Mondas Down (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1 (Box of Tricks)

Holly was sat on a cool, shiny white floor. Wherever she was it was bright and it took her eyes a moment to adjust from the daylight outside to the artificial light in the box. When she had dived through the unlocked doors she had expected to come crashing down on top of the Doctor and Lilly in the cramped, darkened space, but that wasn’t to be the case. She had actually travelled a few feet from the doors and landed hard on the ground.

“What in the name of all that is bloody holy….?” came the familiar Scottish females voice.

“What on Gallifrey…?” came the Doctor’s voice.

Holly blinked and looked around her as the room came into focus. The room was bright white and huge. It was dome-shaped and in the centre was a mushroom-like control panel with a glass cylinder rising from the centre to the roof, contained within were blue glowing rods. The domed walls were adorned with glowing blue circles and the air smelt of mint. In the far wall was a door leading to goodness knows where and on either side of the domed room were staircases leading downwards.

She turned to look behind her to check where she had actually come from and to her amazement could see the back of the police box doors.

Standing beside the control mushroom was the Doctor and Lilly. Lilly looked like she was about to throttle her, whereas the Doctor stood with one hand on his hips and the other hand scratching his head.

Holly panicked, got to her feet and ran to the police box doors. She tried them but they were locked. And then she staggered back. She could just see out of the windows. Beyond the doors wasn’t the old builders yard she had come from, but instead was a flying maelstrom of coloured clouds and light.

“I told you to lock the sodding doors,” said Lilly.

“Alright Lilly,” warned the Doctor.

Holly turned to face them. “What the hell…?”

“Welcome to the TARDIS,” said the Doctor. “Welcome to my time machine.”




2086




The SS Coronation had just passed Pluto and was heading out into deeper space. It had only taken them a month to get this far out from Earth using the new experimental stellar drives built for NESP - the New Earth Space Programme - and Captain Nicholas Fletcher, or Nick to his friends, was looking forward to getting back to his job at the space research facility in Utah.

His crew of six had set out with one goal - get to the edge of the solar system and come back. It was a two month mission and he was promised it would go smoothly and without a hitch. So far, so good…

Fletcher stood in the control centre of the ship, leaning over a round monitor table which showed a digital image of the solar system and their location in relation to the planets. He nodded and turned to face his team. His second in command was a woman called Angie Grant, a tall, blonde woman in her mid forties. She was strict and stern but she commanded the respect of them all. Chief engineer was a younger man in his late twenties called Harry Brax. He was wide-eyed, eager for new challengers and always covered head to toe in engine dirt. Fletcher wondered if he ever washed.

In charge of navigation was a dark-skinned woman called Natalie Flintlock. She had been eager to explore the edges of the solar system; to be one of the first women to do it. She dreamt of getting even further out there. The final two members of the team were a pair of bespectacled twins called Rick and Roy Hobbin. Rick was the ships doctor and Roy the scientist. They both kept themselves to themselves, but were amiable enough.

“Right folks,” said Fletcher, never one to adopt a strict code of conduct policy, “it’s been a long month getting out here, but we’ve finally done it. We’ve just passed Pluto. It’s time to turn back.”

There were a number of congratulations heard as well as some smiles.

“Silence please,” said Grant, bringing the rest of them to quiet again.

“Sir?” said Natalie Flintlock.

“Go ahead, Natalie,” said Fletcher.

“Can we not just stick around for a little bit? You know, explore a little further?”

“Whilst we’re here we should do,” piped up Roy.

“The purpose of the mission,” said Fletcher, “was to see if we could travel this out far. There’s nothing out here that’s not already been picked up by the probes over the last century.”

Roy and Natalie looked crestfallen, but Fletcher smiled. “I promise you all, the next ship that comes out here will have a recommendation from myself for you to be on board.”

“I’m quite happy to go home,” said Rick. “I miss my bed.”

There was a murmur of agreement around the room.

Grant stepped out in front of Fletcher, her hands behind her back. “Everyone to their stations. Let’s turn this crate around.”

Before anyone could follow the captains orders through, there was a rhythmic beep from the digital readout. Fletcher craned his neck to see what it was.

Grant frowned and tapped a few buttons on the screen.

“What is it?” asked Fletcher, crossing over to her.

“Strange. We’re picking up another ship out there.”

“All the way out here? That’s impossible. Are you sure it’s not a probe?”

Roy was at the screen now. “Definitely not a probe, Captain. This thing has engines.”

“It may have engines,” continued Grant, “but it’s drifting. The engines aren’t working.”

Natalie turned from her navigation panel, her dark eyes twinkling. She was trying to hide her excitement. “I think we should investigate, sir.”

Fletcher stroked his short beard and pursed his lips together. “We really need to get back. We only have enough fuel for this one journey.”

“Sir,” continued Natalie, “the ship always carries a small reserve bank of fuel just in case of emergencies.”

“That’s enough, Flintlock,” said Grant, trying to curb the navigators excitement before it become too overbearing. “That fuel reserve is, as you say, for emergencies.”

“No, it’s okay, Angie,” said Fletcher. He stared down at the readout. If there was a ship out there and it was drifting then the crew may definitely need help. But then again he’d heard stories of ships on the fringes of the solar system, scavenging aliens that tricked passers by into boarding their ships and then killing them. They were just stories though. No one had been out this far yet.

