Chapter 3
Ace stood back and watched as the Doctor took the cover off a large metal panel and set it aside.
Within the panel, wires and circuits ran in all directions, going deep into machinery. They were in a small, dimly lit room in the heart of the ship where the main system was situated. A single bright light above lit up the contents of the panel and as the doctor looked inside, he frowned.
"Your maintenance staff have checked all this?"
"Thoroughly," Carla replied, "Nothing seems to be amiss. But we've had problems since takeoff. It was minor initially, lights flickering, doors opening and closing without the auto switch being activated – and now this – we were headed on our course to earth and I told the captain to turn back to get the glitches solved before we went into deep space flight, but as soon as we tried to alter course, the ship went into orbital mode and it won't switch back."
"And there seems to be nothing wrong – at first glance..." he said thoughtfully as he peered deep into the maze of wiring.
Then he reached inside and disconnected a small chip and showed it to Carla.
"At first glance, this small piece of equipment looks fine, but if I turn it over –"
"That's not the chip!" she exclaimed, "Every component has the manufacturer's stamp on it - this is blank?"
The doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and began to work on the pattern set in the chip, bending the pathway of the circuit.
"I can make a change to the pattern that will take you out of orbit mode but I can't promise there will be no more minor malfunctions – this is the result of deliberate sabotage, it most likely happened while you were still docked at the colony, who had access to the ship?"
Carla's eyes widened.
"You think someone did this on purpose? Why?"
"Because your vessel is known as an inter galactic centre of excellence, and they want to stop you having the refit to make the ship acceptable for permanent residence at the colony. This could be about a business rival."
She shook her head.
"I don't see how its possible – until the main body of colonists arrive the traffic flow into the planet is restricted, only necessary vessels are allowed through. This ship is vast, we have had our regular maintenance crew comprising of three thousand people working on it purely for routine maintenance, all of them are long term, trusted workers – and none would have access the kind of technology that can replicate a chip like this."
"There are probably many fake chips set about the systems through out this ship," the Doctor told her as he finished working on the chip, "Its good that you're heading back now - when you reach earth you must have the entire ship stripped down, replace everything, even the wiring. Someone has compromised your security. How many people do you have on board?"
"Maintenance and flight crew and a few medical staff returning to earth, some permanently – I don't have an exact number without looking at the passenger list but it's around three hundred. We're running on a skeleton crew. Most the ship is closed off, it's usually alive with activity - it's not just a medical centre, we have shopping malls and dining areas and recreational places – we also have a relaxation and recovery zone for patients that creates three dimensional holographics. This place is the size of a small town, Doctor."
"So I'm assuming if someone got past security it would be easy to hide here?"
Carla's face paled.
"Security sweeps have showed nothing unusual but…in theory, yes…"
"That's an issue you need to take up with the company that refurbishes this vessel," he said to her, "But I've fixed your main problem – as soon as I put this chip back, your captain will be able to shift out of orbit."
Then a monitor lit up on the wall and the captain spoke at once:
"Dr Bailey – it's worked! We're moving out of orbit and back on original course."
"Thank you, Captain Bracken," she replied, and the channel went dark.
"Professor?" Ace said, wondering why he had paused with the chip in his hand and a confused look on his face as Carla took the call.
"Oliver Bracken…" The Doctor said, turning the name over in his mind.
"That's right, he's the captain of this vessel," Carla replied.
The Doctor blinked, then he looked to Ace, and then to the chip he still held in his hand.
"I don't understand how this happened," he said, turning beck to Carla, "You should still be locked in orbit until I put the chip back. That means there's either another control device hidden somewhere, or someone is controlling it by alternative means that have taken over your entire system…"
"We ran a routine security sweep before take off. Nothing showed up then, like I said, most of this vessel is shut down, it's deserted."
"Professor…"
Ace sounded worried, and he knew why. He was leaning against the open panel as he shivered and a trickle of sweat ran down his ashen face. He was feeling terrible - and what Carla had just said had triggered off something deep in his memory, something from long ago, that he would have recalled if he hadn't been so unwell because of the spider bite…
"Are you all right, Doctor?" Carla asked him.
He looked at her, and her words about the ship being deserted echoed in his mind.
Something was stirring deep in his memory:
It was a ghost ship.
He saw the vessel explode in a ball of brilliant light that stood out blinding white against the blackness of space.
"You're all ghosts…ship of the dead…" he whispered, and Carla's flesh melted from her face, it slipped away leaving a skull behind with eyeless sockets.
He drew in a shocked breath.
"All ghosts…" he said, and staggered back as Ace reached for him. He fell against her and she steadied him, and he heard her day his name again. Not the name he was known by, just her name for him: Professor.
