Monday, April 23, 2007

The Song of the Space-Whale VIII

40. INT. ORKAS CORRIDOR (NIGHT)

The Doctor runs around the corner and into the Chief, Jackson and a pack of GUARDS.

CHIEF
Don’t fire! It’s just the Eco.

DOCTOR
The Tuthon went that way.

The Doctor points.

JACKSON
Thanks, mate.

DOCTOR
Oh, it was my pleasure.

They start moving, not registering he’s an escaped prisoner. The Doctor legs it. The group continues marching. Jackson twigs.

JACKSON
Hey, wait a minute, come back!

Jackson runs after him. The others continue.

CHIEF
Come on!


41. INT. TERMINATION BAY – SAFE SIDE (NIGHT)

The Doctor runs into the room and looks for a control to open the radiation doors. He studies the controls and gnawing a thumbnail, punches controls.

DOCTOR
Eenie, meenie, minie, moe...

The doors begin to grind open. The Doctor smiles and moves down the steps as the police box beyond is revealed.

JACKSON
Hey!

The Doctor dives down in front of the console, and is thus hidden as Jackson appears in the doorway. He looks around, baffled.

JACKSON
Eco? Where are you?

Jackson crosses to the console and stabs a control. The radiation doors close.

JACKSON
They’re safety procedures for a reason! Am I the only one who gets that concept?

Still hiding, the Doctor watches in annoyance as the doors slam shut.


42. INT. ORKAS CORRIDOR (NIGHT)

The Tuthon gallops down the corridor, skidding to a halt as the Chief and the others turn the corner. It leaps at them and they scatter. It dives through them and onto the floor behind them. The Chief spins and shoots it in the back. The Tuthon howls, falls and tries to rise. The crewmen open fire. It lets out a horrible wail.


43. INT. TERMINATION BAY – SAFE SIDE (NIGHT)

The wail is heard. Jackson runs to the doorway, startled. The Doctor reaches over the console and hits a control. The doors open, the grinding of the mechanism blotted out by the wailing before it fades out.


44. INT. ORKAS CORRIDOR (NIGHT)

The Tuthon is curled up on the floor, twitching and whimpering. Crewmen have their guns aimed at its head. It is scared and pitiful. The Chief activates his wrist-comm.

CHIEF
Production Controller?

STENNAR (VO)
Chief? What’s going on?

CHIEF
We’ve managed to stun it. You won’t believe this, but it’s a Caller.


45. INT. FLIGHT DECK (DAY)

As before. Stennar is holding a set of headphones to her ear and speaking into a microphone. Greeg is sprawled at his desk, apparently dozing.

STENNAR
What?!

CHIEF (VO)
I know those tribal scars, Stennar. It’s a Caller. A Tuthon Leader.

STENNAR
Is it dead?

CHIEF (VO)
Not yet.

Stennar smirks.

STENNAR
Losing your touch, Chief?

Abruptly, Greeg calls out from his position.

GREEG
I want the Caller alive.

STENNAR
Hold that, Chief.

Stennar turns to face Greeg, incredulous.

STENNAR
Sir, that thing killed Manus! It’s a psychotic killer and must be destroyed.

GREEG
You know there’ll be an inquiry about this. And we need the Tuthon alive.

STENNAR
For all we know, there could be more of them aboard...

GREEG
Then you can destroy those. The Caller is to be taken for interrogation.

STENNAR
By whom, Captain?

Greeg smiles winningly.

GREEG
By me. And if you impede me one second further, YOU will be the one destroyed.

Stennar rolls her eyes.

STENNAR
Oh, I’ve enough of this you lazy-eyed psychopath! You’re not going to kill anyone! You’re not allowed to – it’s against the law. Remember that? So stop trying to act all mean and dangerous and Skellarian to impress us because it doesn’t.

Greeg blinks and nods, put out. Then he shoots her in the foot. She yelps, hops, and then falls over. Greeg scratches his forehead with his gun barrel.

GREEG
Nurreg! Tell the Chief to take it to the holding pen. I’ll be down shortly. Oh, and, when you’ve got a minute, tell Fellbry that Stennar’s bleeding over the floor. But there’s no hurry.

He puts his hands behind his head and relaxed. Stennar groans out of shot.


46. INT. TERMINATION BAY – SAFE SIDE (NIGHT)

Jackson is standing, facing the exit, speaking into his wrist-comm control. He cannot see the radiation doors are now wide open, exposing the TARDIS beyond.

JACKSON
Hello? What’s happening? What was that scream? Hello?

The Doctor stealthily rises and creeps towards the exit. However, a probe left on the console rolls to the edge and falls off with a clatter. Jackson hears and spins around as the Doctor dives back, hits the door control.

JACKSON
Hey!

Jackson fires a warning shot. The Doctor dives through the shrinking doorway as the radiation doors begin to close. Jackson fires a shot again, but the doors close and there is a crackle of sparks.


