Fear Before Courage
Note: This chapter takes place before Rose.
Chapter 1: Four Apologies
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and immediately felt a tug in his head. Perhaps it was because of his relatively new body, the psychological repercussions of the Time War, or the fact that he had not visited this specific year in the 43rd century before, or a combination of the three, but the Doctor was eager to investigate. He wanted to identify the source of the pressure, even though it was getting stronger in his head.
The Doctor continued to walk around, half-noticing that he was in a vast and stately building. He entered a room in which eight green humanoid beings stood in front of a large glass rectangular monolith that had a metallic base. Orange energy flashed within the monolith, and it began communicating with the Doctor.
The Doctor realized that the monolith was the source of the nudging. As soon as the Doctor appeared in the building, the monolith sought him out, trying to control him. The Doctor felt instructions pouring into his head and he tried to resist. "Someone will take his place," he thought to the monolith.
Despite the Doctor's struggles, the monolith persevered and ultimately forced the rest of his instructions into the Doctor's head. The other eight humanoids activated their wristbands and teleported away. The Doctor returned to the TARDIS and disappeared.
…
Two days after graduating from the Carroll County Public School System, Lucas Braddock was swimming. His friends were either still sleeping at 10:20 am or vacationing somewhere far away. The pool was actually closed, but the owner was his swimming coach's brother.
Jonathan Askes knew how important swimming was to Lucas. Lucas was planning to focus on his academics during his first year of college in Frostburg and then try to join the swim team. Lucas wasn't a remarkable swimmer and he considered himself a long shot for a spot on a college team, so he was determined to maintain all he had. Lucas was the only person Jonathan allowed in the pool when it was closed and the only one he allowed in the pool without a lifeguard present.
Even if he wasn't focused on the water, Lucas wouldn't have heard the TARDIS dematerializing outside or the intermittent groaning and creaking that accompanied this particular landing. He didn't hear the door opening, either. Lucas prepared to kick off the side of the pool to begin his ninth lap. It was only by chance that he caught someone in the corner of his right eye and he stopped in the middle of his stroke.
"Jonathan, what's up? Did you just pour something into the pool?" Lucas said while looking down, taking his goggles off. He looked up and saw the Doctor. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else."
The Doctor didn't respond.
"Come to think of it," Lucas continued as he approached the Doctor, "you must know Jonathan if you're here."
"Are you Luke Braddock?" the Doctor finally said.
"Only my brother calls me that. I go by Lucas," he responded as the climbed out of the pool. "Who are you?"
"I'm the Doctor. I have a message for you. Come with me."
"Doctor? Doctor who?" Lucas asked, slightly concerned.
"Just the Doctor."
"That's not very helpful," Lucas replied as the two stepped outside towards the TARDIS. "Are you with an office or a hospital?"
"In a way, yes," the Doctor answered while reaching and opening the TARDIS doors.
Lucas' mouth dropped as he saw the interior. At that point, he started to feel weak and his mind became vacant.
As Lucas started to stumble, the Doctor eased him down onto the TARDIS' floor, where Lucas lied in a catatonic state.
The Doctor himself started to feel a strong headache as he activated the TARDIS' controls and set it on motion. Suddenly, he collapsed onto the floor.
Lucas eventually regained his full cognitive and physical abilities, though he was still a little lightheaded. He took a quick look around the TARDIS and saw the Doctor unconscious. He then stepped out of the TARDIS and saw eight monoliths in a large white room. He also saw around a dozen small blue beings turn their attention to him.
"Luke Braddock has been identified," one of them said. "Apprehend Luke Braddock!" The blue beings approached Lucas and he darted back into the TARDIS and closed the doors. He saw the lock and turned it. Unsure of what to do or anything going on, Lucas simply slid down onto the floor with the doors against his back and brought his knees to his chest. He ignored the tapping behind him and stared at the unconscious Doctor.
After what seemed like half an hour to Lucas, the Doctor began to stir. Lucas leapt up and started looking for anything he could use as a weapon. Finding nothing, he stood by a coral column far from the Doctor.
