[Dialogue has been trimmed down, pace increased, and a couple of low-budget effects added to increase tension. This is an educational re-editing of an established story to show how much editing can improve a story, and as such is allowable under fair use for educational purposes.]

The Tsuranga Conundrum

On an alien planet the Doctor and Companions sift through mountains of junk.

"We're never going to find one!" Ryan yells.
"Course we are," the Doctor yells back. "I've programmed the detectors specifically. I found seven last time I was here."
"How long did that take you?" Graham asks.
"It couldn't have been more than a month," the Doctor says. "Unless that was Seffilun 59."
"Which one's this?" Yasmine asks.
"Seffilun 27. Maybe 59's the one with a big pile of these." She held up a tubular gizmo.
"If we've wasted the last four hours on the wrong planet..." Graham yelled, disgusted.
"Oi! Who took you rainbathing in the tropics of Kinstarno?" the Doctor called back.
"Oh, no, no. Listen, that's amazing. I was just saying, like, needle... haystack." He waves around.
"That's why we have needle detectors," the Doctor replied.
"Hold on," Graham yells. "I've found something!"
They gather around and the Doctor flicks aside bits of flotsam. A round disc with blinking red lights is revealed. The Doctor jerks back, startled.

The Doctor scans it, worried, hurried. "If I can just... No, it's shielded," she mutters to herself. The lights blink faster.
"What is it?" Yaz asks.
"Sonic mine," the Doctor says. "It was camouflaged! This is someone's idea of a nasty joke. It's counting down."
Graham, verging on panic. "How long we got?"
"Three, two... Get down!" she yells. They all dive for cover.
The mine goes off. Wavy sonic shockwaves blast out. Everything goes white.

Sound wibbles in and out of the Doctor's dazed perception. A room, white, and very bright wavers in her vision.
Off to the side she hears a voice. "I can't find their medtags. You'd think that'd be simple enough. I'm rubbish at this."
Nearby another voice replies, a man's. "Mabli, stop beating yourself up. I'm sure there's a simple explanation."
The Doctor jerks upright, then wavers in the chair, dizzy. A bearded face swims in and out of her vision. "It's all right, you're safe. Just don't make any sudden moves. Your body'll take a moment to catch up."
Another face appears, a woman. "Can you point out your medtag for me? I can't find it anywhere."
The Doctor looks around, blurry. "Where are we?"
"We're in hospital." She turns to see Graham sitting up in a reclining hospital chair. She blinks, trying to restore her vision. "They've just brought us all round. You're the last one up."
On the other side of the room Yaz responds to the female medtech. "We don't have medtags."
"Oh." The woman smiles. "It wasn't my mistake."
"Told you."
"Except you must have," the woman replies to Yaz. "We need your full bio-history, allergies, fluid levels, lifespan data…"
"It's basically to help us avoid killing you," the male said as he scanned the Doctor.
The Doctor, blearily, "There was a sonic mine..."
"Yeah, the robo-dredgers notified us as they were pulling you from the debris. We've stabilized your vital organs. You're lucky they got to you fast."
"Stabilized my organs?" Graham asked, worriedly.
"They disrupt internal organic stability, whilst churning up the exterior environment." the medtech explained. "Tsuranga's actually agitating for the territories to be swept more fully, but..."
A monitor starts beeping, interrupting him. He goes over to investigate. "Now, why have they done that?"
The Doctor looks up. "Tsuranga?" She tries to stand but falls to her hands and knees. "Where have I heard the name Tsuranga?" The medtechs come over to help her. She shrugs them off. "Whatever." She climbs to her feet and starts to stagger off, holding her ribs. "Very grateful. Need to get back to our ship. Come on, you lot."
"Hey! Come back."

Outside in the corridor.
"Which way is out?" the Doctor asks, looking at all the identical walls.
"Can you return to the assessment zone, please?" the male physician commands. "We're not discharging you. You need to rest."
The Doctor clutches her side but keeps going, painfully. "I appreciate how much you've looked after us, but we need to get back to my ship. I can't leave it here on a junk planet. Someone might try to scavenge it."
A device goes off quietly in the male medtech's pocket. He looks at it and jumps in front of them and holds his hands out. "Wait here." He goes off, summoned.
"Not bloody likely." The Doctor looks around. "Which way's out? What kind of hospital has no signs? Yaz, Ryan, you two go that way." She points off down one corridor. "Graham and I will take this way. Find the exit, then meet back here." They nod and Yaz leads Ryan off down the corridor.

Two men and a woman are arguing in a patient room.
"Whether you agree or not, it is my responsibility to protect the General," a stiff- haired, pasty faced man said.
"I understand your responsibilities, Ronan," said a dark-skinned man. "I hear about them endlessly."
"Says the man who never wants any of his own," mutters the dark-skinned woman.
The Doctor walks in on the discussion. "Sorry. Looking for the exit."
"General Cicero's privacy indicators are clearly on," Ronan says.
"Yeah, not really up on privacy indicators," Graham says.
"General Cicero? Not Eve Cicero?" the Doctor asks excitedly. "Keeba Galaxy? Neuro pilot?"
The dark-skinned man rolls his eyes. "Oh, God."
"You're mentioned in the Book of Celebrants," the Doctor continues. "You helped defeat the Army of the Aeons at the Battle of the Underkind."
The woman demures. "I was one of many."
"You're a bit of a legend, though."
The woman smiles and waves her hand in introduction. "This is my brother, Durkas, and my consort, Ronan."
"When she says consort, she really means clone drone. Android. You can tell by the hair."
Cicero glares at her brother. "Durkas." She turns back. "And who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor."
"Wait. There's someone called the Doctor in the Book of Celebrants? Is that you? Isn't there a whole chapter about you?"
"Me? No. Very common title," backing out. "Anyway, lovely chatting. Must be off."

