A short distance from the glass walkway of Heroes the Doctor stood in the crowd of Timelords across at the pathway that was connected to the doors of one of the greatest Tardis in existence; the Light of Gallifrey. The crowd were shouting and cheering in high-spirits as the doors parted and the crew appeared. A smile spread across the Doctor's teenage face and he started to cheer, his body flooded with adrenaline he sang with the best of them.
From the doors the crew emerged, dressed in pale gray uniforms the crew of twenty emerged waving, some of them were bandaged, others only looking rattled but they were smiling, waving; happy to be home. Gallifrey, the shining world, the most beautiful sight the crew had seen in weeks. In the bright sunlight of the suns a tall man appeared in the doorway, slender but powerful, his shoulder length hair silver and reflecting the suns rays; came the Captain. Dressed in a dark suit covered by a white over-coat, the Timelord of over a thousand years old stepped into view of the crowd and the screams increased ten-fold. The Captain, the most famous Timelord of them all, a Warlord, fighting on the front-line always. He had raised the Light of Gallifrey into the Tardis she was, powerful, imposing and an image that inspired hope.
The Doctor, fresh from the academy, dressed in the red robes of a graduate, had rushed from his graduation ceremony to see the Light of Gallifrey dock and the crew emerge. He had short dark hair, ruffled from running, it was a hot day and his young brow was coated in a fine sweat. As he pushed through the crowd, heading for the main building, the Doctor wished his Tardis would grow faster, she was newly seeded and growing in the laboratories beneath the Citadel but it would be some decades before she flowered into the ship she was. Continuing on the Doctor pushed open the wooden doors and was greeted by two large guards, dressed in their dark blue robes they gave him the once over and, once they had determined he was not a threat, walked on.
Up the staircases he ran, black glass spiralling up and up, higher into the tower. On the fourth floor he pushed open a heavy door and emerged, as planned, on the same level at the Captain and his crew. Some of them spared him a glance but the Captain, the man the Doctor most wanted to meet, never even looked his way. Instead he continued through the large glass security doors, deeper into the inner sanctum.
"Doctor, is it?" someone said. The Doctor turned, the Priestess Wake stood behind him. She was a beautiful Timelord, tall and graceful with porcelain features, at least three hundred years old, Wake was in charge of all things burial related. The Doctor always found this strange, such a beautiful woman in charge of the one thing most grim. Timelords rarely chose to die but when they did, it was the single largest event since their birth, the entire Citadel would turn out and it was Priestess Wake's job to make sure it all went ahead without a hitch.
"Yes Priestess?" the Doctor asked, bowing to her
"The Captain is tired, please keep out of his way, I understand you want to be a part of his crew but now is not the time" she smiled softly. The Doctor was going to ask her how she knew when the doors onto the walkway were pushed open by two guards, behind them a procession of burial caskets, each one draped in a black cloth with a white outline of the citadel upon it. The Doctor bowed his head and stepped back against the wall as they passed; they were the dead, the uncountable dead killed by their hidden enemy the Dalek's. The Doctor knew little about the Dalek's, they were the faceless enemy that had haunted the Timelords since before his birth, forever the enemy of the Timelords, incredibly powerful and despite being in a universe a billion light years away; still inspired fear, still made the Timelord Council shiver in their very skin.
As the dead were carried past the Doctor felt someone standing over him. He looked up for a moment, his eyes glimpsing the white robe, the silver hair and immediately he looked away. But the Captain was not looking at him, his eyes were on his fallen comrades, he felt infinite sorrow, he mourned them with everything he had but his fury, cold fury burning deep in his heart increased his drive to exterminate the Dalek's. The Captain smiled at the thought "exterminate the Dalek's, poetry in motion" he thought as the final coffin past him. The Priestess Wake bowed to him as she passed, following the coffins.
"So then, young man, you were in quite the hurry" the Captain said, his voice was low, his words as smooth as the soft glass surface of the Lake of Forgiveness. The Doctor looked up, into the steel grey eyes of the Captain.
"Yes, I…wanted to meet you" he stuttered. Now he was here the Doctor was unsure as to why he was so driven to meet this Timelord.
"It happens a lot" the Captain smiled, he placed one hand on the Doctor's shoulder as he walked towards the glass walkway of heroes.
"Can I come?" the Doctor blurted. One of the guards holding the door open for the Captain raised an eyebrow.
"I think the Captain wants to unwind, Doctor, why don't you go back to your studies?" the guard suggested. The Doctor nodded
"Yes sir, ok, sorry to bother you" the Doctor apologised and pushed open the door to the stairwell.
"Doctor, if you take orders from anyone I don't think I would want you on my ship" the Captain called, the Doctor paused, catching the door as it closed. He stuck his head around the door to where the Captain stood, wind blowing his coat open to expose the dark suit.
"Can I accompany you?" the Doctor asked, determination creeping in. The Captain smiled and gestured towards the Light of Gallifrey.
"I'll await you inside" he smiled, stepping out onto the walkway and to more cheers.