Notes: I know I say it a lot in the notes, but your response to this story has been amazing. I'm having a bit of a rough patch and your support through reviews and favourites does wonders for my self-esteem. So, thank you. I hope you like the changes I made in this one. And an enormous thank you to my betas Elensari and TheDoctorMulder for all of their ongoing help with this. I'm almost done writing the next chapter, so adding in editing it may or may not get posted tomorrow, so if there's a bit of a wait, sorry. I can't wait to do the End of Time... my plans for that one have me giddy.
Chapter Nine – Planet of the Dead
In the kitchen of Jackie and Peter Tyler's flat in Cardiff, there was a large group of people gathered around a very happy, two year old Jamie. Two Earth years old, well, approximately... probably. Jamie eyed the cake in front of him hungrily as he waited for everyone to finish singing Happy Birthday, so that he could blow out the candles and dive into the gooey frosting.
Most two year olds wouldn't be totally aware of the protocols of birthday cakes, but Jamie was far more intellectually advanced than a human of that age and his mother had made it perfectly clear what the rules were if he wanted to get cake. So he waited patiently and blew out the two candles, then sat quietly while his mother cut him a large corner slice.
"Thank you very much, mummy," he said sweetly.
"You're very welcome, sweetheart. Happy Birthday," Rose replied with a grin.
Jamie had his mother's smile, his father's freckles and his eyes, which had once been ice blue like his father's previous incarnation, had now turned to a darker blue with flecks of hazel in the light. He had thick, brown hair that was just as unruly as his father's tended to be and he was absolutely adorable.
"Aw, Roooose, I wanted the corner slice," the Doctor whined.
"There are four corner slices, love. You can have the next one," she replied with a giggle and he kissed her cheek. Jamie made a slightly disgusted face at that, but shrugged and continued stuffing the sugary mess into his mouth.
"Can Jamie stay with us for the night, Rose? I haven't seen him in ages. You've skipped ahead... It's only been a year for us since he was born and we're celebrating his second birthday now," Jackie complained.
"Jackie, he's a Time Lord. Jamie is going to live for centuries. The longer we wait in his time line compared to yours, allows him to visit you later in his life. When he's older and doesn't appear to age compared to you anymore, he might skip decades just to be able to see you later," the Doctor explained. Humans and human emotions could be so fragile. He knew Rose and Jamie would want as much time with Jackie and Pete as possible.
"We know you want to watch him grow up, mum, but we're trying to balance things out, yeah?" Rose added.
"Alright, but can he still spend the night? You two could go off on a date or something without worrying about him for a change? That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Jackie negotiated pleadingly.
"Yes, mum, Jamie can spend the night. But I'm warning you, he doesn't sleep much and he gets into just as much trouble as his father when he's bored," Rose acquiesced.
Jack approached the Doctor as he was reading something on his wrist strap. "I think I've got just the thing to keep you two happy for the evening. Unusual readings, Doc," Jack said as he showed the Doctor what he's found.
"Rhondium particles? Hmm... should be able to throw together a portable detector for that and we can track down an anomaly," the Doctor said with a grin. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels happily.
"Sounds like a date to me!" Rose chuckled and shook her head at him fondly.
Jackie rolled her eyes and said, "I was thinking you'd go to see a picture or something, but I don't care, so long as I get to spend some time with my sweet little grandson." Jackie pinched Jamie's cheek and he made a face at her, but didn't complain.
"You behave yourself, Jamie Tyler. We'll be back to pick you up tomorrow," Rose said, giving him a hug and a kiss. The Doctor hugged and kissed him as well before the couple went back to the TARDIS, hand-in-hand.
"I'll just put together a device to track the anomaly, then set course for London. Let's see what kind of adventure we can find today, yeah?" the Doctor said as he threw the lever to put the TARDIS in the Vortex. They wouldn't have to worry about how long it took to make the detector while they were outside of time.
-'-{ }-'-
They strolled down the London street, following a signal on the Doctor's little beeping device. Rose noticed a little shop was selling Easter chocolates and quickly moved to buy a bunny to munch on during their adventure.
"Ah, it's definitely this way, love. Let's take the bus," the Doctor told Rose and they boarded the large, red vehicle. The Doctor swiped his psychic paper over the scanner.
"You're just in time, you two," the driver said as they found a couple of seats, right in front of a woman with dark hair, dressed all in black and looking a little on edge.
Rose took another bite of her chocolate bunny and said to the woman, "Hello, I'm Rose and this is my husband. Happy Easter!"
"Funny thing is," the Doctor started rambling, "I don't often do Easter. I can never find it. It's always at a different time. Although, I remember the original. Just between us, what really happened was..."
He was cut off by the beeping of his scanner. Reaching into his pocket, the Doctor pulled out the device which was emitting a blue light and squealed loudly. He fiddled with the dials a bit and listened to it closely.
"Would you like a piece? It's a lot of chocolate for one person," Rose asked as she offered the woman some of her chocolate. She noticed the woman kept glancing out the window behind the bus and seemed nervous about the amount of police cars in the area.
"Ah! Oh, we've got excitation. I'm picking up something very strange," the Doctor said, talking to himself more than anyone else.
