The Story Continues

We are back.

Yes. We have been away.

Yes. We went home.

No. It is gone.

I have no urge to continue here on these pages nor discuss what has transpired. I can only find dark words and this is a time to look to a bright new future.

Should you need memoir to chronicle this time, I suggest you gleen news from the camp of our Madame President, Sen Pixie, and a man with more time on his hands than I, Victor Mornington. Come take tea sometime, in the realm of New Gallifey [SLURL].

I will still maintain @OolonSputnik, but do not expect miracles on week days...

By Other Means

Ironically, I am lacking time of late. Instead of these pages I have chosen to make my comments so much more disposable in the hope of creating more content.

Please see @OolonSputnik.

Also now viewable on the right hand side of this page. These 'blog' pages are closed until further notice.

Caledon: The Musical

Travel Records

Have just returned from a short sabbatical catching up with old friends and new places around the grid. Having taken my cinematograph with we, I can offer a short celluloid testament to my travels in aid of a good cause.

It's Been a While

Well, doesn't time fly....

It's a new year here in Caledon, so effort should be made.

Having lost my diary (though recovered my pants) in a lava cave, then the island sank, it's only know (thanks to the meddlings of Lightfoot returning this tomb to me) I'm able to put pen to paper.

Have things advanced in our quest to return home?

Yes, and a most emphatic no.

New players have appeared on the scene, this 'friend' of Lady Darklings called The Jinn. Cornelia has had a tragedy and (as a consequence) we have had a minor revelation. Drillon is around less and less these days. Sen keeps herself busy with work. I have not seen Sollis since before we went to the island. Kira is growing up, quickly, and has a heart troubled with tribulations of teenage love. Terry is Terry, I'd be lost without her and never tire of her stabilising influence (though I wish she'd close some damn doors sometimes). Alfonso is stoic, spending much time in his laboratory, and Fuchia potters on, scattering dust on cotton and silk. Lapin is a dame now, and spends her days with her art. The ETC is as well as can be, and I have opened up the gardens and the aquarium to give us more space and a place away from the hussle of Caledon prime.

I will try to write more, as time and tide permit, but it is often difficult with so much to do.

Our goal has not changed. We will leave this place. Tempting though it is to get swept along by new found friends and cinematic fancies. For now we earn a living and keep trying.

More soon (with luck).

O

Success

The plan was complicated, nay convoluted, but worked. Sen is safe, well, and alive. More importantly, so are we. An audible sigh of relief can be heard through the very fabric of this fragile world. I am so very proud of my friends here, who stood with Terry and I wielding bows and arrows against the lightning.

As you know, dear diary, Sen was possessed by the energies of an ancient evil from our reality. A Star Vampire. This presumably happened in the dark times when she and her creator fought them long ago. So far she had kept this in check but was weakened during my regeneration and it had taken hold, notably when she is in corporeal form.

To purge this from her system we need to force ‘her’ to regenerate, as our species can. When she did, because of the bond she shares with her TARDIS, more accurately the SASTAP, I knew her TARDIS would regenerate too. ALL the poison must be purged. This was the only way.

To ‘kill’ her, we needed to get her here, to the ETC, as she is untouchable in her own ship. She also needed to be corporial, which she hasn’t been for the last month having abandoned her body and stayed within the walls of the SASTAP. For this I had a plan that I skipped over with the others but worked a treat. I melded my consciousness with that of the ETC, a simple task since my regeneration, then gave myself a round in the leg to simulate the TARDIS in pain. Sen could not resist and had to come. We needed to get Sen over here where I knew the lack of energy to sustain her while outside the SASTAP ‘should’ force her to take her corporial form. Until then she was our friend. As soon as she changes she was most assuredly not. We could not attack her till she did.

Her TARDIS arrived, in the pool room, and as it did I landed the ETC in hers. This caused a healthy recursion loop which, because of the bond she has with her ship, put her off balance and made the inside the outside as well as the inside. This meant she was vulnerable to our forthcoming efforts. Being away from the SESTAP meant she had to revert to a flesh form. We’d have stand no chance otherwise.

She had Solis with her. I remember thinking that, even in this stressful time, it calmed my being just to see another Timelord.

We were very much, should there be even seconds of delay, relying on Alfonso and Roy to keep her occupied. Vi was there to document proceedings (she provides the images enc.) but was to be seen as ‘non-combative’. This had never been done before and we knew that when we followed her back we would get to see the regeneration of an entire TARDIS. Nobody had ever witnessed this and it was something entirely unique.

I kept Kira, all be her bouncing and keen to assist, well out of the way. I have no intention of explaining to her sister how she was ‘mauled to death by a Star Vampire’. One insane woman after me was quite enough thank you.

