A/N: Hi! :) So this is going to be a collection of one-shots based around my OC/Time Lady, the Judge, of my Gallifreyan Sacraments series. In the main series, the Judge becomes a part of Torchwood, eventually ending up in Torchwood Three with Jack. This story will begin featuring the Judge's time in Yvonne's Torchwood before moving into how she ended up with Jack and will then be a revision of the Torchwood series with her present :) I would recommend reading the Gallifreyan Sacraments (Marriage Counceling) to understand more about the Judge, her personality, the incarnation she's in, and her relationship with the Doctor.
~8~ is a scene break
As this is another new spin-off and I will be updating 8 spinoffs (6 for my 4 DW stories, 1 Merlin story, and 1 Sherlock Story), this story, for the moment, will be updated around the 7/8th of every even month (February, April, June, August, October, December).
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Torchwood...or Captain Jack would have been back in at least one episode a series ;)
Enjoy!
~8~
Shot Down
A young woman with short, dark brown hair squinted as she came too, lying on the floor of a smoking WAR TARDIS. She winced, her face scrunching as she closed her eyes once more, letting out a breath as the last few moments came back to her.
She had been frantically flying the TARDIS, trying to get to Earth, to the Doctor…the RIGHT Doctor, the one that coincided with the one from her timeline. She'd overshot quite a bit and quite a few times, which was understandable, she hadn't often been in a TARDIS before, let alone a WAR version. She passed her exams, but that had really been about it. She hadn't a need for a TARDIS afterwards, hadn't felt a desire to leave the planet like her wayward husband had. And that was the entire reason she'd been forced off the planet in the end, wasn't it?
The Doctor had stolen the Moment, a device he planned to use on Gallifrey to stop the war. The High Council felt she would be the best person to turn to to see him stopped, if anyone could reason with him, it had to be his wife yes?
No.
She'd never been able to stop him doing things in the past, she had no idea why the Council thought she could now. She supposed it was the war in general, it was changing all of them, maybe it had changed him too. It certainly appeared that it had, she'd missed him, she'd missed him and he'd used the Moment and Gallifrey was gone. He'd fled after that, like he always did, and she'd needed to find him again, had tried to, followed him right to Earth but hadn't quite managed to find HER Doctor. She'd kept her TARDIS shielded, and it had affected the trackers and scans as a result, she'd overshot. She saw some floppy haired man in a bow-tie with a ginger woman in a police uniform running around, she'd seen another him with sticky-uppy hair and a long coat standing outside a factory with another ginger, seen that same bloke walking down a street towards a laboratory with a lovely black woman. She'd seen the same man twice more, once with the second ginger woman again, though she was in a wedding dress. It had been such an odd thing to see that she'd watched them closer, a little niggle of fear that HE was marrying that woman (which had been quickly relieved) and found that he'd met her by a supernova, just after losing another companion to a parallel world. Her scans had taken her to shortly before that version of her husband had lost a blonde girl, all of the scans telling her it was a fixed point. She'd gone farther back, trying to find HER husband, as near as she could to him, and had only just locked onto his sonic on earth, earlier than she'd found yet…blinking away next to an alien energy reading.
She had been running a scan, she remembered now, she'd been running a scan, letting her ship hover too close to the earth, and unshielded as she wanted to really find her proper husband. The scan had picked up the two energy points, had just identified the second as Nestene…when the entire ship had jostled and shaken and sparks had gone off, fires springing about and it started to plummet. She couldn't remember much after that, just being thrown about and darkness and…and pain, an orange light…
She sat up with a gasp, "No," she breathed, scrambling around to try and find something, anything reflective to check, and nearly screamed as she grabbed her arm, it was THROBBING in pain, not quite broken, she didn't think, if her suspicions that she'd regenerated were correct then her arm shouldn't be broken but if the damage done to her had been fatal enough her energy could have gone to fixing the more dangerous damage than a sore or sprained arm. She hissed, biting her tongue, and grabbed her arm with her other hand, holding it close as she shuffled on her knees…stopping only when she saw a piece of metal lying on the floor.
