Twists in Time

Chapter Fourteen: Path of the Healers: Time Sick

By Lumendea

…

Jack felt ill as he stared at the image of Raydrin's face. His sharp cheekbones were nearly knives in the light of the building as he turned his face down. He'd darkened his hair to brown and was wearing very basic, good for time travel clothing, but Jack knew it was him. His eyes moved to the date record of the clip and the ill feeling rolled in his gut. It was right before people had started getting sick.

He tried not to think about Raydrin too often. They'd worked together for so long. Rose had said that Raydrin had agreed to keep the incident with the Neverwere a secret from him while his memory was unstable. But Jack could be honest with himself now that his former partner and lover had a sharp and nasty side. It was the detachment that the Time Agency had preferred. The sort of personality that had allowed Raydrin to kill and manipulate without ever feeling anything. There were things that Jack knew he'd done that were terrible in the name of following orders, but he'd always at least felt a twist of guilt. Raydrin never had.

Forcing himself to stand, Jack took a deep breath and gripped the tablet tightly. He needed to show the Doctor. A Time Agent didn't narrow down what disease had been unleashed at all, but it might spark recognition for something from the distant future for the Doctor. Anger churned in Jack's gut. Why would Raydrin do this? Was it on the orders of the Time Agency? Probably, but Jack couldn't imagine how killing off Pele in its early history would benefit anyone.

He found the Doctor with Nyssa in the main lab. They were poring over images from scans, bloodwork, and all manner of test results. Jack's mood was so dark that he couldn't even enjoy the sight of the Doctor in those specs. They really worked with this new body of his. Jack couldn't imagine the old Doctor ever wearing any. It was amazing how quickly he'd transitioned into the Doctor having a new face and personality quirks.

"I found something," Jack forced out.

Both the Doctor and Nyssa turned to him immediately. His mouth was dry, so Jack held out the tablet to the Doctor. He raised an eyebrow, but took the tablet and turned it to play the video. Jack saw the moment that the Doctor recognized the man in the footage.

"Your old Time Agent partner?" the Doctor asked carefully. He looked at Jack. "Raydrin, right?"

"Yeah." Jack nodded. "And in his recent history, I think, based on his appearance. He looks older than when I last saw him."

"Is this something what would have been a mission?" The Doctor's tone was careful, but urgent all at once. "Coming to a planet right before an outbreak? I don't like that timing. Could the Agency have something to do with this?"

"Maybe." Jack managed a shrug. "We worked together sometimes, but not all the time. Agents were often deployed alone for more… delicate missions. I'm not sure what the Time Agency would gain from unleashing something here and now." Jack paused, trying to control the rolling in his gut. "It could also be that Raydrin was simply stopping by to rest between time jumps. Time travel without a capsule can be rough. He might have been carrying something that caused a contamination."

If Nyssa was confused, she didn't show it. "Doctor, we'll need to expand our tests-"

"I already have been," the Doctor said. "I've been checking the results against every disease that I know from all throughout history, just in case. And environmental pollutants! Changes to the timestream are usually very serious, so I treated it as such." The Doctor shoved the tablet back to Jack and started pacing in front of the screens. "But it matches nothing. There's the aging which doesn't align with any disease or form of contamination! Otherwise, the symptoms are the usual body under attack symptoms!"

"Give me a little time," Jack cut in. "I left the computer pulling the rest of the footage. How long he stayed here might show us something. I just wanted to update you."

"Fine. Good." The Doctor waved his hand at Jack, still pacing. "If you find anything-"

"I'll let you know."

Jack all but fled the room. The Doctor held back a flinch. He might have been a little sharp with Jack and Nyssa there at the end. He'd run into the Time Agency before. They were a pain and not half as clever as they thought they were most of the time. Though, he did have to admit that their protection squads were a reasonable idea, even if they were horrible for the agents assigned to them. Of all the agents, why did have to be one that Jack knew?

"Doctor, do you have any thoughts on what I can do right now?" Nyssa asked.

"What percentage of the population is infected currently, Nyssa?"

"Almost a third. Everyone else is in lockdown until we can find the source, but we can't do that forever. It started spreading in groups from interactions in businesses which is why we thought it was a regular disease."

"With the Time Agency involved, I doubt it is that simple," the Doctor replied. "Was there anything special that was being worked on? Any projects?"

"Some new construction materials," Nyssa offered.

"Trialimun glass?" the Doctor guessed.

"One of them."

"Again, though, that was supposed to happen. Pele is the home of several major breakthroughs. It's why the planet is supposed to start expanding at a rapid pace. This changes that and that's a problem. One of the greatest minds of this sector is due to be born here in twelve years after their parents meet. We could be looking at a major butterfly effect, so why would a Time Agent even risk pausing here?"

"What is the Time Agency, Doctor?"

"Basically, exactly what it sounds like. There's an organization from the 51st century with time travel technology who, in theory, help to police the timeline, protect important figures, and rescue historical artifacts."

"I see." Nyssa paused. "Are they a new development?"

