by Doctor Who
‘Wow!’ she gasped, and took a couple of steps forward.
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The ground was mossy and springy under her feet and the air was slightly sweet. To one side of her, Rose could see a rich green forest disappearing into the distance, where she could faintly make out glorious snow-tipped mountains. In the other direction was an image from every Caribbean holiday brochure that she had ever seen: a perfect desert-island beachfront, consisting of endless white sands and a beautifully inviting turquoise sea. She turned back to shout into the TARDIS interior.
‘I think I need my bikini and a beach ball!’
But the Doctor was already stepping through the doors, shrugging into his long brown coat. He quickly locked the doors behind him, preventing any chance of a change of clothes. ‘Hello? Emergency distress call. . . Crashed spaceship. . . Any of this sound familiar?’ he reminded her.
Rose instantly felt guilty. She had been so taken with the stunning surroundings that she’d totally forgotten what had brought them here.
‘Are you sure this is the right place?’ she asked, hiding her embarrassment with a hint of belligerence. She waved an airy hand around her at the general beauty. ‘I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing holiday paradise, not a disaster site.’
The Doctor put his arms on her shoulders and gently turned her around. ‘How about that?’
He pointed behind the TARDIS, where, in the far distance, an ugly column of thick black smoke rose from the forest floor.
‘OK, you win,’ admitted Rose. ‘But couldn’t you have parked a bit closer?’
When Hespell came round, the first thing he did was to check his own condition. Arms, then legs; nothing broken – good. He was sprawled over one of the stations on the bridge. He got carefully to his feet. The floor, although not quite horizontal, was close enough for him to stand up and orient himself. At least the ship hadn’t landed upside down or on its nose. The emergency lighting was still filling the bridge with its spooky red glow, making everything look strange and dangerous.
‘Are you all right, Hespell?’
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It was Kendle. He should have known that the solidly built ex-marine would have survived the crash without coming to any harm.
‘I’m fine, sir.’
Collins and Baker both chipped in to say that they were OK too.
Which left just one person unaccounted for.
‘Professor? Can you hear me?’ called a concerned Hespell. ‘Professor?’
‘No need to shout, young man. I’m bruised and battered, but I’m not deaf. Now, can we get some proper lighting in here?’
Hespell smiled to himself. Like her reliable factotum, the professor was clearly made of strong stuff. Kendle’s remarkable piloting skills had proved themselves once again. Apart from the odd cut and bruise, it transpired that none of the crew had been injured in the crash and the damage to the ship itself appeared to be minimal. Once power was back on-line, the maintenance systems would need about forty-eight hours before they could make any attempt to take off, but, all things considered, they had definitely had a lucky escape.
Kendle started to order his crew to set about the repair work, but the professor had other ideas. Now she was on the surface, Petra Shulough was already forgetting the trauma of the crash-landing and planning to explore the area.
Leaving Hespell and the others to run a full check on the condition of the ship, Shulough and Kendle left the bridge to fix the power situation. The emergency batteries were adequate to run essential systems for a few hours, but until the main trisilicate engines could be recharged an alternative power source would be needed. The professor, a firm believer in a belt-and-braces approach to any problem, had obtained a back-up power supply at their last port of call. It was still in the main cargo bay and it took a while to hook up to the ship’s systems, but within half an hour it was working and the ship’s central computer systems came back on-line. The professor went straight to her lab to begin testing her theory that this planet was the one she had been searching for.
∗ ∗ ∗
22
Kendle watched carefully as the professor hunched over her computer, her face fixed as she studied the data from various scans. He had known Petra Shulough all her life and was well aware of just how much time and energy she had put into this search. He knew she must be excited to finally be on the surface of the planet she had dreamed about for so long, but there was no sign of it on her face. As ever, she was the picture of calm professionalism, her face set and determined.
‘The kids handled that well,’ he commented, as the professor scrolled through the incoming data.
‘Hmm?’ she muttered, not really paying him any attention.
‘I said your youngsters coped with the emergency rather well.’
‘They’re not “my” youngsters,’ she responded coolly. ‘They’re my crew.’
Kendle grinned. ‘You can’t fool me – isn’t that why you wanted such a young crew, so you could mother them?’ he asked.
‘They were cheap,’ insisted the professor frostily, and returned her full attention to the screen, ignoring Kendle’s teasing.
‘This is it,’ she confirmed, her voice as level as ever.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked, but even as he spoke, he knew it was a rhetorical question. Petra Shulough would never have made the claim unless she was certain.
‘No doubt in my mind. It’ll take some time to prove it for sure, but this is the Paradise Planet. This is Laylora.’
Rose and the Doctor were enjoying their walk through the forest. The plume of smoke had now blown clean away and, if it hadn’t been for the way the Doctor kept taking readings on the sonic screwdriver every five minutes, Rose might have forgotten again why they were here.
‘This way,’ said the Doctor, slipping the device back into his pocket.
‘Is there anything the sonic screwdriver can’t do?’ wondered Rose.
The Doctor looked a little hurt. ‘Plenty. But it’s still pretty useful.’
