DW/SW 2
2
The Doctor insisted on opening the door this time. He might enjoy his playful arguments with his assistants, but he never forgot that he was responsible for both of them, no matter how much it seemed they could take care of themselves. He stepped out with a grin and a wave. "Hello!"
The three figures stood with their guns pointed at him. A brief glance about revealed that they were somewhere sandy, apparently a town, the sort you might expect to find in semi-desert areas of north Africa if you were on Earth in the twenty-first century. The place was humming with activity, but the men in white suits seemed to be regulating everything. The TARDIS had materialised in the middle of a queue for entrance to a fenced off section of the town. Two of the figures were currently speaking in hushed tones.
"What is this thing?" one of them asked, gesturing towards the TARDIS just as Jack and Rose stepped hesitantly outside. "And who are you? What is your purpose in Mos Eisley?"
Noticing that there was a number of personal vehicles around, many of which hovered and perhaps flew, all of different degrees of shininess and size, the Doctor decided it would do no harm to blind them with a little science. They seemed the minion sort anyway, and would probably end up deferring their case to someone with more authority. But if he could blag his way out... "It's a multi-dimensional, teleportational travelling ship," he said. "A very important device. That's why I'm here."
"What?" said one of them, one who had a reassuringly dozy voice.
Before he went on, the Doctor made some mental calculations. These people had hovering machines, machines that tend to become obsolete in the event of teleportation technology. So if he just gave them a brief bit of detail about teleportation, it would sound impressive enough without him having to go into the ins and outs of how the TARDIS really worked. And the regulation of civilians indicated that this was an area of hostility - either a war was currently going on, or these were the effects of a war recently won by the wrong side. In any case, these guards were clearly military. He leaned close to the guard who was doing the talking. "Look, mate, I know I'm not telling you much. That's because I can't tell anyone. This technology is highly important and I have to be allowed free passage anywhere I choose. I'm working for your leader, with my two assistants here, and your leader won't be happy if you detain us."
The looks between the three guards suggested that, while they were suspicious, his story had been plausible enough for them to consider it. The Doctor gave an inaudible sigh of relief. The rest should be easy. He pulled a small leather wallet out of the inside pocket of his battered leather jacket, and showed it to the guards. The paper inside read, 'VIP SCIENTIST - ACCESS ALL AREAS'. "The thing is," he added, after they had looked at it and he had put it away, "that this is top secret stuff. We don't want this information... getting into the wrong hands."
For some reason, it was this last statement that convinced the guards. Must be a war, the Doctor thought, or a rebellion. The plan now would have been to go back into the TARDIS and leave, and then all the blagging would have been truly successful. Unfortunately, the guards showed an iota of intelligence between them and insisted that Jack and Rose wait with them while the Doctor move the vehicle about fifty yards to the left so that it was not in the way of the queue. Deciding not to push his luck, the Doctor obeyed.
The two assistants walked in the direction where the TARDIS had already started reappearing, but Rose could not stop herself looking back at the queue. Behind them, though looking surprisingly unperturbed by their queue jumping, had been two men in a hovering transporter. One was old with a white beard and brown robe, the other young and blond and dressed in pale colours. The young one looked particularly nervous. Hushing Jack, who was about to speak to her, Rose strained to hear what was said. She could not make out everything, but one thing was clear - the old man was doing the talking, and persuading the guards with ease, and a wave of his hand, to let them pass. She frowned, thinking that he seemed to have used a method not dissimilar to the Doctor's psychic paper, but did not have time to dwell on it because the TARDIS door swung open.
"So then," the Doctor said, stepping out and locking the door behind him, "shall we have a look round?"
"I don't know..." Jack paused. "I mean, it doesn't look very safe, does it?"
Rose sighed but smiled. "You've done it now! If it's not safe then, in my experience, we'll be having a look round, getting into trouble, nearly getting killed and only saving ourselves at the last minute."
The Doctor grinned at her and then put an arm around each of them, steering them towards a large building that was blaring with music. "Now this looks like a good place to get a drink!" He did not know that the two men Rose had been watching had also entered that building.
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Also, just for my reference...
Poll DW/SW