Doctor Who Forgotten Suns Chapter Twenty Two

The sense of relief that shot through Jamie, at the sight of a familiar mop of dark hair emerging from the airlock, was palpable.

And not a moment too soon - as far as he was concerned!

Until this point, the young Scot had been feeling very left out of things. All the Oortelians had tasks to be getting on with - even Palasar had left him behind - but Jamie had soon discovered that he was still being closely watched. Even the subtlest of motions in the direction of the huge doorway had instantly resulted in his being (politely) herded back to his designated waiting spot. Now he was able to let loose with an enthusiastic cry of “Doctor!” as he ran towards his friend.

As so often seemed to be the case, the Doctor was the center of attention as he made his exit from the airlock. However, on seeing Jamie’s rapid approach his face lit up with delight. Making polite excuses, he brushed everyone else aside so he could greet the young Highlander, clasping Jamie’s forearm with both hands and shaking him enthusiastically. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you, my boy!’ he gushed with happiness, ‘You gave me quite a scare for a moment back there, Jamie, I have to say!”

This puzzled the Scot for a second, until he remembered his bloodied nose… from what now seemed like a very long time ago. “Och, that was nothing, Doctor, I just took a wee tumble. I need to tell you about Zoe…”

“Yes, Jamie, and I very much want to hear your account.’ The Doctor assured him gravely, giving his arm a final squeeze of reassurance before releasing him. ‘But first I must pass on a message.’ He turned to address the small knot of Oortelians that had gathered around them both: including Palasar, her First, Faramandar - and several others that he did not recognise. He quickly explained the plan to open both airlock doors, enabling them to use the contact craft as an extended chamber. This was met with cautious approval, and led to some fevered discussions that Jamie was unable to follow.

Until Palasar blurted out. “But this will simplify matters enormously! With direct access to Indigo Flame from the contact craft, we can remove a step from our relay, talking directly between both vessels! When Mech-Tec Enteberol has finished modifying the link in there, we should be able to maintain communications with the Clade Commander as well - don’t you think, Sir?”

This she addressed to Ghost First Faramandar, who was looking deeply thoughtful, but he nodded decisively on hearing her. “I do indeed, Specialist. I was just considering how many augmented troopers to assign to your mission, factoring in this new information. We now know that we can communicate quite easily over distance within this ship, but I am wondering if it will be possible to send a signal through the open airlock, thereby establishing almost real-time communication with the Commander himself. Tell me, Thadokta, has anyone been able to determine just what has been causing our transmission difficulties?”

Somewhat thrown by this, the Doctor had to back-pedal for a moment before he realised what the man was asking. “Ah, I see what you mean… No, I don’t believe so… at least, no one has mentioned anything to me. I would imagine that, if the problem is caused by some quality of this ship’s hull, then this should bypass it quite effectively. However, on the other hand… if it is the result of differing time-states existing between the two vessels, then I’m afraid only an empirical test will tell.”

Jamie, who had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, was relieved when the Oortelians backed away to discuss the possibilities amongst themselves. He urgently tugged on the Doctor’s arm. “ Now can I tell ye what happened to Zoe, Doctor, and what we plan to do about it?” The Doctor agreed most emphatically and, after perfunctorily excusing himself to the others, allowed himself to be led further away. He was quite surprised when Jamie assumed that he would already know some of the details from a message the young Highlander had apparently sent to him, whilst he was aboard the Oortelian ship.

“I did see you a couple of times in the Oortelians transmissions, Jamie, but I assure you that I only heard that Zoe was missing - taken by the giant - not what had actually happened to her.” The young Highlander regarded him curiously for a moment, then, after a suspicious glance in the direction of their hosts, began his story again.

From the beginning.

