Here is the latest chapter for my 'Family Reunion' saga, this one being a one-shot based on the 1992 comic strip 'Flashback', originally written by Warwick (later Scott) Gray and published in the Doctor Who Magazine Winter Special 1992. The original story featured the 7th Doctor and Bernice Summerfield, but I thought it would be fun to do a variation of the tale in which the 13th Doctor shows Jenny some of Gallifrey's history.
Although she had been travelling in the TARDIS for just over a year now, Jenny still found it hard at times to take in just how huge the interior of her mother's incredible time-space craft was compared to its small Police Box exterior shell. She still marvelled at the sheer vastness of the ship that she now regarded as home, with all its seemingly endless corridors and stairways, and the countless number of rooms about the place.
There were numerous humongous chambers, containing things like a banqueting hall complete with chandelier; an art gallery containing a wide range of paintings and sculptures from across the universe; something the Doctor called a 'home IMAX cinema'; and a vast library filled with more books than anyone could count. There was also a large swimming pool; a garden with plants from a variety of different worlds; and a kitchen that could whip up a feast from the ingredients of a dozen galaxies. Jenny had grown particularly fond of a fruit from the resort planet Florana, that tasted like the most perfect blend of strawberries and cherries.
And of course, there was also the vast wardrobe, a room so large that it could easily have contained the entirety of a whole planet. Jenny often found herself lost in its aisles, as she sometimes liked to try on outfits different from the familiar colourful velour jacket, white t-shirt and blue jeans that made up her usual trademark look. Today, for instance, she had stumbled upon a tie-neck blouse of a light-blue satin material that looked like it had been plucked straight out of a 1950s fashion magazine, accompanied by a smart blazer midnight-blue jacket and a pair of jeans of a matching colour. After she had put the outfit on and looked at her reflection in the mirror, Jenny felt that the overall look made her seem quite elegant in appearance, with the tie of the blouse, worn in a long straight style, adding a touch of playful sophistication.
The TARDIS had a way of making everything seem possible, and Jenny loved how she could still feel a deep sense of wonder every time she stumbled upon a new chamber. Initially during the first few weeks since she had first come onboard, she had wondered if she might end up getting herself lost forever in the infinite labyrinth of the TARDIS interior, but she somehow managed to find her way around okay now. It was like she had developed an internal map of sorts in her mind's eye, helping her to navigate around the place with no difficulty. Nevertheless, Jenny's mind still boggled occasionally at the fantastic nature of the TARDIS. Not only was it capable of travelling through the whole of time-and-space, but it was also a living thing that had a symbiotic link with Jenny's Mum, the Doctor. What was even more unbelievable, this TARDIS was apparently an out-of-date model, which sometimes made Jenny wonder just how advance Time Lord technology was. If this craft, with all it wonders and advance technology, was practically a museum piece, what would the more up-to-date TARDISes be like?
It was this sort of speculation that added to Jenny's natural curiosity about the Time Lord civilisation she was an offshoot of, so every now and then, in-between adventures when the TARDIS was traversing the long winding tunnel of the space-time vortex, Jenny liked to occasionally visit the library and look up all she could about Gallifrey and the Time Lords. This was not as easy a task as one would imagine. For not only were the books so numerous that one finds it hard to know where to start, but they were terribly organised on the shelves, as the Doctor tended to either forget or change the way she sorted out her library. Some books started in alphabetical order, only to then go into a genre arrangement, while others were sorted by things such as book size or the colour of the spine. It was all very confusing!
Eventually though, Jenny had managed to find and gather enough books and texts concerning Time Lord history and culture, creating a large pile that looked like it could keep a human scholar busy for months, even years! Jenny countered herself fortunate that she was a naturally fast reader, and so today, she returned to the library, settled herself down in a comfy armchair from the Victorian era on Earth, and began to read through the long, contradictory and often scandalous history and legends of the Time Lords. She learnt about the days of Rassilon and Omega, the founders of Time Lord civilisation; she was captivated by the stories of the war with the Great Vampire and his legions of the undead; and she found herself feeling appalled by some of the immoral actions committed by corrupt members of the Time Lord High Council, such as the incident when Borusa, an old teacher of the Doctor's, reactivated a nasty-sounding place called the Death Zone and risked the Doctor's existence and the whole of Gallifrey, in a vain attempt to gain immortality.
