Julia took the oath and sat down. She was determined not to look at Reilly, but she could feel his eyes on her.

Morgan asked, "For the sake of establishing reference points for the rest of the trial, will you please relate the circumstances of your first meeting with the Doctor?"

"Okay," she said, a little nervously. But she grew more at ease as she told the court how the Doctor had appeared during their cross-continent journey to help them defeat the ZED which Reilly had sent to collect Ulysses. Morgan noted with satisfaction that as she did so the judge looked sternly at Reilly from time to time.

"Objection," Andred said, as Julia began relating how Reilly had ordered the ZED to interrogate her. "This account is getting very far off the subject. I think it's obvious that the humans are using our courtroom simply to act out their own agenda and animosity. We're here for the Doctor, no other reason."

"This tale will be referred to many times throughout the day," Morgan said. "Everyone from Eden Advance is going to be discussing how the Doctor helped us to defeat the ZED. You're going to hear it one way or another, so it might as well be now."

The judge nodded. "Objection overruled. Please continue, Dr. Heller."

Julia finished her tale, stressing that if the Doctor had not arrived on G889 when he did, Ulysses would have been kidnapped and experimented on, possibly even killed.

"And what is your opinion of the Doctor, on the whole?" Morgan asked her.

"My opinion is that he is one of the smartest, finest men I have ever met," Julia said. "I feel perfectly at ease being around him. He understands people. He risked his life to help us, and all the people on the colony ship, when he was under no obligation to do any such thing. He is incredibly brilliant, and has offered both myself and others in the group insight into ourselves, and into the nature of the disease which drove us to colonize G889. I owe him my life. I think everyone connected with Eden Project does."

"Thank you," Morgan said, and turned to Andred. "Your witness."

Andred approached Julia while Morgan sat down. "Dr. Heller," he said. "You were once in the employ of the Council, is that not so?"

Julia stiffened a little. "Yes," she said guardedly.

"And Councilman Reilly was once your superior, isn't that right?"

"He was my contact on G889," Julia said. "I reported to him since he was planetary overseer."

"So he was your superior?" Andred persisted.

"Well...yes."

"And during your time on G889, didn't you turn against Reilly, and against the Council?"

"Objection," Morgan stood up. "What is the relevance of this?"

The judge raised an eyebrow at Andred, who said, "Your honor, I plan to show that the character witnesses who have been called by the defense are themselves of dubious character, and show a lack of any real integrity. I will be asking that the court take this into account when all their testimony is given."

Morgan just blinked in amazement. "Could you repeat that?" he asked. "I've been wanting to do a spit-take all day."

"What did you say, Mr. Martin?" the judge asked.

"I mean, this is ridiculous!" Morgan protested, but the judge held up her hand.

"I will overrule your objection for the moment, Mr. Martin," she said. "Ultimately, I am the one who will decide the validity of the statements made on the witness stand, and the credibility of the people making them. Continue, Castellan."

Morgan sat down, realizing what Andred's plan was. The Edenites had been called as character witnesses for the Doctor and each and every single one of them was going to give him a glowing review. So Andred was attempting to discredit the Edenites and to make it look as if they were unreliable people whose word should be taken with a grain of salt, or even disbelieved outright.

Suddenly, the object of the trial wasn't to defend the Doctor – it was to defend themselves.

He sighed and poured himself another glass of water, wishing he had something stronger.

Andred nodded. "Dr. Heller, after being on the planet for about two months, did you or did you not turn against Councilman Reilly and disobey direct orders from him?"

"Yes, but-"

"'Yes' or 'No' will do," Andred interrupted her. "Is planet G889 an official colony world, claimed and settled under the auspices of Earth expansion law?"

"Yes," Julia said.

"And isn't the Council the ruling government of the planet Earth?"

"Yes."

"So the Council is also the ruling government of G889?"

"Well, to humans...yes," Julia said, flustered.

"Then by disobeying direct orders from your superior, the planetary overseer appointed by the Council, you committed treason against Earth's government, didn't you?"

"Now, wait just a minute-"

"Answer the question!" Andred's voice thundered. "Did you or did you not commit treason and disobey the direct orders of the Council?"

"No!" Julia shouted. "No, I didn't commit treason! I believed in the Council with all my heart! Reilly committed treason by abusing his post! The orders I disobeyed were immoral ones!"

