"The Girl Who Walked The Earth" That's what they had started calling her. She didn't blame them, there wasn't much else to go on. She'd picked up numerous nicknames: Canterbury, The Traveler, The Drifter, The Woman, Scheherazade- (she especially liked that last one) but there was one name in particular though, that seemed to stick- The Preacher.
Two months. She had been traveling for two straight months, when this new nickname popped up, in the most unexpected place. She had been through Russia and hit Asia when the panic had begun to set in. The world had been swept into chaos, but it wasn't until she hit China that things became brutal. It had been simple instructions- simple and vague- wasn't He always? And by that second month, stuck in the middle of a warzone, dodging behind wreckage and taking refuge in abandoned buildings, hoping she wouldn't be bombed, she wasn't sure she could make it. She was still young, still new, back then. Still naive enough to think that The Doctor would come up with something and that would miraculously save them all, like he always had, before anything truly horrific happened. She had only ever really seen war on a television set or in a history book- but to be in the middle of one, was something different entirely.
It was during a bombing- China's futile attempts of purging the toclafane, which really only resulted in purging themselves. No one was willing to listen, and no one was willing to trust. Those she did find, more often than not, held her at gunpoint and mugged her. The language barrier was proving difficult now, at least in Europe, plenty of British had migrated and fled to the surrounding countries, and there were enough people to translate her message. With the TARDIS out of commission, though, she was on her own for China. Fortunately, it was held at gunpoint, that she got her breakthrough.
"Ally- Friend! I'm not here to harm you, see? No weapon!" Martha exclaimed, desperately, her hands behind her head as she was patted down. It was true enough, apart from the Vortex Manipulator, she had been left with absolutely nothing but the clothes on her back (and she had had to abandon those for warmer in Russia), and traded her jewelry for rations. She now carried only a simple pack- which, after seeing the food inside, they promptly took, still yelling at her in incomprehensible Chinese. She was shaking with fear now, thoughts of having disappointed the Doctor and her family floating to the front of her mind.
Which was when a voice shot out like the crack of a whip- loud, assertive and female. Martha didn't dare look behind her in fear, still unable to determine what exactly was happening as the female voice also spoke in rapid Chinese, but the expressions of fear on the mugger's faces were enough to indicate that, whatever danger they were to her, whoever was behind her was worse.
In fact, she didn't look up until her bag was promptly dropped in front of her, the muggers scurrying away.
Needless to say, she was a bit surprised when she finally saw the source of the voice, not some old, scary Chinese woman, but a young, English (or possibly American) woman, standing before her with long, dark blonde hair, a dark blue leather jacket and a stern scowl on her face. However, despite her scowl, when she met Martha's eyes, she gave her a reassuring, albeit tight-lipped smile, and held out a hand, which Martha took without hesitation, standing back up and grabbing her bag with her free hand.
"Should really put a perception filter on that." The woman said, motioning to the bag, before reaching into her own bag and pulling out what looked like a walkie talkie, speaking into it, "UNIT forces A3K12, informing you that The Preacher is secure, I repeat, The Wolf has intercepted The Preacher. Over."
"Copy that- any news on Kyoto? Over." The voice over the radio asked.
"Yeah, there's talk 've movin' the purge there- I'd suggest evac asap. Over."
"Roger that. Looks like lights are out all over the Southern Hemisphere, so you'll be on your own from here on out. Over."
"Yeah, was expectin' somfin like that. Over." The Woman replied with wry amusement, and it was definitely apparent now, she was British- and not just that, local.
"Good luck out there Captain. Over." The voice said and The Woman grinned.
"An' to you, Charlie- send the Brigadier my thanks."
"Can do. Over and out."
"Over n' out." The woman repeated and flipped off her device, shoving it back into her bag. Only then, did she turn her attention back on Martha, a genuine smile on her face now.
"Right, let's get goin' then, yeah?"
Martha frowned, still a bit shell shocked, and not a little confused.
"Who are you?" She blurted immediately, only to get a wider grin.
"Doesn't matter." She brushed off, "M' jus' here t' make sure you don't get yourself blown up 'fore you can get your message out, Preacher."
"Preacher." Martha repeated with a raised eyebrow. The woman shrugged.
"I like it, kinda catchy- 'course, if you prefer, we could call ya 'The Traveler' or 'Canterbury', if ya like?"
