“Warning! Temporal suspension protocols disengaged.” She could taste blood in her mouth. Even though she was hazy and nauseous from being knocked out during the crash, the first thing she was able to sense clearly was blood in her mouth. Probably had bitten her tongue during the uncontrolled tumble in the time vortex. That the ship was in one piece and mostly operational after such event was something Romana was tempted to call a miracle. Leaning back in the pilot’s chair, she slowly focused on what her eyes could see. The left side of control console was now sparking randomly since time now finally continued to flow; several alarms were filling the cabin with noise and although it was dark, it became clear to her very quickly that she crashed into something sidewise. The questions that needed answers now were: how long had she been trapped in the state of temporal suspension, where and when she crashed and what kind of dire situation caused the suspension protocols to disengage. They were only ever meant to disengage when a retrieval team would show up to extract the pilot or in case absolute emergency that presented immediate danger. First thing first though. She needed her sonic screwdriver to release the chair harness and she needed heavy set of painkillers. Screwdriver first. The moment she moved her hand to reach into the pocket, Romana bit her tongue again and prompted more blood to trickle out due to the pain radiating in her hand. Half broken fingers. Lovely. Breathing through the pain, she managed to retrieve her sonic and free herself from the chair. Sudden rise to her feet was also a wrong move because the ship’s interior suddenly became blurry and there was pain throughout most of her torso. All of this would heal without the need of regeneration though it would be on a slower pace. She was tempted to will herself into a healing coma but apparently the conditions were not favourable for her to do that. Closing her eyes in order to get at least alleviate the headache and nausea, Romana decided to ascertain the situation. “Computer, status report.” “Primary core damaged. Secondary core operating at 67% capacity. Emergency systems operational. Temporal drive module offline. Weapon systems offline. Shield oscillator damaged, primary defence shields offline. Env-” “Stop. Is the sensors system operational?” “Sensors operating at 73% capacity.” “Then be nice and tell me where and when I am.” “Location: Earth, 75 kilometres north of island Madeira, 3063 meters below sea level. Temporal location: June 26, 2009.” Romana winced again when she jerked forward upon hearing the location, “Below sea level? Are you telling me I crashed into the ocean floor?” “Affirmative.” “Great, that’s just bloody fantastic. Any explanation as to why suspension protocols were disengaged? I am still a bit hazy but I see no rescue in here.” “Protocols were disengaged due to planetary cross-dimensional spatial transference.” “I’m sorry, what?” “Protocols were disengaged due to planetary cross-dimensional spatial transference.” “Yes, I heard you the first time. But that’s not possible, it’s a planet and it cannot move through dimensions just like that.” “Long range sensor data confirm primary analysis.” Romana sighed, “Alright, fine. What caused the transference?” “Based on the quantity of neutrino and tachyon particles in planet’s thermosphere, the transference was achieved by artificial means.” This interaction reminded her of first year learning module sessions. Mind numbing and frustrating. “Well thank you, obvious, I fell short of coming to this conclusion myself. Identify the source of these artificial means.” “Unable to comply. Long range sensors offline due to secondary core power conservation.” Biting down on her lip instead of tongue again, Romana finally moved out of the pilot’s chair in order to reach overhead bulkhead not five steps away and retrieve the medkit inside. The pain practically exploded in

Summarized by © lakhasly.com her right side by the time she was sitting again. “Spleen probably.” She muttered, opened the medkit and started rifling through it. “Cellular kit, fibrometer, bone fuser, organ sterilizer, fenostin, virtanate...oh here we go, just what I need.” The small ampoules of black and teal coloured liquids looked more like biohazard waste rather than medications and Romana was not looking forward to burning sensation the teal one would cause once injected but hey, it spared her the immediate need of healing coma or worse regeneration. Once the burning sensation passed, the pain started to go away and breathing was no longer difficult. “Fingers next.” Focusing on her right hand again, she could see the small bones had shifted into odd angles under the skin and muscles; and even the tiniest of movements caused blinding pain. She supposed she should be grateful they didn’t shatter from impact. Holding bone fuser bit awkwardly in her left hand, she let the device do its job while contemplating on what could have moved Earth from its place. Not many species in this Terran time period had this kind of technology, knowledge or ability. “Warning. Incoming transmission on all standard Earth frequencies. It is a planetary aimed broadcast.” From one siege to another it appears, Romana thought. “By all means, let’s hear it.” “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” Back when she had only just regenerated for the first time, these words would leave her fearful and perhaps a bit frantic before getting her wits together and try to get rid of the in whatever fashion was available to her. Now, after four hundred years of continuous war with them, she would barely blink before checking her weaponry was fully charged and just return to the fight. She was worn out by war and what’s worse if was to be believed, drastically desensitized to care as much as she once did. She was not without concern though. She distinctly