INTRODUCTION: Psycho Nyssa and Adric travel with the Second Doctor: Wherein they meet some strange friends and evil enemies, wherein Adric does a Very Brave Thing, wherein Psycho Nyssa and Adric almost do a Very Unspeakable Thing, wherein Tegan has angst and Nyssa joins her in her Alcohol Therapy. ----------------------------------------------- The Goatakri Gambit By Tony Velasquez The two horned furry hominids stood in front of the door tiredly. In older days, their appearance could have been terrifying, two large horned beasts in a dark labyrinth of corridors. But these two creatures were wearing dark green uniforms and had some sort of pistol armament. They also looked far too bored to be evil minotaurs. One creature picked up a pot with a spout and poured a hot drink into a cup. He motioned to his comrade with the pot; the other one shook his head. As the first one was putting down the pot, a strange silver sphere rolled up between them. Their eyes bulged but the scream died on their bovine lips. The sphere exploded in a cloud of laser light and acrid smoke. Little figures strode up between the fallen guards and opened the door carefully not to trip any alarms. They went in, the room was no more than a small storage unit, and removed some papers. On the way out, one of their vile attackers helped themselves to their pot of hot drink. *** Adric winked back into existence standing on the edge of the grounds. He was limping although there was no reason to be. He looked up as he limped back to the This Time Around. The Second Doctor and Jamie were walking up toward him. "Hello there, old chap." Said the Second Doctor kindly. Jamie went and stood at Adric's side and patted his shoulder. "That wee little trick with the rope trap tied to the bend down tree was a might cruel!" Said Jamie "She can make a catapult out of anything. How far did my leg fly?" asked Adric. "Oh never mind that." Crooned the Second Doctor, "Tell you what, why not come with Jamie and I. We were planning to go have an adventure, you know. I hear you had fun hanging out with my first incarnation." Adric turned on the Second Doctor hotly. "Fun?!? Nyssa fried my brain with my very own VR helmet…" "And someone noticed?" mumbled Jamie to himself, but the Second Doctor had heard and gave him a nasty look. Adric continued. "And we were nearly eaten my murderous mushrooms!" "Yes, well, that's the difference. Nyssa won't be with us. It'll just be us dudes, hanging out, maybe saving some girl in distress who has a ridiculously short skirt, right Jamie?" continued the Second Doctor soothingly. "Oh, aye!" agreed Jamie. The Second Doctor and Jamie led Adric away toward the TARDIS. *** "Bored! Bored!" cried out Nyssa, swinging her baseball bat. She smashed a chair. "Bored! <SMASH!> Bored! Bored! <SMASH!>" "Nyssa! Stop it, I'm on the phone!" cried out Zoe in her squeaky high-pitched voice. Nyssa looked over at Zoe and wondered how anyone could hear that voice without being a dog. "But I'm BORED!" Nyssa screamed, smashing her baseball bat into a table. "Yes, Yes, I'd love to. I'll be there!" said Zoe. "Who was that? Someone exciting?" "Oh, a friend of mine. I once gave him an idea for a piece of computer software. A front end for a computer operating system. He's taking me out to lunch." "Nice place?" "Yes, but I think that $500 a plate is a bit too extravagant. I say to him 'C'mon Bill, let's just get a cheeseburger. And then he goes and buys a whole hamburger chain and gives it to me." "Gosh, what was that computer software that you gave him an idea for?" "Oh, I don't remember now. I do remember I wanted to call it 'Doors', but he didn't like that one." Nyssa swung with her baseball bat again, smashing the telephone in front of Zoe. "Look, Nyssa. My Doctor and Jamie have just gone on an adventure. It's a sort of 'boys day out' I think. They're off to drink some wicked strength lager or chase women somewhere, but I bet you could convince them to take you too." Nyssa didn't wait to ask any more questions, she bolted out of the This Time Around and ran to where the TARDIS was. A little figure hidden in shadow and darkness walked out and stood behind Zoe. "This is going to start to seem contrived before it's over, you know." She mumbled. "Let me worrry about that, Zoe." Replied a voice, heavily rolling its 'r's. *** "So they struck at last?" "Yes Commander Veraa." A female version of the goatlike creatures sat behind a large