(Author's note: So, I have been asked about this a few times, and thought I should adress it. People have asked me if I will continue this series with 12 when the new Doctor arrives. In short, yes. I will not change Doctors with the show. This was meant as an in-between season and thus is how it will stay, no matter how many Doctors come and go as I write. 12 will always have a special place to me, and *here come the controversy* feel he was a fantastic Doctor hamstrung by hit-or-miss writing. I feel he got a raw deal, in the same way that 9 did. Regardless, my work with 12 will continue from now until the finial story. I just hope that, despite the shift in Doctor, you all do as well.
Secondarily, I guess I should adress the new Doctor. People have asked how I feel about a female Doctor. I am for it, if it was done for the correct reason. I want them to have chosen Jodie Whittaker because she is correct for the job, not just based on gender.. I don't want them to have chosen her for shock value or to appease people who have been calling for a female lead. Because that will not last, and I want a Doctor who lasts. I want her to be The Doctor because she was right for it, as Capaldi was right for it and as Smith was before him. Truthfully, on a personal leval I am somewhat disappointed, because I was rooting for Phebe Waller-Bridge or Kris Marshall. However, I refuse to judge it before I see it. I am not for or against her. I am not for or againstany gender, race, or age playing the role. I'm for good writing. If they do that, and stop fudging plots in the last ten minutes because they've written themselves into a corner, LOOKING AT YOU "IN THE FOREST OF THE NIGHT" I am a happy whovian. I am interested to hear your opinions in the reviews. All I ask, is if you disagree with someone or myself, keep it civilised ok? Happy reading outlaw gents and shady ladys)
As The Doctor stared up at the tall, monolithic building, the pit of his stomach began to swirl. Jack Harkness stood to the left of him, his gun holstered, and his navy coat buttoned. He was looking quite official, like an agent of The Shadow Proclamation. Sarah Jane stood on the other side.
She had now donned a formal, button-down top, that was tucked into a pair of dark jeans. She had wanted to look the part of what she was impersonating, and The Doctor could not blame her. He knew how hard this was to be.
The people at the Time War Containment Authority were not the normal sort. They were not easily deceived or tricked. They had fully immersed themselves in the weapons of past destruction. They were well aware of the Time War, and all of it's technology. Technology that most civilized people would think impossible or a fantasy.
The Doctor adjusted the bag over his shoulder, containing Handles. He knew how thin this cover was. He had downplayed his dark feelings about this, but they had no other option.
He turned his head for a few moments, looking at the magma-lined sulfur fields. The putrid smell wafted over from there, the smell of rotten eggs. He was beginning to echo Sarah Jane's sentiments just before they had entered the work house. Why didn't people put their fortresses in nice places?
"Everyone remember their cover?" Jack nodded in reply, and Sarah echoed it. "Good. Just follow my lead. If things go badly, or we get separated, find the gun piece and get out of here. Even if you must leave me behind. Jack, do you have your Manipulator?"
"Never leave the house without it," smirked the Time Agent, tapping his wrist.
"That is our exit strategy, because I have the feeling that we'll need it. Let's go."
With that, he started up the slight incline, toward the front door. It was a massive stone slab, with a scanner in the center. On either side were a pair of laser arrays. The massive guns followed them as they walked to the scanner. The Doctor hoped the Authority bought their ruse. If not they were about to be blown to pieces.
As he stood before it, a voice that came from beyond the scanner spoke to them.
"State your business. You are currently trespassing in a level twelve security zone. Any attempt at entry or escape without permission will result in your death." This was the tenuous part. The Doctor needed to be deliberate in his speech and very, very carful.
"I am Special Agent Smith, accompanied by Special Agent Smith, and Special Investigator Harkness, sector ten of The Shadow Proclamation Time Distortion And Tampering Agency. We believe we are in possession of a Containment Level Seven object built by a person that is a Level Ten Chronal Fugitive." The Doctor waited for what felt like hours as the scanner remained silent.
Finally an answer. "Which fugitive is your suspect?"
"The Master." The Doctor was not completely lying. Handles was an M3 Cyberman head. They were created by The Master's most recent, female, regeneration. It was not a completely far fetched lie, and he was praying they would buy it.
"You are allowed entry to this facility. Any aggressive or violent actions inside will result in your death. Please claim any and all weapons on your person."
"None," The Doctor replied. The sonic screwdriver did not count as a weapon. It didn't kill or harm or hurt. Not directly.
"None," answered Sarah Jane as well. She looked at The Doctor, nodding briskly.
"One Villengard Special Laser Revolver," Jack winked at The Doctor with a smirk. Jack had another gun, and the Time Lord knew it. Where he had it... that was another matter he did not want to think about.