remembered what she had done before she took off for yet another orbital battle and could not help but to wonder if the plan the Doctor had went wrong, leaving Daleks free to roam the universe and lay waste wherever they went. Despite the pain being completely medication dulled, it felt wrong to move around with deeply bruised and battered body. Yet Romana could distinctly remember times when she had been in even worse states but was still required to move and act. The sonic screwdriver came to life once again in her hand. There was no point in staying in a submerged, crashed star fighter while Daleks were doing who knows what to the planet so she focused on enabling the transmat and putting the ship in sort of a sleep mode until such a time when she would be able to retrieve it and effect repairs. “Warning. Diverting power to transmat system will reduce secondary core’s energy output and may compromise life support system.” “That’s fine; I have no intention of staying here anyway where I am of no use to anyone.” Romana stated. “Can you initiate ship’s restoration program after I transport out?” “All system will have to be shut down for complete restoration process.” Romana rolled her eyes. “You could have just said yes. Stars, sometimes I feel like I need to reprogram you so you can stop being so redundantly obvious.” Cross wiring controls of different systems and rerouting power to circularly supply only one was not a smart thing to do strictly speaking from engineering point of view; but there was no time for elegant solutions or triple precautions. After making sure the transmat was functional and would not teleport her to wrong place, say active volcano, Romana checked that her weaponry was indeed fully operational and charged; and tried to decide where she should go. There was the UNIT option but Daleks would have attacked and destroyed all military bases on the planet by now. Then there was , an institution that she had misfortune to run into couple of times during her solo excursions

Summarized by © lakhasly.com to Earth and briefly wondered if the Doctor was aware of its existence but she dismissed the option due to unknown variable she could not control. The easiest Doctor waiting point would be London since for some reason they preferred to visit London and British Isles when on Earth, regardless of the point in time. She was brought out of her brief contemplation by computer announcing yet another warning. “Sub-wave network signal detected.” “Sub-wave?! Humans cannot have sub-wave network, the principles of the sentient software are way beyond 21st century Earth.” “Do you wish to connect?” “Why not? I might as well get a glimpse of people using it.” Romana sat back down in the pilot’s chair and looked to the monitor on her right that came to life. The screen was split in four sections however all the faces but two were unknown to her. One familiar face talking was , a former of the Doctor Romana had come to respect and even care for. Not that the Doctor knew anything about her little run-ins with Sarah Jane in the past. The second familiar face was . Who was supposed to be the prime minister of Britain but obviously was not. An alarming fact for Romana that she would be pressed to investigate but present situation called for different priorities. She could only assume other people present were also former companions of the Doctor. They were discussing the Doctor’s whereabouts and his lack of presence despite the obvious emergency going on; and how to bring him to Earth. This apparently meant making a phone call by using a supercomputer to activate all phones at the same time, boosted by the power of the temporal rift that emanated from . Though Romana had to admire the brilliance of the plan, one she felt only someone who spent time in Doctor’s company would come up with because it was actually possible but also completely bonkers. There was however a snag in the plan. It would set the Daleks swarming right towards the source of the sub-wave network. Not one to stand around idle, especially after all the adventures with the Doctor and ones she had undertaken on her own; Romana yet again checked her weaponry, her sonic and that the portable transmat was fully charged before taking it off the dock and onto her wrist while inputting Torchwood Three’s co-ordinates from the screen in front of her. They were the best chance she had of locating the Doctor once he arrived, what with their confiscated alien equipment and their leader very obviously being familiar with the Doctor. “Computer, initiate restoration program ten seconds after I teleport.” “Acknowledged.” Smile tugged her lips. “Excellent. Well then, no time like the present.” *** Romanadvoratrelundar appeared in a flash of white light over a thousand miles from her crashed ship in an underground base that could really do with some redecoration. “Oh wow, this sewer chic is not it for me.” “How did you get in here?” The man she did not know the name of asked, one hand resting on the holstered revolver though Romana was doing her best to hide the disbelief as her senses went haywire. “Come now, there is an alien invasion of your planet and I obviously do not look like I am from around here either. I'm here to help. Sort of anyway.” She tilted her head, allowing herself a fraction of a moment to enjoy the pleasant scent coming from the absolutely impossible person in front of her. “Though this is not really your planet either, is it, 51st century man? Pheromones, Boeshane Peninsula. A breathing fixed point in time and space. Aren't you most marvellous?” The man stared at her in shock, seemingly oblivious to alarms blaring all around them. “Excuse me but we are in a bit of a spot here.” The woman with nice Welsh accent interrupted. “So who are you and how can you help? Do you know the Doctor?” “Know him? Yes. I am Romanadvoratrelundar, Romana for short.” “That is a

