AN Hi all, it's been a while since I have published anything and frankly I'm bit sad to say previous stories published were a bit rubbish. So in a moment of mad inspiration, this story came to me. I have currently been obsessing over Doctor Who for ages now and this just came to me and decided to throw itself in my lap and demand my muse to get off her lazy backside and get me to write. Ok bit of a mouthful that last sentence. So I have decided to give it another go after reading so many wonderful stories in this fandom and being totally inspired to try my own hand. I welcome positive feedback as I am an aspiring writer and I am always open improving my writing. Please no flames, they will not be responded too. But truthfully I would really like to know what people think and if you want to say your piece in a constructive manner please feel free to do so :) I currently have a rough draft planned out for the next twenty chapters but I am not sure how often I will publish as University starts soon so I will be busy.

jd009

Chapter 1: Riana'Cekina Tahlay

Prologue

Tiaanamat, Akhaten a long time ago…

The market place was bustling with people going about their business on a normal day. All manner of aliens both local and from far off systems could be seen. Stalls lined the walkways, with vendors yelling out their wares over the clamour of overwhelming noises coming from the various individuals talking. One could get easily lost in the cadence of life that continued on at an ever steady rate in this place.

Pilgrims came to view the beautiful golden temple of Akhaten where it was believed that all life began from. Other local residents on the asteroid buying and selling produce to earn a living made up the rest of the population. For the most part it was a peaceful place where most people didn't care to stir up trouble.

However while most people wouldn't be in trouble that day, I would be if I continued to be stalled in getting my bundle to the market. As much as I loved to come to the market to simply watch the continuous flow of movement, my mother would chew out my hide if I was late with the delivery of precious goods that was destined for the higher rings of Tiaanamat to Reen. If I didn't deliver I didn't get paid and if I didn't get paid we didn't eat. Such was the realities of life.

Some would claim that we were blessed living in the light of Grandfather, how many individuals got to say they saw the creator of the universe every day. Most of the relatives back on Zanthe declared we were an inspiration to all Zell everywhere.

Ahina, my aunt would come to visit every cycle and it was also the day I dreaded the most. She was a right horror, always claiming what my mother could be doing better. It irritated me to no end and made me want to telekinetically throw her out an airlock at times. But I would look at my mother silently bearing it and I would tell myself that if she could withstand it so could I.

This brought me to my current position which was trying to push through the crowd of aliens trying to get one of the drop points where Reen could collect his shipment of precious possessions. I had mostly succeeded and was only one block away when a particularly grumpy Vossarian growled at me in Ahkeet the local dialect spoken in these parts and pushed me causing me to drop my bundle all over the ground.

I felt like crying.

Zell were not an uncommon sight in the Rings, but we were not particularly numerous either and there were some residual feelings of irritation, from the other local species with us. It stemmed from hundreds of years ago with a war that was fought in the name of Grandfather, where many Zell chose to not fight and stated they would not follow the ways of a heretic 'God'. Others viewed it as cowardly and naturally drew the conclusion that all Zell were untrustworthy. So lead to many others treating us with impatience and distaste at times for our "dreamling" ways.

I snorted in disdain.

"Hey!" I yelled from where I bent down to pick up my bundle on the ground. "Aren't you going to help me pick this up you poshtak?" The Vossarian only swore at me calling me a lowlife clumsy tek tek and basically told me to go and jump. I sighed in irritation and tried to rein in my temper. I wouldn't throw the ignorant punkal, my mother taught me better than that. I wouldn't have done anything, I swear on Akhaten himself, I would have walked away if the Vossarian had just left. However he had to go and insult my mother's wares. Things she has spend decades collecting and storing Preciousness in them. Things she has put her heart and soul into, so that we could make a living, which was hard enough with us being Zell in the middle ring and that had her own sister criticising her for and made her feel miserable about. Maybe then I wouldn't have done what I did.

"What did you just say?" I growled in a low voice a blue light field started to form around my hand.

