| This article was written by Turtle365. | |
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| “ | 'Its so big … and empty'
— Mikel - Species From Above
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” |
Doctor Who: The Series/Species From Above was a spin off tale of Doctor Who: The Series. UNIT have been called into a special mission where they will link up with the Time Agents. There is a strange spaceship on the moon, what is inside it and why is it there?
Segment 1[]
It loomed over the squad. A large bug creature with claws for hands looked at them like they were snacks it could just grab and take to go. Katniss was with the squad as they were hiding behind some boulders, waiting for the optimum time to leave the cover.
“Wait for the distraction.” Mikel shouted to Katniss and Bayley.
Katniss looked to the timer on the side. Every second felt like it was getting faster.
“Screw this.” Katniss said. “WE GO NOW!”
“Wait for the distraction.” Mikel told her.
Katniss broke from cover. To her right a small creature jumped to her as she shot it down. Her team mates followed as they were killing the bugs on their way.
The large bug creature saw them as it shuffled it’s way towards them. It’s claw vibrating the floor as it did so. Saliva poured from it’s mouth as it anticipated a tasty meal of human flesh.
“Shoot it!” Bayley yelled as she opened fire on it.
This seemed to anger the large bug creature as it came at them faster, ready to swipe down.
“It’s neck.” Katniss said. “That’s the weak point.”
They concentrated their fire towards the next. The claws hit down next to them as it caused them to fall to the ground.
“I told you. We should’ve waited.” Mikel spat out as he rolled to cover and continued shooting.
“We don’t have long till the air lock is activated.” Katniss pointed to the timer on the side.
“We had the time to wait.” Mikel yelled back.
Bayley screamed out as the creature had scooped her up. It tilted her to its head. Katniss moved over as it pulled out a small knife from her boots and slashed at the arm holding Bayley. After a few stabs the arms fell off, Bayley scurried away.
“We might need to retreat.” Bayley suggested.
“No.” Katniss said as she went to the other claw and ran up its arm.
“KATNISS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THIS WAS NOT PART OF THE MISSION BRIEF!” Mikel yelled out but this dissuade Katniss.
She ran up the arm and jumped on top of it’s head. She pulled her knife and stabbed it into the creature’s eye.
It screamed.
Its one and a half arms flailing about as it tried to move Katniss off. She went to it’s mouth and shot down several times. It’s jaw fell to the ground as the creature slumped over.
The body twitched as it laid on the ground. Katniss on top off it smiling.
Mikel marched towards her.
“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Mikel yelled.
“We won.” Katniss dismissed him. “The creature is dead, and we are alive.”
“You didn’t listen to the team. Nothing about your attempt was planned. We do not go off on our own and endanger others on the mission.” Mikel told her off.
Katniss wiped the bug blood from her knives. “It’s dead. Isn’t it?” She stamped on the dead body, making a point.
“Bayley almost died.” Mikel looked to the shivering agent in the corner.
“Every mission we go on we accept there’s a possibility that we will die. She needs to shake it off and move on.” Katniss said loudly enough for Bayley to hear.
They got in their ship and headed back to the UK.
**
At UNIT headquarters Kate Stewart at assembled the agents into a mission room. This was for their debriefing.
Katniss, Mikel and Bayley had been asked to report.
Monroe leaned into Kate. “Are you sure your agents are ready for this?”
Kate seemed astonished at being asked this question. “I have picked this squad myself. I only pick the best.”
“Uhm. Sorry to interrupt but what the hell are you two whispering about?” Katniss asked.
At the front of the room was a display of the moon.
“Your mission in Paraguay was a success. The great scary bug was defeated, and casualties and exposure were kept to a minimum. Well done on your groups success, Mikel.” Kate said to the squad.
“Did you read my report?” Mikel asked.
“Yes. I have read about the poor performance of a Katniss Trudgen.” Kate looked over to her.
“That’s not fair I--.” Katniss was interrupted.
Kate did a shushing motion. “You were reckless Agent Trudgen. Your actions endangered your team. We had strikes that would’ve incapacitated the creature and given you a clear run at the creature without danger.”
“What about the air locks?” Katniss asked.
“You had Oxygen masks that could’ve been worn. The air lock was established to prevent the creature from escaping.” Kate explained to her.
“What is he doing here?” Bayley wondered, looking to Monroe.
Monroe rubbed the dirt off his shoulders. Wanting his pristine suit to look as good as it was this morning. He coughed slightly to adjust his voice.
“Hello UNIT operatives.” Monroe said in a monotone voice. “Consider yourself lucky as you will get to work the esteemed Time Agents.” He paused for a few moments. “You’re meant to applause.”
“I’ve worked with the Time Agents before.” Katniss said. “Bunch of arrogant know it all’s, I saved all their behinds!”
“That’s not the reports I read.” Three Time Agents walked into the room.
They comprised of a average height but muscular man, a very tall, very muscular man who seemed to come out of an 80s action movie. And a smaller female who had a large gun wrapped around her.
They stood opposite their UNIT counterparts.
“I could smell the arrogance from Paraguay.” Katniss smirked at them.
“We are bailing you lot out. I think we deserve a thank you.” The average sized man demanded. He had a confident grin that seemed to be permanently etched into his face.
“Who would we be thanking?” Mikel asked. “The GI Jokes.”
“Is that some Earth thing?” The average man got up close to Mikel.
Monroe separated them. “These are the Time Agents. This is Conrell.” He pointed to the average size man. “This is Aymond.” He pointed to the huge man. “And this is Tella.” He pointed to the female. “And the UNIT agents are Katniss Trudgen. Mikel Hernandez and Bayley Bywater.”
“You have last names? That is wicked!” Tella gleefully exclaimed.
“Don’t indulge them. It’s a stupid tradition.” Cornell spat in front of them.
“Do you have a problem with Earth people?” Katniss got up close to Cornell. “We can show you what we are made of. I know you Time Agents. Someone gives you a few cool gadgets and you think you deserve to own any room you walk into.”
“KATNISS!” Kate snapped. “You will be working together. All of you will remain professional enough to do this job. Years of training and all of you are arguing about being a part of different organizations. It’s pathetic. For now, we all have the same objective.”
“What is the objective?” Bayley asked.
The holographic image in the middle of the room turned to that off the moon. “No points in guessing what this is. On the other side of the moon is a spaceship.” Kate stated.
Monroe stepped forward with a laser pointed as the ship enlarged. “Both the Time Agents and UNIT operatives will enter through this door. Your orders are to extract what is on that ship and bring it back here. No matter the cost. Your lives are expendable, if a team member is no longer able to achieve the goals of the mission then they are no longer of use. What is on that ship is worth far more than any of you.”
“What is on that ship?” Cornell asked.
“With respect, that information is classified.” Monroe bluntly replied.
“Let me get this right, you expect us to be willing to die for a mission that we have no idea what we are trying to achieve.” Katniss said. “Let’s do it. I’m in.”
She looked to the other UNIT members.
“Screw it. It could be fun.” Mikel smiled. “I’m in.”
“Didn’t you hear the part where we could die?” Bayley had a tremble in her voice. “Doesn’t that scare you? Even just a bit?”
“Please tell me you haven’t given us a bunch of wimps.” Cornell chuckled.
Tella nudged him in the ribs. “Give them a chance.”
“Hey, Bayley.” Katniss smiled. “I always save you. Every time! You’re like Princess Peach and I’m the Mario who has to rescue you.”
