Thank You, Mr. Hamill

Dear Mr. Hamill,

First and foremost, I just want to say thank you.  Thank You for everything that you do as an actor and to bring Star Wars to life.  The joy that you bring to the fans and have brought to the fans is awesome and even after all these years you still have the spark that inspired me as a young girl to love Star Wars since the day I was born.

Luke Skywalker was always my favorite character growing up and someone I looked up to even when he made mistakes or I made mistakes.  Other girls wanted Barbie Dolls and little pink houses but for me I wanted to be Luke.  I always played outside during the four seasons in Michigan and you guessed it, I was either Luke or Luke’s “apprentice” trying to learn the ways of the force. 

Just like the little boy who was recently bullied, I was always bullied by the other kids because at the time it was “taboo” for girls to love Star Wars.  I had a short Luke Skywalker like haircut and because I wanted to play Star Wars at recess the girls didn’t want me to play with them and told me I was weird and the boys didn’t want me to play with them because I was a girl.  Both social groups banished me to the Kindergarten swings and monkey bars.  Though, I had Luke as an imaginary friend the loneliness and rejections by my peers got to me.

As you can probably guess, I didn’t have many friends growing up and long story short, I turned to food for comfort and gained over 200 pounds.  The bullying increased into middle and high school and I became withdrawn from the world because I didn’t think I was worth it.  In college, I was sitting at over 320 pounds and though I had joined the 501^st in 2003 with a Royal Guard I didn’t think I mattered in the scheme of things.  I still loved Star Wars because at the start of my college career Attack of the Clones and then Revenge of the Sith soon came out and like any diligent Star Wars fan I went to go see those movies but still felt very isolated from the world.

Even in my midst of isolation and seeing the wonderful costumes that people were putting out in the fan groups, my favorite costume had always been Luke’s black outfit from Return of the Jedi.  I think that’s what spurred me finally to take the biggest risk of my life and have lapband weight loss surgery to finally control the weight.  I remember a few nights before the surgery watching Return of the Jedi and I made it my goal to do that costume once enough weight came off.

Over the next three years I managed to lose over 100 pounds and once I reached 175 Luke’s outfit was the one costume I had in sight and in June 2013, I finally got my wish.  I had lost more weight since then but version one of the costume made it’s debut during that month and I’ve had three different versions made for me since I continue to drop the weight.  Right now I am sitting at over 162 pounds lost and though I have worn Luke to a few Rebel Legion events, I still feel like the outcast at times.

Yes, the costume has been approved by the Rebel Legion and people love it but still I have been criticized for it because of my female stature by another Luke within the legion and though those words hurt and I have thought of giving him up at times, my friends won’t let me. I have on many occasions even have gone into isolation because those words still haunt me again my friends won’t let me give up Luke.

 In fact, once I reached the 162 mark and hit 150 in weight, my friends challenged me to an Empire Strikes Back jumpsuit Luke so I accepted their challenge.  I made the debut in the costume in June of this year and just like Return of the Jedi, I love the character I love the costume but still I have doubts when I wear him.  Yet, to the one little kid I hope that I bring them a small amount of joy and happiness that you did on screen to me as a child.  Many of my friends have said that because of the way I handle the character and work with the kids during our events that it’s not the fact that I’m a woman that wears the costume it’s how I interact with the kids to bring joy into their life. 

Though, I’ve moved away from my friends because of a recent life change and some say “I went looking for the first Jedi Temple” let me just say as a fan who has never met you but sees the joy that you bring to so many around the world “Thank You.”  Thank You for inspiring little girls to become their heroes, for boys to become Jedi Knights and to keep the joy and love of Star Wars passionately alive.  Though I’m an avid fan of your Joker as well, to me you’ll always be Luke and someday, I would be honored to meet you, just to say “thank you”.

With Kindest Regards,

Jane Willer

Angels in Paris (Story 3) Work in Progress

Angels in Paris

                The snow fell gently in and around the infamous Paris Opera House as patrons went to and from the holiday performances that were taking place inside. The Christmas concerts were always a favorite with the higher class patrons and a few of the middle and lower class would often stand for a few moments to hear the sweet tones of music drifting from the hall.  Street lamps decorated with garland and holly glowed with their gas flames as carriages moved down the streets.  Although parts of the city were wired for electricity, there were still areas around the grand Opera House that still used the old gas lamps.

                As the concert came to a close, the patrons descended down the steps and into the streets.  However, workers and performers were busy closing down the grand venue for the night.  Though some performers lived in the dormitories onsite a few of the maids and other workers lived nearby in less than cozy conditions.  However, it was a living as a lone maid named Abigail walked down the stairs having finished her work for the night. 

                Abigail was only in her early twenties with light blonde hair and blue eyes.  She had left her native London having fallen in love with an artist at the age of 16.  However, he had left her for a ballerina in a rival town leaving her all alone in Paris.  Though she was heartbroken, Abigail went through the motions of daily life though it wasn’t the life she envisioned.  She had dreams of being the “Lady of the House” with children and a stable household but now she was working by herself chasing after a long dead dream.

                Walking through the streets towards one set of living quarters used by the maids, Abigail found herself looking at the gargoyles that seemed to dot the buildings in and around Paris.  She was rather fond of them but she admired the Angels the most.  They always seemed to be kneeling or praying with their hands covering their eyes.  They were so beautiful and so pretty that even as a girl she recalled her parents telling her the stories of guardian Angels and here they were in Paris.

                As she walked by, she thought she heard something in the alleyway.  At this late hour, it wouldn’t surprise her that the tavern patrons were emerging in their drunken stupors.  However, as she peered into the alleyway she saw the outline of a figure in the shadows.  It didn’t move but out of the corner of her eye she saw a wing tip.  It was an Angel, here on the ground as a nearby torch flickered. 

                She had never had the opportunity to see one of the angels up close before.  They were always up top near the opera house.  Perhaps, someone was playing a trick as she looked up briefly. What she didn’t notice was the slight grinding of stone in the darkness.  Abigail slowly walked up to the Angel, like the ones she saw on the rooftop of the Opera House, its eyes were covered as she stared at it.  It was gorgeous, her eyes remained glued to the angel, it was beautiful as the snow continued to fall more heavily now.  A flake drifted into her eye and she blinked.   In that brief moment, a scream echoed through the alleyways near the opera house.

*********

                It had been a week since Daniel “Zeke” Williams came aboard the TARDIS along with The Doctor and Krista as The Doctor stood over the console.  It was the insistence of Krista that he should join their duo and it had been a while since there were three of them in the TARDIS.  Not that he didn’t mind the company, he needed it after the losses of Alex, Lucie, C’rizz, Molly and most especially Charley.   His two hearts ached over their losses but he had to move on.  There was something about Daniel that reminded him of a young Ernest Hemingway only found on a planet far away from his 1935 Kansas home on a planet that no doubt had been inspired by Frank Baum’s legendary tale.  Daniel was in a sense the living embodiment of Dorothy Gale, only his journey into the unknown had just begun.

                As he adjusted the controls of the console, the TARDIS shuddered briefly for a moment as he tapped the console.   Lately, she had been shuddering ever so slightly in the past few weeks that it was becoming a concern for him to start looking at her.  He couldn’t find where the source of the distress from his ship was coming from and it was distressing.  The TARDIS was extremely sensitive and no doubt something continued to upset her ever so slightly as he heard the voices of both Krista and Zeke coming in through one of the corridors.

                “So it really is bigger on the inside?”  He heard Zeke comment as he heard Krista let out a soft chuckle.  It was good to hear the small chuckle, something that seemed to be missing since he had accepted the responsibility of taking the female companion on board.  Perhaps, some relaxation is what the three of them needed since their adventure on Oz.    As he found himself, adjusting the controls of the console, he figured maybe one of the first performances of The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky would be uplifting or Beethoven’s magnum opus, the Ninth Symphony.

                “You haven’t seen most of it yet, and even back home I didn’t get to see most of the rooms its Trans dimensionally…….”  Krista started, but the Doctor finished.

                “Transcendental, Miss Emerald.”  The Doctor finished, as he hit the scanners as he set in the coordinates roughly in the neighborhood.  Unlike the past two adventures, he was wearing his blue velvet petticoat in addition to his vest, cravat and pearl gray trousers.    “Good of you two to join me, I figured since our little trip to Oz we may go someplace or somewhere a bit different and uplifting.” 

                “As long as it’s not the disco club, Doctor.”  Krista said, remembering the brief time before they met Zeke he had taken her to see ABBA in concert back in the 1970s.

                “Disco?”  Daniel asked, looking at Krista quizzing.

                “Don’t ask it was a phase,” Krista said.

