There was a knock on the TARDIS door. "That is going to be Major Magumbo," the Doctor informed Josh. "I may be a bit longer this time. Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

The Doctor put a clean T-shirt on and fetched a new jacket as well. He still only felt part dressed without a shirt and tie, but his back hurt and he'd only have to wash the blood out of that too. He opened the TARDIS door and a female officer was standing there. "Major Magumbo I presume?"

"It's an honour to meet you, Doctor." The Major saluted.

"Again?" the Doctor checked.

"Protocol requires me not to answer that question as you are well aware," she stated but her smile and the slight dip of her head indicated that she had met him before. "Protocol also requires me to ask if you are currently travelling with anyone and what was your last contemporary terrestrial involvement."

"What would be on your files?" the Doctor pondered out loud. "The Sycorax probably at Christmas. I'm pretty new," he confirmed.

"You regenerated recently?"

"I'm done cooking," he assured her. "More or less anyway," he added which was less reassuring. "The last major incursion on your books will be the Sycorax which was just over a month ago. I've been off world or in the past since."

"The Sycorax incursion was twenty years ago."

"I bet a lot has happened in that time."

"Some," Major Magumbo confirmed. "But, I will not disclosed any details that may impact the timelines."

"Quite right." The Doctor grinned as he gave her a mock salute.

"The current situation, Doctor? Greyhound 14 tells me that you have instructed his unit to take perimeter positions?" she recounted as she led him over to a new base of operations that was popping up out of nowhere. "Can you show me on the map where the creatures are?"

"I fear they may have spread out within the caves a lot further than I have witnessed. I wasn't in a position to go exploring, but, I encountered two main areas. One was some sort of larder area, which is here. The second a nursery area which was here. There was also a strong smell of decay coming from down this tunnel leading me to believe there may be another larder area which would also suggest a larger population."

"How many animals have you encountered?"

"I've been down there twice, so I don't know if they were the same ones both times," the Doctor admitted. "I did encounter eight adults in this area when I was first in there. When I later went down there only six were in that area. There were three adults in this nursery lair and what appeared to be juveniles of at least three different ages," the Doctor explained. "There was strong evidence that an attack took place around here in the closest storm drain to this point. I also encountered an individual in this area and later another individual in this area up here along with a new clutch of eggs."

"And you mentioned dead people?"

"There are a number of human corpses in their larder area. Three young males I believe were eighteen or nineteen years old were attacked today. All three of them are deceased. One of them survived long enough for me to get to them, however, they died within minutes and I was unable to extricate them. I have not been able to retrieve their bodies from the cave system. Oh, a fourth teenager was running away as I was arriving. He was clearly traumatised. If he has told anyone what has occurred here I doubt they believed him."

"We will see if we can track him down," Major Magumbo commented.

"He did not appear to be injured, but the creatures do have a powerful anticoagulant. If he was scratched or bitten then even a small wound could lead to significant blood loss."

"I will get on that straight away, give me a moment." Major Magumbo went to the next tent where they had set up a communications point. She spoke to one of her officers. "There is no CCTV in this area, but there is further through the woodland. It may be difficult to spot him. Can you describe his attire?"

"He was wearing a camouflage jacket and jeans. He would have been seen walking into the woods as part of a group of four and leaving on his own and likely running out."

"Understood, and, you encountered the hauliers in the abandoned slaughterhouse?"

"Yes, it's here on the map," the Doctor indicated. "They backed up the vehicle to a slope here. Then literally just tossed the carcasses out of the back so they landed close to this storm drain. There was a clear expectation that the animals would leave the storm drain and take the meat, however, I had already set up the sonic beacon. That they did not come out to take the meat confirms the sonic beacon is working, at least for now."

"How involved do you intend to be in the operation, Doctor?" Major Magumbo asked him. "And, is Miss Tyler with you?"

"Rose is at her mothers. Flu," the Doctor stated. "As in her mother has flu, not Rose. I vaccinated Rose so she'll not pick it up, but Rose wanted to stay until she is feeling better, and, I didn't fancy hanging around."

"Mrs Tyler is recorded as being a formidable woman."

"A very snotty and unwell formidable woman," the Doctor confirmed.

"And, how did you come to be here?" Major Magumbo asked him. "What drew you to this location? Are there signs of the technologies used to manufacture these creatures that you were able to pick up?"

"No, nothing like that," the Doctor stated. "My reason for being here has no bearing on events," he informed her. Major Magumbo nodded. He wasn't going to tell her. If it was relevant then he would have done. "And, to answer your initial question. I will remain on site and assist and advise if necessary, but the operation and the paperwork remains yours. I only ask that you deal with the human element harshly and the creatures kindly. They are violent and they are abominations, but that is not their doing."

"Is there a chance that there are any people still alive down there?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Then our lethal contingency is to seal the tunnels and flood the system with a paralysing gas. We will then retrieve them and they will be disposed of kindly, Doctor. We will have to take samples in order to determine where they were created. It may surprise you that we have come across four other similar instances in the last fourteen months where creatures have been genetically modified. We are however somehow at a loss as to how to proceed in each case. I have been authorised to share the data we have gathered with you to date. I would appreciate your assistance? I do believe this is the first instance where the genetically engineered hybrids have resulted in human deaths. The last encounter was an attempt to create a unicorn."

"It is still obscene."

"Indeed."

"Is a single lab responsible for this?" the Doctor asked.

"We have been unable to trace an origin for the technologies, but we did locate what we understand to be a low budget pop-up laboratory. It had been cleaned out, but, if you are at a loose end waiting to return to Miss Tyler?"

"I'll do what I can," the Doctor stated. "Just don't expect me to be doing the paperwork."