The Professor stood at the hexagonal control column of his TARDIS, turning dials and pulling levers, sending the glass column in its center rising and falling.
"It's bigger on the inside," said the Victorian girl, Julia, as she looked at the brilliant, roundel-covered walls of the console room. "How's that possible?"
"The TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental," explained the silver haired Professor giving his new companion one of his engaging grins.
"What does that mean?"
"It means it's bigger on the inside, Julia."
After sharing a chuckle, Julia asked, "Can it really travel through time?"
"Yes, it can," said the Professor as he circled the console adjusting its controls. "How would you like to visit the snowy heights of the Pamir Plateau in Nepal in the year 1289?"
"Could we?"
"You'll need to dress in something a bit more practical and warmer my dear. I have an extensive wardrobe aboard. It's out that door next to the fault locator."
An hour later, Julia found her way back to the console room. She was wearing a long fur coat and a pair of lady's boots. "Professor, this place goes on forever! The wardrobe was enormous. Where did you get all those beautiful clothes?"
The time rotor had already ceased its rising and falling, and the Professor was studying an image on the view screen mounted on the glass wall in front of the computer banks. "The TARDIS takes care of the fashion arrangements."
"Is that what's outside? I didn't think there was a jungle on the Pamir Plateau."
"Neither did I," said the Professor as he flicked a switch. The double doors that led outside opened. "Come to think of it, you might want to dress in something cooler, my dear."
"Is this better?" she asked as she cast off her fur coat revealing a khaki ensemble that made her look like a safari explorer. "This is so exciting!"
"Exploring an alien world?"
"That, and being able to wear trousers."
They both shared a chuckle as they stepped outside. They emerged from a large tree. The doorway closed behind them leaving not even a seam in the trunk.
"Professor!" cried Julia. "The door is gone."
"Not to worry, my dear," said the Professor, drawing a key from his black velvet jacket. "It'll open to the key."
"But your ship was a bookshop!"
"My TARDIS has a fully functioning chameleon circuit, Julia. It takes the shape of something to blend in with its surroundings."
"It's aptly named."
"Indeed it is, my dear. Fancy some exploring?"
"I'm certainly dressed for it. Lead the way, Professor."
Not more than an hour later, the Professor and Julia came upon a metal contraption the size of a house.
"What's that doing in the middle of a jungle?" asked Julia.
"Judging by the shape those trees are in, I'd say it crashed," said the Professor.
"From the air? Is that an airship?"
"More like a spaceship."
"Space? Is it a TARDIS like your's, Professor?"
"Oh, no. It's far more primitive. My TARDIS can travel through time and space. This looks like it's only capable of Hyperspace. That would be space travel, no time. There's a breech in the hull. Let's pop in for a bit, shall we?"
Climbing in the hull breach, the professor twisted the silver tip of his walking stick. It lit up and revealed a compartment with a surgical table in the middle of it. Julia stifled a scream as she caught sight of a flayed open creature upon it.
"Looks like an autopsy," said the professor, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Someone's coming!"
The Professor pulled Julia down under the table with him. Two enormous serpents with a pair of stout arms slithered in. In those nearly human arms were large rifles. Julia failed to stifle her next scream, and immediately the creatures were upon them.
"Hello," said the Professor pleasantly as he rose to his feet and raised his hands above his head. "I'm the Professor, and this is Julia. Say hello, Julia."
"Hello," she said meekly as the Professor helped her to her feet. With a nudge by the Professor, she raised her hands too.
"Would you be a good chap, and let us know what planet we are on?"
"You're on Lanos, Human," said voice behind them. A nearly human-like figure walked in. As the light from the open hull illuminated him, it was obvious from his green, scaly skin that he was far from human. "Our world has been invaded by the Karsak."
"I've heard of the Karsak," said the Professor thoughtfully. "Interplanetary, Jackal-headed slavers."
"Is that one of them?" asked Julia as she noticed that the creature on the table had a head very like that of a jackal.
"It is," said the green man solemnly.
"Fascinating," said the Professor as he began to examine the cadaver. "Is this your ship?"
