A Question of Time

(Author's Note: I don’t like the Doctor having to blow up Pompey or watch all those people die… poor little angst filled Doctor! *huggles* So in this universe Pompey was just a volcano, nothing more.)

Donna dropped the key to her mother’s car in to a trash bin, before heading back into the alley that the Doctor had vanished into. There was the TARDIS, with Rachel leaning against the TARDIS. The door to the strange little ship was open, allowing the light from inside to spill into the dark alley.

“Welcome to the TARDIS!” Rachel smiled, stepping to one side and motioning for Donna to enter the ship.

The Doctor and the Master were standing at the central controls of the ship, examining the various dials and blinking lights which were in front of them. When Donna stepped into the TARDIS, the two Time Lords turned to look at the human, the Doctor smiling brightly while the Master just smirked slightly.

Jack was sitting in the old jump seat, which the TARDIS never seemed to want to fix when it got ripped or torn. Rachel absent mindedly moved towards her “mother”, who almost instantly pulled her into his arms as the two watched the Master, the Doctor and Donna.

“Hello again, Donna.” The Doctor stepped away from the control counsel.

Donna slowly turned in place, looking around at the TARDIS’ control room. “So you’re the Doctor…” she said, pointing at the Doctor. “But the rest of you… I don’t think I ever got your names!”

“I’m Rachel Harkness,” Rachel replied, not moving from Jack’s arms.

“I am the Master,” the Master noted.

“Jack Harkness,” Jack smirked, offering Donna a sort of mock salute.

“Jack is my ‘mom’. He’s human and originally from the 51st Century,” Rachel explained. “The Master is a Time Lord, like the Doctor.”

“So they’re both your father?” Donna asked, gesturing to the Time Lords… only to sigh when Rachel and Jack nodded. “Why are all the good men either taken or gay?” Donna sighed, which drew a laugh from everyone in the room…. except the Doctor, who found himself blushing deeply.

Once the laughter died down and the Doctor had managed to stop himself from blushing, he turned to Donna. “So, Donna Noble… where would you like to go?”

“I don’t know!” Donna sighed, practically glaring at the Doctor. “It’s not like I keep a list of the top ten places I’d like to go if some skinny alien bloke with weird hair invites me along for a trip in his magic, bigger on the inside, time traveling phone box!”

“Oh I like her!” the Master laughed, a semi-evil smirk upon his face.

The Doctor laughed, rubbing his hands together. Donna watched in amazement as Rachel sprang up and out of Jack’s arms, rushing over towards the central control panel. Jack grabbed Donna’s hand, helping her brace herself as the Doctor, the Master and Rachel took their positions at the TARDIS’ controls.

“What’s happening?” Donna asked, blinking as she looked up at Jack.

“Setting the TARDIS on random!” the Doctor shouted over his shoulder as Rachel pressed a large mauve button that Donna swore hadn’t been on the TARDIS’ control panel the last time she’d looked.

The central column began to move up and down, letting out its familiar wheezing sound as the TARDIS came to life. Donna laughed as she was thrown about, Jack somehow managing to stay by her side, laughing just as manically as Donna… and all the while the Master, the Doctor and Rachel somehow managed to stay upright and next to the controls to the TARDIS.

Then the TARDIS’ shaking eventually ceased, as the strange little ship landed. The Doctor stepped over to where Donna was picking herself off the floor. “Donna Nobel…” the Doctor smiled and gestured at the doors to the TARDIS. “Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, in the…” the Doctor trailed off when he saw the look on Donna’s face… something that could only be described as a terror, excitement and anticipation all rolled into one. “Are you all right?” he asked, concerned for his new companion.

“Terrified!” Donna smiled, trembling slightly. “I mean, an alien planet!”

“I could always take you home," the Doctor joked, only to receive an angry glare from Donna.

“Don’t you make fun of me space boy!” Donna growled.

“Did I mention I like this one?” the Master smirked, receiving a playful bonk to the head from the Doctor and Jack as the little group stepped out of the TARDIS, the Time Lords and Jack allowing Donna and Rachel to step out of the TARDIS…

… and into a blizzard.

“Snow?” Jack blinked. “Real proper snow?”

“We never get real snow!” the Doctor protested, holding up one hand to catch some of the falling snowflakes.

Rachel reached back inside the TARDIS and tossed a heavy winter coat over Donna’s shoulders. The freezing human quickly pulled the coat on and turned to look at the others. “Aren’t you lot cold?” she asked, seeing that the rest of the group hadn’t changed their outfits… which couldn’t possibly be warm enough to keep them comfortable in the snowstorm.

