Doctor Who Fan Fiction ❯ A Growing Madness ❯ Chapter 13

Doctor Who and its accoutrements are the property of the BBC, and we obviously don't have any right to them. Any and all fan fiction characters belong to their respective creators. Alas no one makes any money from this story, and it's all done out of love for a cheap-looking sci-fi show.

 

Epilogue

Ace and Raina spun round as they heard the wheezing dematerialization. The TARDIS solidified, and the light stopped flashing. They rushed over as the males emerged. "We saw the explosions coming from the dark side," said Ace. "What happened?"

"The Ehrweylians happened," said the Doctor simply. "Ready to go?"

"We're leaving just like that?" asked Raina. "Wait about the colonists?"

"The Rani's revenge has again backfired. And the Erweylians are free to return."

"Just like that. why didn't they come before?" asked Raina.

"Because. of the threat of their power." the Doctor said. "But I highly doubt that the transwarp barriers will keep them out as they had before." The Doctor clutched his box. Then set it on the floor before one of the panels. "Maneuver the ship into a high orbit, Raina."

Shaking her head, Raina eased the dual controls for plotting the orbit. The third control she turned to half thrust. Rockets boomed as the hybrid ship coasted to a higher orbit within minutes. Callom stood next to Ace. They exchanged smiles. Ace masked her concern as she glanced into his face. How drawn and pale he looked lately. All they could do now was watch the Time Lord messing with a small box of circuits while Raina piloted the craft. He muttered to himself and grumbled, sometimes rapping the box angrily.

"What are you grousing about now?" asked Ace.

"You'll find out. How much farther to go, Raina?"

"About five miles. Then we will be in position for a hyper jump. But there's a problem. I think the directional control is shot."

"No worries. Just get us out of a low orbit."

"There might not be enough fuel to reach escape velocity. I've barely got enough left for maneuvering," Raina announced grimly.

"We had a battle with a Karakulian saucer," Ace explained.

"That was the shooting start, then" asked Callom. Ace nodded. Both teenagers leaned against a nearby wall panel. Karakulians unfortunately didn't' need to sit when flying their craft. The Doctor flipped switches on his box. "Ready?"

"We've run out of fuel. But we're there," said Raina triumphantly.

"Good girl. Now hold on. Here goes nothing. Operate the hyper jump."

Raina pushed an improvised solenoid. At first nothing happened. Then she kicked the panel. Nuclear engines hummed into life, from a distance. Everyone felt the sudden shock as the Cerise crept to transwarp velocity. "We're reaching light speed now..." The Doctor nodded eagerly.

Callom crossed his fingers. Would it work? Monitors tracing their orbits went blank. "It's okay," said Ace, fingers slipping around his hand. "We're outta here!"

Gently he squeezed her hand in return. Neither teen let go.

It started from the roots of the floor. Everything shook. Even the view itself. The whole room shuddered. Callom felt his heart pounding in his chest as he was pressed flat against the wall. "We've breached the fourth dimension... entering hyper space now!" came Raina's voice, slightly distorted.

"This did nae happen before," said Callom, worried.

"Professor?" asked Ace.

The only answer to her query was glance from the floor. Frantically the Doctor pressed solenoids on the box. "What the hell are you playing at?" She cried.

Straining struts groaned. "It's what I was afraid of!" cried Raina. The walls around them began to buckle. "This Karakulian ship isn't built to withstand the strain of hyper space!"

"Quickly! To the TARDIS!" shouted the Doctor, grabbing his umbrella. Ace dashed over, still clutching Callom's hand. They slipped inside.

"Come on Yank!" she shouted. "Don't hang about!"

There was a bang. Everyone pitched sideways.

"The struts have torn!" shouted Raina. Still she stood by the control panels. "We're detaching from the Cerise!!"

"One more second," muttered the Doctor. He reached for the box. Hit one last solenoid with the toe of his foot.

Ace rushed to Raina, grabbing her arm. "Come on already! There's nothing we can do! We gotta split!"

"But the ship... without the directional control will keep on drifting!" Raina cried.

"Don't worry about that!" said the Doctor. "I've got it set!"

He stopped when a collapsing girder smacked him on the head. All around them the panels sparked. Pieces dropped from the ceiling and walls. Grabbing the Doctor's shoulders, Raina and Ace wrested him towards the TARDIS. Callom and the geologist took the Doctor as Ace pulled the key from his pocket.

