Adventures in the TARDIS

There is stunned silence following the Commander’s demand. The TARDIS crew just stands there blinking for a moment until their minds are thawed back awake by the movement of the rest of The Tribe. When they move, they move to intercept and block the way for the Commander. They face him and make it clear that they are in his way. Even the young members of The Tribe take this defiant stance.

Commander Viraxis’s reaction to this is also interesting because both Margret and the TARDIS crew know how easily the Commander, and his crew, could bully their way towards what they want using their advanced magical technology, but the Commander is facing a dilemma because he does not want to remove the possibility of an alliance with this Tribe. Those who view him can see the conflicted look on his face as he ponders the best solution for this latest impasse.

Daring Do grows a warm smile since she’s touched by the display of the Tribe, but starting a conflict here isn’t her objective and there are other objectives she needs to accomplish elsewhere. Things she needs to do and further questions that need answering.

Because of all that, she takes a bold step forward and places a hoof on the shoulder of the lead tribespony here in a nonverbal communication that he needs to relax his guard here. Everything is fine, and she reached a decision. Because of the recent ceremony they all performed together, they are still empathically attuned to each other. He can feel Daring Do’s resolve that she’ll take care of this issue in the place of the rest of the Tribe. In return, he gives her a look that seems to indicate, “Are you sure? We don’t wish to force you to do anything against your will and we won’t tolerate anypony else violating that right either.”

Daring nods confidently to that tribespony to show that she is confident in her decision. To further cement that, and to finally include the Commander in this “conversation” so far, she turns to address the rest of the Tribe and calls aloud, “It’s okay, everypony. My . . .”

Daring hesitates for a moment as she realizes she needs to make a decision what label to give the rest of her friends here. She does a quick scan among the rest of the TARDIS crew. She almost said “friends” and it is an apt description, but she suddenly realizes she didn’t want to use that label as if to imply that excludes the rest of the Tribe now. She considers her role among the TARDIS crew and comes to the quick conclusion that a label that has been thrust upon her needs to more comfortably be embraced.

She looks back and once again addresses the rest of the Tribe as she resumes announcing, “My crew and I have other objectives we need to accomplish elsewhere. In other worlds and other times. There are also questions we have for the Commander, and finally . . . none of us wish to bring harm and conflict to this Tribe. Our found family.”

The rest of the TARDIS crew, plus Margret, nod in agreement. This nod is especially firm from Stern Wing.

The Chieftain, Ma'Heira, steps forward from behind a wall of ponies. This action seizes everyone’s attention, including the Commander’s, for he also recognizes her. His red-glowing prosthetic eye gets smaller when he has it zoom up to her.

“We, of course, are aware that you all come from another place and time,” Ma'Heira announces in a sagely tone. “We are also well aware that you’ll need to return there someday. When you do, remember us. Wherever you go and whatever you do from now on, you carry the strength, wisdom, and the spirit of The Tribe with you. Always remember that.”

“Definitely,” Stern Wing firmly agrees.

“Absolutely,” comes Feather Wind’s follow up agreement.

“I will always remember and cherish you,” Derpy announces emotionally.

“This certainly has been interesting. One worthy of being recorded in history,” Doctor Kelly chimes in.

Margret is the only one who holds her silence because she isn’t certain what to say. This experience is certainly important to her, but she most likely isn’t going where the rest of the TARDIS crew will go. She might even come back here soon.

Scanning among her crew once again, Daring’s eyes settle back on Ma'Heira as she announces, “As you can see, there is a firm consensus among my crew here. It is a sentiment I share as well, and I have a special way of sharing experiences, like this, with others back in my native time.”

“So do I,” Feather Wind says quietly under his breath.

“May you always feel welcome to do as you must,” Chieftain Ma'Heira announces calmly. “We’re always with you, even as your mortal vessels carry you elsewhere. The bond we established and shared together last night cannot be broken. The winds ever be at your backs ere you carry forth with your journey.”

“Count on it,” Feather Wind assures with a bit of a grin. As a pony embodiment of the Wind spirits, he can personally assure that prophecy will come to pass, just as it already has.

