"How did you know what they were?" the Doctor asked his Nesdra quietly as he pulled up a chair beside the red head and sat down. He wanted to ask her so many things; to satisfy his curiosity, but also wanted to get her mind off whatever was bothering her since noticing that she'd been staring at nothing as she continued to fiddle with the oval-shaped pendant that hung off one of the two chains that lay around her neck.
His question seemed to do the trick as Aries dropped said small crystal the moment she'd heard his voice and looked to the Doctor with a raised eyebrow. Her lip twitched upwards slightly, recalling the conversation she had with the Time Lord during the Blitz and couldn't help but think that he was very upfront – although never pushy – with his curiosity. There was always something about his questions that never seemed to come across as intrusive; something that gave her the reassurance that whatever she decided to reveal to him, the Doctor was someone she found she could trust to keep them to himself.
Why that was however, was still something that the witch was trying to figure out. And despite knowing that she could trust the Doctor, the fact that Aries didn't know why she could scared her; knowing that ever since she had first met him all those decades ago, there had always been a part of her that knew she could trust him – that had trusted him – and she was cautious as to why.
"I read about them," she offered after a moment, her gaze turning to the others in the room; watching as they too made themselves comfortable while trying to work out what they should do next.
The Time Lord raised his own eyebrow at her vague reply, his curiosity perked at the snippet of information he had garnered. "And where did you get the book?" he questioned, drawing her attention back to him. "It's the twenty-first century," he continued when Aries just blinked at him, "And humans know next to nothing on aliens."
"Who said it was a book?" Aries replied with a question of her own, and before the Doctor could reply, they were interrupted by Mickey and the Time Lord couldn't stop himself from feeling both annoyed by Ricky's terrible timing, as well as slighted at the chance at learning more about the enigma that was Aries Prince.
"Listen to this," the young man told them before another voice came through the phone, one that sounded like it was being played through a telly.
Aries stood up with a frown as she listened to the familiar voice 'Joseph Green', her eyes narrowing at the aliens words.
"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they've found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds," the disguised Slitheen said.
"What?" the Doctor exclaimed as he stood up as well.
"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an Emergency Resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on, it is my solemn duty to inform you that planet Earth is at war."
"He's making it up. There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it," the Doctor said as he started to pace.
"It doesn't make any sense," Aries muttered as she watched the Doctor with furrowed brows.
"Do you think they'll believe him?" Harriet questioned.
"They did last time," Indra spoke up as he watched Aries.
"That's why the Slitheen went for a spectacle. They wanted the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out," the Doctor continued to pace before he stopped, realising that Aries was once again thinking. He wouldn't admit it, but he found that he could watch her all day as she thought. The way her lips tugged downwards slightly, her eyebrows furrowed just a little and the way she seemed as though she could read your very soul as she looked at you.
There was just something about her when she was in that state, and the Time Lord found that he could do nothing but stare.
"They release the defence codes and the Slitheen go nuclear," Aries muttered before her eyes widened and she rushed over to the conference phone, "Mickey, I need you to do something for me."
The Doctor watched, rather unsure as to what she was doing.
"What do you need?" Mickey said after a moment.
"I need you to access the personnel files of all UNIT employees and all personnel liaising with them," she quickly explained.
"What do you need that for?" the Harriet asked rather confused as she watched the red head; once again getting the feeling that there was far more to Aries than she had first thought.
The witch in question turned her head to the MP as she explained, "We may not have any alien experts that can help us right now, but I do have a contact that works for the Ministry of Defence."
The Doctor's eyes widened as he realised what she was getting at. "Commander Aspen," he breathed as he quickly made his way to her side and looked to the phone. "Mickey, you need to locate a Ministry of Defence Commander by the name of Nick Aspen. He should be under as a liaison officer."
"Okay, Commander Nick Aspen," Mickey said as he typed away. There was a frustrated noise before he spoke again, "It's asking for a another password. The buffalo one isn't working and I've only got two more tries before it kicks me out," he informed them.
"You wouldn't happen to have another password up your sleeve, would you?" Aries asked the Doctor, rather hoping that he did. She had one of course, but it came with the possibility of compromising herself and Indra. And she wasn't too sure just how the Doctor would take the knowledge of who she was... more so since she still hadn't been told how she'd ended up with the title of Royal Commander to begin with.
The Time Lord shook his head regretfully, "No. I've only ever used that one."
Aries frowned as she looked back to the phone. Her eyes flickered back and forth unfocusedly as she shifted through everything she knew about UNIT and one Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, wondering what password the younger woman would have used. Cross-referencing every titbit of information that was both personal and significant to Kate, Aries blinked when something occurred to her.
Okay, UNIT really needs to move away from animal themed passwords, she thought when only one thing stood out in her mind.
"Try Greyhound," she told Mickey.
There was some more typing on the other end before Mickey sighed. "Incorrect," he told them.
Frowning – although feeling slightly glad that not everyone used animals as a basis for their passwords – Aries raised her gaze and looked to Indra. She drew her bottom lip in between her teeth when the man inclined his head slightly before releasing it with a sigh.
