THE DOCTOR MONKEES AROUND
Chapter Seven Micky sat by the window in their hotel room and looked at the city skyline. He, Davy and Mike were relaxing but he soon became bored and restless. "You know what? Pete's right, we should be out exploring the city," Micky said to Mike and Davy who were sprawled out on the beds. "The Doctor brought us here, we should at least have a look 'round and see the sights." "Mike, you up for that?" Davy said, glancing at Mike. "Perhaps later, I'm still enjoying a bed that isn't run down and old," Mike said. "Come on, Davy. Just a quick walk around the hotel?" Micky implored. "Yeah, I'll come with ya, mate," Davy said, sitting up. "Have fun," Mike said, folding his hands on his chest. Micky got up and walked to the door. He and Davy took one last look at Mike before they went outside. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO "Wow!" Micky said when they stepped outside. "Dig all the weird aliens!" The sidewalks were filled with aliens of every size, color and description. Micky and Davy stood there for a moment taking them all in. "I wish we could stay here, this is a groovy place to be," Micky said. "More interesting than California." "Yeah," Davy murmured. Micky glanced at him and saw the familiar lovesick look on his face. He followed his gaze and saw a young blonde woman standing across the street. Her long blonde hair had been braided and twisted into a tight bun. She had piercing blue eyes and was wearing a black catsuit with black leather boots. She was leaning against the building across the street while she gave Davy an amused look. "Davy, she's way out of your league," Micky said. "In fact, I don't know anyone who would be in her league." "She's beautiful," Davy said breathlessly before crossing the street. Micky winced when Davy nearly got run over by a car as he crossed the street blindly staring at the woman. The driver of the car looked like a large version of Cousin Itt and it yelled at Davy to watch where he was going. Davy sprinted across the street and Micky sighed, looking both ways before following Davy. XOXOXOXOXOXO Peter settled back in the plush white leather seat and looked out the window as the train left the outskirts of the city and headed into the countryside. The ride was so smooth that to him it felt like they were gliding on air. The interior was spotlessly clean, made out of white steel and the seats were four to a cubicle with two seats facing a small white steel table. On the other side of the table were the other two seats and behind the seats were white metal partitions for privacy. The Doctor, Rose and Lalura were sitting in the next cubicle but Peter decided to sit by himself for awhile while he still tried to adjust to being in the future. He glanced over when Lalura came around the cubicle and smiled at her. "Can I sit with you?" she asked. "Sure," Peter said. Lalura sat down in the seat across the table from him. She smiled and glanced out the window at the passing scenery. "Beautiful, is it not?" she said to him. "Some say that New Atlantis has more beauty per square mile than the rest of Earth." "I believe it," Peter said. "But what about your planet? Isn't it beautiful?" "It is. Varox is lovely but it has been torn apart by war over the last few years." "Oh, what a drag," Peter said. "There are wars where I come from." "Yes. I know all about the Silfrux Affair and the war between Eurasia and Zealalia," Lalura said with a nod. She noticed Peter's confusion. "This isn't the war you mentioned?" she said. "It's being fought as we speak and has been going on for several years now." "Oh! Yes, that war," Peter said. "Yes, that's the war I was thinking of." Lalura narrowed her eyes. She could tell Peter was lying but he didn't seem like a dishonest person. Ever since she met the Doctor, she was wondering if he'd also been lying about being a Time Lord. If he was, it would explain many things including Peter's ignorance of one of the biggest wars ever waged on Planet Earth. She thought Peter handsome but perhaps his worth could go beyond that. "Would you like some tea?" Lalura said. "I'll pay." "That sounds great," Peter said, relieved Lalura was changing the subject. "Stay here, I'll be right back," Lalura said before getting up. Peter stood up until he could see over the partition. He watched her walk up the narrow aisle towards the dining car. He waited till she left the car before getting up and walking around the partition into the Doctor's cubicle. He and Rose stopped talking and the Doctor smiled warmly. "Sit," he said, gesturing to the empty seats across from them. "Are you enjoying the train ride?" "Yes, I am, very much," Peter said, sitting down. "But I have a question. What is the…um…" Peter struggled to think of the name of the war but it escaped his memory. He decided instead to describe what Lalura mentioned about Eurasia and Zealalia. The Doctor's face brightened when he finally figured out what Peter was trying to say. "Yes, the Silfrux Affair," the Doctor said. "That's it. What is it?" Peter said. "Well, at this point in history most of Europe and Asia have banded together and have become the Eurasian Union and Australia and New Zealand did the same and became Zealalia." "Okay," Peter said, his mind boggling at that. "Most countries at