Hi guys! Welcome to the first in the "The Saxon Campaign"! This is the first in the series and inserts my OC Zara Saxon. The story starts from the events of Gridlock, but starts properly from Daleks In Manhattan.
Quick description of Zara: She has long, slightly wavy, blonde hair down to her elbows but might be shorter if it's been curled, wears a pair of three quarter lengthed, light blue jeans, a white blouse with a ruffled front, a black blazer and a pair of black trainers unless it's a special occasion then her outfit will be specified.
She's a incredibly smart woman, a genius and even smarter than The Doctor, raised by the Face of Boe inside the senate of New New York all her life.
I picture her being played by Elisha Cuthbert, but with an English accent.
So yeah, enjoy! And please follow/favourite and review, I'd appreciate your thoughts! :)
Amongst the fog, screams and despair of New Earth, a figure dressed in grey robes slowly made it's way down an alleyway. As it stepped into the light, revealing a soft and gentle face of a cat, Novice Hame gave a sad smile at a small bundle sitting on the cold hard ground. She picked the bundle up, pulling back the blankets and looking at a small baby girl's face.
"Hello Zaranthea." She breathed. "My lord's been waiting for you." She tightly wrapped the baby back up and disappeared briskly into the night.
The Doctor and Martha stepped out of The TARDIS into a New Earth alleyway, rain pouring down on them heavily.
"Oh, that's nice!" Martha exclaimed, zipping up her jacket. "Time Lord version of dazzling."
"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone." The Doctor said, taking her arm gently. "Come on, let's get under cover!"
In a dark, musty room, Novice Hame, dressed in grey robes, knelt in the center of the room. Next to her knelt a young woman, her blonde hair pulled into a thick plait down her back. She wore a red jumper, black jeans and brown combat books and a blank trench coat over the top half of her. The two of them knelt opposite the Face of Boe, still inside his protective tank.
"He has arrived." The Face of Boe croaked.
"What should I do?" Novice Hame asked.
"Find him before it's too late."
"Let me go!" The blonde woman begged. "Let me find him, please."
Novice Hame looked at the young woman who'd become a daughter to her, "No, Zara." She said softly.
Zara looked back to the Face of Boe quickly, "Boe, please."
"No, Zara, my love." The Face of Boe hummed.
Both Zara and Novice hame bowed their heads in obeisance before Hame got up and turned to leave the room.
"Be careful, Zara." Novice Hame said softly over her shoulder. "The Doctor's a saint... but he's dangerous."
"I've spent my whole life locked up here, in the over city." Zara sighed, looking back to Boe. "I'll bring the Doctor back, I promise." She begged. Boe hummed back at her and she sighed, shaking her head. "There's a whole universe out there, that I know everything about because you taught me, and I'm stuck in here!" She exclaimed. "You taught me so many things, how to fly a type 40 TARDIS, how to steal a space shuttle, Daleks - aim for the eyestalk, Sontarans - back of the neck, Vashta Nerada - stay out of the shadows and run, how to work a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator. And everything else I know," She violently pointed over at hundreds of books piled in the corner. "Is from them." She sighed, watching Boe hum softly to himself. "Why do I bother?" She whispered.
Zara stood at the back of the room, watching Boe hum happily, before glancing into the senate room just as Novice Hame reappeared, falling to the ground with a mystery man with her - The Doctor.
"Hame!" Zara gasped, bolting over and pulling Hame up.
"Oh! Rough teleport. Ow." The Doctor muttered, pulling himself to his feet and turning to Hame. "But you can go straight back down and teleport people out, starting with Martha."
"I only had the power for one trip." Hame replied.
"Then get some more! Where are we?" He asked angrily, making Zara step in front of Hame protectively.
"High above, in the over-city." Zara said sternly.
"Who are you?" The Doctor asked, slightly calmer, looking Zara up and down.
"Zara Saxon." Zara said, equally looking The Doctor up and down. "And you must be The Doctor."
"Well, you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They've got thousands of people trapped on the motorway! Millions!"
"But you're inside the Senate, right now."
