Chapter 3 – Back From The Dead
The journey to UNIT Headquarters seemed much longer than any of the occupants of the car had remembered. Martha and Jack had only been there a few of times on official business. For Clara this would be her second visit, although the last time she had arrived in the TARDIS. That was the day that she met two of The Doctor's previous incarnations and helped save the planet from a Zygon invasion. On the same day she had witnessed the end of the Last Great Time War, helping the three Doctors seal Gallifrey away. The brunette rested her head on the window and stared vacantly into the sky, it had only been a few weeks since that day but it felt like a lifetime ago.
"Penny for your thoughts", Martha said to Clara, breaking the silence.
"Sorry I was miles away", the school teacher wrung her hands together and looked at the floor of the car, "did The Doctor ever tell you about his home planet and the Time War?"
"Yeah he said that it had been destroyed and he was the last of his kind", Jack replied, "well almost, if you count The Master but even he's gone now".
Clara slowly shook her head, "See that's what he thought as well", she began, "except we found out that it only looked like it had been destroyed. It's still out there somewhere but sealed away in a pocket dimension".
"So there's more Time Lords out there?" Martha asked in hope.
"Yes and no", Clara stated, "they're stuck outside the Universe, that's what the war on Trenzalore was all about. The Time Lords could've returned if The Doctor said his true name".
"But everyone else wanted to prevent that", Jack finished the brunettes sentence, "poor Doc", he shook his head. "I remember when I first met him, he had big ears, a leather jacket and talked with a Northern accent", he smiled, "he carried so much pain from the Time War and he never realised that Gallifrey was still out there somewhere".
"Mine was the same", Martha joined in, "on the surface he was happy but underneath there was so much anger and regret".
"I met that one", Clara said, "pinstripe suit, spiky hair, really skinny", Martha nodded and laughed at the description, "he never got to return home, not long after that day we ended up on Trenzalore and well", she sighed, "you know the rest".
The car descended back into silence again but fortunately it wasn't too long before they reached central London. They crossed over Tower Bridge and into the Tower of London itself. The trio were ushered out of the car and down into the restricted area that made up UNIT Headquarters. Inside the building hundreds of military personnel were frantically rushing around, checking their screens on the progress of the invading fleet. They didn't get long to settle as soon Osgood dashed up and stopped beside them, "Excellent you're here", she began, "it's chaos, people are running around everywhere, Kate's phone won't stop ringing, the fleet's getting closer-"
"Osgood", Martha placed her hands on the woman's arms, "just breathe, don't forget the inhaler I prescribed". Osgood nodded and pulled out the small blue device and took a quick puff, "Now where's Kate?"
"Conference room", Osgood replied, "follow me". The group were lead down a series of bland looking corridors until they arrived at a large steel door. Osgood swiped her security pass and the doors swung open. Inside Kate Stewart was addressing a couple of people on a video wall whilst a couple of senior UNIT officials watched on.
"Don't worry I've got my best people on the job", Kate said before noticing the new arrivals, "ah here they are now, allow me to introduce Clara Oswald and Doctor Martha Jones", the two women waived, "and I assume you remember Captain Jack Harkness".
"I would hope so", Jack smiled, "Mr Prime Minister, Mr President", he nodded.
"That's the British Prime Minister and the US President", Clara whispered to Martha.
"When you work for UNIT, you get used to it", Martha shrugged.
"Can you be honest with us Kate", the President began, "how serious is this situation?"
Kate took a few moments to think of the appropriate answer but quickly decided that honesty was the best policy, "Very", she replied, "all UNIT bases have been mobilised but we haven't seen an invasion fleet this size, well ever". She paused for a couple of moments before continuing, "I honestly don't know if our forces will be enough".
That statement heralded a grim silence as the two world leaders both leaned back in their chairs. "The UN have given us access to the codes", the Prime Minister eventually replied, "we have been authorised to use maximum force to repel this threat".
"Codes?" Clara asked in confusion, "you mean nuclear launch codes?" The Prime Minister nodded solemnly, "But we can't, that could cause more damage than the Armada".
"I'm well aware of that Miss Oswald", the Prime Minister replied, "but this is a desperate situation. I would like to have all options available to me".
