The Trials of a Time Lord
Featuring the 8th Doctor and Jamie
"Look out!" the Doctor screamed as he pushed Jamie down to the floor of the TARDIS, dodging a laser blast.
"YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED. YOU ARE THE ENEMY OF THE DALEKS. EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" The words filled the cloister room of the TARDIS as the Doctor slowly arose.
"What do we do now, Doctor?" asked Jamie, rubbing the pain out of his right arm
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be in the control room, the Daleks seem to have cordoned off that part of the ship" the Doctor said, half thinking to himself.
"EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" Immediately the Doctor and Jamie were reminded of the situation at hand.
"Right! Run!" the Doctor yelled, pulling Jamie with him down the hall into the dressing room.
"Damn!" yelled the frustrated Doctor.
Jamie locked the door then began pacing around the room, thinking of a plan.
"Now you say that they got in through the temporal flux thing, right?" Jamie asked.
"Yes. The temporal flux capacitor" the Doctor answered, sitting Indian style with his face resting in his palms.
"They can't fly the TARDIS, right?" Jamie continued.
"Not yet, anyway. The Daleks have incredible adaptive skills. The access codes will only hold them for a little while"
"How long?"
"About 2 hours I should say." The Doctor said, pondering his options.
"Well that should give us enough time to…"
-"To do what?" the Doctor angrily interrupted. "It's no use. If the EMP field couldn't stop them, nothing will." The Doctor looked grim as he stood up, adjusting his cravat. "There is…one option…" he said low and with a severe look on his face.
"What's that?" Jamie said, ever the optimist.
"The Compression Generator"
"How do you mean, Doctor?" asked a bewildered Jamie.
"I can control the dimensions of the TARDIS from the Compression Generator. Perhaps I can depressurize the control rooms…"
"But that would mean-"
"I know, the TARDIS would be immobile" interrupted the Doctor. But right now it is our only chance at getting out of here alive." The Doctor's voice always carried with it a dignified urgency, and now was no different. He grabbed his sonic screwdriver and made for the door.
"I think he's gone" Jamie whispered. The Doctor nodded and opened the door.
The two ran down the hallway to a dark, poorly lit sector of the ship that held the engines and maintenance items for the TARDIS. Half the machines were either broken or had a note written by the Doctor on it explaining how to jury rig it to work.
"Oh dear, this is going to be a bit harder than I thought" said the Doctor, surveying the problem.
"Aye, and we better hurry before the Daleks find us" Jamie said as he stood guard of the Doctor, who bent under the engine device to begin his work.
Jamie McCrimmon is an interesting man. He traveled with the Doctor's second incarnation, only to have his memory wiped and returned to earth. Then the Doctor, still in his second incarnation, obtained permission from the Time Lords to bring him back, with his memories. Then they said their farewells as the Doctor regenerated and Jamie was sent back to earth. After Grace left the Doctor, now in his eighth incarnation, The Doctor adventured with Romana. After the Shada event, the Doctor was granted permission by the Time Lords to go back and pick one companion to accompany him on his adventures. After much thought, Jamie McCrimmon was called back to duty. Merely weeks after their reunion, the Doctor and Jamie were attacked by Daleks. That brings us up to date on our story.
"That should do it…" the Doctor said as he arose with a keyboard in his hand. "One push here….another there…" he said to himself.
CRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH
The TARDIS was closing in on itself and the Doctor knew he had little time to escape. His thoughts went to how Jamie would die also. One possibility that always crossed his mind was that one of his companions would die on a dangerous adventure. That occurrence was one he could never live with. For that reason, he had the Time Lords install a recall micro chip in Jamie that would immediately take him back to his time if anything happened to him. The Doctor now realized, as the walls began bending under their own weight and the sound of warped metal filled the room, that he needed to say goodbye to Jamie.
"Goodbye, Jamie" the Doctor said as he pulled out a small remote control.
"What do you mean, Doctor? You're not makin' any sense! We're gonna get through this-" Jamie didn't finish as the Doctor pressed the button and he disappeared into thin air.
The air in the TARDIS was thin, now that the ship was rapidly decompressing. The sounds of Daleks screaming in agony could be heard all over the ship and the Doctor stood, staring blankly, pondering death.
Death. He cheated it so many times that he took it for granted. Now the stark realization of the mortality of man struck him hard. His opinion of death was one of acceptance, and avoidance. He viewed death as a natural part of life, but never wanted to think deeper than that on it. Now it was here. Death was upon the Doctor and there was nothing he could do.