MISSING IN ACTION
Chapter 5 The Doctor simply stood there, speechless, for minutes on end. The sight of the huge bronze coloured ship sitting out there was the last thing he'd expected to see. Was this yet another devious trap for him, then?. Even powered down and without a Dalek in sight, it still exuded a chilling menace. This was the old enemy that forced the Doctor into eventually committing the genocide of his own people, in order to save time and everything that ever was, from ceasing to exist. This was the race that had almost destroyed him, without ever laying a finger on him. "Doctor?" Came Amy's voice behind him. He felt her hand gently touch his arm. "Doctor, come on, it'll be alright. Snap out of it. Say something." She pleaded. Taking a deep breath, the Doctor turned and faced her. Looking down into her eyes, he forced himself to smile and said, "I bought myself a milk cow, but then came a terrible blow, for when I went to milk her, I found I'd bought a cow named 'Joe.'" "Huh?" Amy asked, completely taken aback. "What are you on about, Doctor?" "You wanted me to say something, Amy." The Doctor said innocently, cocking a mischevious eyebrow at her. "I was only doing what you asked." The Doctor's three friends looked at each other and shrugged. Apparently he was off on one of his tangents again. Together, they knew him well enough by now, to stand back and let the Doctor blow off some steam. "OK, OK," he said, walking up to Altaar and Margatha with a new-found fire in his eyes, "just how many Academy Award nominations were you lot trying for, anyway?" A very miffed Doctor railed at them, "Cos you've just put on one hell of a fine performance. Had me going for a few minutes there. And believe me, that's not something that happens every day. So, here I am." The Doctor spread his arms wide. "A prisoner of the rag-tag descendants of one of Galifrey's oldest enemies, the Temporal Overlords. I'm the big bonus round prize. Better than a new car and a trip to Epcot, me." He angrily strode over to Altaar and got in the old man's face. "So don't leave me standing here in suspense, Altaar old chap. When do I get turned over to your Dalek masters, ey?" "You are not a prisoner, Doc-tor. Because that is not a Dalek ship." Altaar said matter-of-factly, diplomatically refusing to show any reaction to the Doctor's tirade. "Oh really?" The Doctor said with mild sarcasm. He began pacing the floor, occasionally throwing glances out the window. "That's nice. Because it certainly looks like a Dalek ship. It smells like a Dalek ship—all that technological savvy, and you'd think they'd invent deodorant by now. I'll bet you, that if I ran my tongue over it, it would even taste like a Dalek ship. Then tell me, Altaar, if that out there isn't a Dalek ship, who's is it? Darth Vader's? And don't tell me it is, because I'd recognize his ship anywhere. Last time I saw it, it had this big nuclear-neon sign flashing on its side that said: 'Vader's Intergalactic Oyster Bar and Fencing School." "Do stop babbling like an idiot, Doctor. You don't know what you are talking about." Margatha sneered, crossing her arms and looking down her nose at him. "You're totally wrong about that ship out there." "Am I? Am I?" He snorted at her. "Calm down, Doctor. I know you're upset." River interceded. "Me, upset? Me? Upset?" The Doctor sputtered, slightly nonplussed by this interruption of his tirade. "You're repeating yourself, sweetie." She chided him gently. "Meh, always do after I've had a curry." The Doctor said to her. He politely covered his mouth as he belched."'Scuse me." Of course, he knew she was right. He was repeating his words like a little girl's talking doll. The Doctor didn't like sounding like a conservative politician. He only did that when he was getting flustered. With an effort, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. The Doctor wondered briefly if there were any Dalek victim support groups out there in the universe. "That is our ship out there, Doc-tor." Altaar said, breaking into the Doctor's thoughts. The alien man sat down at the conference table, and indicated that the Doctor and the others should sit, as well. When everyone was seated, He instructed Margatha to bring refreshments. After she reluctantly left the room, Altaar continued the conversation. "The Daleks came upon us soon after we left E-Space. Our own ship crash landed on a large meteorite. We fought the Daleks for days, losing three quarters of our remaining population in the process. Males, females, the children to our greatest elders. The Daleks know not what mercy is." "That's awful!" Amy said. The Doctor had paused in mid-pace to listen to Altaar. Now he nodded gravely. "I know too well what they're like. And I'm truly very sorry for your loss." He told the man, though he didn't have to. His face clearly showed how the Doctor felt. "In the end, we defeated them." Altaar sighed. "But, our ship was damaged beyond repair, with so few left alive who knew how to fix it. However, we did manage, after a fashion, to re-adapt the Dalek technology to suit our own species. Unfortunately, what we didn't know how to do, was fly the ship properly. We were once again forced to land the ship in this hostile environment, unlivable without special protective suits. We were lucky to find this old Andvarian mining complex. It allows us to survive in comparative comfort. And, it gives us some breathing space. For the time being, at any rate." "As I said before, very impressive. If you're telling the truth. Assuming for the moment that you are, what is this 'Howling" you mentioned?" The Doctor asked. "What was that?" River blurted out, appearing thunderstruck. "What did you say, Doctor?" "What's the Howling?" Rory echoed. "I mean, I'm assuming that's not the name of some Scottish indie band." "You've heard of it before?" The Doctor said, turning curiously to River. "Why have you heard of it, and I haven't?" "Because I am sometimes a captive audience, my love. Gives me loads of time to listen to stories, catch up on my correspondence. Catch the latest episode of Leverage." River smiled. "One of my fellow prisoners told me about it." River said quietly. "It's