Chapter Five: Flashback

"What's that bleeping mean?"

"Err, nothing. Peewee," Adelaide replied.

"Look, I'm not stupid. Tell me what it means Adelaide!"

"Okay, fine, if you have to know. We're running out of power," she sighed.

"I'm guessing it's because of being on full thrusters for 3 days?"

"Yeah, and they're going to catch up to us when the thrusters go." She added, "I tried my best."
"We should have taken the bigger ship"

"No, then we would have risked being captured. No, actually, being captured would have been almost certain! Plus it's not yours, and that would have been stealing," she pointed out, trying to gain some moral high-ground – even though they were wanted as 'criminals'.
"You know they'll say this is stealing," the Princess added.
"Yes, but we know it isn't. There is a difference," Adelaide said righteously. She checked the monitors and screens. The computer was on over-drive. Though, it was perfectly capable at going at that capacity, it was an obvious strain on its processors.

"You reckon we'll escape them?"
"Well, we might have enough fuel to get us into Ifwhey airspace. If we get there we'll be fine; it's just more likely that we won't make it."

"Don't be like that. Let's be positive," the Princess tried to sound reassuring, "if there's a chance."

"There is a chance," Adelaide added, "unfortunately it's very small."

"Well, we are not giving up!" The Princess said, more determined.

Hours passed by. The game of cards the two played seemed to be getting very competitive – without gambling. Both seemed ready to unsheathe their claws. That was until, a different tone of beeping occurred.

"Thrusters?" Asked the Princess.
"I don't think so," Adelaide shot up, walked over to the controls.

"Then what is it?"

"We've got them on radar, but they don't seem like they want to go any faster," she said smiling.

"Why's that good?"
"Ha! They won't commit an offence,"

"They're probably being watched. Media, News, someone – I think they would otherwise." The Princess didn't seem so sure about the situation.

"Well, it's good for us. It gives us extra time if they stick to the laws of this space. It means they will stay at that distance and we might get to Ifwhey!"

"Sounds good, sound positive. You sure the thrusters will hold?"

"No, but that is why I'm scanning their power… Damn!" she exclaimed, "We are putting serious strain on this computer."

"What about the scans?"
"It's not so good and our thrusters are just about to loose power too," she grimaced and wacked the control pad, missing any of the buttons.

"Look, it's alright – we did our best," she noted, "we did all we could. You reckon it's any use keeping the thrusters on,"

"No, well – I don't know. We might as well keep them on."

They both paused, none daring to say anything more as the situation seemed to peek towards failure.

"How long?" the Princess asked finally.

"About an hour, then they stop and if you want to continue – well I'll guess we'll have to think of something for then," she gave the choice to the Princess. They were doing this for her safety.

Adelaide sat in the pilot's chiar and stared into the vast darkness that was space. The Princess moved behind her and packed away the card game. When she sat back down Adelaide sighed, heavily.

There seemed to be no escape. They would be caught before Ifwhey space because they were too far away from it – close, yet too far.

Suddenly there was another bleeping. The Princess shot upward, coming forwards, as Adelaide snapped out of a dreamy stare and looked at the screen in front of her.

"What is it?" asked the Princess.

"Don't know. It says there is something ahead," they both looked up.

In front of them a portal had appeared. It was not too far away and closer than Ifwhey. The portal was circular, was dark and light and oddly peculiar.

"That's not a black hole is it?"
"It can't be, they can't just appear – and I'd hope not that size either!" she pushed buttons and sent her scanner whirring, "Ah, no. it's not a black hole. There is no gravitational pull. It seems to be like a worm hole."

"Do the scanner's know what is it?" asked the Princess intruiged.

The words "Unknown" flashed on the screen.

"I do believe that they don't. It seems they cannot tell, and are –in fact- flabbergasted!"

They both looked at each other, confused and curious.

"Do you believe in miracles, Pee Wee?" Adelaide smiled.

"You can't be suggesting we go through it?"

"We have enough power?"
"But we don't know what it is!"

"Is it not worth a try?"
"What? Certain doom against Unknown peril and danger?"

"Well, there's a better chance we'll survive that than the ships…" She said checking the scanner and radar to monitor the situation.

"Well, I don't know," the Princess concluded. The radar beeping became more intense.

"Seems they've got permission to speed! They're gaining on us," Adelaide pointed out, slightly panicky.

"Then we'd better go through," the Princess decided, though she was a little tense.

"You'd better sit down, and brace yourself, this ship is not designed for what we are about to do," Adelaide informed.

"Will it hold?"

"Yeah, but it will certainly not like it. I think we'll have a bit of damage but it's hard to say how much."

"It doesn't matter. Can't we go any faster?" the Princess secured herself to the passenger seat and looked at the screens in front of her. She understood some things, but working the scanners and doing most of the useful things was a foreign concept to her.
"I'd have gone faster by now if we could," Adelaide was tense, she tried to concentrate on the controls but another bleeping.

"That's them hailing us, right?"

"Yeah, click the flashing button to put it on screen. Not the blue one! We just want voice," Adelaide commanded. The Princess pushed the button.

A new voice came through the speakers. The screen fizzled and flickered until some one with authority, or they at least looked like they did, appear on screen. With his face forwards he glowered through the screen.

"What no picture?"
"Exhausted computer, you know how it is," Adelaide lied.

"Hmmm," he frowned, "Princess and associate." He addressed them formally. Adelaide muttered something about having a name, which made the Princess smile. "You are wanted criminals under the jurisdiction of the People's Government and the Royal Guard!"

