Chapter Eleven
The Doctor gritted his teeth and pushed forward through the snow. The snow stung against his face and his body was beginning to feel the effects of the cold after walking almost two miles through the snowstorm.
Where is it? He thought to himself as he stumbled through the snowdrifts.
He gasped as he took a step and sank in a snowdrift up to his thigh. Cursing, he pulled his leg out and pushed on, straining his eyes for a glimpse of the familiar blue box. The snow obscured his vision making it difficult for him to see anything and for a moment the Doctor wondered if he had gotten off track and gotten lost. Then, when he was just about to turn back, he saw it. The comforting sight of his TARDIS standing like a blue beacon through the blinding blizzard. He laughed to himself in triumph as he found the strength to make it the rest of the way to his ship. Five minutes later, he reached the door and sighed as he leaned against it.
"I'm back, girl." He said.
He smiled when he felt the TARDIS vibrate against his cheek. Leaning against her, he reached into his jacket pocket and found the key. He unlocked the door and with a grunt, managed to push it open and stumble inside. Sighing, he grabbed the railing and caught his breath as the TARDIS let out a concerned burble.
"Rose isn't with me." He said to her when he got his breath back. "She's back in the city."
The TARDIS burbled quizzically.
""I had to leave her behind. It was bad enough coming here by myself. I couldn't risk her life."
The TARDIS let out another burble.
"We're not leaving yet, girl. There's someone that needs our help. I'm here to get some medical supplies and once I've helped her, then I'll bring Rose back and we'll leave."
Getting his strength back, he let go of the railing and headed towards the back of the console room. The TARDIS let out another burble when she saw how weak her friend was. The Doctor shook his head.
"I can't risk it." He said to her. "If I move you closer to the city, someone might be able to get a hold of you. As tempted as I am, I have to leave you here."
He smiled when the TARDIS cooed.
"I'll be alright, girl. I promise. I just need to get my second wind back, that's all. It takes more than a snowstorm to stop little ol' me."
He walked into the med bay and looked around.
"Now, let's see, what do I need?" he mused.
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Rose let Myra lead her into the kitchen.
"Just have a rest, honey. You're frozen solid." She said smiling at her. "Let me get you something warm to drink."
Rose sat down in one of the chairs as Quazak stepped through the hole with another man.
"I can't believe the Doctor would be so foolish." He said as he and the man sat down beside her. "It's almost like your friend has a death wish or something."
Rose smiled a ruthful smile at that.
Myra looked at him and the other man.
"Something to drink, loves?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll have a glass of Porpilia juice." He said.
Myra nodded. She looked at the other man.
"And you, Labo?"
"Same." Labo replied.
She looked at Rose.
"Would you like some Porpilia juice, dear?"
Rose frowned.
"Um, what is it?" she asked.
"It's made from Porpilia berries." Myra replied.
"Yeah, that tells me a whole Hell of a lot." Rose muttered under her breath.
"What, dear?"
"Nothing, just thinking aloud." Rose said quickly. "I was just wondering if you have anything non-alcoholic."
Myra looked at Quazak and Labo.
"Porpilia juice is non-alcoholic." She said to her.
"Oh! Well, yeah, I'll have some of that then." Rose said.
Quazak frowned.
"Why are you so concerned about it being non-alcoholic?" he asked.
"I just…don't like the taste of alcohol, is all." She said.
Quazak and Labo stared at her.
"Wow, never heard that before." Quazak said.
"What?" Rose asked.
"You're the first person I've ever met who didn't like alcohol." He said.
Rose shrugged.
"I just never liked it. Besides, I can't hold my liquor very well."
She gave Quazak a pointed look.
"I'm sure you'd understand that." She said.
Quazak coughed and turned away as Labo chuckled to himself.
"Here you go, loves." Myra said setting three bowls of Porpilia juice in front of them.
Rose picked up the bowl and stared at the contents. The juice was a bright red and she could tell it was hot by the steam rising from it. She glanced over at Quazak and Labo and saw that they were watching her as they sipped their juice.
"It's Porpilia juice." Quazak swallowing the liquid in his mouth. "What? You've never drank it before?"
"Well, to be honest, no." Rose replied.
"Well, I can tell you right now there's not a drop of alcohol in it so you don't have to worry about getting pissed out of your mind!" Quazak said as Labo snickered.
Rose glared at them as they laughed and nudged each other. She put the bowl to her lips and took an experimental sip as the two men watched with amusement.
"Well…" Quazak said. "Is it to your liking?"
"It's pretty good. Tastes like grapes." Rose replied.
Quazak frowned. He turned to Labo.
"What the Hell are grapes?" he asked him as Labo shrugged.
He turned back to Rose.
"Well, is it tasting like grapes a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked.
"A good thing."
"Oh, good, well drink up then." Quazak said.
Rose took another sip. She paused and savored the warm juice going down her throat and warming her body. She hated that the Doctor was out in weather like this. She wished he would have waited, but she understood his wanting to get away from this place as soon as they could. She sipped her juice as she silently prayed for his safety.
Labo finished his drink and sat it on the table.
"That was good. I gotta go though. Zak wants me to do guard duty tonight. I need to rest up."
"See ya later then." Quazak said.
"Oh, um, Labo." Rose said.
Labo paused and looked at her.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Um, if you're on watch and the Doctor comes back, could you let me know?" she asked.
