Fans Fiction The Eternity Machine by Matt Rabjohns

She had only one option left open to her. Her fingers pressed down on the blue button of the device in her pocket. It would give her at the most less than half a minute. She had to use it wisely. The army around her set immediately in amber. The pain and anguish in her heart was enough to make her waste a second by spitting full in the face of the leading robot in the deadly horde. Then she ran for the planetary alignment console. She had to set the self-destruct. That was the only road left op..

   No. She paused for a painful few seconds as thoughts of her old friend filled her mind. The friend who she would give the world for to have be here right now to offer another way out. But they weren't here.

But...

   She pressed the emergency distress beacon on the console, then instantly regretted it to the core of her soul. Not even her friend could stop what was going on here on this benighted planet. Why had she pressed that button? Pure panic spiked her chest, she was finding it difficult to breathe. The slender white arrow in her left lung didn't help matters much of course. She looked down at the lever she was looking for. Then she cursed as she noticed the lever was broken. She let out a guttural sob of total defeat and sadness. So, she had come this far to be defeated by a broken lever.

   Tears stroked fast like rivers down her sore muddied cheeks. She had been a fool. She had gained nothing for her family and friends and world. She smashed a fist on the console in humiliation. Pain shot up her arm and she cursed. And now the device in her pocket fizzed and went dead. The time pause had just given its last wheeze. The robots were free to move again.

   Of course, she didn't even have the slightest hope of hiding now. Another arrow shot through the air and thudded into her shoulder. She wailed in agony and slid to the ground. Blood trickled down from her lip. Then another arrow found her chest, penetrating her heart. Her sad eyes glistened for a moment longer, and then her lifeless body fell to the hard metal ground. 

The TARDIS span on through the infinite vortex of space and time. Within the impossible confines of this miracle of space/time travel, the Doctor was staring at the scanner screen in growing concern. A frown marred her usually bright and expressive face.

   "You got a fix on it now Doc?" Graham asked from the opposite side of the console. The Doctor offered him an unconvincing half smile.

   "Yes. But I don't like the readings I'm getting here." she flicked a switch and studied a screen in front of her. “I recognise...” she began, but trailed off with some obvious worry etched on her face.

   "Something serious?" Graham guessed, and naturally she nodded soberly in reply.

   "The distress signals on a worldwide force broadcast. That never bodes well." the Doctor sighed. Graham nodded in understanding.

   The Doctor had been unusually broody ever since they had left Decendron. Mind you he couldn't blame her. Losing friends was always so hard, and it always took a profound effect on the Doctor. Graham and the rest of her crew had learnt that by now.

    "Can't I just have a little rest?" the Doctor whispered, but not quietly enough. Graham was moving round the console till he was right next to the usually so bright and optimistic time lady.

   "One of those intuitions?" he offered her a wan glance.

   "Yup" she tried to perk herself up. "Oh, stop bleating Doctor. Someone needs our help."

   "And we never refuse!" Graham joined in with her.

 The Doctor threw her arm around his shoulder.

    "Graham, do I ever thank you for always being here for me?" she asked.

    "Plenty of times Doc, and it's my pleasure. You know that!"

    "Yeah, but it's still so good to hear you say it sometimes!" the Doctor looked towards the stairs that led to the inner endless dimensions of the ship.

    "They still asleep? Lazy bones! We'll be arriving on the planet in less than a minute!"

Now the old Doctor was re-asserting herself. She had a broad grin on her face and Graham always like to see that grin. It was as if the suns of Andromeda lit up her whole face when she smiled like that.

   "Oi you! Don't call us lazy bones!" Yaz's energetic voice came from the bottom of the stairs. Ryan followed a few feet behind Yaz as she rose to the console room level. "We're not Time Lords. We need sleep once in a billenia."

   "I know. I know!" the Doctor acknowledged. A whining warble began to erupt from the console again.

   "Now that does not look good. Not good at all..." her voice trailed off.

   The trumpeting echoing engines of the TARDIS then laboured like an elephant as the ship began to materialise.

   "For the life of me I swear I know that power signature..." she pulled at switches and levers.

    "Gonna be one of those days again I think" Ryan piped up, rubbing sleepy dirt from his eye.

    The Doctor threw him a wide-eyed glance.  "Just let me carry out the checks properly..."  

She glanced up again at the scanner. The TARDIS had landed in an open patch of ruined and mud drenched quagmire. Yaz gasped as she took in the scene which looked to be all too much like no man's land from her own history on Earth. A fetid desolate scene, and the bodies were everywhere. It might have been a view of the mutated pit of hell itself. Ugly, desolate and decaying.

   "Oh no" the Doctor breathed and shook her head in shock. "Oh no, I think we are.." she exhaled. “Vreem...”

   "Look, someone's alive out there!" Graham jabbed a finger at the form of a woman in the mud, her arm was jerking. That was all the provocation any of them needed.

