Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn't mine. Neither is How I Met Your Mother. Simple
Spoilers for all of Christopher Eccleston's and David Tennant's episodes.
Author's Note: As promised, a quick update with chapter 4. Thanks again for the continued support :)
Chapter 4: Wait For It/The Water of Mars
Kids, there's more than one version of how I met your mother. You know the short version, how I woke up to the sensation of your mother snogging the life out of me. But there's a bigger story, the story of how I became who I had to become before I could meet her. And that story begins… here.
"State your name, rank, and intention."
When staring down at the barrel of a gun, the Doctor's policy has always been to be honest. "The Doctor." Pause. "Doctor." Oh, what's the best way to phrase this? "Fun."
He wasn't looking for trouble. He really wasn't. He just wanted to take some time off after Martha's departure and do some low-key stuff like sight-seeing. Jack couldn't make it because he had a situation back on Earth to deal with. Judging by the sound of breaking glass in the background, the Doctor had a sneaking suspicion it was relationship troubles. Again.
Still, he had always wanted to come and see the red planet. As he climbed over the peak of a small hill, he was delighted and surprise to see that a human colony had set up camp there. It was an absolutely beautiful scene with the red dusty plains in the background. He was just going to have a quick look before returning to the TARDIS but he was then arrested for trespassing. While the crew debated on what they should do with him, the Doctor was distracted by a sense of urgency that was niggling away in the back of his mind. There was something wrong about this place. No, that's not right. There was something wrong about this time.
"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the female captain stated. Her voice was quiet but full of authority. Normally, he would have been pleased by the confidence she had in her role but the Doctor had more pressing concerns.
Like the gun that she was pointing at her.
"Actually," he began. "Chat's second on my list, the first being gun pointed at my head." He pondered about it for a second before adding thoughtfully. "Which then puts my head second and chat third, I think. Gun, head, chat, yeah. I hate lists. But you could hurt someone with that thing. Just put it down."
The captain barely cracked a smile at his ramble. "Oh, you'd like that."
"Can you find me someone who wouldn't?"
She wasn't fazed. "Why should I trust you?"
"Because I give you my word," he said seriously. "And forty million miles away from home, my word is all you've got."
The captain stared at him for a second before slowly lowering her weapon. "Keep Gadget covering him."
Great, he hated funny robots.
So perhaps they didn't get off to the great start, the Doctor thought as the crew resumed debating where he came from and what he should do with them. He got fed up and turned when the deputy captain, Ed, speculated that he was from the Branson Inheritance.
"Right, yes, okay," the Doctor answered, turning around to face him. "You got me. So, I'm the Doctor, and you are?"
"Oh come on," the captain said, forcing the Doctor to turn back around and face her. "We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are."
"You're the first?" the Doctor could scarcely believe in. "The very first humans on Mars? Then this is…"
In unison, they said, "Bowie Base One."
"Number one," the Doctor murmured at the revelation. "Founded July the first, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater." He recalled an article he read on the red planet's history whilst on route here. "You've been here, how long?"
"Seventeen months."
"2059," the Doctor mentally corrected himself as he stared around the room in amazement. Oh, how did he not notice it when he first came in? All around the room, the machineries that powered the colony, the containers stacked high with equipment and resources, even the steel console workstation they were all crowded around – they were all 21st century technology.
"It's 2059, right now," he repeated, he clenched his head as the revelations from the articles he had read continued pouring in. "Oh! My head is so stupid. You're Captain Adelaide Brooke."
Obituary: Captain Adelaide Brooke
Born 1999 – Died 2059
"And Ed," he turned around. "You're Deputy Edward Gold."
Obituary: Deputy Edward Gold
Born 2008 – Died 2059
Looking around the room, he pointed at the black-haired man standing in the back. "Tarak Ital, MD." The Doctor named the Pakistani.
Obituary: Tarak Ital, MD
Born 2026 – Died 2059
The Doctor looked around for Tarak's assistant and found him. "Nurse Yuri Kerenski." The Russian looked pleasantly surprised at being recognized.
Obituary: Yuri Kerenski, Nurse
Born 2032 – Died 2059
"Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich."
Obituary: Steffi Ehrlich, Senior Technician
Born 2021 – Died 2059
"Junior Technician Roman Groom." He said to the young man controlling the robot.
