Testing The Waters (Leela), -Shortly Before Rise of Pandora-

With everything that had happened on Gallifrey of late. Romana had become quite paranoid over who she could trust and who she couldn’t trust. It seemed as if nearly everyone Romana knew or had within her circle appeared as if they were against her and her ideas, some even tried to influence the lady president into a course of action she didn’t want to take. Thankfully Romana had remained strong, and didn’t allow anyone to influence her judgment.

The last person that did manage to influence Romana in such a way was…Rasslion, he made Romana say things and even do things she never would have even though of saying or doing before. When Romana, and indeed the rest of the Time Lords, were free of Rasslion. The lady president made a vow to herself, a promise that she wasn’t going to be that weak again, she wasn’t going to be that foolish to allow a monster such as Rasslion to take power like that again. The Time Lords have lost so much already, if another one like Rasslion was to rise up or another civil war was to break out. The very thought made Romana worry that everything that made the Time Lords who they are would be lost, forever, and this time there was no backup plan to save a small fragment of their race.

This was it for the Time Lords, everything that survived the last great time war was now back on the raw planet of Gallifrey, and it all hung in a fragile balance that could break with just the smallest of nudges. It was why Romana was so paranoid about everyone, especially those within the CIA; they always had their agenda’s, even before the last great time war. But ever since the Hand of Time settled upon the planet, it seemed as if the CIA had upped their agendas, and were even more determined to see those agendas through. Romana still couldn’t rule the CIA out for what happened with one of the looms not too long ago, they above anyone else, had been pushing for procreation laws and the like to be enforced upon the Time Lords. Maybe the whole thing was a plan invented by those within the CIA to show Romana just how much new procreation laws were needed now that one of the three looms had been destroyed.

The CIA Romana could handle by herself, hell she had been handling them all her political career and it helped that she had appointed herself as the head of the CIA when the hand of time was awoken all those months ago. With Romana as the president as well as the head of the agency she could keep an eye on everything. At least that was the plan, a plan which now looked as if it had failed and now Romana needed a new plan in order to keep everything the Time Lords had gained since they awoken intact and secure for the future.

Romana already had come up with a new plan to replace her current ones which no longer seemed to be working. This new plan however was more, controversial, than any other plan Romana had come up with. But if this new plan worked, if it brought all the fragmented pieces of the Time Lord nation together, and untied all of them under one banner. Gallifrey could rise even further out of the ashes of war, and reclaim its rightful place amongst the stars. A whole new Time Lord empire, free of war and destruction, could form and with Romana as is founder, it’s Goddess. It could bring order and peace to the universe and to the Time Vortex. Hence why this new plan was of Romana’s was too controversial to undertake by herself

What Romana needed right now were allies, friends still loyal to Romana and to the uncorrupted idea of the Time Lords. It was with that mission in mind, Romana reached out to the Outsiders, a group whose leader once was by the lady president’s side almost twenty four seven. Leela was once a loyal companion, bodyguard, and source of great encouragement, and an ideal candidate to bring into the controversial plan. If Romana could persuade Leela to once again stay by her side, the outsiders could be the early formations of an army, an army that would fight and die under the order of one leader. With that kind of army at her command, Romana could wipe away all the corrupt elements of the Time Lords, and reveal her true self to everyone, reveal her true origins as the daughter of Pandora.

All of that was to come in the near future. For now Romana waited within the cave in which she agreed to meet Leela. The purpose of the meeting, at least as far as Leela was told, was to see if the outsiders needed any help with food or supplies within their new home. But the meetings true purpose would be revealed in due time, and Romana will find out whether or not Leela is a rare ally that will stand at her side and that will share the same values and ideals as she does or yet another enemy that will be wiped way once Romana reaches the glories of her true potential.

Leela had thought she was going to die after she defeated the Z'Nai--that having escaped the Time War was all going to be for naught. She was going to die as an old woman on a planet who knew where in the universe. It was easy enough to guess in those dark days who had allowed her to escape and make it to that planet; it was easy enough to guess who had wanted the Z'Nai to torture her to the point of death. Some Time Lords revered Rassilon, and Leela couldn't understand why.

She had wanted nothing more than to get back to Gallifrey, to get back to Romana. Without Leela there, the lady president stood no chance of keeping the Time Lords from slipping back into their old ways again. And when rescue did come for her, it came in one of the worst forms possible: the Master. While he had helped save Gallifrey, Leela could always feel the real him when she was around the Master. She wouldn't go so far as to call him evil but the hatred stored up inside him was enough for her to know that he was someone that could never be trusted.

The Master had gone beyond saving her; he had restored her youth as well. She had been placed in the generation ship, floating through E-Space. And, once the Doctor had pulled the generation ship back into N-Space, the work on the new Gallifrey had begun. Leela had quickly fallen back in with the Outsiders again, becoming their new leader. A life in the Capitol was not the kind of life for her. For all of the times the Doctor had tried to civilize her while they were traveling together, Leela still preferred the life she had known back on her own home planet.

