This one of my older one's and I think it might be my first Doctor Who story of all. I came across it and I thought I'd see what you all though of it.
This story is dedicated to my mother. She provided the title but she also provided so much more. Thank you Mom. I love you!
Steven Knight breathed a deep sigh as he wandered the streets of his beloved town. Tomorrow a new life would begin at college and he wasn't sure he was ready. This was the town he had grown up in, he had gone to school in, it had been his whole life and now that life was going to end. True he was going to be within easy driving distance but nothing would ever again be the same.
Steven sighed again and walked past the cars that lined the street. This was the weekend of his town's annual festival and people had come from miles around to attend. Normally Steven really enjoyed going to the festival but he had already been the previous day and now he was just enjoying one last day in his home town.
He passed city hall, the gas station on the corner, crossed the railroad tracks, and was standing by the corner antique store. Steven's stomach growled and he checked the time on his cell phone. He wasn't expected home at any specific time; his mother was cool about that as long as she had an idea where he was. He considered calling her and inviting her to have a bite to eat with him but he decided against it. There had been the possibility of her going to the Fest (as he called it) with a friend and didn't want to disrupt her plans.
He entered the burger and sausage place next to the antique store. It was completely empty; Steven figured that everyone else was either at the Fest or simply enjoying the pleasant Sunday with their families. He placed his order at the bar and sat down to await the food. He reached into his bag and pulled out a notebook and a pen. Steven was an amateur writer and just the very act of making notes for a story could be calming. Words were his passion and he felt truly alive when writing.
As a waitress delivered his burger and onion rings a new customer entered the restaurant. He was tall and skinny with a bizarre mix of clothes; sneakers, a blue suit over a tee shirt and a brown long coat. He gave Steven a friendly wave and wandered over to the bar to order his food. Steven munched an onion ring and returned to his story but a few minutes later the man in the coat was standing by his table.
"Want some company? My friend is at the festival and it would be nice to have someone to chat with."
"Um…sure I guess."
"Cool!" He sat and extended a hand "I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor Who?" Steven asked shaking hands.
"Just the Doctor, it's what everyone calls me."
"Oh okay. My name is Steven Knight."
"Nice to meet you Steven." The Doctor took a bite out of his burger and said "So why aren't you at the festivities?"
"Just don't feel like it. I went yesterday and when you've grown up with in the same town it just becomes ordinary."
"Yeah I can see that. What's in the notebook?"
"Stories I wrote."
"Can I look at them?"
"Uh, I don't know…"
"Oh come on. I just want a peak; I love a good story."
Steven gave in and handed the notebook to the Doctor who began to thumb through it very quickly.
"I thought you wanted a proper look."
"That was a proper look. These are very good Steven; you have a gift."
"That's what my Mom keeps saying. Even my brother, when he puts down a game controller and actually reads them, says I'm good at writing."
"Well you are. You have a real way with words."
"Wait a moment, you actually read them all in that flip through?!"
"I can speed read."
"Oh…cool. Yeah I think words are awesome. They have the power to hurt or to heal, the power create or destroy, the power to change the course of history." Steven realized what he was saying and blushed. "I'm sorry; I got a bit carried away there."
"Don't apologize, I agree with you entirely. You know what? I really like you."
"Thanks. Yeah, I'm going to be an English teacher. I move in at college tomorrow actually."
"Congratulations! I wish you the best of luck."
"Thanks"
"And yet you don't seem very happy. Most guys like you can't wait to leave a small town like this and yet you don't seem very happy."
"I am. I'm excited but…well…never mind."
"You can tell me. I promise I will not laugh." The Doctor had such a serious face as he said it that he couldn't suppress a giggle of his own.
"Okay. I've lived at home my whole life. Well obviously but even when I was at the community college a few towns down the highway I still lived at home. Everything here is so familiar and comfortable that I'm reluctant to leave it. I'm really nervous about trying to survive on my own at school and I feel embarrassed because that sounds really childish."
"Not really; everyone develops at their own pace. Look at me, I never really grew up. But Steven, you seem like a very smart young man and I'm sure you'll do just fine."
"That's what people tell me but I'm still nervous. Anyway, I've been spilling my guts to you so let's hear a little bit about the Doctor."
