"Thank you, Doctor," Clara said, in the TARDIS.
The Doctor looked up from the console. "For what?"
"Kid's day out," said Clara, with a shrug. "Getting us off the planet alive. Whatever you were doing with the Cybermen."
She turned around.
Headed out the door.
"Good night!" she called back. Waved. "See you next Wednesday!"
"Well, a Wednesday, definitely," the Doctor replied, turning back to the central console. "Next Wednesday. Last Wednesday. Who can say?"
Clara grinned at him.
And left.
The second she stepped outside the ship, the Doctor sprung back into action. Leaping around the console, hurriedly pressing buttons and yanking levers.
"Oh, yes, you learned things from me, Cyberplanner," the Doctor muttered. Dragging the zigzag plotter to a different setting, then shoving down three more buttons. "But I learned things from you, too."
He shoved down the dematerialization lever.
And the ship sprung into life. Racing through the vortex.
"Next stop," the Doctor called out, shifting the zigzag plotter, "the Cyberwars!"
"Two hundred Cybersigns," called Mindy Hannah, from the controls of their ship.
"Only two?" Uter Ven whistled, as he leaned back in his seat. "She's getting faster."
Fernor didn't say anything. Just shifted from foot-to-foot, nervously.
Mindy glanced back at him. "What's wrong, Fernor? Afraid you're not doing enough to aid the war effort? Not our faults we've got the cushiest job of them all."
"But… at what cost?" Fernor said. He clutched the back of the chair in front of him, his knuckles turning white. "I mean, why are we doing this? Is it worth it?"
"We're doing it because we all know what the alternative will be, if we don't," said Major Pelor, as she entered the bridge. She stood straight and tall, in the doorway. "Captain Hannah. Report."
"One hundred and ninety Cybersigns remaining," Mindy said.
The TARDIS buckled and jolted.
Zipping through the vortex.
"Ha!" shouted the Doctor, as the TARDIS whined out in irritation. "Found you!" The TARDIS tried to protest, but the Doctor reigned her in. "Easy does it… just a little bit… further… and… gotcha!" He slammed the ship into materialization.
In the middle of deep space.
Around two objects that had been floating through the vacuum — which came into focus with every wheeze and groan of the TARDIS' engines.
The first was a tall pillar with glass panels looking like they'd been grown out of a bed of coral.
And the second, a dead body.
Which gasped, then jerked upright.
Color rushing into Jack Harkness' face, as he sprung back to life. Looking around himself, taking in his surroundings — not quite sure he believed where he was.
"Good to have you back with us, Captain," the Doctor said, launching them back into the vortex. "Have fun hanging about in space?"
"Stowed away in an airlock," Jack explained. "They flushed me out." He leapt to his feet. Rushed forwards. "Doctor, they kidnapped—"
"Already know," the Doctor said, springing to the other side of the console. "Already working on it." He looked up. His expression softening. "Thank you for bringing her back from Irkoli."
Jack hesitated.
"You might not thank me after you find out where she is now," he muttered.
Gariton poked his head up from the corner, where he'd been monitoring external transmissions. "With all due respect, ma'am," he put in, "she has been… different, recently. Perhaps Fernor has a point."
"I see no differences," Pelor replied.
"She's stopped talking," Mindy muttered. "That's definitely different."
"No more escape attempts," Uter added.
"No more anything," Fernor corrected. "It's like, when we first got her, she was a real person. With thoughts and a personality. And then we took her, flipped her into this mode over and over again and it… hollowed her out. Turned her… empty." He pointed down at the planet. "Like the Cybermen do to us."
Pelor turned on her crew. "This whole galaxy was as good as dead, before she showed up," Pelor snapped. "We were that close to blowing up the whole thing as a lost cause. But then she came. And everything changed." Pelor stepped towards a window. Surveying the planet below. "Like a gift from God. The Cybermen can't see her. They can't sense her. They don't have any idea what she's gonna do next. And no matter how many upgrades they give themselves, she is always faster, better, and stronger than they are." Pelor's lips pushed upwards, into a little smile. "And I've seen evidence of a residual personality, when I iron out her kinks in the Workshop."
"Oh! Look at that!" cried Mindy, pointing at the display. "She must have hit a cluster! From 185 cybersigns down to 120, in a matter of seconds!"
The others gathered around.
Whooping and cheering at the success.
"She's on a roll, now!" said Uter. "Look at those numbers drop!"
Fernor turned back to his commanding officer. "'Iron out the kinks', you say," he said. "Is that what you call editing out her personality, or editing out her conscience?"
"Oh, the personality's going by itself," Uter dismissed. "That's got nothing to do with us. Major Pelor just deals with… 'reprogramming' her conscience."
Pelor turned on Fernor. "How dare you question a commanding officer?" she spat. "I don't have to justify anything I do to you!"
"You have to justify it to the Emperor, though," Gariton chimed in. He gestured at the internal comms link. "He called again, today. Really wants to know what this 'secret weapon' of ours is. What do I tell him?"
"Nothing," said Pelor. "Pretend our comms are malfunctioning."
Fernor shot her a pointed look. "Again?"
"The Emperor doesn't know what's good for him," said Pelor. "He should be happy we're saving the galaxy — instead of always questioning how we're doing it!"
"Maybe he's right to question," Fernor muttered.
Pelor's eyes narrowed. "And would you rather," she said, her voice icy, "we save one person, and doom every human still alive in this galaxy?"
Everyone went quiet.
"She has a conscience," said Pelor, pointing at the planet below. "That's our greatest strength — we have an undefeatable weapon who cares about the survival of human life."
They all looked a little ashamed.
But admitted that Pelor was right.
Mindy turned, returning to the screen. She tapped something. "Ten cybersigns… Five. Four… Two… and we're down to zero."
They all sat in silence, for a few moments.
Reflecting on just what kind of choice they were making. What they were doing.
"…basically, to cut a long story short," the Doctor continued to explain to Jack, as he made calculations, and tried to program things into his TARDIS, "when the Cyberplanner was in my head, I got a pretty good look-see at certain things that happened, during the Cyberwars. Which means I found out what happened to you two, and could use the TARDIS to track down—"
The Doctor trailed off.
As he noticed Jack analyzing the TARDIS.
"Ah, yes," the Doctor added. "I redecorated."
"I can tell." Jack looked around. Gave a whistle and a grin. "Like it. Modern. Sleek. Sexy."
The Doctor pat his ship, fondly. "She's a marvel, isn't she?"
Jack winked at the Doctor. "Wasn't talking about the ship, Doctor."
The Doctor sighed.
Then waggled a finger at Jack. "No flirting. Bad Jack! Naughty!" Spun back around, and focused on his ship's controls, once more. "As I was saying. Because the Cyberplanner was in my head, I know, generally, what happened to you two. But I don't know any of the specifics."
Jack hesitated.
Clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, I'd say it all started when we landed in the middle of the Cyberwars," said Jack. "But really… must have started before we ever arrived. When those soldiers found 'the Activator'."
The Doctor paused.
Looked up at Jack. "Activator for what?"
"Not what," said Jack.