"What else is new, love," Rose sighed. She noticed suddenly that there seemed to be a group of police cars following the bus with their lights flashing and decided that this woman was probably trying to avoid arrest for something.
"Rhondium particles, that's what I'm looking for. This thing detects them. Look, this should go round, that little dish there," he explained obliviously as he flicked at the tiny dish on top of the machine.
"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy. Can you detect me one of those?" the woman asked, seeming exasperated with his attempts at conversation.
"Not likely. We get into trouble more than out, really," Rose replied.
"Ah, the little dish is going round. Look, love, it's working!" the Doctor beamed as he showed Rose his machine.
"Brilliant," she said with a wide grin.
"And round. Woah!" he exclaimed when the dish spun faster and the machine began to spark.
The woman in front of them complained when some sparks flew into her hair, "Excuse me. Do you mind?"
"Sorry, that was my little dish," the Doctor apologized and stood up to hold his detector higher in the direction of the anomaly.
"Can't you turn that thing off?" the woman in black asked him.
The Doctor quickly sat back down next to his wife and held her against him as he tightly grabbed a rail nearby to brace himself. "What was your name?" he asked the woman.
"Christina," she answered shortly.
"Christina, hold on tight. Everyone, hold on!" he shouted in warning just before the whole bus
was suddenly thrown every which way. Sparks flew from the lights and the windows shattered as everyone was tossed around the vehicle dangerously.
When the bus finally stopped shaking, everyone sat quietly for a moment and caught their breath. There was bright, golden light shining through the windows, which was a shock compared to the dark, drizzly weather they had just left behind in London.
"Are you alright, love?" the Doctor asked Rose softly as he ran his hands up and down her arms, checking for injuries.
"I'm fine, best see where we are then," she replied and stood up from the spot on the floor where they had ended up huddled together.
They walked out the doors of the bus into what looked like a desert. Several of the other passengers followed them outside and everyone gaped at their surroundings.
"End of the line. Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton," the Doctor announced to no one in particular.
"Any idea where we are?" Rose asked him.
"Not just yet," he replied and started analyzing their surroundings. Three suns, desert as far as they could see in all directions, and he crouched down to check the composition of the sand.
One of the passengers, a woman with blonde hair, said, "It's impossible. There are three suns. Three of them."
"Like when all those planets were up in the sky," a young black man commented.
"But it was the Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" another young man asked.
"Oh, man, we're on another world," the black man replied in awe.
The bus driver was looking over the state of his vehicle as he said, "It's still intact, though. Not as bad as it looks. And the chassis's still holding together. My boss is going to murder me."
"Can you still drive it?" the blonde woman asked him.
"Oh, no, no, no. The wheels are stuck. Look at them, they're never going to budge," he replied.
Rose looked at the bus herself and wasn't sure she agreed with his level of optimism. The roof of the upper deck was smashed and the bus had buried itself in the sand as deep as the tires could go. It was unlikely that they could drive the vehicle back through the path they took to get... wherever they were.
Christina took some sunglasses from her bag and stated, "Ready for every emergency." She stood near where the Doctor was digging through the sand and Rose thought she seemed to be standing rather... flirtatiously.
Rose moved next to her husband and held out her hand to him. He reached into his pocket without question and handed her a pair of sunglasses that she always had stored in his trans-dimensional pockets for all of their beach trips. "Me too," she said with a possessive smirk.
The Doctor looked up at his wife and smiled. Taking off his brainy specs, he sonicked the lenses so that they were suddenly darkened and winked at her before he put them back on.
"She said her name was Rose, what's yours?" Christina asked.
"I'm the Doctor," he replied.
"Name, not rank," she argued.
"The Doctor."
"Surname?" she asked.
"The Doctor."
"You're called... the Doctor?" she said incredulously.
"Yes, I am," he stated as he rubbed some of the sand between his fingers.
"That's not a name. That's a psychological condition," Christina snarked.
"Oi! That's my husband, thank you very much," Rose retorted.
"So what are you THE Rose, then?" she replied and smirked at the glare she received from Rose.
"Funny sort of sand, this," he said as he showed it to Rose more closely. "There's a trace of something else," he added and put a bit of it on his tongue. He gagged a bit at the taste of it and made a disgusted face. "Not good."
"Well, it wouldn't be. It's sand," Christina stated, as if it were obvious.
"No, it tastes like... nevermind," he said as he walked away from her and looked further off into the desert, taking Rose's hand and allowing their bracelets to clink together. Rose could feel then, that the woman was irritating him almost as much as her. The Doctor could tell that Rose felt slightly threatened by the woman's forward nature and deliberately sent his wife a wave of love and reassurance through their bond.
"Something we should be worried about?" Rose thought to him silently.
"Lots of things to be worried about, right now. I'm making a list," he replied.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Christina called after him.
"Hold on a minute," the young black man shouted as he pointed towards the Doctor and approached. "I saw you, mate. You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"
"Oh, humans on buses, always blaming me," he muttered and Rose squeezed his hand supportively. "Look, look, if you must know, we were tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. But it was a tiny little hole. No danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it," he explained.
