It was the second day of the Super-Sonic Race and Alexia, along with her fellow Time Travellers, were visiting the suggested Museum of Palestinian History. Their guide was the impressionable Zeytoona Wasem… Well, that's what Alexia thought anyway. When Zeytoona was not being a tour guide, she was a teacher, followed by being an advocate for Human, Humanoid and Reptile Rights and Anti-Slavery. All that quite impressed Alexia and she was really starting to like the Palestinians of the future. They could do what they wanted whenever they wanted, without being persecuted.
Meanwhile, Jaime was in a world of her own as she followed the group around the Museum. In actuality she was strategising on how to fly faster around the course. The Scots-girl was particularly miffed over being unable to beat the 5:59:06 recorded by someone in the Fastest Flyer group. Her own time was somewhat slower than that, which placed her 2nd running. The 1st being the whoever that managed the course in over five minutes. And that really made her want to know who could fly faster than her.
Unfortunately many of the participants had been avoiding her since her confrontation with Salam, followed by The Doctor's confrontation with the authorities. Word had spread that they were here to cause trouble. Which wasn't true at all. Jaime sighed, pulling herself from her thoughts and listened to what the tour guide was saying.
Zeytoona had already gone through the earlier history of Palestine, starting with the Crusades in the 11th and 15th Centuries, before ending in the 25th Century. Oddly enough everything about their history was accurate down to the minor details. Now Zeytoona was getting to the history of how the planet was colonised.
"We owe our continued existence thanks to the Cosmonaut Rania Bacher and her team. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't be here right now." She said as they entered another part of the museum.
Staring around the room in awe, Jaime's eyes caught sight of a full scale statue of a female wearing a Spacesuit, without the helmet, standing in the middle of the room on a plinth. Walking over to it she noticed there were words written on it. "'To live free, breathe free, and smell free, the shackles of oppression, persecution, abuse and tyranny have been cast aside. Never again will we suffer from hardship and cruelty. We will be free forever'." Jaime read, brows furrowing soon after.
"Yes, minutes after the rocket made landfall and they set foot on the planet, Rania was quoted to have said those exact words." Zeytoona explained. "She was a forward thinking young woman who only wanted the best for her people."
Alexia nodded in appreciation as she too looked at the Statue. "She sounds like a very level headed young woman." She stated.
Rose watched as The Doctor investigated other things around the room before turning her attention to the tour guide. "Who else was part of the crew?" She asked.
"Apart from the Fifteen Palestinians in transit, there were six crew members on board the 'Starcade'. That's the name of the Rocket Ship they were travelling in." Zeytoona answered Rose's question. "There was Rania, obviously. Followed by an Israeli, a Chinese, a Russian, a Briton and an American. A week after landfall a fatality was recorded by one of the Cosmonauts. The American was killed by wild animal when they went off exploring."
Jaime narrowed her eyes in suspicion when her body suddenly shuddered. The tour guide wasn't telling the truth, so it made her wonder what really happened to the American.
"That is unfortunate," J.D spoke up, having felt what Jaime had felt. "What about the other Cosmonauts?" He then asked. "If Rania was looking to give her fellow Palestinians a new home then wouldn't having an Israeli Cosmonaut onboard be an issue?"
Rose nodded her head in agreement and waited for an answer. Jenny seemed puzzled, along with Rory, while Amy was with The Doctor.
Zeytoona laughed. "You would think so, but no. The Israeli Cosmonaut fell in love with one of the Palestinians." The guide turned to Jaime with a hint of a smile. "I believe you crossed paths with one of their relatives at the registration booths yesterday."
At first Jaime was puzzled over what she was talking about. Until she realised what Zeytoona actually meant. "Och, you mean Salam?" She asked and Zeytoona nodded. "Aye, I had the misfortune tae meet her. Gave her a good talkin' too though."
Confusion washed off her mother. "What do you mean?" She asked. "What happened?"
But Jaime just shook her head. "It was nowt." She replied, noticing J.D raise a questioning brow.
"As for me, I'm one part Russian and one part British heritage." Zeytoona stated proudly.
"What about the Rocket Ship?" J.D asked. "Where did that go?" He had noticed that the top half of the rocket was on the other side of the room on display. To his surprise it was Jaime who answered this question.
