Doctor Who fic: The Trial of Ten, 16/20
Banner made by 'D', my talented RL artist friend.
Characters: Eleventh Doctor, Metacrisis Doctor, Rose (Also: Martha, Jack, Amy, Rory, Gwen, John Hart)
Genre: Drama; some action and h/c
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Up to/including A Christmas Carol
Summary: When the Metacrisis Doctor returns with Rose from the other universe, he is captured and put on trial for various crimes including genocide. Can Rose and Eleven save him? How does the case affect Eleven who is also, in effect, on trial? How does the unexpected return to the Tardis and to the original Doctor affect Rose?
Chapter 16: John Hart presents his evidence and the Doctors learn the true purpose of the trial. But will the new information help Ten or make things worse when decisions are to be made?
Disclaimer: This story takes place within the Doctor Who universe. This story is a way of re-interpreting concepts and ideas already present in Doctor Who. All characters within belong to the BBC. This story is for fun and for sharing, but not for profit.
The Trial of Ten
Chapter 16: The Final Witness
No-one stopped them as they flew through the doors and into the ampitheatre. Rose half expected the guards to bar their entry, but clearly they had been instructed to let them pass if they showed up.
As they hastily picked their way down the darkened stairs, Rose took quick glances at the dais. The Man was speaking and striding back and forth. Ten's eyes were closed and his head bowed.
'They're making the final statements,' hissed Jack.
As they seated themselves, Rose pulled at Eleven's hand. 'What are we going to do? It's too late to get John to testify, isn't it?'
'You leave that to me,' whispered Eleven. He crouched at the front of the seat box and started to fiddle with the buttons and to feel around the edges of the panel. 'The screwdriver would really come in handy about now,' he muttered.
Panic rising, Rose listened to what the Man was saying.
'And I say that choosing humans who are inexperienced with life beyond their time and planet is just one facet of the irresponsibility of his nature. He constantly brings danger to Earth whether on purpose or inadvertently. But even after all that we have learned today, we still come back to the fact that he committed genocide and for that, we have proof unassailable. For that alone, he must receive the Death Penalty. Thank you.' The Man returned to his chair at the right of the dais.
The floor beneath Rose's feet shook from the roar of the audience, and the sound hit her like a physical blow.
'Doctor,' she begged.
'I'm working as fast as I can,' said Eleven without looking up. 'They've disconnected the damn thing.'
She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Jack. She looked at him through sudden tears in her eyes. Beyond him, she saw John watching her with an unfathomable expression on his face. She looked back at the dais.
The Woman now stood and came forward.
'Many charges have been brought forward during this trial. Some trivial and some serious. Many have been used to create a picture of the Doctor which I feel incomplete at best--a tactic unjustly designed to discredit him, to create a skewed representation. It is crucial to dispel this fear-mongering before considering the most serious charges.
'For example, one charge was that, by befriending Martha Jones, the Doctor drew the attention of the Master to the Jones family thus resulting in the year of imprisonment and torture. But I ask you--if the Doctor is to be considered guilty for making friends with people and thus being open to accusations because of the actions of the Master, that would imply that no-one should make friendships or connections of any kind for fear of possible antagonism from any third party. The implication is absurd and goes against the very idea of all relationships. That implication, I tell you, is that we must never again approach anyone as anything but a stranger. Must we all remain islands and treat one another with fear and suspicion? I don't think so.
'The charges of treason we heard today are also spurious in my opinion. Some have not been proven. The claim that the Doctor sabotaged Prime Minister Harriet Jones' government is unsubstantiated. There is no proof of outside meddling. All public opinion and government decisions were created and documented by humans within the government and within the United Kingdom. The charge of bringing down the Margaret Blaine administration in the city of Cardiff is also unproven, but what is proven is that Ms. Blaine was intent on opening a nuclear power plant with serious safety standard issues that would have caused catastrophic damage had it gone on line during the eruption of the space/time Rift in Cardiff. Interesting, don't you think? If the Doctor was indeed responsible for her disappearance, something which has not been proven here by any means, we also see the result of a safer city and the lack of deaths in the tens or even hundreds of thousands. While I don't argue that the ends justify the means, it is worth a closer look before you charge the Doctor with treason. The charge of intentionally bringing the Master to Earth by fusing the coordinates of his Tardis has already been described by a witness to be a last ditch effort to track and contain the Master. It can be thrown out. Even the charge that the Doctor, by returning to the United Kingdom, is committing treason against the monarch called Queen Victoria is largely irrelevant. There has been recorded proof of the current Queen, Elizabeth the Second, thanking him for saving London from annihilation. This would indicate that he has been forgiven. Even the organization of Torchwood that was set up to watch and repel him resulted in humans being trained to deal with threats from hostile aliens, aliens which, I might add, usually come to Earth on their own: the Sycorax, the Slitheen, the Sontarans, the Weevils (as named by Torchwood) to name only a few. That training has allowed humans to save themselves again and again. The Doctor himself has helped that organization, as he has UNIT countless times.