  "You lot let me go first, after all I'm the rookie cop" Yaz said.

  "And I have two hearts" the Doctor warned his friend as she bounded for the door.

  "Just open the doors, we need to get out there and help that poor woman!" Yaz spoke harsher than she had intended too. But she knew they all shared her passion for wanting to do all she could anywhere and anywhen. This was her new vocation and she wasn't going to give up on it here. No way.

   "Just be extra careful" the Doctor was still glancing at the power read out. "And I do know that power signature!" she was scratching her head and getting annoyed as Yaz opened the door and stepped outside.

   The air stank of death. Yaz almost gagged as she stepped from the TARDIS. Her feet sank into a few inches of sloppy quagmire and she groaned as the swill filled her shoes. But then she took in all the bodies around her and she instantly forgot her discomfort.

   "This is horrible" it was a lame thing to say, but it was really all she could think of.

   "What happened here?" Ryan lip was quivering. He had seen some rough times aboard the TARDIS, but this scene was like he'd just stepped into Saving Private Ryan's opening scenes.

   "Let's not linger. There she is!" the Doctor said with conviction.

   Yaz stepped forward gingerly. The fetid air was already churning her stomach and making her feel sick. But she kept her eyes on the fallen woman, who was now trying to lift her head.

   "Alright, love. Alright, Take it easy.." Yaz dropped down to her side. "You're with friends now"

   The woman somehow found the strength to nod at Yaz.

   "We're gonna take you back to our space ship, OK?" Ryan was already moving his arm to lift the woman from the quagmire.

   "They...they killed....killed everyone...." the woman's voice was cracked and wracked with pain.

   "Don't speak" the Doctor said as she took her share of the woman's broken body weight on her. She and Ryan stumbled back towards the TARDIS. Graham pushed the door open and the Doctor and Ryan and the wounded woman staggered into the TARDIS.

   Yaz remained where she was for just a second. This was the worst and most disturbing place she had ever seen in her life. The police photographs she'd seen in her training and induction had nothing on this torturous and sterile scene. There were bodies right to the very horizon. Corpses strewn like so much rubbish in all directions. She scanned to see if anyone else was somehow alive. But there seemed to be no other movement.

   "You coming in Yaz, I wouldn't hang about if I were you..." Graham warned from the doorway.

    "OK Graham, I was just-" Suddenly a slender white arrow shot past her ear and she jolted in surprise. Graham saw it too and reacted with a cry of alarm.

   "Get down Yaz!" But it was too late. Another white arrow found Yaz's back and her eyes bulged in raw panic and shocked surprise.

   "Doc!" Graham roared. "Doc, Yaz has been hit!" Graham hadn't even seen where the arrow had come from. He didn't exactly care. He dove towards Yaz as she collapsed like a sack of potatoes. He caught her just as the Doctor bolted from the TARDIS like a woman possessed. They quickly stumbled back, supporting Yaz who moaned and started to cough. Another thin arrow shot past Graham's neck, missing him by no more than an inch.

   "Hurry up!...I knew I knew that signature!" the Doctor screamed.

    They literally fell into the TARDIS, just as another arrow hit the time lady in the leg. She yelped in sudden pain but somehow stumbled through the doors.

    "Ryan...close the doors now!" Ryan didn't need to be told twice. The doors closed. The Doctor grimaced and stumbled up the stairs. She moved towards where their newfound guest lay insensate on the floor.

   "Doc you've been hit!" 

   "I think this woman needs help more than I do. I knew I knew that signature!" she repeated balefully as she gazed up at the scanner. Now the source of where the arrows had sprung from was standing erect in the middle of the battlefield.

It wasn't actually that much to look at. It was sleek. Completely silver and featureless. Humanoid, and female in shape. Only the face was a smooth blank sphere.

   "What the hell is that thing, Doc?" Graham asked, fear etched on his face.

   "That is the most deadly killing machine the universe has ever known. It's a Raston Warrior Robot" the Doctor spat the words like they were mud on the tongue.

Senteela awoke to find herself in a room with softly glowing pink walls. A place she didn't recognise. Three faces looked down at her. She didn't recognise any of them. They were strangers. 

   "How do you feel?" asked the Doctor.

   "Who the hell are you?" Senteela asked, her voice shaking and weak.

   "Hey, we're friends. Take it easy Love" Graham said, trying to be as placatory as he could muster.

   "You're safe now" Ryan added, offering Senteela a smile.

   "Where...where am I?!"

   "Welcome aboard the TARDIS. Im the Doctor, and these are my good pals Ryan and Graham."

    Ryan was bent over the still unconscious form of Yaz, who was somehow floating in mid air. Graham offered Senteela a hand and she took it and climbed to her feet.

   "I have to get back to the barracks..." She made to push the Doctor out of the way, but the Doctor didn't yield.

   "Everyone is dead out there" she spoke sadly. Senteela was too confused to put up much of a protest.

