifice in the room, a monument not just to lives lost, but to those who were willing to lay theirs down to save the planet of Calstirra. An engineering team arranged for it to be hoisted and inverted before descending into the depression. Upon insertion, a whole host of lights and sounds erupted along the banks of equipment lining the control room. Even the great metal view screen hummed open to reveal the fiery ball of Bellatrix in the orange sky.
"Here we go! Hold on, Pond!" The Doctor shouted above the din. The time travelers linked hands in anticipation of the next phase. But just as suddenly as the lights and beeps had erupted, they quieted down again.
"Hold on to nothing, apparently." Amy folded her arms. "It's not working?" Genneth rubbed at the side of his head, rapidly consulting charts and diagrams.
"There's something wrong. Something we didn't quite anticipate or factor in." He looked up at the view screen just as a blinding flash ignited from the flaming star. A series of quakes rocked the base, forcing the occupants to grab for anything to support them. The building groaned as cracking and rumbling echoed in the distance. Material from the ceiling began to fall to the floor, sending metallic shrapnel in all directions. Genneth, Amy and the Doctor turned to retreat up the rampart, but the corridor beyond caved in with another almighty roar of destruction.
"It's no use!" Genneth wailed, waving dust and smoke from his eyes. "We'll never complete the equation. Calstirra is doomed!" Amy grabbed the Doctor's lapel and asked about the TARDIS.
"Can't Amy. It's on the other side of that mess!" He pointed to the rubble blockade. Swivelling, the Doctor grabbed Genneth by the shoulders. "There must be something that will kickstart those keys, Genneth. Was there anything in the equation's creation that might have presented an anomaly or alternative path? Anything?"
Genneth rubbed at his brow in consternation. "I'll have to talk to my team, Doctor. Give me a few moments." He turned and jogged back to the main console, summoning some other Calstirrans to him with their notes. While they huddled, the Doctor took Amy's hand in his.
"I'm sorry, Amelia. I'm sorry that I couldn't get to show you some of the more beautiful places in the universe." Amy slowly realised the Doctor's meaning.
"It's not over Doctor. Not now. We can still find a way." She pleaded with the depths of his eyes, entreating his puppy-dog pupils to light up with a newfound energy.
Genneth came running back from the impromptu meeting. "Doctor, there is one possibility. There is an isotope of anthium that we are aware of that could be needed to act as a catalyst. We're not sure, but it's the only isotope that comes up in any of the tests that we ran on the metal before selecting it for the keys."
"An isotope of anthium? Is it stable or radioactive?" The Doctor hurried the scientist along.
"Radioactive." Genneth replied. The Doctor waved his hands to urge him on. "We haven't any radioactive substances on the control deck. They're stored in the nuclear compound on the far side of the base." Everyone collectively dropped their shoulders and sighed.
"So it's useless, then?" Amy prompted.
"We can't get there. The quakes have caused so much damage that we're trapped here. Either we complete the equation soon or the opportunity will be lost."
"But surely you can contact them and ask for it to be brought here." Amy suggested. If we can't get to it, it could get to us, yeah?" She smiled with the thought.
Genneth immediately began tapping numbers into the communications portion of the console. Only the steady crackle of static came back. "Worthless!" he cried. "The comms port is broken too. We can't contact anyone in the base!" Genneth let his head fall into his hands, a sorrowful lament issuing from the seven flutes along his cranium.
The Doctor began dancing about on the rampart, snapping his fingers and tapping his forehead almost in time to the multiple crashes and rumbles from beyond the building. Another plume of smoke erupted from a wall that buckled under the heat and pressure from outside. "Other side of the base. Other side of the base. Pond! Phone!" He held his hand out expectantly. Amy snapped to attention and handed over her device. The Doctor whipped out the sonic and started bathing her phone with short blasts.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"When Kelly borrowed your phone, she synced them when she copied the photo of the anthium key to hers." Amy clenched her fists and started to hop up and down in anticipation. "If Kelly still has her phone on, we can contact her." The Doctor held the phone up to his ear and waited for five excruciating seconds before belting, "Kelly Richards, this is your life!"
