My Favorite Martian (Clara, Zal, 4)

Night had come and Zalatar was wondering what was keeping Clara. Obviously he wasn't aware of what a family celebration was like, or how long it was, so he began to become impatient on the idea that Clara would've been back sooner. When he did hear her approaching he looked around, listening as her voice called out. When he approached it was from behind.

"Commander, there you are." he hissed, likely startling her a bit. "I wished to tell you that I have sent a signal back towards the source of the noise. Hopefully it will bring the Doctor to this location. As well as the message you left."

"Queen to Rook 7."

"Ah, K-9! What a terrible move! You really should have thought about your move better."

The Doctor laid on the TARDIS floor, scarf wrapped lazily around his neck as he clinked the pieces forward on the chess board. The hand carved ivory and ebony pieces still reeked of perfume and incense, a gift from the Maharaja of India in the 12th Century for saving his prized elephants from poachers from the fifth star in the constellation of Orion.

In the quiet hum of the console room, the only sounds that echoed through the massive space was the scratchy record of Don Giovanni in the background. The crescendos and decrescendos, the orchestra stringing and linking melodies and harmonies, almost hypnotically entrancing the Doctor---

*RING RING RING*

The sound broke into the melodic entrancement of the Opera. The Doctor's eyes split wide open, obviously startled by the unusual sound.

*RING RING RING*

The Doctor looked up to the console, and hopped up on his feet. He began to frantically search the console for the source of the sound. "K-9? Are you making that sound?"

"Negative, master. The sound appears to be a telephone alert."

"I know what a telephone sounds like, you tin trash compactor."

*RING RING RING*

The Doctor, furiously typing on his console, desperately trying to locate the source of the sound. When at last, it hit him. The Doctor looked up at the doors of the TARDIS, back down to K-9, and back to the door. "Well....we are a police telephone box."

"The signal will stay in focus for the time being, Commander." Zalatar hissed. "I have accessed it's original source with my armor. So wherever I am, the Doctor and his TARDIS will arrive."

With that the Ice Warrior looked around for a few moments waiting to see if anything would happen. He walked back to his section in his little base and sat down, patiently waiting for the Doctor's arrival. In any incident otherwise he still stood on standby for Clara's protection and/or orders as well.

His red eyes kept looking up and around, expecting the Doctor's TARDIS to come flying in from above. He'd only heard rumors and stories but never seen either of them in person. To say that he was like a child a Christmas was as close to an analogy as you could meet with this Martian soldier.

The ever curious Doctor walked over to the TARDIS console, flipped a knob, and was immediately hurled against the interior walls. The console screeched and moaned, sparked and smoked. K-9, who was often the sore victim of said unexpected misfortunes, was flipped over on his side near the base of the console. "Master?"

The Doctor's back ached from being slammed up against the wall. He was getting too old for this. He managed to get himself adjusted and stood back up. He went over to the console to make sure everything was (somewhat) okay. He rubbed his hand up one side of the panel, and back down, leaning in close enough to kiss it. "What's the matter, old girl?"

The TARDIS buzzed and hummed quietly, as if nothing had happened. However, when the Doctor checked his coordinates, he had realized the TARDIS stopped moving. It had landed somewhere. Without further avail, the Doctor checked the TARDIS archives, in any effort to make sense of his coordinates.

Impatient, the Doctor ran over to the coat rack, grabbed his scarf and coat, and hurried out the door to see for himself.

Upon hearing Claa's question Zalatar hissed instead of answering. Obviously he was a bit embarrassed to say so, given that Clara had told him to be more careful before.

The noise had finally come in real life. The odd sounding horn that could only come from the TARDIS itself. Zalatar perked up when the sound started off low before slowly growing and eventually growing loud enough that he could see where it was coming from.

The TARDIS manifested just in front of where his base was, Zalatar glad to see his plan worked. When it had fully 'landed' Zalatar rose to his feet and proceeded towards it. Despite Clara being there he pushed past her to be the one to meet with the Doctor first.

