EXODUS

By John S. Drew

"The Egyptians?"

He didn’t look up from his work, rather just grunted a definitive negative.

"Why not?" she asked with a groan of exasperation.

There was no answer as he continued on with his work.

Bernice Summerfield sighed and shook her head as she returned to leaf through the large tome she was holding. She stopped as something else caught her eye.

"Exarius?" she said, hopefully.

This time he halted, trying to force a Mergon nut two sizes too small into the bolt that lay exposed before him, and thought a moment. He shook his head. "No, you’ll find everything you need to know in the data banks. I recorded an extensive entry on the planet. Very interesting." He gestured towards one of the many sided panels of the console before him. "I think panel number three is where the data banks are stored these days. You know, Jo traveled with me at that time, I believe." His eyes closed slightly and a thin smile of fond remembrance crossed his lips. "Josephine Grant. I wonder how she is doing." He drew himself out of his reverie, reached over to the little black bag at his side and rummaged through it. "Doomsday weapon, right?"

Bernice, or Benny as she was known by many, sighed in frustration. What was the point of having all of time and space at your disposal to study if it had already been mapped out by one man?

Not one man. One Time Lord. One irritating Time Lord who frustrated Benny with his constant objections. The Doctor promised her a trip to any planet, at any time, to study any culture. He felt she deserved the diversion after all the two had been through lately in their travels. It wasn’t always safe to travel in the company of someone such as the Doctor.

So far, she had been through the letters A to E of the "Encyclopedia to the Seven Galaxies" with little success. If it wasn’t a personal reason for not going, it was one of galaxy shattering proportions. Or even worse, the Time Lords would not allow it. To top it off, the Doctor seemed to have a lack of interest in his own promise, preferring to tinker with the console as he often did when he was preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Bernice stared at the little man as he worked away at the hexagonal shaped console that guided the craft, the TARDIS, through time and space. He had told her he was only affecting minor repairs, but there was something about watching him work while the TARDIS was in flight that disturbed her. It was times like these that she missed Ace, a former traveling companion. Although she pocessed a hot temper that flared whenever riled, the young woman and the Doctor had an unusual affinity, one formed from traveling together for such a long period of time. Sometimes, the companionship between the two provoked a little jealousy in Benny.

Now Benny was on her own and she sometimes wondered why she was traveling with the Time Lord. It’s not like the Doctor had always been honest with her or Ace in his dealings with them. Not that she had been entirely honest with the Doctor when they first met. She had been passing herself off as an accredited archeologist for so long that she fell into the role quite easily when she met the Doctor. Of course, she could tell there were a great number of secrets behind her companion’s eyes. There was something about him that intrigued her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Plus, having the whole of the galaxy and time to explore made it all the more appealing.

Of course, at the moment, she wasn’t going anywhere. She looked back down into her encyclopedia.

"When are you going to update this?" she asked. "I know I’m missing some entries."

The Doctor shrugged. "I always say it would be nice to upgrade to the Encyclopedia of the Ten Galaxies series, but then I get upset as I read entrees that are all wrong." A knowing smile crossed his lips. "So, what’s the point?" He mopped away a thin bead of sweat that was forming on his forehead.

She returned the smile and looked back into her book at entrees, E through G. "That’s the problem with being a Time Lord. You know so much more than the average researcher." Her head snapped up suddenly, the smile growing wider.

"The Fifth Planet." she said, her interest piqued.

The Doctor nearly dropped the Mergon nut. "What?!?" he asked nervously.

"The Fifth Planet," Bernice said with resolution. "I want to go to the Fifth Planet."

"Out of the question," he dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand in front of him. "It doesn’t exist anymore."

"In the past it did," Bernice said flatly. "At least, that’s what the book says. Even in my time, scientists hadn’t confirmed thoeries about the mysterious asteroid belt that circled between Jupiter and Mercury. According to this book, the Fifth Planet did exist and there was some sort of civilization there.

"Oh." He reached back and ran a hand through his head of short, dark, curly hair. "How about the planet Mechanus?"

Bernice snorted. "Please. I read your diary. It didn’t sound all that exciting when you first visited there." She walked around the console to face him in pursuit of her argument. "According to this, the planet was destroyed, but its destruction could not be explained." She looked at him. "Doctor, what happened?"

"I told you many of the entries are incorrect. The researchers don’t know what they’re talking about."

"No you don’t, Doctor. I can tell you’re being evasive. And I’m not letting you off the hook that easy. What happened to the Fifth Planet?"

"It’s not something you need to know, Benny. I’ll tell you this much, the people of the Fifth Planet managed to destroy themselves." He held out his hands. "Look, let me see the Encyclopedia. I’ll pick us a nice destrination."

Bernice shook her head. "No. You said we’d go anywhere I wanted and you’ve been stonewalling me for the last hour. In fact, one hour. That’s all I ask."

"There’s a reason they destroyed their own world, Bernice," the Doctor said with the grave tone he saved for lecturing.

Bernice turned away from him with a hand outstretched. "Please, save me the stories, Doctor. The Fifth Planet is where I want to go. And you know how stubborn I can be when I want something. So how about we cut to the chase?"

The Doctor thought about pursuing the argument further, but stopped himself. Suddenly, his body relaxed, his entire demeanor changed. Bernice saw it in his eyes for a fleeting second. It wasn’t a sign of concession, rather one of realization. "Very well. The Fifth Planet. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Let me clean up this mess and I’ll get us underway."

