Up a Tree p.1
Title: Up a Tree
Author: betawho
Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery
Rating: PG
Characters: 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams
(Note: This story takes place between A Christmas Carol and The Impossible Astronaut.)
Cover Art
Chapter Index
Summary: This is a sort of "Doctor Who" meets "Avatar" story, without the avatars.
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory land on a human colony world where the colonists live in gigantic trees. A whole city in the treetops. But what starts out as a lark, ends with a murder, an ancient mystery, and a local race of "not quite intelligent" spider-monkey-like creatures that might have a reason for not quite being intelligent.
-----
Up a Tree p.1
"This is nuts," Rory said. "We're in a tree!"
Amy and the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis to discover they were indeed in a tree. A tree that would make any redwood of Earth look like a mere seedling.
The Tardis had materialized on the end of a branch, the branch was large enough that it formed a pathway in front of them. The Doctor leaned sideways and looked down, the ground was thousands of feet away.
Alien birdsong sang all around them, the breeze was laden with the smell of greenery and mold, bark crunched under their feet, the wind rustled the leaves that were everywhere, above and below them.
Amy grabbed him. "Be careful!"
Her snatch set him off balance. He windmilled before Rory grabbed them both and yanked them to the center of the branch.
"Ho! What are you doing here? You can't park that thing there, you're obstructing traffic!" a voice yelled.
A man in a grey-green coverall trotted up to them as if he was on a sidewalk.
The Doctor looked down and realized the top of the branch was worn smooth, proof of the passage of many feet.
"Hello!" he said cheerfully, holding out a hand to be shaken. "I'm the Doctor. Sorry about the Tardis, we didn't exactly expect to land here."
The young man shook his hand and nodded politely to Amy and Rory. "Biologists are you?" he asked. "Well, you still can't park your transport pod here. You'll need to check in with Deran, come on, I'll take you to him. Watch your step."
He turned and walked away, matter of factly, as if he wasn't striding off down the branch of a gigantic tree like some sort of human squirrel. Amy and Rory stared at the Doctor in consternation. The Doctor just rocked on his heels cheerfully and waved a hand at them, "You heard the man, let's go!"
They followed the coveralled man along the branch, the tree limb was about 10 feet wide, with a level path down the center. They weren't in any danger of falling. But every little gust of wind made Amy clutch onto Rory, he kept a tight grip on her hand.
The Doctor skipped along in front of them like he was having a grand time. His head craned this way and that as he took in the rich web of branches and tree limbs all around them, the turquoise alien sky beyond the leaves, and the panorama of unbroken jungle stretching far below.
The young man in front of them took a fork in the branch that connected to a larger branch. There were obvious signs of human habitation here. A bit of handrail, a path more obviously leveled and maintained, the bark smoothed down into a distinct road. Amy looked down and saw the number 27 carved into the wood of their branch at the side of the path.
"How long are you on planet for?" the local asked conversationally, turning around and walking backwards to hear their answer. Amy squeaked and wished he'd turn and watch where he was going, he could walk right off the branch and never notice.
"Don't know," the Doctor answered, stuffing his hands casually in his pockets. "We just got here. Long enough to look around anyway."
The man nodded as if that was normal. "Well, in that case, welcome to Yblis!" He spread his arms wide, and Amy didn't know if he did it on purpose or not, but he timed it perfectly. They walked out of a screen of leaves and Amy's mouth fell open.
"Oh my God," Rory said from beside her.
The towering bole of the tree rose before them, three city blocks away and a thousand feet thick. It rose up endlessly above them, and receded thousands of feet below. And the whole thing was swarming with people.
Walkways, platforms, and spiral staircases had been built right out of the wood of the great tree. Swinging bridges connected branches, and covered archways showed where shops and homes had been carved out of the living trunk of the tree itself.
Sunlight glanced down through the branches, streaming spotlights of golden color over the scene, dustmotes dancing in the light.
