Fic: Solaris
Author: bell_jar_fics
Story: Solaris
Character/Pairing: Doctor, Rose, Jack, OC, Hints of Doctor/Rose
Era: Ninth Doctor Era; Takes place between The Doctor Dances and Boomtown.
Rating: PG-13 (To be safe)
Chapter 9/? (Escape From San Kloon)
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, and Jack travel to an Alien city, where they must team up with a local thief to retrieve a series of mysterious artifacts of unknown capacity.
Disclaimer: Obviously not the owner.
I'd really like reviews for this story. Hardly anyone has left comments, which makes me sad.
Previous Chapters
The day of Refetinti’s wedding had arrived. All building of the fourth pyramid was on hold for the day. Only a few of the guards were on duty. The rest were all assembled in the King’s Palace for the wedding, so there were not many guards around to pay heed to one insignificant palace slave wandering around, seemingly aimlessly.
Nomra glanced around, counting the number of guards who were around. There were only two who could be seen; one at the palace gates and the other standing guard at the entrance to the dungeons. He waited until the guard at the palace gates started taking a long drink from the pitcher he’d been left with before acting. Remembering the instructions the Doctor had given him, Nomra removed a single shiny coin from a pouch that had hung from his belt and held it out in such a way that it reflected the light from the sun.
-----
Rose and Solaris sat by waiting, crouching down among the weeds that grew by the king’s palace. They had managed to sneak out through one of the palace’s secret passages, and were now waiting for Nomra’s signal.
“There,” Rose whispered finally, pointing to the gleaming, flashing light that was caused by the sun reflecting off Nomra’s coin. “Come on, we better hurry.” The two girls crept through the weeds, trying their best not to make them sway too much and give away their presence. Moments after they’d gotten a short distance from the palace, they caught sight of Nomra, who was crouched next to a woven basket.
“I don’t think they saw me take this,” Nomra whispered. “It’ll be my neck if they did.”
“Thanks, Nomra,” Rose whispered back. “Are you sure you don’t want us to try and get you back to your family in return? I don’t think the Doctor would mind, after all you’ve done for us.”
“No, it’s okay,” Nomra turned down the offer. “I’ll be released in two seasons, anyway. If I go now, it won’t be just me in trouble, but my family as well.
“I’d better go. I need to get back before they start missing me. Good luck, Rose.” Without another word, Nomra hurried off, leaving Rose and Solaris alone to change into the robes he’d stored in the basket.
“He’ll be fine,” Solaris assured, sensing Rose’s concern for the boy's safety. “There’s no point in being worried. Concentrate on the matter on hand, or we might mess this up.”
“Okay,” Rose agreed, pulling on her robe and picking up the bowl of food that had been stored in the basket with the robes. Solaris followed suit, removing the pitcher from the bottom of the basket.
-----
The guard standing watch over the dungeons couldn’t remember being so bored. Why did he have to be the one guarding the prisoners, while nearly everyone else was at the wedding? Groaning softly in frustration, he glanced over just as two women approached, dressed in robes that covered their faces. One was carrying a basket of food, and the other held a filled water pitcher.
“State your business,” the guard ordered, glaring down at the two.
“King Hoaraph demanded that food and drink be delivered to the prisoners,” one of the women explained.
“No one informed me,” the guard challenged.
“Are you questioning the King’s orders?” The other women fired back. “Because if you wish us to return to the King’s Palace without delivering this food, we’d be quite happy to tell him how you prevented us from delivering the food. I’m sure he’d understand why you did not permit us from fulfilling the King’s desires.”
“There’s no need for that!” The guard seemed panicked at the thought. “My apologies; go right in.” The guard allowed the two women to enter the dungeons. They navigated the passages in silence until they reached the cell where the Doctor and Jack were waiting. Once they reached the cell, Rose and Solaris shed their disguises, and Solaris immediately handed over an object that resembled a computer chip.
“The guards here are not as sharp as the patrolmen in Baniru,” she observed. “He didn’t even notice when I took this from him.”
“Run into any trouble?” Jack asked as the Doctor went to work in using the electronic key to open the cell door.
“Not yet,” Rose shook her head.
“Just don’t let your guard down,” the Doctor advised, as he opened the cell door. “Now comes the hardest part: Getting the knife from the Green Pyramid.”
The group made their way out of the dungeon, with Jack successfully knocking out the guard at the entrance. Once that hurtle was out of the way, they carefully made their way to the Green Pyramid. Unlike the dungeons, however, this pyramid had no guards standing watch.
“Shouldn’t someone be guarding it?” Rose wondered. “I mean, if King Hoaraph keeps his greatest treasures in there, wouldn’t he want them to be protected?”
