Chapter Four: Lizards

What was so unnerving about this creature was not its aggressiveness but how like an earth Gecko it was. All the dimensions, the colouring, the soft pebbled skin was just as a Leopard Gecko-- just on a considerably larger scale. It seemed to be an unwritten rule of travelling with the Doctor, that being an animal lover was all very well and good until you met a version large enough to eat you. The Gecko stamped its clawed feet and swung its dense tail around. The bulk in this creature messed with Angels perception. One of her friends from college had kept Leopard Geckos in a tank in their bedroom-- affectionately called Wystan and Hugh after her favourite poet. If she could have seen the size of this thing. It opened its mouth again, snapping its jaws shut and hissing.

Now lets all just calm down shall we The Doctor said in his calm patriarchal manner. His arms were raised, barring Angel as though she may charge at the reptile. He hesitated, reaching forward to place a palm upon the Geckos lower jaw- but a quick sharp snap sent the hand back to its position. No need to panic Angel

Im not panicking, she said indignantly.

Good he replied absently. He met the gaze of the hissing reptile that began to circle them slowly, the Doctor and Angel shuffling aside as the giant Gecko turned and herded them with its tail. All the time it thundered and hissed and thumped its tail, the Gecko kept its eyes locked with that of the old man. Bestial brown with impossible blue. Locked in each others glares, their presence fused together. Without any formal indication, beast and Time Lord faced each other down in a battle for supremacy. The Doctors face hardened, his dark glasses gripping the end of his nose hitting the giant Gecko with his full stare. Its alright he said, but not to Angel even though she was about to answer. She realised as soon as she turned to face the Doctor. He was talking to the reptile. What she had taken to be aggressiveness on the part of the Doctor turned out to be assertiveness, and what she thought to have been fear in the Gecko seemed more like respect. Its hiss became a submissive chirrup, it stamped its feet and lowered its giant head. The Doctor stepped forward, arms stretched to his side and placed his hand softly on the reptiles head. He never broke his gaze from it. Thank you for not panicking he said. Angel was startled when this actually was directed at her.

Eh? Oh- not a problem Doctor is that really what I think it is? She ventured.

What do you think it really is?

A Gecko.

The Doctor nodded slowly, still deep in concentration.

It is. Eublepharis macularius. Its a Leopard Gecko. Exactly the same as on your planet in every respect.

Every respect Doctor?

He turned to her and blinked; I didnt think I had to state the obvious. The Gecko clicked and chirruped and took the Doctors attention away.

I cant imagine what it must eat if its gotten that big. She suddenly felt quite sick. Oh god, it doesnt think were food does it?

No, the Doctor said calmly. It must have been sleeping near by and we woke it with the TARDIS.

Well thats a relief, what does it eat then?

Keep an eye out for crickets the size of Rottwielers this was said with such cold calmness that Angel had to second guess his sincerity.

Youre not serious she said through a smile. The Doctor looked at her and smiled.

No, of course Im not. He turned back to the Gecko that he was apparently making fast friends with. Angel was about to say something like oh good before the Doctor cut across with they wouldnt be bigger than youre average Labrador. Angel felt skittish all of a sudden, and though there was nothing that could hide anything as big as a Labrador, she still came over all squeamish when every slight rustle sounded uncannily like giant insect feelers rubbing together-- even if it was just the leg of her jeans rubbing against the other. She assumed the Doctor was having her on, but she didnt relish the idea of keeping such close proximity with the giant Gecko and took a few steps away. How had he done that? Subdued this aggressive reptile with just a stare? She sometimes forgot he wasnt human. But that effect was beyond even natural abilities. She looked out onto the horizon where the Doctor had said there was a settlement, and thought she could pick out rooftops if she narrowed her eyes enough but from behind her came gunfire and whooping and as she spun around she saw them. Cowboys. Four stout cowboys rugged as anything but riding on the backs of giant bipedal birds. Great prehistoric looking things, legs like tree trunks with a blend of brilliant black and chocolate brown plumage ---- beaks that could bite through steel. The birds themselves were squawking, but the cowboys were firing their pistols and hollering to the high noon sun.

