by Doctor Who
A claw suddenly swung at her from above, missing her shoulder by a hair's breadth. Somehow Broken Wing had squeezed himself into the cramped space above the enclosures, crawling across them faster than Febron could negotiate her way through the mass of bodies and technology. She threw herself to the floor, and rolled sideways, back out into the walkway. There, ahead of her and only metres away, was the security door. Febron was on her feet, running blindly. The door was tantalisingly close. Just a few more steps. She could make it.
Then, with a crack, she felt her knee joint twist awkwardly and dislocate, her leg snatched out from beneath her, and she fell, face smashing hard into the flagstones.
She reached up, straining for the door, but it was moving away from her. No, she was being pulled back, away from the door, back towards the shadows where Broken Wing had been waiting for her, plotting his revenge.
'Oi, time to wake up, twinkle toes. I know you're earwigging.' The Doctor was standing over the Krillitane,
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hands in pockets. He gave her foot a light tap with the tip of his trainer and waited. 'No one sleeps that soundly unless they're secretly listening in on a private conversation.'
Reluctantly, Toch'Lu rolled over into a seated position, and smiled defiantly up at him.
The Doctor crouched down, levelling a steely gaze upon the bright blue Calabrian eyes behind which the Krillitane was imprisoned. 'I was talking to your friend. I don't know what his name was - the one with the broken wing. He was telling me that you and your Brood were fugitives when you got mixed up with Henk's mob. Fugitives from whom, I wonder? Mm?'
'It is not of your concern,' Toch'Lu replied, tersely.
'It kind of is, really. You see, there's a ship on its way to this planet, a ship sent by someone who is very eager to trace the whereabouts of our Mister Henk, but I have a theory they're looking for someone else entirely. Someone not so well protected. A fugitive, perhaps. Any ideas?'
'When is this vessel due to arrive?' Toch'Lu had become noticeably paler.
'Could be any time. You look worried.'
Toch'Lu stood up and paced across the room, deep in thought.
She stopped and turned to face the Doctor, speaking urgently. 'I need your help. Remove this neck brace so I can assume my Krillitane form. I must free my brethren before that ship arrives.'
'And why would I want to do that? I'm not going to 175
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release a hungry bunch of Krillitanes into the middle of a city packed full of tasty humans, just because you want me to. You didn't even say please.'
The Krillitane stared at the Doctor with disdain. 'My Brood will be the least of this world's concerns if we are still here when that ship makes planetfall.'
'What do you mean?'
'If that vessel is searching for me and not Henk, then we are all dead. Our leader, the Esteemed Father, will stop at nothing to ensure my capture, even the slaughter of every living thing on this pitiful world.'
'Why do I always have to be right?' The Doctor put a hand to his head and ruffled his hair in frustration. 'So what exactly did you do to make him so angry?'
Toch'Lu paced across the room, obviously agitated. The Esteemed Father refuses to acknowledge our greater destiny. He is blinkered by the old ways, stuck in the past, but the Krillitane race can be so much more than genetic scavengers. My followers and I had no option but to attempt his overthrow, but we were betrayed, and I was forced into exile.'
She looked up at the high window, lost in bitter memories. The leader of the Krillitanes cannot be seen to be weak - his power would be irretrievably undermined. He will see to it that my disloyalty is very publicly punished.'
'If I hadn't come here...' Emily whispered in horror. This is all my fault. The people of this city don't stand a chance. It'll be a massacre.'
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'You weren't to know. If you hadn't found Henk then somebody else would have, and I might not have been around to sort things out.'
'So more of those creatures are coming, Doctor?' asked Darke.
'More? I should say so. A big fat bunch of more with bells on.'
Things had gone from bad to worse, yet again. 'Well, whatever happens, we can't stay locked up in here. Toch'Lu, if I help you, 1 need you to promise me you'll take your Brood and get off this planet immediately. And I mean right now.'
'I never wished to come here in the first place. You have my word, we shall leave.'
The Doctor dug inside his jacket pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver, quickly setting about disabling the device around Toch'Lu's neck. 'You'd better, because if you don't, then you'll have me to answer to.'
The tall oak door smashed open, tearing its hinges from its frame and sending the monks on guard duty flying. Toch'Lu pinned one of them to the floor with her clawed foot, and was about to strike a killing blow when the Doctor grabbed her arm. 'Don't even think about it.'
They hurried out into the deserted nave, and were at the entrance to the crypt in moments. Unlocking the door, the Doctor ushered them through into the antechamber before moving straight to the monitoring station. He slapped on his glasses, and set about the controls. 'Right, first I need to stop the flow of sedatives, 177
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get your lot back in the land of the living. Then we need to find a way to get them out of here.'
The Doctor disengaged the locks sealing the security door and pulled it open, turning back towards his companions with a smile.
'You know, I was told once that Worcester is riddled with ancient underground tunnels. Be handy if that were true, wouldn't it?'
'Doctor, look out,' Emily screamed, too late.
Spinning around, the Doctor watched helplessly as Broken Wing hurtled towards the open doorway, blood dripping from his stained teeth.
With a bloodcurdling scream, the Krillitane sprang towards him.
