Auction Fic: Bad Moon Rising 2/4
Story: Bad Moon Rising
Authors: wmr (wendymr) and Gillian Taylor (
dark_aegis)
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: Not ours by any stretch of the imagination. We're just having fun with them
Summary: The Doctor and Rose return home to find some very paranoid humans. Can't be the full moon causing it, can it?
Written for amberfocus and wiggiemomsi, who won Gillian and me in the April (yes, April!) Support Stacie Auction. We are so, so sorry that this story has taken so long to materialise, and we hope you enjoy it despite its extreme lateness.
Chapter 1: The Fine Art of Running
Chapter 2: Mr. Roboto
"The who?" Rose asks, confused.
"Cybermen. Long time ago, Mondas got knocked out of orbit around the sun. As the planet got colder, the people moved underground. And, finally, the people decided they'd be better off turning themselves into machine men. Only way they thought they could survive."
That's impossible. "Why don't we know about this - Mondas, you called it? I mean, wouldn't there've been myths or legends or something?"
"Might've been. Might not've been. Mondas was knocked out of orbit thousands of years ago. Can't say they knew about it as anything more than a flash in the sky. Your government knows about the Cybermen. They might not know about Mondas."
"So it got knocked out of orbit, yeah? How can it be back? Why is it back?"
"The Mondasians built massive engines to try to turn the planet around. I thought Mondas was…well, doesn't matter. We've got to do something about it before it wrecks too much havoc on Earth's tides and weather."
"What about the Cybermen?" she asks.
He shakes his head. "Good question. Would've thought they'd've landed on Earth by now."
"So we're going there, right? To Mondas? See why they're here and all that?" she asks.
He grins at her. "Yup."
She shakes her head and grabs onto the nearest railing. Knowing the Doctor, this is going to be a bumpy ride.
Five minutes later, she's glad she took the precaution of holding on. Otherwise, she'd be flat on her back. Again. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was doing this on purpose.
Once she prises her fingers loose from their death-grip on the railing, she follows the Doctor to the door. He opens it, strangely enough, rather slowly. Like he's not certain what he's going to find on the other side.
"What do the Cybermen generally want?" she asks before the door is completely opened.
"More humans," he replies. "To make more of themselves. And to find themselves a new homeworld."
She shivers at the thought. "Machine men, you said?"
"With no emotions. Just metal and flesh combined. Their brains are human. The rest - well, they replaced the rest with nothing more than spare parts."
God. That's unbelievable. And terrifying.
The doors are open and they step outside into what feels like a solid wall of moist heat. Sweat is already starting to bead on her brow and she hasn't even done more than walk outside. The ground is soft, moist, and she takes a moment to look down and register that they're standing on some sort of moss.
Jungle moon is right, though. She wouldn't be surprised if there were parrots flying about in this place. The trees are practically dripping with moss and lichen.
Wait. Those aren't trees. She takes a closer look at one and realises that it looks like a telephone pole. But that's not possible. Telephone poles? Here? And over there. That mound of moss. That looks like the remains of a car. And there. That looks like a bus shelter.
"What on Earth?" she asks, her eyes widening. "That looks like-"
"Parallel development," the Doctor explains. "Lots of things developed identically between Earth and Mondas. Happens sometimes. They even had telephones, cinema, and aeroplanes. Long time ago now."
"But where are the people?" she asks. It's almost creepy. Things are familiar, but not.
"Dead or converted into Cybermen," the Doctor replies.
Something rustles amongst the trees and she stiffens. Maybe it's an animal? No. That's not possible. If this planet got knocked away from the sun, it should've frozen. Nothing should've been able to live like that. Unless it's one of these Cybermen the Doctor's on about.
Something else that doesn't make sense. How could this planet have so much vegetation? Doesn't make any sense. If it's only been back for two months or whatever it was her mum said. "You're sure this is Mondas?" she asks.
He's looking at his sonic screwdriver. She didn't even realise he'd pulled it out. "Yep. Been here before, me. Energy readings are conclusive. This is Mondas."
The rustling is back, and there's no wind to speak of. "Doctor…" she begins, but she doesn't have time to complete her thought.
Out of the jungle step five individuals. No. Not individuals. They all look the same. Same silver material covering their bodies. Same helmets. Helmets she’s seen before.
She stares into the empty eyes of a Cyberman and reaches out for the Doctor's hand.
