IN THE PANOPTICON-SEAT OF GOVERNMENT: PLANET OF GALLIFREY:
Vast light years away from the turmoil that was embroiling the Earth, the citizens of another planet drew together to observe the chaos and to figure out how best to handle the situation. The High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey was convening in an emergency session to debate what, if any options were open to them concerning the Gate of Rassilon. From the council chamber, the members of the Inner Council were gathered around the charcoal-colored council table in grim silence. At the head of the table, a woman was seated who was possessed of a regal bearing as if she could have easily been confused with royalty if Gallifrey had anything resembling royal families. The woman in question had radiant blond hair piled high atop her head adorned with a diamond tiara and tear-drop pearls. The lady was wearing the regal silver-white robes of the office of the Lord President. Her face was an unreadable mask as the wall display screen showed varied and different data overlaid on a holographic representation of the Earth. The lights in the chamber were dimmed and the data on the screen was replaced by recordings that the time technicians had made during the last few hours. On the display, the Earth was rippled and distorted and the planet seemed to sporadically phase in and out of reality. Warnings at the bottom of the screen flashed danger to the time line if the threat to Earth persisted unchecked. The President stood quietly and turned away from the rest of the assembled lords and ladies and clasped her hands behind her back. She could feel the weight of their stares on her back and she also knew they were awaiting her decision. Change had always been slow in coming about on Gallifrey and when it did it was usually quick and turbulent. Since the President had come to power, Gallifrey had gone from a hidden world content to merely watch the goings-on of the universe to a more pro-active role in the affairs of others and similar policies. Change had been slow and there were those Time Lords who were still loyal to the old ways; the old regime. It was these few and narrow-minded individuals who would have had no qualms whatsoever in sacrificing the Earth in order to save the rest of the universe. Secretly, they feared the threat to their own power and positions. However, the President and those loyal to her knew that if Earth were destroyed the consequences for Gallifrey would be dire indeed as well as for the rest of the universe; such factors as these were helping to shape the President's decision. The technician presenting the information finished her speech; her final words breaking into the President's thoughts;
"The result of the Gate's break in dormancy means the deterioration of the Earth's temporal field as it has chosen to situate itself on that planet. The planet will lose its temporal cohesion as it were, and become either free-floating in time or simply cease at all ever having existed. This must be prevented at all costs. If the Earth should start to float freely in time, it could come to occupy its own exact same point in time and space twice over or that of another planet or stellar body, the result of which is time ram. An obvious solution would to be to destroy the artifact or the planet itself."
"Yes, but the obvious solution isn't always the best solution to a problem," the President interrupted. The technician continued, "Alternatively, another of our options is to attempt to stabilize the Earth's time field and attempt also to retrieve the Gate and securing it in a null-time stasis dam. It is far too dangerous to have it return to Gallifrey as it would pose a threat to our planet and the Eye of Harmony itself. Our seemingly only hope is to enlist the aid of someone who can deactivate the Gate before it's too late."
One of the lords present, one who still held allegiance to the old order of things spoke up, "Why not use the Magnotron? Surely it would have some sort of a stabilizing effect on the Earth? We could temporarily use it to spatially relocate both the planet and the Gate until we can work out a more permanent arrangement." At this the President spun and the air surrounding her seemed to bristle with her temper as it made its unspoken presence felt to all. She spoke in angry disbelief, "What you propose Lord Ambul is no option! The time that the Gate has anchored itself in is one of the key developmental periods in the history of the planet. To use the Magnotron on the Earth could very well cause what we hope to prevent at all costs. Yes, we could use the Magnotron on the Earth and it's very possible that we may even be able to prevent a mass loss of life, but I have doubts as to that. Furthermore, the Magnotron would only change that planet's spatial location and the threat to time would still remain. We, as Time Lords, are pledged to protect all from and to prevent if at all possible, those sorts of catastrophes. I will not, while I am president of this council, have the deaths of untold billions on my conscience."