Darklings blessing and magics I knew would be invaluable. As well as any healing she could offer I had set up a bio-stasis chamber in the zero room and given everyone a TRANSMAT bracelet and set these to teleport the humans back to their homes (if their medical readouts fell below a certain level). I have come to respect Ms. Elytis greatly.

Part of the plan was also to remotely detonate the small explosive device I placed in her ship while we were there last. Sen is well protected so we needed to ‘get-her-on-the-back-foot’. We knew she would have shielding, and until we could get her to drop that Terry won’t stand a chance of getting a shot in.

I was pretty sure that when I detonated the device the damage to her ship would weakened her enough and she would drop her shields. With the recursion loop, and the damage, and the ETC screaming down her ear, she simply couldn’t concentrate enough to maintain any kind of barrier for long. Due to the bond I made with the ETC during my regeneration this did put me off guard as well, but, we managed to maintain a psycic link with Terry during all this as we needed to match her ‘biorhythms’ with that of a Timelord so that she could use the bow. The bow is our only weapon against Sen that can effectively kill her. Everything else was just an important distraction. It needs to be pure Validium that kills her. Terry needed to put a bolt of Validium, the living metal, through each of Sens hearts.

It was over quickly. We gave her little time to react and Terry had procured a TeleDash Belt from the boot cupboard which she had sensibly not even told me about. Good girl. Two arrows, two perfect shots, while Roy and Alfonso poured 50 calibre weapons fire into her shields and Darkling lit the very air around Sen with living fire.

Crippled, she ported back home. We followed her to make sure. It was beautiful, and amazing, and we will never see it’s like again. Sen is younger, red hair, far more ‘human’. Her first reaction was that she was hungry. Imperial news. A splendid result. Quite marvellous.

As I sit here, with my Chi Latte, I am so very aware of how wrongly this could have gone. Of how ‘lucky’ we were. Of how special my friends are to me. I find myself contemplating this as not the end of our troubles, but the beginning of a solution. It also reminds me, by this fearsome show of power in this fragile world, that we tip a balance here and very much need to find our way home...

The Lions Den

We needed pure Validium, the living metal. A substance crafted by Rassilon, needed to kill one of his own creations.

Each of the three TARDIS contains Validium, but it is corrupt and useless. When Sen regenerates the SASTAP will regenerate also. Then she will have the power to purify the others. To leave this place we need her. She knows her death is coming and it must be by our hand.

And so to Drillon. A Timelord who chose the name DALEK, a psychiatrists field day right there. I went to see him this evening. We must never forget that Drillon is an exile. President Romana herself, and The High Council, banished him to this reality for his meddling in the affairs of other races and the (alleged) theft of certain technology from The Citadel, at Wild Endeavour. There between the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, on our home planet in the constellation of Kasterborous, beneath the copper moon of Pazithi Gallifreya.

As well as holding the key to the Quantum Barrier and to his own sealed genetic template (stolen from the House Chapter of the Arcalian), he also took a relic of unimaginable power. This was never proved.

I believe Drillon himself is of the Prydonian, a not unsurprising revelation, and it was said he sympathised with the disgust of The Kelad at the use of Temporal Intervention by an emissary of Gallifrey to bring about the destruction of the Daleks prior to their misguided attempted conquests of time. A dark hour in our planets long history. Right or wrong, it is not for me to say.

At his trial, he accused the high council of being "...dust covered academics living in ivory towers, feigning unconcern and ignorant with the external affairs of the universe while a self-righteous inner circle uses the lesser races like puppets."

And so I approached him this evening and asked if it were true. Did he have the weapon? He made we welcome in his own TARDIS without the slightest hint of fear or doubt that in his his domain he could crush me like an insect. He smiled that half smile of his. Before I took it from his hands, he made me say "please". He took off his sunglasses and looked at me. A brilliant mind burning behind those eyes of his. He made me say "Please Drillon, may I take The Bow of The Nemesis to kill the child of Rassilon".


Secretly, in a way, I have to admire him. I admire his strength of conviction to his own truth if nothing else. Maybe that is his madness, maybe his genius. I have always considered Drillon the more physical of our triumvirate, but in truth this world offers little in the way of intellect to rival him. He has rebuilt his TARDIS to near perfection in his time here, making alterations directly to the main engines and lacking only a power source (as do we). I am glad that (for now at least) he is with our cause, but can not help think that to what ends?

Regardless, we are armed. We will do the deed Wednesday. Lightfoot will bear the bow, my attention will be required to keep Sen where we want her. This must go smoothly or all is lost.

Visiting the Relatives

TRANSMAT

[13:50] Sen Pixie: Oolon. Terry.

