Meanwhile, deep within the bowels of the Kedron ship, the sonic screwdriver drifted lazily down a long shaft toward the lava-hot "Combustion Disposal" chamber, the collective garbage facility for the entire ship. Anti-gravity assisted the instrument as it floated closer and closer...but then made a sudden sharp right turn and entered a small opening labeled, "Life Support." Flipping end over end, it made its way through the air duct systems.

****

There was one occupied cell in the otherwise empty brig. Though its tungsten-carbide door was tightly locked, this did not mean the occupant inside was not frantically trying to break free. No guards were present as all the Kedron were on the bridge, trying to prepare the temporal drill.

The Doctor interlaced his fingers and swung his fists repeatedly at the door. Unfortunately, the action could not make the door budge. It did not even dent the metal.

"Damn!" He shook his hand and sucked in air through his teeth. "I've got blisters on me fingers...bad Ringo impressions abound."

Frustrated, he began to pace back and forth. "Anybody got a bobby pin? Dead brilliant for breaking out of locked passages. Oh wait...only girls wear those." In truth, he had begun to panic a little bit, his mind racing. There were of course millions of ways to stop the Kedron, but they all involved actually getting out of the cell first.

The air vent placed just at ceiling height blew a tepid, room-temperature wind into the cell. It had been fairly quiet, save for the obvious age of the vent, but now it was beginning to make loud noises. Clang...clang...clang...clang...

"Aaagh, rusty old machinery. Shut up, will you? I'm trying to think!" But now, there was an obvious rattle to the repeated sounds.

There was a flat plank attached to the wall by its edge that served as a bed. Curious, the Doctor climbed up onto the 'bed' and stared directly into the vent. "What's this, then?"

CRUNCH! The weakened metal of the vent could take no more, and the object that had been bouncing off the inside now burst through, and hit him directly on the forehead. He took a brief tumble off the bed and landed on his back. The object plunked onto the floor next to him.

"Old ships, old parts..." he grumbled, but then a wide grin broke out across his face when he saw what it really was. "My sonic screwdriver! I love my sonic screwdriver!" It was, of course, in the 'on' position.

He could almost hear what Michelle would say if she was standing next to him. The situation is broken, Spaz...you need to fix it.

The Doctor leapt to his feet. "Michelle must have sent it to me...that means she's still in there somewhere!" He tapped it against his teeth, pacing just a bit more.

And then he spun around like an expert gunslinger. "Ah ha! Ohhhh...that's gooooood. That's really good. 'Reverse my backward ideals.' Can't believe I didn't think of it in the first place. If I create a feedback loop in the ship's computer, the central processor will cause the temporal drill's ray to fire backwards into the ship, instead of striking Earth!"

The Doctor began to spring up and down with excitement on his heels. "Time to get out of here...and once again, run like hell!" He aimed the sonic screwdriver at the door and fired. The door didn't just open, it was blown off its pneumatic hinges.

The imaginary Michelle called after him, "Run, Spaz, run...run like the wind! You run like a girl!"

"Yes!" he echoed happily, as he sprinted down the corridors from the brig on his way to the engine room. "I most definitely run like a girl!" The Doctor could almost ignore the stupid music that was playing in his head.

Journey - Escape

He's just a young boy out of school
Livin' his world like he wants to
They're makin' laws, but they don't understand
Turns a boy in to a fightin' man
They won't take me
They won't break me
No one could tell him what to do
Had to learn everything the hard way
He's on the street, breakin' all the rules
I'm tellin' you that he's nobody's fool
They won't take me
They won't break me
Now he's leavin', gettin' out from this masquerade
Oh gotta go

I'm finally out in the clear and I'm free
I've got dreams I'm livin' for
I'm movin' on where they'll never find me
Rollin' on to anywhere
I'll break away, yes I'm on my way
Leavin' today, yes I'm on my way
Just when you think you had it all figured out
Runnin' scared can change your mind
I never knew I had so much to give
How hard times can fool ya
Oh I'm okay, I'm alright
Feelin' good out on your own
I'll break away, I'll break away tonight
I've got dreams I'm livin' for
I'll break away
Yes, I'm on my way
I'm leaving', leavin' today
Yes, I'm on my way
This is my escape
Yes, I'm on my way
I'll break away
Yes, I'm on my way