2
The Doctor stayed for several days. Once the memories had stopped leaping about in her brain like gumblejack swimming upstream, she was able to concentrate on fixing the problem, and she and Professor Leyser soon had a plan of action worked out for both patients. Then the Doctor had a poke about with the equipment and managed to make most of it work remotely, so that she could wander around the estate freely and explore. She'd had more than enough of confinement, of any kind.
One particularly sunny day, she found herself drawn back to the rose garden - no, the Serenity Garden. It lived up to its name, and the Doctor found she was actually enjoying a little peace and quiet. The Cerebral Order was, when you looked at it right, a buzzing hive of activity, but it was so well ordered and focussed, it was easy to miss all of that, if you wanted to. The spaceport was laid out so the constant incomings and outgoings were almost invisible to those on the estate, and it was so easy to get caught up in what you were doing.
Walking in quiet gardens with only her thoughts for company - who'd have thought it? But it reminded her of the Eye of Orion, restful and healing. The estate was vast, with entire wings dedicated to each school of study, and the Doctor found herself wondering how much went on here, if there were studies she could get involved in - maybe try teaching again? Been a while since she'd been a teacher, and sometimes that was a really good way to make friends. So many things she hadn't done in this body…
The flashes of rogue memory had stopped entirely, and although no new memories had appeared, she didn't seem to have done any harm to herself, nor to Serene. One thing still troubled her - what memories of hers did Serene now have? She'd quizzed her thoroughly, but the younger woman didn't seem to be able to call them up at will, and the memory device had tangled them up so thoroughly, it would take a lot of work to remove them completely. Serene claimed not to be aware of new knowledge, but she occasionally mentioned things that the Doctor knew she hadn't told her, and that she couldn't have just looked up.
Might have to resort to a mind-wipe, though finding the memories to wipe them could be tricky. Still, at least it was only memories and not as bad as a metacrisis or anything…
She rounded a corner, meaning to swing by the TARDIS and check up on the old girl, and was surprised to find Serene sitting cross-legged on the ground next to the blue box. Her eyes were closed, her long black plait over one shoulder, and she had the palm of one hand pressed against the side of the TARDIS. There was a vague humming in the air, as if the two were communing and the Doctor felt a peculiar flash of - what? Couldn't be jealousy, she'd shared the TARDIS with hundreds of her friends, many of who had been closer to the TARDIS than Serene was right then. But it was jarring, nonetheless.
She went up to the meditating lay Sister and pressed a fingertip against her nose.
"Boop!"
Serene scrunched up her face, blue eyes flying open, startled.
"Oh, Doctor! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. But I had this feeling that I should come and meet your ship? I only had the vaguest of ideas of her, but you said she was telepathic so I thought I'd, I don't know, try and say hello?"
The Doctor thought about this.
"Wanna take a look inside?"
Serene scrambled to her feet, eyes shining in excitement.
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not? Come on. 'Bout time you two met."
She opened the door and they went in.
"She's beautiful!"
Serene ran in, right up to the console and spun around, her gaze directed upwards, mouth open like a delighted child.
"Your ship's like a cathedral!"
The Doctor smiled, proud like a parent. Serene put her hand on one of the columns.
"Did you build her? Or did someone else choose this design?"
"This design she chose herself. The interiors, anyway. The exterior - long story. Aren't you going to ask me about how it's bigger inside than out?"
Serene paused, frowning momentarily.
"I think I knew that already? I mean, I didn't know that I knew, but as soon as I came in, the knowledge was there in my brain. Are you sure the treatments have been working?"
"Course! Though I wasn't sure what your device had absorbed in the first place. Maybe we should try syncing you up…"
Serene's eyes went very wide, and she immediately put her hands behind her back.
"Isn't that what caused this in the first place?"
"I don't mean telepathically! I'm not just gonna open her up and throw you in, especially not on the day you meet! I just mean I'll access her memory banks, and try and sync your device with them; maybe she can separate out the two sets of memories. Can you take it off?"
"This bit, yeah." Serene unstrapped the wrist device, then tapped the implant in her neck. "But not this part, it's surgically implanted."