[13:50] Oolon Sputnik: Sen.

[13:50] Terry Lightfoot curtsies.

[13:53] Oolon Sputnik: Sorry Sen. If I may be frank, I don't trust you. That’s why we’ve Transmated in instaed of using the ETC.

[13:53] Sen Pixie: The very fact you are doing so says the new brain is working. You need not fear. I'm safe like this. In non-corporeal form.

[13:55] Sen Pixie: Welcome.

[13:55] Terry Lightfoot: Hello.

[13:55] Oolon Sputnik: You want to tell me how you're feeling, and put the kettle on? Or bite me in the throat and kill Terry?

[13:56] Terry Lightfoot: /gulp

[13:56] Sen Pixie: Let me explain what happened after I ran away the day of your regeneration.

[13:56] Oolon Sputnik: That would be a good start...

[13:56] Oolon Sputnik: ...oh, and greetings B.

[13:57] Sen Pixie: First off, I can assure you that I am no danger to you as long as we are here.

[13:57] Terry Lightfoot whispers: Who's B?

[13:57] Oolon Sputnik whispers: B is the SASTAP onboard computer ;-)

[13:57] Sen Pixie: The SASTAP is in a permanent state of mental grace. Call it one big Zero Room if you will…

[13:57] Terry Lightfoot: Oh…

[13:57] Oolon Sputnik: This construct is keeping you stable then?

[13:58] Sen Pixie: Yes. I have done away with my physical body, which I need to exit the ship. Here, my consciousness exists only within the main computer.

[13:58] Oolon Sputnik: Fascinating...

[13:58] Sen Pixie: With no organic brain, there is no danger of the infection spreading.

[13:59] Oolon Sputnik: That'll go some small way to purging, but is by no means a solution Sen...

[13:59] Terry Lightfoot: Ahh

[13:59] Sen Pixie: Unfortunately, no, it is not.

[13:59] Oolon Sputnik: What did you do with the body Sen?

[13:59] Terry Lightfoot: ...oh god...

[13:59] Sen Pixie: The energy that constructed it was reabsorbed into my system. Think of my body as an extra TARDIS exterior.

[14:00] Oolon Sputnik: I see, good...

[14:00] Terry Lightfoot: Hmm...

[14:00] Sen Pixie: Formed and deformed as my consciousness crosses the dimensional bridge between interior and exterior.

[14:00] Oolon Sputnik: So, while you can't spread the disease physically, have you gone far from the SASTAP?

[14:01] Sen Pixie: Once. Luckily I was near a Guardian of Oa. He was able to contain me... just... before I was able to harm anyone.

[14:01] Terry Lightfoot: Hmmm, a what of what...? What is a Guardian of Oa?

[14:02] Oolon Sputnik: It is part of the defensive force here...

[14:02] Sen Pixie: They have agents on many planets.

[14:02] Oolon Sputnik: ...a Guardian of the Green Light. If I'm not mistaken?

[14:02] Terry Lightfoot: What is the green light?

[14:02] Sen Pixie: It is said the Timelords worked together with the Guardians in the ancient times, and that is correct Oolon.

[14:03] Oolon Sputnik: Hmmm... ...well, that is something at least.

[14:03] Terry Lightfoot: Are they... er.. ancients?

[14:03] Oolon Sputnik: No, not truly so, not in the eyes of the Timelords. But they wield an ancient energy field known as "The Power Cosmic". They like to interfear with the lesser races...

[14:03] Sen Pixie: One of the many energies that were captured and harnessed by the ancient races such as the Timelords and Guardians.

[14:03] Terry Lightfoot: Ahhh…

[14:03] Oolon Sputnik: Which is all very well and good Sen...

[14:04] Oolon Sputnik: ...but I don't see the kettle going on.

[14:04] Sen Pixie: Sorry. Let me pull out a seat for you first... if you'll step back a little.

[14:04] Terry Lightfoot has never seen Oolon be so serious…

[14:04] Oolon Sputnik: Are we friends still, or do I have to watch over my shoulder every time you leave the SASTAP?

[14:05] Sen Pixie: I can not leave the confines of the ship's interior. If I do, it will only be because I am forced out. If that comes to pass, I am a danger to everyone.

[14:05] Terry Lightfoot: Can something do that? Hmmm, or someone?

[14:06] Sen Pixie: I would have said no before we were all attacked and forced here.

[14:04] Oolon Sputnik places a TARDIS tea flask on the table…

[14:06] Sen Pixie: Thank you Oolon.

[14:06] Oolon Sputnik: We still have enemies here Sen.

[14:07] Sen Pixie: Obviously. However, I believe that my presence outside is necessity for us to continue.

