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
——————————-

Chapter Nine
————

The Enterprise was suffering from the barrage of firepower
from all nine Cyber ships. The battle was not going well. Two
of the ships had been crippled, but the remaining seven were
fully operational. The Cyberfleet did have a major disadvantage
though, speed. The Enterprise was more manoeuvrable and agile
than the attacking ships.
“Forward shields have dropped to 83%. Aft shields are
holding at 79%.” reported Worf.

“Target the lead ship. Full spread of photon torpedoes.
Fire.” Barked Riker. The Klingons hands flew over the controls
as he responded. On the viewscreen five torpedoes could be seen
heading for their requested target. They hit, and there was a
burst of light as the Cybership twisted away, buckled and
scarred. Picard paged the Doctor.
“Doctor, how long before we can transfer?”
“Just a few more minutes. Commander La Forge and I are
running the last checks. We’ll inform you when we’re ready.”
Down in engineering Geordi and the Doctor were frantically
running the equations through the computer.
“The computer doesn’t like these figures Doctor.”
“It doesn’t have to commander. The TARDIS will handle the
complex routines. All the Enterprise has to do is provide the
link and the power. I need the warp engines to generate a strong
enough subspace field in order to encompass the whole ship and
surrounding space for about 2,500 metres.”
“Why so large a field?”
“As we pass through the universe membrane the field will
shrink drastically. Having a larger field will reduce the damage
to the ship considerably. You see, when you passed through
before there was already a gaping hole in the membrane caused by
the TARDIS entering the space/time vortex. I’d programmed the
TARDIS to fly into the vortex when I’d passed through. What I
didn’t take into account was the distortion effect from your
ship. Transferring from inside your ship was the worst thing I
could have done. You were lucky the spatial and temporal stress
didn’t cleave this ship in half. Because I am trying to simulate
the conditions again I want the Enterprise to remain intact.
Therefore I am making the entry hole large enough to let you
through. The universes will react to the breach by constantly
changing the phase of the space around the gap. The larger
subspace field should absorb the stress until we are through.
Then we’ll fly at right-angles to the breach. The resulting
implosion of phased matter from both universes repairing the
breach will kick us away, and what’s left of the subspace field
will act as a cushion. We’ll ride the implosion wave like a
surfer. Once I’ve set you in the right timezone, something that
shouldn’t be necessary if we get our sums right, ” the Doctor
looked over at Ace. She wasn’t listening. He continued, “Once
you’re safe and well I’ll leave the ship and head back to this
universe.”
“I see. Are there any more connections you need making to
the Enterprise computer?”
The TARDIS had been transported from the cargo bay and now
sat in a corner of engineering. Cables snaked out of the door,
along the floor, and into a junction box fed from the computer
core. The Doctor looked at them.
“No I don’t think so. I’ll just check the TARDIS is ready
and we can inform the captain to brace for crossover.” He moved
into the police box. Inside, most of the cables fed into the
central column, although a few trailed their way into the
corridor and were connected to circuits behind some roundels.
The Doctor tapped at the keyboard. it was unresponsive.
“Oh, come on girl. There’s no need to be shy.” he bent
close and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, “It is an inferior
computer. You can laugh at it if you want.”
“That wasn’t very nice.” Ace said from the doorway, “Don’t
let Geordi hear you say that.” She grinned as the Doctor jumped.
He turned to face her and a smile appeared on his face.
“Well, the old girl was feeling a bit put out. She’s very
wary of strangers.” He patted the console gently and the computer
sprang into life.
“See what I mean.”