"But then, where is it? There's nothing. There's just sand," the driver argued.
"Alright," the Doctor replied as he released Rose's hand and marched to an area behind the bus. He picked up a handful of sand from the ground and turned to face the group again. "You want proof? We drove through this," he told them as he threw the sand into the air and a large, wavy distortion appeared in front of him.
"And that's...?" Christina asked.
"A door. A door in space," the Doctor replied.
"What? No inter-spatial hyperlink mumbo-jumbo for these guys?" Rose teased and he smirked at her slightly.
"So, what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home? We can get to London through there?" the driver asked excitedly.
"The bus came through, but we can't," the Doctor replied. The man didn't seem to even hear him.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" the driver shouted in excitement and ran towards the distortion.
"No, no don't!" the Doctor called after him in growing horror.
"I'm going home, mate!" the driver cried.
"I said don't!" he yelled, trying futilely to stop the man. A second later, the driver screamed as the distortion dissolved everything but his bones. The skeleton's momentum threw it forward another step before it fell, face down through the door in space and disappeared.
"He was a skeleton, man. He was bones. Just bones," the young black man said, beginning to panic.
"It's alright, we'll figure out a way out of here, yeah? Just everyone calm down," Rose said reassuringly to the man.
The Doctor strolled back towards the large, red vehicle that was currently half buried in the sand. "It was the bus. Look at the damage. That was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal," he said with his hands buried in his pockets.
"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina asked.
"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah? Safest place is inside a car, because the metal conducts the lightning right through? We did it in school," the young man who had spoken about the Earth having moved before commented. He was currently holding the blonde woman who had been crying since the driver died.
"But, Doctor, is the bus intact enough for us to be able to take it back through?" Rose asked her husband.
"A Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open," Christina added.
"Well... slightly different dynamics with a wormhole. There's enough metal to make it work, I think... I hope," the Doctor told them as he considered the calculations.
"Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?" Christina deduced.
"I'd say nine and a half tons, but the point still stands, yes," the Doctor agreed.
"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline. Which starts with appointing a leader," Christina stated with authority.
"Yes. At last. Thank you. So..." the Doctor began but was quickly cut off.
"Well, thank goodness you've got me. Everyone do exactly as I say. Inside the buss immediately," Christina ordered.
The Doctor and Rose looked at each other with raised eyebrows and smirked. They decided to play her game for now while they considered their options to save the day again.
"Should we contact home, love? I can hardly feel Jamie at all right now, do you think he'll get worried?" Rose thought to her husband as they followed the group back into the bus.
"We'll call in a bit. Let's see what kind of a plan we can make from here first. And when we do, let's talk to Jack or Pete. I'd rather deal with Torchwood helping us than your mother ranting over us getting into trouble again," he replied.
"I'm with you on that one. Do you think Jack could help from Earth?" she wondered.
"Maybe, let me think on it," he answered and they refocused on the conversations around them.
"... Point five. The crucial thing is, do not panic. Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point six. Team identification. Names. I'm Christina. And apparently these two are Rose and the Doctor," Christina announced to the group.
"Hi," Rose said with a small wave.
"Hello," said the Doctor.
"And you?" Christina asked the passengers in turn.
"Nathan," said the light skinned young man.
"I'm Barclay," the black young man followed.
"Angela. Angela Whittaker," the blonde woman replied.
"My name's Louis. Everyone calls me Lou. And this is Carmen," came from the older dark skinned couple at the back of the bus. They had not come outside earlier.
"Excellent. Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point seven. Assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor," Christina concluded, almost mockingly.
"I thought you were in charge?" he challenged.
"I am. And a good leader utilizes her strengths. You seem to be the brainbox. So, start boxing," she replied.
With a quick glance to his wife, the Doctor shrugged and took over. He was far more comfortable giving information than taking orders. "Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident," he told them.
"No, it wasn't. That thing, the doorway? Someone made it for a reason," Carmen interrupted.
"How do you know?" the Doctor asked, genuinely curious.
"She's got a gift. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things. We do the lottery twice a week," Lou said in defence of his wife.
"You don't look like millionaires," Christina argued.
"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift," Lou responded proudly.
"Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?" the Doctor asked, testing her. He held up 3 fingers behind his back.
"Three," she replied.
He added another and she immediately said, "Four."
"Very good. Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun. What can you see, Carmen? Tell me, what's out there?" the Doctor asked, using the talents available to him.
"Something, something is coming. Riding on the wind, and shining," Carmen told them.
"What is it?" he asked her.
"Death," she stated simply. "Death is coming."
Everyone on the bus immediately started panicking, except Christina, who was arguing. The Doctor tried to get everyone to calm down without much luck until Rose whistled loudly. Everyone abruptly stopped and looked at the little blonde woman in shock.
"Alright. Now, everyone relax, yeah? My husband and I have dealt with far worse than this before. The planets in the sky? WE stopped all of that and sent the Earth back where it belonged. So calm down and listen," Rose told the group assertively. Nodding to her husband, he took over again with a small, appreciative smile. Angela was crying though.