"May the goddess Santori bless them." Hame sighed, nodding up at the rows of seats inside the vast chamber, covered in skeletons. The Doctor looked up in shock as Zara stepped forward, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. "They died, Doctor. The city died."
"How long's it been like this?"
"Twenty-four years." Zara gulped, shutting her eyes. Her whole life she had been there, found in the panic and disaster on New Earth the day the 'Bliss' mood took over. Wrapped in blankets admist the horror, and saved by Novice Hame under the orders of the Face of Boe. "My whole life." She whispered, taking his arm and pulling him softly over to a skeleton lying on the ground. The Doctor knelt down, staring at it, disturbed.
"All of them? Everyone? What happened?"
"A new chemical. A new mood." Zara muttered, kneeling down next to him, pulling a mood sticker off the skeleton's neck, holding it out to The Doctor. "They called it Bliss. Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished — even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat." The Doctor looked at her, shocked as she put her hand on The Doctor's shoulder, squeezing it. "There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved." She stood back up, pulling The Doctor up with her.
"So the whole thing down there is running on automatic?"
"There's not enough power to get them out." Hame shook her head. "We did all we could to stop the system from choking."
"Who's "we"?" The Doctor frowned. "How did you survive?"
Novice Hame smiled, "He protected us." She said. "And he has waited for you, these long years."
"Doctor." The Face of Boe called from the room next to them. With a small smile, Zara took The Doctor's hand, bolting into the room and pulling The Doctor with her.
"The Face of Boe!" The Doctor gasped. Zara let go and knelt down in front of the Face of Boe, before The Doctor slowly knelt down next to her as Novice Hame followed them in.
"I knew you would come."
"Back in the old days, I was made his nurse, as penance for my sins." Hame said softly.
"Old friend, what happened to you?" The Doctor asked.
"Failing." The Face of Boe croaked.
"He protected us from the virus by shrouding us in his smoke." Zara said. "But with no one to maintain it, the City's power died. The under-city would have fallen into the sea."
"So he saved them." The Doctor whispered. "But what about you, how did you end up here?"
"My parents died from the Bliss mood, I-I assume." Zara said softly. "The day I was born, I was left amongst the panic from the virus. Everyone was escaping to the motorway... and the Face of Boe saved me."
"The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe." Hame said. "He's giving his life force just to keep things running."
"But there are planets out there." The Doctor frowned. "You could have called for help."
Zara shook her head, "The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe." She sighed. "The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years."
The Doctor got back up, looking between the Face of Boe and Novice Hame, "So the two of you stayed here— on your own, for all these years. With a child."
"We had no choice." Hame sighed.
The Doctor reached out, touching her shoulder, "Yes, you did."
"Save them, Doctor." The Face of Boe croaked. "Save them."
"Martha Jones." Zara said, making The Doctor look at her. "We need to find her, hm?" The Doctor grinned, nodding.
"Car Four Six Five Diamond Six — it still registers!" The Doctor grinned, staring at the screen. "That's Martha. I knew she was good." Zara ran behind him, handing Hame a piece of think tubing. "Novice Hame, hold that in place." The Doctor jumped back, running along the length of the tube, jumping over a box of lights and buttons. "Think, think, think."
"Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity beds." Zara called over to him.
The Doctor looked at her, grinning, "Oh you're good."
"There isn't enough power." Hame called over.
The Doctor bolted over to the far wall covered in buttons and two screens, wiring pouring out, "Ah, you've got power! You've got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch." He turned back round to Zara, pointing at her. "Zara, every switch on that bank, up to maximum!" Zara nodded, running over and doing exactly that. The Doctor knelt down, rotating a knob in a console on the floor, using the sonic on it. "I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people." He banged his fist against the console and jumped back up.
"So what are you going to do?"
"This!" He cheered, flipping a long switch on the floor, making all the lights in all of the consoles go out. "No, no no no no, no!" The Doctor knelt to the floor again, using the sonic on the controls. "The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through."
"Doctor…" The Face of Boe croaked.
"Yeah, hold on, not now." The Doctor muttered, distracted.
"I give you my last…" He let out a long, rasping breath and all of the consoles flickered back into life.
