Doctor Who Forgotten Suns Prologue

Jamie’s eyes twinkled in anticipation, as he surreptitiously observed Zoe while she took her first bite. The latest ‘magical mystery bar’ delivered by the Tardis’ food machine was… unusual. He was looking forward to seeing her reaction! This was the first time that - after badgering a very busy Doctor for precise instructions - he was fairly confident that he knew just what they were actually getting.

It had all been Zoe’s idea originally... that they should use one of the Tardis’ miraculous abilities for a little diversion. One that would be both ‘practical and educational’, by creating samples of each other’s favorite foods to share. Jamie had initially been reluctant to join in: never having fully believed that the strange little bricks of stuff that, the Doctor claimed, would fulfill all his nutritional requirements… were real food. True, they always seemed to taste like whatever particular meal they were pretending to be at the time; and somehow his hunger was sated. But still…

It was all well and good for Zoe! The Tardis’ newest addition and resident genius, Zoe was a wee slip of a girl from several hundred years into Jamie’s own subjective future. She had had very little trouble adapting to life with the Doctor - she actually seemed to understand what he was saying most of the time! (Even when the technical aspects spiraled into the stratosphere far above Jamie’s head.)

However, it wasn’t Zoe’s - to Jamie’s way of thinking - frightening intelligence that gave her the advantage here; it was simply the nature of life on the Space Station that she called home. Unlike Jamie, Zoe was completely comfortable eating brightly coloured jelly cubes and tablets, flakey wafers of unidentifiable protein; even pastes and liquids from squidgy little squeeze-bulbs that Jamie had totally failed to master.

None of it had looked remotely like food to Jamie, so he had been unsurprised when Zoe had first accepted one of the Tardis food-bars from the Doctor - without batting an eyelid. (He had told her that it was ‘Venusian Ichthyosaur Eggs’, or some such nonsense!) However… the young Scot’s more important (yet unstated) reason for his…  lack of enthusiasm for the idea; was an innate desire not to appear foolish before this - he had to admit it - very bonny wee lassy.

Despite his having been a resident of the Doctor’s magic box for much longer, Zoe seemed to fit into the Tardis’ futuristic world of marvels much more easily than Jamie. The food machine, probably one of the simplest devices on board, still remained a mystery to him! He could only ever remember one particular sequence of buttons to press without help! (He was getting heartily sick of porridge!) Not even a piping hot bowl of real porridge either, steaming in the crisp Highland air - but a little brown bar of… stuff.

Naturally, Zoe had either memorized the entire digital information bank of the infernal machine (in an idle moment) or, as Jamie personally suspected, the girl had such a natural affinity for all things scientific - that she didn’t even need to think about it!

Never less than honest, Jamie also had to admit to himself that - in his more churlish moments - he had sometimes entertained the notion that Zoe’s culinary successes may have had more to do with the fact that, well… The food she was used to eating didn’t actually taste of anything! (But he always gave himself a mental slap on the wrist afterwards.)

Still, being a canny lad, Jamie had soon devised a simple solution to avoid any embarrassment. When it was his turn to ‘play mother’, he simply made up the name of some traditional (yet wholly non-existent) Scottish delicacy - then punched a bunch of buttons at random. So far he had treated Zoe to ‘Bogle Pie’, ‘Kelpie Stew’, and ‘Baked Nuckelavee’!

But on this particular occasion, Jamie had pestered the Doctor to ‘program’ a genuine Highlands delicacy into the machine - whilst Zoe had been absent from the control room, of course! Despite his grumbling about having ‘much more important things to be getting on with’, the Doctor nevertheless took the time to help Jamie memorise the correct code.

Just before departing on his important business, the Doctor had turned to gaze thoughtfully at the young Highlander. With his short stature, unruly mop of dark hair, and habitually disheveled appearance - at first glance the Doctor presented a somewhat less than impressive figure. But no-one who found themselves transfixed (as Jamie was now,) by those piercing blue eyes, could fail to recognize the depth of the intelligence behind them, or neglect to notice the sheer power of his presence.

“This isn’t some little joke that you are playing on our newest travelling companion, is it Jamie?” he had asked gently, his thick dark eyebrows rising towards his fringe, fingers tented before his chin enquiringly.

Jamie was startled at the question, and then a little hurt. “Certainly not, Doctor, why would ye think that?” he asked indignantly.

