Hjalmar ch'Kela

**Hjalmar ch'Kela** (hiɑːlmɑːr tjʔkɛlæ) was an Elbrak exile.

## Biography

Hjalmar was convicted for fighting alongside a revolution against the corrupt government of Elbrak. His role was significant enough for the unique punishment of Exile and Integration to be sentenced, and Hjalmar was sent to start a new life on the planet Earth. His sentence terms gave him general freedom on the new planet, but he would have to obey guidelines set up by the Elbrak justice system, which would be enforced by regular inspections by a pair of Elbrak guards.

On Earth, he created the persona of Greg Carnahan, a perfectly normal man from Sussex. He reluctantly got a job as a warehouse worker, but soon became acclimatised to his new life and took a particular fondness to coworker Tony Lamor. After some time of Tony getting to know Greg's fictional life in quite some detail, Hjalmar felt he trusted Tony enough to tell him the truth. Tony initially disregarded this clearly fabricated series of events, until a routine Elbrak inspection tool place while Tony was hidden nearby. Hjalmar had pretended he was unaware that the guards were coming, when in reality he had set Tony up to see the reality of the situation for himself.

Now Hjalmar had got that weight off his chest, he felt like the duo could trust each other properly. Over the next few months, Hjalmar divulged his past and the events happening on Elbrak including the existence of the Birthday Cake.

A few months later, both men visited a carnival on the outskirts of Brighton after finishing work. As night fell, Hjalmar lost sight of Tony, who had wandered off. Minutes later, they were reunited, but Tony expressed that after meeting a "certain someone" he needed to return home, leaving Hjalmar alone at the carnival. Hjalmar decided to investigate, and backtracked Tony's steps. Alone, some way away from the carnival, he found a tent. He found he couldn't focus on it properly, with it shifting in and out of visibility and drifting away from where his eyes wanted to go. Dazed, he lifted a flap to see what was inside, and was met with a chaotic kalaidescope of colours and an ear-splitting cacophony of indescribable sound. The image of a warped, melting face came together in his mind as he was thrown backwards in shock. When he opened his eyes, the tent had vanished. Dismissing the events as some alcohol-induced hallucination, he went home and forgot about the experience.

Tony acted incredibly strangely for the next few days, alternating wildly between hyperactive mania, with laughing fits and burst of energy, to almost catatonic contemplation, not responding to any stimuli for minutes at a time. It became clear he was unable to work within hours of returning the next day, and he was sent home. Hjalmar visited him daily, urging him to at least see a doctor, but Tony ignored him.

The next time Hjalmar was inspected by an Elbrak party, Tony broke into his house. He killed the two Elbrak guards in an extraordinary feat of strength, and vanished along with the Elbrak craft. Hjalmar knew immediately what he was planning to do, and panicked. His standard-issue communicator forbade communication with Elbrak, so he did what he thought would be the next best thing and relayed the entire story to the Megara. (TV: *Only the Living*)

The Megara were too late to stop Tony on Elbrak, but as a last resort used an emergency collection via a Centre for the Temporary Sustenance of the Deceased in order to save the consciousnesses of the Birthday Cake's targets, including Samantha Wyatt. This mad idea miraculously worked, and the minds of the deceased were then available for the Megara to search. (TV: *Legion of Ghosts*)

Hjalmar soon became aware that the Megara were after him as well as Tony, and tried to go into hiding, where he met the Twenty-Second Doctor. They worked together to find out what the Megara had done, but before they could enact their plan to return the deceased, Hjalmar was intercepted by the Megara and beamed aboard their ship. (TV: *Only the Living*)

After much deliberation, the Megara believed that Hjalmar had originally assisted with the mass murder, and should be punished accordingly despite his later apparent change of side by whistleblowing to the Megara. Deciding that the Doctor's testimony would hold no weight considering they met *after* the report took place, the Megara disregarded Hjalmar's plea and executed him in orbit above Earth. (TV: *Legion of Ghosts*)

## Personality

Distant and mysterious, Hjalmar maintained a distinctly "alien" aura. He was, however, a likeable person in general, being quietly kind and gentle, while quite unacclimatised to many Earth customs. (TV: *Only the Living*)