Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own anything, nor do I get paid for it.
A/N We crossed 300 reviews for this one. Thank you so much!
This chapter shows Rose's side of things on Shada and sets up things for the future.
I know that I am discussing looms in this chapter and changing things around a bit. It's to fit the story. That is all.
Chapter Fourteen
Rose did her best not to look back at the TARDIS when she heard the dematerialisation sound. She closed her eyes briefly, savouring the last sounds of the TARDIS, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time she ever heard the beloved sound. Trying to distract herself, she glanced around and did a doubletake at the sight in front of her.
The room was in semi-darkness and didn't seem to have a beginning or an end, only an extensive honeycomb structure of turquoise-coloured cells. Upon further examination, Rose realised that they were quite literally cells, and held a prisoner inside each of them. The turquoise colour came from the liquid that they were suspended in, and through the glass Rose saw that the prisoners were both of humanoid and non-humanoid variety. She briefly wondered how many hundreds of thousands of prisoners were in this place, but her musings were interrupted when she heard footsteps echoing behind her.
She turned around quickly and was surprised to see a Time Lord in heliotrope robes running to her and stopping abruptly in front of her. "You are in a restricted area," he said, sounding more surprised than reproachful. He looked barely older than Rose, physically at least, and she could tell that he was slightly scared despite his bravado.
"Sorry about that," said Rose, trying to put him at ease. "My friend's a rubbish driver. Uh, my name's Rose Tyler. I was ordered to come here," she added, making a face at the last part.
His demeanour changed instantly and he bowed awkwardly. "My lady, my apologies," he said, stumbling on his words a little. "I did not expect you to arrive here instead of the main dome."
"Right yeah," said Rose, slightly taken aback at the bow. "What's your name?" she asked.
His eyes went wide. "Skeltonoquirisuen, my lady," he said at once.
"Okay, first of all, you don't have to call me 'my lady'," said Rose. "And secondly, do you have a shorter version of your name?" She smiled tentatively at the end to put him at ease.
If anything, his eyes went even wider. "N-no, my lady," he stammered. Then he realised his mistake and looked even more terrified. "Sorry, my lady. I-I don't have a shorter name."
Rose raised her hands slightly as if calming down a spooked animal. "It's alright," she said. "Do you mind if I call you Skelton instead?"
He nodded quickly, looking a little relaxed. "No, my lady," he said.
Rose decided not to press the 'my lady' issue when he still looked so flustered. She smiled back. "Well then, Skelton, are you the only one here?" she asked.
He shook his head. "It is just me and Elianazoranumkrys. She is in the dome. One of us has to be in there at all times," he explained quickly.
"Right, lead the way," said Rose.
"Yes, my lady," he said and started walking back the way he had come running from.
Rose shouldered her pack and fell in step beside him. "So, how big is this place?" she asked curiously.
"There are cells covering nearly all of the asteroid, my lady," said Skelton. "It goes all the way around. The only part of the asteroid that does not contain any cells is the dome, though there is a plan for a subterranean expansion if numbers go up."
Rose wondered if all Time Lords sounded like they had swallowed an encyclopedia or if she was just lucky enough to meet the only ones who did. She smiled politely at Skelton's rambling, oddly endeared by the Time Lord, who despite his physical age, reminded Rose of an overeager schoolboy. "Seems like the place is pretty secure," said Rose, interrupting when he paused for breath. "This dome is like a control room, then?"
He nodded. "It holds all our archives and the controls to the entirety of Shada. Our quarters are also in a part of the dome," he said.
They reached the end of the row of turquoise cells and Rose relaxed when the almost translucent double doors swung open automatically when they reached them. The dome lay beyond it and Rose could only stare at the magnificent interior. It was a pure white, round enclosure with purple and heliotrope panels and white coral-like pillars that reminded her of the TARDIS console room. There were spiral silver stairs leading to the floor above which was a balcony surrounding the entire dome. The ceiling itself was transparent, with a magnificent view of Gallifrey and its moons.
"Should I cancel the intruder alert?" Rose heard the voice and looked down to see a Time Lady dressed in green. She looked to be the same age as Skelton, and had lovely light brown skin and striking green eyes. Her face, however, held none of the nervousness that Skelton had.
"This is our new Lady Commander, Elianazoranumkrys," said Skelton.