“That’s not quite the compliment you think it is.” Mikel chuckled. “What she is trying to say is. We are a team. Let’s do this together. We get to go to outer space!”
Bayley considered this for a few moments. Looking to each face in the room. “Fine. But you guys better save me!”
“I’m glad you all decided to go.” Kate said. “You didn’t have a choice anyways. But it’s better if you want to go.”
“Now.” Monroe stepped forward. “Let’s get you suited and ready.”
Segment 2[]
**
They were suited up in orange spacesuits, with the glass helmets on their heads. The mix of Time Agents and UNIT personnel were seated on opposing sides of the room in the spaceship.
“Can you lot handle being in space? We heard a rumour that you have never been before?” Cornell asked.
Katniss made sure everyone was strapped in. She sighed as she looked to him. “I’m sure the super amazing Time Agents can hold our hand and tell us it will be okay.” She replied sarcastically.
“Are all Time Agents this petty?” Mikel asked the other Time Agents.
“Cornell has a big head. He has to be in charge of any room he is in.” Tella explained.
“Does the big fella speak?” Mikel asked her.
“He does his talking in the action! His fighting is awesome! Hopefully we won’t need it but he has bailed us out a few times.” Tella informed him.
The large Aymond grunted in response.
“He is a gentle giant.” Tella leaned on him.
Cornell and Katniss had went silent. They had seemingly finished their arguing.
“Have you two learnt to be friends?” Bayley asked nervously. Not liking the shouting that she had heard earlier.
“We can do this mission. After that I never want to see a Time Agent again.” Katniss also spat but realised her helmet was on.
The spaceship drifted towards the moon. The rest of the journey was filled with silence with most of the crew deciding to sleep instead of conversing with each other.
They spaceship connected to the ship that was on the dark side of the moon. The crew looked out of the windows, no longer able to see the Earth.
“Being in space is so cool.” Bayley livened up.
“Its so big … and empty.” Mikel realised as the ship made a big jolt.
“Okay team.” Cornell stood in front of them. “We break off into two teams.”
“Let me guess. Time Agents and UNIT separate?” Katniss guessed.
Cornell showed a screen to the side. “Monroe decided upon the teams beforehand. Team One will go to the area we have located as the storage area. We believe that the lifeforms on this ship reside in this area. Team Two will be data retrieval. In our scans we found computer systems that could harbour information that our superiors deem important. We are not to look at this data. Our mission is gathering and retrieving.”
“Who is Team One and who is Team Two?” Bayley asked.
“Team One is me.” Cornell started. “Bayley and Katniss. I get two UNITs in mine? Tella you’re so lucky.” He complained.
“Me.” Mikel began. “Tella and Aymond. Let’s retrieve this information!”
“This is so exciting!” Tella chuckled.
“Speak for yourself.” Cornell was already in a mood.
He pressed on the intercom as Monroe’s face appeared. “Is there an issue?” Monroe asked.
“The teams. Explain.” Cornell responded.
Monroe gave out a deep sigh. “On team two we know that Tella and Aymond work best together, and Mikel is normally the leader of this UNIT team. On team one we think that Katniss needs to follow instruction better, so we have paired her with a leader who is demanding. Which is yourself Cornell and Bayley is far more effective with Katniss. According to our data these are the teams that fit best. No more questions.”
Monroe’s face on the intercom went off the screen. The room went silent.
Each of them were getting ready. Making sure their suits were working and without issue. Each of them going through the plans that were on the screen in the ship. The two teams were talking amongst themselves about the mission.
**
They waited with anticipation for the doors to open.
“This is an alien ship. We don’t know what to expect.” Cornell told them. “Open communication is vital on this mission. If anything seems strange, if you hear anything, if you see a shadow moving past you. I want to know. If we all do our jobs we will all live.”
“I thought this was just a retrieval mission.” Bayley felt her nerves shoot up.
“It is. Always expect caveats.” Cornell said.
At the front of their ship, they heard the unlocking mechanisms. The door to the alien spaceship was opening. They took to their positions. Weapons at the ready.
Katniss reloaded her weapon. “Try not to use our weapons. We don’t want to blow holes in this ship.” She advised them. “No one wants to be drifting in space.”
They split into their teams. The door unlocked as they slowly approached. No one making a sound as they listened out for any signs of life. The ship was old, it was rusty inside with doors everywhere. It consisted of many hallways, several floors and doors to each room.
The first room was empty as team one turned to the left and team two the right.
**
Cornell had the device which short circuited and opened each door. It was dark on the spaceship, with stars millions of light years away being the only source of light on the ship.
“This ship feels conveniently designed.” Katniss noted.
“What do you mean?” Bayley sheepishly went into the first room.
It was empty as Cornell held the device for the next room. It took nearly a minute to get them in.
“Doors? Controls that can be human operated. The aliens that we have dealt with on Earth have never made a ship like this.” Katniss said, the atmosphere felt strange.
Cornell signalled for them to be quiet for a moment. A low banging sound could be heard. It was far away from them.
“This is quite scary guys.” Bayley turned the torch that was mounted on her rifle on.
“You were supposed to wait for my signal to do that.” Cornell covered her light. “Turn it off. Until we are sure it is safe. If anything has survived this crash it could come after us.”
He pressed a button on the spacesuit. “AIR IS NOT BREATHABLE. FIND OXYGEN.” The spacesuit said.
“What do you think the sound was?” Katniss asked as the low banging came back.
“We just attached a ship to it. Kinetic energy transfer makes things move. They really need to teach you basic physics at UNIT.” Cornell snapped at her.
“Listen here Time Agent. Your macho man impression does not impress me. In fact, it endangers everyone on this ship. We need communication to be open and to be done without judgement. No questions or statements are too dumb to be said and discussed.” Katniss snapped back at him.
“Maybe it’s the wind outside.” Bayley absent mindedly stated.
“We are on the moon Bayley. There is no wind.” Katniss sighed.
Cornell chuckled at this. “Nothing is too dumb?” He asked as Katniss chuckled too.
A static came on the radio.
“Team two reporting in. Can team one hear us?” Mikels voice came through.
“Loud and clear. What is the purpose of this communication?” Cornell asked.
“We have some strange readings. It could be nothing but just stay aware.” Mikel said. “We will go on and report anything else we find out. Team two out.”
The next door unlocked as they went through it. This room had computers that had been turned off. “Do you reckon we can get the power running?” Katniss asked.
Cornell looked to the computers. “Why do you think you will be able to read the data on them? This is an alien ship.” Cornell asked.
“Because I don’t think it is.” Katniss tried switching the computers on to no success.
“Stop touching stuff.” Bayley said. “Lets just get in and out of this ship.”
In the dark ship something caught Katniss’s eye. She looked to the corner of the room, it seemed darker than the rest. “Permission to put my torch on?” She asked.
“Given.” Cornell went to the door and put the device on it as it worked to open the door.
Katniss shone her torch on the corner of the room. It looked strange; she leaned closer to it.
“Oh my.” Katniss said.
“Don’t say stuff like that.” Bayley said.
“Its strange.” Katniss began. “It looks like…”
**
Mikel, Tella and Aymond had been making their way through the ship.
“How did you guys become Time Agents?” Mikel tried to make conversation.
He pressed a button on his spacesuit which showed a hologram. On this hologram was a red dot, which indicated where they were, and a map of the ship which showed where they were supposed to go.
“It took me years of sleepless nights. Studying and working hard to overcome my disadvantages.” Tella said.
“What about you big guy?” Mikel asked Aymond.