"No...Preacher's fine...I guess. What do I call you?" Martha asked, still uneasy about this new person. The woman paused for a moment, before grinning again, a twinkle in her eye that Martha didn't understand.
"Well, seein' as my alias has become a little bit too wide spread fer my likin'- call me...Fortuna. I always liked that one."
"Fortuna?"
"Yeah, Goddess of Luck. Figure we could use it."
"Right..." Martha replied, uneasily. "And, sorry- grateful for you saving my life back there- but why should I trust you?"
To her surprise, Fortuna shrugged.
"You shouldn't- smart of you if you didn't, seein' as half the people on the planet are goin' at it wif each otha- but, I s'pose, that's what we're here for, isn't it? T' unify them..." She said with a slightly wistful smile, before glancing at Martha again. "If you're curious- that was UNIT on the line- not a big fan, myself, but I needed a little firepower if I wanted to help- s'pose you could call me a freelancer." She said this all with a hint of amusement that didn't quite seem to fit the situation.
"You work with the military, that's not exactly a good reason." Martha said, suspiciously. Fortuna smirked, her face growing more serious.
"I could tell ya that I know The Doctor." She said, putting stress on the name, then shrugged again, back to her carefree attitude. "But I dunno, s'pose everyone could say that- that's the point of it all, isn't it? Wouldn't convince ya a bit- you're smart, then."
Martha stayed quiet, sizing this mysterious woman up, before the woman met her eyes again, and this time, there was none of that cheeriness, none of that mask- just a cold, hard stare in her hazel eyes, old before their time.
"What I can tell you though..." She said, quietly, so quietly, that Martha had to step forward slightly to hear. "Is that he takes his tea with a little milk and five sugars to quench his sweet tooth-" She gave a small, affectionate giggle, "an' that he always insists on goin t' the same small market in Michigan, of all places, to get a particular brand of banana marmalade that they 'just don't make anywhere else'- always the same year too, 1996- pain in the arse 'cause you always have t' get it, jus' in case he runs into himself." She smirked again, biting her lip slightly, "an' I can tell ya that he bawled like a baby at the end of the seventh Harry Potter book an' for the longest time refused to read the last chapter 'cause he 'hates endin's'."
Martha gaped in shock.
"Who are you?" Martha breathed, a chill running down her spine. Fortuna grinned.
"A friend. Toldja m' not important- s'only one name that's important now, yeah? I say we focus on that one." She said with a smile, and all Martha could do was nod.
"Okay, where to?" Fortuna asked, turning to lead the way.
With Fortuna's help, they managed to cover China in record time- her uncanny knowledge of the language (to which, when Martha asked how she learned it, the woman merely chuckled and mentioned 'a friend') helped them get through racial barriers and spread her story. By the time they reached Japan, Martha had once more become optimistic that with Fortuna's added help, they would be able to spread the word in no time. However, that was when the purge hit.
The toclafane had beared down on Japan with brutal force- likely because of all the countries, Japan had been the leading force in weaponry to stop them, and seemed to have been working on building a rather large electromagnetic pulse emitter. Their work, however, was decimated, and by the time Martha and Fortuna reached, the first wave of destruction had already hit.
Martha suddenly found herself relying heavily on her medical training to get her through Japan, and they spent more time there than they had any other country; helping the sick and injured, and staying with the dying. They were welcomed into many homes because of this, and Martha's story spread. It became a bit of a routine with the two of them: spend the day in the wreckage, searching for victims and taking those they found back to shelters, where they would then tend to the wounds, Fortuna assisting as best she could under Martha's instructions. And at night, Martha would regale them of tales of The Doctor, with Fortuna translating. It wasn't until Japan, however, that Martha realized that, after her story had ended, Fortuna continued to speak- spinning a tale over them that had all transfixed, and, even, in tears by the end of it.
And it wasn't until then, that Fortuna's previous intimate details of The Doctor came to resurface and realization struck. This wasn't just some mysterious woman- this woman truly knew The Doctor- and was likely a previous companion. After all, The Doctor, she knew, had previous companions- well, at least one, and the thought had struck her that it could be her, but she shook it away with the recollection of "she's not just in a parallel world, she's trapped there.". Yet, every night, Martha wished that she still had the TARDIS translating for her, so she could understand what wonderful stories it was that Fortuna told them- what adventures this mysterious woman had had- and it wasn't until New Zealand, that she finally got her answer.
