The Doctor sat on one knee examining the laser barriers closely. He stared at them with great conviction for some time attempting to unlock their secrets. "That's odd," he finally said to him self, " this laser field uses a triple feed bypass loop. How ingenious."
Dave stood up from the floor where he had been sitting next to Maria. "Never mind that," he said as he walked over to the Doctor, "can you get us out of here?"
The time traveler jerked around as if he were under attack. "Get out," inquired, "certainly not! We're staying right here."
"Excuse me," came a voice from across the room, "but why."
The time lord looked over his companions. First at the girl and then at the boy. They both had an odd expression on their face proclaiming both calmness and panic. In turn, the Doctor's face melted into an expression of compassion. "First of all," he began as a smile penetrated his lips, "there is that."
The traveler extended his hand toward the laser barrier and the room beyond. Outside of the cell on the far side of the room a Dalek sat watching the prisoners. It had escorted the trio to the cell but since then it had remained so still and it had gone practically unnoticed.
"The second reason," the Doctor continued," is that the other Dalek is probably on the bridge where we want to go so we will just have to wait until we have a better opportunity."
Dave breathed a heavy sigh of annoyance as he reached into his pocket and produced a small mirror. "Boy do I look terrible," he told himself as he gazed into the looking glass. This was not a totally inaccurate statement either. The young lad's reflection cast the appearance of a street urchin. His hair flew wildly into the air winding this way and that around his head. His eyes were watery and glazed over as if he were among the living impaired. This claim was further substantiated by a host of bags that resided underneath each eye.
"Where did you get that," queried the time lord when he had noticed the mirror.
"You mean this," answered the boy holding up the mirror, "It's been in my pocket all day."
The Doctor reached up swiped the reflective device from the young boy's hand. "Come on," he ordered shooting a glance a Maria who was still sitting against the wall, "we're getting out of here."
The girl pushed herself onto her feet and sauntered across the cell. "I thought you said we were staying here," she asked.
"I did," came the response, "now we're going."
"But what about him," Dave asked pointing toward the mechanical guard.
The Doctor shoved the mirror into the laser beam diverting it across the main room where it began to burn a hole into the wall.
The Dalek, which had been stationary, the whole time, immediately sprang into action. "Halt," it cried as it prepared to fire its weapon.
The time lord quickly twisted the mirror diverting the beam once again. The laser barrier shot through the air finally landing on the malevolent machine. The Dalek flew backward with great force into the wall where sparks began to bolt out from its joints.
Seeing an opportunity the Doctor ordered Maria to climb through the hole he had created with the mirror. Without hesitation the girl sprung to the ground and made her way safely out of the cell. When she finally returned to her feet on the other side she turned off the beam allowing her friends to be free.
The trio raced into the corridor looking for a place to hide. "There," yelled the boy excitedly as he pointed toward an air vent.
"Not this time," the Doctor answered hastily, "this way." The time lord extended his index finger to the right and began to walk quickly in that direction with Dave and Maria tagging along.
"Doctor," Maria asked scampering along behind, "where are we going?"
"To the bridge."
"THE BRIDGE," repeated the young boy in horror. He quickly leapt in front of the time lord and began to walk backwards. "Are you nuts," continued the lad, "What about the Dalek up there?"
"Besides," added the girl, "we don't have anything powerful enough to kill this one"
"KILL," boomed the Doctor coming to a sudden halt. He turned to the side and fixed his eyes on his female companion's. "We don't have anything available that can kill them."
"What about the one in the brig," Maria rebutted.
The traveler smiled as he turned and began to walk forward again. "It's not dead," he said, "only stunned."
"So why are we going to the bridge then," Dave asked continuing to walk backwards in front his cohorts, "we can't kill the Dalek and if we don't it'll just change the heading back."
Once again the time lord came to a sudden halt. "That's why we're going to the engine room instead," he explained turning on his heel and proceeded in the opposite direction.
The three conspirators continued on through the ship's corridors at a quick pace toward the engine room. They hoped to reach their destination before their enemies conceived a plan to recapture them. In this venture they did no succeed. Just the party changed directions the corridor lights above them began to dim. They blinked on and off as if a child was playing with the switch.
"What's going on," Dave asked anxiously.
