He Needed Me

Chapter 16

James O’Neill stared hard at the small garden area just outside of the compound. He wasn’t an especially tall man but he was broad shouldered and built for the military. His dark blond hair was cropped short to his scalp, blue eyes taking in his surroundings. There weren’t ranks anymore, this was near the end of the 50th Century after all, but that didn’t mean the men and women still didn’t look to him for the answers as senior officer and commander of the flight crew. He just didn’t have any was the only problem.

The beginning stodginess of military discipline had slowly given way to a more relaxed feel. The civilians still wore their normal attire but those in the service that had been the crew started wearing fewer and fewer pieces of military issue. The only thing he still wore was the dark blue flight jacket, opened to display the gray tank top underneath.

He knew the drill easily of stocking supplies and living off the land but there was nothing in his training about acting as military leader for the crew, engineer for instantaneously required repairs to this rickety operation, and counselor to the families that had slowly grown here on this rock. Five years of creatures fast and hungry in this thick forest. Five years of bouts with famine and disease, except for one year when a flood had almost wiped them off the face of the planet.

Still, feast and famine they’d survived it all and he was desperate to keep track of every single one of his people. His eyes moved to the right as he noted movement. Tony and Daphnie Johnson had ventured outside, taking in what little time of Summer they had left before they were hit with the climate change. They’d been settlers, young and idealistic of settling down on a colony planet and starting a small farm and a family. They couldn’t farm here but it hadn’t stopped them from starting a family. Their two children, Alex and Alicia, were engaged in a game of tag and giggling.

At the moment he knew where every one of the 238 people within his care were, except one. He only spared them a moment’s glance before looking back over his shoulder at the assigned sentry to the entrance, “Where’s Dien?”

The soldier silently pointed to the tops of the trees and with a resigned sigh he slung his rifle over his shoulder and took the more scenic route, “Of course she is.” He grumbled this, climbing over rocks and negotiating with branches until he’d achieved the right height. Now to get to the destination was the trick. It wasn’t easy, certainly not when he was a good fifty feet above ground but he finally found purchase on a bolder right next to the tree she’d climbed up and was currently facing towards the mountain range in the far distance.

Dien Hart, a strange woman if ever he’d met one, but very beautiful in his opinion. She was rather a mystery, stranded here for however long she’d been here on this planet before they’d even showed up. But in the end she’d helped them survive. Helped them build this rickety fortress of protection and now whether she liked it or not she was one of them. She just seemed to forget that sometimes, spending hours up here in the trees and just staring silently at the sky. Her red hair was blowing lightly in the breeze, the short strands intermittently brushing her shoulders, “You couldn’t have just answered the page, could you?”

She smiled at him winningly, her hazel eyes sparkling and purred, “But then I would have missed your company.”

He rolled his eyes good naturedly, “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be down-...”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?”

He sighed softly since berating her about her duties would do no good. She didn’t care one wit about them, coming and going as she pleased. She wasn’t military and there was really no point in trying to change her. Everyone else had given up after five years. They just made room and gladly accepting her expertise when she offered it, “What is?”

She pointed to the horizon where the barest traces of grey clouds were forming, “The weather’s strange today.”

Frowning slightly in confusion. Sure, it was a bit temperate compared to most days but not too out of the ordinary, “Is it?”

She cocked her head a little, “Yes. And can you hear it?”

He gave her a longer look before sighing again, “Hear what?”

She grinned that cunning grin of her’s. The one that promised trouble and lightly flicked her slightly pointed right ear, “Exactly. It’s quiet today. Thought I heard something strange earlier and now nothing. Why?”

James shrugged, “Maybe something out there scared the locals...so what?”

Raising an eyebrow, “Would have to be a pretty big something.”

None of the team had really investigated far beyond the perimeter simply because it was too dangerous so there was no knowing just what sorts of creatures were really out there in the thick of it, “From my experience, there’s always a bigger and badder predator in the world.”

Nodding slowly to herself, “Indeed.” She disappeared into the branches and a second later appeared on the ground. She gave him a wink and a sly grin before walking in quick strides back into the compound. James swore to himself, realizing he’d have to take the long way down but he paused for just a moment to look at the sky once more. Dien had an uncanny ability at spotting trouble and nothing she ever pointed out should be taken lightly. Okay, he could admit it was unusual to see any clouds during Summer but other than that it was a rather brilliant day. He shook his head, still not seeing anything wrong and slowly made his way back down.

***

The Doctor and Rose were running at a fast pace but not in the direction they wanted. The whatever-it-was had cut them off quick, forcing them into a sprint away from the TARDIS and it was not a good situation. They were holding hands as they tried to escape while not wanting to get separated, leaping over logs as one and dodging rocks in their path. But Rose was tiring and he knew it, and while she was in marvelous shape she was carrying a child and she was only human. And that worried him. Exercise was always good in keeping new mothers healthy but this would be putting a strain on her and he would never, ever forgive himself if she lost their child because he couldn’t figure out a way to keep her safe.



