(MAIN RANGE): Are You Missing Any Planets?

(MAIN RANGE): Are You Missing Any Planets?

This Story Stars Sylvester McCoy as The Seventh Doctor and Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield

Chapter One

The Doctor brooded in the console room. He'd been doing a lot of brooding, lately. Catching up for lost time, he thought. So much work to be done. So much to brood over. 

"Doctor," Benny called. "I found this galaxy map in my bedroom cupboard? What is this, exactly?"

She walked over to him, placing the map on top of the panel he was moderating. 

"I was...examining that." The Doctor said. 

"Nonsense, you were brooding." Benny muttered. "You were sitting in a chair, looking into empty space, thinking about your privilege as a time lord or something. Now, Doctor, come on, look at this." 

The Doctor reluctantly sighed and looked at Benny's map. "Hmm, it's on paper. RRRRRrare. Valuable. I believe this was Adric's." He continued to look at it. "Hmm. Bernice- I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. It's a simple, ordinary map. It's .... oh."

"Yeah, that." Benny said, noting the Doctor's reaction. "A simple, ordinary map, with an extra planet on it. One that, If I remember correctly, I have never seen on any map before, not even the TARDIS database." 

"It doesn't exist, then." The Doctor said. "One of the people grRRRRaphing it...They could have miscounted."

"Miscounted? Miscounted?" Benny laughed. "I'm sorry, sir, but we put an extra PLANET on this map, big mistake," she mocked. "Oh, come on, like that's remotely likely."

"Hmm. Well, it's a fascinating tidbit, at the least." The Doctor said. "But still. Likely a clerks error, or some kind of misguided joke." 

"It's in a large sector of empty space, near the Xanon cluster. Come on, Doctor! We have nothing to lose if we check." 

The Doctor's brow furrowed. "Hmm. I suppose. Shall we go, then?"

Chapter Two

The TARDIS dematerialized into an uproar.

"Unidentified Time Capsule! Occupants, lower your shields and open your doors or we will be forced to destroy your vessel!" 

The Doctor opened the doors, and glared at the men in uniform that had surrounded the TARDIS. They held many futuristic devices, which Benny deduced to be arm cannons. 

"Cardinal Ollistra! It's been a while." The Doctor growled.

"Indeed it has, Doctor." Ollistra responded, as the Gallifreyan guards moved apart so she could walk to the Doctor and Benny. 

"Um, sorry, who is this?" Benny asked. "I mean, I know her name is Cardinal Ollistra, you just said that, but-"

"Bernice Summerfield!" Ollistra cheered. "Oh, it's been a while since I've seen you back at work! You have a sizable file in Gallifrey's Matrix, you know. Plenty of Temporal Incidents."

"Uh-huh, sorry, yeah, still no clue." Benny muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We meet later timeline wise, I forgot. You'll just have to act like you don't know me when I ask for your name a few decades from now." Ollistra laughed.

"Ollistra," The Doctor said quietly, "What is this place? Why are you here?"

"Doctor, this planet has been removed from linear time by a few microseconds. Not only that, It's been removed from all computerized records, how did you find it?" Ollistra asked. 

"I have a knack, for stumbling onto...secrets." The Doctor said, mildly, but still considerably dangerous. 

"Well, you certainly found one." Ollistra said. "I'm almost sorry you'll have to be... detained."

Chapter Three

With that, for dramatic emphasis, there was an instant cut to Benny and The Doctor being shoved in a dungeon. 

"Well, this is positively normal." Benny said. "That's good. Renegade Time Lords on a missing planet-"

"They aren't RRRRRrenegades. Ollistra is part of the Gallifreyan high council, which only makes this more disturbing." The Doctor growled. "WhateveRRRRRRRRR she's doing on this invisible planet, the High Council has sanctioned it. Which concerns me more, naturally. They vascillate between people who sit around and do nothing, or do abominable things in the name of good."

"What could be so dangerous that they have to hide a whole planet in order to keep it safe?" Benny asked. 

"Plenty of things. A dimensional portal? A planning ground for an invasion? Who knows? We shall have to play our cards, RRRRrather carefully."

"Well, do you have your sonic screwdriver?" Benny asked. "Or do you need mine?" 

"It's irrelevant. The lock is deadlock sealed." The Doctor said.

"Alright." Benny said. "We'll sit here, and rot and die, then."

Benny sat down next to the Doctor, who got a harmonica out of his pocket and began to play Ella Fitzgerald. 