Meanwhile, Ghost First Faramandar had come to his decision as to how to proceed, and was clearly and concisely outlining everyone’s tasks, given the new options available. First, he turned to the nervous looking female by the communications installations. “Tec-Op Choltz, I want you through the airlock next. Liaise with that Enteberol mollusc. I am proceeding with this on my own authority, but if an immediate link to the Commander can be established, he must be informed as a matter of priority. I stand ready to cease and desist by his command. If he is still unable to contact me directly, return as soon as you have a reply.’

Turning to Palasar, Faramandar continued as Choltz assumed her place by the airlock. “Specialist Palasar, I believe that, should it prove that we can send our signals in this more convenient fashion, you will only require the services of one augmented trooper. Therefore, I shall accompany you myself, but…’ he held out a hand to forestall any comment, ‘only in the capacity of observer, and a communications link. I will leave the actual process of establishing contact with the Pilot to yourself, and your alien friends. You have my word that I will only interfere if I believe that your life is in danger, and I shall bear no arms. This is not open to debate. …Q...’

The Ghost First addressed his slimmer counterpart, ‘You will supervise operations here, and the departure of our remaining troopers. I will task two of my soldiers to remain with you, in case we find ourselves falling back on our original plan. They will be able to act as relay links, should that prove to be necessary after all. Any questions?"

“A request.’ Q put in quickly, ‘Assign supervision to your Second, she appears to be very capable. I would accompany the contact team. I consider Specialist Palasar my personal responsibility.”

Faramandar studied his normally taciturn friend regretfully, then waved away his request. “Denied. I need you here to be my brothers hands should anything go awry. I accept your responsibility as my own. Exetrallus has my complete faith and confidence, and will assist you here ably - but decisions may yet be required here that go beyond her rank.

‘Palasar, I would speak with your aliens.”

As soon as Faramandar and Palasar approached the Doctor and Jamie, the Doctor swung around in some agitation, demanding the Ghost First’s attention. “Ah, there you are… Faramandar, is it not? Never mind, I must insist that we do something about locating my young companion, Zoe. Your Clade Commander himself sent me back over here to…”

“Forgive me, Thadokta. I do not know you, and I only have your word as to my Commander’s intentions at present. You need to understand, I did not even know your name until Specialist Palasar told me about you.’ Faramandar spoke in a reasonable tone, but it was evident from his interruption that he considered himself in total command.

Despite the lack of recognisable distinguishing features, there was something in his manner and bearing that reminded the Doctor strongly of Silandor; particularly as he continued, ‘You may insist on nothing, Thadokta. At least until you give me reason to trust you, or I hear otherwise from the Clade Commander. However, you will be pleased to learn that we have already decided on a course of action, and I have no objection to your presence on the contact team.”

“Contact team?’ asked the Doctor, only slightly mollified, ‘well that sounds a bit more promising, at least. Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain just what that entails, Ghost First?”

“Specialist Third Palasar tells me you know each other.’ Faramandar tilted his head towards the young woman, then looked directly at Jamie. ‘And your companion here will play an important role in proceedings, if all goes well. Perhaps you would prefer that they give you all the details, such as they are. I must briefly issue a few further instructions, then I would hear anything that you learned aboard our ship that may prove useful to me.” Without further ceremony the Ghost First turned his back on them, leaving the Doctor glancing between Jamie and his lizard lady-friend.

Jamie just beat Palasar to the punch. “Och, weel, Doctor, it couldnae be more simple really! We are just going to try to talk to that huge great spaceman, and get him to give Zoe back to us!”

“There is actually a little more to it than that, Thadokta,’ Palasar broke in, giving Jamie one of those looks that transcended species, ‘quite a lot more, in fact. Although the recovery of your friend is an important consideration, our main desire is to clear up any misunderstanding arising from our original encounter. Then - hopefully - to establish a meaningful dialogue.”

“A commendable goal, I’m sure,’ nodded the Doctor enthusiastically, ‘and one that I will be most happy to offer my full support and assistance, Palasar. Er… is that the extent of your plan, my dear?” Palasar excused herself for a moment, dashing off to collect something that she wanted to show him.