“Thank you all for your cooperation,” announces Commander Viraxis gratefully in his echo-y, robotic-sounding prosthetic voice. “It was never my intention to bring conflict to this Tribe. In fact, it has always been my hope to help prepare you all for it. In the meantime I am grateful that we’ve at least established dialogue and . . .” He trails off when he notices the rest of the Tribe entirely ignoring him, including their youngest foals. Almost all at once, they turn to leave back into their huts. After all, they said their goodbyes to the newest member of their Tribe. Nothing else here really matters to them. Noticing this causes the Commander to sigh sadly.

In short order the rest of their stuff is quietly passed on to the visitors as well.

Doctor Kelly almost moves to tend to the wounds, and infection, of those of the Tribe who did suffer damage from the newest Chaos Beast. Sensing her intentions, though, Daring objects by lifting a hoof up in Doctor Kelly’s direction and says, “No. Leave them be. They’ll hoofle this.”

Doctor Kelly frowns then counter objects by saying, “It is no ordinary affliction they are suffering from. Maybe I should at least take a look.”

“You swore to do no harm,” Daring reminds Doctor Kelly. “That includes respecting the patient's will, does it not?”

Doctor Kelly passes that frowning look over at the rest of The Tribe as she watches them continue to retreat away. They probably can still hear this conversation and yet none of them are turning back and asking her for help. This includes those who suffered the affliction. They are either assisted or outright carried out by others here in The Tribe. None of them even glance back at her. That is a very strong indication that they value their independence and self-reliance.

Doctor Kelly releases a long breath as the stem of her lollipop switches sides in her mouth. She knows she won’t insist for them to get treated by her if they don’t want it, and they seem confident that they can handle this on their own somehow. From a socio-cultural perspective, she finds this attitude noteworthy and worth recording. What is it like to really be standing here among ancestors of her ancient history? She’s finding out first hand right now and simply accepts what it is showing her.

The TARDIS crew, plus Margret, look back to Commander Viraxis as he, in turn, gestures back through the portal as a reminder of his request.

This ship is quite different from the one Margret used. While hers was transparent, this one looks opaque and synthetic. It is like stepping into another room as soon as they all cross the portal threshold. Beyond is a white room with no apparent doors, windows, and just a few sparse furnishings.

“Huh. Reminds me of the holographic rooms from my homeworld,” Doctor Kelly remarks offhandedly as soon as they all step into the new room. “Anyhoo,” she turns to look at Stern Wing. “While the rest of the village objected to me treating them with my ‘evil’ modern tech, I assume you don’t have any such objections if I inspect and operate on your wound?”

“Not only am I okay with it, but I would take it as a kindness if you operated immediately,” Stern Wing replied. “You told me earlier this wound could be infected and I don’t want to run the risk of it contaminating the rest of you.” She looks about as she adds, “Especially in an enclosed environment.” She then passes a grateful look to Derpy. “But, I have to say, after your performance, it doesn't hurt nearly as bad.”

“Yeah, I . . .” Derpy pauses as she rubs a hoof on the back of her neck and wears a bewildered look on her face. “. . . can’t exactly explain how that happened. Something just welled up inside me and I just went for it.”

Feather Wind was about to say something but shifts his eyes to look at Commander Viraxis when he speaks up.

“Well you all nary have to concern yourself with contagious infection here because this place is quite sterilized,” the Commander assures.

“I was going to mention that too,” Margret agrees. “It’s pretty standard practice on our ships.”

“Really?” Feather Wind asks in surprise. “This era and area has so much harmonic energy that part of me is surprised you have a system built in place to counter a threat that hardly ever happens.”

Margret gestures to Stern Wing as she says to Feather Wind, “And yet it does happen on occasion so we like to be prepared for it.”

“Not only that, I’d like your permission to clean up the wound myself,” Commander Viraxis requests of Stern Wing then looks at and points to Doctor Kelly. “And I want you to watch. Maybe even scan the wound during the healing process. The reason for this is I’m trying to make a specific point with this demonstration.”

“Really?” Doctor Kelly asks in surprise as she widens her eyes slightly behind her floating holographic glasses.

Stern Wing grunts then complains, “Well I don’t care which pony does it so long as somepony does it! Right now would be most preferable.”

“Does it hurt?” Feather Wind asks his large friend in concern.

“Well, put it this way. It doesn’t feel good,” Stern Wing assures but then her expression softens. “It hurts less ever since Derpy’s song, but I’d still prefer to get rid of it a-s-a-p.”