'I beg the court's indulgence in summarizing today's charges again, but I believe that by doing so, I demonstrate how the Doctor has been done a great disservice by the tactics engaged in by my learned friend, the Prosecutor. Questionable and unsubstantiated charges are misrepresenting the Doctor's character long before we return to the questions of obstruction of justice and of genocide.'
The Woman paused, and Rose could hear Eleven scrabbling vainly at the control box. Up on the dais, Ten had finally raised his head and he was looking straight at Rose. Her heart skipped a beat. 'We're trying,' she whispered.
The Woman spoke again. 'While I recognize that there is more weight to the question of obstruction of justice, as three witnesses have confirmed that the Doctor planned to keep the Master away from Earth justice and deal with him on his own, I ask you this: given the Earth's current level of technology and knowledge of time, could such a mastermind as the Master be safely contained on Earth? He alone brought Earth to its knees. Could Earth deal with a Time Lord at the height of his power? I apologize to any humans present, but I do not think so. There is only one being left in the Universe who could deal with him: the only other Time Lord--the Doctor himself. Thus I ask you: if you consider the Doctor guilty of obstructing justice, do you not think that he may have done so for a very good reason?
'And so we come to the one serious charge that remains. Unassailable proof, Prosecution said. Genocide. We have all seen the evidence presented by a witness and even the defendant himself. But here, I feel it is crucial to consider this. Given what we know of the Doctor, please look at his motives. Time and time again, he has come to Earth to protect those who needed protecting. There are countless examples of this, and UNIT has extensive records that document the benefits the Doctor has brought to Earth, the threats he has stopped. You all heard the witness from UNIT earlier today and the esteem that organization holds for the Doctor.'
'They did come,' whispered Martha. 'Oh good!'
The Woman walked over to Ten. He looked up at her.
'I have no counter-argument for genocide. Can anyone? However, I ask you to think of the Doctor's motives. I maintain that in making the decision to destroy the Dalek armada, he was protecting the entire universe unilaterally and was willing to make the hard decision. It may not have been his right to make that decision, but would anyone here truly want to consider the alternative? The Daleks would not have hesitated to destroy all civilizations in their path. We have seen it before. And so, if you find him guilty, I beg you to consider the mitigating circumstances.
'Thank you.'
As the Woman sat down, a muted angry murmur rumbled through the ampitheatre. There was no explosion of sound as with the Man's statement.
Martha leaned towards Rose. 'Has she given them food for thought, or are they just dismissing her words?'
Rose shook her head. 'I don't know,' she whispered miserably. 'I don't know.' She looked over at Eleven who was still crouched in the corner muttering under his breath.
'It's now or never, Doc,' said Jack urgently.
The Voice spoke, the deep tone filling the ampitheatre. 'The jury will now confer for final judgement.'
'Oh boy,' said Eleven suddenly. 'This isn't going to be pretty. Cover your eyes!'
As she did so, Rose caught a glimpse of Eleven bringing both his hands down in a double-fist, slamming them against the console. Sparks erupted and the explosion blinded her.
When she opened her eyes, their seats were brightly illuminated, everyone on the dais and in the audience was staring at them and Eleven was shaking his hands up and down to cool them. The console was smoking.
'Guards!' shouted the Man and Judoon warriors materialized as if out of nowhere. As they reached for Eleven, he jumped up and down, waving his arms.
'Wait, wait,' he shouted and his voice, now amplified, echoed throughout the ampitheatre. 'I've brought a new witness that can shed an entirely different light on this trial.'
'The time for witnesses has passed,' intoned the Voice.
'No, no, wait, wait, wait,' Eleven continued. 'Through Article 7 of due process as set down by the Shadow Proclamation, the defendant has a right to the best defence possible. Furthermore, this witness is not here to address any specific charge but rather the feasibility of the trial itself. I demand... ooh, strong word there. I like that. I demand that he be heard. I'm, er, sorry about the damage to your call box. It seems to have been mysteriously disconnected just for today. But there you go. Can't quite trust service nowadays, hm?'
'No, it seems we can't,' said the Woman. 'He has made a valid request. If indeed this new witness can call into question the validity of the trial, he needs to be heard. I petition the court to allow him to speak.'
'I protest,' said the Man and he jumped to his feet. 'This trial as well as the containment and extradition of the prisoner has been conducted according to regulations. The Defence is merely trying desperate measures for what she knows to be a losing battle.'