The Time Lady turned to Rose and raised a delicate eyebrow. "My lady," she bowed stiffly before glaring at Skelton. "Do not address me by my full name."
"Just Rose is fine," said Rose. "And what do I call you?"
"Eliana, my lady," she said, ignoring the invitation to use her name. "Skelton, take our Lady Commander's luggage to her quarters while I give her the necessary information about our progress."
"Eliana, I am technically in charge here," began Skelton indignantly, only to receive a cool look from Eliana.
"The person in charge here is our Lady Commander," she interjected calmly. "Now, you will do as you are told."
Skelton shot her a glare but took Rose's pack from her and went up the spiral staircase and through the only pair of double doors which Rose assumed were her quarters. She turned her attention back to Eliana.
"Well then," said Rose. "Bring me up to speed."
Eliana nodded and beckoned her towards the large computer mainframe. "The SER is at 300. Constant for now, but it may fluctuate. The BAAN is secure with little to no variation. I suggest we begin with the SER first since it's a matter of greater importance," said Eliana and looked at Rose expectantly.
Rose blinked at her in confusion. "What exactly did the Time Lords say I was here for?" she asked.
Eliana got a confused look on her face as well. "They said they were sending an expert when the SER started rising so high," she said.
"Ah," said Rose, smiling a little bitterly as Skelton joined them. "Hate to bring us all down, but I don't think there's anything I can do."
The two Time Lords exchanged confused looks. "What do you mean, my lady?" asked Skelton finally.
"Well, the Time Lords presumably wanted me out of the way which is why they sent me here," said Rose, rolling her eyes.
"You're not an expert?" asked Eliana incredulously.
"I don't even know what SER is," said Rose, shrugging apologetically.
"It's Stasis Energy Reading," said Skelton while Eliana gaped at her. "The prisoners on Shada are kept in suspended animation and these readings catalogue their brain and other vitals."
"And it's at 300?" asked Rose. "What is it normally at?"
"30," answered Eliana, apparently having shaken off her shock.
"10 times as much. That's not good," said Rose, feeling slightly foolish for stating the obvious. "So, you got in touch with the Time Lords on Gallifrey and told them you needed an expert to what? Check what's wrong?"
"Partly," answered Eliana. "The SER levels have only been rising for the Travesties."
"The Travesties?" asked Rose curiously.
"The Travesties are…" Skelton began but Eliana cut him off.
"That information is classified," she said.
"She's our Lady Commander," said Skelton incredulously.
"She doesn't even know what SER is," snapped Eliana. "Sorry, my lady, but we swore an oath to protect these secrets."
"It's alright, I understand," said Rose, giving her a small smile.
"Has it crossed your mind that she has been sent here not for her technical expertise but her knowledge of vortex-influenced beings," said Skelton, glaring at Eliana.
"Hang on, vortex influenced beings?" asked Rose immediately.
Eliana looked at her in surprise. "Do you know about them, my lady?" she asked curiously.
"In a manner of speaking," said Rose, exhaling roughly. "These Travesties are vortex influenced beings?"
"They used to be Time Lords in power," said Skelton after he and Eliana had exchanged a long look. "But they had certain traits that led them to abusing their power. They were deposed by their fellow Time Lords. But it was rumoured that they each created a bloodline so that they could mould a future Time Lord or Lady in their image with those exact traits and be reborn."
"Until recently, it was thought to be a rumour," said Eliana. "But then President Romana discovered one of them. And entity called the Pandora, in the President's own bloodline."
"Pandora was defeated and so Madam President Romana saw fit to seek out every other such bloodline and contained them on Shada," said Skelton.
"How many of them are there?" asked Rose.
"Including Pandora? Five," answered Eliana. "They have a physical form of the Time Lord or Lady whose bloodline they polluted," she added, her voice full of disgust.
"And how are they vortex influenced then?" asked Rose.
"The bloodline traversed the vortex, not the looms," said Skelton. "Each trait only affected that specific Time Lord or Lady when they gazed into the Untempered Schism."
Rose nodded along thoughtfully, knowing that the Untempered Schism was pure vortex that all Time Lords were exposed to at the age of eight. "What traits did each of them have?" asked Rose finally.
"Pandora had ambition," said Eliana. "The other four traits are anger, envy, temptation and pride."
