Chapter One
The Box at the Window
She thought she had gotten it.
She was certain.
For days she had been playing the interview over and over again in her head, as she paced in the living room. What she had said, as well as what she hadn't, but ought to have.
And then it happened. The phone rang.
She picked her mobile up - it was them. There was no one else it could be. She accepted the call.
"Hello," she said, placing the phone to her ear.
A man's voice on the other end replied, "Is that Jasmyne Jones?"
"Yes," Jasmyne said.
"It's Mark from H.C. Clements."
"Oh, hi Mark," she said, playing it off like the call was no big deal. "Great to hear from you."
"Whilst you gave a good interview, I'm afraid we've decided to give the job to someone else. It really was very close though. I hope you understand our decision."
Jasmyne's heart sank.
Moments passed. And then she realised she still hadn't responded.
"Okay, thank you," was all she could find the courage to say before ending the call.
As soon as the call ended, James opened the door and walked into the room. He would describe that as impeccable timing, but in reality he had just been listening on the other side of the door.
"So?" asked James.
Jasmyne shook her head.
"But it's okay," she insisted. "It was only a stupid little office job. There'll be others."
James looked awkward, like what he was going to say next might make things worse.
"Would now be a bad time to mention that I got offered the job at that graphic design place on King's Road?"
"You did?" replied Jasmyne in an admittedly forced happy tone.
"Yeah," replied James, seeing the sadness in her eyes. "How about I book us a table at that nice Italian restaurant we both like for tonight? To celebrate."
"Sounds good, yeah."
James walked out of the living room to find a menu. Jasmyne's smile evaporated quickly into sombreness.
She sighed, facing the window.
Looking up, she saw something on the street outside. Something she had never seen there before.
An old police box. Coloured in a bright, bold blue. Just sitting there on the corner of the street. But it wasn't there a moment ago.
"James!" Jasmyne shouted. "How long has there been an old police box on the street outside?"
Jasmyne knew exactly what his response would be before he had even said it.
"There never has," James replied confusedly.
Just as she thought.
"So where has it come from?" she wondered.
Internally, she rattled off a few things. It could be a prank, probably set up by the kids at number 59. Or perhaps police boxes were making a comeback? Though, thinking about it, she hadn't even seen a regular phone box in at least a few years. The last option she found herself left with was that they were filming for a television programme. There was that sci-fi one, wasn't there? That had something in it that looked a bit like a phone box.
Nah, probably not.
"Right, all booked for seven-thirty tonight," James said cheerfully. "Now what's all this about a police box?"
"Here," said Jasmyne, pointing out of the window.
But it had gone.
The box had gone.
A soft wheeze filled the air, like engines roaring.
"Where?" asked James.
Jasmyne kept looking for it, up and down the street. "But it was just there!"
"You sure you're not just seeing things?" James joked at her expense.
"No, there was a police box right there, outside the house. I swear!" she retorted, getting slightly agitated. She knew what she had seen, and knew what she couldn't see now.
James walked off, chuckling to himself, muttering about the ridiculous notion of a police box in 2018.
But Jasmyne stayed by the window, keeping an eye out.
Because if that box came back, she would be ready.
Chapter Two
Table Talk
Sitting in the restaurant with James was the last place Jasmyne wanted to be right now. No offence to him, his conversation was decent, but after the encounter with the blue box earlier in the day, she wanted answers. She knew what she saw, and she knew she wasn't imagining it. The box was there one moment, and gone the next. She thought about what little information she'd been able to find about it online. Several sites mentioned it, but very few turned out to be anything related to the box she had seen. Except one, listed by some guy named Clive, but that hadn't been updated since 2005. She now realised, that despite saying none of this aloud, James was starting to notice her. He had put his fork down, and was now looking at her. Not angry, just worried.
"Jaz, are you listening to me?" asked James.
"No, not really," Jasmyne replied, feeling rather guilty. "I keep thinking about that police box on the corner earlier."
James sighed. "There wasn't a police box, Jaz. There haven't been police boxes on street corners for decades."
"But it was so real! I know what I saw!" exclaimed Jasmyne, probably a little louder than she ought to, as people on nearby tables were now looking at her.
Quieter, she told James, "That box was on the corner this morning, and it's not my fault you missed it."
Towards the end of that sentence she had turned her head to look out of the window.
And what should she see, but the blue box, again.
The same as before.
But this time, all lit up, glowing in the darkness.
Jasmyne shot up, out of her seat and ran from her table towards the restaurant door.
James, left confused and alone at the table shouted after her, "Jaz! Where are you going?!"