“Well’, the Doctor replied in a calm, reasonable tone, ‘I just thought that this meal seems a little more, ah… strongly flavoured than perhaps Miss Heriot is accustomed to, that’s all.”

He continued gazing placidly at Jamie whilst lowering his hands to invite a response.

“Och, is that all Doctor?’ Jamie asked, considerably relieved, ‘ye’ve nae need to worry on that account - Zoe’s a braw wee lass and no mistake! It was her idea to share… how did she put it now? Oh, Aye, ‘a taste of each other culture’s’, that’s it!” He was pleased to see the Doctor’s face scrunch up into a huge grin of approval and relief.

“Oh, well that’s all right then, isn’t it!’ Beaming happily, the little man clapped his hands together and rubbed them in enthusiasm. ‘Splendid! Splendid! Now then Jamie, I really do have lots to be getting on with, so if you will excuse me…” The Doctor left the control room without another word, seemingly deeply engrossed in his mysterious work already.

So now Jamie watched keenly to witness Zoe’s reaction to all his efforts. (He had been feeling a little guilty for his prior deceptions!) They were not intended badly, of course, but Jamie had realized that he was cheating, and wanted to redress the balance. Her face was a picture! As she slowly chewed her first mouthful, Zoe was oblivious of Jamie’s attention, concentrating on the new flavours. Her button nose wrinkled, her mouth formed a delicate moue of distaste, and her huge eyes widened still further. “Well, Zoe, what do you think?” Jamie asked excitedly, unable to contain himself any longer.

Seemingly startled from her contemplation of the bizarre taste explosion in her mouth, Zoe schooled her features into an expression of academic concentration - a deep frown adding to the impression that she wanted to convey. “Mmmph fmff ooh mmph fmmph?” She asked Jamie, quite seriously.

“Eh?’ he responded, before adding, ‘Did your Mammy no’ tell ye’ not to talk with your mouth full, lassy?”

Zoe waved at him a little irritably as she continued chewing then, with visible effort, swallowed and tried again. “What did you call this?” She coughed politely into her hand.

“That, Zoe, is called Haggis!’ Jamie announced proudly, ‘or at least as close tae Haggis as the Tardis can get. Do you like it?” he asked hopefully.

Zoe gazed dubiously at the rest of the Haggis bar she was holding and choked back another cough. “It’s a bit spicy isn’t it?’ Then she raised a perplexed expression towards her taller companion. ‘What exactly is a Haggis, anyway?”

Gazing down into Zoe’s trusting face, Jamie briefly considered the merits of spinning some wild yarn about the dangers that brave young Highlanders - himself for example - had to face on their first ‘Haggis Hunt’: a proud tradition upheld by generations of McCrimmon clansmen… When suddenly the floor lurched beneath them alarmingly!

Zoe yelped, but managed to steady herself by grabbing onto the food machine’s dispensing slot - whereas Jamie, unexpectedly finding his footing dropping away, totally lost balance and fell heavily to the deck with a yell.

“Goodness me!’ Zoe exclaimed as she braced herself against the wildly vibrating food machine, ‘Are you alright Jamie? What’s happening?”

Jamie would have been unable to reply, even had he known the answer, as another jolt shook the Tardis while he was attempting to right himself. This time the movement was sharply sideways, and the young Scot found himself sliding rapidly across the floor on his - thankfully - kilt-cushioned behind. He managed to snag the edge of the hexagonal control console as he passed, hauling himself up against it by brute force. “Hang on tight, Zoe!’ he shouted as he struggled upright, leaning on the juddering surface of the console. (Careful not to press any buttons or push any levers.) ‘It seems to be getting worse!”

And indeed it was: the whole control room was now jolting and shaking most alarmingly, with the occasional violent jerk in an unpredictable direction threatening to separate the companions from their respective handholds. “It feels like the Tardis is being shaken by a Ratter!” Jamie shouted, even though there was no more noise than the ubiquitous background hums and subliminal susurrations of normal transit… but Zoe was too busy hanging onto safety to notice.

“Does this sort of thing happen often, Jamie?’ she asked in a quavering tone of politely prim disapproval, distracting Jamie from his own struggles. ‘Or could it be something that the Doctor has done? Do you think he may have broken something important whilst tinkering with the Tardis’ systems?”

“No he mayn’t have!’ came an indignant reply as the Doctor staggered shakily into the shuddering control room. ‘I’ll have you know that I’ve just been catching up on some routine maintenance… that I hadn’t previously had the chance to get around to!”