On the bridge Jean-Luc Picard waited for the signal.
Geordi’s voice issued from the speakers.
“Captain we’re ready down here. We need you to ensure the
space around us for 2500 metres is clear.”
“Confirmed Mr La Forge. Area is clear. proceed.”
There was a rushing sound and the lighting dimmed. On the
viewscreen the Cyberfleet seemed to move away, one of the ships
firing a parting shot. The universe membrane was ripped open as
the combination of starship and timeship traversed the barrier.
The missile closed making contact with the shields momentarily,
then the Enterprise was through. Metaphorically the giant
starship turned and flew parallel with the breach. There was
burst of light as the universes healed themselves, and the
Enterprise was flung away. It skimmed the energy wave like a
stone skimming across a lake, then like the stone it sank. The
energy wave dissipated and faded leaving the Enterprise to coast.
Data checked the readings from his control panel.
“Captain, according to my readings we are in our own
universe. But we are a point in history approximately a quarter
of a million years before our time.”
Picard was stunned. For a moment He couldn’t comprehend
the words that he’d heard.
“A quarter of a million? Data are you sure?” Riker asked.
“I have checked the reading several times commander. There
is no error in the estimate.” was the concise reply.
“Bridge to engineering. Mr La Forge, could you and the
Doctor spare me a moment please? Picard said.
“Certainly captain. We’ve just got to disconnect the
TARDIS from the computer. It’ll take about five minutes.”
“That will be fine commander.”
Just over five minutes later the Doctor and Geordi were in
the ready room. Data and Riker were also present.
“Doctor, our initial readings suggest that we are a quarter
of a million years in the past. Perhaps you could shed some
light on the matter.” Picard said.
“What?” Geordi exclaimed, “That shouldn’t be possible.”
“Commander La Forge is correct. The link between the
TARDIS and the Enterprise was concerning spatial co-ordinates.
There was only a minimal connection to the temporal circuits of
the TARDIS. There would have been a slight temporal disturbance
from the universe membrane, but it shouldn’t have made any
difference to the temporal co-ordinates of where we were trying
to go. The TARDIS computer was correcting for the variance. I’d
like to go over the sensor logs of the crossover. There may be a
clue to what happened in them.”
“Very well. Mr Data would you arrange it.”
Data, Geordi and the Doctor left. Picard looked at Riker,
raising one eyebrow but saying nothing. On the bridge Data led
the way to a science terminal where he proceeded to call up the
relevant sensor information. Numbers and words flowed across the
screen, until Geordi pointed something out.
“Hold it a moment Data, what’s that?”
The android scrolled the screen back to the requested point
and all three of them looked.
“It would appear there was a fusion explosion just prior to
the membrane opening.” Data commented.
“A fusion explosion? What would cause that?” Geordi asked.
The Doctor looked grave as he announced the answer.
“A Cyber rocket. They must have fired at us just at that
moment. The explosion could have altered the time fabric of the
membrane sufficiently to cause it to shift. When we calculated
the space and time vectors for the crossing we assumed the time
variable would remain constant between the universes. But the
TARDIS should have been able to compensate for that.”
“So, when the missile exploded it caused a ripple in the
time dilation effect of the membrane.” said Geordi. He was
beginning to see what had happened, but was at a loss to figure
out what to do about it.
“Doctor, when you were last on board the Enterprise you
placed the TARDIS around this starship. Could that be duplicated
so that you travel forward in time and place us in our correct
time frame?” Data asked.
“I don’t see why not. The Tardis is more than capable of
such a feat, although she’s not what she used to be. The
temporal circuits have been playing up recently. I’ll have to
check them over but other than that it should be fine.”
“Then I suggest we proceed with that option. I will inform
the captain and commander Riker of the plan.” Data rose from his
chair and headed back towards the ready room. The Doctor looked
thoughtfully at the screen. Geordi sat in the vacated chair and
began tapping the keyboard. The data flow on the screen altered
as he requested the actual moment of passing through the
membrane. The computer displayed the information.
“Doctor, look at this. It seems that a couple of the Cyber
ships got through the hole before it sealed. Is there any way of
telling whether they survived?”
“I don’t know. They should have been torn to pieces by the
huge gravitational and temporal forces that were present but if
they were close enough to us they might have been afforded some
protection from the subspace field. That would have upset the
balance.”
“Balance? I don’t follow.”
“The Enterprise was supplying the muscle, the TARDIS was
supplying the brains. I’d only calculated for the mass of our
ships crossing over. Now we have two more ships with large
masses to alter the balance. This must have been the cause of
the temporal shift. THe TARDIS was obviously taking care of the
incidentals, but when the equation changed she didn’t get chance
to react. The trouble is whether or not the Cybermen were
shunted into time and survived. They could cause great amounts
of trouble if they intervened with your history.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” Geordi said, his face turning
pale, “How would we know where and when they went other than the
universe changing around us? Would we even be aware of the
changes?”
“The only way I can think of is for me to use the TARDIS to
generate a temporal field around the Enterprise. That way we
would be effectively outside the time continuum of this universe
and be able to detect the changes. But when I drop the field the
Enterprise would be left in the new history and might well pop
out of existence. If I were to transfer you to the point just
before we entered this universe we could see what happens to the
Cyber ships and follow them if need be. This would allow us to
stop them altering this history.”
“We’d better tell the captain what’s going on.” Geordi and
the Doctor moved to the ready room to speak with Picard. The
captain had just listened to the report from Data when the door
chime sounded.
“Enter.” he said. Geordi and the Doctor walked in looking
grave. They told him of the extra readings the sensors had
recorded and when they’d finished he was as grave as they were.
“This is very serious indeed. I think this must take