Obituary: Roman Groom
Born 2034 – Died 2059
And the last one in the room. "Geologist Mia Bennett."
Obituary: Mia Bennett, Geologist
Born 2032 – Died 2059
Looking at her startled young face, the Doctor couldn't help but murmur out loud, "you are only twenty-seven years old."
"As I said, Doctor," unaware of the turmoil swirling inside the Doctor's head, Captain Brooke said in a level tone. "Everyone knows our names."
"Oh," the Doctor replied. If only she knew. "They'll never forget them." He had a sinking feeling as the niggling sensation in the back of his mind grew stronger and stronger. "What's the date today? What is it?" He spun around the room wildly, looking for a calendar or something, anything that'll give him an indication of exactly how much trouble he was in. "Tell me the exact date."
"November the 21st," Captain Brooke answered, slowly, as if she was surprised he didn't know. "2059."
Another article flashed up in the back of his mind, along with the satellite footage of a mushroom explosion ballooning out from the surface of the red planet. Date: November 21st, 2059.
"Right. Okay, fine," the Doctor said, nodding slowly. He had read those articles out of curiosity. He was collecting trivia knowledge about the history of the planet he was about to visit like he always did. But now, as he looked around the room at the people who were standing there with him, alive and breathing, he thought about short lives these brave pioneers have led, only for them to be extinguished in the blink of an eye.
"Is there something wrong?" Steffi, the German Senior Technician, inquired.
Mia was even more confused about the Doctor's strange behaviour. "What's so important about my age?"
But the Doctor didn't pay them any notice. Focusing on the immediate problem at hand, he decided slowly. "I should go. I really should go."
There was nothing he could do.
Looking around the room at them all one last time, he couldn't help but add, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry with all of my hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when I've got no choice. It's been an honour," he walked up to each of them and shook their hands earnestly. "Seriously, a very great honour to meet you all. The Martian pioneers." He finished with a gentle pat on Gadget the robot's head.
Then another thought popped into his head as he did a head count of the people who were in the room. "There's the other two. Hold on. Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."
At his question, Deputy Ed walked over to the work station and said to the computer monitor, "Maggie, if you want to meet the only new human being that you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look."
His only reply was an inhuman roar sounding over the speaker system.
"What was that?" Mia asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
This was bad. It was already beginning. "Oh, I really should go."
But everybody's attention was focused on the strange sound they had just heard. They all moved to join Ed around the computer monitor.
"This is Central. Biodome report immediately," Ed spoke over the intercom.
His captain didn't waste time. "Show me the Biodome."
From his lone position away from the work station, the Doctor could tell by their expression that the cameras must be down. The sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach was getting worse. Whatever it was that triggered the nuclear blast of the base was already starting and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
It was a fixed point in time.
"I'm going over," Captain Brooke decided. "Doctor, with me."
Scratching the back of his ear, the Doctor hedged. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Er, I'd love to help, but I'm leaving right now."
The captain was not amused. "Take his spacesuit. Lock it up," she gave the order to Steffi. She then turned her attention back to the Doctor. "This started as soon as you arrived. So you're not going anywhere, except with me."
"I was afraid you were going to say that," the Doctor mumbled quietly underneath his breath.
The design of Bowie Base One was quite simple, the Doctor discovered on his walk along Tunnel 1 towards the Biodome. Everything was connected to the Central Dome through long tunnels in a hub-and-spoke distribution network. But he didn't have time to sightsee and marvel at the simple yet remarkable way the first off-world colony had established their roots here. He knew, within hours, they were all going to be in big trouble, and he couldn't stick around for that.
Minutes later, as he and Captain Brooke stood in the Biodome airlock, staring at the human yet alien faces of Andy and freshly contaminated Tarak, the Doctor cursed at his own miscalculation even as he continued to study the two men through the glass panel.
"Can you talk?" he asked. The men continued to stare at him with dilated white eyes. They still looked largely human save for their unblinking gaze and their cracked mouth, the inside of which looked blackened and exuding an endless supply of water. Captain Brooke had already ordered the shutdown of all water supplies but the Doctor was afraid it might already be too late for Andy, Tarak and Maggie. "Human beings are sixty per cent water, which makes them the perfect host."