"Never mind, sure I can switch it off, or break the connection, just for a bit."
The Doctor pulled out her sonic, placing the wrist device on a small column standing up on the console and making a few adjustments, carefully connecting the two.
"Not that different from upgrading a mobile phone to make calls through time and space… if I transfer all content into the TARDIS databanks, then get her to separate them all out…"
Serene wasn't paying attention, wandering around the console room, touching parts of the structure almost reverently. The Doctor suspended the link between the memory device and the implant, and let the TARDIS take over. The ship knew what she was doing. Hopefully.
"Did you know there's a library in the TARDIS?" she asked Serene. "Separate from the databanks, I mean."
"Mmm. No, I can't remember anything about her now. Must mean the memories are confined to the device, and I haven't absorbed them into my brain?"
"That's what the Professor said. She doesn't think you'll remember anything once I separate them out."
Serene stopped, staring at the Doctor in horror.
"I'll forget you? And the TARDIS? I don't want that!"
"No, I'm sure you'll remember everything you experienced before the sync. That was your brain, and I'm not touching that."
I hope, she thought. I lose too many people to stolen memories, I don't want to disappear from anyone else's mind, if I can help it.
She checked the programme; running as expected.
"There is something else. I started this recently, kind of like the library, kind of like your recall device, so I can't forget what's important. D'you want to take a look?"
It looked like a blank room on first entering, white walls, floor and ceiling. But then images started to appear, like a display of tiny photographs pinned to a board. They spread, covering the walls entirely, and as they approached, the pictures started to move. Serene, fascinated, went right up to one, watching the tiny figures within the picture repeat a movement, a moment frozen in time.
"What are they?"
"They're memories. Stored memories, represented as pictures, all the places I've been to, the people I've known. I haven't got round to cataloguing them, or putting them in any order yet."
"All of these are your memories? No wonder the recall device filled up!"
The Doctor walked slowly along the wall, casting her gaze over the flickering images. Some of these memories were painful, some unbearably so, but some were wonderful.
"Hello, Clara. Not forgetting you again, don't you worry."
"Do you mind if I ask… who are these people?"
Serene was trying to take in as much as she could, but was drawn to a series of pictures. A red-headed woman in a tunic dress not unlike Serene's own, and a slim-built man in a brown striped suit.
"Oh… that's Donna. She was my friend, travelled with me. She had to forget me, but I'm making sure I never forget her."
"And the man?"
"That's me!"
The Doctor grinned.
"Can't you tell?"
Serene's gaze went momentarily unfocused, and her hand crept up to the implant in her neck.
"Nothing's coming up… But you said something at Reception when you arrived about having different faces."
She frowned in concentration.
"Regeneration. You regenerate, change they way you look."
"Yep. Used to have a man's body. Several men's bodies, in fact."
"Is that you?"
Serene pointed to another image, a tall, broad shouldered man in a blue military long coat.
"No, that's Jack! How could that be me? We look nothing alike!"
"Oh, and you do look like that guy?" Serene pointed to the first picture, smiling. "How many of these are you?"
The Doctor's grin faded.
"There's thirteen other faces I do know. Not sure how many I've had. A couple who could be me, or said they were me, but I don't remember them."
She pointed at a picture of a black woman in a blue-grey coat and matching waistcoat, a brightly coloured shirt underneath. She stood in front of a lighthouse, a knowing smile on her face.
"The name she was using was Ruth, but she's me too, somehow… haven't quite figured it all out yet."
Serene watched her, carefully.
"I can see why you wanted to try and explore your brain for lost memories. I… kind of know what it's like, to not know who you are."
The Doctor met her gaze, the haunted expression vanishing as she pulled her memories back under control. The pictures on the wall shifted, rearranging themselves completely.
"Have you never tried to find out?" she asked Serene. "The estate has all these resources…"
"I…" Serene hesitated, clearly not comfortable talking about it.
"I've been to a couple of planets where there are people who look like you, if that means anything. A few systems to narrow it down to."
