Disclaimer: I don't in any way own the series Doctor Who . Those are the sole property of the BBC.
Return to Satellite 5 AU: "Bad Wolf", "The Parting of the Ways" and "Born Again".
Note: Sorry it took so long but hope it was worth the wait. It is now been Beta'd.
Chapter Nineteen: Apart But Not Separate
The menacing fleet of Dalek ships hovered near the Game Station like an ominous portent of Earth's final demise. As by silent command a large group of the saucier spaceships disengaged from the main assembly, swiftly converging on the unsuspecting, formerly blue-green planet.
The Doctor sensed a major shift in the fluid fabric of time. He kept to his work even as the need for information clawed at him. He finally called out to his former housemate. "Lynda! What's the fleet doing? How does the Earth look?"
Lynda Moss jumped as the Doctor's northern accent broke the silence that had settled over those remaining people on Satellite Five. From the Observation window she could see the fleet separating, one section smoothly and with precision descended down to the planet Earth below.
The blonde woman's voice barely raised above a terror filled whisper, as her gaze flitted to the screen which defined the nightmare in red sonic bleeps that calculated exactly where the Daleks forces were directed. "Um ah, Doctor, more than half the fleet has… Oh, God their razing whole continents. Europa… Pacifica… the New American Alliance… Australasia's has just… vanished."
Lynda stared in horrified disbelief as the Dalek's left nothing but waste in their wake. Without a thought, the pig-tailed woman hit the button for observation room's window metal shield cover, the devastated planet slide from view as the bulk shutter descended leaving her in an artificially lit room. The muted lights eerily highlighted the tears that ran down the young woman's cheeks as she cried for herself as well everyone who'd already died by the monstrous Dalek forces.
The Dalek Emperor manically laughed at the destruction his brethren had effected. "Yes, my divine Daleks! You have created perfection! A Dalek Utopia on Earth!"
Jack quickly made his way back to the remaining volunteers on floor four hundred ninety-nine, a large gun still slung over one shoulder and at the ready. "This it everyone. We're the Doctor's last line of defense. Remember, concentrate on the Dalek's eyestalk, that's a weak spot and the bullet's best chance of working. I've set the forcefield at its max. It'll hopefully give us an advantage."
The Captain maneuvered himself behind the makeshift barricade with the last living beings of Satellite Five. His chosen spot gave him an unfettered view of the whole corridor. Jack settled his nerves even as he took aim and waited for the Daleks to converge on their position.
Pavel gave his gun one last adjustment, his eyes voluntarily seeking out the Hindi woman. "You know you're the reason I entered into the Programme… Yeah it was all 'cos you."
"Really, do you think that if by some miracle we survive that I'll ask you out for dinner?" The dark haired woman's expression remain bland with her question.
The male tech grinned hopefully. "Well, I wouldn't say no."
The Hindi woman's face remained impassive as she replied. "In you're dreams, Davitch."
Pavel quickly looked over to her, she flashed him a wicked smile that belied her earlier snub, and winked audaciously. The brown haired man returned the smile hopeful that he might still get his chance with the pretty tech. As one they released the safety on the guns, in anticipation of the coming battle.
Mickey and Rose leaned against the yellow VW bug, each with an expression of defeat, gazing at the TARDIS standing immovable where the blue ship had landed days prior.
"Comn' Babe. We just need to think of something else." Mickey Smith shrugged off the setback in an effort to regain his ex's earlier enthusiasm.
Rose stared straight ahead at the silent ancient ship, her pale face wane, covered in dried tears and streaked mascara. She sagged as if crushed by an unseen force. The normally optimistic girl… young woman sighed at their apparent failure. "It's no good. I hate to admit it but Mum had the right of it. We should do as the Doctor wanted. Just lock the old girl up and don't look back."
Affronted, Mickey stood up straight, moving into Rose's line of vision, blocking out the sight of the time-space ship. "Aye now, that's not you, Rose. I'm not having you give up now. I haven't. We just have to get ahold of a vehicle bigger and stronger than my little VW is all. Um that would do the trick!"
Rose turned at her ex-boyfriends words, they both googled in disbelief as Jackie Tyler drove a huge tow truck towards them, it's loud engine dieing as the older woman stopped next to Mickey's parked auto.
At the sight of her mum sliding out of the big vehicle, a beaming smile spread across Rose's face dispelling her previous disappointment.
