The Master Chase! (The Master Plan)

[Deleted]

(OOC: This thread is connected with the ongoing event, The Master Plan. Emilie and Meddler"Doctor" get first dibs to join in, then after they post, feel free to hop in if you wish, for it will be open after they both post.)

Through the Time Vortex, three...incarnations, if one could even be called that properly, from different points in time, had finished repairing the damage done to the current TARDIS from the battle of the Cruciform.

Inside the TARDIS, the dimly lit interior of the red and black walls and crome metal portions of the Console Room looked completely different from the normal console rooms of most TARDISes. While most simply had a central control pannel and Time Rotor in the center of one room, this vessel had more of the design and feel of a military vessel. Dozens of red Time Rotors whined and whirled throughout the console room, as multiple screens and controls were equally scattered about. Sitting in a dark chrome chair in the center of the room, the Child-looking Master sat observing the large main monitor on one side of the TARDIS. From the chair, he could control most of the TARDIS's main functions himself if need be, including, should the need arise, redesigning the TARDIS's console room interior and simplifying the controls if need be for the number of pilots on board his TARDIS at any given time. During the Time War, he once commanded a crew of 100 Time Lords within this console room. This Battle TARDIS...or War TARDIS...if it could even be called either of those two titles fairly any more...was one of a kind. A powerful TARDIS designed for the sole purpose of being the Time Lord's counter measure against the Daleks' new Exterminate-Class Warships. But it proved to be far too costly to construct even more of them, so even when this first ship was officially "destroyed" or "disappeared" after the fall of the Cruciform...it was decided that its successors would be far less costly and not armed with nearly as many weapons, believing mass produced downgraded model of this ship would suffice just as well. "Quantity over Quality" as the saying goes.

This TARDIS was a Doomsday weapon in itself. The first Destroyer TARDIS within the spiral politic, and only type 666 TT Capsule ever constructed. With enough firepower to remove an entire Galaxy from Space and Time if need be, this ship is yet another testament as to the many horrors of the Time War. Within the Time Vortex, it took on its true menacing form. A large black vessel, far larger than a Dalek Mothership, and within a shape of a wide winged creature of some sort with a jagged pair of horns or pincers on the front of the vessel. From an overhead view, this form would've almost been compared to a very awkward looking "M".

The brown haired Master, still within his first incarnation, "Koschei" as he most often went by throughout most of his current life, sat in a different station behind the blond haired child-looking Master as he monitored the different scanners.

"TARDIS sighted on the scanners. At our present speed we should be able to see it come into view soon," 'Koschei' stated.

"Perfect," the 'child' in what was the Captain's Chair commented. He had...'requested' the odd...cyborg looking self to man the controls of most of the TARDIS's turrents. Whether or not he actually bid his...'request' or was currently preparing to board the TARDIS upon its capture was another matter entirely. It would greatly help if he had, but if he prefered to do his own thing, well, nothing he could really do about that. Not yet. The 'Child' had regained a great deal of his composure during the time they spent together in the Vortex repairing this deadly vessel had him regain a great deal of his self confidence. If his other selves had not called him to that location of his later incarnation, and convinced him to join this plan, who knows what he may have done. He might've even gone to the end of the universe and made himself human to hide from the Time War. How revolting of an idea. His eyes were darker now, and regained their old calculating coldness...a coldness unnatural for any being of the age he currently appears to be should have.

"Dreadnaught Satanic Leviathan! Prepare Time Torpedoes," he said to the TARDIS's voice interface. "We will stop it in its tracks, take the vessel on board, and tear it apart. If that doesn't work, I'll blast it to pieces and recover the fragments of coral left over from the wreckage. We can accelerate the growth of whatever's left to suit our needs!"

Young Koschei himself began to wonder if he had joined the right group of himself...Maybe he should've gone with the two goatee'd ones and the one wearing the flashy robes.

[Deleted]

Two hours before...

The ARC project was busy with activity by the time Emilie clocked in for the morning. She had stopped for a coffee free frapp at Starbucks on the way in, and so was quite cheerful by the time she reached the 'Doctor's' office.

"Knock knock," she announced, letting herself in to the room. "I brought your coffee, Tabasco sauce and all. How fares the morn?"