Amy jumped and pumped her fists in the air. The Doctor turned to Genneth. "She's still in the leisure dome with Sean. They're getting much the same as we are. But all of the exits are intact."
Genneth rushed up and grabbed the phone. "Hello? You're the Earth girl, Kelly? I need you to get to the nuclear compound just on the other side of the leisure dome. Get a skid of radioactive isotopes onto the underground transport system and bring it to main control." He paused as he let her process the information. "That's right, an entire skid. Better to bring them all than to try looking for the right one. Anyone there should be able to help you. Time is of the essence. Our world is falling apart and we need the isotopes now!"
Handing the phone back to the Doctor, Genneth returned to his group of engineers and scientists to share the news with them. Amy looked at the Doctor with immense worry. "Do you think she'll be able to do it?"
The Doctor exhaled and replied, "She must. Or they'll need a bigger memorial for this explosion…"
FOUR
The moment the skid of radioactive material was loaded onto the transport carrier, Kelly knew there was something wrong. Looking over at the far side of the nuclear compound, she watched in abject horror as the wall caved in from the mounting air pressure. A wall of heat surged through the atrium, wafting over Kelly and Sean and the other technicians, worryingly close to blistering.
"We've got to go, now!" Sean hollered, clambering into the back of the carrier, beckoning Kelly to get in next to him. One of the technicians hauled himself into the driver's seat and fired up the vehicle. It was very similar to the high speed passenger trains that Kelly would often see flying around the Bedford Basin. This one, however, was a simple two-car loader built for transporting materials back and forth throughout the base.
As they pulled out of the siding, more thunderous rumbles echoed into the tunnels around them. They could see techs and maintenance workers scrambling for balance and support with each passing roar of the planet beneath them. Kelly gripped the chair's side rails so tightly the skin on her knuckles began to crack. She thought of her mother as the pallid colour of her hands intensified. Then chaos erupted.
As the train car turned a bend, a quake tore through the underground transit system, almost derailing the car and sending the humans and their driver careering from their seats as it came to a crashing halt. Smoke and ash billowed from the scene as Sean stumbled through the fumes, clutching at his shoulder as he coughed his way out of the vehicle.
"Kelly?" he called, pulling at the side door and reaching in to pull her to safety. "Kelly, are you okay?" The girl had her mouth covered with the neck of her shirt to prevent inhaling the lingering smoke.
"I'm alright. Where's the driver?" Sean made his way to the opposite side to find the body of the driver strewn on the ground next to the rails. He was still.
"You're going to have to drive the rest of the way." Sean informed her. When Kelly refused, Sean pointed to his left shoulder. "I think it's dislocated. There's no way I can control it with one arm."
Kelly wasn't about to get behind the wheel of a vehicle so soon after her mother's accident. She scanned their surroundings manically, searching for another technician who could take the driver's place and get their radioactive cargo to main control. There was no one. The tunnels were murky and full of a smoky haze. There weren't even the tell-tale sounds of activity that you would expect in such a place.
Sean approached her and took her arm. "Kelly, you have to. There's no one else and the Doctor needs that cargo. If we don't, we could all die. Come on!" He pulled at her, not relenting in his intention to get her into the train car. Kelly reluctantly allowed Sean to guide her, but when she was finally seated with her hands on the wheel, she froze.
"I can't do it!" she wailed. "If I had been driving, mom would still be alive and I would be the one to die. Sean, I don't want to die!" She grabbed his coat and couldn't stop her tears of terror. Suddenly, her phone rang.
Sean pulled it out of her coat pocket. "Hello? Yes, Doctor, we have the skid, but we've had an accident en route. Kelly's the only one who can drive, but she's not quite up to it." He paused, listening to the response. "Alright." He tapped a button on the phone and held it up for Kelly to hear the speakerphone.