Jamie took the opportunity to confide to the Doctor why he, a humble clansman, was considered so vital to the operation. “Yon lassy and her folk cannae speak giant spaceman, Doctor! That’s why I was able to convince them that they needed me. I only heard a short phrase, but I understood him quite clearly. I’m guessing that it’s the Tardis again, and you and Zoe will be able to understand him as well!’ The Doctor nodded his approval of the young Scot’s reasoning, and was unsurprised when Jamie said. ‘So I reckoned that we could translate for them. Zoe has to be alright, and we are going to get her back. In fact, I wouldnae be surprised if that braw wee lass hasnae started bossing yon giant about already!”

The Doctor smiled warmly at his young friend and gripped his shoulder reassuringly, recognising the concern behind his words. “That’s the spirit, Jamie! I’m sure that we will be able to sort all this out…” Before he could say any more, Palasar returned with her discarded helmet, explaining the function of the visi-com unit to him. “Ah! So it was your helmet feed that I saw on the view-screen aboard the Indigo Flame then! But I thought… Oh, I suppose that Tec chap managed to fix it after all, yes? Otherwise it won’t be very much use now, will it?”

The young Specialist looked from the Doctor to her visi-com, then back again, seeming a little confused, then shrugged it off. “There is nothing wrong with my helmet’s functioning, Thadokta. I simply removed it when I wished to discuss matters that I considered to be, er… my own business. Of no interest to the enclaves, anyway. My main point was, although this device can transmit to our ship - through the booster we have installed - we receive no signal in return. I now have access to augmented troopers…”

“Oh Aye, I should have told you before!’ Jamie couldn’t help interjecting. ‘Some of these soldiers have cyber thingies in their hieds, Doctor!”

“Please, Jay-Mee!’ The Doctor had to stifle a grin at the prim ‘schoolmarm’ tone in Palasar’s voice. ‘I told you before, the augments are nothing more than superior tools - just helpful technology! Anyway, Thadokta, I am hoping that we can simply create a relay for two-way communications. It may sound primitive, but what does that matter, if it works?”

“Oh, I couldn’t agree more, my dear. Do go on!”

Palasar placed her helmet back on her head at last. “Well, that’s really all there is to it, Thadokta. It will mostly be down to me - to the three of us, I mean - to talk to the, er… the pilot. But I am very much hoping that Ghost First Faramandar will be able to receive orders from Clade Commander Silandor, and helpful advice and suggestion from our enclaves. It is a daunting proposition for me, but I feel it must be done, and I can use all the help I can get!”

Privately the Doctor very much doubted that they would be hearing from anyone in the enclaves any time soon, but decided not to mention that to the girl. It was evident that the Oortelians on this vessel were unaware of the machinations taking place aboard their own ship. Instead, he contented himself with a simple encouragement. “I’m sure that you will do just fine, Palasar. As I was saying to Jamie earlier, we will be able to sort all this out, if we just work together! Ah, Ghost First Faramandar! All done?”

“Indeed, Thadokta,’ agreed the large Oortelian, ‘everyone has their orders. I trust my people to keep me informed of any progress here. I see no reason for further delay. Let us go.”

His departure was so abrupt that it took a few moments for the three to assimilate his last words. Then there was a mad scramble to catch up with the soldier as he strode towards the huge portal. Nobody else really paid much attention as the massive door slid open once more, and Faramandar, Palasar, Jamie, and the Doctor set off.

It turned out that his suggestion, that Zoe might be able to take cover in his sleeve pocket, was not as successful as Null had initially hoped. Not only was his tiny friend unable to open the flap - let alone climb into the pocket - without his assistance: she had to contort and squeeze herself into a position that was (apparently) most uncomfortable before he was able to reseal it. He had discovered this very rapidly. As soon as the flap was in place again she began to struggle and squirm, shouting to be released at once. A very rumpled and flustered looking Zoe then told him - in no uncertain terms - that she had no intention of ever doing that again! Null had been embarrassingly relieved that his helmet visor was in place, so that the (understandably) annoyed young woman could not see the flush that was heating his face.