"This isn't what The Doctor would do", Clara said defiantly, "he held off this fleet with just himself and some soldiers. He didn't need to use nukes to fight off a few spaceships".
"Yes but this Doctor fellow isn't here", the President replied and Clara's face instantly fell, "I'm sorry but this is the decision of the Security Council and UNIT has their full backing". The brunette retreated slightly but still didn't look happy with the situation, "If there's nothing else, good luck everyone", with that, the video conference was terminated.
"Don't worry Clara, you said exactly what we were thinking", Martha reassured the younger woman. Jack nodded in agreement, remembering the time that Davros and the Daleks tried to destroy the Universe with a Reality Bomb. The Doctor wasn't happy with their threats to destroy the world just to stop the creator of the Daleks.
"But the Prime Minister is correct", Kate added, "we have to be prepared to defend ourselves".
Clara snorted, "It appears you've already forgotten that incident in the Black Archive. Two months, is that all it takes you for to forget and to declare nuclear war on someone".
Before Kate could respond an alarm began to sound throughout the base. Osgood quickly tapped something into the computer, bringing up a map of the Earth, "The ships have arrived in orbit", she announced, "and we've got reports of Daleks and Sontarans in the centre of London".
"I still don't understand how they got here", Clara gently nudged Osgood aside, "the stuff on Trenzalore happened centuries into the future". She pushed aside one of the UNIT personnel that was sitting behind a computer and began typing, "Something must be drawing them to this location".
"What are you looking for?" Kate asked.
"I'm not sure", the brunette shook her head, "something that shouldn't be there". The computer began to buzz, "Ah, found something, there's an energy disturbance coming from Trafalgar Square".
"Couldn't that be from any of the aliens?" Martha frowned at the map, Clara was right the centre of London was a hotspot for something.
Osgood took over from Clara at the computer, "It doesn't match any known frequencies of Dalek, Cyberman or any other alien that's meant to be in the Armada". She pushed her glasses up her nose and continued typing, "There's a massive amount of temporal energy coming from the area and its acting like a homing beacon".
"Then we need to shut it off", Jack said firmly, "at least we can prevent anyone else from showing up".
"Do it", Kate nodded, "but be careful". The trio quickly rushed out of the room and in the direction of the courtyard. Jack and Martha grabbed a weapon but Clara politely refused, she hadn't fired a weapon before and now probably wasn't the best time to start learning.
"These have been specially designed to work against Daleks", Jack began, "but they've never been tested before so there's a very real chance they won't work". Martha's blaster was small and could be held in one hand whilst Jack's was a little bigger. He slung it around his body using the attached strap and quickly found a car for them to complete the journey into Central London
The head of Torchwood jumped into the driver's seat with Clara riding shotgun in the front. Martha sat in the back, with Jack's weapon taking up the rest of the back seat. It didn't take them long to notice the tell tale signs of an ongoing battle. People were running towards them, screaming in absolute terror. Overhead they could see a number of Daleks targeting innocent civilians. They discharged their weapons, killing indiscriminately as people tried to flee. Martha wound the window of the car down and fired off a few shots of her own. The weapons worked better than expected and soon three Daleks had been destroyed but her actions were beginning to draw their attention, "I think they've spotted us", she cried.
"You think", Jack replied as he dodged some laser fire exploded in front of their vehicle. He swerved violently a couple of times, trying desperately to shake off the Dalek that was following them. He clipped a stationery car, knocking off the door mirror but that barely slowed their progress, "Damn it, Clara take the wheel", he said to the brunette in the passenger seat.
"But I haven't even passed my test", she cried.
"Now's a good time to learn", Jack pointed the car in the straight ahead position and quickly moved into the back seat.
"I picked the worst day to wear a skirt", Clara muttered as she nervously shuffled over the gear stick. She grabbed the wheel and tried her best to keep the vehicle under control. Unfortunately she had only taken a few lessons and she was veering all over the road, "Sorry about this", she called out.
"Just keep going", Martha replied as she fired her weapon towards the Daleks, "we're nearly at the Square".