"Kelly Richards? This really is your life. This is what you were born to do. You're not some undecided high school senior with no purpose, you're the hero of an entire alien world. You're the one who's going to let people live. You're the one who's going to keep your mother's memory alive by facing your biggest fears with even bigger bravado."
Kelly sniffed and wiped the last of her tears away. Another quake rumbled in the distance behind them. They could hear similar noises coming through the speakerphone.
"I'm also saying pretty please with a radioactive cherry on top." Kelly laughed out loud. Sean signed off and squeezed Kelly's shoulder with his good arm.
"Let's go." Kelly pushed the transmission lever into the forward position as she had seen the driver do when they first departed. Slowly pushing her foot down on the accelerator, the car steadily increased speed, building momentum along the rails with each passing second. As the wind started to tussle their hair, Kelly let out a whoop of joy, realising that she could indeed drive the car and complete their mission. But as the vehicle began to navigate the next bend, lights suddenly appeared in the distance coming towards them. Sean could tell instantly what was going on.
"It's alright, it's just the lights of the next junction. You're okay." Kelly relaxed and maintained her speed. But the next instance of the lights brought with it a horn blast. It was an oncoming vehicle. As it surged past them on the opposing rails, the force of the passing wind felt like it would lift them out of their seats. Kelly let out an involuntary whimper, looking to Sean for reassurance.
"Are you sure we're going to be alright?"
"Absolutely. You're doing great. We're almost there, look." He pointed to an approaching sign announcing their imminent arrival at main control. But then another horn blast sounded from further down the tracks around the final bend. As the lights appeared in the distance, Kelly gripped the wheel tighter, intent not to let up or to let Sean down. But Sean suddenly laid his hand on Kelly's arm. There was something wrong.
The approaching vehicle was on their track and building momentum with each passing second. A second blast ripped through Kelly's consciousness, bringing a strangled cry from her throat. "He's in my lane!"
Sean fumbled on the dash, looking for a horn or klaxon of some kind. When he found it, he pressed once, twice, then a third time. The other train made no signs of slowing down. "Change lanes!" he called out to Kelly.
"It's a train, not a car! Don't we need special tracks to do that?" Sean leaned forward and pointed ahead of them. "There it is, a switch up ahead. There's got to be a way to get us over there!" Again, he frantically searched the dash for a magic switch button, but nothing presented itself. As the seconds ticked by, Kelly made her decision.
"It's my lane…" she whispered. Sean turned to her in horror, realising that she could be playing chicken with an oncoming train. "But so is the other one!" Kelly jarred the wheel to the left, swerving the carrier right onto the open switch rails, veering them onto the next set of tracks. To their right, the oncoming vehicle soared past them at high speeds towards its unknown destination. Moments later, their car drifted into the platform at main control. There was only one Calstirran in sight, heaps of rubble piled up along the platform and filling stairways and landings.
They wasted no time getting their cargo unloaded and up to the control room where further technicians had already blasted their way into the atrium where an overjoyed Genneth, gleeful Amy and thoroughly impressed Doctor awaited them.
FIVE
The Doctor crossed his booted feet and sprawled back on the bench looking up at the Fort Needham monument. Amy folded her arms and attempted to sprawl the same way but only succeeded in nearly falling off the bench. As they continued their admiration, Kelly and Sean approached them across the grass, hands held tight as if to never let go.
"Looks pretty good." Sean observed. "A bit white, though." The Doctor grimaced and sat up straight, adjusting his bowtie.
"They don't have concrete on Calstirra. Had to use plastic instead. Needs must, you know."
Amy chuckled. "Don't worry, Doctor. No one will notice it's the wrong colour. Or that it doesn't have any bells."
"Or that it wasn't here for twenty-four hours." Commented Kelly. They all laughed. The Doctor stood up and offered his hand to Kelly.
