Age of the Silurians
By Vanya
Part 2
With her back against the tree Haze starred up at her attacker. The reptile let out a screech of victory as it pointed its spear towards her. Haze shut here eyes, This is it, she thought, this is the end. Suddenly a deep hissing voice cut through the jungle.
"Halt!"
Haze opened her eyes to see a third mounted reptile ride in to view. He positioned himself between her and her would be attacker.
"You fool Kutiipo," it hissed angrily, "Can you not see this is no ordinary primate?"
"You brought us to hunt Darrok, so I hunted."
"Are you injured?" the third reptile, who seemed to be called Darrok had turned his attention to Haze.
She hesitated nervously "I don't think so. Thank you." she added as an afterthought. Whatever and whoever it was had just saved her life, best to be courteous.
"There, it speaks! This creature is intelligent and you would have killed it like a beast. Get out of my sight Kutiipo, find Porak and send him to me."
Kutiipo hissed angrily, but obeyed, steering her mount back towards the city.
"I must apologise for my hunters. They are good at what they do, but what they do normally is to kill," he dismounted his dinosaur and reached his hand out, "I am Darrok, chief hunter for my people."
"Pleased to meet you, I am Haze," she took the scaly hand and was pulled to her feet, "I just sort of travel around at the moment."
"Yes, a traveller," Darrok's eyes filled with excitement, "A traveller from the stars. You came in the box that fell from the sky?"
"I did, we crashed here by accident. Sorry about that."
"Do not be sorry, this is glorious news. Someone who travels amongst the stars can surly help us."
"Help you? What's wrong?" This planet grew stranger by the minute, one moment she was prey, the next she was being treated like some kind of saviour. Feeling the heat she nervously removed her hat and began to fan herself.
"There is an object in space, a great rock, that is hurtling towards our world. When it strikes it will surly destroy us all. Our greatest minds are seeking a solution to this problem, but we are running out of time. Can you offer any assistance?"
"I'll try, but my expertees are more observing objects in space than stopping them. To be honest, I think we need the Doctor."
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The Doctor sprinted though the jungle. This is not good, he told himself. They had managed to crash in on of the most dangerous time zones possible, best to leave now before any serious damage can be done. If anyone were to learn the truth, Haze or the inhabitants of this planet the consequences could be disastrous.
As he ran the Doctor vaulted a fallen tree, when he landed he squatted down and checked the tracks. Haze's tracks were faint, but distinct. He was close, he had to be, she couldn't have gotten too far in the time she'd been gone. He continued on through the jungle. Suddenly he caught a flash of purple. Haze. He ran towards where his companion was standing.
"Haze!"
"Over here Doctor."
"Come on, we have to leave, now! Its not safe." He kept running, quickly finding himself face to face with the short Scottish girl. But he stopped dead when he saw the figure with her, a Silurian. No!
"We can't go yet. This is Darrok, he was just telling me about the threat facing this planet."
The Doctor looked around, things were getting worse at an alarming rate, Haze had managed to make contact with the indigenous population in record time and he had a horrible feeling he knew exactly what the threat was. He turned his attention to the Silurian. This was one conversation that could only end badly.
"Hello Darrok, nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor, sorry about your planet." he suppressed a slight shudder, "OK Haze, time to leave."
"Doctor!" she was shocked by the flippancy of his response, "This whole planet is in danger, we have to help."
"Please Doctor, our need is dire. We need your help."
"We cannot help you."
"Then I am sorry Doctor." There was something odd about his tone, it seemed genuinely apologetic.
"Sorry, what are you sorry for?" But the Doctor quickly got his answer.
With the speed and reflexes honed over years of hunting Darrok grabbed Haze, wrapping his forearm around her neck. She struggled, but like all of Darrok's prey she quickly lost conciousness. The Silurian let her body fall to the floor.
"That was a mistake Darrok, I want you to know that." The Doctor spoke slowly and firmly, looking the Silurian in the eye.
Darrok took up the pose of the fighter, knees bent and arms spread, ready to attack, "If you have the knowledge of how to save my world then I will do whatever it takes to use it."
The Doctor mimicked the pose and the two slowly began to circle each other, "I'm willing to forgive the attack on Haze, just let us leave, we can't help you."
"Why not?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
A bolt of green light lanced out striking the Doctor causing him to collapse to the floor. Kutiipo emerged from the jungle, tranquilliser pistol in hand, followed closely by Porak.
"This is a most efficient weapon Darrok," she remarked, "Why do you not allow us to hunt with such things?"
"Because they lack skill and honour," responded Darrok in disgust, "Now load them onto the mounts, we are taking them back to the city."
**********************************************
Several hours later Haze was beginning to regain conciousness. She blinked a few times as she tried to take in her blurred surroundings. They were in a cave, she was pretty sure of that much, it was dark, damp, but still quite humid. After a moments feeling around she was able to lay her hands on her glasses, placed next to where she was lying. Putting them on helped very little, it just brought the cavern into sharper focus. The Doctor lay a short distance away from her, after a quick check of his vitals she concluded that he was indeed unconscious. When a few sharp slaps to the face prove ineffective to wake him Haze decided to explore her surroundings, as limited as they were. The cave itself was pretty nondescript, a natural formation. A thin shaft of light shone down from high in the ceiling, they were clearly underground. The mouth had been blocked, transformed into a doorway. She examined the door, but there was no way to open it. For now they were trapped.