[14:07] Brew of Omega whispers: Ah, the tea of the Timelords - how refreshing!

[14:08] Oolon Sputnik: As do I, but enemies who, should they wish to (and should they be monitoring the flow of energy as I believe they were) could make quite a mess of our arrangement here... ...then what would become of this flat little world?

[14:08] Sen Pixie: Hmmm, so, we need a solution to my dilemma as well as to the continued problem.

[14:08] Terry Lightfoot: Well...how is that going to happen if you cant go outside....?

[14:08] Sen Pixie: Well, I have a plan for that...

[14:08] Oolon Sputnik: I'm listening...

[14:08] Sen Pixie: The only known cure for the vampyre infection is to activate the Timelord nano-viruses.

[14:09] Sen Pixie: Which means Oolon?

[14:09] Oolon Sputnik: You must regenerate.

[14:09] Sen Pixie: You have to kill me while I'm organic. I must regenerate.

[14:09] Terry Lightfoot: ....not another one!

[14:10] Sen Pixie: This one can not be helped. It must be violent, and sudden.

[14:10] Oolon Sputnik: I know.

[14:10] Terry Lightfoot: /gulp

[14:10] Oolon Sputnik: You must not get the chance to use your natural defences.

[14:10] Terry Lightfoot anxiously drinks her tea…

[14:10] Sen Pixie: A Timelord body is difficult enough to kill, but combine that with the vampyre infection, and it will be ‘challenging’ to induce a regeneration.

[14:11] Oolon Sputnik: Yes, I believe it will.

[14:11] Sen Pixie: In the ancient way, the only thing that could kill a vampyre was a spear of living metal through the heart. And as I have two of those...

[14:11] Terry Lightfoot: Well, and the fact that you'll know we are coming for you…

[14:11] Oolon Sputnik: Perhaps you should leave that to your friends? To myself, and Drillon.

[14:11] Sen Pixie: It has to be. There is no way for me to plan it.

[14:12] Oolon Sputnik: I understand as much.

[14:12] Sen Pixie: If I were to become organic while inside the SASTAP, the vampyre consciousness would gain control of the ship.

[14:12] Oolon Sputnik: Fascinating, sad, and unavoidable.

[14:12] Terry Lightfoot: This.....sounds really complicated and chancy!

[14:13] Sen Pixie: Complicated it is not. 'Chancy' it is.

[14:13] Oolon Sputnik winks at Terry...

[14:13] Sen Pixie: Stab me through both hearts while organic with Timelord Living metal.

[14:13] Terry Lightfoot cant believe Oolon thinks winking is going to make her feel better...

[14:13] Oolon Sputnik: I'm am unlikely to take your suggestions Sen... …but trust me, I know how to die ;-)

[14:14] Terry Lightfoot 's eyes open wide…

[14:14] Sen Pixie: You are wise to do the research on killing great vampyres independent of my comments. But your basic academy training should tell you that I am correct.

[14:15] Terry Lightfoot thinks maybe this is beyond the basics....

[14:15] Oolon Sputnik: Sen, I am Arcalian, I worked 30 years on the genetic looms of Gallifey as an apprentice. Life is precious to me. I will make it as painless as possible for you, you have my word.

[14:15] Sen Pixie: However, there is one problem... obtaining living metal that we know has not come into contact with my consciousness.

[14:16] Oolon Sputnik: Indeed.

[14:16] Sen Pixie: There is a risk of the metal itself becoming a carrier.

[14:16] Sen Pixie: Which means your TARDIS, and Drillon's, could potentially re-infect me.

[14:17] Terry Lightfoot: ...so many variables, Oolon!

[14:17] Oolon Sputnik: I am hoping when we have purged it from you, you will hopefully have the strength to purge our craft...

[14:17] Sen Pixie: Yes, that should be fairly trivial.

[14:17] Terry Lightfoot: Can she do that?

[14:17] Oolon Sputnik: Oh, Sen can do many things. Rassilon made it so.

[14:17] Sen Pixie: But, killing me with non-infected metal could be challenging.

[14:17] Terry Lightfoot: So our TARDIS is contaminated?

[14:18] Oolon Sputnik looks at his feet and OBVIOUSLY changes the subject...

[14:18] Oolon Sputnik: Sighs. There is much work to be done.

[14:18] Terry Lightfoot:!

[14:18] Terry Lightfoot: Rassilon made you, Sen?

[14:18] Sen Pixie: Yes, but think of it this way Terry. Here on Earth, many mammals can carry diseases that can infect humans and not themselves. The black plague and rats, for example.

