AN: Some of Solaris' past starts being focused on in this chapter. All I can really say about it right now is that her backstory is, more or less, vital to the plot. However, to address a question brought out in a review, she is not by any means a Time Lord/Gallifreyan. That honor is the Doctor's alone (along with the individual who will remain nameless, to prevent spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the Doctor Who episode, Utopia, yet. Of course, if you have seen it, you'll know who I'm talking about.)
The TARDIS materialized on N'ren, beneath a tall, rough barked tree with a thick trunk entwined with a leafy, climbing vine. Inside, Rose was eagerly asking about what this new planet was like.
"No one's really sure of that," The Doctor replied.
"N'ren is a tremendously primitive planet," Jack explained. "Even in the 51st century, the N'renyan culture is viewed as vastly underdeveloped. Because of that, very few aliens and humans bother coming here."
"So, we're like pioneers," Rose grinned. "Some of the first people to actually visit N'ren."
"Well, then," The Doctor offered his arm to Rose. "Let's go be pioneers." The three of them started to leave the TARDIS until the Doctor glanced back to see Solaris hadn't moved from her spot on the gantries. 'Oi, Solaris! We're here, now. It's time to head out to find the second artifact."
"No," Solaris waved an impassive hand. "You three go. I… I think I'll just stay behind and guard the TARDIS, you know? You guys don't need me to come along on this one."
"And what if we need your skills as a thief to get this artifact?" Jack debated.
"Then you'll know exactly where I am. See you later," Solaris replied. Before anything else could be said, the TARDIS suddenly gave off a loud, angry whir, accompanied by a violent shake, the latter causing Solaris to slip off her perch on the gantries, landing rather roughly near the console.
"Looks like the TARDIS isn't giving you a choice," the Doctor noted. "Come on, then. 'Urry up. We'll be waiting for you outside." As the others exited the ship, Solaris scowled at the TARDIS' console, but as she turned to follow the Doctor, Jack, and Rose, a grimace formed on her face.
"Bugger it!" she groaned under her breath. "I never wanted to come back here again."
Rose sighed heavily as she cooled her feet in a crystal clear river. The group had been here for over an hour and they hadn't located any of the N'renyan villages.
"Do you think they're even still around?" she asked her companions. "I mean, we haven't seen any sign of the N'renyans at all. Since no one ever comes here, they could have died out, and no one would have known." Jack and the Doctor were quiet, contemplating this logic.
"I…" Solaris suddenly spoke up, her back facing the others. "I don't think that's the case. Just because you don't see something, it doesn't mean it's not around. You can't see air, but it's still there. And, if it were me, I wouldn't want strangers getting a glimpse of me. I mean, seeing how outsiders are rare here, N'renyans might be a little shy of strangers, you know?"
"Well, sitting around here's not going to help us find anything," Jack announced. "So maybe we should… hang on, what's this?" The others turned as Jack picked up a smooth polished rock partially covered with a moss-like growth. On the side of the rock was some sort of tribal marking.
"Over here!" Rose called, looking at the bark of a nearby tree. "The same marking's been carved here, too." It was quickly discovered that there were a great deal of carvings all over, forming some sort of primitive marked trail. The trail of markings led them to a clearing that was filled with what appeared to be the remains of a long-abandoned native village. The entire village ruins were in a serious state of decay. The scant bits and pieces that remained intact, however, showed strong hints of scarring, giving evidence of fire damage.
"What happened here?" Rose wondered out loud, as she, Jack, and the Doctor looked around the decimated village, none of then noticing Solaris unmoving from the village entrance, her face filled with tormented reluctance to be there.
"Maybe some sort of ritual involving a bonfire that went wrong," Jack theorized, looking at one of the scorch marks on a damaged totem pole.
"I don't think so," the Doctor replied, crouching down to look at something. "Come look at this." Rose and Jack headed over to see the Doctor's discovery. It was an old alien skeleton that had a few ragged bits of clothing still clinging to the yellowed bones. The skeleton was clutching a second, much smaller skeleton.
