Chapter Twenty Four
The Doctor if he were to be honest with himself was starting to feel more than a little tired. It was probably due to the radiation, though he rationalized it could just as easily be from listening to Dalek Jast go on and on about the Daleks' plans for all of space and time domination. He was tiring of taunting Jast since the Dalek had almost begun to tune him out. Though he had gotten a few zingers in that he knew had to have infuriated the Dalek to the core. "Do you mind if I sit Jast? You're not a very good host. You're ill-mannered and awfully boring." As the Doctor began to lower himself, he heard and felt the massive explosion that shook the ground, taking the decision on whether or not to sit away from him as it knocked him down. Looking across to Dalek Jast, the force of the explosion was so great it had almost toppled the Dalek over.
"Hello." the Doctor said to the explosion. "Wonder what happened Jast? Did your world just go boom?" the Doctor laughed aloud. He could see a gigantic cloud of smoke in the direction of the Dalek Bunker. "I think you have a little problem Jast." The Doctor clapped his hands together. He looked up after hearing the sound of an approaching spacecraft. "And I think it's coming your way." The Doctor shielded his eyes as bits of dust and dirt were caught up in the air surrounding him by the arrival of Eagle Four.
"Silent! You will remain silent! You will not move!" the Dalek screamed.
If the Doctor didn't know any better, he could have sworn he heard panic in Jast's voice. The Eagle passed behind the Doctor before landing about two hundred feet from the Doctor.
Inside the Eagle, Sarah prepared herself for what she hoped would be a new beginning. She looked to the screen and spoke to Moonbase Alpha, "Commander, I'm going to switch to the outside cameras."
As she switched, everyone could see the Doctor and Dalek Jast in the massive field. "Sarah Jane, would it do any good for me to order you back to Moonbase Alpha? The Moon will be beyond the Daleks' reach soon and at least here you'll be safe." the Commander tried to reason with her, knowing the answer before she uttered it.
"Sorry no. I may be safe there Commander. But this stream of events was set in motion long ago. The Doctor has always been my destiny and if it all ends here…so be it. But I don't think my story will end here. I can't rationally explain it but this isn't the end. I have to save the Doctor. You see Commander, that's what we do. Sometimes he saves me, sometimes I save him."
Alan Carter tried to reason with her. "Sarah Jane, you can use the Eagle's laser and destroy the Dalek."
"The Daleks are evil geniuses and true survivors Alan. If I were to try that, by the time I had the laser up Jast would simply transport himself to safety. I have an idea of what I have to do and if I'm right, I'll be seeing you all very soon. Thank you all for everything, Sarah Jane Smith out."
Sarah pulled a Moonbase Alpha jacket on. It seemed fitting to be properly suited up to face Dalek Jast. She looked back at Sevrin who was standing in the passenger module next to the doors to the pilot section. He looked grim. As she checked herself over once more she said, "Cheer up Sevrin! It's going to work out all right."
"How do you know?" Sevrin asked. It would break his heart if Sarah Jane were to die before his eyes.
Sarah walked over to one of the seats and adjusted the readout on the small screen. She changed it from accessing computer information to the outside camera. "Look at this." Sarah directed Sevrin. "The Doctor is there and over there is Dalek Jast. Now Davros was smart enough to scan me but I don't think he was smart enough to share that information with Dalek Jast."
"So?" asked Sevrin.
"So, I don't have time to go into all the particulars right now, but let's say I'm a lot less human than I was before. If the Tardis taught me correctly and I can't believe she wouldn't have, if I can get close enough to Dalek Jast when I regenerate..." She stopped when she felt a warming come over her. Sarah looked down to her hands and saw they were literally glowing. "I don't have much time. I have to go. Thank you for everything Sevrin. If things don't go as planned, stay in the ship and be quiet. No one knows you're here." She hugged Sevrin with more strength than she thought was available to her. Sarah went to the hatch and right before opening it; she looked back at Sevrin and gave him one last smile. Sarah used her commlock and opened the hatch.
The Doctor knew in his heart it was Sarah. Every fiber of his being hoped it wasn't Sarah. He knew she was about to die and he'd seen the regeneration energy literally oozing from her. But had they done enough? When they'd put all this in motion so long ago, their goal was to slow her aging process so that they could be together in the future not specifically for her to regenerate. They'd hoped and been led to believe that it was a strong possibility that she could but there were no guarantees. He knew the Tardis in all likelihood had given Sarah every bit of information she could about the regeneration process to help prepare her on the offbeat chance it happened. Now, here on the planet of Skaro of all places, it would be put to the test.
