The Spires of Jacarthia (Chapter 5)

Chapter 5 (The Darker Ages)

Lilly finished her porridge and leant back in the chair. “Okay,” she said, pointing the spoon at the Master, “I admit it, it was a little bit reckless of the Doctor to do that.”

“Hmmm,” he said, nodding. “Yes, that incarnation of the Doctor was a little impulsive. A little reckless, but his hearts were in the right place.”

Lilly’s attention was drawn away as Craig emerged holding a large, cardboard box.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“A present for you,” he said, smiling. “Thank you, Craig.” He took the box from Craig and placed it on the ground in front of Lilly. He opened the box and inside was a long, red dress with golden and black lining. He carefully lifted it out of the box and draped it over his arms to show Lilly.

“A present? For me?” she asked, looking it up and down.

“Don’t look too shocked, Illithia,” he smiled.

She took the dress from him. It was a beautifully designed dress. The material was some kind of silk and it looked like genuine gold woven into it. She looked up at her estranged father and then threw the dress back down towards the box.

“I see,” said the Master, nodded sagely at her.

“It’s a beautiful dress,” said Craig.

“I have no desire to hear your opinions, robot,” snapped the Master.

“Leave him alone,” said Lilly. “Yes, it is a beautiful dress, but I’m not taking it. You can’t buy your way into my hearts.”

“Illithia-”

She hissed at him.

“Very well, if you insist…Lilly…I am not doing this to buy into your hearts. I’m doing it because I genuinely care for you.”

“Then why did you leave me, hmmm? Come on. I want some answers.”

“Because you needed to become the woman you needed to become. You needed to be strong. You needed to be like me.”

“What? A psychopath?” She realised her hearts were beating fast and she was getting angry. She swallowed the anger and thought of Holly. “Well, you certainly created your own, little psychopath. I killed my own brother!”

“You see that’s the problem with people. They assume that because I do things that are questionable that I’m a psychopath. That’s not the case.”

“Decent people shouldn’t have to justify what they do.”

“I have done terrible, terrible things,” he said, kneeling down in front of her again - almost pleading, “but I have changed!”

“Crap,” said Lilly.

The Master closed his eyes, looking deflated. “What can I do to convince you?”

“Nothing,” said Lilly. “You will never have my love and you will never convince me to believe in you. You are the Master and I will not obey you.”

He got up and walked over to the console. He idly punched the palm of his hand with his right fist and then span around on the spot to look directly at her. “What if I told you your mother was alive?”

“You killed her at Mount Cassius. Caleb told me. She ran back into the castle to stop you.”

“I loved your mother,” said the Master. “I would never have done anything to hurt her.”

“Just frighten her? I guess that makes it alright.”

“She is alive and well and I can prove it.” He flicked a few controls on the console and the TARDIS time rotor began to move up and down.

“Where are we going?”

“Where do you think?” he asked. “Jacarthia - where all the pieces of the jigsaw will finally slot into place for all of us.” He knelt down in front of her again and took her hands. “And we will all be happy again.”




Many, many years ago…




Louisa awoke from her sleep with a sudden jolt. An alarm was sounding from somewhere towards the console room. But it wasn’t like a normal alarm. It sounded like a repetitive, continual beeping sound. Like some kind of alert.

She changed into her white dress and hurried down the corridor to the control room where the Doctor and Atom were already standing over the console.

“What’s going on?” she asked, fastening her belt.

“It’s a distress call,” said the Doctor. He looked upset with something.

“From who?”

“Stakran.”

“Well we’ve only been gone, what, six or seven months?”

“It appears Mr Stakran has run into a few problems,” said Atom calmly

“I told Stakran I’d return, but I didn’t think he’d run into problems this quickly,” said the Doctor, tugging on his braces.

“Maybe we should land, sir,” suggested Atom.

“Yes,” said the Doctor. “But let’s be careful, eh?”




The TARDIS had materialised beside the stone bridge.

Or rather what was left of it. About three metres over the lake the bridge just ended, it’s crumbled ends threatening to drop further into the sea. On the other side of the lake the remains of the bridge were also in a damaged state.

The town beyond had fared even worse. The white, outer buildings were blackened with smoke and in the distance they could hear the sound of explosions.

The ground shook and a plume of smoke and fire erupted from somewhere in the vicinity of the white palace - nearly the only building left untouched and standing.

“What happened?” asked Louisa, shielding her eyes against the sun to try and take in the carnage in front of her.

“It appears to be a disaster,” said Atom.

“State the obvious why don’t you, Atom?” said Louisa.

The Doctor walked to the edge of the stone bridge, his face grim. “This is impossible. We weren’t gone long enough for it to escalate like this.”

“What do you mean by escalate? What caused this?”

“I’ll tell you what caused this,” came a voice from behind them. “You did.”

The three of them turned to be confronted by a young man with short, blonde hair, a salt-and-pepper beard and a mucky, sweat-soaked face. He was wearing burgundy armour of the local guard unit.

“And you are?” asked the Doctor.

“Takmos,” he said. He looked like he wasn’t going to stay standing long. “Come back to see your handiwork, have you?”

“The Doctor didn’t do this,” said Louisa.

“Maybe not directly.” Takmos staggered forward a little, clutching at his right forearm.

The Doctor stepped forward to help.

“Get away from me,” said the soldier, frowning at the Doctors attempt to help him.

“You’re injured. Let me help you.”

“You’ve done enough to help Jacarthia.” He sat down on the ground and looked up at them. “Why did you leave Gallifrey all those years ago?”

The Doctor looked uncomfortable at being asked such a direct question. He didn’t answer.

“Because you didn’t like order, did you? You liked chaos. At least that’s what the history books said.”

“I don’t like chaos, believe me,” said the Doctor, his voice sombre and low.

“No, but you can’t stay in one place too long because it becomes too normal.”

“I’m not about to debate the reasons for my leaving Gallifrey when there’s a town burning behind me.”

