With the end of the presentation, the group scattered a little and chatters filled the room. Solana meanwhile left the room with a gracious nod of her head. Terry watched the woman leave before she and the Doctor quickly ducked over to the podium. Donna was looking around at the Ood curiously so they left her to it as the Doctor whipped on his spectacles before he clicked a few buttons on the lectern. The large display screen in front of them switched to an image of the planetary system they were currently in, and Terry forced her eyes away from admiring the Doctor's glasses to look at the screen as the Doctor exclaimed quietly.
"Ah, got it." The Doctor tapped the screen slightly. "The Ood Sphere, I've been to this solar system before. Years ago. Ages."
"There's no one around to impress, Sweetie." Terry pointed out and the Doctor smirked at her. He should not have looked so good doing so.
"What are you talking about? The most important being in my life is right here in front of me, of course I've got to impress you." The Doctor winked and it was not healthy for Terry's hearts. Especially when he was wearing those glasses.
"Okay, fine - so, you were saying?" Terry asked a little too breathlessly. The Doctor's smirk widened, proud of the effect he'd had on her but he returned his attention to the screen.
"The Ood Sphere is close to the planet Sense Sphere. Let's widen out." He tapped the image to show the full system around the area. Terry peered at the image of another sky and she examined it just as Donna joined them with a drink in her hand. The Doctor meanwhile was peering at the date.
"The year 4126."
Terry watched as several red circles appeared on the screen, linked by red lines across the various systems and all centered around the Ood Sphere, while the Doctor continued thoughtfully, "That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."
"4126?" Donna interjected incredulously as she leant over to peer at the screen. "It's 4126."
She looked at Terry with a mix of shock and excitement.
"I'm in 4126."
Terry's lips twitched into a smile although it wasn't as bright as it normally was. It couldn't be when she dreaded what was coming. The Doctor however was his usual grinning self.
"It's good, isn't it?"
But Donna had another question. "What's the Earth like now?"
The Doctor shrugged.
"Bit full. But you see," he gestured at the image on the screen again. "The Empire stretches out across three galaxies."
He pointed to the three concentrations of red dots outside of the Ood Sphere. Donna stared with wide eyes.
"It's weird." She admitted breathlessly. "I mean, it's brilliant, but. Back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live. Global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."
Terry paused as that reminded her of Donna's last journey while the Doctor muttered thoughtfully, "Yeah. That thing about the bees is odd."
"But look at us." Donna continued, ignoring him as she peered at the screen. "We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers? Or more like a virus?"
"Sometimes I wonder." The Doctor admitted and Terry chuckled.
"More like… bacteria." At Donna's offended expression, Terry's grin widened. "Some of you are absolutely terrible, bringing illness and disease; but others, the majority of others, breathe life into places."
Donna nodded thoughtfully before making a face. "Still, calling us bacteria… ugh."
She shuddered before looking back at the screen. She tilted her head curiously.
"What are the red dots?" She asked curiously, pointing at said dots on the screen.
"Ood distribution centres." The Doctor answered and Donna looked at them in shock.
"Across three galaxies?" She demanded.
When neither Time Lord replied, Donna muttered, "Okay, seeing why humans might be bacteria. Don't the Ood get a say in this?"
She didn't wait for a response. Donna spun on her heel and stalked off toward the nearest Ood. The Doctor glanced one more time at the map on the screen before he took Terry's hand and they followed after the redheaded companion who had stopped beside an Ood.
"Er, sorry, but…"
Donna trailed off when the Ood didn't respond and she tapped his arm lightly to get his attention. The Ood turned his head to look at her and Donna smiled politely.
"Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"
The Doctor watched closely while the Ood lifted its translator ball and replied, "I do not understand, Miss."
"Why do you say Miss?" Donna demanded sharply, instantly offended. "Do I look single?"
"I thought you were cross that they mistook you for being married earlier?" The Doctor questioned. He quickly shut up at Donna's scowl.
"Back to the point." He gestured back at the Ood.
"You started it." Donna muttered. The Doctor didn't bother trying to correct her as Donna turned back to the Ood.
"What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there Ood running wild somewhere, like wildebeest."