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here was no way he could have been prepared for the _ force that Tslammed into him, knocking him sideways and smashing into the monitoring station.
The Doctor blinked, not entirely sure why he wasn't dead, but a quick survey of his arms and legs found they still seemed to be in full working order, and his suit didn't have a mark on it. His hearts were beating ten to the dozen, but that was only to be expected.
Then he recognised the sound of a struggle behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw two Krillitanes wrestling in the sparking remains of the monitoring station.
Toch'Lu had thrown herself forward, intercepting her fellow Krillitane and saving the Doctor at the last possible moment, and now the Brood Mother had Broken Wing
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in a grip from which he was unable to free himself.
'Brother Myina, relent,' Toch'Lu roared.
Broken Wing stopped struggling instantly, and looked upon his assailant in shock. 'Brood Mother. It can't be? Henk said he'd...'
'You think that worm has such power that he should defeat me?'
Toch'Lu raised her head, haughtily, and then pulled her lips back into a frightening smile. 'It is good to see you again, Brother Myina.'
The Krillitanes touched foreheads, fondly. Then Broken Wing remembered the Doctor. 'Why did you deny me the glory of snapping this treacherous humanoid's neck?' he snarled.
Toch'Lu placed a restraining hand on his chest. The Esteemed Father has found us, Brother. The Doctor has agreed to help the Brood escape before his forces arrive.'
'But why must we keep running? The Brood are all but adults.
They are strong. Now is the time to stand and fight.'
'Not here, it isn't,' interrupted the Doctor. 'I told you before. I want you off this planet.'
Broken Wing growled at him, but looked to his leader for confirmation that they were to do as the Doctor said. Toch'Lu inclined her head.
'So be
it,' the Krillitane conceded, but he had one more score to settle before he was prepared to go anywhere.
Henk stepped out of the Chapter House, and stood at the edge of the small square garden which occupied the
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centre of the cloisters, watching the snow falling heavily between the buildings.
It had been another long night, and soon dawn would break on a new day. He could finally relax and take a back seat, confident that his legal team would handle contractual negotiations with those delegates who had already agreed to sign licensing deals. Money was about to change hands. Life was good.
Taking a deep breath of the cold night air, he decided to find Febron.
She'd been gone for quite a while now, and he wanted her to share in the success of their enterprise. He'd been saving a bottle of fizzy Grokk especially.
As Henk was about to step through the door to the nave, he happened to glance to his left, towards the heavily guarded room where his prisoners were languishing. It was no longer heavily guarded.
'By the Fated Suns... Branlo!' Henk bellowed, storming along the corridor. Five guards, all unconscious, lay amongst the shattered ruins of an impregnable oak door. The room itself was empty. Who was this damned Doctor? Some kind of escapologist? Why wouldn't he stay locked up? Henk picked up a stray blaster and primed it.
'Oh my,' Branlo groaned, arriving at the scene of devastation with Archa in tow. 'What happened?'
'Why didn't you pick this up on any of the security-cams?' demanded Henk furiously.
'I... I was monitoring the negotiations, sir. After what happened earlier,' Archa stuttered.
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'I warned you before.' Henk raised his blaster and shot Archa in the chest.
The technician staggered backwards, a look of mild surprise on his face, and crumpled to the floor.
'Get the men together and meet me in the nave. We're going after the Doctor and his friends. And clear this mess up before any of the delegates see it.'
'Yes, sir,' whispered Branlo, glancing at the dead body of his friend as he hurried away.
Of all the times for this to happen, thought Henk bitterly. In another few hours the delegates would have been gone, their initial business done, and his carefully laid plans would not now be hanging in peril. The Doctor and Toeclaw would pay for this, and Henk knew exactly where to find them.
First things first. Henk hurried back to the Chapter House doors and quietly locked them. If this was going to get messy, he didn't want any delegates getting involved. Satisfied that the door was secure, he strode purposefully into the nave and headed straight for the crypt.
Toeclaw would have no intention of leaving without her precious Brood, and there was only one way out. Then a dreadful thought struck him, and Henk came to a halt.
Belima was almost certainly down there too. Her life, and by default this entire enterprise, was in danger. Suddenly he wasn't so sure what to do.
That's it. They know we've escaped.' Darke was peering through the keyhole, watching for signs of pursuit.
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The large man is out there. He's looking straight at this door.'
'I'll tell the Doctor,' Emily said, and she slipped into the crypt, averting her eyes from the bloody stain she'd noticed trailing across the floor and into the darkness.
The Doctor was rushing from enclosure to enclosure, having to operate the controls manually now that the main system had been destroyed. She looked nervously over at Toch'Lu and Broken Wing, who were tending to the handful of Krillitanes that had already been roused.
'Everything OK?' asked the Doctor breezily, not losing focus on what he was doing.
Emily swallowed, trying not to worry about the roomful of waking carnivores. 'It's Henk. He knows we're in here. I thought you'd better know.'
The Doctor stopped and looked up. 'Ah. So we'll definitely need another exit then. Hang on a mo.'