"Angela, look at me," he said and grasped her upper arms to get her attention. "Angela? Angela? Answer me one question, Angela. That's it. At me, at me. There we go. Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" she sobbed.
"Answer the question," he insisted.
"Just home," she said softly.
"And what's home?" he asked.
"Me and Mike and Suzanne. That's my daughter. She's eighteen," she explained.
"Suzanne. Good. What about you?" the Doctor asked Barclay.
"Don't know. Going round Tina's," the young man replied.
"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?" the Doctor asked.
"Not yet," Barclay said with a smirk.
"Good boy. What about you, Nathan?" he continued, searching for everyone's biggest motivation to keep going.
"Bit strapped for cash. I lost my job last week. I was going to stay in and watch TV," Nathan responded.
"Brilliant. And you two?" he asked the older couple.
"I was going to cook," Lou replied.
"It's his turn tonight. Then I clear up," Carmen added.
"What's for tea?" the Doctor pressed.
"Chops. Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special," Lou answered.
"Oh, that's special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy, mmm. What about you, Christina?" the Doctor finally asked her.
"I was going... so far away," she replied.
"Far away, chops and gravy, watching TV, Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina," the Doctor said, earning an offended shout from Barclay at his implications about Tina. "We've got a two year old son, back there as well and we're not leaving him yet. Just think of them. Because that planet out there, all three suns, wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold onto that, because we're going to get there. I promise. We're going to get you home."
Rose took his hand lovingly and their bracelets clinked together again. Pulling her to him, the Doctor gave her a quick hug to bolster their confidence. He kept their fingers entwined as he led them all outside again to figure out what could be done.
The Doctor began instructing everyone as they tried to find a way to get the bus moving. Christina pulled a folding shovel and small axe out of her bag to help, making the Doctor slightly suspicious as to why she would have such tools with her on a London bus.
"Should I call Jack now, love?" Rose asked her husband.
"Yeah, probably a good idea. He has his vortex manipulator to get to London quickly, but he can't bring many people with him using that thing," he replied.
"Wait a minute, how is your phone going to work here? There's no signal. We're on another planet!" Christina argued.
"Universal roaming," Rose replied with a smirk and a wink while she listened to it ringing. "Jack! We have a bit of a problem."
"Hello, sweetheart. You know I was just waiting for that," his familiar baritone laughed on the other end of the line.
"So, there was this wormhole in London, and we, along with several other passengers of a bus drove through it. We are on an unknown desert planet, trinary star system, and without the protection of the bus, we can't get back through. Any ideas?" Rose asked as she relayed all of their current information.
"Well, we can bring some equipment with us to the wormhole on this side. We might be able to figure something out. Can I talk to your husband for a minute?" Jack requested.
Rose handed the phone to the Doctor. "Jack! Ok, bring whatever energy scanners you've got in your arsenal at Torchwood to check on that wormhole. I need to know energy readings. I'll try to figure out a way to get this bus back through, but we need to know how to close it once we're there," the Doctor rambled into the phone.
"Not a problem. I've been monitoring the police reports ever since I saw where you were heading. They've got the whole area closed off already and UNIT is on site. I'll get over there and work with them. Call you guys back once we've got something," Jack replied.
"Nice work, Jack! Talk to you soon," he said as he shut the phone and flipped it in the air back to his wife.
"We have help working on the problem from the other side of the wormhole, but we need to figure out how to get that bus moving. So, keep on that engine and getting those tires free. Back in two ticks," he said as he took Rose's hand and led her off into the desert.
"Wait a minute! You two are the ones with all the answers and a phone that works on another planet, I'm not letting you out of my sight!" Christina shouted as she followed them.
"Where are we going, Doctor?" Rose asked, ignoring their third wheel.
"Just getting the lay of the land," he replied as they climbed over the next dune to see further into the distance. They stopped as Christina caught up with them.
"Come on then. Tell me, if Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?" Christina demanded to know.
"Possibly. Hard to say, but I have a feeling we need to get out of here," Rose answered.
"And do you think we can?" Christina asked.
"Of course we can! Stuff of Legend, we are! Rose and I can do anything," the Doctor replied confidently as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Rose had removed her jacket and stowed it in one of his pockets. She was down to a t-shirt, but was still sweating a lot. The Doctor on the other hand, was still wearing his full suit, as usual, though he had tossed his overcoat aside.
"That must be nice, being able to do anything. Name's Christina de Souza. To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza," she informed them.
"Ooh, that's nice. I'm Dame Rose and that's Sir Doctor," Rose said with a smirk. "Queen Vicky was such a laugh. You still owe me for that bet, love."
He smiled at her and pointed at something on the horizon. "I don't like the look of that," he said ominously.
"Is that a storm?" Rose asked him.
"Must be hundreds of miles away," Christina said confidently.
"But getting closer," he replied, still deep in thought.
"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds," Christina commented, getting slightly more worried.
"It's a storm. Who says it's sand?" he added. Rose squeezed his hand tightly and the three of them ran back towards the bus to help them get it moving faster.
Back at the bus, the Doctor took Rose's phone once again and called Jack using the speakerphone so that everyone could hear, "Jack! Are you at the tunnel yet?"