“Jacarthia was normal. Normal and boring.”

“You were struggling,” said Louisa. “Stakran told us-”

“He failed us. Instead of negotiating with the Capitol, he thought we could stand on our own.”

“You should have been able to,” said the Doctor. “You have rich, fertile land. You could grow your own crops and easily sustain yourselves.”

Takmos shook his head. “We were isolated. Cut off from everything - from the rest of Gallifrey.” He shook his head and looked to his side, gazing at the mountain in the distance. “It was our punishment for not towing the line. For not obeying the laws. For being a rebel town.” He looked at the Doctor.

The Doctor looked away. He had been punished in the early days for being a rebel. He had been exiled to Earth and cut off from his people. In time the Time Lords had grown to tolerate his ways, but had he gone too far this time?

“Jacarthia needed help,” said Louisa, stepping forward and putting a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder. “Don’t you see that? Your mayor did.”

“And now he sits up in the white castle, ignoring the riots.”

“Maybe we should go and speak to Mayor Stakran,” said Atom.

“He won’t let anyone in. When Jacarthia began to riot he called in the security services.” Takmos shook his head. “The farmers began to realise that they could charge more for their crops. Everyone started to take care of themselves instead of each other.”

“So Stakran sent in the security service to break up the riots and bring order?” said the Doctor, his face a look of grim defeat.

Takmos laughed. “It didn’t work. There was chaos. Women and children were caught in the middle. After a few hours some of the more aggressive members of the community broke into shops and began to steal once they knew Gallifrey had cut them off. Those that tried to escape Jacarthia were forced back by the guards from the next town.” Takmos looked up at the Doctor, fury in his eyes. “Gallifrey turned against us!”

The Doctor turned away. He could scarcely believe what he was hearing. It had never been his intention to isolate Jacarthia, merely show them how to survive without the domineering influence of the High Council and the Capitol.

Now they were in danger of destroying themselves.

There was another explosion.

“What are they?” asked Louisa.

“Explosions,” said Atom.

“What did I say about stating the obvious?” asked Louisa.

“Pockets of looters. They’ve been raiding the town for the last few months. Most people lock themselves away in their homes. The looters prey on them and take whatever they can’t fight for.”

The Doctor turned back to Takmos. “May I ask what you’re doing out here?”

Takmos looked up and got to his feet. He winced at the pain in his arm. “I heard your TARDIS arriving.”

Louisa looked a little worried and edged closer to Atom.

“We can’t escape the town the normal way, but we can in your TARDIS.”

The Doctor straightened himself up. “When you say “we” who do you mean?”

Takmos gestured towards the town. “I mean everyone. The innocent residents that you left behind. The entire town of Jacarthia.”




Now…




“You coward,” said Holly, straight-faced.

“You think so?” asked Stark, folding his arms and looking down his nose at her.

“You sat in your palace while all those people rioted and innocents got hurt.”

“So you think I sat there idly biding my time and not doing anything, do you?”

“That’s what it seems like,” chipped in Richard.

Stark smiled, got up and crossed to the large, arched window that overlooked the street outside. It was a busy, Friday afternoon and in the middle of rush hour. He could see Café Zinc across the road. Faith was no longer there, but the Doctor was. He sat staring out at the world go by and it made Stark smile. He was a different man now, but Stark was still the same. The Doctor had changed three times since Jacarthia, but he had remained in this body.

Was it because he was more careful? He suspected so. The Doctor had always been a reckless person, but even he felt like this body was slowly nearing the end of it’s life. He had come from a farming community and moved to Jacarthia to head up the Farmers Union there. He had been recognised for his negotiating and had become a part of the small council.

He’d had an accident a few centuries back during a mountaineering hike and had regenerated into this incarnation of himself. Not long after than, Stark - or Stakran as he was known - had ascended to the top of the council to become Mayor.

The Doctor was in Rassilon-knows what number incarnation now, and yet Stark felt older than him. He felt like he was at the end of his life. He closed his eyes and imagined himself as a dashing hero travelling through space and time in his own TARDIS, being granted additional regenerations. Being given chance after chance to continually save the universe.

“Stark,” came Holly’s harsh voice.

Stark opened his eyes and turned to face her. “I’m sorry, Miss Dangerfield.”

“You were talking about biding your time in the palace?”

“Yes, well I didn’t,” said Stark, going back to his seat. He reached for his whiskey decanter, thought better of it and instead poured himself some tepid water from an old, cracked jug. “Myself and the councillors spent many a month trying to negotiate with the rioters. It didn’t work.”

“Couldn’t you have just backed down?” asked Richard.

Stark smiled. “One of us thought of that and even attempted it - much to my disdain - I’d never back down! - and the High Council simply refused and said we had to be punished.”

“So how did you end up here? On Earth?” asked Holly.

Stark held out a finger. “Like your friend, Mr Hicks, do you also skip to the end of books, Miss Dangerfield?”

“No,” said Holly, realising she had done once or twice, especially when she worked in the library. “But negotiating…”

“Well we soon realised we were getting nowhere. The security forces had failed in keeping everyone in line and not long after that the Doctor and his friends returned.”




The Doctor was sat in Café Zinc, slowly turning a teaspoon around and around his cold coffee. Faith and he had chatted - not about much - and she had excused herself as she had to go back to work. Now he was sat here, all alone with neither Lilly, Holly or Richard.

He had glanced up at UNIT:X HQ momentarily and see Stark looking out, a wistful look on his face.

Probably revelling in my failure, he thought to himself.

“You haven’t thought or talked about Jacarthia for a long time,” came a familiar voice.

The Doctor jumped. Sitting there in front of him in a dark blue silk shirt was Caleb. His face was pale, but he was smiling. “Hello, uncle.”

To be continued...

The Spires of Jacarthia (Chapter 4)

Chapter 4 (Till The Kingdom Comes Down)

Many, many years ago….




The Doctor had taken Louisa’s hand and, followed by Atom, they had made their way down the narrow, carved steps and towards the lake down below.