The Doctor blinked, his vision cleared and he looked back at the face of Carla Bailey. She stood there looking very much alive and well, but now with a hint of concern in her dark eyes.
"Doctor?" she asked, "What's wrong? And what did you just say about ghosts?"
"What did you mean?" Ace said to him.
She was still holding on to him.
"Nothing…forget what I said, I'm fine!" he told her sharply, shrugging her off and taking a deep breath as he silently cursed the unsteadiness that had come over him along with a chill that had deepened as the images of death had run through his mind.
"No you're not!" Ace said, and she turned to Carla.
"He's not okay! Look at him, he can barely stand up!"
The Doctor gave a weary sigh.
"I was only bitten by a spider –"
"A robotic spider," Ace cut in, addressing Carla, "You should see the back of his neck, it looks bad!"
Then she caught the disapproving look he shot her and it was enough to remind her she had said too much for his liking.
"I've had a reaction to some kind of fluid inside the android. It's probably mild -"
"It's not."
He turned to Ace and saw the apologetic look in her eyes.
"It's not," she said again, "You look terrible, Professor. I'm really worried about you."
"And the Tardis is perfectly capable of breaking down the composition of the toxin, I'm sure I'll be able to find something to counteract it. Stop being so dramatic, Ace! I'm fine!"
"How long will it take for the Tardis to analyse the toxin?" Carla asked.
"I don't know," he replied, "It depends if the system is familiar with the poison. If not it may take much longer…" And he wiped sweat from his face and shivered again.
"This vessel is graded as a centre of medical excellence," Carla reminded him, "And our poisons database is vast, it's listed as the finest in the known galaxy. Maybe you should let me take a look at you. I'm confident our database can identify the toxin for you, and most likely list an antidote too – if an antidote is needed."
The Doctor was still sweating as he drew in a breath and tried to counteract the dizziness that swept over him as he handed the chip back to Carla.
"This was not the cause of your problem. The problem is far greater – something was manipulating your ship. Step up your security; I can't help in any other way until the Tardis identifies the toxin. I can handle this, I don't need your help."
He stepped away from the panel and paused to rub his temples.
"Ace, we're leaving."
"But Professor, she might be able to help -"
"I said we're leaving!"
He leaned heavily on his umbrella and blinked several times to clear his vision and then walked to the door. Ace followed, catching up with him as he stepped out into the corridor.
"What if the Tardis can't identify the toxin? Carla might be able to help. Please give her a chance."
As he looked at her sweat ran down his face, but determination was set in his eyes.
"We're leaving!" he said again, and then the corridor span violently and the Doctor fell to the floor heavily, where he lay sprawled on the metal walkway with his eyes shut as he breathed heavily and shivered as more sweat ran down his face.
Ace dropped to her knees beside him and shook him gently.
"Professor…Professor, wake up!" her voice was rising in panic.
As she looked up at Carla her eyes were filled with fear.
"Help him!"
Carla reached for an emergency button and pressed it.
"I will help him," she said, kneeling beside her as she loosened the Doctor's tie and paused to press her fingertips against the side of his neck as she checked his pulse.
"Please don't die," Ace whispered.
"Help is on the way," Carla promised her, "I'll have him taken to the emergency department on level one, it's the only part of the hospital we kept open during the flight back to earth, but I can access all I need from there."
Ace was looking at his closed eyes as she grabbed his hand and rubbed the back of it, but he gave no response.
"He can't die," she whispered as she continued to look at him, "No, he can't…"
"I promise you I will do all I can to save him," Carla replied, "Try and stay calm."
"I can't," Ace said tearfully as she looked at the Professor and clung to his hand as she waited for help to arrive.
Carla's voice began to drift into his mind.
"Doctor, you're in the emergency room. You passed out while working on the main system. We brought you here immediately but your vital signs were erratic - and still are - but I took a look at your files and found out what I could give you to make you more comfortable, and it seems to be working…"
He opened his eyes feeling rather disoriented. The room was white and he was lying flat on a bed. A sheet covered him up to his waist and there was a blanket on top of it. The room seemed very warm, and he was thankful of it because the heat was easing the chills that had made him shiver so violently. A line had been fixed to the back of his hand and as he tried to sit up his body ached and he gave up on the idea.
"You have files on me?"
"Every earth colony keeps a basic medical record of the Doctor just in case he needs help one day."
"I never knew that. Where's Ace?" he murmured weakly.
"She's outside, she's been very worried about you. We ran a scan and took some blood samples and we have identified the cause of your sickness. I'll tell you more when you're fully awake."
The Doctor breathed a slow sigh and closed his eyes again as the ache in his head throbbed.
"Thank you," he whispered, and then the medication kicked in and he closed his eyes and drifted back into a sleep that gave welcome escape from pain.
