Counting with Fairies Ch 6

Chapter 6

Sally followed the Doctor after a quick nod to the fairies.  She wasn't sure what she was suppose to do.  Neither the fairies or the Doctor had spoken much to her.  She didn't mind because she wasn't sure what to say to the fairies anyway.  The Doctor had promised her the Pascaline and instead she was being introduced to fairies and alien fairies.  And the Doctor had said something about being from another planet.  She decided it was time to ask some questions she had been thinking of.

"Doctor?"

"Hmm? What?  Oh, Sally," the Doctor seemed surprised  to see her.  "I'm sorry.  I got thinking about the Poikyo and forgot, um, everything else."  He wasn't going to admit he had forgotten about her after his visit with the fairies.

"I see.  It's alright.  May I ask you some questions while we walk?"

"Yes of course," the Doctor answered.

"We've been able to communicate very well with the locals.  I don't know your education, but I know mine and I know that I cannot speak more than ten words in French.  How is it we are talking to them and why do they sound like they are speaking English?"

The Doctor smiled, "An excellent question Sally.  It's the TARDIS.  It does all the translating for us."

"How is that possible when it is, well, where ever we left it and we are here?"

"Telepathy."

Sally scrunched her face, "Telepathy?  That's not a very scientific answer."

"How about this, then, it is a highly advanced technology from your future."

"Don't get smart with me, Doctor," Sally said.

"Sorry," the Doctor said apologetically.  He didn't mean to get snappy.

"It's alright.  If the answer to that question is your time machine's telepathic, then I'll accept that.  For now," she grinned at the Doctor and he gave her a mischievous half smile in return.

"Next question Doctor.  You said you are from another planet.  Is this true?"

"It is," the Doctor answered.

"Is it one of the planets in our solar system?"  Sally asked.  She felt like she was playing a game of 20 questions with the Doctor.

"No.  My home planet is in a different section of the universe."

"Will you tell me the name of your planet?" Sally asked.

"Gallifrey."

"Gallifrey," Sally repeated.  "I like the sound of that name.  So are you and your people human?"

"Human, like Earthlings?  No, we're not, but we are, as you can see, humanoid.  Outwardly, we look very much alike."  The Doctor really hated explaining these things, but that was the hazard of taking on a new companion.   Molly had never asked these questions, but there had never really been the time either.  They had spent their entire time together running from the Daleks.  There had been little time for talk.  Thankfully, Sally didn't seem too worked up over the answers and was accepting them fairly well.  It seemed to him that she was simply getting the answers now and she would mull the meanings around in her head before asking anymore.

"And these Poikyo are like fairies, but on another planet?" Sally asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

Sally paused in her question asking for a few moments while they walked on, each step bringing them closer to a large group of rocks and boulders.

"Have you been to many planets, Doctor?"

"Yes."

"So then your TARDIS is more than just a time machine,"  Sally said.

"Right.  It is a spaceship and time machine."

"And these other planets you've been to, are there humanoids and fairies on many of them?"  Sally  asked.

"Many of them, yes," the Doctor answered her.  "There are even some planets where the fairies are the dominate species.

"Really?  That's," Sally paused looking for the right words, "wonderfully fun to think about."  She smiled.

The Doctor kept walking towards the group of rocks and he could even see a small cliff.  Just before they reached the outer rocks that made up the rock formations, Sally popped one more question on him.

"Are mermaids real too?"

The Doctor stopped and looked at her.  It was a highly unscientific question from Sally.  "Of course mermaids are real.  They can be found on many planets in the universe."

"Earth?"

"Yes, on Earth too."  The Doctor answered.

Sally's eyes grew wide and a smile spread across her face.  "I'm so glad.  I loved mermaid stories as a child and hoped they were real.  I'm glad to know they are."