But she didn't reply. In fact, by the time he had called after her, she was already running out of the door.
Outside the restaurant, Jasmyne barged past people on the street to get to the box.
Clambering through members of the public, she finally got to the spot that the box was sitting on.
But there was no box.
The box, once again, had vanished.
Jasmyne span round on the balls of her feet, 360 degrees, looking for the box.
But it simply wasn't there.
This was the second time she had seen it, and the second time it had vanished. She was sure that the next time she saw it, and there would be a next time, she wouldn't let it disappear.
She turned back towards the restaurant, checking behind her as she went back, just to make sure it hadn't returned. But nothing.
She sat back down to her meal, and a very confused James.
He gestured for her to explain herself.
"I saw it again!" Jasmyne said confidently.
"So where is it?"
"Gone," she replied, much less confidently.
James sighed. "This can't keep happening, Jaz."
"But it was there!" she defended.
"If you say so."
She felt rather depleted that the only person she thought might believe her, didn't.
Now she was more determined than ever to find the box. And she would.
But not just yet.
Chapter Three
The Stranger
Several months had passed since Jasmyne last saw the phone box. But that didn’t stop her looking for it. Every night before she went to bed she’d check outside, and every morning she woke up she’d do the same.
After performing her usual checks, Jasmyne got into bed, set her alarm for 8am and drifted off to sleep.
That is, until 3:17am.
She thought she was still dreaming. That groaning, wheezing noise she had heard all those months ago. She could hear it again. But she wasn’t dreaming.
Her eyes snapped open, coinciding with the easing of the wheezing. She jumped out of bed and ran to the curtains.
And there it was.
The box.
A smile raced across her face. This time, the box wouldn’t be getting the better of her.
But wait.
This time was different.
The door of the box eased open; an orange pulsating glow came from within.
And then…
Out stepped a man. Tall and old, with grey hair and eyebrows that could kill. He closed the door of the box, and looked around, as if he was making sure no one was watching him. He took a few steps over to a manhole cover and pulled something out of his pocket. It was long and blue, and it glowed with energy. He pointed it at the manhole cover, and it slid open. The man climbed down a ladder and the cover slid shut behind him.
Jasmyne had never put her shoes on and dashed out of the house so quick in all her life. But she had to be quick. She knew what had happened the last two times.
The front door clattered open and she ran to the end of the path. She was surprised. The box was still there. This hadn’t happened before, and she really wasn’t sure what to do now. There was a part of her that didn’t think she’d ever see it again. She took a few moments, relishing in her own success, before turning her attention to the manhole lid. She moved towards it, unsure how to approach the situation. She deliberated for a moment before deciding that the best option was to stamp her foot on it. She wasn’t too sure what she hoped would happen, but the moment her foot hit the metal, a noise was released. A noise that neither her nor anyone on earth had heard before. It was warped and beautiful; loud, yet elegant. She didn’t know what she had done, so she ran and hid behind the safety (or what she presumed as safety) of the phone box.
Catching her breath, she heard the sound fade, and replaced with a different one: the screeching of the manhole cover being twisted from underneath. The cover was pushed to one side by a hand. That hand belonged to the man she had seen go down there.
A stern Scottish voice bellowed out, “Hello? Is someone there?”
Jasmyne held her breath, too scared to make a noise. A few moments passed before the man got bored of waiting for a reply and closed the manhole again. Jasmyne released all the breath she had been holding and looked towards her house. She needed James to see this and believe her this time.
James was fast asleep, as you’d expect to be at half-three in the morning. Until Jasmyne burst in, anyway.
“James!” Jasmyne exclaimed, shaking him violently to wake him up.
Understandably, James was terrified, and had absolutely no idea what was happening to him.
“Agh!” screamed James, his vision still adjusting, barely aware that he was conscious. “What are you doing, Jaz?!”
“It’s outside! The phone box is outside!” She squealed. “And, get this; there’s a man this time!”
James grunted at her and rolled over in bed. Jasmyne pulled the covers off, giving him no choice. He would have to get up now.
“Fine!” he skulked.
He pushed past Jasmyne and made his way down the stairs. But when they got outside…
“It’s gone!” yelled Jasmyne.
James sighed the deepest sigh anyone has ever sighed. He’d been through this two times already, and thought he’d seen the back of it.
“Jaz, you dragged me out of bed at three in the morning to show me nothing,” he mumbled, still half asleep.
“No, it was here!”
“Right well, I’m going back to bed,” James yawned.
As James began to walk away, the noise of the manhole cover twisting filled the empty street.
“James…” Jasmyne said hopefully. “Look at the manhole cover.”