"We only have one more chance," the Doctor told her, noticing her shoulders droop slightly.
She glanced at him and nodded before looking back to the phone. "Canidae," she told Mickey, "Spelt C, A, N, I, D, A, E."
"You sure? Because this is our last chance," Mickey asked, even though he had already put the password in; his finger hovering over the enter button.
"I'm certain, Mickey," Aries said confidently, missing the Doctor's eyes narrow slightly as he watched her.
"Here goes nothing," the young man said before hitting the button. There was silence for a moment before he spoke again, his tone excited. "We're in," he exclaimed as he started typing again.
"How did you know?" the Doctor asked Aries, rather surprised and curious that she had guessed the password correctly.
Aries frowned, not looking away from the phone. She didn't know how to tell him without giving away more than what she was willing to in regards to who she was.
Indra cleared his throat, causing the pair to glance at him. "UNIT has coded a password that would give access to the system in the event of an emergency. To use it outside of its intended purpose holds an immediate resignation and possible jail time, depending on what one does after using it. The moment it is used, anyone with high enough clearance," his gaze, which had been moving from the Doctor and Aries as he spoke, settled on Aries for a moment before flickering towards the Doctor, "Is notified and GPS co-ordinates are immediately sent out to alert them of the passwords use," he explained, twisting lies with the truth.
It was only Aries who knew that he was lying, both of them knowing that the only thing that had been truthful out of everything Indra had said was that the password would grant the user access. Which I'll have to change as soon as possible, the red head thought, her gaze flickering to Rose and Harriet, There's no telling what someone might do with it.
"Found him," Mickey stated, regaining everyone's attention.
Turning back to the phone, Aries sighed in relief. "I need his contact number," she told the young man, "Send it to Rose's phone and I'll call you back when I'm done," she finished before hanging up, not giving him a chance to say anything.
"What are you doing?" Rose questioned the red head, confused as to what she was up to.
Aries glanced in her direction, her eyebrows pinching together slightly. She had thought that what she was doing had been quite clear, but she guessed not. "I'm trying to stop those aliens from getting their hands on nuclear weapons and blowing up the planet," she explained.
"And how are you going to do that?" Harriet questioned this time, watching the red head closely as Aries looked back to the phone. She was actually quite surprised at how easily the young woman seemed to take control of the situation; adapting quickly to the changes that were occurring around them.
"The Slitheen run something along the lines of a... family business," Aries begun, her lip tugging downwards slightly at the corners, trying to work out just what they would have targeted Earth for, "And any family business needs customers. That signal they are transmitting from the North Sea could be an advert, but advertising what, I'm unsu...oh no," she breathed as the pieces fell into place in her mind; her own words playing on a loop.
"What is it?" the Doctor asked her worriedly as her face paled.
Aries looked up to the Time Lord, grabbing Rose's phone when it beeped and was already opening the message as she spoke. "What do most spaceships run on?" she asked him, hoping she was wrong.
The Doctor's eyebrows creased before they flew upwards, his eyes widening. "They're gonna blow up the planet," he breathed out, realising what Aries had.
"What?!" Rose exclaimed, looking between the pair.
"They're gonna attack every country on Earth. The countries retaliate, fight back. World War Three. The whole planet gets nuked," the Doctor quickly explained, his horror growing with every word, "Radioactive chunks of the Earth to be sold off as fuel."
"Not if we can stop them," Aries stated as she dialled the number Mickey had sent, turning away from the others when the call connected.
"Who's this?" Commander Aspen's voice questioned.
"Commander. This is Aries Prince, UNIT Scientific Division," Aries replied quickly, "I don't have much time and I need your help."
"Aries?" Aspen's voice breathed in relief, "Alistair hasn't been able to get a hold of you and he was worried that something had happened."
"Tell him that I'm fine," she replied, "And that we're still held up in Downing Street. I had to activate the Cabinet Room's security measures which would explain why he couldn't reach me. I'm currently using an unrestricted device and would explain more, but I need you to do something for me. It's important."
"What do you need?" Nick asked.
Aries frowned, glancing at the others in the room. "There is a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It would have only registered as an unknown radioactive blip in the system yesterday, but any investigation was diverted by the events earlier today. That ship is broadcasting a signal into outer space. I don't know what it's broadcasting, but it needs to be stopped," she explained quickly, "I don't care how you do it, just stop that signal. Blow the ship out of the water for all I care."
There was silence on the other end of the line before there was the sound of pen scratching against paper could be heard, followed by Aspen's voice. "Got it. Anything else?" he asked.
Looking to the Doctor, Aries continued, "I guess that you both have watching the news?" she asked, receiving a hum in agreement from Aspen, "Then you should know that Joseph Green is dead. The man who made that statement is not the acting Prime Minister. He's not even remotely human. And I know that it might be hard to believe but it is imperative that you stall the UN. They cannot hand over those codes," Aries' eyes flickered between Harriet and the Doctor before she continued, wanting to gauge their reactions to what she was about to reveal next, "Show them my ABS if you need something to help stall them."
