by Cour M.
“You’re used to weapons being there to always save you,” Eight theorized, “those guns in your hand, or the bombs behind you. It’s a natural reaction. And now those guns are useless. Those bombs don’t solve anything. And it frightens you, doesn’t it? It frightens you to death, knowing the one thing that you always placed your faith in, is now falling apart. In my past, I never thought of what that meant for you all, when that occurs. Yet I am here now, and I can tell you: don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid at all. I have done this before, I know what will happen, and I will not make you lose faith in me. I will do nothing to have you lose faith in me. Even when every light in your sky fades, I will find the reason and bring it back. And you were never alone. Therefore, trust me. I’m the Doctor. And that name is a promise, it’s an oath, and it always will be.”
All the soldiers looked between themselves and then at the guns in their hands.
“I will give you a reason to believe in me. Even when I fail, I will still give you a reason. But not today. I will not fail today! I will fail none of you!”
⌨
The soldiers reflected on his speech when Ten, Martha, Satsuki and Daphne exited, carrying the cables. They placed the edges of the cables along the heat barrier. Eight rushed back into the TARDIS and placed his hand on the lever.
“Ready?” He cried.
“Ready!” Ten cried from the outside of it. Eight pulled the lever, then the electrical volts released from the heart of the TARDIS and began to travel through the cables. Deep within the TARDIS, the Howards were watching the power travel through the cable, each bearing freezing guns just in case a spark escaped and they needed to extinguish the eruption.
“Just remember,” Ten assured them all, “Einstein’s theory of relativity!”
Eventually the power reached the edge of the cable and released into the heat barrier. They all moved backwards as the electricity ran throughout the heat barrier. It travelled all over the invisible dome of the city. Worried for their safety, Ten placed Martha, Daphne and Satsuki behind himself and shielded them with his body. The force of the chemical reaction knocked them all backwards as a wave of energy wafted through the city, creating a large gust of wind.
When everyone finally stood up again, all were safe. Their bodies just had a series of chills over them from the emitting of the cold wind.
Satsuki stood up, picked up a stone and threw it at the heat barrier.
⌨
It passed right through it, but unfortunately, her throw was too far, and it hit a Mecrellan soldier on the other side.
“Ouch,” he let out.
“Sorry about that, mate,” Satsuki apologized.
Everyone stood up when she was successful. The sergeant also threw a bit of dirt at the barrier and it passed right through. As Eight emerged from his TARDIS, asking if it worked, the sergeant answered by risking it and slowly placing his foot over the line. When he didn’t explode, all breathed out a sigh of relief.
“It worked!” The sergeant cried, “Doctor, it worked!”
The unit of soldiers cheered out in happiness. Yet they were all distracted when there were cries coming from the middle of the city. In the horizon, they saw a large spaceship growing out of nowhere, as if it was a fast-growing tree.
“What is that?” Daphne asked.
“That is the ship that bears the real culprit,” Eight answered, “and where your boyfriend might be.”
“Miccas!”
“If he’s still alive, yes.”
“Where did it come from?” The sergeant asked.
“Nowhere,” Martha answered, “it was here the whole time. Hiding in plain sight.”
“Come on,” Daphne cried, grabbing Eight’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“Ah, you’re pushy,” Eight noticed, “I like it.”
They all rushed back into the TARDIS, with Ten being the last in as he turned to the sergeant.
“Don’t worry, you’ve all had a very trying day, and there is still a battle going on above you. So, take the rest of the day off. We’ll handle this.”
He closed the TARDIS doors behind him.
“So, have we got a plan?” Daphne asked.
“I have half a plan,” Eight answered.
“And I have half one as well,” Ten responded.
“I just hope it’s not the same half,” Satsuki put in.
“We’ll see,” Martha anticipated.
They were interrupted when the Howards entered.
“So,” Howard 1 began.
“So.”
“So.”
“So.”
“So.”
“So.”
“The star is stable.”
“So, what’s the next part of the plan?”
“The next part of the plan?”
“The next part of the plan?”
“The next part of the plan?”
“The next part of the plan?”
“We’ve only got half of a plan each,” Ten and Eight answered together.
“Well,” Howard 4 observed, “doesn’t that mean that together you have a whole one?”
Ten, Eight, Martha, Satsuki and Daphne looked in between each other, uncertain.
Chapter 17
Machine Versus Machine
They landed in the center of the spaceship that contained the clockwork droids. When they emerged, they were met by seven clockwork droids who were still appearing as kabuki puppets.
“Good day, Doctor,” the first droid greeted, “we knew that you and your companions should have been killed from the beginning.”
“Yeah, you all really botched that one, didn’t you?” Ten began, “but I’m here to be reasonable. Where are your prisoners from the trans-mats?”
The clockwork droids didn’t respond.
“Oh, come on, this place doesn’t smell like barbecue, so clearly you didn’t use them for spare parts.”
“Where are they?” Daphne demanded to know.
“They are our collateral,” the first clockwork droid answered. “We shall not release them.”