"I said even if I could be bothered to help you, why would I ever touch such average trinkets from such a dirty hand. They are basically worthless." To add insult he spat at he turned to walk away. With that I yelled out and pushed a field around him. It shimmered a light blue that was a tell tale sign of a Zell telekinetic field and squeezed him tight as I lifted him up and threw him across the market place. I should have just walked away, except the motion was too hard and caused him to crash into another stall breaking it. The vendor started swearing and abusing the Vossarian for breaking his wares. The Vossarian went to punch the vendor but missed. Instead hitting another woman walking past, which caused a fight to break out. Soon the entire street was up in arms.

I was ducking and dodging before too long, cursing myself for being so stupid. I was just so fed up and over other people telling me what I was worth or in their opinion: wasn't. I tried to pick up as many of the precious items as possible but most of them had been trampled on and was partially broken. I cursed, my mother was going to be furious or heartbroken…

However I grabbed what I could, trying to make myself seem less conspicuous amongst the brawling bodies in the street. I felt my hand touch something, it was round with many raised surfaces and delicate I could tell. I snatched it up with what else I could into my pockets and tried to bolt out of the street. I reached an alleyway and leaned against the wall breathing hard.

Grandfather damn all, I hadn't meant for any of that to happen, which quickly reminded me of my wares, feeling my pockets I found I had only managed to save around 6 items out of 20. I cried out in despair as I turned around and angrily kicked the wall I had been leaning up against. I half screamed in irritation as I realised how much my own stupidity had cost my mother.

Her work was loved throughout the city. She had a unique talent for finding rare items and making them Precious beyond measure. We traded through Reen as he had many more connections then either of us. Many of her buyers didn't even really know who made the wares. But this was a disaster! This would hardly cover next week's expenses.

Suddenly, I remembered the trinket I had half snatched out of the street, I wasn't sure if it was one of my mother's. That made seven though, so maybe I wouldn't be completely screwed over.

It was beautiful to look at, with a sturdy gold chain connected to a gold circular locket. Two red gems could be seen on it. One on the pendant and one above it connected to two golden wings which the chain attached to. The pendant was covered with soft pearls arranged around the centre gem in the shape of a cross. The pendant hung from between the two gold wings.

But everyone knew it wasn't how something looked that made it valuable, this necklace might be the most beautiful trinket in the whole of the seven worlds but not be worth a cent if it had no Precious to it. Precious was psychometric imprint that was left over time by an individual on an object of value. Imprinted with memories and feelings it grew more valuable the more if was loved or even hated. Preciousness was the currency of Akhaten and the Seven Worlds of this system.

This pendant was filled to the brim with it, maybe twice as much as any of the other objects my mother had sent me to the market to give to Reen. Yet looking at it made me reluctant to part with it. It was filled with memories and I could almost taste them by just holding it. I could almost hear an otherworldly song emanating from it, calling to the depths of my soul as though we were of the same source…

I shook myself out of my stupor. Get a hold of yourself Riana, it's your imagination, I thought to myself. When I glanced up, I took in my surroundings for the first time and the most immediate object to grab my attention was a strange looking blue box. It had alien writing on it which I couldn't read although it certainly left my head hurting as to its strange presence in a deserted alleyway. It simply made no sense, how could I have not noticed it? I was far from stupid, maybe in all my haste to flee the scene of my crime I hadn't been paying proper attention to the glaringly obvious object just sitting there…humming?

Wait what? It was humming? Blue boxes shouldn't do that; they shouldn't sound as though they were alive, unless this strange blue box was? I shook my head calling myself a tooktin and started to back out of the alley to get away from the strange object.

I had half succeeded until a loud angry voice yelled above the din;

"There! There she is, that's the tek tek who threw me, and she started this!" Damn, it was that oaf of a Vossarian who had insulted me as well as knocked over all my stuff from before. Beside him were two Officials charged with maintaining security in Tiaanamat market place. I took one look and fled as fast as I could. Shouts for me to halt and to say I was in trouble reached my ears. I ignored them all in favour of avoiding trouble like a plague. Pushing people aside as I sprinted as if hungry walwalows were after me.

