agh, i have to make some apologies, now. the first is about the names of the aliens. stinga of the buzzoffes? i admit my imagination ran dry on that one. no one's actually complained, but you never know...
the second is of a more serious nature. obviously, not everyone can like what you write, as Scarf Warriors and The Jolly Gnu have decided to prove to me, due to my "lack of continuity." i'm not an expert on all things doctor who, i'll admit it. obviously you are offended by the idea of susan being half-time lord and having regenerated to a teenager. you're right, i do mean well, and i'd have appreciated you guys finding a nicer way of slating my story.
Scarf Warriors, i see from your profile page you dislike the new doctor who, so i can understand why you dislike this. and thanks for pointing out my german mistake, i wrote this whilst i was a standard grade german student and still made little mistakes like this. perhaps you'll be happy to know i don't nake this kind of mistake anymore, and have corrected it. i don't personally call the macra mutants, that's the sort of thing i feel martha would use to describe them. and don't worry, i won't "go off on one on you," since i don't do that. but i'm not going to change this story, since this is the second last chapter, and i'm not going to re-write the whole story now.
The Jolly Gnu, if you remember the five doctors, you'll know that susan met teegan then. like i said, i'm not a doctor who expert, and i don't claim to be. at least you found something positive in the harriet jones storyline.
to both of you, i apologise again for offending you, but this is written for fun, it's my first fan-fic, and i didn't intend for it to be perfect.
anyways, for those of you who are enjoying this story, sorry for my lengthy apologies (oops, there i go again!) and here's the next chapter:
Chapter 10
Stinga rolled her eyes as, for the fourth time, the Hrass tried to figure out what had happened to the engines. A quick check had shown that the Doctor and the girl were still in the cell, and none of the protective suits essential for entering the room appeared to have been used. And yet there were several important wires missing.
She drummed her fingers impatiently. She longed to be shot of this stupid planet, where the ape-like beings seemed to insist on killing everything that moved. She wanted to collect the bounty for the Doctor and be off home. Behind her, the com-screen crackled.
"Um, Your Majesty…" a nearby Hrass coughed respectfully, pointing at the screen. She turned, and saw, to her disgust, that the Sycorax leader was on the line.
"Yes?" she asked with forced politeness. She was utterly sick of the sight of this loathsome creature.
"Where are you?" rasped the Sycorax. "Have you got the Doctor yet?"
"We have," she replied tersely. "However, we've developed a fault and are still here on Earth, and shall remain such until we can repair our ship." She cut the connection before the Sycorax could reply.
"Okay, I've done it!" Jack's voice was clear over the communicator he'd left with the Doctor and Susan in the cell. Jack himself was in the transporter room making a nuisance of himself.
"Great!" beamed the Doctor. "See you in a bit!" He stuffed the device in his pocket and pulled something else out.
"Another of Jack's gadgets?" asked Susan dryly.
"Yup. An x-ray gadget, no less. And, just as I thought, there are two beasties hanging around outside. And while we're on the subject of Jack…" he turned to look at Susan with a stern look, "… just what exactly did you do to his arm?"
"Hit it," replied Susan unblushingly.
"May I ask why?"
"For a couple of reasons," she said coolly. "One being that he promised me that Torchwood would protect me. As you can see, they've failed. The other reason occurred a couple of weeks ago. I was out with a few friends one evening, and we saw him down the street. He'd obviously had a bit too much to drink, and he started coming on to me-"
"Yeah, he does that a lot."
"- and he made quite a scene, not to mention ripped one of my favourite tops." She smiled at the Doctor's expression. "So he deserved it, really. He'll admit as much himself."
"Fair enough. It's good to see you can take care of yourself."
"Doctor!" This time it was Martha's voice. "Everyone except me, Jack and Harriet are in the transporter room. We're on our way over."
"Good." The Doctor beamed again. "Try to take both guards away. I don't want to have to set Susan on any of them." He winked cheekily at his granddaughter.
"Will do. See you."
A few minutes later, they heard the telltale shouts and foot stamping of humans running around making a nuisance of themselves, followed by the characteristic boiiiiiiiing of a pair of large grasshoppers chasing the aforementioned humans.