Andred shrugged. "There are those who dispute that."

"Oh, I'm sure there are," Julia said. She was steaming. "Maybe you don't understand what it's like to be on a ship that crashed because it was sabotaged! Maybe you don't understand what it's like dying with a bullet inside you while a madman orders your torture and interrogation! Maybe you don't know what it's like having your skull torn inside out because of an illegal brain implant going on the fritz!"

"And Reilly was responsible for all of that, was he?" Andred asked.

"As planetary overseer, you're damned right he was responsible!" Julia answered. "He said so himself on the witness stand earlier! He's responsible for all matters having to do with colonization!"

Andred smirked a little, realizing he'd walked into that one. Julia was a bit sharper than he'd given her credit for.

"The bomb on the ship, and the spy on board the colony ship, were both the work of heavy-handed Council operatives back on Earth," Andred said. "Not Councilman Reilly."

"I'm sure that's what he told you," Julia said.

"The brain implants for monitoring people's life signs are standard not only for Earth, but for many other civilizations, as well," Andred pressed on. "It's a very practical idea. We sometimes do the same here on Gallifrey. And wasn't the fact that they malfunctioned the work of a man called Bennett?"

"Bennett," Julia said. "Yes."

"Not Councilman Reilly," Andred said.

Julia hesitated. "No," she said. "Reilly wasn't responsible for the brain implants malfunctioning. That's true."

"In fact, he came close to dying also," Andred pointed out. "He didn't cause your crash. He didn't cause the trouble on the colony ship. He didn't cause the brain implants to malfunction. The first time you met a ZED, he gave you the information you needed to defeat it, despite the fact that you were a difficult agent to get along with. When you encountered a worm bullet for the very first time, it was Reilly who saved the lives of everyone in Eden Advance by warning you it was about to explode and ordering you to dispose of the bullet before it did. When Eden Advance was low on water shortly after you reached the planet, he offered to send you some, but you refused! Isn't all of this true, Dr. Heller?"

"Yes," Julia said wearily. "All of that is true. It's also true that he conducted horrendous experiments on helpless children, used penal colonists as guinea pigs to study G889, attempted to kidnap Ulysses, and ordered my death."

"You have proof of these things?" Andred scoffed openly.

"Yes- well, no, not now. I once had transactions of my conversations with Reilly stored on my communicator. But I threw it away."

"Didn't you keep a backup?"

"We destroyed all copies," Julia said, deflated. "The group did it to protect me."

"How convenient," Andred said. "So you have no proof of any of these ridiculous charges."

"No, I have no proof," Julia said. "But even if you believe nothing else, Reilly ordered my death! Doesn't that count for something?"

"Doesn't the law count for something?" Andred countered. "Earth law gives Councilman Reilly the right to execute people who commit treason! Capital punishment for the crime of treason is common on many planets, including here on Gallifrey. There's nothing unreasonable in this. And you, Dr. Heller, committed treason. If Councilman Reilly ordered your death, he was within his rights."

Julia could not believe this was happening.

The Doctor quickly whispered something to Morgan, who stood and said, "Your honor, if the Castellan is seeking proof of what Dr. Heller says, there is a conversation between Dr. Heller and Councilman Reilly still recorded within the TARDIS databanks. The Doctor recorded it when Reilly had Dr. Heller at his mercy, and it clearly shows the Councilman making plans to commit murder and to kidnap Ulysses."

"Ha!" Andred scoffed again. "Anything coming from the Doctor's TARDIS is clearly suspect!"

The Doctor said, "I wouldn't have had the opportunity to fake something like that before I was brought in for trial, since I had no idea I was going to need it."

Andred asked, "Is this a conversation you recorded without the Councilman's awareness?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

"So you were eavesdropping on the private communications of a foreign government?"

"Not strictly foreign," the Doctor said with a smile. "I do still hold the official position of scientific adviser to Earth's United Nations Intelligence Taskforce."

"Which no longer exists in the 22nd century," Andred said. "Your honor, the Doctor's TARDIS is contained within a force field for a reason, and any evidence contained within it was obtained illegally, as the Doctor just admitted to listening in on a private transmission."

