While You Were Out ...

Chapter 10

The Doctor looked on with anticipation as Leo Sillsbeck, brow furrowed in concentration, studied his printouts of the data the TARDIS obtained of their rocks and soil.

"Mm, yes, Doctor, it seems your data accurately reflects the chemical and mineralogical properties of Rudara's rocks and soil. It's even picked up on the unique properties of the crystalline structure of those buried deep underground, which have been the focus of our study."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up. This certainly was an interesting development! He had been impressed by everything he had been shown of their research thus far. He was especially intrigued by their horizontal drilling system. After briefly studying it, he'd suggested some modifications to make their sample collection process a lot more efficient and error-free. The scientists performed a quick test and were pleasantly surprised with the results. The Doctor was pleased to have assisted them as they offered their thanks.

However it was now just a small detail he was content to shove to the back of his mind. "Deeply buried crystals, you say?"

Sillsbeck nodded. "Yes, there is an underground cave system nearby."

"Oh, very interesting," the Doctor mused. "I wasn't aware karst topography could exist in areas chiefly made up of sandstones."

Sillsbeck grinned. "Not typically, but there are some rock types that were found buried and intermixed with the sandstones that allow for these features. Anyway, the rocks contain a lot of large crystals that we had begun mining and studying." He paused, regarding the Doctor seriously. "We've discovered these crystals affect time."

" What? " the Doctor breathed sharply, his eyes widening.

"I'll go into more detail about that, but first ..." Sillsbeck turned to a computer console and struck a few keys in quick succession. A map soon appeared on the screen. "This shows the extent of the cave system."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he closely studied the map. Taking into account the scale and the orientation of the map, he was able to estimate where the cave system began.

It was right over the area in which he last remembered seeing Jamie and Zoe!

"So ... so it's quite possible my friends and I could both have experienced this temporal shift you spoke of?"

"Very possible, depending on where exactly you were when it occurred."

"Yes, well, when our ship first landed on this planet, we were," The Doctor turned back to the map, stabbing a certain spot with his index finger, "here, and we'd walked, oh, I'd say about this far ..." He traced with his finger the approximate distance.

"The cave system is directly underneath," Maura said. She turned to Sillsbeck. "The crystals."

"Yes."

"So, they are responsible for this shift we've all experienced." A small, hopeful smile briefly flitted across the Doctor's face before it slid back into a frown. "Now the question is ... how to get us all back?"

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Another mostly uneventful workday coming to an end, Zoe uttered a melancholy sigh as she approached the main doors of the lab. She and Leo had discussed several hypotheses related to the Doctor's disappearance, and the mechanisms allowing such phenomena to take place. He had mentioned a study of the rocks, in particular the crystals and their properties. But it would still take time to get a firm grasp on them and how they could use them to get their friend back.

They had made some progress, but in Zoe's mind, it wasn't enough.

The sound of nearing footsteps cut through her ruminations and she turned to see Jamie approaching. The Highlander broke into his usual open and friendly grin when he met her gaze; Zoe tried to match his expression, but her own smile turned out rather anemic.