“Warmer on the inside.” Rachel smirked at the disbelieving look upon Donna’s face. “It’s technologically augmented material which adapts to the environment… keeping us warm when it’s cold or cool when it’s hot.”

“Oh, and Time Lords don’t need to be kept as warm as humans,” the Master noted. “Different biology.”

Donna peered at the leather jacket that Rachel was wearing, before shrugging and moving to follow the rest of the group, which appeared to be being lead by the Doctor… although it really just looked like a group of people

“You don’t look different from humans.” Donna noted, glancing over at the Master.

“On the outside we’re the same,” the Doctor explained, dodging a snowball that Jack had playfully thrown at him. “Most of the differences between Humans and Time Lords are subtle.”

“So much so that a Human Doctor killed the Doctor,” the Master smirked at the glare that remark earned him.

“Accidentally!” The Doctor growled. “She didn’t know I had two hearts! She thought the X-ray was a double exposure. Grace was TRYING to save my life!”

“She still killed you,” the Master yawned and the Doctor sighed in defeat.

“But you’re what… half Time Lord?” Donna asked Rachel, who was walking by her side.

“Well… two-thirds if you want to get technical,” Rachel shrugged, kicking up a bit of snow. “We don’t really know what it means, when Time Lords were still around they didn’t take too kindly to anyone trying to mix genes with them.”

Before Donna could question the group any further the Doctor caught sight of a figure lying in the snow… although most of the creature was human shaped, the head was unlike anything Donna had ever seen.

“An Ood!” the Doctor whispered as he raced over, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and quickly running a diagnostic scan on the Ood in an attempt to figure out what was wrong with the creature.

“I’ve never seen this species before,” the Master noted, kneeling next to the Doctor at the Ood’s side.

“I had a run in with them… a long time ago and far away,” the Doctor muttered, a shiver racing down his spine.

The Ood had been shot... and it appeared that the shooter had been human, or at least possessed human technology.

The Ood looked up at the Doctor, holding up the little white communication ball. “The circle…” the Oood gasped, staring up at the Doctor. “The circle must be broken!”

The Ood’s eyes turned a horrible bloody red, the Doctor practically shot backward, pulling his family and Donna away from the Ood as it thrashed, growling in pain and anger before it’s eyes closed and it lay still.

“What was that?” Jack gasped, his arms wrapped around Rachel as he glanced between the Doctor and the Master.

“I… I don’t know.” the Doctor admitted, hauling himself to his feet he stared down at the dead Ood. “The Ood are servants of humans in the 42nd Century. They’re slightly telepathic, that was the song we heard.”

“Song?” Donna asked, her voice little more then a whisper.

“Normal humans aren’t equipped for telepathy.” Rachel explained.

“He sang as he was dying.” Jack laughed bitterly.

“His eyes turned red right before he lunged at us…” the Master remarked, turning to look at the Doctor. “What was that?”

“Trouble,” the Doctor shuddered at the memories that the Ood’s bright red eyes had brought back. “The Ood are harmless enough… but the last time I met them there was a stronger mind that took control of them.”

“What sort of force?” Jack asked, looking between the two Time Lords.

The Doctor froze. He took a deep breath in and looked between the Master and the Doctor. “It was the Devil.”

The Master, Rachel and Jack all nodded slightly in understanding, remembering the story that the Doctor had told them about the Impossible Planet and the Beast. Donna also fell silent, watching the little family, trying to figure out if the Doctor was telling the truth or not.

Just as the silence was beginning to grow unbearable for Donna, Rachel suddenly looked up. “Spaceship.” She announced, as if she was remarking that a group of ducks were flying overhead.

“Shall we see where it’s going?” Jack asked, smiling at the rest of the group before he started moving in the direction that the ship had gone…

Over the crest of a hill the group caught sight of their destination, a large industrial complex with the rocket ship parked nearby.

“Civilization?” Donna asked as the snow fall stopped and the air started to clear.

“So it would seem…” the Master replied. “Shall we take a look around?”

A little walking and a flash or two of the Psychic Paper and the group were inside what looked like some sort of factory… the Public Relations Woman who had greeted them thought that the Doctor and Donna were a brother and sister who managed the Nobel Corporation. Rachel, Jack and the Master were written off as husbands and the daughter of the Doctor. Donna frowned as the PR Woman walked away, laughing as she wondered why the Doctor would bring his family to such a cold and uninteresting planet.

“Shouldn’t she find the three of you… well odd?” Donna whispered to the others as the group walked along the dark halls of the complex, the PR Woman blissfully unaware of their conversations.

“We’re in the year 4126,” Jack reminded Donna. “Threesomes are more common then couples nowadays.”