this point in history have formed alliances with the countries around them. North and South America are known as the American Alliance. Then there's the Micronesia Alliance, the Polar Pact which is an alliance between the settlements on the North and South Pole and so on. Silfrux was an alien ambassador from Eurasia that was sent to negotiate peace between them and Zealalia since the two alliances were on the brink of war. He went to New Sydney and was assassinated by a Free New Zealand anarchist who wanted the two alliances to go to war in the hopes that in the chaos, New Zealand could be convinced to split apart from Australia and become a separate entity again. His wish was granted and the two alliances are engaged in a bloody, violent war as we speak." "What about the other alliances? They're not helping?" Peter said. "Well, New Atlantis is officially neutral and I believe the other alliances are staying out of it for the moment until there's a clear winner." "Lalura said there was war on her planet and I told her there was war here too but I was thinking of Vietnam and I goofed up and I know she thinks I'm lying," Peter said. "Where is she now?" the Doctor said. "She went to get some tea for us but I didn't have a clue what she was talking about and wanted to ask you in case she asks more questions." "Sit with us and let her sit here. That way I can help if she says anything else about the present time," the Doctor said. Peter nodded and thanked him, grateful that someone knew what was going on around here. He shifted to the seat nearest the aisle and leaned out to watch for Lalura. When he saw her coming up the aisle, he waved her over to the cubicle. "Sorry, I moved," Peter said when she walked up with two cups of tea. "I wanted to ask the Doctor about something." "No worries. We can sit here," Lalura said, handing him a cup of tea. "Do you want tea?" she asked the Doctor and Rose. "I'm fine," the Doctor said. "I'd like some," Rose said. "I'll go and get you some and Doctor, let me get you a cup as well. It's on me," Lalura said. The Doctor thought about it and then nodded. He thanked her and Lalura walked back up the aisle. Peter looked at the tea and noticed it was a lavender color. He showed it to the Doctor and the Doctor examined it. "Lavender tea, I think," he said after sniffing it and handing it back. "It's delicious, trust me." Peter took an experimental sip and licked his lips. "Wow, this is outta sight," he said before taking another sip. He shared some with Rose and she took a small sip. "You're right. I'm glad I asked for some," she said, handing the cup back to Peter. "So if you know what's going on now, do you know if there's anything happening outside the city?" Peter asked the Doctor. "There are some ruins of the old Atlantis that I thought we could look at," the Doctor said. "It's at the next stop." "Ruins from before it sank?" Rose said. "Yup." "Wow, those are some sturdy ruins," Rose said to Peter. "I'll say. I woulda thought they'd be gone after all this time," Peter said. "Nah. The ruins are made out of alien steel and it's designed to stand the test of time," the Doctor said. "If I'm right, there are a few intact buildings as well as ruins." "So why didn't anyone use them?" Rose said. "Because they wanted to preserve them as a cultural site and because it would have cost a heap of credits to get rid of the water damage and bring them up to modern standards. It was cheaper just to build new buildings." Lalura showed up with two more cups of tea and handed them to the Doctor and Rose before sitting down beside Peter. Peter sipped his tea while he stared out the window. He nearly finished his tea before he realized he was getting sleepy. He put the cup down on the table and relaxed while his eyelids grew heavy. "Wake me when we get to the next stop, guys," he said to the Doctor and Rose before he closed his eyes and drifted off. "Jet lag?" Rose said to the Doctor, nodding her head at Peter. "Or the soothing motion of the train lulled him to sleep," the Doctor said. "I think it's the train because now I'm feeling a bit sleepy," Rose said, sitting the cup down on the table. The Doctor frowned at that. He watched Rose's eyelids droop and suddenly he got a bad feeling about the situation while she drifted off to sleep. He looked at Lalura who had a passive look on her face while she finished off her tea. "Odd that they suddenly grew sleepy, don't you think?" he said to her. Lalura shrugged. "I don't know the sleeping habits of Earthlings," she said. "No. But they didn't grow sleepy until they drank the tea," the Doctor said. "Tea makes them sleepy?" Lalura said with a shrug. The Doctor raised his eyebrow when he noticed a tiny nervous shift in her seat. He picked up his cup and swirled it around, studying it for a moment before his eyes raised up and caught hers. He saw them shift away and he put his cup on the table. "Who are you really?" he said to her. "I might ask you the same question…Doctor," she said. "I told you who I was, who are you?" he said. Lalura stayed seated for a moment and then suddenly she leapt up and ran back towards the dining car. The Doctor let out a curse, jumped up and gave chase while Peter and Rose slept soundly in their seats.
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