Rose shrugged. She didn’t want to argue; she’d only been teasing him. She looked around again at the amazing forest that they were walking through.
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‘It’s just perfect, isn’t it?’ she commented, as they passed yet another display of stunningly colourful flowers. She stopped to smell them and had to gasp at the powerful sweet odour they gave off. ‘Doctor?’
The Doctor was already walking on and Rose ran to catch him up, but he stopped suddenly and she had to skid to avoid crashing into his back.
‘Now what. . . ’ she began, but then she stopped as she saw what he was looking at. ‘Wow!’
‘Double wow!’ agreed the Doctor.
In front of them, partly hidden by the trees and the undergrowth, was a collection of ruined buildings. There were a dozen or so distinct properties in various states of decay and a few more complete buildings, in the centre of which was at least one large edifice.
‘So what is it? A secret city?’
The Doctor shook his head. ‘Not large enough to be a city. . . and these ruins don’t exactly look domestic. I’d say it was some kind of religious site.’
‘High priests, sacrifices, that sort of thing?’
The Doctor shot her one of his wildest grins. ‘If we’re lucky.’
Rose looked around, trying to see signs of life. ‘Doesn’t look as if anyone’s at home,’ she said, taking a closer look at the nearest ruin.
She recalled a long-distant school trip to a medieval English castle.
The remains here were in a similar state: some walls were almost complete, while others were just piles of stone. Rose tried to imagine what it would have looked like when it was new.
The Doctor was on his knees in front of a number of massive stone blocks, his black-rimmed spectacles jammed on to his face. ‘Hello, hello, hello. . . ’ he muttered.
‘What is it?’ asked Rose, hurrying to join him.
The Doctor pointed at the base
of one of the larger stones. ‘See that?’
Rose still couldn’t work out what it was she was meant to be looking at. The stone was sitting on one of the more spectacularly coloured flowers, crushing the stem and causing the head to lie on the ground.
‘What? The squashed flower?’ she replied, doubt clear in her voice.
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‘Exactly.’
With a sudden burst of energy the Doctor stood upright and began looking around him with a more serious expression. As he slipped his glasses back into his pocket he explained his concern. ‘That flower had a head on it, which means it was alive when it was crushed.’
Rose caught on. ‘So the stone fell on it recently!’
The Doctor nodded. ‘This planet might not be as benevolent as we first thought.’
The tribe’s elders had gathered around the Talking Stone. The massive menhir, decorated with exotic carvings, marked the traditional meeting point where all male opinions were welcome. The stone was meant to act as a mediator, but on this occasion its task was easy –everyone agreed with Brother Hugan. The earth tremor had been dis-turbing but no major harm had been done; however, this new event –the arrival of a boat from the sky – was something else. Despite the fact that the timing of the crashed ship’s arrival did not match perfectly, everyone was sure it must be connected to the disappearance of the three youths.
‘Laylora is angry. We must help her cleanse her body.’
Father Opasi shook his head. As the oldest member of the tribe, his opinion was as important as the shaman’s and his wisdom was respected even if he couldn’t remember anyone’s name from one moment to the next any more. ‘We cannot act until we know what the sky boat really is. We have had visitors from the stars before. Perhaps they have returned.’
A number of the elders nodded in agreement, but Brother Hugan looked annoyed.
‘Can’t you see? We have to act. The next time Laylora shakes the ground it will be worse.’
Kaylen found her mother clearing up after the earth tremor. The damage to the village had been minimal, but there was still a great deal to be done. Kaylen started gathering up washing that had been scat-25
tered from the drying lines. While she worked she glanced towards the centre of the village and the Talking Stone.
‘Why aren’t you at the meeting?’ she wondered.
Jaelette sighed. ‘They said this was a matter for the elders.’
‘Just the men, though,’ observed Kaylen.
‘Exactly!’ Her mother smiled.
‘What do you think they will decide?’ Kaylen asked.
Jaelette just shrugged. ‘Probably the wrong thing. You know what men are like!’
Kaylen was shocked, unused to hearing her mother speak so disrespectfully about the elders of the tribe.
Jaelette noticed her expression and laughed. ‘You’re old enough now to have your own opinion about things,’ she told her daughter.
‘Haven’t you ever wondered how it is that we worship our planet Laylora, who is female, but it is always men who rule?’
As a matter of fact Kaylen had often thought about that contradiction, but she was shocked to hear the same idea expressed by her mother.
The biggest building, at the centre of the area of ruins, was a: particularly impressive structure. Rose was reminded of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. This was clearly in the same league. It was massive – it had taken them ten minutes, even at the Doctor’s pace, to walk all the way around. The lower walls were inclined at a slight angle for about three metres and then curved sharply inwards, continuing at a less extreme angle to form a curving roof. In the middle of this roof was a tapering, wide-based tower, at the top of which was a small observation platform. From a distance Rose thought the building must look like a pointy hat, with a thick wide brim, or maybe a wedding cake decorated with a giant lighthouse.
