At the edge of the forest, a lone figure stood. It was the most drastic natural boundary in all of Gallifrey, where the bright red grass met the silver trees of the forest. To the left stood Mount Perdition, the bright red grass weaving its way up the mountain until the slope became too steep for growth, above this point the mountain was made of Sapphire, an illusion created by the refraction of the Sapphire core by the clear rock which made up the mountain. To the right, the emerald expanses, same story here, except they consisted of numerous unnamed peaks. Through the centre of the forest run a river, the deep burgundy water could be traced all the way through the forest and through the nearby village.
The figure belonged to a man if average height and build. He had short blonde hair, and wore a plain black hoodie; under this was a red t-shirt. He completed the look with a pair of black chinos and brown trainers. This attire may have been typical for an earthling, but on Gallifrey, it made a sight for sorry eyes. The dress code here was rather strict, time lords wore their crimson robes at all times, and the only exception was those working in the military.
This man was the Master, and the boundary between forest and pasture marked the end of his father’s estate. He had fond memories of here, of his childhood with the Doctor. His memories of the pair playing What’s the time Mr Dalek and Stuck in the Abzorbaloff. What he wouldn't have given for life to be that simple again. For the Doctor to be his friend again, he wondered to himself, what went wrong?
He thought he had given his life for the Doctor, a final sacrifice, worthy of redemption. Instead he'd been brought back here, back into the time war, right into the final moments. He had become Gallifrey's most wanted, with death imminent for all; Rassilon's final act was to seek justice on the man who had stopped the survival of the species. He had stolen a TARDIS, but the war was time locked, the only place he could travel was here, Gallifrey immediately pre-war, the final moments of peace before all he'll broke loose, if he could live here forever, he would.
He liked to stand here and reflect, something about the nostalgia it provided gave him peace, which suited reflection. The fresh Gallifreyan air did wonders to ease his hunger; while he was here he wasn't hungry. He was blatantly unaware that he was currently being viewed through the scope of a sniper rifle.
*************************
The Forest of Mount Perdition, the site of the greatest challenge to face the young graduates of the Military Academy of the Time Lords. It was the final challenge they would face and would determine their position in the army. The stakes were high for these men and women. All they had to do was make it from the village to the peak of Mount Perdition, without being tagged by the General's firearm. The cadets were assessed not on their final results, but on their behaviour during the task. What use it achieving your goal if you have to sacrifice your fellow squadron member? Very few failed to grasp that making it through in its self was not the goal. Only one person had ever done it, and managed to lead his entire squadron to the peak. That man was taking today's excursion.
His name was Mike Miller, he preferred the Tactician, but he hadn't had the chance to complete the naming ceremony yet. The youngest General of the Time Lord Army, he was held in high esteem across the planet. Everyone knew his name, even Rassilon, who trusted him with several of the higher priority mission. The Tactician knew his men weren't ready for the challenge, they hadn't completed their training, but war was imminent, and Rassilon was forcing his hand.
He had taken up a spot halfway up the mountain, which gave him sight lines from the forest to the peak, as well as along the boundary between forest and pasture. The advantage of this spot too was that both suns were behind him, meaning the glare from the silver leaves would prevent the cadets from discovering his location. He was a reasonable shot, so from here none of his cadets should be able to get past. A figure at the boundary drew his attention, a man in black with blonde hair; he couldn't have been one of the cadets, because they wouldn't have left the village yet. He watched this man for a few minutes; he seemed harmless and wasn't doing anything.
A movement behind the man caught the eye of the Tactician. From within the forest, two dark suited figures emerged. They had very wrinkled skin which clung tightly to their large skulls, their hands consisted of four digits, one disproportionately lager than the others. They had no mouths, just an empty slit where their mouths should have been. They approached the man.
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 2/13
Mountaintop, Bermuda, Earth.
The Doctor began to shake with anger, where there had been emptiness, it was now filled. He was traumatised; the sheer enormity of what had been done against him took its toll. Normally he could cope with things like this, but so well thought out were Kovarian's actions against, that they hit him fast and successively, not giving him time to deal with one thing, before hitting him with another. The nett result, his decision to endanger the lives of everyone on earth, for the sake of his friend. He hated himself for that. But not as much as he hates her.
She thought the death of his companions would have prevented him from coming after her. She couldn't have been more wrong. To be frank, he didn't care what she did with Gallifrey, he was sure she would fail anyway. The only thing that mattered right now, the only thing keeping him going was the thought of revenge. He would stop her, just to prove that he could, he would make her regret the day she crossed the Doctor.
Being battered by the wind and the rain, he looked out over the bay. The air was thick with smog from the fumes of the burning Dalek ships, salvaged by their impact with the Earth. It was a scene he was familiar with, having seen it in the time war, but not one he was emotionally attached to. He didn't feel pity for the Daleks, not ever, they weren't worth it. Now it was time for him to head home, after all these years, Gallifrey awaited him.
As he began his trek to the TARDIS, he failed to notice that he had dropped his mobile phone. As he walked off, a call flashed up on the screen, he couldn't hear it ringing over the sounds of the remnants of the storm. The caller ID read: Martha Jones.
Halfway to the TARDIS, the Doctor reached the bodies of the family. He tried to feel an ounce if pity for them and their untimely fate, but he could not. As he praised the TARDIS key from the hand of the mother, he thought to himself how they had it coming for taking Martha's place.
When he reached the TARDIS, he laughed to himself. He had a secret weapon which Kovarian knew nothing about. A man who shouldn't be in the timewar, a man who was his greatest enemy, a man called the Master.
Valley of Perdition, Gallifrey
The Tactician cursed his lack of proper ammunition in his sniper rifle, the man looked in danger, and he wanted to help, it was his duty. Before he had realised he had discarded his sniper rifle and was bounding his way across the red pasture. The gentle downhill slope and the sense of urgency meant he was moving at his limit, each stride the maximum he could reach. Instinctively he drew his personal firearm.
The Master turned when he heard the noise from behind him. He was overwhelmed with terror when he seen the creatures, the sense of threat and the familiarity of the creatures caused a fear right to his core. He froze unable to do anything other than move his lips; he began trying to talk his way out of it. "Do you know who I..... You can't hurt me.....I recognise.....I've seen....You...You". His mind wasn't working properly; he couldn't construct a proper sentence, let alone one capable of saving his life.
The creature pointed at him, "We are the Silence, and you are the Master! You should not be here. You will be eliminated so as silence can fall upon the universe." The creatures’ voice seemed to penetrate right into his mind, as if he were having a conversation with himself, but the voice didn't belong to him, it was loud, raspy and alien. The creature opened its pose, and widened the orifice which would have been its mouth. It pulled power in from its surroundings, ready to strike with an electrical beam.
As the creature was about to strike, gunfire came from behind, causing the creatures to retreat back into the forest. The Master turned to see a young man, bent over with his hands on his knees struggling to catch his breath. "Are you okay? What were they? Did they hurt you?"
The Master recognised him, "You're that Miller kid aren't you? Rassilon's favourite general, how's that going for you? You're kind of a big deal." He was trying to make light of the situation.
The Tactician wasn't taking his bate however, his concern lay with the creatures "I've seen them before, all across Gallifrey, people told me I was going crazy, no one seems to be aware of them, it's like they edit themselves out of your memory. You remember them don't you?"
The Master laughed, "Are you having me on? Of course I remember them." His tone suddenly became more serious. "They called themselves the Silence. They said I shouldn't be here, how could they know that?"