They had barely made it out of Japan alive- and Fortuna had finally revealed what was in her backpack, handing Martha a rather advanced looking gun- she explained that it shot a mini electromagnetic pulse and should disrupt the Spheres flight patterns long enough to escape. Unfortunately, there were times where the other setting was used- one that Fortuna seemed as weary to use as Martha- it generally stunned a person long enough for them to escape, but like anything, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't do permanent harm. They had been attempting to save a group from three spheres that had cornered them during an air raid, and had nearly been hit by the blast- in fact, they were injured poorly enough that the two of them were out of commision for a week, staying in a shelter, unable to help anyone. Eventually, Fortuna was able to bribe a man to ferry them away from Japan, around Australia and to New Zealand, where they met a contact who Fortuna had mentioned being a British ally, who had set up their own hostel there.
Luckily, the Spheres hadn't struck New Zealand as hard as they had Asia, and most had already fled to Australia. So they managed to do that trip quick enough- only a few days there- the arrival day, in which Fortuna immediately began to discuss with the UNIT member (as it turned out), means to traveling to Australia, then two nights at two separate hostels, during which, Martha finally heard Fortuna's story.
Like many people, those in the New Zealand Hostels were intent on staying put and hoping that everything blew over or passed right by them. There were rumors, of course, that help was on its' way and that it was only a matter of time. In response to that, Fortuna always started her stories the same way:
"A wise man once told me to "always wait five an' a half hours"- don' ask me why, was a really stupid thing of 'im to say, really- a joke of ours, but it stuck. Next thing ya know, whenever we got separated, it was jus'- it was like a rule, yeah? Five an' a half hours, max.- but, what he didn't tell me- an' what he really should have- was that after five an' a half hours? It was time to save yourself." She would always pause then, a far off look in her eyes and a gentle smile that Martha only witnessed when she was talking to people, never when they were traveling, would light up her face. One that she quickly associated to the smile she made when she was talking about Him.
"The first time I met The Doctor, he blew up my job." Would always be her second line and everyone would laugh. Martha had always wondered what it was that made everyone laugh every time, but now she knew. Martha would always go first, tell her own story, tell them everything about The Doctor- so it was no surprise that when Fortuna started her story like that, everyone already knew his personality- and Martha found herself laughing too in surprise.
"Seriously- the first word he ever said to me- 'fore he even asked my name- he took my hand, and he said 'Run.'- an' I'll never forget that." Martha watched as Fortuna's face lit up and she spun a tale, so like her own, but so completely different.
It only took one telling for Fortuna to get her point across. One telling in the middle of a hostel in New Zealand in the middle of a world take-over, for Martha's world to be turned upside down. And it wasn't the Spheres that did it, it wasn't the knowledge of her family and The Doctor in peril, it was Fortuna's tale.
It began much like her's did- a quirky meeting of a mysterious man with an enigmatic charm (though Fortuna's description varied dramatically from Martha's- though the brooding seemed the same). In fact, the Doctor she initially described seemed even darker- taking her to see her own planet burn- but then, something changed. Starting with the lines "I'm so glad I met you".
The next thing Martha knew, she was being swept into a story not unlike her own, but so astoundingly different. This woman had faced aliens and supernatural beings, just like Martha- but she had also seen the good in a Dalek and stood by its' side as it soaked up its' last rays of sunlight- she had met Jack and saved him from his life as a Con-man- which was when Martha's heart started accelerating. Those around who listened, clearly didn't believe half the stories she told them, but listened all the same, as drawn to this woman as Martha was and the stories she told. But through all of it, she denied it, through all of it she argued and it wasn't until she mentioned ripping out a portion of the TARDIS and staring into the heart of it that Martha knew, without a doubt, who this mysterious woman was.
