"Where are we Doctor?"
The diminutive Time Lord studied the instruments, frowning. Then his face brightened.
"Earth!" he announced, beaming at Damon.
"Earth? Is that good?"
"Well, I think so," the Doctor said. He looked closer at the panel in front of him. "Hmm. Northern England. 1983. Bit of a nip in the air though." He turned to the hat-stand beside the double exit doors and pulled on a large shapeless fur coat.
"We're going outside then?"
"Yes, I think this will do nicely."
Damon was mystified. "What do you mean?"
"Well, we've given Lord Ferain and the Time Lords the slip, but another quick journey through the vortex could alert them to where we are. We need somewhere to lie low, to keep our heads down. And Earth is the perfect place for that."
"So we're staying here for a while," Damon deduced.
The Doctor nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, and its going to be fun!"
"I'll take your word for that."
The Doctor reached under the console and removed a slim black rod before activating the door lever.
"Isn't that the Time Vector Generator?" Damon asked.
"That's correct," the Doctor said, ushering him out of the doors. "And if we don't move quickly we'll be playing sardines!"
"Sardines?" Damon inquired, as he and the Doctor stood outside the TARDIS and watched as the internal dimensions reverted to the size of a Police Box.
"Small fish packed tightly into tins. An Earth delicacy," the Doctor told him, pulling the door closed and locking it.
"Why did you remove the Time Vector Generator?" Damon wanted to know.
"Well, with the TARDIS dimensions diminished, it will make it more difficult for the Time Lords to track us down."
Damon understood that. It made sense. Which was more than their surroundings did.
"Look, Doctor, I hate to ask questions all the time, but what is this place?"
The Doctor grinned, taking in the lights, noise and rides. "It's a funfair, Damon. Just the thing to begin your Earth education."
Damon sighed and followed as the Doctor almost skipped away from the TARDIS and deeper into the funfair.
***
Despite his early reservations, Damon was enjoying his stay on Earth. He and the Doctor had been on the planet for nearly two weeks now and he had had a number of new, confusing and to a certain extent, exhilarating experiences.
After their trip to the funfair, the Doctor had established their location more specifically. They had landed in the town of Scarborough, on the north east coast of the island called Great Britain. This had pleased the Doctor immensely.
From the funfair, they had found accommodation in what the scruffy little Time Lord called a boarding house. He said that it was out of season, which meant there were less visitors and therefore more space in the many boarding houses of the town.
The woman who ran their boarding house was pleasant, but she asked many questions of the two time travellers. The Doctor somehow managed to answer them while still not telling her that much at all.
The two Time Lords had seen many sights during their stay. The local coastline was spectacular and the inland scenery was also amazing in its diversity. They had explored the ruins of a fortress on the hill overlooking the sea. One day the Doctor had hired a motor vehicle and they had travelled further north to a town called Whitby, that had many more sights to see.
The Doctor called it a unique learning experience for Damon, a chance to get away from the stuffy halls of Gallifrey and explore a real world, meeting real people, seeing different and challenging things. Damon was finding that he was relishing the opportunity.
***
Damon was sitting alone on a bench watching the ocean crash against the sea wall. Somehow, he didn't notice the Doctor approaching, only realising he was back when the elder Time Lord settled down on the bench next to him and unfolded the newspaper he had bought.
"I didn't see you walk back," Damon exclaimed.
"What?" the Doctor muttered absently. He was studying the printed sheet carefully. Then he looked up at his companion. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Nothing important," Damon assured him. "What has caught your attention?"
The Doctor frowned. "There's been a shooting star."
Damon raised an eyebrow. "A what?"
"A light in the sky. Something falling to Earth."
"Something alien?" Damon asked.
"I'm afraid it might be," the Doctor admitted.
"Something hostile?"
"That's an option too."
For a few moments the two friends were silent, each digesting the impact of what the Doctor had said.
"I don't suppose the humans are ready for first contact yet," Damon said.
"Very far from ready," the Doctor told his companion.
"Then I suppose its up to us to investigate?"
The Doctor grinned suddenly. "That's what I was thinking. I'm glad you're keen too. Shall we start right away?"
Damon sighed and followed his enthusiastic friend
***
The Doctor had led Damon down onto the beach, where he produced a hand held detector from one of the pockets of his baggy black frock coat. He fiddled with the settings for a few moments and then proceeded to scan in a three hundred and sixty-degree arc.