As she read more, Jenny noticed just how sketchy and contradictory the history of the Time Lords was, both in its early days and during the Last Great Time War that had supposedly ravaged much of time-and-space. Jenny's mother had told her beforehand that much of written Gallifreyan history did tend to be deliberately inaccurate or grossly exaggerated, and the fact that much of history got rewritten during the Time War did not help matters either. For instance, there was a fairy tale from the Dark Times about someone called the 'Timeless Child', who had gifted the Shobogans with the power of regeneration, but no-one was convinced there is any truth in this tale, as it was completely at odds with all other accounts concerning pre-Time Lord civilisation, such as the 'Scrolls of Rassilon'. Another example lay in the conflicting accounts as to how Omega got trapped in a black hole, with some accounts blaming the stellar engineer's treacherous assistant, Vandekirian, while others suggest that a terrorist from the future, 'Fenris the Hellbringer', was to blame.
But the thing that struck Jenny most of all was just how dull Time Lord civilisation was for the most part in-between the period of their early history and the events of the terrible Time War. It seemed to the young girl that, for all the power at their disposal, the Time Lords had nothing better to do than sit around and watch the universe tick by, occasionally intervening here or there (largely for their own ends), but mostly leaving things to their own devices. They never bothered to explore the wonders of the universe, and they showed very little compassion for other civilisations, often dismissing them as unimportant primitives. That was not to say that all Time Lords are like that, but Jenny did get the impression that those in power tended to be a load of killjoys and snobs, and that was at the best of times!
The dull and pedantic Time Lord lifestyle described in the books was certainly a stark contrast to the life Jenny had been used to since the very moment she had been born, a life that was a constant rollercoaster of thrills and danger, meeting new and fascinating people, and seeing wondrous new places, something that had grown more constant since joining her mother aboard the TARDIS. It was all too easy for Jenny to understand just how desperate the Doctor must have been to get away from such a boring existence on Gallifrey.
Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of the library doors swishing open and the Doctor's footsteps echoing on the hardwood floor. Jenny looked up from her latest book to see her mother enter the chamber, looking as vibrant as ever, her long blue skirt billowing out around her as she walked in. The Doctor's eyes twinkled with amusement as she took in the towering pile of books that Jenny had amassed around herself.
"Ah, the young scholar at work," she quipped, her lips curving into a knowing smile. "Find anything interesting?"
Jenny set her book down, looking up at her mother with a furrowed brow. "It's... convoluted to say the least, Mum," she said, gesturing to the chaotic pile. "Half of Time Lord history is so full of contradictions and secrets, it's difficult to work out what's real and what's propaganda. It's like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing."
"Yes, Gallifreyan history is more convoluted than a bowl of spaghetti in a black hole," the Doctor agreed sympathetically. "And what about the other half?"
"Ultra dull!" Jenny exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air in an exaggerated manner. "Why would anyone want to live such a life like that, doing nothing but laze around in ceremonial robes and sign pointless documents? It's like sitting and watching grass grow for millennia!"
"I know exactly what you mean," said her mother. "All that endless, mind-numbing tradition and ceremony is precisely why I left Gallifrey in the first place. Still, I think I prefer those days, compared to what the Time Lords became during the Time War. Ruthless, uncaring and more corrupt than they had ever been before..."
Her voice trailed off, and Jenny could see the sadness in her eyes, a reflection of the painful memories she was trying to keep at bay.
"Hey, don't let it get you down, Mum," said Jenny soothingly, putting a comforting hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "All that's in the past now. Besides, remember what Clara and her wife told us during Christmas, about how Time Lord society has improved since you were last there? Sounds to me like things aren't as bad as they used to be."
"Hmmm, maybe," said the Doctor, before abruptly putting on a more cheerful face, her tone lightening. "Anyway, enough about those hard times. What's the most fascinating thing you've found so far?"
Jenny smiled back. "Well, I find the legend of Omega particularly captivating. The guy who gave us the power of time travel in the first place? Gosh, what a story he has!"
