Chapter 3: An Easier Decision
The Doctor took off his overcoat and wrapped the convulsing Immusson in it. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen."
"Doctor?"
The Doctor turned around and saw Julien. "What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked.
"I was trying to explain to you before that my brother works here. He is able to grant me access." Julien approached the Doctor and the Immusson. "What's wrong with it?"
"Someone shot him. Maybe if I get it back to Mussol in time, he'll recover."
The Doctor walked out of the room with the Immusson hidden in his coat and Julien followed. They noticed that everyone was unconscious on the ground.
Julien saw and ran to his brother. "What happened?"
The Doctor scanned someone with his sonic screwdriver. "It's the Immusson affecting them. He has no control."
"What?"
"He's injured, he's reaching out. I told you he tries to pacify others. This is an adulterated version."
"Why are we safe?"
"Because we're not involved in the campaign. You're not even going to vote." The Doctor continued scanning people. "Their brainwaves, heartbeats, and breathing are all slowing down. The Immusson is going to kill them all."
"Let's leave!"
"And expose the Immusson to everyone out there?"
"What do we do?"
"There's only one option. We can let the Immusson enter someone's body and let him recover in there. I'm pretty sure that humans and Immussons are compatible in this way. He'll stabilize to a small extent, but enough that everything should be back to normal."
Julien looked at the Doctor, wondering if he was going to volunteer himself and the Doctor noticed Julien's unasked question.
"I can't do it," the Doctor finally said. "My binary vascular system will interfere."
"You're an alien?" Julien asked.
"Yeah."
After a moment of silence, Julien finally accepted what he needed to do. "How do we get it into me?"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm here now and these people are about to die."
The Doctor unwrapped the Immusson and pushed it into Julien. He scanned some of the people nearby. "They're getting better. Now, let's run before everyone wakes up."
...
On the way to the rebel headquarters, Robert played out a theory.
"Kaisira confirmed that Lyle was alone and there was some force involved. I'm assuming that Lyle's being mind-controlled. If that's true, everything just got more complicated."
"So you're taking us to the rebels' base?" Martha asked.
"It's a large city called Ingkschri. They've got full control over it."
"You know about it?"
"I know what you're thinking. Byzlusse wants a peaceful resolution. When he found out about Ingkschri, he only told the UTI. He didn't want Temebege to know and then bomb the place."
"I keep hearing about the UTI. What is it?" Martha asked.
"The United Teams of Immortals. They're Byzlusse's personal enforcers across the galaxy. Nine Strike is one of the teams. Technically, I'm a member too, I'm just not in a team or involved in the security operations. Same thing with the royal family."
Shots started zipping through the air as Martha and Robert approached the city.
Robert turned on the intercom. "This is a United Teams of Immortals Community Advocate ship. Stop firing on us."
The number of shots diminished, but persisted overall.
"We aren't here on behalf of the Eloquian government," Martha added. "We're on a separate non-hostile mission. Please stop."
The shots stopped.
"That worked," Robert said.
"Good. I was afraid I'd have to say 'We come in peace.'"
Robert laughed.
"You know the reference?"
"Yeah, of course."
The ship landed and Robert and Martha exited. A group of rebels approached.
"I'm Robert Perrin. This is Doctor Martha Jones."
"What do you want?" a rebel asked.
"We just came here to see my brother Lyle. That's all. We have no other intentions."
"The Kian supreme galactic judge?"
"Yes," Robert answered.
"He's not here."
...
After stopping by the Perrins' home, the Doctor took Julien to the TARDIS and was relieved to find her working properly. He set the TARDIS to take them to Mussol and the peacekeeping project.
"The Immusson is part of the human now," a Mussopake scientist said as she scanned Julien. "I cannot remove him without risking the health of both. You were correct about his physical deficiencies."
"But the Immusson is recuperating?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes, but it may be a very long time before he is self-sufficient again."
"How long?" Julien asked.
"Several thousand years, I estimate."
"That's only a few hundred years Earth-time," the Doctor clarified.
Julien looked at the Doctor with his eyebrows raised.
". . . which I realize now is still a long time."
"I'll be dead before he's fine," Julien realized.
"Then he will pass on to the next living thing and inhabit that body with minimal risk, practically no risk."
"What about the peacemaking directive?" the Doctor asked.
"It should be suppressed until the Immusson is healthy enough to assert it again."
"And what will happen then?" asked Julien.
"I am uncertain. We have never seen an underdeveloped Immusson undergo such trauma and then rely on a human for sustenance."
Julien sighed and nodded.
As the Doctor and Julien were leaving, the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and ushered Julien in. He then turned to the Mussopake scientist.
"What aren't you revealing?" the Doctor asked quietly.
The Mussopake hesitated before responding. "I have detected a decline in the human's health. I believe the Immusson presence does harm the host, but not as much as its removal would."
"Thank you," the Doctor replied, nodding grimly.
"How are you feeling?" the Doctor asked Julien when he brought him home.
"I don't know. I'm going to have this entity inside me for the rest of my life. I think I won't tell Colette."
"Do you regret volunteering?"
"Yes . . . no. I might have saved lives."
Colette entered the house.
