Title: Analogy
Author: Jaelijn
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all associated items are property of BBC. The Doctor's tenth regeneration was largely shaped by Mr Russell T. Davies, creator of the new Doctor Who, and Mr David Tennant. No copyright infringement intended.
Rating: PG
Warnings: possibly triggering topic - see prompt, mild violence
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Martha Jones, OCs
Prompt: hostages
Summary: Being held hostage by a desperate alien and cut off from the Doctor, Martha has to find a way to survive...
Author's Note: Tenth Doctor fic. Written for
hc_bingo .
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This was something new at least, Martha thought as she stared at the door behind which the Doctor was, while the young girl, Anwen, continued to hang onto her for dear life. Martha could hear her sobbing, but there really wasn't anything she could think of to calm her. She had never been held hostage before, at least if one didn't count those seconds when Mother of Blood had pressed a gun against her temple. And that hadn't even been a real hostage situation, not like the ones she'd seen on television before she'd gone travelling with the Doctor and learned that it was all so much more complicated in real life.
Their captor was staring at the door as well, waiting for the Doctor to make his decision, spiky antenna twitching irritated. “Doctor, I grow impatient.”
The Doctor had been silent for some time now, after he had tried to reason with the creature, and tried to open the door with his screwdriver, only to find that it was deadlock sealed. Martha knew it was them or the whole planet, and she knew that the Doctor would rather choose the planet and its entire population than her, but Anwen's parents were with him and they would do anything to stop their girl from being killed.
“Shollos, listen to me. I can give you what you want, I can take you to a planet, a planet where you can do whatever you like, just leave these people alone. Let Martha and the girl go, and I promise you, I will help you.” Martha could see the Doctor on the screen in the door, he looked very serious. Not a good sign.
“What use are your fine promises to me, Doctor, when you will just walk away after I have released the hostages? I have this planet under my control, and if you can't convince the emperor to transfer the government to me, those two will die. And then, if you still fail to comply, I will release the gas. I have no need of your promises. Not so long as I can take all I want by force.”
Martha pulled Anwen closer. “If the planet's what you want, why would you destroy it?”
Shollos shot her a venomous glare, little sparks of lightning sizzling between her antenna. “I don't need to explain to you. You are just hostages, and you will die.”
Anwen whimpered, burying her face in Martha's jacket.
The Doctor, of course, had heard their exchange, and appeared again on the viewscreen. “Of course - oh, Martha, brilliant! Asking the right questions! You are one of the Chanlo - you have bonded with the planet!”
Shollos hissed, but Martha couldn't help exclaiming in surprise. “What, like falling in love?”
With a shriek of rage, Shollos fired a shot at the viewscreen, shattering it to pieces - the last thing Martha saw was the Doctor's horrified face - and then turned towards them. Martha pulled Anwen back into the corner of the room, her heart racing. She should have controlled herself, now they would surely die just because she had been...
But Shollos did not fire, just stared at her, eyes sparkling fury. “You understand.”
“What?!”
“The bonding. You understand it.”
“If it's like love, I suppose I do, yes,” Martha replied, uncertain what to make of this sudden change.
“The Doctor doesn't. He laughs at us.”
“No, he can help you, he will. Just believe him.”
“The Chanlo bond once in their lives. For each energy signature, there is just one planet. Aeons ago, there was a planet for everyone. Now, settlers are intruding into our systems. There are more and more planets with those people - but those planets are ours. This planet is mine! I can't share it, and I can't just choose another. There is only this one choice. The Doctor's offer is no use! I would rather die than leave.”
Martha let go of Anwen and stepped towards Shollos, who had lowered the gun. “So you're saying you fell in love with a bloke, just the right bloke, like a soulmate, and he already has a girlfriend?”
Shollos cocked her head. “The analogy is adequate.”
Martha was suddenly quite relieved that the Doctor could not longer hear them. “Oh, then I know exactly what you mean! You see, sometimes I think that the Doctor likes me - I certainly love him to bits - but he's had this friend, Rose, and he is always thinking about her, and never looks at me. And I can't imagine being with anyone else, but he's already occupied...”
“Why, then, don't you kill this rival?”
