A/N: Again, thanks all for reading and thanks to Bianca Valdez for the lovely review; it made my day :)
Here is the third and final chapter of this story. It was really fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it.
Act III
With a groan, the TARDIS materialized and the Doctor ran out the doors hardly a second after it did.
"Doctor?" David said, turning at the sound, a look of confusion on his face. "But you only just left!"
"Time travel, David. Try to keep up." The Doctor strode into the tent past David who opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again, then looked at Donna who had emerged from the TARDIS and came to stand near him.
"He…" David trailed off, uncertain.
"We know what's going on," Donna said.
A moment later, the Doctor came out of the tent holding the emergency beacon in one hand.
"Do you know where their base is?" the Doctor asked, rolling the beacon around in his hands.
"Well, they have several."
"Which one's closest to the crash site?" The Doctor's voice was urgent. "To which one might they have taken their prisoner?"
"Uh, okay," David said. "When our scouts find something, we mark it down on the map. Just a minute." He headed at a fast walk across the camp and entered another tent, returning a moment later with a rolled-up map. Kneeling on the ground, he unrolled it, placing rocks at its corners to hold it down. "It's not perfect, we map it as we go along."
There wasn't much to it. Most of the region was desert but David's people had marked the location of the camp in the center of the map and outward from there had included anything of interest, including a stream, a canyon, the nearby colony, and yes, some of the enemy base camps.
"We found the crash site here," David said, tapping the map. "So the closest base would be here."
"Right," the Doctor said. "We're going to need your help."
David folded his arms. "And just what exactly are you planning?"
"The man who sent out that distress signal, who left us this" – he held up the beacon for emphasis – "is very important. Palpatine plans to have him executed but that cannot happen. We need to hurry."
"And you need us? Can't you just take your time machine in there and get him?"
"Not that simple," the Doctor replied, shaking his head. "The place will be swarming with droids and Stormtroopers and we don't know how long it will take to find him. Before we can do that, we need a distraction."
David sighed, beginning to understand. "You want us to attack them, draw all of their forces to the front of the compound while you sneak in the back."
"That's the idea."
David stood then, thinking it over. "I don't know. I can't risk the lives of my men for a simple diversion."
"You came here to destroy the Daleks. Surely you came prepared."
"Well, yes, but even so, we need time to come up with a plan of action. We can't just go barreling in."
"I never thought I'd say it, but we're out of time." The Doctor let his eyes roam the camp where most of the soldiers were watching this exchange, Susan among them. He always hated killing, especially when the killing helped him. No matter what he had to do, be it save a single life or a whole civilization, if anyone had to die for him to succeed, it always left a bitter taste in his mouth. "This is important, just as much so as your mission to wipe out the Daleks. Saving this one man may just save the future."
David bit his lip in indecision. He too looked around at the faces of his people, people who would obey his orders without question. His gaze fell on Susan, the woman he loved. She gave a reassuring smile, nodded.
"Alright, we'll see what we can do," he finally relented.
The Doctor nodded, not liking it, but knowing there really was no other choice. "Thank you."
"But there is something that you should know," David added. "They're working with the Daleks."
"Two birds, then," the Doctor commented in acknowledgement and then began to walk back to the TARDIS.
Night fell. Droids patrolled the compound, their mechanical steps rhythmic against the hard ground, their heads swiveling in search of possible threats. At each corner of the surrounding fence was a resting bolt turret.
Beyond the perimeter, David lowered the scope. "Alright then," he said. He looked around at his people, men and women who'd fought beside him against the Daleks. They'd all agreed to fight beside him again, for a cause no less great. They all toted weapons and stood ready, grim determination etched onto their features.
"We're doing the right thing," Susan said, reading the doubt on his face.
"Can we really be sure of that?"
Susan put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I trust the Doctor."
"Alright then," he said again. He checked the power setting on his blaster one last time.
The first shot rang out disturbingly against the silence. More followed.
"And that's our cue," the Doctor said.
Against the rent air newly alive with the sound of blaster fire, the TARDIS groaned and disappeared.
Inside the compound, a group of four Stormtroopers stopped, ears pricked at the sounds of battle. They looked to each other, uncertain.
"Should we…?" one of them said.
