Child of Earth

By Lumendea

Chapter Thirty: Durmino Empire: Success and Failure

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.

…

Rose hit the side of the wall as the teleport stopped, her legs half collapsing underneath her. Blinking, she quickly righted herself and looked around frantically in the hope that Alenica was still with her. She was alone. There were no robots bearing down on her, no sounds of crewmembers running away and certainly no Princess Alenica. Anger, frustration and a sense of despair rose up in her chest and for a moment Rose couldn't breathe.

She leaned against the wall, trying to calm down and make sense of everything. They'd gotten the flagship to move, but Rose wasn't certain how many would follow it away from the planet. She could hope that they were evacuating the cities on Durmino and making use of the delay, but what was she going to do now. It was doubtful that they would take Alenica back to the same cell block that Rose had released her from. Anywhere they took it her now was certain to be a trap.

After an uncertain amount of time, Rose forced herself to move down the new corridor. It was like all the others, but she noticed a bright doorway up ahead. The hum of the ship seemed louder and she optimistically wondered if she was near the engines. Peeking into the room, Rose could see a robot standing in front of a series of controls. Beyond the controls were large machines that were humming and pipes filling the upper layer of the room. Rose eyed the machines thoughtfully. They looked too small to be engines, but this was a control room of some kind. She glanced around the corridor one more time to be safe and crept into the room.

Slashing into the robot, Rose watched it hit the ground and drove her sword through the head to make sure it wasn't getting up. She stepped around the pile of metal and leaned over the controls, taking them in with a critical eye. There were numerous buttons, but the core of the system was based around three large screens set at a slight angle. Rose could see navigation information on the middle one along with orders from the bridge to return to the planet. Licking her lips, Rose checked their current position. The ship was in orbit around the gas giant. She smiled, three of the larger ships had indeed followed them.

"At least that worked," Rose muttered. "Alenica I hope your people are using the time we bought."

Rose exhaled and leaned over the controls, bracing her arms on either side of her head as she tried to think of what to do next. What was the point of all this? Khandrin's actions seemed random and a bit silly. Maybe her having a biodamper and being able to hide from sensors and robots had messed things up but was there really nothing more to his plan. Rose tugged on the end of her ponytail in frustration as she paced in the tiny room. She needed a plan, something clever and inspired, but that was more the Doctor's department. Rose pulled the damaged superphone out again and inspected the crack that ran through the microprocessor.

"Bugger," she grumbled. She'd definitely need a new phone. This is why large lumbering robots shouldn't handle small electronic devices. "Come on Rose, think!" She started pacing again, still holding the phone in her hand. "Maybe if I hook it into a communication system… the memory isn't damaged… no, the software interface would be all wrong and there isn't time."

Great, she was talking to herself.

"This might just be why he likes having companions," Rose chuckled to herself as she slipped the phone away. "That way he can think out loud and not be taking to himself."

It certainly sounded a bit like the Doctor. The thought made her smile a bit and she felt her tight shoulders relaxing a tiny bit.

"Star Knight Rose Tyler," Khandrin's voice called out to her, echoing through the room. "I know you can hear me though my sensors cannot lock onto you."

Rose looked around but didn't see any oblivious intercoms. It didn't matter as Khandrin kept talking, "I have the Princess Alenica and while you have delayed my plans you have not stopped them." There was a long pause, then a deep chuckle. "Your princess has great faith in you Star Knight. Come and face me. Come and rescue her. I will even guide your way."

"What is this a video game?" Rose demanded, glaring up at the ceiling. But she wasn't sure if he could hear her at all.

Everything went still and Rose could hear only the hum of the ship's engines and the soft beeps of the nearby machines. Licking her lips, she looked back at the control screen and noted that the ships were still around the gas giant. Her lock had worked for the time being. Rose stretched her fingers uneasily and felt her weight of her bracelet acutely as she tried to figure out if there were other options. It might be worth it to try and find the engine room and do some real damage, but Khandrin had Alenica.

"Fine then," Rose half sighed, half growled as she moved towards the door. "It's your game Khandrin."