Anger and resentment filled her beyond her control, and she began looking at this 'Fortuna' in a whole new light, eying her every flaw, sizing her up and comparing the woman that she had been a shadow to for an entire year. She had been prepared to hate her, prepared to despise her, and had already built up an image in her head of her (not unlike Analise). But as she continued to listen, she found that she couldn't. After the story of the game station, something had changed about The Doctor- and suddenly, the stories she told were of a happy, carefree man that The Doctor had only seemed to be on occasion- though it seemed more out of forced habit in attempts to cover up his true feelings. The problem had always been, however, that his attempts in acting normal had never worked on Martha, because she had never seen how he had been before. But the man Fortuna spoke of, was this man- this carefree man who called her a "timorous beastie" to the Queen of England, and ignored imposing alien threats so that she could tell off a man for upsetting her mum- the same man who bristled at any mention of family, had apparently spent all of Christmas up until New Years with this woman, even shared a popper and wore a paper crown. And Martha realized, as Fortuna's story winded down, and she begun her final tale, why people would cry at the end of it. And she realized, that the feelings she had harbored were the equivalent of a high school crush compared to what this woman had had. And she realized, more than ever, that it wasn't voluntary, it was premature- and suddenly everything in The Doctor's erratic behavior had made sense.
"Rose, her name was Rose- not that you're replacing her!"
And suddenly, Martha found herself crying too.
It was later, on that first night, that she called her by name.
"Rose?" She asked, timidly, and, out of reflex, like anyone hearing their name, Rose glanced over without really thinking about it. However, Martha was able to identify the exact moment she realized this, by the frown on her face.
"How d'you know my name?" She asked, quietly. The two of them were sleeping on cots provided by the hostel. Seeing as the rooms were packed full, they found themselves in the kitchen, which at least, gave them relative privacy.
"Your story- this is the first time I heard it in English."
That seemed to make Rose frown harder, before it dawned on her.
"Oh, right- TARDIS isn't translating for you anymore, is it? Sorry, forget sometimes that I'm even speakin' a different language." She said with a sheepish shrug, then frowned again. "But...I was careful, I didn't mention my name..."
Martha shook her head.
"Was easy enough to figure out- not many girls swallow the Time Vortex and live to tell the tale." Martha supplied with a weak laugh, then shrugged, "they talk about you a lot."
This only seemed to increase Rose's furrowed brow.
"They? Who's 'they'?"
"Jack and The Doctor." Martha replied, as though it were obvious. What she hadn't expected was Rose to pop up from her cot with a look of complete shock on her face.
"Jack!? You've seen Jack!? But I thought- he's alive?!"
"Yeah. Wait- didn't you know?"
The way Rose had spoken about Jack had been so familiar, she only assumed...
"Everything she did was so human. She brought you back to life, but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life."
"I thought he was...well He told me he was rebuilding an empire- I jus' thought he was...bein' nice- didn't want to tell me he was dead..." Rose muttered, and for once, Martha saw vulnerability in a woman who had been so strong the entire time. It had been so easy to see her as 'Fortuna' The Goddess of Luck- and that's what she seemed like, most of the time; inexplicably lucky, always prepared, and a flair for improvisation- like The Doctor. And even before when he had heard stories of 'Rose', she had become more of a legend, more of a story than a real person- larger than life.
"Everything she did was so human..."
And that's what Martha saw, in that moment, as she told Rose her understanding of what had happened to Jack, she watched as The Goddess Fortuna, The Legend Rose, turned into nothing more than a vulnerable, crying girl. She asked a few more questions- and there were murmurs of "git" and something about "regeneration" used in a violent connotation that Martha didn't really understand- but otherwise, Rose didn't speak for the rest of the night, and the two eventually fell into uneasy sleep. The next morning, when they woke up, Rose was back to being 'Fortuna', the brave and unshakable guardian. The born leader with the stern expression wearing a blue leather jacket as though it were armor. Martha never called her 'Rose' again, and neither of them spoke of their previous conversation. They continued onward to Australia, and Martha told her story, then patiently listened as Fortuna stumbled along hers', a little more shaken up than last time, but Martha sat patiently, and no one ever interrupted. That night, Martha assumed that they would remain quiet as they had the nights before, and they did, save one sentence:
"He really talked about me?" Rose whispered, late in the night, her voice once more vulnerable. Martha's unfortunate gut-reaction was a snort, before she realized this was a delicate subject and the poor girl honestly didn't know.
"Couldn't get him to shut up about you." She replied, instilling a warm smile and watering eyes from Rose, who merely said:
"Quite right too." before turning over and going to sleep.
