Chapter Eight

Khysssh Shhrysshk lay brooding in a hollow in the forest. He was finishing off the sheep that he had caught earlier, hoping a full stomach might improve his mood. It didn't. He was stuck on this miserable rock with no ship, no communications and no hope of rescue. On his home world he would be disgraced and his former life would now be over.

He didn't even have a cave to sleep in! The local terrain was flat and wet. He was having to dig his own den with his bare claws. At least he had found a steep bank in the forest that he could dig into, which was now an overhang that he could snuggle into.

That Tezzarian bitch had shot out his hyperdrive with a last, lucky shot as her ship went into catastrophic failure and exploded, just after her escape pod jettisoned and headed for the nearest habitable planet.

His ship had limped along after her, trying to intercept her before she made landfall. A week later, and he had caught up, only to have her luck take her into the atmosphere of this miserable rock before he could capture the pod.

The entry into the atmosphere had been the last straw for his ship and it fell apart as it hit the water. At least the water had cushioned the impact, the damaged landing thrusters had only managed to slow him down, not stop him completely.

He'd shown her in the end though. Stamped the life out of her in the time honoured fashion. Only those pesky indigenous life forms had shown up before he could eat her. Not knowing their weapons capabilities, he had followed the protocol for possible hostile incursion and retreated to find cover.

As it turned out the local life forms were quite puny and posed no threat to him. And food was plentiful and easy to catch. Actually, thinking about it, once he'd got his den dug out, he could be quite comfortable here. His mood started to improve as he belched and incinerated a bush.

The Doctor heard a knock on the adjoining door to Rose's room and walked over to open the door. He unsuccessfully stifled a laugh as he saw Rose standing before him.

"What?" she said laughing herself. "What?" She was wearing a white linen nightdress that covered her completely from her chin to her toes, with no hint of any womanly curves underneath it.

"It looks like a giant pillow case," he said laughing.

"I know," she agreed as she walked over to the bed. "Methanwy had laid it out for me." The Doctor came over and sat on the comfy armchair by her bed. She climbed in and pulled the covers over her.

"So, we got an invite to the King's court tomorrow mornin' then," she said, recapping the events of the day.

"Yeah. That story Cavall told me about their hunting trip made him realise that I knew about his sword and where it came from."

"About that sword," she said. "If its alien tech, isn't it affectin' the time line? Y'know, givin' Arthur an unfair advantage?"

"Technically, yes it is. But I think it was meant to be here, if the legend is to be believed." Rose snuggled down under the covers, resting her head on the pillows. "And if there's a Craigon on the loose, Arthur's kingdom is in serious trouble." He put his feet up on the bed and made himself comfortable.

She always felt a bit guilty about having to sleep while he stayed awake. They had gotten into a little routine where they would chat away about things until Rose fell asleep, safe in the knowledge that her Doctor was watching over her.

"So, tell me about the Tezzar and the Craigon, and that incredible sword," she said sleepily.

He started to tell her what he knew of the history of the two races, of their twin planets and very different resources. He told of jealousy, war and revenge. Attempts at negotiation and diplomacy, treachery and deceit. It sounded like a Shakespearian play. His voice started to go echoey and distant as she drifted off to sleep.

He sat there in the darkness, smiling, watching her sleep. He could see her eyes moving under her lids, hear her breath entering and leaving her body, and see the rise and fall of the bed clothes. He sat like this for a long time, just watching, and waiting, waiting for his love... ly friend to wake up.


Rose slowly fluttered her eyes open. The morning light was filtering through the curtains behind her, filling the room with a warm twilight.

The Doctor was still in his chair, feet still on the bed, grinning at her over a mug of tea.

"Mornin'," she said sleepily, yawning and stretching her arms above her head.

"Morning," he echoed, picking up her mug off the bed side table and handing it to her. She took a sip and gave an 'ahhhh'. She noticed that he was still grinning at her.

"What?" she laughed, almost a replay of the night before.

"Just waiting for you to notice and work it out," he said mysteriously.

"Oh come on, that's not fair. I've only just woken up." She took another sip of her tea. "Hang on, where'd ya get the mugs from? Yesterday we were drinkin' from metal goblets and tankards," she observed.

"Now you're gettin' it," he beamed at her.

"Come to think of it, we didn't have any hot drinks yesterday."

"And why do you think that is?" he asked her, acting like a school teacher.