"You are the Doctor," a metallic-sounding voice says. It's high-pitched, almost. Nothing like the Daleks. But definitely just as, if more, scary.
"Yep. That's me. Mind tellin' me why you lot decided to park Mondas in orbit around Earth?" the Doctor asks, wrapping his fingers around hers.
"You will help us."
"Sorry, what?" the Doctor asks.
"You will help us survive."
What are they talking about?
***
“Help you survive? Now why on earth would I want to do that?”
“You will help us.” This time, all five Cybermen speak in unison.
“Think it sounds impressive when you do that, do you? I’m askin’ again: why would I want to help you lot survive, after what you did last time I ran into you?”
“You will help us.”
“You’re gettin’ a bit boring.” He tightens his hand around Rose’s. “An’ you’re still not telling me why I should lift a finger to help your people. What d’you think, Rose?” He glances down at her; she returns his gaze with curiosity and, he’s relieved to see, very little apprehension. “Last time I ran into this lot, they were tryin’ to destroy your planet. Stopped them then, o’course, just like the time before an’ the time before that. Destructive lot, the Cybermen.”
“Sounds like it.” Rose’s expression turns angry. “Got a thing against Earth, then, have they?”
“Oh, that’s not the half of it.” Ignoring the waiting Cybermen, he continues to focus on Rose. “They tried to change the history of your planet so that the Cyber-race would’ve won instead of losing, and the worst of all was when they tried to destroy a meeting on Earth an’ sent an anti-matter freighter to crash into the planet. Still haven’t forgiven them for that.”
His brows draw together and his gut clenches. For an instant, he’s back in the console room of the TARDIS, watching helplessly on the monitor as Adric’s ship crashes. “Companion o’ mine died savin’ Earth that time.” He spins to face the Cybermen again. “An’ you want me to help your people? Like I said, why should I?”
“You will help us. Or we will destroy Earth.”
Right. Well, that’d seem like a pretty compelling reason, wouldn’t it? To most people, maybe. What they don’t know is that to someone as stubborn as him it’s a red flag to a bull. They’ve just given him the best possible reason not to help.
He never did have any time for bullies.
Not that he needs to let them know he’s got no intention of helping, of course. Play along for now, that’s the strategy. Find out exactly what’s such a huge problem that he’s the only one who can fix it. Why the Cybermen, of all races, would actually come begging to him for help.
The only thing more astounding than that would be if the Daleks wanted his help.
He squeezes Rose’s hand again, sending her a silent message he trusts she’ll understand, as he stares at the Cybermen, then grins suddenly, widely. “All right, then! If you want me to help, better show me what’s what, hadn’t you?”
The five Cybermen turn in unison. “You will follow.”
***
She walks by the Doctor’s side, sweat pouring from her brow, not saying a word but taking in as much as she can on their journey, memorising trees and any buildings and lampposts she can see through the overgrowth. After all, the usual outcome of travels with the Doctor is that at some point they end up having to run for it. If they need to get back to the TARDIS in a hurry, she’s going to be damn sure that she knows the way.
These Cybermen sound like a pretty horrible lot. Not the kind of aliens she wants anywhere near her planet, thank you very much.
But then, with the exception of people like Raffalo and Jabe, she hasn’t really met very many aliens she’d be happy to welcome to Earth. And that’s a bit odd, really, given the number of times the Doctor’s told her that aliens are just people like her. Be nice to meet some friendly aliens some time. In fact, she’ll tell him exactly that, once this is over and this planet - Mondas, right? - is back where it belongs.
The Doctor leans in towards her. “Whatever you do, don’t get close to them. And don’t let any of ‘em touch you.”
“Oh? Yeah, all right.” She gives him a quizzical look.
“If they touch you, it’s like they’re electrocuting you. You’ll die.” The look in his eyes is further warning that this is no joke.
She swallows. “Right. Don’t want that, yeah.”
God. Even worse than she thought. And the Doctor’s actually going to help them?
Or is he? He did give in and agree in kind of a hurry. Yeah, they’d just threatened to destroy Earth, but one thing she knows about the Doctor is that he doesn’t give in to threats. He’s more likely to argue, or to come up with completely off-the-wall questions or objections. He didn’t this time. So what’s he up to?
Something clever. Or something incredibly stupid. Who knows, with him?
Though... how many times did he say he’s met this lot before? Lots. And he’s managed to survive so far. If it’s as easy for them to kill people as he’s just told her, he’s either been incredibly lucky or incredibly clever. And if they’ve gone to all this trouble to bring him to their planet, her bet’s on clever.
