(Author's note: Alright outlaw gents and shady ladies, a few things. A couple of you have asked about the Raston Warrior Robots' weapons. More specifically, it's use of a sword. In the show it did not use a sword, however in a few other DW materials, especially books, it is seen with a blade. Secondarily, I hope you guys like this alien shopkeeper I designed. He is an original creation by yours truly. Enjoy and remember, uncool is cool.)
The Doctor and Sarah Jane stood outside the TARDIS in the dawn of the next morning. David stayed back eyeing the blue box suspiciously. The Doctor's partner could not blame him; this sort of technology was foreign indeed to a man such as him. She gave him credit however, he appeared more curiously cautious than outright afraid. She imagined some of the other villagers would be burning them at the stake by now.
"Alright, so are we clear on the plan?" he asked one more time. She rolled her eyes. He was so overly cautious sometimes.
"Yes, I will look for clues about the Raston Warrior Robot while you pick up supplies to fight it," she repeated one more time, "and I swear to God if you leave me here and don't come back..."
"I'll come back, don't worry," he waved off, "I suggest you start that way." He pointed to the west with his sonic screwdriver, "Some readings indicate residual radiation off that way, probably from the crashed ship. Meanwhile, I'll plug your lipstick into the Tardis and try and fix it up by the time I'm back." She grimaced.
The pulse from using setting omicron phi had burned out her sonic lipstick. She had tried to get it to work since then to no avail. While glad it saved their lives, she was not pleased by the prospect of having no sonic tool with her. Especially with a killer robot lurking around.
"And if, by chance, I do run into the War Droid what do I do? I can't fight it without my lipstick," she argued. Otherwise she would be more than happy investigating anything he liked. She just wanted a way to defend herself against something so deadly.
"It is likely still dormant while it repairs itself. We hurt it badly. It will take it a decent amount of time to repair itself. Or..." he grinned mischievously, "just hit it with a stick." She shook her head, crinkling her face.
"The Robot won't be the only one..."
"Alright, I'll be going. Do be careful Sarah Jane," he replied genuinely.
"You too Doctor. See you in an hour or so." She always gave him some leeway. Even though he was a time traveler he always seemed to get so distracted, somehow arriving late.
With that he climbed in his TARDIS and shut the door. It was not long before the grinding "woorp" filled the air, and the TARDIS winked in and out before disappearing all together. As always, it left silence in its wake.
She turned away from the empty road, looking at David. He stepped forward. She could see the fear on his face, but it had a hint of wonder in his eyes. She was not surprised. It appeared to be time for an explanation. Whether or not he would, or could accept it, was another matter. David spoke first, nerves in his voice.
"You two... are you witches?" Sarah Jane smiled and shook her head. It was not the first time someone had asked her that.
"No... The Doctor and I are... we're from the future," she replied. He still looked confused, so she continued. "That blue box... it can go anywhere, in the future or the past. I was born in the nineteen-hundreds David. That's why we're so different." The puritan seemed to let it sink in a bit.
"Is it magic?" he asked. She shook her head again.
"Technology, far above wagons and muskets."
"Does everyone in your time do this?" He asked. She could tell he was trying to digest it all. There was no point of reference for him so all things considered he was doing a good job.
"No. The Doctor is from even farther ahead," she explained. She did not want to get into the "alien from planet Gallifrey" explanation. Time traveler was enough of a hurdle.
"I see... I think I understand... though I doubt the others in my village would even try," he nodded.
"Come on, let's go search the forest. Maybe we can find something to help the Doctor she motioned. Otherwise she would stand here all day and try and explain future technology that even she had difficulty understanding at times. David agreed with her, and the pair started to walk.
The forest was thick, and the ground mossy. She had walked in all sorts of forests but this one seemed particularly dark. The trees loomed above overbearingly, and the further they walked, the more any semblance of a path disappeared. Overgrowth and tangles of weeds snaked along the ground, almost as if they were creeping to overtake anything that dare step into its domain. The fog did nothing to help, closing in on whoever walked inside it. The clammy air left Sarah Jane chilly.
