"We don't have a lot of time," Braydon continued, not giving them a chance to celebrate their victory any more. They gathered around him and listened. "There are other prisoners besides us, and just because we've won a tiny corner of a Dalek battleship doesn't mean anything in the long run. They've trapped us here with no food and no means of escape. We have no choice but to break through their bulkheads and continue. They will not give us any quarter, they will not give us any second chances, and they are intelligent enough to be already planning a counterattack. We must attack them within the next 15 minutes, or we might as well surrender."

"What's a minute?" one of the Time Lords asked.

Braydon thought quickly. "Fifteen minutes is about one-sixth of a cycle." When the others looked startled, he said, "We have no choice! We have to move quickly. Now let's see what else we can use from their store room."

They went through it, arming themselves with more gunsticks, and they found a supply of timed explosives with magnetic clamps. None of the Time Lords could tell how powerful they were, though.

Braydon picked up one of the bombs. It was a flat oval about six inches long with controls set into one end. His eye quickly scanned the device and compared it to his database. "According to my people who fought the Daleks, one of these produces a 15-kilogram explosion."

"What's a kilogram?" one of them asked.

Braydon started distributing the bombs. "I believe it's enough to put a hole in a wall," he said. "Don't be near one when it goes off. Does anyone know the layout of a Dalek battleship?"

None of them did.

"Very well. We'll just have to make this up as we go along. I suggest we free any other prisoners we can and fight our way to the escape pods. Any objections?"

"Why not just get away ourselves, instead of throwing away our lives in a hopeless attempt to rescue others?" one of them asked. "We're not an army, and we can't help anyone else by just dying uselessly."

"I still have two good friends being held as prisoners elsewhere on board," Braydon replied. "No one has to follow me, but I will not leave until I find them."

"We're with you," a woman said, and everyone nodded. Braydon looked at Morgan and Denner, who both nodded, as well. "Good," he said. "Remember, we are fighting for our lives, and the Daleks will not be taking prisoners. Let's go."

They placed one bomb on either side of the main door leading into the rest of the ship and backed away. Seconds later, they were pouring through the breaches, blasting away. Again, the Daleks were taken by surprise. They had thought the prisoners would fortify their position, wait and make useless verbal demands. Going on the offensive was the last thing they had expected.

The battle raged through the ship. With Dalek weapons, nothing to lose and the ability to bust through walls without caring what they damaged, the rebels went on a massive tear. Several fell, but they drove the Daleks back mercilessly. Lift doors were pried open and Braydon led a courageous squad up to the next level. The others created a diversion for him by blowing a hole in the ceiling, making the Daleks think that that was how they were coming up. They took the next level, power was restored to the lifts, the lift shaft was secured, and the remaining rebels came up, ever onward.

Morgan, for his part, had lost his anger and now simply felt sickened. But fear and a hard instinct for self-preservation kept him going. He went through the battle gulping hard, shaking, his eyes wide enough to be mistaken for moons. He so desperately wanted to turn and run, to let the others continue fighting while he found a safe place to hide. But even as he had these thoughts, he knew he would rather die than live the rest of his life with such an action on his conscience. He had enough already.

Denner fought with a rage.

"You three!" Braydon called to some Time Lords behind him. "Follow me in a two-by-two attack formation!" He inserted a new power pack into his gunstick and charged down a corridor.

"A two-by-two what?" one of them asked, but they followed anyway, blasting away.

They rounded a corner to find a line of prisoners stretched along the corridor, with a group of five Daleks standing behind them.

"Halt!" one of the Daleks ordered. "Lay down your weapons and surrender or these prisoners will be exterminated. The action we take will be your responsibility."

They looked at each other grimly. Braydon stood there, breathing hard, relieved at least that none of the prisoners in front of them were Devon or Danziger. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Morgan and Denner running up the hallway, obviously confused as to why he was just standing there. He dropped his hand to his side and secretly motioned for them to stop, then made a quick circular motion with his finger pointing down. "So you say you'll execute these prisoners unless we surrender?" Braydon asked loudly, and Denner's eyes grew wide. The remainder of their force came up behind her.

"That is correct," the Dalek said. "You must comply quickly or we will execute them one at a time."

"How do I know you'll keep your side of the bargain?" Braydon asked, again speaking loudly and clearly. "I mean, you're standing almost exactly seven meters away from me, and the prisoners almost exactly a meter in front of you. You're in a position to fire your weapons no matter what we do."

As quietly as possible the others raced back down the corridor and into the room adjacent to where the Daleks were standing, leaving Braydon to continue bargaining. It was a long room containing hydraulics and other shipboard machinery. Two Daleks on station were quickly destroyed and Morgan ran to the far side of the room and paced off ten meters from the corner. They placed a bomb and ducked just outside the room.

Braydon was running out of time. "You are stalling!" the Dalek told him. "We will now execute the first prisoner."

