The Tyler Factor

By Lumendea

Chapter Twenty-One: The Dreaming: Welcome to Australia

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

…

Rose Marion Tyler let out a small sigh of relief as the plane made a slight jolt, a sign that the wheels were finally touching down on the ground. Around her, she could hear other people making similar sighs of relief and a newlywed couple across the aisle from her exchanged happy looks. Leaning forward, Rose rolled her shoulders slightly and curled her toes inside her trainers. Despite having gotten a first class ticket, at a discount rate thanks to a contact of Tegan's, the trip had been over twenty-four hours long without including the stopover in Singapore and her layover in Adelaide, Australia. It was a little disappointing really; she'd never been to China before since the Doctor's last attempt to take her there had landed her in Prague. Rose smiled as the plane gently taxied and turned, that trip had been nice even if it wasn't China. It wasn't every girl that got to waltz with her lover before he even met her.

The intercom buzzed on, welcoming the passengers to Alice Springs, Australia and thanking them for their business. It was finally over and she was in the heart of Australia for a brand new adventure. Rose rolled her shoulders and yawned, shaking her head to clear the fatigue threating to take her over. She shouldn't be tired, she'd put in earbuds and slept most of the last leg of the trip. Not to mention her early departure from Heathrow meant that she'd slept during the first part of the trip as well. It just didn't compare to the TARDIS.

Pulling out her phone, Rose turned it back on and silently thanked her universal roaming plan that meant she didn't have to worry about silly little things like what country she was in and what carriers were in the area. The clock indicated that they were actually a little early, surprising but pleasant. Rose figured that Tegan being a former flight attendant would already be at the airport waiting for her.

As the plane rolled to its gate, Rose felt the nervous energy of an adventure creeping over her. Outside the windows, she could see bright sunny and blue skies. It was summer in Australia and Tegan had called her with a rather cryptic request for help. School didn't resume in Cambridge until January 19 meaning that Rose had ten days to find out why Tegan had called and helped her solve her problem. But Rose knew that the Doctor's former companion wouldn't have called with some normal problem, no this had to be something interesting and exciting.

Calmly, Rose collected the backpack containing her laptop from under the seat and her small rolling suitcase from the overhead bin, smiling inwardly that she didn't have to worry about baggage claim. It felt great to stand up and stretch out her leg muscles, but soon the crowd of people pushing against her to speed up departure was threatening her good mood. Rose sucked in a deep breath and nearly started running when she finally stepped out of the plane and was able to move down the long corridor towards the gate.

It didn't take her long to spot Tegan in the crowd of faces. The former companion of the Doctor was grinning at her, a look of relief evident on her face. Smiling in return, Rose moved past the barriers and met up with Tegan. The older woman stepped forward and threw her arms around Rose, hugging her tightly. Rose returned the embrace for a moment before she glanced around. It was the smallest airport she'd ever seen, discounting only the private military hangers she'd flown into. She hadn't looked up much about Alice Springs, but she knew the population was much lower than she was used to. Tegan apparently had a small home here in addition to her main residence in Sydney.

"Do you have any baggage to pick up?" Tegan asked as they parted.

"No, my flight information warned that it was a smaller plane and that I'd been switching airlines," Rose explained as she gestured to her backpack and a smaller bag. "So I tried to keep it simple."

"Good girl," Tegan praised as she took Rose's arm and began to steer her outside. "Come on then, we've got a lot to go over and you must be ready to drop."

Rose was led out of the airport quickly; Tegan seemed to know just how to navigate the airport system. Soon enough they were in the car park and heading for a dark coloured SUV.

"Get comfortable," Tegan told Rose gently as she climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV and Tegan loaded her bags in the back. "It's a long drive north."

"Where are we going?" Rose asked, leaning to look back at Tegan.

"A friend of mine is watching my kids so we're heading straight out to the problem," Tegan informed her before closing the backup and coming around to the driver's side. "We'll stop on the outskirts of Alice Springs for some food and supplies."

"How long are we talking?"

"About six hours," Tegan answered. "Our destination is Yulara. I've got a nice hotel room there that we can work out of. You'll need to get some sleep, but it is urgent that we stay close in case of trouble."