**********************************************
Once again Darrok stood before the elders.
"Welcome back Darrok, the triumphant hunter." the greeting from the first elder was the warmest Darrok had ever received.
"You have done well Darrok," the second elder continued, "These travellers from the stars are of much interest to us. Your achievements have been reported to the Triad."
"Thank you elders, you honour me."
The third elder gestured to another figure in the meeting, "Abpor will be working with the aliens, learning what they know of the stars."
The first elder spoke again, "From now on Darrok your job is to protect him, we do not know what these travellers are capable of."
"With all due respect elders," Darrok protested, "My place is in the jungle, I request the opportunity to recover the box in which they arrived."
He had encountered Abpor before, a scientist with a great mind but one that lacked morality. After his cruel experiments had been halted he had been given the seemingly harmless task of mapping the stars in way of punishment. But this was the task that had identified the object that threatened their world and had restored his status within society. Darrok disliked him greatly.
"That is not necessary Darrok, as we speak Kutiipo and Porak are leading our people to it, soon it will be within the city. Your place is with Abpor and the travellers. The decision is final, leave and carry out your duties."
**********************************************
In the holding cave the Doctor was beginning to stir.
"We've been captured haven't we?" he asked, staring up at the ceiling.
"Yes we have," Haze was sitting in a corner, but sprang to he feet when the Doctor awoke, "Trapped in a sealed cavern with no hope of escape."
"Damn. I can't believe I let them stun me, I should have seen them coming."
Haze held out her hand and pulled the Doctor to his feet, "Don't feel so bad, I didn't even see it happen, I was already down by then."
"That's right," the Doctor said with a slight chuckle, "You actually thought you'd made friends with him!"
"I know, we're a right pair of idiots!" then they were both laughing at their predicament. Once the amusement had died down Haze added, "We're screwed aren't we?"
"Yes, yes we are."
**********************************************
Darrok left the elders' cavern accompanying Abpor. Despite his achievements, despite the honours bestowed upon him by the elders Darrok could still feel that Abpor was looking down on him as he had always done. Darrok told the scientist all he knew about the travellers, the response was predictably arrogant.
"You will avoid speaking to the aliens from now on Darrok," Abpor commanded once Darrok had finished, "These being are clearly from a highly advanced world, we do not want to appear as primitives. They will want to converse with with someone who can communicate on an intellectual level, not a savage."
"But I have already spoken with them, they know who I am."
"You rendered them unconscious and brought them here against their will. I hope I can repair the damage that you have done."
**********************************************
"Why did you say we couldn't help them?" Haze's mind went back the the time in the jungle, the Doctor's reluctance to help still confused her.
"I can't tell you, sorry."
"And why not? We're only in the mess because you refused to help. I think I deserve an explanation."
"And you will get one in due course, but I can't tell you anything now. You see the Silurians are a slightly telepathic race, they can read minds. Now a mind like mine is pretty good at keeping them out, but you're not so lucky. Oh don't get offended, its not your fault, just the way your race has evolved."
Haze nodded, it made sense, and she didn't need the ability to read minds to realise that the Doctor had dealt with the Silurians before. But what had happened? What could they have done to make him so unwilling to save them?
"Right now the less you know the better," he continued, "Because if they were to learn the truth it could be very dangerous for both of us, but especially for you."
With that warning the door to the cavern swung open, revealing Darrok accompanied by a second Silurian.
"I am Abpor," the reptile announced, "I am a scientist. I have come once again to ask for your assistance during this time."
"Hello Abpor, I'm the Doctor, and I'm sorry, but we cannot help you."
"I am sorry to hear that Doctor. Do not let Darrok's primitive ways prejudice you against us, the Silurians are a more enlighten than a common hunter. I know that you both came from the stars, so I know that you possess the knowledge, but not the will. Tell me, what is the name of your world."
Haze opened he mouth to reply, but was cut off by the Doctor with a single world, "Gallifrey."
"I see. Now tell me Doctor, wouldn't you do everything in you power to save Gallifrey if it was under threat?"
"I did."
Abpor's third eye flashed thoughtfully and even Haze turned to the Doctor in surprise, in the short time they had been together he had never mentioned his own planet.
"I see," Abpor spoke again, "You have lost your home world. Is that why you wonder the stars, because you have nowhere else?"
"Yes."
"Then surly sympathise with my desire to save my world?"
"I sympathise Abpor, I really do. But there is nothing I can do for you."
"That is unfortunate, because if you have fought to save your world then surely you understand how far I will go to save mine. I can take what I want by force." Abpor's third eye glowed in preparation.
"Wait!" Darrok spoke up for the first time.
"For what Darrok?" Abpor responded impatiently.
"Take the small one...."
"Hey!" protested Haze.
"She was more willing to help when we met, maybe she can still be persuaded without the need for force."
