Chapter Four
March 17, 2006
The Tardis landed outside the Black Archives, best known to the inhabitants of Earth as The Tower of London. He stared up at the imposing building and frowned. He preferred the Unit of old. It was a place of comfort to him, this however…he wasn't sure what to say.
Earlier this morning he'd called the number that he and the Brigadier had set up so long ago. He'd found that not the Brigadier but Kate Stewart had answered the phone. She had said that she needed a few minutes to get everyone together and she would meet him here. Everyone together? For what? This was making him nervous.
He rubbed his head, almost scrubbing at his short dark hair. He'd gone through a war and all his people were now gone. The one and only thing that kept him going was Sarah. Sarah was waiting on the other side of all the madness that had so recently become his life. He looked down at himself and brushed some dust off his long black leather jacket. He was now in his ninth regeneration. Almost immediately after regenerating he'd headed for Earth to get his long due reward, his Sarah. There was a shiny brass plate to his right with the words, Tower of London inscribed. He walked over and peered at his reflection. He put his hands to his ears and frowned. They were rather…large. Still, the rest of him wasn't too bad…considering. The Doctor thought of all of his past selves, his life seemed to progress as if he were in a dream with one regeneration floating by and then seamlessly melting into another. He was shaken out of his reverie by a voice.
"Excuse me, Doctor?" Kate Stewart said as she approached the Doctor from the left.
The Doctor took in her appearance. She was tall and lean wearing a long light brown trench coat. He smiled; she had the same mannerisms and gait as her father. Her blonde hair was obviously inherited from Doris. "Kate Stewart as I live and breathe and trust me there are days when that could have gone either way. I haven't seen you since you were ten years old. How did you know it was me?"
"Surveillance saw you leave your Tardis. And I remember, you brought me a fish from…" Kate began.
"From Bramagalianne. Did you ever teach it to talk?" he asked jovially.
"He can talk?" Kate asked astonished. The fish still looked the same, beautifully blue, red and yellow and thriving.
"No, but you were convinced he could. Kate, I hate to cut this short but where is Sarah? I'm anxious to see her." He became more nervous when Kate signaled a car that appeared quickly at their side. This felt like he was being set up, though for what he wasn't sure.
"I'm sure you are Doctor but we have much to discuss. I have a car waiting to take us to Dad and the others. They're anxious to see you too." Kate tried to get him to the car and to a more controlled environment. She knew it was very likely the Doctor was going to throw one hell of a fit and she didn't want it to take place on the street in front of the general public. An unmarked Unit dark colored Land Rover had just pulled up and the pair got in.
"What's going on Kate, really?" the Doctor frowned.
"A lot of time has passed Doctor and we just want to make sure you've been updated with the most complete information possible." A ding sounded and she looked down at her cell phone. A text had arrived saying that everyone was awaiting their arrival. She looked at the Doctor. "They've arrived. We'll be there in a few minutes." Looking to the front of the car she said, "Driver step on it, please."
"Please? Your father would never have said please." the Doctor commented wryly with a smile.
"I may be my father's daughter but there's nothing wrong with manners. I inherited that from my mother."
"Oh yes, Doris. How is she?" the Doctor asked as he looked Kate over attempting to read this new grown up version.
"Mother's fine. I'm sure she'd love to see you again." Kate replied as she scanned emails on her phone in an attempt not to give too much away, yet. "Is this your fifth regeneration Doctor?" she asked, trying to fill the void before they arrived to join the others.
"If only!" the Doctor scoffed. Normally he wouldn't have disclosed such person information but it was Kate after all. "This," he said while wearing a goofy grin and used both thumbs to point back to himself, "is my ninth, newly minted as a matter of fact."
"Really?" Kate said in astonishment. She'd grown up hearing daring tales of the Doctor, so she realized that she shouldn't be surprised that he'd burned through so many of his regenerations.
