RP for timelady_lost

[ninth_doctor]

The Doctor was in a terrible mood. Normally, that meant he would just go off and brood until he decided to stop feeling so sorry for himself. But he'd offered to see Romana, and she welcomed such company. He was more than thrilled at the thought of seeing her again, even if the reason they were meeting was due to poor emotional stability and bad

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[timelady_lost]

Romana stepped out and moved forward to give The Doctor a firm hug. "So are you -- and I like the monochromatic look you have going right now." She tugged approvingly at one of the black leather lapels on his jacket.

Romana nodded with some pride at the authentic-looking facade that her TARDIS had taken on. "Well, you know how it is -- a TARDIS often mirrors its owner. You could care beans about whether people think you look unusual or not, and appearances are everything for me. And so our TARDISes work or don't work accordingly." She glanced over her shoulder and winked, as she said this.

A frown settled on her features as she headed into the kiosk, waving The Doctor inside with her. "Although right now, I'm glad that I was able to bring my TARDIS anywhere at all. The engines didn't sound happy at all when I dematerialized..."

She waved her hand to the open maintenance panels around her console, and the various bits of equipment, parts and random bits & bobs littering the control room. If there wasn't the mess of repairwork going on, this would be a very sleek art deco-styled interior.

((No, don't worry at all about the delay in replying! I wasn't feeling that great yesterday anyhow, so a wait didn't put me out.))

[ninth_doctor]

All snark and wit and banter aside, the Doctor was relieved to see her so very alive and so very real. And they had not changed so much that they felt like complete strangers (as can happen when one's looks and personality and mental condition fluxuate after regeneration). In fact, he felt like he was finally getting back in step with a part of his life that had been suddenly put on hold, waiting for this one moment. No missed beats, no awkward moments--just two old friends.

He boggled at the mess she'd made of her console room. "No wonder! You've got about half of everything pulled out! You probably shouldn't have bothered trying, could've just had a little meet-up with you and my future self and...whoever else he's got onboard now. Surprised nothing caught on fire." He took a whiff of the air. "Nope, something definately caught on fire. Or melted. Might have to get some new parts. Or replace some. Could you imagine, your TARDIS looking like my daft old thing? Got bits of bicycles, hovercars, toys, whatever junk I find lying around. You'll have to see it when we're done. It's not as sleek as it used to be."

Well, except maybe she didn't need to, depending on how his future self's console room was like. "Though maybe she didn't change with him this time. She's fickle about that. Completely reinvents herself only when she wants to. Anyway, nevermind that now, this thing's a mess; not sure where to start. But it getting where you wanted it to go's a good start."

[timelady_lost]

Romana chewed her lip. "And it won't be long before I need more Zeiton-7, because I'm scraping the bottom of the reserves there." She glanced up ruefully. "Of course things caught on fire; I'm amazed that I didn't explode upon crash-landing. If anything works, it's exceedingly miraculous. But now I need to bring it somewhat back to a safer level of functioning. And since...well, since I can't just 'take it back to the dealer', so to speak, I'll have to cobble my way through the repairs."

At the mention of The Doctor's 'Future Self', Romana looked just the slightest bit sheepish. "Ah. Well. See, I'm having to be a bit careful about that whole situation. Leading up to his coming to get me, I thought I was being all very cool and patient about things, and now it's a grand snarly mess. Arguments and confusion and headaches all 'round. So I'm keeping to myself there until hopefully it settles out."

She looked around at the innards of her machine. "Well, let's start with the basics -- there's a synchronization error that's been hiccoughing, and I don't like the straining sound that I get when I dematerialize. Take a look over here..."

[ninth_doctor]

"He seems to be nothing but confusion an' headaches, from what I can tell."

Things were arranged in a much different way than he was used to--but that was to be expected. His own TARDIS was outdated by the time he had taken it for himself. But this would not deter him. After all, a TARDIS was a TARDIS, no matter what improvements were made. (Plus, he didn't want to look like he didn't know what he was doing--would've been terribly embarrassing, that.)

He circled the console, once to reorient himself with what systems were where, a second time to look for any obvious damage that might be easily fixed. "Button's depressed," he pointed out. Nice simple easy-to-fix problem #1. "It's diverting the power flow during dematerialization elsewhere, making it a touch wobbly."

Console + swift kick = button depressed no-more. Hey, this is why he keeps a mallet hanging nearby at all times.

"Rich, synchronization error...might be coming from down here." He pulled open a panel and crawled into a mass of wires, half of him still sticking out across the floor. It was time for some poking and prodding with his trusty sonic screwdriver.

And for some small talk. "So...who else have you run into, since my prettyboy self came and got you? You goin' places, seein' the sights?"

