The Doctor's Trek

by Jason Edwards

----- I -----

She let out a sigh as the hum of the craft continued to buzz around her. The lights were bright in the control room. Her eyes hurt, but he seemed fine. But, then again, he always seemed fine. She began rocking in the old rocking chair she had brought in, mainly to get his attention. She rocked very roughly, trying to make the most annoying creaks she could, but he just ignored it. He was so focused on his instruments, that she knew the only way to get his attention was through direct action.

"Doctor," she said. She paused a moment for a response that never came. "Doctor," she repeated in a slightly louder voice, but, as before, it was evident that no response was forthcoming. She had to resort to more drastic means. "Professor!" she shouted.

"What is it, Ace?" he responded without looking up from the console.

"I'm bored. How much longer are we going to stay here."

"As long as it takes," was his response.

"But we've been here for four days now."

"Four days? Pah!" He said, waving his hand in the air. He turned away from the console and looked directly at her. "What is four days to me? What is time to me? Or rather, in our present case, what isn't time?"

"I don't quite follow you, Doctor."

"We have stumbled on to a rather curious temporal anamoly. It's reading as a rip in the fabric of both time and space, and it's been growing for the last four days. I have analyzed and analyzed and there is no natural cause for it. The only thing that is clear to me is that there is something or someone behind this and I intend to stay here until I find out what it is."

He turned back to the console and resumed his readings as Ace scrunched down further in the chair. "Well I wish something would happen. This is absolutely dull."

"Well," the Doctor said, staring at his instruments more intently, "You may just get your wish. The anomaly has tripled in size in the last ten minutes and I am detecting energy signatures emanating for the trailing edge of the event horizon."

Ace got up from her chair and moved over to the console. "What does it all mean?"

"Either something is coming through or there's going to be a very nasty explosion. In any case, I don't think it wise to be too close when whatever is to happen happens."

The Doctor moved around the console to the navigation station. He was beginning to input coordinates into the computer. He had just finished setting the controls when an explosion rocked the TARDIS. Ace fell backward onto the floor. The Doctor fell forward onto the console, activating the time rotor. But just as the rotor began moving, a circuit exploded in the machine.

Outside the TARDIS, a ship was emerging through the anomaly. It was large and cube shaped. It was bulky and ponderous, and it was heading right for the TARDIS. The ship was losing momentum but it was drawing ever closer. Closer and closer still until it collided with the TARDIS. It collided, but passed through as if the little ship wasn't there.

The cubed ship stopped for a moment, and then disappeared in a streak of light.

The Doctor regained his balance in the control room. He was running all around the console, checking this and that as he went. Ace pulled herself into the rocking chair, slightly bruised for her ordeal.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure," the Doctor said. "A very bumpy ride for certain. And what ever it was has damaged the dematerialization control."

"Is that bad?"

"Not at the moment, but it could become so. We are currently in a state of flux. Neither completely dematerialized nor completely whole. I must rectify the situation before we lose molecular cohesion."

He began tinkering with the console, all the while, outside the TARDIS, another ship was emerging from the anomaly. This one was not cube shaped, rather it was smaller, with a fore-front like an arrowhead. It was straight and elegant, and also heading right for the TARDIS.

Inside the control room, the Doctor was still tinkering, while Ace stood near-by nervously. "Ah-ha!" he yelled in triumph. "That's got it." With that he sealed up the time rotor tube and pressed a button on the console. The rotor moved straight up.

"That's done it," the Doctor said. "We're solid again."

"That's great," Ace said nervously. "So why don't you get us out of here."

"Afraid it's not quite that simple."

"It never is with you."

"I first have to reset the transportation systems, and when I do that, we'll go back into flux again. Only temporarily this time," he said with an air of authority, but under his breath he whispered, "I hope."

Outside, the new ship was also drawing dangerously close to the TARDIS. Only a few hundred feet. Inside, the Doctor said, "Well, here goes." As he pressed the button to reset the transportation systems. The ship groaned at first, but after a convincing blow to the console by the Doctor's fist, the familiar sounds of the TARDIS in motion was heard by joyous ears. All the more joyous would they be had they realized the danger they had escaped. For at the moment of dematerialization, the second ship passed right through them.

