Chapter Eight: Vale Decem

The Doctor's chest burned like fire. He shrank back from the pain, still alive, but only just.

"DOCTOR! NO!" cried Jennara.

The Doctor saw the stormtroopers watching the battle turn their blasters on Jennara and the others. He heard the activation of two lightsabers and saw the blue and yellow arcs of light indicative of Jennara and Obi-Wan's lightsabers. They were defending themselves from the blasts, but they weren't bounding up the boarding ramp of the Millenium Falcon. They were staying put. Perhaps they thought that the Doctor could make it to the ship. He could, but by the time he crossed the hangar bay, he would be a completely different man.

The Doctor heard the wheezy breathing of Darth Vader coming closer to him. He knew that the Sith Lord would try to finish him off, so he used what little Force energy he had to push Vader away. He slowly stood and entered the hangar bay just as a blast from Luke hit the blast door controls, shutting Vader off for good.

When the door closed, time for the Doctor stopped. Everything froze. The Doctor noticed the determination of Luke, Chewbacca, Han, and Obi-Wan to defend themselves and their friends. He saw the pleading expression of Leia, begging them to get on board. Most of all, he saw the sadness on the face of Jennara Oswin. That sadness broke his hearts the most.

Doctor, the Doctor heard the gruff voice of Qui-Gon Jinn calling to him. You brave, brave man.

Thanks, Qui-Gon, thought the Doctor.

The Force would like to reward you for your actions.

With what?

Look and see.

The Doctor saw them. Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Plo Koon, and Stass Allie, his long-dead friends. They were smiling at him, not tormenting him over his failure to protect them.

What's this? asked the Doctor.

The Force wanted to show you that your guilt is misplaced, Doctor. Their deaths were caused by circumstances beyond your control.

That was the cause of my guilt.

You mourn their loss, and you feel responsible. You are right to mourn them, but you do not need to accept their deaths as your doing. The hand of the Sith covers all in this day and age, and that is what the Force is trying to defeat. Your sacrifice will help to that end immensely, and the Force wanted to reward you by letting you see your fallen friends one last time.

The Doctor looked to Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee, Plo, and Stass. They were all still smiling at him jubilantly.

How are they here? he asked.

I was able to reach back in time and pluck their consciousnesses from the moment of their death. This is them right after they died.

Why are they so happy?

Because the Force told them its plan and how their greatest friend, the Doctor, was a central player in that plan. They understand the Force's plan for them, and they accept it.

And I accept their deaths now. I understand what the Force had in store for them, and I shall look forward to seeing them again after I am gone.

Good. And now, Doctor, it is time.

The Doctor felt the slash across his chest heal. The regeneration process had started.

We will sing to you, Doctor, said Qui-Gon. The Force will sing you to your sleep.

When time slowly regained momentum for the Doctor, he heard the voices of a thousand souls singing to him somberly.

Vale Decem

He slowly walked across the hangar bay towards the Millenium Falcon, observing everything around him. He was like a child walking through a little shop with all of his favorite things.

Ad aeternam

He quickly realized that the Force was singing to him in Gallifreyan. His hearts were warmed, and his ears welcomed the sweet music of his language.

Di meliora

The stormtroopers had been defeated. Their bodies lay strewn about, and their faces would see no more as their voices joined the chorus singing to him.

Ad aeternam

The Doctor was going to eternity, just as the song said he would, but his next body would pick up where this one left off.

Vale Decem

The Doctor flitted through his tenth life and remembered that Serenity the Force Priestess had spoken those words to him. She had been referring to this moment in time, the Doctor realized.

Di meliora

He looked at the ghosts of his past. They were all still smiling at him, proud of him for his sacrifice.

Beati

He walked over to them, ignoring Jennara's pleas for him to come on board the ship. He couldn't just leave his old friends without saying goodbye.

Pacifici

He stepped before them, one by one, starting with Ki-Adi-Mundi.

Vale Decem

Ki-Adi-Mundi was about to bow, but the Doctor stopped him. Instead, it was the Doctor who bowed to Ki-Adi-Mundi. He bowed low to his old friend; he was deserving of at least that.

Alis grave

He bowed to Saesee next. The Iktotchi smiled and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, a gesture of honor and respect for his species.

Ad perpetuam

Plo was next. His mask hid his face, but the Doctor was certain that his Kel Dor friend was smiling as he bowed low.

