The Prison Beneath The Sea - Doctor Who
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randomsushiThe Doctor, Zoe and Jamie arrive on Prison Base Fourteen and are quickly forced to help the inmates escape from their underwater prison.
Zoe watched the central column of the control panel rise and fall while eating a bowl of cereal. “How long until we land?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t be long now,” the Doctor replied, gently taking her arm and moving her away from the controls. “Why don’t you be a dear and go eat in the kitchen with Jamie?”
Zoe pulled a face. “He eats with his mouth open. It’s very disgusting.”
“So tell him not to.”
“I did. He keeps forgetting.” She lifted the spoon to her mouth and swallowed a mouthful of Cherios.
“Well just don’t drop that on the console.” The Doctor pulled a few levers and the column came to a stop. “Ah… there we are.” He activated the scanner.
“It looks like a spaceship,” Zoe observed, taking in the gloomy, metal walls shown on the screen.
“It looks like a dump,” Jamie said from behind her.
“Yes, it does appear to be rather derelict,” the Doctor agreed. “I don’t think it’s a spaceship though, look. It’s very damp and rusty out there. There shouldn’t be damp on a spaceship.”
“So what it is then?” Zoe asked through a mouthful a food.
Jamie pulled a face at her. “Och, can’t ye keep ye mouth shut while you’re eating?”
“Let’s go and see where we are, shall we?” the Doctor said hurriedly. He opened the doors and stepped outside, closely followed by Jamie. Zoe pulled a face at the Scots boy’s back before placing her bowl on the console and following them.
Wherever they were, it was certainly damp. The trio found themselves dodging drips and puddles every few steps. Suddenly the Doctor halted. “Look at this,” he said, pointing to a plaque on the wall.
“Pr… prison base fourteen,” Jamie read slowly. “Nu…North Sea sec… section. Well what does that mean?”
“It means we’re in an underwater prison on Earth,” the Doctor explained.
“Oh! Yes, I remember reading about those,” Zoe said excitedly. “They didn’t last long, they couldn’t stand up to the sea pressure. Then they solved the problem by creating prisons in space instead.”
“So… we’re under the sea?” Jamie asked. He looked around at the drips in worry. “Is it safe? What if it all collapses?”
“Yes, you’re right,” the Doctor agreed. “This one appears to have been vacated, perhaps because of structural damage.” He turned and looked at a dripping wall section. “Yes, see, the water’s getting in here all right. This isn’t safe at all. Let’s head back to the TARDIS.”
“Wait, what’s that?” Jamie said suddenly, grabbing the Doctor’s arm. “You hear it?”
The Doctor and Zoe listened. Over the sound of dripping water, they heard a faint echoing clang. “Well. What do you suppose that it?” Zoe asked.
“It’s the place collapsing!” Jamie said in a panic. “We’ll be drowned!”
“No, it’s not that,” the Doctor said comfortingly. “There’s no sound of rushing water. It’s footsteps.”
“I thought this place was vacated,” Zoe said, slightly puzzled. “It certainly should be.”
“Yes, it really should. Shall we go see why it isn’t?”
Before his companions could say anything, the Doctor strode off. Zoe and Jamie exchanged glances before running after him.
“Doctor, are you sure we should be doing this?” Zoe asked as soon as she caught up.
“Aye, let’s just go back to the TARDIS,” Jamie agreed. “Ye said so yourself, it’s nae safe.”
The Doctor hesitated and looked at the walls again. “Well it can’t be that unsafe if there are still people here… perhaps it’s only this section.”
“But the TARDIS is in this section too,” Jamie pointed out. “If we go wandering off and this bit collapses, then we’re stuck.”
The Doctor looked longingly down the corridor, where the footsteps echoed louder, then back at his companions. “Yes… yes, I suppose you’re right,” he said grudgingly. “All right then, we’ll go.”
But before they could leave, the owners of the footsteps turned the corner and the three travellers found themselves staring at five men with guns. With a resigned sigh, the Doctor raised his hands. “It’s all right, we’re just visitors,” he called.
“Oh yeah? Visitors?” one of the men said. He turned to the rest of them. “You hear that? He says they’re visitors.”
