Chapter Two
Finally, another chapter up!
I must say, I'm terrible at portraying character personalities!
I hope it has ended up okay!
Description of my OC Doctor: About 6ft 1, wears white sneakers, blue tweed jacket with white shirt, black jeans, and short brownish hair with side parting.
Zeb and Kanan had assisted each other in hauling the unconscious stranger up the ladder onto the upper floor. He had sustained a few light blows to the head on his way up, and when Zeb's grip slipped, had fallen to the floor like a rag doll. However, all of this failed to make him stir even slightly, proving how deep his state of unconsciousness was.
Once in the cockpit, Kanan stood back to catch his breath for a moment, whilst Zeb held the limp body over his shoulder. The other members of the crew soon joined them after climbing up the ladder.
Chopper immediately took an interest in the discovery of a mysterious stranger. He beeped eagerly at the crew.
"No, Chopper, we didn't capture a stowaway," said Hera.
He beeped another question.
"No, we didn't 'rough him up' either!"
His response seemed to hint at an expression of disappointment.
"Enough of that Chop, my question is, what should we do with him?" Kanan said.
"Take him and set him down in the lounge," Hera replied. "We'll see if we can get any sense out of him when he eventually comes round. Although, I think we should remain on our guard until he does because we can't know what sort of reaction we're going to get!"
"Right, come on then!" Kanan said, leading the group through the cockpit door and down the corridor.
When they arrived in the lounge, Zeb didn't hesitate to dump the stranger onto the couch. He stretched his arms once he stood himself back up, complaining under his breath as he did so. Regardless, the crew were soon settled and gathered with their guest. Zeb decided to stand a short distance away with his rifle at the ready, as did Sabine with her blasters.
The stranger's appearance only let out one pure vibe to them, eccentricity. His clothes were unlike anything any of them had seen before. Areas of his face and hands were erupting into small blisters, and red patches of damaged skin highlighted his burn injuries. His clothes were also slightly burnt from various ember marks and blackening from the fire.
"I wonder where he came from?" Ezra said. "Although, it's no wonder he's burnt like this, that blue box of his looks way too claustrophobic to be a suitably efficient ship!"
"I must say, I've never seen such a piece of engineering like that before," Hera said. "To travel through space at such a speed… I've it just seems impossible for a craft that size!"
"Has he got anything on him to indicate who he might be?" Kanan suddenly suggested.
Hera frowned. "Well… I suppose we ought to have a look; however, I will say I'm not too keen on the idea of looking through an injured man's possessions."
Leaning forward, she carefully reached into his jacket and began searching the pockets.
"Suppose this would be the best place to start."
The search didn't take long.
"Hold on; I've got something."
She removed a small leather wallet from his inside pocket.
"Well, bound to have some form of identification in there!" Kanan said.
Hera opened the small leather object keenly. However, the crew quickly saw her expression turn to confusion. She checked the wallet back to front. And the small sleeves inside it.
"It's… blank?" she said. "Who carries a blank piece of paper around with them?"
She passed the strange object to Kanan. He examined it with equal perplexity.
"I can't think of any logical reason why he'd be carrying this on his person… completely pointless! Has he got anything else on him?"
Hera soon reached back into his various pockets to search again.
"Hang on, yes, he has."
She then removed a strange electronic device from his opposite inside pocket. It was long and thin, with a small black button along the silvery chromed metal grip; and a bulb sitting at the end.
"What's that?" Sabine said uneasily.
"I have no idea," Hera replied, carefully inspecting the device.
"Does it do anything much?" said Ezra.
Hera eventually decided to press the small button as the whole crew was clearly feeling tense as to the unknown purpose of the device. She jumped slightly when an orange light lit up in the bulb, and a high-pitched buzzing sound began to emit from the gadget. Releasing the button, Hera watched the small light disappear. She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with the ridiculously simple, uninteresting purpose of the gadget.
"Looks and sounds an annoyingly loud torch!" Ezra said.
"I… might agree there," Kanan casually followed.
Hera went to place the device on the table, alongside the blank wallet. Suddenly, a voice broke in with the group.
"It's a highly resourceful screwdriver actually!"
The Doctor rubbed his eyes and sat himself up on the couch, running a hand through his hair on his way up. The crew's wide-eyed gaze was fixated on him when they'd realised he was finally awake.
"It's a sonic screwdriver," he corrected to the alien woman sat in front of him. "Has all sorts of useful functions if you know how to use it properly."
Hera saw that the Doctor was trying his best to return to a steady-state of consciousness after just recently fainting. She quickly placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, almost trying to encourage him to lay back down.
"Hang on, don't you think you should be taking it easy for a while; you did pass out in front of us only a few minutes ago!"
"Yeah, and come to think of it, you don't look well at all!" the teenage girl stood a little away from him said.
The Doctor then began to remove his burnt jacket whilst scoffing. "Not well? I couldn't feel better! Although, what you believe to be observing may just be a minor inconvenience to the correct functioning of my binary vascular system that I will soon be setting straight!"
Kanan raised an eyebrow at the Doctor's optimism and over the top defence. Hera, meanwhile, was adamantly persisting with her belief that the Doctor was sick.
