| Date: 20 January 2008
Characters: The Master, The Rani Location: outside Link to IJ: thread #41905 |
 This was already one of those days he wished the Doctor were here to deal with some of the details. Namely the Doctor's favorite humans running amok. Instead, here he was, in his office, rolling his eyes as Harkness blathered about civilians interfering with his investigation."Civilian or not, Ms. Smith has been doing this longer you have, in her own way. She's a very old friend of our Dr. Smith's. So he'd be very distressed if anything happened to her, and if that's not enough motivation for you, I'd be very annoyed. Make use of her expertise, and get back to me when something actually interesting comes up. Understood? Oh, and word to the wise, she's not going to be impressed by your trademark smile and handshake." Hmm, maybe he shouldn't have added that last bit. The image of Jack getting slapped for flirting, that was a good one. Well, he didn't think Jack knew that the Doctor had a long habit of charming humans into traveling with him, which Jack was just the last in a long line of. That revelation ought to give the dear Captain something to chew on for a while. The Master leaned back in his chair, after he'd hung up. Oh, he couldn't deal with reports and phone calls today! He needed to do something to do with his hands. A puzzle to solve. Maybe the labs had had something interesting dropped on them. He opened the door to leave his office and... Open street. Ok. Not what should be on the other side. He turned around. Street in every direction. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. No signal, which should never ever happen. So, he was minus a TARDIS or a working way to communicate with the Doctor. Ok, no need to panic. He was a genuis, and he had asked for a puzzle, after all! He strolled along, looking for some indication of when and where he was. He kept his hands in his jacket pockets, so he could reach his laser screwdriver easily, if he needed to. |
 The Rani had managed to leave this place since she'd first arrived, but somehow she'd found herself here again much to her annoyance. Since it appeared likely she was going to end up here again she had decided to accept it and take more of a look around. Seeing the man looking around she paused and watched him a moment or two. There was something about him that was oddly familiar, he was a Time Lord. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in quite sometime, being a renegade who had not met another Gallifreyan since the Doctor many many years."Everything okay?" she enquired, heading towards him. |
| The Master turned at the sound of her voice. And instantly wondered how he could have missed her. And was confused and wary, because he senses told him she was a Time Lady. Which should be impossible. "I turned a corner, and realized I was lost. What street is this again?" He let his honest confusion show on his face. He held his hands in his pockets, still, his right hand curling around the screwdriver. |
| "I have no idea," she replied, not sounding too worried about this, "I'm yet to find any sign posts, luckily I have a pretty good sense of direction so it doesn't matter so much." The looked him up and down. "It's rude to keep your hands in your pockets when you're speaking to a lady you know," she informed him, "and if you're about to produce a gun I wouldn't bother." |
| "Oh," the Master said cheerfully, "I don't have a gun. But you're right, it's terribly rude to stand around with my hands in my pockets and not introduce myself." He took him hands out, and offered one to shake. "Most people call me Harry. And you go by?" |
| It occured to The Rani as he asked what she went by (something which struck her as slightly odd, it was hardly the normal way as asking someone's name after all) whether she should attempt to think up an alias, but that was far too much like the Doctor really, and she really couldn't be doing with any of that nonsense, plus if she was correct this man was a Time Lord so really it wasn't such a big deal was it. "The Rani," she replied reaching out to shaking his hand. "A pleasure, Harry." |
| The Master's eyes went very wide, as he shook her hand. Now that he knew it was her, he thought, well, of course it was her. Something about the this place was throwing him off. "It's good to see you again, Rani. Let me amend my introduction, and tell you know me better as Master. Or Koschei, but that was a long time ago." Is wasn't until the words came out of his mouth that he stopped to think if the Rani had a reason to want to kidnap him. Or kill him. He had a sinking feeling she did. But, she was usually very logical about such things. Maybe he could talk her out of it? |