                “Still an enlightened period of music,” The Doctor said, amused.  “Speaking of music, I thought it would be interesting to take a trip to the romantic era of Earth’s history, the classical composers Mozart, Beethoven, Handel or even Tchaikovsky, I have always wanted to see the first performance of The Nutcracker, or the famed Ninth Symphony.  Old Beethoven had a way with music despite his sorted past…but in order to attend one of these you must change for the ball so to speak.”

                “Well I didn’t exactly bring my wardrobe with me, “Daniel said, as he saw a smile cross Krista’s face.

                “Don’t worry!  The Doctor has a room for that,” Krista started, but the Doctor finished for her.

                “Down the main corridor down the spiral staircase and off to the left.  You’ll find the wardrobe room, Krista is already familiar with it.   Late 19^th Century, Miss Emerald please do remember that as well Mr. Williams.” The Doctor, said as he adjusted the controls and plotted in the coordinates.  He watched as the two companions headed down the corridor towards the wardrobe room.  Indeed, a good stroll to listen to the first ever performance of music would do them all a bit good as he set in the coordinates and hit the controls as the engines came to life and the TARDIS moved through the vortex on her way to her next destination. 

**********

                An hour later, Zeke stood nervously wearing a period maroon velvet coat, trousers matching vest and a white dress shirt beneath, indicative of the period as well as borrowed pocket watch all from the wardrobe room, which in and of itself was almost ten levels if not more.  Krista had tried to explain to him where to find the period wear and being a history major at one time, according to what she had told him, she had found him some appropriate attire.

                He stared at one of the many racks of candles that lined the elaborate console room as he heard The Doctor come back in.  This time instead of wearing his blue velvet coat, he was now wearing his green velvet one as he adjusted the sleeves and looked at his own pocket watch.  By this time, the TARDIS had already settled and now both were waiting on Krista as The Doctor walked back over and checked the readings.  They were in the right time period, just during the middle part of the Victorian era as Zeke was the first one to speak.

                “Couldn’t we find something a bit more comfortable?  I feel like this is something my granddad would wear,” He commented.

                “The wardrobe is part of the experience,” The Doctor replied, chuckling to himself.  “No need to ruin the trip before it begins.”

                “Well…it could be worse you could be wearing a corset and a dress,” Krista added, as she finally joined the two in the console room.   Krista had changed into a dark green elaborate Victorian gown hidden mostly by a large black cloak.  Her hair had been curled back and around her ears she wore a thin black veil as she shook her head.  Zeke and The Doctor were impressed but it was The Doctor who was the first to speak.

                “You weren’t complaining much back in 1916,” The Doctor reminded her.

                “That’s because, I was trying to blend in before I found a place of my own,” Krista fired back.  “I like history but I didn’t like the wardrobe at the time.”

                “Fair point.  1889 Russia, the first performance of The Nutcracker.  Quite extraordinary given Russian history at this time,” The Doctor said as he started towards the doors with both companions in tow. 

                As they opened the doors and stepped out, snow was falling as Zeke put on his top hat upon stepping out and Krista followed after soon by The Doctor who locked the doors to the TARDIS behind him.  In addition, it was also nighttime which means all the torches were lit reflecting the snowfall. However, just as they stepped out it was Zeke who pointed out the architecture from his studies as a child.

                “Forgive me, but this doesn’t look like Russian architecture,” He started to point out,  “That looks like the Eiffel Tower under construction” As he pointed it out to the other two as both Krista and The Doctor looked over off to the horizon as period cranes had stopped their work for the holidays.

                The Doctor stuck up a finger and then realized that while the TARDIS had gotten the time period right she had gotten the city mixed up.  It was a missed and a given opportunity as he let the snow drift and land on his finger.   There was no need to waste it as he pointed out to Zeke and Krista, as Krista was busy taking in the sights and sounds of the new timeframe.

                “Quite right, more like Paris 1898, very observant of you Mr. Williams,” The Doctor was annoyed, but this wasn’t’ the first time the TARDIS had taken him somewhere where he didn’t intend for it to land.  “Christmastime, still by the looks of it,” he continued as he pointed to the wreaths and boughs of holly.  “I suspect, we’ve landed near the arts district, more specifically near the Opera House if I’m not mistaken.”

                “How can you tell?” Zeke asked, as he pulled on a pair of dress gloves and slid them over his hands. 

                “What do you hear?” The Doctor asked, as he waited for the companions to pick up on the faintest vibrations of music.  Perhaps, this is why the TARDIS was attracted to this particular spot as he could pick it up but it would take a moment for the others to pick up on the vibrations of sound.  There was something else there as he could hear it faintly under the music, but for what intents he couldn’t decipher yet.

                “Music,” Krista said, as she picked up on the faint sounds of an orchestra but also she thought she could hear the scraping of stone.  Looking around, she then could see the architecture of the buildings nearby as she saw what she thought were Angels through the snow looking down.  They were beautiful  amongst the gargoyles that decorated some of the other buildings as she could hear the soft crunch of The Doctor and Zeke headed towards the source of the music.

                

Cosplay/Costume Celebrity: The Entitlement Mentality and Why It Needs To Stop

Thanks to shows like The Big Bang Theory,  Face Off, King of the Nerds,  My Big Fat Geek Wedding, Heroes of Cosplay, the costuming/cosplay/comic con community has boomed in recent years.  More and more conventions or cons, have seen an increase in their numbers as the geeks have finally come out of the geek closet so to speak.  It's great to see all the attendance at cons and the fandoms represented, everything from the Comic genres to Horror and the usual Star Wars/Star Trek has been represented heavily at cons across the country.This includes the increase in fans flying their Geek flags and dressing up as their favorite character or an interpretation of them.

It's not uncommon to go to cons and see people dressed up as their favorite character these days, this was led by originally by the Star Trek and then eventually the 501st and other costuming groups.  In fact, the 501st has become one of the biggest costuming groups, if not the biggest group in the world with it's high standards of costuming and conduct by it's members.  Now being enforced with it's agreement with LFL/Disney, along with it's sister club the Rebel Legion.  Other costuming groups have sprung up around the world celebrating everything from Doctor Who to comics to Stargate and anime groups.   

In addition, to the uprising of the costuming groups and the changes that come with the popularity of shows, more and more people are attending cons.  Conventions such as San Diego Comic Con, DragonCon,  New York City Comic Con, Katsucon, and others across the country have seen record number of fans and are making huge profits off of the fanbase.  However, with the trend of the growing con, a sector of the Costuming/Cosplay community has grown which is Cosplay/Costume Celebrity.

The term of which I'm specifically speaking fall into two general categories:  the ones who spend hours on costumes and are instantly flooded by photographers aching for a shot and those who dress in provacative/risque costumes and again attracted by photographers and sometimes the wrong crowd.   To those of you reading this blog, you're probably thinking "You're just jealous Jane."  Maybe I am, or maybe I'm trying to point out a flaw in our society that has transferred over to the hobby.

 With shows like Heroes of Cosplay, the Cosplay Celebrities that fall into this category spend hours researching and building their craft.  Some of these people have amazing costumes and do it for the fame.  Often because their costumes are top notch, they are automatically invited as a Cosplay Celebrity and guest all expenses paid in most cases by the Con itself.  Therefore, many costumers who are new to the craft (five years or less) are moving to their level, however, I've noticed that some of the newest cosplayers want that instant fame and fortune that the Celebs have.

I believe this stems from the societal problem that we are seeing with the Millennial Generation and younger kids "entitlements".  Yes, I said it and I"m not afraid to speak why I feel this way and present evidence to support this.  In this current generation, many children have grown up with the expectation that everything is going to be handed to them on a silver platter.  Mommy and Daddy (if they grew up in a two parent household)  will buy them the latest I-Phone, Gaming System, best clothes or let them enroll in all sorts of programs.

These children, most likely did not have an after school job or did chores growing up.  I remember seeing kids like this during my Senior Year of High School back in 2001, when I still had to do dishes and work my butt off to help my family as we moved from Michigan to North Carolina.  I had to do my chores in order to earn the right to drive the car to Walmart to help out the family.  Once I graduated and started working at the good old Days Inn as a Desk Clerk, I had to pay for my car and my car insurance.  Granted, my parents paid for my Bachelor's Degree and my college expenses, they didn't have to because I didn't earn it but they did it out of the goodness of their hearts and I thank them.

In 2002, I purchased my first Royal Guard with my own money and started to regrow my Star Wars collection with some of my savings.  I did not ask mommy and daddy to buy my Royal Guard, I earned it and paid for it out of the blood, sweat and tears of my work.  I joined the 501st and after earning money, I started to attend events and conventions.  I paid my way in and I didn't expect to get fame or fortune and if I couldn't afford things I didn't buy them, period.  It wasn't that I didn't want them it's because I couldn't afford them, no one was going to buy those things for me and some stuff I wasn't interested in.  This has been a trend since I have now acquired or earned three Star Wars costumes with my own money, if I can't afford to go then I simply don't go.  I don't expect to go and I won't go because I can't afford it and I can learn to live with it.  I'm not entitled to go to any con, I have to earn the right to go that con through hard work.