"But where to start? And… what if I didn't like what I found?"
The Doctor put a hand on her shoulder, an unspoken offer of support.
"That's something only you can decide, Serene."
"I know. I mean, I'm okay here. I'm safe. That's the only thing I do know - whoever brought me here, they wanted to me be safe. I don't know why they chose the Order, but there are far worse places to grow up, I suppose. I can be content here."
"If that's enough for you."
Serene winced, touching the implant again.
"Ow! It 's never done that before."
"Probably means the work's finished, and it's rebooting. Come on. We should get you back to Professor Leyser, check you out."
The Professor had put aside all her other work and research to focus on the problem the Doctor had brought her, and she was reluctant to let her go, now that it had been solved.
"I don't suppose you'd consider staying on? I could write a lifetime of papers on you!"
"Not really my thing, sorry. Spent enough time in labs already. And I don't think it's a good idea to have too much information about me stored all over the place."
The Doctor pressed a button on the sonic, waving it over the main storage unit of the computer. The programme she'd built into it started up, quietly erasing the pertinent parts of the Professor's work.
"I'm sure you mean well, but sometimes knowledge for knowledge's sake can be dangerous. I appreciate what you've done for me, and for Serene, really I do. Thank you. But I can't allow you to keep all that you took out of my head."
"I did more than you know!" The Professor shouted, suddenly angry.
"I protected you! Do you know how many people here would give their right arm to study you? What people wanted to do when they found out a Time Lord was here, within the Order?"
The Doctor recoiled, genuinely taken aback. Had she really missed something so important right under her nose? Been so distracted by the quiet, she hadn't thought to question it?
"Half the department, and a lot of other departments, they wanted to scan your brain, far more intrusive experiments than anything I suggested, and I always made sure I had your consent before going ahead. Not everyone here would do that. I had to remind them what this Order stands for, why certain practises will always be banned here."
"Transgressions of the laws of the Order are taken very seriously," Serene spoke up. "Instant ejection is the punishment for any ethical breaches, and they don't let you back in once you've been kicked out."
The Doctor didn't know how to react to all of this, struggling not to lose her temper.
"You knew about this?"
"No! But there's always some argument going on about people sharing resources, and I knew you got a lot of people's interest up when you arrived. I would've told you if I thought there was anything dangerous going on. People don't usually pay much attention to me, but I made sure security knew to limit access to you, as soon as you started working with Professor Leyser."
"You have security here?" The Doctor tried to remember seeing anyone who looked like a security guard anywhere.
"Travelling between wings can be restricted, and zones locked down if necessary, all by the computers. We don't need patrolling guards, but there are people who can intervene, if necessary."
The Doctor suppressed a shudder. Even the thought of being locked up again…
"But I've been all over, and no-one's ever stopped me?"
"You're a guest," Professor Leyser interjected. "You came here for help. And no-one was going to just abduct you in the corridor, no matter what sort of knowledge they wanted from you."
"Glad to hear it. Think it's probably time I left now, though. Like I said, thanks for helping me. But maybe this isn't the place for me."
The words had barely left her mouth when an alarm went off, loud and insistent.
"Was it summat I said?"
"That's the proximity alarm," Serene realised. "I've never heard it go off for real, only tests. And there isn't one scheduled."
"The last one was…" The Professor glanced at Serene. "You would've still been a baby. They only tried the once. Our defences are robust."
"Defences?" The Doctor asked. "Why would you need defences? You're a peaceful order, dedicated to study and knowledge."
"Doesn't mean we're helpless. We don't allow weapons development here, but we do have an abundance of scientists and engineers, a wealth of experience to draw on. We don't get involved in other people's politics, or their wars, but we're not naïve enough to believe that everyone will leave us alone."
"So, the alarm?"
"I don't know." The Professor was worried. "As I said, it's been nearly twenty years since the last time I heard it."
"Perhaps you could take me to wherever the alarm's coming from? Do you have some sort of control centre?"
"Control is based in the spaceport," Serene replied. "I'm not usually allowed in there, but I know the way."
"Great. Let's go."