"No. Encountered them back in my fourth body once. Tend to avoid them, but they've been bouncing around the universe for a while."

"I thought they might be…" Nyssa trailed off.

The Doctor could hear the unspoken words regarding Gallifrey and the Time Lords. It was distracting. He should be worrying about what the Time Agent may have intentionally or unintentionally brought here. And if intentional, why? But all he could think about was Nyssa and that big, horrible thing that they now had in common. That awful thing that so many years ago, he hadn't been able properly to comprehend the scope of.

"Nyssa, I'm sorry about Traken."

"Doctor?" Nyssa turned to study him. "What brought that… oh… yes, I am sorry about Gallifrey."

They stood in silence for a long moment, both of them staring at the scans, but neither of them really seeing them. The Doctor's tongue was heavy with ash. There were things he felt that he should say. Apologies that he should make. Looking back, knowing what he did now, he wondered if there was more that he should have done after Traken was destroyed. He'd helped Nyssa gather up a few mementos of the planet when they came across them in markets, but… He at least had the TARDIS still and everything from Gallifrey within it. They'd lost some of it during that incident with House, but the library was intact.

"I wish I'd done more after its destruction for you," the Doctor managed.

"You couldn't save Traken," Nyssa's answer was soft. "I know that. And… well, when I left the TARDIS I left behind what we had found. I don't think that I wanted artifacts."

"Maybe not. Still feels like I didn't do enough."

Nyssa smile and turned towards him. Her expression was painfully understanding and forgiving. The Doctor hated it.

"I felt safe with you afterward. I was given space to grieve when I wanted and plenty of distractions. And it led me to my medical career." Nyssa nodded firmly to herself. "I do a lot of good travelling the universe. I honor my people. Those I help remember the name Traken, even if the context is different now."

"Are you happy?"

"I am content with my choices, Doctor."

"But are you happy?" the Doctor pressed. Terror and worry that she wasn't built in his chest, encircling both of his hearts. "I want you fulfilled, of course, Nyssa. But I want you happy. And I would hope that you people would want you happy too."

Nyssa paused, considering his words. A soft sigh escaped her. "I don't know, Doctor. Moving between crises and medical mysteries like I do, I don't have time for connections or slowing down. A bit like how you used to be."

"I at least always had a home in the TARDIS. Nyssa, if you want-"

"I pulled the rest of the footage," Jack said as he swung into the room. He froze and grimaced, clearly picking up that he'd interrupted something, but he held up the tablet. "Raydrin was carrying some sort of case. There isn't a clear shot of his arrival, but his Vortex Manipulator is still lit up in the earliest clip of him that I could find. I'm certain that indicates he'd only recently arrived." Jack held up the tablet to show the sharp image of his former lover. "Nothing on the case to indicate what it is. His arrival wasn't recorded by the planet's visitor systems. Not a surprise given that he came through the Time Vortex."

"So we potentially are dealing with a disease from the distant future or the distant past," Nyssa said thoughtfully. "As you feared, Doctor."

"But it still doesn't match anything. Jack, did the Time Agency ever do experimentation on diseases?"

"Not… yeah, maybe." Jack nodded slowly. "Not in a weaponisation kind of way, at least not that was ever on records that I saw. But I do remember hearing about projects seeking to make use of the time travel sterilization that the Time Vortex caused and spread it."

"I've looked at that," Nyssa said with a hint of excitement. When the Doctor looked at her, Nyssa met his gaze calmly. "We're immune to almost all diseases, Doctor. It's rare that we suffer even in the most basic of illnesses, never mind truly lethal problems. As a medical doctor, it is fascinating to me."

"Understandable," Jack replied. "Cancer is one of the few things that can take out time travelers. Being the great equalizer that it is."

"And even cancer is fairly easy to cure at a certain technological level," Nyssa agreed. Then she shook her head. "So they had research on it. But if that was the extent of it-"

"I doubt it was," the Doctor said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Once you start poking at that, you're digging into some pretty powerful and yet subtle genetic modifications. The wrong person gets ahold of that research and it could be easily weaponized. Either way, the process of sharing those mutated cells never takes hold. Not anywhere in time and space. I'm not even sure any projects ever made it to the human trial stage."

"Why not?" Nyssa asked.

"Because of the side effects…." The Doctor's eyes widened, and he breathed out. "Oh. OH! Nyssa, that's what we're seeing here. This is either an attack or someone using this planet as a lab experiment. You can't find the disease because it isn't a disease."

"Wait, you think that someone mutated their cells like a time travelers?"

"Or gave them mutated cells somehow!" The Doctor rushed to the screens and started tapping away frantically. "Think about it. If you only gave a person, say the mutated white blood cells, but the rest of their body hasn't been exposed to time travel, then you have out of synch properties. Granted, I would have expected the white blood cells to be attacking the organs to look different, but maybe the temporal properties are being shifted through the body. It's unstable though-"

"Which is causing the aging," Nyssa agreed. "It's a good theory. Rather mad and dangerous, but a good theory."

The Doctor started pacing across the room, muttering to himself at lightning speed that neither Jack nor Nyssa could keep track of. They glanced at each other, and Jack could see the dawning determination in her eyes.