“You’d have thought they’d have built railings.”

“Nah, why bother,” said the Doctor. “If you fall you can just regenerate instead of dying.”

Louisa stopped and raised her eyebrows at him.

He burst into a laugh and motioned for her to continue. “Only joking!”

“Miss Jenson does have a valid point,” said Atom. “Safety is paramount to most species.”

“Well, I don’t know the answer, Atom,” said the Doctor. “This staircase has likely been here since the ancient times. One day I’ll pop back and ask the people who built it why they neglected to put in a safety rail.”

“Such questions are unnecessary,” said Atom.

“If it’ll make you happy I’ll go and ask them,” smiled the Doctor.

They finally reached the bottom of the steps and it was only a short walk across more red grass until they reached the green-tinted water of the lake. A single, stone bridge crossed from the banks of the lake to the first cluster of buildings on the other side.

“It all looks quiet,” said Louisa, scanning the building for signs of movement.

“It is quiet,” said the Doctor. “Jacarthia isn’t as busy as it used to be. Lot’s of people have moved out. It used to be quite the place for older Gallifreyan’s to retire until the cutbacks.”

“Cutbacks?”

“Yes. After the Time War most of the planet was restructured. A lot of the outer towns and villages had their funding pulled back to rebuild the Capitol or bigger cities like Arcadia and Catinder.”

“But the Time War was ages ago you said.”

“Jacarthia never fully recovered. It still hasn’t recovered.” He pointed to the flags in the distance. “Look at the state of those. Tattered and torn. The town doesn’t have the money to keep going.”

“So the residents left?” asked Atom.

“Not all of them, but a lot. Lots of businesses closed. It’s the same all over Gallifrey, but Jacarthia was hit worse because, apart from the glorious views and lovely weather, it has nothing else to offer of any economic value.”

“That’s awful,” said Louisa.

“Indeed it is.”

He led his two friends onto the stone bridge as they made their way towards the town.

“Back in the day Jacarthia had guards in that tower to protect the town from Shobogans or any wild beasts.” He pointed to two dilapidated towers that stood either side of the far end of the bridge. “Now they can’t even pay anyone to do it.”

“So why are we here then?” asked Louisa as she watched a three-winged bird swoop down into the lake to catch a large, silver fish.

“Why do we always come to places?”

“To get into trouble,” said Atom.

“No, Atom. We come to help. That’s what I’m here for.”

“You never get involved in politics though,” said Louisa. “And why just this town? What about all the others?”

The Doctor stopped her, took both of her hands and turned to look at her. “This is the start. I’m not going to interfere. I’m just going to nudge things on a little. Hopefully other towns will follow suit.”

“And snowball?” smiled Louisa.

“Exactly,” he said, tapping her nose and jamming his hat onto her head.

“Snowball?” queried Atom as they continued their walk into town.

“Ummm…” was all Louisa could manage.

After a few minutes of gazing up at the different sizes and shapes of the metal buildings a man with swept back, chestnut hair, wearing long, blue robes emerged from a side building. He was smiling and approached the Doctor with his arms outstretched.

“Thank you so much for coming, Doctor.”

The Doctor dodged a hug and instead shook both of his hands. “Not at all, Mayor Stakran.”

“Please, just call me Stakran.”

“These are my friends, Louisa and Atom. They’ve been with me for a good few years now. They‘re like family I suppose.”

“And what’s it like travelling with a legend?” asked Stakran.

Louisa smiled and took a look around her. “A legend? Who?”

The Doctor laughed and shook his head, clearly embarrassed. “Please, Stakran.”

“Just joking Doctor,” smiled Louisa. “You’ll always be a legend to me.”

“Will you come to the palace with me?” asked Stakran, motioning for them to continue. “It’s only a ten minute walk from here. I can fill you in on all the details when we get there.”

“Of course,” said the Doctor, taking Louisa’s hand. “Come on, Miss Jenson; Atom. We’ve got a town to save.”




Now…




“So you were called Stakran?” asked Holly, looking directly at Stark.

“That’s right,” he said, looking wistful at the memory. “Well, when I came to Earth I could hardly continue to call myself that. Stark seemed like a clear, logical progression. A bit like Illithia to Lilly.”

“Well all this talk of the Doctor and his friends is really interesting,” said Richard, “but it still doesn’t explain anything.”

“Do you always skip to the end of a book, Mr Hicks?” asked Stark.

“To be honest, Roger, I don’t do a lot of reading. I’ve always been a TV and hands-on man.”

“I can tell.”

“Alright, you two,” said Holly. “Richard’s right though, we need to hear what happened.”

Stark nodded. “Well, I took the Doctor and his friends to the palace. At this point in Gallifrey’s history each town was handed a certain amount of funding depending on the importance to the planet. The Doctor, and myself, believed that the High Council needed to change their policies. All towns should be treat fairly and equally. Jacarthia was being stifled. We were getting to shortest straw amongst the short straws,”

“So he visited the High Council?” asked Holly.

“Visited is not the word I’d use.”




Many, many years ago…




“How dare you!” bellowed the old woman in the high collar. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Please don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who you are, Madam President,” said the Doctor, his arms held by two guards.

The woman brushed a strand of grey hair away from her eyes and narrowed them at the Doctor.

“This is no way to talk to Madam President,” said a small man with sickly blue eyes.

“Forgive me, my Lady,” said the Doctor, “but I think you all need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”

“The bigger picture, Doctor,” continued the President, “is that Jacarthia isn’t part of the big picture. At all. We cannot pump money into a town that provides us with nothing in return.”

“So you’re prepared to let the town die?”

“Everyone of importance has now left,” she said, sitting back down in her high-backed, ornate chair. “The ones that chose to stay do so of their own accord.”

“They have no choice but to stay. They can’t afford to move to a bigger town or city. And why should they?”

The Castellan - the man with the sickly eyes, Belgram - held his hands out in front of him. “If I may speak, my Lady.”

