Guess whose Prime Minister.
The time vortex was beautiful, like a turbulent wind of colours. It was deadly, Romana knew, awash with time winds which could age a person, or accelerate their molecular structure so then the person became a pile of ash. The expression, ashes to ashes, dust to dust was highly appropriate in that case.
In a TARDIS, or even the piece of junk that was attached to Jack's wrist, the vortex was something that could be withstood. Temporal shielding would stop the time winds and reduce damage. In this case, the vortex had a hole torn by the manipulator and used like a teleport.
Romana knew time had no meaning here, hence the reason it was used for space time travel.
In a dirty alleyway in London, there was a ripple of light as reality was torn apart, revealing the Doctor, Romana, Martha and Jack. As soon as the light faded and reality sprang back to normal. Breathing heavily, the time travellers only just stopped themselves from collapsing.
" Ooh, my head!" Martha moaned, holding her head. Romana couldn't blame her, she felt the same, but she held back the urge to talk.
Romana breathed heavily, trying to stop herself from retching and putting her stomach back into its proper place as it seemed to have moved, " I hate vortex manipulators, why didn't the time agency find a method of time travel that doesn't involve ripping reality apart ?" she groaned.
Jack resented that remark, " Hey, vortex manipulators are a tried and true method, its reliable."
Romana retorted, " Yeah, being sick is reliable."
" Shut up the pair of you," the Doctor finally spoke gritting his teeth, trying desperately to keep on his feet, " Time travel without a capsule, that's a killer."
Romana and Martha agreed with him.
They left the alleyway 5 minutes later when they got the use of their legs back. Jack looked around, " Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century by the looks of it. Talk about lucky." his voice took on a cocky tone that made Romana roll her eyes.
" That wasn't luck. That was me." The Doctor retorted, remembering vividly the way Jack had squirmed when he'd tried to fix the blasted space hopper.
They found a couple of benches and sat down, the Doctor and Jack on one, Romana and Martha on the other.
Jack was still bragging and the Doctor wished he would shut his mouth.
" Still, if you're gonna end up at the end of the universe, get stranded with an ex time agent and his vortex manipulator."
Romana pointed out, " Better get stuck with two qualified Time lords with degrees in temporal manipulation so then the trip would be better controlled."
Jack shut up and Romana smirked.
" But this Master bloke, he's got the TARDIS. He can be anywhere in time and space." Martha pointed out.
The Doctor was quick to respond, " No, he's here. Trust me."
He was distracted for two reasons, first he was trying to reach out with his mind for the mental aura of the Master. The mental presence of a Time lord was clear but yet, the Doctor had trouble finding him. It was like a cloud covering an island, stopping ships and planes from being seen.
Now he knew what to look for the Doctor opened his mind trying to get a positive fix on where the Master was. Looking at Romana, he could see she was doing the same thing and coming up with the same results, if her look of hidden frustration was anything to go by.
Then there were the Vote Saxon shirts and posters all over the place….they worried him for some reason…..
Martha was saying to Jack, " But who is he, and who was that speaking because that wasn't the professor ?"
" The Master's a Time lord, that means he's regenerated."
The Doctor and Romana glanced curiously at Jack, wondering how much he actually knew of the Time lords. Their people had always been secretive and apart from a few legends and myths, no one actually found out enough about the Time lords.
The Time agency had never been a pleasant organisation. Instead of exploration and investigation, they were exploitive and careless, they caused more damage than was necessary. The Time lords wouldn't be stupid enough to leave information about their people to an organisation like that. Not a chance.
The Doctor was distracted by a man tapping a coin on a metal cup….
Martha still didn't understand, prompting the Doctor to wish he'd explained the premise of regeneration when he'd had that piece of living sun in him, " What does that mean ?"
The rhythm was four beats with a pause before it started up again… it was just on the edge of the Doctor's senses. Romana's to, by the look of it.
Jack explained, or tried to, letting both Time lords know that whilst he was aware of the concept he didn't understand it fully himself.
" It means he's changed his face, body. Everything. New man."
The Doctor and Romana were still distracted by a strange rhythm, a rhythm of four that seemed….telepathic. It bordered on mental energy anyway. But there was something about it, something….subtle. But enough to be noticed by both Time lords.
" How are we gonna find him ?"
Martha's question snapped the Doctor and Romana out of their trance.
The Doctor answered that question, " We'll know him, me and Romana. Soon as we see him. Time lords always do."
Time lords had a mental ability to literally rewind an image so then they could see what a person or an object used to appear as. It didn't always work, the Doctor remembered Runcible from the academy, he'd lacked the prowess or even the ability to pull that off until he'd practiced it fully. It was instantaneous for some Time lords, but the Doctor and Romana were proficient enough to do it.