There was a silence, and Rose held her breath. Finally, the Voice spoke. 'The court will hear the new witness.'
'Yes!' Rose whispered and she clenched her fists. Immediately she found them covered by Martha's hands as they rocked back and forth in relief.
'It's your turn now,' hissed Jack to John. 'You'd better make it good.'
John stood and moved out to the aisle. 'Don't you worry about that,' he said, grinning.
The Judoon escorted him down to the front edge of the seating area as the energy bridge shimmered into place. As he walked across, John looked down at the chasm beneath his feet. He looked up again in a hurry and quickened his pace. When he stepped onto the dais, John looked at the witness chair.
'Do I get to sit here?' he drawled. When the Woman nodded, he sat down. 'Oh good. Nice and comfy.'
'Please be brief and to the point,' said the Woman.
'Oh, right. Sorry. Yeah. Well, I hate to tell you this, but this trial has been one big conspiracy.'
'What do you mean by this?' asked the Woman sharply.
'Well, I'm Captain John Hart, human from the 51st century by the way, and I have, or rather had, a vortex manipulator. Handy thing. It gets you in and out where you want and when you want. More or less. You see, I've been travelling around Earth for the past little while, and I've come to know about this cult. A cult that seemed to have it in for the Doctor. Now, knowing that a great many people are interested in him, I thought I'd keep my ears open. Do a little investigating, right?
'At first, they had the simple goal of capturing him. Get him and put him on trial. They'd found a human who resented him. That would be your chief victim, Ms. Francine Jones. The only problem was that she wouldn't recognize him.'
'Excuse me?' asked the Woman.
John crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. 'He had gone and done something that was quite annoying to them. He regenerated. You are aware that Time Lords can regenerate, yes?'
'Yes, yes, I've heard this.' The Woman sounded irritated.
'Good. But try explaining this to a 21st century human. They were going to try associating his new image with what the Jones woman remembered from her ordeals. Not ideal, but workable, maybe. But he kept hopping around in time, pesky fellow. They didn't seem to be able to catch him. Until a week ago. Suddenly, up he pops... the other one. The Doctor that Ms. Jones knew. His image, everything.'
'So you are saying there are two Doctors running around.'
'Yep,' answered John. 'Two of them. Same fellow, sort of. Same origins, but they got duplicated. One regenerated, the other didn't. But they're actually the same guy, believe it or not.'
The Man made a quick gesture and the Judoon flanked Eleven.
'Ah,' said Eleven. 'Hello, there. Now you believe me.'
'Bring him,' barked the Man.
The Judoon pulled Eleven into the aisle and onto the bridge. Soon he stood next to Ten who looked up at him and shook his head.
'So,' continued John, 'the Doctor that Ms. Jones knew, this fellow here,' and he gestured to Ten, 'turns up and gets nabbed by your Judoon. You got yourself a Doctor and the trial got expedited. By whom? And just now, the Tardis got pulled off course. Delayed somehow when we were crossing the shields of this place. Someone didn't want us to get to this session. Who could have done that? I have no idea, though someone on the inside comes to mind.' He turned to the Man and looked at him thoughtfully. The Man glared back. 'Nevertheless, that's not my business. That's yours. Meanwhile, I figure to myself that justice needs to be served. So I leave the defence some clues. After all, if I just start broadcasting information without protection, I know that the cult would be after me. I'm not stupid. But they catch on to me all the same. So, I hook up with this Doctor here, the regenerated one, Number Eleven it seems, and here I am, with information and need of protection.'
'Protection from whom?' asked the Woman.
'From the cult.'
'And who are they,' asked Eleven. 'You keep dancing around this. Come on. Let's have it.'
'You're gonna love it,' chortled John.
'Answer him!' snapped the Woman. 'This is a court, not your personal show.'
'Yes, ma'am,' said John. He looked up at Eleven and then at Ten. 'The Cult of Harold Saxon. I believe you know him better as the Master.'
'What?' gasped Eleven. 'But the Master is dead. I sent him back into the Time War myself.'
Ten stared at Eleven. 'You what?'
'Don't you worry, boys,' said John. 'He's not back. But his cult lives on. The Master's Minions, I like to call them. The M's Ms. But they continue because of him. He planned it all, you see.'
'How?' Ten's voice was strangled.
John grinned. 'Aren't you glad I'm an expert at spying? Oh my. I do love this part.' He turned to Eleven. 'Do you remember the "Master Race"? When every human was turned into the Master?'
Eleven nodded warily. Ten looked back and forth between him and John.
'Imagine a whole world of Masters. All connected, and a billion or so with free time on their hands. Some were helping the original Master with his plans, but others? The Master could think up all the schemes he wanted, hand them over to a billion of his selves and they could set everything up for him. Back-up plans, revenge scenarios, ways to torture and play with his bestest friend from Gallifrey--you name it.