She let out a breath as she stared at the stranger looking back at her. She was younger now, her hair was a darker brown, shorter, just below her ears, and…blurry. She squinted, the image clearing slightly, making her realize she likely needed glasses, which was just…wonderful. She was on her 7th incarnation now.
"Brilliant," she sighed, shaking her head and turning to look around the ship. It was in shambles, utterly useless now.
What was she going to do now?!
The answer came in the form of a loud grinding noise behind her, causing her to jump back as sparks shot out of the wall, someone was cutting through. She looked around for something, anything, to help her but…it was truly pointless, her arm hurt, she was battered and bruised and might have a concussion from the throbbing in her head, and if whoever was cutting through saw her with a weapon it wouldn't do her any good.
Within mere moments the cutting stopped, a rectangle cut into the wall, falling forward to reveal five people standing on the other side, three men and two women, staring at her.
She cleared her throat, giving them a small nod, "Hello."
~8~
The Judge paused as she was led out of the broken TARDIS, looking around at the daylight around her, the green grass, the trees, the blue sky, the single sun, and took a deep breath, trying to get a sense of just when she was as she knew she was on Earth. March, early March, 2005 in Earth's reckoning if she was right and she suspected she was.
"This way," a voice beside her spoke, a gentle hand resting on her uninjured arm, leading her over towards a dark van just a few feet away from her ship.
"But…" she looked back at the TARDIS, frowning at the four other people standing around it, one of the men looking over at them and heading for them.
"It's fine," the woman who was beside her smiled, making her look over, eyeing her.
The woman was middle aged, it appeared, in human terms at least, brown hair held up in a bun, brown eyes, she was dressed in black trousers and a dark blue blouse with a black jacket over it, nodding her head towards the van.
"They'll collect your ship and bring it with us," the woman promised, the man that had been walking towards them continuing past them and towards the van, opening the back doors and rummaging for something inside.
"Bring it with us where?" she looked back at the woman, "Where are you taking me?"
"Just back to headquarters," the woman answered, "We just want to make sure you're ok. That was a rather nasty crash…"
"It wasn't a crash," she nearly glared at the woman, "I was shot down by you humans," she remembered that much, the alarms going off signaling an attack, "You nearly killed me and now you are taking me captive. Forgive me for not wanting to be complacent."
The woman winced at that, "Sorry, um…do you have a name?" she seemed embarrassed to ask that.
"Of course I have a name," she gave the woman an irritated look, who didn't have a name? "I am the Judge, of Gallifrey."
She nodded, "I'm Ellie Oswald," she offered, "Everyone calls me Ollie though," she nearly laughed at the Judge's confused expression, "It's a nickname, they wanted to call me Ozzy, but we have one, so Ollie it is."
"Why not call you by Ellie then?"
Ellie shrugged, "I don't ask, I'm the new one," she tugged the Judge slightly, getting her to move once more, "I just got promoted actually," she beamed at that, proud of herself, "Used to be a desk worker and now I'm a field operative! Oh my stars," she laughed at that, "I'm still not used to it," she glanced at the Judge, "You're actually my first assignment," she led her to the back of the van, taking the small first-aid kit that the man handed her when they reached it, nodding her thanks to him as he moved to head back to the other four to discuss what to do with the ship, how to keep it underwraps till a larger transport arrived to cover it.
"Wonderful," the Judge remarked dryly, "I've always wanted to be an assignment."
"Sorry," Ellie winced, "I just…I'm not used to talking to an alien," she opened the first-aid kit and looked at her, blinking as though just noticing something, "I um…don't suppose you need this?" she held up the kit, there wasn't a scratch on the Judge that she could see, "Or um…is…is our medicine ok? It…it wouldn't hurt you if we used it would it?"
