To Be Human

Chapter 21 - The Sound of the Drums

The Sound of the Drums, part 1 -

In an alleyway, somewhere in London, a time vortex appeared and shortly thereafter, Jack, Martha, the Oracle and the Doctor holding their heads and bellies.

"Oh, my head", Martha leaned against a wall.

"Time travel without a capsule. That's a killer", the Doctor commented.

"Still, at least we made it. Earth, twenty first century by the looks of it. Talk about lucky", Jack said.

"Excuse me? That wasn't luck. I did that", the Oracle said.

"The moral is, if you're going to get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator", he said.

"There are so many points I could bring up now, but we just don't have the time", she argued.

"But this Master-bloke, he's got the Tardis. He could be anywhere in time and space", Martha pointed out.

"No, he's here. Trust me", the Doctor said.

"Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor", Martha said.

"If the Master's a Time Lord, then he must've regenerated", Jack pondered.

"What does that mean?", she asked.

"It means he's changed his face, voice, body, everything. New man."

"Then how are we going to find him?"

"We'll know him, the moment we see him. Time Lords always do", the Doctor told him.

"His voice was so familiar", the Oracle pointed out.

"But hold on. If he could be anyone", Martha looked around, "we missed the election. But it can't be."

They found a public television screen that broadcast the news.

"Mister Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters", the newsreader read on-screen.

"I said I knew that voice. When he spoke inside the Tardis. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon", Martha said.

"That's him", the Doctor said with wide eyes, "He's Prime Minister. The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Master and his wife?"

On screen, the Master kissed the woman by his side and then spoke, "This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that what this country really needs right now, is a Doctor."

The group went back to Martha and Jane's flat. Martha opened the door and the Doctor started pacing the living room.

"Home", Martha commented.

"What have you got? Computer, laptop, anything. Jack, who are you phoning? You can't tell anyone we're here."

The Oracle went into her - well, Jane's - room and got her laptop to give to the Doctor.

"Just some friends of mine, but there's no reply", Jack replied, "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages."

"I applied for an internship for credits this semester but I got the one with the opponent so I didn't take it. Preferred the other one", the Oracle said.

"That's so weird, though. It's the day after the election. That's only four days after we met you", Martha said, sitting down.

"We went flying all around the universe while was here all the time", the Doctor added.