Story content and all other characters in The Doctor And The Enterprise D are (c) Rob Cowell. 1995
EXCEPT the article 110 section, from the story The Doctor and
The Enterprise by Jean Airey.

The Doctor And The Enterprise D
——————————-

(more parts will be online later)

Chapter Seven
———————

Ace tossed and turned. She couldn’t get to sleep. She was
thinking about the Doctor, how she’d run out on him, how she’d failed
him. She didn’t like Cybermen, ever since the first encounter on
Earth in 1988 when they’d tried to take control of the Nemesis statue.
The statue had destroyed the entire Cyberfleet – or so she’d thought.
Then came the showdowns with the psychic circus, the Destroyer (and
Morgaine), Gabriel Chase in Perivale, and most recently the
confrontation with Fenric. That had almost broken her. She’d thought
her trust in the Doctor had been shattered, but he’d explained the
situation afterwards. The Doctor had suggested a short holiday,
perhaps to the Eye of Orion. She thought back to that moment when
they left England, (how she’d been glad to get out of those clothes
and into her normal attire).
“I think I could do with a holiday.” the Doctor had said. Ace
dropped off to sleep and, as she slept, thoughts flooded though her mind.

“I think I could do with a holiday.” the Doctor said, “Somewhere
peaceful, somewhere with no enemies knocking on the door, no aliens –
species – ” he corrected himself, ” no species begging for help. no
Daleks, no Cybermen, no worries…” He smiled to himself. Ace was in
her room changing into something more Ace-ish. The bomber jacket lay
on the edge of the control console. The Doctor moved round the room
and picked the jacket off the computer, draping it across a chair
instead.
“What was that professor?” called a voice from the corridor.
“I said, ” said the Doctor raising his voice, “That I could do
with – ”
“No need to shout, I heard you the first time.” Ace said,
popping her head over his shoulder. She grinned as she pulled her
hair back into a ponytail, fastening it with a small band. “Where are
we going then?” she added.
“I thought perhaps the Eye of Orion. The peaceful tranquillity
of the islands. The hills and rolling downs…” The Doctor trailed
off, thoughts wandering.
Ace was about to say something about what she thought of
countryside that sounded just like the Lake District when a noise came
from the central column. The Doctor looked at the controls sharply
and began pressing buttons.
“Er, what’s up, Doc?” said Ace in her best Bugs Bunny voice.
The Doctor replied in a voice that was supposed to be Elmer Fudd, but
wasn’t anything like it.
“I, er, d-d-don’t know.” He resumed his normal voice. “I think
we’re being jammed. The Space/Time vector plotter won’t respond to
any inputs. The TARDIS has been taken over by a hostile force.”
“How’s that possible? I thought you said the TARDIS couldn’t be
affected by external forces when it’s in the space/time vortex.”
“Normally, yes. The only people with the technical know-how are
the Timelords.”
“So what do they want?”
“I don’t think it’s them this time. It doesn’t have their feel,
their touch. This is somebody else. I’m going to see if I can
dematerialise.”
“Where?” asked Ace incredulously.
“Anywhere! If I can get out of the time vortex I might be able
to locate the source of the jamming and stop it. While we’re in the
vortex we are effectively sitting ducks.”
The Doctor moved round the console, but didn’t have time to do
anything before there was a loud crash. The console room suddenly
tipped over at an angle, the jolt throwing the Doctor and Ace off
their feet. The Doctor slid into the base of the central column,
while Ace slid across the floor and through the door leading to the
interior. She slid for quite a way before managing to get a hold of a
door frame. Looking around, Ace began to prop herself up in the
doorway.
This is about a 50 degree slope. Smooth floor, rough walls. I
might be able to reach the console room if I take off my shoes and
socks. The friction would give me some grip and I can use the walls
to hold on to, she thought. Removing her boots and socks, she began
to inch her way back to the Doctor. The next moment she was flat on
her face. The floor was back where it should be and the walls were
upright again. She stood up and strode off towards the console room.
“What happened?” she demanded.
“The TARDIS was forced down onto this planet. I then
re-adjusted the internal dimensions to become upright again.”
“You might have warned me. I nearly broke my nose when the
TARDIS straightened up again.”
“You were a little far away to tell quickly. Sorry. Are you
alright now?”
“Yeah, just a bruised ego. So, where are we?”
“I think we’re on the planet Selto. It’s a bit like Earth,
forests, lakes, rain.”
“Ugh. Rain I could do without.”
“It’s only a drizzle. It won’t hurt you. I’m going out for a
look. Coming?”
“Just as soon as I put my boots back on.”
The Doctor walked over to his coat stand and picked up his scarf
and coat. Then he stood the stand up again. He plucked his hat from
it and, rolling it up his sleeve, popped it on his head. He turned to
Ace smiling. She gave him a look that said ‘Yeah I’ve seen it before,
show off’ then grinned. She stood and operated the door mechanism.
The doors groaned and then swung open. The Doctor led the way out,
swinging his umbrella.

