Chapter 8: Earthquake!!!
Beverly had felt every sinew and fiber in her body tense as she waited for the wave of photons and energy that would scatter her molecules to the four winds. Just as she expected to basically kiss her ass goodbye, she was even more shocked to find herself kissing the ground. The tremors that had previously shaken the moon were nothing compared to the quake that was tearing across the surface now. A gaping whole had opened up between the quintet and the Shadow Ghosts and a spire of earth had been sent catapulting into the air, blocking the blast of the SG weapon. Jester had fallen on his backside with a squeal of protest while Kelly, Martas and Knox were thrown into a depression that hadn't been there just five minutes previously. The surface of the moon bucked and trembled wildly as though reacting to some unseen irritant. The rolling motion picked Beverly up and rode her away towards the cliffs that were undulating and beginning to crumble further towards the inland from the sea. It was useless to try to gain a purchase and Beverly unsuccessfully tried to prepare herself for a plummet that most likely would have meant her death. She unwillingly rode the wave of earth closer to the fatal precipice.
* * * * *
Captain Jensen unceremoniously ate deck plated flooring with a heated string of curses as the earthquake rattled the already eggshell fragile Zephyrus. The ship groaned under the stresses imposed upon it by the heaving of the moon. The crew of the bridge huddled near the center of the room while it uncharacteristically jumped around them. The wild ride ended with all screaming as the ship suddenly began to plummet into the earth before coming to a screeching halt.
* * * * *
Jester looked and saw Beverly being carried towards the craggy precipice of the cliffs on a tidal wave of earth. He cried out to her and tried to gain his footing and make his way to rescue her but just as he began tumbling towards her, the earth ceased its restless tumbling and became still once more. Rushing to help the doctor up, Jester was quite surprised at how taken he had become with the human woman. He never studied them with great detail, often electing to forego his lessons in his universal history courses in favor of playing the practical joke using a portable transmat to embarrass his lecturing professor. Several times during the seemingly interminable lectures, Jester would often shake things up a bit by using the device to alter the molecular arrangement of his professor's garments. Luckily for him, he had never been found out especially after one particularly nasty incident while covering the Earth in it's twentieth century. Due to some fluke that Jester, to this day, still had not figured out, his professor ended up in a rainbow wig, bright red clown nose and a feather boa that alternated the colors of the spectrum all while completely nude and singing the Elton John classic hit "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." Afterwards the professor had earned himself the nickname CP for Clown Prince. After the unfortunate incident, Jester and his classmates joked for weeks on end that indeed the professor was overdue for a regeneration as his naked form was so wrinkled as to be indistinguishable from other humanoid forms and would somebody please see to ironing it. Remembering what little he had actually managed to retain in his lessons, Jester was really unsure what to make of humans and was surprised to find himself warming to this fiery tempered valkyrie. He rather liked her gutsy demeanor and warm personal quality. And for a doctor, he thought, she doesn't look too bad in a uniform. Extending his hand, she grasped on and hauled herself to her feet, spitting weeds and grass out that had somehow managed to find their way into her mouth during the quake. For a moment the Time Lord just stared intently into his companion's eyes before a quirky grin pulled at the corners of his mouth and he said jokingly, "So, uh, did the earth move for you as well?" Beverly couldn't help but burst out in laughter and playfully socked the Time Lord in the arm.
* * * * *
The situation with the Zephyrus did not look good. During the violent quake, the ship had slid thirty feet down a rift that had opened up underneath it and in which the ship was now firmly lodged. Captain Jensen, upon discovering the status of her ship cursed fluently in seven different languages before storming off in search of a good bottle cognac to soothe her shattered nerves.
* * * * *
The SG's were surprised but not completely deterred by the unexpected turn of events. The rocky spire that had risen up in front of them was no more than a minor annoyance to be quickly disposed of as the miserable humans who were sheltered on the far side. With the remaining trio powering up their weapons, they aimed at a central point on the outcropping rock and blasted it into dusty fragments.