So what does my own life have to do with entitlements?  Hang on there's more.  I had lapband surgery in 2011 and lost 120 pounds towards improving my health.  Do you think my parents paid for that? Not a dime, I paid everything myself and glad that I did because I worked for it.  I earned it and I felt good at the time, still do about paying for it because it opened up new costumes and new things for me.

The point I'm trying to make about the first part of the Cos Elite is that you are not entitled to free stuff at cons, plain and simple.  I'm so sick of people thinking because they were on a show like Face Off  or Heroes of Cosplay thinking that they are entitled to do whatever and whenever they want at cons.  I heard stories of one cosplayer/costumer who was featured on this show, snagging some popular spots in and around DragonCon/SDCC/Katsucon and other cons to get pictures.  Who told them they are entitled to take those spaces?  I'd really like to know, just because you are celebrity doesn't mean you are entitled to take away from other congoers experiences or fun.  Did the Con Staff specifically tell them we get to shut down this area because you are a Celebrity?  I can understand photographers going to them, they are celebrities but still that doesn't give you the right to act like an elitist snob!

Granted at this last DragonCon, I attended it in my new River Song costume and got tons of pictures.  However, I paid my way in, paid for my share of the hotel room, paid for my gas and food.  I didn't ask my friends to pay for me, I paid for everything including two celebrity autographs and a new lightsaber.  I was not entitled to anything at that con, nor at LibrariCon in Fayetteville, NC the previous day.


The second point is the rise of risque/provocative cosplayers who think that they are entitled to attend cons for free or get free stuff. These are the ones that go to cons and run around in scantily clad versions of popular costumes.  I'm talking about those who wear the sexy "Wolverine" costume or "Supergirl" costume.  The photographers flock to them like they are the hottest things.  Yeah, they are the hottest things but because they are getting that attention, they think the are entitled again to get free things at cons or attend them for free.  That's not how cons work...and that's not how this hobby should work.

Third.  As a mentor to new costumers, I had one tell me that they will not do NC Comic Con if they don't get to meet John Borrowman or any celeb that they want to see.  Really?  I think just going there for the Con experience is enough and they should be grateful that they earned the privilege to attend and have fun.

Now why am I saying this has got to stop?   For one, I'm seeing a lot of people throw insults like kindergarten kids on the playground.  I'm also seeing that elitist mentality spread in the costume clubs that I'm in, and that drains from the fun legion wide.  My mentality "Shut Up and Troop" not to mention that little bit of fun.  I did an event on Seymour Johnson and the Fayetteville Star Wars Reads Day these past few weeks and I had a blast?  Why?  In that little group, all the costumers we weren't elitist we weren't demanding and we certainly had a fun time doing what we did.  We all got along, no one was better than the other and personally, we all know each other so well that it's what the experience should be.  FUN.

First Edit

Doctor Who:  Terror on the High Seas

By Jane Willer

                The weather had finally allowed the HMHS Britannic to depart for Turkey as she left the Bay of Naples a day earlier from her usual coaling and refueling station headed to retrieve wounded soldiers on the frontlines of World War I.  The war had raged on for quite a while now and shortly after she had been completed, intended to become a passenger liner like her sister the RMS Olympic and her ill-fated sister the RMS Titanic, she had immediately been converted into the largest hospital ship upon completion in late 1914.

  Crewmembers, as well as nurses and doctors patrolled her decks as the they had prepared the wards for the influx of patients that would soon come on board.   They were all dressed in period wear, the nurses in blue dresses with white aprons with the traditional red crosses around their chests, and the doctors in white coats, some, when patients were aboard wore aprons for surgery. However, since the Britannic was in transit, there were no patients on board.   There were no passengers, save for a guest or two but because this was wartime, passenger service had all but ceased to a few liners save for the smaller liners including the Lusitania, Carpathia, Aquitania and other ships.  Even the Olympic, Britannic’s twin sister ship had been commandeered into a troop transport transporting Canadian troops to the frontlines as Britannic had become first and foremost a hospital ship all under the command of Charles A. Bartlett. 

Captain Bartlett, had overseen the laying and construction of Britannic as did most of his crew since her design changes because of the Titanic disaster.  Everything that she had been designed to do he oversaw and he had come to trust and admire his crew as he patrolled his bridge.   He was there for her sea trials and on every voyage as a Hospital Ship, in this war, Britannic had become his home.  Still, this weather didn’t help ease his feelings, nor did the fact that U-boats, especially mine laying ones patrolled these waters.   The weather didn’t help much and the fact that the waves were heavily hitting his ship on the starboard side while lightning, green lightning danced all around made him very uneasy.

On the forecastle, two crewmembers named Fred Thompson and George McCreedy were busy preparing to ascend the Crow’s Nest to relieve their colleagues.  It had been wet and miserable and the lightning dancing on the water didn’t make things easy for the two crew members as they jokingly walked across the forecastle deck as Fred was the first to make a joke.

“So anyways, I says to the missus when this war is over…we’re gonna retire to a nice part of the countryside.  Raise us a bunch of nice cattle with the kids and retire where no one can find us,” said Fred.     Fred was in his mid-thirties had had served as a lookout on the Britannic ever since she had been completed while his brother worked as a Fireman in the coal bunkers.  He had dirty red hair and rather was rather stout, wearing his maritime uniform navy blue weather and trousers.  His head was covered with his navy hat as his sea worn blue eyes had seen a lot more in his years than they should have.  He then looked over at the lightning off the port side as it seemed to strike nearby.  “Oi that was rather close now was it mate?”  He said as he looked at the doorway leading up to the crow’s nest.

George was rather new, he had only been on the Britannic since he had left Southampton a week earlier and was only about 25 years old.  He was looking for a good adventure although he couldn’t fight on the frontlines he had a calling to the sea and being on the Britannic was a good place to start.  His mother served below decks as a nurse on the B-deck wards as he brushed off his own crew cap and his blue trousers.  He was also stout with brown eyes and sandy blonde hair.  “Could’ve been close.”    Just as George had said that a bolt of lightning hit right off the starboard bow as the ship rocked slightly and bells could be heard and the Britannic’s engines stopped for a moment.  Behind them, the pair could hear the bridge come to life as officers shouted orders and lamps moved to and towards the water to make sure the Britannic hadn’t hit anything although it was daylight they had to be sure their ship wasn’t damaged.

“What the bleedin’ hell did you go and say that for???”  Fred shouted as he ran to the side of the forecastle deck and grabbed a flashlight and aimed it at the water.  Though the waves made it difficult to spot, George spotted something floating in the water and as it came closer 1000 yards off, 700 yards off it was a body, a human was as he could see arms waving towards the ship.

“I didn’t mean to!!!” George screamed back to his fellow crewmember as he too grabbed a lantern and ran it over the water. 

Just then an officer came out from the bridge with a loudspeaker phone to shout to the two as well as the crewmembers up in the nest.  “Do you two see anything?”     It was First Officer Oliver who was getting ready to relieve Captain Bartlett as he had stepped up to the bridge railing as the rain started again to pour down on the ship as the two crewmen scrambled to look over the railing to see if the Britannic had sustained any damage.    The Britannic had slowed almost to a crawl but just as the two crew men were about to report back, George spotted something in the water.  A body was in the water and it was indeed alive as it was waving towards the ship, clearly a sign for help and that was indeed alive after all.

“Man overboard!!!  Port side….1500 yards out….I can see it clearly they’re moving sir!!! We need to fetch the poor soul from the water!!!”  He yelled.  Clearly he could hear the faintest cries for help or so he thought but he wasn’t quite sure.

“Sir…our lookouts have spotted an object 1500 yards out.  Port Side.  Crying for help it could be one of ours knocked overboard by the lightning.”    Chief Officer Oliver shouted as he turned to Captain Bartlett.  “Shall we open the doors to retrieve it sir?”  Captain Bartlett was already out on the secondary bridge as he pulled out his binoculars and he could clearly see in his binoculars a swimmer, floating in the water.  Whoever they were, they were obviously alive as he could see arms waving, though weakly and they were obviously struggling against the choppy waters.  They wouldn’t last much longer in this raging weather. 

“All stop.”  Captain Bartlett ordered.  As he could see now the person who was clearly struggling in the heavy seas was having trouble staying afloat. Both officers raced to the telegraph machines and pulled back on them as the messages were relayed to the engine room and the boiler rooms As the telegraph to the engine room was relayed and the Britannic stopped.    She stopped about 2,000 yards out , quite a distance away but nevertheless it was too risky to maneuver the large Britannic any closer, and lowering a lifeboat would take longer than what Bartlett wanted. The longer they stayed the more exposure the ship would have to U-boat patrols.