Elsewhere, in another patient pod. The door opens. Yaz and Ryan lean in.
"Not the exit," Ryan observes.
A man is reclining in a patient chair. "Oh, hello. Come in. Are you the sonic mine lot? Sounded pretty serious. How are you feeling?"
"Rough," Ryan says. "What are you in for?"
The man whips aside the blanket revealing a large round stomach. "Pregnant."
"Blimey. Yes, you are," Yaz says.
Ryan stares. "You're almost ready to pop. How did you get like that?"
"On holiday. Got involved with someone. Didn't take precautions, like an idiot."
"So, what's that," Ryan asks. "Nine months?"
"No," the man replies, horrified. "Eight days. Feels like forever. I'm a day overdue. They're thinking they might induce me at Resus One, otherwise... Well, it wouldn't be good for either of us."
Mabli sticks her head in the door. "You're here! Look, you can't go around disturbing the other patients. Astos, found them. They're here in pod Two."

Astos arrives, herding Graham and the Doctor. "I found the other two."
The Doctor walks in complaining. "Blimey this is a small hospital. You'd think it'd be easy to find the way out." She sees the pregnant man. "Oh, hello. You're a Gifftan, aren't you?" She turned to her Companions. "Male pregnancies last a week, very intense." She turned back to Yoss. "Congratulations."
"Thanks."
She stretches and growls, twisting. "My exospleen really hurts." She bends over and looks up at Astos. "How do we get out of here?"

"What do you mean, out?" Yoss asks. "Where would you go?"
The Doctor turns to him. "What do you mean?"
Astos gave her a pitying look. "We've been trying to tell you."

The Doctor stares at him blankly for a minute, then abruptly slaps a hand on the wall. She groans and leans over. "The vibrations. Too wrapped up in myself. Missed the vibrations.
She looked up. "Tsuranga. This isn't a hospital. It's a ship. And we're already in flight."

The ship flies serenely through space.

"This a Tsuranga QuadZone Medical Craft." Astos says inside.
Yasmine cocked her head. "Like the Red Cross."

The Doctor groans.
Mabli helps her to stand straight. "You'll be fine. We'll be at Resus One soon enough."
"How long were we out for?" Ryan asks.
"Four days," Astos replies. The Doctor leans her head against the wall.
"Four days' flight from the Tardis..." Graham said, unsettled.
"Argh!" The Doctor growled. "Four days. I'm walking." She waved the others off. "No need to walk with me. I need to walk on my own. Walking. Come on, limbs." She forced her weak legs to move.

Astos follows the Doctor out into the corridor.

The Doctor holds her side and keeps walking. "Have you got onboard teleport?"
"No, but there's post-recuperation teleport at Resus One."
"I don't want to go to Resus One. Let me talk to the pilot." She sonics one of the logos on the wall. A schematic appears.

"What are you doing?" Astos steps in front of her. "Don't touch that. Patients aren't allowed access to onboard systems or non-medical facilities."
"I'm not a patient. I'm the Doctor." She steps around him and sonics the schematic again. It changes. "Nav Chamber. This way." She points down the hall and walks off. "Argh. Still hurts."
Astos runs after her. "Running could disrupt the internal healing process."

The Doctor sonics a door open. Inside is a bright white chamber. Controls cover the walls and a circular panel suspended from the ceiling. There's no one there.

"Enough, now, you're going to hurt yourself. You're not allowed in here. I don't know what that device is, but if you don't leave, I'll have to restrain you."
"Where's the crew?"
"Rescue craft are automated. It's a two-medic crew, just me and Mabli. Our course is remotely programmed from the Tsuranga Hub at Resus One."
The Doctor looks over the monitors. "Do you have lifepods?"
"Yes, But if they're activated it notifies Resus One of an emergency."
"Oh, I can fix that." She moves to access the suspended control panel.
"Don't! If you interfere with the navi-systems, they'll take it as an act of hostility or hijack. They can detonate the craft."
"I'm not going to hijack the ship. You have patients who need to get to hospital. I'll just take one of your lifepods and me and my friends can go back to Seffulin 27."
"No. Those lifepods are in case of a real emergency. You getting back to your ship is not an emergency."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it isn't.
The Doctor, ignores him. "Where are we?" She searches for a course monitor. "Is there anyplace you can set us down before we get farther away?"
"No. We're on the edges of the Constant Division. There's just a lot of space junk and asteroids." He points at the appropriate display. "The routing usually keeps us out of here."
"Why?"
"It's disputed territory. We're only just over the boundary, so nothing to worry about." He motions for her to leave before him.
The Doctor studies the display. "So what's that?"
A beeping light on the monitor moves towards their position.
He comes to look. "Not sure."
The object catches up to them, and collides with a bang!
"Probably an asteroid shard," he suggests dubiously.
An alarm farther down the wall sounds.
The Doctor studies it. "Shield breach. No, wait. Resealed and solid. But something breached it for a second."
There's the sound of clanging above their heads.
"I'll check the system monitors."
The Doctor looks around and listens to the thumps and bumps. "Something's inside the shields." She turns to him. "Tell me the ship's structure, Astos. Quickly."
"A central walkway goes all the way around. We have an assessment area in the heart, three patient-pods, one emergency suite on the sides."
"Evacuation equipment?"
"Just the two life-pods, portside and starboard. Maximum five per pod. We're just within our occupancy limit."
The Doctor looks up at the noises. "Maybe not anymore."
There's a loud thump. The lights dim, an alarm sounds.
"That's a breach alert," Astos says.
The Doctor's looking at the layout monitor. "It's in the portside life-pod. Are there comms in the life-pod?"
He holds up a finger and works the controls. Sounds come on over the com, munching, and tearing noises. Then nothing.
The Doctor watches the sensors showing something moving quickly through the ship. "Whoa, that thing can really move. You know these territories. What can it be?"
"The area around the starboard pod is offline. I can't get a sensor reading."
"We have to take a look."
"Okay, you take port, I'll check starboard," Astos says.
"No. Too dangerous. You take port, I'll take starboard."
"You're not in charge here. This is my craft. You are my patient and my responsibility, as is everyone else here. You're still recovering, you're still in pain. I'll check starboard. You check portside."
"Fine. I'll check starboard, you check portside," the Doctor said, trying to trick him.
"No." Astos glared at her, arms crossed.
"Darn, that usually works." She threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine, there's no time to waste."
Astos opens a drawer. "Here, take a comm-dot." He puts a button device behind the Doctor's left ear and they head out the door. "Mabli already has one. Stay off her channel while we work out what this is. She doesn't need to know about this yet. It's only her second tour. Neither do any of the other patients, obviously."
"Obviously."