"Oh, lesson learned," the Doctor said to himself, half-jocularly. He stood up and saw Lucas. "Lucas," the Doctor began as he walked toward Lucas.
"Stay away from me! Tell me what's going on and why you've brought me here." Lucas yelled.
The Doctor sighed. "I'm sorry, I guess I should explain. Someone got into my mind and told me to bring you to this planet. I am sorry about that. My ship fixed me. It took a while, but I'm back to normal now. You're actually lucky that I got to you."
"How's that?" Lucas asked, not believing the Doctor.
"The beings that are after you are called Shrines. They're formless creatures that live in glass cases. They took over the Chronocorporation and sent eight Chronoids back into the past to bring you here, probably to kill you."
"How is that lucky?" Lucas questioned.
"My kind is more advanced with time travel and I have better resources for finding people. The Chronocorporation is still in its youth, one of the precursors to the Time Agency. I went back further than any of them could and now I can protect your future."
"So why do they want me?"
The Doctor stepped closer to Lucas.
"Keep away!"
"All right. You're going to publish a research paper one day. It's theoretical, but in a couple millennia's time, people will continue to work on it until a race called the Lamgucks will finally put it to practical use and gain a major advantage in a war against the Shrines."
"This is like a Terminator situation."
"If you want to call it that."
"Are you an alien?"
"Yes."
Lucas looked around the TARDIS.
"If you are in control of your mind now, can you take me home?"
"Bad idea."
"Why?" Lucas asked, annoyed.
"Your future is uncertain with the eight Chronoids out there. Don't you want this situation resolved before you go back?"
"What about my past?"
"What about it?"
"You said they weren't as advanced as you, but could they be one day and go back?"
"Have you been apprehended by aliens in the past?"
"No."
"Well, there you go. No problem." The Doctor activated the TARDIS' controls again. "Thanks for fixing my head," he quietly said to the console before turning his attention back to Lucas. "Timelines and all that. You know they didn't get you in the past, so you're safe. Once we resolve this issue, I'll take you home and you can work on your thesis."
"Where are we going now?"
"To see the Lamgucks."
The TARDIS soon landed and the Doctor was about to open the door. He saw Lucas holding on to the same coral column as before.
"Are you coming?"
"You still haven't given me enough reason for trusting you." Considering what he just experienced, Lucas was willing to accept that the Doctor's explanation was possible, but he wasn't convinced that there wasn't more and he worried that the Doctor could still be dangerous.
"You're still on that?"
"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm not handling my first alien abduction well."
"All right. Look around you. This is the TARDIS. It stands for 'time and relative dimension in space.' It's bigger on the inside and can travel through various times and places very quickly. We're in the future now." The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver. "This is my sonic screwdriver." He pointed the screwdriver at a railing, which soon started to glow red. "It can do almost anything I want it to do. Right now, it's heating up that railing. You can touch if you'd like, to make sure. I am an alien from Gallifrey. I am over nine hundred years old and survived eight deaths. Take all this into consideration and ask yourself this: If I wanted to harm you, what's stopped me from doing so? For that matter, what's to keep me from forcing you out? So, you might as well join me, then. You don't really have much to lose at this point."
Lucas closed his eyes and thought about Liam before opening his eyes and approaching the Doctor, who opened the doors.
Outside the TARDIS stood four Lamgucks holding their guns at the Doctor and Lucas. The Lamgucks stood nearly six feet tall and had four arms that were long enough to touch the ground at their sides. Eight spider-like legs supported the Lamgucks. The Lamgucks had very small heads that held one huge eye at the top and a large mouth in the front beneath the eye.
"Sorry, wasn't expecting this, but don't worry," the Doctor told Lucas. "Hello," he said to the Lamgucks. "I'm the Doctor. I'm here to help with your war against the Shrines. One of them was inside my head, so I have a clue about what they are trying to do."
The Lamgucks didn't respond.
"And this is Lucas Braddock, future author of the Driscoll Rule."
The Lamgucks put down their guns.
"How is this possible?" one of the Lamgucks asked.
"Time travel. You can verify his identify later if you'd like. Now, shall we talk somewhere about your diplomatic options?"
"Follow us," a different Lamguck replied.
