Never Trust A Politician [Master and Rani]

[The Rani]

The Rani had need of her secret persona today. The lab she had been working with just found out that their budget was being cut. That just wouldn't do. Not when her research was getting so close to discovering something fascinating. Not even the humans would understand it. She needed to appeal the budget cut, and to do that, she needed to go to the Courthouse.

She walked up the steps with purpose and stormed inside. She shouted at the girl at the front desk to find out where she needed to go. The closer she got to the appropriate room, though, the stronger her senses were alerting her to a Time Lord presence. She didn't want to believe it, but she thought she knew who it was.
She just hoped she was wrong. If she wasn't, her lab would never get the funding it needed.

Still, she stormed into Saxon's office, perhaps a little angrier than she should have been.
"What is this nonsense about cutting my lab's funding?" she asked, approaching Saxon's desk. If he was up to something, she didn't care. She wanted answers.

[Harold Saxon]

Harold Saxon, oh how that name had grown. It amused the male to think that not too long ago it was merely an idea, a brilliant, ingenious idea, floating around in his head. Now look, Prime Minister oh the title just called to him. All this power it was hard to deny he definitely enjoyed this position. All the little apes looking for him to get them out of their stupid little problems. Really he had thought that they simply could not have any lower of an intelligence before he started this job, oh how wrong he had been. It seemed that every day he was getting more and more requests, " Mr Saxon oh please fix this my company is falling into financial debt. Oh Mr Saxon this area needs more funding." They were becoming oh so dependant on him. They were sitting neatly in the palm of his hand.

The male grinned to himself as these thoughts danced across his mind as he stared out the large window over looking the street outside. Amazing how some could be so blind as to how turbulent things were. People merely wandering out on their own business had no idea what was going on in their own government. Ah, but why did they need to know? After all they elected him didn't they. He was there to look after them, make everything better. Alas he was no doctor.

An eyebrow was raised slightly as a commotion rang down the hallway, well clearly someone was in a foul mood. He paused slightly, that scent, no, it couldn't be..Oh this was spectacular! The male sat himself back down in his chair, a smirk snaking it's way onto his narrow features as the woman stormed into his office. " Really you could knock." Came the silky reply of the politician followed by a sigh escaping the slightly parted lips. " It's as simple as that. Funding is being cut. What exactly wasn't clear?"

[The Rani]

Elizabeth snarled and glared at Saxon. She had never trusted politicians, and she wouldn't start now. Especially not one with that scent. This office reeked of over-complicated and devious ideas, and there was only one man in the universe that could fit that description. She just wished he wasn't HERE.

"I want to know why," she said. "Why my department? Why my research? the sister labs aren't being touched, so why MY research?"

She leaned over his desk, narrowing her eyes in a glare. There was no mistaking this man. He cut her funding for a reason. Either he had known she was here and just wanted to see her mad, or there was a legitimate reason behind this. She had to know which it was.

[Harold Saxon]

" I do not believe I am obliged to give you one." He hummed in response as he leaned back in his chair, hazel eyes meeting her's with an almost mocking light. " Maybe you just interested me enough that I wanted to meet you." A small laugh escaped the male. " Or perhaps I just picked at random. Oh but you'll come back with 'nothing ever happens at random' now won't you." He pulled an almost thoughtful expression for a moment, as though in deep contemplation.

" Perhaps I just felt like provoking you. Little hot headed now aren't you dear. Please take a seat. You seem intent on staying until you sort out whatever has irked you so." He gestured to a small seat with a shrug of his shoulders. " Now come on. Really the only logical reason is to deduct that funding was required elsewhere and your's was the least legitimate leech on our resources." He explained, leaning forward slightly moving his hands to rest on the desk before him, casting a quick glance at the various papers upon the table. Oh he would never do them. It was cute that they thought he would waste his time filling in pointless answers to even more pointless questions. " Unless you can come with another more...interesting theory."

[The Rani]

LEAST IMAGINATIVE? Why that little ..... Oh, he was still good at pushing each and every one of her buttons. that much hadn't changed about him. She was sure that her anger was clear, but she took a seat and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"I see you still know exactly how to get me worked up," she said, quirking her brow. She held her hands together, in an attempt to restrain herself from wringing his neck. The last thing she needed was to be taken into custody for assaulting a political figure. But Saxon knew that, didn't he? Cheeky ...