"If I may, Madame President," Ambul shot back, "You are too personally involved and I think that you are forgetting your training in emotional detachment. The time you spent with that rogue; what was his name? The Doctor, was it? Yes, that's it, the Doctor. The time you spent with him softened you to your training. You see these humans and their world as not merely the subjects of study, which indeed they are, but almost as if they and all they have actually counted for something in a larger sense. No, I still maintain that the Magnotron is the only viable solution. As technician Grallis pointed out, to send in an agent in a TARDIS would be foolhardy in the extreme." Another voice joined in the verbal barrage. The President's most trusted adviser and also one time companion to the Doctor, Ace, as she like to be called, spoke up, "Look here you weasel-featured wise-arse. That's my home you're talking about blotting out like so many teeth." Ace was dressed in her black body armor that she had obtained in the Imperial Spacefleet of Earth's far future. Ambul glared back at her disdainfully down his nose and made the mistake of a snide remark, "Given the circumstances, I think I need not comment, savage." Ambul spat this last word out and then went from snobbish disdain to complete and utter surprise when Ace crossed the room in three strides, grabbed him off his portly hind end and with long, muscled arms, jacked him up against the wall, forcibly grabbing his crotch, which according to his facial expression, hurt immensely. Hissing through her teeth she growled in a low voice, "How would you like for me to make you a eunuch, huh? Or better still, I could just nail your damn balls to the fucking wall!" Ace had reacted so quickly that neither the President nor any of the assembled lords had time to think. Some were visibly put out by this display of primitive aggression and then went to his aid. The Chancellery Guards started to move towards the two but the President stayed them with a command. She then laid a restraining hand on Ace's shoulder and called her down gently, "Dorothee." Ace backed down at the sound of her true first name pronounced in the French language of Earth and dropped Ambul to the floor in a heap as the guards helped him up. The President didn't show it on her face, but inside, she was laughing her ass off. After a moment she spoke, "Lords and ladies, you all know the situation that lies before us. We can either use the Magnotron on the Earth in a gloriously futile gesture or seek the aid of an independent agent to stop the Gate and save the Earth. However, we would have to send an agent by means other than a TARDIS. I put the situation before you to decide." The Council voted by a show of hands and was evenly divided six to six.
"I anticipated that it might have come to this," the President began, "and in such instances it is up to me to cast the deciding vote and I choose that we find an independent agent. The matter is therefore settled. Now all we need is for us to find a willing agent to aid us. Technician Grallis, call up the time zone that the Gate has anchored itself to." Grallis did as she was commanded. On the screen, a holographic triangle indicated the exact location of the Gate in ancient Greece. Grallis managed a close up view of the region. The time disruptions were even more erratic and chaotic here nearer to the Gate and the indications were that the Earth's time field could collapse altogether at any time. Grallis spoke, "Madame President, I have also included a search of native peoples who might be of some use to us as agents against the Gate. However, the temporal interference is making it almost impossible to get a definite lock on any one being. It should also be noted at this point that there may actually be one type of TARDIS that might be able to penetrate the time zone in which the Gate is anchored." At this both the President and Ace perked up and pressed Grallis for more information. She continued, "As you know, the earliest models of TARDIS units had no means of emergency escape without irreparable damage to the ship or serious harm to its occupants. It was decided for this very reason, that if a dangerous situation occurred whilst on any planetary surface conducive to supporting life, the TARDIS unit's Time Vector Generator could be disconnected and made to disguise itself. This was only put into practice on one TARDIS model and was later abandoned in favor of other safety methods."
"Grallis, what was the model TARDIS that this was used on?" The President nearly squeaked.
"It's an old model ma'am. There are no longer any models of this type left anywhere on Gallifrey. We would literally have to pull one out of the past and I don't see that happening unless you know of a way to penetrate the Absolute Time Barrier that surrounds the planet!"
"Grallis," Ace nearly shouted, "Just tell us the flaming model type that this was used on!" The time technician continued as though she were surprised that the President and Ace didn't know; "Why the model is the old Type Forty."
IN THE CAVERN WITH THE GATE:
Ares stood in silent contemplation in front of the odd alien object. The air next to him shimmered and Strife joined him in front of the Gate.
