(AN) Hello and welcome to chapter two of my unofficial fan novelisation of Season 27: hope you all enjoy.
In the last chapter, I forgot to establish that Ace returns to the Vancouver, but I've went back and fixed this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who; all characters and locations are owned by the BBC. What If Doctor Who Wasn't Axed is owned by DaDoctorWhoFan.
Chapter Two
Earth Aid, Part Two
The Doctor looked at Baraki curiously. "So, what do you think was in here?" he asked curiously.
"A stowaway perhaps," suggested Baraki, "Come on, there must be some sort of clue lying around in here."
The two began to look around the large container. Baraki turned and noticed several small cylinders lined against the wall. "Hey, Doctor, what do you make of this?" she called out.
The Doctor came over and peered at the cylinders before a look of realisation crossed his face. "Oxygen cylinders, of course!" he cried in realisation, "That's how whatever or whoever was hiding in here was able to breath."
"Right, when we get back, I'll have my troops search the entire ship for this intruder." suggested the lieutenant.
Baraki's communicator suddenly started beeping. The lieutenant took it out and answered. "Baraki here." she said.
"Sorry, Ma'm, but there's been a bit of an incident." replied a nervous female voice.
"What sort of incident?" asked the lieutenant impatiently.
"Espinosa tricked us into leaving the sickbay, then he got a hold of a scalpel and put the sickbay into lockdown." answered the soldier nervously.
"I'll deal with you all later!" barked Baraki angrily before ending the communication.
The Doctor and Baraki ran up to the sickbay door, where they could hear Victor singing the same rowing song. Baraki began banging her fist against the door. "Espinosa, open the doors at once!" she barked firmly.
"C-can't do that, Lieutenant." stammered Victor's voice before he resumed singing.
"Lieutenant, let me try something," said the Doctor, "There's really no need to resort to violence."
"Very well, Doctor." sighed Baraki.
The Doctor gently knocked on the door. "Victor," he called out calmly, "I don't wish you any harm, so you can let me in. I've got a rrrrrather annoying headache and am in desperate need of something to relieve the pain."
"No tricks?" asked Victor suspiciously.
"No tricks." assured the Doctor.
After a few moments, the doors hissed before sliding open and the Doctor slid inside.
Victor held his scalpel up as the Doctor slowly approached. "I don't really have a headache," he admitted slyly, "I just needed to get in here to ask you a few questions."
"You lied to me!" seethed an annoyed Victor, "I ain't puttin' this scalpel down!"
"And I'm not going to force you to," assured the Doctor, "Firstly, I want to know what was in that sixth container me and the lieutenant explored?"
"What sixth container?" asked Victor, sounding oblivious.
"Oh come now, Victor, you know full well that you brought in one extra container that contained something or someone," stated the Doctor, "And this mysterious passenger has something to do with the dissapearance of your fellow crew members. Surely, you want to know what's happened?"
"I don't know anything!" claimed Victor, waving his scalpel about.
Baraki and her troops suddenly stormed in and surrounded Victor, who dropped the scalpel and slowly raised his hands. Baraki walked over and handcuffed Victor.
"Hey, watch it!" hissed Victor in pain.
"Espinosa, I believe you're responsible for the crew's disappearance, and I'm determined to find out how and why!" stated Baraki firmly, "I'm going to contact the captain after I've finished questioning this one."
"Let me contact her, Lieutenant," suggested the Doctor, "It'll save you time."
"Very well, Doctor." sighed Baraki.
Back on the Vancouver, Ace was on the bridge with Yanikov and Shepstay. She had just received an update from the Doctor about recent developments on the Lilliput and was now telling Yanikov and Shepstay what she had learned.
"I do not believe that Victor had anything to do with this," said Yanikov doubtfully, "He's likely just too frightened to talk about it. Besides, you do not know him: like how I do not know you."
"Yanikov!" scolded Shepstay sternly.
"I'm sorry if I'm not what you wanted from a captain, but you lot are stuck with me, so deal with it!" barked Ace firmly, "Anyway, is there any news on that mystery ship?"
"None, ma'm," replied Shepstay, "It's just sitting there, like it's waiting for something."
Ace's communicator suddenly beeped. The teen quickly exited the bridge and answered. "Doctor." she said.
"Ahhh, I was just checking up on you," said the Doctor, "How's it going on the bridge?"
"That mystery ship is still doing nothing," replied a board sounding Ace, "What do I do if it does start attacking?"
"You'll have to engage it in interstellar combat," answered the Doctor.
"WHAT!" cried Ace in alarm, "But I don't know how to do that!"