Maria considered the phenomena for a moment. She stared at each light as they passed underneath. Each flickered with an eire glow. "It looks like some sort of a power drain," she said after a moment, "but I've never seen anything like this. What do you think, Doctor"
"They're turning off the power," answered the time lord speeding up the pace, "without the life support system were dead in thirty minutes."
"Can we make it," the boy asked growing more nervous by the second.
"We're going to try answered the Doctor.
At that moment the power failed completely. Once again the trio was trapped in pitch darkness. Just as before the Doctor pulled out a match to light the path.
After many twists and turns and several matches the three travelers found their way to a large door. In large letters on the doors face was written: Engine Room Authorized Personnel only.
The time lord smiled at his companions as he pulled a pocket watch from his trouser pocket. "Very good," he said to himself. With that he turned and nearly walked straight into the door. "Of course," he laughed, "they wouldn't open with the power off would they?"
Dave began to feel more and more uneasy. He wasn't sure how much time was left but he was sure it wasn't enough. "What are we going to do now," he asked when he had gathered up enough strength.
The female wasn't in much better shape. Although she stood by looking very calm fear had begun to intrude the depths of her soul. In hopes of diverting her mind from what was almost certain doom she stepped sideways to her friend. She stood silently staring at his silhouette wanting to offer a word of hope or friendship. None came to mind.
Just then the time traveler noticed a small panel to the side of the door. Inside a great many wires criss-crossed each other allowing access to many small unimportant systems.
"What are you doing," the young male choked.
The Doctor thrust his left hand underneath the wires and began to feel around. "I have no idea," he responded, "I'll know when I find it." Almost at that exact moment his hand happened upon a small round parturition at the back of the panel. "Ah ha," he gasped in excitement, "a button." Without reservation he quickly pushed the switch.
To the side the engine room doors slid apart creating an unusually small entryway into the room. The trio hurriedly slid into the room one by one and began to look for the controls that would turn the ship.
The room was by far the largest on the ship. A control panel extended nearly from on end of the room to the other. It was cut off only by a small door, which gave access to the ships engines. These could be seen clearly through a glass window that sat above the control panel and ran the same distance.
"What are we going to do when we find these controls," Dave asked as they began their search, "The power is still off."
The time lord pointed to a small cabinet in the far left-hand corner of the room, "There should be some weapons in that cabinet, bring them here."
"We can't," remarked the girl, "it takes a security access code and that's when the powers on."
The Doctor moved around the control panel with great speed. "Here, try this," he said pulling the sonic screwdriver out his pocket. Without taking his eyes off of the controls he blindly tossed the device to Maria.
The young lady rushed across the room to the cabinet where she used the screwdriver on anything that looked like it would release the lock. After a moment there was a loud clang from inside the cabinet. The screwdriver had hit the main locking mechanism causing the door to swing open. The girl jumped with fright at the sudden sound.
Her heart, which was already pounding, sped up. It felt as if it were going to explode. She stood there for a moment listening to the sound. She could feel it pulsate through her chest as if it were alive and attempting to free its self from its prison.
Maria cautiously opened the cabinet doors and peered inside. Eight sleek lasers sat silently in two straight rows of four as if they were military soldiers awaiting a command. The girl swept up all eight weapons and returned with them to the Doctor. "Here they are," she announced as she laid the guns down.
The time lord delved into the pile and extracted a laser. "Thank you," he said ducking underneath the control panel. There he proceeded to cross wire a great many systems and attach them all to the energy weapon that Maria had retrieved. "Come down here boy," he ordered when he had finished.
Dave slowly squatted down next to the Doctor. It was clear that the present situation was slowly taking its toll on the boy. His face was flush white and he had begun to sweat profusely. "What do you need," he muttered.
The traveler pushed the laser weapon into his companion's hand. "Hold down the trigger," he ordered. The lad obeyed and squeezed the trigger. At that moment the control panel lit up as if were a Christmas tree.
The time lord popped up to see the effect. "Excellent," he said commending himself. "Now, if I can activate the maneuvering thrusters and push us just off course."
