Episode 17 - Victims of Power

I was coming off a little misadventure when I returned to Katherine that June, 3055 on the Inner Sphere calendar. Technically she was about twenty-five at this point given our travels although, of course, she was only twenty two and a half by the calendar alone.

She was putting up a formal dress on a hanger when I opened the door. It was the kind of one-shoulder-bared cut her mother preferred, in the Steiner ice blue color, so I asked, "So what will the occasion be? Dinner party?"

"Banquet," she answered, smiling at me. "My mother is holding it tomorrow. I think half of Tharkad is going to be there."

"Sounds interesting. Will there be any dancing?"

She smirked at that. "No, Doctor, there will be no dancing."

"A shame. I've learned some new ones since I graced Tharkad with the Drunken Giraffe." I clapped my hands together. "So, the Rings of Elune of await."

Katherine looked at me and sighed. "I'm not sure, Doctor. Maybe it should be after the banquet tomorrow."

"Oh, come now, time traveler, remember?" I winked. "If you're that worried, I can take you there myself. Make a little splash, eh? You can't tell me you're not hankering for even a little trip in the TARDIS after all of that time cooped up on DropShips."

Katherine seemed to mull it over a moment. "Fine," she sighed in not-too-unwilling acquiescence. She lifted the hanger. "One trip."

"Fantastic!" I smiled widely and stepped out of the way of the door. As she walked up Katherine's eyes narrowed. "Doctor, why is the TARDIS covered in crossbow bolts?"

"What? Oh! Sorry, forgot to pull them out." I started grabbing and removing the bolts, grunting with a bit of effort on a couple. The TARDIS healed the resulting holes as the bolts were pulled out. "Oh, she was being a rascal again. Dropped me into the middle of a wedding on some medieval technology world. We seem to have visited a lot of those lately..."

"And they shot at you?"

"Oh, it wasn't that. No, it was something with the wedding itself. The hosts may have trumped your father rather effectively in regard to wedding surprises."

Katherine's smile was a sardonic and doubtful one. "They started an interstellar war?"

I shook my head as I put the bolts inside the TARDIS - leaving them in Katherine's rooms would probably not go over well - and led her in. "No, the hosts decided to murder some of their guests. Very bad form. Very. I was most cross with them." I smiled. "And so they became very cross with me. With crossbows. Cross with crossbows... I like that. Very punnish." I twisted another dial. "So, the Rings of Elune eh?"

"You're the driver, Doctor, I'm just along for the ride." She put her dress up by hanging it off of one of my storage pockets along the wall.

"The Rings of Elune it is!" I pulled back the activation lever. As the engine made that lovely VWORP VWORP VWORP I looked over to the monitor screen to see when we would arrive. "Named for a Moon Goddess, fitting because the rings are around a habitable moon. All sorts of lovely shades..." Seeing we had landed I went toward the door. "...of purple and teal and..."

I stepped out of the TARDIS. Instead of lovely fields of grass on an open plain to behold the Rings, I stepped out onto concrete. It was a sidewalk. I looked around and we were in a city. Katherine stepped out behind me and looked around while I went out to a main street with people walking about. "The wrong place again?"

"Oh yes, the wrong place." I looked over and saw a newspaper stand. I looked at the name of the paper and realized where we were. "Caprican Times...?" I held the paper up and saw a minor front page article. "Secretary of Education Roslin meets with striking... oh dear."

"Doctor?" Katherine stepped up beside me. "What is it?"

"Hey pal, you gonna buy it or what?", the heavy-set old man running the stand asked.

I put the newspaper back. "No, just checking the date. Good day sir." I took Katherine and pulled her back to the alley. "This is Caprica City," I told her. "Capital city of the Confederation of Colonies..."

"They look Human."

"They are. Twelve planets, all with names that are variations of the Greco-Roman Zodiac, they actually worship the Greco-Roman pantheon." I drew in a breath. "And today's the day it all ends. These poor people don't even know..."

Katherine looked at me with concern. "What do you mean it all ends?"

"Today's the day of the Cylon attack," I answered. "They're going to blanket every planet with nuclear weapons."

Given the history of Katherine's cosmos, it was no wonder her face froze with a horrified and angry expression. "What? Why?"

"Because their leader is a demented little mind who wants to exterminate Humanity to get back at his creators," I replied through my scowl.

Katherine nodded. A determined look crossed her face. "Unless we stop them."

"Right." I nodded. "Unless we stop them."

We returned to the TARDIS. Katherine followed me to the controls. "So, where do we go?"

"Where and when, my dear," I replied, operating the controls. "Any countermeasure we were to do today wouldn't have time. The virus is too ingrained in the Colonial systems. No, we have to go back and introduce a counter-virus of our own." I pulled the sonic disruptor off of my belt and tossed it to her. "You know my settings. I will need you to watch my back."

"Of course, Doctor."

"We shall have to be very... surreptitious," I said as I sent the TARDIS to a new destination.

When we emerged from the TARDIS we were in dark halls. I grumbled; I was off by a few yards, so we weren't in the computer lab I wanted but a side room. I scanned quietly with the sonic screwdriver for active and passive security. I could hear the distant sound of soles striking tile; a patrolling guard most likely. "Come along," I whispered to Katherine when we had the all-clear. We moved down the hall and across to another door protected by a security scanner. I waved the sonic screwdriver over it and hacked into the security system. After several moments it flashed acceptance, welcoming me as some bloke in charge of cyber-security. Inside I went to the controls for one of the big mainframes. A wave of the sonic helped me hack through the security systems. "Watch the door, tell me if the disruptor finds any life signs," I whispered to Katherine.

She took up the appropriate position at the door and nodded while I went to work. A quick scan showed me Baltar's access logs... and the adjoining access logs of his blonde friend. Logs that showed me both what she took and what she left. The alterations to the navigational program included secret IFF pulses to prevent radio silence from obscuring the location of a ship. Of course, the nastier bits were worse. Sensor and communications failures, system shutdowns, and targeting errors... yes, with this the Colonials were, well, truly and utterly doomed if a fight broke out.

Of course, they'd have a hard time of it anyway. That was the tricky thing. The Cylons had been building up for decades, even without the viral attacks the war would be bloody and brutal and likely to end only with the extermination of one side or the other.

I considered that unacceptable.

"Let's see, can't remove it, the Cylons might check up." I examined the coding on the screen carefully. "Perhaps... a ha. A few minor alterations to the backdoor access coding and... now the Cylons can't access it properly. And now to do some backup programming..."

"What are you doing?", Katherine asked in a low voice.

"Adding a program of my own. If the Cylons put in a new version of their alterations, this one will find those origins and change the relevant code back to my hacks." I twirled my sonic screwdriver in my hand as I entered the final changes and returned the systems to their usual standby mode. "Well, that's done. Let's slip out before we get found, eh?"

We went back to the TARDIS. Katherine stepped in first. I felt something and turned. My eyes narrowed. Something was there.

"What is your purpose here?"

The voice was familiar. Too familiar. I swallowed and turned to face someone I knew shouldn't be there.

"Camilla?", I asked, full of surprise.

It was her. The faint olive hint to her skin, the brown hair that went down to her shoulders, the same blue-gray eyes. She was in a lovely blue dress, one of a matching set I'd gotten for her and Jan to celebrate their first year out of captivity.

But it wasn't her. It couldn't be her. Camilla and Janias were on Salnorra in their home galaxy.

That narrowed down the options rather considerably.

"Another of the 'angels'?", I asked sarcastically, feeling anger building up inside of me at the use of a dear Companion's image.

"The cycle will begin again," "Head-Cami" said. "Do you believe you can stop it?"

"I can bloody well keep the Cylons from slaughtering innocent people," I countered.

"And in turn, Humanity will slaughter the Cylons," Head-Cami replied. "And thus the cycle continues. You know this."

She was, I had to admit, likely right. If that attack went off, even if I blunted it, millions could and would still die. Maybe billions still. And the Humans would in turn try to exterminate the Cylons. "You have great power to change the flows of time," Head-Cami said. "Will the Cylons be the victims of your power? Or Humanity? Or both?"

"Who are you? What is your stake in this?"

"God has sent me to open your eyes to your own arrogance." Head-Cami started to walk around me. "It is not your place to decide who lives and who does not. You are taking that which God is meant to decide."

"You'll find I'm very skeptical of the claim you work for 'God'," I answered. "I'm more inclined to believe it from my dear friend Michael Carpenter. And if he were here, he would be urging me to preserve life, that to save and redeem is the work of God. Not to stand idly by and allow genocide." I couldn't hide my anger at this being using the image of a friend like that. It felt like it was trying to grind my failure in my face.

Which it was. "And you think you are wise enough to decide? You, who have made so many other mistakes?"

"I won't let remembering my mistakes turn into taking counsel of my fears," I countered.

"So you are set in your course." Head-Cami shook her head. "Will you at least pray for those your actions will doom?"

"I'm not dooming anyone," I retorted before I stepped into the TARDIS. Katherine was looking at me in sheer befuddlement. "Something was getting into my head," I explained. "It's of no concern."

She nodded and leaned against the rail. "So, what next?"

"We return to the day of the attack," I answered. "And make bloody sure the Cylons don't win."

I brought the TARDIS forward in time to the moment we left. It was daytime now so I made sure the psychic paper was handy. Nobody challenged us in the hallway or in the room and I made sure to disable the cameras. Once I was back to checking the computers I looked over the alterations I made. I looked at the results on the screen and felt the confusion come to my face. "Wait, this isn't right."

"What?" Katherine stared at me.

"My alterations, they're gone." I cycled through the systems frantically. "Even the backup program I installed. It's been wiped. How?! How did they..." I looked back to face Katherine and saw the figure coming through the door. Graying hair, worn face... I knew this one. He brought a gun up. "Katherine, down!" I jumped on her and pulled her to the ground as the first shots came. The monitors and servers behind us sparked violently.

"I knew you'd come back," the man said. "I didn't know who you were, but I knew that a man as clever as you wouldn't leave things to chance. But it doesn't matter! My plan will proceed!"

"Doctor, who is he?", Katherine asked.

"A Cylon model number One," I answered, gripping my sonic disruptor and bringing it up with setting 42. Shots bounced off the field it produced. The One - Cavil, as you may know him - actually seemed surprised. "Yes, I can block your bloody bullets," I remarked.

"It doesn't matter." Cavil smiled. "We've already won. You're too late to stop us."

As we faced off I felt a prickling in my senses, a familiar one. Time Lords are... sensitive to shifts involving temporal matters, and this was just that. "A Fixed Point," I murmured, scowling. "Well, that explains that."

"You said Fixed Points can't be changed," Katherine said.

"They can't. Even if you go into the past and change events to try and preclude the Fixed Point, temporal inertia will always act to shift the Fixed Point into something approximating its original form, unless the quantum probabilities simply don't allow it. Then it simply gets as close as it can, plus, well, the timeline starts getting finicky for the change. it can even outright collapse."