"Perfect," Bernice said, suddenly feeling a little uneasy. Her victory was too simple. She knew the Doctor was up to something. She turned towards the door that led further into the TARDIS. "I just need to get a few things together."

"Yes, I suppose you do," the Doctor said, suddenly very distracted, but not by the work before him.

Bernice backed out of the console room, leaving the Doctor to his task.

The Doctor said nothing for the remaining hour it took to plot the TARDIS to the Fifth Planet. He walked around the console, flicking the occasional switch and pushing the odd button, making short clucking noises as he did. Every once in awhile, he’d mutter something to him himself and then grumble in irritation as if in objection to what he just said.

Bernice stood to the side, watching with a mixture of fascination and trepidation. She still marveled at the way the Doctor had such a rapport with his time craft. That fascination gave her confidence that he was going to land them in an area of relative safety. But her fears quickly came forth as she remembered the look in his eyes. She knew they weren’t going to the Fifth Planet because it was what she wanted. The Doctor had plans of his own. Bernice thought about asking him, but knew better. If there was a new game afoot, she would soon learn when it was her turn to play.

Bernice couldn’t help but sigh. Someday I’m going to have a long talk with this man, she thought.

The Doctor looked up from his work and smiled. "We should be materializing in about three minutes. I think I’ve found a relatively safe area, one where the Fendahl will not be able to observe us observing them."

"Fendahl?" Bernice asked.

"Fendahl are the native inhabitants of the Fifth Planet."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Very. They absorb the full spectrum of life itself."

"So how safe a distance are we from them?" Bernice’s fears were taking hold of her again.

"Relatively," the Doctor said with an unusual air of detached calm.

"Relatively?" Bernice repeated. The Doctor was usually much more confident than that.

"Well, give or take a meter or two," he said the smile growing wider and more mischievous. "It’s going to be a little tricky."

He’s toying with me! Bernice realized. That’s it! Well, I won’t fall into the trap. I can be just as calm and collected as him. "So tell me more about the Fendahl," she said aloud.

"The Fendahl were a race of creatures that once had the potential for greatness." The Doctor paused, his voice dropping to an almost conspiratorial tone. "But then something happened. It’s almost as if evolution backfired on them. They began to feed upon themselves, absorbing their life essences. The planet was dying out." For a moment, Bernice saw the troubled look in his eyes again. "At some point in the future, I’m going to have to deal with them on Earth." The Doctor repressed a shudder.

"Earth? The Fendahl invaded Earth?"

The Doctor nodded. "Tried to. After almost wiping out the Ice Warriors, a lone Fendahl travelled to Earth."

"The Fendahl on Mars?" Bernice interupted him. "When did this happen?"

"There was only one. The same one that would travel to Earth It will reach Earth around 12 million B.C.," the Doctor said quietly.

Bernice’s eyes widened. "One? There was a great disaster that struck the Ice Warriors during that time. They had no real words for it, but from the descriptions in their ancient texts, it sounded like a space vampire or something. And you say one Fendahl did all that?"

The Doctor nodded grimly. "I’m afraid so. The Fendahl convert other beings into these snakelike creatures called Fendahleen, each very powerful in their own right. A group of Fendahleen find a focal point for their power, a high psionic being that they convert into a Fendahl Core. Once the Fendahl has a Core, there’s no stopping its power."

"Which explains why the Fendahl are dying out. They are feeding off each other and trying to create Fendahleen, but can’t." She paused. "Maybe this isn’t such a good idea."

The centrally located time rotor stopped its rhythmic up and down motion and a soft chime sounded. The Doctor reached over and activated the viewscreen. "A little too late now. Let’s see if I got it right."

The huge monitor opened to reveal a sweeping landscape with red skies offering a backdrop of thick, thunderous gray clouds. The land itself was desert-like and featureless, save for one noticeable exception.

Bernice stepped up behind the Doctor and pointed at the screen. "What the hell is that?"

The Doctor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It would appear to be an artificial structure."

"Artificial?" Bernice was confused. "I thought the Fendahl were creatures of habit, instinct." Her voice trailed away as her fears rising again. "You know, evolution going off course and all that stuff."

"Yes," the Doctor said dryly. "Interesting, isn’t it?" He reached over, grabbed his red question mark handled umbrella, slipped on his dark tan jacket and topped his head with his fedora; all with a fluid like motion. "Something we must ask when we knock on their door?"

He reached for the control that opened the TARDIS doors, but stopped as Bernice’s hand touched his. It surprised him as she was not a tactile kind of person. "Should we?" she asked. "This is wrong."

"We must," he replied coolly. "Before, I would have agreed with you, but that structure does not belong there. We must look into this." He paused, his head tilting in a smile. "This is what we came to study, isn’t it? What happened to the Fendahl in their last days? Well, I think you have something to write about right out there."

"You know, Mechanus isn’t sounding so bad now," she said quickly.

"Bernice," the Time Lord chided. "You can always stay here." He activated the door control. The two portals parted with a soft whirring motion.

"You know I’m not going to do that," she said.

The impish smile grew even wider, if such a thing were possible. "I know. Come on."

The blast of warm air that assaulted Benny as she stepped out of the TARDIS did little to alleviate the chill that was running down her back.

Just one quick hour. That’s all I asked. Now, it’s feeling like every second spent here is an hour. This is all wrong. I can feel it.