The judge looked at Castellan Andred for a long time, then at Reilly, then at Julia. She finally said, "I don't like what I am hearing, and I don't fully know what to make of it. I'm not going to allow your supposed recording right now, Doctor, because we are really beginning to stray from the purpose of this trial. But I will keep it in mind if things are no more clear later."

Morgan sighed and sat down again.

"Dr. Heller," Andred continued, "before you turned against the Council, you lied to your fellow group members, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said.

"And in the process of turning upon the Council, you also lied to Reilly, didn't you?"

"Yes," she said again.

"Thank you." He turned to the judge. "Your honor, these humans are all going to be vouching for the Doctor. But I put it to you that they themselves are of dubious character whose word cannot be trusted. Dr. Heller committed treason, and the others did everything they possibly could to protect her, to hide from Councilman Reilly, and to colonize the planet in their own way, disregarding entirely whatever directives and plans had come from their own government. I would go so far as to openly declare them rebels against their own government, willing even to take up arms against it! To justify their actions, they concoct tales of tyranny which they cannot support, and which are frankly unbelievable.

"If your honor accepts their rebellious natures as a given, then I further put it to you that rebels such as these are almost always inconsistent, showing allegiances to whomever is most convenient at the moment, and unable to follow through on serious commitments to any special cause. I ask that your honor take all of this into consideration when hearing their comments. I have no further questions."

Andred sat down. He glanced at his wrist monitor. The chart was up to 27 percent, still nothing found.

"Does the defense have any rebuttal?" the judge asked.

Morgan had his head bowed, desperately trying to think of something. Despite what the Doctor had said, his verdict meant something to him. He had a professional responsibility to do his best for his client. But here in this courtroom, light years away from the forests and plains of G889 (and how he was missing that planet so much right now!), it was so difficult to talk about what happened without getting the words all twisted around. If only he could bring a little piece of G889 here, he thought. Everything seemed to make sense there, in a way. Not like here.

"Mr. Martin?" the judge asked again.

Morgan glanced back at Bess and saw her looking at him with pleading in her eyes. Those big beautiful eyes of hers. And as he stared past the make-up and into their depths, just for an instant, he suddenly saw tall trees, a mesa, a river, a meadow. He saw a whispered question followed by an afternoon of love, and vows of "We do," given under a clear blue sky, a lifetime ago.

For a brief moment, he saw G889. The planet that was now his home.

"Yes," Morgan suddenly stood up, with a new energy that surprised everyone. He took a deep breath and approached Julia again. She looked at him, puzzled, wondering what was coming now.

"Dr. Heller," Morgan said, and cleared his throat. "Let me ask you something. Out of all the people in this room, which person do you think hates you more than any other?"

Julia thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose it would be Councilman Reilly."

"I would agree with that assessment," Morgan said. "But there was a time when that wasn't true, wasn't there? I want you to think back, Dr. Heller. Shortly before you turned against Reilly, when you were briefly separated from us due to a lack of trust, who in this room do you think hated you the most then?"

Julia was visibly shaken, not knowing what to make of this question. "Well, I suppose that would be yourself and Bess," she said quietly.

"I would agree with that assessment, also," he said, then turned to face the courtroom. "You see, Julia did some really terrible things to us back when we were trekking across the planet."

Julia's face went white. The other Edenites looked at Morgan in horror. "What's he doing?" Magus asked Walman, who just shook his head. Romana closed her eyes. Only the Doctor looked thoughtful.

"This woman," Morgan pointed dramatically at her, "took Ulysses Adair, this boy," and Morgan motioned to him, "and operated on him in secret, planning to perform a procedure which might have killed him! She ingested alien DNA into her own bloodstream, and as a result suffered periods of amnesia and loss of self-control, but she kept it hidden from all of us!

"Furthermore, when she tried to confide in me and I wouldn't go along with her, she attacked me, drugged me and tied me to a tree! She left me there all night long, unable to defend myself from any penal colonists or wild animals which might have come along. By the time I was finally rescued I was so hungry I was sick and I was dehydrated to the point that I was suffering from hallucinations. The experience was one of the worst of my entire life, and very traumatic for my wife, as well." He pointed again. "And it was all – Julia's – fault!"

Everyone in the entire courtroom was looking at Morgan in wonder. Julia was close to tears.