"They should be able to handle it. We've got our own duties to attend to," another said, tilting his head at the figure in the middle of the group, a robed man with his hands bound behind him.
"Yeah, you're right. Probably just a few rebels. They'll be wiped out in no time."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," the man between them spoke softly.
The troopers merely laughed. "Anyway, it won't matter for much longer, now will it? You've been sentenced to execution."
The man smirked.
A second later, before any of the Stormtroopers could react, he flew into action, throwing his weight at one of them and taking him down, in the same move scissoring his legs and felling a second.
The other two quickly drew their blasters and fired as Qui-Gon hit the floor and rolled. Already, the troopers he'd taken down were getting back to their feet, shaking their heads, dazed.
Spotting the handle of his lightsaber on one of the trooper's belts, he jumped back up and spun around, calling on the Force. The weapon smacked into his hands, the metal cool and satisfying, and he heard the familiar hum of its blade as he activated it. Quickly, carefully, with a flick of his wrists, he severed the bonds, feeling the heat of the blade between the heels of his hands.
As the Stormtroopers continued to fire, he whipped around, his hands free, lightsaber flashing and humming before him.
When the TARDIS landed, the room was all but deserted. The Doctor and Donna stepped out to find themselves in some sort of storage room, metal containers stacked against the walls, pipes running along the ceiling. There was a door that presumably lead into a corridor.
"Come on," the Doctor said and he used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door. Silently, it slid up into the ceiling. From where they were, they couldn't hear the sounds of battle but the eerily silent corridor was proof enough that their plan had worked.
Quickly, they made their way deeper into the compound and shortly came upon what could only be prison cells. There were several of them, bare and each with a single bench set against the wall. Force field generators were installed in the cell frames, deactivated for the moment. All the cells were empty.
"They might have been moving him when David and his people attacked," the Doctor said. "Either way, we have to find him and get him out of here." He peered further down the corridor, deciding which way they should go. "Donna, what do you think?" When there was no answer, he looked back over his shoulder. "Donna?"
The hallway behind him was empty.
No… He rushed back down the corridor the way he had come. "Donna!" he called as loudly as he dared.
She never answered.
Great, Donna thought. Of all the lousy things that could go wrong, you just had to get yourself lost. Way to go! She ran a hand over the smooth metal door, trying to find a latch or a button or something but found nothing. What kind of door didn't have any handle in it, anyway?
As soon as they'd found the cells, the Doctor had gone ahead to examine them while she'd found a ramp leading down to what she presumed were more cells. There were, but she hadn't expected a bloody door to come crashing down behind her and from the lack of response to her incessant pounding, it was probably sound-proof too. Figures.
Sighing, Donna gave up on the door and decided to head further in. There was probably another way up from here.
Like the cells above, these were all empty. She hurried past them, giving them no more than a cursory glance, her mind on finding the Doctor and this Jedi bloke and then getting the hell out of here.
She rounded the corner and came face to helmet with a Stormtrooper.
The trooper and his buddies, as surprised as she was, quickly lifted their weapons.
"Don't move," one of them said as an afterthought.
"Excuse me?" Donna said. I've bloody well had enough of this. "Get those things out of my face. Don't you know who I am?"
The troopers exchanged what would have been confused looks if their expressions could be seen behind their visors, caught off guard by her bravado.
"Well?"
The first trooper made up his mind and leveled his blaster at her face. "You will come with us."
"Oh brilliant," she said, holding out her hands to show she was unarmed. "But if you try anything, Mister, you'll be in big trouble 'cause you have no idea –" In mid-sentence, she launched herself at the trooper, grabbing for his blaster and wrenching it out of his hands, striking him in the visor with the butt of the weapon. Stunned by the sudden attack, he reeled backward, crashing into the trooper directly behind him.
"–who you're dealing with," Donna finished, blaster aimed at the fallen Stormtroopers.
A second later, something hard and cold pressed against the back of her head.
"Drop it," said a voice and Donna sighed, her victory short-lived. She let the blaster drop from her hand to clatter to the floor. Gloved hands grabbed her arms, binding them behind her. Donna huffed, irritated, outwardly seeming as if this was merely an inconvenience. But inwardly, she was afraid.