And then Gallifreyan politics had started to make a mess of what they were trying to rebuild. Romana was always in danger of losing what she had gained. It was the votes of the Outsiders, of whom Leela had always made sure were supporting Romana, that kept her in power. It was a tentative grip at best but it was still a grip, nonetheless. Let those standing against Romana curse and despise the Outsiders all that they wanted too. They would never come out of their comfortable Capitol themselves to let the Outsiders know just how displeased they were about it.

Or so that's what Leela used to believe. Every day it seemed that another Outsider disappeared, no matter how well-guarded the camp was kept. Just a few days ago, a Time Lord from the Capitol had come visited the camp to let Leela and the others know how much the Time Lords could use their service inside the city. It was easy to see right through the ploy. They could talk about being patriotic, about how they were all Gallifreyans at the end of the day but the stolen Outsiders, conscripted into service of the Time Lords, were, no doubt, being brainwashed to help them in the fight against Romana.

Leela needed to see the woman she had once protected by her side--and still protected, even from a distance. It was a fortuitous event when she heard word from Romana. Romana wanted to make sure that the Outsiders had everything they needed. Already, that was enough to start to raise Leela's suspicions because there was nothing from the Capitol the Outsiders could possibly want and everything that they needed they could find on their own out here by themselves.

She made her way to the chosen meeting place, feeling uneasy as she got closer and closer to the cave. Leela was never one to ignore her instincts but why should she be feeling on edge right now? She was meeting Romana--a friend...a good friend...Unless...What if this was a trap? What if Romana had been forced to set up this meeting because someone had decided that it was time to try and kill Leela? With Leela dead, there was little standing in their way of ousting Romana once and for all.

It was a chance that Leela was going to have to take. The cave loomed before her. She placed a hand on the hilt of her knife, always faithfully sheathed by her side. She took a step inside, feeling the hair on the nape of her neck stand up. There was something evil here--something that felt oh so very power-hungry. Leela was going to have to tread carefully. She took one more step in and then called out, barely above a whisper, "Romana?"

Her eyes began to slowly adjust to the dark. It was then that she spotted Romana, and the Time Lady was alone as far as Leela could see. There was no telling what might be lurking in the depths of the cave far back where she couldn't see. Approaching her friend, she tried to relax but found it impossible to do so. "Is everything all right?" she whispered, mouthing the words more than actually speaking them just in case this was a trap and there were other Time Lords hidden in the dark. Of course, Leela already knew Romana would say that everything was fine. If it wasn't a trap, then that was what anyone would say; if it was a trap, then that was what Romana would have been forced to say. Leela was confident enough that she would be able to tell the truth from a lie.

When Leela first stepped into the room within the cave. Romana's back was turned toward the entrance, while her arms were folded over her chest. For those that knew Romana, as well as Leela did anyways, they would know right away that when Romana took on this position, things were not quite right. Things were okay. But it was a tell tell sign that Romana was thinking something over, something that wasn't good to begin with. Once Leela was in the room, and had mentioned the Lady Presidents name. Romana slowly turned around to face her once loyal bodyguard, and smiled, before she moved in to give Leela a gentle hug, another tell tell sign of Romana's that things weren't quite right.

"I'm not going to lie to you Leela, I could never lie to you. At the moment things aren't all that well...." Romana's words came as she slowly withdrew from the gentle hug, and looked Leela in the eyes. The two women had always been close, ever since The Doctor introduced them all those decades ago; sure so many things had changed since then, Romana included. But deep down they were both the same woman they started out to be. The same woman that fought side by side on multiple occasions within the early days of the Time War. The same two women that had seen so many horrible things and done so many horrible things in order to protect what they thought was right.

Many people from different cultures say war changes people, and in some cases people can be changed by the sights and the horrors that they see their follow man carry out in the name of blood and war. But when there was a bond there, a bond that went beyond friendship, even beyond lovers, there was nothing within the universe or within the time vortex that would break it. It was that bond that both Romana and Leela shared that kept themselves together; it was with that bond both women had managed to survive all this time. Even when they were apart. The bond kept the memories alive, memories of a time where two women were happy and shared each other’s company more often than not. Unfortunately, in the current clement, and with the state of mind Romana was in now, memories and bonds thicker than blood were enough to fight the oncoming battle hovering over the horizon.

"The politics of the Time Lords are just as messed up as they were before, maybe even worse. I fear that our nation is breaking itself in half, and I cannot see away to fix it. With every passing day the opposition gets stronger and stronger; on top of that those within the ranks of the CIA put more pressure upon my shoulders to allow them more power over the governance of New Gallifrey... At that point Romana paused briefly and allowed her words so far to sink in. After a moment Romana took Leela by the hand and squeezed it gently before she continued. "I fear even those I trust the most have turned against me, people I have known almost as long as I have known you. Everywhere I look I am surrounded by enemies, and not enough friends to help me drive those enemies back. It is why I have asked for this meeting, here within this cave, under the guise of a trade agreement."

