Episode 3: Ghost Ship Part 5

Georgia and Conner ran back around to the TARDIS doors, which flew open. Russell leapt at Conner, and the pair were forced to run into the Doctor’s ship.

“We need to end this, now!” Georgia yelled.

The Doctor nervously entered another corridor, almost running into someone. He leapt backwards, jamming the door shut in surprise.

“Hello, Doctor.”
“Naomi Green, it is you!” the Doctor beamed. “It seems like almost yesterday when we were… Well, you know.”

Naomi nodded – she worked for Torchwood, and the Doctor had last seen her while stopping the Kritzanthians, where she was killed when the ship exploded. But for Naomi she had met him many times before, and even saved the world.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” he smiled.
“Coming to help you, of course,” Naomi said. “This is the 51st Century, right?”
“Yeah,” the Doctor replied. “But I thought you lived in the 32nd Century? How did you get here?”
“You took me here,” Naomi frowned. “Said you needed help with something, you picked me up from Torchwood headquarters, and then you left. I guess you haven’t done that yet, huh?”
“I don’t really know you,” the Doctor admitted. “But we’ve dabbled. Listen – this little reunion is all very nice, but you’ve got to get out of here – the Drifter’s going to kill us.”
“I think I can help with that,” Naomi said. “If we can get down to the storerooms, we can find weapons to defeat the Drifter – you told me.”

The Doctor nodded, and led the way down the corridor.

“I’ve got a plan!” Adele yelled, as she dodged Katrina Flout.
“What?” Robyn asked, watching from a safe distance.
“Attract the machine guns!”

Robyn laughed, and began waving at the nearest camera with Freddie. Sure enough, a machine gun shot from the wall, and began to spray bullets everywhere. Freddie pulled Robyn to the floor, and Adele dived out of the way as the bullets headed in her direction. She crawled towards the door with the others, and as it opened, they watched Katrina Flout’s body take the bullets that were thrown at it. Her animated corpse collapsed to the floor, and she moved no more.

“Success!” beamed Freddie.

Georgia headed over to the TARDIS console and looked at the scanner. Leon and Russell stood, staring directly at her outside the TARDIS. Suddenly, they began to move, and Georgia could see them each grabbing an edge of the TARDIS.

“We’re moving!” she cried as the whole room shook.
“Where are they taking us?” Conner asked.

Georgia shrugged, and held on to the console as the continued to move.

“But we’ll be safe, won’t we?” Conner continued. “The TARDIS has full protection, right?”
“I hope so,” Georgia muttered.

The Doctor pulled his communicator from his pocket as he headed to the storeroom with Naomi. As they walked, Naomi used her camera-disabler to knock out the other cameras, preventing the machine guns from detecting they were there.

“Calling all boys and girls!” the Doctor called. “Except the dead ones, of course. Now, how are you all getting on?”
“Leon’s somewhat dead,” Georgia replied.
“I’m with Robyn and Freddie,” Adele said. “We managed to stop Katrina Flout, and we’re in the corridor outside of the tank room.”
“Tank room?” Conner asked.
“The Drifter tried to drown us in a tank,” Robyn explained. “What about Russell, is she still knocking around?”
“Unfortunately,” Georgia sighed. “She and Leon are dragging the TARDIS somewhere.”
“Keep me updated,” the Doctor frowned. “Freddie, how far are you from the storeroom?”
“There’s not gonna be anything there,” Adele interrupted. “What would the Drifter want to store?”
“Weapons,” Naomi smiled. “Just in case it needs to replace its machine guns, I guess. So we arm ourselves.”
“Hang on, who are you?” Georgia asked.
“Naomi Green,” the Doctor explained. “We’re old friends.”
“Ahh, Georgia Bell,” Naomi said. “I remember you… Are you still with Conner Bennet?”
“I’m here, yeah,” Conner smiled. “Wait – what do you mean, with me?”

The Doctor turned off Naomi’s communicator before she could reply. Conner sighed, and put his communicator onto the console, and blushed as Georgia looked at him curiously.

“Right,” Freddie said. “We go to the storeroom. Come on!”

