Lorne's concerned face appears on the tablet. "Oh, honey. Kidnapped on your wedding day? I'm really sorry." He gives a long sigh. "Sorry to break it to you, beautiful, but they're not gonna send you home, at least not anytime soon. Looks like our alien overlords have a sadistic streak."
Although the face that appeared on her tablet happened to be green, Martha had seen so many aliens races that she wasn't fazed. Besides, his sympathetic tone seemed genuine enough. He definitely deserved the benefit of the doubt.
"You're going to have to explain 'alien overlords'," she replied, raising an eyebrow and giving the arrival chamber another glance. "Who are they? And what planet is this?"
Wow, this lady is tough as nails. She's far more collected than he was when first kidnapped. He's still worried, though. He knows how much a tough exterior can hide. Still, bonus points for accepting his appearance as normal from the get-go.
"I'm not an alien expert. I guess I missed close encounters one through three. I don't know what planet this is or what the aliens are. You'll want to ask my friend Fred Burkle or the Doctor. They might know."
It wasn't the most frightening situation that Martha had found herself in, or, indeed, the first time that she'd been kidnapped. Although there was quite a lot hidden behind her calm exterior, she intended to make sure it stayed hidden.
Until Lorne mentioned the Doctor, at least.
"The Doctor's here?" She almost laughed at that, a mixture of surprise and relief. "I should have guessed."
If that really was the case, she'd be back on Earth in time for her wedding. Even if her dress wouldn't necessarily survive the upcoming adventure. (Tish, who had helped - and occasionally caused family rows - during the planning and shopping process, would be distraught.)
"It never is," said Martha, giving Kaylee a wry smile that wasn't as cheerful as she would have liked. It was difficult to act like a serious UNIT officer in heels and a fairly elaborate dress, but keeping calm in situations like this was what Martha did. Somebody had to.
"I don't suppose you could tell me where we are?" she asked, turning her tablet slightly to look at Kaylee properly.
"Be nice if it was, on occasion." Part of the charm of life, maybe. Never knew what was coming your way next.
Kaylee nods. "City's called Taxon. There's a whole group of us here, don't know how we got here, or why. Do know who, though--some kinda alien or another. They were paradin' as giant hamsters last time they made contact."
"Taxon," Martha repeated with a nod. She wanted to make sure that she remembered the name, even if it wasn't one she recognised. UNIT would need to be told about them, as soon as she found a way to get in contact with her superiors. Maybe they were dealing with a species that the human race had met before.
"I've never met giant hamster aliens before," she noted, in a tone that suggested that she had met other sorts of aliens.
She could feel the familiar thrill of excitement - the excitement of visiting a new world for the first time - stirring in her stomach, but it was tempered by concern for her family and the fact that she'd traveled by teleportation rather than TARDIS.
"So it's a whole city? You mean I can leave this room?"
"It's better than an alien museum," noted Martha, remembering the Museum of the Last Ones and the Doctor's temporary imprisonment there. It wasn't the sort of thing that was easy to forget. At least the exhibits in zoos were allowed to move around a bit.
(And, if they could move around, potentially escape.)
"I suppose you don't know where we are or why we're here either?"
"I'm not sure it's much. Zoo or museum, we're all exhibits in a cage..."
A small frown at this before she continues.
"I'm rather a new arrival myself, but the place is called Taxon. It's certainly Earth-like... to make us feel at home, I suppose. But who knows where we really are. And whoever's keeping us here doesn't seem terribly interested in making themselves known, just in keeping us here."
"But the exhibits in zoos are still alive," she pointed out, glancing around the room. It was a strange sort of cage, but she was eager to get out of it and get back to her life.
"You're from Earth?" And she wasn't unsettled by the idea of life on other planets, either. She'd accepted that Taxon - if that was where they really were - could be anywhere in the universe.
Gwen can't help but frown at the sight; a bouquet and a lovely white gown. Whatever event the woman came from it was clearly important. She wishes it were simply a maying, but a wedding seems more likely.
"I'm afraid going home is not so easy, and this place is a waste for such a lovely dress."
Martha smiled - softly and not particularly humourously - at that. Tish had helped her to pick out the dress, dragging Martha to so many shops that she'd eventually lost count. Her sister would probably take that comment - and the fact that it had been made in an alien city after an alien kidnapping - as a sign of just how lovely the dress was. Money well spent.
