Child of Earth

By Lumendea

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Durmino Empire: Bad Feeling

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

…

Khandrin's Warship was anything but friendly and welcoming. It was dark and felt closed in without any windows and only small reddish lights along the floor for guidance in the teleport room. The room itself was small and round in shape with only a small set of controls running along the wall to their right. Next, to her, Alenica didn't make any sound of alarm and in the corner of her eye Rose took in the Princess. She looked calm and confident, every inch a woman who was about to become an Empress without the worry Rose knew had to be churning in her stomach visible. Rose, on the other hand, had to fight not to fidget in discomfort. Even the temperature was a touch too low for her and she was feeling.

The room was very empty. Rose's eyes swept around waiting for someone to arrive and greet them. On impulse, she stepped off the teleport platform and moved in front of Alenica. The pair of guards with them moved in front of them both. Each guard had a small hand weapon and their swords strapped to their hips. Still, nothing came into the room either through the doorway or via a message.

Dropping her right arm, Rose shifted her fingers for a moment, preparing herself to summon her sword if needed. The temperature seemed to drop again and Rose was about to tell Alenica that they were in trouble when a door on the far side slid open. A tall being in dark red and black armour stepped into the room with some sort of staff weapon in its hands.

"Security robot," Alenica explained behind her in a low voice. "It's alright."

"Robot huh," Rose muttered to herself, noting some resemblance between this model and the ones that had come to find Gavin all those years ago. Maybe the same manufacturer. "Robots are good."

She could destroy robots without any moral issues.

The robot said nothing and a moment later another one entered behind it. Ahead of them, the guards shifted uneasily and Rose fought to stay still and look calm, but it wasn't easy. That sense of danger was prickling at the back of her next and now she had the sense that she was being watched. Despite her desire to stay still, Rose turned and looked back over her shoulder just to confirm that there was no one behind her.

"I am the Princess Alenica of the Durmino Empire," Alenica announced, raising her chin and eying the robots. "I was invited to this vessel by Khandrin and insist on seeing him at once."

Nothing happened. The robots didn't move from their position at the doorway and there was no verbal response to Alenica.

"I demand to see Khandrin," Alenica repeated too calmly for Rose's nerves. "He wished to discuss the terms of this invasion and peaceful resolution."

"Meeting cancelled," the robot answered dully. "No longer necessary."

"What do you mean no longer necessary?" Alenica demanded. "The Shadow Proclamation has been informed of the blockade and the Durmino Empire fleet is in route. For the survival of both parties a settlement must be discussed."

Rose's hand twitched and she looked to the side as much as she could. That ill feeling was back and her left hand began to creep down into her bag towards her phone. She could feel the bracelet on her wrist humming in response to her worry and barely suppressed desire to summon it. Not yet, she told herself. It hadn't been ten minutes yet and there might not truly be anything wrong.

"If the meeting is cancelled then Princess Alenica must be returning to her planet," Rose offered, shifting once again and trying to look impressive in her jeans and old t-shirt.

"Sorry!" a humanoid voice called from the hallway and the robots parted to allow a thin and pale humanlike man with greenish skin to enter the room. He was dressed in long dark robes and something about him reminded Rose of a villain from a bad science fiction movie. "So very sorry Your Majesty." He swept forward and bowed with a smile that made Rose grab her phone. She noted his eyes darting over to her, but said nothing as he straightened up. "Please follow me. There has been a delay with Lord Khandria's arrival, but the talks will begin shortly as planned."

Their guide turned and gestured to the large robots which stepped back to allow their small party to move forward. Rose tried to catch Alencia's eye, but the Princess was looking ahead calmly though Rose was certain that she was aa nervous as she was. They stepped out into a corridor that was even larger than the entire transport room with the same smooth red-tinted walls. The sound of heavy footfalls was echoing down the corridor like a marching platoon was nearby and Rose saw a flicker of worry in Alencia's eyes.

Following their still unnamed guide down the corridor, Rose kept glancing around to try and build a mental map. She could see access panels and ports built into the walls and noted that there were no exterior windows in this area at least.

"Is this the flagship?" one of their guards asked softly, almost sounding surprised at the sound of his own voice.

"No, this is not my Lord's ship," their guide all but muttered. "This is merely a welcoming vessel, more neutral territory."

Rose wasn't sure how she felt about that, but they then arrived at a doorway that slid open to allow them inside the next room. It was a large room with a heavy metallic table and chairs. A small porthole window looked down over the planet and their guide bowed to Alenica. It was stark and rather Spartan, but there was no sign of weapons and the robots remained outside while their own guards stayed very close to the Princess.

"We will begin shortly," their guide told them with another bow. "I will fetch refreshments and check on the status of My Lord's arrival."

Standing by Alenica silently, Rose watched him leave and frowned, pulling out her phone. The bad feeling was still there and the more she learned about the situation the worse it got. She didn't understand why this warlord would invade an empire whose ships would be on them soon. Even if he could make it legal in the eyes of the Shadow Proclamation surely he didn't think that the population and military would just accept it.

"What are you doing?" Alecia questioned. "Rose?"

