The Kedron worked feverishly over the next several hours, securing the Jewel in the center of the temporal drill that was to deterraform Earth. A nightmarish ray-like weapon of gigantic proportions extended from the top of the Kedron ship, pointing directly at the Earth's North Pole. This was visible from the ship's main viewscreen.

Michelle scowled at Chanter Rusk. "I trust that since I have pledged my allegiance to you, I can be released from these wires." The Kedron had thrown a dark cloak over her garish prom dress.

"In time. You shall be free, once our task is complete," said Chanter Rusk dismissively.

"You promised me that I would be safe if I let you use my psionic abilities to help you find the Jewel."

"An amusing viewpoint, that you 'let' us use your abilities. You had no choice in the matter."

"Nonetheless..." she muttered. "How is it that I was drawn to the Jewel in the beginning?"

"It is a pointless discussion to have. All humans carry a gene of dormant psionic ability. Yours was merely...awakened." Chanter Rusk turned to face Michelle. "In return for your 'safety', as you call it, looking upon Earth's destruction will be necessary."

"This does not frighten me. I am more than capable of watching it." Michelle looked with disinterest at the screen. "Will it be a painless death for the citizens of Earth?"

Chanter Rusk laughed dryly. "Far from it. When the temporal energy strikes a carbon-based life form, the creature is essentially burned from the inside out. A quick death, yes, but very agonizing." He pressed a series of commands on the console. "A demonstration, if you will."

A beam of blue light shot forth from the Jewel, slamming into one of the workers. His snake-like tongue stretched forth in a scream of pain as orange-yellow flames enveloped his body, revealing a sinewy muscular system underneath, before it collapsed to the floor in a pile of black ash. And, just like in an ant colony or beehive, another worker scrambled to take his place.

"I...see." Though Michelle's expression remained neutral, her face had gone ashen. She quickly faced the wall. "Is the life support system active in the brig?"

"It is functional...an antiquated system, but functional nonetheless. Why do you ask?"

She dug her fingernails into her palm. "I want the Doctor to be alive to see the new Kedron. And to see Earth die. To see Martha Jones and Donna Noble perish..." There was a bitter pause. "Though Ms. Noble has already died, I suppose, when he returned her to being a mindless chatterbox. I want him to know what it's like to be left behind."

Chanter Rusk curled a skeletal hand around Michelle's arm. "You have discovered the truth now. He finds his companions to be meaningless. Especially you." A smile spread across his teeth like ooze. "You are fortunate to have joined our cause. In fact, I believe that he finds you to be the most worthless of them all."

An angry tear slid down Michelle's cheek. "I know."

"But enough of this talk about the Doctor. He will be dead soon, along with the rest of the humans. There is more to being worthy of our race than watching a planet's doom. You must stare it down, and survive."

"Survive? What is 'it'?" Michelle looked at Rusk suspiciously.

"You will know soon enough. Masks!" At the order, the Kedron spun as one unit and faced a green panel on the floor under the temporal drill. Over the faces of the aliens morphed a featureless brown skin of a smooth blankness. Chanter Rusk pressed a button, and the panel in the floor slowly opened.

"Wait...what are you doing???" A deafening roar met Michelle's ears. In the panel, a howling, swirling tornado of light greeted her vision. Millions of voices swirled and racked her brain, while a dull sound endlessly thudded in the background. Like drums.

"No! Make it stop!!! There's too many of them!" Michelle clapped her hands over her ears. "I can't look!"

"You will gaze upon the Schism until we tell you to cease. It is the Vortex!"

A sudden vision of a single, dark haired man placed itself front and center in Michelle's mind. Intuitively she felt as though it was someone the Doctor knew. Almost as though she was looking through the Doctor's eyes, the man turned directly to her and asked, "Do the drums ever stop?"

Michelle screamed in terror.

And then a voice, calm and powerful, both masculine and feminine, cut through the static.

Hear me. The Schism is madness. Be not like the dark haired man.

"What?"

Close your eyes. Look away. You will not suffer the Vortex.

"But I can't!"

You must look away.

With every last ounce of strength, Michelle squeezed her eyes shut and wrenched her gaze away from the Schism. "No, no...I won't, I refuse!!" She ripped the wires from the console, ignoring the searing pain that burned her mind. "The Doctor will defeat you! He'll save the Earth!"

The panel door slammed shut. Chanter Rusk's voice was now a deadly hiss. "You will not join us? Very well. It is decided. Your use to us has ended."

Skeletal hands closed in on the body of Michelle Reynolds, as her cries of terror and pleas for the Doctor's help echoed throughout the ship.