The bomb blew open a hole in the wall and the line of prisoners were thrown to the floor. The Daleks suddenly found themselves under fire from two different directions. Four were destroyed, two Time Lords were killed, and the remaining Dalek retreated.

They pursued, fighting their way back to one of the prisoner holding areas. Some of the newly released prisoners replaced the ones who had fallen so far, picking up their gunsticks and battling on. A lot of the other prisoners were weak and tired, and Braydon began to realize that they had more people to care for than those who could fight.

He heard a small shout of surprise, then Morgan came running out of a smaller room with five gear sets. "I found all the stuff they took from us," he said, passing two of them to Denner and Braydon. "Any sign of Devon or Danziger?" he asked. He pocketed the other two gear sets.

"None," Braydon replied. "I think there's one more prisoner area. They could be there. But these gear sets give me an idea. The Daleks probably won't be monitoring on their frequencies, and we have too many people to take care of. Morgan, I want you, you, and you," he quickly pointed to two people at random close by "to take anyone who can't or won't fight and find some escape pods. I believe I saw some two levels down."

"Are you sure?" Morgan asked, suddenly realizing he didn't want to leave. Not while others were still fighting on.

"I don't want all of these people to die just because I'm stubbornly looking for two people," Braydon said. "And if anyone can figure out how to work the pods, you can. I'll check in every five minutes. If you don't hear from me, assume the rest of us are dead and just go."

Morgan nodded grimly and took off with the others.

 

Romana finished treating Devon's arm. "That's all I can do for now. When this is over we'll be able to make it as good as new."

"Thanks," she said. "I'm curious, why was it so important for you and the Doctor to make it into the TARDIS, besides having a means of transportation?"

"We're hoping to break our way into the Matrix to lock off the Eye of Harmony."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"The Eye of Harmony is the ultimate source of all Time Lord power," Romana replied. "Millions of years ago, Rassilon captured a black hole, enclosed it within powerful force fields and installed it beneath the Panopticon."

"A black hole?" Danziger asked. "Sheesh, you Time Lords don't play with small toys, do you?"

"It's no toy, believe me," the Doctor said, looking up briefly from the console.

"And how is the Eye of Harmony related to the Matrix?" Devon asked.

"It's not, directly," Romana answered. "The Matrix is the largest, most sophisticated computer network ever built. It contains the sum of all Time Lord knowledge and it has certain abilities to predict the future based upon probability. It controls virtually all facets of Gallifreyan existence, including the stability of the Eye of Harmony, access codes to all our technology and weaponry, and the ability to create or dismantle a transduction barrier around our planet. And that's just for starters."

The Doctor took up the explanation. "For anyone trying to take over Gallifrey, the Matrix will be the most important objective," he said. "That's why the Daleks want into Central Control so badly. Normally, only a Time Lord president or ex-president may interact with the Matrix. We interface with the Matrix directly through our brains, for inside it is a virtual dreamscape, whatever the user wants to make of it."

"So exactly what will you do when you get in there?" Danziger asked.

"Romana's going to lock off the Eye of Harmony with her own defensive protocols in the hopes of delaying anyone else getting ahold of it, and I'll release the special weapons we have standing by to defend our planet. Once that is accomplished, defeating the Daleks should be a piece of cake."

Devon was about to ask another question when the TARDIS shuddered alarmingly. The cat let out a quick, "Rowr!" and glared at the Doctor as if it was his fault for disturbing its serenity.

"Felt like we hit something," Danziger said.

"We can't hit anything in the vortex," the Doctor replied and activated the scanner. It displayed the mind-numbingly dizzying fireworks show of lights and depths that was the time vortex. "I don't suppose it could have been-"

"Doctor, I must talk with you."

They all stopped and stared at each other. "Did that...voice come from outside?" Devon asked hesitantly.

"Yes," the Doctor whispered, looking horrified. "And that only happens when things get very, very serious indeed."

"Come out, Doctor," the voice called again. It was a deep, booming voice. "I can wait, but I suspect that you cannot."

The Doctor straightened his coat and wiped his hands down his trousers. "Only twice before have I walked unprotected into the vortex," he said, and he pulled the lever which opened the doors. "Normally, any non-time-sensitive who enters the vortex unprotected would be killed immediately. Even we time-sensitives find it a massive strain."

He slowly stepped out of the TARDIS, into the time vortex. As he suspected, he came to no harm. There was an invisible surface for him to walk on and a semblance of gravity beneath him. He looked around for his unexpected host among the shifting four-dimensional shapes and colors. "Show yourself."

A large face appeared before him, rippling. Seeing that he was unharmed, and not wanting to be left out, everyone else except for K9 and the cat slowly stepped out of the TARDIS. Devon and Danziger had to wince at the sight of the vortex. It wasn't that it was bright, it just hurt their minds, like the shadow of a three-dimensional kaleidoscope searing into their brains.

