AN: Enjoy the chapter!
Frozen in place
The Soldier stared in muted shock at the adolescent boy lying motionless on the bed. Why? Why would the Shadow Proclamation do something so cruel? They were the law-keepers of the universe not cold-blooded murderers. No one understood that distinction, that very thin line, better than the Soldier. The Shadow Proclamation didn't have the authority or the clearance to prosecute innocent species, and even if one agent within the organization went rogue, the Architect would act swiftly to correct them.
So why were they doing this? Rather, the important question was, what was she going to do about it? Despite her previous affiliation with the Shadow Proclamation, she did not have the power to override this judgement. She needed more information.
The Soldier quickly turned to face Leader Sixteen and the guards. "What happened between Panache and the Shadow Proclamation?"
"What do you mean?" Leader Sixteen asked, glaring at her insolence.
"This disease is used by the Shadow Proclamation to punish civilizations for crimes against the organization. What happened?" The Soldier demanded, feeling anxiety well up in her. The Doctor jolted in sudden realization at her words which she ignored.
"Nothing! This is the Soldier's fault! We reported the crimes she committed to the Shadow Proclamation, and they blamed us! They said our planet had broken too many rules! They didn't believe us when we told them that the Soldier slaughtered our people in cold blood. The Soldier reported lies to the Shadow Proclamation, saying how she couldn't bear to complete her mission out of compassion. What rubbish! The Shadow Proclamation sent a psychotic soldier to investigate the Intergalactic Diplomatic Delegation that was attacked and we were exploited! All that happened is their fault! So we took our revenge and destroyed the local Shadow Proclamation agency and its resources." Leader Sixteen spat out spitefully.
Oh Rassilion, what had she done? But how could she have predicted this outcome? The only thing she could do now was damage control. She tried to set her guilt and horror aside to handle this horrid situation.
"Tell me! Is this disease because of you? Do you know the cure?" Leader Sixteen demanded his face full of accusation.
"Like I said, this is retribution from the Shadow Proclamation. This has nothing to do with the three of us." The Soldier repeated calmly, having no intent of telling him the truth, about how it was all her fault. "But on the plus side I can make the cure." The Soldier paused, gathering the required supplies as she elaborated, "Unlike every other pathogen, this strain of virus gets stronger if you try to create a cure from itself. Calcitriol, calcidiol and citric acid need to be fed to the patients every three hours. The immune system can take care of the rest." She injected the three compounds and moved back, then turned to watch the Leader carefully.
"What? It's that easy?" the Doctor yelped in disbelief. "Vitamin D and Vitamin C? Well, I knew that." He grumbled looking put off that the Soldier had created the cure.
"It's because the more advanced a species gets, the more reluctant they are to endure hardship longer than necessary. Very few people would take such a slow route to recovery, but it's the only cure that exists for this disease." The Soldier explained, trying to contain her irritation at his immaturity. It was like the man was in his own world, oblivious to the undercurrents in the room.
"Well then!" the Doctor announced, throwing off his momentary sullenness. He raised his hands in the air and spun around to face his captors. "We've done as you asked. Now, uphold your end of the bargain. Let Artis and his wife stay here. They both endured a lot so that they could return home."
"Wait a moment." The Leader cut him off, turning to the Soldier, "How do you know this is the work of the Shadow Proclamation? Were they the military organization you worked for?" He growled, his eyes narrowing in sudden suspicion.
"No, of course not!" Artis cried out, hurrying to her defense. "She worked with the human police, and was a sub-inspector when she resigned." He lied, hoping their cover story would convince them.
"It's why I know how they operate." The Soldier added, collaborating with the ruse.
"Then if you have so much information about them, you can definitely stay. This act of cruelty will not go unanswered! You will help us destroy them!" Leader Sixteen ordered, pacing in his vehemence.
"No." Both the Doctor and Soldier cried out simultaneously. The Soldier turned to him in surprise, noting the significant change in his demeanor. He stood tall and forbidding, his face full of warning.
"I have been quiet and accommodating of everything you've done so far," the Doctor began, straightening up with grim determination lining his body. "I was quiet because I understood. Withdrawing away from other planets after a horrible tragedy, that's fine! Slaughtering the members of the Shadow Proclamation for their misjudgement, not okay but understandable, especially since they started it. But now? What you're doing now is just pure stupidity! If you're worried about the Shadow Proclamation acting further, I'll deal with it, I promise. But if you take arms against the Intergalactic Police Force, then nothing will remain of your planet. Do you understand me? You have no chance against them! And you don't need it because they can be reasoned with! Just sit down and talk to them! Why does nobody bloody do that?"
"My people are wronged, the children grievously ill, and you want me to sit down and talk to the perpetrators?" The Leader bristled, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to contain his anger.
"Yes! Because think of the cost if you don't!"Smith retorted, pleading. The Soldier stared at him, in a trance. How was he doing this, this heartfelt speech that had the power to change people's minds?
"You expect me to trust a bunch of aliens with the fate of my planet?" The Leader asked, after a pensive moment, his rage cooling down.