[14:19] Terry Lightfoot: Phew…

[14:19] Sen Pixie: It has no means to infect you, as it does not have the ability to manifest a corporeal/sentient exterior as I do.

[14:19] Terry Lightfoot: ok

[14:20] Sen Pixie: Oolon, there is a way.

[14:20] Oolon Sputnik: You know a source?

[14:20] Sen Pixie: Before I became a TARDIS... ...when I existed as a pure entity, I had a companion on Gallifrey.

[14:20] Sen Pixie: A being of pure living metal.

[14:21] Oolon Sputnik: Gallifrey is a long way away Sen...

[14:21] Sen Pixie: However, she has been here.

[14:21] Terry Lightfoot: Here!?

[14:21] Sen Pixie: I know... I have felt her presence.

[14:21] Terry Lightfoot: How....how did she get here?

[14:21] Sen Pixie: At least... part of her.

[14:21] Oolon Sputnik sighs in resignation…

[14:21] Oolon Sputnik: Yes, I've met her I think...

[14:21] Sen Pixie: Somewhere, I believe her weapons exists.

[14:21] Oolon Sputnik: ...3 times now.

[14:21] Terry Lightfoot slaps Oolon on the shoulder

[14:21] Oolon Sputnik: I wondered when this would come up. And, ow!

[14:22] Terry Lightfoot: You really should tell me these things! For heavens sake!

[14:22] Oolon Sputnik: I wasn't sure, until Sen just mentioned this, if she was an aspect of Sen herself, fractured.

[14:22] Sen Pixie: No. In the simplest genetic sense, call us twins. But my creator had a very different path in mind for my sister.

[14:22] Oolon Sputnik: Her father was Rassilon, Terry. Don’t you remember?

[14:22] Terry Lightfoot: Er, hmmm, yes…

[14:23] Oolon Sputnik: It made scene. She was brought here too. You spoke to her, remember?

[14:23] Terry Lightfoot: I did?

[14:23] Oolon Sputnik sighs…

[14:23] Terry Lightfoot racks her brains…

[14:23] Sen Pixie: I do not know that all of her is here - I have not sensed ‘sentience’. Just... whimpers…

[14:23] Oolon Sputnik looks at his Timelord friend over the top of his glasses…

[14:23] Oolon Sputnik: Sen needs to know no more about this.

[14:23] Terry Lightfoot: I only remember Sen!

[14:24] Sen Pixie: If my sister is indeed here... she must be protected.

[14:24] Terry Lightfoot: Fine...

[14:24] Sen Pixie: Also... if she is made whole again, she could be more dangerous than I.

[14:24] Oolon Sputnik whispers: I'll tell you later, I'm going to need your help on this...

[14:24] Sen Pixie: If you find her weapon, you MUST not reunite with the rest of her.

[14:24] Terry Lightfoot: She... has a weapon?

[14:25] Oolon Sputnik: I'm not discussing her anymore in front of Sen, sorry...

[14:25] Terry Lightfoot: That's fine...I was asking Sen...

[14:26] Oolon Sputnik: ...she is a potential ally in what we need to do. Sen can't know. I'm sorry...

[14:26] Terry Lightfoot whispers: Okay okay! Sorry!

[14:27] Oolon Sputnik squeezes Terry’s hand reassuringly...

[14:27] Sen Pixie: I will say this Oolon. I know you have gained great intelligence in your recent regeneration. But... this is a mind like no other you have ever encountered, and powers from a time when Gallifrey wielded such things with considerable frequency.

[14:27] Terry Lightfoot exhales…

[14:27] Sen Pixie: A being of such... instability... that even Omega washed his hands of all involvement in her birth.

[14:27] Oolon Sputnik: You are so steeped in your history and the reflections of our past... …this is not Gallifrey Sen. Maybe I should look to the present, and the here and now, for a solution to this ;-)

[14:28] Terry Lightfoot begins to gain a new admiration for the new old Oolon

[14:28] Oolon Sputnik:

[14:29] Oolon Sputnik: Surely, that would be the last thing you would expect ;-)

[14:29] Terry Lightfoot whispers: Not now that Oolon you've told her!

[14:29] Oolon Sputnik whispers: Or led her astray…

[14:29] Sen Pixie: I believe your plan is necessary. Please proceed with caution. A little genetic enhancement of your own mind does not make you an equal to the weapons that our races creators were they themselves... afraid of.

[14:30] Oolon Sputnik: I understand Sen, believe me, but our plans will be our own and not for your ears...

[14:30] Oolon Sputnik: ...and I must add, you are now and will always be my friend.

[14:30] Sen Pixie: Good. Our people can be arrogant. The vampyre's almost committed genecide against us for it…

[14:30] Oolon Sputnik: Your words, even in these times, mean a lot to me I hope you know.

