A/N: This point marks the start of our various guest stars' entries into the story, and I feel compelled to point out that many of their scenes actually take place in vastly different time periods from that of our heroes, so please pay attention to the time stamps at the top of each chapter to (hopefully) avoid confusion. Merci.
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Aria Coloratura
The Citadel on Gallifrey, Original Universe; several centuries earlier
Time Lord Lady President Romanadvoratrelundar (or simply Romana, as she preferred) sat in the Council Chamber within the Panopticon, under the dome of the Citadel, NOT fidgeting. She never fidgeted. She had the ability to sit perfectly still for hours, so still that an observer might have thought she'd silently slipped into death, but no; though muscles and sinews never twitched, eyelids never blinked, lungs performed so slowly and lightly that no slight shifting of robes could be seen, her mind never stopped. Never. Part of that brilliant mind remained ever tuned to the immediate surroundings, so that she might at any given moment insert a pithy comment, or a piercing question, or pronounce the decision that had crystalized within. But the greater part of that mind was never still, questing endlessly far beyond the Council Chamber (or wherever she was), puzzling over whatever problems were currently on the table, or calculating bits of the Skasis Paradigm or some other intriguing mathematical arcania, or reviewing what was known of the current whereabouts and activities of certain high-profile individuals, including – always – the one calling himself the Doctor. Damn him.
So she was actually quite aware of the moment it first began. Councillor Joharan was rambling on in his usual monotone about the findings of an investigation into the doings on some rather insignificant planet, when a single second suddenly stretched into several, as though time itself had been briefly dilated. "So, during the last century, the inhabitants have made signi-i-i-i-i-i-ificant changes to their social – "
"What was that?" Romana rapped out, sharply.
"I beg your pardon, Lady?" blinked Joharan.
"Did no one else notice?" She looked around the room. Most of the various Councillors and Cardinals were regarding her with confused surprise, but a few – half a dozen at most – showed on their faces that they'd also been aware of the glitch. Romana peremptorily waved Joharan back to his seat. "All those who did notice that, please step forward." Six, no, seven junior Councillors rose to their feet and stepped up near the podium. All of them were young, in only their second or third centuries, and many of the statesmen remaining in their seats began to whisper to each other. The juniors noticed, and began visibly to doubt themselves.
"Silence!" Romana sent a brief glare about the chamber, then stepped down past the podium to the small group. "Pay no attention to these ossified fools. What did you sense?"
The first of the group, fixed by her stare, swallowed hard. "It seemed as though time paused, Lady President, like a wave passing through the room."
The others agreed. "A momentary time dilation, Lady."
"Have you ever sensed this before?" They agreed that they had not been aware of it, but then...
Romana considered for several moments. "Well, unless it begins to happen regularly, I suppose we've nothing to wo-o-o-o-orry about." She paused. "Right. Well, so much for that. Start worrying." She looked at each of her seven, seeing that they had all caught that one, too. Then, looking further, many of the remaining council members also looked startled; that wave hadn't escaped their no-longer-speech-hypnotized notice.
She stepped back up to the podium, and addressed the entire Council again. "Find out what that is, what's causing it, and how we can stop it. All of you. I want full reports just as soon as you can bring them – any detail might prove to be the key. Go!" Not exactly the normal, highly ceremonial ending to a Council meeting, but then, this wasn't normal, even for a body used to dealing with Time and all its variations. Far from it.
^..^
Several days had passed since the advent of the time dilations. At first, only one in ten of the Time Lords then on Gallifrey appeared to be sensitive enough to detect them; these individuals were spread out across the planet's surface and sent into nearby space as monitors. The patterns they detected were confusing at first, but finally Romana herself put it together: the dilations were coming in waves emanating from somewhere within the Citadel, spreading out in all directions independent of mass or gravity. Then, when they reached the outer edge of the Porterion Nebula (containing both the Kasterborous Constellation and Gallifrey itself, as well as the homes of several other races including the Nestene Consciousness and the Gelth), the waves somehow bounced back, returning at the same speed to their origin, as if they were ripples bouncing off the lake shoreline.
As the days wore on, the dilations became more pronounced, and the pattern settled down into a regular pulse. Unfortunately, the pulse itself was noticeably speeding up, just as more and more of the population became sensitive to the phenomenon. Romana calculated that at the current rate of increase, they had less than six weeks before the pulses merged into a single, solid pause – effectively locking down the entire Nebula.
The next step was finding the actual source. While the Council met and wept over their list of enemies, trying to determine who could have devised and sent such a dreadful weapon, Romana simply gathered together the best of the sensitives and did a grid search. (All their instruments had so far proven useless in detecting that source – even the most advanced TARDIS's were unable to help their pilots, reporting merely that something was interfering with their sensors.)
It took several hours of careful coordination and observations, but the team of sensitives finally coagulated on the spot they determined to be the epicenter. Right back where they started: the floor of the Council Chamber in the Panopticon.
"But there's nothing he-e-e-e-e-ere!" Romana seethed in frustration.
"Lady President!" came an astonished cry from the ranks. "I believe I may have the answer!" The ancient Castellan, Spandrell, old even by Time Lord standards, came tottering forth. "Lady, may I approach? This is for your ears only."
"Come, then. We've no time for ceremony. Say it out!"
The retired guard blinked, the habit of obedience warring with that of secrecy. Obedience won. "My Lady. It's the Eye. The Eye of Harmony is buried in a secret chamber beneath this very room."
"The Eye is a fairy tale. We need truth, not tales, you old foo-o-o-o-ol!"
"No, Lady President. It is the truth. The Eye was rediscovered by none other than the Doctor, some time ago, when I still held my post in truth. It is the heart of a black hole that powers our world – and the Rod and Sash you carry are not merely symbols, they are the tools for controlling it. Were you not told this when you took office?"
"My predecessor died before I was elected, you may remember. Is this true, then? Who else can vouch for this?"
"I can, Lady President." A stir went through the chamber, as a regal figure in white robes rose from her seat near the Chamber floor.
Romana bowed her head respectfully to the older woman – even Presidents show deference where it is due. "Lady Tis'hania? You were there, also?"
"I did not witness the events in person, no, but I had them from the source. And regardless of whatever else you may think of my son, he does not possess the ability to li-i-i-i-i-i-ie to a TruthSeeker." Lady Tis'hania tilted her head slightly towards Romana as she gave this reminder of her abilities and the Office her white robes signified.
(One part of Romana's mind took a brief moment to admire the way the other woman so regally ignored the time dilation – few others in this crisis apart from perhaps Romana herself were able to carry it off with that much panache.)
"Very well, Lady Tis'hania. I accept your witness." Romana sighed, then turned and mounted the dais to her seat, turning again to stand before it and address the Council. Such was her presence (as it had always been) that the shocked murmurs which had begun to circulate in reaction to the revelations from the floor instantly silenced when she raised one hand. "Well," she continued, "it seems the Eye has lost its Harmony, and it now falls to our shoulders to find that Harmony again." She looked slowly around the chamber at the befuddled and outraged expressions, then gave a humorless laugh. "I'm open to suggestions."
A/N: It always aggravates me when an author creates a very unusual name, but gives no hint as to how it should be pronounced. If you are as particular as I am: the apostrophe in Tis'hania's name is meant to denote the separation of the S and H sounds; it is pronounced "Tiss-HAY-nee-ah", not "Tish-ay-nee-ah".