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Title: The Other Side of the World (21/31)
Rating: PG
Characters: Rose, Martha
Timeline: Season three
Summary: Season three AU; After a fateful visit to Royal Hope Hospital, Rose finds herself lost in time and space with medical student Martha Jones. As they struggle to find a way home, they meet old friends, and old enemies, along the way...
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Any borrowed dialogue belongs to Russell T Davies and the BBC.
A/N: A sequel to "The Other Side". It's not necessary reading; it just sets up the premise that it was the Doctor who was trapped in Pete's World, not Rose. And a shout-out to my awesome betas:
joking and
quean_of_swords. This story wouldn't have been posted without you guys. Merry Christmas!
Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight. Chapter Nine. Chapter Ten. Chapter Eleven. Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen. Chapter Fifteen. Chapter Sixteen. Chapter Seventeen. Chapter Eighteen. Chapter Nineteen. Chapter Twenty.

Staring out a porthole on the Valiant, Martha couldn’t have been more aware of how impossible the ship’s existence was. She had thought the TARDIS impossible, but it was alien and not part of the Earthly science she knew so well. The Valiant, on the other hand, had been crafted on Earth. A ship of this size didn’t belong in the sky.
“Martha.” Jack called her name softly, drawing her back to the group. They were gathered around a read-out, trying to see if the information could be used to their advantage. More accurately, Tosh was studying the information displayed on the screen while the others kept watch for UNIT soldiers or Valiant crew.
“Anything?” It was overwhelmingly warm down in the bowels of the Valiant, hisses of steam escaping from the pipes around them on a regular basis. Whatever kept the ship in the air, the by-product was a copious amount of heat.
“The Master and President Winters are en-route. They should be here in half an hour.” Jack had tuned his wrist device to the government channels and was receiving updates as they were issued. While informative, Martha had some idea as to why Jack had called her over.
“Are you going to tell me to keep my head down when the shooting starts?” She tried to sound light-hearted, but fell slightly short of her goal.
Jack stifled a chuckle. “Actually, I was going to point out an escape hatch.”
His concern was flattering considering they had just met, but the extra care was making her feel isolated. She wasn’t a member of Torchwood, but she was still part of the group and she had a desire to stop the Master as well. If it had just been the two of them, she might have felt differently, but she was used to being part of a bigger unit.
He led her away and down the corridor slightly, stopping in front of a round metal hatch. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not qualified for this.”
“I’ve been out there, Jack. The universe is full of unkind things. I’m not running away just because trouble is looming on the horizon.”
“I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself, but you have a family. Would they want to lose a daughter?”
Her family was fractured enough as it was, but Martha knew she couldn’t just walk away now. “Rose promised me she would get me back to Earth and she did. I can’t abandon her, not after everything we’ve been through. We can save her.”
Some of Jack’s resolve softened and in that moment, she saw how much he cared for Rose. He would risk the end of the world for her. It reminded her of the Doctor, back on Eudamus after the earthquake. There had been chaos around them, but the sight of Rose hurt had made the Doctor forget about everything else for a second. Rose instilled a sense of loyalty in those who met her, Martha knew this personally, but it went beyond simple devotion for Jack and the Doctor.
“We have to get moving.” Ianto jogged up to them and placed a hand on Jack’s arm. “UNIT soldiers are headed this way.”
Martha and Jack rejoined the others as Tosh hurriedly cleared the display on the screen back to its default information. They took off down the corridor, running through clouds of steam. While the twists and turns seemed endless, it was doubtful they could dodge detection forever.
“Find anything of use?” Jack asked Tosh.
“The engines are on a separate power grid. If we cut the power the Valiant won’t fall from the sky, but it might just delay first contact, not stop it.”
“It would buy us some time at least,” noted Gwen.
“Or we could do something bloody insane,” said Owen. “We shut down Archangel and expose the Master to the whole world.”
