Episode 11: Silent Ice Part 1

Mac picked up his mop. His back ached with age; it was nearly time for Mac to retire. He turned around to pick up his pot of water, and began squeezing the water out of the mop. Behind him, a pool of water formed silently. Mac pulled a small computer out of his pocket.

“Scan Computer,” Mac said.
“/Scanning\,” the Computer replied digitally.
“Thanks,” Mac said.

He dragged the pot of water over to a cupboard, and shut the door on it. The water trickled behind him.

“/Results found\,” the Computer informed.
“Show me the results Computer,” Mac sighed.
“/One Human, two cleaning equipment, and one unidentified substance\,” the Computer told him.
“An unidentified substance? Computer, identify it,” Mac said.
“/Substance unidentifiable\,” the Computer said.
“Computer, tell me where this substance is,” Mac said.
“/Behind you\.”

Mac turned around quickly.

“Computer, that so called substance is H2O!” Mac scowled.
“/There is no H2O present in the substance\,” the Computer corrected.
“Well, what is it then?” Mac asked.
“/Substance unident-\” the Computer began.
“Yes I know,” Mac snapped “scan it then.”
“/Scanning. Scan- Scanning\.”

The water rose up behind Mac and turned into ice.

“Well?” Mac asked.
“/Scan failed\,” the Computer reported.
“Fine. Switch off,” Mac ordered.

The ice lunged forward, and pulled Mac down onto the floor. He screamed in pain, as it killed him. His mop clattered to the floor.

“/Switching off\.”

Title Sequence.

The Doctor closed the door to the TARDIS. He gazed up to the ceiling, observing the masses of pipes and networks of cables. Everything was in shadow, the place was empty. He loved this. Exploring a place that was deserted, it was creepy.

“So Time Boy, where are we?” Georgia asked.
“In a deserted part of space, where the lights never turn on, where everything is preserved. Where the stars are allowed to burn freely, away from the hustle and bustle of the universe,” the Doctor replied.
“Meaning?” Conner asked.
“We’re in a deserted Space Docks,” the Doctor said.

He walked forwards into the shadow, still trying to get a sense of size.

“And- what’s a Space Dock?” Georgia asked.
“It’s basically like Docks for ships,” the Doctor explained “you see, we’re in a quiet part of Space, and it’s a long way from home. People need to refuel, and stock up on supplies.”
“Why is it so clean if it’s deserted?” Conner asked.
“There must be cleaners around,” the Doctor explained.

They three friends walked down the vast corridor, looking at all the different wide corridors, each with a number; 95, 94, 93, 92 and 91. The TARDIS had landed in Row 97.

They explored for a while, noting everything from the monitors to the solitary mop left on the floor. (“The Cleaner probably left that Conner!” the Doctor said.) They walked and walked, until they reached row 48.

A black screen high above them flashed red. Letters, again red, ran along them. A silky voice gave an announcement.

“Ship docking! Ship docking in Row 23! Could all staff attend the docking on Row 23? Thank you,” the announcer said.
“Well, I guess we’re the staff!” the Doctor cried “come on! Let’s go and greet our guests!”

He ran, and Georgia and Conner followed him. They ran through 40, 37, 32, 28, 26, and finally they turned into Row 23. There was a rumble, and Georgia and Conner fell over, laughing. A majestic space shuttle lowered itself into Port 81. All along the Row were different Ports, where various ships could Dock. Today, there was only one ship, The SS Supreme.

There was another rumble, as the door slowly opened. Out stepped two people: a 21 year old blonde man, and a 22 year old brown haired woman, whose hair was tied up at the back. They both had guns, which they raised upon seeing the Doctor and his friends.

“State your intent!” the man cried.
“Hi!” the Doctor, Georgia and Conner said together.
“Who are you?” the woman asked.
“I’m the Doctor,” the Doctor said.
“Conner,” Conner said.
“I’m Georgia,” Georgia smiled.

The blonde haired man picked up a small intercom.

“They’re harmless,” he said into it.
“Thanks, Will, we’ll be out in a minute,” the intercom replied.
“So,” the Doctor said stepping forward “you’re called Will. And what’s your name?”
“Becky,” the woman replied “but I hate that name. You can call me Bex if you like.”
“Great,” the Doctor replied.

Conner smiled. He liked the fact that the Doctor could change the situation round. The crew members of this ship had gone from pointing guns at them, to willingly giving their names and acting as if they’d been friends for years.

“What are you doing here? We thought the Docks were deserted! When did you arrive?” Will asked, with a bemused expression.
“Our- ship, it landed just now. Well, I say just now, it was about an hour ago. We’ve been exploring for a bit you see,” the Doctor replied awkwardly, not wanting to reveal too much about the TARDIS.
“We’re just opening the hatch,” the intercom crackled.
“Oh, here comes the boss,” the Doctor smiled.

The door rose up again, and 9 people and a robot stepped out. Bex and Will stood to attention.

“Hello,” the Doctor beamed at them all “I’m the Doctor!”
“Red, go and check the monitors,” one woman ordered.

The sleek silver robot trundled forward, and went over to a monitor. One of his attachments slid into the monitor.