She’s about to ask him where he thinks they’re being taken when her eye’s caught by a glint of something shiny underneath a nearby clump of trees. Her eyes narrow as she focuses on it. It’s silver and smooth and... it’s shaped exactly like the five silver heads, each with the weird frame-like object connecting the right and left earpieces, that are marching in front of her. And that’s more silver there, isn’t it? A long piece, enough to be a body-
She nudges the Doctor. “Looks like one of those Cybermen on the ground over there. That’s not right, is it?”
He follows the direction of her nod. “Looks like it. And, yep, that’s not right.” He lengthens his stride, and she has to jog to keep up. “Oi! You lot! Since when do Cybermen just fall over and die? On Mondas?”
The Cybermen turn together, as if they’re just one unit. “This is why we require assistance.”
“What? Cause your people are dying?” The Doctor stops inches from the five Cybermen, and her heart’s suddenly in her throat. What if one of them just reaches out and touches him? What’s stopping them?
Well, yeah, all right, then he wouldn’t be able to help them. But that doesn’t stop her from imagining...
“Our planet is dying. You will save us.” This time, just one Cyberman speaks.
“I’ll think about it, yeah,” the Doctor says casually. “Like I said, show me what’s wrong first. An’ I’ll want to speak to the Cyberleader. So hadn’t you better keep moving?” He flaps his hands at them, an impatient gesture.
Without a word, the five Cybermen turn and continue walking. She and the Doctor follow, walking side by side now without holding hands. It’s just too hot for that.
What she wouldn’t give right now for a cold shower and a long, ice-cold drink. Her top’s sticking to her back, and her hair’s damp, clinging wetly to her scalp and neck and making her upper back even more uncomfortable. It’s even hard to breathe comfortably in this humidity. Surprising those Cyber-things aren’t rusting, though they do look like they’re made of steel. Probably stainless.
Her feet feel too heavy, and she stumbles. The Doctor catches her arm. “You all right?”
“Hot.” She leans against him for a moment, almost panting for breath. “Thirsty.”
“Hold on.” He props her up with one hand, and she’s just about aware of him fumbling in his pocket with the other. “Thought I had it somewhere. Here.” A bottle of water, far too big to fit in his jacket - just what are those pockets made of? - is shoved into her hand.
Sweat drips from her hand as she gulps the water. It’s tepid - shame he can’t fit a mini-fridge in those pockets as well - but the hydration’s very welcome.
She stares into the dark greenery as she drinks, trying to clear her head. And there it is again - another pile of silver. No, more than one this time. More dead Cybermen.
“Come on.” He nudges her, then slides his arm around her shoulders. “Need to keep up.”
Oh, right. The Cybermen they’re following haven’t stopped. She grits her teeth and forces herself to put one foot in front of the other. It’s just too damn hot and sticky here.
“Hold on.” The Doctor glances down at her. “How come this place is so hot? It’s no closer to the sun than the Earth is, yeah? But this has to be hotter than the tropics. Hotter than the Equator, too, but I don’t see any desert.”
“Different eco-system.” She has to move away from the Doctor; the leather of his sleeve is making her melt even more. He’s not even breaking a sweat, the git. “Used to be exactly like Earth. Lots of forests an' oceans an' that sort. Maybe a bit more ocean than dry land. When it got knocked out of orbit, it got colder. Turned into an ice planet. Can only assume that as it got closer to a sun again the ice melted. That’s why so much is growing.”
“That’s what’s causing the humidity, yeah?”
“Yeah. An’ the heat’s cause of the way the planet’s core’s reacting to your sun.” The Doctor starts rambling on about biospheres and crusts and mantles and lithospheres, but it just washes over her. It’s taking all the energy she’s got just to walk.
Abruptly, he stops. It’s a fraction of a second before she looks up in enquiry. He’s staring straight ahead.
There’s a huge building ahead, set in the middle of a clearing and gleaming in the brilliant sunshine. The din hits her in waves - how come she didn’t notice it before? God, she must have been really out of it.
It’s some kind of factory. A Cyber-factory, she realises as a flap opens high up in the building and a pair of steel legs emerge onto a chute. Nothing like being able to build more of your species on demand, is there? Why would this lot even care about Cybermen dying?
