Episode 6: Message Received Part 5

Ethan was tapping his fingers on the desk, he was very bored. Niina decided that she shouldn’t leave the bridge for a snack, after Ysabelle Quadrelli’s death appeared in the ships log. Ysabelle and Niina had been best friends, now Niina was very upset.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Niina said, crying. Ethan walked over to her and comforted her.
“I can’t believe they still aren’t back yet,” Ethan replied, “I feel abandoned.”
“Me too,” Niina muttered. Suddenly there was a huge bang on the door, and a huge lump appeared in it. Niina and Ethan stood up.

“The Monster’s found us,” Ethan said.
“We need to run!” Niina exclaimed, as there was another loud thump against the door.
“Why’s it taking it so long to get through that door?” Ethan asked.
“That door is the strongest in the ship,” Niina explained, “In the event of an attack; the bridge is the most important place."
“There must be some way of delaying it,” Ethan said rushing over to the controls, “But just in case it does get it, you run as fast as you can, I’ll hold it off.”
“But it’ll kill you,” Niina said.
“It’ll be me or you and I’d much rather it were me,” Ethan said, “I could save your life, that would be the greatest achievement of mine.”
“Delay it!” Niina said loudly as there was another loud bang on the door.
“Sealing door 1,” Ethan said pressing a button.
“It isn’t working,” Niina said as the lump on the solid, metal door got even bigger.
“This will help, sending electrical current through door 1,” Ethan said pressing a couple of buttons then pulling a lever. There was a sizzle, but then it stopped.
“Did it work?” Niina asked.
“The door’s too damaged,” Ethan said as there was another loud thump, “Run Niina!”
“I love you,” Niina said kissing Ethan, as the door flew across the room. Niina screamed and ran through another door, Ethan stood firm.

“You’ll never harm anyone else!” Ethan said.
“Oh I beg to differ,” the Rawrx said stepping into the room. It lunged at Ethan who ducked and threw a chair at the monster. The Rawrx grabbed the chair and threw it back at him. Ethan jumped onto the controls, off the ground.
“Electrical current in the floor on the bridge,” Ethan said pressing three buttons then pulling the same lever that he had before. A blue light filled the room, it sizzled Rufus’s kennel and burnt a couple of chair legs, but the Rawrx stood in the centre of the room unscathed, it smiled and again lunged at Ethan, who wasn’t so lucky this time.

Niina ran down a corridor, through a door, turned right and ran down another corridor, through another door, and into a circular room. This was where the crew ate their cooked meals. She heard a scream then all went silent. A couple of minutes later she heard footsteps, had the Rawrx found her? Niina ducked beneath a table and hoped that she would remain hidden. The door opened.

“Niina!” Hannah exclaimed and Niina ran out from under the table and hugged Hannah, Niina began to cry again.
“What’s wrong?” the Doctor asked.
“Ethan’s been killed by the Rawrx,” Niina said, “We’ve lost the bridge.” The ship suddenly shook. The chairs in the room began to slide towards the back of the room. Georgia, Conner and Ryker grabbed onto a table so they wouldn’t fall over.

“What’s going on?” the Doctor asked Captain Fry.
“The Rawrx must be turning the ship around,” Captain Fry replied, “But where too?”
“We’re heading towards the sun,” Hannah said, “In the opposite direction to where we were driving is the star of this system."

“Where are these cells you were talking about earlier?” the Doctor asked. Hannah walked into the corridor and opened another door. There were three cells inside, with laser beams for bars.
“The Rawrx won’t get harmed by these laser beams,” the Doctor said.
“Then we’ll have to go with your plan, and blow the ship up,” Hannah said, “The remote mines are over there.” Hannah pointed to a cupboard opposite the cells.

“Hang on there’s a false wall here,” the Doctor said staring at the wall.
“I can assure you it isn’t,” Hannah replied, but the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver pressed it against the wall and it fell to the ground revealing a whole new set of chambers.
“Do the others know about this Hannah?” the Doctor asked.
“Yes,” Hannah replied, “We all helped build it for...”
“For who?” the Doctor asked.
“Nobody,” Hannah replied.
“Who lives in these chambers Hannah?” the Doctor asked.
“Abasi,” Hannah said, as a tall dark-skinned man entered the room.

