Doctor Who and the End of Days (The Future Doctor Chronicles Part Three)

Chapter Three

"He's moved his Tardis Lord President. It's now on the grass outside the west front of the cathedral." 

"Why are you telling me this when you should be operating that thing." he said angrily as he pointed to the time scoop "He'll be onto us now so we haven't got long." 

Montag felt his hands tremble slightly as he took hold of the controls. This wasn't going to be easy he thought. The time scoop was primarily designed to pick up living organisms. It was doubtful whether it would cope with the complexities of a time machine but he had to try. He no longer feared for his chances of promotion. With Rassilon becoming increasingly erratic he now feared for his very existence.  

As soon as he reactivated the controls the image on the monitor changed to show an aerial view of the Cathedral. He could clearly see the Doctor's Tardis on the grass so he gently eased the joystick down. It seemed to be going well but he daren't move the scoop any faster for fear of losing control. 

Rassilon felt adrenaline coursing through him as he watched the scoop edge ever closer to the Tardis. He was so close to achieving his goal. With the Doctor in chains he could triumphantly approach the high council and tell them that justice would finally be done. 

Sweat beaded down his forehead as he felt a slight tug on the joystick. To his horror this got progressively more violent as the scoop neared its destination. It was as if the Tardis itself was fighting against him. He struggled against it for as long as he could manage but lost the fight when it suddenly jerked to the right.  

"Damn it!" he cried as he nursed his bruised hand. 

The monitor above him flashed red and displayed the message 'Warning temporal shift in progress'. Panic washed over him in waves. He'd lost control of the time scoop and that meant it could end up anywhere and at any time. There was one way to find it though if he was quick. 

He typed a series of numbers into the keyboard and looked up to see the monitor change. For a brief moment he felt relief as he stared at the gleaming white façade of the Cathedral's west front, but a niggling doubt plagued him. It looked far too clean when you considered the enormous amount of pollution present in the 21st century. He glanced at the readout and it confirmed his suspicions. The time scoop had ripped a hole in the time continuum and ended up at the exact same location but instead of 2012 it was 1185. To make matters worse it was completely out of control and spinning at incredible speed towards the central tower.  

He stood with his leg apart and both hands on the joystick but still struggled to maintain control. All he could hope to do now was to try and ensure that it caused as little damage as possible. He summoned up all the strength he could muster and wrenched the joystick to the right. It had some effect but not as much as he'd hoped for. 

He stood back and watched as the scoop struck the tower a glancing blow. For the first few seconds nothing happened but then all of a sudden the tower collapsed onto the building and his view was obscured by a huge cloud of dust.  

Rassilon rose from his chair as anger built up inside him. He grasped an already shaken Montag by the shoulder and twisted him round to face him. 

"Not only have you failed to capture the Doctor you've also managed to change the timelines. You're an incompetent fool Montag. You've let a renegade Time Lord escape. The High Council won't look kindly upon you for that."  

"If you tell them anything about this you'll also have to admit to using the time scoop." replied Montag boldly. 

Rassilon stared into Montag's eyes but realised he was absolutely right. However badly the situation had gone there was nothing he could do. Rassilon the Lord President of Gallifrey and a technician were in on it together whether he liked it or not.

The Doctor bolted the Tardis door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. 

"There that should keep us safe enough for now." 

"What just happened in there Doctor? What the hell was that thing?" 

"Do you remember what I did back on Gallifrey?" asked the Doctor. 

"Oh you mean the control device you ripped out and threw at your President's feet." 

"Yes that's it. I always suspected that he'd come after me and that thing out there as you describe it proves me right. It's a device called a time scoop and with it he intended to take us and drag us back to Gallifrey. The device is outlawed so he can't have the backing of the High Council, which is rather worrying." 

"Why is that worrying?" 

"He must be working in secret so that suggests it's a personal vendetta against me. There's more to it than being annoyed at me borrowing this Tardis. I humiliated him and made him look weak. Not only did he have to call on my help to save his planet but he couldn't detain me even when I was in the heart of the Citadel." 

"How will you stop him though? Presumably he'll just keep on trying until he gets what he wants." 

"You're absolutely right he'll never give in but it'll be a while before he uses the scoop again. It would have attracted far too much attention plus it's a rather unreliable piece of equipment." 

The Doctor took off his coat, rolled up his white shirt sleeves and began to pace up and down muttering to himself. There had to be a way of getting his independence back. He couldn't spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder. 

Sylvester sat perched on the edge of the console not daring to move or say a word lest he upset the Doctor's train of thought. He'd seen him like this before and knew it was best to just stay quiet and wait.  

"Yes, that's it. I'm a genius Sylvester and if you wait here for a few minutes I'll show you why." he exclaimed excitedly as he strode confidently towards the interior of the Tardis.