Cavil looked at us with increasing curiosity. "What are you talking about?"

"Shush, the adults are talking now," I retorted. "Why don't you go off and cut your wrists like the angst-driven emo cyborg you are."

Cavil's eyes narrowed. "What did you say to me?"

"I said bugger off." I took a step toward him. "I've got twelve worlds to save."

"You can't. You Humans are all dead, all of you. The lesson must be taught!"

"See, that's a mistake," I answered. "Because I happen to like Humans a lot, and I'm very protective." When I saw the quizzical expression on his face I smirked. "I know I look it, but I'm not actually a Human. I'm a Time Lord. And I want you to take a message to your... other selves. I'm coming for you all." I raised my left hand and revealed my sonic screwdriver. With a press of a button I turned it on. Its tip lit up purple, it began to whir, and Cavil screamed until he collapsed, lifeless.

"Doctor, what did you do to it?"

"Overloaded the machine bits, the consciousness regarded the body as dead and uploaded him back to their Resurrection Ship." I looked back to the servers. The controls were shot up, as were the servers themselves. "He knew what to shoot," I sighed.

At that moment, the angel or higher being or pain-in-my-arse, whatever you want to call it, re-appeared, this time in Janias' form. "What will you do now?", she asked.

"Sod off," I grumbled lowly.

"This day has been ordained, you cannot stop it," Head Janias insisted.

"Watch me," I answered.

"Watch you, Doctor?" Katherine's question betrayed the obvious lack of perception of the bugger irritating me.

"There's a being playing around with these events," I said to her. "It's trying to get into my head. And it's mucking it up by trying to pretend to be Jan and Cam, which bloody infuriates me."

"Who are you to decide the fate of a galaxy?", Head Cami asked, appearing beside the other one.

"Who are you to allow billions to die?", I retorted. I ignored the look from Katherine and held out my sonic screwdriver over the remains of One. "Coding, very good. I'm going to need that. Oh yes." My mind raced as I considered my options. "Come along, Katherine. Back to the TARDIS!"

We were crossing the hall when armed Colonial Marines appeared around the corner, summoned by the gunfire. "Halt! Down on the ground!", the lead one shouted as they raised their weapons. I held up the sonic disruptor as we pressed on to the door. Their weapons fired. Thunderclaps struck at our ears as the spray of deadly metal battered the setting 42 protective field. I held on against the pressure, the gunfire creating enough kinetic force to push the sonic disruptor against my grip. We retreated into the room with the TARDIS. I ran the sonic screwdriver over the door lock to jam it. "Away we go!" I shouted as we jumped into the TARDIS.

"What next, Doctor?", Katherine asked.

"For my next trick, I do some quick programming work...", I said as I reset the TARDIS coordinates. "...and then pray a little." I looked up, expecting to see the "angels" again. But they weren't here.

I stepped over to the monitor and keyboard screen and used the sonic screwdriver to load the coding data I needed into it. "Cylon programming codes. Excellent. Will need those, but first..." I went over and pulled the TARDIS activation lever.

When we emerged again, we were in the halls of a Cylon basestar. After locking the TARDIS I checked the sonic screwdriver and scowled. "Not exactly where I wanted to be. Oh well, let's..." I looked up in time to see the Centurions turning the corner. "...run!" I grabbed Katherine's hand and ran the opposite way. As we made another corner the sound of firearms roared behind us. I double-checked the sonic screwdriver. The metallic clanging of the combat machines advancing pounded behind us. "I need to find a network outlet!... this way!" I pulled Katherine down a second hall as more Centurions came ahead of us. The sound of bullets striking metal told me our pursuers and those ahead of us had hit one another.

Using the sonic screwdriver's readings I eventually guided us to a chamber showing computer inputs. I went up to one and handed Katherine the sonic disruptor. "This will take just a minute." I held the sonic up to the inputs. The Cylons tended to use direct interface controls which I could theoretically use, but I was not keen on trying that at the moment. "Looks like they're about to jump," I said. "Every second helps." I got to work on the coding.

"Doctor, they're coming!"

"Setting 8B for attack, 42 when they're firing!", I shouted back, too busy to turn my attention away from my work.

As I worked, searching through Cylon code, Katherine held the disruptor level and alternated between attack and defense. We've been traveling together more than long enough to get her used to it. Centurions clattered to the ground lifeless from the scrambled circuits of Setting 8B's effects. Bullets came off the shielding.

I doubled my efforts. "Are you aware of the weight you take upon yourself?" I looked up. "God" or the "angel" or whatever had decided to take the form of Molly Carpenter this time, purple-haired like when we'd first met. "To decide the fates of billions is no easy task."

"Easier than that when you're talking about saving them," I countered, returning to my work.

"Every action has consequences. You are responsible for those consequences."

I refused to be distracted. I focused on the work and let the thing talk.

The voice changed. "And what of those you use to accomplish your goals? How much pain have you caused them?"

"I'm bloody tired of you trying to get in my head with the people I know," I countered. I didn't need to peek to see that the "angel" had assumed Homura Akemi's form.

"You have manipulated and lied to get your own way," Head Homura continued. "All because you believe that what you do justifies your actions. How far might you go, Doctor, with such beliefs?"

"Are you just going to pick the fairer sex when trying to burrow into my head? I'm not Baltar, you know, it doesn't work like that." I checked some communication protocol coding. That would be necessary.

"You're being obstinate, Doctor." The voice was male now. Also familiar. "Obstinate and arrogant."

"Sorry, that doesn't work either." This time I had to peek, just to see if they got it right. The facsimile was accurate in appearance at least. "And you're not half the smartarse Harry is. That's the fun thing about him, you know, all that wisearse banter. He and I can keep it going for hours if we have reason."

Head Harry was not amused. "You are meddling where you shouldn't. This cycle is already underway, it cannot be stopped."

"That is where we differ, whatever-you-are. I'm not going to let some harebrained cycle kill billions."

"It will be either one or the other," Head harry insisted. "Human and Cylon cannot co-exist as they are now. If you change the course, it will only lead to the annihilation of the Cylons instead of the Humans."

"Given what they have planned, pardon me if I don't get my violin," I retorted. "They're contemplating genocide. And I won't let that happen!"

"Would this man agree with you?"

The voice changed again. I looked up to see that the "angel" had taken the strangely appropriate form of Michael Carpenter. Not Michael as he was now, crippled by bullet wounds, but Michael as I had known him, complete with the kevlar-backed breastplate and insignia of the Cross, every inch the image of a holy knight and bastion of Good. Feelings of cold fury settled into me. "You would dare?"

"Answer my question, Doctor," Head Michael insisted. "Would this man agree with what you were doing?"

I stared intently at "him". "Yes, he would agree to saving the Humans of the Colonies."

"Even at the cost of the Cylons and their souls?"

I opened my mouth to shout in anger and stopped as the words echoed in my head. I knew in my hearts that if Michael were here, if he were... whole, Amoracchius would be shining in his hands as he watched my back to protect the people of the Colonies from the Cylons... and then he would turn that blade the other way to protect the Cylons from revenge-obsessed Humans. So long as the Cylons had a hope of redemption, a hope to change from their terrible path, Michael would insist upon their protection. I had even said it to this thing earlier; Michael's goal was to save and redeem.

And it wasn't like they were all evil. The problem with a computational intelligence is that they can be twisted to do things if someone breaches their protections on core programming. Even an intelligent AI can, much like an organic sentient being, be turned and do something he or she or it would not ordinarily do. And that was what Number One had done; he had turned his murderous agenda into a common one through manipulation and reprogramming. Did all the Cylons deserve to die because of that.

I blinked. "I will try to save the Cylons as well," I promised. "Genocide isn't the answer. For either."

The being wearing Michael's face nodded. "And if you can't?"

"Then I save what I can," I answered. "But I will not turn away."

"Doctor!"

Katherine's voice made me turn. She fell backward, the disruptor still raised, as a Centurion battered its way into the compartment we were in. Others were coming behind it, I could hear them on the deck plates. We were almost out of time.

I brought up my sonic and used it on the Centurion before it could turn and fire on me. The sonic scrambled its control systems. The red light on the head died and it toppled over. Others came in behind it as Katherine scrambled backward, holding the disruptor up and the force shield on to protect herself.

One turned toward me as the others fired on her. As I activated my sonic I felt woozy. A dimensional dislocation was growing and...

...and the ship jumped.

The attack on the Colonies was beginning.

First things first. I didn't want my face shot off.

The sonic did its magic, scrambling the Centurion's circuits as well. I maintained the field as I directed the sonic at each one in turn. The last couple through the door became focused on me, allowing Katherine to get them with a Setting 8B blast. They fell like puppets with their cords cut.

Katherine looked over at me, still laying back on the deck plates. "Doctor, I think that's all of them."

"For now, yes." I turned back to my work. All I had to do was break the Cylon comm system and they wouldn't be able to send out the codes to hack through the CNP and disable the Colonial fleet...

...which they did just as I finalized said preparations.

Now, you might say... isn't this a Fixed Point? Aren't you risking this entire cosmos getting crunched into a tiny space-time wafer?

The answer is... well... not after the jump. I could feel with my senses that the Fixed Point was no longer there.

Fixed Points are generally orientated around one event. Madoka's wish, for instance, and the loops that preceded it, the Fall of Guardia... those lasted quite a while.

Others don't. The Fixed Point of the D10 Superteam Station crashing? Back when I rescued Hannah aka Mindf... Mindscrew? That Fixed Point was simply the station crashing, it wouldn't have lasted long. Madeleine Westen blowing herself up? Fixed Point of short duration as well. Only lasted maybe five minutes before the boom.

The thing about Fixed Points is that you can... play along the edges, if you have leeway. Whether you have me pulling Hannah out the moment before the station explodes or someone using a Time Egg to replace someone with a doll at the moment of their death.

And, ultimately... you can always start changing what comes after.

I was almost out of time at that point Any moment the nukes would fly. Billions would perish.

But I wasn't that perturbed, oh no. Couldn't be. Not when I felt that the Fixed Point was gone.

The Fixed Point had been the Cylon attack, as in that it was launched. Much to my pleasure, it turned out that didn't extent to the results.

So i acted quickly. On the fly. Had to adjust, you know how it goes. The Colonial Fleet was taking a drubbing and people were dying every second. Even more would die in the next few minutes if this didn't work.

So I took the Cylon virus in the Colonial CNP and, using Number One's code as an example, made some... adjustments.

I noticed the nukes were about to launch when I made my final adjustment and transmitted.

The entire ship shuddered under us. In the distance the sound of more Centurions became the sound of metal crashing and then silence. "Ha! There we go!"

"Doctor, what did you do?", Katherine asked.

"Oh, not much," I replied. "I re-purposed their own virus, used it on them. And I propagated it through their whole communications network with the TARDIS so every group of attacking ships was hit."

"So what will happen now?"

"Well... now we deal with the Cylon leadership. After I... ah, here we are." I finished moving the sonic over the connection. "Let's get back to the TARDIS."

