EXT. ZIRA CLINIC – DAY
Rat the Mic arrives outside the Zira Clinic via hover-taxi and approaches the building. He pauses in front of the entrance to watch an external monitor that plays a live-feed of the Doctor's ongoing public trial.
K'RENN (V.O.)
The evidence is indisputable. The Doctor and Rose Taylor were there the day the Human Sons and Daughters of Liberty movement stole the world ender that they later used to produce an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. And the Doctor did nothing to stop them!
DOCTOR (V.O.)
We were being held at gunpoint.
K'RENN (V.O.)
And what steps did you take to recover that device, Doctor?
On the screen, the Doctor laughs.
RAT THE MIC
Don't laugh, you idiot.
TRIGETTE (V.O.)
Your honors, the Tonades police and military were charged with the task of recovering the world ender. Is the prosecution actually arguing that the Doctor is at fault for not turning himself into a vigilante?
K'RENN (V.O.)
When has he ever been anything but a vigilante?!
Rat the Mic can't listen anymore. He waves his hand at the screen and heads inside.
INT. RECEPTION – ZIRA CLINIC
Behind the reception desk, Agatha recognizes Rat the Mic as he approaches. She looks around and makes a move as if she's ready to run away, but she spots one of many Tonades patrol officers nearby and thinks twice about it.
She puts on a fake smile as Rat the Mic approaches.
AGATHA
Counselor... shouldn't you be at the trial?
RAT THE MIC
Uh, yeah, probably. I'll be upstairs.
AGATHA
Commander Valor asked not to be disturbed.
RAT THE MIC
Commander? Did you say Commander Valor?
AGATHA
He's been promoted.
RAT THE MIC
And he's upstairs, now? At the crime scene?
She nods.
RAT THE MIC
Well, I'm here to see him, obviously.
AGATHA
He didn't mention you were...
He walks away before she can finish.
INT. FLOOR 42 – ZIRA CLINIC
Rat the Mic steps out of the elevator. The floor is quiet, practically empty. Paint on the walls appears burned from the hempozine gas. There are evidence markers on the ground and ceiling.
RAT THE MIC
Valor?
He walks to...
EXT. RENOVATION SITE - SOLUDEN CITY – DAY
Commander Valor looks out over the city. The Doctor's trial is projected on billboards, the surfaces of the central pyramid, and elsewhere. Alien subtitles play along the bottom of the feed to make up for the lack of sound.
Rat the Mic emerges from inside.
RAT THE MIC
Valor, what are you doing here? The grand judge told you to remain on Fulton.
VALOR
Ah, but that was before I received my new orders. I've been promoted and assigned to the Varaka colony in sector 817.
RAT THE MIC
I've never heard of Varaka.
VALOR
No one has.
RAT THE MIC
Oh. Well, congratulations on your promotion.
VALOR
(smiles)
I'll take that as a compliment, coming from you.
RAT THE MIC
(confused)
Is there another way to take it?
VALOR
Just another door that won't open.
Valor turns around.
VALOR
Can I help you find something, counselor?
RAT THE MIC
I don't know. To be honest, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. Your report indicated that you discovered a strange object up here and that the Doctor emerged from it at one point and shot you.
VALOR
Correct.
RAT THE MIC
Do you think it was a ship?
VALOR
I believe it was a timeship. The Doctor calls it a 'Tardis'.
RAT THE MIC
And that's how Rose Taylor got away, by escaping with the Tardis?
VALOR
That's what my men reported.
RAT THE MIC
But they also reported that the Doctor was with her at the time. So, how did he end up locked in a cryochamber in the Vault?
VALOR
During the interrogation, he indicated that he went back to the Vault to rescue more of the people trapped down there. He hid inside the chamber to avoid detection and sent the human woman away in the Tardis.
RAT THE MIC
And you buy that story?
VALOR
He was under considerable duress when he divulged that information.
RAT THE MIC
I'm sure.
Rat the Mic thinks.
RAT THE MIC
You don't like the Doctor do you?
VALOR
He is a criminal and a human lover.
RAT THE MIC
Then, why did you help him by giving me those files?
Valor lets out a hearty belly laugh.
VALOR
Who told you I did that to help him?
RAT THE MIC
He did.
VALOR
And what happened when you used those files at trial? Did things get better for him or worse?
RAT THE MIC
They were going to kill him, anyway, but now they're hanging all the crimes of humanity on him. So, I'd say a lot worse.
