SMSTSS29: Sailor Who? – By DS Wynne
Disclaimer: SM, R1/2, ST, Doctor Who and other properties belong to their respective owners.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Special Note: This story takes place in Series 6 of Doctor Who. C&C are welcomed.
Part 1
4311 CE: Sardicktown, Sardick's Planet.
As a wedding gift, the Doctor gave the newly dubbed "Mr. and Mrs. Williams" a space liner trip for their honeymoon (mostly so that the Doctor didn't have to deal with Amy and Rory going at it). However, a ship malfunction forces the space liner to divert to Sardick's Planet, a colony world that exists along the outer rim of known space. Now, normally, this wasn't a problem. Unfortunately, everyone knew that Sardick's Planet was owned by a miserly businessman who would sell his own mother, if there was profit to be made. So, naturally, the ship's captain was concerned about their chances of survival…
"What's our ETA to planetside?" asked the female ship's captain.
"Twenty minutes, mum," said the pilot. "However, that won't make any difference if the planet's atmosphere remains opaque."
The captain nods her head. She heard that the atmosphere was artificially maintained. However, her ship's engine design prevented a smooth transition down to the planet surface. And so far, the owner of said planet won't adjust the atmospheric conditions, since it was more profitable to maintain it.
"Engineer, how long to we have until critical mass?" the captain said to her engineer.
"Ten minutes, I'm afraid," said the Engineer. "Unless we can land the ship to perform an emergency shutdown, we're doom-"
"Ma'am, I was monitoring the channels for signs of help, and I just detected an outgoing signal," the communications officer said. "And I just received a reply."
"What was the reply?" the captain asked.
"It reads: 'Come along, Pond'. I don't know what it means-"
"It means that the Doctor is on the case," said Amy, as she, Rory and Ranma-onna step onto the deck of the ship. They were dressed as a cop, a roman centurion and a dominatrix respectively.
"What is going on?" the captain said.
"I lost a bet, that's what," Ranma-onna said with annoyance. "Normally, Usagi is into this kind of thing…"
"…What?"
"What my friend is saying is that we're here to help," Amy said.
"And why are you all dressed bizarrely?"
"Um, we're into cosplay?" Rory said with a hint of embarrassment.
"Never mind that," Ranma-onna said, as she steps up to the control panels. "I've been monitoring your situation, and I think I can extend your situation, although it's going to be kind of close."
Ranma-onna takes out her sonic screw-laser, and begins to make modifications to the ship.
"Mum, we're leveling off!" the pilot said happily.
"Captain, whatever this woman did, we're no longer critical, at least right now," said the engineer. "But we're not out of the woods just yet."
"I bought you guys another ten minutes at least," Ranma-onna said.
"For now, it'll be up to the Doctor and 'Gino' to succeed on their end," Amy said.
"What if they fail?" Rory asked.
"They won't. Trust me on that…"
"I hope you're right, whoever you are," the Captain said. "Many lives are depended upon your friends' success…"
Down in Sardicktown, the Doctor and "Gino" meet Kazran Sardick, the owner of the atmospheric generator that was the source of their predicament.
"No," Sardick said angrily, as he shook his fist at his uninvited guests. "I will not abandon the very thing that my father, and his father, and his father's father had passed down to maintain."
"Doctor, he's right," Usagi said, as she examined Sardick controls over the atmosphere with her Tricorder (which appeared as a cellphone device). "This thing is 'isomorphically sensitive'."
"In other words, only I can access it!" Sardick said. "And I have to be consciously active to do so!"
"And you still do not want to be charitable this instance?" the Doctor asked.
"To quote a classic literary character: 'Bah, humbug'."
"Usagi?"
"I can eventually hack into this system, but Time is not exactly our friend this day," Usagi said, as she takes out her 'sonic pen'. "But I'll try…"
As soon as Usagi begins her hack, archive footage appears on a nearby screen. It shows a sad boy being yelled at by an older man. After the man leaves the room, the boy begins to weep.
"How the hell did you access my vid-log?" Sardick asked.
"I was trying for a backdoor entrance to get into your system, Mr. Sardick," Usagi said, before frowning. "Wait, that didn't sound right…"
"It's hard to believe that the boy in the vid is you, Sardick," the Doctor said. "Am I right?"
"You are, like that fact will be of any help," Sardick said, as he attempted to shut down the vid. "Why won't this thing shut down…?"
"Um, sorry?" Usagi said, as she grinned with embarrassment.
"Why I ought to-"
"Who's this person you have here?" the Doctor asked, as he noticed a frozen stasis container, containing an angelic, sleeping 'beauty'."
"Collateral," Sardick replied. "That family whose business you and your companion intruded upon was trying to get me to release her for Christmas Eve dinner."
"Well, why won't you?" Usagi asked.
