After eating most of the meal (for they were all hungry), Devon asked politely, "I couldn't help but hear your advisor mention 'Daleks.' I see you've had trouble with them, too."

"Most of the universe has," Romana said. "Humankind isn't the only race the Daleks tried to subjugate."

"What are Daleks, really?" True asked suddenly. "I mean, everyone talks about them like they're these really evil creatures, but what did they really do?"

"If you'd spent more time listening to some of Yale's lessons, you'd know what Daleks are," her father said with a light smile.

"Sorry," she shrugged. "I didn't think it was important."

"The Daleks are an artificially created race of creatures bent on conquest," Romana said. "They see anyone who isn't a Dalek as inferior and impure, and they think nothing of enslaving other races. They were never programmed to have pity or compassion, only complete intolerance and hatred of others. They're utterly ruthless and very difficult to fight."

"Well, I know we fought them on Earth, once," True said, trying not to seem totally ignorant. "But what happened to them? And what did they want?"

"The Daleks pulled off a brilliant invasion of the planet Earth in 2164," Yale explained, slipping easily into lecture mode. "They first bombarded the Earth with meteors, each of which carried a plague. People started dying and the Daleks moved in. They took over the Earth with very little effort and everyone lived in fear. The Daleks took anyone who resisted them and turned them into robomen – mechanized slaves who no longer had a will of their own.

"But most importantly, they kept the invasion a secret from all of Earth's off-surface stations and colonies."

"How could they have done that?" True asked.

"Because of the plague. Earth had sent plague buoys into orbit, warning people to stay away. A cure was found, but by that time the Daleks had already taken over. The Daleks knew the stations and the moon base would send reinforcements if they knew they were there, so they just let the plague buoys continue transmitting. The Daleks controlled every radio transmitter and jammed any radio transmission not authorized by themselves. So they occupied the Earth and no one off the surface knew anything about it."

"Wow!" True exclaimed.

"As you can understand, there was very little direct contact between anyone Earthside and Stationside during those years," Yale went on. "But some travel is needed even in a quarantine. In the rare event when a ship had to come down from the stations for some reason, the Daleks ordered all the people who had to greet the visiting ship to say nothing about the invaders or they and their families would be executed. Sometimes, the ship was simply captured when it made planetfall and the Daleks made it look as if it had crashed with no survivors."

"Typical Dalek deviousness," Romana said quietly.

"They controlled the Earth from 2164 to 2167," Yale continued. "During those three years, they formed harsh labor camps and forced people to dig deep mine shafts in central England. The Daleks wanted to extract the Earth's core and install their own engine in its place, turning the Earth into a mobile base. If they had done so, all life on Earth would have perished. The stations orbiting the Earth would have been destroyed, and perhaps the moon base, as well.

"But luckily, a resistance movement based in London finally got the advantage they needed, and the Daleks were defeated."

"I remember that day, barely," Bess said, joining in the story. "I never saw them, and I think most of the occupation was far away from where we lived, anyway. But my father never talked about them. He met them personally, once. The Daleks were looking for the most suitable place to start mining, so they investigated any mine or quarry that was already in existence. They forced him to accompany them, and they treated him like he was less than nothing. It always haunted him, and he never spoke about what they said or did."

"I was a child at the time," Devon spoke up. "I remember when word came from planetside that they had just repelled a three-year invasion. Everyone on the stations and the two bases were stunned, because we had no idea. There was a lot of bitterness from the people planetside. They felt they'd been abandoned by the stations and wanted to know why we'd never sent any help. I don't think they believed us when we said that we never knew anything was wrong."

"That's when the first early-warning satellites were put up," Danziger said. "And emergency transmitters on alternating frequencies between all the stations, bases and the Earth to prevent something like that happening again."

"Too late for some," Denner said bitterly. "My grandfather was killed by the Daleks, working in the mines. My mother hardly ever spoke for the rest of her life because of it."

Romana spoke quickly, sensing that the conversation was about to turn to war stories. Normally she would have listened, but time was pressing. "The Daleks have given all of us here a lifetime of trouble, I have no doubt."

"Just a bunch of dumb robots," True said dejectedly.

"Daleks aren't robots," Romana explained. "They travel inside mobile fighting armored units, metal casings with wheels and guns, one unit for each Dalek. But inside, the Dalek itself is really just a small, blobby creature. They were genetically created on the planet Skaro by a mad scientist named Davros who wanted them to conquer the universe on his behalf. He considered them the perfect beings. He thought much like Hitler did during your second world war. Unfortunately, Davros was a genius and the monsters he created are difficult to fight. They've gone on to hurt many, many people."

