Chapter 7 - The Eye of Orion
It had been a long time since the Doctor had visited the Eye of Orion, but it hadn't changed at all. Rolling hills of grass stretched as far as the eye could see, and the smell of petrichor was everywhere. As Tegan Jovanka had once said, it looked exactly like Earth after a thunderstorm. The three children were running around, dodging each other and the ivy covered ruins that scattered the surrounding landscape. Susan, David Sr and the Doctor were keeping a watchful eye on the children while enjoying the sense of contentment and relaxation that the Eye somehow brought upon them.
"I love this place, grandfather," said Susan, breathing in the refreshing air of the Eye. "I feel like there isn't anything in the universe that can trouble me."
"That's because the bombardment of positive ions in the atmosphere are causing your neural relays to relax," answered the Doctor.
"It's as simple as that?" asked David.
"No, not really. What actually happens-"
"Thank you, Doctor," David cut in hastily. He didn't need another of the Doctor's confusing explanations.
"You said you'd been here before, grandfather," commented Susan. "How long ago was that?"
The Doctor thought for a moment. "About 700 years."
"What body were you in?"
"Fifth. I was travelling with Tegan and Turlough then. They were good, but Tegan was always wanting to go home! I never knew exactly why."
Susan smiled contentedly, knowing that her grandfather would never understand that travelling the universe wasn't high on the priority list for most of his fellow travellers.
The group stayed in the Eye of Orion for some time, admiring the view and enjoying the peace that the Eye brought, but they soon grew weary and decided to go back home.
"Can Barbara, Ian and me fly the TARDIS, mum?" David Jr asked shyly, after the group had all entered the TARDIS.
Susan shook her head. "No, David," she said kindly. "You and your brother and sister might accidentally press the wrong button and we could end up on the other side of the universe!"
David sadly nodded and walked away, looking very disappointed. The Doctor appeared from one of the TARDIS's many corridors.
"Ok, who wants to fly the TARDIS?" he said, twirling around to look at the children. "How about some very eager children?"
"YES!" shouted the excited children, and they rushed over to their great-grandfather.
"Barbara, go to the spatial location input. Ian, you're in charge of the time altimeter, and Little David, you get the Space/Time throttle – but only do what I tell you to do!"
The children went to their positions and looked at the Doctor, waiting for their instructions.
"Ok, Barbara, if you want to go home, just type 'Sol 3, Europe, Great Britain, London', and also your address - which is one of the few things that I don't know – into that typewriter thing to your left. When you're done, pull that lever to the right of the typewriter."
Barbara did as instructed.
"Ian, see that keyboard? Enter the day, month and year you want us to land in." The Doctor waited until Ian had finished typing before he continued. "Right, only the throttle and the handbrake to go. Mini David – how fast do you want to go?"
David Jr grinned cheekily. "Really fast!" he exclaimed.
The Doctor pretended to look horrified. "Oh no! The last thing I want you to do is to pull that lever down all the way!"
David Jr grinned and did just that, and the result was that the familiar hum of the TARDIS was replaced by a muffled groaning sound as the TARDIS's engines tried to engage while the handbrake was still on.
"Everyone ready?" asked the Doctor. Susan, both Davids, Ian and Barbara all nodded. "Alright. Geronimo!" he shouted, pulling the handbrake.