Elsewhere, Named
"Primus Seven."
"Huh?" Peri gave Kyris a puzzled frown as she huffed her way up the slight incline.
"The planet. It's called Primus Seven," the Doctor's son clarified. "In case you were wondering." Then, without a perceptible pause or change in tone: "And it's OK to stare at me. I don't mind."
"What? No, I wasn't…well, I guess I was. Sort of," Peri stammered, blushing. She and Kyris were slightly behind the others, with Ace naturally in the lead. Kyris had given up trying to talk to Ace or slow her down, and seeing Nyssa and Tyrel deep in some private conversation, had opted to keep Peri company instead. She had been nearly as silent as Ace, but he'd caught her sneaking glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Once they'd made it around the headland and back on dry land, he'd decided to bring her obvious curiosity into the open.
"So, am I not what you expected?" he prodded with a slight grin. "Or are you still just getting used to the idea of the Doctor having a son?"
"A little of both, I guess." Peri grinned back, but her blush intensified. "I'm sorry, it just takes a lot of getting used to. The Doc and I haven't been traveling together all that long, but I do know he never seems to want to talk about himself. Places he's been, sure, places we're going, absolutely. And me?" Her grin widened. "He's willing to listen to me talk about myself till the cows come home, but as soon as I ask him anything about himself we're suddenly in the middle of another conversation. Or in trouble," she added reflectively. "We seem to end up in trouble a lot."
"But you still travel with him, still want to be in the TARDIS, right?"
Peri nodded, brushing strands of hair out of her face as the mild breeze suddenly kicked up before subsiding. "You bet! No matter what, this has been a blast! Oh, except for this, and the Master taking your baby…" She closed her mouth, desperately trying not to stick her feet any further into it than she already had, but Kyris merely smiled in understanding and patted her shoulder.
"Oi!" That was Ace; they both looked toward that hail. She had come to a stop, and they hurried to her side, Nyssa and Tyrel joining them as well. Ace waited impatiently, body almost vibrating with the need to move forward, but Kyris placed a warning hand on her arm and she subsided, frowning, as they took a look around.
They stood at the edge of a cultivated field of some sort of low-growing, long-leaved crop, lush and green and broken only by the occasional stand of purple palm trees. On the far side was the village they had been aiming for, a scene of whitewashed one-story buildings with red tile roofs that were vaguely Mediterranean in style, with dark wooden doors offset by wide, bay windows on either side. Most of the people were too far away to make out much detail, but Peri noted dark hair and brightly colored clothing on the ones working on the fields closer to the village.
They hugged the edge of the jungle-like growth at the foot of the headland, not quite hiding but not going out of their way to be noticed; it was as much of a compromise as Ace was willing to make. She was all for just bulling her way across the fields and demanding to be taken to the Master, but Kyris, after a moment of intense debate, had talked her into being a little more circumspect. At least for now. This was the closest the two of them had come to the Master in six months, and Kyris didn't want to ruin their chances by moving too hastily.
When they were nearly at the village, they came across a path that led up the gentle slope that the headland became on this side. Hurrying away from the village was a woman with a baby in her arms, speaking soothingly to him as he squirmed and fussed, obviously unhappy. What was most noticeable about them, however, was the obvious racial differences between them; the baby was fair-skinned, with light brown hair and round blue eyes, whereas the woman had deeply tanned skin, waist-length braided black hair and almond-shaped green eyes that wore an obvious expression of anxiety. She was focused on calming the baby, so she didn't notice the newcomers until Ace deliberately stepped into her path, adroitly avoiding Kyris' attempt to hold her back.
"Is that John? Is that Tegan's baby?" Ace demanded as the woman skidded to a stop with a yelp of surprise. The baby stopped squirming and stared at Ace, a delighted babble coming from his lips as he reached for her. She held out her hand automatically, but the woman snatched the baby's fingers away with a look of alarm.
"Please, you have to let us go!" the woman replied, desperation in her voice. "I don't know who you are, but if HE finds us here, the consequences will be grave!"
"They'll be even more grave for you if you don't answer the question," Ace growled, pointing at the baby. "Is this John Jovanka?"
