13 Novella 3

Judoon

You spend the next twelve hours switching between pacing your cell and listening, neither of which were very rewarding, until one of the space rhinos -Judoon, Yaz called them- comes to collect you from your cell.

You walk in silence behind him with Yaz, before turning unexpectedly into a huge food hall teeming with people.

You stop and Yaz's mouth drops. You are lead to a queue where you stand and collect food before sitting yourself on a far table alone.

The bubbling crowd gave you a headache, all the noise blending into one big crescendo. The proximity wasn't particularly enjoyable either.

Two older women sit themselves opposite you and you take your opportunity when they nod a polite greeting.

"Excuse me- but where are we?" You ask urgently across the table and they exchange looks.

"Your guess is as good as ours dear" the greyer one says and you lean back.

"How long have you been here? What are they doing with us?" Hisses Yaz and you frown at her tone. She relaxes slightly.

"We've been here a few weeks, and I think they're just holding us." She shrugs next to her silent friend and you slump slightly.

"Holding us for what?"

"Well from what we can gather, they're slowly removing the entire population" she says absentmindedly and you are shocked at how casual she is.

"But why?" You insist and she frowns.

"They're the police, they have just reason, I think it's until they deal with the earthquakes." She answers and finally you piece it together.

The Judoon were the space police, they weren't kidnapping you, they thought they were saving you. Another thought occurs but Yaz beats you to it.

"But where are they taking us?" She asks in gentler tones. Both women shrug and you feel her lose patience. You glare at her scoldingly and she loosens.

"Yaz! (Y/n)!" You hear across the hall and turn your head so quickly you may now have whiplash.

You trip off the bench after Yaz and run up to the barred wall. Behind are Jenny, Missy and The Doctor.

"Are you two ok?" The latter says quickly, looking you up and down from the other side.

You nod as Yaz reaches through and takes her hand.

"We were so worried" says The Doctor, sighing, but Yaz smiles.

"We weren't" she replies, nodding significantly at you. You shuffle your feet a little awkwardly and roll your eyes.

"Yeah whatever, anyway, Doctor they're taking these people somewhere safe apparently, but I don't know why they're keeping them here." You rush out as she listens.

"Mmm that makes sense, we've been told we're leaving, they must've realised we're nothing like this population- but don't worry, I'm sure I can figure something out." She adds as you look tense. Yaz drops her hand and they step away, followed by one of the Judoon.

"We're coming back." She says reassuringly, reading your anxious expression.

Trying desperately not to panic at being left behind, you turn back to Yaz.

A bell sounds and everyone rises and you are returned to your cell. Whatever they were doing, you hoped they could do it soon.

No more than a few hours later you hear the cells nearby becoming occupied. Their fear resonates through the walls and you lean against a cot in discomfort.

You know they'll come back, but you can't help the images that flicker behind your eyelids every time you blink.

You watched The Doctor leave you behind and fly away in the Tardis when the silurains were torturing your mind. Even the thought of losing Missy, given her surprising compassion the other night, stirred worry in the pit of your stomach, let alone the thought of never seeing Jenny again.

You shiver and attempt to stay positive. You search for some piece of reality to cling to and so try to tune into Yaz's mind.

Yaz simply stares into the distance while you catch fleeting images of The Doctor. It worked only when you concentrated with all your strength, which kept your own mind from wandering to darker places. Actually it was very loud. You look over to her but she wasn't particularly close, which meant...

"You came back!" You shout, jumping to your feet as the blonde appears, smiling at your door and accompanied by a Judoon.

"Of course I did, hi babe." She adds to Yaz, who jumps into her arms the second the door is unlocked.

"Right, come on you two" she smiles as the floor vibrates alarmingly.

"Doctor?" You say uncertainly and she smiles, leading you back down the hallway.

"They were a little stuck, they saved these people from their crumbling planet but had no where to put them. I suggested a planet in a neighbouring galaxy only 42 years in their future. Had to set it up of course, but I knew they wouldn't mind. Tardis is leading the way as we speak." She says and you stop.

"But if you're here, who's flying her?" You ask perplexed.

"Missy" she answers shortly, and you sense a little tension.

"You left those two alone together? I wonder which one will make it out" jokes Yaz and she smiles.

"I asked them to be nice" says the Time Lord, and you can only hope they'll listen. You are pulled to the new planet in under an hour where it lands without fuss, having collected everyone from their previous homes.

The Tardis materialises right on cue and you rush right inside, anxious to check on the pair. To your relief they both look unharmed, if a little disgruntled.

"I take it back mum, you fly this thing really well" says Jenny sourly, glaring at Missy as she gets to her feet.

"Oops sorry, did I not warn you we were landing?" Says Missy sweetly with wide eyes.

You cross your arms and they both catch sight of you, Jenny breaking into a smile and Missy stepping back from the console.

"Well I'm glad you two didn't kill each other" you say with an eye roll and Missy snorts without looking at you. Jenny approaches and reaches out a hand suggestively. You eye her then reach for it tentatively, happy for The Doctor to take the controls and you away.