Cass Fermazzi

Cass Fermazzi was a companion of the Eighth Doctor.

Cass travelled with the Doctor and Alex Campbell. She died when her ship crash-landed on the planet Karn, choosing death over being rescued by the Doctor, whom she did not recognise and whom she blamed for the death and destruction caused by the Time War.

Early life
Cass Fermazzi grew up on one of the farm planets of the Gazrond Belt. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) She had enough brothers to man a flight deck (AUDIO: Meanwhile, Elsewhere) and, when she was still a child, her father died. (AUDIO: Vespertine)

As her family were poor, the only therapy that they could afford for Cass was a robot clown to take away some of her memories. However, the robot was already full of the Eleventh Doctor's memories and kept spewing them out, telling her to "never be cruel, never be cowardly" and giving her other advice that she considered cheesy. Nonetheless, the advice got to her.

The Doctor would later learn that Cass had stowed away on a star freighter at the age of fourteen to see the wonders of the universe, but instead ended up running from the Last Great Time War. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)

Travels in the TARDIS
Cass saved up enough money to get a commission as an engineer on the EC-141, wanting to go out and see the universe. When the ship became destabilised by fractures in reality, she briefly found herself on Hervandel and met Alex Campbell, soon meeting the Eighth Doctor and a later version of Alex on the ship and working with them to save it. She helped thwart Hieronyme Friend, sabotaging her scoop to imprison the Garaban flies, and turned down a promotion from the Vice to join the Doctor and Alex in the TARDIS. (AUDIO: Meanwhile, Elsewhere)

Fighting in the Time War
After helping an old soldier dying in a crater full of mud snakes, Cass realised that avoiding the Time War was impossible and decided to listen to the advice of the robot clown when she was young. She briefly met the Thirteenth Doctor, whom she believed to be a medtech and who handed her the soldier's bandolier.

She crewed a gunship for four years, surviving the Nightmare Child, seeing the massacre of Skull Moon and fighting in the ruins of the Ulterium. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)

Death
One day, Cass and her crew fought off a Dalek fleet from the feeding hives of the Vantross, but they were then attacked by a Time Lord battle cruiser that was frustrated Cass had gotten between them and the Daleks. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)

As the only one who wasn't panicking, Cass teleported the rest of the crew off the ship onto the nearest planet. (TV: The Night of the Doctor) Once she realised a safe crash-landing wasn't an option, (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor) Cass made a call for help, which was picked up by the Eighth Doctor. He materialised his TARDIS on board and tried to rescue Cass, but, recognising him as a Time Lord, she deadlocked the Doctor on the other side of the door from her, professing that the Time Lords were no different from the Daleks and telling the Doctor to "get back to your battlefield". She claimed to the Doctor that he and the Time Lords "hadn't finished yet" and that "some of the universe is still standing", blaming all Time Lords for the horrors of the Time War and the death and misery caused by it. The Doctor refused to leave her side, even when it meant he would also be killed in the crash. The ship crashed into the surface of Karn in a massive explosion, killing both Cass and the Doctor. (TV: The Night of the Doctor)

Post-mortem
Though their bodies was recovered by the Sisterhood of Karn, and they were able to revive the Doctor, Cass's injuries were too severe for even the Elixir of Life to heal. Cass's death was the catalyst for the Doctor to finally take part in the war, and he chose to regenerate into a warrior, who immediately claimed her bandolier as a reminder of what he would be fighting for. (TV: The Night of the Doctor)

One account claimed the Sisterhood gave Cass a funeral, which the Doctor refused to attend though he did come to her grave after the ceremony to apologise to her. (AUDIO: Light the Flame) Another account claimed that, after some time searching for them, the Doctor was able to return Cass's body to her family. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)

Cass Fermazziová Cass Fermazzi