"No, It's a Karsak ship. We found this body here. We're desperate to find something we can use to liberate our people."
"People?" asked a bewildered Julia.
"Lanosians, Julia," explained the Professor patiently. "These fine people are the intelligent life upon the planet Lanos. A planet far away from Earth, nearly a thousand years in your future."
"What about them?" asked Julia timidly, referring to the more serpentine creatures with guns.
"They're the same species, I believe. Warriors, no doubt."
"I am of the scientist caste," explained the humanoid Lanosian.
"Of course you are, my dear chap. No wonder I like you. Let's take a closer look at this Karsak. Perhaps we can find a weakness to help in our fight."
"You're going to help us?"
"Actually, I'm going to teach you. That's why I call myself the Professor."
After the Professor finished a detailed autopsy of the Karsak corpse, he agreed to return to the resistance camp his new found Lanosians friends were based at. Three other serpentine soldiers joined them, along with another humanoid scientist.
"I'm dreadfully sorry we couldn't find anything in the autopsy to give us an edge, Ssleer," said the Professor as they traversed the jungle.
"You tried, Professor," said the Lanosian scientist, Ssleer.
"Professor," whispered Julia, tugging at his cape. "If this is an alien species on a planet millions of miles from Earth, why are they speaking the Queen's English?"
"Well, you see, Julia," said the Professor, "they're not. The TARDIS's telepathic circuits are translating what they are saying in their native Lanosian into your native language: English."
"But telepathy is spiritualist nonsense, according to my grandfather."
"Colonel Fraser is right. Spiritism is nonsense, as my friend Houdini discovered. But telepathy is a real science, and quite real my dear."
"Who's Houdini?"
"Professor!" hissed one of the soldiers ahead.
"What is it, Ssiriss?" asked the Professor as he sprinted ahead to catch up with the soldiers. "Good grief!"
In a small clearing was a bloody sight. Lanosians of several different shapes and sizes were piled up in a bloody heap.
"Karsaks!" spit Ssleer.
"We need to get to your camp before whoever did this gets there first, Ssleer."
"Agreed, Professor. Lead on, Ssiriss."
"Begging your pardon, Doctor Ssleer," said the Lanosian soldier, "but I believe we are lost."
"Good job getting us back on course, old chap," said the Professor as he walked beside the soldier Ssiriss.
"The baleful sight of my brothers and sisters massacred disoriented me," said Ssiriss. "I shall not fail us again."
"Think nothing of it," said the Professor, falling behind in the march to join Julia. "Rather splendid fellow these Lanosians."
"I have a confession to make, Professor," said Julia.
"Well I'm not a priest, but Jean d'Arc is a very close friend of mine. We travelled together for a bit. She's taken a break right now, taking classes at Radcliffe in Cambridge."
"When I first saw the Lanosians, I thought they were demons. You know, the serpent in Eden, and all."
"This jungle world is the Lanosians' Eden, Julia. The Karsaks are their serpent in paradise. Besides, big-hearted Ssiriss here wouldn't make a very good Lucifer, would he."
"No. He's a real dear, isn't he?"
The time travellers' conversation was cut short by a dreadful cry from Ssiriss, followed by a chorus of hissing from the others, which the Professor and Julia learned was their version of sobbing.
"Oh, no," said the Professor as he and Julia ran up to meet the Lanosians. In yet another clearing was heaped macabre piles of flayed Lanosian corpses. "I am so, so sorry."
"They will pay for this," hissed Ssleer.
"Tell me, old chap," said the Professor, " how many Karsak troops do you estimate to be on Lanos?"
"We're not certain, Professor," said the scientist Ssleer, "but we believe that there's enough to subjugate the whole planet."
"How do you come to that conclusion?"
"The moment the Karsak invaded our city, we lost communication with all the other cities."
"How many ships were sighted when they invaded?"
"None. They were all ground forces from the jungle."
"In the direction of the ship we found?"
"Yes. That must have been one of their invasion craft."
"I wonder," said the Professor thoughtfully, tapping his chin.
"Professor?" asked Julia pointing up at the sky. "Are those space ships?"
