Saving the Doctor

Chapter 32

-Doctor-

"Yeah, well, you can shut up." Bethany's voice comes over the comm and she sounds very irritated.

Is this girl having her monthly or something? Honestly, her mood swings are dizzying.

"I have a fiancé to introduce to my family."

I growl in frustration at her thick-headedness. Can't she see that he's only manipulating her? How could she fall for any of this?

I hear Bethany giggle and realize that they haven't destroyed the earpiece. I could tell from the surrounding sounds that she had taken it out and tossed it to the ground, but I had expected them to smash it. So why didn't they?

"Oh, I don't think so, Mister. I want to watch the stars as we fly past. The Doc would never let me do that."

Oh, fantastic.

She's blowing my cover now, too. I hate to hear what else they will do when I'm not in the room, but I need to know everything she tells him about me and everything he says about himself.

That is. If they continue talking.

If they don't, then...I don't want to hear a thing. Though, I hope she's smart enough not to let anything go too far.

What do I do now? My companion has changed sides and is feeding the enemy vital information.

The enemy's assets? Let's count.

1: He has Bethany, who knows about me and my future and is apparently stupid enough to tell him whatever he wants to know.

2: He has an armada of ships, all of which are ready to defend him at any and all costs.

3: His armada is armed to the teeth with highly advanced weapons, technology, and soldiers.

A beeping comes from the console and I have a look to see what's wrong.

Add another advantage to his list.

4: He's hacked into more than just the Tardis' navigational systems. He's anchored her to his ship and is using her to pilot us to Earth.

She makes a strange, unpleasant noise, which drowns out Bethany's and Edrik's voices completely.

She's in pain.

"Don't worry, girl..." I gaze intently at the core of the Tardis, "I'll get you out of this."

I immediately run, pushing buttons and pulling levers, even having to run underneath the console platform to sonic a few wires. Eventually, she's broken free of Edrik's anchor and I pilot her far away from his ship.

"I am never...letting him...near you...again." I reassure her as I continue piloting.

Once I'm pleased with the distance I've put between Edrik and the Tardis, I take a rest and have a seat, staring up at the closest thing I've got to a friend.

Her mechanical humming sounds different than usual and the lighting begins to dim. The lights behind the console flicker and pulsate weakly.

I run to the monitor, but it's dead.

I press my palm to the cylindrical glass tube as I realize with horror that she's shut down.

All mechanical sounds are gone, as are the voices of Bethany and Edrik. Which means all mechanical functions are down. That includes life support and communications. What's more is that I didn't even check to see where I am.

If Edrik's ship stayed at the same velocity as when I took off, he'll be in orbit around Earth within minutes. What he plans to do to it, I dread to even try to imagine.

I've only felt this hopeless a few times before, and I don't like it. I'm alone. Definitely dead. Nothing I can do to get Bethany away from that sociopathic, manipulative man, and nothing I can do to keep him from hurting her or Earth.

Dying really wouldn't be so bad. I wouldn't mind it. So long as Earth is safe before I do.

I sigh and sit back down, feeling defeated and helpless.

I actually wonder what's worse: Earth being in danger, or my never knowing who Bethany really is.