Unfinished Symphony-E7-Hallelujah-Part Four
Prelude
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Unfinished Symphony Episode Seven
Hallelujah-Part Four
“He was found guilty!”
The Time Lord known as the Doctor looked up from his desk in concern. He had been in the middle of grading papers for his advanced temporal mechanics class when one of his students had come barging in and made that declaring sentence. Instead of waiting for confirmation or even understanding, he went off, no doubt to spread the word that the man in question had been found guilty.
But he wasn't guilty.
The Doctor closed the books and began to stand. He was almost 700 years old now, this body was at the end of its use. He had grown accustomed to his white hair and unusual gait, he wasn't sure sure what he would pick as his next regeneration, but he knew it wouldn't be young. He moved slowly across the empty classroom to the Matrix interface. He had purposively avoided watching any news about the trial, deep down he must have assumed this would happen.
The Doctor had told his friend he would be fine, that he would be acquitted. After all wasn't he, himself an eye witness to the alleged crime? Didn't he give testimony in the Shada trial and say his friend had nothing to do with it? Wasn't he so sure in public that his friend would be found innocent? As he placed his hand over the contact panel he closed his eyes. The flood of information as the whole of Gallifreyian knowledge passed thought his brain was comforting to him, knowing that all of this, all of what they were could be seen in one place at one time.
He could sense the buzz of information about the trial. Millions of Gallifreyians were logging on to see what had happened. The word guilty passed through the Doctor's mind several thousand times, the publics opinion on the trial had never been in doubt.
He had been guilty since day one.
The Doctor pushed past the millions of opinions and feelings on the case and concentrated on the finding from the court itself. After a moment the documents appeared and the court ruling was in front of him. But he couldn't believe what he was reading.
“After careful deliberation and a thorough investigation of the evidence, we have found the Time Lord known as the Doctor, guilty on all charges. The crime of genocide against an inferior race comes with the sentence of forced regeneration, to be carried out post haste.”
The Doctor was stunned. This man, this old family friend, his sponsor to the academy, was now an enemy of the state, and they were going to put him to death. This was not right. He was about to remove his hand and he could sense something on the other side, reaching towards him. Before he could do anything about it, a message flashed in his mind.
“Save her.”, was all it said.
And instantly the Doctor knew what he had to do next.
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“She was a ward of a friend of mine, he had kept her safe for....well years and years. And he had been sentenced to death.”, he looked over to Donna, “What was I supposed to do?”
“She was his ward? So she was Gallifreyian?”, she asked trying to understand.
“She was at the time.”, he said looking down at the deck, “It is part of her species abilities, if they spend an extended amount of time around another race, they start becoming it. They are almost reborn in their image.”, he looked away distantly, “But when I met her she was a Gallifreyian, and she was in danger.”
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The Doctor opened the door quickly, he hadn't moved this fast in years. She was there, in the middle of the room looking at the Matrix feed. She looked like she was in a state of shock and he needed her moving.
“Susan!”, he yelled, breaking her out of her daze.
“Little grandfather”, she said smiling, “I didn't know you were coming.” She looked around the house for a moment, “Would you like something to drink?”
He moved past her and switched off the Matrix feed, “I need you to go put all your clothes and supplies into the TARDIS.” His voice was pure command, a tone he had honed and crafted over the years. Her eyes were watery as she looked at him in confusion, part of him wanted to calm her fears.
The better part of him didn't want to start lying to the girl now.
“Move Susan, we don't have much time.”, this time she began moving as he moved over to the Matrix feed. Placing his hand on it he summoned a call to the council chambers, asking if he could speak to the prisoner. Instead of his friend, the image of the council president flared into his mind, “Yes?”
The Doctor cleared his mind of all anxiety, the Matrix feed worked both ways and would readily pick up any stray thoughts about Susan and his intentions. And the last thing he wanted was to let them know what he was up to. “I was hoping to talk to the Doctor.”, he asked calmly.
“In less than thirty minutes, you will need to consult a mirror for that.”, he said mirthlessly, When he didn't get a response he asked, “Why?”