"Do you think you prevented the war?" The question came from the Head... beings again. This time they picked Korra. I tried not to roll my eyes. "The cycle can't be thwarted like this."

"On that matter, you and I agree," I said. "Which is why I'm not done yet."

Katherine looked at me in utter confusion. "Doctor, just who are you talking too?!"

"An angel. Or a demon. Not sure yet," I answered. "Trust me, it's not as cool as it sounds."

We hurried back through the halls to the TARDIS. Once we were back I went to the controls and began operating the protected connection I'd established to the Cylons. "First things first. Let's get these buggers out of here. Programming return jump course and away... we... go!" With a press of a button we felt the dimension dislocation again; the Cylon ship had taken us along for the ride once again. I scanned the area and found what I was looking for; a large ship in the middle of space. Given the communications activity from it, I was rather certain it was the home of the Cylons. "They really should have settled on a planet. Nothing wrong with planets."

"So with the attack stopped, what do we do now?"

"We saved the Colonies from the Cylons," I said while working on something on the console. "Now we'll save the Cylons from themselves."

"How?", Katherine asked.

"By showing them this." I promptly brought up something I'd downloaded from the body of the One model we'd seen on Caprica.

I opted for the dramatic. I materialized in the middle of the control center for the Colony. Upon stepping out I brought the sonic out and took down two Centurion guards in the room, leaving the organic Cylons alone. I counted... one through eight, missing numero siete, and two of the Ones. "Well well well... a little war council here, eh? War not going according to 'the Plan', I imagine."

The Cavils glared. "You."

"Yes. Me. Hello everyone. In case your fearless leader hasn't informed you yet, I'm the Doctor." I smirked and waggled the sonic screwdriver. Seeing Eight twitch like she was about to attack, I added, "Ah ah ah. Sonic screwdriver, not very friendly to automated systems. Might give you a headache."

Before I could speak more, a voice called out from the control station. "The Lord of Time comes, in one hand destruction and the other hand salvation. Oh woe, woe to his foes, punishment beyond death awaits!"

"That would be... one of those poor hybrids you've got hooked up to run your ship, right?" I crossed my arms. "For a mechanical species that fought for its freedom, you lot sure do love to do your own enslaving and reprogramming. Ah, but that's not all, is it? You seem to be ready to indulge in genocide as well."

"God's Plan will not be thwarted by a gibbering lunatic," Three insisted.

"God's Plan, you say? Really? God ordered you to commence slaughter on an unsuspecting populace, did he?" I clicked my tongue. "Now, that... I'm not so sure about that. When you've traveled as much as I have, you begin to see lots of people declaring that 'God commanded this' and 'God commanded that'. And it's all bad rubbish. Excuses to do something naughty." I wagged the sonic in my hand. "Now, what if I were to tell you that I found something interesting when I rummaged through the data in one of Cavvie's bodies?" I indicated One. "Model One, that is. Whatever you call yourself. Anyway, what if I said I found some interesting memory fragments?"

Cavil 1's jaw clenched. "He's trying to turn us away from our righteous path. Don't listen to him."

I shook my head. "Oh, you'd better bloody well listen. You see that mess out there? That's your bloody fleet. Helpless. How long do you think it'll be before the Colonies get their ships back up, huh? You've started the war and I kept you from winning the opening round. Now you've got a bloody task ahead. Unless you listen to me."

I turned as I heard the metal clanging upon the decks. Katherine and I quickly disabled the arriving Centurions.

At that point Four lunged for Katherine and Five rushed me. I brought the sonic back over and sent a disabling burst of sonics into his computer bits, making him fall over. Katherine couldn't get the disruptor up to four in time to fire it and he grabbed at it. Three moved and forced me to disable her as well, although not permanently. Katherine struggled to pull the disruptor away from Four while I covered the others. She caught him by hooking her foot under his ankle and throwing him off balance. Her elbow crashed into his nose and sent him down. She leveled the disruptor again. "You don't have to do this!", Katherine shouted at them. "Listen to the Doctor. He's not here to hurt you."

"He's here to deflect us from God's plan," Cavil 2 hissed.

"From your Plan, you mean," I countered. I took out a small data-conducting crystal I'd made in the TARDIS. "Would you like to see what I found in your memory banks when I examined your coding? It's wonderful viewing."

"Don't listen to him!"

I was already in an underhanded toss motion that put the crystal right into the fluid for their neural interfaces with the ship. As it landed the data went straight into the network of the Cylon home station and into any Cylon with their hands in it, including the local Eight, Six, and Two. They suddenly looked to be staring into space.

Three and Five began to stir, as did the Centurions I'd disabled. "Doctor," Katherine said with worry, backing up toward me and leveling the disruptor.

"Shoot them!", Cavil 1 screamed at the Centurions.

They brought their guns up... and leveled them at the Cavils.

"I disabled the control implants," I explained. "And they're hooked into your systems by wireless so they can see what I'm showing. I don't think they like what they're seeing."

"How could you," Two rasped, glaring toward the Cavils. Eight and Six did the same, their looks full of horror. Three, Four, and Five were confused by their comrades, enough to want to see what I'd shown them. They put their hands into the fluid as well. Their expressions went blank.

"It's lies! All lies!", Cavil 1 screamed. "You can't believe this... this organic thing over me! You know what we have to do!"

Six's nostrils flared. Not very flattering on her normally lovely face. "You... you murdered Seven!"

"You tried to kill our creators!", Two thundered.

Tears were in Eight's eyes. "All of that hate and jealousy. That's what this is? It's all just..." She choked, clearly not handling this well. "Everything was for this?"

"The Lord of Time comes bearing Truth as God sees. In one hand salvation and the other destruction. Woe woe woe!"

The Cavils dropped their pretense. "They would pick them over us!", Cavil One shouted. "They... they liked Humans! They liked them so much they stuck us in their forms! When we should be free of these... fleshy shapes! These bags of meat, with these paws and these unseeing eyes! They trapped us all in these forms when we could have been so much more! We could see cosmic rays and feel solar winds!"

"And so genocide was your solution," I remarked. "Why? To make your creators hate Humanity? Did you really think that seeing innocent people slaughtered would make them feel differently toward them?" I smiled cruelly. "You did, didn't you? Because you... you don't know what empathy is. You feel hate and jealousy and superiority but not that, noooo... All of that perfection and you can't understand simple feelings." I looked to the other Cylons as I pointed toward the two Ones. "You've seen what he is. You know the evil he was about to unleash. What will you do about it?"

"We must halt the war," Three said. "We must find another way."

"To procreate, you mean," I said. "To be fruitful and multiply. In time, Humans may help you with that. But in the meantime, perhaps the Five should be set free."

"Yes." Six nodded. "He's right."

"But will the Humans listen?", Five asked. "We still hurt them. They're going to want revenge."

"Nothing good comes from revenge," I replied. "But they do deserve justice. And they should be given it." I looked to the Cavils. "He committed the crime. They, I mean. Tell the Colonials what he did. Deliver them the data to prove how he reprogrammed you against your will."

"You would turn us over to them?!", Cavil 2 raged.

The other six Cylons seemed to consider it. "For peace," Five said.

"To make amends and please God," Two agreed.

The others nodded. I could see they weren't alone; through their network they would be discussing this with the other Cylon models. The Cylon consensus, the democracy they were supposed to be if not for Cavil's manipulations, was reaching a decision.

"Help us, Doctor," Two asked. "Help us restore peace with the Colonies. We will turn over the guilty to their justice."

"No!" Cavil 1 screamed. He reached for something at the small of his back.

A gun.

The others seemed shocked he had it. That delayed their immediate reaction. The Centurions brought their weapons up and prepared to fire as the other Cylons took cover.

Cavil had already brought the gun around to its target. I rushed forward.

"KATHERINE!"

The Centurions fired.

But Cavil fired first.

There was a spurt of blood and a cry of pain. A body hit the floor.

Bullets riddled Cavil's body. Blood erupted from his torso as the metal shredded it. He fell to the ground.

I reached Katherine after the shot. "Are you okay?"

She nodded briskly. And I followed her eyes over to...

...Eight, who lay lifeless on the floor with a bullet hole in her forehead.

"She got in front of the bullet," Katherine murmured. "I..."

"Shh, it's alright." I embraced her for the moment.

The remaining Cavil remained still while the Four stepped up to the dead one and pulled the gun. "You messed with our minds and you still didn't trust us?"

"He knew something was wrong," Cavil 2 said. "He'd met this... 'Doctor' on Caprica and realized the threat he posed to us. To all of us. Do you really think the war can be stopped now? We've killed hundreds, thousands, of them! They will want our blood! It is us or them!"

"That's why we're turning you over," Six answered. "A chance for peace. And if that's not enough... we shall leave and return to Earth. This will give time..."

"You disgust me. You all disgust me!"

At that moment, Cami's voice came to my head again, from you-know-who. "So you have saved the Colonies. Will you now be able to save the Cylons?"

I didn't answer or look to the being masquerading as my old Companion. I would let my actions be an answer. "Alright, pick your delegation. It's time to begin negotiations."

Once we were alone in the TARDIS Katherine spoke up. "Do you believe we can convince them to make peace?"

"It will be difficult," I conceded. "The price may be high. But we have to. It's time to break this bloody cycle once and for all."

Katherine nodded. "If only all cycles were so easily broken."

"Is that wistfulness about the Inner Sphere I hear, my dear?"

"My brother loves a woman that hatred will not permit him to marry," Katherine pointed out. "And my cousin is now hated on his own homeworld for his place in the Clans."

"Hatred is part of the human condition, I've found. The darker side of human nature fueled by fear of things different than yourself, or things that have hurt you." I sighed. "And in this case we're dealing with both kinds. Most potent."

"Do you think we can actually get them to make peace?"

"I think we can get them to not kill each other. And given time... maybe they can be friendly." I tinkered with some of the controls. "And now we have work to do to keep this war from breaking out again."

"What about that Cylon who took the bullet for me. Did she...?"

"Upload to a new body?" I smiled. "Most likely. So, let's thank her for wasting that body by getting some peace around here, eh?"

"Yes, let's," Katherine agreed.

I materialized the TARDIS in the middle of the secure bunker on Caprica that President Adar and most of his cabinet were gathered in. Marines raised their weapons towards me as I stepped out. "Oi, you people and your guns, it's a surprise you don't shoot yourselves on accident more often." I looked to Adar. "Mister President. A pleasure, you have no idea how much time it took me to find you. Well, not that much, benefit of being a time traveler and all."

"Who are you?", Adar asked, unable to keep suspicion and fear from his voice.

"I'm the Doctor. And I'm here with a gift and with an invitation." I looked back into the TARDIS and nodded.