"Something isn't right," Rose hissed softly as she moved her finger to the speed dial. "I'm calling for help."

The air suddenly began to smell of ozone and Rose flung out her arm as she moved to summon her sword. A hissing sound filled the air and Rose's knees buckled. She tried to press the speed dial, but Shareen's voice came through the phone a moment later as her fingers slipped and her eyesight blurred. Holding her breath, she called her sword forth and tightened her grip around the comforting weight. She looked around only to find a thick bluish smoke billowing into the meeting room. Alenica was already on her knees coughing and Rose felt her own lungs burning. Her fingers tightened around her phone and she shifted her thumb, trying to call the TARDIS, but then everything became hazy. There was only one last flicker of awareness of her knees hit the ground. Her phone slipped from her hand as Rose grabbed for the end of the table. Her last conscious thought and action was guiding herself down the floor.

Distantly, as the darkness at the edge of her eyes swept in Rose heard someone say, "That was easier than I thought."

….

The hum of engines was oddly lulling, but the sound wasn't quite right. It was too harsh, too artificial to be comforting and yet it was sort of familiar. Humming softly, Rose shifted her head to find a more comfortable position in her bed only for her head to roll too far. There was a slight jarring in her neck that was very uncomfortable and sent a rush of adrenaline through her system.

She was coming back to awareness very slowly, her mind heavy and fuzzy. Her mouth tasted terrible and Rose had a strange sense that she was floating even as she became aware of a pain in her arms. She tried to stay still and listened, but she couldn't hear anything. Her senses felt dull, but Rose was aware that the weight of her shoulder bag was gone. Which meant that her phone was gone.

Groaning, Rose forced her eyes open and inwardly grimaced. Her hands were bound above her head in what felt like a very traditional chain with her hanging from the ceiling. That explained the pain in her shoulders and arms and Rose could feel her awareness slowly returning. Her shoulders and arms were already screaming in protest at the position though Rose could feel a platform of some sort a few inches below her feet. Stretching out her toes, Rose allowed some of her weight to settle on the platform before. The pressure eased a little and Rose took in a deep breath, fighting off the lingering effect of the gas. Rose carefully moved her wrist, seeing if she could summon her sword, but the angle was wrong. Of course, that figured as this lot would know about the sword and would have noticed they couldn't remove it.

She should have called the Doctor when no one had met them in the teleport room. Frustration pounded through her at the memory of her plan to call if things didn't seem right and then her utter failure to call when the gas had started. He'd never let her hear the end of this one. She hated playing the damsel in distress; it was just so… aggravating. Rose grit her teeth and looked out into the darkness around her. The air smelled sweet and almost fresh which helped to dispel the lingering haze in her mind. There was no sign or sound of Alenica. Then she heard something moving just beyond her sight and forced herself to stay very still.

"She's awake milord," a simpering voice declared. "The Star Knight is awake."

Rose couldn't quite remember what happened, but already had the sense that it hadn't been good. They'd been gassed, but apparently not killed which meant that they wanted something. She'd been captured but forced herself to stay calm. Panic wouldn't help her and maybe she could at least get some answers. She turned her attention towards the right side of the large dark room she was in. A moment later everything began brighter as chandeliers above her were illuminated and revealed a large room that reminded Rose of a ballroom in the films. She held in a gasp of surprise and worry, wondering if this was the same ship as before or if she was on the planet now. Her eyes darted over to a row of windows looking out into space along the left side of the room. Not on the planet then, but no telling what ship she was on. Then she spotted a small figure was waiting by a large doorway on the right side.

It was a small almost twisted little humanoid, only three feet tall with large bluish-purple eyes and wrinkled grey skin. The species wasn't familiar, but the giddy why it was looking at her made Rose nervous. He was wearing a dark cloak outfit like their earlier guide with a heavy chain of some sort around his neck like a gaudy necklace. Scurrying over, he eyed her carefully before turning back towards the door.

"Who are you?" Rose demanded in as calm a voice as she could manage.

"I am Perijacks," he answered with a small exaggerate bow and a chuckle. "The Stewart of the Great Emperor Khandrin."

"Khandrin," Rose repeated with a sigh. "Figures. Course I heard he was a Warlord, not an Emperor," she added rebelliously.

"Semantics," Perijacks scoffed before the sound of heavy footfalls made him tense and Rose looked back towards the doorway.

A large alien with dark blue skin and horns protruding from its forehead and curling back over its head stepped into the room. He was dressed in what appeared to be a heavy metal battle suit made of the same reddish metal as the ship she'd been gassed on. Every footfall echoed in the room as he came forward to stand in front of Rose with Perijacks rushing along beside him. Large yellow eyes focused on Rose and she felt her stomach turn as fear rushed through her. Gripping the chains above her head, Rose tried to shift her wrist once again as she waited.

"So," Khandrin announced in a low growl. "This is the Star Knight Rose Tyler. Lover of the Doctor."

A terrible sharp teeth smile took over the alien's face as he met her brown eyes with his yellow ones. That bad feeling was back and worse than ever.