Gathering Allies Old and New…

"Do you still do what you said you did before?" asked Martha as she talked to Mandy in the privacy of her room on the TARDIS. The Doctor had assured them both that the ship would not listen in, but Martha knew that he could read stray thoughts and had told her some things about Mandy that the girl was keeping from him.

"Sometimes" she replied. "I just don't tell the Doctor that because I don't want to be weak"

"Talking about your nightmares to him is not making you become weak… Talking about it can make you better"

"Really…?"

"Sure – trust me, I'm a Doctor" and they giggled for a moment.

"Martha?"

"Mmm?"

"I need some of those things you gave me last time"

"Things…?" and Mandy gestured. "Ah, yes… We'll go shopping for stuff and we can get you a whole load of them so you'll not run out of them for ages"

"Thanks" she blushed. Mandy had been trying to work out for a few days how she was going to bring up the discussion about it with the Doctor, but she found it too embarrassing.

"You know, the Doctor told me that he's planning on staying here for a while to give the TARDIS time to relax and repair itself… Howabout we go and visit a museum or two and count it towards your education?"

"Sounds cool" Mandy was starting to cheer up.

"Now, do you want me to give you a check up while I am here?"

"I guess so…" the girl shrugged and undressed to her underwear and stepped into the scanner that had suddenly appeared in her room. Martha just gave a long suffering sigh and a silent thanks at the thoughtfulness of the TARDIS.

#

"So, Doctor Jones, whats the verdict? Is the patient going to live?"

"Yep, but she's upset and needs to see a shrink" Martha accepted the offered tea. "Nothing too serious, but I think she's just a little scared of a few things and needs a couple of sessions"

"I see" the Doctor frowned. "Well I need to do a few weeks of repairs and modifications on the TARDIS, so we'll stay here like I suggested before. Might even go and see the Brigadier and chat about old times"

"You know he retired a few years ago, right?"

"Yep" the Doctor replied, "But that doesn't stop him knowing about everything that happens"

"True" Martha chuckled. "Listen, Doctor, I'm going to take Mandy shopping for food and a few girly items"

"Girly items?" the Doctor frowned in confusion.

"You know, the stuff that I u–"

"SAY NO MORE!" the Time Lord went bright red and busied himself with his tea and a plate of biscuits.

"You always reacted like that when I was with you" Martha shook her head in amusement and finished her drink.

"All the other human females I was with never bothered to discuss it with me. Anyway, you want my bank card?"

"Yeah… Say, how do you even pay for things with this?"

"Dunno" the Doctor shrugged, "Just always seems to work so I never bothered to find out. You going shopping for food?"

"Don't worry… I already know about this version's love of fish fingers and custard"

"Cool!" the Doctor grinned. "I know I have to have veggies and fruit for Mandy, so I'll need to write that down on my list"

"We're doing the food shopping at the same time as the other stuff" Martha rolled her eyes, "And while we're doing that, you can go and visit the Brig"

"I hope he still remembers me – I've changed a couple of times"

"That man could tell it was you if you were in Glasgow and he was in London"

"Fair point"

# # # # #

You know, Doctor, you sometimes worry too much

"I worry too much…? I've been worried for the last four and a half centuries. Still" the Doctor sighed, "You might be right after all"

I normally am

"You know, I'm sure that you were never like this before" the Doctor poked at the nearest wall several times.

I was when Susan was around… Anyway, it is so nice to be back in my own body again. I must admit that it was a nice surprise to be able to move around like a Human, but I prefer my TT shape better

"Mmm… You might be right in that I worry too much, but I can't help it when dealing with Mandy – she is just a little girl"

A girl who gave up everything to travel with you. Doctor, have you ever thought about leaving her behind with one of your strays?

"I did, but it would be unfair on Mandy"

Or you…

"Doctor?" an elderly voice rang out as sharp as ever.

"Brigadier!" the Doctor cried happily.

"No matter how many times I get a promotion, I'm always called that" the old man grumbled with a smile. "I see you've changed – what are you on this time?" he asked as he pulled out a small notebook and wrote down the date.

"Eleven"

"Eleven" the Brigadier repeated as he wrote it down and then put the notebook back in his coat pocket. "Ah, the notebook…" he continued as he noticed the odd look the Doctor was giving him, "It helps me keep track of which one is visiting me so I don't say anything I shouldn't"

"Same as always, eh, Brigadier?"