   "I was hurt...I had.."

   "Ah, that's OK, you'll be fine now. Just a few minutes in the brand new zero room will see you fine" the Doctor explained.

   "How's your leg Doc?" Graham asked. The Doctor seemed to not even hear her friend at all.

Senteela swayed. Her head was swimming. Ryan saw her stumble and darted forward to stop her falling.

   "Don’t try to move too much." Senteela obeyed without protest.

   "So, what's your name, sweetheart?" the Doctor asked.

   "Senteela. I'm Senteela Vya. Leader of Vreem Squadron 15...." her eyes filled with tears and she choked back a sob. Ryan tightened his grip on her.

   "They butchered everyone!" she cried, anger and anguish dripping from her voice like so much blood. "None of us stood a chance! They've been system...syst.." tears were freely falling down her cheeks and all colour seemed to leave her face.

   "You don’t have to tell us anymore. I think we can guess..."

   "And it was all our own damned fault..." Senteela sobbed.  Graham had never seen a more broken person in all of his life. 

Tykos raised the D-mat gun and fired.

The fierce wave of time destruction hit the first Raston in the chest and after a few seconds it faded from existence, enveloped in a harsh white strobe. But the second robot was still behind it, and an arrow shot through the air like lightning and found his right leg. Tykos screamed and gripped the wounded limb.

   Then he caught hold of himself and despite the agony he went as rigid as he could manage. He had to keep still as a statue. He couldn't let his stupidity keep on clouding his judgement like this. The Robot hovered four feet away from him. But now it stopped and its head rotated 360 degrees. He must keep still. Maybe it would go soon if he could just keep rock solid. He waited. The Robot finally jumped into the air ten seconds later. Tykos let out a ragged breath of relief. Then he gritted his teeth as he beheld the arrow embedded deep in his leg. What a sad state of hell his race had fallen into now. There was no hope left. It had shrivelled and died long ago. He cursed and searched his medical pouch. He grunted in relief at the sight of the cauterising blaster nestled in the corner. At least that was one small mercy. Now for the hard bit. He gripped the end of the arrow, gritting his teeth again as he bodily yanked the offending article out of his leg. As it withdrew, he shrieked with agony. But finally, the arrow came free and he jabbed the blaster to the open wound and pressed the trigger. Then he thought he was beginning to finally succumb to illusion as the Police Box shell of the TARDIS began to take form in front of him.

   He blacked out. 

   "I'm glad I'm not the only one left " Senteela had long since recovered her composure now. Now that she had cleaned herself up Ryan saw that she was a very attractive woman. But her eyes were pools of defeated black and her whole demeanour exuded long suffering and loss of hope.

    "I'll sweep all quadrants. One at a time. Let’s try to find as many survivors as we can" the Doctor busied herself at the console.

    "Not that any of us deserve to survive"

    "Why on earth would you say that?" Graham asked.

    "Because the Vreem themselves brought this hell down on themselves that’s why!" she started crying again. "If we'd only known..."

Ryan and Graham sat round the little coffee table they had brought into the console room. But Senteela refused to sit down.

   "You should have something to eat" Ryan offered a tray with white cubes on.

   "You should mind your own business" Senteela spat viciously.

   "Hey, we've just saved your life, you know!" Graham retorted knowingly. Senteela fixed him with a glare that would have frozen hell over, but then her hand flew to her mouth to stifle another cry.

   "I’m sorry...I’m just so...so tired" she apologised with genuine feeling. She sagged into the seat they had brought for her. She reached for one of the cubes.

   "That's it, take it easy!" Ryan spoke softly. She raised an eyebrow at him. He wasn't actually at all that bad looking actually. She immediately cursed herself inwardly for thinking of something like that in her present circumstances. 

   "They're really good!"

The Doctor was now also at the table, reaching for a cube.

   Senteela bit, and then somehow despite her raging soul of fire, loss, rage and despair, she gasped just slightly. She had not tasted anything so good in a long long time.

   "Do you feel like telling us how it happened Senteela?" the Doctor laid a gentle caring hand on her shoulder.

   As Graham listened to Senteela's story he felt his sympathy for the poor woman rise and rise like an ocean.

   "The Raston were supposed to respond to our verbal command. But the southern Vreem attacked the barracks. The machinery was damaged. And ever since then the machines have done nothing but systematically wipe us out. Everyone...that is until he came along...."

The Doctor had listened in attentive silence. Ryan knew when she was quiet for long periods like this that the situation was deadly serious.

   "What about these mutations you talked about?" she asked softly.

   "Ah, yes. As if our own robots turning on us wasn’t enough. Then we had to deal with Sikarta. Sikarta the Devil incarnate!" spittle sprayed all over Ryan but he wiped it away without a single complaint. "He tampered with our genetics. Left half of us ruined and in fear of constant unholy metamorphosis. Tried to create a fighting force of unstoppable warriors. Only succeeded in seeding our degradation. Luckily, I somehow.... escaped his vile touch"

   "Why did he do this? What made him?" the Doctor's voice was cracked with emotion.