At that moment, a group of cadets came running out of the woods, one of them approached the Tactician. He saluted, "Sir, we heard gunshots, we came as quickly as we could. Is everything ok sir? Who's this?" He pointed at the Master.
"We are fine for now cadet, but something more serious is going on, I suspect we are being invaded. So for now, dismissed, I'll meet up with you later." As the cadets left, the Tactician received a beep on his contact pad. As he flicked it open he spoke "Who are you anyway?"
The Master looked offended, "You mean you really don't recognise me? Actually scrap that you wouldn't, I've regenerated. My name is the Master."
Without looking up from the screen, the Tactician replied. "It's an honour to meet you, sir. Your reputation precedes you. No time for trivialities however, it appears Rassilon has called an extraordinary council meeting." He moved to walk off, but the Master stayed put, he teased him, "What's the matter? Too afraid to come with me?" He shot him a cheeky grin, "Come on, I could be doing with your help."
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 3/13
Rassilon's Quarters, Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
The most powerful man in the universe, the leader of the Time Lords. For the most part, he took pride in his role. He enjoyed being the centre of attention and dishing out orders. Not that he wasn't fair when doing so, some decisions were hard, some he didn't like making. The impact of these types of decisions and the very nature of his role had taken its toll on him. Naturally, he was of a kind and compassionate nature, always striving for the best for each and every citizen under his rule.
Thus was the nature of politics on this planet, that he had to constantly put on a face. He had to appear as being a strong leader, that meant he had to be decisive, spontaneous, unforgiving, tactical and cold. In this world of corruption and hunger for power, any compassion shown, was a sign of weakness. As such, his true self was confined to this room, out of sight of dangerous eyes. Over the years he had invited in very few. The young general, the Tactician was one of them, a young man in whom he seen a lot of himself. Rassilon had made a promise to himself to keep him away from the politics, to keep him pure and free of corruption. He was the best at what he did, in all the years of Rassilon's rule, that's what drew them together. For Rassilon too had great expectations thrust upon him at an early age.
A knock on the door interrupted his train of thought, it was one of the serving girls, informing him that the council was assembled, awaiting his address. War was about to break, possibly the greatest war ever fought. The thought of his name going down in history alongside it, terrified him. Now he had to be stronger than ever.
On his way to the council chambers, he met the Tactician, who was obviously on him way to see him. "Something wrong Mike? You look tense." Rassilon was the only person who called him by his first name. He knew it could on his nerves, that's why he continued to do it.
This time, the Tactician didn't care. "Something's badly wrong; we are not alone on this planet. Something attacked my friend here, and I have seen those creatures everywhere. If you ask me my assessment of the situation, I would say we have been invaded."
Rassilon thought for a moment as he checked his fob watch. "I'm sorry Mike, but it will have to wait. The council is in session. I appreciate the gravity of the situation, but we both need to be at that meeting. I'll meet you in your chambers afterwards, tell me then." They split with the Tactician and the Master heading to the Tactician's booth, whereas Rassilon headed to the centre spot to make his address.
Further down the corridor, he brushed shoulders with someone. He heard a loud rasping voice in the back of his mind; it said "You shall help deliver the Silence". He turned, partly to see who it was, but mostly to tell them off for inappropriate conduct around their Lord President. He was surprised to find no one was there, was his mind playing tricks on him? He reasoned with himself, that it was probably the stress.
Rassilon's Address, Gallifreyan High Council, Gallifrey
His platform was in the middle of the room, and was raised slightly to represent his power. He wished he felt powerful now; instead this nausea was giving him grief. Sometimes he was never addressing the council, and this was the most important address he will ever give. But that wasn't it, it was worse than any stress related nausea he had experienced. It was much more than that, it was like his mind was suppressing a primordial instinct, the instinct to fight or run.
He began his address, speaking with strength and authority. "As you are aware, the recent actions of the Dalek movement are unacceptable. The attacks on the minor planets of the Kastaborus System, Arcadia, Theta-Seven, Trenzalore and Zocania, have not gone unnoticed." A muffled cheer rang around the senate. "Those advances were resisted, but war, war is upon us." This time the cheer was louder, loud enough for Rassilon to cast his glance around the room.
It was then that he saw them, the creatures, interspersed between the council members. These must have been what the Tactician had told him about, if only he had listened. There it was again, that voice within his head, "You shall help deliver the Silence."
He dropped his head, looking at his feet. He began to shake and break out in a cold sweat. Everyone was still cheering, he wondered how they remained oblivious to the monsters between them. Perhaps he was going crazy after all. He looked up again and the creatures where gone. He rationalised to himself that it had been his mind playing tricks on him. The alternative was too scary to contemplate.
He composed himself. "War is imminent. And we need a strong leader." Another cheer went round the senate.
In the top row, The Tactician detected the change in tone in Rassilon's voice. He had seen the creatures appear too, as had the Master. Something very bad was going on, and he didn't like it.
Rassilon caught his glance and gave him a smile before he continued. "That person is not I, I abdicate my position as Lord President." A gasp came from the senators which quickly erupted in a chorus of whispers. Rassilon moved to silence them, "But fear not, for I have chosen an appropriate successor to deliver us to glory." He gestured to someone standing out of sight of the senate, "I give you your new Lord President of Gallifrey....." He paused for dramatic effect. "Lady President Kovarian"
A stunned silence filled the senate.
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 4/13
Kovarian's Address, Gallifreyan High Council, Gallifrey
"Hello Gallifrey" Kovarian cracked a wry smile. A few brave individuals stood up and cheered, the majority however sat in stunned silence. "You sound happy to see me."
"Alright, straight into business, you've thrown me in at the deep end Rassilon, you are dismissed, no need for you here anymore. A Dalek attack is imminent. What do we do come on, I'll open this one to the floor". She received some shouts of suggestions including to attack back, to kill them, and to strike them first. "All very good ideas, but I have a better one. Do you know what we're going to do? We will surrender."
Again the senate erupted into a chorus of whispers. "Please, don't be so quick to dismiss. We surrender, drawing in as many Daleks as possible. Then we use our weapon." The senate suddenly became a mix of boos and cheers. "Unfortunately, I shall have to cut this little address short. Much more pressing things to attend to." She turned to walk out of the senate, but then changed her mind. "Someone send me the Doctor; tell him it is a matter of urgency, to meet me in my chambers. Then give me an hour and I want to speak to our leading General, the Tactician. Thank you." It was mostly cheers coming from the senate as she walked out.
As she was walking in the tunnel, she was joined by three Silence. "The plan is working, we have Gallifrey, I am the most powerful woman in the universe now, once I sort the Daleks out, the universe shall be ours."
One of the Silents spoke, "And what our enemies?"
She laughed loudly, "No one can stop us, not now. When the eighth Doctor arrives at my quarters, extract him from the timeline, make sure he maintains his memories of what should have been. Without him we wouldn't be here. As for the Tactician, I'm not sure about him, but I think he can lead us to the Master."
The Tactician's Quarters, Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
Following the address, the Tactician and the Master had headed quickly up to the Tactician’s quarters; he had given the Master a perception filter the moment he suspected things were going wrong. All those creatures in the senate, he suspected they were looking for the Master. What worries him more was what Kovarian wanted with him, she had summoned the Doctor, then him. He could see what she would want with the Doctor; the man was a legend within the Time Lord society.