“But you shall,” Eight demanded, “because it’s pointless now. Your mission has failed.”
“Failure is not detected. There are still two operational window bridges, and the armies are fighting as we speak.”
“Not for long, because the Shadow Proclamation is coming, to issue a disbanding of the window-bridges. They will be deactivated, and your mission was pointless.”
“Also, you are now found out,” Martha noted, her hand on her gun, “don’t you wonder why we discovered you? It’s because everyone else can. Your ship has returned back to its normal size.”
“That cannot be.”
“You must’ve felt the force of energy emit all over your machine,” Satsuki pointed out, her gun aimed at them, “you’re now visible, and you are vulnerable.”
“So, anyone care to surrender?” Eight asked.
“Your ship has time travel capabilities,” the main droid summarized.
“Oh, that’s where your mind resorts to.”
“Give us access to your ship and we shall spare your lives.”
“Never,” Martha answered.
“Then you all must die.”
The droids rushed to their group while Martha and Satsuki shot and destroyed two of them. Before they could kill more, Ten and Eight pushed them back into the TARDIS, keeping the door open so that the droids would follow them inside. As they all rushed into the control room, with the droids all entering, all halted while the six Howards were standing there, in formation.
Ten and Eight looked in between each other.
“This was my half of the plan.”
“It was mine too!”
“Oh, lovely.”
Eight turned to the Howards who were staring down the halted droids who were behind them.
“Howards,” Eight requested, “you are your inventor’s creation, and from what I understand, you all have hacking skills.”
“Affirmat
ive,” Howard 5 reported.
“Good, can you disable other droids?”
“As long as we reach their proper wiring.”
“I trust that you can. Would you mind?”
“Not in this situation. Howards!”
All the Howards rushed forward, engaging in combat with the clockwork droids. Martha and Satsuki remained on the outskirts of the fray, shielding Daphne and giving the Howards cover if they ever needed saving.
⌨
As the Howards battled the droids, they placed their hands on the droids’ necks, hacking into their internal setup and reprogramming them to obey the Howards’ objective. As the Howards were at work, Ten emerged from the TARDIS, went to the computer mainframe of the droids’ ship and Martha emerged as well, giving him cover and keeping an eye on him.
“Are you looking for the cargo of missing people?”
“Yes. They more than likely would have them detained at the bottom of the ship. The bottom of the ship is always the equivalent to an aircraft dungeon, you know.”
“Oh, believe me, I know. That was where the Master kept the TARDIS on the Valeyard when he turned it into a Paradox Machine, remember?”
“Oh, I remember every moment. Oh, there they are!” Ten pointed to the computer screen, which brought up the cells that were at the bottom of the ship. Meanwhile, to his left, a droid entered, raising its blade and about to strike the Doctor.
Martha saw it, she shot its hand, and then shot both its legs. The droid fell, disabled. Ten gave Martha a judgmental look.
“Martha, put that gun down.”
“Not yet,” Martha refused, “Doctor, I need you to focus.”
Ten bit his lip.
“We’ll discuss this later.”
Ten rushed up and they walked down the corridors. As he did so, every now and again a droid emerged and Martha shot it in the leg or stomach to destabilize it.
“Just remember,” Martha assured Ten as he groaned at this, “I’m not killing anything at all. Even if it were alive.”
“Right, but I’m still mad at you.”
“A fate I will suffer gladly if it means that I keep us alive,” Martha stated, reloading her gun, “And I will keep us alive.”
⌨
After disabling the last clockwork droid that was in their way, they at last made it to the cargo hold. They opened the door to the chamber.
“Oh, my god!” Martha roared, rushing into the room, “They look like they haven’t eaten in days!”
There, in the room, were all the victims who were taken from the trans-mats. They were chained to the walls or floor. Looking haggard and malnourished, they contained little strength. Martha and the Doctor moved around them, checking for a pulse while the Doctor soniced their chains to release them from it.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got you all,” Martha assured them.
“There are droids,” one victim said weakly, “they are coming.”
“No, don’t worry,” Ten promised, “they are being taken care of. Soon, you’ll all be home again.”
Recalling something as she was helping them up, Martha looked around.
“Miccas!” She cried, “Miccas!”
“He—here,” a man whimpered who was having a hard time standing.
Martha rushed to him and checked his eyes.
“Don’t worry, we have food and medical kits on the TARDIS. And your girlfriend is here.”
“Daphne?!” He piped up, his eyes regaining new life.
“Yes. And she underwent one helluva journey to get you back again.”
⌨
“Miccas!” Daphne cried, rushing toward him. When Ten reported that the captives had been found, they had all come to assist, getting them into the TARDIS. When seeing Miccas, Daphne was exhilarated. She practically pushed him over when she hugged him, and Miccas did all in his power to gather the strength to support her.
“You came for me,” Miccas observed, hoarse and happy.
“Of course, I did,” Daphne laughed, overjoyed, “I will always come for you.”
Miccas almost began crying as he kissed her passionately.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Satsuki asked Martha, as they watched the scene.
