Disclaimer: I don't own what you recognise; the drill should be familiar to you by now
Feedback: I'd appreciate it; I'm trying to do something a bit different here
The World of Paradox
After the chaos and self-examination caused by the Dream Lord's strange 'confrontation' with them, Amy had been hoping that the next planet they visited would be something that would help them relax, but as she looked out of the TARDIS doors, she found herself disappointed. It wasn't that their new location was that bad as a landing-site, with a sun slightly smaller than Earth's setting over a rocky field interspersed with plants, but the few trees and plants around them seemed to be relatively small compared to some of the more exotic vegetation she'd seen in her travels, and the ground overall seemed to be almost barren, given how few plants there were despite the openness of the area.
"Interesting," the Doctor said, looking around himself with a smile.
"Interesting?" Amy asked, looking back at him in surprise. "How?"
"The plants," the Doctor explained, grinning as he indicated the trees Amy had just been looking at. "Not very big yet, but considering how far we are from Earth, the lengths someone must have gone to in order to plant them here in the first place shouldn't be overlooked…"
He paused for a moment before crouching down to examine the ground, picking up a small pinch of dirt and placing it on his tongue before spitting it out. "Yep, there was definitely something wrong with this soil at some point…"
"'Something wrong with the soil'?" Amy repeated, looking sceptically at the Doctor. "Like what?"
"Hard to say; tang's too faint for me to be specific," the Doctor said apologetically as he stood back up and looked around. "The coordinates for this planet seemed familiar, but this area isn't ringing any bells…"
"Master," a voice said from behind them.
"K9?" the Doctor said, turning around to look at the robot dog in surprise. "You really shouldn't be out there, boy; sorry, but the terrain's a bit unstable-"
"Understood," K9 said, his ears whirring back and forth for a moment before he rose a few centimetres off the ground. "Is this acceptable?"
"Uh… of course," the Doctor said, shaking his head as he smiled in bemusement at his old friend. "When did Romana install that?"
"Shortly after you returned her to Gallifrey," K9 replied. "She stated that she was tired of being required to carry me everywhere."
"I'm sure," the Doctor said, chuckling briefly at the sight.
"Why don't you do that all the time?" Amy asked.
"Hover mode requires slightly more power than regular movement, Mistress," K9 responded. "Low levels of power over rough terrain is acceptable on some occasions, but it is easier to rely on existing methods of self-propulsion to get around."
"I'm sure," the Doctor said, before looking more seriously at the robot dog. "I don't suppose you recognise this place?"
"Negative," K9 confirmed, after quickly rotating in a full circle to better scan his surroundings. "No recollection that this unit or my predecessor has been here before."
"Well, that knocks a few options off the list, anyway," the Doctor noted, shaking his head thoughtfully. "It's still not much, though; I've been to so many places since I started travelling…"
He looked thoughtfully at the fragile trees for a moment, before he shrugged and glanced back at Amy and K9 with a smile. "Anyway, shall we have a stroll and see what we find?"
"Why not?" Amy smiled.
"Affirmative," K9 noted.
With those words, the three set off, the TARDIS locked behind them as they headed out onto the planet. As the Doctor walked, he noted further signs of fragile plantlife around them, arranged in a manner that suggested some form of harvest and crop cultivation was going on here even if it still had a long way to go until it was producing a truly thriving environment. It was as though this planet was still recovering from some past disaster that had done some kind of damage to its whole ecology; everything here seemed to be growing, but even Amy could tell that most of these plants couldn't have been here for long.
"Anything?" she asked, after the three of them had been walking for a few minutes with no sound from the Doctor.
"Maybe…" the Time Lord nodded thoughtfully, his gaze settling on a nearby hill. "It's been a long time whatever way you look at it, but I think… if I'm right, maybe…"
Climbing up the hill, the Doctor's smile broadened as he took in what was on the other side; a small collection of buildings, consisting mainly of metal panels or large domes, around a tall tower with something sticking out the side that looked like a half-finished tower that had been left at a 45-degree angle. The buildings became more basic as they went further out from the main tower, as though they were reinforcing what worked and only set up new habitation when circumstances demanded it, but the general impression was still interesting.
"What is that?" Amy asked, indicating the central tower; everything else she could guess was the result of some kind of recently-established colony that was still finding its way, but that part didn't seem to fit that particular impression..
"An old launch system for a spaceship…" the Doctor began, staring uncertainly at the large central structure for a moment before he grinned in realisation. "Of course; this is Uxareius!"
"Uxareius?" Amy repeated. "You've been here before?"
"First trip I took in the old girl during my exile to Earth eight lives ago," the Doctor grinned, his smile broadening as he took in the area around him. "The whole colony was struggling to produce any food because there was this ancient doomsday machine thing in an old city that was contaminating the soil, but I managed to blow it up when the Master tried to take it for himself."
"So… good trip?" Amy smiled at the Doctor's enthusiasm at retelling the story.