I managed to lose them by hiding behind a stall. I could hear there heavy footsteps as they clomped past. I held my breath as I waited for my racing heart to slow. Finally I dared to glance around from my hiding place to see that the coast was clear. There were relatively few people around at the moment as most had been caught up in the street brawl or had decided to take a different route.

I shakily stood and walked out of my hiding place, trying to look as casual as possible, as if I hadn't just been responsible for a street brawl. I managed to make my way back towards the edge of the market place when I heard an old man's voice talking. It was strange though, while he was speaking Akheet, it almost sounded as though it was an overlay or a translation of it- not that translators weren't uncommon, just more unusual. I turned to see a species I had never seen before; he looked like a Zell or Quanian except without the blue hair or ridges on the face, respectively. He had white hair and wore a strange outfit the like of which I could not ever seen. He walked with a cane and his voice was deep and held much knowledge to it.

He was talking to a young girl who also wore strange clothing and had short dark hair and extremely intelligent eyes. They seemed to be disagreeing on something. I didn't mean to do it, but I stopped to listen.

"…No, no Susan that will simply not do. I will not have such nonsense from you. That is the end of that I should think." The old man said. The girl looked annoyed.

"I'm telling you Grandfather, the swoollyolop gave off the strangest signal. I set it to pick up and residual energy bands left over that shouldn't resonate with the technology of this time and place. Something definitely registered less then 4 minutes ago and I think we should investigate." The girl Susan said in her no nonsense sort of voice. What in the name of the Seven Worlds a swoollyolop was I couldn't even begin to guess, but it definitely sounded like an alien word.

Just as the old man was about to respond his head suddenly turned a perfect 90 degrees and his eyes meet mine dead on. His eyes were ancient and there was some strange sort of power behind them. I shivered without really meaning too. A drumming began behind my temple and seemed to resonate throughout my body, tingles ran up my spine and I was sure as the Old God himself, that if I were to suddenly come into contact with him something terrible would occur.

I would have kept staring if rough hands didn't grab me and force me to the ground.

"We got her; I repeat we have the Zell female in custody. Gave us a good slip, but not for long. We're bringing her in now." A male Officials voice said from behind me. I shrugged the strange trance like state that had overcome me from meeting the strange aliens eyes in favour of fighting my captors.

"Get off me poshtak, I haven't done anything! You can't just treat me like this!" I demanded. The Official only laughed.

"Be quiet punkal before I have to restrain you further. You have caused more then enough zeem'al this afternoon for the rest of the month combined. Your lucky I don't just shahk you in place and hall you dwinni ass to the holding cells." He growled as he hauled me up after cuffing me.

I tried to catch another glimpse of the mysterious alien man and his granddaughter but they had disappeared into thin air and the only sound I could hear was a strange wheezing noise.

I was unceremoniously dumped in a holding cell after I was searched and all my valuables were stripped from my pockets. My mother was going to kill me. Strangely enough they didn't take the gold locket which I still grasped in my hand all this time. I managed to put it on under my dress do it wouldn't draw attention, as if that was the only valuable thing I had left it was going to be worth every precious imprint in it.

I could see other beat up and bruised individuals in other cells around me, force fields holding them in place. I angrily bashed my fist against the force field but only ended up with a nasty sting. I swore before rubbing my fist gently against my other hand to sooth the sting.

Unfortunately these holding cells were designed with a telekinetic in mind, so I could use my powers to get out. I slumped onto the bench in the cell hugging my knees to my chest, trying to figure out my day had come to this.

Maybe I was just too angry, to fed up with the Eki nai to take things lying down anymore. I was tired of always being trodden on or being forced to restrain myself when I saw how hard my mother worked for so little. Or maybe I just wanted to get out and not be tied down to one place forever.