"Would you have it any other way?"

"Perhaps not" the Doctor admitted. "So, whats the latest that's been happening here on Earth?"

"Not much, really…" the Brigadier shrugged. "An attempted invasion by some Raxicoricalfaliptorians that Sarah-Jane stopped, something to do with a Trickster and a couple of Autons tried to take over"

"Need any help?"

"All done and dusted… Now, are you going to invite an old man inside for a cup of tea?"

"Oh! Yes! Sorry!" the Doctor jumped up from the bench he was sitting on and opened the TARDIS doors. "You know, I just thought… You've never been for a trip in the TARDIS have you?"

"I'm too old for gallivanting around the cosmos, Doctor"

"I'm older than you and I do it"

"That's different"

"How?"

"Oh, Doctor…" the Brigadier chuckled as he stepped inside and took a look around at the TARDIS console room, "Don't you ever change"

"Seriously, Alistair… What is the one time in the whole of human history that you would love to have been witness to?"

"Oh, there are so many moments… I was thinking the other day about it actually – couldn't decide between the day after the war or being a witness to landing on the Moon. I realise that we already knew about aliens by then, but I would have loved to have been able to watch the craft land"

"Well" the Doctor said, "After some tea and toast, we'll pop back in time and you can watch it land… Maybe get a moonrock as a keepsake"

"Oh, come now, Doctor…" the Brigadier stopped and looked hard at the Doctor's face. "Do you really mean it?"

"Anything for you, Brigadier, you know that"

"Right" the Brigadier said slowly. "Well, where is this tea and toast?"

#

"I'm dying" the Brigadier said.

"No you're not" the Doctor glanced at a reading, "The screens are perfectly okay"

"Not that, Doctor, I've been told I have cancer… Eighteen months, or so they think"

"I can cure that in a jiffy – just pop down to the sickbay and we'll have you as right as rain"

"Thank you, but no, Doctor – I've had my time, done my duty and now I'd like my rest" and the Doctor frowned and shook his head.

"I know you, Alistair, and I know you'd not want to go all hooked up to machines like some damned Dalek – you'd want to give it everything you had"

"Sometimes we just get tired, old friend"

"I don't think I have ever known you to get tired"

"I feel it now" the Brigadier watched as Neil Armstrong climbed down the ladder of the Lunar Module and hopped onto the surface of the moon.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Just be there for me at the end" and the Doctor nodded. He was about to say something when there was a flash of light and a crack that sounded like thunder. Once the flash had died away, the Brigadier noticed that the Doctor had gone. Almost at the same time, the TARDIS sounded a dull sort of bell. "Oh dear" the Brigadier said, "Now whats happened?" and he went inside and the doors closed and the engines kicked in. "Where are you taking me?" the man asked aloud.

Mandy

"Was that a reply to me?" the Brigadier felt a bit foolish talking to thin air.

Yes

"Who is Mandy?"

A… A friend… Maybe a daughter too… Not entirely sure

"The Doctor got caught up in something complicated, has he?"

When does he never?

"Good point"

# # # # #

"So he's been kidnapped?" Mandy gripped Martha tightly.

"That's what the TARDIS says – because the doors were open, whoever took him was able to get through the normally active shields"

"Do we know where and when he is?"

"I asked the TARDIS, but all she can tell me is that it was at least four hundred years into the future"

"Even if we were able to trace the signal, he could be anywhere by now" the Brigadier said.

"Why would they want to kidnap the Doctor anyway?" Mandy asked, trying hard not to cry.

"Any number of reasons" Martha shrugged.

"So how do we find him and save him?"

"The TARDIS is scanning every bit of information it can pick up through time and space, but there are no references to a Time Lord being captured or the Doctor"

"That suggests that the messages are either in code or being hand delivered to this facility" the Brigadier said, his mind was already switching into military mode. "There is one person that might be able to help us" he said after a moment.

"Who?" Mandy sat bolt upright in rapt attention.

"Can't remember his name… Odd sort of chap from what I remember – looked like a pile of blue goo. Never saw him myself, but from what the Doctor told me, he knows a great deal. Some sort of information broker by all accounts"

"Knowing the Doctor, he must know about a billion people like that" Martha sighed.

"How do we find him?"