Abruptly the Tardis’ violent oscillations ceased, and he looked a little embarrassed to find himself shouting in the sudden tranquility. Jamie and Zoe both turned to stare at him, each considerably shaken and somewhat breathless. The Doctor’s attire was in even more disarray than usual, with his bow-tie dangling loosely, and one collar stuck up by his chin, but he cautiously stood a little straighter and smiled disarmingly at his friends. “Well, the old girl seems to have calmed down a little now, eh?’ He dabbed gingerly at a spot just above his left eyebrow, seeming relieved to find no blood when he examined his fingers. ‘I seem to have taken a little bash on the noggin on my way here. Still, no real harm done, thank goodness!”

Zoe shared a look of disbelief with Jamie at the Doctor’s apparent nonchalance, stepping away from the food machine and placing her hands on her hips. “Doctor!’ she demanded in exasperation, ‘Just what is going on? What was all that about? Are we safe now?”

“Well I don’t know do I Susan!’ the Doctor snapped irritably, ‘I’ve only just got here!”

Zoe blinked, then shot a worried look towards Jamie, who was still gripping the console determinedly. “But, Doctor,’ she said, evidently concerned, ‘my name is Zoe!”

The Doctor peered at her in genuine surprise. “Of course it is, my dear, and a very nice name it is too! Um...’ he gazed around vaguely for a moment, then snapped his fingers in recollection, ‘The fault locater! That’s what I was going to check!”

Striding briskly towards a line of computer banks set into one wall of the control room, the Doctor elaborated. “I suspect that there is no actual fault in any of the Tardis’ components or systems, but it is always advisable to check. In actual fact, after the last few days of my tinkering'  - he glanced round pointedly in Zoe’s direction - ‘everything should be tickety-boo-er than ever… even if I do say so myself!’ Evidently satisfied by whatever information he derived from the computer banks, he turned towards Jamie. ‘Have there been any indications that we have arrived somewhere whilst I was busy elsewhere, Jamie?” With a raised eyebrow, he tilted a nod at the console, and winked.

With some relief, the young Scot realized that this was one of the few technical questions regarding the Tardis’ functions that he could actually answer! Standing away from the console, he pointed towards the central column and proudly said. “No Doctor. Yon Time-Rotor thingy hasnae stopped going up and doon while you’ve been away fixing things - at least, not that I’ve noticed.”

The Doctor nodded approvingly and strolled back to join Jamie and Zoe, who by now was also standing next to the six-sided console. He gazed thoughtfully at the steady motion of the complex mechanism at its center. “And of course, that being the case… I think we can rule out the possibility that we were unfortunate enough to materialize on a planet - just as it was undergoing some kind of seismic upheaval. Which is a bit of a shame really. It would have been nice if it was something simple for a change.”

“Well, if there is nothing wrong with the Tardis,’ said Zoe, somewhat impatiently, ‘and we haven’t landed anywhere, then obviously we must have hit some turbulence! Or some other external influence that affected us in flight!”

The Doctor nodded vigorously in agreement, looking deeply disturbed. “Yes indeed, Zoe! That is exactly the case, which is what’s worrying me. You see, when we are ‘in flight’, as you say, we are travelling through the Time Vortex; which in the normal run of things would preclude our encountering anything like, um… turbulence or what-not.”

“So what did happen, Doctor?” Zoe pressed.

The Doctor looked preoccupied as he glanced from Zoe to Jamie, then back again, absently fiddling with his errant collar. “Well, I did say in the normal run of things, Zoe. In theory, whilst in the Vortex we are, to all intents and purposes, existing in a separate reality - one that should not be affected by events in real space/time. Which leads me to suspect one of two possible causes, neither of which I’m too keen on…”

“Oh, Aye? And what would they be, Doctor?” Jamie asked somewhat nervously, trading glances with a wide-eyed Zoe.

“Well… Jamie… Zoe,’ the Doctor began cautiously, looking very much as if he was thinking aloud, his eyes unfocussed in internal concentration. ‘It is… possible that the Tardis encountered a phenomena inside the Time Vortex itself. By its very nature the Vortex remains largely unknown, even to those who have spent considerably more time and effort attempting to fathom its mysteries than I have myself. I don’t mind admitting that I know far less about the subject than I should like…’

Suddenly he shook himself from his introspection and focused on his companions again. ‘However, I think it far more likely that we have experienced the effects of some event in real time or space, so catastrophic… That it actually did impact on the Vortex in some way, and the Tardis got caught up in the resultant, ah… turbulence.” He smiled apologetically at Zoe, who beamed.