"Hey wait a minute – the Royal Guard work for us!" the Princess retorted.

"No," he said, quite dignified, "The Royal Guard work for the People's Government."

"Infiltration?" asked the Princess to Adelaide.

"Hmph! obviously, probably have connections inside the group. That's how they got in so fast," Adelaide cursed under her breath.

"You both have the bounty of 10 million credits placed upon your live retrieval."

"And our dead retrieval?"

"We want you alive. The associate," again Adelaide muttered about having a name, "is subject to trial and the Princess is subject to execution!" There was a pause, both Adelaide and the Princess looked at each other and then towards the portal in front of them.

"We at the People's Government are giving you the chance to surrender; we know you have little power left in your thrusters. There is no use in trying to escape any more," the voice continued.

"Umm," pondered Adelaide.

"Never – now, into the hole," commanded the Princess.
"Just answer me one question. What is it that's in front of us?"
"It's a worm hole. You must really have done damage to the computers if it is not telling you that simple deduction… You cannot possibly be thinking about jumping through-"
"Booster Fluid!" Exclaimed Adelaide, pressing a button to boost the power, and speed, dramatically; it would only last about 5 minutes, but it would make all the difference.

"And when were you going to tell me about this trick?" the Princess was shocked, "You kept it quite neatly up your sleave!"

"Best to keep it for emergencies – rule one of emergency procedure: Booster Fluid is for emergencies, and miracles."

"It really said miracles?"
"Emergencies, miracles, same difference in this case!" she smirked as they shot ahead.

"Brace your self," she warned as the shaking began. They'd entered the 'worm hole'.

Little did these two cat-like aliens know that their technology held one vital flaw at this moment in time! For if they weren't so biased in their views on space, travel, and time they'd have known what the portal was. You see, the obvious flaw is not believing in time travel, as well as the mysterious, slightly mythological time lords. Especially when throughout their history the were a number of sightings and records of them appearing within their space and planet.

Now, the worst part was that they said that the time lords did not exist and that what they said was wrong. Mainly because they were right and because since then all their technology has over looked rifts and worm-hole-looking time portals and identified them as "unknown". Which, the race didn't seem to find too problematic as they understood the temperament of most computers and technology that descended mostly from humans.

Though, if they didn't have this flaw they probably wouldn't have been as hesitant to go through this rift; yet, then again, maybe they would have been. The time portal, believed impossible, could transport you anywhere in space – and to any time period that could or would exist.

They appeared with a planet straight ahead of them. It was the darker side, the planet's sun was invisible at the angle they were at, and their speed had diminished. They were drifting, with hardly any speed, forwards.

"The shaking has disabled our thrusters."
"Is that bad?" asked the Princess.

"No, good thing really. Otherwise we'd be hurtling at the planet in front of us."

"Dare I ask where it is?"

"I'm checking," she fired up the scanners, working her way through the controls, "We've fried some of the systems but the guidance seems to be in alright shape to work. Just give it a minute,"

"What's it doing?"
"Configuring the star systems around us, scanning the surface of the planet, checking the amount of satellites – anything that will tell us where we are!" It beeped.
"And?"
"Errrm… Earth, Humans."

"You mean, New Earth?"
"Nope. Old Earth – last I heard it was uninhabitable 3 centuries ago," she scrunched her face, confused, "it doesn't make much sense."
"Why it's just taken us to the Old Earth, hasn't it?"
"If our scanners are right yes, but if they are right then it's actually inhabited by many. I'm not just saying humans, life signs are booming!"
"What does that mean?"
"Well, I know and have seen that it's uninhabitable, we both know it's got more satellites and I'm pretty sure we are actually in the right solar system. Everything checks out. I'm guessing we've just proved the existence of time travel."

"What?!" the Princess exclaim was actually a question but Adeliade was busy checking over the scanners, "I said 'What?!' as in you have to be kidding me!"
"Sorry, I'm checking scanners again – it can't be true. By the way, the portal has gone. It can't be true!" She seemed ecstatic about the situation. "Ha Ha! I've proved the time lord theory!"

"Don't be so happy, what are we going to do?"

"Well, first of all – we're probably going to crash land. It will be okay though, as long as we configure our camouflage devices. They would be… ummm… in the draw by your left hand side!"

The Princess opened the draw, took out the two devices and put one on her wrist – holding the other out to Adelaide. Adelaide took it and attached it to her wrist. It was then a bleep occurred and a message came on screen.

"Get out of our Air Space!
Or, we'll shoot you down."
"Hmm, how charming," said the Princess.

"Came from a 'Torchwood'. Guess we'll send them a message – don't know how advanced they are yet, but I guess they've met aliens. Still, let's configure these and then send a message!"

"How do we do that?" the Princess wondered.

"Let me do it, better if I get it correct than you damage it, eh?"

"What you saying?" the Princess seemed unimpressed as Adelaide fiddled with the settings of the Princess' device. It flashed twice and the Princess turned into a human form.

Her hair was blonde, her eyes blue and her clothing was exactly the same. She was pale skinned and she obviously kept the same height.

Now it was Adelaide's turn. She finished and her device flashed twice too. She turned into a different human form. They kept the same build as before – Adelaide being slightly taller and stockier than the Princess. Adelaide had brown hair, brown eyes, and a slightly darker skin than the Princess.

Then they heard bleeping.