She nodded.

“How many times have we disagreed on something, Doctor?”

“Many times, Castellan Belgram,” he replied, shrugging off the guards.

“Many, many times,” he continued. “And throughout the centuries. Different Castellans. Different Presidents. We have been content to let you continue in your travels. You have been granted who knows how many incarnations beyond your original 13, and still you prod away at us.”

“I’m just trying to help the Jacarthians.”

“This is Gallifrey. Stick to helping out other worlds. You’ve helped us enough.”

“Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your voice, Belgram?” asked the Doctor, leaning forward, his hands on the table in front of him.

“Well, there was the Time War…” he raised his eyebrows and looked across to the President.

“What about everything else that came after that? The Stellar Winds, the Army of Mortok? What about the Advance of the Invincible?”

“Nobody is denying that you helped Gallifrey during all of those times,” said the President, her voice a little softer, “but nobody asked you to. You simply flew in with that antiquated box of yours and did as you pleased.”

“And if I hadn’t then your precious High Council wouldn’t be standing right now.”

“It is true, my Lady,” came another voice - a little old man with pure white hair. “I still remember the look on your face when the Fifteenth Terror broke into your nursery and the Doctor single-handedly took him down.”

“Thank you, Spandrell,” said the Doctor, giving him a wink.

“There is no denying these things,” said the President, “but this is not an invasion or a Fifteenth Terror in a child’s nursery. This is politics.”

“And that is your final word on the matter?” asked the Doctor, straightening himself up.

“It is,” she said, stony faced.

“Very well,” said the Doctor. And without another word the Doctor turned, nodded a goodbye to Spandrell, and then marched out of the door.




A few hours later the Doctor was stood in the beautiful, church-like palace back in Jacarthia, a holographic image of the High Council floating above a central console table.

“We’re all waiting, Doctor,” said Belgram.

The Doctor opened up a scroll, looked across to Stakran - who nodded for him to continue - and then looked to the hologram.

“I, the Doctor - with the consent of Mayor Stakran and the other 11 councillors of Jacarthia - hereby withdraw Jacarthia from the rule of the High Council of Gallifrey. To that end Jacarthia will no longer pay taxes or any income to the Capitol. All money or profit made will go towards the rebuilding and regeneration of Jacarthia. Control will be handed over to Mayor Stakran.”

“This is a dangerous move you’re playing, Doctor,” said the President, shaking her head.

“You left me no option,” said the Doctor, rolling the scroll back up and passing it to Stakran. “It was either that or let the people of Jacarthia die.” He pointed towards the hologram. “And mark my words, Lady, that other towns will follow suit.”

“We shall see,” said the President, arching her eyebrows.

“Yes, we shall,” said the Doctor, flicking the hologram off.

Louisa blew air out of her cheeks and looked at Atom.

“That was easier than I thought,” said Stakran.

“The hard part starts now,” said the Doctor. He reached out and took Louisa’s hand. “And it’s time we were leaving. You’re right, Miss Jenson - I don’t do politics. I’m sure there‘s a Dalek battle fleet somewhere out there that needs stopping.”

“Left a funny taste in your mouth?” she asked.

“Indeed it has.” He turned back to Stakran. “Can you handle this?”

“We can,” said Stakran, turning to his other, nodding councillors. “Gallifrey will have to concede eventually. When the other towns follow in our footsteps they’ll soon realise how much they need us.”




Now…




“Is that it?” asked Holly, looking a little disappointed.

“Not exactly,” said Stark. “That was just the start of the problems. You see the Doctor’s plan backfired and it sent Jacarthia right into the darker ages.”

To be continued...

The Spires of Jacarthia (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3 (Louisa and Atom)

“Do you think you’re safe?” asked Stark, refilling his glass.

“Safe as you can be with the Doctor,” said Holly.

He shook his head and took a sip. “You’re never safe.”

“Oh, come on. He’d never let anything happen to us.”

“He’d never let it,” said Stark, sitting back down at the desk, “but that doesn’t mean that he can always stop it. Sometimes things just happen. Sometimes the people he promises to keep safe just get hurt.”

“What does that mean?” asked Richard. “We’ve been pretty safe so far.”

“You haven’t been with him long enough.” Stark went into his drawer and pulled out a file. He pulled out two black and white photographs. On one was a stunning, tall, blonde girl with red streaks lining her hair. She was dressed in a white dress with a black belt. On the other photograph was an equally tall man. He wore some sort of grey overalls. His hair was slicked back but his skin had a silver sheen to it. Almost like he was painted.

“He was an android,” said Stark, as if reading Holly’s mind. “Hydraulic arms and legs with a positronic brain all wrapped up in silver skin. His name was Atom. Or to be more exact, A.T.O.M. It stood for Autonomous Terror-Operation Man.”

“Who was he?” She looked back to the woman. “Who were they?”

“Her name was Louisa Jenson. She was very beautiful. Well, you can see that.” He smiled. “They were companions to the Doctor a few incarnations back, when he looked different.”

“Wow,” said Holly, narrowing her eyes and looking at both photos. “He never talks about them.”

“He never will do,” said Stark. “He’s buried them away at the back of his mind because it’s too hard to talk about them.” He picked up the picture of Atom. “He was an android from 2933. He was being used by a group of terrorists called the Fort, who believed in returning Earth to it’s basic roots without technology.”

“Hang on,” said Richard, tapping the photo of Atom, “this guy was technology.”

“Yes, they used technology to achieve their goals. A means to an end I suppose,” said Stark. “Anyway, that’s all academic and it doesn’t have any impact on what happened to them. The Doctor liberated Atom.” He picked up the picture of Louisa. “Louisa was a soldier fighting against the Fort. She came from the planet Hexicon, but lived on Earth. She was half Human and half Hexicon. She joined the Doctor when he defeated the Fort.”

“I’m glad you said he defeated them,” said Holly.

“As always the Doctor won,” said Stark, his mouth curling into a wry smile. “And they were very happy together. They travelled together for many, many years. Until Jarcarthia.”

