oncoming_storms Prompt 45
Susan was washing the dishes when she received the call from Gallifrey.
It was a ridiculously domestic image, as well as an unnecessary one. By the 22nd century, machinery had rendered most chores irrelevant, but, from time to time, Susan liked to do them herself. After all, nothing brought you down to Earth more than ironing.
The plate fell from her hands, shattering as it hit the ground in a shower of bubbles and lukewarm water. David came rushing in a moment later to find his wife leaning against the draining board with her head in her hands.
“Susan?” he asked, touching her shoulder, “What’s wrong?”
She looked up at him with wide eyes and suds in her hair. Her beloved husband. Older now, but not old. Not yet. There were traces of grey in his hair, and fine lines around his eyes, but his smile hadn’t changed.
Her lips formed the words before her brain had really processed the question, let alone the event that had prompted it.
“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about me, David.”
They came for her three days later.
“You are the Time Lady known as ...”
She cut over them before they could finish. She hadn’t used that name in many years and didn’t intend to start now. Not here, on the doorstep of the house she and David had built together in the aftermath of war. Not with her children playing in the garden, just out of sight.
“No. My name is Susan. Susan Campbell.”
They didn’t reply, but she could see the skepticism in their gaze. They thought she was an eccentric. A renegade. Just like her Grandfather. Which made her wonder once again why they wanted her, of all people.
“You have been summoned to Gallifrey.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then you know you must come with us.”
She looked back at the house. The windows were dark. David was still down in the fields, and Ian and Barbara were playing happily in the sandpit he’d constructed for them one balmy evening last June. They’d be safe without her for a few minutes.
“I trust this won’t take long,” she said, as she dragged her eyes away, and moved - uninvited and deliberately independent - towards their ship. It was a newer model than her Grandfather’s TARDIS. It would be able to return her only minutes after she’d left.
She didn’t even think to say goodbye.
***
They led her along winding white corridors, deep into the heart of the Capitol. Susan didn’t even have time to drink in her surroundings - oh, those familiar silver trees! - before she found herself face-to-face with the President of the High Council.
And the President wasn’t quite what she’d been expecting. It was a woman, blonde and slender, with dark circles around her eyes. Not a tyrant. Not a frightening figure. Just a tired lady dressed in ridiculous robes.
The President’s bodyguard - a human dressed in ragged animal skins - hovered at her side like a loyal wolfhound but, when Susan arrived, President Romanadvoratrelundar dismissed both her and the guards.
“Welcome back to Gallifrey, Susan,” she said, rising from her desk and shuffling a few pieces of paper around in order to obscure the map she’d been looking at. Susan couldn’t be certain, but she thought she’d seen a tiny blue box - as well as several other model ships - placed there, like a piece on a chessboard. Ready to be maneuvered into position.
“Was the TARDIS I sent for you comfortable enough?” Romanadvoratrelundar continued, when Susan did not reply.
“TARDIS? You’re calling them TARDISes now?”
The President smiled slightly. She looked younger when she smiled. Less weary.
“You’re a very influential woman, Mrs Campbell.”
“So are you.”
“I am a politician.”
“But you’re not like the others,” said Susan, softly. “The men you sent to collect me, for example. You have a human bodyguard. You're consorting with an exile ...”
“They do say travel broadens the mind,” Romana said, with another smile.
“Travel?”
“With your grandfather.”
Susan blinked. She hadn’t expected that and she wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. Was it supposed to make her trust Romana? Or was it designed to make her jealous? She hadn’t seen her grandfather in decades - centuries for him, probably - and Romana had called herself a politician. Susan was going to have to tread very carefully indeed.
“Why have you brought me here, Romanadvoratrelundar?”
“Romana, if you prefer,” said the President, and, Susan found herself once more knocked off balance.
“Time Lords don’t usually adopt shortened versions of their names.”
“I’ve grown used to it over the years.”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Romana didn’t answer immediately even then. She moved across the room, towards the wide window that looked out over the Mountains of Solace and Solitude. It was a beautiful view. The peaks - capped with snow - glistened in the light of the twin suns.
“You must have been able to feel it, Susan?” she murmured, gazing out over the shimmering landscape, “Stirring at the edges of the universe?”
“Feel what?”
“The Daleks. They are preparing for war.”
“War?” repeated Susan, after an echoing - sickening - silence, “War with whom?”
“With the Time Lords, of course.”
“And that’s why you’ve brought me here? To pressgang me?”
“You’ve seen what the Daleks can do. And you worked as a peace officer on Earth. Your knowledge of Dalek technology may prove useful.”
Worked. Past tense.
“And my Grandfather? Where is he? What will he do in your war?”
“It is not my war,” Romana responded sharply, “It will span the whole of time and space. The Doctor has his role to play. I hope you will not shy away from yours.”
Romana turned away from the window, fixing her eyes on Susan.
“Will you do it? Will you fight for Gallifrey?”
For those silver trees, and that burning sky? For the snow-capped mountains and the shining Citadel? For the Time Lords, who had exiled her grandfather for crimes Susan still failed to fully understand, forcing her to grow up a wanderer instead of a true Gallifreyan?
“No,” said Susan softly, “But I’ll fight for David. And my children. And my grandfather.”
Romana smiled softly. “That will be enough.”
Prompt: My life is changing every day.
