(AN) Hello and welcome back to my fan novelisation of WIDWWA Season 27. I hope you all enjoy and remember to Read and Review.
Forgot to add in the last chapter that the Metatraxi have lobster claws
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 Three
Earth Aid, Part Three
Ace was gripping the armrests of her chair as Yanikov continued to say how much closer the mystery ship was getting.
"Wait a minute!" cried a surprised Yanikov, "It's slowing down."
"W-what?" said a surprised Ace.
"It's not going to collide with the grain silo," informed Yanikov in amazement, "It seems to be stopping just beside the grain silo."
"Oh thank goodness." muttered a relieved Ace.
"Sorry, Captain?" asked Shepstay.
"O-oh, I was just wondering what the ship is actually doing." lied the teen.
"Wait a minute, there appears to be some activity," piped up Shepstay, "Our mystery ship is … attaching lines to the Lilliput."
"What's it doing that for?" asked a bewildered Ace.
"It's pulling the ship with it!" cried a shocked Yanikov, "Perhaps they're space pirates?"
"What sort of space pirates would want a silo filled with grain?" questioned a confused Shepstay.
"Hungry pirates." suggested Yanikov, grinning sheepishly.
"Well we're not going to find out by sitting here and talking; follow that ship!" ordered Ace.
"Aye aye, Captain." replied Shepstay.
Over on the Lilliput, the Doctor staggered as he felt the Lilliput beginning to move.
"There's no crew to pilot the ship," muttered the Doctor as he steadied himself, "so that means that our mystery ship is dragging the Lilliput with it."
The Doctor hurried down the corridor and came to a single metal door with a keypad next to it. The Doctor approached the keypad and saw that there was a question on the small screen above the screen: 'who is the Greek Goddess of wheat?'
The Doctor gave a light chuckle before beginning to type on the keypad. "D-E-M-E-T-E-R." he muttered under his breath.
There was a small ding and the door hissed open. The Doctor smiled and entered.
The grain silo was a massive room that could've held an entire house. The room was bathed in a dull orange light and the floor was covered in piles of grain; some were as large as molehills. The Doctor began to walk around; whistling to himself.
The Doctor suddenly stopped as he heard what sounded like movement coming from within the grain. "Hello?" he called out, "I'm the Doctor, I promise that I mean no harm."
There was suddenly movement from within the grain. Suddenly, several large, worm-like creatures emerged from the grain. They had tan-coloured skin, a snout and large black eyes.
"Hello there," greeted the Doctor cheerfully, tipping his hat, "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"
"We are the Grub." replied the main Grub.
"Nice to meet you," said the Doctor, "Am I to take it that you're responsible for the crew vanishing?"
"You guessed correctly," answered the main Grub with glee, "We hail from the planet Safensthome, which is plentiful in rich food and plant life, but it was believed that we were eating too much, and so we were forced off the planet. For a time, we floated through space; nearly driven to starvation. We found the Lilliput and snuck into the grain silo, where we've been enjoying this most delicious grain."
"And what about the crew?" asked the Doctor.
"The workers in here discovered us, and so we stuck them to the wall of this silo," informed the Grub leader, "But then we discovered that the Metatraxi had arrived, and we've been hiding in here ever since."
"So, you're familiar with the Metatraxi then?" asked the Doctor.
"THEY ARE A PACK OF SAVAGES!" roared the Grub leader as he and the other Grub shrieked and hissed.
"Ahhh, so obviously not fans." muttered the Doctor sheepishly before turning to the door, "I'll jus leave you then."
The Doctor raced towards the door when it suddenly slammed shut. The Doctor began banging his fists against the door. "Victor? Baraki? A little help here!"
On the other side of the door, Victor was attempting to rip the keypad out of the wall; ignoring the Doctor's cries for help.
"And just what do you think you're doing!" growled a voice from behind.
Victor stopped what he was doing and whirled around, where he came face-face with Baraki aiming her gun at him and wearing a stern scowl.
"Lieutenant, I-I was just." began Victor nervously.
"Locking the Doctor inside the grain silo," said Baraki sternly, "Open that door this instance!"
Victor simply sighed in defeat. "Okay." he said in defeat.
Using his good hand, Victor typed the password in and the door slid open, allowing the Doctor to run out. "Thank you, Victor." he said.
