“How could I have been so foolish?” said the Doctor, shaking his head.
Lilly was lying on a hospital bed, a number of wires connected up to her. A screen monitored her vital statistics.
“We weren’t to know,” said Celestia.
“We did know though,” said Holly, shaking her head. She was sat next to Lilly on a chair and was holding her left hand in hers. “I just assumed it had cleared up.”
“And what exactly happened?” asked the Master, standing a little way off towards the entrance to the hospital room.
“Why do you care?” asked Holly.
“Tell him,” said the Doctor.
Holly exhaled. “It was a while back. She was fighting a Kro’Tenk soldier back on Earth. Some of its blood got into a wound on her side. The TARDIS was running tests when you attacked.”
“She never showed any signs of an infection,” said the Master. “Not whilst she’s been here on Gallifrey.”
“It’s likely her symptoms abated. I expect they were just there, lingering in her system.”
“And why didn’t you tell me any of this?” asked the Master.
Holly was surprised. He seemed genuinely worried about his estranged daughter.
“Because the TARDIS was running tests when the console exploded,” said the Doctor, rounding on his old friend. “And then you happened and it all got forgotten.”
“I should have remembered,” said Holly.
“It’s not your fault, my dear,” said Celestia, placing a hand on Holly’s shoulder.
Holly smiled up at the woman. She barely knew Celestia, but she seemed kind. She was pleased Lilly had such a caring mother.
“The question is – what do we do now?” said Holly.
“If she accepted the regeneration energy that I’ve spoken to her about and became a Time Lady - ”
“She doesn’t want to become a Time Lady,” said Celestia. “She spoke about that often enough.”
“The regeneration energy would save her though,” said the Master.
“And why do you care?” asked Holly.
“I am her father, whether you like it or not,” said the Master.
“All this bickering isn’t going to get us anywhere,” said the Doctor. “We have to respect Lilly’s wishes.” He looked down at her. “No matter what that means for her future.”
“But if she dies - ”
“She’s not going to die,” said the Doctor. He checked the monitor. “In fact her vitals are returning to normal. She’s been pumped full of drugs. They should mask the effects of the infection until we can work out a way forward - a way to deal with it.”
“Regeneration is the only way,” snapped the Master.
“A way to deal with it without going against her wishes.”
Lilly’s eyes slowly flickered open and she looked around the room until she focused on Holly. “Dangerfield.” She smiled.
“Hey,” said Holly, squeezing her hand gently. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
“I think we should leave these two alone for a while,” said Celestia. “Come on, you two.” She led the two Time Lords away from her bedside and out of the room.
“How are you feeling?” asked Holly, leaning in closer to Lilly.
“Groggy, but better than I did before.” Realisation dawned on her. “Oh, god, I fainted, didn’t I?”
“Afraid so,” smiled Holly sadly.
“I was feeling a bit funny before we saw the President. I hadn’t felt that ill for ages. I just assumed the infection had gone.”
“I’m sorry,” said Holly. “I should have remembered. I should have done better.”
“Hey,” said Lilly, rubbing her hand, “you can’t be responsible for me all the time, Dangerfield.”
“But still…”
“No buts, Dangerfield,” said Lilly.
“The Master said you could take the regeneration ritual or something,” said Holly. She looked confused. “You don’t want it though.”
“I’ve discussed regeneration with you before,” said Lilly, shifting herself into a more comfortable position. “I don’t want to change.”
“But if it saves your life - ”
Lilly put a finger to Holly’s lips. “You’ve already saved my life,” she said, smiling.
“Then we’ll find another way,” said Holly. “I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to that, Dangerfield.” She inched herself up on her elbows until she was in a sitting position, the big pillows supporting her back. “And I have something I want to tell you.”
“Which is?”
“I never finished my story.” She looked down and then finally back up at Holly. “I need to tell you about what happened to Caleb.”
Maxus and Faith stood in front of the container. It was set up in the lab and had a number of wires and cables trailing away from it, although it remained closed. It didn’t look like anything was happening with it, and there was a systematic, rhythmic beeping coming from a nearby monitor screen.
Reikon was sat on a stool peering at the monitor. He was wearing a lab coat and made the occasional adjustment to a control panel. He had been chewing on a pen and a smear of blue ink had appeared on his chin.
“It’s not doing much,” said Maxus, his arms folded.
Reikon turned to face him and frowned, almost as if he had forgotten why he had asked them down there.
“You asked us down here, Reikon,” said Faith.
“Ah, yes. The container – it’s giving off some strange readings.”
