"So, the Doctor," Shannon was wondering, "do you still travel with him?" She put her feet on Alec's lap.
"Yeah, but we've only been on one adventure so far," Alec explained. "Victorian London. The Doctor promised Sherlock Holmes and adventure; within hours I'm kidnapped by a circus owner and held in a gas-filled room, about to be blown up by a psychotic biologist."
Shannon raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? I swear you're just messing with me," she laughed, throwing a cushion at Alec.
"Hey!" Alec laughed. "You should come with us one time. One trip at least, just to see what it's like."
"I dunno," Shannon shrugged. "I've held myself together, but in all honesty, I'm still a little rattle by Mr Derbyshire. Is it just me, or did he not quite seem human?"
There was a knock at the door. Shannon jumped a little, then told her mum to answer it, whilst she and Alec threw cushions at each other.
"Yes? What is it?" Francesca groaned, opening the door.
"I'm looking for Alec Parker," Kate Stewart replied, holding up her ID.
"Christ!" she gasped. "Is he a criminal? I knew I shouldn't have let him in!"
"Don't worry, Miss Taylor, he's not in any trouble," Kate explained.
"Oh," Miss Taylor gasped. "Come in then."
Kate followed Miss Taylor into the room. "Hello, Alec."
"Do you know who she is?" Shannon gasped, jumping up from the sofa.
"No," Alec replied.
"Kate Stewart. I work for UNIT," Kate explained. "You're needed by the Doctor; he told me to get you."
"What's happened?" Alec questioned her. "Is he alright? Is my sister alright?"
"Yes, they're fine," Kate smiled. "But a matter has arisen and the Doctor needs you. Please, follow me."
Alec, not sure what to do, followed Kate outside.
"Wait!" Shannon called, following Kate and Alec. "I'm coming too!"
"What?" Francesca cried. "Where are you going?"
"With Alec!" Shannon replied.
"Who is Alec? Who is Kate? What is UNIT?" Francesca screamed.
"Sorry, Miss Taylor," Kate said, "but those are national secrets."
"Shannon!" Miss Taylor called. "Get back here right now! Shannon!"
"Sorry, Mum," Shannon apologised, disappearing down a lift with Alec and Kate. The doors of the lift closed, trapping the three of them in a silver cell, slowly moving down. "So, where are we going?" Shannon asked.
"Um," Kate groaned. "Are you another one of the Doctor's companions? I can't risk important information falling into the hands of people we can't trust."
"It's ok," Alec interrupted, "I trust her. And the Doctor does too."
"And you trust random strangers that the Doctor chooses to travel with him?" Sasha challenged Kate.
"Of course," Kate replied instantly. "The Doctor has kept in close touch with UNIT for decades, and he picks his companions carefully . . . And then we screen them, but Sasha won't remember that."
"What did you say?" Alec asked.
"Nothing." The lift doors opened, and Kate stepped back out onto the estate, flanked by Alec and Shannon. The weather had cleared up a little. A black limo parked beside them, its windows tinted. Kate opened the doors to Alec and Shannon, then sat at the front in the passenger's seat.
"What is going on?" Alec asked.
"A meteorite is due to hit Earth in approximately fifty two minutes. Usually we would blow it up, but it's carrying an unknown life form which could harm the human population if the chunks were to fall back to Earth," Kate explained.
"And why does the Doctor need us?"
"He and Sasha have gone to the meteorite to detect the creature."
"Yes, but what are we doing?"
Kate shrugged a little. "I'm not entirely sure. The Doctor just wanted me to look after you until he got back."
"Great!" Alec cried, throwing his arms up. "Not only am I missing the first alien planet the Doctor's taking us to, but I've got a baby sitter!"
"Well, not all the Doctor's adventures are running down corridors from monsters."
"I haven't even done that yet!" Alec groaned, slipping back into his seat.
"Where are we going?" Shannon asked, looking out the window as the car cross the Thames.
"My office – the Tower of London," Kate smiled, taking out her phone to text.
"Your office?" Shannon laughed.
"Why not? UNIT is secret but powerful," Kate said, still texting.
"Who are you texting?" Alec asked.
"A colleague. I'm hoping she can do the babysitting," Kate said, slightly distracted.
The car parked outside the Tower of London. Stepping out of the car, Alec watched hundreds of tourists pass by; families, couples and school visits. They were all so happy, taking pictures on cameras, and using strange modern phones that confused Alec. Kate took the two of them along the side of the building, avoiding the tourists and ravens, towards a back door. Through the door was a whole other building under the Tower, a cornucopia of lights and computers and complicated scientific equipment.