"Now," Morgan said, knowing that he had every single person as his audience. "I call your attention again to the first question I asked Julia: 'Who hates her the most?' She said Reilly hates her the most, and I agreed. Now ask yourself why that would be, knowing now the things that she did."

His gaze ran over every single person in the courtroom, ending with the judge. "If what I just said is true – and it is – then why wasn't her answer, 'Morgan Martin,' or 'Devon Adair?'"

Morgan's voice grew quiet. "The answer is that there is more to Julia Heller than someone who disobeyed Reilly's orders and left me tied to a tree." Then he shouted, "And it's the same for each and every one of us!"

He put a hand on his chest. "I once tried to cheat the Terrians and claim one of their valuable mineral mines for money, even though it was a vital part of the planet we all live on!"

Then he motioned to several other members of Eden Advance one by one. "Danziger was biased against Terrians, and at one point was willing to let them all die just because they weren't human! Alonzo tried to throw himself off a cliff because he couldn't deal with reality! Devon's a bossy woman who sometimes doesn't see whom she runs over in her quest to achieve her goals, and at one time she wanted a known murderer to join the group without consulting us first!"

Then Morgan shouted to the whole room. "But these things do not define who we are!"

He paused a moment to let that sink in, his final word echoing briefly. "There's a lot more to each of us," he said. "Sure we have flaws. But there are also a lot of good things we do, like when some of us were stricken with a deadly disease and I risked my life to get a natural antidote from a hostile creature. Like when Danziger rushed into danger to help his friends when he thought the Terrians would hurt them, and was later willing to trust them with his life. Like when Alonzo fought the evil Terrian to save John. Like when Devon risked her freedom and the future of our people to bargain for Yale's life. Like when Julia Heller," he pointed at her again dramatically, "walked up to a ZED, armed with nothing but an attitude, and took it down – saving all of our lives."

His voice grew quiet again. "There's more to all of us, so much more that is beautiful, so much more that we can show you if you just look past the mistakes we've made and give each of us a chance to be real to you."

The Edenites were staring at Morgan in awe, watching in wonder as a side of him they never knew quite existed unfolded before them.

"I ask your honor to consider that if we were the rebellious, fractured, irresponsible group the Castellan paints us to be, we would not have survived together for longer than a month, much less two years. You see, we're not just a group, we're a community. Together, we accomplish what none of us could do alone.

"And part of what we accomplished is learning how to forgive, and how to live with each other. That is why I can look Julia in the eye," and Morgan turned to her, and spoke directly to her, "and say that I forgive you for what you did. That I don't hold it against you, that I've moved past it. That I have no right to judge you for your mistakes unless I'm willing to be judged for my own, as well. That I value you...and I'm glad we didn't leave you behind."

Julia bit her lip and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Morgan turned back to the judge. "If we were the type of people the Castellan would have you believe we are, then I couldn't have said that to her. I wouldn't have even tried. I wouldn't be able to forgive, or to make allowances for people. None of us would be here – without pay or for any other reward – to defend the man who helped us in our time of need. We're not rebels, we're a family. We're united."

Morgan took one last deep breath. "And there's no way any of us could have maintained our unity if we were the type of people who believed in disunity.

"So if Andred can make his request, I can, too. Like him, I ask for your honor to take all I've said into consideration when hearing our testimony." He looked at Julia, and gave her a little smile. "I have no further questions." He sat down.

The judge just sat, transfixed by Morgan's performance. She swallowed hard, then blew out a long breath. "Well done, Mr. Martin," she said shakily. "Your point is taken. You are excused, Dr. Heller."

Julia gratefully returned to her seat, giving Morgan a smile on her way back. The rest of his group was smiling at him with pride, and even Andred was biting his lip and showing a little smile of admiration.

Morgan just took a deep breath and poured himself some more water. He didn't think he could do that again. He took a long drink, looked over at Andred and tapped his wrist. Andred glanced at his monitor, then shook his head.

The trial continued, and the search went on.

 

Throughout the day Morgan called the rest of Eden Advance one by one, asking them to relate their experiences with the Doctor and their impressions of him.

"Yeah, he's a pretty good guy," Danziger said during his turn on the witness stand. "I don't understand him most of the time, but he didn't leave us when the going got tough."