"Wildebeest?" Terry asked before quickly zipping her mouth shut at Donna's annoyed glance. And then they were all distracted as the Ood responded to Donna's question in a calm voice.
"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise, we would die."
"But you can't have started like that." Donna protested. At the Ood's silence, she tried another angle.
"Before the humans," the Ood twitched and the Doctor's eyes narrowed, "what were you like?"
"The circle." The Ood said suddenly.
"What do you mean?" The Doctor interjected quickly, staring at the Ood intently. "What circle?"
"The circ… the circle is…-" The Ood stuttered, starting to sound a little strained. The Doctor leaned in, sensing he was close to an answer… when they were interrupted.
"Ladies and gentlemen." Solana called as she strode back into the room. "All Ood to hospitality stations, please."
The Ood immediately turned and walked away. The Doctor frowned at that before he took off his glasses. He tucked his glasses away to Terry's disappointment ('Focus, Terry, that's not the point here', she scolded herself) and the Doctor glanced at his companions.
"I've had enough of the schmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"
Terry grinned and she held up the map of the complex that they'd been given in their packs. The Doctor smirked back while Donna peered at the title of the pamphlet Terry held.
"Rough guide to the Ood Sphere?" Donna read aloud, and she grinned at the two Time Lords. "Works for me too."
The Doctor chuckled as he took Terry's hand. Donna stuck close behind them as they snuck out of the suite before wandering off into the rest of the factory complex. The Doctor drew them toward the main factory where he soniced a wire gate to unlock it before he slowly pushed it open. The trio peered through just as a voice called loudly over the speakers, "Ood shift eight now commencing. Repeat. Ood shift eight now commencing."
"Come on." Terry whispered, and the trio headed up a flight of metal stairs that came out onto an upper catwalk above the factory floor below. They stayed hidden as they peered down where Ood were marching out of the factory in double file. One of the Ood at the back of the line fell over as he walked, as though he'd slipped on ice… although the movement was quite sudden.
"Get up." One of the guards snapped as he marched over to the fallen Ood.
The Ood looked up from where he was crouching on all fours, and the guard repeated sharply, unfurling his whip and cracking it in the air as he spoke, "I said get up."
Donna's jaw dropped as she watched the scene below.
"'Servants'?" Donna repeated incredulously. "They're slaves."
The Doctor and Terry said nothing as the guard below cracked his whip again and shouted, "Get up!"
The Ood stumbled to his feet and the guard ordered the rest of the line, "March."
The lines of Ood marched on, and the Doctor murmured quietly, "Last time we met the Ood, I never thought. I never asked."
"That's not like you." Donna commented in some surprise as she glanced over at the pair.
Terry sighed while the Doctor answered a little shortly, "I was busy."
His eyes remained on the Ood and his brows had furrowed into a deep frown as he added in a guilty voice, "So busy I couldn't save them. I had to let the Ood die."
"We both did." Terry answered quietly. There had been nothing they or anyone could do when the Ood were possessed by the devil, but it was a poor excuse. Terry sighed to herself but the Doctor heard her. He squeezed her hand and she glanced up at him questioningly.
The Doctor smiled grimly. "I reckon I owe them one."
Terry nodded. "We both do."
Donna glanced at the pair before looking back down just as a small group walked out of the factory behind the Ood workers. A man dressed in a smart suit was in the front, followed by a man in a lab coat and an Ood. A group of personal guards followed behind them.
"That looks like the boss." Donna murmured. The Doctor glanced down and nodded.
"Let's keep out of his way." The Doctor murmured as he turned them away. "Come on."
They crept off the catwalk and moved further into the factory area. For a while, the trio wandered around the outside of a few buildings. The Doctor whipped out his glasses at one point (to Terry's satisfaction) to examine their map again while Terry looked around a little blankly. It was about time that-
A sharp whistle behind them made the pair jump. Hearts thrumming despite herself, Terry turned to Donna with a shake of her head. The redhead was standing beside a metal door a few ways behind them and she looked extremely proud of herself as she grinned smugly at the gobsmacked Doctor.