The Doctor pointed his umbrella in the direction of the structure. "I know little about Fendahl, pre-evolutionary turn, but I am sure that is not Fendahl architecture. In fact, it looks like those old," he paused and chuckled, "well, old for me, observation domes from circa 26th century Earth." He turned and planted his umbrella point on the ground, leaning on the handle towards Benny. "Wouldn’t you say?"

Bernice squinted in the direction he had pointed. "Come to think of it, it is! That’s a prefabricated observation dome. They’re equipped with everything you’d need to observe a primitive culture, including a cloaking device so as to keep the natives from seeing you! But what the hell is it doing here and in plain sight? In the past?"

"A good question," the Doctor replied. "Come on. I’m sure the people operating it can explain all."

That’s if they’re alive.

Doctor Vance Hawkins leafed through the various reports that lay upon his desk, grunting or chuckling as he paused to review particular pieces of information. Those that caused him to laugh were immediately tossed in the recycling receptacle that stood to the side of his desk.

Hawkins rose to his full six feet and stroked the thin salt and pepper beard that adorned his ebony face. He let out a yawn mixed with fatigue and boredom and tried to stretch the kinks in his back.

Six months. That’s all she said we needed when she proposed this expedition, he mused. It’s been nearly a year now and we’re nowhere near any firm conclusions on the Fifth Planet or its people, if you can call them that. More like the simple indigenous lifeform.

He was drawn from his thoughts by a hurried knock on his door. Susan Hoblock, Hawkins’ intern, poked her young, excited face in the door. "Doctor Hawkins. I think you should come and see this!"

Hawkins sighed again. Last time she thought she heard the creatures singing outside the dome. What was I thinking in picking her to be an assistant? He paused and shook his head. I know what it was, those great legs of hers. Great legs, long blonde hair and a beautiful pair of breasts. Women were Doctor Vance Hawkins’ one great weakness.

"What is it, Susan?"

"Marina," she stopped herself. "I mean, Doctor Franz. She caught one!"

Hawkins eyes nearly burst from his head as his face contorted with a surprised look. "What?" He knew he was going to have to end it with her. Beauty and sex were one thing, but the emptiness of this woman was staggering. "Susan, the inhabitants of the Fifth Planet are energy beings. You don’t just trap one as you would say, a raccoon."

"Doctor Franz has. She has it in a stasis cell!"

He looked her up and down and saw she was being genuine in what she said. "Did she send you?"

"Of course," she replied.

Hawkins ran for the door.

The Doctor and Bernice stepped up to the dome’s entrance. The Doctor ran the tip of his umbrella along the surface of the barrier. It was gray and featureless, save for the identifying serial number etched into the side in bright red letters.

"SX-235," Bernice read aloud. "A common observation prefab structure."

"And this one stands out like a sore thumb," the Doctor mused. "Why?"

"If the Fendahl are at a stage where they are animalistic in nature, it wouldn’t matter if they used the cloaking unit or not. I remember it used up a great deal of energy. The only problem now is getting in. It’s not like one can walk up to an observation post and ring a doorbell. It sort of defeats the purpose."

"I see," the Doctor nodded. "The only way in is with an invitation. Magnetic locks on the inside release allowing access."

"So that’s it, then," Bernice said with some hope. "We’re not invited guests. Mechanus it is"

"Nonsense," he replied, tapping on the door. "Once they know who I am, they’ll welcome us with open arms."

Bernice looked over her shoulder, silently swearing that a Fendahl was scoping them out as a possible midday snack. A whirling sound drew her attention.

"Doctor!" she shouted a warning.

Above, two automatic laser rifles honed in on them. Bernice pushed the Time Lord as twin energy beams erupted from the barrels. Just escaping the blast, they hit the dirt hard as the ground they were standing on moments before exploded in a tumult of dirt and debris.

Just as quickly as they moved in to attack, the lasers returned to their stationary position.

The Doctor looked up and coughed. "How rude. Thank you, Benny." He rose to his feet and offered her his hand.

"What now?" Bernice asked as she brushed away the dirt from her knees.

The Doctor fumbled about in his pockets. "Key."

"Of course. Skeleton, I assume?"

"Electromagnetic, actually." He pulled out a small black box with several controls and a pulse gauge on it. He began to manipulate the knobs. "Just have to make sure I have it set correctly. Too big a pulse will disrupt more than the door’s magnetic lock."

"Toilets won’t flush?" Bernice asked jokingly.

"Something like that," the Doctor replied.

Hawkins stepped into the examining room where the rest of his research team was gathered. Robert Andriosi stood off to the corner, arms folded in his usual petulant way. His long hair was tied back in a ponytail, a recent accession to Hawkins, who felt the style was unprofessional. A pair of soda bottle bottom thick bifocals teetered on the edge of his nose. He was watching the current contest between the two females scientists of the research team.

Andrea Lipinski and Marina Franz were in another heated argument. Hawkins could easily guess what it was about. Lipinski, usually a demure short haired woman, was holding her own against the taller Franz who tried to leverage her height to bring her argument home.

"The status field is set at a level that is strong enough to keep the being alive, but nonfunctional," Franz argued, her voice raising to a yell.

Lipinski, the calmer of the two, would not relent. "You don’t know that, Marina. I suggest you place it in total suspension. We’ve observed these things eating each other with an almost animalistic abandon. I would hate to see what it would do to us if it got loose."

