Weapon Rehabilitation Strategies

This is a Seo story that basically doesn't include Seo. But takes place during her second incarnation.

For the Doctor, it's unknown-future-incarnation.

The story focuses on the Doctor.

The Doctor shows up on a planet, alone, and when the planet gets bombarded by an alien invasion, the Doctor soon makes friends who pledge to help him.

The Doctor explains that he came to that planet to track down a dangerous super-weapon, one that could release a pulse-blast that could destroy several solar systems in a single second.

Actually, he didn't find out about it himself.

He landed on the Bipoltoi's ship (the aliens currently bombarding the planet), earlier, and had discovered that they were after this weapon. So he popped the TARDIS over here first, to see if he couldn't find the weapon before the alien invaders did.

One of his new friends is named Troy. He's there with his girlfriend, Angeline. Troy wants to know why the aliens believe the weapon is here, and the Doctor doesn't have a good answer to that. But he's working on it.

The Doctor — and the aliens invading — have tremendous difficulty finding this weapon, however. They keep being led around in circles.

Troy seems a lot less interested in finding the weapon than in getting the aliens off the planet. He's not pushy about this point, he just quietly redirects them towards removing the Bipoltoi instead of finding the weapon.

Troy also seems to know quite a lot about the Bipoltoi. They're a race famed for the creation of fantastic and horrible weapons. The Doctor knows Troy isn't native to this planet, but since he doesn't look like the Bipoltoi, he clearly isn't one of them. Troy says his own home planet was destroyed by the Bipoltoi when it was testing out one of its latest inventions. Troy managed to escape, but everyone else was killed.

The Doctor, knowing Troy isn't telling him everything, surmises several things from this.

First, the Bipoltoi aren't weapons scavengers, their weapons-makers. They're not finding some alien weapon simply to acquire it; they're trying to gain back something they made, but lost.

Second, the Bipoltoi knew to come here because they were following Troy.

Third, Troy stole the weapon from them. Knows where it is. And maybe even plans to use it against the Bipoltoi.

The Doctor works on an intricate plan that will expose both Troy and the weapon, and send the Bipoltoi home. He basically engineers the situation so that the Doctor will be able to drive the Bipoltoi away — and save Angeline, who's now in danger — provided he gets the energy pack from that super-weapon.

When Troy insists he doesn't have the weapon or know where it is, the Doctor confronts him with everything listed above.

The Doctor figures Troy wants the weapon for revenge.

And asks Troy if he'd really give up his girlfriend's life just so that he could get revenge?

Troy tries to tell the Doctor that he doesn't know anything about what's going on or what the risks really are. But when time's about to run out for the entire planet, Troy gives in.

And unfolds himself.

Turns out, Troy is the weapon. The Bipoltoi built him to be mean and vicious, hating and wanting to annihilate all their enemies. He was good at his job, and — as they upgraded him more and more — he finally became sentient.

Then, one day, he ran into this woman.

She was a sentient weapon, too, and she convinced him to stop killing people. She and her friend, whom she calls only 'the Moment', managed to rehabilitate him. Then they gave him a new identity and a new home, far away in time and space from where he'd originated.

He's been living here ever since. Just an ordinary person.

And he is, quite frankly, shocked that the Bipoltoi managed to track him down.

The weapon-saving program has safeguards for this kind of thing, of course — but those safeguards had been destroyed by the Doctor when he first arrived, because he mistook them for being what housed the weapon in the first place.

(He first met Troy around there.)

The Doctor guesses that the woman Troy met — who'd rehabilitated him — had frizzy red hair and green eyes. Then adds, "I know her."

Troy and the Doctor, together, save the planet. And Troy winds up safe with his girlfriend, again.

A little bit of backstory:

During Seo's first incarnation, she'd rescued the Moment and had given her independent motion and been friendly towards her, but Seo wouldn't exactly call her a 'friend'. Seo found her a little weird and a little creepy.

After Seo regenerated, however, she actually grew very close to the Moment. Seo would often go shopping with the Moment and just hang out – even though the Moment always insisted that the fate of the universe could change based on whether or not Seo bought those really cute earrings.

Seo and the Moment also set up a Weapon Rehabilitation program, which they both really prided themselves on.

The Moment is now enjoying a happy life in our universe. When not with Seo, she calls herself "Flara" and works as a peace negotiator in a distant galaxy. Her specialty is convincing people not to detonate planet-shattering bombs.

Shopping

"The fate of the whole universe is in the balance," the Moment explained. "Your future. Your past. I can see it all. I can sift through the grains of time, and understand how one small choice may lead to so much disaster, all because of…!"

Seo cut in.

Sharply.

"So, to summarize," Seo said, looking in the mirror, "you're saying… these earrings don't look cute on me? That I shouldn't buy them?"

They were in a department store.

Trying on earrings.

As far as Seo was concerned, they hadn't been talking about anything that concerned the fate of the universe, at all. Only thing at threat was the fate of her bank account balance.

"I'm saying you should consider your decision," the Moment explained. She gestured at a portal. "I can show you a future in which you had bought those earrings… or hadn't… and you can see…"

Seo groaned.

Shoved the earrings off her ears.

"Never mind, I'll put them back," she said, a little frustrated. Grabbed her purse. "Honestly. Those Time Lords should have built you with a casual chit-chat mode. Not just the Doomsayer-Fry-Planets-Alive mode."

The Moment, a little offended, huffed. "Well… those magic monks of yours should have programmed you not to sleep with other people's husbands!" She picked up the earrings that Seo had been wearing, and examined them. "Still. I supposed we all have our flaws."

Seo cringed. "That's not what I meant! It's just…"

She should have explained this better. Now she'd gone and offended the Moment!

"Look, I'm just saying… you need to relax, every so often," Seo explained to the Moment. "Stop treating everything as such a big deal. You know! Carpe diem! Live in…" She paused. Then laughed at her own joke. "Live in… the moment!"

The Moment frowned. Looking up from the earrings. "I'm always living within a moment. That's why I'm the Moment."

That wasn't what Seo meant.

But Seo figured it wasn't worth explaining.

"And how can I simply ignore the way in which one moment spirals into the next," the Moment continued, returning her gaze to the earrings in her hand, seeing the sunlight filter through the dangling spirals. "And into the next. And into the next. Any little decision might throw the universe into danger."

Seo snatched the earrings out of the Moment's hand.

"Moment," Seo said. "We're shopping." She put the earrings down. "Whether or not I buy a pair of earrings isn't going to change the universe."

The Moment thought this through, for a second.

Then smiled.

Seo hadn't realized that the Moment bought the earrings for her until they were out of the shopping mall and both hanging out having a milkshake, an hour later.

The rest of this story is the Moment proving Seo wrong.

And demonstrating how the purchase of one pair of earrings can change the entire course of recorded history.