47. INT. TERMINATION BAY – UNSAFE SIDE (NIGHT)

The Doctor skids to a halt beside the TARDIS, unlocks the doors and scrambles inside.


48. INT. TARDIS CONTROL ROOM (DAY)

The Doctor rushes the console and starts operating controls. The doors close.

DOCTOR
Full reverse... adjusting the time fields... and off to Juras’ better half.


49. INT. TERMINATION BAY – SAFE SIDE (NIGHT)

Jackson punches the door control and the radiation doors begin to open. Jackson draws his gun as the doors open fully. He lowers the gun.


50. MODEL SHOT OF TERMINATION BAY

Inset Jackson in the doorway. There is no sign of the Doctor or the TARDIS.

JACKSON
O-kaaaaaaaaaay.


51. MODEL SHOT

The Ghaleen is still ahead of the Orkas.


52. MODEL SHOT

A shot of the mountainous hillock overlooking the village. On the ledge sits the Raft-Ship, a hybrid vessel patched together from numerous wrecks giving it a strange, mismatched appearance. The cockpit is spherical, green and completely different to the rest of the other ship parts.


53. INT. OUTSIDE THE RAFT SHIP (DAY)

Turlough hauls himself up the muddy ice towards the side of the craft. The airlock is crudely bolted on and there is a computer keyboard attached to the door. Turlough takes a last look down the hill and then taps a code at the keyboard. The hatch irises open. Turlough steps inside. A moment later Stafel runs into view, out of breath. He staggers over to the hatch as it closes.

STAFEL
Oh, Vislor... don’t be stupid...

Breathlessly, he taps the controls and the hatch opens.


54. INT. RAFT-SHIP (DAY)

A medium-sized chamber with piecemeal design. There is a staircase to the left leading out of sight and the front is the cockpit door which is open to the cockpit containing two flight seats and steering columns. Turlough sits in the pilot’s seat, adjusting the controls on the dashboard. Lights illuminate and flash. A screen illuminates. Stafel enters and summons the air to speak.

STAFEL
Vislor! This is stupid, stop it!

Turlough continues to adjust controls.

STAFEL
Waldron’s not a liar. Insane, maybe, but not a liar.

TURLOUGH
He avoided this place before we built it. How would he of all people know which systems were damaged unless he sabotaged them.

STAFEL
Sabotage? Vislor, it takes one to know one.

TURLOUGH
You’re absolutely right. And there’s no real damage from the quake. A few re-connections and we’ll be fit to fly. Give or take a test flight...

STAFEL
Look, I know you. You’re not going to maroon the lot of us here.

TURLOUGH
I’ll take anyone who wants to leave. But I’m not wasting any more time. If the rest of those fools want to stay with Waldron, good luck to them and I hope the whalers are clinical and quick. I’m getting out.

STAFEL
Waldron’s an old man, he doesn’t like change. And he’s right. The whale’s saved our lives, we can’t really abandon it, can we?

TURLOUGH
I can but try. I would have though a colony living inside a space whale’s belly would be more open-minded. All right, space trucker, spread the word. Tell the others I’m leaving. Waldron won’t care, they might. Bring Olwin if you want.

STAFEL
And when we’re outside?

TURLOUGH
Find a way back to Trion and from there I’m off to find Juras.

STAFEL
Four months, Vislor. She’s either dead or rescued already.

TURLOUGH
So my task will be simple.

Turlough rises and adjusts a control panel.

TURLOUGH
Glycocene cones rebalanced... reversed the polarity of the neutron flow... and the ionic reef is charging up. In five minutes we’ll be completely operational.

Turlough turns. Stafel folds his arms, smugly.

STAFEL
One thing you’ve forgot, Clansman!

TURLOUGH
Unsurprising. I’ve had a long day.

STAFEL
How are you going to get the whale to let you out?

TURLOUGH
We’ve got the disconnect signal to the Core. The pattern will cause a spasm which will make the Whale open its mouth. If I time it right, I can fly straight out of here in a moment with no de-pressurization.

STAFEL
Only if I let you go to the Core.

Turlough sighs and turns away, crossing to the console. He takes hold of a bar.

TURLOUGH
If that whaler attacks again, we’re all going to die. Me, you... Olwin.

Stafel shakes his head, still behind Turlough.

STAFEL
As manipulation goes, that’s not up to your usual standard.

TURLOUGH
Like I said, it’s been a long day.

Stafel chuckles.

STAFEL
Is that all you’ve got?

Turlough spins around, chopping Stafel in the neck with the bar. Stafel is slammed against the doorframe and slides down it into a heap.

TURLOUGH
Don’t feel bad about it. I treated better friends than you worse.

Turlough strides out.


55. INT. THE TIME CHAMBER (DAY)

A chamber made out of the strange, wrinkled material as the rest of the Ghaleen. It is large and circular, with the floor rising up in the middle to form a gentle hill. Atop it is an organic pedestal, like a closed flower bud. Its petals support a large, circular pearl-like object. Fibrous strands seep between the pedestal and the floor. A thick, insulated cable is linked to several strands and trails down into one of the alcoves around the chamber.

