"I am an Inspector of the project, you are interfering!" The Doctor's protests are ignored as the soldiers escort him firmly back to the surface.
"Now-just a minute!" he whirls himself around to face them, straightening his bow tie and tugging his lapels with an expression not unlike that of an affronted cat. He holds the Psychic paper up to the face of the nearest man (praying it will display the same 'credentials' declaring him an Inspector of the Invicxia Project, as it did the Commanding Officer).
"You see-Inspector. Where is your over-seeing Commander?"
"The location of that facility is meant to be confidential. Sir." Adds the commander as an after thought.
"Yes, well, you can un-confident it to me, I'm the Inspector, I need to know!"
"We'd to sign a contract, sir, we can't-" Pipes up one of the soldiers, as if to appease him. The Doctor holds up a hand. The soldier shuts his mouth.
"You there." He points to another soldier. "What is that building?" he indicates the hulking grey building behind it's fences.
He blinks "Uh, well…Fradden House, sir."
"Exactly." Brilliant, now he had a name- "And what does it serve as?"
"Uh, it's not-there's nothing in it, it's just to keep protestors away from real HQ-" (Interesting, so not even these guards know the truth.). The Doctor files this away for later and continues.
"-Precisely. Those pesky protestors. And you patrol down to what level of the building?"
This time the soldier is blank with surprise. "The fifth floor….the last floor." Ah, very interesting.
"Good, job well done!" he clasps his hands. "So, I need to go to HQ to file a report, which means I need to now where HQ is. Now." he adds warningly, when the Commander looks like he wants to protest.
When the soldiers finally disclose the whereabouts of HQ and the Doctor turns for the centre of the city, he pauses as…something shivers through him. It's the same thing he felt as he stepped out of the TARDIS earlier. He stops. It almost felt like…no, of course not. Wishings of an old man. There was no one left for him to feel.
The Doctor sighs and continues into the night.
Jenny pauses, holding her breath.
She clenches the electric key fob she managed to pinch from the Commanding officer in her fist. She had noticed a lift shaft hidden behind a stack of packing crates on her last 'patrol' through the empty building, and decide she would investigate at the net chance she had.
She listens as the footsteps and torchlight move away, then darts around the corner. Oriton nights are cold, and her breath pearls in the dim light as she pauses again. She scans the dark, looking for the 'landmarks' she picked out for herself on the way down. There-she spots the exit sign illuminated on the wall, close to the air duct she came in by. She goes to dart across, then freezes at the sound of voices. From both sides.
She whirls and dashes back the way she came, through the door and into the vast space on the warehouse floor. Voices and torchlight, closer now. No cover available no weapons Combat unadvisable-Jenny sprints for the distant crates on the other side-
"Hey!"
Her hearts stop-
"-Iyita, you check that compressor?" he's coming through the service door ahead of her, no no no-Jenny swerves for the elevator-it's too loud but if she can get in maybe she can hide, it's dark-
"Wh-Hey! What-you, stop!"
"Ixs!" Jenny swears under her breath and keeps going.
"I said stop! Iyita, Navron, here-get the lights!" he's coming after her now, yelling over his shoulder for reinforcements-
Disadvantage three to one enemy has greater knowledge of environment armed-
In the dark, Jenny doesn't realize how close she is, and crashes against the safety gate of the lift. But she can't find the lever to open it.
The guards are getting closer. Panic suddenly seizes her breath just as Jenny wrenches it open and throws herself in, hits the button but then there's a guard there too, reaching for her-awful fear wells up and then the doors are closing and she's rising-
"How the hell did they get in?"
Did you see?"
"No-damn protestors!"
"We'll find you!"
"Ixs, the Inspector was just-"
Jenny clenches her fists and tries to squash the remnants of terror as her breaths fill the quiet, the soldiers voices fading. She had to tell them what was really under the Fradden building. The doors open and she starts running.
"Did you hear?" Ibron greets her with a smile as he hands her a cup of chocal, a spiced chocolate drink.
"Hear what?" she tries to keep her voice neutral.
"There was an Inspector up there two nights ago. He was down in the basement, apparently. No idea why, there's nothing down there…". he shrugs and stirs his tea.