His train of thought was interrupted by a knocking on the door. He opened the door to reveal Rassilon, true to his word that he would meet him in his quarters afterwards. The Tactician gestured him inside, then slammed the door shut, before erupting. "What the f**k was that? Huh? What on Skaro do you think you are playing at? Bloody hell, some notice even would have been nice."
Rassilon was visibly shaken, never before had someone under his command spoken to him like this. He thought to himself, what else should he expect, he wasn't in charge anymore. "I'm sorry Mike, I don't know what happened. I don't remember."
"It's not the time for joking Rassilon. This is serious; we're in big trouble here." A look at Rassilon's face told the Tactician that he wasn't joking. "You honestly don't remember? What about the creatures, the ones I told you about beforehand? They were in the senate too."
"Creatures in the senate, that is impossible. The senate has never been penetrated." His claim sounded bold, but was lacking in its usual authority "So these creatures they you are telling me about, either you are imagining them, or they appear to remove themselves from your memory."
"It seems the latter is more likely, but then how can the Master and I remember them?" He looked at the spot where he knew the Master was standing. "You know you can take that perception filter now, you're save in this room, just for the love of Rass-" he caught himself has he was about to say it, and hoped Rassilon hadn't noticed. "For the love of god, make sure you put it on before you leave."
Rassilon looked surprised as the Master appeared. "Oh you're here too. Mike I think I know how you can remember them, and I think you know too. Do you recall what happened to you as a child?" The Tactician nodded, both in acknowledgement and giving him permission to continue. “The night you lost your parents, you were injured too; you took a severe blow to the head. You were lucky to pull through, only for your exceptional healing rate, you would have died. The injury caused a bit of rewiring of the Amygdulla of the Hippocampic region of your brain. Nothing serious, it just means that you process memories different from everyone else. Many believe that's where your tactical military abilities come from. As you know, I was close to your father, and I have you grow up in his absence. I can tell you now, your abilities are nothing to do with you defect."
The Tactician sat down with his head in his hands, it always made him extremely emotional talking about his past. The sorrow of the loss of his parents. That horrible year in hospital and the bullying he faced over it. Sure there were happy memories too, but he preferred to forget it all, compartmentalise it to the back of his mind, where he could pretend it didn't exist. It took him a while to master it, but he had gotten there eventually.
The Master stepped forward "And what about me, the Master? How do I remember then? I think you know, I think you know what you did to me, what effects that has had on me. I would kill you now and make you suffer for it, but you may be useful." He went to swing a punch at Rassilon's face.
He was interrupted by a wind gathering in the room. It was accompanied by a sound that all of them recognised the sound of a materialising TARDIS. A tall blue box appeared in front of them; it was the deepest blue and read Police Public Call Box. From the box walked out a man, he wore a brown jacket, a shirt with a crimson bow tie and trousers with braces attached.
He grabbed the Master's hand and pinned him to the wall viciously. "I need your help."
The Master burst into hysterical fits of laughter, "Oh you must be desperate, if you've come to me for help." He winked at the Tactician "Why don't you introduce yourself to us all. But with a temper like that there's only one man you can be." He laughed again.
The man released him from the wall, before straightening his bow tie. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. And we are in big trouble"
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 5/13
The Tactician's Quarters, Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
After tempers had settled, and a few insults had been thrown around, the Doctor filled the rest of them in. He explained how Madame Kovarian was the head of an organisation known as the Silence. How they were a race of creatures who could edit themselves out of your memory, that they could manipulate you to do things you wouldn't normally do. At this point, Rassilon had been quick to interrupt and exclaim how this was definitely what had happened to him.
The Doctor went on to tell them his story, what had brought him here. How Madame Kovarian, disabled one of his companions and killed his best friend, how she allowed him to think it was someone else, causing him to play straight into her hands. How she had created a supply of bodies for the Cybermen, only to sanction their destruction after he had offered them freedom. How she had used his intrigue to lead him to Bermuda, where he had made the worst decision of his life and allowed the Daleks complete control of Earth. He told of how she had taunted him, and about her weapon which destroyed the Daleks. And finally of how his lust for revenge had brought him here back to the time war. He only told them as much as of the war as he thought necessary, as he didn't want to break the laws of time too much.
The Tactician then filled him in on what had happened on Gallifrey, the appearance of the monsters which nobody except himself and the Master could remember. How they had attacked the Master saying that he shouldn't have been there. He told of how Rassilon had abdicated his position of Lord President, the first abdication in the history of the senate. Upon learning that Madame Kovarian was now in charge, the Doctor had slammed his fist on the table in anger. The Tactician concluded by telling how she had called the Doctor, which he assumed was the incarnation that was meant to be here, to a private meeting, and that it was now it was his turn to meet her. As he left he asked them not to kill each other until he got back, but the Master wasn't making any promises.
Lord President's Study, Senate of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
As he sat outside awaiting the meeting, the Tactician was glad that the Doctor had arrived when he did. He felt safer going into the meeting armed with the knowledge of who he was really talking to, and what their plan was. To a good general, knowledge was power, and power kept you and your men alive. He was called into the meeting.
Madame Kovarian sat behind the desk. She wore black leather and an eye patch on one eye. She had short curly light brown hair and was a bit on the plump side. She looked out of place, not with the position of power, no that suited her perfectly. It was the Gallifreyan surroundings soaked in tradition and ritual that isolated her from the room. "Hello Mr. Miller, please do take a seat." She sounded genuine enough, as of somewhere within her, there was a remnant of compassion.
He took a seat, careful to position the desk between them as a physical obstacle. "Thank you, please call me the Tactician." He smiled at her, trying to convince her that he knew nothing of her plans. He had been told by the cadets that he had a good poker face. He enjoyed the comradeship and banter when he was playing games with his soldiers.
"Mr Miller, why would I call you something other than your name?" She cracked a wry smile. "You are probably wondering why I have called you here? Let me tell you, I hear you have claiming that Gallifrey has been invaded, would you care to elaborate on that?"
"How do you?" His instincts caused him to hold his tongue before completing the sentence. “Rassilon told you, of course he did." He assessed her body language to see if he had got away with it, he thought he had. "What is more important is the threat of the Daleks. You say you have a weapon capable of killing them, and that we have to let them think we have surrender to them. Will it kill them all? And what effect will it have on the rest of us."
She bit her lip, unsure how much to disclose to him. The tension in the room was building as both parties grew in suspicion of each other. "Trust me when I tell you, the weapon is highly specific to Daleks only. It has been tested on a planet-wide scale before and was sufficient to wipe out the Daleks. It can also be used at a constellation level too" She stopped, perhaps she had shown too much of her hand in this game of verbal chess. "But that's not what I called you here for; I want to know about this invasion."
Now the Tactician was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Thankfully he knew the connection between Kovarian and the creatures, but he couldn't let her know that. He quickly improvised, "There was no invasion, I was just looking attention from Rassilon".
She took a moment to contemplate his explanation. "Oh you poor little thing, wanting acceptance from the only father figure you know." Her attempt at empathy was quite poor, you could tell from her tone which was closer to sarcasm. Suddenly her tone changed becoming more serious, "What if I told you this planet was indeed being invaded, by creatures who remove themselves from your memories when you look away, what would you say then?"
He was aware of her glare; she was watching him closely to see if he reacted, to compare his verbal communication with his body language. He managed to say coolly, "Well, I would tell you that you are insane and that you need help." They sat in awkward silence for a moment, staring each other up.