“Oh. About that,” Feather Wind brings up then pauses when he notices Commander Viraxis pull out a white device that is bent in an angle. At the end of it, above his hoof, he aims the device over Stern Wing’s wound. Before he does anything with it, he deliberately waits for Doctor Kelly’s drones to de-cloak then scan Stern Wing’s wound. At that point the Commander pulls some kind of trigger which causes the end of the device to emit a bunch of random and spinning colors. It’s a bit hypnotic to look at, but Feather manages to shake himself out of that trance and continue his point. “About what Derpy did earlier, that was magic.” He looks at Derpy. “Which, in a way, operates similar to the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver except way less technical.”

Derpy looks a bit surprised to hear that but not very much. She even nods in acceptance as she says, “It’s hard to explain how I did that but I did feel energy travel through my body as I sang and before I sank into a bit of a trance.”

“Regardless how you did it, that’s a useful skill to have,” Daring Do expresses to Derpy in approval.

“Aww! Thank you!” Derpy says in a grateful bliss.

Those who pay attention notice Stern Wing’s wound vanishes completely in seconds after being treated by the Commander’s device. Not even traces of the wound, such as dried blood or a scar, is left of it.

“I don’t believe it!” Doctor Kelly exclaims in surprise then shakes her head. “But this can’t be a coincidence. I’ve seen too much other evidence of this effect.” She looks at the Commander who returns her gaze with a shrewd look of his own.

“What is it?” Daring asks Doctor Kelly.

“I recognize this tech,” Doctor Kelly explains while still giving a surprised look at the Commander. “My own race uses these things back where I am from, and we’ve been using them for ages.” She narrows her eyes at the Commander as she has a shrewd look of her own. “Except we weren’t the first beings to use this kind of tech. There was another who used it before us and it is from them we assimilated most of our best tech from.

“Oh wow!” Doctor Kelly widens her eyes at the Commander a bit. “You really are a Time Lord.”

Every pony in the room is suddenly quiet. They are stunned silent except the Commander is silently composed. Every pony also notices how he makes no effort to correct Doctor Kelly’s newest statement.

“Moreover, you really are a War Commander of the Time War,” Doctor Kelly goes on. “You came to this time period to recruit more followers for your war.” She narrows one eye at him. “Except your tactics are a bit different than what you all did to my race. Back then you just ponynapped us and put us to work, but you are trying to get others to choose to join you.” Her eyes return to normal as she broaches a theory. “I think that means you are a war soldier near the end of the Time War. By then the Time Lord’s got desperate and they did not have too many resources to spare for each of their objectives. Am I correct?”

“Astute as always, doctor,” Commander Viraxis commends. “I can see why the Doctor was so interested in you.”

Feather Wind’s face flushes in a bit of anger as he guesses, “So you came to this world and this time to try to recruit peace-loving ponies into your intergalactic war?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” the Commander replies. “That certainly is and was a measure of a challenge for me to even explain or convince any of the ponies in this time why war and conflict are even necessary. Certain . . . motivations had to come into place before I could even begin to convince them to see things my way.”

“Wait a second!” Stern Wing exclaims in surprised outrage. “So it was you who engineered the Chaos Beasts? You created the problem for them to solve just so that you had an excuse to recruit ponies into your stupid little war?”

“No,” the Commander replies to Stern Wing immediately. “I most certainly did not create the Chaos Beasts.”

“But you are having us capture some of them,” Margret reminds the Commander. “I even delivered a few of them to you personally, and you shrank and stored the one we fought today as well.”

“We’re having them contained to keep them from being a threat and so that we can study them closely,” the Commander announces to Margret. “I think you can all agree that is a better alternative then to allow them all to continue their prowl.”

“Hold on a second,” Feather requests as he lifts a hoof and gives a confused squint at the Commander. “If you didn’t invent the Chaos Beasts, then who did?” Moments later Feather’s eyes widen in horrified shock as he exclaims, “No! It can’t be!”

“So it was Trouble after all. I knew it!” Stern Wing exclaims aggressively. “That sour little imp.”

Feather looks at Stern with confusion and surprise as he says, “No. It wasn’t her.” His eyes shift back to the Commander. “If I haven’t missed my guess, I’d say the true architects of the Chaos Beasts are actually the Daleks.”