"What for?" Captain Brooke asked.
"I don't know," the Doctor replied. He turned to face the captain and said seriously, "I never will. Because I've got to go. Whatever's started here, I can't see it to the end. I can't."
There was nothing he could do.
Three trips down the tunnel later, he was mentally and vocally wondering why the crew didn't bother to bring bikes with them when they came to Mars. Back in the Central Dome, the remaining five crew members were busy carrying out Action Procedure One. But the Doctor knew that couldn't be right, because the crew of Bowie Base One never made it off the planet. He should leave. He really should leave. There was no point in him investigating the ice field with Captain Brooke. It won't change the eventual outcome.
Yet here he was, standing in the water extraction chamber with Captain Brooke, overlooking the ice field of Mars.
"You don't look like a coward," Captain Brooke commented as they both turned their attention to the computer monitors so that they could date the infection. "But all you've wanted to do is leave. You know so much about us."
The Doctor tried to shrug it off. "Well, you're famous."
She glanced over at him, "It's like you know more."
He stared at her, trying to find the right words to say. "This moment," he began, turning his attention back to the computer screen, "this precise moment in time, it's like, I mean, it's only a theory, what do I know, but I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments. Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand."
"This base on Mars with you, Adelaide Brooke," he looked back at her, "this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen. And that's how you create history."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Imagine it, Adelaide," he dropped her title, "if you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you, and then your granddaughter, you inspire her, so that in thirty years Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first lightspeed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere."
He smiled as he elaborated. "With her children, and her children's children forging the way. To the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen. The Map of the Watersnake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will even fall in love with a Trandorian prince, that's the start of a whole new species. But everything starts with you, Adelaide, right here, today. Imagine."
"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes misty with the wonder and fear of the knowledge he was imparting to her. "Why are you telling me this? Doctor, why tell me?"
And there it was, the sad but unavoidable truth, "As consolation."
Before they could say anything more, their computer search revealed the source of the problem – one small replacement filter that didn't fit.
"That means the infection arrived today," Captain Brooke realized, "and the water's only cycled out of the Biodome after a week. The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave."
When they returned to the Central Dome, the hub was abuzz with activity. The work station was almost completely stripped barren, save for a couple of computer screens, with most of the main equipment already loaded up into the ignited shuttle. The crew were now loading as many protein packs as they can before evacuating.
Captain Brooke retrieved the Doctor's spacesuit and returned it to him.
"Now get to your ship," she said. "I'm saving my people, you save yourself. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out."
With one finale small but determined smile, she turned to join the rest of her crew.
The Doctor stood, rooted on the spot as he took in his surroundings. Once you strip away the frantic rush of movements against time, it was a scene of determination and optimism. But he couldn't share in their enthusiasm.
Suddenly, Captain Brooke detected what he had already noticed, "What the hell's that noise? Mia, you lot, shut up."
As they all stopped moving, the sound became more audible. The computer screen at the work station was emitting a regular monotone beep, signalling two pressures on top of the module they were in.
"That means they're on the roof?" Steffi wondered out loud, looking up at the ceiling with trepidation.
"How did they get inside the Dome?" Yuri wanted to know.
"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed guessed.
"The shaft's open and they haven't got spacesuits," Mia said.
"They breathe water," Ed pointed out.
"But they'd freeze," Steffi countered.
Yuri shook his head, "They've got that internal fission."
"But we're safe," Mia said, "they can't get through, can they?"
When no one reassured her, she repeated, "Can they?"
In the silence that followed, they could all hear the roof creaking, as if under great pressure.
"This place is airtight," Roman said, his voice lacking his usual confidence and bravado.
"Can it get through?" Steffi asked. "Ed, can it get through?"
"I don't know!" Ed said in frustration. "Water itself isn't motile, but it has some sort of persistence."
"Everyone, listen to me," Captain Brook barked out. "That's ten feet of steel-combination up there. We need all the protein packs or we're going to starve. Now keep working. Roman," she ordered the junior technician, "watch the ceiling. Ed, get to the shuttle. Fire it up!"
Her words diverted the crew's attention and temporarily kept their fears at bay. The rush of movements was back as they all hurried back to loading up the protein packs. They did not have any time to spare and were oblivious to the Doctor, who was still standing there, by the exit door, watching them with an indecipherable expression on his face. With one final look, he gathered up his resolve, turned around, and headed for the door.