The Doctor let out a mental sigh, “Because he is about to die and I would like to say something to him before he is gone.” His annoyance moved cross the Matrix feed in picoseconds, and he could see the president make a face,
“You have said enough haven't you?”, the president asked, “You claimed he was innocent.”
“He was innocent you idiot!”, the Doctor raged. And his control slipped for a moment. Just a moment.
More than enough time.
“What are you intending?”, the President demanded.
The Doctor concentrated for a long moment and was rewarded in seeing the Matrix panel start to smoke and give out sparks. Moving towards Susan he mumbled, “Boring conversation anyways”, and then louder, “Susan we're going to have company! Move along will you?”
He ignored the small explosion as the panel shot out from the wall with great force. He also ignored the sound of sirens in the distance as air cars made their way towards them.
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“Genocide?”, Donna interrupted, “Who was he accused of killing?”
“ Vervoids”, he said still in the past, “He had been accused of killing the Vervoids years and years before.”
“Did he?”, she asked dreading the answer.
“What?”, he said looking at her, “No...no he didn't. And I told them as much...but it didn't do much good. He was still convicted.”
“But why would they want Susan?”, she asked.
“They knew she was the last of her kind.”, he said simply.
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They made it to the back of the house when the front door burst open.
Susan looked behind her with a gasp but he pushed her forward. “Go child, get in there.”
Susan opened the door to the TARDIS as he moved in behind her. The TARDIS hummed as it recognized the two of them as friends of the Doctor. He could hear them moving through the house, making a mad dash for them as fast as they can. Slamming the door he looked over to her, “Hit the release.”
Which meant for her to release the anchor that attached the TARDIS to this point in space ans time, effectively moving them out of sync with this reality. Susan quickly pushed the few buttons and pulled the lever as the room shook slightly around them.
“Little Doctor”, she said, “What is going on?”
Not responding he moved over to the control panel and moved the monitor over. He saw a slight space time ripple behind them, someone was going to follow them soon. His hands moved across the control panel in a blur, Susan watched over his shoulder.
“We're going back to Gallifrey?”, she asked.
“I need to talk to him...before they...”, he silenced himself, on the off chance she hadn't heard he was going to be out to forced regeneration.
“What is this about Little grandfather, why did this all happen?”, the severity of it all was beginning to dawn on her.
“Because we saved you.”, he thought to himself, and set the controls for a landing.
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“So they were after her?”, Donna asked.
“Not just her...me also.”, he stood and walked over to the console, “I was with him, when he had found her. We had been trapped, surrounded by the Vervoids, and with no way to get back to the TARDIS. Him, her and I”, he said smiling grimly, “We were the only ones what knew what happened on that planet. And I didn't know it at the time, the council wanted all us.”
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The sound of the TARDIS materializing within the confines of the small room was almost deafening. The Doctor took a step back against the far wall as the TARDIS adjusted itself into the shape of a doorway being supported by nothing. It looked surreal to see the doorway standing there, almost two dimensional in its look. He stood still for a moment and then the door opened, showing the interior of his TARDIS.
The older man, who was once the small child he had taken out and seen space stepped out into the room. Without preamble or hesitation he simply said, “They are going to kill you.” He looked around the room, looking for the Matrix feeds that would regularly broadcast his status to the world. Pulling out a sonic screwdriver he pointed them at the terminal and watched them explode. Looking baa to his friend he said, “What are you waiting for? Get in there.”, he said gesturing towards the TARDIS.
The Doctor shook his head as he approached his friend. The only reason he was involved in this was his because of him, and now he was going to break every rule he held dear to save him.
He taught him well.
The Doctor put his hands on the older man's shoulder. He had regenerated half a dozen times since the man had been a boy, and now he was the younger one of the two. Pulling him to look in his eyes he said, “I can't go.”
But the older man was hearing none of it, “Nonsense. I am not going to allow you to die. Get in there and we will talk about it later.”
Sighing he held his friend's shoulders, until he stopped moving and looked at him. They looked deep into each other's eyes and in that silent moment, had a conversation, an argument, and eventually a concession.