* * * * *
The blast took everyone by surprise when it came. In the few moments of quiet that had followed the earthquake, Kelly, Martas, and Knox had made their way out of the depression in the earth and back to Beverly and Jester. The trio of SG's were just visible through the light coating of dust that had settled on them and Jester rounded on them furiously, with deadly earnestness flashing in his eyes, "What are you playing at, eh? If you keep loosing off those firearms of yours, you could very well bring another earthquake down atop our heads!" The lead SG sibilantly responded, "Silence, human. We are well aware you are just playing for time. Now we will destroy you and your companions." As if to reinforce Jester's warning the cliff began to tremble and Beverly shouted, "See what you've gotten us into you cheap Halloween illusions!" She and the others tried to huddle closer together as the sound of rubble falling grew to a deafening roar. Suddenly, where there had once been steep cliffs, a now gently sloping mound of sand, mud and rock lay while seven helpless forms toppled to the beach below. Jester had been knocked senseless in the fall and Beverly could see no signs of Kelly, Martas, or Knox or of the SG warriors. Off to her right about twenty yards away was the TARDIS and Jester was just off to her left a little way back up the slope. Fearing he might have perished in the fall, she rushed over and felt for a pulse. Eyes widening in shock, she could not believe her senses when she registered a double pulse. She set off to look for any signs of her Zephyrus crewmates and nearly broke down in an emotional heap when she found them. Kelly lay on her back, her body arching upward at an impossible angle and the doctor knew that her spine had snapped in the fall, most probably killing her instantly. Blood trickled from her mouth. Of Martas, the only sign was his arm sticking out from under the sand mound, distinguishable only by the small tattoo on his left wrist. Knox was nowhere to be seen and she assumed the she had perished as well. She suddenly cried out in pain from her wrenched ankle and wondered why she was just now feeling it. She hobbled back over to Jester and brushing her red locks out of her eyes, bent down to check on him. She placed a hand on his forehead which was ice cold to the touch. He roused and said dreamily with closed eyes, "Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after." Suddenly blinking himself fully aware, he rubbed his bruised head and quipped, "That was some tumble. However, I've always been more of the ramble-in-the-bramble type myself." He noticed Beverly's somber expression and in a quiet and serious tone said, "What of your crewmates?"
"Dead," she replied flatly. He noticed that the sparkle in her eyes had dimmed somewhat and feeling slightly peculiar, offered her a hug, which she accepted without any fanfare. They headed for the TARDIS when Beverly pulled back and said, "Can we get back to the Zephyrus? I really just want to get back to familiar surroundings." Although she didn't say so, the deaths brought back to her memory the death of her beloved, Ingrid. Ingrid, she thought, every death fills me with painful reminders of you. I know I need to let you go but I can't seem to say goodbye. Her eyes misted over as the Time Lord and doctor walked back to the ship. As if they had not already seen enough for one day, they were stopped short when the SG warriors emerged from a dimensional rift directly in front of them, cutting them off just scant feet from the shelter of the TARDIS. Wanting only the oblivion of release Beverly didn't even give the SG's a second glance while Jester stared daggers at their pursuers. In a deja-vu replay of earlier the group were thrown off balance as an aftershock tremor hit the beach. It sent ripples up Jester's spine which caused an idea to start crawling its way through his brain. It slowly took form as the SG's began to speak in their sibilant tones, "As you see humans, there is no escape. Our scans detected the presence of another ship on this moon. You will lead us to that ship so that we may dispose of it and its crew. Grin spreading from ear to ear, Jester beamed, "We'd be only too happy to aid you in your quest, old chaps. I mean such fine, upstanding folks as you yourselves, how can those piddly humans hope to compare?" Beverly looked at the Time Lord dumbstruck as though she were about to undergo a major apoplectic fit.
"What the hell?.." Beverly started before Jester cut her off, and addressing the SG's said, "Umm, would you excuse me please, I just have to have a word with my friend here." Grabbing her arm, he dragged her around the side of the TARDIS where the SG's couldn't see them. Angrily the doctor rounded on the Time Lord and hissed, "You sorry piece of alien trash. How could you have sold us out to those bastards!?" Jester said nothing, but motioned for silence only. When she had calmed down he whispered, "Beverly, you've got to trust me. Something doesn't feel right about this earthquake and I think we've rather enough troubles with that without having to worry about being "shadowed" if you will. I can deal with the SG's but first we have to get them into the TARDIS." He paused for just a moment and then with a pleading look in his eye, he said quietly, "Beverly, will you help me to save your people?" She sighed and then smiled as she said, "Of course I will." She turned to walk back to face the SG's when she stopped and leaning up, she kissed Jester on the cheek and said, "Thank you." The bewildered Time Lord just rubbed his cheek for a second and then said to himself with a small grin, "Cheeky."
* * * * *
"All right gentlemen, here is what I propose," Jester trilled in his best salesman's bluster, "I have it within my power to help you to totally obliterate the human menace off this moon. My assistant here," he held both arms off to his right as if showcasing the doctor, "has agreed to help as she feels that humanity is a has been, done for, washed up, worn out and in general, a cock-up."
"Go on," the SG commander continued sibilantly.
"If you will all just follow me into my TARDIS," Jester chirped. He opened he door to his miraculous space-time machine and Beverly followed him inside. He was not very surprised to see that the SG's had opened a dimensional rift and had already appeared in the console room. Jabbing the point of its weapon into his chest, the SG commander hissed, "This had better not be a deception, or you will die." Jester bugged out his eyes, crossing them with one another while putting one hand under his chin and one hand over his head which he flapped like bird's wings. Beverly could scarcely stifle a laugh as he said, "Time scout's honor." Turning to the console he set to work twisting knobs and dials that Beverly could only begin to guess at what they did. As she came near, he pointed at various switches which she would operate at his prompting. After about ten minutes he straightened up and said, "Gentlemen, are you ready?"
"Yes," came the hissed reply. Turning to Beverly, he said smugly, "Doctor Michaels, are you ready to administer the wipe out test?"