"You were correct," Colette informed them. "The workers at the campaign office are pretending that nothing happened."
"Well, I should get going, then. Martha's probably waiting for me. Have a nice life in the United States and with . . ."
"Christophe," Julien answered.
"Christopher," Colette corrected. "He should be named Christopher if he will be born and raised in the United States."
...
"What's your name?" Robert asked the rebel who had been talking.
"Empsori."
Robert eyed him suspiciously. "A telepath said that Lyle was headed to the rebels. Given his position, it'd make sense that he'd be here."
"Why?"
"Because you all are controlling him! Why wouldn't you bring him here? The Kian government is not a part of your conflict and has actually prevented an escalation of offense against you."
"We would never kidnap a Kian official."
"Don't lie. Whatever your cause is, kidnapping a galatic judge isn't helping it. You undermine all your efforts by committing a galactic crime."
"Yes, kidnapping a galactic judge would be an incredibly stupid thing to do, and we aren't stupid. We wouldn't do that. That's why we wouldn't kidnap him and that's why you two are safe for the moment."
"Robert," Martha whispered. "What if there's a fourth party involved?"
Robert sighed in frustration, contemplating a new tactic. "Have you heard of Kaisira? She says that Lyle's headed to the rebels. If someone, not you, is controlling him, your leader needs to know. You need to let us talk to your leader."
"Like I said before, we're not stupid," Empsori responded.
"We're trusting you to not harm us," Martha joined in. "We are trusting you when you claim that Lyle isn't being controlled by you. Now, you need to trust us. We didn't come here by mistake. We knew this is the location of your base, yet we didn't tell the Eloquians and Robert disabled tracking capabilities. We're not here to cause any trouble, we're just looking for Lyle."
"If you all aren't controlling Lyle, someone else is," Robert asked. "He knows this location, too, and your leader might be in danger."
Empsori gestured everyone around him. "We go on foot," he told Robert and Martha.
Robert and Martha obliged in following.
"You almost said 'Take me to your leader' before, didn't you?" Martha asked quietly.
Robert smiled.
...
After conducting some research, the Doctor headed to New York. He walked around a home to the backyard, where he saw a frail man lying on a hammock. The Doctor knew it was Julien. A young boy was lying on Julien and both were asleep.
A glow appeared between the two.
"No," the Doctor said as he rushed towards the hammock. He stopped when the glow disappeared. "I'm too late!"
Two women exited the house towards the hammock and the Doctor ducked. He didn't want anyone to know he was there. He watched as the two women approached Julien and Chris and then saw that Julien was dead.
The Doctor identified one of the women as Colette. Colette picked Chris up and ran into the house with him, clearly starting to cry. The other woman stayed behind to put Julien's hands on his chest. She then walked slowly back to the house.
Crestfallen, the Doctor headed back to the TARDIS. He then realized, based on the events that had transpired, that there was nothing he could do to stop the Immusson from moving to his next host when Chris died.
...
Robert and Martha entered a house that was heavily guarded. A woman approached.
"I'm Luphia. I'm in charge. Why am I hearing that your brother is targeting me?"
"We don't know," Robert answered. "We believe he's under mind control."
"What are his intentions?"
"We don't know that, either."
"Do you know what our intentions are? Why we fight?" Luphia asked.
"I know that Temebege's attention towards the other planet was straining social and economic health on both. I also know that he has not been very respectful of civil liberties."
"And what does the Kian Empire plan to do, particularly now that the king is dead?"
"I'm not sure yet."
"Then you aren't very helpful. I suggest you leave before we are accused of holding you as hostages."
"Look – " Martha began before being interrupted.
"Hesten!" Luphia cried. "Take them back!"
There was no reply, so Luphia approached the door and saw everyone asleep.
Martha bent over someone.
"Their breathing and heartbeats are fast, maybe around a human at rest, but conscious."
"That's normal, then. They might just be asleep."
"What could cause this?" Luphia asked.
"Us," a voice said.
Martha, Robert, and Luphia turned and saw Lyle.
Robert ran to Lyle and hugged him. "Where have you been?"
Lyle looked at Luphia, not paying attention to Robert.
Robert withdrew. "What's wrong?"
A small, white, bald head started to emerge from Lyle. Suddenly, Robert, Martha, and Lyle were teleported to a ship in Eloquia's orbit.
The white head disappeared back into Lyle as he, Robert, and Martha saw Nine Strike, the Maximates, and the Doctor.
The Doctor approached Lyle. "It's been a while. Well, since we last communicated like this from your point of view."
"Doctor, what's going on?" Martha asked.
"There's an Immusson in Lyle. It entered Lyle's grandfather in 1979. When his grandfather died in 1988, it passed into Lyle's father. Then, it passed into Lyle."
"What's an Immusson?" Lyle asked, seemingly in control. He grasped one of Robert's hands, and Robert was happy to grasp back.
"It was a peacekeeping experiment. The Immussons telepathically seek out aggressors of conflicts. The one in you was underdeveloped and injured, so it stayed in you, your father, and your grandfather to recuperate. It seems that it's finally healthy enough to take control of you."
