Soul's Shadow (Doctor Who - SI)

Part XVI (II)

I couldn't remember a single moment where I had witnessed the Master being so utterly dumbfounded and at a loss for words. He appeared to be genuinely shocked, terrified even.

The newly created young woman stepped out of the tube, looking the Master up and down, smiling brightly. "Hello Dad," she greeted.

That's what snapped him back to reality. He gritted his teeth, practically snarling at the girl. "Don't call me that. Not ever."

The older man, who had brought us, stepped forward, observing the newcomer. "You primed to take orders?" he asked. "Ready to fight?"

The girl smiled again. Someone pushed a rifle into her hands while she answered, "Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, Sir. Generation five thousand soldier primed and in peak physical health." She stopped observing the weapon and looked back up, determined and in a good mood. "Oh, I'm ready."

And she had to be. Almost immediately a loud alarm blared all around us. It was so loud and sudden I had to fight the urge to put my hands over my ears. People started to run. The old man waved us away and led us to a niche where we could wait out the attack. I couldn't see what was going on, but there was gunfire. Thousands of rapid shots reverberated through the tunnels, each accompanied by a flash of light from the hot muzzles. The only louder sounds were screams, some of them pained, others shouted commands.

"Lets get them out of here," grumbled the older man. He nodded to a few soldiers so they would escort us.

I was quite happy about being led away. The thought of them creating one of those clones out of me was a bit terrifying, if I had to be honest. The Master was uncharacteristically quiet. Since he had snapped at the girl he hadn't said anything, was only glaring. Glaring at the newly born girl that bounced about, ready to throw herself into battle with her comrades.

Martha and Donna stared too, mostly at the Master, though.

Eventually the soldiers led us down another set of corridors. More metal walls enclosed us there, smoke rose from a broken pipe nearby. The place, despite the obvious traces of battles, seemed weirdly sterile. I nudged the Master, nodding to the black haired girl nearby.

"Did you say daughter?"

He gave me a true death glare, but nodded. "In a sense... technically..."

"Technically how?" asked Martha. She seemed not happy at all about the situation. Or maybe only about the Master being without supervision.

"None of your business, Jones."

Donna also stepped closer, her voice that special kind of a whisper that's almost louder than speaking normally. "Is she a proper clone?"

"Don't be dumber than you are," grunted the Master. "A clone would be a perfect genetic copy of me. That..." He angrily stuffed both hands into his pockets. "Progenation, most likely. Reproduction from a single organism."

"Oh right, yes, that makes total sense." The sarcasm in her tone was almost palpable, eliciting an exasperated sigh from the Master.

"It means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow. Fast, in this case."

Now it was obvious he was determined to confuse her even further. It was also interesting to see that he completely ignored and dismissed Martha, while he was willing to answer Donna's questions. As much as those two clashed, sometimes I had a feeling that he didn't particularly hate her.

"Something's coming," warned the girl and the soldiers around us readied their guns.

Shadows rushed into view, creeping along the walls, their feet attached to humanoid creatures. They wore helmets with... No. I blinked and realised those were their faces. They had no hair and wrinkled, grey skin, big eyes and a sort of water tank instead of a mouth. A liquid was bubbling with the green tubes, replacing speech. I saw how they ran into covers, before the Master drew me back behind the wall.