A/N: Thank you so much for your patience in this latest update. I have really been trying to work on this story but I'm afraid real life has been taking up most of my time lately. I do have more chapters coming, hopefully soon. Meantime, I hope this will suppress your appetite until the next morsel comes.

And, once again, please review! Reviews help my motivation. So... more reviews, more writing done. Simple as that.

PHOENIX RISING

Chapter 5

Governor Hillis of Pandere Nisse had a lot on his mind. Ever since he'd recovered the strange blue box from the temple, word had been spreading throughout his province that there was a Sasane walking among them. More to the point, it was now a wide spread belief that this Sasane who called himself Prehito, the Healer of All, came to free Teranova from the oppressive Lensiati. Already the people were starting to form offensive strategies, implementing them, and failing. Within the last six hours, there had been four separate fights with Lensiati patrols, all of them ending in the deaths of every Teranovian involved.

And yet, the people didn't stop planning their next attack, something that Hillis didn't understand. He knew it was pointless to fight the Lensiati. There was no way that they could win. They weren't well organized. Their attacks were random and used a very basic strategy that would work with field hogs but never with Lensiati. Plus, they didn't have the necessary firepower to make a successful attack of any kind. Yet, still, they kept planning useless attacks in the hope of freedom.

As the hours passed and with every attack on the Lensiati, Hillis was finding his hold over the province, that leadership position he so loved and craved over everything else, slipping from his hands. He knew that, eventually, this growing rebellion would overtake all of Pandere Nisse. Soon anyone who sided with the Lensiati in any way, even if it were to prevent deaths, would be considered an enemy of the people.

Hillis was finding himself in a very sticky predicament. Every person in every province knew that the governors were pawns of the Lensiati, some of them willingly. Word had spread that he had been the one who had exiled the so-called 'Healer of All' and it was already well-rumored that he was one of the governors who willingly served the Lensiati, which in turn made him public enemy number one. He really needed to get as far away from Pandere Nisse, or any other province for that matter, as possible. That was proving to be a bit difficult with a mob of angry Teranovians, led by none other than Nariam's friend Latenis, crowded in the gardens of his villa, yelling for his blood and pounding at the windows and doors.

He knew should never have sided with the Lensiati, never have accepted the governorship they'd given him. But he'd always been a bit power-hungry, sometimes going to great lengths to insure he got what he wanted. And he'd succeeded too, until Nariam rejected his marriage proposal. As he looked back on it, he realized that he deserved exactly what he was getting now. He still didn't believe that the Doctor was a god but there was no doubt now that he was far more powerful than he'd given him credit. In fact, he didn't think the Doctor himself knew just how powerful he really was. He could bring down whole civilizations and not even realize he had done so.

Standing from his desk in his office, Hillis casually walked over to the main doors. Might as well get this over with, he thought as he unlocked the doors and took several steps back. The doors burst open as the people swarmed in, attacking him. He let the madness overtake him completely, allowed the mob to take their revenge on his betrayal of him.

As he felt his life slipping from him, for the first time in his adult life, he was truly happy.

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The Doctor groaned in protest of the headache demanding his attention as he slowly regained consciousness. He remembered hiding Nariam from the Lensiati patrol before running off away from the path he and Nariam had taken, intent on insuring the woman's safety. He remembered evading the patrol – quite cleverly, if you asked him – causing them to embarrass themselves with their inability to catch him. And he remembered he'd been tucked away in a bush when he suddenly felt a presence behind him only seconds before being rendered unconscious. Obviously, his cleverness with the Lensiati hadn't quite been enough to avoid capture. He just hoped in his hearts that Nariam was still safe.

"Prehito Sasane?"

That was Nariam's voice coming to him from the left, speaking the derivation of Gallifreyan he'd heard her speak before. The clever woman had translated his name into that language, though her conjugation and pronunciation were off.

"It's Prahiltosa Shansana, since you are speaking to me. Plus I told you not to call me 'Sasane'. That's like me calling you 'Human' all the time. Very annoying." He struggled onto his feet. "Let's just stick with English. Less confusing that way." He looked at her with concern. "I thought I told you to stay out of sight."

"I did. But it is true that the Lensiati are excellent hunters. They'd found my hiding place just after they captured you," she explained herself, blatantly concerned about how the Doctor would react to her words.