"There we are," the Doctor said. "Everything in ship shape now."

"Umm, not quite Doctor," Ace said, pointing to the darkened panels on the other sides of the console. "We may be moving, but we're blind as a bat."

"Blast," the Doctor yelled. He looked at the time rotor moving up and down in its shaft. He then glanced down at the console and said, "The reset sequence is almost complete. When it stops, I'll tend to the other damage."

Just then the TARDIS landed with a harsh thud as the time rotor stopped moving.

"We've stopped, Doctor."

"More than that, Ace," the Doctor said. "By the sound of things, it seems as though we've landed somewhere."

"Landed," Ace said. "But where? There were no planets in the system you were investigating."

"Well," the Doctor said, grabbing his hat off the floor next to where the coat rack had fallen. "There's only one way to find out." He put his hat on, grabbed his umbrella and pulled on the door control. It opened slowly, but it opened. He began walking out when he looked back at Ace and said, "Are you coming."

Ace smiled at him, grabbed her jacket off of the floor and said, "Wicked."

They both exited the TARDIS as the doors closed slowly behind them.



----- II -----

Commander Chakotay was the first to awaken. The sounds of the red alert siren filling his ears. He groaned as he got up, shaking his head trying to clear the cob-webs. He scanned the bridge, noting every station where crewmen were beginning to come to. He then turned his attention to Captain Janeway. She was still unconcious in her command chair, a nasty cut on her forehead where the light paneling had hit her. Chakotay shoved the light paneling of of her lap and onto the floor. He grapsed her palm in his hand and began to rub.

"Captain. Captain. Are you okay?"

Very slowly Kathryn Janeway's eyes fluttered and opened. Her focus was dim at first, but it sharpened. Her focus tightened until she saw the face of Commander Chakotay staring at her with a look of both concern and warmth.

"Captain, are you okay?" he repeated in his soothing voice.

She coughed, clearing her throat completely before she responded. "Yes, thank you, Commander."

Chakotay released her hand as she stood up to survey the ship. She scanned the bridge, noting that many of the crew were awake and were already doing their duty. She glanced over at Ensign Harry Kim and said, "Report, Mr. Kim."

Harry Kim was mulling over his readings, trying to make heads or tails of them. It took him a moment but he responded. "Computer reports that we've passed through a temporal anomaly. We have emerged into normal space. Sensors indicate that we are still in the Delta Quadrant. Ship has sustained damage."

"Status of the anomaly," Janeway queried.

Mr. Kim ran his sensors for a moment then said, "Anomaly is closing. Currently at fifty-two microns and shrinking."

"Janeway to engineering." The comlines crackled, but no answer came. Before she could ask, Ensign Kim said, "Comlines down, Captain."

"Initiate repairs," she said to a crewman standing on the other side of the bridge. "Mr. Tuvok, go to engineering, and get a status report from Lt. Torres."

"Yes, sir," the Vulcan said, as he entered the turbolift and departed.

"Mr. Kim, run an internal scan. We crossed through a temporal anomaly. Let's make sure we didn't lose anyone."

"Yes, sir," Kim replied, as he began the internal sweep. The bleeps of the machine indicated its function, and it wasn't long before they got their response. "All crew accounted for, but there are two extra lifesigns on board."

Janeway immediately became concerned. She quickly moved over to the science station and stood across from Harry Kim. "Identify and locate."

"I am reading two humanoids in the hydroponics bay."

"How are the comlines coming," Janeway shouted to no-one in particular.

"I have them partially repaired," a voice replied. "You can send messages from the bridge, but response not possible yet."

"That's all I need," Janeway said as she tapped the commbadge on her chest. "Janeway to Tuvok, belay going to engineering. Get a security team and meet me in the hydro-ponics bay. Janeway out." With that she looked at Harry Kim and said, "Are the intruders still in the hydroponics bay?"

"Yes, Captain," he responded while staring at his console.

"Good," Janeway said. "Maybe now we'll get some answers."



* * *


Ace had wandered off as the Doctor was locking the TARDIS doors. He put the key back in his pocket and turned to look for his young companion. He was also enthralled with curiosity as he wandered around the shelves upon shelves of plants. He smiled with delight at the alien florae that he had never encountered before. "Absolutely marvelous," he said softly.