"Where'd you learn to whistle?" The Doctor asked, half incredulous and half admiring
"West Ham, every Saturday." Donna replied as the Doctor and Terry joined her by the door.
The Doctor also shook his head in amazement at the companion even as he soniced the door to unlock it while Terry chuckled, "I knew I liked you for a reason, Donna Noble."
Donna smiled, especially when the door slid open with a metallic clang. The trio peered inside the dark factory before they stepped inside. Their earlier good mood quickly evaporated as they moved further into the cargo hold where they could see large metal shipping containers lining all along the walls.
Donna had gone quite pale by now and she looked almost sick as the Doctor murmured darkly, "Ood export."
He pointed at a large metal claw hanging from the ceiling.
"You see? Lifts up the containers, takes them to the rocket sheds, ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."
"What," Donna gaped in disbelief. "You mean, these containers are full of…?"
She trailed off in horror and the Doctor asked rhetorically, "What do you think?"
Donna shook her head in denial, refusing to believe something so terrible. The Doctor just walked over to the nearest container and he pulled on the metal door. Terry's stomach heaved but she forced her heavy feet to step inside. The Doctor's jaw tightened instantly while Terry's hearts broke as she saw the lines of Ood standing inside, filling the entire container.
Donna hadn't seen yet, still adjusting to the dark as she came in last behind the Time Lords and she muttered, "Oh, it stinks", before she came to a halt as she saw the Ood. Her mouth dropped open.
"How many of them do you think there are in each one?" Donna asked, aghast at the sight before her.
"Hundred? More?" The Doctor answered, his anger barely concealed.
"Okay, definitely seeing why bacteria." Donne said disgustedly. "A great big empire built on slavery."
"It's not so different from your time." The Doctor shot back.
"Oi. I haven't got slaves." Donna said sharply but the Doctor scoffed.
"Who do you think made your clothes?"
"Is that why you travel round with a human?" Donna demanded. "It's not so you can show them the wonders of the universe, it's so you can take cheap shots?"
The Doctor opened his mouth but Terry warned, "Doctor."
He closed his mouth and glanced at her before he looked back at Donna.
"Sorry." He muttered and Donna lifted a finger.
"Don't." She snapped, but Terry placed a calming hand on the other woman's arm.
"Donna." She warned softly. Donna took a deep breath and calmed herself down before she turned back to the Doctor.
"Spaceman." She murmured, accepting his apology. The Doctor nodded while Donna looked back at the Ood.
"I don't understand, the door is open, why don't you just run away?" She wondered aloud. Only to get a heartbreaking response.
"For what reason?" One of the front Ood asked curiously.
Terry closed her eyes and the Doctor wrapped his arm around her tightly while Donna tried to explain, "You could be free."
"I do not understand the concept." The Ood admitted.
"This is what you knew." The Doctor said to Terry mentally. "This is why you were so sad. You saw this."
Terry nodded, burying her face into the Doctor's shoulder as Donna glanced at the Ood's translator ball.
"What is it with that Persil ball?" Donna questioned, turning back to her friends. "I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?"
The Doctor frowned, realizing she had a point. He looked at the Ood.
"Ood, tell me. Does the circle mean anything to you?"
At once, every single one of the Ood looked at them and their translator balls lit up as they answered in one voice.
"The circle must be broken."
Donna took an involuntary step back and muttered, "Oh, that is creepy."
The Doctor however was only more confused.
"But what is it?" He demanded with a hint of impatience. "What is the circle?"
"The circle must be broken." The Ood repeated.
"Why?" The Doctor asked.
"So that we can sing."
The Doctor's face scrunched in confusion, but they were out of time. An alarm blared outside, ringing all around the factory, and Terry glanced up while Donna looked alarmed.
"Oh." The Doctor muttered. "That's us. Come on."
He quickly darted out of the container, stretching out his hand behind him as he took off. Terry took his offered hand while snagging Donna's hand with her other and the trio raced between the piled cargos as they ran deeper into the factory. The Doctor's long legs gave him extra speed and Terry let go of Donna to keep up with him. And to let Donna have her moment. Did it make Terry a bad person to willingly send Donna into a version of her nightmare? Probably. But at least she knew Donna would be safe. Maybe just a bit mentally scarred. And emotionally bruised. But hey, they all were, weren't they?