“Hit.” Aymond replied as he hit a metal contained. It caused a large dent.
“Aymond was a farm worker. He ripped through a gang of men who tried to rob him. The Time Agents gave him an ultimatum, join them or spend the rest of his days in prison.” Tella explained. “We have no idea how they caught him.”
Aymond chuckled at Tella’s story. “Small men.” He chuckled more.
“Is he … a bit slow?” Mikel put it gently.
“Took a bullet in his brain when he was six. It is said he was protecting his mother, same reason he went berserk on the gang of men.” Tella smiled at Aymond. “But he is a big softie! Would never hurt a fly.”
“What if the fly was trying to get to his mother?” Mikel asked.
Tella chuckled. “He might hurt it then.”
The spacesuit was beeping quickly as Mikel pressed his suit. It highlighted something in red in the room. Mikel went to it.
“A generator.” Mikel said.
He looked around it for an on switch. It was an old box which had seen better days.
“Shouldn’t we tell Cornell what we are doing?” Tella asked.
“I am in charge of this team.” Mikel found the switch.
The lights turned on, but they weren’t bright. The lights around the room were green in colour. The entire ship turned on, low humming from a generator sounded out around the ship.
“THE AIR IS NOW BREATHABLE.” The spacesuit told him.
Mikel took his helmet off and took a deep breath.
“You just removed your helmet without double checking the oxygen?” Tella shook her head as she also took off her helmet.
Aymond was standing in front of the lights. Gently tapping them and giggling. Tella tapped him on the shoulder to make sure he knew she was there. She then took his helmet off too.
They heard a scuttling above them.
“What was that?” Tella stepped back.
The three looked around the room as more scuttling of footsteps came from the vents above them. Aymond ran to the sound and began hitting the vents, causing big dents in each of them.
“SMASH!” He shouted.
“Next room?” Tella asked.
The door light was on, indicating it was open, Mikel went through it and indicated for the others to follow them.
A radio came buzzing back on.
“Mikel? Report.” Cornell’s voice came on.
“Hello! What is your progress?” Mikel cheerily asked as he went to the next door. The door behind them shut as it had in every room.
“Did you put the lights on?” Cornell asked.
“Yes sir. We have air again!” Mikel sounded happy with himself.
Cornell considered this for a moment. “Have you done any tests on the air yet?”
“We are breathing it.” Mikel pointed out.
“Tell me you didn’t take your helmet off without testing the air first? Always get a second opinion as Earth spacesuits from the 21st century can be unreliable.” Cornell asked.
Mikel went silent.
“You’re not telling me because you didn’t. Right?” Cornell questioned.
“We have heard scuttling in the vents. I don’t know if it was the air turning back on through the vents or if its something more alive.” Mikel informed them.
“We have also found something.” Cornell was staring at the corner where Katniss was.
“What is it?” Mikel asked.
“Its …” Cornell stuttered. “It’s a dead body.”
Segment 3[]
**
Cornell, Katniss and Bayley were crouched down around the dead body. At least that’s what the group assumed it was. It certainly was not human. It was black and gooey with something resembling a brain splattered on the ground.
“No touching.” Cornell told them as he backed away.
The three were silent, none of them knowing what to say. Cornell went to the door and opened it up, the three went to the next room.
Cornell checked how many rooms they had till they reached the storage room.
“If we are going to the storage room to find the lifeforms then can’t we just take that one back?” Katniss asked.
“We follow our orders. Perhaps the other specimen are in less of a butchered state.” Cornell said.
“I don’t like this.” Bayley’s voice quivered as she remembered the dead body she had just seen. “Why is that alien dead? It was too brutally killed.” She pointed out.
A crackling came from above them, they looked to the speakers.
“Is this Earth, English?” A chirpy female voice came through the speakers.
“That is the language.” Cornell said. “Who is speaking?”
“Isn’t this fun! I will send my location to your suits. Come visit me!” The voice encouraged them.
Katniss looked uneasy at the randomness of this event. A person that spoke English being onboard an alien ship. “You heard him. What is your name?” She demanded.
“You can call me SIAL!” Sial told them.
“I told you this ship was too Human to be aliens.” Katniss told Cornell.
Cornell went to open the next door. “Don’t you listen Agent Trudgen? It asked our language.”
A radio signal came through their suits. “Hello? We heard a voice?” Mikel’s voice came through.
“We are looking into it. There was a female voice that goes by the name Sial. We need to gather information about it.” Cornell said. “You guys need to get to the information rooms quickly and find out what the hell is going on here.”
The radio then switched off abruptly. Cornell tried to communicate with Team Two but all that came back was static.
“I don’t like you talking to each other.” Sial’s voice came through the intercom.
“Why?” Cornell asked.
“This will be our special game! Come and find me.” Sial demanded.
Cornell looked to the map that Sial had sent them. If they took the door to the right it will lead them to the location where Sial was instructing them to go to. If they went to the left it would take them to where the mission stated they should be going to.
They considered their choices for a few moments before Cornell went to the left. He inserted the card as the door opened. He looked back to Cassie and Bayley.
“Come on.” He whispered to them.
The doors slammed shut.
“That is a bad choice!” Sial came over the speakers.
The door that was to their right lit u green, inviting them to come towards it. They hesitated. Were they now stuck at the mercy of whatever was the owner of the voice?
**
Mikel and his team had tried to communicate with the other team but weren’t receiving a response. They were in space, so they thought that anything could’ve happened. Interference from space, the turning on of the ship may have blocked their signals. There were plenty of not scary reasons that they told themselves.
“I can’t get into this room.” Mikel complained.
“Smash?” Aymond asked, sizing up the door.
“No. This is an alien spaceship. Any damage could doom the spaceship and subsequently us.” Mikel explained to him.
Aymond went to the corner in a huff. Sitting on the floor like a toddler, folding his arms to express his anger.
“You better give him something to smash later. There has to be some scary aliens or something.” Tella informed him.
“I would rather that we didn’t run into any aliens today. My first time in space, I just want to look at some nice views of Earth, get the information and go home in time and browse Netflix for an hour before bed.” Mikel stated.
A door on the other side of the room lit up green. The group turned to it, Mikel checked the map that came out of their spacesuits as a hologram to see if it would still go to where they wanted.
“Where is this ship trying to take us?” Mikel muttered.
He was the first to go to the door. He put in the device and a few seconds later the door opened. Mikel walked through it as Tella and Aymond followed.
This room only contained one thing inside it. A tomb like futuristic coffin that lay in the middle. Smoke filled the inside.
“Now. Smash?” Aymond asked getting his fists ready.
“We don’t know what is inside it.” Mikel told him.
Mikel went to the next door. Wanting to leave this room as quickly as possible. There was still a route to the computer rooms. He put in the device, after a few seconds a green light turned on as they passed through it. A few more doors in and they had reached the computer rooms.
“Okay Tella use this.” Mikel threw a small device to her. “I will get this side. You get that side. Aymond, stand ready at the door.”
The large man stood like a bouncer at a nightguard, though this particular man wasn’t smart enough to read IDs, actually that’s not much different from a normal bouncer.
Mikel combed through the data.
DO NOT LOOK!
Is what they had been told. It had been drilled into them. But what could be so bad that they were banned from looking? Here they had UNIT operators and Time Agents, they had seen the most confidential and horrific things that Earth had to offer. Even the files on JFK and the role of the umbrella man, a fantastical read that every member of UNIT does.
Photos flashed across the screen as Mikel attempted to look away. He looked to Tella, her eyes were laser focused on the screen.