“But there must be any number of stellar phenomena that are powerful enough to affect us, if we stray too close!’ Zoe offered enthusiastically, ‘I could give you a full list if you like, but surely something like a supernova, or a black hole would have some effect?”

“Yes, Zoe’, agreed the Doctor, ‘that is exactly what I was beginning to suspect myself! Although I don’t think that a full list is necessary, unless, um…’ he glanced towards the slightly panicked looking Highlander, ‘would you like a list, Jamie?”

“Och, no! Dinnae trouble yourselves on my account!” replied the young Scot, shaking his head emphatically, and holding up his hands in a warding away gesture. The Doctor smiled and nodded, then returned his attention to Zoe.

“As you say, Zoe, there are many fascinating natural phenomena that exert a… well, a phenomenal influence on real space/time - be it gravitic, magnetic, or some other tic that we don’t know about yet. What puzzled me at first is that here we are outside of space and time, as we pretend to understand it. But the evidence suggests that even in non-real space, and existing within the temporal chaos of raw, undifferentiated non-time: the exotic matter of the Time Vortex can be affected by a sufficiently catastrophic occurrence in space/time.”

The Doctor took a deep breath, then took the hanky from the breast pocket of his jacket. He suddenly looked rather shaken and leant one-handed against his side of the console, holding the hanky to his head with the other. “I find the entire notion deeply disturbing, I don’t mind telling you.” He sighed quietly. Zoe was immediately by the Doctor’s side, offering to soak his handkerchief in cold water. He handed it to her gratefully and smiled ruefully. “Why, thank you Zoe, that’s very kind - I do feel a little light-headed all of a sudden.’

Jamie was hovering protectively, concerned that the little man might keel over at any moment. The Doctor noticed and waved him away. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not on my last legs yet, Jamie. Just a passing dizzy spell.”

“That’s as well as may be,’ Jamie retorted, ‘but perhaps yon crack on the heid was a wee bit mair serious than ye’ ken!”

Accepting the dampened hanky that Zoe now passed to him, the Doctor refused Jamie’s suggestion that he sit down in one of the chairs scattered about the control room. “Honestly, I’m quite alright. Thank you both for your concern, but I really must study this situation further.”

“But I thought everything had settled down now - the Tardis isn’t shaking about anymore.” Zoe observed.

“Aye, that’s right, Doctor’, agreed Jamie, looking around and nodding, ‘whatever it was… well, it all seems to be over now.”

Pacing around the central console’s different faces, the Doctor was examining read-outs and flipping switches, with an almost manic air of concentration. He replied without lifting his attention from his activities. “Ah, but that’s just it, Jamie! Is it over? Without knowing what actually happened in the first place, how can we make that assumption?”

“But everything seems perfectly alright now, Doctor,’ Zoe said with a confirming scan of the quiescent control room, ‘are you suggesting that the disturbance was just a pre-curser of a larger event?”

“That is certainly a possibility isn’t it, Zoe? One that it behooves us to consider seriously, I think.’ The Doctor was on the opposite side of the console from Zoe by now, so she immediately noticed the puzzled frown that creased his forehead as he looked towards her - just before he became distracted by the Time Rotor in motion between them. ‘ That doesn’t look right, does it?” He muttered quietly to himself as he leaned forward for a closer look.

Zoe echoed his movement, not really seeing anything different, then nearly leapt out of her skin when Jamie bellowed “Doctor!” in alarm.

He had taken a few steps back to avoid the Doctor’s frenetic progress around the hexagonal centerpiece, and was now pointing in some alarm at the podiums base.

The Doctor, clearly as surprised as Zoe had been, had almost thrown himself over the console. He turned a wounded glare on Jamie as he tried to regain his dignity. “What in the worlds do you think you’re doing, young man?’ he shouted, looking truly angry as he patted his chest theatrically, ‘don’t you know better than to startle me when I’m concentrating?”

Jamie wanted to apologize, but settled for directing the Doctors attention to the base of the console, where thick smoke had begun to pour from vents in the support plinth and, as the Doctor allowed his gaze to follow its progress, various other unexpected places.

“Oh dear,’ he said very quietly as he tapped his fingers together before his chin thoughtfully, ‘that can’t be good, can it?”A