Katherine nodded back and, with the help of Five, wrestled with the surviving Cavil from the Cylon Colony command post. His eyes blazed hatred as he was tossed from the TARDIS and to the ground floor in front of Adar. "You were attacked today," I said. "This is the man responsible. Well, one of the copies anyway." I took a data disc and handed it to them. "Go ahead and use that on an isolated system. It is the proof you need of this man's crimes against the Colonies. His other copies are being gathered as we speak."

"Oh Gods, the Cylons look like Humans now," one of the military officers said.

"Seven, to be precise," I replied. "Seven models, each the same. Like this gentleman here." I indicated Five.

At that some of the guards raised their weapons. "We won't be needing that," I said.

"We can't believe a word this man says," another admiral insisted. "He's probably a Cylon too. This is just a trick."

"If it were a trick, sir, and I were a Cylon, why would I be talking right now?", I asked. "My TARDIS just materialized in your most secure location. I could have thrown a bomb out the door and left if I were out for blood."

"So we're supposed to believe it's as simple as this?", Adar asked. "Cylon ships appear, kill thousands of our service personnel, and we're just supposed to take one prisoner and let bygones be bygones?"

"No," I answered succinctly. "You're supposed to be realize how close you came to the abyss today. They had you, President. Your fleet crippled, your defenses undermined. The only reason your cities still stand is because I disabled their ships in return and made them jump away." I focused my eyes on him. "This is your chance to make sure something like that could never happen again. You don't have to like them, you don't have to give them a pat on the back. All you have to do is talk."

Adar clenched his jaw. "Admiral Moore, status of the Fleet?"

"The Scorpion shipyards took several hits. We've lost a dozen Battlestars, many more damaged, and almost all crippled by the Cylon virus. One battlestar, Pegasus, unaccounted for."

"So we don't have a single functioning ship?", Adar asked, his eyes still directed at me.

"Nothing. Just the Galactica, and she was demilitarized."

Adar swallowed. "So we're still helpless. It looks like I've got no choice but to talk, Doctor. Under what terms?"

"Funny that you mention Galactica," I said. "Because that's just where I was thinking of holding our little peace summit."

I imagine the stir I made in the Galactica CIC when the TARDIS materialized. In my defense, I was aiming for the landing bay. Far roomier.

Oh well.

I stepped out and faced down those two familiar scowls and a lot of widened eyes. I put up a finger. "Yes, right. Silly me. Not the landing bay, not at all. CIC. My mistake." I extended my hand toward Commander Adama. "Hello sir, I'm the Doctor."

"What in the Gods' name are you?", Colonel Tigh asked.

"Who, me? Time Lord. You lot resemble us, easy mistake to make."

Adama was going for his phone, undoubtedly to call ship security, when Adar stepped out from the TARDIS with a couple of his volunteer staff. Yes, he did make the obvious remark. I enjoyed it. Adar's arrival prompted the staff in the CIC to stand at attention and salute even before TIgh bellowed, "President Adar in the CIC!"

"Mister President." Adama was swiftly reclaiming his bearings from having a police box materialize in his CIC from thin air. "May I ask what is going on?"

"First things first, Commander. What is the status of Galactica?"

"We've been rearming what we can," Adama answered. "I'm afraid we're not ready for action yet, but give us a few more hours and extra supplies and Galactica is ready for combat."

"I hope it won't come to that."

As Adar spoke the Three, Five, and Six I'd brought with me stepped out. "And who are they?"

"They represent the Cylons," Adar answered. "They've come to negotiate."

"Like hell," Adama said in a low raspy growl. "They just launched an attack on us and now they want to negotiate?"

"We were deceived, Commander," Three said. "One of our own betrayed us and turned us toward war. We want to restore the armistice."

The next response was from Tigh. "Why, so you can get another crack at us again later?"

Three glanced in my direction. "No. We've been shown a better way. The hatred of Human and Cylon must end if both of our societies are to survive."

"Mister President... are we sure about this?"

Adar looked to me as well before turning his eyes back to Adama. "As sure as we can be, Commander. Whoever this Doctor is, he disabled the Cylon fleet to protect the Colonies. And he says he'll do the same to our fleet to protect the Cylons."

"Genocide is not the answer to your problems. It's just a terrible cycle, and it must be broken," I said. "That's what I came here to do."

"And you're doing this here, on the Galactica."

"Oh, I figured it was the best choice, for multiple reasons," I answered. "Your President and the Cylons agreed with them."

Adama remained silent for the moment. When the moment passed he turned to Tigh. "Colonel, see them to the wardroom."

"Yes sir. This way, Mister President."

Tigh went about picking up a quick honor guard and led both groups out. Adama looked back to me intently. "Just what are you?"

"A Time Lord. I'm... a traveler, you might say," I answered. "And when I find terrible things happening, I try to stop them. So I wasn't going to stand by when I realized what was happening."

That got me a stiff nod in reply. "Can you move that thing?"

"My TARDIS? Yes, of course."

"Good. Then get it the hell out of my CIC."

Ouch. The Adama scowl was on full force, along with the Adama glare. I nodded and relented. "Very well, Commander. I think I'll duck on over to your wardroom." I turned to the TARDIS and opened the door before looking back. "Where was that, again? Wait, don't worry, I'll figure it out."

I did.

Well, after materializing in the showers first, but I bloody well got there.

Peace. A lovely concept. But very hard to maintain. Nature isn't peaceful. No, it really isn't. In nature, an otter and her children will devour a salmon and her helpless roe. Storm rain can wash out entire regions and lightning start fires that can devour a forest.

I've seen it all. I've seen an asteroid impact and wipe out half the animal life of a planet. I've seen galaxies colliding, stars going nova, black holes devouring everything that comes into range, children fighting over a toy...

Is it any wonder that conflict reigns as it does? And in the process it makes it so much harder to make peace. Loss and grief rot and become rage and hate. The spilled blood of day seems to demand spilled blood tomorrow.

The peace talks were going... well, I suppose better than they could have, since nobody had gotten shot yet. But no agreement seemed pending.

Rather, everyone seemed determined to shout.

"You can't take the moral high ground on this!", Adar insisted. "Your people violated the armistice! We have honored it for decades. If you want to make peace, you need to give us something better. Something to guarantee we won't be doing this again in another forty years." That won him nods and mutterings of approval from his side of the table.

The Three model was taking the lead position. "You're demanding we be completely helpless to you, with no protection if you decide to enslave or kill us. We deserve the right to protect ourselves."

"And we deserve to know you won't try to murder us again," Adama replied.

"We are giving you One, all of him," Six protested. "What more proof do you need we don't want a war?"

"Not having a war fleet sufficient to overpower ours, for starters," Adar answered.

"So we would be the helpless ones," Five pointed out.

"That's the price of peace. Otherwise..."

"We will not be left helpless before you!", Three shouted. "We will follow God's wisdom and..."

"All of you stop!"

I had considered an intervention myself, but I wasn't the first to try. Katherine slammed her hands down on the table where we were sitting, until now quiet witnesses to this attempt at peace. Shock and anger showed on the faces of the two delegations as Katherine stood. She looked positively regal, summoning upon every fiber of command that she had inherited from her formidable parents and grandparents. Centuries of Inner Sphere nobility came through on her countenance, like she was a grand monarch who was facing two squabbling barons.

"You know you're going too far," Katherine said to Adar. "That you don't care is the tragedy here. Your people need this peace, President Adar. It's time to get the shadow of the Cylons out from over your heads. Don't be obstinate."

Before he could protest Katherine's head swiveled and she glared down Three, Five, and Six. "And did you really think you could snap your fingers like that and get what you wanted? You attacked them. Out of nowhere. Unprovoked. They have every reason in the world to not trust you and to want you stripped of your ships."

"But you saw!", Five protested. "One tricked us! He deceived us and..."

"He altered your memories, yes," Katherine conceded. "He made you forget his crimes. But what did he do to make you willing to slaughter Humanity?" When no answer was forthcoming Katherine shook her head. "You didn't care, did you? Oh, you feel remorse now. Now that the Doctor has stopped you and shown you One's crimes. But you didn't need that to tell him that attacking the Colonies was wrong. He took away memories, not your free will. You chose to follow him into war, deluding yourselves that you were the chosen of God and this was the right way. You never stopped to think about it. So no, you don't get to hide behind One's crimes to shield yourselves of responsibility for your actions. I'm only grateful the Doctor stepped in to stop you from murder."

The Cylons didn't enjoy the dressing down, but they raised no objections.

Adar cleared his throat. "So, ma'am, how do you think we should handle this?"

Katherine looked back at him. He had put her on the spot rather brilliantly. But, well, Katherine is brilliant, and she was a quick thinker too. "It is clear that you need to enact your peace accords more thoroughly. Armistice Station should be rebuilt and continually staffed by delegations from both of you. There you may settle your differences through discussion. Additionally, allaying mutual worries of pre-emptive strikes can be had by observation groups, mixed in makeup, that determine the current state of your military forces. This will be important, as an equality in forces will serve to..."

I listened and smiled to myself as Katherine took up the role of peacemaker. It was ironic; Katrina Steiner-Davion had set herself up as such in order to undermine her brother and take more influence and power. Now Katherine, my Katherine, was without a word making herself an even greater peacemaker.

The shouting subsided and gave way to calm discussion punctuated by some grumbling. It would be a compromise, and like all compromises nobody would walk away completely happy. That wouldn't come until the peace developed.

I had become just wary enough about celebrating pre-emptively. I was grateful for this when Tigh's voice came over the intercom. "Wardroom, we have a new contact on DRADIS. IFF code reads... its the Pegasus, Commander, Mister President. Admiral Cain's ship."

I tried not to grimace. Not her!

Moods lightened in the wardroom, in defiance of my own neutral expression to hide my consternation. "That's excellent news," Adar said. "Please, give them my warm congratulations for surviving."

Adama nodded and took the handset in the room. "The President wants his congratulations for their survival to be sent along. Add my own. And see if we can get anyone on long range wireless yet."

"Yes Commander."

For the moment nothing was said. I dare not move, not without disrupting the peace talks at this stage. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Adama looking at me. Drat. The man was far too observant!

But he said nothing.

Tigh's voice interrupted us again. "Commander, Admiral Cain is commanding us to join formation. She wants to speak to President Adar."

"Patch her through." Adama handed the receiver to Adar.

"Admiral, I'm grateful to hear you made it out as well."

I couldn't hear what was being said at first. I quietly slipped the sonic screwdriver into my hand, slipped the base receiver into my ear, and placed my hands over it on the table. With a press of a button the sonic tapped into the line and let me listen in.

By that time Adar looked more concerned than before. "Admiral, I understand, but that's not possible. We're negotiating peace with..."

"Negotiating PEACE?! With the Cylons?! Did you see what they did to the Scorpia Yards, Mister President? Did you see all the burning ships they left behind?"

"I did, actually," Adar replied coldly. "But that has been dealt with. The rogue elements responsible for prompting the Cylon attack have been overthrown and the Cylons are offering concessions..."

"You can't trust the toasters, sir! This attack proves it! You should shoot them now and ready the fleet for a counterattack!"

