IDChapter38

Isana and the Esteemed Father were having lunch at his chalet. He had taken to visiting her every day since the beginning of her brief respite there. She truly was a lost soul, he realised. Her psyche had been so violated by the Shadow Mentalist that she wasn't sure who she really was, or what she really felt. He had offered her the services of one of his own Mentalists to help her put the pieces of her shattered psyche back together, but she declined. Today it was apparent she had something on her mind.

She asked, "Father, you know how the Doctor has figured out how to use your oil to restore himself and Rose to full Time Lords, right?"

"Yes, it was quite clever of him. He tells me he is going to use it to help anyone else who wants to help him restore his race. Are you going to take advantage of his offer, Lady Isana?"

"That's been the main thing I've been thinking about since I've been here. I don't think I want to go through with it."

"Why not, my dear? Don't you trust the Doctor?"

"I do, actually. It's just that..." Here she paused with a frown, trying to find the right words. "It's just that I think I've done my part in all of this. I'm tired, and I feel lost, and I don't want to fight anymore." She looked up, and asked him, "Do you think that he could also take away the things that identify me as a Galli? Do you think I could just go on as a Karnian and just live a normal life?"

The Esteemed Father sat back, a bit surprised at the question. It was not one he had anticipated from her. Besides the things that Jack had told him about her, he had also seen her from Koschei's eyes the numerous times he had been in his mind. He had seen the strong, determined woman she had been before Koschei had had the Shadow Mentalist manipulate her mind, and he had been sure she would want to return to being that person.

"I don't see why not, if that's what you really want. And," he said, reaching across the table and covering her hand with his own, "If he won't, I will."

She smiled gratefully, then asked, "In that case, could we do it before we leave? I want to return to Karn as a Karnian."

Rose was 'nesting'. She and Jon had decided to make the main cave their home, while the Gallis who were staying on with them were building more traditional homes out in the small valley the caves overlooked. Their homes were more like military quarters at the moment, because that was what the Krills had to work with for now, but once the land was officially theirs they would bring in supplies and more traditional homes would be built. For now, everyone who was staying was thrilled to be able to live out in the open. Those who decided not to stay would be transported by the Krills to wherever they wanted to go, within reason, as soon as it was safe to do so. Willem was one of them, but being a Karnian, he was simply going back home to the other side of the world.

Rose was being helped by two Krill soldiers. They were lining the cave with hexagonal blocks which adhered to each other and the cave walls via a chemical bond, looking like a honeycomb. They had started at the front of the cave, when they got to the end Rose and Jon were going to finish, knowing they'd need to install a door to the opening of the coral cavern and a perception filter to hide it. Before starting on the walls the Krills had piped in warm and cold spring water, and had also installed solar power cells and sewage facilities. Rose's eyes were shining as she worked, soon she would have her own lovely, naturally climate-controlled home. Pity they probably wouldn't spend that much time here once the TARDIS was grown and ready to go, but that was a ways off yet, and they would be comfortable and secure in the meantime.

She was also pondering ovulation. She could control that now, with her new Time Lord abilities. They needed to grow their population, and reproduction was certainly a good way to do it. They couldn't rely on the Krills to keep finding and returning Gallis previously lost to mine slavery, and until the TARDIS was grown they wouldn't be able to develop a loom. With Jon estimating a couple of years before the TARDIS was fully operational, it seemed like as good a time as any to get started. She couldn't help but smile as she envisioned visiting her Mum on Earth with three children in tow.

"You seem very happy in your work, Lady Rose." One of the Krill soldiers working along side her observed.

"Yes, I am. I'm very excited about the future, and very happy that my husband is no longer the only one of his kind. I'm also very grateful for all the help we have received from the Krillitrane Empire. This would have been much harder without you."

"You have your admirers amongst us. Molding the universe to fit your vision is a very Krillitane thing to do."

"Why – thank you!" Rose was sincere and surprised. She had never thoughtt of what she and Jon were doing in those terms. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realised that was exactly what they were attempting to do. No wonder the Time Lords got arrogant, she thought to herself. Putting yourself in charge of the universe is an arrogant thing to do in and of itself. I wonder how long it will be before it happens to us?

