Doctor Who: Out of Time

Chapter 1: Survive and Thrive

The Interstellar Cruise Liner Cosmos was nearing the end of a five Earth-month trip around the Sulon Nebula. It was comparably one of the largest cruise liners built in the history of cruise liners. The Sulon Nebula was comparably one of the lesser interesting nebulae with the majority of nebulae featuring a vast expanse of colourful clouds of dust made up primarily of hydrogen and helium, with other elements ionised from that galaxy - but this one didn't. It was much more dull. Literally. The colours weren't bright or lighthearted, they didn't bring wonder or excitement, people would come to this nebula in times of sorrow or grieving. Made up of primarily of browns and greys, it was a tourist attraction only for those who could go nowhere else and had nothing better to do. The point of the Cosmos' cruise was to bring people closer to the nebula, so they could see it up close in all its dismal glory. Scientists often travelled on these cruise ships as it was either difficult or more expensive to find or fund a private vessel to go there. They would study the nebula, its structure and colour, and try to find out why it was not colourful. Many others used it as a method to get away from their lives and sulk, or grieve, or regret.

A little distance away (little being quite far in relation to current space-travel distances), was the planet of Bellus VI. No-one really knows what happened to planets Bellus I through V, but the rumours are never good, as can only be expected. Bellus VI is mainly a holiday destination world, featuring sprawling mega-casinos and mega-malls and mega-spas. Bellus VI's nearest star is not very near at all. As a result the planet has a very slow orbit and practically doesn't spin on its own axis. This puts one half of the planet in almost constant darkness. This 'dark side' is practically barren, with only the odd small settlement made by gamblers who bet all their money away, or the hopeless traveller. In all of these settlements however, big or small, you will find some Rebels.

They call themselves Rebels because that's what everyone else calls them. Quite often they will have a jacket on that looks far too bulky to reassure you that they won't cause trouble. Because of this, no-one who lives in the settlements trusts the Rebels, but they are fully reliant on them to keep them safe.

What you can't do without, on a world where the economy is fueled off of tourism and visitors, is security. The majority of security is handled through the hundreds of thousands of CCTV cameras placed practically everywhere in the establishments. The feeds from the cameras are transferred directly to the Bellus Central Mainframe (BCM) which has been running the security of the planet before its finders knew what it was for. And it hasn't stopped. There are considerably less security officers than cameras, but for the most part, the thought of being caught by one of the cameras is enough to spark a reluctance in people to do anything wrong. There have been rumours of people being taken and hidden underground for testing. But this is normally passed off as Rebel propaganda.

The Bellus Security Department (BSD) is constantly trying to end the 'threat' posed by the Rebels. Quite often the criminal charges are placed on unidentified Rebels after they have managed to stop an attempt to 'remove' a settlement from the dark-side of Bellus VI. This isn't what the holiday makers and shoppers and gamblers hear, however, as they are constantly reminded of the 'threat' caused by these terrorists. There have been no actual attacks on BSD protected buildings by the Rebels in recorded Bellus VI history. The Rebels hardly ever set a foot or a thought towards that side of the planet.

The Rebels are more pre-occupied with safe-guarding the other side of the planet. They have to protect the settlements there against attacks by BSD forces; albeit these attacks are only small, manned by about 4-5 officers each equipped with standard tranquilliser pistol-sized guns. 

But they are attacks all the same.

Away from the sight of the BCM and away from any spenders or superiors, the BSD officers like to use their own methods to round up the settlers who reside in the man-made settlements dotted across the dark side. The Rebels use guerrilla tactics to drive out the BSD, darting down alleyways, between building and over rooftops; all the nook and crannies in any settlement are purposefully built into the layout of the settlement, no gap in the wall is a turnout of poor planning. This method of building a settlement is fundamental in repelling BSD officers and raid parties. The settlements are also built in the middle of large flat plains which gives Rebel lookouts in the settlements no chance of missing any approaching oppressors, settlers are subsequently hidden underground in small holes covered by trapdoors and rugs as to keep them out of the way and keep the BSD looking while the Rebels wait to spring their traps.

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Gaizel was on lookout duty. He never liked the thought of sitting in complete darkness and the biting cold, but once he was up there with his binoculars and his blanket he liked the peace and quiet. And there were the stars. He knew he should keep his focus on the horizon, and watch for any approaching speeders  gliding across the dark side, ablaze with their lights; but he preferred looking up at the stars and the Sulon Nebula. He had been born on Bellus VI, born into being a Rebel and protecting people. Now it was all he knew, all he lived for; these people's safety were his purpose. They were better off here than the work camps on Bellus VI's only moon, which was rich with a rare mineral called tritanium. Gaizel could see the work camp moon from where he sat, it was almost directly above him, and directly behind Bellus VI. This meant that the moon was shrouded in darkness as the light from Bellus VI's sun wasn't reaching it. This was the dark side's darkest hour. Gaizel leant back in his chair, which was positioned on the highest point of the tallest roof. He looked out across the barren expanse that so many called home; then he stood up. Binoculars raised within the same second. Lights. They had been turned on about halfway between the settlement and the horizon, which was strange as the BSD normally keep their lights on constantly. Then Gaizel felt a thud to his leg. His last thought before he fell back into his chair and into unconsciousness was that he should signal the others to prepare for the attack, but now all he could dream of were the stars.