"We don’t know what that will do to it, Andrea. We’re going to have to take some risks here! I mean, that is what we came here for, right? Tests show the planet was destroyed by natural causes. We detected no signs of any natural disaster from space afflicting the planet. The only area left to explore is the population itself. These creatures are composed of an unusual form of energy. Maybe they caused the world to split apart."

"Ladies, please, stop this at once," Hawkins said, waving his arms in a calming gesture as he stepped in between the two.

"Don’t ‘Ladies’ us, Doctor Hawkins," Marina Franz rumbled, her eyes flashing in anger. If there was one thing she hated more than being contradicted by a colleague, it was being placated by a member of the male sex.

"Of course, Doctor Franz. My apologies." Hawkins tried not to grit his teeth too hard as he bit down his quick reply. "I meant no offense."

"I realize that, Doctor, but it still doesn’t excuse your lack of courtesy. We are not ladies, we are colleagues." She looked toward Andriosi. "In some cases, superiors."

Robert Andriosi stepped over to the stasis chamber, pointing to the monitoring controls. "This is a big mistake. It doesn’t take someone with four doctorates to know that! These things are too dangerous to examine at this close range."

"It’s what we’re going to need to do if we ever hope to come up with anything conclusive on their species!" Marina wailed. "Simple observation at a safe distance is not giving us any empirical proof on them."

"However did you manage it, Marina?" Hawkins asked.

The tall, attractive scientist broke into a proud smile. "We know that this race feeds upon themselves. Well, it was just a matter of waiting out one of them in a weakened state to fall into a little energy trap I devised. The trap has a portable stasis field so it can not fight its way out."

Hawkins nodded appreciatively. "Very good, Doctor Franz. I wish you’d told us about this, of course, but we can discuss that later. What about the others’ fears?"

"They are just that, fears," Marina sneered. "There is no evidence to suggest that anything can go wrong."

"And there is none to suggest that it won’t," Andriosi countered. "Doctor Hawkins, Doctor Franz may have talked you into all this, but you lead this little expedition. I want you to consider how dangerous this can be."

Hawkins walked over to the stasis field. "Let me see it."

Doctor Franz turned and activated a monitor. The viewscreen nearby lit up revealing a small ball of energy. Its glow was dim but pulsed slightly every few minutes. Hawkins tried to make a form out within the mass of energy, but the glow was just bright enough to obscure it.

"What has your analysis revealed so far?"

Doctor Franz shook her head. "Nothing conclusive yet. I can’t identify the type, but I have been able to determine that it feeds on various forms of energy. I’ve tried some of the small animal specimans we’ve brought from Earth and the little thing just sucks them dry, leaving little more than ashes. Right now, the field is set so as to keep the creature from even moving."

Hawkins looked at Andriosi and shrugged. "Seems harmless enough to me."

Andriosi’s face dropped. "That’s all you have to say. Suppose there was a catastrophic systems failure. What then?"

"Then," Hawkins replied evenly, "what we’ve feared could happen the entire time we’ve been on this planet will happen. This was a risk we were prepared to take when we agreed to come back to this time period."

"There is a great deal of difference between those things outside and one in here among us, Doctor Hawkins, and you know it!" Andriosi said, the panic and fear in his voice becoming quite obvious.

"Robert," Hawkins started and then stopped. He turned to Doctor Lipinski. "Andrea?"

The attractive scientist appeared a little apprehensive at first. Lipinski nodded and knelt down beside the container. She closed her deep blue eyes and breathed in deeply. The room seemed to hold its breath a moment as though waiting for some momentous reply.

Suddenly, Andrea opened her eyes wide and let out a gasp. She fell back on her rear in startlement.

"Andrea!" Robert was to her side, holding her hand in support. "What was it?"

Andrea breathed in deeply, trying to catch her breath. She was finding it hard to gather her thoughts. Andriosi glared up at Hawkins. "Damn it! Now do you see what I mean? That thing’s dangerous!"

Hawkins nodded. "You argue that the creature is dangerous. We needed to find out. Andrea’s psionic capabilities were the only way we could communicate with it."

"At what cost?" Andriosi snapped back. "She can’t even..."

"I’m all right." Andrea looked at Robert and then at those around the room. Her hand trembled in his. "Hunger. Intense hunger. There is nothing else there. It’s animalistic, primitive."

"Intriguing," Marina said in a soft tone. "It’s true then. An energy being with primitive tendencies."

"It’s dangerous," Andriosi said. "We need to get it out of here!"

"No!" Marina yelled.

Suddenly, the lights in the room dimmed. They then sputtered and winked out.

"What the hell?!?" Hawkins said.

"Look!" Susan screamed.

The stasis field about the box containing the creature dissipated.

Hawkins reached for an intercom on a wall nearby. "Security! Security!" There was no reply. It too was powerless.

"Run!" Marina urged, backing up towards the door to the room. "We’ve got to get out of here!"

The box blew open and the darkened room filled with the pulsing light of the native of the Fifth Planet.

Susan ran from the room with Marina quickly behind her. Hawkins stood by the entrance and watched as Andrea and Robert both stood before the pulsing being, transfixed.

"Robert! Andrea! Come on!" Hawkins called out.

Robert stood rooted to his spot in total fear. "I can’t move, Vance! My legs won’t budge!"

Andrea’s situation was different. From where Hawkins stood it appeared as though Andrea was at peace with the situation. She was fascinated by the being before her. She started to move towards it.