The Professor's brilliant blue eyes caught sight of a formation of flying shapes high in the sky above the jungle canopy. At first glance he thought they were birds, but then he noticed they were glinting in the sun.
"That's exactly what they are."
"Get under cover!" ordered Ssiriss.
"Don't bother," said the Professor. "Their sensors would have to be better than the TARDIS' to spot us from that altitude. And only if they were looking for us."
"Look how many there are," said Sleet.
"They're an invasion fleet," explained the Professor.
"Another?"
"No. The only one. I have a new theory for you to consider. The Karsak who invaded your city are the only ones so far. The ship you saw was a scout ship, or, at most, a small expeditionary vessel. They crashed on Lanos, signaled a mayday to their fleet, and decided to pass the time their favorite way."
"Enslaving," said Julia.
"Right first time, Julia. You see, the Karsak are a lot like the Sontarans. They send a scout in first, and depending on the success of the scout, they will land their fleet and invade."
"What does that mean, Professor?" asked Ssleer.
"It means we have time, old chap! That's the Karsak fleet in a low, stationary orbit. They're waiting to see how their scouts fare. Crashing their ship is already a mark against them, and I have a feeling that your hardy folks are putting up quite a fight."
"What do we do?"
"Keep fighting! If you defeat these scouts the whole fleet will go running. They're slavers, not invaders. If they see you put up too much of a fight, it will make it unprofitable to even try to enslave you. This is your chance, Ssleer. You can do this."
"If you help us, we can, Professor."
The Professor raised his walking stick up. The silver tip opened up like the petals of a blossoming lotus. A light shone forth from the center of it, and a whining noise sounded forth. He waved it about, stopped, and pointed with the stick, saying, "There are strange energy readings coming from that direction. This way!"
"You could tell that from your walking stick, Professor?" asked Julia.
"It's a sophisticated scientific device, sonic in nature," explained the Professor.
"A sonic cane?" asked Ssleer skeptically.
"Don't judge," said the Professor, a little bit hurt.
After a long walk, they came to a clearing again, in the middle of which was a small, metal device half buried in the jungle undergrowth. The Professor knelt down beside it, waving his cane over it.
"Just what I thought," he said. "A transmitter and jammer."
"This is what jammed our communications with the other cities."
"Not anymore," said the Professor as he pointed his cane at the contraptions. It emitted an even higher pitched whine, and then stopped.
"Professor!" hissed Ssiris.
Five Jackal-headed humanoids in leather uniforms carrying guns identical to those the Lanosian soldiers had burst into the clearing. One of the Karsak's uniforms was highly decorated, and the Professor sprang at that one.
"Get to cover, Julia!" ordered the Professor as he unscrewed the silver handle of his walking stick and pulled a slim blade from it.
Julia looked around, grabbed a large branch on the ground and ran besides the Professor.
"I get to wear trousers, and I get to fight!" cried the Victorian girl.
Blaster bolts from both sides crisscrossed the air around the time travellers. The Professor moved in quickly and slashed the Karsak officer's rifle just before he pulled the trigger. As the officer desperately parried the Professor's sword strokes, Julia moved around behind him, and knocked him on his Jackal head as hard as she could with her club. Both club and skull cracked, and the Karsak sank to the ground.
As quickly as the battle began, it was over. The only ones left standing besides the time travellers was the scientist Ssleer and the soldier Ssiriss.
"They're all dead," hissed Ssleer mournfully.
"I'm sorry, old chap," said the Professor. "But we have to make this the first of our victories if we are to liberate your people. You overcame the odds, and won, but there are more battles yet to be fought."
"But look at what it cost."
"I know, Ssleer. I'm sorry."
"They won't be able to contact their ships," explained the Professor as they continued their journey through the jungle, "so it's just a matter of freeing your people. Have you contacted the other cities yet, Ssleer?"
"Yes, Professor," said the Lanosian scientist as he lowered his communicator. "It's as you said: our city was the only one attacked. Not being able to contact us, the cities near us mobilized their troops. There's a squad headed this way led by a human, of all things."
"Then our brothers and sisters did not die in vain," said Ssiriss.
