The Rose & Crown

Chapter Fourteen

"Precisely. I need you to be my eyes and ears. We have no idea what could be out there, what dangers we may face. This is the best alternative we have for keeping you safe."

"And what about you? What if you end up getting yourself killed out there?"

"The TARDIS safety features will be activated in the event of my death. She will take you back home and dematerialise, hiding herself away so she doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

Clara sighed and brought her fingers to her temples in mild frustration. It certainly wasn't the first time she considered his reckless plans to be positively suicidal, and it wouldn't be the last either. "And what about the TARDIS? Isn't she still being tracked? Won't they know we are coming?"

"Ah, I've thought about that." Heading to the console, he pressed a few buttons on its interface, then grabbed a handle-like apparatus and pulled it towards him. The time machine suddenly shifted its power as the emergency lighting activated and flashed all around them.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm switching off the safeguards, turning off the navigation computer."

"Right, okay. And why are we doing that, exactly?"

"If I had to guess, I would say Quynn has been tracking our movements via a tracer attached to the nav-com. It must be broadcasting our time vortex signature directly to her and she's been using it to follow us through the wake we leave behind. I'm simply interrupting the broadcast. The TARDIS is equipped with certain safety measures to ensure flight is still possible in the event the navigation computer became damaged. Remember, we've done this before. We plugged you into the TARDIS telepathic interface."

"You mean the squishy thing?"

"Clara. This is the most advanced ship in the entire universe, equipped with more scientific technology than any other race in the galaxy will ever possess. She's a living, breathing machine able to psychically translate millions of languages directly into your mind. The sheer complexity of her very existence and capabilities would take me an entire lifetime just to explain to you." He removed a panel from the console, revealing the gel-like material that formed its telepathic interface. "And yes, the squishy thing."

"Doctor," she started as he headed to the table to look over his plans, "exactly how do you intend to take out her forces? We've seen their defences. We know how powerful they are. Do you honestly believe you'll defeat them all by running straight onto battle, armed with only a screwdriver?"

"Every army has its weakness. The key is simply finding it before they discover yours."

She sighed concededly and accepted his mind had already been made. "Are you sure about this? What if Quynn is there waiting for us? What if this plan of yours doesn't work? What then, Doctor?"

He sighed and turned to face his companion. The emotions he protected inside himself were bleeding out. The more he tried to bandage them, the larger the wound had become. The greatest truth he had always been haunted by was the fear of failure, both in himself and anyone who had ever counted on him. The fear of failing his title when challenged by the never-ending threats that seemed to find him at every turn. And yet, there wasn't a single thing that could compare to the fear of losing the one person he loved most of all. The fear of not being able to protect her from the dangers of the universe, nor even himself. As she looked upon him with considerable apprehension in her gaze, he couldn't help but feel defenceless against each passing moment as if it would be her last. Attempting to raise her spirits with calming conversation seemed even more irrelevant the closer they came to fighting back against the unknown dangers they now faced.