EPILOGUE TWO

It came as a great shock to Null when the Doctor's blue box began shrieking and wailing raucously, and appeared to be fading in and out of existence. The effect on Palasar was even more extreme: the friendly alien female was rolling around, amidst shattered crystalline fragments, clutching her head with both hands. Just as he thought of the other lizard-people, he saw Choltz diving headlong from his chair's armrest. Null managed to catch the girl before she hit the deck, but he could see no sign of the larger alien. He hoped it was alright!

He placed Choltz gently down, then swiftly moved to assist Palasar. Hopefully she wasn't cutting herself, but he wanted her out of that shrapnel, just to be sure. A most alarming thought struck him. As soon as he was sure both girls were as safe as he could make them, Null hurriedly examined his wrist-comp. To his great relief, the other part of his data-chip was hanging from it by the tiny wire that the Doctor had used. He still had all of the decrypted records!

By now, the horrible noises had faded away - as had the Tardis itself! Still not quite able to believe it, Null patted the area of the deck where it wasn't. A sensation of betrayal began to creep up his spine, distinctly itchy and unpleasant. They had abandoned him! After all the help that the Doctor and his friends had given, so freely and enthusiastically… Null had not expected such callousness from them. Particularly Zoe. Getting to know the tiny girl, however briefly, had been the only good thing to happen since he awoke.

Before sadness could overwhelm him, Null looked down to see if he could make the two females more comfortable. To his immediate alarm, they were now both very still. Making sure not to damage the wire dangling from his wrist-comp, Null used his gloved hand to carefully pick Palasar up, then laid her in his uncovered palm. Closing his fingers around her gently, he released the breath he hadn't been aware of holding. By the minute but steady rhythm of her own breathing, he could tell that she was simply unconscious.

Just as he began to relax, wondering if he should get up to check on the larger male, an even more disturbing thought hit him - almost like a physical blow! "Clade Commander Silandor!' Null called out urgently. 'Can you still hear me? Can you still understand me?"

There was no reply. Perhaps they had also been affected by the noise of the Tardis' departure, just as the girls had been? He desperately hoped so! Not wanting to consider the possibility that, absent the proximity of the Doctor's box, he may be unable to communicate - Null pondered his options. As his gaze focused on the sleeping forms below him, he suddenly remembered the special helmet that Choltz wore. Handling her just as gently as he had Palasar, the pilot carefully positioned her on the palm of his hand - so that when he enfolded her in his grip, he was able to hold her at arm's length. Without debating the morality of using her unconscious body as a microphone, Null tried again.

"Hello, Clade Commander Silandor. This is Captain Aleph! Are you receiving this? Can you understand what I am saying? Is everybody alright over there? Please respond, if you can!"

He was listening for a reply from the speakers on his master control board, so was surprised to hear a weak cry of "Captain Aleph!' from the seat. As he watched, the male… Faramandar! - climbed rather groggily onto the armrest. 'The Commander say's that he can hear you well enough now, but many of the people there are still unconscious. We can understand you perfectly well… What happened?"

"The Doctor left."

"Excuse me?" Faramandar asked, on his own behalf.

"His Tardis - the blue box - that is what made that noise! It just disappeared! The Doctor and his friends are gone! Your young ladies are unconscious, but alright, as far as I can tell. I think that Palasar may have some minor abrasions… it looks like she dropped that crystal thing you sent over. It must have shattered. I do not have the facilities, or the ability, to treat people of your size. Can you send any medical personnel over?"

Faramandar hesitated before replying, evidently listening to his Commander. "You would permit that?"

"Of course!' Null almost shouted, only just managing to restrain himself. 'I have no idea if Palasar actually has any such injuries, but I certainly don't wish any harm to come to her. Send your medics, you have my permission."

Faramandar nodded as he received the response on his private channel, then wearily lowered himself to sit on the edge of the armrest. It was difficult to believe that this was the same man who had been tossing Choltz around - as if she weighed no more than a stray gust of air - only moments earlier! "My Commander sends his thanks, Captain. Also, he requests that, for the moment, you put Tec-Op Choltz down. The image he is receiving on the Visi-Sphere is a little unsettling. It looks, from the reflection in your helmet, like you are holding her corpse."