"Are you sure that's going to work, doctor?"
"It's either that, or everyone involved will have an extremely long walk back home." The joke was lost on the SG's who just hovered quietly. Jester continued, "Now when I give the word, doctor, throw this switch here. On the count of three. Ready? One...two...three...NOW BEVERLY!!!" Beverly did as she was told. When she did the central column of the time rotor shot upward from its niche in the console and the lights dimmed. As they came back up, the was a force field surrounding the SG's. Jester said smugly, "I'm sorry my dear sirs, but you see, I'm afraid that I can't let you destroy the humans. As I have learned from this one human here, they have a lot to accomplish." The SG commander was visibly irate, "You have betrayed us. You will die human!"
"I'm not human," Jester said in a low, even tone, "I am a Time Lord."
The air started to ripple inside the force field and Beverly shouted, "Jester! Look out!" The Time Lord turned to see the SG attempting to escape the force field through dimensional transference, but at the last second, he drove one final switch home on the console. With a great screeching swoosh noise, the SG's were gone.
"What did you do to them," Beverly asked.
"I've set them adrift in the space-time continuum. There they'll be fodder for the chronovores. And believe me, you DON'T want to know. Now then, if we're all finished here, let's go rescue your ship." Beverly stood near him as he operated the controls on the console. With just a few flicks of his wrist, Jester sent the TARDIS spinning through the vortex towards the Zephyrus.
* * * * *
Captain Jensen was beginning to feel a rather warm and cozy sensation somewhere in the region of her solar plexus and had begun to hum and old Earth tune, "These Foolish Things," when the ship's intercom crashed through her reverie like a thousand angry and swarming gnats. Cursing, combined with the beginnings of alcohol induced stupor, made her sound like a pot on the boil. She swatted at the intercom controls and hissed, "Thisss is Jensen. Whaff shuff hell's gonna non up there?" The startled reply came, "Captain!? Are you drunk!? Captain you're needed on the bridge. We have some good news about getting out of this rift." This bit of information sobered the captain up somewhat and she huffed, "I'll be right up." Stumbling from her cot and ending up in a tangle on the floor, she swore heartily before rushing off to the bridge.
When Jensen arrived on the bridge, she noticed Vargas was beaming ear to ear as he was practically spouting gibberish to anyone within earshot. He grabbed hold of Jensen and spinning her around, gibbered on about how the rift that the Zephyrus had fallen into had not caused any structural damage to the ship and the angle in which they were lodged meant they could easily blast off when the time came. All they needed now was a new engine core. Jensen was trying to focus on her chief engineer's words but it seemed like a faint buzzing or whoosh-like sound had began to fill the air. She readily dismissed it as alcohol related until Vargas gasped, "Captain! Look!" In the center of the bridge, a loud wheezing and groaning was growing to a roaring crescendo with whisper-like undertones. Within a matter of seconds where once there was empty space, there now stood a rather good imitation of the Venus De Milo. Jensen looked puzzled, Vargas looked thunderstruck, and the rest of the bridge just sat dumbly.
"Captain, isn't that," Vargas began before Jensen cut him off, "Yes, it's the Venus De Milo. Funny thing is though, I don't remember it having any arms." As if awaiting that verbal cue, the arms promptly clattered to the floor and heralded the exit of Beverly and Jester. Jensen fell back in her seat and Vargas fainted dead away. Taking in all the shocked looks around them, Jester whispered to Beverly, "Welcome home."
* * * * *
After some moments, Beverly caught her crew up on all that had transpired. When she was done, she noticed Jester by his absence and went back into the TARDIS to look for him. He was huddled over the console, his face contorted in concentration.
"What's wrong," she asked.
"This is, all of it," he replied, "And I don't like the look of it. Remember when I said there was something funny about the earthquakes? I was right, this moon is undergoing seismic stresses that are beyond normal for a planetary body this size. Somehow, the SG presence has accelerated the collapse. This moon has roughly forty-eight to seventy-two hours of life left to it." Beverly paled considerably and said, "We have to tell the others."
"That's not all. I keep detecting a massive life form reading on the scanners, but nothing of that size is showing up anywhere on the moon. We are all in very real danger." With haste the duo ran to warn the others. As they did, the seismic activity monitor on the console starting flashing a warning that went unseen.
On the bridge, Jester and Beverly were going rounds with Jensen and the crew on the need to evacuate ASAP when another major tremor shook the moon. The Zephyrus rattled violently as the earth around it heaved worse than before and stopped with final bang. Rushing into the TARDIS for information, Jester was followed by Jensen, Beverly and the others. The look on Jester's face scared them all to death, but not so much as what he whispered next, "That shock has caused a major moon-wide disruption. According to the TARDIS scanners, there is a level twelve tidal wave headed this way. As we are just up from the beach, this whole are will be submerged and everything for miles will be destroyed in a matter of minutes." No one said a word and silence settled like a heavy cloud in the console room.