He took Robyn’s hand, and they led Adele along the corridor. They reached the storeroom at the same time as the Doctor and Naomi, and shook hands with Naomi as the Doctor used the Sonic Screwdriver to open the storeroom door – which was more like a safe in a bank.

“Tight security,” the Doctor muttered. “Which confuses me – you three didn’t have any trouble getting here, did you?”
“No, we were fine,” Robyn replied. “The machine guns didn’t bother us once. Why?”
“Because that means the Drifter’s up to something,” Naomi said. “If it’s being quiet, we can’t trust it.”
“Here we go,” the Doctor announced, finally pulling open the door. “Be careful.”

He entered, and the four others followed. As they walked into the room, they saw why the Drifter had been so quiet – it was busy programming a series of lasers that shot across the room in all directions.

“We can get through those,” the Doctor said confidently. “Guess where the weapons are?”
“On the other side,” Adele mused.
“Exactly,” the Doctor replied.

He made his way to the lasers, and began to climb over and duck under them. Naomi followed, as did Robyn and Freddie. Adele, however, hesitated, and headed back to the door.

“Oh come on, it’ll be a breeze,” the Doctor smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not,” Adele replied. “But the Drifter’s gonna be concentrated on the storeroom, isn’t it? So it seems like a good idea to use that distraction to get to the control room.”
“See you later, Captain,” the Doctor saluted. “And good luck.”

Adele nodded, and departed from the room. Georgia let go of the console as the shaking stopped. Nervously, she looked at the scanner, to see where they were. Outside the TARDIS, Russell was programming the airlock to open. Her dead fingers jabbed at the buttons in a frustrated manner, but her cold, dead fingertips were not recognised by the Drifter’s computer. She left the airlock, and pushed the TARDIS back along the corridor.

“We’re moving again!” Conner cried. “And we’ve stopped. What are they playing at?”

Leon looked at Russell, and took the other corner of the TARDIS. With an almighty push, they smashed through one of the walls of the ship, and were promptly sucked into space. As soon as they went outside the Drifter’s signal range, they deactivated, becoming silent bodies once more. Inside the TARDIS, Georgia and Conner were thrown around as the Doctor’s ship spun and locked on to the nearest centre of gravity – a star.

“We’re being pulled into a star!” Georgia screamed.
“Call the Doctor!” Conner cried back. “He’ll know what to do!”

The Doctor’s leg balanced dangerously over a laser as his phone began to ring. Sighing, he pulled it out of his pocket, and answered it.

“Doctor, oh my Christ, help us!” Georgia screamed.
“Calm down!” the Doctor ordered. “Where are you?”
“Russell and Leon pushed us out of the ship – and the TARDIS locked onto the nearest centre of gravity – which is a flipping star!” Georgia yelled.
“Right, you’re gonna have to pilot the TARDIS,” the Doctor said, as he leapt over a laser. “Here’s what you’ve got to do…”

Adele reached the control room with little difficulty. She sealed herself in, and disabled the cameras. As she had suspected, the Drifter was concentrating on the storeroom. She disabled the cameras there too, when the control panel blared into life.

“Oh no!” she gasped.

Turning off the cameras in the storeroom activated the lasers, and Adele was forced to watch as the Doctor, Naomi, Freddie and Robyn dived to the floor. Fortunately, she managed to turn off the lasers – but not before they had destroyed the weapons the Doctor had needed in order to survive.

“Freddie!” Adele said into her communicator. “Tell the Doctor I’m sorry – I caused the weapons to be destroyed.”
“He’s a little bit busy at the moment,” Freddie replied. “He’s trying to save his companions. Naomi wants to talk to you – she says it’s important.”
“Hi Adele,” Naomi said, taking Freddie’s communicator. “The Doctor sent me here specifically to give you a warning – and I guess to help him destroy the cameras and stop the machine guns.”
“What was the warning?” Adele asked.
“Look behind you,” Naomi said quietly. “That’s all it was, sorry.”

She turned off the communicator, and handed it back to Freddie. Adele stood up, and slowly turned around. She knew she had stopped the machine guns, but she didn’t know about a back up weapon – the ceiling parted, and something circular descended from the ceiling, before stopping, in mid air, to float threateningly.

