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At the mouth of one of the many caves that littered the small planet, “Earth’s Pride” lay in a heap of broken metal. A section of the ruined ship shook briefly, as if there was something inside trying to get out. A dull thud came from under the damaged metal bulkhead. The thud was repeated several times until finally the bulkhead came free of the wreckage around it and dropped to the ground. A figure emerged dragging another with it. Both were covered in dust. The one being dragged was unconscious, dried blood caking the left side of her face. The man doing the dragging looked down at his lover and tugged one final time. Once free of the wreckage the man collapsed on to his rump. Nick looked down at Alf’s torn face, cradled as it was in his lap. The wound on her left cheek had been opened again during the crash, no doubt when her head had smashed against the navigation console during the forced landing. Nick could still remember the mayhem that there had been on “Earth’s Pride”. The ship buckled and his pyramid of cards fell off the table. ‘Arse!’ he hissed, reaching across the table to pick the cards back up, knocking his cup of coffee off the table in the process. He looked down at the spilt coffee, then turned to the Doctor. His big friend and mentor was no longer sitting down reading, instead he was on his feet rushing over to the cockpit arch. Nick glanced down at the empty cup, shrugged and joined the Doctor. The cockpit was only big enough for one person, and that person was Alf. When they had left Abydos the Doctor had insisted on piloting them back to Alpha Centauri, but Alf wouldn’t hear of it. ‘What’s going on?’ Nick asked. Alf was struggling with the controls; her sight focused on the screen before her. Nick could just about make out a small planet on the screen. A brown planet that looked very much like a rock in space. ‘Something is interfering with the navigational systems!’ she shouted, as the ship creaked around them. ‘Alf, try reversing the polarity of the...’ The Doctor was not able to finish his sentence. The ship rocked, throwing both Nick and the Doctor back to the rear of the ship. The larger man collided with the table, which collapsed on top of him. Nick hit the food replicator. He rubbed his head and struggled to his feet. As the ship rocked from side he made his way back over to the cockpit. ‘We’re going down!’ Alf yelled, and flicked a switch on the navigation console. A section opened before her and a joystick rose from out of the console. Nick reached out to the back of Alf’s chair. The ship buckled again, but this time Nick held his ground. ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Attempting to level our descent. Hold tight!’ Nick did so. The shaking and buckling increased in ferocity, turning Nick’s knuckles white as his grip tightened. He glanced back at the Doctor. His mentor was trying to get to his feet, but not having much success with it. The table had been removed from him by the constant shaking of the ship. The Doctor looked up from his undignified position. He smiled grimly at Nick. ‘It’s like being at Six Flags,’ he said. Before Nick could make a witty comeback, Alf cried out in alarm. ‘Oh shit!’ Nick turned back to her. On the viewer the image had changed. An electrical storm was raging outside. The sound of lightning bolts hitting the hull could be heard. A cave opening was fast approaching. ‘Doctor!’ he yelled, and turned to the big man, ‘we’re going to crash! Hold on!’ The Doctor was on his feet. He glanced around for something to hold on to. Unfortunately the only thing still standing was the food replicator, but it was across the other side of the deck. The Doctor reached out for the nearest wall instead, just as lightning struck the bulkhead tearing a big hole into the wall. “Earth’s Pride” tumbled sideways, twisting like a corkscrew towards the mouth of the cave, causing Nick to head-but the roof of the cockpit. Alf’s head slammed into the navigation console and the sound of tearing metal came from behind them. The ship began to steady itself. Nick, now back on the floor outside the cockpit, looked back at the Doctor. There was no sign of him. Where the Doctor had stood was a gaping hole in the side of the ship. ‘Doctor!’ Nick yelled. Before he could say anything else, however, the ship came to an abrupt halt and Nick’s head was rammed into the side of the cockpit arch. Nick rubbed his forehead and felt the gash above his eye. He swayed as a wave of dizziness overcame him. He glanced down at Alf. ‘Hey,’ he began, but got no further as the exhaustion caught up with him. Nick flopped backwards, drifting into blissful unconsciousness. Two aliens stepped up to the wrecked ship and looked down at the two humans. One of the aliens turned to the other. ‘We must kill them.’
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