The Doctor was in his element, fascinated by every detail. At inter-vals along the lower walls huge panels were carved with shapes and images, and other panels featured crude paintings. He was examining them closely, his dark-rimmed glasses giving him that geeky student look that made Rose think of Jarvis Cocker.
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‘Fascinating,’ he murmured.
Rose wasn’t so impressed. ‘Matchstick men and matchstick cats and dogs,’ she commented.
‘And matchstick monsters?’ wondered the Doctor. ‘What do you make of these?’ He indicated a few of the crude figures which were markedly larger than, the others. The monsters seemed to have four arms.
‘I thought we had an emergency to attend to?’ Rose reminded him.
The Doctor jumped up, whipping his glasses off. ‘Of course – you’re right. Now, which way is it?’
Rose looked around and realised that their detour into the ruins had caused them to lose their bearings. The forest looked pretty much the same whichever way they turned.
Even the Doctor’s unerring sense of direction was letting him down.
‘I think it’s that way.’ He indicated a direction with a vague wave of his arm.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Rose, doubtfully. ‘We don’t want to be wandering about in this forest for ever!’
The Doctor tried the sonic screwdriver again but couldn’t get a clear reading. ‘Something in these stones is blocking the signal,’ he speculated, and then, much to Rose’s surprise, he started to climb up the side of the main temple.
Fortunately, its rough stones offered plenty of purchase, and although the first three metres or so were almost straight up, after the initial stage he could clamber on to the gently sloping roof.
‘I’ll get a better view from up there,’ the Doctor shouted back down at Rose, waving in the direction of the observation tower. ‘Maybe even a clear signal. Don’t wander off now. . . ’
‘As if!’ muttered Rose, annoyed. She’d been travelling with the Doctor long enough now to know the dangers. Anyway, where exactly could she go?
‘Oh, and hold on to this for me, can you?’
Rose looked up, but not quickly enough. The Doctor’s heavy coat fell on top of her, knocking her to the ground.
‘Sorry!’
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∗ ∗ ∗
Rose had struggled out from under the coat and folded it into a bun-dle, which she then sat on – she might as well use it for something. A nearby bush was heavy with juicy-looking red berries, which appeared to be a cross between cherries and strawberries. Rose was tempted to try one but resisted. Rules of Space-Time Travel No. 10: don’t eat anything until you’re sure it’s totally safe. Unless it’s a badly cooked kronkburger – in which case don’t eat it at all.
On the roof the Doctor was now halfway between the side walls and the conical tower that formed the high point of what he was certain had to be a temple. As he got nearer, he could see that stone steps curved up around the tower, leading to the small platform at the top.
She was beginning to wonder how long the Doctor’s climbing expedition would take; he seemed to have been gone an awful long time already. The sun felt quite intense. Perhaps she should have slapped on some factor 30 before leaving the TARDIS. The heat was making her feel drowsy, but as soon as she closed her eyes she heard something moving nearby. She sat up and looked around. Was it the Doctor on his way back? She stood up to gaze at the temple roof and could see the distant figure of the Doctor disappearing around the back of the tower as he climbed the spiral steps. Then she heard the sound again – somewhere behind her. She whirled around, but she couldn’t see anything.
A moment ago it had been a tropical paradise, but now it was a threatening, alien environment. What was making that noise? Some kind of wild animal? Rose remembered seeing and hearing some beautiful birds during their walk, but they hadn’t seen any animals.
She looked around for some kind of weapon, but nothing suggested itself, unless she could throw the Doctor’s coat over whatever it was.
Of course, the Doctor’s coat! Rose didn’t like to go through anyo
ne’s possessions, but she felt sure the Doctor would understand. She started to rummage about in the coat’s enormous pockets, and straight away regretted it. Like miniature versions of the TARDIS, the Doctor’s pockets seemed to go on for ever. Her fingers found an endless selection of useless stuff: a couple of yo-yos, a packet of boiled sweets, a 28
pack of playing cards, a conker, a toy car, a banana and a cricket ball.
All useless as weapons. Why couldn’t she find the sonic screwdriver?
OK, so she only knew about five of the 8,000 or so different settings it had, but that was better than nothing. The nearest thing she could find was a torch. Maybe whatever was out there wouldn’t know the difference. Holding the torch out in front of her, she began to edge towards the sound.
It seemed to be coming from a smaller building to one side of the main temple – a long, thin structure, part of the roof of which had collapsed, with just a single entrance. Rose reached the doorway and peered through. It was gloomy and dark inside, making it hard to see anything, although a shaft of light was illuminating the far end of the space where the ceiling had caved in.
‘Hello? Is anybody there?’ Rose asked, trying to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice.
She could just make out a movement between the area of light and where she was standing. She took a step back and immediately tripped on the uneven floor. She fell, landing awkwardly and inel-egantly on her bum. Her wrist caught on the doorway as she went down, causing the torch to fly out of her hand.
A figure appeared in the entrance.
From her prone position,
sprawled on her back, it looked like some kind of animal. Rose had a fleeting impression of a huge hairy body, but her eyes were drawn to the creature’s hands, which terminated in shimmering talons some thirty centimetres long that were slicing through the air towards her.