"Not much to tell. I'm just a lonely traveler who often brings his friends along for the ride. I thought we'd be out of this town by now but Martha is having fun at the festival so I decided to let her stay a bit longer to recover from some of our more…harrowing journeys. I decided to check out the town as she enjoyed herself."
"A traveller, huh? I thought you were a doctor."
"Eh, it's a bit complicated. I do help people a lot. I suppose freelance is the word you could use to describe me."
"Okay. Would you mind excusing me for a moment? Call of nature."
"That can be dangerous" the Doctor joked as Steven headed for the bathroom. He thought how fortunate he was to have met such a cool person, even if he was a bit weird. He did his business and was about to leave the bathroom when he noticed a note stuck to the door. He adjusted his glasses and tried unsuccessfully to read it. He recognized the words "Fall of Night" but the rest was of the paper was covered in strange, round symbols.
He took the note down and was still trying to make sense of it as he returned to the table. "What have you got there?"
"Some strange note I found in the bathroom. Here look at it; it's really weird."
The Doctor's eyes became really wide as he took the paper. He put on a pair of glasses and studied it. "Does it actually make sense to you, Doctor?"
"Sort of…you say you found this in the bathroom?"
"Yeah it was stuck to the door. Really hard to miss actually."
"That is very most extremely interesting." The Doctor seemed to be thinking very hard "Thing is this is my handwriting."
"What!? That's impossible isn't it?"
"Oh yes which intrigues me very much. Steven we have a mystery on our hands and I would be very honored if you helped me solve it."
"Uh" Steven didn't know what to say. He had only met this guy ten minutes ago and now he was being recruited into some sort of adventure. "Well I suppose I could help."
"Molto bene. Come with me."
He led a very nervous Steven out of the restaurant and into the alleys behind it. A 1960's Police Box had been mysteriously placed among the trash cans and dumpsters and the Doctor was unlocking it.
"What's going on?"
"Step inside and you'll find out."
"But that's just a police box. How did it even get here?"
"I piloted it here and it's not just a police box. Come on I'm not going to hurt you."
Steven reluctantly entered the box and then ran back out of it. He made a complete circle of the blue box putting his hands all over it. "How is that possible?"
The Doctor stuck his head back out of the doors and said "You wouldn't really understand. Come back in."
Steven re-entered the box and gazed in awe at the room he was in. It was a large round room with coral like columns and a round console in the center. "It's bigger on the inside."
"Yep. It's a TARDIS; that's Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It's a highly advanced spaceship that can travel in space and time. I figured if you saw this first you'd be more prepared to believe the rest of what I have to tell you."
Steven was still in shock but at this point he'd believe anything "Which is?"
"I'm not human. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This note that you found contains coordinates written in Gallifreian. Apparently we're supposed to go to the planet Night and I want to know why. So are you coming?"
"Um…I…er…that is…what about Martha?"
"It's a time machine; we'll be back before she knows I'm gone. It's a lot to take in, I know, but the note was found by you not me. That's got to be significant."
"You're an alien and another planet needs our help?"
"Yeah it seems that way"
Steven shrugged and said "I can't believe I'm saying this but let's go."
"Good boy! You'll do just fine at college with courage like that. Now, Allons-y!"
The Doctor began manipulating the controls and with a metallic whooshing they were off. The room shuddered and rolled from side to side.
"Sorry about the turbulence but you've got to admit it is sort of fun."
"Are we flying?"
"Not really. Like I said before very complicated, you wouldn't understand."
The TARDIS settled down and the Doctor said "And here we are; the Planet Night, so named by the human colonists because it has no sun. But that didn't stop them. Oh just what till you see it."
Steven left the TARDIS and found himself on a dark but busy street with plenty of lamp posts. People were passing on foot or on bicycles with very few cars in sight. The motor vehicles that did pass all looked expensive and important. Steven jumped when something that certainly wasn't human; while it had been humanoid in shape it was covered in thin black fur with very large eyes. It had been dressed in a dark heavy robe and Steven suddenly realized why; it was cold!
"Doctor if this planet has no sun then why isn't it covered in ice? Why aren't we dead?"
"Night has a very unique atmosphere that traps geo-thermal heat from the planet keeping the inhabitants warm enough to survive."
"But not warm enough to be comfortable. I don't suppose there's a jacket in that police box of yours?"
