Genesis Of The Doctor - A Doctor Who Story

08 - Flight

Time flows like a river, and like a river, time can eddy and meander, it can split into tributaries and where it bends and slows an ox-bow lake can form, detached and isolated. In such a way Gallifrey, the planet of the Time Lords lay alone, taken out of the main flow of time to run its own separate course.

From their lonely vantage point the Gallifreyans could see the entirety of existence from beginning to end. This unique facility gave them mastery over time, letting them enter the greater universe at will anywhere and anywhen. Their exclusive perspective and their technical superiority had given them an arrogance and a sense of entitlement that had led to them interfering with the flow of time and with the lives of those that they considered their subjects.

Things had not always been this way: Before the Guardians and their Tardises, when Gallifrey was new, the original Gallifreyans were observers and documenters, interested in the how and why of things. They meticulously collected data regarding the rise and fall of so many civilisations that their data's complexity threatened to become as intricate as the universe itself.

As the aeons passed, theories came and went as they tried to make sense of the shape of what they had recorded. Inevitably the temptation to move from observers to participants overcame them and at that point the damage was done. The Guardians and their successors the 'Time Lords' had been working to correct this mistake ever since.

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In a quiet corner of the Citadel the first of the reluctant invaders sniffed the air, the strange scents causing it concern. It was joined by first one sister then another and another, the agglomeration of their more familiar smells reducing their anxiety and giving them the confidence to explore.

Soon the quiet corner ceased to be peaceful as more and more of the creatures spilled from the transmat and began to come across the Gallifreyan residents of the place, none of which had ever encountered a mouse - let alone one thousand identical frantically scampering and jumping mice! Screams echoed around the Citadel as panic ensued.

A similar picture was repeated planet-wide as a billion transmats conjured up a trillion copies of one single mouse, smuggled from Earth in the pocket of a recently invested Time Lord.

In their cubbyhole tucked away within their dorm, the perpetrators of this planet-wide confusion worked feverishly on their flyer, pushing buttons and pulling levers as the jury-rigged contraption emitted smoke and bright bursts of light. "Our diversion should be well under way by now - that Rani's quite a smuggler," said the girl.

"I just hope those coordinates you took from the Time Node while she was on her trip were correct and we're not going to appear inside a star or, worse still, inside the cafeteria or something."

"I'm with you there. Now shut up and concentrate, we haven't got much time."

The boy studied the girl's face for a brief moment, "You're quite sure that this thing isn't going to blow up and take us with it?"

"I am quite sure. Okay get in, budge up. More. Right let's do this thing. Hit it!"

Seated within the cockpit of their completed flyer hidden within the walls of their dorm, the boy punched a large control inches in front of his face and both passengers ducked as the resultant shower of sparks filled the cabin. There was a flash of violet light, a loud bang and then the flyer dematerialised, leaving behind a fading yellow glow.

Trying to make himself heard above the chaotic din filling the Citadel control complex a technician shouted, "Unauthorised transmat activity in Prydonian Deca dormitory area."

"Ignore it you idiot, letting me know if there's any authorised transmat activity would surely make more sense at this moment!" his superior shouted back, stamping her feet to try and dislodge the mice clinging to her trouser legs.

A million kilometres above the planet's surface a ball of yellow light appeared, changing to a bright violet as the tiny flyer appeared within it.

"We're alive!" exclaimed the boy with relief.

"If we don't get the next steps right that won't be the case for long," cautioned the girl. "Point us right there." She pointed towards one of the brilliant jets of light streaming from the poles of the 'Eye of Harmony'. "Maximum thrusters!"

The pair were pushed back into their seats by the sudden acceleration. The boy managed, "Done. Now angle the collectors, we only get one go at this so let's not mess it up"

Rushing forward, the flyer turned in a tight arc as it accelerated towards the 'Eye' and the great plume of energy lancing away from it. They had calculated the exact angle and velocity that they would need to reach to collide with the energy beam emanating from the black hole. This would harness enough energy to tear their way out of Gallifrey and into the time vortex beyond.

"Automated systems are attempting to lock onto us as expected. Deploying countermeasures... now," reported the girl, trying to keep her voice calm despite the chaos of smoking equipment around them.

There was a loud bang from the rear of the craft. "We just lost the secondary thrusters but I think we're probably going fast enough now anyway," shouted the boy above the ever-rising noise coming from the flyer.

"Let's hope 'probably' is enough. We've a number of drones on our tail. We must be going too fast for them to catch us by now, surely?"

"Thirty clicks until impact, give or take, nothing more we can do now."

With their hands no longer needing to work the controls, the pair embraced and held each other as tightly as they could while the flyer smashed into the superheated jet ploughing out from the 'Eye' and vanished with a brilliant flash of violet light.

Back in his chamber, Borusa was communicating with the stranger once more, "They are away, there is nothing more that I can do now. They either live or they die."

The stranger's words faded in, rapidly becoming deafening to Borusa once again, "You had better hope that they live," he rasped, "or it will not go well for you Borusa, I will not tolerate failure."

"Is that a threat?" Borusa asked. The stranger had already left his mind.