priority over the other matter. We cannot allow these Cybermen
to alter our past. Riker nodded in agreement as the Doctor began
explaining his idea of tracing the Cybermen. After he had
finished the captain thought for a moment and then agreed.
Dismissed, the Doctor, Geordi, Data and Riker left. Jean-Luc
Picard sat back in his chair heavily as he contemplated the
consequences of the discussion.
In engineering the Doctor was opening the TARDIS door when
Ace appeared.
“What’s up? Are we leaving yet?”
“Not yet Ace. We have to go back to the universe breach
and look for some Cybermen.” He filled her in on the details.
She looked at him, concern growing, but he had already moved into
the police box. She followed him inside and watched as he began
manipulating the controls.
“So you’re going to put the TARDIS around this ship. Isn’t
it a little big to do that?”
“The TARDIS is bigger than you think, she’ll cope alright.”
He closed the doors and activated the console. The central
column began to rise and fall as the TARDIS dematerialised.
“Whereabouts will the Enterprise be? I mean, if I went to
that particular room would I see the ship floating in mid-air, or
what?” Ace asked, still intrigued by the possibility of putting
the small police box around the enormous spaceship.
“It doesn’t work like that. The Enterprise will occupy a
small space/time field inside one of the dimensions of the
TARDIS. You wouldn’t be able to actually go into that dimension
because you are from this dimension. The TARDIS generates a
special type of forcefield to stop that sort of thing happening.
If you were outside the Enterprise you would only see that ship
and then it would disappear, just like the TARDIS does.”
“Neat. Pity I couldn’t look into the viewscreen and see
all the little people on the bridge.”
“That’s precisely the reason the TARDIS stops you meeting
the ship.” Satisfied with the positioning of the TARDIS he pulled
the lever and the police box moved to encompass the spaceship.
Then the Enterprise disappeared from the starry universe.
“Let’s say that you were able to see the Enterprise,” the
Doctor continued, “you might accidentally bump into the ship and
damage it. To you it would seem like you’d just broken a toy
plane or boat, but to the crew of the Enterprise it could be a
catastrophic disaster. The ship might end up exploding and with
that sort of detonation happening inside the TARDIS it could
destroy us as well.”
“Wow, you mean that could really happen?”
“It was one of the few accidents that happened on
Gallifrey. It was one of the reasons that my people decided on a
policy of non-interference.”
“But you don’t subscribe to that policy, do you?”
“Well, not exactly. I think that there should be somebody
who has the power to help.”
The central column stopped moving and the Doctor checked
the readings. The TARDIS had arrived about forty minutes before
the breach. The Doctor opened up the communications channel and
informed the Enterprise of the status. Then he settled down to
wait.
“Couldn’t you have got any closer?” Ace asked.
“This will do fine. I don’t want to risk overshooting the
mark.”
Aboard the Enterprise the crew were on tenterhooks waiting
for something to happen. The time passed slowly for the Doctor
and Ace. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity on the
viewscreen and a loud bleeping from the console. Ace watched in
fascination as a multicoloured shape began to form in space. As
quickly as it had appeared, it vanished leaving a gaping hole
surrounded by a bright swirl of what looked like dust. Ace
decided that it looked like a bath filled with coloured liquid
that had just had the plug removed. Through the hole glided the
Enterprise, graceful and elegant. Then the large grey ship was
flung to one side and vanished.
“That was us when we moved backwards through time.”
commented the Doctor. This was partly for the benefit of Ace and
partly for the crew of the ship contained somewhere inside the
TARDIS. The Doctor had set up a communications link with the
Enterprise and was currently piping the images onto their
viewscreen. Ace looked closely and saw another two ships, much
sleeker and smaller, pass through the rip before the plug was
fitted. The Doctor moved his hands over the controls in a blur
of motion and the central column rose.
Inside one of the Cyberships the was a noise and the TARDIS
materialised. The doors opened and the Doctor risked a glance.
Seeing that the area was clear he moved out. Ace followed him
and looked around.
“I still can’t work it out. The Enterprise is inside the
TARDIS, but the TARDIS is inside the Cybership. Just how big, or
small, is the Enterprise now?”
“It’s still the same size as it always was. Space is
relative to the dimension it occupies.”
“What would happen if you removed the TARDIS from around
the Enterprise now?”
“The Enterprise would probably occupy the space where the
TARDIS used to be and the Cybership would be ripped apart. I’ve
never really thought about it. Of course the Enterprise might
try to coexist in the same space and time as the Cybership. If
that happened…”
“Zap! No more Dalek!” Ace supplied, trying to remember the
quote the Doctor had used when they’d discovered the transmat pad
in the school cellar.
“Something like that. Let’s find out what happened to the
other ship.”
“What about Picard and that lot?”
“Oh, they can wait for a while. I won’t be long.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Ace said. She followed him down
the corridor. The door at the end was ajar and they peeked
around the corner. The room beyond was the Cyber equivalent to a
flight deck, with several seats containing inert Cybermen. The
Doctor looked at the viewscreen and saw the second ship just in
front. It hung there seeming to be as lifeless as the one they
were in.
“I’ve seen enough Doctor, let’s bug out before they wake
up.”
“I think you’re right Ace.” He slipped back through the
door and they headed back to the TARDIS. Once inside the Doctor
tried to work out where in time they had landed. He walked
around to the communicator and spoke into it.
“Captain Picard, It would appear that the Cybermen have
travelled back in time about two hundred and fifty years.”
“That would put them somewhere just before the founding of
the Federation.” Picard said.
“I am going to remove the TARDIS from this ship and then
release your ship.”
“Acknowledged” came the reply.
The TARDIS dematerialised from the Cybership and a few
moments later the Enterprise re-appeared in normal space. Picard
breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the crew to red alert. The
viewscreen showed both Cyberships in orbit of a planet and they
seemed to be recovering.