"The vortex was not made for the eyes of non-time-sensitives," the face said, and a bland beige color instantly surrounded them. The face became more clear and stared down at them with large eyes.

"Kronos!" the Doctor breathed, his hearts skipping several beats. He almost had to sit down. "Devon, John, please meet Kronos, the greatest of the Chronovores, a race of four-dimensional beings who live in the time vortex."

"I find myself in an unusual position, summoning a mortal," Kronos said.

"You mean you've never spoken to one before?" Danziger asked.

"Before?" Kronos asked in return, looking at him with confusion.

"The Chronovores do not experience time in the same way that you and I do," the Doctor explained.

"Ah, yes, that is correct," Kronos said. "How you exist in only three dimensions, only vaguely perceiving the fourth, I do not know. But I will endeavor to restrain my speech and actions to ones which you can comprehend."

"Thanks a lot," Danziger muttered.

"Well, Kronos," the Doctor said. "What does a being of the higher dimensions wish with us?"

"I have to admit something which is unique in my experience," Kronos said. "I seek...your advice, Doctor."

"My advice?" he asked incredulously.

"Advice, and information," Kronos admitted. "You are one of the few beings of the lower dimensions I have ever had contact with, and you were kind enough to help me when we last met. I constantly see your ship riding the winds of time, more than any other. I can see your entire journey, your entire lifeline, stretching through the vortex like the most complicated maze anyone ever constructed. Not even I could follow it, if ever I were interested in doing so."

"You mean, you know everyone's future?" Danziger asked. "You already know everything about what's going to happen to us?"

"In a way," Kronos replied. "I can see your lifeline in the vortex. I can see where and when you were born, and I know where and when you will die."

Danziger shivered. "Does that mean we don't have any choices?" he asked. "Is my entire life mapped out for me?"

"I do not know what you mean," Kronos replied. "What has been will be, and what will be has been."

The Doctor tried to help out. "Yes, you have choices. We all do. What Kronos means is that, from his point of view all your choices have already been made, whereas from your point of view you have yet to make them. This isn't a perfect explanation, but if it helps you to grasp it any more easily, you may think of Kronos as a being from the future. From everyone's future. A being who has been to the end of time and looked back on all of us."

He turned back to Kronos. "To us, your viewpoint is vast. If you could refrain from mentioning events in our personal future timelines, I would be very grateful."

"Very well," Kronos nodded.

"You mentioned needing advice," the Doctor continued. "We live in two different dimensions, but I will help you in any way that I can." Devon noticed the Doctor was tapping his foot with impatience. She realized that he wanted to get back inside and get back to work, but he was afraid to show Kronos anything which might be seen as disrespect.

"I need information about your dimension, Doctor," Kronos said. "I have performed an action to bring about certain results, but I have my doubts as to whether I chose correctly."

"What action, and what result?" the Doctor asked.

"I saved the Master's life to preserve the imminent destruction of the Time Lords," Kronos said. "The destruction which was foretold by Rassilon."

The Doctor's foot stopped tapping.

 

Julia gritted her teeth and hauled herself from the wreckage, the corner of a steel beam cutting her down the side. Reilly quickly followed. The steel beam cut him also, but he didn't make a sound.

"Wait," he said after pulling himself free. He searched around and after a moment came up with a section of pipe. He and Julia together used it as a lever to widen the aperture.

As the others hauled themselves out, Julia noticed that Reilly's face was white and bathed in sweat. To her professional eye, she could tell it wasn't just a matter of him straining to keep the exit open. "You don't seem well," she said.

"Don't worry about it, Dr. Heller," he replied, breathing hard. "It's not your concern."

"Even if you don't want treatment, it certainly is my concern if you have a contagious disease," she said.

"I assure you, Dr. Heller," Reilly said. "I am fine." He looked her in the eye as he said it, but Julia didn't look convinced.

"Man, I thought we were never gonna get out," Baines moaned, stretching his cramped muscles. "We must have been in there for hours!"

"Only an hour-and-a-half, actually," Cameron said. "It just seemed longer."

They were on another street, surrounded by wreckage as the Daleks had bombed the entire area. "Anyone know which way to go?" Magus asked.

"I think at this point we should just find someplace small and cozy and wait for dawn," Julia said. "Otherwise, we're just stumbling around in the dark."

"Let's stay in the areas they've already bombed," Alonzo suggested. "I don't think they'll bomb the same place twice."

"Sounds good," Walman said.

They headed up the street, looking for a suitable place to lay low and rest. Baines and Cameron found a set of stairs leading into the ground, partially covered by a fallen wall, and the others agreed that it looked as good a place as any. Julia descended first, shining her tiny light around. "It looks like a service access point of some kind. I think we'll be okay."