"But didn't your advisor say that you offered them the hand of friendship?" Danziger asked. "What did she mean by that?"

"Actually, it wasn't Serina who said that, it was me," Romana replied. "A few months ago, the Emperor Dalek on Skaro actually contacted me with a formal request, believe it or not. I decided that peace with the Daleks was worth the effort, so to establish relations with them, I granted his request."

"You did what?" Denner asked, horrified. "They're the most ruthless, despicable race in the universe! They deserve to go to hell for what they did! How could you even think of trying to make peace with them?"

"Peace is always worth the effort," Romana said. "Denner, you are talking to someone who was once captured, interrogated and tortured by the Daleks on their home planet of Skaro." Romana's voice was soft and quiet as she allowed that fact to sink in. "Yet I had no compunction whatsoever in trying to make peace with them. I had to look beyond my own personal history with them to do what I felt was right."

In the ensuing silence, Bess finally asked, "So...you and the Doctor have a history with the Daleks?"

"The Daleks consider the Doctor to be their mortal enemy. They call him the Ka Faraq Gatri, the 'Bringer of Darkness.' Every Dalek in the universe has standing orders to shoot him on sight. The only reason the Daleks failed to conquer this entire galaxy centuries ago is because the Doctor has put a stop to their plans, time and time again."

Denner snorted. "He didn't help us out on Earth much. For three whole years they took over our planet! Every human being in the entire world was a slave and a quarter of the population died under their cruelty. Where was the Doctor then?"

"In the thick of it!" Romana's voice was hard, despite herself. "If it weren't for the Doctor, you'd still be slaves to the Daleks today! It was because of him that the Earth overthrew the Daleks in 2167 and kicked them back out into space!"

Denner looked dumbfounded, then turned away.

Romana breathed in hard, restraining herself. "Please give the Doctor some credit. He has done a lot more than you think he has."

"The rebellion of 2167 is well-chronicled," Yale spoke up. "Most of the freedom fighters who took part in the last battle are known. The Doctor is not mentioned among them."

"That's because he has a responsibility as a Time Lord to keep a low profile," Romana said. "He often works hard to ensure that his role in historical events does not get recorded."

After a moment, Devon diplomatically changed the subject somewhat. "You...mentioned the Daleks made some request. What did they ask for?"

Romana sighed, as if she was under a great strain. Devon got the impression that what she was about to say was painful. "There is a Time Lord roaming the cosmos who is one of the most evil, heartless people I've ever met. He calls himself 'the Master,' and he's one of the most brilliant of our race. His one goal in life is to rule the entire universe."

"The entire universe?" Danziger scoffed. He had a disbelieving smirk on his face.

"Don't mock, Mr. Danziger. He's come close several times."

"How?" he asked.

"Various schemes. There are cosmic forces out there which you humans have yet to come into contact with. These forces are powerful and dangerous, but that doesn't stop the Master from trying to harness them, to bend them to his own purposes. I tell you in all seriousness, Mr. Danziger, that during one of his schemes, the Master was responsible for destroying two whole galaxies and a third of another one. Twenty quadrillion star systems vanished in a few hours because of his interference. The advanced entropy he set in motion would have swept through the entire universe if it weren't for the Doctor."

The others were speechless. Their minds could barely grasp the enormity of what Romana was saying.

"The Master also considers the Doctor to be his greatest enemy," Romana continued, "and I found it ironic that the Doctor's enemies would fight each other. When the Daleks contacted me, they told me they had captured and executed the Master. But the Master's dying wish was for the Doctor to go to Skaro and to bring his remains back here to Gallifrey, as his final resting place."

"It was a trap, wasn't it?" Danziger asked. He didn't even hesitate. "They were really working together."

Romana closed her eyes, unable to hide her shame and disappointment. "Yes," she said. "To establish diplomatic relations with the Daleks, and perhaps end all the fighting, I granted their request. I was so eager for results I blinded myself to the fact that it might have been a ruse. As it turned out, the Master was just pretending to be dead. He had a plan to capture the Doctor when he least expected it and to steal his body."

"Steal his body?" True asked. "Yuck! Why?"