Maria was stunned. "That's amazing," she said bending over to check the circuits. By the light of the control panel now saw her confidante clearly for the first time in ages. "Are you all right," she asked. Dave shook his head indicating the negative. He then pointed his finger upwards requesting the girl to assist the Doctor.
Just then the lights jumped back on and the entire control panel lit up fully. The time lord quickly swung around and pushed Dave backwards. At the same time panel that had been tampered with exploded in a flash of fire and light blowing the Doctor and Maria to the ground. A moment later the main engines powered up.
"Is everyone alright," quarried the time traveler turning to examine the damaged control panel
"We're fine," responded the girl as she and her cohort rose their feet.
The controls were smoldering from the explosion. The top of the panel had been completely blown off exposing the wires underneath. A small flame still burned within the rubble.
"FLAPDOODLE," yelled the time lord, "we overloaded it. There's no repairing this."
Dave stepped forward to examine the damage for himself. As he looked over the gaping hole in the control panel the boy's fear increased by ten. "What do we do now," he asked almost hysterically.
The Doctor scanned the room quickly hoping to encounter a plan B. It didn't take long. Along the control panel was the pile of weapons that Maria had uncovered. He hastily examined each weapon to see if they worked. When he was satisfied the traveler handed two each to his companions.
"What are we going to do," the girl asked analyzing the weapon.
"We're going to blow it up."
"ARE YOU CRAZY," the young boy jumped in. He had been inching ever closer to panic since the power went down.
"No more than usual." With that the time lord bounded into the rooms anti chamber. Out of fright the other two followed close behind.
They now stood in front of the ship's massive engines. Two large tubes from either of the room connected the main engine drive to the rest of the ship.
The time traveler looked carefully over the weapon in his hand. There was a small switch on the side covered by a transparent piece of plastic.
"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do are you?" Maria asked stepping in front of the Doctor.
"That depends what you think I am going to do," came the answer. Before the girl could explain what she thought the time lord thrust his weapon under her nose. "Look at this," he explained pointing out the enclosed switch. "This is an overload switch for emergencies. And I would say that this qualifies as an emergency."
Dave, who had begun to feel better since the air was restored, looked back and forth between the weapon and the man holding it. "What are you going to do," he inquired suspiciously.
"I'm going to blow up the ship."
"WITH US IN IT," shouted the boy hysterically.
The traveler snickered heartily to himself. "I certainly hope not. But we seem to be running out of options." With that he pulled open the transparent covering, flipped the switch, and hurled the weapon to the far end of the engine. "Come on," he yelled at his companions, "we don't have much time left."
The two youngsters reservedly followed the Doctor's commands and tossed their overloading weapons onto the engine.
"Now what," Maria asked as they scurried out of the engine room and into the hall, "please say that you have another plan."
By now the time lord had begun to trot down the ships corridor. "Yes I do have another plan, get to the TARDIS in thirty seconds or die trying!"
With that both Dave and Maria sprinted past the Doctor and proceeded as fast as possible to the cargo bay. They rounded corner after corner until they came to the hall just out side of the cargo bay where they stopped short.
The sound of a Dalek could be heard around the corner. Peering around the bend they could see the evil machine moving back and forth guarding the door. Their hearts pounded with fear and excitement. Time was running out and the enemy was preventing their escape.
Just then the Doctor came flying around the bend and came to a screeching halt. He heard the hum as well. "No time to waste," he whispered, "or we're dead one way or another. Taking off his jacket he leapt around the corner just as the menacing guard had turned its back. The time lord threw the coat over the Dalek obstructing its vision.
Seeing this the youngsters made no hesitation in running into the cargo bay. Immediately after, the Doctor pulled his coat off of his enemy and disappeared through the closing doors.
They raced through the maze of crates once again and straight in the police box. Once there the Doctor immediately began to work the ship's controls and with a loud screech the TARDIS dematerialized.
Maria looked around the control room in wonderment. "Where are we," she asked.
The ship's captain twisted a knob revealing a view screen in the corner of the room. A ship floated silently through space for a moment. It then exploded in a huge ball of fire. Then, there was silence.
"Well, that's one crisis averted," the traveler said rubbing his hands together.
"I have a question," Dave said as he looked over the TARDIS' controls, "What was in that other box?"
