A/N: Part 2 of the 6-part 'pilot' episode "A Pirate's Life for Me."

In this scene, I imagined hearing Suranne Jones as the voice of the TARDIS/Idris, just like in the original episode "The Doctor's Wife." Throughout the rest of the story, whenever the TARDIS speaks, it will always be Suranne Jones as the voice.

Also, for references to not only this chapter but future chapters as well:

- Italics within single quotes = telepathic dialogue
- Double quotes without italics = regular dialogue
- Italics without single or double quotes = Nova's personal thoughts

I hope this helps.

Chapter 17: TARDIS Pep Talk

Once I make my way back to the TARDIS, I notice something strange. A seemingly random man stands in front of the doors, tugging fruitlessly on the handles, trying to get in. Upon seeing this bizarre behavior, I clear my throat to get the man's attention. Upon hearing me, the man pauses and swiftly turns to me like he's been caught trespassing—which, he technically is, as he's clearly trying to get access to something that doesn't belong to him. When he turns around to face me, I can see that his face is not quite as human as I originally expected; his face appears humanlike, albeit puffed out like he'd been stung by a thousand bees, but his nose appears to be that of a pig's snout.

"Excuse me," I say as politely as I could muster as I approach. Luckily the man moves out of the way, but when he does so, he smirks at me in a very creepy way, like he had set a trap for me and is thrilled that I had walked right into it blindly. His stare makes me uncomfortable, but I ignore it as I use the key the Doctor gave me to unlock the TARDIS. After I enter, I close the doors quickly out of fear of the creepy pig-man following me inside. I then walk up the stairs to the elevated platform and collapse on the cushioned chair, but not before setting my drink gently on the bottom stair next to the chair.

"Ugh, this is sick!" I groan, burying my face in my hands and feeling that familiar anger burning inside me. "I am so sick of this! I am so sick of him! He doesn't understand me! Why doesn't he understand? My family is in danger, possibly dead, and he doesn't seem to care! We should be saving them, but instead all he cares about is my stupid training, whatever that is; he doesn't even care about me! How I feel! He thinks he's helping me, but he's making things worse! He doesn't care about my family, nor wanting anything to do with saving them! He wants nothing to do with them, now that he has me back!" The more I speak, the more emotional and angry I feel. "I should've just kept running when I had the chance! I should never have left home!" I feel guiltier than ever, and I can't stand it. Not anymore.

'Then you would've been captured as well,' I suddenly hear the mysterious woman's voice—the TARDIS's voice—again in my head. 'The Doctor was never going to allow that to happen.'

"I don't care!" I answer the voice on instinct. "If I'd stayed, I would've protected them! Even if I was captured, rather it be me than them!"

'Then you would've been made an assassin!' the TARDIS says seriously. 'Is that really what you would've wanted to become?'

Her words suddenly make me pause. She's right, of course. If I stayed with my guardians instead of leaving when I did, the Silence would've gotten me too.

"Well…no," I reply hesitantly. "Of course not!" Why would I want to become an assassin? Who would?

'You did the right thing to leave,' the TARDIS assures me, but I instantly feel the complete opposite.

"How can you say that?" I say incredulously. "Of course I didn't! Because I left, I gave the Silence the perfect opportunity to snatch them, and now they're using them as bait to get to me! If they haven't already killed them…" My last statement makes me think of my dream of that nameless Silence member using that electric probe on my father-guardian. If that was real and my father-guardian is now dead…

'Don't lose hope, Nova,' the TARDIS says in a pleading tone. 'Even the word 'hopeless' isn't void of hope.'

Her words suddenly make me glance up at her, or rather the tall column in the center of the console. Would that be where her face would generally be if she was a real person, I wonder?

'I understand what you are feeling,' she continues in a sympathetic tone. 'You want to save your family, but you're weak. You don't have the strength to fight off an entire army by yourself, not to mention the knowledge required to take down said army. You don't know what the Silence are capable of. Like the Doctor said, the Silence are ruthless, cunning, and overall manipulative. If they captured you, they would've done unfathomable things to you—terrible things you cannot even imagine. By leaving when you did, you delayed the inevitable. Now that you are here, they can no longer get to you, so long as you stay within me.'

"The Doctor said this was the only safe place for me," I point out. "Are you saying he's right?"

'He is,' the TARDIS confirms. 'He wants what is best for you, and what is best is that you are safe from the clutches of the Silence.'

"He can't protect me forever," I sigh in annoyance. "I can't stay in here forever. No offense." I understand that even the Doctor's TARDIS wants to keep me safe, but she must understand that I don't want to be a prisoner inside her walls, never being allowed to see the outside world again.

'No offense taken,' she assures me, making me believe that she actually does understand.

Nevertheless, I still feel the need to explain myself. "I have a life of my own, and I want to live it the way I want to live it. I understand that Dad—" I suddenly shake my head and immediately correct myself. "The Doctor wants to train me to be like him, but…I don't know if that's what I want. Don't get me wrong, the idea of time-travel is amazing. You're amazing!"