The Doctor jumped back up as Zara watched him in horror, "Hame, look after him! Zara," He looked over at her. "Come on, you can't be distracted my little genius." Zara gave him a small smile, nodding and running over. "Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this." Zara quickly flicked the switch again as Hame busily turned a wheel next to the Face of Boe. "The open road. Hah!"
"Sorry, no Sally Calypso, she was just a hologram." The Doctor said into the monitor as it broadcast to all the cars. "My name's the Doctor. And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now. This genius called Zara," He turned and grinned at Zara who was standing next to him, out of shot. "And I opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast!"
Zara popped into frame, grinning, "We've got to clear that fast lane. Drive up and get out of the way. Oh!" She laughed in astonishment, looking at the screen. "Oy! Car Four Six Five Diamond Six! Martha! Drive up!" The Doctor looked at her, remembering.
"YES!" He shouted in agreement. "Martha Jones, drive! You've got access above! Now go!"
"Did I tell you, Doctor?" Brannigan laughed as The Doctor twirled round the room, holding the microphone. "You're not bad, sir. You're not bad at all Oh, yee-hah!"
The Doctor ran over to a window, watching the cars flying past in glee. "You keep driving, Brannigan, all the way up! 'Cause it's here, just waiting for you. The city of New New York. And it's yours." Zara ran over, looking out in awe.
"It's never looked so... beautiful." Zara whispered before jumping back down again.
"And don't forget — I want that coat back."
"I reckon that's a fair bargain, sir." Brannigan replied through the transmitter.
Zara jumped back up, reappearing at The Doctor's side, "And Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, I've just sent you a flight path." She said into the microphone. "Come to the Senate."
"On my way!" Martha laughed over the transmitter. "Looking forward to meeting you!"
"It's been quite a while since I saw you, Martha Jones." The Doctor smiled.
"Zara!" Novice Hame gasped.
Both The Doctor and Zara span round, looking at Novice Hame leaning over the Face of Boe as the glass case began to crack.
"No." Zara croaked, unable to move.
Martha leapt happily into the senate room, before suddenly stopping, noticing a skeleton on the floor.
"Doctor?" Martha called.
"Over here." He replied softly.
"Doctor!" She grinned, running into the smaller room. "What happened out there?" She stopped suddenly, staring at the site in front of her. Zara sat on the floor in front of the dying Face of Boe, tears pouring down her face as she gently stroked his cheek. To her left, turned slightly, knelt The Doctor next to Novice Hame. "What's that?"
"It's the Face of Boe. It's all right. Come and say hello." The Doctor smiled before nodding to Hame. "And this is Hame. She's a cat. Don't worry." He looked over at Zara with a soft smile. "And this is Zara." Martha nodded, approaching the Face of Boe. "Boe's the one that saved you, not me."
"My lord gave his life to save the city." Hame said in awe as Martha knelt down next to her.
"And now he's dying." Zara whispered.
"No, don't say that." The Doctor said, reaching over and squeezing Zara's hand. "Not old Boe. Plenty of life left."
"It's good to breathe the air once more." Boe hummed.
"Who is he?" Martha asked.
"I don't even know." The Doctor shrugged.
"Legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years." Zara said, smiling sadly.
"Isn't that right?" The Doctor asked. "And you're not about to give up now."
"Everything has its time." Boe replied. "You know that, old friend, better than most."
"The legend says more." Zara whispered.
The Doctor gave her hand another squeeze, "Don't. There's no need for that."
"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveller."
"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"
"I have seen so much. Perhaps too much." Boe sighed. "I am the last of my kind — as you are the last of yours, Doctor."
"That's why we have to survive." The Doctor said desperately. "Both of us. Don't go."
"I must. But know that I survived for a small baby living amongst the dark with me." The Doctor looked over at Zara as she stared at Boe tearily. "But know this, Time Lord. You are not alone."
Boe's eyes slowly closed as Zara stared, stunned. "Please." She whispered. She shut her eyes, tears pouring down her face rapidly and she listened to Hame sobbing when she felt two arms wrap around her tightly. With a sob she leant into The Doctor's chest and broke down.
Zara, The Doctor and Martha made their way through the alleyway slowly, The TARDIS parked at the end.