Mabli meets the android, Ronan, in the corridor outside one of the patient rooms.
"Did you buzz me?"
"I'm requesting further adrenaline blockers."
"What, already?"
"Yes."
"Let me check with Astos."
"No. You must supply them, without delay."
"We only carry a limited stock. I'm not sure I'm allowed to."
Ronan, inexorably. "The panels are down this way." When she hesitates. "You know our status and how Keeba Central regard us. We would not ideally register a complaint against someone so early in their career."
Mabli swallows. "Let's get them, then."

Inside Cicero's patient room Durkas enters a code into the monitor and gets an error noise back from the computer.
Graham, standing just inside the door, "I think that's staff only."
Durkas turns guiltily. Hesitant. "Yeah. I'm trying to figure what to do next. Deny everything, or... ask you to turn a blind eye?" he suggests hopefully.
"Ah, I see your problem," Graham says. "Yeah. Generally, truth is always your best option.
"I was trying to hack into my sister's medical records."
"Well, we've all hacked into our loved ones' confidential records at one stage or another, haven't we? Can I ask why?"
"She's lying to me about... about what's wrong with her."
"She might have good reason for that."
Durkas sits down in disgust. "I know the reason. She's a control freak, even to her own little brother. The most decorated general in Keeba history. 907 days in continual flight, on residual energy, fighting the Aeonians, saving our species."
"What do you do, then?"
"Me? I'm an engineer."
"Oh."
"Yeah, I fix the things pilots like my sister tend to wreck, and she looks down on me for it. And she always will."

In the port and starboard corridors, the Doctor and Astos, are talking over the coms.
"Do you see anything, Astos?"
"Nothing so far. The life-pod's just round the corner."
"Go carefully. Whatever this thing is, it can move fast."
Astos enters a darkened area. "The power's been shorted around the life-pod."
The Doctor, approaching the other darkened lifepod. "The power's out here too."
"You need to check that the pod's still secure," Astos says.
The Doctor touches the hatch window. She jerks her hand back at the cold burn. "The portside life-pod, it's gone. Jettisoned."
"Understood." Astos enters the airlock. He hears sounds from behind the pod door. "Doctor, it's here. It's inside this pod."
"Whatever you do, don't engage with it. Stay where you are. We need you safe."
The pod door opens, sparks fly from the internal controls. Astos enters the life-pod to investigate. The bulkhead door closes behind him.
"No, no, no!" He runs to the door, the opening pad sparks out under his hand.
"Life-pod active. Disengaging," the computer intones. "Use life restraint straps now."
The ship shudders.
"Astos, what's happening?" the Doctor yells.
"Rookie mistake. It's jettisoning the pod. The internal controls are broken…and I'm inside." He tries another set of controls. They spark out too. "No!"
Computer - "Systems malfunction. Currently unavailable."
The Doctor runs. "Astos, hold on, I'm coming!"
Computer – "Evacuation critical."
Astos falls to the floor. He grabs his earbud. "Mabli? Mabli!"

In another corridor, Mabli is handing over the medical supplies.
"Astos? I'm just with a patient. Do you need something?"
The Doctor runs past.
"I'm sorry, Mabli." Astos says. "It tricked me. I can't get back."
"What are you talking about? Get back from where?"
"You're in charge now, Mabli. You can do this. You're good enough. Just believe in yourself." The life-pod tumbles away from the ship, then explodes.

The shockwaves knock the Doctor against the wall.
"Astos? Astos!"

Beside Ronan, Mabli calls, "Astos?" Getting no reply she runs after the Doctor.

The Doctor hurries toward the starboard lifepod. She slows when she sees the lights out. A control panel on the wall is gutted, only pale emergency light lights the corridors here. She hears sounds of snuffling and grunting, something is thrown against the wall, clanging.
The Doctor sees a small hairless being eating circuits and bits of conduit. It turns and snarls at her as Mabli and Ryan come running up, followed by Graham and Yasmin.
"Where's Astos?" Mabli cries, then cringes back when she sees the creature. "Oh, my saints!"
"What is that?" Graham says.
The creature roars at them.
"I don't know, but it's dangerous. It jettisoned the life-pods, and it killed Astos."
"What?" Mabli cried.
"I'm sorry, Mabli, but it's down to us to get us safely back to Resus One now." She turns to the creature. "And you - off this ship, back into space, right now."
"I think it's ignoring you, Doc."
"Yeah, Graham, I got that."
The being snarls then swallows a piece of metal as long as its whole body.
"How's it eating all that stuff?" Ryan asks.
"What even is it?" Yaz says.
The Doctor inches forward, sonic in hand.
"No idea. Hit the ship from the depths of space." She stretches out to sonic it. It growls, leaps and bites the sonic out of her hand.
"It ate my sonic!"
"It's got nerve," Ryan says.
The creature chews for a minute, then spits the sonic out. The Doctor picks it up. She tries to activate it, but it's dead. "Huh."
The creature jumps up and burrows into a set of pipes, escaping into the ducting, exploding systems all along the corridor. They duck and run.