one of those universal myths, Doctor. I was told that it's some kind of sentient weather phenomena. A black wind. It's said that comes and goes without warning. It can cross all of time and space in the winking of an eye. The Devouring Tornado, is what some people call it. Other cultures have other names for it: Howling, Reaper, Soul Stealer, the Demon of Klackner. It is said that it consumes all life forms, whenever it appears. Nothing can live in it's path." "An evil wind?" The Doctor's eyes took on a mischievous glint. "No, Doctor. Absolutely not. No fart jokes. Too easy." River scolded him. The Doctor's face fell. "Yeah, you're right. Turning my serious adult expression back on now," he said. Which, true to his word, the Doctor promptly did. "Oooh, that was a spooky story, River. " Amy commented. "Like the kind parents use to scare little children into cleaning their rooms and eating all their veg. I should remember that one, next time I'm sitting around a campfire at night." "Foolish girl! It is no story." Margatha replied, coming into the room with a tray full of tea and biscuits. "I've seen it with my own eyes. It destroyed my whole village. All my family were taken by the Howling. Even our pets, livestock and crops were consumed." "That's enough, Margatha. I allowed you to assist me only because that's what your father would have wanted. Now I must order you to remember your place, and show some respect to our guests. Otherwise, you may go back to the ship and wait for me there." Altaar admonished her. "No. She should stay." Rory piped up. He blushed and looked uncomfortable when everyone turned to stare at him. "I—I mean," Rory said nervously, suddenly aware that maybe he might have spoken out of turn, "if she really has lost so much to this creature, maybe she, more than anyone here, has a right to sit here with us." "Well, said, Rory." The Doctor spoke softly. He flashed Rory the kind of proud smile a parent might give a child who'd answered a quiz programme question correctly. The Doctor then turned to the alien man. "He's right, Altaar. Let her stay. See might be able to add some insight or details you may have forgotten. What happened after this creature attacked you?" Before answering the Doctor, Altaar cast a warning glance at Margatha, which clearly told her to keep to her place. Taking a sip of tea, he said, "After it destroyed our planet, it followed us from the depths of E-Space, all the way back to normal space. It took our best remaining scientists two years to calculate the coordinates to do so. In the meantime, this...thing, followed us from planet to planet. We did our best of course, to avoid inhabited worlds. Unfortunately, we weren't always successful" Altaar sad sadly, bending down, leaning his forearms on the table as if suddenly very tired. The Doctor frowned deeply when he heard this, and his face took on a grave expression. But he said nothing. Waiting for Altaar to go on with his story, he nibbled absently on a biscuit. "We've managed to outrun it so far, but we cannot escape it forever." Altaar continued. "We have already lost so many of our people. First to the Howling, then to the Daleks. Soon, I fear we may become an extinct species. We need to find a way to defeat the Howling. That's why we brought you here, Doctor. Anyone who could defeat our ancestors, may stand a chance with this evil creature." Margatha served the tea and biscuits in silence. When finished, she sat beside Altaar. Casting an uncertain glance in Rory's direction, she turned away almost shyly, when Rory smiled at her. Instead, Margatha chose to pointedly stare at the Doctor with hostile, distrustful eyes. Altaar was opening his mouth to say something, when suddenly he leaned forward and stared out the window. Margatha was also staring, a look of utter terror reflected in her eyes. The Doctor and his friends all turned around to see what they were looking at. River especially suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Why am I getting an uncomfortable feeling that something really bad is about to happen." The Doctor said tensely. "Something wicked this way comes?" Amy suggested playfully. She couldn't see anything malevolent outside. "Sweetheart, something bad always somehow happens around you." River shrugged. "You're a like 'bad stuff' magnet. Which is a lot a lot of fun, I have to say. Why do you think I keep hanging around you?" All Amy could see, was that the wind was kicking up out there on the planet's surface. Great clouds of red and yellow dust swirled through the rock-strewn sandy ground. The enormous amber sun was still shining, yet there seemed to be a dark shadow falling across the valley near the Dalek saucer. That seemed odd. But then, Amy thought, this was an alien world. Who knew what the weather was like here. "Wow...that looks...not good." Rory observed. "Glad I'm not out there." "I guess you're in for a storm." Amy said, turning to look at Altaar. "Judging by how dry the ground is out there, looks like you could use a little rain." "Amy." The Doctor said softly. He got up and looked intently out the window. "I don't think that's a storm." "It's the Howling!" Margatha cried out, getting up for her chair and staring, terrified, out the window. "It has found us!" "Our people. On the ship. They won't have a chance." Altaar whispered with horror. "But, I don't see..." Amy began to say...then gasped. "Oh my god!" The odd dark shadow Amy had seen falling over the little valley out on the surface of the planet, was changing. Slowly the shadow became more substantial. As they watched, it finally coalesced into a whirling black tornado. A natural tornado is part of storm clouds, but the sun was shining and the sky still blue. This thing was entirely on its own. The cloud was roiling, getting wider as it developed, until it was almost as wide across as the Dalek saucer. A black, sickly green and purple mass, made up of cyclonic gases, the tornado was occasionally punctured by electrical charges coming from somewhere within. . As the group in the conference room watch, the tornado suddenly engulfed the Dalek ship.
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