"What?" Shannon gasped. "This is just . . . What?"
"The scientific centre of UNIT was built under the Tower; it's where we monitor anything and everything that needs to be," Kate explained. "Ah! Here she is."
A young woman, with brown hair, glasses and a very long, striped scarf, ran towards the three of them; a slightly odd expression on her face. "Ma'am! Did you meet him? Did you see the Doctor again?" she wheezed.
"Yes," Kate replied. "Inhaler."
The girl took a deep breath from her inhaler. "Where would I be without this?" she cried, still bubbly.
"This is Osgood," Kate introduced them.
"Nice to meet you!" Osgood smiled, waving at the two of them.
"Hey! I love your scarf," Shannon smiled.
"Oh," Osgood grinned, turning red. "Thank you. I like your clothes too."
Alec, having changed again in the TARDIS, wore a blue jumper and black skinny jeans, along with his ankle high Converse. Shannon wore a dark dress, along with a jacket, tights and purple shoes.
"Yes, anyway," Kate started, "the Doctor and Sasha, have they landed?"
"Um," Osgood thought, "we could contact the TARDIS, but we don't have a form of mobile contact."
"Not even a mobile phone?" Kate worried.
"Unfortunately not," Osgood winced, "so, for the moment, we're in the dark."
"Got the destination?" Sasha asked, the TARDIS flinging her about the console room.
"Yes," the Doctor grunted.
"You don't seem happy," Sasha stated.
"UNIT can send messages to the TARDIS; I don't like it."
"Why not?"
"I'd prefer to go through time and space without being nagged by you Earth lot. I don't want to be having a three course meal at the Ritz on Mars, then be told that the Queen's an Auton. It's not the way it works!"
"And how does it work?"
"I turn up when I need to. I bet you don't even remember the battle of Canary Wharf."
"What was that?"
"Exactly. That's cracks in time for you."
The TARDIS shuddered. "What was that?" Sasha asked, clearly excited with a vibrant smile on her face. "Are we here?"
The Doctor smiled. "I think so."
"My first alien planet," Sasha gasped.
"It's not actually a planet," the Doctor corrected her.
"I suppose, but alien meteorite doesn't quite have the same affect," Sasha smiled, skipping towards the TARDIS doors.
"Wait! Stop there!" the Doctor ordered.
"Why?"
"You were about to walk out onto an unknown landscape, unprotected. You could've been infected, or burned or frozen. Environment checks come first," the Doctor reminded her, reading the TARDIS screen. "The air is toxic; I'll get us what we need." As Sasha waited, the Doctor searched through the TARDIS corridors, appearing a moment later with a pair of large glass visors, the shape of globes. "Here," he said, passing one to Sasha, "this should do the job."
"A bit sci-fi," Sasha frowned, looking at it from every angle.
"Well, it'll stop you from choking in a horrible and painful death," the Doctor smiled, placing the visor over his head until the fitted lights glowed on his face.
Sasha placed hers on. It was heavy, making her head tip a little. Bravely, she threw open the TARDIS doors, and white light glowed over her face. The meteorite was vast, made from a strange, alien rock which was blacker than the deepest depths of the ocean, yet shone a brilliant white. It was like the surface of the moon, scarred and cracked, puddled with craters and stretching canyons. Sasha stepped onto the meteorite. The ground was hard and smooth, easy to slip on. The air was cold and still, like stepping onto an old, black and white photograph.
"Alec, come and look at this!" Shannon called.
"Why, what is it?" Alec asked, peering over Shannon's shoulder at the leather book she held.
"It's the pictures from Osgood's trip to Tanzania. It's looks amazing," Shannon gasped, flicking through the pages.
"Wow!" Alec gasped.
"Oh, it's nothing," Osgood shrugged. "Just a trip I went on before this place gave me a job."
"Come on, explain," Shannon insisted.
"Well, erm . . ." Osgood's eye was caught as a soldier walked past; her jaw hung a little. "Sorry. That's just a friend. Where was I? I went round to these schools in these tiny little villages, where all the children were tiny and dead sweet. I also worked at this big national park, protecting the animals from poachers. It's horrible what they do! We have so many beauties on this planet, so why would anyone harm them? It's barbaric, if you ask me."
"So true," Shannon nodded.