"All closed down." The Doctor muttered, looking up at the empty stalls.
"About time." Zara nodded sadly, glancing over at one of the empty stalls. "New New York can start again. And we've got Novice Hame. Just what the city needs again — cats in charge!" She smiled, looking over at The TARDIS.
"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe?" Martha asked, stopping next to Zara. The Doctor stopped, turning back to her. "You're not alone."
"I don't know."
"You've got me. Is that what he meant?"
The Doctor smiled, before glancing at Zara, the woman who had made him realise what Martha Jones meant to him, "Who knows. Probably not... but maybe." Martha nodded, understanding as Zara subtly turned, walking off through the alleyway.
"Then what?"
"Doesn't matter. Back to the TARDIS, off we go." The Doctor turned, heading off to The TARDIS when Martha grabbed hold of a random chair against the wall, pulling it up and sitting down, folding her arms. The Doctor turned back, looking at her. "All right, you staying?"
"'Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said "last of your kind." What does that mean?"
"It really doesn't matter."
"You don't talk. You never say! Why not?" The two of them looked up suddenly as the sound of the citizens of the city singing another hymn filtered around them. "It's the city. They're singing."
By the door leading to the layby, Zara looked back, noticing the two time travellers hadn't noticed that she had gone. She stopped, listening to her fellow citizens sing. She watched over, having listened to The Doctor and Martha's conversation, watching The Doctor look at Martha, clearly trying to explain to her... just not knowing how.
"He lied to you, 'cause he liked it." Zara said, walking over to them. The Doctor looked up in shock before looking down guiltily as Zara moved round, standing next to The Doctor, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He could pretend. Just for a bit, he could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky." Martha stared at The Doctor, shocked and sad. "He's not just a Time Lord. He's the last of the Time Lords. The Face of Boe was wrong. There's no one else."
Martha shook her head, "What happened?"
The Doctor sighed, grabbing a chair and sitting down opposite her.
"Tell her, Doctor." Zara whispered.
"There was a war." The Doctor began. "A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song…" He stopped, breathing in sharply.
Martha nodded, understanding, and got up, hugging The Doctor. "You could make each other better." She whispered before letting go and heading into The TARDIS.
"Well Doctor," Zara said, breathing in sharply. She turned, heading down the alleyway again. "We should do this again sometime, it was fun."
"Where are you going?" The Doctor asked, standing up.
"Well," She called over her shoulder, shrugging. "Boe taught me a lot. I know the whole of time and space inside out, pretty much. I've been locked in the senate for 24 years, it's time I got out there and saw it all." She stopped outside the door to the flyover, looking over at The Doctor. "He also told me how to steal a space shuttle."
The Doctor smiled at her sadly, "You really meant a lot to Boe, you know that?"
Zara looked away, smiling to herself, "Ah, the whole universe meant a lot to Boe. Anyway, I've got places to go." She looked up thoughtfully, smiling. "He once told me about this planet... Woman Wept." She looked back at The Doctor sadly. "He told me all about you, your whole life. And he told me about Rose... I'm sorry."
The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels, "I met this woman once." He began. Zara raised an eyebrow at him, confused. "This is going somewhere, I promise. Anyway, I met this woman called Donna, just after I lost Rose. And she told me... I needed someone, and she was right, I do."
"You do." Zara nodded. "Her name is Martha Jones, and she's standing inside your box." The Doctor breathed in sharply, about to answer when she continued. "Because you can't admit to yourself that you need her. You can't admit that you need her, maybe more than Rose."
"Well," The Doctor sighed. "Maybe I do. But... I've got a type 40 TARDIS."
"I can fly a type 40 TARDIS." Zara countered.
The Doctor smirked, "We're quite a couple."
"Aren't we just?"
"You know, I reckon I've got room for a third person in my little wooden box. One trip?"
"I should warn you," Zara began, making The Doctor watch her warily. "If you leave me on a distant planet on my own, I'll track you down and kill you." She joked. The Doctor smiled, walking forward and holding his hand out to her. With a firm stare Zara took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "So," Zara said as the two of them walked hand in hand towards the TARDIS. "Can I fix your chameleon circuit?"
"No."