"It's in the park," the Scots-girl said. "The Rocket Ship is alongside the race course. It's impressive and about ten stories tall."
"It was put there on the 100th anniversary of Landfall." Zeytoona explained. "It's quite the popular attraction." She turned away from the statue and walked over to a wall with photographic images of what appeared to be a blue star and a 3D Holographic image of several planets. "This is our Planetary System. There are exactly twenty Planets in the System. And this…" The guide pointed at the images of the blue star. "…is the dying twin Sun that gave us our powers."
"What's through here and why is the door locked?" The Doctor questioned about another area of the museum that was clearly off limits. He didn't wait for an answer and used his Sonic to unlock the door.
"Hey, wait!" A wide-eyed Zeytoona called out as The Doctor grabbed the handle and opened the door. "You can't go in there, it's not finished yet!"
However, the Doctor ignored the guide and sauntered into the next room anyway. He was followed by the rest of the Time Travellers, including the tour guide, and they stopped and stared at what they saw.
"As I was saying, we've yet to open this section of the Museum," Zeytoona said, stepping in front of The Doctor. "Only we've still got a lot of work to do."
In his usual rude way, The Doctor pushed past her and walked further into the room. He noticed there was a bank of monitors across the room, along with a small group of people sitting in front of them and wearing a headset. There were stacks of folders lying about and Alexia noticed at least two of the people at the monitors were writing something down.
"What's going on here, Doctor?" A confused Rory asked.
"It looks like the so called 'Back Travel' is directed from within here." The Doctor answered him.
"Look, this room…" Zeytoona spoke and moved to block their view of the monitors. "This room is a very Time Sensitive room."
Somewhat surprised with her use of those words, The Doctor raised a brow and waited for Zeytoona to continue with what she had to say. "We don't just send the Scouts back in Time on a whim."
The Doctor let out a humoured snort. "No, you're just sending them back to mess with a Fixed Point in Time."
But Zeytoona shook her head. "That's not what we're doing either!"
Another shudder ran through Jaime's body and this time she glared at the tourist guide.
Oddly she seemed to sense this and smiled grimly. "Okay, so we were doing that, until Planet Earth's President warned our Scouts to stop messing with Time. All we can do is delay the inevitable."
Rose felt bouts of confusion from her fellow Time Travellers.
"Hold up a bit. Planet Earth has a President? As in 'the whole Planet'?" Alexia asked, amazed. "Since when did that happen? They're not American are they?"
Zeytoona shook her head again. "No. All our Scouts know is that they're an off-worlder and they've been given the privalage of World Presidency."
A somewhat irate Doctor began pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair. "So let me get this straight, you all know it's a bad idea to stop a Fixed Point in Time, yet you're still sending people back in Time? Whatever for?" There were several murmurs of agreement from the Time Travelling troupe, except for Jaime who was looking rather thoughtful.
"Because after a suggestion from Earth's President and a discussion between tne Scouts and the Council we decided to give protection to our ancestors, keep them from harm and serious danger."
Apart from the sounds of scribbling in the room, a short silence fell for 31.4 seconds before Amy spoke up. "So what you're saying is, you're doing a Terminator but without the Terminating?" Zeytoona, Jenny and The Doctor looked at the ginger in puzzlement. "You know, Arnie is sent back in time to protect John Connor being murdered by the superior Terminator." She added.
"If the analogy suits you, then yes, that is what we're doing." Zeytoona replied.
Meanwhile John was looking at all the stacks of paperwork out of curiosity before looking over at those sat at their monitors. "So what's all this about?" He questioned about the paperwork and technicians.
The tour guide turned to him, eyes wide. "Please, don't touch those folders. They're arranged alphabetically…"
J.D took a step back from them, hands raised.
"It's evidence of all the wrong-doings done towards the Palestinians of the past. This is a museum and all the paperwork will be archived for future viewing."
The Half-Time Lord nodded in understanding.
"As for the Scouts, they're also gathering information daily, and once they have enough evidence of wrong-doing they'll give it over to Planet Earth's global government organisation."
"I think she means tne United Nations." Jaime stated when she felt confusion wash off her mum.