On the bridge of one of the Cyberships the report came in
of the transference that had taken place.
“The alien spacecraft is closing. they are powering up
their weapons and shields.” said a Cyberman.
“Is our other craft responding yet?” asked the
Cyber-lieutenant. In the absence of any superior officer he had
assumed command, there were no arguments from the other Cybermen
who understood the logic of the situation.
“They are regaining full power. The will be fully
operational in two minutes. The alien craft is within firing
range.”
“Fire!” ordered the Cyber-lieutenant. A volley of missiles
exited from the ship and sped towards the Enterprise.

Chapter Ten
———–

“The Cybership has fired five missiles. Impact on our
shields in twenty seconds.” Worf reported.
“Use the phasers to detonate the missiles.” Riker said.
Worf’s hands flickered across the controls and phaser fire shot
from the saucer section. Three of the missiles exploded away
from the shields, but the other two impacted. The Enterprise
rocked with the force of the explosions.
“Shields are at 89%. The second ship is coming around. It
has fired three missiles, impact in fifteen seconds” Worf fired
again but only hit one of the missiles. The remaining two hit
the shields and the ship bucked again.
“Shields have dropped to 76%.”
“Fire photon torpedoes, maximum yield, full spread. Target
the second ship.” barked Picard. Five torpedoes were launched
towards their designated target. They exploded against the ship,
which swayed in space, but appeared to do little damage. Riker
walked over to Geordi and asked about the possibility of using
the main deflector dish as a weapon.
“It’ll take some re-configuring, about four hours, and I
won’t be able to do it under fire. I need a steady ship for some
of the delicate operations. I can’t guarantee it will work
either. Those ships seem to be very resistant to our firepower.”
“How about if we beamed a photon into their ship with a
timer. What effect would that have?”
“I don’t even know if we could beam inside their ship. I’m
having problems reading the interior of their ships. I’ll give
it a go.”
Geordi moved to the turbolift and disappeared. A minute or
so later he re-appeared in a cargo bay and began giving
instructions to the lieutenant on duty. Then he left and headed
for the torpedo launching bay. After fitting the torpedo with a
slight modification he contacted the lieutenant in cargo bay 1.
“Lieutenant Thurson, lock on to this torpedo and beam it
into the Cybership closest to us.” The modified photon torpedo
disappeared and re-appeared inside the target. The explosion
disrupted the main power and caused the ship to drift out of
control towards the planet. A few minutes later the Cybership
was heading back into the fray, firing missiles as if nothing had
happened. Geordi contacted the first officer and reported the
failure.
There was another bout of rocking as the Enterprise was
hit.
“Shields are down to 58% There is damage to decks 21 and
22, forward sections.” said Worf.
“Captain, I suggest we withdraw and let Geordi make the
modifications to the main deflector dish. That would also give
us time to repair the systems already damaged.” Riker said.
“I agree, Number One. Ensign O’Niell withdraw from the
Cybermen.”
The helm officer complied and the Enterprise began to move
away from the fight. Seeing them leave the Cybermen pressed home
the attack, sending another volley of missiles after them. They
impacted on the shields weakening them further, then the
Enterprise was out of range.
“Forward shields are at 58%, aft shields are now at 69%.
The Cybermen do not seem to be following.” Worf said. The
expression on his face was troubled, he did not like retreating.
The large ship slowed to a stop when Data proclaimed them to be
far enough away.