"Doctor," Ace said as she walked toward him with a box of strange looking sprouts. She took them to him, all the while munching on one. "What is it? What is this place? Is it some sort of argricultural reasearch base?"

"At the moment I'm not quite sure, Ace. To either of your queries." The Doctor looked around, and moved towards a console near the edge of the room. He put the handle of his umbrella in his top jacket pocket as he began manipulating the controls. The machine clicked and buzzed under his touch. "Hmm," he said. "I've never seen this technology before. It's quite sophisticated." The computer buzzed as he reached a road block. "Access denied. Well, well. Seems it's no longer willing to share it's secrets." The Doctor tried for a few more moments before giving up. "Oh, well," he said. "At least it's in English."

Ace stood a few feet back from the Doctor, still munching on her strange sprouts. "So, you can't tell where we are, you can't even tell me what I'm eating."

"They're called Leiola Roots," a voice said from the darkness. The Doctor and Ace turned and faced the direction the voice had come from, with Ace inching her way back to be beside the Doctor. After a moment, a woman in a black tunic, with red trim, stepped out of the shadows. She had brown hair, a square jaw, soft eyes, and some sort of weapon in her right hand. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway. You are on the Federation Starship Voyager. Now who are you and how did you get here?"

Janeway was expecting some kind of strange response, but she didn't expect what happened. The male intruder stepped forward, tipped his hat, extended his hand and said, "Ahh, Captain is it."

Janeway couldn't resist the urge to take the proffered hand. The male shook vigorously and said, "How do you do? I am the Doctor and this is my friend Ace. Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," was all Janeway could say, she was too busy fighting back her disbelief and amusement at the strange man. Just then, Lt. Tuvok arrived with three security officers. They all approached the scene cautiously.

"Are you all right, Captain?" Tuvok asked.

"Fine Mr. Tuvok. I'm just getting a few answers." She returned her attentions to the Doctor. "Would you mind telling me how you got aboard my ship?"

The Doctor had moved very slowly past Janeway and was mingling with the security guards. He found himself partic-ularly taken with Tuvok. The Doctor was inspecting his face, while Tuvok did his best to look unconcerned. "Those ears of yours are quite interesting," the Doctor said. "Along with your eyebrows, it makes you look positively demonic."

Tuvok was about to respond, when Janeway interrupted him. "Doctor, please. How did you get aboard my ship."

"We came aboard the TARDIS," Ace volunteered. "We just sort of materialized, you might say."

"Tuvok, did sensors pick up a transporter signature?" Janeway queried of the Vulcan, who still found himself under the Doctor's scrutiny.

"Negative, Captain. No transporter trace was detected," Tuvok replied. He stared hard into the Doctor's eyes and said, "Which belies the question, how did you get on board?"

The Doctor, satisfied with his examination of the Vulcan, began moving away from Tuvok, as he replied, "Just as Ace said, we arrived in the TARDIS." He refused to elaborate further, feeling that the explanation was sufficient along with being self-explanitory.

Several seconds past in awkward silence before Janeway said, "Just what is this TARDIS, if you don't mind?"

The Doctor was wandering around the hydroponics bay, with Janeway following him, trying to keep up with the ball of energy. "The TARDIS is my ship, you might say," the Doctor said.

"If it's your ship, where is it?"

The Doctor took his umbrella firmly in hand a pointed to the left, "It's over there, this way," he said while making a decidedly right turn, opposite the umbrella's point. Janeway followed him, with Tuvok, Ace and the guards following closely behind.

They walked a few meters, past rows and rows of shelved plantlife, until they came to the back wall, near a hull support. Janeway was aghast as she saw that the TARDIS, the Doctor's space ship, was a fairly small blue box. "That is your ship?" Janeway asked, almost in disbelief.

"Indeed," the Doctor responded.

Janeway moved around the box as much as she could, taking in all in, but her astonishment remained. "How do you both fit in there?"

"Well," Ace chimed in, "You see, it's rather bigger on the inside."

"I should hope so," Janeway said.

All the while Tuvok had been scanning, or attempting to scan, the small vessel. He passed his tricorder across the box several times. "Captain," he said, "My tricorder can't penetrate the hull of that vessel."