"Well then Mr. Miller, that will be all" She gestured for him to leave, and waited until he was halfway to the door before she continued. "You are aware that a new leader needs to show their power, and stamp their authority." She locked eyes with him and laughed. "I can have trivialities like this undermining my reign." She waited another few seconds before continuing, "consider this your dishonourable discharge."
He quickly made his way out of the room, as he left; he stuck his head around the door. "I don't forget you know. When I look away." By the time she had realised what he had intended, he was already out of the other end of the corridor.
She slammed her fist against the table in anger, as two Silents emerged from the shadows at the back of the study. "He knows, how can he know" a hint of sadness and innocence was detectable in her voice, but this was quickly diminished and filled with hatred. "Begin the attack on this wretched planet. We don't need them alive to control time, we just need this planet. Kill every last one of them."
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 6/13
Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey
The Tactician ran as hard as his legs would let him. He knew full well that he had forced Madame Kovarian's hand, but for the information he had received, it was worth it. The attacks would have come at some point, so it didn't really matter when.
He reached for his communicator and dialled the number of the Military Academy. The person on the other end had barley picked up before he began shouting orders, "This is the Tactician, I need you to put on transmission mode, I need everyone to hear this." After the person on the other end had obliged, and between breaths he continued. "Red Alert, there is a direct threat to the citadel, we are under attack."
He gave them a moment to take in the urgency of the situation; however he was bombarded with an array of questions. After calming everyone down he explain what the creatures were and what they could do. He then asked to talk to the General-in-Chief. "You are going to need the Dihydroxybetaserotonin". He got the answer he was expecting from the general, a complete lack of knowledge. "You don't know what it is? It's the chemical from my Sladen Trial". His suggestion was met with disdain. "Look I know it hasn't been fully tested, but these are exceptional circumstances. If you don't take it your dead." Again the general was adamant that it wasn't worth the risk. The Tactician pleaded with him further, "Please, if you don't take the memory exasperation drug, you don't stand a chance. How can you fight something you don't remember?"
Eventually, the General-in-Chief agreed to the Tactician's suggestion, but only under the proviso that when it went pear shaped, it would be entirely on the Tactician's head. "Thank you sir, trust me it won't come to that. I'll be right with you; I just have to sort out something in my chambers first."
The Tactician's Chambers, Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
Rassilon, the Master and The Doctor sat in silence as the Tactician burst into the room. He was short of breath and was visibly sweating; he had a sense of urgency about his demeanour. He had assumed leadership of the group of four, which none of them had any objections too, partly down to his abilities, but mostly due to the fact that he was the only one who didn't despise the guts of another. They waited for him to tell them what to do next.
"From what I can glean, she has a weapon, it must be biological, it has to be. There's no other way which it could be a specific to Daleks as she claims." He pulled at his hair as he tried to think of an answer. "What separates Daleks from everything else? Come on, you know this, think!" He was talking to himself as much as he was talking to them. As a child he had been an avid reader and enjoyed anything scientific, he had taken a specific interest in the Daleks, so he did know the answer to his own riddle. "Of course that's it!" He clicked his fingers and walked over to the bookshelf and open a well-worn book with a Dalek on the front cover. "It's in the DNA, the weapon must be a nitrogenous base targeted of some sort. Here it is," he put the book on the table and pointed at the page. "Daleks are the only species known to exist with Kaledium as a constituent of their DNA. So there you have it, that's how she's doing it, and that's how well will beat her."
They looked at him blankly and asked him to elaborate. He began to tell them his plan. "The best way to do this is to split, the Doctor and the Master will find the weapon, shouldn't be too hard, it has to be within the Constellation of Kastaborus, most likely one of the central planets, Trenzalore is as good a place to start as any." He handed them a perception filter, and a communicator. "We will keep an open comms channel, and Rassilon and I will carry a teleporter to come to you when we have done our bit. Make sure you keep the perception filters on, clear?"
The Master and the Doctor answered in unison. The Doctor continued to speak, "What's your role this then?” he sounded sceptical, like he didn't trust him.
The Tactician smiled at him, "We have the hard part, we're going to capture one if the creatures, and take it to the labs of the science academy where we can do DNA analysis on it. Hopefully we can locate a unique nitrogenous base so you can use the weapon to wipe out the Silence. Without them, Kovarian is powerless." The other three men in the room nodded in approval. "We will also help out where we can with defence of the citadel."
As they prepared to leave, he offered some last words of encouragement. "Good luck gentlemen. It will be a good day if I ever see your ugly faces again."
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 7/13
The Tactician's TARDIS, upper stratosphere, Trenzalore.
The Master watched as the Doctor frantically pressed buttons on the console and watched for results on the monitor. The interior of this TARDIS was slightly different to any other they had ever seen, it was darker for a start, mostly made up of black. The time column was not in the centre either, it was towards the back of the control room, which was lit by the fluorescent line green hue which was produced by the column and the underfloor lighting. It was obviously some sort of modified battle TARDIS specifically design to help aid the duties of a general.
The Master began to talk, "What happened to you Doctor? The man I know would never have a vendetta like this against someone. Did she really hurt you that bad?" His tone appeared genuine and empathetic.
However the Doctor wasn't convinced, he was always naturally suspicious when it came to his biggest enemy. "She hurt me, and my friends, in the hope I wouldn't come here. So I had to, otherwise it would have been an insult to their memories." He gave a gentle sob as he recalled the horrors Kovarian had inflicted upon him.
The Master continued to offer him sympathy, "I'm sorry to hear that, but don't worry we will make her pay. No one hurts my Doctor, except me" he laughed at his own joke before continuing "Even I am not in that business anymore. What you did in the Naismith Mansion, I can't thank you enough for. But we are on the same side now."
The Doctor laughed and shook his head, "You really think it's that easy? What you have done can't be undone. You're lucky we have a common enemy in Kovarian, otherwise we wouldn't be in this situation."
The Master looked hurt, he felt it too. "I've had time to think, I know what I did was wrong, but you were hardly an angel yourself. I have forgiven you." He sighed, relieved to have finally gotten it off his chest. He was almost in tears now as he continued "You offered me forgiveness once before, I hope you can find it in your hearts to extend that gratitude once more"
The Doctor never got a chance to respond, as he was alerted by a bleep on the screen, telling him the weapon had been found. He set the co-ordinates on the TARDIS screen and pulled the lever to land it. It let out a winding rasp but remained stationary. "We have a problem."
Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
"And so it came to pass that the future of Gallifrey rested on the shoulders of four of it's sons".
The Tactician stopped in his tracks and glared at Rassilon. "What was that, you really are obsessed with paraphrasing aren't you" it was meant in good humour to try to bring some light to this very bleak scenario.
Before Rassilon could reply, he found the Tactician's hand over his mouth. He followed the Tactician's finger to see a Silent standing in front of them with its back turned. He watched as the Tactician crept up slowly behind it, he was crouched and holding a knife in his right hand. In one smooth move he placed one hand on the Silent's head and used the knife to jab upwards into its chest. Death would have been instant.
The Tactician had killed that many beings that it no longer fazed him, it was just an end to life, it was natural and it wasn't of great importance when it occurred. The more pressing issue at the moment was making it to the laboratory undiscovered. He collected a vial of blood from the Silent and gestured for Rassilon to follow him.