“~This is a bomb~” the Drifter announced. “~If you even move towards the console, it will be detonated, and you will all be destroyed~”
“And you’ll go with it,” Adele realised. “Do you really want to kill us that much?”
“~Yes~” the Drifter said. “~You and your team wanted to destroy me – it’s only natural that I return the favour. You will replace the machine gun system, and allow me to kill you, or your friends will die~”
“No!” Adele shouted. “The Doctor’s gonna stop you. He might not have any weapons – but he has his mind. And I believe that’s enough. He will defeat you, even if he has to sacrifice my life to do it.”

She pulled her communicator from her pocket, and turned it on.

“Doctor,” she said. “You’ve got to leave – take everyone with you. I’m gonna to destroy this ship forever.”
“But that’s suicide!” the Doctor yelled. “Come on Georgia…”
“Just save yourself, and my crew – that’s all I ask,” Adele replied. “Good luck.”
“I can save you, I can stop the Drifter, just give me 10 minutes!” the Doctor begged. “Don’t do anything stupid. What did Naomi say, by the way?”
“Look behind you,” Adele frowned. “Wait, behind me…”

She turned around, back to the console, but there was nothing there.

“Doctor!” Robyn cried. “I can hear your ship! That grating noise!”
“Ha!” the Doctor grinned. “Hold on, Adele, I’m coming to save you.”

Adele was about to reply, when she felt the tapping on her shoulder. She turned around once more, only to come face to face with Katrina Flout.

“But you… You died…” she said.

Katrina didn’t reply. Adele gasped as she felt the glass slide into her stomach. She looked down, and saw blood seeping into her clothes. She staggered, and fell back against the console. Katrina now had a gaping hole in her chest, and finally collapsed – dying for the last time.

“~When her team arrived~” the Drifter explained. “~I shot her to death. Did you really think that she wouldn’t be able to withstand more bullets? I can animate her no matter what~”
“Then why is she still alive?” Adele asked, feeling her own life slipping away.
“~I had no use for her~” the Drifter said coldly.

Freddie and Robyn hugged each other as the TARDIS appeared. Georgia and Conner opened the doors, and welcomed them in. Naomi followed, and the Doctor came up the rear, closing the doors as he entered his ship. He immediately ran over to the scanner, and brought up the control room.

“Captain Adele MacDonald, how are you?” he beamed.
“Dying,” Adele explained. “That bitch Katrina – we never could finish her. Piece of glass in the stomach, not the most admirable death, but it’s mine. I’m sorry everyone, I tried, but in the end the Drifter will always win. It cannot be destroyed – so I’ve got a plan. Leave, now, and never come back.”

With a cry of pain, she staggered over to the engines, and activated them. With one last sigh, she died, as the TARDIS faded away. In space, all seemed quiet once more, until the Drifter began to move.

“This is Adele MacDonald,” Adele announced. “Captain of the Drifter, reporting for duty.”

With a groan, she pulled the glass from her stomach, feeling no pain. She looked at a computer screen, where a pair of eyes watched her.

“I can sense the beginning of a great partnership,” she continued.
“~As can I~” the Drifter replied.
“I can’t say I imagined ever becoming an animated body, captaining a ghost ship,” Adele said.
“~I approve of my new captain~” the Drifter smiled. “~Take me to all the best places, and I’ll keep animating you. It’s a great partnership – the Drifter and Adele MacDonald, floating through space, forever.”

Adele nodded, and set the Drifter on course. She’d already decided on a destination – of course she had – and the great ghost ship drifted through space, to somewhere a whole lot sunnier, where people didn’t often try and blow you up.

“I guess this is goodbye, Doctor,” Freddie said, departing from the TARDIS.
“Take good care of Robyn,” the Doctor smiled.
“I will.”

The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS doors, as Freddie took Robyn by the hand, and, together, they began to walk off, onto better things. The TARDIS faded away, and soon appeared in the 32nd Century.

“Next stop, Torchwood!” Georgia smiled. “I hope I managed to land her right – we could be anywhere!”

The Doctor laughed from his place beside the doors, which opened. Naomi left her seat beside Conner, hugged Georgia, and headed out of the doors.