"I have been healthy enough for centuries," the Immusson said through Lyle, who was no longer holding onto Robert.
"But this has been a golden age in the Kian Empire," the Doctor realized. "There hasn't been a reason for you to come out until the Eloquian rebellion began. You've been in an immortal human for centuries, long enough to make Lyle temporarily sick when you tried to act."
"I regret making him ill."
"So why are you still there?" the Doctor asked. "Why haven't you left Lyle alone?"
"Lyle's being brings comfort. And it is only a matter of time before conflict arises again. Lyle is in a position to get me there."
"But doesn't something feel off? You aren't meant to stay in a human."
"I have no better alternative to my present life."
"You do now. I can take you to Mussol. I've only ever tried to help you, didn't I? Even if you did get shot because of me? Please."
After a moment of silence, the Immusson slowly exited Lyle. Everyone in attendance gaped at the Immusson's form.
"You've been in me my entire life?" Lyle asked.
The Immusson nodded.
The Doctor looked at the Immusson. "Come on, to my ship."
The Immusson followed the Doctor to the TARDIS while Martha stayed behind.
"How are you feeling?" Martha asked.
"Fine. I don't think I feel any differently now, actually," Lyle replied.
"How much control did you have when you were going to Eloquia?"
"Not much. The Immusson wanted to possess Temebege to force an end to the conflict."
"Was it involved in his death?" Martha asked.
"No, he died before we arrived, so then we sought out the rebel leader."
Robert put an arm around Lyle's shoulders. "Let's get you checked out, just in case."
The Doctor later returned and found Martha in Byzlusse's palace. "How's everything?"
"Good. I wanted to ask, Robert mentioned that people have been overprotective of Lyle. I was. I followed Robert to Eloquia to look for Lyle for a reason I don't understand. I even went to see the rebels. Now, I don't feel that way anymore. I obviously still care, but not like before. Could that have been because of the Immusson?"
"Yeah, because of pheromones. Peacekeeping is easier if Immussons induce that kind of reaction from individuals in its proximity."
"While you were gone, the new Eloquian queen reached out to the rebels and set up meetings to address their concerns."
"Yeah, they'll be fine eventually," the Doctor said.
In another part of the building, Byzlusse placed a call to the Herron queen.
"Queen Romath," Byzlusse addressed.
"Emperor Byzlusse. I have to say, I don't approve of your assassination of Temebege."
"But you do not disapprove, either?"
Romath smiled. "A brain hemorrhage, a relatively peaceful method to die."
Byzlusse was able to read between the lines. "If your assassins arrived before mine, what would their poison have targeted?"
"His respiratory system."
"He was an unfit king. His sister will be a magnificent queen."
"I have no doubt Eloquia will join us in prosperity under her leadership."
...
The TARDIS landed in New York in 1988. The Doctor and Martha stepped onto a yard and walked around. It was two days before the Doctor's previous visit. The Doctor observed Julien on the hammock again.
"Julien," the Doctor said.
"Doctor."
"This is Martha. Martha, Julien. Lyle's and Robert's grandfather."
"How do you do?" Martha asked.
"I'm dying. Cancer."
"Why aren't you in a hospital?" Martha asked.
"There's nothing left for them to do, except ease my discomfort, which I can do myself. I would rather die at home." Julien looked at the Doctor. "I have to wonder if the Immusson is responsible for my acceptance of death."
"How much strength do you have now?" the Doctor asked. "You said you became an astronomer to learn about what's out there. I showed you Mussol and the Mussopakes. Would you like to see some more before your time comes?"
"How could I refuse?"
The Doctor showed Julien Pluto's surface, the Shalbain Supernova, a Lundfie market, and an open session of planetary representatives on Hygert. Julien saw Byzlusse address a chamber of representatives from 7,735 inhabited Kian planets and moons, updating them on the status of the empire.
"This is the Kian Empire," the Doctor informed Julien. He and Martha then led Julien to the Galactic Court. "In the middle there is Chris' second son, the supreme galactic judge."
The three visited Perrin Capital University next. "That's Chris' older son. He found and runs this university. It's very prestigious. Members of the galactic government's highest levels like Lyle helped develop some of the curricula. Your grandsons didn't just see the stars like you wanted to, they live among them and contribute to the golden age of an entire galaxy."
The TARDIS then took the trio to later in the day, which allowed Julien to personally meet Robert and Lyle, as well as his future daughter-in-law Alicia, for dinner. A four-hour conversation over food included discussions about Chris, the Kian government, and the Immusson.
Finally, the Doctor, Martha, and Julien visited the UTI ship, a vast city-like disk composed of a ring of townhouses forming a perimeter. Park grounds separated the homes from a large central tower that held meeting rooms, ship ports, athletic centers, and the main control room.
The Doctor and Martha eventually took Julien home.
"Was that risky? Telling and showing Julien so much about the future?"
"No, Julien will pass away in two days, and he never got as far in his astronomy career as he wished."
"Now he got more than he could ever expect," Martha noted.
The Doctor nodded.
"That's nice of you."
"It was the least I could do. He deserved it."
The Doctor and Martha then returned to the TARDIS for their next adventure.
...
Thanks for reading.