Null hurried to comply, annoyed that he had forgotten about his reflective visor again. "Can the Commander still hear me?" He asked as he placed Choltz next to Palasar.

"Oh, yes. Clade Commander Silandor informs me that, as well as summoning medics to see to members of the enclaves, a team will be dispatched to attend to… us. I had to advise my Commander that I am… currently in no condition to guide them. Do you have any suggestions, Sir?"

"Yes.' Null replied simply, rapidly keying some instructions to his wrist-comp. 'I am opening all the security doors leading here, they are unlikely to get lost… I trust that the Commander understands that your weapons only irritate me?"

"Of course, Captain. Medical supplies only.' Faramandar, hesitated, then forced himself to his feet again. 'I have a personal request, Sir. I do not think that I can get down easily, just yet, but I would like to check Specialist Palasar - and Tec-Op Choltz - personally."

"Then allow me to assist you." Null replied, offering the palm of his hand to the soldier. Faramandar, displaying much more trust than Null would have expected previously, calmly accepted.

As he stepped off Null's hand and made his way towards the unconscious females, Faramandar stopped, looking back up at Null. "Thank you, Captain.' He said, 'Commander Silandor says that I should take control of the visi-com unit - do you have any objections, Sir?" When Null just waved the question away, the Ghost First knelt down by the females and checked them over carefully. As far as Null could tell, he seemed to be satisfied with their condition. After carefully removing the helmet from Choltz' head, he strode back towards Null. Evidently, he felt much stronger already. "Captain Aleph! I am sure that you will be pleased to hear that both my crewmates are well. They should recover soon. Specialist Palasar is unharmed. I personally believe that the attention of a medical team would only cause her embarrassment. I have informed Commander Silandor, but he says it is your decision, Sir!"

Null considered this for a moment, surprised at the soldiers' confidant assessment. "Very well, if you are sure. Are the med-team prepared to turn back?"

"They haven't even reached the contact craft yet, Captain."

"Very well. How does Commander Silandor wish to proceed?"

"Wait one, Sir." Faramandar listened with his head cocked to one side for a short while, occasionally nodding to himself, then looked back up at Null. "Commander Silandor respectfully requests that we break communications for a short time. Apparently he is deeply concerned about Astronomer First Ixtlequay, and wishes to attend her personally. He would like to postpone any further discussion, until members of the enclaves are in a condition to hear… whatever is said. Sir."

"That sounds reasonable enough. I sincerely hope that the Astronomer First recovers. And everyone else, of course."

"Communications have been severed, Captain Aleph."

Reversing the instructions he had previously entered into his wrist-comp, Null allowed his gaze to fall on the comatose females. Suppressing a sigh, he ventured… "So. It's just you and me, for the moment, Ghost First Faramandar. Whatever shall we talk about?

'I know! Perhaps you could tell me why you call yourself a Ghost?

'It seems to me that I have much more right to that name."

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It took a surprisingly short time for the Oortelians to recover, Null was relieved to see. Faramandar seemed to grow stronger before his very eyes! Specialist Palasar and Tec-Op Choltz were sitting up - and complaining bitterly about their headaches - before the pilot and the soldier had said very much to each other. Faramandar immediately excused himself to offer assistance. Now that they were awake, he was able to check their eyes, and he quietly told them of the departure of the Tardis.

"Jamimikron is gone?" Asked a startled Choltz.

"They all are. No, Specialist, don't get up.' Faramandar added, placing a restraining hand on Palasar's shoulder. 'Rest and build your strength - that goes for you too, Technician. You may both consider that an order! There is not much that any of us can do at the moment, anyway. Many in the enclaves' auditorium have also suffered, apparently."

"That doesn't seem right, Ghost First,' Palasar started, sounding puzzled. 'I mean, we were affected because we're right here. Why would they… Oh. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Many of those people are rather old, aren't they…?"

"Also, we don't know how high the volume was on the Visi-Sphere, don't forget.' Faramandar reminded her. 'Captain Aleph. Could you describe again how the Tardis left? Not just for these two - I am not entirely clear on the matter myself."

So Null went over the disappearance of the small blue box again, although he didn't really think he was explaining it very well. He had been busy with the two females for much of that short span of time. Andhe didn't really know what had happened anyway. Still, the simple fact that the Tardis was no longer on the flight deck spoke volumes. "I'm sorry, that probably doesn't make much sense to any of you!' he said to the Oortelians. 'Mostly because I don't understand it myself! I wish they hadn't left."