"Yeah, we're here with UNIT. The commanding officer wants to speak with you, she's not real happy that we're involved," Jack replied.
"Jack, before you hand us over, was Jamie ok? Our link is a little muffled, I was worried he might be afraid," Rose interrupted.
"He was sleeping when we left, so I think you're good for now, Rosie," Jack replied. "Here's UNIT."
"Doctor?" a female voice came on the line. "This is Captain Erisa Magambo. Might I say, sir, it's an honour."
"Did you just salute?" the Doctor asked her and Rose snickered beside him.
There was a slight pause as if she was debating how to answer before she said, "No."
"Erisa, it's about the bus. Let Torchwood help, that team are friends and family of mine; they know what they're doing," the Doctor informed her.
"And where are you?" she asked.
"I'm on the bus. But apart from that, not a clue, except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous," he replied as he looked out the windows at the surrounding landscape.
"A body came through here. Have you sustained any more fatalities?" she inquired.
"No, and we're not going to, but I'm stuck. I haven't got the TARDIS, I can't give Jack coordinates to come get us, and I need to analyze that wormhole," the Doctor told her.
"We have a scientific advisor on site, Doctor Malcolm Taylor," she informed him.
"Malcolm?!" Rose exclaimed.
"Someone you know?" her husband asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, a parallel one. He helped me build the Dimension Cannon," she said with a broad smile, probably the first real smile since they arrived on this planet. "I worked with Erisa in Donna's pocket universe too," she added silently.
They could hear a conversation over the speakerphone as Captain Magambo tried to hand the phone over to Doctor Taylor. "It's the Doctor," Erisa said.
"No, I'm alright now, thanks. It was just a bit of a sore throat. Although, I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice," Malcolm replied and Rose tried to hide her giggles at the familiar behaviour.
"It's the Doctor," the Captain said more insistently.
There was a brief silence before a much more awe-filled voice asked, "Do you mean the Doctor Doctor?"
Rose could barely contain her laughter as she placed her head on the Doctor's shoulder and shook silently.
"I know. We all want to meet him one day, but we all know what that day will bring," Magambo stated seriously.
Rubbing his eye and cringing with embarrassment, the Doctor interrupted, "I can hear everything you're saying."
A very flustered Doctor Taylor finally addressed the phone, "Hello, Doctor? Oh, my goodness!" He laughed in disbelief.
"Yes, I am. Hello, Malcolm," the Doctor replied.
"The Doctor. Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you. I mean, I've read all the files," Malcolm rambled.
"Really? What was your favourite? The Giant Robot? No, no, hold on. Let's sort out that wormhole, excuse me," the Doctor caught himself and tried to get back to the matter at hand. He moved to the driver's seat at the front of the bus to have less distraction from the other passengers, Rose followed him.
"On speakerphone, please. I don't want anyone keeping secrets," Erisa was heard saying.
"Malcolm, something's not making sense here. I've got a storm and a wormhole, and I can't help thinking there's a connection. I need a complete full range analysis of that wormhole. The whole thing," the Doctor requested.
"Well, I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator. I thought it could measure the energy signature," Malcolm started to explain, but the Doctor interrupted him.
"No. No, no, no. That'll never work, listen..." the Doctor said dismissively.
"It's quite extraordinary, though. I'm measuring an oscillation of fifteen Malcolms per second," Doctor Taylor continued.
"Fifteen what?" the Doctor asked and Rose looked at him knowingly with her eyebrows raised. She knew exactly how brilliant Malcolm was and her husband would soon learn not to dismiss the man so easily.
"Fifteen Malcolms. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm," came the reply.
The Doctor looked at his wife, showing his disbelief over the presumptuousness of this man. "You named a unit of measurement after yourself?" he asked.
"Well, it didn't do Mr Watt any harm. Furthermore, one hundred Malcolms equals a Bernard," Malcolm added.
"And who's that, your dad?" the Doctor inquired.
"Don't be ridiculous. That's Quatermass," Malcolm replied, seeming to forget his awe over who he was speaking with for a moment.
"Right. Fine. But before I die of old age, which in my case would be quite an achievement, so congratulations on that... is there anyone else I can talk to?" the Doctor asked.
"Doctor," Rose chastised him warningly. If anyone on Earth could help them, it would be Malcolm.
"No, no, no, no, but listen. I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image," Doctor Taylor informed him.
"You did what?" the Doctor said as shock registered on his face.
"Is that wrong?" Malcolm asked, suddenly insecure.
"No, Malcolm, you're brilliant!" Rose called out.
"Who's that?" Malcolm asked.
"That's my wife, Rose. And she's right Malcolm that is absolutely genius. So, you can measure the wormhole, ok," the Doctor replied as his mind started to whirl through what could be done with that information.
"The Doctor called me a genius," Malcolm said.
"I know, I heard," Captain Magambo replied.
"Now, run a capacity scan. I need a full report and see if Jack has any other equipment with him that might help you. Call me back when you've done it. And Malcolm? You're my new best friend," the Doctor told him.