"Although maybe he should have," Andred said, during one of his few efforts to cross-examine the Edenites.

"Objection," Morgan said. "The charge of interference was dropped at the hearing, so remarks like that aren't relevant."

"That objection is sustained," the judge said.

"It's really kind of weird," Alonzo said, obviously not very comfortable on the stand. "But because the Doctor and I were, you know, side by side in the cockpit, I feel...bonded to him, somehow. We shared the danger of going down together in a ship that crashed, and between the two of us, we piloted it to safety. I'll never forget that."

"He's funny," True said when her turn came. "He made a joke about my name, but it wasn't bad. Back on the stations, when other kids made jokes about my name, I'd slug 'em."

"You'd slug them," Morgan said, tilting his head to one side, obviously not knowing what to make of that.

"Yeah, I've always hated that. Everyone hears that my name is 'True' and they think they have to get all cute about it. But the Doctor made a joke about my name that was actually pretty good. No one's ever done that before."

"He has a very brilliant mind, and a lot of wisdom, and I think we can learn a lot from him," Yale said. "I find myself wishing he would give up traveling and stay with us, although I know he never would."

"He saved my son's life," Devon said. "I frankly cannot understand why he is being put on trial at all."

"I wish I could go with him," Cameron said. "See what he's seen."

Ulysses was the last of the Edenites to speak. "The Doctor pulled his key out from behind my ear," he said. "I've been trying to figure out how he did it. I've been asking the Terrians to help me figure it out, but they don't know, either."

"You can still talk to the Terrians, even here on Gallifrey?" Morgan asked.

"I can talk to the Terrians anywhere," Uly said with a shrug. "They knew that the Doctor would be brought back to Gallifrey when he met himself. That's part of why they wanted him to do it."

Every person in the courtroom sat up at this news. Devon, in particular, was stunned. "What did you just say?" the judge asked.

"The Terrians knew," Uly said. "They knew that other Time Lords would come to get him after meeting himself. But it's okay, because they also know that the Doctor will go on to do more things than he's already done. Even greater things."

The entire courtroom was silent.

"How do you know that, Ulysses?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I just do." He absently swung his foot, kicking the side of the witness stand.

With a quizzical look on his face, Morgan said, "I don't...think...I have any further questions." He turned to Andred. "Your witness."

Andred stood up and said, "I have no questions for the witness. If the Terrians don't know how the Doctor pulled a simple sleight-of-hand magic trick, I don't see how they could accurately predict his future, or the future of this trial."

There were chuckles around the courtroom at this. The judge said, "Very well. You are excused, Ulysses."

As Ulysses went back to his seat Andred checked his monitor. Eighty-five percent of the capital had been searched but nothing had been found. Andred was beginning to wonder if their enemy was elsewhere. But if so, how could he be watching the trial? It was only available on video uplink within the capital itself. Andred turned to glance at the camera mounted on the back wall, just above the door.

"Your honor, I only have one more witness to call," Morgan said. "I wish to call Joseph Reilly as a hostile witness for the defense."

Reilly once again stepped forward and took the oath.

"Councilman Reilly," Morgan said. "We have already established that Dr. Julia Heller was once in the employ of the Council, and that during that time, she reported to you. Do you still maintain that that is the truth?"

"I do," he said.

"And do you still maintain that she committed treason against the Council?" Morgan asked.

"I do."

"May we hear what your reasons are for believing that she committed treason?"

"Objection," Andred stood up. "Once again, the humans are using this courtroom for their own agenda. This has nothing to do with this trial."

"Your honor," Morgan said, "earlier, Andred attempted to discredit my witnesses. Therefore, I feel I should have the opportunity to discredit his."

The judge sighed. "Objection overruled. Your point is a valid one, Mr. Martin, but please make it brief. I grow tired of this."

"Certainly, your honor," Morgan said. "Mr. Reilly, if you will, what was the horrendous crime against the Council which Julia committed?"

"Oh, there were many," Reilly said. "To begin with, she refused to sign in for the first four weeks after landing on G889-"

"Landing?" Morgan interrupted him. "I feel I must correct you, Mr. Reilly. We didn't land on G889. We crashed."