[timelady_lost]

Romana had armed herself with some wiring tape to repair spots where casings had melted through and connections were spotty. At The Doctor's question, however, she had to look up and laugh. "Would you believe, this is the first trip that this TARDIS has made since..." Her expression sobered, and she looked down at the wire she was wrapping. "Well, since I fled Gallifrey. The temporal distortions overloaded my systems, I lost control while traveling through the vortex, I remember a very nice marble pillar falling over on me, and..."

She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "And when I woke up again after who knows how long, I found I had regenerated, my TARDIS had absolutely no power at all, and I was marooned on an unknown forested moon. I assumed that I would be abandoned there for the rest of my lives, and...I also assumed that everyone else from our world had ceased to exist."

[ninth_doctor]

"Oh yeah," he said easily (a practiced tone, to be sure), "same here. The thinkin' everyone else was gone bit, I mean, not the stranded on a moon bit. She still flew, obviously. A lot of damage, though. 's why I had to replace all those parts I mentioned before with such mundane things. Survive any way you can. Oh, here's some trouble, all a mess under here--think I can reroute power through something else, though."

This was really why he'd come, but at the same time, he didn't want to make mention to it at all. He wasn't sure if he was quite ready for that talking part of the supposed healing process. Didn't want an inappropriate flare of emotions. But still...

"Think of it now, Romana. Get this thing fixed up nice and proper, have ourselves a cuppa, and you? Will be on your way through that big, wide universe, just waiting for you. D'you think you can stand a life like mine, outside all those politics and presidential duties?"

[timelady_lost]

"It wasn't that I loved the politics that much. Most of it was utterly infuriating and hair-pulling. But trying to reform the system was something that was far, far overdue, and...well, if I didn't do it, who would?" She sighed, and reached for a pair of needle-nose pliers. "It was probably too late anyway, and I was just shovelling sand against the tide. But I had to try."

"As for the nomadic life in the 'big wide universe'...well..." Here Romana's expression fluctuated, and she seemed to be making an effort to hold her emotions in check. "It's funny; I do so many things out of my own initiative. But the idea of being alone -- utterly alone -- is extremely disturbing to me. I want my connections, my ties, my community. It's true that now I can go anywhere, do anything I want, but...I don't want to lose the ties to my own people. To you, Doctor. And if there are other Time Lords out there, I want to find them too."

She brushed some hair out of her eyes. "But it was the initial bit about 'ties to you' that got me into trouble with 'Prettyboy', as you call him."

[ninth_doctor]

"I'm sure someone would've eventually tried. I would've, if you could've gotten me to stay on the planet more than a few hours at a time. Nah, could've never been President; 's why I gave up the job in the first place. They were fickle, fickle people, the High Council. Exile me one regeneration, elect me Lord President in another!"

He gave something unseen a sound thwap before pulling himself out from under the console and giving her a good long look. He hadn't meant to stare, really--he was just thinking. "Can't see how you would've gotten into trouble with any of me. What'd you do? Or what did he think you did? And, ah...might be a bit of a daft idea, and I'd never tell you to abandon your fine machine here, but you could always come with me. One of me, anyway. Not even with, just hang about the Time Vortex in our TARDISes, looking for other survivors. Who knows, could end up like me, filling your TARDIS up with all sorts of fantastic people." Which reminded him, he ought to see if Peter wanted a ride...eventually... "No need to bother with him if he's being a pain in the arse."

[timelady_lost]

Romana giggled at The Doctor's comment about 'staying on the planet more than a few hours at a time'. "They elected you because they couldn't help it -- you knew how to play the system too well! I was finishing my time at the Academy when you had that to-do about being suspected of murdering the Lord President, and then when you came back with Leela to have your oh-so-brief term. It was one of the most astonishing things I could remember ever happening, up to that point."

There was a brief pause in the conversation as Romana pulled out a welding tool and soldered a few pieces of equipment together. But finally she continued, "If it were just a matter of you -- whichever one of you I might be dealing with -- I doubt there would've been problems. But it's all a matter of timing. He's in a serious relationship now, and with a Sidhe. Although their relationship isn't without its tricky bits, but...well, my appearance in person, and a very ill-advised drinking game caused both he and I to act out in a manner that produced nothing but difficulty. And it didn't help that I also felt...well, I also felt attracted to his consort, and that made things even more confusing, and..."

Romana shook her head. "I claim temporary insanity. It's the only logical explanation. Too much emotion, too much drink, added to a relationship that was dealing with instabilities. And it all came out bad."

She sighed. "I'm not sure your Rose would be too happy if I suddenly joined your crew. No, once everything settles out, maybe some kind of happy medium can be found, in terms of keeping in touch with you. Maybe some kind of...I don't know. Communication point, a colony or satellite can be made, and perhaps more Time Lords can be found...if you and I survived, there must have been others. There's far too many Daleks still around, after all."