Sorry to interrupt your down time Doctor, she said, hurrying back to him. But er here come the cavalry. The Doctor looked around and stood up slowly, stood for a moment in disbelief at what he was seeing. They had lassos now and were closing in. He snapped out of his bewilderment and his face turned sour.

Stop you idiots! He called at them, waving his arms in the air. Stop! Id only just calmed her!

Angels gaze snapped around. The gecko was freaked out, falling out of what ever spell the Doctor had cast on it and resuming the violent bestial nature of a frightened monster. It snapped at the birds as they circled it, hissing like a snake. The birds and their riders had disregarded the Doctor and Angel as they zoomed past, cordoning off the gecko. The Doctor was bristling with anger and frustration. He didnt like people not doing as they were told. The gecko became increasingly angry at being fenced in by a quartet of buzzards and their sun baked riders, and with one deft swipe of its tail took the legs from under one of the birds-- sending its rider, a flabby drink-of-water to the hard ground with a thud and a dazed expression. The bird, seeking to save its own skin, squawked, ruffled its feathers and ran about ten yards away-- leaving its rider helpless and plump on the floor. The other birds reared up and refused to respond to their riders, leaving the gecko free to home in on this succulent, sun roasted meal. Angel ran forward before the Doctor had a chance to, and pressing her fingers into her mouth whistled loudly. The great yellow, spotted head jerked round.

Come on you great slimy bugger! She called. Come and get something with a little fight in them!

It turned and hissed, and a little voice in Angels head called her a very nasty name. The gecko flinched, twitched, and withdrew its head like a dog when scolded by its master. The Doctor had stepped coolly and calmly into view and worked his magic on it once again.

Ive told you once he muttered to it. Angel thought that those words bypassed the animals ears and went straight into its head. How the hell did he do that? The gecko shook its great body and nestled down onto the ground. The flabby rider stood up, brushed himself off and rocked over to the Doctor. The man was that interesting sort of fat that made him rectangular. His neck was the same width as his massive, though probably empty, head and was a sort of perspiring crimson in colour. A dense brown moustache flecked with silver hairs covered that portion of his face, coating enough of his upper lip so it bounced when he spoke. Along with the hat, the neckerchief and the spurs on his tarnished boots he looked like the archetypal cowpoke. He was also furious at being knocked off of his steed, and bewildered at the Doctors actions. Being a man of limited intelligence, he was of the opinion that anyone displaying higher intellectual power was a threat to his personal manhood.

How in Gods name did you do that? He demanded. The Doctor didnt laugh, even though the man sounded exactly like Slim Pickens. He took off his dark glasses and folded them.

I have a certain amount of influence over creatures with limited intelligence the Doctor said calmly.

Thats the most ridiculous thing I ever did hear! the man blustered.

Here, hold these for me The Doctor handed absently handed him the dark glasses.

Yeah, fine. He grudgingly grumbled. The Doctor walked away, back to Angel and took his coat from her hands before the man realised exactly what had just happened. He was livid. Now just you wait a minute! Who in the hell are you?! One of the birds padded quietly up behind the little raging ball of testosterone and its rider dismounted. He was taller, younger and as much a western cliché as the man he was about to address. He had rugged good looks, a five oclock shadow and a surprisingly perfect smile for such an out-of-the-way colony world such as this. He was also in considerably better shape.

Theyre the sort of questions I oughta be askin, he said, pressing both thumbs into his belt. Dont you think Terwilliger? Terwilliger, which was apparently the name of the almost-gecko-snack grumbled and pulsed his shoulders.

Yes sir, sheriff- he muttered from behind the moustache. You get some sense out of them. Ill go and get my bird he fixed the Doctor with a contemptuous look and waddled off to take his frustrations out on his bird. The sheriff (and he had a big gold star with the word sheriff written on it in 51st century English) headed over to the Doctor and Angel who stood so distinctly in this baron world. They looked as though they had popped up out of nowhere. The sheriff didnt know that that was actually the case.

Youll have to excuse my deputy, he started, pushing the brim of his hat up with the same thumb he had kept behind his belt. The mans got a short temper and an itchy trigger finger if you get my meaning he smiled charmingly.

