"Doctor, when we land again, could we please go find some books?" Ian asked. "It's just I have been getting rather bored lately. I could use something to do."

"'Something to do.'" The Doctor repeated. "Ian, we are traveling through time and space. Since the day you entered my Tardis, we have been running, fighting various evils, and running as if the devil was at our heels. Which it usually was. I can't believe you could consider that boring."

"But I don't, Doctor." Ian replied. "I simply want something for in between the adventures. There is practically nothing to do on the Tardis except eat and sleep."

"Oh, really." The Doctor said. "Well, I suppose you have a point there."

"Grandfather," Susan called out from over by the control console. "We are materializing."

"I will go get Barbara." Ian said. "Let's hope we have landed somewhere nice and not too dangerous."

"As usual, no sense of adventure." The Doctor murmured.

This is a normal start of the day for these time travelers, before all the running and danger. They were not always this happy family. Their adventures all started back in London, 1963. That was when Ian and Barbara, two teachers at Coal Hill high school, followed their most mysterious student, Susan, home. When they did, the two of them found the Tardis, a time machine disguised as a Police Box. A Police Box is an old-type of phone booth used to phone police only. Tardis stands for "Time-And-Relative-Dimension-In-Space." Meaning it can go anywhere in time and space.

Also, the Tardis is actually bigger on the inside. Just behind the doors is a large room where the control console is located. The control console is hexagon shaped, reaches up to the Doctor's waist, and has all kinds of controls, from buttons to levers. Only the Doctor and Susan can fly it, but it is clear they do not have much, if any, control over where the Tardis goes. However, that is the exciting part of traveling in it. You never know where you will end up next.

Barbara is around Ian's height, has a pretty face and nice blue eyes. Currently, she is wearing a white shirt and brown pants. Susan has black hair and is the same height as the Doctor. Today, she wore a blue long-sleeve shirt and new shoes from 21st century New York City. The Doctor wears a black frock coat, a fawn waistcoat over a wing-collared shirt, a black necktie and checkered trousers. His face is wrinkled, his hair is pure white and well combed back. By looking into his eyes, anyone could see he had a kind heart and great intelligence. Ian is a young teacher with combed black hair, green eyes and is a bit taller than the Doctor. His clothing consists of a black coat, black tie, a white shirt, and well polished shoes.

When Ian and Barbara found the Tardis, they met Susan's grandfather, the Doctor. At first, all he wanted was to get rid of them. He certainly did not want to travel with them, but that is what happened. As soon as Ian touched the control console, their journey together began. Over time, the Doctor grew fond of Barbara and Ian. Now, he would probably miss them dearly if they left.

The Doctor listened to the wheezing noise the Tardis makes as it materializes.

"So, Doctor, do you have any idea where we have landed?" Barbara asked.

"Have I ever?" The Doctor replied.

Smiling at each other, all four of them left the Tardis. Outside was a desert and a few yards away was some sort of town. All of the buildings were made of red bricks and there were dirt roads made for vehicles to move between the homes. Mostly, the only vehicles on the road were metal carts moving from house to house, offering food, toys and electronics. At the center of the town was the tallest building in the town. It was ten stories high and made of stainless steel. On top of it was a large platform with a some kind of spaceship docking on it. The building had made windows, but none of them could be seen through, at least not from the outside. The ship was square shaped, painted brown, had a glass dome of the center of the top where the pilot undoubtedly was, and had two wings the length of two football fields.

Next to the skyscraper was another building that was two stories high, painted white, and the length of four football fields. Constantly, there were people pushing carts full of some kind of shiny material into the taller building. Everyone from that building was covered in dirt.

"Doctor, I think we have landed on some kind of future mining town somewhere in a desert." Ian said. "Maybe the Sahara or Texas?"

"You are right about everything except we are not on Earth." The Doctor replied.

"How do you know, grandfather?" Susan asked.

"Well, perhaps because Earth has only one sun." The Doctor said, pointing up.

Barbara, Ian, and Susan looked up and saw that the Doctor was right. One sun was setting in the east and another was rising in the west. This was definitely not Earth.

"I would say this is the plant, Xros." The Doctor said.

"How can you be so sure?" Barbara asked.

"Because of the sign." The Doctor pointed to what appeared to be a bar with a sign above the door. "It reads, "Six-Hundred Flavors; Best Bar on Xros."

"Have you ever heard of this planet before, Doctor?" Ian asked.

"Never in all my years." The Doctor replied. "At least not one with a desert on it. Just one that is a frozen wasteland."

"So, we don't know what to expect here." Ian said. "Just great."

"I don't see the problem with that." The Doctor replied. "Maybe we can encounter something new. Something exciting. Surprising even."

"You seem to forget, Doctor, that surprises are not always good." Barbara said.

"Don't worry, Barbara. We will be fine. We always are." Susan assures her.

Suddenly, they heard multiple engines humming in the distance, getting closer every second. Moments later, a siren went off.

"Warning! Ore Raiders!" A voice said in between sirens.

Everyone on the street quickly fled into the nearest home, then shut and locked the doors. As the time travelers were about to follow the citizens, the raiders had arrived.

They came riding into town on motorcycle-like vehicles. The only difference was they had no wheels; instead the vehicles had glowing spheres that seemed to allow them to levitate a few feet above the ground. All the raiders wore some kind of goggles along with black masks over their mouths and noses. The black suits they wore were caked with dirt. Some of them carried gun-like devices in one of their hands.

"Run!" Barbara shouted, though she did not need to.

They were all running as fast as they could, racing down every road and alley they could find, but the raiders had spotted them and were in pursuit. Though the time travelers tried their best to escape, the distance between them and the raiders was constantly growing smaller. Then, when the Doctor tripped and fell, the raiders had caught them. The raiders rode in circles around them, preventing them from escaping.

Ian stood tall, trying to look tough while Barbara and Ian helped the Doctor to his feet. The situation was looking rather grim. However, matters improved once the shots were fired. These shots did not come from the raiders, but from people on the roofs of the home. It seems that the townspeople were not about to allow their town to be ruined by these raiders. Unfortunately, one of them did not want to leave empty handed. He grabbed Susan by her arm and pulled her onto his bike.

"Susan!" The Doctor shouted as the raiders rode away.