Science Academy Laboratory, Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
Having made their way to the lab unseen, with battles waging all around them, then had got the DNA sample from the Silent into the machine. The Tactician had figured his plan to enable the Time Lords to remember the Silence was working; otherwise it wouldn't even have been a fight. He still had a worry at the back of his mind that there may be some unwanted side effects, but the evidence that has been unveiled in the trial stages suggested that any such side effects would be severely underpinned by the fact that the Time Lords had survived, provided they were good enough to defeat the enemy. That is the tactical dedication he had to make, and one he would have to stand by regardless of the outcome.
"You didn't think we needed a living specimen Rassilon, tell me you were joking". After the Tactician had killed the creature Rassilon had suggested that it might have been easier for one of them to carry the body while the other covered him. His cheeks had reddened when the Tactician had informed him that a few drops of blood were sufficient for a DNA analysis. Rassilon was a good soldier and an even better leader; his very presence inspired confidence in those around and brought out the best in them. It wasn't a huge flaw that he was not up to date with the latest scientific advances of his people; it wasn't really part of his job description, not as if he had that job anymore, anyway. He hadn't been himself since then, he had been subdued, less than his usual, weak and helpless, not feeling he was used to experiencing.
A bleep from the machine and the noise of an active printer, told them that the results were ready. The Tactician picked up the print out and examined it closely. He sighed, and a look of realisation appeared across his face "We have a problem"
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 8/13
Communications Channel between The Tactician and The Doctor
The Doctor: We have found the weapon, but we have an issue, there appears to be some sort of field around it. It's preventing your TARDIS from landing anywhere near it.
The Tactician: Let me think for a moment...Can you get directly above it?
The Doctor: Yes! We are currently four thousand metres above it and to the north; we can move to directly above it, should we?
The Tactician: No stay exactly where you are, that's perfect. How familiar are you with Orbital Drop Suits?
The Doctor: With what?
The Master: I'm familiar with them, I've used them once before. But that was just for fun and was a while ago.
The Tactician: Are you confident enough to get both of you kitted up and safely to the ground? Once you are down there, you should be able to bring both my and the Doctor's TARDISes in by locking them onto your signal from inside the field.
The Doctor: You're not seriously suggesting that we jump to the weapon are you?
The Tactician: I am indeed Doctor, however it may not be necessary, I have the DNA profile for the Silence. We may need a change of plan.
The Doctor: Why's that?
The Tactician: The results show that the Silence have seven nitrogenous bases, all of which are homologous with seven of the fourteen which make up Time Lord DNA... This means that…
Rassilon: We can't kill their species without killing our own.
A few moments silence occurs
The Tactician: Doctor, you followed her here, do you know anything of her final motives? Does she stop at Gallifrey, or does she intend to go further.
The Doctor: She told me, "Whoever controls Gallifrey controls the universe", I think her intentions are clear. She means to have total control over the universe.
The Tactician: In that case, I would suggest we go for it anyway. Realistically the Time Lords are done for anyway, we don't stand a chance. I propose we take a vote between us.
Rassilon: I'm abstaining, I have worked too hard for this planet, I have given it too much. I'll not have my name go down in history with its fall.
The Master: I'm fine with killing the Time Lords; they deserve it for what they did to me. They made me insane.
The Doctor: As long as Madame Kovarian suffers, it's fine by me.
The Tactician: I think since I'm the only one without an ulterior motive here, it's my call to make, I don't mind my name going with this. So consider the decision made, we do this.
The Doctor: There's not much point in you coming to us, we both want to do it, so let us. Put the relevant data to my TARDIS and do your best to distract the Silence. Actually scrap that idea, do your best to get yourselves and as many of the younger Time Lords out of range, this doesn't have to be the last day of our species.
The Tactician: The information is already sent. Thank you Doctor. Keep the communications channel open, and make sure you keep wearing your perception filters. Remember they won't see you unless they're specifically looking for, so keep a low profile. Good Luck. Over and out.
The Doctor: And to you.
The Tactician's TARDIS, High Stratosphere, Trenzalore
"Are you nearly finished Doctor, or do you need a hand dressing yourself?" The Master had gotten his Orbital Drop Suit on before the Doctor, and was now waiting impatiently. He was nervous, but didn't want to show it, heights had always been an issue for him, so the sooner they got this jump over them, the better.
"One more moment" the call came from the wardrobe accompanied by the sound of someone falling. True to his word, a moment later the Doctor appeared wearing the Orbital Drop Suit. "Please don't laugh". It was a thin one piece item similar to what on earth would be known as a Morph Suit. However it had pieces of material between the two legs and between the arms, the idea being to allow for a safe flight in which the user could glide. In keeping with the Gallifreyan tradition, it was crimson.
"Are you ready Doctor? You know the drill, rapid drop followed by a gentle glide right to the weapon. Simple. I've done it before." He tried his best to mask his fear.
The Doctor laughed, "I'm in good hands then? How'd that go?"
The Master winked at him, "Not good it ended in regeneration." Both men were now aware of the others fear, and took comfort in that fact.
"Just what I wanted to hear" the Doctor opened the door. "Shall we?" he smiled again "You first", the look on the Master's face caused him to quickly change. "Together?" They stood at the door of the TARDIS, "Three. Two. One. GERONIMO!"
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 9/13
Upper Stratosphere, Trenzalore
A surge of adrenaline filled the Doctor, the cold air was blasting against his face and his two hearts were thumping in his chest. This was the most alive he had felt since before all this began, he knew it would be short lived, but decided to enjoy it whilst it lasted.
A shout from above from the Master told him to spread his arms and legs, to commence the gliding process. Whether it was the adrenaline in his body or a conscientious choice, the Doctor continued to free fall. Another worried cry come from the Master, "Get horizontal and spread your legs, you've dropped too far already."
This time the Doctor willingly obliged, fanning out his arms and legs to allow the suit to take effect. The abrupt haltering of momentum reminded the Doctor of a mistimed dive where one hit the surface of water with ones stomach instead of the graceful manner usually attributed to divers. He shouted to the Master who was gliding fifty metres above him, "You'd like that wouldn't you."
It took the Master a moment to catch on to what the Doctor meant, "Oh you naughty naughty boy, I didn't mean it that." He quickly surveyed the landscape in front of him. "We will be there in a moment, to land you need to get vertical to stop your forward motion" after realising what he had said he added, "Don't you start, most people fall coming out of this, let's see how the mighty Doctor fares."
Intergalactic Shipyard, Just Outside of The Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey
With a cohort of between five hundred and a thousand young Time Lords from the academy, the Tactician and Rassilon had made it to the shipyard. On its day, no shipyard in the universe could have beaten this one; the sight of the majestic Gallifreyan cruisers leaving was breathtakingly beautiful. Now the usually super-efficient shipyard floor was abandoned, where there usually stood workers, each playing their part as little cigs helping to drive the machine, was smouldering debris. The entire citadel had taken major structural damage from the Silence. They had only made it here relatively safe by waiting for a lull in the fighting, even at that, the Tactician had to kill at least a dozen of them.
Now they were on a large cargo ship, with all the young safely on the ship. The Tactician and Rassilon stood at the back, near the loading area which was still open. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can Mike. The ship is one of the fastest cargo ships in the universe; it shouldn't take long to clear Kastaborus." He noticed the Tactician was staring blankly into the distance. "Something wrong Mike?"
The Tactician was doing what he always did, scanning everything, assessing everything, anything that could go wrong he tried to think of. He usually got them all, that's why he was such a good general, spotting the weaknesses in a plan, and turning them into strengths. "You aren't going to make it out of orbit, not with the ant-air weaponry of the citadel still functional, if the Silence get those, with a target this big, you're a sitting duck."