"Oh, yes, Omega," said the Doctor wistfully, as she leaned against a bookcase. "He was one of my childhood heroes when I was at the Academy. A very tragic story, really. He gave the Gallifreyans the power to travel through the whole of time-and-space, and what reward did he get? Getting sucked into a black hole and subsequently trapped in a universe of anti-matter for millennia! So terribly unfair."
"Yeah, I gather from the books that you actually met him a couple of times," remarked Jenny. "I get that the isolation drove him mad, but from what I've read, he doesn't strike me as being intentionally evil."
"No, all he really wanted was to come home. I sometimes wonder what Gallifrey would have been like if he hadn't gotten sucked into that black hole. He was perhaps the most brilliant scientist in our people's history. Imagine the wonders he could have continued to create if his mind hadn't been so warped by his lonely exile," mused the Doctor.
"Poor fella," said Jenny, feeling some considerable sympathy for the unfortunate scientist. "Was there ever anyone else as brilliant as Omega?"
"Oh, there have been other Time Lords who tried to match the legendary fame of Omega and Rassilon. There were some who nearly succeeded, but with potentially catastrophic consequences," said the Doctor, as she took out what looked like a futuristic tablet device from the inside pocket of her jacket. "As a matter of fact, I just found something regarding that particular subject if you're interested."
"Really? What is it?" Jenny inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"It's called a Mnemonic Tableau," explained the Doctor as she showed the device to her daughter. "I found it in the TARDIS's memory banks. It contains an ancient 3D holo-simulation, which I think might give you a glimpse of what Time Lord society was like back then."
"Fantastic!" exclaimed Jenny, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of seeing the history of some of her ancestors come to life before her eyes. "Can we see it now?"
"We certainly can," said the Doctor, as she led the way out of the library and down the corridors. "It's not a very long recording, but since Time Travel into Gallifrey's past is strictly forbidden, I thought that this would be the next best thing."
They arrived at a large chamber, the walls of which were a stark white, and the floor a shiny black material that reflected the lights from the ceiling. Jenny guessed it to be some kind of holographic projection room. The Doctor inserted the Mnemonic Tableau into a slot that was almost hidden in the wall, and the chamber came alive with a soft hum. The walls, floor, and ceiling began to glow with a faint blue light, and around them, a three-dimensional image began to form.
As the image seemed to solidify around them, growing clearer and more refined, Jenny found herself and her mother standing in a vast control room. The place was bustling with activity, as various figures donned in long black-and-white robes hurried from one control console to another, a look of urgency on all their faces. Standing by the doorways, were some guards, resplendent-looking in their red-and-white uniforms, and looking much calmer than the technicians darting about the place, their eyes focused on the myriad of screens and dials before them. The air was thick with apprehension, a sense of urgency palpable even within the confines of the holographic representation. Jenny watched with fascination as the Time Lord technicians worked tirelessly, their hands dancing over the controls with an elegant grace, while the almost deafening sound of alarm klaxons echoed all around the place.
The chamber was illuminated by a soft, ethereal glow, that emanated from a large transparent sphere in the centre of the chamber, casting elongated shadows of the Time Lords across the gleaming white walls. It was around this object that the technicians were focusing their attention, their eyes darting from their own screens to the central orb and back again. Being holograms, none of them noticed Jenny and her mother, who were watching the unfolding drama with keen interest.
"Energy-tap reducing," reported one technician anxiously from one console bank. "We're losing the reserve banks."
"Seems to be a bit of a flap on, eh, Mum?" commented Jenny.
"Quite, Jen," agreed the Doctor, a hint of nostalgia playing across her features, as her eyes took in the frantic scene.
Jenny's gaze was drawn to the Time Lord who, judging from the way the others deferred to him, seemed to be in charge. He was a tall, imposing figure with dark hair, a neat goatee beard and piercing eyes that snapped around the room as he took in the reports. His expression was a thundercloud of anger and frustration.
"Get those tertiary power links replaced and on-line now!" he bellowed at one unfortunate technician. "Bring them back on scale, imbecile, or I will have your hearts torn out!"
Jenny raised an eyebrow at her mother. "Sheesh! Who's this grumpy guy?"