***

Ace shut the doors. Swooning against Callom, the Doctor muttered gibberish. "He's been acting like that for the past few minutes," said Callom.

"Oh great," Ace complained. "What are we going to do now? If we get caught in the back lash..."

"We can nae fly this without him awake..."

Raina hastily consulted the fault locator. "Everything's repaired," she said.

"Ummm...."

"Doctor!" cried Callom. "What do we do!"

 

“Ace, you must do what I say. Remember you watched me…You... must take off."

"But I'm not a time lord..." Ace said quickly.

" Tegan could well fly this rackety old bucket, although I'd never admit to her that she could,” the Doctor said as Rainia helped to sit him down in a chair that Callom scooted up.

"Tegan?" asked Raina.

"One of his friends," said Ace quickly, rushing over to the console. Desperately her hands flew over the panels. Callom and the geologist watched feverishly as they felt the ship lurching. Stiffly she hesitated before each action. Then a veil of calmness fell over her.

"Callom, sense my thoughts," the Doctor whispered, and slowly reached out to touch Callom's temples. "Relay them to Ace. she will know."

Ace gasped as she felt strange equations flowing through her mind. Using Callom as a conduit, altered by the Rani's genetics, the Doctor relayed what she would know. He used Ace, knowing she could withstand the rigors of such a mind link. Although in some dark corner of his mind he was trying to protect her, maintain her innocence he knew that she would be the only one he could trust for this task. He relayed this revelation to her, and she slowly let him inside her mind, realizing his trust in her was absolute.

"Setting vortex coordinates," said she. At last she grasped the three demat levers in both hands. Edging them forwards, she said, "Here goes nothing."

They sighed with relief as the column rose and fell. Wheezing shudders permeated the room. Ace still hunched over the console, staring at he bobbing column with her dark eyes.

"I knew ye could do it," said Callom. Reaching behind her, he wrapped her in a hug. Her shoulders were rock hard with tension. Slowly the Doctor pressed his hand to his to his temples.

 

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," said Ace. "I'm afraid I don't know where we'll end up."

"Just as long as we got out there," said Raina. "After all, you flew that other ship.."

"A Karakulian ship is hardly a TARDIS," she said.

"No, but ye travel with the Doctor,” said Callom.

Curving around to the next panel she checked the readouts. "It's like trying to drive a stick shift when you're used to an automatic," she explained. "It's a type 40, no matter what you see."

“Doctor,” said the geologist. “Are you all right?”

 

"Yes," the Doctor panted, pressing his hands to his head and slowly trying to focus. He felt black miasma spinning before him as he attempted to remain conscious and instruct them all before collapsing. Callom and Ace glanced back at him as Raina dabbed his brow. He slumped forward in the chair.

 

“Doctor!” Ace cried.

 

“Stay there, Ace! You… you must put these coordinates in. Callom, relay them to her. We'll land soon,” the Doctor gasped. “I must go back to Earth… someplace I can rest…”

 

“Doctor,” Ace whispered.

 

He turned to Raina, and grabbed her arm, “I… I didn't tell you everything. "The Rani gave you something that I thought she would not dare. And Vitreum's inheritance was not wasted. Reach into yourself and you'll find her there."

"Doctor, what do you mean?" Raina gasped.

"Remember. Tegan," he whispered. "You're the coordinator. Adric. you are what keeps us together. Nyssa. you are the strength. and your chemistry know-how."

"What are you babbling about?" Raina asked.

"He's delirious, he's calling us by other names,” Ace said as she rushed over.

 

"Tegan. I trust you. Put the coordinates in! Adric, you know my thoughts, relay them to her," the Doctor moaned as Raina steadied him in his chair.

"Can ye fly it?" asked Callom, as Ace bit her nails.

"I…. I'm getting what you're thinking from him but it's hard," she said, scratching her head. "Doctor, it says we're in the Vortex with the last coordinates I punched. But to fix an actual destination... may take some time to figure out..."

“Just punch them in. It will get us away from Karakul past or present,” the doctor gasped. Slowly he leaned against Raina, and she stroked his brow.

 

“Professor,” said Ace. “Stay with us!”

