Chapter 5: Leatherheads
New York City 18 May 2011
Elliot had just turned in his letters of resignation. Captain Cragen didn't like it, but what was done was done. He accepted them but directly told Elliot that he would be welcome back anytime. Elliot doubted it would happen. Way too many things were on his mind. He went for a very long walk before he had to make his other decision. As he walked he found himself down an alleyway. He still didn't know what to say to Olivia, let alone how to say it. So he had asked the Captain to tell her.
He got to the end of the alley and there, standing before him, was the TARDIS. Elliot looked at it for a time that seemed like forever. He then took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key that the Doctor had given him. A few seconds after entering, the TARDIS had vanished.
"Elliot, glad you're back. Here, take a banana, they're fan-tastic." As Elliot bit into the banana, the Doctor set the TARDIS to the proper coordinates and off they went. The Doctor (9) looks over at Elliot. "Ready?" Elliot's reply. "There's no such thing as being ready. You just jump on and try not to die. Is everything prepared?"
"Isn't that the truth! Operation Oncoming Storm is almost ready. We just need to make a stop along the way."
The TARDIS appeared into a banana grove. The Doctor and Elliot exited into the field.
After a few paces, Elliot ponders aloud. "Are we here for more bananas?" "Yes. That was the last one." "You sure like them. Is this Earth or somewhere else?" "Nope, another planet in the future. There used to be a weapons factory here. Specialized in sonic guns. I prefer my Sonic Screwdriver myself – it's still sonic!" Elliot smirked. "It's a beautiful planet. Do you think now is a good time?" The Doctor looked pensive. "You aren't letting up about this, aren't you?" "No Doctor, I'm not. You know we'll need to talk about this at some point. Otherwise ..." "Yes, I know, my emotions will bottle up and I'll snap and kill a planet of Daleks and then we'll pretend to be sad about it and listen to violins playing."
Elliot's countenance told the Doctor that sarcasm wasn't going to work again. "I've told you, we haven't had similar enough..." "No Doctor, we've both been to war. It wasn't on the same scale or the same enemies or technology. But it was still war. And you still show every sign of suppressed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. So we're talking this out." The Doctor let out a sigh: "Well, it was a war and it was bad. A lot of people died and I couldn't stop it." "So how did it end?" "Well, it was going to go on and on and on. It was going to spread out across the whole universe. It had to stop." "And how did you stop it." "A very bad option that was the least bad of them all." The Doctor and Elliot continued walking while the Doctor spoke of the Time War and how Gallifrey fell.
When they reached the Tardis, they paused for one last look at the planet they had visited. "Sometimes, I wonder if love was really one of the fairy tales, or if perhaps it died out somewhere along the way. Then again, if love is a lie then it is the most beautiful lie there is." Elliot turned to him, "I don't think so. I think that not only is love true, it IS the truth, it is the only truth. Nothing has meaning if there is no love. The entire universe and everything in it would have no meaning, no purpose, no reason to exist. That is what love is. I think that's the correct way of seeing it.
The Doctor started setting the coordinates and off they went. "Pull the blue lever please." As Elliot pulled the lever, the shaking went down, then way up. "Nope, too far, push it back a bit!" The Tardis stopped shaking. Once settled the Doctor went pulled a box from under the console. "There are some major Geo-magnetic disturbances on this planet, you shouldn't have any metal when we leave the Tardis." Elliot put his badge, wallet and keys into the box. "Are we expected?" "Of course, everthing has been arranged. Grab the bag." Elliot grabbed the Army Green duffel bag while the Doctor grabbed what looked like a large computer tablet. "Ready?" "Ready."
Upon exiting the Tardis, they wondered into a mostly flat landscape. To the west in the distance was a mountain range that extended for as far as the eye could see in both directions. To the east was more flat, desolate land. The general area appeared to once be home to a forest, but now stood empty. This was once a large forest, but the Daleks laid waste to the planet. There weren't many survivors. They didn't talk much further as they ventured forth into the nearby village.
They were at once surrounded by children. Screaming excitedly as they entered the village. Elliot bent down on one knee and opened his bag. He reached in and produced a hand full of bananas that he started distributing to the kids. The Doctor took his sonic and began scanning the immediate area while viewing the results on his tablet. "Do you see what I mean Doctor? You call yourself "the Doctor" and this is what Doctors do. They heal." "Yes, and they also protect. It looks like their source of power is fluctuating. I'll go see if I can stabilize it. We only have a short time until the next Geo-magnetic storm comes along."
The Doctor entered what looked like a crude shack, with a large battery inside. An elderly man was seated in a chair and looked up at him. "You're back! Did you bring the tool you spoke of?" "Of course, but I can't make any promises. You have parts from two different space ship engines connected to a battery and a rudimentary solar panel. There may not be much more I can do. But if I can stabilize it, then the plasma-ion shields will protect the village from the next storm. If not, I can extend the shields from the Tardis to cover the village." "Is there another storm coming soon then Doctor?" "Yes, there doesn't seem to be a routine pattern to them, but I can see from the scan that there is another one soon."
The Doctor began his work. Tinkering with fuses and wires while using his sonic. After a few minutes, there was a whirring noise and some lights blinked on. "There, it'll do for now." "Thank you, thank you very much!" replied the elderly man. The Doctor exited the building to see the shield fully operational, as well as a dazzling display of lights as the storm passed over the area. Elliot walked over to where the Doctor was standing. "So, does that fix their problem?" "Not yet, we still need to install a stabilizing device in the planets core and an array of satellites around the planet. They'll send signals to dampen the instability of the planet's gravity. It isn't a perfect fix, but the people are too stubborn to leave their home." "Where to next?" "Well, where would you like to go?" "I've always wanted to see the Boston Tea Party. Suppose we stop there when we're done here?"