The Scarred Planet

Part Two

Featuring the Eighth Doctor, Asla and Cardinal Ollistra

The Doctor had led Ollistra and the others into a tall forest, where they were surrounded by tall dark trees and the ground was covered with dead leaves. They wielded their staser rifles and swung them around in fear.
"Doctor, where exactly are we going?" Ollistra demanded, sounding furious, "We have greater priorities to focus on than your two friends."
But the Doctor was focused on scanning the atmosphere with his sonic screwdriver. When he had finished, he looked at Ollistra gloomily.
"Ollistra, we cannot leave this planet in any ship. There's an electromagnetic field surrounding this planet and we have no TARDIS. So how exactly do you plan on leaving?" he replied, walking ahead of the group and noticing an entrance into a cave up ahead. He looked at the others with hope in his eyes and announced, "There's an entrance into some caves ahead and perhaps that may allow us time to figure out where we are as well as a way off this planet."
"But what about the monster?" Graavda queried, referring to the creature that had punched the TARDIS.
"We don't kill it because it probably thought we were attacking it. And nothing attacks everything in sight, apart from Daleks and Cybermen. Come on, you lot. If you want to survive, follow me."

Asla still couldn't understand how the planet that had a monster living on a lake and an electromagnetic barrier could be Mondas. She had learnt from the Doctor that Mondas had been destroyed long ago and that the Cybermen had tried to save it on several occasions. Naturally she had informed Traavia and Ertass about this history and Ertass nodded, remembering something he had learnt long ago in the Academy back on Gallifrey.
"This is an alternate version of Mondas." Ertass explained, "Humans evolved differently here and cracks between dimensions allowed this Mondas to slip through. At least that's what I can guess by the presence of the Tulgrisks."
"Tulgrisks are dangerous, yeah?" Traavia presumed.
"Tulgrisks are what the Griff is fighting against. They are humans that evolved differently and their primary instinct is consumption."
"Do you have any equipment nearby? If this ship is a Cyber ship, then there must be some sort of teleport that we can use." Asla wondered, having had an idea.
"Yep but I'm not exactly sure how to get it to work. Weapons were more of my forte."
"Well we'll be able to get it working. I'm certain of that."

Inside the cave, the Doctor and his group had stopped by a computer bank as the Doctor wanted to try and see if there was any equipment nearby that could help him escape from the hostile world he had found himself on. The other Time Lord soldiers looked at him as if he was deliberately holding them up and Ollistra walked over to him, with a 'please-move-on' look on her face.
"Doctor, why are you trying to use that computer bank? We need to move quickly." Ollistra pleaded grumpily, glancing back at the other Time Lords.
"Ollistra, this computer bank may have vital information on it which we may need. If you want everyone here to be killed, then please go ahead and hurry everyone else on." the Doctor replied, as a holographic model of the caves and the Cyber Ship embedded within them. It showed the Time Lord group at the top of the model, as well as three other life signs within the Cyber Ship. Strangely, the model also detected dozens of life signs in the bottom of the caves which made him frown confusedly.
"There's some sort of laboratory there." Graavda said, having silently moved over to the Doctor and Ollistra and who was pointing at a part of the model that looked like a laboratory, "Would that be a good place to head to?"
"Yes, that's a good idea." the Doctor replied, walking away and calling the others to follow him.

Ertass, Asla and Traavia had found themselves in a wide metal corridor where dozens of scorpion-like creatures were huddled together, evidently hibernating.
"Are those Tulgrisks?" Traavia wondered, aiming her rifle at the creatures.
"Yep. We need to be as quiet as we can, otherwise they'll wake up." Ertass whispered back, quietly tip-toeing along. Asla and Traavia followed him, copying his exact movements.

Suddenly one of the creatures twitched and opened one of its large eyes, staring at the three strangers. It then opened its other eye and shrieked wildly, waking the other creatures up.
"Run!" Asla cried, grabbing Traavia's hand and sprinting away. Ertass took out a large silver staser rifle and fired several shots at the Tulgrisks, wounding them and making them cry out in pain. Asla and Traavia stopped by the doors at the end of the corridor and looked back at Ertass.
"Ertass, get over here now!" Asla yelled, firing several shots from her laser pistols to cover Ertass as he sprinted towards them. Once he was near the doors, Traavia stepped through the entrance, followed by Asla and then Ertass before the doors slammed shut with a loud clang.

