Operation: Anchorage
Part one
The TARDIS smoothly cruised to a stop, and the Doctor checked the monitor.
"Where are we at?" Ben asked, examining the controls.
"Anchorage, Alaska in the early 2070's. Earth." The Doctor replied, spinning some nobs.
"Why here?" Ben asked, inserting an ammo pack into his cybergun-arm.
"Not sure, the TARDIS just usually goes where she wants. I had it set on random."
The Doctor walked toward the door, but just as he was about to open it, someone knocked. The Doctor seemed confused. He knocked back. The knock came again. The Doctor knocked back.
"Oh come on!" Ben said and opened the door. Standing there was a man in a white overcoat, combat armor visible underneath. He had a military style white haircut and many badges and stars on his coat. The Doctor greeted him, the TARDIS locking as he shut it.
"Hello!" The Doctor said with a smile, forcibly shaking the confused mans hand. They were in a tent, with many maps laying around and computer running diagnostics.
"W-who are you people?" The man stammered, pulling away from the Doctor.
"I'm the Doctor." The Doctor replied, looking over some maps. His voice tuned serious. "...and you seem to be at war."
"Of course we're at war." The man said. "I am General Constantine Chase, and you may be exactly what we need Doctor. I don't know how you did all that appearing and stuff in the box, but as long as you're here to help it's fine with me."
"I love helping, but I'll need to know what it is first." The Doctor said, looking at computer screens.
"I'll lay it to you straight Doctor. We're in deep, and there's no way out. We're surrounded on all sides by the reds, and reports say they're preparing artillery. But I've got us at a stalemate. They use artillery, I use this." Chase pulled a small box from his coat pocket. He opened it and there was a small knob. "It'll blow us all sky high. Nuclear warhead, 100 ft below the area." As he put the bad back in his pocket, the Doctor eyed it warily.
Chase continued. "The T-51b isn't here yet and the secret weapon I've told the base about won't be battle tested for another week back in the states. You may be a Doctor, but I know a veteran when I see one. And you've been battle hardened to the core. I see it in you. The way you walk."
The Doctor seemed to pause for a moment, as if stunned, then said weakly, "I'll help.." Before getting his voice back and recollecting himself. "So what is this secret weapon exactly?"
"A robot." Chase said, his face beaming with pride. "The ultimate testament to America in the new age. No one can stand against it. It's made but it's power supply isn't sufficient. It's back in Nevada at the moment." Chase walked over to a Map. "Now, down to business. I need your help, will you help us? I don't want anymore bloodshed."
"Help you do what exactly? I am not a violent man, no meter how battle hardened I look." The Doctor said with a serious tone, standing on the opposite side of the map Chase was at.
"Well, I need one of you for surveillance and one for the front lines. We're short on men." Chase said, pointing to a place on the map that had a red X on it.
"NO!" the Doctor said loudly, glaring. "Wherever I go, he goes." He said, pointing at Ben.
"It's ok, Doctor, I can handle it." Ben said, motioning to his cyber arm. "I grew up on the front lines. Killed my first super mutant by the time I was 8."
Chase, as confused as he looked, quickly intervened. "See, Doctor? He says he can do it. So what do you say?"
The doctor looked conflicted for a second, glancing at Ben then back at the red X on the map, so far away from the base. "Fine." He said, finally. "But I want communication to Ben at all times. And I don't do much fighting. I'd be a lot more use to you somewhere with technology.
"Ok, the lets go immediate. But first..." Chase trailed off, turning. Then, suddenly, he turned back to face the Doctor with a small pistol. It was loaded.
Reflexively, Ben raised his gun arm, ripping off his sleeve. The metal shined brightly. Chase looked surprised for a second, but quickly regained his posture.
"Do you think we are that stupid?" Chase said, when the tent flap opened and at least ten men ran in behind Ben and the Doctor, all with loaded guns. "Teleportation. Guns attached to your body? Only the reds have technology like that."
"I thought they trusted us a little easily." Whispered the Doctor, pulling out his screwdriver. "Now, listen here!" He said, as his screwdriver started blinking. The lights went out and computers turned off, and the light on top of the TARDIS started glowing red. "That box is capable of destroying the entire area. Not just this camp, all of Anchorage. Then neither you or the reds win. You let me use a phone, and I spare you all." The Doctor said. Even though Ben could tell he was bluffing, them shifted nervously.
Chase seemed to consider it, though it was hard for Ben to read his expression in the darkness. "Even if you did kill us all, we would die serving our country. There are plenty more Americans ready to fight." Chase said, cocking the gun.
"And about 30 times more Chinese." The Doctor said, his expression fierce.
Chase hesitated. His eyes grew soft. Fearful. Then, just as Ben had thought he would back down, his stance grew fierce and he raised the gun. Before the Doctor could react, he fired.