They remained on the move despite Owen’s ambitious declaration. “Could we?” asked Martha.
“Rose gave us the access codes and Tosh has been able to disrupt the system before. How hard would it be to bring it down completely? The second it’s off-line, everyone will see Saxon’s true face.”
Jack contemplated the idea amongst the dominant sounds of the Valiant’s engines so when his wrist device began to beep, it stood out in the din. He flipped back the cover, looking ready to dismiss the update that waited there, but instead he frowned slightly at the read-out. Then he grinned. “Ha!”
At the next set of stairs, he tore down them, forcing the others to follow him. “Jack, what the hell are you doing?” asked Gwen. The captain didn’t answer, choosing to run down the corridor rather than give a reply.
The corridor ended at a set of doors and Jack eagerly threw them aside, with no care for what could have been waiting on the other side. Martha increased her pace to catch up with him and she arrived the moment the doors flew open. She couldn’t help but give a small squeal of joy as she laid eyes on the TARDIS nestled between some crates.
“Why are we jumping for joy over a Police Box?” muttered Owen. The rest of the team followed them cautiously.
“It’s a time machine and a spaceship,” explained Martha. “It sort of belongs to Rose. The Master stole it when we landed back on Earth.”
“What’s it doing on the Valiant?” wondered Jack. He pushed the doors in.
Besides Rose, the TARDIS had been the other constant in Martha’s life these past several months. It hadn’t been home, but it provided shelter and protection when the elements of the universe conspired against them. So when Jack pushed in the doors and she saw inside, it was almost too much to bear.
Gone was the golden luminance that made the walls glow. The TARDIS was awash in a harsh red light, casting the ship in unfamiliar tones. The console and the time rotor were encased in a metal cage and various lines of cabling ran over the floor and down into the metal grating. In the background, the engines pulsed irregularly, like a heart that had lost its rhythm.
“What has the Master done? It sounds… sick.” Martha stepped carefully over the threshold, as if the gentlest of touches would break the ship. Jack charged up the ramp, his coat swinging angrily behind him. He made a circuit around the console, taking in every detail of the cage that bound the TARDIS.
“What is this?” Gwen’s voice sounded behind her and she turned to find the others standing on the ramp, staring in shock at the console room. As familiar as they were with alien technology, the TARDIS was beyond their concepts, just as the Valiant had seemed foreign to Martha.
“The Master’s cannibalized the TARDIS,” said Jack, completely unaware that his team had been reduced to a group of silent gawkers. “He’s made a paradox machine.”
“What does that mean?” asked Martha. She left Gwen and the others to contemplate the existence of the TARDIS and joined Jack at the far side of the cage. He seemed particularly interested in a gauge attached to the structure.
“Paradox machines stop the creation of paradoxes. Like if you went back in time and stopped yourself from meeting Rose, the current you wouldn’t cease to exist because you would be protected by the machine. I saw a lot of these when I was a time agent.”
“So the Master wants to stop a paradox.” Martha couldn’t bring herself to stare at the console and time rotor in great detail. The ship had had its guts ripped out and manipulated to serve the Master. This wasn’t a clinical matter that she could objectify and solve in order to save a life.
“At the rate this needle’s going, whatever paradox the Master wants to stop it’ll happen just after eight o’clock.”
“That’s when first contact is scheduled to occur.” Ianto had recovered enough from his shock to catch the last bit of their conversation.
“Can you stop the machine?” Martha asked Jack.
He shook his head. “I could disable the wrong part and blow up the entire planet.”
So they had pieces to the puzzle but not the full picture. Whatever the Master had planned, it was just out of their reach. “What’s it all for?”
It was an idle question to voice her own frustrations, but Martha’s words seemed to spur Jack into action. “Owen, Tosh.” Jack started for the TARDIS doors and they all followed suit. Once outside, Martha shut the doors as Jack continued to address his team. “Find a console and work on disabling Archangel. Gwen, Ianto, Martha, and I are going up to the bridge.”