He sprinted over to the group of Krillitanes, seemingly unconcerned that there was a strong likelihood they might turn on him without a second thought. Toch'Lu. We can't get out the way we came in, but I think there might be a back door. When this place was built there was a secret stairway, hidden in the wall leading up from the crypt to a chamber above the choir. Henk would never have known it was there. We need to find the entrance, and quickly.'
Toch'Lu nodded, and took a pair of younger Krillitanes with her to search the perimeter of the crypt, leaving Broken Wing to watch over the others. He watched the
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Brood Mother set to work sniffing out this hidden escape route, and his eyes narrowed.
'Captain Darke.' The Doctor shouted, running over to the antechamber. Time to make a strategic withdrawal.'
Giving the Captain room to get past him, the Doctor directed the sonic screwdriver towards the twisted pile of components that had once been the monitoring station. With a pop, the screen began to melt, sparked and burst into flames. That should make getting in here a bit trickier. Let's get this door shut and barricaded.'
'What if Toch'Lu can't find the stairway?' Emily asked, slightly alarmed at the speed with which the fire was taking.
The Doctor puffed out his cheeks. 'Not sure. Got any marshmallows?'
Henk came to a decision. Febron's research was well documented and filed, and there were stocks of both Krillitane Oil and its extract stored in the boathouse down by the river. Shame though it would be to face the loss of the scientist, she wasn't indispensable. Much of her work had been completed and could easily be continued by someone else, albeit someone less talented.
It was more important to ensure that the Krillitanes, or at least a few of them, remained unharmed.
'Arm your weapons and get that door open,' he growled.
Branlo rushed forward with the key, turned it in the lock and pulled the door open, ducking back just in 184
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time to avoid being roasted by the fireball that exploded ferociously outwards, followed by a billowing cloud of thick, black smoke.
'Well don't just stand there, put it out!' screamed Henk.
'Last one,' said the Doctor, watching the final Krillitane regain consciousness. He was taking a terrible risk, setting them free, but if he could get them to a ship and away there was a chance the Esteemed Father's forces might never touch down, pursuing Toch'Lu off into the stars and as far away from Earth as possible.
'Doctor, we have it.' Toch'Lu was standing beside a thin gap in the masonry, hidden from view behind a pillar.
The Doctor joined her, and peered into the shadows. That is brilliant. You'd never even know it existed. Wait here. I'll have a quick look.'
He squeezed through the tiny gap, grateful that this particular crisis had happened during his tenth life. Heaven help them all if it had been his sixth. He still couldn't look at a carrot-based diet drink without feeling queasy.
Thankfully, the tight passage opened onto a stairway that would accommodate all of them, and the Doctor scurried up the spiralling staircase until he came to the top. Crouching low, he peered over the parapet. Henk's men had fetched extinguishers. There wasn't much time.
Down below, Emily was getting worried. 'Doctor, 185
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where are you?' she half-whispered, half-shouted, jumping back as the Doctor's head suddenly popped through the gap in front of her.
'Give us a chance.' He gave Emily a wink, and clambered back into the crypt. 'Right, there's room enough for everyone. Be quiet when you get to the top. From the balcony we can reach one of the upper windows and get out of here. Off you go.'
The Doctor sent Emily up first, but held Darke back for a moment, passing him the test tube of Krillitane Oil extract. Take this.
Remember what I told you, it's lethal to them. Keep it safe and only use it as a last res
ort,' he whispered urgently. Darke nodded in understanding, before following Emily into the secret passage.
'Righty-ho, then. Unless you fancy toasting your wings, I suggest you get a wriggle on.' The Doctor ushered the eleven drowsy Krillitanes through the gap, followed by Toch'Lu and finally Broken Wing.
'I really must visit this place when it's not crawling with aliens,'
said the Doctor with a sniff, taking one last look at the graceful arches of the crypt before sliding back through the gap and bounding up the hidden staircase.
At the top, the Doctor immediately noticed a change in the Krillitanes. They seemed to have split into two camps, with four of them gathering around Broken Wing, clinging to the parapet like gargoyles overlooking the choir. Toch'Lu and Broken Wing were staring at each other, silent and angry. The female shook her head, but Broken Wing had made his decision. Supported 186
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by two of the others, he leapt over the edge. Two more Krillitanes took to their wings and flew high towards the vaulted ceiling.
The Doctor rushed forwards, but there was nothing he could do.
Toch'Lu stepped over to the parapet, watching her mate swoop down towards Henk and his men. 'I commanded him not to do this, but there is Krillitane honour to be upheld. He would not be swayed.'
'It's you the Esteemed Father is after, not Broken Wing, so nothing has changed,' the Doctor replied grimly. If need be he would return to deal with this situation once the most pressing danger was dealt with. 'Let's get you to that Calabrian ship.'
The Krillitanes glided silently above their targets, unseen, unheard, until, at a signal from Broken Wing, they began to dive.
It was only a matter of luck that Henk happened to roll his eyes to the heavens in desperation, only to see three winged creatures bearing down upon him. He fired two shots from his blaster, both of them pummelling into the Krillitane on the left. Breaking away from Broken Wing, it spiralled out of control and slammed into a row of pews, the crash alerting Henk's men to the attack.
