The meeting began with the usual mix of greetings, mischief, and Gallifreyan humor as Lord Darkfyre slipped into the room unnoticed, prompting Lady Roxy to admit she needed to learn his tricks for sneaking past her children. Lord Darkfyre suggested that practice, or perhaps evading Daleks and other hostile species, was the key to mastering the art. Lord President Chronotis added his own humorous commentary, while Lord Serpentine and Lord Wilde exchanged greetings as the gathering settled in. The Castallan also arrived, joining the growing discussion as the meeting turned toward more serious matters.
Lord President Chronotis brought the Council’s attention to the latest findings from the probe sent to the planetary system devastated by the Mist. Strange readings from one of the surviving worlds suggested that someone might have developed technology similar to the device used to repel the world-eating entity. Lord Darkfyre proposed that it could be a relay, while Lord Serpentine wondered whether it might be a companion to their own technology. Lord Castallan raised the possibility of reverse-engineered Gallifreyan designs, recalling a civilization whose circuitry had been grown within specially doped blue quartz crystals. The discussion soon turned toward whether the devastated planet might once have been a colony belonging to this unknown civilization, and whether any survivors remained. Lady Roxy questioned whether further investigation was worth the risk, but Lord President Chronotis believed that additional probes were necessary, particularly given the possibility of encountering other entities similar to the Mist in the future. Lord Serpentine suggested deploying a fully automated drone, while Lord Darkfyre favored a simpler design with limited autonomy and a continuous transmission back to Gallifrey. Lord Wilde listened carefully, taking in the growing list of possibilities.
The conversation also returned to the aftermath of the Temporal Anchor crisis and the uncertain future of the embassy. The Castallan asked whether a decision had been reached regarding its fate, prompting Lord President Chronotis to admit that, although the immediate threat had been resolved, the next steps remained unclear. Lord Serpentine raised the possibility that their psychic probing might have disturbed other beings or even opened a door to threats from parallel universes. Lady Roxy agreed that the possibility could not be dismissed. The Castallan briefly lightened the mood with a suggestion that they celebrate their survival at a Greek restaurant, complete with ouzo and his famous moussaka recipe, before the meeting took an unexpected turn.
Without warning, the holographic projector activated, its display dissolving into static and distorted symbols before revealing the exhausted but unmistakably familiar face of Ambassador Theron Valek. The unexpected transmission left the room stunned. The Castallan exclaimed in surprise, Lord Wilde bowed respectfully, and Lord Serpentine remarked on the remarkable sight. Lord Darkfyre raised an eyebrow at the apparent breach of the President’s security, while Lord President Chronotis greeted the Ambassador with a mixture of disbelief and relief, admitting that he had assumed Theron had died when the Anchor shut down. Theron explained with characteristic dry humor that death had proved inconvenient and that he had managed to piggyback on the probe’s transmission to reach them. He reassured the President that the projector itself was secure, though he would not recommend repeating the method. The Castallan joked that such an elaborate intrusion seemed excessive for a prank call, while Lord Serpentine’s blunt question about what Theron wanted earned him a gentle reprimand and an embarrassed apology.
The Ambassador soon delivered the news everyone had hoped to hear. The Mist was gone. His people had been monitoring the readings, waiting for any sign that the interference might return, but the skies had finally grown quiet. Lord President Chronotis explained how the Chronal Resonator had been synchronized with the Temporal Anchor, using the memories of those who had endured the earlier encounters to drive the Mist into the incursion before it was sealed. He confessed that he had believed Theron lost when the Anchor shut down. Theron admitted that he, too, had thought himself lost when everything went dark, but some survivors had managed to find refuge beyond the Mist’s reach. His physical form was still recovering, and he could not fully explain how he had survived, but he was alive, and so were others. The relief of that revelation was tempered by the terrible reality facing his people. Their homes, infrastructure, and communities had been devastated, and many survivors were still searching for those they had lost. Rebuilding their world would have to come before diplomacy or renewed cooperation could be considered.
The Castallan suggested that Gallifrey might send aid to help the survivors rebuild, and Lord President Chronotis immediately offered assistance. Lord Wilde expressed his hope that Theron and his people would find the strength to recover, while also looking forward to a future in which their civilizations could rebuild their relationship. Theron was grateful, but explained that his people needed time to restore their own world before accepting outside help. What he requested instead was a stable communications channel through the probe, allowing them to make contact when they were ready. Lord President Chronotis agreed that Gallifrey would work on establishing a remote satellite or communications array. Lord Serpentine even offered to see whether his TARDIS carried suitable satellites, while Lord Darkfyre proposed a system with a rather distinctive emergency activation method: a big red button. Lord Wilde recorded the Ambassador’s requests and nodded along as the plans began to take shape.
