h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"We are here because we are trying to remove nanoseconds of time from different points in time"
"For what?"
"For POWER!"
Still chuckling Chekawowe gestured for Mhssca to pick him up. The alien woman did as instructed and they left the room together.
"What was that all about Professor?" Ace asked the Doctor,
"Chekawowe is using some form of device to remove frames of time"
"What are frames of time?"
"You know how film is made up of thousands of still pictures, or frames?" the Doctor asked his companion. Ace nodded to show that she understood and the Doctor continued, "Well time is something similar, they are removing still images of time and are bundling them all together to give themselves a major source of power"
"But why?"
"I don't know Ace"
"And why did they have to come back to the French Revolution, they could have just removed frames from their own time"
The Doctor shook his head, "Chekawowe said that he'd been exposed to pure temporal energy, if that's right then he probably can't leave this time ship, because if he did then the amount of changes being, made in time, decisions being made, people being killed, would probably destroy him"
"But why come back to the French Revolution?!" Ace persisted, desperately trying to get more information from him.
"I don't know!" the Doctor replied.
* * * * *

In the small anti-chamber Chekawowe was back at the communicator,
"How many frames have you removed so far?" the dark figure asked,
"Two from the First World War of this planet, five from the Sontaron-Rutan war, Three from the Kaled-Thal war, ten from the Dalek occupation of Earth and two from this Time period, but we are preparing for a third" the blob wobbled to its master,
"That makes twenty-three in total" the figure mused,
"Remove this final frame then travel to another conflict where you will remove a further two then meet me at the rendezvous point"
"Yes Master" Chekawowe agreed and the image disappeared.
* * * * *
Mhssca made the last preparations for the Time Frame Remover and activated her communicator,
"Chekawowe" she called,
"What?" asked the wobbly voiced blob,
"The Time Frame Remover is ready, should I activate?"
"Immediately"
"Will do" Mhssca closed the channel and turned back to the control panel. She depressed the activation lever and the column in the centre of the room buzzed into life. Tiny white lights along its side blinked into life as it began the process of removing a frame of time.
* * * * *
Outside no one noticed that less than a trillsecond of time had been removed, apart from a slight feeling of deja-vou.
* * * * *
"What's that?" asked Ace,
"I believe they may have activated their Time Frame Remover," the Doctor explained.
* * * * *
After being active for twenty three seconds precisely the Time Frame Remover shut down and Mhssca removed the VSCD with the time frame on from the control console and left the room.
* * * * *
In their cell the Doctor jumped to his feet,
"Right Ace, it's time to get out of here"
"Sonic Screwdriver?" his companion suggested,
"Sonic Screwdriver" the Doctor agreed. He removed the implement from his pocket and waved it across the complex locking mechanism. It clicked and the door slid aside. They stepped out into the corridors. The ship was obviously even bigger than Ace had thought before as there was a gentle wind whistling down the corridor.
"This way" the Doctor instructed, leading the way down the corridor to their left. As they rounded their third corner a groaning, rushing sound started up, "We're dematerialising" the Doctor realised.
"But what about the TARDIS?" asked Ace, "Oh don't worry about that" the Time Lord insisted, "If they really have taken a time frame from the Revolution then we can use that to get back to the actual TARDIS" They continued down the corridor until they reached a blast door that blocked their path. There were warning markings and signs all over it, but in the time it took Ace to realise that the Doctor was already at work on the lock. There were a series of bloops, wizzles and kwadle-wopys but the door didn't budge.
"What's the matter?" asked Ace as the Doctor straightened up,
"It's equipped with sonic dampeners, the sonic screwdriver won't affect it. What ever is behind that door, it's important,"
The Doctor was in a pose that suggested to Ace that he was not to be disturbed. Suddenly he sprung to life.
"Ah hah!" he exclaimed.
"What?" asked an impatient and curious Ace.
The Doctor smirked and drew a long instrument from his coat; it was almost like a shard of crystal but had various buttons and advanced technology implanted into it.
"What’s that?" asked Ace.
"This Ace, is the solar molecular deatomiser, at least I think it is..." the Doctor announced.
"How will that help us?" Ace asked.
"Well if I am right it should allow us to destroy the sonic dampeners by overloading their circuits, thus allowing us entry!" The Doctor announced proudly.
There was a few sparks as the Doctor worked on the door. The sonic dampeners shut down, the Doctor then drew his sonic screwdriver and the door slowly slid open.
The Doctor and Ace entered cautiously observing the large circular room. In the centre of the room was a raised platform with glowed in the dimly lit room. There were various control panels around the room and there was a smaller elevated platform opposite the larger one. Beams of light shot down from the roof onto each platform illuminating it.
"What do you think this place is? It doesn't look that important!" Ace said. The Doctor observed the room, not really knowing what to make of it, he examined a few control panels before he realised what the room was for and was amazed.
"I have it!" he announced to Ace.
"Well?" Ace urged him on.
"This room is for communicating, but not just any ordinary communications, this room allows you to communicate with someone from the future or the past its an amazing piece of technology, the Time Lords were working on one, but they could never get it right and if it fell into the wrong hands, well..." He suddenly realised the truth.
