Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who that goes to the BBC
At the North Pole in 1983, a large submarine made its way through the waters as a radar pinged from inside the submarine.
Inside the submarine's control room, the crew seemed to be moving in a type of controlled chaos. Everyone knew their job, but there was a sense of urgency.
"Signal is genuine," a masculine voice said from the control room's radio, "Signal is genuine. Zero bravo…"
The submarine's captain, who was named Zhukov and had light skin, short grey hair with a beard and blue eyes and his lieutenant, Stepashin, who had light skin, black hair and brown eyes and were both wearing two different types of Soviet Navy cap over his head, inserted their keys into the slots on the control panel, causing two bays to open, exposing nuclear missiles.
"Prepare to launch nuclear weapons," Zhukov said into his radio as he grabbed it with his left hand.
"Aye, sir," one of the crewmen replied.
"Moscow confirming bomb sequence," the masculine voice said from the control room's radio as Zhukov flipped open the Nuclear weapons' launch button with his left hand.
"The Firebird stands ready to serve," Zhukov stated as he stared at the launch button.
"For the motherland," Stepashin muttered to himself.
"For the motherland," Zhukov said, agreeing with his lieutenant and rested his left hand's thumb above the button and was about to push it.
"This means nothing to me," an older man with light skin, grey hair and blue eyes named Professor Grisenko, wearing a grey t-shirt, green cargo shirt and a winter cap with headphones on, listening to the song 'Vienna' by Untravox on a Walkman as if he was learning the words, "Oh, Vienna." Zhukov and Stepahin then looked at him, causing him to look at them, "Have I interrupted something?"
"We were about to blow up the world, Professor," Zhukov answered.
"Again?" Grisenko muttered with disbelief in his voice before he put his left hand on the Walkman and turned it off, "Ultravox, I bloody love 'em. Got a friend who sends me the tapes."
"This is the captain. Drill abandoned," Zhukov said as he grabbed his radio with his right hand and spoke into it again, "All hands, stand down. Repeat, drill abandoned."
"With respect, sir, we must run it again," Stepashin protested.
"Tomorrow," Zhukov assured him.
"Comrade Captain, the NATO exercises…" Stepashin began to say.
"Sabre-rattling," Zhukov explained.
"I don't think so," Stepashin argued.
"Oh, you don't think so?" Zhukov said with disbelief in his voice.
"Sir, American aggression gets more intolerable by the day," Stepashin stated, "We must run the drill again."
"Tomorrow," Zhukov repeated himself, causing Stepashin to leave the room before Zhukov stepped closer to Grisensko a bit, "Did you have your specimen stored okay?"
"Yeah, Piotr's looking after it," Grisenko answered.
"Well, at least we have something to show for our little hunting expedition," Zhukov stated, "What is it? A mammoth?"
"Probably," Grisenko surmised.
A large block of ice sat in the submarine's hold. A young crewman with light skin, brown hair and green eyes, who was none other than Piotr, stood beside it with a lighter in his left hand.
"What are you, Milaya Moya?" Piotr asked the block of ice, "Professor wants you thawed out back in Moscow, but... Life's too short to wait."
Piotr then grabbed and lit a blowtorch with his right hand as he used it on the ice. The ice started to melt as Piotr heard a rumbling and cracking sound. Something seemed to move inside the large block of ice. A right hand suddenly broke through the ice, grabbing Piotr by the throat as the creature inside the block of ice growled ferociously.
The creature was soon free and began killing the crew as they got in his way. It fired a weapon and, in the enclosed space, breaches the integrity of the hull, causing water to enter.
"Ah! Get away!" A crewman ordered, "Alarm! Alarm!"
The creature then fired its weapon at the crewman, knocking him backwards before it entered another room as it walked towards another crewman and grabbed them with its right hand before knocking them out and continued on its way.
Water had soon found its way to the bridge. The crew fought to maintain control of the submarine as the alarm blared.
"Hold the bridge, port side!" Stepashin ordered everyone.
"Evasive manoeuvres!" Zhukov added as a crewman with light skin, brown hair and blue eyes with a headset over his head named, Onegin was monitoring their descent.
"Descending to 200 metres," Onegin reported.
"We're under attack!" A crewman announced from the radio.
"210!" Onegin reported as the submarine's hull creaked against the water's pressure as they fell deeper into the ocean.
"Bring her up, bring her up!" Zhukov ordered Onegin.
"It's no good, sir!" Onegin told him when the TARDIS suddenly materialised nearby.
"Viva Las Vegas!" The Doctor said as he exited the TARDIS with a pair of sunglasses over his eyes with Rose behind him, who had her overcoat removed and glasses over her eyes, but were tinted to appear to be sunglasses.
The submarine tilted, causing the Doctor and Rose to fall towards one of the control panels with Sydney and Clara, who was wearing a bluish-silver coloured short dress, fell beside them with a scream.
"Strangers on the bridge!" Stepashin reported to Zhukov.
"Who the hell are you?" Zhukov asked both Time Lords as the Doctor put his sunglasses in his jacket's inside pocket with Rose doing the same with hers.