Oh I think we understand, the Doctor said, slowly turning to look at Angel. The word that leapt immediately into Angels head was impotent.

Names Dante-- the sheriff continued. Sheriff of Ambition. And who are you two? No provisions, not a mark on you-- you aint exactly dressed for travelling out here.

Appearances can be deceptive I assure you sheriff, he said smiling. Im the Doctor, this is Angel- my companion and therapist Dante looked at Angel, that look that frontier men gave women who hadnt yet hardened in the bad lands, a look that promised anything between a romantic supper and an evening where Angel could count his ceiling tiles. It couldnt be helped, Angel had this effect on men sometimes-- especially those who had been outside of civilisation for such a long time. She didnt mind, and with someone who looked like Dante, she would actively encourage it.

A physician, we already have one of those in Ambition friend-- Im afraid youd find yourself out of work pretty quickly

Ambition? Angel asked. Thats what a town? A settlement? Dante looked from one to the other truly baffled.

You two genuinely dont know where you are do you?

I know were on the Ranx, Angel ventured. Thats -- sort of it really. She half laughed.

Well I cant rightly leave you two here alone can I? Dante said, beaming like a teenager. Cmon, theres bound to a place for you to stay in town. You two follow along with us. Saddle up boys! Dante clambered back onto his bird. The two time travellers were stunned for a time at all that had happened so far, and turned at last to one another in the hope that one would have an explanation for the other. Their eyes widened, their shoulders shrugged. And the Doctor is all his dry drollness simply said:

Yeehaw.

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The Doctor and Angel walked along side the slowly herding birds as they escorted the lumbering gecko back to the mining town Ambition. They learnt from one of the cowboys, a young farmhand called Farnsworth, that the giant geckos were herded like cattle on the Ranx-- being used as beasts of burden, their eggs being a vital source of protein and their shed skin was like a fine leather. This one, the breeding bull (for which the Doctor felt quite embarrassed for identifying it as a female) had got out of his pen and gone mooching around the prairie for about five days. If the Doctor hadnt have calmed it down they never would have caught it. Before long, they had entered Ambition via a railroad crossing-- whereupon the Doctor explained the great equatorial railway to his less than enthralled companion. Beneath the faded wooden sign that read Welcome to Ambition was a sort of metal plinth that whirred and glowed when the Doctor and Angel approached it. Bright lights flashed through the spectrum, and a flickering, hazy hologram of a fat man in a white suit appeared on it. The drawling accent and the white mutton-chops were distinctive of the Chilvester family, and this must have been the latest doughy arse on the throne-- the remarkably bigoted Chester. His over-enthusiastic greeting was over sweetened with tourist nonsense, as though Ambition had become and amusement park rather the gritty, grimy labour town it was. Everyone here worked come rain or shine--- and there was another Chilvester growing fat off of the profit. Angel could see the distaste in the Doctors face as the hologram spoke:

Well helloooo there. Welcome to Ambition the town where youre gonna dig up your own little fortune. High quality, state of the art mining equipment makes it hardly seem like work at all, and the ministry of colonisation has spared no expense in making sure you will kept in the peak of health in your patriotic duty

No doubt the presentation went on for at least a few more reels, but the Doctors cunning intervention with the sonic screwdriver spared them that, and Chilvester broke down into atoms of light before slipping back into the mainframe. The hologram must have had some sort of genetic catalogue inside that reacted to anyone not native to Ambition. Advertising. The great human art. Dante appeared behind them.

Arriving today to take the seat of governor he said, his face bright but his tone grave.

Who? Asked Angel. The fat man in the computer?

Chester Chilvester The Doctor corrected her. He wont be too happy to see me

Im yet to meet the industrialist who IS happy to see you Doctor

Well that may be so, but I caused a great amount of trouble for his father a while back. He loosened his collar with a bony forefinger.