The Doctor and Sally stood grinning at each other for a few moments.  The Doctor knew the most important thing a scientist could do was keep a strong child-like imagination.  Without an imagination, it is near impossible for a scientist to dream up new theories, new subjects to explore, new ways of doing things.  It was easy to lose that imagination when your everyday was filled with mathematical calculations or mundane problems, and in Sally's case as director of the Ides Scientific Institute, she also had to deal with board meetings and budget problems.  Not good for the imagination at all.

Nope, these fairies and finding out mermaids are real was probably just what Sally needed, the Doctor thought to himself.  He hoped he was refueling the fire of her imagination so when she went back to the institute, her newly fed imagination would spur on many scientific breakthroughs for her.

All these thoughts flashed through the Doctor's brain in less than a moment of time.  He returned his thoughts to the situation at hand.  The Poikyo.  They were headed for an all out fairy war and the Doctor knew that would not be pretty.  More than one species could be wiped out in a situation like that.  No, he was going to do his best to help both sides.

"Do you think the Poikyo are here?" Sally asked, looking up at the boulders and cliffs.

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, I believe that they are."

"So do we announce our arrival to them or do we just try and find them?  If we try to find them, we might surprise them, which could be to our advantage, but it might make them more hostile and we might never get to explain our propose."

The Doctor was liking Sally more and more.  She didn't just ask 'what now?'  She had already thought up two scenarios and determined which course of action would be best.  "More than likely," the Doctor said, "they have already spotted us and are watching from a distance.  I think the best thing would be to acknowledge them and let them come to us."

"Well, you probably know best, Doctor.   You seem to have diplomatic experience in dealing with other intelligent species."

The Doctor nodded.  He looked at the rocks and saw an area that seemed most likely to have a cave.  He climbed up into the boulders.  Sally followed him.

"Hello Poikyo from the planet Bhafaigja.  I am the Doctor.  I seek conference with you.  My companion and I wish to know if you are in trouble.  Are you stranded here on Earth?  I can help you, if you are."

The Doctor and Sally stood still on the rocks and waited.  It was several minutes they stood in silence.  Sally wondered if perhaps they had heard the Doctor at all.  Perhaps they weren't in this rock area.  The Doctor's finer senses picked up faint activity.  Finally, two creatures approached the Doctor and Sally.

The two creatures were very fairy like in some respects.  They were about the same size and flew with wings.  However, these creatures were blue.  Sally had not expected that.  They both carried spears the length of their bodies.  They looked quite fierce.

"Hello," the Doctor said.  His voice was quiet and non-threatening, but confident.

"You know of our home planet?" one of them asked.

"Yes, I do.  I've been there.  Your forests are lovely there.  I especially liked the blue Botham tree.  It bore the most amazing fruit."

The two Poikyo looked at each other.  One of them nodded.  The other spoke, "Lay down your weapons.  You are granted the privilege of meeting the queen, but you must be unarmed."

Sally carefully lifted her hands in front of her to show they were empty.  "I carry no weapon," she said.

"Neither do I," said the Doctor, showing his hands in a similar fashion.  "We are unarmed and at your mercy.  Our desire is to help you."

"Follow us then," the two Poikyo spoke at the same time.  They flew towards the rock cliff.  There was a small opening in the cliff.  The Poikyo few into it.  The opening was big enough for the Doctor and Sally to fit through, but they would have to crawl.

"Is there room for us, once we are inside the cave?" the Doctor called into the opening.

"There is," came the reply.

Sally normally wasn't claustrophobic, but she wasn't comfortable with the idea of crawling into a cave without being able to see what was on the other side.  She watched as the Doctor got down on all fours and crawled in.  Sally followed.  It was hard to climb through in her dress, but once she had made it to the other side, the Doctor took her by the hands and helped her up.  Sally was amazed to find she was standing in an enormous cavern.  Sally looked around and saw at first only the blue Poikyo, but as her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the cave, she began to notice the walls of the cave.  Beautiful paintings of animals adorned the walls.

"Doctor," Sally whispered, "are those pre-historic cave markings?"

"Yes.  Authentic, undiscovered and undisturbed."

"Incredible," Sally breathed.

Continue to Chapter 7