The two troopers she'd knocked down got back to their feet, the first grabbing his blaster from the floor and she could feel their heated glares through their visors, though she could not see them. She was grabbed roughly by the arm and shoved forward and she had no choice but to walk with them down the hall. She figured they would take her to whomever they called their leader, perhaps even that Emperor Palpatine himself. She shuddered inwardly at the thought. But even so, she did not again attempt escape; she held no illusions they wouldn't kill her for trying.
After several minutes of walking through metal corridors that mostly looked the same, passing by mostly empty control rooms, they arrived in a large, circular chamber. Here, the floor and the walls were made of some type of white metal, segmented by black piping. Consoles lined the walls, monitors alive with activity and judging from the holographic images they displayed, Donna figured they were security feed. On several of them, she saw the commotion just on the outskirts of the compound, saw David's people engaged with Stormtroopers and droids. She scanned the monitors, searching for any sign of the Doctor but saw nothing.
In the center of the room, staring at an enlarged bank of monitors, his back to them, was a man in a gray uniform.
"General, we've captured one of them," the trooper holding Donna said.
The man turned around and she saw that he was middle-aged with long gray hair pulled behind his ears, his expression set in firm lines.
"Ah, good. A prisoner to interrogate," he said, his mouth stretching into a bitter smile.
"You'll get nothing from me," Donna said, again using bravado to hide her fear.
"Oh, I'm sure not at first." He spoke in a condescending tone as if to a child. That smile was sickening, Donna decided. "Buuuut, they always relent in the end. And honestly, I think this may be the little push we need to finally eliminate those pesky colonists. I'm sure after this, the Emperor will see fit to grant my wish."
"Well if you're just so keen to kill everyone, why do you need me for?"
"Hmmm, well, when you put it that way, I suppose I could just kill you now." He tapped a finger on his chin in thought. "But interrogation is just so…fun."
"You're sick," Donna said.
The man shrugged. "Oh, where are my manners. I'm General Gaskine and I run this place."
"I'm very well not pleased to meet you," Donna grumbled.
"And you are?" Gaskine said, ignoring her comment. When Donna didn't answer, he said, "It's only polite."
Donna scoffed. "A polite torturer? That's a new one."
Another Stormtrooper entered then at a run and addressed the general. "The prisoner's escaped, sir. He's already cut down plenty of soldiers and he's heading this way."
Gaskine frowned. "Gather your men and go after him, them."
"But sir, most of the men are on the perimeter fighting off the attack from the outside."
Gaskine cursed. "I don't care how you do it, just do not let him escape."
"Yes sir. I –" A sudden commotion cut him off, the sound of blaster fire reverberating in the corridor just outside. A moment later, the sounds ceased and the door opened and a man entered, a man far different from anyone else Donna had seen in this place. He was tall and wore a simple robe, long blond hair hanging loose over his shoulders. And in his hand he held a weapon the likes of which she had never seen, a sword with a blade made of light that hummed in time with its every movement.
Calmly, he strode into the room and approached the general who Donna could see was very nervous at the mere sight of this man.
"You are responsible for the death of many innocents," said the man, his voice calm, his expression a mask.
"N-not I. The emperor gives the orders, I just follow them."
"Then you are no better than he." Still, the man approached and now General Gaskine took a step back, eyeing that menacing glowing blade with uncertainty. "In the name of the Galactic Republic, I am placing you under arrest."
"Y-you won't get out of here alive," Gaskine boasted. Donna took pleasure from seeing the man squirm. The feeling didn't last, however, as the man's face suddenly lit up and, despite the newcomer's calm menace, he grinned wickedly.
Donna suddenly had an ill feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Smoke billowed into the air from the destroyed turrets and small fires had erupted across the compound. David took cover behind the wreckage of a speeder as blaster fire lit the air. Already, he'd lost several men and more were wounded.
He motioned to one of his men, a dark-skinned soldier named Terry. "We've given them enough time," he said, raising his voice over the sounds of battle. "Signal the retreat."
"Yes sir," Terry said. He peered out over the cover, waiting for the right time to bolt out and order the retreat. He hesitated then, his eyes fixed on one of the buildings within the compound, even as the blaster fire died down somewhat.
"What is it?" David asked, shifting so he too could see what Terry saw.
He heard the screams first before anything. And then he saw flashes of blue.
