Sudden, blinding pain in her chest. She was lying on the ground now. How had that happened? She didn't remember falling.
"Hold your fire!" An irate female voice snapped. Joanna? "Idiot, I told you not to shoot."
The Doctor was kneeling next to Donna now. He looked worried, though he tried to hide it.
"Everything's going to be fine, Donna," he said calmly. He had that focused look in his eyes. Donna just tried to keep breathing, which had suddenly become very hard to do. She heard something tearing, and then the pain spiked as the Doctor pressed something against her chest. Her breath rushed out in a cry of pain. "I know," the Doctor said soothingly. "That didn't feel very nice." His eyes left hers to look at her wound and his voice took on a firm, authoritative tone. "We need to get this bullet out and stop the bleeding. Is your hospital operational?"
"No." Joanna's voice again. Donna turned her head and saw the woman's feet, distinctive in their high heeled shoes with the hem of white lab coat a foot or so above. "But we can get it running in time to help her. That is, if you cooperate, Doctor."
The Doctor looked over his shoulder toward the woman. Then he turned to look back down at Donna. She could see the conflict in his eyes. She tightened her grip on his hand, as if holding him back.
"No," she mouthed. "No." Don't do it. Do what? Donna couldn't remember.
She saw the Doctor's jaw clench.
"Fine," he told Joanna. He stood up, giving Donna's hand a comforting squeeze as he did. Donna's weakened hand was powerless to stop him. He turned away. "I'll do it."
"Jared, Davis," Joanna said quickly. "Take him to Nancy. Gavin and Holly, we need a stretcher."
Joanna pushed up her sleeves and went to Donna's side. One man and a woman took off down the hall. Another two of the men took up position on either side of the Doctor. As they led him away, he spared one last backward glance at Donna.
Donna blinked. The pager was buzzing against her wrist.
Donna? Are you quite alright?
I was remembering something, Donna typed.
Ah, good.
I remember being shot now. You agreed to do something in exchange for Joanna saving me. I can't remember what it was, though. I just remember that I didn't want you to do it. I was terrified for you.
There was no response from the Doctor.
Doctor, what was it? What did they make you do?
It doesn't matter right now. We need to get you back to the residential sector. If you're starting to remember things then so are the colonists, and they'll need someone to explain matters to them. You need to get them organized and get them moving off the colony.
Doctor, are you ok?
I'm fine, Donna. You don't need to worry about me.
Are you? Really?
For a moment, there was no reply.
I'm not hurt and I'm not in any immediate danger, he said at last. Yes, I am in a spot of trouble and yes, I am going to need your help before this is all over, but that has to wait for now. We need to take care of the colonists first. Fair?
Donna let out a breath.
You had better not be lying to me, she typed.
It's the truth, Donna. I swear. I'll be ok.
Alright then. What's next?
Back to the lift, quick as you can. I'm going to try to seal most of the staff in the hospital sector so they won't be able to stop the evacuation. You need to get back to the other side of the station before I can do that.
Donna pushed her worries about the Doctor to the back of her mind and dashed back to the lift. It opened immediately to admit her this time and began moving as soon as the doors were closed. Donna hadn't even pushed a button. The pager buzzed.
Now that they're looking for you the biolocks will be guarded. I'm sending you to the top level where you'll be able to access the ventilation system and get through that way.
Donna groaned.
"Because that was so much fun the first time." Sudden realization dawned on her. "Hang on a minute, that was you, wasn't it? You made that lift break down so I'd find the Tardis!"
Yes, the Doctor admitted. That was me. And the computer in your room. Like I said, I've been trying to contact you since you woke up. It's just taking a while for me to learn the system.
"But you're still making me crawl through vents for you," Donna said sourly.
Cheer up, it'll be better this time.
"Oh? Why's that?"
I've figured out how to change the color of the lights!
The lift came to a stop and a line of arrows running up the wall lit up. Sure enough, instead of glowing orange the arrows were now bright blue. Tardis blue, unless Donna missed her guess.
"Yes. I can already see how much more pleasant this is going to be."
The arrows switched to green, then yellow, bright red, purple, lime green. Then the arrows began individually cycling through the colors out of sync with each other so that it looked as if a psychotic rainbow was chasing itself up the wall.
"Stop it!" Donna said, climbing up toward the exit hatch in the ceiling. "You're making me sick."
The arrows stopped their frolicking and resumed a steady Tardis blue. Donna pulled herself up into the space above the elevator.
"I thought you had too many things to concentrate on while I was moving. Now you've got time to spend playing with the lights?"
I was masking you from the security cameras before – looping a couple seconds of footage while you passed by to make you invisible. Took very careful timing. There aren't any cameras up here so there's not as much for me to do. I also won't be able to hear you anymore once you get much farther from the lift.
"Great," Donna said, squeezing into the crawl space. "I don't know if I can type in here."
