ten_fwd | Intro-ish Post (With Options)

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Intro-ish Post (With Options)

This Doctor had been getting settled in on board the Enterprise - well as much as he can. He still baulks at the jabs he had to be given, but since they didn't contain anything that was harmful to him, he allowed for them.

Now, he has an agenda. He knows the TARDIS is somewhere on board and now that he has a map and listings, he's going to go there to find it.

The Doctor is making his way down to the cargo hold, but going about it the long way around. May as well investigate the ship on his way. If he can get to the TARDIS, he won't be staying long anyway, so he might as well explore something new as he goes along.

It's all terribly human. Basic, really. And they think it's the best thing. About the only thing he's really interested in is this Q character. He doesn't mind humans most of the time. He just doesn't like being 'stuck' with them. And there's so much humanity here - with nothing to escape it.

B: TARDIS Cargo hold Plot: Open To All
After his adventure with Trever and his cat, the Doctor finally arrives at the cargo hold that is marked as containing the TARDIS. He sonics his way in (whether or not that was necessary) and looks around. Some of the items look familiar and others seem alien - even to him - which is saying something. It isn't long before he sees the TARDIS, standing there in all her glory. He confidently strides towards her. When he gets there, he gives a loving stroke to her. "Hello, Old Girl. Now, let's see about getting out of here."

The Doctor needed to vent his anger and frustration at not being able to get back to his own universe. So he made his way to the training room. He had told Clara he had cheated against Robin Hood with his archery skills. But that doesn't mean he's positively rubbish at it. He just wasn't sure of his aim at a ship with rotating bits. If he were to be perfectly honest, which he rarely is, he just needs a bit of practice. He was disappointed that he couldn't get into the Armoury, so he would have to make-do with one of the holodecks. Pity. It's never quite as good as the real thing. Now, if only someone else with archery skills were around. Nothing like a little bit of friendly competition when it comes to brushing up on skills.

{{OOC: I'm happy to backtag however long people are interested in playing with these plots.}}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That was one of Helena's skills, no one could berate her more than she berated herself for the things she had done. There was little he could say to her that she hadn't already told herself on this matter. Well, he could probably add more about the mechanics of manipulating time and the paradoxes she would have created, but the admonishment, she'd more than taken care of.

"Probably more than my world could handle. The paradox in my world was made by someone else using an Artifact to allow time travel. The price he paid was a very heavy one." Of course, that was mostly due to the downside of the Astrolabe having induced a psychotic break in Artie more than anything else. But even so, Leena was dead because of it while Helena, Mrs. Frederic and the Warehouse were alive and in tact.

"Nevertheless, had I altered my timeline by saving my daughter, I would not have known the people I came to know." And she also wouldn't have tried to destroy the world and kill a long list of people along the way. "And as much as I love my daughter, I am not certain that I would trade my friends for her now." Helena had her time with Christina, and she'd finally accepted that. Besides, she doubted she would have found someone like Myka in Victorian London, much less found someone like Zoey.

"So humans can learn. At least some of you. That's encouraging."

Makes it almost worth the sacrifices he makes again and again for them. Also, that's about as close to a compliment as he can give right now.

"So. Q. This place. All that happens here. You're a time-traveller. What are your thoughts?"

"Indeed, some of us can learn." Sometimes it took a while, but Helena at least learned her lesson. She'd learned it the hard way, but she'd learned it. The lesson learned just had not kicked in until someone had seen fit to step in and save her from herself first.

At his question, Helena quickly shifted gears. She was always far too eager to leave topics that dwelled too much on her grief and her mistakes. She'd done more than her share of dwelling on things she couldn't change, after all.

"I am still getting a handle on it, but as of right now, I am questioning how Q is able to take all of us out of our respective times and places. I'm not one for believing in gods or all-powerful beings, so I have to wonder if Q has some device allowing him to do this. Though I have met people who are wizards, so I'm not fully ruling out Q having some sort of magical ability, I simply first put my money on the fact he is able to manipulate the time-space continuum as well as bending, perhaps even breaking, the laws of physics as they stand in this universe with a device he himself built. Or perhaps one he got some some other race in this universe." Helena always was one who went to science first before giving any sort of credence to gods or all-powerful beings being involved.

"Which leads to the question of why he is doing this. It could be the age-old, rather exhausted ploy of him being bored and wanting to cause trouble in a round about way, using us suddenly appearing to give the Federation a headache trying to accommodate us. But one cannot rule out the fact perhaps he has a larger plan. Perhaps we are merely something meant to distract the Federation from a larger scale attack he is planning. Perhaps it is even a combination of the two considering I have heard Q causes mischief onboard this starship from time to time as well, which suggests he may be bored. But he potentially wants all of us distracted from his true intentions." Of which Helena had no idea what those were.