| The Rani looked him up and down again, more purposely this time as he introduced himself more honestly. She really should have known this shouldn't she. "Interesting new body, what poor sap did you have to kill to take it over?" she enquired. "Oh, and shouldn't you be dead?" That was a pleasant welcome wasn't it? Well for her it was at least. |
| He cocked his head. "Hang on. Have I slipped into an alternate universe? Because, I thought the same about you. The "shouldn't you dead" part, I mean. Like the new look by the way. Very chic." He paused for a second. "Been home recently?" |
| "I have no idea," she said honestly, "but I shouldn't think so. It isn't that simple with alternate universes is it? Makes everything unstable, although given I'm here against my will perhaps the world suddenly is unstable. But it answer your question of course I shouldn't, I can barely even remember the last time I saw Gallifrey so the battle missed me luckily." She smiled genuinely at his compliment, "I looking rather good aren't I? It's proved to be very handy actually, it's amazing how much easier things become when you look like this. You're not look too bad yourself, glad to see you've finally done away with that silly beard." "As for home, well it depends on where you mean, but my Tardis is quite nearby if that answers the question." |
| Was is possible that the Rani had evaded the temporal fallout from how the Doctor has ended Gallifey, and this Rani was from his universe after all? It seemed unlikely, but he'd thought one to many things to himself as 'impossible' today to do again - and be proved wrong, yet again. The Master rubbed his chin. "Was the beard really that silly?" He shrugged. Well, maybe so. His perception of lot of things he experienced in that body seemed a little skewed, looking back. "I was asking about Gallifrey, actually. Just checking that, ah, you knew about the Time War. So, you didn't choose to come here either? I literally opened a door, and here I was." |
| "It was rather like wearing a badge that said 'I'm an evil genius ask me how.' Not that I'm calling you a genius," she pointed out quickly. "Of course perhaps in would work on certain bodies, but on this one especially, well the clean shaved thing works well." Oh God she was being pleasant to the Master, clearly this new body of hers was more annoying than she'd ever realised. "I know about that yes," she didn't sound very concerned, she'd been sent away so long ago over a stupid misunderstanding she really didn't care much about it. "I wasn't all that far away when it happened. It's amazing how the fear of a whole planet of people can make it's way across light years." She shook her head to his question, "the TARDIS brought me, no matter where the co-ordinates are programmed for, most annoying. Sounds like you has a slightly more interesting way of arriving than myself." |
| "Hey! I am a genius! I helped keep the Daleks from taking over everything. No thanks for that, hmm? They might have found you eventually," he pointed out. He was beginning to doubt that the War ended quite the same way, in her universe, as it did in his. But the part about what her TARDIS was doing was more concerning. It didn't sound like he was finding a way back home soon. "What could possibly be messing with your TARDIS's navigation system like that?" he wondered out loud. |
| The Rani bit her lip to stop herself from laughing when the Master said he was a genius, it was cute really that he believed that. "It doesn't take a genius to defeat a race, not always. There are a number of useful attributes I can think of in a battle, brains isn't always the most important. And yes they might have, but I doubt it. I rarely stay in one place long enough to be found." "The same thing that sucked you here," she told him as if it was obviously, "because there definitely isn't anything wrong with my TARDIS if that's what you're trying to insinuate." |
| Now he was remembering how much the Rani could piss him off. "Well, you weren't there, what do you know?" he said a little acidly. "And I wasn't trying to insult your TARDIS. It's just bloody odd, and I'm trying to figure out the rules of this place." |
| Oh and she was trying to be so nice too. "Alright, calm down. I suppose you're more intelligent than the Doctor at least," not that that was saying much in her opinion. "And yes it is odd, more than odd really, but I'm sure I'll work it out eventually, it can't be that difficult for someone like myself." |
| He almost protested that he and the Doctor were pretty evenly matched, but realized how silly that would sound. And it didn't seem like she really wanted to fight, so it probably wasn't wise to argue. "You said this is your second time here? Did you draw any conclusions from your first time here? I'd love to here them." There - if he remembered the Rani correctly at all, implying she knew something he didn't would probably calm her down. |