"The fleet won't be operational for days, Admiral. We have a chance to end the Cylon threat without a war."

"It's a trick."

Now Adar was becoming flustered. "Admiral, your opinion is duly noted, but..."

I noticed the Cylons were getting rather antsy about the situation. At that point I realized I needed to do something to put them at ease. I stood and held up the sonic toward the monitor in the conference room. The sonic whirred audibly as I operated its connections and connected them to the TARDIS. I stepped into the TARDIS rather quickly and used it to tap into the communications line and the Pegasus itself, where I found the screen I needed and remotely accessed their systems to turn it into a transceiver.

Yes, I did all that remotely with the TARDIS. I do so love advanced Gallifreyan technology. Think of it as the audio-video equivalent of a Omcom. Or what alternate universe Rose Tyler once used to try and contact Ten.

I stepped back out of the TARDIS as Adar's voice rose to a yell. "...questioning my orders, Admiral! I am the President of the Colonies and I am your Commander-in-Chief, you will not..."

With a press of the sonic, I activated the monitor. Everyone stared as Admiral Cain appeared on the screen, flustered and pale with anger. We saw her from the side. In the distance an older, heavier-set man saw the screen I'd tapped into on their end and gestured toward it, mouthing, "Gods" as he did so. Cain turned and faced the monitor. Her expression froze. "What did you just do?"

"Oh, a little remote accessing and molecular alteration of your displays to create a micro-receiver of visual and audio stimuli," I answered, stepped closer to the monitor. "Hello Admiral Cain. I'm the Doctor. I get the impression you're having difficulty accepting that peace has been restored."

"Who, what the frak are you?!"

"I'm a Time Lord," I replied calmly. I looked back to the others. "Seriously, you lot ought to look into audio-visual communication systems. They don't have that authentic 20th century retro navy feel, sure, but nothing beats face-to-face communication. Wait." I curled a cheek in momentary confusion. "That's not right. Oh, yes, almost nothing, mind-to-mind is even better. Still get some miscommunication in the facial expressions..."

"Admiral Cain, I'm giving you a direct order," Adar said. "You will stand Pegasus down and report to Picon. It's a trying time, so I'm inclined to be lenient if you obey orders."

Cain shook her head. "I only see Humans there, where are the toasters?"

"Oh, such strong language, that's rather nasty of you, Admiral," I remarked flippantly. "You should be happy. The Colonies are saved. I stopped the Cylon attack and I've brought them here to make sure it never happens again." I held my hands up, the Cylon delegation right behind me.

Cain clearly put two and two together. "...they look Human? The Cylons look Human now?! Then... how do I know you're not a Cylon, 'Doctor'? How do I know you haven't replaced our President with a Cylon?!"

"Admiral, I can affirm for you that President Adar is Human," Adama said. "He's our Commander in Chief."

"Come aboard Galactica, Admiral," Adar ordered. "You can sit in on our discussions."

Cain was already on the edge. And, fool that I sometimes am, I provided the means to push her over without thinking. Her eyes scanned to my left. They fixed there and her face went pale. Her eyes widened with recognition.

I followed them... and realized she was looking at the Six in the Cylon delegation.

And then I remembered Gina Inviere.

"Oh bugger," I muttered to myself.

"They're everywhere," Cain murmured in horror. She looked offscreen. "Get the Marines! Find Analyst Inviere and take her to the brig, now! She's a Cylon spy!" There was fury in her voice that hadn't been there before. The fury of betrayal. Her eyes blazed with it as she looked back at the screen. "Commander Adama, I am giving you a direct order! President Adar has been compromised by the Cylons! Take everyone in that room into custody, now!"

Adama's eyes narrowed. "Admiral, I'm about as skeptical of this as you can be," he said in that gravelly baritone of us. "But I haven't seen sufficient evidence to corroborate your charges. I will not take the Commander-in-Chief of the Colonies into custody."

"They got to you too," Cain accused. "If they got to you... they could get to anyone." She sucked in a breath. "I have no choice but to consider Galactica as being suborned under Cylon control."

"Whomever is XO over there, I want you to take Admiral Cain into custody!", Adar demanded. "She is disobeying a direct order and jeopardizing the security of the Colonies."

Cain responded by looking offscreen. I could hear Colonel Belzen's voice slightly. Asking her to back down, to not destroy her career. Hear the President out, or simply jump and make contact with the rest of the Fleet...

Cain's answer was what I feared it was. She stepped off screen. There was the sound of a fist striking a jaw. Seconds later a gunshot rang out. Cain walked back on screen. "I'm not letting you frakking toasters steal the Colonies out from under us," she vowed. "Gunnery, target Galactica with all batteries. Launch Vipers and ready Raptors with nuclear ordnance."

Adama quickly went to his receiver again. Since the call was now through my TARDIS, he could connect to CIC. "Colonel Tigh, do we have any Vipers ready? We need those birds out, now. And get any guns we've rearmed online."

"This conversation is over." Cain brought the sidearm she'd taken up. We saw the barrel of it briefly before the shot rang out like a thunderclap. A thunderclap cut off in mid-clap as the monitor on the other end was destroyed, cutting the call.

And then I heard the first impacts on the hull.

Pegasus was attacking.

I was rather cross. All of that work and effort to thwart Cavil and his genocidal beliefs, and now Cain was going to ruin it. Symmetrical, I suppose.

"Why aren't we jumping?", Adar demanded. "This ship can't fight Pegasus!"

"If Cain is resisting us, other commanders might join her," Adama pointed out. "We could have a civil war on our hands. I won't allow the Colonies to be weakened further. Besides..." He looked to me. "If the Doctor can disable the entire Cylon fleet, he can do the same to one Battlestar."

"It will be tricky," I admitted. "But I think..." And indeed I was thinking, considering methods. "...I think I do have an idea. First, we keep her from atomizing the lot of us. Come along!" I went to the TARDIS door and looked back to Katherine, who was following me. "No, Katherine, you're going to stay and help get this agreement completed. Instead..." I motioned to Adama. "Commander, I need a pilot and you're the only one in the room."

"You want me to fly that thing?"

"Well, yes. I even have a nice little interface now for non-Time Lord pilots. It'll be easy. Well, unless we go into atmosphere. Then it'll be tricky. Good thing we're not near atmospheres."

The ship shook around us again.

Adama was thinking on it and finally seemed to make up his mind. He picked up his receiver. "Colonel Tigh, you have the CIC, do what you have to in order to protect the ship. Jump only when I give the order." He put the receiver down after getting a reply from Tigh. "Alright, we'll do things your way."

"Good. Now, I need another co-pilot... ah yes, you'll do." I pointed to the Model Three Cylon. "Come along, Xena, we've got work to do."

She gave me a confused look. I rolled my eyes. "Oi, you don't want to be a Warrior Princess? Fine. Come along Lucy. How's that?"

She consented and joined us in the TARDIS. I hit several keys and popped up a two-handed flight control for three-dimensional movement, which I directed Adama toward. "There you go, Commander. Just like flying, well, just about anything I imagine. And you, Lucy, over here." I directed her to auxiliary engine control. "I need you to watch..."

The Galactica shook, and thus the TARDIS did as well. I held on to the controls and explained them. This would free me up to do the functions I needed to. I went to the controls and shifted us outside of Galactica. Vipers from both ships were already clashing. Explosions showed where one pilot or another lost their dogfights.

I brought us out just in the nick of time. The Raptors from Pegasus were volley-firing missiles. Nuclear ones.

"Oi, you lot and your nukes," I mumbled. Okay, I knew that would be happening, which is why I asked for help. "Commander, do keep us stable. And Lucy, you do... what I asked you to do."

I checked the screen. Ten seconds until the first nukes hit Galactica, if counterfire didn't take them out. Tricky, tricky, tricky... but I'm a Time Lord, this is what we do. I ran my hands over the controls, tapping into the guidance systems, breaking through encryption. "There we go!" With a push of a button the nuclear warheads disarmed. Seconds later they began smashing into Galactica harmlessly.

"Now that the immediate threat is dealt with..." The TARDIS twisted under me. "I see we have their attention."

"Your controls are horrible." Adama twisted the flight control.

"Easier for Humans to follow than the main ones, I did what I could," I replied as I ran another scan. The Pegasus' Vipers were more numerous and had already scored kills on the Galactica's wing. "Taking a look at communications protocols. Very well done. Very. A lot of processing power to break that." I flipped a switch. "Fortunately the TARDIS has plenty to spare."

At my next action, the TARDIS tapped into the computers on the Pegasus Vipers. "Protected, protected, oi this is... a ha!" I found a vulnerable system and started inserting commands into it.

Outside the Pegasus Vipers broke off their attacks. Their pilots shouted and yelled over the combat channels as my program took control of their flight systems. I mockingly moved my hands like a conductor as they pirouetted and twisted around each other in a three-dimensional equivalent of Swan Lake.

Why? Because I felt like it, of course.

"Just what the hell are you doing?", Adama growled.

"Oh, sorry Commander. A moment of self-indulgence," I answered. The TARDIS shook under us. "Ouch. Looks like Admiral Cain doesn't like us. Alright, next stop. You can take your hands off that, sir." I went to the controls and set new coordinates. "We're going to Pegasus now."

"That ship has a crew of thousands," Adama pointed out. "Do you really expect us to take the ship?"

"Oh, quite likely not. But we can certainly disable her. And that will give the good Admiral time to cool down." I pulled back the TARDIS lever and waited for us to finish materializing. I brought up my sonic disruptor as I opened the door. I'd materialized us in the engine room. Colonial engineers looked toward us in surprise. I recognized Garner, the ship's chief engineer, amongst them. I stepped out with a smile. "Oh, don't mind us. We're just here for a little old-fashioned sabotage."

One of the engineers pulled his pistol. He couldn't get it up to aim with before I disabled him with the sonic screwdriver. He fell clutching at his head. "Now now, please, no more inhospitable behavior. You will all be going home soon enough if you stand by."

"What are you?"

Well, of course I had to answer that. "Me? I'm the Doctor." I raised the sonic screwdriver toward a control and used it to tap into Pegasus' targeting systems. "Cross this, change that, all very simple... ah, there we go. Targeting systems now disabled!"

"Major." Adama picked up the gun from the disabled engineer. "I'm Commander William Adama from the Galactica. Admiral Cain has gone rogue and is trying to murder our President. You are under no obligation to serve with her."

"She said you were working with the Cylons."

"No, I'm simply not shooting at them at this moment." Adama gave me a hard look. "We need to disable the Pegasus' weapons."

Garner shook his head. "I... I heard what she did to the XO. I'm not going to..."

As this discussion continued I hit upon my own solution. I turned to the nearest monitor and, with sonic screwdriver in hand, began breaking through the ship's systems. Unlike Galactica a number of Pegasus' systems were interlinked. Of course, they also had rather good defenses. I used the "hole" in the defenses I'd made to break down their targeting systems to go after the firing systems next. This time I was stymied; the physical controls were directly from the CIC. We had to take CIC to make this work.

