New Faces
The air was filled with a loud mechanical wheezing and a blue box slowly materialised out of thin air. A few moments passed and the doors opened revealing a man with long wavy hair, dressed in a velvet jacket, waistcoat and a cravat. He stepped out of the box, closing the door behind him inhaling the scent of his new surroundings. The Doctor looked around, regarding the landscape with utter confusion. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his sonic screwdriver and began to scan the surroundings, stopping every few moments to examine the readings.
"Strange. The Beacon should be around here somewhere." The Doctor murmured to himself, walking slowly around the TARDIS. He was on the verge of assuming he had been mistaken and that the "Beacon" had just been a solar flare from an exploding, until he noticed a shape in the distance. He scanned it with his screwdriver, which promptly told him that it was The Beacon. He jogged over and when he neared the Beacon he realised with a sense of dread that it was a body. He sped up and crouched down next to the crumpled shape of a woman. He scanned her body and with a sigh of relief that she was still alive.
There was a silver chain snaking from her hand which was clasped around a small object. The Doctor gently unfurled her fingers and saw that she was clasping a silver fob watch. It was The Beacon that had attracted the attention of The TARDIS. The Doctor removed the fob watch delicately from her hand and placed it into his waistcoat pocket. His mind was filled with swarms of questions that needed answering.
He scooped up the fallen woman in his arms and carried her back to The TARDIS. He placed her very gently into the red velvet armchair that sat next to the main console and checked she was still breathing. He used his sonic screwdriver to place a new slot in the console, a slot that was just wide enough for a fob watch. The Doctor retrieved the watch from his waistcoat pocket and inserted it into The TARDIS to scan, analyse and dissect.
Whatever planet he had landed on, there were hostile beings who were willing to murder a seemingly innocent person. He fired up The TARDIS and dematerialised as quickly as possible. He hurriedly set a destination on the console before rushing to the woman's side. She was waking up. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around at her strange new surroundings. Her gaze fell upon The Doctor.
"Who are you?" she asked, dazed and confused.
"I'm The Doctor. You sent out a distress call and I answered it." The Doctor explained kindly. The woman rubbed her head and a pained expression fell across her face.
"Doctor who?" she groaned. The Doctor chuckled to himself, if he had a penny for every time someone had asked him that question.
"Just The Doctor. What, may I ask, is your name?" he asked, scanning her brainwaves with his screwdriver. Nothing appeared to be out of order, so the cause of the woman's pain must have been the result of the attempt to end her life.
"Erm… I'm Gio." She said, seeming to struggle recollecting her name.
"It's nice to meet you Gio. Welcome aboard The TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space." The Doctor said proudly as Gio looked around in wonder.
"Wow! Doctor, this place is amazing!" Gio gasped in amazement. She unsteadily got to her feet and began to wander aimlessly around The TARDIS. She "oohed" at a wide range of devices and decorations.
"Did you know Gio, that The TARDIS can travel through time and space to almost any destination that has ever existed or has yet to exist?" The Doctor asked rhetorically. Gio whirled around her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
"Are you serious? Time AND space? I'm standing in a real life time machine?" Gio exclaimed with unbridled joy. The Doctor laughed as he leapt around the console pressing buttons, flicking switches and pulling levers.
"Brace yourself Gio, you're about to visit your first alien planet. Krystoss 15 of the Oxapos system, you'll love it!" The Doctor cried as he slammed his palm onto a flickering blue button. The TARDIS shuddered violently and then all was still.
"That was a bumpy landing there Doctor." Gio said, clinging onto a pillar in fear.
"Yes, I do apologise. The old girl has gotten slightly shaky in her old age." The Doctor said, gently patting the console. The TARDIS engine growled, vocalising it's annoyance at The Doctor's impertinence. The Doctor gestured for Gio to follow him and she ran over and linked arms with him. He clicked his fingers and The TARDIS doors opened and they stepped out onto the foreign world. There was snow falling all around them and two suns blazed in the sky, their collective rays not enough to melt the snow. The TARDIS had landed on top of a hill and at the bottom there was a small scientific research facility.
"Hmm, I wonder what a place like that is doing all the way out here?" The Doctor said, his voice full of curiosity.