But there’s something wrong. As the body slides fully onto the chute, she notices something missing. It’s got only one arm, and half the head’s missing.
Cybermen dying, and their production process going wrong. No wonder they need the Doctor.
Under any other circumstances, this could only be a good thing. The only trouble is, this lot are threatening her planet. Which means the Doctor’s got to fix them, doesn’t he?
Shit.
***
Now, that's not right. Bits of Cybermen being created and falling apart at the same time. Not too many people on this planet - not Cybermen or otherwise. That's the problem. Can't create a new Cyberman out of nothing. It needs human tissue and brain matter to work properly. They're not robots, they're cyborgs.
What could've done this?
He won't get any answers from this lot, though. He needs to speak to the Cyberleader. He isn't surprised when they're led into the factory.
Looks typical, really. All the right machines, all the right parts, but apparently it's putting those parts in the wrong places. Why, though? This lot aren't known for shoddy manufacturing.
Each machine they pass is another piece of information. Still doesn't make sense. It's not sabotage, though. At least, that's not likely. Cybermen don't allow for deviants amongst their kind. If there's a deviant, they're destroyed.
They turn down another aisle full of machines, only these devices are noticeably falling apart. There are no repair teams addressing these issues. Actually, there are no other Cybermen beyond the ones escorting them through this factory.
That's definitely not right.
Factory like this should have dozens, if not hundreds, of Cybermen moving about, doing this and that. "Where is everyone?" he asks. "Would think there'd be more of you lot around."
The Cybermen, unsurprisingly, don't bother to answer.
Fine. He'll just have to figure it out for himself. Rather than following the Cybermen, he stops and focuses on one of the machines. This one apparently pours liquid metal into moulds for the Cybermen's torso. Withdrawing his sonic screwdriver, he moves closer, scanning the machine.
Power seems to be flowing to the machine. But there's something wrong with the moulding process. Looking closer, he realises that there isn't enough metal being poured into the mould. There's only enough for half of the torso, and even then it is a very thin shell. Rather unlike what a normal Cyberman has for its torso. That metal is thick enough to stop most bullets. This seems to have the consistency of tissue paper.
"You will follow," the Cybermen say, coming back to stand around himself and Rose.
"Right, right. Mind tellin' me why you don't have enough liquid metal?" he asks.
"You will follow," the Cybermen repeat. This time, two Cybermen move to walk behind them, while others lead. The implication is clear. No wandering off. Pity.
The Cybermen lead them down the aisle towards a door at the far end. Once they reach the door, the Cybermen don't hesitate to open it and walk through. Shrugging, he follows.
This room must be the control centre. Banks of computers line the walls and, on the far wall, is what can only be rightfully called a throne. The Cyberleader - obvious only because of the black colouring its face - sits upon the chair, its body complete only from the torso up. The Cyberleader's legs aren't there. Or, well, they are there, but they're a crumpled bit of metal beneath the throne.
"Doctor," the Cyberleader states. No question, just an acknowledgement.
He smiles and waggles his fingers at the Cyberleader. "Hello! Now that the introductions are out of the way, Cyberleader, why don't you tell me why I should help you?"
"You already know, Doctor. We will destroy the Earth."
"Very original. Never been done before, that."
"You wish for a demonstration?" the Cyberleader asks.
Rose's hand is suddenly on his arm, her knuckles white from the strength of her grip. "Not necessary, that. Didn't say I didn't believe you. Running out of cybertonium, then?"
He gets the feeling he's being watched, though it's hard to tell with the Cybermen. You never know if they're looking at you, beyond you, or through you. After a long drawn-out moment, the Cyberleader nods. "Yes. Mondas has supplied us with enough metal for thousands of years. Our studies revealed that the metal supply would last for thousands more. But the ore our miners have withdrawn from the earth has been diluted. It is impure, and is barely enough to maintain our current civilisation. You will restore our supply to us, Doctor."
Painfully aware of Rose's hand on his arm, he scoffs. "And then what? Say I supply you lot with your cybertonium. Get your supply back up an' running? What then? You'll try to take over the Earth, yeah? Try to convert the humans into more of your kind?"
"We would leave," the Cyberleader says.
"What sort of guarantee of that do I have?" he asks. "I give you what you want, you'll be able to make more of yourselves. Repopulate Mondas. But the only way to do that is with more bodies. You've already used up the native population of Mondas. What's to stop you from using Earth as your next source?"
"Nothing."