Stepping out into the corridor, Rose saw that indeed the low lights were flickering in a pattern. They would go out and come back up, forming a line moving to the right. It made the corridor eerie and gave her a sense of dread. Following the lights, Rose found herself moving to another teleport pad. The controls next to it were flashing. Rose paused, wondering how much faith she had that Khandrin really wanted to face her and wouldn't just teleport her out into space.

But there had been a Bad Wolf message, Rose reminded herself. She was probably safe. The Doctor would have arrived by now if she wouldn't be. He might already be down on Durmino helping from that side of things. With that little comforting thought, Rose raised the sonic pen and activated the teleport, letting it take her to whatever floor Khandrin was on.

As the corridor appeared around her and the energy drifted away, Rose released a soft sigh of relief. She hadn't been as confident as she'd wanted to be. This corridor was silent, still and very familiar. Walking ahead, she summoned her sword and kept it at the ready. Every time one of the small maintenance areas came up, she stopped and checked them for an ambush, but there was nothing. Rose realised as she caught sight of a pile of destroyed robot that she was retracing her steps. That only confused her more. Was Khandrin really back in that strange ornate room just waiting for her?

"Crazy as Thane," Rose muttered, though she really hoped he wasn't. She couldn't deal with another Thane.

She kept walking and the layout changed around her with the large double doors of the first room she'd escaped from looming before her. Rose stopped and listened, straining her ears for any noise that didn't belong, but there wasn't any. A soft sigh escaped her and she straightened her shoulders and moved ahead.

Khandrin was waiting, standing in the middle of the room before the doorway. A large heavy looking sword was in his hand and his armour was gleaming in the low light coming from the chandelier. Beyond him, through the windows, Rose could see the churning blue and white clouds of the gas giant.

"This is cosy," Rose observed as she stepped into the room, trying to look calm and unconcerned. At the far side of the room, Alenica was hanging in chains similar to the ones Rose herself had been bound in. Her feet were perched on the small stool and she was standing on her toes with a frightened look on her face. "Though your treatment of royalty leaves a lot to be desired."

"Where is the Doctor?" Khandrin huffed at her, looking back towards the door as if he expected him to waltz inside. "Where is he?"

"Not here as far as I know," Rose countered with a growing smirk.

"He must be!" Khandrin roared, swinging the blade towards her. "I captured you, but he did not come. You escaped but remained trapped on my ship but he did not come."

"Your robots sort of destroyed my phone," Rose informed him with a raised eyebrow. "Contrary to popular belief he really isn't all knowing." She paused and shook her head. "You never really wanted Durmino did you? Not them specifically, you just wanted more planets and ships. The deciding factor on going after them was me. Because you hoped I could bring you the Doctor."

"You are more impressive than I gave you credit for," Khandrin remarked. "Withdrawing the fleet just enough to protect the planet rather than simply calling on your lover was unexpected."

Rose decided to stay silent on that matter. It was difficult enough to keep her temper as it was. She was the daughter of Jackie Tyler, but every instinct was reminding her that she was in the presence and still rather at the mercy of a dangerous Warlord.

"What do you think of this chamber?" Khandrin asked her very calmly with a deep chuckle as he eyed her carefully. He gestured around at the grand room and Rose's footfalls echoed on the tile as she approached.

She eyed the sword that was in his hand, mindful to keep out of its reach. If it came to a sword fight like Khandrin seemed to be preparing for then it would be an issue of her moving in fast and then retreating to stay away from that thing.

"It is lovely," Rose agreed carefully, allowing herself a quick glance around. "But it doesn't seem to go with the rest of the ship."

"Indeed not. This was the grand ballroom at the palace of the asteroid Verzila in the Gersitic system. I admired it and had it moved into my ship. It makes for an impressive observation point."

"And what happened to the rest of the palace?" Rose questioned. "Or should I be afraid of the answer?"

"The greater question is what are you stalling for?" Khandrin asked as he began to move around the room, tilting his head in consideration.

"I'm trying to understand you," Rose answered as she slowly circled the large ballroom-like room, watching her opponent. "You've gone to a lot of work to get me here," she reminded him as she risked a glance over towards Alenica. "You gave me all but free run of your ship. Surely the robots aren't that cheap."