Ace had been waiting for a long time. She had checked her watch and blinked away tears of fear and frustration as yet another hour had crawled by and still there had been no word from Carla or her medical team.
Then as she sat with her head in her hands looking down at the floor, she heard Dr Bailey say her name.
Ace looked up and Carla saw at once her eyes were red from crying.
"Is he okay? Do you know what's wrong with him, can you make him better?"
Her voice was filled with desperation as she got up and looked at her, silently pleading for a promise that she knew she could not give.
Carla hesitated as she gathered her thoughts. She was aware the Doctor had referred to Ace as his fiancée, but felt it would only be right to explain the full situation to the Doctor before his next of kin was informed…
"He's very sick," she said gently, "He's been poisoned with a manufactured toxin that contains many hostile elements - one we managed to identify as a manufactured compound that mimics the effects of unrefined spectrox. But as it's not spectrox, the antidote normally used would not be effective. There are many other toxins involved – it's almost like something I would expect to find in a chemical warfare laboratory. But we have been able to give him some medication to make him more comfortable, and while I was scanning him I noticed the toxin's progress seems to slow when in contact with a mild electrical pulse, so its very likely we can work something out to inhibit the progress of the condition."
Ace breathed a sigh of relief as she started to smile.
"That's great news! So you can cure him, then?"
She paused again, feeling awkward because she was yet to break the news to the Doctor.
"We can treat his condition," she replied, "If he's willing to undergo the surgery."
Ace stared at her as all trace of optimism vanished instantly.
"You want to operate?"
"He will need a series of external cybernetic implants to slow the progress of the toxin. And we need to do this quickly before he gets weaker. You can see him very soon, he's waking now but he's still drifting. I'll come back and let you know as soon as he is well enough to see you."
"Thanks…" Ace said quietly, then she sat in silence as Dr Bailey walked away, turning over all Carla had told her as she wondered if she had just been given any good news at all – it didn't sound like much of cure…
When Carla returned to the Doctor's room, he was fully awake.
"Where's Ace?" he asked again, and his face was still pale but he had stopped sweating and shivering now.
"She's coming to see you shortly," Carla replied, and then as she stood at his bedside and looked into his eyes she noticed how anxious he looked.
"Its not good news, is it," he said quietly, "You can tell me the worst – just do it quickly before Ace walks in."
"You were poisoned by a manufactured toxin," she told him, "One of the main components is a form of artificial spectrox. But it has much more to its composition. This is a poison that was created under laboratory conditions."
The Doctor moved cautiously, sitting up and then resting against his pillows.
"You think this was deliberate?"
"That you were targeted? Yes, I do. I'm aware that you have many enemies, and I have no clue to the culprit. But I do know the toxin seems to be attacking not only your nervous system but the specific make up of your Timelord composition – it seems to be designed to kill you and ensure you're left unable to regenerate."
He stared at her.
"Are you sure about this?"
"There is more," she told him, "The toxin is pushed away by mild electrical pulses. I'm hoping some implants might be effective – but by that, I mean, effective as in, buying you some more time. That is all I can do for you, apart from managing your pain. There's no cure, Doctor. I'm sorry, but your condition is terminal."
The shock of her words had hit him as he continued to stare at her in disbelief.
"There's no cure?"
She shook her head.
"The implants will buy you some time. I don't know how much, it could be days, a week or a few months. I've never seen this kind of toxin or its effects before. I wish I could give you a definite answer but I can't."
He gave up on the idea of resting and sat up, and the pain throbbed as he put his hand to the back of his neck and found the bite had been covered with a surgical dressing.
"The wound to your neck will not heal," she told him, "The toxin is preventing open wounds from closing. All we can do is keep it clean and change the dressing every day. I need to talk to you about surgery – you will need to have a series of external implants fitted, they will give off electrical currents that should slow the progression of the toxin. And we need to do this soon because you will get weaker every day without it. I know this is a terrible shock, but there's no time to waste, I'm trying to buy you time, it's all I can do."
"Does Ace know?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"I explained you were suffering the effects of a toxin but I'm not sure how much she understood."
"Did you tell her it's incurable?"
"No."
The Doctor looked up at her, the look in his eyes darkening as he spoke again.
"Don't tell her."
"That's up to you, but as she's your fiancée maybe you should think about telling her soon. You can't hide this forever."
"I'm not hiding it," he replied, "I'll tell her when the time is right – why do it now, while I still have time left?"
He sounded selfish, but Carla was not about to point that out so bluntly after he had received such bad news.
"She will need time to get used to it, just like you do," she told him.
The Doctor shook his head.
"Time," he said, "It's ironic…I have a time machine, I have the Tardis, I can go any where I want to go – but now my own time is running out…"
And then he frowned as he thought deeply about the source of the toxin.