"Oh right sorry. Just give me a second." He vanished back inside the TARDIS and Steven was left alone to ponder what was going on. About twenty minutes ago he had stepped inside a local restaurant for a burger and now he was on a totally different planet obviously somewhere in the future since it had human colonists. He felt a bit faint and leaned against the TARDIS for support. None of the "people" passing by seemed to have found anything unusual about a blue box dropping out of the sky and nobody was asking him who the heck he was.
Suddenly completely overwhelmed, Steven rushed back through the TARDIS doors and collapsed on the floor of the console room. Footsteps were heard and the Doctor appeared holding a thick blue jacket.
"Are you okay?"
"I…I…I don't know. This is…this is…nuts! I hardly know you and I let you take me to the other side of the galaxy or something!"
The Doctor sighed and then got down on Steven's level "Everyone always freaks out at first, you're far from the only one. But just stop and think isn't this just a little bit amazing? Outside those doors an adventure waits. Could you really go home without seeing it to the end?"
"I suppose not. It's just…I'm the guy afraid to leave home for college remember?"
"Come on Steven. The very fact you said yes to me a few minutes ago proves you have phenomenal courage. Show some of that courage now and I guarantee you that you will never regret it."
Steven took a deep breath and stood up. "Let's go Doctor"
"Good boy! Come on then."
Back outside on the streets of Night, Steven took a closer look around. He noticed that this looked like a city back on Earth and that there weren't a lot of aliens around.
He mentioned this to the Doctor who answered "I'd like to point out that the Nocturnes are the natural inhabitants of this planet so we're the aliens. As for their presence or lack there off it's probably just low traffic or something. This is a human colony that's been built up to what the humans are used to."
"So we've been here a long time then?"
"Oh yes; Humans and Nocturnes have been sharing this planet for a long time. It wasn't entirely peaceful at first, I'm sorry to say, but now everything is as smooth as silk."
"Then why are we here?"
"Good question, you're the one who found the note not me."
"But it was meant for you because you could read it."
"Yes but you found it meaning it was meant for both of us. Now let's start unraveling this mystery." He walked up to a newspaper seller and said "Hello there. This might sound like an odd question but is there anything wrong around here? We're new in town, see, and I just wanted to know that everything was in tip top shape."
"Oh yes sir, everything is A-Okay. The Brotherhood of Shadow has even quieted down."
"And what's the Brotherhood of Shadow?"
"A group of renegade Nocturnes who don't like us on their planet even though the official peace treaties were signed ages ago but we haven't heard a peep out of them in a long time."
"Cool. Thank you very much sir. Have a nice…er…it is day isn't it?"
The newspaper seller laughed and said "In a manner of speaking."
"Then have a nice day!"
"Bye" Steven called as they moved along. "Well there you are Doctor, everything's fine."
"One of the first rules of travelling with me is never look only at the surface of events. We were called to this planet for a reason and I'm sure that reason will present itself in due course."
"Doctor, do the humans on this planet really get by without the sun? I think I'd miss it."
"Well many do which is why they built the Sun Domes."
"Sun Domes? What are those?"
"Come along and I'll show you."
Steven followed the Doctor down the street towards what appeared to be a massive sports stadium. They joined the people entering and Steven felt the breath catch in his throat. It was like entering a giant garden at blazing noon. Steven wished he had more eyes as they ventured deeper into the place; there were trees, flowers, fruits and vegetables gardens, the works. The walls of the giant dome were covered in rooms with glass walls; restaurants, stores, and offices. Far above their heads a giant glass ball glowed with what appeared to be sunlight.
"Fantastic!" he finally said.
"That it is! These domes were erected in various places all over the planet. The Nocturnes can't stand sunlight yet the Humans miss it, so this was the logical compromise. Like I said earlier, a peaceful co-habitation arrangement all around. If only the rest of the universe could get along like this."
"So the same old issues exist even in the future, eh?"
"Yep" the Doctor sighed "people squabbling over the smallest of things. I think you'll find that until the end of time. Not that I've ever looked but it's how everyone seems to be wired."
"Sad but I agree. We seek only to please the desires of our own hearts yet simultaneously tighten the noose around our own throats."
"Very well said, Steven, the gift of words was not wasted upon you."
He blushed slightly and said "Thank you Doctor."
The Doctor didn't respond because he was distracted by the sound of a dull boom. People were looking around trying to see what happened but the Doctor was one of the few to actually go see.