"No electric kettles," she said looking him in the eye. A smile broke into a broad grin. She was teasing him; she couldn't resist it when he started lecturing her. She had another sip of her tea and saw his face when she did.

"It's the tea!" she declared. "It comes from India, or China. This lot here haven't been there yet, have they?"

He was so proud of his Rose Tyler. "No they haven't. Not for another 1,000 years," he told her.

"How do they cope?" she laughed.

She finished her mug and thought about the tea. "So where did this come from then?"

"Oh I know this little tea shop next door," he told her with a waggle of eyebrows. He stood up and held out his hand. Rose threw the covers back and climbed out of bed. She trotted barefoot across the rug behind him and they went through to his room.

There, behind the door to the hallway, stood the TARDIS. Rose ran up to her and stroked her wooden exterior.

"Hello old girl. Watcha doin' in here?"

"It was 04:16 this morning; you were in deep R.E.M sleep so I popped out to relocate her here. And I fancied a cup of tea," he told her with a grin. "So let's get dressed for running, and then we can go and get breakfast. And guess what, its bacon 'n' eggs."

The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS wearing his brown pinstriped suit, blue shirt with swirly tie and brown coat. Rose was wearing a pale blue zip-up hoodie, black trousers and boots and a black jacket. They smoothed their lapels, pulled their sleeves, looked at each other and grinned. Hand-in-hand they set off for the dining hall.

In the hall, the tables had been put back as they were for luncheon the previous day. As guests entered the hall they were asked for their choice of breakfast, porridge oats or bacon and eggs. Rose and the Doctor had the bacon and eggs and took a seat at the table.

Some people had already ordered and were eating their breakfasts. The Doctor and Rose had people complimenting them on the previous evening's entertainment, especially the bit with the dog.

"It wasn't meant to be enterta... Oh never mind. You're welcome," he said with a smile.

Patrice and some of the other knights entered the dining hall for breakfast before the court session.

"Morning Pat," the Doctor called to him. "Care to join us?"

He turned to look at Rose and the smile dropped off his face. She was looking puzzled.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"I just heard you speakin' normal English, not the Shakespeare stuff," she told him.

"Ah, yes. Did I forget to mention that while you were sleeping, I tinkered with the translation matrix and fine tuned it? The TARDIS was getting a bit confused translating English into English."

"It must have just slipped your mind," she said rolling her eyes and smiling. "You and your tinkerin'. I bet if you were an Earth lad, you'd wear a baseball cap and have a white Ford Fiesta with jacked up suspension and a sound system that rattled the tinted windows." She gave him that teasing smile.

"Would not!" he said indignantly.

"Would too," she laughed. "Just admit it; you're a chav at heart."

Before he could deny it, Patrice, Dinadan, Gareth, Kay, Agravain and Gawain joined them and they all breakfasted together. The knights were intrigued by the Doctor's ability to talk with animals; it would be a very useful skill to have out in the wild.

The Doctor sadly informed them that it was a gift, from being Gallifreyan (that small island in the Aegean Sea). They had also expressed interest about the story he had told about the dragon and the King's sword.

As trusted knights, they had been told about the events that morning, but it seemed the Doctor knew more about them than anyone.

"Patience gentlemen, everything will be explained in court," he told them.

"Speaking of which, we had better be going," Gawain said.

Arthur and his knights filed into the chamber, taking seats around the table. The Doctor and Rose followed them in when a guard at the door challenged Rose.

"I'm sorry m'lady, when court is in session, women are not allowed in," he told her. Rose was gob smacked and fuming. 'How dare he', she thought to herself. The Doctor turned and was about to intervene, and then he saw the look in her eyes. She had that 'Jackie Tyler' look, the look she has just before she strikes. He stepped back and raised an eyebrow at Arthur, grinning. He folded his arms; this was going to be good.

Rose slowly approached the guard until they were nose to nose.

"And your name is?" she asked in a low, husky voice.

The poor lad. He had been brought up properly by his parents. You respect your betters. Always say please and thank you and you never argue with a lady. The Celtic warrior maidens were another matter; they were downright vicious and fought as well as any man.

Ladies were supposed to know the rules and follow them without question. This lady, dressed as a man, did the exact opposite and he didn't know what to do.

The guard cleared his throat and looked at his King for guidance. Arthur sat with his fingers steepled, a hint of a smile on his lips. Seeing no help there, he looked back at Rose and gulped.