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

"Knock knock," she announced, letting herself in to the room. "I brought your coffee, Tabasco sauce and all. How fares the morn?"

"is it morning?" the Doctor responded. "I hadn't noticed. I've been monitoring the file transfers to your TARDIS, and coalating Conner's data on the anomalies. There are some disturbing trends in them."

Gratefully, he accepted the insulated cup. Half of it went down at a single swallow, the thickened, Tabasco-flavored bitter fluid scalding warming his throat all the way down.

"Ah, yes," he said, smacking his lips. "This, I missed." He sipped the next mouthfull. "And how was your day off, Emilie?"

He sipped more coffee. "Most of the important secondary systems of your capsule are integrated now. The remainder will come online with use. So... we should consider taking her for a shakedown cruise."

Looking up, he caught Emilie's eye. "Any time or place in history catch your fancy?"

[Deleted]

"FIRE!" the child shouted angrily. A dozen time torpedoes were fired out from the black exterior TARDIS, each one creating a glowing halo effect from the warp silos they were fired from. Travelling through the Vortex of Time, they closed in on the TARDIS before the Masters. "TARDIS! Prepare to charge the Fusion Cannons and the Tractor Beam."

[Deleted]

One of The Master's time torpedos actually weaved out of the way through some strange turn of events, aiming itself at a transport ship that was nearby. The men on the ship had no time to interact and it blew up in a spectacular fashion. It was a terrible thing, the bad timing and luck of the crew, however they were carrying a rather valuable passenger. It was a piece of hardened mineral from many centuries ago, that seemed to be able to talk to people. When the explosion happened, the rock seemed quite fine floating into space. Or um... catapulting at ridiculous speeds.

"OH BLIMEY!" The rock would say... or would have said but there's no air in space, so she had to kind of think that. It didn't take long for her to suddenly happen upon an interesting ship that materialized out of nowhere. "Oh NO NO NO!"

She screamed, that is if she could, before she found herself comically crashing through a ship that seemed to materialize out of nowhere, the thickness of the walls spreading her force of impact and preventing her from shattering into a million pieces and slowing her down, landing comically.

Sunny materialized her body, sitting straight up, her body smoking from the head as she tried to make out what the heck just happened.

[Deleted]

"Is it morning?" the Doctor responded. "I hadn't noticed. I've been monitoring the file transfers to your TARDIS, and coalating Conner's data on the anomalies. There are some disturbing trends in them."

Somehow, it wasn't surprising that the man had gotten so wrapped up in work that he had completely ignored the time. Even if he was a Time Lord and should therefore be more aware of such things than the average human.

There was a reason Emilie had seen fit to fetch him coffee. The man was dedicated to a fault when it came to what he considered his work.

"Ah, yes," he said, smacking his lips. "This, I missed."

That was something she couldn't understand. Emilie had made the mistake of trying his coffee only once.

Suffice it to say, never again.

"And how was your day off, Emilie?"

"Luxurious," Emilie sat down, grinning like the cat that caught the canary over something so simple as him using her first name. Considering her customary chair was under binders, she perched herself on the 'Doctor's' desk. She almost asked what he had meant about startling trends when he updated her on the status of her brand new TARDIS.

"Most of the important secondary systems of your capsule are integrated now. The remainder will come online with use. So... we should consider taking her for a shakedown cruise."

Looking up, he caught Emilie's eye. "Any time or place in history catch your fancy?"

They could travel! Even just a quick trip, she could get out of this space time and away from the need to report to Captain Magambo she was 99.3% sure this man was not the Doctor. The problem was, she didn't know who else he could be. There was no way he was the Master, whoever that was, the psychology was all wrong. And she was not convinced, different TARDIS or no, that he could not be some.. alternate Doctor. At any rate, he was definitely a good man.

"Have you ever seen the Alignment of Exidor?"

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

"Ah, yes," he said, smacking his lips. "This, I missed." He sipped the next mouthfull. "And how was your day off, Emilie?"

"Luxurious," Emilie almost purred, an expression like the provervial cat that had caught the canary on her face as she perched on the edge of his desk.

"Really?" The Doctor sipped more coffee. "Should I be jealous?"