In Cicero's patient room, Cicero is lying back on a med couch. She sits up when Ronan enters.
"Did you get them?"
Ronan hands her two adrenaline blockers.
"I think there may have been an incident," he says.

Mabli enters the Nav chamber, the others follow behind her.
"The ship's databanks. I shouldn't let you in here, but I am, and that's fine."
"I've already been in here with Astos," the Doctor reassures her.
"Is he really gone?"
"I'm sorry, Mabli."
"He... he was one of the only people who ever believed in me. Including me. He was so kind…" she whitters, nervous and unsure.
"What would he want you to do now?"
"Make sure everyone stays safe."
"Then that's what we'll do. What did you want to show us?"
"Well, if I sync my ocular recorders with the databanks..."
"Hang on," Graham says. "If this is the control deck, where's the rest of the crew?"
"No crew," the Doctor says. "All automated."
"So it's just us."
"Yeah."
"Great."
Mabli has synced her recorders in, the computer starts reciting. "Thank you for choosing Perils Of The Constant Division. We know you have a choice of vid-briefings concerning the most threatening of..."
Mabli corrects the controls. "Sorry. Here we go."
A hologram of the little creature pops up.
"Item Seven Alpha Cubed. 'Pting.'"
"Pting?" they all ask.
"Pting. Threat Level, Chalice."
"Is that bad?" Ryan asks.
"Worst one," Mabli answers.
"Few facts are known about the organism, Pting. The species, if it is a species, birth, or creation…Many studies having failed due to the fatally violent nature of the Pting... No Pting has ever been kept in captivity due to their ability to eat through any material that would incarcerate them. While strictly non-carnivorous, they devour all non-organic material…"
"Well, at least that's something," Yaz says as the computer drones on.
"Is it really?" Graham says. "I mean, it won't eat us, but it will eat the ship from around us."
"They move at great speed…" the computer continued, "…and while they may be momentarily stunned, are impossible to wound or kill. Pting skin is understood to be toxic to most life forms. Never touch a Pting directly. Pting should never be restricted to a confined space.
":Condensed advice: Never engage with Pting. Risk to life: Ultimate."
"Well that's just great," Graham groused. "We can't touch it or kill it, and meanwhile it's destroying the ship around us." He waved a hand and hissed.
"What is it?" The Doctor took Graham's hand, examining it. It was red and blistered from the back of his wrist to hand.
"It's just a burn." Graham said. "Got hit when everything exploded in the corridor."
"Why didn't you tell us? You don't have to just suffer with it. This is a hospital ship. Mabli, you take care of that." She waved at Graham's wrist. "The rest, get everyone into the assessment area. Seven minutes."
"Why seven minutes?" Mabli asked.
"I need a moment to think."

Meanwhile, the Pting continues to vandalize the ship, tearing apart a conduit until something explodes.

Back in Cicero's room, Ronan gives Cicero an injection. Durkas walks in.
"What're you doing?" Durkas finds the empty vials. "Adrenaline blocker? You can't take adrenaline blockers with Corton fever."
"It's fine," Cicero says.
"You know, I knew you were up to something. I knew you were lying."
Ronan interrupts. "Durkas, I would respectfully ask..."
Durkas interrupts back. "No, I would respectfully ask, don't talk to me." He storms out.

Yazmin and Ryan enter the pregnant man's patient pod.
"Hi." Yasmine says. "We're going to need you to..."
Yoss stands, excited, with his belly stuck out. "Oh! Oh! Put your hand there."
"Nah," Ryan waved him off. "You're all right."
"Aw, go on," Yoss begs. "Please, both of you. Quick, it's kicking. Come on, it'll be nice to share it. Oh, wait for it, wait for it. Oh!"
"Whoa," they say.
"See? He likes you guys."
"Oh, and again." Ryan grins.
"You know it's a boy?" Yaz asks.
"Course it is," Yoss says. "Boys give birth to boys, and girls give birth to girls. That's how it is."
"Not where we come from," Yaz says.
"Ugh. How does that work?" He shudders. "Do you want to see my baby pics?"
Ryan stops him. "We all need to be in the assessment area in six minutes."
"Right." Yoss calls up the scans on a wall screen anyway.
"One hour, three hours. End of the first day, mid second day, and... (The fetus pictures get progressively more developed until the last shows a complete baby.) oh, three hours ago." Yoss looks down at his stomach.
Ryan, awed. "Mate, you're growing a person."
"Yeah."
"I couldn't do that."
"Yeah," Yoss rubs his stomach, "Almost seems a shame to give him away."
"That's what you're going to do?" Yasmin asks.
"Oh, I'm not fit to raise a kid. Besides, dark times right now. Turbulent worlds. I'm not sure I'm his best option. I can't even operate my oven."
"But..." Ryan asks. "Won't you miss him?"
"Six minutes, you said?" Yoss changes the subject.
"Yeah." Ryan says.
"Let's go." Yoss leads them out of the room.