Getting a boat to Africa was a challenge, but somehow they managed. It wound up being a cargo boat, filled with weaponry and swarming with Toclafane- and was likely the single most terrifying experience either one of them had encountered. Fortuna assured her that the perception filters should hold, so long as they didn't speak to or touch a single individual or Sphere, and kept their sounds and movements to an absolute minimum. They managed to find a room to stay in. Fortuna, who had somehow managed to create her own perception filter on herself and her bag, also added a small, silver chip to the door of the room, so that the crew would simply pass by it during the duration of the trip. It wasn't unusual, for Fortuna to suddenly pull something useful (and occasionally questionable of size) out of her bag, and even at one point early on, when she had requested Martha's bag (which was exceedingly larger) she had shoved that into her small bag as well. When Martha exclaimed her surprise, Fortuna's only retort was "what? Spent all that time on th' TARDIS an' you're still surprised when ya see somefin bigger on the inside?" but when Martha questioned her further on where she got it, Fortuna's expression went dark and brushed the question aside.
Africa, unfortunately, being so sparsely populated and largely inhabited by third world countries, had very few people remaining to spread a message to. The Spheres had struck and moved on with little interest, decimating the larger cities but generally breezing on through. This made their stay rather short, and by the time they had snuck onto a boat to South America, six months had passed. Fortuna and Martha by this point had begun to talk more. Martha about The Master and how that all came to be, her family and what was happening right now in London. Fortuna, in turn, spoke of her years in the parallel universe and how she spent her time there. Apparently, due to The Master turning the TARDIS into a paradox machine, he had vastly weakened the walls of the universe and certain rifts had begun to crack open. Using the 'Dimension Canon' she had helped construct, she had managed to travel on the 'cusp of the multiverse' and eventually found a very small window into this world via Cardiff. She quickly learned of the problem, and aligned herself with UNIT (having worked with them previously when finding herself in a 'bubble dimension' as she called it, but brushed it aside after that- which Martha was more than familiar with- noting it as the same tactic The Doctor used.). News of Martha, by then, had naturally reached UNIT, who had wanted to send someone out to assist her- when a certain previous companion of The Doctors showed up with a written reference from The Brigadier himself (though he claimed he never recalled writing it), she was put on the job.
By the time they finished with South America and made it across the border to the United States, Martha could have cried for joy, she was so happy to hear English. The people there, while at first threatened, like everyone else, were much more quickly accommodating with a language in common, and by now, word of "The Girl who walked the Earth, with Fortuna at her side" had spread (both getting much amusement out of the name). Things went much quicker after that, traveling from state to state, the stories having somehow already crossed the country, and in some cases, the sea, so that they were welcomed with open arms and eager ears as Martha continued to spread her words of The Doctor. And it was in New York, where Fortuna met her final recipient.
They had been assisted along the way, occasionally, in the most peculiar places. Fortuna would suddenly stop them and vere them off trail to meet 'a friend', who usually bestowed them with more gear, food and news of London (which was usually unchanged). In New York, however, was when she got The Box. Fortuna had introduce the man as "Jim" which Martha assumed, on principal, was likely an alias and paid little mind to it. She'd already met a "Paul", "John", "George", and even, Fortuna teased, "Ringo" (That agent looked particularly displeased). This man, however, gave them a box that contained a rather vicious looking weapon, and explained, to Martha's horror, that it had been designed in separate components, to kill a Timelord. It was only after Martha absolutely refused to take it, claiming that The Doctor would never condone such a device and demanding to destroy it, that Fortuna smiled at her proudly and explained to her that it was really just food coloring and water, 'fancy bottles an' a shiny gun', and completely harmless. However, they had been getting word of moles in the hostels, who had been sending word back to The Master, and it had been Fortuna's suggestion to include a decoy.
"Won't buy us much time, but when you're facin' a man like that, every second ma'ers- he'll spend th' first few tryin' t' take that from you, an' if I know Timelords, gloatin' about it- which'll be another few minutes. So really, it'll buy you an extra five to ten, tops, dependin' on if he's worse than The Doctor." She added, lightly.
