Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or the Bourne Franchise.
Here we are again, I decided to upload the rest of the chapters and hope you all enjoy them.
The Master Chronicles 11 - The Bourne Connection
The Private Archive of the President of the High Council of Gallifrey and the Time Lords…
Using a separate pocket dimension as a prison was perhaps one of the greatest and most difficult acts, it was incredibly secure as it was exceptionally difficult to get in there if appropriate defences were in place. Many races could never even imagine achieving such a feat.
But for the Time Lords, who had mastered trans-dimensional engineering countless millennia ago it was as simple as rewiring a plug.
Rassilon when he had assumed power at the earlier stages of the war, brought back to lead his people as he had done many times before and they hoped he would win the Time War for them…something that he had failed to do. But there had been resistance to him, at least at first.
Leela and Narvin had been among that small group and both were now likely dead, the other key member of the resistance to Rassilon and the High Council had been the former Lady President herself Romanadvoratrelundar or simply Romana. Former Companion to the Doctor she had a very exciting life once, but now she was trapped in the archive managing it and having to be shown her own past glories again and again. She had read most of these files a dozen times or more trying to distract herself or better find some means of escape but Rassilon unfortunately had ensured this was impossible, he might a dangerous psychopath in this incarnation at least but he was also one of the smartest individuals that the Time Lord Race had ever produced. He had more or less created the Time Lords and you didn't do that by being stupid.
So, she kept on going, losing the will to live steadily more and more each day.
Then, just as she was considering burning the entire archive just to be free of it all she heard a sound that she had honestly never thought she would hear again! The wheezing of a Tardis materialising, she thought with her desperation and excitement that maybe the Doctor or whatever he called himself now might have come but her ears told her it wasn't him. No, the sound was sharper, more grating. It came from a different model Tardis she realised with slight disappointment but still hoped it might be a method of escape.
The visiting Tardis finally materialized and it resembled a databank, working chameleon circuit Romana noted knowing for certain it wasn't the Doctor she thought with disappointment but instead kept herself hidden nearby so she could watch whoever emerged from the Tardis.
"This is it? I would have expected something grander." A female voice said as the door opened. Not one of her people Romana realised much to her surprise when the young dark haired pale skinned human in black leather and jeans stepped out. While the Doctor had many companions over the years it was rare for other Timelords who travelled to do so. She honestly wasn't sure just who she was dealing with until another voice sounded which sent a chill down her spine.
"I know usually they spare no expense in such things. I can only think this must have been set up in a hurry." An older male said as he emerged, tweed jacket and white hair. She knew he was a Time Lord immediately and regretfully just who he was. She had met him several times before and knew he was easily one of if not the worst thing the Time Lords had ever produced.
The Master.
Why did it have to be him? She thought with anger, he who used the war that was tearing all of reality apart to his own benefit. Who slaughtered countless innocents often for his own amusement and many more crimes without measure.
A companion though? She thought, taking note of the human woman with him. Unusual but she regreted how it was likely going to end for the human woman whoever she was, most likely in her death in some grotesque fashion she thought with dismay but instead crept around them, trying to make a beeline for the open door as if she could sneak onboard, she could steal the Master's Tardis and leave him trapped here where hopefully he couldn't do much harm. It was sacrificing the woman that was with him as she would surely perish in here but if she was willingly travelling with the Master then she wasn't likely the sort of person she should shed tears over.
While the Master was examining the data banks likely for information to steal Romana make her break for the door but to her great surprise the human woman moved with speed far beyond her kind and grabbed her by the throat, she smirked at her before punching her hard in the face, hard enough to knock Romana out with a single blow.
Jaime turned to the Master as she let the much older Time Lady fall to the floor, looking at her with surprise.
"And she is?" Jaime asked with confusion and the Master looked over with a smirk.
"That is Romana. Former President and associate of the Doctor, almost as much of a ridiculous do-gooder as him. Became President and then got Gallifrey through some hard times by the skin of her teeth and half of them self-inflicted. For rebelling against Rassilon they trapped her in here to maintain the archive." The Master explained looking down at the other Time Lord in the room with mocking humour. He smirked down at her as she lay there helpless and told Jaime. "Take her to the Tardis, I have a little something in mind for her that should make her a lot more interesting." The Master said with a vicious grin that promised something nasty.
Jaime returned it herself, eager to see what he had in mind and did as he told her, picking Romana up bridal style and carrying her into the Tardis while the Master acquired the information he wanted. He then without a care turned around and stepped back aboard the Tardis and closed the doors. The ship took off immediately and left the archive unattended and abandoned. It would take a long time for anyone to discover just what had happened.
- x -
The Master's Tardis, The Time Vortex…
Romana when she regained consciousness was laying on the cold marble floor of the Master's Tardis Control Room. She felt her head hurt from the punch and realised whatever that woman was she certainly wasn't human.
No human could move that fast or hit that hard with a frame that slim.
Romana slowly got to her feet and looked around, standing there at the centre console was the Master and his assistant. Both smirking similar vicious grins and Romana honestly realised this was some sort of match made in hell. Two individuals of a similar mind finding each other and tearing their way across time and space doing untold damage.