   "Oh, he thought he could build us stronger to face the Daleks!" Senteela took another bite of the cube in her hand. "What a delusion. The Daleks laid waste to our homes. But then the Rastons did at least seem to leave us alone for a while as soon as they first noted the Daleks presence" Senteela was almost managing to smirk now at the memories.

   "I can imagine it was quite a blood bath. Or a goo bath.." the Doctor said wistfully.

   "Those Daleks never knew what hit them! They were torn apart! Can you believe it? They finally met an enemy who dealt back to them what they liberally dish out! They were utterly annihilated!" Senteela was almost laughing now. Ryan managed a half smile too.

   "But then, when the greater enemy was packed and gone. They turned back to us again of course. So, then we had mutants running about and homicidal death dealing metal men everywhere" her voice trailed off to an embittered croak. Ryan reached out to take her hand. To her own surprise she didn't find herself shaking it off. Instead she found herself squeezing it back.

   "I know what you must have gone through. I too have fought the Daleks, more times than I dare to remember" the Doctor admitted with heavy hearts.

   "Oh, they are nothing compared to those sleek little stick men of Vreem!" Senteela screamed. And at last she finally permitted herself the luxury of letting all her grief surge out like a tidal wave. “And now, somehow, that demon Sikarta has learnt to control them....I just know he has...” 

Yaz stirred. Her back ached. She tried to focus on anything. She only knew she was in the TARDIS. What had happened? Her whole mind felt like it was sliced into a million pieces. It was all a blur. She was hanging in the air.

   "Okay, that's weird!" she stammered feebly. 

   There was someone next to her. The man was snoring loudly. She didn't recognize him.  

Already her back felt better. The pain was lessening all the time. She knew she had had some kind of very very lucky escape.

   "Right, how do I get down from here?" she spoke to the air. The air seemed to hear because her body then slowly floated gently to the ground. She was able to push herself up.

She turned to look at the man, still suspended in the air.  He looked as if he had been through the wars. He was mumbling incoherently, too softly for her to make out any words.

   "Alright mate" she spoke calmly.

   Tykos's eyes then snapped open. And it was not human eyes that stared back up at Yaz.

 No, the eyes of an animal fixed on her.

    "Doctor!" Yaz screamed as she burst into the console room.  Graham jumped out of his seat as the creature bounded into the room, missing Yaz by but a whisker. The Doctor was also on her feet as quick as a flash. The creature bellowed in rage. Its hide was matted with thick reptilian scales and long sharp teeth burst from a black lipped mouth.

   "Get back!" the Doctor shouted at the others.

Ryan and Senteela were now backing away towards the entrance door of the ship. The creature that had been Tykos seemed then to focus on the Doctor as she stepped bravely forward.

   "Hello big guy, what's up?" she asked unassumingly.

   The creature hissed, hot spit flying in the Doctor's face.

   "Now now.." and a lithe hand shot out and a finger jabbed in Tykos neck. He stopped.  

"Graham get the medical kit, double quick!"

   "Right you are Doc" Graham ran to the underside of the console and lifted up a flap. He pulled out the red box housed within and gave it carefully to the Doctor.

   "Thanks Graham. Just a bit of sleep. That's it." she brought a small medical patch up to Tykos's neck.

   Yaz breathed in hoarsely, finally able to catch her breath.

   "Will he be OK now?" she whispered as the Doctor laid the unconscious man to the ground.

   "He will be if I have anything to do with it" the Doctor said with certainty. "But first I need to analyse his system"

   "Let me, let me!" Senteela broke away from Ryan and ran to join the Doctor. She was grabbing something from her pocket and she produced a small circlet of metal. "He'll be fine if you attach this to his cranium. It's a cell mutation suppressor"

   The Doctor managed a big grin and took the device from her. "Wow, I’m impressed! Seriously!"

She placed the disk on Tykos's head and Senteela pulled her back gently.

   "Give him some room, it’s not a pleasant thing to witness" she said stiffly. Tykos began to convulse as the circlet started to gleam. Then his back arched. A fierce red glow ran over him like blood.  Suddenly the Doctor shot Senteela a filthy look of disdain.

   "Hang on a minute.....!!" she dove forward and gripped the disc, heaving with all her might. She yelped as her fingers connected with it, but she managed to yank it free and throw it bodily across the room. "What the hell were you thinking?"

   "It’s the only freedom he could ever have, you dumb blonde!" Senteela seethed. Ryan's face became a mask of confusion.

   "No. I'm a scientist and I can make him better. You don't need to kill him Senteela, or how are you better than a Dalek?"

   "Would anyone like to tell me what's going on please?" Yaz asked loudly.