The group walked towards a palace-like building in a desert under a blazing star.
"Aliens are real," Lucas said to himself, still trying to come to terms with what happened.
"Yeah, we are," the Doctor answered without invitation.
"Aliens are real," Lucas repeated as he looked around and exhaled sharply. "So what's this Driscoll Rule that I'm going to publish?" Lucas asked the Doctor.
"I can't tell you. It's risky. You already know too much."
"Fine. So why do you speak with a British accent?" Lucas asked the Doctor.
"I just do."
The group reached tall stone doors that opened slowly. A cool breeze swept out, to everyone's comfort.
"What is this?" Lucas asked.
"This is the office of the pontiff," a Lamguck answered.
"It's like their White House," the Doctor explained. "The Lamgucks have a theocratic society and the pontiff is their leader."
Shortly after, the Doctor, Lucas, and seventeen Lamgucks sat in a conference room with a general leading the discussion. The Doctor had explained what had happened and what he had done.
"We will launch attacks against the four Chronocorporation offices and then open negotiations with the Shrines," General Kalo decided as he opened communications with a different office.
"Yes, General?" a voice from the other end said.
"I am sending you coordinates to three buildings on Jorsouter and one in Bhukind. Can you fire a rhelond cylinder into those buildings without detection?"
"Yes, General."
"Do it, then blow up the buildings in Jorsouter and teleport the one in Bhukind into open space."
The Doctor knew that the rhelond cylinders would release a gas that would paralyze Shrines and slow down the Blue Howes so that they couldn't be able to leave the buildings before they were destroyed. He considered protesting against their deaths, but knew after what he witnessed in the Time War that death was inevitable in war. He also wished for an end to this conflict. There was hope in Bhukind, though; that was encouraging.
"Bhukind is not involved in your war," the Doctor pointed out.
"I know that," General Kalo responded. "But they employ mostly Shrines and we are preventing any damage to surrounding structures."
"There will be Lundfies in that building, too."
"The Lundfies will understand."
The Doctor stood up. "I can save them," he said and he started towards the door.
Lucas became alarmed. He didn't want to put himself in what could be a dangerous situation, but he also didn't want to be separated from his transport back home. He stood up as well and tried to follow the Doctor.
"Stop him," Kalo told two guards, referring to Lucas. The Doctor paused and looked back.
"I need to go with him," Lucas said.
"You are too valuable to go. Guards, restrain him and take him to a guest quarter."
"No!" Lucas yelled. "You have absolutely no right to keep me here!"
"General," the Doctor interjected. "I'll bring him back. I promise."
Kalo didn't react.
"I brought him here, to you, and now I'm temporarily taking him back. He'll be safe."
"Let him proceed," Kalo commanded.
Lucas and the Doctor ran back to the TARDIS, not wanting to give Kalo a chance to change his mind. The Doctor set it off towards the Chronocorporation building in Bhukind and saw Lucas standing near the TARDIS doors. He was pacing and had his arms around himself.
"Lucas, what's wrong?"
Lucas turned and looked at the Doctor.
"Well, recently," the Doctor added.
"I don't like being treated like a chess piece."
"I'm sorry."
"You've been saying that a lot, Doctor."
"And I've meant it every time. Look, I realize how bad this situation is to you and I wish you were never brought into it like you did something wrong. The Shrines don't know about the rhelond gases or the Lamgucks' satellite weapons technology. After they see those two in action and the Chronocorporation is brought down, the Shrines will have to negotiate and probably surrender. Can you bear through this for just a little while longer?"
"Will you take me home when this is all over?"
"I promise," the Doctor replied as the TARDIS made its typical landing noise and the Doctor walked towards the door.
"What are you going to do?" Lucas asked.
"If the Lamgucks are going to teleport the building away, they probably have it shielded to prevent anyone from leaving. The Lundfies will instinctively go up as high as they can, and so have we. Pity they don't have useful roofs. Anyway, I'll just go out and collect the Lundfies. The gas won't affect them as much, so they'll be fine."
"How about you?"
"I'll be fine as long as I don't inhale," the Doctor replied as he opened the doors.
"What about the gas coming in?" Lucas asked.
