Doctor Who- Psychic Blood
The familiar pulses pulsed. He banged the control panel with a hammer and the pulses continued pulsing. His female companion watched closely as he continued to bang the panel with the hammer.
"Are we there yet?" she asked.
He was focused then broke it with a huge smile. "Yep! Martha, welcome to Earth in the your near future."
Martha gasped with amazement. "What year, Doctor?" She had traveled many times into both the past and the future but she still wasn't used to it. Every time period was a whole new world for Martha.
The Doctor scratched his head. "I was aiming for the year 2020." He ran over to the blue doors and held it opened. "Ladies first."
Martha giggled as she ran out to see this future of hers. She looked around. It seems very ravaged but strong. "Wow, this is Earth in 10 years time."
The Doctor looked at her, shaking his head. "Martha, I know you've left school but even you can do basic mathematics. It is 13 years in the future and it isn't definite that we're in 2020."
"Can we?" she asked excitedly.
Someone was taking through a loudspeaker on the road across from where they stood. He was very young with bright blond hair. "Vote Bradley Reagan for a better Earth and a better future." The large audience started applauding as a slightly, but only just, older, dark haired, man took to the stage.
Waving to the crowd, he spoke in an upper class accent. "Thank you. Thank you." He cleared his throat. "The world is broken. But it will be united under one government, under one man. A war ravaged and now it's time for peace. A government who will protect us from anything that will come our way. I have put myself forwards as this man, as this head of the new government. I want to mend this broken world and I can only do that, with your votes." The audience cheered and the Doctor, along with Rose, went over to meet this candidate.
Reagan saw this new pair and approached then. "Good morning, sir, ma'am. You must be new here. I remember every face and I've never seen one as pretty as yours."
The Doctor smiled. "Thanks. I like it too. It's better than my last one."
"Doctor, I think he was talking to me," Martha pointed out.
Reagan didn't pay much attention to the Doctor's last comment. "The turnover to 3000 will start with a new era. An entire world under one government. So, vote for Reagan. Now, sir, ma'am, I'm very sorry but I'll have to leave now." Reagan attached a blue and red ribbon to the Doctor's overcoat. He was going to do the same to Martha but she snatched it off him.
"I think it'll be better for your reputation if I put it on myself," Martha said though it sounded more like a warning. When Reagan left, Martha looked at the Doctor, a tiny bit angry at the Doctor's mistake. "We're a thousand years into the future yet you thought we were ten?! Ten?!"
The Doctor was confused. "That's impossible. Sometimes the TARDIS is out by a few years but not a thousand years. Come on, lets go back. I wanna see if there's actually a problem with her."
On the TARDIS, the Doctor was doing several scans whilst Martha watches on. She was stroking the sides though she didn't realize. She was starting to get attach to the TARDIS even though she still regarded it as a machine. Suddenly the Doctor cried out in joy.
"She's found something! A telepathic distress call. She came across it when we were going through the Time Vortex. She's alright though I'll try to track the call now." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. The Doctor and Martha looked at each other. "We can't do anything, Martha. Open that door, they'll see inside. So keep quiet." The Doctor crept around to the monitor and turned it on. They saw a young girl.
"It's just a kid. Probably wondering why a blue box is out here. I imagine, in 3000, everything's electrical and not wooden," Martha suggested. But she saw something out of the corner of her eyes. "Did that girl…did she just turn blue?"
"Yes, she did. I think we better speak to her."
"She's alien, isn't she?" Martha asked. The Doctor gave her a look that confirmed it. Martha groaned. Can they ever go somewhere without running into aliens? For once, Martha would like to just explore a new time period without any interruptions.
At a small café, the Doctor and Martha were speaking to a young girl. She sat there, slowly eating a small chocolate bar. Martha was just watching but she noticed that the Doctor and the girl were just staring at each other. Occasionally, their expressions would change.
"Okay, what's going on? Doctor, why aren't you speaking to each other?" Martha asked, getting a bit bored.
"We are. She's a Nocturne. Hired espionage agents with telepathic abilities; psychic spies basically."
"But that's a human word, isn't it? Nocturne."
"People have seen their true form. They are the basis of muses. Nocturne is another word for music of the night," the Doctor explained to Martha "They've been here throughout all of history as spies for anyone that is willing to pay quite a lot for their services."