There was a chorus of laughter and he turned back and grinned at the travellers through broken teeth. “Pull the other one mate, there ain’t been no visitors down here for years. How did you get in?”
“Well it’s difficult to explain,” the Doctor began.
The man raised his gun at him. “So start explaining. Before I put a bullet through you.”
“Oh there’s no need for that,” the Doctor said hurriedly. “We mean no harm. I’m the Doctor-“
Before he could go on to introduce his companions, the group of men started to talk loudly among themselves. “I told you so, Pinky, I told you they would send someone,” a small, rat-like man said gleefully in a voice that made the brain itch. “We may be Earth’s dirty little secret, but they can’t just leave us to die, oh no, I told you so.”
“Shut up, Mugs,” Pinky, the apparent leader said crossly. He lifted the gun slightly. “Earth send you, did they?”
“Er, yes, that’s right,” the Doctor bluffed. “They didn’t give me any details though, just sent me and my two assistants here to deal with it. A medical emergency, they said.”
Pinky observed them for a few more seconds, then nodded. “All right. Follow us then.”
Several men from the group held back and began walking behind them. “Pretty little girl,” Zoe heard one of them say, and inched closer to Jamie and the Doctor. “These aren’t guards, are they, Doctor,” she asked mournfully.
“No, I’m afraid not,” the Doctor muttered. “I think these prisoners must have taken over. It appears that instead of regaining control, they’ve just been left here.”
They stopped in front of a doorway. The door itself was propped up against the wall, orange with rust and half of its original size. “In here,” said Pinky, pointing to a line of beds against the far wall. They contained men in various states of consciousness. “Think you can do anything for them?”
The Doctor approached the nearest bed and examined its occupant. “Do you have any sort of laboratory here?”
Pinky snorted. “Do be serious. It got wrecked five years ago.”
“Well, without any sort of tests I can’t be certain, but I think these men are suffering from cholera,” the Doctor explained. “I have some medical equipment on my ship, I’ll need my companions to go and fetch it.”
Pinky nodded. “All right.”
Zoe leaned in close to the Doctor. “What are you doing? They should be fine with oral rehydration.”
“I know,” the Doctor muttered. “But these men are some of the worst criminals in the world and I want you and Jamie safe in the TARDIS.”
Zoe looked grateful. Jamie looked less pleased. “And what about you, Doctor?”
“I’m going to have a look at the filtration system,” the Doctor replied. “There must be something wrong with the water supply. OK,” he said in a louder voice. “Jamie, you and Zoe return to the TARDIS and fetch me my medical kit.”
Jamie blinked in confusion. “But I thought ye said-ow!”
“Shut up, Jamie,” Zoe said through gritted teeth, letting go of his fingers, which she had twisted to distract him. “We’ll be back shortly,” she said in a bright, cheerful voice, and left the room, followed by Jamie, who rubbed his hand and glared at her.
The Doctor examined some of the other prisoners, but without any equipment, he couldn’t be certain of his diagnosis. It seemed apparent that some water-bourne infection was at work and after a few minutes, he straightened up and asked Pinky to show him to the main computers.
“They haven’t been used in quite a while,” Pinky said, slightly shamefaced. “Not since the guards went. None of us know how to work them.”
“How long has it been since the guards… er, left?” the Doctor asked.
“Ten years,” Pinky answered.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him. “And if you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for food?”
Pinky smirked at him through his broken teeth. “You don’t seem to know much. Was it all covered up? I guess it must have been,” he added, answering his own question. “Must have been a big embarrassment for them. But they send down supply subs every so often. Can’t just let us die, embarrassing or not.”
They entered a room less damp than the others, which housed a large computer. “There yer go,” Pinky indicated.
The Doctor grabbed a nearby chair and sat in front of a screen. “Ah, this looks simple enough. See here,” he added, waving Pinky over. “All the essential base amenities are automated, see? Oxygen, electricity, water… you can bring up the individual systems here and check how they’re functioning,” he demonstrated.
“You’re good with computers then?” Pinky asked with interest.
“Well, I’m not too bad,” the Doctor said modestly. “And this one really isn’t too complicated if you know what you’re doing. Ah, now here’s the water filtration network,” he continued, happy to be solving a puzzle. He didn’t notice Pinky cross the room and whisper something to one of the other prisoners.
