Travels in Time and Space
By Lumendea
Chapter Two: End of the World: Gravity Pocket
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.
AN: Yes, no Face of Boe. Different fate for Jack in this universe. Why? Because I can! Instead we get to have the grown up Adam Tyler around for an episode. Thank you so much for the amazing response to the first chapter. Just for that, here's an early update.
…
Adam Tyler didn't look like a threat or out of place. In fact, he seemed far more in place than her or the Doctor. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties to Rose's standards with wavy brown curls framing a very handsome face, but not one that resembled her future son Alistair. There was only a hint of red in his hair, a strong contrast to the rich ginger hair that the young Adam had. Wearing dark slacks and a matching waistcoat, he seemed relaxed and confident. He nodded and smiled in greeting to everyone in the room and received several respectful nods. His blue eyes lingered on her for a moment, glinting with amusement at her expression.
Rose wasn't sure. She was certain that he'd looked directly at her, but wasn't sure what to make of it. Movement before them pulled Rose's eyes from the possibly not so mysterious Adam. The tree beings were moving slowly towards them. The leader of them appeared female to Rose's eyes with lovely features and dressed in a long red gown. Those behind her carried trays of small potted plants.
"Doctor?" Rose asked softly. "What happens next?"
"Gifts," the Doctor whispered looking a bit put out. "I always forget something."
"That doesn't inspire much confidence," Rose whispered. She felt a bit nervous as the elegantly dressed tree people came towards them. "Oh," Rose muttered as she opened her bag and pulled out the bag of biscuits. "Here we go."
"You have Jammie Dodgers," the Doctor whispered excitedly. "What else have you got in that bag?"
"Departure gifts from the science division," Rose answered in a low voice as she opened the Jammie Dodgers. "They loaded me up right before we left. Basic survival supplies: Jammie Dodgers and a bag of jelly babies. You can blame the second on Benton."
"Always did like John," the Doctor said. He grinned and chuckled warmly as the first of the guests came over to them.
"The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather," the female tree being said.
Up close Rose could see that she was very attractive with her features looking very humanoid, but being fully formed of bark. Rose tried not to stare, but sort of wished she had a camera. She would have liked to record the effect for a painting or at least a drawing for her diary. Focusing on the tree's words, Rose reached out and accepted the small potted plant with one hand and tried not to fidget. In her jeans, she felt more than a little undressed and it was only to lingering experience as an heiress in another life that kept her voice steady.
"Thank you," Rose said. "Our gift of peace is a delicacy made from an ancient Earth recipe."
Rose deftly pulled forth one of the biscuits and handed it to the tree woman who studied it thoughtfully. Then she took a small bite and her eyes widened. "Quite lovely," she complimented Rose. "You have my thanks." She glanced between them curiously. "I am Jabe of the Forest of Cleem."
"I'm Rose Tyler and this is the Doctor," Rose introduced quickly. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Indeed," Jabe agreed before taking another delicate bite. "Perhaps we shall speak more later."
"Of course," Rose answered.
She had to fight to keep her smile in place as the line progressed and she handed out the gifts. The Doctor just kept smiling, apparently enjoying her display of diplomacy. Rose, however, was beginning to feel worn out. She'd been around aliens before, but never so many never people and species all at once. The Doctor helped a bit by least taking the gifts offered to them. In addition to the cutting, there was a small data file with classic images of Earth that had Rose a bit excited, an odd sort of silver orb and a few other things that were mostly knick knacks. Thankfully the guests who were giving 'bodily fluids' as gifts made the Doctor the target of their gift. He kept smiling even as they spit on him.
"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, trees and multiforms consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."
Eyes widening, Rose took in the most alien thing she'd yet seen. A piece of thin skin in a frame stretched out like a canvas was being wheeled in by two men in hospital white. Rose barely kept her jaw from dropping. Despite herself, a wave of revulsion hit her hard. In the corner of her eye, she saw a distasteful look cross the face of Adam Tyler who was standing to the side of the room.
"Oh, now, don't stare." Cassandra all but cooed. "I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am." Rose grimaced and the last of her fixed smile fell away. She felt like she was looking at a nightmare of very diet fad come to life. "Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand." She laughed a little and then in a softer voice hissed, "Moisturise me. Moisturise me." The two men sprayed her out of a pair of pumps while Rose just stared.
"Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye. Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry. But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband?" Cassandra and a few others laughed. "Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity."
An old fashioned jukebox was wheeled in and Rose grinned. That was surprising, but she supposed it was probably a retro reproduction. Cassandra said something about it being called an iPod which Rose almost corrected before deciding that so far in the future that was close enough. She watched as Adam stepped forward and pressed a button before Cassandra's attendant could. The familiar notes of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run' began to play and helped Rose feel a bit better. Adam caught her gaze and smiled.
"Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in thirty minutes," the Steward announced.
Moving over to the window, Rose let herself exhale. Rose glanced back to find the Doctor talking to Jabe who was looking at him curiously. She wondered vaguely if she should feel jealous, but couldn't manage it. The nervous energy was building up faster than she'd thought. It made her feel a bit silly. She'd been dealing with strange things for years and had gone on plenty of dates with the Doctor's Tenth incarnation so this shouldn't be anything special. Yet it was and Rose wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was nervous about her first trip, their first date in his timeline or if it was the knowledge that she was about to see the planet she'd gone through so much for destroyed. Footfalls behind her made Rose tense up and she looked over her shoulder. The man introduced as Adam Tyler came up slowly behind her and stood next to her.
"Hello Gran," Adam greeted softly with a warm smile. Rose stayed silent and he chuckled. "Yeah I know I look different now, but the family password is Bad Wolf."
"Adam?" Rose whispered as she searched his face and focused on his eyes. Sadly she'd only seen her future grandson as a child and wasn't sure what to look for.
"It's me." Adam took a sip of his champagne as he gestured around. "Hosting my grandparents' first date. Ah the life of a Time Lord."
"Not exactly our first date," Rose countered carefully, still unsure.
"Depends on whose timeline you're following," Adam chuckled only to get another look from Rose. "I regenerated a couple years back or more correctly a few years in the future. Got infected with this horrible virus that mutated drugs humans were using, the damn thing was even called Bliss. Killed almost the entire planet, but I sealed off lower parts of the cities to save those I could." He took another sip and gave Rose a reassuring look. "Held off my regeneration long enough to survive in this body. Thankfully the virus died off in only seven minutes."
"That's… terrifying," Rose whispered, almost reaching out to touch Adam's face. She was now completely reassured that it was him. "I'm glad you're alive then." The words fell short, but Rose was feeling a bit overwhelmed. She dropped her hand away and took a deep breath.
"I know," Adam said. "And the adjustment to this body wasn't too bad." He beamed at her and added, "More charming this time, a bit like Grandad's eighth body." Then Adam glanced across the room. "Grandad is looking over here."
"He can't… I mean he doesn't know right?" Rose questioned unsure of how to phrase it. "In his head, he doesn't feel you, right?"
"No," Adam promised. "We aren't in synch in our timelines so I don't register as another Time Lord. After all, to him, there aren't any other Time Lords."
The reminder made Rose sad and couldn't help but frown. "I know," Rose pointed out carefully as she watched Adam's face. "I mean I know that you aren't supposed to cross your own timeline, but would it really be so bad if-"
"Gran," Adam scolded gently with a soft expression. "No, it can't work that way. You're the special Gordian knot remember?"
"I know, I just…."
"I know," Adam assured her. "But he's got you now and in time, well things will work out as they should." He nodded back towards the Doctor and offered her another smile. "Enjoy your date, Gran."
Rose was certain that Adam knew something she didn't, but he wouldn't share. She knew that all too well. The Time Lords in her life might seem to give information they shouldn't, but in reality, it always put things exactly where they needed to be. Forgoing the hug since the Doctor was watching, Rose gave Adam a warm smile and walked across the room to rejoin the Doctor.
"Who's your friend," the Doctor asked. His tone was casual, but Rose picked up a hint of jealousy that thrilled her far more than it should have.
"Adam Tyler, the organiser of this event," Rose answered before she carefully added. "Just chatting a bit. Apparently, his grandmother is human and was an expert in the 21st century." She gestured towards the jukebox. "He caught my reaction to the mistake."
Whatever the Doctor might have been about to say was lost as the whole space station shuddered. Rose looked up at the Doctor in mild alarm only to find a barely restrained smile on a thoughtful face. "That's not supposed to happen."
"Honoured guests may be reassured that gravity pockets may cause slight turbulence, thanking you," the voice of the Steward announced through the sound system.
The Doctor turned and scanned the room thoughtfully. The other guests had already returned to their conversations. Rose tensed as she heard one of the blue men reference 'the Bad Wolf scenario' as if Adam wasn't enough. She looked around, but her future grandson was nowhere to be seen. Rose didn't think that was a good sign. Then again apparently Adam took after his grandfather when it came to saving planets. It wouldn't do to have them running into other and causing questions to be asked.
"That wasn't a gravity pocket," the Doctor said. "I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that." Jabe walked over to join them and he turned to her quickly. " What do you think, Jabe? Listened to the engines. They've pitched up about thirty Hertz. That dodgy or what?"
"It's the sound of metal. It doesn't make any sense to me."
"Where's the engine room?" the Doctor asked her
"I don't know, but the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite, I could show you and your
Wife," Jabe offered. She nodded towards Rose with a hint of curiosity.
