A Strange Man in a Strange Box

11. The Council Needs To Be Convinced

As they moved further from the area the soldiers were guarding, the streets slowly became more busy again. Everyone was casually going about their business, and seemed unconcerned by the potential war that was about to break out beneath their feet.

But there were subtle signs all around that something was happening. For one, every manhole cover they went past seemed to have someone standing near it. Either security or maintenance workers were loitering in small groups and doing their best to look surreptitious.

Eventually they made their way to a very large building near the centre of the city. It wasn't as tall as some of the other buildings around it, but it was still large. The walls were mostly glass, and grew up and curved around into a kind of shape like a crystal ball that was swept back to a point. It was squat and imposing at the same time. And it definitely gave of the air of superiority that came with elected officials.

"Yes, this looks like the right place," said the Doctor, as he marched purposefully towards the entrance.

A wide open archway at the front of the building formed the main entrance. A steady flow of people were moving in and out. The Doctor led the other three through the crowds and into the main entrance area.

Through the archway, the area opened out again into a large atrium. Above them, the rest of the building was curved around in a U shape that stretched up to the top of the building. All around, offices branched off from the bright and airy atrium, and filled the rest of the building.

Towards the back of the open area, there was a group of elevators that went up to the higher levels. And in front of the elevator doors, there was a security checkpoint with desks lined up on each side. It was towards these desks that the Doctor was headed.

With a quick look, he judged who he needed to talk to. He almost seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to finding who was in charge of any situation. His eyes fixed on an older looking woman who was sitting rather formally at the first desk on the right.

Confidently, the Doctor walked over and flashed his psychic paper at her. "We're here to see the mayor," he said.

Her eyes flicked over between the paper and the Doctor a few times before she replied. "They are in a meeting. In the main chamber, with the rest of the administrative assembly," she said. "Tenth floor, through the large black doors."

"Thank you for your assistance," the Doctor said, and flashed her one of his big grins.

Moving swiftly onwards, the Doctor went into one of the elevators, then held the door open while Y/n, Sh'reen and Steven followed him. Once they were all inside, he went to the control panel and pressed the button for the tenth floor. The elevator doors closed with a swish, and the elevator lurched upwards.

The whole elevator car was made from glass, and gave a wonderful view of the inside of the atrium as they travelled upwards. The higher they went, the more plants they could see growing from boxes and pots throughout the building. Their colourful flowers helped soften the cold feeling of the building's design.

With another lurch, the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened again to reveal a wide corridor. It was long, maybe a hundred metres at least, and lined with many doorways. And it came to an end at a large pair of doors. They were painted black, and had a pair of ornate gold handles.

As they walked along the corridor, the Doctor was locked in quiet contemplation. He could see he was going to need some complicated scheme to convince the council of their mistakes. But then, his eyes caught sight of Sh'reen as she walked along holding hands with Y/n. And as he did, a plan began to form within his mind.

When they reached the double doors at the end of the corridor, the Doctor pushed them both open forcefully. With a loud bang to announce his presence, the Doctor burst into the room.

"You are making a terrible mistake," he said, loudly and with great authority.

A quiet murmur passed around the large circular room. All the council members sitting at their own individual desks turned with confused looks towards their neighbours. Finally an older man with a short grey beard stood up to address the visitors.

"We were discussing the increase to the sanitation budget for the next quarter," he said. "Did you have some important information to add to that discussion?"

"Ah, umm, no," said the Doctor. "It was a different mistake I was referring to."

From the head of the room, a figure stood up. They were dressed very formally, and had a gold chain around their neck that held a star shaped medallion over their chest. This was obviously the mayor, Y/n surmised. They looked supremely dominant and surprisingly tall, and their makeup could only be described as striking.

"You have something to say?" the mayor asked.

"Yes," said the Doctor. "There is a colony of insects that live under this city. I am sure you have heard about that."

The mayor sighed dismissively. "That was the first matter on the agenda. We have already discussed that," they said. "We decided that they were an imminent threat, and so voted unanimously that they should be exterminated."

"No, this is wrong," Sh'reen shouted suddenly. "You're talking just like them."

Y/n looked down to see that Sh'reen had tears in her eyes, but at the same time a stern and angry expression. The Doctor was looking down at her too, but he was grinning expectantly, like he had been waiting for her to get upset.

"What do you mean, child?" the mayor asked.

Sh'reen's lip trembled slightly. She wasn't used to speaking in front of an audience, but even at nine years old the indignity she felt was overwhelming her.

"I was born on Sylushia," she said. "It was peaceful, before my planet was invaded by the Sontarans."

Sh'reen paused and wiped the tears from her eyes before she continued. "They were more advanced than us, so we didn't stand a chance. All we could do was run," she said. "The refugee ships rescued us and took us away to safety before we could be killed. We came here, hoping to find a more peaceful civilization who could protect us.

"But now I can see what you are really like," said Sh'reen. "The way that you are so willing to destroy the insect people, I can see you are truly just the same as the Sontarans."

"But these insects are just simple creatures," said the mayor.

"That is what the Sontarans thought of us!" Sh'reen said, angrily. "They just thought of us as simple farmers, not deserving respect as we had not even advanced far enough to invent space flight yet. They thought it was okay to just destroy us like it didn't matter."

"The Sontarans were wrong in what they did," said the mayor. "But I hardly think that equates to what we are doing here."

"Maybe not to you, but how do you think the bug people will feel about it," said Sh'reen. "This is their home that you are invading."

The Doctor was looking at Sh'reen with a proud smile on his face, before he turned to address the mayor. "She's right," he said. "These insects are native to this planet. You would be the powerful invaders in this analogy."

The mayor sat down and fell silent, along with the rest of the council, while they thought about what they had heard. Eventually the mayor stood up and raised their hand.

"We will need to discuss this further," they said. "Please leave so that we can add this new point to the agenda, and make our decision in private."

The Doctor thought about it for a moment while he looked around the room. Then he smiled and bowed to the mayor.

"Of course," said the Doctor. "We will wait outside while you make your decision."

And with that he spun around and ushered the other three back out through the large double doors.