[SNEAK PEEK] - DOCTOR WHO - INTRODUCING... 'THE ARCHIVIST' (G)
See the bottom of the story for other notes!
The woman, clothed in total black a part for a sand-coloured coat and blue navy suspenders concealed under it, was walking slowly, and alone, near the Gherkin, a hundred metres or so from the new UNIT HQ. She really despised the building, as she had disliked the one destroyed during the attack led by the Spy Master and his Cybermen minions, under the command of a cloned Ashad, also known as the Lone Cyberman.
It was so much better when they were in the Tower of London or in places less… contemporary looking. She had been sent on Earth centuries before by Tecteun, while still working for the Division, with the mission of monitoring the Doctor after they were forced to forget their past lives and their work for the Division itself.
Not a job the Archivist had found particularly appalling, considering how they were finding themselves less and less on the same page of the secret organisation. Starting with the use of the chameleon arch and the fob watch on one of their former members, the only one really able to defy them and Tecteun. Understandable, all the more so considering the treatment received by their foster parents.
For that reason, and due to the fact that the Archivist had worked alongside the Doctor before their decision to leave the organisation, the Time Lady had resolved to feed a series of false informations, mixed with genuine ones, to their bosses, while trying to protect the Doctor and their companions for centuries. Only recently had the Division found out of their treason, but Tecteun wasn’t able to do anything about it, since the Gallifreyan were killed by Swarm and Azure during their assault on the Division HQ.
That was undoubtedly a fixed point in time. It occurred, but at the same time it was still occurring and it’ll be occurring in the future. That might depend on one's point of view, of course. Time wasn’t linear, after all, a part for those specific and peculiar events that must occur to permit the proper progression of the aforementioned time. It was so simple, really, that the Archivist couldn’t start to understand how it was possible that no one else on Earth (or other planets) couldn't seem able to grasp the concept.
The Archivist was at their third incarnation and, so, relatively young by Time Lords’ standards, with at least another nine lives to be lived in their future and God knew how many centuries and adventures and crises they would be forced to witness, live and be part of. At least, now they have a good cover story to be hanging around, since Kate Stewart had seemed really interested in having them on UNIT payroll. Even if the Archivist weren’t always there to be of any help - that, all considered, was pretty much most of the time someone needed them. All things considered, Kate Stewart couldn’t really do anything but resign herself to this fact, carrying on as best as she could without them.
Now almost at the entrance of UNIT HQ, the Archivist gave a good look around, before entering the structure. It always amazed her how easily she could slip between people without being really noticed, however she dressed or moved. At least, until she wanted to be noticed. Then, everyone would take notice and, more often than not, started asking questions. Stupid, more of the time, but questions nonetheless. Fishing in the inner pockets of her coat, she finally found what she was looking for and, then, she neared a K6 red telephone box not far from the guards who were looking at the main doors of UNIT HQ, disappearing inside it. Unnoticed.
Her TARDIS had decided that blending in with the appearance of an old telephone box was the right thing to do, at least when the two of them were in the United Kingdom, Earth, and ‘till that moment it had been proven a good way to remain undetected. The console room was a little chaotic: at its centre stood the main console, the time engines ochre-yellow, the console itself hexagonal with buttons, levers, different screens, a kind of telephone/communicator. The room itself, circular, was on two levels and reflected the ochre-yellow colour of the console; books, scrolls, folders of various shapes and sizes occupied a large part of the walls.
A blackboard, equipped with chalk, was leaning against an open wall, while other volumes, of different kinds, were also evenly distributed on the floor and on the steps connecting the two levels. The 'round things' that characterised most of the Doctor's TARDIS interiors, however, were absent in the Archivist's.
«Here you are! Where have you been?»
Behind a pile of volumina, dating back to the 13th century, made her appearance one of the Osgood, although it was impossible to understand which one (the Zygon or the human).
Shrugging, the Archivist evaded the question: «I had things to do, you know?»
«You always have ‘things to do’, Archivist. Between you and the Doctor, it is impossible to make it work.»