desk, looking up at the young officer before her. They were the Goatakri, a race of hominid creatures evolved from four legged small browsers. Their faces still had snouts and a heavy mane of fur around the faces. Their eyes were very bright and thoughtful though. "What about the guards?" "Stun grenade. They're recovering." "Lieutenant, see that the compound is sealed off. Completely. And ask Captain Ghrash in here." "Yes ma'am." The young Goatakri lieutenant guided in a huge hulking lizard like creature. "Captain, I'm afraid something grave has happened here." "Yes." Hissed the lizard creature. "The plans for the Solar Converter have been stolen. I must inform the Union High Council." "Might I suggest…" growled the creature carefully, "that we first secure this area and see if we can retrieve them without involving the entire population of the Republics?" Veraa smoldered a bit. Evolving on the same planet with a race of sentients does not necessarily make it easier to get along with them. "That has been done, Captain Ghrash. And I was about to ask if some of your strong-arm Dragonoids could help…. If they can stay awake long enough." Ghrash doubled over in hissing laughter. "I guess I deserved that. You are obviously capable of thinking of what needs to be done. May I go inform my…. Lazy troops?" Ghrash was still hissing in a snicker of delight. Dragonoids loved getting under the skin of the uptight Goatakri. "Yes, Captain. Dismissed." The Lieutenant came in and stood, doing his best not to smile. The Dragonoid stereotype of the uptight Goatakri was completely true in the case of Veraa. "Orders, Ma'am?" Veraa looked up wearily. "Just search this place top to bottom." *** Nyssa ran into the clearing where the TARDIS was. She saw Jamie and the Second Doctor filing into the TARDIS, trying to get past each other in some vaguely funny slapstick. "Me first Jamie!" "C'mon Doctor, how come you always go first." "It could be dangerous!" "It's the TARDIS!" "Ahem!" Nyssa cleared her throat. "Oh!" barked out Jamie and the Second Doctor, stumbling over each other, surprised. "Nyssa!" "Nyssa!" "Hello Doctor, Jamie. Can I come with you please?" "Well, um. You see Nyssa. Its not really convenient…" stammered the Second Doctor. "No… its very non convenient" blurted Jamie. "Oh, come on! I don't mind traveling with you two. You're funny. I know all about your trips to the Planet of the Nymphomaniacs and the Planet of The Lager Louts!" giggled Nyssa, trying to force her way past. Jamie and the Doctor each grabbed her arms and started to gently walk her down the path. "No, really, Nyssa, we were just going to cruise around in the TARDIS. You know, chill out. Maybe do a little fishing." Said the second Doctor kindly. "Please, Doctor! I won't be any trouble! I like blowing up the Nymphomaniacs. They scream so well! As for the Lager Louts, I can drink any of them under the table." "Oh, we know that Nyssa…" Nyssa ripped free of the Second Doctor and Jamie, her bayonet slipped out of her sleeve. "I said I want to go on an adventure!" she screamed in barely controlled rage, threatening them with her bayonet. Jamie and the Second Doctor put up their hands tentatively. Nyssa ran into the TARDIS. "Oh my giddy Aunt! Come on Jamie!" screamed the Doctor as he and Jamie ran after Nyssa. Nyssa ran up to the control console and started playing with the controls. Jamie and the Doctor got in just in time as the doors shut. "Its about time, what were you doing out there" said Adric, looking down at the controls at the other end of the console. Slowly, Nyssa and Adric looked up. Their eyes met. "YOU!" they both growled at each other. "Now, Adric, Nyssa. I see that you've both joined Jamie and I on this adventure," began the Second Doctor, clasping his hands together happily. "I know you two will be on your best behavior and try to have fun!" "Doctor!" spat Jamie, jabbing his finger in front of him, poking it in Nyssa and Adric's direction. "We canna take these two, they're both quite mad. They're ruin everything!" "Now, now, Jamie. I know Nyssa and Adric will behave quite well. Won't you?" The Second Doctor looked very firmly at both Nyssa and Adric who were still glaring at each other, frozen in place. Nyssa and Adric slowly nodded at the Second Doctor's question but never took their glaring gaze off each other. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" cried the second Doctor, then lowering his voice. "I knew I could rely on you two." *** The TARDIS materialized at last. The Doctor reached for his coat, glancing at Nyssa and Adric apprehensively. He quickly scuttled out of the TARDIS alongside Jamie. They collided in the doorway and finally got out with a lot of pushing and shoving. Adric and Nyssa walked toward the door and looked up at each other. Nyssa gestured for Adric to go first but Adric simply nodded his head. "You're learning." Growled Nyssa and stormed out. The TARDIS had materialized in a large garage-like structure with several futuristic armored vehicles parked in it. They were all painted in a green and brown camouflage with a red dragonlike emblem painted on the doors. "I say, this is interesting!" cried the Doctor, clasping his hands. "Aye, it looks like Earth again." Mumbled Jamie. "Oh, no, no Jamie. I should think we're a long when from Earth. But the technology is remarkably similar to early twenty-first century." Nyssa and Adric shuffled up behind Jamie and the Doctor who continued to debate about the truck. "Doctor, its just a boring old truck. Lets go find someone to blow up!" cried out Nyssa. A Goatakri guard came around the corner and gaped in surprise. He gathered up his whistle nervously and blew it. The four travelers turned around in shock. "Don't make a move!" the guard cried. "Doctor! What is it?" cried out Jamie. "Never mind that Jamie… now…" growled the Doctor under his breath, "When I say run, Run!" The guard started coming nearer to them, his rifle leveled. More soldiers were running into the garage, they could hear footsteps but not see them yet. The Guard must have been very young and inexperienced as he was trembling, more fearful than the four travelers were. "Run!" cried the Doctor. Jamie and the Doctor ran out to the front of the truck while Adric and Nyssa ran behind it. "Halt or I fire!" cried out the guard, who fired a quick staccato of bullets from his automatic rifle. His wild burst blew out several windows and blasted several holes in the front end of the truck. More Goatakri and some of the lizard like Dragonoids ran up and formed a line at the front of the vehicle. The Lieutenant that had been talking to Commander Veraa walked up. "You're about to tell us that resistance is futile, aren't you?" said the Doctor offhandedly. The Lieutenant holstered his pistol. "Looks like you know that already. Ok, let's get the intruders to the Commander." The soldiers led the Doctor and Jamie away. *** Adric and Nyssa were standing up against the rear of the truck. Nyssa tried the loading door but it was locked. They heard the Doctor and Jamie being led away. "What now!?" hissed Adric. Nyssa slugged him in the gut and put her finger to her lips in a 'keep quiet' sign. They both dared to peak around the corner. There was that young guard and a huge hulking Goatakri with tons of stripes on his sleeve. The sergeant was bawling him out. "So! I think we've forgotten some of the rules, Miknub?" he bellowed at the poor guard who stood rigidly at attention, "We do NOT discharge our weapons in fuel dumps or car parks without some very good REASON!" the sergeant ranted. "And these folks weren't even ARMED!" "Yes Sir! No Sir!" screamed the young Goatakri. Finally, the sergeant finished screaming at young Miknub and began walking around toward the end of the truck. As he rounded the corner, Psycho Nyssa thumped him on the back of the head and laid him out flat. "And we don't walk around the hidden back of trucks when there are intruders on the loose, stupid!" she growled mockingly at him. She quickly relieved him of his pistol and ran off quietly, reluctantly taking Adric in tow. *** "Commander, I've brought the intruders." Said the Lieutenant. Commander Veraa was standing in front of a mirror in her Spartan quarters trimming the mane of fur on her jaws and chin. She couldn't stand those Goatakri women who just let it grow and grow. As she was doing her toilet, she only had her dress slacks on and a black undershirt. "Bring 'em in." said Veraa, reaching for her green tunic. The Lieutenant led in the Doctor and Jamie as Veraa buttoned her tunic up and checked her collar in the mirror. "Good afternoon." Said the Doctor. "Good afternoon, sir. And who may you be?" said Veraa, turning around. "I am the Doctor and this is my friend Jamie." "And what brings you here to my little fortress under siege?" continued Veraa, putting on a belt with a shoulder strap, a large