"That… that must have just been a baby," Rose stared at the smaller skeleton in sorrow.
"I don't think it was just a fire that hit this place, Jack," the Doctor pointed out. "If these two died in a fire, then you'd probably see some evidence of it on the bones. But apart from the natural damage from decomposition, there's no damage on these two. I'd say that these two died in some other way."
"Like an attack?" Jack guessed.
"Maybe," the Doctor replied, still studying the alien remains.
"Doctor?" Rose whispered, still looking sadly at the skeleton of the alien baby, held in the arms of what must have been its mother. "Alien morality aside, I… I think we should bury them, or something. I don't think I could stand the thought of them just lying here forever." The Doctor studied Rose for a moment, and for a brief second, Rose expected a disapproving retort, but the Doctor turned to Jack.
"Captain, help me locate any other skeletons or remains that are still intact."
"Yeah, of course," Jack agreed. But as the Doctor started to gently move the remains of the alien mother and child, a net with heavy weights tied around the edges suddenly descended from the jungle canopy, trapping the three friends. In an instant, a small group of muscular humanoid aliens in clothing made from animal skins were surrounding them, pointing sharp spears and javelins at them. Rose tried to push herself up on her hands and knees, but as she did so, one of the primitive aliens thrust some sort of bowl in front of her. Inside the bowl was a pile of something that looked like a crushed plant that was being partially burned. A heavily sweet odor was emanating from the crushed plant.
Almost instantly, Rose felt her eyelids getting heavy. Drowsily, she glanced over at Jack and the Doctor, who were also being forced to inhale the burning plant's fumes, and while they seemed to be able to resist it better then she was, it didn't look like they could combat the effects much longer. A short distance away, Solaris could be seen being wrestled to the ground by one of the N'renyans. Through the fog that was quickly filling Rose's senses, she could hear the alien thief shouting a warning to not breathe in the smoke.
Bit late for that, Solaris. Rose thought as she lost the fight against the narcotic effects, and let sleep overtake her. Before doing so, Rose felt a hand grip hers. She didn't need to see his face to know it was the Doctor's hand; she'd felt that grip enough times to know it instinctively. She willed herself to grip his hand in return, but no sooner had that thought entered her mind, the foggy darkness completely overpowered her, and she remembered nothing else.
"Rose." The Doctor's voice echoed through her mind as the fog began to lift. "Rose, wake up." Moaning softly, Rose forced her eyes to open, to find the Doctor bending over her, attempting to wake her up.
"What happened?" Rose asked, sitting up with the Doctor's assistance and looking around. She, the Doctor, Jack, and Solaris were in some sort of cavern, with five of the N'renyans standing guard over them.
"From what I can gather," Jack began, "the N'renyans drugged us and carted us here.
"And for your sakes," a N'renyan imputed, "you four better have a valid reason for being in Village of the Flower Clan. That area is forbidden."
"Ropica, that's enough," an elderly N'renyan with a long beard that matched the color of his yellowish hair scolded as he ambled up, partially leaning on a knobby walking stick. "Even my aged eyes can see that these four don't seem to mean us harm." The elderly N'renyan turned to the quartet, giving them all an apologetic smile. "You'll have to forgive the treatment. You see, you four are the first group of outsiders who have come here in a long time. The ones who came before you proved to be extremely hostile to us, and shed much blood. After that, we tend to be overly cautious. My name is Mashan."
"It's nice to meet you," the Doctor smiled before introducing himself and his three companions. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened with this hostile group that was here before us?"
"If you want to hear that, you should make yourselves comfortable. I trust you are hungry?" Mashan waited until some female N'renyans had given the four of them bowls filled with some sort of lumpy, pale substance that had the viscosity of porridge, and tasted like curants mixed with honey, before he began to explain.