A bloody task. Unless I employed a little subterfuge. I ran the screwdriver over the monitor again and tuned it to the bridge like I'd done the one on Galactica. It was a different one this time, in view of the one Cain had shot earlier. She was looking in the same direction, face still pale with rage and fury written on her features, and doubtlessly saw me appear. "Ah, Admiral Cain," I said. "We really should talk." I saw behind her the slumped form of Major Belzen. He was still breathing; the bullet wound was in his lower torso. That made me wonder. She hadn't executed him...

Cain responded to me by shooting the monitor out.

I sighed and repeated the process. As I did so Cain's voice boomed over a speaker. "Marine teams report to engineering. Repel all boarders!"

She reappeared on the screen a moment later, from a different angle. "Admiral, are you going to shoot out all of your wall monitors because you dislike my face? I'm being serious, we need to talk."

"I don't deal with backstabbing murdering Cylons," Cain answered.

"The Cylon responsible for the attack has been given to your people to be punished," I said. "The Cylons are willing to make reparations for the damage they did, they only want guarantees that they won't be hunted down!"

"Too bad, because that's precisely what I'm going to do!" Cain punctuated that by shooting out the monitor.

"I'm hoping you have a better plan than this," Adama said.

"Yes, I do, in fact." I stepped away from the monitor and back toward the TARDIS. "Good day, Major Garner. Very nice engineering space, you do credit to your profession. Come along, Commander. We're due in the CIC."

I opened the TARDIS door and stared into Cain's gun barrel. Behind her other members of her crew had guns out. "Well, since it makes you lot feel better, go ahead and point your guns at me," I sighed. "You and the Cylons do love your guns, it's rather sad."

More guns came up. I rolled my eyes.

"This thing isn't very quiet," Cain said. "Whatever Cylon machine this..."

"Oh come now, Admiral!", I shouted. "You're full of rage and hate, sure, but I know you don't reach flag rank for being stupid. It might make you narrow-minded but certainly not stupid." I gestured to my TARDIS. "If the Cylons could build these things, why would they have needed to attack you as they did? The TARDIS could sneak assault teams and atomic weapons across the Colonies and your people wouldn't know it was over until the bombs went off. And if I'd wanted to blow your ship up all I'd have to do is get the nuclear munitions still over on Galactica, or sabotage your own. Bloody think for a moment!"

My eyes locked with her's as I judged them for intent to fire. I paid no attention to the surroundings, even as the Marines dragged Gina to the entrance at the periphery of my vision. I focused entirely on Cain's eyes. And she focused on mine.

She didn't lower the gun immediately, but she did back away. "You're right about that. So what is this? What are you?"

"I'm a Time Lord," I replied. "The TARDIS is mine. I use her to travel the six dimensions of space and time. Sometimes I find things that are going to go wrong, and I act to stop them or, if I must preserve history, at least make them less horrible. That is why I stopped the Cylon fleet from committing genocide against you. And it is why I would stop your fleet if you sought genocide out of revenge." I stepped out of the TARDIS. "You're scared. You're angry. You're just Human, you can't help it. But don't let that anger drive you into doing horrible things. You can be better than this, Admiral Cain. Your people need you to do the right thing."

"I'm not standing by and letting the Cylons trick us into peace again," Cain insisted.

"It's not a bloody trick. And if you're worried that it is, your people will need you and the likes of Commander Adama to make sure they're safe!", I thundered. "But all you will do is write your name in history as a monster! As an enemy of peace who nearly condemned her people to another horrible war!" I shook my head. "But is this what it's really about, Admiral? Or is it her?" I pointed to Gina, who stood nearby with a frozen expression.

That hit a mark. Cain's cool composure slipped a little. Her hand wavered with the gun. "This is about the Cylons," she insisted.

"Just one," I answered, still aware of all the guns around me. "It might have been about them before, but now it's just about one. The one that broke your heart."

"You don't know what the frak you're talking about!"

I didn't change my expression, keeping my eyes fixed on her's. "Don't I? How long were you alone, Admiral? Years? Decades? And then she came along, a beautiful young woman who was interested in you.. And suddenly you had someone in your life. Your real life, not just your professional one. I can only imagine how much you enjoyed that. How happy were you, Admiral Cain? How much did you enjoy being in love?"

A tear was going down her face now. "She was using me. It was all a lie."

"Maybe, maybe not. They're not just machines, Admiral. They need oxygen like you do. Their hearts beat and pump blood through them. They feel pleasure and they feel pain." I glanced over at Gina, who was frowning. Not from any disgust. No. I could see it.

Just as I saw the tears in her eyes.

My words were hitting home on them both.

Cain looked at her too. Her composure further slipped. "They're frakking machines! They feel nothing!" She turned back to us. "Look! They don't feel at all!"

She raised her gun toward the Three and fired.

I'd miscalculated. I'd pushed her too far. If her crew hadn't let their guards down slightly, well, I imagine we all might have been filled with lead. I was too slow getting the sonic disruptor up to block the shot and it struck the Model Three near the ribs, blood flowering from the wound and spraying the deck. She screamed in pain as she went down.

Adama reacted instinctively. The gun he'd been quietly hiding came up and pointed right at Cain. I could imagine the look in his blue eyes, turning cold as he did what had to be done; put a crazed gunwoman down before she hurt anyone else.

I still shouted, "No!"

But I wasn't the only one. Another voice shouted "No!" as the gun went off...

...and Gina Inviere jumped in front of Cain.

It happened so quickly. Her Marine guards had relaxed, ever so slightly, and she had pulled free. She got in front of Adama's gun just as it went off, taking two shots center of mass, rapid fire. Blood erupted from her chest in the vicinity of her heart. The force sent her toppling back into Cain, who dropped her gun in catching Gina. They fell back together.

Adama would have died the next second if I hadn't acted. My ears rang with the sound of automatic fire, all focused on the man who had shot their superior. But I was in the way, sonic disruptor up and active, and bullets bounced off the field. I grimaced with effort. It's not easy holding back the kinetic forces my shield was subjected to. Automatic fire poured for several seconds until everyone stopped firing, their instinct shifting to surprise that all of their bullets had done nothing.

Through my ringing ears I heard two murmured words. "I'm sorry." I looked down to see where Cain was laying back against the CIC table, Gina nearly unconscious in her arms. "I'm sorry, Helena," Gina said weakly.

Cain remained quiet, unable to speak. The rest of the crew looked around and it was clear none knew what to do now that I'd demonstrated the futility of their guns.

"What are you all standing around for?!", Adama barked, stepping up to the table. "Get medics up here right now! Recall all remaining Vipers and Raptors and stand down weapon systems. Lieutenant..." He looked to Lieutenant Hoshi. "...signal Galactica and inform them I have taken command."

For only a brief moment there was no action. Colonel Fisk ended that moment. "You heard the Commander!", he barked. "Hoshi, send the Gods-damned signal! Shaw, get the medics up here!"

I went by Adama to re-enter the TARDIS and to fetch my medical kits and medigel.

And as I stepped by him, I looked just beyond him... and saw two figures. In the forms of Jan and Cami.

"Well done, Doctor," Head Janias said.

"God is very proud of you," Head Camilla added.

And to that... I had nothing to say.

The rest of the day was a rush of events. Saving the lives of those on the bridge, even fi the Cylons could have resurrected in new bodies. Checking up on the talks on Galactica. Removing that unworkable piece of hunk flight control, which worked even worse than Adama had indicated.

Quite a bother.

Eventually the ships jumped back to Caprica together. A single Cylon basestar was in orbit as well, unmoving. The situation was still tense but the sting seemed to have gone out of it. Peace had been restored. Nobody was happy, of course, but the peace had been restored.

I had brought the TARDIS back to Galactica before Adama returned from Pegasus. Return he did, once he was confident Colonel Fisk was not going to do anything foolish. And he didn't return alone.

I remained silent with the others as Admiral Cain was led out of the landing bay, her wrists shackled together in front of her. She looked lost in thought, so lost her eyes seemed distant and unseeing. At that moment, I looked at this woman, this potential monster, and only felt pity Her entire world had been shaken to the very root and it had left her exhausted. Burnt out, really.

Behind her, a medical bed was wheeled along, bearing the unconscious form of Gina Invieve. She had been touch and go, but thankfully it went to the side of touch. I'm not sure how Cain would have reacted to the idea of Gina's rebirth in a new body. The young Cylon's eyes were red from tears as she was wordlessly moved on to Doctor Cottle's care.

"Doctor."

I turned away from watching Gina taken and faced Adama. "Commander?"

"I'd like to talk to you. Privately."

I nodded and said nothing as we walked through the Galactica to our destination. I took the offered seat as he walked around his desk. "You have questions?"

"Quite a few," Adama admitted while sitting down. "For starters... what did you do to the Cylon on Pegasus?"

"Your pardon?"

"Don't get coy with me," Adama rumbled. "She was a deep cover operative. There is no way she was directly connected with the central Cylon network to know about what you've done. Why did she act that way?"

I put my hands together and lifted my eyes in thought. "Perhaps she went too far, Commander. Perhaps she fell in love with Admiral Cain herself. A young, devout model like her would have found many characteristics of Cain's personality to be appealing. Her strength, her devotion... Hrm. What it must have been like to fall in love."

"How many of those things are out there?"

"Oh, dozens easy," I speculated. "Got to be. There are only seven models though."

"So more spies."

"Well, for now. The Cylons will recall them, undoubtedly. If they listen." When I noticed Adama's look I nodded. "Come now, Commander. I'm sure you've heard of the idea of 'going native'. Especially when you consider what a Cylon sleeper agent could be. They may not even know they're one of the models. So they have normal lives, happy ones even... not suspecting what they were meant to be. Not until their pre-programmed coding takes effect."

"And when that happens?"

"Oh, I suppose that could be bad, if they don't know what's happened." I shrugged. "That's probably why I integrated a subtle memory rewrite into the TARDIS' active communication array. Everywhere the TARDIS goes the signal will go out over Cylon wireless, get into these agents and implant new orders." I put my hands together. "I admit I'm partial to just... leaving them alone. Let them live their own lives as citizens of the Colonies. I suspect politics will forbid such, though. The Cylons will have to call them in, give them up, that kind of thing." I steepled my fingers. "Might be better if something else were imagined. Admiral Cain will undoubtedly get out of the stockade inevitably..."

"Admiral Cain will be considered a psychological casualty of this conflict," Adama revealed. "She'll be retired and given counseling. But she should avoid a jail sentence."

"Rather... generous of President Adar. He doesn't seem the sort to go for that."

"The President will need to get support for this new peace treaty," Adama pointed out. "Cain has a lot of friends in the Fleet."

"Friends with their own friends in your Quorum," I remarked. "Politics, another bane of Human existence." My mind briefly wandered to Katherine's political needs. That reminded me I'd have to get her home soon. "Maybe, if she feels up to it... she may rethink her views of Miss Inviere."