The Time Lord gently squeezed her shoulder. "It's all right, Nariam. As long as they didn't hurt you and your child." He peered into her eyes. "They didn't, did they?"

She gave him a grateful smile. "No. My child and I are both in good health."

"Excellent," he commented with relief before looking at his surroundings. "Now… it appears we are in some kind of holding cell..." He frowned slightly. "…that has no doors." His eyes found the ceiling and widened slightly. "Did they drop us in here? That appears to be some kind of grated hatch."

Nariam nodded slightly at his words. "They tossed you in without regard for your well-being."

"Well, that explains the soreness of my left arm," he murmured. He gazed into her eyes, worry playing his features. "What about you? They didn't toss you in, did they?"

"I was lowered in on a rope," she assured him. "I'm very valuable to them. A healthy woman of child-bearing age who is quite obviously fertile. I would bear them many healthy slaves."

"Neither you nor any of your children are going to be slaves to the Lensiati. I promise," the Time Lord told her firmly. He examined the room once again as he added, "We just have to find as way out of this cell and get you to the TARDIS. Given that there doesn't seem to be anything in this cell other than ourselves, and there aren't any hidden entrances or exits, it looks like the only way out is the way we came in, namely upwards."

"And how do we do that? The hatch must be at least at least five feet above us."

The Doctor scratched his head. "Yeah. I noticed that. Bit too high for me to just jump." He walked to the closest wall and ran his hands over it. "A nice, solid, smooth, metallic surface. No chance of handholds or even creating handholds without the proper tools, which we don't have."

"Can't you use your miracle wand… sonic screwdriver to make these handholds?" Nariam queried with a frown.

"It's a screwdriver, not a blowtorch. The most it might do, if it could get the metal hot enough, is melt the surface. But by that time, the temperature in this cell will have risen to the point where you would die from heat exhaustion and I wouldn't exactly be in the best of health either."

"So, what do we do?"

"I'm working on it," he replied briefly, his eyes focused on the grated hatch. Without moving his gaze, he dug into his jacket pocket, obviously in search of something to help with the task at hand. After a moment, he pulled out a yo-yo and looked at it thoughtfully before shaking his head. "That's not going to do us much good. The string will break before either one of us gets halfway up to the hatch."

Nariam regarded the object in the Doctor's hands. "What is that?" she questioned.

"A yo-yo. A child's toy," he clarified. "I was hoping to find a rope or something but I don't seem to have one on me."

She chuckled with slight derision. "Forgive me, Doctor, but I seriously doubt that you would have enough rope in your pocket to traverse the distance even if you did have some in your pockets."

"Well, they are bigger on the inside," he explained, his eyes once again on the hatch. "So is my little blue box."

"Like Ranna's chariot," she surmised.

The Doctor looked at her for a moment. "Her TARDIS, yes. Same sort of ship, different model." He sniffed, obviously proud. "Mine's better than hers ever was."

She giggled slightly at his words before looking around. "If you are unable to find a way out then I'm afraid the only way we are leaving this cell is if the Lensiati let us."

"Looks like it," he agreed with a murmur, still trying to figure out how to reach the hatch despite his words. Sighing, he turned his head to look at his companion. "I'm sorry, Nariam. This is all my fault."

She frowned at his words. "How can this be your fault? You didn't plan for us to be captured by the Lensiati."

"No," he conceded. "But you wouldn't even be here if I hadn't materialized on your planet and attempted to prevent your exile. If I hadn't done that, Hillis wouldn't have taken possession of my TARDIS. And I have no doubt that, being the good puppet ruler he is, he brought my ship to the Lensiati. That's how they knew about my presence here and hunted me down, taking you prisoner along with me, for which I am very sorry." Seeing the questioning frown on her face, he shrugged slightly. "I told you on the planet. The Lensiati were after me, not you. I'm sort of on their most wanted list."

Nariam gave a hint of a smile. "Why am I not surprised," she commented. She suddenly gasped, clutching her abdomen protectively and causing the Doctor to hurry to her side.

"What's wrong?" he questioned with concern. Without waiting for an answer, he gently laid his hand on her belly, feeling both with his hand and his mind before giving her a smile. "The little fella's ready to run a marathon!" he told her jokingly.

