Genesis Of The Doctor - A Doctor Who Story

04 - Crush

"Your girlfriend's back."

"Hmm, insulting. Shut up, she'll hear you," shushed the boy. "She's not my girlfriend, she's much older than me. And she's a Time Lord if you haven't forgotten."

'The Corsair', the object of the discussion, strolled past. She was a tall, imposing young woman with an arrogant air that belied her kindly face. She wore a smart red and gold flight suit in stark contrast to the shapeless blue fatigues that the boy and girl had to wear. Ignoring the girl, she said to the boy, "Hey you! Thrombolites it was today, as far as the eye could see. Thrombolites and mud." As a Time Lord Initiate the Corsair's days currently consisted of visits to a new world undergoing the early stages of its development. As time travellers The Time Lords were able to revisit this world again and again at different times, stepping out into key stages of the evolution of its life forms, from the primordial soup to the age of space exploration and beyond. The Corsair continued, "Still, apparently there will be some oxygen there next time we visit. That'll be nice."

The Corsair walked on through the Prydonian Deca main hall away from the cafeteria and towards the dormitories. The boy's eyes followed her as she strode away.

The domed, tunnel-like hall around them had a tarnished industrial design and was dimly lit via light globes floating overhead. A winding corridor threaded its way between a random assortment of furniture taking up most of the floor space and occupied by vast numbers of chattering students.

The girl took the boy's arm and dragged him over to a quiet bench on the side. "Do you still have the 'link' in your pocket?"

"Yes."

"Let's try it out then, what are we waiting for?"

Looking furtively around them to make sure that they weren't observed, the pair returned to their dormitory. The boy grumbled, "Stupid old Borusa; we get precious little time away from here as it is. I really wanted to go to the museum – you get to see the old Tardises."

"If this works we'll get away from here very soon," answered the girl, "But if you want to go on a field trip tomorrow to a musty old museum then let's just go anyway. He's got to manage more than a hundred students – I am sure we can slip in unnoticed."

The boy tugged at the lapels of his jacket. "Fine! Let's do it," he said decisively. He looked around them, taking in the throngs of students filling the cafeteria some way away all intent upon their rations. As was usual at mealtimes the dormitory area was deserted. "Do you think the coast is clear?" he asked. The girl nodded.

Hidden by shadows, they had reached the very back of their dorm now and were pushing their way through a storage locker set into the wall. The girl produced a large flat screwdriver from her pocket and slid it into a seam in the wall while the boy kept lookout. Grunting with the effort she pulled and a full-height wall panel came away with a hiss, revealing a dark space beyond. Both of them piled into the chamber hidden behind the wall and replaced the panel behind them.

Inside the small space was a jumbled treasure trove of pilfered artefacts: piled up against the walls on all sides were dismantled electronic equipment, bits of metal, plastic boxes, crystals and various organic plant-like structures bristling with coloured lights.

Nestled in the centre of the space was a tiny, dirty-blue, two-seater space craft, its cabin battered and cracked but intact. The shoe-shaped craft contained two red, uncomfortable-looking seats arranged front to back, a control console at the front and a bulbous engine area towards the rear from which a mass of wires, fluid-filled tubes and cables spilled like guts onto the floor and stretched out to various machines elsewhere in the room.

Reverently the boy lifted the small silver fluid link that they had stolen earlier in the day and fitted it into a socket within one of the machines with a satisfying click. The fluid link was a horse-shoe shaped glass vessel with a square plug at both ends, a red wire wound around its circumference and what appeared to be mercury sloshing around inside.

The girl flipped a switch on the machine and a console display lit up in the cabin as the machine hummed to life. "It works!" she exclaimed, "I can't believe it, we're almost ready!"

They hugged each other and then the girl looked the boy in the eye, concern clouding her face. She asked, "You promise don't you? You promise if they make me do the Rebirth then you'll do it too?"

"I do, I promise. But it won't come to that, we'll escape." He indicated the jury-rigged lash-up before them, "This means we can get out before they can make us do it. Before they can kill us."

The machine started making a rising humming noise, causing the walls to resonate around them and which prompted the girl to switch it off before it could attract attention. "We've a lot to do," she said, "but we've got almost all we need now; it's just a question of getting all of the bits back in the box."

"Plus stealing some accurate time and space coordinates, moving this conspicuous spacecraft outside without being seen and then getting hold of an awful lot of power. Really easy."

"Sure but if we cover for each other and work in shifts then putting it all together won't take long - we could be done in a week. I can't wait!"

As the pair made their way out of their secret chamber they sealed the wall panel shut behind them and started to walk back towards the cafeteria area. They were confronted by the massive armoured form of a Chancellery Guard blocking their way. The guard carried a stazer rifle which was almost but not quite pointing at the girl. It was very unusual to see a police presence in the dormitory area and the guard had attracted the attention of many onlookers.

"You two!" barked the guard. "There were some unusual energy readings coming from this area just microspans ago. Do you know anything about that?"

The girl stood her ground looking the guard straight in the eye; a direct challenge. "No," she said. "We're just kids, what would we know about that sort of thing?"

Holding his arms out in a supplicating gesture the boy addressed the guard, who turned to face him, "Sorry, it's me I think." He indicated the dormitory room and continued, "It's always cold in there so I rigged up a thermionic heater, just to take the edge off. I'm sorry, I know machines like that are not allowed in the dorms – I'll go and get it for you. I won't do it again."

"No you won't!" the guard grunted. "Go and get it now!" As the boy passed the girl he smiled at her conspiratorially, elated that the guard had believed his story. The loss of the illicit heater was a small price to pay when the alternative was them losing all of their work on the flyer. They would have to be more careful when they powered it up again.