The Judge blinked at that, "I don't require medical assistance," she stated, "I don't believe your medicine would be useful, though I doubt it would be harmful," she kept quiet about aspirin. The Doctor had mentioned that to her, that it was an earth medicine that could be fatal to them. She wasn't about to give away a weakness to the humans, she wasn't going to tell them something they might use to poison her later with.
"Right," Ellie smiled awkwardly, turning to put the kit back, glancing at her from the corner of her eye, "Are…is your arm ok though? You've been holding it for a while…"
"It…aches," was all she offered.
"You are just like my daughter," Ellie sighed, shaking her head in fondness, "She never wants to admit when she's hurt herself either. May I?" she hesitated to reach for her arm.
The Judge frowned but gave a small nod, allowing Ellie to try and move it.
"It might be sprained," Ellie mumbled, turning back to the first-aid kit, rummaging through it, before huffing, "And no long bandages. What kit doesn't have bandages?" she looked back at the Judge before pulling off her jacket, "Here…" she stepped closer, moving slowly so as not to spoke the woman, and used the main part of her jacket to cradle the Judge's arm, tying the sleeves securely behind the woman's neck to act as a makeshift sling, "There," she smiled, "I'm sorry it's so crude, but it should hold till we get back."
"Again," the Judge gave her a firm look, "Back where?" she shook her head, "You have already seized my ship, you've already gotten me in custody, the least you can tell me is where we are going."
Ellie nodded at that, "Torchwood."
~8~
The Judge stared ahead of her at Ellie during the drive to Torchwood, whatever that was. She and Ellie were in the back of the van, one of the other men driving, while the two other men and remaining woman stayed with the TARDIS. She hadn't wanted to leave it, not in the hands of the humans, but she was at a rather large disadvantage at the moment, injured, weaponless, captive, there was little she could really do. She'd…made something of a point in not learning about Earth or the laws of the humans during her time on Gallifrey, she couldn't be certain what laws and statutes she could use to stop what was happening, so she remained quiet.
And it seemed that was ALL she had to do for Ellie to start talking. She honestly wasn't sure if the woman knew how to be silent, which reminded her somewhat of the Doctor.
"…joined because it was interesting," Ellie was saying, talking about what her work had been before she'd been promoted, mostly just managing phone calls and schedules and supplies and logs, and had now moved on to what made her join the organization in the first place, "I mean, no one really knows about Torchwood but I'd heard little whispers when they started to build their office in Canary Wharf. And the more I dug the more I found out about them and the more I wanted to join their organization. I mean, protecting England from the alien horde? It sounded important," she laughed a little, clearing her throat when the Judge gave her an unimpressed look for the 'alien horde' remark, "Mostly it was because of my daughter, I just…I want to keep her safe and I thought that, maybe, being a part of Torchwood well, maybe she'd be proud of me for helping to keep the country safe," she shrugged, "Not that…not that you're a threat," she added quickly, "I mean, you seem very nice. And you don't look like an alien."
"And how did you expect an 'alien' to look?" the Judge finally spoke up, starting to get annoyed with all these assumptions this Torchwood place seemed to be making.
"Well, you know, like little green men from Mars."
The Judge blinked at that, "While the indigenous species of Mars are reptilian and typically green they are by no means little."
Ellie's eyes widened, "You mean there ARE actual Martians out there?!"
The Judge just let out a long breath at that through her nose but kept quiet.
"Anyway," Ellie seemed to sense that she'd be getting nothing else about the Martians and continued to talk, "I just wanted to make her proud, my daughter," she smiled lightly at that, "Do you have any children?"
The Judge swallowed hard at that, her hearts constricting painfully at the reminder of the children she had had, and what had happened to them. She could barely speak through the lump in her throat, so she shook her head. And it was true, she didn't have any children, not anymore.
"Oh, well," she offered the Judge a smaller smile, "Maybe that's best for some," she tried to ease the tension, "I mean, god knows I love her, but she can be a right little bossy control freak sometimes," she laughed at that, her eyes getting distant as she thought about her daughter, "Always wants everything in order and gets all in a huff if it's not. But she's SO clever. And sweet, she loves children and adventure, wants to go travelling one day, though I don't know how, she's terrified of getting lost."