"Don't give him too much praise, Doctor, he's the one who locked you in there," informed Baraki, pointing a firm finger at Victor before turning back to the Doctor, "Did you find anything?"
"Quite a lot actually," replied the Doctor, grinning with glee, "It appears that an alien species known as the Grrrrub are responsible for the disappearance of the crew: they stowed away inside the grain silo after being kicked off of their own planet, but the crew discovered them, and so they stuck them to the walls of the grain silo."
"I see," replied Baraki, "and do these Grub have any relation to the Metatraxi?"
"Not that I'm aware of," answered the Time Lord, "but they seem pretty hostile towards them."
"So, how on Earth are we going to get my friends down?" asked Victor in concern, though the Doctor noticed that he didn't seem too concerned.
The Doctor turned to face Baraki. "Lieutenant, I need you and your troops to go to the kitchens and gather up some food for the Grub."
"Food for the Grub?" said a confused Baraki.
"Yes: fruits; nuts and seeds will do," replied the Doctor, "You're going to use the food to distract the Grub so that you can get the crew down from the wall. There should be some kind of gel that will help clear away that goo."
"Well, you've been right so far, so I'll trust you."
Back on the Vancouver, Ace turned to Yanikov and Shepstay. "Any idea on where we're heading to?"
"Yes, it's … Safensthome." replied a surprised Shepstay.
"Safensthome!" cried Ace in shock, "As in … the planet we were heading for anyway."
"Yes, Captain." drawled Yanikov.
Out in the void of space, the three ships were slowly approaching a large blue and green planet.
Ace, Yanikov, Shepstay and the rest of the crew watched through the main viewing screen as they approached the planet.
"Well, that's cheeky isn't it!" scoffed Ace before huffing, "Here we are trying to deliver their grain, and they're just too impatient to wait."
"It certainly is, Ma'am." remarked Shepstay.
Back on the Lilliput, Baraki, her troops and the Doctor were in the grain silo. Various pieces of fruit, seeds and nuts were scattered across the floor, which suited the Grub, who were currently devouring them. The Doctor and Baraki watched as the lieutenant's troops slowly unstuck the crew from the wall.
"Well, at least the Lilliput will finally have its crew back," said Baraki, "Hopefully, they'll be able to figure out what to do with the Metatraxi and Grub."
"I imagine they'll take them to some planet or try to get transport for them so that they can rrrreturn to wherever they came from." explained the Doctor.
"Doctor, I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but thanks." said Baraki.
The Doctor was about to respond when he suddenly noticed that all the Grub had vanished. "Where did they go?" he asked aloud.
The crew members finished clearing the gel away, but as soon as they did, the figures that had been stuck to the wall suddenly leapt to the ground, revealing them to not be members of the crew, but Metatraxi.
"What the hell!" cried Baraki in shock.
Baraki's troops leapt down to the ground, pulled out their guns and began firing on the Metatraxi, who easily dodged the red energy beams before pouncing on the troops and strangling them with their lobster like claws.
"NO!" yelled Baraki in horror.
"Come on, Lieutenant, let's get out of here!" cried the Doctor in alarm before ushering the lieutenant towards the door.
The two ran out of the grain silo only to be stopped dead in their tracks by Victor and the six Metatraxi that had previously been hanging upside down. Victor was holding a futuristic looking pistol in his good hand and was aiming it at the two while wearing an evil grin. "Sorry about this, Lieutenant," he remarked coldly, "It's nothing personal, just business."
"I knew there was something fishy about you, Espinosa!" snarled the lieutenant before glaring at the Doctor.
"I think for now, it might be best to just do as they say." muttered the Doctor sheepishly.
As one, the Doctor and Baraki raised their hands in surrender.
The Doctor and Baraki were frogmarched on to the Lilliput's bridge by two Metatraxi; Victor and the other Metatraxi following close behind. The Time Lord and the human lieutenant were forced to sit in two of the chairs. Victor came to stand in front of them; pistol in hand.
"So, Victor, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you decide to join forces with the Metatraxi?" asked the Doctor cheerfully.
"I'm fighting against the injustices of the policies behind food aid," informed Victor, "Aid organisations such as Earth Aid sometimes don't deliver on their promises and will give less to planets who really need it."
"Really?" said the Doctor in surprise.