"Business is BUSINESS, as my father used to say," Sardick replied. "I would think he would be proud of me for following his teachings to the letter."
"You know, I wish someone would have shown you a better way," Usagi said. She then notices that the Doctor was gone.
"Doctor?" Usagi said, as she looks around wildly.
"Now that he's gone, you can best follow," Sardick sneered.
Before Usagi could say anything, she noticed that the Doctor was in the archival vid-journal, speaking with Sardick's younger self.
"Oh, boy," Usagi said, as she widened her eyes in surprise.
Sardick was about to say something, when a wave of realization came upon him.
"Wait," Sardick said, as he sat back down in his seat. "Why am I remembering your friend from my childhood?"
"He must be trying to change your past, so that you won't be a total 'dirtbag'."
"Humph! We'll see about THAT…"
While the Doctor interacts with the life of Young Kazran Sardick, Usagi interacts with Old Man Sardick (Usagi's emphasis). Over time, as the new personal timeline progresses in the life of Kazran, Sardick realizes that he was developing an attraction to the angelic woman who was sleeping peacefully.
"Abigail," Sardick said gently, as he places a hand on the woman's chamber.
"What was that?" Usagi asked.
"Her name is Abigail," Sardick said. "Funny, how I thought to view her as merely collateral, and nothing more…"
"So, why is she special?"
"You remember the sky-shark that attacked me and the Doctor, correct?" Sardick said.
"Yeah, the vid-journal cut out," Usagi said.
"Correct. The Doctor and I managed to hide from the shark long enough for him to eat part of his…sonic screwdriver, which the Doctor tried to us."
"That's why your family had set up the atmosphere the way you did, so that you can protect people from the flying sea-life…I guess."
"Correct. That's why people have not challenged me on my right to control the atmosphere, out of fear of the sharks and other predators."
"You don't say…"
"But after the Doctor lost his instrument, we ran down to the cooler, where other stasis coffins are stored. It was when the sky shark knocked over Abigail's coffin that we learned of a different…way to tame the creature."
"And what was this different way?"
"Abigail has a voice of an angel," Sardick said with a sigh. "So much so, that she could tame the shark, due to the affect on the atmosphere by resonance of her. Later, the Doctor would take the shark back to the upper atmosphere to roam free again, after we three had a chance to ride on a 'shark-drawn sleigh'."
"And, you didn't allow Abigail to leave after that?" Usagi asked. "That's pretty cold for you to not reward her for saving your life."
"She honored her agreement with my father," Sardick replied, as he got up from his seat, before walking to a cupboard. "And for that, I wanted to give her something in return. Thus, a new tradition of sorts was born…"
Sardick would go on to tell Usagi that he and the Doctor would secretly release Abigail from her ice coffin, so that she could enjoy Christmas Eve every year. In fact, they did more than just visit Abigail's younger sister and their family. They would travel across Time and Space, visiting fantastical people and places. After all, they had all the time in the world, even if for a day. And as time went on, the child Kazran became a young man, and Kazran and Abigail fell in love…
"Wow, you were quite the handsome gent, Mr. Sardick," Usagi said, as she takes a look at an assortment of pictures that were taken of Kazran, Abigail and the Doctor.
"Humph," Sardick replied. "Alas, I should have known that any happiness with her was too good to be true…"
"What do you mean by that?"
"She was dying when she went into her agreement with my father," Sardick said. "And now, with her remaining day left, I will do anything to keep her safe."
"But would she approve of you holding those passengers on that starliner hostage, now?" said a voice from behind.
Sardick and Usagi turn to see the Doctor with Young Kazran.
"Is this who I am to become?" Kazran asked, as he held the Doctor's hand in fright. "A…bitter old man?"
"How dare you call me that?" Sardick said angrily, as he rounded upon his younger self, before catching himself. "What…what have I done?"
"We can't change the past, but we can change the future," Usagi said. "You have to do what's best."
"Very well," Sardick said, as he goes over to his instrument panel. "Computer, revert atmospheric conditions to normal."
Nothing.
"Wait, I don't understand," Sardick said, as he begins to manually power-down the machine. "The controls should be more responsive."
"Doctor?" Usagi said, as she scanned the machine. "We have a problem. It doesn't recognize Sardick."
"Wait a minute," the Doctor replied, as he scans Sardick's machine. "Diabolically brilliant…"
The Doctor told Sardick and Usagi that the machine was tailored made to recognize a Sardick in the mold of Kazran Sardick's father…and nothing more.
"That's why Kazran's father was cruel to him, so that he could grow up exactly like him," the Doctor said, as he glances over at the boy.
"Like Pavlov's Dogs," Usagi offered. "But what are we going to do now?"
"I might be able to tame the weather, just like we were able to tame the shark," the Doctor said, as he glances over at the sleeping Abigail.
