Jennifer Mills never could have dreamed that she would, one day, be travelling through space with an alien. But here she was; in the TARDIS, with the Doctor.
Despite having been inside the TARDIS once before, it was only now that she had a proper look. Just inside the door was a coat-stand, which the Doctor never seemed to use, preferring to place his coat on one of the columns holding up the console room. The Console itself was round and in the center was the time rotor, as the Doctor called it, which moved up and down during flight, both emitted a green glow. The columns looked like coral, as did most of the TARDIS. The walls were of a similar texture, made up of several separate panels, each of which had four hexagonal roundels to provide extra lighting. Beneath the console, there were several storage holes and hundreds of wires which led down to the heart of the TARDIS, according to the Doctor.
She found the TARDIS very intriguing, and was keen to explore the rest of the TARDIS. Down the central corridor, she found that each of the following corridors had many different paths to take. This made Jennifer wonder if the TARDIS was almost never-ending.
Despite the fact that she had been inside the TARDIS for several hours, she hadn't been on her single trip. Once she had boarded the TARDIS, the Doctor flew the TARDIS into the time vortex, which he had explained to be the thing that connects all points in time. However he couldn't decide which time to take her to see, and kept changing his mind. Eventually, this decreased the power and meant that it couldn't travel through time until the power had increased significantly.
He had managed to land the TARDIS, and was now underneath the console trying to reroute some of the remaining power. She was starting to become irate, and fed up of waiting. She asked, "Doctor?! What is taking you so long?"
"Oh right yes. Sorry. I got a bit distracted. I was trying to fix the chameleon circuit."
"Which is?"
"The thing that allows the TARDIS to blend in, the disguise."
"How much longer will it take to regain full power?"
"Oh, the power reached maximum two hours ago," he said, quickly returning to 'fixing' the TARDIS.
"Two hours. Two hours!" She shouted angrily, "We could have gone two hours ago?!"
"Have you finished shouting?" He asked.
"Oh alright."
"Good. Lets go then."
The Doctor climbed out from underneath the console, and placed the panels of flooring he had removed to be able to get below, back into position. Getting up, he ran around the console, pulling certain levers and pressing certain buttons. The TARDIS began to dematerialise, and the time rotor started to move up and down. "Here we go," he said.
"Again," added Jennifer.
"Where do you want to go then?"
"The Future, possibly."
"The Future, possibly it is then."
"Near future or Far future."
"Well I don't want to go and see next year," she said, thinking. "So how about several hundred years?"
"Several hundred years."
He quickly activated the navigational system, before activating the materialisation sequence. The Doctor then began to use something that looked like a bicycle pump, called the Helmic regulator, to ensure that he accurately landed in the correct time. Soon thereafter, the TARDIS came to a halt. The Doctor said, "Right, here we are. Several hundred years in your future, and we're on Earth."
"Earth, in the future. What is it like?"
"Well, the Sea levels rose, meaning that there was less space. But, the water was drained back down to the original level. The water is now used for drinking purposes so that it's not wasted. Mega-cities are everywhere, and cities have upper and lower levels. Go and have a look."
Without saying another word, Jennifer ran down to the door, and went out of them. The world she stepped forward into, was dark and filled with fog. She could hardly even see at all. "Doctor?" She asked loudly.
"What is..." he answered, stopping as he exited the TARDIS.
"What's wrong Doctor?"
"I don't know, but I assume this is an under-city."
"So what do we..."
Suddenly, the sound of air vents started up, and the fog began to clear. They had landed in a small street, which consisted of old brickwork and rusting girders, and looking up Jennifer could only just see the roof. The street itself was unclean and there was litter everywhere, from packets to rotting food; several plants were overgrown and unkempt, leaving the place looking like it wasn't cared for.
"You were saying?" Asked Jennifer.
"This place is wrong. It should be almost exactly the same as the city above, especially as it is just a continuation of the same place. But something isn't right. C'mon, lets find out whats going on."
The Doctor headed out from the street, with Jennifer following. She asked, "So is this what you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you go around stopping things from happening?" She asked.
"No. I can only stop things if time is in flux."
"So you mean that you can't stop everything?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because some things must always happen, they must, and they are fixed points in time. If you were to change time at one of these points, then everything would change, and if you changed certain points then time would collapse."
They turned onto another street, which had several boarded up shops, that looked as though they had closed a long time ago. The windows were shattered, the wood was rotting and there were plants growing inside the shop. Jennifer stopped and asked, "Doctor, how are these plants growing?"
"The lights down here are sunlights, they contain small particles of sunlight. And they in turn provide photosynthesis to the plants, allowing them to grow. Welcome to the future."
"But where are all the people?"