***
tbc - Chapter 3: Swan Song
Authors: wmr (wendymr) and Gillian Taylor (
dark_aegis)
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: Not ours by any stretch of the imagination. We're just having fun with them
Summary: The Doctor and Rose return home to find some very paranoid humans. Can't be the full moon causing it, can it?
Written for amberfocus and wiggiemomsi, who won Gillian and me in the April (yes, April!) Support Stacie Auction. We are so, so sorry that this story has taken so long to materialise, and we hope you enjoy it despite its extreme lateness.
Chapter 1: The Fine Art of Running
Chapter 2: Mr. Roboto
"The who?" Rose asks, confused.
"Cybermen. Long time ago, Mondas got knocked out of orbit around the sun. As the planet got colder, the people moved underground. And, finally, the people decided they'd be better off turning themselves into machine men. Only way they thought they could survive."
That's impossible. "Why don't we know about this - Mondas, you called it? I mean, wouldn't there've been myths or legends or something?"
"Might've been. Might not've been. Mondas was knocked out of orbit thousands of years ago. Can't say they knew about it as anything more than a flash in the sky. Your government knows about the Cybermen. They might not know about Mondas."
"So it got knocked out of orbit, yeah? How can it be back? Why is it back?"
"The Mondasians built massive engines to try to turn the planet around. I thought Mondas was…well, doesn't matter. We've got to do something about it before it wrecks too much havoc on Earth's tides and weather."
"What about the Cybermen?" she asks.
He shakes his head. "Good question. Would've thought they'd've landed on Earth by now."
"So we're going there, right? To Mondas? See why they're here and all that?" she asks.
He grins at her. "Yup."
She shakes her head and grabs onto the nearest railing. Knowing the Doctor, this is going to be a bumpy ride.
Five minutes later, she's glad she took the precaution of holding on. Otherwise, she'd be flat on her back. Again. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was doing this on purpose.
Once she prises her fingers loose from their death-grip on the railing, she follows the Doctor to the door. He opens it, strangely enough, rather slowly. Like he's not certain what he's going to find on the other side.
"What do the Cybermen generally want?" she asks before the door is completely opened.
"More humans," he replies. "To make more of themselves. And to find themselves a new homeworld."
She shivers at the thought. "Machine men, you said?"
"With no emotions. Just metal and flesh combined. Their brains are human. The rest - well, they replaced the rest with nothing more than spare parts."
God. That's unbelievable. And terrifying.
The doors are open and they step outside into what feels like a solid wall of moist heat. Sweat is already starting to bead on her brow and she hasn't even done more than walk outside. The ground is soft, moist, and she takes a moment to look down and register that they're standing on some sort of moss.
Jungle moon is right, though. She wouldn't be surprised if there were parrots flying about in this place. The trees are practically dripping with moss and lichen.
Wait. Those aren't trees. She takes a closer look at one and realises that it looks like a telephone pole. But that's not possible. Telephone poles? Here? And over there. That mound of moss. That looks like the remains of a car. And there. That looks like a bus shelter.
"What on Earth?" she asks, her eyes widening. "That looks like-"
"Parallel development," the Doctor explains. "Lots of things developed identically between Earth and Mondas. Happens sometimes. They even had telephones, cinema, and aeroplanes. Long time ago now."
"But where are the people?" she asks. It's almost creepy. Things are familiar, but not.
"Dead or converted into Cybermen," the Doctor replies.
Something rustles amongst the trees and she stiffens. Maybe it's an animal? No. That's not possible. If this planet got knocked away from the sun, it should've frozen. Nothing should've been able to live like that. Unless it's one of these Cybermen the Doctor's on about.
Something else that doesn't make sense. How could this planet have so much vegetation? Doesn't make any sense. If it's only been back for two months or whatever it was her mum said. "You're sure this is Mondas?" she asks.
He's looking at his sonic screwdriver. She didn't even realise he'd pulled it out. "Yep. Been here before, me. Energy readings are conclusive. This is Mondas."
The rustling is back, and there's no wind to speak of. "Doctor…" she begins, but she doesn't have time to complete her thought.
Out of the jungle step five individuals. No. Not individuals. They all look the same. Same silver material covering their bodies. Same helmets. Helmets she’s seen before.
She stares into the empty eyes of a Cyberman and reaches out for the Doctor's hand.
"You are the Doctor," a metallic-sounding voice says. It's high-pitched, almost. Nothing like the Daleks. But definitely just as, if more, scary.