"Yeah…" Jenny slowly releases a breath she didn't realize she was holding as he turns to look out over the compound. The rising sun is burning away tendrils of mist. She wondered what Ibron would say if he knew the truth-that there were actually six floors, and machinery below that building? Or that Jenny was nearly caught by the guards on the way up last night? She didn't want to get him in trouble of course, but she needed to tell someone. One person was least threat, but more…
"Ibron…There's-last night I went down into Fradden building." She blurts as he looks at her.
"You did what?" he stares, aghast.
"I know-but listen-it's all machinery, far underground. They've been saying it's HQ but that it's actually empty to keep the protestors away but it's not-there's floors of equipment and-"
"Hold on." He stops her. "You went down there! You could be ex-"
"I know, but listen! It's not empty, we are here for a reason, there's machinery down there, but Head Quarters must be somewhere else, in the city."
"Then, they must know, the guys posted up there…" he looks at her, face pale. "But what do we do? Rabdin won't hear a-"
"Cadet Cobb?" They have been so absorbed in their hushed conversation they never noticed a Lieutenant approach them. They both start and look around.
"Colonel Rabdin wishes to see you, he said immediately." Behind him, there are two other men. Both armed.
Jenny's stomach twists. Across from her, she can see the horror in Ibron's face.
"Sure," her voice is calm. "I'll just sign over this shift to him." Ibron steps in with her as they walk to the gate.
"What do I do?" she whispers, and realizes her heart is pounding with fear.
"Get out. You came here in your ship, yeah? It's only two miles from here, going East. It's market day, go through the crowds-"
"I can't get two miles in time, what-"
"You can! I'll stall them," they go around the guard post at the gate, which is mercifully empty. They are walking faster now. "Listen, Sahg Alley, at the top of market street by the lake, my cousin lives there, she'll help you, her name is Mara'lim-"
They are nearly jogging now out the side gate, and sure enough-
"Hey! Stop them!" The shouts rise, and then the pound of boots along the top of the wall as they rush down to the compound.
"Go, quick!" The land is suddenly steep here, and they drop into a clump of bushes. Ibron points her down the hill to their left, where there is cover under the trees growing along the small river. "You know the way?"
"Yes." Adrenaline is over riding fear. "Give me your gun."
"Stop them!" a soldier just bursts out of the side gate above them.
"Sorry. Be careful." Jenny says, and raises the gun.
"I will. You too." She cracks the gun against the side of his head and he drops, dazed.
Then Jenny turns and bolts. For the second time in two days, she's running for her life.
3
"Curiouser and curiouser…" the Doctor mutters as he walks along. In the streets , there are signs and posters protesting the Invixcia Project. The people all eye him uneasily and are reluctant to talk, although he learns eventually that a number of protests had taken place there, with some of the early ones leading to injured protestors. Yet the soldiers up at Fradden Gate didn't seem to know they were on top of the machinery running the whole thing, but the 'decoy' was obviously working. Even when he had flashed the Psychic paper at a shop owner, the man still refused to tell the 'head of Foreign Corporations Regulation' about the protests.
"We don't know things. We can't say anything we know-It's punishable by death!"
The Doctor's brow furrows. "The Project invigilators are executing protestors?"
"No-the Government, If you speak against the Project. Bit heavy handed on Oriton, always have been, but nothing so long as you keep your toe behind the line. Strong punishments for law breaking, but execution for speaking out!" the man slaps down the cloth he is holding with a huff. Shaxsten politicians! Always with their own agendas, never a thought for the people who voted and put them there in the first place." The man pauses in his tirade to muse "Bit strange though, they must have had one of those Seat re-shuffles or something, because my daughter's son went in two terms ago. Doing vwell he was, popular you know, then ten months ago they say he's been posted to the Immigrant outpost on the North moon! Not a by-your leave! That was it! She's right torn up, hasn't heard from him."
The Doctor's frown deepens. "Strange, yes…"
The soldiers were unaware they were actually guarding machinery, believing it was all a façade. The Commanding officer though…the Doctor had a feeling he was a direct relay to the overseers of the project. He didn't seem native to the area, and it was odd that he was alone on his patrol when he came across the Doctor on the bottom level. An alarm like that would surely be linked to triggers on the surface, and bring the whole patrol running. The people here were clearly afraid, of the impacts of the Project, and their own Government. And stories like that nephew's were rarely innocent as they sounded.
