Inheritance of War--Chapter Seven

DOCTOR WHO: THE INTERNET ADVENTURES
IA#15: "INHERITANCE OF WAR"
Chapter Eight: "Take the Money! Open the Box!"
by Will Howells, King of the World

 [Are you pondering what I'm pondering?]

 {CARTOONS ARE FOR KIDS!!}

 [No eyes, no rolling. I'll be so glad when this is over.]

 

"There is no response, sir. Shall I congregate a boarding party?"

 "No, no, we'll... No -- yes, congregate away." Colonel Mon rubbed his wrinkled forehead. "I'd better come too. The Primer may be aboard."

 The crew knew better than to question their commanding officer -- at least, they did when their commanding officer was Colonel Mon. Mon got to his feet and led three crewmen to Docking Hatch F.

 The hatch looked little more than a circular depression in the metallic hull of the shuttle, marked with a big red "F". The letter turned green with a pleasant *ping* and Mon activated the opening mechanism. The hatch opened like the aperture of a camera, smoothly and quickly, and the Colonel led his party into the short tunnel beyond.

 

"Where are we going to take it?" Wil asked as he fitted the last antigrav pad to the coffin-like capsule.

 "Anywhere, as long as it's out of the TARDIS." The Doctor activated the antigrav network and the capsule slowly rose a foot off the ground, hovering at the Doctor's knees.

 "But not into the star?"

 [Yes.]

 "Yes."

 "'Yes, into the sun,' or 'Yes, not into the sun'?"

 "Not into the sun of course." The Doctor frowned. "Wil, would you ignore me while I babble for a moment?"

 Wil thought for a moment. "Er, OK." He gave a silent prayer to whichever deity was current top in the ratings that the Doctor might not be going round the bend.

 "I am definitely not going to send the artefact into the sun."

 [No, go on.]

 "Unless I want to." The Doctor frowned. "No. Never."

 [You know you want to.]

 "Maybe I should. It might be fulfilling." The Doctor cocked his head, frown deepening to the point that Wil feared the expression might never wash off. "No!"

 

Colonel Mon was standing just outside the ship's Control Room, ready to storm in and take command, when the door slip open and two people emerged, arm in arm. One was the woman from the museum. The other -- his blaster appearing from nowhere and pointing directly at Mon -- was the man who'd been seen with her. Both were companions of the Doctor, or the ersatz Doctor, or whoever he was.

 Mon nodded the man with the blaster in the direction of the rest of the Diracan party. Each had a disruptor trained on the man with the blaster. The man with the blaster threw his blaster to the floor and grimaced.

 "Take us to the Doctor."

 The man without the blaster and the woman looked at each other and shrugged. "This way," said the man.

 "It's Colonel Mon, isn't it?" said the woman. "I'm Angela and this is my friend Jadi."

 Colonel Mon tried not to looked surprised that she knew his name. The Doctor must have told her.

 "Why do you want to see the Doctor?" she asked as they walked.

 Mon snorted. "Quiet or I'll blow your throat up."

 Angela grinned. "The Penguin Book of Bizarre Threats?" She stopped smiling as soon as she felt the cold tip of Mon's disruptor against her neck.

 

The Doctor was recovering from his outburst and Wil was noting that the TARDIS was much cooler than the ship outside and that his legs were getting chilly when he heard footsteps and looked towards the entrance.

 "Hey, Doc, we've brought you some guests. 'Fraid the Wal-Mart was shut, so we'll have to raid the TARDIS wine cabinet and see if the food dispenser does nibbles."

 The Doctor, already dazed and confused, just gazed at the newcomers. Jadi and Angela were back, accompanied by Colonel Mon and three more Diracan soldiers.

 "So it really is bigger on the inside," Mon stated, unperturbed. "You probably are the Doctor after all."

 "I'm sorry, have we met?" the Doctor asked.

 "Of course, Doctor. You surely remember our little...tete-a-tete."

 The Doctor nodded. "Yes, I thought we might have done."