"Well done, Richards. Grace under pressure if I ever saw it. You'll make Canada proud one day. As if they don't already know." He smiled knowingly and then shook Sean's hand. "You get your shoulder looked at. I'd check it myself but I'm not that kind of Doctor. Ask for the one with the bowtie." He turned to Amy who had already looped her arm through his. "Come along, Pond. More planets to save." They began walking towards the blue police box parked on the edge of the field.
"Will the Calstirrans be alright, Doctor?" Amy asked as they walked. "Will the anthium keep their orbit on track forever?"
"Not forever, Amy. But they've given themselves a lifeline for a very long time. Enough time to sort out that big sun of theirs. Blue skies, Pond. Blue skies."
"I spoke with Genneth after the equation was completed. He said that there were likely thousands of deaths from the quakes and flares."
The Doctor looked up at the sky. "They'll rebuild, Amy. Civilisations, Cities, Communities. They always do. People are resilient, wherever you go in the universe. Nearby planets will help and they will never forget the day, not the hour, not the moment that they came so close to annihilation."
"And they'll remember Kelly Richards." Amy grinned.
"That they will. And maybe some of the others." They entered the TARDIS doors and disappeared into the morning with a wheezing groan that echoed into the blue skies.
As the TARDIS faded away, an unmarked white van slowly drove up to the base of the monument. Four construction workers jumped out with buckets and trowels in their hands. Within moments, they had begun lathering the memorial with a thick layer of cement while two more men hoisted one of several bells from out of the back of the van.
An hour later, they were gone, no evidence of white plastic or alien intervention whatsoever on the green field overlooking the peaceful waters of the Narrows down below.
EPILOGUE
Harbour pilot Francis Mackey suddenly looked up through the window of the French munitions ship Mont Blanc's bridge. In the distance, he could see the Norwegian ship Imo bending its way into the Narrows on its way out of port. He called for one blast of the ship's whistle. Imo responded in kind.
"Keep to starboard, Captain. Give him room." Mackey informed Le Médec.
The captain muttered in his broken English, "It's my channel." Still he took no heed of Mackey's instructions. Mackey took the whistle himself and fired a double blast. Imo responded again.
"You gotta stay to starboard." Mackey repeated. Le Médec stared straight ahead, gaze unwavering, sweat beginning to bead on his skin. "Did you not hear me, Captain?"
Le Médec snapped out of his reverie and said, "The shoals. The shoals!" He called for his first mate to steer back to port to Mackey's great surprise.
"Are you all mad?" Mackey shouted.
"Oui, bien sur!" the first mate replied as the wheel cocked back to port. Mackey looked in horror out the viewport to see the Imo bearing down on them.
"You gotta reverse engines!" Mackey ordered. Le Médec ignored him, so the harbour pilot turned to the first mate. "Reverse the engines, you lunatic!"
"Ah, reverse de engines, no, no." The first mate refused to move. Mackey pushed him out of the way and reversed the engines himself.
"Wowzah, monsieur!" The first mate exclaimed. Mackey ignored him and rushed out to the deck to inspect the flag mast.
"Where's the red flag? You're a munitions ship! You should be waving the red flag!" Mackey was beyond disbelief by now, clutching at his head in despair. Le Médec retained his stoic stance, periodically swallowing whatever words he might one day utter. The first mate pulled out a handkerchief to mop his brow.
"It gets hot in here, n'est-ce pas?" He ran a finger along his shirt collar, just above the dark blue bowtie sticking out from within his uniform. The thick red fabric that he used to pat his head was much too large to serve as a handkerchief. Mackey strode towards him and ripped the munitions flag from the first mate's hands.
"You'll get us all killed." Mackey stated angrily.
The first mate looked at Le Médec for confirmation. The Mont Blanc captain remained as resolutely silent as ever as the impending impact of the Imo awaited them…