Choltz and Palasar glumly agreed with that sentiment, but Faramandar confined himself to commenting, "I wish that they'd done it more quietly!" They all sat in silence for some time after that, each lost in their own thoughts.

Null thought about what he had learned from the Doctor's highlighted files. He also began, he believed, to understand why the astonishing little man had kept his own speculations from the Oortelians - even though he had shared them with Null. He had been planning to leave all along! That was why he kept alluding to the mass of data available… Yet to be studied. He was just about to mention something about this theory to the others, when the MCB speakers crackled.

"Hello, Captain Aleph, this is Commander Silandor. We are ready to resume contact. Please acknowledge."

"Greetings, Commander. I hope that your people are recovered.' Even as he was speaking, both Choltz and Palasar leapt to their feet. Fortunately, the Ghost First had remained seated, so was able to catch them as they fell. 'I am pleased to tell you that your Specialist and Technician have both regained consciousness, and appear to be recovering, although not as fast as they would like!"

"Thank you, Captain. That is good to know. We have only lost one of our number here - not permanently, thankfully! The Physician First insisted that she be cared for in his main facility. The prognosis is good, and I appreciate your concern.' (Perhaps already aware of what Silandor would say next, Faramandar had again retrieved the visi-com helmet. He appeared to be admonishing the females about something.) 'Are you able to restore visuals for us, Captain Aleph?"

Null looked down at Faramandar, who was looking up at him expectantly. "One moment, Commander." As he lifted the soldier once more, Null noticed that he was taking great care to obscure the visualiser's lens. Before he had raised Faramandar all the way to the armrest, the Ghost First leapt into a twisting somersault, so that he landed facing towards the surprised pilot. Holding the helmet just below his chest, Faramandar removed his blocking hand with a flourish. "How does that look, Commander?" Null asked, feeling oddly encouraged by the soldiers antics.

"Ah, yes. We can see you clearly, Captain Aleph. For the benefit of those who missed it, could you repeat your account of what just happened to us?' Null drew in a deep breath, and let it out as a sigh, but before he could speak… 'No, of course that isn't me, Valmik! I'm sitting right next to you, man!"

"I beg your pardon, Commander?" Null couldn't help but ask.

"Oh! Apologies, Captain. Apparently nobody here has seen my brother before. Won't happen again. Please, go ahead."

So, once more, Null recounted recent events. This time he heard a few shouted questions, until Silandor instructed that the 'communication wand' be switched off. However, this time he felt that he had more to add. "I don't think that Thadokta intended his departure to cause anyone physical pain. His blue box made a similar sound earlier, although not quite so loud. I assumed it was his translation device. I now suspect that the noise was evidence of a fault in his peculiar transport. Faramandar, could you show them where the Tardis used to be?' As the Commander's brother complied, Null continued. 'I could be wrong, of course… But I was half expecting it to explode or something. I would have found that much less surprising, to be honest!

'But I think that he left for a reason. Much of what Thadokta told you was vague or incomplete - deliberately so, I believe. He shared more with me. I would like to attempt to put it all together, but I would prefer not to be interrupted. Clade Commander?"

"Understood, Captain Aleph. Contact from this end will be reestablished on your request. Silandor out."

Taking the Commander at his word, Null tried to organize his thoughts a little better before speaking. "Very well, here is what I can add. There was indeed a war, I fought in it. But this ship was intended to be a last resort, never did we truly believe that it would be necessary. Having seen those images of what became of my star system, I believe that we were misled - that somebody must have had some idea of how bad things might become. You see, the mission was for us to fly away from the war with a precious cargo - to reach a safe point and wait out the centuries. The same temporal isolation technology that provided us with this ability - our personal chambers - also sealed away the Vault of Memories.

'We were told that, protected within the vault, were not only enough viable genetic samples and templates for our people to be reborn – but the technological expertise and information to implement the programs. I have since discovered, thanks to Thadokta, that this was also untrue…

'Oh, the vault exists, and it still waits for the contents to be woken. But even though I now have the full instructions, an 'operator's manual', if you will - I cannot access it. Allow me to clarify. When we were originally briefed, my crew and I were only ever shown the door to the vault. It had already been sealed, of course. This was no hardship, as it was intended that, once the war had been won, a rescue team would come to revive us all, and take responsibility for the vaults contents."

