Unfinished Symphony-E4-The Innocent:Part Two
Prelude
Part One
Unfinished Symphony Episode Four
The Innocent-Part Two
“Good morning Mater, how are we this morning?”, the Doctor asked.
“If the day ends with you being put to death, it will indeed be a good day”, she responded with venom in her voice.
“Yes well...been awhile since we talked”, he said pushing forward.
“You mean since you stuck your horrible weapon in my face and threatened to kill me and my staff?”, she sat, hands contained in her habit that she looked the epitome a patient and kind nun.
“Good times”, he said to himself. “I need to ask you some questions...”
“I have answered them all and proved beyond a doubt what kind of monster you are.”
The Doctor paused halfway to the stand and looked at her. Sighing he walked over to her saying, “Ok well then let's get the angry questions out of the way so we can actually get to the point. When I was in your facility, did you in fact believe that I was going to destroy your hospital?”
“Yes”, she said quickly and firmly.
“And did you think I would do it with the patients and staff still in it?”
“Absolutely”
“So you believed that everyone in the building was in danger?”
“Yes”
“And would you have ordered them all to stay right where they were just to prove a point?”
She paused glaring and then spit out a hesitant, “Yes”
“You were actually ready to sacrifice every patient and sister in there, just to spite me?”
“Yes”
“Were you more interested in being contrary to my wishes or were you in fact trying to preserve the oath you took as a Sister of Plenitude?”
Again the inducer probed her mind, tracing the root of her thoughts. Judging by her voice, she was a surprised as anyone to hear herself say, “To be contrary to you.”
“Right”, he said quickly, “Well why would you be so emotional towards me then? I had just saved your planet, why would you act so...adversaral towards me?”
Another silence and a shake of her frame before she said, “You practically made me beg”, she said hissing, “You made me beg for my planet's safety. I swore then you would pay.”
The Doctor considered her with a concerned look for a moment, “Beg? I did?”
This time there was no pause, “You knew how to stop the Macra and you knew we needed help. Instead you made me ask for your help in exchange for your friends. We would have given you anything Doctor, but instead you made us barter...like common peasants.”
“I see”, he said thinking, “And that made you angry?”
“Of course it did”, she said sharply.
“And that is why you tapped my terminal while I was making the gas?”
Small pause and a sigh, “Part of it yes”
“And the other part?”, he asked.
“Because you refused my wishes in giving it to me.”
“I see, and what was your true motive in wanting the formula?”
If cats could sweat the old feline would be doing so now. She was in obvious pain from the inducer and still she sat and glowered at the Doctor for a few more moments, finally she said with a sigh, “I wanted it to sell to the military.”
“And why would a nun need money from the government?”
“I am planning to build a facility for disease research and the government won't fund it”, she said scorn in every syllable, “Your formula would have been worth more than enough money to fund it.”
The Doctor said nothing, simply stared at her with a look in his eye...after a few seconds the Mater squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. “Well I can't tell you how glad I am I couldn't help you in that endeavor”, he said his voice thick with emotion. Turning quickly back to his podium he said, “Your honor I would like to bring up the formula that was introduced into evidence yesterday.”
The Judge pulled up the formula on her terminal, “Yes Doctor”
“I would like to submit, the formula, that supposedly destroyed the Macra and started this whole trial...I submit your honor, this formula”, he said holding out the datachip, “Does nothing.”
“Objection”, the Architect demanded.
“On what grounds?”, he said, “That you introduced the chemical equation for preserving Solanum tuberosum in a saline solution for extended storage instead of a devolution gas?”
“Chemical equation for what Doctor?”, the Judge said studying the symbols.
“Potatoes your honor. It is the chemical formula for Pringles”, the Judge looked at him in confusion, “Potato chips? Thin little slices? Salt, crunchy...well it doesn't matter. It is completely useless to devolve anything. Unless you want to make a sociological point about consumption of Pringles in conjunction with lower intelligence and why would you do that? I am sure smart people eat them too and that's just being mean.”
The assembled crowd start to talk among themselves again as the Architect scanned her terminal as the computer took the formula and worked it out hypothetically. The Doctor leaned over to the albino and whispered, “Maybe you should actually check the evidence before you try to convict someone on it”, and then back to the Judge, “If this is indeed the formula I am supposed to use your Honor I think the Macra would not only be alive, but be a far part fatter for it.”
The Shadow Proclamation computer finished working out the chemical calculations, it was just as the Time Lord said. It was a chemical bath to suspend thin slices of potatoes in a salt solution so they can be baked...there was nothing the least bit harmful about it.
“And here it comes”, the Doctor said walking back to the witness, “Did you know the formula didn't work Mater Superior?”
She hung her head and said, “Yes. We tried to duplicate it and it did nothing.”