"Good question," he replied, walking down the street. Further down the street, the Doctor noticed several posters on the side of a Police Station. As he moved closer, he discovered that they were 'Missing People' posters. But what was more shocking, was the fact that there were loads of these posters plastered againt the side of the Police Station. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Fourty. Fifty.
"Oh my god."
"That is a lot of missing people, too many. Everybody in this area has gone missing, the women, men and children. Everyone. But what for?"
"Don't you know. Doctor?"
"C'mon."
The Doctor began to run down the road, quickly taking a right. Jennifer had to hurry to catch up with him. She managed to keep him within her sight, wondering where he was going. Along the way, she saw more abandoned shops and homes, as if everyone had moved away. Shortly after, she came to an abrupt halt next to the Doctor. And she could see why he had stopped. Right in front of them was a massive crater.
"How far down does that go?"
"About a half a mile down, and it goes to the service floor above. Looks like a gas explosion, or maybe a planned explosion."
"Why would anyone plan an explosion? And why would you want a hole in the ground?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was a competition. Ah, look. People."
The Doctor went around the crater, and headed towards the nearest people. This area wasn't abandoned, and everything seemed normal, except for the fact that most of the people looked slightly nervous. The Doctor stopped at the nearest shop, and asked, "Hello. I'm the Doctor and this is Jennifer."
The man was fairly short; he had black eyes and slightly blue-tinged skin, suggesting that he was an alien; his hair was dark brown and untidy. His shop was obviously a food shop, but there was a lot of food products that Jennifer didn't recognise. The man said, "Nice to meet ya'."
The Doctor took out the Psychic paper, and showed it to the man. He said, "We're from the Local Council. Can you answer a few questions?"
"Yeah, sure. What do ya' want to know?"
"Why is the area of town back there empty? And why have so many people gone missing?"
"It's empty because of the kidnapping's, but I thought that the Council arranged the evacuation. Are ya' really from the council?"
"Well...no not really."
"How long ago were they evacuated? Cause, those buildings look old. Really old."
"About fifteen years ago, since then the sub-city has been closed off. The people above can't come down and we can't go up."
"What about that crater?"
"Don't go down there. Whatever ya' do."
"Why not?" Asked Jennifer.
"It's not safe, people have gone missing. Several people have gone down there before, and have never come back."
"What's your name?" Asked the Doctor.
"My name is Georgesic Harlinon, I better be going, it's nearly dark."
The lighting had gone quite dark, acting like street lamps now. Most of the shops were closing, and many people were going home. The Doctor asked, "Georgesic, where's a good place that we can stay."
"Are you two together?"
"No were not," said the Doctor.
"No. Definitely not," said Jennifer.
"We just want to stay and admire the place a bit more tomorrow."
"Ya' can stay at mine if ya' wanna'. I don't mind," said Georgesic. "Lemme' just close up here."
"Thank-you."
The Doctor and Jennifer sat down on a bench to wait for Georgesic, the Doctor was staring towards the crater in the ground. Jennifer asked, "Doctor, what caused that crater?"
"Honestly...I don't know. It doesn't seem to be alien, but it seems strange." He said, "I'm going to go back to the TARDIS, and run some tests. Then I'll be back. Just in case Georgesic finishes soon, take this."
He handed here a small device, that was the size of a small matchbox. It had an Red LED on the top, with a small button on the side. She asked, "What does it do?"
"It's a tracking beacon, I'll know exactly where you are. See you in a minute."
"But the TARDIS is...never mind. Bye, Doctor."
And with that the Doctor headed back to the TARDIS, hoping to discover what was going on. While Jennifer went back up to Georgesic's Shop.
"Can I ask you a personal question, Georgesic?"
"Depends what it is."
"What species of Alien are you?"
"Well my Dad's mother was a Crespallian and his father was a Dronid; my Mum was a Human. What about you?"
"I'm, Human."
"Ya' and that Doctor, where abouts are ya' from?"
"A long way away. It's hard to understand."
"Fair enough," he said, before becoming serious. "Ya' tell that Doctor not to go down that Crater, do ya' understand. It's not safe."
"Why are you so worried? Do you know whats happening?"
"They come...at night. And they take people."
"Who does?"
"Now, lets get back to my house. Ya'll be safe there," he said, changing the subject. "Follow me."
He exited his shop, looking rather nervous, but Jennifer didn't want to push the matter anymore. So once he had locked the shop up. He began to walk down the central road, with Jennifer just behind. His house was only down the other end of the street, and she could see that a light was on inside.
Georgesic walked up to the front door and, instead of using a key, he placed his hand agianst a pad on the wall. He opened the door and let Jennifer inside. A female voice from the Kitchen said, "How was your day at work dear?"
"It was fine. We've got guests staying over too."