Rating: PG
Characters: Rose, Martha
Timeline: Season three
Summary: Season three AU; After a fateful visit to Royal Hope Hospital, Rose finds herself lost in time and space with medical student Martha Jones. As they struggle to find a way home, they meet old friends, and old enemies, along the way...
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Any borrowed dialogue belongs to Russell T Davies and the BBC.
A/N: A sequel to "The Other Side". It's not necessary reading; it just sets up the premise that it was the Doctor who was trapped in Pete's World, not Rose. And a shout-out to my awesome betas:
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Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight. Chapter Nine. Chapter Ten. Chapter Eleven. Chapter Twelve. Chapter Thirteen. Chapter Fourteen. Chapter Fifteen. Chapter Sixteen. Chapter Seventeen. Chapter Eighteen. Chapter Nineteen. Chapter Twenty.

Staring out a porthole on the Valiant, Martha couldn’t have been more aware of how impossible the ship’s existence was. She had thought the TARDIS impossible, but it was alien and not part of the Earthly science she knew so well. The Valiant, on the other hand, had been crafted on Earth. A ship of this size didn’t belong in the sky.
“Martha.” Jack called her name softly, drawing her back to the group. They were gathered around a read-out, trying to see if the information could be used to their advantage. More accurately, Tosh was studying the information displayed on the screen while the others kept watch for UNIT soldiers or Valiant crew.
“Anything?” It was overwhelmingly warm down in the bowels of the Valiant, hisses of steam escaping from the pipes around them on a regular basis. Whatever kept the ship in the air, the by-product was a copious amount of heat.
“The Master and President Winters are en-route. They should be here in half an hour.” Jack had tuned his wrist device to the government channels and was receiving updates as they were issued. While informative, Martha had some idea as to why Jack had called her over.
“Are you going to tell me to keep my head down when the shooting starts?” She tried to sound light-hearted, but fell slightly short of her goal.
Jack stifled a chuckle. “Actually, I was going to point out an escape hatch.”
His concern was flattering considering they had just met, but the extra care was making her feel isolated. She wasn’t a member of Torchwood, but she was still part of the group and she had a desire to stop the Master as well. If it had just been the two of them, she might have felt differently, but she was used to being part of a bigger unit.
He led her away and down the corridor slightly, stopping in front of a round metal hatch. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not qualified for this.”
“I’ve been out there, Jack. The universe is full of unkind things. I’m not running away just because trouble is looming on the horizon.”
“I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself, but you have a family. Would they want to lose a daughter?”
Her family was fractured enough as it was, but Martha knew she couldn’t just walk away now. “Rose promised me she would get me back to Earth and she did. I can’t abandon her, not after everything we’ve been through. We can save her.”
Some of Jack’s resolve softened and in that moment, she saw how much he cared for Rose. He would risk the end of the world for her. It reminded her of the Doctor, back on Eudamus after the earthquake. There had been chaos around them, but the sight of Rose hurt had made the Doctor forget about everything else for a second. Rose instilled a sense of loyalty in those who met her, Martha knew this personally, but it went beyond simple devotion for Jack and the Doctor.
“We have to get moving.” Ianto jogged up to them and placed a hand on Jack’s arm. “UNIT soldiers are headed this way.”
Martha and Jack rejoined the others as Tosh hurriedly cleared the display on the screen back to its default information. They took off down the corridor, running through clouds of steam. While the twists and turns seemed endless, it was doubtful they could dodge detection forever.
“Find anything of use?” Jack asked Tosh.
“The engines are on a separate power grid. If we cut the power the Valiant won’t fall from the sky, but it might just delay first contact, not stop it.”
“It would buy us some time at least,” noted Gwen.
“Or we could do something bloody insane,” said Owen. “We shut down Archangel and expose the Master to the whole world.”
They remained on the move despite Owen’s ambitious declaration. “Could we?” asked Martha.