“Perhaps,” the Doctor agreed. “But just because we don’t see guards, it doesn’t mean the treasure isn’t protected.”
“I agree with the Doctor,” Solaris added. “As shocking as it is that he said something I agree with, I can’t argue with him about the pyramid being guarded. When you’ve been a thief for as long as I have, you learn that when you can’t see what’s protecting an item from being stolen; that’s when you really have to be alert.”
“You mean like alarms, or booby traps?”
“Ancient Egypt was known for booby traps,” Jack pointed out.
“We best keep our wits about us, then,” the Doctor grinned, leading the way into the Green Pyramid. When the door was opened, they found themselves facing a fair-sized corridor. At the end of the hall, a mountain of golden items could be seen within the open treasure room.
“So, how do we know what booby traps are in there?” Rose asked.
“Like this.” Solaris picked up a small rock and tossed it into the corridor. After the rock had rolled across the floor for a few moments, a large pendulum with razor sharp edges suddenly swung by in front of them. Stepping forward, the Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the ceiling. Seconds later, the pendulum froze in place, and the quartet carefully made their way around it. The next booby trap that Solaris triggered was a heavy block that slammed down, blocking their way.
“Good thing for us, Doctor,” Jack smirked, removing his blaster, “you brought me back to the Weapon Factories of Villengard before the factory blew up, so I could get new batteries.” With a large grin on his face, Jack blasted a square hole into the block, enabling them to walk right through. By now, they were nearly there. For the third time, Solaris took one of the stones she’d selected and threw it ahead of them. This stone triggered the final trap, and the ground before them crumbled away, leaving a gaping pit. When they glanced down, they saw the bottom of the pit was filled with sharpened spikes.
“Too bad I’m not being controlled by the Quevvils this time around,” Rose muttered.
“Do you really want to be in that situation, again?” The Doctor cast her a quizzical look. “Besides, I don’t think you’d need to be, anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you really forgotten the time when you and I first met, when you saved the world from the Nestene Consciousness with your Tarzan impression?” Rose looked at the Doctor, puzzled. Of course she hadn’t forgotten. But why was that important now? It was then that she realized he wasn't looking at her, but at a spot overhead. Following his gaze, she saw some vines growing along the ceiling above them.
“It looks like there’s a switch on the wall, on the other side of the pit,” the Doctor continued. “All you have to do, Rose, is pull it. If I’m right, it should send out a bridge or something, so the rest of us can get across. Jack, if you could use your blaster to cut one of those vines up there, Rose can swing across.” Putting the Doctor’s idea to the test, Jack fired off his blaster, freeing one of the vines, which Rose caught as it fell.
“You can do it,” the Doctor grinned assuringly at Rose. Nodding, Rose took a few steps back to give herself a running start before swinging effortlessly over the pit. Landing on the other side, she stumbled slightly from the momentum, but quickly regained her footing.
As the Doctor had predicted, the switch sent a metal bridge sliding out over the pit, giving the Doctor, Jack, and Solaris a way to cross.
“Fantastic job, Rose!” The Doctor grinned wider, pulling her into a large hug, lifting her off the ground in his enthusiasm. “Now, let’s get the knife so we can get out of here.”
The treasure room was nearly filled to the brim with golden treasure. King Hoaraph’s collection was so massive; they had to search the room for almost an hour.
“I hope we can find it before the wedding ends,” Rose said, moving a large chest aside in her search. “If the wedding ends before we get out of here…”
“Hey! Found it!” Jack interrupted, holding up a knife in a black leather scabbard. The knife did indeed have the same configuration of jewels arranged on the golden hilt: Eight small gems surrounding the large, smooth pommel stone, which was a milky white color. Although, on close inspection, it seemed like there was a silvery cloud swirling inside the stone.
“Refetinti’s suitor was right,” Rose observed. “It does look like the stone’s alive.”
“Well done, Captain!” the Doctor cried. “Now let’s ‘urry up and get back to the TARDIS. Refetinti’s wedding can’t go on much longer.” As the group began to hurry out of the Treasure Room, Jack noticed Solaris lagging behind.
“Solaris, come on!” he urged. “There isn’t time…”
“You three go on,” Solaris interrupted. “There’s something I need to check first. Go on, I’ll catch up.” After a reluctant hesitation, the three friends continued on.
-----
Once inside the TARDIS, the Doctor started up the engines, getting ready to leave the moment Solaris entered.
“What could she be doing?” Rose wondered out loud. “She knows we don’t have a lot of time.”