   The Doctor glowered at Senteela, who shrank back from the withering gaze.

   "Senteela just tried to murder a helpless victim of a disgusting experiment" the Doctor spat.

   "Even your zero room couldn't heal his affliction!" Senteela replied vehemently. "Zero....oh boy, you're not a Time Lord, are you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing suddenly.

   "So, what if I am?" the Doctor answered openly.

   "Yes she is, and she's the best person I know. And she has saved your life. And I think we can save slanging matches for later when we've seen if anyone else needs saving on this planet!" Ryan piped up, staring straight into Senteela's eyes. "And that means without killing"

   Senteela made to speak, but then she decided against it. Then her eyes fell to the floor in shame.

   "Then you'd better be damn quick" she muttered thickly through a renewed flow of anguished tears.

   "Well, Doc?" Graham asked.

    The Doctor was fussing at the console. She was cursing in what he took to be her own tongue and he had seldom seen her so angry.

   "No combination will work! It's so stupid...."

   "Don’t say I didn't warn you" Senteela jibed.

   "You can shut up woman!" Yaz warned coolly.  Senteela shot her a venomous look.  The Doctor thumped the TARDIS console hard. 

   "It won’t work. No combination works!"  She looked with growing consternation at the body of Tykos on the floor. Graham and Ryan and Yaz all knew it was bad. The outlook for the man was not good. That much was blatantly obvious.

   "No, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor was even herself on the verge of tears of frustration. She stabbed at controls with ever increasing verve and intensity.

   "If he can’t be healed, what can we do Doc?" Graham asked the question on everyone's lips.

   "I’m sure I don’t have a clue" the Doctor breathed out raggedly. She sighed for what seemed like an eternity. "Whatever has been done to him...I can’t undo it"

   Tykos began to grunt on the floor.  Graham looked at him in consternation and fear.

   "Doc, he's waking up!"

   "No, I didn’t know that Graham, thanks for being so obvious!" the Doctor's voice was cracking with unrestrained fury and impotence now. Graham was stung by the fervour of her retort.

   "We have to get him back outside" she breathed sombrely.

   "Huh?" Ryan looked blank.

   "We can’t keep him in here. He could kill us all if we let him. I wish there was something I could-"

   "Put the dis-integrator back on him then. Give him that mercy, please time lord!" Senteela begged with angry eyes. The Doctor didn't reply or take her bait. She moved to pull Tykos to his feet.

   "I’m so very sorry....I don’t even know your name and I can’t help you..."

   She glanced up at the scanner screen. There was no sign of the Raston Warrior any longer for at least the moment.

   "Is there really nothing we can do?" Yaz prodded further. The Doctor pulled on the door control.

   "Everyone stay right back by the console. Let me carry him outside" she spoke sombrely. All her youthful airiness seemed to have evacuated her vicinity.

The Doctor laid Tykos down in the mud just outside the TARDIS door. A white arrow sliced through Tykos's skull the instant his head struck the ground. The Doctor hissed in anger and dove backwards into the TARDIS. Then she sprinted for the console and her hands danced over the console. Then she threw the materialisation lever.

Senteela gripped the stair rail as the ship started to shake.

   "Where are we going?"

   "Oh, I’m going to fly the TARDIS straight at that thing out there!" the Doctor cried. Yaz laid a hand on her arm, but the Doctor shook it off.

The TARDIS smashed into the Robot at a rate of some impressive speed. The silver figure was sent backwards, shards of liquid metal flying from its surface. Then the ship re materialised right on top of it.

   "Planetary scan running..." the Doctor's voice sounded bereft and strained. The agony of her helplessness was livid and horrendous for her three friends to witness. "I should have saved him."

   "You couldn't Doctor, why do you always blame yourself?!" Yaz countered boldly.

   "I should have done something for the poor man!"

   "He would thank you that he's dead now" Senteela spoke very quietly. 

The Raston beneath the TARDIS had reverted to its quicksilver form. It squeezed itself from under the base of the machine, and then began to trace a line up towards the key hole. A sudden sound like a gong penetrated through the walls of the ship. Graham let out a sigh.

   "What now?"

    The Doctor rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple.  Then she gazed at the computer alert system.

   "Oh no you don’t!" she cried. She fussed over the controls and the TARDIS began to lurch. Ryan stepped forward.

   "It's trying to get in!"

The liquid had reached the lock. It began to seep through.

Then it was left to fall to the ground as the TARDIS faded from underneath it. The liquid seemed to seethe in disgust, then flowed back to the other broken pieces of the Raston Warrior Body. They quickly merged and came back together. Then the Raston was whole again.

   "Tell me Senteela, is Sikarta still alive?"  The Doctor had her hands forcefully on her shoulders and her eyes were burning into her own.

   "I don’t know..." she stammered. The lie came out so pathetically it was embarrassing.

   "Pull the other one. What little re-enforced bunker is he hiding in?!"