"Okay, it's mainly for the money," admitted Victor, "The Metatraxi contacted me a short while before the mission to Safensthome and promised me money in exchange for the crew of both the Lilliput and the Vancouver."
Victor then walked over to a nearby console and pulled a headset with several buttons along the side out from underneath the console, the aid worker then marched over to Baraki. "Put it on!" he barked in a dangerous manner.
"I'm not putting that thing on!" clapped back the lieutenant.
Baraki suddenly began crying out in pain and clutching her temples as the main Metatraxi stared directly at her. Baraki fell to her knees. The Doctor attempted to run over and help, but another Metatraxi caused him to also fall to his knees and cry out in pain.
Victor chuckled darkly before walking over with the helmet and forcing it on to Baraki's head.
The two Metatraxi stopped, causing both the Doctor and Baraki to fall flat on their faces.
The Doctor staggered to his feet and looked at Baraki, who also staggered to her feet. The lieutenant stared blankly into space; her eyes had rolled up into their sockets. "What have you done to her!" he asked irritably.
"Don't worry, it's just a trance," assured Victor cooly, "It's a Psychic Communication Headset or PCH for short: it allows sentient planets to communicate through the wearer."
"Ahh yes, I heard rumours that Safensthome was sentient," said the Doctor, "but why use Baraki and not me?"
"Because sentient planets are always female and therefore require a female host." informed Victor.
Back on the Vancouver, alarms were now wailing as the ship drew closer to Safensthome, though nobody needed to be told why: a large fleet of ships identical to the mystery ship pulling the Lilliput surrounded the planet.
"Looks like a welcoming committee." snarked Ace.
"They're not here to welcome us!" informed a horrified Yanikov, "They're a war fleet!"
Ace's eyes widened in fear. Why would they attack the people trying to help them.
On the bridge of the Lilliput, the Doctor watched in confusion as they neared Safensthome, he then turned to face the Metatraxi leader. "Why exactly are we heading for our destination?" he asked in confusion.
The Metatraxi leader ignored the Doctor as he went over to a console and flicked a few switches.
Back on the Vancouver, one of the crew members turned to Yanikov. "I've got an incoming communication coming through from the Lilliput." he informed him.
"Put it through, let's hear it." said Yanikov.
The crew member turned back to the console and flicked a switch.
"Crew members of the Vancouver," began the voice of the Metatraxi leader, "this is the Metatraxi leader. Your ship and crew now belongs to us. Safensthome is our home planet; we were created by our mother to drive the Grub from the planet. They nearly ate everything on the planet. Afterwards, we went out to other worlds in order to conquer them and use them in other wars, and any prisoners of war we capture are taken back to Safensthome and forced to fight in our battle arenas in order to train our soldiers. Because we were rarely at home, Safensthome remained plentiful, but despite this and the Grubs' exile, our planet began to suffer a great famine, so we sent a distress signal to Earth Aid and decided that we would capture the crews of both ships and force them to fight in our arena. We were smuggled on board the Lilliput by one of the crew, but regrettably, we had to kill and eat the rest of the crew."
"That's monstrous!" cried Shepstay, appalled.
"The traitor crew member helped to make it appear that we had been subdued," continued the Metatraxi leader as if he hadn't been interrupted, "We knew that eventually members from the Vancouver would investigate and so we waited. We have your medical officer and lieutenant: they will be taken to Safensthome, where they will be forced to fight in our arena, where they will die and we shall feast. The Vancouver will be destroyed and be forced to crash land on to Safensthome: any survivors will be forced into the arena; the rest will be eaten. Both ships will be taken apart; the parts will be recycled for our own purpouses. We shall also take the grain and use it to save our planet."
The call ended abruptly.
The entire bridge seemed to shake, knocking multiple crew members to the floor and causing others to scream in alarm. The lights in the bridge turned blood red. Alarms began wailing.
"Code red, code red, we are under attack from multiple hostiles!" cried Yanikov before turning to Ace, "What do we do?"
Ace sat frozen in her seat; listening to the pleas of her crew members. The teen seemed to spring back to life before turning to face the others. "Take evasive maneuovers and take up battle positions!" she ordered, "I know this might seem like a bad time to mention this, but I'm not really a starship captain."
"I KNEW IT!" shouted Yanikov in delight, "Are you in league with the Metatraxi too!"