"One of my best, mainly because the main colony sorted out their primary problem for themselves; all I had to do was keep the Master focused on something else most of the time so he didn't make it worse," the Doctor smiled. "It's all been a long time ago for me, of course, but it looks like it wasn't that long ago for here-"
"Who are you?" a voice said from behind the group. Turning around, the Doctor and Amy found themselves facing two young men in casual clothing carrying guns standing protectively on either side of an older woman in a dark brown dress, with thick brown hair that came down to just below her neck, her face surprisingly smooth despite the hint of lines.
"Mary Ashe!" the Doctor grinned, grabbing the old woman's hand to give it an affectionate shake.
"Do I… know you?" the woman asked, looking at the Doctor in bemusement.
"You met… my grandfather… when he came here some time ago," the Doctor replied, still smiling even as Amy saw the slight falter in his expression that indicated that he was trying to come up with something at the last minute. "Doctor John Smith and his assistant Jo Grant? Back when your father was trying to set this place up? There was all that mess with IMC and the fake Adjudicator?"
"I… remember it, I just… you're his grandson?" the woman said, looking at the Doctor in surprise. "I didn't think Doctor Smith was that old…"
"He aged well, and he had my father when he was fairly young; things happen," the Doctor smiled. "He was already very proud of what you'd accomplished here, of course; couldn't stop talking about you when he was reflecting on his old travels."
"I… see," the woman said, her expression still sceptical even if there was a slight smile as she looked at Amy. "And would this be Jo's daughter?"
"What?" the Doctor said, before shaking his head in understanding. "No, no, Amy's just my assistant like Jo was my grandfather's; no relationship between them as far as I know-"
"Governor Ashe," one of the men said, looking at her with a pointed stare, "why are we listening to this man? We're here looking for the kidnappers-"
"Kidnappers?" Amy interjected anxiously.
"Victor," Mary said, looking at the man who'd spoken with a smile, "firstly, I haven't been your 'governor' for almost a decade now, and secondly, even if this man isn't the Doctor's grandson, I don't think that kidnappers would try to give us such an elaborate cover-"
The sound of a scream cut Mary's explanation short as the five humans and robot dog turned to the source of the noise, quickly focusing on a smaller hut on the outskirts of the city below them. The two guards and Mary instantly began to run towards the source of the scream, the Doctor and Amy close behind as K9 followed after them. Focusing on the small hut, Amy found it hard to see anything in the dim lighting- a few doors were lit up, but otherwise this part of the colony seemed like it hadn't gotten around to street lights yet- but she soon glimpsed a small group running from the back of the hut wearing distinctive armour/
"Is that-?" she began.
"MOVE!" the Doctor yelled, cutting off Amy's question as he picked up the pace, his new intensity answering her almost better than anything he could have said. The first two people fleeing from the hut moved off too quickly for anyone to catch them, but a flying leap from the Doctor allowed him to knock the third figure to the ground. As the guards, Mary, and Amy ran up to the Doctor, he had turned the other man over and was keeping him pinned to the ground with both legs on either side of his chest, tearing off the familiar bone-mask that Amy had come to dread.
"Is that… the Faction?" Mary asked, looking at the figure in shock.
"Governor Ashe, the Faction are-" Victor began.
"Very much real and very much a problem, Victor," the Doctor interjected, even as he kept his gaze fixed on the man below him. "Now then, shall we talk?"
"You're too late, Doctor," the man said, his face looking particularly skull-like even without the mask. "You might know we're here, but you'll never find them in time."
The Doctor didn't even have the chance to ask what the man was talking about when he suddenly raised one arm and plunged his clawed gauntlet into his own chest. Amy and Mary barely had time to scream before the man's arm emerged from his chest, holding up his own bloodstained heart before he slumped back to the ground, eyes staring vacantly as his heart slipped from his fingers.
"Oh God…" Amy said, holding her hand to her mouth before she turned to throw up away from the body.
"Wh… what…?" Mary said, shaking her head as she looked at the Doctor, lost for anything else to say in the face of what had just happened. "That… did he just…?"
"Kill himself?" the Doctor finished, nodding grimly as he stood up from the body. "Yes, but why? The Faction might be a death cult as much as everything else these days, but they don't commit suicide on impulse; there's something here they don't want to risk anyone talking about…"
As Amy knelt on the ground, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself after emptying her stomach, she knew that she and the Doctor were committed to staying here until they'd found out just what the Faction were up to.
She just prayed that she wouldn't have to see something like that again any time soon…
AN: To those who don't watch the classic series, the Third Doctor previously visited Uxareius in "Colony in Space". Mary Ashe was portrayed by Helen Worth, who is also known for her role as Gail McIntyre in Coronation Street, so I based my description of the older Mary on some images I found of Helen as Gail in the present; just look her up and you'll get a good image.
Hope you enjoy this upcoming original plot; let's just say that Uxareius and the Faction aren't the only familiar faces the Doctor will find in this crisis…