“Have our strongest swimmer go and retrieve the poor soul from the water.  Get them to the A-deck ward as soon as possible.  Also, fetch my friend from his afternoon walk as he may want to meet this fellow for questioning do not note our stop in the log and do not advise the Admiralty.  We don’t wish to give the U-Boat captains something to chew on.  There’s no telling if these waters are filled with mines or U-Boats, in most cases both but we don’t want to find out either way.  We may be a hospital ship but we are a target nevertheless,” Bartlett ordered.

However, the friend of which Bartlett spoke of had already made his way to the bridge wearing a green velvet petticoat reflective of the two decades before along with a pearl grey vest .as well as matching trousers, white dress shirt, black shoes, as well as curly brown hair stood off to the side interested by the Britannic’s sudden stop in the middle of the Mediterranean.  He spoke not a word put a hand on his pocket watch and was very much aware that Britannic was in the process of picking up a passenger that in no historical record he was aware of.  Nor, judging by the telepathic signals should exist in this very universe, curious he would be anxious to meet this newest passenger very soon.

Ten minutes later, where the Third Class gangway door would be, the door slid open and a cargo net was opened as a crewmember dived into the sea to retrieve the body.  As the swimmer reached the body, it turned out to be a woman in her early 20’s dressed in early 21^st century clothing.  What set this woman apart from her clothing, was her abnormal body temperature and her vibrant  fiery red hair, as she went under a few times was her mumbling “I’m sorry…I’m sorry”, still the swimmer paid her no mind as he grabbed her and held her fast before she fell unconscious in his arms. 

It took all of his strength to haul himself back; along with the woman to the waiting hospital ship as waiting World War I doctors, nurses and crew members as well the friend to Captain Bartlett helped to haul the woman onboard as well as the swimmer to haul them off to the A-deck medical ward.  The swimmer was checked out and cleared for exhaustion, but the woman who was clearly exhausted and unconscious was left in the A-deck ward to recover while the Britannic got back underway headed on her original course for Turkey to retrieve the British wounded.

******

                She ran faster than she had ever had before following on the heels of a parallel Doctor, one that wasn’t her own but oh so similar to one that she had traveled with before.  They were close to where the TARDISes were being held after the Judgment and Trials of Rassilon had all deemed them guilty in this parallel universe.  Rassilon feared something in the Great War that was playing out in this universe that had played out in her universe with serious consequences that had not happened in this one.  It was one of the great uncertainties and because of the fear, that uncertainty he had opened the Cascade of Medusa, the Universal Keys and dragged the Doctors or whoever was left to determine the outcome, to prevent whatever great catastrophe that had yet to happen in Rassilon’s universe from happening from happening.  Yet the Doctors had warned it was fixed…it couldn’t be changed, everything would burn, it couldn’t be changed, it wouldn’t be changed.    Even allies to the Doctor in that parallel universe, such as Chase, understood that and had died to save her life, and the lives of two other parallel Doctors, including her own.

                Luckily, this Doctor had saved her brought her back to her senses and she had hoped on some level that he would forgive her once they had gotten back to their universe, if they had gotten home.  She remembered running into the Hall of Judgment, confronting Rassilon Face to Face and just as he was about to kill one of the parallel Doctors, she pushed him out of the way just in time to find herself staring down the eyes of her Doctor.  In that instant, everything changed….she saw the intensity of his blue eyes, she saw him mouth her name, running towards her, she saw the flash of Rassilon’s gauntlet, he was going to die, she couldn’t let that happened, she pushed, she felt the pain and then…water.

                In the ward, she instantly sat up gasping for air as the nurse who had been on duty instantly rushed to her side and called for aide as she called for help. The nurse reached over, dressed in her World War I period uniform and tried to offer comfort as she continued to call for assistance. “Take it easy miss….it’s ok…..just breathe.  Doctor!!! She’s awake….Doctor!!!”

                Krista felt herself fill with panic and guilt as she knew she had to get back to the Doctor as she tried to push the nurse off of her gently.  She also didn’t want her Star Lady abilities to activate accidentally to hurt the nurse by slamming her into a wall or even worse burning her.  She already felt guilty about what happened on Gallifrey and the guilt that she felt over breaking out of the Citadel and hurting people was already eating at her as she already saw a strange looking man who looked like he belonged in a Victorian era novel rushed in.  He wore a green velvet dress coat, pearl grey vest with matching pants, black shoes, tan colored pants as well as a white shirt as well as a pocket watch but his touch was gentle but firm as he gently coaxed her back onto the medical cot.    His voice soothing but calm as he spoke to her.

                “Take it easy, Miss.  I know you’ve been through a lot but I’m The Doctor, I’m here to help.” He said. 

 As Krista, looked at him her emerald eyes full of shock and terror.  She couldn’t have possibly gone further back in time as she felt herself slipping back into unconsciousness once more.   However, with a steady hand a bit of coaxing The Doctor gently put a hand on her shoulder.   To reassure her that everything for the moment would be alright. 

*******

                Meanwhile, young George had just gotten off his shift as lookout as he had climbed down from the Crow’s Nest.  “Rather bit of excitement for one day haven’t we?”  As Fred was above him and he stepped out of the door leading from the crow’s nest as the two new lookouts have taken their posts and George was ready for his afternoon nap.

                “Yeah, I could do a nap myself” Fred said.  “Say, they found the girl….good eye George ol’ boy goin’ to see her later on?” 

                “Nah, goin’ to see mum before next shift and then goin’ to check on the cargo holds, before heading to the old barracks.  Well cheerio!”  George said.  As he walked down from the Forecastle and walked over to the Cargo Door entrance that was a shortcut down to the crewmen entranceway.  

                “Alright….later mate!”  Fred said, as he walked to the C-Deck entrance way.  Where one day if Britannic made it into passenger service First class passengers would one day walk.

                As George made his way into the Cargo Hold he descended down the narrow staircase headed towards the mail room and medical supply holds as he liked taking this way.  Though it was mostly off limits, crew members loved to sneak through the cargo holds as it was the quickest way back through the crew quarters, at least the ones below the water line and in the forecastle of the bow section.  Though what the bridge didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them as he descended down towards D-Deck headed for E-deck and eventually F-Deck and then G-Deck where his barracks were located.  It would be good to get a nap in and then a shower in as he passed bandages and medical crates.  However, as he opened the door he stopped hearing something strange. 

                “Hello?”  Thinking it was a rat, he continued moving but then it started again as if it were following him as he turned.  Looking around he grabbed another flashlight off the wall and switched it on.  The light revealed nothing as he shook his head.

                “Stupid lights.” He said as he turned around, but then he saw something that could only be described as a small, short metal worm with teeth as he suddenly let out a horrific scream and the flashlight dropped to the floor breaking and the light suddenly died.  Electric flashes could be seen filling the room as overhead the light bulb flickered on and off.

**********

                Several decks above, in the A-Deck Ward that was normally reserved for wounded officers The Doctor had found himself quite interested by the newest patient that had been taken aboard the Britannic.  The ward had been set up in what would have become the First Class Lounge if the Britannic had been sent into passenger service.  The Britannic had been requisitioned as soon as she was completed therefore; the majority of her peacetime fittings were not installed and put into storage including an organ that had been rumored to be installed at a later date.  Pity, because The Doctor loved the history of the Olympic Class liners and he would make it a point to visit the Titanic, perhaps on her voyage from Belfast to Southampton to see what the Britannic may have been in her lifetime.  He then refocused his attention back to the patient laying in the cot before him who was out of place, time and no doubt guessing his universe.   The woman’s clothing had been a dead give a way to the Time Lord that she was not from this Time Frame, let alone this century.  After all, brown leather in World War I how unbecoming and it was in bad taste.

                More importantly, her thoughts were as clear to him as the brightest sunrise on Earth’s horizon.  Luckily, he had paid attention in psychic training 101 in his old Academy days centuries ago and closed off his mind to the woman.  This was in case if the door swung both ways; however, that was highly unlikely given the disorientation she was displaying as the nurse once again took the woman’s temperature and looked at the thermometer puzzled.  He was sure that old Charles would get a chuckle out of that but it wasn’t the equipment that was faulty as the nurse went back to her station to fetch another thermometer.

                “That won’t be necessary, Violet.”  The Doctor said dismissingly.  “You can stay and watch go on and do your rounds but I think I have something uplifting.”  The nurse to whom he was referring was Violet Jessop, who was rather young in her mid-twenties and was remarkable in and of herself having both survived the Olympic collision with the HMS Hawke and RMS Titanic disasters and now served aboard the Britannic as a ward nurse.  Normally assigned to the wards on B-Deck and C-Deck but because there were no casualties on board she had volunteered to keep watch tonight in the A-Deck Ward, as now the sun had set.

