"You have heard the charge against you, that you have repeatedly broken our most important law of non-interference in the affairs of other planets. What have you to say? Do you admit these actions?" The Time Lord Goth began, speaking calmly as he stood, regal in his robes.
The three presiding Time Lords' eyes were bearing down on the small, impish man with the rumpled clothes standing in front of them. Surprisingly the small man was one of them, a Time Lord, a renegade called the Doctor.
The Doctor kept his head held high. "I not only admit them, I am proud of them. While you have been content merely to observe the evil in the galaxy, I have been fighting against it."
The Doctor needed the Time Lords to give him the opening he needed. He needed to find an opening to give him the right defence.
"It is not we who are on trial here, Doctor, it is you," the third Time Lord pointed out.
"No, no, of course, you're above criticism, aren't you," the Doctor snorted.
"Do you admit that these actions were justified?" Goth said the last word in disbelief.
That was it.
This was the opening he needed.
"Yes, of course, I do," the Doctor pointed at the screen behind him, "Give me a thought channel and I'll show you some of the evils I've been fighting against."
The three Time Lords nodded to each other. There was no way they could deny the Doctor the right to a trial. Time Lord trials tended to be diplomatic, and everyone had the right to speak and provide a defence. The War Lord was proof of that.
For a moment, the Doctor was prepared to tell the Time Lords of the alien monsters he'd encountered, starting with the Quarks and going on until he reached the Daleks.
But he decided to change it. He wanted the Time Lords to spare him, to see he was useful. The Doctor showed them projections of the Meddling Monk's activities in 1066, and then his later encounters with the other Time Lord in Ancient Egypt. He showed them the alternate timeline for WOTAN; the moment the Time Lords saw it, they sensed it was wrong.
The Doctor showed them the glimmers he'd seen whenever he had encountered beings like the animus, the Great Intelligence; alternative timelines where the Great Intelligence succeeded in its attempts to take over the Earth. He also showed them the prelude to the Dalek civil war, the timeline which would be created, and the possibility that the Daleks somehow managed to control him, to spread the Dalek factor through Earth's history.
"…All these evils I have fought while you have done nothing but observe," the Doctor held his head high. "True, I am guilty of interference, just as you are guilty of failing to use your great powers to help those in need!"
Goth exchanged a quick look with the other Time Lords. "Is that all you have to say?"
The Doctor was indignant. He'd just shown them he had been upholding the Laws of Time, but now that was all they had to say. "Well, isn't it enough?"
Goth was nonplussed, "Your defence has been heard and will be carefully considered, but you have raised difficult issues. We require time to think about them. You will be recalled when we have made our decision."
The Doctor sighed.
Xxxxx
The Doctor laughed as he witnessed - perhaps for the last time - Jamie chasing after a redcoat soldier; he had just seen Zoe back on the Wheel after that nasty business with the Cybermen. While he might never see them again, it was good to see they were safe.
"They will both continue their lives as if nothing had happened," Goth, of course, had to ruin it.
"Yes, very efficient," the Doctor replied. He sighed. It was time to get on with it. "Now then, what about me?"
He was worried about what his fate was going to be; he might have tried to escape, but it was what he had shown them that made him worried.
"We have accepted your plea that there is evil in the universe that must be fought, and that you still have a part to play in that battle," Goth began.
The Doctor couldn't believe this. "What? You mean that you're going to let me go free?"
Goth exchanged a look with another of the Time Lords. "Not entirely. We have noted your particular interest in the planet Earth. The frequency of your visits must have given you special knowledge of that world and its problems."
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose that's true. Earth seems more vulnerable than others, yes."
That was true.
How many times had he visited Earth, and he became involved in all of those invasions, all those disasters?
"For that reason, you will be sent back to that planet," Goth said.
The Doctor sighed with relief, "Oh, good."
Goth smirked. "In exile."
The Doctor stared up at him in horror. "In exile?"
Not for the first time since he had decided to summon the Time Lords to deal with the War Games, the Doctor wished he had never had the option, but with his rackety old Type 40 TARDIS in the state she was in, he hadn't had any choice and he had no idea if the War Chief would have cooperated with him to take the humans back to their own times.
It was horrific! The Doctor knew other renegades were doing much worse than he had ever done; the Monk meddled in history, the Master was determined to rule the universe, and the Rani was in exile somewhere lurking in the shadows rewriting DNA and conducting one horrific experiment after another, but they were exiling him!