"No," replied Ace, "The Doctor thought it would help me learn about responsibility or something if I pretended to be a starship captain."
"But why would he do that?" asked a bewildered Shepstay.
"I've been asking myself that since this mission started," retorted the teen, "but I know you can trust him and me. Right now, I'm probably your only chance at saving the Vancouver."
"What do you suggest we do, Captain?" asked Shepstay.
"Well, I've got one idea that might work," said an uncertain Ace, "Patch me through to the main Metatraxi battle ship."
"Aye aye, Captain." said one of the crew members.
There were a few beeps and after a few moments there was static, followed by the voice of the Metatraxi leader. "Do you wish to surrender, puny Earthlings?" he demanded.
"This is Captain Ace McShane calling the head of the Metatraxi war fleet," informed Ace in a commanding voice, "Why don't you surrender you rats!"
"WHAT! A FEMALE, THE CAPTAIN OF A STARSHIP!" bellowed the Metatraxi in outrage.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" asked Ace smugly, "I thought you were meant to be eager for war? Or are you afraid that you might be beaten by a girl?"
"This is an insult!" spat the Metatraxi, "The Metatraxi do not fight weak females! All Metatraxi battle ships shall retreat."
The communication ended.
"I-I don't believe it, they're all retreating!" cried Yanikov in amazement as he observed the screen on his console. Cancel the red alert."
"How did you know that would work?" asked Shepstay, looking at Ace in shock.
"Easy: the Metatraxi are a warrior race, so I figured they'd probably have old views about girls." explained Ace in delight.
"That was brilliant thinking," admitted Yanikov, "So, what do we do now?"
"Oh, nice to see you finally respecting me." snarked Ace.
"Don't make me regret it." muttered Yanikov.
"Right, let's go rescue the Doctor and Baraki." declared Ace.
The Metatraxi battle arena on Safensthome was styled after a Roman colosseum. Dozens of Metatraxi lined the stands.
Inside the waiting area, the Doctor, Victor and Baraki were standing against the wall, waiting to be sent out. A few Metatraxi were standing guard.
"So, Victor, do you really think the Metatraxi will keep up their end of the bargain once we're all dead?" asked the Doctor in a low whisper.
"Of course they will." retorted Victor.
"Silence!" barked the first Metatraxi before glaring at Victor, "You are a foolish human: after the Doctor is defeated, you will be next, and if you loose, we shall feast."
"WHAT!" cried Victor in fear, "B-but you said we had a deal."
"That was simply a ploy so that we could use you," informed the first Metatraxi, "Those who we use have no further purpose once they've completed their task."
Victor screamed furiously and tried to run at the Metatraxi, but he screamed in pain and fell to the floor on his face, while the Metatraxi glared at him.
"Safensthome, surely you don't agree with all of this?" asked the Doctor in a pleading manner.
"I do not, Doctor," replied Baraki in a distorted version of her normal voice that seemed to echo across the entire planet, "Children, please do not go through with this."
"Silence, Mother!" snapped the second Metatraxi.
"That's no way to speak to your mother." muttered the Doctor in a snarky tone of voice.
The gate into the main arena opened. The first and second Metatraxi grabbed the Doctor's elbows and pushed himinto the arena.
The Doctor walked into the middle of the arena; the sound of jeering and booing echoing around the arena. The Metatraxi leader aproached the Doctor and glared at him. "You are a weakling, Doctor!" he snarled furiously, "You are ugly!"
"Beauty is only skin deep," remarked the Doctor, glaring hard at the insect-like alien, "You're going to have to do much better than that."
"Very well: you are a pathetic little man!" sneered the Metatraxi leader, "You enjoy playing games with others, don't you?"
"I do what has to be done!" stated the Doctor firmly, though he was starting to tremble slightly.
"You may think that, but it is untrue," stated the Metatraxi leader firmly, "You use everyone as pawns in your little games, even those you claim to care about. You put everyone you supposedly care about in danger, and some have paid the ultimate price."
"I-I tried to protect them." uttered the Doctor as he hissed in pain and clutched his temples.
The Doctor then fell to his knees while crying out in agony.
"I see into your mind, Doctor," declared the Metatraxi leader in triumph before laughing wickedly, "I can see all those who've sacrificed themselves, all those caught up in the chaos of your life. You are not a good man."