"All weapons will be confiscated on arrival. Please step back."
All three of them did as they were asked. Slowly, the stone door crept up, revealing the entry lobby of the facility.
The Doctor was not surprised to see how official it was. It reminded him of a large police station; the walls were lined with glass doors, leading to offices. Each had names inscribed on them, each with titles such as Doctor, Investigator, Marshal, and Officer. The doors were protected by hand print scanners, and a key pad. Both east and west sides of the room were perfectly symmetrical; the same amount of offices and each with an elevator in the center.
He took special note of these elevators. There were more key pads to one side, though this time pared with what looked to be a retinal scanner in the door. Above each were cameras, attached to yet another laser turret. The upper floors were the vaults. He guessed one could only reach certain floors with proper clearance levels.
The main concourse was wide open, with a large tree growing in the center of the room. The Doctor recognized its type. It was covered in red, spade shaped leaves. The leaves themselves had a coat of red needles, resembling Earth's pine trees. The end of each branch was tipped with a red, rose-like flower. The bloom's aroma resembled roses mixed with morning glories. He could see the soil it was planted in had sprouted a crimson grass. He remembered that too, running through it as a child thousands of years ago. It was a Crimson Rivìere. The last of it's kind. A tree from Gallifrey.
He could see a branching hall on the other side of the tree, though he could not say where it actually went. The concourse was quite the hive of activity. Men and women in white coats milled about, some conversing, others waiting for the elevator. Amongst them, and standing along the walls in standard intervals, were guards. They were the same men he had seen through the Telepathic Circuits. Each wore tactical gear; an armored vest, helmet and pants. They each wore green targeting goggles obscuring their eyes, and some a mask that hid the mouth.
Their guns were much more high tech. All of them were laser guns, and they reminded him of inferior version's of Gallifreyan weapons. The Doctor could guess they had backwards engineered Time Lord weapons they found. He wondered what other experiments they had done using his people's technology.
As The Doctor and his companions walked in, three men were already approaching them. Two were regular guards, flanking a third, scientist type. This man was tall, and looked to be middle aged. His sandy colored hair had only just begun to go gray on the edges, though with the short cut one barely noticed. His doltish blue eyes examined from behind a pair of thick glasses, and The Doctor could feel him sizing them up as they approached him. The slight smile from him was almost genuine, but was ruined by a strong jaw not use to such expressions. He wore a white lab coat, with a prominently displayed ID. If he was coming to meet them, he was obviously of some important.
"Hello," he greeted, holding his hands behind his back, coming close to them, "I hear you three are from the Shadow Proclamation. Some identification will be in order." He was quick to the point, no fussing.
The Doctor dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out his wallet, with the psychic paper inside. A useful tool, it reflected ones own thoughts back to them. If one expected to see the identification for a Shadow Proclamation officer, that was what they saw. It worked on most. Only those trained to see through it or had very little imagination were immune. The Doctor hoped this man was a dreamer with a lack of proper training.
The Doctor held up the paper to the man, who scrutinized if carefully.
"Special Agent John Smith. This is my partner Special Agent Sarah Jane Smith, no relation, and Special Investigator Jack Harkness. We're from sector ten of The Shadow Proclamation Time Distortion And Tampering Agency. We believe we have a case for you."
"Hmmmmm," the man murmured, "your paperwork seems in order. I am Professor Charles Lemay, the Head Director and Researcher of the Time War Containment Authority. Pardon my suspicion on the outset, I am used to dealing with Investigators O'Prey and Pronostra."
"You can't be to careful these days," Sarah Jane nodded in mock understanding.
"Indeed," Charles immediately returned to the point, "in the spirit of such, I do hope that you don't mind a quick security check. All weapons must be confiscated."
"Of course," nodded The Doctor, "just... the bag is a bit volatile. It took the boys in Sector Five two hours to deactivate the self destruction protocols."
"It isn't a problem, just lay it down here." The Doctor set the bag on the floor as he was told, and the pair of guards set on their task. The Doctor spread his arms, the man roughly patting him down, before rifling through his pockets. One by one they pulled out his items; cigarette case of Jelly Babies, yo-yo, small ball of yarn, and a handful of walnuts.
Lastly they found his sonic screwdriver. The man turned the metal tool over in his hands, examining the green head, before turning to Charles.
"We'll need to confiscate that too," Charles said, absently rubbed his glasses clean with his shirt, "sonic tools can cause breaches in security." The Doctor hated the idea but understood that if he was to get anywhere he would need to submit.
"Understood," The Doctor shrugged.
He saw them take Sarah's as well, before heading to Jack. Jack played his part well, handing them his Villengard Special before they ever touched him. They patted him down with no further event. Curious; The Doctor could have sworn Jack had a second gun.