“Bingo,” Commander Viraxis confirms right away. “Except employing tactics like that isn’t typical for Daleks either. Instead, they are normally in their comfort zone when they can conquer, and exterminate, all of their enemies with sheer, overwhelming numbers and firepower. They like to use raw force to epic degrees, especially when it comes to their major campaigns.”

Commander Viraxis paces past them for a moment. He now faces a white wall with his back to the rest of them. Then he half turns his head to his left and says to the others over his left shoulder, which is also the side that has his prosthetic eye, “I’m going to be honest with you all for a moment. The reason I am here, at this time, and attempting to recruit these peace-loving ponies by myself is because the Time War has nearly ended, and it is not going well.” He looks forward again. “Although we’re not losing by a large degree. The resources of the Daleks are almost as depleted. So much so that they’ve been driven to use some tactics that they are not normally comfortable with.”

Commander Viraxis pauses for a moment before he spins about to face them all again.

“In many ways, the common tactics of the Daleks are the exact opposite of the Doctor’s. While they tend to invade in massive numbers, the Doctor tends to fight with only a small hoofful of companions and sometimes he does his work solo. While they like to use overwhelming firepower, the Doctor almost always abstains from using guns, war soldiers, and the like. Instead of that, he normally likes to employ his creativity and clever tactics which, again, is the opposite of the Daleks.” The Commander lifts a hoof. His organic hoof in this case. “In fact, and in truth, the Daleks didn’t create and deploy the Chaos Beasts. Instead, some other race did that which the Daleks had conquered and forced to get creative for the Daleks because the Daleks can’t be.”

“Why is that?” Feather asks the Commander curiously. “By that, I mean, why can’t the Daleks come up with something like that themselves?”

“The Daleks are a bio-engineered race themselves,” the Commander explains. “They are created by a mad scientist who has a grudge against . . .” He trails off with a sigh then says, “. . . well, pretty much everything as far as I have gathered. Daleks are designed to be the ultimate xeno-phobes, and as such, their only objective is to exterminate all life that isn’t another Dalek. They are bioengineered weapons designed for one purpose only; mass genocide of all other life.”

“Why?!” Stern Wing asks in astonishment.

Commander Viraxis shrugs as he says, “I don’t know, but when I use the term ‘mad’ scientist to describe the Dalek’s creator, I mean it in every sense of the word.”

Stern Wing frowns and looks down for a second but then looks back at the Commander as he resumes speaking.

“As for the Daleks themselves, while they can be hyper intelligent and computate mass calculations that could leave any average computer baffled, they are also designed with highly rigid thinking. Even the syntax of their spoken language tends to revolve around just a small hoofful of words. They are not meant to be creative because a creative being can question one’s own existence and purpose in life. By design, the Dalek’s don’t and truly can’t do that. Instead, they fulfill their instinctual purpose without question.”

“So, in essence, they really don’t have free will,” Feather figures mournfully. “In a way, they are victims too.”

“Basically, yes,” the Commander confirms to Feather. “But before you go shedding a tear for them, I’d encourage you to wait and see all the victims that the Daleks eradicated on their massive campaign sweeps. Maybe, by then, you might find it a bit more challenging to be sympathetic with these engines of mass genocide.”

“Well I am not a Dalek,” Feather replies firmly. “I do have creativity, and I do have a heart. I don’t think it is a weakness to care for others.”

The Commander can’t help but scoff at that reply. After all, his hearts have been hardened so many times over after so many years of one weary battle after another.

“Hold on. Hold on,” Stern Wing requests as she wipes a hoof in the air to gather attention, which she succeeded to do. “So Trouble didn’t create the Chaos Beasts? But . . . that seems so far up her alley. They all have random forms and abilities. Also, if Trouble is innocent of their creation then why did you blame her in the first place?”

“I gave her the blame for the Chaos Beasts because she is the closest thing to a threat that the natives of this timeline can understand,” the Commander explains. “Plus, like you said, the style and motif of these creatures is kind of similar to a Spirit of Chaos. When I gave that explanation, no pony even questioned it. It was so much easier for them to understand rather than explaining that I, the Daleks, and the Chaos Beasts came from another world and time period. Understanding the mere concept of war, by itself, is already a struggle for these ponies, let alone adding all the extra layers attached to this story.” He stomps his metallic, prosthetic hoof. “I told them this because most of these ponies are not ready for the truth. All this time, I’ve been trying to prepare them to be ready for that truth.” He points across this group. “With you all, however, you already come from a different time and have seen other worlds so you all are ready for the truth.”