The Doctor was glad that Time lords were unique enough to do that, he still had vivid memories of the Daleks on Vulcan. They'd recognised him at once, probably using some sort of temporal scanner, whilst in other later times they'd needed prompting, the Doctor, being more than aware of time travel, knew that he was visiting them at different times.
Clapping started sounding as Martha looked around at the posters, " But, if he can be anyone, we missed the election. But it can't be." she added in rising horror.
" Mr Saxon has returned from the palace and has been greeted by the crowds outside Downing street." the voice of a newsreader said on a massive television set in the street.
Then they saw him. He was younger than Yana had been physically, he lacked the beard and the slicked back hair that had been his basic physical trademarks in his more willing incarnations, the Tremas one aside. He lacked the decaying appearance when he'd been a corpse and that unfortunate paramedic from San Francisco.
But the Doctor and Romana recognised him at once.
Martha was still speaking, unaware that both of her Time lord friends were more than aware who he was.
" I said I knew his voice, I've heard his voice. We all have," she said gesturing at the crowds, " that was the voice of Harold Saxon." she finished in horror as the implications started entering her mind.
The Doctor stared at the image of the Master, the latest Master, horror written all over his face, " That's him. He's prime minister. The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain."
There was a new shock, as a woman stepped close to the Master, her body and face hidden by a camera and a bodyguard. But the Doctor recognised her hair, even though it was black. Where had he seen it before ?
" The Master and his wife !" Romana said in a voice that spoke volumes. Since when did the Master have a wife ? Oh the Time lord liked pretty faces, but a wife ? No chance.
The Doctor tried to get another look at the woman, but she'd stepped out of the way again. Was she camera shy ? Somehow the Doctor doubted it, but there were so many possible reasons for her staying out of the public's eye.
Suddenly, both the Doctor and Romana heard a laugh in their minds as the Master spoke, " This country has been sick. This country needs healing, this country needs medicine." pausing as if thinking about what to say next the Master carried on, " In fact, I'd go as far to say that this country, right now, needs a Doctor."
He grinned, the Doctor and Romana's knowledge of the man knew that it was smug and insincere.
It was amazing, truly amazing how a website dedicated to one man could show so little. The biography of Harold Saxon aka the Master, was simple and functional. It was unremarkable as well, not much to see. The story of a man who'd studied at Cambridge, got a degree even though the Doctor and Romana knew he had no interest in human education. He'd probably have walked out 5 minutes into the first lesson anyway.
Sports…business….a novel, even though both Time lords were incredibly unsettled by the title, " Kiss me, kill me, it sounded psychotic….marriage, it frustrated the Doctor no end that there wasn't even a picture, no matter how small, of the woman. Who was she ? Why did the Master have a wife out of the publics eye ? What was the point and why was she so special ? Every instinct in the Doctor was screaming at him, but it was so indistinct. It was a feeling that couldn't be put into words. The Doctor hated it when he had that sort of feeling, even though it was rare. It meant something bad was coming, and coming fast and in this case the Doctor and Romana had no real idea of the Master's timetable. Bad could come at any moment.
" Minister of Defence, first came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas. Nice work by the way," Jack said to the Doctor.
" Oh thanks," the Doctor replied, trying to sound dismissive, ignoring Romana's stare as the word Racnoss was spoken, but she held back her questions. He had no intention of talking about the Racnoss to anyone, that point in his life had been horrifying enough without the need to visit it again.
Romana held the urge to question her fellow Time lord about the Racnoss. The idea of those creatures being around in this age was something which horrified her. The Racnoss had been one of the Time lords most vicious and unpredictable enemies. She was glad the Doctor had been around to save the day, but she was curious about it. But held off, knowing him well enough to know that now wasn't the time to ask.
The Doctor had always had an aura around him, even his jovial and absent minded 4th incarnation, bless him, had it. Romana had known the Doctor long enough to know when to ask questions and when not too.
Martha turned to Romana, " Who is he ?"
Romana folded her hands, " The Master is a Time lord, a particularly evil Time lord. We attended the same academy, at different times. The Doctor and the Master have been enemies for centuries. The Master wants to control the universe and show the Doctor who is better. So far, the Doctor has always won each of their confrontations."
" During the Time war, the Master was resurrected using his bio data to clone him, you'll have to ask the Doctor and him for the full story, " she added at the face of the Human's confusion, " The council brought him back before Rassilon, again another story, as a test. He was given a new lifespan and in return we asked him to fight in the war."
Romana shrugged, remembering the outcry well enough, " He vanished, leaving the cruciform to the Daleks."
