My ode to the universe's favourite madman:
I love you Doctor
Oh yes I do
I love you Doctor
And I'll be true
When you're not near me
I'm blue
Oh Doctor, I love you!
I'm watching him right now, A Town Called Mercy. I've never seen the 11th Doctor so ruthless.
"Yes, the signal." The Doctor swooped over to the computer and ran the light from his screwdriver over the screen. The sound of the signal got stronger and text started to appear on the screen. A strained, terror-filled voice, the sobbing of a boy, echoed through the Torchwood Bunker.
"Who's the kid?" Jack stepped toward the computer.
"Is that … Latin?" Martha asked.
"Very similar, it's the language of the Liberatus Primus Sol. I'm guessing that's what the boy is, a Liberatus. Love a Liberatus. They look human, almost too human actually." The Doctor breathed, examining the letters "From the looks of things he's transmitting telepathically."
"What does Liberatus Primus Sol mean?"
"The Children of the First Sun," River said "they're usually so peaceful, why would they be on earth, they must be freezing here."
"Never mind that, why are they speaking Latin?" Gwen said.
"No, not they … he. There's just one, a child, and he's all alone, and he's scared." The Doctor looked pained; he turned off the sound so he didn't have to think of the boy, "The Liberatus Primus Sol are an ancient race, older even than the Time Lords. They've been around since the start of creation, the beginning of the first star, the beginning of light itself, they were there when chaos was banished from all the Universes."
"So the legend is true?" River's eyes widened.
"Oh yes," The Doctor said "well, most of it, I think, Copernicus told me it is, and he's usually right about that sort of thing, wrong about everything else of course. When I told him that I knew for a fact that the Earth orbited the Sun he cooked my favourite chicken … poor, poor Betty"
"The legend?" Jack folded his arms.
"Ahh, yes," The Doctor leaned forward in his seat, it creaked "Gather round kids, time for a story."
He smiled "It is said that at the very start of creation when there was only darkness and chaos, The Flame was created by Time as a gift to Eternity, the Liberatus were created to guard The Flame. The Flame being a constantly exploding, burning, hydrogen based ball of gas." The Doctor sat down, smoothing his jacket. He pursed his lips in concentration.
"You could of just said a baby star." River scoffed.
"Well … yes, spoil the mystery why don't you." The Doctor scorned.
He continued "The Liberatus's purpose was to protect The Flame at all cost from those who would use it unwisely." The Doctor smiled sadly "As the Time Lord's once protected the Time Vortex from those who seeked to use it for personal advantage."
He sighed "The Liberatus nursed The Flame for many generations and it became the first Star. They spread out through the universe in missions, each mission taking a flame from the first Sun with them; those small flames were the next generation of Stars. Within an eon the universe was buzzing with life." A glint of pride and nostalgia flickered in his eyes. "They're still out there, creating new solar systems, ending those who have had their time, living in Stars all over the cosmos."
"So," Gwen said "what you're saying is that there are aliens living in the sun."
"Yeah," The Doctor nodded.
"Okay, but why Latin?" Jack put his hands in his pockets.
"In the year 4037 BC a Liberatus fell to earth, modern day Iran not that it matters, intrigued by humans it taught them its language and many other Liberatus customs. The humans have adapted them and used them ever since. There have been loads of human myths involving the Liberatus. The Greek gods were based on the species." River explained.
"How do you know that?" Jack frowned.
"I'm an Archaeologist, it's my job." River said sharply.
"You married an Archaeologist?" Jack chuckled at The Doctor.
"Not only that," The Doctor said "an archaeologist with a gun and a title that exceeds mine. River should have been my worst enemy."
"Haven't you got enough of those yet?" River smirked.
"It's an occupational hazard." The Doctor remarked.
"You're saying that Latin is an alien language?" Martha steered the conversation back to the situation at hand.
"Some of it is. It wasn't called Latin in the beginning. It was re-named when it was adopted by Latium in northern Italy." River clarified.
"Doctor, you said it was scared." Ianto prompted attentively.
"He," The Doctor said quickly, "he's a he, not an it, remember that, and yes, he's scared." his voice full of sorrow.
"Why?"
"If you lived in the centre of the sun your whole life what would scare you?"
"What?" Gwen asked.
"Listen to what he's saying right now." The Doctor turned the sound back on.
"It's so dark. If anyone can hear me, help. They're coming, they always come for me. I can't see" The boy's voice shook with dreadful whimpers. The Doctor turned the sound off, his face stony.