"Of course he's a fan." Benny grumbled.

Grating screaming came from across the hall. 

"WHAT- IS- THIS- SOUND- OSCILLATION? CEASE! CEASE!" It was a familiar screaming.

The Doctor recognized it instantly, putting down his harmonica.

"Well, now we know." The Doctor said. "This is a prison planet. And if my bets are right, it will be exclusively for Daleks..."

Chapter Four

 "Daleks? Why Daleks?" Benny asked.

"Eventually, the time lords forsee a time where they pose a threat to not just all of Gallifrey, but the universe itself. They've already invaded, once. Who's to say they won't do more? For the time lords, the ends justify the means. And...I'm not sure if I should interfere."

"Well, what can we do?" Benny asked.

"Well, the door is deadlock sealed. Let's just hope we-"

The door opened. Ollistra and two guards walked into the cell. "Doctor, we are well aware of your previous mission involving the Daleks. We gave you a task. One to wipe them out, one which you ignored." 

"I did do that, didn't I?" The Doctor said mildly. 

"And now you've shown up on our secret planet. One which you couldn't possibly have discovered, no one has discovered-"

"It was, um, me, if anyone's wondering." Benny muttered.

"No, Doctor, you have arrived on this planet to free the Daleks, haven't you? You are one of their allies!" Ollistra accused. 

"I cannot think of anything more RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRidiculous!" The Doctor yelled. "The Daleks are a force for evil, for racial hate, and-" 

"And yet you saved them, and doing so, have quite probably doomed your own future. Why should I believe you that you won't do such a thing again??!" Ollistra snarled. 

"I am a man of principles, Ollistra!" The Doctor yelled. "And I kill no one!"

Ollistra got out a tablet and played 

The Doctor Is Gonna Bust A Cap In Your Ass 

"That's taken out of context!" The Doctor screamed. 

"Well, then. Let's see what the Daleks say about it." Ollistra said, as a Silver Dalek rolled into the room.

Chapter Five

"THE DOCTOR HAS ASSISTED THE DALEKS! HE IS OUR. ALLY. HE HAS ASSISTED US WITH MANY EXTERMINATIONS AND CULLINGS OF WORLDS! WE POSSESS DOCUMENTABLE PROOF!" The Dalek yelled.

"Oh sure, trust the Space Nazi." The Doctor mumbled.

"Ollistra, you say you know me." Benny said. "Then trust my word, that the Doctor is the most trustworthy man I know!"

"I would like explanations then, of his recent actions. Did he not, incredibly recently, betray his former companion Ace and manipulate her into doing what he wanted?"

"...." Benny stayed silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to be more specific." 

"This is Kangaroo Court!" The Doctor yelled. 

"No, seriously," Benny continued. "Which time are you talking about?"

"Not helping, Bernice!" 

"THE DOCTOR IS AN ALLY OF THE DALEKS!" The Dalek grated. 

"It's trying to trick you!" The Doctor told Ollistra. "It hates me, and knows this is the one way it can get back at me, through my own people, and turning my past problems against me!"

Ollistra mulled it over. "I remain unconvinced."

"YOU MUST EXECUTE THE DOCTOR FOR HIS CRIMES! YOU MUST EXTER-MINATE HIM FOR ALLYING WITH THE DALEKS!" The Dalek screamed. 

Ollistra raised her hands. "Okay, yeah. Sorry, Doctor. It's the Daleks trying to kill you."

"WHAT? NO! WE ARE TOTALLY HIS ALLIES! KILL HIM PLEASE" The Dalek continued to try and persuade Ollistra as it was carted away.

"You know, Ollistra. I have been tried multiple times for my so called 'crimes.'" The Doctor said. "But I must say. That one was the stupidest."

Epilogue:

As The Doctor and Benny walked back to the TARDIS, a Gallifreyan Agent with a gasmask popped up from behind a tree, and sprayed them with some kind of mist.

They got into the TARDIS, and instantly forgot everything.

"Well, that was stupid." Benny said. "It doesn't make sense how there wasn't a planet there. I was so sure there was going to be one."

"No harm, no foul." The Doctor responded, dematerializing the TARDIS.

"I'm sure whatever this weird missing planet thing is, that it's never going to come up again. Positively certain." Benny said, as Ollistra laughed in the distance and the TARDIS fell into the unknown.

The End

This Story (Hypothetically) Starred

Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor

Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield

Carolyn Pickles as Cardinal Ollistra

and

Nicholas Briggs as The Daleks