“Makes for a more stable relationship,” Rachel explained.

“Many humans have even interbreed with aliens, which allowed men to get pregnant,” the Doctor added. “So Rachel being our daughter isn’t strange at all.”

“Or they could think we used a surrogate mother,” the Master yawned, placing a hand on Rachel’s shoulder.

“They may even think that you volunteered so that your brother could have a kid,” Rachel said, before laughing at the look of surprise on Donna’s face.

“This… this is going to take some getting used to, isn’t it?” Donna sighed.

No one answered Donna’s question, not that it really needed an answer. The family was too busy staring in disgust and horror at the room that they’d just been led into. All around the room were displays of the “products” which the factory produced…

The Factory produced Ood.

“This is slavery!” Rachel hissed, her eyes drifting over to the PR Woman, Solana, who was giving her little sale pitch to the other humans in the room….

“As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve, and we keep them in facilities of the highest standards. Here at the Double-O, that Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friend…”

“Wait…” Jack looked over at the Master and the Doctor, his face twisted in confusion. “How is this all possible? How could a race evolve to serve Humans?”

“Yeah… shouldn’t that be impossible?” Rachel asked as Solana prattled on.

“What do you mean, impossible?” Donna asked, leaning closer to Rachel so as not to be overheard.

“The Ood evolved on this planet long before humans even knew this planet existed,” Jack explained. “So how could they evolve to serve a species that wasn’t there?”

“You’re right. This ‘born to serve’ is against the rules of evolution,” the Doctor sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Something like this can’t develop… not naturally at least.”

“Which means that this Factory really does create them,” the Master noted as he glanced at the Ood. “No species in the universe is born with technology as a part of their body.”

“Those communication balls,” Donna realized, staring at the little white balls in question.

“Well then…” the Doctor smirked as he pulled out the map that the PR Woman had given him. “Fancy going off the beaten track?”

“We never really stay on the beaten track!” Rachel protested as the little group snuck away from Solana. They made their way through the factory, using sonic and laser screwdrivers to open any door which stood in their way.

Soon enough the Time Travelers found themselves in looking into a large open space, where several Humans were leading a group of Ood across and open space. One of the Ood stumbled and fell to the ground, only to be whipped by the guards for slowing them down.

“They are slaves!” Donna whispered, horrified as she listened to the Ood’s cries as it was whipped by the humans. Rachel leaned on Donna, hiding her face in the human’s coat as her tears froze into tiny crystals on Donna’s jacket.

“I had to let the Ood die last time…” the Doctor stated, his voice deadly cold. “I reckon I owe them one.”

“Where are they taking them?” Jack asked.

“There,” the Master gestured to a nearby warehouse, which the Humans were leading the Ood into. “Must be where they’re loaded on to rockets and sent off to serve the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire.”

The little group dashed across the open area and into the warehouse. A growl rose from Rachel’s lips as she looked around. “Hundreds and hundreds of Ood… packed away like garbage!”

“Why don’t they just run away?” Donna asked. “The doors aren’t locked or anything!”

“Why don’t you run?” Jack asked the Ood.

“The circle must be broken,” all the Ood in the crate spoke as if they were one.

“That is creepy,” Donna noted, and Rachel nodded in agreement.

“What is the circle?” the Doctor asked, moving to stand by Jack’s side as the Master stayed with Rachel and Donna, a slight distance back from the Ood.

“The circle must be broken!” The Ood repeated, each and every single one standing perfectly still.

“Why?” Rachel asked.

“So we can sing!” With that remark from the Ood, a loud alarm went off and all hell broke loose.

Several action filled moments later, Rachel was still trying to calm the frantic beat of her hearts… Donna and Jack had been locked in a crate with about a dozen red-eyed Ood slowly advancing towards them, while the Doctor, the Master and Rachel were chased. First it was just soldiers running after them, but then one had gotten behind the controls of a giant crane and decided to have a bit of fun with the Time Lords.

The chase had ended with the crane hovering only a few inches from the Doctor and the Master… at the end of the chase Rachel had slipped and the two Time Lords hadn’t hesitated to shield her with their own bodies.

The Soldiers had roughly hauled the three to their feet and gathered them together with Jack and Donna… but before the Time Travelers could try and find a way to escape from the humans with guns every single Ood that they could see went crazy. Now, instead of a dozen Ood with red eyes, there were hundreds… all attacking the soldiers, which enabled the Time Travelers to escape.

They were running for what seemed like hours, only stopping when they found themselves completely lost and alone. Jack pulled out the map and held it up so that they could figure out where they’d ended up.

“Here…” Donna pointed to one building which seemed to be different from the others. “What’s this one?”