“Who are you?” Abasi asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” the Doctor said.
“This is Abasi Okoro, representative for the USA,” Hannah said.
“The United States of America?” the Doctor asked.
“No, the United States of Africa,” Hannah replied.

“Why aren’t you with the rest of the crew?” the Doctor asked Abasi.
“Because I’m not supposed to be on board,” Abasi answered, “The Earth Government kicked me off the ship after I did a black market deal, but the other crew members got me back on board.”
“Do you still do black market?” the Doctor asked.
“No, he’s seen the error of his ways, that's why we wanted him back,” Hannah said, Abasi looked at the ground.
“I don’t think he has,” the Doctor replied, “What have you been selling?”
“Gold and Bronze, I buy it from an anonymous supplier from Yogragriss’ moon,” Abasi said, “He is also on the black market.”
“The black market,” the Doctor said, “Why do people buy from it nowadays? There isn’t a war on.”
“But there’s a recession,” Abasi said.

“Where does the anonymous person get the gold from?” the Doctor asked.
“It isn’t real gold, but fools gold,” Abasi replied, “But I think the authorities have arrested some of my customers, they may be onto me. I’ve told the person who I get my stuff from, he seems very worried.”
“Does he know you’re on this ship?” the Doctor asked.
“Yes,” Abasi said.

“Abasi I can’t believe you!” Hannah shouted, as the others ran into the room.
“What’s going on?” Conner asked.
“We thought we heard someone shouting, oh!” Ryker said, and looked at the ground. Niina and Captain Fry looked nervous too. Georgia looked from the crew to Abasi.
“Who’s he?” Georgia asked.
“A secret crew member,” the Doctor said, “Bao never knew about him did he?”
“What do you mean?” Hannah asked.
“I was looking in the ships log,” the Doctor said, “Bao was the newest crew member, he replaced Abasi. That’s the reason Abasi’s always in here, otherwise Abasi could be allowed out as long as there weren’t visitors. You couldn’t tell Bao, because you didn’t know whether to trust him or not. And what if that monster didn’t come here by mistake, what if he came here to kill off Abasi!”

“Why would he do that?” Georgia asked.
“Abasi has been buying fools gold off an anonymous person,” the Doctor explained, “And is selling it to people, pretending it is real gold. But the authorities have arrested some of Abasi’s customers, if they tell them about Abasi, and the authorities capture him, then the anonymous person is next on the list. The person at the heart of all the business, who’s business has recently closed down due to this ship.”
“But why would he want to kill Abasi?” Niina asked.
“The anonymous person would never be traced as long as he got rid of the middle man,” the Doctor answered, “If Abasi was dead, then the anonymous person will have got away with selling the fools gold.”

“Gold, but Doctor Regal deals in gold,” Georgia said, “And this ship is putting him out of business, and his business has apparently gone down the drain.”
“Regal set the Rawrx loose on this ship,” Conner said, “He was evil all along, he probably made a deal with it.”
“Make a deal with a monster?” Niina said.
“The Rawrx is clever, it can speak,” Conner replied, “Think about it, I’ll let you go as long as you kill this person. Then he calls the Doctor to capture the Rawrx before it leaves the ship.”
“Good thinking,” Captain Fry said, “But first we need to kill the monster. We will place the remote mines in strategic points around the outside of the bridge, and then we will leave the ship in the escape pods and the TARDIS.”

“The what?” Niina asked.
“My spaceship,” the Doctor replied.
“It’s a police box,” Ryker said.
“Are you the authorities then?” Niina questioned.
“No way,” the Doctor replied, “Right I’ll have the remote control.” Captain Fry grabbed two mines, Ryker grabbed three, Hannah and Niina both grabbed two each. Abasi, Georgia and Conner all grabbed three and the Doctor supervised. Rufus followed the Doctor wherever he walked.
“Are you sure that these mines will kill it?” Georgia asked, as she laid two mines outside door 1, and then sprinted back to the Doctor.
“Yes, they’ll work; these mines are very strong by the look of them,” the Doctor replied, “Everyone to the TARDIS.”