The tunnels here were just as cramped as Donna remembered from the other side of the colony. The blue arrows did provide a little more light than the orange ones had, but Donna still did not see it as a vast improvement. And this time, Donna had to go around a turn. In the already cramped tunnel, a ninety degree bend was incredibly hard to negotiate. She finally managed it by turning onto her side and just bending around the turn at the waist before continuing on. She'd only just cleared the bend when a metallic grating and emphatic thud made her jump and bang her head against the ceiling. Craning her neck back she could see a metal plate now blocked the end of the tunnel she'd just entered. Heart beating faster, she reached for the pager on her wrist.
Doctor, what's going on? Some kind of door just closed behind me!
I'm sealing the vents behind you so no one else will be able to take this route if they think of it.
Well, be more careful, would you? You almost took my feet off with that thing!
I did not, you had plenty of room.
How do you know? I thought there weren't any security cameras up here!
There aren't, but that's not the only way I see. This station is covered in bioscanners.
Which are?
Physiological monitoring device. They can track just about any aspect of your biology. It's part of how they've been collecting data on the immunity.
And they have them in the vents?
In the hall below you, but I can still pick up enough of your heat signature to know where your feet are in relation to my doors. And those feet haven't been moving enough during this conversation. We are in a hurry, remember?
"Next time, you try crawling through these tunnels," Donna muttered under her breath. But she started moving again. The next time a door closed behind her she barely flinched.
Two more turns brought her to a tunnel with light at the end of it. She made her way forward eagerly, longing to have done with these ventilation shafts. The end of the tunnel was blocked by a grating. Donna waited a moment, expecting it to open for her. Nothing happened. She maneuvered the pager back to where she could see it.
Well? She typed.
I can't open that, the Doctor replied. It's not a door. All I can do is this.
The slats of the vent suddenly pulled shut, then opened again, then repeated the cycle.
Fat lot of good you are, Donna typed.
The lights on the floor began changing colors in response. Donna pushed against the grate experimentally and felt no give. She could try hitting it with her fist, but she suspected this would only bruise her fists. Maybe if she could kick it, but there was no way she was turning around in this tunnel. She felt her wrist buzz.
Hold on, I've got it. Back up a bit.
Obediently, Donna crawled backward. The slats closed themselves. For a moment, nothing happened. Then she noticed a low, buzzing sound was building, a sound like the buzzing of a transformer on a power line. There was a pair of tremendous pops. Donna saw a brilliant blue spark and smelled smoke. Her wrist buzzed.
Try it now.
Donna crawled back toward the grate and pushed against it. This time it gave, one of the corners having been blown free of its moorings, and with a little more effort Donna was able to make an opening large enough to squeeze through. She dropped to the floor and found herself on the inside of the biolock.
"Decontamination commencing," the marquis said. Bright light filled the room.
Can't you make it skip this bit? Donna asked.
I could, the Doctor responded. But not everyone over there is immune to the plague. I'm not going to risk infecting a bunch of innocent janitors just because we're in a hurry.
But I haven't even been to the plague side!
I am not compromising the biosecurity of this facility, Donna. I've seen what this plague does to them.
"Cycling atmosphere."
Donna didn't argue further. In another moment the door opened to the now familiar sight of the Lanassa Colony atrium. Actually, Donna found that the sight was very familiar.
"Here we are!" the Doctor said. Hands in his pockets, he'd turned to walk backward through the archway and was now looking at the wall above it. Donna looked too and saw that the words "Welcome to Lanassa Colony" had been painted there in a stylish script.
"Lanassa Colony?" Donna read questioningly. The Doctor just shrugged.
"Never heard of it." Then he broke into a broad grin.
"Well, if you ask me, it's not much of a colony. Where are all the people?"
"Maybe they left. We should check the escape pods. No," the Doctor suddenly stopped, staring off into space, thinking quickly. "Maybe they're not here yet."
Donna couldn't pause to dwell on the memory, but strode through the arch into the residential sector instead. Her wrist buzzed.
Your friends are in the cafeteria right now. I can't hear what they're talking about, but they look agitated.
Donna altered her course toward the cafeteria. The halls in the residential sector were oddly empty. Upon reaching the cafeteria, it became clear why. Although it was not yet dinner time, the cafeteria was filled nearly to the brim with colonists. They sat at the tables, clustered in groups of friends, all bearing looks of confusion and fear as they spoke frantically amongst themselves and sometimes with those at neighboring tables. The din of conversation in the room was deafening.
Scanning the chaos, it was several moments before Donna was able to spot Cheryl over at a table with Roger and the others, plus a number of colonists that Donna didn't know. She shouldered her way through the crowd toward them. Cheryl saw her coming and stood up from the table with a cry, rushing over to meet her. The rest of the table turned to look.