                Turning his attention, back on the woman who lay in the medical cot, it was quite clear to him that although she looked, acted and smelled human she was not.  The psychic abilities were a giveaway and the elevated body temperatures were another; and no doubt there were other things lurking beneath the surface he had yet to discover it would be a matter of time.  Obviously, she was not a species he was not familiar with and given Earth’s current primitive state they wouldn’t be able to distinguish her as something out of the ordinary, but he knew.  She was an alien of what type, he didn’t know and that is what captured his curiosity.  To have lasted this long in the middle of a rough choppy sea, was remarkable, let alone survive whatever hardship that had brought her to this point in time was indeed brilliant.  He had already taken a liking to this particular alien as he offered a reassuring smile.

                “Don’t worry its culture shock.  It happens to the best of us.”  He calmly said.  “Now that I’ve introduced myself it’s only fair that you do the same. It is after all proper etiquette for early 20^th Century, Miss?”

                “Krista.”  She could barely get her first name out as her mouth tasted bitterly still of salt water from the sea.  “Krista Emerald.”  Her head still buzzed from whatever it was that hit her on Gallifrey and her body ached from swimming in the Mediterranean or was it the Aegean for what seemed like hours, but it could have only been a few minutes.  Anyways, she was exhausted both mentally and physically.

                “Ah lovely name, I knew a cat by the name of Krista, Siamese from the planet Cartara Isis or somewhere near there.” The Doctor remarked reminiscing.  “But really now as we’re trying to sort through all this, you do realize that you were plucked from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, during a bout of severe thunderstorms, which weren’t thunderstorms at all, in the middle of a War Zone and this ship just happened to be passing by.  The odds alone of being spotted by a ship this big are massive, and the odds of altering a fixed point in history are in your favor.  By the way do you happen to know that it is the 20^th of November 1916, which makes this ship...”

                “Britannic.” Krista finished.  It was then reality snapped in for the dislocated Star Lady.  She had been on the Britannic before with her Doctor.  Even survived the sinking and the mining of the ship after they had rescued a Sea Devil in the Bay of Naples as the Britannic departed for Turkey and her Doctor had warned, that Britannic’s sinking and the mining of the ship was indeed a fixed point.  She felt very sick emotionally and mentally, not so much physically, indeed as she thought she had altered a fixed point in time and space.  Much less, she may have also torn a tear in the fabric into the past because she had been involved with the Britannic though from a non-linear, non-involved point of view.  Earth, from her standpoint was in danger.

                The Doctor studied Krista’s facial and emotional expression as he saw recognition in the woman’s features.  She had been here before but in what capacity he didn’t know but certainly not with him.  Perhaps, wherever she was from with another Time Lord or time traveling species but as a Time Lord he did recognize that a fixed point had been altered.  However, he needed access to the TARDIS console to figure out how badly time had been altered as he looked over at Violet who had placed Krista’s valuables on a table nearby.  It was time to take a little stroll to his cabin to calculate how much of an impact this had on Earth’s timeline though given with what he knew of fixed points, the consequences were costly.  “Well ladies, I did enjoy our little chat and we will talk more Miss Emerald but, I believe there is a matter that needs to be addressed with the Captain but first I must pick something up in my cabin. “ 

More like analyze with the TARDIS scanners, The Doctor thought.   He would have the chance to determine where Krista came from and if she matched any Species in the TARDIS databanks before the paradox would consume the Earth.  No doubt, somewhere he could hear the Cloister Bell chiming, somewhere from within the TARDIS if not audibly but through his subtle link with his beloved ship   “Violet, Miss Emerald.” The Doctor said as he excused himself, standing up and adjusting his pocket watch before nodding politely to both Krista and Violet Jessop, before leaving the ward.

*********

It was nearing the time for the 10’O Clock shift change as the ship’s time was adjusted on the Britannic. They were now starting to round Greece’s western coast and in the morning they would be steaming close to the Kea channel.  The watertight bulkheads were open between the different compartments as crewmembers, firemen, stokers passed between boiler rooms and holds.  Many were pushing wheel barrels full of coal as the boilers stood several feet taller than the men and they were burning at full force since the Britannic had stopped. 

Rumor had it they had pulled a woman from the Mediterranean Sea although it had nothing to do with the workers who worked tirelessly to provide power to the Britannic’s engines and power plant.  All the boilers were ordered lit by the Captain as now they were headed full on into the War Zone and the Captain didn’t want to take any chances with the ship getting damaged.  Although, when the lightning hit pretty close the men could feel it, especially in Boiler Room 6 which on the port side had been close to the hit though undamaged and dry.  Several of the men said it was a bad omen and many had taken a swig or two just to calm their nerves, when their bosses weren’t looking.

One of the firemen who worked in Boiler Room 6 was the brother of Fred Thompson, who had told him all about the excitement earlier as he had just oversaw one of the stokers feeding a fire in one of the massive boilers.  Liam Thompson was in his late twenties and had come aboard the Britannic after transferring from the Olympic months earlier and being promoted to Chief Fireman of Boiler Room 6.  Not only that, it would give him a chance to serve with his older brother who was always talking about his experiences as a lookout; and being with his family after the war.  It gave him hope that not all was lost although he did have a girl waiting for him back in Belfast after the war, if she wasn’t already engaged.  That was an entirely separate matter altogether but at least it gave him something to look forward to after the War.

  Moving onto the next boiler, Liam had noticed that the light had gone out but boiler was still hot as he would have to relight the fire as he motioned for the stoker Timothy to go to the coal bunker and fetch more coal while he would have a look to see why the boiler wasn’t working the way it should be.  Strange, he saw the figure and the outline of a man standing behind the boiler as he could easily move between the boiler and the bulkhead since it was an end boiler.  However, he also saw another shadow as he thought over the noise of the other boilers he heard screaming but he wasn’t sure as he saw the other stokers shoveling in coal into the other boilers.  The fires also cast eerie shadows over the boiler room itself and because of the coal dust, the lights that were in the room weren’t the greatest as shadows were hard to distinguish.

Out of curiosity, he decided to have a look as he slid in the narrow space between the end boiler and the bulkhead.   It was then he felt a hand grab onto him as he felt panic build him and just as he was about to let out a scream he saw the face of George, his brother’s Crow’s Nest, co-worker and friend.  Not only that, one of the four bunkmates in their cabin as he shook his head.  They had become good friends and in between shifts between the Crow’s Nest duties, stoker and firemen duties, they pretty much hung out, played card games and shared stories of life back home in England and Belfast, Ireland. 

“Oh you scared me mate, you shouldn’t be down ‘ere not at this late hour! Aren’t you due for a shift anyways?”  Liam asked, still startled.  He couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something off as George’s expression seemed vacant and emotionless.  George as far as he knew was always lively and loved to be the heart of the party and the center of attention, even at crew gatherings and meal times.

“I was curious.”  George replied.  “I thought you should have a look back here.  You should really come and see this.”  He was insistent as he started to pull Liam towards the back of the boiler.

“I wish I could but I need to see why this boiler shut down or the Chief Engineer is going to have me head for breakfast!!”  Liam replied.  “But if you tried to shut it down you could’ve blown up the whole bloody ship!  We wouldn’t want the Britannic to end up like her sister ship now would we!! You know our ol’ dad ended up on that ship and didn’t make it off.  I don’t think Fred and I want to join ‘im, God rest his soul!”  He laughed but still, George’s face remained vacant and expressionless.  “Well no ‘arm in checking…let’s have a looksee.”   

Liam managed to squeeze by George in that narrow space but the hot boiler made it uncomfortable but it wasn’t as hot as it should have been as he came to the back near the bulkhead.  “Are you egging me on, mate?”  Liam asked.  He couldn’t see why the fires weren’t lit or why they were extinguished but there was no coal or hot coal burning inside the boiler in fact, he saw wiring.  Strange, blue wiring that he didn’t understand hanging from the inside of the boiler.  He also saw where there should have been the igniters where the flames came into the boiler itself; there was a platform, a cot of some type with straps.  Pulling his body out from the back of the boiler, he stuck his head and looked up; he thought he saw something that looked like a hacksaw and a needle.  Those things he knew should have been found in a surgeon’s office and not in a boiler, especially one of the largest boilers, on one of the largest liners in the world.  It was definitely a prank or a joke as he turned to say something to George, or to slap himself in the face to wake up.  However, that’s when he saw the flash of silver and the vacant expression of the devil himself staring him blankly in the eye.  He let out a scream as the shift signal drowned out his scream.

“We hear the sound of fear.  We will remove all fear, all sorrow.  You will be adapted to service us as will this vessel.  This machine…it has been converted into servicing us. “The metal man, as far as Liam concerned itself, had told him blankly.