"The dark. He's scared of the dark." Ianto murmured. Torchwood was touched by what it had just heard.
"Just like any human child, especially one that's all alone." River said, remembering her childhood.
"What I want to know is why the Prime Minister has got an Alien child, locked up, in the dark, under his house." Jack said.
The Doctor's nostrils flared "Me too,"
He sighed "I don't get involved in stuff like this. Politics has a big effect on the future. Might end changing something I'm not meant to. There's only one reason, one, that I would ever get involved."
"What's that Doctor?" Martha asked, her eyes rested intently on him.
"When there's a child crying." He said, his teeth clenched "River knows that better than anyone."
The Torchwood team's eyes flicked to River, who was staring at The Doctor, her eyes glistening, as if she were about to cry.
She blinked the tears that threatened to fall away "We should go find the child."
The Doctor came up to her and took her hands in his "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."
"You didn't," River whispered "they did, that's the point."
The Doctor didn't move his eyes from River "Jack, Martha, into the Tardis." River looked away, letting her hands slip out of his and pretending to sort out her gun.
The Doctor dropped his own gaze, "Gwen, Ianto, monitor the readings. You won't be able to translate without the Tardis but you can still keep an eye on the strength of the reading, and …"
He sauntered over and leaned to look behind the computer, running the beam from his sonic screwdriver down the back of it, "you should now be able to read the Liberatus's emotions, not as accurate as it could be, but I'm short of time."
"Use the amelioration slider." River suggested.
"There isn't one," The Doctor huffed. River marched up to him, and ignoring his protests, snatched the screwdriver. She twisted the white bit and a black slider appeared, she pushed the black square up toward the upper end of the screwdriver a bit and handed it back to him.
"78 per cent should do it. Don't want to blow it up now, do I?" River gave The Doctor a wink.
"I never even knew that was there. Nearly 200 years I've had this model and I never knew that it could do that." He looked at the screwdriver like he'd never seen it before in his life, turning it over in his hands, he regarded River with, large, bewildered eyes.
"Never mind that, boost the signal so we can get going." River rolled her eyes.
The Doctor Soniced the computer again, the readings became clearer and more prominent "Ha, that's amazing," He turned his head to gazing lovingly at his wife, "I love you River." He gushed.
"Well, you're only Time Lord." She laughed.
"Let's get going," The Doctor made his way to the Tardis. He held open the door as Martha, Jack and River made their way through it.
He smiled at Gwen and Ianto, "Keep both eyes on that screen, or at least one eye each, see anything new, you call Jack. Don't let me down." the Tardis door swung shut.
Jack and Martha tried to soak up the brilliance of Tardis.
"It's so different," Martha gasped.
"It looks even bigger," Jack smiled.
"It is," The Doctor laughed, he raced over to the controls, and stood behind River as she entered the co-ordinates.
"You don't have to stand over me like that. I know what I'm doing you know." She turned her head to smirk at him, "Or are you hoping to pick up some tips?"
"On flying my own ship, please," The Doctor scoffed, stepping away and plonking himself down on a seat.
"I'll take that as a yes then." River laughed.
"Just get let me get us there." He said,
"Well, if I know you, which I think, I do Sweetie." She said, leaning over in front of him to flick a couple of switches, The Doctor flicked them back discretly as soon as she looked away. "There, could end up being anywhere." She flicked the switches back again.
"River can fly the Tardis?" Jack said.
"No" The Doctor protested.
"He means yes." River chuckled "We've landed by the way."
"I didn't feel a thing," Martha told River "you must be good."
"Thank you Dear." River took The Doctor's reluctant hand and led him out of the Tardis.
"Thanks for showing me up in front of my friends, Dear." The Doctor said in a sarcastic tone.
"Anytime, it was my pleasure."
"I'm sure it was." The Doctor and River emerged into utter Darkness, Martha and Jack close behind them.
The Doctor coughed "River," he questioned "I don't supposed you still have that…"
"Torch," She swipped a torch out of yet another belt, hidden under her dress "of course Honey."
"Have you got anything else under there I should know about." The Doctor murmured.
"You'll find out later," She flashed him a seductive smile, "if you're a good boy."
"That a promise?" The Doctor asked with a smirk.
"You decide Sweetie."
I please review and tell me what you liked and what you didn't. I would prefer to hear what you liked but constructive criticism is accepted.