 "But that was a -- " Wil began.

 "Dream," the Doctor finished. "No, I don't think it was."

 He clasped his hands together and marched up to Colonel Mon. "Would you like a present?" the Doctor asked, indicating the artefact by the dark console.

 "The Primer!" Mon exclaimed, hurrying to it.

 Wil gaped. "Doctor, you can't give it to him!"

 [No, you can't.]

 "Why not?"

 Wil almost squeaked. "Because it's...it's... It's got Angela -- "

 "Angela's intestines in, yes."

 Pretty much everyone in the console room was gaping now, and those who weren't had no idea what was going on anymore.

 "How can you use my intestines as a gift?" Angela asked. "They're still in me for a start..."

 The Doctor waved the question to one side. "So, Colonel, would you like it?"

 As, Wil pondered briefly, is often the case in situations like this, the question was not to be answered. Cue weird things happening.

 First, the Doctor keeled over and started convulsing, screaming "No!" once more and banging his head repeatedly on the hard floor. Wil ran to him, but was knocked away by flailing limbs and unearthly screams.

 "Control, no, control someone voices" -- *thud*, *crack* -- "ouch help pain control don't send coffin sun don't save gone sun weapon Angela voices don't ouch." Then the Doctor stopped moving, clutching himself in the foetal position, silent and still.

 Meanwhile, Colonel Mon was staring at the artefact as the metal lid began to crack open.

 

{WICKED!! DOUBLE CHICKS!!! AND SHE'S HAD IMPLANTS!!!!}

 [So, *are* you pondering what I'm pondering?]

 {NAH, YOU THINK GEEKY DWEEB!}

 [Quite. Shall we go?]

 

"You left me!"

 While the Doctor lay comatose on the floor, everyone else turned towards the new voice. They were slightly tinny, female tones, emanating from the spindly metal creature that stood before them, its feet still inside the open, hovering capsule.

 Jadi stared. "Angela?"

 Angela looked at him. "What?" She looked back to the robot. "Shit."

 "I'm back," the creature said, stepping towards them. "And it's about bloody time."

 "What are you?" Jadi asked.

 Angela shook her head. "Don't ask that, please don't ask that, please don't..."

 Colonel Mon answered. "It's the Primer."

 The robot's metal hand lashed out, striking Angela in the face, throwing her backwards. "You left me! You and the Doctor abandoned me, leaving me all on my own!" The intensity of the robot's voice was increasing. "You complete and utter bitch. I sat there, abandoned, for five million years! There are six zeros in that number -- six bloody zeros! My mind was active for the whole thing!"

 Angela took a deep breath and stepped towards the robot, trying to ignore the pain in her cheek, the blood trickling down her neck. "You have no mind. Just a CPU, just a ferribyte date storage unit and layer upon layer of neurotronic circuitry."

 "I lived, alone, trapped there, for eons upon eons, and never once did either of you think to check me! I wasted away. I saw civilisations grow and die around me, unable to do anything! But now, now I'm free."

 The robot reached out and grabbed Angela's throat. "And now I have you right where I want you."

 "Kill me," Angela croaked, "and you doom yourself, if not the universe."

 "Like I care. You left me."

 

{WOOHOO! CHICK FIGHT!}

 [It seems rather one-sided.]

 {IN THE RED CORNER WE HAVE ANGELA Q. FERRIS, EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE CYBORG, AND IN THE BLUE CORNER LET ME INTRODUCE 00, THE HOT BOT WITH THE HOT BOD!}

 [An interesting question: will the half-human, half-robot be defeated by its pure robotic component?]

 "Excuse me, do you mind if I sit in the green corner?"

 {THERE IS NO GRE -- UH-OH, FLAME TIME.}

 "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Are you Aggression?"

 {WHO'S ASKING!}

 "And you must be Strategy."

 [Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'll just get my hat...]

 

00's grip tightened around Angela's neck while Layra watched, unnoticed, in the shadows.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

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