Chapter 2
Tarthrus, Final planet of the Destitude colonies.
4 months ago, standardised relative time.
He stood on the edge of a large precipice, overlooking the red desert before him. Encampments littered the land, campfires shining out across the night. Chanting filled the air; a guttural, lifeless sound emanating from all around him. Figures rocked back and forth around the fires, their voices trailing into the air.
He heard a figure move up to stand by him.
"It draws near. Not long now."
He nodded his agreement. Before him, the efforts of a thousand lifetimes were coming together.
A tremor rippled over the landscape, the chanting only minimally faltering before rising to new heights.
The voice from behind spoke again. "You should be down there, adding your energy to the multitude."
He shook his head. "That little that I still possess, I would use to observe this final sacrifice."
As he spoke, further tremors shook the ground beneath their feet. Grinding echoed across the land, as the planet of Tarthrus crumbled and collapsed. The two on the precipice simply smiled as a final tremor destroyed the ground beneath their feet, as the planet was obliterated by the psionic force. And from its core, something emerged. Slowly at first, moving its gargantuan form out into space, moving away from the ruins of its birthplace, its mind filled with the thoughts and memories of the species that had driven itself extinct in this final sacrifice. It had its goal, and a name, scattered in its mind.
The Nightmare Child.
Abandoned data relay, near Elysium 18-T.
Present day, standardised relative time.
The Renegade struggled to hold onto the railing as the roar echoed away. The shape was now clearly moving, towards the general direction of Elysium 18-T. But in front of it lay the Dalek fleet.
The fleet in question had by now opened fire, laser fire lighting up the vacuum as volley after volley hit the behemoth shape. If the shots were noticed by the shape, it gave no indication, as it kept moving relentlessly towards the fleet. The Renegade could now see its shape, lit only by laser fire, as being something like a large serpent, its skin constantly shifting and altering, as though it were made of gas.
And at the front, an unmistakable mouth was opening.
The Renegade could only watch as it tore through the fleet, ships either being obliterated or swallowed by the maw of the form. At the center, the command ship of Davros was helpess as the creature engulfed it, things resembling teeth smashing into the hull. The ship was taken in, and the rest of the fleet either scattered, or followed. The Renegade finally shook his head and moved into action, passing the soldiers and moving back into the station. They followed at a run, and they reached the Tardis in a matter of minutes. He burst into motion around the console, setting a return course for Elysium 18-T.
One of the soldiers looked up at him, still panting from the run. "What was that thing?"
Another glanced over at him. "Some spawn of the Vauron forges? It wouldn't be the first to attack the station."
The Renegade shook his head. "It destroyed an entire Dalek fleet. This is something new."
How words were met with an uneasy silence.
The Commander wiped his brow, staring intently at the terminal in front of him when the Renegade entered the room.
"I'm guessing you've seen our new friend?" he said as a greeting.
"Couldn't really miss it. What is that thing?"
The commander gestured at the terminal. "We're reading colossal psionic readings, and can track its course as originating several systems away. Beyond that is anyone's guess."
The Renegade frowned. "Psionic? For something that large... it'd have needed-"
"The entire population of Tarthrus." A time lord several consoles away interrupted. "That thing out there came from that sector, and we're getting reports that Tarthrus was destroyed several months ago. It was thought to be a Nestene attack. Looks like it was something else."
"The Destitude colonies." The commander spoke vehemently.
"More to the point," The Renegade said, "how can we stop it?"
"Sir!" Another Time Lord shouted. "Initial barrage was unsuccessful, it's still coming!"
"If that thing reaches this station, we won't stand a chance." The Commander said hoarsely. "It could destroy the entire defence in minutes."
"How far out is it?" The Renegade questioned.
"Only a few clicks, should reach us in approximately 7 hours." The Commander sighed. "But even with our level of firepower we can barely tickle it."
"Second barrage, unsuccessful!" An officer shouted.
An idea sparked in the Renegade's mind. "Elysium 9-Ω."
The Commander looked at him in surprise. "You think it could help?"
"Worth a try. There has to be something there that can help."
The Commander nodded, thinking intently. "I'll send a squad to meet you by your transport, we'll need you out there as soon as possible."
The Renegade was already in movement.
The squad in question was comprised of 6 soldiers, their more elaborate armour, with a colour scheme of red and silver indicating their elite rank. They were gathered around the Tardis, their schism rifles tucked lazily under their arms.
"Sir!" One jumped to attention upon seeing the Renegade striding towards them. He nodded back as he moved past them into his Tardis. They followed at a march, their calm demeanour evident.
"What's our objective?" One questioned. The Renegade looked up at her as he moved around the console. "Elysium 9-Ω was a military storage site before it was hit by extensive orbital bombardment. Most of the base was destroyed, but if anything can take out that beast heading towards the station, it'll be there." He nodded the final word firmly.
The soldiers nodded their understanding, and the Tardis shook into movement.
The Tardis materialised just outside the ruined facility. The door opened and the first soldier stepped slowly out. The Renegade brushed past him and stood observing the structure in front of him.
"We need to move quickly. There wasn't time for reconnaissance, so we're essentially going in blind. Keep your eyes open." With that he moved forwards.
They entered by the ruin of a door, its structure bent and twisted. Scanning the hallway ahead of him, the Renegade levelled his schism rifle and moved forwards.