"Well now. What're you lot just grinning at. We only got this hulking thing until six o'clock." Jackie huffed in feigned annoyance.
Rose exploded with astonished laughter at her mum's pretense of nonchalance. "And where exactly did you come by a tow, Mum?"
"Sweetheart, I know a few people who owe me favors." Jackie gave her daughter a weak smile. "Your Dad, he'd be proud of you. That mad man always going on with the stuff he would do. You were right. He wouldn't have sat by doing nothing. So, you better start then. We don't have all day. Besides I might just change my mind."
Mickey gave a 'whoop' catching the keys that Jackie tossed in his direction as he ran for the truck. Rose quickly hugged her mother, before hooking the large vehicle up with the chain, then racing back into the TARDIS.
Satellite Five on floor four hundred ninety-nine, resonated with an uneasy shifting of the small resistance group. As the metal monstrosities came into view from the elevator the meager band's apprehension exponentially elevated at the first sight of the enemy.
"Fire now!" Jack shouted out in a commanding tone.
The sounds of high powered arms echoed as the projected ammo flew wildly at the on coming adversaries. The hostilities were so loud that the Doctor could hear the skirmish from the floor above.
In the midst of the hail of the best century bullets the Dalek army pressed forward, oblivious to the barrage. The projectiles bounce uselessly off the energy field surrounding the giant pepper pots.
Davitch glanced over to Jack even as he continued firing. He shouted, "Jack, this is useless!"
Jack winced; he knew that their defense wasn't going to damage or turn the Daleks around. They were there to deter the army, giving the Doctor time to finish the Delta Wave. "Everyone, focus on the Eyestalk! And fire!"
The volunteers fired on with renewed vigor, most of the bullets fell away unsuccessfully in the attempt. A lucky shot from one of the guns passed through the barrier striking a Dalek's eyestalk dead center, taking out the pepper pot's vision. The single Dalek veered off unable to see.
A horribly loud screech emanated from the gold machine. "Vision center destroyed. Unable to target enemy."
The Hindi woman gave a shout of triumph. "Did you see that! It worked!"
In her excitement the Hindi woman exposed herself to the enemy. A bolt of energy slammed into the dark haired woman, making her body momentarily light up revealing the skeleton beneath.
"No! You bloody bastards!" Davitch screamed in wrathful denial. He surged to his feet firing haphazardly at the advancing Dalek's. Pavel no longer fought with the thought of surviving, his motive changed to reckless revenge, which hastened his demise. A well aimed laser caught the young tech square in the chest, sending him down next to the woman he'd blindly fallen for.
Jack and one other brave volunteer continued shooting. The ex-time agent shouted out obscenities in an attempt to distract the metal pepper pots.
Down another corridor, which had the observation deck, a group of Dalek's glided towards Lynda's location. The front metal soldier scanned the area and halted directly across from the young woman's hiding spot.
"Sensors have detected a lone female human!" It cried loudly, the hall fell into a fearful quiet before the buzzing of a laser dispelled it.
Lynda warily eyed the door, a brief moment of relief washed over her as she remember dropping the metal shielding for the large window which had a more direct access to her current local. Those barriers wouldn't hold but she still had that very human desire to survive.
"Sorry, Doctor, but I've been found." The blonde hair woman's voice squeaked with evident fear at her predicament.
"Lynda, sweet little Lynda, everything's going to be all right. Your section of the station has been built to withstand direct hits from meteor showers." The Doctor tried to reassure the human girl as he continued his feverish work.
She laughed a little hysterically at the alien man's words of comfort. "Yeah, Doctor as much as I want to believe that. I think you're on your own now. It's been a blast." Lynda switched the comms off for her section because she didn't want the Doctor to hear her final moments.
From the corner of the Doctor's eye he saw that Lynda was no longer transmitting from her location. Both his hearts dropped knowing there were only two reason for the disruption. The one he couldn't blame her for and the other seemed the most likely. Either way he couldn't let everyone's sacrifices be in vain.
Lynda hadn't thought to hide, just standing in the middle of the room a very blatant target. As she continued to stand waiting for them to break in, Lynda shift restlessly. It seemed to be taking the Dalek's longer than necessary. She had time to remember the small alcove that Jack had mentioned when he posted her in the observation deck. Her eyes shifted between the very imminent danger and the relatively brief bit of security.
