(AN:)
Sand
In a few short moments, the engines of the TARDIS whined down to a halt. The Doctor immediately ran to the door and swung it open.
"Fantastic!" he exclaimed.
Rose, eager to see what new place they had arrived at, ran up to his side and suddenly found herself blinking. She never thought the interior of the TARDIS was so dark, and yet, as she looked upon this strange new world, she got a whole new definition of the word 'too bright.'
Stretched out before them, as far as the eye could see, was sand. Nothing but sand. Hills upon hills of sand, oceans of sand. The sky, in contrast to the golden white sands, was blue and cloudless. But the sun was shining so bright and hotly that she could feel the heat, even through the walls of the TARDIS.
"There's sand everywhere!" she stated.
"Exactly," the Doctor stated, then, without another word, pulled his sonic screwdriver from out of the pocket of his black leather jacket and stepped out of the TARDIS.
"But I don't get it," Rose said, following slowly after him into this strange new world. "This isn't Cardiff."
"No, it isn't," the Doctor continued, without turning to look at her. "This is a little backwater planet called Tatooine."
"Is it all sand?" she asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," he replied. "Rock and sand. They say there used to be an ocean here, millions of years ago. The suns evaporated all the water."
"'Sun', don't you mean?" she asked.
"Nope, 'suns'," he replied. "There's two of 'em."
"Two suns?" Rose asked in disbelief. "Is that why it's so hot?"
"Exactly," the Doctor replied. "Almost impossible to dredge out life in this part of the galaxy, and yet people stay here, trying to make it as best they can."
"Who all lives here?" Rose asked. "Or can anything live on a world with two suns?"
"Yeah, people do live here, though it's hell," he began, coming to a halt about four meters away from the door of the TARDIS. "Farmers for the most part."
"What do they farm out here?"
"Moisture," he replied. "The way they say it, there's moisture lurking just a few meters beneath the surface, and out here, water's priceless. So there's always a few sorry sods out on the dunes, farming for moisture. Of course, they have it the roughest. Yield isn't always good out here, not to mention the Sand People."
"Sand People?" Rose asked with a chuckle.
"Tusken Raiders, the locals call 'em," the Doctor continued. "Nomads, very very hostile."
Just then, the whooshing sound of the TARDIS' engines being activated were heard. The Doctor and Rose turned about quickly, but all too late. The TARDIS was materializing into thin air before their eyes, and in a moment, it was gone.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, running towards the fading TARDIS in vain, trying to grab on before it disappeared. But he was just a fraction too late. It was gone.
"Doctor?" Rose asked, her voice uneasy.
"Damn!" he shouted, running his hands over his closely-shaven head in frustration. "It's gone. They took the TARDIS."
"Who?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "No one but me knows how it's operated. Anyone else who may know how is long dead."
"So we're stuck out here?" Rose asked incredulously.
"Yeah," he said. Then, suddenly, a smile split the sides of his face.
"What? We're stuck out here and you're smiling."
"Hold on a moment," he said, then pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pressed a button. There was a slight whirring noise, and then the Doctor's smile widened.
"This way, then," the Doctor said, turning one direction and walking off into the desert. Rose had little choice but to follow on after him.
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"Civilization," the Doctor replied. "If my guess is correct, and it usually is, we're on the outskirts of the Dune Sea at the right time. We just need to find our way to civilization."
"But what about the TARDIS?" Rose asked.
"One thing at a time, Rose," the Doctor said. "Right now, we've got to get indoors. You humans know what too much solar radiation can do to your skin, eh?"
"Yeah, right." Rose nodded.
They walked on silence, with the Doctor looking about at the trackless desert sands, searching for some kind of sign that was beyond Rose's comprehension. But there was nothing out there, nothing but sand and more sand. An hour or more passed, and already Rose was sweating profusely. She shed her pink hoodie, wrapping it around her waist, until the Doctor told her to keep it on.
"But it's so bloody hot out here," Rose exclaimed.
"I know, and I feel it too," the Doctor replied. "But until we're indoors, we can't afford to lose our clothes. They're our only protection from massive skin-cancer. After all, two suns means twice as much sun burn and skin cancer developing twice as fast."
"Oh, right." Rose sighed in weary resignation.
On they went, until at last they found one tall hill on the edge of the horizon. To this one they went. Up and up they went, at an almost impossible climb. Each footstep was harder, since it felt like they weren't really going anywhere or making any progress. But progress they made and by and by, they had reached the top of the hill, both of them drenched in quickly evaporating sweat.
"Fantastic!" exclaimed the Doctor.
Out there, they saw that the sand dunes were starting to straighten out into long, flat plains of white sand. But on the horizon of the flat plains, they saw tiny white dots, like eggs half-buried in the sand. The light of the suns were glistening off tiny dots littering the land around the domes.
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"Civilization," the Doctor answered, a smile on his face. "Or the closest thing to it out here. Come on!"
It took them longer to get down from the giant dune than they had expected. Rose tripped once and went tumbling down the side of the dune. She was unhurt, but found the sand horribly uncomfortable and scorching hot.
"If it weren't so bloody hot," she said, as she got to her feet. "It would almost be like the beach."
They then made their way across the plain towards the half-buried dome. Once again, the desert was taking its toll on them. Rose was now filled with sand all over because of her tumble, and the Doctor was getting rather dusty himself: in fact, because his jacket was black, more sand showed up on it. The domes were starting to get bigger now, and they could now see that the tiny shimmering dots were metal spires, possibly as tall as trees, dotting the landscape around the domes. Far off in the distance, a dark shape could be seen disappearing into the horizon.
On they went, and soon they could see that the domes were adobe houses, half-buried in the sand. As they came closer, they became aware of a middle-aged man walking towards them with a weapon of some sorts in his hands, with the business end pointed at them.
"Alright, that's far enough now!" the man said.
"Oh my God, he's got a gun!" Rose whispered to the Doctor.
"Just stay calm and follow my lead," he whispered to Rose, then turned to the man with a smile on his face. "Hello. We're lost, can you tell us where we are?"
"You're on my farm, stranger," the man answered. "And I'd be pushing off double quick if I were you."
"Whose farm, though?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm asking the questions, stranger. Who are you?"
"This is Rose Tyler," he gestured to the young woman at his side. "I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor Who?"
"I knew you were going to say that," the Doctor smiled. The farmer pointed the gun at the Doctor's face. "Alright, we come in peace. We're on our way to the nearest spaceport. Now would you put the gun down?"
Slowly the gun was lowered. "Sorry, but you gotta be safe around here," the farmer said. "There's Sand People, and those damn Jawas always stealing your droids, not to mention the other farmers and mad Old Ben Kenobi."
"Ben Kenobi?" Rose asked.
"Crazy old man living out beyond the Dune Sea," the farmer said. "But what about you? If you're going to the spaceport, Mos Eisley is your best bet. Where's your speeder?"
"Don't have one," the Doctor answered. "We came on foot."
"Damn, son, you wanna get yourself and this young girl killed?" the farmer exclaimed. "Come along inside, I'll see if we can get you out of here in the morning."
"Thank you!" Rose exclaimed. "Uh, I'm sorry, what was your name?"
"Lars," the farmer said. "Owen Lars. This is my homestead."
(AN: So far so good, eh? Don't be afraid to review, I welcome them. And after all, if I need to portray Nine [or any of the others later on -wink-] accurately, how will I know if I'm doing it right if you experienced Whovians don't review? :D)