The bullet seemed slow motion for Ben. He jerked out his arm, the metal shining. The bullet bounced off, tearing a hole in the top of the tent. Sunlight shined through.
The other men raised their guns, and this time the Doctor was ready. He activated the sonic screwdriver, and the TARDIS engines blared to life. The console room faded into view as the men fired their guns, bullets deflecting off the TARDIS shields.
The Doctor pulled the handbrake, and the TARDIS shook as it entered the time vortex. He turned the dial to blue on the rainbow colored dial.
"Well, time to go check out that secret weapon. They had coordinates on one of the computers." The Doctor said, flipping some switches and slowly turning the rainbow dial to green. The computer screen showed a graph with circles rapidly changing and flipping. The Doctor laid the sonic screwdriver on a chair.
"You know Doctor, you should tech me how to fly this thing once we get out of this mess." Ben said, watching the circles and numbers in the screen.
"No can do," said the doctor, pulling a lever that was on the bottom of the console. "She's a very complex machine. Quantum physics, temporal anomalies. Only a skilled time lord could possibly-" he was cut off by a large explosion of sparks from the other side of the console. "...Ignore that. Anyway, we're here. Take this." He threw Ben a small black pad of paper.
"What is this?" Ben asked staring at the blank paper inside.
"Psychic paper. They see what ever you want them too." The Doctor said as the TARDIS wheezed to a stop.
"Who?" Ben asked, amazed as the words he was thinking appeared on the paper.
"The guards. We are in a military base where this robot is being stored. Parked in a storage facility. Go nuts cyberboy, you're an engineer. Upgrade yourself or something. I'm going to have a look around." The Doctor said, running out the doors.
"Don't call me Cyberboy!" Ben yelled after him, but he was already gone. He had left his screwdriver. Ben exited the TARDIS, and heard the lock click behind him. It was hidden behind a jutting out section of the wall. He was in a large room, with shelves upon shelves of blueprints and and interesting looking pieces. Way to advanced for him.
He ran down the rows, excited. Maybe he could learn something to impress those back at the wasteland. This was the past after all.
He reached the back of the room, where monitors showed diagrams and security footage of other parts of the base. Strange to put it in a storeroom. Suddenly Ben felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and no one was there. However, a green light flicked on on the other side of the room. A door slid opened, and Ben ducked behind a shelf.
He had to cover his mouth to stop himself from gasping. Two men walked into the room. They seemed to be in heated discussion. Argument even. One was a stranger, with a buzz cut and a clean suit. He had an earpiece and ID card on his belt, and seemed very official. The other man is what concerned Ben. He was wearing a white suit, had in a fedora. He walked in a familiar, arrogant way. The man was the Master, looking just as he did the day they left him trapped in the Wasteland.
They walked down the hall, toward the back of the room. Ben slowly walked backwards, toward the TARDIS. He reached it and ran inside, locking the door behind him. He checked the monitor, watching the scene unfold. He still couldn't here the argument, but it was intense. Arm waving, pointing at screens. The Master typed something into a computer screen, and it brought up a picture of a large robot. Bulky, with a solid face. Only a singular eye slit. Must've been at least 40 feet tall.
After a few more seconds of arguing the Master seemed angry. In a quick move, he punched the other man in the face. The man fell to the ground, where Ben couldn't see. The Master took a gun from inside his coat and finished the job. He took the mans ID card, and walked toward the door.
Ben had to find the Doctor, and quick. He grabbed the sonic screwdriver the Doctor had left and ran to the door. He exited the TARDIS, running down the hall in the direction the Doctor went. Directly in his line of sight was an elevator, prepped for use. He ran to it and pressed a button, waiting for it to arrive. He heard a gun click behind him.
Meanwhile
The Doctor looked up at the giant robot, shaking his head. So many flaws. Ten minutes with this thing and he could rig up a machine to take down a planet. But that's not why he's here. He looked over it's primary systems. So many weapons, but not enough power to even move. The ultimate anti-communist weapon. Liberty Prime.
Prime stood in the center of the huge laboratory, held up by cables. Plans said it was going to be moved to Alaska soon. He felt something was off. This tech, it seemed too advanced. Not by much, but it didn't seem right. He stood in front of the massive machine. He reached for his sonic screwdriver. It wasn't there. He had left it in the TARDIS.
He decided to go the old fashion way. He was about to climb stairs to get near the head when he heard a door open. He turned as twenty guards ran in, wielding machine guns. He stopped dead, throwing his hands up. Suddenly in walked a familiar face.
The Doctor was confused. "No... That's not possible."
The man smiled. "Hello, Doctor."
Meanwhile
Ben turned to see the Master pointing a gun at him.
"Hello, old friend." He said. He cocked the gun.
To be continued in:
Operation: Anchorage Pt. 2
