Travels in Time and Space

By Lumendea

Chapter Fifty-One: Planet of the Ood: Ood Sphere

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.

AN: I'm posting early because I'm traveling this weekend! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoys the chapter.

….

It was morning on the TARDIS. Or at least, as close as they ever got in the Time Vortex. Rose had a dark bruise on her upper right arm that was making the Doctor glance her way every few minutes. As the TARDIS landed and Rose grabbed the screen, the Doctor shifted a little closer to check the bruise again.

"I could fix that for you," the Doctor offered. "No reason to walk around with a bruise."

"But it's a bruise from a duel with Julie d'Aubigny!" Rose protested. She couldn't help but smile. "I'll wear it with pride until it heals. Besides she wasn't trying to hurt me."

"No, she was too busy flirting with you. Must you attract them wherever we go, Rose?"

"That's hardly my fault," Rose said. She gave the Doctor a smile. "Though in Julie's case it was very flattering. I'm not really inclined to swing that way, but she was something else. Opera singer, master dueler, and openly bisexual in 17th century France. Worthy of admiration."

"She seemed to think the same of you. Normally she killed those she dueled."

"As you said, she was too busy flirting," Rose teased. "She wasn't interested in harming me. It was just a bit of friendly swordplay."

"There are some people I should never let you meet," the Doctor grumbled. Rose could hear the underlying amusement.

"It was your TARDIS that took us there, hardly my idea!" Rose beamed up from the Doctor. "Mind you, it is very impressive to basically get a lifetime pardon from the king because you're so entertaining."

"Yes, well, Louis XIV."

"You'll have to take me to Versailles someday."

"No," the Doctor said firmly. "You are not meeting the Sun King. Out of the question."

"Ewww," Rose said. She curled her nose up. "No thank you. I'm not the best of history, but I do know his reputation." The screen turned on, showing a wide expanse of snow. "Oh, this is a change. We haven't been a snowy world yet. Is it Earth?"

"No," the Doctor answered. "This is the Ood Sphere."

"Ood Sphere," Rose repeated. "That's… odd."

The Doctor snorted, looking unhappy with his own amusement. "Never been here before. Never met the Ood. Should be interesting. They're telepathic creatures and very gentle."

"Sounds lovely then," Rose said. "Will I be a problem? Nontelepath?"

"No, you shouldn't be." The Doctor gestured for the door. "Ladies first."

"Lady needs a coat first."

Running back to her room, Rose opened her wardrobe and found a long heavy crème coat waiting for her. There were matching boots below. Patting the TARDIS wall affectionally, Rose switched out her sneakers for the boots and pulled on the coat. There was a knit hat and gloves in the pocket. Tucking her long hair under the hat, Rose smiled up at the ceiling of her room.

"Thank you, Beautiful. Wonderful selections as always."

Returning to the console room, Rose found the Doctor tapping his foot impatiently. Sticking her tongue out at him, she felt a rush of victory as he laughed. His eyes brightened as she threw open the door and inhaled the clean neutral scent of snow. Rose jumped out into the snow with a joyous laugh. It was perfect. Completely soft and clear. Behind her, the Doctor snorted, but Rose didn't care. She glanced up long enough to notice what looked like a manufacturing plant down the hill.

"Happy?" the Doctor asked.

"I like snow," Rose huffed. "I mean, not insane quantities, but a bit to play in every so often is fun." Bending over, Rose formed a snowball and grinned. "Packs well. Do you want to build a snowman?"

The Doctor groaned loudly. "Do not, Rose. Do not."

"You're the one with every Disney film ever to be made."

Then a loud roaring sound echoed off the snow. Looking up, Rose watched a rocket looking spaceship sail overhead. It was going toward the manufacturing plant. Turning back towards the Doctor, she found him frowning a little.

"Doctor?"

"That's a bit odd," the Doctor said. "Didn't think the Ood went in for that kind of technology."