The Doctor quickly made his way through the building, taking cover whenever a Stormtrooper happened to rush by, but all those he saw on his way were too busy with too much on their minds, to so much as notice him.
He came upon a console room and tried one of the computers in hopes it might tell him something, perhaps let him tap into the security feed. He did not get far, however, as a voice, a terribly familiar one, spoke from behind him.
"You will step away from the console," the gravelly voice said, "Doctor."
A moment later, reinforcements entered the circular room, filing in in ones and twos until they could surround Donna and Qui-Gon and the remaining Stormtroopers. Gray and shaped like giant pepper pots, they each sported two stick-like appendages and a single eyestalk.
"The attackers are retreating," one of the Daleks said. "My forces are securing the perimeter."
"Good, good," General Gaskine said, regaining his confident demeanor. "Seems we can work together after all."
"Your troops are incompetent."
Gaskine waved one hand in the air dismissively. "If you don't like it, you'll just have to take it up with the emperor."
The Dalek's eyestalk moved in a manner which conveyed its irritation.
"Anyway, we're expecting another ship full any day now."
"They will be as useless as the last."
Gaskine frowned, his mouth forming a thin line. "You could at least respect your allies. If not for us, you would not have gotten so far."
The Dalek's blue glowing eye focused on the general. "If not for us, you would have gotten nowhere." A single flash emanated from the Dalek's gunstick and with a single, cut-off scream, General Gaskine crumpled to the ground.
"You are incompetent, General," the Dalek said and then turned around to face Donna and Qui-Gon who had stood watching this exchange, ready to make a move except that they had found themselves surrounded.
"You have come with the Doctor," the Dalek said.
Though she hadn't yet met them, Donna had heard enough from the Doctor to know that these creatures were not to be taken lightly, despite their odd appearance. Even so, she managed to keep her head high.
"You bet I did," she said. "You also know that he's going to stop you."
"That is your opinion," the Dalek said. "Opinions are irrelevant."
Another Dalek entered the chamber then. "The battle is ended. All hostiles have either fled or been exterminated."
Donna sincerely hoped that Susan and David had been among those who'd fled.
"Who are you?" Qui-Gon whispered, his eyes fixed on the Daleks.
"Donna. I'm with the Doctor. We're here to rescue you."
"Good job with that, by the way."
The lead Dalek turned its attention back to them. "You are not needed. You will be exterminated."
"EXTERMINATE!" one Dalek cried and the rest of them took it up, the death sentence like some bloodlust and frenzy.
"EXTERMINATE!"
After seeing how quickly and easily the general had been taken out, Donna glanced around the room in desperation, seeking an impossible way out of this situation. She turned to Qui-Gon only to find that he had his eyes closed, his expression calm, and his hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his deactivated lightsaber. No help there, she assumed, and she knew that even if she were to make a break for it, the Daleks could shoot her down before she took two steps.
"EXTERMINATE!"
"Oh now, that's very rude, innit?" said a voice by the door and the Daleks stopped their advance. "Do you greet all your visitors this way? Well…you're Daleks, I suppose you're supposed to. Do they teach you all that at Dalek manners school? Exterminate everything and ask questions later?"
"Doctor, you are so late, it's not bloody funny," Donna said.
"Hello Donna!" The Doctor gave a small wave. "You had me worried there for a bit. Still, probably needn't have worried. You're alright. Hello Qui-Gon!" The Doctor moved farther into the room and following closely, was a Dalek.
"Doctor –!"
"Oh, no need to worry. Caught me by surprise, sure, but with a little adjusting" – the Doctor flipped over the sonic screwdriver in one hand – "it's now a helpless octopus in a reprogrammed metal shell."
"Enough, Doctor," the lead Dalek commanded. "You and your companions will be exterminated."
"That's a bit harsh. Are you going to exterminate us because you want to or because you were ordered to?"
"Daleks take orders from no one."
"I have to disagree. I think that emperor bloke is the one calling all the shots. You're just his pawns. Just like the droids, the Stormtroopers, and just like that poor man you've killed. He's just using you to gain more power."
"This alliance is temporary. The emperor has given us the means to create more Daleks and soon the Dalek Empire will rise to power. The Sith will become irrelevant."
