Doctor Who: The Metal Seas of Venus

Scene 4 - Monitoring then searching

After much-complicated work, Grace, using both sets of wires and buttons and touchscreen holograms patches through to the network. We can see The Doctor examining the spaceship/drilling machine with Ian and Barbara looking as uninterested as usual as the Time Lord investigates and Vicki is still looking out for any members of the crew as she doesn't want to be caught.

Grace:

Captain I've patched through.

The Captain rises up in excitement to Grace finding the time travellers and reports to her.

Captain:

Right! Where are they?

Grace:

They are in Corridor C34, near the Melting Unit. They don't look like saboteurs to me, the older man looks more interested in the ship.

Captain:

In my life Grace I've learnt not to judge by appearances. Keep a watch on them, let them roam freely until they do any damage.

The Captain returns to his high-status hair and desk. The Doctor is deeply intrigued by what he is examining, a control box with the blue, green and brown wires loosely and unsafely connected. Ian and Barbara are utterly bored and are beginning to get impatient whilst the nervous Vicki still looks around for anyone to capture them.

Doctor:

Dear dear dear, which half-wit engineered this piece of equipment, the wires are hanging by a thread!

Ian:

Doctor, you have been examining a control box for nearly ten minutes!

Doctor:

Patience Chesterton, patience. Well, I shall have to fix these wires myself.

Barbara:

And that's going to take another ten minute.

Doctor:

It prevents an electrical hazard my dear, anyway, my body can withstand more powerful electric currents than any human.

Ian grows even more impatient.

Vicki:

You know, I have an uneasy feeling that we are being watched.

Barbara:

Vicki, what have we told you? There is nothing to worry about, we are perfectly safe here. How about we give The Doctor a helping hand to get the job done quicker.

Doctor:

Ah yes, would you please.

Vicki and Barbara assist The Doctor with the control box by carefully examining the equipment as thoroughly as The Doctor. Meanwhile, Ian quietly slips out of the corridor somewhere on his own to do some investigating of his own. The Captain and Grace are still monitoring the travellers on the hologram, but feeling suspicious that the time travellers are sabotaging the equipment, The Captain takes action.

Captain:

We've caught them red-handed, they are obviously trying to sabotage our equipment, we take action before we are suspended on this planet. Tyler!

A rather broad and good-looking Tyler is checking reports to the Captain and Noah at his control console. Both Tyler and Noah turn efficiently to address their commanding officer.

Tyler:

Yes sir.

Captain:

I would like you and several others to bring our intruders up to the Command Centre, but without any loud sirens and the rest of that argey-bargey military procedure that you went through before you joined the Houseman company. This is a drilling base, not a training ground remember.

Tyler:

Very good sir, bringing them up now.

The Dorito-shaped man leaves as the sliding doors make room for his exit.

Captain:

Grace, just keep monitoring our guests and let me know if they do any serious damage.

Grace:

Yes sir, one of them is heading for the Melting Unit so Zach and Malcom should get them.

The Captain returns to his seat for some more reports to read.

(Curiously) Noah. How do you suppose they could have entered through the storage unit with no break of oxygen or any detection from our systems?

Noah:

I don't know, perhaps they cleverly materialized through to our ship. Unlikely, but just a guess.

Back in the Melting Unit, a crazed Barton closes the bulky, muscular vault of the actual melting chamber itself with huge strength, containing both corpses of Zach and Malcom. Leaving it slightly open, he decides to investigate the control panel before him, containing brightening colours, sets of red-handled levers and the rest of the set up you would expect in a control console. Therefore, he pulls one of those levers downwards as the motors decrease moderately of the drill with a loudening sound effect. Hearing the footsteps of Ian, Barton quickly takes cover somewhere. Ian, now cooled down, enters through the room thanks to the sliding doors that opened for him. Curiously exploring, he is more fascinated by the controls and the half-opened vault door. The TARDIS crew have finished mending the broken and unsafe control box and are delighted with it, giving a huge sigh of relief.

Doctor:

Well my dear, I don't think that took as long as you think it would, would it hmm?

Vicki:

It was all quite simple, we just had to re-attach the live brown wire safely up to its connector where the main electric power flows through.

Barbara:

Well science isn't my department, that's Ian, mine is history. Talking of which, where is he? I thought he was just waiting by that corridor.

Vicki calls over by the intersection of the corridor to call out to Ian, each call getting loader and loader.

Vicki:

Ian? Ian?! Ian?!

There is a long pause of silence.

Doctor:

Uh, why must that young man always be so impatient dear dear.

Vicki:

How about we split up and go in different directions to try find him. Doctor, you go down that corridor whilst me and Barbara will go back down this corridor, sound good?

Doctor:

Excuse me my dear, but who's in charge here, hmm?

Vicki:

Sorry. Just an idea, what's the plan then.

Doctor:

Right, the plan is like she said. Good plan my girl, now as she said; I will explore down this corridor whilst you two go down there.

The Doctor quickly slips down the corridor where Ian left down. Vicki and Barbara just follow what they have been told.

Barbara:

Well, come on Vicki, let's go.