"Yep. That's me. Mind tellin' me why you lot decided to park Mondas in orbit around Earth?" the Doctor asks, wrapping his fingers around hers.
"You will help us."
"Sorry, what?" the Doctor asks.
"You will help us survive."
What are they talking about?
***
“Help you survive? Now why on earth would I want to do that?”
“You will help us.” This time, all five Cybermen speak in unison.
“Think it sounds impressive when you do that, do you? I’m askin’ again: why would I want to help you lot survive, after what you did last time I ran into you?”
“You will help us.”
“You’re gettin’ a bit boring.” He tightens his hand around Rose’s. “An’ you’re still not telling me why I should lift a finger to help your people. What d’you think, Rose?” He glances down at her; she returns his gaze with curiosity and, he’s relieved to see, very little apprehension. “Last time I ran into this lot, they were tryin’ to destroy your planet. Stopped them then, o’course, just like the time before an’ the time before that. Destructive lot, the Cybermen.”
“Sounds like it.” Rose’s expression turns angry. “Got a thing against Earth, then, have they?”
“Oh, that’s not the half of it.” Ignoring the waiting Cybermen, he continues to focus on Rose. “They tried to change the history of your planet so that the Cyber-race would’ve won instead of losing, and the worst of all was when they tried to destroy a meeting on Earth an’ sent an anti-matter freighter to crash into the planet. Still haven’t forgiven them for that.”
His brows draw together and his gut clenches. For an instant, he’s back in the console room of the TARDIS, watching helplessly on the monitor as Adric’s ship crashes. “Companion o’ mine died savin’ Earth that time.” He spins to face the Cybermen again. “An’ you want me to help your people? Like I said, why should I?”
“You will help us. Or we will destroy Earth.”
Right. Well, that’d seem like a pretty compelling reason, wouldn’t it? To most people, maybe. What they don’t know is that to someone as stubborn as him it’s a red flag to a bull. They’ve just given him the best possible reason not to help.
He never did have any time for bullies.
Not that he needs to let them know he’s got no intention of helping, of course. Play along for now, that’s the strategy. Find out exactly what’s such a huge problem that he’s the only one who can fix it. Why the Cybermen, of all races, would actually come begging to him for help.
The only thing more astounding than that would be if the Daleks wanted his help.
He squeezes Rose’s hand again, sending her a silent message he trusts she’ll understand, as he stares at the Cybermen, then grins suddenly, widely. “All right, then! If you want me to help, better show me what’s what, hadn’t you?”
The five Cybermen turn in unison. “You will follow.”
***
She walks by the Doctor’s side, sweat pouring from her brow, not saying a word but taking in as much as she can on their journey, memorising trees and any buildings and lampposts she can see through the overgrowth. After all, the usual outcome of travels with the Doctor is that at some point they end up having to run for it. If they need to get back to the TARDIS in a hurry, she’s going to be damn sure that she knows the way.
These Cybermen sound like a pretty horrible lot. Not the kind of aliens she wants anywhere near her planet, thank you very much.
But then, with the exception of people like Raffalo and Jabe, she hasn’t really met very many aliens she’d be happy to welcome to Earth. And that’s a bit odd, really, given the number of times the Doctor’s told her that aliens are just people like her. Be nice to meet some friendly aliens some time. In fact, she’ll tell him exactly that, once this is over and this planet - Mondas, right? - is back where it belongs.
The Doctor leans in towards her. “Whatever you do, don’t get close to them. And don’t let any of ‘em touch you.”
“Oh? Yeah, all right.” She gives him a quizzical look.
“If they touch you, it’s like they’re electrocuting you. You’ll die.” The look in his eyes is further warning that this is no joke.
She swallows. “Right. Don’t want that, yeah.”
God. Even worse than she thought. And the Doctor’s actually going to help them?
Or is he? He did give in and agree in kind of a hurry. Yeah, they’d just threatened to destroy Earth, but one thing she knows about the Doctor is that he doesn’t give in to threats. He’s more likely to argue, or to come up with completely off-the-wall questions or objections. He didn’t this time. So what’s he up to?
Something clever. Or something incredibly stupid. Who knows, with him?
Though... how many times did he say he’s met this lot before? Lots. And he’s managed to survive so far. If it’s as easy for them to kill people as he’s just told her, he’s either been incredibly lucky or incredibly clever. And if they’ve gone to all this trouble to bring him to their planet, her bet’s on clever.
