Night-Mares in Steel

by Bronycommander

Chapter 10 Past and cost part 7

Chapter 10 Past and cost part 7

Opening their eyes once more, the group saw that they were in a cave.

“Hold it there!” A voice yelled and they saw a man in grey uniform and helmet, brown hair, with matching eyes and walrus mustache, holding a man and 2 woman at gun point with a weapon that looked similar to the guns of the bulky Cybermen. Next to him was a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing the same uniform but with a white helmet. The nametags showed Lieutenant Scott and Professor Kyle respectively.

Scoot asked if Kyle recognized them, which she denied.

How do you do.” The other man spoke up calmly. He was a young man in his late twenties, fair blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a long beige-colored frock coat with red piping along the collar, lapels, sleeves, pockets and tails. Underneath this he wore a white, long-sleeved cricket jumper with a red and black V-Neck pattern, and, under that, a white dress shirt with a red interior and embroidered red question marks on the collars. His trousers were a unique pattern of brown and beige stripes.

“I'm the Doctor.” He introduced himself, giving Kyle a handshake and pointed to the two women. The first was small, slender, aggressively close-cropped, dark auburn hair, matching eyes and dressed in a purple uniform skirt and blouse.

Slender was also the other woman, brown curls with green eyes, wearing a plum-colored velvet trouser-suit with elaborately puffed sleeves

“This is Tegan and Nyssa.” They got introduced by the Doctor, both slightly startled.

Scott accused the Doctor of murders, as some of Kyle’s collogues went missing, with the Doctor trying to convince him otherwise.

The women then noticed a rock fall that had been recent, digging it free to discover a set of stained overalls and a metal hatch.

Scott demanded the Doctor to open it, who replied he can’t but relented after the officer raised his voice.

What happened next surprised the watchers.

Two black humanoid figures came from behind and an explosion sounded

“Take cover! Take cover! Behind the rocks!” Scott yelled as the figures came into full view.

They had a human form but lacked any facial and gender features. It was similar to a dummy used for clothes. They fired beams from their palms. A trooper was hit and to the horror of the ponies, he reduced to slime in a matter of seconds, still smoking.

In response, the soldiers returned fire with their rifles, firing purple lasers. Yet they had no effect at all.

“Who are they?” Kyle asked surprised, with the Doctor having a suspicion.

“Androids. That's why they didn't register on your scanners.”

“Androids. Are they yours?” Scott asked in return,

“No. If you want proof, you'll find they'll kill me as willingly as they'll kill you.” They ducked from another explosion through the Androids. “See what I mean?”

“That's them. I recognize that sound.” The professor added and Scott nodded.

“Those are the things that attacked you?”

“Yes.”

This caused the Doctor to ask, “Do you know why?”

“No, there isn't a reason.”

“Whoever's controlling the android thinks there is.” The Doctor suspected.

Then the ponies saw the view of an Android, red in color. It zoomed in on the group and relayed an image of the Doctor's face back to a holo-imager, with three bulky Cybermen looking at it.

“Destroy them! Destroy them at once!” The Cyber-leader ordered.

Realizing their weapons had little effect, the soldiers decided to focus their fire on the hand of the right Android. It caused an explosion of sparks but the Android was only damaged, not destroyed.

“The androids are too valuable to waste. We may still need them.” One of the Cyberman stated with worry, yet the leader assured,

“They are programmed for self-preservation. They will not take any more unnecessary risks.”

In that moment, the android retreated, much to the confusion of the humans. However, this made the Doctor suspect that the function of the Androids was to protect the hatch.

“Doctor! Doctor!” A new voice yelled, the group turned into its direction. A snub-nosed, round-faced boy with dark hair and wicked, black button eyes, wearing a dull-colored shirt beneath a yellow tunic with an orange breast-pocket, a golden star on it and a pair of muddy-colored trousers tucked into boots, ran towards the Androids.

“Adric!” The Doctor yelled and his friend noticed the danger, ducking into a side tunnel.

This gave the soldiers an opportunity as they figured that they could confuse the Androids by attacking the hatch, as they would be conflicted about their objective and self-preservation.

It wasn’t not unnoticed by the Cybermen. “The Earthlings are attempting to break through the hatch.”