"Not Vegas, then?" Clara asked the Doctor and Rose.
"Doesn't seem like it, Clara," Sydney told her.
"Indeed, this isn't Vegas," Rose said, agreeing with her son, "It appears to be a submarine."
"No. No, this is much better," the Doctor added as he pushed his hair away from his face with his right hand.
"A sinking submarine?" Clara asked them.
"Exciting, isn't it?" Rose inquired with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, it is, Mum!" Sydney answered.
"And it's a sinking Soviet submarine!" The Doctor added.
"Break outside arms, restrain them," Stepashin ordered the crewmen in the room.
"410! 420!" Onegin reported, "Turbines still not responding!"
"They've got to!" Zhukov said with disbelief in his voice.
"Ah! Sideways momentum!" The Doctor explained as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver with his right hand and flicked it open as he activated it, "You've still got sideways momentum!"
"What?" Zhukov said with confusion in his voice.
"He means your propellers work independently of the main turbines," Rose explained, "You can't stop her going down but you can manoeuvre the sub laterally. Do it!"
"Get these people off the bridge now!" Stepashin ordered the crewmen in the submarine's bridge before two crewmen grabbed the Doctor's arms with two more doing the same with Rose's arms.
"Just listen to them, for God's sake!" Clara pleaded with them.
"Like Clara said, listen to my parents for Rassilon's sake!" Sydney said, agreeing with the nanny.
"Geographical anomaly to starboard," the Doctor added, "Probably an underwater ridge."
"Exactly!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "An underground ridge could halt our descent. It's our best shot."
"How do you two know this?" Zhukov asked them.
"Look, we have just a shot," the Doctor told him, "A shot to be safe if we step along and do it!"
"600 metres!" Onegin reported to Zhukov, "Sir! 610!"
"If you don't do it, this thing will implode!" Rose added, agreeing with her husband.
"Lateral thrust to starboard, all propellers!" Zhukov relented.
"Sir?" Onegin said with disbelief in his voice.
"Now!" Zhukov ordered him.
"You're going to let this madman and madwoman give the orders?" Stepashin asked him with shock in his voice.
"Lateral thrust!" Zhukov ordered Onegin.
"Aye, sir!" Onegin replied as he began to do as he was ordered before Rose pulled out her screwdriver and flicked it open as she activated it, "660, 680!"
The submarine then suddenly crashed onto the ridge before it slid a little before coming to a halt. Everyone breathed a little easier now that the submarine had come to a halt. The Doctor put his sunglasses back on with Rose doing the same with her glasses.
"Descent arrested at 700 metres," Onegin reported to Zhukov.
"It seems we owe you our lives, whoever you are," Zhukov told the Time Lord and Time Lady.
"I'll hold you to that," the Doctor stated, "Might come in handy."
"Indeed, we'll hold you to that, Captain," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Search them," Stepashin ordered the crewmen, causing everyone to look at Clara and Rose as both older Gallifreyans removed their glasses and placed them back inside their jackets' inside pockets, "Yes, I know. They're women. Now, search them!"
The crewmen then pushed all three Gallifreyans and Clara back against a pole in the middle of the bridge.
"Hey? Oh!" The Doctor muttered as the crewmen handcuffed them.
"Are we going to be okay?" Clara asked the three Gallifreyans.
"I hope so, Clara," Rose answered.
"Oh, yes," the Doctor said at the same time.
"Is that a lie, Doctor?" Clara asked the Time Lord.
"Isn't it obvious, Clara?" Sydney retorted.
"Possibly," the Doctor answered as one of the crewmen took a barbie doll out of his pockets, "Very dangerous time, Clara. East and west standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion. Lots of itchy fingers on the button."
"Isn't it always like that?" Clara asked him.
"Sort of," the Doctor answered as one of the crewmen took a ball of twine from the Doctor's pockets as well, "But there are flash points and this is one of them." He then touched the top of his head and shoulders with both of his hands, "Hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It's the '80s. Everything's bigger."
"Indeed," Rose said, her voice steady and serious, "This is 1983, the height of the Cold War. Tensions between the East and West are at an all-time high. Regan is the President of the United States, and his policies are escalating the arms race. On the other side of the Iron Curtain, a term coined by an old friend of ours, Winston Churchill, Yuri Andropov leads the Soviet Union, matching Reagan's moves step for step. It's a delicate balance of power like a dance on the edge of a knife."
"And from what I've learned in my history lessons, no side would risk targeting the other otherwise the whole world would be devastated by a nuclear fallout," Sydney added.
As the three Gallifreyans finished explaining the Cold War in the eighties to Clara, one of the crewmen took the Doctor's sonic screwdriver with another doing the same with Rose's screwdriver as well.
"I'd like a receipt, please," the Doctor said as he made a grab for his sonic with his left hand.
"And I'd like one as well," Rose muttered, agreeing with her husband as she made a grab for her screwdriver with her right hand as well.
"What are these?" Zhukov asked both Gallifreyans as he took both screwdrivers with both of his hands when the sub suddenly creaked and tilted, causing Clara and Sydney to fall away from the Doctor and Rose as the nanny screamed.