In the TARDIS the Doctor and Ace had watched the battle.
They could see the Enterprise was damaged and that the Cybermen
didn’t seem to have sustained much in return.
“Are we going to leave them to it?” Ace asked.
“No we can’t. Once this has been dealt with I have to
return the Enterprise to its correct time. I think we’ll go
aboard and see what’s occurring.” The Doctor manipulated the
controls and the TARDIS appeared in a cargo bay, much to the
astonishment of the lieutenant who was on duty there. He was
even more surprised when the door opened and two people stepped
out.
The Doctor doffed his hat towards the lieutenant and walked
out into the corridor.
“The captain will probably be on the bridge. We’ll go and
see him first.” the Doctor commented. He and Ace strolled into a
turbolift and asked to be taken to the captain, the turbolift
complied. The bridge was a hive of activity as Riker ordered
reports from all stations. The reports came flooding in, most of
them just saying that everything was okay. A few had casualties
to report, but the one that most interested Riker was Geordi.
“Commander, I’ve finished the preliminaries. The deflector
is now about to be modified, it should be ready in about two and
a half hours.”
“Okay Geordi, keep me posted.” Riker looked to the rear of
the bridge and saw the Doctor and Ace standing by the lift doors.
He nodded towards them and asked them if there was anything he
could do for them.
“As a matter of fact, yes. I was hoping to see the
captain.” replied the Doctor.
“He’s is his ready room. I’ll see if he’s free.”
“You mean he charges to see people?” Ace whispered to the
Doctor who shook his head slightly, a faint smile on his lips.

In the ready room Picard spoke to the Doctor. The timelord
had given all the information he could about the weaknesses of
the Cybermen, right down to mentioning their vulnerability to
gold.
“Could we use that to our advantage?” Picard asked.
“I don’t see how. Unless you can beam large quantities of
gold dust into their ship, it’s not going to have an immediate
effect.” Jean-Luc Picard frowned in concentration. They were no
closer to defeating these silver beings. He called a halt to the
meeting and once alone he began to sort through the facts he had
accumulated.

The modifications to the deflector dish were complete and
with the ship at red alert the Enterprise headed back towards the
Cybermen. They slowed as they reached the site of the battle,
but the two ships were nowhere to be seen.
“Sensors cannot locate the Cybermen.” came the report from
Data.
“Where could they have gone? I thought we were keeping a
check on them.” Riker said.
“They were within sensor range while we approached, but
they now seem to have vanished.” Data replied.
“Doctor, Do they possess a cloaking device?” asked Picard.
“No. they don’t have that technology yet. Is there any
way the planet could be shielding them?” He questioned at the
android. Data scanned the planet.
“The magnetic poles of this planet are extra-ordinarily
large for a planet of this size. It is conceivable that they are
hiding within the field. I will modify our sensors to scan the
poles.” A short time later Data reported success. “They are
maintaining a stationary orbit 100 kilometres above the surface.
They are now moving into a higher orbit.”
“Captain, We’re going to need a minute or so to charge the
deflector.” Geordi interjected.
“Understood Mr La Forge. Begin charging now.”
“Captain, the second Cyber ship has disappeared. Sensors
indicate a course directly away from the planet. The first ship
is heading towards us on a collision course. Impact in twenty
seconds.” Worf said. His hands moved over the controls as he
readied the deflector for firing.
“Is the deflector ready?” Picard asked.
“We need about fifteen more seconds.” came the reply from
engineering.
“That’s cutting it a little fine. Mr Data, using
directional thrusters move us out of the flight path of that
ship.”
Data complied and the ship gracefully, but slowly, moved
its position. The oncoming ship made a course correction and
Data matched the movement with one of his own. Just them Geordi
called up from engineering announcing the deflector was ready.
“Mr Worf, Fire!” barked the captain. Worf pressed the
control and the Enterprise shuddered as the entire warp power was
transferred to the main deflector dish. The dish glowed brightly
for a moment then a wide and powerful beam extended from the