"Doctor!"

"What?" The Doctor stopped and whirled back to them.

"If this is the result of experiments using the time sterilization effect, then could exposure to a stable method such as the TARDIS stabilize the effect?"

"You want me to take them into the TARDIS?"

"Would it work?"

The Doctor paused and rubbed his jaw. "Maybe… Probably." The Doctor blinked and slowly nodded. "But in their condition, we wouldn't want to actually take them into the Time Vortex all the way. Maybe a partial shift… that could work if that is going to work at all. At least we might see some improvement to help guide us." Then the Doctor snapped his attention to Jack. "Is your old partner still on the planet?"

"I think so," Jack admitted slowly. "Once I knew he was here, and that he was a place to focus, I ran scans for a Time Vortex Manipulator jump." Jack held up his hand. "Nothing registered. If he's left the planet, then he didn't use a Vortex Manipulator to do it."

"I'm not sure if that's good or bad," the Doctor said. "If he was here to infect people, then why hang around?"

"While that is a good question," Nyssa said. "Doctor, it isn't our most pressing concern."

"You're right." The Doctor nodded. "Okay, Nyssa, we can use the TARDIS medical bay to set up a safe method of exposure, see if I can't get the Old Girl to help us a little." The Doctor paused, hesitated and looked at Jack.

"I'll try to find him," Jack said firmly. "I know we need to talk to him." He kept ignoring that sinking feeling. It was one thing to admit to himself that his… relationship with Raydrin was a bad one for who he wanted to be, but knowing that there was a real possibility of seeing him face to face again was unsettling. Still, he nodded to the Doctor and ignored Nyssa's curious expression. "I'll report back when I have something."

"We'll be here." When Nyssa opened her mouth to protest, the Doctor quickly explained. "I'm going to go and get the TARDIS, Nyssa. Any objections to me parking it in the corner?" the Doctor nodded to one of the barer corners of the room.

"No. Thank you."

"I'm not going to leave you to deal with this," the Doctor promised softly.

Jack hurried out, tucking the tablet under his arm and turning his attention to his Vortex Manipulator. If he could manage a ping from his to Raydrin's, then he'd be able to find the man if he was still on Pele. Jack wasn't sure what he was hoping for honestly. It pinged and Jack sucked in a sharp breath. There was another Time Vortex Manipulator on the planet. It might not be Raydrin's, but Jack doubted he would be so lucky.

…

Nyssa stepped into the TARDIS slowly and the Doctor's eyes watched every movement. The Old Girl had changed a lot since the last time that Nyssa saw her. It was probably foolish, but he found that he cared about what his old friends thought of his ship as she and he changed. Nyssa slowly smiled and approached the console. He could see her examining the console, which was so different. Thankfully the TARDIS had healed enough that she was able to produce more of the parts he'd needed to gradually switch out the make shift controls. Though he might miss the bicycle pump a little. That had been fun.

"What do you think?"

"It is very different," Nyssa said diplomatically. "Yet, I believe that the TARDIS continues to suit you."

The Doctor chuckled and nodded towards the corridor as he shrugged out of his long brown coat. "This way. We can set up a room off the med bay to try this out. Now, I can't promise you that it'll fix this issue. There's a reason so many species and cultures never develop time travel, even without the Time Lords smacking them down. The physical effects can be unpredictable."

"Very well, Doctor. I'd still like to try."

"Of course." The Doctor led Nyssa a few feet down the corridor and was pleasantly surprised to find that the TARDIS had already shifted. "Ah, she moved the medical bay closer already!"

"I don't remember the TARDIS doing things like that before." Nyssa was still as the Doctor patted the wall closest to him.

"She's more active and expressive nowadays," the Doctor said. "Probably comes from Rose and Jack being completely accepting of her sentience." The Doctor grinned. "We actually got to meet face to face not long ago. Long story, but the TARDIS's mind was shoved into a humanoid body for a short time. Rose and Jack were with me then. So they met her too."

"Oh." Nyssa blinked and then smiled. "That must have been fascinating." Nyssa paused and reached out to touch the wall. "It is good to see you again. Thank you for our time together and looking after the Doctor." She pulled her hand quickly and turned her attention back to the Doctor. "Shall we?"

"Yes!" The Doctor was beaming and hurried into the medical bay. In a whirlwind of energy, he began grabbing small pieces of tech and shoving them into his pockets before he turned his attention to some of the larger scanners. "Not sure what all we'll need…. Ideally, I need to monitor the patient while we do a gentle exposure to the time vortex's energies."

"How can I be of assistance?" Nyssa asked.

"Hold these!" The Doctor shoved another device that Nyssa didn't recognize at her. "This should do!" He swung some cords and wires around his neck before he started wheeling a strange looking white cart over to the far wall where there was a small doorway. "Through here will be perfect!"

Nyssa felt her lips turn into a smile at his energy. Despite everything, despite all the years and the changes, the Doctor was here just as she was faced with some sort of artificial temporal illness. It was comforting.