Lieutenant Adventures Series 11 Chapter 3 15 July 2017. Ezmerelda Returns.
Ezmerelda was in her kitchen, clearing away the things after dinner. She couldn't be bothered clearing up now, she could do it later. She walked slowly over to the wall and picked up her walking stick and, leaning on it, walking slowly back to her chair in the sitting room, beside the fire. It was a chilly night tonight and the stars were shining so Ezmerelda would need to stay warm tonight, at 72 years old, she was now very vulnerable. "I should look into getting a maid. I can't do things myself anymore. My husband isn't here when I need him, neither is my son." She laughed to herself. "I'm talking to an empty cold room." Deep down, Ezmerelda wished the red telephone box would make an appearance again. She was aware she mightn't even recognise her husband or son. She couldn't shake off the feeling that they had done something stupid and were dead. She heaved herself over to the window to look into the starry sky, to look for any signs of a red telephone box but...nothing. She went back to her seat and thought herself a silly old fool.
New Intro: watch?v=GIcejPDAw2o
The Lieutenant sighed and walked around the console unit, the TARDIS shook slightly and he looked at it. "What are you doing?" he asked with a sigh. "Where are we going?" He looked at the screen. "Really? You're taking me there?" asked the Lieutenant.
"I'm not, something down there is doing it. An imagination by the feel of it," said the TARDIS.
"An imagination?" asked the Lieutenant. "Wait, I know where we are. Oh no. Well, this will be interesting," he said. He pulled a lever and the TARDIS shook.
"What is it? What's happening?" asked Penelope.
"The TARDIS is bringing us somewhere I've been before, somewhere I haven't been in a long time. When we get there you need to stay in the TARDIS. What's about to happen, I need to do alone," said the Lieutenant.
"Why should she? Ez might like to see who you're dragging around the Universe now," said the TARDIS.
"Oh, shut up, you know that I need to see her alone," said the Lieutenant.
"If the request hadn't touched my soul, I would be keeping you away from her, as far as possible," said the TARDIS.
"I'm not going to hurt her," said the Lieutenant.
The TARDIS made a sound that sounded like a sarcastic laugh and materialised.
The Lieutenant sighed and left the TARDIS, looking at the house.
Ezmerelda froze. She had heard the oddly alien noise outside.
The Lieutenant took a breath then walked over to her front door and knocked on it, he wasn't just going to walk straight in.
Ezmerelda sat there, trying to get the courage to go to the door, finally, she heaved herself up on her walking stick and went to the door, slowly and gently, she opened the door.
The Lieutenant looked at the woman who was now standing in front of him, it had been a very long time.
Ezmerelda just gazed back. "Is it you?" she asked gently.
"Yes, it's me," said the Lieutenant.
"Don't lie to me," said Ezmerelda.
"You sent the message, what makes you think I'm lying to you?" asked the Lieutenant.
Ezmerelda's eyes widened in recognition, then she began to cry. "You got it! You really got the message," she said and then she hugged him.
Although the Lieutenant didn't have much time in his life now for good, he was saddened by Ezmerelda's ailing health. Yes, he did have a time machine but Ezmerelda was his wife, not his toy. He should visit her according to his and her linear timelines and not jump all over it.
After the hug, Ezmerelda hit the Lieutenant with her walking stick. "I thought you died. I thought thirteen was the maximum a Time Lord got!" she exclaimed.
"I might die if you don't stop hitting me," said the Lieutenant. "Shall we go inside and I'll tell you more?" he asked. He walked into the house, shutting the door behind them and accompanied his wife into her small sitting room and helped her into her seat by the stove. He topped up the stove.
Ezmerelda dropped her walking stick.
The Lieutenant picked it up again and propped it up again against her armchair and sat down. "Where were we? Yes, a Time Lord has twelve regenerations, that's a total of thirteen lives and then they die, however, there are exceptions," said the Lieutenant.
"Oh, yes? Like what?" asked Ezmerelda.
"Like what you people have on this planet, a pension for when you're old or for when you are disabled or some people get incentives and then the baddies steal. I will explain all of them in turn. On Gallifrey, the equivalent of your pension is a new cycle of twelve regenerations as a reward for what you achieved in your first twelve lives," explained the Lieutenant.
"Mhm," said Ezmerelda.
