Chapter 3 (Lunar City Alpha)
“Fascinating concoction,” said the Doctor, scooping up some orange, mushy food with a piece of soft, white bread.
“It’s just cheese,” said Holly, sipping on a cool glass of pink lemonade.
“It tastes like oranges,” said the Doctor, licking the ends of his fingers.
“Really?” said Holly, dipping her finger in the mush, licking her finger and then sticking her tongue out. “Blurgghh! How bizarre!”
“Special of the day, sweetheart,” came a metallic, robotic voice.
Standing with a tray in its hand was what Holly could only describe as something that looked like an robot out of a 1950’s sci-fi film. It was hovering a few inches off the ground, had a round, metallic body with an array of multicoloured buttons and clawed hands attached to stretching, pipe-like arms. Its head was a dome, complete with aerial that swivelled on a neck section. There were two, glowing blue eyes at the front and when the robot spoke a row of red lights lit up where its mouth could have been.
“Hello there,” said the Doctor, shaking the robots claws. “You’re the waiter here, are you?”
“Got it in one, pal,” said the robot. It had an Australian accent which Holly found amusing. “And may I welcome you to Cafe Moondust. My name is Colin.”
“Nice to meet you Colin,” smiled Holly.
“Charmed,” said Colin.
“Listen, perhaps you can help us out,” said the Doctor. “On two counts actually.”
“I’ll try if I can, chief,” said Colin, putting his tray down on the table.
“Firstly I was wondering if you have any kind of chemical stores in the city. Specifically I need mercury.”
“There are three chemical stores on Level 5X,” said Colin, projecting a small, holographic 3D map of Lunar City Alpha. “Your best would be Sonny’s Lab Works.”
“Excellent,” said the Doctor, taking out a notepad and scribbling down the address.
“And your second question?” asked Colin, switching the map off.
“The year is 2006, yes?”
“That’s correct,” said Colin, his dome swivelling slightly.
“Well as far as my history banks are concerned there was never a city on the moon; not in the early 21st century anyway.”
Colin remained silent for a moment and then another image was projected from the vast array of controls on his chest. It showed a holographic video of shuttles travelling to the moon and then scores of people in spacesuits and driving construction vehicles building Lunar City Alpha.
“The City was built 27 years ago.”
“1981?” said Holly. “That’s impossible.”
“I can assure you, lady, that it’s very, very possible. You’re sitting in the possible. Hey, we could rename the cafe! Cafe Possible!”
The Doctor was deep in thought when a sudden realisation hit him and he leaned back in his chair, his hand mock-slapping his forehead.
“Is that a penny is see dropping there, Doctor?” asked Holly.
“We’re in an alternate universe. It’s so obvious.”
“What, like where the Kro’Tenk came from?” asked Holly, remembering all too well her brush with the lizard men of a dark world she visited.
“Sort of,” said the Doctor. “Whatever hit us in the vortex threw us off course. It happens very rarely, but it does occasionally happen.”
“Yeah, but even so,” said Holly, looking around her, “a Moon city built in the 1980’s?”
“Remember though – there are infinite universes out there with infinite possibilities. All it takes is for technology to advance faster than in our universe and voila – Moon City.”
“Have I answered all your questions, chief?” asked Colin.
“Indeed you have, my friend,” said the Doctor, patting him on the dome.
“Then I’ll say g’day,” said Colin, nodding his dome and floating away.
“So all we need is mercury and then we can plot a course home?” asked Holly.
“Should be simple enough,” said the Doctor, taking another bite of his orange-mush-covered bread and grinning. “We just follow the same trajectory that we came in on.”
The Doctor finished off his bread and was about to get up and leave when there was an almighty whoosh from somewhere on the walkway behind them. There were shouts and yells as a metal grill was thrown from over a manhole, landing with a clatter just behind the Doctor and Holly with a grey, plume of powder following it.
“Not again,” said Colin, putting his tray down and floating over to the edge of the cafe boundary.
“Again?” asked Holly.
“This has been happening regularly for the last few weeks - Blasts of moon dust erupting from the vents below.”
“Interesting,” said the Doctor, getting up from the table and running over to the crowd of people gathered around the vent. He knelt down and ran his finger through the grey/silver powdery residue. “Definitely moon dust.”
“But there’s no dust underneath them,” said Holly, kneeling down to join the Doctor. “I mean they’re just vents. Where’s the dust coming from?”
“Nobody knows,” said Colin, sounding fed up with the situation, “but I know that one day one of these vents is going to burst open under our cafe and then we’ll be in trouble.”
By now a work crew had arrived on the scene and were ushering the crowd away so they could fix the grill back down.
“And you say nobody knows? Nobody at all?” asked the Doctor.
“Nobody,” said Colin.
“I can guarantee somebody knows,” said the Doctor, getting to his feet. “Who’s in charge here?”
“That’ll be Commander Borshack.”
“And he can be found...?”