James turned back to face her.
“There’s nothing happening with the manhole- “
But sure enough, there was. The lid was turning, turning, turning. Until it was pushed to the side. Footsteps could be heard climbing the ladder, one by one. After a few seconds, the man emerged before them. He was facing away from them, so hadn’t noticed that he was being witnessed. He closed the manhole and turned around. And that’s when he saw them.
“You were right!” said James (probably for the first time).
“Don’t sound too surprised,” snapped Jasmyne.
“Who are you?” asked James.
“That’s the general idea, yes,” replied the stranger. They wouldn’t know it yet, but that was a little inside joke he had with himself, which he was now realising didn’t really stick the landing. “I’m the Doctor.”
“What general idea?” replied a confused James. “Doctor who?”
The Doctor chuckled. His joke had paid off.
“Exactly,” the Doctor said.
James and Jasmyne looked at each other with equal amounts of confusion.
“What were you doing down the drain?” questioned Jasmyne.
“Oh, yes,” the Doctor said sheepishly, scratching his chin for answers. “I wondered if you would notice that.”
“How could we not?” Jasmyne quickly responded.
“You’d be surprised,” teased the Doctor.
“What happened to the police box?” asked Jasmyne, indicating with her finger to where it had been ‘parked’ before. “It was here a minute ago, but now it’s gone.”
“That’s not important,” snapped the Doctor. “You need to go back to bed. Forget about me, forget about the box. Just get on with your lives. Goodbye.”
The Doctor walked away from James and Jasmyne, almost disappearing into the mist of the night.
“You never even asked our names!” Jasmyne yelled into the night.
“It doesn’t matter,” echoed the Doctor from a distance. “I don’t need them.”
“They’re James and Jasmyne, by the way…” said Jasmyne, becoming less confident in herself as the sentence went on.
By this point the Doctor had vanished, and it was just the two of them stood in the middle of the empty street.
“Well, that was rude,” sighed Jasmyne.
Several thoughts were still running through Jasmyne’s head as she had watched the mysterious Doctor walk away into the distance. Who was he really? What and where was the police box? What was he doing in the sewers?
And most importantly, where would he appear next?
Chapter Four
The Package
James sat at his desk, racking his brain for ideas. He needed to have this work done by 5pm, or the client wouldn’t be pleased at all. He thought if he took a break, he might be able to come back to his desk with a fresh pair of eyes. Either that, or he wouldn’t be able to concentrate at all. As he sank his face into his hands, a box was slammed down on his desk.
He jumped.
He was confused.
“Sign here, please,” ordered the delivery man.
James did as he had been asked, and the delivery man scurried away. James looked at the box. He had only ordered a few bits and pieces to brighten up his workspace, but they weren’t due to arrive for another three days.
Cautiously, he cut through the tape holding the box together, and eased the flaps of the box open.
Inside, just one object.
Certainly not one he had ordered.
It glowed.
A sort of shimmer, almost.
He pulled the object out of the box and set it down on his desk.
“This isn’t what I ordered,” he said under this breath, still examining it.
He quickly reached for his phone and dialled a number. Someone picked up at the other end.
“Jaz,” James said. “You need to get down here now. I’ve just had something weird turn up.”
James and Jasmyne stared blankly at the object, which was still sitting on James’ desk. He hadn’t dared move it. Not without knowing what it was first.
“Do you think it was sent to the wrong address?” asked Jasmyne without breaking eye contact with the object.
James reached for the box and showed her the label. The label that had his name and his address on.
“Maybe not, then,” she said. “I wonder who sent it.”
There were several ideas running through James’ head, and even more in Jasmyne’s.
He thought maybe it was a joke because he was still new. Maybe the boys from upstairs were playing a joke on him?
She thought it had something to do with the Doctor. Everything strange had happened since she had first seen the box. And it seemed like everything was only drawing the two of them closer to him. As she pondered in her head, she heard a noise.
Like a high-pitched rattle.
A whir, actually.
She recognised it.
The noise grew closer, until it came around the corner.
The Doctor and his strange glowing wand.
He walked over to the desk, and the wand stopped glowing.
“Yes,” he said. “This is it!”
The Doctor picked up the object from James’ desk and started examining it, waving his wand around it. Scanning it, maybe?
And then he noticed them stood there.
“Can I help you?” he asked. He seemed a little confused. And then it hit him. “Oh, it’s you two, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” snapped James, beginning to get impatient for an explanation.
“What is that thing?” asked Jasmyne.
It was glowing even more now than before.
“Nothing you need to worry about,” assured the Doctor. “If I explained it to you, you’d only start panicking.”