“Yes, yes, it is.”
They got all the captives back into the TARDIS, only to see the Howards overseeing the clockwork droids who remained there, lined up and looking like a unit.
“Howard 5,” Martha asked, while she helped a woman in, “can you do me a favor? I shot some droids outside, but they are still active. Can you hack them and override their programming?”
“I can,” Howard 5 responded, leaving the TARDIS.
“You’re a life saver.” Martha then looked at the Howards who were overseeing the droids, “Did they give you much trouble?”
“Negative,” Howard 6 assured her, “these droids have a pretty design that is positively primitive.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.”
As she and the others helped the rest of the captives to the cafeteria room so that they could have some food first, she overheard Howard 3 as he was giving orders to the clockwork droids.
“What is your primary direction?” Howard 3 asked.
“To obey,” the clockwork droids answered.
“And what is your attack directive?”
“To cause no offensive behavior.”
“Confirmed.”
⌨
When all the captives were brought into the cafeteria, they produced food from the TARDIS’s storage supply and began to feed the victims and offer them juice. Having only been given water once a day and some bread, they began to eat voraciously.
“Whoa,” Martha advised them all, “don’t eat too much, or you will suffer from food poisoning. Your system will need time to adjust to it again. All things in moderation.”
“She’s right, you know,” Daphne informed Miccas as they were sitting alone at one table, “if you eat too much, your stomach will hate you for a bit and you’ll get sick.”
“Small bites?”
“Yup, just take small bites.”
Miccas offered her some food, but she at first refused him.
“Just because you weren’t starved doesn’t mean that I forgot how hungry you always are,” Miccas recalled.
“Oh, very well,” Daphne gave in and began to eat half a sandwich. As she looked at Miccas, she noted how filthy he looked and smelled.
“They didn’t even let you bathe in all that time?” She asked.
“No, and I know I look like it. And smell like it. Hey, recall when we saw the Imitation Game once, of the Battle of Bunker Hill?”
“Yes.”
“Well,” he chuckled, “now I can say that I accurately depict how those men really smelled back in that world. Or maybe not. After all, that was the time that individuals sometimes took no more than five full baths their entire lives.”
“And sometimes less than that,” Daphne chuckled nervously.
“Yeah, sometimes less.”
“Miccas, I’m sorry we didn’t get to you all before now. Believe me, I tried to do everything.”
“No, you mustn’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Apologize. You clearly kept coming for me. And I see that.”
“It must have been horrible.”
“I wish I could explain what it felt like, but it’s strange. It’s almost like I don’t even want to explain it. Maybe it’s because there are no words. If I could show you through my memories, I would. But now, I feel so helpless.”
Daphne covered his hand in her own.
“That’s a natural feeling. But you’re not helpless anymore. And you’re not alone.”
“But you, you never stopped. How much did you undergo just for me?”
“Oh,” Daphne sighed, “now, there are all the words in the world for that one. I organized protests—which wasn’t hard. There were enough victims to cause a riot. And despite all the money that we weren’t making in doing it
, or taking school off, we never stopped. And then suddenly, a blue box shows up in our lives, and we feel the change. And then I was not alone anymore. I had Martha and Satsuki. They had two men who were taken from them, like I did. So, we were all partners in crime. And together, we all became a part of something. Then the plan came about.”
“What plan?”
“We finally devised a plan to save you all. I didn’t have to just shout and use a bullhorn anymore. I could finally get things into motion. It’s hard to speak words when you don’t know how to act on them. And now we could all act on them.”
Daphne looked around the room at all the other protestors who were holding or comforting their friends/family who they all had just rescued.
“Now we could all be heroes. It’s a strange feeling, you know,” Daphne admitted, “and I suppose none of us knew that we would ever be successful. We actually went into it thinking we would all fail.”
“But you succeeded,” Miccas acknowledged.
“Yes, we have,” she looked at him in gentle wonder. ‘Why not?’ She thought. ‘I am braver now, so why not just tell him?’
“Miccas,” she exhorted, “I…I…”
“What?”
“I—don’t hate me, okay? I mean, if you don’t feel the same way that I feel, don’t turn away from me and be creeped out.”
“What?”
“I love you,” she confessed at last, “I did all this… because I love you. I have for so long now, and I don’t want to pressure you into feeling the same way, but I just had to say it, you know and—”
“Daphne,” Miccas assured her, taking her hand and squeezing it, “Daphne! No, there’s no need to worry. I love you too. So terribly much.”
“Do you really? Don’t worry, you don’t have to say it just because I came to save you. You don’t owe me anything for that.”
“Even if it were that, which it’s not, who cares? Daphne, I was such a coward. I wanted to say it earlier, but I was afraid that it would ruin things. And I shouldn’t have waited. I thought that I had forever, you see. Yet I don’t. We don’t. I only have you now. And that is everything. Daphne, I love you so terribly much and I shouldn’t have waited so long. Please, believe me. I love you so much. And I never want to be parted from you.”