He couldn’t help but grin to himself. His Rose, always thinking.

Grumbling lightly in her head. Even as they moved quickly through a dense patch of foliage they couldn’t help giggle softly even if they were both scared out of their minds. As they’d run and dodged he’d been keeping track of their pace and they were slowing down. He could run faster, but Rose couldn’t and now she was starting to lose ground. She was getting a bit winded and he still had no idea where they were going. He knew he was going to have to do something drastic.

The Doctor saw his chance at a fork in the proverbial road and silently sending an apology, shook her hand out of his and gave Rose a shove to the left, “Run.” Rose spun around in shock but had no time to even question as he sent her a fiercely protective scowl and stood his ground, “RUN!” There wasn’t time for debate. There wasn’t time for wheedling. What he needed was for her for once in her life to obey him without question and he knew it was an impossible demand. She was his equal, not some dumb kid and not a blind follower.

So he did what he shouldn’t, but what he knew was the only way. He sent her a mental push through their bond that would be impossible for her not to heed. She obeyed and sprinted away from him, to what direction she wasn’t sure and she hated it. Why was she going? She didn’t understand but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Tears were already gathering from the short distance away and the further away she moved, the more distressed she was feeling. His reassuring presence in her mind gave her the strength to keep going. For the baby. She was doing it for the baby.

The Doctor waited until the whatever-it-was burst into the clearing, heading straight for him. He took off at a run and it gave a bay of a growl, giving chase before pausing at where they’d separated. The Doctor spun around in shock, shaking his head and whispering to himself, “No, no, no.” If it took off after Rose it would catch her for sure. It sniffed the ground, using it’s nose and moving slightly in the direction Rose had run, “No-...Hey! You, whatever you are. Come on, this way!” It looked up at him and growled softly, displaying a double row of sharp teeth. Wow, those looked sharp. Looks like they could tear him–focus!

Thinking on his feet, the Doctor picked up a rock and chucked it at it’s hind leg. Contact was made at it bayed at him with a high pitched wail of a tone before immediately taking off after him. With a grin, knowing it had caught his scent and not Rose’s he took off running now that he’d successfully diverted it from his mate. Now to stay alive long enough for Rose to kill him, that was going to be the trick.

His coat flapped behind him as he pushed his body to the brink, going as fast as was inhumanly possible. Still not enough to lose it, he was still at a comfortable lead but he didn’t dare slow down. If this thing could track him by scent, there was the smallest of chances it could double back to go after Rose if he did something too clever and lost it completely. So he stayed to course, making sure it was still following and going for distance.

***

“Dien.” James caught her just before she could make her usual escape into the lower parts of the compound. During the day that always seemed to be her habit. She paused, his grip on her arm light and she could have easily broken the hold if she’d wanted to, “I’m not dismissing what you’re saying...I just have no idea what you’re saying.”

She gave him a grin and turned to him fully, lightly caressing his chin with a finger in a playful gesture as she leaned her body into his. Always striving for full body contact with him. And only him. The crew tried hard not to watch curiously, many of them placing bets on how long it would be before the pair of them finally just gave in to their baser instincts, “You didn’t hurt my feelings, you silly boy. I don’t have the answers either.” She squinted to herself, trying to explain, “Something just feels wrong, but I can’t explain it. It’s just a feeling.”

“Sir, you might want to look at this.”

James sighed at the interruption and Dien impishly kissed his cheek before leading him into the control room. She toyed with a lock of her hair, leaning back against the wall and winking at one of the techs sitting next to her. There were seven of them, each in control of a specific panel of monitor and switches and an imbedded keyboard in the center.

Giving a soft growl to himself, he walked the distance of the control room, peering down at one of more than 100 screens. They each had ties to the security cameras both inside and outside of the compound. The camera had activated when it detected movement and now both he and the technician blinked in surprise as a young woman with short blond hair ran quickly around the tree and crammed herself into the hollow of it, trying to hide herself safely within. She ducked her head down, tears silently flowing as she buried her face in her hands. She rocked in place, her hair obscuring her face and her shoulders shaking. He felt Dien come up to his back and look over his shoulder, purring softly as she leaned against his shoulder, “Aw...cute little thing.”

James glanced down at his man, “Where is that?” The sound of fingers across the keyboard and a few seconds later the grid in the middle 3 Quadrant glowed brightly. Shaking his head to himself, “How’d you get way out here?”

“If I may...” Silently groaning to himself as Simon made his presence known. Definitely not one of his favorite people. Simon Conner, a tall, skinny man with almost no hair and the personality of a twig in James’ opinion. A whiz of an engineer but still a paranoid twig, “We’ve had no indication of a crash landing so, maybe she’s a spy.”

