THE CHOSEN CURSE

Chapter 3

Dodging explosions and laser fire, the Doctor, Donna and Nazene ran doubled over, trying to get as much protection as they could from the ravine. Sometimes brush grew along the sides of it, affording better cover.

Yet, there was just as often no extra protection at all. It was a natural, uneven trench, taking a fairly straight course through the lowest sections of land between two grassy hillsides. A bright blue globe of energy from a guardsman's pulsar lance shattered a rock somewhere ahead of them into shard-like projectiles. They all flinched, but thankfully no one was hurt because the pieces flew over their bent bodies.

"Now I know how Quasimodo felt!" Donna shouted breathlessly, to no one in particular. She yelped with alarm and fright, when a supercharged red bolt from one of the imperial guardsman's laser pistols came perilously close to scorching her back. "Though I gotta' tell ya Doctor. I don't fancy this planet's idea of laser surgery."

"Donna! Save your breath for running!" The Doctor warned her.

It was about as close as the Doctor had ever come to telling her to shut the hell up. Which meant that he was genuinely worried about their chances of escape.

"Sergeant, how well do you know this valley?" The Doctor called back to Nazene, who was bringing up the rear. "Where does this ravine go? Are there any caves or canyons or a city close by?"

"I only had a brief glimpse of a map before the battle, Doctor. If we are where I think, there should be some woods somewhere up ahead. Beyond that there's a few farms. If we can get there. It might give us someplace to hide." Nazene told him, throwing up a hand to ward off another exploding spray of dirt, as a Dacanese arrow-rocket hit tore a man-sized hole into the grassy hillside, close to the ravine.

Only one chariot ship had stayed around to pursue them, the others having gone off to seek out pockets of enemy resistance. However, one ship was enough. And its pilot, while thankfully not terribly accurate at hitting moving targets, sooner or later would likely score a hit if he kept at it long enough. Arrow-rockets were similar to bottle rockets on earth, only these could be aimed like crossbow bolts from a bracket mounted gun on the front of the ship. They contained a small, high-powered explosive charge.

"Right, you two! Come on then, quick jog 'round the next bend, allons'y!" The Doctor shouted.

As they continued to run, Donna, not for the first time since joining the Doctor in the TARDIS, was truly thankful for the inventions of workout videos and comfortable trainers.

It was a patch of woodland bordering some pastures and plowed fields which they eventually came to. He and the others climbed out of the ravine. It had gradually widened and became far deeper as it entered the woods. The three of them followed along the edge of it, until it became more shallow again, gradually petering out near a small stream.

Reassuring Donna that he'd be right back, the Doctor and Nazene had set off to find a way through the woods. After he and Nazene had split up, going in opposite directions on a reconnaissance through the woods, the Doctor climbed up a tree for a look around. Gazing through the wide, spreading branches of an old tree, the Doctor spied a dirt track leading out of the woods.

The wooded glade where the Doctor had left her, seemed strangely quiet to Donna, after all the gunfire and explosions. Cool dappled shade and a gentle breeze made the place seem even pleasant. Donna was sat on a fallen tree, listening to the mellow chuckle of water as it riffled over stones in the stream bed. Sighing, she rubbed her sweaty face with her sleeve, trying to catch her breath. The Doctor, seeing how winded she was, had firmly insisted that she rest for a bit. For once, Donna didn't argue. Much.

A bird which sounded like a skylark sang merrily in a clear, ringing voice, somewhere deep in the woods. The sound was incongruous to Donna. Sitting on the log, she looked in the bird's direction, wondering at the serenity of this place. It suddenly reminded her of a holiday that her dad, Geoff, had taken her on in Wales, when she was a girl. At first she'd balked at the thought of boring treks through the mountains and sleeping in a tent, but her dad had made it wonderful.

Donna wondered why she had forgotten that bank holiday weekend, camping with her dad. On their walks, he had taken the time to show his daughter how nature was continually in flux; serene and exciting, terrible and beautiful. She thought about how her dad had told her that nature was always changing, every second of every day, no two moments exactly alike. Donna smiled. Just like the Doctor was showing her that the universe followed much the same pattern.

A shadow loomed over her. Donna turned around and looked up, expecting to see the Doctor. She opened her mouth to nag him about what time it was. However, it wasn't the Doctor. Standing directly behind her was a very angry looking imperial guardsman, with his pulsar lance aimed dead centre at her back.