“Will I see you again, Doctor?” Naomi asked.
“Oh, you will,” the Doctor grinned. “But will I see you again?”
“Yes, in five minutes,” Naomi replied. “You’ve got to take me to the Drifter, and tell me to give Adele a message.”
“To look behind her,” the Doctor nodded. “I already asked. So what will you do now?”
“Oh, continue to work at Torchwood,” Naomi shrugged. “I recently received a report – the government estimates that these new aliens that are visiting, the Kritzanthians or something, will bring a new golden age of prosperity.”
“Don’t always believe what the government tell you,” the Doctor frowned. “Just do what you think is right.”
“I think you’d better tell Georgia and Conner about what I said before,” Naomi laughed. “About them being together – I made it up. It’s just Conner seemed a little worried about it.”
“I think I might forget to mention that to them,” the Doctor smiled. “Goodbye, Naomi Green.”
“Goodbye Doctor.”

He closed the TARDIS doors once more, as Georgia began to pilot the TARDIS. Smiling, he watched her guide Conner in how to fly the TARDIS, and he walked towards them.

“I should never have told you how to fly that thing,” he said.
“I’ve got plans,” Georgia shrugged. “We’ll be going to Portugal if I can work out Earth-bound flights. Are you alright, Doctor? About Adele, it wasn’t…”
“I’m fine,” the Doctor nodded. “I don’t expect the Drifter will keep Adele dead. In fact, I expect they’re heading somewhere right now.”
“Where?” Conner asked.
“To the nearest service station,” the Doctor laughed. “Oh, they’re gonna tour the universe. And you know what? For an animated dead body and an evil ship, they’re gonna be surprisingly fantastic…”

The End

Episode 3: Ghost Ship Part 4

Freddie and Robyn stayed silent, watching the wreckage of the SS Recovery float through space. Suddenly the sound of the universe ripped into existence, and the familiar blue box materialised in front of them. The door opened and the Doctor staggered out, covered in Russell’s blood.

“So it’s true,” Freddie sighed. “Russell’s…”
“Yeah,” the Doctor said quietly. “And it was my fault.”
“But you saved us,” Robyn smiled.
“I guess,” the Doctor nodded. “Come on in. This ends now.”

The three stepped into the TARDIS, and it dematerialised, before materialising at the control room. The Doctor flew out of his ship and raced to the controls.

“Oh yes!” he cried. “I’m gonna fight you!”

Adele heard a click and gasped as the doors swung open. She climbed to her feet and raced through one, as the Doctor’s voice chattered from her communicator.

“Captain MacDonald, get yourself to safety,” he grinned. “I’m running this ship now. Georgia, Conner? Get back to the control room; I’ve got the TARDIS here. Oh, wait, that’s not supposed to happen! Freddie, Robyn, get out! The control room’s sealing itself!”
“Doctor, come on, run!” Robyn screamed.

The Doctor abandoned the desk, and leapt across the room. He slid under the sealing door, making it out just in time. Suddenly the sprinklers activated, showering Robyn, Freddie and the Doctor with water.

“The Drifter’s gonna seal the other door!” the Doctor yelled. “Run!”

The three ran to the other end of the corridor, making it out of the door just in time. The Doctor led the way down the next corridor, watching out for traps.

“The ship’s getting predictable,” he said, smiling slightly. “Which means it’ll be easier to defeat. Let’s just get everyone else and find a way to get to the TARDIS.”

Georgia and Conner pulled Leon to his feet, and they made their way to the exit. The control panel beside the door flashed, and emitted sparks. The three were knocked off their feet as the Drifter sent out electrical instructions in a fierce wave of light. Georgia looked around, to see Russell and the other bodies climb from their boxes. She gasped, and saw the sealed boxes begin to crack open.

“The Drifter’s animating the corpses!” Leon cried. “Get out!”

He climbed to his feet, and kicked the door open. Conner yelled and pulled Georgia from the room, as Russell and the others began to advance.

“Oh no…” Adele muttered.

She raced back the way she came. The Drifter was animating the bodies of Katrina Flout and her crew, and they had started to advance on Adele. As she ran, she pulled out her communicator.

