THE CHOSEN CURSE
Chapter 6 "Oh my gods, they'll mow us down like vlotgrass!" Ringstaff cried, as the guardsmen formed up into a tighter line. The three elaborately uniformed guardsmen began marching towards them in parade ground formation, guns leveled. Nazene gave a derisive snort. He silently observed that real soldiers would've been spread out more, so as to offer more difficult targets for the enemy. He reckoned the only battles these men had seen was on vid-media. While everyone's eyes were focused on the approaching guardsmen, a shaken Ringstaff was reaching into a hidden pocket inside his blousy military tunic. He pulled out a small, compact laser pistol. Before Nazene or the Doctor could stop him, Ringstaff aimed the gun at one of the guardsmen and pulled the trigger. "No!" the Doctor shouted. He ran, grabbing on to Donna and taking her with him. They dove behind a piece of farm equipment. "Run, Barbie!" He called out to the two androids. They'd been left standing there in the open, unsure what to do, never having been subjected to violence before. "Get her out of there, Ken! Both of you! Go to the cottage!" Ken and Barbie instinctively obeyed the Doctor's orders as, with amazing speed, they bolted for the cottage and went inside, shutting the door behind them. Ringstaff hit one guardsman with his first shot, killing the man. However, as soon as he had fired, the two remaining imperial guards began firing back. Nazene grabbed Ringstaff and dragged him out of the line of fire, into the barn. Unfortunately, it was not before a stray shot hit Ringstaff a glancing blow on the leg. The man cried out in pain and fear, as Nazene roughly shoved him into the sanctuary of the barn. The two men crouched inside the doorway of the barn, moving back for the protection of its dark interior. The cat had disappeared, but the lavender chickens put up a massive protest at being disturbed, ruffling their feathers and squawking. The Doctor could do nothing but watch. "Give me that thing!" Nazene snarled, snatching away Ringstaff's little pistol. Stretching out his hand, the sergeant laid down a deadly swath of red laser beams towards the two guardsmen. His face clouding over, the Doctor sighed. He hadn't wanted it to come to this. He'd hoped, by telling the guardsmen about the danger they were in from their own emperor, he might persuade them to help. But, that was soldiers for you. Give them a gun, and they just had to use it. "Donna." The Doctor knelt down and looked seriously into Donna's eyes."I need to get out of here. You should be OK. Just stay put and keep your head down." He said, quietly but firmly. "You're not going out there?" Donna asked, worried for the Doctor's safety. "Standing here watching a reenactment of the shootout at the OK Corral, honestly isn't my thing." He smiled. "Been there, done that. Got Wyatt Earp's cowboy hat to prove it. Think it's in the TARDIS wardrobe somewhere." "You'll only end up getting yourself killed." Donna said, trying to reason with him."You should stay here." Staying here isn't going to get the sheep sheared, Donna." The Doctor said evenly. "Trust me. It'll be fine, I promise. I want to have a closer look at farmer Brown's Super Tractor." "You're going to look at a tractor and then shear some sheep?" Donna shook her head, unsure if the Doctor was being literal, metaphorical, or both. "Don't chicken out now, Donna. I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail. So don't have a cow about it. Are you detecting a theme here?" The Doctor said, waggling his eyebrows at her. Donna rolled her eyes at him. "Baaaa—ad jokes?" The Doctor asked her, giving Donna a cheeky grin as he got up from behind the machinery and sprinted off. "You've been spending way too much time in Wales, Doctor." Donna muttered, watching him make a dash for the shed. The laser fire from the barn had died down. The two imperial guardsmen had split up. Only one was visible now, crouched down to make a smaller target, firing his pulsar lance at the barn. So far he'd only managed to hit one of the chickens. Nazene wondered where the other man had gone, but suspected he was probably looking for some sort of back door. He was right. Both men ducked as from out of the darkness at the rear of the barn, a bright red laser beam lanced towards them. Nazene instinctively fired at the place where he'd seen the shot come from. There was a thump, a brief groan and the rustle of some hay, then all was still from within. The firing had stopped inside the barn, but the man outside was still sending round, blue pulsar bolts from his lance into the barn. Suddenly, the guard outside sensed that the inside man had failed, and, crouching down, he scuttled away, back into the safety of the woods. There came a smell of smoke from somewhere in the barn. And within seconds, a trail of white smoke wafted by the two men. They heard the tabby cat give a yowl of fear, and then it dashed past them out of the barn door, a blur of gray and black fur streaking towards the woods. In seconds it was swallowed up by the darkness there. Nazene cautiously walked out into the farmyard, pistol at the ready. Ringstaff hung back. He glanced at the back of the barn, now filling with choking white clouds of smoke and the crackling sounds of the fire. A shadowy orange glow lit up the back wall of the barn, and Ringstaff dithered a moment. Then, giving a deep breath as if in final resolve, he plunged into the smoky interior of the barn. It was hard to see, and Ringstaff began to cough. Suddenly, he tripped over something. It was the body of the imperial guardsman. Kneeling gingerly, trying to shift his weight of his wounded leg, the former commandant took a closer a look at the body. He knew this man, but could not remember his name. Picking up the arm, Ringstaff felt for