One Last Chance |6| The Ascension

Chapter Twenty-One: Into the Dalek

In an asteroid field in the thirty-first century, a lone fighter craft weaved through space, dodging the relentless weapon fire of the enemy. Inside, a young woman was piloting the ship, her co-pilot slumped next to her.

"Aristotle, this is Wasp Delta, do you hear me?" she demanded. The radio remained silent as she glanced across at her co-pilot. "Stay with me, Kai. Stay with me, please." She tried the distress call again. "Aristotle! We have been hit! Major damage. Aristotle! Aristotle, the enemy are right on top of us!"

Suddenly, the craft spun out of control, hit by laser fire. As the navigational systems went offline, the young pilot wept, turning to the man who'd been relying on her to save his life. "I'm sorry..." Another laser pulse hit the ship, and the pilot began to scream.

***

"She should be fine," the Doctor said, coming up the steps to the main level of the console room.

"Good," McKenzie said, then blinked when she realised the woman they'd saved was nowhere to be seen. "What, did you just leave her on the floor down there?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Yeah."

"You wouldn't leave me lying there!"

"I'm married to you," he pointed out.

McKenzie rolled her eyes fondly. "Well, I suppose there had to be at least one perk."

"Hey!" He joined her at the monitor, which showed a large ship docked behind an asteroid. "That where she's from?"

"Well, it's either that or she's from one of the Dalek ships."

The Doctor considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah, can't be. Duplicates don't scream that much."

Someone cleared their throat, and they both turned to see the young woman staring at them with wide, scared eyes, a handgun aimed at them. "Oh," McKenzie said, unconcerned. "You'll probably feel a bit sick. I'd appreciate it if you weren't." Then she turned back to her husband. "We'd better get the coffees if we're picking up the kids. What're you having?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but the young woman interrupted him, her expression furious. "Where's my brother?"

"Hello," the Doctor said pointedly, rolling his eyes. "I'm the Doctor, and this is my wife, the Angel." Beside him, McKenzie waved.

"He was right beside me," the young woman continued, trying to rationalise it in her head. "Where's Kai? How did I get here?"

"We materialised our time capsule around you and saved your life just before your ship exploded," McKenzie explained succinctly, aware of the woman's tears. "Do you want a tissue? Or a coffee?"

"My brother's just died!"

The Doctor crossed his arms. "Yeah, well, his sister didn't. You're very welcome."

"Behave," McKenzie said sternly.

He raised his eyebrows pointedly at the young woman. "Yeah, you. Behave. Put the gun down."

The young woman narrowed her eyes, even as McKenzie rolled hers. "Or what?"

"Or you might shoot one of us, or worse, both," the Doctor told her. "Then where will you be?"