"One rotten apple turns the whole barrel…" he mutters to himself, as he flicked open the sonic to see where he was-nearly at HQ. Corrupt governments, odd disappearances and damaging foreign investments, did people never change? The Doctor is so wrapped up in his thoughts he isn't watching where he is going, and collides with something. Rather, someone. He apologises to the woman on her way to market, slightly surprised she asked for his name. All the locals seemed wary of him, as he was a foreigner (though he supposed he had been asking rather a lot of questions). Two blocks later and the Doctor is in front of surprisingly non-descript building, but with an armed guard at the entrance.
"Right. Time to find out who's pulling the strings."
"Ixs!" Jenny swears and pulls back as bullets chip the ground beside her. They resorted to their guns when Jenny succeeded in keeping them at a distance all the way up the river and onto the smaller by-road into the city. Her gun is long empty, although she only succeeded in injuring in two of them. Jenny found herself unable to take more….damaging shots. She's kept moving towards the centre and the buildings provide cover and brief respite spots. It's been more tiring making sure they can't get a good shot-all they need is to clip her in the leg or shoulder to catch up. Jenny is exhausted, running on adrenaline and fear now. She's not sure she can reach her ship, so she's relying on getting to Ibron's cousin. But there have been no people, until she remembers it's market day, and the crowds will be on market street.
"Cadet! Stand down!" one of them yells across to her, clearly getting frustrated by the merry chase she has led them on.
"Not likely, boys." Jenny grits her teeth and draws her feet under her as she crouches, getting ready to run again. The market is just there-
Bang! A bullet strikes the steel drum behind her and the girl leaps upwards, galvanized into action. She leaps up bent double and swerves, just getting around the corner of the building-and there is a wall of people. Jenny doesn't waste time and shoves forward, ignoring the protests. They will not fire on civilians-Still ploughing through, she is over halfway down and people begin to clear away for her, catching sight of the pursuing soldiers with fear in their faces. Jenny is running again now, and bursts onto the street that runs perpendicular at the end. She dashes left and then tries to stop so suddenly she nearly goes flat on her back.
There is a soldier pointing a gun at her head. Jenny whirls desperately, gets three steps and there is another and terror paralyzes her like a rabbit before a fox.
"Thought you'd get away, eh?" the soldier behinds gives her a shove in the back with the muzzle of his gun. He looks cross and hot under the sun.
"March, Cadet."
"What…" the Doctor breathes. Something, some….feeling had rooted him to the spot, rushing up visceral and sharp. Then it was gone. He continues across the street, suddenly feeling uneasy. There was something else going on, and he didn't like it. The thing he had felt was fear.
Puzzled, the soldier on the gate shades his eyes to look across the street, at a man there. He is tall and thin, wearing a curious coat. He began walking across the road then paused suddenly, very still, then whirled in place, scanning around as if searching for something. The guard rolls his eyes as he simply continues across towards him.
Foreigners.
Jenny looks around carefully as they enter. They are in a large, high ceilinged room, metal struts vaulting the roof. The walls are grey white and all light is artificial. Underground, then. The place hums with the static warmth of electrics from the banks of computers and monitors lining the walls.
There are twenty people in the room. The three nearest to her seem to be technicians or below the rank of Lieutenant-not too much of threat; a woman is peering at a monitor. Two other people with clipboards are watching scrolling binary to her left. On the far side of the room there is a young man, talking earnestly to an older man opposite. The elder is decorated, and although she doesn't recognise all the ranks of this military, she would guess General.
No one has payed any attention to them. The guard behind her nudges her with the muzzle of his Patron and steps them into a corner. Jenny fights to keep still in the pressing heat and blipping tuneless notes of computers. Now that she is still, no longer consumed with running, the adrenaline is fading, and her muscles are aching.
Suddenly, the quiet is broken by a disturbance at the centre of the room; The young man who had been talking to the general flings up his hands with a bark of annoyance, standing ramrod straight and then thrusting himself a step closer in the other man's space.
Jenny's attention was not piqued not by the disturbance, but by the reactions of the room to the man himself. Every guard had drawn his weapon and focused on him. The remaining occupants all stepped back in one movement. The General gestures for them to lower the weapons, just as the stranger says (without even looking around),
"Oh, put them away!" With scathing derision, not fear or alarm.
Alert, Jenny watches the men stand off. They stand glaring at each other, until suddenly the younger-looking pulls back, eyes widening in a realization.
"Oh." He breathes blankly. "Oh…" Jenny stares in surprise as the man abruptly strikes himself on the forehead with the heel of his hand.