"No, you mustn't!" Sardick said. "You release her, she will die!"
Pause.
"She's the only thing I have left in this world…"
"Perhaps, a trade of some kind," Usagi said.
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.
"I know a way of Abigail to use my body, so she can use her talents to manipulate the atmosphere. That way, she won't have to die."
"Are you sure you can do this?" Sardick asked.
"The mind transfer will succeed. Whether or not she can transfer her talents, it remains to be seen."
"I see…"
"But, if it works, I will figure out a way for your Abigail to be with you, even if I have to be the vessel for your love."
"Then, do it."
Usagi turns towards the Doctor.
"Doctor?" Usagi asked.
"I'm ready," the Doctor said.
Usagi nods, turns toward the sleeping Abigail, and then places her fingers in front of her face.
"Mind Transfer Jutsu…Initiate!" Usagi said, borrowing an ability she learned from the Yamanaka clan from the Land of Fire, Earth…
"Ohhhh," Usagi said, as she nearly collapsed, with the Doctor catching her fall.
"Usagi?" the Doctor said.
"N-no," "Usagi" replied. "My name is 'Abigail'. What's going on?"
"You've come back to me," Sardick said, as he goes over to his beloved. "You really have…"
"What do I sound different?" Abigail said, as she looks over to the stasis where her body was contained. "Why am I over there?"
"It's a long story," the Doctor said, as he takes out his broken sonic screw driver.
"I want you to sing."
"I…I guess so," Abigail said, as she cleared her throat. She began to sing a melodious tune, but there was no indication of activity within the atmosphere.
"You have to sing better."
"I don't know if I can," Abigail replied. "Maybe, with practice…"
"Abigail, you see that young boy over there?" Sardick said, as he points at his younger self. "He is me."
"He is?" Abigail said. She then realized that a lot of years have passed since she last saw her beloved…
"Yes, and when we first met, you inspired something in me," Sardick said. "A lot of people's lives are in danger, and we need your help…"
Pause.
"I need…you."
Abigail nods her head, looks up and begins to sing again…
"It's working!" the Doctor said, as his broken sonic screwdriver began to react. It was a sign that Abigail's melodious voice was having an effect on the particles within the atmosphere...
"Now, we can save that ship," the Doctor said with a smile, as he places a hand on Young Kazan' right shoulder.
"It's a miracle?" Young Kazan asked.
"Yeah, just this once…"
Later, as the dawn broke, Ranma was outside the TARDIS scanning the skies with his vision.
"Yep, there they go," Ranma said, as he goes back to his work with his personal access data device (PADD).
"What are you working on?" Amy asked.
"Well, after what the Doctor and Usagi told me about what happened, I think I can solve Sardick's problem."
"Oh?"
"I'm constructing a portable holo-emitter. One I insert the implants into Abigail's head, she will be, for all intents and purposes, be able to move about without the use of her real body."
"Ah."
The Doctor and Rory step outside the TRADIS.
"Are they done up there?" Rory asked.
"What's the rush?" Ranma asked. "Besides, I have to finish constructing this thing."
"Yes, Rory," the Doctor said. "It's not every day one can enjoy a shark-driven carriage…"
High above over Sardicktown, Abigail, still in Usagi's body, Sardick and Young Kazran (shielded by a pocket Heisenberg field generator) enjoy thrill of riding in a shark-driven carriage.
"This is fun!" Young Kazran said, as he held on for dear life.
"That it is," Sardick said, as Abigail kisses her beloved.
"Indeed," Abigail replied happily. She didn't care how she spends time with her beloved, even if she had to do so in another person's body…
"Merry Christmas to ALL, and to ALL a good day…!"
Sometime later, the TARDIS gets caught in a weird situation. Somehow, thanks to Rory's bungling, the TARDIS managed to materialize itself within the TARDIS, created a closed loop by trapping everyone in the TARDIS. Ergo, if anyone enters the TARDIS, they would reappear after entering the TARDIS, via a circular spatial loop, thanks to Rory being distracted by taking a peek up Amy's short skirt during the TARDIS' maintenance work. However, as time went on, the moments in time became compressed to the point where slightly future versions of everyone were interacting with past versions with everyone. Eventually, the temporal causality problem would be undone, but not before Usagi decided to take advantage of the situation…
"Mmmmm," said Usagi-Past, as she and Usagi-Future made out.
Ranma, of course, was having none of it.
"I'm here, you know!" Ranma complained.
"Don't look at him, look at me," Usagi-Future said. "He's just jealous that he doesn't know our needs…"
"Tell me about it…"
"Um," Rory said, as he turns towards the two Amy(s). "Do you want to-"
Rory gets a slap for his pleasure in response.
"Er, never mind."
The Doctor merely shook his head in disgust.
"And all because of a damn skirt…"
Tbc.