Holly looked at Stark. He was pausing for dramatic effect again and this annoyed her. One of her college tutor’s used to do it. The students would sit their at their desks looking at each other, and before one of them would ask if he was okay, he’d start to talk again.

“Go on,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, Jacarthia is where it all went down, as you kids like to say. Jacarthia is where the Doctor killed Louisa and Atom.”

“What?!” said Holly and Richard in unison.

He nodded and smiled. “Do you need a drink yet?”




Many, many years ago….




“I do not understand,” said Atom, the frown on his face looking permanently welded onto his silver face.

“That’s the whole point,” said Louisa, her palms outstretched.

“But it was a mythical land. There should have been no opportunity for modern police units to attend.”

“It’s a Monty Python film,” said Louisa. “It’s called humour.”

“But there was no end to the film.”

Louisa threw her head back and sighed. “How long have we been travelling together now, Atom?”

“Five years, two months, three weeks, four days, 21 hours, 15 minutes and 44 seconds.”

“And in all that time you haven’t yet grasped humour?”

“I got the knock-knock joke.”

She sighed and got up from the sofa, laughing to herself.

“Leave him, Louisa,” came a voice from the back of the cinema.

“Were they time police?” asked Atom as Louisa got up.

“Forget it, Atom. I don’t think you’re ready for the Python yet.” She turned and smiled at him. “Come on.”

“You’ll get it one day,” said the dark-skinned man known as the Doctor. He had his arms folded. He had short, black hair and a dark, short beard. He was dressed in a tweed jacket and green, corduroy trousers, which were held up with braces over an open-necked, white, stripy shirt.

“Probably the day he dies,” said Louisa, with a laugh.

“Barring accidents,” said the Doctor, “Atom will never die.”

“Then perhaps that means,” said Atom, joining them at the cinema exit, “that I am never destined to understand the humour of the Monty Python.”

“Perhaps not,” said the Doctor.

“Are we about to land?”

“Yes,” said the Doctor, holding out his arm for them to pass.

The cinema exit led into a narrow corridor indented with round, circular shapes. The corridor wound around and around until it led to a large, hexagonal control room. In the centre of the room was an eight sided console with a glass tube running right through the centre of it and up to the high, wood-beamed ceiling.

Louisa was wearing a long, white dress with a black belt, the dress swishing as she floated into the room. She sat down on a leather seat near the console and Atom stood next to her. Louisa strapped herself in.

“Where are we going?” she asked, watching the Doctor dance around the console.

“Home,” he said, flashing her a perfect, white-toothed smile.

“Earth or Hexicon?” she asked, looking a little concerned. She wasn’t quite ready to face either of her home planets yet.

“Neither,” he said, winking.

“The factory on Mars? Where I was built? My home?” queried Atom.

“You’re both wrong,” said the Doctor. He pulled a large lever and stood with his hands behind his back as the TARDIS engines signalled its landing. “We’re going to my home. We’re going to Gallifrey.”




The TARDIS had landed in a clearing of red and orange grass. Behind the blue box, which stood out amongst the red tones of the environment, was a forest of silver-leaved trees. Further beyond that were huge, snow-capped mountains. The clearing ended at the edge of a cliff and gave way to an expanse of low, fluffy-white clouds.

“Wow,” said Louisa emerging from the box. “In all the years we’ve been with you I never thought we’d get to see this place.”

“In all likelihood,” said Atom, following Louisa out of the TARDIS, “the Doctor would never have taken us here. Outsiders are generally not welcome.”

“Unless under extreme circumstances,” said the Doctor, locking the door and jamming a floppy, wide-brimmed straw-hat onto his head. “Phew, it’s warm today.” He checked his watch. “Late afternoon.”

“You said the capitol was in the middle of a desert in a big, glass dome,” said Louisa, spinning around her, taking in the view.

“We’re not at the capitol,” said the Doctor, making his way to the edge of the cliff and peering over the edge. A staircase had been cut into the side of the mountain and far, far down below was a lake. On the other side of the lake a great metal city rose from the ground. All of the buildings seemed to circle around a larger, metal tower-like building in the centre. Beyond the main building, towards a more open area of flagstones was a large, white palace with blue and yellow flags raised high into the sky.

“Where are we then?” asked Louisa, gazing down at the spectacle below.

“This is a town on the other side of the planet. This is the town of Jacarthia.”




Now…




Lilly was sat on a deckchair in the centre of the Masters console room. She looked down at the bowl of porridge in her lap and then looked back at him. He was concentrating on some readings on a computer screen.

In the corner of the room Craig stood watching her, unblinking and unmoving.

The Master looked up at her and nodded to the bowl. “You need to eat.”

“You made the TARDIS explode, didn’t you?”

He stood up, put his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Yes. I planted a device in the time rotor when you were parked on Gandra. Just enough to overload the power systems.”

“Why?”

“Because the Doctor is my enemy.”

“But he’s my uncle,” said Lilly.

“Not technically,” said the Master. He walked around the side of the console and half-leaned/half-sat on it. “And you didn’t care for Mr Hicks.”

“But Holly-”

“Ah, yes, your little girlfriend.” He smiled. “I am pleased that you’ve found someone to…fall in love with.”

“What do you know about love?” asked Lilly.

The Master chuckled to himself and then looked at Craig. “Go and bring the package.”

“Yes, Master,” said Craig, who left the room.

The Master walked over to Lilly and then crouched down in front of her. “I love you.”

Lilly burst out laughing at the incredulity of it all. “Don’t make me sick.”

“Is it so hard to believe?”

She stopped laughing and stared straight at him, her piercing eyes unblinking. “You’ve spent your entire life being cruel and evil and hurting people. I don’t think your hearts have the capability of loving anyone.” She jabbed a finger towards his chest.

“People can change.”