They filed into the opening. Almost all of them had entered when a Dalek patrol appeared up the street and began firing. Alonzo and Magus sprinted down the steps, urging the others to keep going. They emerged into a narrow tunnel. The way to the left had caved in from the bombs, so they turned right and continued running.

The Daleks reached the steps, floated down on their hover motors, and pursued. Their hate-filled voices, yelling for the Edenites to stop, echoed tinnily along the tunnel.

Julia was in the lead and she had to make a decision at the first junction. It was a four-way intersection. The cross tunnel, slightly smaller than the main tunnel, blended into darkness on either side. Her light wasn't very strong so she had no way of knowing how far the tunnels ran or whether there were any exits. She couldn't feel any air currents, so that wasn't a help. She glanced up. At this point in the tunnel, there were some pipes overhead. They stretched ahead of her, to the right, and for a short distance behind her. She knew the Daleks could fire the length of the tunnels with ease, so they had to turn. She chose left and they ran on.

Alonzo, bringing up the rear, rounded the corner and looked back desperately. He could hear the Daleks but he couldn't see them. They weren't using lights, so he assumed they were using infrared. His heart pounded as he realized that unless something was done to stop them they would pursue them until the Edenites dropped from exhaustion, or until they arrived at another dead end – and in this bombed city it was almost a certainty they would hit one soon.

He quickly keyed his gear. "Julia, how does it look up there?"

"Not good," she answered. "There's more rubble up here and evidence of structural damage. I think we're going to come to another cave-in soon. What's going on back there?"

"I hope we're about to get wet," he replied and turned his gear off. He recalled the stream by the building, how the Daleks hadn't handled water very well, and looked up at the pipes. He really, really, really hoped there was water in them.

He leaped up, into the middle of the intersection, grabbed several of the pipes and hung there for a few seconds. If the Daleks were using infrared, they would see him and fire about...now. He dropped and two blue beams sliced through the darkness, cutting through the space where he'd been hanging and striking the ceiling further along the tunnel behind him. He heard the metallic explosion of pipes bursting and rolled back around the corner.

Water rushed into the tunnel, heading back toward the Daleks.

"Alonzo, what's happening?" Julia called back, her voice echoing down the tunnel.

"Just keep moving!" he yelled, and they did. But he stayed to see what happened. He had to know, they couldn't just guess. The water was shooting out of three pipes at once, all under intense pressure, back towards the Daleks. He peeked around the corner and he could just dimly make out their conical shapes now. The force of the water wasn't enough to slow them down, but he hoped the rising water level would interfere with their engines. In this confined space, a hover motor wouldn't help them very much.

As far as he could tell, it was working. They were slowing, wondering what to make of the water, and the jets of water from the ceiling were interfering with their ability to see.

They started firing again, hitting the ceiling near the intersection. He tried to work out what they were doing, and then he had it – they were trying to cause another cave-in, in between the burst pipes and the intersection, to seal off the flow of water. He could only surmise that they didn't know where the intersection was precisely, because they were firing at a wide area. He started backing away in case their plan worked and was suddenly hit with a face full of water as one of their blasts hit the pipes traveling perpendicular to the main corridor, leading into the one across from him. He let out a brief yell and staggered back.

Then Julia was beside him, helping him to stand and leading him away. "Alonzo, what have you done?" she asked, her voice almost hysterical. "There's a cave-in up ahead! We have to go back."

A rumbling noise filled the tunnel, louder even than the sound of gushing water. Alonzo ducked under the jet of water and staggered back to the intersection, then let out a whoop of joy. "They cut themselves off!" he exclaimed, his face beaming. "They got it wrong and collapsed the ceiling between them and us! Not exactly what I had planned, but it worked."

"Alonzo!" Julia gripped him. "I don't know what your plan is, but did it involve getting us drowned?"

"What?" he asked incredulously, feeling hurt. "Julia, I just saved our lives!"

She looked at him, thinking several things at once. "I'm sure you did," she finally answered. "But we're not finished yet. We need to go. Quickly."

Everyone ducked under the jets of water and ran further along the main tunnel, sloshing through the water now building up on the floor. "Uh, guys, I hate to bring this up," Mazatl said. "But the fact that this water isn't draining away is not a good sign."

He was right. It wasn't long before they hit a steel wall. The pipes disappeared through it overhead. They waded back through the ever-rising water and tried the fourth tunnel branch, only to find another wall in that direction. By this time, the water was up to their knees.

"We need to go back to the cave-in and start digging," Reilly said.

"It was too tightly packed together," Cameron said, even as they set off in that direction. When they arrived Alonzo could see that he was right, but he couldn't think of anything better to do. They set to work clawing at the rubble which barred their way, shifting stones. But only two people could work at a time in the narrow space, and they would need a day to clear it, at least.

And at the rate the water was rising, it was obvious they only had a few minutes.