Mabli walks back into the Nav chamber and sees the Doctor pacing, muttering to herself.

"Too fast to chase and capture, too toxic to touch directly…"
"It's going to kill us all, isn't it?"
The Doctor turns. "Whoa, Mabli! You went there way too quick. It's a bit of a puzzler I admit. But it's not that bad. What does it want?"
"Does it have to want anything?"
"Every living thing, from the tiniest to the largest, wants something. Food, survival, peace." She looks at the course monitor. "You know, there's a much faster way back to Resus One. Why is it routing us this way?"
"Asteroid field. Fast-moving asteroids all around. Really unpredictable."
A new alarm sounds.
The Doctor goes over to the flashing monitor, studying it. "What's this?"
"It's... bad. This craft has over 5,000 different scan sensors. They're constantly feeding back to Resus One. The systems have detected the Pting. They're asking us to confirm or deny anything's wrong. We can't take a creature like that back to Resus One. There's thousands of vulnerable patients."
"And if we confirm it's on board?"
"They'll recommend evacuation."
"But we can't evacuate."
"Then they'll go straight to RST. Remote structural termination. They'll destroy the ship."
"Right." The Doctor stops the alarm. "Nothing wrong. We're fine."
"We can't keep doing that. Three dismissals and they don't believe you. They'll go to Precautionary detonation."
"Oh, great. Who designed that? So this ship either gets destroyed by that creature, or by control from Resus One?"
"Yeah. Sorry."

The Pting drops down out of a conduit, swings across a variety of system pipes and uproots one, wiggling down into the hole.

The Doctor stalks into the assessment area where everyone has assembled.
"You're probably wondering why I called you all here. Sorry, bit Poirot. I need to bring you all up to speed."
Cicero steps forward. "Where's the Chief Medic?"
The Doctor turns to her. "Gone. Killed by an alien organism called Pting that's invaded the ship. It's eating its way through the systems. Also, it's jettisoned the life-pods."
Cicero nods. "Then I'm the senior officer on board. I'll take command."
Mabli steps forward. "I'm in command."
"And I'm a busybody," the Doctor says. "There's no time for this right now."
"I've encountered a Pting before," Cicero says. "It massacred my fleet."
Yoss groans in the background.
"Okay." The Doctor leans forward. "What did you learn about them? What do they want?"
The lights flicker and go out.
Mabli, slightly panicking, "That's the central systems! Without them we'll lose oxygen and heat!"
Cicero nodded. "It always went for whatever was powering the ship."
"We're on anti-matter drive," Mabli says.
"We could use stazers to defend ourselves," Cicero offered. "They can stun it briefly. Got any on board?"
"A couple, I think," Mabli moves to a side locker. "In here."
"If we're going to live through this..." Cicero began.
"Protect the anti-matter drive!" Cicero and the Doctor said together.
"Snap!" The Doctor grinned.
"Can we get to Resus One any faster than currently routed?" Cicero asked.
The Doctor shook her head. "Not without breaking the ship's auto-routing, which would send a signal back to Resus One."
"And they'd go straight to Hostility Protocols," Cicero finished.
"I could create a false positive route signal to send back, but there's no manual controls in the Nav Chamber."
"Show us," Cicero said.
"General..." Ronan objected.
"Shush now, Ronan. I know."
"We could go past the drive chamber on the way." The Doctor led off.
"Durkas, with me, please," Cicero asked.

"Uhm, is this a bad moment to mention my internal fluids have broken?" Yoss said. "I think the baby's coming. Sorry."
Mabli took control. "The BirthBud's set up in your patient-pod. Let's get you back there." She helped him up.
"But it won't have any power!"
"It's got a backup generator," she reassured him. "No need to panic."
"Okay." He looks at Graham and Ryan. "Would you two be my doulas? I haven't got any doulas."
"Do what?" Graham asked.
"Doulas. Birth partners," Mabli explained.
"She's brilliant," Yoss nodded at Mabli. "But I need some men with me."
"Yeah. We're blokes, ain't we?" Graham patted Ryan on the back.
"Yeah," Ryan responded. "All over it, yeah. Cool."
Mabli stares determinedly at the Doctor as she helps Yoss out. "We can do this. Right?"
"Right. Be cautious, it could be anywhere."
The birthing party leave.

Cicero turns to Ronan. Quietly. "I need another adrenaline blocker."
"You used the last one, General."
The Doctor wadded a blanket under her arm. "Everything okay?"
Cicero turns to her, reluctantly. "Yeah…"
"With me, please." The Doctor leads them out.

Out in the corridor, the lights are down low. They walk cautiously.
"Where do you think it is right now?" Yasmine asks.
"I don't know," the Doctor says. "I can't trace it since the diagnostic systems drained."

They pass Yoss's patient pod.
Mabli steps out. "Doctor, quick word, private."
The Doctor waves the others on. "I'll catch you up. Go on."
Mabli leans forward, whispering. "Eve Cicero. Her condition..."
"What about it?"
"Patient confidentiality. I can't discuss it with you. But if you're a doctor, maybe you should examine her." The door opens again behind her. "I've got to go."