“And why are you telling us this now?” Feather Wind asks the Commander with a suspicious squint. “You had a chance to tell us this earlier before you sent us on a mission to help recruit The Tribe. What changed between now and then? What was the deciding factor to convince you that we were ready for this truth now?”

“Honestly, I didn't really expect you all to succeed in your mission completely,” the Commander mentions. “In fact, you actually accomplished more than I expected you would. It is for that reason that I’m giving you a promotion,” he says with a nod at Margret. “Because at least you got your hoof in the door. The Tribe actually listens to you. As such, I could use your help being a liaison between our two tribes.”

Margret thinks about that for a second before shrugging and saying, “That sounds fine as long as you don’t expect or want me to accomplish anything that would be against their will. They are firm in their ways for a reason. If I were to try to convince them otherwise then they’d no longer listen to me either.”

“No. Definitely don’t push them too far,” the Commander agrees with Margret. “At least you got them talking to us. That alone is a strategic victory. With dialogue open between us, other important possibilities might open up later.”

“Hold on,” Daring says in an objecting tone as she lifts a wing in a halting gesture. “So let me get this straight.” She refolds her wing. “If you didn’t expect us to successfully recruit these ponies into your little war then why did you send us?”

“Bottom line is it was a test,” the Commander explains. “Honestly, the Doctor and I really don’t see eye to eye on many issues. I think he’s a dangerous pacifist while he sees me as a savage warmonger.” He lifts a hoof as he adds, “On the other hoof, I can’t deny that he can get results done in highly creative and unexpected ways. He keeps charging into conflicts and battles with nary a weapon to defend himself, or his friends, which I personally regard as careless and highly reckless, and yet I can’t argue with otherwise effective results. Somehow he keeps getting the job done one way or another, but even he doesn’t have a perfect track record.”

Commander Viraxis pauses a moment as he scans each of them visually one by one before he goes on to say, “There seems to be a distinctive pattern to those he tends to recruit for his little journeys as well. Like-minded individuals who share many important traits with him. While many of them don’t seem so impressive at first,” he says with a small nod to the tiniest pony of this bunch, “they usually have a way to be impressive that is easily overlooked at first glance.

“Time and time again, The Knights of the Hourglass gets the job done. Like their great ally and mentor, the Doctor, their results tend to be imperfect but also too successful to casually dismiss.” He shakes his head. “I can’t tell you how many times my forces have been on the brink of defeat and either the Doctor and his TARDIS shows up, along with whatever companions he happened to recruit by that time, or one of the Knights shows up to swoop in and save the day at the last hour. When it happened once, I considered myself lucky. Twice? I considered that an interesting coincidence. After the third time, however, I was forced to acknowledge that this is a pattern. Somehow both he, and his allies, keep engineering a recipe for success in highly unconventional ways. There’s nothing about the way they do it that I can train other recruits to do in some standard boot camp. They fly off the seat of their pants and I begrudgingly am forced to admit it keeps working too often for me to continue to ignore, so I have a proposal for you all.”

“We are the ones you’re really interested in,” Feather Wind realizes with a small gasp. “Not The Tribe.”

“I was interested in them too,” the Commander assures. “I sent you all in on a mission I thought was impossible to succeed in just to see how you hoofle it. After all, I have seen this pattern before. Other times the Knights showed up and accomplished what I thought was impossible and they did it in highly innovative ways. For once, I wanted this chance to study your methods up close.”

“So you had one or more of us bugged,” Margret realizes. “That’s how you knew the Chaos Beast showed up in their camp and you swooped in at the last minute.”

“And it also means you were eavesdropping on our conversations,” Stern Wing adds in annoyance.

The Commander grins as he says, “I must admit, you all took longer to get to The Tribe than I thought you would but I can see your reasoning for approaching them on hoof rather than flying there on our technology.”

Margret shakes her head as she says, “They were right. There was no reason to repeat our previous pattern of failures and expect success this time. To accomplish what we did, we had to change our approach and do it on their terms.”