Outside, the rain had stopped. The Doctor removed a small metal
bar from his pocket and twisted the end. It gave a quiet bleep and a
light flashed from with its depths.
“What’s that?” Ace asked.
“It’s a type of scanner. I’m trying to locate a possible source
that might explain why we were forced down.”
The travellers walked a short distance before Ace looked back.
“Great landing Professor. Looks like you’ve abandoned it.
The TARDIS was lying at an awkward angle. The doors were closed
but faced up to the sky. Before the Doctor could reply there was a
noise. A whining noise. The Doctor flattened himself against the
ground, pulling Ace down with him. An energy bolt shot past them
hitting the TARDIS doors. There was a black circle but otherwise the
police box was undamaged.
“What – ” began Ace. The Doctor covered her mouth with a hand,
motioning for silence with his other one. Two silver beings moved out
into the open behind them. Both the Doctor and Ace knew who they
were.
Cybermen.
The first motioned with his weapon.
“You will come with us.” The metallic voice grated on Aces’
ears. She’d heard it before and liked it even less this time. The
Doctor nodded and they both rose to their feet. The metal rod still
lay on the ground and the Doctor left it there. It was still switched
on, scanning and the Doctor was hoping it would continue to record.
“Any attempt to run will result in you being stunned. If you do
try to escape you will be captured and we will turn you into Cybermen.
Move.” The second Cyberman stayed still. The first turned to its
companion.
“You two will stay here and guard the TARDIS.”
The second Cyberman inclined his head in acknowledgement as a
third being came out of the forest. They both moved off to the TARDIS
and stood beside it. The first Cyberman walked away following the
timelord and his companion.

The journey to the Cybership was long and not improved by the
rain drenched earth. Several times Ace slipped or caught her clothing
on the undergrowth. By the time they reached the Cybership she looked
as though she’d crawled the entire way. She wasn’t in the best of
moods either.
“I don’t suppose you brought anything in a flask?” the Doctor
asked hopefully.
“Nope. You don’t like what I make. I haven’t brewed any for a
while now.”
“Pity. It might have come in useful.”
The doors opened and the Cyberman motioned them inside.

The Doctor was strapped to a bench. Ace was held between two
Cybermen. Around the walls were cavities, which looked like they once
contained Cybermen. A shelf unit was on another wall, various silver
objects laying on them. Ace didn’t want to know what they were.
Standing on the floor beside the shelf unit was a large man shaped
sarcophagus. The lid (or door) was missing, but several large straps
were visible inside it.
A silver figure taller than the others walked into the room.
His head had a different colouring, black instead of the usual silver.
“Ah, I wondered where you’d got to. I thought you’d fallen
asleep.” said the Doctor. He had struggled when they put him on the
bench and was even now trying to move his hands to free the straps.
“Silence! We have brought you here to give us the knowledge
enabling us to alter the past. You are going to take us back to the
planet Earth, during November 1988. We will enter orbit of the planet
and intercept the Nemesis statue.”
“You’re going to try and stop the Cybefleet being destroyed” the
Doctor said, aghast, “I can’t do that. That would mean breaking the
first law of time.”
The Cyberleader motioned towards the two holding Ace. They
moved towards the sarcophagus dragging Ace between them.
“Let me go! You’ll regret this, Tin-Face!” She yelled. The
Cybermen continued, heedless of her threats, and stood in front of the
coffin.
“If you do not co-operate, we will turn her into a Cyberman.”
There was no emotion in the voice, but the threat was easily
recognisable. The Doctor was silent for a moment. Taking the silence
to be a refusal the Cyberleader gestured again. The silver beings
lifted Ace and placed her in the sarcophagus. One of them held her
while the other put a restraining strap around her throat.
“Doctor!” screamed Ace, her voice full of pleading and terror.
“Alright! Alright! I’ll do it!” the Doctor yelled, “Just let
her go.”
“The female will be kept to ensure your full co-operation.” The
Cyberleader said. He made another gesture and the two Cybermen
finished strapping her in. The Doctor looked at her with defeat and
sorrow in her eyes. She’d seen that look before and wasn’t re-assured
by it. The Cybermen left her and moved down to the bench. They began
untying the Doctor.
“You will take us to your TARDIS. Your associate will remain
here. When we have completed our mission we will return and you may
both go free.”
“I’d like a moment alone with Ace, if you don’t mind.”
The Cyberleader motioned and the other two left the room. He
moved away from the sarcophagus but remained within the rooms’
confines. The Doctor walked over to Ace.
“Doctor, don’t leave me here. I know that once you’ve gone
they’ll turn me into one of them anyway.” Ace said. She didn’t look
at the timelord, not wanting him to see how afraid she was.
“Ace.” the Doctor put his left hand under her chin and lifted
her face to look her in the eyes, “Don’t worry. It’ll be alright.
Remember that flask I asked for?” She nodded.
“I think it would be alright for you to get some.” His right
hand had taken a penknife from his pocket and he was now cutting the
strap holding her left hand. The strap fell away, and he moved his
hand up to her waist. “It’ll be just like when we faced down Fenric.”
he leaned close and whispered one word. “Faith!” Then he folded the
knife away and gently placed it in her hand. She closed her fingers
around the small object and nodded.
“Right. Do you have the charts for this area of space?” The
Doctor had turned away and now faced the Cyberleader.
“Why would you need them?”
“You forced the TARDIS down onto this planet. The crash
affected the navigational computer. I’ll need your charts to see
where we are, then I can fix the TARDIS and set the correct
co-ordinates.”
The Cyberleader assimilated the information and then gestured
for the Doctor to precede him. The two figures departed the room.
Ace opened the penknife as soon as they left and began sawing at
the restraints. After a few minutes she had freed herself and moved
to the exit. There was a Cyberman’s weapon on the shelf, she picked
it up. Making her way along the corridors she heard a jingling noise
coming from her pocket. Stopping, she checked her pockets and found
the TARDIS key.
The Doctor must have put it there when has was freeing me, she
thought.
She moved on down the passage. A few turns later and she was
looking at the entrance. It was still open, a Cyberman guarding the
doorway. Ace raised the weapon, hoping it was operational, and pulled
the trigger. The weapon discharged itself and the silver figure
crumpled to the ground. Ace ran, leaping the dead Cyberman, and dived
through the now closing doors. She got to her feet realising the
Doctor was still in there. She almost turned back but the Doctor had
wanted her to get free, to return with some back-up. She looked for
the Cyber-gun but it was nowhere to be seen.
I must have dropped it when I ran, she thought, Well I can’t go
back for it.
A patch of ground near her feet exploded. Ace looked up to see
a Cyberman coming round the corner of the ship. She ran, heading into
the forest, with the Cyberman following…