“Accessing,” the robot said.
“Lovely,” the Doctor beamed again.
“And who might you be?” the woman who had ordered the robot asked.
“We’re travellers, and yourselves?” the Doctor asked.
“Of course,” the woman smiled “introductions! My name’s Jess, the Deputy Captain. Over there is Junaid.”

Junaid stepped forward. He has brown hair, going slightly grey, and is about 46 years old.

“I’m Junaid,” Junaid announced “Captain Junaid!”
“Nice to meet you!” the Doctor grinned.

A brown haired man of about 33 stepped forward.

“This is Gabz, the Pilot,” Jess informed them.
“Hi,” Georgia smiled.

Gabz stepped backwards, and a woman stepped forward in his place. She had brown hair, which was curly. She looked about 29 years old.

“Nancy is our General Maintenance,” Jess said, while Nancy smiled and stepped backwards “and this is Caitlin, the apprentice on our trip. Regulations state we have to take an apprentice with us if you didn’t know.”
“Yeah, Conner’s ours,” the Doctor said, smiling at the blonde woman who stepped forwards.

She stepped backwards. Three people stepped forwards. The main was a ginger haired man, who was flanked by a woman with red hair, and a man with short brown hair.

“These are our scientist!” Jess said proudly “James, our chief scientist, is helped by Matt and Laura, the helpful scientists.”

Jess was obviously proud of her crew.

“You’ve already met Will and Bex, our security, and the man attending to Red over there is Seb, our robot maintenance,” Junaid said.
“And does the robot have a name?” Conner asked.
“We call him Red, but his full name is Red Devil. Red sounds less sinister,” Junaid smiled “now come sir! Who is the charming lady who is with you?”
“Georgia,” the Doctor said.

Georgia, who looked slightly bored with the proceedings, smiled. It was, however, a slightly embarrassed smile, as she could tell he obviously fancied her.

“Now then!” the Doctor said, running over to Red “find anything?”
“The Docks have been deserted since last Thursday, when a cleaner clocked in but never clocked out. I have since scanned the Docks, and no Human life has been found,” Red informed them.
“Ooh, a mystery!” Conner grinned.
“Conner!” Georgia scolded “you’re making us sound like Scooby Doo and his gang!”
“Well…” Bex said.

Georgia turned to Bex.

“What?” she asked.
“You do sound a bit like that,” Bex grinned.
“She’s right, sorry,” Conner said “I’ll shut up…”

Georgia scowled. The Doctor turned around to face them.

“I’m Daphne,” he said seriously.
“Anyway…” Caitlin muttered.

Silence filled the air, like ice; like silent ice.

“So?” James said.
“So what?” Nancy asked.
“So aren’t we gonna go and investigate the disappearing cleaner?” James asked.
“Oh, fair point. Can we Jess?” Nancy agreed.
“Hey!” Junaid cried “I’m Captain!”
“Jess makes the decisions here, we agreed,” Laura pointed out.

Junaid fell silent. Jess looked around at her crew.

“Bex and Will guard the ship,” she ordered “Gabz, go and tap in the references, and update the log. Seb, I want Red cleaned and fully prepared for everything, and Caitlin can help him. Scientists, Nancy, the Doctor and his companions and Captain, you come with me.”

They all murmured yes, and began their tasks. Jess turned to the Doctor, and beckoned him forwards. Together, they walked down Row 23. Junaid should have gone first, but he was hanging back with Georgia and Conner.

“So, who’s the Doctor? You aren’t- you aren’t dating him are you?” Junaid asked casually.
“No, he’s just the designated driver,” Georgia said awkwardly.
“He and Jess seem to have taken charge,” Conner said dryly.
“Yes, well… I’m perusing other interests,” Junaid said embarrassedly.
“Oh yes?” Conner asked.

Junaid didn’t reply. Meanwhile, Jess was leading the Doctor down Row 30. Laura, Matt, James and Nancy followed, listening to the Doctor with interest and curiosity. Junaid, Georgia and Conner were now even further behind, as they were on Row 29 still, when the Doctor and his group turned into Row 31.

“Bit cold in here, isn’t it?” James said casually.
“I can’t feel anything,” Laura said.
“Must just be me,” James said, not thinking of it again.

The Doctor looked round.

“Where’s Georgia and Conner?” he asked.
“And Captain Junaid,” Laura said breathlessly.

The Doctor ran forward, and Jess followed him.

“They must be in the next Row!” the Doctor cried, running off.

Jess, Laura, Matt and Nancy ran after him, leaving James stood alone in Row 31. He was getting even colder, before he looked down at his hands. They were covered in ice!

The Doctor ran into Row 30, and spotted Georgia and the others at the beginning of the Row. He ran over to them.

“Come on you lot!” the Doctor cried “we’ve got exploring to do!”
“Alright!” Georgia sighed “it’s not like we’ve found anything anyway…”
“Well, you never know…” Conner said seriously, peering out of an open cupboard.
“What have you found?” the Doctor asked, running over to him.
“What’s left of the Cleaner,” Conner said.

James fell to the floor, clutching his icy chest. What was happening to him? He shakily pulled himself up to find the Doctor, hoping he may be able to help. James reached the middle of Row 31, before he froze completely on the spot. He screamed as the ice took him over completely.

To be continued…