"Because the Master doesn't have any more regenerations. He's used them all, squandering them away in his various schemes, and he's obsessed with extending his own life. He had a plan to transfer his life essence into the Doctor's body. He failed, of course, but even so, the Doctor died and was forced to regenerate. The Doctor's seventh life was cut short because of me." She gave a weak smile. "Immediately after that is when he met you and helped you deal with the ZED. He hadn't even properly recovered from his regeneration when he got involved with all that."

Morgan let out a long, stressful sigh. "You Time Lords move in realms we know nothing about," he said.

"And it sounds like the two of you lead a pretty active lifestyle," Baines added.

Romana smiled lightly. "I'm not an adventurer any more. Now I'm a politician. Because I was so easily taken in by the Daleks, the High Council has vilified me, using it as fuel to oppose my reforms."

"What reforms are those?" Julia asked.

It was Devon who answered. "Romana's trying to change Time Lord policy so that they will start interfering in the affairs of the universe some more – start putting a stop to people like the Master, and the Daleks."

"Yes," Romana said. "If my people had not been so isolationist all those years ago, the Daleks might never have reached the planet Earth. I believe that if someone has the power and the opportunity to stop evil, and they don't do it, then they are just as responsible as the ones who commit the crime."

"Those are strong words," Yale said, "and 'evil' can be a relative term."

"Yes, but not where the Daleks are concerned," Romana answered. "With them, there's very little gray area."

"What are the Time Lords' argument against you?" Bess asked. "Your stance seems right enough to me."

"One reason they oppose me is lethargy and inertia," Romana answered. "I'm trying to rock a boat which has been steady for millions of years. But what they can't see is that any boat which is that steady is so only because it is anchored in port and rusted to the rails."

"And the other reason?" Yale asked.

"Is a little more complex," Romana said. "You see, the Time Lords haven't exactly been isolationist. Officially, we've never gotten involved with the affairs of our galactic neighbors. Unofficially, however, we've always been in it up to our dirty little eyeballs."

"What do you mean?" Magus asked.

"What I'm about to tell you is confidential and I trust you will keep it to yourselves. I'm only telling you this so you'll know what to watch out for."

"Watch out for?" Danziger echoed. "You sound as if there's going to be trouble."

Romana looked pained. "There may be, Mr. Danziger. I don't know. It's just a feeling I have, and I want all of you to be prepared.

"There is a human phrase I'm sure you've all heard: 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' Never has that proverb proven more true than here on Gallifrey. Over the millennia, we've had rulers who have done a good job, but we've also had our fair share of corrupt High Councils and Presidents – people who were not above lying, thievery, and using our vast technology for their own benefit, at the expense of others.

"One of the most powerful and secretive organizations on Gallifrey is the Celestial Intervention Agency. The current CIA director is a man called Ferain, a man whose power I have vowed to curtail.

"Throughout history – both for good and for bad – the members of the CIA have been sticking their noses into other people's affairs whenever and wherever they wanted to. But they've always done it in such a way that they could deny all involvement. The High Council is usually aware of their actions, but remain in a state of denial so deep that they won't even admit it to themselves.

"At various times, the CIA has moved in secret to oppose the Daleks, which is a good thing. At other times, the CIA has moved to crush political enemies of the Time Lords. Sometimes, they have put a stop to other scientists who were on the verge of discovering time travel, to maintain our technological monopoly. The CIA's actions are never recorded, never verified and never questioned. They move outside the bounds of the constitution and our own galactic treaties.

"And when the CIA wants some dirty work done, you can easily guess whom they use as their favorite pawn."

"The Doctor," Devon said quietly.

"Right. Because of the Doctor's wandering ways, and his tendency to get involved wherever he goes, the CIA love to use him as a tool in their own plans. It is only because of the CIA that the Time Lords turn a blind eye to his activities. The unspoken price for the Doctor's freedom is that sometimes, whenever the CIA needs something badly, they get the Doctor to do it because they know that the Doctor will care enough to help someone who's in trouble. But they always act out of self-interest, and they don't care about the Doctor one whit."

"Criminy!" Denner exclaimed, letting her head fall back against the chair.

"Now, hang on a minute," Cameron said. "If all this is true, then why has the Doctor been arrested and brought to trial? I mean, why now, after all these years?"

"Why, indeed, Cameron?" Romana spoke softly. "Why, indeed? You've just hit the nail right on the head. This entire trial has the stink of the CIA behind it, but for once I'm hesitant to say it's them. Ferain gave me his solemn vow that they would leave the Doctor alone if he went to Skaro as I asked him to. Ferain is capable of many things but breaking a vow like that is something not even he would do. He knows how to play the game.

