THE HIVE

Chapter Two

Rose and the Doctor stepped outside the TARDIS and looked around. After they left the Powell Estate, they decided to use the TARDIS to travel to the crash site. They could see the spaceship in the distance and the Doctor closed the door behind him. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out his psychic paper.

"We're gonna try to sneak past the police, but if we can't, I want this ready." He said putting it in his trench coat pocket. "Just act like we belong there, just like we always do."

Rose nodded. She waited until the Doctor moved before following him.

Luckily, as they neared the crash site, they noticed that the police officers had gone around the back and both of them were able to sneak up the ramp and go into the ship without being noticed.

"Okay," the Doctor said to Rose once they were inside. "Just stay close to me and keep to the shadows just in case one of the officers comes up in here."

Rose nodded. She took the Doctor's hand and walked beside them as they searched for clues. They went up to the cockpit first.

"Be careful standing around the window in case someone looks inside," he said to Rose.

"Yes, Doctor."

She examined the controls with the Doctor although she didn't have the faintest clue what any of them did. She looked over when the Doctor flipped a switch and a little hologram appeared near the top of the control panel. She walked over and stood beside him. It was a man. He appeared to be in his late twenties and had a crew cut and an angular face. She listened as he talked.

Commander's log: Sauron time 46.24.90: We are on route to the Neptunian Detention Center with the prisoners. We have just entered the Milky Way galaxy and hope to reach destination within one Sauronian week. There are twenty prisoners on board, seventeen workers, two drones and the queen. All have been put in maximum security, hopefully that will be enough to hold them until we reach the detention center.

The man looked over his shoulder and looked back at the camera.

Off the record, I will be glad to get rid of these things. Having them on board creeps me out and I regret ever taking this job. Just the fact that they might get loose and infect the crew makes me want to go back there and eradicate them with my laser blaster. These creatures should be shot on sight and their kind eradicated from the universe before they do any more damage.

Rose looked at the Doctor.

"Do you know what he's talking about?" she asked.

"Not right now, there are several possibilities, but unless he gives a better description or says their name I can't be sure."

He pressed a button and fast-forwarded the hologram.

"I'll go to the last entry and see what it says." The Doctor said glancing at Rose.

He held the button down for a minute and then he let go. The hologram reverted back to normal speed and Rose could see the man was now flustered.

Commander's log: Sauron time 46.28.90: We just had a close call. One of them almost escaped and nearly got my second-in-command, Jax. It was only by sheer luck that we managed to get the thing back in the cell and close the door before it stung him. We were damn lucky this time, but how long will our luck hold out? I am so glad we are almost to the detention center because I don't know how much longer the cell will hold them.

The hologram froze and the Doctor switched it off. Rose looked at him and could see he was deep in thought.

"Stung?" he murmured. "There are many species that can sting someone fatally so that really doesn't narrow it down completely, but at least we know what we're up against."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So…there are workers, drones and a queen and they can sting…"

"Bees?" Rose said.

The Doctor nodded. He began to pace around as he thought.

"Or something along those lines. So…if they are bees or something similar, then they will need a hive of some sort."

He looked at Rose.

"Course what better place to build a hive than good old London. Lots of buildings for them to nest in."

"Which narrows our search to the entire city of London then."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Great." Rose muttered.

"Or, they could have gone out into the countryside and built a hive there, so really we have to include that in our search too."

"This is gonna take awhile then." Rose said sighing.

"Not necessarily. See, we are not talking bout your normal run of the mill insects here. I'm guessing the creatures are human sized, if not bigger."

"Great, gets better with each passing minute." Rose muttered.

"But, think of it, Rose. If they are that big, people are gonna notice them eventually." The Doctor said taking her by the arms. "So, it'll be a lot easier for us to find them. All we have to do is follow the terrified screams and boom; bugs are located, easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

"Wheee…I can't wait," Rose said. "Especially when the big, monstrous bee things start chasing after us with their big enormous stingers."

"You like that part too?" the Doctor said with glee.

He grinned when Rose swatted his arm.

She watched as he studied the other buttons.

"Doctor?"

"Hmmm?" he said fingering a purple button

"That guy said they were afraid of being infected. Infected by what?"

The Doctor turned and leaned against the control panel. He scratched his chin.

"The ones that I know of that do sting to kill like the Zygons do not infect as much as poison. They sting and fill their victims with poison and that's how they kill them, but what this bloke was talking about seemed to be more along the lines of sickness and I'm not quite sure about that."

"You don't know any bee things like he's describing?"

"No, nothing like that. I know of other huge insects like the Zarbi and the Menoptra, but those are more along the lines of ants and butterflies, not bees. What we're dealing with here might be something entirely new or it's from a planet I'm not aware of. But if it infects people then that's a problem that needs to be taken care of and fast."

He looked out the window and noticed a couple of police officers coming around the corner.

"Come on," he said taking Rose's hand. "Let's go look at the holding cells."

Rose nodded and walked with him out of the cockpit.

Rose looked at the heavy, black, iron doors that separated the narrow, cramped, prisoner's cells from the rest of the ship. Inside she could see a small slab built into the wall that served as the bed and a hole in the corner that she assumed was a toilet. There was also a small sink and mirror on the opposite side of the bed. It was extremely claustrophobic and she was glad she had not been imprisoned in it. She looked over at the Doctor who was examining the one beside it.

"I don't see any evidence of the cell doors being damaged," He said looking at her. "Which means that whatever was in these cells escaped when the doors were opened."

"But, if they were that concerned about being infected, why open them?" Rose asked.

She pointed to a tiny, locked door in the middle of the cell door.

"I mean, this is to pass food to them, yeah?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded.

"And they have a sink and toilet and a bed so they wouldn't need to open the door," Rose said. "So why d'ya think they did?"

"Not sure," the Doctor said. "Maybe they were trying to keep these creatures sedated or…"

He thought a moment.

"Perhaps they were coerced into opening the door."

"By who?"

The Doctor looked at her.

"By the creatures."

"Mind control?"

"Oh yes, I wouldn't rule out that possibility. Course we'll have to find one and study it before we can be sure, but that would be a more plausible explanation than opening the door to sedate them. There are many ways to sedate prisoners without entering a cell."

"So these things escaped and overtook the crew," Rose said. "Then they killed them, yeah? Except, where are the bodies?"

"Dunno, they could have been carried off by the creatures for food or to lay their eggs in. Or they could have survived and went off the ship to find the creatures. Although…I'm seriously doubting that one. But, at least now we have some idea what to look for now thanks to the log and---"

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

The Doctor and Rose spun around and saw a police officer standing behind them.

"Oh, hello, have the tours started yet?" the Doctor said to him.

"The what?"

"The tours of the spaceship. My girl and I are big sci-fi fanatics and when we heard the spaceship crashed, we just had to come out and see for ourselves, right, love?"

"Oh yeah, we're just massive Star Wars nerds, have been for years!" Rose added.

"This ship is off limits to civilians!" the police officer barked.

"Oh, is it? Oh, I'm so sorry, we seemed to have jumped the gun. You know, we just have no life. We both live in my mum's basement and we spend all day watching Star Wars and Star Trek and argue all the finer plot points. Sorry to trouble you. Just let everyone know if you find E.T., will ya? I want to see that!"

"Yeah, me too!" Rose added.

"OUT!" the police officer said jabbing his finger at the door.

The Doctor saluted him and grabbed Rose's hand.

"Live long and prosper, mate!" he said as they walked past.

The police officer watched them go before he turned and headed off the ship himself.

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