Prologue
The sky was overcast with heavy grey clouds and a biting wind blew leaves in torrents across the grass. The rain was lashing down, turning the grass to mud and even making the gravel path dangerously slippery.
The old man walked carefully along the path, clutching the wooden walking stick tightly between arthritic fingers and bent almost double against the cold wind. He had long abandoned an umbrella, so his grey hair was plastered to his head and droplets of rain ran down his shoulders. He had wrapped a crimson scarf around his neck to stop the rain getting down his neck, but his long dark overcoat was now soaked.
But still he walked on.
He risked taking his eyes from the treacherous path in front of him and looked up. It wasn't far now and he could see the small building a few hundred yards or so in the distance. He was nearly there. In his youth a short walk like this would have been child's play but now it seemed like a pilgrimage. He'd avoided coming here for so long but now he felt that the time was right.
The mausoleum had been neglected over the years. Some of the concrete had become worn and chipped and the marble pillars that flanked the entrance had long since lost their shine. Ivy was entwined around some of them and had also crept up to parts of the slanted roof.
The old man produced a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the grime from the now slightly tarnished brass plate that was fixed next to the doorway. He looked at the name on the plate for a long time, the rain still beating down around him.
He took a deep breath and came to a decision. He had thought it over in his mind so many times; there was no turning back now; one last time.
He pulled a small device from his pocket and stared at it silently as he held it. The device was alien. He had been given it so long ago now. With finality, his thumb pressed a button on the device and a small red light started to flash.
The message had been sent.
1.
The TARDIS flew through the multicoloured miasma that was the Time Vortex.
Inside the huge, magnificent chamber of golden coral, and watching the incandescent column of light rise and fall, were the Doctor, Katherine and Megan. The Doctor was in high spirits and literally scampered around the console flicking switches, twisting dials and pumping handles with ferocious vigour.
"Right then," he asked looking up from the console and grinning at the two girls. "Where do you want to go next?" He hardly paused for breath. "The Star Gardens of Jovil Four? Earth's Great Exhibition?" He considered. "Nah, not that great actually; what about the Eye of Orion?" The Doctor scratched the back of his head. "I haven't been there for ages! Always reminded me of Wales a bit." Suddenly his eyes lit up. "Oh, yes, I know!" He jumped around the console and started altering more controls. "Reef City One!"
Katherine and Megan exchanged a look. "What's Reef City One?" asked Megan hesitantly, raising her eyebrows.
The Doctor slammed home another control and the TARDIS gave a lurch. He clung to the console and grinned at them again. "Oh, you'll love it. Hope you can swim though!"
Suddenly there was a strange sound from the console that sounded like an alarm of some kind.
"What's that?" asked Katherine, clinging to the rail around the console as the TARDIS leapt about.
The Doctor scrabbled around the console pressing some more switches. "It's a distress signal," he replied with interest, his eyes darting over readings that flashed up on the monitor screen. "If I can just check…………." He tailed off and his expression changed instantly. "No it can't be," he whispered, "not from there….."
"Where's the signal coming from Doctor?" asked Megan, a little worried by his abrupt change of mood.
The Doctor ignored her and watched the pillar of light above the console rise and fall, his face unreadable. Then he seemed to come to a decision, and almost seconds afterwards the usual wheezing, groaning sound of the TARDIS materialising filled the chamber.
He turned to Katherine and Megan and forced a smile. "There you go, Reef City One as requested."
Katherine stepped towards him, concern all over her face. "Doctor, what's happened?"
The Doctor dropped the smile and looked deeply into her large brown eyes. "I have to leave you here."
2.
Katherine's stomach tightened and she felt Megan grasp her arm. "You're leaving us here alone?" she gasped in disbelief.
The Doctor nodded and his face was deadly serious. "There's something I have to do," he replied quietly.
"But we can help you," Megan exclaimed, "like we always do!"
The Doctor shook his head slowly, sadly. "Not this time. This time it has to be just me. When I've finished, I'll come back for you."
Katherine's heart skipped a beat, but she knew by the Doctor's face that she couldn't change his mind. "Will you be long?" she whispered.