“Ood Conversion,” Jack read the label aloud. “That must be where they put those communication balls on.”

The moment the group entered the building the Time Lords, Rachel and Jack all froze.

“The song,” Rachel whispered, looking around at the grimy warehouse. “Oh, my god…” Her eyes flickered open and closed as if she was struggling not to pass out.

“Rachel?” the Master whispered, moving forward to wrap his arms around his daughter, helping her shield her mind from the raw emotions contained in the Ood’s song.

In front of the Time Travelers was a small cage, the floor covered with filthy straw. Inside the cage were about ten Ood, all huddled together. Each one had their hands cupped together, as if they were holding something small and precious.

“Those are natural Ood,” Jack realized as he looked at the caged Ood.

“Unprocessed,” the Doctor whispered, kneeling down next to the cage. “They’re telepathic… only a few humans can hear them.”

“Donna, trust me, you don’t want to hear their song,” Rachel told the human woman. “It’s beautiful… but horrible. A song of sorrow and slavery.”

“Rachel doesn’t have the experience to shield herself from the song… she needs one of us to help her,” the Master explained to Donna, who seemed extremely worried for the young woman.

“This isn’t the Ood’s natural song,” the Doctor whispered.

“It’s the song of captivity,” Jack explained as he sat down next to the Doctor, reaching out for his mate’s hands. “A song of suffering and pain…”

“Are you okay?” The Doctor asked, looking over at his mate who seemed to think about it before he nodded.

One of the Ood shuffled forward and held out its hands to Rachel, like a child showing someone their treasures. Sitting in the Ood‘s gloved hands was a tiny organic object which was connected to the Ood’s head by a slender tentacle.

“The Ood are born with a secondary brain…” the Doctor realized. “The company lobs it off so that they’ll be the perfect slaves!”

“But that can’t be…” Rachel whispered, moving forward, out of the Master’s arms and towards the natural Ood. “No species can‘t have just two brains!”

“Why not?” Donna asked the Master, who just happened to be the closest to her.

“A creature with two brains would be at war with itself… which means there has to be something else. Something we’re missing.” The Master mused.

“A third brain!” the Doctor realized, standing up slowly. “The Ood must have a sort of hive mind!”

“And in order to control the Ood, the Company would have to control that Hive Mind… which means it must be an actual thing!” The Master smirked as Jack passed him the map.

“But where would you keep something like that?” Rachel sighed, peering over the Master’s shoulder at the map.

“What about this one… it’s only marked as Warehouse 15,” Donna suggested. “Everything else is labeled, even the boring stuff.”

“Then that’s where we’re headed!” The Doctor announced, leading the Time Travelers across the compound, to the building in question.

It took the combined strength of the Doctor’s Sonic, the Master’s Laser and Rachel’s Sonic Screwdriver to get into Warehouse 15... And in a few seconds they found out why.

The Master, Doctor, Rachel, Jack and Donna found themselves standing on a sort of catwalk, staring down at what could only be described as a huge brain, surrounded by a sort of circle of electricity.

“They don’t just cut off their Secondary Brains, they’ve dampened the telepathic field of the Hive Brain!” Rachel remarked as the Doctor and the Master checked the machinery around them.

“But someone’s turned the shield down… to it’s lowest setting,” the Master remarked. “Someone’s trying to help the Ood.”

“I wonder who…”

The group turned and found themselves staring at the CEO of Ood Industries, who was pointing a gun at the Doctor and rambling about the company… while the Doctor realized that the “circle” the Ood had been talking about was part of the machine which was dampening the telepathic field.

The CEO laughed as he prepared to shoot the group… but he started coughing, as his personal Ood offered him a “drink”… over and over and over again.

“Have… have you poisoned me?” the CEO coughed.

“Natural Ood must never kill,” Ood Sigma replied.

“What is that stuff?” the Master asked.

“Ood graft suspended in a biological compound,” Ood Sigma informed the Master, who smirked.

“What?” Donna blinked.

“Ood Sigma. He’s been working on you for a long time,” the Doctor informed the CEO.

“It’s turning him…. into an Ood,” Rachel told Donna as, in front of their eyes, the CEO began to change.

What remained of his hair fell out, his skin seemed to peel back and tentacles fell out of his mouth… followed by a hindbrain.

Donna stared at the former CEO. “He’s an Ood! Being with you guys, I can’t tell what’s right and wrong anymore…”

“Oh, but it’s better that way,” Jack remarked as the Doctor danced over and, with a huge smile on his face, flipped down the switches so that the circle was finally broken…

And Donna could hear the music, no longer a song of captivity, but one of joy at being set free at last!

TBC