"You're saying you, not we, what are you planning?" Rassilon stood motionless as the Tactician jumped out of the ship into the bay below. "Mike, don't do this, I won't leave without you."
"I'm not going on a ship where it's certain to get blown up; I happily sacrifice myself so our race can survive". His tone betrayed him, he was scared, but wanted to appear strong, and that’s how he wanted Rassilon to remember him. "Go on without me"
Rassilon was crying "I don't want to leave you, you're the closest thing I have to a son. Let me take your place please"
It unsettled the Tactician to see Rassilon act like this; normally he was always calm cool and collected, so an outpouring of emotion came as a surprise. It pleased him to realise how much he meant to him. While holding back tears, he replied, "I'm sorry I can't let you do that, this new Time Lord Society, it needs a leader. I'm no leader Rassilon, whereas you are the greatest of them all. Think of it as your fresh start, you've always wanted a Gallifrey free of corruption. Do that, do that for me."
The tears in Rassilon's eyes prevented him from seeing the Tactician withdraw his sonic screwdriver and aim it at the shudder of the hull of the ship. As the shudder obscured his vision totally he muttered his last words to the Tactician. "Thank you Mike, good luck, I will never forget you"
The Tactician sprinted as fast as he could to get clear of the thrusters of the cargo ship. He had no time to take a moment to gather himself, if he didn't act quickly, the ship would never clear orbit.
The Weapon, Mountain Clearing, Trenzalore
Having made a safe landing, the Doctor and the Master had made quick survey of the landscape, it appeared that there was only one easy way in, through the mountain path, on the remaining three sides were large cliff. A perfect place for hiding something you didn't want found, but also easy to protect.
The Doctor had set about getting the TARDISes to appear; they needed them to get the nitrogenous base sequence to programme the weapon. The Master had gone down the path a few hundred metres, down a steep incline; he has found two ridges, the perfect place to defend should it come to that. By the time he had returned, the Doctor had succeeded in landing both TARDISes and had disabled the field that had prevented them from landing in the first place.
"We just need to programme the weapon, then we can fire" the Doctor barely looked up from his work whilst talking "Can you take over for a moment, I think I know someone who can help us, if it comes down to a fight, I'll be back instantly". He stepped into his TARDIS as it disappeared.
A message appeared on the screen of the weapon: 'Recent firing means that the weapon has to cool before firing again the progress bar read at seventy percent'. The Doctor's TARDIS reappeared in the same spot it left.
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 10/13
Mountain Clearing, Trenzalore
The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS; he was followed by nine Cybermen. "These guys can help us Master, I helped them a while back, so they owe me a favour, time to repay their debt."
The Master poked his head around the weapon and mouthed Cybermen at the Doctor. The reputation of the species preceded them so the Doctor felt he had to justify why he had brought them here. "They're not fully Cybermen, something went wrong in the conversion process and they maintained their humanity, their emotions and their freedom of thought." He was unfazed by the fact; the Master however felt an emotional pain for these poor souls and what they had to endure. "I took them to a planet called Prometa Seven; they've lived there for a few hundred years now. They're ready to help us."
"Ok that's fine, there's two ridges down the path a bit, perfect to defend us, send them there." After allowing time for the Cybermen to leave the clearing and assume their posts, the Master went into the Tactician's TARDIS to get his hoodie and the Doctor's coat. He subtly removed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver from the coat pocket before throwing the coat to the Doctor; it was starting to get cold, a combination of the altitude and nightfall. "Weapon's almost ready Doctor, we should be able to fire soon, it's been fired recently and needs to cool down, it looks like Kovarian has already killed the Daleks. I've inputted the DNA coding, but it seems to have wiped itself, can you get the data from your TARDIS again please."
As the Doctor walked into his TARDIS, the Master cast a glance at the display screen of the weapon, it read 'DNA sample accepted, cooling at ninety percent. He pressed a button on the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, causing the doors of the TARDIS to snap shut. Inside the Doctor run over to the door and tried his hardest to open it, but to no avail. "Master, stop this now, let me out please"
"I'm sorry Doctor, but that can't happen. It's not your time to die, you have so much ahead of you, I won't have you here when the weapon goes off, I won't kill you. Only one of us needs to be here, we don't both have to die"
"Let it be me then, you go, revenge on Kovarian means too much to me. Please don't deny me that that. What she did cannot go unpunished" the anger in his voice was evident and the noise of his thumping against the door could be heard from outside.
"Oh but Doctor, she will be punished, she will fall. But I have to do this, I'm so hungry and I can't go on, I don't want to go on" he was tearing up as he spoke "The Time Lords did this to me, I need this revenge as much as you do, the difference is that I have nothing else to live for. You do, go live." He laughed.
The Doctor tried a new approach, his lust for revenge being the only thing he cared for. "You said we were on the same side, we were always friends remember, we played together as children. You said you'd always look out for me and that I'd always look out for you. Yes it's gone horribly wrong, but that doesn't matter anymore, it doesn't. I forgive you! Do you hear me, I forgive you everything."
The Master erupted into a huge smile "Thank you Doctor, thank you so much, I'm always looking out for you". He pressed the sonic screwdriver again, the Doctor inside the TARDIS ran to the console as the levers flicked down and the central column began to reciprocate up and down.
The TARDIS dematerialised from the clearing, with the lock preventing the Doctor from returning to this time zone in place. The Master stood alone in the clearing with the weapon.
Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey
The Tactician breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the cargo ship break out of the Gallifreyan atmosphere and shifting into warp speed. His joy at the survival of his species was short lived as he realised the peril of the situation he now found himself in. There was no longer a way out.
A large group of Silence were heading his way; a quick head count told him that there were at least fifty. There were no Time Lords in sight, only the dead bodies of those poor souls who had died trying to defend the Citadel, those who had been slaughtered when the Silence had come from within the senate itself. Now it was his turn, he was still thinking of what to do, while he was surrounded by the Silence who formed a circle around him.
A break in the circle formed and Madame Kovarian strode purposefully through. "Well well, look what we have here, Mr. Miller, looks like your stand against me went well". He stood in silence, a sign of defiance against her. "Not in the mood for talking, are we? Looks like your precious Gallifrey has fallen, sorry. No I'm not really am I. Gallifrey first, the rest of the universe next. Now I'll ask you one last time before I kill you, where is the Master?" The Tactician continued to give her the silent treatment, only this time he began to laugh. "Why are you laughing, do you find this funny?" She was angry now, laughter was an attack on her ego, and that could not go unpunished. "Empty your pockets and put your hands on your head, any last words?"
"Do you want to know what's funny? I'll tell you. Right now the Master is moments away from bringing about your demise." He placed his hands in his pocket and found something he wasn't expecting, the teleport, his way out, he could get to the Doctor and the Master. "It's ironic, the Silence are going to die by your own weapon." He laughed again "See the funny side now?"
"What?" The look on her face was priceless. "That's impossible, that weapon is of no use to you, you can't kill us without killing the Time Lords too. You won't do it." A hint of panic was detectable in her voice, and it was obvious that she was relay the information to the creatures closest to the weapon.
The Tactician laughed again "I hardly have to worry about now do I, you've beaten me to it" he placed his hand on the button of the teleport. “It appears I am going to have to cut over little conversation short, see you in hell". He disappeared leaving Kovarian alone in the middle of the circle of Silence.