Terry's mental ramblings was interrupted as the Doctor glanced back before skidding to a pause.
"Donna? Where's she gone?" He wondered, looking around wildly, when suddenly a guard spotted them.
"Stay where you are!"
"Oop!" The Doctor muttered before he reached for Terry's hand. "Ru-!"
"Come on!" Terry grabbed his hand and pulled him with her as she ran. The Doctor hurried after her as they ran for it. Only to stop after a few minutes. Terry because she wanted to know where it would come from. The Doctor because he'd noticed something.
"Is it just me, or is it too quiet?" The Doctor asked, puzzled as he glanced about.
"Sh, listen." Terry whispered. The Doctor paused again and then they both heard it. Something whirring metallically in the distance. Something that was coming closer. The Doctor's eyes widened and he whipped around just as the metal claw appeared in the air above them, just a few feet away.
The Doctor grabbed Terry and pulled her with him behind a container. Terry hid behind the Doctor as they both eyed the claw warily. She already knew what was coming but that didn't mean she was pleased when the claw spun and came right after them.
"Oh, great, he can see us." The Doctor muttered while Terry grabbed his hand again.
"Run!" She ordered. He didn't need to be told twice.
They sprinted along the corridors, running from the claw as it chased them from behind. The Doctor kept glancing back periodically even as he urged Terry to keep running but they still weren't fast enough. The claw came down just behind them, smashing into the ground and barely missing crushing them.
"Angel!" The Doctor shouted and Terry yelled back, "I know!"
She grabbed his hand and suddenly skidded them around a corner, trying to evade the claw. But the claw easily chased after them as they ran down the length of the path between the containers and the claw came down behind them again, closer than before. Terry glanced up as the claw retracted and her eyes went wide.
"Doctor!" Terry shoved the Doctor out of the way as the claw came down right where they had been a second ago. The pair rolled on the ground and crashed into the side of a container, leaving them both helpless as the claw rose before coming right back down at them.
"Angel!"
The Doctor spun them over, shielding her even though he knew it was in vain. Except, it wasn't. With a loud clang, the claw stopped just a few feet above them. Unfortunately, a squadron of guards appeared from all around to surround the two Time Lords. Terry groaned.
"We're either the luckiest or unluckiest trespassers ever."
Terry walked beside the Doctor as they were marched back through the factory, flanked by a pair of guards. Terry had kicked a guard so hard in his shin when he tried to pull her away from the Doctor that they'd just let the pair walk side by side although the guards kept a careful watch on the two Time Lords. The Doctor, Terry could tell, was thinking fast to try and get them out of their current predicament. Terry meanwhile was waiting.
It finally happened as they were passing one of the large containers.
"Angel, Doctor, get me out of here! Angel!" Donna screamed from inside, banging on the metal side.
"Donna?" The Doctor gaped, looking back over his shoulder as he and Terry were dragged past the container. They were brought before a head guard but they could still hear Donna shrieking from inside the container.
"Doctor! Angel!"
"If you don't do what she says, you're really in trouble." The Doctor told the head guard seriously. "Not from me, from her."
"DOCTOR!" Donna screamed right on time in a mix of terror and fury.
The guard narrowed his eyes at the Doctor but he finally turned around to face the container holding Donna. The Doctor shrugged off the hands of the guards holding him in place while Terry inched slightly closer to him.
"It's the Ood, isn't it?" The Doctor asked Terry.
"Yeah. Get ready." Terry warned as the head guard gestured at the container.
"Unlock the container." He ordered. One of the guards broke from the circle surrounding the Doctor and Terry. Terry tensed as the container door squealed loudly as the guard dragged it open. Donna came running out within seconds, reaching out toward the Doctor and Terry in relief.
"Oh, angel! Doctor!" Donna gasped, hugging them both and accidentally banging their heads together as she held them in a vice-like grip.
"Ow!" The Doctor complained when Terry said, "Uh oh."
They all turned to look at the Ood as the alien race stepped out of the open container. With bright, glowing red eyes.