I had always dreamed about the stars and the far off Seven Worlds of this system. I wanted to see them, to live under an open sky; to walk the streets of Zanthe and not be judged for my species.

I glanced down at the locket again, but this time instead of a strange song I heard instead voices. The Preciousness in this object was so great that it must be thousands of years old.

"…I am a Time Lord, the last of them… You're a Dalek!.. Riana, Rose run!... You're from my future, my past and my present our timelines are intertwined like a never ending line… Shut up, shut up shuttity shuttity up up… You and me, time and space, you watch us run…" I let go of the locket immediately as I had noticed the red gems had started to glow. The silence after the voices was strange, my heart raced as I tried to make sense of what the words had meant. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep it, but a voice in my head kept saying that I would regret giving in to my impulses.

A loud noise outside my cell woke me from my stupor as footsteps approached where I was sitting. I looked up to see an Official, my mother and my… Aunt Ahina.

I was Akhatenly screwed.

Currently I was being chewed out in the biggest Grandfather of all time scoldings. I don't think words alone could describe just how angry my mother was and it wasn't helping that every so often my Aunt Ahina would chip in with her unnecessarily helpful hints of advice, as to what she thought my mother should be doing and just how disappointed I had made her. I wanted to shahk her in the face.

"Are you even listening to me Riana'Cekina Tahlay? So help me even Grandfather won't be able to save your dwinni ass if I find out you have just ignored everything I have just said. Not only have I lost all my Precious items, I now have to pay back the Officials for all the damage you've caused." She paused for breath and as I was about to tell her what happened she continued.

"I know it's been difficult since your father left, but this can't keep going on. It's always one thing or another with you. I've tried talking to you, grounding you, punishing you even getting you to do other work, I've been patient but my patience had now reached the end of it's limits. I just don't know what to do with you. You're 34 years old, you're no longer a child anymore, no longer 30. you need to start pulling your weight otherwise I'm sending you back to Zanthe with Ahina in a weeks time when she leaves." My mother finished. I felt like kicking something, she knew I hated Ahina, I didn't want to leave her by herself having to try and make a living on Tiaanamat without any support.

"Mama-" I tried, but she cut me off.

"No Riana, I don't want to hear it. You will personally write apologies to; Zeen tomorrow as to why your deliveries were late, to the Officials you ran away from and to the Vossarian you attacked. Do you understand?" She said. I nodded knowing that no other response would be acceptable. Ahina only looked too pleased with herself and I wanted hit the smug look off her face. I scowled as I got up and stomped off to my room hearing the door slide shut quietly behind me as the pressure seals engaged.

I threw myself on my bed and sobbed quietly to myself. I hated this, it was always the same, and I had even forgotten Aunt Ahina was coming today her annual cycle visit.

"Honestly Arehn, I don't even know why you put up with the girl, you would be better shipping her off the mines for a cycle and see how her attitude improves once she comes back, I tell you there is just something not natural with that girl." Ahina's nauseous voice reached me and I scowled in anger. As if she knew anything about me at all, I scoffed to myself.

Of course my mother wouldn't stand up to her, she was far to nice for that, even if I had told her a hundred times to not let Aunt Ahina into our lives. As my aunt only made Arehn feel like the worst mother, wife and Precious maker in the Seven Systems.

"Ahina, while I appreciate the thought, I won't do that, I need her hear and she doesn't want to go. If anything I think some time away from the asteroid and the day to day monotony of life here would help her gain some perspective of what she wants to do with her life. She never used to be this bad, there were moments, but she was always the sweetest girl. It's since her father left, after that she just shut me out…" Arehn's voice trailed off as I stopped listening.

I noticed the locket had begun to glow the angrier I became. I'd had enough of this unnatural thing so I ripped it off from around my neck and threw it hard at the nearest wall. I expected it to break, but instead a strange burst of red light exploded from it and I could hear a thousand different voices all speaking at once. I couldn't make anything out, but I was sure I heard my own voice amongst the entire hullabaloo. Then when it seemed as if it couldn't get any stranger, a holographic projection of a woman with blue hair, glowing red eyes and red lines that looked like strange exotic circles, that ran the length of her arms, sides of her neck and beside her eyes, appeared.