"Guests, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because I've only just met them, and they needed somewhere to stay."
She came around the corner to see who it was, and said, "I'm Georgesic's wife, Carlinexic Harlinon. And you are?"
"Jennifer Mills."
His wife seemed very nice to Jennifer, and looked Human. She had blonde hair, bright blue eyes and a round face; she was also taller than he was, and had a Scottish Accent.
"Just excuse me and my Husband a minute," she said.
Jennifer could only just make out their wispered conversation, Carlinexic said, "You can't just invite...over."
"Why not?"
"Oh I don't know what your...is."
"I'm allowed to...around, aren't I. And besides she's...a man called..."
There was a sudden knock at the door, Jennifer said, "That will be the Doctor."
"I'll let him in," said Georgesic. He came back out of the Kitchen, and placed his hand on another pad to let the Doctor in.
"Hello again," the Doctor said.
"Hello, you must be the Doctor. I'm Carlinexic, Georgesic's wife."
"Nice to meet you."
"Doctor, what did you find?" Asked Jennifer.
"I detected massive amounts of power being diverted down there, whatever caused the crater, is doing something."
"What do we do now?"
"We don't do anything, you can stay here. It's not safe down there."
"Shut up, I'm coming with you whether you like it or not."
"Don't go down there, everybody that has ever gone down there has never come back," begged Carlinexic.
"Something comes out of there, at night, and takes people. Ya' can't go down there," Georgesic insisted.
"Well all the more reason to investigate, right Doctor," declared Jennifer.
"Yes, lets go. Open the door for us when we get back, we are coming back. See you," he responded.
"Good luck Doctor," prayed Georgesic.
The Doctor exited the house, followed closely by Jennifer. He walked straight down the street, which was now rather dark and quiet. "What do we do first?" She questioned.
"Well, I'll knock you out and drag you down the hole," he said, in a different voice. Jennifer screamed and tried to run away, but it was too late.
Back inside the house, Georgesic had heard the scream. He started, "What the..."
He quickly ran out of the house, but once on the street he couldn't see Jennifer anywhere. The Doctor came running up the road, and said, "Where's Jennifer?"
"Ya' just came and she went with you," stated Georgesic.
"What?" He said angerily, "And you let her go?!"
"Yes, because it was ya'."
"Whatever's down there must be able to shapeshift, I'm going after her."
"I'm sorry Doctor," assured Georgesic.
"Goodbye."
And with that, the Doctor left Georgesic standing in the street. Once he reached the crater, he began to climb down. It took him a while because of all the rubble, but he managed to reach the bottom. He pulled out a torch and headed into a dark tunnel, that looked as though it had been dug out by hand.
Inside the tunnel, the Doctor got a feeling he was being watched, but he couldn't see that anything was following him. The further in he got, the more wires he could see, and all of them led down the tunnel. The Doctor stopped, "Ooh, that's unusual. Electrical Extrapolation." The torch he was carrying began to flicker, and started to become dull.
He started running down the tunnel, but within minutes the torch went out, so he pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver. Unfortunately, when he tried to activate it, the screwdriver wouldn't work. The Doctor could now make out a faint glow at the end of the tunnel, and he guessed that was where Jennifer was being held.
Once he had reached the glow, he could see that it was a large cavern which housed large quantities of electronical equipment. The Doctor cautiously entered the place, and could see that it also housed many Humans. He could also see several chambers which looked like fridges, except they had small windows that you could see what was inside; he noticed that many of them had people within them.
Suddenly someone grabbed the Doctor, and pulled him into a smaller cavern off the main one. Inside was a middle-aged woman sitting on what looked like a throne, she was wearing clothes that had long since gone unused. She was wearing a fair amount of gold and silver, thus suggesting that she was rich.
"Countess, I found him," said the man restraining the Doctor.
"Ah, the Doctor I believe," she said. "Alphanax you can go, keep them working."
"Yes ma'am," he said, obligingly.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Oh, I'm...nobody."
"I demand to know who you are," she insisted.
"I'm the Doctor," he answered, "Now. Tell me who you are?"
"I am Countess Paulionax Kline of New Cornwall," she declared, smugly.
"Where's Jennifer?" He asked, demanding information.
"About to be converted," she responded.
"Converted," he repeated, "Their not Cybermen, I know that. Converted into what?"
"No their not Cybermen, very good. They're my slaves."
"Slaves," he repeated, "How?"
"Seeing as your not getting out of here, I'll tell you," she conceded, "I use Nanomites."
"So they're basically your drones," he speculated.
"Yes, they are," she responded.
"But they're people. Living, thinking people," he reasoned, "You can't do this. You can't!"
"Well they were," she retorted, "They're not now. And to be quite honest I don't care!"