"And you're mine too, sir!" Malcolm replied quickly before the Doctor snapped the phone shut and took Rose's hand to head outside.
The Doctor and Rose marched through the sand back to where they could see the approaching storm, with Christina following closely. The Doctor took some photos of the storm with the phone's camera and said, "I'm sending these back to Jack's phone. See if they can analyze the storm at all from that."
"There's something shiny in the storm, Doctor. Looks like metal," Rose said as she squinted into the bright sunlight.
"You're right, but why would there be metal in a storm?" the Doctor pondered.
"Did you hear something?" Christina asked them.
"Hold on, busy," the Doctor replied distractedly as he sent the photos through the phone.
"Umm, Doctor," Rose got his attention as she patted his arm. "We have company," she said and pointed to an insect-like alien silhouetted at the top of the next dune.
"Oooh Tritovores... remember them, Rose?" the Doctor asked.
"I remember the smell," she replied with some disgust.
The alien made some clicking and gasping noises at them as it pointed some sort of weapon in their direction. The Doctor replied with some similar sounds.
"That's wait. I shout wait, people usually wait," the Doctor explained what he was saying.
"How come I can't understand him, love?" Rose wondered.
"The TARDIS is too far from here to translate for you," he replied, then made some more clicking noises at the Tritovore. "That's begging for mercy."
The alien gestured with its weapon and Christina interpreted this time, "That means move."
"Ooo, you're learning," the Doctor responds.
"I don't think I've heard you speaking another language since the Sycorax," Rose mused as they walked towards a large spaceship.
"Oh, I do it all the time, but the TARDIS translates it and you hear English. Jamie's learning some languages too now," he told her.
"These fly things, they must be responsible. They brought us here," Christina interrupted.
"Well, that's not a very nice assumption to make," Rose argued.
"No, no, no, no, no. Look at the ship. It's a wreck. They crashed, just like us," the Doctor asserted.
They entered the ship, still herded by the Tritovore with a gun at their back.
"Oh, but this place is freezing," Christina complained.
"Mmm. The hull's made of photafine steel. Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside," the Doctor explained.
"That could have its advantages," Rose commented.
"Oh, this is beautiful. Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep spacer," he raved as he took Rose's hand. She smiled at him in agreement, she had seen her own share of spaceships.
"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well designed spaceship," Christina said morosely.
"Why are you so convinced that they're hostile?" Rose asked her.
"Well, the gun is a sure sign," she snarked.
"It's just a misunderstanding, we'll get it all cleared up in no time," Rose told her confidently.
They entered a room with windows to the outside. Another Tritovore was waiting there and pressed a circular purple button on its uniform. They clicked and hissed once more and the Doctor concentrated as he listened and worked to translate for the ladies with him.
"Oh, right, good. Yes. Hello. That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us," the Doctor explained.
"Still sounds like gibberish to me," Christina argued.
"He can understand us, not the other way 'round. If humans made a translator to figure out what aliens were saying, would they care about making sure they were understood as well?" Rose asked. This woman was frustrating her terribly and the Doctor squeezed her hand in silent understanding.
The aliens began their clicking noises again as the Doctor translated, "You will suffer for your crimes... etcetera. You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race. You came here in the two hundred to destroy us. Sorry, what's the two hundred?"
"It's the bus. Number two hundred. They mean the bus," Christina said.
"Oh! No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, this is my wife, Rose and that's Christina. We got pulled through that wormhole. The two hundred doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you," the Doctor explained to the Tritovores and they lowered their weapons.
"What are they doing?" Christina asked as they put their weapons away.
"They believe me," the Doctor told her.
"See? Misunderstanding," Rose added and raised her head a little higher.
"What, as simple as that?" Christina gaped, wondering who could be so trusting.
"He said it was a telepathic translator. It would tell them if he was lying," Rose said exasperatedly. Did the Doctor get this frustrated when he had to train new companions?
"Right. So, first things first. There's a very strange storm heading our way. Can you send out a probe?" the Doctor asked as he jumped over to look out the windows of the ship. Listening to their clicks again, he translated and rambled at the same time, "Oh, they've lost power. Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of synch... but if I can jiggle it back..."
He pulled on something and then kicked the machine rather hard. The systems all hummed back to life and Rose wrapped her arms around his neck with a giggle.
"I thank you," the Doctor said with a slight bow. One of the Tritovores chittered at him and he replied, "Yes, I am. Frequently. Okey doke, let's launch that probe."
While they waited for the probe to reach the approaching storm, the Doctor called up a holographic display to show their current location.
"The Scorpion Nebula. We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted, Christina. So far away. The planet of San Helios," he explained as they watched images float in the air.
"And that's us? We're on another world?" Christina asked, sounding slightly awed for a change.
"We have been for quite a while," he reminded her.
"I know, but seeing it like that..." she admitted.
"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios. Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb," the Doctor continued in his explanation.
"By waste matter, you mean...?" she questioned with a cringe.
"They feed off what others leave behind, from their... behind, if you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies," he told her.
"Culture shock. Happens to the best of us," Rose said, mirroring one of her first conversations with the Doctor. He smirked at her. "But, Doctor, if we know where we are now, could Jack come get us with his Vortex Manipulator?" she asked with renewed hope.
