Chapter 53

Nora took the Doctor to the basement.

"I should warn you, this going to be a bit shocking," Nora said.

More than the rest of this planet? "Lead the way," the Doctor urged.

Nora opened the door and they entered. Down here was technology on a level above most societies. And as they moved further, it was familiar. As was some of the writing she saw down here. From the look Nora was giving, she'd expected that. Which was why when a man came into view-oval face, light skin, short sandy hair with gray eyes-the Doctor had a pretty good idea what she was looking at.

"You're a Time Lord, aren't you?"

The man nodded.

"Lee here is an expert at moving planets. Anytime someone leaves this planet, he moves it again."

Lee-the Doctor got the distinct impression his full name was a lot longer-nodded. "I was kicked off Gallifrey for moving a planet. They didn't really approve. They made me change faces."

Know the feeling, the Doctor thought.

"But I found this place. Or they found me. And they actually want me to move this planet."

Lee sounded so eager, spoke so quickly. He was probably young, by Time Lord standards. A quick glance at his eyes made that even more likely. That, or he was extremely sheltered down here. It was possible with him being kicked out he was just really out of the loop with anything going on with other Time Lords, and safe from it. He almost certainly really had to be a Time Lord. Given what many Time Lords were like that wasn't exactly reassuring, but it seemed true. Any writing the Doctor had seen down here was Gallifreyan. The technology down here was right, and it would be hard to trick her about that. Combine that with the dalek technology and the Doctor could believe the planet had stayed hidden. But they shouldn't have been able to work together. So far literally everyone the Doctor had met on this planet was suspicious in some way or another, and could easily be setting up a trap, but it didn't seem like any of them should be able to cooperate with the others to do so. It had to be a trap, right?

"You alive there?" Lee asked.

Oh. The Doctor normally thought quickly, but it seemed that had taken up some actual time. She hoped she hadn't said any of it out loud. "I'm fine," the Doctor lied. "How does moving the planet work? I imagine it takes a while."

Well, moving a planet in itself wouldn't be that hard, but you couldn't just take it out of one galaxy and put it in a new one and assume both galaxies would stay okay.

Lee whistled. "That's putting it mildly. But, I've got no other job. As soon as we leave, I start working on the next location. By the time they need it, I'm ready."

"Satisfied?" Nora asked.

"Not remotely."

Nora actually smiled. "Very well. We'll move on to something else. I can do this all day Doctor."

Pride, Lilly, and Nate went back to the fish bowl room. Now that they were there, Pride could tell this was a bedroom too. It had a screen, a shelf of books and little trinkets, and a few places to sit. What it was missing was a bed, usually found in the bedroom. But it wasn't like Nate could lie down. They all went farther into the room, taking a seat by the back, with a view of the courtyard, currently being cleared of people who seemed to just keep coming in from nowhere. Pride sat on a chair nearby, while Lilly dropped onto a slight platform. (There was a ramp so Nate could roll up.)

"You're taking a lot of people in," Lilly said, looking down. "Are you going to find someplace for all of them to go?"

"SORT OF. IT WORKS LIKE THIS. WE RESCUE PEOPLE. WE'VE GOT BUILDINGS FOR THEM TO STAY IN TEMPORARILY, WHILE WE TRY TO FIND PLACES FOR THEM TO GO. SOME CAN GO RIGHT BACK TO THE PLANET THEY WERE LIVING ON BEFORE. DEPNDS ON WHAT WE WERE RESCUING THEM FROM. SOME PEOPLE STAY. WE'VE GOT ENOUGH PEOPLE HERE FOR A SOCIETY. MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO STAY ARE REALLY HELPFUL OR HAVE NOWHERE TO GO. I'M, UM, BOTH." He waved his little plunger weapon and managed to sound sheepish. "I'M GOOD AT TECHNOLOGY AND BASICALLY AM AN INDESTRUCTIBLE TANK. AND, UH, THERE'S NOT MANY PEOPLE WHO WOULD TAKE IN SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE A DALEK."

"Sounds like a dalek too," Pride pointed out.

Lilly glared at him.

"YEAH, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO CHANGE MY VOICE BACK. IT'S NOT GOING SO WELL. ON THE PLUS SIDE, IT'S KIND OF FUNNY HEARING CERTAIN WORDS IN THE DALEK VOICE. TACOS!"

Lilly did snicker. Then she got a bit more serious, gripping her hands together. "And . . . you're okay?"

The supremely strange noise Nate made was probably supposed to be a pained laugh. It seemed familiar somehow, though Pride couldn't place from where.

"FINE WOULD BE . . . OVERSTATING IT. THIS IS A VERY NOT FINE SITUATION, BUT WHAT ELSE IS THERE? CURL UP AND DIE? OR GIVE IN TO THE DALEK PROGRAMMING? NO THANKS. I MANAGE. I'VE STILL GOT AN IMAGINARY ROOM WHERE I CAN SEE MYSELF AS HUMAN. IT HELPS. AND AT LEAST WITH ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY I HAVE EASY ACCESS TO THERE'S PLENTY TO DO. I'VE BECOME SOMETHING OF A PACMAN CHAMPION."

Pride glanced at Lilly. No. it seemed she didn't know what pacman was either. And it was growing quiet.

"So what do we do now?" Pride asked.

Nate looked at the door. "WELL IS GUESS THEY'RE GOING TO BE A WHILE. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SHOW YOU AROUND A BIT?"

"Yes!" Lilly cheered.

Well, better than staying in this one room. And Pride could keep an eye out for anything suspicious. He nodded.

[I've had the idea for this planet for like, six years, with very few changes in that time, so it's nice to use it now. For reference on timelines this is twelve years after the Promised Day for Pride. I think everyone knows that. For the Doctor, I assumed part one, Escape, was taking place during season 11 or between it and season 12. Meaning this fic would take place during season 12. But I tried to leave everything vague enough that that's not set in stone at all.]