The one thing Domina would
come to learn about the human race during the time she would spend on Earth
meeting them, was their peculiar need to shove their hand into yours and shake
it by way of a greeting. She didn't understand this gesture at first and
instead of offering her own hand back to the stranger in the dark, she clenched
her fists and took a step backward, anticipating an attack, ready for the
strike she was sure was coming her way. Yet there it was, the statement that
would knock her off her sideways and unsteady her challenged mind, the
introduction that she had been waiting for, the one being she had wanted to
find on this planet was here before her, smiling as large as life not knowing
what his presence could ever mean to her not just now but in the days to come.
The renegade Time Lord known only as 'The Doctor'.
"It's you!" She gasped, unsure of
what to say to him now she had found him. "I mean really you, here, now!
My TARDIS said you hadn't been on Earth for 6 years, it scanned for you, I
scanned for you, I've been searching for you for years and years, my whole life
it seems and here you are, suddenly, without fail in front of me the very
second I land on this planet, in this spot at this exact time, telling me you
know who I am, who my mother is!"
It seemed totally unreal to her, almost
planned this way and even though she was shouting at him like a frightened
child so that thunder cracked in the heavens above them, shaking the ground so
hard it could be felt deep within the darkness of the underground tunnel, he
smiled at her sympathetically and spoke to her softly as a slight upward
apprehensive glance towards the ceiling confirmed that he knew what she was
capable of.
"My TARDIS isn't here on Earth right
now. It's lost on the planet Hurst in the Forgotten Dimension which is why your
TARDIS couldn't find it and you couldn't find me because you're not actually
Gallifreyan, nor a Time Lord despite what the elders told you, you're actually
partly human, a descendant from Earth, this Earth and not that long ago"
He scanned her with his sonic screwdriver
and looked gravely at the readings, his brow etched with concern that was
hidden by the shadows of the darkness.
"Your mother was washed up on the
Galifreyan shore. She died giving birth to you on the sand which is why I
suppose you were named Domina Mare, it means 'Lady of the sea'. Your coming was
foretold and you should have been born with an unbreakable memory installed so
that you would grow knowing not just who you are, but you would retain the memories
of your mother's past selves also, but Time travel and the faction have messed
your mind up so badly and I'm so sorry. It's ok Domina, I'll explain
everything. Let's go back to your TARDIS and I'll tell you everything, give you
all the answers. I promise, I'll help you remember"
Domina listened but took nothing in. This
man before her spoke about things he couldn't possibly know about her as he was
a legend to her, a saviour of all, a story as she was growing up on a planet
billions of light years from the one she stood on now. She knew nothing of the
Faction although she had heard whispers of their order coupled with a vague
memory of being told she was to be kept away from them for the sake of creation
itself. She wanted to know more, she needed to know more, this was why she had
come looking for The Doctor in the first place, so she nodded without words and
allowed him and Fritz to follow her back out of the tunnels and into the light
of the canal, calming down so that her anger passed over her and the dark
clouds in the sky began to drift slowly away as she pointed towards her
disguised TARDIS.
"A narrow boat!" The Doctor
exclaimed delightedly. "AWW I love
a narrow boat. One thing my TARDIS never got to be was a narrow boat.
Amazing!"
She frowned at him,
worried by his mannerisms, worried that she was being led into a trap by men
that wanted her ship for its technology but a question burned so fiercely
inside her that she felt she had no choice but to lead them on board. Inside
the TARDIS it was black and unwelcoming, cold and uncaring with an air of
hostility that made Fritz shudder as he crossed the dimensional field. A
reflection on Domina's state of mind, fractured and dark with the only lights
coming from the main console itself.
The ship hummed softly into life as Domina
boarded, welcoming her back into its lair as it cast a soft light around her,
chasing away some of the internal despair.
"Hello Domina, you have brought beings
with you that will need to be scanned" The whispering voice of a woman,
soft and echoing like a ghost lost in another realm filled the console room as
the TARDIS spoke to her making The Doctor's eye's pop from his head and Fritz
recoil in fear.
"Your TARDIS can talk? Oh, that's
brilliant, that is so brilliant. Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Fritz. A
talking TARDIS, how did you get it to do that?"
He was fascinated and taking his sonic
screwdriver from the inside pocket of his coat he waved it slowly across the
central console table and then looked at the readings. "Oh, that's
interesting, that's very clever, so clever in fact that this might be the only
one"
"Hello Doctor" The TARDIS replied
to him whilst he scanned its circuits.
"We have been looking for you for many
years. Will you join us?"
"Join
you?" The Doctor exclaimed, "In what exactly?" He frowned
slightly now, a look of concern etched across his face which made Domina feel
she should ask her questions now, rather than wait until he found out the truth
of why she had searched the stars for him.
"My mother, me and the thing you said
earlier, about me fading, about me being a human TARDIS? Tell me more about
that, about all of it like you promised"
Distracted for a moment, the Doctor scanned
the console again and looked at the readings, an expression of understanding
forming on his brow although he still felt the same fear and confusion that had
spread through Fritz, who suddenly spoke with a wavering voice.
"Sir, we should go, we have work to do
and....."
"Yes Fritz, soon" The Doctor replied
and turned his attention to Domina. "Ok, Yes you're right. I knew your
mother, she was a wonderful woman, born on Earth to Earth parents but she
became something else, something not so wonderful, fascinating yes, oh
completely brilliant and unique, first of her kind, one of a kind and you are
as unique and brilliant and if I’m honest, it means biologically, you don’t
have a father, you were engineered by the War King, to be carried in the
eternal womb of your mother. Her pregnancy could only have been an experiment
and I’m sorry, I’m so sorry but you were a mistake, you should never have been
allowed to exist, surely you can see that? They should have learned their
lesson from your brother, from what he did and what he became but I suppose
they thought they could try again, get it right this time. You healed your
TARDIS Domina, you, what lies within your DNA, you brought it back to life
because that’s what you are, a living TARDIS, a human time machine just like
your mother, a type 102 TARDIS biologically and physiologically which is why
you can do what the TARDIS does, disappear here, reappear there and travel
through time and space. You navigated your way here Domina, not to me but back
home to Earth as this is where you'll find all your answers. This TARDIS is
you, with your voice, your personality, your DNA, you are connected more than
the Rassilon Imprimatur could ever achieve, which is probably why the Time Lords
kept you locked away. They know what you can do but the question is, do you?
Your mother’s name was Laura Tobin, but she was remembered as 'Compassion', she
travelled with me in my 8th regeneration and she was the first ever human
TARDIS created by the Faction Paradox....."
It was going to take a
long time for the information to sink in, for it to be processed properly in
order to be dealt with, but as she listened to The Doctor, only one thing
caught her attention so instantly that she blurted out her response and stopped
him mid-sentence.
"I have a brother!"
