“Don’t be so bloody stupid,” said Osborne, as he stuffed the last of his over-burnt bacon sandwich into his mouth.
“We’re not accusing you of anything, Oliver,” said Faith, “but I do need to ask you why you were here in the early hours.”
“I was working on the new plasma rifles,” said Osborne. “You know that, Faith.”
“I know you wanted to improve them, but-”
“But nothing,” said Osborne, shaking his head. “Why would I want to kill Stark? He was a pain in the arse, but he was our pain in the arse.”
“Oliver’s right, Faith.” said Benton, who was sat at his console with Beth. “We couldn’t be that unlucky.”
“What do you mean?” asked Faith.
“To have two traitors in the group in the space of a year.”
“Alistair,” said Beth, hitting him on his arm and frowning at him.
Faith shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” said Benton, realizing the nerve was still raw over what their old friend and colleague, Claire Taggart, had done, “but I seriously doubt Oliver was the one to blame. I trust him.”
“Cheers, mate,” said Oliver, clapping him on the back.
“Maxus is my suspect,” said Beth.
“Why?” asked Faith.
“Well he’s new,” said Beth. “We don’t know much about him.”
“Maxus is trustworthy. He used to travel with the Doctor,” said Faith.
“Where I heard he used to work for a dodgy group called the Eyeglass. A group that hated anything alien.”
“He lost his wife. He turned his life around,” said Faith.
“Look, this is stupid,” said Osborne. Leaning back in his chair and looking at his new commanding officer, “we’re all forgetting one thing here.”
“Which is what?” asked Beth.
“That neither I nor Maxus or any of us are actually Time Lords.”
“He’s got a point,” said Benton, doing his white lab coat up.
“That doesn’t mean we can’t be Time Lords,” said Faith. “The Doctor became Human once or twice. Lilly grew up as a Human.”
“I still don’t buy that it’s one of us,” said Beth.
“So the only other person it can be is Reikon,” said Osborne. “Face it, Faith; he’s trying to deflect any blame from himself onto us. He knows that it can’t be anyone other than him.”
“I just…I don’t know,” said Faith, looking frustrated. “He’s the Doctor’s brother.”
“Adopted brother,” corrected Osborne. “Where is he now?”
Faith looked a little uncomfortable. “He’s with Maxus in the lab. They’re examining the container and making sure it’s secure. Reikon even agreed he was the most likely suspect.”
“He’s playing us, Faith,” said Osborne, grabbing the prototype plasma rifle. “He’s trying to turn our attention away from him by admitting he is the most likely suspect. He’s playing with you.”
Faith looked uncomfortable. She always considered herself to be a good judge of character. She had only known Reikon briefly, but she had trusted him. She wondered if she should have though. He had already lied to the Doctor about keeping the container.
Could he really be trusted?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the intruder alarm went off. Red lights began flashing in the control centre as Osborne went for his plasma rifle.
“What is it?” said Faith.
Beth looked to her control station. “We have intruders in the front lobby.” She frowned at the readings and then looked back at Faith. “It’s a TARDIS. And it’s not the Doctors.”
“Greetings!” said the Master as he and Celestia stood with their hands held up. “We come in peace. At least this time we do.”
“Be quiet, Koschei,” said Celestia as a group of armed guards aimed their rifles at them.
The TARDIS had landed in the wood-paneled lobby and had changed its appearance into a large, oak cupboard. The glass double doors that exited the lobby had automatically sealed themselves when the alarms went off and the soldiers had formed a tight circle around the intruders.
“Okay, what’s going on here?” asked Faith as she briskly walked down the stairs with Osborne in tow.
“You don’t know us,” said Celestia, “but we’ve been sent by the Doctor.”
“And who exactly are you and why should we trust you?”
“Well I’m Reikon’s wife,” said Celestia, “and this is Lilly’s father. His name is Koschei.”
“Oh, you might as well tell them the name they all know me by,” said the Master, shaking his head and leaning against the cupboard, his arms folded.
“You may know him as the Master,” said Celestia.
As if on instinct all the UNIT troops raised their rifles and aimed them directly at the Master.
“Okay, relax everyone,” said Faith, moving down the staircase and towards Celestia and the Master. “You’re a wanted man, you know?”
“I’m wanted everywhere,” said the Master, dismissively. “But on this occasion you need to let me do what I need to do.”