"Of course you can't Mr. Tuvok," the Doctor said. "We all have our little secrets, don't we?"

Janeway had holstered her phaser and said, "This is all secondary, and it's something that can be resolved later. For now the question is where did you come from and how did you get here?"

"Where I come from is unimportant," the Doctor said. "All I know is that about," he paused as he looked at his pocket watch, "a half hour ago, I was monitoring a temporal anomaly. A large shock wave hit my ship, crippling it temporarily. When I had managed to conduct repairs, we found ourselves here."

"Most curious," Tuvok said. "We were monitoring a Borg ship, which was emitting chronotons, creating a temporal anomaly."

"Borg," the Doctor inquired, "who are they?"

"They are a race of cybernetic beings, part humanoid, part machine," Janeway said. "They operate under a collective conciousness, working as a single mind. They seek the total assimilation of organic life."

"They sound rather like the Cybermen," the Doctor said.

"Who?" Janeway inquired.

"The Cybermen," the Doctor said, "But that's unim-portant right now. I feel that the temporal anomaly wasn't just a temporal anomaly. Since I don't know of what you speak, and you don't know the reverse, I feel the anomaly was also interdimensional as well. And if that's so, our fist priority is finding out who crossed in to whose universe and find a way to return."

"Mr. Tuvok?" Janeway said.

"It is possible what he says is true," Tuvok said thoughfully, "There were some anomalous readings inconsistant with that type of phenomina."

"It's definitely worth investigating," Janeway said. "But before we can do anything, we must conduct repairs." She turned to the Doctor, "Doctor, you and your friend are invited to stay until we can solve our problem. Perhaps we might even help each other."

"Most excellent," the Doctor said. "I will be curious to learn more about you and your crew, Captain. It's a most fair suggestion. Isn't it Ace?"

"Why yes Doctor," Ace said, obviously having a ball. The thought of another adventure looming always excited her. Plus she didn't mind the though of some company other than the Doctor's for a while.

"Good," Janeway said. "But before we get too excited, lets remember that the anomaly was created by the Borg, and whatever they're up to, it can't be good. We must find them and discover their intentions. In the meantime. Lt. Lee here will escort you to quarters, and then if you will be good enough to report to our sickbay, our Doctor can perform some tests to determine who is in whose universe. Agreed."

"Very good, Captain," the Doctor said. "We agree."

"Excellent," she said. "I'll be on the bridge if you need me. Lt. Lee will issue you commbadges and show you how to use them." Janeway turned to the Tuvok an the guards. "Gentlemen, we have work to do."

With that they all dispersed, Janeway, Tuvok and two of the guards heading for the bridge. The Doctor and Ace following Lt. Lee out of the hydroponics bay, Ace smiling from ear to ear and the Doctor whistling a tune as they went.

* * *


Ace was the first to enter the sickbay, she was smiling widely, polishing the commbadge which was now enshrined among the mish-mash of other pins on her jacket. The Doctor followed behind, his commbadge in hand. He examined it closely, turning it over and over in his hand, scrutinizing every detail. Lt. Lee entered a moment later, walking off to an office on their right. The Doctor walked over to one of the bio-beds and sat down on the edge, laying his hat and umbrella on the matress at his side.

"Fascinating piece of micro-technology," he reached into his pocket and extracted a screwdriver, with which he pried apart the badge. He smiled with delight at it's inner-most workings. "Yes, most fascinating. A micro- transciever, and a miniature power cell. Self regenerating too."

"Well, I thinks it's neat," Ace said, walking across the room until she was right in front of the Doctor. "What do you think professor?"

"It's a most clever piece of engineering," he said, still examining the innards of the commbadge.

"No," Ace interrupted. "I mean what do you think of how I put it on my jacket?"

The Doctor glanced up from his probings for a moment to view Ace and her badge placement. He grinned wryly, and said, "Yes, yes. Very nice. Or shall I say, 'Wicked'." He immediately returned his attentions to the commbadge.

The Doctor was so wrapt with the new trinket, that he failed to notice a rather average looking, bald man in a blue uniform walk over to the bed beside him. Indeed he was so occupied with, now, putting the badge back together, that he didn't notice the man waving some sort of device at him. It wasn't until the man spoke that the Doctor became aware of the man's presence.

