The Tyler Factor

By Lumendea

Chapter One: Treaty of Rethilan Prime: Chance Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: Welcome to the fifth story in the Guardians of the Universe series. I strongly urge you to go and read the previous stories if you haven't already otherwise you will be lost very quickly. To all returning readers, thank you for all the fantastic support you've given to the series thus far and I hope you enjoy this latest season. This is an original episode to start off the new season!

…

Rose Marion Tyler was twenty years old and in her third year of university at Cambridge where she was working on a concurrent physics and computer science degrees. It was a warm sunny day in late September with just a few wisps of clouds overhead. She was sitting alone at a small table on the front patio of the most popular coffee shop near the main campus. The tall roof lines of the old gothic buildings could be seen over nearby trees and would have created a peaceful scene if not for the hustle and bustle she was the midst of. All around her, students who were just returning to school or newly arrived first years were moving about and talking on the patio of the coffee shop. In the corner of her eye, Rose noticed a young woman she'd had several computer science classes with and waved to her as Anna headed inside.

Reaching up to her ear, Rose checked that the translator she'd been given by the Imperial Princess of Dumino years ago was still in place. The mass of voices around her seemed too loud for it all be in English, but her translator was still in place. Rose glanced around and debated heading back to her apartment or finding a quieter place to read the well-worn copy of Siddhartha that she'd pulled off the shelf this morning.

Classes would be starting in two days so she didn't have much more time to just relax, but Rose wasn't sure if there was any place in Cambridge that would be calm and quiet during the back to school rush. Yesterday her new neighbour, a fresh doctoral candidate in the biology department, has spilt something that definitely didn't smell right. It was one of the reasons she was spending the day outside despite the noise. Internally shrugging, Rose lowered her eyes back to her book and did her best to ignore the people moving around her, taking a sip of her drink.

"This place is beyond crazy," a cheerful voice said in front of her. "Maybe it would have been best to look at Cambridge in a couple of weeks."

Rose glanced up from her book, wondering if the person was talking to her. A tall young woman with long copper red hair, freckles, green eyes and a bright smile slipped into the seat across from her. The young woman was dressed for the warm weather in a short denim skirt, a blue top with a floral design and a thin scarf wrapped around her neck. A silver bracelet with an odd collection of small charms and stones jangled on her wrist. Rose didn't recognise her, but the young woman started glancing around.

"I hope Rory can find me in this crowd," she muttered in a warm Scottish accent. Then she looked back at Rose with a widening grin. "You weren't kidding about how pretty the campus was here, the gothic architecture is wonderful. Not as good as it was back then, but it really holds up. But I'm just not sure that it's a good fit for me. Maybe the Doctor is right and I should just look at Edinburg, it would be really nice to go back to Scotland for a few years, but I'm not sure that would work for Rory." The woman shook her head and rested her hand on the palm of her hand, giving Rose a lazy smile. "So what brings you here? Are you checking on up me? If you are I promise that I've been keeping my passport close and fifty pounds in my boot."

Blinking at the young woman, Rose became aware that her mouth was hanging open a bit in shock. She stared at the young woman trying to understand what was going on. Blinking, Rose wasn't surprised when the girl was still there but was having trouble believing what she was saying so casually. The young woman looked a bit younger than her, barely old enough to be a student at the school. And she had mentioned the Doctor.

"Rose?" the young woman called to her, frowning slightly. "Are you alright?"

Rose nearly laughed as it finally clicked in her mind what was going on. A laugh escaped her as she closed her book and set it down on the table. "I'm afraid that you have me at a disadvantage," Rose said carefully. Glancing around for anyone who might have been listening, Rose relaxed when she determined they were alone. "I'm certain that we have never met, in my timeline at least."

The red-haired young woman's eyes widened with a hint of panic. "You don't know me yet. Of course, you don't, you're too young! But maybe this was supposed to happen…. You've mentioned things like that happening before." Rose stared at the young woman as she took in a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. "My name is Amelia Pond, most people call me Amy, but you've always called me Amelia or Mia. You're going to meet me in the future." Amelia or Mia gave Rose a soft smile. "So thanks in advance for that."

Amelia paused, licking her lips and Rose gave her moment to collect her thoughts. "I was born in 1989," Amelia informed Rose with a small smile. "This is my home time. I'm actually taking a gap year before starting university." Amelia gestured towards the towering buildings of the Cambridge campus. "I'm checking out some school campuses, your suggestion actually."