"Sure…um, he's the tall, skinny bloke in the suit, right?"
"That's the one." Quazak said.
"Gotcha. Yeah, if I'm on duty, I'll let you know when he returns."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Rose said.
Labo nodded.
"See ya Myra." He said handing her his bowl.
"See ya, love. Take care of yourself." Myra replied.
He patted Quazak on the back and left the room. Myra put the bowl in the sink and went back to her cooking. Rose and Quazak sipped their drinks in silence. Rose finished hers and sat the bowl on the table.
"Very good." She said.
Quazak glanced at her.
"You want more?" he asked.
Rose thought for a moment.
"Yeah, I do actually." She said.
"Myra, she wants seconds." Quazak said.
Myra smiled and walked over to the table. Grabbing Rose's bowl, she ladled some more juice into it, paused a moment and then brought it over to her. Rose smiled her thanks and took a sip. The juice warmed her completely and she felt herself starting to relax.
"So, your friend. He always pulls crazy stunts like that?" Quazak asked.
Rose smiled.
"Yeah, he's pretty good at that kind of thing." She said.
"Better him than me. I wouldn't dare walk two miles out of town in a blizzard like this." Quazak said taking a sip. "Someone who's doing that is just asking for trouble, in my opinion."
"Well, the Doctor specializes in trouble." Rose said taking a sip.
Quazak looked at her.
"Really?" he said amused. "What does he do exactly?"
"He travels around." Rose replied.
"And you travel with him?"
"Yup."
"Neat, where have you gone?"
"Oh, all over." Rose said. "We've been to so many different times and places, sometimes it's hard to keep up with it all."
"Times?" Quazak said.
"Yeah, we travel in time and space."
She paused realizing what she had just blurted out. She glanced at Quazak and noticed he was calmly sipping his drink. She shrugged. It was just one little slip of the tongue. She wouldn't let it happen again. She took a sip of her drink. As she continued to drink, she felt her mind become fuzzy and numb. Her eyes became glazed as she slowly put the bowl back down on the table.
"So, your friend, he been traveling for a long time then?"
"Yeah, he's been doing it for centuries." Rose said in a dull voice.
"Centuries? How can that be? He looks like he's in his late 30's at most." Quazak said. "What do you mean by centuries?"
"He's lived for centuries. He's around 900 years old now."
Quazak glanced at Myra who had now turned around to listen.
"So, he's not human then?" Quazak said.
"No, he's a Time Lord."
Quazak and Myra shared a look.
"A Time Lord?" Quazak said. "I thought they were all extinct."
"He's the last."
"I see."
Quazak smirked when he noticed the dull look in Rose's eyes.
Good old Myra and her truth serum. Does the trick every time. He thought to himself. Rose will tell us everything we need to know and when she snaps out of it, she won't remember a thing.
"So, Rose," Quazak said casually. "This ship the Doctor went back to…it's a…TARDIS then?"
"Yes."
"I see, and why did the two of you come here in the TARDIS?"
"It was a game."
Quazak looked at Myra.
"A game? What do you mean a game?"
"The Doctor and I pick out random coordinates for fun and visit whatever planet comes up." Rose replied.
Quazak looked at Myra.
"Odd pastime." He said as Myra nodded.
He cleared his throat.
"So…you and the Doctor came here because our planet's coordinates came up when you were playing this...game?"
"Yes."
Quazak glanced at Myra.
"Excuse me a moment, Rose." He said getting up.
Rose sat quietly in her seat while Quazak walked around the table to Myra.
"They didn't come here on purpose?" Myra whispered to Quazak. "So, their agreeing to spend the night with us really was about finding shelter after all."
"Yes, but, I know this Doctor. Now that she's told us he's a Time Lord, I've heard of him. He's famous. He's not like the other Time Lords who went and observed history. He actually does get involved and meddles in events when he feels like an injustice has been done. He's legendary! If he gets involved with the resistance----"
"Yes, but that's the thing, Quazak, they've been trying to leave since they got here. The Doctor has been insistent about not staying here. Every time you tried to lead him on and get him to say he's here to fight, he denies it. Maybe they really did just come here on a whim and have no interest in the resistance."
"Yes, but they've seen too much now. If the Doctor does decide to get involved, it could rally even more people to fight against the emperor. He's not anonymous, Myra. He's known throughout the universe and revered by countless races. If people get wind he's here and if they think he's with the resistance, there could be full-scale riots and anarchy. We can't let that happen. Innocent or not, the Doctor has to die before he can act."
"What about the girl?" Myra asked glancing at Rose.
Quazak shook his head.
"I don't know, that's for the emperor to decide. But, we have to move quickly. If the Doctor figures out we're with the government, he'll do everything in his power to stop us."
"So, we act first?" Myra asked.
Quazak nodded.
"I'll inform the vizier what we've learned and have spies ready to apprehend him. He probably won't put up much of a fight since he'll be tired out from walking through the blizzard. In the meantime, we'll keep Rose in the dark about what we've learned. She won't remember anything when the serum wears off, so all we have to do is keep on with our little charade until the Doctor is taken into custody."
Quazak turned to leave. He paused and looked at Myra with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, and we might as well let him attend to Safira before we capture him. He's gone though a raging snowstorm to get supplies for her; it would be a right shame not to let him use them."
He patted Rose on the shoulder and with a snicker went out the door.