"Then I'll just have to save it until I get home."
"The flowers may not keep," she says, glad her compliment could warrant a smile in the face of Taxon's stealing her away. "W-was it intended for a wedding?"
She hesitates a bit before asking. It's a presumptuous question to ask, indeed, but this is hardly court and she has seen much worse of people's manners.
Which was true as long as they were talking about dresses and bouquets. In reality, the difficulties of getting home - there would be difficulties, of course - were what really worried Martha.
"Yes, it was," Martha replied. It was an understandable question, given her appearance. She was surprised that it hadn't been asked before. "Is. I'm still going to get married. I just need to get home first."
Nazca smiles a bit as she flicks on her tablet. "Sounds like quite the party you've been abducted from. My condolences. But our captors seem very interested in our comfort and very little interested in our convenience."
"Actually, I didn't get to the party." She hadn't even got to the vows. The fact that her husband to be would understand - he knew enough about aliens and alien abductions, after all - didn't make the situation any better. She'd been desperate for a few hours of normality.
"Not as much as I'd like, I'm afraid. It seems likely they're not human. Very technologically advanced. No direct contact since I've been here, though. Frighteningly, they seem to possess some level of mind control, though the extent is unclear."
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"You're going to have to explain 'alien overlords'," she replied, raising an eyebrow and giving the arrival chamber another glance. "Who are they? And what planet is this?"
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"I'm not an alien expert. I guess I missed close encounters one through three. I don't know what planet this is or what the aliens are. You'll want to ask my friend Fred Burkle or the Doctor. They might know."
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Until Lorne mentioned the Doctor, at least.
"The Doctor's here?" She almost laughed at that, a mixture of surprise and relief. "I should have guessed."
If that really was the case, she'd be back on Earth in time for her wedding. Even if her dress wouldn't necessarily survive the upcoming adventure. (Tish, who had helped - and occasionally caused family rows - during the planning and shopping process, would be distraught.)
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"'Fraid it ain't all as easy as that," she mumbles, not really wanting to be the bearer of bad news. "We're all tryin' to find a way back."
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"I don't suppose you could tell me where we are?" she asked, turning her tablet slightly to look at Kaylee properly.
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Kaylee nods. "City's called Taxon. There's a whole group of us here, don't know how we got here, or why. Do know who, though--some kinda alien or another. They were paradin' as giant hamsters last time they made contact."
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"I've never met giant hamster aliens before," she noted, in a tone that suggested that she had met other sorts of aliens.
She could feel the familiar thrill of excitement - the excitement of visiting a new world for the first time - stirring in her stomach, but it was tempered by concern for her family and the fact that she'd traveled by teleportation rather than TARDIS.
"So it's a whole city? You mean I can leave this room?"
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"Oh, I am sorry, but I rather think we're all stuck here. Some sort of alien zoo..."
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(And, if they could move around, potentially escape.)
"I suppose you don't know where we are or why we're here either?"
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A small frown at this before she continues.
"I'm rather a new arrival myself, but the place is called Taxon. It's certainly Earth-like... to make us feel at home, I suppose. But who knows where we really are. And whoever's keeping us here doesn't seem terribly interested in making themselves known, just in keeping us here."
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"You're from Earth?" And she wasn't unsettled by the idea of life on other planets, either. She'd accepted that Taxon - if that was where they really were - could be anywhere in the universe.
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"I'm afraid going home is not so easy, and this place is a waste for such a lovely dress."
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"Then I'll just have to save it until I get home."
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She hesitates a bit before asking. It's a presumptuous question to ask, indeed, but this is hardly court and she has seen much worse of people's manners.
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Which was true as long as they were talking about dresses and bouquets. In reality, the difficulties of getting home - there would be difficulties, of course - were what really worried Martha.
"Yes, it was," Martha replied. It was an understandable question, given her appearance. She was surprised that it hadn't been asked before. "Is. I'm still going to get married. I just need to get home first."
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"What can you tell me about our captors?"
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Nazca doesn't sugarcoat, as a rule.
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Well, that was the icing on the cake, wasn't it? The situation had gone from bad to worse and was now simply confusing.
"But not enough to stop you telling me about it?"
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