"What about my Vortex Manipulator?" Volunteered the former Time Agent.
"Anti-Shift Generator; there is no Time Travel into or out of this building." One of the guards explained gruffly. The Doctor inwardly cursed. That mucked up one exit strategy. They would need to figure something else out. A TARDIS could probably get in but anything beneath that was essentially a paperweight.
"They're clear, sir," one soldier finally said, as both took their positions next to Charles.
"Excellent, walk with me, tell me what you have," he motioned for them to follow and they did just that.
"Well, we believe we have uncovered a plot to change the outcome of the Time War," The Doctor started.
"Really?" Charles' eyebrows shot up, "who do you believe the culprit is, and by what means?" They continued around the tree, heading toward the branching halls.
"The Master," Jack piped in.
"He has built an army of Cybermen under his control, far superior to any of the other models we have ever seen." Sarah Jane backed up their story. She knew all about the M3 Cybermen ever since they encountered Handles. All of those things were true. Using the truth to lie; he had taught her well.
"What purpose would he have to do such a thing?" questioned Charles, a befuddled look on his face. The Doctor answered.
"To not only save Gallifrey from destruction, but then upgrade the Time Lords and bring them under his control." It was a plausible plot; The Master's plans were always unhinged. The Archive's Professor remained unreadable.
"What evidence do you have to support this theory?"
"Currently, it is only that; a theory." Jack shrugged.
"But we disabled one of the Cybermen, and managed to get it's head, complete with intact memory banks," added the Time Lord. He saw Charles smirk.
"Let me guess, you can't crack the firewalls and you need our help." The condescension was maddening. Ofcorse he would believe himself better because of his stolen technology.
"The plans would be in there if..." The Doctor stopped mid sentence as they entered the adjoining hall, and turned the corner. The long hall was filled with soldiers, two dozen or more. They all pointed guns at the group.
Slowly, Charles turned around, a wicked grin twisting his lips.
"Come now, how long did you think I would believe this ruse? Did you really think you could fool me, Doctor?"
"At least another ten minutes," his blood ran cold. This was it. They were cought.
" You must have known we would have the face of the greatest Time War-Criminal still living. All the faces," he said with a snort, "I've probably seen regenerations you haven't had yet!"
"And the psychic paper! That was quite a joke! To think that a man who spends his life mired in technology most humans can't even comprehend would be fooled by something so small as psychic paper! The arrogance is astounding."
"Hey! Look, we..." Jack started. He was rudely interrupted by the guard jamming the barrel of his gun in his back.
"Frankly Mr. Harkness, I don't give a damn what you have to say." With his hand raised to silence them, Charles shook his head, self satisfied with Jack's shocked expression.
"Yes, I know who you are as well. We have all of his associates on file. The Rose's, the Harry's, the Perri's and the Donna's. Even you Ms. Sarah Smith."
"That's Sarah Jane to you," she fired back. He rolled his eyes.
"Take these two to holding chamber B. I will interrogate them later. I'll take the big prize to room A." The man was practically beaming as he grabbed the Doctor by the back of his neck, shoving him roughly down the hall.
"Charles, listen to me!" Started the Scotsman yelling, "you have no idea what's coming! You need to," he never finished, as he saw the stun gun reach for his neck. With a sharp sting, everything went black.
Sarah Jane sat calmly in the uncomfortable steel chair, resting her arms on an equally uncomfortable steel table. Jack, on the other hand, paced back and forth like a caged animal. Both had been doing this activity for the last half hour. The men, so confidant in their security, hadn't even cuffed their hands. There was good reason for such confidence.
The room they had been thrust into was a tiny, featureless, interrogation chamber. There were no windows; she could barely even tell where the door was it blended into the wall so well. It was directly down the hall from where they were caught. The Doctor had been taken even further down the hall.
Worry weighed on her. She wasn't concerned for herself oddly enough. She was no one special, not to these people. She was not involved in the Time War, and neither was Jack. They could hold them, yes, but they were no catch. Not like The Doctor. The man who had single-handedly put an end to the war. The man nicknamed the Oncoming Storm. The man who was one of the War's only survivor.
She wondered what they were doing to him. Were they torturing him? Were they going to "contain" him, as though he were a weapon of mass destruction? Experiment on him? How could they get him out, when they themselves were trapped.
"We need to get out of here," Jack growled, repeating that for the fifth time. Sarah sighed.
"Say it a little louder, maybe it's the door's secret password," she said sarcastically.
"You could try and figure something out! Because I've got nothing!" His tone was sharp.
"You need to try and calm down, shouting and pacing isn't helping anyone!" Sarah was equally sharp. This was not helping.