"This was designed to kill me," he said in a hushed voice, "It was manufactured to kill a Timelord. There are not many species out there in the universe with the advanced skills to create such a weapon… they would need access to Timelord DNA…"
His mind was still working on it, but he was barely able to focus on his theories on the source of the blame as his thoughts turned back to Ace.
"I need to see her," he said, "I need to see Ace."
She saw a brief flicker of fear in his eyes and then it was gone. It was clear the news had been a shock, but the Doctor was determined to handle the situation his way – it was clear he had no intention of telling her the whole truth.
"I'll send her in," Carla replied, "And I'll be back later to talk to you about the implant surgery. I really want this to be carried out within the next twelve hours. We can't afford to wait."
The Doctor fell silent for a moment, and then he gave a sigh.
"Fine, I'll do it," he told her, "I'll trust you to slow the progress of the toxin."
And then he fixed her with a hardened gaze.
"But not a word to Ace. Don't let her know it's incurable."
"As you wish," Carla replied, "I can't say I agree with your decision, but it's your life."
And then she turned away and left the room.
As soon as she had gone the determination that had kept him strong crumbled. He blinked away tears and took in a shaken breath. Just a short while ago he had told Ace how he would one day regenerate, living on long after her bones had turned to dust.
Now it seemed the tables had turned, and it would be Ace living on without him:
He wasn't sure which scared him the most, dying with no hope of regeneration or the thought of Ace living on without him…
The doctor had no more time to think about the situation, or about how to handle it as Ace walked into the room.
The worry he saw in her eyes made his hearts ache and he felt like apologising – even though he knew his illness was not his fault.
But maybe it was.
He had made enough enemies over the centuries, it should have come as no surprise that someone had figured out a way to kill him.
Seeing the pain and fear in her eyes – her red eyes, eyes that had shed too many tears - brought home to him just how dangerous his life had been, and perhaps Ace was going to pay for that more than he would, grieving for him when he was gone, heartbroken forever – all because he had been selfish enough to love her…
She pulled out a chair and sat down at his bedside. Then she looked at him and blinked away more tears.
"I've been so worried about you!" she said, and her voice trembled and he wanted to cry too, but instead he stayed true to his decision to tell her nothing and as she hugged him gently, he kissed her cheek.
As she let go of him he forced a smile.
"So what did Carla tell you? Did she explain that she could treat me?"
Ace frowned, and he knew at once she had taken in very little of what had been said, and to the Doctor that came as a huge relief.
"She said something about implants to stop the toxin?"
"That's right," he said, "She can give me some cybernetic implants that give off an electrical pulse to slow the progress of the toxin."
Ace smiled, and then she noticed how warm it was in his room and she took off her jacket, draping it over the back of her chair.
"And then we can go back the Tardis and be on our way?" she guessed.
He felt like he wanted to cry all over again.
"Not exactly…I'm going to be staying on board this ship - perhaps not all the way to earth, but I will need to stay here for a while."
Confusion clouded up in her eyes.
"But if the implants work, why can't we be on our way?"
She took hold of his hand, and again his twin hearts ached for her.
"Because I want to find out more about why the ships controls were manipulated," he said, "And I need to know what the Tardis can come up with about the toxin. If it can throw some light on the composition, maybe my input and Carla's database can come up with a permanent solution."
"But I thought the implants were the solution."
"I mean a solution that doesn't require implants," he told her, and then he smiled again as he gave her hand a squeeze.
"Don't worry so much, it's not the end of the world."
Ace blinked. His words had jogged her memory.
"What did you say, when you was working on the system control, about everyone being dead?"
He recalled the visions that had flashed though his mind just before he collapsed. Pieces of a jigsaw were coming together, but he was too weak and tired to think too much about it, and he knew that when he did work it out, Ace wouldn't like the picture those fragments of memory would create…
"I was just about to pass out," he replied, "I don't know what I was talking about. But at least there's a way forward now."
And then pain throbbed in the wound to his neck and shot down his spine.
He caught his breath, grabbing her hand so sharply her fingertips turned white.
"Sorry," he said quickly, letting go of her hand, "I'm feeling a bit sore. But I won't be for much longer, the implants will fix me."
Finally Ace was smiling again, and he felt a little better to see that.
"I can't wait till you're better," she said to him, "I just want everything back to normal."
"Me too," the Doctor replied warmly, hiding the ache in both his hearts as sure as he knew he was hiding the truth from the one person in the whole universe who knew he ought to be honest with. He thought about every time in the past Ace had accused him of holding back, of giving her less than total honesty. He knew his decision not to tell her the truth would eventually hurt her more than anything else he had ever held back, but it was too late for regrets:
Suddenly life had become short, and he was determined that everything from now on would be done his way, because any other way would be too difficult to contemplate now he had made his choices…