   "Sector 17" she admitted. She shook herself free of the Doctor's tight grip. The Doctor turned her attention back to the console. A buzzer in front of her fluted into life.  The TARDIS crew all stood round her as her gaze clouded over and she shuddered.

    "There are several million life signs worldwide, but every one of them is a contaminated being..." a tear streaked down her right cheek.

Silence hung around the console room for a long moment until another bleep resounded.

   "No wait...one clean trace..." The Doctor's voice trailed off.

   "That's the creep" Senteela stated with no shadow of a doubt in her voice.

   "Well, Mr Sikarta. You'd better prepare yourself for me" the Doctor spoke softly, but the resolution in her voice was palpable. 

Sikarta gazed at his instruments with a look of mild surprise. But he wasn't greatly perturbed by the small blip on the screen. Judging by the look of the flight pattern it was a TARDIS. He hadn't seen a TARDIS in a long time. So those silly old lazy slug beds had finally sent an errand boy to bring him back home to heel, had they?

    He chuckled. They would never take him prisoner. Just let them try. He was proud of his new army. The whole Time War had been a shamble for the whole of Time Lord society. They had never seen the obvious answer to all their troubles. Even that dumb idiot the Doctor had used the Moment and that hadn't erased the universe of the Daleks! No! What arrant stupidity. No one saw the clear answer to their problem.

   The Raston Warrior Robot. The most perfect Killing Machine ever devised. And he had been lucky enough to land on the very planet of their origin. He had routinely murdered the creators of the death machines and then easily tampered with the control system. And now the robots obeyed only him. The Raston's had always held the secret to Time Lord victory. And yet the stupid bureaucratic oafs had never thought to use them. Not once.

   And he knew their secret now. The special quality of the metal used in their construction. Almost indestructible. Self-repairing. All conventional weaponry had no lasting effect on them.

   He had delighted in the foolishness of his own people. He had watched from a safe distance, concealed and forgotten.

Until now.

Who would they send to bring him back? Not that it mattered. Vreem was his.  The TARDIS took form in the corner of the bunker strong room. Sikarta whooped in delight as he recognised the Police Box outer plasmic shell of the ship.

He moved a finger to the recall button on the console in front of him as the door of the TARDIS opened.

    "Oh, my dear Doctor!" he announced as she emerged from within, her eyes were grey and her whole face was a mask of crimson.

   "How do you know my name?"

   "Come now Doctor, surely you have heard of me, or remember me from Gallifrey?" Sikarta snapped viciously.

   "Oh, good grief, no....” she glowered icily. “I think you know why I'm here"

   "Doctor, don’t be so sharp with me. Why don’t you ask your friends to come out? I swear to Rassilon I won’t hurt them!" Sikarta chortled derisively.

   "You won’t get the chance. You will shut down the robots now. Or I will" she warned him, standing up to her full height and straightening an imaginary bowtie.

   "Oh Doc, are you forever such a boring old little trout? Don't you want to hear about my Eternity Instrument first?"

    Senteela burst from the TARDIS, shoving the Doctor out of the way. She dove for SIkarta. He made no move to stop her as she launched herself at him.

   "Senteela, don't!" the Doctor cried. Too late. Sikarta merely pressed the button. He sent a neat fist towards Senteela's face and she rebounded, flailing and sinking to the floor. Her nostrils dripping mini lakes of blood.

   "Leave her alone, you disgusting apostate!" the Doctor moved to help Senteela back to her feet. Sikarta's hand now returned to hover above the recall switch.

   "Why have you done this?" Senteela spat.

   "Oh, just for plain good fun my dear. It’s so gorgeous watching robots run amok and so delicious seeing bodies blow apart and what’s even better, it's awesome that I get to control the most lethal weapons in existence!" he snarled viciously. "My Eternity instrument has made my future electric!"

   "And what in Tinky Winky's name is an eternity instrument?" the Doctor asked. “And how did you learn to control the Raston Warriors?”

   "My Raston army? With a super hypno-wave form, calibrated to the exact basic anatomical form of the Warriors of course!! A simple pulse and now they only follow me. I am the Master of the greatest weapon ever forged! What else?” his eyes gleamed with childlike malice and unrestrained glee. “They could have won us the Time War from day one. But no, for some reason they were never thought of"

    "I know, took me a hell of a long time to perfect that memory suppression matrix around Gallifrey"

    "Oh, so it was you who did that?!” Sikarta growled with a laugh that sounded more like a dog throwing up. “Only you forgot about all us time lords that may have been offworld. Oh, what a silly half-witted idiot you are Doctor!"

   "I do have my moments" the Doctor admitted honestly.

   "The Eternity Instruments shall first begin by reigning down vengeance on the Daleks. I shall see those mutated pepperpots crushed like the mucky pools of green snotty flesh they are! Then on my fellow Time Lords. They deserve to die, being so unbelievably gullible as to let you affect most of their minds!" Sikarta cooed. "And then I'll have some fun with you too!"