The Doctor trots into the anti-matter chamber. She holds her ribs briefly.
"Sorry, where are we? Oh, anti-matter drive. What century is this?"
"Are you joking? Cicero says.
"No."
Durkas, confused. "67th."
"Ah. Nice century," the Doctor says. "Bit tricky in the middle. It turns out all right in the end. See this, Yaz?" She points toward the glowing helix in the center of the room. "Anti-matter drive."
"Oh. I did a bit on anti-matter at school. Never quite understood it."
"The thing with anti-matter is you have to either find it or generate it," the Doctor explained. "That's what this bit does. Particle accelerator."
"Like at CERN?"
"Yep. This is the smaller, iPhone version of CERN."
"So how does it work?"
"The particle accelerator smashes the atoms together to produce heat, which produces thrust."
"It's pretty old school, this one," Durkas said.
The Doctor continues. "If this drive gets destroyed, this ship will lose propulsion, we'll drift endlessly while the Pting..."
"Yeah, I get it," Yaz said. "It won't be good."
"Ronan can stay with you," Cicero said.
"No, General, my responsibility is to..."
"Ronan, you're able to touch it without it toxifying you. That's useful to all of us, including me."
"Of course, General."
The Doctor hands Yaz the blanket. "You might need this. MedBlanket. Sterilized barrier, 67th century technology. In case you need to pick anything up."

The Doctor and the others leave. The ceiling bangs and Ronan and Yaz swing their stazers up, aiming at it.

Back in the Nav chamber, the monitor alarm goes off again. The Doctor swipes the controls. "Pting presence denied, strike two. One left. Now, you two." She goes over to the course monitor. "See? Here's a more direct route. Obviously, fast-moving asteroids and debris to avoid on the way, which is presumably why the systems wanted to avoid it. Now, if I can rig up a cover signal back to Resus One..."
"Doctor," Cicero interrupts. "I'm a neuro pilot. My expertise is in symbiotic neuro-piloting, pulse systems at a push, but not this."
"I could make a rig out of this chamber," Durkas says.
His sister interrupts. "No, you can't."
"You wouldn't be able to make your way through those asteroids even if I did."
"Yeah? Says you."
"How long have I got?"
"Literally?" the Doctor says. "No time at all."
"Give me some space to work."
The Doctor leads Cicero out into the corridor: "Siblings. Bless."

Out in the corridor the Doctor confronts Cicero.
"Why are you on this ship, General?"
"Corton fever. Contracted it on my last duty. Can't quite shake it."
The Doctor uses a stethoscope to listen to Cicero's chest whilst taking her pulse.
"What are you doing?"
"Hmm. Why would you be using adrenaline blockers for Corton fever?"
"How do you know about the blockers?"
"Your slow pulse, my really good hearing. You asked Ronan for some. It isn't Corton fever, is it. Is it Pilot's Heart? I'm sorry, Eve, but if we're going to survive this, you need to be honest with me."
Cicero wanders a little way down the corridor. The Doctor follows her. "I started as a pulse pilot. I graduated to Neuro Fleet Commander faster than anyone in Keeban history. I'm the most decorated general. I'm the poster woman. I cannot have pilot's heart. I cannot be that example to others."
"But you have. And you've been using more and more blocker shots to get through the day."
"Trying to control the surges of adrenaline around the heart. One big surge could kill me."
"Does Durkas know?"
"I don't want him worrying."
"He's going to find out sooner or later."
Durkas, behind them. "He already has. Not that he's surprised, just... disappointed."
"Durkas..."
"We don't have time now. I've rigged a primitive piloting bypass, combining pulse and neuro..."
The Doctor steps forward. "I'll do it."
Cicero asks. "Ever flown that way?"
"No, but you could talk me through it."
Cicero shakes her head. "It takes people a dozen years to train."
"Oh, I really need to spend more time in the 67th century."
Cicero stood up straight. "I know how to do this. I'm not stopping now. Everyone's going to live." She walks off down the corridor. "Including me!"

Back in Yoss's pod, red emergency lights flash on the walls. The labour pains have started.
Graham encourages Yoss. "Breathe deep, cockle."
"I am breathing! Oh, this really hurts!"
"Yoss? I'm giving you some stronger pain management. It should help..." Mabli injects him in the neck.
"Ah, yeah. Yeah, that's better. Where's the BirthBud? Is it running?"
"No," Mabli said. "Backup generator isn't working."
"What?! I can't do this without a BirthBud!"
"Yoss, don't panic, mate," Ryan says.
"I am panicking!"
"Which is why I'm telling you not to. Listen to your doulas. We're here for you."
"I don't even know you! Who are you? You're not the one about to have a baby you don't want, on a ship without a BirthBud!"
"The baby's ready to come out," Mabli said.
"Oh, God!"

In the anti-matter chamber, crashing sounds come from beyond the walls and ceiling. Emergency red lights flash.
"It's close," Yaz whispered.
"Just focus on protecting the anti-matter drive," Ronan replied.
The sounds move into the floor. A flash of sparks fly from a floor panel. Yaz jumps onto the reactor dias. "Ah!"
Ronan trains his stazer on the floor. "Get ready." Sounds move around under the floor. "The creature is toying with us."
A panel explodes from the floor and the Pting leaps through. They fire stazers, immobilizing it. Yasmin throws the blanket over it and picks it up.
"Where's the nearest airlock?"
"Down the corridor to the right. Be quick. The stun power will only last a few seconds!"

Yasmin runs down the corridor. She feels the Pting start moving. One arm works free and grabs for her.
"Yah!" Yasmine yells and throws the bundle. She kicks it down the corridor.