"That's not a bad idea, but he couldn't take this many back to Earth. Maybe though, he could get one of us back to the TARDIS and we could bring the TARDIS here," he said excitedly and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Rose hummed and smiled into the kiss, she loved being rewarded for her brilliance. Just when Rose was starting to feel lightheaded due to a lack of oxygen, her phone started ringing in the Doctor's pocket.
He released her lips with a pop and flipped open the phone, "Malcolm? Tell me the bad news."
"Oh, you are clever. It is bad news. It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger," Malcolm replied. "We've gone way past one hundred Bernards. I haven't invented a name for that."
"How can it get bigger by itself?" the Doctor asked rhetorically.
"Well, that's why I'm phoning. You'll work it out, if I know you, sir," Doctor Taylor replied.
"Doctor, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles heading outwards. I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through," Captain Magambo informed him.
"Good work, both of you. Now, I need to talk to Jack, is he nearby?" the Doctor requested.
There was a brief pause before they heard the familiar voice of Captain Jack, "Hey, Doc! How can I help?"
"We've figured out our location as being on San Helios. There's a crashed Tritovore ship here as well," the Doctor told him.
"San Helios? There's no deserts on San Helios. A lot of really great strip clubs, but..." Jack began.
"Yeah, yeah. That's great, Jack. But I need you to use your Vortex Manipulator to come pick up Rose and bring her back to the TARDIS. She can pilot it back to us and we'll get everyone out of here, safe and sound," the Doctor told him.
Rose looked about to object with his plan, but he continued to explain the rest, "While she's doing that, Malcolm and I are going to figure out what's going on with this storm and how to close that wormhole. Because there should be a hundred billion people on this planet, but they, along with all vegetable and animal life have been turned to sand."
"Yes, there should," Jack said with a sigh. "Alright, Doctor. Sounds like a plan, do you have coordinates for me to get Rose?" Jack asked.
"I'll check the computer here for exact coordinates and text them to this number. See you soon, Jack," the Doctor replied and hung up so that he could start typing in the numbers for Jack.
"Are you sure I'll be able to pilot her here by myself? I'm still learning, Doctor," Rose asked, letting some of her insecurity show.
"You are brilliant and she'll help you. The TARDIS loves you, don't worry a bit. Just plug these coordinates into her system and she'll get you here. The time is concurrent, nothing to worry about," he reassured her with a hug and a kiss on her forehead.
With a flash of light, Jack Harkness appeared on the ship. "Hello, Captain Jack Harkness," he said with a panty-dropping smile toward Christina. Rose and the Doctor both rolled their eyes as he shook her hand and asked, "And you are?"
"Lady Christina de Souza, and that was quite the entrance, Captain," she replied, slightly flustered.
The computer beeped some kind of alert and one of the Tritovores clicked at the Doctor.
"It's the probe. It's reached the storm," the Doctor translated and the alien kept talking.
"And, what's he saying?" Christina asked.
"It's not a storm," the Doctor ominously replied.
On the holographic display, they could see what the probe's cameras were picking up. Giant stingrays flew through the air en masse.
"That's not a storm, that's a swarm," Jack said.
"Millions of them," Christina sounded fearful.
"Billions," the Doctor corrected as one of the creatures flew straight at the probe and with a final flash of teeth, the video feed died. "Oh, we've lost the probe. I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten." He rubbed his eyes in frustration as he thought.
"How far away are they, Doctor?" Rose asked, they always worked better with a deadline.
"A hundred miles. But at that speed, the swarm will be here in twenty minutes. No, no, no, they're not just coming for us. They want the wormhole," the Doctor said as he worked through the computations in his head.
"They're heading for Earth? We've got to warn them," Jack said as he started entering coordinates back to London into his wrist strap.
"Show the analysis," the Doctor said to the Tritovores. The display suddenly showed a variety of complex graphs and computations. "Incredible. They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move onto the next world. Start the life cycle all over again."
"So, those things are making the wormholes? How do they do that?" Rose asked him.
"Hang on, hang on. Oh, yes! Do you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet. Round and round and round, faster and faster and faster, 'til they generate a rupture in space. The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size, all of that rips the wormhole into existence," the Doctor babbled as he worked out the situation.
"But how do they get through? Because that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it," Christina asked.
"Look at those things. They've got an exoskeleton made out of metal, it'll take more than a wormhole to take those out," Jack told her.
"Ok, here's the plan," the Doctor said, turning to Jack decisively. "Jack, you take Rose back to London and get UNIT ready in case any of those things get through before I can close it."
Jack nodded and the Doctor turned to Rose, taking her hands in his, "Rose, bring the TARDIS back to the bus. Oh, here... I'll program my sonic with the coordinates, just point and shoot, then she'll help you fly. We are going to get back to the bus ourselves while I keep talking with Malcolm. We have to figure out how we're going to plug that hole," the Doctor announced.
"Be careful, love. I'll be back in a jiffy," Rose said and gave her husband another kiss before placing her hand on Jack's Vortex Manipulator. In a flash, they were gone.
