Casa della Libertà, Belermo, Alpine Europa, 13/6/11243
Excitement buzzed through the rainbow-clad main hall of the Casa della Libertà. Tiburzio Storto stood before the bustling crowds in his multi-coloured cloak, silencing them immediately with the sound of his voice.
"Today is an historic day for humanity," Tiburzio announced. The stage area upon which he stood was not raised, but flat against the floor, equal with the people before him. "Today is the day that humanity finally walks among the stars once more."
An enthusiastic round of applause covered the hall. A fly buzzed into Imogen's face, quickly batted away by a swipe of her hand.
"There were some who did not wish to attend today," Tiburzio continued. "They saw our government's wishes for our aid in bringing peace between our kinds and thought of them as a trap, an opportunity to have us all killed! It is my hope that we were correct in taking such a risk in order to promote the ideals we have worked so hard towards for so many years."
'Or maybe they were the sensible ones,' Imogen thought, nervously. 'Are we walking into a trap?'
"And, of course, there were some who wished to be here but could not. My wife, Fiore, our President for one. I hold onto the hope that the events of this day should be enough to show the government that her actions were not to our planet's detriment, rather they were in its favour."
Another round of applause and shouting thundered through the hall and Imogen's delicate ears.
"Tiburzio's doing a wonderful job in her place, though, don't you think?" Sauli whispered to Imogen.
"Would Fiore have been a little more discerning, though?" Imogen replied. "They confiscated all our weapons. If the Clombites attack, we are undefended."
"It is the risk we take," Sauli replied with a shrug.
"As some of you will know," Tiburzio continued. "The Clombite ships have now landed in Belermo. They are consolidating amongst themselves before they come over to our building, where we shall break bread with our siblings from across the stars. When they arrive, remember we must…"
'Treat them with respect yada yada, I've heard this already,' Imogen pondered. Sauli clapped his hands together, the fly in front of him narrowly escaping. Imogen chuckled. "Pathetic," she whispered, shaking her head as the fly approached her. She clapped her hands together loud enough to turn a few heads around her, completely missing the fly.
"Hah," Sauli muttered.
"I shall now invite our chief alien expert Imogen Turner and alien cultural advisor Sauli Anker onto the platform to share a few words on the Clombites," Tiburzio said.
"That's us," Sauli whispered, "Come on."
Imogen shuffled forward through the crowd, with Sauli alongside her. Tiburzio beamed at them both as he joined the front of Imogen's new audience.
"Thank you, Tiburzio, that was… incredibly moving," Imogen said. "In a minute, I'm going to share some important biological information on the Clombites, and I believe Sauli will share what you need to know about their culture…"
"That is correct," Sauli said.
"Good," Imogen said, swatting away the fly that appeared to have followed her. "But first, I want to share a little tale of a person who it is so important that we remember at a time like this."
The hologram of a blonde woman wearing a grey hoodie with a rainbow across her chest appeared above Imogen's and Sauli's heads, projecting upwards from a light metal bar. A knowing smile graced the faces of many in the crowd. "This, as I am sure you will all know, is one of the uncounted incarnations of the Doctor," Imogen said, proudly. "They were a legendary Time Lord from Gallifrey, and a great hero of mine. Why are they such a hero to me, and why do I bring them up now, you may ask? Well, I think we need to remember what the Doctor stood for. The Doctor cared for the wellbeing of all life, and sought to help all life in their times of need, regardless of species; always going as far as they possibly could to do what was right by all. Today, we must all 'be' the Doctor. For it is… buzz off!... for it is the Doctor who we need most of all on this day."
A light applause sounded across the audience. Tiburzio gave Imogen a grateful nod.
"Anyway, thank you for humouring me with that," Imogen said. "Now, the Clombites can…" Imogen swatted the fly away once more. "Sorry, is it me or are we infested with flies today?"
A disco-ordinated 'yeah' sounded across the crowd.
"Yeah, I thought so too… anyway, the Clombites are shape-shifters, in that they can morph into any creature that they've…"
The room fell silent. Imogen's eyes widened as she watched the fly flutter around Sauli.
Imogen's stomach churned. "Ohhh shit."
The fly transformed into a fatty green creature which towered over Sauli, grabbing onto his arm with an enormous clawed hand. Sauli let out a muffled wail, vanishing in moments. Imogen looked out across the room as panicked screams surrounded the new crowd of fatty green creatures which quickly filled the room, each and every one of them enjoying a feast.
'The Doctor would have stopped this,' Imogen thought, desperately looking up at the woman on her projector. 'If only they were still here.'
"Imogen! Watch out!" Sauli's voice cried out. Imogen looked up. She could just about make out a panicked green face protruding from the left shoulder of the Clombite which was running across the stage towards her. Imogen scrambled towards the back of the room. She picked up the metal bar which projected the Doctor's image and looked into the Clombite's dead eyes, pointing the bar towards it with her arm fully extended.
"Get away from me!" she screamed.
The great green creature let out a deafening bellow as it knocked the metal bar from Imogen's hand with a single swipe. Imogen glanced down at the flickering image of the Doctor before it vanished completely. Her scream was silenced by a green hand wrapped around her face, which sucked her inside like a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Imogen's disembodied face emerged from the thick, green wall which it clung to. The hall, once populated by a large human crowd, now contained hundreds of giant green monsters, the last of Imogen's friends clinging desperately to the walls as they too were absorbed.
'The Doctor protected this world once,' Imogen pondered. 'Such a pity they're gone.'