Chapter Five:
"Jack's also here by the way," The T-Doctor remarked as they turned a corner and moved deeper into the bowels of the base.
"What? Captain Jack Harkness?" The H-Doctor enquired, almost shocked. "What's he doing in a place like this?"
"That's exactly what I asked," The T-Doctor replied as they reached the doors of the transport docking bay. He found the control panel and began to input the code. Instead of a green bar, showing that he had unlocked the doors, the bar flashed red. "He's changed the code!"
"Sonic?" The H-Doctor asked, producing the device.
"Worth a shot." The opposite Doctor aimed the device at panel and activated the device. The panel flashed red again. "Deadlocked!" He pocketed the device with a sigh.
"Need some help?" the American voice of Jack Harkness asked them from behind.
Both Doctor spun around to see the American, who'd changed into his usual WW2 coat, shirt, suspenders, boots and revolver, with his hands in his pockets. He seemed very calm even though they were breaking into the bases hovercraft bay with intentions of theft.
"Are you going to try and stop us impossible man?" H-Doctor asked with a slight sneer to his voice.
"Doctor?" He asked looking at the man in the trilby. "But how can there be two of you."
"Just your everyday cosmic anomaly that we have to sort out but don't worry," The T-Doctor replied, stroking his beard. "We just need to borrow a hovercraft to get back to my T.A.R.D.I.S and we'll be out of your hair."
"You mean steal a hovercraft," Jack smirked. "Lewis radioed it in."
"So are you going to stop us?" The H-Doctor asked again.
"Of course not," Jack smirked. "But you wouldn't want to steal them."
"Why not?" The T-Doctor asked.
"Well I have this," he replied, pulling by his coat sleeve to reveal his Vortex Manipulator. "It doesn't work but that's never stopped you before."
"Genius," The T-Doctor remarked as the two Time Lords walked towards him. The H-Doctor produced the sonic screwdriver and 'sonic-ed' the device. The blocks that he'd placed on the device came undone and the VM finally began to work.
"It's all up and running," The H-Doctor informed him. "Now let's get back to your T.A.R.D.I.S. Do you know the coordinates?"
The T-Doctor slapped is forehead with his palm in anguish, "That's the one thing I don't know!"
"Not a problem," Jack remarked; pressing buttons on the wrist bound device. "I can pick it up on this thing." He checked through the results, "Two T.A.R.D.I.S', now I know how you could also be here. I'll select the furthest one and…" Jack set the coordinates and closed the cover. "We're good to go!"
Both Doctor's placed their hands on the Vortex Manipulator and waited for the tug at their gut as they were moved from real space into the time vortex; time travel without a capsule, an utter killer
The Doctor walked into the main console area and unloaded a crate onto the grassy floor; the grass straightened itself as soon as anything above it moved. He unhooked the box and removed a large leather bound and locked book.
"What's that?" Scarlett asked the Time Lord as he unloaded the document onto the console and unlocked the cover with a key from his pocket. Slowly opened the heavy cover.
"A book that I have dreaded to open," he replied as he began to speed read it.
"You seem to be dreading a lot today," she remarked.
"That's because today is a day that I have put off for many years…two whole incarnations in fact; well they lived through it too…oh never mind."
"So no holiday?"
"No holiday." The Doctor found the correct page. "Here we are. Coordinates."
"Why do you need coordinates?"
"Because it's important."
"Just answer the question Doctor," Scarlett sighed, leaning on the console. "Before I jumped into this mad 'thing' I was a Space-Time Engineer; I'm not as dumb as the common herd."
"I know you're not dumb," The Doctor replied. "And this is not a thing! She is the T.A.R.D.I.S and I love her." He stroked the console as if he was trying to comfort the machine.
"I know; you love her more than anyone else."
"That depends on the person."
"So I'm not that person then?"
"Listen Scarlett, you're a beautiful red headed genius, and I'm fine if you're attracted to me but I have given up on relationships. Because of that; we will never be together. Understood?" He looked her dead in the eyes as he said the last word.
"Yes," she said, her green eyes shimmering in the even greener light of the time rotor. "So anyway, what's the coordinates for."