"Oh! I see," Alexia uttered. "If you can't stop a massacre from happening you can at least get justice over flagrant human rights abuses." The alternative made Alexia feel a tiny bit better, but it still meant that thousands of Palestinians were going to die.
"Yes, exactly that. Thank you for understanding what we're doing here." Zeytoona said to Alexia.
The woman smiled at the tour guide, but jumped in surprise when there was a sudden rapid beeping. She turned to her daughter when she heard a burst of musical language from her.
"That's my time again. See you in a wee bit!" And she teleported away.
Zeytoona was heard to gasp. "Wow! She's definitely an ultimate. None of us have the ability to teleport like that!" She said in amazement.
Sitting on the bleachers that were set up for those that had already raced, Janine watched the big screen as her new off-world friend flew quite quick along the course. She was going so fast that everything was a blur. And when she looked at the time she saw it was already nearing the six minute mark. The fastest time shown on screen so far was 5:59.06. In order to beat that time, Janine realised Jaime had to go even faster.
Janine herself had already flown the course as part of the category she'd been put in. And out of the ten others who flew she had managed 8th place. Janine was happy about that despite being called a 'Fastest Slow' flyer, never-the-less she was just pleased she got to take part. At least it proved she wasn't totally incompetent and she hoped that more people would give her a chance.
The sound of a Sonic Boom was heard in the distance and Janine watched the HoloScreen as Jaime flew even faster. This appeared to do some good, yet it still wasn't enough. When Jaime reached the finish line, which was strangely followed by a mild earth tremor when she landed, her time was recorded as 5:59.10. Just a couple of microseconds slower than Leith Totah.
Everybody on Falastin knew who the fastest person on the planet was and it was well documented. Leith Totah lived on the other side of the world, he was a firefighter and he'd been training non-stop the whole year for this race and had achieved Master Level in his telekinesis, one of the very few people around the world who were Masters. Master Levels were very rare. And nobody ever seemed to achieve the Ultimate Level of T.K. He was even interviewed on the news saying he was going to win this year's race come hell or high-water. And it really looked like he was going to do it.
Deciding to look for Jaime at the finish line, Janine stood up, practically skipped off the bleachers and began to run. Only she didn't get very far because she suddenly tripped up and went crashing to the ground, the fall knocking the air out of her and leaving her momentarily stunned.
"Where are you running off to, Slo-Mo?" A familiar voice asked and Janine grimaced at the name call. She really hated being called that.
Two pairs of feet walked into her sight line and Janine looked up at who was stood in her way. Rami and Sami Abboud. They were twins and a year younger than her. They'd both competed in the Young Adult category in the race…and they really liked to make her life hell.
"I don't see how that's any of your business." She told the twins once she was back on her feet.
Janine went to walk away but Rami, or was it Sami, swung his arm out and the girl yelped as her feet were swept out from underneath her. This time she landed on her back with a thud.
"Whoops!" One of them mocked and both twins laughed callously. Janine inwardly groaned as Sami, or maybe it was Rami, stood over her. "Don't get cocky with us, Slo-Mo. Just because you're the 'break-out star' of this race doesn't mean you're better than the rest of us."
The other twin nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, 8th place in the Fastest Slowest? There's nothing to be proud about that. It just goes to show you're nothing but slow."
Janine gingerly made it back to her feet once again, trying to figure out what she wanted to say and being careful about it. She really needed them to understand that bullying her wasn't going to work anymore. "All I want is to be taken seriously!" Janine blurted out after awhile.
The twins laughed at her. "Someone like you?" Rami spoke. "Nahh, you'll never be taken seriously!" He then used his telekinesis to punch her hard in the arm, causing Janine to yelp in pain.
"What was that for?" She cried out, rubbing her arm and grimacing.
"For getting ideas above your station." Sami told her and also Telekinetically punched her hard on the arm. Once again Janine cried out in pain and rubbed her arm.
"Don't think you're better than us," Rami warned. "Because you'll always be slow."
"Yeah, Slo-Mo," Sami added. "Slow-Mo, Slo-Mo, Slo-Mo…"
"OI!" Someone shouted very loudly which caused all three teenagers to jump in shock and look up at the shouter.
Janine saw it was Jaime storming towards them and she looked really very angry. Her shout had been so loud that people had stopped to watch her.
