Doctor Who and the Final Confrontation (The Future Doctor Chronicles Part Two)

Chapter Seven

A faceless man haunted his dreams and had done ever since he'd taken the Doctor out of space and time. Even now his mocking laughter filled his head cutting out all other thoughts. Waking didn't even rid him of this nocturnal demon.  

A persistent beeping sound momentarily shifted his focus back to reality and caused him to wake with a start. It was the communicator by the side of his bed. Whoever wanted him it must be urgent otherwise they wouldn't disturb him at night. Leaning over he pressed the call button and began to speak. 

"What's the problem?" 

"We've picked up some worrying activity on the central monitor Lord President." 

"What sort of activity?" asked Rassilon intrigued. 

"It's probably best if you come and look for yourself." 

Rassilon sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. 

"Very well I'll be there as soon as possible." 

He was certain this was just another case of an over zealous young technician panicking but he had to check anyway. Before he'd even stood up his steward was in the room with his scarlet day robes. Once he'd helped him on with them he shuffled out of the room without uttering a word.

Any hopes of this being a minor incident were dashed once he turned a corner and saw a crowd of Time Lords outside Central Monitoring. Their hushed conversations ceased abruptly as they saw him approach. 

"Haven't you got duties to attend to?" he asked sternly. 

"Yes Lord President." they replied collectively. 

"Well get to them then and cease your idle gossip." 

Rassilon waited for them to disperse before approaching the door. He was met on the other side by Technician Montag. 

"Lord President the situation has worsened since we last spoke." 

He gestured to the monitor behind him. 

"This is what's happening as we speak on Skaro." 

Rassilon stared in astonishment at the scene in front of him. He couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Orbiting the planet were thousands of Dalek battleships in formation and ready to leave. 

"How many troops are there?" he asked. 

"We estimate there to be around a quarter of a million Daleks." 

"Any reason for the sudden increase in activity." 

"None that we could discover but this isn't the extent of the problem." he warned. 

Montag tapped a few buttons on the control panel below the screen and watched the image change. 

"Is that the Earth." asked Rassilon. 

"No if it was we wouldn't have such cause for concern. It's actually Mondas the home of the Cybermen." 

Montag swept a hand across the image causing it to zoom out. The resulting image closely resembled the last one. Thousands of ships orbited the planet. 

"How many?" 

"Current estimates stand at around a quarter of a million." 

Rassilon kept his composure despite his deep concern. 

"Keep monitoring both planets and report any changes directly to me." 

He spun around and left the room. The High Council needed to be informed of the situation and a plan had to be formulated fast.

By now you've probably heard that up to half a million Cybermen and Daleks are in battle formation. We have yet to ascertain where they are heading. Unfortunately the power drain from our previous venture has left us unable to scan the future." 

"What exactly do you plan to do then?" asked Cardinal Treve clearly impatient for some answers. 

"I'm sending Romana to Mondas to investigate." 

"Are you certain she can be trusted?" 

"Absolutely she's perfect for the job." 

"Very well. May I suggest that you waste no time in getting her out there. We don't know how much time we have before they launch an attack on some inferior civilisation." 

"My primary concern Cardinal is whether that attack is heading this way." 

Cardinal Treve laughed out loud at Rassilon's last comment. 

"Neither race has the skill or nerve to attack Gallifrey." 

"I agree but the Daleks harbour an intense hatred for us and with help they might just believe themselves to be capable of defeating us. If the rest of the universe takes notice of what they're doing then we could come under threat." 

Rassilon stood up, took one last look at their stunned faces and left.

Despite the lateness of the hour Romana was still awake and sat at the desk in her quarters. She'd suffered with insomnia since leaving the Doctor to his fate. Every time she closed her eyes she saw his face pleading with her to release him from his prison. With each passing day that face aged more and more until he was almost unrecognisable.  

She flinched and span round in her chair as she felt a slight pressure on her shoulder. To her surprise it was Lord President Rassilon who'd disturbed her thoughts.  

"Trouble sleeping Romana." he asked. 

"Does it show?" she replied smiling politely. 

"I'm sending you to Mondas." he stated changing the subject. 

"Why?" 

"For two reasons. Firstly we've got grave concerns regarding recent military activity on that planet. Plus you need something to occupy your mind." 

"When do I go?" she asked staring blankly at him. 

"Immediately." 

"You really are concerned aren't you? So you trust me with a Tardis then." 

Rassilon turned to leave but before he was out of the door he turned and faced her with a cold hard stare. 

"The Tardis has one preset destination. Any attempt at interfering with this will send it straight back home." 

She smiled more to herself than Rassilon. The Time Lords never change she thought. They'd always been content to just observe rather than leave the protection of the citadel and were highly distrustful of those who disagreed with that notion.