“Are their weapons capable?” The Cyber-leader asked.

“Yes, Leader.”

“They must be stopped immediately.”

Adric was crawling along a ledge behind the androids. He knocked one down with a rock, and the soldiers blasted the second one in the head. With a big explosion of sparks, it fell destroyed to the ground, it’s head halfway missing.

For the cyborgs, there was no only static, causing the leader to ask, “Is the second android fitted with visual monitoring?”

“Yes, Leader.”

“Then activate.”

The feed showed the soldiers firing at the second android's hand. As it fell over from the sparks and blast, Scott shot it in the head, destroying it and ending the feed.

“We must act quickly. Prepare to activate the device.” The leader ordered, yet his second-in commend stated,

“It's too soon, Leader.”

“We must be prepared. Activate the computer.”

“It's too early, Leader. It will be wasted.”

“The device is already lost. Let the Earth see the effectiveness of Cyber technology. Explode the bomb.”

With fear and shock, the eyes of the ponies went wide. Bomb? They wanted to destroy earth! But why?

Upon opening the hatch, a flash of light threw the doctor back, revealing the bomb. Cuboid in form, connected by two white tubes, flashing blue, a red number display.

“A bomb. My opening the hatch has started up the arming procedure. You'd better let your people on the surface know what's happened.” The Doctor realized with worry and horror and the officer asked,

“How much time have we got?”

“I've no idea. Tegan, get everyone into the Tardis.”

“Come on. You can't stay behind!” Adric pleaded with the Doctor, who declined with a determined voice,

“It was my own stupidity that started it off. The least I can do is to.” He thought for a second, then gave a hopeful grin. “Of course! Come on!” They all walked out of view.

Yet something confused the ponies. “Did…Did he say Tardis?” Time Turner mumbled, and Luna held up a hoof.

“It could be just a coincidence.”

“How much longer before activation?” The leader asked and his fellow cyborg looked at a console, showing a countdown.

“One minute.”

With that, the leader turned a knob on the console. “Master detonator engaged,” And prepared to push a red button.

“Thirty seconds.”

They all held their breath, would the Doctor succeed?

Or was Earth doomed?

Suddenly, a bulb on the console started to blink, with an alarm ringed, causing the Cyber-leader to ask, “What's happening?”

“Our signal is being jammed.”

Clenching his fist, the leader ordered, “More power!”

His second in command pushed a button, “Supplementary power on.”

“Hurry.”

“Power building.”

At the same, time, the Doctor and Adric arrived at the hatch with a box of tools, the former holding out his hand.

“Magnetic clamp."

“Magnetic clamp.” His friend did as told, “How much damage could this bomb do?”

“Enough.” Was the only answer the Doctor gave him as he placed the clamp on top of the bomb

“Enough for what?”

With that, the Doctor turned around, a neutral expression. “To make life intolerable for the few who survived. Probe.”

“Probe.”

The Doctor fiddling with it, then called for a laser cutter, doing the same before needing a Magnetic drone, placing it on the bomb too.

He then and opened a small panel, jumping upon touching it.“ There was power in that circuit!” He exclaimed in surprise and the bomb flashed again

“What's happened?” Adric pointed at it and an expression of worry formed on the Doctor’s face

“The signal's breaking through. I think drastic action is called for.”

“But there can't be much time left. What can we do?” His friend asked in slight panic, the Doctor made a quick thought.

“Abandon methodical procedure for blind instinct. Laser cutter!”

“Laser cutter.”

With a slightly shaking hand, the Doctor started to cut one of the tubes. “Hmm. Right or wrong, here we go.”

Then the scene switched back to the Cybermen, with the leader getting informed, “Full power.”

“We proceed towards the destruction of Earth.”

“Our signal has broken through.”

“Excellent.” The leader sounded satisfied before a loud beeping sound ringed, much to his confusion. “A fault?” He wondered as his fellow cyborg looked at the console, walking over to him.

“No, Leader. The bomb has been deactivated!”

“That can't be. Cyber technology is too advanced for Earthlings.”

“But how did they succeed, Leader?”

“They have been helped. We have been betrayed. Whoever has done this must be found and destroyed at once.” The Cyber-Leader assumed and they watched a replay of Adric attacking the android. “I should have realized sooner that the Earthlings had help.”