Rose blinked at the statement, her jaw dropping slightly, but she nodded. Tegan pulled out of the car park smoothly and said nothing as they paid for their parking and fled the area. Rose looked out the window and wondered if she'd have any time to see the sights of Australia while she was here or if her adventure was going to be restricted to wherever Tegan was taking her.

"Is there a reason we can't fly or are there no flights?"

"There are normally flights, but they've been stopped in light of recent events?"

"So what did you not want to tell me on the phone?" Rose asked as they sped down the road. She slipped her hand out the open window and grinned at the feel of the warm summer breeze on her skin.

"We're trying to keep this quiet," Tegan said carefully, a hint of nervousness in her tone. "And honestly it's a bit strange."

"Strange for us?" Rose questioned, raising an eyebrow and looking towards Tegan.

"Yes, strange even for us."

"I'm very curious now," Rose told her. "Come on Tegan, I came all the way to Australia because you asked me to. Can I please get some details?"

"How much do you know about the aboriginals?"

"Uh… well they are the indigenous people of Australia and like a lot of other conquered native cultures faced a long period of persecution," Rose said uncertainly. "At least that's what a BBC special said. I know that you work on issues that relate to them and your organisation is one of the major voices for their rights. Other than that I'm afraid I don't know much. History isn't really my thing Tegan, it's Barbara's."

"Well, this isn't about their history, not really. This is about their culture, specifically the aboriginal concept of Dreamtime," Tegan informed Rose as they turned continued to head out of the main city, such as it was.

Already the buildings of Alice Springs were fading away behind them and traffic was beginning to lighten. Stretching out in front of them was suburban housing complete with green lawns. Beyond that Rose could see miles of dusty brown terrain stretching out as far as she could see.

"The trouble is at the Uluru Stone," Tegan continued with a guarded tone. "I work with aboriginal leaders to help protect their sacred sights and the Uluru Stone is one of the most important. Many don't even like tourists climbing Uluru."

"I'm afraid I don't know much about this Uluru Stone or the Dreamtime."

"Right, well its better-known name is the Ayers Rock, though nowadays it's officially known by both names. It's the large reddish stone hill in the outback. It rises straight out of the ground."

"Oh yeah, I've seen pictures of that," Rose agreed with a nod of realisation.

"The Dreamtime is sort of the mythology of the aboriginals, but it is more complex and spiritual than most western mythology. Dreamtime actually is the name of the sacred era in which ancestral Totemic Spirit Beings formed the world or Creation. Many aboriginal beliefs, traditions and ideals are connected to this. There are taboos that protect the environment and people follow a certain set of these traditions based on where they were born or their family."

"Okay…" Rose said slowly, "So what's up?"

"Well a lot of strange things have been seen at Uluru Stone recently," Tegan told her nervously, nibbling at her lip. "Glowing misty animals have been seen and the rock itself seems to be vibrating. Some of the aboriginals who still believe think that something is coming, but I don't believe in the Dreaming myself."

"What has you so worried Tegan?"

"A friend of mine vanished three days ago while trying to get some footage of the strange creatures we've been seeing. When I went looking for them I saw one of the things myself, it's a kind of animals and was glowing bright red, but Rose I'm certain that it wasn't an earth animal."

"Something alien?"

"Exactly, there is something alien at Uluru Stone and I can't call in UNIT just yet. There is so much sensitivity about the site and these things look like something out of the Dreaming stories. It's very delicate; I need someone to check things over."

"Okay," Rose said with a nod. "I've done Greek monsters and Egyptian gods before; I can handle aliens hijacking aboriginal dreams."

"Dreaming or Dreamtime Rose," Tegan sighed loudly as she shook her head. "It's a time period and pattern of life. Like I said it is a rather different concept than what we're used to, but it is very important and has inspired and informed the entire culture here."

Rose was about to ask for more details when Tegan pulled them off the road and into a small gas station. She shoved a bunch of the local money, brightly coloured dollars decorated with the face of the Queen and other people that she didn't recognise, into her hand. Following Tegan's orders, Rose headed inside the store to grab water and some food while Tegan began to fill up with gas. She headed straight for the washroom, splashed some water on her face and quickly brushed out her tangled hair with a small comb. She looked exhausted, but Rose didn't linger too long in front of the mirror. She picked up several water bottles, some trail mix and a couple other things that looked edible and headed back out to join Tegan.