[ninth_doctor]

He could have (and normally would have) said many things at this point. A quip about the Academy, a story about said assassination. Snarky comments about his future self and another moan about how he really didn't want to become that man. Things about Jack's dancing. Advice about drinking. No, no, Rose wouldn't mind at all, nobody would mind, and if they did, well, they could just get off; communications point was a brilliant idea; finding people, got to find people, must be others, anyone else, but Romana was enough if they really were all.

And then she said Daleks. There's far too many Daleks still around, after all.

"...What, no there aren't!" he protested, suddenly looking a good bit paranoid. "What d'you mean, Daleks still about, there was only one, went off and blew itself up, I saw it! Last one. They won't be coming back--did you see any? Can't be Daleks, aren't any bloody Daleks, what are you on about?"

[timelady_lost]

"You thought you were the last of the Time Lords, didn't you? And so did I. And we were wrong. I'm so very glad we were wrong, but..."

Romana's voice sounded hoarse. "But there's more Daleks than just two, out there. You've seen them -- in your future."

[ninth_doctor]

He took a few deep breaths; he would have stuttered horribly otherwise, and that wouldn't sound too good. "...Oh. Did I. I mean, do I. Well, that's...news to me."

No, he didn't look any better than he sounded. His eyes stared into some far-off distance as he rested his arms limply on his knees. "...How many more, d'you know?"

[timelady_lost]

"A prisonship-full, apparently," Romana said thickly. "And you know how many that can be."

Romana clutched a spanner in her hands fiercely. "There must be more of us out there. If that many Daleks slipped through...I can't believe that everything we did, all the...extremes we went to, to make sure the War ended then and there, was all for naught!"

[ninth_doctor]

"And what if it was?" he snapped. "What if they all died for nothing, then? A prisonship. Hell. How did that happen?" He was going to have to have a nice long chat with his future self at some point very, very soon...

"What if we're it, the flukes of the universe? We've just got to soldier on," he continued, fully intending to use the military term as he did, "find them, kill them, save the universe when it next gets threatened by them. Just like always. I can take care of Daleks." But a whole prisonship? "War's never over. Got my hopes up for nothing. Should've just blown it to bits anyway, would've made me feel loads better, I'm sure. The War's never over."

[timelady_lost]

"The best way to fight a war, the best way to utilize the resources we have -- however small they are -- is to proceed from good intelligence, and make informed decisions! We aren't entirely lost! Not only do you keep fighting in this life and in your next, but there's me and my TARDIS. This is a Type 101 War TARDIS, Doctor! If the repairs can be made, there's a great deal of firepower here that the Daleks think is entirely lost! All they know about is you, and that you think you're the last!"

[ninth_doctor]

"And what, you're going to jump 'em at the last minute, have them trembling in their armour while you and your TARDIS come galloping in? It's lucky enough this thing's gonna fly, much less hold up against a fight with Daleks. If you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have good intelligence! All right, so there are a hell of a lot of Daleks out there. Where? When? What are they planning? How large has their army grown since? Any new weapons? Nah. Nothing. We know nothing."

His gesticulations became so great and so violent that he jumped back up to his feet and did a small pace from the wall to the console again. "The War is lost, Romana. We. Lost. We lost when the whole planet had to go just because it was our only shot at getting rid of the Daleks. I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to fight!" But he'd do it, if it meant a sure end to the Daleks.

"Don't want to be a soldier anymore. That's not what I was--none of us were. Run out of bodies in the military, then you give the scientists guns. The teachers. The parents. The children fresh out the Academy, just barely able to pass their TARDIS exams. Give them a weapon and order them to their deaths. They didn't know what they were doing!"

A moment to collect his thoughts and stifle his outbursts was all he needed to calm down, but at last, someone who would understand, besides himself, someone he could yell at, someone he could spill all of his hate about it at and be understood. He couldn't just stop, couldn't set it aside and sit on a shelf to collect dust this time.

"But we did it anyway, because we had to. I never liked weapons. I could always just talk my way out of situations, or incapacitate someone, or turn their own against them. Now I can pick up a gun and... A lot of good people died in the fighting. A lot of good, innocent people that just wanted to go home and hide. All the fighting and killing, and I can't...do that anymore. I won't become that again."

But he knew he would. If he had to. And he hated it.

There was a long quiet moment before he half laughed, half scoffed, lips quirking up into a smile that wasn't really at all a smile. "...Don't even remember what I was arguing about now. You, um...d'you want some help with that?" He lamely and with a small hint of embarrassment motioned to what she'd been working on before the topic had come up.