* * *

There was a quiet chime.
Silence.
The chime sounded a second time.
Silence.
Ace turned over and opened her eyes. A frown appeared on her
face. The chime sounded a third time. Ace remembered with a start
where she was. She sat up and called out,
“Who is it?”
The door slid open to reveal Deanna Troi.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“Yeah. No matter, I was oversleeping anyway. Have you found
the Doctor?”
“No. Commander Data has been analysing the information you gave
him yesterday. He asks if you could let him in to the TARDIS. He
would like to access the computer in an attempt to trace the Doctor.”
“Er, Yeah. Just let me get dressed. Is there anything to eat
on this ship?”
“Certainly, what would you like?”
“A bacon butty would go down a treat. And a mug of coffee.” Ace
thought back to London, 1963. Her mouth began to water just at the
thought of Harry’s wonderful butties.
“A bacon butty?” asked Deanna, not familiar with the term.
“A fried bacon sandwich.” explained Ace as she pulled on her
leggings and skirt. She yanked the shirt over her head as she walked
out from the sleeping area. Deanna had moved over to the replicator
and was ordering the food. Ace took the time to brush her hair and
pull it back into her usual style. A few moments later a steaming mug
of coffee and a hot bacon ‘butty’ were present. She took them from
the counsellor and sat down at the table eating heartily.
“Aren’t you having anything?” she asked between mouthfuls.
“No, thank you. I ate earlier. Do you remember what happened
after you left the Cyber-ship?”
Ace nodded. She finished off the food and took a swig from the
coffee.
“I dreamt it all over again last night. After I ran from the
ship I was chased through the forest. I killed one of the Cybermen,
got into the TARDIS and went straight to the lab to make up some
Nitro. The next thing, I was on this ship.”
Deanna sat down opposite Ace.
“Do you know why these Cybermen left the planet?”
“Nope. I thought they wanted the TARDIS to travel back in
time.” She stood up and drew the TARDIS key out of her pocket. She
took another mouthful of coffee, thoughtful as she wondered how the
Doctor was. Then she straightened. Deanna took the empty plate and
cup and disposed of them.
“Okay, let’s go find the Professor.”
Deanna led her out of the room and down the corridor.

Commander Data sat at his terminal. He was in his quarters and
had been working for most of the morning. He was still no closer to
finding the whereabouts of the Doctor. The door chimed and he called
for the visitors to enter.
“Counsellor. Ace.” he nodded a greeting to both women.
“Good morning Data. Have you come up with anything?” Troi
asked.
“As yet, no. I had hoped there would be some spatial or
temporal fluctuations from the Cyber-ship, but I have been unfortunate
in that wish.”
“The counsellor suggested you might be able to find the
professor using the TARDIS computer.” Ace mentioned.
“Yes. I have a theory that the TARDIS will be able to locate
the Doctor. If that is the case we should begin at once.”
“Okay Golden Eyes. Let’s go.”
“I think it would be better if I went alone.” Data suggested.
“You can’t get into the TARDIS,” Ace smiled, “The key will only
respond to the Professor or me.”
“Interesting. Might I ask how this is possible?”
“The professor encoded it that way. The key and the controls
are isomorphic.” she explained. Data thought for a moment and then
nodded an approval
The three of them left Data’s’ quarters, heading for cargo bay
4. Data and Ace continued the discussion whilst they walked.
The doors to the cargo bay opened and they went inside. Geordi
was already there, waiting. Ace walked up to the police box and took
the key out of her pocket. Inserting it into the lock she felt a
small vibration emanating from the key itself. She smiled inwardly,
knowing that this was the TARDIS welcoming her inside. She opened the
door and stepped across the threshold. Data, Geordi and Deanna
followed.
The console room hadn’t changed. Soft lighting illuminating
from behind the roundels. The interior door was ajar and Deanna
walked over to it.
“I wouldn’t wander too far.” Ace advised, “The interior of the
TARDIS is massive. A few turns down those corridors and you’d be
lost.”
Data moved over to the control console. He began tapping in a
series of commands, the beginnings of a search program. It took him
less than two minutes. The computer began utilising various systems
contained in the TARDIS, then flashed up a message:

Search not completed.
External sensors are blocked/jammed.
Remove blocks and re-try.

“It would appear that the Enterprise is acting as a shield. We
will need to position the TARDIS outside the ship.” Data said.
“How?” asked Geordi.
“I can’t fly the TARDIS, and if I could there’s no guarantee we
wouldn’t end up in the wrong time zone.” Ace interjected.
Data was quiet for a moment. He hadn’t considered this
possibility. Deanna had listened to the conversation before putting
forward her suggestion.
“Couldn’t we beam the TARDIS into space somewhere. After all,
we beamed it up here without any ill effects.”
“Of course!” Geordi exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “The
transporter can lock on to the TARDIS and put it down outside the
ship. We can then move the Enterprise away from the ship so that the
subspace field from shields and engines doesn’t affect the scans.
I’ll sort it out. You can call me when you’re done and I’ll beam you
back on board.” He left and Data turned to Ace.
“Do you need the doors closed whilst you are in space?”
“Yep. we do.” Ace replied as she pressed home the switch. The
doors closed. She operated the scanner which showed a picture of the
interior of the cargo bay. The picture flickered and Ace wondered if
the scanner was malfunctioning, then the picture was clear. A
starfield showed with the Enterprise in the top left of the screen.
The large grey ship slowly moved away from the planet and Ace turned
the scanner to track it.
“That should be far enough. Try it now.” she suggested. Data
complied and this time the computer screen was dark.
A small circle appeared on the screen, followed by some dots.
They resolved into a pattern, a star map. The computer screen began a
series of join-the-dots lines connecting the circle to the small box
that represented the TARDIS. A few minutes passed before the line
connecting the box and the first dot was complete. The computer
screen went dark, then printed a message for all to see:

Search Complete.
Target Located On Planet Smadon.
Galactic Co-ordinates…

A string of numbers followed. Data asked for the galactic
co-ordinates of the planet below them and was rewarded with another
string of numbers. He formulated a subroutine in his mind for the
conversion of galactic co-ordinates to Federation standard
co-ordinates.
Satisfied with the results of the scan he contacted Geordi and
waited to be beamed aboard. Once again the scanner flickered, the
cargo bay superimposing itself on the starfield, then it was clear.
Deanna operated the door switch and the three people filed out. Data
tapped his com-badge.
“Data to Picard.”
“Picard here. Go ahead Mr. Data.”
“Sir, I have located the Doctor. I will transfer the
co-ordinates to the navigation computer.”
“Acknowledged. Picard out.”
Data walked over to the cargo bays computer terminal and
inputted the co-ordinates. On the bridge the navigation console
bleeped as they were received. The Enterprise swung about and headed
off in the new direction. Data excused himself from the two women and
left for the bridge. Ace locked the TARDIS and turned to Deanna.
There was a glimmer of triumph and hope shining in her eyes. Deanna
led the way from the cargo bay.
“Actually I was thinking. If the Doctor’s in trouble I ought to
brew up some more Nitro. You never know when it might come in
useful.” Ace said.
“The replicator cannot produce toxic or unstable elements. You
might find it hard to make some explosives.”
“Then I’ll do it in the TARDIS. I’ve all I need there anyway.
You needn’t come with me,” she added as Deanna turned to follow her,
“You’d probably get in the way. Be the time I’d said ‘Don’t Touch
That!’ it’d be too late.”
Deanna stopped a slight smile showing on her features. Ace was
probably right, she thought. She said as much and turned away. Ace
watched her go, not really pleased with the way she’d worded that
dismissal. She made a mental note to apologise to the counsellor as
she walked back to the TARDIS.
Once inside she shut the doors and made her way to the lab. As
always she had to remind herself of the direction. She’d only got
lost once, so far, ending up in a gigantic room containing a swimming
pool. She remembered where that was though and visited it
occasionally when she wanted to relax at the same time as exercise.
Turning left at a junction she walked down the corridor and turned
left again into the lab. It was just as she’d left it yesterday (the
beakers containing ingredients still scattered across the bench) and
she rebuked herself for leaving the lab in such a mess. Removing her
jacket she set about cleaning up the mess from the previous day,
before starting a new batch. She cursed when she thought of the time
she could have saved by getting the Enterprise to replicate more
flasks. She contemplated returning but changed her mind when she saw
the box under the table. It held twelve empty cans. She’d make a
note to ask the counsellor for some more before they left. Taking
various ingredients from the cupboard she began mixing them.

An Hour had passed before Ace was finished. Grabbing the
canisters she bundled the into her rucksack, then set off back the
console room. Once there she noticed there was a green light flashing
on the communications panel. She operated the control and heard the
captain speaking.
“Ace. Could you please report to the conference room on deck
one.”
“Gotcha. Roger wilco and out.” she replied with a grin,
picturing Picard’s face as he tried to work that out. She left the
TARDIS, re-locked the doors and went looking for a turbolift.
Picard, Beverly, Geordi, Data, Worf, Riker and Troi were waiting
in the conference room when Ace arrived. The captain gestured to an
empty chair beside Beverly.
“We have located the Cyber Ship and are planning to rescue the
Doctor. I would prefer it if you, Ace, stayed here. There might be
trouble and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m coming and there’s nothing you can
say that will stop me. I have a score to settle with Tin-Face.
Besides which this could be fun. How many of you are going?”
“Commander Riker, Commander Data, Lieutenant Worf, and a team of
security personnel. And you.” he added. He wasn’t happy with this
addition but relented, knowing Riker would keep her under control.
“One other thing,” Riker said, “We located nine other such ships
down there.”
“Have you been scanned or are you keeping under cover?” Ace
asked. She didn’t like the thought that there would be a welcoming
committee waiting below. The same thought had passed through Picard’s
mind when he answered.
“We scanned the planet and then moved off. We re-entered orbit
using one of the planets moons as cover, and are now in orbit on the
far side of the planet.”
“Isn’t that going to make transporting to the surface hard? I
mean, if we have to trek half-way round this planet it’ll take weeks.”
“We have decided to move out of the system and come back at
warp. We will transport you down at near-warp speed and fly out
again. You’ll be down safe before they realise what’s going on.”
Picard explained. Ace didn’t understand what they meant by ‘near-ward
speed’ but let it slide. She didn’t want any distractions getting in
the way of what she had to do. The meeting broke up and Riker led the
away team to the transporter room.