'Thank you,' the TARDIS says with genuine appreciation.

"But…I just want to be normal," I continue with a sigh. "I want a normal life. I don't want to live in fear anymore, not knowing whether my next-door neighbor could secretly be a Silence member; not that that's true, but you know what I mean. Although, it turned out my martial arts instructor was a Silence member all along, and one that had also trained River back in the day." I sigh again. "The Doctor says Time Lords can't have normal lives; like, they can't settle in one place for fear of attracting danger. I have lived with that fear my whole life, and I'm sick and tired of it. If there's any way I can…I don't know…give up my powers or something, that would be great. River did it."

'She did,' the TARDIS says as a way of nodding in agreement, 'and she saved the Doctor's life. Perhaps you could do the same if you kept your powers. They could be quite useful to you.'

"But can I live a normal life with them?" I ask seriously. "That's what I really want." It's what I've wanted for my entire life, my future included.

'It's hard to say,' she says apologetically, though I can't help but think she is lying. Surely, as a time-machine, she must see a certain future where this happens, right? Hopefully, I am currently treading down that path as we speak. 'One thing that is for certain is that you won't have a normal life with the Silence always hunting you down. You won't truly be safe until they are gone for good.'

I can't help groaning at her response. "You too, huh? The Doctor and River said the same thing." Who knew a time-machine could have the same opinions and feelings as them, like she is a regular person with the same thoughts and emotions as everyone else in the universe.

'And they are right,' she confirms honestly. 'Be patient. All good things to those who wait.'

"Says the sentient time-machine that can just hop to the future in a flash," I can't help scoffing at her. "I can't believe I'm even talking to a time-machine, and one is talking back…well, telepathically, but still talking nonetheless." Again, I thought this only existed in Science Fiction movies, and clearly this proves that Science Fiction is no longer Science Fiction. More like 'Science Non-Fiction.'

'You get used to it,' the TARDIS says in a way like how I can imagine a real person to say with a smile.

"Hey, thanks for the pep talk," I say, smiling back. "I really needed that. I'm gonna be honest, I really hate fighting with the Doctor, but he can make me so angry sometimes. River was right, he really doesn't think before he speaks." I suddenly realize that this is typical father-daughter behavior (I know, because I'd often had moments like this with my father-guardian), but I keep this thought to myself.

'He doesn't mean to,' the TARDIS admits honestly. 'He's been through a lot.'

"I know," I nod. "Deep down, I want to trust him…but I don't know how."

'Give yourself time,' she says in an encouraging tone. 'You will learn to trust him. He loves you dearly, and he will do whatever it takes to help you.'

"I hope you are right," I say with a sigh, though not in a way like I don't believe her.

'Of course I'm right,' she says like she truly does think I doubt what she said. 'I am Time—past, present, and future. I know the exact moment of when you'll trust him.'

"Well then, I guess I can't argue with that," I chuckle with a raised eyebrow. "You don't have to tell me when; I can wait. 'Spoilers,' right?"

'Right,' she chuckles back.

"Of course," I sigh, suddenly feeling discouraged. "I'm not sure if I'll ever get used to that word." I still can't imagine a family that is required to keep secrets from each other because Time tells them to. Are they even considered 'family,' in that case? For some reason, my guts say 'no,' knowing that there are generally no secrets between normal family members.

Then again, my family isn't exactly normal, with my father being perceived as a godlike being from another world, and my mother whom was formerly trained to assassinate said 'godly being.' Also, what with their out-of-sync timelines, they are cursed to keep secrets from each other for the rest of their days. How they are seemingly willing to continue living with that curse, I'll never know.

'You will,' the TARDIS assures me. 'It's part of being a time-traveler.'

"Yeah," I sigh again. "Clearly I've got a lot to learn about that, seeing as this is gonna be my life now." Not wanting to discuss the topic anymore, I smile, changing the subject, "I think it'd be a bit weird to call you 'TARDIS' all the time. Is there a better name I can call you, now that we're friends?" I then pause, saying with uncertainty, "Uh, that is, if you would like us to be friends."

'We can be more than friends,' she says with what I can imagine to be a smile again. 'We are family. Anyway, The Doctor calls me 'Sexy.' You can call me that if you like.'

"'Sexy?'" I snort. "Uh, no, I'm not calling you that. That'd be even weirder; makes me sound like I'm gay, which I'm not. Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, to those who are." I sigh again, shaking my head. "Sorry. Being awkward again. Is there any other name you like?"

'Well, there is another name that is in my database,' the TARDIS admits.

"What's that?" I ask curiously.

'Idris,' she confirms.

"Idris…" I say with a smile. "I like that." I then stand up and hold my palm against the center column in greeting, like giving a regular person a handshake. "Hello, Idris. I'm Nova. Nova Susan Song. Formerly Sydney Marie Elise."

'It is wonderful to meet you, Nova,' Idris says kindly. I smile sweetly in return.