"Two hearts, doesn't that seem a bit redundant?" the man asked.

The Doctor looked up at the man, and gave him a smile. "Well," he said as he snapped the commbadge back together, "They've worked well so far."

The man continued his waving of the device at the Doctor. "And a 60 degree body temperature." The man paused while putting the circular device down and began tapping on the scanning device he held in his other hand. "All in all you seem fine..."

"Glad to hear it," the Doctor said as he put the commbagde on his jacket.

"...but the microcellular scan indicates an anomaly. You are most definately not from our universe."

"I didn't think so," the Doctor said, rising from the bed.

The man picked up the smaller device and turned toward Ace, "And you, young lady. Let's see where you are from."

"Me," Ace said innocently as the man began scanning her. "I'm from Perivale."

The scan didn't hurt her, but Ace instinctively recoiled from it. She didn't like the idea of that little machine telling this stranger about her inner workings. After a moment of discomfort for her, the man ceased his scan.

"Well my dear," the man said, "you are a perfectly normal human, with the same genetic anomalies as your friend of course."

Ace glanced nervously at the Doctor who spoke. "Yes, well. All's well." The Doctor turned toward the man and extended his hand. "How do you do, you must be the ship's surgeon."

"Yes," the man responded, while placing both scanning devices on a cart on the other side of the bio-bed the Doctor had been sitting on. "Well, no. I'm actually an EMH. An Emergency Medical Hologram. I was programmed to supplement the medical staff of this ship. But since the entire medical staff was killed, I took over on a full time basis."

"A hologram," the Doctor said with delight. "Excellent. It seems that the humans in your universe are a bit more clever than the humans in mine. What do they call you?"

"Most of the crew call me the Doctor, except for Mister Paris, who keeps calling me 'Doc'," the man said. "Now, if I may know who you are."

"You're called the Doctor, eh," the Doctor said with a chuckle. "Well, I'm afraid we might have trouble communic-ating. I am also called the Doctor, and this is my friend Ace."

The ship's Doctor look bemused and flustered. He sounded frantic as he responded, "This is most inconvenient. I mean we can't have two 'Doctors' running around. It's going to get very confusing. We'll have to do something about this."

"Very well," the Doctor said, looking most amused at the hologram's plight. "What do you suggest?"

"I don't know," the ship's Doctor said in excitement. "I can't think of a name for myself. I'm certainly not going to think up one for you."

"I have a suggestion," Ace chimed in.

"Of course, Ace," the Doctor said.

"You," she said, pointing at the Doctor, "Will be the Professor when you and the other Doctor are together. You," she said, pointing now at the ship's Doctor, "Will be Doc, like that Paris, who-ever-he-is, person calls you."

"It's bad enough when Mr. Paris says it," the ship's Doctor said, "Now I'm going to have to endure it from the whole crew."

"Now, now," the Doctor said, patting the hologram sympathetically on it's back. "It's not that bad, and, besides, it's only temporary. Hopefully we shall be gone before long and your no doubt deserved title of respect shall be returned to you."

"I should hope so," the ships's Doctor said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to attend to."

"Of course," the Doctor said, tipping his hat to the hologram as he walked off. "Rather an amazing fellow. Don't you agree Ace?"

"It's certainly amazing, what ever it is."

"We'll Ace," the Doctor explained, "It's a hologram, but a very sophisticated one. Most holograms I've seen are whispy and are somewhat transluscent, that hologram was solid to the touch. And it had a personality of it's own, which is something I've never seen in holograms."

"It's all a bit beyond me, to tell the truth."

The Doctor was about to respond, when a chirping sound was followed by a voice.

"Janeway to the Doctor and Ace."

"It's the Captain," Ace said. "She trying to talk to us." She glanced over at her comm-badge and tapped it lightly. "I wonder how you work it."

"Don't worry," Janeway said through the badge, "It's on."

The Doctor leaned down, and put his mouth very close to Ace's badge and said, "This is the Doctor, what is it, Captain?"

"We've repaired some of our sensors, and I think I have an answer to some of those inter-dimensional questions you brought up. If you'll come to my ready room, we can discuss it further."

