Of marshmen and indecision
"This isn't Gallifrey" Romana exiting the TARDIS after hearing the doctor bellow her name. Should I be happy?
"But the coordinates say it is" the Doctor said not wanting to be corrected.
Romana looked around, this place was tropical and green. Gallifrey had the orange painted skies with twin suns, red grass, silver trees, and in some areas arid deserts. Her ancestral home was near a lake and it was not by any means tropical and green. "Well unless Gallifrey lost one of its suns I don't think this is" her tone was that of annoyance at both the situation and the Doctor.
That is strange about the same coordinates though. She quietly admitted in her mind.
The Doctor looked down at her and in an equally annoyed voice he remarked, "Then my dear Romana where are we?"
"That is a good question" she answered back.
Both were flustered and for once neither had any answers; this was strange for two clever time lords. He storms back into the TARDIS with Romana in toe. K-9 is in the console room while they again look at the image and coordinates, "10-0-11-00:0-2" it read. "This can't be right" the doctor took off his hat and brown curly locks fell into his large expressive eyes. Romana gave an exasperated sigh, "So where are we then? If the coordinates say one thing and show another?"
The Doctor tilts his head as that was a good question, he paced the floor in thought til their robot dog spoke up.
"Master." K-9 Said
Ignoring K-9 Romana asked, "Well, what are we going to do?"
"Stay where we are til we figure out where here is." he stated giving her a I really dont know Romana look in his eyes. He bends down by the console and starts looking for solutions to this problem, Romana rolls her eyes; "Something is going to get worse if you fiddle"
"Nonsense" he states, then the console begins smoking, Romana raised an eyebrow. Told you so.
"Dont say it Romana just dont say it" He knew that "I told you so look" very well after the time they had spent together and the infuriating thing was she was always right. Why do you always have to be right?
"Say what?" She feigned innocence when he said that and smiled sweetly. I am just glad I am not on Gallifrey.
Sometime later whilst the two time lords tried to figure out their predicament Romana and the Doctor hear a noise, when they stick their heads over the console they see a strangely dressed youth enter the tardis and faint. "Who is that?" the doctor points, Romana moves hair out of her face. "Good question and why did the doors open to let him in?" she wondered aloud.
Please dont let this strange boy become another stray to pick up and take with us? please….She inwardly pleaded. The Doctor had a tendency to pick up other sentients and it annoyed her to a degree. Some of the people we have met I could tolerate but i have a feeling this one is….She stopped herself, she didnt know this boy's situation she had no right to judge even if the fear of the doctor acquiring another passenger was present. He might have answers to our questions Romana ever think of that? A chiding voice reminded her.
"Romana? Gallifrey to Romana?" The doctor waved his hand in front of her face breaking her out of her reverie. She looked up into his eyes, "yes?"
"Help me with him?" He bent down and grabbed him by the waist whilst she grabbed his legs, they laid him to rest in her room, the Doctor noticed the wound on his leg and began dressing it as soon as he found the near by medkit Romana had in her room.
When the boy did wake up he says urgently that he has to warn them, "warn who? About what?" The time lord asked bewildered by this teen.
"Mistfall!" he says, his eyes dart around the room like a scared little mouse.
"Mistfall?" The Doctor asks even more bewildered.
The boy nods and explains his predicament and how his brother didnt believe him and thinks its a myth.
They listen to him briefly before heading back to the console going over what they had just heard, they deduce the type of government and environment, the boy comes out again mentioning what else he remembers. By the end of the conversation the doctor is about to leave when romana mentions the coordinates again, "I just noticed something, these are negative coordinates that jolt we felt? I think we might have left real space." she makes another deduction. The Doctor nods and leaves with K-9 leaving Romana with the boy, "Oh I dont think we asked you your name" she said genially, I cant just call him boy now can I?
"Adric, and I must go warn the others" he starts to leave when she hands him a locator beacon, "should be able to find your way back with this" She said, "Oh and how is your knee?"
"Its healed" he said lifting his pant leg to show her, she raised an eyebrow and watched him leave.
Left alone with her thoughts she began trying to undo the damage done by the doctor, her thoughts began to drift.