Only to be stopped at the airlock.
"Tell me what happens."
The Doctor lifted his eyes from the access panel up to the camera, knowing Captain Brooke was watching in the communication alcove.
"I don't know," he tried to brush it away.
"Yes, you do," even with the chaotic noise behind her, her voice was calm and steady as a rock. "Now tell me."
He paused, and decided to say instead, "You should be with the others."
"Tell me!" she ordered him, her voice rising with her frustration. "I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you."
He knew it too, "Except you won't."
"Captain," Steffi's voice could be heard over the intercom. "We need you right now."
"I'll be right there," Captain Brooke replied.
The Doctor sighed as his resolve weakened. He had already told her about her granddaughter. What was a little more consolation?
"You're taking Action One," he told her. "There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is?"
"Detonation," Captain Brooke said with a small voice.
"The finale option," he confirmed. "The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the twenty-first of November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why." And now he did. "But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy because you die on Mars. You die today," he repeated. "She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."
"I won't die," she stated, determination ringing clear in her voice. "I will not."
"But your death creates the future." And there was no way to get around that hard fixed fact.
"Help me," she said. And he knew it took a lot for someone as strong as Captain Brooke to be asking for help. It made him feel even worse. "Why won't you help, Doctor? If you know all of this, why can't you change it?"
"I can't," his voice was barely a whisper now.
"Why can't you find a way? You could tell me, I don't know –"
"I'm sorry but I can't," he said regretfully but firmly. "Sometimes I can, sometimes I do. Most times I can save someone, or anyone. But not you. Your death is fixed in time forever. And that's right."
"You'll die here too."
"No."
"What's going to save you?"
He answered with unshakable faith, "Captain Adelaide Brooke."
The silence that followed was only broken by the sound of the Airlock being unlocked.
"Damn you," came her final words over the intercom before she rushed out to re-join her crew members.
"Water!" Roman's voice suddenly came over the intercom. "We've got water!"
The Doctor stayed rooted in front of the unlocked door as he listened in to Mia's cries.
"Captain! Get back! Get back! Captain! Don't touch it, Roman. Get back. Get back."
"Everyone," Captain Brooke ordered, "we're abandoning this section. Get back to the shuttle. Yuri, lead the way. Section B corridor. Now!"
"Close it!" came the second order as the sound of rushing water suddenly filled the room.
"Yuri, did the water touch you?" Mia could be heard asking.
"I'm safe."
"Did it touch you?" Steffi demanded to know. "Yuri, did that water touch you?"
"I'm clean. I'm dry."
"Everyone, listen to me," Captain Brooke's voice rang out clear and determined. "Take every pack that you can. We'll go round. We'll make our way out through Section F."
Sounds of water became louder, signalling its arrival into the control room.
"Steffi, get back!"
"Steffi, we'll come and get you, okay? We'll come and get you!"
"Get back!"
"Captain!"
"We're coming, Steffi. Hold on!"
"Captain, it's inside!"
"Steffi!"
Closing his eyes, the Doctor opened the door and stepped out.
Kids, in most of the stories I have told you so far, I played the role of the hero, charging in to save the day. This was not one of those occasions. It couldn't be one of those occasions. Fixed points in time should never be tampered with. But repeating that over and over again in my head could not drown out the sounds of Steffi sobbing as she listened to the video message of her two little girls babbling at her cheerfully in German. I heard with a sinking heart the confidence in Deputy Ed's voice as he reassured Captain that they were ready for departure. Even as the space shuttle's engines were fired up, I knew the futility of their actions. But they never gave up. That remarkable human instinct to keep surviving against all odds.
With every step I took, I was further and further away from the base, but their voices still came through to me. The rush of voices speaking over the top of each other as they tried to transport as much of what they needed onto the shuttle.
"Roman, come on. With me."
"You'd better go."
"Don't just stand there," Captain Brooke ordered. "Move."
"You'd really better go without me," Roman said. "I'm sorry, Captain. One drop."
"Roman! Roman!"
