The Sontaran Stratagem (Jordan's Journey's)
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Me: Hi! Just a quick note, a poll is on my profile of the fandoms I feel comfortable writing a crossover in using this fandom. Please feel free to vote on what you would like to see!
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Italics show thoughts or telepathic communication.
Bold is information on a computer screen.
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Martha Jones was recruited into U.N.I.T on the recommendation of Agents Mason and Williams shortly after the Year That Never Was. Jones was fast tracked through medical school and placed into field work at her own request. Agent Mason requested the transfer of Jones into her own department shortly after this. The request was denied.
Tory clicked her tongue behind her teeth as she read over the report she had 'borrowed' from the Majors' computer after her last visit. She sat back in her chair and frowned at the screen, there was no reason for the Major to refuse the transfer request other than the prejudice he held towards Tory and Jordan; mostly Tory though. The man had hated her from the moment she had stepped into the building as a smarter-than-average-human and then came back as a 'dangerous alien entity' (his words, not hers). It was an irrational hatred that Tory, admittedly, did nothing to fix. But still, refusing Martha what was essentially a promotion in order to spite Tory was taking it a bit far, right? Well Tory certainly thought so.
She sighed and leant back in her chair, closing the report and putting her computer into standby mode, it wasn't like it had mattered much in the end for Martha; she ended up attached to Colonel Maces' detachment. A nice man according to the reports Tory had also 'borrowed', he was respected by his men and his fellow officers. If Martha worked hard she could probably earn herself a promotion in the next two years.
"Tory." Jordan stuck her head around Tory's office door. "Time to ship out."
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Dr Martha Jones was stood in an alleyway. She was waiting. She had just called in the Doctor, using the phone she had left with him what felt so long ago but was really only a couple of months for her, who knew how long it had been for him. Her waiting came to an end as the whirring-grating noise that heralded the arrival of the TARDIS rang out through the alley, echoing uncomfortably in the confined space. The blue box solidified and Martha waited with baited breath for the doors to open.
The tenth Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS doors, looking to see if he was in the right place, not that he'd admit that if questioned, and stepped out as he spotted Martha.
"Martha Jones." He said.
"Doctor."
They closed the distance between them and hugged.
"You haven't changed a bit!" he exclaimed happily as he let go of her.
"Neither have you!" she returned.
"How's the family?" he asked.
"You know, not so bad. Recovering."
"What about you?"
Donna stepped out of the TARDIS doors, trying to be quiet and not ruin the reunion but the Doctor heard her and turned to look, drawing Martha's attention as well.
"Right." Martha nodded to herself. "Should have known. Didn't take you long to replace me then."
"Now, don't start fighting." The Doctor ordered, taking a step back so the two women could see each other fully. "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha." He introduced. "Please don't fight, can't bear fighting."
"You wish." Donna scoffed, stepping forwards and shaking Martha's hand. "I've heard all about you. He talks about you all the time."
The two women continued to talk for a few moments before they were interrupted by the walkie-talkie at her waist.
"Dr Jones, report to base please. Over."
Martha plucked the device from her belt to reply.
"This is Dr Jones." She said. "Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go. I repeat, this is a go!" She started moving to the mouth of the alleyway, the Doctor and Donna following, confused. They emerged in time to stare as the U.N.I.T. soldiers, trucks and van rolled passed them, heading towards the factory building. "Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go!" Martha ordered. "Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta."
"What are you searching for?" the Doctor yelled over the sound of the trucks and the shouting soldiers.
"Illegal aliens." Martha yelled back, holding up her hand to stop the Doctor asking more questions, her attention fully fixed on her walkie-talkie.
"This is a UNIT operation." The Loudspeakers announced. "All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediately!"
"B section mobilised! E section, F section, on my command!" Martha was still talking as she darted off. Leaving the Doctor and Donna to stare as the soldiers grabbed the blue uniformed workers, forcing them to their knees at gunpoint.
"Is that what you did to her?" Donna demanded. "Turn her into a soldier?"
The Doctor looked massively uncomfortable as he stared at what Martha had just put into action; had he done this to her, changed her from that innocent medical student into a soldier?
The two time travellers continued to watch before being interrupted as a woman with long black hair pulled up into a bun and wearing a U.N.I.T uniform jogged up.
"Oh, don't look so uneasy Doc." Jordan grinned as the Doctor winced at her preferred nickname for him and slapped him playfully on the shoulder.