“Well it will give you a heart attack if you eat enough...salt's bad for you”, he said wagging his finger, “So you were what? Trying to slide it by to see if the court would just accept it?”
“Yes”, she said tight lipped.
“Well that isn't quite fair is it? Just how far are you willing to go to make sure I pay for embarrassing you Mater?”
It was a flippant question, but the inducer didn't know the difference. A question was a question to it, so it probed her thoughts and produced the answer, “As far as it takes.”
To which the court room fell into silence. The Doctor turned slowly to face her, “This isn't about justice for you is it Mater?”
A tremble, “No”
“You don't care one thing about the Macra do you?”
Twitch of a hand, “No”
“In fact”, he said getting closer to her, “You were thrilled to find the Macra destroyed and you would do nothing to change that fact. Would you?”
Neck jerk, “No”
“And if you had your way”, he said getting right into her face, “You wish I would have found a more...painful way to eliminate them. Right?”
The old woman shook internally, her eyes bugged out. And slowly, like honey, a drop of blood trickled out of one of her nostrils. Still locked with the Doctor she said, “Yessss”, through a hiss. She blinked rapidly as tears of blood fell from her eyes, “I wish I could have seen them...withereing and screaming...their limbs...”, another drop of blood, “...spasming from pain.”
“Your honor”, the Architect called out.
“She is doing it to herself”, the Doctor said, “All she has to do is realize the truth and the pain goes away.”, and he got right next to her, “See I accept the truth Mater. I accept that I can be a terrible person at times and I don't shy away from that. I accept that it is part of me and go to great lengths to make up for that small flaw. But you wallow in the delusion that you are a fair and just person, and we both know that not to be true. So just say it Mater, just accept it out loud and the truth shall set you free.”
“n-never”, she stammered, blood trickling out her ears now.
“Just say it”, he whispered, “Just say it for me, accept it and move on..”
“I-I-I'm not...l-like....y-y-y-you”, it was an incredible show of control on the feline's part.
“No”, he whispered again, “You're worse.”, pause for a second and then, “Aren't you?”
Her head shot up and she looked at him, her eyes red from blood, her face a frozen expression of pain. And through wide eyes of horror and shock she heard herself say, “Yes”
He jumped up and proclaimed, “No further questions your honor. Can we get a medic in here please!!', he called out.
The Mater slumped forward as the Architect rushed forward, followed by a Judoon carrying a medical kit.
“Are you happy Doctor?”, the Architect snapped after examining the Mater, “You almost killed her!”
“No Madame”, he shot back, “She almost killed herself. You should take a good long look at her”, he said harshly, “Because she was deluding herself that this trial was just and fair just so she could get her own little private revenge. Look what it cost her to accept the truth.”, and he smiled grimly at her, “I wonder what it will take when you are on the stand?”
The Architect was silent as the Judoon looked over the feline. The fear in her throat prevented her from saying a word out loud.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sarah Jane sat on the floor of the TARDIS panting. She remembered a time when she could have made that sprint and jump and not sound like an asthmatic. She tried to control her heart rate as the quiet humming of the TARDIS surrounded her. It was like an old friend that sound, a feeling of safety and endless possibilities. Even though it looked nothing like when she traveled, she knew where she was.
And she knew she was alone.
As she got up and brushed herself off she walked around the control panel, listening for the sound of anyone she wondered who had opened the door in the first place. Gaining access to the TARDIS wasn't the easiest thing in the universe to do, but she was pretty sure it didn't have an automatic door opened like at a Happy Shopper. As she completed her circuit and was satisfied the box looked as if it was in stand-by mode she called out, “Hello?”, nothing, “Is there anyone here?”, more nothing.
“Well then...who in the world...”, and she turned to the console. She stared for a moment as her mind raced...”No”, she said, “It...it can't be”, she took a step towards the console, “But you..you can't...”, and she placed a hand out and placed it palm up on the metal, “Was it you?”
There was nothing but silence in the room, but Sarah Jane had the distinct feeling, the TARDIS itself had let her in.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
“Do you have any questions for this witness Architect?”, the Judge asked.
The Mater didn't look very good, they had removed most of the blood but her eyes were still bloodshot and she looked very weak, “No your honor, the witness may be excused.”
“Mater prepared to be transmatted to our medical facility”, the Judge said.
“Home”the older cat whispered, “I want to go home”
The Judge stopped and looked at the Judoon, “Very well. Medic please accompany the Mater back to her home planet and make sure she gets proper medical attention.”
There was a flash of light and the two of them were gone. The Judge looked to both the Doctor and the Architect, “Do we require a recess to gain our composure?”
The Architect began to open her mouth but the Doctor called out quickly, “No your honor. With all due respect, I believe we should continue.”, and he looked at the Architect, “Unless you can't stand to hear any more of your witnesses admit the truth?”