When he emerged Zalatar was not aware that this was not the Doctor they were waiting for. Instead he only gave a hissed of delight when he saw the man with the long scarf and curly hair.

"Greetings Doctor." he hissed. "It is an honor to finally meet you in person." He went down on one knee and finished with "I am humbled, sir."

The Doctor, upon exiting his craft, was immediately greeted with a terrifyingly familiar face: an Ice Warrior. Before the Doctor could slam the doors in his face, the creature greeted him in the traditional Ice Warrior greeting of honor. Stunned and confused, the Doctor exited his craft, searching for the right words to pontificate to the martian's compliments.

"I, uh, am most honored as well, uh, I didn't happen to catch your name? Now listen, I don't know what you're doing here on Earth, but if any of your friends are around trying to conquer this planet, you've got another thi--"

Interrupting the Doctor's fair warnings to the Ice Warrior, he saw a fairly young girl running towards the blue box. Pushing past the Doctor and the Ice Warrior, seeming unphased by the alien creature, she rushed into the TARDIS. Echoing from inside, he could hear her called for the Doctor. Turning around, he met her eyes when she turned around, the obvious look of confusion rushing across her face as she saw the Doctor and the Ice Warrior enter the craft.

"The other Doctor?! Listen here, I am the definite article! The real deal. Were you expecting someone else?"

Again, being interrupted by the TARDIS, the console began to release a warning signal, flashing and blaring inside the console room. The Doctor rushed over to the console, flipping switches and pushing buttons frantically. A look of horror flashed across his face. "We've got no time for pleasantries. Take a listen."

He flipped a switch, turning on a radio intercom with no defined source, broadcasting a message that seemed interstellar.

"Attention creatures of Earth. This is Commander Zaul of the Second Imperial Faction of the Martian Empire. Surrender your weapons and your resources, and prepare to be conquered in the name of the Mars and the Ice Warrior empire."

When asked the Ice Warrior said "I am Zalatar, sir." with a hiss. "And this is my commander..."

He was indicating to Clara before she'd already proceeded forward and into the TARDIS. Zalatar found it odd of her to just suddenly walk into the TARDIS, even if she did know the Doctor. But then, upon hearing her say he wasn't the Doctor Zalatar rose to his feet and looked confused.

"But he must be, Commander Clara." he hissed. "He is a timelord, correct? And he travels in a blue box. There is no one else in the universe who it could otherwise be."

Before anymore information could be attained, either by Clara or the Doctor, Zalatar saw as he rushed off to deal with the controls before cautiously stepping into the TARDIS himself. He took a moment to look around in awe at the spectacle of hos larger it was on the inside before seeing the small robotic dog in the room.

"What sort of creature is this?" he asked, indicating K-9. Before he could get hi answers he listened to the transmission being sent and seemed both confused and yet anxious about it. "Commander....Zaul?" he said before asking "Where is that transmission coming from? I need the source's location."

The Doctor, frantically maintaining the helm, yanked a lever on the opposite side of the console from where he was standing, sending the TARDIS into a very mild, gentle rocking motion. The Doctor looked up from his console towards Clara and the the Ice Warrior Zal. "Commander Zaul is one of the most dangerous renegade Ice Warriors and the head of one of the most dangerous clan leaders that ever walked the universe. No mercy, no honor."

The Doctor zoomed around the console room, beepers buzzing and lights flashing. The TARDIS was flying and zooming through the stars and universe, flying past stars and moons, and finally came to a gentle halt. The Doctor looked up from his busy work. "There's not a whole lot we can--wait, SHE'S your Commander? Well, I suppose truth is stranger than fiction."