“It was delivered to James,” explained Jasmyne.
“And now I’m going to deliver it somewhere else,” answered the Doctor. “Bye!”
And with that, he was quick to get out of there.
James and Jasmyne looked at each other. A joint look of determination. They weren’t going to let him disappear this time. They were part of this, they could feel it.
“Come on!” exclaimed Jasmyne, grabbing James’ arm and dragging him along.
Outside, the Doctor began walking towards the phone box.
He stopped when he reached it. He knew he was being followed. He turned to find James and Jasmyne behind him.
“I can’t shake you two off, can I?” he joked. Well, joked might be an overstatement.
“Not until you explain who you are and what that thing is,” Jasmyne said with determination. You knew she was serious because she had now folded her arms.
“Look,” began the Doctor. “I don’t have time for this. I have something that I really need to be doing. Something that concerns this object, and more than you could possibly realise. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
The Doctor turned back to the box. He slid his key into the lock and turned it. The door swung open.
A noise came from within.
A hum.
Jasmyne saw this as an opportunity for answers.
“And what are you always doing inside that box?” she yelled.
She made a dash for the box, with James following close behind. They pushed the Doctor out of the way and ran inside.
“Hey!” the Doctor shouted after them. “You can’t go in there!”
But it was too late.
They already had gone in there.
“Oh my god,” echoed Jasmyne’s voice from within the box.
The Doctor smiled a little smile.
This was always his favourite part.
He entered the box and closed the door.
Chapter Five
Inside the Box
It was beautiful.
It radiated life and colour and wonder.
An enormous room, glowing orange.
Multiple floors, all metal.
Industrial, almost.
And there, in the centre of the room was a control console. Metal like the rest of the room, but with an orange tubing running from the floor to the ceiling. And at the top, discs that moved. Spinning round and round like a helicopter about to take off.
It was-
“Impossible!” uttered James, open-mouthed.
It couldn’t possibly be real. They had stepped into a police box, which couldn’t have been more than 2 metres measured each way, and yet they now found themselves now stood in a huge room. A room that was utterly teeming with sounds and light.
But how?
They didn’t notice, but the Doctor had now also entered the box and closed the door.
“It’s good, isn’t it?” he smirked.
“But it’s…” began Jasmyne.
“Bigger on the inside,” the Doctor said proudly.
“Like Narnia!” said Jasmyne at the same time.
The Doctor’s smile was wiped away into confusion.
“Narnia?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m getting that vibe too,” added James. “Like the wardrobe. Small on the outside, but…”
“Bigger on the…” the Doctor tried again.
“With a whole world inside!” James continued.
“Seriously?” the Doctor uttered, miffed. Why hadn’t they said it was bigger on the inside? That’s what everyone always said!
“What?” asked Jasmyne, unsure why he was upset.
“Doesn’t matter,” the Doctor insisted. “I have more important things to worry about.”
He made his way over to the controls and started to fiddle with them. They seemed to respond to what he was doing with small beeps and warbles. Like he and the machine were one and the same. But that couldn’t be the case… Or could it?
“So, what is this place?” asked James, turning around on the spot.
“It’s called the TARDIS,” replied the Doctor.
“TARDIS?” questioned Jasmyne.
“Yes,” said the Doctor. “T-A-R-D-I-S. Stands for Transmitting and Radiating Dangerous and Irritable Substances.”
This was the Doctor’s little joke. Although she seemed to believe it.
“Are you serious?” Jasmyne mumbled.
“Oh yes. Very.”
Jasmyne and James exchanged a look of dread. What had they just walked into?
“No, of course I’m not serious!” teased the Doctor. He was in his element now. He hadn’t had fresh faces in the TARDIS in a long time. Perhaps too long.
A flash of relief wiped across Jasmyne’s face, her pale skin regaining its colour.
“Any questions?” asked the Doctor.
“How high is your electricity bill?” replied James, almost immediately.
“The bill?” the Doctor asked.
“Yeah,” said James. “Look at all the lights. You’d need to take out a second mortgage to power all of them!”
The Doctor smiled at him. Explanation was his forte.
“The TARDIS doesn’t run on electricity. It’s powered by rift energy.”
“What does that mean?” asked Jasmyne.
“It means that it doesn’t actually cost me anything to run,” explained the Doctor. “Besides a few minutes of my time every so often when she needs refuelling, anyway. The TARDIS isn’t an appliance. The TARDIS is a ship. You don’t just pop fifty pence in the meter whenever you want to go somewhere.”
“Ship?” asked James.
“Yes,” said the Doctor. “A spaceship.”