“You took me away from my mother when I was a baby, let her think I was dead and then abandoned me with a cruel family. If your idea of love is visiting every now and then to make sure they were still being cruel to me then you’re as deluded as the Doctor always said you were.”

The Master continued to crouch and look at her. He looked away and then got to his feet. He scratched his chin as he walked back to the console. “I’ve been the old me for so long now. There comes a point in life were you realise that perhaps the way you are doing things is not the best way to live your life.”

“So you’re an angel now? One of the good guys?”

He turned around to face her again and smiled. “Oh, come now, my dear daughter, I will never be one of the good guys.” He chuckled. “In fact in all of this universe I have never met someone who is whiter than white. I have never met one of these fabled good guys.”

“The Doctor is good.”

“Is he now?” He smiled again. “The Doctor - like everyone - is just a shade of grey. He is lighter than most, and I have been darker than most, but we’re all still the same. We’re all still grey.”

“I’d rather have the Doctor’s shade of grey than yours.”

He shook his head and lowered it.

“Last time we met I asked you why you let me live that life for 24 years on Earth. You said you couldn’t tell me. If you really, honestly care about me then you’ll be truthful with me.”

His head snapped up. “Oh, I intend to be Illithia.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

“But it’s your name. Lilly is just a fake name that I concocted for you so you would fit in.” He straightened his tie. “If I am to tell you the truth you must first learn the truth of the Doctor.”

“More lies?”

“No.” He smiled. “He’s never told you about Jacarthia, has he?”

“Only a few basics,” she said. She didn’t want to hear this, but she had a feeling she wasn’t going to get a choice. “When he’s ready he’ll tell me.”

“He’ll never tell you. Let me enlighten you. And once you’re suitably enlightened you might decide to give me a chance.”

To be continued...

The Spires of Jacarthia (Chapter 2)

Chapter 2 (London)

“London?” said Holly, as she looked up at the Underground sign.

“London,” said the Doctor. “Earls Court to be exact.”

“Really?” said Richard, looking at the Doctor, a smile on his face.

“Ah yes, I suppose the sign gave it away.”

“I thought you were going to tell us about Jacarthia,” said Holly.

The Doctor closed the police box doors and then locked them. He patted the box sympathetically and then turned back to Holly. “I’m not. Someone else is.”

“Are you sure the TARDIS is going to be okay?” said Richard, realising that he was okay being back on 21st century Earth, but if the TARDIS became damaged on another planet and in another time it might scupper his chances of getting home one day.

“We got the back up generator working. The TARDIS just needs a few hours to recharge. Once we can get the lights on we can go in and fix her up properly. We’re lucky the generator gave us enough power to get here.”

“Why not go to Jacarthia?”

“Because Jacarthia is further away,” said the Doctor. “Much further away.”

“Hey, Doc!” came a familiar, Australian accent.

“Faith,” said the Doctor, smiling as the blonde-haired UNIT: X operative walked up to him and gave him a hug. “I got your message. How’s your box?”

“Beaten up, but on the road to recovery.”

“Hey, Richard, how’s it going?”

Richard shook her hand. “Good. I’m getting there.”

“Good to know,” said Faith, smiling warmly. “Roger’s ready for you two.”

“You mean Stark?” asked Richard. “I’d rather not see him again.”

“I know how you feel,” said Holly, glumly.

“Roger will be better at explaining Jacarthia than I can,” said the Doctor. “And besides, I have a little task for Mrs Crossland, here.”

“A task?” asked Faith, unsure of the Doctor.

“All in good time. Have some faith.” He smiled. “Meet me at Café Zinc in ten minutes.”

Faith took Holly and Richard down the road until they arrived at a large, white building with two armed UNIT:X soldiers outside. They saluted Faith and she led them up the steps into the large, oak double doors.

Inside was a large, entrance hall with a red-carpeted staircase. Holly raised her eyebrows at Richard at the grandness of it all. She had managed to fill a bemused Richard in on the basics of what had happened between Lilly and the Master, but she wondered if his brain could taken any more information.

“Roger’ll waiting for you in his office. Up the stairs, turn right, first door on your left.”

“Are you not coming?”

“Gotta meet with the Doc, remember?” She smiled. “Don’t let him get to you, Richard. You’re on the road to recovery now. You can’t change the past.”

Richard nodded. “I guess not.”

Faith said goodbye to them as they made their way up the staircase. When they finally reached the correct door they knocked and waited for a response from the other side.

“Enter,” came Stark’s silky voice.

Richard narrowed his eyes. “That man…”

“It’ll be alright,” said Holly. She opened the door.

Stark was sat behind his desk with a whisky in his hand, papers spread out on his desk. He got to his feet and nodded to them both. “And here we are. No blonde one?”

“Lilly isn’t with us at the minute,” said Holly.

“I’d rather us not be here too,” said Richard.

“Oh, Mr Hicks. Time has moved on now. You’re well. You’re better. Your wife is happy.”

“Don’t you dare mention her again,” said Richard, balling up his fists.

“Easy, Richard,” said Holly, holding his arm. “Can we just get to this little story, please?”

Stark smiled. “Of course.” He indicated for them to both sit down. “Although I’ve told him to stop talking about the place, it seems the Doctor is unable to let go of the past. What’s done is done.”

“We think Jacarthia is where Lilly is,” said Holly.

“Hmmm,” said Stark, swishing his drink around in his glass. “That would make sense.”

“Why?”

Stark drained his glass and leant back in his chair. “You have to understand that the Doctor can be a very private person. Beneath all his galaxy-hopping blunderings and non-stop chattering he’s a man with secrets.”

“He told me that Jacarthia was a town he tried to save but they turned against him. That it all went wrong.”

Stark nodded. “That’s true. To an extent I suppose.”

“Then why can’t he tell us?” asked Richard. “Why do we have to listen to you?”

“Because it’s too painful for the Doctor. He’s buried it away for so long. And I don’t blame him.”

“But he’s told you?” asked Holly.

“He didn’t just tell me, Miss Dangerfield.” Stark paused for dramatic effect and then smiled. “I know what happened because I was there in Jacarthia.”