The Doctor shot out of his trance - he'd been trying to find the Master again and find out what the rhythm was - he snapped out when he heard what Romana had said about the cruciform.
" You don't think he gave it to them, do you ?" The Doctor asked in horror.
Romana speared him with her gaze, " It's a possibility. The cruciform was one of our more powerful artefacts."
Martha broke in impatiently, " Sorry, but what is the cruciform ?"
Neither the Doctor nor Romana wanted to tell the humans one of the Time lords greatest and most well concealed secrets, but they had no option.
Romana explained that one, " The cruciform was a massive device created by the Time lords to seed the universe of humanoid life and hidden in the time vortex to make it more potent. The whole idea was to ensure all life followed the same pattern as the Time lords. Humanoid, that is."
The Doctor now took up the story, " The cruciform, according to facts and legends, could also destroy life. That's why it was probably a strategic target for the Daleks."
Jack was starting to understand, " With their hatred of life…"
Martha carried on, horror in her eyes, " They'd have destroyed all life with the cruciform."
Both Time lords nodded and the Doctor carried on, " The cruciform was placed in a special vortex pocket and sealed until needed again. When it fell, Gallifrey more or less fell. It wasn't the only Time lord artefact that fell to the Daleks. There were others, oh they were victories to the Daleks and major blows to us. It showed that our people were losing, and losing badly."
Romana scowled at the memories that the Doctor brought back.
Jack was busy in the kitchen whilst the Doctor and Romana studied the website, the news that the Master had run away, with the implication that he'd given the Daleks such a powerful weapon was something both Time lords found disgusting. The two Humans, both having experience with the Daleks could well believe the evil aliens would've been able to do it.
But for a Time lord to….
Jack was saying from the kitchen, " Ok, he might've been able to come back here to make some insane plan to control the universe, but he's got the TARDIS. The Master could've come and lived here for decades. It worked for me," he added sarcastically, coming into the sitting room with a tray of tea.
" No, he couldn't, " the Doctor replied, taking his tea, " When he stole the TARDIS, I did the only thing I could do. I locked the navigational controls, locking the co-ordinates using my own isomorphic code."
Romana looked at him with something akin to envy, " So that's what you did. With your code, he couldn't break it." looking at both humans, she explained, " Isomorphic codes are unique to Time lords, with them we can lock a piece of technology. The Master uses a completely different code."
Jack gave her a pointed stare, " I do know what isomorphic tech is lady."
Romana looked sheepish, " Sorry."
Jack smiled, then turned to the Doctor, " What're his limits ?"
" He could only travel between the year one hundred trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed, which is right here, right now."
Jack wasn't satisfied, " A little leeway….?"
This time the Doctor was the one that was sheepish, " Eighteen months, tops, the most he could gone is 18 months."
With a burst of frustration the Doctor turned to the laptop, " How's he managed all this ? The Master is hypnotic, always has been, but this is on such a massive scale."
Martha said suddenly, " I was going to vote for him." that was so out of the blue it took her friends by surprise.
" Really ?" the Doctor asked in astonishment.
Martha carried on, " Well, it was just before I met you, and I liked him."
Jack looked thoughtful, remembering his own interactions with Saxon, recalling the way Saxon had been bemused by his flirting. Was it a Time lord thing ?
" Me to." He said.
The Doctor looked at him suspiciously, wondering why a Time agent would do that, " Why do you say that ?"
Without waiting for an answer, he addressed Martha again, " What was his policy, what did he stand for ?"
Martha suddenly looked dazed, " I dunno, he just sounded….good," she started tapping her fingers on her other hand, " Like you could trust him," more tapping," He said…I can't remember but it was good," ….more tapping….." just the sound of his voice."
The Doctor and Romana were worried, Martha didn't seem like the sort to vote for someone without a clear and definite reason, but they were delighted that their hypothesis that the Master had somehow hypnotised them somehow.
They were delighted because they knew how to fight it.
" What's that ?" The Doctor asked sharply, pointing to their startled friends hands, " That tapping, what is it ? Why are you doing it for ?"
Martha started stuttering, " It wasn't….I…..I dunno !" she finished sharply.
The Doctor sighed in relief, at least this way he knew Martha hadn't been compromised by the Master.
Suddenly the laptop started chiming as the words SAXON BROADCAST ! ALL CHANNELS !
" Ah, our lord and Master is addressing his kingdom."
Romana, being the closest to the TV switched it on. The new face of the Master, still wearing his black suit - what was it with the Master and black ? - appeared and the Master's face, to those who didn't know him, looked sincere and honest. To the Doctor and Romana, it was fake and insincere.
" Britain, Britain, Britain," he said in the same teasing tone as his Tremas incarnation - the Doctor still wished he'd found a way to bring Nyssa's father back, Tremas had deserved better than that - only for the Doctor to shake himself out of that thought when the Master carried on talking.
