REVELATIONS
TWENTY
It did not take as long as it might've.
The Doctor thought either Ven k'atesh was exceedingly intelligent or that there was some incredibly smart technology at work.
It had taken only several sessions, separated by The Doctor's exhausted and perhaps over-medicated need for sleep. When he woke, Ven k'atesh was always there, waiting to resume the interview.
Basic grammar and a rudimentary vocabulary had been covered fairly quickly. It had been a long time since The Doctor had needed to provide language instruction; he'd come to rely so heavily on the TARDIS telepathic field. The encounters reminded him of one of the final scenes in Shakespeare's 'Henry V' where her gentlewoman tries to teach English to Henry's new French Queen.
The Doctor did not have the luxury, as Alice did in 'Henry V', of being able to point to objects other than his own body, but Ven k'atesh appeared to have come prepared for the lessons: there were pictures. Amongst the hundreds of representations displayed were images of the earth, Cardiff, and some lonely abandoned mines outside of the city.
His mind growing clearer, The Doctor was relatively easily able to finally discern why he was being held. The realization, when it came, was both horrifying and exciting. For a brief time he forgot the linguistic divide that separated him from his jailor as he frenetically tried to explain – to convince – Ven k'atesh of the terrible mistake that had been made. The latter held up an appendage.
"Stop," the computer voice said.
"Explain slower."
The Doctor took a deep breath, calmed himself and nodded.
And then, in the simplest terms he could conjure, he told the story of the plague that had wiped out all non-terrestrial life on the earth and nearly killed him and his best friend.
Ven k'atesh knew truth when it appeared. Even if the Assistant Director hadn't been absolutely certain, there was sophisticated monitoring equipment in the cell. All of it indicated the prisoner spoke the truth. The drugs they continued to pour into it, into him, while he slept confirmed it as well; under their influence it would be difficult for him to continually deceive them. Ven k'atesh decided the suspect they had tracked down and captured was innocent.
It was a pity, actually, and it put the Security Agency in a very difficult situation.
Ven k'atesh looked back at The Doctor, who was pointing at himself and saying, over and over, "Please, freedom."
The Assistant Director had known this would eventually happen and raised a claw.
"Doctor," the computer voice said. "There are others."
The prisoner's shiny, bright eyes widened.
Ven k'atesh displayed a picture of a Slitheen.
"There are others who assisted us in capturing you and who have laid claim on you."
A picture of a Wirrn flashed up on the monitor, followed by a Sycorax and what could only be a Gelth.
"Besides these that assisted there are others who now know you are here."
An image of a Dalek filled the screen.
"You have many enemies. We can not protect you. It would mean our own destruction. I am sorry."
The Doctor buried his face in his hands and wept.