He had apologised, of course, but beyond a few useful suggestions as to how to behave in the coming encounter, Zoe had maintained a brooding silence as he carried her along. He suspected that this had more to do with concern for her friends, rather than any embarrassment over the pocket fiasco; but unfortunately this left Null alone with his thoughts - and he didn’t like it. The more he considered his reactions to the intruders on his ship, the less he was able to justify his actions. True, he now realised that he had been in a state of grief - compounded by shock - at the time. True, these lizard-like aliens had no business being on his ship in the first place, and basically constituted an invasion force or - at the very least - were possibly scavengers or looters.

However, none of this excused his hysterical assumption that they were some kind of plague or infestation of alien vermin: that they should be exterminated without a second thought - as casually as one might step on an insect. Null could find no mitigating factors that could satisfactorily exculpate his behavior, or stem the increasing tide of guilt that threatened to swamp his thoughts. In some ways, he had almost hoped that they would turn out to be hostile, but in the event this appeared not to be the case.

As the door to the next corridor section hummed aside before him, Null was startled from his dark musings by a delighted cry of “Doctor! Jamie!” from Zoe. He was puzzled by this outburst as he could see no-one, and they were still some sections away from the damaged hull area where he had expected to find the lizard-people. Then he remembered to look down and, sure enough, he saw a small group of four figures halfway along the next section, seemingly frozen in place. As he stepped though Zoe was excitedly tugging on his arm. “Put me down! Put me down! And remember to sit, like I told you, to show that you mean them no harm!” Much to his own surprise, Null found himself obeying the tiny girl without question.

As he released Zoe to the deck, two of the figures broke rank and rushed towards her with cries of relief and welcome. Obviously they were the girl’s friends - he recognised the one in the skirt as Jamie - they collided together in a joyful group hug. Switching his attention to the other two, Null examined them closely as they advanced towards him in a much more sedate and cautious fashion, arms held wide from their bodies. Perhaps this was intended to indicate that they carried no weapons? He realised that he had seen the smaller lizard before - it was the only one he had seen that appeared to be wearing any clothing - a pale grey leotard that left its arms and legs bare - with an orange flash down one side. The other, much larger specimen, wore only the harness-like kit that he had seen on others like it. This one was gazing up at him with what Null could only interpret as complete and total disbelief!

They stopped a respectful distance away and the clothed one cheeped and chirped at the three friends for a moment, until they broke apart. The smaller male, dressed almost as incongruously as the boy in the skirt, stepped forward saying, “Ah yes! Of course, of course!’ He scooped Zoe towards him and grinned hugely at her. ‘Zoe, my dear, would be so kind as to introduce us to your friend here?”

“Certainly, Doctor! This is Aleph Null, the pilot of this vessel.’ With a quick glance at Jamie, she added, ‘he’s been very kind to me.

‘These are my friends, the Doctor and Jamie!” She told Null brightly.

Before the pilot could respond, the Doctor addressed him, clapping his hands together for some reason. “Splendid! Splendid! Now then, Captain Null, may I take it that you can understand my words, as you evidently understand Zoe?”

This gave Null pause for a second - being addressed as Captain threatened a flood of memories - but he shook them away impatiently and replied. “Yes, Doctor, although I still don’t understand how this can be… Zoe has suggested that I may be able to speak to these… others, with your assistance. But first, Jamie…’ The younger man seemed surprised to be addressed by name. “I hope that I did not hurt you earlier, I tried to be gentle.”

“Och, that’s nae bother!’ (Much to Null’s consternation - he had expected the lad to speak the same language as Zoe!) ‘Ye didnae harm Zoe, so dinnae fash yourself on my account, Captain!”

The Doctor indicated the two lizard people, who were still waiting patiently, then gestured them to approach closer as he said, “Allow me to make some more introductions. These people are Oortelians. This is Specialist Third Palasar, and the rather hefty chap is Ghost First Faramandar. They were rather hoping that you might be willing to talk to them.”

