Time Flight
Chapter One: Stealing Away
Shido yawned and glanced at the clock. His long, almost never-ending term at the Time Lord Academy was just about over. Another couple of minutes and then he and then he and his classmates would depart from the classroom to go and obtain their regeneration cycles.
"Twelve regenerations………………..what am I going to do with them? What is there to do on Gallifrey that would be worth thirteen lives?" Shido wondered, as he glanced at the clock again.
"Class dismissed." The instructor finally said, and watched as his students eagerly left the room (with Shido in the lead, of course).
Back at Shido's home, an impatient friend was waiting.
"Sheesh! It can't possibly take this long to get a regeneration cycle started! What's taking him so long?" Guni, a small, bat-like fairy asked, as she paced on top of Shido's coffee table. Guni had been Shido's friend and loyal companion since his childhood. Now she waited for him to return from the Academy like he always did. Except this time he would be coming home a full-fledged Time Lord.
"Guni!" Shido shouted, as he burst through the door, excitement written on his handsome face.
"Don't do that!" Guni griped, as she came out from under the pillows she'd taken refuge under.
"Sorry, Guni. But I'm a Time Lord now! At long last!" Shido said, jubilantly.
"Good for you. But what are you going to do with all those extra lives?" Guni asked, as she flitted over and landed on Shido's shoulder.
"Good question." Shido mused, as he sat down to think.
"Well, one thing you can get out of that head of yours is time traveling. You know how much trouble the Doctor got into for that." Guni said, matter-of-factly, as she pointed out a day old newspaper that was draped on the arm of Shido's chair, and the article about the Doctor's trial.
"Yeah, I know. But what good is time travel if you're not allowed to use it? There's nothing to do here on Gallifrey. I would rather risk the trouble than be bored to death for all of my regenerations." Shido muttered, as he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out an ornate silver key.
"Hey! Isn't that…………..?! Guni started.
"The key to my father's TARDIS? It sure is. He gave me the key and TARDIS for a graduation present." Shido stated, as a mischievous grin appeared on his face.
"Shido, don't even………" Guni again started, but didn't get to finish. Shido was already putting his newly hatched idea into motion.
"Like father……………like son………" Guni muttered before taking off after her wayward friend. She barely got to the TARDIS landing bay before Shido slipped into his TARDIS and closed the door.
"Shido! The High Council's gonna skewer you for this! I mean it! You're gonna be in serious trouble!" Guni shouted, as Shido ignored her. He was too busy checking instrument panels to pay any attention to Guni's complaints, and too excited by what lay ahead. When the central column in the middle of the control console started moving, Shido let out an elated laugh. He was finally on his way. Outside, no one noticed when one of the TARDISes de-materialized, leaving an empty space where it should have been.
"You are so asking for it." Guni grumbled, finally giving up on her ranting and sitting on Shido's shoulder.
"Lighten up, Guni. We're committed to this now and there is no turning back. Might as well sit back and enjoy it." Shido said, still grinning like a mischievous schoolboy.
"Hmph. So, where are we headed, Mr. Adventurous-to-the-point-of-suicide-Time Lord?" Guni asked, sarcastically.
"Earth will be our first stop. Twenty-first century Earth, to be precise. Who knows? Maybe we'll even run into the Doctor there." Shido said, as he set the coordinates into the computer.
"Or maybe even the Master." Guni muttered, under he breath.
"Lighten up, Guni." Shido warned, as he turned on the TARDIS' scanner and gazed at a picture of the Earth, his eager smile never leaving his face.