" What extraordinary times we've had, a spaceship over London," the image of the Sycorax ship over London at the point of the beginning of the Doctor's present life appeared, the Master's voice still talking, " Big Ben destroyed," the Slitheen ship appeared, crashing into the London landmark, " all those ghosts and metal men," Cybermen now dominated the screen, it appeared that they were under attack, which was logical, considering the fact the Cyberleader had said that humans would become like them," the Christmas star, which came to kill," the image of the Racnoss ship as it launched its attack appeared," time and again the government told you nothing."
The visage of the latest Master reappeared on the screen, " Well not me, not Harold Saxon. Citizens of Great Britain, " here the Master looked like he'd had a vision of the future, " I have been contacted."
The Doctor and Romana couldn't believe it. The Master never learnt did he ? The times when he'd used the likes of the Sea Devils, the Axons, the Ogrons and the Nestenes…didn't he ever learn that this didn't work. On top of that the stupid fool didn't have a decent way of escape.
Why bother ?
" A message for humanity from beyond the stars." the Master carried on.
The image changed again, this time showing a dark surrounding showing a sphere. The colour was indistinct and hard to determine but it had flashing lights that said it was definitely from outer space.
The picture quality was poor, like one of those recordings people took in cinemas, but it was clear enough. Neither Jack, the Doctor nor Romana recognised it, that in itself worried them because they had no idea how the Master could've contacted anybody.
It spoke, " Peoples of the Earth, we bring great gifts. We bring technology, wisdom and protection and all we ask in return is your friendship."
It's voice bemused Romana, it sounded like the voice of a child. Curious.
Suddenly, the image of the sphere vanished, replaced by the unwelcome face of the Master, " Oooh, sweet." he said with a twinge of sarcasm that his fellow Time lords picked up on.
" They've given a name, they are called the Toclafane."
" WHAT !" The Doctor cried, what on Earth was the madman playing at this time ? Surely he could've come up with a better name than that !
The Doctor had thought that his old friend had hated nursery rhymes, or was that particular one of Time lords who'd meddled with time only to be punished by Time and turned into monsters ? The Doctor was certain that was the reason, the Master had always had a near obsession with the macabre and the obscene.
He turned to face Romana, her facial expression clearly asking whether or not the regeneration and the Time war had taken the Master's already questionable sanity to new depths.
The Master carried on, his smug face becoming even smugger, if that was even possible. Neither the Doctor nor Romana could tell if it was the incredulity that his fellow Time lords that made him more smug, or whether it was because he was saving the best till last.
" And tomorrow morning they will appear, not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin," Here the Master seemed to be getting into a stride, an excited stride, " Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe. Every man, woman and child, every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer and, oh, I don't know, every….medical student."
In the flat, they stared at Martha, as the truth of that crack settled in - he knew, he knew about Martha. The Doctor grabbed hold of the TV and what he saw confirmed it, dynamite, with a radio detonator.
" OUT !" The Doctor screamed, grabbing his trench coat and laptop. The others rushed out followed closely by the Doctor.
In the street, the flames gushed out of the windows of what once used to be Martha's flat, the Doctor stared at it.
Greeting's card, Romana's mind, the only Time lord mind the Doctor was allowing his touch his own consciousness at this moment in time.
Definitely, that was a 2 minute detonator, he knew we'd clear the place before it blew, first stage, expose his position as most powerful man in Britain, second, alien first contact, followed closely by 3 - blow up Martha's flat.
The Doctor wondered when the Master, or more accurately, one of his agents had set the thing up in the first place. It was more than possible that the Master had found out more about Martha thanks to the TARDIS, but the old girl would never give something that sensitive away, especially to someone like the Master, unless he checked the navigational logs.
Yes, that was probably it, he checked the database and then correlated the flats position.
He decided to check on the others, " All right ? Martha ? Romana ? Jack ?"
Jack was the first to reply, in his casual drawl only it now sounded a lot more tense, " Fine, yeah, I'm fine."
Romana replied after, " I'm ok, just a bit shaken."
" Martha ?" The Doctor asked. There was no reply so he turned, only to find Martha with her phone out. Didn't she understand that the Master could easily track them that way.
" What are you doing ?"
Martha was distracted as she did two things at once, reply and input the number on her phone, " He knows about me, what about my family ?"
The Doctor knew that was a possibility, but the less they knew the better, " Don't tell them anything."
Martha's temper snapped, " I'll do what I like !"
Romana's hand rubbed his arm gently and the Doctor responded to her touch. If the Master harmed Martha's family, people he barely knew then he would pay.