"Wha' the hell dae you think you're daein'?" Jaime snarled at the twins once she reached them.
Eyes wide, Janine took a fearful step back when she noticed how dark her friend's eyes had gotten. Not to mention they looked fiery and cold at the same time.
"What's it to you?" Rami answered back rather cheekily.
An animalistic snarl came from Jaime and then the faint sound of crackling and the smell of some sort of energy was heard and smelt. This time a wide-eyed Janine took a few quick step backwards, unsure about what was happening.
"It's got everythin' tae dae with me," Jaime growled. "I saw wha' ye did tae Janine."
Rami rolled his eyes. "So? All we were doing were teaching her a lesson. What are you gonna do about it?" He challenged cheekily.
The air around them seemed to get hot and Janine observed as a light warm breeze played at Jaime's hair. And when she looked more closely at her friend she noticed an odd shimmering around her, which just looked really odd.
"Och, I'll show ye wha' I'll dae 'bout it!" Jaime snarled, only to take in a short, sharp breath and closed her eyes. The odd shimmering, the breeze, the hot air and the crackling of energy all dissipated within seconds. The twins snickered at Jaime's reaction.
"What? Is that it?" Rami asked with a sneer.
Jaime's dark angry eyes flashed open. "No. Go and take a long, long walk." She ordered.
To her astonishment Janine watched as the twins did as they were told and walked away. But she also noticed their faces and eyes were blank of any type of expression. Almost as if they'd been hypnotised. Though that couldn't be right because all she'd told them was to just walk away. Janine jumped in surprise when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her attention to Jaime.
"Are you okay?" The Scots-girl asked her, with a look of concern.
Eyes wide, Janine just nodded her head.
Jaime frowned at her. "Are you sure?" She questioned.
Janine nodded her head again. "Yeah, I've had worse." She replied and a grim smile appeared on Jaime's face.
"Aye, me too!" She said, surprising the Palestinian girl. "I would often get a shit-ton of stick as well!"
Janine gasped and wanted to say something until her aunt appeared at her side. "Come, Janine. You don't want to hang around with trouble!" She said and the teen found herself being guided away by her Aunt Haifa.
There was a frustrated sounding groan from her friend. "Wait, will ye let me explain, please." Jaime called.
Haifa continued to guide her niece away, telling her that her mother was extremely proud of how well she did in the race. The way her Aunt Haifa treated her like a child was just as annoying as the twins name calling her.
"I'm from 21st Century Earth." Jaime explained desperately.
That did it. Both females stopped and Janine pulled away and turned to Jaime. "Really?" The girl asked and the Scots-girl nodded.
"How?" Haifa enquired. "If you are from Earth then how did you get here?"
Jaime smiled grimly again. "Can we go somewhere a wee more private?" She requested.
As they walked over to an area that was a little more quiet and private, Jaime thought over what she'd just said. She'd sensed no danger over it, nor did it seem to change any of Haifa and Janine's timelines. Maybe it meant that these two could be easily trusted.
Once they sat down at a table, in what appeared to be a picnic area, Jaime began to tell the the two how she came to be on Planet Falastin. "We wouldnae normally involve ourselves in the affairs of your people, but bein' from Earth in the 21st Century, the likes of teleportation, telekinesis and time travel doesnae happen. It's practically non-existent." Jaime explained.
Waves of confusion came from the two Palestinians and it was Haifa who spoke up first. "But if you're from 21st Century Earth then how come you're telekinetic? A powerful telekinetic by all accounts!"
With a sheepish smile, Jaime blushed at part of the comment. "I'm completely unique," she replied. "There's nobody else on Earth like me." She grinned.
"How did you get to our planet though?" Janine asked. "Did you Back Travel as well?"
Jaime shook her head. "Och, nah. I dinnae have the ability tae time travel via flight. We got here by ship. Basically it's a Time Machine, which belongs tae The Doctor."
Haifa raised her brows, looking somewhat amazed, while excitement washed off Janine as she grinned. "How does he have a Time Machine?" Haifa asked. "Did he invent it?"