"Sounds like the seven deadly sins," said Rose. "Except, you know, just five."
"I once read that these traits were so powerful that they left their marks all over the universe," said Skelton. "Is that what you mean, my lady?"
"Something like that, yes," said Rose. "From where I come from, Pandora's box was an entity that contained everything that was evil in the universe."
Eliana nodded. "I have read about the Pandorica Alliance which has built a prison to contain the most dangerous beast in the known universe. So you see, these traits flowed through the vortex and left their marks," she said earnestly. "The bloodlines that we managed to trace have been contained but recently their readings have been disturbing. We don't know what's causing it or if there is some danger to this."
Rose fell into thoughtful silence which was interrupted by a loud alarm from the mainframe. Eliana and Skelton rushed to check it and exchanged terrified looks when they saw it. "What is it?" asked Rose.
"The SER just went up for the Travesties," said Eliana slowly. "They are now at 450. Fifteen times what they are supposed to be."
"Could there be some sort of an external interference?" asked Rose thoughtfully.
"Possibly," said Eliana. "I could try raising the shields for them briefly."
"Go ahead," said Rose and Eliana nodded as she entered the sequence in the mainframe.
"Those shields only hold for a short time," interjected Skelton but was cut off by Eliana's exclamation. "SER has fallen back to 300."
"Still too high though," murmured Rose. "Are all the Travesties in the same cell?" she asked.
"No, my lady," answered Skelton. "Why?"
"The SER levels are exactly the same for each of them," said Rose. "Could it be like a...dunno, a hive mind?"
Skelton and Eliana gaped at her in astonishment. Rose stared at them expectantly, trying not to fidget. "We hadn't considered that," said Eliana finally. "It seems so obvious now that you have pointed that out."
Rose nodded neutrally, trying to fight the blush she could feel crawling up the back of her neck. "So, there's some external interference but a hive mind might be trying to control some of the most powerful Time Lords in existence," she summed up, mostly thinking out loud for herself. "Definitely not sent here to be out of the way," she muttered under her breath. She raised her voice. "How long will those shields hold?"
"They've gone down already, my lady," said Eliana, disappointed. "The SER is back at 450. No, it's gone up to 500 now."
"Don't agitate it for now," said Rose, thinking quickly. "Can you build extra defence shields around the Travesties?"
"Yes, my lady," said Eliana at once. "It will take a few days but the least I can do is try and build permanent defences to keep out any external interference."
"Great," said Rose. "We also have to deal with the possible hive mind, especially if the levels are rising."
"Could the Daleks be behind this?" asked Skelton.
"Daleks are not a hive mind," said Eliana at once.
"Not in the strictest sense," countered Skelton immediately.
"Daleks don't have to be doing it themselves," said Rose neutrally. "They have powerful allies that they have gathered by force or coercion and we can't be sure that it isn't one of them instead."
"How do we know for certain?" asked Skelton curiously and Eliana mirrored his look.
"Alright, here's what we do," said Rose, taking her coat off and tossing it on the conference table in the middle of the dome. "While Eliana builds better defences, Skelton, you and I go through the detailed records of each of the Travesties. Everything from who the Time Lords initially were, to the traits they possessed and the new bloodline that they influenced."
"That would take us weeks to get through," said Skelton. "It is a lot of information."
"Good thing there's two of us then," said Rose. When the two Time Lords still looked a little sceptical, she sighed. "Look, maybe the Time Lords were having a laugh or maybe they really did want me to help. Either way, I am here now and I want to help, okay? I may not know all the technical stuff but we have a good working theory for now, so let's just see if we can work it out. And if it helps, I know more about vortex influenced beings than most people."
"How?" asked Eliana curiously.
Rose smiled. "I happen to be one of them," she said to the astonishment of the two Time Lords. "Shall we?"
"Skelton," said Eliana sharply. "Fetch the physical records while I give our Lady Commander access to our mainframe records. It seems we have a lot of work to do."
Rose's days on Shada fell into a pattern after that. There was no strict day and night pattern adhered to, but Rose found that she could work for twenty hours or so before needing an hour or two worth of rest. She and Skelton had set up in the main part of the dome while Eliana had claimed one of the smaller workrooms to work on the defence shields.