Screw it.
Mikel thought as he looked at the images that flashed before his eyes.
What he saw was horrid.
**
They had been given no other choice. This was the only door that they were allowed to go through. Sial had determined it to be.
Cornell had been in a mood ever for the past few minutes. He didn’t want to open the door.
“Who do you think Sial is?” Bayley broke the silence.
“It said to come and get them. Could it be a person?” Katniss suggested.
Cornell kicked a box. “Whatever it is it is messing with us.”
He went to the door that they had been told to go to. The green hue lit up the room. Cornell hesitated as he held the device next to the mechanism that would unlock the door. Something felt wrong, it was thick in the air.
“Screw it. Get ready.” Cornell told them.
Katniss and Bayley got behind him. Holding their weapons at the door. Cornell opened the door.
“Computers?” Bayley asked.
They walked into the room. There were two computers that showed the ship and seemed to deep dive the ships schematics. It had red dots on it.
“What do you think the dots are?” Katniss asked.
Bayley was typing into the systems. “Okay. That’s not good.”
“What is it?” Cornell looked ta the computer Bayley was working at.
“This is our room.” Bayley pointed to the diagram. “In the next room is a red dot. There are red dots all over the ship.”
“But what are the red dots?” Katniss asked as she took the other computer.
“I will dive in.” Bayley said as she went through the computers systems.
Cornell inspected the room. There wasn’t much else in it. He looked to the vents as he opened the lid, he inspected inside, putting a finger from his spacesuit inside. He put the finger out as he inspected it. It was wet.
“How curious.” Cornell said.
“What is it?” Katniss asked as Cornell didn’t answer. “I’m sorry. Should I add big boss at the end? What is it, big boss?”
“Sorry. It’s wet in the vents.” Cornell looked around for more vents.
He opened another vent and looked inside. He shone his torch in the vents. He noticed what he had been looking for. Cornell quickly closed the vent and back up.
“What is it, big boss?” Katniss chuckled.
“This is no joke Agent Trudgen.” Cornell had his gun at the ready.
“Then seriously, what it is?” Katniss asked.
Cornell had to calm himself down before answering. “There are scratch marks all over the vents.”
“What are you trying to say?” Katniss asked.
“It is wet and there are scratch marks. Put it together.” Cornell demanded as Katniss thought for a few moments.
Katniss Trudgen then realised what he was going on about. “Aliens. Recently.”
“Gold star!” Cornell sarcastically added.
The computer that Bayley was on beeped loudly. “Why are you doing that?” Bayley asked the computer as she hit the top off it.
“Mysteries are so much fun! Don’t you guys agree?” Sial asked them.
“Not when my life is on the line.” Cornell said.
The computers were flashing a green light as Bayley withdrew from the computers.
“Next game!” Sial said in a delighted female voice.
The door to the next room lit up green. Cornell stood far away from the door.
“Bayley. Which door led to the red dots?” Cornell asked.
“The one that’s green.” Bayley informed him.
The room went quiet. No one knew what was on the other side of the door, but no one wanted to find out. They all sat down for a few minutes. No one uttering a word to each other.
“I said next game! Don’t force me to hurt you. I just want to play.” Sial told them through the intercoms.
Cornell looked to the device that opened the door, it was in his hand. He looked back up to the door. They couldn’t see through it, what was on the other side?
“What if we don’t move?” Katniss asked. “We can just stay here. Wait for the other team to come and get us.”
“I don’t mind that idea.” Bayley pitched in.
“It said it would hurt us.” Cornell reminded them. “Sial. How would you hurt us?”
Sial showed a response immediately. They heard the air leave the room as the three were left gasping. Katniss grabbed at her neck trying to breath in anything that had been left but nothing had. Cornell tried to wave but there was no cameras to wave too.
They heard the air comeback as the three breathed in heavily.
“Next door please!” Sial said.
The three got to their feet. Grateful for the air that their lungs could breathe in once again. Cornell held the device to the door.
After a few moments it would open.
“AAAHHHHH.” Bayley screamed as they got their guns at the ready. What they saw was terrifying.
Segment 4[]
**
Mikel and Tella stared at one another after they had looked at the images. In complete shock. Neither would break the silence for a few moments until Aymond grunted.
“WHAT?!” Aymond shouted at them.
“This is a transport ship.” Mikel broke the silence.
“Did you see what it was transporting?” Tella asked him.
“We have to warn the others. Get back to the ship.” Mikel tried his radio, it just played static back to him. “CORNELL? KATNISS? BAYLEY? Anyone please report. This mission needs to be aborted. Return to ship.”
Only static would return as a response. A door different from the one they had entered the room in turned green. Mikel tried to ignore it as he went to the door that led back to the ship.
“Why do you think they wanted us to retrieve it?” Tella asked.
“I don’t know but seeing those photos they have clearly made a mistake. Or they have some dark purpose. Did you see what happened to that planet?” Mikel replied. He was breathing heavily; his hands were shaking.
“Yes. We aren’t the first ones to be sent here. If they didn’t want what was on this ship they would’ve destroyed it.” Tella pointed out. Her voice was shaking.
Mikel grunted in annoyance as the device would not open the door. The door turned a red colour to indicate that he would not be allowed into it.
“Kate would never do this.” Mikel said.
“Are you accusing us of being the bad ones?” Tella was annoyed by this insinuation.
Mikel went up to her. “No. You are like us, merely a worker. It’s those in charge. Do you think there is a possibility that Monroe could do this?” He asked.
“Monroe was never the super nice type, but I don’t believe he would be evil. Maybe it is your Kate that has the bad intentions!” Tella told him.
Mikel had to take a step back and take a deep breath. He didn’t want to lose his cool. “Did you look at the images?”
“You know I did.” Tella angrily responded.
“No. I mean really look at them. You should’ve spotted it.” Mikel informed her.
“Tell me what I missed.” Tella went to the computer, but it was no longer showing the images.
“The badges on the uniforms. They were Time Agents. Like the same as yours.” Mikel pointed.
Tella suddenly realised she had seen it. She must have chosen not to think it was real. “That means we aren’t the first squad here.”
Mikel went to the door that lit up green. “Weapons at the ready. Aymond, get ready to smash. The maps shows we are in for it in the next room. We need to get to the control room and only then we can escape.”
“SMASH? Yay!” Aymond chuckled. He put his gun to his side and got his hands ready.
Tella was about to use her weapon. The scratching from the vents came back.
“Whatever they are. They know we are here.” Tella said as Mikel put the device on the door.
The lights turned off in the room. The vents burst open.
Coming out were several small black creatures. They splatted on the floor as they looked around, looking to the group. They bared their teeth.
The door opened up.
“Quick!” Mikel urged as Tella ran in.
Aymond hit one of the creatures as another one attached to his face. He stumbled backwards through the open door. Mikel close it behind him.
“AHHHH.” Aymond screamed out as he tried to force the creature off his face, but it was not budging.
Tella and Mikel joined in, but they couldn’t pry it off.
“We have to do it.” Tella told Mikel. He nodded in agreement.
She aimed her weapon to Aymond’s face. She pulled the trigger. The creature slipped off his face as it harmlessly splattered to the ground. Aymond stomped on it until the creature was no longer recognisable.
Aymond was sitting down. His face had small pierce marks from where the creature had locked onto his face.
“Is he going to be okay?” Mikel asked as Tella went to investigate.
“I hope so. Luckily these are just the small ones. Let’s hope the big ones aren’t here too.” Tella said as they looked to the next door, not far away from the control room.