“Oh I get it.”  Liam said meekly, still shaken to the core.   “You’re bloody joking this ship needs those boilers to power itself!! I’d think they’d notice one or two boilers out mate!!”

“Negative.”  George said.  “The Cybermen have increased efficiency of the engines by ten percent.  They need to increase their numbers.  The Controller has demanded it but he is too weak.  We need more men. We are to be the first, they can only convert with the materials stolen from the cargo and the holds.  The boiler has been converted to a chamber to make us like them.” 

“You don’t have the metal to do it!”  Liam said.  “I don’t want to become like that----that thing!” He backed up against the boiler panicking but the Cyberman reached for him. 

“Emotions detected. We will purge all emotions from you.  You will become like us!”  As the shadows in Boiler Room 6 lit up with the blue hues of a Cyber conversion in process and the screams of a man’s humanity being purged from him; forever.  In the shadows, a figure of a Cyberman could be seen as other stokers within the Boiler Room were also lured into the same position as their Chief Fireman.  Their humanities purged till at least six Cybermen stood in the shadows waiting for orders from the Cyber Controller who had yet to reveal himself.

*********

                As he came out of the A-Deck Ward, the Doctor nodded to the Nurses and Doctors who were conversing on what would be Britannic’s Grand Staircase as he casually walked down to B-Deck and into the corridor leading to the guest staterooms.  Taking out a key, he opened a partly finished stateroom door and stepped in closing it behind him.  As he walked into what would have been a luxury suite on the Olympic, there was nothing more than a neatly made bed, a small reading table with an arm chair, a chest of drawers and a small couch.  The small bathroom lay just beyond and even for period standards and a hospital ship, it would have been considered luxurious. 

 The Doctor had no need for either as he walked to the adjoining door, from beyond he could hear the ominous chime of the Cloister Bell from his ship.  The TARDIS had indeed picked up the impending paradox and she was not too thrilled about it as he kept the light off to the unfinished room and closed the room door behind him locking it.   Stepping up to the TARDIS doors, he pulled out his TARDIS key and stuck it in and unlocked the blue doors and stepped in, closing the doors behind him and walked towards the console room.

As The Doctor entered the lavish console room he could again hear Cloister Bell again coming from his ship.  The TARDIS was highly sensitive to paradoxes and although the paradox hadn’t occurred she was sensing it already; with the arrival of Miss Emerald into this timeframe.  Stepping up to the elaborate wooden panel he started pulling on buttons and levers and reached up for the scanner to switch it on.  “I know old girl, time to figure out how bad things really are.”  The console sparked as the scanners switched on.  Running to another end of the console, the Doctor compensated as he focused his temporal scanners back onto the events of a few hours ago to the storms that dotted the seas of the Mediterranean Sea. 

“Whoa…easy there.”  The Doctor said as he patted the console.  “Time to figure out where and when Miss Emerald came from and if she brought any company with her.”   The Doctor said, adjusting controls and looking at the scanner.  The readings brought up the thunderstorms that the Britannic sailed through earlier as they analyzed the cloud to sea lightning in and around as well as the turbulence on the seas.  However, the readings were not the typical ionic and electrical readings from normal Earth thunderstorms.  There were a lot of temporal universal harmonic discrepancies that did not match the normal readings from this universe.    Meaning, the bolts of lightning were not actual lightning bolts at all, the amount of energy output was far beyond the typical output of a normal bolt of lightning for a typical Earth thunderstorm.

Furthermore, as the TARDIS analyzed the thunderstorm readings, she became more and more upset, indicated by the distant groans from deep within.  The readings on the scanner indicated that there were Void energies, meaning that the space between universes had been unzipped.  Exposing the universes to each other, which could literally tear the universe apart along with the impending paradox, should the Britannic not hit her intended mine.  Both outcomes were the worst case scenarios, one cracking the universe in half, while the other outcome drawing the universe into a perpetual never-ending hell in The Void. 

   “Now isn’t that interesting.”  It appeared that Miss Emerald was somehow linked to it all and perhaps, the reason why The Void had opened.  Just as he was about to run his scan on Miss Emerald to determine if she was a carrier of The Void energy and if there was a risk that The Void was still open, the TARDIS scanners had picked up another unusual anomaly, as he zoomed in on it, the TARDIS console sparked violently as the Cloister Bell rang this time louder before.

“Don’t do this now!! Come on old girl stay with me!!! Just this once…we can prevent this!!”  The Doctor said, as he ran around hitting controls.  The TARDIS was trying to dematerialize herself away from the Paradox, but he had to prevent the Paradox as he saw the last reading on the Britannic on the scanner.  She only had a minute before the HADS took over to relocate her away from the Britannic and away from the paradox.   Still, there was a small chance and given from what he had briefly saw, The Void for now was closed, now all he had to worry about was the Paradox as he ran through the corridor leading from the console room and towards the doors.  Quickly, he opened the doors and ran out as the TARDIS dematerialized within the second room within the Britannic. 

                There would be no telling where the TARDIS had materialized in 1916 Earth but if he could fix the Paradox and restore the timeline, he would be reunited with his ship.  There was still the anomaly that the TARDIS had picked up moments before in Boiler Room 6.  Funny, how in history Boiler Room 6 was where the ship had hit the mine, a mine she had never hit yet, now that history had been altered.    He was one never to believe in coincidences, especially if it involved history.  In addition, since going into the TARDIS, Britannic felt different to him and knowing the Olympic-class ocean liners and what he had read about them, they had a top cruising speed of 21 knots, but Britannic seemed to be going faster than that.  Two things in addition to what he had learned in the TARDIS that had told him that whatever was behind the anomaly in Boiler Room 6 may have just put history into another tail spin and his instincts told him that it wasn’t in the best interests of humanity.   

                Quickly, he headed for the door leading into the first room of his cabin headed for the A-deck, there was a lot to do in the next few hours and time was already working against him.  The Doctor knew he had to figure out the mystery of Miss Emerald, the Boiler Room and defeat the paradox.  The question was, could he do all three and save history at the same time.  In his hearts, he knew that he had to try.

*******

                Krista had watched as The Doctor had left hours earlier as her heart sank but she was feeling better physically.  Emotionally she was a wreck as she saw Violet address the other medical cots prepping them for the patients that Britannic would be taking on in a few hours.  No doubt because of her arrival Britannic would never hit her mine and she would never sink.  The past few hours were quiet and she knew it was well into the early hours of November 21^st, then again she had lost track of time since she had arrived.   Krista also knew that altering a fixed point in time had severe consequences and though she never did back home with her Doctor, she had altered history in this universe.  If the events on Gallifrey didn’t hit her hard, these did as she had survived those long enough to destroy another universes chance of going on.  Some companion she had turned out to be, the last of the Star Lords, and she had destroyed any chance of redeeming herself.  That’s all that she wanted but she couldn’t sit still.  She needed air and she needed to be alone.

                Krista really wanted to go for a walk on the A-Deck promenade just outside the ward.  There really wasn’t a place for her to run on Britannic and granted where would she go?  Then there was the question of The Doctor, at least this one in this universe and there wasn’t a sign that she hadn’t run into herself or her Doctor at all. If he was anything like her Doctor, he would try and solve the paradox before the end of the world, make sure the fixed point remained a fixed point, and be back in The TARDIS in time for tea.  If he was anything like her Doctor, that was but she didn’t know this one very well. 

                “Violet?”  Krista called out, as she waved the nurse over.  As Violet Jessop finished working the cots on the far end of the Officers Ward and made her way back over to Krista’s bedside, Krista remembered her Doctor telling her the story of Violet Jessop who had managed to survive the accidents of all three Olympic-class liners and even on the sinking of the Britannic in her universe managed to save her toothbrush of all things, Krista thought the woman to be remarkable in the face of death and adversity whereas Krista was feeling rather hopeless right now as the woman, being a nurse offered a small smile.

                “Yes, miss?”  Violet offered.  “Can I get you something, a glass of water?  Asprin for your fever?”  She offered, as she smiled at Krista.  “It’s getting ready for the shift change and I won’t be working the ward later on today unfortunately back down below decks for me, I suppose.” 

                “No.”  Krista said, as she looked towards the windows of the ward.  “I was wondering, can I ask you something?  I’m just taking a guess; I mean don’t let The Doctor know that I know this, but despite being on the Olympic and the Titanic I mean when they y’know had their accidents and then serving in the war.  I mean what keeps you going; I mean it had to be scary thinking the Olympic was going to sink and the Titanic…all those people.”  She knew the disaster well having studying them back in her universe as an undergraduate student in history and even in primary school. 

