Doctor Who and the Eternity Cage (The Future Doctor Chronicles Part One)

Chapter Fifteen

The Doctor fell forward onto his knees the instant the beam was switched off, his breathing heavy and laboured. The Grand Curator loomed over him menacingly, things hadn't been this bad for a long time.  

"Stand up Doctor, it's time we moved on." 

Pain coursed through his entire body as he rose unsteadily to his feet, dying and returning to life without using his regenerative powers could well have damaged his hearts. Sweat glistened on his forehead as he concentrated on putting one foot in front of another, the Grand Curator held onto his arm and guided him forwards.  

Even in his weak state he knew he was being taken back to the warehouse where he would face a further attempt to force him do what they wanted. If he was to prevent that happening he needed to recover his strength somehow. What do Time Lords do when they suffer heart failure he thought trying to wrack his brain and recall any useful events from his time on Gallifrey. Yes that's it, there was a Lord President who suffered heart failure, records stated that when he collapsed he curled up into a ball and shut down all his vital organs and simply meditated. It's worth a try he thought, there's nothing to lose.  

He groaned loudly causing the Grand Curator to halt and slacken his grip, this was his chance. Letting his muscles relax he dropped to the ground and curled into a tight ball. Shutting his body down was fairly simple, he'd accomplished it on more than one occasion but the coldness that enveloped his body was always disconcerting. The purpose of this though was to focus his mind on his hearts, he pictured them surrounded by a regenerative orange glow and instantly felt a warmth spreading through his body. The Grand Curator kicked the Doctor's prone body. 

"Don't you dare die on me Doctor." 

The Doctor's muffled voice soon put his fears to rest. 

"I'm fine thanks for your concern," he replied sarcastically "shall we continue" 

"I warn you Doctor don't cross me." 

Attendant Larkin was met at the warehouse door by Attendant Jacob's, who fiddled nervously with the handle of a metal case. He nodded towards the door. 

"Let's go in and prepare the weapon, we don't want him to get impatient." 

Attendant Jacob's laughed nervously as he held open the door for his colleague. They were already behind schedule, the Grand Curator wouldn't stand for any further delays.  

Once inside they both halted, the red communicator on the wall was buzzing, it was the Leader's private line. Attendant Jacob's swallowed hard and pressed the green receive button, the Leaders face appeared on the screen in front of him. 

"Where's the Grand Curator?" the Leader enquired impatiently. 

"On his way Sir." 

"Excellent, I'll be there when he arrives. Everything must go to plan." 

"Yes Sir, everything will go as planned." 

"I hope so for all our sakes. The power drain is starting to attract the attention of the population and they look to me for answers." 

In all her years of travelling with the Doctor Lucy couldn't recall a time when their situation had been so serious, in fact she hadn't even felt this scared when the Doctor had first rescued her from the daleks. The Doctor was all she had left after they'd exterminated her entire family, but at least they were predictable, you always knew their intentions. Her family and many others had fled the earth to a new colony before the sun went supernova but little did they know that another race had their sights on their chosen world. They had done their best to defend themselves but the death toll had been high, then a lone traveller in a blue box had appeared from nowhere and banished the Daleks to the edge of the universe. It was still hard to believe that such a powerful race as the Daleks panicked at the presence of one man, one brilliant man. All brilliant men have their weaknesses though, maybe the Grand Curator found his, maybe he wouldn't be able to save her this time.  

She stared at the double doors waiting for something to happen, while at the same time wondering just what was in the case that Attendant Jacobs held so tightly. Without warning the doors swung inwards and the Grand Curator strode in with the Doctor's arm in his vice like grip. The Leader followed closely behind them, his overall appearance was immaculate and his face betrayed no emotion. 

"Right, it's time to get down on your knee's." Attendant Larkin whispered into her ear before kicking the back of her knees.  

Lucy's legs buckled from under her and she fell painfully to the floor. Seeing this the Doctor wrestled uselessly in the Grand Curators grip. 

"Calm down Doctor, no harm will come to her if you co-operate." 

He looked towards the Leader who was stood near the door with his hands behind his back and received a nod. 

"Ok Doctor, I'm going to let go of you now but understand this if you try anything your companion dies." 

The Doctor nodded meekly. 

"Excellent lets take a look at the computer shall we." with a sweep of his arm he motioned him towards the centre console. 

"This I'm sure you're aware controls the life support systems and is the key to defrosting the cybermen. It's quite simple Doctor all I need you to do is arrange the symbols to make the correct sequence and then you're free to go." 

"If its quite simple then do it yourself." he replied defiantly. 

"Ah I see your feeling better Doctor. How can I put this, enter the sequence or she dies." He spun round and pointed at Lucy.  

At her feet was an empty case, the packing material inside bore the impression of a small hand held weapon, a weapon now in Attendant Larkin's hand. 

"As you can see the chameleon circuit isn't the only Gallifreyan artefact we have." 

The Doctor looked puzzled but then it struck him, the small pistol like weapon was a staser once used by the Chancellery Guard. 

"Oh and in case your wondering we're well aware that it has both stun and kill settings." 

He had to think fast, was the Grand Curator bluffing. How far am I willing to go to stop the slaughter of millions he thought? 

"Come on Doctor, we haven't got all day." 

"As I've already told you I'll not give the cybermen the opportunity to wreak havoc in the universe again. One life isn't worth the millions they would kill." he winked subtly at Lucy, who responded with the merest flicker of a smile.  

"Believe me Doctor this gives me no pleasure." 

The Doctor watched in horror as the signal was given, from that moment everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Attendant Larkin raised his arm until it was level with Lucy's head and without a moment's hesitation fired. The shot echoed around the warehouse even as her lifeless body fell to the ground.