She’s about to ask him where he thinks they’re being taken when her eye’s caught by a glint of something shiny underneath a nearby clump of trees. Her eyes narrow as she focuses on it. It’s silver and smooth and... it’s shaped exactly like the five silver heads, each with the weird frame-like object connecting the right and left earpieces, that are marching in front of her. And that’s more silver there, isn’t it? A long piece, enough to be a body-
She nudges the Doctor. “Looks like one of those Cybermen on the ground over there. That’s not right, is it?”
He follows the direction of her nod. “Looks like it. And, yep, that’s not right.” He lengthens his stride, and she has to jog to keep up. “Oi! You lot! Since when do Cybermen just fall over and die? On Mondas?”
The Cybermen turn together, as if they’re just one unit. “This is why we require assistance.”
“What? Cause your people are dying?” The Doctor stops inches from the five Cybermen, and her heart’s suddenly in her throat. What if one of them just reaches out and touches him? What’s stopping them?
Well, yeah, all right, then he wouldn’t be able to help them. But that doesn’t stop her from imagining...
“Our planet is dying. You will save us.” This time, just one Cyberman speaks.
“I’ll think about it, yeah,” the Doctor says casually. “Like I said, show me what’s wrong first. An’ I’ll want to speak to the Cyberleader. So hadn’t you better keep moving?” He flaps his hands at them, an impatient gesture.
Without a word, the five Cybermen turn and continue walking. She and the Doctor follow, walking side by side now without holding hands. It’s just too hot for that.
What she wouldn’t give right now for a cold shower and a long, ice-cold drink. Her top’s sticking to her back, and her hair’s damp, clinging wetly to her scalp and neck and making her upper back even more uncomfortable. It’s even hard to breathe comfortably in this humidity. Surprising those Cyber-things aren’t rusting, though they do look like they’re made of steel. Probably stainless.
Her feet feel too heavy, and she stumbles. The Doctor catches her arm. “You all right?”
“Hot.” She leans against him for a moment, almost panting for breath. “Thirsty.”
“Hold on.” He props her up with one hand, and she’s just about aware of him fumbling in his pocket with the other. “Thought I had it somewhere. Here.” A bottle of water, far too big to fit in his jacket - just what are those pockets made of? - is shoved into her hand.
Sweat drips from her hand as she gulps the water. It’s tepid - shame he can’t fit a mini-fridge in those pockets as well - but the hydration’s very welcome.
She stares into the dark greenery as she drinks, trying to clear her head. And there it is again - another pile of silver. No, more than one this time. More dead Cybermen.
“Come on.” He nudges her, then slides his arm around her shoulders. “Need to keep up.”
Oh, right. The Cybermen they’re following haven’t stopped. She grits her teeth and forces herself to put one foot in front of the other. It’s just too damn hot and sticky here.
“Hold on.” The Doctor glances down at her. “How come this place is so hot? It’s no closer to the sun than the Earth is, yeah? But this has to be hotter than the tropics. Hotter than the Equator, too, but I don’t see any desert.”
“Different eco-system.” She has to move away from the Doctor; the leather of his sleeve is making her melt even more. He’s not even breaking a sweat, the git. “Used to be exactly like Earth. Lots of forests an' oceans an' that sort. Maybe a bit more ocean than dry land. When it got knocked out of orbit, it got colder. Turned into an ice planet. Can only assume that as it got closer to a sun again the ice melted. That’s why so much is growing.”
“That’s what’s causing the humidity, yeah?”
“Yeah. An’ the heat’s cause of the way the planet’s core’s reacting to your sun.” The Doctor starts rambling on about biospheres and crusts and mantles and lithospheres, but it just washes over her. It’s taking all the energy she’s got just to walk.
Abruptly, he stops. It’s a fraction of a second before she looks up in enquiry. He’s staring straight ahead.
There’s a huge building ahead, set in the middle of a clearing and gleaming in the brilliant sunshine. The din hits her in waves - how come she didn’t notice it before? God, she must have been really out of it.
It’s some kind of factory. A Cyber-factory, she realises as a flap opens high up in the building and a pair of steel legs emerge onto a chute. Nothing like being able to build more of your species on demand, is there? Why would this lot even care about Cybermen dying?
But there’s something wrong. As the body slides fully onto the chute, she notices something missing. It’s got only one arm, and half the head’s missing.