"Maybe it's a spaceport for trading," Rose suggested.

"Maybe," the Doctor said. He held out his hand and Rose took it. "Up for a walk?"

"Always," Rose agreed.

They were off. Rose wasn't used to hiking through snow, but soon got the hang of it. Up ahead was a rock bridge, but before they reached it a strange soft sound reached Rose's ears. It was delicate and faint, but there, echoing across the snowy expanse. The Doctor stopped, looking around.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rose answered. "Sounds like music… it's sad though."

"Very," the Doctor agreed. "This way."

They trudged through the snow and Rose's good mood faded. The song in her head was turning sadder. The slow melody making her chest ache. Already, she was sure that she wouldn't like what she found with the Doctor when they reached the source. Slowly, the song changed a little. It was still sad, but there was a strange note of victory and peace to it. Something about it tugged at Rose and made her move faster.

Then they spotted something in the snow and the Doctor took off. His longer legs got him there faster, but Rose wasn't far behind in reaching the side of the alien lying in the snow. The alien was humanoid in shape with pale pink skin. It had soft eyes that were full of pain and gratitude at the same time. There was no nose and instead of a mouth, the lower face of its face was dominated by coleoid tentacles. It had no hair and was dressed all in grey, some kind of suit. Rose knelt down next to it and slowly reach out to touch its empty hand. There was some kind of orb in its right hand. She didn't understand it, but the creature was clearly hurt. The soft music continued, the pitch changing slightly. Rose could only assume that he was somehow producing it.

"Easy," she said softly. "We won't hurt you."

"You've been shot," the Doctor said, pulling back part of the suit jacket.

"The circle." The orb lit up and Rose blinked as the sound came from it.

"No," the Doctor said. "Don't try to talk."

"The circle must be broken."

"What is the circle?" the Doctor asked calmly.

Then the Ood sat up sharply, a dull roar exploding around them. Rose gasped, but the Ood simply exhaled with a pain sound and fell back into the snow. The Doctor leaned forward, gently turning the face so he could study the eyes.

"Doctor?" Rose asked softly.

"The eyes turned red," the Doctor said softly. "That was… odd."

"Bad odd?" Rose asked. "You said someone had shot him."

"Yeah, but why is the question." The Doctor stood up and looked around. "That was telepathic contact, that song."

"But I'm not a telepath," Rose said. She stood up and stared at the Doctor. "I'm human and I'm pretty sure we're not telepathic."

"Some are," the Doctor said. Then he hesitated. "And some become telepathic under the right or wrong circumstances."

"You think I'm…"

"Maybe," the Doctor said quickly. "Rose, this isn't the time. That Ood was killed and what he said about the circle didn't sound right. You should go back to the TARDIS."

"What?" Rose raised her eyebrow sharply. "Seriously? You've never tried to send me back before."

"Something with telepathic powers is at play here. You heard that song when you shouldn't have. That means that it could impact you."

"You're telepathic too," Rose pointed out. "I don't want you going into this alone." Straightening up, she frowned at him. "So, what do you know about the Ood?"

"Very little," the Doctor admitted. His dropped his eyes back to the figure in the snow and eyed the orb in his hand. "I do know that the orb isn't natural."

"No," Rose agreed. "But the… wires…"

"Those look natural," the Doctor said. "Potentially links into the brain." Turning, he looked further down the valley. "And there's the complex we saw earlier. Rose, I'm serious, you should go back to the TARDIS."

"No," Rose answered. "Not happening. I'll be fine." She narrowed her eyes at the complex. "I've had worse in my head before."

She could tell he wanted to argue with her. He also wanted to ask for details, but his eyes kept jumping towards the factor complex. Rose tried not to stare at the dead body, grief welling up in her. The song had stopped when he'd died.

"I'm glad we were able to hear him," Rose said. "Glad he didn't die alone. What should we do with the body."

"The snow will take care of it," the Doctor said. Then he huffed and started marching towards the factor. "Come on. This is major."