“A spaceship? What, from space?”
“What gave it away?” teased the Doctor.
Suddenly, the TARDIS control room began to shake. Everything in it managed to keep balanced though somehow. It must have some sort of special gravity built in. But only for objects, because the Doctor, along with James and Jasmyne were now being thrown all over the place.
“What’s happening?!” screamed Jasmyne.
“I told you I was in the middle of something, but it seems the TARDIS has other ideas!” answered the Doctor.
“Where are we going?” asked James.
The Doctor cackled.
“I have no idea!”
The control room shook, and shook, and shook.
Wherever the TARDIS was taking them, they were sure it wouldn’t disappoint.
Chapter Six
Trip To A Ship
The TARDIS rattled to a halt. Well, rattled was putting it gently. It felt as though they’d been dropped from a great height and left to fend for themselves when it came to the impact. The entire infrastructure of the ship was now settling, creaking and grinding as it did.
“What just happened?” asked Jasmyne, as she recomposed herself.
“We landed,” replied the Doctor. This turbulence really hadn’t seemed to bother him. Was this normal? He had now begun to make his way over to the main doors.
“Landed?” began James. “Did we fly?”
“No,” said the Doctor. “Well, yes. But not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Right,” said Jasmyne. She was still struggling to get her head around all of this, naturally.
The Doctor turned back to the two confused companions.
“Okay, I can’t be sure where we are. It could be dangerous, so please stay close to me.”
“Wait a minute,” called Jasmyne. “Who said we were coming out there with you?”
The Doctor was confused.
“Oh,” he began. “Okay then. There’s some DVDs on the shelf over there. I’m sure there’ll be something to entertain yourselves with. Game of Thrones, Thomas the Tank Engine? I’m sure you’ll find something.”
“Hang on,” said James. “I didn’t say I wanted to stay here. You seem to be the only one with nay answers around here. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
The Doctor seemed somewhat happy with this declaration, a slight grin settling on the edge of his mouth. He now turned his eye to Jasmyne.
“And that’s an opinion you don’t share I take it?” asked the Doctor.
She deliberated internally. If she stayed, she’d be alone. But if she went, she could be in danger. Screw it, she thought. You only get this sort of opportunity once, and she’d spent so long wanting answers about this man.
“Fine,” she decided. “But if something happens to me, I’m holding you personally responsible.” She looked to James. “Both of you.”
James and the Doctor exchanged a look towards one another, before the Doctor turned back to the doors.
“Right then,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“Wait,” announced James. “You still don’t know our names.”
The Doctor sighed. Not this again.
“Again, I don’t need them,” he insisted. “I’ve no intention of getting attached to you. If I learn your names that would be me taking an interest, and I don’t do that anymore. It’s better if I remain detached until I can get you both back home.”
The Doctor turned the latch on the door and walked out.
James looked at Jasmyne.
“Well, we’ve tried all we can to get him to listen to us.”
Outside the TARDIS was a cold, metal room. A computer bank sat against one of the walls, with a huge extractor fan above it. The Doctor twisted the dials and tapped in a few different key codes. The machine responded with a sequence of distorted bleeps and bloops.
James and Jasmyne stepped out of the box. Jasmyne looked around. They really had moved. James just stared at the box, completely flabbergasted.
“Um…” began Jasmyne. “How did we do that? We were on Bridge Street, and now we’re… Where are we?”
She turned to the Doctor looking for answers. He responded, but he was still figuring things out himself.
“The computer says thirty-sixth century,” he said as he twisted more dials and flicked more switches. “We’re in orbit around Saturn. The whole place seems a bit desolate though. It could really do with a lick of paint. But despite appearances everything seems to be working just fine.”
The Doctor stopped fiddling with the machinery and turned around to acknowledge James and Jasmyne for the first time since leaving the TARDIS.
“Is he alright?” asked the Doctor, gesturing towards James, who was still staring at the TARDIS and hadn’t spoken a word in a while.
“Yeah.” Replied Jasmyne. “He does that when he’s confused, he just sort of stands there trying to take it in.”
“Okay,” said the Doctor, slightly confused himself. “You’ll just have to drag him along. Let’s go and have a looks around.”
The Doctor began walking out of the control room and into the corridor, now out of Jasmyne’s view. Jasmyne also began to head for the door, before realising that James wasn’t following. She headed back to him, grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the control room.
Catching up with the Doctor in the corridor, Jasmyne had questions. And lots of them.
“So, where did you get it?” she began with.
“Get what?” the Doctor responded.
“The TARDIS.”
“Oh right. I stole it.”
