Exhale, do you feel light?  

Inhale, do you feel alive?  

Exhale, I stand before you.  

Exhale, I hold firm before you.  

Exhale, I am one drop of darkness.  

Exhale, for we are legion.

Pitted line, moaning groan,  

Within chamber of mucous,  

Chittery chit, sloth sloth,  

Slide through distant trough.  

Darkly comes the Rider.

Deep within the ship on the observation deck, the commander was brooding. His eyes traced the patterns on the wall, ancient symbols denoting the values of the Andonian fleet. For the past few weeks he had begun focussing on them, as if to centre his mind. Something had been pulling at it. A silent cry.  

"Commander, there's a communications request from one of the flight outposts for you," came a message over the voice system.  

His train of thought broken, the commander snapped quietly in response, "Observation room."  

"Aye, sir," came the response, understanding the curt reply.  

In a moment, the main display at the end of the room illuminated with the image of a fluffy short octopus creature. The commander didn't recognise the species, but Andonia had so many. He was unimpressed.  

"Hello, is this the commander of the Andonian orbital fleet?" squeaked the tuft of green urgency.  

Shining eyes assessed the creature, doubting the need to engage it in conversation. He stared at the little being, daring it to break his gaze.  

"A-anyway, I have urgent information for you! Please, it's been so difficult to get anyone to listen. But recent events have given me some credibility, unfortunately," said the tuft. "My name is Joxx, from the northern city province Aehlli. If you heard, a section of it got turned into a toxic desert overnight."  

The commander quickly muted the display. He then addressed his chief officer, "Sylo, incident in Aehlli reported?"  

"One moment, sir," replied Lieutenant Sylo over the comm. "Yes, about sixteen square kilometres of suburbs were devastated. There's no trace of citizens nor structures. It's very much like the others, but this time in a heavily populated area."  

Nodding, the commander unmuted the display. "Joxx, come aboard."  

Seeming to be greatly relieved, Joxx dared a smile. "Thank you, Commander Visch. I knew you would understand."

Space folded around the Vorascha One, dragging it from where it was to where it wanted to be. In one short drift, the vessel landed in orbit around a pitted planet. Upon arrival the engines screamed, sending a violent shudder throughout the ship. Whisper re-emerged from the hull, settling back down onto the couch, sleepy. Rion floated near it as the ship began to roll.  

"Where are we?!" yelled Cat.  

"Somewhere, which is good, because the engines aren't going to be taking us anywhere," said Stickman, pointing to his screen.  

"They're completely gutted!" exclaimed Cat, shocked.  

"Landing systems still work. Let's get down to the planet," said Stickman.  

Down through the atmosphere plunged the Vorascha, searing light flowing from its gored engines. Passengers gripped their restraints nervously as this new planet raced towards them. Massive sculpted rock formations rose ahead, arches and chasms everywhere. Stickman veered around a massive column, searching for a flat expanse on which to land. Between twin pinchers of rock a plateau appeared. The ship drove down for it, vibrating worryingly. With a crashing thud, they landed.  

"Is this Ewansa's planet, Stick?" asked Cat, checking the ship's systems.  

"Just a minute, need to take a sample of this place," said Stickman, poking at the controls before him. A moment later, he stepped back from his console. "Sort of. Remember how I said Ewansa was complicated?"  

"A bit, what about it?" said Cat.  

"Part of Ewansa came from this planet," stated Stickman.  

"Part... what? How can someone partly come from somewhere?" said Cat.  

Ewansa stood up from his station and stared out at the landscape before the ship. Dark rockfaces rose up all around them. Scarce vegetation littered the ground. Strange holes were bored into the cliffs.  

"Isss hoooome," gasped Ewansa. Whisper suddenly floated up to Ewansa's helmet, tapping it excitedly and pointing with a gleeful smile on its face.  

"You've been here before, Ewansa?" asked Cat.  

"Nooooo," said Ewansa.  

Stickman looked on the desolate plain outside suspiciously. "Wherever we are, they'd better have technology. This thing isn't going to fly again."

Chester bounded through the woods, heart racing. Sickly sharp branches tore at his fur. The mistress was on the hunt tonight. A year of sleep had not softened her bite.  

Rounding a corner, the four-footed creature spotted a nook at the base of a thick tree. Forcing his legs to move, he plunged in.  

A mound of earth rose up in a line behind him, thundering along, serrated spines breaking the surface. Chester panted heavily from within the small alcove, staring out wide-eyed. Sudden silence.  

It was too dark to see much beyond the base of the tree. The exhausted dog dared not step foot into the open, the thing knew the scent of his fur.  

Then came a horrible rattling sound followed by a small explosion of dirt. He couldn't see where, but it was just beyond, in the darkness. Its rasping voice tore a bloody wound in the silence of the night.  

"Sssshh..... tiiiime to plaaaaay!"  

Chester looked down at his left forearm. His fur ended at the elbow, with bone extended to the paw, where clawed bones scratched at the earth. Deep bite marks crossed his back, and a chunk out of one hind leg and tail showed the signs of him being a long dead creature. A carcass not worth the effort of the mistress's torments. Such were the "gifts" of his Protector. Unfortunately, of late they had ceased to be the camouflage they had once been.  

"Aaaaaah!" hissed the thing, suddenly all too near. Sharp talons lashed at the base of the tree, catching Chester's skeletal paw and painfully dragging him out into the open.  

The creature towered above him, a snake-life thing with medical talons and irregular spikes along its back. It wavered side to side, staring down at the rotting dog. Fear gripped the little animal. It was the end for him.  

"Weeee plaaaaaay noooow.... yooouuuu opeeen."  

Looking up at the thing with grim knowledge of what was to come next, Chester stood firm, ready for mistress Fe'Hihi's treatment.

Aphorus stared out the window onto the world outside. Riding across the dark sky came a cold shuttle, wrapped in binding metal, thrust above the earth on columns of light. The skies churned with a pained weather, clouds wrapping around rough wounds.  

"What will we do with them, do you think?" whisper Aphorus to the glass.  

The room twitched and blinked. Soft mutterings filled the scientist's head. Improvements, enhancements, we could make it better.  

"We can make them better," said Aphorus quietly, as though a sudden revelation had struck him. Looking up, his eyes locked on the vessel now passing the building. Tapping a communication console, he requested the command station.  

"Please have that shuttle land at receiving area 16," said Aphorus firmly.  

"Sir, that ship is a rogue mining crew. They aren't receiving communications," replied the officer.  

A dim glint flickered across Aphorus' eyes. "Then force them down. Use the gravity inducer," he said.  

"Yes, sir."  

Disconnecting, the researcher watched as moments later the shuttle suddenly stopped in the sky, caught by an invisible web. He grinned.  

"We will have so much to work with, so many improvements to be made."

Solemn night, draining hours,  

Cold tree, ancient wood.  

Around the wind twists,  

Captures dreams, snares despair.  

What desires does the silent one bear?  

Can you hear me, over there?  

I'm going to visit, one day soon.  

Find the twin Doctor, lest your world come to ruin.