The Doctor let out a small scream before falling on to his back. The Metatraxi leader slowly approached the Doctor, claws raised.
"My children, please stop!" begged Safensthome's voice, "Do not force me to use my full powers!"
"Do not interfere, Mother!" barked the Metatraxi leader, "Victory is mine!"
The Metatraxi leader was about to clamp his claws down on the Doctor's neck when suddenly, the sound of a roaring engine could be heard. Everybody looked up and was shocked to see the Vancouver flying overhead.
"Greetings to all stinking Metatraxi!" came Ace's voice through the Vancouver's speaker system, "This is the captain of the Space Vessel Vancouver: I've got a present for you lot!"
"A FEMALE CAPTAIN!" roared the Metatraxi leader in disgust, "You won't be able to save yourselves oryour friends!"
The Metatraxi leader tried to move, but suddenly found himself paralysed. Looking around, he noticed that all the other Metatraxi were frozen too. "What is this!" he snarled.
"I warned you, children," came the voice of Safensthome, "I will not allow you to harm the humans."
The Doctor grinned as he leapt to his feet before running back through the gate.
The Doctor pulled a sobbing Victor to his feet before grabbing Baraki's hand and pulling the two Earth Aid employees along with him.
Ace had used the Vancouver's controls to tip the grain silo over, dumping all of the grain on to the forest floor, dumping the Grub on to the ground as well.
The Grub looked up and began sniffing and moving around.
"Could it be?" said the Grub Leader in astonishment, "Safensthome."
"We have returned home." cheered another Grub.
The Grub suddenly stopped and listened to the sound of running feet. The Metatraxi leader suddenly tore through the bushes, followed by a few other Metatraxi. The Grub shrank back in fear as the Metatraxi approached them.
"The Grub!" spat the Metatraxi leader in disgust, "Destroy them!"
The Metatraxi attempted to move, but once again, they found themselves paralysed.
"Stop it, Mother!" one of them spat.
At that moment, the Doctor arrived with Victor and Baraki.
"No, my children," said Safensthome, "I shall not allow you to harm your brothers."
"But they nearly ruined this planet!" retorted the Metatraxi Leader, "Let us destroy them!"
"NO!" shouted Safensthome firmly, "I have forgiven them, as you should too. I sense their regret for what they did to me, and I believe that they deserve a second chance."
"Oh yes, Mother, we have learned from our past misdeeds." promised the Grub.
"This is bogus!" spat the Metatraxi leader, "MMMMUUUUUUMMMM!"
"Well, I'm not the best at domestics, so since this is a family affair, I'll be leaving now." remarked the Doctor sheepishly before running off with Victor and Baraki.
Soon after, the Doctor and Ace had returned to the TARDIS, which was now spinning through the vortex. The Doctor and Ace were currently sitting in the TARDIS study area. Ace was now wearing her regular clothes and her hair was once again tied into a bun.
"Do you think the Metatraxi and Grub will get along now?" asked Ace.
"I think they'll learn to get on splendidly," answered the Doctor, "Even the strangest of people can get along, and if they don't, their mother can always evolve a third species to kick them both off."
"So, how did Baraki enjoy being a sentient planet?" asked Ace, chuckling.
"I think she actually missed it once Yanikov removed the headset," informed the Doctor, who was also chuckling, "Though I think she got great satisfaction from throwing Victor in irons."
"So, did you know that all that was going to happen?" asked Ace curiously, "You always seem to know everything before it's even happened and then use that to your advantage."
"Of course I knew what was going to happen, Ace." claimed the Doctor.
"Professor." said Ace in a tone that suggested that she didn't believe him.
"Okay, you got me. Believe it or not, Ace, I was completely in the dark for the first time with this regeneration," revealed the Doctor, "I had to be in the dark to allow you to take the reigns as captain."
"Oh," said a surprised Ace before smiling, "Well, that makes a nice change: I hope you keep it up."
(AN) And that's a wrap on Earth Aid in my fan novelisation of Season 27; hope you enjoyed.
Next time: In London, 1967, the Doctor and Ace are hired to steal something from the Tower of London, and they discover that the government is hiding treasures from a crashed spaceship. Meanwhile, they are being observed by an unknown voice who puts Ace to a series of tests. All the while, it seems that the Doctor and Ace are unwittingly working for an old enemy...
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.