Unfortunately, this lovely moment is short-lived, because not even a second later, terrified screams can be heard outside Idris's doors.

"What's that?" I say in shock, feeling my hearts beat faster out of fear and anxiety. "Why are there screams outside? What is—?"

Suddenly, there is an aggressive lurch, which sends me tumbling to the floor. Half a second later, a loud warning bell is heard within the entire room.

"What's that?" I yell over the noise. "Is that you? Why are you making that sound?"

Before anyone could answer, there is another lurch, sending me to the floor again, and this time Idris begins making the familiar house-key-scraping sound, indicating that she's going into flight mode. The force knocks over my drink, spilling its slushy contents all over the glass floor. I instinctively groan over the mess, but when I look up to the console, I see various controls moving by themselves, like a poltergeist has taken over them.

"What are you doing?" I scream, running to them. "Are you leaving? No, we can't leave! Something's going on outside!" In that moment, I try gaining control of the ship, even though I admittedly don't know what any of the controls do. I struggle to put the levers back to their original positions when they move on their own, but it is fruitless, like fighting against a computer—an otherworldly computer, no less—that is clearly much older and smarter than me. "Idris, stop!" I scream at her. "We can't leave! We can't leave Dad!" I then growl in my head to myself, The Doctor, you idiot! The Doctor!

'I'm sorry, I have to!' Idris confesses in a panicked tone. 'My outer shell has been attacked! I need to displace myself before there is any more damage!'

"Displace yourself?" I say with a frown. "What does that mean? Why are you—?"

I yelp as there is a sudden electric shock that courses through my body and knocks me to the floor, making my vision and hearing go fuzzy. For a moment, I feel like I lose consciousness before I manage to gain back my senses to discover that everything is calm once again; well, the aggressive lurching has stopped, but the warning bell continues to blare loudly. Sitting up, I feel pressure in my head from a painful headache, having hit it hard against the glass floor when I fell.

"Ugh… What just happened?" I groan as I struggle to my feet, clutching my head in pain. I look around, and my eyes suddenly fall on my spilt drink on the floor. "Oh, no… Sorry. I'll clean it up later," I apologize before I glance to the door, discovering that the screams have also ceased outside. "Everything is calm now, even outside! What happened out there?" I suddenly flinch as my body twitches uncomfortably, like when I'm hit with an electric shock. "Also, why do I feel so weird? I feel so…tingly."

There is also another sensation I am feeling that is even stranger than this. It's not exactly a physical pain, but it's not exactly a mental pain either; in any case, I feel a slight pain from…something. Or someone. Though the source of the pain is unknown, it exists regardless. Before I can figure out its source, the pain vanishes as quickly as it had come, and all that remains is the tingling sensation.

That's when I remember. I actually was electrocuted. By none other than the TARDIS herself! She purposefully did that to me to stop me from fighting her. What the actual hell!

"What the hell was all that about?" I scream at the center column angrily. "You scared me to death—almost literally!"

'I'm sorry, Nova,' Idris says, though she really doesn't sound sorry at all. 'I had to stop you fighting me. I set off the Hostile Action Displacement System. Someone was attempting to blow apart the doors and get inside. That was why everyone was screaming.'

"Someone was trying to get in?" I say incredulously, but then I suddenly pause, remembering the creepy pig-man earlier. "Wait! There was a man earlier. He looked like he was trying to figure out a way in. Was it him you were trying to escape?" Was he trying to shoot the doors down with some high-tech gun, which was what everyone else was freaking out over?

'One of them,' she admits in a concerned tone.

"One of them?" I say in shock. "You mean there was more than one attacker? Who were those guys? Were they Silence members?"

'I don't know, but you need to find the Doctor,' Idris says nervously, and I can honestly say I've never seen—heard—a time-machine act like this before; in fact, I never even imagined I would. 'He needs you.'

"Okay," I say with equal nervousness, feeling my hearts pounding a million beats per minute in my chest. "Before I go out there, I need to know where we are."

'Exactly where we were, just a few centuries in the future,' she says in an assuring tone.

I sigh in relief. "Okay. Good."

I suddenly pause. Wait, did she say 'a few centuries?'

"Wait!" I say, thinking better. "No, that's bad! You said we're a few centuries in the future? That means the Doctor is—!" I immediately stop myself from finishing that sentence, not wanting to admit the worst of what had possibly befallen my father.

'The Doctor is alright for now, but he won't be for much longer,' Idris says, her anxiety for her beloved pilot increasing, as is mine. 'You need to find him. Find my thief!'

I nod determinedly. "Okay. Wait, your 'thief?'" Did the Doctor steal Idris when he left his home-world all those years ago? Or did Idris steal him?

She must've sensed my confusion, because she responds by saying, 'Don't ask questions! Go! Now! Before it's too late!'

With that, I waste no more time as I rush to the exit, opening her doors to…

Total destruction.

A/N: TO BE CONTINUED!