"Oh, jolly good, Captain," the Doctor said. "We'll be there in a moment."

"Very well, Janeway out."

The Doctor turned toward the door that he and Ace had entered sick bay by. He moved toward it and it opened silently. "Come along, Ace." She obediently followed. The pair stepped out into the corridor. The Doctor turned to the left and began walking at a good rate. However, Ace had stopped just outside of sickbay, and had begun thinking. When a realization came to her, she shouted out, "Doctor stop."

It took a moment before the Doctor had returned to the sick bay door. He stood beside Ace and asked her, "What is it?"

"The Captain didn't tell you how to get to her ready room, did she, Professor?"

The Doctor grimaced slightly as he pushed his hat to one side of his head. "That's a point. How does one get to the Captain's ready room, I wonder?"

The pair were startled when a voice answered quite audibly. "The captain's ready room is accessed via the main bridge."

"How do you get to the main bridge?" The Doctor questioned the spectral voice.

Before the voice answered, a row of red lights came on and lined the corridor to their left, from their position, fading off into the distance. "Follow the lights to turbolift number two," the voice said. "That will take you to the main bridge."

"Thank you very much," the Doctor said, tipping his hat at no one in particular. "Well," he said to Ace, "Let's follow." The pair followed the lights down the curving corridor until they came upon a red door. It opened as they approached and the pair entered the turbolift. The doors slid shut, and a puzzled look came upon Ace's face.

"There are no buttons. How do you get it to go, Doctor?"

"If there are no buttons," the Doctor said, "Shall we try voice activation. Computer, please be so kind as to take us to the main bridge."

"Confirmed," the voice said, as the lift began moving upward. The sensation was slight, but enough to suggest movement. It wasn't long before the lift stopped and the doors opened. The Doctor was the first to step off the lift and onto the bridge, with Ace close behind. He smiled as he took in the scene. There were several crewmen at different stations, the Doctor noted as he swiveled his head. He saw two uniformed personnel talking, with one of them pointing at Ace and the Doctor. The other man nodded and was soon walking toward them. He was tall, wearing a similar red jumpsuit, like Captain Janeway's. He had short black hair, dark skin and a tattoo above his left eye. He extended his hand as he approached.

"You must be the Doctor," the man said. "My name is Commander Chakotay. I'm the executive officer."

The Doctor tipped his hat, and shook Chakotay's hand. "A pleasure, Commander."

"And you must be Ace," Chakotay said, nodding at the Doctor's companion.

"That's right," she said, returning the nod.

"Well, Doctor," Chakotay said. "The Captain's waiting for you. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to her ready room."

"Very good. Coming Ace?"

"If it's all the same to you Professor, and you Commander Chakotay," Ace said. "I'd like to have a look about your bridge."

"If it's all right with Commander Chakotay," the Doctor said.

"Of course," Chakotay said with a smile. "Mr. Paris."

"Yes, sir," said the young man from a position closest to the view screen. He had a soft look about him, and golden brown hair. Ace smiled at him. She found him handsome, in a charming sort of way. She knew he'd be fun to be with, if only for a while.

"Mr. Paris," Chakotay said, "Please put navigation on automatic and show Ace around the bridge."

Paris looked at Ace and gave her an impish little smile. He quickly tapped a few buttons on the panel in front of him and stood up. He walked over to her and, "Of course, sir. Happy to do it."

"Thank you Mr. Paris," Chakotay said. He looked at Ace. "If you get hungry, just ask Mr. Paris here to escort you to the galley."

"Thank you very much," Ace said, as she stepped next to the young navigator.

"Now," Chakotay said, "If you'll come with me, Doctor. The Captain is expecting you."

"Of course, Commander. Lead on."



----III----

Chakotay entered the ready room first with the Doctor close behind. Captain Janeway was sitting at her desk, with her eyes focused on the padd in her hand. Seated opposite her, close to the table were a female and a male. Another female stood off to the male's left. The seated female was wearing a uniform similar to the others, but with yellow trim. She had shortish brown hair and dark brown eyes. The skin on her face was dark, giving her a rather exotic look, but to the Doctor, the ridges on her forehead were of particular interest. The male's uniform was similar to the exotic female's. He also had dark skin with an Oriental look to him. The Doctor recognized him as human. The second female was tall, with short blonde hair, blue eyes and a light complexion. She was not dressed in a uniform, although she did have a commbadge. She was wearing a maroonish colored, one piece jumpsuit. She had a piece of metal above her left eye and another piece of metal near her right ear. The Doctor didn't know quite what to make of her, but he still approach- ed the desk with his usual air of confidence.