"You really think Palpatine's just going to hand you this power and let you become a formidable rival?" the Doctor said, incredulous. "He's more likely to destroy whatever Dalek making facilities you create and once you've helped him destroy his enemies, he won't need you anymore."
"We are stronger," the Dalek said.
"Really? Then why make this alliance in the first place if you're so strong, eh? I think you're desperate. The Time War has taken it's toll on your once mighty empire and now you're desperate to regain that strength. You won't find it here."
"Silence! You will stop talking."
The Doctor shrugged. "Eh, it was bound to happen."
"You will all be destroyed now."
"I figured it would come to that, but if I may have at least one last word with my companion before I die."
"Then say it."
"Yeah, um…duck."
The Dalek hesitated and that's all they needed. Lightsaber humming suddenly to life, Qui-Gon moved faster than the Daleks could react and cleaved the leader's eyestalk clean off.
"Aaaaahh!" The lead Dalek jerked and spun about, waving its appendages in the air. "My vision is impaired! My vision is impaired! Help, help!" In a complete panic, it reverted back to its last order and fired its gunstick. The bolt of energy went wide, ricocheting off the wall and burning a shallow furrow in the ceiling. More bolts soon followed and if Donna hadn't put her faith in the Doctor and ducked when she had, she would have been toast.
As it was, not all of the Daleks were so lucky. In the sudden panic and confusion, several of them were hit, their domes exploding in a shower of sparking wires.
In the midst of it all, Qui-Gon pressed the attack, dancing and twirling among the chaos, lightsaber moving in a blur and deflecting the bolts while cutting through Dalek bodies, metal and flesh all.
Those who were still intact backed out of range of the deadly weapon and fired at the Jedi in rapid succession. He parried all their attacks, moving with impossible speed, able to sense the path of the energy bolts before they got to him. With his free hand, he pushed at the air and sent a Dalek careening across the chamber to barrel into its comrades and they stopped firing, momentarily disoriented.
"Get out of here," Qui-Gon said. "I'll hold them off."
"We're not leaving you," Donna said.
The ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "I'm not sacrificing myself, if that's what you think." His lightsaber moved in a blur, deflecting three energy bolts nearly simultaneously. The fourth bolt grazed him in the shoulder. Without wincing and without so much as a glance at the Dalek attempting to flank him, he used the Force to lift it in the air and hurl it headfirst at the wall, leaving it dazed but alive. "Get to the corridor."
"He knows what he's doing," the Doctor said, pulling Donna into the hallway. As soon as they were out of the chamber, Qui-Gon spun and sent out a wave of Force energy like a sonic pulse that drove the Daleks back in all directions and their firing halted. Then he made a bolt for the corridor, leaping over the downed remains of destroyed Daleks just as the firing resumed. Even with his back turned, he deflected the bolts that came too near, some of them searing his flesh in their closeness and then he was on the other side.
"EXTERMINATE!" one of the Daleks shouted, trying to rally those remaining, though most of them were dazed or too damaged to attack, and it lined up its gunstick at Qui-Gon, Donna, and the Doctor.
Calling on the Force, Qui-Gon threw his lightsaber back into the chamber and its path was straight and true. Before the Dalek could get off its shot, it found itself speared through the middle, the blade easily having sliced through metal and the soft flesh inside. As the lightsaber deactivated, it shot back through the air and into Qui-Gon's hand just as the Doctor's sonic screwdriver made a high-pitched noise and the metal door slammed shut.
The three of them stood in the sudden silence in the corridor, none of them even out of breath.
"Come on, TARDIS is this way," the Doctor said and led them on.
"I would thank you for the rescue, but I don't even know who you are," Qui-Gon said.
"I'm the Doctor. This is Donna."
"I know what you're called, but not who you are. Why have you come here?"
"We were just passing by, happened to pick up that little distress signal you left."
"There is truth to what you say, but I sense you are using it to hide an even greater truth." He stopped then and looked the Doctor in the eye. "I would know why you came."
The Doctor hesitated, thinking. Finally he said, "We came to find you because we've seen a future in which you died today. It's not pretty." An image flashed in his mind, the TARDIS record of how this man should have died, a mere two months from now. And yet that time made a difference. In the real timeline, he'd had time to make an emergency stop on Tatooine. In this timeline, he had not.