"Donna!" Cheryl said, when she was close enough to be heard. She grabbed Donna in a quick hug. "Oh, Donna, you were right! Something is terribly, terribly wrong! I have a husband that I'd completely forgotten about! And it's not just me! Everyone's got friends and family, and we've no idea why we left them behind or if they even know where we are!"
Cheryl led Donna the rest of the way back to the table as she spoke.
"Everyone, this is Donna. She's the one who was saying something funny was up this morning. Donna, did you ever figure out anything more about it? I can't believe I didn't listen to you!"
"It's alright everyone," Donna told the anxious faces watching her. She looked into their eyes and felt her resolve strengthen. "I know what's going on. You've all been kidnapped and had your memories altered."
"Kidnapped?" Cheryl squeaked. "But why?"
"You're all immune to the plague down on the planet. Joanna and the others brought you here to study you in the hopes of finding a cure."
"A cure?" Someone said incredulously.
"Immune?" Someone else gasped.
"Well now why didn't they just ask us?" Cheryl said crossly. "Honestly! And Joanna seemed like such a nice girl."
"Oi!" called someone from a neighboring table. "What did she tell you? Does she know something?"
Donna looked around and saw that people at the neighboring tables were starting to look her way. People were nudging each other and pointing in a wave that was spreading out all across the cafeteria.
"Excuse me," Donna said. Then she climbed passed Cheryl, stepped onto the woman's vacated chair, and climbed atop the table. "Oi!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Listen up everyone!"
The room quieted as more heads turned her way, but a few knots of conversation still clung around the edges.
"I said listen up!" Donna shouted again. "You want answers, or you wanna keep talking in circles?"
Finally the last holdouts cut off their discussions and turned to look at her.
"That's better. Now here's how it is. This is a research facility looking for a cure to the plague. You all have a rare genetic immunity to the plague, so the staff here have kidnapped you and altered your memories so they can use you as lab rats. My friend and I are here to help you get back to your friends and families."
"How are we getting off the colony?" someone asked. "We don't have ships."
Donna paused. How were they getting off? She supposed they would all fit in the Tardis, but she wasn't sure what the Doctor would think of her inviting a hundred odd strangers into his home without asking. Suddenly, she remembered her memory in the atrium.
"We have escape pods, don't we?" Donna said.
Someone in the crowd nodded.
"I think they're programmed to land us somewhere down on the planet."
"They'll have people waiting for us there!" Someone else objected. "They'll never just let us go!"
"Listen to yourselves!" Donna shouted. "You haven't even tried anything yet and you're already giving up! Do you want to get home or not?"
There was silence in the cafeteria, and heads were nodded all around. Donna's wrist buzzed and she looked down at her watch.
They'll let them go if they don't have any reason to keep them anymore. And they won't have any reason to keep them if this facility is destroyed. That's the next step after the colonists are safely away.
"Alright," Donna said, voice firm and confident. "I need you all to get yourselves to the escape pods in a calm and orderly fashion."
Donna paused and looked down at Cheryl.
"Is there some sort of evacuation protocol they told you about in case you needed to do something like this?"
Cheryl nodded.
"We've all got our assigned lifeboats and we know the routes to get there."
"That makes things simpler, then." Donna raised her voice again to address the whole group. "You can follow the evacuation procedures they gave you. Once you're all safely away, we're going to destroy this station. They won't have any use for you anymore, and you'll be free. Alright?"
There was a chorus of assent, hesitant, but willing to give it a try.
"Get moving then!" Donna called. She stepped down off the table and the buzz of conversation resumed as people filed out of the cafeteria, heading to their rooms to gather up their few possessions. "Cheryl!" Donna said, catching the woman before she could leave. Roger and some of the others hung back as well. "Was everyone on the colony in here?"
"Oh, I don't know," Cheryl said, laughing nervously. "It isn't as if we were taking attendance!"
"Could I ask a few of you to help me check all the suites and make sure everyone's gotten the message? I don't want to risk anyone still being here when, well, you know."
"Certainly, certainly!" Cheryl said, nodding eagerly. Roger, Andy and Meghan all nodded as well.
"Alright, I guess we'll each take a floor then, and two of us can take the bottom floor."
The floors were quickly claimed, and the group moved out.
"I guess you have to do it," Cheryl said. There was a touch of regret in her voice.
"Do what?" Donna asked.
"Destroy the place."
"Of course," Donna said. "I'm not going to let them come after you again."
Cheryl nodded.
"What?" Donna said, confused by the sadness in the woman's demeanor. "Don't you want to get back to your husband?"
"I do, I do," Cheryl said. "No, I have to go. It's just that… if they could really cure the plague…"
Donna put a comforting hand on Cheryl's shoulder.
"Someone will," Donna told her. "And they'll do it right. Not like this."
Cheryl smiled and squeezed Donna's arm.
"I hope you're right, dear."
Then she followed the others out of the cafeteria.