Null’s heart sank at this eminently reasonable approach, even though he had been hoping to avoid further unpleasantness. He had - there was no denying it now - killed, or at the very least grievously hurt, four intelligent beings. This wasn’t like during the war, this was up close and personal… less easy to quantify. He found within himself a deep admiration for their courage in facing him at all, and a curiosity as to their reasons for doing so. He made no effort to disguise his sadness as he replied. “Before I say anything else, Doctor, would you please convey my apologies to these people, for my attack on our initial encounter? I will not try to excuse my actions, but please do emphasize that I deeply regret them.”

The oddly dressed little man gestured these ‘Oortelians’ even closer and began, much to Null’s surprise, a sing-song chittering that matched what he had heard of their own speech. A quick glance at Zoe and Jamie gave him the impression that they found nothing unusual in this, so the pilot returned his attention to this fascinating display of linguistic skill. When the Doctor had finished, the one in the leotard broke into an impassioned flurry of chirping; addressing Null directly, even though he understood none of it. The Doctor nodded along, seemingly in time with her song, then steepled his hands beneath his chin before translating. “Now then, Captain…”

Zoe tugged at his arm and whispered something in his ear. He looked at her in surprise, saying, “Really? Oh, well, Null it is then. Sorry if I misspoke, Null. I was just going to warn you that this may become a little complicated, er… rather quickly. My friend Palasar would first like me to assure you that her people are evacuating your ship even as we speak. This is intended as a gesture of good faith, by complying with your previously expressed wishes. However, the Oortelians would very much like to put any unfortunate misunderstandings behind, and instead move forward into a mutual exchange of information.’

He hesitated for a moment, then added, ‘I should tell you that I am paraphrasing a little here, Null. This method of communication is proving most unsatisfactory. Basically, they have a lot of questions that they would like to ask you, and in return they offer any assistance that you may require.

‘I think that about covers it.

‘For the moment.”

Studying the group of attentive faces carefully, Null took his time in replying, and decided to choose his words very carefully. The larger Oortelian, Faramandar, seemed to stiffen momentarily in the face of this blank scrutiny, but he relaxed as Null began speaking. “I am glad to hear this, and grateful. If the sanctity of my ship is respected, I can see no reason why we cannot enter into discussions. However, I should warn you that I have very many unanswered questions myself. I have only recently woken from a period of… deep sleep, of unknown duration. I don’t know how far I have traveled from my home system, I don’t know how long it has taken to get here… I don’t even know where ‘here’ is. My ship is damaged, my crew apparently dead, and I have never seen people as small as you. So, as you say, Doctor - this could get a little complicated.”

The Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he digested all of this. He was about to tell Palasar what he had just been told, but hesitated. “I shall pass along what you have said, Null, but I worry that things will take a very long time if we are stuck with myself or my friends here translating everything. However, I may just have an idea.

Tell me, did you happen to notice a blue box on your flight-deck, by any chance?”

With the command hub once more dominated by the awe inspiring simulation of the Razorclaw Nebula, Silandor took a moment to review the situation. His duty crew had been fed and watered… Not wishing to allow anyone to leave the hub at change of shift, the Commander had ordered nutrition bars and drinks bulbs delivered. Most, like his own, lay untouched - but at least everyone had access to sustenance should they require it. He had decided to dispense with the main screen - as far as displaying visual feeds went - as most of those individuals equipped with visi-com units had returned to the Flame by now.

There was also the matter of the sensitivity of any information that those remaining may convey, as the mission entered this new phase. Silandor trusted his crew implicitly, but he saw no reason to burden too many of them with knowledge irrelevant to their own immediate tasks. Satisfied that everything was as well as it could be, he leaned back into his command throne and swung his monitor panel into place, engaging his privacy field as he did so. His monitor now showed a split-screen display of the only views that concerned him at present. The enclave’s auditorium, and Specialist Palasar’s reinstated view. He had watched with fascination as Faramandar had strode confidently towards the huge portal a little earlier, alternating with glances at the reactions from those in the amphitheater to the lock-down he had instigated.