Grinning a subtle grin, he gestured in the direction of the old beige filing cabinet in the corner. "Most of the important secondary systems of your capsule are integrated now. The remainder will come online with use. So... we should consider taking her for a shakedown cruise."

Looking up, he caught Emilie's eye. "Any time or place in history catch your fancy?"

Her eyes had gone wide at the question, as if it hadn't really sunk in what being bonded to a TARDIS meant. Which, in fairness, it probably hadn't. Even his own people rarely utilized them to their full potential.

Then, she smiled. "Have you ever seen the Alignment of Exidor?"

"I can't say that I have, no," the Doctor answered, finishing his coffee. "But it sounds delightful. And, almost more importantly, it sounds like a nice, peaceful destination for a maiden voyage."

He rose, catching up his cane with one hand and offering Emilie his other. "Shall we go? Before Captain Magambo arrives to make demands of our time?"

((OOC: I swear we'll get caught up to the point where we're getting shot at...))

[Deleted]

The blond haired child covered his face as something just BURST through the viewscreen and wall of his TARDIS. He glared in the direction of his first life, the brown haired one behind him.

"I TOLD YOU TO SWITCH ON THE TARDIS'S DEFENSES!" he yelled.

"I-I'm sorry!" the first incarnation spoke. "I never worked with this advanced of a TARDIS be-"

"Silence!" he commanded. He turned back to his voice Interface. "Reform wall. Activate Defense System and Shields."

With those voice commands, the hole that Sunny had just made seemed to slowly fix itself, and the TARDIS's defenses came online. While one of the torpedoes had struck and destroyed that random vehicle outside the Time Vortex, the remaining 11 all converged and struck the TARDIS they were persueing. Anything struck by a Time Torpedo usually remained frozen in Time for a short while. CIA tended to use them to stop TARDISes and capture whoever their targets were inside. Once he saw them strike the target and was sure they had captured it, the Yana Master stood up to prepare for boarding.

"That was easy. Now to-" He stopped when he saw a random female now sitting inside his console room. "Who are you and what are you doing in my TARDIS!?"

"She...showed up from the rock that crashed through," the Master's first life said, having paid particular attention to the "rock" that had crashed through.

"A damn hitch-hiker," Yana Child Master muttered scornfully. "Koschei, as her being here is your fault, you can take her down to the holding cells."

The first incarnation grunted at the command the child-like incarnation made towards him, but got up without objecting. He pulled out a small stazer pistol and pointed it at Sunny.

"Get up," he said as he motioned with his gun. "You're coming with me."

[Deleted]

It took a moment for Sunny to realize she was inside a spacecraft, and she gave a blank look to the two Masters that were hanging around. One of them clearly looked pretty grumpy about the entire situation, and how he was talking about... shields? Well, good thing they were odd, cause she would have been floating in space for who knows how long!

"Oooooh it's regenerating!" Sunny looked fascinated at the wall of the TARDIS and how it was suddenly 'healing itself' in a way, but then she looked back to see one of The Masters. "Huh? Oh okay~!" She hopped right up, not really bothered by the stazer pistol since there were a few things she wouldn't be affected with.

"Oh, you don't have to aim that at me." She smiled cheerfully. "I mean it's my fault, the ship got blown up and I flew right into here! I won't hurt anything else!"

[Deleted]

"Really?" The Doctor sipped more coffee. "Should I be jealous?"

"Mn, possibly, although I got far more sleep than I imagine you would have liked." Emilie grinned as she perched on his desk. "If you're asking if I had company, the answer is no."

"Most of the important secondary systems of your capsule are integrated now. The remainder will come online with use. So... we should consider taking her for a shakedown cruise."

Looking up, he caught Emilie's eye. "Any time or place in history catch your fancy?"

Getting out of UNIT and taking a vacation no one would even know about sounded like a phenomenal idea. Naturally, her mind had turned towards the various places the Doctor had spoken of but never taken her to, and in some cases apparently couldn't take her if he tried.


"Have you ever seen the Alignment of Exidor?"

"I can't say that I have, no," the Doctor answered, finishing his coffee. "But it sounds delightful. And, almost more importantly, it sounds like a nice, peaceful destination for a maiden voyage."

"Seventeen galaxies in perfect unison. Rumour has it, it's spectacular."