The Doctor grabbed Susan's hand and, together, they ran out of the cell and down the now deserted corridor towards the control room.
"Oh, I missed this!" cried Susan happily.
After being caught, Martha, Jack and Harriet had been shoved unceremoniously over the Hrass' shoulders, and carted off towards what appeared to be the control centre. In the middle sat the bee-thing that the Doctor had mentioned.
"The intruders, Your Majesty."
The bee fluttered gracefully from her chair. "Humans," she hummed disdainfully. "I should punish you for intruding on my ship."
The humans went white.
"Fortunately for you, I have no jurisdiction over you." Martha breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "But I can detain you for as long as I want…"
"Are you implying that you'd take us away with you?" asked Martha nervously.
"I am."
"But, of course, she's bluffing. They can't take off," said Jack confidently. "You're missing certain wires."
"And what wires would I be missing?" Stinga enquired lightly, though she was getting suspicious.
"The wires from your main engine. These wires," he added, holding out a fistful of colourful wires.
Stinga was not amused. She flung out her arm angrily, catching Jack across the chest and flinging him across the room, narrowly missing a group of Hrass that had just entered. Martha thought she saw something else, but her gaze slid away.
"I'll make your detention so difficult for you," buzzed Stinga angrily.
"Yeah… except you won't!"
The assembled group suddenly noticed the Doctor, and then Susan. They were both pulling something from around their necks.
"The convict!"
"Wrong!" said the Doctor cheerily. "Because I never killed those Sycorax."
"No?" asked Stinga, sounding extremely doubtful.
"No, he didn't," said a voice. "I did."
Almost everyone in the room turned, in shock, to look at Harriet, whose face was pale, yet determined.
The Doctor clapped his hands. "Ex-act-ly! Now, do you want to tell the Sycorax, or will I?" Without waiting for an answer, the Doctor dashed over to the screen and fiddled with the controls, until the face of a Sycorax appeared.
"Oh, my God," breathed Martha, recognising the species from three Christmases ago.
"Stinga! Do you have the Doctor?" roared the Sycorax.
"Right here, big fella!" yelled the Doctor happily. "I'm the Doctor, and I address the Sycorax according to Article Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation, with all the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorious and the Gelth Confederacy, as sanctioned by the Mighty Jagrafess and the Daleks." He winked at Harriet, who had just given an unladylike snort. "I am innocent!"
"Explain!"
"I did not kill your friends. The real culprit is here." Harriet stepped forward, and nodded. "However, you have no jurisdiction over Earth and its inhabitants. I, as a Time Lord, do, and have punished her as is my duty."
"Really?" interrupted Stinga interestedly. "Ever considered a partnership?"
"No," replied the Doctor firmly, turning back to the Sycorax. "On behalf of Harriet Jones, I apologise for the murder of the ship-load of Sycorax, and ask that your kind leave this planet alone, to ensure there is no repeat of this terrible business."
They could all see the indecision on the Sycorax's face. Evidently, it wanted to punish Harriet itself, but on the other hand, it had heard of the Doctor. It didn't want to risk coming up against him. The Doctor was the Earth's champion, and had defeated one of his best warriors. Eventually, it gave in.
"Very well." The communication was cut.
Jack handed Stinga the engine wires. "No hard feelings?" Stinga stung him on the arm, and stalked away. "Today is not my day with women," he said sadly.
"Don't bother showing us the way out," called the Doctor as they went out. "We know where to go."
Five minutes later, the entire group was standing in the middle of a deserted play park, watching the ship fly away.
"Will they come back?" asked Harriet.
"I doubt it. They can't arrest you, and they're not after me anymore. If they ever come back it'll be for a holiday," he added with a grin, but the grin instantly faded as Harriet started to cry. He put an arm around her. The others drew away tactfully.
"I saw the list of the dead, after the Battle at Canary Wharf. It said Rose Tyler." Harriet's voice was barely audible.
"She's not dead," replied the Doctor. "She's trapped in a parallel world with her parents and her boyfriend."
"That's just as bad as far as I'm concerned!" sobbed Harriet. "The last thing she saw me do was something awful!"
"One day, I'll find her," promised the Doctor. "And when I do, I swear I'll tell her what you did today. I promise."