"Well, I am guessing you didn't remove me from the archive out of the goodness of your hearts, since we both know you don't have any. So, what are you doing Master?" Romana said with extra mocking emphasis on his name. If he was put off by this, he didn't show it and instead chuckled that nasty chuckle of his that put her even more on edge.
"My dear Romana I am shocked at your suspicions! I just thought you might want a chance to escape that dreadful prison." The Master told her looking almost offended but Romana knew better.
"Yes, and I am sure that the Daleks and Rassilon could sit down at a table and talk the war out over tea! What do you really want?" Romana asked knowing he must have a reason from bringing her out.
The Master this time did look annoyed and glared a little at her before, quick as a flash he pulled out his laser screwdriver and shot her with it.
Romana gasped as it hit her, shocked as she had not imagined he would abduct her just to kill her like this. She honestly had become so fed up with life and all the death and destruction from the Time War though she had no regrets about it, she would have preferred not to go out like this but she no longer cared.
"Why did you use only the setting two? She'll just regenerate, won't she?" The mystery woman asked with confusion and Romana realised as she said those words that she was right. She could feel the energy building up inside her and sighed wondering just what the Master had in mind. The Master however smirked as pulled a chalice of some kind filled with some kind of smoky liquid that had been resting on the console behind him.
"Now Jaime, remember you too once were a goody-goody yourself before I took you under my wing." The Master reminded her more gently that Romana would have thought possible although she was more concerned with her coming regeneration and the pain that was raging inside her body.
"But back to the matter at hand, I thought that maybe Romana might like a little walk on our side of the road. Now this is something that I acquired with some difficulty from the Sisterhood of Karn, getting this off them took several considerable favours but it was worth it just to see what she will become with it. Even if the fools thought it was for me." The Master said with a nasty smirk on his face.
Romana was horrified at what he was saying, she knew as the former President about the special elixirs that the Sisterhood had to guide regenerations to specific results. One of them had transformed the Doctor into War after all but now the Master wanted to use one on her to who knows what effect. She struggled to her feet, trying to escape despite the horrific pain in her body long enough so she could regenerate before they forced her to drink whatever was in that chalice.
However again she was out of luck as 'Jaime' moved too quickly for her to escape and forced her head back and her mouth open. The Master then poured the elixir down her throat then they forced her mouth closed while she tried to spit it out. Eventually she had no choice but to swallow it and she desperately tried not to regenerate, not knowing just what was about to happen. But the elixir was too strong and she just couldn't stop it.
Golden light burst free from her body, covering her face and hands as the Master and Jaime backed away, Romana couldn't help it and let out a scream as the process took hold. It wasn't like the last time she thought with horror, it was harsher and more intense. She struggled to try and hold on to herself but it was no good as the feeling of change burned through her.
Jaime and the Master averted their eyes as the light intensified, it was now pouring out of Romana in waves as she screamed, Romana doubled over, not able to stand anymore and then after a few moments of this, the light disappeared and she jerked up into standing position again. Breathing rapidly in shock from the change.
But it was not the same older blonde woman that had been there before. Jaime who had never seen a proper regeneration except for that weird one with Kelner, was completely astonished at the total change…like a different person was standing before her.
She was a little taller, maybe five nine and had the most amazing dark brown hair that fell past her shoulders to her mid back. Greyish coloured eyes and an elegant face with seemingly perfect cheek bones. Her body was definitely shapelier than it had been in her last body. Curvier but still in proportion with her frame.
The new Romana looked around, her head still pounding from the change but was all the same eager to know just what she looked like. The Tardis helpful slid back one of the roundels on the wall and revealed a helpful mirror behind it. Romana looked at the change and breathed an excited sound as she felt her hair, her face and her body as if to commit it all to memory. She looked intensely while Jaime and the Master looked on, wondering just what sort of woman she had become.
"Oh, this is good." Romana said in a breathy English accent before saying. "Oh, my voice! Hello! That always is hard to get used to." She said and turned around posing in her somewhat worn Timelord robes and told them. "What was in that elixir because…I feel great." Romana asked him with an eager smile on her face.
"Oh, a little concoction that brings out the more…neglected aspects of your nature." The Master said with interest in just what the elixir had done and how much it had affected Romana.
"Like what?" Jaime asked, curious herself and the Master told them both with a smile.
"Well, it seems to me that you care for others so much you neglected yourself, that you have doubted your own worth and always struggles with the 'right thing to do'." The Master said mockingly towards her previous incarnation. "This incarnation won't. I believe that there was a term in old Earth Cinema for it…what was that word?" He asked himself before finally it came to him. "Femme Fatale."
Romana smirked at the mention of that old trope but wondered if in her case it was true. She honestly felt nothing but contempt for her previous self, all those wasted opportunities and if she had been that little bit more ruthless what she might have achieved. She might even still be President if she had been a little more cunning and ruthless! She was far more than that she thought with anger, her face twisting slightly with her rage but then settling back into a cool mask with ease as a seductive smirk appeared on her face.