She quickly closed her mouth and said to the Judge, “We can continue your honor.”
“Call your next witness Doctor”
“I call to the stand Duchess of Manhattan, circa the year, 4999995024, New Earth Calender.”
There was a flash of light and a blond haired woman with very striking features. She wore a white outfit that was adorned with a royal blue cloak, as she walked to the stand her very presence was one of regalness and invoked royalty. She sat quietly as the inducer linked up to her brain patterns, as if she had done this a million times in her life.
“Telepathic induction active:Begin questioning”
“Good morning Madame Duchess, hope I found you at a good time”, he asked pleasantly.
“Doctor”, she said making eye contact, “I have not seen you since you last left New Earth, you look well.”
“Well, besides the whole being tried for genocide, can't complain. I need to ask you some questions about our time together against the Macra.”
“So I assume you are revoking your 'no spoilers' decree?”
He smiled slightly, “Yes, we are bit past spoilers now. You don't mind?”
“Objection your honor”, the Architect said loudly, “Should he be getting on with the questions?”
The Doctor looked to her with a face, “There is always time for manners Madame”, and back to the Duchess, “My apologies”
“Understood”, she said civilly, “Please, ask away.”
“When did you find out your planet was under attack by the Macra?”
“We had several reports of citizens going missing, all of them had some kind of vocation that dealt with underground settings. People like repairmen and service maintenance.”
“I see”, he said, “And did your law enforcement have any luck in finding out what had happened?”
“Most of the police force we sent to investigate vanished as well. This continued for several weeks, until the armory attack.”
“Armory? They attacked an armory?”, he asked.
“Yes”, she said, “It was our first glimpse of them. A squad of them rushed from an underground tunnel system and attacked the 2nd Armory division located off of New Staten Island. Six of them were able to hold off and destroy over 200 armed and trained troops as well destroying half a dozen light and heavy armored units we had in storage.”
“Tanks?”, the Doctor asked.
“Yes”, she said, “In a matter of minutes they destroyed a good portion of the only equipment we had of defending ourselves from them.”
“Did they contact you then?”
“Yes. They announced themselves as the Macra and they had declared war on New Earth. They gave us a week to either surrender or prepare ourselves, either way, they were going to destroy us all. We didn't know what to do.”, she said sounding incredibly sad just thinking of it.
“So what did you do then?”
“We set up embankments around the city and the major strategic points. The hospital, the Senate, places like that, the military set up and were ready to fight.”
“Did they think they stood a chance?”,he asked in a low voice.
She looked up at him, “No Doctor. They were in fact relatively sure we were going to die.”
“Did you ask for help?”, he asked walking back to the podium, “From anyone else?”
“We did put a petition in to the Shadow Proclamation”, she said leveling a look at the Architect.
“And their response?”
“They said they would have to review the claim, since there was no evidence of the Macra landing on New Earth recently. She said there was a probability that if the Macra had been on the planet as long as the humans, it would be considered a internal conflict and outside of their provenience.”
“I see.”, he said thinking about it, “So then I showed up?”
“Yes”, she said, “The Mater contacted us and said she had made contact with an alien who had dealt with the Macra before. She said we should listen to you and see if you could help.”
“And what did I say?”, he asked.
“You asked if we had tried to communicate with the Macra, which we had. To no avail. So you took it upon yourself to try to negotiate a peace with them.”
“How did that go?', he asked.
“Not good. They called you a name...”
“Aetas Presul?”, the Doctor offered.
“Yes. They said you were that and that they would not negotiate with you.”
“And then?”
“And then they destroyed the West bank power server”, she sounded pained, “They had built some kind of a tunnel beneath it, they detonated a bomb. Over a thousand workers died and the city lost main power. It was at that point you brought up the gas.”
“What did I say?
“You told us the gas would nullify the Macra, but at a cost. You explained you were revolving them back to a less aggressive point. You said that they wouldn't be a threat, and that it would fall to us to take care of them. You explained we were going to have to make some changes to the motorway, so that the exhaust fumes keep them alive. We were going to have to take means to keep them safe and protected. We would have to tell the rest of world that they had been defeated and they had left the planet. It would have to be a secret.”
“I see”, the Doctor said distantly.
“And then you made us choose”, she said, “You said you could help us, but that it would have to be our choice. You said that you could help, but that we would have to ask your help, and that the decision would be ours.”
“And why was that?”, he asked.
“You said that you could help, but only if asked. You weren't the kind of person to interject themselves into a planet's personal history. And then you contacted the Macra, warning them that they had only one chance to surrender. And then you invoked Convention 12 of the Shadow Proclamation.”
“I did?”, he said looking to the Architect and then to the Duchess, “And are you aware of what Convention 12 is?”, he asked.