[14:31] Oolon Sputnik: Tell me, how is Solis. Is she still here?

[14:31] Oolon Sputnik: I'm worried for her also.

[14:31] Sen Pixie: She is, but was frightened by the events that transpired.

[14:31] Terry Lightfoot looks at Sen with curiosity…

[14:31] Sen Pixie: Were it not for her, I would still be stranded in my own consciousness.

[14:31] Oolon Sputnik: She of all people knows the history of our people...

[14:32] Sen Pixie: She led me back when I simply returned here and dumped my mind into the computer with a frantic carelessness.

[14:32] Oolon Sputnik: Hmmm...

[14:32] Oolon Sputnik: ...she was afraid by what you were...

[14:33] Sen Pixie: She does not often admit it... but her telepathic abilities are considerable.

[14:33] Oolon Sputnik: ...what you ARE.

[14:33] Sen Pixie: What I am right now is simply stranded.

[14:33] Oolon Sputnik nods towards the new console

[14:33] Oolon Sputnik: I see you have been busy...

[14:33] Sen Pixie: There is little else to do.

[14:34] Oolon Sputnik: Directly into the engine eh?

[14:34] Terry Lightfoot: Gosh this is beautiful!

[14:34] Sen Pixie: Because of how I operate, that has always been the way.

[14:35] Sen Pixie: Which is why I can not leave.

[14:35] Sen Pixie: I can not separate the living metal that most the ship is constructed of from the energy source.

[14:36] Terry Lightfoot: Sen?

[14:36] Oolon Sputnik takes subtle power readings as he speaks...

[14:36] Sen Pixie: Yes Terry?

[14:36] Terry Lightfoot: May I wander around?

[14:36] Sen Pixie: Please do.

[14:36] Terry Lightfoot: Thank you :-)

[14:37] Oolon Sputnik: I was laid up for longer than I thought this time, after the regeneration, and I had time to think myself...

[14:37] Sen Pixie: Please share Oolon.

[14:37] Oolon Sputnik: How well do you know Drillon?

[14:38] Sen Pixie: Very. He has been instrumental in help me rebuild/heal after the first attack that stranded all of us here.

[14:38] Oolon Sputnik: Yes, he found us both quickly. Almost immediately one might say...

[14:38] Sen Pixie: I thought that also. But I am not easy to miss for one with a TARDIS…

[14:39] Sen Pixie: You however...

[14:39] Terry Lightfoot wanders upstairs with one ear half cocked…

[14:39] Oolon Sputnik: Drillon, due to his dabbling in the ways of other races, specifically the Kelad, was banished here by the high council...

[14:40] Sen Pixie: The Kaleds. If only they had never been allowed to evolve...

[14:40] Oolon Sputnik eyes Sen for a second.

[14:40] Oolon Sputnik: Hmmm, well. Ironic all he would need to return is a TARDIS engineer and a sizable power source.

[14:40] Oolon Sputnik continues to take subtle readings...

[14:41] Sen Pixie: Sizable is a mild understatement Oolon.

[14:41] Sen Pixie: Only a black hole or the vortex itself could ressurect his ship.

[14:41] Oolon Sputnik: And ours...

[14:41] Oolon Sputnik: ...ironic, don't you think.

[14:42] Oolon Sputnik nods to Terry as she comes down the stairs.

[14:42] Oolon Sputnik whispers: Terry, stand by me...

[14:42] Terry Lightfoot: I’m here, don’t worry, I'm not going anywhere!

[14:42] Oolon Sputnik: Your old, and proud, but not stupid Sen. We still have other things to fix. We need you and we will find a way :-)

[14:43] Oolon Sputnik: Sen, we're going to Transmat away now...

[14:43] Sen Pixie: I understand.

[14:44] Oolon Sputnik: We'll keep in touch :-)

[14:44] Sen Pixie: Thank you both for coming by - it's the only way I can see any one these days.

[14:44] Terry Lightfoot: Nice seeing you in an improved state, Sen.

[14:45] Oolon Sputnik: We'll call again soon then :-)

[14:45] Terry Lightfoot smiles.

[14:45] Sen Pixie: Thank you Oolon Sputnik.

[14:45] Oolon Sputnik: Call us, if you need us. You know where we are, for now.

[14:46] Sen Pixie: I will, thank you my friend.

TRANSMAT

[14:46] Oolon Sputnik: Sheeeesh…

[14:47] Terry Lightfoot: Shall I put the kettle on?

[14:47] Oolon Sputnik: This is going to be interesting.

[14:47] Terry Lightfoot: That's an understatement!

[14:47] Oolon Sputnik winds up the gramophone with a little Bix Beiderbecke, and offers Terry his hand...