The Master's little concoction had been a potent mix; one that would make Romana put herself first regardless of what was happening, diminished her empathy quite a bit, given her total confidence in herself and made her more than a little mad. Future regenerations might redress this balance but until that happened, she would be far from the caring and merciful woman she had been before. She had already decided should she escape; she would abandon 'Romana' and be more careful with her alias to ensure the Time Lords couldn't find her so easily.
But her intelligence was far from reduced, it was now backed by her cunning wit and a mysterious aura that seemed to follow her. She looked at her clothes and frowned at the awful robes, oh that was something she needed to fix straight away Romana thought with determination.
She wasn't vain, but these clothes were just awful and she needed something better. Keen fashion sense was probably the main trait she shared with her previous two incarnations and she was eager to see just what was good with her new body.
The Master watched her and smirked in triumph; it certainly was enjoyable he thought with satisfaction to corrupt one of the Doctor's friends. They were his biggest weakness he thought with amusement.
"Now…Romana. What do you want to do now?" The Master asked with interest to see just what she was like now. Romana smirked a bit before admitting.
"Well, firstly I am getting out into the universe and having some fun! Far from the Time War! Unless you intend to kill me of course, after decades spent in that archive, I am desperate to enjoy myself!" Romana said with a certain eagerness in her voice, the Master was a little disappointed at first but then she added with a devilish smirk. "And cause a little trouble. I've been the good girl for so long now and gotten nothing but pain and misery from it, it sickens me! Maybe I should take a chance at being a bad girl." She said with a sly look in her eye.
The Master chuckled at the success; it had gone better than he had ever hoped. He piloted his Tardis to Gallifrey, landing in the Tardis Repair Work Shop, taking great care to not be detected. Normal Tardises were kept here in case they were needed; Romana blew him a kiss as she left the Tardis and quickly left in one of the vacant Tardises. It dematerialised before their eyes as Jaime and the Master disembarked their own Tardis and left it locked while they went up into the Panopticon. A window showed them the outside, Jaime looked out and her mouth opened slightly in surprise.
The burning orange sky was breath-taking with its white clouds, not far away she saw mountains and with her enhanced eye sight she saw a forest on the slopes. The trees did look a little like those you would find on Earth but the leaves were bright silver and just as she realised this a second sun rose behind her and as the light caught the leaves! It was dazzling and looked almost like the forest was on fire.
"It's beautiful." Jaime said with awe, the Master turned to look himself and he who had seen the sight many times in his youth. So much that he had gotten sick of it and left the planet but now saw it through her eyes and smiled slightly himself.
"Indeed." The Master said with a small longing for early days when life had seemed so much simpler but shook himself back to the now. "But we have no time to admire it, come." He told her sternly and Jaime hesitantly followed him, wishing she could see more of this planet. Home of the Oldest and Mightiest Race in the Universe but she did as her master bid and followed him.
They walked through the enormous echoing hallways, over platforms with huge drops below until they reached a single chamber, in the centre a hexagonal shaped dais and statures of a tall intimidating figure all around it. Golden panels on dark red walls with the Time Lord language engraved on them.
It was very grand Jaime thought as she looked around but also ancient and dusty, looking somehow decrepit. Like it had grown so old it was on the verge of falling apart somehow.
"It is bad enough that the Doctor picks up human pets but now you are doing so as well Lord Master." A male voice, strong and full of barely controlled fury sounded and both Jaime and the Master looked over to see a man with green eyes and grey short cut hair in deep crimson and gold robes with an elaborate staff and a metal gauntlet appear, walking towards them with big heavy strides. Jaime was immediately angered at this but not as much as when he demanded. "Kneel! YOU MISGUIDED HUMAN CHILD!"
Jaime was ready to run at him and see just how many regenerations this one had left before the Master said quickly.
"Better do as he says Jaime. He'll incinerate you without a second thought otherwise." He told her sternly and Jaime, although still very angry did as he told her, kneeling before this asshole whoever he was. Meanwhile the Master explained her presence. "Lord President, Jaime might be human but I have turned her into the perfect soldier. Excellent in the war so far." He said with some pride in his creation which Jaime appreciated even with how angry she was.
"Perhaps but she could be far greater." Lord President said with a dismissive look before turning to him and tossing him a data crystal which the Master caught with ease. "These are the things to be done. See to it." The Lord President barked out and Jaime was astonished at how the Master took it with so little complaint, no snarky little comment or look of plotting in his eye, just acceptance.
"Yes, Lord President Rassilon." The Master said without expression which unnerved her a little before he went to leave and she followed him immediately. Neither of them said a word as they went back to the deserted repair bay and quickly took off, leaving Gallifrey far behind them.
"That…bastard!" Jaime said when she could contain herself no longer and the Master nodded with a resigned look in his eyes.
"Indeed, my dear, indeed. But there are some people that even I would hesitate to cross and Rassilon is one of them. The man is dangerous and not someone to irritate." The Master said before revealing the purpose of the brief meeting. "He occasionally needs someone to do his dirty work for him, someone that cannot be linked to him and so he calls me. It gives me some more freedom when I wish it and some resources that otherwise would be impossible to gain." The Master told her. "But let me reassure you that I do not enjoy being at his beck and call and intend to be free of him someday."