“It better be important, whatever it is,” the Doctor added. “Because if she’s trying to make off with some of that treasure…” He trailed off as he glanced at the monitor, which showed Solaris running toward the TARDIS at top speed. A small handful of King Hoaraph’s guards were pursuing her. Within an instant, the TARDIS doors were pushed open, and Solaris launched herself into the ship.
“Get us out of here, quick!” she cried urgently. The Doctor promptly kicked the TARDIS engines into action, and the central rotor began to rise and fall. Outside, the guards were frozen with shock as the TARDIS faded from view.
As the TARDIS entered the safety of the Time Vortex, Solaris collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath, but with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Cut it close, didn’t you?” Jack chucked in spite of himself.
“And are you going to tell us why you decided to lag behind?” the Doctor questioned sternly. “Because if you stole something from that treasure room, I will bring you right back there.” Solaris reached under her linen garb and removed the medallion that featured the Seal of Rassilon.
“Wasn’t about to leave without this,” Solaris grinned to herself. “It’s not exactly stealing, as it was mine to begin with. And you’re not going to make me believe you’d seriously go back there; not when you, Rose, and Jack would be recaptured as well. We’ve already been there for over a week. That’s nine days lost, and there are three more artifacts to find if you want the antidote for Rose.” The Doctor looked like he was about to argue, but thought better of it, and returned his attention to the TARDIS console.
“So,” Rose breathed. “Where to next?” Smiling slightly, the Doctor checked with the coordinates Karnack had given them.
“Looks like the next artifact is on a small jungle planet, N’ren.”
“N’ren!?” Solaris suddenly paled, speaking in a strained voice. “Are… are you sure it’s N’ren? Maybe… maybe you read it wrong.”
“No,” The Doctor looked hard at Solaris. “It’s N’ren.” Solaris’ face blanched even more, and she looked as if she was about to be sick.
“What’s wrong with N’ren?” Rose questioned. Almost instantly, Solaris put on a mask of nonchalance.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Of course it’s N’ren. Why not? So, who’s hungry? Is there a kitchen or something floating around this ship? Because I could go for some fruit salad right now.”
“It’s right across from the wardrobe,” the Doctor pointed down the nearby hall. Solaris immediately began to journey down the hall, leaving the Doctor, Rose, and Jack all wondering why the Alien thief had reacted that way to hearing that the next planet was N’ren.
Story: Solaris
Character/Pairing: Doctor, Rose, Jack, OC, Hints of Doctor/Rose
Era: Ninth Doctor Era; Takes place between The Doctor Dances and Boomtown.
Rating: PG-13 (To be safe)
Chapter 9/? (Escape From San Kloon)
Summary: The Doctor, Rose, and Jack travel to an Alien city, where they must team up with a local thief to retrieve a series of mysterious artifacts of unknown capacity.
Disclaimer: Obviously not the owner.
I'd really like reviews for this story. Hardly anyone has left comments, which makes me sad.
Previous Chapters
The day of Refetinti’s wedding had arrived. All building of the fourth pyramid was on hold for the day. Only a few of the guards were on duty. The rest were all assembled in the King’s Palace for the wedding, so there were not many guards around to pay heed to one insignificant palace slave wandering around, seemingly aimlessly.
Nomra glanced around, counting the number of guards who were around. There were only two who could be seen; one at the palace gates and the other standing guard at the entrance to the dungeons. He waited until the guard at the palace gates started taking a long drink from the pitcher he’d been left with before acting. Remembering the instructions the Doctor had given him, Nomra removed a single shiny coin from a pouch that had hung from his belt and held it out in such a way that it reflected the light from the sun.
-----
Rose and Solaris sat by waiting, crouching down among the weeds that grew by the king’s palace. They had managed to sneak out through one of the palace’s secret passages, and were now waiting for Nomra’s signal.
“There,” Rose whispered finally, pointing to the gleaming, flashing light that was caused by the sun reflecting off Nomra’s coin. “Come on, we better hurry.” The two girls crept through the weeds, trying their best not to make them sway too much and give away their presence. Moments after they’d gotten a short distance from the palace, they caught sight of Nomra, who was crouched next to a woven basket.
“I don’t think they saw me take this,” Nomra whispered. “It’ll be my neck if they did.”
“Thanks, Nomra,” Rose whispered back. “Are you sure you don’t want us to try and get you back to your family in return? I don’t think the Doctor would mind, after all you’ve done for us.”
“No, it’s okay,” Nomra turned down the offer. “I’ll be released in two seasons, anyway. If I go now, it won’t be just me in trouble, but my family as well.