Skelton had not been exaggerating when he had said that it would take them weeks to get through all the relevant information. Rose, true to her old habits of a Torchwood agent, had asked Skelton to bring five different whiteboards, one for each of the Travesties, so they could create individual profiles on them. Skelton had apologised profusely before giving her access to create holographic boards that she could write and type on as she wished.
The Pandora profile was done quickly, mostly because it only required bringing Rose up to speed. There were four others to go through, the ones that were still on Shada. They had decided to start with the trait of anger which belonged to a Time Lord named Lord Kragni, who had been one of the most ruthless Presidents that Gallifrey had ever produced. The catalogued incidents of rage during his term of Presidency were enough to make Rose wince. Even Skelton seemed shock at some of the manners of punishment he used on those who dared to oppose him.
The profile contained the entire background on the original Time Lord, and the current bloodline affected by it. Anything else of note also went onto the holographic board. It was hard work, but challenging and Rose found herself quite tired out after every day of work.
Skelton and Eliana were good company, and Rose soon found out that they were both recent graduates of the Time Lord Academy, having been in the last class that had graduated. As the brightest of their lot, they had been granted this lucrative opportunity to monitor Shada. Rose was only a little surprised to know that the Time Lord Academy had closed down. The war had taken over all aspects of Time Lord life on Gallifrey, and Eliana was quick to inform her that the looms had been stopped long ago and been replaced with War Looms.
The concept of looms was fascinating to Rose. The Doctor had once explained how it worked, but she hadn't quite grasped it then. She had assumed that the looms created baby Time Tots or even just adult Time Lords, but Eliana explained carefully that the looms could be calibrated in any way required. The most common practice was to loom them at a stage where they were at the human equivalent of a prepubescent age. Their growth was extremely slow and developed, and they were allowed a glimpse into the Untempered Schism eight years after being loomed. They were raised in specific Houses with their cousins with whom they were loomed, until they were ready to attend the Academy. Admission to the Academy usually depended on the level of intellect rather than physical age, as did graduation.
With the looms having been stopped, there were no more Time Tots on Gallifrey, and Skelton and Eliana had been among the last ones to be loomed and graduated from the Academy. The War Looms, as Skelton explained them, were calibrated to produce adult Time Lords imbued with the qualities of soldiers with little to no emotional depth or intellect beyond what was required of them in combat. The way he spoke about them made Rose suspect that they were being used rather like cattles and sent into combat situations. Only the leaders were proper Time Lords, and Rose saw the grudging respect in Eliana's eyes and the hero worship in Skelton's when they talked about the Doctor being the Lord General, which meant that he was in charge of all the troops, and commanded the Time Lord Lieutenants and Commanders.
Rose had a brief thought of whether she should salute the Doctor the next time she saw him, before realising that she had no idea when she would see him again. Trying to keep track of days and time on Shada was difficult, but Rose estimated that it had been about a month in Earth terms since she had last seen him. Eliana had finished the defence shields on the Travesties and outside interference was totally cut off for them, but the SER would still fluctuate between 350-450.
The only contact from the world outside came in the form of Lieutenant Nixyce who was in charge of transporting prisoners to Shada. The prisoners in question were Time Lords who had suffered through an unstable regeneration and were now volatile. Rose got to see how imprisonment on Shada worked, as Eliana and Skelton worked efficiently to have the Time Lords sedated and prepped for stasis before placing them in the cell and activating it. The sight of it made Rose sick, since those being imprisoned had committed no crime, but were simply being put away for being a danger to themselves and others around them.
Lieutenant Nixyce wasn't the chatty type, but Rose was equally stubborn, and asked questions about Time Lord movements, trying not to be too obvious that it was the Doctor she wanted to know about. Nixyce caught on rather quickly, and would update Rose on the Doctor's fleet every time he came to Shada. From him, Rose learned that the Doctor had led successful attacks on several Dalek fleets, and would make the breach into the rift containing the Dalek base any day now. Rose tried not to worry too much, but couldn't quite help it when she learned that they would lose contact with them once they entered the breach.
Nearly two months after Rose had come to Shada, she and Skelton had finally completed individual profiles on each of the Travesties. Each of them had been more dangerous than the other, and with the SER still rising even without the external interference, the hive mind theory was looking more and more obvious. It was an ordinary day of Lieutenant Nixyce's visit when they had their first breakthrough.