"I am fully onboard with never seeing him again sir. Now where to next?" She asked eagerly, wanting to get into a scheme. The Master nodded and smiled at her eagerness and set the co-ordinates for their target.
Scoundrels Club, London, Earth…2010…
The Master sat in his usual seat at his London Club, enjoying a pot of very invigorating tea and jam covered scones while working on a laptop computer however much he despised the things. After his work for Rassilon however much it angered him, being forced to work for that blowhard he felt it was wiser to lay low for a while and research his next scheme.
Just for fun he was hacking into the CIA but was quickly finding himself bored as their security was child's play for him to overcome, he looked through it and saw some juicy details but nothing that really caught his interest. Then he saw some files on their more 'covert' programs.
Why they felt the need to have so many he didn't understand but they had some interesting features. The intense and brutal training that helped built agents of almost superhuman skills and resilience. Turning them into living weapons to do the bidding of their political masters whoever that might be and for whatever purpose…often a rotten one the Master thought with amusement.
Honestly, he thought with a cruel satisfaction. Just what was it that the Doctor saw in this pathetic and morally bankrupt species? Did he not see their darkness? How low they could sink? In their long history they had committed acts that rivalled even the Daleks in viciousness and destructiveness.
But as he read on, he saw the programs that came from 'Treadstone' as the primary one was named, had spawned several more and some had gone even further. Cicada for example erased all trace of the subjects' previous identities while turning them into sleeper agents that would lie dormant for decades if needed before being activated, programmed to keep themselves in shape and ready for if and when they were needed.
Outcome on the other hand had many of the same points as Treadstone while improving on the conditioning and removing some of the issues both physical and mental that had plagued Treadstone operatives. But they also used chemical stimulants to improvements to boost their skills and abilities beyond that of any of the other programs.
Larx, the Master was in two minds about. While the reduced empathy and relentless determination to complete the task assigned was admirable, he saw the issues with it that would hinder it in the real world. The Larx agents had no skill at infiltration and would just force their way in and their single-minded focus on the target would leave them obvious to other dangers that might be around. Not to mention that despite him caring nothing for human life at all, even he raised an eyebrow at the rate of death among the recruits.
So high in fact that only three of the first group had survived and two of them had been killed on their first mission while the other suffered extensive injuries which had led the program to be abandoned and them trying to resurrect Treadstone.
All of them had some good points though the Master thought with a pondering look in his eyes, not least Outcome which used a method of science he had never heard of before, Viral Receptor Mapping. Interesting the Master thought, intrigued as he saw the success it had with improving human beings by using virus to rewrite certain chromosomes to increase their abilities.
It was highly advanced genetic engineering and incredible to find it in this period of time, he thought with astonishment. There were other ways to do it but this was the first time he had seen this method used by a species.
The Master wondered why it had been abandoned given its usefulness but as he read on, he saw it was being used exclusively by Projects Outcome and Larx and never allowed into the public domain. The fools kept it for themselves and had buried it rather than admit they had been wrong to burn a multimillion-dollar project for the flimsiest of reasons merely to replace it with another program that failed within its first year of operation. Not using one of their best assets and methods of control merely because it had been used on a project destroyed largely due to their own incompetence, their own pride was the only thing he could think of.
That made things easier the Master thought with a cruel smirk on his face. When he took it for himself.
Secret Training Facility, New York…December 2003…
The Master was watching the man in the water tank, literally chained to the floor as he struggled to hold his breath while staying active.
"Quite interesting Doctor Hirsch." The Master said, currently in the guise of Doctor Fischer. An expert in psychology and torture practises. He was quite genuine in his praise as Doctor Hirsch had a certain gift for breaking and conditioning people. The results he achieved were impressive for such limited creatures as humans.
"Indeed Doctor Fischer." Doctor Hirsch said with complete detachment from the people they were torturing till they broke. "It's only when we manage to remove all sense of self can we begin to develop the mental discipline and dedication to achieve all they will need to do out in the world. But if we are to make the best, we cannot be afraid to cross whatever boundaries exist." Hirsch told him with a cold factual voice.
The Master was impressed by the duplicity of this man, he had complete knowledge of what he was doing, had no illusions of it being for 'national security' and still could go about it all with no excuses.
That surprised even him, so often people like him were deluding themselves into doing whatever bad things they were doing by saying it was for the greater good or some such nonsense. Hirsch simply didn't care about his subjects, just about what he was doing.
It was such a shame, The Master thought with regret that his time was soon coming to an end.
- x -
Sterisyn-Morlanta Facility, Philadelphia…Same Time…
Jaime meanwhile was also playing her part, while the Master gathered information on the training methods of these programs, she was gathering the scientific data on the Beta Programs like Outcome and Larx.
She was sitting at her desk working at her computer, having infiltrated the program in much the same way and was doing her best to gather information on their 'chems' and procedures as possible. Her cover was as Doctor Maria Paley, a chemist and biologist.