Suddenly, the wall ahead chuffed open. A pair of armored guards clunked in. One held a gun, the other a long syringe filled with a green liquid.
"Director Lemay has ordered your release," one barked, "but Level Eight Containment Procedure must be taken before you are cleared." Sarah Jane had a horrible feeling about this.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Jack seemed to hesitate. The man with the gun had his weapon trained on Jack, she wondered if they knew of Jack's peculiar nature. Probably not.
"Your memories will be wiped. Completely. The process is painless." The man motioned to the syringe.
"No!" Sarah Jane and Jack both shouted in unison.
"Your only other choices are permanent imprisonment, or death. This facility must remain secure."
"No! This is wrong!" Sarah shouted, standing up, smacking her hands on the table. The man with the gun now trained it on her. "Have you no decency? Has the Time War taught you nothing?" She noted the man with the syringe was distracted now. He was instead gazing at her hands. More specifically, her right hand. And the onyx ring on her middle finger.
"That... that is a Time Ring," he stated. His voice somehow sounded different, flat and monotone.
"Time Ring?" His partner questioned, now too looking at the Celtic band. This was not good, and a queasy nervousness attacked her. Sarah Jane had already thought that was what this ring was, but was unsure.
"How did that get by security?"
The first man ignored him, dropping the syringe to the ground.
"You must give it to me, my master requires it." He lurched forward.
"Hey! Get off her!" Jack yelled, but the man with the gun smacked it into his gut, knocking him back.
"Get away from me!" Horrified, Sarah Jane's gut reaction was to curl up her fist. With all her strength, she hit the soldier in the jaw with a hook. She recoiled, pain radiating through her knuckles. He didn't even flinch, but she had not the time to think about that.
One hand clamped her wrist to the table with inhuman strength, the other gripped her finger. She struggled and twisted as he started to slide it off.
Suddenly, her hand started to vibrate, the ring glowing blue like a lamp. With a blinding flash, the man was sent flying backwards, smashing into the wall with a bang.
He had hit so hard, it made a man sized dent in the wall. At first she thought it was from the impact, but she slowly realized the problem; he was heavier than a normal man. She saw his skin change, splitting into hundreds of small cubes. They rolled into one and other, revealing the true face beneath. She recognized the spoon-shaped lightbulb, and skeletal body. A Spoonhead. Only one man used those.
"What the bloody hell did it do to Sanchez!" The soldier completely panicked. The emotion was short lived. The robot on the floor raised it's hand, a bolt of plasma shooting from it. The man had no time to dodge, smashing into the wall, a cauterized hole in his chest.
A different voice now came from the Spoonhead, a non-chalante, upper-class tone that sent chills down her back. "Come now, Ms. Smith..."
The robot stood, it's skin shifting again. It took on a form she recognized, from so many of her nightmares. An older man, with a hook nose, and cruel eyes. His garb was Victorian nobility, complete with a tall top hat on his head.
"You should know by now, I am everywhere," he finished.
"I..." she tried to speak, but her breath was stolen.
"You!" Jack shouted, his shock retreating already.
"What an astute observation, Capitan," replied The Great Intelligence dryly. Sarah knew this was not really him; just a vessel for him to speak through. Yet still, the creature of her nightmares terrified her.
Then she heard the sounds outside, the yells, followed by gunfire and screams. They were coming from the concourse.
"You see, it is too late for these barbarians. The purge protocol is already in place. There are more of my soldiers here at this point then there are humans. They are now a redundancie. However, it need not be so ugly between you and I. Just give me the Time Ring."
Though she was terrified, one word came out clear.
"No."
"Then I will pluck it from your corpse."
"For someone who calls himself the Great Intelligence, you're pretty damn stupid," Jack suddenly laughed.
Sarah turned, to see him with his hand down the back of his pants. With lighting reflexes, he pulled a glowing pistol out, and fired.
The Great Intelligence's face shattered into a million pieces of glass, reverting to the original Spoonhead, and fell backwards.
"How..." Sarah Jane started, "where.." she wasn't sure she wanted to know that question.
"A lot of clenching," Jack breathed. She had no idea what to say. Obviously Jack saw her expression. "Trust me sweetheart, if you end up on a homicidal game show once or twice, you'll hide guns in the darnest places."
Mercifully, the conversation was cut short, as the room was bathed in red lights. An alarm blared somewhere in the facility, and the ground shook, almost tossing them to off their feet.
"What was that?!" Jack hollered.
"I don't know, but it's not good, we need to find The Doctor!" Sarah replied. Jack grabbed the rifle of the fallen guard, and handed it to her. Sarah hated guns, but she had the feeling she would have to make an exception tonight.