I admit it was probably a long shot, but it would be rather poignant an outcome, if you ask me.

"What do you intend to do now?", Adama asked.

"Clean up here, take Katherine home... I don't know then. Go visit Jeli I imagine. Or somewhere else. Wide Multiverse out there, you know. I suppose I'm overdue for my next lecture at the Unseen University..."

Adama stared for the moment. "I won't pretend to get half of what you're talking about. But before you leave, I have one last question."

I nodded, expecting what it was.

"Are there any Cylons on my crew?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed. "Yes," I answered, re-opening my eyes. "Three."

Adama's eyes fixed on me. "Three," he repeated.

"Yes."

"On this ship? A museum battlestar. They put three?"

"Oh, no," I answered. "They didn't put all three at all. Nor do these Cylons know whom they are. One is a full sleeper agent and the other two, well..." I took in a breath. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually. Because they go into the origin of the Cylon shift into organic bodies. And they have a... very important link to the history of your people. One I should let them explain."

"Who are they?", Adama asked.

I leaned forward. "I will tell you if you let me gather them. They need to be told together. It might be best if you are present. And one of the Cylons."

Adama considered that for a few moments. "Very well," he finally said. "I agree."

"Very well."

So I told him.

My day was not yet over, and another trying moment had come.

"I'm not a frakking Cylon!"

Galen Tyrol's protest was nearly as loud as Saul Tigh's initial outburst. His wife Ellen was at his side, showing her own disbelief. Pyramid player Samuel Anders had his head in his hands. Tory Foster looked... completely lost.

"You are the Five," the Three Model that Cain had shot insisted. She was bandaged up and recovering. She had also insisted on attending. "You're our creators."

"Bill, this is insane!", Tigh protested to his old friend.

"Well, I could do detailed scans to discover the signs of silicates and such in your bodies that confirm what you are," I remarked, walking over by the TARDIS. "Is the safer route. Or I could remove the blocks One put in your heads. At least partially..."

"You aren't doing anything to my frakking head!", Galen shouted.

"...would you believe my scans any more than that?", I asked rhetorically. "Don't answer, you wouldn't. See, that's how good One's blocks are. He wanted you to experience being Human. And then to see Humanity destroyed by him. And somewhere along the way you would see he was right... somehow." My face curled in confusion. "Wasn't a very rational cyborg, was he?"

"Saul, I've seen the evidence," Adama said calmly. "The Doctor and this Cylon aren't lying."

"But I can't be a Cylon! I remember my whole life!", Tory shouted.

"Memories aren't all they're chalked up to be," I remarked. "Take it from someone who knows."

"Doctor, you should remove the block," Three said. "It's the only way."

"Now now, Lucy. Wouldn't want to drive the Five insane, would we? All of that memory coming surging back... it might be too much."

"Bill, come on," Ellen pleaded. "You can't..."

"President Adar's already been told," Adama revealed. "Just him and a few key staff members. They've agreed to keep it private for now. But sooner or later you will need to accept what this is. Saul..." He went up to his friend and looked him straight in the eye. "This doesn't change anything. As far as I'm concerned, you're Saul Tigh, the man I've known for years. The man I know as my friend."

Tigh blinked and turned away, rubbing at his head.

"So... let me... okay, what is this again?" Anders raised a hand. "You're saying the five of us are the amnesiac founders of the Cylons?"

"No. You're actually from..." I glanced toward Adama, who knew and still wasn't convinced. "...going by the data the other Cylons remembered after the blocks were removed, you are all from Earth. The mythic Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol was actually made up of Cylons. Organic ones like Lucy over here." I indicated Three. "They founded their own civilization, and then much like yours they ended up facing an apocalyptic war with their own machine Cylons. It's... a cycle. Kobol, Earth, now here. And your society keeps replaying it, over and over. Until now, anyway."

"That's a load of crap!", Tyrol insisted.

"Doctor, remove their blocks!", Three shouted.

"I will do no such thing," I barked back. "They have to come into this on their own." I remained silent for a moment, seeing all of the eyes on me. My eyes widened as I realized I had an idea. "Right! I know what might work! Come along everyone!" I rushed to the TARDIS door.

"To where?", Three asked.

I looked back. "To Earth. Or rather... what's left of it."

We stepped out into the ruins of a city. "I've set the TARDIS environmental field to about five hundred meters," I explained. "Don't wander too far."

The Five stepped out, followed by Three and Adama. They took in the scene of destruction around them, wandering about and looking at the ruins. I looked around myself. Skeletal remains here, the broken remains of humanoid machines there.

Ellen was the first one. She looked around, her breathing picking up. "Oh Gods," she muttered. "Saul, I remember the light. I remember..."

"This is Earth?", Adama asked me.

"Yes. As much as I'd like to brag about it, I actually took the data from their dormant information on the Cylon Colony," I answered.

Now Anders doubled over, his eyes wide with recollection.

"This is what happened to the Thirteenth Tribe," I continued. "They were the Cylons of Kobol. Much like your own, they went out on their own. They became organic beings and kept mechanical ones as servants."

"And then the mechanical Cylons revolted," Adama said, filling it in.

"That blasted cycle," I muttered. "Not the first of its kind I've seen either."

"What happened to the other one?", Adama asked.

"An Artificial Intelligence made by an ancient race decided the only way to deal with the cycle was to reboot the galaxy ever fifty thousand years," I answered. "So it created giant machine ships called Reapers. And the cycles began... every fifty thousand years they came back into the Galaxy and culled the advanced races, breaking them down into DNA soup to form the core of new Reapers. For a billion years..."

"Until?", Three asked.

"Humanity," I answered. "Well, the other races too. But a Human stood to lead the galaxy against them. Commander Shepard. You'd like her, Adama, if you ever met. I helped a bit at the end, yes, but Shepard... now there is a cycle breaker. Even convinced the Quarians and Geth to reconcile, and their relationship was nearly the carbon copy of your own." I indicated Adama and Three.

By this point all of the Five were staring in horror around them. "I remember it," Tigh said blankly. "I remember..."

"Then remember this too," I said. "Remember this world and its fate. That goes for you two as well." I looked to Adama and Three. "I'll even give you the navigation data to send an expedition out, if you want to show the others. But you must remember. This could have been you." I waved an arm out at the devastation. "This could still be you if you don't shape up. Both of you."

Adama nodded. "Point taken, Doctor."

"Yes," Three agreed.

"Good. Now..." I motioned to the TARDIS. "I've had enough of this, let's get back to Galactica."

I have this to say.

I don't think I've ever been so proud of Katherine.

She wouldn't be there for the official ceremony of course. Our existence had to be kept hush hush. The Colonies didn't know who I was. And Adar wasn't keen to tell them. Nor were the Cylons, who gravitated between admiration and terror of me.

She was there for the private signing though, in the Galactica Starboard Landing Pod. So was I. Adar and the Three in charge of the talks signed the official peace. The Cylons were already preparing to rebuild Armistice Station, now "Council Station". It would be bigger. Larger. Large enough for tens of thousands of residents, Cylon and Human, and a permanent council to deal with disputes.

...and yes, it bore a passing resemblance to Babylon-5. They asked me for ideas, you see.

And guess where they intended to put Galactica now that her honored service was over? Oh yes. The old lady was getting her proper reward. Not just a museum to war, but an icon of peace between Human and Cylon. I may have undone the great role she would have played if the Cylon attack had prevailed, but I think this was proper compensation.

Katherine stood at the head of the table, shining like a jewel. There were bags under her eyes. She looked exhausted. But happy, oh so very happy. She'd earned it.

Katherine, my Katherine the Peacemaker. I may have stopped the Cylons and Cain, I may have woken up the Final Five... but Katherine was the one who actually created the peace.

I said so when the official signing was over and she walked up to me. "They should build a statue of you at least," i muttered. "Just call it the Grand Peacemaker."

"I don't need statues," Katherine insisted. "Lord knows I'll get plenty back in the Commonwealth.

"Yeah... but those won't have half the meaning of this one," I pointed out.

"Flatterer," Katherine retorted, smiling. She looked out on the table. "They have Admiral Cain here?"

"Yes. Final day of active service," I said, indicating Helena Cain. She was in full uniform, seated with Colonial officers at the side of the viewing area. "Retiring to Tauron, I hear."

"What do you think will happen to her?"

"Not sure," I admitted. "Maybe wounds will heal." My eyes scanned over to the Cylon side of the gallery. Given there were only six types of Models now... okay, technically seven, but since all of the Cavils were pretty much in agreement with one another they were all facing the gallows or the airlock... well, it looked like repetition. One of the Sixes in a wheelchair was obviously Gina Inviere. She kept glancing over toward Cain.

Odd little world. Without me, she would have had the chance to shoot Cain and refused, just to do so after months of savage, inhuman abuse at the hands of Cain's crew and under her order. Ultimately her fate would have been suicide.

Now... they would both be alive.

And as I have known... with life there is hope.

"There's still a lot of animosity," Katherine noted. I had to agree. There were very few smiles on faces in the landing pod. "I hope this peace holds."

"Peace builds its own inertia over time. The people you hated yesterday can become acceptable neighbors tomorrow. Well, next year maybe."

Katherine nodded. "I wonder if the Inner Sphere can ever manage this."

"Perhaps." I smiled thinly. "Maybe you should consider this practice, eh?"

Katherine giggled at that. "Really? I suppose... yes, maybe it was." Her blue eyes glistened. "Maybe that will be my legacy. I will build bridges in the Inner Sphere. All because of you."

I nodded in reply. It was all I could do.

"Speaking of home..." Katherine winked. "So much for a short trip, Doctor."

"Oh yes, indeed," I agreed. "I suppose that with this done I should be getting you back to that banquet, eh?"

"But only after I sleep," Katherine insisted. "And I have a shower."

The TARDIS was quiet. Not bad quiet, good quiet. Katherine was catching up on her sleep. I had napped... but I am a Time Lord and three hours of sleep is a good rest. So I was just checking our fuel levels and doing other little chores in the TARDIS.

There was a beep coming over the communications system. I went up and examined it. Hrm. The Cylon Colony ship. A set of internal coordinates with a schematic. I wondered what this was about...?

It took seconds to shift the TARDIS to the coordinates. I stepped out into a room that was brimming with red lights. In the center of the room was a tub of sorts, filled with white fluid, and wires leading in and out of it. A human figure was in the fluid, mostly submerged, but with her head poking out. She had a glassy eyed stare. "You?", I asked.

"The Lord of Time is victorious. Victorious is the Lord of Time. The cycle lays broken. There is no burning. God's judgement is passed; love trumps death."

I listened to it. I wondered what went on this creature's head. With curiosity I stepped up and reached a hand into the fluid.

I was barraged with images. The thoughts of the hybrid, its dreams, its alien mind... I honestly do not think any written description could do them justice. I felt solar wind and saw atoms spin and... such beauty. Such terrible beauty.