"Indeed, they didn't," said the Professor. His keen eyes caught movement in the jungle. "Hopefully these will be our friends."
Two soldier Lanosians slithered into the clearing. Between them, with a blaster pistol drawn, was a man in black garb, with a high collar, and a heraldic device on his breast.
"We should be honored, indeed," said the Professor with a little more sarcasm in his voice than he intended. "The Earth Empire has sent an Adjudicator."
"Not all of you people have been massacred," said the Professor as he gazed out from their cover upon the Lanosian city. It must have been beautiful once, a city whose towers and spires were entangled in the tall trees of the jungle. By the time the Professor's party reached it, half of it was blackened by fires, some parts still smoldering. Nearly all of the delicate, slender bridges connecting the city together were torn down. Hundreds of different shaped Lanosians from their many castes were herded into makeshift pens by the jackal-headed Karsaks.
"Awful civil of Earth to send an Adjudicator to help the Lanosians," said the Professor with yet more sarcasm in his voice.
"If the Karsaks were to gain a foothold here on Lanos," explained the Adjudicator besides him, "it would put several of Imperial worlds in jeopardy."
"And I thought you were doing it out of charity."
"I'm an Adjudicator, Professor, not a missionary."
"Adjudicator," said the soldier Ssiris, "all of the Lanosian troops have arrived, and are in position."
"If you don't mind, Adjudicator," said the Professor, "I'd like to join you in your assault on the Karsak General and his retinue."
"We'll need to get you a blaster, Professor," said the Adjudicator.
"I'll stick with a sword," said the Professor, drawing his sword from his walking stick.
"I'll take one of those blaster pistols," said Julia.
"Julia!" scolded the Professor.
"It can't be much more difficult than grandfather's service revolver. I've fired that before."
"It would seem that Colonel Fraser raised quite a little soldier girl."
The collective forces of the Lanosian cities descended upon the Karsak slave camp. Swiftly, the large, serpentine warriors moved in, surprising the slavers. The Professors party converged on a Karsak encampment nearest the pens. Very little blaster fire was exchanged, for the Professor cautioned the Adjudicator and the Lanosians that a stray shot could injure or kill a captive Lanosian.
The Professor led the charge, swinging his sword over his head, shouting a chi focusing cry from his martial art tradition, Ek Wan. Julia, the Adjudicator and the Lanosians moved into the melee behind him.
The Professor knocked the Karsak general's blaster from his hand with his sword, and with his spare hand, he flipped the jackal-headed officer, sending him sprawling upon the floor. He never again rose to his feet.
The others of the group quickly overcame their opponents, and swiftly set to the task of releasing the imprisoned Lanosians. Every caste of that city united as one and joined the soldiers of the neighboring cities in defeating the slavers.
In an hour, the Lanosians were free again. Celebrating their liberation, the scientist Ssleer found the Adjudicator, and asked him "Where is the Professor and Julia?"
"I assumed that he was with you," said the Adjudicator. "After the Karsak General fell, I lost track of him and that girl."
"He is a hero. We owe him all our thanks."
"I was hoping to talk him into taking an Imperial appointment as Administrator of this planet. I thought he'd be good for it. He seemed rather fond of your species. A real missionary."
Several miles away, The Professor and Julia were traversing the jungle.
"Why did we leave so fast?" asked Julia. "We didn't get to say goodbye to Ssleer and Ssiris."
"I hate goodbyes, Julia," explained the Professor. "It's better to just leave quietly."
"They probably would have made you king?"
"Good grief! Who would want to be king."
"I suppose you're right, Professor. Should we be doing this without help, though. We did get lost once, you know."
"Ssiris was distracted at the time. You have me leading the way. I'm not easily distracted, and I'm an excellent tracker."
"We're lost already, aren't we?" bemoaned Julia.
The Professor pulled the TARDIS key from his pocket. It was slowly blinking with a golden light. "In addition to being the means to open the TARDIS' outer doors, it's also a homing device. We are far from lost."
"Well then, I hope you can find your way to the Pamir Plateau as easily as you can to the TARDIS."
"Ye of little faith!"
The End.