"I think it's important that we protect this planet. I mean, after democracy and wealth crumbles, this planet is all we'll have to depend on."
Shannon flicked a page. "And who's he?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's Jim," Osgood replied, blushing. "He was brilliant to be around."
"Oh, I'm sure," Shannon laughed.
Alec groaned and walked away, leaving the two of them to giggle like children.
"Alright?" the Doctor asked, following her out the TARDIS doors, locking it behind him.
"Yeah . . . I think," Sasha smiled, slightly unsure of how to respond. "Look, over there. Earth." There, hanging in the sky was Earth, glowing with a radiant, heavenly light. She shuddered slightly.
"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked.
"I don't know. Everything. Nothing."
"If you could please be a little less cryptic."
"Shut up, Doctor. It's just . . . We're just small, aren't we. I thought we were so big, so important. But we're not. We can delude ourselves all we want by running through time and space, but compared to the rest of the universe, we're nothing. We could disappear overnight and nothing would change. What are we, Doctor? Are we just these tiny, meaningless people who are mistaken to think they even make a difference?" Sasha muttered, a tear running from her cheek as she gazed to Earth in the distance.
"Maybe," the Doctor shrugged, walking out across the planet.
"Wait!" Sasha cried. "Are you just going to walk away?"
"Sasha. Oh, Sasha," the Doctor sighed. "You're right. The universe is giant, and we are so, so small. But does that all matter? We are lucky, especially you, to be able to do what we do. So focus on that," the doctor smiled, continuing across the meteorite's surface.
"You're not small, Doctor!" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, clearly angered. "Oh, Jesus, not like that! I wasn't calling you big, just that you're big in the universe. I've seen you. You make such an impact; even now you're saving a whole civilisation like its second nature."
"Alright then," the Doctor said a little awkwardly. "Follow. Don't fall back to much."
Sasha hurried to the Doctor, steadying herself on the smooth rock. "So, where do we find this strange alien species?"
"Not sure. Usually the alien finds me, then tries to kill us."
"What? Kill us? I expected to be probed or experimented on but not killed!" Sasha gasped.
"Well, some aliens are just annoying," the Doctor explained.
"More annoying than boy bands?"
"No. Nowhere near that annoying," the Doctor laughed.
"They sound fun," Sasha laughed. Then she slipped. Her feet were flung to a side as the smooth rock landscape sloped down into a lagoon. Sasha screamed, tumbling, eventually landing in a pool of black, thick liquid. Every muscle bruised, her body shaking in fear as she struggling to keep above the surface. "DOCTOR!" she screamed, her neck immersed in the black goo.
"SASHA!" the Doctor screamed, staggering down the rock towards the lagoon. He reached out his hands, waving them as far as he could reach, clinging to Sasha with his fingernails. "Hold on to me!"
Sasha struggled, focusing most of her efforts into keeping above the level of the thick liquid. Sasha flung one arm out of the liquid, clinging onto the Doctor, too scared to care that he too could be pulled in. "Help me!" Sasha screamed, kicking against the liquid that grasped her with its icy, deadly fingers.
The Doctor grasped her arm with both hands and pulled. His face went red. Sasha rose a little, not safe but enough to hold onto a snag in the rock. Eventually, she escaped the clench of the lagoon, heaving on the rock beside the Doctor.
Sasha panted, unable to speak and barely able to breath. Looking down her body, her eyes were blazing with horror. Her entire body with covered with the horrible gunk, but that didn't matter. At her thigh, dozens of tiny creatures, almost like insects, bit at her body. As she opened her mouth to scream, the creatures entered her body, tunnelling through a puncture they created in her skin and into her veins. She couldn't scream; she was no longer in control of her body. Everything in her head suddenly disappeared, leaving her mind as blank as a canvas. Her eyes briefly glared a bright purple.
"Are you ok? Sasha, are you alright?" the Doctor panted, tapping his companion on the shoulder.
Sasha was no longer his companion. What had been the Doctor's companion was replaced by the creature. Her body was there, but not her mind. "A . . . St . . . Ca . . ." Sasha stammered, a little robotic. Sasha was no longer controlled by herself, but the creature.
The Doctor's eyes blazed in panic. "Hold on to me. We're going straight back to the TARDIS. We can't stay here any longer," the Doctor demanded, pulling Sasha up from the floor.
"Ye . . . Yes," the possessed Sasha replied, loosely holding the Doctor as she was dragged back up the slope.