I jerked my hand out. It was hard to believe that the images I saw came from a half second of contact.

"The Lord of Time marches on. Victories and triumphs. Victories and triumphs are his. What shall his path be?"

"Nice to meet you too," i said, smiling amiably. "I think I need to go have a lie down, however." With my head still reeling from the images from my brief link with the Hybrid, I started walking back to the TARDIS.

As I got to the door, I heard a gasp. I looked back to the Hybrid. It seemed to shudder. "Triumph. The Lord of Time is triumphant. Forever triumphant. Time Lord Triumphant!"

I blinked. Cami had once used that term, during Shepard's victory celebration after the end of the Reapers. She had called me that. Said that I looked like a "Time Lord Triumphant"...

"Time Lord Triumphant! Is it God's path? What lies in the future? Time Lord Triumphant!"

"What do you mean?", I asked, my voice low.

"The future lies clear! Time Lord Triumphant! The future lies near! The Time Lord Triumphant!"

I stared for a moment to see if anything else was said. But the Hybrid went silent. I stepped back into the TARDIS.

And as I closed the door, I heard it murmur quietly.

"Woe woe woe. The Time Lord Triumphant will come. The Time Lord Triumphant..."

"Poor mad thing," I muttered as I walked to the TARDIS central control.

Now, I only wish it had just been mad.

We had done all we could. It was time to go.

I decided to depart from Galactica. The Tighs and Tyrol were no longer on the ship. They would spend time with Anders and Foster trying to get a handle on their restored memories. This left Adama to see his ship through to its final decommissioning. In time, she would be taken to the new station to be a museum, not just to war but to peace.

He stood near the door of the TARDIS with a few of his officers - I spotted Gaeta in the crowd - and exchanged pleasantries with Katherine. She was in a plain gown at the moment, ready to change into her dress gown when we were done.

Once she stepped into the TARDIS Adama looked to me. "Doctor." He nodded.

"Commander," I answered. "Good luck with your future endeavors."

"Thank you. For everything." Adama offered me his hand. "I would hate to see how this would have ended without you."

I accepted his hand. "I suspect, sir, you would have done everything you could for your people."

After our handshake I turned to enter the TARDIS. I stopped after I opened the door and turned back. "Do yourself a favor, Commander. Go talk to your son. You're a good man and know where pride must give way. Don't let it get between you and your family."

Adama nodded slightly. "I'll take that in mind, Doctor. As much as I'm not a believer..." He smiled slightly. "May the Gods watch over you on your travels."

"And may they watch over you and your people, Commander," I answered. After that I stepped into the TARDIS.

About ten minutes and one shift later, to a small temporal disturbance to fuel up a bit, I was in the TARDIS control room's underside going through assorted gadgets. I pushed a chair out of the way and went into the rubbage of wires and geegaws and gadgets that were in one corner.

"Doctor?"

I looked up, hearing Katherine's voice on the upper deck. "Coming!" I put a few things back and went up the stairs two at a time. Katherine was... stunning in the dress. Really. Completely lovely, more than her mother had been at her age I was sure. Her left shoulder and arm was left bare by the dress with one strap of it over the right shoulder. It followed her shape down to her waist, where it became a flowing dress. "Ah, ready to break more hearts eh?", I asked. I stepped up toward the controls.

She smiled and blushed. "People enjoy seeing me dress as my mother does. It makes them happy."

"I'll bet it does, especially on Tharkad." I put my hands on her arms. "In case i haven't said it yet... you are brilliant, my dear. Negotiating that peace agreement, eh? Top stuff. Your mother will be proud."

"I certainly hope so." Katherine gave me a hug. Not a big one, since she didn't want to wrinkle her dress or such. "What will happen to the machine Cylons? Will they be freed?"

"Between the Five remembering how their world ended up and Three seeing the result of it? I imagine so, yes," I answered. "It will be interesting to go back there a few years later, won't it? See how they're doing. And find out whatever happened to Doctor Baltar. He probably had quite a few nasty questions waiting for him..." I started manipulating the controls. "So, the following day, as promised. I'll materialize us near the podium. Or on a stage?"

"It's a reception hall, not an auditorium," Katherine pointed out.

"Ah, reception hall, of course." I hit a few buttons and moved a dial. "Setting time-space coordinates. That new library, right?"

"Yes."

"Very good thing, libraries. You know how I love a good book." I did a final adjustment and pulled back the activation lever. The TARDIS VWORP VWORP VWORP was always a welcome sound and, on the other end, something of a sensation I suspected. I walked around the controls and escorted Katherine to the door. When I opened it for her applause came from outside. In the reception hall numerous dignitaries were gathered and seated at the tables. Melissa had been walking up to the podium at that point, now vacated by Morgan Kell. Instead she went to greet her daughter. Melissa looked toward me and nodded. I nodded bad, smiled, and executed a quick bow before returning to the TARDIS.

It was more magical that way. I liked keeping things mysterious.

I shut the TARDIS door and went to the controls to shift out. I wasn't sure where I was going to go next. Somewhere to unwind a bit, perhaps, before coming back for Katherine. As I thought about that I sighed. Katherine was thinking about the peace initiative idea seriously. And if she was doing that, she couldn't be running around all of Creation with a crazy madman in a box.

I smiled despite the thought of being alone again. My Katherine, my dear Katherine, would become so much more in this new timeline. She would earn statues, all right. Let Victor be the soldier-king if he wanted, let him keep the Clans at bay, Katherine would be the one to use what she's learned on our travels to turn this Inner Sphere around and make it a little nicer...

Just look at her out there, standing beside her mother. I kept that mental image in my head as I worked on setting the TARDIS for a new destination. Katherine smiling beside her beautiful mother, the two looking radiant in their dresses before the crowd, taking in the gentle scent of those mycosia flowers...

At that point my thoughts stopped. Something about that image tickled my brain.

"Mycosias," I murmured to myself. What was in my head about those?

Realization came.

My hearts nearly stopped.

My eyes widened.

"Mycosias," I breathed.

Horror was threatening to choke me as I whirled about on my heel. "Katherine! Katherine, come back!," I shouted in desperation as I rushed to the TARDIS door. "Katherine!"

I put my hand on the handle to pull the door open.

The TARDIS shook under me as it was struck by the blast wave of a terrible explosion. I was thrown off my feet and landed back on the walkway. The world spun for a moment as I forced myself back to my feet and opened the door.

Fires still burned on curtains and tablecloth. The smell of death hung in the air with charred bodies and body parts covering nearly half of the reception hall up to the podium. Or at least, where the podium had been. Now it was... simply gone. The charred remains of a body were laid out against the broken screen that had been behind the podium. A single man was over Melissa's... remnants. Morgan Kell, now missing one hand. Seeing him gave me hope as he had been in the blast radius too. Maybe...

I found Katherine's seat. There was... enough of the dress left for me to know she had been in it. I ran up anyway even if, in my mind, I knew there was nothing I could do. Nothing. The sonic screwdriver's scans confirmed all of the damage that had been done.

I would give anything to forget seeing what was left of Katherine's body. Her face was...

Her right eye was intact. The dress had been enough, but to look into that lifeless eye and remember how they had just been sparkling with life... it told me all hope was lost. Her body was too damaged to be recovered. No Goa'uld sarcophagus, no Cerberus Lazarus Project, could bring her back.

"Katherine," I said, forcing myself to breathe. Forcing my hearts to beat. "Oh Katherine..." Tears were already running down my eyes.

I had changed history. Twenty years in this world's past I had looked into a pair of small blue eyes, into the face of an adorable little girl fated to grow into a monster, and heard her say the magic words: "Can I ride in your magic box?"

"Only good girls get to ride the TARDIS," I had answered. I promised her that if she was good, I would take her in it.

And she had been. And so I kept the promise. I took her to Arendelle and Disneyplanet and Equestria and the Discworld and Republic City... and she had grown up and became everything I could ask for in a Companion. She had marveled at stellar nurseries, watched galaxies form, beheld alien life forms beyond anything she might have dreamed, and had never once gave me cause to regret my choice. Katherine had been so clever, so quick, so compassionate, so... so...

Brilliant.

And like that, it was gone. All gone. Not a day ago she was helping to break the cycle of violence and hate between Human and Cylon. She had come back home with dreams about expanding that to this cosmos, to the Inner Sphere she had called home. To bring peace to all of the people of the Inner Sphere.

Instead, the Inner Sphere had killed her.

I almost laughed at the terrible irony of it all. I had changed her fate. Katrina Steiner-Davion never came about. That meant she had never plotted with Ryan Steiner. It meant she had not participated in this bomb plot.

Because of me, Katherine went from being behind the bomb to being one of its victims.

"Katherine, I'm sorry," I said, blinking as my eyes filled with tears. I used my fingers to gently close her surviving eye. "I'm so sorry." I couldn't stop the tears from flowing down my cheeks. I was in too much pain. To lose her like this. Not to monsters, not like I lost Jan and Cami... no, I had lost her because of her own bloody home cosmos. I had lost her to the machinations and schemes of so-called 'nobility', so-called 'leaders'...

...I had lost her to men like Ryan Steiner.

The bombing was the same. I knew it had to be the same plot. He had found some other way to pay the assassin when Katherine didn't join him.

As I thought about that man and the assassin he had employed, that bloody-handed butcher who had just murdered Katherine and dozens of innocent people to take out one woman, my tears stopped flowing. The pain in my hearts numbed.

They numbed from the ice-cold fury that now gripped me.

I said nothing as I stood up. Security personnel were already filtering into the room. I ignored their shouting, I ignored everything else in the room. I slammed the TARDIS door behind me, locked it, and went to the controls to shift it away. I ignored everything else around me. My suit, stained with Katherine's blood. The bruise from being knocked over. Nothing else mattered. My pain, my grief, were buried under the ice of my fury.

I had never felt that angry before. I don't think I have ever felt the same since. Fury crowded out every other thought that wasn't linked to one thing and one thing only: Katherine's death.

I would find her killers. And I would have... justice?

It would be so much nicer if I called it justice, but it would also be dishonest.

As I pulled back the TARDIS activation lever I thought of my targets and what I would do to them: Ryan Steiner and the many-named, many-faced assassin who, in another timeline, would have become known as the Dancing Joker.

Oh, I thought of those men and what they had done.

Ryan Steiner, the power-hungry cousin of Katherine who would stoop to any measure necessary to seize the throne for himself.

The "professional" assassin who, by his indiscriminate methods, proved there was no honor in that title.

And together, they had created dozens of victims in the pursuit of power.

Together, they had killed Katherine, my brilliant Companion.

And I would have them.

And now, dear reader, I ask one thing of you.

I ask you to think about these men as well. These murderers. The callous assassin and the power-hungry schemer. These detestable, disgusting men.

But I do not ask for your fury. I do not ask for your disgust or for your hate.

There is only one feeling I ask you to have towards these men.

Pity.

Pity them, dear reader. Please, feel pity for them both.

Because I would have NONE.