"Looking for unexpected energy signatures?" Damon inquired.
"Quite right," the Doctor replied, his eyes never leaving the screen. "I'm pleased to see that I'm teaching you to think first, unlike those dusty technicians on Gallifrey who never get the chance to experience real worlds."
At that moment the detector chose to beep loudly, almost causing the Doctor to drop it in surprise. A swift bit of juggling on his part kept it from landing in a sandy puddle.
"Success?" Damon asked, stifling a chuckle.
"Indeed," the Doctor replied, quickly recovering his composure. He studied the result of the scan on the small screen. "It seems there is a strong source of electro-magnetic energy in that direction." He pointed, indicating a rocky area heading around the bay.
"A spacecraft drive system?" Damon suggested as he fell in step behind the Doctor, who was heading towards the source of the energy.
"Could very well be," the elder Time Lord replied. "It certainly isn't natural, that's for sure."
The rocky area was quite hard going, forcing the two time travellers to climb carefully and watch their footing. After about half a mile, the rocks again gave way to sandy beach.
The Doctor took the detector out of his pocket once more, trying to get a pin point fix on the location of the electro-magnetic energy. He pocketed the device again when he was satisfied with the result.
"It seems our craft is in the cave over there," the Doctor told his companion, indicating a dark opening in the cliff to their left.
They approached the cave mouth cautiously, knowing that anything could be lying in wait for them. Probably the one thing they were not expecting was what actually stepped from the opening.
"Halt! Turn around and leave this place!"
The man took another step forward, brandishing the shotgun more clearly. He was tall and powerfully built, with a rugged face and large hands. He was dressed in dark jeans, a cream polo necked pullover and a woolly hat. He looked grimly at the two friends.
"I said go!" He lifted the gun and fired a shot over their heads.
Damon ducked reflexively. "I think we should do as he says."
"Nonsense," the Doctor told him. Summoning reserves of courage, the small Time Lord stepped forward. "We wish you no harm. We would like to help. We are not of this world, and I suspect neither are you."
The man glared at him. "Don't know what you're talkin' about."
"I think you do," the Doctor said soothingly. "Inside that cave what you're guarding is a ship. Not a sea going ship, but a spaceship. I suspect it's damaged. My friend Damon and I could help you repair it and be on your way."
The man frowned and raised his gun once more, levelling it at the Doctor. Before he could fire however a woman stepped from the cave.
"Don't be too hasty Darl, let's hear him out."
She was dressed in a simple skirt and blouse, a shawl draped around her shoulders. She looked to be the same age as the man.
"We should chase them away, Masg," Darl growled, his eyes fixed on the two Time Lords.
"Sran isn't making any progress with the repairs at the moment. He doesn't know when we'll be able to leave. If they can help, I say let them try."
Darl seemed uncertain, but looking into Masg's eyes seemed to reassure him. He lowered his gun.
Masg turned to the Doctor and Damon. "We would be glad of help, if you still wish to assist us."
The Doctor stepped forward, still looking warily at Darl and his lowered shotgun. "We would be only too happy to help you."
"Why should you want to help us?" growled Darl as they walked into the cave.
"Because you don't belong here," the Doctor said simply. "I'm really rather fond of the planet Earth and I wouldn't like to see their natural development corrupted."
"You saying we would corrupt your precious humans?" Darl challenged.
"No, not at all," the Doctor replied hastily. "I'm just saying you could easily do it unintentionally. The human race is at a very difficult stage in their history. Any contact with an outside influence could tip them the wrong way."
"Of course," Masg said. "If we can get our drive system repaired, we shall leave this world quickly and in peace."
"Good," the Doctor replied. They were walking deeper into the cave.
"So, what race are you?" Damon asked.
Darl bristled but Masg stepped in smoothly. "We're Renkellians, our star is called Renkell Prime."
"That isn't your natural appearance then," the Doctor concluded.
Masg shook her head, holding up a small box attached to her shawl. "This is a masking device," she told them. "Would you like me to turn it off?"
"It would be nice to see exactly who we are dealing with," the Doctor said.
Masg nodded, flicking a switch on the tiny device. She seemed to flicker for a moment, before being replaced by a seven-foot tall, grey skinned alien.