The crew of the SS Hurricane appeared a couple of minutes after the Doctor, Georgia and Conner. They were panting and they all carried luggage.
“The escape pods are very big, we figured we could bring luggage,” Hannah said.
“We’ll meet you back on Yogragriss’s moon,” Conner said.
“Good luck,” Captain Fry said, “But as they were about to leave a voice rang out across the ship.

“I know what your planning,” the Rawrx said, “I’ve disabled the escape pods, they now no longer work, oh and your remote won’t be working until you’re right next to the mines. Oh and we’re almost at the sun.” Suddenly, an alarm rang out across the ship.”
“It is getting hot,” Georgia said.
“Reminds me of the SS Pentallion,” the Doctor muttered, “And the remote isn't working, the Rawrx has blocked it."

“What do we do?” Conner asked.
“I’ll do it,” the Doctor said, “I’ll blow up the ship and the Rawrx.”
“But we’ll all get blown up to, the escape pods aren’t working,” Hannah said.
“And you are the only one who can fly the TARDIS,” Georgia said.
“Excuse me what does that stand for?” Ryker asked.
“Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,” the Doctor recited.

“Well someone’s going to die,” Captain Fry said, “As Captain I think I should do it.”
“No you are important, I’ll die,” Hannah said.
“My love has died, I want to join him,” Niina said, as she began to cry again.
“Were you and Ethan...?” Hannah asked.
“Yeah,” Niina sobbed.
“I’ll do it,” Ryker said.
“No!” Conner said, “As I’ve said before, I’ve already died once and I lived, I was really lucky, so I’ll die properly this time.”
“No!” Georgia said, “I don’t think any of us should die, can’t you leave the remote and get a robot or...”
“No,” the Doctor said.

“If I leave this ship the authorities will arrest me?” Abasi asked.
“Yes,” the Doctor said simply.
“They’ll track you down somehow,” Hannah said.
“And I’ll be sent to jail?” Abasi asked.
“15 years perhaps,” the Doctor replied.
“Well, that’s decided then, I’ll do it,” Abasi said, “I’d rather die then be captured and jailed. Also, I don’t want you to get into trouble. I betrayed your trust.” Nobody disagreed. Hannah hugged Abasi in silence, Niina and Ryker hugged Abasi too. Captain Fry shook Abasi’s hand firmly.
“Goodbye,” Captain Fry said. Abasi nodded, and the Doctor gave him the Remote Control.

“So all I do is push it and...” Abasi said.
“The bridge will blow up and the ship will be destroyed,” the Doctor finished.
“And me too,” Abasi added, “But I’d much rather die honourably than get arrested and sent to jail. Goodbye then.” Abasi walked away, walking through the hole in the wall towards the bridge.


The Rawrx had no idea what was going on, he did not know about the TARDIS, he thought that the crew would not be able to get away. He’ll just steer the ship towards the sun, then flee through space, and the ship and crew will be destroyed. It seemed too easy; there was a knocking on the door. The Rawrx ran over to it, he couldn’t believe someone could be so stupid to come to see him. The Rawrx would open the door and kill the Human immediately. He opened the door.

“Hi,” said Abasi, as the Rawrx entered the corridor, “I believe you’ve been trying to kill me.”
“It is you!” the Rawrx said, “I shall kill you!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll kill myself!” Abasi said hitting the remote control. The mines exploded, and the bridge was blasted away into space. The SS Hurricane was ripped apart as the victims of the Rawrx had been. The Rawrx had been defeated.

The crew of the SS hurricane watched from the TARDIS as their ship was destroyed. Rufus barked loudly as the fire reflected in his eyes. Niina was crying and Hannah comforted her.
“All that work gone forever,” Ryker said.
“Do you think we’ll be allowed on another government ship,” Captain Fry asked, “After all this one has been destroyed.”
“I’ll put in a good word for you,” the Doctor said, “And it was my idea to blow up the ship.” The Doctor pulled a lever and materialised in Regal’s lounge. Regal rushed into the room. The TARDIS doors opened and Captain Fry, Georgia, Conner, Hannah, Niina, Ryker and the Doctor stepped one after the other into the room.

“Great, you’re all OK!” Regal exclaimed.
“I think you’ll find that we’ve lost 5 crew members,” Captain Fry said and got a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Regal’s head. Hannah, Niina and Ryker did the same.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!” Niina snarled.
“What for?” Regal asked, “Being glad that you’re alive, I knew that one person had died, but I thought that this was the rest of you.”
“You tried to kill us!” Hannah exclaimed.
“Stop pretending!” Ryker said, as his finger got closer to the trigger of his gun.