Dien rolled her eyes, making a tisking noise and clicking her tongue. James fought not to smile since she’d made it known from the beginning she didn’t care for Simon one bit, “Ri-ight, because there’s just so much information here to steal.”

Grey eyes flashing angrily at the interruption. He didn’t see her as little more than a lab technician and a lazy one at that, always completing her work when it suited her and not always to his specifications. The shuttle that was going to get them off this cursed planet was his project, his design and he saw her as nothing more than a jeopardy to it, “The engine we’re building is cutting edge-...”

Nodding, “Yeah, held together by rubber cement and chewing gum.” There were a few sniggers and chuckles since it was well known they all had gotten very creative in making parts for this ship, Simon splotching red in anger, “I’m sure the corporate contractors will be knocking down your door for that one.” She rolled her eyes at James, effectively dismissing Simon before venturing over to the grid and tapping it lightly, “We should go get her, it’ll be dark soon.” She focused on her internal clock for just a second, “Less than three hours.”

James stiffened at that realization. No one should be out in this wilderness after sunset. In spite of the noise and the normal chatter in the forest during daylight, night is when the real predators came out to hunt. He was just about to agree and assemble together a small search party when the neighboring technician cried out in alarm, “Sir! Movement in Quadrant 2. Fast.”

Everyone in the room crowded around the little screen as the image was rewound. Quadrant 2 was right next to the compound. And while nothing more than a series of ditches and ravines that fed to the mountain base it was still a bit too close for comfort and to their main water supply. Anything that ventured that close and was large enough to trip the sensors had to be taken care of quickly. They’d learned that lesson painfully their first year here. This was a kill or be killed planet.

A second later a blurred image of brown passed, followed by a longer blur of white, “What the hell was that??”

Dien’s eyes widened, “Damn he’s fast.” Everyone looked at her in confusion but she ignored them, rewinding it again herself and slowing the playback down for their benefit. As soon as she detected brown she froze the image. It wasn’t much to go on really. Just a flapping bit of blurred brown but the two small bits of red were a dead giveaway. Red shoes. If not human then certainly humanoid. They all paused to look at one another even as she continued the feed forward, stopping it with the appearance of a blur of white fur. Her eyes widened to realize it was the front leg of a very tall creature and not one she was familiar with. Murmuring to herself, “...always something bigger and badder...”

***

The Doctor burst into a clearing, panting, and yelped as he dropped about fifteen feet. He grimaced as he caught himself, giving his right knee a good smack on the rocky surface in the process and scuffing up his hands. Absently he hopped and rubbed it, wincing to see the beginnings of a blood stain on his pants legs. His palms didn’t feel any better and he glanced at the scraped surfaces. He didn’t know what he’d done to his knee but he’d definitely injured himself. He looked around quickly, seeing that he’d fallen into a hidden ravine about twelve or so feet high and no more than a dozen wide. The ground was littered with rocks and small patches of water. There were vines guarding either side and tall trees further down. It looked like a path of twists and turns and he wasn’t too sure but it appeared to run right into the base of the mountain up ahead. He winced as he took a step, pain shooting up his leg and forcing a gasped/grunt to escape. Now was not the time to get trapped down here. This was bad.

The ground shook as something very big landed not far behind him, a cloud of dust and debris kicked into the air. He heard the soft pants of the creature, as well as a very distinct growl and he didn’t even glance back, running as fast as he could and pushing the pain of his knee to the back of his mind. He was limping, at the disadvantage now, but he was still moving fast enough to stay ahead of his pursuer.

It gave a triumphant bay, sensing that it’s prey was weakened but he just grit his teeth and kept moving. Oh, Rassilon he couldn’t talk to her now. Not now. He didn’t respond, continuing to think at a dizzying pace and after several heartbeats her voice returned to him, worried and frightened. He couldn’t escape like this and as much as he loved Rose, she was distracting him. Grinding his teeth and hating having to do it, he blocked her from his thoughts and focused on his reality. His sonic screwdriver was useless in this primitive setting and he didn’t have the foresight to bring any kind of tranquilizing agent with him. He might be able to use something from the local plant life, except none of these species looked familiar and he could just as easily kill himself as the animal after him.

Looking around frantically, taking a leap for the vines and cursing when they broke easily under his weight and he was sent tumbling. He cried out in pain, damaging his knee further and scrambled quickly away as claws embedded in the ground only inches from where he’d moved. No, no, no, he wasn’t ready to die now. Not now. He’d finally gotten Rose back. A regeneration now would be hell on her, especially since they were bonded and he hadn’t prepared her for how it would feel on her side. Rolling back to his feet he sprinted off once more, forced to drag his now mostly useless right leg and barely steps ahead of his oncoming death.