Two days later after their meeting with UNIT, the Doctor, Jacob, Donna, and Scarlett, sat in the Torchwood Hub at a table with Jack, Ianto, and Gwen. Chinese take-away containers were strewn throughout the table.
Gwen shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe UNIT refused your help."
"I have a long history with UNIT, I would have hoped most of it was good enough for them to accept my help. But apparently after the mix-up with the Daleks, the current leadership isn't feeling so warm and cozy with me," the Doctor explained, then sighed.
"We can still help," Donna insisted.
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.
"We don't need UNIT's help to travel around the world and help people. The TARDIS will be ready soon, right? We'll take the TARDIS, we can find the places that UNIT isn't getting to fast enough—go there, and help. UNIT will throw aide at the big cities first, so we go to the small ones."
The Doctor grinned. "Donna Noble, you are brilliant!"
Just then, the door alarm sounded, and they heard the lower door rolling open. They all turned, and Jack jumped up from where he sat and looked down from their second-floor view just as two people entered. "Martha Jones! Mickey Smith!"
The pair was soon headed up the stairs to where the group had been seated eating their meal. Everyone got up to welcome them and give hugs.
"So, what brings the two of you here?" Ianto questioned as they pulled up two more chairs and made room for them.
Martha looked at Mickey, then back at the group. "I quit UNIT."
"You what!?" Donna barked out in shock.
"I quit. I wasn't happy with their treatment of you the other day. I talked to Mickey, and we decided to go freelance. So, here we are, freelancing." Martha looked at the Doctor. "Whatever you're planning, we want in."
"Who said we were planning anything?" The Doctor tried his best to look innocent.
"C'mon Doc, we all know you do not take 'no' for an answer," Mickey interjected.
"Well-" the Doctor drew out his answer. "Okay, so maybe we were just discussing something that resembled a plan."
"Hah! I knew it!" Martha slapped her hand on the table in excitement.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh—" The Doctor started bouncing in his seat and pulled his jacket front away from his chest. "Hot, hot—" He then reached into the inner pocket and pulled out a glowing key and a grin spread across his face. "Hah! She's done! Right on time!" He jumped up and went running down the stairs; everyone except Gwen and Ianto following close behind. They just looked across the table at each other and shrugged before each took another bite of their food. They were beginning to get used to the running that seemed to be involved with anything to do with the Doctor.
As the rest of the group ran across the square, following the Doctor towards the TARDIS, he yelled out, "She finished faster than I expected! Must be all that Rift energy!"
He skidded to a stop just in front of the door, everyone else just a few steps behind him. He patted and stroked the side of the ship. "There you are, beautiful, are you ready to show off?" There was a thrumming sound and the light on top of the ship flashed a few times.
Donna rolled her eyes, "C'mon Doctor, stop stroking her and get the door open!"
The Doctor put the key in, turned it, and the door pushed open quietly. "Ah, no squeak, I liked the squeak." He frowned for a moment, then grinned again as he looked further in. "Oh look at that, you beautiful thing you." He stepped in and walked up the now steeper ramp. The main floor of the room was now higher, allowing easier access from the side walkways to get under and perform maintenance. The round lights on the wall were smaller but grouped in clusters of four.
New TARDIS Control Room Layout
New Roundel Grouping/Design
The floors of the main console platform were a transparent, glass-like material, with solid metal framing. At four locations, evenly spaced around the circle shaped floor, was seating. Each seating location had a large seat with a high back and armrests that appeared to have controls built in. To each side of the larger seat were two smaller ones with lower backs. The seats were covered in black leather and the headrest of each large seat had embroidered stitching with a Gallifreyan symbol.
The round console was now divided into four sections with specific controls at each one. Most of them appeared like they had been previously, but one section in particular had a special addition, something very familiar to one of her inhabitants.
"Now that's what I'm talking about! A keyboard! My kind of controls!" Donna exclaimed.
The Doctor, now beginning to understand his ship and her new design, shook his head mildly in disbelief. "That's because it is your kind of controls. That's your control station." He glanced back to the chair that sat behind where Donna now stood. "And that is your pilot's chair."
Donna looked back and forth between the console and the chair. "But it's so far away?" Then she looked closer at the chair, walking up and running her hand over the embroidered circular writing. "Wait, that's Gallifreyan—that's—"
"Your name." The Doctor smiled. "Have a seat, let's take a look." Donna sat down and he continued, "So, if I'm right, the seats are designed to be back here for standing piloting, or—" He pushed one of the buttons on the armrest and the seat smoothly raised up and moved forward to the console, he followed to stand next to it again. "—we can all be seated and fly her. And, with safety in mind—" He pushed another button and a four-point harness came out from above her shoulders and at her waist and fastened in front of her.
"But Doc, things move fast around here, what if you need to get out fast?" Jack questioned, still in awe at the newly renovated TARDIS.
"Ah, emergency chair exit—" He pressed a third button and the harness released as the chair quickly lowered and pulled back. Donna was fast on her feet and hopped out of the chair as it moved back.
"Good thing my reflexes are getting faster." She smirked. "That's brilliant!"
The Doctor smiled and looked around again. "And, not to be forgotten, additional passengers—" He glanced at Jack, Martha, and Mickey. "—can use the side seats, which are also equipped with harnesses."
"Or-" Jacob smiled and added, "We can still live dangerously, have a bit of fun, leave the seats back, and pilot while standing, like usual." He grinned over at the Doctor.
"Especially useful if only one of us is piloting. We won't all necessarily be on board or able to fly." He glanced at Donna with a smirk. "Or one of us might be sleeping."
Donna's eyebrow shot up and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Keep talking, Spaceman, and traveling with you 'forever' is going to be a lot shorter for you than you anticipated."
The Doctor smiled at her, then looked back at the console with a sigh. "It might take some getting used to, not running around the console all the time. Sitting. Four pilots."
"I'd say there's probably quite a bit you're going to have to get used to," Scarlett said as she came up beside him and ran her hand down his back, then reached for his hand.
She was right, of course. Having more permanent residents on the TARDIS was a big change. He had grown accustomed to the knowledge that his companions would leave him. But he was too happy to consider his new situation as anything but good. He broke into a wide grin. "Oh, I think I'll manage—somehow." He then practically bounced over to his pilot's seat and plopped down, continuing to smile. "So—how about a quick trip to the moon and back for a calibration run?" He smiled at his co-pilots and friends.