“There's nothing on this replay to indicate who it might be.” His assistant pointed out until he spotted something in the tunnel.

“What is that? I know that object.” Again, the eyes of the ponies went wide as a holo imagine of a blue police box came up. “A Tardis."

“A Time Lord. But they're forbidden to interfere.” His assistant pointed out, yet the leader explained,

“This one calls himself the Doctor, and does nothing else but interfere.” The imagine then showed the elderly man confronting the Cybermen at Mondas’ return.

“Emotions. Love, pride, hate, fear. Have you no emotions then?”

“It was in this regenerated form that he confined the Cybermen to their ice tomb on Telos.” The Leader continued and the Wheel got shown.

“I imagine you have orders to destroy me.”

“And as this, he defeated us in our attempt to destroy Voga, the planet of gold.”

“You've no home planet, no influence, nothing. You're just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship.”

“I did not see any of these men in the cave.” His assistant replied.

“It appears he has regenerated again, but whatever his form, he must be found and destroyed.”

“So this Doctor can apparently not only change his form, but also travel in time like you.” Derpy sounded puzzled, looking at her husband. "Could it be, that he is sort of a human counterpart to you, or a former version of you?”

Time Turner thought for a moment as everyone looked at him for an answer. “I am pretty sure I would remember that but I can’t recall any of this. Best not to think too much about it.”

They all nodded as they saw how the assistant had news for the Cyber-leader.

“Our deep space probes have identified the Tardis.”

“Destination?”

“The freighter.”

Again, the leader clenched his fist. “Excellent! Our contingency plans can go ahead. The attack on Earth will proceed accordingly.” Another beeping sound ringed and he pressed a button.

Report.

“The freighter has received full security clearance for its journey to Earth.” Another Cyberman spoke over a radio.

“Excellent.”

“There is one problem. The disappearance of the three crewmembers has caused a lot of unrest.”

“Get your minions to search the hold. You will find a scapegoat there.”

“Leader?” The other Cyberman did not understand.

“You have intruders!” The Leader warned.

Then the ponies saw a large room with many silver silo like containers, with the Doctor and Adric held at gunpoint by a man with brown hair and eyes, wearing a grey jacked over a white shirt, his expression one of hate, as he saw 2 dead bodies next to them.

“On this ship we execute murderers.” Then he reached for a receiver. “I've apprehended two stowaways.”

“Take them to the brig.” A female voice ordered, only for another, older voice to interrupt,

“I'd rather have them up here.”

He acknowledged and with neutral expressions, the two men got bought away, unaware that the Cybermen were watching on their holo-imager.

“Which one is the Doctor?”

“The tall one with the fair hair. Even under the threat of death, he has the arrogance of a Time Lord.” The Leader explained.

“Now the Doctor is a prisoner, it is time to secure the freighter.”

“Indeed, but the Doctor must be taken alive. He must suffer for our past defeats. Activate my personal guard.”

“Will that be enough, Leader?”

“The crew is small. They will offer little resistance.”

On the bridge, visible by several consoles and screens, the Doctor and Adric were faced by an elderly woman with blonde hair and matching eyes, called Briggs as a nametag showed, eyeing both with suspicion. “You've caused me a great deal of trouble. Her voice was cold, a neutral expression.

“I assure you, you have the wrong people.” The doctor tried to convince her that it was a misunderstanding.

“Don't answer the captain back.” The armed crewmember ordered, only for Briggs to raise a hand.

“It's quite all right, Ringway. I can fight my own battles, thank you. I suppose you're going to say you know nothing about the disappearance of three of my crew members.” She explained, showing that she was the Captain of the freighter.

“How can we? We've only just arrived on your ship.” The Doctor calmly stated, only for the woman to counter,

“Someone's responsible.”

“It isn't us.” Adric interjected, trying to show he and his friend weren’t responsible for the death of the crew before an alarm sounded.

“A power surge!” A woman with blue eyes and blonde hair exclaimed, being the first officer, called Berger, looking at the screen. It showed all kinds of numbers of different sectors in the ship.

It was clear to the ponies that the Cybermen were behind this, seeing how a group of Cybermen in plastic bags started to move, then ripped them open.

