The Colony Hospital - Doctor Who
Jan. 2nd, 2008 02:07 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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randomsushiThe Doctor and Zoe get Jamie to a hospital on the planet Ghiaccio Quattro and uncover an alien plot to control the people using flu. Follows on from The Prison Beneath The Sea.
Zoe paced the room while the Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver over Jamie’s body. “So what do we do now?” she asked.
The Doctor looked thoughtful. “Shave off one of his eyebrows? Sorry,” he added as Zoe shot him a filthy look. “Well, it’s not hypnosis. The sonic screwdriver is detecting a radio signal here, so I’m guessing there must be a receiver somewhere on Jamie, controlling him.”
“Like those neck controls the Cybermen used on the Wheel?” Zoe suggested.
“Hmm. Yes, possibly. Although there’s nothing on his neck,” the Doctor said, rolling the boy over slightly. “Oooh, wait a moment!”
“What is it?” Zoe asked, jumping back on the bed.
The Doctor pointed to a small patch of skin behind Jamie’s ear. “Look, his hair’s been shaved here. And there’s a small scar. I have a horrible feeling he’s had some sort of control mechanism implanted in his head. Oh dear, Jamie!” He sighed and held the sonic screwdriver over the small bald patch.
“What are you doing?” Zoe asked, leaning forward.
“Well, I can’t exactly go poking around in his head, so I’m going to try and block the radio signal,” the Doctor explained, switching the screwdriver on.
They both watched Jamie intently. For a few seconds, he continued to stare into space, then suddenly he blinked and focused on them. “Did I faint again?” he asked groggily. Then he frowned and wriggled. “I cannae move mah hands!”
“It’s alright, Jamie,” the Doctor said soothingly. “You were under control. We didn’t want you to get hurt. Zoe, could you get me some scissors?” he asked, helping the Scotsman into a sitting position.
“What do y’ mean, under control?” Jamie asked, sitting still as Zoe cut through his bonds. “Is this summat t’ do with me no’ knowing where I was this morning?”
“I think it could be,” the Doctor said. “Now. I can’t stop everyone with the sonic screwdriver. We need to stop the signal from transmitting. I think it’s safe to assume that it’s coming from the hospital. So that’s where we need to go.”
“Wait, am I going t’ be all right?!” Jamie asked urgently.
The Doctor hesitated and glanced at Zoe, who quickly averted her eyes. “Er… of course! Unless they increase the strength of the signal. Which I doubt they’ll do,” he added hastily as Jamie’s eyes widened in horror. “After all, they’ve got a million people to control, I don’t think they’ll miss one.”
Jamie narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “How are they controlling me?”
“Remote control,” the Doctor said innocently. “Now let’s get moving, we’ve got a hospital to investigate.”
/\/\/\
The sun was setting as they worked their way through the crowds of people heading towards the hospital. As soon as they were on the hospital grounds, the Doctor ducked down behind a row of parked hovercars and peered over the top.
“Everyone seems to be going through the main entrances. Should we do the same?” Zoe asked. “Blend in?”
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, then gasped and ducked lower behind the car. “Oh goodness!”
“It’s a Cyberman!” Jamie whispered, clutching at the Doctor’s coattails.
Zoe shuffled closer to the two men, trying to make herself as small as possible as the Cyberman in the doorway of the hospital gazed impassively at the line of people walking past him. The Doctor tugged silently on her sleeve and crawled down another row of cars, behind an ambulance and around the corner of the building.
“What are they doing here?!” she hissed furiously.
“Isn’t it obvious, Zoe?” the Doctor hissed back. “They’re building up an army! It’s… it’s ingenious! Why covert one or two people at a time and risk being detected, when they can bide their time and then control and convert an entire planet, all at once?!”
“It’s awful,” Jamie whispered, looking horrified.
“Yes, it’s fiendish,” the Doctor agreed seriously. “It’s dreadful. We need to stop them.” He patted Jamie and Zoe on the back. “I’m going to go and cut the power to the hospital. We need to stop them from turning any more of these poor people into Cybermen. I want you two to find out where they’re controlling these people from and the go back to the TARDIS and I’ll meet you there when I’m done.”
Before they could argue, he stood up, opened a window above their heads and slipped through it.
“So… what do y’ think, lass?” Jamie asked, turning to look at Zoe. “The window, or the door?”
Zoe pursed her lips thoughtfully. “The door,” she said eventually. “We’re less likely to be noticed in a crowd.”
“Aye, right then.” Jamie stood up, held out a hand to Zoe and the two of them quickly moved forward and joined the crowd, wiping their faces clear of any expression and keeping their eyes down.