                “You wonder what keeps me going.”  Violet said.  “Are you sure you’re feeling alright love?  Well, I have my family someone has to pay for everything…and it’s hard.  Making a living these days but if you love someone you do things that are the hardest things you have to do.  One thing that keeps me going…is hope.  Hope that there’s a better tomorrow out there.” 

                “Despite the war and how bleak everything looks?  When everything you’ve ever known is gone?”  Krista said.  “I feel like everything I’ve ever known has been taken from me in an instant.  I had this wonderful life back home where I’m from and then in one instant, I made a wrong choice—“

                “You want redemption,” Violet interrupted.  “Just know that there’s hope in redemption and in redemption there is hope, love.  Just hold onto that.”  She said and then looked over at Krista’s valuables, before reaching over and handing them to her.    “I think a bit of fresh air will do you some good.  You’re welcome to go to the promenade just outside the ward and get some air.  I’ll let the other nurse know where you’ll be, don’t stay out too long though. Heaven knows what that fever inside of you is doing.  There is a changing curtain just down there.”  She offered a hand and pulled Krista up and although Krista was a bit unsteady she quickly found her sea legs again and walked over to the changing curtain.

                **********

                In Boiler Room 6, things were different as there were Cybermen standing in and among the boilers and stokers who were still shoveling coal into the boilers to keep the fires lit.  The converted boiler could only convert one human at a time as the stokers knew there was trouble but were too scared to even move.   Their chief fireman had gone missing over two hours ago and though one stoker had gone to check to see why the end boiler had gone cold he didn’t return.  The others in the boiler room had gotten spooked and started to retreat to the next boiler room over but were stopped when the chief from Boiler Room 5 called them mad and ordered them to return.  They continued to stroke and feed the fires into the remaining boilers but one by one they would be converted.

                The Cybermen had full control of Boiler Room 6, even if the humans hadn’t realized it yet.  Still, there was not enough power for the Cybermen to convert so many at once.  The crude conversion chamber and the materials they had secured from Britannic’s hull could only allow for one conversion at a time.  There was not enough raw material in the ship itself, for Britannic’s crew to be fully converted into service for the Cybermen and the Cyber-Controller knew this.    The Controller was different from the other Cybermen as his body though similar was pull of plug-ins that lined his torso and his brain could be seen, pulsating through a transparent steel dome.  Unlike his counterparts, his faceplate was solid black and his plug-ins were also solid black as blue cords from the conversion chamber ran into the various plugs along his arms.    As he adjusted the plugs from the conversion chamber into the plug-ins on his torso he could pick up an unusual power source from levels above as a visual scan of the ship came into his visual scanners.  They had record of the Britannic through stolen UNIT records from parallel Earth’s history banks.  Cold calculating logic would suggest that this parallel Britannic would be very similar to the one that history had recorded on the parallel Earth.  There was steel but not enough for full conversions of the crew but enough for the Cybermen to overpower the humans on the vessel and take control.

                “Power Source detected, source level A-deck.”  The initial scans showed that it was not from this world as a second Cyberman moved its arm and joined in the scan from the conversion chamber.

                “Secondary scan shows that is an unlimited power source from the primary universe, scans show that it is on the move. “  The second Cyberman concluded.

                “Send the Cybermat to determine the origin and to bring it down to us.  This source could be used to increase the efficiency of the conversions.   We must also locate other sources of material for conversion, take from the starboard side from the hold.”  The Cyber-controller ordered, the second Cyberman gave a salute across its chest before marching off following its orders. 

The Cyber-controller continued its scans of Britannic’s hull though primitive there were areas where they could use steel for conversions.  Primitive for now but it would due till they could arrive on solid ground and take the world by force.  They could harvest the resources and tap into the steel and upgrade the Earth, removing the pain of humanity, offering life, no emotions, all in service of the Cybermen.  For a moment, the Cyber-controller picked up another reading but it had disappeared just as quickly and dismissed it just as quickly as another human was inserted into the conversion chamber. 

********

                On the bridge of the Britannic, a Royal Marine Corps officer had taken note in the increase of speed as he noted it to the officer on duty, who was Sixth Officer Chapman.  Britannic was still on her heading and most of the Senior Officers had retired for the night as Britannic was now beginning to reach the southern tip of  Greece and beginning to round it.  By mid-morning she would be in the middle of the Kea Channel which was known to be laden with mines and U-Boats that would lay those mines.  Captain Bartlett had ordered that all Senior Officers would rotate starting after the Four O’ Clock watch on two hour shifts.  They would take no chances once they entered the main part of the War Zone. 

                The increase in speed was a little alarming but it would mean that they would reach their casualties a little bit quicker and on schedule, the rescue of the young woman had put them at least an hour and a half behind but Britannic was catching up.   By his best guess, she was now only a half hour maybe forty-five minutes behind, maybe less.   The troubling part was that Britannic and her sister ship had a top speed of 21 knots, and she was going at least 23 knots, maybe more.  Even the wheel was shaking slightly with the increase in speed.  Perhaps, it was just nerves or the fact that once again she was going through the War Zone.    Though Officer Chapman was a bit concerned as was the Royal Officer about the increase in speed, and the fact that she seemed to be reacting a bit different as if  knew she had to get to her casualties.  If the increase in speed continued, Chapman would consider waking Captain Bartlett and the Senior Officers as he was afraid of Britannic falling apart as she had not been designed for these stresses on her hull.

                “I don’t like this and no communication from Boiler Room 6?”  Chapman said, turning to the officer.

                “None sir.”  The Royal Marine Officer concluded.  “You know if Thomas Andrews designed these ships for speed, Britannic would break Olympics’ record in a heartbeat!” 

                “What time is it?”  Chapman asked.  Turning to a crewmember who was standing near the inner wheel of the ship while the helmsman steered the ship.

                “A little after three-fifty five in the morning; It’s still a bit early to wake the Captain.  The young crewmember replied, as Chapman walked over to the port side of the outer bridge and peered out.  He still felt a bit uneasy as he looked over at the marine who had followed him out.

                “I think I’m going to go down there and see if I can figure out why we can’t communicate with Boiler Room 6, we don’t need this ship falling apart in the middle of a War Zone. ”  The officer replied.  Down below he thought he could hear the opening of port holes as he knew the doctors and nurses of the lower wards were prepping them no doubt for the influx of patients they would be taking on later in the day.

                “Quite right old man.”  Chapman replied.  “When the Captain wakes up, I’ll let him know it seems she’s going a bit too fast and if need be I’ll give the order to go a bit slower.  Just be careful going down there, ever since we left, Naples I’ve had this feeling.”

                “Ah you’re beginning to sound like my mum!”  The Royal Marine said as he descended down the stairs to A-deck where as he looked started to head towards the B-deck, he saw a woman down the way.  On closer inspection it was the woman that had been pulled from the sea most likely.  She was attractive but he was ever the gentleman as he nodded in her direction but she didn’t notice him as she was leaning up against the windows looking out at the sea.   Still he continued on his rounds as he descended down to B-deck through the same exterior staircase, as he went down a little metal worm that clung to the outside continued to creep up on a mission to find the power source that had moved to the exterior of the A-deck promenade.

******

                Krista stood just outside where the entrance to the Grand Staircase would be if the Britannic had reached her potential as a passenger liner.  Too bad, she would never get the chance in this reality now that it seemed that the paradox was closer to happening.  To her left, she could see a few nurses and Doctors already prepping the open promenade for casualties as the Officer’s Ward probably couldn’t handle all the incoming wounded.  She knew it was similar back home on the Britannic she had traveled on with her Doctor as she stepped away from the doorway and walked a little towards the bow section where it was a bit more open.  Stepping up to one of the promenade windows she then pulled it down and opened it as she allowed fresh air to hit her as she heard the sounds of the Britannic sailing through the water.  Still, around her life went on as she leaned up against the side of the window and watched the water, hearing as it hit against the hull on the port side.

                The doctors and nurses trudged on pulling out cots, bandages, and hearing the wenches and surgical tools.  She could also smell a bit of alcohol and other chemicals used to clean wounds that she didn’t care for as she shook her head.  For a moment, she thought what’s the point if the world was going to end?  Then, she remembered what Violet had told her before she had left the Ward about having hope despite the hopelessness of the situation.  The goal of the doctors and nurses was to provide comfort and aid to those that needed it.  No matter how bleak the war looked, no matter how dreadful the injuries were; or the cost of war there was always that a glimmer of hope.  They were going on as if nothing bad was going to happen, no paradox, no sinking just life. 

                “That’s what makes them so remarkable; their ability to go on no matter how the odds are stacked against them.”  The Doctor remarked, as he had only recently stepped back out onto the promenade himself.  After the TARDIS had dematerialized from his cabin, his portable scanner had picked up an unusual reading not from Miss Emerald, but from something different.   Rather than come directly back to Miss Emerald, he had tracked the signal throughout the ship and it was clever, trying to throw him off as it rose through the various decks and wards, all the way back to A-deck close to where they were now.  Somehow, whatever it was that was trying to elude them had locked onto Miss Emerald, now all he had to do was spring the trap, while console whatever ill it was that had bothered her.