"I still can't find anything to connect them," muttered Rose in frustration.
Skelton, who was the only one in the dome since Nixyce and Eliana were unloading the prisoners, shot her an apologetic look. "We have finished the individual profiles on them but we cannot find a uniting factor," he said. "Perhaps, it is a physiological connection."
"Checked that too," said Rose, rubbing her eyes in frustration. She spotted the silver charm that Skelton always wore on his wrist tied with black thread. "Skelton, do you mind me asking what that is?" she asked.
Skelton followed her gaze and chuckled lightly when he saw what she was looking at. "It's nothing, my lady," he said, looking a little embarrassed. When Rose gave him an interested look, he smiled. "I received this in my first year of the Academy," he admitted softly, showing her the circular Gallifreyan on the miniscule silver charm. "For excellence in my first project I ever submitted. We would be awarded these for every outstanding grade we received. Eliana says I am too sentimental but I could never bring myself to part with this one. I know it sounds silly," he said hastily.
Rose smiled gently at him. "It sounds wonderful," she said, feeling a pang in her heart. She was so very prepared to dislike Time Lords as a whole, but spending time with Eliana and Skelton reminded her how very different the Time Lords were. Her two young charges had no malice in them, and despite the occasional indifference, they were both quite wonderful. They respected her often-outlandish ways of doing things, and were patient when they had to explain something to her. "Hold on to it, Skelton," she said, sadness overwhelming her for a different reason this time. All these people she was getting close to would be dead one day. Possibly at the Doctor's hand, or maybe even hers. She didn't allow herself to think of it often but it became harder to ignore sometimes.
"Thank you, my lady," said Skelton with a sincere smile. His smile turned a bit fixed as Nixyce and Eliana entered the dome. "Lieutenant," he greeted with a nod.
"Everything alright?" asked Rose.
"Yes, the prisoners have been settled in," said Eliana.
"Good," said Rose. "May we offer you some refreshment before you have to leave, Lieutenant?"
"No, thank you, my lady," said Nixyce with a polite shake of his head. "There is still an ongoing battle that I am expected to return to." At Rose's look of curiosity, he shook his head. "Just a minor skirmish, my lady. Nothing to do with the Lord General's work."
Rose nodded back, feeling a little disappointed. "Very well then, Lieutenant," she said. "How is the SER, Eliana?"
"Rising again, my lady," said Eliana in frustration.
Rose's brow furrowed as she looked between the terminal and Lieutenant Nixyce who was affixing his armour with Skelton's help. "When was the last time there was a prisoner transfer?" asked Rose.
Nixyce looked at her in surprise. "Eight days ago," he said. "Why?"
Rose turned to Eliana. "And the last major spike?"
Eliana checked the results and her eyebrows shot up. "Eight days ago," she said.
"The transfer of new prisoners," realised Skelton, his eyes going wide. "Do you think they are connected, my lady?"
"Check the connection between the days of transfer and the SER spikes," ordered Rose to Eliana, who nodded at once. "Lieutenant, may I get a full report on the injuries and damage sustained by every prisoner that has been transferred to Shada?"
Lieutenant Nixyce looked a little confused. "You would have to contact the medical unit on Gallifrey for that, my lady," he said. "I am merely in charge of transfer."
"Skelton, get on that," ordered Rose.
"Right away, my lady," said Skelton, activating the comm. link to Gallifrey.
Eliana gave an exclamation of triumph. "The days line up almost too easily, my lady," she said. "There has to be a connection between the two."
"With the external interference cut off, maybe it's the prisoners who are affecting the Travesties somehow. Making them more active than they are supposed to be," said Rose thoughtfully. "Skelton?"
"They are sending us the reports now, my lady," said Skelton.
The theory proved successful several days later when Rose, Skelton and Eliana had gone through the medical report on each prisoner and discovered the common link. "Artron energy," murmured Rose in wonder. "So obvious, now that I think about it."
"The unstable regenerations in the prisoners were due to the excess of Artron energy and the Travesties are feeding off that excess energy which is making the SER rise," said Skelton, shaking his head in awe.
"Essentially, yes," said Eliana. "The trouble is, there are far too many prisoners who are getting hit with this excess Artron energy. I doubt any Dalek technology could produce that much Artron energy."
