Disclaimer: Well, no, it's not mine. Yes, I am borrowing the characters, but that's all. They're the BBC's, you know?
A/N: Thanks to the few people who did review. If it's not too much to ask for, I would like more reviewers; it'd be nice to know if it's worth continuing to write this, if I'm doing things right, or if I need to change anything. I'd be most grateful if there are any pointers, any writing tips, that anyone can give me. But my thanks go out to those who did review, of course.
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Chapter 11:
"Cowls up," the Other whispered under his breath. The Doctor obeyed quickly, and depressed the dematerialisation button. The usual accompanying burst of light flashed; an identical burst lit the darkened walls of the new room they stood in a moment later. There was a quiet noise from somewhere in the semi–darkness, an almost inaudible intake of air. Simultaneously, the Other and the Doctor froze. A light blinded them painfully for a second; when clear sight returned, a young man was in front of them, a sword held steadily in his hands. The tipoff the blade was pointing towards the Doctor's chest. Tear tracks were visible on his pale skin, and his eyes blazed with fury and anguish.
"Stay there, or by the Fates I'll run you through!" he growled, his voice choked with grief. The Doctor raised his hands in a peace gesture.
"It's all right, put the weapon d–" he winced slightly as the Other nudged his mind forcefully. The young Gallifreyan's eyes widened in shock and he gasped.
"Father–?"
"We are here to return Suri of Lungbarrow to her House," the Other interrupted sharply, his voice disguised once again. For the first time the young man's eyes flickered down to the securely held body in the Other's arms. A fearful expression crossed his features, and the sword–point dropped a few inches.
"Is– Is she d-dead?" he whispered. The Other shook his head, and the young man gave a slight relieved laugh.
"May I lay her down?" he continued. The young man ran a hand through his hair distractedly– in a very familiar gesture– and nodded. He turned, dropped the sword to a cabinet top, and beckoned for them to follow him.
The Other stood up quickly after the young woman was safely laid down. He sketched a quick bow to the young man and, with a significant nod to the Doctor, depressed the teleport. The young man started to cry out, but they had disappeared before his query and thanks were fully voiced.
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The Doctor flung his cowl back sharply, his eyes wide as he stared at the Other. The other Gallifreyan mirrored his movements, but refused to meet his gaze. With a heavy sigh, the Other turned away, and unconsciously threaded his hands through his messy hair; the Doctor drew in a quiet breath, his expression one of confirmed realisation. The Other whirled and pointed a finger at him heatedly; his expression was preoccupied and angry.
"You will not say a word, a single word, about that meeting, do you understand me Doctor?" the Doctor nodded solemnly.
"Why would I? It's your choice if you tell your son–in–law and daughter that you're leading the rebellion or not," the Other was speechless for a moment, his emerald–green eyes incredulous. The Doctor gave a lopsided smile, and leant against a lab counter. He folded his arms in a relaxed manner.
"Regardless of whether you come from the future or not, how did you know, exactly?" the Other mused "You're a very curious person, Doctor. Would you care to explain precisely how you know some of what you know? For instance, my family; Pythia? I understand that you cannot tell me all," he added quickly. The Doctor pulled a face.
"I recognised them," he replied eventually; he raised his hands hastily as the Other opened his mouth again. "I can't say any more," he added. The other Gallifreyan frowned; he sighed heavily and turned away. He shrugged out of the confining cloak before saying,
"It seems I shall have to wait for a better explanation," he flashed a quick smile. "Come, I shall assign room space to you and your friends," the Doctor nodded.
"Don't suppose you'd mind if I saw Rose quickly, would'ya?" the Other shook his head, and they left the now–silent laboratory.
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The Gallifreyan women quieted and watched Rose and Maira expectantly. A few moments passed, then they turned to address them. Rose smiled.
"Right, um, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Rose," she started awkwardly "I– I want to help you– ok, you already know that," she laughed slightly nervously. "-So– help me to help you, yeah? We'll all organise how we're going to join the rebellion; team work's the best option. I don't know exactly what your schedule is at the moment, so I'll need your help to organise how and when to join the fighting. Does, uhm, does that sound ok to you?" Quiet murmurs met her appeal; finally one woman spoke her consent. She was soon followed by several others, and the group's enthusiasm grew once more. Maira stepped to the fore.
"Can the head of textiles, head of kitchens, head of the education and head of the rota please come forwards?" the four Gallifreyans in question threaded their way to the front. Rose smiled friendlily at the newcomers. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak a panicked voice called out from the back of the gathering.
"There's someone coming!" Maira frowned and quickly shooed the nearest women away. Rose was under the impression that telepathic instructions had been issued by her second in command as the congregation scattered immediately and returned to their separate working areas. Maira grabbed her hand and pulled her back to their original seats, just as the Other and the Doctor entered. The women studiously continued with their previous tasks. None looked up as the Gallifreyan males headed to Maira and Rose.
The Doctor beamed at his companion and hugged her briefly as she returned the greeting. She caught sight of the Other over the Doctor's shoulder. She turned to him and placed her hands on her hips, facing him boldly. They appraised each other coolly for a moment.
"So did you free them?" she asked curtly. The Other's eyes narrowed and he nodded brusquely.