The Rover pulled off the busy street and down an alleyway. At the end of the alley was a large ornate black metal door with two Unit soldiers standing guard. It flashed the lights and the soldiers opened the doors. They drove through the doors and down a lengthy narrow passageway. It was fairly steep and the Doctor could tell they were descending to an underground garage. "Is all this necessary?" the Doctor asked, remembering how a quick show of his face and a smile, and a very few times when he could find it in his bottomless pockets, his Unit pass had easily gotten him in the gates of the old Unit.
"I think so Doctor." Kate answered as the car came to a stop. A Unit soldier opened the door and Kate and the Doctor left the Rover. They entered an elevator ahead and Kate inserted a key in the slot. The elevator descended further underground.
A few seconds later it came to a stop. The pair exited the elevator and walked to the last room on the left. Kate opened the door and allowed the Doctor to pass.
Sitting in the room was a much older Brigadier now assisted by a cane. He still wore his Unit uniform, now covered in a multitude of medals. To his left was Benton, his hair now grey but still the same Benton he knew. To his right stood Harry Sullivan, his curly hair now silver. He was slightly wrinkled but he was still the unmistakable Harry that had traveled with him so long ago. To Harry's right stood Mike Yates, his hair more grey than silver.
The Doctor embraced the Brigadier heartily before shaking his hand. "Brigadier, it's so good to see you." the Doctor said enthusiastically.
"Benton!" the Doctor hugged him as well. "Is he still making you shake in your shoes?" he nodded toward the Brigadier.
"Every chance he gets." Benton admitted. He wished this day were over. The Doctor wouldn't be happy with them much longer.
"And Harry, Harry the idiot!" the Doctor said as he hugged Harry as well.
"Doctor, you've changed." Harry said. Inside he was cringing when he called him an idiot. He was sure that wouldn't be the last thing he would call him before all was said and done.
"Yea, I've changed quite a few times." The Doctor ran his hand over his head again. "And no comments on the ears. Mike Yates, how are you?'
"I'm fine Doctor." Mike replied sheepishly. He'd seen the Doctor's explosive temper before when someone let him down. This wasn't going to be pretty.
He looked to the Brigadier and smiled, "At least my nose isn't big this time around." He smiled and then clapped his hands together loudly. "So let's get down to business, where is Sarah?"
The three men before him frowned and looked to the ground. The Doctor looked to Kate who said, "Have a seat Doctor."
"Why? What's happened? Where is she?" the Doctor demanded loudly as he advanced on Kate.
"Doctor, I know you've been busy but did you happen to notice that Earth's Moon has gone?"
"No, wait a minute. So how are you…?"
"Our science has progressed out of necessity quite a bit Doctor. It has been handled." Kate offered.
"I know you're trying to tell me something Kate so just cut to the chase and tell me where Sarah is?" he all but yelled the last five words.
"They are connected Doctor." Kate tried.
"Sarah and the Moon how?" He was beginning to panic and anger was rearing its head.
"On September thirteenth 1999 our Moon broke out of Earth orbit. There was a catastrophic accident with the nuclear waste that we were storing there."
The Doctor looked at all their faces, none wishing to meet his eyes. "Kate, I'm beginning to lose my patience. How is Sarah connected to the Moon?"
Kate took a deep breath and began, "Several weeks before the Moon left Earth orbit, Sarah's students began a writing campaign to send her to Moonbase Alpha for a visit. Unbeknownst to all of us, Moonbase Alpha arranged for her to take a shuttle there two days before the Moon…"
"I asked you to protect her!" the Doctor spat out at Kate.
"And we were Doctor." she answered.
"Then how..?" the Doctor tried.
"Her students kept it all very quiet. Sarah didn't even get the word that she had been accepted into the visiting teacher's program till the day she left. She came home in the middle of the day and was gone before any of us had a chance to stop her. I'm sorry Doctor but there was nothing we could do. She was only supposed to be gone five days."
"And how long ago was that?"
"Not quite seven years ago." Kate answered solemnly.
"Do you even know if she's alive, if any of them are alive?" He looked disparagingly at all his friends. "I can answer that one, no!" He paced back and forth several times.
"Doctor, we are sorry." The Brigadier stepped forward, leaning heavily on his cane. "What can we do? All you have to do is ask."