Zoe watched the central column of the control panel rise and fall while eating a bowl of cereal. “How long until we land?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t be long now,” the Doctor replied, gently taking her arm and moving her away from the controls. “Why don’t you be a dear and go eat in the kitchen with Jamie?”
Zoe pulled a face. “He eats with his mouth open. It’s very disgusting.”
“So tell him not to.”
“I did. He keeps forgetting.” She lifted the spoon to her mouth and swallowed a mouthful of Cherios.
“Well just don’t drop that on the console.” The Doctor pulled a few levers and the column came to a stop. “Ah… there we are.” He activated the scanner.
“It looks like a spaceship,” Zoe observed, taking in the gloomy, metal walls shown on the screen.
“It looks like a dump,” Jamie said from behind her.
“Yes, it does appear to be rather derelict,” the Doctor agreed. “I don’t think it’s a spaceship though, look. It’s very damp and rusty out there. There shouldn’t be damp on a spaceship.”
“So what it is then?” Zoe asked through a mouthful a food.
Jamie pulled a face at her. “Och, can’t ye keep ye mouth shut while you’re eating?”
“Let’s go and see where we are, shall we?” the Doctor said hurriedly. He opened the doors and stepped outside, closely followed by Jamie. Zoe pulled a face at the Scots boy’s back before placing her bowl on the console and following them.
Wherever they were, it was certainly damp. The trio found themselves dodging drips and puddles every few steps. Suddenly the Doctor halted. “Look at this,” he said, pointing to a plaque on the wall.
“Pr… prison base fourteen,” Jamie read slowly. “Nu…North Sea sec… section. Well what does that mean?”
“It means we’re in an underwater prison on Earth,” the Doctor explained.
“Oh! Yes, I remember reading about those,” Zoe said excitedly. “They didn’t last long, they couldn’t stand up to the sea pressure. Then they solved the problem by creating prisons in space instead.”
“So… we’re under the sea?” Jamie asked. He looked around at the drips in worry. “Is it safe? What if it all collapses?”
“Yes, you’re right,” the Doctor agreed. “This one appears to have been vacated, perhaps because of structural damage.” He turned and looked at a dripping wall section. “Yes, see, the water’s getting in here all right. This isn’t safe at all. Let’s head back to the TARDIS.”
“Wait, what’s that?” Jamie said suddenly, grabbing the Doctor’s arm. “You hear it?”
The Doctor and Zoe listened. Over the sound of dripping water, they heard a faint echoing clang. “Well. What do you suppose that it?” Zoe asked.
“It’s the place collapsing!” Jamie said in a panic. “We’ll be drowned!”
“No, it’s not that,” the Doctor said comfortingly. “There’s no sound of rushing water. It’s footsteps.”
“I thought this place was vacated,” Zoe said, slightly puzzled. “It certainly should be.”
“Yes, it really should. Shall we go see why it isn’t?”
Before his companions could say anything, the Doctor strode off. Zoe and Jamie exchanged glances before running after him.
“Doctor, are you sure we should be doing this?” Zoe asked as soon as she caught up.
“Aye, let’s just go back to the TARDIS,” Jamie agreed. “Ye said so yourself, it’s nae safe.”
The Doctor hesitated and looked at the walls again. “Well it can’t be that unsafe if there are still people here… perhaps it’s only this section.”
“But the TARDIS is in this section too,” Jamie pointed out. “If we go wandering off and this bit collapses, then we’re stuck.”
The Doctor looked longingly down the corridor, where the footsteps echoed louder, then back at his companions. “Yes… yes, I suppose you’re right,” he said grudgingly. “All right then, we’ll go.”
But before they could leave, the owners of the footsteps turned the corner and the three travellers found themselves staring at five men with guns. With a resigned sigh, the Doctor raised his hands. “It’s all right, we’re just visitors,” he called.
“Oh yeah? Visitors?” one of the men said. He turned to the rest of them. “You hear that? He says they’re visitors.”
There was a chorus of laughter and he turned back and grinned at the travellers through broken teeth. “Pull the other one mate, there ain’t been no visitors down here for years. How did you get in?”