And just like that, the youngest member, Roman Groom, was lost. He was only twenty-five years old. Even now, I can't forget how he tried to stay brave right till the end. I remember continuing walking blindly for a minute or so, as Mia railed at the rest of the crew, demanding they go back and get Roman. There were sounds of struggle as Yuri had to physically restrain her, repeatedly uttering the words "I'm so sorry."
Then, the inevitable happened.
"Captain," Ed's voice came over the intercom. "The shuttle is down."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Compromised," came the word through gritted teeth. "It was Maggie."
"Get out of there," Adelaide said.
"Too late," Ed replied. "They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice."
Keep walking, the Doctor mentally chanted. I can't change anything, just keep walking.
"Hated it, Adelaide. This bloody job, argh!" he broke off in pain. "You never gave me a chance. You could never forgive me." Even through the intercom, the Doctor could hear that Ed didn't really mean the things he was saying.
"See you later."
With those final words, the space shuttle erupted in a ball of flame. The force of the explosion ripped out sections of the connecting tunnel. Debris fell down towards the ground like rain. The shockwave knocked the Doctor off his feet.
In the moments following the explosion, I tried to remember if preserving fixed points in time was worth it. I wasn't just a Time Lord, I was the last of the Time Lords. My control snapped and then…
Blinking away the memories, the Doctor looked at his children and simply said, "I did something I'm not proud of."
I went back.
The TARDIS materialised with the usual sequence of groans and Mia quickly rushed out. Yuri quickly followed. The Doctor smiled as he and Captain Brooke also exited the TARDIS onto a snowy street back on Earth. His landing, for once, was impeccable. They were just in front of Captain Brooke's house.
"What is that thing?" Mia was visibly in shock. "It's bigger. I mean, it's bigger on the inside. Who the hell are you?"
With those final words, she ran off.
Captain Brooke kept her eyes on the Doctor. "Look after her," she told Yuri.
He didn't hesitate. "Yes, ma'am." With that, he ran off after her.
"You saved us," Captain Brooke stated, though there was no hint of gratitude in her tone.
"Just think though," he smiled. "Your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again. Family reunion."
"But I'm supposed to be dead. Susie, my granddaughter. The person she's supposed to become might never exist now."
"Nah!" he shrugged it off. "Captain Adelaide can inspire her face to face. Different details, but the story's the same."
"You can't know that," she argued. "And if my family changes, the whole of history could change. The future of the human race. No one should have that much power."
"Tough." The triumph he had felt was quickly wearing off. "Adelaide, I've done this sort of thing before. In small ways, saved some little people, but never someone as important as you. Oh, I'm good."
"Little people?" she demanded. "What, like Mia and Yuri? Who decides they're so unimportant? You?"
He nodded. "For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious."
Captain Brooke stared at him steadily. "Is there nothing you can't do?"
"Not anymore."
"And there's no one to stop you." It wasn't a question.
But he answered anyway, "No."
"This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong."
With those final words, she went into her house. The Doctor had turned and started heading back towards the TARDIS when he heard the sound of a gunshot from behind. Whirling around, he backed up until his back hit the wooden door. The Doctor reeled from the shock as he felt his memories being rewritten. Captain Brooke's death remained November 21st 2059, now on Earth instead of Mars. The two remaining survivors, Yuri and Mia, ended up shedding light on the mystery of what transpired on Mars. And Susie Fontana Brooke went on to follow in her legendary grandmother's footsteps.
With her sacrifice, the timeline shifted but remained largely intact. In the end, Captain Adelaide Brooke was a bigger person than he was.
"I've gone too far," the Doctor gasped with dawning horror.
Stumbling back into the TARDIS, the Doctor rushed to the console and dialled a familiar number.
"Jack," he said as soon as his friend picked up the phone. "I need help."
Kids, funny thing about destiny. I thought I had royally screwed everything up. At Bowie Base One, with no one to stop me, I had gone too far. I lost touch with what I can and can't do. I needed to be stopped. But I was wrong. My destiny was to stay a traveller, roaming the universe.
Your Uncle Jack helped prop me back onto my feet. And what followed was a new era of my life, a time unlike anything that came before it. It's funny looking back at those days, knowing now exactly what I was heading towards, and what was heading towards me. I continued travelling, and it was a good thing I did.
Because if I didn't, I never would have met your mother.