Unfinished Symphony-E3-Walking in my Shoes-Part Eight
Prelude
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Unfinished Symphony Episode Three
Walking in my Shoes-Part Eight
Jack walked up to the stand with a confidence the previous witnesses hadn't possessed. He had spent enough time giving testimony when he was an agent that the idea of this fugly lawyer asking him questions about the Doctor was a cake walk.
“You have been present for two regenerations with the Doctor also, is that correct Captain?”, she began.
“Yes, though I wasn't present for the regeneration, I did know the previous version.”
“How would you categorize the difference between the two?”
“The previous Doctor was an angry man. He had just come out of the destruction of his home world and wasn't too keen on having traveling companions.”
“Was he alone when you met him?”
“No, he had a woman with him”, and he held his tongue.
“Did that strike you as odd?”, she asked still looking at her notes.
“That he had a companion or that it was a woman?”, he asked with a grin.
The Architect looked up at Jack from her notes, her expression of not being amused was crystal clear. “I could see what he saw in her, but I was a little shocked she was following him”, he amended.
“Why?”, and now he had her full attention.
“He wasn't the friendliest of people”
“Can you explain?”
“Well if you were to gather a group of people and then ask them questions about their level of empathy and then rate them as friendly based on those numbers. The Doctor wouldn't score high.”, he smiled again.
The lawyer slightly sighed and came around from her podium, “Do you think this is funny Captain?”
“Define this please”, he said, “If you mean the trial, it's laughable. If you meant yourself...definetly.”
“According to your file you were once a Time Agent”, her attention was completely focused on him now.
“I had that distinction, yes.”
“As a time agent I would assume you would understand the gravity of this situation.”
“Gravity I get”, he said leaning forward in the witness chair, “It's you I have the problem with.”, he said it without malice or anger, but it was obvious the dislike he had for the woman in every syllable he uttered.”
“And why is that Captain Harkness?”, she asked uninterested.
“Because you know this trial is a joke. You don't care about First Lieutenant Leinster, and you don't care about the subsequent undoing of Macra Prime. All you care about is trying the last Time Lord in existence under Shadow Proclamation law, to prove you are the last word in justice in the universe. So you will excuse me if I don't accept the full gravity of the situation.”
She was silent for a second, as if lost in thought and then asked, “What were your duties as a Time Agent?”
Jack sat up straight, “We policed the time lines and preserved the integrity of our present future from unlawful time jumps.”
“That doesn't seem like it would be such a large task”, she said off handedly.
“Well we didn't believe in biting off more than we could chew”, and he leaned in again and met her eyes, “You see we found that if you took on more responsibility than you could care for, your word and reputation may be solid in the core worlds. But once you got out to the frontier, to the raggedy edges of space...your name becomes a joke and in fact you do more harm than good because they know you can't police them way out there. They get cocky, they get dangerous, because they know for a fact no one is coming to get them. Better to do what you know you can handle than try and fail at everything.”, he paused and sat back, “You know kind of like you guys are doing.”
“We are doing fine Captain”, she said, sounding just slightly defensive.
“If you were doing fine Madame Architect you wouldn't have needed Red Lobster over here to tell you his world had been destroyed. If you are going to police the timeways, you would need to know when they are changed, and than take precautions to prevent it. You aren't interested in that, you don't want to defend, you want to punish. I am curious, why did you have no idea the Macra had been altered?”, he paused as she said nothing and then he slapped his knee, “Oh that's right...you were affected too! In fact if it wasn't for his handy-dandy survival suit, you wouldn't have know what happened. Am I right? That is far from fine lady...that is about as far as you can be from fine.”
She looked to the Doctor and asked, “How can you deal with him?”
The Doctor smiled and said, “Well to be honest, in small doses.”
She looked back to Jack, “All that's well and fine Captain, but I am not on trial.”
“Pity that”, he mummered.
“Can we get on to the Doctor?”
“Shoot”, he said grinning again.
She sighed and went back to her notes at the podium. “The difference between the two doctors?”
“He wasn't the friendliest of people”, he repeated.
“Can you explain?”, she gave him a look.
“9 was gruff, harsh...he had some rough edges. He didn't suffer fools lightly and he always seemed...I don't know. To be on edge...like just a little mad.”
“So you would categorize him as angry?”, she asked.
“No if I did I would have said 'I categorize him as angry' I said he seemed a little mad, as in not quite angry.”
“Have you had a romantic relationship with the Doctor?”, she inquired, which brought a muffled laugh from the companions.