"No! Clara!" The Doctor called out to the nanny.
"Sydney!" Rose said, calling out to her son.
"Doctor!" Clara exclaimed, calling out to the Time Lord.
"Mum! Dad!" Sydney yelled out to his parents.
"Clara!" The Doctor called out to his and Rose's companion again.
"Sydney!" Rose said, calling out to her son again.
To the Doctor's right and Rose's left, they suddenly heard TARDIS begin dematerialising in the background.
"No, no, no, no!" The Doctor pleaded with the TARDIS, "No, not now!"
"Like the Doctor said, don't do this, now, Old Girl!" Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
Clara then fell under the water and the last thing she saw were the Doctor and Rose's glowing sonic screwdrivers.
A while later, Clara slowly came to as she heard the muffled voices of the Doctor and Rose arguing with Zhukov as one of the officers had given her the jacket from his uniform with Sydney standing near his parents.
"Captain, we did not attack your ship," the Doctor told Zhukov, "Now, if we can get the pump working, we can get her afloat."
"Exactly, Captain," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "We're not your enemies here. We're just trying to help. If we can get the pumps working, we can save this ship and everyone on board. We need to work together if we're going to get out of this situation."
"Yeah, well, that's till the rescue ship comes," Zhukov stated as he stared at both older Gallifreyans.
"If it comes," the Doctor argued.
"And if Soviet high command even knows if this sub is missing," Rose added, agreeing with her husband.
"Oh, the sinking is just a coincidence, is it?" Zhukov asked them, "Who are the two of you?"
Clara then stood back up as the Captain pushed the Doctor against the wall before he looked at Stepashin and nodded his head before his lieutenant pushed Rose against the wall as well.
"All right, Captain, all right!" The Doctor muttered to himself as he looked at Zhukov, "You know what, just this once, no dissembling, no psychic paper, no pretending to be an Earth ambassador."
"Ah, Doctor, you haven't played the role of an Earth ambassador since that incident on Peladon that you told me about all the way back in your third incarnation, have you?" Rose remarked with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I haven't, love," the Doctor answered before he looked back at Zhukov, "Doctor, me, Rose, Sydney and Clara, time travellers. Clara, you okay?"
"Think so," Clara answered.
"Well, that's good to hear," Rose told their companion with a smile.
"Yeah, we would hate to see you hurt, Clara," Sydney stated as he looked at the nanny.
"Time travellers?" Zhukov said with disbelief in his voice.
"We arrived here out of thin air," the Doctor explained, "You saw it happen."
"I didn't," Grisenko told the Time Lord.
"Your problem, mate, not mine," the Doctor stated as he looked at him.
"Be rude again, aren't you, love?" Rose asked her husband.
"We were sinking," Clara reminded all three Gallifreyans.
"Yes," the Doctor confirmed.
"Yeah, we were Clara," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Indeed, the sub was sinking," Sydney muttered, agreeing with his parents.
"What happened?" Clara asked them.
"We sank," the Doctor answered.
"And near the bottom of the ocean floor, in fact," Rose added.
"No, what happened to the TARDIS, I mean?" Clara clarified.
"Never mind that," the Doctor told her.
"And it's a long story, Clara, we'll explain later," Rose assured her.
"Don't worry, Clara, once we're finished with all of this, I can assure you that Mum and Dad'll explain what happened to the TARDIS to you," Sydney assured Clara.
"Listen... Captain, breath's precious down here," the Doctor warned Zhukov, "Let's not waste it, eh?"
"You're right," Zhukov said, agreeing with the Time Lord, "Maybe I can save a little oxygen by having you four shot!"
"Uh…" The Doctor began to say.
"What does it matter how we arrived?" Clara asked Zhukov as she walked forward, "The important thing is to get…" Her words trailed off as the Doctor pointed at Clara with his left hand's index finger and while watching Zhukov, he nor Rose heard hissing from behind them, and didn't see what it was as everyone else looked stunned, "…out."
"Exactly," the Doctor said, agreeing with Clara, "Number one priority, not suffocating." He then patted Zhukov's left shoulder with his right hand.
"Absolutely, Doctor. Clara's right," Rose said, agreeing with them, "Our main priority should be to ensure we're not suffocating. We need to focus on getting out of here safely."
Zhukov and Stepashin then saw what was behind the Doctor and Rose as they backed away, releasing their hold on them.
"Oh, my giddy aunt," Sydney muttered to himself.
"Huh? Oh! Oh," the Doctor muttered to himself as he clapped his hands and turned to face everyone, "Thank you! Finally, seeing sense." Rose then looked behind her and saw what everyone else was seeing, it was the creature and was covered in some sort of metallic armour and was standing behind the Doctor, "Now, what sort of state is the sub in?"
"Doctor," Clara called out to the Time Lord.
"Dad, watch out," Sydney warned his father.
"Doctor, behind you!" Rose exclaimed as she looked at the creature with recognition in her eyes.
"What about the radio?" The Doctor asked the crew, ignoring Clara and his family, "Can we send a... "
"Doctor!" Clara, Rose and Sydney called out to the Time Lord at the same time.