"Nah," Jaime shook her head. "The Doctor is from an entirely different planet. He's a Time Lord and he and his people are Time Travellers." She looked at the two Palestinian females, hoping they understood. "Dae you get what I mean now?" She asked, but they shook their heads. "The Time Lords have the ability tae see Timelines, can sense time and Paradoxes. They can tell whether certain Points in Time are Fixed or in Flux." She could feel that Haifa and Janine were beginning to figure it out. "None of you have the abilities the Time Lords have. That's why The Doctor tried tae stop the authorities from sendin' people back in Time. Because he thought you were all messin' around with Time in the worst way possible."
Haifa shifted about on her seat. "Okay, I think I get it now," she said. "But he needn't worry. We're not 'messing around with time'. We're just saving our ancestors."
Nodding her head, Jaime agreed with the woman. "We know that now," Jaime replied. "I was in the Palestine History Museum earlier and saw what as really goin' on." Waves of confusion from the two females told Jaime they had yet to know about this little development. "It's not like The Doctor can dae anythin' anyway. He's only one man. If the Time Lords were still alive they would have put a stop tae all your Time Travellin'. Nor would any of you be telekinetic."
"What do you mean 'if the Time Lords were still around'? Is The Doctor the only one left? What happened?" Haifa questioned.
Eyes wide, Jaime sat back and went back over what she'd said. Then a grim smile appeared on her face and she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. Her danger senses remained low so it seemed she could tell them about the Time War. "On a technicality, aye. But there are some hidin' out as humans, some tha' were born on a different planet, others who were born human but later came part Time Lord or full Time Lord, or some who are the result of a biological Metacrisis." She thought briefly over how she suddenly trusted these people before continuing on. "But tae all intents and purposes The Doctor is the last of his kind. There was a War involvin' his people and another nasty race that you really wouldnae want tae know. The Time War ended with everyone losin' and The Doctor's planet bein' destroyed."
There was a stunned silence from the two Palestinians. "Oh, that is so sad!" Janine cried out after awhile. "He must feel so lonely."
Jaime nodded faintly, surprised that the younger girl would actually pick up on that. "He did, for a long time. But he's got us now and he doesnae feel so lonely anymore." She replied, perking up when J.D mentally told her they had all left the museum and that he wanted to see her. Mainly because he'd sensed how angry she was earlier. So she told him where she was.
While that had been happening, Janine had been watching Jaime closely, and now she felt very curious about her. "You're not just telekinetic are you?" She suddenly asked, ignoring the cry of admonishment from her Aunt.
The question pulled Jaime away from her discussion. "Sorry, what?" She uttered, wondering if she had heard right.
"You're not just telekinetic." Janine repeated and Haifa laughed nervously. "She really doesn't mean to be rude!" She said.
But Jaime shook her head. "Nah, it's okay," she replied and fully turned her attention to Janine. "Why dae you ask that?" She questioned.
Janine perked up and stopped slouching in her seat. "It's the way you shouted at Sami and Rami when you first saw them," she began. "It was unusually loud. And when you were angry at them I heard an odd crackling noise and the smell of some sort of energy. The air around you turned warm and there was a weird breeze. And then when you told them to walk away they actually did what they were told…"
"They're a nasty little pair." Haifa added, rubbing her niece's back in comfort, while Janine silently nodded her head.
"And there was the blank expressions on their faces as they walked away. They looked like they'd been hypnotised." The girl said.
Jaime's expression turned grim as she stared back at Janine. But before she could think on it, the teen had more to say.
"And then, just now, you sort of looked like you were zoned out, but I swear I thought I could sense you talking inside your head."
Jaime let out a gasp when she heard this, feeling surprised along the way. How had Janine been able to do that when her Mind was well protected?
"I think Janine might have a point," Haifa spoke up. "There's a rumour going around that you don't know your own strength. And those things you said to Salam, they weren't just lucky guesses were they?"
The Scots-girl took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. She wondered how carefully she could word her words. "How very observant of you," she grimly replied. "Aye, you'd be right. I'm not jus' telekinetic. I'm MORE than telekinetic." An idea came to Jaime's Mind. "Have you two ever heard of The Omni?" She asked and watched as Janine and Haifa shook their heads. "What 'bout The Fire-Bird?" Once again they shook their heads which really disappointed Jaime. That was until another thought came to Mind when she remembered what Solomon the Trader was thinking about. "What 'bout The Hurricane?" She then queried.