"Don't you touch her!" the Doctor rose to lunged at Abpor, but Darrok jumped in, pinning him to the wall.
"Do not make this harder than it has to be Doctor."
The Doctor stared into the face of his captor, into his eyes, all of them. Something wasn't right, although mellowed there was still a fierceness in his two yellow eyes, but his third eye didn't display even the slightest flicker, it was dead. There was clearly something wrong with Darrok.
"I'm going, I'm going, you don't have to push." the Doctor's concentration was broken by Haze's voice, she was being led out of the room by Abpor.
"Do not worry Doctor," Darrok reassured him, "She will not be harmed, you have my word."
When he was released the Doctor sank to the floor. He wasn't convinced, he'd heard that one before.
**********************************************
Haze was led through the cave complex by Abpor, finally emerging into the open at the mountain's peak. Evening was beginning to set in and the skyline was dominated by a brilliant sunset. Winged creatures circled the peaks, coming in to roost on a nearby mountain.
"This is our observatory," Abpor announced, "It is from here that we have been working to observe and counter the object."
Despite her predicament Haze was fascinated by her surroundings, unlike the jungle this place felt truly alien. The entire city was built into an existing cave system but the community didn't seem invasive. The technology running through seemed to be of an organic basis and the Silurians appeared to be total in harmony with the natural world.
She ran her hand over what she assumed was the telescope, it didn't look like it had been constructed, but grown from a seedling and nurtured into a piece of equipment. Abpor turned her attention to another organic machine. Its outer skin was like petrified wood and it pointed upwards forming two great prongs. What appeared to be a computer terminal sat by its side.
"This is what I hope to to use to deflect the object away from us with a directed energy pulse. However all attempts so far have proved unsuccessful. We need you help to make it work or to present an alternative solution."
Haze stared at the machine. She took off, wiped and replaced her glasses, ran her fingers through her hair and then stared at the machine again. It was hopeless, they thought she was something she wasn't. The Silurians were clearly advanced, but their advancements had gone in different directions to the ones on Earth. Even the technology that had brought her here was beyond her comprehension, she wasn't some great saviour from the stars, just a lost traveller. By the time she got to grips with the machine it would be too late. This is where they needed the Doctor and his reluctance to help was starting to eat away at her. She knew he must have his reason, but she couldn't respect them until she understood them.
"Lets not get ahead of ourselves here," she needed to simplify things, put them in terms that she understood, "Can I see what you have on the object, figures, statistics, that sort of thing."
Abpor nodded and led her inside into a cavern, where the relevant information was projected onto a glass screen. This is more like it she thought. As hard as it was to believe she had once, years ago, looked forward to a relatively normal life. Haze had always been a gifted student, excelling in the sciences at school. She had been accepted to study astrophysics at Oxford University, but in her final year had started seeing aliens and conspiracies and gave up any hope of normality to spread the truth. But it was her grounding in astrophysics that was serving her now. She began to examine the object, represented as a dull, vaguely spherical lump of grey rock. She looked at the distance, the speed and at the the size.
"Oh my God!" it was impossible. She looked at the numbers again. The radius, the mass, the volume, it had been years since she'd studied but she knew those numbers, there was only one thing that object could be......
The Silurians turned in response to the loud exclamation,"What is it?" Abpor asked urgently.
"I need to talk to the Doctor."
"But......"
"I need to talk to the Doctor now!"
**********************************************
As quickly as they had come Haze was rushed back through the cave system, coming to a halt at the door to the holding cave. Abpor's third eye glowed causing the door to swing open and Haze rushed in. The Doctor jumped to his feet.
"You didn't waste any time, solved the problem already?"
Haze hugged the Doctor quickly then turned back to Abpor, "Can we have some privacy please?"
The Silurian nodded and the door swung closed.
"Doctor, I looked at the object...." Haze was out breath and shaking.
"It's OK, slow down."
"I looked it, I look at its stats."
"And...."
"It's the moon! I'd recognise it anywhere! The moon! My moon!" she took a short pause to regain her breath, "We're on Earth aren't we?"
The Doctor nodded, "Around 50 million years in your past."
"And the Silurians?"
"A race of intelligent reptiles who ruled the planet long before humans even evolved."
"I heard rumours, people reporting sightings of reptile men. But they were vague, there was no real proof. I never took them seriously, dismissing them as people who thought they'd seen the Creature from the Black Lagoon. And now I see they were ruling the Earth! What happened to them?"
"This crisis happened. They saw an object the size of a small planet heading towards them, their scientists predicted that it would pass by the Earth, bringing with it massive tidal waves and volcanic activities and for a grand finale all the air would be drawn up from the surface of the planet. In response all the Silurians and the Sea Devils went underground into hibernation. But something went wrong, they failed to wake up and ultimately lost the planet to a bunch of evolved apes who took over. That's you by the way." he added when Haze stood silent.
Now calmed down she took a deep breath, "In that case we have a have a serious problem."
"Apart from being trapped in here?"
"Yes. You see I looked at the speed and trajectory, the moon isn't going to pass by, it's going to hit."
End of part 2