The alien had thin spindly arms and legs, with large hands and feet ending in wicked looking talons. The head was bulb shaped and two yellow eyes bulged out from the grey skin. The mouth was full of needle sharp teeth, which were exposed when the thin lips pulled back in a grimace.
Damon flinched, but the Doctor held his ground.
"Your friend finds my true shape repulsive," Masg said, the voice sounding strange coming from the mouth full of teeth.
"He's just surprised, that's all," the Doctor told her. "He doesn't have as much experience as I do with new species."
Masg nodded. "I understand. Actually we find your appearance quite ugly."
The Doctor grinned. "You're too kind. Now, about this ship of yours."
"Indeed," Masg replied. "This way, Doctor."
The Doctor and Damon followed her deeper into the cave. Glancing over his shoulder, Damon saw that Darl had also dispensed with his disguise. Now the tall alien brought up the rear, carefully cradling an efficient looking photon rifle.
Light was spilling forward from the rear of the cave. As they clambered over some small rocks, they saw the ship for the first time.
"I say, that is quite an impressive craft," the Doctor complimented. "Does it use a photonic drive system?"
Masg nodded. "It does, Doctor. That is the problem now. The photon bombardment in the drive chamber is out of phase. Without proper phasing we shall never leave this world."
"Hmm. Not to mention the rather spectacular explosion you'll make if you try to take off in that state," the Doctor commented.
Damon was curious about something. "How did you get your ship so far into the cave?"
Masg's lips curled back in what Damon was beginning to recognise as a smile. "The anti-gravity thrusters are still online. We actually landed in the ocean. A scan of the shoreline revealed this cave nearby. We needed somewhere dry to work on the systems."
"Of course," the Doctor said, moving closer to the craft. Suddenly a large grey head popped out of an open hatch, startling the Doctor and Damon.
The Renkellian glared at the Doctor and Damon. "What are these natives doing here?"
"They are not natives," Masg replied. "They are travellers, like us." A thought seemed to occur to her. "Are you stranded here also, Doctor? Maybe we could offer you transport off this world."
"That's very kind of you, but we have our own craft. Maybe if we can't repair your drive we could offer you a lift somewhere?"
"You too are kind, Doctor," Masg said. "But we would like to leave under our own power, if at all possible."
"I do understand. Now, if I could just see the problem."
Masg gestured to Sran the engineer to move aside and let the Doctor inspect the damage. The Time Lord stuck his head into the engine cavity and they could all hear the tutting sound he made before withdrawing his head again.
"It looks like we'll have to realign your crystalline matrix," he concluded. He reached into his pocket and produced a slim silver tube.
"Is that a weapon?" asked the ever-alert Darl, raising his photon rifle slightly.
"Goodness me no," the Doctor replied, making an adjustment to the tube. "This is my sonic screwdriver. It's my most useful tool, got me out of a lot of narrow scrapes." He turned to Sran. "Do you have a focusing crystal handy?"
The engineer reached down into a box crammed with strange looking pieces of equipment and handed the Doctor a large green crystal.
"Will that do the job?"
"Oh yes, that looks perfect. Now, if you could reach inside and hold it in front of the matrix chamber..."
"Is there anything I can do?" Damon asked.
"Yes, there is," the Doctor said as he slipped off his black frock coat and rolled up his sleeves. "You can hold my jacket."
Damon took the coat and sighed. "I meant anything practical."
The Doctor seemed to consider for a moment. "Can you recalibrate a quantum flux generator?"
Damon nodded and the Doctor looked at Masg.
The alien woman understood. "I'll show you where it is," she said, beckoning to Damon.
Damon started to hand the Doctor's jacket to Darl, then thought better of it and placed it on a rock instead, before following Masg up the short ramp and inside the craft.
The Doctor turned to engineer Sran. "Right, let's get that crystalline matrix realigned."
***
It took Damon just over an hour to finish his recalibration. He walked back out of the small but cosy ship to see how the Doctor was getting along.
"Try a diagnostic setting now," the diminutive Time Lord was telling Sran.
The large alien reached into the open panel and operated a control. There was a light humming noise from the rear of the ship.
The Doctor grinned. "That sounds much sweeter," he said.
Sran patted his large taloned hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "We make a good team. Would you like me to put in a good word with Masg, see if I can get you an engineering posting on our homeworld?"