“It’s just that kind of outside-the-box thinking that causes me to be so interested in the Knights,” the Commander assures. “It’s what the Daleks can’t do. They literally have to force some other race, usually at gunpoint, to be creative for them. It’s also why the Doctor and his friends just keep hitting success after success at an imperfect but otherwise phenomenal rate. For that reason, I am interested in recruiting all of you so that you all can train the rest of my soldiers into being as creative and as successful as all of you.” He lifts a hoof. “Because if there’s one thing that is more important than personal success, it is the training they can offer so that this talent spreads to others.”

“Everything we learned, we learned from the Doctor,” Derpy finally chimes in to the Commander. “And we haven’t been with him that very long either. You might begrudge and look down upon the Doctor for his ways, but it seems you can’t help but respect him as well. Well, if that is the case, then why don’t you join him and he’ll personally show you how he does things.”

Commander Viraxis frowns and shakes his head then says, “There are many reasons why that is a tactical error. He has issues with me, and my kind, and I with him. I won’t say either one of us is completely inflexible on this point but, for some reason, the Doctor seems uncomfortable around fellow immortals or anyone that leans close to it. He’s especially uncomfortable around fellow Time Lords and there are many reasons for that. I probably know only half of those reasons . . . if that.

“No.” The Commander shakes his head again. “Working through his former companions is the only way to go. Besides, I need them to work closer to my resources as well. I do things in valuable ways too. I’ve also beaten objectives that the Doctor had struggled with. All because he refuses to pick up a gun or anything akin to it. Meanwhile I am wearing mine.” He lifts his prosthetic hoof for a moment to illustrate it before putting it back down. “Well I say there is nothing wrong with having and using instruments that helps one to defend themselves or their loved ones, and many times we can come across a situation where the opponent doesn’t give us much of a choice. When they are willing to use overwhelming firepower against us, I say it’s unwise to make no attempt to even the playing field. Contrary to what the Doctor says, soldiers do have a valuable place in society even if a war isn’t currently in place. Sometimes a show of force alone is enough of a deterrent to defend and promote peace.”

Stern Wing frowns as she looks down thoughtfully.

“And how many innocents have you destroyed in your war efforts?” Feather Wind counters to the Commander. “Or are you going to stand there and say that your enemy is the only reason that injustice exists in your conflict?”

A somber expression claims the Commander’s face as he freely admits, “No. This is war and war is ugly. War never changes no matter who is fighting in it. At least I will admit that I’ve been forced to make some tough decisions and some hard calls. That is what it takes to be any leader during a conflict. I’ve made mistakes too and I have many regrets. There are many things that I’d gladly try to atone for after the war.”

The Commander jabs a point hard to his right as he says, “But if the Daleks have their way, there isn’t going to be a future for anyone other than a fellow Dalek. In other words, if they win, it doesn’t matter how determined I’d be to atone for what I did. I’d be dead, and so would you. So would the Doctor. So would your family. So would your loved ones!” He cuts a hoof across the air hard. “Think of anyone and everything you ever loved and imagine them dead!” He lifts a hoof. “Extermination. By the stars, the Dalek’s know that word so well and they prove it. They will never, ever stop until every last living thing is exterminated with maximum prejudice.”

The hoof that the Commander had lifted transfers to his chest instead as he invites, “So judge and condemn me all you wish. I can take it. I’ve been through and survived plenty worse, but I warn you that my race, and our resources, are on our last legs. The very thing that is trying to protect you all from annihilation is about to fall. If we do, you’ll have to either face all the rest of the Daleks on your own or give up and surrender, but that is the same as committing suicide because I can guarantee that the Daleks can only conceive one possible fate for your race, or any other for that matter, besides fellow Daleks, so pick your poison. It’s your choice, but at least I am giving you a choice.”

Without looking at them again, the Commander trots past them and approaches another barren wall. Only when he nears it does a door slide open. A door which had no seams so it was invisible till then. At the exit, he pauses there as he says back to them without looking, “I may be the lesser of two evils, and I’ll freely admit that, but I am not exaggerating when I say that the fate of the very universe may rest on your decision to my offer. After all, the Doctor has limits that he won’t cross while I will do whatever it takes for the greater good, so think about my offer very carefully.”

With that, he steps out of the room. The door shuts behind him and leaves the rest of those in the room to contemplate his offer.