It took me but a moment to gasp in surprise, as when I looked close,r she was identical to me save the red eyes and red lines.

"Who are you?" I breathed out in a whisper. Strangely enough she answered me.

"I am you, or will be you, or have been you."

"What! That's not possible." I stated. She only smiled in an enigmatic way as red energy came off her.

She raised her arms in a placating manner.

"It is difficult to explain let alone grasp if you have not experienced it. I am I supposed what you would call a future version of yourself. Only a possibility, yet I am also a fact a fixed point in time that has and must always continue to exist. Right now if I remember correctly, you are scared, overwhelmed. Many strange things have happened to you this day and they will only get stranger." She explained. With each word I felt myself get ready to explode.

"You have NO idea what sort of day I've had and this stupid locket isn't helping! What are you, you can't be me. I felt the Preciousness imprint of this object and its thousands of years old. It can't be mine because I have never encountered it before and its energy is not mine." I shouted. She only laughed an infuriatingly frustrating manner.

"I have/had forgotten what I used to be like. I don't mean to try and imply you are stupid; it is that you simply have to live it to understand it. Time is not a linear constant it moves as it wishes, always from one end to the other but not necessarily in a straight line or as we want it too. Life is like that too. We have to simply go with the flow, live and exist in every moment until there is not more time left. Birth. Life. Death. Over and over." She sighed fondly remembering something from long ago told to her.

"I still don't understand, what has time got to do with it?" I asked confusedly.

She seem to draw herself together as her voice took on an unearthly tone, almost divine in its essence.

"I will speak now the words, that were once spoken to me and will one day be spoken by you. Long ago before the birth of the universe it was preordained that a series of events would come to pass that would change the universe and how it works to its fundamental level. These events are unto themselves are a time paradox that; will, are and have always happened and shall always for all occur.

Within that locket lies a secret so great that if it was ever known it could shatter time itself, but be warned once discovered, it can never be unknown and you can never return or take it back.

Riana'Cekina Tahlay today is the day you die and begin anew. Very soon a light will surround you and you will find yourself in another time and place. A journey lies ahead that will redefine everything you love and believe to be true.

Know this, all is not lost, a man awaits; the greatest and most terrible man you will ever meet and together you will destroy the stars and watch them be reborn again, all of Time your kingdom and domain.

All shall come to fear you and all shall come to love you. I offer one piece of advice, do not under any circumstances ever take off the locket or open it unless under the direst of situations. Farewell beloved self and goodluck." With that she faded into nothing and all was silent again.

I felt as though someone had kicked me in the head. Maybe I was becoming tooktin or maybe I had finally cracked. But anything other than what I had been told made sense for what just happened. Such power in her words, such terrible predictions. I didn't want that, I didn't want any of that at all.

I hesitantly picked up the locket and glanced at it anyway, cautiously trying to pry it open, it was glued shut. I shrugged rubbing my temples in exhaustion, I was officially crazy. Placing the locket around my neck I shrugged it off as too much stress and headed for my bed. As I laid down, I wondered if any of what she said was true and truthfully did I want any of that? I suppose it was a question for another day.

As I closed my eyes I didn't noticed the blinding red light surround me and transport me across time and space to a beginning I could not ever have hoped to dream of.

Next chapter: The Next Doctor: Doctor Who?

Akheet Terms

Poshtak- Akheet for high and mighty or up themselves.

Tek tek- Rude term to refer to one as basically a child or of immature stature.

Punkal- A hybrid term meaning fool/punk.

Tooktin- Strange or crazy person of low caste.

Zeem'al- Akheet term for divine trouble or literally 'trouble worth the gods'.

Shahk- telekinetically stun.

Dwinni- Skinny/small/childlike.

Eki nai- status quo or at least the equivalent term.