11. Security.
Towards the end of the afternoon, Chloe is approached on the manufacturing floor by a uniformed man.
"Would you come with me, please?"
She can't refuse, but she starts to recognise that her time on Gallifrey is closing in. The article in the Daily News has doubtless sparked something off. It's too much of a coincidence for it not to be.
The uniformed man leads her to a small conference room where another similarly uniformed man is already waiting for them.
Chloe decides she will try a charm offensive.
"Greetings, my name is Chloe, what are your names?" She smiles.
The uniformed men must answer her.
"My name is Sergeant Albert Colson, and this is Sergeant Clive Edson."
Before they have time to progress to their business, Chloe completes her greeting with the local Gallifreyan style finger tap welcome on their elbows.
What shall I do next? Chloe thinks.
"How can I help you two gentlemen?" she gushes. Will this have put them off their stride? She doubts it.
Chloe thinks of Simeon. How will she take him with her? How can she ensure his safety? She recalls the Doctor was always promising her safety whenever she had gone on outings with him, and occasionally it felt like he over-promised her safety. She feels unsure how she's going to be at the end of this meeting.
"We want to ask you about your past, Chloe," Sergeant Albert Colson says, reclining in an office chair. "It troubles us that we can't find anything about your past."
The question is less direct than Chloe had envisaged. If she was asked about her employment, her aspirations to work at GTM, she would have plenty to say, but her past must stay hidden from these people.
Who are these people?
"I'm sorry, but I must ask for a bit more than just your names," Chloe says. "Are you police?"
"Something like that," Sergeant Colson says.
"We're part of the Gallifreyan Security," Sergeant Edson volunteers. "Our concern is the security of Gallifrey."
Sergeant Colson continues, "Yes, and we have some concerns about you."
"That's very kind. In what way might you be concerned about me?" Chloe says smiling sweetly.
"Someone pointed out that you look like the girl in the Time Continuum," Sergeant Edson says.
Should she reveal her identity now? Her identity, otherwise, will become quite difficult to sustain.
"Yes," Chloe says. "I am the girl in the Time Continuum."
This bold assertion takes the security officers by surprise. Sergeant Colson sits up.
"How much do you know about the girl in the Time Continuum?" Chloe asks. "Gallifreyan literature about me says that I can come and go as I please," she quotes. "Do you doubt me?"
"Yes," Sergeant Colson says. He is faced with a potential alien intruder who, in his opinion, is likely at the least not to have the interests of Gallifrey at heart.
"We want to know how you passed the Gallifreyan medical examination," Sergeant Edson says.
"Why would you even wonder about that?" Chloe asks. She's starting to enjoy running circles around these security personnel. She doesn't know how she passed the medical examination either, but she can maybe capitalise on having mysteriously done so.
"Would you mind re-taking the medical..."
"Gentlemen, if I am the girl in the Time Continuum, then you know that I fully love Gallifrey and all of its residents."
"Then how can you possibly prove that you are that girl?" Sergeant Edson says.
"As I say, I can step in and out of the Time Continuum anywhere," Chloe says. "How about if I disappear for exactly one minute and then re-appear. How would that be?"
"Yes, but you can't do that!" Sergeant Colson insists.
Chloe has done this many times at home while developing her Wristwatch Tardis. She reaches under the conference table, thinks of just one minute into the future and secretly presses her wristwatch activation button...
Sergeant Edson disappears and Sergeant Colson has suddenly moved from his seat and is standing by the window.
"One minute is up," Chloe says, recognising that she has moved forwards in time by that one minute.
Sergeant Colson spins around and looks at her, alarmed.
"Where did you think I'd gone?" Chloe asks giggling. "I said I'd re-appear in exactly one minute, and I did."
Sergeant Colson can hardly believe this. This sort of thing just doesn't happen.
"I was true to my word, Sergeant Colson," Chloe says. "Oh, and where did Sergeant Edson go? Looking for me?" she giggles.
As she says this, Sergeant Edson re-appears with a tray with two cups of something rather like tea. "I believed you," he says, tongue-in-cheek.
"Then why only two cups?" Chloe chides him gently.
She cheekily reaches for one of the cups of something like tea and starts sipping it. They were doubtless not intended for her.