She was not sure what they would find here. It was always a tossup when she traveled with The Doctor. He seemed convinced it was a ship, and usually his hypotheses were close to correct. Despite his nonchalant attitude, she was concerned of what they would find, or perhaps who. She did not want to run into the Warrior Robot. She was unarmed and had David.
She was more worried for him than herself. She had experience with aliens and dangers from other times. She had survived Daleks, Cybermen, Sutek, Sletheens, Ice Warriors; even more recently the Weeping Angels. He, on the other hand was a farmer. He may, were he lucky, have met an angry bear at the most or perhaps coyotes. There were some people who saw aliens or spacecraft's and could not handle it. Asylums and institutions were full of those people.
Beyond the mental aspect, he was not like Sarah or The Doctor. They were used to dealing with danger and beating the odds. More often than not, they got by on luck and by the skin of their teeth. They dodged death when others didn't. It came from experience. Experience he would never possess.
She couldn't help but think of a more recent trip she had gone on with The Doctor. They had set off aboard a futuristic space-cruise ship, hoping for a relaxing vacation. Instead, she and The Doctor were attacked by a large group of Weeping Angles. The moving statues were deadly, and a few other space farers traveled alongside her and The Doctor as they tried to escape.
All of them died. The only survivors were the duo of Time Travelers. Death was the part of traveling with The Doctor that she hated. She was used to it but she still did not enjoy it. Much of the time it was no fault of she or The Doctor; these people were caught in the evil plans of whatever malevolent forces they ran across. If anything, Sarah and The Doctor saved many more than they lost. However, it was those they lost that bothered her. She felt responsible, whether or not it was true.
She glanced back at David. A nagging feeling in the back of her mind told her he would end up that way, and it would be because of them. They were dragging him into something he had no hope of understanding. She wanted to tell him to go home. Get out of here and never come back. It was on the tip of her tongue.
Yet, she stopped herself. Something about him told her not to. Perhaps it was his kind attitude; the willingness to help just out of goodness that she saw in herself. Maybe it was his revelation about his wife's nightmares, which made him less than normal already. Maybe yet she didn't just want to walk through the creepy woods alone.
"You say you're from the future... when you said that people are not always like this... you know this for certain?" David abruptly asked. She was initially unsure whether to answer him, but at this point they were already down the proverbial rabbit hole.
"Yes... I do," she answered truthfully, "people are more open from where I come from. They're more accepting of people and who they are. There are still people who are closed minded and who judge and hate. There always will be but they don't outnumber those who don't. One day people like you and your wife won't need to be afraid. Not in most parts of the world." David nodded in return.
"That gives me some hope. It's a shame that it could not be like that now. They call themselves good people, but they treat farm animals better than their own neighbors. I will never understand that."
"Neither will I." Sarah Jane replied.
The forest ahead thinned as they walked, and before long they came to a clearing. It was obvious that it was created unnaturally.
In a long, nearly straight line, the trees were devastated. Some were ripped out of the ground, their roots a tangled mess of dirt. Others were snapped in half, splinters of wood and chunks of bark littering the violent site. The clearing stretched as far as the eye could see, leaving long divide. She knew exactly what this was.
A ship had crashed here. A big one. It looked like The Doctor was right again.
The markets on Körkmal were bustling as usual. An amalgamation of all the surrounding galaxy's, there was never a dull moment. The Doctor always loved it here. It was one of the few places one would see cultures that were mortal enemies living in peace.
The streets were cramped with foot traffic as he glided through. He passed many humans and others. He bumped into an insectoid Malmooth, uttering a quiet apology, before passing a fin-headed Graske and his Ood servant.
The shops and stalls were just as diverse. He spotted a pair of Sontarans aggressively haggling with a Monoid salesmen over the price of weapons, threatening "total obliteration" if he did not comply. Near that a pointy-eared Pelidonian discussed the repair of his Quark robot with a stoic Luminarian. All through this, a rhinocerid Joodon kept guard, ready to jump into action at the slightest hint of violence or law breaking.