"No!" She screamed and stomped in a fit of rage. "Stop them; make sure that weapon is never fired.
Mountain Clearing, Trenzalore
The Master was sitting on one of the rocks as the Tactician appeared in from of him. "She knows, she's sending an army here right now"
"We will have firing capability in a few moments" he seemed distant "You should leave, we both don't need to die, only one of us needs to be here to fire the weapon"
"Where's the Doctor, his TARDIS is gone too"
"I sent him away, and you’re going too"
"You still need me; the Silence will be on top of you any moment. Besides I am not partaking in any plot to wipe out the Time Lords and walking away from it. I hadn't lost a man in my entire time as a general, only fitting that I should fall with them all."
"Ok then, we have two ridges, the closest to us is being held by some Cybermen which aren't Cybermen that owed the Doctor a debt, so do you think you could hold the further one? Every second you hold them off is a second towards saving the universe."
"I'll take my TARDIS with my and do my best to hold it, I have lots of weapons there and I'm going to need all the ammunition I can find." He walked towards his TARDIS. "This is goodbye; we won't see each other again."
The onslaught was relentless, the Silence came at him in their thousands, he was thankful that he had the high ground; it offered him both a vantage point and protection. His TARDIS offered him all the weaponry he could have needed, but he was fighting a losing battle, the sheer numbers of Silence making their way up the mountain path meant it was a case of how long he could hold them off, rather than if he could stand firm. As the Master had said, every second he was able to hold them off, was a second closer to saving the universe. He also had the luxury of knowing that everything didn't rest on him, as in the next ridge, nine human Cybermen lay in wait for the oncoming Silence.
The Tactician was holding his own well, until a Silent fired a shot of electrical energy into the rocks high above him. The resulting landslide pelted his position with rocks. One of the rocks struck in him the head causing him to become disorientated.
What happened next was a bit of a haze, he noticed the swarm of Silence surround him as if he were their prey. The swarm then parted as one Silent walked through, he was talking saying something about having met before. The creature went on to say something about a risk and how nothing in the build-up to the plan should be tampered. The last thing the Tactician remembered vividly was a three fingered hand; surely his mind was playing tricks on him as he knew the creatures were meant to have four fingers. He recalled being lifted and the words "The timeline must be preserved, the boy lives".
The three fingered Silent placed him in his TARDIS, which disappeared from the clearing. The hordes of Silence advanced towards the next ridge.
The Human Cybermen were barely a match for the Silence, their assault was only sufficient to kill a handful of the oncoming Silence, before they themselves were destroyed by the electrical attacks from the Silence. They should have seen it coming, electricity and Cyber circuitry didn't go hand in hand.
In his TARDIS far away, the Doctor watched events unfolding on the monitor. He was no longer angry, he had calmed down and had come to realise that his lust for vengeance was not worth his life, the Master had been right. If he wanted to he could go back and help him, then they could both escape together. He pondered the idea for a moment, before deciding that it wasn't worth it. For many years the burden of the death of his species had rested solely on his shoulders, and now that burden has been lifted, let someone else take it. He closed the monitor and pulled the lever on his TARDIS.
Mountain Clearing, Trenzalore
With only sixty seconds to go until detonation, the Silence poured into the clearing though the narrow gap in the path. They were led by Madame Kovarian. "The Master, we finally meet, step away from the weapon before you do anything stupid".
Knowing that the weapon had been armed and it's firing was imminent, the Master dropped his pretending act at the screen and walked towards her with his hands held sarcastically in front of him mimicking a prisoner.
"Good, big mistake, now nothing stands in my way" she began to laugh hysterically. A voice from the weapon alerted them that only thirty seconds remained until detonation. "Stop him, destroy that weapon now.”
As the Silence began their electrical attack, the Master summoned all the strength he could muster and fire a beam of energy at them. A forceful clash between the two beams of energy resulted in everyone being blown off their feet. The Master was first to stand again, but was physically drained, he had used every ounce of energy he possessed. He tried to smile at Kovarian, but couldn't muster the strength; he was just about able to say "Hard Luck" before he collapsed in a heap on the floor.
The voice on the weapon spoke again; Five Four Three Two One
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 12/13
Mountain Clearing, Trenzalore, Seven days later.
Madame Kovarian was alone, she was weak, she was thirsty and she was near death. Her clothes were ripped and loose with the weight she had lost over the past week. She had tried moving, but found she could not, for she had broken her right leg in the final confrontation with the Master. She lay upon her empire of dust and ashes, each day in agony, begging for the fate that would surely befall her, yet so cruelly evaded her. A wind stirred in the clearing, enough to knock her eye patch, which barely fitted her new thinner facial features, from her face. The Tactician's TARDIS had appeared from the clearing, he emerged from the ship with a confused look on his face.
"How did you survive? No one could have survived that weapon" she dropped the tough woman façade and this time spoke like a mother talking tenderly to her new-born child. "Please help me; I don't want to die like this." A tremor was noticeable in her voice.
The Tactician was angry, his confusion was eased slightly at the sight of the weapon and he was roughly able to piece together a timeline of what happened. "Tell me am I the last of my kind?" Beneath the anger, a strong sense of fear was detectable.
"We are both the last of our kind, that is why you should me mercy, there has been enough death today, please don't make it another"
"Why should I show you mercy? You are the one who caused the deaths, what make you deserving of life?" Before she could answer his rhetoric he continued. "Rassilon, rest his soul, taught me that a true leader will always favour mercy over justice, but I am no leader."
"Please" she was now begging "the creatures, they made me do it, they controlled me through the eye patch you have got to believe me, please"
"I don't, but I think it's only right to offer you mercy. Justice would be to leave you here to rot to your death." He removed his weapon from its holster. "Consider this your dishonourable discharge"
Citadel of the Time Lords, Gallifrey.
A gentle snow fall had started to blanket the ruins of the greatest civilisation in the universe. Great buildings lay as rubble as their smoke trailed through the red air. There wasn't an air; it was incredibly peaceful, until the Tactician's TARDIS appeared. A deep sadness overcome him to see his home lie in ruins. But he had come here for a reason, and he would not let sentiment get in the way of that mission.
After checking for survivors, he headed to the Science Laboratories, his intention to use the latest piece of technology designed for the Time War, to ensure that none of Gallifrey's powers fell into the wrong hands. The consuming fog they called it, it could be dropped from orbit onto a planet where it would cause a planet wide fog that consumed any living creature to enter. What's worse is that its effect had duration of at least one thousand years. It had been deemed too extreme by even Time Lord standards, so the Tactician found it ironic that the only planet they only consuming fog device was used on was their own.
As he returned to his TARDIS, he struck his foot off a book, so he picked it up and blew the snow from its surface with a heavy breath. What it revealed underneath was a blue and green planet, it was called Earth. He stuck the book under his arm and headed for his TARDIS.
Unmarked Satellite, Edge of Earth's Atmosphere
The planet looked even more beautiful than the book had depicted. He had taken base here to give himself a chance to assess the planet to see if it had suited him. After a week of observation he had concluded that these Homo Sapiens were one of the most complicated species he had ever watched.
He had seen so much good, yes there was bad, wars, corruption, death and injustices. Horrible yes, but still a fundamental aspect of any civilised society on any civilised planet. What he liked about humans was the kindness present, the charity, the desire to help each other, the life and all those little things that filled it. Something he yearned for, something he needed. By far, his favourite aspect of this species was their abilities to entertain themselves, with their televisions, their internet, their cars and their stock markets.