Qui-Gon looked like he wanted to say more, that he knew the Doctor was still holding something back. Instead, he nodded, apparently satisfied. He didn't like it, but he did understand the Doctor was treading dangerous ground even mentioning the future to him and that it was not Qui-Gon's place to know such things.
"There is a Sith here," Qui-Gon said as they resumed walking.
"I know," the Doctor said.
"He must be stopped."
"But not today," the Doctor said. Qui-Gon sent him a sidelong glance but he didn't elaborate.
The TARDIS appeared before them as they rounded a corner and headed down the corridor. The Doctor opened the door and they entered, the Doctor immediately going for the console and tapping out commands as Qui-Gon looked around in silence, admiring the alien design and the clever way in which it fused dimensions, though it confused his ability to sense the Force.
The Doctor glanced at the small screen and tweaked a knob on the console, waiting. When he had what he was looking for, he memorized it and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" Donna asked.
"There's one last thing I have to do," the Doctor said. "Wait here."
"Wait – Doctor, you expect me to wait here. What am I, a housewife?"
"Donna." There was a warning in his voice.
Qui-Gon touched her lightly on the shoulder. "Your friend is right. I believe this task is for him and him alone"
Donna looked like she wanted to argue but after glancing at Qui-Gon's and then the Doctor's faces, she clamped her mouth shut. Nodding his appreciation at the Jedi, the Doctor turned and headed back into the compound.
Palpatine was waiting for him when he arrived, having sensed his presence through the Force. The Doctor found him looking at an array of viewscreens, his cowl pulled up over his head, his hands tucked neatly into his long sleeves.
"You and your allies have made quite a mess of the Daleks, Doctor," he said in his aged voice.
"They would have turned on you once they had what they wanted," the Doctor said.
"True enough. It seems you've saved me the trouble of having them eliminated."
"You never needed them. You'll build a strong enough empire by yourself. An empire to be feared."
"I am well aware. But that empire will fall."
"All empires fall."
"That will change."
"You know why I'm here," the Doctor said.
"Of course."
"Then you know I must do this and you know why."
"Your intentions are noble, Time Lord. But you will not succeed."
"Last of the Time Lords, actually. Which means the burden of keeping watch over the timeline falls on my shoulders and mine alone. That is more than enough incentive for me."
"I am sure it is. But you can imagine the position I am in now. I will let nothing and no one stop me." His voice grew more intense as he spoke, turning to face the Doctor full on. "And my new Sith Empire will be feared all the more when I become the Emperor who declared the noble Time Lords extinct!"
He pulled his hands out from his sleeves and suddenly lightning was arcing through the air from his fingertips and slamming into the Doctor's chest. The Doctor cried out and dropped to the floor. He could feel his hearts flutter and one of them stopped momentarily. He gritted his teeth against the pain, sweat beading his brow. Then the pain abated, let him breathe.
"You try to save the universe, time and again, Doctor, but when you are gone, the universe will not mourn you. No one will even mark your passing."
The lightning hit him again and he felt paralyzed, unable to stand, unable to even move, even to think. To think… The Doctor closed his eyes, felt electricity coursing through his every pore, felt the fire in his veins. But there was something else, something beyond the pain. Something soft and light that brushed at the very edges of his mind. He'd felt it as soon as he'd arrived on this planet, but he hadn't known what it was. The power that Palpatine was using to attack him was infused with it, though in the lightning it was corrupted and fierce. But not evil. He sensed no good or evil in the sensation at all, just a sense of being, of just…existing.
"I think when I'm done with you, I'm going to kill your little friends," Palpatine said casually and sent another burst of lightning from his hands.
The Doctor lurched across the floor and suddenly it all connected and as he pushed out a hand to ward off the next attack, he felt something flow through him and out his hand and then Palpatine was thrown back hard, colliding with the console behind him. Ignoring the residue of pain that wracked his body, the Doctor scrambled to his feet and went after the emperor.
"This isn't possible," Palpatine said, the shock written across his face as he forced himself back to his feet. He saw the Doctor's determined expression and reeled back. Thrusting out his hand, he caught him with the Force, an invisible hand wrapping around his neck and he began to squeeze.