A deep sigh came from James, who was slightly further behind.
“Great,” James muttered. “We’re on a spaceship with a criminal.”
“It wasn’t like that!” the Doctor defended.
“I’m really trying to think of any other way it could’ve been. You won’t even tell us your real name. Who’s just called the Doctor?”
“I am!” exclaimed the Doctor.
Jasmyne decided that asking more questions would be the best way to break up the Doctor and James’ mini argument.
“Why a police box though?” she asked. “Why does it look like that?”
“Ah, that’s the chameleon circuit,” began the Doctor, hitting his stride. Exposition was his thing. “It’s a sort of cloaking device. Whenever the TARDIS lands anywhere, within the first few seconds of materialisation it takes a scan of the immediate vicinity and calculates the best form it could take to blend in with its surroundings. But… it’s stuck.”
“In the shape of a police box?” teased James.
“Yes,” retorted the Doctor.
“Can’t you fix it?” asked Jasmyne.
“I could,” said the Doctor. “But I’ve never gotten around to it. Besides, I quite like it. It has what’s known as a perception filter, so nobody ever pays any attention to it. You must have quite the eye for detail. Most people just ignore it and walk on by.”
“I guess the police box is kind of cool,” said Jasmyne.
James gave Jasmyne a glare.
“You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“Oh, come on James,” she argued. “We’re on a spaceship orbiting Saturn. How can you not be enjoying this?”
“She has a point,” added the Doctor. “I’ve shown you something amazing, and you’ve sulked the whole time.”
“Well sorry if I’m a bit sceptical at the moment,” replied James. “It’s just all a lot to process right now. I can’t help it if I’m-”
CRASH!
“Shush!” whispered the Doctor. “Did you hear that?”
The Doctor was now looking down the remaining stretch of corridor, which led a to a huge metal door.
The noise came from there.
“What was it?” asked Jasmyne.
“I don’t know…”
The Doctor led the way to the door at the end of the corridor. He placed his hand on it, and then pressed his ear up against it. Standing back, he pulled the glowing wand out of his inside jacket pocket.
“What is that thing?” whispered Jasmyne.
“Sonic screwdriver,” answered the Doctor. “Very good at opening doors.”
He pointed the screwdriver at the door.
The three of them could hear the locks clunking as they shifted apart from one another.
One loud clunk and…
The door slid open.
The three of them stood completely still.
They dared not move.
“Oh,” said the Doctor. “Hello.”
He seemed far too happy for a man who was now staring down the barrel of a gun…
Chapter Seven
The Aftermath
The gun lowered.
The Doctor turned to James and Jasmyne.
“That hardly ever happens,” he said.
Two men, with guns, both now lowering their weapons.
“Who are you?” asked one of them.
“I’m the Doctor. This is James and Jasmyne. Who are you?”
“I’m Jengo,” said the man. “This is Cordi.”
“Pleasure to meet you both,” said the Doctor. “Let’s go in here shall we?”
The Doctor hurried past the two of them, with his companions following behind, giving Cordi and Jengo awkward smiles as they squeezed past them.
They were now in a part of the ship that could only be described as a kitchen. Entirely made of metal, but there was a sink, cupboards, and Jasmyne thought she could even make out what looked to be an evolved kettle. But the whole room, just as much in need of some TLC as the rest of the ship. And then she noticed, in the corner, a woman. Cowering away, rocking back and forth. The Doctor noticed her too, but gave Jasmyne a look as if to say ‘leave it to me’.
The Doctor sat on the ledge of a table, ready to speak to Jengo and Cordi. Jengo sat down on what was the only fully functioning chair there seemed to be. Cordi stood beside him, keeping an eye on their guests.
“So,” the Doctor began. “What happened here? Looks as though the place was abandoned.”
“It was,” said Jengo. “We’re the last three remaining crew members. There were originally fifty-five of us.”
“What happened?” asked Jasmyne.
“We were attacked,” said Cordi. “By these, these things. These men made of metal.”
“Cybermen,” the Doctor uttered.
“Yeah,” said Cordi. “How did you know?”
“Because I’m currently on a quest against them to find parts of their Cyber Planner which have been scattered all across time and space.”
“Is that what that package delivered to me was?” asked James.
“Yes,” replied the Doctor. “And now it’s here, in the TARDIS. The Cybermen must’ve just gotten the timing a bit wrong. How long ago was the ship attacked?”
“About a week or so,” answered Jengo.
“But this place looks like it’s been abandoned for years,” said Jasmyne.
James, who was finding all of this quite difficult had decided he needed to sit down. This trip was turning into one hell of a rollercoaster ride.