"Captain," the Doctor said, as he took another glance at the assembled company.

"Doctor," Janeway said as she rose from her seat. "I've invited a few of my crew to be present at this discussion."

"If you'll excuse me," Chakotay said, "I'll be on the bridge."

"Of course Commander," Janeway said, as the executive officer left the room. She seated herself, and resumed the discussion. "Allow me to introduce my officers." She pointed to the exotic female first. "This is my chief engineer B'Elanna Torres." She pointed to the Oriental male next, "This is my science officer Ensign Harry Kim," and she pointed to the standing female, "This is Seven of Nine. She was once part of the Borg's collective so I feel she can offer some insights into whatever they are planning."

The Doctor tipped his hat to the assembled company, and said, "How do you do."

"Let's get down to business," Janeway said.

"By all means," the Doctor said as he moved closer to the Captain's desk. "You mentioned that some aswers were now available?"

"Of course. Mr. Kim, if you would?"

"Yes, sir," was all Harry Kim said as he approached a large black screen on the wall of the ready room. He tapped it twice, and the screen lit up with an image of the sector. The Doctor recognized it immediately. He approached the screen as Harry began speaking. "Our sensors have confirmed that this is the Delta Quadrant, but not our Delta Quarant. There are slight differences."

"For example?" the Captain queried.

"Well, the Ocampa home world, in this universe, is class D, incapable of supporting life. Several other key worlds are not present, and, other than the Borg cube we followed, there is no sign of Borg transwarp conduits, evidence of Borg assimialtions or any sign of Borg presence at all."

"I have attempted a remote access of Unimatrix Zero," Seven interjected. "With no success. It seems that this universe is completely devoid of Borg influences..." She paused to give her words a moment to be fully comprehended, and added, "For now."

"What do you mean by that?" the Doctor asked as he scrutinized the sensor displays.

Seven was about to respond, when Captain Janeway interjected. "She means that the Borg are an incredibly single minded race. Their goal is total assimilation of all alien life and technology into their collective. Despite being in the wrong universe, they will continue with their agenda until they can find their way back to our universe."

"If that's the case, Captain," the Doctor said, glancing up in a way that only his eyes were seen from under the brim of his hat, "I suggest that we follow them, post haste. They are too dangerous to be left unsupervised."

"I agree," Janeway said. "That's why I had B'Elanna and Seven trace their warp signature so we could find them. B'Elanna?"

B'Elanna approached the screen. Harry stepped aside to let her pass. "We traced the Borg cube's path. It's heading for a planet in this sector here," she said as she pointed at the screen.

The Doctor's eyes went wide when he recognized the planet to which B'Elanna was pointing to. "Oh no," he said with trepidation in his voice. "Skaro. The Daleks."

"Excuse me," Janeway said. "What was that?"

"That planet," the Doctor said, as B'Elanna tapped on the screen, bringing the planet into full view. "I know that planet, I know it all too well. It's Skaro, home of the Daleks."

"What are Daleks?" Harry asked, voicing what all of Janeway's crewmen must have been thinking.

The Doctor approached B'Elanna and said, "May I?"

"Of course," she said, as she backed away from the screen.

The Doctor began tapping on the screen intensly. The crew were slightly taken back that this weirdly quirky little man had learned how to operate their consoles so quickly.

Slowly an image appeared on the screen. It was squat in appearance, with a large domed top and three protrusion. The protrusion on the dome was a long rod with a sphere on the end, three rings encircled the rod midway between the dome and the sphere. The other protrusions were lower down, and more even with each other, one was a shorter rod with some sort of appendage on the end, the other resembled some sort of weapon. All in all it resembled some sort of monsterous pepper shaker.