"Wow, you're only three years younger than I am," Rose said thoughtfully.

"That's my fault," Amelia said in a rush. "You've mentioned to me before that you're from this time period so I should have remembered that you'd have a young self-walking around."

Rose watched the young woman bury a hand in her long red hair, twirling the strands around her fingers and lean her face against her other hand. She seemed more embarrassed than actually worried about their out of synch meeting which allowed Rose to take a deep breath and calm down. After all, she met the Doctor and Jack out of order all the time. It was rather interesting to be on this side of a temporal loop.

"So gap year?" Rose asked to make conversation since Amelia didn't seem in a hurry to leave. "How is that so far?"

Amelia raised her head to look at her and Rose noticed that her green eyes were dancing with energy and excitement. "It's great," Amelia said. "I got great A Levels so you said I should take some time and explore Earth a bit. Said it was one thing that you wish you'd done."

"I suppose that's true," Rose remarked with a small nod. "I travel a lot, but mostly for…"

"Aliens," Amelia finished with a wide grin. "I know all about that."

"You do?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.

Amelia was grinning at Rose now and she nodded eagerly. "Bedtime stories on the TARDIS since I was just a little girl."

"Wait so you've known me how long?" Rose questioned with a frown, leaning forward. She tried to hide the worry and unease that was rising in her. This encounter could either be a good thing or a very very bad paradox creating event.

"Since I was seven, April 1996," Amelia replied, tilting her head to give Rose a slightly triumphant look.

"And did… did you travel on the TARDIS?" Rose asked, feeling a touch of alarm at the idea of such a small child in the kind of danger she and the Doctor excelled at.

"Sort of," Amelia answered, shrugging. "You took me on trips every couple of weeks and I'd stay for a few days before you dropped me back at my aunt's right after we left. She never even noticed that I was gone." Amelia's smile softened as she looked at Rose. "So like I said, thanks for that. You and the Doctor pretty much raised me."

Before Rose had time to fully process Amelia's declaration, a tall young man with a roman nose, light brown hair and green eyes came walking up to them, holding a to-go cup of coffee in each hand. His eyes moved over to Rose and he smiled at her before setting one of the coffee cups in front of Amelia.

"Rose," he greeted happily. "I didn't know you were here, I would have got you something too."

Unsure of what to say, Rose lifted her own coffee to show it to him and took a sip while Amelia jumped up and kissed the young man on the cheek.

"Rose this is my boyfriend Rory Williams," Amelia informed her. "He's planning on studying medicine, I'll have my own doctor in a few years. He travels with us sometimes too."

"Wait," Rory said, glancing between Amelia and Rose. "Amy, what's going on here? Rose knows me."

"Not yet I don't," Rose said. She shrugged and leaned back in her chair to study him. He looked like an average bloke, but Amelia had slipped her arm through his and was smiling at him like he was the most wonderful man on the planet. It made Rose oddly happy.

"Oh," Rory replied slowly, his mouth forming an o and he looked at Amelia with a hint of alarm. "Should you really be talking to her?"

"I'm wondering that myself," Rose told him with a nod.

"I'm sure it's fine," Amelia said with a laugh. "Now she knows who I am and knows to take me on trips as a little girl despite the Doctor's original misgivings about it and she knows that you and I end up together. Need I remind you who pushed me to give you a chance as boyfriend material rather than keeping you as just a friend? This meeting is probably just maintaining the timelines of our future." Amelia grinned at her boyfriend, eyes twinkling. "Big ball of wibbely-wobbly timey-wimey stuff remember."

Rory's shoulders relaxed and Rose blinked at the sudden rush of information that she'd just gotten. "I suppose so," Rory said slowly. "But we should still be careful, Amy."

"Agreed," Rose told him with a nod as she glanced around. She was suddenly very aware of how crowded the patio was and the people who could be listening in on them. "Come on." Rose stood up and slipped her book into her shoulder bag.

Picking up her coffee, she pushed her chair in and began to navigate her way out of the seating area. A quick glance over her shoulder assured her that Amelia and Rory were following her. It didn't take long for Rose to find a new empty spot under a tree on the campus lawn to talk. Amelia nearly skipped over to join her while Rory followed at a slower pace that betrayed his worry over the situation.

Rose took a moment to study them both further. Amelia walked gracefully and deliberately, hinting at either a history of dance or martial arts. Rose guessed it was probably the latter, she had a hard enough time envisioning a child travelling in the TARDIS, but if it did happen she was sure that she would make sure the child knew how to defend themselves. Amelia was clearly confident, Rose didn't know if it was due to her very attractive looks or her experiences, but it didn't seem superficial like most teenagers.