"The TARDIS has a filter. Besides, you'd be fine anyway as long as you don't inhale."
"And if I did?"
"Really not a good idea."
The Doctor exited the TARDIS and Lucas immediately saw crowds of Lundfies. They had light orange skin and short red hair on their heads, back of their hands, and top of their feet. They had eight eyes that circled their heads, a mouth that looked like a human mouth, and what looked like a nose under the mouth. On average, the Lundfies stood around five feet tall and were slim.
While manipulating his respiratory passages, the Doctor ushered the Lundfies into the TARDIS and went off, searching for more.
Lucas soon saw a wave of dozens of Lundfies running towards the TARDIS and the Doctor returned with the rest of them. The Lundfies were dropped off next to the building outside and the Doctor and Lucas witnessed the building disappearing via teleportation. Then, they headed back to the Lamgucks.
The Doctor and Lucas stepped out of the TARDIS and the Doctor overheard two Lamgucks talking about the Shrines in the building.
A look of worry crept across the Doctor's face and he looked around. "That shouldn't have happened," he quietly said.
"What's wrong?" Lucas asked.
"We might have jumped ahead." The Doctor ran to the room where they were before with Lucas following. Before they reached the door, they heard air hissing loudly and saw purple gas starting to emanate from the room. "Hold your breath and run back to the TARDIS!" the Doctor yelled. "This is worse than rhelond!"
Five Shrines burst out of the room with their glass homes cracked. Three blue entities that Lucas saw earlier ran out as well.
"Luke Braddock has been identified," one of the Blue Howes called. "Apprehend Luke Braddock!"
The Shrine with the smallest crack raced ahead towards Lucas. Four serpentine coils came out of the metallic base and grabbed Lucas. The Doctor tried to free Lucas while Lucas kept holding his breath, but the three Blue Howes grabbed Lucas and the four teleported away. The Shrine's case finally cracked open and the being inside died.
The Doctor ran back to the room and saw Lamgucks talking to each other. The purple gas had dissipated enough to be safe for the Doctor.
"You're back," a Lamguck noticed.
"What happened?"
"After we destroyed the Chronocorporation buildings, those Shrines came for negotiations and opened communication with Chancellor Juwotho. He was not yet ready to surrender, so we demonstrated the powers of a new formula our scientists created."
"You shouldn't have done that," the Doctor said.
"Where is Luke Braddock?"
"The Blue Howes took him."
The Lamgucks murmured to each other in concern.
"They will take him to Chancellor Juwotho," a Lamguck noted.
"Do you know where he is?"
"We tracked the transmission and are currently sending weapons there. I will rescind that order now."
"Did you mention Lucas to them?"
"We did."
"Did they say anything about the Chronoids they sent back in time?"
"Only that they failed to locate Luke and were automatically recalled when the buildings were destroyed."
"Good. Tell me where Chancellor Juwotho is," the Doctor commanded. "I've met him before, but probably at a different location. I'm going to rescue Lucas."
"You are not going alone," General Kalo said.
On Jorsouter, a Shrine held Lucas's arms and legs in coils and kept making sounds. Lucas knew the Shrine was trying to communicate with him orally and telepathically, but he understood nothing. Lucas kept on yelling back, even though he knew the Shrine wouldn't understand him.
No one noticed the sound of the TARDIS materializing.
The Shrine kept on speaking. ". . . and you will modify the equations to fit our needs."
Lucas frowned in confusion. He finally understood what the Shrine was saying.
"Lucas!" the Doctor yelled.
Lucas, the Shrine holding him, and three other Shrines in the room turned their attention to the Doctor, who was surrounded by fourteen Lamgucks.
"I cannot penetrate your mind as I did before," the Shrine holding Lucas told the Doctor.
"I'm stronger and better prepared now, Chancellor. My ship is also protecting me and Lucas."
"Chancellor Juwotho, you are outnumbered here. Surrender now," General Kalo said as authoritatively as he could.
Chancellor Juwotho sent a high-density energy burst through Lucas, making Lucas scream.
"I have Luke Braddock before the Driscoll Rule was formulated. He will teach us how to use his equations to benefit us and you will lose your leverage."