The Tritovores tried to argue about leaving their ship, but the Doctor assured them that he could get them home in the TARDIS afterward. The walk back to the bus was slightly awkward for Christina, since she couldn't (and didn't really want to) communicate with the Tritovores and the Doctor was on the phone with Malcolm.
"Malcolm? It's the Doctor," he said when the call connected.
"I'm ready," Doctor Taylor replied anxiously.
"Ready for what?" the Doctor asked, suddenly a bit confused.
"I don't know. You tell me," Malcolm said.
"Ok, so, my wife has gone back to get the TARDIS so that we can all get home safely. Once she gets here, we need to close the wormhole. Have you thought up a way to do that yet?" the Doctor asked his new best friend.
"Well, sir, I was thinking that a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?" the nervous scientist suggested.
"Oh, Malcolm, you're brilliant. Rose was right, any version of you is absolutely stellar," the Doctor praised.
"Coming from you, sir, that means the world," Malcolm accepted graciously.
"Doctor?" Captain Magambo interrupted. "Captain Harkness has informed us of the nature of the hostiles on your side. Is it likely that they'll be coming through?"
"Provided Rose gets here with the TARDIS in a timely manner, we should be able to close the rift before they reach it. But I don't want to close it until I'm sure that our ride out of here has safely arrived, thanks Captain. Just get that ready Malcolm and I'll give you the signal," the Doctor said as he shut off the phone.
When they arrived back at the bus, Angela became very upset at the sight of the aliens accompanying them.
"Relax, everyone. These are some friends we met nearby. Their ship crashed here as well. Now, there are some very not nice things on the way towards us, BUT Rose managed to hitch a lift with a friend of ours back to our spaceship and she'll be bringing it here shortly. Then we can get everyone home safe and sound," the Doctor announced to the bedraggled group in front of him. They were already in shock from the other unlikely events, what more could adding aliens and a spaceship do?
At the sound of the TARDIS materializing, the Doctor flipped open the phone and gave Malcolm the go ahead to plug the wormhole. He had apparently been arguing with Captain Magambo, who was ordering him to close it before they were sure that the Doctor could get back. This bumped Malcolm even higher up on the Doctor's nice list and Erisa down a couple of notches.
Rose opened the doors and welcomed everyone inside their time ship. They heard the usual exclamations about it being bigger on the inside than the outside, but rushed to close the doors and leave San Helios before the swarm arrived.
The Doctor and Rose landed the TARDIS on the street where UNIT had set up the blockade. They had several passengers to drop off and the Doctor wanted to make sure that Malcolm got the wormhole closed completely.
As their guests exited the TARDIS, several UNIT officers began to escort them to a debriefing area. Christina was quickly scooped up and handcuffed by the police. She looked sourly out at them from the backseat of the police car.
From out of one of the UNIT trucks exploded a short man wearing small round glasses and a white lab coat. He headed straight for the Doctor and without warning, wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug.
Rose mouthed, "Malcolm" at him and he nodded in understanding looking quite surprised by the outburst of affection.
"You... must be Malcolm," the Doctor said awkwardly.
"Oh... oh. I love you," Malcolm said and Rose stifled a giggle.
The Doctor patted him gently on the back and smiled at him as Captain Magambo ordered him away. Malcolm left the area with several longing glances back towards the TARDIS.
"Doctor, I salute you whether you like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?" Erisa asked him after the unwelcome salute.
"They'll start again. Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault, it's their natural life cycle. But I'll see if I can nudge the wormholes on toward uninhabited planets," the Doctor explained.
Turning to motion toward the other saved bus passengers, the Doctor said, "Closer to home, Captain. Those two lads. Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job, Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse," the Doctor told her with a nod towards each of their new friends.
"I'll see what I can do. 'Til we meet again, Doctor," the Captain said as she snapped off another salute before leaving.
Carmen approached the Doctor to speak with him urgently, "Doctor? You take care now."
"You too. Chops and gravy, lovely," the Doctor replied with a smile.
"No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir," she told him earnestly.
"What do you mean, Carmen?" Rose asked, worried for her husband.
"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor...? Oh, but then... he will knock four times," Carmen said sadly. She turned then and walked away with her husband.
"What does that mean, Doctor?" Rose questioned him, the fear in her eyes was heartbreaking. She remembered all too well the last time a prophesy was aimed at them.
"I'm not sure, but we've got lots to do with that son of ours before any songs are ending. Got that, love?" he urged her as he took her in his arms. She nodded against his chest and together, they entered the TARDIS to take their Tritovore friends home.
Rose stuck her head back out the doors just before they left to shout, "Hey Jack! Did you want a lift home?"
With a wide, toothy grin, Jack stopped flirting with the police officer he was chatting up and ran over to the time machine. "Absolutely, gorgeous!"
"We've got to make a quick stop on Tritovaria, but then we'll head back to Cardiff," she told him as they shut the doors and the TARDIS dematerialized.
As Rose slept in her husband's arms that night, he gently stroked her hair and thought. It is returning. What is returning? The Doctor hated ominous predictions. So he planned to do what they did best; take his son and wife, and run.
