Who: The Tenth Doctor Where: A Random Street When: During the Gas Build-up What: Building an Atmospheric Converter Rating: TBD
The streets of Franklin Springs were deserted. The gas – described, rather desperately, as ‘smog’ by the newsreaders – was building up in the air, forcing everyone to hide indoors.
In fact, there was only one man out on this particular street. A man in a pinstriped suit, who was kneeling amidst a pile of wires and circuit boards with a very unusual screwdriver between his teeth.
***
The Doctor was not a happy Time Lord. Having sent Romana back to the TARDIS – he was probably going to pay for that one later – the Doctor (and K-9) had tracked down the signal, and found a transporter link leading to a ship hovering above the Earth. The Doctor didn’t know the species, but their modus operandi was fairly obvious. They were using humans as incubators following the destruction of their breeding planet.
After snooping around the ship for a while, the Doctor returned to Earth. He was on his way back to the TARDIS when the gas began was released.
Being the Doctor, it didn’t take him long to figure out why it had been released. It also didn’t take him long to race to the TARDIS and collect the equipment he’d need to build an atmospheric converter and – hopefully – get rid of the gas for good. Well, for a while, anyway. From what he’d seen, they weren’t the sort of species to take a defeat lightly.
***
He removed the sonic screwdriver from his mouth, and set it down on the ground beside him. Although the gas hadn’t reached high levels here in Georgia – yet – he was very relieved he’d created an emergency protocol during the trip to collect his equipment.
If necessary, the TARDIS would simply leave, taking Rose, Romana and the others to a place and time of relative safety. This gas was designed to trigger the birth of whatever they were holding in their stomachs. He hoped he could stop it before it reached the necessary concentration, but he liked having a backup plan, and, without the gas, the thing itself was rather harmless.
Without the gas.
“How are we doing, K-9?” “The gas is at 22 parts per million, Master.”
The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, before reaching for a wrench. He probably had until it reached 40 ppm. That wasn’t too bad, providing he didn’t make any mistakes.
Unfortunately, as he reached for the aforementioned wrench, he made the first one. He knocked his sonic screwdriver, which rolled – unnoticed – off down the street.
Fortunately, however, it stopped when it bumped against the shoe of an approaching figure.