The Doctor and the Time War

Chapter 1

The Doctor was just out of his naming. He was not an actual Doctor, but he was sure that could change. As a Time Lord, he had centuries to learn. After going through his closet, discounting Gallifreyan clothes, he selected clothes that he had recieved from Earth during a class trip the year before.

After slipping into them, he felt much more comfortable. He had always preferred Earths humans far more than the Time Lords. His own race was far too arrogant, too judging. The humans were much more managable.

The Doctor slipped on his dark leather jacket and closed his closet. To anyone who was not familiar to Gallifreyan technology, the closet was impossible. The door was six feet tall and three feet wide, and only a foot deep, but the inside was the size of an Earth shopping mall. Time Lord science, bigger on the inside.

The Doctor himself, five feet, nine and a half inches tall, had a weathered face, black-brown hair and a faint stubble growing on his chin. He seemed quite a bit older than his fifty-two years. To a human, he'd look about seventeen.

He slipped his thirty-two year old sonic screwdriver into the inside pocket of his jacket. Silently, he reminded himself to earn the credits to get the latest model, the Mark X. His own Mark VI screwdriver was beginning to fail.

He stepped out of his home and proudly strode down the street. His naming ceremony was his graduation, his coming to adulthood. Most Time Lords graduated at fifty, but the Doctor had.... authority issues. His tutors didn't enjoy his radical ideas and so never recommended his passing until two years later, and that was because they had grown tired of him.

As he passed the insanity ward, a face followed his movement. This Time Lord had become insane after his naming ceremony, and he was just about as young as the Doctor.

"Doctor. What kind of title is that? A servant.  A servant to the people! Whereas I, the Master, have a title worthy of a Time Lord! You all believe I'm insane. Well I'll show you! The drums... You shall all hear them as well, someday. The never ending drums!!!"

And as the Master finished his rant, his fingers began to tap: tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap.

The Doctor froze, remembering the Masters fall into insanity. The Master had looked too deeply into the Great Schism, a rift in time and space. The temporal vortex had stolen the Master's mind, broken it, and now, the deranged Time Lord insisted that he heard the drums, playing a warriors march.

The Doctor looked at the Master, and responded with what his nature dictated: kindness. "Perhaps I can be the Doctor who repairs your damaged mind, Master." He spoke slowly and deliberately,  enjoying the feeling of maturity he got. "And perhaps then you won't condemn my name." And he walked on.

An older Time Lord, somewhere in his five-hundreds, by the look in his eyes, stepped out into the street just before the Doctor. The Doctor stopped short, not wishing a collision with a council member of Arcadia, Gallifreys second city. The councilman turned.

"Ah, Doctor, was it? I was at your naming ceremony, boy. Congratulations. Would you mind helping me with this cargo?"

"Certainly, Commandant. Where are we taking these crates to?" the Doctor asked, hiding his astonishment. Not only had a revered council member attended his graduation, but that councillor had praised him!

"Only down to the laboratories, young man. You don't have to be so courteous, you can speak freely with me. Even important and respected men like I need friends. Oh, don't look so astonished, Doctor! Of course I'd like friends. Life would be rather lonely without companions. Say, now that you're free to do as you wish, how would you like to travel with me?"

The Doctor thought heavily on that idea. Travel with the greatest commander the Gallifreyan militaries had ever seen? That was an opportunity he likely wouldn't have the chance to take again!

"I'd love to. If I may ask, where are we going? And what will we be doing?"

"Everywhere and everything, my boy. Your knowledge is yet incomplete. I must show you the universe. Tell me, boy, what's your favorite planet?"

"Sir, ever since I began to learn of other planets, I have always found Earth to be the most fascinating. The humans are like us."

"Hardly. The humans are primitive compared to all other species. They look like us, but they only have one heart, only one life. They haven't even created space travel for themselves yet!" the Commandant said.

"But they're resourceful. And though they don't live as long as us, they still have accomplished much. So I would have to say that they are my favorite species." the Doctor responded firmly but respectfully.

"Very well, Doctor, I'll involve Earth in our travels. But only once, mind you, I find the humans rather distasteful. They're rude and disrespectful." the Commandant said with firmness.

The Doctor nodded. He couldn't pretend that he didn't know the natural hostile disposition of humans. They fought often and usually held grudges. That is possibly the reason they aren't as technologically advanced as the rest of the universe.

"I can understand that feeling, Commandant." He fell silent as they reached the laboratories. the Commandant set down the crates as the Doctor did likewise. The other Time Lord pulled a shiny new sonic screwdriver from one of the crates and handed it to the Doctor. The Doctor examined it.

"I've never seen this design before. Is it-"

"The Sonic Screwdriver Mark XI! Still in its prototype phase. That one is yours, Doctor, as your reward."

"I can't take this! It's experimental technology! It hasn't even been released to the Gallifreyan public yet!" the Doctor protested.

"Nonsense, Doctor." the Commandant replied, "It is yours. May it serve you well in the centuries to come. When you're ready to be off, come see me at the Arkadian Spaceport. I'll be waiting."

With that, the Commandant turned and strode away, leaving the Doctor looking at his new sonic screwdriver. Then he slipped it into his jacket and began the walk back home.