"What?!" The Doctor asked them when the creature behind him suddenly hissed, "What is that, gas?" He then pointed at them with his right hand's index finger, "Could be gas." He then turned around and finally saw what everyone behind him had been staring at as he slowly turned around and saw the creature as it growled at them again before the Doctor nervously smiled at it and backed away, "Ah…" The creature then took a few steps forward, "It never rains but it pours."
"Wow, it's been centuries since I last encountered one of these," Rose muttered, "They're just as intimidating as I remember."
"We were drilling for oil in the ice," Grisenko explained, "I thought I found a mammoth."
"It's not a mammoth," the Doctor told him.
"Indeed, way older than a mammoth," Rose added, agreeing with her husband.
"No," Grisenko muttered to himself with confusion in his voice.
"What is it, then?" Clara asked the Doctor as she walked towards him and Rose.
"Mum, Dad, is that what I think it is?" Sydney asked his parents before Rose nodded her head with confirmation.
"It's an Ice Warrior," the Doctor answered, "A native of the planet Mars. And we go way back. Way back."
"And I've encountered them before, though not as far back," Rose added, "I met them once when I was in my 200s. They're formidable creatures, to say the least."
"A Martian?" Zhukov said with disbelief in his voice, "You two can't be serious!"
"I'm always serious, with days off," the Doctor told him.
"Doctor!" Clara whispered to the Time Lord.
"Just keeping it light, Clara, they're scared," the Doctor whispered back to her.
"Indeed, they are truly terrifying," Rose said, agreeing with him, "When I first encountered them on adventures, I was slightly terrified of them."
"And from what I've read, they're one of the most brutal species in the universe," Sydney added, "They've conquered worlds in the name of an empire."
"They're scared?" Clara said with disbelief in her voice, "I'm scared!"
One of the officers suddenly came up behind Clara as they cocked and aimed a pistol that he was holding in his right hand at the Ice Warrior, only for the Martian in turn to lift his arm containing his weapon.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor protested, "Please, please, wait! Just... there's no need for this. Just hear me out! You're… You're confused, disorientated. Of course you are. You've been lying dormant in the ice for… For how long?" He then snapped his right hand's fingers, "How long, Professor?"
"By my reckoning, 5,000 years," Grisenko answered.
"5,000 years," the Doctor told the Ice Warrior, "That's a hell of a nap. Can't blame you if you've got out of the wrong side of bed. Nobody here wants to hurt you." He then pushed down the officer's pistol with his right hand, "Please, just… Why don't you tell us your name?"
"What are you talking about, name?" Zhukov said with disbelief in his voice, "It has a name?"
"Of course it has a name," the Doctor confirmed, "And a rank. This is a soldier. And it deserves our respect."
"Absolutely, Captain. Nearly all life forms, whether they're human or not, have a name of some kind," Rose added, agreeing with her husband, "It's a fundamental part of their identity. This Ice Warrior is no different."
"This is madness," Zhukov protested, "That is a monster!"
"Skaldak," the Ice Warrior answered as the Doctor pointed at him and turned to look at Zhukov before he quickly turned back around to look at Skaldak with Rose doing the same, upset by what they heard him say.
"What did you say?" The Doctor asked him as he and Rose both took a couple of steps forward.
"And did we hear you correctly?" Rose inquired as she looked at the Ice Warrior.
"I am Grand Marshal Skaldak," the Ice Warrior answered, causing the Doctor and Rose to close their eyes for a few seconds.
"Oh, no," both older Gallifreyans muttered to themselves as they reopened their eyes when Skaldak suddenly growled and shuddered as electricity coursed through him before he turned around to face his attacker and saw that it was Stepashin.
"You idiot!" The Doctor yelled at Stepashin before Skaldak fell to the floor, unconscious, "You... idiot! Grand Marshal Skaldak."
"One of the greatest, but brutal soldiers in the history of the universe," Rose muttered to herself.
"You... both know him?" Clara asked them.
"Yeah, Mum and Dad, do you?" Sydney said, agreeing with his parents, "Cos I've never heard the two of you talk about him before."
"Sovereign of the Tharseesian caste. Vanquisher of the Phobos heresy," the Doctor explained, "The greatest hero the proud Martian race has ever produced."
"So what do we do now?" Zhukov asked them.
"The only thing we can do for someone as brutal as he is," Rose answered.
"Lock... him... up!" The Doctor added, agreeing with his wife.
A while later in the torpedo room of the submarine, Skaldak growled as he was chained to pipes running along the wall by many of the submarine's crew with Onegin standing nearby.
"Is it true?" The Ice Warrior asked Onegin as he looked at him.
"Uh, true?" Onegin said with confusion in his voice.
"I slept for 5,000 years?" Skaldak asked him.
"Uh… Uh, that's what the Professor says," Onegin answered.
"Five thousand years," Skaldak muttered to himself with disbelief in his voice as he bowed his head before Onegin and the other crew members left the room.