In the Nav chamber, Cicero steps into foot grips fastened to control systems under the flooring, she's wearing VR gloves and a single eye-piece. Durkas attaches electrodes to her head.
"Okay," Durkas says. "It's rigged. I've leached some system power off the anti-matter drive. Now, if they can keep that up and running, we'll have enough power to keep basic systems going and still get to Resus One. That's if that thing doesn't get in there and drain the energy."
"This isn't going to work," Cicero objects.
"Quiet, General. Trust your engineer and tell me you're well enough."
"I'm well enough."
"Now promise me that's true." She reluctantly nods. "You're going to need every scrap of energy you have."
The Doctor looks up from programming the Nav computer. "Cover signal transmitting to Resus One. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, they're still going to think they're in control."
Durkas hits a control and stands up. "Locked in, General. Try it out."
Cicero leans back into the controls. "I can see the course. I'll need to increase speed."
Durkas hits one last control at her feet and the control gauntlets come alive. "Handing over control. It's all yours."
The ship rumbles. Acceleration increases.
The Doctor and Durkas stumble. "Eve!" He shouts for his sister.
"Still got it, boy. I've missed this so much."
"How is it?" he asks.
"Rough. But it'll work."
"Take us in safely, General," the Doctor says. "Nice and calm." The monitor alarm goes off again. The Doctor swipes it. "Pting denial, strike three. Last one. It's in their ballpark now."
"What will we do with the Pting when we get to Resus One?" Durkas asks.
The alarm monitor goes off again. No denial possible this time.
The Doctor runs for the door. "Nothing to worry about. I'll deal with the Pting."
"How?" Durkas yells after her.
The Doctor dashes out of the room. "You said it yourself. It doesn't care about us. It wants the systems. It wants the power!"

The Doctor runs into the anti-matter chamber then skids to a halt as Ronan and Yaz both swing their stazers toward her.
"It's me! I'm not a Pting!"
"It was here. I got rid of it." Yaz grinned. "But it'll be coming back."
"What is the situation elsewhere?" the android asked.
"Eve's piloting the ship, Durkas is maintaining controls and signals."
There's another explosion. They stagger. "And the bomb's going to detonate. So, I'm just going to move it away from this room. Mind helping?"
"Yes!" Yaz said.
The Doctor activates the sonic. It works.
"Clever sonic. Recharged." The Doctor sonics the base of the particle accelerator. "Tsurangan Rescue Craft have self-detonation built in." A small drawer slides out of the accelerator. A blue flashing semi-circular device blinks inside.
"You're interfering with a bomb?" Ronan asks.
"Yes."
"Is it going to detonate?" Yaz asks.
"Yes."
"What will you do?" Ronan asks.
"Speed it up."
Ronan and Yaz look at each other in consternation.
The Doctor gingerly carries the device. "Come on, Yaz."

In the Nav chamber.
Durkas traces their route on the flight map. "Resus One in sight. We join the route back in at this point. They won't know we've deviated. You okay?"
"All those times I thought I was going to die in battle, that you'd get a dispatch and hear about it. Always felt so bad. But now, I'm glad you're here."
Cicero becomes unsteady on her feet. Durkas holds her.

The Doctor and Yaz walk down a smoky, red-lit corridor. The Doctor carefully carrying the detonator.
"Why's it so smoky in here?" Yaz coughs, waving a hand in front of her face.
"The recyclers must have stopped working." The Doctor sonics open an airlock door and places the detonator on the floor.
"Yaz, pick a number between 1 and 100."
"51."
"Pentagonal number. Interesting." She sonics the detonator and the countdown beeps start. "Funny, I'm normally the one defusing the bomb."
She pushes Yaz back. "Get in that corner."
Yasmine coughs. "What was the number for?"
"Number of seconds before the bomb goes off. I moved it forward a bit."
"What? I would've gone higher!"
"Good number, 51. Atomic number of antimony, number of federalist papers written by Alexander Hamilton. I love that show. I've seen all 900 casts."

Back in pod Two, Yoss holds a gas mask to his face.
"I'm giving you more gas," Mabli says. "This'll relax you."
Yoss yanks the mask down. "I've never been less relaxed in all my life. I do not want to do this!"
"We're all here for you. Aren't we?" she asks the others.
"Too right," Ryan agrees, encouragingly.
Graham mutters. "Now if the ship just stays together."
Yoss growls.
Another explosion shudders through the ship. Something starts hissing ominously.
Computer - "Emergency decompression."
Red lights flash, a wind whips their hair to the side toward the corridor. The emergency corridor door slams shut.

Outside the airlock.
"Where is it? Come on…" The Doctor looks down the corridor.
"I'm really trusting you on this bomb," Yaz says. "How do we know the Pting's going to get here in time?"
"We don't."
"What?!"
"You should have picked a bigger number."

In pod Two. Red lights flashing. The door conspicuously closed.
"So how do we do this, then?" Ryan asks.
"Really straightforward," Mabli says. "Cut open his stomach sac, reach in, remove the baby, done."
"Cut him open?" Ryan protests. "Won't that, like, hurt him?"
"No. Male Gifftan pregnancy sacs don't have any pain sensors for precisely this reason."
"Yeah," Graham says. "But all the same, I mean, cut open a bloke's stomach. Do we have to?"

Outside the airlock the Doctor is muttering to herself.
"As the detonation gets closer, the energy's building, getting ready to blow. The Pting must be attracted to that, surely."
"If you're wrong, Doctor, we're so dead." Yaz hops from foot to foot, rubbing her arms. "It's getting cold in here."
"Don't worry. This will only take a minute."
"That's not funny."
The Pting arrives, shambling up the corridor, eating a bit of the ship.
The Doctor sees and ducks back into the corner, crowding Yaz. "I'm not bad. Admit it. I'm not bad. It's all in the timing."
The Pting snarls at the women.
"When you're ready, mate," the Doctor says. "Come on."
The Pting sees the bomb, and it's eyes get big.