"Run!" The Doctor yelled as the first Ood placed his translator ball on a nearby guard's forehead, causing the man to scream before he collapsed, dead.
Terry and the Doctor dragged Donna back quickly with them while the head guard shouted over the general cries of panic, "Red alert! Fire!"
The guards instantly moved into a straight-line formation and they started firing at the Ood as they climbed out of the containers. Terry grabbed the Doctor and Donna's hands and together, they ran away. They almost ran right into Solana along the way. The woman was clearly startled by their appearance but the Doctor didn't stop to explain as he instead grabbed her as well as they continued to spring away, avoiding Ood and bullets as the Ood started to spill out of all the containers.
It was only when they were back outside in the snow that the Doctor let go of Solana. She and Donna bent over, gasping from the exertion. The Doctor and Terry however continued moving as they went further along and around the corner outside a different building. Donna struggled to follow them while Solana trailed further behind, clutching a stitch in her side.
"If people back on Earth knew what was going on here-" Donna began indignantly as they all caught their breath back.
But Solana interrupted in a snappy tone between gasps, "Oh, don't be so stupid. Of course they know."
"They know how you treat the Ood?" Donna asked in an outraged tone. Solana shrugged.
"They don't ask. Same thing."
"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this." The Doctor bit out angrily, surveying the woman with dark eyes. "They can't be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"
"That's nothing to do with me." Solana said, bristling defensively.
"Oh, what, because you don't ask?" The Doctor threw in her face. Solana deflated slightly.
"That's Dr. Ryder's territory." She admitted finally.
"Where's he?" The Doctor asked at once, pulling out their map and holding it out for Solana. "What part of the complex?"
Solana hesitated, glancing at them all uncertainly.
"I could help, with the red eye." The Doctor urged, shaking the map. "Now show me!"
Solana hesitated for yet another moment before she finally caved.
"There." Solana pointed to a spot on the map. "Beyond the red section."
The Doctor handed the map over to Terry quickly, letting her figure out the fastest path while he kept his eyes on Solana.
"Come with us." The Doctor offered. "You've seen the warehouse. You can't agree with all this. You know this place better than me. You could help."
Solana stared at him. It was clear she wasn't sure what to think, not exactly. Her gaze flickered over Donna and Terry next, taking in the redhead's impatience and the unreadable mask on the dark-haired brunette. Solana deliberated for another second before she looked back at the Doctor. And then she made her decision.
"They're over here!" Solana shouted, looking past the Doctor and avoiding eye contact as she yelled for the guards.
The Doctor's jaw locked while Donna glared at the Indian woman with distaste but there was nothing more they could do. Terry was already grabbing the Doctor's hand and the Doctor turned to run with her as Solana continued to shout.
"Guards! They're over here!"
Terry could hear the guards running in their direction, but they had the advantage of time. Terry also had a path already figured out so they were already halfway on their way by the time the guards would reach Solana. The disadvantage of course was that Solana also knew where they were headed so their small advantage was really actually just a tiny advantage. But Terry knew the Doctor had to see what Dr. Ryder was really doing.
Unfortunately, their path was suddenly blocked by a pair of guards coming around the corner far ahead of them. Luckily, it seemed they hadn't been spotted yet.
"This way!" The Doctor urged as he pulled Terry with him in a different direction. Donna followed quickly behind them as they ran down several streets, heading for the factory that Solana had pointed out. Finally reaching a locked door, Terry and the Doctor stopped.
"Singing." Terry muttered between gasps as she caught her breath. Donna was winded beside them as she bent over her knees but the Doctor was mostly all right as he leaned against the door where he and Terry could hear the Ood singing.
The Doctor quickly soniced the door. "We didn't need the map after all. I should have listened."
"Well, we tried with that… woman." Terry mumbled. Donna glanced at the other woman shrewdly.
"You were going to swear, weren't you?"
"Some people don't deserve kindness." Terry muttered back just as the door clicked open.
The Doctor shoved on the door, pushing inside. Terry followed and Donna brought up the rear. But the moment they were all inside, the Doctor slammed the door shut and soniced the controls. They burst into sparks and fizzled out; to Donna's alarm.