**
There were two pod like devices in the room. They were around 10 feet long, lit up by a blue light. As Katniss, Cornell and Bayley opened the door one of them had opened. Smoke rising out as a long slimy black head turned to face them.
The creature screamed out as it ran towards them, leaping the length of the room quicker than anyone could pull the trigger. It attacked Bayley as she went down.
Katniss and Cornell fired upon it. After a few moments it had been subdued and was laying on the ground, unmoving.
Bayley was on the floor, close to tears. “My arm.” She cried as blood could be seen through her spacesuit. Katniss ran to her as she looked at it.
“Apply pressure.” Katniss told her. She held Bayley’s arm. “The spacesuit should apply cooling devices and pressure. Just help it out.”
Bayley nodded as the cooling devices sounded out around her arms.
“I really don’t like this game.” Cornell complained. He had his gun fixed to the other pod.
He slowly approached it. Not wanting it to open suddenly and catch him off guard. It was full of blue smoke, there was no way of seeing inside.
“Well done! You guys did so well.” Sial’s voice came over the intercom.
“What are these creatures?” Cornell demanded.
“Your friends have that information. That was the task assigned to them. You weren’t tasked with information so you will not get it.” Sial told them.
“What are you Sial? A person or a machine?” Cornell asked.
“You are not information!” Sial replied.
Katniss made sure Bayley was okay and then looked to the other pod. She tried to figure out how to open it but could not. A door lit up green.
“Go towards it.” Katniss told Cornell.
Bayley gingerly made her way to her feet. She felt her energy had been taken away from her by the encounter with the alien.
“Are you okay?” Katniss asked Bayley.
“Let’s retrieve whatever we need and get off this ship.” Bayley loudly breathed out. “Thank God for these spacesuits”
Cornell opened the next door. A sense of relief went through him as they had survived an encounter with an alien.
“The red dots are those aliens?” Katniss asked.
“I would guess so. We aren’t too far away from where this annoying voice is leading us too.” Cornell checked the map again.
The next room was completely empty, it had nothing going on in it. The three of them entered it as the previous door close behind them.
“Shall we have some fun.” Sial’s voice asked them.
“Back to back to back.” Cornell told them as they took their positions in the middle of the room.
“The vents?” Katniss asked.
“Whatever it is we need to cover it.” Cornell told her.
The scratching came through the vents, it was a rush of scuttling about. Small bodies were hitting around the vents as they moved in packs.
A vent burst on Bayley’s side as she sprayed bullets to the small aliens that came rushing out. Two more sides burst as Katniss and Cornell were now occupied.
Dozens of these aliens came out as they struggled. Bodies were getting laid out on the ground.
“I’m getting overwhelmed.” Bayley said as one jumped up and her face. She fell to the ground as her side were going for Katniss and Cornell.
“To the wall.” Cornell demanded as he shot the creature of Bayley’s face.
“Helmets.” Katniss thought as she put the glass helmet up. The others did the same. The creatures were swarming them. Bouncing off their helmets.
They continued shooting at them as they got through the rest of them. No more sounds were coming from the vents. Only silence remained between the three. Cornell and Katniss slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. Katniss pressed the button for her helmet to come off and back into the spacesuit.
“Congratulations! You are doing so good.” Sial’s came over the intercom. “Keep going. You are so close to what you came here for.”
The door ahead of them lit up with green light. Cornell checked the map that came from his spacesuit. A few rooms and they were where Sial had been leading them to.
“One of you has been bit! Uh oh.” Sial’s voice almost sounded like it was delighted by this outcome.
“What do you mean uh oh?” Katniss asked.
“Life is so limited. Be a shame if it became more limited.” Sial responded.
**
Aymond was coughing up blood as Tella tried to help him. The big guy was hard to move around. Mikel was looking at his map as he spotted what the next room was.
It was what they had been looking for.
“Update?” Mikel tried into the radio again, but nothing came back. He went to Aymond as he checked the stats that were coming from his spacesuit.
“What do you think?” Tella asked, her eyes begging for a positive answer.
“I think getting bit by an alien is never a good thing.” Mikel observed his condition. “His oxygen levels are tumbling. Heart beat slowing. We need to get back to the ship to help him out. We are close to the control room. We can get in and get out and rush him back.”
Tella nodded in agreement as she and Mikel dragged Aymond’s body to the door. It lit up green as Mikel put the device on it, seconds later it unlocked.
“Hurt.” Aymond was slumping further into the ground.
“We need to get the information from the ship and then we will leave.” Tella tried to reassure him. “Keep your helmet up. Your suit will help heal you.”
Mikel was downloading data from the ship. These files were different from the ones that they had seen in the computer room.
They showed cities that laid in ruin. Secret plans and experiments that the ship had data on. It was clear why they had not destroyed the ship.
“The Time Agents are from the future. Is there anything you can tell us about what is to come?” Mikel asked the 51st Century Human.
“You know that is against our protocols.” Tella informed him. “I could give you a few sports results to bet on! But I only remember ones from the 44th Century.”
“Is it because we could change time? Like if you told me one thing and I changed it then you would cease to exist?” Mikel asked her.
“Everything that does happen will always happen. It’s why I am here. Any paradoxes fix themselves with time. Every Time Agent who has gone back in time and changed something will always have done that.” Tella tried to explain. “Maybe you can visit our century some time. We are always coming back and helping you guys fix your problems!”
Mikel tutted as the download had been completed. He then noted something else on the computer. It was a master file. He clicked on it; it made him curious.
“Sial? What is that?” Mikel asked.
“I don’t know. It wasn’t on any of the mission briefings.” Tella came over to look.
“Me. Hurt.” Aymond said through the visor.
Tella waved him off. “One minute Aymond. This is interesting.”
They scanned through the file of Sial, but it was just numbers. They couldn’t make sense off it.
“Should we delete the files on this ship?” Mikel enquired. “We don’t want any other agencies to come onboard this ship and see what is on it.”
Tella pondered on the decision they would make. “Delete the master file? I’m not sure.”
Coughing came from the corner of the room. Aymond was making a motion at his throat. Tella ran over.
“Undo your helmet.” She told him.
He couldn’t, his body was becoming increasingly paralysed. His breathing was coming to a standstill.
“Fight you big idiot. COME ON!” Tella told him as she tried to pull his helmet off.
She heard gagging noises as his body slumped over. She saw his face through his helmet, he had turned blue, she hated how it had been a struggle. Tella put her head in her hands as she began crying.
“He has saved me so many times and when its my turn to save him I fail. I have failed him.” Tella cried loudly.
“It’s not your fault.” Mikel tried to reassure her, but it was to no avail.
“Can you get our communications working again?” Tella managed to snap herself out off it. Determined to see through the mission.
“There is a block. I will try this route.” Mikel got back on the computers. “Make sure all the data is downloaded from your side. I’m sorry for your friend but we have to finish this mission.”
Tella nodded in agreement. She wiped the tears off her eyes and got back to work.
**
Cornell, Katniss and Bayley had reached the penultimate room. After this was the room that Sial was trying to get them to.
“Okay what game do you have for us this time?” Cornell asked.
He was fed up with Sial. This was meant to be a simple retrieval mission, but it had turned out to be far worse than that.
“If you must insist! I will give you a game! Now clap!” Sial demanded.
The three looked to one another.
“She has something very wrong with her.” Bayley muttered as the others nodded.
“I said clap, or you will lose the air from your lungs!” Sial shouted in her usual delightful tone.