   "Sikarta, you are pathetic. You sad, immoral,…"

   "Oh, do shut your beautiful mouth Doc. I say my dear, it really is rather wonderful you're a woman now. I could have some amazing fun with you, couldn't I?" his eyes were pools of malice and the purest evil the Doctor had ever seen in her life.

The Doctor's hands balled into tight fists, her lips tightening.

    "Wherever or whenever you go in the universe. There's always some trigger-happy little creep safe in a sardine tin whilst creating Armageddon! How many have died because of you Sikarta, who I've never heard of because he is such a failure of a Time Lord?"

She shoved her hands into her pockets and gave him a nerdy pout.

   "I love you Doc. All I read up on you is true! You always speak your mind. It’s almost a shame that I’m going to have to rip apart your friends and then kill you. But I promise I'll make your last few hours fulfilling for you. I'm really, really quite something between the bedsheets you know..."

His other hand snaked into his tunic, and came back with a stazer which he pointed at the Doctor. She didn't even blink.

   "You won't get to lay a finger on me, microbe!" she stated with assurance.

   "I can do whatever I want with you and your Vreem slime here" he sneered. "And you can do nothing to me"

   "I can always try my best" the Doctor sniffed.

   "And I will dismember you if you come anywhere near me!" Senteela shouted.

    Sikarta rewarded her with a pitying look.

   "No, alright... you're right. OK, Doc. I guess..." he swung the stazer and opened fire. Senteela shuddered as the bolt tore through her body. She sagged forward like a sack of potatoes onto the ground. The Doctor gasped.

   "Tell your friends to come out here now. She's only stunned at the moment. I’d hate to have to reduce her to atoms..."

   "Guys." the Doctor called back into the TARDIS. "Come on out here"

Graham, Ryan and Yaz all stepped from the Tardis, all wore the same pitying looks on their faces. Sikarta guffawed, snorting like a pig. 

   "Oh Doc. Dark meat and old meat? Good grief, you're getting old" he laughed maniacally.

   "Who are you calling old?" Graham asked defensively.

   "And throw down the gun" Yaz stepped forward.

   "Oh look, always the women who have the most guts. You pick your friends so well Doctor. What's this gorgeous creature's name?"

   "None of your business, mate" Yaz answered, she produced a set of hand cuffs from her jacket.

   "Ooh! Are you going to arrest me?" Sikarta whispered. "Shouldn't bother, got a force field all around me deary! Still, I wouldn't mind being arrested by you. Such a beautiful piece of venison...yum yum!"

   "Guess what Sikarta, mate? You talk way too much."

Sikarta now noticed that the Doctor's stance had changed. She was smiling at him broadly. She wasn't even the slightest bit afraid.

    "So what if I do?"

    "Tell him, Ryan" the Doctor spoke chirpily.

    "The Doctor's been busy mate. She spent some little time preparing a planet busting bomb which is now less than ten feet below where you are sitting now…made from Manfrium"

Sikarta finally at last seemed just a little perturbed by that last sentence.

   “How did you know about Manfrium?!” his finger stroked the recall button, almost as if it were a cat in need of some attention.

   “I have met the Rastons several times before, idiot. I know what they're made of! And I also know it's the only thing that can put paid to them too.”

Sikarta gazed at the four people in front of him, saw the looks of passive victory in their faces.

    "There are still over twenty million people on the planet's surface outside" he said with a prideful smirk. "You would not kill them. I have read you up too well namby pamby do gooder Doctor. You do not slaughter thus. It would tear your guts out"

   "Oh, Sikarta believe me this is gonna haunt me till my dying day. But I am going to explode the bomb anyway. You've made sure your mutative disruption can’t be fixed. Those people still alive out there don’t have a life at all. You took that from them. But now I am going to take all your pathetic power away from you as well, you dirty little nothing..."

With a dramatic flourish her hand jolted out of her pocket, and she threw the primed detonator towards him. He caught it. His animation fled him in an instant.

    "Then you will die with me, at the hands of my ser-" his finger rose to jab down on the recall button.

Senteela cannoned into him. Sikarta let out a cry of alarm as his head connected with a wall. His fist flailed, but connected with only air.

    "And that’s not just an activator, that’s a force field disruptor. Oh, my dear Sikarta you have been naive!"

    Senteela laid into him with her fists and her feet. The Doctor turned away to face her friends.

   "Get him into the TARDIS quickly, Senteela" she ordered severely.

 Senteela nodded, heaving the Time Lord's unconscious body over her shoulder and heading back into the TARDIS.

   "Same with all renegade Time Lords. They always blab out their plans and waste time!" she said as they all strode back into the TARDIS.

   "I hate to point it out Doc, but you're a renegade time lord too" Graham reminded her with a wry smile.

   "Yeah, but I'm a really cuddly lovely and nice one!"