That certainly got an interesting reaction from the two females. Haifa gasped, her eyes going wide in astonishment, while Janine grinned, looking and feeling amazed. "No! No way, you can't be!" Haifa uttered. "You really are Al'iiesar?" That was the Arabic translation of 'The Hurricane'.
Jaime nodded her head with a hint of a smile, listening to a Sonic boom go off in the distance. "What have you heard?" She asked.
"Al'iiesar is a Folk Tale spread throughout smaller communities," Haifa explained. "The stories vary each time it's told…"
"In the 22nd and the 23rd Centuries, Al'iiesar took on the Slave Trade," Janine blurted out in excitement. "She was so enraged by all the injustice happening towards people being used like property she swept in, smited the Slavers and breezed away in a blink of an eye."
Jaime looked stunned before letting out a laugh. "I like the sound of that. Where did you hear it?" She asked.
"At School, in Universal History class, part of Myths and Legends of the 21st to the 24th Centuries. Everybody has heard of the tales." Janine answered the Scots-girl. "And here you are, in real life. The ACTUAL Al'iiesar."
Jaime smiled sheepishly, her face blushing at the attention.
"So if you're not just telekinetic, what other powers do you have?" Haifa questioned.
Looking around first as another Sonic boom went off in the distance, Jaime raised her left hand, and with concentration clicked her fingers. Her whole hand came alight with crackly fire and it frightened the two Palestinian females so much they cried out and scarpered away from their seats. Their reaction panicked Jaime and she quickly hid her hand under the table.
"What was that?" Janine questioned once she was a little bit calmer.
"Pyrokinesis," Jaime answered her, once again raising her fiery hand.
"Does that not hurt?" Haifa asked with a frown. Jaime shook her head. "Nah, just feels warm." She replied and shook the fire away to show them her hand was unharmed.
"Allah be praised!" Haifa breathed out in awe, her eyes wide.
The Scots-girl chuckled at the woman's reaction as they sat back down. "I'm not jus' Pyrokinetic either," Jaime explained. "I've a lot of other kinetic powers as well. I have Psychic and telepathic abilities. As for not knowin' my own strength…" She looked around her surroundings and spotted a couple of big stones laying about. So stretching her arm out she used her telekinesis to pull one towards her. "…I have Super-Strength and if I'm not careful that usually causes Earthquakes or accidentally break things." She closed her hand around the stone and squeezed hard. She felt it crack and crumble in her hand, then she dumped little stone pebbles and dust on top of the table.
"Wow!" Janine gasped out, amazed. That stone had been solid all the way through and now it was nothing but dust.
"Well isn't that just Wizard!" John uttered from behind Jaime, making all three females yell out in surprise. "Are you actually showing off?"
Jaime turned around to see he hadn't come alone. Jenny was next to him so she had obviously Flash Stepped them here. "Och, you didnae need tae sneak up on us like that!" Jaime exclaimed but grinned all the same before jumping to her feet and hugging the Half-Time Lord.
"Where did you appear from?" Haifa questioned. "You were just suddenly…there! How did you do that?" Her questions were ignored.
"She told you we're Time Travellers didn't she?" Jenny counter-questioned.
"Uhh…" Haifa seemed to be confused for a moment. "Yes, she did. She explained why you all wanted to stop all future races."
"Do you have a problem with that?" Jenny pushed.
"Not at all." Came the reply from the older Palestinian female.
As the two Hybrid Time Lords continued to hug each other, J.D stared at the crushed up stone on the table. They obviously knew a lot more than just Time Travel. Maybe he'd ask Jaime about that later when they have more privacy…maybe soon. "I take it you finished your Time Trial?" J.D asked Jaime. "Want to go somewhere else?" He queried, hinting.
Jaime pulled back and grinned mischievously at the Half-Time Lord, getting the hint.
"Actually the faster racers get more than one Time Trial on the second day," Haifa interrupted them. "Gives the Fasters a chance to beat their own time as well as anybody else's."
John sighed and shook his head, while Jaime groaned out loud. At this point she was really looking forward to when this whole flight racing malarkey was over. Then they could finally leave this planet and let the Palestinians do what they're doing.