The Doctor kicked a switch, turned around to face the companions in his TARDIS with a serious look, and leaned up against the console. "I am the Doctor, yes. This little tin dog is K-9, he's useful sometimes. This is the TARDIS, as you may see. You've known me from my future, so you have the advantage of knowing where I go and what I do. I may ask that the first rule of time travel is not to interfere with history. Like reading ahead in a book. If you know the ending, it becomes definite. HOWEVER, I do have one rule aboard my ship: first things, first. But not necessarily in that order."

Given how the Doctor already knew Zaul, Zalatar was impressed with his knowledge of the Martian people. Given that this was not the Doctor apparently intended by Clara to call, the young Ice Warrior was still grateful to be in his presence nonetheless.

After everything was said by the Doctor Zalatar added in with "Zaul was dishonored because of his tactics in battle. But he was not alone. A few other warriors joined him in what he believes to be a noble cause of no mercy to win battles." With a low angered hiss he finished with "My father once knew him as a friend until he turned his back on our people. But I want to find him. If not for stopping him from attacking Earth, it will mean something if my people know that I stopped him."

He looked back to Clara to show how certian he was of his resolve to stopping Zaul. He was not considered among the people, much like Zalatar himself, but even he knew that there was no honor in his choices. If stopping him meant anything to his kind he would see it done in a heartbeat.

The Doctor turned to the girl, nodded to the Ice Warrior, then back to the girl. "It does appear that we are indeed in space, my dear Clara. And this Ice Warrior, Zaul, is no laughing matter. Nor can he be dealt with in any ordinary fashion. I've faced these green, lego-handed...no offense, Zal, you seem quite nice...creatures before. And in no certain pleasant terms."

The Doctor yanked a lever on his TARDIS, which sent the console room into a fit: spinning, whirling, twirling, and twisting. The hatstand near the door was knocked to it's side. Scarves of various lengths and sizes went toppling to the floor. The Doctor hung onto the console for dear life, a habit that he was now used to.

After the ado settled, the Doctor flipped a switch that revealed a rather large screen to the outside. The TARDIS was positioned in front of a rather large and massive looking ship, freckled with rust red dust and battle warn black smudges. "Ahh! How very interesting."

The Doctor turned to Zal. "I'm assuming you know what THAT is."

He turned to Clara. "That, my dear, is a Mark VII Martian Imperial Battle Cruiser, outlawed by the Proclamation of the Seventh Order under the Sontaran/Ice Warrior Alliance about two centuries ago. Presumably they were all destroyed....looks like they've missed one."

While the Doctor spoke of the other Ice Warriors he encountered Zalatar wasn't interested. His mind was so focused on stopping Zaul that he didn't hear when the Doctor has almost insulted his kind. To be frank he wouldn't have cared anyway. Words were not the true warriors weapons, not true ones at least.

"The Doctor is correct, Commander Clara." he did say when it was mentioned that Zaul and his men were dangerous. "Zaul was one of the highest ranking warriors among the fleets until his exile. During that time he'd gained a number of loyal officers to follow him. When he was exiled so were the rest. But instead they took it as a prideful step into their new order. When they fight they do so without helmets, to show the glorious figure of Martian kind."

When the image of the ship was brought up Zalatar hissed a little, though loud enough that it could be heard by Clara and the Doctor. The sight of the ship both angered him but also made the warrior a little nervous.

"That is his ship, given to him for his services in the war. It is called the Olympian, after the great mountain of our planet. This will make things.....difficult."

The Doctor scanned the Martian ship with his eyes, and perhaps twice over with his TARDIS. The computer aboard the TARDIS began to fizz and hum, then released a rather pleasant *TING*, as if one's turkey could be done.

The Doctor raced over to the panel here the computer analysis screen was displaying readouts. The screen was zooming with circular Gallifrean and thousands, if not millions of numbers and data displays. The Martian ship, which was the focus of the main readout of course, provided to be of rather interesting specs. "Ah-HA!"

The Doctor looked up at the odd couple in his console room with a grin, and then casually walked over to his coat rack. He obtained his frock and a scarf, which somehow had made it's way to the rack, adorned them, then grabbed his green velvet hat from atop the bobbing time rotor, and yanked a lever on his way past the console.