Martha tried not to recoil from the savageness of Shollos' words. The rough, alien ways of the Chanto were certainly not the best in the universe, but on this basic, emotional level, she knew exactly how they felt. “She is already gone, but he's still missing her.”
“But then this is wrong! Those people”, Shollos pointed her gun at Anwen, “they don't bond with the planet, they don't understand it. They are stripping it bare. If they're gone, the planet won't miss them, and he will be mine.”
“Are you sure? And besides, even if I could find a way to stop the Doctor thinking of Rose, I wouldn't. Because it's not fair, not to him, and not to her.”
“How do you continue, then?”
“Oh, I keep hoping. And I am learning to be satisfied with what he can give me. It's not always easy, but it's better than never seeing him again.”
“I am not like you,” Shollos said, raising the gun again and pointing it at Martha's head.
Martha froze, her heart racing away inside her chest. She had thought she'd done it, convinced this alien that there was another way, just by talking - oh, the Doctor would have been so proud of her - but apparently, she had been wrong. She lifted her hands, stepping in front of the crying Anwen. “Shollos, please don't. The Doctor can help you, make sure that you can stay on this planet, share with the settlers. You could even show them how to appreciate the planet. How to treat it with respect.”
“He won't. The promises of the humans are fleeting sparks, worth nothing.” Shollos' finger tightened on the trigger and Martha held her breath.
“Oh, I would. And I am not human.” Martha sighed in relief as the Doctor stepped to her side, having apparently managed to break the teleport blockage while she had kept the Chanlo talking. “I could talk to the emperor, Shollos. The settlers could use your help, and I am sure Anwen's father will do everything to integrate you - he is responsible for alien contacts, after all.”
Shollos did not lower the gun. “If you are not human, not one of the settlers, who are you, then?”
“My planet is gone, Shollos. It's name was Gallifrey.”
“I am sorry, Doctor. I didn't know.”
“I keep my promises, Shollos. Now, why don't you put that gun away, eh?” The Doctor took a step forward, and Shollos finally lowered the weapon, letting it drop to the floor. She was no longer buzzing with angry electricity but regarded the Doctor with knowing and sadness.
“I will do what your friend suggests and attempt to share, Time Lord.”
“Good. Brilliant! Then I will help you with all my hearts!” The Doctor beamed at her, and then opened the deadlocked door.
As Anwen's parents rushed in to fuss over their daughter and Shollos conversed with the emperor after a little initiative by the Doctor, the Time Lord finally returned to Martha and hugged her. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. A little shaken, is all.”
“You did a marvellous job, keeping her talking. Almost convinced her, too.”
Martha would not tell him how good it felt hearing that. She was just glad he had no idea what exactly she had been talking about. “Just almost, though. And I knew you'd think of something to get us out.” Martha knew she was lying to him - at that moment, she hadn't really thought the Doctor would be able to rescue them. But it didn't really matter now. She felt better already, at least she had survived, even though her little speech had stirred feelings she would rather not think about. But then again, she was determined to enjoy what she had, rather than throwing it all away. And if it took a hostage situation to make that clear to her, that was just as fine.
“What did she mean, Doctor, she didn't know? What has your planet got to do with her?” At least she knew that the Doctor trusted her enough to tell her, and cared enough to rescue her rather than giving up on her. As long as she knew that, she could put up with situations as the one she'd just escaped - and then there was always something to distract her.
The Doctor smiled, a little sadly, and took her by the arm, leading her out into the busy streets. “Her species is old, Martha, old enough to remember Gallifrey. And even though my people never had such a close connection to the planet as hers, it was well known in the universe that the planet would welcome the children of Gallifrey when they returned home, and weep for them as they left.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“It was. Gone now.”
Martha could see the sad longing on the Doctor's face that always appeared there when he talked about his planet, his people, or Rose, and she decided that it was about time they did something cheerful to calm her nerves. “My heart's still racing, and I feel all wobbly. Why don't we find a café and have a cup of whatever they drink here after all this excitement?”
“That, Martha Jones, is a brilliant idea. You know, the earth colonists developed this drink in this sector of the empire, it's called BaDGaBHE, that's short for Banana Drink of the Great and Bountiful Human Empire, because it's made of bananas, mostly, but not your ordinary banana, a special kind - space bananas, Martha! Bananas are great, you know, and these...”
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