“The Drifter’s animating the corpses of Katrina Flout and her crew!” she told the others. “Be careful!”
“Russell’s alive too,” Georgia sighed. “Oh Christ! She’s breaking down the door!”

There was a crackle, and Georgia’s communicator went off. The Doctor cried out and shook his, hoping to hear his companion once more.

“Georgia?” he muttered, to no answer.

Robyn and Freddie dived out of the way as a machine gun swung around, facing the Doctor. He pointed to the door, and they quickly ran towards the exit. The machine gun tilted to face a wall, which opened. With a small frown, the Doctor stepped through the opening, and into a control room, with a computer.

“Ahh,” he realised. “The Drifter’s new control room, where it… Well, controls everything.”
“~Hello Doctor~” the Drifter said, the voice coming from a small speaker grill.
“Hello,” the Doctor beamed. “Why are you doing this?”
“~I want to be left alone~” the Drifter sighed. “~People always try and blow me up, why is that?~”
“I know the feeling,” the Doctor grinned. “Because you’re space junk, if I’m honest. People don’t like you taking up space in their space. If that makes sense.”
“~No, it doesn’t~”
“Well, what I meant was –” the Doctor began.
“~I know what you meant~” the Drifter growled. “~I meant, it doesn’t make sense that they would do this to me~”

The Doctor nodded, and leant against the console. He patted it soothingly, watching the screens out of the corner of his eye. The animated corpses had stopped advancing on Georgia, Conner and Leon, while Freddie and Robyn were running down a corridor, and Adele was trying to get through a door, the animated corpse of Katrina Flout watching her passively.

“Hang on a minute,” he muttered to himself.

An airlock door opened, and a figure stepped through it. He peered in for a closer look, but the camera fizzled and the picture became white.

“~What are you looking at? Doctor?~” the Drifter asked. “~Why is one of my cameras faulty?~”
“Nothing to do with me,” the Doctor assured it. “Oh, you’ve bought the machine guns out. I’d better run – woah!”

He dodged a round of bullets, and leapt from the room. Leon was approaching Russell nervously, when she snapped at his neck. He dived back, and dragged Conner and Georgia from the room. Katrina Flout began to advance on Adele, just as she forced the door open.

“Miss Flout, I have to say, it is an honour!” she cried as Katrina swung for her. “But your communication skills are terrible! Good day!”

With a cry, she slammed the door in Katrina’s face. Georgia, Conner and Leon raced along the corridor, and almost ran slap bang into the TARDIS. Several machine guns appeared from the ceiling, and turned to face them.

“Georgia, get the door open!” Conner yelled.
“I’m trying!” Georgia cried.

Conner shoulder barged the door, and it flew open. He pushed Georgia inside, and Leon leapt inside after him. He looked around; stumbling as he took in the magnitude and size of the spaceship he’d just stepped into.

“This is the TARDIS,” Georgia smiled. “Welcome aboard. Conner, I’ll try and contact the Doctor, you make us some tea. Or possibly something stronger.”
“Right,” Conner nodded, hurrying off. “Leon, sit down!”

Leon climbed onto a seat, still looking around in awe. Georgia glanced at him, and he blushed.

“Go and help Conner if you want,” she smiled. “You’ll get a better look around that way.”
“Which way did he go?” Leon asked, standing up.
“That way,” Georgia pointed.

Leon wandered off, and Georgia pulled out her phone, dialling the Doctor’s number.

“Doctor!” she said. “Where are you?”
“I’m a bit busy at the moment,” the Doctor cried, running from the spray of bullets. “Where are you?”
“I’m in the TARDIS, with Conner and Leon,” Georgia smiled.
“You got into the TARDIS?” the Doctor frowned. “But it’s locked inside the old control room.”
“It wasn’t,” Georgia replied. “We ran into it in a corridor.”
“You’re sure it’s the real TARDIS?” the Doctor asked quietly.
“Yeah, hundred percent,” Georgia grinned. “Now, if you just tell me how to pilot it…”
“Oh I don’t think so,” the Doctor laughed. “Do you really think I’d let you destroy the universe? Even in an emergency? No, you’ll be far too busy to do that.”
“Why? What do you want me to do?” Georgia asked.
“I don’t want you to do anything, except stay there, and stay safe,” the Doctor said. “But the Drifter… it obviously let you in because it’s a trap. So be careful, and… Do. Not. Leave. For. Anything.”
“Not even milk?” Georgia smiled.
“Bye Georgia,” the Doctor sighed, hanging up.

