#just..daniel's realisation of the events... AND the timeline. how many days it's been. this strange uneasiness... yet desire. fear and want

[slavicafire]

alright today after work I will rewatch s2ep5. for the third time. I must

[cynicalclassicist]

Project Lodestone

Set during the events of Turn Left

Written by Felix O’Kelly

The Prime Minister walked up the stairs, passing the pictures of the previous Prime Ministers. He looked at Churchill, who had won the war. At Attlee, who had brought in the welfare state. The two greatest Prime Ministers of the last century, some would say. Then he passed Callaghan and lingered, looking at the man as if he felt a kinship for the Prime Minister who had never been elected, had presided over a terrible crisis and was now barely remembered. The woman after him, whose own Party had forced her out. His predecessor, Harriet Jones. And now he held the role.

He thought he had seen the worst event of his Ministry after that incident at Canary Wharf and the Cyberman invasion, which had forced the Defence Secretary to resign. But the year had gone from bad to worse. The Thames draining. The Royal Hope Hospital. The incident with the lizard hatching, in which many more died. And then that horrible PMQs in the House, where that slimy Shadow Defence Secretary Daniel Claremont had sneered at those proposals for increased funding despite the recent disasters, saying that international organisations like UNIT took too much of their money anyway and the way ahead was to work with the private sector. Even some of his own MPs seemed to agree with this, leaving the Prime Minister worried that any day now he’d be facing a leadership challenge. He had been on the phone to the new President-Elect again just yesterday and was looking forward to working with him but wondered when the next problem would strike. And now UNIT had this plan.

The Prime Minister had read the files and was still wondering if this was an elaborate joke. Talk of time travel, parallel worlds, shapeshifting aliens. Reports from a journalist called Stevens. Reading the files had left him without time to prepare for that hammering in the house, one of the worst this year. He had thought of calling the meeting off. But somehow, he felt this wasn't a joke. In these strange times what could surprise him now?

Captain Magambo was waiting in his office. With her was a woman in her 60s, who introduced herself as Elizabeth Shaw.

"Is everyone here?" asked the Prime Minister.

"We are waiting for one more," said Captain Magambo.

There was a flash of light outside and a blond woman in her 20s entered.

"She’s here," said Captain Magambo.

The door burst open and a security man came in. "Prime Minister, it's..."

"Leave us" said the Prime Minister. "I trust Captain Magambo's judgement."

The man closed the door.

"UNIT has a proposal but for it to be finalised we need a significant increase in funding" said Magambo.

"UNIT?" The Prime Minister sighed. "What do you want money for now? People from my Party and the Opposition are snarling that we already pay too much to a UN organisation."

"But we can guarantee that this will help us," replied Liz Shaw. "I have been speaking to her over this!"

“May I know your name?” asked the Prime Minister.

“It’s better you don’t know” replied the blond woman.

The Prime Minister was about to argue but Magambo cut in, “We’re used to it by now.”

"What exactly is it you are proposing?" asked the Prime Minister, moving on to the matter at hand. “The report I read talked about time travel. This isn’t just a prank?”

"It's risky and you may think us mad" said Liz Shaw. "It involves the Doctor."

The Prime Minister allowed himself a smile at hearing of that incredible man. When the news had come of their death, nearly a year ago, he had been told by most people, the Cabinet Secretary, the Queen, his Predecessor and others the disaster this was. Of course, his warm feelings were partially because they had deposed his Predecessor. Harriet Jones had kept him on as Chancellor but without those words about her looking tired...

He was brought sharply back to reality by Liz Shaw. "According to our associate here the Doctor was not meant to die. Something... has altered the timeline. Events would have transpired differently. You'd probably never have heard of the lizard hatching."

“We intend to go back and prevent his death from happening,” said the blond woman. “We are trying out the exact point of divergence, but we might be able to manage it in a few months with the necessary funding.”

“Change history?” said the Prime Minister. A few years ago this would have sounded like nonsense but now...

"I've worked to get all the funding I can," said Magambo, quickly, before he could retort. "But resources are drying up. We hoped you could ask the Defence Secretary to divert more funds our way. They are supposed to be helping UNIT’s British branch."

The Prime Minister coughed nervously. "It’s tricky. If the Opposition gets a whiff, they'll be all over us. I know Claremont has always been vocal about how much we waste on UNIT."

"Then... we'll have to make sure they don't know" replied Liz.

“Can’t you get funds from the UN?” asked the Prime Minister.

“We’ve tried, but it’s difficult there as well,” said Liz. “Seen as a waste of time and money.”