"Here, coffee. Cream, one sugar." Another voice said as a disposal coffee cup was put beside her, without looking up she smiled.
"You are an angel in human form Doctor Marta Shearing." Jaime said with actual enthusiasm, enjoying her time here much to her own surprise…perhaps because she found the work so fascinating. The dark-haired Marta smiled as she went to her own desk, Doctor Foite doing his poor attempt at flirtation as he sidled up to Marta. Jaime just shook her head as Marta was way out of his league, not that he let that stop him.
She saw the charts of assessments done with all the Outcome Agents and was impressed at the results; grateful the Master had sent her to the far future to study things like this so she could understand. One Outcome agent was easily a match for a Treadstone Agent and both were far better than a regular human.
"Five is waiting for an assessment." Jaime said to Marta, it was her job to medically assess all of the agents after all. Marta with a sudden eagerness that be surprising got to her feet. "You know we really should know their names. I mean its dehumanising to call them just numbers." Jaime said, just to test the waters so to speak.
"You know protocol." One of the other scientists said quickly, causing Jaime to roll her eyes. She suspected the real reason they didn't let them know any details about the agents beyond their medical stats was to prevent them forming attachments that might turn both against the program.
"Yeah, yeah." Jaime said and got back to work, monitoring all the gathered data while learning the process to 'lock in' any enhancements that they got from the chemicals they routinely took. All of the Outcome Agents had been 'viralled' off the physical green pills a while ago and while it had nearly killed them it had been successful. They no longer needed to take them but the program handlers were keeping them on the chems to not give them the idea to go rogue or risk a degrade.
She had now gotten a lot of the data that she needed and would only need another week to complete her task here. While nowhere near as effective as the antrocytes it did give impressive improvements to physical and mental abilities.
She could understand the Master's interest, while impressive at this level of science with the advantage of his greater knowledge, who knows how far he could take this when combined with the intensive training the operatives all got.
Turning her attention back to the here and now she saw 'Five' or rather Aaron Cross, enter the examination room for his assessment, quite a nice-looking man she thought appreciatively with some interest. But it was only a passing interest while his in Marta was clearly not, Jaime thought with a smirk seeing the obvious infatuation in his eyes through the camera.
Doomed love, she thought with amusement before turning back to her work. It would be cute if she cared enough but she had to plan her trip to the facility in Manila. She needed to get samples of the live viruses in question to complete their work here.
Sterisyn-Morlanta Facility, Manila, the Philippines…A Week Later…
Jaime left the body of one of the factory workers in the alley close to the factory, liberating her dreadful pink overalls, mask and cap. She tied her hair up and waited till the right moment, morning when the shifts changed. She did her best to blend with the crowd of fresh workers that came in as they marched inside, keeping her head down and silent to not draw attention to herself as they went to their workstations.
As the mass crowd moved around her Jaime worked her way slowly to the edge of the group and then approached one of the side doors that went down to the labs below. Loath as the Master was to give her this, he had allowed her use of a sonic probe or screwdriver as the Doctor liked to call it. Jaime pressed it against the lock and it sprang open, she smirked as it was a useful little gadget and slipped through the now open door and down to the labs.
Walking quickly down the stairs it didn't take her long to find the right lab as they rather helpfully labelled them by company. Jaime used the screwdriver again to open the locked lab door and went inside. It was a fairly dark and depressing set of rooms but she soon found the locked freezer where the vials were kept. Carefully she opened it and pulled out a small box the size of DVD case from the front pocket of her overalls. She opened it and pulled out some syringes and carefully extracted samples of each one before putting them back in the container which would preserve them till, she could give them to the Master.
Closing the case and carefully returning the frozen viruses to the freezer she left it exactly as she found it. Sneaking back out of the door and back up the stairs, ready to sneak back on the factory floor and then out of the factory.
She was halfway up the stairs when unfortunately, she saw one of the factory's guards coming from above her.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" The guard said in Filipino with a suspicious look. Jaime frowned and replied in the same language.
"Just wanted to sneak off to see my boyfriend. He works here." She said, keeping her hands raised as she climbed the stairs, getting closer and closer to the guard.
"Not acceptable! You need to be back on the floor." He damned but he had already doomed himself as his hesitation had let Jaime get close enough to grab him. He was so caught by surprise he had no time to brace himself as she threw him hard down the stairs and when he hit the wall there was an audible crack as his neck broke.
Jaime wasted no time in heading straight for the exit, staying to normal human speeds until she was finally out of the gate and into the back alleys beyond. Pulling off her mask and cap, she gratefully shed her overalls and with the samples in hand made her way for the rendezvous point, the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park a short way across the city.
She made fairly good time on foot; despite the confusing layout of the city, she had managed to figure out the fastest route.
It was only half an hour later when she arrived at the monument in the centre of the park and saw a rather large public works tent nearby. She smirked, knowing exactly what it was before she went over to it and the flap moved, admitting her entry to the familiar console room with the welcoming hum of the Tardis engines. She saw the Master standing there with a smile on his face which she returned before handing him the container which also contained a portable hard drive with all the data that she had acquired on it and the samples.
