Reagan had lost count of how long they had been travelling through space. Her days were a blur of unbound pleasures and delicious pain as the Doctor continued his twisted experiments. Sometimes she faced them alone alone, whilst at other times she was joined by Alice, Milly or Zara. Whenever they weren't being experimented on they were confined to their glass capsules, bound and gagged, fed through drips and pumped with drugs at regular intervals. She knew that her resolve had broken long ago, and that there was nothing that the Doctor could not do to her anymore. Occasionally, the thought would shame her and she would attempt to resist his commands, but ultimately she knew that she had come to crave his cock almost as much as she coveted his attention.
She was drifting in and out of sleep when she heard the now familiar robotic appendages detach from the top of her capsule and remove the blindfold that she wore. The Doctor stood outside her capsule, waiting patiently as the straps that held her down were removed and her gag was unbuckled. She thought he looked tired. His hair was longer than it had been when she had first met him and his beard was scruffier. She wondered what toll this was all taking on him and, for a brief moment, felt a stab of pity for her captor.
The glass door of her capsule slid open and the Doctor offered her his hand.
"I need your help," he said calmly.
She hesitated, looking at his hand as if it were a trap. She was so used to being restrained in one form or the other that it felt strange to move unhindered.
"Please," he said. "You're the only one I trust."
Something in his tone reassured her. She nodded and took his hand, stepping out of the capsule into the mini laboratory that had become her home. The other capsules glowed softly in the otherwise dark room, the figures of Milly, Zara and Alice still bound and gagged in their respective prisons.
He held her hand as he led her out of the lab. The fact that she was completely naked, apart from the small leather collar that she wore, did not seem to matter to either of them. She was used to it now. Anything else would have felt odd.
He brought her to the cockpit of the small vessel and Reagan stared in wonder though the ship's forward viewport. She could not remember how long it had been since she had last seen the stars, or stared into the enormity of deep space. The sight took her breath away as it always had done, and she felt a smile creep across her face as she stared into the inky black void streaked with the light of a billion stars as the ship raced through space at warp speed.
"My research has stalled," the Doctor said as he took his seat in the pilot's chair. "I am in need of additional supplies which I do not have aboard, but there is an old facility nearby that should contain what I require."
Reagan chewed her tongue as she looked down at the Doctor. "So why do you need me?" she asked.
"The facility is on Grango V," he said grimly. "It is... A dangerous world. I need someone to act as a co-pilot when we land."
"What makes you think I can fly a ship?" Reagan replied.
"I know you can," the Doctor said, kicking the co-pilot's chair out towards her.
Reagan sat down carefully, the leather seat cool against her bare ass cheeks. She looked at the instruments and controls in front of her, a memory stirring in the back of her mind.
"Can't the computer handle this?" she asked somewhat nervously.
The Doctor shook his head. "Grango's atmosphere is highly ionised," he said. "It messes with the computer's navigation systems so we have to do this the old fashioned way. Dropping out of warp speed now."
Reagan looked up as the stars reverted to tiny points in the far distance and a small planet loomed in front of the viewport. Grango V was a volcanic world, its craggy grey surface split by ribbons of lava that made it seem as though the planet was on the verge of breaking up entirely. An orbital docking station floated above the surface of the world, its metal shell scarred by plasma residue, sparks flashing from the shattered cables and rent open passageways. They flew past it slowly and Reagan turned away as she saw bodies drifting lifelessly in the depressurised interior of the station.
"What happened here?" she whispered. She knew that she had been told before. She could remember flashes of what the Doctor had shown her. A rift in space, creatures coming through the void. Had they done this? Why hadn't the Alliance been there to defend its people?
"You will see," the Doctor said quietly.
They descended into the planet's atmosphere and immediately, Reagan could see why the Doctor had needed her help. The ship's instruments went wild, sirens blaring to warn of collisions with mountains that were miles away from their actual position. Her fingers flew over the control panels, her muscles remembering the procedures even if her conscious mind did not. It wasn't the smoothest descent but they did make it beneath the smog filled clouds without incident and Reagan beheld her first proper view of Grango V.
The air was thick and hazy, the ground grey and rocky. The lava rivers were truly massive and in the distance she could see volcanoes spewing lava and ash into the air at a constant rate. Volcanic worlds were harsh and dangerous but the power that could be harnessed from them meant they were key to the Alliance's economy. She could see power stations rising out of the plains and the remains of lava harvesters lying abandoned by the rivers. After several minutes they passed over a city that must have been Grango's capital. Its buildings were blasted and broken, just as the orbital station had been, and she could see bodies lying in the rubble.