They journeyed through the ruins in silence, only occasionally stopping to investigate potential weapons. But the old station seemed to be completely devoid of anything operational.
As they continued, the Renegade caught sight of a branching hallway leading down a separate route. He motioned two of the soldiers to take that route, and the rest to move forwards. They carried out the orders and he lead the bulk of the group down into a large cavernous room. In the centre was a terminal jutting out from a large holographic table. He tentatively tried to activate the terminal only to discover to his surprise that it was still operational. He accessed the data logs and glanced up at the holographic device, which was now displaying a catalogue of the weaponry stored in the station.
Sighing at the multitude of entries, he began searching.
Castan moved slowly forwards. Glancing back, he saw Niveene shadowing his footsteps. He nodded to her and turned back ahead. The ruined station was silent apart from their boots clanging on the metallic floor, and the incessant noise of the flickering lighting, which was now severely testing Castan's patience.
Thud thud, thud thud.
Castan examined the signs as he passed them, the swirls of his peoples language telling him that this section of the base had mostly been dedicated to culinary storage.
Hardly destructive weaponry, he thought irritably.
Thud thud, thud thud.
They took a left, and he looked down the hall. This section of the station seemed even more damaged, having presumably taken a more severe beating than the rest of the station.
Thud, thud.
He ducked under an arch, the metal warped by orbital fire until it covered half of the hall. He straightened up and shifted his grip on his schism rifle.
Thud, thud.
He sighed to himself as more signs relating to minor weaponry storage passed him by, hoping that eventually-
Wait.
He'd missed something.
And then a chill raked through his body as he realised.
There was only one set of footsteps.
He turned around slowly, looking at the hallway behind him.
And the group of stone angels inhabiting it.
Finally, the Renegade saw something of promise.
"Come look at this."
A soldier moved to stand next to him, and squinted at the holographic display before them.
"A temporal rift device?"
The Renegade nodded, a smile beginning to form on his weary face. "If that device was activated in the vicinity of the creature it could create a vortex opening capable of absorbing the entire thing."
"Which would do what exactly?" The Time lord asked sceptically.
The Renegade ran his hand through his hair. "If I'm right? Destroy it. No creature could survive direct exposure to the time winds in that concentration. It would tear it to pieces, deposit the remains throughout all of time and space."
The soldier was now nodding, apparently impressed. "That could actually work. Where is it?"
The Renegade examined the holographic display. "Not far from here, actually. It's right next to-" He tailed off, staring with growing horror. "Oh my God."
"What?" The Time Lord inquired, apparently unfamiliar with the phrase.
"We have to get out of here."
They passed down the hallway at a sprint, moving as fast as possible towards the storage of the rift device. He rounded a corner, the four soldiers right behind him. One of them was trying to contact the other two, but their radio silence was ominous.
There was no way I could've known, the Renegade told himself. And yet he felt no comfort from it. However he looked at it, he'd sent two Time Lords to their deaths.
A few mere minutes later, they reached the storage room.
"Careful," he cautioned. "They could be anywhere around here."
"Who could?" A soldier panted.
If the Renegade heard, he made no obvious response as he looked around, eventually settling for:
"If you see them, whatever you do, do not blink."
The soldiers exchanged looks, wondering what the aged Time lord meant. Suddenly one of them glanced down a side hall, only to do a double take in shock.
"Doctor!"
The Renegade winced at the mention of his discarded name, but moved over to the Time lord. He looked down the hall, before stiffening in shock. "Keep looking at it. For the love of Rassilon, keep it in your eyesight." Down the hall, shadowed slightly by the flickering lights, stood a stone statue of an angel.
"What is it?" Another soldier, still searching for the rift device, asked.
"A weeping angel." The Renegade responded. "Stone creatures only whilst you look at them. Look away, and they move like lightning. They kill by sending their prey back in time, and harvesting the potential temporal energy, But in the distorted state of time around here, you'll most likely just be eviscerated."
The soldier staring at the form took a step back.
Several seconds passed.
"Another one!" Another soldier shouted, pointing down another hall. He levelled his schism rifle and opened fire, rounds illuminating the angel as they blasted into the statue.
"Stop!" The Renegade yelled, knocking his rifle away. They both looked down the hall to see the angel, completely undamaged by the schism blasts.
"Keep your eye on it." The Renegade warned.
After several more seconds, another Time Lord jumped.
"I've found it!" He held in his hand a surprisingly small cylinder, roughly half a metre long, rounded at the edges. It was silver in colouration, red rings encircling either end just in from the rounded ends. The Renegade examined the object before nodding. "Let's get it out of here."
A gasp made them look round. The soldier watching the first angel had finally relented, as the stone form was now inches from him, its fingers extended, ending in talons. Its face was now warped into a scream, its mouth displaying sharp fangs. Its blank grey eyes were boring unadulterated hate into the Time lord in front of it. On cue, the other soldier let out a similar exclamation as he also blinked, giving the weeping angel he was watching several metres purchase.
"Both exits blocked, and more of them are most likely littering the hallways." The other soldier said in fear. He looked at the Renegade. "If anything of what they say about you is true, an escape plan would be really helpful right now."
The Renegade surveyed the scene before him, thinking desperately. The two Time lords watching the angels were backing up towards the rest of the group, the other two helping them alternate blinks. Finally, an idea came to him. He levelled his schism rifle, took a deep breath - and fired.