"Good, very good." The Master said with a satisfied look on his face. "While I am analysing all this my dear, I have another task for you."
"Anything sir." Jaime said, eager to get on with things so she could forget about all this and leave, as much as she tried the memory of her brief friendship with Doctor Shearing and the others at the lab nagged at her.
"In a short time, they will burn Program Outcome to the ground." The Master told her and Jaime felt a sharp pang of worry that she did her best to suppress. As if sensing this the Master paused for a moment before continuing. "I want you to kill everyone that could rebuild Treadstone, Outcome or any of the other programs. We alone will have the best parts."
"Yes sir." Jaime said with a smile, doing her best to hope that she didn't have to kill those she actually liked.
- x -
The Master however did notice the slight hesitation in her and wondered just what was happening. She wasn't supposed to have any empathy or regret, no emotion beyond what he allowed her and wondered if she was subconsciously fighting against his control.
He ordinarily would have killed her for that but simply smiled as he knew this could be fixed. He had been planning some upgrades to the antrocytes for a while and it would be a good time to implement them…not to mention tighten his grip on her.
But as Jaime was studying the information that he had provided to her so she could map out her targets, he was reading the research she had brought him. The humans really had no idea just how far you could take this science he thought, seeing now how easy it was to manipulate the human genome with a single virus. He could take their paltry efforts even further and reprogram even greater changes, he thought with eagerness but then realised why stop there…he had the key to making the greatest race of soldiers the universe had ever seen! Not just human DNA he thought but he could graft other species into the soup to increase their abilities as long as he was careful with the particular strands of DNA and species that were more compatible with humans.
He would need to do some more work before he could put it to use, the Master thought before wondering just what species to use. While Jaime was taking out the targets that he had set her, he had some side trips to make the Master thought with a smirk.
New York, February 3rd 2004
Noah Vosen, currently on trial for his illegal actions as part of Operation Blackbriar was in his home preparing his day in front of the senate committee. He was making sure his suit was perfect and his appearance immaculate as to promote the right image, he was fairly sure of his acquittal as loose ends that would have made his conviction a sure thing had been tied up.
He was about to head out down the door when suddenly he felt someone grab him from behind and press a foul-smelling rag to his face. He tried to struggle but couldn't as whoever had him was just too strong. As he passed out, he considered if Jason Bourne had come for him but he would never know.
- x -
Agents who should have escorted him to the hearing came upstairs to find him when he was late appearing. What greeted them though shocked all of them.
Noah Vosen was hanging by the neck, his trousers and pants down in the bathroom. Apparently, a victim of autoerotic asphyxiation.
The agents did not like having to report this to the committee and omitted exactly how they had found him in hopes of keeping the incident quiet.
- x -
Kramer Residence, Washington…Same Day…
Ezra Kramer was sitting in his office drinking beer, usually he would be working but right now he was fairly sure it was best to keep his head down until the heat died down. Whether he would still have a job or even his life after all of this he didn't know but he was going to enjoy whatever time he had and not waste it begging he thought with determination.
Had he actually been thinking he might have removed himself to a better position as out of sight of a window. A second later a bullet was fired straight through the window which hit him right between the eyes.
- x -
Operation LARX Command Room, Langley, Virginia…August 2004…
Eric Byer was fuming as he saw his prized program fail, LARX on paper should have been everything that Treadstone and Outcome had failed to be. It should have been the best of their programs but they had just had to burn it to the ground because all three of their agents had failed.
Either being detected and killed or being too injured to continue. He and his National Research Assay Group were gathered for the second time in a year to assess the damage and see what they could do to correct it.
"Well." Arthur Ingram, one of his investigators said with an uneasy look in his eyes. "We could just rebuild Outcome."
"Because Outcome was such a huge success." Zev Vendel said sarcastically but Arthur wasn't going to take that sitting down.
"It lasted longer and achieved a hell of a lot more than LARX did." Arthur said back defensibly.
"Rebuilding a whole program from the ground up is expensive and time consuming." Dita said dismissively, still annoyed herself at the failure of LARX when it had so much promise.
"Maybe." Tutso, their liaison with the CIA said. "Perhaps relying less on the chemicals-" But he was interrupted by the head of the company they used for this, Terrance Ward.
"The chems work fine, if you use them right."
"Enough." Eric said firmly putting an end to all debate. His personality was such they all stopped talking the moment he did. "What we need to do is drop a bag over this and clean up. Then we decide on what to do."
"There won't be another program." A voice said from the side and they all turned in time to see a woman with a full biker's helmet on and a pistol in her hands appear at the door. They had no time to prepare as she fired, each bullet hitting one of them in the chest or head and sending them to the floor dead. The woman walked over and under her helmet, Jaime smirked before taking their laptops and erasing certain data before releasing the rest, especially on the coverups on to the internet to cause a little hell.
Leaving the room, she was torn, trying not to think about it but she still had four targets to deal with. The survivors of Treadstone and Outcome respectively; Jason Bourne, Nicky Parsons, Aaron Cross and Marta Shearing.
