Gage put his plan into motion.

Step 1: disable the guards' guns, even if he couldn't check that they were disabled, he had to at least try.

He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the guns and pressed the device's largest, most centrally located button, all the while focusing on what he wanted: the quiet disabling of the guards' weapons. Hoping that the girl had been right, and that it could sense his thoughts and act accordingly.

Step 2: cause chaos; make the systems go haywire for a moment to catch the guards' attention, confuse them, and make them think that something is wrong.

Gage pointed the screwdriver at the ceiling, aiming for the circuitry, and wished with all his might for a ruckus. It actually worked. In moments the ship was going berserk: flame suppressant foam pouring from the ceiling, maroon lights flashing, sirens blaring. After a few seconds, he focused on turning it off, and then, just as suddenly as it had started, it all stopped. The room was quiet once more, and the guards were gesturing wildly, speaking quickly, trying to figure out what had happened.

Step 3: the moment of truth. They should be more receptive to commands now, so, give them their orders, be convincing, and hope they obey (and also hope for an internal communications system).

*Static*

"All guards, report to *Static*. Repeat, emergency in experiment lab *Static*, all guards, please report immediately *Static*" Gage said into the sonic screwdriver, which was hijacking the room's comm. system.

The guards turned to each other and talked rapidly, deciding what to do. But Gage could already see their minds were made up, they were going, all of them, just like he had planned. After all, who could break into such a high-tech ship and break their prisoners out? And anyway, orders were orders. At least, that's what Gage guessed they were thinking.

They rushed towards the hallway Gage was standing in, and Gage pressed against the wall beside the door, grateful that the hallway was dark and hoping that they were too much in a hurry to notice him.

They jogged past him, not even looking back, and Gage snuck into the cargo bay, immediately setting to work on the prisoners' shackles.

"Who… who are you?" one of the prisoners asked.

"I'm a friend," Gage said. "A human, just like you, and I'm going to get you out of here."

At this, everyone in the room looked up and sat up a little straighter. It was like hope had been injected into them, and they were all at attention, waiting to be freed.

The moment all their shackles had been released, Gage set to work on the doors. Moments passed, then minutes, but the prisoners were smart enough not to make noise or go running off; they knew a man with a plan when they saw one, and Gage was definitely a man with a plan, a crazy one, but they didn't have to know that.

Then, with an enormous creak, the doors opened, retracting into the ceiling with a lot of clattering and clanking, but they opened. And then Gage and the prisoners were faced with a whole lot of darkness.

"Caves?" a prisoner commented.

"We're underground?" another one asked, it was one of the new ones.

"Yeah, they've been having us mine for dirt," a third replied.

"Anyway," Gage cut in, urgently. "Escape."

And, like a spell being broken, they all raced into the caves, grabbing onto each other and the walls for support and guidance, pulling each other along if they faltered or fell. Then, they stumbled out into the glaring light of day.

"We're free," a prisoner said, stunned.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Gage said. "Come on, we've got to keep moving," he started walking ahead of them and motioned for them to follow.

"What are we walking for?!" a prisoner yelled. "We've got to get out of here. They'll capture us again!"

"We're more or less twenty miles outside of Roswell," Gage said. "No food, no water, not even proper clothes. There's no way we'll make it if start running, we have to pace ourselves."

Gage looked around, and then pointed in the direction of nearby railroad tracks.

"There, it's that way to town," he said, and started walking ahead, a few moments later and everyone followed behind him.

The woman that walked into the room was young, very young; she looked as young as the girl, or the Doctor, or younger. She was a pretty eccentric person, her black hair pulled back into a loose, banged ponytail, her forehead covered by a large headband, and she was wearing an eye patch over one eye; the other eye was a bright, azure blue, staring out angrily at the world.

"Sar'Irai," Siv whispered, her voice split between awe and terror.

"Siv," Sar'Irai said, giving a mild nod.

"We saw the file," Siv said. "We know you've been helping the Asudine and Svinge'vat, you've practically become a high-ranking officer."

"So?" Sar'Irai said, her voice an angry spit.

"You helped them kidnap innocent people, and some of them died! Don't you care?" Siv asked, sounding desperate. "After all I went through for you. After what they did to Kor'Inai…" her voice broke on the name.

"What's done is done. I did what I had to do, just like you."

"No, I made a deal with them. If I helped them, then they'd let you live."

"And being stuck in a cell for years is living?" Sar'Irai said. "I rather join them than rot away in a prison!"

"Well, you could join us," the girl broke in. "We're getting out of here, and we're sending these aliens back home. You don't have to stay with them any longer."

"I don't think you're going to be doing anything," Sar'Irai said, holding out her hand, the girl was lifted off the floor by an invisible force, clutching at her neck and making horrible strangled noises.

"Well, that didn't go as I'd hoped," the girl managed to say through her choking.

"Sari, let her go," Siv pleaded.

"I don't think so," Sar'Irai replied. "We are going to be getting back home, but not with her. This meddlesome girl has done enough damage."

"And if we go home, with these aliens, do you really think they'll just let us go?" Siv asked.

Sar'Irai paused, then the same angry determination came over her face again and she said. "Yes, because we'll make them let us go. We're stronger than them, they can't stop us."

"They've been pretty effective at it so far," the girl whispered, still choking.

Sar'Irai's attention returned to the girl, her eye burning with murderous intent.

"Never mind me," the girl said, waving her hand dismissively, then she whispered to herself. "I really should learn when to shut up."

"Sari, please, let's just go home," Siv begged. "We can go home now, together."

"Yes, we can," Sar'Irai said. "Right after I end this girl and her meddling friends," her grip on the girl's throat tightened.

"No, stop!" Siv yelled, reaching out with all her might.

Sar'Irai froze, her grip on the Doctor disappeared, and for a moment nothing happened. The room itself went absolutely still. Lights blinked from the machinery. The girl gasped and coughed, holding her throat. Siv'Irai was frozen mid-action, her hand still reaching out for her sister, her face a mask of horror. Sar'Irai was frozen as well, her hand still reaching out towards the Doctor; her face had changed from murderous to stunned. A single drop of blood fell from her nose; then her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

"Sar… Ih… rai?" Siv whispered, she crawled over to her sister. "Sari?... Sari?!" she screamed.

The girl went over to Siv and grabbed her by the waist as the ship's alarms started to blare. She dragged Siv away, still screaming and crying.