Reilly nodded. "Arrived, then. My apologies if you quibble with my wording, I meant no disrespect. She refused to sign in for the first four weeks. When she finally did, she was insubordinate, accusing me and others on the Council of planning the crash of your ship, which we did not. From then, it was a constant uphill battle to earn her trust. I thought I was making progress in that area, but I was eventually proven wrong.

"I wanted her to find out what she could about the Terrians and about life on G889. I was also very keen to know about Ulysses Adair's changes after the Terrians had cured him of the Syndrome. Dr. Heller was forthcoming with some information, but she never gave me her location."

"Eve told us that by monitoring our life signs, you knew our location all along," Morgan said.

"That's right, I did. The purpose of asking Julia for her location wasn't because I really needed to know it. It was an exercise to test her loyalty. I needed to know that she could trust me. Earning her trust was more important to me than finding out a few tidbits about Ulysses Adair."

"So you never meant anyone any harm by conducting your research?" Morgan asked. "It was always peaceful?"

"Yes, it was."

"Then, Mr. Reilly," and Morgan turned around, pacing casually. "Why was it so secret?"

"Excuse me?" Reilly looked puzzled.

"Why didn't Dr. Heller just tell us up front that she was a Council member? Why didn't you welcome us yourself with open arms when we reached G889, instead of hiding from us? Why didn't you try to make friends with us? Why didn't you show up and ask us politely to aid you in your research? In other words," Morgan turned to face him again, "what were you trying to hide?"

"The Council has always been a secretive organization," Reilly said, still puzzled, as if Morgan had asked him a stupid question. "Our underlying reason for existence is to better the life of mankind. To that end, we are involved in many different fields. Scientific research and humankind's security are just two of them. And unfortunately, the security of mankind demands that we don't call attention to ourselves. There's nothing unusual in what I did."

"I see," Morgan said. "So your viewpoint is that you know what's good for people better than they do, and therefore it's okay to conduct investigations into their affairs behind their backs. Is that an accurate appraisal of your viewpoint?"

"Yes," Reilly said. "Most people really don't know what's good for them. Most people will vote for the public official who's better looking and has a glib tongue rather than the one best qualified for the job. Most people are gullible, easily led like sheep to the slaughter. The sheer number of people who are constantly taken in by scams and false advertising which is too good to be true is evidence of this. Someone needs to lead them, to educate them, and to take care of them. The Council does this, and I think we've done a wonderful job with very little thanks or appreciation."

"And how, exactly, does ordering a life-threatening operation on a little boy constitute ensuring the safety of humankind?"

"Are you referring to the operation which Dr. Heller almost carried out on Ulysses?" Reilly asked.

"Yes."

"I tried to stop her from performing that operation," Reilly said. "I felt it was dangerous. The idea was hers, and she wanted to press forward with it despite my misgivings. I ordered her not to operate, but she attempted to do so anyway. That was one more act of insubordination, which eventually led to me to judge that she was a traitor."

Julia's mouth was open in disbelief. Devon just glared and forced herself to breathe deeply as she could feel her blood pressure rising. But, true to Morgan's wishes, no one from Eden Advance said a word.

"You realize that is a direct contradiction of what Dr. Heller says happened," Morgan said.

"I can't stop Dr. Heller from telling lies," Reilly said.

Morgan persisted. "Councilman Reilly, on the day Julia turned against you openly and finally, several of us were listening to her conversations with you. We clearly heard you tell her, and I quote, 'I don't care what you do with the ZED, but the boy is mine. You will deliver him, or you will die running.' Now, that statement seems to contradict your supposedly peaceful intentions and agenda."

"I never made any such statement," Reilly said.

"So I'm a liar, now, am I?" Morgan asked. "As is everyone connected with Eden Advance?"

"Either that, or taken in by Dr. Heller's lies," Reilly said. He was still calm. "Or you could be deranged, or simply mistaken. But I did not make that statement."

"Please remember your oath, Councilman," Morgan said.

"I'm not violating my oath, Mr. Martin, I assure you."

"I'm going to give you one more chance, Councilman," Morgan said. "If I have to, I can call more witnesses who also heard you say the remark I claim you did. Also, True Danziger clearly heard you order Dr. Heller, and I quote, 'Get her! Get her!'"