As Freddie and Robyn ran down the corridor, the floor opened up, and they fell through it. Robyn screamed, and Freddie felt a strange whooshing feeling in his chest. They both looked down and saw a tank full of water, and both held their breath as they landed in it.

“Freddie?” Robyn called out. “You there? You can’t swim, can you? Oh God!”

She dived under the water, and grabbed an unconscious Freddie. As she swam to the surface, she realised the tank had closed at the top, and there was no way out.

“Miss Flout, you’re back I see!” Adele said, as Katrina Flout burst through the door and staggered towards her. “You really are persistent, but I’ve got to insist that you stay away from me!”

She leapt towards Katrina, and almost rugby tackled her to the ground. Except, there was no ground, and the pair fell through the air, grappling as they did so. There was a cracking as they hid something solid – a glass tank. The tank smashed into pieces, and water thundered out, as did the unconscious bodies of Freddie and Robyn.

“Robyn, Freddie?” Adele muttered.

She looked sharply to her left, as Robyn gasped and opened her eyes, spitting out water from her mouth. Freddie woke up behind her, blinking to wipe the water from his eyes. Adele looked up at the remainder of the tank – Katrina lay, impaled on some glass.

“At least she won’t come back to bite us anymore.”

As she spoke, Katrina leapt up at her, the glass still sticking out from her chest.

“You know you want to,” Conner grinned. “I don’t see why we don’t just have a look around outside, and then come back in. The Doctor doesn’t even have to know.”
“It’s tempting,” Georgia admitted. “He really won’t find out?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, go on then,” Georgia laughed.

Georgia headed towards the doors, Leon and Conner following. She pulled open the doors, when the entire TARDIS shook. Conner fell to the floor, while Leon grabbed the doorframe, falling out of the TARDIS. Georgia slipped and fell on top of Conner, who grunted.

“You’re heavy,” he moaned. “Geroff!”
“Sorry,” Georgia replied. “What was that, anyway?”

She stood up, and poked her head out of the doors. The corridor was empty, so, quietly, she stepped out, smiling at Conner, who followed behind. While Conner headed around the right side of the TARDIS, Georgia headed around to the left, almost bumping into something. She faltered, saw what it was, and screamed.

“Oh my God,” Conner said quietly, joining her.

They looked, open mouthed at the pair in front of them – Russell, covered in blood, was hacking away at Leon, whose gasp of shock barely had time to disappear from his face before he was dead. Conner took Georgia’s hand, trying to pull her away. Her eyes were drawn to Leon, who suddenly snapped his head and stared at her, eyes wide and bright. He brushed Russell aside, and stood up, making his way to Georgia, arms outstretched.

“You’re kidding,” Georgia sighed. “We really have to go. This is serious, isn’t it Conner? We really are going to die here.”

To be continued…

Episode 3: Ghost Ship Part 3

The Doctor opened the doors of the TARDIS and stepped out, Russell following.

“We’re on the Drifter,” she said.
“But in the 46th Century,” the Doctor added. “Before it crashed.”
“You think it’ll happen soon?” Russell asked.
“What, crash? It’s a possibility,” the Doctor nodded. “Knowing me, I’ll probably make it happen…”

Russell laughed, and followed the Doctor along a corridor, into a large dining room. The guests below stopped eating to glance up at the pair on the stairs. The Doctor took Russell’s arm, and led her down the carpeted steps to join the guests at the table.

“Don’t mind us,” he grinned.

Leon accessed a computer, and tapped the screen. Georgia leant over, and looked at the pictures.

“This is a full scan of the ship,” Leon said. “Look, there’s Robyn and Freddie. And that’s Adele and Conner… Oh, but, where’s Megan?”
“I don’t think the scan works properly,” Georgia replied. “The Doctor and Russell aren’t on the scan at all!”
“And no Lucia either,” Leon sighed. “Let’s get back to the body room – she’ll know where to find us.”

