SUMMARY:

War is coming to Gallifrey. The Doctor has seen echoes of the future conflict since he regenerated. Details of the War have eluded him, even the identity of the Enemy is unknown, the only clue that they may be controlling the near limitless powers of the Ancestor Cells; a form of life totally inimical to Time Lords.

The planet Dronid, once a site of an attempted renegade Time Lord rebellion, now the frontline in this War. Enemy agents lurk on all sides as Time Lord technology is sold on the black market. The Doctor desperately seeks a peace, hoping to find a link to the Enemy, searching from the Celesties fortress in Mictlan to the Ancient Libraries of the Old Times in Pangaea.

With events escalating War may be the only outcome as the Doctor races to Dronid, with the Time Lord War TARDIS fleet under his command, hoping to avert the War. Yet knowing that it must happen, if only to preserve the Timeline...

CHAPTER ONE

FAREWELL OLD FRIEND

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart entered his house to find the lights on in the living room, checked his watch.

16:15

Doris couldn't be in yet, the Brigadier slowly edged forwards until he reached the door, without making too much noise he slowly pushed the door open. There in the corner of the room was the innocuous blue box the Doctor's TARDIS and sitting in one of the armchairs was the Doctor himself. It was as far as the Brig was aware one of the later ones, the one he'd encountered himself twice before, once in Malebolgia along with the girl Charley Pollard, the second time down the phone during the Vore crisis. He seemed very different from the previous meeting's they'd had, his hair was shorter than previously and was a right mess. He'd replaced his green frock coat with what looked like then a leather naval jacket which extended down to his knees, underneath he wore a cream waistcoat, dark red cravat and a crumpled collarless shirt, his trousers seem to have faded from cream to a far lighter colour and in place of his polished shoes he wore a pair of worn caramel brown British Army cavalry boots, all of which seen better days the leather jacket was worn seemed to be covered with scratch marks, the waistcoat showed marks of numerous tears which had been stitched together as did the trousers. On the Doctor's hands the Brigadier saw a series of burn marks, there were similar marks on the sides of the Doctor's face, there was also a brutal scar extending from top right hand side of the Doctor's forehead down over his nose ending just under his left eye. The Doctor seemed not to have noticed the Brigadier's presence, rather than startle his old friend the Brigadier inched forwards, he could see the Doctor was mumbling and his breath, the Brigadier strained to hear what he was saying.

"Shouldn't be alive, why am I… Alive…"The Doctor suddenly looked up and saw his old friend; a broad smile crossed the Doctor's… He took in his old friend's appearance. "Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart!"

The Doctor suddenly leapt up and pulled his old friend into a hug, he then dashed over to the mantle place, then all of a sudden he stopped, all of the enthusiasm drained from his body he braced both arms against the mantelpiece and sucked in a deep breath sighing.

"Hello old friend," the Doctor looked down at the floor glancing back up at the Brigadier's face. "Alistair I can't stay for long, I'm going to talk as fast as I can, going to tell you as much as I can, please don't talk until I'm done I need to tell someone this. I need you to understand and I need you to trust me just this once, listen, and don't interrupt. Can I count on you old friend?"

The Brigadier numbly nodded sucking in a breath of his own.

"Of course Doctor, anything, you know that," the Brigadier told him.

Doctor smiled once more, however this time it reached his eyes, they showed not enthusiasm but relief, whatever was going on in Doctor's world, it was serious.

"This is storm brewing Alistair, been brewing for centuries from my point of view, and I know what has to happen, what must happen because I've already seen the other side," the Doctor told him. "I long ago chose the responsibility to do what I had to do, despite the costs despite the consequences to myself I have to be the responsible one now. Over a century that knowledge drove me to distraction; it's what drove me to save Charley Pollard's life in the first place. I thought if I can cheat fate, if I could cheat her fate, change her destiny I might be able to do the same the universe, for Gallifrey, for the War. But course it's inevitable, whatever happens I know how this War will end."

The Doctor sat down, he sucked in a deep breath and looked into his old friends eyes, Brigadier could see something different about them, he seemed impossibly older than any time they'd met previously, there was no hope left, no room for second guessing, only resolve. Seeing that look in the Doctor's eyes nearly broke the Brigadier's heart…

Elements of Artwork Courtesy of Time-Lord-Rassilon, (time-lord-rassilon. deviantart)