"Who's this then?" Donna asked interestedly but with a hint of disgust for what the uniform represented, "Another one of your companions?"
"No." the Doctor answered, stepping aside to introduce the two, "Donna, Jordan. Jordan, Donna."
"Nice to meet you." Jordan said, shaking Donna's hand, "Jordan Mason; Senior U.N.I.T. officer in charge of the Time Lord Relations office."
"Time Lord Relations?" Donna repeated with a smirk, "That mean you're his boss?" She jerked her head towards the Doctor.
"Why don't they fight anymore?" the Doctor moaned to himself as Donna and Jordan continued their conversation.
"Pretty much." Jordan answered with a shrug, "But mostly it's me and Tory running around cleaning up his messes." She turned to the Doctor, "Those images of the TARDIS in the pyramids," Jordan frowned, "had the Egyptian Government accusing British forces of vandalism." The Doctor rubbed at the back of his head nervously. "Tory went back and tried to fix it," Jordan continued, "and managed to be mistaken for a goddess. I almost got fired for that."
"Sorry." The Doctor offered sheepishly before looking around and over Jordan's shoulder. "Where's Tory?" he asked, eagerly.
"In the command centre." Jordan answered with a smirk for the love-stricken fool, "She'll be glad to see you."
The Doctor grinned; a silly, love-struck, grin. Jordan and Donna shared a knowing smile.
Martha walked back over.
"And you're qualified now?" he asked her recalling how she'd being addressed by the person on the other side of the walkie-talkie, "You're a proper doctor?"
"U.N.I.T. rushed it through given my experience in the field." She gestured to left. "Here we go." They started walking, Martha and the Doctor in a pair with Jordan and Donna following, Jordan keeping a wary eye out. "We're establishing a field base on site." Martha explained. "They're dying to meet you."
"Wish that I could say the same." The Doctor muttered as they stopped at the back of a large black lorry. Martha opened the door and led the way inside, Jordan closing it behind them.
Inside, it turned out, was a giant mobile control centre, set up on two levels; the bottom was dominated by a large screen with various U.N.I.T. Tech officers sitting at smaller computers in front of it, the top half had a single back of computers and the commanding officer.
Jordan slid around the Doctor and Donna and made her way over to the side office, her office, separated from the rest of the area by a clear set of glass doors. Inside was Tory, though the Doctor hadn't noticed yet, she was bent over the desk studying a map of the facility U.N.I.T. had just raided.
"Operation Blue Sky complete, sir." Martha was speaking outside the office, Jordan and Tory able to hear her as Jordan had left the door open. "Thanks for letting me take the lead. And, this is the Doctor. Doctor, Colonel Mace."
Colonel Mace turned and saluted.
"Sir!"
"Oh, don't salute." The Doctor said.
"Well, it's an honour, sir!" Mace explained. "I've read all the files on you and, technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."
"So Jordan's told me." The Doctor agreed.
"What," Donna spoke up, "you used to work for them?"
"Yeah, long time ago." He explained. "Back in the 70s. Or was it the 80s? But it was all a bit more homespun back then."
"Times have changed, sir."
"Yeah," the Doctor glared lightly, "that's enough of the "sir"."
"Come on now Doctor," Martha said excitedly, "you've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant. We've got massive funding from the United Nations. All in the name of home world security."
"A modern UNIT for a modern world." Mace stated proudly.
"What, and that means arresting ordinary factory workers?" Donna demanded. "In the streets, in broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute." Mace looked to the Doctor for help but the Time Lord just nodded in agreement with his human companion.
"Ma'am." Mace gave the salute she asked for.
"Thank you." Donna said with a slight nod of acknowledgement.
"Tell me." The Doctor spoke up, getting the conversation back on topic. "What's going on in that factory?"
"Agent Mason?" Mace prompted, turning to face her office and get the woman's attention.
Jordan walked back out of the office and over to the group. She spotted the Doctor's eyes focussing over her shoulder and onto Tory.
"Yesterday," Jordan explained, gesturing at the large central screen on the lower level, "52 people died in identical circumstances, right across the world, in eleven different time zones. Five AM in the UK, six AM in France, eight AM in Moscow, one PM in China."
"You mean they died simultaneously." The Doctor cut in. His eyes flicking between Tory, Jordan and the screen which was now showing a map, the location and time of each death highlighted in bold for easy comparison.