The Doctor winced slightly as the middle talon dug through his shirt and into his flesh. "No thank you, I prefer my life as a wanderer. But I do appreciate the offer."
Masg stepped down from inside the ship. "All systems are showing green," she announced. Then she turned to the Doctor. "Thank you for your assistance, Doctor. I don't think we would ever have fixed the ship without you and Damon."
The Doctor blushed. "Oh I'm sure you would," he mumbled. "It just might have taken you longer, that's all."
"Thank you," grunted Darl. He had retrieved the Doctor's jacket from its rock and handed it to him. Then he walked into the ship and disappeared.
"He's a Renkellian of few words," Masg told them.
"We should move the ship out of the cave," Sran suggested. "It's nearly dark and we could launch without being seen."
Masg smiled, showing those teeth again. "Good thinking."
"Will you have enough fuel to get you home?" the Doctor inquired.
"Yes, we have been charging the fuel cells since the crash," Masg replied. "You should leave the cave now, we shall need to bring the anti-gravity thrusters online."
"Of course," said the Doctor. He took Damon by the arm and escorted him towards the cave mouth.
***
The two friends stood on the sands in the twilight, listening to the hum of the anti-gravs as the Renkellian ship emerged from the cave. The hum increased slightly as the main drive became active.
From the window of the small cockpit they could see Masg. She held up her hand in salute and the two Time Lords followed suit.
The ship rose from the sand. The hum increased again as it lifted higher, then with a whooshing sound the ship shot up and was soon lost from sight in the low cloud covering the Moon.
The Doctor grinned in the near darkness. "Another little problem solved," he said, rubbing his hands.
"We should be getting back," Damon commented. "Mrs Davies will be locking us out if we're late."
Together the two friends headed back for their boarding house.
***
Epilogue
The following morning the Doctor was reading his morning newspaper, The Times, over breakfast. Damon was tucking in to what the humans called a Full English Breakfast. He had developed quite a liking for them during their stay.
Damon knew the Doctor had noticed something interesting in the paper by the way he folded it and peered intently at the article before him. Before Damon could ask, the Doctor had folded the paper and stood quickly.
"Finish up Damon," he instructed. "It's time we were leaving."
"Where are we going?" Damon asked as he lifted a piece of toast to his mouth.
"Back to the TARDIS," the Doctor announced. With that he was gone, leaving Damon wondering what had got him all worked up.
***
By the time Damon had reached his room the Doctor was already packed and standing outside his door, wearing his fur coat which was tied in the middle with a piece of brown string.
"Do hurry Damon, we don't have all day," the Doctor urged him.
"What's the rush?" Damon wanted to know.
"I'll explain on the way. While you're packing I'll pay our bill."
Damon shrugged and set about packing up his few belongings.
***
"Are you ready to tell me yet what the hurry is?" Damon asked as he and the Doctor hurried towards the funfair where the TARDIS was parked.
The Doctor turned and handed him the newspaper he was still carrying. He pointed to an article then resumed his fast walk.
"'Old Soldiers Don't Always Fade Away'," Damon read aloud. "'Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart addressed his former command at the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce yesterday. His speech can be read in full on the opposite page.' "
Having fallen behind the Doctor while he read, Damon had to catch up. The elder Time Lord had reached the Police Box and was rummaging in his pocket for the key.
"I still don't understand," Damon told him, waving the newspaper under his nose.
"The Brigadier is an old friend," the Doctor said, slotting the newly discovered key into its slot and turning. "I thought it would be nice to drop in on him."
The door creaked open and they found the TARDIS just as they had left it, an empty shell. The Doctor pulling the Time Vector Generator from under his coat and slid it into a socket on the floor of the Police Box.
The transformation was immediate. Through the open doorway light streamed and suddenly the large console chamber was back in place, as if it had never been away.
The Doctor bustled through the door and went straight over to the console. Damon followed quickly, worried he might be left behind otherwise.
"Why the hurry?" Damon inquired. "What is so urgent about you seeing your friend?"
The Doctor frowned. "The longer we stand around, the further back in time we have to travel," he explained patiently. "I don't want to have to journey too far, in case we attract unwelcome attention."
Damon guessed who he meant. "You think Ferain will have still be looking for us?"