There was a sleek monorail that ran swiftly and silently between the main base of the Order and the spaceport. Serene was flitting between a childlike excitement at getting to ride on it and very real concern about what was happening, pacing up and down the carriage.
"It's always so quiet here, nothing exciting ever happens. But… I'm scared. What if something bad happens? This is my home."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm kind of a specialist in this sort of thing. Y'know, helping people, defending those who need it. I've got lots of experience."
"I don't. Most people here probably don't either. We're scholars. Other than maybe the medics, we only deal with, you know, research. Hypotheticals."
"Serene."
The Doctor didn't like to employ the technique the Order used on the young woman to calm her down, but if it was something she was used to… She herself would need to concentrate, and if it could get Serene to live up to her name and stop her panicking, then it would do. She got up and put her hands on the lay Sister's shoulders, looking into her eyes. It worked, and Serene sat down, training kicking in and she began slow steady breathing to calm herself.
"It'll be okay," the Doctor repeated. "I won't let anything happen to your home."
"But you lost your home!" Serene blurted, immediately clapping her hands over her mouth. The Doctor took a breath. So much for taking the memories out of the other woman's mind.
"Yeah, I did. More than once. Is that what you're seeing?"
Serene shook her head, mortified.
"I don't know. It's not a picture, just a piece of knowledge in my brain. I'm sorry, I didn't know I was going to say that. It just popped out."
"Looks like there's still a bit of work to do when all this is sorted out. One thing at a time, though, ey?"
The monorail stopped, and they sprang out, sprinting across to the main control centre within the spaceport. Serene directed them, and as they reached the security unit, the Doctor overrode the door controls with the sonic, barely slowing down until the found the source of action. The alarm had been silenced, but flashing lights covered every panel, and green-uniformed security people were staffing every piece of equipment, intently.
"Right, who's in charge and wants to tell me what's going on?" the Doctor announced. She waved the psychic paper in the faces of anyone who turned her way; a number of the staff just carried on with their work, paying her no attention.
"Security specialist?" read out the man in the darker green uniform, the gold piping denoting his higher rank. His name badge read 'Security Controller Selemani.'
"I'm freelance," the Doctor told him, snapping the case on the psychic paper shut.
"What are you doing here?" he directed the question to Serene, conspicuous in her pink tunic.
"I'm her assistant," the girl replied quickly, before the Doctor could answer. "She seconded me."
"Assistant? Been a while since I had one of those. I quite like it. Anyway, tell me about the situation."
Selemani regarded the two women with momentary suspicion, then decided it was probably best to get all the help he could.
"The ships have refused to identify themselves, and we don't have any records of anything matching their description. They're refusing to answer us, but they're testing our perimeter defences persistently."
"The ion cannons will see them off," a younger security officer announced, confidently. "And we can launch ships from the planet below, if the situation escalates."
"Yeah, well good job I'm here, then," the Doctor snapped. "I don't like guns. There's always another way. Let me have a look."
She took over one of the monitors, bringing up all feed of the three scouting ships.
"Not ringing any bells… the Professor said there hadn't been an attack in twenty years. Is that right?"
"More or less. We get a few ships trying to bypass the defences every now and then, sometimes people try and smuggle things off the moon that aren't supposed to leave. But no outright attacks."
"And what set off the alarm?"
"They damaged one of the satellites that maintain the exosphere, as soon as they entered the proximity. No warning, no demands. And now they're testing the limits of our defences, which looks like they're planning an all-out attack."
"And the last time someone attacked? What happened?"
"None of us were here then," Selemani replied. "As far as I know, it was a warship, but the cannons were sufficient then."
"And what did they want? Could it be the same people?"
"Um, they wanted something kept here, I'm not sure what."
"Well, let's find out."
The Doctor opened up a comms channel, directing it at the circling scout ships.
"This is the Doctor, representing the Cerebral Order. This is a peaceful organisation; your behaviour is hostile and will not be tolerated. State your intent."