They clapped profusely, for over a minute. Luckily Sial was not demanding Cannes Festival level of clapping, or they might never leave the ship.
“See. That wasn’t that difficult, was it now? Are you ready for one last game?” Sial sounding like a gameshow host asked them.
“Get on with it.” Katniss demanded.
“The game is to live. Only two may enter.” Sial seemed to chuckle.
Cornell had a look of shock. “What do you mean?” He asked.
“One of you must die. You have five minutes to decide. If you can’t decide then I will kill you all. On the other side of these doors are what you came for.” Sial told them.
Segment 5[]
The three had panicked look on their faces, they slumped to the floor, theirs backs on the wall of the room. None of them knew how to start the conversation. One that could be any of their last conversations.
“I hate her. Whoever is controlling everything, I hate them.” Cornell spat out.
“I don’t think any of us have positive feelings about Sial.” Katniss agreed with him.
“She can hear us.” Bayley said. “We have been put in a bad situation. As UNIT says we have to figure a way out. Our lives are always on the line.”
“GOD DAMN IT.” Cornell got up, he pointed his gun at the door as he hit it, time and time again the metal of the weapon caused a large noise that radiated through the room. “No one dies. Not today. We don’t give her the satisfaction.”
“That was not an option.” Katniss reminded him. “If we don’t we all die. The question is. How the hell do we decide which one of us it should be?”
None of them wanted to die, not for this mission. They didn’t know what to do in this situation.
“Do we debate? Do it randomly?” Bayley broke the silence.
“Seeing that none of us understandably wants to die we can do it randomly.” Katniss agreed.
“We could debate it. Like if someone has people who are dependent on them? Like kids? That could be a deal breaker.” Cornell suggested.
“The less we know about each other the easier it will be to process the choice that we make.” Katniss said.
“That’s unfair. You two work together.” Cornell pointed out. “You know each other.”
A silence fell on them once again. “At UNIT we don’t learn personal details about each other. Or we aren’t supposed to. I could not tell you what Bayley does when she gets home. If she has a family or not.” Katniss said.
“My names not even Bayley.” Bayley admitted.
“Really? You got to use a fake name?” Katniss was shocked.
“You use a real one?” Bayley was surprised, she thought they made all at UNIT change their names.
“I have kids waiting for me.” Cornell told them. “I know this is playing the game or whatever, but I want to return home to them.”
Bayley began crying in the corner of the room. “It’s unfair. Maybe we try the door again.”
The intercom sounded to them. “I can hear you! 30 seconds, a decision must be reached. Who lives and who dies.” Sial called out.
Katniss stood up. She breathed a deeply, calming her nerves.
“I will do it.” Katniss told them. “It should be me.”
“No!” Bayley told her.
“It’s fine Bayley. You guys just make me proud.” Katniss was waiting for how Sial would do it.
“You’re a brave woman Agent Trudgen. My kids will be happy thanks to you.” Cornell smiled.
They waited for Sial to come back on.
“I don’t want you to go.” Bayley said.
“This is not a discussion. Live a good life, for me.” Katniss said.
The intercom crackled into life. “Have you made a decision?” Sial asked.
“Yes. I am the one who will be sacrificed.” Katniss felt her breath quickening, her body felt weak as she suddenly thought about what death would be like. The consequences of the decision that she had just made, was it worth it?
“The game was an illusion. The decision was made long ago.” Sial said.
The three looked to each other in confusion. Then Bayley looked to her neck, she had been bitten earlier. She collapsed to the ground.
“BAYLEY!” Katniss ran to her friends side. “You can pull through this. PLEASE.”
Watching her friend choking was heartbreaking for Katniss. Feeling so helpless to stop the suffering that she was going through. Bayley grabbed Katniss’s spacesuit and pulled her in so she could listen to her.
“My names Pia. Please don’t forget me.” Pia/Bayley managed to get out.
Her eyes shot to the top of her head. She released her grip on Katniss, her body slumping to the ground. Katniss checked her pulse to make sure, Pia/Bayley was no longer with us.
“Are you ready for the next room?” The chirpy voice of Sial came through. Cutting through the tense atmosphere that had developed in the room.
“Whatever you are Sial, I am destroying you.” Katniss said in defiance.
Cornell didn’t want to look at the body, it was too sad for him to think about. He just wanted to finish the mission and get out of here.
The door lit up green.
Cornell went to it with his device.
“STOP!” A male voice came through the intercom.
“Mikel?” Katniss asked. Cornell stopped in his tracks.
“I can’t hear you. I see the room you are in, in the next room is where the last crew went. According to the data it is the last place they were alive. If you are still alive I beg for you not to go any further. We don’t know why they died. Aymond has passed, he got bit. No one else dies today. Let’s get out of here.” Mikel called through the intercom.
Cornell and Katniss looked to one another. Unsure on what to do. Cornell went to the door they had entered the room in, he tried the device, but it didn’t work.
“If you can get into the ships systems then you need to open these doors.” Cornell called out; no response came.
“He can’t hear us.” Katniss muttered; she reloaded her weapon.
“What are you doing?” Cornell asked.
“It’s obvious isn’t it. We can’t go back. Whatever is in the next room will try to kill us. We kill it before it gets the chance.” Katniss had her weapon aimed at the door.
“Okay. Let me just compose myself.” Cornell took a deep breath. “Whatever this Sial thing is. We need to make sure it doesn’t leave this ship. We change our mission parameters, no more retrieval. This is about survival and getting back to the ones we love.”
Katniss nodded in agreement. Cornell went to the green lit door.
“Are you ready?” Katniss asked him, spotting his nerves.
Cornell nodded, but this didn’t even convince himself.
“For Bayley. For Aymond.” Cornell said.
“Her name was Pia. It was her last words. We didn’t know each other as well as I thought. She was still my friend, and we are going to light up this ship. Is that understood Time Agent?” Katniss asked him.
Cornell smiled at the challenge that awaited them. “Let’s do this.”
He put the device in the door, and it opened…
**
Mikel got off the mic as he tracked the number of beings in the room. It said there were three in the room that the other team was in, but it also said that for their room and Aymond was in the corner, no longer alive. This meant it recorded bodies whether they were alive or dead.
The screen he was looking at turned red. It flashed a warning sign on it.
“Information team. You may now leave the ship.” Sial finally spoke to them.
“We have our friends here. We are not leaving the ship without them.” Mikel told her.
“Aymond too. His mother deserves the closure.” Tella said looking in sadness at the loss of her friend.
Mikel managed to circumvent the warning on the computer as he checked for life forms. “There’s aliens all over the ship. Something is waking them up. Pods are opening all over the ship.” Mikel pointed to the many red dots on the map.
“Leave. Or your ship will be thrown into space.” Sial threatened them.
“Our friends. Where are they?” Mikel asked her.
“Dead.” Sial responded.
Mikel shook his head; he saw movement on the map in the room the other team were in. He went to the computer. “Whatever you are I’m going to disable your control.”
“I warned you.” Sial said.
They heard a large noise from the other end of the ship. Mikel looked to the monitors to see what had just happened, but he already knew. Their ship had been flung into space.
“That is not ideal.” Tella admitted as she got on the other computer, trying to override Sial.
“I will kill your friends if you do not stop. You are information retrieval. This is not in your parameters.” Sial told them.
Red alarms wailed through the ship. The doors around them opened. Mikel and Tella stepped away from the machines, getting their weapons ready.