The Doctor blew out a breath as he attempted to rein in his anger. "I'll find her but I'll need trajectory for that day." he began as he paced back and forth. "I'll start with that and depending on whether or not they went through any number of black holes…" At that thought he stopped and closed his eyes as he rubbed his face. A black hole…could the Moon even survive a black hole? He doubted it but he refused to believe that Sarah was lost to him. He'd survived the Time War with the single thought of getting back to Sarah. They had been so thoroughly prepared, everything so well planned…or so they thought. He wasn't going to give up on her now.
The Doctor clapped his hands together. He looked at his friends' faces, took a calming breath and attempted to smile. "I know you did your best and I thank you for that. The important thing is that I find the Moon and find Sarah and everyone else that have survived."
"Doctor you have to face the fact that Sarah Jane and the others…" Harry began. He hated to be the voice of reason when the Doctor wanted to ignore the fact that Sarah Jane and the others were probably dead.
"Sarah is a survivor." the Doctor said solemnly.
"I know she is Doctor, but the Moon…" Harry tried.
"I know what happened to the Moon Harry!" the Doctor yelled before lowering his voice and continuing, "I refuse to believe the worst till I know for a fact that Sarah's…" He took a hopefully calming breath and continued, "Kate I'm going to need that trajectory."
Kate crossed over to the computer that stood in the corner of the room and typed. Within a few seconds printouts of all the information on the day the Moon left Earth orbit began printing out. She placed the information in a folder. "This is all the information we have from that day. You'll also need this if you find them." She handed the Doctor two additional folders.
"What's this?" he asked as he quickly flipped through the papers.
"You can't just rush into Moonbase Alpha and expect them to believe you are who you say you are. This is documentation from the various governments around the world giving you authorization to help them get home. There are also some private letters in sealed envelopes from family members of some of the highest ranking Alphans to serve as further proof of your validity. There are also security codes for Alpha's that the Commander should recognize as further proof. But Doctor if you can't find her…"
"I'll find her." He looked up from the paperwork and turned to face the others, asking somberly, "Was she happy? The last time you saw her, was she happy?"
Harry answered for everyone. "I believe she was. She enjoyed her students and the friendships she had formed. She mostly kept to herself but she always had a smile on her face. There were times…never mind." Harry stopped himself as Benton nudged his arm.
"No go on. There were times…" the Doctor encouraged him as he placed the files against his chest and crossed his arms over them.
"There were times towards the end, I mean when we last saw her," Harry began correcting himself, "there were times when I could see it in her eyes. Just for a second, but for that split second there was glimmer of recognition. I could see she was trying to figure something out, something she would see or remember. Then the thought would just disappear."
"We knew there was the possibility that stray thoughts from her past might find their way in, but she was programmed to put them out of her mind." the Doctor admitted.
"I am sorry that Sarah…" Harry began.
"Like I said before, I know you did your best." he told Harry and then turned to face the rest of his friends. "All of you did your best. I want to thank you all once again for everything you've done." He stepped forward and shook each of their hands in turn. He then walked over and took another large sheaf of paperwork from Kate and gave her a hug. "Thank you Kate. I need to get back to the Tardis now."
"Of course Doctor, I'll arrange for a car." Kate quickly sent a text and within a few seconds there was a knock at the door. Kate opened the door and told the Doctor, "I'll ride back with you. I have a few things to clear up at the office." She looked over his shoulder and told her father, "I'll call you later Dad."
"Be careful Kate. Will you keep me informed Doctor?" the Brigadier asked.
"Of course Brigadier, if you'd like." the Doctor answered.
"I'd like to know as well Doctor." Benton added. He looked around the room. "We all would."
"As soon as I know anything Benton, as soon as I know anything." he said before turning and following Kate out the door.
The three men were left staring at each other with Harry breaking the silence a few seconds after the door shut, "Well, that went better than I expected."
"He's lost a great deal Sullivan. You can see it in his eyes." the Brigadier offered. "He's not willing to lose Sarah Jane too…not yet anyway."
"Let's hope he doesn't have to." Benton said as he walked to the door and opened it for his friends.