"Get up you! Turn around and face me!" the man said gruffly.

For once, Donna didn't argue and did what she was told.

The tall, blond young man was breathing heavily and sweating. The brass buttons down the centre of his dark green and black uniform jacket and the white shirt underneath, were both half undone, revealing a muscular hairy chest. Donna couldn't help staring. She fleetingly wondered what the man would be like with those tight-fitting trousers off.

"Our Lord Emperor cannot access your ship. Where is the key, girl?" The guardsman asked impatiently.

"How should I know, Buttons? I'm not the designated driver on this pub crawl." Donna answered haughtily, trying to stall for time. She had a key to the TARDIS, but she wasn't about to let some thug, however easy on the eye he was, steal her only ride home.

"If you won't give me the key, I'll just have to take it off your dead body." The guardsman sneered, thumbing the button which primed his weapon for firing.

"Damn. Guess I should've given him the key." Donna thought ironically. Scared, she braced herself for the worst.

Before the guardsman could fire his weapon though, a small, tight, bright red hole burned from his back through to his chest. She stared in horror, as the puzzled man dropped his weapon and looked down at his smoking shirt. Eyes widening in realization, he clutched at his chest and shrieked with pain. As his body collapsed like a marionette with cut strings, the guardsman died before he hit the floor. Staring at the body lying at her feet, Donna suddenly felt sick.

"No!" The Doctor yelled, running up to Sergeant Nazene, who'd fired the shot from behind a nearby tree. "You didn't need to do that!" He told the man, anger burning in his eyes. "I thought you said you'd seen enough killing today?"

"What was I supposed to do, let him kill her?" Nazene shouted back. He stooped to pick up the pulsar lance. "Well, as least you can arm yourself now."

The Doctor put out a hand and stopped him.

"No, don't do that. No weapons." He shook his head firmly. "And just to make myself perfectly clear, never-ever-ever any weapons. Of any kind. In fact, I'd be a lot happier if you got rid of yours."

"That's not going to happen, mister." Nazene said, shaking his head. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "In fact, I'm starting to wonder if you two aren't really working for the Dacanese. I mean, that chariot ship pilot could have been deliberately pulling his shots. To make it look good, ya'know."

"Or," the Doctor reasoned, "he could've been near-sighted and a really bad shot. Maybe his parents never bought him Duck Hunt for Christmas."

"No, no, no. I'm not buying that." Nazene shoot his head vehemently. "There's something different about you two. You remind me of my parents."

"We're not married." The Doctor and Donna said simultaneously, pointing to each other.

"But why would us being like your parents be a bad thing?" The Doctor asked.

"Because my parents were always sending me away anytime they wanted to discuss something they didn't want me to overhear. They were eventually imprisoned. For planning treason against the empire of Torsaaga. I turned them in myself" Nazene admitted grimly. "But I won't wait for your treachery. I'll just off you right here and now, in the woods. Save the empire the cost of a trial."

"Is it me Doctor, or is everyone on this planet completely flippin' paranoid?" Donna asked him. "He's even scared of us, now."

"I'm not afraid of you. Just very careful about whom I choose to breathe the same air with. Last time I looked, a couple of Dacanese spies weren't on my list. I hate people like you" The sergeant said, stepping back so he could keep them both in his sights. "I don't know either one of you. Far as I know, you're just trying to get me off-guard. So you can get at my gun."

"Hating people you don't even know? Worrying about us taking away your gun? Sounds a lot like fear to me, sunshine." Donna said archly.

The Doctor shushed Donna. Trying to reason with someone who seemed to be completely unreasonable was his bread and butter. Stepping closer to Nazene, he smiled and held out his hand.

"Oh come on, we're your friends! I know you've grown used to having a weapon," the Doctor said in a quiet, even tone, "but there comes a time when you will eventually have to put it away and get on with your life You've never seen me with a weapon in my hand. And you never will. Come on, sergeant, put down the gun and let's find someplace safe to hide. You, me and Donna. Together."

In answer, Sergeant Nazene's arms snapped up, and he squinted down the barrel of his laser rifle at the Doctor.

"Oh no you don't, Doctor! Die you Dacanese scum!" He snarled.

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