“You have chosen, wisely.” Sial let them know. “Now you can have a game!”
Scratching ran through the vents. Several things were walking through the ship. Dozens of small black creatures landed on the floor from the vents, making a splat sound as they did so.
Two large aliens appeared in the doorway, they opened their mouths wide, revealing sharp teeth that were inside.
“What are they waiting for?” Tella asked.
“I don’t know. I wonder how much control this Sial thing has over them.” Mikel said, not shooting yet as they waited for Sial to say or do something.
“This has been fun. I look forward to your deaths!” Sial gleefully smiled.
The aliens waited for the command.
Sial seemed to find glee in what they were doing. “ATTACK!”
Segment 6[]
**
Katniss went into the room screaming, expecting an epic fight for their lives. In the room there was a box in the middle. It was a black box, one into which you could not see. Cornell and Katniss slowly approached it, apprehensive to what sort of threat it could pose to them.
“What is it?” Cornell enquired.
He tapped his gun lightly on it. This caused a part of the box to become translucent.
“Do that again.” Katniss told him.
Cornell hit his gun around the box. The black box turned translucent as it revealed what was inside the mysterious box. Why the previous crew had died.
There was an egg inside it. A black egg, it was large, almost taking up the entirety of the three foot tall box. It had a pulsating blue colour running in lines through it.
“What the hell is this?” Katniss tried to get the box open but couldn’t.
“I don’t know but Mikel told us others had died in this room. Maybe it hatches? I hope we don’t have to meet whatever laid this egg.” Cornell replied, he pointed a gun to it.
“What are you doing?” Katniss asked him.
“Killing it? It poses a danger to us.” Cornell got ready.
“We are retrieval. Let’s take this back so our superiors are happy.” Katniss suggested.
“People have died. Do you want to take that risk?” Cornell asked her.
Katniss had to think of her answer. In the wake of what had happened it was difficult to see what the mission objective was. Was it this egg? Was it the information on this ship?
“Every mission we go on we accept that it may be our last. We do our job then mourn afterwards.” Katniss put up a strong front as she tried to pick the box up.
It was impossibly heavy as Cornell tried to help her to no avail.
“See. This is what you want.” Sial’s voice chirped up.
They heard a loud noise coming from the other end of the ship.
“What was that?” Katniss asked.
Their attention turned to where that noise had come from as Cornell did some mental calculations. “Our ship.” He muttered.
“Your friends were bad! They are being punished.” Sial seemed to never drop the cheery tone in their voice.
“That is our ship. How are we supposed to escape from this?” Cornell asked her.
There was no response.
They heard loud noises not too far away. Cornell check his map again as he calibrated to where they were. “Okay. We leave the egg for now. Make our way to Mikel and Tella’s position.”
Katniss nodded in agreement. “Should we have our helmets up?” She asked.
“Good idea.” Cornell put his glass helmet up as Katniss did the same.
The doors around them opened up. Cornell led them to where Mikel and Tella were, they could hear the aliens moving around the ship but didn’t know where they were heading to.
**
“Helmets on.” Mikel told Tella. “Hold on to something.”
Mikel pressed a few buttons as the aliens came towards them. The little ones had tried to attack their faces but bounced off harmlessly.
The roof above them opened as Mikel and Tella held onto the railings. The aliens got sucked into space, the air quickly leaving their lungs. Their screams died out as quickly as they had begun.
The roof came back down as Mikel breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Very smart. I have more friends coming.” Sial warned them.
“We have a strategy now. Okay I’ve had enough of you.” Mikel pressed a few buttons as he disabled the control that Sial had.
“Is it gone?” Tella asked, unsure if she could relax or not.
“I don’t know. Our ship is gone though.” Mikel sat on the ground, breathing heavily.
He checked the air; the spacesuit confirmed it was okay. He put his helmet off as did Tella. Footsteps slowly approached the room.
“Get ready.” Tella said as she had her gun out, pointing to the door the steps were coming from.
“Don’t shoot!” Katniss yelled to them, her and Cornell had their hands up.
They slowly went into the room. Smiling as they saw Tella and Mikel.
“Where is Bayley?” Mikel asked.
Katniss went up to him, hugging him as much as their bulky spacesuits would allow it. “I’m so sorry. I lost her.”
“THIS STUPID SHIP.” Mikel pulled out the hug. Kicking the console unit. “This Sial thing. Do you know what it is?”
“Some programme I’m guessing.” Cornell said. “Is there any way to get off this ship?”
“No. It torpedoed our ship into space. Unless one of you is a pilot then we are stuck here. Our ship had auto pilot that was ready to take us back.” Mikel explained.
Mikel went back to the computer, trying to figure out what they would do.
“Can we open communications to UNIT or the Time Agents?” Tella suggested.
“Sial fried the comms. Did you guys find what you were supposed to retrieve?” Mikel asked them.
“We found an egg.” Katniss put her arms out wide. “It was over 3 foot!”
“Like a dinosaur!” Tella chuckled.
“YES! Let’s hope it’s not a T-Rex.” Katniss laughed.
Cornell was pacing the room. Trying to think of a plan.
“How about a game?” Sial’s voice had come back. “It will be so much fun!”
“Enough games.” Cornell told them. He couldn’t even enjoy a mission which was a rarity for the much accomplished Time Agent.
An alarm sounded in the room. They heard scuttling.
“Every pod open. I have taken back control of the ship so no more of your tricks. I will win the game.” Sial told them.
“If this is a game then shouldn’t there be a prize for the victor?” Katniss asked.
“Your lives are the prize.” Sial informed them.
“Helmets on!”
The group got ready. The pointed guns to each door. The aliens appeared quickly. Small ones coming out of the vents.
Katniss and Mikel took the left side of the room as they lit up the small aliens. Several jumped for their heads but bounced off their helmets.
Cornell and Tella took the right side as they spotted a large alien at the door to their right. They faced that way and shot at it.
Green blood splashed around the ship. The small aliens swarmed Katniss.
“MIKEL!” Katniss shouted as he kicked them off her and pulled her out of the pile of the slimy black aliens.
They got through dozens of the small aliens. Cornell and Tella had downed the large alien, it was gasping, begging for the release that death would give it.
Cornell went up to it. “This is for my friend, Aymond.” He shot into the downed alien. It screamed out as its body went limp.
The scuttling came to a stop. The screaming of the aliens turned to silence in space.
The group went to the floor, panting from the exhaustion of their efforts.
“Well done! You have won the game.” Sial cheerfully told them.
“Now. Let us live. Take us home.” Cornell demanded.
“I said you can live. You never said where.” Sial seemed to enjoy bringing dread to the group. Mikel got up and went through the files as he deleted the ships files.
“Goodbye Sial. We all hate you.” Mikel said as the lights in the ship turned off. The engines powered down. The low hum of the mechanisms of the spaceship working turned to a steady silence in which no one knew what to say.
“NO. YOU CANNOT DO THIS.” Sial screamed out as their voice became quieter. “I AM IN CONTROL.” The intercom made a short high pitched sound, then turned off.
The group stared at one another, realising the reality of the situation. They were stuck on the dark side of the moon.
“Any ideas on how to pass the time? I spy?” Tella tried to break the tension.
“I spy.” Cornell started looking around the room. “With my little eye that we are all screwed.”
“That was a rubbish one!” Tella crossed her arms.
“I’m sorry. With Aymond, Bayley and everything I don’t feel like joking.” Cornell felt tears rolling down his cheek. He faced away from the group, wiping them away.