“Which is what?” asked Osborne, his plasma rifle still trained on the Time Lord. “Because if I’m not mistaken, mate, you just became our prime suspect.”
“In what?” he asked, frowning.
“In being the real owner of that casket down in our labs.”
The Master frowned and then burst into a laugh. “Me? You think I’m the First Time Lord?” He shook his head and looked at Celestia. “And the Doctor expects these morons to protect this planet.”
“UNIT:X didn’t do a bad job of it against you before,” said Faith.
“Look,” said Celestia, stepping forward with her hands held up, “Koschei – the Master – is not the First Time Lord. I’d have known it if he was.”
“And trust me, my dears; if I was the First Time Lord I certainly wouldn’t have bothered with all of those plans to conquer this pathetic little planet.” He stared directly at Faith. “I’d have just slaughtered the lot of you.”
“Don’t let him wind you up, Double Zero,” said Faith, noticing the tension and anger building on Osborne’s face.
“What a double zero you are, Osborne,” laughed the Master.
“Enough!” said Celestia, her voice echoing around the lobby. “We need to see the container.”
Faith motioned for the UNIT troops to lower their weapons, which they did before disbanding but maintaining a close proximity to the two Time Lords.
“And you say the Doctor sent you?” asked Faith. “Why didn’t he just come himself?”
“He’s busy investigating the First Time Lord’s base of operations,” said Celestia.
“Out having adventures with my daughter,” said the Master, shaking his head.
“I only briefly met your daughter,” said Faith, glaring at the Master, “but I’m pleased she’s not a disappointment like her father.”
Celestia smiled at the Australian. “Bravo, Mrs. Crossland.”
“If you’ll follow me,” said Faith, “but stay close.”
“Don’t worry; we won’t do anything to endanger anybody else. I’m quite looking forward to seeing my husband,” said Celestia as Faith and Osborne led them away.
“Where are we, Doctor?” asked Holly.
They were standing in mostly darkness save for an illuminated area a few metres away. There was no colour to their surroundings, just darkness and black and white. The illuminated area was almost separate from where they were standing.
“We’re on the edge of a memory,” said the Doctor. “We can’t pass into it or interact with it. We can only observe.”
“Whose memory is it?” asked Lilly.
“The First Time Lord’s,” said the Doctor, his voice low. “We’re witnessing his memories. We’re the first people to ever have seen this outside of the Ancient Times.”
The three of them watched on as a metal chair came into focus. The room they were in looked like a lab with antiquated computer banks, wires, cables and all manner of surgical instruments.
Two men in white coats with fixed hoods and black visors stood either side of the chair. Another man – this time wearing a grey coat – stood in front of the chair holding a syringe. From somewhere around the darkness came the sound of chains and the dragging of bare feet against marble floor.
“Information,” said the lead surgeon.
One of the men in white coats pulled out a stone tablet. He pressed his hand to it and then looked across to the lead surgeon. “The patient is an unknown. It was taken from one of the outer towns. It won’t be missed.”
“Good,” said the surgeon. “Is all prepared?”
“Yes,” said the two white-coated surgeons in unison.
The lead surgeon cracked his knuckles as the figure was dragged into the room. It wore a long, grey hospital gown. Its feet and hands were chained together and a bag covered its head.
The Doctor frowned as the figure was dragged past them.
“Is that him?” asked Holly. “Is that the Slayer? The First Time Lord?”
The Doctor nodded slowly. “It would appears so.”
The surgeon stood in front of the patient and nodded. The three of them weren’t sure, but they had a feeling he was smiling in his mask.
“Remove the robes,” said the surgeon.
The two guards who had dragged the patient in grabbed and removed both the hood and the robes to reveal a naked body underneath.
The Doctor stepped back, gasping at what stood in front of him. Holly and Lilly looked confused. They looked to each other and then at the Doctor and then back to the scene in front of them.
Locks of long blonde hair fell out from under the hood. Although the Doctor could only see the back of the person there was no mistaking the shape of the body underneath the robes.
“Doctor,” said Lilly, frowning and pointing towards the figure, “am I right in putting this all together?”
The Doctor nodded slowly. “Indeed you are, Lilly.” He took a deep breath. “The legends got it wrong. The First Time Lord wasn’t a man at all. The First Time Lord was a woman.”
“But who?” said Holly.
To be continued...
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