"You can hide it all you want," she said. "But I still think we ought to check you with the medisensor! You have just crash-landed onto my ship after all!"
She turned to Sabine.
"Sabine, fetch that portable scanner from the cargo bay. It should be in the medicine crates we retrieved from that medical station recently."
She faced the Doctor again, who was sitting up with his hands interlocked on the table, a friendly beam plastered on his face.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to insist on this matter!" Hera said.
"Hey, no biggie to me!" the Doctor answered. "It's not the first time an evaluative scan have been forcibly done to me!"
He then noticed that she was still holding his sonic screwdriver in her hands. He was about to ask for it back but then noticed the apprehensive vibes he was receiving from the other readily armed members of the small crew. He decided it may be best to break the ice first.
He extended a hand to whoever might accept it between the man, woman and teenager sat around him.
"I didn't get round to saying it earlier, so here goes. I'm the Doctor, very pleased to meet you, as I always am newly discovered extra-terrestrial lifeforms!"
The green woman unexpectedly cracked a smile and carefully accepted the extended hand.
"Well, I mean, this a bit of an unorthodox introduction, but it's nice to meet you all the same, Doctor," she said.
"Ah, the more unorthodox, the more unique if you ask me!" the Doctor smiled. "However, I don't suppose it would be too much to ask if your toughie could lower his weapon. It's not exactly comforting knowing someone will readily kill you at the slightest apparent mishap?"
The alien woman gave the order. The creature grunted and lowered his rifle.
"Thank you! The atmosphere seems light already!" he said. "So, like I said before, let's just start back there; before is a good place to st rt, I'm the Doctor…"
"What're you a doctor of exactly, with you, sounding so confident?" the boy sitting next to the woman suddenly inquired.
The Doctor grinned and leant back with his hands behind his head. "Wow, you lot don't hang around in learning the deeper details, do you! Just like the folks back on Earth! All so pushy! You know what, I fancy a trip to England when I leave; London perhaps? No, Oxford is much more historically charismatic; or maybe I'll visit the Lake District? Or even Cornwall! Full of surprises, England! Sorry, am I rambling on? I'll get to the point. In answer to your question, I'm a doctor of everything if you like. Although, I'm particularly suited to the necessities of a varying situation! Good or bad…"
"Wow, wow, slow down a bit," the bearded man sat next to the alien woman said, lifting his hands to emphasize his point. "So, you say you're a doctor of everything, and so are simply called 'The Doctor'. The first thing I want to know is where you came from! I mean, that small blue box of yours looks like it's been through the wars!"
"It has actually, more than I can possibly count," the Doctor answered. "Although, lying isn't exactly this body's strong point, so I guess if you really want to know, I'm a time traveller, and that box is my spacecraft/time machine; it's called the TARDIS!"
"TARDIS? That tiny box of yours is some great time machine! Be serious, would you!" Ezra smirked.
"No, straight up, the TARDIS isn't just a harmless blue box; it's the most ancient spacecraft in the universe! It stands for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space before any of you ask me!"
"Wha…" Ezra was about to continue before being silenced by the Doctor's eager attitude.
The Doctor suddenly clapped his hands together. "But all that's to come; requires lots of explaining, you know! I guess it's only fair that you lot return the favour, seeing as you now know a bit of who I am!"
He then crossed his arms. "C'mon, I want to know everyone's names, or you could at least tell me what ship I'm stranded, on, or what planet we're heading for…"
The crew appeared unsure of how to respond.
"Come on, don't leave a confused man waiting!" the Doctor chuckled.
"Well… this is my ship, the Ghost, and I'm the captain, Hera Syndulla," Hera answered finally.
"All righty, now we're getting somewhere!" the Doctor said excitedly. "One down, plenty more to go!"
One by one, he learnt the rest of the crew's names were: Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Garazeb Orrelios (Zeb), and Sabine Wren just as she arrived back from the hold. He also met Hera's grumpy droid, Chopper, who immediately took a dislike to the Doctor. However, he backed off when Hera commanded it.
The crew then went on to explain to him their trip to Lothal with the need to complete a routine supply run just as Kanan prepared the medisensor. They also managed to begin telling him their backgrounds and all about the threat placed upon them by the Empire.
"So, this 'Galactic Empire' is pursuing rebel hunting as its favourite hobby?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes," Hera replied. "And the only hope we can depend upon is the efforts of the Rebellion Resistance that we contribute towards. As well as the survival of the Jedi Order through young padawans like Ezra here…"
"Jedi? Sounds interesting! Are we talking about some kind of legendary cult here?" continued the Doctor.
"An order of protectors who are devoted to guarding peace and justice throughout the universe," Kanan answered. "The Empire sought to purge the galaxy of the Jedi order quite some years ago… They're now hunting down any remaining Jedi; Ezra and I included!"
"So you lot are permanently on the run then?" the Doctor muttered. "Gripping onto that final remainder of hope in that battle for peace and freedom… I guess I know the feeling all too well myself!"
The small medisensor suddenly beeped. Kanan held it up.