"Why are you doing this?!"
"Because I can."
"Don't play games with me," he warned.
"Oh fine! My father was expelled from the community due to his experiments, but he contiued regardless. My mother and I were expelled with him, she hated the life that had been brought upon us. And one day my father was murdered in the area, and the monster who killed him was never caught," she said emotionally, "Then my mother commited suicide, she had been overwhelmed with grief since the day he died. Ever since then, I have been seeking revenge on the bloody fools who expelled and laughed at our family. And you, Sir, will not stop me."
"What those people did was wrong, but you cannot do this to the people who weren't involved," he reasoned, "You don't need to do this, I swear to you. Just let those people go."
"Or what?" She spat.
"Or I'll have to stop you," he cautioned.
"Just you try," she laughed, "Alphanax, take him to be converted."
"One more question," he reqested, "Who took Jennifer?"
"My guard, Alphanax Noticeen III. He's very good at disguising himself, a great asset."
Alphanax entered the room, currently looking like Judoon. So he was tall, strong and had a head like a Rhino. He grabbed the Doctor and led him back into the larger cavern where all the people were still working. The Doctor found himself being placed inside one of the chambers, where he was strapped in. Alphanax closed and locked the door, leaving the Doctor alone.
Alphanax told everyone, "Deactivate the power drain for now, and then prepare for complete conversion."
Now the Doctor had his chance to escape, as the Electrical Extrapolation had been deactivated. He pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver, he removed the straps and unlocked the door before deactivating the chamber systems. "Stay where you are or I'll deactivate everything," he demanded.
He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the door overide panel, and unlocked all the chamber doors. The people who had been recently kidnapped quickly vacated the chamber, and Jennifer exited hers looking fine. "Doctor, I'm sorry," she said.
"Why?" He asked quickly.
"Because I didn't check that it was you," she answered.
"Get everyone out down the tunnel," he said, "I'm right behind you."
Jennifer got everyone else to go down the tunnel, then she followed. The Doctor meanwhile, said, "I'm sorry."
He ran into the tunnel, and closed the doors to the cavern, leaving everyone inside. He turned away and sighed, before rushing down the tunnel. Fortunately Jennifer had got nearly everybody else out of the crater. "Doctor, what now?" She asked, concerned.
"I gave them a chance and they didn't take it, so I guess..." He started.
"...you'll have to stop them," she added.
"Yeah. But I really don't want to, I've done this too many times."
"Think about how many people you have saved, and you do it for them," she reassured him.
He aimed the Sonic Screwdriver at some of the wires before activating it, then he quickly climbed out of the crater with the other people. "Whats going to happen?"
"I sent a surge of power down there, so the whole cavern will be destroyed."
"Won't that destroy more of the city?"
"No, it will leave everything else intact."
Suddenly there was a large sounding explosion, obvously killing those inside the large cavern below. And while the people who had been saved cheered, Jennifer knew that the Doctor didn't like what he had just done. Through the crowds came Georgesic and his Wife, he was amazed to see them both again.
He said, "Thank you Doctor, and thank you Jennifer. Now, Carlinexic and I would like to invite you to dinner. What do ya' say, eh?"
"Well, thank you. But we better be going," replied the Doctor.
"Thats quite alright," approved Carlinexic. "Goodbye, both of you."
"You too," responded Jennifer.
Before they went, however, Georgesic stopped the Doctor and said, "Doctor. There's a war coming, from out of the sky. So ya' be careful now."
The Doctor looked at Georgesic, concerned about what he had just said. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Just ya' be careful," Georgesic answered, "Goodbye then."
Georgesic and Carlinexic left the Doctor and Jennifer, heading home. Jennifer said, "C'mon Doctor. Let's go."
The Doctor followed Jennifer back towards the TARDIS, still contemplating Georgesic's warning, wondering what he had meant. Once they had reached the TARDIS, the Doctor unlocked the door, letting Jennifer in first. However, before he entered, he breathed in and stopped worrying about what had been said.
"So was that my one trip then, was it?" She asked.
"Well..." He pondered, "I suppose one more trip wouldn't hurt."
He pulled and pressed everything that he needed to, and they set off on another adventure. The TARDIS dematerialised and left the future intact, and the Earth was safe once again.
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Doctor Who and the TARDIS are © to BBC Worldwide, no infringement is intended. Jennifer, Characters and the Story events are original to this story.
What did you think to Chapter 2? Any feedback would be appreciated. I will be uploading a sub-chapter next, before adding Chapter 3. Discover more about Jennifer's past and life, find out what she did before she met the Doctor himself. COMING SOON.
Thanks for reading. Don't forget to vote, comment and subscribe. Thanks, ryan0ry.