Doctor Who fic: Five Adventures Martha Jones Never Had With the Ninth Doctor (4/5)
In a maze of corridors at the heart of an interstellar space station, Martha Jones ran for her life. Every step was agonizing but she didn’t dare to stop.
The echo of heavy footsteps chased her down the corridor. They seemed incredibly close but she knew it was just a trick of the surrounding space. Still, she didn’t look back, didn’t even take a split second to think about anything else but running.
Lungs aching, legs that felt like they were on fire, vision blurred…
It was all forgotten for a moment when the hand grabbed her around the arm and pulled her aside. Martha felt her legs give out as she suddenly stopped but someone was there to catch her. She blinked to clear her vision and a familiar face appeared. Anxiety pulled down the smile on his face.
“Fancy meeting you here, Ms. Jones.”
“Doctor.” Martha took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart. It dawned on her then that she couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore. She glanced around. They were in a dimly lit room, dusty monitors along the wall providing the light. “What is this?”
“Monitor room. It’s how I found you.” The Doctor guided Martha to her feet. The images on the monitors changed as they flicked between cameras.
“How did you know this was here?”
“I’ve been to this space station before.”
It hardly came as a surprise. Easing herself down, Martha took a seat on the edge of the control console beneath the monitors. “Let me guess. An alien being was running amuck and you swooped in the save the day.”
The Doctor’s attention had turned to the monitors. He watched the feeds with a careful eye. “I was here on trial.”
Martha could only stare at the Doctor. He had said the words so casually. “Did you commit a crime?”
“My people thought so. There.” He pointed to one of the monitors near the top. Pushing a few buttons, he stopped the feed from switching over to the next camera. “The Sontarans are regrouping.”
The group of six that had been chasing Martha had now rejoined the rest of the platoon. “They look like mouldy Christmas pudding,” she muttered, the sight of their mottled brown skin and dome shaped heads still giving her a shudder.
The Doctor glanced over at her, an eyebrow raised. “You were running for you life a minute ago and now you’re thinking about pudding?”
“Should I be plotting the demise of the Sontarans instead?” Martha risked standing up and happily found that her legs could support her weight again. Travelling with the Doctor was worth something: it kept you in shape.
“We can’t let them seize this space station.” A hint of concern was in the Doctor’s voice. It was the first indication to Martha that these Sontarans were an actual threat. They may have unnerved her, but if the Doctor was worried than she knew they were facing a challenge.
“Because the space station belongs to the Time Lords?”
“Because this space station shouldn’t exist.”
The Doctor, of course, didn’t bother to elaborate and continued to monitor the movements of the Sontarans. Martha watched him silently while attempting to understand what he meant. There were a number of things beyond her and these topics were constantly being brought up while she travelled with the Doctor, but that didn’t mean she was incapable of learning. There was more to this situation and this space station. She finally decided this wasn’t going to be a comment that she would ignore.
“What do you mean ‘shouldn’t exist’? This place was abandoned. If the Time Lords didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, they should have destroyed it or dismantled it.”
“The Sontarans are splitting up into search parties,” said the Doctor, speaking as if he hadn’t heard Martha. “They won’t find us but they might find the TARDIS.” He turned to leave but she stepped into his path.
“Doctor.” His appearance looked ghostly in the pale light cast by the monitors. For a moment, Martha could see why aliens knew to fear this man. “What’s so special about this space station?”
She expected him to put up a challenge. Instead, he just looked tired. “Time Lord. Those words used to have meaning.” Turning away from Martha, the Doctor walked over to the control console. “We watched the universe with a careful eye, kept a balance of the whole. Persecuted those who stepped out of line.”
He looked up at the monitors. “Masters of time and space and it wasn’t enough. This space station shouldn’t exist because the Time Lords don’t exist. They were wiped out from existence. A whole civilization burned from the memory of the universe.”
“You’re here,” Martha said softly.
It seemed like that was hardly a consolation. “The Sontarans can’t be allowed to use this technology. I have to stop them. There’s no one else.”
It felt like a slight, but she knew what the Doctor meant. This was his responsibility because he was the last. But that didn’t mean the burden couldn’t be shared. Martha walked over to him. “Then stop them. But you’re going to have help.”
The Doctor grinned madly. “You up for more running?”
“If we need to, but it felt like I was running with a lorry strapped to my back.” The Doctor’s eyes lit up, causing Martha to frown. “What?”
Nimbly, the Doctor’s hands flew over the controls. The images on the monitors were instantly replaced with circular symbols, like the ones displayed on the screen in the TARDIS. The Doctor focused his attention on one monitor in the centre. “Ha! They gained access to environmental controls.”
“So?”
“The Sontarans increased the gravity by fifteen percent. Within norms for a Sontaran but a bit rough for a human. It probably felt like you were running through water.” Martha continued to stare blankly at the Doctor. His grin grew wider. “Just imagine what it would feel like if a being from a heavy gravity planet suddenly found himself in a zero gravity environment.”
Martha found herself grinning as the Doctor changed the environmental settings, but she faltered when a thought hit her. “What about us?”