"What's a marathon?" she asked before groaning slightly as she felt another kick from her child. "Whatever it is, I wish he would wait until after he is born to run it."

"No doubt," the Doctor agreed. "I can calm him, if you want."

She shook her head at the offer. "It is part of the experience of motherhood, is it not, to feel one's child move within the womb?"

"Yes, it is," he answered with a slight smile.

"In that case, I wish to continue to experience motherhood properly." She winced in protest. "Even if it is a painful experience." She sighed in frustration. "The child's never been so… adamant before."

Still feeling her abdomen, he startled at another kick, this one causing Nariam to cry out slightly. "That wasn't just a kick," he stated firmly, removing his hand. "The baby's shifting position, getting ready to be born."

"Now?!" she exclaimed, concerned about his words. "I can't have my child born as a slave!"

He raised his hand to assure her. "I estimate you still have a few hours before he's ready to come into the universe. I'm going to get you out of here long before then." He noticed her face smoothing, showing that the pain she'd felt before was passing. "Better?"

"Yes," she admitted. She rubbed her abdomen gently. "This is most disconcerting, to say the least."

"Well, you are going to feel a lot more kicking going on until he's moved into position," he warned her. "Fortunately for us, it isn't a rapid process. Gives us time to get you out of here and to a much safer and more sanitary place to give birth."

As he spoke, a rope ladder, which seemed to suddenly appear, made contact with his face. He rub the offended area as he looked up to determine where the ladder had come from. Above him, a Lensiati guard laughed in amusement.

"Grand Commandant Heton wishes to grace you with his presence," the guard called down.

The Doctor smiled up at the Lensiati. "Really? How lovely!" He tucked his hands into his pockets, apparently waiting for the Grand Commandant to arrive.

The guard was obviously not amused, aiming his weapon at the Doctor's head. "Climb," he ordered with a growl.

"Oh, he wants me to go to him! But wouldn't that be me gracing him with my presence, not vice versa?"

A burst of energy seared the floor near the Doctor's feet, causing Nariam to scream in fright while the Doctor himself seemed unfazed by the blatant attempt at intimidation.

"Very well," he said calmly, looking at the guard. "But the Teranovian woman comes with me."

"You alone, Time Lord," came the harsh reply.

The Doctor's eyes grew dark. "Oh, I don't think so. If your Grand Commandant wants to see me, he can either come down here or the Teranovian goes up there with me."

"Or I can just kill the woman and forcibly drag you up here," the guard threatened.

Nariam moved closer to the Doctor, fear for her life and that of her child's plainly showing in her eyes.

"And waste perfectly good slave stock? No, correction. Excellent slave stock," the Doctor countered. "I don't think Grand Commandant Heton would be very pleased to find out that you needlessly killed a healthy and fertile slave to force me out of a prison cell."

As he spoke, a chirp came from the guard's belt. The Lensiati gave the Doctor a glower as he lifted his comm to his lips. "Zent," he stated bluntly.

"Our Grand Commandant wants to know what the hold up is," came a voice from the comm.

Zent growled in frustration. "The prisoner refuses to leave the cell without the female."

"Oh, for Our Great Emperor Perihn's sake!" A new voice on the comm caused the guard to straighten noticeably, telling anyone watching him – namely the Doctor and Nariam – that the voice belonged to Heton. "Accept the Time Lord's terms and bring them both, then! At the very least, the female will witness Lensiati justice."

Looking properly chastised, Zent gestured for the Doctor to come up with his companion.

"After you, Nariam," the Gallifreyan instructed gently. He looked up at the Lensiati. "She's pregnant to term so she won't be able to climb this ladder. You're going to have to pull her up." Returning his attention to his friend, he told her, "Hold on tightly and put your feet on the bottom rung for support."

Nariam shook physically as she grabbed the ladder. "I don't wish to go up without you."

"I'll be right behind you," he assured her. Seeing her look up at the guard, he reached up and turned her head so that their eyes met. "He can't hurt you, remember? You're too valuable. And he'd get into some serious trouble not only with his Grand Commandant but also with me." He gave her a gentle smile. "You'll be fine."

A second later, the ladder was pulled up at a quick but steady pace. Once Nariam was safely out of the cell, Zent threw down the ladder once again, allowing the Doctor to climb it quickly.