Everyone else to do with the programs she had eliminated without a care, but when it came to these four, she found herself hesitating. Marta especially as the woman had been friendly towards her, these people had never been a threat to her or been rotten like the others.
How could she hunt them down and kill them merely because they had been involved in the programs?
Jaime as she entered the Master's Tardis was starting to think more and more about things and realising just how wrong some of their actions were. What she had done, it was starting to make her feel sick and she was half tempted to take the Tardis back to her point in time so she could hand herself and the Master over to the authorities.
She had been thinking more about Becca too, she was…worried about her. Jaime realised with concern. Worried at what had happened to her little sister in her absence.
She was confused, not sure what was going on but then a familiar voice called out to her.
"Jaime, I need your assistance in the science lab. Now." The Master called out to her; Jaime had to work hard to stop herself from shaking in fear at that voice now. She didn't believe in the devil but if she did, the Master was the closest thing to him. She wanted to run. To get as far away from him as possible but her confusion, created by her newly reawakened conscience and her conditioning to obey the Master made her follow his order. She hadn't even made it through the door before she was hit by a strong stun blast from his laser screwdriver and fell down to the floor.
- x -
Sometime later, Jaime woke up. Again, confused at what was going on as she found herself strapped to a table, she pulled against the restraints with all her strength but they refused to budge. Looking around her she realised that she was still in the Tardis but then saw a number of IVs had been injected into her arms and not sure what was happening she looked over to see the Master standing next to what looked like a stasis unit, extracting something from it before injecting that into a bottle which was connected to a computer which was in turn connected to her IVs.
"Master? What's happening? What are you doing?" She asked in a dazed kind of way. The Master turned and smiled a little.
"Ah you're awake. I had to use quite a blast to stun you my dear given how strong you've grown, but no worries my dear. I'll soon have you all better." The Master said in an almost fatherly kind of way, patting her on the head.
"What's wrong with me? Is there something messing me up?" Jaime asked, not sure what he meant. Was she sick? She asked herself, wondering if she had picked up some alien virus or something. The Master suddenly looked very grave as he told her.
"Oh yes, my dear. You are very ill indeed." He told her gravely. "It seems that the inhibitor that kept your emotions in check is being affected by your subconscious. It is making you feel things you shouldn't and that needs to be corrected. So, I am taking the liberty of making some long overdue upgrades to your antrocytes, it will not only increase your abilities to a much higher level than they are now but also reinforce the inhibitor." The Master told her with some excitement entering his voice.
"But I also intend to use you as the first test subject for my new Genetic Reprogramming Virus." The Master then told her with excitement. "It is like a suitcase that I have filled with mutated or alien DNA and the virus will deliver that straight to the target cells. Like those in Outcome you will receive several important enhancements to your physical and mental abilities two specific chromosomes in particular causing increases in; cellular tempo, muscle efficiency, oxygenation, intelligence, pain suppression, neural regeneration, elasticity and sensory function. On top of the abilities granted by your antrocytes this will increase efficiency. Rassilon ironically is the one that gave me the idea." The Master said with a wistful smile on his face.
Jaime meanwhile felt an increasing sense of dread, she should be pleased about this…him making her stronger but somehow, she knew this was wrong…no she thought as new determination came to her and she struggled against her restraints, trying with all her might to break them and she was surprised when they gave a little.
The Master too was surprised but switched on the machine that powered the IVs, the strange substance flowed along with the tube but although Jaime could see it, despite all her struggles the restraints held.
The liquids began to enter her veins and Jaime felt herself getting lightheaded, she managed one last glare at the Master who just coldly grinned at her as she went under.
- x -
The next day or so was a blur, Jaime was struggling for her very life on that table. The virus ran through her body making the changes it was programmed too while the Master made the upgrades to her antrocytes. Jaime was sweating with a high fever and struggling to breathe, her entire body felt like it weighed a few tonnes and even without the restraints she couldn't move!
She drifted in and out of consciousness, not sure what was real and what was a dream. The Master came up to her and carefully mopped her brow, almost tenderly as he felt her cheek.
The Master was not devoid of compassion regardless of what he said and he was even reluctantly concerned for her wellbeing. She had been useful to him and he still had plans that would be easier with her at his side. She was a useful weapon he thought quickly, not wanting to admit he actually cared for her. She was a means to an end and would be even more useful to him if she survived the treatment. He left her in hopes of blowing up a planet of people just to reassure himself of his own lack of feeling.
- x -
On the fifth day, Jaime woke up a new woman.
Her eyes opened, a spark of the vortex in them for a brief moment as she felt invigorated, she sighed as despite the odd ache she felt better than she ever had before! Her mind was almost buzzing with new ideas and thankfully she thought with relief to be free of those annoying morals that had infected her!
The Master when he came to see her looked at her with a questioning look in his eyes before asking her.
"How are you feeling my dear? It was not a pleasant experience, I'm sure." His eyes looked intently at her and she smiled broadly before telling him.