The Judge closed her eyes at that, at hearing this woman talk about her daughter. SHE had a daughter, once upon a time, she'd had a little girl that she loved dearly, and now she was gone. And hearing this woman talk about her child…it hurt…it hurt more than she thought a human could make her hurt, more than even the Doctor talking about them.
Her eyes snapped open when the van pulled to a halt, Ellie glancing out the front of the van before smiling back at her, "We're here."
~8~
The Judge frowned as the man that had driven the van led her into a large building, his hand gripping her uninjured arm tightly while Ellie walked on her other side, not touching her, but it was clear why, she was injured on that side.
The moment they entered the building she winced as the grip on her arm tightened at the sight inside, people were hurrying around, talking loudly, and it seemed like some sort of event had happened that they were preparing for.
"Operative Oswald!" someone called, an Indian man in a white lab coat rushing over to the three of them, he glanced at the Judge and blinked, "Is this her?" he asked, "The alien from the ship?"
"HER has a name," the Judge glared at him.
"You speak English?" he gaped.
"I'm a Time Lord, I speak everything," she told him.
His eyes widened even more, "A Time Lord?" he breathed in awe, clearly it was a species he was familiar with though Ellie seemed a little confused.
"You needed me Dr. Singh?" Ellie spoke up.
"Right, yes," the man shook his head, "You're being reassigned from this case to our most recent development."
Even though the Judge frowned at that, Ellie beamed, "Another assignment!? Two in one day, oh my stars."
Dr. Singh laughed at that, "We need you to head down to the Queen's Arcade mall, there's been an…" he glanced at the Judge before trying to speak more quietly to Ellie, "Odd energy fluctuation, it's low but most definitely alien."
"Don't," the Judge spoke up, making them look at her, "Don't send anyone," she continued, "That alien reading, it's dangerous, you should stay away from it."
Singh scoffed at that, "Says the alien," he gave the Judge a condescending look, "We managed to capture you, we can capture whatever's making the signal. It's a weak energy, whatever's making it can't be all that strong."
"You don't understand, it's Nestene," she stated, as though it should be clear. The Doctor had given such an impression that the humans were quick and brilliant and clever…yet these three were staring at her like she was mad, "And they are intelligent," she looked at Ellie, her gaze only a fraction shy of being pleading, "And they are dangerous."
She just…she couldn't let this woman go there, not with a daughter at home, not unaware of how truly dangerous the Nestenes could be. She had a child, that alone should be reason enough for the organization to not allow such an investigation.
Singh eyed Ellie as a frown started to grow on her face, "If you don't think yourself capable of this mission, Operative Oswald, we can always reassign you back to desk…"
"No!" Ellie turned to him, nodding firmly, "No, I'll be fine. I can do it," she looked at the Judge, as though sensing what the Time Lady had been trying to tell her and why, "I'll be fine."
The Judge opened her mouth to argue, but was pushed on by the man holding her arm, looking over her shoulder at Ellie as Singh began to speak to her, briefing her about the mission as she was led further and further away, left with the knowledge that no matter what she said, her words and warnings would fall on deaf ears.
~8~
"A Time Lord," a voice spoke above her, and the Judge looked up from where she was sitting on a small chair by a little table in a room she'd been half-shoved into and left to wait in, a cold cup of tea beside her, squinting just enough to see a woman with dark blonde hair in a black suit grinning at her, "We've heard of your kind. You're not the first Time Lord to come to Earth."
The Judge sighed at that, "I am well aware of that."
The woman's eyes narrowed, "You know the Doctor?"
The Judge only barely kept from reacting to that, she didn't trust this Torchwood place, and the last thing she was going to do was let herself become some sort of trap for her husband, "Practically every Time Lord has heard of the Doctor and his adventures."