“I’d better go. I need to get back before they start missing me. Good luck, Rose.” Without another word, Nomra hurried off, leaving Rose and Solaris alone to change into the robes he’d stored in the basket.
“He’ll be fine,” Solaris assured, sensing Rose’s concern for the boy's safety. “There’s no point in being worried. Concentrate on the matter on hand, or we might mess this up.”
“Okay,” Rose agreed, pulling on her robe and picking up the bowl of food that had been stored in the basket with the robes. Solaris followed suit, removing the pitcher from the bottom of the basket.
-----
The guard standing watch over the dungeons couldn’t remember being so bored. Why did he have to be the one guarding the prisoners, while nearly everyone else was at the wedding? Groaning softly in frustration, he glanced over just as two women approached, dressed in robes that covered their faces. One was carrying a basket of food, and the other held a filled water pitcher.
“State your business,” the guard ordered, glaring down at the two.
“King Hoaraph demanded that food and drink be delivered to the prisoners,” one of the women explained.
“No one informed me,” the guard challenged.
“Are you questioning the King’s orders?” The other women fired back. “Because if you wish us to return to the King’s Palace without delivering this food, we’d be quite happy to tell him how you prevented us from delivering the food. I’m sure he’d understand why you did not permit us from fulfilling the King’s desires.”
“There’s no need for that!” The guard seemed panicked at the thought. “My apologies; go right in.” The guard allowed the two women to enter the dungeons. They navigated the passages in silence until they reached the cell where the Doctor and Jack were waiting. Once they reached the cell, Rose and Solaris shed their disguises, and Solaris immediately handed over an object that resembled a computer chip.
“The guards here are not as sharp as the patrolmen in Baniru,” she observed. “He didn’t even notice when I took this from him.”
“Run into any trouble?” Jack asked as the Doctor went to work in using the electronic key to open the cell door.
“Not yet,” Rose shook her head.
“Just don’t let your guard down,” the Doctor advised, as he opened the cell door. “Now comes the hardest part: Getting the knife from the Green Pyramid.”
The group made their way out of the dungeon, with Jack successfully knocking out the guard at the entrance. Once that hurtle was out of the way, they carefully made their way to the Green Pyramid. Unlike the dungeons, however, this pyramid had no guards standing watch.
“Shouldn’t someone be guarding it?” Rose wondered. “I mean, if King Hoaraph keeps his greatest treasures in there, wouldn’t he want them to be protected?”
“Perhaps,” the Doctor agreed. “But just because we don’t see guards, it doesn’t mean the treasure isn’t protected.”
“I agree with the Doctor,” Solaris added. “As shocking as it is that he said something I agree with, I can’t argue with him about the pyramid being guarded. When you’ve been a thief for as long as I have, you learn that when you can’t see what’s protecting an item from being stolen; that’s when you really have to be alert.”
“You mean like alarms, or booby traps?”
“Ancient Egypt was known for booby traps,” Jack pointed out.
“We best keep our wits about us, then,” the Doctor grinned, leading the way into the Green Pyramid. When the door was opened, they found themselves facing a fair-sized corridor. At the end of the hall, a mountain of golden items could be seen within the open treasure room.
“So, how do we know what booby traps are in there?” Rose asked.
“Like this.” Solaris picked up a small rock and tossed it into the corridor. After the rock had rolled across the floor for a few moments, a large pendulum with razor sharp edges suddenly swung by in front of them. Stepping forward, the Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver at the ceiling. Seconds later, the pendulum froze in place, and the quartet carefully made their way around it. The next booby trap that Solaris triggered was a heavy block that slammed down, blocking their way.
“Good thing for us, Doctor,” Jack smirked, removing his blaster, “you brought me back to the Weapon Factories of Villengard before the factory blew up, so I could get new batteries.” With a large grin on his face, Jack blasted a square hole into the block, enabling them to walk right through. By now, they were nearly there. For the third time, Solaris took one of the stones she’d selected and threw it ahead of them. This stone triggered the final trap, and the ground before them crumbled away, leaving a gaping pit. When they glanced down, they saw the bottom of the pit was filled with sharpened spikes.
“Too bad I’m not being controlled by the Quevvils this time around,” Rose muttered.
“Do you really want to be in that situation, again?” The Doctor cast her a quizzical look. “Besides, I don’t think you’d need to be, anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have you really forgotten the time when you and I first met, when you saved the world from the Nestene Consciousness with your Tarzan impression?” Rose looked at the Doctor, puzzled. Of course she hadn’t forgotten. But why was that important now? It was then that she realized he wasn't looking at her, but at a spot overhead. Following his gaze, she saw some vines growing along the ceiling above them.