"They didn't stand a chance," the Doctor whispered.
"Are we safe here?" Reagan asked, unable to keep the fear from her voice.
He laughed dryly. "Nowhere is safe anymore," he muttered.
They raced past the city towards a cluster of mountains in the distance. As they drew closer, Reagan spotted a crater nestled between the mountain peaks, the dark, glassy rocks that grew around its rim suggesting that the volcano had gone extinct long ago. The Doctor guided the ship into the crater where they descended into a large cavern the walls of which were covered in more glassy rocks. About halfway down the cavern wall there was an opening in the rock face. It was man made and the power generators bolted to the rocks suggested that the opening had once been shielded. Beyond the opening was a large square hangar bay that was empty but for a few stacked barrels and metal crates.
The Doctor manoeuvred the ship into the dark hanger, particles of dust and ash dancing in the ship's exterior lights as it rested with a dull thud on the white floor. The engines cycled down with a soft sigh and everything went eerily silent.
"Thank you," he said. "I'll return you to your capsule now. You'll be safe there."
"What?" Reagan said sharply. "You're just going to leave us here?"
"It won't take me long to gather what I need," the Doctor said. "You are vital to my research. There is no sense in putting any of you in danger."
"And what if you don't come back?" she snapped. "We'll be stuck here!"
"The computer will monitor my vitals," the Doctor said calmly. "If anything happens to me you will be released and able to fly away from here."
"No," Reagan said firmly. "I'm not letting you go out there alone."
"Reagan," he said but she shook her head and glared at him. "Fine," he sighed at last. "But you must do exactly as I tell you to."
She smiled despite herself. "Don't I always?"
He led her back into the lab where he delved into one of the lockers and handed her one of the white PVC dresses and platform boots that she had seen the nurses wear in the first facility.
"It's the best I have," he said with a shrug and a sly smile.
She scowled as she pulled the dress on, the rubber-like material clinging to her skin. It was too small for her. The hem barely covered her ass and her breasts spilled out of the top of the dress. At least the boots fit her well enough though.
The Doctor handed her a breath mask and helped her fit it to her face. He pressed the button on the side of the mask and she felt it pressurise to her face, the whir of the breathing apparatus in her ear and the small green light in her top left peripheral telling her that it was working as it should. He fitted his own mask before arming himself with a plasma rifle and leading her to the ship's airlock.
They waited for the airlock to cycle before stepping out into the hangar and descending the ship's ramp. It was stifling hot outside and even with her pressurised mask, Reagan thought she could smell the stench of sulphur in the acrid air. They made their way slowly across the hangar, the Doctor holding the plasma rifle across his chest, the flashlight attached to the barrel of the gun cutting a swathe of light through the stale air.
"This way," he said softly.
They made their way silently into the facility, moving slowly from corridor to corridor. Reagan recognised the same glossy white walls and ceilings from the facility where the Doctor had originally held them. She wondered how many facilities like this there were in the galaxy, and how many women were in the same position that she now found herself in?
At the end of the following corridor they reached a large set of sliding doors that were partially shut. The Doctor angled his light towards the floor as they crept up to the doors and peered through the opening between the two halves. Reagan could see what looked like a control room with two rings of computer boards facing a central platform. The room was quiet and empty. There was no sign of any kind of struggle and indeed the only thing that seemed amiss was the layer of dust that covered all of the surfaces around the room.
The Doctor clambered between the two door panels before turning to help Reagan through.
"There should be an emergency power supply somewhere," he said quietly. "We can use it to scan the facility for lifeforms."
Reagan nodded. "What do you think happened here?"
He shrugged. "We set up labs throughout the galaxy to test various theories. Whatever happened here does not appear to have involved any violence. Maybe they had time to get out?"
"Do you really believe that?" Reagan asked.
His hollow expression was as much of an answer as he gave as he set off in search of the emergency power switch. She sighed, following his lead as she shone her own flashlight around the room. The control room felt strangely familiar to her. She could almost imagine herself standing on the platform in the middle of the room, calling out orders to the technicians working around her. She stopped beside a large panel, her fingers tracing the surface, leaving tracks in the dust. Yes, she had definitely been here before.