Ace had never experienced anything like it. Now she knew what a
‘near-warp speed’ transport was and never wanted to experience it
again. They had arrived on the planet two kilometres away from the
group of ships and were making their way cautiously towards them. The
ships began to grow in size, due to there being scant cover available,
and Ace noticed that this was a hodgepodge collection of ships, All
different. That made it easy for her to identify which was the ship
she’d been on. After a pause to discuss the tactics of a frontal
assault, Riker continued to trek towards the ships. Ace pointed out
which ship to head for and they veered over to the right. The doors
were open. Ace stopped, knelt and drew out a small silver canister
from her rucksack. She slung the bag over her shoulder, grinning as
she noticed Riker wince. She had told him of the contents once they
were down on the planet. Strangely enough the Enterprise transporter
hadn’t recognised the explosive for what it was and had merely
transported it along with Ace and the away team.
Riker gestured to a security man and he went inside, the rest of
the party following. The other two security men covered the rear.
“Balthos, Do you see anything?” Riker whispered. The security
man shook his head. They continued down the corridor. Ace was
apprehensive at the apparent lack of security from the Cybermen.
“Down here and right at the next junction. Then left into the
room where I last saw the Doctor.” hissed Ace. Riker nodded and moved
forward.
The room, the details having been etched on Ace’s mind, was
empty. The depressions in the walls held no Cybermen. The
sarcophagus was empty, the cut straps evident in the dim lighting.
The bench was also empty. The away team moved into the centre of the
room and looked about. Ace noticed another exit, one she hadn’t
noticed before concealed behind the shelf unit. The door was shut.
There was a hiss. Riker and Ace swung round to see the door they’d
entered by close. They were trapped. The hiss changed pitch and a
white cloud started to fill the room. The occupants started to fall
down as the gas took effect. Data, not affected, moved to the grill
to try and shut off the flow. The moment he touched it there was a
crackle of electricity and his body arched. He let go of the grill
and fell, ramrod stiff, to the floor. The thud of his body hitting
the floor was the last thing Ace heard…