pistol holster, with pistol included, at her hip. "We've come quite by accident." Said Jamie. "Oh yes, quite." Veraa turned to the Lieutenant. "You say there were more of them?" "Yes, Ma'am, a boy and a girl." "They obviously slipped the plans to them before they were captured. All right then, take 'em to the brig and have Captain Ghrash interview them." The Lieutenant nodded. "Yes Ma'am!" The Doctor and Jamie exchanged nervous glances. "Wait a minute, we don't know what you're talking about. Really! We just came here by accident. We were frightened by your armed guards and that's why we tried to run!" shouted the Doctor, gesturing with his hands dramatically. "Tourists usually don't plop down in my vehicle park, terrify a green guard into blasting one of my trucks to pieces and then try to elude my forces without very good reason. Like stealing something for instance. Take them away!" Veraa snatched up a clipboard and a hat and marched past the Doctor and Jamie. The Lieutenant looked at the Doctor and Jamie with a shrug and half-smile. He began to draw his pistol. "Now, now, we'll come along quietly. Get all this sorted out." Began the Doctor nervously, trying to see where Veraa had marched off to. They were lead down plenty of narrow functional corridors until they got to a small prison holding area. There ahead of them sat a huge seven-foot tall lizard-like serpent humanoid. "Captain, Sir, the prisoners for interrogation!" cried out the Lieutenant. The lizard creature began a hissing laugh. "Bring 'em in, Lieutenant!" The Doctor and Jamie looked at each other. "Oh my giddy aunt! Oh crumbs!" mumbled the Doctor. *** Adric and Nyssa were darting from corner to corner. They knew that the creatures would take the Doctor and Jamie to whatever they used as a prison. So, they were looking for a door or some area that was heavily guarded, maybe with bars in the windows, maybe with the words "Jail" on the outside. Unfortunately, this Sci-Fi world was just like all the rest and all the corridors looked the same to the uninitiated. Soon they were hopelessly lost. A few times they dodged a patrol or hid from a single goatlike or lizardlike creature scuttling from one room to another. A few times they dared to look in a door. They'd past something like a radio-room, a kitchen, a clothes washing room, but no jails. "Let's try this door." Said Adric. "What door, stupid?" barked Nyssa. "This one." "There is no door there. The corridor just ends. You really are weird, aren't you?" "Nyssa! There's a door here. You're just too psycho to see it." Adric reached out and opened the door. Nyssa looked in shock. Where there had been a solid wall, to her, there was suddenly an opened door. "How the heck did you do that?" she growled in astonishment. But Adric was lost in thought, trying to work something out in his head. The doorway opened into a small hallway, covered in dust. It seemed to just be a storage utility area but hadn't been used in weeks. They walked down the corridor and saw a small pot with a spout, and a bundle of paperwork. Nyssa picked up the pot and looked inside, it was full of some cold dark liquid. Adric picked up the papers. "Oh great." He said. Nyssa walked up to him and ripped the paperwork from his hands. "They're just some plans for something called a Solar Converter. Nothing to stain your y-fronts for." "No… but they are!" screeched Adric, his voice trembling. Nyssa turned around, there were half a dozen strange little creatures in front of them. Their bodies looked like clay, their eyes and hair bright red, their smiles were… evil somehow. They looked like the stuff of nightmares. Nyssa drew her weapon and opened fire. She sent several rounds at the strange creatures but they just seemed to wink out of the way. "No! Not there, over there!" cried out Adric. "I can see that they teleport!" screamed Nyssa, glad she had grabbed the sergeant's extra ammo clips. "No! They aren't jumping. They're using some sort of perception warping. It's very like Bloc Transfer Computations. Gimmie that gun!" Adric was suddenly very assertive and thoughtful. He grabbed Nyssa's weapon from her and aimed well. He seemed to aim at an empty space away from the creatures and fired. Nyssa watched in amazement as one of the creatures screamed and fell backwards. The bullets seemed to blow holes in the creature but nothing further. "Damn, they're resistant to bullets." Said Adric. "Aren't they all…" The