The latter offered him his way in, the way to get life he longed for, free of the worry of people rejecting him upon knowing who he was. The fall of RadiCorp had left the planet financially crippled. It was time for a hero to step in.
Presidential Press Conference, The White House, Washington DC, USA, Earth. . Immediately following the events of Dominion of the Daleks
The Tactician stood at the centre of the stage, a sea of flashes erupted before him, journalists desperate to get a shot of Earth's latest hero.
"I have called you here today under order of my friend, the President of the United States. He wants me to tell you what happened with the Daleks." He paused a moment to compose himself. "A pre-ordained plan was instigated and defensive procedures initiated, and now the threat does not persist. I am the Tactician; I am the defender of Earth."
As he turned to walk away, the barrage of questions from the assembled journalists fell on deaf ears. He was filled with a heart crushing sense of sadness and disappointment. It didn't take him long to figure out why. He turned on his heels and took the microphone again.
"You deserve more than just a genetic statement, you deserve the truth." A stunned silence filled the room. "Let's start with my name, it's not even the Tactician, it was going to be, but then things went horribly wrong, and my planet was lost. If you are referring to me in future, call me Mike Miller, it suits Earth more, plus it is my birth name." The sound of pens on notepads was all that could be heard as he composed before continuing further.
"We got lucky simple as that, someone fired a biological weapon at Earth set to wipe out Daleks, I fear this same individual played a part in the invasion in the first place." A panicked atmosphere overcome the crowd. "But fear not, the weapon involved was the same used to destroy my home planet, leaving only one survivor, you're looking at him now. So I can offer you my absolute assurance that the woman who did this is now dead and her weapon is destroyed."
He allowed a moment for the news to sink in, while doing so, he turned his head to the side where he made eye contact with the President who was standing backstage. He continued, speaking to the crowd. "Barak, I'm sorry, I know this isn't what you wanted me to say today. But back home, I made a promise to a man, that man was the closest thing I had to any family having lost my own at a very young age. He was like a father to me, and I swore to him that I would never get involved in politics, never bow to corruption, and never strive for anything other than justice."
He removed a tissue from his pocket and wiped his eyes, he really didn't want to cry, not here, not in front of everybody. "It's time for me to make another promise though, this time to the people of Earth. That promise is this; I will defend this planet until my last breath. I have already lost one home, I'm not losing another."
A cheer erupted around the room, as everyone applauded him. A message on his phone told him of an important signal that had been received, originating from Mars. "I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave now, some urgent business has just arisen which requires my attention.
He walked off the stage to the side where he was met by the President; he stared at the ground, ashamed to look at the man who had taken him in, the man whose trust he had betrayed. All he could muster was a faint, "I'm sorry"
"Are you joking Mike", the President put a comforting hand on his shoulder "that couldn't have gone any better. They absolutely love you and I'm sure everyone else will too.
Mike's face erupted into a huge smile.
The Fall of Gallifrey - Episode 13/13 - Series Finale
Cristae Termina, System of Laryngeo, Constellation of Deltoidies.
Rassilon looked over his new society of Time Lords; he reflected how it was only their DNA which made them Time Lord. They were so far from home, so far from what defined their species. Perhaps one day they would be able to return home. But for now, the word Time Lord was nothing more than a title to call one’s self.
It filled him with pride to see the daily lives of his new subjects, and even greater pride when he thought about those who had sacrificed themselves so that they could live. The Master, redeeming himself at the end of a long and troublesome life. The Doctor, living up to the name he had chosen, and Mike Miller, the noblest of the lot, the one with a chance to escape, but didn't so as he could be sure that they could be here today. Rassilon had made sure this society of young Timelords had known how they came to be here, the memories of the three men would live long throughout Time Lord history.
Graveyard of Planes, Mars, Night
Martha Jones was beginning to freeze, she didn't have long left. She curled herself into a ball hugging her knees to maintain as much of her body warmth as she could. Just as she had given up all hope, she heard the sound of the TARDIS materialising behind her, and was aware of a figure standing behind her, the Doctor. She wasn't going to let him get off that easily, he made her wait in the cold, he almost let her die. She stood up, turned, and slapped him across the face.
"What was that for?" He sounded hurt, probably more due to the fact that he had been taken off guard rather than the pain of the slap.
"That's for leaving me.” She stopped abruptly as she realised the man standing in front of her was not the Doctor, she recognised the face, but couldn't place it. "I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else. I thought you were the Doctor."
"It's quite all right; I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that." He smiled at her and offered his hand. "I'm Mike Miller, nice to meet you."
She immediately placed the face upon hearing the name. "It's you, you were in the museum. How did you find me?"
"I intercepted a call from here to a phone somewhere in Bermuda. You were trying to call the Doctor? I don't think he is coming, I know where he went, I'll fill you in when we get out of the cold. But I don't know where he went after." He paused for a moment, "So Martha Jones, all of space and time, where do you want to go?"
"Surprise me" she teased as they both stepped into Mike's TARDIS, which was currently taking the shape of a small two person plane.
Comet Stop Bar, Ockham’s Comet
It was a small grubby sort of place, dark and smoke filled, the kind of place where criminals gather as a safe haven to brag about their exploits. The bar man, a black human with dreadlocked hair and a small beard enjoyed engaging in conversation with the visitors. It was still early in the day, so there was only one other in the bar, a man sitting on one of the bar stools, he had his coat folded upon his lap and wore what used to be a bow tie, but was now untied. He had his head in his hands on the table so all that could be seen was his impressive mop of hair styled into a quiff at the front. "What can I do you for man, may I recommend our Trevor's Treat, and it’s a Sea Devils egg special, perhaps topped with some Cak of Rakweed."
The man did not reply and all that could be heard was the sound of gentle music.
Do not worry, about a thing, Cause every little thing, is going to be alright
"It's an Earth song that is. Lovely planet, really beautiful. Have you ever been? I've only ever heard stories."
Without looking up the man replied "It is, I've been there a lot."
"You seem troubled? You can tell me why, I'm good with secrets. No use working in a place like this of you can't keep a secret, eh" the man still sat motionless. "Tell me, it can only help you to talk about."
The man looked up and it could be seen for the first time just how distressed he was. The whites of his eyes were a pinkish colour, and the surrounding skin was reddened from where he had obviously been crying. "It's a long story, I can't tell it all. It's just I've lost everything I am, something that's defined who I was for the last few hundred years, gone, taken from me."
"Taken from you? By whom?"
"That's the thing with time travel; anyone can go back in time and take away something that defines you. What was taken away from me was fundamental to everything I do. What was taken was the worst thing I ever done, I should be happy, but instead I just feel pointless" he used his bow tie to wipe the tears from his eyes "A couple of people all played their parts, but it was mainly the Tactician and his plan which changed everything."
"This Tactician guy, you should find him, make him pay for what he did to you."
"He's dead". The glasses on the bar jumped into the air as the man forcefully slammed his fist off the bench. "He survived. Of course he did, Mike Miller, he was in the museum in Bermuda. How did I not notice another Timelord" he stood and placed the remains of his bow on the bar bench, put his coat on and walked towards the door. "Thank you"
"Wait a moment, did you say Timelord, I didn't catch your name." He paused for a moment recalling a name which had been spoken of by his regulars. "You wouldn't happen to be the Doctor, would you?"
With one hand on the door the man turned and smiled at him. "Not anymore. I'm the Valeyard, and I shall have my revenge."