never take sweets from a sontaran

'What are you doing here?'

'I came to see you - I had to see you, Xarr.'

'Why?' hissed the creature from beneath its heavy helmet, 'Is the work complete?' 

'Nearly...but...'

'You need some more, do you?' the creature read the human's mind. 'Buut the work is not yet complete.' Under its helmet, it smiled, getting sadistic pleasure from the sight of the human on its knees, begging. Yet it knew that the human was of no use dead.

The creature walked slowly over to a large metallic cabinet in the corner of the room from which it produced a small plastic syringe, which the creature filled slowly with a colourless liquid, then turned to face the human:

'The work on the drive must be finished. I must return.'

'Yes my Lord, but...' the human began dribbling, his eyes fixed on the colourless fluid.

'Very well, Sarna...'

Sarna eventually woke up in the corner of a small workshop, his hair was matted with sweat, saliva dribbling from his mouth, hanging open, inert.

Maybe it was all a nightmare, he thought, but then he felt the tingling of the injection in his arm and he knew that the 'feeling' would return, and if he didn't finish his work for Xarr, it would stay.

He slowly crawled to a table littered with many electronic components and he sat down on a hard wooden bench to work.

That evening as he worked on the final component of the space hyper-drive, the 'feeling' began to return. He was dedicated to his cause and to the clear 'pleasant' liquid, the technician, his life ruined by his meeting with the armoured alien creature, continued to work feverously on completing his task.

Sarna saw that the door of the alien's laboratory was slightly ajar. Peering in, he saw the familiar sight of the spherical space capsule in one corner and the precious metal cabinet in the other. But where was Xarr?

Suddenly, from the shinning sphere came a creature in shinning armour very much like Xarr's - but his face...his face was cruel and distorted, squashed into a hairless mound, betraying no signs of compassion or any emotion apart from its cruel sadistic grin.

Sarna realised that this thing - this humourless parody of human life, this monster, was Xarr, his master.

This was what he had been working for - this is what his family had left him for, and this was what he had sacrificed years of work for. He began to rewire the space hyper-drive machine which he had carried so faithfully under his arm.

A few minutes later, he stepped into the room.

Xarr, still unmasked turned to face him, 'What is this?' the creature screeched. 'You defy my order, that you should never enter here without permission.'

'Yes and look what I have found.'

'I thought you might find my face...displeasing.'

'Not only displeasing, but illuminating.' Sarna smiled fingering the switch on the space hyper-drive.

'Illuminating? Come now, Sarna - the position has not changed - you still need the drug.'

'Need, or just desire? No - I don't need your drug. I never needed it. You forced it upon me.'

'You took it willingly'

'You were threatening to shoot me. But, now I wish I had taken the easy way out...'

There was silence. Then...

'You have brought me the drive?'

'Oh yes - I've brought it for you...' and with that Sarna flicked the switch.

A moment later as the smoke cleared, two bodies lay on the laboratory floor. Both of them had saliva trickling from the sides of their mouths - but for different reasons: One body was human the other inhuman.

written by
DAVID AGNEW
copyright 2009

artwork by

COLIN JOHN
copyright 2009