"Exactly." Mace agreed. "52 deaths at the exact same moment, worldwide."
"How did they die?" the Doctor questioned.
"They were all inside their cars." Said Mace.
"They were poisoned." Martha elaborated. "I checked the biopsies, no toxins. Whatever it is left the system immediately."
"What have the cars got in common?" the Doctor asked.
"Completely different makes." Martha shrugged. "They're all fitted with ATMOS. And that," she pointed towards the factory, "is the ATMOS factory."
"What's ATMOS?" the Doctor questioned, staring at the map.
"Oh, come on." Donna scoffed. "Even I know that. Everyone's got ATMOS!"
Tory chose this moment to leave the office and approach the group.
"I'll show you." She offered, kissing the Doctor on the cheek and smiling at Donna. "Nice to see you again, Donna."
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Tory led the group into the factory and onto the catwalk over the factory floor, letting the others see the U.N.I.T. grunts sort out the factory workers.
"Stands for Atmospheric Omission System." She explained. "Fit ATMOS in your car, reduces CO2 emissions to zero."
"Zero?!" the Doctor interrupted. "No carbon, none at all?"
"Oh yes." Donna said. "Sat-nav and 20 quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend. Bargain!"
"And this is where they make it, Doctor." Mace said grandly, "Shipping worldwide. 17 factories across the globe, but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."
"And you think ATMOS is alien?" the Doctor asked Mace.
"Isn't everything nowadays?" Jordan said with a sigh, shaking her head.
"It's our job to investigate that possibility. Doctor?" Mace gestured towards their next destination.
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They entered one of the ATMOS factory offices where U.N.I.T. personnel had already set up an ATMOS unit for the Doctor to inspect in the centre of the room.
"And here it is," said Mace gesturing towards the device, "laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."
"You must've checked it, before it went on sale." The Doctor said, pulling out his glasses and walking over to the device.
"We did, we found nothing." Martha said. "That's why I thought we needed an expert."
"Oi!" Tory cried indignantly.
"You were busy." Jordan said with a shrug. "Plus, not our department; we've only been called in because of him." She jerked her head towards the Doctor.
Tory grumbled under her breath.
"So, who'd you get?" the Doctor questioned. He glanced up at the silence to find all the humans but Jordan giving him a significant look. "Oh, right! Me! Yes! Good." He nodded to himself and checked to see if Tory was laughing at him. She was. Jordan rolled her eyes.
"OK," said Donna, "so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?"
"Very good question." The Doctor nodded to himself.
"Maybe they want to help." Donna suggested. "Get rid of pollution and stuff."
"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth?" the Doctor asked her. "Eight-hundred-million. Imagine that. If you could control them, you'd have eight-hundred-million weapons."
There was silence for a few minutes as the others in the room digested his words and the Doctor started to examine the device in detail. Donna turned and left the room, a thoughtful frown on her face. Finally, the Doctor spoke up.
"Ionising nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter," he announced, "which means that ATMOS works. Filters the CO2 at a molecular level."
"We know all that, but what's its origin? Is it alien?" Mace questioned, stepping forwards in his eagerness.
"No." the Doctor answered, "Just decades ahead of its time." Both males leant over the device. "Look, d'you mind, could you stand back a bit?"
"Sorry," the man pulled back, confused, "have I done something wrong?"
"You're carrying a gun." The Doctor answered shortly. "I don't like people with guns hanging around me, all right?"
"If you insist." The Colonel retreated, offended by the Doctor's words.
Jordan scowled at the Doctor as Tory frowned to herself, her hand drifting to the small of her back where she was carrying a small regulation pistol.
"Tetchy." Martha muttered.
"Well, it's true." The Doctor tried to defend himself.
"He's a good man!" Martha snapped.
"People with guns are usually the enemy in my books." Tory winced and Jordan's scowl intensified. "You seem quite at home." He commented snidely.
"If anyone got me used to fighting it's you."
"Oh, right, so it's my fault." The Doctor snapped.
"Well, you got me the job!" Martha threw her hands in the air. "Besides, look at me. Am I carrying a gun?"
"Suppose not." He admitted with a sniff.
"It's all right for you." Martha said in a calmer tone. "You can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got to work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."
"Yeah?" he smiled. "That's more like Martha Jones."
"I learned from the best." She smiled back at him.
"Well..."
Jordan scoffed angrily.