"Don't worry, I'll walk you through the basics," assured the Doctor, "Just remember to dodge any oncoming firepower, keep the craft within your crossheirs so that you can fire on it and remember to take evasive manoeuvres."
"Ohhh, okay." said Ace nervously.
"Ma'm, we need you!" called out Shepstay.
"You'll do great." assured the Doctor before ending the communication.
Ace sighed in annoyance before heading back on to the bridge.
Back on the Lilliput, the Doctor was walking down a corridor, he suddenly turned and noticed that Baraki was following him. "Hello, Lieutenant." he greeted cheerfully while tipping his hat.
"Doctor, while I do appreciate your help, I suggest that you head back to the Vancouver and leave this to the professionals." insisted Baraki with an irritated tone to her voice.
"Nonsense," replied the Doctor as he smiled and continued walking, "Victor has some sort of agenda that's connected to this ship and the mysterious craft outside."
"Doctor, I must insist!" barked Baraki furiously, causing the Doctor to whirl round, "You know, I've never quite trusted you or the captain: you both show up out of nowhere; the captain sometimes acts like she has no clue what she's doing and there's no record of either of you before volunteering for this mission. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't report you and the captain to Earth Control."
"Alright, you caught me," admitted the Doctor, "My name is actually the Doctor and the captain calls herself Ace. We're travellers, and I thought that it would be a grrreat idea to teach Ace some responsibility."
"By impersonating a starship captain?" asked a bewildered Baraki.
"It doesn't matter who we are or where we come from in the current circumstances. What matters right now is trying to figure out what's going on. Me and Ace can help."
The lieutenant simply sighed. "Alright, Doctor, for now I'll trust you and the captain," said the lieutenant, "But I'm warning you right now: any sign of treachery from either of you, and I'll have both of you thrown in the brig until we get back to Earth! Is that understood!"
"Yes, Lieutenant." replied the Doctor.
Back on the Vancouver, Ace and Yanikov were facing each other on the bridge; both looking rather irritated.
"And I'm telling you, Captain, the ship has disappeared, so there's no need to worry," said Yanikov, "Besides, we don't even know if there was an actual ship: could have simply been a glitch."
"Well, we can't take any chances!" retorted Ace, "Whatever that ship was is somehow connected to whatever happened on the Lilliput! We don't know if they're peaceful or some kind of warship, so we can't take any chances!"
"The captain has a good point, Yanikov," put in Shepstay, "If we let our guard down now, we'll be unprepared for a surprise attack."
"Very well." sighed a defeated Yanikov as he returned to his control console.
The console suddenly started beeping and an orange light began to blink on and off.
"The craft has reappeared," announced Yanikov before his eyes widened in surprise, "Wait a minute, it's changing course, it's heading straight towards us."
"Alright, um, keep a close eye on it and take action if it turns nasty." said Ace nervously.
"Yes, Captain." replied Yanikov and several crew members.
Back on the Lilliput, a reluctant Victor was leading the Doctor and Baraki to the grain silo.
"Look you two, I'd really love to help out, but I'm just an aid worker, I don't know anything." insisted Victor nervously.
"Oh, stop being modest, Victor, you obviously know something," said the Doctor, grinning evily, "Otherwise, why would you be spared."
"The Doctor makes an excellent point," commented Baraki, "Though I still don't trust him either. How do I know you're not both working together and are secretly members of a rival organisation?"
"Because if I did know him and was somehow part of a rival organisation, why would I be trying to help you figure this mystery out?" asked the Doctor calmly.
"Good point." remarked Baraki.
Over on the Vancouver, Ace was in her quarters talking to the Doctor while sitting on the bed.
"I think we might be in trouble, Professor," Ace was saying in a worried tone of voice, "That mystery craft vanished and then reappeared, but now it's near the Vancouver. Shepstay mentioned something about Delta-v reserves: what are they?"
"Delta-v reserves are fuel reserves." explained the Doctor as if it should have been obvious.
"Ohhh, I get it," said Ace in realisation, "So, we'd just have to dump a few fuel resources in order to go faster."
"Precisely." said the Doctor while chuckling.
Ace entered the bridge and Shepstay approached her.
"Captain, Yanikov has just informed me that the ship is changing course again," informed Shepstay, sounding bewildered, "It's heading back towards the Lilliput."
"Can't seem to make their mind up about what ship they're interested in, can they?" snarked Ace.
"Indeed." drawled Yanikov.
The Doctor, Baraki and Victor now dawned spacesuits as they approached an airlock. Victor pressed a few buttons and the door leading into the grain silo opened. The trio entered the silo, where they came across an unexpected sight.