"But on the other hand, Castellan Andred is a friend of the Doctor's. He would never pursue something like this so ruthlessly, yet he is, and I find that very strange." Romana shook her head, staring into the distance for a moment, trying once more to make sense of all she knew. "I asked Andred to meet us here tonight but he hasn't arrived, and that's not like him. Leela, do you know where he is?"

"No," Leela answered. "I have seen very little of him in the last two days. He is troubled about something and he won't tell me what it is."

"That's not unusual, is it?" Romana asked.

"No," Leela shook her head. "He is not permitted to discuss most of his work with me, and he tries to shield me from it, even though my K9 and I know most of it anyway."

"Your K9?" Bess asked. "I thought K9 belonged to the Doctor, or Romana."

"There are two K9s on Gallifrey," Leela answered. "I have K9 Mark I, and Romana has K9 Mark II. They are mostly identical."

"Which one is this?" Magus asked, motioning to the robot dog waiting beside Romana.

K9's ears waggled. "K9 Mark II, at your service. We met on the beach at New Pacifica, planet G889, many years ago. Pleased to make your re-acquaintance."

Romana asked, "K9, where is the other K9?"

K9's ears twirled again for a few seconds. "My counterpart is in the Arcalian College, Delta Wing 487. He is with the Castellan Andred and is requiring no disturbance."

"Tell the other K9 that Andred is to meet us in half a cycle at the Doctor's cell," Romana said. "And make sure he knows that it's a Presidential order."

"Affirmative," K9 chirped. "Message received and understood."

Leela said, "If Andred doesn't wish to be disturbed then he has his reasons."

"Delta Wing 487 of the Arcalian College is the center for genetic engineering," Romana replied. "What Andred could find there that is more important that a Presidential order is beyond me."

"He still must have a reason," Leela insisted. Bess felt for her, knowing what it was like sticking up for her husband.

"Then we'll find out what it is when we meet him later," Romana said simply.

Yale had his hand up to his chin, still thinking the problem through. He asked thoughtfully, "If someone wanted the Doctor out of the way, why wouldn't they just assassinate him?"

"Someone's trying to cover up a trail," Romana answered. "And despite the Doctor's unpopularity, he has twice held the office of President of Gallifrey. That does count for something."

"Is the Castellan the second-most powerful person on Gallifrey?" Yale asked.

"In a way," Romana said. "The Castellan would become acting president if something happened to me, but I believe Ferain really has more power. The three of us – President, Castellan and CIA Director – form an unofficial triad."

"So," Yale said slowly, "you suspect a conspiracy of some kind, but you have no one to pin it on because the Doctor is very good friends with two out of the three most powerful people on the planet. That only leaves Ferain...and you don't suspect him, either."

"Exactly. I don't know what to make of it. This is why I wanted to speak with all of you as soon as you arrived, and to warn you. Someone, somewhere, is scheming and this trial is merely the first step. As witnesses, I'm very sorry to say that you are now caught up in the politics of my planet."

Romana leaned forward again and lowered her voice, ever so slightly. "I have nothing definite to warn you against. I could be warning you against shadows. I really hope I am. But I want you to leave this room tonight knowing what's going on around you. Armed with this knowledge, you might see, hear, or sense something which you might not have otherwise."

"Could this trial have something to do with your political reforms?" Bess asked. "Maybe all this is some way of getting to you. You do care about the Doctor, after all."

Romana was astonished. "Extraordinary! A point well made, I hadn't thought of that. It had not occurred to me that this entire farce may have been arranged for my benefit. Very good thinking, Bess."

"Do you think someone will actually try to manipulate us into altering our testimony?" Devon asked.

Romana's face was grave. "It's a possibility I wouldn't discount, Devon."

Yale spoke up. "Most cultures enable the figure with the most power the authority to pardon criminals. Do you have that power?"

"Yes, I do. And I would have used it but the Doctor himself asked me not to. Pardoning him would be tantamount to political suicide and he knows I can do a lot of good if I remain President. Also, he wants this trial to proceed. The Doctor's usual method of dealing with a problem is to run headlong into the thick of it and he's doing that now. He says that pardoning him would only delay the inevitable. He wants to see this trial through."

"Can we go see him?" Uly asked.

"Yes, it's time," Romana said and stood up. The others followed suit. Romana punched another button on the side of her chair and the dishes all disappeared, transmatted back to the kitchens.

"We have got to get us one of those!" Morgan whispered to Bess.

Bess just gave him a scowl.