The Doctor's ears perked up as if he had just had an epiphany. "I don't know," he said, "I hope it wasn't a class four inversion circuit."
THE END
Dave stood up from the floor where he had been sitting next to Maria. "Never mind that," he said as he walked over to the Doctor, "can you get us out of here?"
The time traveler jerked around as if he were under attack. "Get out," inquired, "certainly not! We're staying right here."
"Excuse me," came a voice from across the room, "but why."
The time lord looked over his companions. First at the girl and then at the boy. They both had an odd expression on their face proclaiming both calmness and panic. In turn, the Doctor's face melted into an expression of compassion. "First of all," he began as a smile penetrated his lips, "there is that."
The traveler extended his hand toward the laser barrier and the room beyond. Outside of the cell on the far side of the room a Dalek sat watching the prisoners. It had escorted the trio to the cell but since then it had remained so still and it had gone practically unnoticed.
"The second reason," the Doctor continued," is that the other Dalek is probably on the bridge where we want to go so we will just have to wait until we have a better opportunity."
Dave breathed a heavy sigh of annoyance as he reached into his pocket and produced a small mirror. "Boy do I look terrible," he told himself as he gazed into the looking glass. This was not a totally inaccurate statement either. The young lad's reflection cast the appearance of a street urchin. His hair flew wildly into the air winding this way and that around his head. His eyes were watery and glazed over as if he were among the living impaired. This claim was further substantiated by a host of bags that resided underneath each eye.
"Where did you get that," queried the time lord when he had noticed the mirror.
"You mean this," answered the boy holding up the mirror, "It's been in my pocket all day."
The Doctor reached up swiped the reflective device from the young boy's hand. "Come on," he ordered shooting a glance a Maria who was still sitting against the wall, "we're getting out of here."
The girl pushed herself onto her feet and sauntered across the cell. "I thought you said we were staying here," she asked.
"I did," came the response, "now we're going."
"But what about him," Dave asked pointing toward the mechanical guard.
The Doctor shoved the mirror into the laser beam diverting it across the main room where it began to burn a hole into the wall.
The Dalek, which had been stationary, the whole time, immediately sprang into action. "Halt," it cried as it prepared to fire its weapon.
The time lord quickly twisted the mirror diverting the beam once again. The laser barrier shot through the air finally landing on the malevolent machine. The Dalek flew backward with great force into the wall where sparks began to bolt out from its joints.
Seeing an opportunity the Doctor ordered Maria to climb through the hole he had created with the mirror. Without hesitation the girl sprung to the ground and made her way safely out of the cell. When she finally returned to her feet on the other side she turned off the beam allowing her friends to be free.
The trio raced into the corridor looking for a place to hide. "There," yelled the boy excitedly as he pointed toward an air vent.
"Not this time," the Doctor answered hastily, "this way." The time lord extended his index finger to the right and began to walk quickly in that direction with Dave and Maria tagging along.
"Doctor," Maria asked scampering along behind, "where are we going?"
"To the bridge."
"THE BRIDGE," repeated the young boy in horror. He quickly leapt in front of the time lord and began to walk backwards. "Are you nuts," continued the lad, "What about the Dalek up there?"
"Besides," added the girl, "we don't have anything powerful enough to kill this one"
"KILL," boomed the Doctor coming to a sudden halt. He turned to the side and fixed his eyes on his female companion's. "We don't have anything available that can kill them."
"What about the one in the brig," Maria rebutted.
The traveler smiled as he turned and began to walk forward again. "It's not dead," he said, "only stunned."
"So why are we going to the bridge then," Dave asked continuing to walk backwards in front his cohorts, "we can't kill the Dalek and if we don't it'll just change the heading back."
Once again the time lord came to a sudden halt. "That's why we're going to the engine room instead," he explained turning on his heel and proceeded in the opposite direction.
The three conspirators continued on through the ship's corridors at a quick pace toward the engine room. They hoped to reach their destination before their enemies conceived a plan to recapture them. In this venture they did no succeed. Just the party changed directions the corridor lights above them began to dim. They blinked on and off as if a child was playing with the switch.
"What's going on," Dave asked anxiously.
