Chapter 9: Rampage of Death:

The console sat rock solid, alarms twittering away the impending disaster that was about to befall the clustered group. Silence hung thick and heavy as all speech was ripped away by the sheer gravity of the situation that faced them all. Jester couldn't hear himself think over the clatter of people trying to talk over one another with a rising degree of panic. He fought to keep his own nerves in place with his training in emotional detachment. All the while, a maelstrom of thoughts crashed pell-mell through his conscious mind that caused him to hang his head. He knew that there would be no hope for these people. He also knew that allowing them haven in the TARDIS was top on the list of unforgivable offenses in the eyes of the Time Lords. Well, he hadn't time to consider Gallifreyan decorum now; it was a moot point. He could only hope to provide whatever help he could and then hope to slip quietly away and pray to the gods that the High Council on Gallifrey never caught wind of his actions on the moon. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he jumped slightly when Beverly came over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Penny for your thoughts," she said. He looked at her, sighed and then he smiled; and to Beverly it was as if a ray of sunshine had suddenly disbursed the cloud of gloom that had concentrated itself around his face. He bent near so that she could hear him and she caught a faint scent that she recognized as fragrant balsam.

"I've just been weighing my actions. Since I crashed here, I haven't really stopped to consider the effect my actions will have. As a Time Lord, I'm not even supposed to be here as Gallifrey has a strict policy regarding interference with other times and cultures. However, it just seemed so natural to help and give assistance that I didn't think twice about it. And now, here we are, faced with a grave crisis on our hands and I don't know how exactly we'll get out of it. I know of one option that I only want to consider as an extreme last resort." Beverly couldn't hear it in his voice as it betrayed no emotion, but his eyes radiated fear which prompted her to ask, "What is it? Whatever it may be, it seems to have you terrified."

"It does. If we cannot find a solution to this crisis ourselves, then I'll be forced to call the Time Lords for help. And I'm not exactly here with their express written permission. In short, I'd suffer punishment." Beverly didn't like the seeming final quality about his tone and pressed him further, "What kind of punishment?"

"They'd kill me." The doctor gasped in surprise, pulling away. He continued, "I didn't exactly leave Gallifrey on the best of terms. Sure other Time Lords have left before and have been dealt with, but I was falsely accused of murdering our President of the High Council. The moment I landed on Gallifrey, I'd be dragged from the TARDIS and shot on site. It was the President that bade me leave before he was killed and he was adamant that I take this TARDIS model and none other." Beverly put an arm around his shoulders as he finished speaking and gave him a squeeze and said softly, "You handled the SG's with barely a hint of trouble and I think that if you can deal with extra dimensional spooks from the twilight zone, then surely a tidal wave is not much more complicated. Besides, if you do have to call the Time Lords, then I'll go with you," Jester started to interrupt her but she stopped him, "No, no. Hear me out. You've helped save my people on this cursed expedition into hell and the way I see it, one good turn deserves another." The Time Lord thought for a moment and then smiled down at his companion, "Thank you, Beverly."

"And thank you, for everything. So, what are we going to do about this tidal wave? I don't know about this TARDIS of yours, but there is no way a small ship like the Zephyrus will withstand the shock."

"No, the Zephyrus won't, but I can maneuver the TARDIS out of harm's way a safe distance by use of the HADS, the uh, Hostile Action Displacement System or even outside space and time, if I deemed it absolutely necessary."

The rest of the Zephyrus crew including her captain were in a heated debate now and Jester and Beverly concluded their discussion on the matter. The duo got caught in the middle of the fray and soon everyone was howling at everyone else. The Time Lord finally managed to restore peace when he brandished an ancient model of an Earth pistol which he pointed at Jensen. All eyes stared at the Time Lord as though he were possessed. He spoke in a bright and cheery tone, "Now that I have your attention," and pulled the trigger. There a small pop and out came a small post on which a flag was tied with the word 'BANG!' in bold, friendly lettering on it. Jensen could only stare slack jawed and bug-eyed and Vargas felt his bowel relinquish its contents into his uniform. Jester continued, "Please everyone, I need you to do exactly what I ask of you. As much as you dislike the idea, I must ask you all, for your own safety, to please remain in the TARDIS. I am setting the controls for the HADS which will remove the ship from any imminent danger. Needless to say, the Zephyrus will probably not survive the ordeal." Jensen butted in, "Now wait just a cotton-picking, bowlegged, horn-swaggled minute. I'm not leaving my ship to the mercy of a hundred foot high wall of water. We've nearly got enough power back up and the shields should hold. I'm staying with my vessel. I thank you Jester for all the help you've been to us, but as captain, I can't abandon my vessel."

"Captain Jensen, you don't seem to understand. Your ship," Jensen cut him off, "Will be just fine, mister. You just leave my ship to me and I'll leave yours to you. Now those of you who want can stay here, but those who want to brave out the storm come with me, we've got to brace for impact. Now Jester, let us out." Jester capitulated and operated the doors and allowed Jensen and a handful of her remaining people pass with the rest remaining on board. He called out after her, "Captain, are you sure you won't change your mind!? That ship will never hold up! It's not too late, but once I close the TARDIS doors, the HADS will go into operation and I won't be able to override the sequence until the sensors register that it's clear. You and your crew will be cut off." Jensen strode back and said, "See you when this is over. We'll see who sinks first." With that she left and Jester closed the door. Leaning on the console. He swore in a string of Gallifreyan curses. A beeping came from the console and Beverly came to stand beside him. She asked, "Are you all right?"

"Of course I am," he replied gruffly, "That stupid woman. Doesn't she realize that she's only going to get herself killed and the few of her crew that followed her."