"Come on Steven! It sounds like trouble has found us at last."
Outside the Sun Dome a crowd had gathered around an undistinguishable sight that was giving off a lot of smoke. As a Police Station happened to be nearby, officers were already gathering at the scene and radioing for help. The Doctor grabbed Steven's hand and began to drag him through the crowd towards the damage. When people questioned him he showed them a piece of paper in a leather wallet and they let him pass. At last they could see a car of some sort smashed against what used to be a statue in the middle of a square. Unfortunately, yet another person saw fit to stop them.
"Excuse me sir" a policeman said barring their way "only authorized personnel beyond this point."
"That's us; we're authorized" and once again the magic paper did its job.
"Oh I'm sorry sir. We didn't expect you so quickly."
"That's alright so what's happened here?"
"Well sir, as you can see Mr. Castor's limousine crashed into the monument. The driver seems to have lost control. Neither one survived; quite tragic really."
Steven noticed with horror, the bodies of two Nocturnes visible through the window. They were quite obviously dead.
"And remind me, because I'm not feeling well today and my brain is just a bit slow, Mr. Castor is…?"
"We…well he's the manager of the city bank of course."
"Right, of course. And, just to help me keep my thoughts straight, the smashed monument was of?"
"Why it was one of the Monuments of Peace depicting Nocturnes and Humans co-existing peacefully. Is that relevant, sir?"
"Everything is relevant. Thank you, you've been most helpful. My assistant and I are just going to have a quick look around and then we'll be out of your hair."
"Okay sir."
"Come on Steven." They approached the wreck and the Doctor began scanning it with a strange silver pen with a glowing blue end.
"Doctor what is going on? What is that and what was that paper?"
"This is a Sonic Screwdriver and that was Psychic Paper. It shows people what they want to see or what I want them to see or sometimes a fun mix of both. Right then it said that I was a detective and that you were my assistant."
"Detective!? But this was an accident, wasn't it?"
"In my experience accidents are rarely accidents. Besides it fooled them so don't look a gift donkey in the mouth."
"You mean gift horse."
"Right that's what I said, isn't it? Well I'm not getting anything unusual here; let's go check out that bank."
As they moved along Steven thought this just like the beginning of a good mystery novel. A seemingly random accident that one person suspected might be more and yet no obvious evidence. He found himself thinking it was rather exciting and he was interested to see how it would end.
"Doctor, you do this sort of thing every day don't you? You and Martha, I mean. You stumble across problems and help solve them."
"Pretty much; it's rare I get a simple quiet day. Here we are."
They had been walking at a rather fast pace and had reached the bank in no time at all. It was dimly lit for the benefit of Nocturne customers and employees but Steven found he could still see quite well. The tellers were in the process of closing up; apparently word travelled fast around here and they had already been informed of the Mr. Castor's death.
The Doctor marched right up to a Nocturne about to shut their teller's window and showed them the Psychic Paper "Hello, my name is Detective John Smith and this is my Junior Assistant Steven Knight. I'm sure you've already been informed of the recent unpleasantness."
"Yes sir" from the voice Steven guessed it was a woman "We were just told. I can't believe it sir, I simply can't believe it."
"You and all of the bank staff have my condolences. Now I just need to ask a few questions to whoever might be currently in charge."
"Of course sir; that'll be Mr. Karsten, the assistant manager. Well, I suppose he's the manager now…" her voice broke and the Doctor simply asked where to find him. "Down that corridor and it's the last door on the left. I do apologize for losing control there…"
"I quite understand; no explanations are necessary."
"It's just that Mr. Castor was such a kind man I can hardly believe…" she broke down again and the Doctor and Steven quietly slipped away. They followed the teller's instructions and found themselves knocking on Mr. Karsten's office door.
"Come in" Mr. Karsten was a middle aged human with a solemn expression on his face. Introductions were made and Mr. Karsten said "The police said they'd be by to talk to me when they called but I didn't expect them this quickly."
"Why waste time? Now I understand that you are now the manager of this bank in light of the tragedy."
"Yes I am."
"I need to know just a bit about your relationship with Mr. Castor. Just a brief summary if you would, it could be important."
"Surely you don't think I murdered him?"
"Nobody is saying anything; it's just that every detail may be important."