But it moved first, diving quickly and tearing through Robert. A flash of light and a billow of smoke emerged from the junior scientist. He let out one terrified scream as his smoking lifeless husk dropped to the floor. His body began to shrivel and change before the elder scientist’s eyes.

"Andrea!" Hawkins tried once more to direct her attention, but she was transfixed. Seeing the futility in staying, Hawkins quickly shut the door behind him. He ran down the darkened corridor.

The Doctor and Bernice stepped into a pitch black entranceway.

"Doctor," Bernice said warningly.

"I may have used too much power," he replied sheepishly. "Hopefully, it’s only a local power loss."

"Hopefully?" Bernice said. "Why?"

"Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to leave the base defenseless against the Fendahl, now would I?" He reached into his pocket and produced a small torch, shining the bright light down the corridor. "Door."

The door opened suddenly and three laser sights quickly targeted the Doctor and Bernice. The two looked at each other and slowly raised their hands above their heads.

"I take it you don’t like solicitors?" the Doctor asked softly.

Hawkins ran up behind Franz and Susan, startling the two women.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?" Marina shrieked.

Hawkins placed a hand out, begging a moment to catch his breath. He moved his hand to his heart, using the other to support himself against the wall, steadying himself.

"Sorry," he wheezed, trying to keep his voice to a whisper. "What happened back there?"

"It’s pretty obvious," Susan said, her voice cracking with wild panic. "That thing got loose and got Andrea and Robert!"

"No, no," Vance said, cutting her off. "It got Robert. But it didn’t kill him outright. From what I saw it transmogrified Robert, changed him. And Andrea. It didn’t harm Andrea. There was almost, a sense, a feeling of familiarity between the two."

Marina leaned back on the heels of her feet. "It might be her psychic ability. She may have been able to reach it on some level."

"I thought you said these things had regressed to an animalistic nature," Susan said.

"They have," Hawkins replied. "But maybe Andrea was able to reach it anyway. She once told me she was able to reach her pet Doberman when it became very angry. She calmed it down. Maybe she found that level with the being."

"There’s a big difference between an Earth dog and a life eating monster!" Susan said, shrieking.

Hawkins snapped at her, "Get it together, woman! Your hysteria is not going to help us!"

"And I suppose sitting here on our asses in the dark and making guesses about what’s going on will? Where are the guards? We brought enough security people to take care of us! Where are they?"

"I don’t know," Hawkins said. "Communications are down." He stopped and cocked his head upward. "What’s that sound?"

"Footsteps," Marina said softly.

Susan got to her feet. "Maybe it’s Andrea."

Hawkins reached out and grabbed the young woman’s arm. "Wait a minute! Where are you going?"

She pulled away from him. "It is Andrea! It is! I can see her!" She ran off. Hawkins tried to grab her, but Marina pulled him back.

"No, Vance! Stay here!"

"She’ll be killed!" he hissed.

"There’s nothing we can do for her now," Marina said helplessly. "We need to get out of here!"

Hawkins started to move and then stopped. "We can’t."

"What do you mean, can’t? You have a way of getting us out of here, right?"

Hawkins shrugged, not sure of what to say next. A scream from down the corridors distracted them. Hawkins glanced quickly around the corner and gasped. He rose to his feet and grabbed Marina. "We’ve got to get out of here!"

The Doctor stumbled into the dimly lit room with the help of the laser rifle barrel thrust into his back. Bernice followed quickly behind him. One of the guards closed the door quickly.

The Doctor reached to doff his hat in greeting, but stopped as a number of weapons gestured at him. He returned his arms to their upright position.

"Gentlemen," he began, "this is not necessary."

"Quiet," one of them growled. "I’ll ask the questions here and I’ll tell you what’s necessary!"

The Doctor observed that the other guards watched the speaker intently. Must be the leader. They’re taking their cues from him. He sighed and aloud said, "I suppose you want to know who we are and what we are doing here."

"For starters," the leader agreed. He placed the nuzzle of his rifle under the Doctor’s chin. "Telling me what you did to the station’s systems wouldn’t be a bad idea either."

"This wasn’t my doing," the Doctor replied simply. "I admit we, my companion Bernice Summerfield," he gestured towards the archeologist who tried her best to smile, "and I, did break into the complex with the use of a short electromagnetic pulse. But it shouldn’t have totally disrupted your systems." His eyes narrowed. "Have the Fendahl breached your security?"

"The what?" the head of security asked.

"The inhabitants of this planet are called Fendahl," Bernice said.

"You keep quiet," the leader barked. "This is the Fifth Planet. We..."

He was interrupted by the sound of heavy pounding on the door. "Gerrold! Open the door!" a pleading voice called from outside.

Two guards stepped up to either side of the door, weapons ready. At a signal from their leader, one of them activated the door. A man and a woman bolted into the room as the door closed behind them. They nearly dropped to the floor in panic at the sight of all the weapons.

"Gerrold! It’s us!" the man shouted.

"At ease," Gerrold ordered his men. They lowered their weapons a fraction, ready to snap them into place at a moment’s notice.

"Vance Hawkins?" Bernice stepped forward, clearly surprised. "What the hell is going on here? What are you doing here?"

He returned the look of surprise at the sight of Bernice. "Benny? Benny Summerfield? I could ask you the same question!" He rose to his feet and embraced Bernice, surprising even her. "It’s good to see you."

"You know these people?" Gerrold asked.

Hawkins nodded. "I know Ms. Summerfield here. Not her friend. Benny, you remember Marina Franz?"