A flicker of a smile crossed the Doctor's face. "Katherine, the TARDIS is a time machine! Time is relative!"
Katherine nodded and glanced at Megan who smiled bravely.
"Oh, yes," continued the Doctor, a little more like his old self. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and what looked like a small piece of rectangular plastic. He adjusted a setting on the screwdriver and pointed it at the plastic card. After a short burst, he switched it off and thrust the screwdriver back into his pocket. "There you go," he said, passing the card to Katherine. "About a million credits should keep you going." He winked at her. "Don't go mad!"
Katherine smiled sadly and took the card. The Doctor flicked a switch on the console and the TARDIS doors swung open. Katherine took a deep breath and then hugged the Doctor tightly. Then she turned and walked down the ramp towards the TARDIS doors. Megan grabbed her denim jacket from over the nearby railing and smiled at the Doctor who gave her a quick hug as well.
Katherine and Megan paused by the doors. The Doctor smiled warmly at them. "Keep safe," he warned, "but enjoy yourselves; this place is fantastic!" He paused. "I'll see you soon."
The two girls nodded and Megan waved as they left the TARDIS. The Doctor flicked a switch and the door closed behind them. His expression changed instantly, at once intense and worried. Shadows flickered across his blue eyes as he turned some more dials and the TARDIS dematerialised.
3.
The young Captain crouched down amongst the scrubland as he heard the distant gunfire. The sun was going down, turning the landscape a burnt orange, and the mosquitoes were everywhere. He knew that if he didn't find and return to his battalion soon, he would be found and killed by the Mau Mau rebels.
His throat was parched and he risked pausing for a quick swig of water from his canteen. The heat in Kenya never really let up, although after almost six months here he thought he would've been used to it by now. Those six months had seen him celebrate his twenty fourth birthday in the camp with his men. They had given him a party of sorts but he would have sooner been home in England with Fiona. He took another swig and wiped the droplets of water from his moustache. He regretted missing the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth as well.
He stowed away the canteen and looked around the scrubland. The gunfire had died down and he estimated that he was around six miles north of Nairobi. If he managed to go in the right direction, he could be back at the camp well before dawn.
Suddenly there was a flash of light in the sky above him. The Captain looked up to see a creature of nightmares. It was about the size of a large lion, but covered in dark green scales like a dragon. Huge, leathery bat-like wings grew from the back, ending in sharp points and it had a long pointed tail like a scythe. The head was angular and sharp with red devilish eyes. It opened its' mouth with a terrifying screech to reveal rows of razor sharp fangs and flew downwards to attack.
The Captain rolled to one side as it dived at him, just managing to avoid being skewered by the sharp claws. The creature rose into the air again and turned, ready to dive a second time, when there was another sudden flash of light out of nowhere that consumed the creature and it vanished completely.
The Captain picked himself up off the dusty ground and scanned the air, but everything was quiet once more except for the buzz of mosquitoes. He shook his head to clear it and vowed not to tell anyone about what had happened in case they thought the heat had got to him.
4.
The Doctor leaned over the console and watched the central column move up and down. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if preparing himself for an ordeal.
Suddenly, the TARDIS bucked beneath him and he was flung backwards, clutching the railing that ran around the console fore support as an alarm started sounding. The Doctor's hand flew across the myriad of levers and switches on the console, trying to work out what had happened.
"Temporal contour?" he muttered in disbelief, his hands still working furiously. "That shouldn't be there!"
The TARDIS bucked again, but this time the Doctor held onto the console. "No," he shouted as he watched the temporal co-ordinates change on the monitor. "No, not now!"
The loud wheezing, groaning sound of the TARDIS materialising filled the chamber and suddenly everything was quiet and still.
Frantically, the Doctor checked the readings. It looked like the spatial co-ordinates hadn't changed so he had certainly landed at the correct location; it was all a question of when. He hoped desperately that he wasn't too late. Grabbing his long brown coat from where it hung over one of the huge coral supports that went up to the roof of the TARDIS, the Doctor ran to the door.