"Years ago, the people of N'ren all existed in six separate tribes, separated by their unique locations; the Earth Clan of the valley, the Fire Clan of the volcanic regions, the Water Clan from the coasts, the Wind Clan up in the mountains, the Ice Clan from the frozen tundra, and the Flower Clan of the forests. Despite the separation of the clans, there were always a number of inter-tribe interactions, to maintain peace within N'ren.
"But all that changed when a terrible race of outsiders cast their shadow over the planet. They lay siege to N'ren, murdering all who crossed their path. In the planet-wide massacre, only small, meager handfuls from each tribe managed to escape with their lives. In the aftermath, those survivors crossed paths with one another, and eventually found safe refuge here in this underground cavern. Everyone you see here are those who escaped the massacre and their children."
"So this is everyone who's left from the six clans," the Doctor glanced around the cavern, where no more then sixty N'renyans resided.
"Five clans," Mashan corrected grimly. "There is only one survivor from the Flower Clan. That one survivor was a small child, no more then a few months old. The rest were all completely wiped out in what is now known as the N'renyan Massacre. So even if, one day, our number increases to the point when we can reestablish our clans to the way they once were, the site of the Flower Clan's village will always remain abandoned, as a monument to the bloodshed, and the people we lost. The Flower Clan survivor is now close to manhood, but as he was only a yearling when the N'renyan Massacre occurred, he would be unable to reestablish his ancestral home."
"What were they called, that outside race?" Rose asked in curiosity.
"It is forbidden to call them by name," one of the nearby N'renyans replied gruffly. "It is a fear of many that doing so will summon them back."
"I assure you, Mashan," the Doctor leaned forward slightly. "None of us mean any of the N'renyans any harm."
"We came here to find an item that has this symbol," Jack continued, holding out the knife they'd brought from San Kloon. Mashan looked closely at the arrangement of the nine jewels.
"I do know this symbol; it was described to me quite some time ago," he confessed. "There has been only one other visitor, apart from you, who has visited our planet after the N'renyan Massacre. She did have something with this same arrangement of jewels, except the center stone was a healthy green. I believe it was a belt of some kind. She asked some of the boldest N'renyan survivors if they would find a place to hide it. Beyond that, I don't really know much."
"So you have no idea where the belt is?" The Doctor pried.
"Well, if the belt was hidden in a safe place, the way the female visitor requested years ago, I assume it would be in Storm Canyon, out in the Badlands."
"How do we get there?"
"I will address the N'renyans tonight, to see if there's any among us who remembers the way to Storm Canyon. No one has ventured there since the belt was hidden. There is bound to be at least one left among us who knows the way. I suggest that you four rest up in the meantime. It's a rather lengthy journey, so it would be best to leave at dawn tomorrow." Mashan then left with the other N'renyans.
"Well, at least Mashan's more reasonable then King Hoaraph," Jack joked. Rose started to laugh along, but then noticed the Doctor's expression.
"You're thinking about the N'renyans who were killed, aren't you?" she spoke softly.
"Only sixty survived the massacre. And only one is left from the Flower Clan. Even if that Flower Clan survivor is adopted by one of the other five tribes, he will not forget that he lost his family, his home."
"But he won't be alone," Rose pointed out. "He has the other N'renyans. Just like you have me."
"Hey, what about me?" Jack fired back. "Don't I count in the equation?"
"Of course you do," Rose laughed. "See, Doctor? Just because you lost your people, like that survivor of the Flower Clan, that's not the only thing you have in common with him. Neither of you are alone, either." The Doctor smiled softly as Rose's words comforted him.
"So," Solaris, who had been silent the whole time, frowned at them. "You're… the last Time Lord, Doctor?"
"Yes. They're all gone," the Doctor confirmed. Without a word, Solaris got to her feet and headed out of the cavern room, pausing at the doorway.
"Sorry, Doctor. I really am." With that, she walked out and began heading off, stopping only when she reached the mouth of the cavern, where an amber moon could be seen shining over N'ren. Only then did she remove the medallion from her neck and trace the Seal of Rassilon with a finger.
"They all died, then. That explains it," she whispered to herself. "And I never knew."