Upon reaching the top, the Galllifreyan grinned at the guard broadly. "Thanks for that, big fella!" He grimaced slightly as he noted Zent's hair. "Shorter hair would suit you. Don't you think it's time for a haircut?"

Zent bellowed in fury, grabbing the Doctor's arm and forcing him forward before doing the same to Nariam. "Move it!"

The two followed the order, the Doctor smirking to himself as they walked.

Nariam glanced over her shoulder at the still fuming Lensiati. "What did you say to him to make him so angry?" she whispered.

"I insulted him by insinuating that he didn't deserve the length of his hair," he replied.

"And that is significant?" she questioned.

He frowned slightly at her. "The Lensiati ruled over you your whole life and you don't know the significance of the length of their hair?"

"I thought it was just the fashion," she admitted. "We learned long ago never to question a Lensiati about anything."

The Doctor nodded slightly at her words. "Doesn't surprise me." He tilted his head slightly towards her. "The longer and more intricately braided a Lensiati's hair is, the more honor and prestige he's earned."

"So, a haircut is a bad thing for a Lensiati," she concluded.

"Yup. Basically… I just called him a pansy."

She frowned. "Doctor, are you trying to get us killed or are you just thick?"

"Oi!" he complained. "I know what I'm doing."

"Then it must be the former," Nariam grumbled.

"SILENCE!" the Lensiati guard yelled behind them.

They obeyed as they continued to walk through the large ship, stopping at a set of double doors which opened automatically in front of them.

"I hope the Grand Commandant allows me the honor of tearing you into little pieces, Time Lord," Zent taunted as the doors opened. He gestured with his head for the Doctor and Nariam to enter the room, waiting for the doors to close behind them before marching away.

Before them they saw a large command center, the expansive room buzzing with activity. None of the Lensiati seemed to mind the two aliens in their presence, obviously having something far more pressing on their minds. The Doctor and Nariam looked around the spacious room to which they had been led, the former smiling like a child in a candy store.

"Now, this is what I call a bridge!" he said, twirling around. "Look at this place! State of the art equipment in every corner! And I love the walls! Custom sound-proofing alloy paneling. Keeps inside noises in and outside noises out. I bet there could be an explosion right outside those doors and it wouldn't distract you from what you are doing in here because, well, you wouldn't even hear it, would you?" He turned to Heton, who was sitting in an ornate throne-like chair. "Is that mahogany?" he questioned as he pointed to the chair. "You actually have a genuine mahogany chair? Now, that… that is impressive! Especially since mahogany trees are extinct and have been for over two hundred years." He seemed to examine the Grand Commandant for a moment. "And I must say, that is really long hair. How far down does it go?" He hurried around the chair to get a better look. "Down below your knees! Blimey! I can see why you keep it braided. Must be a killer to take care of." His face grew dark. "But then again, you have slaves to do that for you, don't you."

Heton glared at the Time Lord. "Are you quite done with your needless prattling? I did not have you brought before me to endured your blatantly false adorations."

"Really," the Doctor commented, his eyes meeting the Grand Commandant's. "Then why did you bring me here?"

Heton gave him a dark look. "You know well why you are here, Time Lord. You are here to answer for the crimes which you have committed against the Ancestral Emperor Ferusi, his successors including His Greatness the Emperor Perihn, and all the Lensiati people."

"I wasn't aware that I had personally offended so many people within one species," the Doctor answered. "I don't recall having the pleasure of meeting Perihn and every Lensiati. Now, Ferusi I do remember." He frowned. "But that was four hundred years ago."

The Grand Commandant took a step towards him, towering over the Doctor despite the Time Lord's own height. "Lensiati never forget when they have been wronged."

"What exactly did you do?" Nariam finally spoke up, looking at the Doctor with curiosity.

"Silence, slave!" Heton bellowed at her. He mentally smirked at the cringe she'd made at his volume. "When you are before your masters, you get on your knees!" he ordered.

"Oi!" the Doctor put in quickly. "She's not a slave and you are not her master!" He glanced towards the Teranovian. "You don't have to kneel before anyone, Nariam, certainly not to this… tinte glen pritore jarnozam per."