“Well it’s difficult to explain,” the Doctor began.
The man raised his gun at him. “So start explaining. Before I put a bullet through you.”
“Oh there’s no need for that,” the Doctor said hurriedly. “We mean no harm. I’m the Doctor-“
Before he could go on to introduce his companions, the group of men started to talk loudly among themselves. “I told you so, Pinky, I told you they would send someone,” a small, rat-like man said gleefully in a voice that made the brain itch. “We may be Earth’s dirty little secret, but they can’t just leave us to die, oh no, I told you so.”
“Shut up, Mugs,” Pinky, the apparent leader said crossly. He lifted the gun slightly. “Earth send you, did they?”
“Er, yes, that’s right,” the Doctor bluffed. “They didn’t give me any details though, just sent me and my two assistants here to deal with it. A medical emergency, they said.”
Pinky observed them for a few more seconds, then nodded. “All right. Follow us then.”
Several men from the group held back and began walking behind them. “Pretty little girl,” Zoe heard one of them say, and inched closer to Jamie and the Doctor. “These aren’t guards, are they, Doctor,” she asked mournfully.
“No, I’m afraid not,” the Doctor muttered. “I think these prisoners must have taken over. It appears that instead of regaining control, they’ve just been left here.”
They stopped in front of a doorway. The door itself was propped up against the wall, orange with rust and half of its original size. “In here,” said Pinky, pointing to a line of beds against the far wall. They contained men in various states of consciousness. “Think you can do anything for them?”
The Doctor approached the nearest bed and examined its occupant. “Do you have any sort of laboratory here?”
Pinky snorted. “Do be serious. It got wrecked five years ago.”
“Well, without any sort of tests I can’t be certain, but I think these men are suffering from cholera,” the Doctor explained. “I have some medical equipment on my ship, I’ll need my companions to go and fetch it.”
Pinky nodded. “All right.”
Zoe leaned in close to the Doctor. “What are you doing? They should be fine with oral rehydration.”
“I know,” the Doctor muttered. “But these men are some of the worst criminals in the world and I want you and Jamie safe in the TARDIS.”
Zoe looked grateful. Jamie looked less pleased. “And what about you, Doctor?”
“I’m going to have a look at the filtration system,” the Doctor replied. “There must be something wrong with the water supply. OK,” he said in a louder voice. “Jamie, you and Zoe return to the TARDIS and fetch me my medical kit.”
Jamie blinked in confusion. “But I thought ye said-ow!”
“Shut up, Jamie,” Zoe said through gritted teeth, letting go of his fingers, which she had twisted to distract him. “We’ll be back shortly,” she said in a bright, cheerful voice, and left the room, followed by Jamie, who rubbed his hand and glared at her.
The Doctor examined some of the other prisoners, but without any equipment, he couldn’t be certain of his diagnosis. It seemed apparent that some water-bourne infection was at work and after a few minutes, he straightened up and asked Pinky to show him to the main computers.
“They haven’t been used in quite a while,” Pinky said, slightly shamefaced. “Not since the guards went. None of us know how to work them.”
“How long has it been since the guards… er, left?” the Doctor asked.
“Ten years,” Pinky answered.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at him. “And if you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for food?”
Pinky smirked at him through his broken teeth. “You don’t seem to know much. Was it all covered up? I guess it must have been,” he added, answering his own question. “Must have been a big embarrassment for them. But they send down supply subs every so often. Can’t just let us die, embarrassing or not.”
They entered a room less damp than the others, which housed a large computer. “There yer go,” Pinky indicated.
The Doctor grabbed a nearby chair and sat in front of a screen. “Ah, this looks simple enough. See here,” he added, waving Pinky over. “All the essential base amenities are automated, see? Oxygen, electricity, water… you can bring up the individual systems here and check how they’re functioning,” he demonstrated.
“You’re good with computers then?” Pinky asked with interest.
“Well, I’m not too bad,” the Doctor said modestly. “And this one really isn’t too complicated if you know what you’re doing. Ah, now here’s the water filtration network,” he continued, happy to be solving a puzzle. He didn’t notice Pinky cross the room and whisper something to one of the other prisoners.
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