'Problem is, of course, once humans were restored to themselves, they didn't remember anything. They were back to being dull and stupid. But he planned for that, apparently. Had things documented, written down, because he knew that his cult, his minions, the ones still out there, would want to take up the mission for him: to make the Doctor miserable.'
'How do you know all this?' asked Eleven. 'The vortex manipulator wouldn't have helped you get all this knowledge.'
'You're right. It didn't. But I was on Earth when the Master was there. I didn't change when all the other humans did. Maybe because of the manipulator--I was using it at the time and perhaps it disrupted the signal, the wavelength. Or perhaps because I'm not from Earth, not from this century. I don't know. But I watched and hid and I happened on the cult soon after. I pretended to be a Harold Saxon groupie for a time to get in, but after a while they wised up to me.'
'All right,' said Eleven. 'Okay. I can see how they'd want me in my past regeneration so Francine could recognize me. But the Doctor here, or Ten as we could call him, was only on Earth for an hour before the Judoon found him. The only way they could find him so quickly is if they had a genetic pattern to scan for.'
John shrugged. 'They did. Something about a spare hand of yours the Master had a while back? He'd saved the information somewhere. It was handed on to the Judoon so they could pick him up as soon as he appeared.'
'So,' mused Ten as he gazed thoughtfully at his right hand, 'they picked me up with no problem but couldn't find you. That makes me genetically closer to your previous regeneration than you are now. Interesting.'
'So the prisoner is the Doctor,' said the Man triumphantly.
'Yes,' said Eleven, 'but so am I, or haven't you got that through your head yet? Blimey, how many times do I have to explain this?'
'Why did the Master do this?' asked the Woman.
John smiled and shook his head. 'Because there is nothing, it seems, that he loves doing more than playing with his Doctor. Or torturing him. From what I've learned, it seems that he loved the idea of two Doctors: one for play and one to kill, perhaps. This is all a set-up, Madam Counsel. This whole court, this whole trial is just the Master having fun at the Doctor's expense.'
'There were some serious charges,' protested the Man. 'No matter what you say, they matter.'
The Woman turned to him. 'They matter all right, but most of them were based on hear-say and personal opinion. There was very little concrete proof.' She turned to John. 'You seem to imply, a moment ago, that one member of this conspiracy just might be the Prosecutor. Do you mean to implicate him?'
'I protest!' said the Man. 'This is another tactic to divert the court from the true purpose of the trial.'
'Answer the question,' said the Voice.
'Well, uh, yeah, my lord,' said John. 'I mean, I don't have any proof. I've never seen him before in my life. But you've got to wonder--how did he get hooked up with Francine Jones? There's no-one on Earth who knows how to contact the Shadow Proclamation. Not even UNIT as far as I know, though you might want to ask her,' and he nodded at Martha. 'Torchwood, too. They're too busy chasing their own tails around their little Rift. Or were. Ask him, the strapping big fellow for that one.'
Jack scowled.
'Anyways,' continued John, 'worth a look-see, isn't it?'
The Woman walked up to the high desk. 'I respectfully submit that this is a mis-trial and that the charges be thrown out.'
After a pause, the Voice spoke. 'At which point did the prisoner and the alternate Doctor diverge.'
'During the events of the Medusa Cascade,' said Ten with an effort. 'While the Daleks were still in control.'
'Alternate Doctor, do you concur?' the Voice asked.
Eleven looked at Ten for a long moment, and Ten looked steadily back, challenging. Finally Eleven answered, 'I concur.' His voice was heavy.
'As the trial seems to have been shown to flout the principles and intent of the Shadow Proclamation,' the Voice intoned, 'all charges pertaining to both Doctors shall be dropped due to the failure to establish the proper identity of the accused. Also, this court does not condone conspiracy to use the Shadow Proclamation for personal agendas.'
Rose started to cheer, and Martha reached over to hug her, but the Voice continued.
'However, the one charge that is still directed solely towards the prisoner remains unaffected and uncontaminated by this question of identity and possible conspiracy--that of Genocide. This crime, according to the evidence presented, was carried out by the prisoner alone. Jury, you shall deliberate on this charge and this charge only.'
Rose sank back in her seat. 'Oh no,' she whispered. 'No...' Helplessly, she looked over at Jack, but his head was sunk in his hands. On the other side of her, Martha sat stock still, horrified.
'This session is now concluded. There will be a recess until the Jury has deliberated.'
The Judoon pushed both Eleven and John back over the bridge to the front edge of the seating area and then marched back to the dais. The bridge shimmered into nothing.
To be continued
Chapter 17: The Verdict
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15