VALOR
A significant contingent within the bureaucracy was content to let the issue of "the Doctor" drop, to bury the truth, the same way they buried me.
RAT THE MIC
I don't understand.
VALOR
No, I suppose you wouldn't. Your species doesn't live as long. You likely weren't even born the day the Earth died.
Rat the Mic listens.
INT. COURTROOM – FULTON
K'Renn holds up a holo-image of the tabloid article on Rose's Dad saving the Earth from the paradox dragon.
K'RENN
Let's not forget the paradox dragon let loose on the Earth because Miss Taylor wanted to meet her father. Because of precisely those types of personal abuses of the timeline, the United States government created an entire paranormal investigations division inside one of their law enforcement organizations. But you already knew that, didn't you, Doctor?
Snoring is heard.
K'Renn pauses and looks over at the Doctor, who is asleep and snoring loudly. Furious, K'Renn licks his lips.
K'RENN
Your honors, if it isn't too much to ask, would you mind terribly instructing the defendant to refrain from sleeping during his trial?
Grand Judge bangs her gavel. The Doctor snorts and stirs.
GRAND JUDGE
Doctor!
DOCTOR
What? Gosh...
GRAND JUDGE
You were snoring.
DOCTOR
What? That's impossible. I don't snore.
He looks over at the STENOGRAPHER who is seated in the corner.
DOCTOR
Tell them. Read that back.
The stenographer rewinds her record and reads aloud from it.
STENOGRAPHER
Prosecutor K'Renn: Because of precisely those types of personal abuses of the timeline, the United States government created an entire paranormal investigations division inside one of their law enforcement organizations. But you already knew that, didn't you, Doctor? Doctor: zzzzzzzzzzzzz...
The stenographer imitates his snoring.
DOCTOR
Huh. Okay, I guess I do snore.
K'RENN
Permission to address the defendant with prejudice?
GRAND JUDGE
Granted.
K'RENN
Do I have your attention, Doctor?
DOCTOR
I would have thought it evident from the snoring that you do not.
K'RENN
The paradox dragon, Doctor...
DOCTOR
That one didn't even really happen. The timeline snapped back when her father died.
K'RENN
But the article did happen! And it terrified the humans to learn that such creatures exist. They felt helpless to such threats.
DOCTOR
Every species in the universe has, at one time or another, encountered occurrences that nothing in their history to that point prepared them for. First contact, invasions, the declaration process, these are always traumatic and perspective changing events for any race, and every race reacts to those events differently and, yes, often with heightened levels of suspicion. It's part of the natural order of the universe to fear a power you can't compete with or comprehend.
K'RENN
The natural order of the universe? I see. And where do you fit in to this natural order, Doctor?
DOCTOR
Just like a child must be permitted to make their own mistakes growing up, to prepare them for adulthood, so too must an infant race be permitted to face unknown adversity on their own terms. But when they falter, when the inevitable wounds come, everyone needs a doctor.
K'RENN
But what do we do when the wounds are created by the doctor? When he is the one who cannot be trusted? When he is the cause of the hurt, the pain, and the suffering? What do we do when the one trusted with protecting us is the one who hurts us?
The Doctor laughs at the accusation.
EXT. SPACE - EARTH
A battle damaged laser turret blows apart two of nine arc wings in attack formation before it is pulverized by the other seven.
The planet Earth is completely surrounded by thousands of warships. A complex network of turrets and satellites protecting the planet from high orbit are picked off ten at a time by a fierce barrage of fire from the enemy fleet. In the chaos, Earth battleships retreat towards the planet to make their last stand. At the same time, smaller vessels attempt to run the blockade in a futile attempt to escape ultimate destruction. They are obliterated on sight.
VALOR (V.O.)
The day the Earth died was supposed to have been a day of triumph and ultimate victory. For thousands of years, the universe suffered under the heel of the human extermination squads. Billions were dead. I commanded the fleet with orders from the High Lords to take their leaders prisoner for trial.
INT. BRIDGE - TONADES FLAGSHIP
General Valor stands at the viewscreen on the bridge of the armada flagship. He seems pleased with the progress of the invasion.
VALOR (V.O.)
I gave the order to begin landing troops for a ground assault. We landed four million soldiers in the western hemisphere alone. The invasion was well underway when that horrible light exploded from the planet's surface.
