Causaulties of War (was going to be a drabble, but kept getting longer)
Daibhid Ceanaideach
The cold wind cut through the deserted streets, swirling
burger wrappers and crisp packets. The Doctor was glad he'd
grabbed a leather jacket when he arrived.
He'd stayed locked in the TARDIS for heavens knew how long,
trying to deny what he'd done, not even looking at his new
face. Then a blip had appeared on the console. Somewhere,
there was another active TARDIS.
So he'd found himself in a small town somewhere in the North
of England, trying to follow an exceedingly erratic signal.
He'd been here all day. It was the first time he'd spoken to
anyone since the regeneration, and unconciously he'd picked up
the local accent. Now it was nearly midnight, and the town
centre was deserted.
The TARDIS-sniffer-outer sputtered back into life. It led him
to an alley, just off the pedestrian precinct.
As he entered it, an elderly, broken, female voice said "Wot?
Wot? You coming round 'ere from the big boys, eh? I should
cocoa!"
He barely noticed. His attention was fixed on a shopping
trolley filled with binbags. No wonder the signal was erratic;
the TARDIS had been reduced to its component energy matrix and
was being held within the plastic. How could anyone even
*steer* it? Pure willpower? Because he was in no doubt that it
hadn't been here (or, at least, *now*) ten seconds ago.
"You hear me, Mr Man?" the voice insisted "They say least said
soonest mended, but I say that butters no parsnips. You CIA or
what? Eh?"
*That* got his attention. He turned to see a bag lady
clutching the handle of the trolley protectively.
"'Salright, love," he said, "I'm with the health inspectors,
and..." Then he looked into her eyes, and his hearts broke.
He had thought his actions, in saving the universe from the
Daleks, had wiped out the Time Lords as well. He had never
stopped to consider what it would do to one of his people if
they survived.
"Oh, Iris," he murmered, "What have I done?"
Doctor Who is the property of the BBC
Mrs Tachyon is the property of Terry Pratchett
(Yeah, a serious story. From me. It just sort of *happened*.)
--
Dave
Official Absentee of EU Skiffeysoc
http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/sesoc
"Maybe I'm cynical, but if everyone in the world was
as cynical as I am... it'd still be rubbish, wouldn't it?"
-Robin Ince
PAUL GADZIKOWSKI
: (Yeah, a serious story. From me. It just sort of *happened*.)
Nice. And just as long as it needed to be.
Paul Gadzikowski, scar...@iglou.com since 1995
http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com New cartoons daily.
http://members.iglou.com/scarfman/new.htm Fanfiction stories and cartoons.
"Must ... have ... shiny ... bacon ..."
Clive May
news:Xns976795AE...@130.133.1.4...
> Casualties of War
>
snip
> The TARDIS-sniffer-outer sputtered back into life. It led him
>
> "Oh, Iris," he murmered, "What have I done?"
Snip
>
> (Yeah, a serious story. From me. It just sort of *happened*.)
I know it's meant to be serious, but it made me chuckle a lot, especially
the "TARDIS-Sniffer-Outer" and the idea of a Time Lord Bag-Lady carting her
home around in a plastic bag. Perhaps I'm just perverse; but i found the
idea chucklesome.
Loved the succinct scene setting at the top - very economical yet does the
business.
Cheers
Clive
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote in
> message news:Xns976795AE...@130.133.1.4...
>> Casualties of War
>>
>
> snip
>
>> The TARDIS-sniffer-outer sputtered back into life. It led
>> him
>
>>
>> "Oh, Iris," he murmered, "What have I done?"
>
> Snip
>
>
>>
>> (Yeah, a serious story. From me. It just sort of
>> *happened*.)
>
> I know it's meant to be serious, but it made me chuckle a
> lot, especially the "TARDIS-Sniffer-Outer" and the idea of
> a Time Lord Bag-Lady carting her home around in a plastic
> bag. Perhaps I'm just perverse; but i found the idea
> chucklesome.
It wasn't actually *meant* to be serious. It began as a comedy
drabble tying Doctor Who to Johnny and the Bomb (which it
still does). It changed drastically when I actually thought
about Iris becoming Mrs Tachyon due to the Doctor's actions
and thought "but that's not funny, it's tragic". Which didn't
mean I couldn't slip a couple of mild gags in along the way
(like the TARDIS-sniffer-outer reference), as long as I kept
the atmosphere up.
I'm afraid I can't take credit for either of the ideas; the
TSO was named by Jo in The Time Monster, and the bags of time
were the creation of Terry Pratchett.
> Loved the succinct scene setting at the top - very
> economical yet does the business.
Thanks. I was a bit worried that signalling "depressing
present day town" with the wind picking up rubbish was a
cliche, but it got the job done.