"I've been planning to upgrade. You scrapping them all saved me some time," Khandrin offered with a sarcastic smirk. "It also offered me a chance to observe you. Though that biodamper you were wearing did interfere quite a bit on that front. You must have noticed that I don't rely on a living crew."

"I did notice. It says something about you that you can't trust the loyalty of your own crew."

"Trust is for the weak," Khandrin snapped, tilting his large head to regard Rose. "Your loyalty has, after all, brought you here. I will not merely restrain you this time, Star Knight. No, I am going to torture you until HE arrives."

"You must have been so disappointed when I was chained up and a blue box didn't just appear two feet away?" Rose replied in an icy voice she fought to suppress her feelings and stay calm.

"You must be disappointed in the loyalty of your lover," Khandrin retorted mockingly. "I was expecting so much more from the great Star Knight and lover of the Doctor. All you have managed to do is move my ships. In less than an hour, I will be back around the planet. This is a delay, nothing more."

"Khandrin," Rose replied as calmly as she could manage as she stopped circling him. "I normally try to avoid letting things become personal Khandrin. I prefer to stay rational during a crisis, but you've done everything you could to make this personal."

"All the better to bring the Doctor here."

"He doesn't know that I'm even here," Rose snapped her calm beginning to slip away from her. "I'm not travelling with him or living with him now. I didn't have a chance to contact him because you knocked me out so fast and then damaged my communication device! He doesn't know I'm here. This has all been a waste if he's what you were truly after!"

"No, my information is precise," Khandrin insisted. "You are the woman he loves and if you're in danger he will come for you."

"Well you've yet to truly put me in danger," Rose countered, baring her teeth. "You've just been an annoyance to me. The ones you've hurt have been the Durminos!"

"An annoyance," Khandrin repeated with widening eyes, showing the first sign of true anger in this encounter.

"Indeed, I've not been injured have I? Rose countered with a smalls smirk, watching for any sign of action on the part of Khandrin. Her fingers itched and she waited for him to attack, to make his move. Maybe just maybe if she defeated him then she could hold the fleet up until the reinforcements arrived. "You're nothing special in my history. Just another blip on my radar. I'll deal with you and go home. I may not even tell the Doctor about all this."

"Not even tell-" Khandrin started to growl only to stop a moment later. He huffed, but then seemed to calm himself and a loud chuckle echoed through the room. "I see Star Knight. I see. Not terribly clever, but rather effective. I don't lose control. I'm too good a warrior for that."

"From what I've seen of your strategy your 'warrior' skills are pretty much hype. You use your dirty warships as threats to keep the defenders from attacking. Not really a clever strategy and someday someone is going to catch you away from a planet."

"Three of my ships are still in orbit around Durmino," Khandrin remarked. "So that isn't going to be today."

"Except would those ships keep fighting if you were dead?" Rose questioned, raising an eyebrow in challenge. "Or a prisoner of the Shadow Proclamation. What's the programming then?"

Khandrin's eyes narrowed and a rush of hope burst through Rose. She fought back a smile as his fingers twitched around the hilt of his sword. Maybe just maybe they'd managed the smart thing after all.

"I'm going to kill you," Khandrin suddenly announced, cutting into Rose's growing sense of relief. "Then I'll skin your princess. I don't need Durmino. I will raze the planet. I will set one of the robotic ships on a collision course into the planet. I will leave your corpse floating over a dead world as a reminder to the Doctor to never interfere with me again.

Glaring at Khandrin, it was all Rose could do to keep herself from spitting at him. The sword in her hand felt like it was vibrating from her rage. Khandrin's eyes were wide and bright with rage. Rose braced herself just before a battle cry escaped the alien and he lunged towards her with his sword swinging down towards her. Rolling to the right, Rose shifted her weight and began to stand back up just as a loud ring echoed through the room. The sword had crashed into the ground, leaving stone dust around the edge and a crack in the floor. Bringing up her own sword, Rose exhaled slowly.

"If that's how we're going to do this…. Fine."