In the submarine's communications room, the Doctor, Rose, Sydney and Clara all stood before Zhukov, Stepashin and Grisenko as they stood in the room as well.
"The Ice Warriors have a different creed, Clara, a different code," the Doctor explained to the nanny, "By his own standards, Skaldak is a hero. It was said his enemies honoured him so much they'd carve his name into their own flesh before they died."
"Think of it like the Mandalorians from Star Wars, Clara," Rose added, "They have their own code, their own way of life that might seem extreme to us. But to them, it's about honour and tradition. Skaldak is similar in that respect."
"Absolutely, Mum and Dad. The Ice Warriors' code is all about honour and combat. It's not just about fighting, it's about why they fight and how they conduct themselves," Sydney said, agreeing with his parents, "Skaldak, for instance, is revered not just for his victories, but for the way he upholds these traditions."
"Oh, yeah. Very nice," Clara muttered, sarcastically, "He sounds lovely."
"An Ice Warrior?" Zhukov repeated, "Explain."
"There isn't time," the Doctor told him.
"Try me," Zhukov challenged him.
"Martian reptile known as the Ice Warrior," the Doctor explained, "When Mars turned cold they had to adapt. They're biomechanoid, cyborgs, built survival armour so they could exist in the freezing cold of their home world. But an increase in temperature and the armour goes haywire."
"Like with the cattle prod thing?" Clara realised.
"Like that cattle prod thing," the Doctor said, agreeing with her, "Bit of a design flaw. I've always wondered why they never sorted it. Oh, look, you've got me telling you about them and I said there wasn't time!"
"And I remember when we were just Time Tots at the Time Lord Academy, one of our teachers took our entire class to Mars. It was what you humans refer to as a field trip, to experience firsthand how the Ice Warriors lived," Rose added, "And the last time we truly encountered them was on a freezer satellite named Coldstar, a few hundred years ago. They've always been a fascinating species to us."
"Indeed, they are, Mum," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "A species adapting to suits of armour because of their planet's ice age. That is a very interesting form of adaptation."
"Is he that dangerous?" Clara asked them.
"This one is," the Doctor answered.
"Find me, my brothers, if you are still out there," Skaldak growed to himself from the submarine's torpedo room, "Find me." He then activated a transmitter in his armour.
Back inside the submarine's communications room, the beeping from the transmitter of Skaldak's armour could be heard through Grisenko's Walkman headphones as it was playing the song 'Hungry Like the Wolf' by Duran Duran. He then slipped his headphones on and over his ears, which the Doctor and Rose both noticed as the Time Lord had his arms crossed..
"Why are we listening to this nonsense, Captain?" Stepashin asked Zhukov, "These people are clearly enemy agents."
"Huh?" Clara said with confusion in her voice.
"Spies, Captain," Stepashin repeated himself.
"Pretty bad spies, mate," Clara told him, "Don't even speak Russian."
As Clara said that, the Doctor and Rose both tried to shush her but failed as Sydney just looked at her with amusement on his face before the Doctor placed his arms behind his back as Rose lowered her arms.
"What?" Stepashin said with disbelief in his voice as he looked at her.
"I don't…" Clara began to say before she looked at both older Gallifreyans as Stepashin walked towards them a bit, "Am I speaking Russian? How come I'm speaking Russian?"
"Now? We have to do this now?" The Doctor asked her.
"Yeah, now's not the best time to explain it, Clara," Rose told their companion.
"Like Mum said, this really isn't the best time to explain it," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother.
"Are they speaking Russian?" Clara asked them.
"Seriously, now?" The Doctor said with disbelief in his voice, "It's the TARDIS translation matrix."
"Yes, Clara. The TARDIS translation matrix translates human and alien languages inside our heads, wherever we land," Rose stated, agreeing with her husband, "It's like having a universal translator, making sure the people we travel with can always understand and be understood."
"That's right. But it's worth noting that some languages, like Gallifreyan, can't be translated by the TARDIS," Sydney added, "Since the TARDIS is Gallifreyan in origin, and it's our native language, it respects the complexity and significance of it by not translating it."
"In my opinion, Comrade Captain, this creature is a Western weapon," Stepashin told Zhukov as he turned back around towards him.
"Are they?" Clara asked the three Gallifreyans.
"Yes," the Doctor answered, "They're Russians."
"And about all citizens of the Soviet Union knew Russian," Rose added, "It was the biggest of the Soviet Republics after all."
"It's true, Clara. Russian was the lingua franca of the Soviet Union, a unifying language among its diverse republics," Sydney stated, "It's why everyone here understands it."
"A weapon?" Zhukov asked his lieutenant with disbelief in his voice.
"Survival suit," Stepashin explained as Grisenko removed his headphones from his ears, "What is the alternative? The little green man from Mars?"
"Correction. It's a big green man from Mars," Grisenko corrected him, causing Zhukov to chuckle.
"I do not appreciate your levity, Professor," Stepashin told him.
"Why does that not surprise me?" Grisenko asked himself, "Maybe they're telling the truth."
"The truth?" Stepashin repeated with confusion in his voice as he looked at him.