Nariam giggled slightly, covering her mouth with her hand as she did so, amused by the insult the Doctor gave Heton. The confusion on the Lensiati's face at the Gallifreyan's words as well as the Teranovian's reaction turned towards fury.

"What did you say?" he demanded.

"Ah, see, there's your problem. You take over a planet, enslave a people, and you don't even bother to learn their languages," came the reply. "Well, not all of them anyway. After all, why would you want to learn the language they use during their worship of false gods?" He turned to Nariam again. "The Grand Commandant here is just upset because, four hundred years ago, I visited their world and condemned their owning slaves. Apparently, several slaves were encouraged by my indignation to revolt against their masters and, as a result, there was a slave riot that covered the whole planet, disgracing Emperor Ferusi. Ferusi declared me an enemy of the Lensiati people…" His attention moved to Heton as his eyes darkened once again. "…before butchering every last slave on Lensi, whether they were involved with the riots or not."

Nariam blinked for a moment, stunned by the Doctor's words. "So… they blame you for their killing all those people," she concluded.

He shook his head. "Oh, Nariam. They don't care about all the death they caused. All they care about is that I dishonored their Emperor by protesting his avocation of slavery. To them, that is far worse than the deaths of millions of people."

"They killed those people just because their Emperor was dishonored?" she questioned, disgust clearly written on her face. "That's… that's so barbaric it insults Barbarians!"

The Doctor half-grinned at her repeating what he had said the day before. "Good one," he complimented.

She returned the smile. "Well, I had a good teacher." A moment later, she gasped as the child in her gave her another hard kick.

The Doctor gave Heton a hard glare, moving to Nariam's side as he did so. "You okay?"

She nodded slightly. "Marathon runner," she muttered to him.

Heton didn't bother to give any attention to the Teranovian woman's condition, instead focusing strictly on the Doctor. "And now you repeat your crimes here on Teranova."

The Gallifreyan frowned at his words. "Sorry?" he questioned, obviously confused by the accusation.

In response to his question, a large metallic shield lowered from the far side of the bridge, revealing a view of Teranova from space. Nariam gazed at the sight with wide, amazed eyes.

"Is that Teranova?" she questioned, looking at the Doctor, who merely smiled in response. "Oh, Ranna, I've never seen anything so beautiful before! The sacred texts tell us that our world is only one in a plentitude of worlds but reading about it is nothing like actually seeing it. It's magnificent!"

"Yes, it is," the Time Lord agreed. He frowned slightly, walking up to the monitor to take a closer look. "What are these readings in the bottom left-hand corner?" he questioned as he slipped on his thick-rimmed glasses. He turned to Heton, tucking his hands into his pockets. "What are you doing on the surface of Teranova that requires such massive numbers of death squads?"

Heton accepted a data pad from one of his subordinates as he spoke. "The Teranovians are rioting on the planet below, forcing me to cull the herd."

"'Cull the herd?!' Those are people down there, not cattle!" the Time Lord protested.

Heton gave a hint of a smile at his words. "This coming from a man who just referred to the woman standing beside him as 'excellent slave stock.'"

The Doctor took several steps towards the Commandant, his eyes blazing with fury. "How many people have you murdered in cold blood?" he demanded.

Heton returned the data pad to his subordinate as he spoke. "Apparently, not enough." He took a breath, shaking his head slightly. "The Teranovians appear to have gotten it in their heads that a Sasane, one of their gods, came down from the heavens to end Lensiati rule over them and that this Sasane calls himself 'Prehito, Healer of All'. Despite what you may think, I do know some of the language they use in worship and I know that the word 'Prehito' also translates into the word 'Doctor'. Which means, Doctor, that you are responsible for the Teranovians actions." He gazed into the Doctor's eyes. "Since the death squads are not effective in stopping this rebellion, I have no choice." He turned to his weapon's officer. "Prepare atmospheric charges," he ordered.

"NO!" the Time Lord yelled as he launched himself at Heton. He was instantly stopped when the guards grabbed him and punched him hard, sending him to the floor. Without hesitation, the guards continued to beat him despite Nariam's screams for them to stop. It was only when Heton raised a hand that the guards backed off, allowing Nariam to lower herself slowly to her knees beside the abused Time Lord.

