Chapter Two: Hello, We're The Doctor. (Part One)
The quiet hum of the TARDIS filled the air. The Eighth Doctor sat in a leather bound armchair in the grand drawing room that was his console room. He held a shaving mirror in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. He clipped at the last long lock of now deep brown hair.
"There we are. That's better." He spoke to himself. "That's the last time I try using the sonic to change course, eh old girl?"
The Doctor rose to his feet, quickly swiping away the folded cotton napkin he had tucked into his neckline. Moving over to the console, He fiddled with dials and switches before sliding the large lever on a side panel to the left. Catching a glance at his reflection in glass covering The Time Rotor, The Doctor inspected his now aged face. He had been running from the war for a long time and it had clearly taken it's toll. He looked down at his dark frock coat.
"I guess the coat's not the only thing that's looking a little worn. What do you suggest dear?"
The TARDIS reacted by flicking a switch and moving a bookcase that surrounded the room. Behind it, stored away, were the outfits of his previous incarnations. Highlighted by a small dim light, was the multicoloured jacket of his Sixth self.
"Oh must I" The Doctor moaned as he took up the coat. "I mean look at it. It's hideous and extremely too big. "
The Doctor fed his arms through the sleeves and let the jacket rest on his shoulder. The sleeves hung lower than his arm length and the chest length could be wrapped around him.
"I mean look at it. I just look rather silly now."
The lights in the console room then flickered off. The only illumination was a small glow from a flashing blue light. The visual interface sprung into life. A glowing blue hologram with the outline of an envelope appeared. Sliding off the coat and replacing it on it's stand, The Doctor returned to the console.
"A message. Who's it from?"
The envelope then seem to grow a light inside it. A green pulsating orb that shone brightly from the centre.
"A distress signal? Open message."
The envelope opened and the green orb smoothly slid out and expanded to fill the confinement of the hologram. A young woman sat at a command desk. Her hair tied in a ponytail, she wore leather bound armour and a bandolier across her chest. She spoke quickly as the screen crackled and fuzzed.
"This is Draconian Gunship Sierra-One-Four-Niner. We've lost all power and we're on a collision course with a neighbouring planet. We have casualties on board and are carrying a Warp-Drive Centrifuge. Our trans-spacial co-ordinates are Gamma2457, Omega851..."
As the young woman spoke, The Doctor furiously typed the coordinates into a keyboard on the console. As she was delivering the last few digits; the image cut out and the interface faded. The lights quickly switched themselves back on.
"No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor pleaded angrily as he flicked switches and pulled levers in an attempt to retrieve the image.
"I can save her! I just need the last few numbers!"
The Doctor spun the dials on the console and twisted a valve. A deep gravely voice echoed through the empty console room. A voice that spoke with pain and anguish. An old voice, a voice that had seen horror in its lifetime. It came from behind him.
"You cannot save her. Believe me, you try but you cannot."