“What?”, Jack said pointing at the Doctor, “With him? Lady you've been reading too much fan fiction.”
She looked at him for a second, clearly not understand what he said, “So you wouldn't say the two of you were close.”
“Not at all”, Jack said.
“And why is that?”, she asked casually. When she got no answer she looked up and saw Jack sitting there, refusing to answer.
“Why would you say the two of you weren't close Captain?”, she asked again.
Jack was silent for a moment and then said, “To be honest I don't think he really likes me”, it was said without emotion or sarcasm. It was said as simple truth, and that truth was cutting.
“And why is that?”
“I get too close”, Jack said, “I am a hands on kind of guy”, he said smiling, “And the Doctor likes his space. Don't get me wrong, I know he respects my opinion, I just don't think he likes me as a person, that's all”
“Have you ever seen either Doctor mad? As in angry.”, she asked.
A pause and then, “Yes...oh yeah”, he said as if reliving a memory.
“When was this?”
“The year 200,000, on Satellite Five.”
“What caused his anger?”, she asked.
“The Daleks...”, Jack said lost in thought, “He had found that the Daleks were controlling humanity.”
“What did he do?”
“Well we were kidnapped...and thrown into game shows. It wasn't like we came looking for a fight.”, he said.
“What did the Doctor do when he became angry at the Daleks?”, she asked again.
“He constructed a Delta Wave generator”, Jack said...realizing he had been caught too.
“What is that?”, she asked, knowing the answer.
“A brainwave generator that would fry all living minds within a specific radius”
“He meant to use this?”
“Yes”
“On the Daleks?”
“Yes”
“So the two of you and the Daleks were the only people left on this Satellite?”
Jack sighed, “No”
“So let me see if I understand. He was constructing a Delta Wave generator, to destroy all living minds on the station, even though there were still innocent humans onboard?”
“There were about a hundred people left...there wasn't enough shuttles for everyone to get free”
“Did The Doctor try to get those people to safety?”
“No”, he sounded miserable.
“Even though he had a time machine that could hold them all?”, she sounded incensed by the actions, but he knew she already knew all this.
“He was busy building the generator”
“I see”, she said starting to pace and talk, “So he was going to build a generator, to kill every Dalek and human on the station?”
“Earth”, he mumbled.
“Excuse me”
“Every Dalek and human on board as well as on Earth. The generator would have destroyed all life.”, Jack looked like he just ate a bug.
“Oh my”, she said, “Destroy all life on the planet as well. That is a bit angry isn't it?”
“They were controlling humanity already!”, he yelled, “There were half a million Daleks descending...what else could we do?”
“Destroying a whole planet Doctor when angry”, she said turning to the Time Lord, “I would hate to see you furious.”
The Doctor looked at her with narrowed eyes, “Yes you would.”
“Do you believe the Doctor is dangerous Captain Harkness”, she asked turning away from the glare. Before he could answer she added, “In your professional opinion as commander of Torchwood, would you classify The Doctor as a dangerous life form?”
He opened and then closed his mouth suddenly as he thought about it. Finally he said, “Yes...yes I would”
“And why is that?”
Jack looked to the Doctor with sorrow in his yes and said, “He is unpredictable, arrogant and at times self deluded. He usually believes himself to be the smartest person in the room, so is likely to reject information from any other source until it has proved it's worth to him. His solutions at time are not practical and border on the insane. And it is impossible to tell when he will take the big picture into consideration or simply concentrate on the task at hand.”
“So you don't trust him?”
He looked up at her sharply, “I didn't say that. I trust him...I trust him with my life! You asked how I would classify him as a life form, not as a person. As a person he is caring, he is thoughtful and he would risk anything to do the right thing. He is brilliant and the reason so many of those solutions appear to be impractical is because no one is smart enough to know what he is attempting. Don't you ever say I don't trust him”, and he looked back at him, “I trust him until the end of my life.”
The Architect arched one eyebrow in surprise at the level of emotion the former time agent displayed and finally she said, “No further questions”
Jack left out a sigh, as if he had been holding his breath. The Doctor walked over and poured him a glass of water. Handing it over to him he said, “You ok?”
Jack laughed as he took a sip, “The ladies made this look easy”
“They usually do”, the time lord said, “Let me know when you're ready.”
“I'm sorry Doctor...”, Jack started.
“It's ok Jack...really...just drink”, the Doctor walked back to his podium and looked over his notes. He looked up to Jack who nodded.
“Jack”, he began., “What would the Daleks have done to the human race if hey hadn't been destroyed?”