"No, it wasn't sir! But I feel better now than I ever did before! What was in that virus? I feel like my head is exploding with fresh ideas!" Jaime told the Master who smiled himself now before finally unlocking the shackles and letting her get off the bed.
"Well, the virus enhanced your limited human body by at least three and half percent rather than limited one point seven the Outcome agents got. Massive increases in the efficiency of your body and I took the liberty of expanding on that by adding some DNA from other human like species to boost your abilities. A little Kahler, for their ingenuity. A potent mix as it turns out when combined with humans. A little Isu, for their highly organised brains, their unique Sixth sense or whatever they call it and to slow the aging process a little not that you need it of course. Then some Time Lord DNA to give you the sensitivity to time that we do along with some improved physical resilience, higher thought processing and slower aging again." The Master told her.
Jaime blinked in surprise at the incredible thing the Master had achieved. It was a phenomenal feat of genetic engineering! Encoding all that into a single virus!
"How did you manage to bind all those competing strands together sir? Surely, they would have destroyed each other?" Jaime asked, her own mind now able understand things at a far faster rate than she ever had before.
"Not when I found another species that acts a binding agent, a peace maker and giving you some low-level psychic abilities that will develop with time. Ironic really as that as they were like that before they were wiped out. I managed to find the last survivor and use her DNA to perfect the virus. She always was good at biology." The Master said, turning to wave at the stasis unit she had noticed before.
Jaime walked over and wiped away some of the frost, revealing a young slender woman inside with her hair in curls. She was good looking Jaime thought objectively, fine features with an aristocratic look about her.
"Nyssa of Traken." The Master told her with a somewhat wistful look in his eyes. "Last Trakenite in the entire universe. After the entropic wave destroyed the entire Traken Union she was saved by virtue of being with the Doctor at the time. Joined him after I stole her father's body. I was in a somewhat…worse condition back then and somewhat desperate." He told her when she gave him a questioning look. "Eventually she ended up in E-Space and its only thanks to the Time War ripping open the CVEs that I was able to get hold of her." The Master explained, proud of that especially as it likely would have destroyed E-Space in the process. Ending a universe even a smaller one like that was certainly one of his bigger achievements.
"Is she dead?" Jaime asked with offhand curiosity. The Master chuckled.
"Oh no my dear! No, I may have a use for her in the future so I used some of the homogenite I picked up in case of emergencies to rejuvenate her to ensure her health. She may even be useful against the Doctor someday. Always make sure you have an ace up your sleeve my dear. Remember that." He told her with the air of a wise schoolmaster.
Jaime nodded before a thought crossed her mind.
"Maybe we should take some more of his old companions as leverage against him? Maybe make him think they are dead so when they are presented to him, he would be more inclined to do whatever it takes to keep them safe?" Jaime said with a vicious grin on her face.
The Master blinked in surprise before smiling himself with a nasty cold smirk and telling her with pride.
"You are a vicious thing, Jaime Sommers. I am so proud. I will look into the records for some useful individuals but first I think you and I could use a little diversion before throwing ourselves back into the Time War." The Master said as he led them back to the control room. "Best go to the wardrobe my dear and wrap up warm. I think…1814." The Master suggested.
Jaime did as he said eagerly, awash with new sensations as her new psychic abilities let her 'feel' the Tardis for lack of a better term. She could feel the energy flowing through it and it was a heady experience Jaime thought with eagerness to try out her new abilities but also excited about where the Master was taking them this time.
She found the wardrobe quickly enough and walked in and started looking through the various dresses that had been added since she joined him in his travels. She eventually settled on a black dress with embroidered red roses on the skirt and bodice. She teamed it with a matching bonnet and shawl that she wrapped around her shoulders.
With the outfit now in place she went to join him in the console room. He was of course already dressed as a gentleman of the era, dressed for the occasion as he always told her. There was a gentle sound as the Tardis landed and she eagerly opened the doors and had her breath taken away.
It was London again, she noticed but the entire River Thames had frozen over! She gingerly tested the ice by carefully putting her foot on it but it held under her weight and as she stepped out the Master followed her.
"1814, the last of the great Frost Fairs. Only possible because of the sea serpent that I sold over dinner to Lord Sutcliffe." The Master told her with a sly look in his eyes. Jaime blinked for a moment before smiling as she took his arm and he told her. "We can only enjoy it for a day though, it thaws tomorrow and we don't want to be around to see that happen." The Master said as he took his now fully loyal companion off to enjoy the thrills and attractions of the Last Great Frost Fair.
There we are, hope you liked it and please leave a review to let me know what you thought.
Nyssa's fate and entering E-Space was something that happened in the Big Finish Audio Dramas as she rejoined the Doctor later in life and travelled with him, Tegan and Turlough.
The idea of the Master selling the creature that froze the Thames to Lord Sutcliffe was mentioned in 'Dismemberment' the same short story that featured the Master's membership at Scoundrels Club. Featured in The Missy Chronicles book.
Next Chapter - Jaime and the Master once again travel to a parallel world and meet the deadliest law man in Mega City One in search for a special piece in the Master's eventual plan. A crossover with Judge Dredd.