ODDITY ⇆ DOCTOR WHO

0.23 | 42

〖 42 〗

THE ENGINE HAD BEEN ravaged beyond comprehension, that parts scattered around the room. McDonnell, the assumed captain, took the wreck in with a groan and a open questioned of why. All the crew seemed taken back by the damage that had been caused to the engine while they had been away.

"Oh, it's wrecked!" One crew member groaned examining the mess of the engine. McDonnell looked around in a confused panic.

"Where's Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?" She asked as the Doctor examined the engine. A crew-mate Valarie had come to identify as Scannell shook his head, muttering an exhausted no. Panic washed McDonell's face as she moved towards the intercom and began to frantically ask about Kowrin and Ashton. The Doctor continued examining the engine, muttering to himself. Valarie, still on the edge of screaming, followed him closely. The safety he radiated to her almost resembled how one would imagine the Earth pulling the small moon into its orbit, and holding it there safely.

"What do you think happened?" She asked him quietly. He kept his eyes on the twisted metal and gutted engine, before leaning in to answer her.

"Someone did this. Look at the way the metal is torn, not fried or melted. Someone ripped this thing apart." It was now he took notice in some modifications to the wreckage, pieces that were formally attached to the engine that signaled how the ship ran.

"This ship is running on energy scoops? Aren't those outlawed?" He asked McDonnell, who sighed in annoyance and frustration. She nodded.

"Yes. But that was passed after our last dock, so next time we dock we planned to upgrade. Scannell, how are the controls?" Her quick shift in conversation was noted, and attention turned to Scannell who stood over a fried set of controls.

"Obliterated. The ones in the front of the ship should be fine, but the lock down sealed them all the way down there. There's twenty-nine doors between us and it. All password sealed."

"Well, use the passwords." Valarie shrugged, knowing her answer to be too obvious to be correct. He shook his head.

"We don't know them. It's randomly generated questions, take at least two people to get through them in time." Martha stepped forward.

"I can try to help, make myself useful." The Doctor set a hand on her shoulder, giving her a knowing look before she smiled at him. "I'll be fine." She muttered. He drew in a deep breath, before asking she be careful. The intercom McDonnell stood at hummed to life with static.

"McDonnell. It's Ashton."

"Asthon? Where are you? Where is Korwin?" She was on the intercom in seconds. In the background of Ashton's end, a man could be heard screaming.

"Get to med-center, now!" He was gone as soon as his voice had arrived. McDonnell began a sprint towards med-center, with the Doctor following. Valarie, like the moon stuck to the Earth, followed him.

----

The medical bay appeared to be the only clean place on the ship. Two people crowded over what resembled a CAT scanner, and one man held the other down as he thrashed and cried out.

"Korwin!" McDonnell cried, rushing towards him. Korwin was slick with sweat and oil smudged his hands and cheeks. He jerked violently under their grasp, almost too strong to be held. "What happened?" She asked them as the three new bodies crowded over his.

"Help me! It's burning!" He screamed, eyes screwed tightly shut. No burns were visible on his body. The phrase hung in the air as he continued to sob and beg as the Doctor took the situation in. He pulled the sonic screwdriver and raised it to Korwin, before pulling it back to himself and looking at it closely. He turned to the young doctor, who Valarie believed was named Abi, and asked her for a sedative. She brought one to him swiftly, and watched as the Doctor sedated Korwin.