creatures must not have been used to the idea of someone actually able to see where they really were, let alone hit them with a weapon, and fled screeching. Adric stood, his legs spread and weapon leveled, jaw set. Nyssa looked at him and suddenly saw a different side of Adric. A tough, devil-may-care sort of Adric. A psycho energy grew up inside of her. She grabbed back the gun before Adric's assertive side made her do something she'd hugely regret later; such as not brutally murdering him with her new gun after this adventure was over. "Let's get out of here, don't forget those papers." Said Nyssa fiercely, trying not to look at Adric until she was sure he was back to his usual marshmellowy self. *** Jamie and the Doctor sat around the table, drinking a hot liquid suspiciously like tea. The Lieutenant and Captain Ghrash sat opposite them. "All I got in the way of biscuits are these Pingkian Assortments, I'm afraid." Apologized Ghrash, "Dryer than the High Desert after a hundred years drought!" he added hissing a laugh. The Lieutenant declined politely but Jamie and the Doctor decided to try one. Ghrash was right, they were starchy and very very dry. "So. What is going on here?" asked the Doctor, sipping from the tealike drink. It was rather good and he didn't detect any poisons or ill effects. "Hmm, well." Growled Ghrash, "Some papers have been stolen. We were just supposed to guard them until a special courier could take them to our capital. Some time ago, intelligence got word that some force or other was trying to steal them. We don't have too many enemies in this side of the galaxy, but those baddies that are around this area are very bad indeed. Not someone you'd want to get a hold of plans such as these." "And who are these, bad enemies?" asked Jamie. "Oh, the Orn for instance…" the Doctor choked his tea. "You mean They are around here?" "Yes, Doctor, they are known to you?" "I know of them. Disgusting slavers and liars." He turned to Jamie, "Promise the universe to new cultures, seducing them with power and goodies, then destroying them utterly, enslaving those who survive!" he explained to the hairy legged highlander. "Tried it on some friends of ours some years back" continued Ghrash. "They destroyed an entire fleet of ours which we sent to intervene. All we could do was rescue their survivors and resettle them on one of our worlds as refugees." "So, what has all this got to do with us, with that leader of yours convinced we have these secret plans?" Ghrash helped himself to more hot drink, and a couple of biscuits. "Oh, she just thinks you have the plans. Personally, I don't think so. Four crazy travelers might make a good strike force for capturing secret plans, but I find that beyond the creativity and intelligence of any of the likely candidates for who did it." "Most kind." Said the Doctor. "Still, I think we should go look for your two friends. You never know what they might be hiding!" winked Ghrash. Jamie and the Doctor got up and started for the door. Ghrash and the Lieutenant followed them. *** Nyssa and Adric ran down one corridor into another, not sure if the horrible little monsters were in pursuit. "I'm sure that these soldiers don't know those monsters are here!" panted Adric. Nyssa sighed tiredly. "Obviously not, fool." They heard clomping footsteps coming from behind them. Another set from in front. Nyssa and Adric looked around for somewhere to hide. There seemed to be some sort of access shaft on one side of the hall. Nyssa pried open the door with her bayonet and they slipped in. It was a tight squeeze and they were pressed up tight, face to face. They could hear muffled voices. "I hope they go away soon. Being this close to you makes me want to vomit!" barked Nyssa. Adric was looking away. "Then I'm more lucky, Nyssa, because being this close to you does absolutely *nothing* for me." Nyssa stared at him in rage. She slid her bayonet down her sleeve and began to swing at his neck. Adric grabbed her wrist and they began to struggle in their tight quarters against each other, yelling epithets. Suddenly, their eyes met. Adric stared for a long time into Nyssa's sweet brown eyes and Nyssa noticed how dark Adric's piercing eyes were. They eyed each other for a moment, panting from their struggles, then Adric slowly began moving his mouth toward Nyssa's delicate lips. Nyssa cocked her head slightly to one side, her eyes closed. The door ripped open, giving