The woman nodded, considering that, "Well, welcome to Torchwood, Judge," she grinned when the Judge frowned at her, "We're already starting a file on you."
The Judge stared at her a moment, "And who are you supposed to be?"
"Yvonne," she stepped closer, holding out a polite hand to shake, "Yvonne Hartman, I'm in charge here."
The Judge's eyes narrowed, "Then you were the one that gave the order for that energy fluctuation to be investigated?"
"That was me, yes," Yvonne nodded, stepping back to lean against the wall, crossing her arms, watching the Judge critically for any hint of a threatening reaction, "I was told you claimed it was 'Nestene' was it?" the Judge nodded, "How did you know?"
The Judge let out a breath at that, guessing that was the woman's way of saying that she had been correct, "My scanners picked it up," she looked at the woman, "I also told them not to send any of their operatives. They didn't listen."
"Well why would they?" Yvonne laughed, "You're an alien, we can't trust you."
"But I was right about the Nestene," she pointed out.
"How were we to know that?" Yvonne shrugged, "And besides, there's no threat, not anymore. It's been dealt with."
"Dealt with how?"
Yvonne smirked, "Can't you guess?" she dropped her arms, "The Doctor got involved."
The Judge frowned as the woman started to head for the door once more, seeming to have gotten all she'd wanted for the moment, "The operatives," she called, making Yvonne pause in the doorway, "Are they…well?" she really didn't care about most of them but…there was one…
The look Yvonne gave her at that moment was something she would never forget, her smile was still in place, her words neutral as though she truly didn't care when she told her, "They were caught in the attacks. We're already working to replace them."
The Judge stared after her as Yvonne left the room, shutting and locking the door behind her, leaving her to gape at the door at the words the woman had said. The operatives had died, that was what she meant, they had died and were being replaced already, as though they weren't people but mere objects.
She swallowed hard a looked away, looked at the tea cup, an E on it, and she knew, she just knew, that the cup was Ellie's, the woman had been the most considerate of her from the start, she would find someway to make sure she had something to drink or some other peace offering. She reached out and grabbed the cup, closing her eyes as she squeezed her hand, knowing that Ellie had died, the woman who had just joined Torchwood to protect her daughter and make the girl proud, was dead.
And the other humans didn't even care.
That girl would likely not even know about what happened to her mother, not the real story, if so few humans actually knew about Torchwood and what it was…that girl would grow up without a mother and never know what happened.
Before she even realized, she'd thrown the cup at the wall and shattered it, her hand curling into a fist as it fell heavily back onto the small table, her jaw tightening. These humans…if this was how they treated each other, how much they cared for their fellow man, they really weren't anything at all like the Doctor had built them up to be. She doubted Yvonne would care at all that Ellie had a child out there, she hardly cared about Ellie herself.
Well that wasn't going to happen, no, she promised, she swore to herself right in that moment, she swore to Ellie…the woman's daughter wouldn't be uncared for, she wouldn't be put into danger like her mother had been.
If Yvonne and Torchwood weren't going to protect that little girl for the service her mother had done them…then SHE would.
One day, one day she would find Ellie's daughter and make sure she stayed safe, no matter what.
A/N: So we had a bit of a cameo from another character that we're introduced to in Series 7 here ;) I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :) I think we'll only have about 1 more chapter featuring Yvonne before we really start to get into her time with Jack ;)
For a reference, I picture the current incarnation of the Judge to be something like Keegan Connor Tracy :)
And I just want to say thank you to all of you for your understanding about the lateness of posting this story and the delays in the other spin-offs. My father is on the road of being declared Cancer Free and is recovering well and it really means a lot to me the support I received from readers and the understanding of the pauses I had to take in posting. I hope to be able to resume the stories and keep them going with no interruptions from here on out. In fact, to celebrate being back, today we should be getting a new story/chapter of other works just about every 2 hours ;)
I have, unfortunately, been forced to revise my stories for 2015 :( The new schedule of what will be updated/posted in 2015 and when is on my tumblr.