"He sounds like the Valeyard...."

Which he had yet to become. But a name that had come up again recently.

"Do we know anything about his species? Surely he can't be the only one."

The Doctor is one to talk about being 'only.'

"I have heard little of his species, only that he is powerful. Though I am willing to believe he is not the only one of his kind, which is both frightening and intriguing to explore." Helena pondered. "Considering that there may be others, are they like him in wishing to pull people across the dimensional barriers, or do they oppose him completely? Though I suppose the truth is more grey, as it always is. Q probably has his supporters as well as his detractors."

After all, life in and of itself was a simple series of various shades of grey. Nothing, or at least almost nothing, was strictly black or white. Everything was some combination of the two.

Though something the Doctor said had caught her interest.

"If I may ask, what is the Valeyard?" If he didn't want to answer, Helena wouldn't press. She well knew what it was like to not want to answer certain questions. Besides, the simple fact he'd related the Valeyard to Q could give her some basic understanding of what it was.

"We all have light and darkness inside us. The story goes that the Valeyard is an amalgamation of the darker side of... a Time Lord's Nature."

What? That's mostly true. No one needs to know it's specifically him - he's the last of his kind, anyone worth their salt should be able to work that out.

"But, without knowing more about this universe, I'm just tossing theories out and seeing what sticks."

So far, even the Valeyard theory is pretty weak.

"Ah, I see," she said with a nod. Helena did wonder if that was only a half truth considering his pause. However, she didn't feel it was her place to push that particular topic.

"Theories and asking questions are the best way to begin to figure things out. I, for one, would like to put an actual face to this Q. I do not like the fact that he feels like some disembodied boogeyman. Or a god-like creature that is never seen or felt, only spoken of. I prefer tangibles to intangibles." That was one of the many reasons Helena never had been the religious type. She was far too oriented in the sciences, in exploring the physical world, that intangible gods that could not be seen nor even proven to exist with science left her wanting.

"It's a good start. Though, sometimes just because something is intangible doesn't mean it's not dangerous. Especially if they're on a different plane."

He's thinking of the Boneless now. The 2-D creatures killing in order to learn about a 3-D world.

"But, if you have a way to contact this 'Q', I'd be very interested in meeting him myself."

And maybe tearing him apart for separating him from his TARDIS.

"True enough. There are unseen dangers in the natural universe." Global warming, a star's natural life cycle, black holes. Anything else that seemed to be more theoretical than proven real. Plus no one could actually touch things like a star's life cycle or black holes or global warming.

"If I find a way, I shall certainly let you know." Of course this meant Helena would be focusing some of her energy on figuring out a way to contact a being like Q. Or at least gaining his attention enough to warrant him reaching out.

Which was probably a terrible, no-good, bad idea, but it's something her mind would turn over. Especially when she couldn't sleep and needed things to work out.

It's okay. The Doctor does what he can to get people's attention and it never goes how he plans. Or the attention he gets is the wrong kind.

"Then I will do the same. I wonder how much noise we'd need to make to get him to appear?"

Helena sometimes gets the wrong kind of attention as well, but that tends to be because she goes about things in the wrong way at times. This, though, requires some thought.

"Perhaps it is less the amount of noise and more saying the right thing to attain his attention. Though that also requires learning more about him and what potentially can acquire said attention." She shrugged a shoulder. "Though if you wish to be technical, I believe we already have his attention. After all, he pulled us each here individually for some reason. Perhaps that is something we can use to acquire his further attention."

He looks thoughtful.

"Fair point. But how can we get him to appear, or materialise, or whatever it is he does? Right here. Right now. Or as soon as possible."

Helena pondered for a moment. "Considering he brought us here, he seems to enjoy playing with people. People in such a position enjoy their power and control over a situation. Perhaps finding a way to get around him would be the quickest way to get him here? By which I mean finding out a way to either get back to where we came from without him sending us there, or to simply utilize power similar to his."

Perhaps the former would be the easier of the two. As she didn't have any special abilities, she couldn't tell if being here dampened someone's powers. But to her, if the TARDIS could function again or something like it be functional, they could get around Q's power and most likely make him show himself.

"You've been here awhile. What happens when we make planet fall or stop somewhere for refuelling?"

He may be plotting an idea, but he needs more information first. And then, he'll have to learn patience. He hates patience.

"I have not experienced a planet fall yet while I have been here, so that I cannot say. Though I have heard that the planets that are more friendly we have more leeway on exploring it and interacting with the locals." To say that Helena was impatient to experience an alien planet was putting it mildly.

The Enterprise wasn't anywhere near as bad as being on the Egime had, so she wasn't going stir crazy. But she really did want to have an actual sun in the sky and be able to experience day and night. It might help with her insomnia problems.