Körkmal was a very special world. Many places claimed total neutrality, but this one meant it. It was a commerce planet first. All legitimate business was legal here, and all races were welcome to do it. Violations were met with absolutely lethal force. It was one of the few planets that were truly peaceful.
The Doctor did not have time to admire the pragmatism. He was on a mission. He had an idea on how to get rid of his Raston Warrior Robot. His plan was foolproof.
He continued winding his way through the streets, passing peddlers of beautiful jewelry and smelling the sweet aromas of exotic foods. Such a mix of cultures was refreshing compared to the stuffy, judgmental puritans. They would never allow something like this. Anything different was wrong and needed to be destroyed. It was not unlike the Cybermen and the Daleks. They had redeeming qualities, but there was nothing he hated more than hate itself.
He spotted what he was looking for. A small stall run by a Hekatonkheirite. These aliens were from Barjol, and appeared human at first glance. However, when one looked closer they would note three pairs of arms jutting from their backs. They had to have difficulty buying shirts...
He shook that thought out of his head. He couldn't get distracted. More important than their extra appendages, they were the kings of displacer technology. No one had mastered it as well as they had, not even the Time Lords. The Doctor liked it. In most cases, it was nonlethal.
He walked up to the stall. As he did, the six-armed alien leaned his front elbow on the counter, and grinned charmingly.
"Hey pal, what can I get you today?" he asked in a gruff voice. A pair of his back hands took out a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, while a third lit it with a lighter. A fifth took it, and reached over his shoulder, popping it in his mouth. This was perhaps the first time The Doctor was amazed by smoking.
"I have a pest I need to get rid of. I just want it gone, not dead," he replied. He looked down at the table before him. He spotted all kinds of wares; guns and rifles that teleported people, bags that sent belongings elsewhere, wallets that allowed money to be deposited direct into a bank vault, receiver arches for getting packages through displacement, even a garbage can that sent garbage to Vork, the trash planet.
"Ah I see, how about a Mark 9 Teliporter Pistol?" he asked, motioning to a gun on the table, "it can send almost anything anywhere in an eight galaxy radius. Fire planets, ice worlds, blank space, anywhere." The Doctor shook his head.
"Not a fan of guns. I'm not the shooty type." The alien waved him off with a suave grin.
"I hear you loud and clear. How about this?" he pointed to a small box. "This is our Critter Capturer. It sends out mating pheromones and lures any household pests right to it and transports them to the cruelty free, no kill, animal control center on Fourstar Station."
"I need something... bigger," replied the Time Lord. There was no way the Raston would get caught in that. Plus, he would hate to imagine that in an animal shelter.
"How big are we talking here?" the seller inquired.
"Homicidal Robo-Ninja size," he replied. That summed it up. The Hekatonkheirite pondered it for a short time, before ducking behind the counter. His top-back pair of hands stayed on the counter, still waving while he talked.
"I think I may have the thing for you... it worked on a client with a Cyberman problem. They were setting up in his garden shed if you can believe it. Anyway, if it will work on them I think it'll take out whatever your having problems with..." he clunked around for a few more seconds, before popping back up and placing a pair of dark green cubes on the table.
"Displacer mines. You can set the transport location where ever you want, and voice arm it. There also undetectable to most sensors..." he leaned forward, covering his mouth with one hand, "we made 'em to get rid of those damn L-three Robots. All in all a decent choice."
"That sounds perfect," The Doctor replied. They would just need to trick the Warrior Robot into stepping on it. It wouldn't be too hard. It was eager to kill, as it was programmed to do.
"By law I can only sell two per customer per week. Too many were turning up on the streets, literally." The Doctor only nodded. That was fine by him. He doubted he would any more. He paid the man what he was owed, and gathered his things. Now, it was time to get back to Sarah Jane.
He turned around, and started walking, back to his TARDIS from whence he came. As he did something caught his eye; or rather someone. Two someone's.