And everywhere were people. Normal looking humans, all going about their own business. A man walked along carrying a crate of fruit on his head. A teacher shooed a gaggle of children across a platform. Men in coveralls scampered here and there on various tasks, bouncing across the rope bridges and weaving in and out among the traffic up and down the spiral stairs, the stairs apparently made by ramming huge timbers of wood into the bole of the tree.
Railings were rare, everything seemed to be very open and Amy found herself holding her breath, just waiting for someone to go plunging to their deaths.
Their self-appointed guide grinned at their expressions and waved a negligent hand. "This way." He turned and led them onto a semi-circular wooden platform built out of the side of the tree. He bypassed a couple of carved-in shops and led them to a staircase at the edge of the platform that curved down around the side of the bole.
Each step was a massive timber, fourteen feet long, rammed directly into the tree. No railing, no handgrips, just the massive tree rising up on one side and endless empty air on the other. There were clouds floating below them.
Amy and Rory kept close to the treetrunk, hands gripping giant ridges of ancient bark as they edged down from one riser to the next. The Doctor and their guide bounced down the stairs happily. Locals dodged around them as they wove their way up and down the stairs, apparently oblivious of the drop below.
The view was incredible. Amy and Rory looked at each other. Endless leagues of alien tropical jungle spread out to the horizon, the strange call of alien animals and birds muted by the wind, but giving a sense of verdant life.
The giant tree seemed to be the exception rather than the rule. The didn't see any others this size from their vantage point. All the other trees of the forest were much smaller, tiny in comparison, although Amy bet they were good sized trees in their own right.
The wind, once they got used to its constant tug, was cool yet comfortable. The air smelled incredibly clean, green, and dusty with bark.
"Doctor," Amy said. "Where are we?"
"Yblis," the Doctor said happily, head still swiveling, trying to see everything at once.
"And where's Yblis?" Rory asked patiently, inching down to another riser.
"No idea, never heard of it." He turned and grinned at them, his eyes sparkling, completely thrilled. "I can't wait to find out."
Next Chapter
Author: betawho
Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Mystery
Rating: PG
Characters: 11th Doctor, Amy Pond, Rory Williams
(Note: This story takes place between A Christmas Carol and The Impossible Astronaut.)
Cover Art
Chapter Index
Summary: This is a sort of "Doctor Who" meets "Avatar" story, without the avatars.
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory land on a human colony world where the colonists live in gigantic trees. A whole city in the treetops. But what starts out as a lark, ends with a murder, an ancient mystery, and a local race of "not quite intelligent" spider-monkey-like creatures that might have a reason for not quite being intelligent.
-----
Up a Tree p.1
"This is nuts," Rory said. "We're in a tree!"
Amy and the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis to discover they were indeed in a tree. A tree that would make any redwood of Earth look like a mere seedling.
The Tardis had materialized on the end of a branch, the branch was large enough that it formed a pathway in front of them. The Doctor leaned sideways and looked down, the ground was thousands of feet away.
Alien birdsong sang all around them, the breeze was laden with the smell of greenery and mold, bark crunched under their feet, the wind rustled the leaves that were everywhere, above and below them.
Amy grabbed him. "Be careful!"
Her snatch set him off balance. He windmilled before Rory grabbed them both and yanked them to the center of the branch.
"Ho! What are you doing here? You can't park that thing there, you're obstructing traffic!" a voice yelled.
A man in a grey-green coverall trotted up to them as if he was on a sidewalk.
The Doctor looked down and realized the top of the branch was worn smooth, proof of the passage of many feet.
"Hello!" he said cheerfully, holding out a hand to be shaken. "I'm the Doctor. Sorry about the Tardis, we didn't exactly expect to land here."
The young man shook his hand and nodded politely to Amy and Rory. "Biologists are you?" he asked. "Well, you still can't park your transport pod here. You'll need to check in with Deran, come on, I'll take you to him. Watch your step."
