Notes: Initially, when I started this fic, I had intended for the Rani to be a previous regeneration than the one we were introduced to. However, with Kate O'Mara's recent passing, I have since reconsidered that decision and have decided that the Rani in this fic will be her Rani after all, with the fic being dedicated to her and to Pat.
Brasher the Androgum is an OC of aragonite, who gave me free reign to do what I wished with him, to which I am very grateful.
Also, apologies for the slow update speed; things have gotten busy in my schedule, and with me trying to juggle two other fics, I don't know for certain when updates for this will be. I'll be going on a very brief hiatus until things settle down somewhat, after which I will return to normal update speeds.
Jamie looked at the image with some amount of interest.
"The Rani…" he repeated. "Aye, well, she's nae wearing one of those ridiculous robes that the other Gallifreyans wear. And if ye know her, and she's brilliant, there's nothing to worry aboot, is there, then?"
"Oh, Jamie, I'm afraid we've got rather a lot to worry about," the Doctor said. "Yes, she is a renegade, like I am, and she is brilliant… But she is obsessed with scientific experiments—experiments that usually mean nothing but trouble for other species. She was dealing with giant rats at the time of her exile…"
"…Giant rats?"
"Yes, and not all of them are accounted for. I think she lost one during a visit to Earth. How else would you explain the sightings of the Giant Rat of Sumatra?"
"Oh, aye…" Jamie said. "But how do ye know her?"
The Doctor was now accessing the computer terminal not answering Jamie's query; his mind was clearly elsewhere.
"Doctor?" Jamie asked.
The Time Lord glanced at him, briefly, before returning to work.
"We studied at the Academy together," he explained. "We were part of a little inner circle—the Master and the War Chief were a part of it, too. The Rani was the most brilliant out of all of us."
"Smarter than ye? Really?"
"Don't sound so smug! We're both in very great danger!" the Doctor insisted. "Fortunately, I seem to have accessed the retractor beams of the space station. I just need to input a few more commands and… Ha!" He clapped his hands together in triumph. "That's deactivated it! Come along, Jamie; we can hopefully be away from here before she realizes what's happened!"
Jamie wanted to know why the Rani was someone to flee from, especially if she knew the Doctor from before. But, in the back of his mind, the mention of the Master and the War Chief made him realize that the Doctor's old Academy friends were Time Lords to fear. Of course, even the other, non-renegade Time Lords that Jamie had met seemed to hold contempt for him, as well, dismissing him as a primitive creature; associating with him was considered to be beneath them.
He pushed the thoughts aside as he followed the Doctor back to the TARDIS, standing off to the side as the Doctor threw the dematerialization switch.
Nothing happened, and the Time Lord's face fell.
"What's happened?" Jamie asked, as the Doctor threw the switch back and forth, with no results.
"I don't know," the Doctor said, looking concerned. "But if I know the Rani, I can guess… Oh, crumbs; that's done it…"
The screen displayed another message in Gallifreyan; once again, Jamie tried to decipher it based on what he had learned in his lessons.
"There's… another retractor beam?" Jamie asked. "A second one?"
"Yes; more than likely, it's something of her own creation," the Doctor said. "Altering Time Lord technology for her own ends is no difficult task for her. As I said, she was brilliant at the Academy."
"What now, then?" the Scot asked.
"Now? Now, you will stay here while I go and find and deactivate the other retractor beam."
"…What."
"I think I made myself quite clear. Or must I repeat it?"
"Ye're nae going oot there alone."
"Jamie—"
"Doctor, I've traveled with ye for thirteen years. I know ye well enough to know when I can leave ye to yerself. And that's almost never. Ye need me."
"Jamie, I am five hundred years old; I got along without you for four hundred and eighty-seven of those years."
"Just barely, no doubt; I don' know how ye did it…" Jamie began, but he trailed off, remembering how Peri's Doctor had not been with him—and hadn't been for centuries, but the sound of it.
Jamie clung to the Doctor's arm now; if his time with the Doctor was limited, then the Scot wanted to spend as much of it with him as he could.