"Come on Tory." She said, grabbing her friends arm and pulling her from the room, surprisingly Tory didn't resist; telling Jordan that the Doctor's words had had more of an effect on the female Time Lord than she was willing to admit.
They passed Donna on her way back into the room, a folder in her hands. She sighed at the looks on their faces.
"What did he do?" she asked tiredly.
Tory stayed silent as Jordan glowered and shook her head, walking past Donna without answering.
Donna sighed, even she could see how in love the Doctor and Tory were and she'd only known Tory a few hours! What could he have done to make her look like that? She shook her head and walked back into the room.
The Doctor was already staring towards the door, a confused look on his face. Why did Tory and Jordan leave like that? Did I do something?
"Oi, you lot!" Donna called out as she entered the room, drawing the attention of Mace as he walked passed. "All your storm troopers and your sonics...You're rubbish! Should've come with me."
"Why, where have you been?" the Doctor asked curiously.
"Personnel." She gloated, holding up the file in her hands. "That's where the weird stuff's happening, in the paperwork. Cos I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way round an office blindfolded, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file."
"Why, what's inside it?" the Doctor was excited now. "Or what's not inside it?"
"Sick days." Donna opened the file to show just how empty it was. "There aren't any. Hundreds of people working here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip, nothing. Not ever! They don't get ill."
"That can't be right." Mace protested, reaching out for the file.
"You've been checking out the building, should've been checking out the workforce." Donna told him, handing over the file without protest.
"I can see why he likes you." Martha muttered to the other woman. "You are good."
"Super temp!" Donna said with a grin.
"Doctor Jones," Mace spoke up, handing the file over to her, "set up a medical post, start examining the workers. I'll get them sent through." He left the room again.
"Come on, Donna." Said Martha. "You can give me a hand."
Martha walked out.
"Give us a second." Donna called after her turning to the Doctor. "What did you do?" she demanded.
"I don't know." He looked so lost that Donna couldn't stay mad at him.
"You'd better fix it, whatever it was." She warned. "I'm not lettin' you lose the best thing to ever happen to you." She turned and walked after Martha. The Doctor smiled after her for a moment before darting after the Colonel.
"So this, this ATMOS thing." He said as he caught up to Mace. "Where did it come from?"
"Luke Rattigan himself." Mace answered.
"And 'himself ' would be?"
"This way." Mace said, leading the Doctor back to the command centre and pulling up the boy's file on the computer. "Child genius." Mace explained. "Invented the Fountain 6 search engine when he was twelve years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school, educating students, handpicked from all over the world."
"A hothouse for geniuses, wouldn't mind going there." Mace shot him a puzzled look. "I get lonely." The Doctor explained. "Tory's the only one who can keep up with me."
"Ah." The Colonel nodded. "Agent Williams is one of the best."
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The Doctor and Mace made their way to the garage.
"You are not coming with me!" the Doctor protested. "I want to talk to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him."
"It's ten miles outside London." Mace pointed out. "How are you going to get there?"
"Well," the Doctor floundered for a moment, "then get me a jeep!"
"According to the records you travel by TARDIS." Mace said. "And besides, Agent Mason is in charge of you and your resources."
"What? Really?" that brought the Doctor up short before he ploughed ahead anyway. "Yes, but if there is a danger of hostile aliens I think it's best to keep a super-duper time machine away from the front lines."
"I see." Mace nodded. "So you do have weapons, but choose to keep them hidden. Jenkins!"
A young man, Jenkins, walked over and saluted.
"Sir!"
Over his shoulder the Doctor spotted Jordan and Tory. The two seemed to be having a whispered argument.
"You will accompany the Doctor and take orders from him." Mace ordered.
"Yeah," the Doctor's attention went back to the conversation at hand, "I don't do orders."
"Any sign of trouble, get Jenkins to declare a Code Red." Mace said. "And good luck, sir." He saluted.
"I said no salutes."
"Now you're giving orders." Mace seemed to smirk before walking away.
"Oh, you're getting a bit cheeky, you are." The Doctor muttered, getting distracted as Donna appeared next to him.
"Doctor..." she said.
Jenkins moved away to his Jeep.
Jordan and Tory done with their argument separated; Jordan walked over to the Jeep and climbed into the front seat while Tory moved to the garage entrance and started talking to another U.N.I.T minion.