                Krista was taken aback by The Doctor’s words expecting a lecture on fixed points and how her entrance into this universe altered the timeline.   She could hear him walking over to the window and knew that he was looking out the same window at the sea.   Somehow, he knew what to say and when to say it; like her Doctor did.  Her gaze didn’t match his; she didn’t want to look at him she didn’t want to see the look of disappointment and inquiry on his eyes.      

                “What’s the point?”  Krista said, “I mean all this isn’t going to mean a thing in a few hours.”

                “The point?  The point…the point…..” The Doctor said mumbling, but still there was something in his voice that was calm and collected.  “Is that it hasn’t happened yet, Miss Emerald.   It is indeed the 21^st of November 1916, and yes the Britannic is due to hit her mine at 8:12. It is a fixed point and being a time traveler and your indication that you know what happens and has to happen, proves that point exactly. “

                Krista turned as her gaze met The Doctor’s, this time without being disoriented she could see him clearly.  Yes, he seemed to carry the worries of Time and Space on his shoulders being a Time Lord but he had an optimism that was more evident on this incarnations face.  He was talking a mile a minute and for an instant that reminded her of her Doctor when he was making a point or he was excited.  For a moment, a brief one at that, she felt a small twinge of hope that everything was going to be alright.  That they may just get out of this and history may just go on its course.  Strange, that in any incarnation that she had known The Doctor in things always happened this way.

                “I guess it was written all over me that I was a time traveler.”  Krista managed to say, as she let out a small laugh, she could hear the Doctor let out a small chuckle, himself.  “The leather and the clothing give it away; plus my mobile phone.”  For the first time in days, it felt good to laugh despite the impending danger.

                “Well, also the fact that you’re an alien.  One that I may point out doesn’t exist in this particular universe.  Which, I find to be quite fascinating but my TARDIS did not, nor do we have the time to discuss in detail about that matter.  In addition, there where Void energies that were expelled at the precise time you were found in the sea.  You arrival in this universe, may or may not have been your fault Krista.  However, whatever brought you here also brought something else through which in addition to the impending paradox, drove the TARDIS scanners mad and forced her to dematerialize from the Britannic. “

                “Oh that’s not good.”  Krista started again, “I mean if you’re implying that I did all this.”

                “No, I’m not….if you’ll just listen to what I’m saying.”  The Doctor started but stopped.  As they were talking, he was aware that they were being watched by whatever he had been tracking in the decks below.  Instead of being the hunter, they were being the hunted and now it was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, it was playing possum and now that possum was about to jump.  

                “Krista,” The Doctor started, putting his fingers to his lips but brought them down slightly, trying to give her a cue.  While looking around for the hunter to jump on its prey and he had a feeling that it was attracted to one of them, and he was inclined to think that it was the latter.  That’s when he spotted it, creeping down and beeping slightly, what looked to be a metal worm.  Although, it looked different from the ones he had seen in this universe, the design was similar to what he encountered in the past.  It was almost upon Krista’s shoulder and he needed just a few more seconds before he could tackle it away from her, safely.   “Whatever happened, to you happened for a reason.  We can’t change that now; it’s not the time for regrets we can’t look back.  Right now I need you to keep talking.”

                “Talking about what?”  Krista asked, as she could see The Doctor staring right over her left shoulder.  She could now hear something audibly beeping near her and she knew it couldn’t be her mobile phone, since it was most likely water damaged from the swim in the sea.     Krista also knew that she had to calm her mind, given the fact that the last time she let her emotions get the best of her, things, people got hurt.  That she knew she wouldn’t let happen, not to this incarnation of The Doctor who did not carry the burdens of the universe on his shoulders, yet.

                “Oh I don’t know?  The weather, tea and scones, not to mention the Cricket scores….just keep talking and walk towards me.  Trust me.”  He said, offering his hand to her and stepping away from the window

                However, Krista made the mistake that all companions usually did as The Doctor shook his head as she looked over her shoulder and saw the Cybermat about to attack her but he stepped forward and grabbed her hand.  “Run!!”  The Cybermat leapt after them and onto the deck, snapping and hissing as the pair made their way down, startling Nurses and Doctors who were thrown off balance as the Cybermat gave chase, snapping and hissing down the port side of the A-deck, headed towards the stern section of Britannic .  Medical instruments went flying as orderlies who were setting up for the casualties who were to come on board later on in the day. 

                “What is that thing?”  Krista said, looking back at the metal worm which was rolling after them on the wooden deck as The Doctor and Krista had gained some ground; even in the open part of the A-deck promenade.   The Cybermat was still coming, but the Doctor had stopped, rather than give her a direct answer he let go of her hand, climbed up on one of the medical beds and was already untying a splint support. 

                “How is that going to help?”  Krista asked.  The Cybermat had stopped as it was most likely revving up for the attack. The Cybermat was still snapping as she saw The Doctor looking at it he finished untying the support and jumped back down. 

                “I’m going to just slow it down, it’s getting orders but it’s slow.  Yes, you’re not liking the slow downloads are you?“  The Doctor said, as he prepared to catch the Cybermat for its intended attack.  Yes, it was slowed down but not down and out for the count.  For one thing, he knew there were no Cyber-ships in orbit around Earth, and two the downloads and orders that it was most likely getting were taking longer to download given the primitive wiring of the early 20^th century technology .  It was waiting, waiting and then it lunged for Krista first but he stepped in the way.

                “Doctor!”  Krista started, The Doctor stepped in the way and took the Cybermat’s impending attack full on.  It seemed that like The Doctor back in her universe he was willing to take the risk.

                “Toro, Toro, Toro!”  As the Doctor caught the Cybermat in the sling but was thrown to the deck.  The sling he knew couldn’t hold the Cybermat, not for long as he struggled against it.   “Krista, grab that medical tray right there behind you.”

                “Wouldn’t the Sonic Screwdriver be easier?”  Krista asked, but he could hear him struggling against the force of the Cybermat.    As she turned, she found a white medical tray that looked like it was made of study metal as cleared it of medical instruments as they went flying about.   “Will this do?”

                “Yes, we need to distract it long enough for me to sever an electrical wire to disable it.”  The Doctor said still struggling against the Cybermat as it let out an electrical charge temporarily disorienting and from her vantage point, knocking out The Doctor.

                Krista saw The Doctor go limp as her heart stopped.  “Doctor!!”  She started but she knew that if there was a small glimmer of hope, he would be alright.  If he was anything like her own, he would be alright in some capacity as the sling moved with the Cybermat towards her direction as she held the tray in front of her. 

                “Alright if that’s how you want to play it.  Come on then.”  She said, as the sling with the Cybermat leapt at her as she hit as hard as she could with the tray denting the tray but knocking the sling back a few feet away from her.   The Cybermat revved up again and charged, again it was knocked back.   It prepared for a third strike and Krista again prepared to hit it with the nearly useless tray as the sling came loose revealing it’s terrifying metal form as it snapped and hissed.  Again, it was low on power as it was slow to react, but its slow reaction was its downfall.  A blue current ran through it, as it shorted out.  An odor of burnt wiring filled the air but quickly dissipated with the open promenade space of the deck as confused Doctors and Nurses looked on but the Doctor who had quickly recovered thanks to his alien physiology.

                Krista took in a few deep breaths as she looked over at The Doctor as he had gotten to his feet picking up the disabled Cybermat.  The Doctor was alright and to her it felt like old times as he patted her on the shoulder; but she knew that this was the calm before the storm.  She could see it in his eyes, he knew exactly whom and what they were dealing with, and what had come through that Void thing he had mentioned earlier.

                “You were brilliant, Krista!”  The Doctor, said.   “I think I know exactly whom and what we are dealing with here.  It’s more than just a paradox now.  You may have come through the Void, but they were here first and they are most likely the ones that altered history first.”  He said as he examined the burnt out Cybermat.  It was clear to him what had come aboard the Britannic and what had come through the Void before she did.  It would explain that readings on the Britannic, why the TARDIS also reacted so violently when he scanned Britannic at the precise time the lightning hit the water.  It all made sense now and now besides the paradox, it wasn’t just the Doctors and Nurses that were in danger, it wasn’t just the crew it was all of reality.

                “Who?”  Krista said, as she saw that he was examining the burnt out metal worm.

                “The Cybermen.”  The Doctor, said coldy. "One of the most dangerous species in the universe, and they are here now aboard the Britannic."  Looking out to the sea, he knew that there were only hours left, for Britannic and possibly for the rest of humanity if the Cybermen were involved.

********

End Part I

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