"For a quest," he replied as moved the hefty book from the spot on the console and over towards the coordinate input controls. He punched in the code from the book.
"I thought it was the day you were dreading, not a day for a quest."
"I need to go on this quest for an item which will save the universe and myself."
"So it's important."
"Yes, if I don't find it in time then I will disappear from existence since my past selves would be dead."
"Oh yeah…that Time Lord thing."
"Yes that Time Lord thing," The Doctor smirked. He locked the coordinates in and moved the book back into the chest. "We're going to be going to an ancient planet that hasn't been set foot on by an outsider since…since its creation really."
"Scary planet?"
"No, rather pleasant but there will be one bad thing."
"I knew there would be a catch. What's the catch?"
"Well the object I require is rather sacred to them and I might have to fight to get to it."
"Well can't you tell whoever your fighting the reason you need it?"
"Ever met a religious zealot before? That's what they are and they don't give things up for over one thousand good reasons. The only way to take the item is by force."
"And what would this item be."
"An arrow; a scared arrow," The Doctor replied, placing his hand on a sheened lever. "Now let's get going." He slammed down the lever and the liquid inside the time rotor began to move and the room began to slightly shake; over time the T.A.R.D.I.S had overcome the irritating tremor it used to do while taking off.
Scarlett watched as The Doctor moved around, piloting the ship with precision that came with hundreds of years of practice. The engines made its iconic noise as the ship rocketed through the time vortex towards its destination.
The group of time travellers appeared in a flurry of light and they all hit the floor. Travelling through the time vortex without a form of capsule was agonising and they all groaned and grunted as they arrived on the mountain side.
T-Doctor looked up at blue box which was sitting contently on the mountain side. "At least you're happy."
H-Doctor looked up at the blue box, "So this is the future T.A.R.D.I.S then."
"Oh yes," T-Doctor smirked. "Now let's get inside."
He rose off the floor and made his way to the door. He produced the key and opened the doors with a click of the lock. He walked inside and breathed in deeply as he admired the roundels in the walls which he loved so much.
"Nice outfit by the way, loving the trench coat!" Jack patted H-Doctor on the back as he entered the ship. He looked at the new desktop theme. "Whoa this is better than the last one, cleaner and more sci-fi!"
"I like the old design better," H-Doctor remarked as he closed the T.A.R.D.I.S wooden doors.
T-Doctor moved about the console and Jack stood to the side; staying out of the way. "So what are you doing?" the immortal American asked.
"Well I remembered the data on the computers at Outpost Alpha and am now scanning for that type of matter. Using that I should be able to locate the other portals and possible find a way to close them."
"So what do we know about these portals?" H-Doctor asked.
"They produce mass amount of energies and photon particles," T-Doctor said. "They are able to pull things in like gravity and have no mass. They shouldn't exist and yet do."
"They're also gateways," H-Doctor added. "But you have to lower the photon count to let even the T.A.R.D.I.S pass through and even that damaged it."
"I have a feeling that I'm only here because of the Vortex Manipulator," Jack interjected.
"Jack Shh we're thinking!" The H-Doctor snapped. The H-Doctor removed is hat and tapped it against his hand while the T-Doctor straightened his blue bowtie and stroked his groomed beard.
"They have to be from another dimension then," The T-Doctor added.
"So something with immense power has to be making them," H-Doctor finished. "But that raises the question of their numbers."
"Well clearly the portal on the outpost was the original and the force fields surrounding it cut it off so the being made another."
The T-Doctor checked the scanner, "And yet there is more than one. The scanner says there are over one hundred."
"Why would it create over one hundred? That's a waste of power."
"Unless it's all an attempt to great the purest and best portal?"
"So we have a being who's trying to create a pure portal that could connect him to this dimension?"
"Exactly," T-Doctor remarked, drumming his hand on the T.A.R.D.I.S console.
"Wait, what if he's making them up to the perfect date?" The H-Doctor asked. "Like some sort of predetermined cosmic event that means he'll have the perfect portal at some point."
"But why?" Jack enquired.
"We don't know," The T-Doctor answered. "But right now we need to monitor them, find the right one and go back just before its creation and stop whatever the beast is trying to do."