Jenny took a deep breath, pulling the brakes on her ship. Turns out, saving planets and civilizations wasn't nearly as easy as her dad made it sound. She crashlanded on the first planet she saw, caused more trouble than she stopped, and as soon as the high priestess started threatening execution by drowning, she fled. Her other cursory attempts didn't go much better. So, she was trying something new.
Jenny was going to build a TARDIS of her own. She had all this information rattling around in her head, stuff about her father. She didn't know why she knew, whether he'd given her the information or whether she came with it, but after her third planet, it bubbled to the surface. She knew what she needed, she knew where to get it, and she even knew exactly how to build it.
Jenny pushed herself out of the pod, biting her lip and trying to shake her nerves. She was outside the cyber legion. Any minute now, she'd be in there, grabbing the Cog Damerion, then booking it the hell out. Still, she'd heard horror stories of the cybermen, even during her short time in the universe. She'd come back to life once before - would she be able to do it again?
Still, it was now or never. She'd get the Damerion or die trying. It was carved into her skin, the urge to fight, to go to battle. Now, she had a reason. Her nerves weren't shaking, but adrenaline was pumping through her veins. If there was ever a time to go, it was now. Jenny took a deep breath and started running.
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An hour later and there was Jenny and she was still running, but now away, sprinting faster than she thought humanly possible - was she human? She knew Donna was. She supposed since her dad wasn't human, neither was she. The Damerion was tucked under her arm. She flicked her head behind her and let out a loose chuckle. The cybermen were marching ominously,, solemnly towards her. Whoever designed these bastards didn't teach them how to run! They could shoot, though, and she was just barely dodging their lasers.
Jenny dove into her ship, stashing the Cog Damerion behind her. Before she knew it, she was in flight, far from the planet below her. She was breathless, partly from the running but mostly from the thrill. The sudden silence was a stark contrast from the metallic threats shaking the ground just seconds ago.
The success of the trip pulsed through her veins, wiping away the failures of the last few planets she visited. She figured she should keep the adrenaline alive while it lasted and set track for Sontar.
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She knocked out the first few Sontarans she saw. Jenny wasn't sure whether their similarities would make this easier or harder. They were both warriors, they were both clones. But the Sontarans were stupid. Filled with unbearable arrogance. They didn't even notice her take the dyna-spanner. In an anticlimactic turn of events, she had taken off before any alarms had gone off. They were too busy deciding which planet to take over. Jenny didn't mind, though, of course. Next, she had to find the head of the Dalek ship.
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The problem was, you don't fight Daleks. You run. You hide. You hope to god they don't find you because when they do they'll kill you. There were some things the universe just knew. That was one of them.
So, Jenny was prepared for the worst. But when she got an abandoned spaceship, she was suspicious to say the least. Pieces of scrap metal were lying scattered on the floor. It almost looked like a puzzle. Finally, she shook her nerves and started sifting through the pieces for the Vinerien. After ten minutes, Jenny was starting to think that it really was just a pile of rubbish when one of the pieces burned white-hot against her hand and a siren started blaring somewhere far away, moving from room to room, getting closer to her.
Quick as a whip, she tore open her shirt, yanking it off, wrapping the Vinerien in it and thanking herself for slipping a tank top underneath her outfit that morning.
And then the alarms had reached the control room and a red laser almost shot straight through her. Suddenly, they were coming from all sides and Jenny was only barely dodging them. After a moment that felt like forever, they stopped completely. Jenny just stood, chest heaving from exhaustion, afraid to move a single muscle and set off another alarm.
That was when the floor started opening, ready to chuck her out into space. There must have been some oxygen field to protect the Daleks that used to live on the ship, but Jenny doubted it would treat her so kindly. So she ran and ran, leaping to the ground to avoid falling out, picking herself back up off the ground, and it wasn't until she was light years away that she allowed herself to slow down. Her shirt had a hole almost burnt straight through, but the Vinerien was ice-cold now. None of the shooting even mattered to her anymore now that she had it. Plus, there were more planets on the list.
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Jenny landed on Adipose 3 ready for another fight. The Drive Pyrocannon was crucial to her mission. If she didn't get that, then she could bloody well kiss her TARDIS goodbye. But the moment she set foot on the planet, she was greeted by a creature a mere fraction of her size.
And the first thing she offered to do was help. Jenny wasn't used to that. And, as it turned out, as crucial as the Pyrocannon was to her mission, the Adipose were more than willing to give it away. They spent hours rifling through the spare machinery the Adipose had stored away, saving her countless trips to other planets.
She left with everything she needed in her ship - all except with one vital ingredient. ANd there was only one way to find that. But first, she had to make a final stop at the Sycorax warship.
Jenny left Adipose 3 with a new thought bubbling up in her head, one that hadn't occurred to her before. Maybe not every planet needs fighting or saving. Maybe some are just… alright on their own.
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The Sycorax warship was abandoned and crumbling. Jenny sniffed the air and smelled smoke. She turned her head and saw fire. She turned her head the other way and saw skeletons. Then, finally, she turned to her ship one last time. It was hollowed out, empty now. It was going to be abandoned, too. Jenny held her hand to it, stroking the side. It had been a good ship, and it had served her well. But now, it was time to move on.
Jenny moved her eyes back and forth, scanning the room until she found it, discarded on the floor. Jenny grabbed the vortex manipulator, snapping it onto her wrist. She clicked on the expander the Adipose gave her and looked behind her at the dead TARDIS. She punched in coordinates for planet Earth, 2009. It was time to see her dad again.