“Doctor, tell them to put their guns down!” Regal demanded.
“I will when the authorities arrive,” the Doctor replied.
“I think we should kill him! He’ll get out of jail in 15 years!” Niina said.
“But you forget that he murdered 5 people,” the Doctor said.
“I would never forget that he killed Ethan,” Niina replied.
“The Doctor didn’t mean that,” Hannah said patting Niina on the shoulder, “He meant that Regal will go to jail for much longer, if he escapes a death sentence.”
“I never killed nobody!” Regal said.
“Yes, you didn’t actually kill them,” the Doctor said, “But you set the monster out to do the deed!”
“Why would I kill the crew of the SS Hurricane,” Regal asked.
“Because you were put out of business because of them,” Conner replied, “You said it yourself! Don’t you try and deny it!”
“I admit that I said that, but why would I kill them?” Regal asked.

“We forgot to mention Abasi,” Captain Fry said, his gun still pointing at Regal’s head.
“What?” Regal said, a look of shock on his face.
“Abasi, the man you’ve been selling fools gold too,” the Doctor replied, “And he sold it to his customers, and so on. When Abasi told you that the authorities had got hold of some of his customers, you got worried that they’d trace it to you.”
“So you wanted to get him out of the way, so there was no chance of you being caught,” Georgia finished, Regal looked around at the remaining crew members, the Doctor, Georgia and Conner.
“Absolute tosh!” Regal snarled, as two police officers entered the room abd seized him from behind.
“I think that’s for the court to decide,” the Doctor replied.
“But they put me out of business!” Regal said, “You should arrest them! What about them!” Regal was dragged from the room.

Ten minutes later and the Doctor had explained to the police what had happened. The Doctor, Georgia and Conner were standing by the TARDIS, the remaining SS Hurricane crew standing opposite them.
“Well I guess this is goodbye,” Captain Fry said, shaking the Doctor’s hand firmly, then shaking Conner and Georgia’s.
“You’ve been a good captain, you’ve made some good decisions,” the Doctor told Captain Fry.
“You’ve made several decisions yourself, you’d made a great Captain,” Captain Fry replied, the Doctor shook his head.

“It’s been great meeting you all,” Hannah said, shaking Conner and Georgia’s hands, and then hugging the Doctor nervously.
“You were brilliant Hannah,” the Doctor said.
“What, brilliant at opening doors?” Hannah asked.
“Not just that,” the Doctor replied, as Niina stepped forward.
“Hi, I didn’t really meet any of you properly,” Niina said, she was still crying slightly, “I wish I had done, because I’m sure that you are all brilliant.”
“Thanks,” Conner said and Georgia nodded smiling.

“Well I haven’t been much use,” Ryker said, “So goodbye.”
“Ryker if it wasn’t for you, we would’ve got lost on that ship,” the Doctor said, “You were brilliant too.” The Doctor shook Ryker’s hand, and Ryker shook Conner and Georgia’s too. The Doctor and Georgia stroked Rufus in farewell, his tongue lolled out. Even Conner managed to pat Rufus on the head.
"You are a good dog," the Doctor told Rufus, who barked in reply.
"Will he be okay without Maria?" Georgia asked.
"He should be," Hannah replied.

“Good luck all of you,” the Doctor said, “Have a fantastic life. Make sure that everyone knows that Ysabelle was a great Doctor; Ethan saved Niina’s life; Bao was a great scientist; Asabi died saving the rest of the crew and that Maria was always cheerful and that she was also a brilliant scientist.”
“We will,” Captain Fry said saluting the Doctor. Niina waved tearfully as Hannah also saluted the Doctor. The Doctor, Georgia and Conner stepped into the TARDIS and closed the doors. The crew gazed in amazement as the TARDIS faded from view.

Next Time:
"So much Gold!"
“But you can't! You left me behind! I'm still here!!!”
"Oh my God, it's a fleet of Daleks..."
"My name's Pippa Blackwell."
"You're being evacuated."
"Doctor! DOCTOR!"

The End