"She's not my wife," the Doctor said quickly.
"Partner?"
"No." The Doctor shifted a bit and Rose saw the expression on Jabe's face start to change into something she liked less and less.
"I'm his friend," Rose cut in quickly. "We're travelling together. Just seeing some sights." She gave Jabe a rather wide smile, but with a hint of warning. "So engine room?"
The Doctor smiled and offered his arm to Jabe. Rose did feel a jolt of jealousy this time but focused on the potential crisis that she could feel brewing. Thankfully Jabe did take the situation seriously and led them towards the maintenance area. The further they got from the main room the smaller and more compact everything seemed to become. The Doctor finally released Jabe's arm and Rose breathed a little easier.
Rose frowned and stopped short in the small corridor. She could have sworn she heard something moving, it was like clicking or something. Jabe and the Doctor kept moving ahead of her and she swept her eyes through the area, unable to shake the feeling that something was nearby. After a moment of not hearing anything, Rose moved faster to rejoin the others.
"Who's in charge of Platform One?" the Doctor asked Jabe. "Is there a Captain or what?"
"There's just the Steward and the staff. All the rest is controlled by the metal mind."
"The computer you mean," Rose said. "But who controls that? Is there a way to access it onboard."
"No, the Corporation moves Platform One from one artistic event to another."
Rose's nose wrinkled up at the description of Earth's death as an artistic event but said nothing. "So is it automated?" she asked.
"Yes, a crew isn't needed," Jabe said. "This facility is purely automatic. It's the height of the Alpha class. Nothing can go wrong."
"Unsinkable?" the Doctor remarked, catching Rose's gaze for a moment.
"If you like. The nautical metaphor is appropriate."
"You're telling me. I was on board another ship once. They said that was unsinkable. I ended up clinging to an iceberg. It wasn't half cold. So, what you're saying is, if we get in trouble there's no one to help us out?"
"I'm afraid not." Jabe seemed uncomfortable now and Rose knew that it had finally sunk in.
"Fantastic."
"I don't understand. In what way is that fantastic?" Jabe asked urgently.
"The Doctor rather likes trouble," Rose told her. "Don't worry though, he's very good at getting out of it."
"So is she," the Doctor added. He grinned at Rose and they kept moving through the inner area of the ship. "Sure you want to be down here Rose?"
"If I'd stayed up there I would have wound up insulting the trampoline," Rose muttered.
"Lady O'Brien is a bit…" Jabe hesitated. "She is very proud of her surgeries." Then in a lower voice, she added, "She can be a bit unpleasant."
"Figured," Rose said. "Last human when the universe is full of hybrids. Rotten way to think."
"So tell me, Jabe, what's a tree like you doing in a place like this?" the Doctor asked, still smiling at Rose's remark.
"Respect for the Earth," Jabe answered with a slight smile.
"Oh, come on. Everyone on this platform's worth zillions."
Rose wasn't sure what to make of that. It made her wonder just what her grandson was doing with his life. Then again Alistair had gotten married in his first incarnation and had kids. Maybe his branch of the family put down roots more than the Doctor ever had. She shook her head and banished the thought process, this wasn't the time and caught the last bit of the conversation.
"All the same, we respect the Earth as family," Jabe said with a hint of fondness in her voice. "So many species evolved from that planet. Mankind is only one. I'm another. My ancestors were transplanted from the planet down below, and I'm a direct descendant of the tropical rainforest."
"Really?" Rose asked before she could think better of it. "Which one? Did your species evolve all the way on Earth or were your ancestors transplanted?"
Jabe blinked at her in surprise but didn't seem offended. The Doctor smiled at them both as he began to work with a small computer control panel. "My family line comes directly down from Earth," Jabe said. "We left the planet roughly two million years ago after achieving full mobility. However, there are cousin species who were transplanted as part of terraforming efforts and evolved on other planets. My own line originates mostly from the Amazon Rain Forest, but I also have the great Sahara Rain Forest in my ancestry."
"Wow," Rose breathed. She grinned at the idea of telling Jo that her conservation efforts would one day help lead to new races. "Thank you, I hope I didn't offend you."
"It is a large galaxy, one cannot be expected to know all about every species," Jabe replied kindly. "I certainly don't mind sharing my heritage. What is yours may I ask?"
Rose's eyes widened slightly. She wasn't sure what was safe to say at the moment. "I'm mostly human," she offered. "Uh I also have ties to Neriva and the Durmino Empire," she said carefully. Honestly, she wasn't sure if they still existed, but Jabe nodded her head though she may have just been being polite.
Then Jabe turned towards the Doctor and Rose tensed, but then the door in front of the Doctor opened and he grinned at them. Rose held back a sigh. She knew that grin and it didn't bode well.