“Feels like it too,” said Jengo. “It wasn’t in the best of shape when we arrived.”
“When you arrived?” asked the Doctor.
“We took over from another crew a little while back,” explained Jengo. “And they had taken over from another crew before them, and so on. The ship has been active in some form for about three centuries.”
“That explains why the computer systems are intact but the ship itself looks like it’s been in the wars,” concluded the Doctor.
Jasmyne noticed James had left the conversation, and decided she should go and check to see if he was okay. She walked over to him.
“Are you alright?” she asked him.
“Yeah,” he replied. “It’s just all a lot to take in.”
“You can say that again!” joke Jasmyne. “I’m still not sure what to think. Spaceships and time travel, all that stuff you believe when you’re a kid. But it’s real. And it’s happening now! I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and it’ll have all been a dream, and I’ll be sat on the sofa at home.”
The Doctor decided it was time to address the elephant in the room with the crew.
“What’s wrong with her?” the Doctor asked, gesturing to the woman in the corner.
“That’s Sular,” answered Cordi. “Her sister was one of the first crew members that the Cybermen killed. She hasn’t spoken since it happened.”
“Have you sent out for a rescue team?” asked the Doctor.
“We have,” explained Cordi. “But it takes a while for them to reach us. We’re in a pretty risky part of space. They’re due soon though.”
“Okay,” the Doctor said. “Well, I need to leave now because I’ve got some very precious cargo on board my ship. Cargo that I just can’t risk losing. I’m so sorry about what has happened here.”
“I understand,” replied Cordi.
The Doctor spun around on his heels to face James and Jasmyne.
“Okay, you two. With me!” he called, already turning to make his way out of the room.
Walking down the same stretch of corridor they walked along when they left the TARDIS, it was the Doctor that had questions this time.
“The Cybermen attacked this ship,” he started. “They were looking for the piece of the Cyber Planner that I have on board the TARDIS, they were just a week or so early. That much I understand. But there’s one thing I’m just not getting.”
“What’s that?” asked James, taking a more vested interest than before.
“Why did the TARDIS bring us here in the first place?” the Doctor asked in a very concerned tone. “To gloat? To show what effect this quest has had on those who aren’t even a part of it? I don’t know. But I have every intention of finding out.”
“Can we just back up a minute,” Jasmyne said. “What’s a Cyberman?”
“You,” said the Doctor. “Technologically upgraded and put in a suit of metal. Immortality in armour. Lacking any emotion.”
“Bit rich coming from you,” James said.
The Doctor stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him.
“Anyway, you two,” the Doctor started before being interrupted.
“Seriously?” James sighed. “We have names.”
Insisting that this was how he felt, the Doctor continued.
“Anyway. You two. Time to go home. Time to forget me. And time to forget everything you’ve seen today. Time to move on.”
“But you can’t show us all of this and expect us to just go back to normal,” said Jasmyne.
“I can do whatever the hell I like,” replied the Doctor, becoming more frustrated. “Technically I didn’t show you any of this. It’s not even my fault that you’re here.”
The Doctor walked off down the remainder of the corridor. James and Jasmyn exchanged a look of disappointment and followed after him.
THUD.
The TARDIS landed, but much more smoothly this time. The Doctor gave them a look that seemed as if he was waiting for them to leave.
“So that’s that then, is it?” asked Jasmyne.
“That’s that,” the Doctor replied with no remorse. “I have a duty. A duty to protect. And in order to continue that duty I need to remain focused, and detached from anything or anyone that might be a distraction.”
“Right then,” James sighed. “Let’s go.”
James and Jasmyne walk to the doors of the TARDIS, open them, and walk out. As the door closes the Doctor lets out a deep sigh. He turns back to the console and start twiddling with the controls.
The TARDIS can tell what he’s thinking. It makes some sounds that only the Doctor would know how to interpret.
“Oh be quiet, you,” he murmured. “You know I can’t do this. Not anymore. Not after everything that’s happened. And besides I’ve got work to do!”
The TARDIS replies. A more convincing set of sounds this time.
The Doctor sighs again.
Could the TARDIS be right?
Or would he be better off on his own?
Chapter Eight
All By Myself
As the Doctor and the TARDIS argued back on forth, it was clear that neither of them were really getting through to each other. For every reason that the Doctor presented why he shouldn’t take anyone else with him, the TARDIS played a comedy buzzer noise, which was actually starting to irritate the Doctor.
A lot.
Some of the Doctor’s reasons were legitimate. For example, he presented a flow chart of how expendable humans are. The fact that they’re just not built to last. But the TARDIS had to point out how many of them that the Doctor had already travelled with.