Chapter Eight
————-

Riker was woken by a gentle shaking. He turned onto his back
and opened his eyes to see Ace, her hand on his shoulder. He looked
round and saw Data lying on the floor, totally motionless. Worf was
still unconscious
“What happened? Where are we?” Riker asked. His head felt like
it was full of cotton wool and he had a tangy taste in his mouth.
“Some sort of stun gas. I should have thought of that I suppose.
They must have moved us to this cell.” She paused, then added, “Two of
your men are missing.”
She was feeling better than Riker, having been awake for about
twenty minutes more.
“”Two of my men…?” Riker repeated, his brain still fogged
over. The words sunk home and his eyes became alert. He looked round
the room to see Dalting and Fingon were gone. He did a quick head
count. Data, Worf, Balthos, Ace and himself. He moved over to Data.
The android was stretched out on the floor, facing the ceiling. Riker
motioned for Ace to help him turn Data over. He was still feeling
disorientated and weak. Ace moved to join him and the pair of them
turned the inert figure onto his chest. Riker felt down the right-hand
side of Data’s torso. Finding a small indentation he inserted his fingers
and pushed. There was a quiet click and Data jerked. He turned himself
over and sat up.
“Fascinating. It would appear that my neural net was subjected
to a large electrical surge. The overload protection system was
activated. Are you alright commander?”
“Er, yeah. I think so. We all blacked out just before you.
Are you fully functional now?”
“My systems are all on-line and functional.”
“Good. can you see about getting us out of here?”
“Hold on,” Ace said, “What about the Doctor? We can’t just
leave him here.”
“It might be possible for me to interface myself with the ships
computer.” Data turned to Riker, “If I can, I might be able to locate
the Doctor and still effect a rescue.”
“The same way you did with the Borg? Okay, try it.”
Data opened his tricorder and began scanning the walls, looking
for some point to gain access to the computer systems. He found an
outlet and walked over to the section of wall. A moment later the
cover was removed and he trailed some wires from the circuitry.
“It will be necessary for you to connect this to my neural net.”
he said to Riker. The first officer looked around the room. He found
a small piece of wire and moved over to Data. He began connecting the
android to the wires.
“I’ve connected these wires. Do you have a connection yet?”
“Affirmative. The connection is complete. I have access to the
Cyber control computer. I am entering the scan subroutine. I have
located the Doctor.”
“Is he alright?” asked Ace quickly.
“He does not appear to be injured, although I am detecting a
physical change. Could you describe the Doctor?”
“He’s short, straight dark hair. He wears a Panama hat, short
brown or beige jacket. He’s probably got an umbrella with him. The
handle is sort of shaped like a question mark.” Ace thought of more
details to add but Data confirmed that the being matched the
description she’d given.
“Hang on, the Doctor we met was tall with a long scarf and a
floppy hat. He had curly hair.” Riker interjected.
“It seems he has the means to change his appearance.” Data
suggested.
“The Doctor did mention once that his race had the power of
regeneration. When the body got worn out or damaged.” Ace said. She
had been a little confused by this but told the android anyway.
“Data, is there any way you can shut the Cybermen down, like you
did for the Borg. That way we could rescue the Doctor and get out of
here with the minimum of fuss.”
“No commander. The Cybermen are not connected to the computer
the way the Borg are. There is no single collective conscience. I
might, however, be able to interrupt the sensors to allow us to
escape. There is no guarantee that we could also rescue the Doctor.”
“Could we beam out and using the location fix you’ve got, beam
the Doctor out also?”
“That would not be possible. There is sufficient shielding in
the structure to prevent transporter functions operating correctly.”
Riker swore softly. This was beginning to get tricky. He
looked at the door.
“Data, can you open the door?”
“There is no access from the computer to the door mechanism.
There is also no way to force it open. This appears to be a detention area
for malfunctioning Cybermen. It is, by necessity, impossible to break out
of.”
“Wrong,” said Ace, “Move back under cover and let the expert
escapologist work.” She picked up the rucksack and moved over to the
door.
“Data, can you disable the sensors before you disconnect?” She
asked over her shoulder. Two small flasks were stood on the floor.
“Affirmative. The sensors are non-functional. What do you hope
to achieve here?”
“These little flasks contain enough explosive to remove the wall
around the door. There’s probably enough left in my rucksack to
launch this ship into orbit.” It was an exaggeration but she was
beginning to enjoy herself. This was something she could sink her
teeth into and really excel at.
“Your big friend will need moving Riker.” Ace said as she stood.
She pointed to the still unconscious Klingon. Data moved over and
picked up Worf. the rest of the away team moved into the far corner.
Riker noted the lack of cover from the blast and asked Data to rip a
section of wall out to use as a shield. Data complied. Ace took the
caps off the flasks and ran across the room to duck behind the metal
panel. She covered her ears as the explosion rippled across the room.
Once the noise and smoke had died down she looked round the corner of
the shield. To her satisfaction the door was missing. The wall
surrounding the doorframe was buckled but intact.
“Let’s move out, people.” Ace said.
Riker turned to Data and motioned for him to carry Worf. The
android picked up the Klingon with no difficulty and draped him over
his shoulder. They moved out of the room, Ace and Balthos leading the
way. They met no resistance as they edged their way down the
corridor. Stopping at a junction they looked left and right, then
proceeded down the left hand passageway. Halfway down the passage
they met up with one of the missing security men.
“Dalting.” exclaimed Riker, “Where have you been?”
Dalting turned to look at his commanding officer. There was no
expression on his face. Blank eyes stared at the escapees and he
lifted his arm. In his hand was the silver weapon of a Cyberman. His
shirt sleeve was torn and Ace could see the dull metal arm through the
rip in the material.
“He’s not one of us anymore. He’s been turned into a Cyberman!”
she said quietly and then threw herself at him. The contact with that
arm was painful but the shot that Dalting fired was diverted. It hit
the wall beside Rikers head. Dalting swung his arm back throwing Ace
into the nearby wall. Stunned, she dropped to the ground. Data had
placed Worf on the ground and now advanced towards the former security
man. He grasped hold of the arm and twisted the gun out of the metal
hand. Dalting raised his other hand and gripped the android’s wrist.
They stood motionless, android and half-Cyberman, each testing the
others strength. As Ace shook her head to clear it she was astonished
to see the spectacle before her. The battle of strength didn’t last
long. Data had the power in his whole body, whilst Dalting only had
the power in his arms. The android forced the human Cyberman to the
ground where Riker clubbed him across the neck with the Cyber gun.
Dalting collapsed in a heap.
“Thanks Ace. I didn’t see the change in him right away. Data
are you alright?” Asked Riker. Ace nodded acknowledgement of the
thanks.
“I am not damaged commander. He was an interesting combatant.
I think we should take him back to the ship for analysis.”
“You won’t find much Data.” Ace said, “His mind has been wiped
clean. He will only obey Cybermens commands. Your other security man
is probably just the same. I think we should just get the Doctor and
get put of here as fast as possible.”
“I think she’s right.” added Riker, regretfully. He didn’t like to leave
any crewmen behind unless he had to. If Ace was right, there was nothing
that could be done anyway. “Let’s not stay here any longer than we have to.”
On the ground Worf groaned as he regained consciousness. Riker
knelt and checked the Klingon. Worf indicated his readiness to travel
and staggered to his feet. Ace picked the gun from the ground beside Riker.
“Data, can you locate the section where the Doctor is being
held?” Riker asked.
“It is along this corridor for another six metres. There is a
room on the right. He is there.”
The party continued down the corridor. Ace pulled another can
of Nitro-nine from her rucksack and stuck it in her jacket pocket. A
few moments later they were outside the doorway to the Doctors prison.
Ace gestured to Riker and he came over. She outlined an idea and then
he moved to Data. The android accepted the plan and moved up beside
Ace. In a quick movement he darted across the doorway, his head
turned to look inside the room, then he darted back.
“The Doctor is strapped to a table. There is a recording device
and he is speaking into it. There are three Cybermen in the room
also.”
Ace turned to Riker, saying, “Hold this.” She thrust the
rucksack into his hands. Then she sat down on the floor, legs
crossed, and began to dis-assemble the Nitro-nine canister in her
hands. A few moments, after she was satisfied with her work, she
stood up again.
“I’ve modified this one to give a smaller explosion, confined to
a metre or so. Data, can you lob this into the room, as far away from
the Doctor as possible, but as near to as many of the Cybermen as you
can?”
“I can try.” offered the android. He took the can, gauging the
weight, and held it out to Ace to prime it. She took the lid off
saying,
“Ten seconds ’til showtime!”
Data counted four seconds before throwing the canister into the
room. Two seconds later there was a dull thump as it exploded.
“Ten seconds?” asked Riker.
“Well, The timer does need a bit of work.” Ace replied, a wry
grin on her face. She risked a glance inside the room and pulled her
head back sharply as the remaining Cyberman swung his gun round.
Taking a deep breath, she gripped the gun taken from Riker and dived
into the room. Her dive was on target as she rolled behind a computer
terminal, scrabbled to her knees and poked the gun round the far
corner of the equipment. She fired one long blast which hit the
Cyberman square in the middle of the chest. The silver figure jerked
spasmodically and fell backwards. Ace signalled to Riker and he came
into the room cautiously.
“I wish you’d told me what you were going to do. My heart
almost stopped when you threw yourself in here.” he rebuked.
“Stow it Riker. There wasn’t time. In fact there isn’t time.
Let’s grab the Doc and get out of here.”
Riker stiffened at the tone, but Ace was already sprinting to
the bench. She untied the Doctor, while asking him if he was okay.
“I’m fine Ace, really I am. What about you? How did you find
me? Who are these people?”
“Later Doctor. We’ve got to get out of here first.”
Hang on. I must stop this recording. The Cybermen wanted
knowledge of time travel and their race defeats.” The Doctor looked
thoughtful, “I remember Davros asking the same questions. He was
going to pre-program the Daleks with that information. The Cybermen
wanted to do the same. I have to destroy this memory circuit so that
they can’t do that.” The Doctor ripped the recording mechanism from
the panel and dropped it to the ground. He gestured to Ace and she
shot it. There was a crackle of frying electronics and the circuitry
burst into flame.
“Mission accomplished.” she said with a smile.
“Satisfactory.” was the Doctors comment. Riker waited,
impatience showing on his face.
“If you two have quite finished, I’d like to get out of here.” he said.
“I don’t think I like your tone of voice.” said the Doctor. He
looked at Rikers face. The was something familiar about this man.
Something from a long time ago.
“William T. Riker.” said the Doctor, “Now I know you. What are
you doing here?”
“Doctor, we haven’t time for exchanging pleasantries. We’ve got
to get out of here.” Ace said. She pulled at his sleeve and they
left. Riker was puzzled how this man could be the Doctor, physical
appearance changes weren’t possible; were they?
The corridor was empty as the group ran towards the exit. There
were no sirens, no announcements of prisoners escaping. The ship was
silent. This bothered Riker, but Data informed him that the alarms
were transmitted to each Cyberman by the central computer.
“Even though they do not seem to be connected to the computer as
a single consciousness like the Borg, they do have a connection. It is more
like the connection I am able to perform with the Enterprise computer.” Data
had said.
The doors marked as the exit were closed. Ace took one look at
them and drew out two cans from her rucksack. The Doctor look
appraisingly at them.
“I see you managed to bring some backup.” He said dryly. Ace
grinned back to him. Her grin faded as she saw four Cybermen coming
out of the shadows. The top was off both cans before she realised she
was doing it. She threw the first can, waited, and threw the second.
The whole manoeuvre had taken less than four seconds. She yelled for
everyone to get down as the first can exploded. The second can
dissolved in a ball of flame moments later. Of the Cybermen there was
no trace. Ace stood up and quickly took another two cans from the
rucksack. She noted there were only three left in the bag. She’d
have to use them sparingly until she could make some more. The lids
were popped off and the cans were placed at the foot of the doors.
She backed away with the others and took cover. The resulting
explosion was as noisy as the previous ones, and the results were the
same. The doors were nowhere to be seen. Outside it was night.
Balthos ran for the door and was through, the others following.
“We’d better get as far away as possible. It’ll give the
Enterprise time to get here.” Riker advised. They set off at a run,
Riker contacting the ship as they went. Picard acknowledged him. A
few minutes later there was a beep from Rikers com-badge.
“That’s the transporter signal.” He tapped his badge giving the
order to energise.