centre and powered its way towards the ship. Contact was made
and the Cyber-ship withstood the barrage for only a few seconds
before exploding. As the explosion began Data cut the power to
the dish and Worf raised the shields. The backwash from the
fireball buffeted the ship but damage was minimal.
“Congratulations are in order.” Riker said with a relieved
smile.
“I agree Number One, but let’s save them until we’ve dealt
with the other ship. Mr Worf, can you locate the other ship?”
“It is heading directly away from this system at
approximately warp three. It is now passing out of system J-25.”
the Klingon answered.
“Geordi, do we still have warp capability?” Riker asked.
“No. The sudden stop of the beam caused a small problem,
but we will be on-line and fully operational in twenty minutes.”
“Understood. Ensign O’Niell ahead full impulse. Follow
the Cyber ship.”
“Aye Sir.” was all the helm officer said as she touched her
controls. The Enterprise moved off in pursuit. True to his word
Geordi had the warp engines back on-line inside twenty minutes
and the Enterprise jumped forward at warp six, as though
determined to make up lost time. A few minutes later Worf
reported a sighting.
“Captain, we have located the Cybermen. They are still
travelling away at warp three.”
“Prepare to intercept them.” Picard said. The Enterprise
dropped out of warp ahead of the Cybermen and waited.
“Captain, The Cybermen have altered course. They are now
heading away from us on a bearing of 213 mark 12, speed has
dropped to sub-light.” Data reported, “They have entered the
orbit of the third planet in this system.”
“Data, Is the planet inhabited?” asked Riker.
“Affirmative commander. Sensors show this system has only
one M class planet, the third one. This planet has some signs of
habitation in the sectors around the equator. There is an ice
age occurring with the polar regions stretching almost thirty
five percent of the way towards the equator.”
“What sort of signs?” asked the captain.
“There is an extensive road and rail network and many of
the buildings and structures seem intact. There is a faint
residual power signature but at a level too low to be use-able.
I estimate that the planet has been uninhabited in the northern
and southern hemispheres for approximately forty years.” the
android said. The captain glanced up to the ceiling and
contacted engineering.
“Mr La forge, Is the deflector still operational as a
weapon?”
“Yes sir, although the power levels won’t be as high as
before. I can only give you about 57% of maximum. Any more than
that and we risk blowing up the anti-matter reaction chamber”
replied Geordi.
“Thank you commander. Picard out.” Jean-Luc turned to Worf
and issued orders for the deflector to be charged up ready for
combat. Worf’s fingers flew across the controls as he complied
with the order.
“We are within firing range and the deflector is ready,
sir.” Worf stated.
“Fire at will Mr Worf.” Again the ship shuddered as warp
power was transferred to the deflector dish. The beam shot out
from the centre of the dish and coursed across the distance
between the two ships. The Cyber-ship moved away from its
position as the Enterprise fired and the beam hit the tail-end of
the ship. The force of the impact kicked the small black ship
and sent it spinning into the atmosphere. The was a sudden flash
of light as the Cyber-ship began to burn up and then a moment
later another flash as it broke up into four sections. One of
the burning sections crashed in the area of the north pole, with
the other three sections arriving in the equatorial regions.
“Captain, I suggest that you beam down to check the
Cybermen have perished.” said the Doctor, “It’s remotely possible
that they survived.”
“I think that would be the prudent thing to do, under the
circumstances. Number One assemble an away team. Doctor would
you care to join him.”
“Thank you captain, I will.” The Doctor stood and followed
Riker to the turbolift. Ace moved to join him.
“Ace, I’d rather you stayed here.” the Doctor said. Ace
stiffened at those words, a hot retort on her lips. She caught
the Doctor’s look and the outburst died.
“Okay, if you want me to.” she said, slightly downcast.
The Doctor moved over to her and spoke quietly.
“Thank you Ace. I won’t be long.” The Doctor walked back
to the turbolift and stepped inside. Worf and Data were already
with Riker and the doors hissed closed.