"Oh, just in time!" the Doctor said happily, grabbing his companions hand and starting towards the jeep. "Come on! Come on, we're going to the country. Fresh air and geniuses, what more could you ask?"
Donna pulled him to a stop.
"I'm not coming with you." She said gently. The Doctor stared at her. "I've been thinking. I'm sorry, I'm going home."
"Really?"
"I've got to."
"Well, if that's what you want." The Doctor said, disappointment easy to see in his body language. "I mean it's a bit soon... I had so many places I had wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the Lightning Skies of Cotter Palluni's World, Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko... Thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble, it's been brilliant. You've... you've saved my life in so many ways. You're..." he paused as he noticed Donna's growing smirk. "You're just popping home for a visit," he realised, "that's what you mean."
"You dumbo!" Donna teased.
"And then you're coming back."
"Know what you are? A great big outer-space dunce." Donna laughed.
"Yeah."
"Ready when you are, sir." Jenkins called as he settled into the jeep.
"What's more you can give me a lift." Donna was still laughing at him. "Come on!" she led the way over and they climbed inside. "Broken moon of what?"
"I know, I know."
The Jeep started to move, passing Tory as she stood still at the entrance, the U.N.I.T. member gone to follow orders. Jordan gestured to Jenkins and the Jeep stopped. Jordan stuck her head out of the window.
"Stop giving me that look!" she ordered Tory. "You know I can't stand the kicked puppy look!"
The Doctor stuck his head out of Donna's window, leaning over the woman to do it.
"You coming?" he questioned hopefully.
Tory grinned and jogged forwards.
"Thought you'd never ask." She said, climbing in the Doctor's door and sitting in his lap.
The Jeep started to move again.
The Doctor wrapped his arms around Tory's waist and pulled her back to lean against his chest.
"I'm sorry." He muttered, too low for the humans to hear. "I'm not sure what I did but I'm sorry."
Tory sighed but settled into his hold, they'd have to have a talk later but right now she was going to enjoy having his arms wrapped around her, it had been too long as far as she and her TARDIS side were concerned.
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Following Donna's directions Jenkins dropped her off at the top of her road.
Donna climbed out of the Jeep, Tory sliding into her vacated seat and the Doctor leaning over her to talk to Donna through the window.
"I'll walk the rest of the way." Said Donna, "I'll see you back at the factory, yeah?"
"Bye!" the Doctor waved and the Jeep started to move again.
"And you be careful!" Donna ordered before the Jeep turned the corner and was gone from her sight.
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Ross drove the group out of London and onto the country road that led to the Academy. Jordan sat and worked on her phone in the front seat while Tory and the Doctor sat in the back. The Doctor was leaning forwards between the two front seats to talk to Ross.
"U.N.I.T's been watching Rattigan Academy for ages." Ross was explaining to the Doctor. "It's all a bit Hitler Youth: exercise at dawn and classes and special diets."
"Turn left." The ATMOS ordered.
"Ross, one question." The Doctor hesitated. "If UNIT think that ATMOS is dodgy..."
"How come we've got it in the jeeps?" Ross finished. "Yeah, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them until we prove something's wrong."
"Turn right."
"Drives me around the bend." Ross commented.
"Oh!" the Doctor grinned as he realised that they were actually driving around a bend. "Nice one!"
"Timed that perfectly!"
"Yeah! Yeah, you did!"
Jordan rolled her eyes.
"This is your final destination." Ross parked the jeep.
Rattigan Academy was an old building, or maybe a new one that was designed to look old as the inside was certainly high-tech. But either way the outside was large and imposing. A class of the students jogged passed while Luke Rattigan himself stood and watched.
The Doctor led the way over, followed by the others.
"Is it PE?" the Doctor questioned cheerfully. "I wouldn't mind a kick around; I've got my chaps on."
"I suppose you're the Doctor?" Luke asked in a put-upon tone.
"Hello!" the Doctor smiled.
"Your commanding officer phoned ahead." Luke explained.
"Ah, but I haven't got a commanding officer. Have you?" Luke stared at the Doctor darkly. "Oh, this is Ross. Say hello, Ross."
"Afternoon, sir." Ross greeted with a nod.
"And Tory," the Doctor continued, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist. "Jordan too." Jordan rolled her eyes but didn't lift her gaze from her phone. He suddenly turned and headed for the entrance, dragging Tory with him. "Let's have a look then," he called back over his shoulder, "I can smell genius!... In a good way."