For a moment, nothing. Then, and perhaps it was hearing from someone other than security, an image began to appear on the screen. They looked to be humanoid, no immediate identifying features, and wore uniforms that looked military, more so than the security staff serving the spaceport.
"This is Commander Kasir, of the Neved Elité."
She pronounced the last word 'el-ee-tay', which made the Doctor wonder.
"Is that your species, or the name of your organisation?"
"Neved is our planet. We represent the military branch of our people, the Elité."
She had an arrogant tone, and appeared annoyed hat the Doctor didn't already know who they were, which didn't endear them to anyone in the room.
"And what are you doing here, Commander Kasir? What does a military ship want with this Order?"
The Commander smiled, and it wasn't a pleasant expression.
"You are the keepers of knowledge. There are things we wish to know, things your Order keeps within its records."
"And you couldn't just ask?"
"We have made requests. They were denied. Our President did not accept that denial, and has sent us here to retrieve the information."
"And what is this information?"
The Doctor knew she wouldn't like the answer, but it had to be asked.
"We have enemies, Doctor. We have been at war for some time, and with the information the Order holds about them, we can discover their weaknesses. Biological weaknesses that could allow us to construct weaponry to end the war."
The Doctor set her face to an expression of utmost seriousness.
"Not going to happen. Abuse knowledge from this Order to wage biological warfare? Absolutely not."
"You won't be able to stop us, Doctor. We are very close to discovering the imperfections in your defence system, and we've already blocked all contact with the planet below. They won't be coming to your assistance."
Security Controller Selemani, stood behind the Doctor, stiffened in shock. Quickly, he gestured to his staff to see if what their attacker said so calmly was true.
"Yeah, well, they don't need assistance. They've got me."
The Doctor's tone was as serious as her expression.
"And I will not let you defile this place with your war, Commander. Whatever you're planning, I'll stop it."
Commander Kasir faltered. She had clearly not been expecting such a response from what she saw as a glorified university. The Doctor broke the connection, turning back to the security staff, all of who were now looking at her, uncertainty in their eyes.
"Right. So now we know what they want. Probably safe to say they intend to target all your medical and biology records, probably the staff as well. So get all your network technicians to focus on those, in case they try a remote hack, shore up any weak areas. Now, what defences you have, and I don't want to hear anything about ion cannons."
A number of staff started moving immediately, recognising the truth in her words and working to carry out her orders. Selemani stared at her as she got up and began to pace back and forth, thoughts whirring.
"The exosphere's artificial, right?" The Doctor continued. "Built to protect the moon, maintain the atmosphere, yeah?"
"Yes. It creates a barrier against radiation, adjusts the natural gravity…"
"I'm getting an idea… how does it work? You said it was maintained by satellites - do they do everything, or is it run from down here?"
"Uh, that's not really something I work with, Doctor."
"Then who does?"
"There's a maintenance department," Serene spoke up, having been watching everything silently from the back of the room. "And it'll have been designed by people in engineering."
She activated her recall device's readout, projecting a directory from her wrist. Quickly, she scrolled though it, highlighting a number of names and swiping the relevant information toward the monitors, so that it transferred to the screen.
"That's handy."
The Doctor scanned through the information rapidly, then began to type out a programme of action, while a technician set up a multi-way conference with the specialists in question.
"Serene, I need you to fetch me some equipment from the TARDIS. She knows you, so you shouldn't need a key, but you better hurry."
"Any excuse to run in the corridors," Serene shot back with a half-smile, picking up the list on her recall device and sprinting away.
"Right, let's make a start, shall we?"
To buy time, the satellites were reprogrammed with different orbital patterns, and the security experts did all they could to boost their defences. However, this only served to annoy the Neved ships, who began firing at the satellites, trying to destroy them, and the exosphere itself, testing for weak spots they might penetrate. The Doctor, knowing she needed time for her plan to work, allowed a warning shot to be fired from the moon's defences, then made another broadcast on the comms channel.
"This is a peaceful organisation, but we will defend ourselves in the face of hostilities. I warn you again, leave now."
But the Commander would not reply.
"Suppose that was a bit too much to hope for."