"Well alright then. Mr. Castor was a very kind person; he was completely in favor of peaceful existence between Nocturnes and Humans. This bank was one of the first to handle the accounts of both species and it's been quite successful. There were those who opposed it of course, but they were a minority and the general populace has had nothing but praise for what we've done here."
"Good for you. Was there anything unusual about Mr. Castor or his driver's behavior today?"
"You mean anything that might give us a clue? Nothing out of ordinary, he had gone out for a meeting and was on his way back when the accident occurred."
The Doctor glanced at Steven who, trying not to show how nervous he was, asked "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Mr. Karsten scratched his head for a minute then said "No I don't think so. Anything in particular you need to know?"
"I think we've got all we need" the Doctor said "Thank you sir; you've been most helpful."
Mr. Karsten wished them a good evening, for the 'day' was wearing on, and they left the bank. "Well what do we do now Doctor?"
"We turn in for the night. Come on back to the TARDIS, hopefully tomorrow will yield more clues in this puzzle."
"Okay"
They walked back to TARDIS where the Doctor led Steven to a spare bedroom. "I think you'll be comfortable here. Good night."
"Good night Doctor."
Steven sat down on the bed and began to ponder everything that had happened today. He had been walking the streets of his hometown reminiscing and trying to prepare for college but now he was incredibly far away from home in a time where everyone he knew was long since dead. Why had he agreed to this? Why on Earth had gone off with this strange man he knew nothing about? He recalled the Bible saying in the book of Romans that all things work together for good for those who loved God. Steven assumed that this was part of the plan and that he should just trust that he was meant to be here.
He pulled his notebook from his bag and began to make notes about the day's events. Some were just notes for own benefit to make sure that he didn't forget anything and the rest pertained to the mystery that was unfolding. The Nocturnes and the Human's lived in peace but not everyone liked it. An important bank manager was dead and now a human was in charge of said bank. Also the Doctor had found it significant that the car had crashed into a Monument of Peace. Steven's thoughts turned to the Brotherhood of Shadow and wandered if they could have somehow staged the accident to make Mr. Karsten look like bad. But it was an isolated incident and the news vendor had said everything had been fine for ages; there was no proof of conspiracy. At least at the moment there wasn't.
He closed his notebook, undressed and got into bed. He'd discuss these ideas with the Doctor in the morning. Sleep didn't come immediately and he stayed up a bit longer writing notes for various stories he suddenly had ideas for. At last he collapsed back onto his pillows and drifted into dreamland.
He awoke to the Doctor shaking him gently awake "Rise and shine, Steven."
"Huh, what…Oh it's you Doctor."
"Yes it's me. Normally I let people get up when they feel like it but we have work to do. Get up and meet me in the console room as soon as you can."
He did as he was told and the Doctor reported that he something to show Steven. "Look here" he hit a button and the monitor displayed a newspaper clipping "I've been doing some research and it seems that the death of Mr. Castor may not be an isolated event. In this instance" he pointed to the monitor "a Nocturne named Madame Pollux died when an elevator malfunctioned. Freak accident of technology, maybe, but her human partner gained control of the TV station she ran."
"They have TV here?"
"Sort of but not the point." He twiddled a knob and the monitor began to scroll through other news articles and reels "All supposedly unconnected accidents involving the death or incapacitation of important Nocturnes and Humans befitting somehow. And just in case our cake needed icing, Mr. Karsten was arrested in the night when the police found a control device in his house that caused the limo crash and that he was already making arrangements on his computer to siphon money from the bank into his personal account."
"They're sure that the device caused the crash?"
"Perfectly sure; its programming and energy readings leave no doubt."
"That doesn't necessarily mean he did it. It is possible that a very clever agent could have planted the device after the fact and hacked his computer to show those programs."
"How do you figure?"
"I was working on a theory last night; what if the Brotherhood of Shadow were staging accidents and framing the humans. If they did it enough times they might be able to put together sufficient evidence to lobby for the humans banishment from the planet. I mean, having the limo crash into that statue was a dead giveaway."
"Very good Steven; that's what I was thinking but you put it together even before seeing this evidence. You, my friend, are extremely clever!"
Steven blushed and said "Not really I was just following the flow of logic."
"You're too modest. Now, assuming we're right, then we've got to act quickly because with the government set up on this planet, they could very easily try to banish the humans."
"But they won't take that sitting down Doctor. The human race is a race of fighters and they'll protest this injustice."