The Soldier knew that despite his recent xenophobic tendencies, Leader Sixteen remained a good man. Or at least a good Leader. She stepped forward, smiling a tentative smile.
"You can go negotiate with them yourself if you prefer. I can help you with the meeting if you want." She offered before adding her own encouragement. "Panache has been an intergalactic hub for over a thousand years, and sealing off the world due to a misfortune will be horrible. Don't let one errant dead soldier from a forgotten race ruin the glory and wonder that is Panache."
"Couldn't have put it better myself." The Doctor said with a brilliant smile.
The Leader looked at all of them carefully before releasing a tired sigh. "I'll consider what you have said." He turned to Artis. "A deal is a deal. You can stay here with your wife. But both of you will be assisting with the recovery and be under constant watch."
"But-" Artis nudged the Soldier into silence.
"Very well. We accept." He nodded, feeling a rush of happiness at his consent.
"Ha-ha! Well there you go! Mission accomplished!" the Doctor cried out in relief, clapping his hands together in joy.
The three prisoners were released from their confines and the Leader escorted them to the entrance in silent apology. They exited the door and the group stood outside, The Doctor, Artis and the Soldier basking in the open air after the prolonged confinement.
"Well then, my work here is done." The Doctor stated with a genuine smile.
The Soldier lifted a brow. "And what work was that?" She asked, her voice lightly teasing.
"I think he meant rambling his brains out." Artis continued, ganging up on the Doctor with the Soldier. "He's mad after all." Artis teased him, a mischievous twinkle filling his eye.
"No, I'm not!" He denied childishly. "Well actually I am, but that doesn't matter." He said, waving his hand dismissively. His face turned serious. "You have an important task ahead of you, and it's important that you don't fail." He stated, staring at Artis intensely.
"Don't worry, we won't. We'll take care of the inhabitants of this planet. Together." Artis said, a smile filling his face as he wrapped his arms around the Soldier.
"Yes, that's all good. But that's not what I meant. Keep her happy. I know everything is really complicated between the two of you, but take care of her Artis. I already know that Red will make you happy." A warm smile filled the Doctor's face. "Red Alpha, I guess this is goodbye."The Leader who had been politely looking away to give them privacy suddenly stood at attention.
"What did you just call her?" The Leader interrupted, turning abruptly to face the Doctor.
"Red, Red Alpha." The Doctor repeated, confused as to why there was growing horror on the Leader's face.
I am only a soldier, the Soldier."
"I am Red Alpha. I am a human from Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, coordinates 32.4sigma33phi54."
The Leader turned to the Soldier in fear, and instinctively the Soldier knew that he knew. Leader Sixteen had been the first and only Latite she had given her full name to apart from Artis.
"You! It's you! You're the Soldier!" He cried out, pointing his trembling finger at her in fear. "How?! How is that even possible! Demon!"
"Wait, no!" Artis cried out, his hands held out entreatingly. "She's not the Soldier! It's just her name!"
Leader Sixteen pulled a gun from the guard standing next to him, his face full of dreaded certainty as he took aim. The Soldier watched, frozen, unable to act for the first time in her life as time slowed down and the gun fired, the bullet heading straight for her. She watched, frozen, as Artis moved instinctually in front of her, and a spray of blood coated her face. She watched, frozen, as Artis let out a short cry before collapsing to the ground, unmoving, as blood flowed unceasingly out of him. She watched, frozen, as the life disappeared from Artis's eyes, now only an empty blue husk.
She remained frozen, even when realization crashed through her.
Artis was dead.
The Soldier collapsed on to her knees in front of him. The sounds around her turned into buzzing. She could register scraps of words, but they held no meaning. Nothing did.
"-not the Soldier! If she was, you'd be dead-!"
The Soldier felt a crippling pressure in her lungs. A familiar anguish arrested her breath away. But never before had she ever felt such a ripping pain in her heart. Artis. He had loved her. Truly loved her, despite everything. The most compassionate man she had ever met. The only one who had it in him to love a thing like her.
"-will leave! Just leave us alone!"
"-done enough!"
A horrible wounded grief-ridden cry suddenly rung out and everything went quiet. The Soldier was momentarily confused until she realized the sound was coming from her. She wrapped her arms around Artis's body, uncaring of the blood staining her. Her vision blurred as tears flooded her eyes.
"Artis, get up! Get up please! Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone!" She pleaded, anguish filling her. "I love you, please, I love you. Don't do this, get up. Get up, please!"
She felt someone place a hand on her shoulder, and she jerked it away. She shook the body, and she watched as it shook lifelessly, like a doll. The pain, anguish and despair inside her rose like a tidal wave, until suddenly she turned numb. She dropped Artis's body onto the ground and got up.
She looked up at Leader Sixteen, who sized her up carefully and armed himself.
Kill. But Artis wouldn't have wanted that. This had happened because of her. The bullet had been meant for her. The perpetrator of all this misery wasn't the Shadow Proclamation or the inhabitants of Panache. It was her.
She deserved to die.
But Artis came first.