The Cyberman paid them no attention, although Zoe was sure she’d clenched her fists as she walked by, and Jamie was certain he’d given himself away by glancing at it as they passed. They met each others eyes, and then quickly gazed back at the floor as the crowd carried them into the hospital and up a flight of stairs.
The Cyberman at the top of the stairs also ignored them. Jamie dared look up and spotted the next Cyberman standing in front of the doorway to the operating theatres. Unlike the others, this one was actually paying attention to the crowd and holding some sort of device that blinked with a green light as each person passed it. Jamie hesitated, then discreetly reached out and poked Zoe. “What d’ye think he’s doing?” he whispered.
Zoe glanced at him curiously, mouthing “what?”
Before he could repeat himself, the Cyberman moved in front of them. They stared straight ahead. “James McCrimmon, confirmed,” the Cyberman droned, and the light on the hand held computer blinked green. Jamie exhaled slowly and stepped forward to follow the crowd.
Zoe made to join him, but the Cyberman suddenly thrust an arm out in front of her. “You are not on record,” it said menacingly.
“Um…” Zoe looked up, terrified.
Jamie glanced around, trying to work out whereabouts they were, then grabbed Zoe’s hand, pulling her into a doorway just ahead that lead to the paediatric ward. “Quick, through there!” he shouted, pointing across the ward to yet another doorway.
Zoe didn’t argue. The two of them dashed across the ward and through the door. A bolt of electricity hit the door as it swung shut, alerting them to the fact that the Cyberman was close behind. She spotted a flight of stairs and moved towards them, only to find Jamie holding her back.
“No’ that way, this way,” he told her, and yanked her down another set of corridors, these ones free of the controlled people.
“Where are we going?” Zoe shouted as they skidded past the HDU and Haematology departments. A bolt of electricity hissed past her, making her squeak with fright.
“The X-ray department,” Jamie shouted back, vaulting over a upturned wheelchair. “Cybermen cannae stand radiation!”
He pulled her around a corner and slammed, full speed, into a set of double doors covered in dire warnings. A loud crash told them the Cyberman had tripped over the wheelchair.
The X-ray department was in darkness and it took Zoe a few seconds to adjust to the light. “How does it work?” she asked once they were both crouched beside the large, hulking machinery.
Jamie looked blankly at her. “I dinnae know. You’re the astrophysicist.”
“But this machinery is two thousand years more advanced than anything I’ve used!” she protested. “I don’t-“
At that moment the Cyberman crashed through the double doors and halted. Jamie and Zoe froze as the great, metal man slowly pointed the Cyberlaser at them.
Zoe paced the room while the Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver over Jamie’s body. “So what do we do now?” she asked.
The Doctor looked thoughtful. “Shave off one of his eyebrows? Sorry,” he added as Zoe shot him a filthy look. “Well, it’s not hypnosis. The sonic screwdriver is detecting a radio signal here, so I’m guessing there must be a receiver somewhere on Jamie, controlling him.”
“Like those neck controls the Cybermen used on the Wheel?” Zoe suggested.
“Hmm. Yes, possibly. Although there’s nothing on his neck,” the Doctor said, rolling the boy over slightly. “Oooh, wait a moment!”
“What is it?” Zoe asked, jumping back on the bed.
The Doctor pointed to a small patch of skin behind Jamie’s ear. “Look, his hair’s been shaved here. And there’s a small scar. I have a horrible feeling he’s had some sort of control mechanism implanted in his head. Oh dear, Jamie!” He sighed and held the sonic screwdriver over the small bald patch.
“What are you doing?” Zoe asked, leaning forward.
“Well, I can’t exactly go poking around in his head, so I’m going to try and block the radio signal,” the Doctor explained, switching the screwdriver on.
They both watched Jamie intently. For a few seconds, he continued to stare into space, then suddenly he blinked and focused on them. “Did I faint again?” he asked groggily. Then he frowned and wriggled. “I cannae move mah hands!”
“It’s alright, Jamie,” the Doctor said soothingly. “You were under control. We didn’t want you to get hurt. Zoe, could you get me some scissors?” he asked, helping the Scotsman into a sitting position.
“What do y’ mean, under control?” Jamie asked, sitting still as Zoe cut through his bonds. “Is this summat t’ do with me no’ knowing where I was this morning?”
“I think it could be,” the Doctor said. “Now. I can’t stop everyone with the sonic screwdriver. We need to stop the signal from transmitting. I think it’s safe to assume that it’s coming from the hospital. So that’s where we need to go.”
“Wait, am I going t’ be all right?!” Jamie asked urgently.
The Doctor hesitated and glanced at Zoe, who quickly averted her eyes. “Er… of course! Unless they increase the strength of the signal. Which I doubt they’ll do,” he added hastily as Jamie’s eyes widened in horror. “After all, they’ve got a million people to control, I don’t think they’ll miss one.”