"They could alter the very fabric of time..."
He turned quickly to Ace only to find that Chekawowe was standing at the door with Mhssca holding his companion at gunpoint.
"Impressed?" Chekawowe wobbled.
"Very" replied the Doctor, half impressed, half disgusted, "But who are you using it to communicate with?" Chekawowe wobbled violently as he laughed. "Do you really expect me to answer that Doctor? I may be slightly insane but I'm not stupid!"
"Remove the word "slightly" from that sentence and it would be more true" the Doctor insisted. Chekawowe gestured to Mhssca and she deactivated the safety catch on her blaster,
"Mhssca was a hired killer before she came to work with me Doctor, don't think that she won't pull that trigger!"
Chekawowe's voice was much, much colder and he didn't wobble as much as he spoke. "Now if you would be so kind as to step back to your cell then I'll spare her life”
The Doctor sighed and let himself be led from the room. However he wasn't led back to his cell, he was pushed into a small cubicle half way along the corridor. Ace was kicked in after him.
"I do pity you Doctor, now you've allowed me to kill both of you" Mhssca pressed a switch on the wall outside and a metal shutter slid down, separating the corridor from the cubicle.
"What is this Doctor?" Ace asked the Doctor.
"A time lock" the Doctor replied.
"A what?"
"It's the time version of an airlock. In a minute that wall will side away and we'll be thrown out into the space-time vortex."
* * * * *
Chekawowe slithered cautiously with Mhssca into the communications chamber the door sliding shut behind them. Chekawowe slithered onto an elevated platform while Mhssca waited cautiously behind him. A flickering image of the dark robed figure appeared on the raised platform. The figure had not been summoned but in keeping with the way he always did he had appeared on his own.
"Well, what have you to report?" the figure demanded.
"The frame has been removed successfully, unfortunately-" Chekawowe began.
"Unfortunately? I trust that there has been no mistakes!" the figure hissed.
“The Doctor found this chamber, I have him in my power now but I think it may be wise to kill him now!" Chekawowe insisted.
“No!" the figure snapped. “I want the pleasure of destroying him myself, keep him alive for now."
“I understand my master. When shall we speak again?" Chekawowe asked cautiously.
“Don't concern yourself with when..." the figure said and the projection vanished.
Mhscca turned to face Chekawowe. “That was close..." she muttered.
“Yes, I will be more comfortable when I meet him face to face."
* * * * *
The shutter of the time lock opened. But not the one that they were expecting. Mhssca was standing behind the rear shutter, pointing her blaster rifle at them,
"Out" the alien ordered, gesturing with her gun.
"Chekawowe keeps changing his mind," the Doctor sighed "you really must tell your ma-"
"Chekawowe is not my master!" Mhssca interrupted him mid-sentence,
"But we thought..." Ace trailed off,
"Well you thought wrong" Mhssca was obviously outraged, "We are a partnership"
"And what exactly is it that your partnership does?" the Doctor asked as they were led along another set of twisty tunnels. Mhssca rolled her huge eyes.
"Chekawowe explained"
"No" the Doctor shook his head, "your little blob friend explained what you were doing at the moment, but I don't think that that's your actual job is it?"
"You are correct" Mhssca conceded, "We hire out our services as time travellers to those who need them. Usually it's just killing people when others missed the chance" she laughed quietly to herself "half the paradoxes in the universe are down to us" She opened the door to their old cell and pushed them in, "I'll come and get you when we next have need of you" She closed the door. The Doctor smiled to Ace and he reached into his pocket,
"Good old sonic screwdriver" sighed the Doctor. Suddenly the door opened again and Mhssca leaned in,
"I'll take that" and she swiped the tool from the Doctor's hand and closed the door again.
Ace nudged the Doctor in the arm.
"Why do you think Chekawowe keeps changing his mind?" She asked.
"Possibly because of his employer from the future." The Doctor said.
"But surely the employer has no right to interfere in the mission." Ace suggested.
"I have a feeling that this is no ordinary employer," the Doctor said.
"No one who would give orders to steal the frames of time would stand back and presume everything was going well, and who ever it is also must know who I am." The Doctor explained.
"So who do you think it is?" Ace asked. "No idea..." replied the Doctor.
* * * * *

"We've arrived" Chekawowe informed Mhssca as she walked into the control room.
"We’re we on target?" she asked the blob,
"Of course" Chekawowe replied indignantly, "We've materialized right in the middle of the Cyberwars"
"We might as well check," mused Mhssca. She leant forwards across the control panel and activated the scanner control. The circular screen flickered into life to display the inside of a spacecraft.
"Oh that's great, onboard a ship, there won't be much conflict here"
"Wanna bet?" asked Chekawowe in a self-sure tone. In response to this there was a huge explosion on the screen and a crowd of human crew members swarmed out of a hole in the wall, behind them marched a platoon of Cybermen, firing wildly.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and ready the Time Frame Remover" Mhssca jumped to her feet and sprinted from the room.