"His name is, or rather was, Koschei," said the Doctor, her eyes following the holographic Time Lord. "He was one of Gallifrey's most brilliant and promising Time Lords. But he did have a bit of a egotistical nature, and a rather... intense way of dealing with problems."
Jenny watched the holographic scene continue to unfold with a intense gaze. The chief Time Lord, Koschei, barked orders as if he were a general on a battlefield, and the other Time Lords scurried about, trying to deal with the crisis at hand. Koschei's commanding presence was substantial, even in this recorded memory. His brusque manner towards his subordinates showed that he was not an easy individual to work with, and there was also a dangerous glint in his eyes that made Jenny feel a little uneasy, as it remind her a bit of the vicious and xenophobic General Cobb, a man perfectly willing to commit genocide in order to achieve his aims. Jenny wondered if Koschei might be cut from the same cloth as Cobb.
"If you ask me, Koschei needs to chill out a bit," Jenny quipped, watching as the holographic Time Lords continued their frenetic work.
"Yes. The pressure's most definitely on. And I'm sorry to say that it's about to get much worse," the Doctor said solemnly, her eyes moving towards one of the main doors, which had just slid silently open.
As Jenny turned to look in the same direction as her mother, she saw a figure walk in a dignified manner through the open doorway and into the chamber. It was an old man, his face lined and wrinkled, yet his eyes burned with a fiery intelligence and determination that seemed almost at odds with his frail frame. He was dressed in traditional Time Lord ceremonial robes, like those Jenny remembered Clara Oswald was wearing on Maruthea. But whereas Clara's magnificent robes had a unique violet colour scheme, the ones worn by the old man were scarlet-and-orange, the traditional colour scheme used by the Prydonian Chapter, the most powerful of the original Chapters in the Gallifreyan hierarchy.
The old Time Lord took in the hectic scene in the chamber, and gave a snort of "Humph!", before he calmly strode over to an unmanned control console, his presence completely unnoticed by his fellow Time Lords. Jenny and the Doctor watched as he began to casually manipulate the controls with a deftness that belied his age, and a moment later, the loud alarm klaxons stopped abruptly. At their control panels, the other Time Lords were surprised to find their systems were stabilising, and a computerised voice announced:
"Amber alert cancelled. Neutronic Polarity Inverted. Energy-Tap Stabilised."
As the holographic Time Lords took a collective sigh of relief, Koschei turned around, and his expression changing from one of urgent concentration to one of extreme annoyance as he finally noticed the old man.
"What are you doing here?" Koschei demanded, his voice thunderous and filled with hostile resentment.
"Protecting you from your own incompetence... as always!" replied the old man, with an amused calmness in his voice.
One of the technicians walked over to give his report to Koschei. "We're back online again, sir. The energy tap is functioning properly again."
But Koschei did not seem to hear the young technician. Instead, he took a menacing step towards the interloper who had seemingly just saved the whole project. Far from looking grateful, Koschei was infuriated by the old man's very presence at this crucial moment.
"Still hobbling about in that old body, Thete?" growled Koschei. "I suggest you go and rest it! Elsewhere!"
The old man, Thete, seemed quite unruffled by Koschei's aggressive attitude. "No, Koschei, I think I shall stay. This operation may have further need of a coherent mind."
As she watched the confrontation between the two Time Lords, Jenny grinned with admiration for Thete's composed attitude. Despite his apparent old age and the clear hostility he was receiving from Koschei, he stood firm and resolute, refusing to back down.
Koschei's eyes narrowed threateningly, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists. "You dare to question my intelligence and scientific abilities?"
"I dare to question your competence and sense of responsibility," said Thete wearily, clearly not happy about having to argue with his colleague. "You're playing with the unknown, and that is always a dangerous thing to do."
Face flushed with anger, Koschei pointed an accusing finger at Thete. "It's you whose judgment should be questioned! You have opposed this project, MY project, since its inception! It is not your place to lecture me, old man! Your presence is neither needed, nor welcome!"
Before Jenny could hear Thete's response, the Doctor had gotten out her Sonic Screwdriver, which gave a loud buzz as it made the holographic program pause, freezing the scene, and leaving the Time Lords standing like statues,
"I think now's a good time for a brief interval," said the Doctor. "What do you make of it all so far, Jenny?"