"What if it isn't Dalek in nature?" said Rose.
"One of their allies like you thought initially, my lady?" asked Skelton.
"Or, Time Lord," Rose pointed out. "Doesn't have to be used against them directly to have an effect."
Skelton and Eliana could not deny the logic behind it and looked at Rose with clear question in their eyes about what their next step should be. Rose sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Skelton, contact Gallifrey and get me Cardinal Braxiatel on the line," she said. "I'll take the call in my quarters."
"Yes, my lady," said Skelton.
Rose's quarters were quite bare and utilitarian and she only ever used the bed for sleeping and the loo when she needed. Otherwise the room remained empty. This time, however, she sat at her desk and waited for Skelton to connect the call.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Rose?" Braxiatel's booming voice came over the comm. link and an involuntary smile graced her face.
"Hello, Braxiatel," she said. "I was hoping you had some answers."
"What a coincidence, I was hoping the same from you," he said.
"What do you want to know?" asked Rose.
"What have you discovered?" asked Braxiatel. "Are the Travesties becoming a problem?"
"Possibly," answered Rose. "The Stasis Energy Readings are rising every time there is a prisoner transfer. We had initially thought that they were being affected by an external hive mind but it seems as if the prisoners are the link."
There was a long pause on the other end. "Are you certain?" he asked finally.
"Yes," said Rose. "Once we made that connection, we examined the medical reports of the prisoners and discovered that the common link is excess Artron energy. The Travesties might be feeding off it."
"Ah," said Braxiatel.
"Ah?" asked Rose pointedly. "Should I assume that it's because you know what's causing it?"
"Yes," said Braxiatel. "It is one of the older temporal weapons that we recently unearthed from the vaults. Very effective to destroy Daleks, but it appears it is equally detrimental to those wielding it."
"Right," said Rose. "Well, get them to stop using it then."
"Did you miss the part where I said it was very effective in destroying Daleks?" he asked.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Get rid of the Travesties then," she said. "I don't get why they are alive in the first place."
"That would be inadvisable," said Braxiatel. "If the others are anything like the Pandora entity, they would be very, very difficult to kill. They are less dangerous alive than dead, trust me."
"Well, one of them has to go," said Rose. "If the Travesties become powerful enough to break out of confinement, I don't have to explain to you what would happen. I have been through the files with a fine toothcomb, Braxiatel, and I know I don't like what I see."
Braxiatel sighed. "Very well," he said. "I shall let Coordinator Narvin know that we ought to recall the weapons. Thank you for all your work, Rose."
"Can I ask why you sent me to do it?" asked Rose. "Surely there are people more qualified than me around."
"More qualified, yes," said Braxiatel. "But neither of them made the connections that you did."
"That's why you sent me here? To connect the dots?" asked Rose.
"Time Lords are good at many things, Rose, but anything other than linear thinking is outside their forte. The two Time Lords in your charge are some of the smartest ones to leave the Academy, yet it was you who made the connection," he said.
Rose blushed a little, glad that he couldn't see her. "So, now what? My work here is done?" she asked.
"Not yet," said Braxiatel. "You have to understand, Rose, that Shada is the largest reserve of the best and the worst weapons that the Time Lords have ever produced."
"Brilliant but unstable Time Lords hellbent on conquering the universe, I know," said Rose. "You want me to defend Shada? With two young Time Lords who have never held a weapon in their lives?"
"I want you to hold Shada down by making sure that it stays stable until the Doctor returns," said Braxiatel.
"And when will that be?" asked Rose.
"The Doctor has recently breached the rift and is heading towards the Dalek base. Once that base is destroyed, we would have dealt an enormous blow to the Dalek forces," said Braxiatel. "We would be moving on the offensive then, Rose, and if things go our way, these moments would go down in history as the last days of the war."
He turned the call off then and Rose stared unblinkingly at her desk for a long moment. If what Braxiatel had said was true, then the Doctor's success would determine the end of this war.
The trouble was, she knew that the end wasn't going to be what Braxiatel was hoping for.
A/N End of the chapter. Thanks for reading.
Despite what Braxiatel thinks, this is far from the end. The next chapter will be up next Saturday and we will get the Doctor's side of things.
See you then!