Her feet lifted off the ground before the Doctor could reply.
The echo of heavy footsteps chased her down the corridor. They seemed incredibly close but she knew it was just a trick of the surrounding space. Still, she didn’t look back, didn’t even take a split second to think about anything else but running.
Lungs aching, legs that felt like they were on fire, vision blurred…
It was all forgotten for a moment when the hand grabbed her around the arm and pulled her aside. Martha felt her legs give out as she suddenly stopped but someone was there to catch her. She blinked to clear her vision and a familiar face appeared. Anxiety pulled down the smile on his face.
“Fancy meeting you here, Ms. Jones.”
“Doctor.” Martha took a deep breath to try to calm her racing heart. It dawned on her then that she couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore. She glanced around. They were in a dimly lit room, dusty monitors along the wall providing the light. “What is this?”
“Monitor room. It’s how I found you.” The Doctor guided Martha to her feet. The images on the monitors changed as they flicked between cameras.
“How did you know this was here?”
“I’ve been to this space station before.”
It hardly came as a surprise. Easing herself down, Martha took a seat on the edge of the control console beneath the monitors. “Let me guess. An alien being was running amuck and you swooped in the save the day.”
The Doctor’s attention had turned to the monitors. He watched the feeds with a careful eye. “I was here on trial.”
Martha could only stare at the Doctor. He had said the words so casually. “Did you commit a crime?”
“My people thought so. There.” He pointed to one of the monitors near the top. Pushing a few buttons, he stopped the feed from switching over to the next camera. “The Sontarans are regrouping.”
The group of six that had been chasing Martha had now rejoined the rest of the platoon. “They look like mouldy Christmas pudding,” she muttered, the sight of their mottled brown skin and dome shaped heads still giving her a shudder.
The Doctor glanced over at her, an eyebrow raised. “You were running for you life a minute ago and now you’re thinking about pudding?”
“Should I be plotting the demise of the Sontarans instead?” Martha risked standing up and happily found that her legs could support her weight again. Travelling with the Doctor was worth something: it kept you in shape.
“We can’t let them seize this space station.” A hint of concern was in the Doctor’s voice. It was the first indication to Martha that these Sontarans were an actual threat. They may have unnerved her, but if the Doctor was worried than she knew they were facing a challenge.
“Because the space station belongs to the Time Lords?”
“Because this space station shouldn’t exist.”
The Doctor, of course, didn’t bother to elaborate and continued to monitor the movements of the Sontarans. Martha watched him silently while attempting to understand what he meant. There were a number of things beyond her and these topics were constantly being brought up while she travelled with the Doctor, but that didn’t mean she was incapable of learning. There was more to this situation and this space station. She finally decided this wasn’t going to be a comment that she would ignore.
“What do you mean ‘shouldn’t exist’? This place was abandoned. If the Time Lords didn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, they should have destroyed it or dismantled it.”
“The Sontarans are splitting up into search parties,” said the Doctor, speaking as if he hadn’t heard Martha. “They won’t find us but they might find the TARDIS.” He turned to leave but she stepped into his path.
“Doctor.” His appearance looked ghostly in the pale light cast by the monitors. For a moment, Martha could see why aliens knew to fear this man. “What’s so special about this space station?”
She expected him to put up a challenge. Instead, he just looked tired. “Time Lord. Those words used to have meaning.” Turning away from Martha, the Doctor walked over to the control console. “We watched the universe with a careful eye, kept a balance of the whole. Persecuted those who stepped out of line.”
He looked up at the monitors. “Masters of time and space and it wasn’t enough. This space station shouldn’t exist because the Time Lords don’t exist. They were wiped out from existence. A whole civilization burned from the memory of the universe.”
“You’re here,” Martha said softly.
It seemed like that was hardly a consolation. “The Sontarans can’t be allowed to use this technology. I have to stop them. There’s no one else.”
It felt like a slight, but she knew what the Doctor meant. This was his responsibility because he was the last. But that didn’t mean the burden couldn’t be shared. Martha walked over to him. “Then stop them. But you’re going to have help.”
The Doctor grinned madly. “You up for more running?”
“If we need to, but it felt like I was running with a lorry strapped to my back.” The Doctor’s eyes lit up, causing Martha to frown. “What?”
Nimbly, the Doctor’s hands flew over the controls. The images on the monitors were instantly replaced with circular symbols, like the ones displayed on the screen in the TARDIS. The Doctor focused his attention on one monitor in the centre. “Ha! They gained access to environmental controls.”
“So?”
“The Sontarans increased the gravity by fifteen percent. Within norms for a Sontaran but a bit rough for a human. It probably felt like you were running through water.” Martha continued to stare blankly at the Doctor. His grin grew wider. “Just imagine what it would feel like if a being from a heavy gravity planet suddenly found himself in a zero gravity environment.”
Martha found herself grinning as the Doctor changed the environmental settings, but she faltered when a thought hit her. “What about us?”
Her feet lifted off the ground before the Doctor could reply.