The doors trilled open, and the Doctor exited the TARDIS.

In answer to Clara's question the Ice Warrior hissed "The rust shows signs of scaring. Obviously Zaul has had this ship for most of his career. But the hull of the ship is designed to endure the sands of Mars constant erosion. And from what I have seen, this vessel we are in does not have offensive capabilities. We will need to strike from within."

He turned as the Doctor began to work on whatever console readouts he was looking over at the control panel for the TARDIS. From what Zalatar could understand they seemed like the schematics for the ship itself. There wasn't much he could say about them, given he wasn't as verse in these sort of things as compared to proper Martian scientist.

When the Doctor exited Zalatar followed, asking the obvious question of "Where have you taken us, Doctor?"

An icy chill permeated the TARDIS as the doors opened up. Outside the TARDIS was dark and dank, almost musty with a slight metallic tinge to the air. The Doctor's boots clanged as they hit the grating of the hallway. He turned back to the two who were peering out of the TARDIS.

"I've taken you into the lion's den directly. We are aboard the martian ship. Now, I've dealt with these rogues before, and if my memory serves me correctly, there are more peaceful tactics to handling situations like this than just barging straight into battle. The plan is to meet the commander of this ship and negotiate a settlement."

The Doctor's eyes raced with fury and unwillingness. The usually friendly and toothy-grinned Doctor had taken a dark and serious commitment to his role in this battle, and he seemed willing and desperate to negotiate anything for the safety of humanity. Whether or not he had realized that this could be a possible suicide mission was beyond the comprehension of his thinking at the moment, but he had assured himself in a passing thought that he knew he couldn't do this alone.

For a moment Zalatar felt a nostalgic flutter of memories pass through his mind as he stepped onto the ship. He'd not been inside an actual Martian ship for so long, not since his days of service. Being back inside one, and the infamous Olympian at that, it had almost seemed like a whole other life time for the young soldier.

His thoughts came back to reality when the Doctor had opt to negotiate with Zaul and his crew. Zalatar's immediate reaction was a angered hiss before walking up to face the Doctor close-up to show how intent he was to not negotiate peace with these rouges.

"These soldiers to not deserve peace." the Ice Warrior hissed. "They have no honor. And they do not seek redemption for it. They have lost the rights for negotiating long ago. The only offering they will have his the closest thing to an honorable death I can grant them."

Of course in this little bout of anger Zalatar had forgotten it wasn't his word or the Doctor's that would be final but Clara's.

The Doctor turned around to look at the duo, who were still standing in the doorway of the TARDIS. He approached Zal menacingly and with fury in his eyes. He came nearly nose-to-nose with the Martian, releasing his fire and anger, which almost seemed centuries old.

"Listen to me, you lizard from the dawn of time. I've met your species before, on several occasions, and not with the best intentions. I've seen my companions experience hypothermia from your species' lack of respect and honor for prisoners of war. I've experienced firsthand the terror of being subject to your culture's need to adapt the Earth to fit their own special terraforming needs. I've felt life slip between my fingers as I've watched laboratories filled with some of the most brilliant minds dissolve before my eyes. Just once I'd like to choose a better option than fighting. For once, I'd like to give HIM the choice of life or death. He chooses the latter, I adapt to a more drastic plan. Until then, shut up and sit back."

After hearing the Doctor give his little rant Zalatar hissed a little from his raised voice. Despite what Clara had said he still looked defiant towards the Doctor, staring at him through his red visor eyes. After a moment he finally began to smirk before backing away from the Doctor.

"You would make a fine commander, Doctor." he said before turning back to Clara and saying "I can see why you thought we would need his help."

With that out of the way the Ice Warrior stood aside and allowed the human and Time Lord to take command. Even at his worst Zalatar knew to respect authority, especially when it was demonstrated to him the way the Doctor had just done.