"Vaguely, I’m afraid. I never really followed all the circles you did Vance." Her tone carried an icy tone that caught the Doctor’s attention. He glanced at Doctor Franz and held back an inner smile. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was an Amazonion twin of Bernice.

"No," he said, his tone dripping with irony, "you didn’t, did you? Now, what are you doing here?"

She looked at the Doctor who nodded. "This may sound crazy, but my friend here, the Doctor, has a time craft."
Hawkins couldn’t help but smile. "Well, it would explain how you came here from the future."

The Doctor pointed to Hawkins. "And you came here how?"

Hawkins looked at the time traveler, his smile getting wider. "Time travel."

"Time travel is not common, even in your time, Mister Hawkins."

"Professor Hawkins," he corrected. "You are right, Doctor. Time travel is still in its infancy stage, but there is one group who has the ability to take you through time with a near one hundred percent success rate. They call themselves The Time Brokers."

The Doctor closed his eyes and muttered a silent oath. "What’s the matter?" Bernice asked.

"I’ll have dealt with them shortly," the Doctor explained. "But now I see the havoc they will have caused. Professor, you realize that the cost for this trip is your lives. That’s part of your agreement with The Time Brokers."

Marina looked at Hawkins in shock. "What is he saying, Vance?"

"We’re on the Fifth Planet, Doctor. Marina recently discovered that the planet did exist at some point by analyzing some of the asteroid fragments from the belt that cicles between Mars and Jupiter in our time. Radioscopic analysis revealed that the fragments were once part of a planet, one that supported life. We carbon-dated the fragments and worked out a point when the planet was destroyed. We’re at a point just prior to the planet’s destruction." Hawkins turned to Doctor Franz.
"Relax, Marina. We’re going to get off this planet before it’s destroyed."

"And what about this giving of our lives?" Marina insisted.

"A technicality. One we can easily avoid. Relax." Hawkins tried to sound reassuring, but everyone in the room could hear the heavy hint of doubt in his voice.

"But why," Bernice asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"The Fifth Planet, Bernice," Hawkins said. "One of the greatest mysteries of our time. What happened to the inhabitants, to the planet? We’ve always talked about the possibility of its existence. When I confirmed it, I took advantage of this great opportunity with The Time Brokers. I made the arrangements with Marina, Andrea Lipinski and Robert Andriosi. We hired these mercenaries as security. The Brokers agreed to bring our findings back to the future."

The Doctor could only moan and walk over to a corner, his head hung low and shaking. Bernice didn’t understand his outburst entirely, but she knew he was upset. "But where’s Robert? Andrea?"

Hawkins looked at Marina. "Robert’s dead," she said softly.

"Dead? How?" Bernice cried.

Hawkins chewed thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek, rolling his eyes in embarrassment. Marina shrugged. "We had managed to capture one of the inhabitants, a fantastic energy creature, but it escaped."

The Doctor stepped up to the female archeologist. "Then it’s loose in the complex?"

She nodded. "Yes. There was an odd power surge and the containment field holding it dropped. It got Robert and Andrea."

"It didn’t get Andrea," Hawkins said. "I saw the way Andrea just stood there as it took Robert. It didn’t want to harm her."

"It must have taken her," Marina insisted.

"This woman, Andrea. You say she just stood there. Did she, by any chance, have a high psionic potential?"

"More than potential, Doctor," Hawkins replied, "Andrea was a well endowed Psionic. She could read minds, send her thoughts over short distances, telekinesis, that sort of thing."

"I’m afraid Doctor Hawkins’ assessment of the situation is correct," the Doctor said definitively. "What you are dealing with is a native of this planet, the Fendahl. This world is dying. The Fendahl are feeding on each other, their very life essences. But the Fendahl have the ability to channel their power in order to increase their strength. The Fendahl changed Andrea. Made her a focal point for its power. Your man, Robert, has been changed too, I would imagine. He’s become a Fendahleen."

"He did change into something else. But I don’t understand," Hawkins said. "They are life eaters?"

The Doctor waved a hand in frustration at having to explain. He calmed down at a warning glance from Bernice and sighed. His accent became thicker and his speech more rapid as he spoke, a clear sign to his companion that the situation was grave. "Fendahl feed on every spectrum of life energy. In order to grow in power they need the captured energy of a group of beings of the same race. They use a being with a high psionic rating as a focal point and then subvert twelve others. This gestalt allows the Fendahl to increase in power. They have been feeding on each other for centuries and the race is dying out. But your being here could change all that. Is this all that remains of the staff?"

"There was a total of twenty in the station, including us in the room," Hawkins said.

The Doctor looked about. "Six guards here and the two of you. That means that there are twelve people out there. There is a Fendahl core and probably eleven Fendahleen. They will need one more. We’ve got to get out of here."

"There’s no place to go," Hawkins said.

"My TARDIS. It’s just outside the dome. If we can just make it to the entrance without running into any Fendahleen."

"That’s a big if, Doctor," Gerrold said. "If they are as powerful as you say they are and they outnumber us..."

"They are, Mister Gerrold," the Doctor confirmed. "They also have the potential to attack your mind, by projecting themselves mentally. But it’s the only hope we have. I don’t suppose anybody has any salt here?"

"Salt?" Marina asked. "In the mess hall, but not here. Why?"

"It affects the Fendahl, disrupts their psychic link, can even kill them if you use sufficient quantity."

"So what do we do?" Gerrold asked.