"Sounds like we've got a mystery on our hands Doctor." Gio said, elbowing The Doctor gently in the ribs.
"Ah, the magic word. Mystery! In that case, I think we should investigate. Come along Watson, the game's afoot!" The Doctor called over his shoulder as he bounded down the covered hill. Just before she followed him, she turned around and looked upon the exterior of The TARDIS and was utterly lost for words. She needed an explanation and ran after The Doctor, but unfortunately she lost her footing and tumbled down the hill. She landed at the bottom in a snow covered heap as The Doctor stared at her with an eyebrow raised quizzically. She sat up, spluttering and wiping snow off her face and clothes, her hair soaking wet.
"Are you alright?" The Doctor asked, concerned that his new companion may be injured.
"I'm going to be fine Doctor, it'll take a little more than snow to keep me down. The cold never bothered me anyway. What does bother me is your TARDIS!" Gio said, spitting out a mouthful of snow.
"What's wrong with it?" The Doctor asked haughtily, folding his arms.
"The inside is a huge ornate room, but the outside is a tiny blue box. It's…"
"Oh, I've heard this line before." The Doctor mumbled with a smile.
"Your TARDIS… it's smaller on the outside." Gio said, trying to comprehend what she had seen.
"Yes it is, that's exactly – wait, what?" The Doctor said, the smile vanishing from his face.
"It's smaller on the outside." Gio repeated hesitantly. There was silence as The Doctor looked at her, curiosity in his eyes.
"Out of all the people who have travelled with me in the TARDIS, you are the first person to say that it is smaller on the outside." He said, helping Gio to her feet.
"What do they usually say?" she asked.
"They usually say that it is bigger on the inside." He said.
"Really Doctor? You're disturbed by my choice of phrasing?" she asked, clearly unimpressed.
"Not disturbed, just mildly curious. What I'm most curious is about is that facility." He said, gesturing at the building behind him.
"Well then Doctor, let's go snooping. Allons-y!" Gio cried with excitement, running towards the entrance. The Doctor followed and halted along with Gio before a locked mechanical door.
"It's locked." Gio said forlornly. The Doctor scanned the area for life forms and then examined the results with interest.
"There has been no living creature in this facility for 350 years. It's a wonder that it's still intact." He said, before pointing the screwdriver at the door. There was a loud banging noise and the door rolled open slowly and The Doctor and Gio entered the facility, where the darkness eagerly swallowed them up. He activated the sonic screwdriver and after a few moments of whirring there was light.
"That is one fancy doowhacky that you've got there Doctor." Gio marvelled.
"It's my sonic screwdriver. Never leave home without it." The Doctor said, throwing the screwdriver into the air and catching it. He turned around and used the screwdriver to close the door behind them.
"Why are you locking us in?" Gio asked in confusion.
"I'm not. I'm locking any negative elements out." The Doctor replied, his response instantly putting Gio on edge. They walked down the empty grey corridors, following the arrows painted on the floor.
"Tell me a bit about yourself then Doctor." Gio suggested chirpily. The Doctor thought for a few moments, thinking of how best to describe himself.
"I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. I commandeered a TARDIS and decided to travel the many verses to do what I can to save those in danger. Is that enough information to satisfy your curiosity?" The Doctor said. Gio went silent as she absorbed the information.
"Yeah, that's enough. It tells me that you are a good man, Doctor." Gio said, gently taking a hold of his hand and giving it a light squeeze. They came to another door, which opened for them without the need of prompting from the sonic screwdriver. They entered the room and the lights flickered on automatically, illuminating a sight that made The Doctor's blood run cold. It was a small laboratory and from the state of the room, it looked like an experiment had been conducted here with disastrous results. There was a Dalek shell motionless in the corner and there were a multitude of scorch marks all over the walls, suggesting that the Dalek had not been a willing test subject. There were human bodies all over the floor, having incurred the Dalek's wrath and been exterminating.
"Doctor, what happened here?" Gio said, her voice rising in pitch due to heightened terror and distress.