However, the crew was able to locate the source and Briggs ordered a squad to be dispatched as the Cyber-Leader got a report.

“Personal guard fully activated.”

“Excellent.”

“The captain of the freighter will see that his power lines have been tapped.”

This surprised the leader. “Why did you not jam their instruments?”

“Our demand on their electrical supply was too great. The ship's computer was alerted.”

“We will take the bridge at once. Continue the reactivation.” The Cyber-leader ordered another Cyberman, who walked up the console as the leader and his assistant left.

To combat the threat, the crew build up a barricade at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the bridge, armed with the same laser guns as Scott’s men.

They opened fire as the Cybermen came into view. While hitting the cyborgs, they did not even flinch. It was clear to the ponies that the weapons had no effect at all.

The Cybermen returned fire with their guns. They produced a green, halo-shaped discharge. They got some of the defenders, they fell dead to the ground.

While looking briefly at their casualties, the other defenders still fight on, exchanging fire with the cyborgs but none of the two sides seemed to gain the upper hand.

The humans knew what was at stake, despite never having seen those cyborgs before. They couldn’t allow letting their ship fall into enemy hands so close to earth.

But eventually, the Cybermen advanced, two more crewmembers fell to their weapons as they fired back.

Some of the crew, retreated while firing their weapons in a futile suppression attempt, building up another barricade at the bridge corridor, guns at the ready.

They breathed heavily as they heard the sound of exchanging gunfire for a few minutes before it ceased.

As the cyborgs came around the corner, they opened fire but again, their weapons were useless. While fighting bravely, they got quickly overrun by the invading Cyborgs.

Briggs and Berger saw on a security screen how the cyborgs advanced.

“Our defenses are crumbling. We must help.” The Captain decided with a neutral expression, yet sounded slightly worried.

“We can't leave these two.” Her first officer pointed out, looking at the 2 intruders. Both men tried to keep their emotions hidden but the worry was clearly visible in their eyes. They knew what was at stake, that the Cybermen couldn’t be allowed to win, though the situation looked grim.

The Captain gave a nod in response. “We'll take them with us.”

“No, you won't. Stay where you are.” A male voice warned them and they turned around to see they were stopped by the man that had found the Doctor and Adric, holding them at gunpoint.

“Ringway!” Briggs exclaimed surprised and he replied flatly,

“Yes, Captain?”

“The enemy's outside, Mister. You're pointing your gun in the wrong direction.” She pointed out irritated, not able to believe what she just saw.

The ponies couldn’t believe it either. Why would he do this, especially at such a moment? What would he have to gain?

“I'm relieving you of command.” He announced coldly, his eyes fixed on her, ready to pull the trigger if she would try something.

Despite this, the captain looked still irritated at him, the others in surprise. She seemed not impressed or intimidated by this at all, fixing him with a slight glare “Oh, come off it.”

“Shut up! I'm tired of your snide remarks and bullying ways.”

Calmly the Doctor asked him why he helped the Cybermen, remarking how he defeated them before. Adric used this to turns his back and removed his gold star, which the traitor noticed, grabbing the boy.

“What's that?” He demanded to know.

“A badge.” Andric replied slightly startled.

“I can see it's a badge. What's it made of?”

“I don't know.”

Ringway inspected it and mumbled, “It's gold.”

“What? Gold?” Adric showed confusion before getting it. “Oh, only the edge. It couldn't do any harm.”

“Trying to hide it from me, were you?” Ringway slightly raised his voice with a suspicious expression before noticed that the first office was nowhere to be seen. “Berger. Where's Berger?”

Briggs used this to hit his back with a karate-chop, knocking him out. Berger had hidden behind the console. She pushed a button as two Cybermen appeared at the entrance, sealed it and the second entrance with a bulkhead each.

The Doctor asked then how many of those silos the freighter was transporting and the captain answered, “Oh, fifteen thousand.” Her expression then became one of disbelief as she realized that they all could carry Cybermen. “No, it's not possible.”

Outside, the Cybermen inspected the bridge with the assistant of the leader getting asked, “Have you tested the defenses?”

“Yes, Leader. We are able to break through them.”