Cybermen dying, and their production process going wrong. No wonder they need the Doctor.
Under any other circumstances, this could only be a good thing. The only trouble is, this lot are threatening her planet. Which means the Doctor’s got to fix them, doesn’t he?
Shit.
***
Now, that's not right. Bits of Cybermen being created and falling apart at the same time. Not too many people on this planet - not Cybermen or otherwise. That's the problem. Can't create a new Cyberman out of nothing. It needs human tissue and brain matter to work properly. They're not robots, they're cyborgs.
What could've done this?
He won't get any answers from this lot, though. He needs to speak to the Cyberleader. He isn't surprised when they're led into the factory.
Looks typical, really. All the right machines, all the right parts, but apparently it's putting those parts in the wrong places. Why, though? This lot aren't known for shoddy manufacturing.
Each machine they pass is another piece of information. Still doesn't make sense. It's not sabotage, though. At least, that's not likely. Cybermen don't allow for deviants amongst their kind. If there's a deviant, they're destroyed.
They turn down another aisle full of machines, only these devices are noticeably falling apart. There are no repair teams addressing these issues. Actually, there are no other Cybermen beyond the ones escorting them through this factory.
That's definitely not right.
Factory like this should have dozens, if not hundreds, of Cybermen moving about, doing this and that. "Where is everyone?" he asks. "Would think there'd be more of you lot around."
The Cybermen, unsurprisingly, don't bother to answer.
Fine. He'll just have to figure it out for himself. Rather than following the Cybermen, he stops and focuses on one of the machines. This one apparently pours liquid metal into moulds for the Cybermen's torso. Withdrawing his sonic screwdriver, he moves closer, scanning the machine.
Power seems to be flowing to the machine. But there's something wrong with the moulding process. Looking closer, he realises that there isn't enough metal being poured into the mould. There's only enough for half of the torso, and even then it is a very thin shell. Rather unlike what a normal Cyberman has for its torso. That metal is thick enough to stop most bullets. This seems to have the consistency of tissue paper.
"You will follow," the Cybermen say, coming back to stand around himself and Rose.
"Right, right. Mind tellin' me why you don't have enough liquid metal?" he asks.
"You will follow," the Cybermen repeat. This time, two Cybermen move to walk behind them, while others lead. The implication is clear. No wandering off. Pity.
The Cybermen lead them down the aisle towards a door at the far end. Once they reach the door, the Cybermen don't hesitate to open it and walk through. Shrugging, he follows.
This room must be the control centre. Banks of computers line the walls and, on the far wall, is what can only be rightfully called a throne. The Cyberleader - obvious only because of the black colouring its face - sits upon the chair, its body complete only from the torso up. The Cyberleader's legs aren't there. Or, well, they are there, but they're a crumpled bit of metal beneath the throne.
"Doctor," the Cyberleader states. No question, just an acknowledgement.
He smiles and waggles his fingers at the Cyberleader. "Hello! Now that the introductions are out of the way, Cyberleader, why don't you tell me why I should help you?"
"You already know, Doctor. We will destroy the Earth."
"Very original. Never been done before, that."
"You wish for a demonstration?" the Cyberleader asks.
Rose's hand is suddenly on his arm, her knuckles white from the strength of her grip. "Not necessary, that. Didn't say I didn't believe you. Running out of cybertonium, then?"
He gets the feeling he's being watched, though it's hard to tell with the Cybermen. You never know if they're looking at you, beyond you, or through you. After a long drawn-out moment, the Cyberleader nods. "Yes. Mondas has supplied us with enough metal for thousands of years. Our studies revealed that the metal supply would last for thousands more. But the ore our miners have withdrawn from the earth has been diluted. It is impure, and is barely enough to maintain our current civilisation. You will restore our supply to us, Doctor."
Painfully aware of Rose's hand on his arm, he scoffs. "And then what? Say I supply you lot with your cybertonium. Get your supply back up an' running? What then? You'll try to take over the Earth, yeah? Try to convert the humans into more of your kind?"
"We would leave," the Cyberleader says.
"What sort of guarantee of that do I have?" he asks. "I give you what you want, you'll be able to make more of yourselves. Repopulate Mondas. But the only way to do that is with more bodies. You've already used up the native population of Mondas. What's to stop you from using Earth as your next source?"
"Nothing."
***
tbc - Chapter 3: Swan Song