It was from behind, but he could never mistake her. The shoulder length chestnut hair that hung loosely in her face as she bent over a fruit stand. He recognized the sweater she wore; white with pink and lime stripes. Her lavender pants were tied with pretty ribbons at the ankle, like so many women of the nineteen seventies used to do.
Sarah Jane... but she was young. Only in her twenties by now.
And there he was by her side. He wore his long over coat tight around him, with a multicolored scarf wrapped about his neck. His curly hair was only tamed by a floppy hat that he held onto as he too looked. He was looking at himself, his old self.
It was like looking into a mirror that showed the past. He remembered that day; they traveled here to shop. He made her try Morba berries and she forced a Rutabaga upon him. She had never seen a market such as this, and he had never taken someone here before.
That was so long ago... centuries. Before Trenzalor. Before Weeping Angels or The Silence. Before Bad Wolf. Before The Time War. Before so much...
He wondered how that him would look at him if he could see him now. He was wise beyond his years, despite his poor choices in clothing. His heart was light and understanding. He had a kindness that was undeniable and a sense of right and wrong that was infallible. What would he say to him? Would he be ashamed of who he became? Or would he be proud that he was not worse than what he is? Would he tell him the decisions he made were the right ones? Or would he shake his head and walk away, sorry he ever saw him. Perhaps it said more that Sarah Jane still traveled alongside him. Perhaps it proved only that she was loyal to a fault.
As he stood there and tried to imagine it, he couldn't. That was the problem with regenerating. One could remember what they thought and felt and did, but they could no longer think as their old self once had. Part of him wanted to stroll over there and find out what his fourth self thought of regeneration number thirteen, Doctor number twelve.
Something stopped him. It could have been fear. It could have been shame. Maybe it was just that he did not need to know... not really. What had happened was over. He had done his best to stay true to himself and his name. Never cruel or cowardly, never give up, never give in. And when he tried, no matter how much he felt like he had failed at it, he was The Doctor; just as that self would have wanted him to be.
As he watched his former self and his old companion wander away, he still could not shake the feeling that, had he asked him, the answer would not be what he wanted to hear. Everyone was their own worst critic... even The Doctor.
Sarah Jane and David followed the path cleared by the ship, carefully stepping over and around downed trees. She had witnessed such things as this before. Though David had not.
She could almost feel his nerves. She could imagine how scared he could be. He had probably never considered aliens before, or space travel. When she explained it, it was obvious how confused he was.
"These boats... they sail among the stars, flying like birds... how can that be?" He asked again, for the third time. It was a good thing that she had been with The Doctor for so long. It taught her Herculean patience.
"They have technology that is far more advanced than you now. Humans will posses it one day as well," she answered. She hoped it would stick this time.
Before long, the pair found their target. She saw it from a distance, the end thrusters facing the sky at a sixty degree angle. It was a simple silo-shaped ship, similar to an Earth rocket. As she moved closer, she could see that the upper section near the front was popped off evenly, laying to the right of it. This seemed odd. Nature did not make straight lines, so it was unlikely it was sheared off that way. She furrowed her brow. This wasn't right.
"Stay here, David," she said cryptically. She didn't want him to worry. He was unnerved enough.
She walked up closer to the ship. She knew the sort of ship Raston Droids flew and this was not it. The ships they made were small and sleek like a fighter jet. This one was nearly six meters long. This one was too large. It had been here awhile, as the moisture had begun to corrode the metal. The nose was smashed in, partially buried in the sloppy mud. Yet, this still looked wrong to her. It was the way the top had popped off, as though it was meant too...
It hit her. This wasn't a ship, it was an escape pod. A very large escape pod. There was something else here. They didn't only have the Warrior Robot to worry about. Some other alien called this place home, and lurked in the woods.
Sarah Jane backed up slowly, glancing in both directions. She felt like something would jump out at any second. She had to get back to The Doctor, tell him what she found. Things just became more complicated.