Georgia nodded, and they stepped back into the room with the bodies. Leon opened another box, and coughed once more.

“They really do stink,” he frowned. “How can all these people have died? Look at this body – it’s got holes in it! What did that?”
“They’re bullet holes,” Georgia said quietly. “Most of the people in this room were shot to death.”

Conner dropped the dusty objects he was examining, and headed over to Adele.

“I think you should go to the control room,” he said. “Try and turn off the ship. Everyone died on the Drifter, and it’s been running all this time, which means it has records of what happened. If you look through those, then shut the ship down. We don’t know what’s causing all this, but we’ve got to think the ship could be involved. Shutting it down will keep us safe, for a while.”
“And what do you think you’ll be doing?” Adele asked.
“I’m going to see if Lucia’s alright,” Conner replied. “And I’ll take Meg. Where is she, anyway?”
“She was following you, wasn’t she?” Adele shrugged. “She’s a smart girl; she knows how to use her communicator when she wants to get in touch.”

Conner frowned. Everyone seemed to just think everything was okay. Earlier, he’d heard Leon tell Georgia that everything was fine, and Russell had repeatedly said that the previous deaths were an accident.

“Why are you all so convinced nothing’s wrong?” Conner asked. “Meg’s missing, Lucia’s ill, and yet you shrug it off. Why is that? Meg could be hurt, but you think she just wants time on her own or whatever…”
“It’s called lying to yourself,” Adele sighed. “I’m just as worried, but if I let the others know that I’m scared Meg and Lucia are dead or going to die, they’ll panic too. If we can just get out of here, we’ll be fine. No need to panic anyone.”
“Well I’d prefer it if we looked for Meg,” Conner said. “I’ll see you later.”

And he turned and walked off. Russell and the Doctor finished eating, as the rest of the table departed to their rooms.

“I haven’t had a nice meal for a long time,” Russell laughed. “Where are you taking me?”
“To get us a room,” the Doctor said. “Wait – that sounded wrong. I want to access the computer, see if anything’s wrong.”

He led her out of the dining room, and ran over to a robot, which was cleaning.

“Hello, sorry to bother you,” the Doctor beamed, turning on the charm. “But we seem to have not been given a room. We paid for the best, with computer access and everything!”
“Please show identification,” the robot hummed.

The Doctor whipped out the Psychic Paper, and dazzled the robot with his teeth.

“Everything seems to be in order,” the robot hummed. “Follow me.”

Russell took the Doctor’s hand, and they headed to their rooms. When the robot reached their destination, he hummed something to the door, and it opened.

“Enjoy your stay,” the robot hummed. “Sorry for any inconveniences.”
“That’s okay,” Russell smiled. “It’s fine, isn’t it Doctor?”

She turned around, to see him already at the computer terminal. Shutting the door in the robot’s face, she slid over to see what was going on.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong,” the Doctor frowned. “The Drifter’s just registering our room, nothing else. Air’s fine, no illnesses.”
“What’s that?” Russell asked, pointing to some sort of clock on the screen.
“A countdown,” the Doctor muttered. “But to what?”
“Five minutes,” Russell noticed. “What happens then?”
“I’d love to say I know,” the Doctor replied. “I guess we wait.”

Conner stepped into the body room, joining Georgia and Leon.

“Hey,” he said. “Is Lucia here? I heard she was ill; and the Doctor…”
“She’s not here,” Georgia interrupted. “Don’t tell Adele. We lost her a while ago. She just walked off…”
“Meg’s disappeared too,” Conner frowned. “This isn’t good.”

Georgia sighed, and opened another box. Several bodies fell out, littering the floor and causing Conner to cough.

“What happened here?” he asked.
“These are the victims from when the Drifter crashed in the 46th Century,” Leon replied.
“They were all shot to death,” Georgia added. “We’re looking for any signs or identification on the bodies.”
“Fun,” Conner said sarcastically. “That crate there – let’s get it open.”
“What I don’t understand, is how all these bodies are fresh,” Leon frowned. “They died in the 46th Century, why aren’t they rotting skeletons?”
“Maybe the Drifter’s keeping them fresh for something,” Georgia shuddered. “It’s cold in here – the temperature must keep them fresh or something.”