On the planet Riker appeared along with Data, Worf, Beverly
and the Doctor. they looked around but saw no-one. Data opened
his tricorder and began scanning the immediate area around. He
located the crash site – although the thick, black smoke was
evident as a sign – but he couldn’t find any traces of the
indigenous life of the planet.
“Maybe they went into hiding after the crash.” suggested
Beverly. They moved off towards the wrecked Cyber-ship – or what
was left of it. There were no signs of any Cybermen. Data
scanned the area but found no Cybermen. The distance separating
each location was not far, but far enough to make walking a long
task. Riker had decided to use the transporter to jump between
location.
“Riker to transporter room one, Beam us to the location of
the next crash site.” There was a hum as the transporter locked
onto them and then the scenery had changed slightly. The crashed
section of ship was visible a few hundred meters away. Data
scanned the area again and reported two Cybermen in the vacinity.
Warily the away team approached the wreckage. The Cybermen were
dead, of that there could be no doubt. Each silver being had
lost both legs. One of them also had its head missing, whilst
the other had a large metal pole stuck through its chest unit
pinning it to the deckplates. Riker and the others moved away
and called for beam-out to the next site.
This site was more promising, with the biggest part of the
ship being mostly intact. There were three Cybermen, all in
various states of destruction; arms, legs, chest panels and heads
were missing or damaged. The Doctor picked up a head and asked
Data to scan it. The android did so and reported it to be
totally non-functional.
“I think we’d better beam back to the ship and get some
warm clothing for the next location.” Beverly said. Riker
agreed. Ten minutes later they were poking around inside the
last section of Cyber-ship. There were no signs of any Cybermen.
“Doctor, how many Cybermen crew a ship of this size?” Data
asked.
“I’ve no idea. When I materialised aboard the ship earlier
today I saw four on the bridge. There might have been more but I
don’t know for sure.”
“We’ve seen five already. I think we’ll have to assume
there were and that they are somewhere out there.” Riker said.
“They can survive at sub-zero temperatures.” the Doctor
said, “but they will need to have some way of regenerating their
lost limbs. for that they’ll need materials and help.”
“Lost limbs? ” Beverly asked, “I don’t follow you.”
“Look around, see for yourselves.”
They looked about the wreckage, not really comprehending.
Data noticed the clues, but it was Worf who spoke up first.
“There are more limbs than bodies. Two legs and an arm. Judging
from the style of the legs they are the same.”
“They certainly look the same, but I fail to see the
connection.” Riker said.
“These are both right legs. There are no spare left legs
here.” Data concluded. Realisation dawned on Riker and Beverly.
At least two Cybermen were unaccounted for. Riker thought for a
minute or two before deciding to beam back to the ship, the
Enterprise would be able to scan the planet far better than they
could.
Back on the bridge Data started instigating the search but
after searching the entire planet failed to find the missing
Cybermen.
“I am at a loss to explain the failure captain.” the
android said.
“Perhaps the Cybermen have found shelter and are being
shielded somewhere.” Riker suggested.
“Doctor, with the limited resources available on the planet
would the Cybermen manage to pose a threat to us in the future?
Is it possible that they would die before too long?”
“It is possible they might die, but I doubt it. The
damages to them were not what you would call life threatening,
merely inconvenient. As to the other question, I don’t know.
How far away from Federation space are we now?”
“Approximately 7,000 light years. It will take the
Enterprise 2 years, 7 months, 4 days and 22 hours to reach a
federation Starbase” Data supplied.
“It will take you longer than that. We are still 250 years
in your past.” the Doctor said, smiling slightly. “I think the
Cybermen will try and re-build themselves, possibly even taking
the few inhabitants of the planet as victims to become more
Cybermen. With the technology available to them they would
probably end up being a form of humanoid Cyborg. Mainly flesh
and blood with Cybernetic prosthetics.”
“They sound like the Borg.” Riker said quietly.
“Actually commander, it is possible that as a result of
this encounter we have inadvertently created the Borg. They will
have approximately two and a half centuries with which to build
their race.” Data commented. It was not a cheery thought for
Picard, to have created the menace that would kidnap him in the
future – his past. He contemplated the possibility of staying
here to eliminate the Cybermen once and for all but the Doctor
stood up and asked to see him privately. The captain stood and
led the way to the ready room.
“Captain, I think I know what you are thinking, but I don’t
think it is a good idea.”
“Why not? If we destroy the Cybermen here we will save the
lives of thousands, tens of thousands even. People who died
before would be alright now.”
“If you take the time to eradicate them from the surface of
this planet you run the risk of changing your history. Think!
If the Borg didn’t exist, you wouldn’t have been kidnapped. The
Earth would not have been attacked, and the people would not have
died. But, and this is a big but, in the future, your future,
the Borg might have altered and become a force for good within
the federation. They might be responsible for creating peace
among people you think of as enemies. I probably shouldn’t tell
you this but I think I can trust you not to let this go any
further. A while ago I happened to visit your near future, and
no, I’m not going to say how near. I encountered the Borg,
albeit from a distance. They were not as ruthless as the
Cybermen, in fact they seemed a little disorientated. I got the
impression that something had happened to them that wasn’t their
doing. I was curious so I went further into the future. What I
saw there I won’t mention, suffice to say the Borg were not
threatening Starfleet, but seemed to be helping it.” The Doctor
paused to collect his thoughts. Picard spoke before the timelord
could continue.
“You say ‘a while ago’, how long have you been in this
universe?”
“This was a side trip that I made on my way back to you.
Just after the initial attack from the Cybermen. I made a slight
error in the co-ordinates and landed in the future, after which I
returned to you.
“And you say that the Borg, were helping the Federation. I
don’t think that’s likely. They only have one aim and that’s to
assimilate every culture and species into their own.”
“These Borg were disorientated. It was as though somebody
had introduced a form of rebellion. A form of independence.
After this, they changed and – in the far future – were civilised
members of the federation. Oh, I admit there were probably
outcasts from the Borg, ones who still wanted to rule and
conquer, but a main party of Borg were helping you.”
“Me?”
“Sorry, poor choice of words. You as in the federation,
not you as in Jean-Luc Picard the person. This is the only
reason I will give for not seeking them out here and now. You
must decide whether or not this is a good enough reason. After
all, the future might not happen that way, it could be better or
worse. You’ve probably heard people say ‘the future isn’t carved
in stone’, and they’re right.”
The timelord moved away from the Starfleet officer and
towards the door. Picard sat in his chair with a troubled look
on his face. Glancing back, the Doctor smiled to himself before
exiting the ready room. Shortly, the captain emerged and gave
orders for the Enterprise to prepare for the long trek home.
“Captain, I suggest that you travel inside my TARDIS as
before. It will save a lot of time.” the Doctor said. Picard
agreed and the Doctor moved off.