He turned and walked away, matter of factly, as if he wasn't striding off down the branch of a gigantic tree like some sort of human squirrel. Amy and Rory stared at the Doctor in consternation. The Doctor just rocked on his heels cheerfully and waved a hand at them, "You heard the man, let's go!"
They followed the coveralled man along the branch, the tree limb was about 10 feet wide, with a level path down the center. They weren't in any danger of falling. But every little gust of wind made Amy clutch onto Rory, he kept a tight grip on her hand.
The Doctor skipped along in front of them like he was having a grand time. His head craned this way and that as he took in the rich web of branches and tree limbs all around them, the turquoise alien sky beyond the leaves, and the panorama of unbroken jungle stretching far below.
The young man in front of them took a fork in the branch that connected to a larger branch. There were obvious signs of human habitation here. A bit of handrail, a path more obviously leveled and maintained, the bark smoothed down into a distinct road. Amy looked down and saw the number 27 carved into the wood of their branch at the side of the path.
"How long are you on planet for?" the local asked conversationally, turning around and walking backwards to hear their answer. Amy squeaked and wished he'd turn and watch where he was going, he could walk right off the branch and never notice.
"Don't know," the Doctor answered, stuffing his hands casually in his pockets. "We just got here. Long enough to look around anyway."
The man nodded as if that was normal. "Well, in that case, welcome to Yblis!" He spread his arms wide, and Amy didn't know if he did it on purpose or not, but he timed it perfectly. They walked out of a screen of leaves and Amy's mouth fell open.
"Oh my God," Rory said from beside her.
The towering bole of the tree rose before them, three city blocks away and a thousand feet thick. It rose up endlessly above them, and receded thousands of feet below. And the whole thing was swarming with people.
Walkways, platforms, and spiral staircases had been built right out of the wood of the great tree. Swinging bridges connected branches, and covered archways showed where shops and homes had been carved out of the living trunk of the tree itself.
Sunlight glanced down through the branches, streaming spotlights of golden color over the scene, dustmotes dancing in the light.
And everywhere were people. Normal looking humans, all going about their own business. A man walked along carrying a crate of fruit on his head. A teacher shooed a gaggle of children across a platform. Men in coveralls scampered here and there on various tasks, bouncing across the rope bridges and weaving in and out among the traffic up and down the spiral stairs, the stairs apparently made by ramming huge timbers of wood into the bole of the tree.
Railings were rare, everything seemed to be very open and Amy found herself holding her breath, just waiting for someone to go plunging to their deaths.
Their self-appointed guide grinned at their expressions and waved a negligent hand. "This way." He turned and led them onto a semi-circular wooden platform built out of the side of the tree. He bypassed a couple of carved-in shops and led them to a staircase at the edge of the platform that curved down around the side of the bole.
Each step was a massive timber, fourteen feet long, rammed directly into the tree. No railing, no handgrips, just the massive tree rising up on one side and endless empty air on the other. There were clouds floating below them.
Amy and Rory kept close to the treetrunk, hands gripping giant ridges of ancient bark as they edged down from one riser to the next. The Doctor and their guide bounced down the stairs happily. Locals dodged around them as they wove their way up and down the stairs, apparently oblivious of the drop below.
The view was incredible. Amy and Rory looked at each other. Endless leagues of alien tropical jungle spread out to the horizon, the strange call of alien animals and birds muted by the wind, but giving a sense of verdant life.
The giant tree seemed to be the exception rather than the rule. The didn't see any others this size from their vantage point. All the other trees of the forest were much smaller, tiny in comparison, although Amy bet they were good sized trees in their own right.
The wind, once they got used to its constant tug, was cool yet comfortable. The air smelled incredibly clean, green, and dusty with bark.
"Doctor," Amy said. "Where are we?"
"Yblis," the Doctor said happily, head still swiveling, trying to see everything at once.
"And where's Yblis?" Rory asked patiently, inching down to another riser.
"No idea, never heard of it." He turned and grinned at them, his eyes sparkling, completely thrilled. "I can't wait to find out."
Next Chapter