"Well, as holographic plays go, I've seen worse!" joked Jenny, as she looked at Koschei and Thete, their forms stuck in a tableau of outrage and accusation. "Boy, these two really don't get along, do they? Koschei looks as though he's on the verge of strangling the poor old fella!"
The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, stroking her chin with the end of her Sonic Screwdriver. "Yes... 'Thete' and 'Koschei'. Funny how old nicknames can stick. It may be hard to believe, but they were actually good friends once. The very best, in fact. A long time ago..."
"I'll take your word for it!" said Jenny with a smirk, as she looked at the tense holographic figures. Then, as she looked closer at Thete, she recalled some of the illustrations she saw in her research and she suddenly realised, "Hang on a sec, Mum. Thete... He wasn't... you, by any chance?"
The Doctor nodded, pleased with her daughter's intelligent deduction. "Yep! That's me, back in my very first incarnation, before I decided to leave Gallifrey and explore the universe. Back then, I was a bit more... serious, grumpy, and a lot less colourful in my wardrobe choices!" she said with a wink.
"Gosh!" said Jenny, feeling a little dumbfounded. Even though she knew a fair bit about the concept of regeneration now, it was still hard to believe that this old man before her was destined one day to become her skinny dad, and then her attractive mum!
"So, what's everyone getting so steamed up about, anyway?" Jenny asked, rubbing the back of her head. "What is this big project of Koschei's that Thete's so worried about?"
"I'll show you," said the Doctor, as she took her daughter's hand and led the way over to an open archway, that led to a balcony that overlooked the scenery outside.
Jenny's eyes gazed in wonder at the landscape that surrounded the tall tower they were in. The sky was a magnificent burnt-orange, flaming red-and-gold as it kissed the horizon. Vast snowy mountain peaks stretched out before her, their jagged silhouettes standing tall against the fiery backdrop, and shiny crystal valleys lay nestled between them, filled with trees that bore leaves of gleaming silver, each one reflecting the light in a dazzling array of colours. It was one of the most beautiful and breathtaking views Jenny had ever seen.
"Wow," breathed Jenny. "Is this really what Gallifrey looks like?"
The Doctor nodded, a wistful look crossing her face. "Yes. Despite all the dullness of Time Lord society, Gallifrey itself was a stunning planet, full of life and beauty."
"It's.. absolutely beautiful," agreed Jenny, with considerable awe in her voice. "The illustrations and paintings I found among those old texts don't do it justice."
Then, as she turned her head to take in more of the stunning view, she frowned as she spotted something amiss. "Wait a minute. That's not right, surely?"
Jenny pointed upwards towards a luminescent sphere hovering in the sky, which was definitely not one of Gallifrey's two suns. It was as large as a moon and pulsed with an eerie, unnatural light that casted strange shadows across the landscape.
"Ah yes, I wondered how long before you noticed that," said the Doctor. "Quite something, isn't it?"
"Well it's certainly one of the largest weird glowing ball things I've ever seen," said Jenny, before adding with a cheeky grin, "Not to mention the only one!"
The Doctor laughed. "Yes, Koschei was rather taken with it too. He discovered it within the space-time vortex and managed to extract it into real-time, right next to Gallifrey. It's composed entirely of artron energy, the primary source of power for a TARDIS. This tower was built to tap into the Artron Sphere and drain it completely."
The Doctor pointed her finger upwards, and as Jenny craned her head to look up, she could see a large technological beacon, surrounded by large metal dishes, all set up right on the top of the tower. The beacon resembled a sleek, black monolith, surrounded by a complex array of cables and conduits that snaked away into the walls, presumably connecting up to the equipment that the holographic scientists were messing around with inside.
"I'm sure it's all very impressive," said Jenny, "but why does Koschei want to drain that oversized lightbulb?"
"He believes that it will enable Gallifrey to gain a near-unlimited supply of temporal power and complete mastery over the vortex," explained the Doctor. "Between you and me, I think he just wanted to supplant Omega and Rassilon in the history books. He was always terribly vain like that."