Nyssa and Adric a good shock. "Nyssa! Adric! You're safe!" cried out the Doctor happily. Nyssa tore out of the closet, brandishing her bayonet, looking for something to kill. Adric walked out, holding some papers. Ghrash walked up toward the boy and grabbed the sheathe of papers. "It looks like I was wrong about you, Doctor." He hissed. "It certainly does!" shouted Commander Veraa, at the lead of a patrol that came from the other side of the hall. She walked forward and took the papers from Ghrash. "Get 'em back to the brig, Ghrash. And don't get to chummy with them again, right?" she said, looking over the papers. Ghrash snapped to attention and saluted, seething. He spun around toward the Doctor and his companions. "That was a good one, Doctor. But there is a limit even to my sense of humor!" Ghrash led them all back to the brig at gun point. *** "But I tell you, we took the plans from these creatures!" balled out Adric at Ghrash as each of the travelers was placed in a little cell. "Yeah, yeah." Said Ghrash. "They were small and gray with big red eyes and big red hairdos. They could appear to be indifferent places!" cried out Nyssa angrily. Ghrash finished locking the cells and began to walk toward his desk. "What did you say?" he said, turning around in interest. "Little off white things with fangs, red eyes, and…" "And big red wiry hair, making you feel fear and trepidation even just looking at them." Said Ghrash, staring back and forth between Adric and Nyssa. Jamie and the Doctor were straining to listen. "You do know what they're talking about, don't you, old chap?" said the Doctor knowingly. "Yeah, because we didn't have a thing to do with this theft of documents!" said Jamie aggressively. Ghrash stared at the travelers for a moment. "You could be just lying to me again. How do I know you just didn't see some reference in some room where you were hiding." "We are telling the truth!" cried Nyssa in psycho rage, suddenly trying to stab Adric with her bayonet but she couldn't reach far enough into his cell to get him. "And we weren't lying in the first place!" bawled out Jamie hotly. "And if you don't let us out of here, I'll kill everyone here. I'll leave none alive!" screamed Nyssa. "Starting with Adric!" she continued. "Ok, ok. Calm down. I'll listen to your story. Come out to the table." Said Ghrash. He released the travelers and gave them some more tealike hot drink and dry biscuits. Adric seemed to like the dry biscuits and ate them one after another. The Doctor sat, eyeing Ghrash knowingly. "You do know what these young people are talking about, don't you." It was a statement, not a question. "Yes… it sounds like, well…" Ghrash lowered his voice and looked around him. "There are three sentient species evolved on my planet, Doctor. The Goatakri, the humorless tin soldiers you've already met. We, Dragoniods, who make some of the best VidComs in this sector…" Ghrash swelled with pride when he said this last bit, ".. and the Fuzzr." "Are they enemies?" asked Jamie. Ghrash looked around and shook his head. "Oh no! No!" he cried it out to no one in particular and then continued in a whisper, leaning conspiratorially toward the travelers. "They're not part of our Union. But they aren't enemies. They're sort of a mysterious isolationist race, with strange powers, probably psionic. Not a lot is known about them. They do do stuff like this once in awhile. No one knows what for, they don't have technology as we understand it." "So, what are you confused about? The Fuzzr are here and we saw them. Lets go get 'em!" cried out Nyssa murderously. "You don't understand, Nyssa. You can't just roll up and shoot them. You can't hit 'em. Can't even target them with any target device. Only concussion grenades work against them, and you have to have some bloody good luck to even get close enough for them to be effective." Growled Ghrash. "But wait, Adric can see them. They're using some sort of mathematical technology that he can perceive. We can fight them!" cried Nyssa happily, waving her bayonet around in psycho glee. Ghrash looked quizzically at Adric but the question died on his lips. "C'mon then!" cried out Jamie, "Have you any of these concussion grenades here?" "Of course." *** Adric led the way. They arrived at what appeared to be a blind hall but suddenly, Adric just seemed to open a door in the wall. Ghrash, Jamie, Nyssa and the Doctor walked into the corridor. There was a bunch