"My men and I have been freeing Pythia's intended sacrifices for more years than you have been alive, girl," he retorted, drawing himself up to his full height. The Doctor, still with a broad grin on his face, stepped in before more harsh words could be exchanged.
"So, what've you been up to?" he asked good–naturedly, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet as he gazed around the rocky chamber with interest. Rose rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Sewing," she replied shortly. She whacked the Doctor's arm as he stifled a chuckle. "Oi! I'm getting better at it, aren't I?" she appealed to Maira who, also stifling a smile, nodded her agreement. When Rose turned back to the Doctor, she noticed he was watching her carefully, his eyes sparkling almost–knowingly. Mentally Rose shook her head; there was no way he could know what they were planning to do, she reasoned. Outwardly she kept her smile, and hummed to herself; now she was mentally laughing to herself as she once again pictured the Doctor's and the Other's expressions of shock when they realised she and the Gallifreyan women were working alongside them.
"The Other says that he'll find us rooms," the Doctor explained "Just felt like coming to see ya first," Rose nodded and grinned at him.
"Thanks! Nice to know I'm still remembered!" she laughed. "Where's Jack? Is he ok?" the Doctor made an embarrassed noise, but nodded all the same.
"Had a bit of a mishap with one of Pythia's guards," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly "Seems like their sacrifices are killed with blades that drain the person's energy– he, well, got stabbed," he mumbled "But he's ok! He's fine now, absolutely fine, he's– he's training with Rassilon," she nodded, an expression of slight disapproval on her face; the Doctor flinched, suddenly reminded of Jackie Tyler.
"Say hi to him, yeah?" Rose said, drawing his thoughts back. He nodded furiously. The Other cleared his throat meaningfully and the Doctor sighed.
"Looks like I've gotta go," he said ruefully "I'll– I'll be back later, to take you to your room, yeah?" she smiled encouragingly at him as he shuffled his feet anxiously, looking for all the world like a guilty little boy. He glanced up at her with a quick smile. "Could I just talk to Rose by myself for a sec?" he asked of the Other. With a curious look at them both, Maira and the Other backed off.
"I'm sorry you have to stay here," he whispered, taking her hand. "But– at this time there's–" she nodded and shushed him.
"It's ok. I know there isn't any equality, but it's fine. Come on, if I was out there with you joining in with the fighting, you'd constantly be worrying about me, and then the job would never get done, would it?" she laughed. The Doctor smiled in agreement, but watched her with slight suspicion. Rose was usually all for joining in, what should make her back down this time? He shrugged.
"All right. But I want you to know that you can come and find me or Jack whenever we're in the stronghold if there's anything wrong, or if you need help–" Rose could've sworn that he sent a quick wink in her direction "– or even if you just wanna see us, that's fine," he smiled, and squeezed her hands tightly for a moment before dropping them. Rose whacked him again, good–naturedly.
"G'on then, you, you've got a job to do!" he mock–saluted her and, still grinning, he walked away. Rose, Maira and nearly every other Gallifreyan woman watched them leave; there was an audible sigh of relief as the two men disappeared. One girl nearest the chamber entrance stood up and tiptoed outside; after a moment she returned, smiling with exhilaration, to say that it was safe to continue the discussions.
Rose turned to face her deputy; she returned her smile shakily, then gestured for the heads of departments to rejoin them. All around them, excited talk of the Other's visit became audible. Rose could hear snatches of the different conversations; it seemed that the rebellion's leaders didn't visit the women and families frequently, and this visit was a surprise to many. The other main topic was the shocking similarity between Rose's visitor and the almost–legendary warrior leader. Rose smiled.
"Best get started, don't you think?" Maira said lightly, clasping her hands in front of her. Rose nodded, and faced the heads of units.
"Right, well…" she chuckled then gestured for them to move to a more secluded area. "Let's get planning!" solemnly, the six women sat down and put their heads together.
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An hour later Maira folded their scrap of stolen piece of parchment and tucked it away behind her dress belt. She was smiling, satisfied that the basis of their plans were set. She nodded gratefully at the heads of the different, key departments, and they stood up to go back their domains.
Rose stood up and stretched languorously. She beamed at Maira. "Brilliant!" she laughed. Maira was equally as happy.
"Rose– there's one more thing we need to discuss," she said, beckoning her to sit back down. "You are not one of us, you– you do not have telepathy or telekinesis. This–This fight, your involvement, will be doubly as dangerous. Please do not take offence but – but you will be a liability, both in the field and around our stronghold. Thoughts of mind–blind people can be read, for want of a better term, by even the weakest telepath. In this stronghold we have three of the strongest telepaths known to our civilisation. I have a feeling that you will be in close contact with our leaders; it is impossible for a non–telepathic person to learn telepathy, but it is possible for one to learn to shield one's thoughts. I think it would be best if I instructed you, starting as soon as possible. What– What are your thoughts on this?" she asked anxiously. Rose nodded slowly as she chewed on a fingernail thoughtfully.
"As an extra precaution," she agreed "I think… it's a really good idea! That way I can actually join in the fighting, and train with you," she smiled. Maira pulled her chair closer and leant in.
"To start, you must clear your mind of all thoughts and of all emotions. Close your eyes and count from twenty downwards, breathing in every other even number, breathing out on every other odd number…" around them the bustle of work started in earnest. Each woman worked fervently, each with a spark of determination and hope for the future burning in their hearts.
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