“Excellent. Prepare to break through the bulkhead shields. Is the Doctor on the bridge?”

“He is.” His assistant confirmed.

“He must be taken alive.” Then one of the cyborgs brought forward what looked like a large rifle, with the leader asking, “Ready?”

“Yes, Leader.”

“Then activate the thermal lance.”

The tip of the lance started to glow red, touching the door. In a matter of seconds, it glowed red as well.

In response, knowing he had to act fast, the Doctor asked as the ship was powered with antimatter, how it was contained. Berge answered it was a contained vessel and he asked if it was possible to tap into the stabilizing device.

“Yes, the machinery's here.” She took him to a wall panel and opened it, pulling some wire out, with the Doctor intending to stabilize the shield with it.

Blinking, the scene switched to two Cybermen on the cargo hold, apparently chatting to each other but the ponies couldn’t understand anything. Suddenly, several concentrated Laser beams hit them and one fell to the ground, the other got thrown back and managed to get away.

As the downed cyborg tried to reach for his weapon, Tegan dashed forward, grabbing it and shot the Cyberman. His chest unit exploded, killing him. Looking around, the ponies saw the other Cyberman limping, green fluid leaked from it.

Back at the bridge, the shield was now white-hot. A Cyberman's hand punched through the bulkhead just as the Doctor was about to put the wires to it. He got blown back with a cry as the Cyberman grabbed the wires and became part of the now solid bulkhead in a shower of sparks.

“It worked!” Adric couldn’t believe it and the Captain praised his friend,”

“Oh, well done, Doctor.”

Yet the Cybermen had the other door covered too, moving to it as the assistant commented, “You are right, Leader. The Doctor is a formidable opponent.”

“I anticipated as much.” The Leader replied as his troops placed explosives on the door. “Activate the charge.”

“Leader!” His assistant exclaimed and he turned around to see the wounded Cyberman crawling round the corner before collapsing. “He has been damaged by gunfire.”

“There is still resistance.”

“According to the Earthling, there were only ten crew members. They have all been accounted for.”

This caused the Cyber-leader to erroneously conclude. “Then he has lied. Order the activation of reinforcements. Charges primed?”

“Yes, Leader.” His assistant nodded and both went around the corner for cover.

“Fire!”

The Doctor and Adric were knocked down by the blast, the former groaned in pain. “I should have realized.”

Several Cybermen entered, with Ringway grabbing the gun from the captain as a Cyberman grabbed her arm to restrain her.

The Cyber-leader was the last one to enter, looking straight at the Doctor, who had a neutral expression. “So, we meet again, Doctor.” He then signaled a Cyberman to advance, weapon ready.

“Er, no! Er,” the Doctor took a step backwards, raising a hand. Then the cyborg turned towards Ringway, shooting him. Ringway’s expression became empty, letting out a dying groan as he fell over

“He deceived us.” The leader explained and the Doctor sourly joked

“You never change. Always the perfect guests.”

“Our records indicate that you have a fondness for Earth.”

“Fondness? I'm surprised your emotionless brain understands the word.” The Doctor taunted in return.

“It is a word like any other. And so is destruction, which is what we are going to do to that planet.”

Keeping his neutral expression, the Doctor said, “You’ve tried before.”

“This time we shall succeed, and you will live just long enough to witness it.” Was the statement of the leader as his assistant reported,

“Reactivation completed.”

“Excellent. Now you will see our strength.” The Leader announced, and the Doctor looked horrified at the main screen as more Cybermen burst out of the silos, marching through the hold and the Leader turned towards him.

“My army awakes, Doctor!”

One Cyberman worked at the navigation terminal as the Captain protested, “This is piracy!”

“It is war.” The Cyber-leader simply stated as she warned,

“The ship is in warp drive. Interfere with the navigational system and we will disintegrate.”

“Your technology is primitive compared to ours. Mistakes will not be made.” He assured in his emotionless voice as his troops worked on the ship's controls, attaching a small cube-like device.

The Doctor suspected it was to lock the freighter on course to collide with Earth as the Leader stated, “Your Tardis has been found, Doctor.”

I” didn't know it was lost.” He simply replied calmly.

Yet, the ponies couldn’t make any sense of this, why would the Cybermen go so far? What did they hope to accomplish?