Another reason was that the Doctor wouldn’t be able to concentrate with others around, and he would lose any advantage over the Cybermen. The TARDIS quickly responded with video footage from the previous Tuesday, which showed that the Doctor had spent the entire afternoon watching repeats of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’.
The footage clearly showed the Doctor with his feet up, watching the show on the scanner whilst scoffing down popcorn. He was also presumably shouting at the contestants for not knowing the answers to the questions, although it was debatable, given how much popcorn he had in his mouth. The footage faded away as the TARDIS made a few noises. It somehow doubted that new faces would stunt his very clearly intense thought processes.
The Doctor had plenty more reasons not to bring them up his sleeve, but before he even got the chance to speak, the TARDIS made some noises.
Not loud noises.
Just mutters.
The Doctor’s argument stopped. The defence had rested its case. The TARDIS was right.
He was lonely.
Far too lonely to see it.
He didn’t want to lose anyone again.
He couldn’t lose what he didn’t have.
And the thought of taking not one, but two new people along with him made him scared. More scared than any Dalek could ever make him feel.
But if he didn’t try again, he wouldn’t know for sure.
He sighed.
“Alright,” he said, smiling at the TARDIS. “You win this time.”
He began to set the controls of the TARDIS, and the engines roared into life.
He wasn’t sure what he was doing was the right thing, but he reassured himself by saying that he was never sure of that.
But he was on his way.
Chapter Nine
James & Jasmyne
James and Jasmyne stood by the river, looking out onto the water, and admiring the sunset in the distance.
“I wonder if we’ll ever see him again,” wondered Jasmyne.
“Who?” asked James.
“The Doctor.”
“It’s been five months since he dropped us off. I don’t think he’s coming back, Jaz.”
“No,” she said. “You’re probably right.”
And then.
From behind them.
“You know, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
James and Jasmyne turned round to face the voice.
The Doctor, stood in front of the TARDIS.
“James West, Jasmyne Jones,” said the Doctor.
“Doctor?” questioned Jasmyne. Was she dreaming again?
“Hi,” he said back.
James realised.
“Wait, our names,” said James. “You remembered.”
“Well, it seems that I’ve taken an interest,” answered the Doctor. “I suppose that means I’m involved with you now.”
“Are you trying to say that you’re attached to us?” teased Jasmyne.
The Doctor frowned.
But then he smiled.
“Yes. Quite possibly, yes.”
Jasmyne smiled back.
“Would you like to join us, Doctor?” she asked. “We’re looking at the stars.”
The Doctor was humbled.
“Well, I’ve seen them all already, but one can never grow tired of that privilege.”
The Doctor walked over to stand in between James and Jasmyne. He enjoyed the moment. The first moment of warmth he had felt in a very long time.
They all admired the stars above them, glowing brightly in the deep blue sky.
There was one growing more brightly than the others. The Doctor pointed to it.
“You see that one there,” he said.
“Yeah?” replied James.
“Would you like to?” asked the Doctor.
“Like to what?” asked Jasmyne.
“See it,” said the Doctor. “And every other star, and all of time and space. All the things that ever happened and all the things that ever will. You can see anything and everything and be back quicker than you can blink. It’s all sat waiting for you, gift wrapped in a big blue box. So, what do you say?”
He grinned, eagerly waiting an answer.
“Yeah,” Jasmyne chuckled. “Alright, why not!”
She turned to look at James.
“You up for this?” she asked.
He looked at Jasmyne, then to the Doctor, and then back to her.
“Of course!” he exclaimed.
The Doctor’s grin widened.
He clicked his fingers and the door to the TARDIS eased open.
“After you,” he said, his arm guiding them to the door.
James and Jasmyne ran through the door, past the Doctor, not too dissimilarly to their first entrance into the ship.
The Doctor chuckled to himself, his first in a while.
He had that spark again that he so desperately needed.
He walked into the TARDIS and closed the door.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Stirring in the depths of space, a battered old spaceship suspended amongst dying stars and asteroids.
Inside…
STOMP.
STOMP.
STOMP.
STOMP.
The control deck of a Cyber-ship.
One of the Cybermen approached the Cyberleader.
“The first element was lost,” the Cyberman began. “The Doctor is still in possession of the piece.”
“Our time travel abilities must be enhanced if we are to stand a chance in this quest,” replied the Cyberleader. “We must find the other pieces of the Cyber Planner before the Doctor and ensure that it is constructed here. If necessary, the Doctor will be deleted, and the remaining pieces taken by force.”