"Exactly; civil war is a very real possibility. These Shadow blokes are really underestimating your kind."
"The note said Fall of Night. If the planet were torn by war then Night would quite literally be falling. Peace would be shattered, possibly forever."
"We're not going to let that happen. We've got to find this Brotherhood of Shadow and hope we're wrong."
"And how are we going to do that? If they really are a secret organization then it's not like they'll have an ad in the Yellow Pages."
"True but I figure if Mr. Karsten's computer was hacked then I should be able to track it. We're heading back to that bank."
"I don't think they'll let us back in there. They'll eventually realize that we aren't really on the force."
"Yep which is why we're taking the direct route" he set to work on the controls and the TARDIS began to sway from side to side "it's before opening time so we'll have a quick pop into the office and then out of it."
"That's illegal."
"All's fair in love and avoiding war. Here we are." They exited and indeed they were in the corridor at the bank.
"Doctor I don't feel comfortable about this."
"Then wait in the TARDIS, I'll only be a few minutes."
Steven sat down in the console room and nervously fidgeted with a pen. Suddenly the monitor activated and the Doctor's face was displayed "Hello there Steven. Are you reading me?"
"I should have known they'd still have webcam. Find anything?"
"Yep, this was definitely a hack, a very clever hack but I hacked the hack."
"So Mr. Karsten was set up?"
"Yep our theory seems to be…" he was cut off by an alarm sounding "Oh I am getting old and stupid! I completely forgot about the security system, it finally realized that I'm not a bank employee."
"Well get out of there!" but the Doctor had already left the screen. He was back in seconds "The office is deadlocked sealed, I can't get out. I'm now sending the coordinates to the TARDIS and sending you off."
"Off to where?!" Steven inquired as the TARDIS took off again, even more bumpy than it had ever been.
"To where ever this phony computer program came from. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but it's up to you for the time being."
"But Doctor I can't…" the screen went blank as the TARDIS landed. Steven sat back down in state of mild shock. What was he supposed to do without the Doctor? There was no way he could do this without his help.
"But" he told himself aloud "I have to do this. The Doctor is counting on me and everyone on this planet is in trouble if I don't stop this thing now. And besides, the Doctor is my only ticket home. God give me strength."
He eased open the doors and observed his surroundings. He seemed to be in some sort of warehouse hidden behind large crates. He crept out of the TARDIS and tip toed around the boxes and crates. He could hear voices coming from a door that was a jar and crept nearer to it. The room was an office in which several Nocturnes had gathered and were talking excitedly. Steven extracted his cell phone from his pocket and began to record the conversation.
"Excellent work Neblu; the human was arrested right on schedule."
"Thank you Restar; now I can assume that you'll present our evidence to the council soon?"
"As soon as I leave here; we'll have those dirty creatures off our planet in no time at all."
"How wonderful" a third voice said "Our long game is almost over."
"Well gentlemen" Restar said as he rose from his chair "I suppose I should be on my way. I bid you all farewell."
Steven ran from the door and hid behind a crate until Restar had passed then, barely believing he was doing this, he followed as quietly as he could. Restar exited the building where a car was waiting and as he went to open the gate leading in and out of the area, Steven checked to make sure the back door of the car was unlocked and jumped inside. He quickly snapped a picture of the sign over the warehouse door before curling into a ball on the floor.
The ride to "the council" was terrible. Steven remained curled on the floor trying not to even breathe, knowing that at any moment he'd be discovered. The minutes stretched onwards and soon he lost track of how long he had been there. His muscles began to cramp and he bit down on the collar of his shirt to keep from crying out. Finally Restar parked and disembarked allowing Steven to relax a bit. He got out of the car and stretched.
He was standing in the parking lot of a very important building; he assumed it was a government facility. If so this was the place to be but what should he do? He had never been very good with talking to people especially when it was important. However the longer he stayed out here dithering was time that Restar had to spread his propaganda. Steven took a deep breath and walked up the front steps.
The front doors led into a large and imposing lobby. People of both species were walking back and forth and they were all dressed very well. Steven was suddenly aware of how ordinary and unimportant he appeared by comparison but it was too late now. He said another little prayer and walked up to the information desk. A human woman asked if she could help him.
"I…um…I hope so. I have some very important information concerning the Brotherhood of Shadow."
"Really?" She eyed him skeptically "What sort of information?"