The Order might not have been used to working under threat, but they pulled together with a minimum of arguing, recognizing the Doctor's plan as the best way to avoid bloodshed. The most trouble was getting the Brothers, Sisters and People of the Order to work with the security staff, who were not strictly part of the Order, seen as a necessary evil to maintain the safety of the estate.
The Doctor rolled her eyes.
"No time for snobbery in the best of situations. Really no patience for it now. Get along, or we all die together, yeah?"
Serene, breathless and staggering under the weight of the equipment she fetched from the TARDIS, was set to assisting the technicians, many of whom she already knew. Pausing in her own work, the Doctor saw how calm the girl seemed now, not quite serene, but focussed, and how she made the effort to ensure everyone around her was okay, helping those who needed it. For a young woman who didn't seem to have a set place within the organisation, she didn't show it, working equally with everyone, with none of the rivalry between different departments. They could learn a thing or two from the orphan they'd adopted into their ranks.
"Okay, team-" there was a little pang, in both the Doctor's hearts. It was hard, travelling alone, no friends around her. But she was making new friends, right? Helping people out? That would be enough.
"We ready to go?"
Everything was assembled, adjustments made and, typing furiously, the Doctor completed the last programme.
"Let's give it a whirl."
She pressed the final command and - nothing.
"Huh. That was a bit of an anticlimax."
But the other staff were trying to execute different commands, with no results either.
"No, no, no, no, no! They've hacked the satellites! They're blocking the signal, and the cannons are outside the exosphere, so I can't get the programme to upload! Can't make any changes to the exosphere from down here, and can't launch any ships into space without risking getting shot at. No help coming from the planet…"
Decisively, the Doctor leapt to her feet.
"Only one thing to do - Serene, with me?"
The lay Sister was by her side as she ran back out of the security unit.
"Don't panic, I'm on it!" the Doctor called back as they ran. "I'll update you as we go!"
Arriving back at the TARDIS, the Doctor began flipping switches, adjusting parts of the console and typing in yet more commands.
"What can I do?" Serene asked.
"You know how I synced you up with the TARDIS? Put your wrist device back on here -" she nodded at the little column - "and concentrate on all the work we just did. Help her get all the commands transferred over before we take off."
"Take off?" Serene did as she was told, blue eyes very wide.
"Yep. Can't get the signal up to the satellites from the ground, so we're gonna take it up ourselves."
"Won't… won't we get shot at?"
"Nah, my ship's got moves! I'm sure we'll be fine." The Doctor paused, remembering. Was it fair to take someone else into danger? Especially someone who wasn't used to it.
"You can get off now, if you want to. I can cope on my own."
"No, I'm…" Serene swallowed her fear, resolute. "I'm here, if you need me."
"Excellent. I'll keep us safe, don't worry."
And the TARDIS dematerialised.
The Doctor established contact with the crew on the ground as she took the TARDIS into low orbit, just outside the exosphere.
"So, first things first…"
She send the updated programming to the remaining satellites,
"Here's hoping the Nevedian ships'll stop attacking them long enough for this to work… seems to have gotten through. Keep an eye on the monitor, yeah? Let me know if anything changes, that's very important."
"On it."
"Now for the ion cannons. Don't like guns, but sometimes, they have their uses."
The TARDIS performed a complex series of movements, weaving in and out of the geostationary cannons, uploading the programme.
"Did I ever tell you, the man who came up with the idea for particle cannons, Nikola Tesla? Very clever man, and a very good friend of mine."
"Uh, no. Haven't studied much about energy weapons."
"Never mind. Nearly done."
An incoming signal appeared on the screen - Commander Kasir.
"Unknown ship, this is the Commander of the Neved Elité. You are interfering in our mission. Stand down or be destroyed."
"Yes, I know I'm interfering!" The Doctor shot back. "It's something I'm very good at, thank you very much!"
"Doctor? What manner of ship is that?"
"Little busy now, no time to explain. Trying to undo all your nasty little plans, if you don't mind."
"Target that ship!" the Commander yelled. "And get me control of those cannons!"