Reilly shrugged. "Bring as many witnesses as you feel you need to. That is," he nodded to the judge, "if the judge will allow you to drag the case on meaninglessly in such a manner. I will deny any and all accusations you can dredge up."

Oh, smooth move to play to the judge's impatience, Morgan thought. Damn him.

Morgan looked at the judge, and she said, "I do not see the necessity to enter into a tedious discussion of whose word is valid and whose isn't. As with most matters of this nature, I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. By this point in the trial, I feel I have about as accurate a depiction of the events, and the people involved, as I ever will. If your point, Mr. Martin, is to show that Councilman Reilly may not be telling the truth, then you have made that point adequately, and there is no reason to drive it home. Unless you have any other points to establish with this witness, I'm going to ask you not to pursue this line of questioning any further."

Morgan sighed. Damn, Reilly was good. As much as he hated to admit it, he was beginning to respect him as an opponent. "No, your honor, I have no further questions for the witness."

"Does the prosecution wish to cross-examine the witness?"

"No, your honor," Andred said.

"Thank you, Councilman Reilly. Once again, you may be excused."

As Reilly returned to his seat the judge asked, "Do you have any further witnesses or statements to make, Mr. Martin?"

"Only one," Morgan said, suddenly realizing how tired he was. "Since I have become the Doctor's solicitor, I never gave myself an opportunity to be a witness. Therefore, as his solicitor, his friend, and a character witness, all three, I just want to put in my own word for the Doctor.

"He is a wonderful man who cares deeply about all life everywhere. He has put himself on the line for many people in need, ourselves included. At the risk of insulting your judgment, your honor, which I have no wish to do, I think that if you find him guilty, in any degree, it will be a travesty." He sighed. "Thank you for allowing me to defend him. It's been my pleasure." He bowed and sat down.

The judge bowed in return, then paused for a few moments to make some notes.

The Doctor leaned over and said, "Your attempts to get Reilly to talk on the stand were excellent. You actually came closer to getting him than I ever thought you would."

"Thanks," Morgan said.

"You really enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"

Morgan smiled. Then he said, "I just wish we could have gotten him to talk." He turned to Andred and tapped his wrist.

Andred looked at his wrist monitor. It was at 100 percent. Harrigan was sending through a teletext message that there was no sign of the mysterious enemy anywhere. Andred just looked back and shook his head.

Morgan and the Doctor turned to face each other. "Where could he be?" the Doctor asked.

"If both the counsel for the prosecution and the counsel for the defense have nothing more to add, then I shall declare stage one of this trial closed," the judge announced.

"Doctor, I've got to put Reilly back on the stand!" Morgan whispered desperately.

"You can't," he shook his head. "What justification would you use?"

Andred stood up. "The prosecution has nothing more to add, your honor."

"Mr. Martin?" the judged asked.

Morgan stood up. "The defense..." His voice trailed off and a far-away look crossed his face. Morgan blinked twice, then he began to smile, and he said, "...has one more witness to call."

A low murmur sprang up through the courtroom as Morgan once again stepped forward. "My apologies your honor," he said, and bowed again for good measure. "But I have just realized that we are leaving someone out of these proceedings. Someone very important."

"How important?" the judge asked sternly. She was evidently not happy about the procedure being disrupted.

Morgan licked his lips. His newfound status of Gallifreyan attorney was probably on the line, but there were more important things at stake. "Crucial," he said.

The judge sighed. "You had best be right about this Mr. Martin. Your last-minute witness had better be worth it."

Morgan bowed again, then spoke to the courtroom at large. "The Time Lords of Gallifrey openly, and clearly, recognize that life can be found in many different forms and guises. And when conducting a trial for a Lord of Time, I am not only entitled to call any living witness I can, but I am honor-bound to do so. And various witnesses from both the prosecution and the defense have stated earlier that the planet on which we live, G889, is, in fact, a single, living entity. A life form known as a Gaia."

The courtroom became hushed as everyone slowly realized what Morgan was suggesting.

"Therefore, I am both honor-bound and entitled to call as a witness for the defense,"

The murmurs in the courtroom started again.

"the entirety of planet G,"

The murmurs became a buzz of open astonishment.

"8,"

The buzz rose in volume.

"8,"

It became a roar.

"9."

And the courtroom went mad.