The pearl gently glows, its brightness illuminating most of the chamber. There is a strange sound heard continuously – a mixture of the wheezing groaning noise of a TARDIS taking off and the ethereal noise of whale song. It does not change as the TARDIS forms against one wall, its light flashing urgently. There is no soot on it whatsoever.

The door opens and the Doctor emerges cautiously, looking at the pearl. The light shines on his face. He smiles at the warmth, for a moment happy enough to simply stand there looking at the gentle pulses of light and the strange noises.

DOCTOR
Beautiful. Quite, quite beautiful.

He shakes his head to clear it.

DOCTOR
Can’t hang around here all day. Now what do we have here?

He crouches beside the cable wired into the pedestal. He touches it.

DOCTOR
Interesting. There must be people aboard here to create this. No doubt about it... Those connections look familiar. Where have I seen them before? Somewhere... very warm. Something about...

He snaps his mouth shut, eyes alert. He looks towards one alcove. He rises and moves forward – there is a slight squelch as he moves. He stops. Another squelch. And another. Footsteps are approaching. The Doctor sways, waiting, and then he moves across the room and presses his back to the wall. He timed it so his footsteps were exactly in time with the other footsteps. A pause. The other squelches stop. The Doctor whispers.

DOCTOR
Definitely people aboard. But are they friendly?

Silence – bar the noise of the time orb. The Doctor sighs and shrugs.

DOCTOR
Only one way to find out.

The Doctor creeps to the archway and peers down the passage. It is gloomy, lit only by the glow of the time core. The footsteps stop. The Doctor slips a hand into his pocket, takes out a coin and is about to flip it when he blinks, shakes his head and throws the coin on the floor. He pauses, collects the coin, and heads down the passage, squelching loudly.


56. INT. SECURITY CELL (NIGHT)

A squared off room with a bunk. The Tuthon is stretched out on the bed, apparently asleep. The Chief leans in the doorway, gun aimed.

CHIEF
I spent two years on Ziphia. I know you can understand me. So... where are the others?

The Tuthon looks at him slowly, then goes back to sleep.

CHIEF
Why don’t I let some air into that mass of slime you call a brain?

The Tuthon opens its eyes and speaks in a throaty, gurgling voice.

KRAKOS
My brother is near.

CHIEF
What did you say?

KRAKOS
My brother is near.

CHIEF
The space whale?

KRAKOS
My brother is near.

The Chief points the gun at the Tuthon’s head.

CHIEF
Be concise.


57. INT. FLIGHT DECK (NIGHT)

The main screen lights up showing the Ghaleen.

NURREG
Full function restored, my captain sah!

Greeg grins a feral grin.

GREEG
Brilliant! Right. Catch Stations! Ready to fire torpedoes!


58. MODEL SHOT

The Orkas accelerates towards the whale.


59. INT. PASSAGE OFF THE TIME CHAMBER (DAY)

The Doctor comes to a halt. The path is blocked by amber stalagmites and stalactites packed together like giant fangs in a closed mouth. The Doctor tentatively touches them, withdrawing his hand quickly as he realizes that despite the stone-like appearance it is warm and soft – but unyielding. He studies his fingers.

DOCTOR
Well, a dead end either way. You’re letting your imagination run away.

He turns and heads back up the passage. A moment later, Turlough steps out of the shadows and creeps after the Doctor, bar in his hand.


60. INT. THE TIME CHAMBER (DAY)

There is now sign of the Doctor. Turlough enters, then stops dead as he sees the TARDIS. He swallows, fighting back emotion. He crosses up to the door and his hands move to the handles when a voice smugly asks.

DOCTOR
And just WHERE do you think you are going?

Turlough whirls around as the Doctor steps from behind the glowing time core. They stare at each other, not giving anything away. The Doctor slowly and calmly approaches him and stands before him.

DOCTOR
Hello, Turlough.

Turlough’s eyes widen slightly as he begins to understand. The Doctor beams down at him and opens his mouth to speak when he is suddenly silhouetted by a dazzling glow explodes from the time core. The strangled mixture of dematerialization and whale song bursts loudly around the chamber. The Doctor and Turlough whirl to face the core as the light grows brighter. The Doctor shields his face, beginning to pale against the glow. He becomes translucent and a horrified expression appears on his face. The Doctor turns to face Turlough, who is unaffected by the light. The transparent Doctor shouts something but he sounds rooms away. He vanishes utterly, leaving Turlough alone in the chamber as the light start to dim. Turlough stares at the spot where the Doctor stood, shocked.

TURLOUGH
...Doctor?

(END OF EPISODE TWO)
(NEXT EPISODE: RUNNING THE GAUNTLET)
(ROLL END CREDITS)

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