Canada was much the same as the United States had been, and welcomed them graciously. By now, they almost all already knew the stories, and had more questions than anyone else about them. By this time, Martha also had noted, Fortuna had faded into the background, not telling her own stories anymore. She had been stopping gradually, telling less and less, until, somewhere near Wyoming, she had stopped all together, just backing up Martha's stories and making sure she was the focal point. When Martha asked, Fortuna merely stated that she 'didn't want anyone to know she was there'. There was no more word of 'Fortuna at her side', and sure enough, soon no one knew who Fortuna was anymore. That didn't stop Martha from telling some of her stories for her- 'you remember when that ship was over london and everyone was going to the roofs? Well that was The Doctor and a friend of mine, they stopped them."
Fortuna didn't seem to mind, in fact, she seemed amused by it and even eventually encouraged it:
"You forgot to mention the pig in the spacesuit!"
After Canada was a brief trip to Iceland, and then, a year and twenty six days later, they were finally on a boat heading back to England, where they were to meet their final ally. They were back in communication (sporadically) with UNIT now, and had been warned ahead of time about the individual and the fact that her son was being held hostage, so they had little optimism for the visit. But, they still managed to get food and shelter for the night, before heading to central London, where they were graciously greeted by, to Fortuna at least, familiar faces.
"Sarah-Jane!" Fortuna exclaimed as they entered the complex, hugging the woman immediately.
"Rose! What on Earth- but I thought- Canary Warf, your name-"
"Oh, no, no- not dead, definitely not dead." Fortuna laughed and suddenly she was Rose again, a huge grin on her face as she greeted her old friend, quickly introducing Martha to her as the three began to regale the crowd with each of their experiences with The Doctor. Everything was going so well, that Martha dared to feel a slight tinge of optimism for their dire situation.
She cursed herself, not an hour later, when The Master himself came knocking on her door- or rather, strolling down the street, threatening those inside.
"Go." Rose encouraged, nodding as Martha stood, jaw set, eyes narrowed. A year of walking the Earth in the name of The Doctor, and the Martha Jones that stood there now was not the same Martha Jones who had fled the Valiant. She had seen more death and destruction than most saw in their entire lifetimes; she had seen civilians ripped to shreds by what she learned was the Futurekind. She had seen pure evil and in moments she would be starring it straight in the face. "Wait!" Rose abruptly hissed as Martha moved to make her way out, grabbing her arm. Martha turned to see her reach into her bag once more and pull out the briefcase, and a small metal chip, which she quickly attached to Martha's Vortex Manipulator. "They'll probably disable it as soon as you get there, but that should at least give me your location- I'll try to follow close behind, but I can't afford to let The Master know I'm here- you worked alone. Yeah?" She asked, Martha nodding in understanding.
"Thank you, for all of your help." She said, honestly. A year ago, Martha had seen The Doctor's 'Rose' as nothing more than a name she learned to roll her eyes at, a figure whose shadow she could never wish to escape, 'the enemy' in a childish way. Now, a year later, all rivalry had vanished in place of respect and over that year, she came to realize how petty it had really been. Sure, she had spent a year traveling for a man she respected. But Rose had spent five years finding a way, through whatever means it took, to get back to the man she had swallowed time for. No, she no longer resented Rose- she respected her, and even viewed her as a close friend. And she also understood what position that put Rose in if The Master were to learn of her continued existence. Rose, at Martha's thanks, merely nodded.
"It was nice to meet you, Martha Jones. I can see why he picked you." She said with a smile, then, with a hesitant pause, whispered something in her ear, pulling back with a sheepish but hopeful look. Martha grinned, and laughed slightly for the first time in months.
"Yeah...I'll make sure to tell him that." She agreed, then walked out to face The Master once more.
"Martha Jones!" The Master proclaimed happily as Martha was dragged into the center of the Valiant and shoved onto her knees, the briefcase he had confiscated once more handed to The Master, who tutted. "you certainly have been a busy little bee, haven't you?" He said with a leer, twirling the briefcase in his long fingers with a smug expression. Martha merely glared at him, reproachfully, channeling all the hatred she had built up over the last year at him. She noted, with a pang, that The Doctor no longer sat in a wheelchair, but was now being hung in a birdcage, shriveled up and completely unrecognizable, and she felt a pang in her heart at seeing his pitiful form. So, after The Master opened up the briefcase, taunted her about her 'pathetic attempt' and gleefully asked her what she had to say for herself. She merely cleared her throat, made eye contact with The Doctor, and said, loudly and clearly so that everyone in the room could hear:
"Fortuna sends her regards."
~Fin~