“I looked it up after you had left. Article 12 is required when answering a direct challenge of war from another galactic race. It is a warning that must be given when you are about to instigate hostilities.”
“And did you ask for my help?”, he asked.
“Yes Doctor”
“And you are the ruling body of New Earth, correct?”
“Yes”
“And you are legally capable of deputizing an outside force as a New Earth military unit?”
“I am”, she said formally.
“One last question Duchess, did you deputize me before I left?”
She smiled, “Yes Doctor. I deputized you as the Savior of New Earth.”
“Thank you”, he said bowing, “No further questions.”
The Architect advanced on they Duchess, “Madame, are you aware of the Geneva accords ratified by the Shadow Proclamation in what would be your year of 3,899,775,005?”
“I am conversant in the Geneva accords, yes.”
“Then you are aware that no galactic government has the ability through actions of inactions to initiate genocide against another race?”
“I did not advocate genocide Madame Architect, I defended my people.”
“You did when the Doctor changed their future. The Macra on your planet were the last Macra left in the known galaxy.”
“Then what should I have done?”, the Duchess demanded, “Allowed them to kill my people and make us extinct?”
“The human race is present in over 4,000 inhabited planets and colonies Duchess, it is in no fear of going extinct.”
“Is that an answer?”, she demanded, “Is that what constitutes a damn answer you white skinned Harpa? Because we exist on other planets we should lie down and let them kill us? If the Macra were a protected race then YOU should have come and removed them Madame. It is YOUR responsibility to protect endangered galactic races. It is MINE to protect my people and planet.”
“It is everyone's responsibility Madame Duchess”
“Well then next time I will make sure to die for you!”, she said snarling at the albino.
“One last time Duchess, were you aware that your actions were in fact changing the time line of the Macra?”
“No”, she said, “But it wouldn't have changed a thing.”
“No further questions your honor”, the Architect said.
“Thank you Madame Duchess, would you like to return to your planet?”
“Yes thank you”, and she looked at the Doctor, “Good luck”, she said not smiling. With a flash of light she was gone.
The Doctor looked back and saw Sarah Jane still not with the others, “I would like to call my next witness your honor.”
“Any objections?”, the Judge asked the Architect.
“No”, she said sounding tired, but she was determined not to show it to her Gallifreyian rival.
“Very well Doctor, call your next witness.”
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Sarah Jane leaned in close, “Can you understand me?”, she asked the console, “Was it you?”
The TARDIS was silent, it simply hummed quietly. Moving over the console she pulled up the monitor, “I didn't think so”, she said to herself, “Now how did you activate the outside sensors?”, she pushed a few buttons and the exterior of the atrium appeared. “Ok, now the cameras”, and the schematic of the room appeared on the screen, it was a double of the one her watch showed.
“How?”, she exclaimed as the camera views were outlined in red. She opened her watch and saw the same image. She looked back to the screen and then to the console, “You synced up with my watch? I didn't program you to...”, and then her face lit up, “You are trying to help me!”
She wondered for a moment, her Doctor had always treated the TARDIS as if it was alive. She had thought he was simply anthropomorphizing it as most men do with their cars. But after all she had seen, after Mr. Smith, the idea of a living TARDIS didn't seem that remote any more.
She moved over, “Ok, I need to find a way to scramble the cameras somehow”, and then she mulled it over, “No wait, if the signal was lost they would know something is up.” She thought about it, “Is there any way you can make the cameras not see me?”
The screen flashed and she read, “-Temporal inversion bubble activated:duration 30 minutes-”
She looked as the TARDIS stalled the same second outside of it, causing the cameras to film the same visual point over and over again. Sarah smiled, “You are trying to help me.”, she patted the console, “Good girl, I always knew you were the smarter one.”
She checked her watch, “Ok I have thirty minutes to find the Architect's office and back before the cameras start scanning real time again. More than enough time.”, she started walking towards the door and she paused, “Do you have a layout of the building?”
Her watch beeped as a layout of the entire Shadow Proclamation headquarters downloaded themselves into her watch, “You are the best!”, she called back. She opened the door, checker outside and took off.
After a moment a image of light started to form and a hologram of the fourth Doctor appeared, “Sarah, if you're hearing this it means that I am dead, and you are in the TARDIS alone. This emergency program will list you as a valid user until you can get home. Take care of her, she can be a temperamental beast at times, but the TARDIS knows you. She knows how I feel about you.”, he said smiling, “And if I never had a chance to say it while I was alive...you are the only companion I have ever had, that made me wish I was human, if just for a day.”, and then he made a face, “But only a day!”, and his features relaxed, “Good bye Sarah Jane, until we meet again.”
The image wavered and then vanished. Leaving the TARDIS in silence.
To be continued...