Thirteen
The next morning, Veronica wakes up in a strange off-white room with the lights turned down low. She blinks and stretches, slowly recalling the previous day's expedition and the public frenzy of when they'd returned to Sestrapolis. She'd never been a celebrity before, though the Doctor seemed to have no problem facing the eager crowds.
As she gets up, Veronica looks around the guest room she'd been assigned, but had never been able to use until now. It's fairly cozy if Spartan in its decor. Not much better than her tiny flat in the West End. She smiles and throws off the covers from her bed.
With a slight grimace, she gets out of bed and stands up despite the crinkling from under her nightgown. Although the virus is wearing off and she's regaining her bladder and bowel control, it isn't fully restored yet. The Sestrans had been decent enough to upgrade her protection from a thick and awkward diaper to a form-fitting pullup that didn't make walking into a chore.
Her pullup is only a little wet, which she supposes has to count as progress. Veronica goes over to the dresser and pulls the top drawer open. There are over a dozen folded-up pullups inside, along with powder, wipes, and rash cream. She grabs a pullup and a bottle of powder before heading into the bathroom for a much-needed shower.
The Doctor is sitting in the living room, idly flipping through channels on the TV and dipping biscuits into a jar of custard like usual. When he sees Veronica come in-now properly dressed and made up-he offers a biscuit and a friendly smile.
She takes one from the package and glances at the TV. "Was that Hanna just now?"
"Not just Hanna," he reports, still smiling. He taps a button on the remote, showing her live footage of Hanna sitting down with sixteen Sestran officials in the Cabinet room. "You're now looking at the new Minister of Health and Science."
"Well, good for her." Veronica can't resist a smile of her own. "She deserves a raise."
The Doctor pauses before taking a bite of another biscuit, then turns to her. "Well, it's not a totally happy ending," he says while chewing. Stopping to swallow, he adds, "I just got in twenty minutes ago. The Ministry had me up all night with the Puerin, seeing if I could do to them what I did to you. Try to reverse the effects of the kybertine with the right biometric data."
Veronica sits down on the couch next to him. "And?"
He sighs and shakes his head. "It's not likely to change. Not for this generation anyway. They're regressed, but they'll grow up eventually. The younger ones will properly go through their adolescence with Sestran assistance and they'll eventually reproduce and mature like they used to do. The difference will be there that, once the Puerin regain their minds, they'll learn what the Sestrans did and they'll hate them for it. Or maybe not. Maybe they'll see how good parents they had-provided the Sestrans do as good a job as Hanna did with you."
The thought makes Veronica blush a little, but she nods. "True enough. So, it's a long-term recovery?"
"It always is." The Doctor is staring toward the TV, but he doesn't seem to actually be watching it. "But it also got me thinking. I know the Sestrans have been at war for such a long time, but that psychic technology. The kybertine virus and the sonic stockade... it's far beyond their level. Even for all the usual innovations a wartime society can create."
"Well I'm sure they had someone brilliant coming up with those inventions." Veronica playfully nudges him in the shoulder. "Some genius like you."
The Doctor smiles briefly. "As a matter of fact, they kept mentioning this one Sestran engineer. Dr. Seth Trema of the Kheva Academy. Sounds like he was their own Robert Oppenheimer. 'The Creator of the Kybertine,' they called him. 'The Master of War' and-"
He breaks off and suddenly glances at Veronica. "No. No, that couldn't be right."
"What?"
"Well, it's the name. Seth Trema. It seems familiar somehow. And so did the sonic stockade when I took it apart-and how you overcame it." The Doctor scratches at his beard thoughtfully. "Like in The Year That Never Was..."
He gets up and walks over to the comm screen on the desk in the corner. "Excuse me. I need to make a quick call."
Veronica waits and watches as he punches in a call code. He leans forward and says into the screen. "Yes, hello. This is the Doctor. I'd like to speak to the Minister of Health and Science. Yes, I'll hold."
Slowly, as her curiosity gets the better of her, Veronica gets off the couch and walks over. She glances past the Doctor's shoulder at the comm screen, just as Hanna steps into view. "Oh, hello, Doctor. Hello, Veronica. How can I help you?"
"Sorry to interrupt your first meeting at Cabinet," the Doctor says quickly, "but it's urgent. I need to know about this Dr. Trema of yours."
"Dr. Trema?" Hanna frowns. "Well, we didn't want to bring it up, but... it would seem that he disappeared yesterday."
"Disappeared?"
"City Security says he was last seen taking a private ship out of the Academy docks at Twelfth Watch. About an hour after we set out on the expedition. There's been no recovery of either him or the vessel. No one knows why he suddenly took off like that."
"An impeccable record, I'd imagine."
"He'd have to be. He's the highest-rated scientist in both the Academy and the Ministry of Defense."
The Doctor suddenly grips the comm screen for dear life. "I need you to check your records and remember this very carefully, Minister. Did Dr. Seth Trema have anything in his possession that looked like this?"
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small gray fob watch. The sight of it makes Veronica's breath catch. She remembers when he showed it to her on Jupiter.
It's part of a Chameleon Arch. A Time Lord's disguise kit.