The Doctor loved the observation tower. It was a reminder of hope for him. He cherished this because there were so few of those left, these days. He thought back to his time at the academy, when he was a young man. He was a rebel back then; playing incessant pranks, running off with friends. He would smile, remembering those bright times.
The first time he was brought up there, at least officially so, was with his graduating class at the academy. They were being shown the fruits of the Time Lord's labor, the higher-ups trying to instill the patented Time Lord pride in them at an early age. Unofficially, he and his friends had broken in many times before the tower was completed.
The Doctor thought back on his friends, The Deca. They were, for better or for worse, the top ten students in their year. They were a curious lot, always sticking their noses in places they didn't belong. They Gallifreyan rebels without a cause. They were Time Lord youth in revolt. Or at least The Doctor was. They truly did belong together. Their teachers knew it, and they knew it too.
They struck an odd balance between top-notch students and disturbers of the peace; a balance that The Doctor tried very hard to maintain over the years.
"I used to come here all the time, Romana. In my first life. Did I ever tell you?"
As the two of them finally made their way up the stairs, she answered. "You never mentioned it. Though, back then, the tower wasn't finished? That is, if I'm remembering correctly?"
The Doctor chuckled, moving over to the window. His hands met an ornate bronze railing, his fingers settling into the gentle grooves across its surface.
"No, it wasn't finished, but we never let that stop us."
Romana joined him, standing close enough so that their shoulders touched. It was a purposeful action, a small amount of contact to ground them; whatever that entailed in these troubled times.
"We?" Romana inquired.
"Yes, right.. I never told you about the Deca, did I?"
The Doctor ran his hand through his hair, regarding the skyline. The buildings seemed to pierce the sky, standing tall and proud as its inhabitants did.
"You never mentioned them. We never really spoke of academy time."
In Romana's case, there wasn't much to tell. She had worked hard. She worked harder than all her peers, studied for centuries, and committed herself to becoming someone worthy of the position she currently held. There was nothing to tell. It was a blur, culminating with a graduation at the top of her class, years ahead of everyone else. Feeling safe in The Doctor's presence, she picked a comfortable spot on the floor and sat down, crossing her legs.
"We were the top students in our class, I remember."
The Doctor's eyes traced the outline of the central spire as he spoke, trying to keep in mind the embellishments he was making, even as he spoke. The truth of his friends was not something he readily gave up to anyone, if only to spare those he still could hold close.
The Doctor reached into his coat, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. He examined it for a moment; deep, meaningful eyes looking over it.
"My friend," He started, "My friend Drax was actually the one who convinced me to start working on this." He tossed it in the air, catching it expertly.
"Through this, he's saved my life more times than I can count."
Romana sat there, staring up at him. Why bring this up now? Was he trying to avoid other topics? Surely there were other, more important things to discuss besides his classroom antics. She refrained from interrupting, however. She wanted to know where The Doctor was going with this.
"One night, Koschei..." The Doctor hesitated as he said the name, as if the very uttering of it caused him pain or discomfort.
"Koschei convinced me to come to the top of the tower to cast our eyes on the unfinished spires in the distance. He wanted to relish in all of it. The Time Lord pride started early with him. He knew the screwdriver could break into the door, so we visited the deck regularly."
The Doctor removed his jacket, hanging it on the railing with a great amount of care. He sat down in front of Romana on the floor, mimicking her posture. The tips of their knees touched.
"Koschei and I... we always did enjoy a good view, despite him not being the romantic. That was my burden to bear, it seems. Still, it was something we could share. The sun... would kiss the tops of the mountains when it rose. It filled the skeletal structures of the city, permeating, no, no, imbuing the city with a soft glow. We must have sat here for hours, whenever we could... Until..." The Doctor paused, unsure as to how to phrase the next words.
"Until?" Romana asked, sufficiently curious.
The Doctor seemed to brighten up slightly as he spoke. "Until the invisibility unit that Drax had built another two of my friends, Rallon and Millenia shorted out. Koschei and I caught them together up here." The Doctor shuddered slightly, the by-product of a stifled chuckle.
"Together?" Romana asked, quirking a brow. "Yes. Right where you are sitting, actually." The Doctor said, the chuckle starting to break out.
Romana immediately stood up, straightening her robes out in a huff. The Doctor watched her as she got up, continuing.
"Koschei wanted to blackmail the two of them. Always looking for something to hold over other people, he was. I convinced him to just let them be. You should have seen the two of them as we were talking about it in front of them. They were livid. It was quite funny, at the time."
"You sounded like you lot were a nightmare..." Romana replied.
She started pacing around the room, running her hand along the window every now and again.
"Only when we were bored." The Doctor pulled himself up, turning to face Romana with a curious look. "What are you doing?"
Romana stopped, pulling her hand away from the window. "I... you're not the only one with rituals regarding this place, and mine are much less crass." The two shared a smile as Romana continued.
"I sometimes come up here and run my hand along the glass. From a certain perspective, it looks as if my hands are touching the buildings themselves. Like... Like I'm some sort of god."
"Romana..."
She interrupted him before he could go on. "Please, let me finish." She sighed, collecting herself again. "I am the Lady President of one of the most powerful races the universe has ever seen. I can live for thousands of years, I can bend space and time... I may as well be a god. Yet the glass." Romana tapped the glass with her hand, the gentle pang ringing out through the room.
"The glass keeps me from actually touching the buildings... It grounds me. Reminds me that no matter what, that's not who I am. I have a duty to keep all of us safe. To make sure this glass doesn't shatter, so that we never become that which we are fighting, and we won't. We won't because I'm here. We won't because you're here, and we won't because this glass is here."
The sun was setting over the mountains, the dwindling embers of sunlight were still shining and casting themselves over Romana. She was as strong as ever, thought The Doctor. As strong, as driven, and as beautiful as he had ever seen.
"What happened to them?" she asked, changing the subject, suddenly. "You friends, I mean."
The Doctor paused, thinking about how he should answer. "Drax ran away, like I did."
He told Romana the truth regarding Drax, if only to make the following lies more plausible.
"Rallon and Millenia are off exploring the cosmos, trying to document new things and report back every few centuries. They do love a good adventure."
Romana smiled. "Sounds like us." The Doctor returned her smile, but it was hollow.
"Yes," he said. "They do. The rest are out an about, nothing too noteworthy." A silence fell over the room.
"And Koschei..? What about him?" The Doctor, this time, did not answer. He wasn't sure he knew how. Before he could spout yet another lie, the Castellan came rushing through the door into the observation deck.
"Lady President!" He exclaimed. "You must come quickly!" Romana's posture immediately straightened.
"What is it, Castellan?" He stood tall and proud, composing himself.
"It's the Sontarans, Lady President! Their entire battle fleet! They're entering the Gyrako system!"
The Castellan showed Romana a data pad he was carrying. Across the small screen, various diagrams portraying the fleet's position.
"Those idiots! That is one of our most delicate campaigns! Castellan. Escort me to the war room. We have to deal with this now."
The Castellan bowed at Romana's words, moving towards the door. Romana followed, turning to the Doctor.
"Well? Come on then!" The Doctor immediately followed, worried about what was coming. It was only natural, at this point.