The woman hesitated, then nodded. "That is how his mother calls him. But HE calls the boy Myrak. We are forbidden to talk to his mother, but I have heard HIM call her Tegan."
Ace held out her arms. "We've come to bring Tegan and John away from here. Give him to me."
The woman hugged the baby closer, shrinking back in fear. "I cannot! If HE finds out…"
"HE has bigger things to worry about right now," Ace snapped back. Kyris stepped to her side, while Peri and the other two arranged themselves behind them. "This isn't the first baby he's stolen."
"I know." The woman straightened, her eyes blazing. "HE took our Sacred One, and has been holding him hostage, forcing us to help him. HE promised that we would have the Sacred One back as soon as the one he calls the Doctor arrives." She eyed Kyris doubtfully. "You are not he, are you?"
Kyris shook his head. "No, sorry, just the Doctor's son. But he should be here soon, if he isn't already. Have you seen a big blue box anywhere? That just appeared out of nowhere, perhaps?"
The woman's brow wrinkled in confusion, and she shook her head. "Nothing has appeared out of nowhere except you. You say you are the Doctor's son; did he send you?" Hope kindled in her eyes. "Will you bring back the Sacred One?"
"Do you know where the Master has him?" Kyris asked, taking a gentler tone with the woman. "What is your name?"
"Alanna," she replied willingly. "And no, we do not. We only know that he has not taken him off planet."
"How do you know that?" Peri asked curiously.
"Because we would feel it, in our souls, just as we would know if he were unwell or dead," Alanna replied simply.
Without warning, Ace reached forward and snatched the baby out of her arms, cuddling him close as he crowed in happiness, patting her face and pulling on what little of her hair he could reach. "Look, I'm sorry about your Sacred One, but the Master took our daughter away from us six months ago, and I'm not waiting another sodding minute to get her back if I don't have to! Where is he?"
The woman shrank back as Ace's voice increased in volume, and she pointed shakily up the hill in the direction she had originally been heading. "HE is with Tegan, at the Sacred One's home. His men directed me to bring the boy to him by the noon hour."
"How many of them are there?" Ace demanded. The baby squealed and managed to yank on a good sized chunk of her hair. She yelped more in surprise than in pain, staring down at John in momentary distraction. She found herself resisting an urge to kiss him on the end of his button nose, instead turning and thrusting him into Nyssa's arms. He squawked in outrage at this abuse, but settled down once Nyssa began murmuring to him, Tyrel adding his own help by tickling his toes.
Alanna was answering the question Ace had barked at her, speaking directly to Kyris. "There are two of his men with him, and two others at the hovercraft in the bay." She waved in the general direction of the village. "They are Excommunicate," she added with a black scowl. "They have defiled themselves by assisting HIM for money."
"All right, so he's up there, he has two men with him, time to go," Ace said, pushing past Alanna. Kyris grabbed her hand, and she turned to glare at him. "What?"
"We can't just go barreling up there without some kind of plan," he replied patiently. He spared a glance for Alanna. "Thank you. We'll do our best to make sure the Master lives up to his promise and return the Sacred One. In return, I only ask that you not inform anyone that we're here, or that we have John."
He held her gaze for a long moment, then she nodded and smiled. "I believe you. I will speak of this to no one. I pray for your success." With those words, she turned and headed back toward the village.
Kyris took a deep breath. "Right. Time to come up with a plan."
Ace stopped tugging at his hand, shrugging in capitulation, although her face remained turned toward the upward arc of the path. "Make it fast," she snapped. "No promises."
Kyris looked at the others. "Nyssa, I think you should take John back to the TARDIS. Just in case." He glanced at the bit of sky showing through the purple foliage. "You should have just enough time to make it before the tide gets too high."
"Of course." She spared a quick kiss for her husband. "Come and get us when it's all settled." He gaze returned to John. "All right, young man, time for us to get reacquainted. Do you remember me at all, are you Trakenite enough for that?" Kyris handed her his TARDIS key, and she vanished into the jungle.
"Plans," Ace growled, tapping a foot impatiently. "Got one yet?"
Kyris gave her a confident smile. "Of course I do."