fandomhigh | Constant Vigilance #4: Friday the 3rd, Morning. Serenity Cove.

Today, the class meets on the beach, to accomadate the student who has a bit of an aquatic problem at the moment. The Doctor set out beach blanket and towels, and has hauled the holoprojector out on a cart.

"Pass forward your requests I asked for, thank you. As I let you know, we're switching things around a bit. Vampires and werewolves will be at a later date. Today is simply 'Close Encounters of the Unattractive Kind'. Now, please remember, that it's not so much that I find these species particularly unpleasant, it's just we might as well show some of the more unsavory aliens out in the world. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. I'll be taking questions today, but no lecturing today. It's called close encounters for a reason. You'll be talking to the projections, trying to gather what you can from them. Ask them whatever. Remember they can't actually hurt you, but please only antagonize them if you're being terribly clever about it. There is no assignment for next week. Time for you all to put on your 'first contact' thinking caps. The projector will be sending out three different aliens. Talk to at least one, please."

The Doctor smiled, then turned on the projector. Three forms appeared...

[ooc: OCD is up. Have at me!]

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"Do you make strategic treaties when you do these sorts of things?" He already had a strong feeling what sort of answer he'd get.

"We do not believe in such pointless things," Styre said. "If something is desirable and not a risk to our assetts, we take it."

"What counts as a risk to your assets?" Walter asked, getting to a very important point, to his way of thinking.

"If we would meet any significant resistance that would outweigh the advantage gained by acquiring the planet," Styre said. "So far, few planets have been deemed unsuitable for conquest."

Not good. "You aren't concerned about hostile atmospheres or germs or anything?"

"Most atmospheres are conquered by our superior air filtration technology and the Sontaran physique is almost immune to biological agents."

"And some physique it is," Walter observed. "But you said almost. Clearly you aren't perfect, then."

"We are as perfect as a biological being can be," Styre said. "We are stronger and more durable than your species, that is for certain."

"Do you have any weaknesses at all, then? Age? Bad breath? Mirrors?"

"You expect me to share them with you?" Styre scoffed. "You must think me stupid."

"Mirrors," Walter decided, but still pulled out his camera. "How is your society organized?"

"By rank," Styre said, simply.

"Yours is a fully militarized society?" What was it with these Nazi-esque aliens?

"Yes it is," Styre said. "There is no purpose in life other than spreading the empire."

"What do you do for fun?"

"Conquer planets. Experiment on new species. ~~Take my helmet off in front of a female, and lick my lips with my big fat slimy red tongue.~~"

"That's...." Walter had no response for that and instead snapped a picture of Styre, quite possibly when he had his tongue out.

"It was educational to meet you."

The Doctor stepped up behind Walter at this point.

"You're wondering how you fight one of them, aren't you?"

Walter turned around, notepad in hand while he jotted down some of the names to record in his journal later. "Well, yes, although I'm more wondering how to keep them from coming here at all, since I can't fight an entire invasion myself."

"The good news is that Styre here doesn't show up on Earth for a long time. And even then, a fellow with curly hair and a long scarf manages to defeat him and make sure the Sontaran Empire get the report that Earth isn't suitable for invasion." The Doctor smiled. "But travelling out there, you might run into one or twelve."

"And how do you fight them, then?" Walter looked appraisingly back at Styre's suit. "I don't use a particularly typical weapon."

"Vent on the back of the neck," the Doctor said. "Get something sharp into there, and you've got them."

Walter nodded and filed that information away in case the Danger Shop ever went wild or the Doctor was wrong and Sontarans decided to invade ahead of schedule.

"Interesting mix of people you chose. One that looked unpleasant but seemed alright, one that was unpleasant and from earth, and one that was unpleasant and from another planet. "

"And probably misleading, when it came to the Silurian," the Doctor said. "Every race has a few bad apples. That fellow was one of them." He gestured at the projections. "All of these are actual creatures I've met in my travels."