"I'm afraid so," the Doctor replied, setting the co-ordinates with care. "But this is a relatively short hop, so hopefully we won't be noticed."
"How short?"
The Doctor paused for a moment to think. "Fifteen hours and three hundred miles, near enough."
"That is short," Damon conceded.
The time rotor at the centre of the console rose and fell a few moments, then settled to rest once more.
"We've arrived," the Doctor said, checking the readings. "Right on target too. I'm getting better at these short hops."
"Do you need me?" Damon wanted to know.
"I don't think so, unless you want to come along."
The younger man shook his head. "It's your reunion. I'll go and check on the power room, if you like."
The Doctor nodded. "That sounds like an excellent idea." He operated the door control and retied the string around his waist. "I won't be long."
After he had gone Damon smiled to himself and shook his head. The Doctor really could be totally unpredictable sometimes. But that was one of the things Damon liked about him. He was unlike any other Time Lord he had ever met.
Still smiling, Damon headed for the power room.
***
All the systems deep in the TARDIS checked out fine. Indeed, after the trials of Wonshu's pocket dimension the ship had probably needed a period of rest, time to heal. The Doctor always referred to his TARDIS as if it were sentient. Maybe it really was.
As he reached the console room he heard voices. Quickening his pace, he was relieved to hear that one of them belonged to the Doctor.
When he stepped into the console area he saw that the elder Time Lord was inputting co-ordinates, watched by a human, tall and well built with a moustache. Both looked up as he entered.
"Ah, Damon, there you are. Allow me to introduce my good friend Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Brigadier, this is my travelling companion Damon."
The two shook hands in the standard human fashion.
"Are you joining us on our journeys?" Damon asked.
The Brigadier shook his head. "No, the Doctor has promised to take me home. If he can steer this thing, that is."
"Of course I can steer the old girl!" the Doctor retorted. He patted the console. "Don't listen to him, he's only human."
Before the Brigadier could reply the noise of materialisation filled the room. The Doctor operated the scanner, showing ornate gardens outside the TARDIS.
"There we are, UNIT Headquarters. Told you I had better control these days."
"Never doubted you for a moment, Doctor," the Brigadier said with a wink to Damon. "Well, this is where I get off. It was certainly an experience, Doctor." The two friends shook hands warmly.
"Always a pleasure to see you Brigadier," the Doctor responded, pressing the lever to open the doors.
"Goodbye Damon," the man called as he stepped through the doors. "And try to look after him, he gets into the most awful trouble sometimes."
"I know," Damon replied. "Goodbye Brigadier."
When the doors had closed again Damon realised something. "Didn't we just drop him off where you met him?"
"Yes we did," the Doctor replied.
Damon frowned. "Then where did we take off from? I didn't know you had moved the TARDIS while I was in the power room."
"I didn't," the Doctor told him, resetting the co-ordinates. "It's rather a long story and you mustn't tell anyone what happened."
As the TARDIS entered the space-time vortex, the Doctor told Damon the bizarre tale of his meeting with four of his other incarnations.
***
"Report!" Ferain barked as he strode into the monitoring room.
"The Doctor's TT Capsule has been detected, my Lord," the technician on duty replied crisply.
"Do you have a firm fix on it?"
"We do, my Lord."
"Then activate the recall circuit."
The technician's fingers flew over his control board. "Recall circuit activated, my Lord."
Ferain almost smiled. "Send them to cradle twelve. It's currently unoccupied."
"Yes, my Lord," the technician replied.
***
Ferain was waiting when the TARDIS shrieked its arrival in cradle twelve. It was almost as if the TT Capsule were protesting at being brought home.
Almost two minutes after it's landing Ferain was still waiting outside. There was no hint of movement from within.
"Come on out Doctor. You can't hide in there forever," Ferain called, banging his fist on the door of the craft.
The door opened and the Doctor stepped out, a deep frown etched onto his face. Damon followed.
"Welcome home, Doctor," Ferain said. "We thought you had grown bored of our company."
"How could I ever be bored of your company?" the Doctor shot back.
"Indeed," the CIA man replied, either missing the irony completely or ignoring it. "You very nearly gave us the slip that time, Doctor."
For the first time since stepping out of the TARDIS, the Doctor smiled. "Well, I'll just have to try harder next time, won't I?"