"I do have a theory, however. I have a theory that you knew exactly who I was and what my research was trying to accomplish, and you just couldn't give me a break. You couldn't let me prove your final from the academy wrong. Or some other pathetically immature thing like that. And of course you couldn't just tell me that you were here, or that you wanted me to change my research. You had to be devious. That much about you hasn't changed."

[Harold Saxon]

Oh look at that now, he could practically feel the anger seeping from her very being. Oh it was all too easy. A few words said in the right order and look at the frustration it had caused. It amused him to no end. It worked with pretty much anyone but somehow it was just that little bit more satisfying knowing he had this advantage over someone of the same species.

" It's not exactly difficult to do so." Came the drawl of a reply as he grinned brightly at her. " Come on hit me, I wonder exactly how much you want to. Oh-- but wait.." A pout formed upon his lips, " Can't exactly assault a respected politician now can you. Pity." An eyebrow was raised slightly, " Oh please, my final was hardly incorrect in any state or form." He snapped almost instinctively at her. He was right. He always had been right and she was hardly going to prove otherwise. " Devious?" A hurt tone edged it's way into the Time Lord's voice, merely mockery of course, " I'm appalled you would ever think of me in such negative light. I'll admit it has been a while; but really, for all you know I'm a changed man." Oh it was terribly difficult to keep the laughter from erupting from him. Changed man, oh he was simply too good at this, it was simply too amusing.

[The Rani]

"Changed man?" The Rani couldn't help but laugh, and she could tell that the man in front of her was TRYING not to laugh. Oh, things really hadn't changed, had they? An oddly comforting notion, considering all that had happened. Which brought something to mind? Did he know about Gallifrey? It had been years before she found out about it. She could only imagine that he would be in roughly the same position she was in. She felt the urge to tell him in some subtle manner.

"Yes. I can see you've changed so much since our home was so viciously destroyed. Perhaps you CAN adapt to new situations. I might have actually been wrong about you." The sarcasm in her voice was practically tangible. She smirked a little, though, and sat back in her seat to see his reaction. It wasn't as subtle as she had originally planned, but she was never one to beat around the bush. She'd leave the over-complicated route to the Master. And if he had known, then she was sure it was still a touchy subject.

"But is my theory wrong? And don't give me the sarcastic answer again. I want the real reason you cut my funding. Was it just pure political nonsense? Or did you just miss these lovely conversations we had?"

[Harold Saxon]

Ah good she had picked up on the fact that he was clearly joking, why on earth would he want to change to become more like these stupid, moronic, stunted apes? He could think of nothing that would repulse him more. He awaited the girl to finish laughing, really he wasn't aware he was that amusing. Oh wait, no yes he was, that was just being modest. He was amazing after all. /The/ Master. Soon all the humans would realise that too. Oh they thought he had potential now, just wait, in time they would see.

The bemused expression quickly left his features at the mention of Gallifrey's destruction. No thanks to the Doctor he might add. Where had Gallifrey gone? It had been burned. All thanks to the younger Time Lord. Although he supposed he himself did flee after taking control of the Dalek Cruciform, the sheer measure of the conflict had been a large scale factor in his running to the end of the universe, becoming /human/. Oh it was almost too repulsive to think about. Yet a small tinge of regret sat in the bottom of the male's stomach as he cast his mind back to the planet he grew up on. The brilliant orange sky, the majestic fields of red grass behind his father's estates where he would play with the Doctor on a daily basis, oh and the trees, those beautiful silver trees. Yes he did miss it.

Ah, he was getting distracted now wasn't he. " I'd rather you sit and try to figure it out. You are oh-so clever after all, aren't you?" He purred in response. Oh really did he even need to explain himself?

[The Rani]

The Rani crossed one leg over the other and thought for a moment. The more she thought about it, the more her theory made sense. He would want to get her attention in the most annoying way possible. But why? Was it only because there were so few of them left? He seemed to be much closer to the Doctor anyway. Why get HER attention? They never got along well enough to warrant such a civil reunion all these years later.

"I want to believe you wanted to get my attention because of my research. Genetic modification based on cloning. After all, with Gallifrey gone, there would need to be some way to keep the Time Lords alive. With a mind like yours and a mind like mine, we COULD do great things together." She paused and leaned a little closer to the Master. "But we haven't gotten along since the Academy. That is the missing piece. Why contact me when you are just as capable of doing what I have done with the Doctor's help. What happened to draw you to me?"

