Doctor who Series: Episode 2 - Compatibility issues P3

The doors slid open. Cold air rushed in to meet them. The Doctor stepped outside, taking a long breath. "Come on, the airs...adequate". He cleared his throat. The air certainly wasn't great, but it was breathable, barely.

 

Jackie and Frank took their first steps, out onto an alien world. The Doctor started forward before - "Doctor stop!" Jackie yelled from behind. Lucky she'd done so as the Doctor was a mere footstep from peril. "Oooh, a transport platform" he said, before turning round. "Good eye, Jackie. That would explain why the Tardis said we were still moving".

 

A thump. "J...Jesus" gasped Frank, clinging to the Tardis. Unfortunately, Frank was terrified of heights. Always had been, always would be.

 

"You ok Frank?" Jackie asked. Frank nodded, trying a reassuring smile but ultimately, failing. Who knew Frank Douglas, burly security guard, was afraid of heights. To be honest, anyone would be scared in his position. Flying on an unenclosed surface with a hundred mile drop would scare even the bravest people.

 

"Doctor do you think we could..." Jackie started before trailing off. She had turned round with the intent to get the Doctor to land somewhere else. However, he was already preoccupied with what looked like a robot, stood in front of a control panel of some sort.

 

"Fascinating" he mused, examining the droid with his screwdriver. Not often you see a droid piloting a transport platform, especially not in this century. "Doctor do you really think that's a good idea." Jackie called out from behind. 'typical human, always worrying about something' he thought before reassuring her. "It's fine. It looks like an automated system, probably on autopilot."

 

Suddenly, the droid jerked to life, its eyes sparking. "Oh, hello. I'm the Doctor and these are..."

 

"DO YOU WISH TO ASSUME COMMAND?" The droid said in a monotone, mechanical voice. "Ummm, sure why not". As he'd told Jackie, it was on autopilot, what harm could 'assuming command' possibly do. Jackie shot him a look that practically screamed 'What the hell are you doing'.

 

As soon as he'd answered, the droid took a step back, allowing the Doctor to stand in front of the console. Jackie stepped towards him but he waved her off. "It's fine" he mouthed. The droid indicated to the Doctor to put his hands on the controls.

 

Satisfied, the Droid made its way towards the edge of the platform. and stepped of, similar to how a diver steps off a boat into the sea. "What the hell" exclaimed Frank, tentatively looking over the side of the platform. The droid had jumped off, folded into a ball, and was now headed towards the Sprawling base beneath them.

 

Out of nowhere, the platform lurched violently to the left, then the right. "Bloody hell" yelped Frank, as he was flung against an exhaust pipe. The platform began to fall. Jackie and the Doctor both clung to the Control console as the platform started dipping more to the right. Frank was now hanging almost vertically off the pipe. Jackie glanced behind her. "Doctor your bo..Tardis!" The Tardis was beginning to slide. "No no no no no" the Doctor shouted, trying in vain to use his foot to hold the Tardis in place. He glanced forward. The ground was rushing up to meet them, fast. They had already broken the thin cloud layer, and were now heading towards the base.

 

The Doctor had to make a decision: leap from the control console and grab hold of the Tardis or give up and save the platform. If he had been alone, it would have been an easy decision: Save the Tardis. But he had people with him. He couldn't just let them die. "No more deaths" he mumbled to himself as he grappled with the control panel. "I'm going to try to land us in that hangar looking thing down there" He yelled, indicating at a section of the base. "Hold on!"

 

Done