“It looks like there’s a switch on the wall, on the other side of the pit,” the Doctor continued. “All you have to do, Rose, is pull it. If I’m right, it should send out a bridge or something, so the rest of us can get across. Jack, if you could use your blaster to cut one of those vines up there, Rose can swing across.” Putting the Doctor’s idea to the test, Jack fired off his blaster, freeing one of the vines, which Rose caught as it fell.
“You can do it,” the Doctor grinned assuringly at Rose. Nodding, Rose took a few steps back to give herself a running start before swinging effortlessly over the pit. Landing on the other side, she stumbled slightly from the momentum, but quickly regained her footing.
As the Doctor had predicted, the switch sent a metal bridge sliding out over the pit, giving the Doctor, Jack, and Solaris a way to cross.
“Fantastic job, Rose!” The Doctor grinned wider, pulling her into a large hug, lifting her off the ground in his enthusiasm. “Now, let’s get the knife so we can get out of here.”
The treasure room was nearly filled to the brim with golden treasure. King Hoaraph’s collection was so massive; they had to search the room for almost an hour.
“I hope we can find it before the wedding ends,” Rose said, moving a large chest aside in her search. “If the wedding ends before we get out of here…”
“Hey! Found it!” Jack interrupted, holding up a knife in a black leather scabbard. The knife did indeed have the same configuration of jewels arranged on the golden hilt: Eight small gems surrounding the large, smooth pommel stone, which was a milky white color. Although, on close inspection, it seemed like there was a silvery cloud swirling inside the stone.
“Refetinti’s suitor was right,” Rose observed. “It does look like the stone’s alive.”
“Well done, Captain!” the Doctor cried. “Now let’s ‘urry up and get back to the TARDIS. Refetinti’s wedding can’t go on much longer.” As the group began to hurry out of the Treasure Room, Jack noticed Solaris lagging behind.
“Solaris, come on!” he urged. “There isn’t time…”
“You three go on,” Solaris interrupted. “There’s something I need to check first. Go on, I’ll catch up.” After a reluctant hesitation, the three friends continued on.
-----
Once inside the TARDIS, the Doctor started up the engines, getting ready to leave the moment Solaris entered.
“What could she be doing?” Rose wondered out loud. “She knows we don’t have a lot of time.”
“It better be important, whatever it is,” the Doctor added. “Because if she’s trying to make off with some of that treasure…” He trailed off as he glanced at the monitor, which showed Solaris running toward the TARDIS at top speed. A small handful of King Hoaraph’s guards were pursuing her. Within an instant, the TARDIS doors were pushed open, and Solaris launched herself into the ship.
“Get us out of here, quick!” she cried urgently. The Doctor promptly kicked the TARDIS engines into action, and the central rotor began to rise and fall. Outside, the guards were frozen with shock as the TARDIS faded from view.
As the TARDIS entered the safety of the Time Vortex, Solaris collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath, but with a satisfied smile on her face.
“Cut it close, didn’t you?” Jack chucked in spite of himself.
“And are you going to tell us why you decided to lag behind?” the Doctor questioned sternly. “Because if you stole something from that treasure room, I will bring you right back there.” Solaris reached under her linen garb and removed the medallion that featured the Seal of Rassilon.
“Wasn’t about to leave without this,” Solaris grinned to herself. “It’s not exactly stealing, as it was mine to begin with. And you’re not going to make me believe you’d seriously go back there; not when you, Rose, and Jack would be recaptured as well. We’ve already been there for over a week. That’s nine days lost, and there are three more artifacts to find if you want the antidote for Rose.” The Doctor looked like he was about to argue, but thought better of it, and returned his attention to the TARDIS console.
“So,” Rose breathed. “Where to next?” Smiling slightly, the Doctor checked with the coordinates Karnack had given them.
“Looks like the next artifact is on a small jungle planet, N’ren.”
“N’ren!?” Solaris suddenly paled, speaking in a strained voice. “Are… are you sure it’s N’ren? Maybe… maybe you read it wrong.”
“No,” The Doctor looked hard at Solaris. “It’s N’ren.” Solaris’ face blanched even more, and she looked as if she was about to be sick.
“What’s wrong with N’ren?” Rose questioned. Almost instantly, Solaris put on a mask of nonchalance.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Of course it’s N’ren. Why not? So, who’s hungry? Is there a kitchen or something floating around this ship? Because I could go for some fruit salad right now.”
“It’s right across from the wardrobe,” the Doctor pointed down the nearby hall. Solaris immediately began to journey down the hall, leaving the Doctor, Rose, and Jack all wondering why the Alien thief had reacted that way to hearing that the next planet was N’ren.