The Doctor choked, his air cut off when he was so close to his adversary, yet stopped dead in his tracks. He held out a hand, tried to call upon whatever it was that had saved him before. But he had only just discovered this new power; Palpatine had been using it for years. His concentration was broken.
Spots were starting to appear in his vision and the Doctor knew he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Instead of trying to break free from an invisible grip, he pushed forward, reaching with all his might toward Palpatine and found that he was close enough for his fingers to brush the emperor's face.
It was all he needed.
Closing his eyes, the Doctor probed and found the entry point. Realizing what he was doing, Palpatine released the Force hold and tried to back away. But the Doctor already had a hold and now he pressed both hands against his face.
"No!" Palpatine shouted but the cry was distant and muffled.
Images flashed through the Doctor's mind.
Still so many deaths. A single man being thrown to his death, another turning to the path of darkness, thousands of identical troops turning on their superiors in a single instant of terrible and merciless slaughter.
The Doctor cringed against the onslaught of such sights, but continued, probing deeper, searching for every stray thought, every memory, that had no place in this younger mind.
A man clad in black whose crimson blade dealt death with every stroke. A mighty empire under siege by a handful of rebels. A young man writhing in pain, screaming in agony against the drone of laughter and then…and then…
The Doctor staggered back, the connection broken. With no more than a sigh, Palpatine collapsed, unconscious, to the ground.
The future was still so dark and all because of this one man. The Doctor looked down at him, seeming so frail where he lay on the ground. It would be so easy for any other man to end him right there and right at that moment. But the Doctor was not any other man. As much as he wanted to put an end to the Sith Empire and save all those billions of lives, this was the way the future was meant to be. Eventually, this empire would fall, as all are destined to.
Turning away, the Doctor left the room.
Countless dying screams assailed him on his way.
"Here we are. Coruscant, home sweet home."
The TARDIS had landed near the Jedi temple on a platform looking out over the multi-layered city of tall buildings and air traffic. It reminded the Doctor a bit of New New York, even including the peculiar smells.
"Thank you, Doctor," Qui-Gon said. "And you, Donna. Now I can report what I've seen there. It's important that the Republic know what is happening. The Sith are finally returning." His voice was grim.
"You do that," the Doctor said. "And you might want to consider checking up on Naboo sometime soon."
Qui-Gon raised a brow.
"Just a thought."
Nodding, Qui-Gon said, "May the Force be with you," and turned toward the temple.
Several of David's men had died. More lives that wouldn't have ended if not for the Doctor. He offered to take them back to Earth, but they refused. There was still work to be done here, it seemed. He didn't stay in the encampment for long, only enough to find out what had happened during the attack and then say his goodbyes to David and Susan. Guilt bid him leave as soon as possible.
"It's not your fault, you know," Donna said, coming to stand by his side as he plotted their course in the TARDIS.
The Doctor didn't answer.
"Sometimes people die," Donna continued. "It couldn't be helped."
"They were good people."
"Yes, but think of all the other good people you just saved."
The Doctor sighed, thoughts lingering on the darkness that awaited this galaxy. "Something strange happened back there," he murmured.
Donna came to stand beside him at the console. "What kind of strange?"
"I can't feel it now, but there was something in the air in this galaxy, some sort of…well, a Force. I could feel it back there, tapped into it. Now…the TARDIS is blocking it all out though."
They stood in silence for a while.
"But…you know what really doesn't make sense," Donna said. "When we first arrived here, that man Palpatine…he'd seen the future, he was connected to his future self. How could that have happened?"
"That's rare, extremely rare," the Doctor said. "You never see that kind of thing in nature."
"Then maybe it wasn't natural? Do you think maybe someone did it? And if so, why?"
The Doctor shot a glance at her, his thoughts racing. If someone had been responsible for this… His mind briefly went back to the Monk but he dismissed that thought. The Monk could never have pulled it off. So someone else perhaps… But what had their purpose been? Why change the future of an entire galaxy, ensure the survival of an evil empire?
So many thoughts flew through his mind that only a Time Lord could look at them all, examine them, try to put together this puzzle.
Still, the answer eluded him.
He pulled a final lever on the console and the column began to rise and fall. With a deep groaning sound, the TARDIS disappeared.
