The Truth
By Vanya
Part 1
Dawn was breaking on a small desert town. The early morning silence was broken by a mysterious wheezing, groaning noise as a strange wind kicked up the dust and a blue police box slowly began to appear on a street corner. Fully materialised the doors swung open to reveal a tall man in a suit accompanied by a short, purple haired girl in glasses. The Doctor drew a deep breath.
"Here we are," he announced, "Roswell, New Mexico, Earth. It's 6:30 on the morning of June 16th, 1947. The day it happens."
Haze McCall breathed a sigh of amazement, "Incredible, but why so early?"
"I wanted to get a good parking space without attracting too much attention. Beside you don't just come here for the show, enjoy a slice of 1940's life, breathe in the atmosphere, eat the food, drink the coffee meet the people," he put his arm to stop Haze as she went for the door, "But not like that."
"What's wrong now?"
"I don't want to sound like your dad, but you can't go out like that. This is 1940's America, there are certain, conventions, that need to be observed."
--
The Doctor directed Haze to the epic wardrobe housed within his ship. Despite her familiarity with aliens nothing could have prepared her for her first trip inside the TARDIS. She had heard talk of the blue box that always appeared along with the Doctor, she had talked to people who had seen it appear and disappear, but no one who had been inside was willing to betray its secret. Without the slightest clue of what to expect she had stepped though the doors and found herself in the giant control room, bigger than anything housed in the box should be. She had gasped in amazement as she wondered round the room, hugging the wall as if to see if she could find some clue as to how it all fitted in. The Doctor had looked on in amusement, everyone who stepped on board never failed to be taken aback by the magnificence of his ship, even Haze, who could claim a greater knowledge of him than most who had traveled aboard the TARDIS, was sufficiently stunned. So much had run through her mind, but everything she was feeling had manifested itself as a single word, "How?"
"Now that would be telling," he had replied with a mischievous grin, "Come on, much more fun if you don't know how the trick's done. Now, we need a destination."
Without a moments hesitation Haze replied, "Roswell, 1947, I want to see the crash, I want to learn the truth."
--
Having spent the majority of the last five years living in a camper van Haze could not fail to be impressed with the size and range of the Doctor's wardrobe, a huge room with multiple levels, with outfits neatly sorted into eras. She emerged having selected a stylish 40's dress and hat, both in navy blue and had even styled her hair appropriately. When she returned to the control room she saw the Doctor had also paid a visit to the wardrobe, his normal suit was now topped off with a brown, wide brimmed fedora. He smiled when he saw her.
"Much better, you look fantastic! And you've got the hat, I love hats, used to wear them all the time, stopped around the time of the millennium. Maybe they're due for a comeback." He went on at great length of all the great hats he had worn over the years, stopping when he caught a severe look from Haze.
"Finished?"
The Doctor thought for a moment, "Yes, all done."
"OK then Doctor, shall we depart?"
"Indeed we shall Haze McCall, indeed we shall."
The two of them stepped out of the TARDIS and into the town.
--
Before gaining notoriety from the the UFO incident Roswell was just like any other town in America. There were shops, banks and diners, and not a single piece alien themed merchandise in sight. It was her first trip back in time and Haze walked around, amazed to be walking in another era, another world. But the thing that amazed her most was how normal things appeared to be. They were in Roswell on the day a spaceship would crash to Earth, and the folks in town were going about their business as if it was any other day, which right now was all that it was. They wouldn't even learn of the crash until weeks later when the recovery was due to begin. Taking the Doctor's advice Haze guided them into a diner, just opening for the morning crowd. They ordered coffee and, feeling the need for breakfast, Haze ordered herself the 'special' omelet, which turned out not to be all that special. Then they hit their fist hiccup of their travels.
"What do you mean you don't have any money?" Haze spoke in a hushed voice so as not attract the attention of the waitress.
"What? You think I have the right currency for every country and time period in my pocket?"
"Well you should! What did you think we were going to do? I haven't even seen a dollar in years!"
"I don't know, psychic paper? Tell them we're..."
"No! You're going back to the TARDIS and you're going to fine something we can use to pay for this."
Deciding it was better not to argue the Doctor donned his fedora and slipped out of the diner. Haze flagged down the waitress and ordered more coffee, it was time before free refills were common, but she was sure the Doctor could cover it.
"Where's you're man going, hun?" asked the waitress as she served the coffee.
"He left his wallet in the car, but not to worry, I'm not going anywhere. And he's not 'my man', we're just traveling together. He's more like my driver."
The waitress nodded and went about her business while Haze continued to drink. It was good coffee, strong and bitter. She could have happily stayed there all day, enjoying every second of being in another time. Her drifting mind was brought back by a voice from behind her.
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
Haze looked round to see a young man dressed in a light gray business suit with neatly parted hair and round glasses. He could be considered hansom, but she decided that he looked more like the sort of man your mother would like you to end up with.
"Yes?" she replied, smiling pleasantly.
"I don't wish to intrude, but I couldn't help overhear about your financial situation. I was wondering if I could be permitted to settle your check?"
"A true gentleman," this really is another era she thought, "You may indeed. What's your name?"
"Clark, ma'am, Anderson Clark."
"Haze McCall," she said instinctively, but when he seemed confused she quickly corrected herself, "Hazel."
"Pleased to meet you Ms. McCall." he said as they shook hands.
"Clark, you know, you remind me of another Clark..." Haze smiled a mischievous smile.
"Oh, you mean Superman?"
Haze was stunned for a moment and the smile dropped, 1947, that early? "Yes, my hero." Good comeback.
