Broken: A Time Lord's Story (Doctor Who Novel)

Chapter 15 Return to the Hub

"Tbrae!"  K'Nar screamed with joy when she saw  her friend in the company of one of H'Tarle's officers,  and started to run towards her, but stopped short when she looked at her friend's face.  She had the same  empty eyes and blank expression that her Lord had when she'd found him.  "Oh Tbrae, I'm so sorry."  K'Nar hugged her friend and  sobbed.

H'Tarle looked at his officer who smiled back at him.  "I found her hiding in a cupboard.  Smart little thing, she'd locked the door from the inside.  Took me ten minutes to prove that we were the good guys." 

"See if she can pick out her attacker,  and then get them all to the medics for transport to the Healing Centre.  A female prisoner from the cells said they took her daughter.   Send a team to scour the man..."  H'Tarle didn't finish the order when he heard a woman scream a name.  He looked up to see one of his men carrying a child no more than five and smiled.  They had succeeded in this raid with smashing results. Well, almost smashing results. At least,  the evil beings in this mansion would go away forever, and no one died.  He felt terrible for the four humans.  He knew they considered their mission a failure.

‭ 

o0o

H'Tarle stood with Jack outside the K'Nar's healing centre room, watching  Amy and River try to comfort the child.   For two hours the two human women had cajoled, rocked, and even sung to her in a vain effort to calm her down, but the weeks of her own torture combined with seeing her Lord and T'Brae brutalised, had finally come crashing in on the child.  The sight of Tbrae screaming in terror when she saw her abuser was all it took for K'Nar to break down in inconsolable grief. Each time the two women stepped away from her, she would descend into hysterics. Finally, the healers  had no choice, but to sedate her.  He understood why the two women wanted to sit with her, but it was time to go. 

 "I'm sorry ladies," he said softly,  "but I must get back to the station and oversee the processing of the last of the prisoners." 

"We're coming as soon as she is asleep," River answered softly. 

"Poor little thing, I've never had so many victims that needed to be sedated." H'Tarle shook his head and looked at Jack. "They tried to take the little girl for an exam and her mother attacked the healer.  She thought they were stealing her again.  Half a dozen of the servants had to be sedated when they found out they were free."

"Let's go," River whispered as she and Amy joined them.  They all looked back at K'Nar lying asleep now. Her private attendant next to her, stroking her head.  "How long before her parents get here?"

"Three days, and I promise Curly-Top, she will be protected around the clock.  The healers have assigned a private caretaker to her and T'Brae."

"What about T'Brae, what will happen to her?" Amy asked sadly.

"We'll find her parents and hopefully... hopefully she will get well, but...  Anyway we have to go."

By the TARDIS' chronometer, it was  one in the morning when the four walked out of the healing centre, boarded a hover and returned to the Justice Centre.  The trip was made in silence as they each tried to wrap their minds around the events of the evening.  It was almost impossible to believe that K'Nar could have done what she said. If it were true, they had no idea what the consequences would be for the Doctor.  When they weren't thinking of that, they thought of ways to murder NaV0 in as many interesting ways as possible; not really caring about the Doctor's rules against revenge.   

News of the raid was already spreading, and much to H'Tarle's dismay, several news crews were parked outside the front of the building.  As soon as the hover landed in the security area,  Rory practically drug Amy back to the TARDIS to use the tissue regenerator on her puffy and bruised hand. At least, it wasn't broken by  NaV0‭'‬s face.  Before following H'Tarle in,  River and Jack watched the young couple walk away. While  Jack was still amazed that the young woman had cold-cocked NaVo, her daughter was incredibly proud. When they walked in; the place was calm.  H'Tarle dispatched Needril to answer questions while he and the humans watched as the last five prisoners were processed into jail.  Most of the prisoners had already been processed and placed in secure cells.  But - these last five... they were special.  H'Tarle wanted the humans to see them begin their journey into the legal system.  He wanted them to see and understand that no matter how hard it was; cooler heads had to prevail. He understood that it required an inordinate amount of strength not to at least payback a little of the Doctor's pain on the four men who'd nearly killed him. But, there would be no revenge: not today.  H'Tarle did smile  after Moron received a well-deserved punch in the mouth from Heegla,  supposedly for threatening H'tarle's life.