7. The Expert Tracker.
Crystelle is studying timelines on her Tardis Console.
She hears the familiar zizzing sound that her Tardis makes when it travels. She looks up at its mechanism and notes that it isn't moving. She taps some buttons to see what the issue is - why had her Tardis sounded as if it was moving. Nothing shows. Crystelle's puzzled. Her Tardis has always told her when it's moved, even if it's after the event.
A word catches her eye on the Tardis Console screen. "Encapsulating". What does that mean? The Console screen isn't red, which might show danger actively present. She sits back and ponders for a moment.
Encapsulating means that her Tardis is encapsulating another Tardis, in this case Chloe's Tardis (which also happens to be Crystelle's Tardis but later in its own timeline).
A sound from behind alerts her that she might not be alone in her Console room. She breathes in slowly to ground herself and be ready for action. A creepy feeling starts to engulf her as her hairs start to stand on end. .
"Hello, Mum!" .
She breathes out and rotates on her swivel chair.
Her daughter, Chloe, stands before her at a respectful distance with no sign how she'd arrived.
Crystelle recalls how Chloe had told her about her having her own personal transport (ref. 46). Maybe this is how she just simply arrives?
She's seen her daughter only a short time before in her timeline.
"Wow, my dear, what brings you again so soon?"
"Mum, we need your help," Chloe says. "Sorry, it was more of an accident earlier."
"Well, tell me about it," Crystelle says gently, wandering over to Chloe and hugging her. She's happy to be asked again and glad to be able to respond. It's her pleasure to help Chloe. She knows she can take a break from her current job and return to it refreshed a little later and still be fully on target.
"You're so good at tracking the Master," Chloe says.
"You can be, too," Crystelle prompts, hoping her daughter might pick up some of her skills.
"He's onto my transport," Chloe says, hoping her mother will recognise her problem.
"Ah," Crystelle says. "And you need to avoid his direct questions?"
"Yes, Mum. I don't want to be at all untruthful. Whatever I build with my life I want to be fully true, and I really don't want to tell him anything about my transport."
"Yes, well done! What's the Master doing just now in your timeline?"
Chloe's not quite certain how to say what's happening succinctly.
The Doctor steps from her Tardis to offer an explanation.
"How are you arriving here, Doctor?" Crystelle asks. She had thought that Chloe had used her own transport, however that might work.
"I just stepped between Tardises," he replies.
"But I didn't hear your Tardis grinding and screeching, I heard my Tardis zizzing," Crystelle says.
"Your Tardis was inherited..." the Doctor says in a bid to explain, but then recognises that telling Crystelle that she's died in his timeline might not be such a great idea!
Crystelle picks up on the inheritance concept and what that means for her. She longs to ask How long have I got left! But it could be a very long time, after all, both the Doctor and her daughter, Chloe, have probably regenerated more than once.
The Doctor recognises that Crystelle has picked up on this by her pause. "The Master's purveying knowledge to someone who will likely go on to develop it anyway, but he's short-circuiting their development."
"Okay," Crystelle pauses for the Doctor to continue.
The Doctor notices her pause. Is she contemplating her possibly vested interests? No, it would be far too much of a leap for her to make without knowing the Master's client, intention, or the inner workings of Space Warp Drive.
"I'm sorry, the only reason we're asking is because the Master's trying to check out Chloe's transport."
"Yes, but where and when is the Master that you're tracking? Where and when do I start looking?" Crystelle already has her eyes on the target.
"That's easy, Mum," Chloe says, glancing at the Console Room current time clock. "Nolland! And starting right now."
Crystelle's eyes grow wider in alarm. "Now? What the Master's doing right now?"
"Yes, Mum, now. Why?"
"I'm tracking him right now. Are we both doing the same thing?"
"Where have you got up to?" the Doctor asks practically.
"Alright, I'm back-tracking to find out where he's getting his mineral supplies. He's stockpiling them before he presents a contract to a company called ... PointAndGo," she looks it up on a notepad. "Then I need to find what they're doing with it."
"Where's PointAndGo based?" the Doctor asks. He has a suspicion.
"Earth."
The Doctor's suspicions are confirmed.
It's Chloe's turn for her eyes to open wide. It's a sort of fascinated horror at what's unfolding before her. Surely her Mum can see what's happening? But maybe her Mum doesn't have all the jigsaw pieces she has!
Crystelle doesn't connect this transaction with her planet colony. Space Warp Drive requirements may not be known to Crystelle.
Should they tell Crystelle or not? When she finds out will she block their action?