6. Facing the Cybermen.
Crystelle has three volunteers in her Tardis. They aren't her direct friends (she wants to protect her own special friends). These people have volunteered to fight an oppressive and dangerous regime - could the Cybermen be called that? No training, but they have had a regeneration tablet, and seen its effects on others.
The Tardis Control room in her Tardis looks like the inside of a jet airliner cabin area, with the central seats cleared out. Quite swish.
Crystelle is briefing them. "Cyberium Twelve is a hidden planet according to details revealed to me by our very own transporter." Crystelle doesn't want to reveal all of her secrets by naming everything! "That means that it is cloaked and finding it will be difficult. A bit of clue following. Detective work. I should call our navigator Sherlock!"
No navigators amongst these few. Maybe they missed their calling?
Crystelle continues. "Cyberium Twelve would appear to be a manufacturing base for a group called Cybermen. It's where they make their metal bodies. They kill anything that stands in their way. They recruit people like us to apparently immortalise with them, although there is no evidence of longevity. They just keep recruiting more people. Beware of their sales patter, I believe they are persuasive. Avoid listening to them at all costs. They call it an upgrade. But then they regret having the upgrade totally later on.
"There is one leader who recently changed to wanting to destroy the Cybermen. His name is Koshan, Commander of the Cyber Fleet. We don't know how far he has got with dismantling the Cyber factories. Probably not far. Any questions?"
Andy has a question. "What do we use to defend ourselves with?"
Crystelle has no weapons. How can she answer this question? Maybe she has been naïve, but she really doesn't agree with using weapons, like the Doctor. But she doesn't have his wisdom, built up over thousands of years. "I think prayer is our best form of attack and defence. Having a weapon may lead to a full-on attack. Without weapons we may be treated more leniently."
Ben's turn. "How can we do anything against them? They sound like a mighty army."
"We must find Koshan first and see what side he is on and what he's done," Crystelle says. "He is our key to doing anything."
Ben has another question. "How will we find him?"
Crystelle has no real answer to this. The last time he was seen was on the bridge of his Cyber Fleet Command spaceship. "We must see what we can do to find him. We know his base is likely to be on Cyberium Twelve."
Geoff has a question. "How long will it take to get there?"
Crystelle has never known the Tardis to take any time getting anywhere. But she doesn't want to reveal that it is a time machine, too! "Not long. This transport is incredible."
"How fast does it go?" Geoff asks.
"I somehow don't think that speed comes into it. Are we there yet?" Crystelle asks.
"But we haven't left Tinsel yet," Geoff says.
"Yes, we have," Crystelle says. She laughs.
"But there was no take-off, no vibration, no G's," Geoff says.
"No matter," Crystelle says. "I'll ask for some of them next time." She is unsure how the Tardis might react to that, but she might ask!
The Tardis zizzes with the high frequency sound that the Doctor's Tardis left behind after it departed.
"Seat belts on, then," Crystelle says. "Can we have a simulated landing, please?" She is hoping the Tardis might provide some gravity bumps (G's) for the guys, but it doesn't.
"Who's piloting this?" Geoff asks.
"It's all fully automatic," Crystelle says. Crystelle is playing at keeping the true workings of the Tardis from them, at least for as long as possible. "When we arrive, our transport will disguise itself as just a door in a wall. Just remember exactly where the door is when you come back to it."
There is a clunk sound and the zizzing stops.
"Seat belts off," Crystelle instructs.
"Smoothest landing I've ever had," Geoff says. "I bet we haven't left your laboratory, Crystelle."
Crystelle steps over to the Tardis door and opens it.
A group of Cybermen are marching past. Geoff steps out. "Wow, this isn't your laboratory after all! Spectacular. Who are they?"
Crystelle must fill in his knowledge. "They are cybermen. But they are dangerous, as per the briefing. I hope they don't see us."
But a small group of humans standing outside a wall is unlikely to go unnoticed. The group of Cybermen halts and some advance on them. As they had not been far away there is little time to run. They only just manage to step into the Tardis.
The Cyber group leader stands on the threshold of the door.
At least Crystelle can show that they aren't still in her laboratory on Tinsel! What will the Cyberman do?