"Ask the TARDIS for help – I bet she could figure it out" Mandy said.

#

"Demons Run" Mandy shivered at the name, "That is where you will find the Doctor. He is being held there by a group of clerical soldiers that have somewhat split from the Papal Mainframe"

"How do you get in?" asked Martha.

"My dear girl, there is no way you can get in there. Entire squadrons of ships have tried and failed – the defences have taken down ships from Zygons to Cybermen. Their computers scan the area around Demons Run every fifteen seconds, they would spot you a millions miles away and blast you out of the skies. It was, if I may say so myself, one of my best pieces of work"

"So if you built their systems, you must know a way around them" Mandy said.

"I do, but I am not going to betray my clients. The Clerics and the Headless Monks pay well for my services"

"You know the Doctor very well, do you not?" the Brigadier asked the blue fat blob in front of him.

"Very well… He saved my life once – owe him a debt"

"Then help us and repay your debt"

"I have already done so by telling you where he is being held"

"In your travels and gathering of information, have you ever heard of Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart?"

"Indeed – one of Earth's finest warriors long ago"

"Hello… I am General Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart" and the blue blob of a man went a deadly shade of his skin tone and opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

"You… You are dead"

"I got better" the Brigadier replied flippantly. "Now look here, chap, if you don't tell us how to get into Demons Run without the computers detecting us, I will have to contact a few more of the Doctor's old friends that owe him their lives"

"You are bluffing"

"Think of all the people that owe the Doctor and then, old boy, imagine how many people his TARDIS can actually hold"

"Just tell us the exact location and we'll break open the doors and get him ourselves" Mandy had had enough.

"And what, little girl, does this have to do with you?"

"He's my father"

#

Mandy woke with a start in her room and sat bolt upright with a cry of 'Daddy'. She'd insisted on sleeping onboard the TARDIS which was still sat where it had landed after their trip to see the information broker – Martha thankfully remembered enough to start and stop the engines. She had tried sleeping on a bed at the Brigadier's house, but she'd been tossing and turning until Mandy had given up and gone back to her room on the TARDIS. As she rubbed her eyes, she could feel the sadness and despair that the time travelling machine felt. She put on a dressing gown, left her room and padded in her bedsocks to the console room which lit up as she walked in.

"You miss him, don't you?" and Mandy heard a sound of low humming which she assumed was a sad agreement. "I need to talk to a friend, but all my friends are people I can't see again… Miss Tardis, will you take an order from me?" and there was a questioning gurgle. "Will you take me to see Merry again?" but, to her surprise, there was a tone of disapproval. "I know I'm not supposed to go anywhere without somebody with me, but this is an emergency… I need to talk to Merry and not an adult – maybe she can help me come up with a way to rescue the Doctor"

"A noble idea, Miss Tanner, except you forgot to check that the door was fully shut" the Brigadier's voice made her jump. "I agree with you in a way – there has been too much talking… Lets ask the TARDIS to take you to this Merry person and work our way from there. No… Wait…!" he snapped his fingers. "I say, can you hear me?" and the TARDIS made an acknowledging tone. "Ah, good… Yes, can you find out where two of my men live now? Names of John Benton and Mike Yates" and, a few seconds later, a screen flashed on and showed a map of the UK which zoomed in and in until it showed a small cottage like pub. "Should have known… Right, well can you take us there please? You see, Miss Tanner" the Brigadier said to Mandy as the TARDIS engines whirled into life, "If we can get those two with us then we stand a good chance of saving the Doctor"

"I don't think the Doctor likes soldiers"

"He likes me"

"You're different – you are the Brigadier"

"General, actually, but everyone always calls me Brigadier… These two served with me and the Doctor for years at UNIT, and amongst the best men that I ever served with"

"We're going to need more than five of us"

"Five?"

VROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH

"Ah, sorry, my dear" the Brigadier patted the TARDIS console whilst Mandy giggled.

"You wasn't going to forget the fact that Miss Tardis was coming too"

"Of course not" the Brigadier said. Mandy just rolled her eyes and said she was going to get dressed and think of others she had met to help them. As she did so, she could see the tiredness hitting the Brigadier – she wasn't sure that it was his illness either.