Valor's entire demeanor changes as a bright flash of light sparks from somewhere in the Mediterranean and expands outwards. He screams inaudible orders to the BRIDGE CREW, but despite their best efforts, there just isn't time. In under a minute, the entire planet's surface is "eaten" by the light.
VALOR (V.O.)
With the very same weapon they had used to silence so many innocents across the galaxy, they murdered millions more and denied all survivors the chance to exact the justice they deserved.
Valor collapses on the bridge, totally helpless.
EXT. RENOVATION SITE - SOLUDEN CITY – DAY
In the present, Valor's expression goes totally cold. Rat the Mic's jaw hangs open, stunned.
VALOR
I won the war, but I failed in my mission. I begged them to let me hunt the remaining humans down. There had to be more and I vowed to bring every last one of them to justice. But, denied the chance to put the human leaders on trial, the High Lords instead decried to put the humans behind them. As penance for my failure, they stripped me of my rank and reassigned me to this post, here on this world, to be a traffic cop. I think they hoped I would swallow my gun, and I thought about it. But I just couldn't accept that there was no justice to be had. There were humans still out there and they needed to be hunted down and made to pay for what their kind did. I could not let this life pass without knowing that someone paid.
Valor turns his eyes back on the live-feed of the Doctor's trial. The image is of the Doctor, seemingly enjoying himself despite the accusation hurled at him by K'Renn.
VALOR
Look at him smiling and laughing. He has no idea the pain he is to feel when he realizes that everything they say about him is true. That his love affair with the human race is the cause of all our suffering.
RAT THE MIC
Valor, I can't imagine the pain you've been through, but you're an intelligent man. I refuse to accept that, even blinded by your pain, you could be so willfully ignorant as to believe that one man is responsible for the crimes of billions of people over the course of tens of thousands of years.
VALOR
Not one man. One man's pain.
INT. COURTROOM – FULTON
K'Renn retreats to his station and pulls out a holo-image of a six-story government building on Earth with enough security to guard the President himself. We recognize it from the Pilot as the facility where the FBI imprisoned Daga, Lowenstein, and the previously unexplainable second Doctor.
K'RENN
Tell me, Doctor, do you recognize this building?
The Doctor lounges back on his throne and shrugs.
DOCTOR
Should I?
K'RENN
Yes, I believe that you should. It was inside this building that you were held captive for a period of several years and tortured for information along with Daga Rumm and his sister.
The Doctor's smile disappears in a blink. He sits forward as all color drains from his face. K'Renn notices.
K'RENN
Do I have your attention, now, Doctor?
EXT. RENOVATION SITE - SOLUDEN CITY – DAY
Valor watches the Doctor's reaction with satisfaction.
VALOR
There it is.
Using the ledge for support, Commander Valor steps up onto the guard rail.
RAT THE MIC
Valor, what the hell are you doing?
Rat the Mic reaches out for Valor and receives a kick to the face for his trouble. He goes down.
Valor smiles and takes in a deep breath as he watches the live-feed while balancing precariously on the guard rail forty-two stories above the ground.
INT. COURTROOM – FULTON
K'Renn examines the Doctor's reaction.
K'RENN
Perhaps the following will refresh your memory.
K'Renn throws a holo-simulation into the air...
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LL10 – GOVERNMENT BUILDING
Inside a dark room, the Doctor is seen strapped to a table with a towel across his face. Agent Rebecca Webb (from the Pilot) holds the towel while Agent Cano (from the Pilot) dips a pot into a bucket of water. He then pours the water over the towel as the Doctor screams and squirms.
CANO
I want to know who you are and where you're from. I want to know if there are any more like you and what your intentions are.
Webb pulls the towel away. The Doctor gasps for air.
DOCTOR
I'm not... here to... hurt you.
CANO
Really?
Cano walks over to a table and picks up one of Daga's mind control bluetooth devices.
CANO
So, what's this, then? Decide one day, out of the blue, that you'd come to Earth out of the goodness of your heart because you thought college kids everywhere deserved free cell phone service?
DOCTOR
I don't know... what that is. I'm telling you the truth.
Cano motions to Webb. She puts the towel back over the Doctor's face. Cano pours water over the towel. The Doctor screams and squirms.
CANO
That's strange, because our engineers can't make heads or tails of this technology, or...
Cano walks back over to the table and picks up the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. He shows it to the Doctor after Webb removes the towel.