Safely on board the Enterprise Riker headed for sickbay with the
Doctor, Ace and Worf in tow. Beverly had requested they attend so
that she could check them over. Data went to the bridge.
Sickbay was quiet. Beverly and nurse Ogawa were alone. Riker
strode into the room followed by the others. The two medical
personnel got to work. A short time later Beverly announced they were
all in good health, despite having been gassed, shot at, blown up and
generally “having a good time” as she put it. Riker got off the
bio-bed and moved for the door. He turned and looked at the Doctor
and Ace.
“The captain would like to see you. If you’ll follow me.” There
was little discussion as they made their way to the bridge. Riker led
them to the ready room and announced their arrival.
“Come in.” Picard said, rising from his desk, “I take it the
mission was a success Number One?”
“Not quite sir. We lost Dalting and Fingon. They were turned
into Cybermen.”
Jean-Luc Picard was silent, his head bowed, as he grieved for
the loss. He never liked to lose a crew member. His mind went back
to the Borg incident. Death was one thing, but to be transformed into
something else…
He shook his head, almost imperceptibly and the lifted it the
look at the Doctor.
“You are the Doctor?”
“I am. How do you do Jean-Luc. I must admit it’s been a long
time hasn’t it?”
“No, actually it hasn’t. We saw your TARDIS disappear from the
conference lounge and the next moment we found ourselves in your
universe. I still can’t quite understand how you’ve changed your
appearance.”
“My physiology is such that I regenerate when the body becomes
worn out or damaged. I’ve done it three times since you saw me last.
For me there has been a span of years between these two meetings.”
“Years? How many?” asked Riker.
“Oh I forget, fifteen or sixteen Earth years. Something like
that.” The Doctor turned back to Picard, “About your crossover, have
you located the source of the problem?”
“No. We hadn’t been here long before we picked up a temporal
disturbance in the area. When we investigated we found your TARDIS.
We beamed it aboard and – ”
“It’s here? Onboard the Enterprise?” the Doctor interrupted.
“Yes. It’s in cargo bay 4. As I was saying, We beamed it
aboard and Ace came out of it. Since then we have directed our
efforts in locating and rescuing you.”
“For which I am grateful. But the story doesn’t end there.
Unfortunately.”
“What do you mean Doctor?” asked Ace.
“The Cybermen. They managed to extract some of the basics of
time travel from me. It’s very primitive and added to the knowledge
they already had, they’ve left the planet for the Earth, 1988.”
Ace gasped with horror, understanding the implications of the
Doctor’s words. Picard and Riker didn’t though.
“I fail to see the immediate problem Doctor.” Picard said, “And
who, or what, are the Cybermen?”
“To answer the questions in reverse order. The Cybermen are a
race that were originally human, or rather they were humanoid. They
lived on the planet Mondas. In this universe, Mondas and Earth were
twin planets, orbiting the Sun. Millions of years ago, Mondas left
the Solar system. During this time of travelling the population began
to replace their worn out limbs with Cybernetic appendages until
they’d replaced their whole bodies, even down to heart, lungs and
brain.” The Doctor let this information sink into the audiences minds
before continuing.
“In 1986 Mondas returned to the Solar system. It was starved of
energy and the Cybermen were going to drain the Earth. I was able to
stop that happening and Mondas absorbed too much energy too soon. It
was destroyed. A large group of Cybermen had left the planet before
it came into the Solar system and conquered a planet called Telos.
There they built large refrigerated tombs. Actually the native race,
the Cryons, built the tombs, the Cybermen just took them over for
themselves. The Cybermen had a crude time ship that they stole from
some-one but I managed to put that out of action. With that knowledge
and what they stole from me the have returned to 1988 the avert the
destruction of the remainder of their fleet. Ace, tell them about our
last encounter.”
Ace took up the story.
“We landed on Earth in 1988 to have a break. Charlton had
picked up two points, I was impressed – ”
“Ace, just the Cybermen part of the story, eh?” the Doctor said.
“Yeah, right. Anyway these silver creeps were waiting for the
Nemesis statue to crash land on Earth. The professor launched it into
space years earlier but got his sums wrong.” she grinned at his slight
discomfort.
“They were waiting for it and the Doctor managed to program it
to fly into the Cyberfleet and explode it. The blast was well wicked.
We thought that was the end of them, we were wrong. This group think
they can go back to 1988 and stop it happening. If they do -”
“If they do,” continued the Doctor, “they will alter history as
we know it and the Earth will be enslaved, turned into Cybermen, or
worse. We have to stop them doing that.”
The captain and his first officer were silent as the assimilated
the story they’d just heard. Picard opened his mouth to speak but
Riker was already asking the question on both their minds.
“How do you propose we time travel back to 1988?”
“I’ll use my TARDIS. I can get us there and then… , well,
I’ll just have to think of something. I suggest you move the
Enterprise to a safe location before I go. I’d hate for you to be
attacked by the Cyberfleet on the planet before I can get you back
home.”
“The Enterprise is already far enough away from the planet to be
safe.” Picard said.
The meeting broke up and the Doctor and Ace disappeared into the
TARDIS. A short while later the police box faded from sight.