Recovery Time

I am well enough now to put pen to paper. Reading back through these pages I must praise myself for chronicling events leading to today. I may have dressed like a tradesman but it appears I had some form of head on my shoulders.

The past few days I have drank chi tea and been at the good grace of little Lette and young Terrance. They have cared for me admirably, as only true friends could, and I can not praise them highly enough for their kind support and companionship.

And so to Sen. I have yet to speak to my old friend and I believe in the sanctuary of her TARDIS she will be recovered. Her bond with her craft can be nothing other than stabilising and for now we are safe. Things got a tad confusing Thursday last, and I must speak with her in person before we go off half cocked in this matter. Was she possessed? She certainly seemed to come round, yet apparently attacked me. Has a timeless poison lay dormant in her veins all this time? I must look in her eyes and hear her voice and prey we were all mistaken.

During the process the power from The Eye was most assuredly diverted. If it had not been for this unforeseen event Sen would not have needed to expend energy and help me as she did. She must have drained herself most terribly in doing this. Our old adversary, whom ever that may be, was watching us.

Drillon came to see me. I could see his thoughts in his eyes. "You look old" they said. He's right, I do. That said, praise be, I do not feel old. I feel somewhat rejuvenated. I feel sharp and clean, and while not yet fit enough to be walking abroad I'm confident this regeneration has been an outstanding success. My mind is alive with possibilities. A success, but at what price remains to be seen.

I will amuse myself here on an old project. Test this new mind and these old hands. For a long time now I have been meaning to create for myself a tool suitable for my lifestyle here. Something subtle and appropriate to the period. Something Sen does not know about.

I have lists my friends made me of how I was. I remember, but it is no longer me. Some things I don't remember, but most are obvious. After all, Miss. Begonia, it is only common sense to take a banana to a party.

Crossing

Last night I did something that could have been foolish in the extreme. Not like me.

I kept out of the way from everyone, well, nearly everyone.

I couldn't see Terry (and I so wanted to, but it would have hurt her more than I could bear) or Fushia, or Alfonso but I had to know and I had to say goodbye properly. What if something went wrong and I never said goodbye? Children can keep secrets.

People have been filling my head with doubts. So I went forward. She didn't tell me too much, apparently I warn her tomorrow about not doing so (NB: add that to the list before you forget).

We went to Svarga and I watched the sunset and we talked. We talked for hours and explored the ruins.

She wanted to tell me something but I stopped her, made her promise not to, the First Law and all that. At least I know I'll be okay. I make it. That's good, yeah?

Explaining Why

My dear Miss Elytis,

Thank you for your concern last night. I'm more touched than perhaps my brisk nature sometimes shows and your kind words meant a lot. I understand this is as difficult a concept to grasp as that of coffee without caffeine, and I hope this will help. To us, my regeneration is essential. I feel it is important to explain why this must be so. I owe everyone that, and this is not the time for mystery.

Terry and I arrived here some, well, in your time line 8 months or so ago. For me it has been much longer but that's an other story. In short, our craft (known commonly by the good people of Caledon as our Etheric Travel Cabinet) was disabled and, we believe, we were attacked in mid-flight. It's possible this was a side effect of what happened to my fellow Time Lord (though she is a whole different kettle of fish) Sen Pixie.

Sen is an expert Temporal Engineer and SIDRAT technician. She is far older and more experienced than I in these matters. We believe it was her who was attacked, and her travelling companion the Time Lord named Solis. Together with Drillon (who was exiled here by the High Council long ago) we are the only 4 of our species in your relam. It's highly likely that any other Time Lords you meet are inherent to this world and may be VERY different in nature.

We are now without power. Our power source, the Eye of Harmony, is cut off from the black sun beneath the Panopticon on Gallifrey. Possibly the power is being diverted away, we're not sure and lack the knowledge to confirm this. We have some residual energy, enough to make short forays across the grid, but not enough to escape atmosphere or return to our dimension.

Sen was attacked, and killed, of that we have no doubt. Disturbingly, she was attacked from 5th dimensional space (from the region of space/time in which the interior of the SIDRAT sits, which is theoretically impossible). She chose to save herself by uploading her conciousness into her TARDIS, a version of the ETC of which you know, and survived this way. Eventually downloading herself into a dying Time Lord host here in your world. Solis was nearly killed, escaped shortly before my death in the ship's escape pod, and was flung back in time. Suffering amnesia she lived for generations, regenerating at old age, hailed as the living goddess of a primitive a superstitious jungle tribe. Her and Sen were only reunited recently.