“In Control Centre 1,” said Colin. “Just follow the green arrows to find your way around.”
“Thank you, Colin,” smiled the Doctor.
He and Holly made their way through the masses of people busy going about their daily life until they reached the market area. There were signposts everywhere, but all the directions to the command posts were written on green arrows. They were about to turn and head to an elevator at the side of the domed chamber when Holly grabbed the Doctor’s arm.
“What’s wrong?” asked the Doctor.
“The TARDIS,” said Holly. “Someone’s moved it in here.”
Sure enough the TARDIS was sat in the middle of the market place, people busy milling around it and taking no notice.
“Impossible,” said the Doctor. “I left the gravity clamps on. Nobody should have been able to move it.”
“Well they have,” said Holly.
“I better check she’s in one piece,” said the Doctor. He took out his key and walked over to the TARDIS. He placed the key in the lock. It didn’t turn.
“What’s up?” asked Holly.
The Doctor took his key out of the lock and stroked his unshaven chin, looking the blue box up and down. “I don’t think this is my TARDIS.”
“What?” laughed Holly. “What are you talking about? It’s big, it’s blue, it’s a police box. It’s the TARDIS.”
“No. Remember what I said about us arriving in an alternate universe?”
A look of realisation dawned on the dark-haired woman and her eyes widened. “Like Aldridge in the dark world? You think this TARDIS belongs to another alternate version of you?”
“Indeed I do,” said the Doctor. “How fascinating that we’re both here at the same time.”
Holly smiled and put her hand on his shoulder. “There’re more of you running about than I can count.”
The Doctor gave a weak smile and was about to respond when the entire domed chamber was plunged into darkness. There were cries and shouts from all over and the same whooshing sound that they had heard before.
Red emergency lights came on bathing the chamber and making it look like something out of a horror movie. Holly was about to speak when suddenly something rushed past her and knocked her into the Doctor’s arms.
The two of them looked in the direction the something had run in just in time to see a grey blur disappear out of the chamber and into a corridor.
Now the lights were flickering back on and people were beginning to regain their senses.
“What was that?” asked Holly. “It was bloody hard whatever it was.” She rubbed her shin. “I’ll have a lovely bruise come up there.”
“I don’t know, Miss Dangerfield, but I reckon we should follow it.”
The Doctor took Holly’s hand and they both headed in the direction of the grey blur.
The swimming pool was located in a section off to the furthest edge of the city. It was in a large, glass dome which looked out on the lunar landscape. The pool itself was huge and circular in shape, around the size of two football fields. Dotted around the pool were tables, chairs, sun loungers and at the far wall a bar serving all manner of cocktails, drinks and snacks.
Ian swam over to the edge of the pool where Barbara was laid out on a blanket in a blue, swimming costume. She lowered her sunglasses and peeked over the edge of them.
“Can I help?” she asked, smiling as she sipped on her sparkling, pink coloured lemonade.
“You ought to come into the water,” said Ian. “It’s lovely and warm.”
“I’m quite happy relaxing beside the pool, Mr Chesterton,” smiled Barbara.
“Ah, come on,” said Ian, splashing a little bit of water at his wife.
“Hey,” she said, shielding her face and laughing.
Ian was about to climb out of the pool and join Barbara when a rush and clatter came from the glass double doors at the entrance to the pool area. There was a cry as a woman fell over, a table went flying and a grey blur rushed across the wet tiles, skidded and hit Ian full-on in the chest. The blur – and Ian – fell backwards and went into the depths of the water.
“Ian!” shouted Barbara, getting up from her blanket.
The water was now turning a cloudy grey colour. It looked like someone had just dumped a bag of cement in the warm water, causing it to disperse and discolour the liquid.
“Ian!” she shouted again, on her hands and knees and kneeling over the edge.
By now a crowd had gathered around the pool. The cloud of grey water had now spread out over a few square metres, but all was silent.
“Oh, Ian,” said Barbara, her hand to her mouth.
And then there was a sudden burst from underneath the cloud as Ian popped up, soaking wet and covered head to toe in glittering, grey wet powder.
“Ian!” said Barbara, reaching out to him as the young man coughed and spluttered out some of the gritty water.
“What on Earth was that?” asked Barbara.
“I don’t know,” said Ian as he was helped out by Barbara and a few of the other spectators.
“I’d quite like to find out myself,” came a voice from behind the crowd. Standing there was a young, Scottish man and a dark-haired, pretty girl. “I’m the Doctor, by the way, and this is Holly Dangerfield.”
“Are you okay?” asked Holly, kneeling down beside the pool and the dripping Ian.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” said Ian, holding out a hand to signal for her to keep calm.
“Did you say your name’s the Doctor?” asked Barbara, patting Ian down with a towel.
“That’s right,” said the Doctor. “And you are?”
“Barbara. Barbara and Ian Chesterton.” She held out her hand.
“What?” said a confused Doctor.
To be continued...
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