After the last volunteer fell from the Dalek onslaught, Jack took off, hoping that withdrawing would minimizing himself as a target and possibly give the Doctor a small moment of extra time. He continued to fight even as he ran down the corridor. "Hey, Doc. It's just you and me. You better hurry up cause we're down to the End Game."
The Doctor didn't bother giving Jack a reply as they both knew there would been only one outcome from the confrontation.
"Yes! My Dalek children our time has come. Find the Doctor! Destroy him!" the Emperor ordered in gleeful anticipation of the Doctor's failure.
The lorry roared as Mickey stamped down on the fuel pedal. The chain strained under the resistant forces. Jackie watched from the sidelines, well away should the metal links give way under the stress.
Rose stood in anticipation of the TARDIS's compartment door finally opening. The Doctor's companion remained unaware that the time-machine would only open when provided the right set of conditions. The ship's own programming the force of the time-vortex and the ever balancing of the time-streams kept her from helping in that moment. To test Rose's determination was only for the former estate girl to accomplish.
Rose's hand clenched around the locket sporadically as she shouted out to her mother. "Mum! Mickey has to give it more petrol."
Jackie could barely hear her daughter over the roar of the tow lorry though caught the words 'more petrol'. "Shift it Mickey!"
With a grunt Mickey changed gears and stomped hard on the pedal.
Rose could see the chain straining but also on the TARDIS's compartment door. In a huff she raced to the outside door. "He needs to give it more!"
Jackie Tyler couldn't help wishing that their efforts would be in vain as she saw Rose's blonde head peak around the blue exterior door of the spaceman's ship. "Oy. Mickey give it more!"
Mickey cried out jamming both feet down on the pedal, imagining that it was the Doctor's smug face.
The chain and door creaked under the pressure of the two opposing forces.
Rose rushed back on hearing the metal grinding, excitement in her whole being. "Oh, come on!" she muttered, before shouting once again out to her mother. "It needs a bit more, come on!"
Jackie felt like she'd become like one of those American cheerleaders. "Come on. Come on you bloody stupid thing!"
Once again the metal links clinked and grinded loudly shifting under the continued pulling of the powerful tow, leaving doubt as to the strength of the steel.
"Oh! Come on! Just a bit more. This has to work. He needs me." Rose muttered unsure whether or not she meant for the words to be heard aloud.
Jackie drifted closer to the front of the vehicle, where Mickey appeared to be straining, as if by sheer willpower he could make the lorry tear into the Doctor's time-space craft. "Mickey try a different gear." Jackie advised, in her best cajoling tone.
Mickey frowned at the unsolicited advice, growling low, half wanting to tell Jackie Tyler to get stuffed and completely wanting to take a swing at the alien man the next time he saw the bloody git. He switched gears crashing his foot down with brutal force.
The TARDIS gave a shudder as the panel violently ripped away, opening the compartment spilling out bright gold and silver light. The aged time-space ship gave a reverberating hum of approval.
Outside , the lorry rocked forward as though launched from its moorings. Mickey quickly braked the vehicle before hopping out.
Rose didn't hesitate, stepping into the blinding light of the vortex at the heart of the TARDIS. The intricately carved locket slipped from Rose's slack fingers as her body reflexively stiffened then relaxed. Time became suspended as the oval metal fell: it went from forever to an instant. The locket, upon striking the TARDIS's grated floor, sprang open and another gold and silver light erupted from the metal casing. Small in size it drifted up and wove around the young woman. The new light pulsed and mingled with the powerful energy from the time-space ship. It shimmered, melting into Rose's body as the other power force whipped around her, licking at the young blonde woman's clothes and hair. The gold-silver light engulfed Rose turning her brown eyes to sparking gold.
What seemed to take an age was mere seconds. Mickey and Jackie raced to get to Rose. They stopped abruptly as the blue doors slammed shut. For a moment Mickey thought about kicking down the door. "Rose!" the dark haired man shouted only to be drowned out by the time-space ship's engines wheezing and screeching as the blue box began fading. Bright light shone through the top windows and around the cracks of the doors. Jackie quickly pulled Mickey away as the tremendous breeze from the powerful alien ship pushed them back before disappearing completely. The two stood staring dumbfounded and gasping for breath even as the realization hit that they might never see Rose again.
TBC...