"But she's a kid. She must be only about 15 or 16 years old."
"They reach adulthood at 10 years old. Strictly speaking, they have different life times to us. So, what's your name?"
"Doctor, I think you're forgetting that Nocturnes do not have names," the Nocturne replied. "We are one yet we are all. But I've always been the rebellious one."
"Oh, yes, that's right. So, what do we call you then? Temporarily, what do we call you?" the Doctor asked.
Nocturne shrugged her shoulders. "Just call me…Nocturne, I guess."
The Doctor then started his questioning. "So, why did you put out a distress call? A telepathic one at that. That takes lots of psychic energy especially if it can be heard through a Time Vortex."
"I came here with a Time Lord. I was on a job but then suddenly he left. Got a call and left me stranded here. Said he'll be back soon. But he never came back. That was a month ago. I still haven't finished the job and I need to before I go back home. But I'm stuck here and without a Time Lord, I can't go home." The Doctor looked at Martha, sadly. He knew why that Time Lord never came back. "What is it? You know something about him? Did something happen?"
The Doctor didn't answer. Martha asked, "Doctor, do you now anything?"
But Nocturne was shaking her head. "It's another Time War, isn't it?"
But the Doctor couldn't answer. "So, let's get you home then, Nocturne."
"Sorry, Doctor but I haven't finished my job yet. I need more time. You came earlier than I thought. It's important. If I don't stop this, Earth will be too vulnerable. And it mustn't be. Will you please wait? I'm so close. I've been sent by the Time Lords to do this; they're paying me to do this. Nocturnes are the last hope apparently. So I have to do this, Doctor."
Martha interrupted. "Wait, sorry but what is your job? Exactly how do you do it, whatever you do?"
"I find out information, passwords, anything by accessing their minds. But it can be difficult when their minds are protected or they are feral; they use instincts, not their mind But I just find out information and pass it back. Sometimes I have to do something that's a bit more…physical. Not just collecting information. I may have to stop something that is about to happen. And something's going to happen and I've got to stop it. I have to find out about Project Cry Wolf." The Doctor perked up when he heard the word, 'wolf''.
"Doctor, what is it?" Martha asked, worried. "Are you okay?"
"What did you say? Project…?"
Nocturne replied, "Project Cry Wolf. All I've found out about it is that it used to be Project Bad Wolf but they didn't use it in the end. It wasn't 'fitting'. Why?" The Doctor seemed sadder after hearing more about the project so Martha changed the subject.
"When we were in the TARDIS, I could've sworn I saw you turn blue. Nocturne, are you actually…blue?" Martha tried to ask in a non-offensive way.
"My true form, yes, I am what humans would call blue. But…have you ever seen a picture of a water maiden? They were regarded as muses."
"But muses were based on you…"
"Thus so were the water maidens." She went on to explain why Martha couldn't see her true form. "What you are seeing right now, Martha, is a psychic interpretation. I've planted what I want to look like in your head thus making it seem as if that is my real form to you. This doesn't affect everyone though, does it, Doctor?"
Martha turned to the Doctor. "You can see her now?"
The Doctor nodded but he tried to change the subject. "So, Project Cry Wolf, who's behind it?"
"The Presidential candidate, Mr. Bradley Reagan, is head of Project Cry Wolf. It isn't connected to the government or any organizations. Only Reagan and a few close colleagues of his know about the Project. He's in contact with someone that doesn't exactly originate from planet Earth."
"So, aliens then?" Martha said. Nocturne shot her a look. "What? What did I say now?"
"You have no idea how human that sounds. 'Aliens'. But humans never think of themselves as aliens. They only think of others. Well, to Nocturnes, 'alien' is just a human word. We know of other beings and entities but we don't call them 'aliens'. We call them exactly what they are."
Martha was shocked by what this young girl was saying. The Doctor chuckled. "Nocturnes are very philosophical."
"You say that as if it was a bad thing, Doctor," Nocturne remarked.
"Well….okay, how is this Project Cry Wolf going to leave the Earth vulnerable?" He asked Nocturne, changing the subject yet again.
"That's my objective; to find out what Project Cry Wolf and to stop it. This is an Alpha mission and I'm only a Beta Nocturne. But the Time Lords chose me for a reason apparently. And I have to complete it. I know that I can because this is in my past but I don't know how yet."