THE MASTER, THE DOCTOR AND THE WOLF

Chapter Twenty Nine

After they cleaned and wrapped David's body into a shroud, they put it into one of the cupboards so it would stay preserved until they found a suitable burial place. After they finished their task, everyone followed the Doctor back to the console room. Susan was still upset and Clara and Sheila comforted her while the Doctor piloted the TARDIS and followed the artron signature of the other one. While he flew his ship, he kept glancing at his granddaughter and thought about what prompted her to look like Clara. He had his suspicions but he hoped it was because his granddaughter had took on the visage of Clara in a pinch and not because Clara was…

Even now the idea seemed absurd. Clara was Susan? But he did vaguely remember her on Gallifrey that day that he ran away with his granddaughter. Was Clara in the repair shop twice that day? Was one of the fragments of Clara loomed to be his granddaughter? It boggled his mind but then again, something was keeping them together, he was sure of it. And now his TARDIS had went and fetched his granddaughter without prompting. Was the TARDIS trying to show him the truth about just how impossible the Impossible Girl was?

A beeping sound tore him from his reverie and he looked at the monitor.

"The other TARDIS has landed," he said as he flipped some switches and pressed some buttons. "We're landing as well but I'm angling the TARDIS away from the other one so hopefully the Valeyard won't cotton on that we're there. Hold on everyone."

He grabbed the console along with everyone else and they rode the bumpy ride down to the planet's surface. After a moment, the TARDIS finally landed and powered down and the Doctor checked the monitor.

"We've landed on…Cevros," he said. "Not quite sure where that is but the temperature is about 10 degrees at the moment. Looks a bit parky so dress warmly everyone."

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The Doctor waited at the bottom of a steel ladder for Xelok and Rose to come down it. There were two female Silurians, Bathsheba and someone else. The one who wasn't Bathsheba had a long scar running across the right side of her face and across her right eye so she was wearing an eye patch that was tied around her head. Both women wore form fitting leather catsuits with knee high black boots. Both of them wore bulging, brown leather satchels with a strap that was slung over their shoulders.

Xelok paused on the ladder and stared at the Silurians fearfully before the Doctor gently coaxed him the rest of the way down. Xelok exited the ladder but stayed right by the Doctor's side, still gazing up at the Silurians as the Doctor put his arm around him and watched Rose's descent. When Rose finally came and stood beside the Doctor, Bathsheba scrambled up the ladder as the other Silurian brought a small glo ball out of her satchel and squeezed it. The ball shone with a bright radiance as Bathsheba closed the trapdoor, shutting out any other source of light.

"Lead them, Charminia, I will follow them," Bathsheba instructed as she came down the ladder.

Charminia nodded and beckoned to the others. Rose took hold of Xelok's hand and the Doctor walked on the other side of him while Bathsheba brought up the rear. They were heading down a tunnel dug out of the dirt with no lighting or ornamentation that the Doctor could see. The glo ball only gave off enough light to illuminate ten feet ahead of them so he had to trust that these Silurian knew what they were doing.

"Pardon me but what planet is this?" the Doctor said after five minutes of silence.

"You don't know?" Bathsheba said behind him.

"We were brought here against our will so no, not a clue," the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder.

"It was called Abzarion, we have since christened it New Earth," Bathsheba said.

"Why? How did you land up here?" the Doctor said.

Bathsheba chuckled.

"We were also brought here against our will…as slaves, a few centuries ago. This planet once thrived, teeming with humanity but our kind breed quickly and in time there was an uprising. We turned the human's technology against them and obliterated them from the planet…at least there have been no signs of humans for many years…until now," she said, giving the Doctor a pointed look. "We have been tracking you since you landed and since you stumbled upon one of our surface doors, we decided to bring you down and question you on your intentions."

"We have no intentions other than to get off the planet," the Doctor said. "We come in peace, I swear, and we wish to leave in peace."

"I hope you are correct, human," Bathsheba said. "But for now, you will meet with our leaders and they will decide your fate."

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