A moment later and the TARDIS faded away.

She set the TARDIS in hover mode over the planet. All five of them watched as the planet blossomed into a thick vein a fierce red and yellow fire. Tongues of debris spun out into the universe. The Doctor swallowed in anguish. Fresh tears made new sudden and unbidden trails down her cheeks.

   All of them could feel her agony. She had felt so useless when confronted with the knowledge that there was no way she could save the poor residents of Vreem from the effects of Sikarta's disgusting experiments. She could hear both her hearts beating out accusing songs in her ears.

   "You've given them peace, Doctor, believe me when I say that." Senteela said, but it was scant consolation to the Doctor.

   Yaz had a few burning tears of her own too. A mercy killing. That was how they should view it. But kind hearts never viewed such actions as so. She raised a hand to the Doctor's cheek to brush away her tears. There was such naked compassion there in all their eyes then. The Doctor broke at the gesture, she scooped Yaz into a tight embrace.

   "Thank you Yaz. Thank you all"

   "And don't you dare go blaming yourself for any of this Doctor. Sikarta owns the entirety of the blame in this matter" Graham spoke audibly.

   “I cannot even begin to think what the suffering must have been like for the people of Vreem.” Ryan added sincerely.

   "There was absolutely nothing else you could have done. You've eased a planet of immense suffering and useless war" Yaz spoke into her ear.

The Doctor was still clinging so tightly to Yaz, who could actually barely breathe now but she didn't care at the strength of the grip. She held her friend for all she worth. She knew the Doctor needed this. Graham patted the Doctor on the back. Ryan did likewise.

The Doctor finally broke away from Yaz. All three of her friends had never seen her eyes so red and raw. Yaz tutted.

   "Please do me a favour Doctor and stop crying."  Then Yaz kissed her softly on the cheek. The Doctor's lip quivered slightly, and she turned away and walked to where the containment vortex held Sikarta tight, and completely powerless. The Doctor swiped at her eyes with her coat sleeve.

   "You callous vicious ego maniacs never ever learn, do you? You think you have the right to cause unimaginable suffering for fun. And you never realise such infantile lusts always, always rebound on themselves. I hope you enjoy your life sentence. I hope you enjoy doing nothing for the rest of your pathetic sad existence."

    Sikarta's eyes were livid with unadulterated hatred.

    "All your schemes crushed and blown away. How does it feel to be such an idiot? You should never have let me land the TARDIS in your bunker mate! Now you get to reflect on how your life could have been so much better. I feel so very sorry for you indeed. How about we drop you off at Shada? I'm sure I can still find my way there even now. Yeah, Shada's the perfect place for you!"

She stuck out her tongue and then waved at him.

    Senteela began to laugh. “I suppose that's a secure prison?”

    "And you can be quiet!" The Doctor shouted back at her. "I've still not quite forgiven you yet for trying to kill that man...whoever he was..."

Senteela knew when to take a hint. She fell silent and sank back onto the chair next to the coffee table. She then felt Ryan's hand on her shoulder. He gave her his best winning smile. She managed to force one back.

   "Just give her a moment, she'll get over it. She always does." Ryan whispered in her ear.

   "I think.." she whispered back. "That you are a rather nice chap."

She planted a little kiss on his ear. Even underneath his dark skin she could tell he was blushing. It was so unbelievably cute.

   "Senteela. Now what are we going to do with you, eh?" Yaz threw an arm around her shoulder, Senteela shrugged. She had no real answer for that question.

   "Eh Doc, why don't you ask her if she wants to stay with us for a bit?"

Senteela felt the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

   "You think so, fam?" the Doctor beamed.

    "Yeah, she'd be a great asset!" Ryan said rather too obviously. Graham winked at him. He knew his Grandson would be more than happy with this arrangement. "What do you say Senteela? Fancy a bit of a bash around the countless wonders of eternity?"

   Senteela gave a glance up to Ryan. His eyes were begging her to make the choice she had already made.

   "I would love to travel with you" she grinned.

 Ryan punched the air.

    “You'll see whole star systems, whole planets, whole universes out there. And countless civilisations. Some of them ancient, some of them born in five minutes time. And no matter how long we may travel for we'll never even scratch the beginning of the whole canvas of infinity! You will have laughter, joy, love and....pain. Yes. There’s always pain...” the Doctor paused for breath. “...But if you're absolutely sure then the door to the cosmos is standing wide open. You ready to make a genuine difference, Senteela?”

The Doctor's hands hovered over the co-ordinate programmer.

    “Yes, I think I am. And I am sorry about what happened. I won't ever act like that again...I promise...” Senteela said with absolute conviction.

    “See, she's already one of us.” Ryan ended the discussion with finality.

The four of them looked to the Doctor. She flicked in the journey co-ordinates.

    “Well Fam... on to Shada!”

And the TARDIS flew on to new adventures.