Memoriam

Finally, the Doctor came to rest at Stass Allie. He had loved her more than anyone else in the galaxy, and he bowed to her the lowest of all his friends. He would always remember the love he held for her.

Vale Decem

Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Plo Koon, and Stass Allie disappeared from the Doctor's view for the last time. He would never see them again until his thirteenth self died; he knew that much. He was glad that his last encounter with his old friends while he lived ended on good terms, even if it was a bit somber.

Gratis tibi ago

The Force was thanking him for his sacrifice. It would remember the tenth body of the Doctor fondly as he moved forward into his eleventh.

Ad aeternam

On to eternity would the Doctor go. But he would be a new man. And that was okay.

Numquam singularis

The Force was right. The Doctor was never alone. He had friends and companions by his side, and he always would, even unto his dying breath.

Numquam

He looked to the friends he had now. They were looking at him curiously, even Obi-Wan, who had partial knowledge of what was about to happen. They would understand; of this the Doctor was sure.

Dum spiro fido

In the Doctor's last moments, he remembered everyone who had been important to him these past thirty-two years. Among all the others, he remembered,

Vale

Qui-Gon Jinn,

Vale

Mace Windu,

Vale

Padme Amidala,

Vale

Ki-Adi-Mundi,

Vale

Saesee Tiin,

Vale

Plo Koon,

Vale

Stass Allie,

Vale

Obi-Wan Kenobi,

Vale

Luke Skywalker,

Vale

and last, but certainly not least, Jennara Oswin.

The song was ending, and so was the Doctor. He stared at Jennara, and her face was streaked with tears. His hearing had returned to the physical realm, and he could hear that she was sobbing.

"Please don't go," she begged.

"My song is ending, but my story never ends," the Doctor said simply.

As he spoke his final words, the golden light of regeneration began to envelop his body. From his fingers, the golden light streamed forth. It was his time to go.

This particular process was powerful. The energy just kept building and building and building until it reached its peak level of power. The Doctor was a bit daunted, his breathing heavy. He had never done a regeneration this powerful before. He had to release it soon.

Here goes nothing.

The Doctor spread his hands wide and released the energy into the Death Star's hangar bay, and he began to regenerate. A noise that sounded a lot like a thunderclap resonated throughout the hangar. The Doctor could just barely hear Obi-Wan telling everyone to get back into the ship. It was probably for the best. The Doctor could hear a crashing sound just behind him. Something in the hangar bay had succumbed to the catastrophic release of energy and fallen. It mattered little to the Doctor. His face was already starting to change. He let out a scream of pain with the unfamiliar voice that was now his own. The energy dissipated. The pain stopped. His regeneration was over. He was a new man.

The Tenth Doctor was no more. From his ashes, the Eleventh Doctor was born.


I'm going to be very honest. This might be one of my favorite chapters in this story. If not number 1, then at least top five. I just really enjoyed writing this one, as it's such a big moment for the series. For the first time, we get to see a regeneration. We'll see one again in Adventures of the Doctor, but this is the first time it's happened. From here on in, the Eleventh Doctor is our Doctor. But fear not, friends! We'll see Ten again, quite soon, in fact.

Anyway, here is Vale Decem, as promised. I tried to write it as close to the actual scene as possible, while taking some liberties, of course. To be honest, I changed Ten's last words for two reasons. 1) I had done "I don't want to go" to death. 2) I just don't feel like he would say "I don't want to go" as a Jedi. It makes sense for him to say it in the show because he's not a Jedi. But in this story, he is a Jedi. He acknowledges the fact that he's going to die, and he might not like it, but who likes to die? Anyway, that's my reasoning for changing the last words of the Tenth Doctor. Hope it's not too offensive or anything.

In any case, leave your thoughts about this chapter and the story in general in a review! I really do appreciate your feedback!

The next chapter will be posted on its regular day of the week, so look forward to that when it comes out. It's going to feature Eleven's first moments as the Doctor (yes, the scene is pretty much the same), as well as some other things that I won't mention quite yet.

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Next Friday: The Eleventh Doctor makes his debut in a firefight as the Millenium Falcon, joined now by Princess Leia Organa, blasts out of the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance's hidden base.

And that about does it for this author's note. Until the next chapter, my friends!