[Harold Saxon]

" The most important work there being 'could'." He said with a small smirk forming upon his features, " Are you asking me to help you~? With your research that is? I mean I know I've always been smarter, that was always a given. Could it be that you are trying to admit that after all this time, I'm superior and you need my help?"

The smile left his face as the Doctor was mentioned, " We haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye for a while now. I don't exactly have contact with him...Perhaps you know hm?" He raised an eyebrow slightly, oh asking Rani for assistance, well this was what he was doing despite him trying to turn things around that she needed him it really was the other way around. Much to his distaste.

[The Rani]

The Rani knew the man. In all of the years they had known each other, she knew he was proud, over-complicated, and he was always closer to the Doctor than he was with her. It was part of what made their relationship go sour. But she could tell he needed her help, even if he was trying to turn the tables on her. It caused her lips to curl into a grin.

"Are you asking for my help?" she asked in such a great taunting tone. "Of course you're not, because that would be straight forward. We both know that you couldn't be straight forward if you tried. And when have you ever known me to need your help? My research is more complicated than some of your devious plots. I doubt you could help more than, oh say, giving my funding back?" She chuckled and shifted her weight to make herself more comfortable. "The reasonable conclusion is to assume we can help each other. I can help the Time Lords regain their numbers. What are you willing to offer?"

[Harold Saxon]

The male's expression turned sour, going to Ushas for help? Wasn't something he even envisaged himself doing. Really it was down right degrading as far as he was concerned. Still he supposed if it got to Theta he might as well have to knuckle down and bite the proverbial bullet. He was a politician, well sort of, it wasn't like he wasn't used to working with idiots by now. Oh really how stunted the human population really was when it came to intellectual conversations.

" You require your funding don't you~?" He said a small smirk beginning to tug back at his features, ah the upper hand seemed like it was his again. " All I have to do is scratch my name onto some papers and well, it's all your's. It really is that simple. That is what I'm willing to offer; besides what are you going to do with this precious research if there is no test result at the end to prove it? I mean really I thought you figured this out that you needed assistance back at the Academy. Hardly going to test it on yourself again are you?" A small snigger escaped him, oh he recalled various times things had gone wrong with her experiments. Normally it was his fault though, interesting how it still amused him even to this day. Well he was a child at heart he supposed.

[The Rani]

The brunette laughed and shook her head. This was all going better than she would have expected. The frown on Koschei's face proved it. He HAD been asking her for help in the only way he knew how: By making it look like he wasn't.

"Testing my theory on a Time Lord would hardly prove anything," she said, "unless it forces them into a regeneration. But you would hardly want to be my guinea pig for that, would you?" She chuckled again and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she thought of the simplest way to explain her research. "My research is, in essence, a way to rebuild the population of the Time Lords. By taking a bit of my DNA and mutating it slightly so my genetic code is completely randomized and injecting it into a human, theoretically it will make a new Time Lord. After all, there has to be SOME use for these apes."

A smirk formed on her face. "Truthfully, I'm surprised you cut my funding without looking into what the research WAS. After all, I'm sure you took the fall of Gallifrey as hard as I did. I'm just doing something about it."

[Harold Saxon]

"You're going to try to make a /human/ a Time Lord?" He said not even trying to hide the disgust in his tone. No that was simply not going to happen. He wasn't going to allow the stunted apes to run around claiming to be like him. It was down right disgraceful to him never mind their dying race. " I don't want them running around like us." He said finally, a small scowl forming like a huffing child would pull. No it simply was not ah...now there was an excuse. " It's simply not in our budget." He finished, ah now there was something he could use to calm the press down should this ever make it out into public. It's not affordable, and after all what would they want, some madwoman's work or their children's hospital being funded? Oh it was so easy once you figured out what strings to pull on, they really were no more than puppets in reality. False conciousness. Believing they were what they were not, like safe, they were far from it, aliens invading never mind their own countries being at each other's throats half the time.

" I may have taken it harshly but that does not mean I want this as an outcome. I mean I had estates for crying out loud. Nothing compared to /anything/ that could be re-created here by your...work." No he had much better plans for this planet. Raging war across the stars, oh that thought was almost soothing, yes perhaps then, when the entire cosmos was in conflict perhaps they would stop. A dream he had ever since he was a child. They would stop. He wouldn't let some old 'friend' and her work get in the way of what he had in mind for these stupid people and their precious little earth.