"How much do you know about the Ood?" Rose asked.

"I know of them, I've never encountered them before," the Doctor admitted. "I'm a bit surprised at the modification."

"Me too," Rose said. "But it seemed to translate for him."

"Yes, that's the point. The orb allows him to speak directly to other beings who aren't telepathic."

"So, is that a good thing or bad?" Rose asked.

"Depends on what the side effects of that sort of modification are," the Doctor replied. "I don't like it."

They made their way down into the valley towards the complex. There were multiple buildings, but they all seemed to be connected. A small landing pad had multiple ships on it and people were gathering in a small group. Racing ahead, the Doctor flashed the psychic paper to a guard at the gate who looked confused but let them past.

"That was easy," Rose said. She eyed the other arrivals. All of them were in heavy looking coats and the men were all dressed in suits. "Seems fashion doesn't change much."

"It runs in cycles," the Doctor said. "All human by the looks of things."

A woman a little older than Rose in appearance stepped forward. She was attractive with long dark hair half up in a bun and wearing an all-black suit and coat. With a wide smile, she moved towards the group. An Ood in the same grey suit was behind her with a stack of materials in its free hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ood Sphere. And isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs, with vouchers, 3D tickets and a map of the complex." The Ood stepped forward and began to pass out the materials. "My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vidfone. Now, if you'd like to follow me."

Solana glanced their way and frowned slightly. For a moment she looked confused and Rose tensed, worried that this was about to go wrong. Deciding to be proactive, Rose stepped forward and smiled.

"Pleasure to meet you," Rose said quickly. "Rose Tyler, representing the Bad Wolf Conglomerate. This is the Doctor."

Holding back a grimace, Rose kept the smile on her face and wondered why she'd used that name of all names. Solana's confusion vanished, being schooled into a calm smile.

"Must have fallen off my list. My apologies. Won't happen again. Now then, Doctor Tyler, Mrs. Tyler, if you'd like to come with me." The Doctor made a strange sound, but Rose kept smiling calmly. "Here are your information packs, vouchers inside," Solana said. She handed a packet to Rose who inspected it quickly. "Now if you'd like to come with me, the Executive Suites are nice and warm."

They were filing inside when an alarm started to go off. The others paused, but then quickly resumed piling into the warm interior. Rose glanced around to see if she could see any reason for the alarm.

"Is everything alright?" Rose asked Solana.

"Oh, it's just a siren for the end of the work shift. Now then, this way, quick as you can."

Solana urged them all forward down a corridor. The executive room was a modern room with one wall completely full of screens, all different colors, but all showing Oods. Solana stepped up onto a dais at the far end of the room. A pair of Oods were moving through the room with drinks while several more were in a line. Hanging by the door, Rose ignored Solana as she dove into a sales pitch. The other attendees were walking past the line of Oods and inspecting them.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," Rose asked the Doctor softly. There was a hint of begging in her voice. "Please."

The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it. "Only if you want me to lie to you."

"God I hate it, so far into the future and still using slaves," Rose grumbled. She narrowed her eyes at the whole building, the whole complex. "Don't we ever grow up?"

"You don't seem surprised," the Doctor replied.

"I'm not," Rose said. "Sarah Jane did an article about a year ago on modern slavery on fishing ships. Haven't eaten shrimp or eaten any fish that doesn't come from British waters since." Rose shook her head. "I get it from an economic standpoint why they do it, but I just…" She shook her head and grit her teeth. "Poor things." Solana moved down the line of Ood, showing off some feature of their translation orbs. "That other one… it was running away. Its song was sad, but also… relieved," Rose whispered.

The Doctor squeezed her hand again and Rose leaned her head against his shoulder. It was hard to watch Solana showing off the Ood like prized little pets, but she did. It felt like someone had to really pay attention. Then the Doctor tugged her forward gently, leading her to the front of the room and some sort of computer where hopefully they could get some answers.