They got their answer as Briggs protested again. “You're mad if you think Earth security will let you crash into the planet. They'd shoot the ship down.”

“There will not be time. You have a security transponder with clearance for Earth.” The leader countered and Adric raised his voice,

“Yes, but why do it? On impact this ship will destroy everything. The planet will be useless.”

“There is a conference about to take place on Earth.”

As reaction, the Doctor gave a small nod as he understood. “The reason for the red alert.”

“Yes,” replied the leader. “The heads of many powerful planets will be present.”

“So you destroy a few presidents in a needlessly destructive way.” Taunted the young man, only to get it explained by the cyborg.

“It is more than that. The purpose of the conference is to sign a pact uniting their military forces in a war against the Cyber race.”

“Of course. A war you couldn't possibly win.” The Doctor realized in a taunting tone and the leader added,

“Their combined forces would be too great.”

“Destroy the conference and you destroy the unity.” Concluded the Doctor, with the leader continuing,

“It will be a great psychological victory. The strength and might of the Cyber race will be confirmed.”

“So the freighter replaces the bomb.”

“Yes, Doctor. In spite of your interference, we will still triumph.” Now, the Cyber-leader sounded slightly confident and taunting.

But despite this, the Doctor had still something to add as he said,” If the freighter crashes into Earth with you on board, won't that make it rather difficult for you to carry out your task? I mean, you would be very crumpled.”

“I shall not be on board, Doctor.” Was the simple answer of the leader, with the timelord showing no signs of concern or unease.

“You don't surprise me.”

“My function was leader of the squad to eliminate those who survived the bomb.”

“Now your transport has replaced the bomb.” Briggs added into the conversation, with the leader simply stating.

“I shall join a secondary force to complete my task.”

As he turned around, the woman whispered to the Doctor, “Are they all so dedicated?”

“Compared to some, this one is positively flippant.”

Then the ponies saw how Scott and three soldiers entered the Tardis but one got grabbed by a Cyberman.

The inside of the Tardis was bigger on the inside, fascinating for Kyle, Jan and Art Strings, but expected by the others, light shade of grey made the walls, with a large computer bank taking up a major part of the "back" wall.

“Wait till it's near, then concentrate your fire!” Scott ordered as a Cyberman entered.

They fired at him the moment he entered.

The Cybermen stumbled from the hits before falling lifeless to the ground.

Nyssa pulled a lever to close the door but another cyborg entered, getting pinned between the closing doors, with the two men pressing against them to keep it from getting through.

The officer grabbed it’s weapon, struggling for it.

With the hostile being in a struggle, the professor attempted to pick up the gun of the fallen Cyberman, knowing she had to do something.

She took aim, ready to fire.

Despite struggling, the cyborg managed to fire his weapon, hitting Kyle. With a cry of pain, she fell backwards to the ground, not moving.

“No!” Nyssa exclaimed in horror, a terrified expression as she knelled next to the dead woman.

It was here where Scott managed to get hold of the Cyborg’s gun and fired. With a dying groan, the Cybermen struggled not to collapse, attempting to grab the door as it slowly fell to it’s knees.

At the Bridge, the Doctor was surprised and shocked as a Cyberman brought Tegan in, with the Leader asking, “Who is this woman?”

Quickly gathering himself, the man replied, “An Earthling. No one of consequence.”

“She's one of your crew.” The Leader concluded and the Doctor just answered blankly,

“In a manner of speaking.”

“I see that Time Lords have emotional feelings.” The leader commented, sounding slightly curious.

“Of sorts.”

m response, the cyborg wanted to know, “Surely a great weakness in one so powerful?”

“Emotions have their uses.” stated the Doctor, only for the leader to counter,

“They restrict and curtail the intellect and logic of the mind.”

This caused the Doctor to yell, “They also enhance life! When did you last have the pleasure of smelling a flower, watching a sunset, eating a well-prepared meal?”

“These things are irrelevant.” replied the Cyber-leader.

“For some people, small, beautiful events is what life is all about!” The Doctor slightly angered, with the Leader looking at Tegan.

“You have affection for this woman?”

“She's a friend.” He simply stated.

“And you do not consider friendship a weakness?”

“I do not.”