In pod Two, behind a surgery screen over Yoss's midsection, Mabli works. "Making the incision…"
Graham watches around the barrier. "Oh, I am never getting pregnant."
"Right. Now, opening up." Mabli says.
"Oh. I do not want this baby. I can't be a dad!"
"Hey. None of that," Ryan says. "Listen to me, Yoss. You can do this. You're a good man. Your baby, your son, will be lucky to have a good man like you as his dad. Starting now. You're going to give him life. You're going to bring a person into being. Mate, that is epic!"
Yoss looks at him. "I'm not ready."

Outside the airlock, the Pting crawls toward the door, pauses.
The Doctor, pressing back into their corner. "Really? Get a shift on!"
The Pting hops over the door sill, scoops up the bomb and swallows it whole.
"It ate it!" Yasmin grinned.
The Doctor jumps forward and slaps the door controls shut. She looks in through the window.
"Wait for it."

The bomb explodes inside the Pting's stomach, lighting it up bright red. The little creature smiles with bliss. Floating.

"Absorbed every bit of energy. One massive, massive hit. Bye-bye, Pting." The Doctor pulls the open lever. "Intruder ejected."

The outer airlock hatch opens and the Pting tumbles out into the vacuum, happily replete with its latest meal.

"First problem, gone. That should keep it fed for a very long time. Still not home and dry, though."
The ship lurches, throwing them against the walls.

In the Nav chamber Cicero lurches with the ship. Weak. Durkas supports her.
"I'm sorry," she said, fading.
"For what?"
"I didn't tell you I was ill."
"There's plenty of things I never told you."
"Yeah? Like what?"
"Like I love you. I'm proud of you, sis."
"I love you too, bro. I'm sorry."

In the anti-matter room. Ronan is flung around by the turbulence. He stares. "General."

In pod Two Mabli continues Yoss's surgery.
"Sac, open."
Graham grimaces and pulls back. "Oh, shouldn't have looked. Can't unsee that."
"There's the baby," Mabli says.
"What does he look like? Is he okay?" Yoss cries.
"He's fine."
Ryan leans forward toward Yoss. "Yoss, you don't have to be perfect. You just have to be there."
The baby lets out a wail as he's born.
"It's okay, my darling. Shh, shh." Mabli wraps him in a towel. She turns the baby with its two umbilical cords toward Graham and Ryan. "You have to cut the cords simultaneously. It's okay."
Ryan grabs up a pair of scissors. "Come on, Professor Squeamish, we're doing this."
Mabli counts down. "Three..."
Graham fumbles with his scissors. "Hang on."
"Two... one... now."
Snip!

The Doctor runs into the Nav chamber. Eve Cicero is lying on the floor, out of the pilot rig.
"Eve!"
Yasmine follows. "What happened?"
Durkas, now in the VR gear. "Her heart couldn't take it. She gave me control."
The Doctor looks up. "Do you know how to do this?"
"I'm a Cicero. I studied for this. We're coming into Resus One. Resus One, request emergency assistance landing. Bringing her in safe."
"Thank you." The Doctor looks between brother and sister. "Both of you."

In pod Two Mabli hands the baby to Yoss.
"Careful, Dad."
"Oh. Oh, my saints, I did it. It's a baby. Hello, mate. I'm your dad." He looks at Ryan. "I'm his dad."
"Yeah." The ship bucks but they ignore it. "Nice one, Yoss."
"You all right?" Graham asks Ryan, all smiles, as Yoss studies his baby. "If your Nan could see us now, eh?"
"She'd be laughing herself crazy."
"Yeah."
He offers Ryan a fist bump. Ryan refuses it.

At the space station they all gather in the assessment zone. Durkas covers Eve with a blanket.

Off to the side, Mabli talks with the Doctor. "Now that the ship's been stabilized, they say quarantine scanning and craft detox should take no more than three hours, then they'll admit us to the facility. They're booking your teleport to Seffilun, as soon as you've spoken to the investigators."
"Thank you, Mabli. I'll be sure to tell them how brilliant you were."
Mabli smiles. "We all were."

The baby cries. Yaz, Ryan and Graham are gathered around.
"Have you got a name for the baby?" Yaz asks.
"Yeah. In honour of you both, I wanted to call him... Avocado."
"You what?" Ryan says.
"Avocado?" Graham asks.
"Yeah, after the ancient Earth hero, Avocado Pear."
"No, no, mate," Graham says. "That's a fruit."
"No, it's a vegetable," Ryan says.
"No... Look, either way, it's not a hero," Graham explains.
"But we did it in school," Yoss protests. "You mean the Gifftan history logs are wrong?"
"Well, just a bit," Graham says. "I thought you was going to say you'd call him after us, Graham Ryan."
"Or Ryan Graham," Ryan says.
Yoss laughs. "No. He'd be a laughing stock."
Graham shrugs. "Well, cheers."
"If you're naming him," Ryan leans forward. "Does that mean you're going to keep him?"
"I thought I'd give being a dad a try. I'm going to make mistakes, aren't I? But I'll just keep going."
Ryan smiles.

Across the room Durkas speaks with Ronan.
"What happens to you now, without her?"
"I've come to the end of my service. There is only shutdown."
"I'm sorry, Ronan. I wasn't always kind to you."
"No."
"You gave her great service."
"As did you."
"Will you incant for her?"
"It would be my honour."
The Doctor, overhearing. "Could we join you?"
"Please." Durkas welcomes them, they all gather around.
Ronan begins the incantation. "May the saints of all the stars and constellations…" They all join in. "Bring you hope as they guide you out of the dark and into the light on this voyage and the next, and all the journeys still to come.
"For now and evermore."

Outside, the ship is docked safely at Tsuranga Station. Among the stars.

The End

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