It was a beautiful summer's day as the Doctor stepped from the TARDIS onto a hillside. The sun shone down onto the long grass and birds sang in trees that were just losing the last of their pink spring blossom. He looked around but there was no one in sight. A little further down the hillside where the ground was level, and surrounded by some elegant beech trees, was a small stone building.
The Doctor felt a cold sensation sweep over him and he started to run as fast as he could towards the building that was clearly a crypt or mausoleum of some kind. He pulled up short as he approached it, and then walked up so that he could read the newly added shiny brass plate next to the entrance.
On it was a list of names; a family tree. At the bottom of the list was a name that made the Doctor's blood run cold.
"Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart: 1929-2008".
5.
"No!" shouted the Doctor, his hearts thumping in his chest. "No, I can't have missed it! I should have been there!" He looked up into the clear blue sky, trying to calm his anger, and then after a few moments, reached out and gently touched the brass plate. "Alistair, I'm so sorry," he whispered.
The Doctor leant against the padlocked iron gate that led to the tomb of his oldest friend. He had answered the call but had failed the Brigadier when he needed him the most. The Doctor's anger began to return and he slammed his fist into the gate. He looked up and his eyes flashed dangerously, his face set. "No," he whispered and then more loudly, "No, I won't let you down!"
He pushed himself away from the gate and began to run back up the hill to the TARDIS. He reached the doors in seconds, opened them and strode into the console chamber, throwing his coat carelessly to one side. The Doctor started punching and stabbing at controls, twisting levers violently. He released the last handle and stared up as the pillar of incandescent light began to move up and down. The familiar wheezing, groaning sound filled the chamber as the TARDIS dematerialised.
The Doctor knew that he was breaking the rules, but this time he didn't care; he had to do it. He would deal with the consequences when the time arose.
***********************
The universe exists in a state of balance. If that balance is shifted, however slightly, primal forces are created to restore it. The Timelords of Gallifrey had a duty to monitor these forces and would sometimes intervene when the death toll was too great; restoring the balance by other, more subtle means.
But the Timelords were no more.
The TARDIS tumbled and hurtled through the blood red Time Vortex.
Suddenly, the Vortex convulsed and shuddered. Bolts of brilliant white chronal energy struck the TARDIS like lightning bolts hitting the mast of a ship in the middle of the sea, illuminating it an eerie glow that then faded away. The Vortex convulsed again, and with a terrifying screech, something began to appear behind the TARDIS, dragged along in the temporal wake.
6.
He sat back in the chair in the library and closed his weary eyes. Writing his journal every day was getting more and more difficult. After a moment he opened his eyes and looked across the desk at the small bottle of tablets. Glancing at his watch, he leant forward and put the tablets in his pocket.
It was time for his daily pilgrimage.
*******************
It was a very short trip. Almost before the noise of the TARDIS engines had died away, the Doctor had sprinted down the ramp and had opened the door.
Instead of a summer's day with blue sunshine, it was dark and grey outside. It was pouring with rain, but the Doctor just ignored the wintry weather, leaving his brown coat, and walked out. The TARDIS had landed in almost exactly the same place as before. The Doctor patted the old time ship affectionately and then looked grimly down the hill to the mausoleum.
Taking a deep breath, the Doctor began to walk quickly down the hill, trudging through mud until he reached the gravel path. The bitingly cold wind and the lashing rain meant that he was soaked to the skin in seconds, yet this had no effect on him and he carried on walking, hoping that he was in time.
He reached the little mausoleum and inspected the brass plate. It was grimy and dirty, but someone had recently attempted to wipe it with something, revealing the names inscribed on it. Although the Doctor could see other names of the Lethbridge-Stewart clan, there was no sign of Alistair.
The Doctor smiled in relief and let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding. He had made it in time! He pushed back the sodden hair from his eyes and blinked through the rain. Where should he try now? The signal had definitely originated from around here. He took a few steps back up the gravel path.
"You got my signal then?" The old but familiar bluff voice stopped the Doctor in his tracks. He turned around to see an old man dressed in a long dark coat and clutching a walking stick.
The Doctor smiled warmly as he recognised his oldest and dearest friend. "Brigadier!"