"A... Adam m'lady," he said looking into her fiery brown eyes.

"Well Adam. I take it you were not present in the dinin' hall yesterday evenin' when we told our stories of our adventures. The true stories of how we beat the odds against all sorts of bad guys."

He shook his head. "No m'lady, I was on duty on the battlements."

"Well Adam," she said again. "You would have learnt that I may be a woman, but I am no m'lady. I am Rose," she poked his chest. "Marion," poke in the chest. "Tyler," poke in the chest. "Companion of the Doctor. An extraordinary woman who has courage and compassion in equal measure. Who decided to take the hand of a Lord of Gallifrey and run through all of time and space."

She looked over to Arthur. "Me and the Doctor are a team. We look out for each other, we watch each others backs. And," she looked back at Adam. "If you try and stop me from looking out for him, or from watchin' his back, you may never be able to have children," she growled at him. "Do I make myself clear?"

A chuckle emanated from the direction of the King. "Lady Ro... Sorry, Rose, please join us at the table. I wish half of my guards had the bal..., the spirit you have just shown." He was now laughing, and Rose smiled as she joined the Doctor. She wished she had a camera, because the look of pride on his face was a picture.

Arthur called the court to session as everyone sat at the round table.

"I think introductions are in order before we start. Some of you have already met our guest's, Doctor and Rose," he started. "Around the table to my right we have Gareth, Kay, Agravain, King Mark of Cornwall, Gawain, Gaheris, Bedivere, Tristran, Dinadan, Patrise, Mador, and Galahad." Each knight nodded in turn as they were introduced by their King.

"Now, let us get down to the business at hand. We are all aware of the events that occurred a few months ago, the Doctor however, seems to have a greater understanding of what is behind it all than we do," Arthur told the assembly.

Adam, the guard entered the chamber and walked around the edge of the room to speak with Arthur, giving a hesitant sideways glance at Rose as he went.

He whispered into Arthur's ear and then left the chamber, giving Rose another sideways glance as he went. Rose had a grin on her face.

"Doctor, there is a man outside who claims to know you. He says his name is Lancelot," the King told him.

The Doctor looked at Rose and grinned. "Lance is here. I'd forgotten to invite him," he said. "Your Highness, although this man is not from Gallifrey, he has travelled extensively and has a great deal of knowledge and experience that this court would find invaluable."

Arthur called out. "Allow Lancelot to enter please."

The time agent entered the chamber, bowed to Arthur and sat where Arthur had gestured to an empty seat. "Thank you sire, I offer my allegiance to you and your court. My skills are at your service," Lance declared.

"Thank you Lancelot, we shall speak of this later. For now though, the Doctor was about to enlighten us about the events we observed a few months ago." Arthur nodded towards the Doctor for him to begin.

The Doctor stood up and leaned on the table. "Right, where to begin?" he said to himself. "King Arthur, do you have a mystical advisor? Myrddin or Merlin?"

"No! Should I have?" Arthur asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," the Doctor said. "Maybe it's me. I am known by quite a few different names. Anyhoo, back to the point. What you are about to hear will sound unbelievable to you, but it is all true," he began.

"The Tezzar and the Craigon live on twin planets, worlds that orbit one of the stars that you see in the night sky." There were mutterings of disbelief from the knights. The Doctor continued and told them the story he had told Rose last night.

"How can this be?" Arthur asked.

"The universe is larger and stranger than you can ever imagine. That morning, what you saw were two alien vessels, ships that fly between the stars, crashing into the lake."

"The Craigon are intelligent and technologically advanced, although the one that crashed in the lake may not have been able to salvage any of that technology. He'll have armour plated scales as tough as Kevlar, there are no weapons you possess that can harm him, save one, the King's sword. But then you've got to get close enough to use it. Their stomachs have an extra compartment that produces methane and can be belched and ignited."

"The lady of the lake was a Tezzarian warrior named Gallach Driell. I believe her ship had been damaged by the Craigon and it may have been an escape pod that fell into the lake. In her concussed state, she would have been no match for the Craigon."

"That morning you saw an example of the fire belching, and the white light surrounding Galach Driell was a Tezzarian energy shield that protected her from the fire. Unfortunately it did not protect her from the blunt trauma of being stamped on."

The Doctor gave Arthur a solemn look. "Cavall told me that you built a simple raft and set it adrift on the lake where you ignited it with a flaming arrow. That was a fitting tribute to a warrior."