The Gallifreyan struggled to his own knees, gently pushing away Nariam's assistance. Fingering a bleeding lip, he glowered at Heton, horror written plainly on his face. "Stop this!" he exclaimed. "Stop this now! If you are going to blame me for this, then punish me, not the Teranovians! They view me as one of their gods. I'll order them to obey you and then you can do whatever you want with me. Kill me in front of them as an example if you have to, but don't repeat what happened on Lensi four hundred year ago!" Not getting an answer, he demanded, "Listen to me!"

The Grand Commandant gave the Gallifreyan a hard glare. "No, you listen to me! I will not have our slaves encouraged into further revolt by seeing you as a martyr nor will I allow this infection that you put in their minds to spread to other Lensiati controlled worlds!"

"You don't have to kill everyone to stop this rioting! What about the innocents? The ones who aren't fighting?"

"They will tell their descendants tales of this day and of you, thus spreading dissent slowly until they revolt again. Unacceptable," Heton told him bluntly.

"What you are doing is unacceptable!" came the angered reply. The Doctor turned his head, noting the activity in the command center. When he first walked onto the bridge, he'd been impressed with the efficiency that he observed. Now, he was sickened, knowing that each little movement was a reflection of how efficiently the "culling" was going. "You can't bombard the planet! It's genocide!"

"One less inferior race in the universe!" the Lensiati Commandant bellowed back. Turning towards his second, he commanded, "Kill all the Teranovian slaves onboard. Make the species extinct." Seeing the Doctor struggling to his feet, he motioned to the guards, who immediately grabbed the Time Lord and his companion, holding them tightly. "As for you, Time Lord, you and your 'pet' can watch as Teranova burns."

"Heton!" the Time Lord called out, causing the Grand Commandant to turn to look into his eyes. "What happens next to you and your people is your fault," he warned, his eyes blazing.

Heton huffed in amusement at the Gallifreyan's words. He motioned to the guards once again. The soldiers turned their prisoners in unison so that they faced the main monitor.

Nariam watched the Doctor for a long moment as they stood on the bridge, waiting. Since she'd met the Time Lord, she'd found him to be authoritative, kind, respectful, stubborn, honorable, sympathetic, funny, clever, angry, and sometimes just a little strange. Never had she'd seen any indication of him being dangerous… until now. It frightened her to see a storm raging in the eyes of the man she had come to trust implicitly. She didn't know whether to run from him or to stay near him. She voted for the latter simply because he had promised her that he would take care of her. She believed that promise.

"Doctor?" she questioned, afraid to interrupt whatever thought processes were running behind those terrifying eyes. "What…" She swallowed tightly, fear beginning to cloud her eyes, before continuing. "What's an atmospheric charge?"

"It's a bomb," he replied, his tone showing his hatred for the object in question. "Goes off in the atmosphere and burns everything within five kilometers of the detonation site. And Heton is bombarding the whole of Teranova with them." He looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Nariam. No one will survive," the Time Lord told her, his voice filled with emotion.

"I was afraid you'd say something like that," she whispered, tears making trails down her cheeks. "Isn't there anything we can do? There has to be something…" Seeing the devastated look in the Time Lord's eyes, she swallowed and focused on the monitor before them.

"Grand Commandant, all the death squads have been brought up from the surface. All the Teranovian slaves onboard have been jettisoned from the ship," the second in command informed.

Heton smiled, obviously pleased with the report. "Thank you, Commandant. Launch atmospheric charges."

The Doctor, hearing what had been done and what about to happen, took a slow breath. He looked over at his companion. "You don't have to watch," he told her with compassion.

"Yes, I do," she contradicted, her voice stronger than she felt. "I have to honor my people by watching… and remembering."

"It will shatter your heart," he warned, his tone showing that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I know," she whispered in reply.

A moment later, the surface of Teranova lit up with a cascade of bright red and orange which seemed to last forever before slowly changing into a solid color of dark brown as the only home Nariam had ever known became nothing but rocks and dust.

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Translations

Prahiltosa: prahil means "to heal", adding "to" makes it "one who heals". "Sa" indicates that the speaker is talking to a person who holds the title of Doctor. The Doctor would say his name was Prahiltoma, "ma" indicating a person talking about him/herself.

tinte glen pritore jarnozam per– small thing that always causes nausea