"ABS?" Nick asked rather confused. Though he wasn't the only one. The Doctor and Harriet were both confused by her words as well, while Rose was looking at her like she had grown another head.
It was only Indra who didn't react to her words, although he was looking rather tense.
"Atmospheric Breech Software," she elaborated. "It was what alerted me to the spaceship earlier today the moment it passed through the Earth's atmosphere before colliding into Big Ben. I didn't get a chance to fully see everything it picked up, but it might be able to show you the origination and trajectory of the spaceship, as well as the possibility of anything else that is up there. There should be enough there to give them pause and stop them from just handing the codes over," she finished.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow as Aries spoke, surprised and intrigued to know that she had created something that could tell her if anything entered the Earth's atmosphere. It almost sounded like what the scanner in his ship had done earlier and he could see how she ended up working for UNIT as a Scientific Advisor. The way her mind worked and the knowledge she held was advanced for her age...
His lips tugged downwards into a frown at that train of thought. Maybe too advanced, he reflected, considering what the Slitheen had stated to exactly what Aries was. It had, without saying it aloud, given him reason to believe that Aries wasn't human...or not fully at least. And that didn't even include the energy he had seen her produced after that.
"Okay. I'll get onto it right away," Aspen said before adding, "And Aries, be careful."
His words caused the red head to frown, unsure why the man sounded concerned before shrugging it off. "Thank you, Nick," she said before hanging up.
"So?" the Time Lord spoke up, feeling uncomfortable with how she had used the Commander's first name. He was suddenly filled with the idea that there could be something between the Commander and Aries, and he didn't like the thought one bit.
Aries turned to the four in front of her, "Commander Aspen is going to try and intercept and stop the signal coming from the North Sea. He is also going to try and stop the UN from handing over the release codes, though I am unsure how successful he will be with that. Stalling seems to be the only thing we can do at the moment until we can figure out another way to stop them."
"How'd you get him to do that?" Rose asked with a frown. She was certain that Aries was only a scientist and she couldn't understand how she got a Commander to listen to her without even questioning her.
"I asked him," the red-headed witch stated simply.
Rose scowled, "But he's a Commander. How did you get him to listen to you? You're just a scientist."
It was Indra who once again came to Aries aide, stepping forwards and drawing the blonde's attention. His expression had Rose blinking, finding not an overstressed man staring at her, but a man that – quite like Aries if she were being truthful (which she'd never admit aloud) – was used to giving orders. "I would be careful with what you say, Miss Tyler," he said, "At this point in time, Miss Prince holds a position not only above you, but myself as well. And regardless of how she got the Commander to listen to her, I believe that your thoughts should be more focused on the fact that even despite being trapped in this room, Miss Prince has actually managed to do something to try and stall those aliens."
"But she's just a scientist!" Rose exclaimed, not liking how everyone couldn't see that nothing that was happening was making any sense.
Aries Prince was just a Scientific Advisor, not some undercover agent.
"And you're an uninvited guest," Indra countered smoothly. "You, Miss Tyler, had no clearance to be in this building," his gaze flickered to the Doctor, the Time Lord watching their interaction with raised eyebrows. "Regardless of who you know," the man continued as he looked back to Rose, "Miss Prince was requested to be here. And given the circumstances that we have found ourselves in, I am rather glad for her presence. Miss Prince, at this moment in time, is just as much your superior as she is mine."
Rose frowned at his words, but decided to stay quiet. Especially when she noticed that the Doctor didn't back her up or defend her.
The red head in question just moved back to the conference phone on the table, raising an eyebrow at Indra when she caught his eye as she placed the mobile back into the speaker. The man just shook his head at her unasked question, and Aries sighed.
It was only the upwards quirk of Indra's lips that betrayed the amusement that never quite reached his face, knowing that there was far more to Aries' Prince than any of them knew.
Least of all the woman herself...
Aries was leaning against the table, her eyes gazing unfocusedly at the wall in front of her while her fingers drummed against the table unconsciously as she tried to figure out a way out of the situation that she and the others were in.
An idea had occurred to the witch earlier while she'd been talking to the Commander, but there had been too many risks to consider.
So much that could go horribly wrong.
Someone stepped up beside her, and although Aries didn't look at them, continuing to stare at the wall, she couldn't stop her natural reaction to stiffen despite having a fair idea as to who it was.
"Atmospheric Breech Software," the Doctor glanced to Aries as he spoke, "You created it?"
"About three years ago," the red head confirmed as she turned her head to look at the Time Lord. Though she made certain not to mention just how long she'd been working on the idea.
Ever since she'd run into not only the Doctor, but the conman who went by Jack Harkness, she'd been working on many ways to try and help protect the planet from what was out there – keeping the technology within the times, of course.
"I doubt that it will help the Commander hold off the UN's decision indefinitely, seeing that it can't actually show them what is out there as it isn't actually linked up with any known network on Earth..."
The Doctor's eyebrows raised in surprise even as he felt something flutter in his chest at seeing the devious smile that tugged at Aries' lips.
"But the technology involved in its creation should have their scientists scrambling about for a few hours to figure out how it was built."