The Cyber-leader stayed silent for a moment, then issued an order. “Kill her.”

Now, the expression of the Doctor became one of slight fear as he saw Tegan and Adric backing away from a Cyberman into an area labeled Escape Pod.

He knew he that do something but couldn’t show his fear, with the leader watching patiently.

His breathing quickened as he made a dash towards them in an attempt to protect both. “No!”

Having seen enough, The Cyber-leader waved the Cyberman away and asked, “Such a reaction is not a disadvantage?”

Suppressing a hiss, the Doctor had a slightly angered tone. “No.”

“You are mistaken. I now have control over you, Doctor. All I need do is threaten the woman's death for you to obey me.” The Leader pointed out and the ponies could swear he showed a certain degree of smugness with it.

He then turned to Briggs. “I return your ship to you, Captain.”

“Really?” She asked with a taunting smile.

“You will continue your journey to Earth. The ship will function normally.”

“We're to stay on board?” She asked unimpressed.

“Yes. Although your presence isn't needed, of course. The control of your ship is now totally automatic.”

“This isn't necessary. Let them go.” The Doctor pleaded, only for the leader to ask,

“And deny them the feeling of fear, the ultimate in emotional response?”

“You've already proved your point quite adequately.” The man added calmly

“A final demonstration might convince any doubters.”

The leader’s assistant then interrupted, “We have finished, Leader.”

“Excellent. Instruct all regenerated Cybermen to evacuate the ship. You will return to Cybercontrol and inform main fleet of our intention.”

“At once.”

With that, the ponies saw how a group of Cybermen gathered at an airlock in the cargo hold. They too notice how three cyborgs broke unnoticed away from the group, leaving through another airlock.

They entered what looked like a shuttle, the same the group at Voga had used, gathering some distance to the freighter but followed it.

Back at the bridge, the leader ordered two Cybermen to guard the bridge, stating it was scientific to observe the weakness of humans, with Adric forced to stay too, despite the Doctor’s protests.

Adric however assured the Doctor he would be fine, with Briggs that there’s a chance.

With a remorseful expression, the Doctor and Adric shook hands. “Good luck, Adric.”

“Goodbye, Doctor.”

Then the assistant reported in via radio. “The freighter has been evacuated.”

“Excellent.”

“And a ship is being dispatched from the main fleet to collect you.”

“The fleet is too far away. I will use the Doctor's Tardis to observe the impact.” The Leader objected.

“Leader.”

“You will meet me there.”

On the way to the Tardis, Tegan commented with disgust, “You won't like Earth.

“Like or dislike does not come into my consideration.” The leader coldly replied, only for her to add,

“It will when you start going rusty.”

The assistant then joined up with them. “Leader, the main fleet has acknowledged your intentions.”

“Do they agree?”

“Yes, Leader. As soon as the freighter impacts, a small force will follow through and under your instructions subdue survivors.” The assistant explained, satisfying his superior.

“Excellent.”

Back at the bridge, the ponies saw how Scott waved to get the attention of a Cyberman, who did not hesitate to follow him. Leaning against the wall, the officer waited until the cyborg went past him, then shot him in the back., then ran in and killed the other before he could react.

Briggs wanted to abandon ship, but Adric told her that he might be able to override the device controlling the ship's computer. However, another squad of Cybermen bust out of the silos, with Scott and his soldiers holding them back to buy time for Adric, Briggs and Berger.

Upon managing to override one segment of three, Berger worked on the controls and the ship tilted.

On the scanner of the Tardis, the image of the freighter flickered then vanished. Causing confusion upon everyone, with the Nyssa wondering, “What's happening?”

“Where have they gone?” Tegan asked in confusion and the Doctor realized what had happened.

“The freighter's jumped time warps.”

“You will follow.” The Cyber-leader ordered him

“Where?”

“Follow them!”

Then it reappeared on the screen and the leader ordered, “You will board the freighter."

“I can't.” The Doctor refused calmly and the Cyborg grabbed Nyssa's arm.

“You will do as I say.” The leader demanded, only for the Doctor to walk, up, raising his voice.

“It's physically impossible. The freighter is no longer on a fixed course. The coordinates are constantly changing. That's why it keeps fading. I've got nothing to lock on to.”

