Gazing Void (short story)

Gazing Void was the fifteenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors. It was written by Huw Wilkins. It featured the Eighth Doctor.

Summary
Four years after his involvement in the Hundred Days War, the Eighth Doctor returns to the city of Cherenkov, where he defeated the brutal dictator Jeremiah Maru-Stahl. By showing the medal he was awarded for his actions, he ensures that one of the offworld casualties is added to a memorial.

The Doctor visits Maru-Stahl. He was to be brought to trial for his crimes, but his failing mental health prevented this. The Doctor talks to Maru-Stahl inside his cell, who then lapses into insanity. Over the next few days, the Doctor attempts to coerce Maru-Stahl into revealing how he changed from a beloved revolutionary leader into a ruthless dictator. After many days, the prisoner finally tells him: to fight monsters, he became a monster. The Doctor realises there is nothing he can do for Maru-Stahl and leaves in the TARDIS.

Characters

 * Eighth Doctor
 * Elias Greenwood
 * Nguyen
 * Jeremiah Maru-Stahl

Continuity
to be added

Timeline

 * Gazing Void occurs after AUDIO: To the Death.
 * Gazing Void occurs before PROSE: Reversal of Fortune.