Adele reached the control room, and attempted to shut down the ship. Instead of complying with her request, the Drifter locked the controls.

“How is it doing this?” Adele muttered. “The Drifter seems to have a mind of its own!”

A countdown appeared at the left hand corner of the screen. Adele studied it, but it offered no clue as to what it was counting down to.

“Five minutes,” she muttered. “I guess I’ll have to wait.”

Russell looked back at the computer screen, centuries earlier.

“Ten seconds,” she announced. “Doctor, are you ready for the worst?”
“We should get back to the TARDIS,” the Doctor said. “Just in case.”

Russell nodded and followed the Doctor to the door. They stepped out into the corridor, as the countdown reached 0. Suddenly, all over the ship, walls and ceilings opened, to reveal large machine guns. Passengers screamed and ran for cover, but they could not escape the spray of bullets that flew like raindrops.

“Watch out!” the Doctor yelled.

He dived for the bedroom door, but it had sealed itself. He slid sideways as a machine gun shot bullets along the wall. He heard a scream, and Russell collapsed.

“No!” he yelled, skidding over to her.

He saw the blood spilling from her jacket, and knew there was no hope. The machine gun coming from the ceiling turned in his direction once more, so he staggered to his feet and ran off.

“Pull!” Conner cried.

He heaved the lid of the crate, with Leon and Georgia. It was slightly stuck, and the side cracked when they finally prised it open. Bodies spilled onto the floor, and when Leon saw one particular body, he ran off to be sick. Georgia coughed, and watched Conner heave the body out of the pile, and fully examine it.

“It’s Russell,” he confirmed.

The countdown was reaching 2 minutes. Adele decided she couldn’t wait any longer – she had to confess her doubts to the others.

“Everyone!” she said into her communicator. “Meg’s dead. She got lost, and you’re all coming up on the scanner, except Meg, and Lucia. I didn’t want to admit this, but I’m scared. If we can get out of here as soon as possible!”
“Sorry,” Georgia sighed. “It’s our fault about Lucia…”
“No it isn’t,” Adele replied. “The Drifter has a mind of its own – I don’t think it wants us to leave. There’s a countdown, and I don’t know what’ll happen when it finishes. Brace yourselves.”
“Russell’s dead too,” Conner frowned. “We found her body in a box, along with the dead from the 46th Century.”

Everyone fell silent as they took this information in.

“And the Doctor?” Robyn asked. “He was supposed to be saving me and Freddie!”
“He’ll be fine,” Georgia hoped. “Otherwise we’re stuck here.”
“1 minute,” Adele added. “Good luck everyone. The main mission now is to survive – make it back to the ship, and if you get a chance, shut down the Drifter! 45 seconds!”

As the remaining 45 seconds ticked away, Adele ran from the control room. The doors slammed shut behind her, and as she ran, she saw the doors far in front seal too. Reaching them, she tugged at the handle, only to find she was trapped. Running back down the corridor, she tried another door, which was open, and ran through it.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” she muttered.

The lights flickered and turned themselves off as Adele ran through more doors. Finally she entered a small room, with a large window looking out onto space. The door behind her sealed shut, as did the only other one in the room, which led back to the ship. She sighed, and slumped to the floor.

“I’m trapped,” she said into her communicator. “Just make sure you all get out of here. No more deaths. I’m so sorry.”
“10 seconds,” Robyn sighed. “Look – I think you’d better leave me and Freddie here – there’s no way out for us.”
“I’m not leaving without the Doctor,” Conner said firmly. “And Georgia’s staying too. Well, if she wants to.”
“I do,” Georgia smiled. “We’ll wait for the Doctor.”
“I’m staying with Georgia,” Leon added.
“Four seconds,” Adele muttered, turning off her communicator.

She watched the SS Recovery floating beside the Drifter sadly. Meanwhile, in the control room, the Drifter smiled, and with one foul swoop, destroyed the SS Recovery, blasting it into pieces and watching the wreckage float through space. Adele placed a hand over her mouth in shock, and Leon collapsed to the floor. Even if the Drifter didn’t kill them, there was no way out – they were trapped, forever.

To be continued…