“You're really going to stay.”, it wasn't a question.
“I have to”, the Doctor said sitting back down, “If I was to leave...they would burn the skies looking for me.”
“Why?”, the older man asked, “What could you have done?”
“I don't know.”, he said dryly, “But it isn't about the Vervoids, that's for sure.”, then he looked at the floating door, “But they will want Susan. They have always wanted her. Last of her kind, they are saying that 13 isn't enough any more. The old ones are at the end of their stolen lives...and they want more now. They will kill her to find out how.”
The Doctor looked at the door and back, “You mean she could...”
“It was her race where we got the ability to regenerate, it stands to reason that it might be possible to milk even more out of it. All they need is a living specimen.”
The old man's eyes widened in understanding. The TARDIS door opened up and Susan poked her head out, “Father?”, she said quietly.
The Doctor stood up and and embraced her, “Susan...my dear girl.”
She started to cry instantly, “Father I heard that you were going to be killed...you must tell them you did nothing. There must be....”
He put a finger to her mouth, “Shhh. We are past that now.” He looked over to his old friend, “I need you to go with...well with The Doctor.”, he smiled at the old man, “You're going to be the only one now I suppose.”
“Don't talk like that.”, he snapped.
“It is only death.”, he said smiling, “I have faced it 12 times already...and to be honest, I am ready to sit down and have a talk with her already.” He looked to Susan, “You must go with your grandfather now, and do as he says. He is your family, for good now. Do you understand?”
She nodded slowly, almost as if in a trance.
“You need to forget about me, he is your family, and he always has been. You will do as he says and forget about me. I do not matter, you must survive. Do you understand me Susan, you must survive.”
Again she nodded slowly, looking off into nothing, “I must survive.”
He looked to his friend, “We are running out of time, take her. When she comes around, she won't remember me at all. Take her and go...far away. Somewhere where they would never look for you two.”
“Of course”, the old man said taking a hold of the entranced girl.
“They might not keep after you forever, but they will never allow you to come back. You know that.”
The old man nodded, looking down at the floor. Looking like an elderly child pouting for a moment. The Doctor pulled his face up, “Find out why they did this. Why the need for all this...something is wrong. They would never do this normally. You must find a way to find out.”
“I will.”, the old man said clearing his throat.
“Then go.”, he said gesturing towards the open door, “The TARDIS has commands to follow your instructions. You need to get her far away from here before...”
“i know.”, the old man said. He placed his withered hand against his friends seemingly younger one, “Thank you. Thank you for...for all of it.”
The Doctor smiled, “It was my pleasure young man. Now go...go and be free.”
The sounds of men trying to force their way into the room startled them. The old man pushed Susan into the TARDIS and looked back to the Doctor.
“Go! Go now!', he yelled as the door forced it way open.
The door closed and the sound of the machine fading away was no longer deafening. It was like music. They were safe.
He sat back down and waited for his jailers to come. He had nothing to fear any more.
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Donna was silent as the Doctor was lost in thoughts. After a few minutes he said, “After that I was always the Doctor. And she was my granddaughter. We had made it halfway across the galaxy when they...when they forced him to regenerate. The TARDIS went into shock and we were thrown into Earth's past. The controls were fused, we could move forward and backwards in Earth's time, but we had no control over it.”
“But why?”, she asked, “Why did they do it?”
“That's another story.”, he said standing up, “One for another day.”, he walked over to the console and turned off the field, “I don't want to tax her anymore than I have to.”
Donna stood, “You're concerned.”, she said.
“Very. She is a lot more...agressive than I rfemember.”, he was again ondering in his mind.
“Time's changed, maybe she has too..”, Donna reasoned.
“No, Susan is always Susan, it is only her race that changes. If she is this hostile, it is coming from somewhere.”
After a moment Donna guessed, “The Tagin?”
“That's my guess.”, the Doctor said, “Tomorrow we have a look around and find out about these raiding parties.”
“What are yo going to do about her?”, she asked.
He walked off and said over his shoulder, “What I always do. Protect her and keep her safe.”
To be continued...