He rose, catching up his cane with one hand and offering Emilie his other. "Shall we go? Before Captain Magambo arrives to make demands of our time?"

Grasping the Doctor's hand, Emilie smiled brilliantly.

"Yes, let's! I'd love to have a day with you, soldier-free."

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

Somehow, the news that she hadn't had company was welcome news. Odd, that. He'd always thought he wsa beyond such petty human emotions as jealousy, and he'd meant the question more as a tease than as anything else. But now he felt relieved

Then, she smiled. "Have you ever seen the Alignment of Exidor?"

"I can't say that I have, no," the Doctor answered, finishing his coffee. "But it sounds delightful. And, almost more importantly, it sounds like a nice, peaceful destination for a maiden voyage."

"Seventeen galaxies in perfect unison. Rumour has it, it's spectacular."

"Do you mean an alignment? Or a seventeen-way collision? Either sounds spectacular, or course." He rose, catching up his cane with one hand and offering Emilie his other. "Shall we go? Before Captain Magambo arrives to make demands of our time?"

She took his hand and smiled in a way that seemed to light up the room. "Yes, let's! I'd love to have a day with you, soldier-free."

"Giant snake free would be an additional perk."

---

The Doctor examined the holographic display hovering slightly above the smooth surface of the console. Emilie had clearly opted for the noetic interface, one he was extremely familiar with but which he also could not use in the slightest.

"Clearly, you have an intuitive sense of the controls," he said. "That's the most important part, and it means there's very little about basic navigation I'll need - or be able - to teach you."

Sliding his finger across the air, he altered the display. "We have substantial power reserves aboard, although - before we end our vacation - I'll need to see about integrating a permanent generator. Recharging is tedium incarnate."

He grinned at that. "Still, my ideal harvesting site is some... hmmm... 37 hours travel time, at a power-saving cruising speed. We'll want to put that off until near the end."

The coordinates he'd checked were roughly 110 trillion years after the big bang.

"Anyway," the Doctor said, dismissing the holographic interface with the wave of a hand, "everything appears to be in order - including the upgraded Cornucopia Engine and the Wardrobe. Would you like to do the honors?"

[Deleted]

Emilie had all but danced inside her TARDIS. The idea of extending her time off from UNIT work and spending time with the 'Doctor' was far better than spending another day playing watch dog to a man she respected and not getting any of her own work done.

"Clearly, you have an intuitive sense of the controls," he said. "That's the most important part, and it means there's very little about basic navigation I'll need - or be able - to teach you."

Emilie, not really grasping the fact she was telepathically communicating with her daughter - subconsciously she understood, of course, but it came so naturally and only really with TARDISes that she assumed it was a quirk of the ship, not a skill she actively possessed as well even in a small amount.

That being said, she did perk up at the image her daughter sent. Apparently, the 'Doctor' had a surprise.

Sliding his finger across the air, he altered the display. "We have substantial power reserves aboard, although - before we end our vacation - I'll need to see about integrating a permanent generator. Recharging is tedium incarnate."

He grinned at that. "Still, my ideal harvesting site is some... hmmm... 37 hours travel time, at a power-saving cruising speed. We'll want to put that off until near the end."

"You know best," Emilie smiled up to him. "I'm in no rush to reach the end at all!"

Especially since there wasn't some disaster looming over their heads. Little did she know.


"Anyway," the Doctor said, dismissing the holographic interface with the wave of a hand, "everything appears to be in order - including the upgraded Cornucopia Engine and the Wardrobe. Would you like to do the honors?"

Hugging him impulsively, Emilie placed a free hand onto the console, humming as she set the coordinates and let the amber light of the time rotor begin to pulse.

"Thank you so much," she told him sincerely. "She really appreciates everything you've done you know."

Taking his hand, Emilie took a step towards the door.

"She has a surprise for you too."

A secondary console room had been built, closer to the Type 67 specs, and was now at the far end of the hall. Because clearly, the TARDIS felt it was only right for both of her parents to be able to navigate with complete ease.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

"Anyway," the Doctor said, dismissing the holographic interface with the wave of a hand, "everything appears to be in order - including the upgraded Cornucopia Engine and the Wardrobe. Would you like to do the honors?"