The smile faded from her face as she excused herself to take a break and find Jon.

Jon and Jack were going over blueprints for the settlement with Kor'Lo. Being a military man, Kor'Lo had ideas about backup contingiencies for fresh water and sewage treatment that Jon approved of. More and more each day he had come to appreciate the Krill soldier's dedication to the job at hand. He almost trusted him.

Rose walked up and slid her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. When he smiled down at her, she asked, "Ready for a little break?" He could see she had something on her mind, so he excused himself and left Jack and Kor'Lo to work out further details on the development of the settlement. Together they walked hand-in-hand down the hill towards the valley.

"What's on your mind, luv?" Jon asked.

"When did we become architects of the universe?" Rose asked with a smile.

Jon's eyebrows shot up as he looked askance at her. "Where did that come from?"

"One of the Krill soldiers told me they admire us," she said ruefully. " He said that 'molding the universe to fit our vision' was a very Krillitane thing to do."

"I see." Jon chuckled. "And that bothers you, obviously. Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully, "I guess it does kind of bother me, too. After all, the whole reason my brother dropped us off in this universe was to keep us safe, and keep the universe safe from us, wasn't it?" His chuckle grew deeper as he thought about that. "I wonder what he would say if he could see us now. Would he say we were megalomaniacs? Would he say we're no better than the Time Lords before us were? What do you think, Rose Tyler?"

"I think we mean well. I think we have the best of intentions. But you know what they say... the road to Hell is paved with good intentions."

"Actually, there is no road to Hell, you have to get there by spaceship," Jon joked lightly. Seeing she was about to flip him off, he hastily continued, "But seriously, what else can we do, Rose? Sure, we could go back to Earth and live normal lives, an adventure I cherished as long as I thought I could never have it. But look, we had the chance to live that adventure, and what did we do?"

They both laughed at that.

"Neither of us can live that life," Rose admitted. "Both of us live to make a difference in the universe. A good difference."

"Exactly. Just think for a moment, what if we changed our minds? Could either of us go back to the Gallis and say, 'Sorry, we've decided we're not good enough to free you, you lot are going to have to continue living your lives as mine slaves or in hiding, lest we should all become too powerful and arrogant and become worse than the Shadows'. Could we condemn them to that life? What about the other worlds that suffer, either because the Shadows will not intervene, or because they did? There is no balance in this unverse, and you know me, Rose Tyler, I've always been the one to do the things that no one else will."

"Yeah," Rose grinned while she stopped and pulled him close, "that's why I love you. I wouldn't have it any other way."

They stood that way for several minutes, in each other's arms, eyes closed, his chin resting on her head, drinking in the moment. Then she remembered something else that had been on her mind.

"Ummm... Jon..." she began, in the voice he knew meant she wanted something BIG.

"Yes, Rose?"

"I've been thinking..."

"Uh – oh, what is it?" He teased. He knew whatever it was he couldn't deny her anything.

"Since we're sort of grounded for awhile, I mean, I know we aren't really, we have Voyager and the Krill ship, but..."

"You know your gob is getting as bad as mine sometimes?"

She pulled away, crossed her arms, and frowned up at him. He clapped his hands over his mouth and opened his eyes wide, letting out a muffled "Sorry!", making her laugh. She placed her hands on her hips and made a concentrated effort to look serious, and finally came out with it.

"I think it's time for another baby, don't you?"

His eyes bulged in an effort not to laugh. "Umm... you don't think we have enough on our plate as is? I mean, literally rebuilding a society that will rival the Shadows isn't enough for you? Oh well, I guess you're right, we do need to get on the reproductive path sooner or later, after all we won't have any looms for awhile yet and we can't very well ask the Gallis to do something we aren't ready to do ourselves.. mmnnnpphh..."

His gob was silenced when she pulled his head down for a long, steamy kiss. "I think the coral cavern needs a visit," she said huskily when they finally came up for air.

"Mmm... quite right, too. Well, let's get to it, then."