“The amount you are asking, tens of millions of pounds before the end of the year, just to save this one man? You have to understand…”

"Please... this is important! We all need him!" said the woman, sitting forward sharply. "Do you remember three years ago, when those plastic monsters almost destroyed the country? The Doctor stopped them! Then next year, when the Slitheen took over Downing Street and tried to blow up the planet? He stopped that! I was in this building when he did that!"

The Prime Minister was amazed. "How did you know? Even I only found out..."

"Then he saved the world from slavery to the Sycorax! And when the Cybermen and the Daleks came... and almost destroyed everybody, he saved you all again! And he did it knowing he could die! He sacrificed himself just for me and came back! And he saved more than this planet, he'll save you again a hundred times, in the future, in the past, whenever!" She was passionate now, practically crying. "This isn't what was supposed to happen! The Doctor was supposed to survive, that night under the Thames. He'd have defeated whatever monster threatened you and sauntered away. But something has changed history. Something evil."

"How can you be sure history was changed?" asked the Prime Minister.

"I just know!" he was told. "In the world I'm from... it's ahead. We've worked out what’s coming, and we need him back! And right now, this country, this whole world is going down. And we need to do something! We need to save him! It's up to us!"

In all his 57 years, 25 in Parliament, the Prime Minister had barely heard a speech with such real passion. He was used to speeches which were false and hollow, there to make the worst option seem the better. But this...

Liz Shaw smiled. "I also remember the Doctor. Like her, the first time I met the Doctor he saved the world from the Autons. Then from a plague that could have killed millions. And more than that. I could bring you a hundred more stories..."

"Yes, thank you, I get the idea" said the Prime Minister. "All right, Captain Magambo. I will speak to the Defence Secretary. Hopefully she will give you the funding. For this Project Lodestone."

“Thank you, Prime Minister” said Magambo.

"But don't let anyone else hear of this... especially the Opposition! If that Claremont..."

“Don’t worry, Prime Minister,” said Liz. “We have made sure to do all the work outside London, miles away from anywhere.”

“I’ll be going then,” said the blond woman.

But the Prime Minister had one last question. "In this… other version of events… am I still the Prime Minister?”

Liz laughed. “If the Doctor was here he’d say that’s just like a politician!”

The other woman gave a big smile. “Yes, if that’s any consolation.”

“So, do you have an answer?” asked the Prime Minister.

“Well… you’ll just have to see,” said the woman. “But surely there’s more important…”

“Yes… of course” said the Prime Minister.

“But we need to get the funding soon,” said the woman. “Before Christmas!”

“Well... I’ll see what I can do” said the Prime Minister. Margo was not the easiest to work with but had seemed the only person capable of being Defence Secretary after the hatching.

He stepped outside to see the Cabinet Secretary waiting, as if about to come in. “Gus?”

“Yes, Prime Minister?” said the civil servant.

“Tell the Defence Secretary to come here. I need a word with her.”

“And should I give a reason?” said the civil servant.

“If anyone asks it’s about cuts.”

“Prime Minister, may I remind you the defence of the realm cannot be cut. If you wish, I could arrange a meeting with Sir William from Defence, who will inform you, as I do…”

“I don’t have time for this!” barked the Prime Minister. “I need to see her now!” He softened slightly. “If it’s any consolation that will be the official reason for the meeting.”

“Ah.” Gus smiled knowingly. “At once.”

There was a flash in the office.

Gus turned. “Watching Flash Gordon in there?” At a glare he hastened to go.

As the Prime Minister went back into his office, he realised the blond woman had gone. “Where did she…”

“She does that,” said Magambo. “Says she can’t stay here too long. But she does insist we get the funding before Christmas.”

“Very well, I think that can be managed,” said the Prime Minister. He looked outside. Maybe things would be better in this new timeline. He wondered if he would ever remember what had happened here. If anyone would remember this. But if it made the world better then surely that was the most important thing.

It was at Christmas later that year that the ship came down on London, in a few seconds turning one of the largest cities in the world into a devastated wasteland. Among the casualties was the Prime Minister. Liz had been in Germany at the time of the crash but had been a casualty of the ATMOS Crisis.

Rose Tyler wished she could have done more. But there were limits to how far she could influence this timeline. Very few would know of the help this Prime Minister gave to them, in that room in Downing Street, now even less. But even though some of the best things Prime Ministers do can be forgotten, Rose remembered. And she was thankful for what he’d done. And besides… compared to the people in power now he was hardly that bad.

But soon, this nightmare the world was in would end. Things had seemed dark, even the sky seemed to be growing darker, but now, Rose could see a glimmer of hope ahead, as the Lodestone machine sparked into life. And for the first time all year she could see real hope on the faces of those around her, that things could finally get better…