Rory, on the other hand, was less confident, but there was determination in the way he held himself. Rose noted that even when there was distance between him and Amelia, he kept an eye on his girlfriend. The offhand remark Amelia had made about encouraging them to date echoed in Rose's mind and she filed it away. Clearly despite being so young, they both knew about aliens so clearly, her future-self saw or would see something in Rory that would make her comfortable bringing him into the messy details of her life. That or he stumbled into it and was too stubborn to leave like Rani or Clyde.

"Alright," Amelia said, rolling the word thickly and showing off her accent. "Private conversation now."

"So did I ever indicate that we'd met before?" Rose asked looking at Amelia in curiosity.

"Nope," Amelia answered, popping her p in a way very similar to how the Tenth Doctor did. It was strange to think of him helping to raise a child so Rose shoved the thought away. "Afraid not."

"Fine," Rose replied with a thoughtful nod. "Can you think of anything else that I need to know?"

"Other than that I travel with you an adult not really," Amelia said. "I can't believe I thought you were your older self. I mean I know you don't really age, but-"

"Amy!" Rory scolded sharply, looking at Rose in alarm.

"Yeah," Rose said slowly with a look towards Rory. "I've met myself in the future and I don't seem to age much."

"Your accent is different though," Amelia observed with a tilt of her head, causing some of her long hair to spill over her shoulder. "Wonder why the change."

Rose barely contained a sigh at Amelia's remark; she'd noticed the accent thing too on her encounters with her future but knew better than to ask.

"Amy," Rory chided, "Please be careful about what you say." His eyes darted towards Rose with a hint of worry.

"Rory, calm down," Amelia replied, wrapping her arm around his and giving her boyfriend a sweet smile. "Like I said this must be a temporal circle. You remember-"

"I remember," Rory said quickly cutting her off. "Just-"

The hairs on Rose's arm suddenly began to stand on end and the air around her felt thicker. Rory fell silent and glanced around, tightening his grip on Amy. Rose sucked in a quick breath as she scanned the area, looking for anything out of place. Then suddenly a field of bright blue energy surrounded her and the world around her went fuzzy before vanishing altogether.

Everything came back into focus a moment later and Rose barely stayed on her feet as a wave of dizziness hit her. Blinking and giving her head a quick shake, Rose looked around and noted that she was in a small white bay with curving walls and a flickering platform beneath her feet. She sucked in a deep breath, noticing a change in the air that seemed familiar, but she couldn't place.

"Head rush," Amelia's voice said suddenly behind her causing Rose to spin around.

Rory was supporting Amelia, rapidly blinking his eyes and looking around with confusion and worry written on his face. The expression was gone in a moment as he swallowed and looked over at her. Nodding to him, Rose turned to survey the room; there was a large arched opening in front of them. She glanced back at the others, only to find them waiting for her. With another nod, Rose stepped through the doorway and into a slightly larger domed room with pale green walls. On one side was a series of transparent pads with tall humanoid forms inside.

"What a minute," Rose gasped as she stepped closer to the pod. A laugh escaped her as she studied the thin forms made out of a shining white metal. Their joints and connecting sections were made of a dark blue material. At the moment the eyes were dark and they were unmoving.

"I've seen these before," Rose announced with a growing smile. "If these are here then I bet we're on an Otharan ship."

"Indeed Rose Tyler," a deep and smooth voice said from the other side of the room.

Turning Rose grinned as a figure shorter than her strode towards them. He had blue skin accented with lines of white skin that accentuated the muscles and bone structure of his hairless head and neck. The alien's ears were similar to a dog's and a small rounded nose with three folds of tightly wrinkled skin near his eyes. The very human mouth was smiling at Rose.

"Councilor Markin," Rose greeted with a widening smile. "It's great to see you again."

"It is pleasant to see you as well Rose Tyler," Markin agreed, coming to a stop a few feet in front of her before his eyes moved to Amelia and Rory. "Oh dear, we were trying to simply transmat you up to the ship. We locked onto the Artron energy in your system."

"That's our fault, we've got the same energy traces as Rose, but it's fine," Amelia said quickly, "We're friends and we know about aliens. It's no problem."

"I see," Markin intoned calmly, nodding to Amelia and Rory before turning his attention back to Rose. "Rose Tyler, I have come to ask for your help."