Jamie narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “How are they controlling me?”
“Remote control,” the Doctor said innocently. “Now let’s get moving, we’ve got a hospital to investigate.”
/\/\/\
The sun was setting as they worked their way through the crowds of people heading towards the hospital. As soon as they were on the hospital grounds, the Doctor ducked down behind a row of parked hovercars and peered over the top.
“Everyone seems to be going through the main entrances. Should we do the same?” Zoe asked. “Blend in?”
The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, then gasped and ducked lower behind the car. “Oh goodness!”
“It’s a Cyberman!” Jamie whispered, clutching at the Doctor’s coattails.
Zoe shuffled closer to the two men, trying to make herself as small as possible as the Cyberman in the doorway of the hospital gazed impassively at the line of people walking past him. The Doctor tugged silently on her sleeve and crawled down another row of cars, behind an ambulance and around the corner of the building.
“What are they doing here?!” she hissed furiously.
“Isn’t it obvious, Zoe?” the Doctor hissed back. “They’re building up an army! It’s… it’s ingenious! Why covert one or two people at a time and risk being detected, when they can bide their time and then control and convert an entire planet, all at once?!”
“It’s awful,” Jamie whispered, looking horrified.
“Yes, it’s fiendish,” the Doctor agreed seriously. “It’s dreadful. We need to stop them.” He patted Jamie and Zoe on the back. “I’m going to go and cut the power to the hospital. We need to stop them from turning any more of these poor people into Cybermen. I want you two to find out where they’re controlling these people from and the go back to the TARDIS and I’ll meet you there when I’m done.”
Before they could argue, he stood up, opened a window above their heads and slipped through it.
“So… what do y’ think, lass?” Jamie asked, turning to look at Zoe. “The window, or the door?”
Zoe pursed her lips thoughtfully. “The door,” she said eventually. “We’re less likely to be noticed in a crowd.”
“Aye, right then.” Jamie stood up, held out a hand to Zoe and the two of them quickly moved forward and joined the crowd, wiping their faces clear of any expression and keeping their eyes down.
The Cyberman paid them no attention, although Zoe was sure she’d clenched her fists as she walked by, and Jamie was certain he’d given himself away by glancing at it as they passed. They met each others eyes, and then quickly gazed back at the floor as the crowd carried them into the hospital and up a flight of stairs.
The Cyberman at the top of the stairs also ignored them. Jamie dared look up and spotted the next Cyberman standing in front of the doorway to the operating theatres. Unlike the others, this one was actually paying attention to the crowd and holding some sort of device that blinked with a green light as each person passed it. Jamie hesitated, then discreetly reached out and poked Zoe. “What d’ye think he’s doing?” he whispered.
Zoe glanced at him curiously, mouthing “what?”
Before he could repeat himself, the Cyberman moved in front of them. They stared straight ahead. “James McCrimmon, confirmed,” the Cyberman droned, and the light on the hand held computer blinked green. Jamie exhaled slowly and stepped forward to follow the crowd.
Zoe made to join him, but the Cyberman suddenly thrust an arm out in front of her. “You are not on record,” it said menacingly.
“Um…” Zoe looked up, terrified.
Jamie glanced around, trying to work out whereabouts they were, then grabbed Zoe’s hand, pulling her into a doorway just ahead that lead to the paediatric ward. “Quick, through there!” he shouted, pointing across the ward to yet another doorway.
Zoe didn’t argue. The two of them dashed across the ward and through the door. A bolt of electricity hit the door as it swung shut, alerting them to the fact that the Cyberman was close behind. She spotted a flight of stairs and moved towards them, only to find Jamie holding her back.
“No’ that way, this way,” he told her, and yanked her down another set of corridors, these ones free of the controlled people.
“Where are we going?” Zoe shouted as they skidded past the HDU and Haematology departments. A bolt of electricity hissed past her, making her squeak with fright.
“The X-ray department,” Jamie shouted back, vaulting over a upturned wheelchair. “Cybermen cannae stand radiation!”
He pulled her around a corner and slammed, full speed, into a set of double doors covered in dire warnings. A loud crash told them the Cyberman had tripped over the wheelchair.
The X-ray department was in darkness and it took Zoe a few seconds to adjust to the light. “How does it work?” she asked once they were both crouched beside the large, hulking machinery.
Jamie looked blankly at her. “I dinnae know. You’re the astrophysicist.”
“But this machinery is two thousand years more advanced than anything I’ve used!” she protested. “I don’t-“
At that moment the Cyberman crashed through the double doors and halted. Jamie and Zoe froze as the great, metal man slowly pointed the Cyberlaser at them.
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