Emilie responded by throwing an unexpected - but entirely appreciated - hug around him before setting the controls and throwing the dematerialization switch. The juvenile TARDIS purred and growled into life, amber light strobing up and down the time rotor.

"Thank you so much," she told him sincerely. "She really appreciates everything you've done you know."

Heglanced at the console. "I... didn't. But I'm glad to hear it."

Taking his hand, Emilie took a step towards the door.

"She has a surprise for you too."

"Really..?" he said, slightly caught off guard. "As a general rule, Emilie, I find that... I..."

His voice trailed away as she led him into the adjacent room. "...dislike surprises?"

A secondary console room had been built, closer to the Type 67 specs, and was now at the far end of the hall. Because clearly, the TARDIS felt it was only right for both of her parents to be able to navigate with complete ease.

"This... this is..." He struggled for words. "Emilie, this is magnificent." He grinned, overcome. "I had no idea..."

A flashing light on the navigational station attracted his attention. He blinked for a second, then lept to the console. "Nor did I expect," he said, flicking a sequence of switches with one hand while spinning a prayer wheel like device with theother, "to be under fire!"

He shoved two sliders all the way to the left, and the pitch and speed of the time rotor changed. "Please take over, Emilie," he said, sliding counter-clockwise around the console. "Keep us away from the torpedoes, while I engage countermeasures."

[Deleted]

Really..?" he said, slightly caught off guard. "As a general rule, Emilie, I find that... I...

Completely ignoring what was probably a protest, Emilie had led him to where asecondary console room had been built, closer to the Type 67 specs, and was now at the far end of the hall. Because clearly, the TARDIS felt it was only right for both of her parents to be able to navigate with complete ease.

Her own pleasure mirrored the TARDIS' as his voice trailed off.

"...dislike surprises? This... this is..." He struggled for words. "Emilie, this is magnificent." He grinned, overcome. "I had no idea..."

"Glad you like it," she cut in. Good thing too, because a breath later, the Meddler had recognized what the flashing light meant and apparently it meant incoming fire.

Well, at least it probably wasn't a giant snake?

Taking over the steering controls at the 'Doctor's' request. It was a very good thing Emilie's navigational skills amounted to go where she needed to go rather than where she consciously wanted to, because there were a good dozen to dodge, and avoiding them was a prayer and a dance all its own.

But if anyone hurt her daughter, she would find a way to kill that person.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

The Doctor had built this young new TARDIS along the lines of his own Type 67, although Emilie had - curiously enough - added a number of features from a Type 40. That would bear looking into, but not now. Right now, it was time to do something about the oncoming torepdoes. One had been deflected from its course, but eleven more were still en route. And neither a TT-40 nor a TT-67 were warships.

But, the Doctor reflected, this did not mean they were defenseless. He slid and spun and pressed the controls, bringing the ship's newly-installed systems online.

---

The TARDIS spun through the Vortex, the torpedoes slowly gaining. It was a tiny thing, a scant handfull of tens of miles across, dwarfed by the pursuing ship.

It was not a warship. But it was not defenseless.

Exotic mechanisms began to deploy on the hull, in some cases reaching beyond the artron bubble into the fury of the Vortex itself. Heedless, the first torpedo closed, the focused sentience in the warhead screaming for the bliss of release and oblivion. And then the skuldrshears lopped it in half, sending the warhead tumbling wildly from the Vortex and the unguided body streaking between the Pillars of Destiny and beyond.

(The stasis warhead detonated in 278th century Mahrastahn, cutting a single city from time for the span of a decade.)

---

There was no time to celebrate. The gross manipulators of a Type 67 simply weren't designed for this sort of fine work. The Doctor's pupils flamed with the Vortex around them as he sought to peer even a few seconds into the future.

Emilie evaded three more in rapid succession, her own intuitive connection to the Godmind proving more than a match for the focused sentiences of the torpedoes. Then, he stopped three more with skuldrshears and Threadspinners and Idunnic harvesters. The expanding stasis field of an exploding torpedo locked two more into immobility.

The ship lurched suddenly, lights dimming and warning claxons screaming.

"Solid hit!" the Doctor said, aware that Emilie would be more aware of that than he was. "Pillar of Eternity Delta is offline. Can you rebalance the power field?"