The Doctor, Ollistra, Graavda and Goswrath, along with the other Time Lord soldiers, had managed to enter the same corridor that Asla, Traavia and Ertass had been only a few moments earlier. The Tulgrisks were at the other end of the corridor and had noticed the humanoids' presence, sniffing round rapidly before scuttling towards them.
"All soldiers, fire now." Ollistra commanded, before turning to the Doctor and demanding, "Anything you can do, Doctor?"
"Ollistra, we need to focus on survival. This planet is clearly hostile and these creatures seem to be native to this world. But I think there's more to here than meets the eye as planets don't just tend to pop into battlefields."
"Do you have any theories?"
"I think this planet originated in another universe and, because of the sheer scale of the Time War, this planet fell through a crack between realities into our universe."
The two Time Lords then drew their attention towards the battle they had found themselves in, hearing the screams of the Tulgrisks and the Time Lord soldiers who had been consumed by them. The Doctor suddenly grabbed Ollistra's hand and ran towards the other end of the corridor, hoping that the Tulgrisks would be distracted by the battle long enough so that they could make their escape.
"Doctor, I have innocent soldiers back there. Shouldn't we help them?" Ollistra protested in anger, "I thought you tried to save lives."
"Ollistra, I save lives that can be saved. But those creatures only just want to eat so somebody has to deal with them. Your soldiers are buying us a little more time and I cannot save them."
He took out his sonic screwdriver and activated it at the doors in front of them, before stepping into the room beyond and locking the doors and noticing that Asla, Traavia and another person were standing inside with them.
"Doctor, you're alive!" Asla exclaimed happily, before explaining everything that she'd found out with Traavia and Ertass, as well as who Ertass was and that there was some teleportation equipment nearby that needed fixing.
"So this is what Mondas could have been like?" the Doctor mused, after Asla had finished talking, "I'd rather have the Cybermen than the Tulgrisks. Now, Ertass, take me to this teleport. I think we need to get off this planet."

Ertass led them to a small room where a large circular metal platform sat above some complicated machinery and a computer console that kept on flickering wildly. The Doctor, Traavia and Asla rushed over to the teleportation station and examined it, while Ertass and Cardinal Ollistra stayed a few metres back.
"Ollistra, it's good to meet you in the flesh, at last." Ertass remarked, pleased to see a respected and honoured war hero, "How is the war effort going?"
"Badly, Ertass. It seems that the Cyber War and the Time War have collided. Separating the two wars and preventing them from colliding again is a tricky task, but I have an agent who is working on doing that. The Doctor also appears to have cleared up the fallout from the Cyber Lord's attacks, but there is one thing I am concerned about."
"What is it, Cardinal?"
Ollistra paused, considering her words.
"During a recent Matrix scan, new footage appears to have surfaced of the Doctor leading an armada of Cybermen into the Time War and destroying Gallifrey, as well as every Dalek in existence."
"Which version of the Doctor?" Ertass queried, remembering the bizarre range of incarnations of the Doctor that existed.
"This Doctor, the one who's with us now. I may have to investigate this on my own once we get off this planet."

Meanwhile, the Doctor had managed to repair the teleport successfully and was now looking at the computer console, with his two companions by his side.
"Are we going back to the TARDIS?" Traavia asked, as the Doctor zapped the controls with his sonic screwdriver and smiled happily.
"Wrong. The TARDIS is coming to us." he replied happily, as he pushed a large red button on the console and watched the TARDIS swirl into view, soldifying onto the teleport pad. Asla and Traavia smiled with joy and the three travellers walked towards the ship, entering it and heading towards the console. The Doctor looked back at Ollistra and Ertass and called them over. They both entered the ship and the Doctor followed them in, shutting the doors and rushing to the console. He activated the dematerialisation control and relaxed, as the time rotor rose and fell and the TARDIS wheezed and howled away.

After a short flight, the TARDIS landed on the Gallifreyan stronghold of Hunchkiss and Ertass and Ollistra stepped out, looking back at the Doctor and his friends.
"Doctor, are you going to tow those friends of yours around the universe with you?" Ollistra queried, sounding as irritated as usual.
"Yes, Ollistra. I prefer to be someone who has friends to help him and to keep him going." the Doctor replied, sharing a friendly smile with Asla and Traavia, "This war is burning apart entire realities, it's snatching entire species off the face of reality and into darkness. It's destroying everything. I protect those who aren't protected from people like you and creatures like the Daleks. But I can't protect them on my own."
"We're clearing up your mess, Ollistra." Asla added, "Be grateful for what we do."
"Well said." Traavia commented, realising that all of the powerful statements had already been said and then shut the door. Ollistra and Ertass watched for a few moments as the TARDIS wheezed and howled away, heading towards new horizons.
"I am grateful, Doctor." Ollistra muttered quietly, "No matter how irritating this current incarnation of yours is, I am grateful for your help."

THE END