Tella went up to him and put hugged him. “It’s okay.” She tried to reassure him.
“I should never have allowed us to go on this mission. I’m sorry Tella.” Cornell’s tough façade had collapsed under the weight of the situation.
“It’s not your fault Cornell.” Katniss tried. “We all accepted this mission. We know the risks and so did Aymond and Bayley.”
Static came through their spacesuits. It sounded like someone was trying to hit a mic before they started their set.
“Hello?” Monroe’s voice came through all their spacesuits. “Are any of you alive?”
“YES!” Tella yelled. “Four of us are. Aymond and Bayley didn’t make it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Did both squads achieve the mission objectives?” Monroe asked in his deep, soothing voice.
Cornell looked to Mikel, Mikel showed the hard drive and nodded. “Yes. We have lost our ship. We are in the alien ship. Can you send someone to get us?”
“We will send a pilot. It will be easier to bring everything back. Is the spaceship clear of dangers?” Monroe asked.
“We think so. We will check.” Cornell said.
“Okay. Sending someone now. Well done on your success team, we will see you in a few hours.” With that Monroe cut contact as the energy in the room had changed greatly.
They laughed, more out of relief than a funny joke. “First we need to go through the ship and make sure there are no threats.” Katniss told them as they went through the computers, walked around the ship and checked the vents.
The pilot came and took them back to Earth.
Segment 7 -- THE LAST ONE[]
**
A Time Agents job is difficult, they have to deal with monsters, aliens, saving planets, fixing time etc. Ask any Time Agent and they wouldn’t list any of this as the worst part of their job. It was what Cornell and Tella were about to do.
They walked up to the house. Dressed in their Time Agent uniforms. Cornell knocked on the door three times and stood back.
A part of them hoped no one would answer, this wasn’t news that anyone liked to be told.
An elderly woman opened the door, she had the warmly smile that old people always seemed to have.
“Hello!” She gleefully said.
“Mary Rondo?” Cornell asked.
“Right in front of you.” Mary didn’t know what was going on. Were they trying to sell her house insurance? Were they going to rush past her and steal her belongings? Why were they here?
Tella put a hand on Cornell’s shoulder, trying to stop him from crying. “Your son, Aymond Rando. Unfortunately, he passed during a mission as a Time Agent. He sacrificed his life so his friends could live on. I am really sorry to be bringing this news to you today.”
Mary stood in shock. Her body seemed to freeze as if time itself had stopped. “My son … is dead?” Mary’s body collapsed as Tella caught her and held her into a hug. Tella’s shoulder was soaked from the tears that had escaped Mary’s eyes.
“I am really sorry Ms Rondo. Your son was an amazingly brave man. Strongest person I have ever known.” Cornell said. He felt the tears in his eyes.
“Join in. Please.” Mary told Cornell as he joined into the hug.
They stayed embraced for several minutes, crying throughout. After this they separated.
“I always knew he could do great things.” Mary began. “He always protected me. Did you know he took a bullet for me?” she chuckled.
“We did Ms Rondo.” Cornell half-heartedly smiled.
“Call me Mary.” Mary insisted.
Tella brought out some paper. It was an invitation. “We are having a celebration of your sons life at the Time Agent headquarters. We would love for you to be there. It would be an honour.”
Mary took the invitation. “I will be there. Thank you for coming.” Mary smiled.
Tella and Cornell said their goodbyes as they left the premises.
Mary would attend the celebration of Aymond’s life, she would spend hours talking to Time Agents as they would tell her of her sons bravery, his strength and amazing stories of the adventures that he had been on but been unable to tell her.
**
At UNIT it was very different from the Time Agents. Whilst Time Agents will willingly give you their identities UNIT agents would be more careful of who they told about who they really were.
“Are we at the right place?” Mikel asked.
They both had plain black suits with black ties, black hats, black shades and black umbrellas. They were situated far away from the funeral, hidden amongst the trees. A few guests had noted their presence but did not approach them.
“I’m sure. Why do you ask?” Katniss was reading through the programme.
“It says this is for a Pia Quinn. Aren’t we going to Bayley’s funeral?” Mikel showed her the front of the programme that had been made for the funeral.
“Her name was Pia. She only told me that in her last moments.” Katniss pointed to his programme. “That is literally her face.”
Mikel seemed confused by this. “We really don’t know each other as much as I thought. Is your name even Katniss?”
“Sh.” Katniss told him as the funeral had started.
Dozens of people were there as the coffin was being lowered. Two people in particular caught Katniss’s eye.
“The two kids at the front. Who are they?” She asked as she went to the programme.
“They kind of look like…” Mikel’s voice trailed off. “But we would have known.”
Katniss had her hand over her mouth in disbelief. “Survived by her two kids, Maddie and Logan.”
“I guess we don’t usually spend many missions together. But we’ve known each other for years.” Mikel was rethinking his relationships with all those at UNIT. “I wonder what secrets you are hiding Katniss Trudgen, if that is your real name!” He chuckled.
“No smiling. It’s a funeral for one of our fellow agents.” Katniss faced away from Mikel as she was grinning.
They stayed for the end of the funeral and then left once the speeches were finished and the ceremony had been completed.
Katniss and Mikel would go to the UNIT base where they would talk through the night about their good friend Pia Quinn and look her up in the database. Wanting to find out who their friend truly was. It would be a fun night that would help them to recover from the loss of their friend.
**
Biggins sat in a large glass box. Inside there was a smaller black box. He had hit it to make it translucent, but it would become a black box once he left it long enough.
“Are you sure this should be on Earth?” Biggins asked.
Kate Stewart came into the glass cube. Hit the black box to look at the egg,
“This cost a life of our agent. We have to make it worth it.” Kate told him.
“What about the information they got from the ship?” Biggins asked as he had listened in to their mission briefings.
“You should not have been listening to us!” Kate chuckled.
“You speak so loudly! How could I not hear you from the other side of the door?” Biggins chuckled as he looked through his glasses. The blue light of the egg had grown brighter.
“The Time Agents wanted that information. That was our deal. We get the egg, and they get the information. After all, several teams of Time Agents had lost their lives in that ship before they asked for our help.” Kate informed him.
They left the glass box, making sure nothing could get in or out.
An alien egg on Earth, what could go wrong?
**
He marched into his daughters room.
“Hey! Your dinner is ready. I have been shouting for the last five minutes.” Her father shouted.
Still, she did not put her headphones off.
“Hey! SIAL! Do you hear me?” He shouted.
Sial had tears in her eyes. “My game… I lost…”
“It’s not important. Just play another game later. Dinner, now.” Her father demanded as Sial nodded, taking her headphones off and making her way past him.
“No. Those Humans will not get away with this.” Sial said.
“What are you talking about? What are Humans?” Her father was confused.
Sial smiled as she faced her father. “They will be dead. Cornell, Mikel, Tella and Katniss. I will come for all of them. They will be ended.”
Her father knelt down to her. “That’s my destructive daughter. The military are training you well. This practise will make you strong. Whatever these Humans are we will destroy them.”
Sial chuckled. “I cannot wait! I am coming for you Earth…”
THE END!
KATNISS TRUDGEN WILL RETURN IN EARTHBOUND, SEASON 2, EPISODE 1!!!
Behind The Scenes[]
- This story will lead directly into the first episode of season two of Doctor Who: The Series.
- It introduced Katniss Trudgen who will be a prominant member of season two.
- The character Katniss Trudgen was the protaganist in UNIT: The Series.
- Sial will return in S2, E5, Homeward.
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