Dangling upside down from the celling were three humanoid aliens. Their heads resembled those of flies. They had dull, pinkish-grey skin and milky-white eyes. They had lobster-like claws. Their feet were glued to the celling by sickly-green goo.
"Hello there," greeted the Doctor before tipping his hat, "I assume you're not part of the crew?"
"We are Metatraxi!" spat the main alien, "You are at our mercy!"
"A bit ironic given that you're the ones stuck up there." joked the Doctor before turning to Victor, "Did you stick them up there?"
"N-no," answered Victor nervously, "But I bet they're the ones who were responsible for the crew disappearing."
"I'm Lieutenant Baraki of the Space Vessel Vancouver," greeted Baraki to the Metatraxi, "Do you know anything about the crew's disappearance?"
The main Metatraxi simply roared with laughter. "We don't answer questions from weak females!" he declared mockingly.
"Say that again!" hissed Baraki through gritted teeth.
"You're nothing but a weakling!" spat the main Metatraxi, "Full of anger; always wanting to prove yourself!"
"Shut up!" snapped Baraki before pulling out her gun and aiming it at the main Metatraxi, "I'm warning you, one more word and I will destroy you!"
"You don't have the guts!" sneered the Metatraxi.
"Lieutenant, don't let him get in your head," said the Doctor as he put a hand on her shoulder, "It's not worth it."
Baraki slowly lowered her gun as the Doctor approached the Metatraxi leader.
"I can sense your weaknesses too, Doctor," taunted the Metatraxi leader, "You are a hypocrite."
The Doctor simply ignored the Metatraxi leader. He then gestured towards Baraki and Victor, who followed him as he passed under the hanging Metatraxi, who continued to challenge them to fight.
"Doctor, how did the Metatraxi know your name?" asked Baraki shakily.
"It appears that the Metatraxi have some sort of psychic that allows them to see into people's minds and exploit their weaknesses and worst memories; it used your weaknesses and fears."
"Being a woman in a position of power hasn't made it easy for me to get respect from a lot of people," admitted Baraki, "Even by this day and age, it's still a challenge. By the way, Doctor, where are we going? The Metatraxi are clearly responsible for what's happened"
"I just want to take a look at the grain." insisted the Doctor, smiling cheekily.
And with that, the Doctor raced through the door into the access corridor, he then pressed a few buttons on the wall beside the door, causing it to slide shut; Baraki yelling at him to stop.
"DOCTOR, GET BACK HERE!" thundered Baraki as she ran over to the door and started banging on it.
Back on the Vancouver, Ace was in her quarters when her communicator beeped. Ace answered it. "Doctor?" she said.
"No, this is Baraki," came Baraki's frustrated reply, "The Doctor has gone into the grain silo despite me telling him to stick with me and Victor: is he usually like this?"
"You have no idea," sighed Ace, "Have you gotten any further with finding out what happened to the crew?"
"Negative, Captain, but we believe that a race of aliens known as the Metatraxi might be behind it. We discovered three of them stuck to the celling. These aliens appear to have psychic powers and use them to exploit the weaknesses of others."
"Right, I'll update the rest of the crew." said Ace.
"Okay," replied the lieutenant, "Oh, and Captain, I know your real name is Ace."
"H-how did you know that?" asked a nervous Ace.
"The Doctor told me everything," answered Baraki, "But don't worry, I won't tell anybody because you have to do that. Yanikov is very suspicious of you. If you want to be a good leader, you have to be honest with everybody."
Baraki then ended the call. Ace sighed before getting to her feet.
Ace entered the bridge and approached Yanikov and Shepstay. "There's still no sign of the crew, but there's some aliens on there called the Metatraxi," she informed them, "According to Baraki, they have psychic powers and can exploit people's emotions. I think it's safe to assume that the mystery craft is there's. Has there been any luck in establishing contact?"
"No, Captain." replied Yanikov.
"Has there been any more activity?" asked Ace.
"No, Ma'm." replied Shepstay.
At that moment, Yanikov's console lit up and started beeping. Yanikov turned to inspect the readings. "The craft is moving again; it has a new destination."
"Where's it heading for?" asked a concerned Ace.
"I-it appears to be on a direct collision course with the grain silo." said a shocked Yanikov.
Ace's eyes widened in horror.
(AN) And that was part two of Earth Aid; hope you all enjoyed.
So, now that Ace knows that Baraki knows her and the Doctor's secret, will she be able to reveal her secret and still gain the trust of her crew? Will the Doctor survive, and what is the true goal of the Metatraxi.
Until next time, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.