"Hold on!" the Doctor shouted at Serene, and threw a switch. The TARDIS span away from the moon, clearing the exosphere as the Nevedians began to shoot at them. The ion cannons rotated, seemingly out of control.
"Please work," the Doctor pleaded, presumably with the Universe. "Don't let this get any worse. I need a good day. How's that satellite programme going?"
"Holding steady," Serene reported, trying her hardest not to show her nerves.
"Good. Might be a bit of a backlash, if I get the timing wrong. Mr Selemani, now would be good!"
The cannons fired - but not at the ships, back down at the moon. Just a short burst, lighting up the exosphere like a shimmering net as the Doctor activated the dematerialisation circuits, the TARDIS reappearing within it.
Even over the sound of the engines, the wheezing groan louder under the strain of a short, precise hop, the Doctor and Serene could hear Commander Kasir laughing.
"Their weapons are malfunctioning! Aim your fire at the command centre, don't risk damaging what we came for."
All at once, the three ships opened fire, and then the sky lit up.
"See, that's the thing about ion cannons," the Doctor said, almost conversationally, as she went over to the external doors and opened them up.
"They're energy weapons, sure, but it all depends on the type of energy. In this case, when used on an artificial exosphere, it can change the particles it's made up of, so that, should anyone be stupid enough to fire upon it, it'll reflect their own fire back on them, in this case, like an EMP. How's it going down there, Mr Selemani?"
"All good, Doctor. Nothing seems to have gotten through."
"Excellent."
She looked out and up, to where the three ships were now floating in space, powerless, knocked out by their own weapon's fire.
"You might need a few upgrades to your satellites, might be a good idea to put in some sort of relay to stop anyone blocking the feed again, yeah?"
"What's going to happen to the Nevedians?" Serene asked. "Won't they die, without power?"
"I sent a message to their High Command, telling them to come pick them up," the Doctor replied. "Along with a rather sternly worded reminder not to try any funny stuff here again, that the Order is very well defended. Should be able to reach them in time."
"Oh. Good. I mean, I know they were attacking us, but I don't like the idea of killing people. The Order's always been peaceful."
"You might want to have a word with some of the security staff about that."
Serene joined her in the doorway, looking down at the moon she'd grown up on.
"It looks even more beautiful from up here. The hydroponic fields… they're so green."
She turned her gaze upwards. The exosphere had returned invisible again, and from the height the TARDIS was maintaining, she could see the stars.
"And the sky… is that what your life's like, Doctor? Seeing worlds from the sky, and exploring space?"
"In between blowing things up, and stopping alien attacks, yeah. Lot of running, fair bit of fixing stuff."
There was a pause.
"You could come with me, if you like?"
Serene turned to look at her, wide-eyed.
"Really? Come travelling with you, across space?"
"You said you wanted to leave, to see other places."
She glanced down at the moon, then back at the Doctor, uncertainty nagging at her.
"I… yes. Yes, I would like. Very much. Only… I've never been anywhere but here. I don't know anything about other planets, other than what I've read, what I've studied."
"Best way to learn, get out there and live it!" The Doctor replied. "Nothing wrong with reading books, but you can't beat a bit of experience in the field."
"And the Order? I'm only a lay sister, haven't taken any oaths, but I shouldn't just leave. They raised me from a baby, and-"
"Did I not say?" The Doctor grinned. "Time machine as well! Can go all round the universe and have you back in time for tea, if that's what you want."
Serene's face split into the widest smile.
"Then yes! A million times, yes please!"
She flung her arms around the Doctor, who hugged her back.
"Be nice to have a friend around again. Where to first?"
Disclaimer: most of this isn't mine.
I'm not good at technobabble so I kept it to a minimum - hope this made sense?
The idea of a 'space nun' as a companion is something I first thought of decades ago, for the 7th or 8th Doctor, but never wrote it. I didn't want her to have a particular religion, so I went with an order that focuses on knowledge and understanding, someone curious and trying to balance that with the restraint taught to her from childhood.
The following chapters will be the Doctor and Serene travelling together, hopefully some fun and some dark.