Jenny raised an eyebrow, looking from the Doctor to the Artron Sphere. "Well, that's one way to make a name for yourself, I guess. So the Sphere is like a giant battery?"
"In a sense. But there were a few, like Thete, who were less convinced by the wisdom of his ambition. And there was a rather important fact about the Sphere that the Time Lords were not yet aware of... And so we come onto Act Two."
Turning on her heels, the Doctor led the way back inside, and as she and Jenny walked back over to the frozen images of Thete and Koschei, she activated her Sonic Screwdriver again, and the program resumed, with the two Time Lords continuing to argue away with each other.
"You are playing with fire, Koschei," insisted Thete. "The Artron Sphere has not been examined adequately. You are ignoring the danger..."
"No, old man, I am simply ignoring you!" snapped Koschei, the last of his patience now exhausted. "I am the Master of this project, and I will not be swayed by your antiquated fears!"
With a dramatic flourish, Koschei turned his back dismissively on his former friend and strode back over to the main control desk surrounding the large sphere in the centre of the room. It was at this moment that Jenny realised that this artificial sphere was a container, and would be where all the drained energy from the Artron Sphere was to be stored and directed. The other Time Lords were all prepared at their relevant stations, as Koschei took his place and stood before the giant container, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, the fanatical look in them more intense than before.
"Engage all systems!" he ordered the technicians. "Maximum power to the auxiliary channels. Drain the core of the Artron Sphere... NOW!"
The room buzzed with energy as the massive machine hummed to life. The container sphere began to pulse brightly, its light casting stark shadows across the room, as the Time Lords continued their work with almost single-minded precision. As Jenny watched on, almost transfixed, she glanced at the open archway leading to the balcony outside. Through the opening, she could just about see the Artron Sphere hanging in the distant sky, and she could also see that its light was rapidly growing dimmer, while the container inside the chamber grew brighter and brighter. The room was now bathed in the light of the almost fully-charged core, and Jenny had to squint her eyes a bit from the sheer intensity of the brightness.
"Yes! It's working!" proclaimed Koschei triumphantly, his frenzied expression growing more intense with every passing second. "We're standing on the threshold! A new life for Gallifrey! A new beginning for our stagnant race! Can't you feel it, Thete?"
"No," said the old Time Lord quietly, a grave tone in his voice. "I feel only death."
Suddenly, a desperate wail emerged within the container sphere itself, making everyone jump a little in surprise. It was faint at first, almost like a whisper on the edge of their hearing, but grew louder and more desperate until it filled the room. The Time Lords around the control consoles paused in their work, glancing around at each other, their expressions a mix of confusion and blank shock, as the wail turned into a pleading voice that resonated all around them.
"STOP... PLEASE..." the voice grew fainter, the desperation and anguish in it almost tangible.
It was Thete who spoke first, his eyes widening in horror as he realised the incredible truth of what was happening. "It's alive! The Artron Sphere is a living, intelligent creature! The energy-tap is killing it, Koschei! You must abort the process now!"
But Koschei was too obsessed with the culmination of his life's work, too entrenched in his moment of glory, to listen anymore. "Quiet, you old fool! This is my moment, blast you! You won't stop me again! Continue the drain!"
Reluctantly, the technicians obeyed the command, and the wail became more agonised, more distressed, as the energy drain continued, the container pulsing faster and more brightly. Jenny watched the unfolding drama with helpless horror and dismay, and she looked imploringly at Thete, almost willing him to find a way to stop this cruel act. But to her astonishment, he simply turned around and began to walk away from Koschei and the pulsing container.
"Hey! Where are you going?" she cried, momentarily forgetting that he could neither see nor hear her. "You can't just give up!"
Jenny felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face her mother, who gave a reassuring, yet sad, smile.
"Relax, Jenny," said the Doctor, who knew full well what was about to happen. "He's a stubborn old goat, and doesn't easily take 'no' for an answer."
As the Doctor and Jenny watched, Thete walked right up to the nearest of the Chancellery Guards keeping an eye on things.
"Give me your weapon," Thete demanded of the guard, his voice firm and unwavering, as he held out his hand.
The bewildered guard stammered hesitantly, "B-but my Lord, I'm not sure I..."