"Gentlemen," Chloe says sternly, "Can I request that you keep this interview secret? You've seen what you thought not to see, but a lot of my achievements in securing a fragile peace could be severely damaged by my identity being revealed to the Universe. It's bad enough having that eulogy published, but consider this, gentlemen; Peace has been breaking out unexpectedly recently all over the place. The stability of this peace resides with the Universe in general not knowing the originator of that peace. I ask you not to damage that peace by further revealing me." (Ref. 31.)
The two security officers are stunned. They look at each other. "What have we here?" Sergeant Edson says. They all sit silently wondering who is believing what. .
Sergeant Colson breaks the silence. "You appreciate that we will have to consult with our superiors. I can't make a decision based on just what we've seen."
"How will you keep this secret?" Chloe asks. "Gentlemen, it's important that you do!"
Sergeant Colson smiles and replies, "We're surrounded by secrets."
"Usually relatively casual secrets, in comparison," Chloe says firmly. "Here we're talking about the peace and security of the entire Universe! Do not jeopardise it!"
"You appreciate that we'll have to detain you until our superiors have deliberated," Sergeant Colson says coolly.
"You may deliberate with your superiors, but I doubt that you will detain me," Chloe asserts boldly.
Chloe loses confidence and suddenly fears that she won't be able to leave their custody when or as she chooses. She easily thinks of home in expectation that they may try to detain her.
Sergeant Edson steps towards her in an obvious attempt to manhandle and detain her, but Chloe quickly activates her wristwatch before he gets near her...
Chloe is relieved to find herself in her lounge at home. She quickly thinks of Simeon on the GTM manufacturing floor immediately after she had been detained and activates her wristwatch again...
Chloe approaches Simeon.
"Simeon, Gallifreyan Security are interviewing me," Chloe says as calmly as she can. "What do you want to do? Will you come home with me and meet my family?"
There is an urgency in her voice as she silently re-lives her previous few minutes in her mind.
Chloe knows Simeon's answer, he had said as much earlier. Without waiting for Simeon's further answer, Chloe takes Simeon's hands gently in hers, thinks of home on her home planet, Tinsel, and activates her Wristwatch Tardis...
Simeon is coming home with her and coming away from Gallifrey right now.
Chloe feels her power here. Here it is her power of her own attraction.
She will feel other powers, though.
Will Simeon ever return to that point in time?
THE END
The previous episode in this series is called "Peace at Last" (ref. 31).
The next episode in this series is called "Rescuing Nolland."
I hope to add further episodes soon.
Sparse References.
Reference 1 Episode Maintenance Mission in this series,
where the Doctor asked the Tardis for a rest room.
Reference 8 Episode Europa Manned Visit in this series,
where the Doctor asked the Tardis for a sick bay.
Reference 9 Episode Gallifrey Exhumed in this series,
where Crystelle requested the rescue of Gwendolina,
where the Doctor had asked the Tardis for many rooms for half a million people to stand in while they were rescued from the ruins of Gallifrey,
where the Doctor had been the hero of the day, rescuing half the population of Gallifrey from the hands of the Master.
Reference 11 Episode GoggleDoc in this series,
where the Doctor asked the Tardis to create a shower room.
Reference 12 Episode Crystelle Growth in this series,
where Crystelle acquired her Tardis (storeroom rescue).
Reference 13 Episode Crystelle Lattice in this series, and
Reference 18 Episode Magnetic Field Loss in this series,
where the Doctor asked the Tardis for a sick bay,
where the Doctor chided Crystelle for taking a Tardis from its storeroom.
Reference 28 Episode Theia Coincidence in this series,
where the Doctor took Chloe to meet Fred Flintstone, or the nearest the Doctor knew about. Chloe met Fox and Vixen.
Reference 29 Episode The Wristwatch Tardis in this series,
where Chloe built her Wristwatch Tardis,
where Gwendolina met Chloe,
where early Gallifreyan time and space travel development was in very ornate rooms - the best there could be!
Reference 31 Episode Peace at Last in this series,
where Chloe had accidentally caused peace to break out in many unexpected areas.
Frequently asked questions.
Why does Chloe make a double trip when escaping from the Gallifreyan Security?
Chloe thinks of home to escape the Gallifreyan Security as this is the most reliable place to think of. Anything more complex and she may waver in her focus and travel to somewhere else or some when else.
At points in the story where there is humour, an additional full stop is added. .
ANOTHER END