Non-Aggression Pact

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He stepped out of the shadows of the alleyway. He flipped a pocket watch up and looked at it, watching as the hour flicked over to two in the morning. He shivered slightly as he reached up and twisted a knob on the watch turning the hour hand back to one. There was a blast of cold air as he snapped the pocket watch closed and slipped it into the breast pocket of a ruddy vest. He straightened his green jacket as he looked up.

A woman was standing in the alleyway. She was wearing a black suit, black pants and a black necktie. She had short blonde hair and icy, blue eyes. She stepped forward, her sparkling, clean dress shoes quietly hissing against the broken pavement.

"Good morning, welcome, to the Eternal Hour." He said as he smiled to the woman.

"Time Travelers have such odd sensitivities. This is only a logistical construct of one small government on one small planet, its affect on physical nature is nonexistent outside of perception. Yet you all treat it as some reverent monstrosity." The woman said curtly as she stopped in front of him. She appraised him. "You've changed your body since God spoke with you last, Doctor."

"Yes, I apologize for not sending any cards." He said quietly as he smiled. "But you know how it is with a TARDIS, the holidays just sneak past you."

"I wouldn't, actually." The woman said, her lips thinning slightly. "As you may remember our two governments have an agreement."

"Ah, yes, that old thing." He said.

"You summoned me here, Doctor." the woman said sharply. "Why?"

"Well, this wasn't a decision I make lightly." The Doctor said quietly as he looked around. "That's why we're here now. It's the safest point in history for the moment. You may be aware of the situation…" The Doctor pointed to the sky, "up there."

"The aetherial motion of the universe speaks of the tale of the Time War." the woman said crossing her arms. "A conflict that The People have no interest or ability to enter into. We can detect the war, but are trapped within its endless cataclysm."

"I am here in part about that." The Doctor said as he walked slightly passed the woman. He stopped and turned. "What if I told that there was a possibility that I was in a position to - unburden The People…"

"The last God spoke with you, you were a renegade, an unwitting pawn, a persona non-grata." The woman said turning to face the Doctor. "In no position of office, with no authority, no power, no ability to tender treaty or speak for Gallifrey."

"The more things change the more they stay the same." The Doctor said, frowning. "Officially, I'm not here. This is a favor for the President of the High Council. And technically the Time Lords know nothing about this. This is just between me, you and God."

"Then we have nothing to speak about." the woman said turning.

"Wait, wait!" The Doctor jumped in front of the woman his hands up. "Please, listen. You are aware of what happened at Dro(r)nid…at the Gates of Elysium."

"We have personally vanquished some of the monsters your war has unleashed upon the universe." the woman said angrily, narrowing her eyes. "One of these beasts approached the Worldsphere, God had to be evacuated…"

"Then you know that the Temporal Powers are at their limit." The Doctor said, taking a step back. "The Daleks are going more insane than usual. The whole conflict is on the edge of falling into Hell."

"And once more, The People have no interest in entering the Time War, and no ability to fight it even if we did," The woman said with a snarl. "Your government loosed this disaster upon the universe, your government can clean…." The woman stopped sharply as the Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a glowing sphere. "That's….that's…"

"Yes, it is." The Doctor said, lifting the sphere up, its light illuminating his face. "You could grow an fully functional TARDIS from this. Start a whole farm from just one."

"It would break the Non-aggression pact!" the woman said taking a step back. "Your government would initiate aggressions immediately."

"Do you really think the Time Lords are in a position to start a new war?" The Doctor asked, looking into the woman's eyes. "Plus I know you have used time travel technology in the past, limited as it is. This could change that."

"Even though we've had the technology we refrain from using it, and only use it in cases of direct threat. The Time Lords seem ok with the arrangement but they would not accept this." The woman asked looking up at the Doctor. "Even if they are busy 'up there' why would you give us this technology, why would they allow us to use it?"

"The People have firepower." The Doctor said. "And, I like The People, and you owe me."

"If you think we'll enter the war against the Daleks…" The woman's eyes narrowed as she looked at the Doctor. "Just because you gave us the technology to do so you are mistaken…"

"You're already a part of the war. It simply hasn't gotten to your line in the script." The Doctor said, pulling the sphere back and looking into it. "The Daleks won't allow you to survive. Things are changing on Gallifrey as well. I fear the worst." The Doctor looked up to the woman. "There may come a day when you will need to defend yourselves, possibly from both sides and the Path isn't sophisticated enough. Besides that, it would be my greatest hope that The People and The Time Lords may do something that no one could expect, join forces. Imagine it, the Temperon and the Aetheron joined together, The Lords of Time and The Masters of Space joined together! The alliance would be..."

"Horrifying…" the woman said looking at the Doctor.

"No, it would be the strongest alliance in the history of forever." The Doctor said looking up to the woman. "We could end the war before it gets worse."

"And then what, Doctor?" The woman asked, hotly and angrily. "What then? When the Time Lords have regained their pedestal, when their crystal cities shimmer under their unassailable twin suns at the edges of forever? What would we do then with our power?" The woman glared at the Doctor. "Would you have us sit at home, and twiddle our thumbs? Would we be allowed to use this technology the moment Gallifrey was once again safe and immortal in the sky? Or would Gallifrey again strip this gift from us and leave us to wait for the next emergency? The People are not the attack dogs of Gallifrey. Our armories are not your emergency supply cabinet. You cannot bribe us with technology that we will never be allowed to use!"

"That's something to work out with Romana and the High Council when we get to it…" The Doctor said looking at the woman and waving a hand.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "This special favor for the Lord President is not known to her is it?"

"She would approve…"

"You would destroy a Non-aggression pact that's held together for millennia?" The woman said turning from the Doctor and started to walk away.

"Please, no, stop!" The Doctor ran in front of her and put his hand up. "No, please, think about it! I'm begging you! We have to do something!"

"No, we, need to do nothing." The woman said angrily. "The People didn't start this war, we haven't fought in this war, we are not a part of this war."

"You will be." The Doctor said. "None of us are going to survive this. Not me, not Gallifrey, not Skaro, not the Worldsphere nor God. I've done the calculations. I've run all the simulations. If the war continues as it is, everyone burns. No one wins. The entire universe will shatter into cacophony." The Doctor lifted the sphere up and looked to the woman. "Please, for an old friend?"

"I-I…" the woman looked at the Doctor. His eyes glimmering in the shining of the sphere. A sparkle streaked down the side of his cheek. She took a deep breath. "I - can't. Not like this. This is too much, I'm sorry."

"Wait, just wa-" the Doctor started but a cold breeze swept past him, he lifted his arm to shield his eyes and when he lowered it, the woman was gone. He looked down at the sphere. He swallowed and his lips twisted as he looked into the depths of the light and saw it, the saucers, the bowships, the fires, the screaming for help, the shattered Dyson sphere. "Another one…I've lost another one…."

In the distance a clock tolled two o'clock. The Doctor sniffed, pocketing the sphere and taking out his watch and saw as the minute ticked over to one minute past. He shivered as he closed the watch and turned slowly walking towards his time machine. The Eternal Hour had passed.