7,000 light years, and 250 years away there was a void.
The stars twinkled in the distance as around a solitary planet a
blue box appeared from nowhere. A few moments later the box was
gone and in its place hung a sleek grey starship, the letters
NCC-1701-D tracing across its saucer-like hull. The Enterprise
was home, both in the correct place and time.

In Ten Forward Guinan looked out the front window and into
space. The Doctor came up behind her, but she didn’t turn.
“You’ve changed again. It’s becoming more and more
difficult to recognise you.” the bartender said quietly.
“Yes, it is.”
“You’ve come to ask me to talk to Q when we encounter him
next. To tell him why you left him behind when you went back
last time.”
“Yes, I have. You know the reasons why. I’m sure you’ll
be able to explain it to him.”
“I can tell him, but will he listen?” she said with a trace
of amusement in her voice. The Doctor smiled faintly, almost
invisibly in the dim, safe starlight. Outside the window hung
the small planetoid, turning slowly.
“He will listen, he can’t help but to listen. In time he
might even understand. He’ll not thank me for it, but he will
understand.”
Guinan turned then and looked the timelord full in the
face. They were silent for a long while, before he broke the
tranquillity.
“It wont be long now. It must be nearly time.”
“Time is nobody’s pet. Not even His. I must admit to being
slightly worn out. There have been some good times, but I almost
relish the day when it will be over. Then I can change,
regenerate, become what I was before…” She trailed off as she
saw a familiar figure sitting at the bar. The change in her
voice did not go un-noticed, and the Doctor turned to look.
There was no-one at the bar, only a small dice coming to a stop.
The Doctor smiled gently and turned back.
“The game continues. New players, new rules, new prizes.”
“You always were the cryptic student, Doctor. What will
you do now?”
“I think I’ll pick up Ace and slowly fade away into the
distance.”
“As I remember, you did that last time. Only then you were
leaving the party.” She grinned, and left the timelord to his
thoughts.

Ace was asleep. Tired out from the events of the past day
or two, she had left the Doctor to wander the ship and had gone
to the quarters Riker had allocated. The night passed
uneventfully and she woke feeling more refreshed than she had for
days.
Next morning, as she was halfway through a breakfast of
eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and a plate of bread and butter, the door
chimed, announcing a visitor. Ace called for the person to
enter, taking a swig off coffee. The Doctor walked in.
“Good morning Ace. Sleep well?”
“Hmm, yeah.” she gestured to a chair and he sat. “Want
some?” she asked. The Doctor nodded a thank you and took a slice
of bread.
“Is everything going to be alright? With the Cybermen, I
mean?” his companion asked.
“Who can really tell?” he countered, “The cybermen will
adapt or die out. Picard seems a little worried that he might
have actually created them, but I think he’ll get over it. I had
a quiet chat with him yesterday about the future.”
“I thought you weren’t allowed to tell people what was
going to happen in the future.”
“Well, I told him what I’d seen, but that doesn’t mean it
will happen. Look at your own future; the cybermen tried to
avert the course of history, and although we were there to see it
happen, nothing actually came of the attempt.”
“He’s probably going to have a major headache trying to
work it all out.”
“He’s already made his decision, as you know. He decided
to leave the Cybermen alone in the past.”
“So now what?”
“After breakfast? I think we’ll just slip away quietly,
don’t you?” Ace’s replying grin was the answer.

Sitting in his ready room, Picard was trying to decide what
he could ask the Doctor concerning the possible future he’d
mentioned. He glanced upwards.
“Computer, Locate the Doctor.”
“Doctor Crusher is in sick bay.” replied the feminine voice.
Picard frowned at that.
“Computer, Locate the person calling himself The Doctor.”
“That person is in cargo bay 2.” Picard stood and left the
ready room, heading for the cargo bay.

The TARDIS stood alone in the centre of the cargo bay.
Beside it the Doctor and Ace were talking.
“You’re just going to leave?” the girl said.
“Why not. Last time I was going to leave, they threw me a
party.”
“I don’t blame them. I’d probably have done the same
thing.”
“Be nice.” he chided. She grinned back impishly. Taking
the key from his waistcoat he inserted it into the door and
opened it. Ace stepped through, followed by the Doctor.
“So, where would you like to go?” he asked.
“What with all that’s gone on recently, I’d like to see
what my old mates are up to. You know, back in Perivale.”
“Okay, we’ll see if the old girl can get us there.” The
conversation was cut off by the closing of the doors.
A moment later Picard walked through the cargo bay doors
just in time to see the small blue police box fade from sight.
“Bon voyage, Doctor.” Picard said softly, then turned and
walked back the way he came.

The cargo bay doors closed behind him.

—————————————————————–
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.

If you like the story, perhaps you would like to cast a vote for
it at : http://www.phlab.missouri.edu/cgi-bin/storylist

(bear in mind that at this moment in time, only chapters 1-3
exist at this site.)

Rob Cowell

[email protected]

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