Blinking, the Doctor's eyebrows returned to their normal position before trying to meet together as his face twisted in confusion. "Wait, you're telling me you handed over you're own creation... just to stall them?"
"What is the point of knowledge, if not to be shared?" the red head asked with a shrug.
"Knowledge can be dangerous in the wrong hands," the Time Lord countered.
"What, like yours?" Aries asked before she could stop herself, and her question had the Doctor freezing, unsure if she was talking about the Time Lords, or him in general. Though before he could say anything, the red head continued as she pushed herself away from the table and turned so she was fully facing him. "Not everyone is on this planet is naïve to the knowledge of what truly lies out there, Doctor," she told him, "Nor naïve as to who stands in this very room." Aries shook her head, a small smile playing upon her lips despite her words, "But not all are like you, are they? Our technology may be advancing, but that only succeeds in painting a target on our own backs," her gaze drifted to the others in the room as she let out a sigh, "Even if some don't realise."
"You're a very loud species," the Time Lord agreed as he eyed his Nesdra, surprised at just how much she seemed to know about him. That, and how different she acted to those around her age. Her maturity was beyond that of someone in their twenties, and he wanted to know more about just what made her tick.
"And they are silent," the witch stated, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stared at nothing.
Their conversation was interrupted when Rose's phone begin to ring in the speaker dock it was sitting in, and the Doctor frowned when he realised that Aries was already heading over to the device and couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh as he followed. His irritation was slowly growing at the fact that it seemed as though any time he got a chance to actually speak with his Nesdra; to get to know her better, they always seemed to be interrupted.
"Aries?" Nick Aspen's voice came through the speaker after the red head accepted the call.
"Speaking, Commander."
"It took a bit of thinking and collaborating, but we managed to scramble the signal coming from the North Sea using radio waves to disrupt it," the Commander told her, getting straight to the point of why he was calling, "Though we are uncertain as to how long that will be effective. We are still working on locating the ship, but have been unsuccessful at this time."
Aries frowned but nodded. It wasn't the best news, but at least he had managed to buy them some time. "And the codes?" she questioned.
There was an exhale before the man spoke again.
"The UN hasn't made any decisive decisions as of yet, but were very... intrigued by your ABS software," he explained, and the witch just rolled her eyes, already knowing that the UN would be more than just intrigued. "And although I will admit that it is a rather impressive bit of software you've put together," Nick continued, "There has been calls to ask how you managed to gain permission to allow the software to use not only the UK's satellites, but a few other... questionable countries as well."
"Yes, and no one else is using satellites to spy on other nations," Aries scoffed, earning a muffled snort from Indra and an amused look from the Doctor. Harriet looked rather taken aback by her words and Rose just rolled her eyes. "And unless someone is planning on using any form of weapons that pass through the Earth's atmosphere and then return, the software should not cause them any fear. It is a warning system, not a weapon."
"Oh, they know," the Commander informed her and they could all hear the amusement in his voice, "But as you said earlier," he continued, bringing the conversation back to the problem at hand, "It doesn't have the capability to detect anything past the Earth's atmosphere. Though the trajectory of the spaceship has them questioning its origin."
"So, we're still waiting to hear their decision on whether they will hand the codes over or not," the witch stated, her eyebrows knitting together.
"That's correct, Ma'am."
"Thank you, Commander," she replied.
"I'll try to keep you updated as best I can," Nick said before hanging up.
Sighing, the red-headed woman ran a hand through her hair as she moved back to her seat and slumped down into it. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she muttered, "Utter dunderheads," under her breath, wondering how a bunch of supposedly intelligent people – that currently held the worlds' fate in their hands – could stop to question a bit of advanced software that was only designed as a warning system.
"At least they managed to scramble the signal for the moment," Indra offered as he watched Aries, deciding to try and keep her focused on the positives.
"That's true," the witch conceded, dropping her hand to the table, "And it was far more than we could have hoped for. Should also keep whoever that signal was being broadcasted to from appearing anytime soon."
"What do you mean?" Rose asked, looking between the two, "They still could hand over the codes to the aliens."
"They might, yes," Aries admitted, "But they haven't yet, which means they're uncertain."
The Doctor, who had been frowning since his Nesdra's conversation with the Commander, poured some alcohol into a glass before walking over to Aries. "Here," he said, holding the glass out to her and causing her to blink at him in surprise. Although he didn't drink, or the Doctor didn't think he did, he could see that she was stressed and needed something.
Under any other circumstance he wouldn't have offered her anything, but he figured that just one wouldn't hurt.
Aries took the glass off him and offered him a small smile, feeling touched by the gesture. "Thanks," she murmured before taking a sip, grimacing at the burn as she swallowed.
Harriet, who had been watching the exchange, couldn't help but frown at how tense the red head looked. For a Scientific Advisor, Aries seemed to hold a lot of weight on her shoulders, and as the brunette glanced at Indra, she noticed that once again the man was watching the young woman with an expression of concern.
Her frown deepened slightly as she looked back to the red head, feeling as though she was missing something.
A few hours later found the Doctor sitting in the chair near Aries' as he watched her sleep.
He had told her to get some rest not long after the phone call from the Commander, having seen how stressed and tired she was over the entire situation they'd found themselves in. And although she had refused at first, stubbornly stating that she'd rather be away in case Nick called back with any more news, but had eventually complied when the Doctor had promised to wake her the moment he heard anything new.
But as he continued to watch the slowly rise and fall of her chest; the fingers of her right hand twitching every so often as she dreamed things only she knew, the Time Lord found himself thinking over her position as a Scientific Advisor. He didn't believe for a second that it was her actual job, having seen firsthand how at ease she was with taking command of a situation and giving orders when needed, along with how quick and sharp her mind was.
And then there had also been the way he had continuously spotted Indra continuously looking to her for directions, as well as their small, non-verbal communicative glances that told him more than anything that she wasn't just a Scientific Advisor.
But it did make the Doctor curious as to exactly what position within UNIT his Nesdra held, and why she was lying about it.
His attention was drawn away from his sleeping soulmate when he noticed Rose pulling her phone out of the speaker port and begun to fiddle with it before placing it back, and he let out a sigh, shaking his head when he heard her speaking with her mother; ignoring the glances he could feel coming from Indra and Harriet. He hadn't like it how Rose had continuously tried to verbally attack his Nesdra, finding her behaviour rather unbecoming of his companion, though wasn't too certain as to how he was supposed to approach her about how she'd been acting.
He didn't even know how he was supposed to tell Aries just who she was to him – and that was something that was far more important in his eyes.
The sound of someone's voice over the speaker had Aries slowly being drawn back to the land of the conscious, and the red head blinked a few times before standing up to stretch; trying to get the knots she could feel in her back to disappear. As much as she had slept in chairs in the past, she still found the entire ordeal uncomfortable.
Though her eyebrows creased in confusion and she turned to the phone call happening between Rose and the blonde's mother; hearing Jackie on the other end of the line. "All right, Doctor. I'm not saying that I trust you, but there must be something you can do," the woman asked, addressing the Time Lord, and Aries frowned as she approached the group; pulling a small bottle of water from one of the many hidden pockets of her coat while the others weren't looking to help wash away the after-taste of the glass of alcohol she'd had before falling asleep. She was curious as to what she had missed, and with a side-long glance to the Doctor, wondered why he hadn't woken her.
"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet told the small group, and the witch shook her head.
"We neither have the time, nor the quantity," she spoke up, causing the group to turn to her in surprise, having believed Aries to still be sleeping.
"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked, turning her attention back to the phone and ignoring Aries' remark.
"There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail," the young man informed her.
"What's he doing?" the red head asked the Doctor quietly as she stepped up beside him, looking between Rose and the phone with mild confusion.
The Time Lord just rolled his eyes. "Rose said that the Commander was taking too long to get back to us, and since she couldn't find his number in her phone, she called Mickey to try and see if he could get a hold of anyone to tell them about the aliens," he explained, his expression clearly telling the witch his thoughts.
"Yeah, that may have been my fault," she admitted a little sheepishly, "I deleted Nick's number of her phone after we last spoke. Doubt he'd want just anyone to have access to it," she added when the Doctor just raised a questioning eyebrow. "But anyways, Rose does realise that no one will believe a word she says when she decides to tell them that the current acting Prime Minister is an eight-foot alien in disguise," she said, raising her own eyebrow.
It was the Doctor's turn to look a little sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, I know they won't."
Aries just blinked, her brain working a little slower as it continued to wake up before his words registered in her mind and she couldn't stop the snicker that escaped her. "You didn't, did you?" she asked with an amused smile lifting her lips.
The Doctor's sheepish expression vanished at the sight of it and returned it easily. "Yeah," he admitted.
The witch shook her head, another snicker escaping her before she nodded in Rose's direction. "Are you gonna tell her?" she asked.
Turning his head in his companion's direction, the Time Lord watched Rose for a moment as she continued to talk with Mickey and her mother before he shook his head with a grin. "Nah," he declined, causing his Nesdra to have to smother another snicker. His grin grew at how relaxed she looked, his mind taking him back to the easy banter that they'd been enjoying on the drive over, though once again he was reminded that there was far more to Aries when not a second later, her expression had cleared; turning serious.
"We need to get out of here," the witch admitted sombrely as her silver-grey eyes watched Harriet and Indra talking between themselves. "It's been quiet for too long and I do not believe that the UN will hold off on their decision for much longer. There's no telling what is going on outside this room. For all we know, World War Three could have already begun."
The Doctor nodded slowly, his grin disappearing as it morphed into a frown. "I know," he agreed quietly, already missing the smile that had been on her face. Though it wasn't long until her sombre expression had changed as well, becoming an expression that he was starting to know as when Aries was thinking – and thinking fast.
The red head opened her mouth, her thoughts on the idea she had had earlier, when Rose spoke up.
"If we could just get out of here," the blonde said.
"There is a way out," Aries stated, glancing at the Time Lord. She wasn't surprised to see the expression on his face, his frown deepening when he realised what she was thinking.
"What?!" Rose almost shrieked.
"There's always been a way out," the witch continued, turning away from the Doctor to look at the others, "There had been the moment I chose to close those shutters."
"Then why haven't you said anything before?!" Rose questioned angrily as she glared at Aries, unable to believe that they'd been trapped here while she knew of a way out all along.
Instead of answering Rose, Aries turned her gaze to the phone. "Because I can't guarantee that your daughter will be safe," she said rather simply.
"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare," Jackie told her, the blonde's voice growing hysterical.
It was the Doctor who spoke next, surprising Aries when he slipped his hand around hers and gave it a gentle squeeze as he said, "That's the thing, Jackie. If we don't dare," he looked to his Nesdra, "Then everyone dies."
"You knew?" Rose asked, her earlier pitch dropping to an almost whisper as she stared at the Doctor, unbelieving that he would have kept such a thing from her.
"Please, Doctor. Please. She's my daughter. She's just a kid," Jackie pleaded, trying to get them to change their minds.
"Don't you think I don't know that?" the Time Lord asked, "Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun. It's not smart. It's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."
His gaze found Aries' again as he continued and the expression on her face softened at his words; seeing the man that she had met more than half a century ago. The witch had wondered what had happened to the Doctor when she had run into him the year prior, and although she had a vague understanding as to what he had lived through, he had been nothing like the Time Lord that she had met during the Blitz.
But now as she looked to him, Aries could see the man that the Doctor would become.
The man who would had kept his promise to not only save her life, but the lives of so many others.
Who stood beside her in that moment was a Time Lord who had lived through war and had lost everything, but still held onto something that Aries had trouble finding.
Squeezing his hand, Aries tilted her head. "Then what are you waiting for?" she asked him quietly.
The Doctor's expression turned conflicted as he tried to work out what to say. He was supposed to protect his Nesdra - to keep her safe! - and here she was asking why he hadn't already dropped a bomb on them. He had only just met her, and now he was faced with the prospect of losing her, and she would never know who she was to him.
Swallowing heavily, the Doctor turned so he was facing Aries; his hand still holding hers. His hearts constricted in his chest at the mere thought of losing her.
"I could save the world," his gaze bore into hers as he added, "But lose you."
Aries' eyes widened a fraction at his words, the feelings she had dismissed for so long flaring to life at the intensity of his gaze. He couldn't... But that... She was unable to string a coherent thought together, unable to believe what he had just said.
Neither noticed Rose glaring at Aries, the blonde's blood boiling at both the Doctor's words, as well as the fact that he hadn't even acknowledged her at all. She was supposed to be his companion! The one he had asked to travel with him. But the moment he had laid eyes on that bloody red head, it felt to Rose like she no longer existed.
Indra was just watching the pair with a small, knowing smile before he shook his head. Really should have taken River's warning not to bet against Vera, he thought wryly as he twirled a ring on his finger; his thoughts going to the young brunette that had taken his breath away the moment he'd first laid eyes on her. River had warned against betting with Vera, but there was just something about the brunette that had him agreeing.
It had been a laughable bet in its own right, but the thought of seeing Vera again when he had to go and pay up was something that had the man wanting the whole ordeal he was in to just be done with already.
It was Harriet who broke the silence that had fallen over the room after the Doctor had spoken.
"Except it's not your decision, Doctor," she said, glancing at Aries as she added, "Or yours." She stepped towards the table, her gaze flickering between the pair, "It's mine."
"And who the hell are you?" Jackie demanded.
The woman straightened, "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people," she looked to the Doctor, her expression serious, "I command you. Do it."
The Doctor stared at Aries for a moment longer. She nodded to him slowly, still reeling by what he had said and he managed a small smile. He let her hand go before moving over to the red case that was still laying on the table from the night before and started going through it.
"So how do we get out?" Rose asked, having no idea what he was planning. She thought it best that she ignored what had happened, knowing that it wouldn't be long until it would be just her and the Doctor again as they travelled through time and space.
"We don't," the Time Lord replied as he pulled out of the paperwork and begun instructing Mickey on what he needed the young man to do.
"What are you doing?" Jackie asked Mickey as he typed away on the computer.
"Hacking into the Royal Navy," he replied, rather surprised at what he was doing, "We're in. Here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."
"Right, we need to select a missile," Aries said as she stepped up beside the Doctor. She glanced at the Time Lord, her eyebrows creasing slightly before focusing on what Mickey was doing as he spoke.
"We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defence codes," the young man exclaimed.
"We don't need them," Aries told him.
"All we need's an ordinary missile," the Doctor agreed, "What's the first category?"
"Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A."
"That's the one. Select."
"I could stop you," they heard Jackie say.
"Do it, then," Mickey told her.
"You ready for this?" the Doctor asked the man, glancing at Aries as he did so.
"Yeah."
"Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands," the Doctor slipped his hand around Aries, feeling her hand tighten around his, "Fire."
There was the sound of a key being pressed before Jackie spoke up, "Oh, my god."
"How solid are these?" Harriet asked as she inspected the metal shutters.
"Not solid enough. Built for short range attack, nothing this big," Aries explained, not even glancing away from the phone.
"All right, now I'm making a decision," Rose spoke up, feeling rather jealous at the sight of Aries hand in the Doctor's once more, "I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a door frame. Now, this cupboard," she continued as she opened the door to the storage cupboard, "Is small so it's strong. Come and help me. Come on," she said as she started pulling stuff out.
Harriet and Indra move to help her empty the cupboard and Aries went to help, but was stopped when the Doctor didn't let her hand go. She looked to him in confusion, though couldn't deny how her heart had picked up the moment his hand tightened around hers.
"I need your help with this," he said, barely glancing at her. He was lying through his teeth, but every part of him was screaming to keep her close. He had no idea how this would end and he wasn't going to let her out of his sight.
Aries raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that he was lying, but didn't say anything as she moved back beside him.
"It's on radar," Mickey told them, "Counter defence five-five-six."
"Stop them intercepting it," Aries ordered as the other three continued to empty the cupboard.
"I'm doing it now," Mickey told them.
"Good boy," the Doctor said with a grin, feeling Aries hand tighten around his as they waited for Mickey's next words.
"Five-five-six neutralized," the young man finally said and Aries let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding.
The Doctor pulled the phone out of the speaker and moved towards the cupboard when the others had managed to empty it; his other hand still holding Aries'. He stepped into the cupboard, finding it very cramped, but managed to get both himself and Aries inside, though the red head was half sitting on him. The Time Lord wasn't complaining, however.
"Here we go. Nice knowing you all," Harriet said before shouting, "Hannibal!"
There was the sound of a large explosion and Aries felt the Doctor tighten his hold around her as the cupboard shook violently and rolled before coming to a stop. She managed to push the steel door off when she was certain that it was over and stepped out, quickly followed by the Doctor and the others.
"Made in Britain," Harriet commented with a grin, glad to be alive.
An officer rushed up to them, rather surprised that anyone could have survived the attack, let alone five people in a cupboard!
"Oh, my god. Are you all right?" he asked them.
"Harriet Jones. MP for Flydale North," Harriet said, pulling out her ID cards and showing it to the officer, "I want you to contact the UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news."
"Yes, ma'am," the man said before rushing off to do just that.
"Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out," the brunette commented before her eyes widened, "Oh, Lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."
The Doctor grinned at the woman. "Maybe you should have a go," he told her.
"Me?" Harriet looked to the Doctor in surprise, "Huh. I'm only a back-bencher."
"I'd vote for you," Rose piped up with a smile.
Neither of them noticed Aries frown when she spotted Indra already standing off to the side as they made their way down the rubble, a phone held to his hear. And the moment he looked in their direction and directly at Aries, the witch knew that her day wasn't over. With a glance to the others and seeing that they were distracted with their own conversation, she slipped away.
"Now, don't be silly," Harriet continued, shaking her head, "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!" she called as she begun to make her way down the pile of rubble, shouting, "We're safe! The Earth is safe!" as she went.
"I thought I knew the name," the Doctor commented with a smile as he watched the brunette leave, "Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age." He turned his gaze to his Nesdra at his side, only to feel as though his hearts stopped when he found that she wasn't there; his gaze snapping to the crowds around.
"Doctor," Indra's voice called, and he turned his head in the man's direction and found him approaching, something clutched in on of his hands. "Miss Prince was called back to Headquarters and was unable to stay. Another car has been arranged to take you back, however..." his gaze went to the crowds that were blocking the street.
"Of course," the Time Lord replied, ignoring how his mood had turned south with the disappearance of his soulmate.
"Miss Prince did ask me to give you this, however," the man continued, holding something out to the Doctor.
Accepting the folded slip of paper from Indra, the Doctor frowned. He had rather hoped that he could have gotten the chance to ask Aries about the possibility of travelling with him, but he understood. She had even told him herself, and as much as he wanted to ask her, he knew that there would be a lot of work needed to be done to put everything right after the Slitheen had put the planet on red alert.
And as he unfolded the paper, the Doctor once again had the thought that Aries' position as a Scientific Advisor had only been a cover, knowing that the position had only really been built as a cover for his own work he had once done with the organisation. Though as his eyes went over the words written on the page before back to where Indra had gone, trying to instil some order amongst the chaos, the Time Lord couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his lips.
Doctor,
Meeting you was fantastic.
Until next time, whenever that may be.
Aries Prince.
"Until next time, Aries," he murmured.
It was hours after the entire fiasco at Downing Street when a black sedan finally turned into Aries' driveway. The red head in question stepped out once the vehicle had come to a stop and turned back to thank the driver before heading inside, feeling weary after having to not only deal with the aftermath that she and the others had created when they decided to hijack a missile in an attempt to blow themselves up, but also having to be debriefed by every official that was 'higher' than herself – which included a very worried Alistair.
Though her debriefing with the man had been more of casual chat after he'd found that Aries was not hurt, more centred around the Doctor than the aliens themselves.
As she headed inside, her thoughts on nothing more than a warm shower and her comfy bed, feeling drained both mentally and physically, Aries came to a stop after she opened the door and stepped inside; her gaze falling to the plain brown, A4 sized envelope that was sitting in the middle of the entrance. She stood there staring at the envelope for a moment, and although she already knew that it didn't hold anything dangerous – having entered through the slip in her door without being incinerated by the wards – the witch was still surprised to see it.
It had been the second time in two days that she had had mail delivered to her door, and it unsettled the witch a little, feeling as though she was waiting for something, though she wasn't certain as to what.
It felt as though there was something brewing in the distance; slowly growing ever closer.
With a sigh, Aries picked up the envelope and headed to her study. The thought of mail reminded her of the test she'd started the day prior which had been shoved to the back of her mind since leaving for that run, and as she entered the room, the red head noted that the results had already been printed and were waiting for her, having set up her computer back at her lab to automatically send anything to her study.
She placed the brown envelope beside the printer and picked up the results, taking a deep, slow breath before flipping the paper over to read – only to almost drop them in shock when her eyes landed on the results.
Sample Match – 48% POSITIVE
The only thing that stopped her was written just underneath the result where the identity of the sample would normally be shown.
Aries frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as she noticed that the species her blood had matched against had come up as unknown, and she grew confused.
"Why would Alistair give me a sample of something that wasn't in UNIT's database?" the witch muttered to herself as she moved back over to her desk, collecting the envelope along the way. Sitting down heavily in the chair, Aries eyed the results before her gaze shifted to the Cryptex that was still sitting on her desk.
Maybe he sent something about the charm that had been placed on the vial, Aries mused, though felt as though she was only trying to fool herself as she looked back to the envelope she was still holding. Placing the results onto the desk, Aries opened the envelope and removed the paper inside, frowning when instead of paperwork like she had expected, she found photos. And as she slowly flipped through them, her eyebrows growing closer and closer together in confusion as she did so finding that they all seemed to be images of various men that seemed to range in both age and whatever period of time the photo's had been taken in.
"What in Salazar's name does Alistair expect me to learn from these?" Aries murmured to herself as she continued to look through the photos, but her hands froze and her eyes widened when she reached the last one. Her heart begun to pick up its tempo inside her ribcage as all thoughts fled her mind; her brain screeching to a halt and stall as she stared at the image of the same man she had just spent the last night trapped in a room with.
"Impossible," the witch breathed, inhaling a shaky breath as she continued to stare at the photo of the Ninth Doctor.
The TARDIS had just left with Rose and the Doctor, leaving Mickey alone after Jackie wandered back up to her flat.
The young man was sitting near where the Time Lord's ship had been sitting before they left on another adventure, flipping through that days' newspaper. He couldn't believe that the government had just brushed everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours under the rug, acting as though it had all been a hoax that had gotten way out of hand.
There was only so much they could cover up, and the ruins that now stood in the place that was !0 Downing Street seemed just a bit too much.
Though as the young man glanced down to the disc that the Time Lord had given him, he knew deep down that it had been for the best that no one was any wiser as to what was out there. It was for the very same reason that he had never mentioned – not to another living soul - the bracelet he still wore. Or the fact that he remembered the day he had gotten it.
Sure he may have played along when his aunty had 'removed' his memories that he had of her, though he was unsure as to why he still retained them when no one else did. Even Jackie had forgotten the red head, and he could remember when he was little how much the blonde would go one about Aries when the red head wasn't around.
He had his suspicion that Jackie was jealous that despite being on her own, Aries seemed to have her life sorted.
Or had up until she went and decided to make everyone forget that she even existed... Mickey thought, a frown tugging at his lips. He hoped that his aunty would one day tell him why, but that would reveal that he had known all along, and Mickey felt that there had to be a good reason for Aries to have gone to such drastic measures to cover her tracks.
It still didn't stop him from wanting to ask her why, however.
Letting out a sigh, the young man folded the newspaper and started to head back to his flat, tucking both the paper and disc under his arm as he went. The Doctor had asked him to use the virus that the disc contained to wipe any mention of the Time Lord from the internet, and a part of him wondered if what his aunty had done had been because of similar circumstances.
Though the young had only made it a few steps when out of nowhere, a short-haired brunet that looked to be in his early thirties appeared in front of him in a flash of light. Mickey stopped dead in his tracks, almost dropping his cargo as his jaw dropped in shock and surprise.
The man was wearing an aged black leather jacket, dark blue denim jeans and a pair of well-worn combat boots, and he glanced around warily as he dropped his hands from in front of him, his sleeve covering whatever was strapped to his left wrist before Mickey could see what it was. And as he looked around, Mickey swallowed when the man's umbral gaze narrowed on him, not missing how his right hand moved to grasp something at his side and concealed by his jacket.
Though as the man continued to stare at Mickey for a moment, something passed over his face; an expression that was too quick for Mickey to name, and the brunet visibly relaxed, letting his hand drop from where it was and back to his side.
"Mickey Smith," the man smirked, "Van'ec skizky urzeobs jolsk..."