If we find a way out, maybe when we reach Gallifrey I can steal a Tardis. A more advanced model that is. No….that wouldnt work, I could always make the tardis go to another world instead of Gallifrey and make my escape! Thats irrational...no. I could stay in this negative coordinate space we are in….yes….I will have to think about this more. She nodded to herself and continued to fix the console. "Maybe I could steal this tardis and leave the doctor on earth? No that would be mean." She felt slight anger when thinking of the Doctor, she wanted him to say "No, you dont have to go back" but he didnt. She sighed, "Guess I better face the inevitable, I have to go home sometime" she said resignedly.
Lost in thought she didnt realise how much time had gone by and was startled at first by the group of dirty teenagers advancing on her. Adric was among them and looked a bit apologetic, she eyes him and shakes her head. One of the teenagers grabs her from behind to make her comply and answer their leaders questions about the Doctor, there is a struggle between time lady and young man which only lasts a few seconds before she now holds the knife. At first she points it at the young man who held her, then she gives it back giving a fierce stare that made him look away.
"Alright you lot what do you want then?" She asked a little sternly, I hope you have a good reason Adric for bringing in these ruffians.
"It is about mist fall" One of the teenagers says which causes a little worry in romana's mind.
She goes over to the Tardis and before she can do anything there is a jolt again, the teens look scared. "Whats happening?" a girl asks.
"I think the tardis is somehow being picked up" Romana summasied.
When it stops the teens want out, Yes, please leave!
She pushes that thought aside to ask Adric something, "Is there anything that could pick up something about 5 times 10 to the 6th kilos in your gravity?"
The boys eyebrows furrow, "No"
They start going on about marshmen and where they are on the planet, eventually K-9 returns with marshmen following who proceed to smash him. "Oh no K-9" Looks like its back to the repair shop with you...poor dog.
Upon re entering the tardis they all try to work out what these marshmen want, it becomes apparent they want to use it as a battering ram. "Are we going to let that happen?" asked one of the teens.
"No in fact we are going to take off or atleast try to" she says pushing a few buttons on the console as Adric watches.
"I dont think you can do that in a cave" he remarked.
"You'll see" she says back and is about to shut the door when the girl runs in, "They appear to be leaving"
"Do they indeed?" she tilting her head slightly, she gets out of the Tardis and notices a large spider, "hmm...an arachnid scared them off?"
One of the teenage boys pointed, "Another one"
"They're only spiders, nothing to fear" she reassured them.
Once the spiders started to move faster the teens panicked and ran into the tardis, shutting the door on Romana and leaving her to her fate. Those little brats! Calm down romana they are only…."Ow!" she screams as one spider bites her, she feels poison rush through her body and everything goes black.
Later Romana feels her mind is not her own as she starts to do things that wouldnt otherwise be helpful to the Doctor, those teenagers or the other inhabitants of the Starliner. She feels like she has no control over her body either, No dont let those creatures in. She does anyway, visibly she has a vein running up her face and down her neck a clear sign she isnt herself. She slowly makes her way to the Tardis and sees the Doctor, the poison in her mind wants her to infect him too so she swipes at him. Strangely enough she feels good swiping her long nails at the doctor as part of her is mad at him, Why wont you let me stay? She thinks before the last shred of herself is gone and she doesnt hear his words. She sees K-9 however, its his head but she knows that dog. Almost hypnotically she stares at it then her eyes go to the tardis where she presses herself against it in fascination. The doctors voice is soft, "Stay by the Tardis"
She agrees to do so and then when a marsh man approaches she swats him away from her precious blue box. I have no idea what this is but its mine!
It doesnt take long before she loses interest and seeks the Doctor out once more to attack, before she can reach him she is knocked out by adric and placed on the examination table. The Doctor does his work and soon enough she awakes again after making a suggestion and smiling sweetly. Good to have my mind as my own again.
They spend the rest of the time expelling the marsh men from the starliner then explaining their origins to the indecisive deciders. Afterwards the two time lords leave and unbeknownst to them Adric has stowed aboard.
Romana goes to her room after such a harrowing day of realisations, annoying teenagers with knives, marshmen, and deciders who should have been called indeciders or procrastinators. I am glad that Adric isnt aboard "Oh look at me I have star for mathematical excellence" Give me a break. She stopped herself again on those thoughts, the boy had lost his family he needs something to hold on to why not an accomplishment. She also thought of the fact that they were trapped in Exo-space or E-space. So we are trapped...that means I get more time on the Tardis, part of me hopes we stay trapped. She falls asleep soon after reading a novel about the Arthurian Legend and wonders where they will be off to next in this strange place.