The Doctor stopped tapping, and turned to the assembled group, all of whom had drawn closer in curiosity. "This," he said, pointing to the screen, "Is a Dalek. A rather disgusting form of life hell bent on conquering the universe. They are single minded in their approach. The life forms that are unfortunate to come across them are offered only two choices: total obedience or extermination. They can be reasoned with only to a point, but they are never to be trusted."

The Doctor paused, gathering himself before continuing. "Many centuries ago, on their home planet Skaro, there were two neighboring peoples who were perpetually at war; the Thalls and the Kaleds. The war raged for eons. Nuclear weapons were used. Eventually both the Thalls and Kaleds began mutating due to contiunous exposure to high doses of radiation. A Kaled scientist named Davros, began working on a way to help the Kaleds adapt and survive their ultimate transformation.

"He knew that his people would mutate into green blob-like creatures, incapable of movement or speech. Davros began designing a machine to help his people continue. Unfortunately, Davros was also a power mad sociopath, with delusions of grandeur. After, it was learned that Davros intended to guide his people's mutation into a master race totally obediant to him, the Kaled government put a stop to his experiments.

"In order to insure the completion of his plan, he betrayed his people to the Thalls, helping them to totally wipe out the Kaleds with a nuclear missile. In return, Davros unleashed his Daleks on them. He had tampered with the mutation, creating creatures totally devoid of pity or mercy, and implanted in them a belief that the were the supreme life forms in the universe. Needless to say, the Daleks not only almost obliterated the Thalls, but they turned on Davros as well. They have since gone on to terrorize the universe for centuries."

"Incredible!" Janeway said, "I wonder why the Borg are going to this planet?"

"I don't know," the Doctor responded. "That's what bothers me. Ms. Torres, may I ask, is there a planet in the same position as Skaro in your universe?"

B'Elanna picked up a padd and tapped on it. A moment later, it beeped, and she responded, "No. There isn't even a planetary system there, only a class 4 nebula."

"Then, Captain," the Doctor said, facing Janeway with an intensity rarely seen, "They can't be going there by accident. I don't know why or how, but these Borg know about the Daleks. I hope they know what they're getting themselves in to."



----- IV -----

The cube slipped silently into orbit around the scarred planet. From space, Skaro appeared totally desolate. All that was evident was a large mass of dirt. The planet was practically a desert.

In the nerve center of the cube, the Borg Queen gazed into the portal, her face revealing no emotion. She stared out quietly, examining the world. After a few moments, she said, "We have arrived."

"Excellent," came a voice from behind her. The Queen's eyes remained locked on the image of the planet. She never took notice of the chair that moved in beside her. The chair's occupant was a rather haggard looking humanoid. His skin was dark and rough, very much like leather, his skin was wrinkled and sagging. And that was only his head, which was all that could be seen outside of the chair's metal casing. "Prepare to send me down. I'll do the talking."

"Of course," the Queen said. "But several drones will escort you."

"No. This will be difficult enough. I don't need you or your mindless automatons making it worse."

The Queen turned to look at the man. She stared at him with a very stern look on her face. "We insist."

"NO!" the man shouted loudly. "This is my plan, I will handle it my way. Besides, you wouldn't even be here if it weren't for me!"

"But now that we are here," the Queen said menacingly, "Your value to us has diminished. Be careful you don't go too far."

"You wouldn't dare assimilate me. You'd never be able to get back to your own universe."

"You over estimate your importance." The Queen looked at the man with a note of disgust evident on her face and in her voice. "Besides, what is left of you isn't worth assimilating."

"How dare you speak to me in that manner!" the man yelled, infuriated. "You will regret this, I promise you!"

"Now, now," a voice said from the shadows. "Have patience Davros. Has it ever occured to you that that temper of yours has been most detremental to you." The second man walked forward toward Davros and the Queen. He looked incongruous amongst the other two. Whereas Davros was in his wheelchair, and the Queen was covered with machinery, the man was dressed in a fashionable, clean and pressed suit, circa the late 20th century. His hair was brushed back neatly. His face was pale and his nose was thin. The only color on his face was found in the neatly trimmed goatee that he sported.

He moved slowly, with his hands in his jacket pockets. He had a quirky little smile on his lips, and his eyes glowed a faint yellow. There was a somewhat relaxed manner to him.

"This little excapade will benefit all of us, so I suggest we co- operate. Besides, if it wasn't for me, