"Hello!"
The Doctor grinned manically and gave the figure a little wave.
"I have…a message for the…Doc-tor," the figure talked like a clockwork toy winding down, "I have…been…sent…my Lady."
"Who's your Lady?" The Doctor asked, serious again. He scanned the figure with his screwdriver, frowning at little at the results he received.
"Doc-tor?" The figure said again, "I have…a message…for the Doc-tor…"
It stopped, its gown rippling in the breeze.
"Yes, I'm the Doctor. Now that I'm here, give it to me. Give me the message."
The figure held out a slim glass hand, palm up. With a quick glance at its face and hand, the Doctor reached out his own and touched hers. Immediately a ripple ran through the figure, infusing it with colour and substance. The glassy transparency disappeared, replaced by a pale flesh-coloured tone; the gown turned milky white and the hair turned jet-black. The figure's lips infused with a pale pink and the glassy eyes turned deep brown.
The woman looked slightly Asiatic, with her almond shaped face and slightly slanted eyes. She smiled at them benevolently.
"Hello, Doctor," she said in a more human voice, "It's been a long while. You look different."
"I've changed a bit," he replied.
"Rose, Jack," she nodded at each of them as if they were old friends, "How've you been? Still gallivanting around with our cranky old friend?"
"Hang on, we've never met you before, " Rose interrupted, "Don't talk to us like you know us."
The woman's face turned sombre.
"Oh dear." She said, more to herself than to them, "So this is in your past, I gather. Or rather… earlier in the timeline than my first meeting with you."
Her smile came back again, like the sun from the clouds.
"I always wondered how you lot knew so much about me when we first met."
She gave a graceful bow from the waist, spreading her arms out in a formal manner, as if paying obeisance.
"I am Aranea, first of the Arachnid-human hybrids. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
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They had a picnic in front of the TARDIS. Aranea spun out from her hands a large white cloth that resembled powdered silk but was much tougher, and Rose and Jack went to the kitchen to get out some food and drink. While they were gone, the Doctor spoke with Aranea.
"You're a hybrid between humans and what, again?" he asked.
"Arachnids," she replied, "I think you've not heard of that race yet. We did not exist before the Time War."
"I see. What is the Arachnid race like?"
"Ah, Doctor, always inquiring," she smiled, "But in good faith, I shall tell you what I know. You have no reason to think of me as a friend as yet, but I hope this information will stand you in good stead.
"The Arachnid race appear among the other denizens of the universe very far in the future, and number only about a thousand in all. All are female, and usually look like humans, although we have fairly extensive shapeshifting abilities. We are all near-clones of each other, and do not reproduce, sexually or asexually. However, since we seem to be effectively immortal - only one death has ever occurred in our race - that is not a matter of great concern."
"How did that one Arachnid die?"
Aranea looked sad for a moment, bleak and empty.
"She died giving birth to me. She was my mother, and Empress of the Spiral Galaxy."
"You said that Arachnids don't reproduce, so how -?"
"That is why my mother died. She was adamant that she would have a child by my father, who died before I was even conceived, " that brought a quirk to the Doctor's eyebrow " and taking his DNA, she tried to make a gestalt being in her own body, comprised of his DNA and her own. She was ultimately successful, and found out along the way how to combine Arachnid DNA and human ones without causing harm to the host body. But by that time, it was too late for her."
"So why have you sent me a distress signal?"
"Because the other distress signal you are hearing requires my presence, "she told him, "But without my Citadel, which is the equivalent of your TARDIS, I cannot get there on my own. I need you, Doctor, to come and talk to me before you approach the other signal."
By this time, Rose and Jack had re-emerged from the TARDIS, carrying armloads of food and drink.
"But aren't we talking to you already? You're here." Rose asked.
"Not exactly," The Doctor explained, "This is just a puppet. Her real body is somewhere else."
"Very good, Doctor," Aranea applauded, "I've scattered myself as far as I dared, but it still took too long to contact you. Will you come? Can you trust me enough for that?"
"Why can't you just tell us what we need to know now, Aranea?" Jack asked, seating himself next to her.
"I wish I could," she answered, a fond smile playing on her lips as she turned towards him," But this body only holds a fragment of my memories and consciousness. I can't even tell you the nature of the other distress signal; that knowledge is stored in another part of me."
"So…how many parts of you are there? And are they all so beautiful?" Jack leaned closer to ask, with his trademark grin.
"Jack," The Doctor started, but Aranea chimed in with the next part, "There's a time and a place."
Rose laughed as Jack gave the Doctor a look of mock annoyance.
"Seems like you've met Jack before, at least, " Rose said.
"Oh, I know Jack," Aranea said wryly, "Glad to see that he was always like that."
That brought another grin to the two humans' faces.
"Can you give me coordinates to your location?" the Doctor asked, in the silence that followed.
"Here."
Aranea handed him a small slip of silk, on which was printed, or written, a series of characters. It was in no language that Rose recognised, and judging by the perplexed frown on Jack's face, it was strange to him too.
"I'll think about it." The Doctor pocketed the slip.
Aranea stood up.
"Thank you, Doctor. I have to go now. This body cannot hold the link much longer."
"Don't you want to come with us?" he asked.
"No, I have my own way of getting back," she gave a playful smile, "Besides, I might get there faster than you will."
The Doctor look offended.
"I'll have you know that the TARDIS is the -"
"I know the TARDIS is the best ship in the universe," Aranea cut in.
Her body began to turn white, hair, eyes, and skin. Then her shape began to waver, and a multitude of white butterflies erupted from her. Her last statement carried to them like an errant breeze.
"I was commenting on her pilot."
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AN: I seem to be making the preamble way too long. No worries, one more chapter and we should hit the meat of the plot. crosses fingers