“Rose gave us the access codes and Tosh has been able to disrupt the system before. How hard would it be to bring it down completely? The second it’s off-line, everyone will see Saxon’s true face.”
Jack contemplated the idea amongst the dominant sounds of the Valiant’s engines so when his wrist device began to beep, it stood out in the din. He flipped back the cover, looking ready to dismiss the update that waited there, but instead he frowned slightly at the read-out. Then he grinned. “Ha!”
At the next set of stairs, he tore down them, forcing the others to follow him. “Jack, what the hell are you doing?” asked Gwen. The captain didn’t answer, choosing to run down the corridor rather than give a reply.
The corridor ended at a set of doors and Jack eagerly threw them aside, with no care for what could have been waiting on the other side. Martha increased her pace to catch up with him and she arrived the moment the doors flew open. She couldn’t help but give a small squeal of joy as she laid eyes on the TARDIS nestled between some crates.
“Why are we jumping for joy over a Police Box?” muttered Owen. The rest of the team followed them cautiously.
“It’s a time machine and a spaceship,” explained Martha. “It sort of belongs to Rose. The Master stole it when we landed back on Earth.”
“What’s it doing on the Valiant?” wondered Jack. He pushed the doors in.
Besides Rose, the TARDIS had been the other constant in Martha’s life these past several months. It hadn’t been home, but it provided shelter and protection when the elements of the universe conspired against them. So when Jack pushed in the doors and she saw inside, it was almost too much to bear.
Gone was the golden luminance that made the walls glow. The TARDIS was awash in a harsh red light, casting the ship in unfamiliar tones. The console and the time rotor were encased in a metal cage and various lines of cabling ran over the floor and down into the metal grating. In the background, the engines pulsed irregularly, like a heart that had lost its rhythm.
“What has the Master done? It sounds… sick.” Martha stepped carefully over the threshold, as if the gentlest of touches would break the ship. Jack charged up the ramp, his coat swinging angrily behind him. He made a circuit around the console, taking in every detail of the cage that bound the TARDIS.
“What is this?” Gwen’s voice sounded behind her and she turned to find the others standing on the ramp, staring in shock at the console room. As familiar as they were with alien technology, the TARDIS was beyond their concepts, just as the Valiant had seemed foreign to Martha.
“The Master’s cannibalized the TARDIS,” said Jack, completely unaware that his team had been reduced to a group of silent gawkers. “He’s made a paradox machine.”
“What does that mean?” asked Martha. She left Gwen and the others to contemplate the existence of the TARDIS and joined Jack at the far side of the cage. He seemed particularly interested in a gauge attached to the structure.
“Paradox machines stop the creation of paradoxes. Like if you went back in time and stopped yourself from meeting Rose, the current you wouldn’t cease to exist because you would be protected by the machine. I saw a lot of these when I was a time agent.”
“So the Master wants to stop a paradox.” Martha couldn’t bring herself to stare at the console and time rotor in great detail. The ship had had its guts ripped out and manipulated to serve the Master. This wasn’t a clinical matter that she could objectify and solve in order to save a life.
“At the rate this needle’s going, whatever paradox the Master wants to stop it’ll happen just after eight o’clock.”
“That’s when first contact is scheduled to occur.” Ianto had recovered enough from his shock to catch the last bit of their conversation.
“Can you stop the machine?” Martha asked Jack.
He shook his head. “I could disable the wrong part and blow up the entire planet.”
So they had pieces to the puzzle but not the full picture. Whatever the Master had planned, it was just out of their reach. “What’s it all for?”
It was an idle question to voice her own frustrations, but Martha’s words seemed to spur Jack into action. “Owen, Tosh.” Jack started for the TARDIS doors and they all followed suit. Once outside, Martha shut the doors as Jack continued to address his team. “Find a console and work on disabling Archangel. Gwen, Ianto, Martha, and I are going up to the bridge.”
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