"You're the Government. You're Invicxia." Stupid Doctor, how could he not have seen this? "Let me guess….there was a Coup d'état …You came in, head of the company and made a proposal to mine the Creimand mineral. The Oriton Government accepted even though there was disagreement. But then it became unrest, protestors kept getting in the way, you had to spend resources on setting up Fradden House as a façade to keep them away and the Oriton Government were doing nothing. So you….relieved the President of his post and bribed or assassinated the other members of Cabinet. " The Doctor's voice has a snarl in it now.
General Grayhir smiles unpleasantly. "Very good, Doctor. Right on all counts. Colonel Rabdin was most helpful as head of the military, setting it all in motion."
As he speaks, the man himself enters. His eyes happen on Jenny as he crosses the room, and there is a malicious glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. Jenny glares with all the hate she can muster.
The room is still watching the trio of men. Jenny quickly analyses the faces nearest and sees they are tense and wary, some even afraid.
"How many people have you executed since this Project began?" The Doctor asks, dangerously quiet.
"Precisely who do you think you are, coming in here to challenge us? What are you attempting to achieve? You can't think anything is going to happen to you besides execution?" Rabdin glowers at the foreigner.
"What I am doing is returning this Government to it's people and overthrowing the murdering thugs who took over." The Doctor's words are hard and clipped. "Now, you can admit your crimes and stand trial before a humane court of law. Or I can simply throw you to the thousand odd people outside your front door."
"What-you-shaxsten-" Grayhir is pale
"How did you-" Rabdin is spitting with fury.
"This has been emitting short length radio waves since you brought me through that door. It's been recording your entire conversation." The Doctor clasps his hands, and reaching into his jacket, flicks his sonic into the air. "And also, some of these lovely chaps are locals, I think." Three soldiers who had been standing by are watching on with shock that is quickly turning to rage.
"That is the what. As for the who, well…you'd have been better off never running into me." The Doctor's smile is cold. "So the rabble-" there is a distant crash, rattling the instruments in the room, and then the faint sound of voices "-ah, speaking of!" The Doctor glances up to the ceiling, "Or the Courts. Which by the way, I must tell you, would probably be look quite harshly on the overthrowing of the Government, murdering innocent civilians, ruining the local environment and bribery to keep afore mentioned deeds under wraps!" The Doctor ends his tirade with a clap of hands, and both Rabdin and Grayhir start. They haven't said a word, utterly transfixed by every move the Doctor makes. The Time Lord steps in and looks at each of them and his voice is dark. "Your choice, gentlemen."
He turns and leaves them standing there, only pausing to clap one of the soldiers on the back and whisper something in his ear.
As if his movement broke a spell, the rest of the room did two things; many people turned and simply ran for the door, either members of the just-toppled 'government' or locals keen to leave or join the rabble, which by the sounds of it, are only one floor above now. The remainder are eerily still and move in towards the two disgraced military men.
Jenny suddenly remembers her guard, and whirls to look at him. He starts, bringing the gun up on instinct. But then he hesitates, and Jenny steps into him and wrenches the gun away. Jenny tilts back, intending to knock him out, when something clips her shoulder, making her stumble.
The mob have burst in. The man who knocked her is already moving forward, focused on the General and the Colonel. Not a threat. The soldier is gone, too. For a second, Jenny stands in the chaos, utterly relieved. Then there is someone in front of her.
"Ibron!" Relieved, she hugs him and he grins. "You're ok?"
"Yeah, they believed me when I said that you took me at gun point-but then they were all up in arms about you, but Rabdin got called to HQ, then this man showed up, most of us recognised him because he's been in all the protests, he said this foreigner was asking him questions, said he knew the truth of what was happening and to round people up outside HQ. We didn't believe him, but he had a bunch of people with him, and we're all against it anyway so we came, and here I am! I can' t believe it!"
"Neither can I." Jenny said fervently. Things were moving fast, suddenly. In the space of three hours was she was running for her, life, caught, awaiting execution and then instead witnessing a new coup.
"Good luck, Jenny, eh? May you have bright stars to guide your travel." Ibron is being pushed away slowly by the tide of people still coming.
"You too!" Jenny grins a farewell, and turns, moving to the edge of the room and towards the door. Her mind is in a whirl, and as she goes to step through the door, she doesn't notice the foreigner on the other other side, leaning against the wall.
"Jenny?"