Word Count: 1034
It was a ridiculously domestic image, as well as an unnecessary one. By the 22nd century, machinery had rendered most chores irrelevant, but, from time to time, Susan liked to do them herself. After all, nothing brought you down to Earth more than ironing.
The plate fell from her hands, shattering as it hit the ground in a shower of bubbles and lukewarm water. David came rushing in a moment later to find his wife leaning against the draining board with her head in her hands.
“Susan?” he asked, touching her shoulder, “What’s wrong?”
She looked up at him with wide eyes and suds in her hair. Her beloved husband. Older now, but not old. Not yet. There were traces of grey in his hair, and fine lines around his eyes, but his smile hadn’t changed.
Her lips formed the words before her brain had really processed the question, let alone the event that had prompted it.
“Oh, nothing. Don’t worry about me, David.”
They came for her three days later.
“You are the Time Lady known as ...”
She cut over them before they could finish. She hadn’t used that name in many years and didn’t intend to start now. Not here, on the doorstep of the house she and David had built together in the aftermath of war. Not with her children playing in the garden, just out of sight.
“No. My name is Susan. Susan Campbell.”
They didn’t reply, but she could see the skepticism in their gaze. They thought she was an eccentric. A renegade. Just like her Grandfather. Which made her wonder once again why they wanted her, of all people.
“You have been summoned to Gallifrey.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Then you know you must come with us.”
She looked back at the house. The windows were dark. David was still down in the fields, and Ian and Barbara were playing happily in the sandpit he’d constructed for them one balmy evening last June. They’d be safe without her for a few minutes.
“I trust this won’t take long,” she said, as she dragged her eyes away, and moved - uninvited and deliberately independent - towards their ship. It was a newer model than her Grandfather’s TARDIS. It would be able to return her only minutes after she’d left.
She didn’t even think to say goodbye.
***
They led her along winding white corridors, deep into the heart of the Capitol. Susan didn’t even have time to drink in her surroundings - oh, those familiar silver trees! - before she found herself face-to-face with the President of the High Council.
And the President wasn’t quite what she’d been expecting. It was a woman, blonde and slender, with dark circles around her eyes. Not a tyrant. Not a frightening figure. Just a tired lady dressed in ridiculous robes.
The President’s bodyguard - a human dressed in ragged animal skins - hovered at her side like a loyal wolfhound but, when Susan arrived, President Romanadvoratrelundar dismissed both her and the guards.
“Welcome back to Gallifrey, Susan,” she said, rising from her desk and shuffling a few pieces of paper around in order to obscure the map she’d been looking at. Susan couldn’t be certain, but she thought she’d seen a tiny blue box - as well as several other model ships - placed there, like a piece on a chessboard. Ready to be maneuvered into position.
“Was the TARDIS I sent for you comfortable enough?” Romanadvoratrelundar continued, when Susan did not reply.
“TARDIS? You’re calling them TARDISes now?”
The President smiled slightly. She looked younger when she smiled. Less weary.
“You’re a very influential woman, Mrs Campbell.”
“So are you.”
“I am a politician.”
“But you’re not like the others,” said Susan, softly. “The men you sent to collect me, for example. You have a human bodyguard. You're consorting with an exile ...”
“They do say travel broadens the mind,” Romana said, with another smile.
“Travel?”
“With your grandfather.”
Susan blinked. She hadn’t expected that and she wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. Was it supposed to make her trust Romana? Or was it designed to make her jealous? She hadn’t seen her grandfather in decades - centuries for him, probably - and Romana had called herself a politician. Susan was going to have to tread very carefully indeed.
“Why have you brought me here, Romanadvoratrelundar?”
“Romana, if you prefer,” said the President, and, Susan found herself once more knocked off balance.
“Time Lords don’t usually adopt shortened versions of their names.”
“I’ve grown used to it over the years.”
“You still haven’t answered my question.”
Romana didn’t answer immediately even then. She moved across the room, towards the wide window that looked out over the Mountains of Solace and Solitude. It was a beautiful view. The peaks - capped with snow - glistened in the light of the twin suns.
“You must have been able to feel it, Susan?” she murmured, gazing out over the shimmering landscape, “Stirring at the edges of the universe?”
“Feel what?”
“The Daleks. They are preparing for war.”
“War?” repeated Susan, after an echoing - sickening - silence, “War with whom?”
“With the Time Lords, of course.”
“And that’s why you’ve brought me here? To pressgang me?”
“You’ve seen what the Daleks can do. And you worked as a peace officer on Earth. Your knowledge of Dalek technology may prove useful.”
Worked. Past tense.
“And my Grandfather? Where is he? What will he do in your war?”
“It is not my war,” Romana responded sharply, “It will span the whole of time and space. The Doctor has his role to play. I hope you will not shy away from yours.”
Romana turned away from the window, fixing her eyes on Susan.
“Will you do it? Will you fight for Gallifrey?”
For those silver trees, and that burning sky? For the snow-capped mountains and the shining Citadel? For the Time Lords, who had exiled her grandfather for crimes Susan still failed to fully understand, forcing her to grow up a wanderer instead of a true Gallifreyan?
“No,” said Susan softly, “But I’ll fight for David. And my children. And my grandfather.”
Romana smiled softly. “That will be enough.”
Prompt: My life is changing every day.
Word Count: 1034