13 Novella 1

Code

You feel the already familiar shaking of the Tardis underfoot, making you smile a genuine smile.

The Doctor and The Tardis seemed perfectly matched, working together to take you half way between what they both wanted.

Yaz clings to one of the golden shards whilst you are happy to be flung around, trying to stay upright.

The Doctor herself seems to be mostly immune to the shaking, with only the slightest movement affecting her. You come crashing to a halt and all is silent except the rhythmic purring of the Tardis.

You glance at the Doctor who nods in encouragement, and you step outside onto... well it's grass but it's also not quite right. It's blue and has a faint spicy aroma, and you are madly tempted to taste it.

You refrain, only to turn and see The Doctor step out the box behind Yaz with a smile on her face and instantly grab a hunk full of the grass and stuff it in her mouth.

She giggles at yours and Yaz's expressions, but you decide to go for it. You grab your own chunk and and taste it tentatively, it tastes like cold spice, and is remarkably pleasant on the tongue.

"Hoppendowl, or Hoppen populated. 36 million years in your future! the planet is self sustaining, everything is edible if you know how, from the grass to the clouds'" she trills, very pleased with her surroundings. "Welcome to your first alien planet (Y/n)!" She breathes.

You catch her eye and smile, almost forgetting the heaviness in your heart. This was absolutely amazing.

"Shall we take a stroll?" She offers, and heads towards what looks like a collection of hills in the distance.

You and Yaz exchange glances, then follow with a shrug.

An hour later and you are getting tired. Your body is still recovering from all the abuse form the last couple of days, and it shows through your breathlessness. You don't want to stop The Doctor and Yaz however, for they are ahead and laughing and talking.

You decide to sit and take a break, only to notice a green glow emanating from a nearby russet boulder. Slowly the green glow turns to gas, that travels from under the boulder at remarkable speeds.

Sensing a danger, you turn to tell The Doctor, only to hear a shriek come from that direction, apparently from Yaz, who is layed on the floor, The Doctor falling unconscious to her side also.

You run to catch up but you are suddenly deaf and dizzy, and with a plunging sensation, you feel your consciousness leave as you tumble into the soft grass.

* * *

You eyes fly open, but you sense not much time has passed. You are in a small prison cell, and you instantly feel threatened. Lying either side of you, still unconscious, are Yaz and The Doctor. You shake the latter awake, and you see her long eyelashes contract sleepily.

"Doctor please wake up!" You whisper shout, scared to make too much noise. Finally with a groan you spot those hazel eyes, and she rolls over and onto her feet in one movement.

"(Y/n)? How long have we been out? Where's Yaz? Yaz!" Yaz is also groaning softly, before you see her deep brown eyes open confusedly. The Doctor helps her to her feet as you answer as best you can.

"I don't know, I woke up not much sooner than you, Doctor where are we? What happened? Was it the gas? Shall we-" you ramble then stop at the blonde's facial expression which is slightly amused.

"(Y/n) calm down, yes I believe the gas knocked us out, but not for long I don't think, it's still light, and this planet has a shorter day cycle than Earth" seeing that you are not much appeased she softens her tone "it'll be ok (Y/n)"

At that moment the door slides open and standing in the doorway is what looks like half man half moose.

He barks something in a foreign language then pulls out a watch and scans you. You start but it doesn't hurt.

"Human" he concludes, switching to English.

"All three will follow me, which is The Doctor?" He surveys you all and The Doctor steps forward. "That would be me, can I help you? I must warn you, knocking me and my friends out has not put me in the best of moods" she finishes with a frown as you are all lead down a bleak hallway into a lab room.

"We know you speak many languages, you will translate this"

"Mmm, maybe if you ask nicely" she says, but you can tell she is curious and already working hard as she attempts to read the strange runes "what is it?" She asks nonchalantly.

Three more moose-men turn from their work stations and one answers.

"Destruction codes to deal with the vermin of this planet, but we cannot translate it"

"Well not that I approve, but it's clearly written in Gorian, and as Hoppens you should speak this as a native language" says The Doctor.

"Correct, but look closer, it makes no sense, the letters are correct, and it isn't coded but we can't read it, there are mistakes"

"Yes..." confirms The Doctor "but there shouldn't be"

It is at this moment that you finally catch up, and have an idea. You tug gently on The Doctor's sleeve to get her attention and she turns to you in surprise waiting for you to speak, only now you have the attention on everyone on the room, including six moose-men.

"Um... I just uh thought, well, something can always be translated, and codes can be broken, but mistakes are misunderstood. Maybe... to stop it from being translated, the mistakes are deliberate, with a pattern to them?" You end quietly, then glance up at The Doctor who is smiling down at you with a huge grin.

"I think you might just be right" making you blush shyly, and so they all get to work searching for patterns, and you slip off to sit next to Yaz.

"How did you know that?" She whispers in awe.

"Honestly, I didn't" you smile, turning to watch the proceedings, and The Doctor scribbling on a piece of paper.

"Oh. Oh no" she whispers nearby, freezing.

You tense and catch Yaz's eye, confused when she suddenly rips the paper into shreds and throws them on the floor. She whips her sonic out and blows all the screens out in under a second, to roars of dismay from the moose-men.

"What have you done?!" They bellow as The Doctor drags you and Yaz to your feet and out the door in an instant.

You find yourself sprinting down a corridor behind The Doctor with her screwdriver pointed ahead, blowing open door after door. Your sides scream in agony and your legs feel tense and slow.

"Doctor what did you do!?" gasps Yaz from somewhere behind you.

"The translation" she pants "they're coordinates for a weapon to wipe out life on this planet!" She calls back at you both, spurring you onward in panic.

You had assumed they meant actual vermin, not the population!

With that you burst out a final door and find yourself back on the seemingly familiar blue grass, but The Doctor isn't stopping, she thuds down a narrow path through the trees until you all drop half a mile away onto a soft patch, breathing hard. The sounds of the moose-people have died off and you know you've escaped.

With that, you make the trudge back to The Tardis, rather eager to get safe again.