"On Gallifrey, your grant is a cycle of twelve regenerations given for if there is unfinished work you need to finish, for example, if you started something and you were mortally injured doing that, the Time Lords allow you more life so you can finish that or those tasks," explained the Lieutenant.
"Right," said Ezmerelda.
"On Gallifrey, the equivalent of your loan is extra life for more life experience. You might ask, "How does interest and paying back work?" Well, interest is that the Time Lords literally take an interest in the life of the Time Lord who requested the regenerations. If the Time Lord is using them for anymore than what they requested them for, then they remove the rest of the Time Lord's regenerations and carry out the equivalent of the death sentence immediately which leaves no trace, except memories, of what or who the Time Lord used to be. Paying it back also works on the same lines as your interest. When the Time Lords see that the task that required extra life has been finished they remove the remaining regenerations and allow the Time Lord to live out the rest of theor current life and die at the end of it," explained the Lieutenant.
"OK," said Ezmerelda.
"On Gallifrey, incentives work differently. If a Time Lord isn't enjoying their lives but is getting on well with other Time Lords and doing good work, the Time Lords might plead with them and offer them a few more regenerations to get better friendships going and to get more work done. On the Time Lords' part, this is good because it means they don't need to think about a replacement for the Time Lord when the Time Lord finally gets to the end of their original twelve regenerations," explained the Lieutenant.
"Hmmmmm," said Ezmerelda.
"And there are always baddies everywhere. Baddies who are greedy for more life. I can't blame them really, life is great for some Time Lords. The baddies steal Human bodies, they steal other Time Lords' remaining regenerations in order to survive, they become jinees, they use fob watches, sort of like pocket watches here, to sustain lives. They create new bodies and transfer their brains, they create mechanical bodies that can't be destroyed and transfer their brains. The most famous cases of these are the Master, you remember the Master, and Morbius. The most famous victims include the Doctor," said the Lieutenant.
"Mmmmmmm," said Ezmerelda. "So which one are you?" she asked.
"Well, to begin with, this is now my fifteenth life, in my fourteenth life, I was Lord President of Gallifrey," said the Lieutenant.
"Oh, what's that then?" asked Ezmerelda. "Is it like the Prime Minister?" she asked.
The Lieutenant laughed. "Yeah, sort of," he said. "This cycle of regenerations is my pension for serving as Lord President," he said. "That was the condition, they revive me, I serve as Lord President," he said.
"Ah, right, and how come you look younger the older you get?" asked Ezmerelda.
The Lieutenant just smiled. "Yeah, I'll be a baby next," he said.
"You're a baby now!" exclaimed Ezmerelda. "What age are you now?" she asked.
"4,420," said the Lieutenant.
"Oh, not bad considering sometimes," said Ezmerelda, "only 400 years this time since you died," she said.
"Yeah," said the Lieutenant.
"Anyway, I have washing up to do," said Ezmerelda and she heaved herself up.
"I can do it for you," said the Lieutenant, also getting up.
"No, you have your adventures to have. I have my dishes to wash. Just like how it used to be," said Ezmerelda.
The Lieutenant and Ezmerelda hugged each other one final time.
"Now then, on you go or I'll get nothing done," said Ezmerelda.
The Lieutenant smiled. "Goodbye, Ezmerelda," he said.
"Goodbye," said Ezmerelda.
The Lieutenant left the house, went back across to the TARDIS and stepped in with a smile on his face. He dematerialised the TARDIS and while he did so, the smile faded from his face.
"That was really lovely," said the TARDIS and Penelope together.
"Shut up," snapped the Lieutenant.
NEXT TIME:
The TARDIS flew through the Time Vortex.
The Lieutenant looked at the console and then at Penelope. "Stupid girl. Yes, of course I was serious, Penelope, we are going to track her down one day and we are going to kill Missy."
The Lieutenant
Thomas Stevens
Penelope Pratt
Gemma Arterton
Ezmerelda Hartingale
Beth Morris
The TARDIS
Kelly Lynch
The Master
Geoffrey Beevers
Gordon Tipple
Eric Roberts
James Floyd
Morbius
Michael Spice
The Doctor
Paul McGann
With special thanks to the BBC, FanFiction and YouTube.
Writer and Director
Liam Hickey
Producer
Maureen Farr
Fflat 2017.