"The problem you now have, that King Mark has, and that all the other kingdoms in Britain have, is that you have a superior alien being, with no natural predators and no one who can stop it from doing exactly what it wants to."

"Are we doomed then Doctor?" King Mark asked.

The Doctor smiled, looked at Rose and gave her a wink. "Not while I'm here you're not. First things first, Arthur can I examine that sword of yours?" He was in mile-a-minute mode and all propensity was out the window.

The other knights were about to express their outrage about addressing the King in such a manner, when Arthur smiled, stood and unfastened the belt and placed Excalibur on the table. The Doctor took out his glasses and his sonic screwdriver and adjusted the settings.

"Doctor, I think this might help," Lancelot said as he put a book on the table and slid it towards him.

The Doctor smiled at him. "I don't need to read your notes on the sword, I need to scan it."

Lancelot rolled his eyes. "Just open the damn book will you."

The Doctor picked up the book and opened it. There inside the book was a touch screen scanning device. He looked at the time agent and grinned.

"Nice camouflage," he said. He activated the screen and flicked through the history. "Ooh, someone's been busy." He found bio-scans of his two hearts and Rose's 21st century healthy body; his sonic screw-driver and Rose's underwear made of modern materials. 'A bit naughty but thorough' the Doctor thought to himself.

He found the scan of the sword. It was made of an alien composite alloy which was light and incredibly strong. The readout gave all the technical and metallurgic details. He put down the scanner and picked up the scabbard and drew out the sword. It looked like a double edged broadsword of exceptional quality.

"Oh this is magnificent," he whispered. The blade was a perfect mirror finish even down to the molecular level. "They are known as the blades with no edge."

"What? You mean it's blunt?" Rose asked slightly confused.

The Doctor gave a single laugh. "No Rose, just the opposite. It is so sharp that the edge is only a few atoms across, you can't see it, and it never blunts." He swung the sword around feeling its weight.

"If only you'd had that when you fought the Sycorax," Rose said.

"I'd have been even more magnificent than I was," he said with a grin and a wink. "You found this stuck in a boulder?" He directed the question at Arthur.

Arthur nodded. "Yes and it came out as easily as drawing it from the scabbard."

"Can I demonstrate its power?" the Doctor asked.

Arthur nodded and the Doctor walked over to a 4 foot tall, metal candlestick standing on the floor. He held the sword above his head and brought it down vertically, slicing the candlestick in two.

A few of the knights had seen the sword in action against the Saxons in a skirmish, the others gasped in amazement. The Doctor returned the sword to the scabbard and placed it on the table.

"That will be a last resort," he said pointing to the sword. "I need to talk to the Craigon and see if we can come to some sort of... agreement."

"He'll probably be following standard operating procedures for stranding in a possible hostile environment," Lancelot said.

"Concealment, surveillance and reconnaissance," the Doctor continued.

"Recover any resources you can from your ship and then destroy it to prevent it falling into hostile hands," Lancelot said.

"Ingratiate or intimidate the local population to establish a stronghold," the Doctor finished. He looked around the room and asked. "Has anyone heard any rumours from travellers about explosions, waterspouts, raining fish, missing livestock, missing people, anything weird?"

"That's incredible," Agravain said. "A merchant travelling along the south road a couple of months ago, told me of a waterspout that rained fish in the Black Wood Lake."

"So, he's destroyed his ship and he's either called for a taxi or he's here to stay." Lancelot concluded.

Galahad spoke up. "We have been investigating reports from local serfs of missing animals from their smallholdings. It's as if they disappeared into thin air."

"Or were lifted into thin air. Can you show me on a map where these disappearances happened Galahad?" The Doctor looked at Rose. "Using geographical profiling, I should be able to narrow down the location of its den. So, you ready for a bit of exploring Rose?" the Doctor asked.

She gave him her enthusiastic grin. "Always!" she replied as she stood up.

"Doctor, surely you don't expect to do this on your own?" Arthur asked him.

"It wouldn't be the first time, and it probably won't be the last," Rose replied for him, reaching out and holding his hand. They looked at each other and smiled.

"This is my kingdom, they are my subjects, this is my problem," The King announced. "I will ride out with my knights to find this beast. Would you and Rose be so kind as to accompany me?"

The Doctor bowed low. "It would be an honour to ride with the King of the Britons."