Holly frowned and looked at Richard. “How’s that possible?”

“I was there because I am a Time Lord too.”




Faith took a sip of her coffee and then smiled at the Doctor. He simply sat there, with a glass of chilled water, and continued to stare at her. She cleared her throat and then looked away from him. Café Zinc was a regular haunt of hers and the team. She often used to say that Zinc made the best Latte’s outside of Australia.

Australia…she missed her home country sometimes, but she couldn’t get lost in her memories now. Something was on the Doctor’s mind and she suspected it was something to do with what Stark was talking to his friends about.

She checked her phone and then smiled at him again.

“Nice place,” said the Doctor. “I came here during the 50’s. It used to be run by a lovely old couple. Of course back then it was called Mr Jones’s Coffee Shop.”

“Doctor,” said Faith.

He looked at her and smiled.

“Something’s on your mind, isn’t it?”

He nodded. “A lot of things.”

“Well I’m here.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m assuming you didn’t ask me here to just have a coffee.”

He smiled and finished the last of his water. “It’s Jacarthia.”

She nodded for him to continue.

“Has Roger told you anything about it?”

She exhaled. “Only the basics. That you tried to help some people and it went wrong. That you lost people.”

“And you know he’s one of my people?”

“A Time Lord? Yep, he told us that too. UNIT have worked with Time Lords before you know?” She smiled.

The Doctor nodded. “I’m worried.”

“About?”

He fidgeted and looked past her shoulder and out to the street beyond. A scruffy looking man in a denim jacket and long hair was rummaging through a bin. “About Lilly’s father. He’s planning something.”

“He’s kidnapped her, hasn’t he?”

“Mmm-hmmm.” He closed his eyes. “I was supposed to keep her safe. I took my eye off the road for five minutes and he got her.”

“But she’s his daughter,” said Faith. “No matter what he’s done to you he still cares for her.” She felt a pang of sadness again. “He’s not going to hurt her. You children mean everything to you.”

“It’s the lies he’ll feed her that have me worried,” said the Doctor, tapping his fingers on the table.

“She’s not stupid,” said Faith. “I barely know her, but she seems like she’s got her head screwed on.”

The Doctor laughed. “She’s not stupid, but she’s is susceptible to other people. She doesn’t make friends easily, but I know she doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere other than with me.”

“And you’re family. Okay, maybe not by blood, but you’re her uncle, aren’t you? By adoption?”

“But he’s her father.”

“Listen, I’ve worked at UNIT:X long enough to know what the Master is capable of. It doesn’t matter if he’s her father. If she’s the bright, intelligent young woman that you think she is then she won’t be turned by him.”

The Doctor closed his eyes. “I wish I could believe that.”

“Don’t you trust her?”

“I don’t trust him.”

Faith reached out and touch his hand. “You’re going to get her back. I promise you that. If you love someone you fight for them with everything you have.” Faith’s face suddenly switched as if she’d remembered something.

“Are you okay?”

She laughed and shook her head, trying to forget the memory. “Just thinking about my little girl.”

“You have a daughter?” He leaned in.

She nodded. “Ruby. She was caught up in the middle of me and my ex husbands problems. It’s not what a six year old needs to go through.”

“I take it she stayed in Perth.”

Faith nodded. “Yeah. I tried fighting, but…well, her father could give her a better life than me. The military life is no life for a kid. Then I moved over here. I guess I moved away to give them some space.”

“Was that the real reason?” asked the Doctor.

She closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair. “I have no doubt that Ruby loves me, but she chose to stay with her father. She chose to stay.”

The Doctor looked at her sadly and then looked away. “And I suppose that’s my fear - what if Lilly chooses to stay with her father?”

To be continued...

The Spires of Jacarthia (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1 (Dead in Space)




There was only darkness.

And the smell of smoke.

No light or sound or voices.

Just complete and utter darkness.

Lilly was afraid. In all the times she had been aboard the TARDIS she had never heard it so silent. The soft, humming, almost lifelike background noise had become a comfort to her. She couldn’t sleep without it.

But now there was nothing and it was cold. She could feel the pain in her side begin to itch again and tried to roll onto her other side. The floor was hard, but she managed it with surprising ease. She can’t have been that badly injured. She remembered looking at the readings of her scan and then the console exploding.

Then the darkness.

“Holly!” she called out. “Doctor!”

Nothing.

She got to her feet and immediately tripped over something. She fell forward and realised it was the Doctor. She only knew it was him because he had been standing next to her.

“Wake up,” she said, shaking him. She had no idea if he was dead or alive. “Doctor!”

She fumbled in her jean pockets for her mobile phone. If she could get the torchlight switched on she might be able to see around her.

And then she realised she hadn’t taken her phone with her when they arrived on Gandra.

She cursed herself and then sat down on the floor. She closed her eyes - not that it mattered - and tried to picture the layout of the console room. Holly had been sat on the sofa. So if she was still in front of the console she could probably work her way around it and reach Holly.

She was about to get up again when there came a clunk from behind her - the doors!

She got to her feet and turned to face them. Slowly a strip of light appeared - the doors were opening. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster as the doors creaked open. Beyond was the dark, star-filled expanse of space. Only a few metres away she could see a silver cylinder, about the height of the TARDIS, hanging in space.

Silhouetted against the stars beyond was a male figure. The figure lifted an object to it’s face and pressed a button. A light illuminated the figure from below and Lilly gasped.

“Craig!”

She could barely believe her eyes. Her childhood friend - in actual fact a robot created by her father, the Master, to spy on her - was alive and well….and walking in space.

“Hey, Lilly,” he said. He sounded older, but it was still the same old Craig. He smiled. “You need to come with me.”

“I need to help my friends,” she said. “What’s going on here? How are you alive?”

“I’m a robot, remember,” he said. “I don’t die.”

“But…I don’t understand.”

“Come with me and I’ll explain it all,” said Craig.