Maria considered the phenomena for a moment. She stared at each light as they passed underneath. Each flickered with an eire glow. "It looks like some sort of a power drain," she said after a moment, "but I've never seen anything like this. What do you think, Doctor"
"They're turning off the power," answered the time lord speeding up the pace, "without the life support system were dead in thirty minutes."
"Can we make it," the boy asked growing more nervous by the second.
"We're going to try answered the Doctor.
At that moment the power failed completely. Once again the trio was trapped in pitch darkness. Just as before the Doctor pulled out a match to light the path.
After many twists and turns and several matches the three travelers found their way to a large door. In large letters on the doors face was written: Engine Room Authorized Personnel only.
The time lord smiled at his companions as he pulled a pocket watch from his trouser pocket. "Very good," he said to himself. With that he turned and nearly walked straight into the door. "Of course," he laughed, "they wouldn't open with the power off would they?"
Dave began to feel more and more uneasy. He wasn't sure how much time was left but he was sure it wasn't enough. "What are we going to do now," he asked when he had gathered up enough strength.
The female wasn't in much better shape. Although she stood by looking very calm fear had begun to intrude the depths of her soul. In hopes of diverting her mind from what was almost certain doom she stepped sideways to her friend. She stood silently staring at his silhouette wanting to offer a word of hope or friendship. None came to mind.
Just then the time traveler noticed a small panel to the side of the door. Inside a great many wires criss-crossed each other allowing access to many small unimportant systems.
"What are you doing," the young male choked.
The Doctor thrust his left hand underneath the wires and began to feel around. "I have no idea," he responded, "I'll know when I find it." Almost at that exact moment his hand happened upon a small round parturition at the back of the panel. "Ah ha," he gasped in excitement, "a button." Without reservation he quickly pushed the switch.
To the side the engine room doors slid apart creating an unusually small entryway into the room. The trio hurriedly slid into the room one by one and began to look for the controls that would turn the ship.
The room was by far the largest on the ship. A control panel extended nearly from on end of the room to the other. It was cut off only by a small door, which gave access to the ships engines. These could be seen clearly through a glass window that sat above the control panel and ran the same distance.
"What are we going to do when we find these controls," Dave asked as they began their search, "The power is still off."
The time lord pointed to a small cabinet in the far left-hand corner of the room, "There should be some weapons in that cabinet, bring them here."
"We can't," remarked the girl, "it takes a security access code and that's when the powers on."
The Doctor moved around the control panel with great speed. "Here, try this," he said pulling the sonic screwdriver out his pocket. Without taking his eyes off of the controls he blindly tossed the device to Maria.
The young lady rushed across the room to the cabinet where she used the screwdriver on anything that looked like it would release the lock. After a moment there was a loud clang from inside the cabinet. The screwdriver had hit the main locking mechanism causing the door to swing open. The girl jumped with fright at the sudden sound.
Her heart, which was already pounding, sped up. It felt as if it were going to explode. She stood there for a moment listening to the sound. She could feel it pulsate through her chest as if it were alive and attempting to free its self from its prison.
Maria cautiously opened the cabinet doors and peered inside. Eight sleek lasers sat silently in two straight rows of four as if they were military soldiers awaiting a command. The girl swept up all eight weapons and returned with them to the Doctor. "Here they are," she announced as she laid the guns down.
The time lord delved into the pile and extracted a laser. "Thank you," he said ducking underneath the control panel. There he proceeded to cross wire a great many systems and attach them all to the energy weapon that Maria had retrieved. "Come down here boy," he ordered when he had finished.
Dave slowly squatted down next to the Doctor. It was clear that the present situation was slowly taking its toll on the boy. His face was flush white and he had begun to sweat profusely. "What do you need," he muttered.
The traveler pushed the laser weapon into his companion's hand. "Hold down the trigger," he ordered. The lad obeyed and squeezed the trigger. At that moment the control panel lit up as if were a Christmas tree.
The time lord popped up to see the effect. "Excellent," he said commending himself. "Now, if I can activate the maneuvering thrusters and push us just off course."
Maria was stunned. "That's amazing," she said bending over to check the circuits. By the light of the control panel now saw her confidante clearly for the first time in ages. "Are you all right," she asked. Dave shook his head indicating the negative. He then pointed his finger upwards requesting the girl to assist the Doctor.