You been messing with the Chilvester family Doctor then youre lucky to still be able to walk! Dante tried his best to seem scandalised, but he was impressed enough for it to notice. He could have made a new friend here. The Doctor smiled shyly. Angel smiled even more. The town was a good ol fashioned frontier town, wooden side walks, saloons, hitching posts. Someone had gone to a great amount of effort to make this look like something out of a western. Of course no one here would have ever have seen the great western films, the art of cinema very rarely got further than the core planets. These people probably just had brightly coloured, brainless soap operas and quiz shows to keep them entertained. The backbone of the human empire-- had never even seen The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. It made the Doctor feel quite sad.

But unlike its rustic design-sakes lost forever in the 19th century, this 50th century counterpart was a hundred times larger-- in effect the same small time a hundred times over, grouped closely together. To the most eastern part of the town was the shuttle port and ventilation systems for the mine, that Angel could just make out, glittering at the other end of a luminous path.

Quite a jurisdiction youve got Dante, Angel said, sounding sociably impressed. You keep order in this place all on your own?

Me and Terwilliger, the Sheriff said, leaving Farnsworth and the forth gecko-hunter to return his bird to the town stables. Plus we rely on people just using their common sense. People look out for one another one another. Most of the time everyone stays happy With such timing as only travelling in the TARDIS could provide, that saloon doors burst open and there stood a disgruntled looking drunk with brilliant white hair and a grudge. There was also a strong smell of whiskey about him. He was old, sixty five perhaps but at this point in human history people didnt age as they did in Angels time so he could have been eighty- he was slim but strong, and he was passionate about something. That something seemed to be picking a fight with the sheriff.

You bastard! The man spat in a mixed holler and sob, his accent was a thinly diluted republic of Ireland voice. The Sheriff looked up, and his heart sank at sight of the man.

Terwilliger I thought youd organised him on the train out of here Dante muttered, his face blemished with shame. Terwilliger stammered, wiping his dust and sweat baked face with a crusty handkerchief.

I did-- train mustnt be running on time

The trains always run on time Terwilliger dont gimme any of that crap! Dante sneered at his deputy who shrugged away from him. The old mans eyes were streaming with drunken tears. Hed been drowning some sort of sorrow. With a quiet word and strong arm, The Doctor manoeuvred Angel away.

You lazy bastard Sheriff! Thats all you are! Lazy! You were put here to protect us and you cant even do that the man was quaking with despair, only the fact he had something to say was keeping him standing. My boy went down that mine, my boy and thirty others all for this great patriotic duty of yours and not one of them came back up not one of them!

Arkham, listen to me Dante tried to reassure the paining man. Accidents happen. Finlay knew the risks, so did all of them-- there was nothing that could be done about it.

Dont try to pan any of that shit onto me! The man croaked, his face blazing. That wasnt any accident! No cave in or mine gas took my boy from me it was the ghosts Dante and you know it! You know it and you let them take my boy! This proved more than the old man could cope with, and with a throttled wail he collapsed to his knees in the dust-- sobbing like a new born child. Angel felt the Doctors fingers tighten across her shoulders, and glancing back she saw his face was like thunder. He breathed deeply, his eyes flashing. The mention of the word ghosts had summoned something inside him, some higher emotion above his melancholy or his dry tom-foolery. It hardened him as Angel watched, something came over him as two young men took the old man back into the saloon and Dante stood-- rubbing his neck that was bright with ignominy. The Doctor broke away from Angel and strode over to the anguished Sheriff, the tall dark figure looked almost ghostlike in its own right as those long powerful steps left little or no impression in the dirt.

What did he mean by ghosts, Dante? The Doctors demand was cunningly disguised as conversation.

It doesnt matter Doctor, Dante said with a forced smile-- keeping up appearances.

They took thirty people when they were down in the mine never to be seen again, that matters to me

And to me, Angel appeared suddenly by the Doctors side, the opulence in her own presence a match for the Doctors any day. Dante looked from one to the other and felt their place in the world with an inexplicable sense of something far beyond himself. He looked at The Doctor, an old man of course but looking at him now, stood against the blankness of the prairie he seemed ancient. And the girl, Angel; so young and prime but she too seemed travel worn and somehow that unblemished face was wizened with experience. As though these people had been put there at the right time and the right place with the sole purpose of solving this problem. Dante cleared his throat, gulped and tweaked his nose with the back of his hand.

Well you two had better step into my office