"Hold on." Donna cried, staring at the now useless controls. "Does that mean we're locked in?"
"Listen." The Doctor shushed her. "Listen, listen, listen, listen."
In a way, Terry didn't want to listen to what she knew Donna couldn't hear. It was the most tragic song she had ever heard. And yet, it was also the most beautiful thing she had heard with its sad and soulful melody. Terry's face must have given her away because the Doctor took her hand and he led them carefully deeper into the dark factory. The Doctor drew out a flashlight from his pocket as the light disappeared the deeper down they went. Their footsteps clanged on the metal catwalk, but it did nothing to drown out the music that grew louder and louder in her ears. Terry's eyes started to well with tears as the song cut into her like a knife twisting in her heart.
Finally, Terry couldn't take it anyway. She stopped halfway down the first flight of stairs and she crouched over with a whimper.
"Terry? Doctor, what's wrong with her?" Donna asked in alarm while the Doctor instantly knelt down beside her.
"It's okay, angel." The Doctor murmured soothingly although his own face was scrunched in pain as he fought against the heartbreak the songs brought.
"I can't… It's too painful." Terry whispered, raising her head to reveal her tears had started to fall. The Doctor brushed them gently away.
"You can." He insisted and Terry shook her head.
"Doctor, why do people do this?" Terry asked in a broken voice. "Why, time and time again, are there people who can be so cruel; so heartless? So like a Dalek?"
The Doctor's brown eyes grew impossibly old at her question.
"I don't know." He admitted, brushing away another teardrop that escaped the corner of Terry's eyes. "I wish I could say it will one day disappear. But where there is good, there is not good. The universe is a balance, I'm afraid."
Terry nodded. Taking in a shuddering breath, she raised herself back up onto shaky legs. Donna reached out to help steady the Time Lady with a worried expression. The Doctor let go of Terry, letting Donna help Terry down the rest of the way as he grimly went on first down the stairs.
The Doctor reached the bottom and he frowned as he saw faint outlines in the dark room he had landed up in. Spotting a switch, the Doctor pushed it up just as Terry and Donna arrived behind him. They all faltered as the light flickered on to reveal a group of Ood sitting in a cage in the corner. The Ood looked up immediately in alarm before they lowered their heads and cowered away from the trio while they held something carefully between their palms.
Palms that lacked translator balls. Palms that lacked translator balls. Donna stared at the Ood in the cages.
"They look… different to the others." She noted, glancing at the Oods' palms that lacked the translator balls they had seen on all the other Ood so far.
"That's because they're natural born Ood, unprocessed, before they're adapted to slavery." The Doctor answered bitterly as he slowly moved closer to the Ood. "Unspoilt."
Terry and Donna followed behind him, the Time Lady crying again as the singing in her head grew louder. The Doctor had bent down by the bars of the cage to crouch at eye level with the cowering Ood. Terry just pressed herself against the cage, trying to stem the tears that continued to drip down her face as she listened to the Ood mourn.
"That's their song." The Doctor murmured as he observed the Ood.
Donna glanced at him and Terry.
"I can't hear it." She admitted.
The Doctor glanced at her before he asked slowly, "Do you want to?"
Donna hesitated, looking at Terry, before she looked back at the Doctor and nodded.
"Yeah."
"It's the song of captivity." The Doctor warned her, gesturing at Terry. "It's not… pleasant."
"Let me hear it." Donna requested, her blue eyes already shimmering but prepared. Or, she thought she was prepared.
The Doctor examined her before he finally relented. "Face me."
Donna did and the Doctor lifted his hands to place his fingertips on each side of Donna's head, right above her temples. The Doctor closed his eyes as he initiated a mind meld and Donna's eyes widened before the tears started to really pool at the corners of her eyes as she finally heard what the Doctor and Terry had been hearing.
"Open your mind, that's it." The Doctor murmured as he watched Donna. "Hear it. Hear the music."
He slowly let go of her head but Donna could still hear the Oods' song as clearly as the Time Lords had. She gasped, fighting back the tears that threatened to escape the way Terry's had as she listened to the hauntingly beautiful melody that threatened to tear her heart in half.