The physical contact allowed the Doctor's touch-telepathic abilities to understand Jamie's sentiments, as well.
"Oh, Jamie…" he sighed, but quickly realized that there was no easy answer to this. "Very well; but you mustn't wander off. And you must do exactly as I tell you; do you understand?"
"Aye."
"Good. Now, then… We mustn't waste any time; we shall need to do a very quick sweep of each and every room until we find that second retractor beam. As I said, it won't be a part of the machinery on the space station, so keep your eyes open for some contraption that looks out-of-place."
He placed his hand on the console button to open the TARDIS doors, but didn't press down just yet.
"Doctor?"
"There is one more thing that concerns me," he said. "And that would be what the Rani was doing here on Space Station Chimera in the first place. It's highly unlikely that she came in here with the intent of dragging my TARDIS in here."
"What do ye mean?"
"Well, you know how famous Dastari was…"
"Aye. …Oh, ye think the Rani was here to see Dastari?"
"Yes… Yes, and I do think that it wasn't for the first time, either," the Doctor said. "Dastari's sudden interest in genetic manipulations may not be a coincidence. The Rani might have been influencing him; and perhaps the Androgums and the Sontarans might have originally planning to prepare their little plot for her, only to change their minds and wait for my people to send someone else."
"…And it was ye they sent," Jamie said, quietly.
"Yes, well… that was just a bit of hard luck—not unlike the kind of luck we usually have to deal with."
"Aye…."
"But that doesn't matter now," the Doctor said. "We made it past that, and now we need to make it past this. Now, Jamie, I want you to stay right by my side at all times—unless I tell you to run. And when I say run…"
"I know, I know. Run."
"Yes."
They didn't say anything for a moment; the Doctor's aquamarine eyes met Jamie's darker ones.
"How bad is the Rani, Doctor?"
"Let me put it this way, Jamie. You can very often stand back and let a fool bungle spectacularly with minimal input from you. But a genius can be the most dangerous adversary of all. And now I think you understand why I'm choosing to retreat; one must pick one's battles, and this is one that I would rather avoid."
"Aye."
"Now, then, we shall have to be quick. Are you ready, Jamie?"
"Ready."
The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and, taking Jamie by the hand, led him outside. The doors closed behind them as they ran through the darkened corridors of the Space Station once more.
The Rani wasn't at all surprised to see that the Space Station's retractor beam had been deactivated. In fact, considering that this was the Doctor she was dealing with, it should have been expected. Now, all that remained was for the Doctor to search for the other retractor beam… only to find something most unexpected along with it.
The Time Lady turned her head ever so slightly as she heard someone approach. A burly Androgum stood in the doorway of the room, his eyes blazing.
"The other Time Lord is here," he said, his mouth watering. "And he has a Tellurian with him!"
The Rani hid her disdain as she faced the Androgum.
"Priorities, Brasher," she said, calmly. "You came to me because you wanted me to continue Dastari's experiments on the Doctor. With Dastari dead, there was no one else who could proceed with where he had left off."
"Yes…" Brasher grumbled. "I united the Quancine and Franzine Grigs so that we might avenge the deaths of Shockeye and Chessene—and the greatest vengeance of all would be to have the Time Lord restored to his hybrid state with Shockeye's genetic material, and have him lead the Androgums to conquer and devour worlds across space and time—starting with Gallifrey, to rid us of any opposition."
"You're welcome to Gallifrey, as far as I'm concerned," the Rani said. "I am an exile, and have no sympathies towards them. But you won't get anywhere if you allow yourself to be distracted by chasing after primitive creatures. Besides, the Earthling may end up being of some use."
"Use?"
"The Doctor I remember had no sympathies for the lesser creatures of the galaxy; I am curious to know why this one is traveling with him. So, I want you to pass the word to the others to stay out of sight until the Doctor finds the other retractor beam." Her eyes narrowed. "Have I made myself clear? I know how you Androgums are slaves to your instincts."
Brasher scowled, but nodded as he retreated. The Rani watched him leave before turning back to the surveillance footage. Now, it was just a matter of waiting.