"I can't," Lucas said weakly. "I don't know how yet."
"You will, regardless of how long it takes," Juwotho responded.
"That won't help you," Kalo said. "We are still here and in control."
"Look around and re-evaluate," Juwotho replied proudly.
The Doctor noticed that close to thirty Shrines had appeared behind him along with nine Blue Howes. He knew that the Lamgucks wouldn't use the rhelond gases with him and Lucas present and that the Blue Howes wouldn't be able to teleport enough Lamgucks away before they fought back. A bloodbath was imminent and the Doctor wouldn't be able to protect Lucas.
"This will not end the war," Kalo claimed.
"I am aware of that," Juwotho responded.
The Doctor, seeing no other choice, pulled out a baton-like device. "This will end it," he said before shooting Lucas in the chest.
Surprised by the Doctor's action, Juwotho dropped Lucas onto the floor.
Lucas felt sharp pain in his heart. He felt no bleeding, but he knew that something was wrong. His breathing became erratic and everything became gray. The only thing he could hear was his own gasping. Soon, the only thing he could see was blackness.
"You understand nothing about time," the Doctor said to Juwotho. "Lucas is dead, yet nothing has changed. Do you want to know why? It's because the past is fixed. The fact that we are all standing here, now, is fixed. Can you challenge the fact that we are here? The only thing accomplished by killing Lucas is creating a parallel reality in which the Driscoll Rule never came into existence. That has no consequence here, and it never will. The Lamgucks will maintain their strategic advantage and your defeat is inevitable."
The Doctor picked up Lucas' body and headed back to the TARDIS. "I brought him here and eliminated him," he told the Shrines. "I did what you wanted me to do and now I'm leaving. I have nothing else to do with this." A flash of uncertainty swept across his face briefly as the Doctor was concerned that the Shrines could see through his ruse. However, Juwotho allowed him to pass by the other Shrines unhindered. As he opened the TARDIS doors, the Doctor turned his head. "Kalo," the Doctor yelled. "Do it!"
Suddenly, Kalo dropped two rhelond cylinders that permitted the Lamgucks to capture the Shrines, including the chancellor, and some of the Blue Howes.
…
In a bedroom in the TARDIS, Lucas slowly opened his eyes. He realized that he was alive and perked up, feeling his chest.
"You're all right," the Doctor said. "What I hit you with only simulates death."
Lucas let out a gasp. He fought as hard as he could to not break down. "I . . . I thought . . . "
"I know. I'm sorry. I would have warned you ahead of time, told you that you would be fine, but I couldn't under the circumstances."
Teary eyed, Lucas only nodded.
"I'll program the TARDIS to take you home," the Doctor said, and he left Lucas alone.
Even though he wasn't tired, Lucas went back to sleep. Even after arriving in Maryland, the Doctor didn't interrupt Lucas, and not just because they had traveled a little further back than planned. He waited for Lucas to wake up on his own and when he finally did, the Doctor and Lucas walked to the swimming pool.
The Doctor looked at a clock nearby. "You've only been gone eighteen minutes. The chemical that I put into the pool to knock you out was an extract from boulweed leaves. It should be inactive now."
Lucas was relieved, but he didn't react.
"You'll be fine now. The Chronocorporation is gone and the eight Chronoids are back in the future."
Lucas nodded again and looked at the Doctor without expression.
"Take care of yourself, Lucas."
Lucas nodded a third time in response and the Doctor left. Lucas sat down on the ground for close to forty minutes, contemplating everything that he had experienced. After that, he got back into the pool and swam. He kept on swimming for much longer than he had initially planned. Even when he was getting exhausted, Lucas kept on swimming. He merely switched to a less intensive stroke. To him, this was his home, a place where he felt safe again.
Thanks a lot for getting this far. The rest of the chapters (probably nine more) will be considerably shorter. They'll essentially be mini-adventures.
I just published a Stargate SG-1 story which has a character named Liam Braddock. I needed a name and that's what came to mind. I guess you all can consider him an alternate reality version of Lucas' brother because I like to conform to canon. The dates and biography in that story don't contradict this one's.