“But my friends…”

“We’ll help them,” said Craig. “But first you’ve got to come with me. We can‘t do much until we get the power back on in here”

Craig reached out his hand and Lilly, looking back into the darkness, took it. “We will come back, won’t we?”

“Of course we will,” said Craig. He guided her out of the doors until they were walking in thin air. Lilly panicked - still a little bit in shock from the explosion - and looked down. Where she stepped light patches of energy fizzled beneath her. They were walking on some invisible corridor linking the TARDIS to the silver cylinder.

As they made their way towards the cylinder Lilly began to clear her a head a little more. “What are you doing out here? You were with the Master.”

“Still am,” said Craig, “but don’t worry about him. He won’t hurt you.”

“No, I don’t want to see him.” Lilly tried to pull back but Craig held tight.

“You can’t struggle, Lilly.”

“Please, let me go.”

He turned to face her and crouched a little. He was much taller now and she felt reassured looking into his kind eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“You tricked me last time,” said Lilly.

“But you never gave me a chance to explain.”

“Because you died!” yelled Lilly.

“I am your friend. I always will be your friend,” said Craig. “Trust me that I won’t let you come to any harm. The Master will help you.”

She closed her eyes and then allowed herself to be led by Craig again. They reached the door to the cylinder and it opened with a gentle hiss. Lilly grabbed onto Craig’s hand tighter as they stepped inside.

The interior of the cylinder - which Lilly had already assumed was the Masters TARDIS - was much darker than the Doctors. The walls were a polished black colour with white roundels indented at varying points around the walls.

In the centre of the console room was the console unit. Standing at the console was the Time Lord known as the Master. He was wearing a dark suit and tie, white shirt and shiny black shoes. She recognised the face instantly - she had seen him in a number of incarnations - this was the one that had been following them throughout time. She’d almost forgotten about him actually. But now here he stood, his eyes unblinking, unmoving, his thin lips pursed together.

When Craig finally got her through the doors the Master nodded to him and then smiled at her.

“Hello, Illithia.” His voice was silky and smooth, but there was no warmth there.

“Hello, father,” was all she could say.




“Shit!” was all Richard could say.

He had been heading down the interior corridor when the TARDIS had shaken and the lights had gone out. He’d hit his head on the wall and a large cut was now pouring with blood.

He felt along the walls and made his way back to the console room, all the time feeling his forehead throb. He finally reached the door and pushed his way inside.

The console room was as dark as the rest of the corridors and he couldn’t see a single thing. He moved away from the door, his arms outstretched, praying he wouldn’t trip over anything.

He jumped when he spotted the doors of the TARDIS were open. He could see Lilly and another person walking through space towards a silver cylinder. He was about to shout when he walked into the back of what he assumed was the sofa. He looked down. Thankfully the silver light of the stars managed to illuminate one or two objects. Laying on the floor next to the sofa was Holly.

“Holly,” he said, clambering around the sofa and dropping to his knees. She groaned as he turned her over onto her back.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Damned if I know,” he said, trying to sit her up. “But the doors are open. Won’t we get sucked out or something?!”

Holly looked towards the doors. “Oh, bugger it,” she said. “What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know,” said Holly, “but I saw Lilly and some other guy heading towards it.”

“Lilly’s out there?!”

“That’s what I just said,” said Richard.

“Where’s the hell is the Doctor?” said Holly, frantically looking around herself for any sign of him.

As if to answer her question they heard a groan from towards the console. Holly crawled over to him and helped him to sit up. He put a hand to his head and screwed his eyes tightly shut.

“My face. My face,” said the Doctor, feeling around. “Is it still the same?”

“Yes,” said Holly, nodding quickly. “Still the same. Well, as far as I can tell in this light.”

“Thank goodness for that,” said the Doctor. He shook his head and then looked back. “Oh, no!”

“Lilly’s gone out there, Richard says,” said Holly. “What is that thing?”

“It’s a TARDIS,” said the Doctor. He clambered to his feet and then allowed himself to rest beside the console. “It’s the raw form of a TARDIS. It’s what mine would look like if it wasn’t stuck as a police box.”

“Is it his? Is it the Masters?”

“It’d be a miracle if it wasn’t,” said the Doctor.

“Who’s the Master?” asked Richard, who was finding himself more and more lost. “And how the hell was she walking in space without a spacesuit.”

“A connecting corridor from his TARDIS to mine.” A look of horror spread across his face.

Holly looked to the outside and slowly the Master’s TARDIS began to dematerialise.

“The connecting corridor is going to collapse!” yelled the Doctor. “We need to shut the doors!”

As the Master’s TARDIS disappeared the ship lurched forward and the Doctor, Holly and Richard found themselves being sucked towards the doors.

“Grab hold of something!” yelled the Doctor.

Holly and Richard lurched for the console and managed to grab hold of it, but the Doctor fell towards the open doors.

“Doctor!” yelled Holly.

The Doctor hit one of the doors and grabbed it with both hands. The force of impact caused him to pull the door closed, but now he was dangling outside the opening, holding on tightly.

“Don’t let go!” he yelled back to his friends.

He kicked himself up as the TARDIS began to twist and turn. It was then that he noticed a piece of paper stuck on the outside of the door. He grabbed it, swung himself back inside the TARDIS and slammed the other door shut. The TARDIS began to level out and the Doctor slumped to the floor clutching the paper.

“Are you okay?” asked Holly, now realising they were back in darkness again.

“There was a note,” he said, unfolding it.

Holly and Richard stumbled over to him. Holly got her phone out and switched on the torchlight. It illuminated the piece of white, lined paper.

“What does it say?” asked Richard as the Doctor unfolded it.

The Doctor looked at the note and then sighed. He held it out to Holly and Richard. Richard looked confused. Holly intrigued. The note simply read:




“COME TO JACARTHIA”




Holly shone the light towards the Doctor. “I think it’s time you told us everything about Jacarthia.”

To be continued...