Lady Roxy then raised the question of the embassy itself, recognizing that it had belonged in part to Theron’s people. Asked what should become of it, the Ambassador requested that the gifts exchanged between their civilizations be recovered and preserved as tokens of goodwill. The embassy, however, needed to be dismantled. With the Temporal Anchor involved, leaving the structure abandoned could invite others to exploit whatever power or knowledge remained within it. Theron urged Gallifrey to secure anything connected to the Anchor, preserve the gifts, and let the rest go, leaving the possibility of a new beginning when his people were ready. Lord Wilde confirmed that he possessed complete records of the complex and its contents, ensuring that nothing would be lost from the historical record. Lord President Chronotis agreed to have the gifts collected and archived by the Prydonian chapter before the embassy was folded into a black hole, a cleaner alternative to conventional demolition. Lord Wilde volunteered to arrange the collection immediately.
Before the transmission ended, Theron offered heartfelt thanks to everyone who had stood with his people through the crisis. He spoke of the future his people had feared was lost and expressed hope that their civilizations might one day stand together again, no longer united by tragedy but by a new foundation of trust. His final request was that Gallifrey establish a secure means of communication before their next conversation, preferably one that did not require sneaking through the President’s equipment. With a final respectful nod to Lord President Chronotis and Lady Roxy, the Ambassador’s image dissolved into static, and the holographic projector fell silent. Lord President Chronotis watched the display fade, while Lady Roxy reflected that Theron would likely be occupied with rebuilding for some time. She then turned to the question of destroying the Anchor itself, and Lord President Chronotis confirmed that the embassy would be dismantled once Lord Wilde had secured the gifts and archival materials.
Lord Conundrum made his entrance just as the discussion was winding down, blaming his late arrival on a wristwatch that was an hour behind. Lord Serpentine greeted him, and Lord Castallan couldn’t resist asking what time he called this. Lord Serpentine remarked that he had folded an embassy into a black hole before, while Lord Castallan sympathized with the hazards of temporal differentials, recalling how a TARDIS repair had once left him thirty years late. Lord Darkfyre observed that Theron had certainly been prompt with his goodbye, even if his arrival had been considerably less conventional. Lord President Chronotis then proposed sending another probe into the planetary system alongside a communications array, both to maintain contact and to monitor for further anomalies. Lady Roxy admitted that time still boggled her mind, before excusing herself to attend to prior engagements. She leaned into her husband for a moment, warning him not to blow up any planets while she was gone. Lord President Chronotis grinned, promised nothing, and held her hand briefly as she gave it a final squeeze and departed.
With Lady Roxy gone, the meeting shifted into practical preparations. Lord President Chronotis turned to Lord Darkfyre and announced that Gallifrey would be borrowing some of his department’s impressive technological toys, prompting Lord Darkfyre to insist on receiving an IOU. He began preparing the satellite system, asking whether the President wanted any special features on the emergency activation mechanism. After clarifying that the survivors should be able to access the system remotely, Lord President Chronotis approved a design in which the satellite would remain dormant in orbit until activated by the other civilization. A secure box would recognize an authorized figure of sufficient rank before permitting access. Lord Darkfyre set the system to assemble and confirmed that it should be ready for deployment within ten to twenty minutes. Lord President Chronotis also confirmed that a second probe would be sent to monitor the system for unusual readings. Despite the Mist’s apparent defeat, he remained cautious, unwilling to assume that the threat was truly gone until the evidence proved it.
Meanwhile, Lord Serpentine announced that his TARDIS was recalling him, apparently because something had gone wrong on Earth, and departed with good wishes to the others. The Castallan, having helped himself to a White Russian, toasted Lord Darkfyre with a cheerful “Nostrovia!” Unfortunately, the drink seemed to have rather unusual consequences. Lord Darkfyre recognized the capsule as one that could erase memories left over from the Khepri incident and quickly realized that Lord Castallan was heading toward trouble. When the Castallan questioned whether there were amnesia drugs in the drinks machine, Lord Conundrum pointed out that he probably would not remember if he had taken them. Lord Darkfyre repeatedly warned the Castallan against drinking any more, but the Castellan was too busy praising his White Russian to pay much attention. Before long, the Castallan had emptied his glass and was staring around in confusion, wondering whether he had been drinking at all or how everyone had arrived in the room. Lord Conundrum gave him an unexpected slap, immediately claiming it had been a spasm, while Lord Darkfyre attempted to usher the increasingly bewildered Castellan out of the office under the pretense that he was urgently needed to investigate parking violations involving illegally parked TTCs. the Castallan accepted this explanation with remarkable enthusiasm, apparently eager to get to the bottom of the matter.
With the Castellan escorted away, Lord President Chronotis declared the meeting concluded and prepared to return to the business of being President, a task he joked was often neglected whenever the universe threatened to end. Lord Darkfyre assured him that the equipment would be ready shortly and promised to provide an update once the satellite and probe package had been assembled. The Castallan, meanwhile, announced that he had important Castellan business to attend to, though his sudden enthusiasm for The Dead Zone suggested that his priorities might lie elsewhere. His dramatic declaration that “the ice is gonna break” earned a facepalm from Lord President Chronotis and one final sigh from Lord Darkfyre, who could only conclude that some things in the universe, much like time itself, never truly changed.