“It looks fairly dormant to me,” said Faith, glancing back at the strange, cylindrical container.
“Not through the readings though,” said Reikon, turning the monitor to face them and tapping the screen with the chewed end of the pen. “There has been a slight fluctuation in the power levels.”
“Meaning?” asked Maxus.
“Meaning that the energy inside has been disturbed.” He looked excited and punched in a few keys on the pad. CCTV footage of the lab appeared on the monitor. It was a grayscale image of the container. “This is precisely 1.16am this morning. Watch carefully.”
Maxus and Faith peered down at the screen. All was silent and then suddenly a light appeared to flare out from underneath the containers lid. The screen went white and then all was still and silent again.
“Alistair estimated Starks murder to be between 1.30am and 2am this morning,” said Faith. “So do we think this flare has something to do with it?”
“Most likely,” said Reikon. “And I’m also slightly worried.”
“About what?” asked Maxus.
“Well I was under the assumption that the regeneration energy had to bond with the host body, but that might not be the case. The energy might have a way of actually telepathically reaching out to the host and controlling it.”
“I don’t want to point out the obvious, mate,” said Maxus, looking down at Reikon, “but you are the only other Time Lord here now.”
“That we know of,” said Reikon.
“Well Stark’s dead and the rest of us are from Earth,” said Faith.
Reikon nodded his agreement. “I would agree that if this is indeed the regeneration energy of the First Time Lord, then the most likely suspect for the host body is myself.” He nodded to himself. “I was abandoned as a baby and taken in by the people who I’d come to consider my family. I don’t know my origins. I am the most likely suspect.”
“You seem pretty calm about all of this,” said Maxus.
“I am, except I’m the most likely suspect and the most obvious. It was obviously someone in the building at the time.”
“Other than soldiers and you there was nobody else,” said Maxus. “We reviewed the logs.”
“Except our weapons expert, Oliver Osborne,” said Reikon.
“What?” said Faith. “What was he doing here at that time?”
“I don’t know,” said Reikon, “but I wonder if it’s time we asked him a few questions.”
Anastania was now sat on her own in the council chambers. She was reading through a few data pads when the Doctor walked in, his hands in his pockets. He smiled at her and indicated a seat at the end of the long table.
“May I?”
“Be my guest, Doctor,” she smiled.
He pulled out the chair and sat down. “Reading material?”
She laughed. “Just trying to do my own bit of research of this First Time Lord legend.” She sighed. “There are so many different stories. It’s all Chinese whispers. Stories that have been passed down through the ages. Stories that have changed and morphed into something new and different.”
“There’s one constant in all of it though,” said the Doctor, interlocking his fingers and leaning back in his chair.
“The Deadfort on Lanix?” asked Anastania.
The Doctor nodded. “The Deadfort. Every account of the First Time Lord states that he planned his battles from the Deadfort.”
“Time Lord archeologists have been backwards and forwards to Lanix for centuries and they’ve never found anything.”
“Legend has it that he was a mastermind. It’s entirely possible that those silly old stuffy archeologists weren’t looking for the right clues.”
Anastania smiled knowingly. “You want to go to Lanix, don’t you?”
The Doctor nodded. “I thought that myself, Holly and Lilly could take a trip there.”
Anastania nodded. “Agreed, but what about the Master?”
“Send the Master to Earth with Celestia. She’ll keep an eye on him.”
Anastania looked concerned. “I’d rather you be on Earth, especially if the essence is there as well.”
“Agreed, but it’s a bit boring, isn’t it?” He looked across at her and grinned. “Come on, Madame President, you know it makes sense.”
“Can you trust Celestia?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ve known Celestia for centuries. I would trust her with my life.”
Anastania sighed and looked to the ceiling in defeat. “I can see there’s no swaying you. Even if I did say no you’d still go anyway. Very well, take your friends to Lanix and look for clues. Look for information. When you’ve done that you join the Master on Earth. Stakran’s death must be investigated.”
“Thank you, My Lady,” smiled the Doctor. He got up to leave. “I really do think Gallifrey is in safer hands, you know?”
“On your way, Doctor,” laughed Anastania.
The Doctor exited the room to the waiting Celestia and Master.
“Well, did she accept?” asked Celestia.
“She did indeed.”
“Oh, joy,” said the Master. “A trip to Earth. I can’t wait!”
“One foot out of line and you come straight back,” said the Doctor, holding up a finger to the Master.
“I will keep a close eye on him,” said Celestia. “Where’s Lilly?” “She’s with Holly in the medical bay getting ready. I think the two of them have a tale or two to discuss.”
To be continued...
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