The Doctor dragged Sasha along the meteorite, careful to not have a repeat of the incident. As they entered the TARDIS, Sasha slouched, falling to the floor. The Doctor groaned, unable to carry her any longer. He slumped her body by the doors and removed their visors, watching over her protectively as he manned the TARDIS, whispered his grief and blame to himself.
"Artron energy in UNIT!" a voice cried, standing up from his desk under the Tower of London.
"The Doctor," Kate gasped as she was blinded by white light and wind that whipped her blonde hair.
"He's here! He's really actually here!" Osgood beamed.
"Inhaler."
"Yes, Ma'am," Osgood remembered.
"He's back!" Shannon gasped as the blue box materialised at her feet. "He's here again!"
"Doctor, how did it go?" Kate asked as the doors were flung open. "Is there a creature? Did you . . ." Kate stopped speaking, shocked as the Doctor emerged, his hands and chest stained with the black liquid, carrying the unconscious Sasha. "Oh my God!"
"Help her!" the Doctor cried. "She fell into a lagoon! She nearly died!"
"Sasha!" Alec screamed, running to his sister's aid, holding her head as tears rolled.
"Move away! All of you!" Kate instructed. "Doctor, was this a creature?"
"No!" the Doctor snapped. "She nearly drowned! Now, help her!"
"And the liquid, is it sentient?" Kate asked.
"No! Help her!"
"Out the way," Osgood declared, "I know first aid."
"Wait, she could be infected!" Kate insisted.
"But she's obviously hurt! Let me put her in the recovery position at least," Osgood pleaded.
"Just do it!" Alec begged.
"This breaks all of UNIT's protocols!" Kate reminded her.
"Let me do this!" Osgood cried. She took Sasha from the Doctor and laid her on the floor in the recovery position. "Ok, we should get some medical help."
"Yes. I'll call Saint Bart's," Kate said, heading to get a phone.
"Saint Bart's?" the Doctor cried. "She can't go to hospital, this is a potential alien threat!"
"We have a UNIT medical centre under Saint Bart's specialising in this," Kate explained. "We can help her and disinfect her. And you as well, Doctor."
"You guys are everywhere," Shannon gasped.
"Hurry!" Alec called. "Come on!" The Doctor ran to help Kate; Shannon pulled Alec away from Sasha, giving Osgood the space she needed to help.
Osgood held Sasha, doing whatever she could. She noticed something odd, a slight bump in Sasha's thigh. She leaned closer to get a proper look. At that moment, when no-one else was watching, the insect-like creatures emerged from Sasha. They scuttled up Osgood's arm, where they burrowed into her. Osgood's eyes blazed purple as she slumped, and within a moment, she became possessed. Sasha wheezed, gaining her conscious, yet incredibly fragile.
"She's awake!" Alec screamed, pushing Osgood to a side to comfort his sister. "Doctor, she's awake!"
"Thank you, Osgood," Shannon smiled, patting Osgood on the shoulder.
Osgood didn't respond. The parasite inside her wasn't sure how to react; it was still getting used to the human body. It could see everything inside her; her memories, thoughts, fears and instincts. It was learning. It's previous body was much less intelligent, and had put up more of a fight over the body, even to the point of collapsing. The parasite was in control now, and it was getting used to it.
"Well done!" the Doctor praised Osgood, kneeling beside Sasha. "Thank you so much."
Osgood stuttered a little, working out how to speak. "Thank you," she eventually replied.
"There's a van outside," Kate informed them, walking with her phone in her hand, "take it, Doctor, and Sasha with you. I'll come with you, to make sure everything's alright."
"Ok, thank you, Kate," the Doctor smiled as a pair of men in protective clothing lifted Sasha onto a stretcher. The Doctor and Kate followed them.
"I'll come with you!" Alec declared, getting up to follow the Doctor.
"No," Kate demanded. "Stay here with Osgood. I don't want someone else to get hurt. We still don't know whether there's a possible risk of infection."
"She's right," Shannon comforted Alec, holding him back. "Stay here with us. I'm sure Kate will inform us of any developments."
"Of course I will," Kate smiled. "And well done, Osgood. I'm extremely proud of you." Osgood didn't replied. "Are you ok?"
"I am good," Osgood stammered, still developing speech. "I guess I'm a little shocked."
"Look after yourself. I'll get you something nice on the way back," Kate grinned, turning her back as she followed the Doctor out of UNIT.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Shannon asked Osgood. "You seem a bit different than before."
"I am sure," Osgood replied, grinning a little. "Trust me."