All he had ever wanted was to live life happily, play with the children and have a family of his own. He had wanted to stroll amongst Panache's trees, enjoy nature and live life to the fullest.
She bent down, lifting his lifeless body into her arms. This body wouldn't embrace her again. He wouldn't ever kiss her again. His smile. His irresistible warm crooked smile. Her first love in a thousand years. How would she ever live without it?
She wouldn't have to.
She started walking into the forest, carrying Artis's body with her. She saw from the corner of the eye as Smith approached the Leader again, moving away from her and placating the Leader. She didn't care about any of those technicalities. Nothing mattered. Only Artis. Artis was hers, and she was going to keep him with her until she died.
Red, I want to grow old in Panache. I want to be among the beautiful expanse of its trees, the children playing, just watching everything grow. Please be with me, Red. There, in Panache.
She stopped as she remembered his words. It didn't matter to her where she died, but it did to Artis. She turned and started walking in the direction of the clearing where they had first met, the Children's Grounds, a little ways off from where her ship was parked.
She saw from the corner of her eyes as Smith ran up behind her, his face twisted in agonized sympathy. He opened his mouth, and the Soldier felt a deadly irritation flare. But thankfully he closed it.
The Soldier was aware that everything that had happened was her fault. Her actions had directly led to these consequences. Her hasty kidnapping, her cruel slaughter, even her resignation from the Shadow Proclamation. She now understood why the Time Lords had lauded inaction and indifference to other civilizations' suffering. The cost was too high.
The Soldier reached the clearing and placed Artis's body on the ground. She watched his lifeless face and felt a horrible pain flare up.
No, there was no reason to feel pain. Just a bit longer.
The Soldier retreated into the ship and dug through compartments, looking for what she needed. Smith followed close behind. She needed to get rid of him otherwise he would stop her from what she was about to do.
Smith knew her in the future. She halted her movements.
History can be rewritten. She'd be damned if she let him interfere with what she was about to do. Her hands clasped around the item she had been searching for. A lighter.
She picked up the tub of fuel and exited her ship. Anyways, Smith wouldn't stop her. Even he thought that she was an evil being that only created misery. A being that brought death wherever she went.
Upon seeing her with the items, the Doctor blocked her path.
"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked, apprehensive of her actions. He was wary of her composure. This was eerily similar to the Soldier he knew.
"Cremating his body. Artis wanted nothing more than to return to Panache, so I'm dispersing him into Panache." The Soldier replied monotonously, dripping the accelerant onto Artis's body and setting it aflame. The burning of his body became too much to watch, so she tightly shut her eyes. No, how could she not watch his last moments? She opened her eyes again, unable to stop the tears that trickled out.
The Doctor watched her, worried about what she was going to do next. He had never had to deal with the Soldier this far gone.
"What will you do now?" He asked tentatively.
"Nothing. You have to do the rest." The Doctor looked at her in confusion until she withdrew a disintegration gun.
"What? Wait what are you doing?" He moved back in alarm, not liking the conclusion he was reaching.
"Smith, listen to me. After I am gone, you need to burn my body. A Time Lord body is a precious wondrous thing, and a dangerous thing to fall into enemy hands. You must burn my body." With that, she lifted the gun unflinchingly to her head.
"No, no stop!" The Doctor yelled, grabbing her hand to stop her.
They both struggled for a brief moment before the Soldier swiftly jerked him away. "Do not think you can stop me. Stay away!" She growled out scathingly, a dangerous warning flashing through her eyes.
The Doctor ignored her warning and jumped on to her, pushing her to the ground in an attempt to restrain her. "What do you think you're doing? Do you think Artis would have wanted this?"
"What do you know about what he would have wanted? I have nothing left, nothing!" She cried, but did not move to harm him. She was reluctant to have her last action alive be hurting someone. No more.
"What nothing? Everybody goes through loss! You are not the only person in the world to have lost someone! There's an entire universe out there! You'll recover; you'll find something else to live for! Stop this!" The Doctor pleaded, surprised that he hadn't been thrown off yet.
"No, no, no please I do not want to hurt you. Get off me please! Everything, everything was my fault! I could bear with it before because I lived for him. For Artis. But he is gone now! I have nothing! Please let me die! I am the last of my kind! There is nobody left! You have no idea what it is like, being all alone in the world! Please, I beg you, let me die!" The Soldier begged, her restraint gone, eyes closed and tears pouring.
"No Red! Listen to me please! You aren't alone! The Doctor's alive! Look at me!" The Doctor urged, trying to get her to open her eyes and see him.
"I cannot go on any longer. I tried to find him, find the others but there was nobody else. Please let this torturous life end." The fight left the Soldier as she went limp under the Doctor. There was no point to resisting, not even against Smith.
"No! NO! Soldier look at me!" He shook her in an attempt to get through to her. He pulled her and himself up, and she collapsed onto him.
The Doctor lifted her body until she was facing him and grasped her face, to center her.
"Listen to me. It's me. I am the Doctor."
AN: Poor Soldier, her happiness was snatched away from her at the last second. I'd like to thank my beta reader SHELBY BEAN for her helpful insight.
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