a pulse. Sighing, he shook his head and closed the man's eyes. The heat was getting more intense now, the smoke almost blinding him and making breathing difficult. He'd stood and was about to get clear of the fire, when he stopped and picked up something the dead man had dropped. Coughing heavily, Ringstaff half-ran, half-stumbled out of the burning barn, pausing only long enough to shoo the frightened chickens out into the barnyard. Ringstaff, still coughing, limped over to join Nazene in the barnyard. Donna and the two androids emerged from hiding and came over to them. "They gone?" Donna asked. "Yeah, looks like it." Nazene answered. "Though there may be one still lurking out there, so keep sharp." "You OK?" Donna asked Ringstaff, noticing his injury. "Yes, yes, I'll be fine, thank you my dear." The man said, giving her a tight smile. His face was sooty and his once immaculate clothing was now dirty. Bit's of hay clung to his posh military trousers. All of the sudden, a red bolt from a laser pistol suddenly shot out from somewhere deep in the recesses of the woods, to burn a deep gouge into the dirt at their feet. Everyone jumped. Thankfully, the bad visibility brought on the the encroaching night, as well as the distance, made his aim poor. Suddenly, there came a roar of engines. As they looked, the big shiny black and red souped up tractor came roaring out of the shed like a sports car. Seated in the driver's seat was the Doctor, grinning like madman. "To the tractor!" Nazene shouted, "Come on!" Before Donna could protest, Nazene grabbed her arm and dragged her along with him towards the big machine. Ken and Barbie ran, but Ringstaff's leg suddenly weakened, and he fell heavily to the floor. Laser fire sprayed the dirt around him. Leaving his former commandant behind, Nazene hauled Donna from one point of cover to another, slowly zig-zagging his way towards safety. The Doctor had stopped the big, supercharged machine near a wooden-sided farm wagon, piled high with hay. Fortunately, the tractor was just out of the distant laser pistol's range of fire. But only just. Little geysers of dirt sprouted from the floor near the tractor's front wheels, as the hidden guardsman concentrated his fire on the Doctor. Leaping down from the driver's seat, the Doctor ran to the wagon. He hefted up the wagon tongue and was frantically hitching it on to the tractor. Safely behind the tractor, Barbie looked at Ken. She held his hand and whispered something to him. He shook his head, no. She nodded vigorously, whispering something more. Ken's mouth frowned. He gave a begrudging shrug of consent, and bowed his head. "Now don't you go jamming your circuits with worry, dear. Stay with the Doctor. I like him. He's kind of a neat old dude. He'll look after you until I get back." Barbie told him. . Ringstaff was genuinely afraid. He was crawling along in the dirt, trying to drag himself towards the others. Donna saw him and wanted to help, but Nazene had such a iron grip on her arm, that she was unable to break free. The Doctor thought he heard Donna yelling. He hadn't seen Nazene taking her with him, instead believing that she was still hiding where he'd left her. Concerned, the Doctor climbed up on to the machine and shut off the tractor's loud engine. Standing, he looked wildly around for Donna. He found her. Seeing Nazene dragging Donna bodily towards the tractor, the Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Let go of me right now! Or so help me, I'm gonna' plant one of my trainers where it's definitely gonna' hurt!" Donna yelled. Nazene ignored her. "I mean you, sergeant Rambo. Ringstaff's hurt! Forget about me. You have to go back for him!" "I have to get you to safety first. Ringstaff's a soldier..." Nazene barked out a laugh. "...Getting shot at is in the job description." "I said, let go! Ow! You're hurting my arm. I'm warning you, so help me, you'd better turn your back when we get to where we're going. Even then, you won't be able to sit down for a week." Donna told him, still struggling. "No. I have to get you to safety." He said obstinately, dragging Donna along, until they were both behind the tractor. "Let her go, sergeant. Before I allow Donna do whatever she threatened." The Doctor said, angrily, coming up to them. "And knowing her, I have a good idea what that probably was." He said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. He reached over and gave Donna a quick hug. "Hello, Donna!" The Doctor smiled at her, "Have you seen my really big Super Tractor?" "I couldn't just let her stand there and get shot at, could I?" Nazene said defensively. Averting his eyes, he turned away, muttering sullenly, "She's my friend too, you know. The only one I've got left. I want to keep this one alive." "Where's Ringstaff?" The Doctor asked, suddenly aware that someone was missing. Ringstaff was sure he was going to die in the next few seconds. The hidden guardsman's shots were getting closer and closer, as he found the range. The only thing saving him was the encroaching night, as stars began to appear in the sky. Tears poured down Ringstaff's face as he looked at them. One of those stars was home. He wasn't going to be able to save his planet, after all. That made him feel so sad. Just then, Ringstaff realized someone was standing over him. He looked up, hopeful. It was Barbie. "Don't be afraid, Mister Ringstaff. It's only me. I will get you back to your friends in safety." She said, her pink lips forming into a smile, to match the permanently cheerful expression on her artificially tanned face. So saying, the android picked up Ringstaff by the arms, and pulled him towards the tractor. They'd almost got there, when a laser bolt hit Barbie square in the head, making it explode.
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