The Time War: Rebellion

One

I had been appointed by Rassilon himself. I would not forget that day, that day in his chamber. Naturally, he had been sat on the throne when I entered. Rich, ruby robes, emblazoned with golden streaks of Old High Gallifreyan, mirroring the swirling patterns on the walls.
I had been summoned to this place just a few minutes before, by a guard that didn't talk much. I had been told I was wanted by the President, so knew this was important.
"You will find the Other."
That was all he had said. I knew, of course, the legends of the Other, but, like many war-hardened refugees, had stopped believing in legends. Legends were for the young ones, to give them hope, to make them think that we had a chance in this eternal War, the War that would inevitably destroy us all.
I must have looked confused, or skeptical, or both, because he spoke again, this time more insistently.
"If you think that I am going to spend time explaining why the Other is not a myth, then you are mistaken. You will not question his existence, or his morality, or my need for him, you will only find him."
My mouth was dry. I did not speak, only nodded.
"You will be given the necessary resources to locate him. You have been tested, along with the other refugees, and you are currently my best chance at finding him. Go, find him, and bring him to me."
After that was a blur. I was escorted out of the room by another, less intimidating guard, and left in a cold room, with a small silver disk. I knew what this was: a data chip. I was terrified, but I could still think straight. This was the information I needed to find the other.
I put the disk into a slot into a slot in the side of a blackened table, and waited. After a few seconds, there was a woman's voice.
"Information collected from the Records of Rassilon: The Other was one of the original founders of Time Lord society, along with Rassilon and Omega. The birth and origin of the Other remains a mystery, but is said to be revealed in the distant future. The Other was influential during the Dark Times on Gallifrey after the cult of Pythia had ended. He is said to have shared a bond with the Hand of Omega, and influenced the creation of another famous Time Lord: the Doctor. The Other is said to have spent a lot of time on the planet Torobraxos, sister planet of Karabraxos. Any rec-"
The voice suddenly became distorted, and for a few seconds stopped altogether.
"It is coming. The thing to end it all. The wolf. The wolf will howl, and we will burn. We will all burn."
The voice was filled with pain and suffering. It was unbearable to listen to. But behind that, there was a coldness. It was subtle, yet calculating and sly. There was evil in that voice.
The voice disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Suddenly three guards burst into the room, grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out. I caught a glimpse of one of the guards crushing the data chip; I shouldn't have heard what I had just listened to. I was quickly taken to another cold room with a small bed, a wash basin and a slightly cracked mirror.
I was in that room for roughly twenty hours. I had no watch, but I had a knack for keeping track of time. Despite being highly skilled in all things to do with time, Gallifreyans are surprisingly bad at judging how much time has passed without a time keeper. I was an exception. Most of those twenty hours were spent either worrying about my seemingly impossible task or restlessly sleeping. About half an hour before I was released, I noticed the dusty mirror. It was a strange tradition of my loom cousins to avoid our own reflections, so seeing myself now was strange.
My second incarnation was surprisingly muscular, with dark hair and a thin face. My first regeneration had been painful. I was very young, only 11, when it happened, much younger than most. I don't remember a lot of it, apart from it had been very painful. They never did find out the cause of it. It turned out that my second body generally had the appearance of the same age after the regeneration, meaning that now, just over a few years after it happened, I still looked reasonably young.
Despite being muscular, I was also quite lean, something probably to do with the Great Shortages the War had caused. I had been travelling with a group of refugees since the War had reached our part of Gallifrey. In the past few weeks we had somehow found our way to Arcadia, and from there we were taken to the Citadel. For now, we were safe here. The Sky Trenches had held up to now, and according to the weekly updates we were given by the War Council they were not showing any signs of failing.
We had subtly been given tests. Whether it was being hurriedly asked to attend target practice with the trainees, or being talked into doing an assault course, all of our group had been tested. These were the tests the President had talked about, the tests that had determined who he would employ to find the Other.
After yet again being taken down a dreary corridor by a mute guard, I was stopped in front of a large, grey cylinder. I knew what this was. This was a TARDIS.
The guard pushed me towards it, and I entered the machine.
I never had got used to the feeling of entering a TARDIS. I had entered one in a museum as a child, shortly before my regeneration, and our group of refugees had found a recently crashed one in the war-torn landscape. It had been in the shape of a large sphere, and had reminded me of a Sontaran Pod ship, another exhibit I had seen in the museum.
The interior was enormous. A large control panel took up the centre of this room, held just a few feet about the ground by a cylindrical glass tube, which I realised was the time rotor. I slowly moved towards the console, and put my hand on an unexpectedly warm lever. There was what sounded like a distant groan from somewhere in the ship, which immediately stopped. Cautiously turning my head towards the entrance to check for guards, I pulled the lever and the ship shuddered. The doors slammed shut as I was thrown towards the floor. I managed to grab hold of a railing, and held on for dear life as the ship shook and and rumbled. I shut my eyes, willing the TARDIS to materialise, and as quickly as it had started, the shaking stopped. I opened my eyes, taking in the strange calmness of the room, a stark contrast. of what it had been just a few seconds earlier. I shakily got to my feet and stumbled towards the sleek doors, pulling them open and being greeted by the deep, empty blackness of space.