“Enslaved them and used them for genetic experiment”
“Was there any chance of stopping them with the time we had left?”
“No”, Jack said setting the water down, “We had 22 minutes and an army outside. We didn't have any time left.”
“Between being enslaved for life or being killed instantly, which would you choose?”
“Objection”, The Architect said, “How is that...”
“Jack here is a human. I am asking his opinion, as a human, if he would have rather I left the Daleks alone or to kill all of them instantly”, he turned on the spectators, “How about any of you? Anyone here want to be enslaved and then used for barbaric genetic experiments or one quick headache and then nothing? Show of hands?”
“Doctor!”, the Judge said as a few people raised their hands, “Order...”
“Your honor she”, he pointed to the albino, “Wasn't there. She didn't have to make the same choice I made. She makes it sound like we were there having a bloody picnic and I decided to calmly destroy the world!” He turned on the lawyer, “I died during that fight!”, he said to her, “I offered myself up to the Daleks if they left Earth alone. I notice THAT isn't in your damn files. Don't stand there and make it sound like I casually decided to destroy all life on Earth and then walked away with a whistle and a smile. It killed me!!”
“And did it kill you to make the same choice with the Macra?', she asked quietly.
“I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO THE MACRA!!”, he bellowed.
“Yet”, she said, “Haven't done anything yet.”
The Doctor stood next to her panting as the judge asked, “Any further questions Doctor?”, he continued to glare, “Doctor? Is the witness excused?”
He looked over to Jack and nodded, “Can I have a minute Judge?”
“Brief recess, 10 microns”, and she vanished.
As Jack was walking back to his chair the Doctor spun and grabbed his arm, “It isn't what you think”, he said under his breath.
Jack looked to him confused, “What is?”
“The reason I treat you like that...the reason you think I don't like you. It isn't what you think.”
“I assume I get under your skin Doctor, I don't take offense to it”
“You do get under my skin and we both know you are offended by it”, the Doctor released his arm and took a deep breath, “You make me a liar Jack.”
He sat there and waited for the Doctor to continue, “You make me a liar and a hypocrite just by standing there.”
“I don't understand...”, Jack asked.
“I live my life a certain way”, the time lord admitted, “I live it saying that I can't get attached to people because they will grow old and wither in front f me. I use that as my reason for being...”, Shan'ka, Lortha, Zero, Long Death,
“Alone. I use that reason and it served me well”, and he looked up to Jack, “and then you came along. At first you annoyed me yes...but then, you were immortal as well. You were just as stuck as I was. I assumed you would understand my way of life, you would accept the lonely path I took. But you didn't, you did the exact opposite.”, the Doctor leaned against the podium slightly, “You love everyone of them, fully and completely. You give everything you have to them...without fear. And I look at you, and I see what a coward I am. How I use that excuse to keep them away. You make me a liar Jack, because I see how you dive into new friends and new loves...without ever looking back. And it reflects on me, because it isn't that I can't...it is that I won't.”
He trailed off and jack placed a hand on his shoulder, “There is nothing wrong with being afraid Doctor.”
And he looked into his eyes, “There is everything wrong with being afraid Jack”, and placed his hand over his, “So that's why I don't like you.”, and he smiled.
“Well that and you're crazy for me.”
“Don't start”, the Doctor said pulling his hand back. Jack reached out and took hold of it again, “I will never stop”, and he grinned.
And against all odds the Doctor smiled back, “Good”
Jack walked back to his seat as the Doctor looked over his notes again.
“They are very loyal”
He looked over to the Architect and she repeated, “Your friends, they are very loyal to you.”
He looked back at them as it looked like Sarah Jane was handing Donna some money and he smiled, “Yes...yes they are.”
“I hope you are deserving of it”, she said looking back to her notes.
“Why are you doing this Madame?”, he said moving towards her, “We both know this is a waste of time.”
“Justice is never a waste of time!”, she proclaimed.
“It is when it is done out of anger, or revenge”, and his voice softened, “Trust me I know.”
She laughed and took a step back, “Oh I know Doctor, believe me I know. We will see how much time I am wasting when I call my next witness. Just watch!”
He shook his head and walked back to his podium, sometimes there was no talking to people.
The Judge reappeared, “Madame Architect, call your next witness”
“I call my final witness your honor....I call to the stand, The Doctor”
“Oh snap”, the Doctor said as he looked over to her.
“Your turn”, she said gesturing towards the chair.
The room was silent as he walked over to the witness stand.
To be continued.