 

“I need to rest,” he whispered. “Ace, stay here till I land. Stay here all of you… I'll be fine… when I rest…”

Newfound confidence passed from the two new TARDIS crew members to Ace. Swallowing hard she pushed her confidence to the surface and fixed the two new members of the `crew' in her gaze. “Right you two. You'd better get changed and rest. I think I can take it from here. Professor's gotta rest. And I want to be here when we land.”

 

The Doctor nodded before he slumped against Raina. She gently leaned him back, then grabbed the nearest box to rest under his feet. She mumbled, "I hope I can land us somewhere we can get him help.”

 

With their new companions, the Doctor and Ace continued on their journey. Just what they would encounter was yet to be seen, but they knew they would face it together.

**

The Doctor as he slipped into sleep remember who had saved his life, and that of Callom. The scenes pixilated in his mind:

Multiple figures in environmental suits trotted against the Armageddon they'd created. "As before we resort to war," grumbled Zaylexa.

"It is necessary, my love," sighed Tahmer. "It is what they deserve."

The giants caught the arm of one soldier as he rushed past. "Miarah. Did you spot any other aliens?"

"Just two sir. Heading toward the city."

"Strangers?"

"Come. WE have work to do," said her consort.

Slender figures trotted instinctively toward the firestorm. Cries rattled against the gunfire and explosives. The Ehrweylians took back their City, Zaylexa thought. At last the madness could end. The one known as the Rani had ruled them for far too long thorough terror. They had escaped her clutches to hide, and await the Doctor, who would set them free.

"Here they are," said Tahmer. At their feet two figures lay semiconscious. "Help me get them to the clearing."

Boosting them on their shoulders, the figures trotted through the forest. Once they reached the clearing, Tahmer lowered his body to the ground. Zaylexa did the same. Both dropped to their knees with reverence. They touched faces to the charred soil, then bent backwards as if to kiss the sky. "Again he has come, out of the fabric of reality itself in our time of need," Zaylexa chanted.

Spanning his arms a fathom, her consort stood up. Frightened blue eyes took in the blue box. He dared not approach till the proper incantation was said. "My blessed ancestor long ago wrote of your return. He set the skies the signs we must follow. This Traveler has answered our pleas. We held back till the skies wept the shooting stars. Then we fell upon the City."

"And now we have returned to the Landing place," said Zaylexa.

Carefully they arranged the bodies in a spread eagle fashion. Then removing their cloaks they covered them. "Take these meager signs of our hospitality. WE defer to your wisdom with reverence. A new day dawns as we pick ourselves from the ashes."

"The Circle of friends has closed..."

Both stood side by side. Zaylexa's golden head came just to Tahmer's nose. "As your father and father's father before you, you lead us well," she said. "Now, take my hand as our Ancestors did..."

Grasping hands, they stood before the Box. All the mysteries it must hold. Well Tahmer recalled the morning's work digging it out. Six strong Ehrweylians had dragged it to the right place, setting it here.

Carefully they'd kept their distance in the woods, scaring off the animals that would attack the others. Two men and two women had returned, as the Doctor had so long ago. Their faces were different, but that mattered not. All the signs were there. Then the stars fell, two of them. That was the signal to attack the City. The Karakulians had cast on a slumber and it was easy to slip inside of the City then. Once positioned, the troops set bombs to the defense screens. From there on it was simplicity.

Tahmer and Zaylexa clasped hands, and faced the Box again. Then they turned to leave the Circle of Friends. "Farewell, Traveler, and Doctor. You are the brave ones. For your names are spoken. Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric. You are remembered."

A new sun would rise over a new Karakul, and the new chapter of Ehrweyl civilization. Tahmer would rule as his grandfather had. And his forbear had so long ago.

"Why did they have to suffer so?" asked Zaylexa. When they had left the circle of friends.

"They suffered before," said Tahmer. "Willingly-it was written-must they involve themselves before we emerge. To show us the signs. Only then could we shed our mantle of non aggression to attack."

"But we trained our soldiers to fight."

"Fighting is not the same as training," said Tahmer. "We did not kill when we trained. Now we kill."

"Will we also fly in space again?" she asked.

"Someday Zaylexa my love," he said, turning her to face him. "But we must take our steps slowly. We have only just won back the City."

Zaylexa felt his lips touch her forehead. Glancing up into the stars above, she could swear that she saw one winking at her.

***