"Strife, this object defies description. It resists my energy bolts and my sword. And yet, I can sense a consciousness to it if you will. There is a great power here that feels as though it were teeming with vast intelligence," Ares snorted at this last bit, "If that's the case then it may be just what I need to help me stop Xena if she won't turn."
"Well it makes for a nice change from the old hack-and-slash. But before you just go about trying out your newfound toy uncle, and putting the warrior bitch in her place chained and bound at your feet, don't you think you ought to try and actually use it first?"
"I will, you idiot, as soon as I can figure out how it works!" Ares roared not wanting to appear the fool in front of Strife. The younger god cast a dubious glance back at the obsidian form of the Gate. Muttering quietly with a edge to his voice, Strife said, "I know the perfect use for it. It could hang as a picture frame for Hera's likeness in the Great Hall on Olympus. It's just the right size to suit her bloated ego."
"Remind me never to come to you for ideas about home furnishings, Strife," Ares deadpanned. The God of War, being of a practical nature when it suited him to do so, strode over to the pedestal that formed the Gate's base and slowly reached out a hand to gently caress the midnight black surface. Not impressed by the basic construction of the device, Ares stepped through the aperture that formed the portal when the Gate was activated and sighed, clearly irritated. He turned back to face Strife with annoyance playing on his features, and leaning on one arm, propped himself up on the Gate's surface, the palm of his hand coming into contact with the smooth almost frictionless surface. At that moment, a slight tingling sensation ran up Ares' arm and he looked over noticing that the alien portal seemed to be drawing, no, feeding, off his energy and draining him slightly. His arm seemed to be suffused in a bluish glow and seemed to be leaching, melting, into the Gate's surface. He pulled his hand away and noticed the light show before him. The Gate's surface began to dance and writhe with bands of blue light that spiraled over its surface. Bulges began to appear under the black surface and undulated wildly before taking the form of what appeared to be claws at the Gate's six corners. The show dwindled and died and when it was over the Gate sported a molten silver exoskeleton of adjoining claws that spat and shot energy into the empty waste at the center of the alien time portal. Ares was indeed amazed. "Why I never..." he whispered. He stepped back from the Gate and Strife moved to join him. Out of nowhere, the Gate was suddenly suffused by a golden-white light. The two gods gazed in amazement at each other as a feminine voice emanated from the Gate, breaking the silent stillness of the cave; Figure out how I work? I am not a randomly convenient tool to be used at whim and discarded without a second thought. "What are you?" Ares asked. Be silent and I shall divulge all of the information you seek, Ares, God of War.
"How did you know who I am?" Ares questioned threateningly while he considered what the Gate was saying to him. It responded with, All of time is as a book to me. Pages upon pages to be read as needed. There is nothing in all of creation that is not laid bare before my eyes as all events in the universe of time and space are recorded. Nothing is hidden from my sight.
"Go on then," Ares growled, "Whatever it is that you have to say, say it! I'm all ears." The feminine voice that emanated from the Gate echoed around the cavern as it grew in volume. I am an artifact of alien origin. My being has its beginnings in the misty dawn of time immemorial. It was my duty and my privilege to serve my masters as I was designed to do as the lords of time and space as I now wish to serve you. I am the first and the last remaining of the time portals known as the Gates of Rassilon!
SOMEWHERE ON THE ASTRAL PLANE:
The landscape, if it could be called that, was grey. The fog, cold and wet, was grey and it seemed to whisper and breathe in soft wet hisses as if arousing a lover from a dream. The entirety of it all was a grey void that pulsed with the heartbeat of life. The was a buzz in the atmosphere that sounded like a million voices softly calling out in urgent whispers. Gabrielle felt herself free-falling as if she were incorporeal and her head felt light as if she had made herself dizzy from drinking too much or from that child's game where you stand in one spot and spin around until you fall down. Somehow this was more than just a dream. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew. The greyness dissipated into a likeness that matched the night sky. Somehow, Gabrielle knew that something was wrong in the universe. The vision she had experienced on the path leading to Amphipolis suddenly leapt back into her memory with striking clarity as the vision of the object came back to her. A spasm jolted through her body and there was just a quick momentary flash that raced into her mind of a stranger. A stranger who would come from a far away place and who would save the Earth. So, both her and Xena's feelings had been a credit to both of them. Something dreadful was beginning to stir; to awaken. An ancient power with a great potential for evil was arousing and it was starting in Amphipolis. Images swirled past the bard in a maddening haze of kaleidoscopic colors and Gabrielle got the impression she was moving down a long and shadowed corridor. Was she falling or floating? She couldn't tell. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps. She was puzzled how this was as she knew she was in a trance-like state and for a brief moment a slight episode of panic seemed to overwhelm her until she saw that the immediate area around her started to lighten.