Now, he was losing everything.
He couldn't stop the Time Lords; they had already taken his companions and sent them home. Poor Zoe. Poor Jamie….Poor old Jamie.
"You will be sent to Earth in the 20th century, and will remain there for as long as we deem proper," Goth condemned him, "and for that period the secret of the TARDIS will be taken from you."
"But you, you can't condemn me to exile on one primitive planet in one century in time!" The Doctor spluttered. "Besides, I'm known on the Earth. It might be very awkward for me."
"Your appearance has changed before, it will change again. That is part of the sentence," Goth exchanged another look with the other Time Lords. "For the last time, we're afraid. Once you have regenerated into the form in which you will be exiled, we will remove your remaining regenerations. Despite your actions in upholding the Laws of Time, you still meddled with the timelines, and you broke our most important law. Non-interference. That rule exists for a reason, Doctor. For now, you shall serve as an example of those who break that rule."
"What?" The Doctor spluttered in horror.
He was terrified.
Losing his remaining lives…?
Regeneration was a horrific, painful process; the sensation of being on fire, every atom and molecule, every muscle, and every cell on fire, being torn to shreds, burnt away and then replaced, the personality changing and having to deal with the outcome…
The Doctor had regenerated once before, and he had hoped never to go through it again, but to lose his lives…he had never realised how much he valued them, until that moment. The idea of losing them made him want to run, run back to the TARDIS and hide from his people, but he knew he wouldn't make it.
"We do not have the right to interfere in the affairs of other races. You must be made an example," the second Time Lord said.
"Did it never occur to you, Doctor, by meddling you were escalating the situation? However, because of your actions, we discovered your involvement resulted in improvements to history," the Third Time Lord said. "That is why you are being exiled."
"This is outrageous!" The Doctor loudly blustered. "You can't do this-!"
Goth held up his hand for silence. "Your judgement has been decided, Doctor. We will allow you to choose your new appearance, however, you must choose quickly for time is not on your side."
The Doctor turned his mouth, meekly turning around as the full weight of the judgement fell on his shoulders. On the screen, the sketch of an old man appeared.
"Oh, he's too old!"
The sketch of a fat man appeared this time.
"Well he's too fat, isn't he?" While the Time Lords showed the Doctor these choices, he felt a poisonous rage darkening inside him. All of this was so cruel! First his friends, then his freedom, his TARDIS, and now his second incarnation. It was so unfair!
"No, he's too thin!" The Doctor sneered before he turned to face the Time Lords. "Oh no, that won't do at all. It's ridiculous. Don't you have anything better?"
Goth spoke with great patience, but it was frayed. "Define better, Doctor?"
"Oh, I don't know," the Doctor snapped with a nonchalant, vague wave back at the screen, "but something better than them. Variety. Different alternatives."
The Time Lords looked at one another, and the Doctor turned back to the screen.
After dismissing three more faces, the Doctor was prepared to dismiss the next one, but he stopped.
It was the face of a young woman with long dark hair. There was something truly intriguing about this woman's face. Thoughtfully he studied this new face. She was beautiful, looking like she was in between her 20s and 30s. She looked like a strong woman, and her smile was intriguing. And yet, there was something about her…
The Time Lords noticed the pause, and they were about to speak before the Doctor got there first. "I want that one," he said in a quiet tone. The Time Lords noted something different about his voice, his tone. It was quieter, darker.
"This is your choice?" Goth asked.
"Yes," the Doctor replied. "If this is the last time I ever regenerate, I need to make it count, won't I?"
"Very well. In time, we will decide to restore your ability to regenerate," the Second Time Lord said.
"You have a choice of where in the 20th century you wish to live in, Doctor," the Third Time Lord said. "We must know now before your mind is affected by post-regenerative trauma."
The Doctor looked down at his feet, thinking about it. He didn't want to live throughout the whole 20th century, especially without the resources to repair the TARDIS. He didn't want to spend time with UNIT for the rest of his next life, no he wanted more…. But where to go? And then the Doctor remembered.
"1960," the Doctor replied, hiding a triumphant thought from his fellow Time Lords, and if he/she played her cards right, escaping from their exile to Earth would be quick.
Author's Note - I was inspired by KevanTheGreat99's Unity is Strength, where the Time Lords take the Doctor's remaining lives and punish the Second Doctor, who chooses their next face instead of blustering and getting sent to the 1970s. In this story, the new Third Doctor is portrayed by Jenna Ortega.