**POV - ■■■■■**
"Don't you think they're taking too long?" I ask Graiger as we head toward the invasion site.
"Who's taking too long?" Lastra asks from behind us.
"Our rescue," I reply.
"Yes, maybe we're too far away. It's been 9 days, and we're almost at the 10th day, and there's still no sign of them. Maybe we're too far from Gallifrey," Graiger comments.
"Gallifrey?" Lastra asks, intrigued.
"Our planet is called Gallifrey," I explain.
"Interesting, a beautiful name for a planet," Lastra responds.
"What do you think Mrs. Gilia will say to you? Maybe she'll ground us for two years, only allowing us six months at the academy," Graiger says with a mischievous smile.
"Probably. Your mother won't stay quiet either," I retort, smiling.
"So, you're children on your planet? You're 48 years old," Lastra observes, curious.
"Yes, until the age of 90, a Time Lord is considered a child. Our people can live for millennia, though some lose their lives much faster," I respond, thinking, "The Doctor lost many regenerations in a short period compared to the usual Time Lord lifespan. A Time Lord can live up to 500 years before regenerating. Some regenerate earlier, others later. The 1st Doctor regenerated at almost 440 years old, while the 2nd Doctor much sooner due to the Time Lords' punishment that forced his regeneration."
"Braz?" Lastra asks, interrupting my thoughts.
"Don't worry, he's like that. Sometimes he gets lost in thought," Graiger explains beside her.
"Hello, sorry. I don't get lost in thought, Ross. My mind just thinks too quickly," I say indignantly.
"Sure, sure, whatever comforts you," Graiger responds with a mischievous smile.
"Look, a new species," I point at a dinosaur passing by the ship.
"It looks like the one the Cybermen were riding. Do you think we could tame one and take it to Gallifrey?" Graiger suggests.
"Maybe. Let's see what they're called," I say.
"I can explain," Lastra tries to intervene, but before she can, I take out the device and point it at the dinosaur.
"What is that?" Lastra asks, curious.
"You were quite negligent, huh? Didn't even search our clothes," Graiger comments, smiling.
"We should've been more careful," Lastra admits with an embarrassed smile.
The device speaks:
"DNA identified.
Species: Triceratops.
A species from the planet Earth lived during the Cretaceous period.
Diet: Herbivore.
Status: Extinct."
"How does this device know its name and diet?" Lastra asks, astonished.
"It's a device from our people. It has billions and billions of species stored in its database," I explain, indifferently.
"Your people must be incredibly powerful," Lastra comments, impressed, but then realizes something. "What do you mean by 'Extinct'? Does that mean this species has disappeared? How are we seeing it now?"
"Our planet is far away, in a different time and space. Maybe millions of years into the future," Graiger explains.
"Future?" Lastra repeats, surprised.
"Oh, did we mention that? Our people are one of the few that can travel through time," I say with a smile, as everyone on the ship stares at us with wide eyes.
"Braz, could you stop revealing these things to other species?" Graiger says, indignant.
"Ross, what could they do? Steal a TARDIS? They'd starve trying to find the navigation controls," I retort.
-----------**SCENE BREAK**--------
**POV - NARRATOR**
Lastra is still shocked by the revelations from the two Time Lords.
"Ma'am, we've arrived at the destination. Should we disembark and proceed on foot to avoid alerting the Cybermen?" a soldier asks Lastra.
"Okay, let's disembark," Lastra says, and the hatch opens. All the soldiers and the two Time Lords exit.
An explosion occurs, and ■■■■■■, along with the others, realizes that the distraction squad has started.
They move through the shadows, using the other team's distraction to infiltrate the Cybermen base. Graiger and ■■■■■■ move silently, their breathing controlled and senses sharp. The elite Silurians follow closely behind, their steps as light as the Time Lords'.
When they reach the outer wall of the base, Graiger pulls a small device from his backpack. "We need to disable the force field before we cross," he whispers. He begins adjusting the controls, his eyes fixed on the softly glowing screen.
"Your scientists did a good job building a device to disable these shields," ■■■■■ comments to Lastra.
"Yes, we wouldn't be able to reclaim our invaded bases without disabling their force fields," Lastra responds, keeping watch to ensure no Cybermen are nearby.
Then, a strange metallic sound starts to approach. "We need to hurry, Ross," ■■■■■ says, helping Graiger with the controls.
"Almost there..." he replies, his fingers working quickly.
Suddenly, the force field disappears with a soft pop. "Let's go!" ■■■■■ orders, and everyone quickly crosses.
"We should go that way. The map shows the control center is in that direction," Lastra indicates to the Time Lords.
"Yes, we should head there. It should be nearly empty because of the other squad causing the distraction," ■■■■■ agrees.
They start walking through an area full of factories producing Cybermen parts.
"So, Lastra, how did this attack and the transformation into Cybermen begin? The commander who selected us said we initially came with the Cybermen through the rift," ■■■■■ asks as they keep watch over the area.
"One day, a squad of Cybermen started attacking our troops and began abducting our soldiers and civilians. We retaliated by destroying them, but the more they abducted, the more their troops grew. Then one day, we captured one of these new Cybermen and found that inside them were many of our people," Lastra responds, her anger barely contained.
"I'm sorry. It must be horrible to see your people transformed into beings like these," ■■■■■ says, trying to comfort her.
"Yes, but now we must destroy them, no matter what," Lastra replies, with determination shining in her eyes.
=≈===========
Author Note: Hello, this chapter was shorter than normal because I made a mistake and posted 18 first instead of this one.