"Yes. A revolutionary concept, I know," Grisenko confirmed.
"It's essential that we inform Moscow of what we have found," Stepashin told Zhukov.
"Oh, the radio's out of action, in case you hadn't noticed, Stepashin," Zhukov stated as he looked at him.
"They have our last position. They will find us," Stepashin assured him, "When they do…"
"Yes?" Zhukov interrupted him.
"Well, the cold War won't stay cold forever, Captain," Stepashin explained.
"For God's sake, Stepashin, you're like a stuck record," Zhukov told him as Stepashin walked back towards Clara and the three Gallifreyans before he stared at the Doctor, "We have other priorities right now. I want you back on repairs immediately, we need to keep this ship alive. Dismissed."
"Sir?" Stepashin said with disbelief as he looked back at him.
"Dismissed, Stepashin," Zhukov ordered his lieutenant as Stepashin walked back towards him.
With that said, Stepashin left the room, brushing past Clara as he went. The Doctor stepped forward to stand face-to-face with Zhukov with Rose following him. The Time Lord brushed imaginary lint from the Captain's uniform with his right hand.
"All we needed to do was let Skaldak go and he'd have forgotten us. But you've attacked him, you declared war," the Doctor stated, "'Harm one of us and you harm us all.' It's the ancient Martian code."
"The Doctor's right. Skaldak isn't just a soldier he's bound by honour and a code that's been ingrained in him for millenia," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "By attacking him, you've invoked that code against us all. It's not just about retaliation, it's about upholding his honour."
"You hear that?" The Doctor asked Zhukov as he and Rose suddenly heard the beeping from Grisenko's headphones again, "Skaldak has sent out a distress call. He'll bring down the fires of hell just for laying a glove on him."
"Unless you both talk to it?" Zhukov asked them.
"I'm the only one who can," the Doctor told him.
"As am I," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"No. Out of the question," Zhukov argued, "We're not losing you. I'll do it."
"What?" Both older Gallifreyans said with disbelief in their voices.
"You both can talk to it through me," Zhukov explained.
"Skaldak won't talk to you," the Doctor told him, "You're an enemy soldier."
"Indeed, he won't even hesitate to talk to you," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "He would outright kill you on the spot."
"How would he know that?" Zhukov asked them.
"A soldier knows another soldier," the Doctor explained, "He'll smell it on you, smell it on you a mile off."
"There may come a day when I have to stand as a soldier, even if it's the last thing I want," Rose added, recalling what Dorium said to her and the Doctor when they returned the box with his head inside it back to the Seventh Transept after they faked their deaths at Lake Silencio in 2011, "And Skaldak, with his warrior's instinct, might sense that potential in me as well."
"And he wouldn't smell it on you, Doctor?" Zhukov asked the Time Lord with confusion in his voice.
"Just let me and Rose in there before it's too late," the Doctor pleaded with him, "It can't be you or any of your men."
"LIke he said, please let us in there before it's too late, Captain," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"Well, it can't be the two of you," Zhukov told them when Clara suddenly cleared her throat causing the Doctor, Rose and Zhukov to turn around to face her and Sydney, who were smiling at them.
"Well, there really is only one choice, isn't there?" Clara realised, causing the Doctor and Rose to smile, "I don't smell of anything. To my knowledge."
"Indeed, Clara has a point," Sydney said, agreeing with her, "She has never been a soldier or fought on a battlefield. She is equally the best choice aside from me."
"You? No! No! No way!" The Doctor argued, "You're not going in there alone, Clara. Absolutely not! No, no. Never!"
Clara opened the hatch to the torpedo room with her right hand. She had a headset with a microphone around her neck. She peered in and saw Skaldak standing still. She stepped inside and closed the door and put on the headset. She inched into the room and picked up one of the lamps with her left hand as she turned it on and looked up at the security camera behind her as she smiled at it.
Back inside the submarine's communications room, Zhukov was sitting in front of the microphone and screen with Grisenko standing behind a chair nearby and Sydney across from him as the Doctor and Rose walked up behind Zhukov.
"With your permission," the Doctor requested Zhukov.
"Yeah, can we, Captain?" Rose asked Zhukov, agreeing with her husband.
"Be my guest," Zhukov replied as he stood up and walked away from his seat as the Doctor sat down on the seat with Rose standing next to him.
"Ready, Clara?" The Doctor asked Clara as he tapped on the microphone with his right hand's index finger, causing it to make a feedback hum.
"Like he said, are you ready, Clara?" Rose said, agreeing with her husband as she spoke into the microphone as well.
"Yeah," Clara answered.
"Okay," both Gallifreyans muttered from her headset.
"Grand Marshal Skaldak," Clara greeted the Ice Warrior.
"The salute," the Doctor reminded the nanny from the submarine's communications room.
"Do the salute like we showed you," the Doctor added from her headset.
"He's right, Clara," Rose said, agreeing with her husband from their companion's headset, "If you don't do it, Skaldak will see you as unhonourable to talking to him."
Clara then put the lamp between her legs and saluted Skaldak by putting her right fist to the front of her left shoulder. Skaldak hissed at her as she picked up the lamp again with her left hand.