CANO
...Or this, which we found on your person. And the spider-lady we have next door says they're mind-control devices you were planning on using to take over the world. Now, why would you want to do something like that?
Webb smothers the Doctor with the wet towel for a few seconds, then takes it back.
DOCTOR
Ahhh! She's lying!
CANO
I'm sorry. I just don't believe you.
Webb puts the towel back over the Doctor's face.
The simulation freezes and miniaturizes to...
INT. COURTROOM – FULTON
The Doctor looks rattled. He stares at the ground. K'Renn waves at the Doctor to get his attention.
K'RENN
Really? Not ringing any bells? You'd think a person would remember an experience like that. Maybe this will change things for you.
K'Renn throws into the air a second simulation.
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - LL10 – GOVERNMENT BUILDING
The Doctor is seen shirtless and strapped to a chair. He's been beaten to an absolute bloody mess. One of his eyes is swollen shut. The other he can open about halfway. He's missing a tooth. There's dried blood and cauterised wounds over his entire body.
The door opens and Agent Cano, looking a little older, steps inside. He carries with him a folder of photos which he drops on the table in front of the Doctor. We recognize some of them as the same ones sprung on the future court by Rat the Mic.
CANO
You do get around, don't you... Doctor?
The Doctor looks up from his chair.
CANO
That's right. I know your name. What I'm having trouble understanding is how you were at the Battle of Gettysburg...
He points to a photo like you might find in a Civil War textbook. One of the UNION SOLDIERS in the photo is clearly the Doctor.
CANO
...or how you managed to show up at the Kennedy Assassination...
He points to a photo of the Doctor on the grassy knoll.
CANO
...and I'm particularly interested in this woman, who shows up in a lot of these pictures as well. You want to tell me who this is?
Cano points to a photograph of Rose and the Doctor at Woodstock, Rose and the Doctor at Pearl Harbor, Rose and the Doctor at President Obama's inauguration.
The Doctor stares at Rose's image through his one good eye.
CANO
You and this young lady seem to be quite close. A friend, perhaps? Companion? Lover? Wife? Is she a human or another one of you people?
The Doctor looks up at Cano, but says nothing.
CANO
Is she out there, now? What's her name? If I look for her, will I find her?
The Doctor says nothing.
The simulation freezes and miniaturizes.
INT. COURTOOM – FULTON
K'Renn stares at the Doctor.
K'RENN
They beat you. They tortured you. For years, they tormented you. Are you going to tell me that you didn't go looking for revenge? Good and noble Doctor, are you going to tell me that you destroyed that building and viciously murdered everyone inside out of the goodness of your heart?
K'Renn throws into the air holo-images of the same government building in flames, Agent Cano's headless corpse, and other bodies.
K'RENN
Are you going to tell me that this was you being there for the humans, as their doctor, to heal their wounds? Or were these acts of horrific carnage the acts of a man wounded himself and lashing out at his captors and tormentors? Do you love the humans or do you hate them? Do you visit their world again and again throughout history to walk them boldly into maturity or to strike at them again and again when they were weak?
The Doctor hesitates to answer. Finally...
DOCTOR
No. I would never do that.
K'RENN
Wouldn't you?
K'Renn replays a small segment from the first simulation.
INT. COMMAND CENTER - MARLOWE-1
Doctor Badass cackles like a deranged mad scientist.
DOCTOR BADASS
No! It is the Brygosans, waking from their long slumber. My Tardis warship locked onto their beacon. I followed them here, and now I will destroy them by pouring all of your oil over their ark as it comes out of the ice. Then, I will ignite the oil, destroying the ship and ending our war and the Brygosan race once and for all!
He and Rose Badass laugh like maniacs.
The simulation freezes and miniaturizes.
INT. COURTROOM - FULTON
The Doctor leans back in his chair, looking... defeated.
EXT. RENOVATION SITE - SOLUDEN CITY – DAY
Valor basks in the glory of the Doctor's failure projected on the pyramid, billboards, etc...
VALOR
Justice, Doctor. They're going to kill you.
Rat the Mic picks himself up off the ground. His cheek is bleeding.
RAT THE MIC
Valor! Don't do this.
VALOR
I won't.
Valor jumps.
RAT THE MIC
Nooooooo!
Rat the Mic reaches out... too late. He stares down over the railing as Valor's body plummets to the ground below.
-To be Continued...-