He pauses in thought. "I see. Well, that's something at least."

He looks around. Almost lost. Almost. He's used to having a great deal more freedom than this. "And in between? We just... stay here?"

He might die of boredom.

"Indeed we do. There are holodecks, a shopping area, an observation deck and some other areas to keep one occupied. Though I have to say, this is a vast improvement on the last starship I was on. This one at least has windows." She would never stop picking at the fact the Egime had no windows. It had left its mark on her, after all, and Helena was more than surly about it.

And possibly more surly than normal considering she was tired of having sleeping issues. Normal insomnia she could deal with. This? Not so much.

His lip curls a little in derision. "Primitive. Not really enough to keep someone like me busy."

He might start tinkering with the ship. Just because he can. "Yes. Windows - that way we can see how much space there is out there when we're stuck in here."

Helena chuckled softly. "This ship is a vast improvement over the last ship in the last part of the multiverse that I was in. That one had no windows and even less to keep one entertained." It had been lucky that the Egime had a few decks to it, otherwise Helena may have gotten a case of claustrophobia.

Instead, her circadian rhythm had been thrown off and made her insomnia all the worse.

"My ship doesn't have any windows."

Well, no functional ones anyway.

"Just acres of room and the ability to travel time and space..."

He doesn't care about windows. It's being 'stuck' that's the problem. And he's not even stuck on his own ship, which is worse.

Her eyebrows rose a bit and her gaze drifted to the blue box for some moments. "So it's bigger on the inside." A statement, not a question, as she pondered what he said about it. "And it can travel through time and space. The amount of engineering to go into such a machine must be positively brilliant. I was only ever able to send my mind backwards through time, physical time travel was an impossibility in my world."

Now that did it. Sorry Doctor, but Helena was fascinated by the technology of the TARDIS. At least she'd be able to follow the technical explanation of it for the most part and not make fun of it?

"It's more impressive when you can actually see it."

And just a tiny hint of grumpiness that she can't see it. But when she mentions how she travelled in time, well, he knew she was talking rubbish compared to how he meant it. Luckily, he won't actually say that out loud.

"Simple for Time Lords. Comes with being the oldest and mightiest."

Well. Simple for most Time Lords. The Doctor, usually sums it up as 'it just does.' Of course whether this is because he can't explain it to anyone else, or because he doesn't actually know himself, is a matter for debate.

"It certainly sounds positively wonderful and fascinating." Helena was definitely the type that would admire the TARDIS. And she'd undoubtedly ask scores of questions about how it worked and the mechanics of creating such a machine that was bigger on the inside.

And her time travel method wasn't the best, but it was as close as she could come to physical time travel without the aid of an Artifact that would have a horrific price to pay for using it. Of course at the time she'd been obsessed with traveling to her past and saving her daughter, Helena wouldn't have cared about the price she'd have to pay. But now she was cursed with a price for even having tried, which was having seen her daughter die while she'd been powerless to stop it from happening. That image was seared into her soul and she still had nightmares about it over a century later.

"Ah, but of course. It is positively fascinating though. The mechanics to even create such a machine in the first place must be both mind-boggling and brilliant." And unlike some people, Helena would dive headlong into trying to understand the science behind it if she could.

The Doctor goes back to one of the TARDISes and again rests a hand on it. "Oh, it's not just the mechanics. Any old thing could be configured into a time or space ship. A part of the TARDIS, though, is a living, sentient being. 'Grown, not built'. I used to say that quite a lot."

And it's that part that he misses more than anything. Sure it's his home and where he is most comfortable and safe, but to lose his connection to the one constant companion he's had since he's left Gallifrey? And to not really know what having multiples of her around is doing to her? It's almost more pain than he thinks he can handle.

Even when the Master had turned her into the Paradox Machine all those years ago, he could still hear her.... He sighs heavily.

That was certainly interesting to hear. Helena tilted her head a bit, looking the TARDIS over again. "So it's organic. That is beyond brilliant." It was a compliment, and she couldn't think of a word to use to accurately describe the level of awe and intrigue she had for it. She would've loved to see the inner workings of the TARDIS, see what it looked like on the inside. But that of course wasn't an option here, and she wasn't going to even try to do anything without being invited to.

Helena did have respect for such boundaries when she was not the owner. Though such restraint did nothing for keeping her curiosity under control.

And she could see the Doctor was troubled, to say the least, about the current state of the TARDIS. "With any luck, answers will be found and you will be able to have her back the way she should be." Her tone was gentle and sincere. She knew what it felt like to be separated from someone or something that was so important.

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And she said the thing because it was too perfect to pass up

Glad I could oblige

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