The Doctor stepped up to the entrance to the guard station. "Throw open the door and run for it."

"That’s it?" Vance asked incredulously. "That’s a plan?!?"

"We have no salt to defend us," the Doctor explained. "The only hope is that we can make it to the TARDIS. Once there, I can send out a message to my people and they can help us."

Bernice stepped up to the Doctor and whispered. "It’s that serious? You need to call in the Time Lords?"

She saw the look in his eyes; a mix of sadness and inevitability. "What will be, must be," he replied cryptically. Aloud, he said, "Shall we go?"

Gerrold stepped up to the Doctor. "All right. If it’s just going to be a simple run for the door, we’ll do it by the numbers. I’m going to throw open the door and step out with you, Peters, right behind me," he said pointing to a tall, thin guard, "Once we give the all clear, the Doctor and Ms. Summerfield will follow with Doctors Franz and Hawkins. The rest of you thugs will cover the rear. Right?"

They all nodded their understanding.

"Right then. Let’s go."

Gerrold reached for the door and pulled it open. He dashed out, his weapon at the ready. Peters followed. The security chief scanned the corridor and gave the signal to the Doctor and the others. They emptied out of the guard station and quickly ran down the hallway.

"What do you mean, what will be, will be?" Bernice asked. "What are you playing at?"

"Not now, Bernice," the Doctor hissed. She could see he was not happy with the situation, but there was something else to his demeanor.

"Stop!" Gerrold ordered. He pointed at a small, snake-like being writhing around the corner of the corridor. It let out a low hiss through a large mouth in the front of its tubular shape.

"Fendahleen!" the Doctor snapped, turning his face away, his hand to his eyes. "Cover you eyes! Do not look at them! Mister Gerrold, is there another way?"

The security chief pointed to the left, in what seemed to be further into the complex. "There!"

They changed direction and ran.

"Where are you going?" Hawkins asked. "This is going to bring us to the main lab!"

"If we can ditch the little buggers," Gerrold said, "we can backtrack to the entrance."

"You hope," Bernice muttered.

They ran further into the complex, with Gerrold in the lead. The Doctor noted how the hallways all looked the same. It made him a little uneasy thinking that Gerrold may not know where they were going.

Gerrold quickly dashed the Doctor’s fears as he opened two twin doors in confidence. The security chief gasped at the sight before him.

From the Doctor’s viewpoint, he could see a number of small specimen containers about the room. They were all empty and devoid of power. In the center was a tall woman with golden skin. Her hair appeared to be alive. Snaking strands hissed as though she were the legendary Medusa. Her face was a gold tone, her eyes, wide and devoid of pupils. Next to her were two Fendahleen.

"Your eyes!" the Doctor warned. "Cover them!

"I didn’t!" Gerrold cried. "I can’t move! Doctor! I can’t move!"

The Fendahleen moved forward towards the security chief. "Quickly!" the Doctor ordered. "Run!"

"Doctor!" Gerrold screamed in panic.

"What will we do?" Peters asked.

"You’ve got to run," the Doctor urged Gerrold. He placed a hand on Gerrold’s shoulder, careful to keep his other hand over his eyes. He squeezed the shoulder hard as though willing the man to snap out of his paralization. "You’ve got to overcome it! We can’t help you! If you don’t, you’ll become a Fendahleen!"

"I can’t! I can’t move my legs! It’s going to make me into one of them!" With great effort, Gerrold reached for his weapon and placed it at his temple.

Bernice and Marina let out a scream as the bolt from Gerrold’s weapon ended his torment.

"Go! Go!" the Doctor yelled. "Don’t look back!"

They ran from the room, the Fendahleen in pursuit.

They poured out of the complex into the midday sun, squinting at the change in illumination. The Doctor was the last out, gesturing the others towards the TARDIS.

"Quickly! Into the TARDIS!"

Hawkins looked towards the police telephone box. "Surely we’re not all getting into that?"

"Now!" the Doctor roared.

They didn’t need any further coaxing. The Fendahleen were emerging from the complex. They dashed across the desolate landscape to the time craft.

The Doctor locked the doors to the TARDIS behind him and stepped up to the console. He placed his hands on two small silver plates situated in a corner of the control panel. He closed his eyes, his mouth twisting in a mix of anger, fear and frustration.

"Doctor?" Bernice asked.

"Not now," he said through gritted teeth. "Must make sure they understand the situation."

Forgetting for a moment their predicament, Hawkins and Marina walked about the control room, lost in amazement.

"This is incredible," Hawkins said. "It’s bigger on the inside than on the outside. Some sort of dimensional transference, I assume."

Bernice stepped up to him and took his arm, guiding him away from his studies of the craft.

He caught the look in her eyes. "It’s not what you think."

"And what do I think?" Bernice asked, knowing full well the answer.

"I respect her as a fellow colleague," Hawkins said with all the sincerity he could muster.

"As you did me until you seduced me," she said with some mockery in her tone.

"Until it turned out you were not a fellow colleague," he said with an acid that surprised even him.

Bernice took a step back. "That’s a cheap shot."

Hawkins’ face softened. "I’m sorry. Old wounds. Your lack of proper credentials made me look like a fool."

"I know. And I’m sorry about that. But I did contribute to the expedition."

"And almost got my findings thrown out," he added. He took her hand. "Bernice, I’m sorry it didn’t work out between us. But I’m being totally honest with you when I say that Marina Franz means nothing to me other than a fellow scientist." A guilty grin crossed his lips. "Besides, I brought someone else along for what you’re thinking."