--
Anderson Clark had settled the check and now walked through the streets of Roswell with Ms Hazel McCall on his arm.
"So tell me Ms McCall, what brings you here? You sound like you're from Scotland, how did you end up in Roswell?"
"I'm still trying to work that out myself. You're right, I'm from Edinburgh, but I met this man, the Doctor, my friend from the diner, and now I'm traveling with him."
"That's incredible, so you two are seeing the world, where else have you been?"
"To be honest this is it, we came straight here."
Clark laughed, "Get out, anywhere in the world and you come to Roswell? We're in the middle of nowhere."
"Don't be too sure, I'm sure important things will happen very soon..."
The words hung in th air as they arrived at the bank where Clark worked.
"Goodbye Ms McCall" he said, kissing here gently on each cheek, "Maybe you would come back for lunch?"
"I'd like that, goodbye Mr. Clark."
Just before entering he spotted something on the street corner, "Hey, we've got one of those police boxes now, maybe things are changing."
--
"General, you need to see this."
"What is it lieutenant?"
"Sir, we have a contact, the new scanning equipment picked it up within the last hour."
"Show me."
The lieutenant indicated to the screen. It showed a disc shaped craft sitting just outside of the Earth's atmosphere. While the rest of the world got by with basic radar the Walker Air Force base was serving as the testing ground for an advanced new system, it's origin known only to the highest ranking personnel.
"It's watching us lieutenant, not doubt about it."
"Should we use the weapon sir?"
"Not yet, not while it's just sitting there, we don't want to create an unnecessary scene. And I'm not convinced that thing even works. If it comes for us we have no choice, but for now we just watch."
"Very good sir."
"I'll be in my office, keep me updated of every movement that ship makes. And have Erik report to me as soon as he signs in."
--
"Having fun?" Haze jumped as the Doctor emerged from the other side of the parked TARDIS.
"How long have you been there?"
"Not long, just didn't want to interrupt, so how are you enjoying the 40's?"
"Very much, I love it here, it's a completely different world."
"Excellent, but you can't keep him you know."
"Wasn't planning on it, he was a gentleman and I would like to repay him."
"Good, but seriously, you're traveling in the past there are certain rules. We're dealing with a well known event, a fixed point in history. There were no witnesses to the crash, and when you're dealing with an event like this you can't trust people to keep quiet twenty or forty years down the line."
"Not a problem, I just want one night of 1940's fun."
"I'm glad to hear it. I've found you some spending money," from within his coat he produced two small, velvet bags, "One has diamonds, one has gold dust."
"Diamonds? You'd just give me a bag of diamonds?"
"Certainly, they're not valuable elsewhere in the universe you know. I've been to one world where the pressure was so high that diamonds were everywhere, but you could live like king on a lump of coal, all those diamonds, no fossil fuel."
"We'll leave the gold dust though, might be a little hard to explain to a jewelers. Why do you even have gold dust in the first place?"
"It comes in handy from time to time."
"And when was the last time you needed it?"
"About twenty years ago."
--
Vowing to ration herself, Haze exchanged on of the smaller diamonds in the local pawn shop, feeling jewelers would ask too many questions. "You always get short changed in those places." the Doctor had cautioned her, but she didn't care. She had more than enough to get he through the day, and now she knew there was a planet of diamonds they could pop over to any time. Flush with money she was able to take full advantage of everything that was available in Roswell, which was very little. She met Anderson Clark for lunch and again once the bank had closed. They enjoyed a pleasant evening together, dinner, followed by a long walk and eventually a drink in a local bar. As they stepped out of the bar found the Doctor waiting for them. "It's time."
--
Haze and Anderson said their farewells and parted company. It was dark and the town was falling asleep. The Doctor directed them to the base of the town's water tower. "Ladies first," he said, inviting he to climb the ladder. Soon they were both settled on the top, waiting. Haze produced a digital camera from the small handbag she was carrying.
"Do you mind?" she inquired, switching it it on and selecting the video feature. This would be her third close encounter in as many days and she was going to make sure she caught it.
"Go ahead," replied the Doctor, a little to her surprise, "It's not as if the video will change history. For starters no one will actually believe you have a video of the Roswell crash. People of your time have enough trouble believing in the aliens they can see, they'll never be won over with a sixty year old video on a digital camera that hasn't been invented yet.
Haze nodded, "Fair point." She prepared to record anyway, even if it was just for her own record.
--
Time passed
--
"So when is this actually happening?" Haze asked, yawning. It was now passed midnight and well into the a.m.
"Look, I don't have the exact time, all I know is..."
The Doctor's voice trailed off as a thin bolt of pale green light cut through the night, originating from a point somewhere in the desert. It flicked and weaved like lightning, shooting upwards to strike the sky He produced a pair of glasses from within his coat and stared intently at the bolt. "This isn't right," he began to mutter, "That shouldn't be there." Haze was about to ask him what he meant when it happened. It started as a flash in the sky, but a heavily damaged, disc shaped ship streaked past their field of view, reigning debris down on the fields and eventually crashing in the desert further than they could see. After completing her video of the event Haze turned to the Doctor.
"What's wrong? What shouldn't be here?"
"That beam, it was disruptor technology, but that's impossible! You don't invent them for centuries."
"Maybe it was alien of origin? Groups have been reverse engineering alien technology for years, I'm sure of it."
"No, I know my tech, disruptor technology was very human in design, you lot are good with weapons, but there's no way a 1940's installation should have one. It would be like Horatio Nelson attacking the French with a cruise missile, and trust me, he didn't."
"Well Doctor, I think this warrants a closer look."
"Haze, would you like to accompany me in breaking into a top secret military installation?"
End of Part One.