"And there is truly no more that you can do?"

"As I said, the HADS has gone into operation, I can't override it now until the sensors declare the environment safe." The console continued beeping and Jester made note of the sensor readout, "The wave will be upon us in approximately thirty seconds." At that moment, the time rotor at the console's heart came to life in a display of multi-colored lights and instrumentation and began its rhythmic rising and falling. Outside on the Zephyrus bridge, Jensen and her handful of crew watched as the TARDIS faded out of existence.

Jensen called out to her skeleton crew orders in rapid fire succession. Jones monitored the power readings while Soulis diverted what power could be spared to reinforce the structural integrity of the ship. Lastly, Albitani kept watch over the shields. Jensen activated the main view screen and gasped as she watched the elemental juggernaut come crashing over everything in its path. The ship started rattling which grew steadily worse and the wave advance ever nearer; unstoppable in its fury. Albitani spoke with fear in his voice, "Captain, sensors register the wave at a sustained height of two hundred forty-seven meters!" The rattling was almost unbearable now and technicians darted back and forth rerouting power from power couplings that were constantly shorting out. Albitani, Jones, and Soulis worked hurriedly at their consoles when the bridge went dark.

"Quick," Jensen shouted, "Get that power back up or we're done for!" Jones mashed a few button on his console and then leap-frogged to the helm console. At the last moment, the power came back up and the wave was on the beach. Jensen breathed a sigh of relief, but it proved to be too soon. A second later, the rattling of the ship caused Soulis' station to explode catching him full in the face. Power began fading and until Jensen heard the words she dreaded.

"Captain," Albitani said over the dreadful din, "We still have power, but not enough to sustain the shields nor the structural integrity. We're done for." Jensen turned back to face the wave on the view screen and felt she was looking death in the face. Hell opened its maw and prepared to swallow the Zephyrus whole. At that moment, the tidal wave broke over the Zephyrus and the surrounding landscape.

The tidal wave laid waste to the landscape under its merciless assault. As the force of several thousand tons of water collided with the already fragile crust of the moon, the surface cracked open like an egg and the moon suddenly became one giant earthquake ridden zone. As the waters that didn't sink into the surface receded, the shattered wreck of the Zephyrus could be seen, crushed like a discarded tin can. Its shape could barely be discerned from the rest of the landscape around it. The tremors settled somewhat, but a lot of the fissures opened by the tidal wave had begun to pour noxious fumes into the sky and a few had even begun to spew fire and lava. The moon began to die.

In the TARDIS console room, the assembled group looked over the carnage in shocked silence. Jester managed to zoom in on the wreck of the Zephyrus and all gasped when they saw it. There was no way Jensen and the few who had followed her could have possibly survived. Beverly turned away and walked towards the door that led to that TARDIS interior. Jester caught up with her and asked her what was wrong.

"It's hopeless," she replied, "With the Zephyrus gone, there is no way to save Grand Paradiso. All the vaccine we had was destroyed with that ship. It looks like the SG's will win after all." Jester stumbled over himself trying to comfort her, when a bleeping from the console tore into his consciousness. Leaving the doctor he turned to sort out the incoming information. His eyes widened in disbelief and he let of a whoop of joy. Everyone clustered around him as he started to hurriedly explain his excitement.

"It seems as though Grand Paradiso may have just gained a new lease on life after all, everyone! Even though Jensen and the Zephyrus are gone, the Shadow Ghost ship has survived intact!" Beverly came round and asked, "How can that be?"

"The ship is extra-dimensional in nature. When wave hit, it, like the TARDIS, slipped out of harm's way!" The rest of the Zephyrus crew were beginning to shout with joy. Beverly, however, reminded them all of a very salient fact when she said, "But what good is that ship when we've lost all the needed vaccine and medical equipment? Sure we can get to Grand Paradiso, but then what?" One of the junior medical technicians was rummaging through her med case when she stumbled upon a single vial of the precious vaccine. In the excitement at her discovery, she nearly dropped it and had to fight her way to the console to show Beverly.

"Doctor Michaels! Doctor Michaels!" she cried, "I found this! I was running some tests in the Zephyrus med lab and I forgot I had this vial on me. If the SG ship has any medical facilities we can reproduce the quantities we need. Grand Paradiso is saved." Beverly cautiously took the proffered vial and examined it closely for a minute.

"Excellent Fuentes, excellent! We should be able to reproduce this to do the job we need it to. Now we just have to get back to the SG ship." Beverly and all looked to Jester who was working at the console and said with a tone of care, "That may be easier said than done. I can override the HADS but it will be dangerous and with the increased tremors and the added danger of the lava and noxious fumes I won't be able to land right near the ship. We'll have to make it via a small overland route. If any of you have any doubts or think it's too risky, let me know and I'll abandon the attempt. The console room was silent for a moment when Pilar Fuentes spoke up again, "Well, I can't speak for everyone here, but I say we go for it." The rest of the crew began to cheer in agreement. Even Beverly was cheering. "All right then, I guess that settles it. Everybody brace yourselves, this is going to be a bit of a bumpy ride." Jester operated the controls when the lights in the console room went out, the only illumination coming from the scanner screen. With a hint of irritation in his voice he harrumphed, "I do so hate being left in the dark at times like these." That caused a few nervous chuckles from the Zephyrus crew. Working some more, the lights were restored and after a moment Jester said, "Here goes. Cross your fingers, toes, tentacles, pseudopods or whatever you've got." Flipping a couple of switches, the TARDIS made its way back towards the moon and the SG ship. Her eyes never leaving the scanner screen, it seemed to Beverly as if she were stepping into Hell itself.