A Return to Shada (Romana and 4)

In the deep crevices of space and time, beyond planets and wormholes, hidden in a small pocket dimension that exists outside of time, floated a substantially large asteroid that housed an incredibly small building. To the untrained eye, it looked like a small, metallic cylinder with an intricate keypad and an almost invisible storm door.

Inside this building, however, was some of the most dangerous time criminals that ever lived and breathed in the history of time itself. Unusually enough, the cylinder was a lot bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

On the immediate inside of the cylinder, one was met with a huge architectural feat that only transdimensional engineering would be able to explain. Huge arches that stretched for five or six stories rose menacingly over the entranceway. A guard station sat right in front of the entrance, empty and dust covered. It had long since stayed empty since upgraded to a computer system.

The building was annoyingly quiet. Not a single sound could be heard throughout the entire building. Fine and minute dust scattered the ground. Not a single thing could disturb it....

....whiirr......
...whhiiiiirrrrrrr........
....Whiirr........
WHIIRRRR........
WWHHHIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
THWUMMMUMMMMUMMMM!

A faded old police box materialized in the middle of the room, causing a circular and whipped pattern in the centuries-old undisturbed dust. The light on top of the box flashed periodically, giving light to the surrounding gothic displays.

The door opened up, revealing a Bohemian looking man in a grey frock coat studded with an artist pallet brooch, brown plaid waistcoat, buccaneer boots, and an obnoxiously long scarf, wrapped around him twice, forming a giant, knee-long loop, having both ends drag along the ground.

In his hands he held a velvet explorer's fedora, crunched up. He flattened it out and plopped it atop of his curly furball of a head. "Here we are Romana! The masterpiece of the galaxy, the Intergalactic Museum of Art! At least fifty times better than the Louve, thirty times better than the Metropolitan Museum of History, and two times as better than the Confectioner's Cafe in Sweden. I don't know why you would want to see this, after that last ordeal with Count Scarlioni--"

He paused in his tracks, taking in teh absurd scenery that had surrounded him, letting out a barely audible uh oh... echo though the hall.

"What, it's not like you've ever let one bad experience hamper your enjoyment," Romana said from inside the TARDIS. "I happen to like art, despite the Count."

She emerged, wearing a long-sleeve pink silk dress, and closed the door behind her. "Really Doctor, I don't know why we didn't come here to begin with. These pieces should be- oh."

For the first time, Romana looked around at their surroundings. It was utterly deserted, a strange cross between a cathedral and a fort. She approached the Doctor silently from behind.

"You missed," she whispered at him, before tiptoeing over to the empty guard station. She ran a finger through the dust.

"We have to be the first ones here in centuries! I wonder..." She tucked a few stray blonde hairs behind her ear and wiped the guard's console of the years upon years of disuse. It revealed a simple computer system, familiar in design. "Doctor, come take a look at this!"

The Doctor trotted over to Romana, causing a faint reverberation of footsteps to bounce back and fourth in the expansively large foyer. He observed the faintly familiar computer operating system. "It looks simple enough, Romana. Just got to find the on switch...Ah! Here we are!"

The Doctor pressed an official looking switch, taking a wild guess in the dark. Or it could have been the simple "on/off" sign above the button. But the Doctor wouldn't tell. A faint humming came from the computer screen, lighting up the console. The light shone across their two faces as the computer began it's primary check-ups.

The Doctor took a moment to look around their surroundings. There was something familiar about this place. Spooky, but familiar. The stale smell of the air reminded one that the oxygen air filters were long overdue for a changing. The architecture seemed to echo of another time, but purposefully so. It gave one the feeling of foreboding doom and ensnarement. Much like the British Parliament.

As the computer screen got brighter, a sudden and terrible thought flew through his head. His hearts began to pound a bit faster. His suddenly became anxious. "Romana, I think it's time we get back to the TARDIS...."

He looked down at the screen, which was fully booted up. He typed up a few calculations into the computer. The whole room began to buzz and whine, when at last the walls began to light up. A luminescent pattern of space began to illuminate the room. Planets, stars, galaxies, novas, all began to form on the ceiling. Within a few seconds, the whole room was seeable. This is what caused the Doctor to let out an even more audible oh no!

For above the guards desk, in circular Gallifreyian, were the words "Shada Timelord Containment Facility."

Romana got the same feeling of dread at the same time the Doctor did. She grabbed his hand and slowly backed them out of the guard room just as the ceiling illuminated the building.

It was beautiful, to be sure, but it meant that they knew exactly what this place was.

"Shada," she gasped. "Doctor we can't just leave. You've activated the computers! The prisoners could wake up!" A cold shiver ran up her spine, thinking of all the prisoners contained here, and what they could do upon release.

Oh but she could smack him sometimes!

She peered around the foyer, noticing a path that led out of sight. "We need to make sure you didn't deactivate any security precautions. We can't let the prisoners loose!"