"They have a grand scheme to have the humans banished from the planet Night. A person called Restar is here right now setting the final phases in motion."
"Restar is a member of the Council of Night. These are very serious accusations you are making, young man."
"I know that but you've got to believe me. Here listen to this" he played her the recording he had made in the warehouse and her expression became troubled.
"If this is a prank…"
"It isn't; I promise you this is a real recording. It's a long story but I guarantee you this is genuine."
"I think you had better come with me…er…what did you say your name was?"
"It's Steven Knight."
"Come along Mr. Knight."
He followed her down several corridors and through a grand set of double doors. Steven felt like fainting when he found himself in the midst of a large group of Humans and Nocturnes sitting in rows around a large room.
"Excuse me your honors but this is of great importance. This is Steven Knight and he has some information for the council. I do apologize but I felt it best not to wait."
"Very well Miss Charity; we will give him a chance to say his piece."
Steven felt like throwing up; he already had trouble talking one on one and now they wanted him to talk to a whole government. Well he was going to be a teacher; here was a chance to practice.
"Hello, my name is Steven Knight" at this point his stomach growled loudly and many council members grumbled "I'm very sorry; I haven't had breakfast. Anyway, there is a threat to the safety of this planet."
"Yes and it's you" Restar interrupted "I have already been presenting my evidence on how untrustworthy and blood thirsty you humans are."
"Actually, and I'm very sorry to say this, but you are the untrustworthy one Restar; you and the Brotherhood of Shadow."
"Preposterous! More lies from the humans."
"I'm not lying. I have a recording here on my phone of part of conversation you had with your comrades this very morning as well as a photo identifying the location it took place at. There I believe you will find the computer from which Mr. Karsten's computer was hacked."
Restar looked furious but Steven turned the volume up as high as possible and pushed play. The whole council listed to the few very incriminating sentences and Restar looked uncomfortable.
"How did you procure this information?" a Nocturne asked.
"A friend and I have been investigating this. In fact, I believe he's been arrested in the process. I admit our methods might not have been the best but they were effective and here is the proof. If you listen to Restar it could cause untold havoc to the wellbeing of this planet. It will almost certainly lead to war as the militant human groups strike back and we don't want that. I realize I'm a visitor on Night but from what I've seen this is a wonderful place; a place where a very rare peace has been forged. Two species have come together as one society and have done it very successfully. I am proud of my species for whatever part they played in forming Night as we know it. Please take the necessary steps to preserve this wonderful world. Thank you for listening to me."
Slowly the council members began to clap until everyone in the room was applauding except Restar.
The Chairman said "Restar you will be taken into custody until we get to the bottom of this. Miss Charity please note the location that Mr. Knight photographed so we can investigate properly. Oh and Mr. Knight, your friend will be released immediately."
The rest of the morning passed in a blur as Steven had to talk to several important people, was given breakfast, and was finally taken back to the warehouse where the TARDIS was still parked. The Doctor was there waiting for him.
"I've heard what happened. Steven you have been magnificent! No don't blush, I will not tolerate any modesty now; you are a very spectacular person."
"Thank you Doctor. Can we go home now?"
"Well if that's what you want. The police have everything well in hand here, so we can leave whenever you're ready."
"I'm ready. I want to get home; I'm going to college tomorrow after all."
"In that case, Allons-y."
One wild ride later Steven was stepping out into the alley behind the burger and sausage restaurant. "Wow it's like it never happened."
"Oh but it did. The Brotherhood of Shadow will be rounded up and Night will carry on as it did before. You saved the planet."
"You helped a bit Doctor."
"I did, didn't I? You sure you don't want to travel just a bit more. I'm sure Martha wouldn't mind."
"No I don't think I should. I'm ready to face college with my head held high and treat it like the adventure it is."
"Very good. I'm proud to have met you Steven. Keep an eye out for me when graduation day rolls around."
"I'll do that Doctor. I simply say until we meet again."
They shook hands and Steven was off on his way. The Doctor re-entered the TARDIS and made a beeline for the library. There was something in the back of his mind that didn't take long to confirm. He pulled a book down off of the shelf; "Fall of Night by bestselling author Steven Knight" The Doctor sat down to read as he waited for Martha. As he opened the book he thought of Steven at college facing his first semester in a new place. He smiled because he was sure that Mr. Knight would have a great Fall.