"A young blonde, no doubt," Bernice joked.

"You always did know me too well, my dear," Hawkins said with a sigh.

The Doctor stepped away from the console and brushed a bead of sweat from his forehead. "There. That should do it." He started to set the coordinates into the console. "Now to get out of here."

Bernice looked surprised. "That’s it? Nothing more to do?"

"No, the Time Lords will handle the rest. I want to get out of here before they arrive."

"But what if they don’t? What if the Fendahl manages to escape? What if this is the way things are supposed to be? That’s what you said inside, wasn’t it? What will be, will be."

"Not now, Bernice," the Doctor snapped. "Professor Hawkins, if you wouldn’t mind, I need the exact time and location you came from. I should be able to have you home for tea." The Doctor walked around the console, tapping instructions into the flight computer.

Bernice saw he was going to continue to ignore her. She turned and exited the room. Hawkins stepped up to the Doctor. "It is going to be all right, isn’t it?"

The Doctor looked up at him. "The Fendahl core has not been completed. They will be contained by my people."

Bernice entered the console room. She was carrying a large sack that rattled with glass. In her other hand, she held a slingshot. She stepped up to the console and activated the door. The Doctor looked up from his work at the sound of the entrance parting.

"What are you doing?"

Bernice turned to face him. "We’ve spoken many times about the idea of non interference in time, but this is something different. This was our fault, humanity. If Vance and his people hadn’t been here, they wouldn’t have given the Fendahl the power to rise up and escape this world. It wouldn’t have caused the damage they did to the Ice Warriors. It wouldn’t have travelled to Earth. It must be stopped. We owe it to the future."

"Bernice, I know this is hard for you, what with your admiration for the Ice Warriors as a race, but the Time Lords will handle this. Shut the door," the Doctor argued.

"Not good enough, Doctor." Bernice said. "You’ll understand, after all we’ve been through, if I say I don’t believe you." She ran past the guards and out the door.

"Bernice!"

"I’ll get her, Doctor!" Hawkins ran after her.

"No! Wait!" the Doctor urged, but stopped. Hawkins was already gone. He reached over and shut the door.

"What are you doing?" Marina asked surprised. "Open the door. We’ve got to help them."

"What will be, will be," the Doctor said softly.

Bernice stopped short at the sight of the gathered Fendahleen. She closed her eyes and quickly loaded a salt shaker from her sack into the slingshot. She let a wild shot fly over the Fendahleen that crashed against the side of the dome.

"Damn!" she said. "This isn’t going to be easy!"

Hawkins ran up beside her and grabbed her arm. "Benny, we have to go!"

"Vance! Get back!"

"There’s nothing you can do, Bernice. Besides, you’re a terrible shot!"

Bernice couldn’t help but laugh. Even with everything happening, Vance could still find some humor in any situation. "But Vance, the Martians! The Fendahl will have..."

"I know," he said. "I remember how we used to stay up late so many nights and talk about the people of Mars. I know how passionate you are about them, but this will only get you killed. We have to trust the Doctor and his people."

"You don’t know the Doctor as well as I do," Bernice replied. "This isn’t as simple as it seems."

"No," Vance agreed, "but this isn’t the answer. Hey!"

Vance let out a gasp.

"What is it?" Bernice said, fearful to open her eyes.

"A Fendahleen. It brushed up against my foot. I looked down at it and now I’m trapped. I can’t move!"

"Where is it?" she asked. Bernice started to hurl salt shaker after salt shaker around her feet.

"It’s no use, Bernice. You’re not even close. I told you you were a terrible shot. Get out of here!"

"But you," she argued.

"I’m finished," he said. "Hurry now. Before the Doctor leaves you."

She turned to run and felt a hand reach out to her. "Wait!" Bernice almost opened her eyes as she felt Hawkins lips brush her cheek in a soft kiss. "I missed doing that. Now go!"

Bernice ran back in the direction she came. She fought the urge to open her eyes just as she reached the TARDIS, finding the door locked. She threw herself against the entrance and started pounding.

"Doctor! Open the door!"

She resisted the urge to look behind her, fearful that the Fendahleen were closing in on her. She could hear Hawkins’ screams fading as she imagined the transmogrification.

Suddenly, the door gave and Bernice tumbled inside. The door slammed shut, followed by a low grinding sound as the TARDIS faded away.

"Welcome aboard," the Doctor said.

Bernice rose to her feet, a snarl on her lips. "They got Vance. The Fendahl core is complete. You better hope the Time Lords are able to stop it."

"You better hope," the Doctor said softly. "The Fendahl was not at full power. It needed another Fendahleen to make the gestalt complete. You made that possible with Vance."

Bernice’s face fell. "Then the Ice Warriors."

The Doctor shrugged. "All is, as it will be."

"You knew this would happen," she said, her hands balling up into fists in anger.

"I knew it was supposed to happen. How it was to happen was beyond me. You and I were meant to be here. Had you not gone outside, history would have changed. That’s why I wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible. The Time Lords would have had my head for what we did!"

"We were meant to be here because history says so or the Time Lords?" Bernice asked.

"Who knows?" the Doctor replied cryptically.

"And that’s it then?" Bernice asked.

"I’m afraid so," the Doctor said softly. "I’m sorry."

"Not good enough," Bernice said. She stormed out of the room.

"No," the Doctor whispered. "It isn’t."