Amazingly enough, Thraxle had managed to calm even the most vociferous protests down, mainly by claiming that Silandor himself would provide the explanation as soon as he was able. The Clade Commander had grimaced the first time he heard it, but had to admit that the man was correct. He would have to do just that - when he had decided what to tell them. Looking at them now, he could almost imagine the waves of simmering resentment rising like heat-sprites from the elders. Archivist First Valmik, in particular, of course. Fitting his communications headgear absentmindedly, he expanded Palasar’s feed on the monitor as he contacted Talamane, supervising operations in the contact craft. “Sub-Commander, update, please.”

“Talamane responding, Clade Commander. There have been some promising developments down here, Sir. Mech-Tec Enteberol has been working on the modifications you specified, but the situation has changed significantly since Thadokta’s suggestion…”

“Suggestion?” Silandor interrupted, not sure that he liked the sound of that.

“Yes, Sir. He pointed out that that our contact craft is basically a multi-level airlock itself, and if we could leave both doors through the alien ship hull open, we would be able to…”

“We would be able to evacuate faster, and possibly communicate directly!’ Silandor was deeply chagrined at this pitiful oversight. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Er, yes, Commander, that was my reaction exactly! Most embarrassing to have something so obvious pointed out by an alien unfamiliar with our technology, Sir. Anyway, Enteberol has been making progress, particularly now that Tec-Op Choltz has just arrived to assist. Also, Choltz has been instructed by Ghost First Faramandar to request a go/no go decision on a matter of some urgency, so that she can return with a reply soonest. Shall I pass you over?”

“Unnecessary, Talamane, I am aware of his intentions and fully concur with his approach. However, tell Choltz not to inform Faramandar just yet, I would like to test the Tec’s modifications beforehand.’ ( And surprise that arrogant brother of mine into the bargain! He thought to himself with a silent chuckle.) ‘How soon before the airlock can be fully opened?”

“”I have people working on it as we speak, Sir. I am told it should not take long now, they are just deactivating the last safety protocols.”

“Outstanding! Instruct Choltz to return to the alien craft as soon as Enteberol is ready to check the system. I want her to inform Ghost First Quetzlepod that he is now in charge of operations at the airlock. I shall monitor her feed, and attempt to contact her when she is in position. I want you to return to the hub. I imagine that I will need you to take command fairly soon, as there is a matter that I must attend to personally. I shall fully brief you when you arrive. Anything else that I need to know, Sub-Commander?

“Just one thing, Sir. I have also been informed that the bodies of our dead await repatriation to the Indigo Flame. I was going to have specialists from Medi-Bay waiting for them with hover-gurneys, so that they could be taken to the freezer units. Unless you have an alternative suggestion, Sir?”

Silandor paused for a beat before responding, beset by conflicting emotions that he didn’t have time for. Then he allowed himself a cleansing sigh. “No, Talamane, let them stay on that ship, until we have retrieved all of our living personnel. Then you may have them collected. Is that everything?”

“Yes, Commander. I will report in person shortly. Talamane out.”

For a moment the Clade Commander was lost in thought, then he shook himself back to alertness and manipulated his monitor screen again, this time to bring up the feed from Choltz’ unit alongside Palasar’s. It wasn’t showing much of interest at present, but the other screen was an entirely different matter. As Palasar and her entourage approached yet another huge portal, it whisked aside to reveal the giant alien. Silandor immediately glanced across towards Manonkar’s station, just in time to see the specialist leap to his feet and turn towards him. Silandor rapidly signed for silence and instructed him to resume his station. His Clade Commander was aware - nobody else need be just yet. Glad of the privacy screen as never before, Silandor raised the volume from Palasar’s recording, then leaned forward to watch what would transpire with breathless fascination.