Just then the lights jumped back on and the entire control panel lit up fully. The time lord quickly swung around and pushed Dave backwards. At the same time panel that had been tampered with exploded in a flash of fire and light blowing the Doctor and Maria to the ground. A moment later the main engines powered up.
"Is everyone alright," quarried the time traveler turning to examine the damaged control panel
"We're fine," responded the girl as she and her cohort rose their feet.
The controls were smoldering from the explosion. The top of the panel had been completely blown off exposing the wires underneath. A small flame still burned within the rubble.
"FLAPDOODLE," yelled the time lord, "we overloaded it. There's no repairing this."
Dave stepped forward to examine the damage for himself. As he looked over the gaping hole in the control panel the boy's fear increased by ten. "What do we do now," he asked almost hysterically.
The Doctor scanned the room quickly hoping to encounter a plan B. It didn't take long. Along the control panel was the pile of weapons that Maria had uncovered. He hastily examined each weapon to see if they worked. When he was satisfied the traveler handed two each to his companions.
"What are we going to do," the girl asked analyzing the weapon.
"We're going to blow it up."
"ARE YOU CRAZY," the young boy jumped in. He had been inching ever closer to panic since the power went down.
"No more than usual." With that the time lord bounded into the rooms anti chamber. Out of fright the other two followed close behind.
They now stood in front of the ship's massive engines. Two large tubes from either of the room connected the main engine drive to the rest of the ship.
The time traveler looked carefully over the weapon in his hand. There was a small switch on the side covered by a transparent piece of plastic.
"You're not going to do what I think you're going to do are you?" Maria asked stepping in front of the Doctor.
"That depends what you think I am going to do," came the answer. Before the girl could explain what she thought the time lord thrust his weapon under her nose. "Look at this," he explained pointing out the enclosed switch. "This is an overload switch for emergencies. And I would say that this qualifies as an emergency."
Dave, who had begun to feel better since the air was restored, looked back and forth between the weapon and the man holding it. "What are you going to do," he inquired suspiciously.
"I'm going to blow up the ship."
"WITH US IN IT," shouted the boy hysterically.
The traveler snickered heartily to himself. "I certainly hope not. But we seem to be running out of options." With that he pulled open the transparent covering, flipped the switch, and hurled the weapon to the far end of the engine. "Come on," he yelled at his companions, "we don't have much time left."
The two youngsters reservedly followed the Doctor's commands and tossed their overloading weapons onto the engine.
"Now what," Maria asked as they scurried out of the engine room and into the hall, "please say that you have another plan."
By now the time lord had begun to trot down the ships corridor. "Yes I do have another plan, get to the TARDIS in thirty seconds or die trying!"
With that both Dave and Maria sprinted past the Doctor and proceeded as fast as possible to the cargo bay. They rounded corner after corner until they came to the hall just out side of the cargo bay where they stopped short.
The sound of a Dalek could be heard around the corner. Peering around the bend they could see the evil machine moving back and forth guarding the door. Their hearts pounded with fear and excitement. Time was running out and the enemy was preventing their escape.
Just then the Doctor came flying around the bend and came to a screeching halt. He heard the hum as well. "No time to waste," he whispered, "or we're dead one way or another. Taking off his jacket he leapt around the corner just as the menacing guard had turned its back. The time lord threw the coat over the Dalek obstructing its vision.
Seeing this the youngsters made no hesitation in running into the cargo bay. Immediately after, the Doctor pulled his coat off of his enemy and disappeared through the closing doors.
They raced through the maze of crates once again and straight in the police box. Once there the Doctor immediately began to work the ship's controls and with a loud screech the TARDIS dematerialized.
Maria looked around the control room in wonderment. "Where are we," she asked.
The ship's captain twisted a knob revealing a view screen in the corner of the room. A ship floated silently through space for a moment. It then exploded in a huge ball of fire. Then, there was silence.
"Well, that's one crisis averted," the traveler said rubbing his hands together.
"I have a question," Dave said as he looked over the TARDIS' controls, "What was in that other box?"
The Doctor's ears perked up as if he had just had an epiphany. "I don't know," he said, "I hope it wasn't a class four inversion circuit."
THE END