Chapter 5
They were ready for the tribe this time, The Doctor and Seth wandered into the camp cautiously with Maria and Frederick walking a few paces behind it was empty "They sleep in the day, and come out at night" Frederick explained "They're like animals aren't they" He added with loathing in his tone.
"No, they're lead by someone, a company, I heard them talking yesterday and…"
"You understand they're language?" Frederick interrupted Maria surprised.
"Yeah, I understand and speak any language, it's another privilege of being with the Doctor" Maria replied.
"So he teaches you?"
Maria paused for a moment in thought "Sort of" She finally answered.
Seth and the Doctor walked in front in complete silence, Seth finally broke the silence "I read your mind you know…when you were unconscious"
"What?"
"I read your mind"
"So…what did you see?"
Seth paused "Nothing….nothing but pitch darkness I knew you were there, but I had to stop because I felt like I couldn't breathe I was sinking…"
"Well that'll teach you to stop reading minds without consent" The Doctor replied. "It's no wonder you couldn't breathe, I was…Actually never mind"
"You were what?"
"It doesn't matter" The Doctor glared at him "Leave it Seth"
The Doctor looked behind him at Maria and Frederick and whispered "That's where we're heading" He pointed to a large tent in the middle of the camp and they crept in.
Suddenly bright lights filled the room and a large computer was in the centre "A computer!?" Frederick shouted.
"Shut up!" The Doctor hissed "Do you want us found out?" The Doctor moved over to the computer and turned it on. An image of a logo flashed on screen and a man with cold grey eyes and mousey hair appeared "What is it now? Don't you sleep at this time of the….Fred?"
"Captain?" Frederick looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing?"
The captain's face creased with worry "I'd like to ask you the same question, are you not dead yet?"
"WHAT!" Frederick yelled.
Seth slapped him "Sorry, I've been wanting to do that for ages, shut up you idiot"
"Well, I'd have expected you to die by now, it's been 12 months since the ship crashed"
Frederick stood open mouthed at the screen watching horrified as the Captain's gruesome story unfolded.
"You know there are 5 billion people on Earth, too many don't you think? So I had an idea you see, every 2 years or so to send all the people who don't matter on a wild goose chase to the Serene Galaxy" The Captain laughed. "All the strong ones are left on earth while the others go out and kill themselves being stupid, people didn't like the idea at first thought it was inhumane of me, but that's alright Fred- you know why?"
Frederick shook his head
"I'm not human" The Captain's eyes flashed red. " I am in fact a member of this tribe, who left to find an idiot planet like Earth so people like you get sent to Alionus and hunted until they're all gone" The Captain's smile flashed evilly "Isn't that clever of me Frederick?"
The Doctor had had enough "No it's not clever, not clever in any way, shape or form"
"Oh and who's this Frederick? Friends! You've finally found some, how is Ebony by the way?"
Frederick's heart gave a dreadful lurch at the sound of his angel's name and he grabbed a log from nearby "YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!" Seth grabbed the log off him and Frederick broke down weeping. The Captain laughed at him his red eyes were now looking at the Doctor, "So alien, you didn't die, well done, I assure you your celebration will not last that long"
The tribe had silently walked to the main tent and stood outside waiting for the order, the large man in the middle had the long tube again.
"Kill them" The Captain said and the computer screen turned off.
"Run!" The Doctor sprinted out of them tent and Maria frantically tried to get Frederick off the floor.
Seth picked her up "Put me down! We've got to save him!" She protested.
"No, he's as good as dead, no rescue ship will come for him now"
The Doctor stopped and turned around "Seth, you left Frederick in there!"
Seth just watched him "It's too late Doctor, he's lost the will to live"
"How do you know?" The Doctor shouted. "No don't tell me, you read his mind" The Doctor dashed back to the tent and through the crowd of the tribe and found Frederick, a dart in his neck, this one caused instant death, the Doctor was too late "NO!"
The tribe tore after the Doctor, Maria and Seth "I'm getting a bad sense of deja vu!" Maria called to Seth.
The Doctor suddenly appeared "GET UP A TREE NOW!" Seth and Maria climbed up a tree and the Doctor followed. The tribe stampeded by, "Doctor, where's Frederick?" Maria asked when the stampede had gone.
The Doctor's eyes dropped to the floor "I was too late"
Maria's hand went over her mouth and she glared over at Seth "You could have saved him"
"I wanted to Maria, I really did, but I read his mind, and never have I read such a broken mind. His constant thoughts about Ebony, and that picture of her mangled body, etched onto his mind always" Seth sighed and closed his eyes. "It wasn't fair Maria, it wasn't fair to keep him alive"
The Doctor sat in silence "There is the slightest hint of something I can agree with there, and the Captain wouldn't save him, speaking of Captain we need to go and stop him, stop what he's doing"
"Save the world again?" Maria added.
The Doctor grinned at her "Precisely" and he jumped out of the tree.
The tribe looked at the Doctor cautiously "What do you mean tricked?" They asked him.
"The great Captain would never harm us"
"He has, he's tricked you into thinking all humans are dangerous and we'd ruin your planet"
"And now you say he sends us the humans?" The large man answered.
"Yes" The faces of the tribe were doubtful " Please, believe me, why have you been having groups of humans crashing on this planet so much?"
"Because they are trying to find the Serene Galaxy…but they always crash here, on this planet" The large person realised.
The tribe mumbled in agreement " He has tricked us indeed!" Another person cried.
"No more shall we kill the harmless humans"
"My god they're easily swayed" Seth mumbled, Maria slapped him on the arm "Shush"
The computer screen suddenly flicked on in the centre of the tent and the evil Captain's red eyes burned with fury "Oh how sweet, how nice, made a little truce have we savages? Made a truce to the one who will destroy Alionus"
"He will not" The large man said.
"What's this Asterious? Rebelling, and just hours ago you nearly ended the Doctor's life" The Captain sneered. "You savages are so easily adapted to obey anyone, haha, well it was a mistake, my planet or not, I'm going to have to destroy it now"
The Doctor suddenly realised something, and he hit himself in the forehead "Ow, listen Maria, I need you to go over to the Captain's computer and press that big red button behind his computer"
"OK"
"Be careful" Seth whispered.
Maria sneaked over to the computer, under the screen and the savages watched her anxiously. Maria went over to the control panel and pressed the red button. Suddenly the image of the Captain disappeared and the logo came back up there was a message underneath which read "This company has been shut down, on the 23rd November 2568, it was shut down due to a problem with its main computer Captain 2550 Sorry for the inconvenience"
"So…It was just a computer" Seth said.
"A computer that had adapted an evil, twisted mind that ended many lives"
"What is the company anyway what do they make?" Maria asked.
"No one ever knew" The Doctor replied. "They were just a company, come on, I say we get back to the TARDIS"
The tribe crowded around the TARDIS, no longer threatening them but smiling, the chief Asterious spoke "Doctor, Captain told me you are a time-lord"
"Yes, I am, I gather those darts sent information back to the computer as well"
"Well, Captain said that whatever happens in your dream could possibly be a premonition of the future"
The Doctor looked at him for a second "Asterious, no one can tell the future, not my race, not your race, not Captain…" The Doctor lied, thinking back to his single premonition before of the death of the president of the time lords, hours before the President of the time lords was assassinated.
Asterious nodded "You are a wise man Doctor"
"I know" The Doctor replied before closing the TARDIS doors, the sound of the TARDIS echoed through the jungle trees and the savages watched in wonder as the blue police box vanished into the unknown…
The End