#

"Well, this looks a fine group we've assembled" the Brigadier said as Mandy brought round a tray of tea and enough cups for everyone. Apart from himself and Mandy, they had got Benton and Yates, a lizard woman from the dawn of time and her wife, Merry, a human nurse called Rita, a Sontaran named Strax that the Brigadier had taken an instant dislike to, a Spitfire and its pilot and, finally, a female Cleric soldier named Lorna who had seemingly defected from the rest.

"Can we go over the plan?" asked the lizard woman.

"Certainly… Vastra, was it?"

"Indeed"

"Demons Run is where the Doctor is being held. It is an asteroid base set up by a bunch of warrior monks and is heavily defended. However, thanks to Mr Maldovar, we have a code that, when transmitted, should activate a hidden program that will confuse their scanners for a few minutes. Once that is done, we will board it whilst the Spitfire takes out the communications dish to prevent the distress call going out. Captain Yates?"

"Sir!" a middle aged human stood up and walked over to the biggest table in the library which had a plan of the base stretched over it. "The TARDIS will set us down in an unused cargo storage area here" he tapped a spot with one finger. "Once inside, myself and Sergeant Benton will secure the armoury and disable the weapons there. At the same time, Vastra, Jenny and Lorna will make their way to the control room and be ready to take it over and assume control of their systems – but they will not enter until the crew stationed there are knocked out by sleeping gas deployed by Miss Tanner and Miss Geljah. Sir?"

"Myself and Commander Strax will go to the place where they plan to execute the Doctor and provide sniper fire the moment the signal is given" the Brigadier said. "Whilst this is happening, the TARDIS will scan for and suppress any personal communicators the Clerics might have"

"The base must have internal defences" Benton said, "What kind?"

"Automated laser weaponry, forcefields, gas…" Lorna shrugged. "I never found out the full details because when I found out what they planned to do, I took a shuttle and ran"

"This gas, I assume it is non lethal?"

"I think so"

"Good… Where is it deployed from?"

"The security office on Deck 12"

"Hmm… We can't spare anybody from the attack" the Brigadier mused, stroking his chin.

"Me and Mandy could do it – after we drop knockout gas into the control room, we've nothing to do anyway"

"Will it be coded?"

"No – the doors to the office can be overridden from the control room, but the systems inside are not encoded so anybody can use them in the event of hostile invasion. If the Colonel has ordered everybody to witness the Doctor being executed, then I am certain that it will be left unmanned"

"They will surely be in for a surprise" the Brigadier said, "When they find themselves taken prisoner"

"I suggest we prepare for battle" Strax said. "General, may I have a word with you?"

"Mmm… Ah, yes… Let's meet back here this evening" the Brigadier said and moved to one side of the library with Strax. "What can I do for you?"

"Permission to speak freely in front of a superior officer" Strax asked.

"I'm not in your military forces, but go right ahead"

"Sir… You hate my very being, don't you?"

"Yes… Well, not you exactly…"

"You have met others of my clone batch?" Strax asked with a tinge of excitement.

"No, but I have met your kind before" the Brigadier said. "I found them to be like a group of people from my planet we had defeated years before – oppressive, brutal, cruel and genocidal. I'm sorry to say this, but I had a very negative view of you… Especially since you tried to kill me"

"I did not know you were a superior officer" the Sontaran replied.

"Tell me, Commander, how do you come to owe the Doctor a debt like this?"

"I nearly destroyed an entire planet full of humans and almost died doing so. The Doctor saved my life and bound me to a life of healing the sick and injured – the worst punishment my people could be asked to do. I would be in this punishment until he called upon me, at which point the debt would be repaid"

"And do you enjoy being a nurse?" the Brigadier was curious.

"I would never tell any of the others, Sir, but there is a kind of satisfaction in it… There is glory in fighting, but an even greater glory in the bigger fight for life. What about you, Sir? What made you become a soldier?"

"Sort of family tradition, I suppose" the Brigadier eased himself into a chair. "Battled my own people before we realised the greater threat was from space"

"You battled my kind, you said"

"Yes… I have to admit, Commander Strax, that for all my previous thoughts about your race, there was a smidgen of respect from one soldier to another in that your saw your target or mission and tried to complete it" and Strax was quiet for a while.

"How many years were you a soldier for?" he asked.