I myself, then in my first regeneration, died not long after arrival. Rassilon be praised we landed in a far outpost of Caledon at Pena. Terry had transformed, she protected Emilly with her body. She is Shidi, as you know, and survived the impact. I did not. We were taken in by good carni folk and cared for until I recovered. Of all the people here, only they have never know me to be different. When I regenerated I was greatly changed, but my form was one better able to live in this world and in Caledon. The ETC, my dear old friend, was badly damaged.

Terry and I have been friends a very long time. I love her like a sister. She is my friend, my long suffering assistant, my companion since the beginning of all this, and the reason I carry on. Emilly is Emilly and is simply fabulous anywhere. She has made a good life for herself here, but we are all trapped. We don't belong. We must go home, but we are not able. We must solve this. This is not our planet, and we are reminded of that every day. The main thing holding us back is knowledge.

Solis is a master historian. Sen is, well, an engineer I suppose. Drillon is all muscle, and was forced to regenerate far too recently when attacked in his own craft. I am a molecular biologist and have never had the smarts for work such as this. We need a better mind.

The ETC is ready and finally repaired. I have a working Zero Room to help my regeneration. Sen has done this once before, in theory. I have done extensive calculations. I was trained to work the Genetic Looms of Gallifrey and this is something I know can be done. We can craft a better mind. This is something I can do, and something that will be the catalyst for much more.

The obvious questions come to mind. What is our missing energy being used for? Why was Sen attacked and what has the power to do such a thing from 5th Dimensional Space? After my regeneration we can look to this with a fresh and superior intellect. We can solve this.

I will enter the Zero Room (the walls of which will shield me from the rest of the universe and provide a restful environment for recuperation) and upload 'myself' to the ETC mainframe. We will then destroy my existing body, I will manipulate my genetic code to what we need, and I will download my conciousness into my new form. I will stay in the Zero Room during this time as the regenerative cycle creates a large amount of energy which is often not entirely contained within a Time Lord's body. Sen has experienced a very similar process once before and she will be there to help me. There is much more to Sen than meets the eye.

So, there you have it. I have tried to do as much as possible in these last few days. Yes, I will be different after the process, there is no denying that. I will, however, still be me. Me, but smarter and in a different body. I may be confused or disorientated at first. This is perfectly normal. A limited degree of amnesia is not uncommon. It will pass. I get to do this 12 times in my lifetime. I am 411 years old. I'm statistically doing marvellously. Oh, and yes, I know I live in a time machine but the First Law of Time forbids such frivolity.

On Thursday, there will be a short good bye drink in the ETC before hand. I don't want a lot of fuss. If you can attend, that would be lovely and I know Kiralette would appreciate your support. I want a dance with Terry, and one with Virrgina, just in case. I have said my goodbyes to Emilly already as she is singing in Paris that night and doesn't really understand (bless her). One last whiskey with Alfonso, Roy, Angus and O'Tool if he can make it. I hope for no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. I hope they will all go forward in their beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.

Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for your concern. I know, like me, you sometimes feel distant from the ways of Caledon society and we have spoken of this before. Your friendship and kind attention has always been appreciated. I'm sure beyond doubt that our friendship will not change.

Keep your chin up. Look after the nice ones. The very best of wishes.

Doctor Oolon Sputnik
Commodore of The Imperial Navy of Caledon

x

Commodore Sputnik?

Ever thought about a career at sea? No? Me neither, well, until today that is.

I used to sail on the great canals in the Citadel on Gallifrey. The Admiral dropped me a boat last week, a three manner really but with sympathetic lines, and it was like second nature all over again.

Now I'm not saying anyone planned this, but when the Guvnah and Admiral Wind asked me would I like to take up a position in the ranks, and hinted I could ditch the Colonel thing like a hot brick in exchange for the rank of Commodore, it fair peaked my curiosity.

So. Fancy a spanky new uniform and loads of other goodies? Come join the navy. We're like the Caledon boosters, running events for Caledon, with rum and really big hats.

We're having a recruitment event at the Salty Mermaid by the hub in Kittiwickshire. Come down and get yourself some grog. It's a free bar from 2pm SLT 'till 6. The 9th of June. So come on down for dancing, games, fun, and grog. 2pm SLT, 'till 6 (or 'till we drink the bar dry). Prizes for best arm wrestler!

The navy will be doing it's bit for Caledon. Come on over, find out more, and join in the wholesome nautical shinaigans. We need you to help us run events and social gatherings on behalf of Caledon and good Admiral Shang. Charity events, sim anniversaries, you name it.

Ranks are open for good lads and lasses. Please do come along as it will save unfortunate press-ganging issues at a later date. All the nice girls, boys, and furry creatures of indeterminate gender, love a sailor (so I'm told).