"Okay?" Clara muttered to herself.
"Good. Good," the Doctor replied from the submarine's communications room, "Now, like we rehearsed. 'Sovereign of the Tharseesian caste…'"
"Sovereign of the Tharseesian caste, by the moons, I honour thee," Clara went on from the submarine's torpedo room.
"Good," the Doctor muttered from Clara's headset, "It's okay, Clara. Go closer."
"It's all right, Clara," Rose assured her from Clara's headset, "It's all right if you go closer towards him."
"Grand Marshal, I'm…" Clara began to say as she stepped closer towards Skaldak, "We're sorry about this."
"It's not what you deserve," the Doctor added from the submarine's communications room.
"It isn't what you deserve," Clara repeated what the Doctor said from the submarine's torpedo room.
Back in the submarine's torpedo room, the power suddenly went out in the room and throughout the entire sub.
"Oh. Oh, great," Clara muttered to herself.
"Hey, it's ok, Clara," the Doctor assured her from the submarine's communications room, "Keep going."
"Indeed, it's going to be all right, Clara," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "Do as the Doctor says and keep going."
Clara then put down the now-dead lamp and turned on a flashlight and aimed it at Skaldak.
"You're a long way from home," Clara told the Ice Warrior.
"Five thousand years," the Doctor added from the submarine's communications room.
"And 5,000 years adrift in time," Clara went on from the submarine's torpedo room, "Please, let us help you. You are not our enemy."
"And yet, I am in chains," Skaldak stated with anger in his voice.
"Doctor, Rose, what do I say?" Clara asked both older Gallifreyans.
"Yes, Doctor and Rose, what should she say?" Skaldak taunted both older Gallifreyans.
"I think he wants to speak to the organ-grinder and his wife, not to the monkey," Grisenko stated from the submarine's communications room.
"Yeah, I think he wants to speak to Mum and Dad as well, Professor," Sydney said, agreeing with him.
"I heard that," Clara told Grisenko and Sydney with offence in her voice.
"Sorry, Clara," Sydney apologised, "I didn't mean it."
"You are restrained until we can trust each other, Skaldak," the Doctor told Skaldak, "You would do exactly the same in our position and don't even think about using that sonic weapon."
"Exactly, Skaldak," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "We're not your enemies here. We're just trying to ensure everyone's safety, yours included. And about that sonic weapon, it's not going to solve anything. It's only going to escalate the situation."
"And don't even think about using it in the torpedo room," the Doctor added from Clara's headset.
"He's right, Skaldak," Rose said, agreeing with her husband from Clara's headset, "Using that weapon won't bring you any closer to home. It won't bring back the past. We're here to help, not to fight. Let's find a peaceful solution together."
"I was fleet commander of the Nix-Thassis," Skaldak told both Gallifreyans, "My daughter stood by me. It was her first taste of action. We sang the songs of the old times. The songs of the red snow. Five thousand years. Now my daughter will be dust. Only dust."
"No, no, no, listen," the Doctor urged the Ice Warrior from the submarine's communications room, "Your people live on, Skaldak, scattered all across the universe and Mars will rise again, I promise you. Just, let me and Rose help you."
"He's right, Skaldak," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "We've seen it. Your people, the Ice Warriors, they survive. They thrive. And Mars, it becomes a beacon of hope again. We can't change the past, but we can help shape a better future. For you, for Mars, for everyone."
"I require no help," Skaldak stated as Clara stepped closer towards Skaldak.
"There will be no help," Skaldak added from the radio in the submarine's communications room.
"Careful, Clara," the Doctor warned the nanny as he watched her move closer over towards the Ice Warrior.
"Like he said, don't get too close to him," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"I'm okay," Clara assured both Gallifreyans from the radio.
"No, listen, Clara, like Rose said, don't get too close," the Doctor told her, agreeing with his wife.
"I'm okay," Clara assured them, "Doctor, Rose, something's wrong."
"What?" Both Gallifreyans said with confusion in their voices at the same time.
"Something's…" Clara began to say as she reached out and touched Skaldak's helmet with her right hand, causing it to fall backwards to reveal empty armour as she stepped back with a gasp, "It's not there, it's gone!"
The front of the armour then suddenly opened up by itself to show the advanced tech inside as she heard the beeping coming from it.
"Gone? Gone? Gone?" The Doctor said with shock in his voice, "What do you mean, gone?"
"Like he said, what do you mean by, 'gone,' Clara?" Rose asked the nanny.
"It's got out!" Clara explained.
"It is time I learned the measure of my enemies and what this vessel is capable of," Skaldak stated as Clara looked around nervously in the torpedo room's dim light.
"No, no, no, Skaldak!" The Doctor pleaded with Skaldak from the submarine's communications room.
"Like he said, this isn't the way, Skaldak," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "This isn't the way. We're not your enemies. We don't want to fight. We want to help you. But escaping and causing potential harm… that's not the measure of us. And it shouldn't be the measure of you."
"Harm one of us and you harm us all," Skaldak told everyone, "By the moons, this I swear."