But Thete was in no mood for arguments, and he simply snatched the startled guard's gun right out of his trembling hands.
"The next time a superior gives you an order, boy," said Thete scornfully, "obey it!"
With a swift and surprisingly agile movement for his age, Thete turned back towards the container sphere, and before anyone could react, raised the stolen weapon. The Doctor's face was grim and Jenny held her breath, as Koschei glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened in alarm upon seeing the weapon in Thete's hand.
"NO!" Koschei screamed. He began to turn to launch himself at Thete, but he was already too late.
Taking careful aim to make sure he did not accidentally hit any of his fellow Time Lords, Thete swiftly fired the weapon. A terrific beam of light shot out from the end of it, striking the container sphere directly at its core. There came a tremendous explosion as the container was blown apart into fragment, the pulsing energy trapped within it now surging outwards in a maelstrom of light. For a moment the ball of energy hung there, before Thete spoke urgently to it:
"Listen to me, whoever you are. The link is severed. Your chains have been shattered. Go!"
The strange energy being did not need telling twice, as it surged out of the chamber, through the open balcony doorway, and straight back to the Artron Sphere in the sky. As everyone present watched, the light grew in brightness, until it was almost too much to look at, and the Sphere itself began to pulse and expand as it absorbed the energy back into itself. Then, it vanished, as if it had never been there at all.
"Where did it go?" said Jenny in a whisper, despite the fact that none of the holograms could hear her.
"Back into the space-time vortex," replied the Doctor softly. "Back to its home."
For a long moment, there was nothing but silence in the chamber. Then came a loud 'thud', as Thete dropped the gun to the floor, the echo of the weapon hitting the cold metal tiles reverberating all around.
Koschei slowly turned around to face Thete. No words were said. There was no need, since the looks on their faces were enough to convey what they were thinking all too clearly. Koschei's expression was a twisted mask of pure loathing and disbelief, his eyes like burning embers, filled with a rage so intense that one could almost feel its heat. Thete's own face was a portrait of sorrow, regret, and a pain so deep that it looked as though it was etched there.
Then at last, Koschei said, quietly, simply and bitterly, "Enjoy your victory."
And with that, Koschei turned and walked away, Thete's head silently bowed mournfully, his shoulders slumped and his eyes closed in what looked to Jenny like a silent apology to his lost friend.
As she watched Koschei quietly withdrew himself from the chamber, Jenny felt a deep sadness in both her hearts. She felt a little pity for Koschei, despite his selfish and irresponsible actions, as he had just had all his dreams become shattered forever. But she felt an even greater, more profound feeling of sympathy for Thete, who had been forced to make a terrible decision, his mournful silence speaking volumes about the pain he felt at having to betray his oldest and closest friend.
"And that was that," sighed the Doctor, as the Mnemonic Tableau record came to its end and the holograms all faded away around her and Jenny. "Any chance of reconciliation between the two, any hope of rebuilding their old friendship, died in that moment. And after endless deliberation, the Gallifreyan High Council decided that Thete had acted justly. He wasn't punished. In fact, he was commended for his actions. And that hurt Koschei most of all."
Jenny felt the weight of the moment, the gravity of the decision that had been made so long ago by the man who was now her mother. The room felt cold, despite the warm light of the TARDIS. She turned to the Doctor, her eyes reflecting the sadness of the scene they had just witnessed.
"So what happened to Koschei?" she asked. "Did he ever get his revenge?"
"Not yet," said the Doctor, her eyes distant, momentarily lost in the memories of a past life that seemed so distant now. "But he never forgot. And he never forgave. The seeds of his anger grew into a deep and bitter hatred, not just towards Thete, but the whole universe, and he left Gallifrey to become one of the most evil and merderous individuals ever. But that's another story for another time."
The Doctor then turned to Jenny with a goofy smile on her face. "Come on, let's get out of here. It's all turned a bit too sombre in here now for my liking."
Jenny smiled back. "Yeah, I think I've had enough ancient history lessons for today. What shall we do next?"
"Who knows?" chuckled the Doctor. "The past will always be with us, Jenny... But give me the future any day."
The Doctor and Jenny will return later in the year!