2. Daring Negotiations Cut Short.
Recovery Time.
Chloe goes to the Tardis kitchen and makes herself a hot drink to recover. .
She wonders where else she ought to park her Tardis. .
She knows the Tardis door will only open to her touch ... or her sister, or the Doctor, or her mother...
She wonders if it would open to any previous Gallifreyan occupant or traveller? .
Suddenly she hears the familiar zizz of her Tardis travelling! She's aghast! Someone else is using her Tardis!
Someone else got in!
Oops!
Obviously their entry was not rescinded!
Who is it?
What will they do?
The New Viewer.
Chloe recalls her new viewer. Had the Tardis known this would happen? Had her Tardis set this up?
Quickly, she enables it and watches in horror as a woman, unknown to her, pilots the Tardis manually, skilfully landing on a space battle cruiser above some planet which appears on the monitor screen.
A courtesy label appears briefly.
Skaro! What Time Lord is going to Skaro, and for what purpose?
The woman leaves the Tardis, but stays nearby, maybe accidentally outside its protection area. But how far does that extend? .
Chloe wants a better view and goes to the Console room where she can also hear what's going on beyond the Tardis door, ready to run back along the corridor at a moment's notice. .
It becomes clear that she's missed the start of the conversation. .
"You know I can run rings around you!" the woman says heatedly. She seems to be holding her own position in a failed attempt at a verbal negotiation.
"We know no such thing!" a Dalek says. "We can exterminate you."
"I can regenerate," the woman says flatly.
"That takes time! We can throw you out into space before you can regenerate! We can easily win!"
"My friends will come and rescue me! Even in space they can come and rescue me!" The woman seems confident.
"We can put that to the test! Exterminate!" It seems the Daleks are in no mood for any negotiation! .
The sound of early Dalek weapons readying for use is heard while the woman chooses to run for the Tardis door!
A single Dalek already had its weapons readied and its weapon blast brings the woman down. She falls before she reaches the Tardis protection area let alone the Tardis door.
"We learn!" the Dalek says. .
Chloe asks the Tardis to show her what's happening. The screen shows the Daleks approaching the fallen woman.
Three Daleks begin dragging the woman towards a ground level space hatch port. Then they trundle pushing her to the edge of their space hatch. Shortly, the woman floats slowly away into space. The Daleks retreat from the edge and the space hatch door closes.
Chloe instructs her Tardis, "Tardis, could you rescue that woman from certain death in space."
The Tardis zizzes and the fallen woman appears in the Tardis Control room, on the floor.
The Tardis screen flashes up a message in urgent Red. "Recommendation. Take her to the custody of the Judoon."
"Yes, do it, please," Chloe says. She knows the Judoon as the space police, and she complies, yet she feels the Tardis' suggestion is slightly over-the-top.
The Tardis zizzes and the Console screen shows the Judoon 'unbooked landing' area. Several Judoon guards emerge from a doorway and approach the Tardis, weapons at the ready. Chloe gasps. . They look as if they mean business! .
In the Tardis, the woman's body appears to evaporate before Chloe's eyes, leaving a bunch of Gallifreyan jewellery. .
She wonders what it means but has no time to do anything about it.
A Judoon approaches the Tardis. Chloe bounds to the door and opens both doors wide.
The Judoon guard pauses. He recognises a Tardis when he sees one, whatever the interior looks like! He's not new on the job! .
"Be careful; Time Lord jewellery!" Chloe cautions in the moment before the Judoon guard arrives.
The Judoon recognises that Chloe isn't a threat – she's being up-front with some information, whatever it might mean. .
"I have a pot!" The terse Judoon guard pushes past Chloe and enters the Tardis. Chloe follows him in.
But how much does he know?
The Judoon sees the jewellery on the floor and retrieves a pot from a pocket. He bends to pick up a Time Lord ring. .
"No! Don't touch it!" Chloe yells.
The Judoon proceeds to ignore her and simply lifts the jewellery into the pot using something like tweezers and closes the lid. Apparently, he thinks this is enough precaution. .
Chloe's appalled. Then she fears for the safety of everyone.
She observes for a moment, and she sees a yellow glow flowing along the Judoon glove. .
"Your glove!" she shouts in alarm.
The Judoon looks and sees the yellow glow. .
"Pah! Don't distract me!" the gruff response is given as he reaches for another pot oblivious of the problem. .
Chloe dashes out of the Tardis and asks to see Petrozena, the Shadow Architect, nominally in charge here under strained relationships. She knows her way around the ancient Judoon station and finds her easily.
She desperately blurts out, "Petrozena, we may have a problem. One of your Judoon guards may be infested with an ancient Time Lord!"
"Please explain." Petrozena answers coolly, without moving. She's not convinced by that, especially coming from someone she doesn't recognise, as Chloe has regenerated since she last saw her!
"One of your Judoon picked up a piece of Time Lord jewellery and a yellow glow happened."
Petrozena sighs. She can see a blunder. Her precarious relationship with the Judoon will yet again have to be stretched! .
"Alright. I'll have it contained."
She verbally messages Judoon Command. "One Judoon entered the newly arrived Tardis and is now infected with something. Segregate that Judoon and all who have been near him."
As she walks Chloe back to her Tardis she chats, verifying just who Chloe is.
When the Judoon emerges, he finds himself surrounded by a ring of hostile Judoon colleagues.
Quickly, he retreats into the Tardis. Immediately it zizzes and disappears. .
Chloe groans. "Petrozena, I'm sorry, we have a rogue Gallifreyan loose in a Tardis. I'll do my best to sort this out!" She winces at the thought of having to even try to sort out this problem Time Lord.
Petrozena purses her lips and nods. She can see a massive difficulty and knows something of Chloe's interest. She has no idea how Chloe might do anything, but she might try.
Chloe thinks of her Tardis kitchen, a minute earlier, and activates her personal wristwatch transport...
Wish her luck with that!
It might be tricky. It might be complex! It might be secret!