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Tweak says, "what are you? Mr. Teflon?"

The Tenth Doctor (lonely_god) wrote in silverage,
@ 2011-07-24 12:35:00

Entry tags:

!log, 10th doctor, galen

Who: Galen and the Tenth Doctor
When: Backdated to just after the Doctor's healed (July 20th)
Where: Galen's ship
What: The Doctor repays Galen for his help by answering a few questions.
Rating: Probably low
Status: Closed, In progress

When Galen had offered his cargo bay as a place to park the TARDIS, the Doctor had initially balked at the idea: that is, until he went to get up and realized how tired he was. He elected to accept Galen's offer, and so, the TARDIS had been parked inside another ship that happened to be bigger on the inside for the better part of a day while her pilot rested.

Regeneration was always a tricky business, and one that had lasted as long as this last and not been allowed to go to completion always had a certain element of danger involved in it. The Doctor was exhausted by the long hours of pain he'd endured and the amount of focus that had been required to safely avert a complete change. He found, when he retired to the Zero Room, that he fell asleep almost instantly. Safely isolated in a room specifically designed to aid Time Lord recovery from rocky regenerations, he let his body dictate what it needed. As a result, he only emerged from the Zero Room after almost a full twenty-four hours.

The Doctor made a quick stop in his rooms to grab a shower and a fresh suit, and to run a little gel through his hair once it was dry again. Feeling more himself than he had in days, perhaps weeks, he slipped into his coat and left the TARDIS to find his host.

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lonely_god
2011-07-24 08:57 pm UTC (link)

"And what are you now?" the Doctor pressed. "Unless you're Time Lord, I'm afraid our technology is still going to be a bit beyond you. Oh, you might be able to understand a good piece of it, but when it comes to a TARDIS, there's no substitute for being ... well, like me." The Doctor raised his tea to his lips and took a sip. It wasn't bad. He'd still prefer a cup of Jackie's, though he'd never admit as much to the woman herself, but at least it was something.

"Though you may be onto something with that pocket universe theory," he conceded. "Might explain why the TARDIS can still draw enough energy from the vortex to survive and make small jumps, but not enough to escape. A pocket universe, being smaller, could mean that she's close enough to her native universe to pull a bit of power in."

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technogalen
2011-07-24 09:31 pm UTC (link)

"I'm a member of the Circle." Galen called up a small globe of energy in his hand and tuned it to display the Tardis where it sat in his cargo bay. "Humans call us Technomages. Born human, or other races, and modified, enhanced. Matter, energy, matter to energy, energy to matter. We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner, holographic demons, and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ, and we know many things: the 14 words to make someone fall in love with you forever, seven words to make them go without pain, how to say good-bye to a friend who is dying, how to be poor, how to be rich, how to rediscover dreams when the world has stolen them from you." He banished the small image from his hand. "I can attach my mind to to most advanced technology, learn it from the inside, make it a part of myself."

He sat back in his chair and took another drink of coffee. "There were elder races in my universe. We were built to fight them on their own terms. We won." Well, sort of won. The Shadow and Vorlon left, didn't they? "Aren't your people just another elder race with their own set of tricks?"

"A pocket universe with walls close by? I need a sort of a jump start for my main engines before I can draw power from the fabric of this universe and see about making a hole. Only a few thousand terrawatts, many times the total global output of this time. I gather you're in a bit of a bother as far as power for your ship as well?"

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lonely_god
2011-07-24 09:48 pm UTC (link)

"No. My people are ancient. We were amongst the first. Some say that we invented Time. We oversaw Time, upheld its laws and protected the fabric of it to prevent potentially damaging events such as this one. We looked into the Time Vortex through the Untempered Schism, and we learned to harness its potential. That's what a TARDIS is, a living entity with the vortex at its heart. She's more than any mind can truly understand. If you tried to touch her core, you would burn. So don't." He leveled a stern glare in Galen's direction as he gave the warning. He didn't care to repeat himself, and he wasn't keen on the idea of sacrificing his life for this man's if the warning was ignored. The Doctor was the only one who could harness the energies of the vortex and return them to the TARDIS, though such an act would force him to regenerate.

"The TARDIS draws her energy from the universe itself. The fact that this one happens to be the wrong one means she's a bit handicapped at the moment. Honestly, I'm just grateful she isn't worse off. Something like this could have been enough to kill her. It would have been the end of her kind."

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technogalen
2011-07-24 10:22 pm UTC (link)

"I met a being once, he called himself Lorien. He described himself as the first to achieve sentience in my galaxy. His race nurtured the elder races, brought them along. He was the first, and the last. They have all gone on now. Someone had to take their place. I think that is what they made us for. I don't fear your technology, but I respect your warning and your wishes."