“At least the Earth is safe now.” Tegan let out a sigh of relief and Nyssa looked at him with hope.

“Doctor?”

With regret, they told them, “Although the freighter is spiraling backwards in time, it's still locked on to the same spatial coordinates.”

“Earth?” Tegan couldn’t believe what she heard, but it pleased the Cyber-leader

“This is excellent news, Doctor. Earth will be destroyed. It will never exist as you have known it.”

“Is that true?”

It hurt the Doctor to reply. “Yes.”

As Adric managed to unlock the second segment, Briggs decided that was time to abandon ship, but Adric was still determined to break the codes, having to be dragged into the escape pod. But he jumped out at the last second and continued his efforts.

It was here where the Doctor noticed something as he looked at the screen. “It may be of some small consequence to know we've traveled backwards in time some sixty five million years.” He said flatly

“Big deal.” Tegan commented, accepting that Earth was lost and the Doctor urged,

“Think about it.”

“Do you recall the fossil dinosaur bones in the cave on Earth?” Nyssa asked her and she replied in confusion,

“What?”

“And why it's believed they died out so quickly?”

“Earth collided with a meteorite.” Tegan responded flatly and her friend pointed out,

“Or something.”

Tegan’s eyes went wide as she realized what her friends meant. “The freighter?”

“The antimatter vessel will split open on impact. There will be a tremendous explosion.” The Doctor explained, much to her confusion.

“The freighter was the meteorite?”

“It seems inevitable, as is your history as we know it.” The Doctor stated but the Leader didn’t believe it.

“You lie, Doctor.”

“Not at all. You've lost. The Earth is safe.” He said in triumph.

“Scott to Tardis. Scott to Tardis. Come in, please.” Sounded from a small radio and Nyssa grabbed it.

“This is the Tardis. We have Cybermen on board.”

The Cyber-leader pushed the Doctor aside and took the communicator from Nyssa as Scott added, “We've managed to escape from the freighter, but Adric's still on board.”

Then the leader crushed the radio and turned towards the Doctor, who taunted, “You've failed, Leader.”

“But you will not enjoy the victory. I shall now kill you, Doctor.” As the cyborg took aim, the Doctor staying totally calm, Tegan grabbed the leader from behind. In response, the leader threw her off by turning around, having his back to the Doctor.

He got behind the leader and rubbed Adric’s gold star against its chest unit, the gold crumbling into pieces.

The Cyborg made choking noises, with everyone hitting the deck as the Cyber-leader, maddened and asphyxiating, fired his gun aimlessly, hitting the console, who shot sparks from the hit.

Getting up, the Doctor grabbed the gun, firing it at it point-blank into the cyborg’s chest. While struggling, the leader fell slowly to the ground. His chest exploded as he died.

“Please hurry, Doctor. We must get Adric off the freighter.” Nysa pleaded desperately as he worked on the console, with him replying,

“The console's damaged.”

“We must save Adric! There's so little time!”

On the bridge, an injured Cyberman limped towards it as Adric tried to solve the last segment.

“Of course, that's it.” He cheered before leaped back as the injured cyborg fired, destroying it. Yet upon doing so, the Cyberman let out a dying groan, falling to the ground.

With a slightly scared expression, the boy looked at the screen, earth coming closer and closer. “Now I'll never know if I was right.”

Seconds later, the explosion came, destroying the freighter completely.

Tyson’s soldiers in the shuttle had watched everything, all three saluted, as if to pay their respects before flying away and the memory ended.

Everyone stayed silent, trying to process what just happened before Art Strings started to sniff.

A tear escaped her eye.

Then, she sniffed more, trying not to cry.

Shaking, more tears escaped her eyes, lowering her head

Dinky gave her a comforting hug with the other children. "Shh, it’s okay.”

The adults gave weak smiles at this.

Luna waited for a moment so Art Strings could calm down before she spoke up, “We are nearing us the end of the memories. The next one is…” Her eyes went slightly wide in surprise. “1985, one year before Mondas returned.”

Comments

[midnightwolfGX]

Well, that was quite a close call, stopping the Cybermen from eradicating Earth! Pretty well-written chapter with a lot of good action!

[Bronycommander]

10685189
Thank you!