Rose adjusted her seat slightly before climbing back into the SUV and did her best to put a smile on her face. The last time she'd been in a car for a trip this long had been when she'd gone to Wales with Shareen and Sharon to help Eve. Sadly Tegan didn't seem to be in a cheerful talking mood. Something about what was happening at Ayers Rock really had to her bothered. Rose saw Tegan finish pumping the gas and head inside. Pulling out her phone, Rose pressed the button for Spock and waited for the call to go through.

"Hello Rose," Spock greeted calmly. "How was your flight?"

"Not bad, but it was no TARDIS," Rose answered calmly. "Listen, Spock, I need you to scan the Ayers Rock area. Tegan called me here to help, but she seems unusually worried and actually sort of scared."

"Are you looking for anything particular?"

"No, just some highlights of anything unusual that you can find. If you can manage a scan of the place I'd like to know if you pick up any alien tech."

"Very well, I'll begin the search. Shall I call you?"

"We'll be driving for a bit if there isn't anything urgent then send it to my computer and I'll check it in the morning."

"Very well," Spock replied. "Stay safe."

Rose could see Tegan coming out of the gas station and quickly assured Spock she'd be fine before hanging up the phone and slipping the phone away. Tegan climbed back into the vehicle, started it up and they were off.

Since Tegan didn't seem to want to talk about what was happening, just insisting that Rose would see soon enough and that she didn't want to influence her, they talked about Rose's classes and school. Tegan's mood improved greatly as she talked about her two children and she asked a lot of questions about how Luke was handling school.

"He's well," Rose assured Tegan. "I don't think he'd be as happy as he is without Rani and Clyde, but the three of them work really well together. It's actually kind of amazing what a perfect set of friends they are."

"That's good; I'll admit that knowing the boy's history and genetic makeup I worry about how other kids react to him."

"Well Luke is known as the 'brain box' at the school, but he's modest about it and helps tutor some of the other students when asked so he's garnered good will. Clyde's the class clown and is pretty popular and Rani, of course, is the Head Teacher's daughter, but a nice girl."

"I'm surprised her father supports her friendship with Clyde then."

"Well he doesn't fully, but Haresh is a good man and knows that Clyde is a good person. He's not a book person, but he's smart in his own way. Clyde is even working on drawing and writing comic books now, he's a very good artist."

"Something the two of you have in common."

"Sort of I suppose," Rose agreed with a shrug. "But I haven't taken much time for my art in a while."

"Well you might see something on this trip to inspire you," Tegan said cryptically.

As the sun set and they finished off the packaged sandwiches that Rose had grabbed for dinner, she felt her eyes getting very heavy.

"How much further?" she asked around a large yawn.

"Another hour, go to sleep. I'm fine and I don't mind."

Rose wanted to stay awake and keep Tegan company, but before she could even really think about it, she felt her eyelids close and fell asleep. Then a hand shook Rose awake and she straightened up with a hint of alarm.

"Easy Rose," Tegan called gently. "It's me, we're at the hotel. I've already checked us in. Let's get inside and get some sleep. We have an early start in the morning."

Rose nodded and climbed out of the SUV, opening up the back door to retrieve her bags. Then she heard a soft gasp from Tegan and glanced over at her, only to find the woman looking up at the hotel's roof.

"Rose, look."

Raising her eyes, Rose gasped as she suddenly caught sight of what Tegan was seeing. There in the night sky just over the roof of the hotel was a swirling animal figure of vibrant electric blue. It looked like some kind of cow or bison, but with some little differences like longer horns and a massive body. Around them, she could hear other people stopping and talking in excited whispers. The creature of light moved slowly as if walking on the air. Rose could still see the twinkle of a few stars through the creature's misty form. Then it stopped moving, spun in a circle and vanished.

"Was that?"

"Yeah," Tegan replied. "They've been showing up all over the area. We can't predict them and have no idea what's causing them. The local cover up is that it is practice for a big light show."

"Light show… people believe that."

"There are people who believe that Christmas was due to solar flare activity," Tegan countered with a shrug. "We don't think they are dangerous, but they've started up for no reason and are centred around Uluru."

"And let me guess," Rose asked as they walked into the hotel. "They look like the descriptions of the Dreamtime."

"Exactly, and those of us keeping an eye on it aren't sure if that is good or bad."

"Alright Tegan, I'm officially interested," Rose informed her with a wide grin. "We start in the morning?"

"We start in the morning."