Summarized by © lakhasly.com mouthful.” “So I have been told. For one, I can help scatter the signal to bounce of other planets so Daleks would have really difficult time finding the source while you are calling the Doctor. And should TARDIS appear, I know how to track her. So let's get to work, shall we?” Not waiting for approval or direction to a computer terminal, she simply approached the nearest one, logged herself in with the help of the sonic and started typing; leaving the other three people in the room with no opportunity to even protest but rather they just picked up their work again with a prompt of rather frustrated sounding cough from Harriet Jones. “Those circles...That’s circular Gallifreyan.” Romana briefly unglued her eyes from the monitor in front of her to look at the man again, “Indeed. Though I suppose you have seen it before during your escapades with the Doctor. What are your names? I did not quite catch them while I was listening to your conversation.” “.” “. And this is , our boss.” Jack Harkness still stared at her with poorly wonder, amazement and for some reason fear. “But how are you here? You can’t be a Time Lord. They’re all gone; Doc said he’d be able to sense any other of his kind out there.” “Obviously my presence here says otherwise. To be truthful, I have only woken up from temporal suspension an hour or so ago. Last thing I remember before getting knocked out is participating in a battle in Gallifrey’s orbit. Just my life’s luck to be woken up to Daleks invading yet another planet.” Romana put finishing touches on the sub-wave subroutine that would be sent along with the call. “They’re like universal cockroaches. You just can’t seem to be able to stamp them out.” “Very deadly universal cockroaches.” Gwen remarked frightfully, not that Romana could blame her. She was intimately familiar with fear and pain Daleks brought and could cause, “Anyway, I have completed the subroutine that will help us avoid the attention of Daleks for a time.” Ianto frowned, looking at his monitor and then her. “That was fast.” “Yes well, I have done it before. Child’s play really.” “If you say so. Let’s just make that call.” Romana winced, quite visibly she imagined, when Jack pressed the switch and opened the rift manipulator to maximum. Such a sudden surge from a time rift grated on her senses in a way of someone dragging nails across the blackboard. An entirely unpleasant feeling. She also wondered if at least Jack realized the signal going out was on a repeating cycle of four segments. Like a heartbeat of a Time Lord. Probably not. “Right.” She devoted her attention to the computer terminal again. “Let’s see if there are any satellites still operational up there. It would certainly make it easier to track down a TARDIS, especially with your network setup.” “You’re very sure that this will work.” “Ianto Jones, this plan is sure to work considering how mad it is. Besides, if you had known the Doctor as long as I have, you’d know he always appears whenever and wherever you least expect him to. Question is will the TARDIS be damaged and how much? She’s a museum piece and this whole place has been pulled out of temporal synchronization with the rest of the universe. For sure there will be power drainage which means vulnerability against the Daleks.” “Don’t you have a TARDIS as well?” Gwen asked, “Since you are like the Doctor.” “I have not had a TARDIS for quite a while now. Mine was blown up during the war.” “Which brings me to ask how are you even here? You didn’t just appear out of thin air.” There was that underlying fear and wariness in Jack’s voice again, why was that? She did not remember meeting this man at any point in her lifetimes and doing something that would explain them. “My ship got knocked into the vortex during the battle and it spat me out right here above Earth. And the ship crashed into the Atlantic while I was still unconscious. So even if I wanted to engage Daleks in

Summarized by © lakhasly.com space , I cannot because the ship needs fixing.” “Something’s happening.” Ianto announced, cutting through the chatter and diverting attention to the monitor in front of him. Something happening was an understatement. Even before the satellites she connected to pick up the artron energy spike, she felt like Doctor’s presence slammed into her like a sledgehammer. But of course that the idiot would keep that part of completely open, as if he was the only Time Lord left in the universe. It was bit of a struggle but she managed raise her mental barriers and leave that subtle feeling of presence Time Lords usually felt in the backs of their minds. It was perplexing that he was not sending anything back, almost as if he was completely ignorant of the fact that she was had a definitive telepathic presence. In the midst of people talking over each other, more than happy to see Doctor’s face on their screens; Romana’s hearing managed to isolate the voice she now knew belonged to the Doctor and found herself surprised at how old he sounded despite his outward appearance telling the exactly opposite story. The happy reunion via sub-wave network was cut short by possibly the worst option for an interlocutor Romana could imagine. Davros, the creator of the Daleks and all around not in the least a nice person. If he could even be defined as person any longer. “Figures the head cockroach is alive as well. What a beautiful day to wake up to.” “You know this man?” The snort that went past her lips was loud and Romana was certainly it could also be labelled as very unladylike in some Earth’s cultures. “That is not a man. I am not quite certain I’d call him a person either.” “What do we do now?” The monitor in front of her beeped, screen showing a red dot where TARDIS was materializing, “You sit tight. I’m going to find the Doctor and see how we deal with this mess. Handsome, you coming along or what?” “What?” “You