of the little creatures ahead. They were expecting them. The party walked forward, looking into the Fuzzr's faces. Their mouths were twisted into hideous gashlike grins. Their eyes were bright red, depthless. Their hair seemed more like fibers for wires sticking out of their claylike heads. Their bodies seemed to be made of some sort of claylike mud. "Aye, we got ye little beasites now!" bellowed Jamie. "No, Jamie, right behind us!" cried out Adric, flinging a concussion grenade. The explosion blew them back against the wall. Nyssa flew back on the Doctor and Adric crashed into Jamie. Ghrash was the first up and walked over to the six little claylike bodies that lie on the ground. "Are they dead?" asked the Doctor. "They better not be." Said Ghrash cryptically. "No, I can see them breathe." The Doctor crept forward and leaned over them. "No, don't touch them, Doctor. They have many more powers than just that displacement." *** Commander Veraa stormed into the brig with a large group of soldiers. Ghrash, Adric, Nyssa, The Doctor, and Jamie were all sitting around the table playing cards. "You have some Fuzzr prisoners?" she said gravely. Ghrash stood up. "Yes, Ma'am. They're secured." Veraa motioned to her soldiers who were specially equipped in special clothing and special restraints. "Doctor, " drawled Jamie, "We only just got back and bunged those creatures in the cells. How did she know about the Fuzzr." Jamie was suspicious. "I have a feeling the Fuzzr are telepathically linked. She probably got word from her leaders that we had attacked them even before the battle was done." Said the Doctor solemnly. Ghrash turned to the Doctor. "What you say is right, Doctor. They were probably in contact with our GHQ even before Adric noticed they were behind us." "What will happen now. Question them?" "Oh, we'll never find out anything from these Fuzzr here. I expect they'll tell our leadership what they wanted in their own good time. The Fuzzr are very odd about how they go about negotiations. They must need some medical supplies desperately or help with something in their own lands." "And they can't just ask, I suppose." "Oh no, Doctor. They just don't think like that. Get you in a bad situation, get the better of you, get you in some torment, then they'll parley. Usually they're quite generous and peaceful in their negotiation, but they always seem to like having you by the, um, what's-its first." *** The Doctor, Jamie, Adric, and Nyssa filed back into the TARDIS after saying goodbye to Ghrash and the Lieutenant. "That Commander never said she was sorry!" said Adric. "Oh, no. I didn't expect so. From what I saw of her, she reminded me of a certain tin-plated idiot I know and love." Smiled the Doctor. The others laughed, knowing he was referring to the Brigadier. "Lets go home, shall we?" The TARDIS dematerialized and started on its journey. Adric rushed into the This Time Around, gunfire erupting outside as Nyssa tried out her new toy, the gun she still had from the Goatakri base. "Where have you been, you're late?" said Harry, behind the counter. "I'm sorry, Harry, but she got me twice on the way back here. It takes awhile to process a Morality Deferment Card." Nyssa stormed into the This Time Around, glaring at Adric. She ordered six Adric's Demises and took them over to a little table where she saw Tegan sitting. Tegan was in the middle of another bout of angst, drinking herself unconscious with an endless stream of screwdrivers. Nyssa sat next to her friend who looked over at her drunkenly. "So you manage to come back!" she spat. Nyssa sighed and gave her miserable friend a quick hug. "Your old problem again? Oh Tegan, let it go!" "But I *love* him!" Tegan wailed drunkenly, glancing over to the bar where a certain Fifth Doctor was doing his best to ignore her. Nyssa began to knock back her Adric's Demises, starting to erase the memory of the closet incident on today's adventure. She didn't tell Tegan that though. Tegan looked over at her and knew something must be up. "Look at us two, getting drunk as skunks…. " Tegan spat again. Nyssa began to hum. "Here we sit in Margaritaville…" Nyssa sang quietly. Tegan broke into a huge drunken grin and looked at Nyssa. "Lookin' for our lost shaker of salt!" she bellowed out drunkenly. Nyssa turned to her and they sang together smiling, leaning on each other. "Some say there's a Time Lord to blame… and we know, its his own damn fault!" THE END