Galen smiled softly. "This ship is a sentience of sorts, herself. There is nothing new under the sun. When fully operational, she draws power from hyperspace. One of these days, we should just let them chat, my ship and yours, and see what they can come up with."

His smile grew. "Who do you serve, and who do you trust, Doctor? I find myself trusting you, if for no other reason than your most interesting character witnesses. Other than providing the occasional medical services, what can I do to help you solve this most interesting problem we've been posed?"

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lonely_god
2011-07-25 01:06 am UTC (link)

"Can't say that I've had the pleasure," the Doctor responded at the mention of Lorien. He only knew the name as a elvish kingdom in The Lord of the Rings, and he didn't think that had any bearing on the individual Galen had spoken of.

He was, however, more than a little put off by the idea of his TARDIS carrying on with Galen's ... whatever sort of ship it was. Of all the ridiculous ... "I think not," he said. "Not unless the TARDIS has a mind to, in which case, she always was a cantankerous thing, and I know better than to get in her way when she particularly wants something. It's always a waste of time and effort, all that shouting and hitting things with a mallet." Still, he loved that old ship. He loved her more than almost anything in the universe. She was home, especially now ...

"I don't serve anyone. I'm alone. The Last of the Time Lords. There's no higher authority than me. If you want to help, then you listen, and when I ask something of you, you do it. It's that simple."

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technogalen
2011-07-25 03:25 am UTC (link)

"If you'd like to know what your ship thinks about the matter, just ask mine to open a communications channel for you. Much more civilized than a mallet."

Galen laughed. "You really haven't been listening, have you? You just may be the top rock star of your universe. In mine, Elvis has left the building. As a friend of mine once said, 'Every space-faring race has two things in common. First, they all have a food identical to what humans call Swedish Meatballs. Don't ask. I don't understand it. It's just there. And they all share a myth about a time when ancient dark forces prowled the universe, only to be cast down or cast away by an even greater force.' You may be that greater force in your universe." He made a gesture with one hand as if cupping something and then pouring it out. "But neither of us is in our universe right now. Even though I usually don't play well with others, I had thought we should work as a team since we both possess technology far advanced of the local. However, it seems you are even less of a team player than I. I suppose we could at least agree not to get in each others way."

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lonely_god
2011-07-25 05:25 pm UTC (link)

The idea that Galen's ship could hold an intelligent conversation with the TARDIS was, quite frankly, ridiculous from the Doctor's point of view. Had the man not listened to a word he'd said? The TARDIS matrix was part of the Time Vortex. She existed at all points in time and space. Nothing was capable of comprehending her, not even the Time Lords who had discovered the art of growing TARDISes so very long ago. The heart of the TARDIS was so immense, so complicated, that even Rose hadn't been able to control it when it had been part of her. If she had, then Jack Harkness certainly wouldn't have that little problem of not being able to die.

"I've been listening well enough," the Doctor said, a threatening air coming over him. He was never outright violent. Rarely did he even raise his voice. He was a like a black hole, in his anger, quiet and ancient and inexorable. "It doesn't matter which universe we're in. A Time Lord is still a Time Lord, and you are still a human. Oh, granted, you've learned a few tricks of your own, but that doesn't put you on the same level. Not nearly." He stood, leaving his half-finished tea to cool on the table. "Thank you for the use of your facilities. I'll call you when I need you. Not before."

With that, the Doctor swept out of the room, not waiting to see Galen's response and not particularly caring. He'd become a hard man, at the end of this life, and he wasn't going to change for the sake of one stranger. The moment he stepped into his TARDIS, he headed for the console and programmed a new destination. He had other things he need to do, and pandering to one human's idea of the universe was not on that list.

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technogalen
2011-07-26 01:27 am UTC (link)

Galen spoke softly to his ship."Plato once said, that for everything that exists, there is a perfect form of it somewhere. A perfect human being, a perfect chair, a perfect stick, so that everything is a shadow of that one perfect form. Now, if we follow that train of thought, that means that somewhere in the universe there exists the perfect form of the perfect absolute and complete idiot. And he just left here."

He looked over at the cup of tea the Doctor had left on the table. With a thought he disassociated the atoms in cup and tea alike, channeling the released energy into his ship. "Make sure he gets out of the cargo bay with no problems from the shields."

Reaching for his newspaper with one hand, Galen finished off his coffee. With a sniff, he spoke one last time. "Energy is energy. Time Vortex, hyperspace..." His voice trailed off as he returned to his newspaper.

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