The moon was deserted. The craters were large, dusty and empty.
In the vacuum of space the Cyberfleet hung motionless. A short while
ago it had received the message that the Nemesis statue was going to
rendezvous with them and they would begin the total domination of the
populated sections of space and time. Finally they would become the
superior race.
The moon was no longer alone. Now there was a small blue box in
one of the craters. Inside the TARDIS the Doctor and Ace looked at
the fleet of spaceships arrayed on the scanner. All seemed as it
should be. As it was. As it had been. A flicker of motion caught
Ace’s eye.
“Doctor. There!” She pointed at the screen. The spaceship
travelling through time had arrived at its destination. At that
moment a projectile was launched from the Earth. In a graceful curve
it joined the fleet and then the Doctor laughed. Ace looked from the
scanner to the timelord.
“What’s so funny?”
“The Cybermen. They’ve…they’ve materialised in…in the
wrong…the wrong place. Look” He was laughing so hard his sides
hurt. Ace turned back to the scanner to see what the Doctor was on
about. Then she saw it. The timeship had arrived on the leading edge
of the fleet hoping to catch the missile as it passed. But it wasn’t
going to pass them. As she watched she saw the scene replay itself
just as it had done previously. The Nemesis statue flew right to the
heart of the fleet and detonated the centre ship. The resulting
explosion jumped to the other ships, like a forest fire leaping from
tree to tree. The ball of flame and debris expanded ever outwards,
engulfing the fleet, ship by ship. until the fire had been satiated.
All the ships, including the late arrival, were gone.
The Doctor’s laugh was subsiding. When he finally managed to
gain full control of his vocal chords he turned to Ace.
“We needn’t have worried. I should have foreseen the outcome.
The Cybermen in their arrogance, for want of a better term, thought
they could just reach out and catch the Validium as it passed. But
they – ”
“But they got their sums wrong!” Ace said. Her face was split
with a huge grin. The Doctor grinned back.
“It just goes to prove that I’m not the only person to do it.
Let’s go back to Picard and get him home.” He flicked some switches
and pressed the de-materialisation button. On the surface of the
moon, the TARDIS left as silently as it had arrived.

In cargo bay 4 Picard watched as the TARDIS disappeared from
view. He turned to Riker and was about to speak when the familiar
groaning noise returned. Looking back he saw the TARDIS resume its
position. The doors opened and the timelord exited, followed by Ace.
“Doctor, Is anything the matter?” Picard asked.
“No, why do you ask Jean-Luc?”
“You’ve only just left.”
“Temporal physics, it’s all relative. The Cybermen have failed
to pervert the course of history. Now I think we can sort about getting
you home.”
The Doctor led the way out of the cargo bay. Picard, Riker, Ace
and the Doctor entered a turbolift for the bridge. The were almost
there when the red alert siren sounded. Exiting the lift at the
bridge, the Doctor saw the problem immediately.
“The Cybermen!”
“I thought we’d sorted them out.” Ace said.
“We stopped the ones in 1988. I forgot about these. They will
have realised the timeline hasn’t altered and are going to destroy
this ship in a sort of revenge attack. This isn’t like them to be
emotional. We must transfer you back before it’s too late. Even this
ship can’t face down nine attacking ships at once.”
Before the Doctor could begin working on the equations the
Cyberfleet, or what was remaining of it, opened fire.

—————————————————————–
All Star Trek characters are copyright Paramount.
All Doctor Who characters, and the TARDIS, are copyright BBC
Enterprises.

Story content and all other characters are (c) Rob Cowell. 1995
EXCEPT the article 110 section, from the story The Doctor and
The Enterprise by Jean Airey.

This story will be uploaded to the anonymous ftp site for
startrek.creative stuff, and to Frontios.

Rob Cowell

[email protected]

All Marks are owned by their owners.

Doctor Who & related characters are the BBC’s
Star Trek & related characters are Paramount’s