Null held up his hand, close enough for Faramandar to capture a clear view of his wrist-comp, and the chip dangling from it. "This contains everything that I would need to open the vault.' He lowered his hand, bringing his helmet back into view. 'Unfortunately, I am too large to use it! I can't imagine what cosmic coincidence brought her into my life, but without Zoee, I would never have retrieved this information. There is an anti-chamber to the vault, built for use by my progenitors. It is much too small for me to enter, and I do not believe that we were ever intended to.

'But what they did not take into account, obviously, was the possibility of everybody dying!

'No rescue team came.

'So, as I mentioned, Zoee retrieved the information for me - it was she who discovered that my data-chip could be integrated into those systems. I was hoping that Thadokta would be able to help me apply the knowledge it contains but, I think now – that this is why they left.

'Think about it. He kept dropping tantalizing hints about why or how I ended up here. Why did the war start? What was this time anomaly and why did it happen? Why am I so much larger than my progenitors? How do the isolation chambers work?

'None of this is of even slightly academic interest to me!

'I don't care!

'But I get the impression that you do…

'If the Enclaves are all that Thadokta has told me, then I suspect that he was dangling some bright, shiny treats before you, in the hopes of capturing your curiosity. But all I have ever really cared about was fulfilling my mission, which was to see that the contents of the vault survived - if at all possible. Now that I have a better understanding of just what I have been protecting… None of this is believable.

'I do not believe that I am sitting here talking to you - five billion years into my own future! I do not believe that my friends are dead - that my bond-mate is dead - that my entire species is gone… Even the fact that we can understand each other is, at the very least, beyond my understanding. So… what I am about to tell you should fit in rather well…

'The vault contains another ship, one that was ancient when my people were alive! According to the Doctor, it is a sleeper ship carrying the last members of a forgotten race. He believed that my race could trace their own origins back to these… Survivors. How they came to our time and space, the Doctor could not say, he did not know. How I came to be in yours, I do not know.

'So here we are.

'All of those other questions I raised earlier are too complex and, frankly, of no interest to me…

'What I want to know is… should the sleepers be revived?

'And will you help me? I await your reply."

Null noticed for the first time that Faramandar had sunk to his knees at some point, and was studying him with a completely unreadable expression. He felt a distant, almost insignificant tapping on one of his knees and looked down. Choltz looked like she was kicking him with all her strength, and Palasar was jumping up and down, waving her arms frantically. He had no idea just how long they had been trying to attract his attention, so he gathered one up in each hand. Bringing them closer to his helmet, he asked, 'Yes?"

"We will help!" Cried Choltz.

"We want to help you, Captain Aleph!" Palasar shouted, simultaneously.

"Then you may still call me Null, my friends, whatever else is decided." He gently lowered them to the deck once more, then awaited the official response. It didn't take too long for Silandor to get back to him.

"Captain Aleph… Silandor here. I… cannot speak for the civilian authorities, but as a Clade Commander in the Oortelian Hegemony Fleet, I offer you my support, and the protection of my vessel. I will be putting forward my strongest recommendation to Fleet, that we should assist you in fulfilling your mission. There is, ah… Some debate amongst the enclave representatives… I request your continued patience."

A deathly hush fell across the flight deck as Silandor stopped speaking. The alien girls had climbed into Null's lap, perhaps as a show of support, but he found the reactions of the Ghost First even more remarkable. Carefully placing the helmet beside him on the armrest, the soldier stood - at what could only be considered attention - and gave a very respectful nod of his head. Feeling a deep surge of unanticipated gratitude, the pilot tilted his own body forward in the closest approximation he could manage.

Then they waited.

Eventually, Null heard a slightly nervous sounding voice. "Captain Aleph? This is Archivist First Valmik, again, and I have been nominated to speak on behalf of all the Enclaves of the Oortelian Hegemony.' Valmik's delivery grew in confidence. 'We would be privileged to offer you our cooperation, and any assistance we can provide. And, if I may, Ancient One… your species is not gone - we are still here."

"Ah.' Null felt a distinct chill at those last words. 'About that…' He began to release the seal on his helmet...

'There is something that I need to show you…"