The Doctor watched the door of the Eagle open and standing in its center was Sarah Jane Smith, not Elisabeth Baker but his Sarah. His hearts swelled with pride. Human or not, she was always willing to risk everything for him as he was her. As she emerged from the Eagle, the Doctor could almost feel the surge of regeneration energy swirling within her. He knew that Dalek Jast wouldn't feel it. Only another Gallifreyan would be able to experience the mixture of fear, joy, expectation, excitement and as always dread.
Sarah could see him clearly now. She longed to be able to run across the field and jump into his arms. But she needed to conserve all her energy. The feeling and voice inside her head now conveyed the feeling imminent. She knew she didn't have much time at all now. From everything the Tardis had taught her, in order for her to use the excess energy from her regeneration to destroy Dalek Jast, she needed to get closer, much closer.
Sarah silently beseeched anyone listening to help her walk across the field normally. She didn't want to alert Dalek Jast lest he get away. As long as one Dalek survived today, all of space and time would be in danger. She smiled to herself. She was sounding more like the Doctor. Would that happen? No, she was Sarah Jane Smith who just happened to now be part Gallifreyan. She was within fifty feet of the Doctor now. As their eyes met, Sarah said, "Hello Doctor." She continued walking, determined to get as close to Dalek Jast as she could.
"Sarah, you shouldn't have come here." he lamented. This may be the last minutes of her life and he knew she'd want to spend it with him. But he also had an idea what she planned.
"Silent! You will remain silent! You will remain where you are! You will stop! You will stop!" Jast screamed.
"But Jast," Sarah began, never stopping, continuing to move forward. As she passed the Doctor, she stretched her hand out and their fingers touched as she passed. As in the past, the magic of touching the Doctor, even just being in his presence, she could feel that same excitement was still there. "Love you!" she said quietly as she passed him.
"Love you too!" he said softly as she passed. 'Please regenerate' he said in his head to whatever deity that governed love and hope that might be listening. The Tardis had taught her well. Her simple touch allowed the escaping regeneration energy to completely heal all the damage the radiation exposure had caused to him.
"Aren't you going to ask me what the explosion was? Don't you care about your…now what would you call them, brothers…no…sisters…no…siblings, yes perhaps siblings. And aren't you going to ask about your father the great and powerful Davros?"
"You will remain where you are. You have no knowledge of any event concerning the Daleks."
Sarah could feel the heat in her body building up. It would be any minute or perhaps any second now. "You're wrong Jast, dead wrong. You see I just dropped a massive amount of explosives on the Dalek Bunker, and I didn't just destroy it. No, I totally obliterated it. There is nothing left of any of your, what did we decide they were? Oh yes, your siblings. They're all gone Jast along with that homicidal maniac father of yours, Davros." Now Sarah was about ten feet away from Jast and she stopped. Now, her mind screamed. It was now! "Just one more insane homicidal Dalek to destroy."
"You will be exterminated!" Dalek Jast said as he swiveled his blaster arm around.
"I've heard that before." Sarah said as her hands went out to her sides. Deprived of control, Sarah's head was flung back as the regeneration energy poured from her body. Her entire body was covered in a light brighter than any fire. it erupted from every square inch of her body, her features now indistinguishable. As the regeneration energy shot from her, Dalek Jast was hit immediately. Everything that had once been Dalek Jast was annihilated, the tiniest molecule of the Dalek obliterated.
The Doctor was on the ground. He had been moving toward Sarah when the regeneration process began and was knocked there when the Dalek had exploded. He knew there was absolutely nothing he could do to make this any easier for Sarah. At this point he wasn't even sure she'd survive. He was reminded that this must be what his traveling companions felt like when he regenerated. He looked up with shielded eyes and could see the glow was fading. Sarah was lying on the ground, face down. With a feeling of both dread and excitement, he climbed to his feet and ran to her side. He bent over her still form. "Sarah, Sarah can you hear me?" She didn't move.
On Moonbase Alpha, the entire base watched the events on Skaro play out as if watching a movie.
"Come on Sarah Jane." the Commander said from his desk. Helena behind him wiping tears from her eyes.
"Get up Sarah Jane, get up!" Alan Carter begged from his desk in Command Center.
"You can do it Sarah Jane." Tony too pleaded.
"She must have regenerated. But was it enough to keep her alive?" Maya asked as her head ran calculations on whether or not the Doctor's plan could possibly have worked.