* * * * *
The Doctor figured that temporal disturbance had most likely induced a near catatonic or comatose state and somehow freed his psyche to wander the astral wastes. Deciding that some action was needed, he allowed his mind to branch out only to be stopped by a static barrier. He noticed that as he reached out with his mind, the invisible barrier around him would become visible and would buzz like white noise from a television. Some sort of psychic backlash I went through, he reasoned. Alone, he was not strong enough to breach the barrier, but perhaps he could with some outside help...
* * * * *
The feud between the First Doctor and Ian had ended. The Second Doctor, with his scruffy mop of jet black hair leaned over the unconscious body on the floor before them. After a moment's inspection, he looked up and concluded aloud, "Whoever he is, he's received a very nasty shock to his central nervous system. I'll see if I can rouse him." The little man took the prone arm of the Eighth Doctor and began feeling for a pulse. Almost immediately he shot a surprised glance upward at the other Doctors, his eyes wide in disbelief. He gasped in surprise, "There is a double pulse! This man is a Time Lord!" At this revelation the other of the Doctor's personas gathered around for a closer inspection. The Second Doctor looked at his other selves and announced, "I am going to attempt telepathic communication." The little man reached out a hand to the temple of his as yet unknown successor and muttered the word "contact." The Second Doctor's faced tensed with the strain as he tried to establish some sort of mind link, all to no avail. "It's no good," he said, "some kind of psychic haze is preventing contact."
"Of course you couldn't contact his mind," chided the dandy form of the Third Doctor, "You've got it all wrong, sprout."
"And I'll kindly thank you to keep out of my way, curly-locks!" came the sharp retort. And before anyone knew where they were, both the Second and Third Doctors were again embroiled in yet another of their classic arguments. Susan again played the role of the peacemaker.
"Doctors! Please! I believe we've had enough of arguments to last us all ten lifetimes over," There were general mutterings of consent at that statement; Susan continued, "If one of you alone is not enough to breach the psychic haze, why not try a concerted effort?" The seven personas of the Doctor muttered their agreement and after a moment's quick discussion, formed a half-circle around the prone figure on the floor. Harnessed in telepathic unity, they chorused, "Concentrate. We must be one. Contact!" To Susan and Ian, the sight was stunning. Here they all were, seven different men, yet the same man. They were harnessed now telepathically and it was not seven personas that Susan and Ian saw before them but the same man in seven different bodies; different but the same. "Well, Susan, it almost gives new meaning to the phrase 'talking to yourself'," Ian quipped. Susan laughed, "You're right Mr. Chesterton. It does!"
As the area around her lightened, Gabrielle became aware of the bubble. Its surface seemed to tingle and ripple and as she reached out to touch it, she felt a tingling sensation course through her accompanied by the feeling of being shocked by some sort of force. She tried talking at the sphere. "Hello? Can anyone her me? My name is Gabrielle. Is anyone there?" All she got in response to her questions was a buzzing that sounded rather vaguely like someone trying to respond through a torrential downpour.
