Travel Plans
Thankee for all reviews. Will the Doctor and Rose finally be reunited? Or will Romana get herself a husband?
Quicker you review, quicker you'll find out!
Quite a crowd had gathered to see the Time Lord from another Universe activate the slumbering TARDIS's. When the adults had been killed off by the virus - the boxes had gradually powered down - and nobody had the power or the knowledge to wake them.. until now.
He strode confidently enough, although inside his mind there was a flicker of doubt. This was a different Universe, what worked on his Gallifrey might not be the case here. Still he had to try, for Rose's sake. He shook his head angrily, reminding himself of the stakes here.
If he failed here, the Daleks would rise up and become the empire they had never been in his Universe - and that, THAT was truly terrifying.
He stopped at the closest one, and sent out a mental message of enquiry - much like a computer asking for permission to chat.
He got a weak reply back at best, so resent his message, attaching a mental workup of his mind - assuring the TARDIS of who and what he was. What he meant.
The power signature began to build, until at long last - the doors opened revealing a gleaming black console room inside.
The Doctor mumured his thanks in Ancient Gallifreyan, and sent a command for it to waken the others.
When he got confirmation that this would be done, he stepped back and turned to leave.
A voice stopped him.
"How will we fly them? We've no experience."
He looked up at the voice, such a timid tone from one so powerfully built, and smiled.
"They fly themselves. Thats the beauty of them."
Standing next to him, Romana stood tall - proud of this stranger she'd introduced - the stranger who would ultimately lead a new High Council, and a new Gallifrey. And be her husband. She would look back at this day as the day she had first known their future together, and remember it with love. A memory to be cherished indeed.
Oblivious to what was going on in his companion's mind, the Doctor began to formulate the plan inside his own head. One which would ultimately lead to Earth, conflict and possible annihilation. And Rose.
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Rose re read the reports. They were as ready as they could be, and yet she knew it would be a short battle, ending in the deaths of many thousands, and enslavement of the survivors.
The Doctor would stop this, her Doctor would come up with some daredevil plan that he'd pull off in the nick of time. But he wasn't here.
She was though.
And Rose Tyler, ex-shop assistant, ex-time traveller, current defender of the Earth, Rose Tyler made her decision. There was no Doctor coming to the rescue, and that was fine. Because she would do the impossible, she'd save Earth and stop the Daleks, little Rose Tyler was a grown woman and she had had enough of being on the sidelines.
Marching into her father's office, she plonked herself into a chair.
"I need the latest scans of the Dalek lead ship, one of our recently acquired spacecraft from Chula and 5 volunteers." She announced.
Pete Tyler looked up in surprise "What for?" He asked her.
A slow smile spread on her face.
"Shopping trip?" She replied innocently.
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The Doctor was napping, face down onto some hard pillows, whilst the others debated what had been said at the earlier meeting. Romana sat in the darkness, watching him quietly, and considering the possible futures that awaited them. Two of them invovled complete annihilation and the death of all Time Lords on Gallifrey, and the third... the third involved a wedding, and kids, and a family she had always yearned for. That was the one she concentrated on now, although she should've been back at the meeting room with the others.
"So you expect us to fly into battle against the Daleks, defeat them, save the Universe and then restart the Matrix and become the Guardians of Time and Space?" Ventured Durshan.
"Yup. Summed it up nicely there Durshan, thanks." The Doctor had beamed back at the young man, as if he'd just solved a very simple puzzle.
"We'll all be killed. You do know that don't you? He's going to get us all killed and all for some planet.. we don't even have a TREATY with them for Rassilon's sake"
"Better to die with honour, then live like this!" Said another, Tobian.
There were murmurs of approval.
"Well.. with a little luck we won't need to do that either. Have you ever heard the expression killing two birds with one stone?" Asked the Doctor He was met with a row of blank looks, and he sighed.
"Obviously not. Look we've two immediate objectives. Save Earth, and destroy the Dalek fleet. You do one, you do the other. And the answer to how to do that is on the lead ship of that fleet. Thats where I'm going tomorrow." He revealed "You leave us leaderless!" Spluttered Tobian "Not so. I leave you in the capable hands of Romana and Tobian here. You'll take your cues from them. We have the element of surprise"
"Which will soon fade once the Daleks realise who is attacking them.." Put in Durshan sourly.
"We have allies who will back us up. But for now we need to save Earth"
"No YOU need to save Earth." Shouted Durshan, jumping up out of his seat.
"Fine. I need to save Earth, Durshan. It's very important that I do so, for reasons Im not about to share with you or anyone else at this table! Now if you don't want to fight, why are you here? The vote was taken, the choice made to fight. If you're going to just sit there spouting doom and gloom then GET OUT!" Shouted the Doctor, suddenly furious. He pointed to the door.
"Go hide under your bed"
"Fine. Don't come to me when the Daleks are exterminating your families!" And he flounced out of the door.
Romana sighed again, watching his sleeping features frown for a second, then smoothen again. What was he dreaming of? Her? Victory? Earth?
She felt a pang of jealousy as she remembered Durshan's words again.
Was there something so precious on Earth waiting for him? Another woman perhaps?
She shook her head and stood slowly - easing her cramped muscles.
Dawn was soon approaching, and she had yet to sleep herself.
She left as silently as she had come.
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"Rose, for the last time, I am not letting you go running off on some daredevil mission to a Dalek fleet ship, without knowing why!" Shouted Pete Tyler.
"I have an idea." She hedged.
"So tell me your idea"
"We need help. Time Lord help - but we can't reach them"
"Tell me something I don't know"
"The Daleks CAN though. So we patch into their comms and send out a distress signal or something, and then blow the ship up!" She enthused, suddenly realising how stupid it sounded.
"Send a possible signal, to a possible race - you don't even know coordinates or anything"
"Yes I do"
"What? What did you say"
"I know the coordinates of Gallifrey. Dad, listen I've got to try this - its a long shot, I know "
"Long shot? Sweetheart its out of the ballpark altogether!" He retorted, running a hand through his thinning hair.
Guess who was responsible for THAT.
"And what does Mickey say about this? Huh"
Mickey entered the office then, dressed in commando gear.
"When do we leave?"
Pete Tyler rolled his eyes heavenward and wondered what he'd done to deserve this.
Finally he looked at Rose's solemn face and Mickey's resigned one.
"Your mother is going to kill me for this, you do realise that?" He said eventually.
Rose answer was to hug him.
"But Im picking the team"
"Sure, whatever." She said, and ran out of the room with Mickey, to select the ship that was going to take her back to the stars again. Home...