Inside the Doctor charged ahead of Luke straight into a room full of students all working on various devices and contraptions.
"Oh, now!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly, ignoring the looks he got from the various students working in the room. "That's clever, look!" he let go of Tory long enough to put his glasses on and then grabbed her hand as he peered at the device that had caught his attention. "Single molecule fabric, how thin is that?! You could pack a tent in a thimble. Oh! Gravity simulators!" he rushed around the room, Tory escaping his grasp to stand beside Jordan and Ross.
"He's worse than you." Jordan muttered to Tory, her eyes still not leaving her phone.
"Oi!"
"Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel constructs!" the Doctor continued happily. "Haha! This is brilliant! Do you know, with equipment like this you could... oh, I don't know, move to another planet or something?"
"If only that was possible." Luke said with a bland smile.
"If only that were possible." The Doctor corrected, taking of his glasses. "Conditional clause."
"I think you better come with me." Luke turned on his heel and led the way back out of the room, anger written in the way he held his shoulders.
The group entered what seemed to be Luke's personal rooms/office. In the corner was a strange device, tall enough to hold a large man and wide enough for a group. Tory looked at it, something about it ringing a bell in her head but she was distracted as Luke started talking again.
"You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that." He said scornfully.
"He called you a grunt!" the Doctor exclaimed, looking at Ross and Jordan. "Don't call Ross and Jordan grunts, he's nice! We like Ross! Not too sure about Jordan." He muttered ducking to avoid the hit Jordan had aimed at the back of his head, the fact that her eyes were still on her phone might have explained why he managed to dodge the blow. "Look at this place..." he trailed off, distracted as he wandered around the room.
"What exactly do you want?" Luke asked exasperated.
"I was just thinking," the Doctor said, wondering around and poking his head where it didn't belong, "what a responsible eighteen-year-old. Inventing zero carbon cars? Saving the world..."
"Takes a man with vision." Luke offered.
"Mmmm," the Doctor turned to face him again, stopping his exploration, "blinking vision. Cos ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol, end result: the oil's gonna run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse."
"Yeah, see, that's a tautology." Said Luke quickly. "You can't say "ATMOS system" since it stands for "atmospheric emissions system". So you're just saying "atmospheric emissions system system" d'you see, Mr Conditional Clause?"
The was silence for a moment as Luke calmed down and the Doctor watched him.
"It's been a long time since anyone said no to you, isn't it?" the Doctor asked.
"I'm still right though." Luke insisted.
"Not easy, is it? Being clever. You look at the world and you connect things. Random things. And think: why can't anyone else see it? The rest of the world is so slow."
"Yeah." Luke agreed quietly.
"And you're all on your own."
"I know."
"But not with this!" the Doctor suddenly exploded with energy, pulling an ATMOS device out of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. "Cos there's no way you invented this thing single handed. I mean, it might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages." He tossed the device at Ross, who managed to catch it before Tory took it from his hands. "No, no, I'll tell you what it's like! It's like finding this in the middle of someone's front room." He pointed towards the strange thing that had caught Tory's attention earlier. "Albeit it's a very big front room."
"And what is it?" Ross questioned.
"Please don't encourage him." Jordan sighed, holding her forehead in one hand, her phone finally put away as she focused on the Doctor.
"Yeah, just looks like a thing, doesn't it?" the Doctor spoke to Ross, ignoring Jordan's interjection. "People don't question things, they just say: Oh, it's a thing."
"Leave it alone!" Luke yelled.
The Doctor ignored him and walked into the device. Tory suddenly had a very bed feeling in her gut.
"Me, I make these connections. And this, to me, looks like" the Doctor pressed a button inside the device, "a teleport pod." He vanished.
Tory's TARDIS side flared to attention at once.
"Where's that lead?" she hissed at Luke, trying desperately not to lose control.
Jordan and Ross both pulled their weapons and aimed them threateningly at Luke.
"Answer the question." Jordan growled. "We won't ask again."
Luke was saved from whatever Jordan was planning as the teleport activated again and the Doctor ran passed him and over to the trio of U.N.I.T agents.
"Ross, get out!" he ordered, "Luke, you've got to come with me!" nobody had the chance to move as the teleport activated and out stepped a small male figure fully clad in blue armour.
"Sontaran." Tory breathed. Jordan shot her a confused look.
The Doctor grabbed the sonic out of his coat and used it on the teleport, disabling it.