«At least, I’m here most of the time, Osgood.»
«Yeah, well… all of us wish that to be true.»
«How is the treaty holding, by the way?»
Last time the Archivist had checked, the Doctor was forced to intervene and one of the Osgood had been killed in action, Clara Oswald taken prisoner by the revolutionary Zygons and Kate Stewart nearly forced to commit a genocide.
«The treaty’s fine, thank you. As you well know,» added, a little dryly, the other woman, with a knowing glance to the room full of… story things, present and future.
«Oh, well,» scoffed the Archivist, «I’m old enough to forget things, I guess.»
She grabbed the scientist on quickly, before Osgood could awkwardly wrap herself in the clutter that characterised the control room. The woman murmured, softly, a «Sorry,» before steading herself and getting free from the firm grip of the Gallifreyan.
«You’re not as old as you want us to think,» observed, «even if your tendency to… forget things is very remarkable. Especially if it concerns some important meeting.»
«I’m not a ‘meeting person’, Osgood, you know that.»
«Yes, you always say that.»
While Osgood reprimanded her, the Archivist took, from one of the inner pockets in her coat, a strange, rectangular three dimensional object, clearly not from Earth by the look of it.
«What is it?» The scientist was immediately intrigued, forgetting what she was saying about the Archivist absence during the best part of UNIT staff meetings.
«Well,» the Archivist studied the thing a second more, before giving it to the other woman, «I think we have just earned another one of your boring meetings, Petronella. And, for once… I’ll be attending, with your immense pleasure. To answer your question,» added, «I haven’t the faintest idea. And I really hate not knowing.»
She retook the object and put it onto the TARDIS console, near one of the many accesses that permitted an analysis: «Let’s hope the TARDIS can give us some informations, before showing ourself in Kate’s office.»
When the two of them finally went to Kate Stewart’s office, the news they were offering her weren’t as good as the Archivist hoped, although it could’ve been worse, all things considered.
«It’s a piece of Cyber-technology,» offered the Gallifreyan, a little confused by the fact, «and it’s pretty strange, considering we’ve held off their last offensive not so long ago. In your timestream concept, of course.»
«Of course,» acknowledged Kate Stewart, as if it was the most normal thing to be told and to do.
«I need more time to do some research, Kate. And I need to… travel, to do so. Considering my TARDIS always has problems with returning in time…»
«You could be here God only knows when,» nodded UNIT’s commander in chief.
«Well, for once it’s a risk I’m happy to take, Archivist,» finally added the woman, «at one condition. That you’d take Osgood with you, this time.»
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Archivist make their second official appearance within the Doctor Who sneak peeks for the series known as Doctor Who - The Doctor, the Archivist and the Paradoxes.
In this short story, it is said that this version of the Archivist is their third incarnation.
The Archivist are said to be on UNIT’s payroll. Unlike the Doctor, the Archivist have a much more central role in UNIT's activities, to the point of being among those in charge of the Black Archive. Despite this, however, Kate Stewart cannot but resign herself to the fact that the Archivist is reliable until they’re not, in intervening in crisis situations.
This short story is set immediately after The Giggle.
There are references to previous episodes, such as Fugitive of the Judoon, The Timeless Children, Once, Upon a Time, Survivors of the Flux, The Power of the Doctor.
- A clear reference is made to the double episode The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion. Clara Oswald, the Zygons and the Zygons’ crisis are mentioned too.
Kate Stewart, the Doctor, their Fugitive counterpart and Tecteun are mentioned, with Kate Stewart making an appearance at the end.
The Division is mentioned.
The Flux is mentioned.
The Archivist’s TARDIS, unlike the Doctor’s, has a functioning chameleon circuit, so it can camouflage itself by assuming any form it may be needed. The main control room is not dissimilar to the one used, during season 9, by the 12th Doctor and between season 11 and 13 by the 13th Doctor, a part from the 'roundy things' that seems to be always present within the Doctor's TARDIS.
You can also find the sneak peek on my Archive of Our Own account.
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