A figure stepped out, but it was not the Doctor I was familiar with. He told me he could change his face, but it was bizarre to see the results. This Doctor was much older than my Doctor, with grey hair and a grim expression instead of the flouncey hair and gormless beaming of mine. As he emerged, he spoke in a gruff tone.
"I've picked up some temporal interference from these coordinates. I don't suppose you know anything about it?"
"Doctor?" I asked...
"Don't call me that!" He barked. "I don't go by that name. Not anymore!"
"I'm sorry. I just thought that with the box and the screwdriver..."
"Didn't your mother ever tell you what happens when you make assumptions?" he said, wryly. Just for a moment, I caught that old glint in his eye, I knew it was the Doctor. One of him anyway.
As I tried to understand what was happening, my eyes took in the rest of his outfit. His silver hair was shaped vaguely into a mohawk, and he wore an unkempt and scraggy goatee. His face was old, creased and lined with both age and worry. This version carried more weight on his shoulders than my Doctor. He wore a battered brown leather coat over a faded waistcoat, secured with a bandolier that seemed mostly decorative, as if he was trying to remind himself of his new-found role of warrior. His attire was finished with long laced shin boots and fingerless gloves. He spoke again, his voice tinged with disaffected urgency. I seemed unworthy of his time, like a mere distraction, an obstacle.
"Can you give me any information about these temporal signatures then, or must I do everything myself?"
I was caught off-guard by his terse attitude, so I found myself responding to him before I could question him.
"Well... there were some Vakarians who invaded recently. My friends and I..." but I was cut off mid sentence.
"No, this couldn't be the work of Vakarians. They don't have anywhere near the tech levels to generate this much interference." Again he brushed me off, treating me like I was ignorant and merely wasting his time. But I stood firm.
"They had a Paradox Engine!" I urged.
The "Doctor" laughed heartily.
"The Vakarians still struggle with fire and rock throwing. They have all the scientific progress of a particularly advanced turnip. I highly doubt they've mastered time engineering while my back was turned."
The arrogance of this man was appalling, almost feeling forced if I'm honest. He had shut himself away from companionship for so long that he'd either lost his social graces or was deliberately trying to avoid forming new friendships, fearing the inevitable loss that would follow. I remained unfettered by his attitude.
"Not by themselves, no." I replied. "But they said that the technology was gifted to them by their Shining Gods."
The "Doctor" stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Sounds plausible enough when you put it like that. Whomever or whatever these Shining Gods are. Sounds like nothing I've ever heard of before, but I'll bet it's nothing good."
We both stood in contemplative silence for a few moments until he spoke again.
"Tell me, how does a human such as yourself know about Vakarians? And how do you know about the Doctor? I assume the facts ate linked, and I hate stepping on my own coattails so to speak."
He had mellowed out a fraction, his old face lighting up with warmth as he enjoyed a brief respite from the Time War and it's infinite horrors. I would soon learn about his connections to the War.
I filled him in on the details of the Vakarian invasion, but I shan't recap those again here. I also mentioned my brief travels with the Doctor, though I did not explain too much, wary as I was to tell him too much of his future. He laughed at the idea of him having any sort of life outside of and beyond the War, but I did catch the hint of a smile creep onto his face at the suggestion. When I finished my explanation, he stared at me with his piercing eyes.
"Yet another war that forces the innocent to bear arms. Look at you, you're little more than a child..."
"Hey! I saved this planet!"
"I don't deny your skill, but I do pity the fact that you needed to stand up and save it."
He turned back towards his box, and opened the door with a creak and disappeared. I remained standing outside, staring and confused.
"Well, come on then!" He called from within the TARDIS. "Don't stay out there all day, you're letting in a draft."
"You want me to go with you?" I asked, unsure.
"You're the one with experience with these new and improved Vakarians. I could use your help, if you're up for the task."
I didn't need to be asked twice!
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