As the Ice Warrior said that, Clara looked around nervously for the exit before she saw the hatch that she entered the torpedo room through.
"Clara, get out of there," the Doctor ordered the nanny with the microphone, "Get out!" He then got up from the chair and rushed for the door with Rose following him before Sydney began to follow his parents when Zhukov suddenly pulled his pistol out with his left hand and aimed it at the Doctor, "I have never seen one do this before. Actually, I have never seen one out of its armour before."
"He's right, Captain," Rose said, agreeing with her husband, "This is uncharted territory for all of us. But pointing a gun isn't going to help. We need to stay calm and figure this out together."
Zhukov then lowered his pistol before the Doctor, Rose and Sydney ran for the door.
"Won't it be more vulnerable out of its shell?" Grisenko asked the three Gallifreyans.
"No, it will be more dangerous," the Doctor answered as he stopped in the doorway as Rose and Sydney continued to run out of the room before he followed his wife and son out of the room.
Back inside the submarine's torpedo room, Clara spun around with the flashlight, trying to pinpoint Skaldak's location.
"Clara! Clara!" The Doctor yelled as he, Rose and Sydney ran down the submarine's corridors to the torpedo room with Zhukov and Grisenko following them.
Back in the torpedo room, Clara heard Skaldak as she saw the hatchway and ran over to try and open it.
"Oh!" Clara whimpered as she tried to push the hatchway open with her right hand before it finally opened as Clara fell as Skaldak streaked past her out into the corridor.
Skaldak rushed past the Doctor, Rose, Sydney, Zhukov and Onegin as they continued to travel down the corridors before the three Gallifreyans hurried to the hatchway.
"Clara!" The Doctor, Rose and Sydney called out to the nanny, "Clara! Clara! Clara!" The Time Lord then pulled Clara out and hugged her.
"I'm okay," Clara panted before she laughed and turned around towards them, "I'm okay, I'm okay. Where did he go?"
"That's what we were wondering," Rose told her as Grisenko heard the beeping continue over from his Walkman.
"How did I do?" Clara asked them, "Was I okay?"
"This wasn't a test, Clara," the Doctor told her.
"He's right, this was far more dangerous than a test," Rose said, agreeing with her husband.
"And if not careful, you could've been killed," Sydney added, "But I'm just glad that you're safe."
"I know but..." Clara began to say.
"You were great, yeah," the Doctor answered.
"He's right, Clara," Rose said, her voice warm but reassuring, "You handled yourself brilliantly under such intense pressure. It was more than just 'okay.' You were exceptional."
"Mum's right, you really were, Clara," Sydney stated, agreeing with his mother.
"Really?" Clara asked the three Gallifreyans with surprise in her voice.
"Really," the Doctor answered as he put his right hand over her left shoulder.
"Doctor," Grisenko called out to the Time Lord, "The signal, it's stopped."
The Doctor then hurried over to Grisenko and listened to his Walkman.
"Skaldak got no answer from his Martian brothers," the Doctor realised as he stopped listening to the Walkman and walked away from Grisenko, "Now he's given up hope."
"Hope of what?" Zhukov asked him.
"It's very obvious, Captain," Rose told him.
"Mum's right, it is very obvious what he's given up hope on," Sydney said, agreeing with his mother.
"Being rescued," the Doctor answered, agreeing with his wife and son, "He thinks he's been abandoned. He's got nothing left to lose."
Just then, more pieces of rock fell from the ridge under the submarine.
"But what can he do?" Zhukov asked the three Gallifreyans, "Stuck down here like the rest of us. How bad can it be?"
"It could be very bad," Rose answered, her voice serious and filled with concern, "Skaldak is a warrior, and he's desperate. Desperate enough to do something drastic."
"And this sub's stuffed with nuclear missiles, Zhukov," the Doctor added, agreeing with her, "It's fat with them. What do you think Skaldak's going to do when he finds that out? 'How bad can it be? How bad can it be?' Like Rose said, it couldn't be any worse."
"They're right," Sydney stated, agreeing with his parents, "We're dealing with a desperate warrior in a submarine full of nuclear missiles. The situation is as bad as it gets. We need to act carefully."
Rocks suddenly fell from the cliff above the submarine, worsening its already precarious position.
Suddenly, they were jostled about as one of the hatches between the hulls opened up as water poured into the submarine's corridor.
"Okay," the Doctor muttered to himself as the water from the ocean stopped pouring into the submarine, "Spoke too soon."
"Boy, you said it, love," Rose said, agreeing with him with a wry smile on her face despite the escalating danger, "We're in for quite a ride, aren't we?"
Please review.
And as Rose mentioned, she has had previous encounters with the Ice Warriors before, one of which took place on a freezer satellite named Coldstar. If you're interested in exploring more about Rose's experience with the Ice Warriors, I recommend checking out the Big Finish audio adventure titled 'Cold Vengeance.' It provides some additional context and depth to Rose's character and her relationship with the Ice Warriors. However, I've made sure that this version of the story stand on its own like the original did, so you won't miss out on anything if you haven't listened to it.