"Too many years I should think…" the Brigadier replied. "I took a few years away from serving, but I should think about sixty five years or so"

"A vast time" Strax was impressed, "I myself am twelve" and then the Sontaran seemed to think hard. "If we survive this, General, I would like to listen to your glorious war tales"

"If we survive this…" the Brigadier shrugged. "Now, tell me about this rifle of yours? I've never seen a weapon quite like this, so you will have to show me. It does have a stun setting, right…?"

#

"…and this is my room" Mandy pushed open the door and let Merry walk in.

"Wow"

"Pretty amazing"

"So many colours" Merry looked every which way and examined some of the souvenirs Mandy kept on a shelf. "Is that a guide from the time we met?"

"Yeah – I wanted to keep it as a sign of friendship. I wanted to thank you for agreeing to help the Doctor"

"He saved my life – its only fair I save his. Are you okay, though? You must miss him a lot"

"I worry about him being hurt or… Or… Or… worse"

"We've managed to get together a good team – we'll get him back. Now, you were telling me about the adventure you had with Space Fish"

"Oh yeah… Well me and the Doctor went to Venice and we met these killer vampire fish people from space that feasted on the gooey insides of people"

"Sounds scarey"

"It was, but we froze them in a block of ice and sent them right into space. After that, we went to a planet that's an entire theme park!"

"All I have ever been to is the marketplace of Ahketem"

"Haven't your parents taken you off planet?" Mandy asked.

"Well since the whole Queen of Years thing has gone the way of the Time Lords…" Mandy giggled at her friend. "What passes for the local Government has been giving me a small payment every week, but it is just enough to live on and little else. I've tried saving up as much money as possible to buy passage on a cargo ship to some other planet, but everything is so expensive"

"Why have they let you live by yourself?" Mandy suddenly realised something.

"I think they hate me because I helped to destroy one of their major tourist attractions, but too many questions would be asked if I was to die. By giving me a small set of rooms, rent free at least, they can say they have taken care of my needs. I've been educating myself by going to the library because I missed so much due to the monks teaching me everything about the Old God" Merry looked sad and sat on the edge of Mandy's bed.

"Merry…? If you suddenly disappeared, would anybody miss you at all?" Mandy sat on the edge of the bed next to her friend.

"No… Why?"

"Well once this is all over, I'll talk to the Doctor and see if he will let you stay with us"

"Do you think he will let me?"

"Why not ask him yourself?"

"When I met him he seemed so powerful"

"I know how it seems, but he's like a adult sized child most of the time" Mandy shrugged. "Miss Tardis, may we have some snacks or something in my room?" and there was a slight chill in the air. "Yes, I know I'm not allowed food in my bedroom when the Doctor is here… But he isn't here, is he…?"

"Are you talking to the ship?" whispered Merry, wondering if her friend was somewhat mad.

"Oh yes, Miss Tardis is cool. Anyway, what about it?" but there was still a chill in the air. "Yes, I get it… But the Doctor said that I can eat in here if I am feeling ill and didn't he say depression was an illness?" and the TARDIS sounded a loud disapproving tone through the bedroom, but it produced a pot of tea and a plate of bread and butter for the pair.

"Thank you" Merry decided that she'd better stay on the good side of the TARDIS. "Um… Miss Tardis, do you think the Doctor will let me stay with you?" and there was a long pause before an affirmative tone. Either the TARDIS was really thinking it through or she was a little hurt at being bested by child logic…

#

"Sir, the TARDIS is ready to send the signal" Mike Yates said.

"You sure?"

"Almost… Half an hour ago, it printed the complete instruction manual for simple car repairs"

"Oh" said Mandy as she walked in dressed in a small pair of sandy coloured combat trousers, a tight black t-shirt and black boots with a greenish jacket over her shoulder. A few seconds later, Merry came in dressed in much the same items.

"Oh?"

"Me and the Doctor were supposed to be giving Bessie a once over and clean her up" and the girl shrugged.

"Right" the Brigadier shrugged and then turned his mind to the task at hand. "We will have around three standard minutes until the Spitfire flies in and destroys the communications dish… By then, we need to have taken out the control room, the security office and the armoury. Myself and Commander Strax will be in position to stun everybody from the shadows. One thing, though, is that the weapons you have are stunners only – you may need to fire several shots at some people depending on how they react. Right, good luck"

A/N:

Yes, this story is back…

Reviews in the normal manner, please

Regards,

Pixel