"I don't know Gio, from the look of things it seems that the Dalek in the corner didn't like being experimenting on." The Doctor said, appalled at what lay before him, before noticing a small computer on a desk and he dashed over and began fiddling with it with the aid of his sonic screwdriver. The computer activated and whirred into life. The Doctor began to search through the computer database trying to find out what had happened. He found nothing to explain the carnage, but what he did find made him furious. There was a document authorizing Dalek vivisection signed by Lord President Romana. The Doctor had long ago given up trying to reason with the Time Lords and he had refused to ever interact with Romana while she was still president.
"Doctor? Is everything alright?" Gio asked, bringing The Doctor out of his silent rage. He stood up to his full height and pointed his screwdriver at the computer, the screen of which exploded, causing Gio to squeak with surprise.
"This whole facility is an abomination, we should leave." The Doctor said, a harsh edge to his voice. They were about to leave when a frail voice came over the tannoy system.
"Is anyone there? Please, I need help!" said a weak voice over the raspy speaker. The Doctor approached a device on the wall, pressed a button and spoke into the microphone.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hello, is someone there?" the voice asked, his tone full of hope.
"Yes, I'm here in the lab." The Doctor said cautiously.
"I'm three floors down, there's an elevator in the hall outside. Please come quickly, there's a heavy metal pillar crushing me, I won't be able to hold it up much longer. Hurry!" the voice yelped. The Doctor ran out of the room, Gio right behind him, and leapt into the elevator that was already stationed on their floor and jabbed at the "-3" button.
"I thought you said there hadn't been any life forms here for three hundred years?" Gio asked nervously.
"I was only scanning the structure above ground. Clearly the underground facility has been active for a long time." The Doctor said as the elevator slowed to a halt. The doors opened and The Doctor and Gio gasped at the sight before them. It was another larger laboratory that looked as if a large explosion had occurred recently. The Doctor dashed into the carnage and quickly located the man who had called for help and saw the metal pillar about to crush him. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at it and a few seconds later the pillar bubbled and turned to liquid.
"Thank you for the assistance." The man spluttered gratefully, despite his clothes being covered in liquid metal.
"Do you need any help around here?" Gio asked, looking around in concern and the old man smiled.
"There's no need miss. A ship will be arriving in a few hours and they will be bringing a repair crew. I'll be fine to remain here on my own until then, thank you my Good Samaritans." He said, shaking them both by the hands.
"Well in that case, we'll be off Mister…" The Doctor faltered.
"Oh gosh, how rude of me! I'm Doctor Masters." The old man said with a smile.
"Well, goodbye Doctor Masters. Come along Gio." The Doctor said.
"Right behind you Doctor." Gio said, following him to the elevator.
When The Doctor and Gio got back to The TARDIS she collapsed into the red armchair as The Doctor began fiddling with the main console.
"So Gio, how did you enjoy your fist outing in The TARDIS?" The Doctor asked, looking at the woman slumped in the armchair.
"It was fantastic! I want to travel around more in this thing." Gio said breathlessly. The Doctor smiled to himself.
"If you want to, you can. It would be pleasure to have some company again." He said softly and Gio laughed with delight and jumped to her feet in order to embrace The Doctor tightly.
"Thank you." She whispered in his ear.
"So, where to next? Any destination in the whole of time and space, all you have to do is pick one." The Doctor said, gently prising Gio off of him.
"Somewhere nice but exciting, with no snow or run down laboratories. Ah, what the heck, surprise me!" she said, with a cheeky wink. The Doctor thought for a second before his face lit up.
"Challenge happily accepted." He said and began flicking switches and turning dials. His mind had completely forgotten the fob watch that was still being analysed by The TARDIS.
Back in the science facility Doctor Masters was doubled over in pain, clutching onto a table for support.
"Doctor…" he whispered to himself, his voice on the edge of becoming a snarl as he fell to his knees in pain. He looked at his hands which had started to emit a golden glow. With a roar he threw his head to the skies as golden light burst forth from him, he was regenerating. The leaked radiation from two floors down had finally made its way up to floor "-3" and was mixing with the regenerative energy. There was an explosion of golden light and a moment of utter silence before the newly regenerated Time Lord stood up. The Master looked at the reflection visible in some shards of shattered glass.
"I am reborn!" The Master said triumphantly before bursting into maniacal, bone-chilling laughter. The Master had returned and she was more powerful than ever before.
End of Story 1.
Coming Next: The Colonies of Olympus