He sighed and looked from person to person. The Hobbin twins were too hard to read. They lived for their jobs, but they would do whatever their captain asked them to do. Natalie was a no-brainer. She wanted to be on that ship right now. Brax looked nonchalant. He never bothered with much other than his engines and Grant…well, Angie was loyal and trusting. She’d go with whatever he asked even if she didn’t entirely agree with it herself.

His mind was made up. If someone was in trouble then they had to help.

“Natalie,” he said to Flintlock, “let’s bring the ship alongside her, yeah?”

Natalie broke into a wide smile, turned and programmed in the controls.

Fletcher turned to the rest of the team. “I promise this won’t take long, and then we’ll head on home. Natalie, Brax and Roy suit up. You‘ll be coming across with me. Angie, stay on board the ship with Rick.

There was a chorus of, “Aye, sir,” as they moved off to get ready.

“Not long, eh, sir?” said Grant.

“We’ll be on our way before you know it, Angie,” smiled Fletcher.




Holly was sat on an beautiful carved wooden chair with a glass of cool, still water. She felt dizzy and sick, but the Doctor reassured her it was just her bodies way of adjusting to the dimensional changes. She had lost him at "adjusting".

Lilly was stood at the control panel, checking various readouts and carefully monitoring the controls whilst the Doctor was sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Holly, smiling at her.

Holly drained the last of the water.

“Better?” said the Doctor.

She nodded. She still felt off, but the effects were wearing off.

“Good,” said the Doctor. “Now, what are you doing on my ship?”

“Ship?” said Holly.

“I’ll explain in a bit, but first you need to answer my question. What are you doing on my ship?”

“I needed to know.”

“Know what?” said Lilly from the controls without turning around.

“Where you two came from. I knew there was something different about you.”

“Hear that, Lils, we’re different.”

“You knew more about those Kro’Tenk things than you should have done.”

“Well, that’s because I’m a little more involved with things that are not…normal.”

“This is a spaceship, isn’t it?” said Holly, looking around her and her eyes returning to the colours swirling beyond the doors.

“Yes, but as I said before it’s a time machine as well,” said the Doctor. “A spaceship and a time machine rolled into one.”

Holly blew out some air from her cheeks and shook her head. “I gotta focus here.”

“Is it so hard to believe?”

“Not really I suppose,” said Holly. “I mean a few days ago I was running from dead bodies and having visions of alternate worlds. A time machine is just another thing to file away in the weird box.”

The Doctor smiled. “From the sounds of it, you’ve always been willing to accept things that belong in the weird box.”

Holly couldn’t help but agree. All of her adventures and interests as a child and teenager proved that.

“I need you to keep quiet about it though. When I take you home-”

“What? Take me home?”

“You’ve gotta go,” said Lilly. “You have no right being here.”

“Okay, Lilly, there’s no need for that. Holly understands.”

Lilly turned to face the Doctor, her face screwed up in frustration. “She forces her way on here without a care for where she was going. She could have damaged the doors. She could have damaged the interior dimensions. You know take off and landing is the most dangerous moment.”

“Lilly,” he got to his feet, “I’ve been flying around in this old box for thousands of years-”

“Thousands!” exclaimed Holly. “How old are you?”

“All in good time, Holly,” said the Doctor. He turned back to Lilly. “I know everything there is to know about this box. I don’t need you to lecture me.”

“Not lecture, Doctor,” said Lilly, turning back to the controls, “but maybe you need someone to keep your mind focused on things. Remind you of what‘s important and what isn’t.”

The Doctor frowned and for the first time since she’d known these two, Holly thought the Doctor looked incredibly pissed off with his friend.

“I’m sorry,” said Holly. “Genuinely I am, but I couldn’t just let you leave. How was I supposed to go back to my old life knowing what was going to come in five months time?”

“You’re a Human,” said Lilly.

“And you’re not?” said Holly. “And what’s that meant to mean anyway?”

“What Lilly means,” said the Doctor, “is that you’re not used to experiencing the things you’ve experienced.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” said Holly, “but believe me, I’ve read up about these things. When we were kids Foxy and Roxy and me and the others had a club. We had a Den in the woods and we read up about aliens and ghosts and stuff.”

Lilly laughed. “This is real life.”

“Lilly,” said the Doctor again, through gritted teeth.

Holly got up off the stool, wobbled slightly - the Doctor grabbed her to support her - and then she crossed over to Lilly. “Do you have a problem with me? I haven‘t forgotten that you punched Roxy in the nose.”

“Now, now ladies,” said the Doctor.

“The Doctor and I have been quite happily travelling around the universe for quite a while now. We don’t need another kid to show the wonders of the universe too.”

“Another kid? I’m 23.”

“That’s enough,” said the Doctor. “Holly, I am not apposed to having you onboard, but I’m afraid mine and Lilly’s lives are a little bit too dangerous right now. Maybe when it’s all over you can come with us, but for now-”

The Doctor was cut off by a high-pitched beeping sound coming from the control console. Lilly flicked a few switches and a holographic screen materialised on the far side wall. It showed an advanced rocket manoeuvring into position beside a battered old chunky flying saucer-type vessel.

“Just outside the vortex,” said Lilly, checking the readings. “Do we check it out?”

The Doctor looked at Holly who was staring with wide eyes at the two spaceships.

“I’d like to see,” said Holly, trying to keep her excitement under control.

The Doctor turned back to Lilly. “Take us in to land.” He stroked his stubble. “Let’s be careful though. Something about that ship looks familiar.”

To be continued...