Over the course of the last few minutes, the bubble around the Doctor had started to phase in and out of visibility and continued to do so until it had taken on a semi-solid state. Inside the sphere, the Doctor could just hear Gabrielle's muffled words, although he couldn't make out what it was that she was saying. He attempted to communicate back to her, but he couldn't penetrate the haze of the psychic bubble. It also seemed that there was yet another presence nearby and it seemed hauntingly familiar and oddly comforting. On the outside of the sphere, Gabrielle saw seven ghostly faces fade in and out in a circle around the hazy bubble. Slowly the bubble started to collapse and take the shape of a man. At first the haze crackled over the form until at last Gabrielle could see a head of shoulder length, brown wavy hair. The eyes in the face were bright blue and spoke to her of vast intelligence and childlike curiosity and innocence. The clothes the stranger had on were an odd mixture too. He had on strange looking leggings or breeches, a velvet coat or cloak of some kind with a shirt and some other type of short coat over that and a neckcloth. To the Doctor, Gabrielle appeared in much the same manner, starting out in a complete haze. Gabrielle watched as the seven ghostly faces seemed to vanish into the face of the stranger before her. She called out to him again, asking, "Can I help you? Who are you?" The Doctor could not hear her words but he was able to read her lips. He tried to reply when he realized that the bard could not hear him either. He then saw Gabrielle reaching out to touch him and he reciprocated the action. Their fingertips brushed against one another and the result was unbelievable. At the instant their fingertips touched they both started to glow blue and blue lines of electricity started to course over both their bodies and shoot outwards from them as the blue light became a blinding white glare. With a loud thunderclap it was over. As Time Lord and bard beheld one another, they each saw a glimpse of a part of the other's life. Gabrielle saw a rectangular blue box of some kind that was surmounted by a brilliantly flashing white light. The Doctor, in turn, saw a beautiful, dark haired female warrior. Gabrielle asked again, "Who are you?" "I'm called the Doctor," came the reply. The accent indicated he was from Britannia, or so Gabrielle imagined. She was about to ask him another question when suddenly she saw the two of them spinning wildly out of control, away from one another. The Doctor's last words echoed in her ears, everything fading to black as her conscious mind took over once more.
* * * * *
The faces of the Doctor's first seven personas eased as the strain passed from them. Slowly, and one by one, they opened their eyes. Susan rushed over to the First Doctor, the one she had always called grandfather, and with curiosity growing inside her every second, begged to know what was going on.
"Well, my dear, it seems we have yet another Doctor on our hands." A groan from the floor caused all to look down as the reviving figure of the Eighth Doctor finally came to. He shook his head to clear it and stood up, his legs shaking and causing him to sway unsteadily on his feet. He looked around the room at his previous selves and said with a crooked smile, "Funny, I don't remember inviting my ancestors round to dinner."
* * * * *
"OK, let me get this straight," said Strife, "You're some kind of time gate from another planet?" That is correct, the Gate responded. I was engineered by the technicians of the planet Gallifrey to serve the beings who would become my masters, the Time Lords. I can not only provide access to any planet and any time in the cosmos but I can control time as well. Ares wasn't saying a word; only silently considering the possibilities. The Gate continued to drone on in "her" melodious feminine tones; I can only allow access to the various times and places of this planet in my weakened state. To become fully active, I need access to the Eye of Harmony on Gallifrey. It is from this limitless source that all artifacts of Gallifreyan origin receive power. Ares then spoke, an evil gleam forming in his eyes, "I think we can be of service to one another. We will help you to attain the power you desire in exchange for your helping us." Continue, said the Gate in its melodious tones. "If what you say is true, then your presence by now has not gone unnoticed on, um, Gallifrey, was it? I can only assume they will be sending one of their number to reclaim, stop, destroy, delay you, whatever, yada, yada, yada. We can offer to help you establish a link with this Eye or whatever it is that you called it if you will help us rid ourselves of one very annoying bitch. A bitch who at the same time fuels my greatest desire and yet just happens to be a particularly nasty source of irritation to me." Who? The Gate enquired. "Her name is Xena. She's known to all as the Warrior Princess. But enough about her just for the moment. There is still one thing, one loose end that nags me. And as Strife here can tell you, I hate loose ends." What is it? The Gate asked. Ares continued, "After you help us and in so doing, gain the power you seek, what then?" I have only one desire, the Gate droned in its feminine trill, and that is to serve you, my new masters. Although he didn't say so aloud, Ares thought to himself, I'll just bet you do.