"Sontaran!" the Doctor yelled. "That's your name, isn't it? You're a Sontaran. How did I know that, ay? Fascinating isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping me alive?"
"I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce." Ross said commandingly, his gun pointed at the helmet.
"Well that's not going to work." The Doctor muttered to Ross and Jordan, pushing down their guns. "Cordolaine signal, am I right? Copper excitation stopping the bullets."
"How do you know so much?" the Sontaran demanded.
"Well..."
"Who is he?" the Sontaran demanded of Luke.
"He didn't give his name." the boy explained quickly.
"But this isn't typical Sontaran behaviour, is it? Hiding! Using teenagers, stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity! Shame on you!" the Doctor mocked.
"You dishonour me, sir!"
"Yeah, then show yourself!"
"I will look into my enemy's eyes!" the helmet was removed showing a potato like head underneath.
"Oh, my god..." Ross muttered.
"Well…" Jordan hesitated, "that's not something you see every day." Tory rolled her eyes.
"And your name?" the Doctor asked.
"General Staal," the Sontaran answered, "of the Tenth Sontaran Fleet. Staal the Undefeated!"
"Well, that's not a very good nickname. What if you do get defeated? Staal the Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind?" the Doctor picked up a tennis racket and ball from somewhere on Luke's desk. "The Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy, dedicated to a life of warfare. A clone race, grown in batches of millions with only one weakness..." he explained.
"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal objected.
"No, it's a good weakness!"
"Is there such a thing?" Jordan muttered sarcastically, putting away her U.N.I.T. assigned weapon and pulling out the sonic blaster that Tory had donated to her.
"Aren't you meant to be clever?" Luke scoffed, "Only an idiot would provoke him."
"I like to think he's a bit of both actually." Jordan muttered again. Ross snorted, amused.
"No, but the Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of their neck, that's their weak spot. Which means, they always have to face their enemies in battle... isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs!" the Doctor smiled at his audience.
"We stare into the face of death!" Staal decreed.
"Yeah?" the Doctor's amusement vanished. "Well, stare at this!" he threw the ball into the air and hit it with the racket, hitting the teleport and bouncing the ball into Staal's probic vent. The Sontaran went to one knee. The Doctor pulled Tory from the room, Jordan and Ross following behind.
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The four climbed back into the U.N.I.T jeep and sped off down the road.
"Greyhound 40 to Trap 1, repeat, can you hear me? Over." The Doctor was saying into the radio while Jordan tried to get signal on her phone.
"Why's it not working?" Ross asked, his eyes darting from the Doctor to the road and back again.
"Must be the Sontarans." Tory explained, watching the road behind them for any sign of pursuit.
"We better hope not." The Doctor muttered, "If they can trace that, then they can isolate the ATMOS."
"Turn left." The ATMOS instructed.
"Try going right!" the Doctor commanded, eyeing the ATMOS suspiciously.
"It said left." Ross pointed out.
"I know! So go right!"
Ross tried to turn the wheel.
"I've got no control, it's driving itself! It won't stop!"
The Doctor pulled out the sonic and tried to disable the ATMOS device.
"The doors are locked!" Ross reported as he failed to open his door.
"Ah, it's deadlocked, I can't stop it! The sat-nav's just a box, but ATMOS is wired through the whole car!"
The jeep swerved off the road and onto a rocky riverbank.
"We're heading for the river!"
Contrary to the Doctor and Ross, Jordan and Tory had sat calmly and quietly while the males panicked. Jordan sighed and gestured to Tory who grabbed the Doctor and Jordan while Jordan grabbed Ross and activated her Meridian Particles. They re-materialised around ten metres behind the truck as it splashed into the water.
"We need to get back to the factory." Jordan announced into the stunned silence of the two males. "Tory, I need you to take me there. Ross you and the Doctor get back to Donna's: make sure she's safe and see if you can find out anything from the ATMOS in her car."
"Yes ma'am." Ross saluted.
Tory looked torn before nodding to herself. She yanked the Doctor down by his tie and kissed him breathless before letting him go and strutting over to Jordan, taking her arm.
"Whenever you're ready." Jordan said sarcastically, "Not like the world's in danger or anything, is it?"
Tory just grinned at her cheekily before the two vanished in a silver flash.
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Me: And so ends The Sontaran Stratagem. Tune in next month for the exciting conclusion!