Prologue

The woman floated in and out of consciousness. She had no idea where she was or what was happening to her. There were strange, out of focus shapes and weird noises. She couldn't move. Giving up the will to stay awake, she let unconsciousness take her under again.

Chapter One

The TARDIS shook and buzzed. Lights flashed as the central column moved up and down, indicating they were in flight. Rose steadied herself against some nearby railings to stop herself from falling. Captain Jack had decided to stay put in his seat.

"I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question but what's going on?" Rose asked.

The Doctor was dashing around the TARDIS, pulling leavers, pressing buttons and generally going nuts as he tried to get the Time Machine under control. Finally, he stopped and looked as Rose, almost as if he'd only just realised she had spoken.

"It's the TARDIS. She's going crazy and setting her own course." The Doctor turned his attention back to the control panels. Rose was sure she had never seen him so frustrated.

"Typical woman, I'd say," Captain Jack said with a smirk.

Without warning the TARDIS suddenly shuddered to a stop. The three of them looked at each other then the Doctor suddenly broke into a huge grin. "I think we've landed. Wanna go explore?" he asked.

"Dunno yet, where are we?" Rose replied as she rounded the central controls and joined him the small screen.

The Doctor paused. "It looks like we're on a planet called CitiAlpha Four. It's a peaceful planet, from what I know, and Earth's twin sister planet. I think we've landed in some sort of facility."

"You mean, like, a medical facility?" Jack piped up from behind them.

The Doctor just nodded. He walked over to the door. Opening it, he poked his head out and looked around. Rose and Jack joined him and peered out. It looked deserted. A bit too deserted and quiet. As they stepped out of the TARDIS they were suddenly surrounded by armed security guards. Maybe exploring wasn't going to be a good idea after all.

"You are trespassing in a secure area!" One of the officers said. "Identify yourselves!"

The Doctor grinned as he raised his hands. "I'm the Doctor. This young lady is Rose, my associate. And this guy here is Captain Jack Harkness."

"Alright, at ease men," a new voice said from the back of the crowd. As the guards moved aside, a stout little man waddled up the middle of them. For some crazy reason, his walk made Rose think of The Penguin from the Batman movies. He had short black hair, a bushy moustache and wore a black suit that looked like it was getting a little too small for him. The buttons on the jacket looked like they were at their limit.

The little stout man looked at the three of them for a few moments and grinned. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The Doctor, Rose and Jack looked and each other then back at him.

"Travellers are we?" He asked. He walked around them then around the TARDIS. "Is this some kind of space ship?"

"You could say that," Captain Jack replied.

The strange little man squealed with delight and clapped his hands together. "Oh, how wonderful! Space travellers!" He spun around to look at them again. "Come now. Come and join me in my office. We don't get your kind around here very often."

The three Time Travellers spent what felt like forever talking to the funny little man. It turned out his was called Paul Yates. The research facility looked into cures for diseases such as AIDS, cancer and even minor illnesses such as the common cold. He also added that most illnesses they had cured and that they hoped to pass on the cures to their sister planet, Earth. He had also taken them for a tour around the facility.

Rose glanced at a desk calendar nearby. The year was 2198. When she had last been home, it had been 2005. The thought made her head hurt. She missed her mum and the calendar hadn't helped much. It just made her feel worse. Jack glanced across at her and smiled.

"Will you be staying long?" Paul Yates asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "That depends. My ship is being a little temperamental."

"Fair enough. I don't see any harm in letting you stay until you fix your craft." He paused and then added. "All I ask is that you do not wander around the facility alone. Many of our areas are restricted to authorised staff only."

"Not hiding something, are you?" Jack asked, more as a joke than anything.

Paul Yates smiled serenely. "Of course not. We just have some sensitive equipment and experiments here and I would prefer if they didn't get disturbed."

The three travellers were escorted back to the TARDIS. They hardly spoke a word as the guards made them feel uneasy and they felt a lot better once they were back inside the TARDIS.

"So, whatcha reckon to this place then?" Jack said. "Can't say I've been anywhere quite like this, I must admit."

The Doctor nodded. "It's certainly good what they're doing here, especially as they plan to share their findings with Earth."

Rose was lost in thought and she didn't feel much like joining in the conversation. She slowly wandered off towards her room and left the boys to it.

Rose couldn't sleep that night, no matter how hard she tried. This place gives me the creeps but I don't know why, she thought as she lay there, staring up at the ceiling of the TARDIS. Eventually Rose sat up and looked around. A faint light glowed around the round, just enough for Rose to be able to see by. Dressing, Rose quietly left her room and crept through the TARDIS to its front door.

Rose knew she probably shouldn't be wandering off like this. Not only had this Paul Yates told them not to, but the Doctor and Jack would worry about her. But Rose's gut instinct told her something funny was going on in this place but she couldn't tell what. There was just something wrong about the place. The over enthusiastic guards, the slightly creepy Paul Yates, the strange atmosphere as they walked around the facility…..

Rose wanted to know exactly what went on in the facility for herself. She silently opened the door and slipped out. It was late so the facility was mostly deserted apart from a handful of guards here and there. Rose succeeded in eluding them whenever she saw them.

Rose had a destination in mind. It was an ordinary looking blue door, like the others, but there had been weird noises and lights coming from it. There had also been a big sign stating "Authorised personnel only!" Under that it said "Anyone found entering without authorisation will be dealt with severally." It had instantly caught Rose's attention during the tour. When Rose had asked him about it, all Paul had said was "it's a basement" and had said nothing more. If the Doctor or Jack had sensed anything odd about the exchange, they didn't show it. What was this Paul Yates hiding? If it was as innocent as he claimed, why the secrecy over this room?

Rose let her curiosity get the better of her and opened the door. She looked both ways to check the coast was clear before she entered. The landing she walked into was very short and dimly lit. There were two flights of stairs. Rose crept down the stairs, where she was met by a very long and dark corridor. Looking up and down Rose saw there was nobody around; no guards, no scientists, no nothing. But there were plenty of those strange noises and lights that she had noticed before. It seemed to be coming from a room at the very end of the corridor. Creeping slowly towards it, Rose stood on tiptoe and peered in through one of the clear panels in the door. The sight that met her eye nearly made her cry out in surprise and fear.

There was a woman strapped to a table with God knows how many wires and things attached to her, whilst scientists in white coats ran to and fro around the room. She overheard, faintly, one of them say "okay, lets try it again". With that, there was a buzz then the woman was zapped with electricity. She let out a cry of pain and writhed against it then was still. Was she dead? Rose couldn't take anymore and began to back away.

"Stay where you are!" somebody cried from behind her. Rose spun around to find a group of guards running towards her. Rose looked about her but there was nowhere to run. She was promptly surrounded.

"Explain yourself! Why are you here?" One of the guards asked. Before she even had the chance to ask, Rose was struck across the back of the head. Rose fell to the floor, unconscious.

TBC...