The whole time Romana talked, she held eye contact with Leela, and it was clear in more ways than one that Romana was distressed and even upset. Upset to the point where tears were about to break free from her eyes and roll down her cheek. "I need guidance, support and company of a friend I trust totally and you're the only one I have left, other than The Doctor of course. Will you...will you keep me company here for a while? Please Leela I need to feel safe and completely secure even if it’s only for a few moments." It was clear within the tone of Romana's voice that she was suffering from paranoia. But there was also a very subtle tone hidden underneath, a tone that was dark in nature, yet oh so soft and subtle it would be very hard to pick up. But not totally impossible.

The last thing Leela had expected was for Romana to embrace her like that. It took a moment for Leela to feel comfortable enough to remove her hand from the hilt of her knife and throw her arms gently around Romana, returning the gesture. It was quite apparent that things were not okay and Romana soon confirmed that with her words. Leela remained quiet as Romana held her in her arms and let the Time Lady let go when she wanted to.

When she looked into Romana's eyes, there was a brief moment where Leela could have sworn that those weren't her friend's eyes she was looking into, but it passed too quickly for Leela to be sure of that. Maybe she was just being overly paranoid right now because she still wasn't sure that the two of them were alone in the cave yet. She wasn't going to discount what she thought she saw completely, though, because her instincts were always right. And, if Leela couldn't be sure about her instincts, then what could she be sure about? "What is the matter?" she asked, although she was sure that Romana would have gone on, even without that question to prompt her.

Leela had seen enough of the politics of the Time Lords on the original Gallifrey to be immediately concerned when Romana mentioned the politics might be even getting worse these days. On the surface, the Time Lords might seem like the least power hungry race in the entire universe; they had the ability to time travel but only used that power, minus the Doctor, of course, to observe. But the surface was deceiving. Deep down, they were just as power hungry as any other race in the universe; they just fought over who could have that power with each other.

She squeezed her friend's hand back just as gently. Leela hated to see Romana in so much pain. "You have always been the strongest woman I have ever known," Leela said, reassuringly, "They can try all they want to push you out of power but it will not work so long as you have some Gallifreyans on your side." Leela didn't need to say that the Outsiders were always going to be loyal to Romana. If the other Time Lords wanted their power so badly, then they were going to have to kill every single last Outsider, and the Outsiders wouldn't go down without a fight.

Leela wanted to get back to the camp before it started to get dark to make sure that her fellow Outsiders had doubled the guard tonight like she had instructed. And that left her more than enough time to stay with her friend and, hopefully, to help Romana through her distress and give her some peace of mind. "You know you do not have to ask, Romana," she said, letting a warm smile cross her face, "I will stay here for as long as you need me to." Well, more like for as long as the sun was still in the sky but she didn't think it would take that long.

"I fear my strength is not what it used to be, even in this new incarnation of myself, I am haunted by the last days of the Time War. The death, fear and destruction was unlike anything even Time Lords could imagine, we called ourselves an enlightened species at one point in time. But if we were truly enlighten, then why were some of us so capable of such horrific things?..." The question was a rhetorical one, and didn't require an answer. It was just Romana's way of airing what was on her mind or at least it appeared to be the subject upon her mind. Even now while Romana talked in such a somber, even stressful tone of voice, there was still that dark under tone within her voice and within her words. As if the words Romana used came from her own mind, but were not the words she truly meant to say or even use.

This under tone was present within Romana's body language as well, only it was more subtle within her gestures and within her demeanour. It was almost as if someone had come a long and made a clone of Romana, only they made a few tweaks to her mannerisms, gestures and even one or two thought patterns within her mind. For now this sign, whatever it maybe, was subtle enough to go undetected by people who didn't really know Romana all that well. But the more Romana talked about the current situation, and the longer she spent within Leela's present, this somber under current became more...present and open to being sighted.

When Leela mentioned about having some Gallifreyans upon her side, a twinkle flashed within Romana's eyes, it was just for a brief second, but it could have been long enough to be seen more clearly. Then when Leela agreed to stay with Romana as long as she needed her, the lady president smiled a warm smile, and slowly let go of Leela's hand. It was then that Romana turned her back upon Leela and slowly made her way to sit upon the edge of the cave wall. "You and the outsiders have always been of great support to me. In fact I think your vote upon the council is the only thing keeping the others from over throwing my position as president and as chair woman of the council. I will be forever grateful for you support, Leela. But there is something I must ask of you, and you must answer my question with total honesty."

As Romana brought up her true intention of calling this meeting, she had moved half way across the cave, and had sat upon the edge of its wall with her hands spread out either side of herself for support, while her legs were crossed one upon the other. "Now what I am about to ask is purely hypothetical. But if I were to request that you and the outsiders take up arms in my name, and storm the inner walls of the capital itself. Would you agree to my request? And help me bring order and unification to the fractured nation of the Time Lords?" The subtle elephant within the room and came out fully while Romana asked Leela her hypothetical question, gone was the paranoid woman from a moment ago. The woman that sat before Leela was Romana, but she now had more of an edge within her words and within her eyes, an edge that was clear very dark and even sinister.