"Ah, the charge is complete and ready for the scan; it'll only be quick, Doctor."
Activating a small switch on the handle, a faint red light shone onto the Doctor. Kanan lifted the device up and down a couple of times to complete an entire scan of the Doctor's body. Once finished, he faced it downwards to read the results.
The Doctor saw his eyebrow raise whilst he skimmed through the information.
"Hang on, that can't be right!" he said.
"What's wrong?" Hera asked.
"Well, the sensor claims the Doctor has two hearts!"
"Both in okay working order, are they?" the Doctor said casually.
"Wait, that's not all," Kanan continued. "It says your body is in critical condition! Your blood cells are falling, as are your nerve cells, bone cells, muscle cells…"
"I suspected as much," the Doctor said, frowning.
"So what you're saying is he's dying?" Zeb broke in.
"Well… yes, I'm, I'm sorry to tell you so, Doctor!" Kanan said. "I don't think there's any existing medical treatment that can help your condition!"
The Doctor sighed. "It's a consequence I've experienced before."
"Doctor, how did this happen to you?" Hera questioned.
"Not sure that's necessarily your business," the Doctor said seriously. "Besides, it would take me too long to explain, plus you would never fully understand, not that your dumb, it's just too complicated!"
His frown continued. "But don't worry though, I'll pull through; my species has a specialised treatment for this sort of thing that I'm working on right now!" he answered. "We came prepared most of the time…"
Zeb suddenly walked forward, looking slightly annoyed. "Experienced before? What's that supposed to mean? You know what, I'm going to say it upfront because I know everyone else is thinking it; what species are you, hey?"
The Doctor rested his interlocked fingers in his lap. "Time-Lord if you must know," he answered. The last one in existence, to be completely precise!"
He took a deep breath.
"And as to why I'm here? Well, the TARDIS has suffered the effects of an overcharged pulse of time energy. It destroyed the isolated dimensional shell it is held within that allows it to travel along the time continuum. So it forced me to home onto the nearest landing opportunity before it exploded and created the biggest black hole in the universe! Although, you know, it can get tiring to explain things like this after travelling the universe for over three thousand two hundred years!"
"What do you mean by over three thousand two hundred years?" Ezra questioned.
"Put it like this, my species, the Time-Lords, live very, very long lives! They were the oldest race in the universe, from a planet called Gallifrey. They were destroyed in what's known as a time war. I escaped, and ever since then have sworn my life to the protection of other species and creation! So, who knows, our paths may just have crossed before!"
He smiled at the crew. "So I guess we share a similarity when it comes to peace protection…"
"Wait, wait," Ezra said. "So, you're completely alien, but look just as human as Kanan and I! You aren't just camouflaging your real form with some weird Time-Lord technology?"
"Nope," the Doctor answered. "I swear this is my real body. Although it has changed a lot more times than I'd hoped it would throughout the course of my life so far!"
"Anyway," he said, clapping his hands together again. "Where are you lot heading now? Still on the way to Lothal? Or have you suddenly decided to change course without me knowing for a reason I haven't decided yet?"
"We're, um, still heading for Lothal. We'll going to need the supplies after all…" Hera answered.
"In that case," the Doctor said. "Mind if I tag along? Although, neither of us have a lot of choice unless you decide to throw me out into space! Ignore that; it's just that I'm going to need time to fix the TARDIS, and it's kind of essential not just for her survival, but also for mine!"
"Well, that box… sorry the TARDIS isn't taking up a lot of room," Hera said. "I guess it wouldn't hurt if you need to stick around for a while! Besides, the same old company can become a little tedious after a while!" she grinned; and glanced at Kanan and Ezra.
Ezra scowled; whilst Kanan just smirked back.
"Alright then, I'd best make a start while I still have the energy," the Doctor said, standing up from the couch. "However, if it isn't too much to ask, I'm going to need my screwdriver back," he finished with the extending of a hand to Hera.
"Very well, Doctor," she said, handing the device back to him. "And I'm sure we might be able to lend a helping hand if you need any of us!"
She stared around at the crew to confirm that there would be no argument against her promise.
"Thanks, but I think I'll manage for a while," the Doctor replied, placing the screwdriver into his back pocket. "It's not the first time the TARDIS has had trouble."
"Quick question," Sabine broke in. "What's with the blank paper in that sleeve?"
"Oh, you'd see for yourself if you lot had the right focus and imagination!" the Doctor casually answered, retrieving the wallet from the table. He then shoved it into his pocket.
Suddenly, he lifted his hand to his mouth. "Oh no!"
"What? Doctor, what's the matter?" Kanan asked, looking rather worried.
"I forgot to ventilate the control room!" he cried.
He then dashed past the confused crew and back down the corridor towards the cockpit.
"She'll be so mad with me; poor girl probably can't breathe herself!" he yelled along the way. They continued to hear him cursing himself until the cockpit door slammed shut behind him.
"Well, he seems friendly enough," Ezra said when the Doctor was out of sight.
Well, that's it done!
I hope it's alright!
I'll get the next chapter up whenever I can...
Ta all...
See you soon...