don’t have hearing problems do you? I see a vortex manipulator on your wrist though I can’t tell which model. I do know it can also be a teleport. So are you coming along or are you sitting this out with your friends here?” “I-I don’t have teleport base code.” Romana typed in the coordinates into her transmat wrist band, “Base code is 4/9 oscillation. But if you want to check, ask your friend who used that experimental teleport, .” “How did you-?” “What? Just because I didn’t participate in conversation because I was connecting to the satellites and kept the sub-wave network hidden, doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention. I am capable of multitasking. Ask her and let’s go. Daleks are capable of tracking a TARDIS on technologically less developed planet.” Judging by his smile when he typed in the base code in his manipulator, she could tell Martha confirmed her data. The weapon he retrieved from his office was unlike anything she had seen before and was most certainly custom made though probably efficient against Daleks otherwise Romana doubted he would bother running to get it. “Is the coat really necessary?” The looks she got told her everything. “Okay, always keep stylish during planetary invasion. Let’s go.” “Nifty looking gun.” Jack remarked when he came to stand by her side as the weapon in her hand came to life with low pitched whine. “Rather deadly too.” “Got it.” Jack looked at his friends and colleagues. “I’ll come back.” The way they looked at each other told Romana there was a story behind that assurance. “I’m coming back.” “Don’t worry about us. Just go.” Gwen stated as she handed him his customized weapon. Ianto smiled with uncertainty and simply added, “We’ll be fine.” “You better be.” *** The street the appeared in was absolute, abandoned mess that looked like ghost town. Or it would look like one except for the that clearly shot the Doctor just a second before. Before she even squeezed the trigger on her gun, Jack had already destroyed it. “Great aim. That a

Summarized by © lakhasly.com custom ray gun?” “Yeah, from a defabricator.” A skilled engineer as well it seemed. “Nice.” “Thanks.” Jack replied before rushing off to the Doctor and two women Romana assumed were or are his companions while Romana did a quick visual scan to make sure there wasn’t any other Dalek lurking around before following after the slowly retreating party. Really this kind of inattention to the surroundings got people killed. Romana barely stopped herself from yelling ‘what’ upon entering the TARDIS she had had so many adventures in. He really let the place go, Romana thought to herself. While she could appreciate the coral, organic look, it could really do with fresh paint and good cleaning. By the stars, that torn seat! Pained groans coming from the Doctor snapped her to more immediate concern. Regeneration in the middle of Dalek invasion was furthest from ideal situation but needs must. The other option was not even something she was willing to entertain. “What, what do we do? There must be some medicine or something.” Figures the idiot did not explain regeneration to his latest companion. Honestly, it’s been centuries. Romana had hoped that by now he would not keep at least that a secret from his companions. Why did he insist on picking up random mortals, mostly humans, when he never told them important need to know things? “Just step back.” Jack instructed, setting down two large weapons on torn chair. “Rose, do as I say, and get back. He's dying and you know what happens next.” “What do you mean?” “He can't. Oh, no. I came all this way.” By the stars, what melodrama. Romana reached into the belt pouch to retrieve hypo-syringe, noting that it was a good idea to take the small med pouch with her before transmatting off the ship. “What do you mean, what happens next?” Over the blonde woman’s shoulder appeared a glowing right hand. “It's starting.” “Right. Stand aside.” The women flinched at her commanding tone, obviously they had paid no attention to who followed them into the TARDIS. Reckless. The Doctor’s reaction was even more pronounced. Despite the crippling pain that must be coursing through his body, he was staring at Romana like she was a ghost. Perhaps she was. “You have the worst timing ever, Doctor. Here,” she quickly jabbed him. “Should take most of the pain away, this is still not the stuff that was used back home. As for control, well you never had that so good luck. Pity I didn’t get to know this you.” She allowed one gentle moment of caressing his face even though he was starting to glow before she stepped away though not as far away as everyone else present. Jack drew two women close to himself in protective gesture against the impending regeneration. “Here we go. Good luck, Doctor.” “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” “When he's dying, his er, his body, it repairs itself. It changes. But you can't!” This crying protest confused Romana somewhat. Granted, regeneration was not a process everyone outside Time Lords could understand or accept; she had seen relationships break when inevitably the new regeneration was in regard to personality stark different to the old one. But protesting the happening of the regeneration did nothing to stop it. Nothing but death inflicting yet another mortal wound would stop it. She could just tell that the blonde was very attached to this regeneration. It was a potential problem though not one Romana found most concerning or pressing. “I'm sorry, it's too late. I'm regenerating.” Bright golden light erupted in the console room which prompted the humans to squint from sheer intensity but Romana barely blinked. Considering everything, the Doctor at least deserved the respectful dignity of not being met with frightened, confused gaze when the regeneration was done. Well...here they go again.

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