Clara took a couple of deep breathes, "Alright I can do this", she chanted like a mantra. Suddenly she came upon a row of stationary cars, forcing her to swerve into the other lane. A bus coming the other way forced her to take to the pavement, scattering retreating pedestrians, "I don't think I can do this", she cried.
The car bounced back into the road and the jerking motion caused Clara to lose control. She clipped a metal fence, sending the car spinning off the pavement and back into the road. The car rammed into the side of another car and the airbags deployed with a loud bang and a blinding flash. The occupants of the UNIT car blacked out temporarily but they were slowly coming to their senses when someone pulled the door open, "Quickly, you need to get out of here", a female voice called out.
It took Clara a few moments to recognise the voice and her dazed state didn't help but suddenly it came to her, "It's you, from earlier on", she muttered, recognising her as the woman from The Doctor's memorial service. The woman was tucking something into the pocket of her jacket but Clara couldn't see what it was, "What about the Daleks that were behind us?"
The raven hair woman nodded, "Taken care of and you three will be very much dead if you don't hurry up", she reached inside and pulled them all out. Once they were all out, she pointed towards a side alley, "Quickly, try to keep up", she instructed.
"Just who put you in charge", Jack wiped some blood off his nose, he might be immortal but he still bled like everyone else.
"I did", the woman replied confidently and jogged across the road, the sound of her boots echoed off the concrete ground with each step.
Clara rolled her neck a couple of times, trying to loosen it up a little bit. Once the cobwebs had been cleared, she looked at the woman again, "You've changed your clothes", she commented.
The woman spun around quickly on her heels and the sides of her purple velvet jacket spun with her. The main part of the jacket was a light purple colour with some darker patches around the cuffs and collar. Clara occasionally caught sight of the purple and white lining of the jacket when the woman moved. Underneath the coat she wore a light blue blouse with a small black waistcoat that supported her chest. The woman wore a loose fitting pair of black trousers team with a pair of brown boots and completing her outfit was a pair of black fingerless gloves, "Very observant", she replied shortly, "are you done commenting on my choice of clothes or did you want to reach your destination". She turned back around and continued to walk briskly down the alley.
"How do you know where we're going?" Martha shouted, "and just who the hell are you?"
"You'll find out in a couple of minutes", she replied coyly as they reached the end of the alley. The group could see Nelson's Column looming overhead, signifying that they had reached Trafalgar Square. The woman turned around to address the group, "Now you three wait here, you're my insurance policy", she gave them a small smile, "and if I say run, run", she added and marched out into the Square.
"She's going to get herself killed", Jack was about to follow after her.
"Stay where you are Captain", the woman called out, "I need to concentrate and looking at you makes me feel extremely unwell".
Clara recoiled slightly at the comment, "Well that's a little rude", she stated as the dark haired woman strolled towards Nelson's Column.
Jack thought was stunned, only one other person had said that to him before, "No, it can't be", he mumbled.
"Can't be who?" Martha asked in confusion.
Meanwhile the woman had walked confidently into the middle of Trafalgar Square where some Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Ice Warriors and Autons waited for her. They were inspecting something at the base of Nelson's Column, "I see you found the old girl then", the woman commented. The sound of several weapons charging up could be heard but the woman didn't flinch, "I really should get that chameleon circuit fixed", she shook her head.
The crowd of aliens slowly parted, revealing a dark blue Police Box, "That's the TARDIS", Martha gasped, "I thought you said it went back to Trenzalore".
"It did", Clara replied, "at least I thought it did".
Back in the Square, the alien invaders were slowly approaching the woman, "Who are you", the Dalek screeched, "indentify".
"Don't you know who I am", the woman chuckled and touched her face, "I know I look different but that never stopped you from recognising me before". She paced a couple of times, "In a moment I'm about to say four words that will make you quake in your boots", she looked at the assembled aliens, "those of you that have boots that is".
"Cease your prattling", the Sontaran stated, "or you shall be obliterated".
"No still nothing", the woman sighed, "oh well, I guess I'll have to tell you". She looked at the trio in the alley and winked before turning back to the alien invader. She flashed her brightest smile, cleared her throat and stated, "Hello, I'm The Doctor".
TO BE CONTINUED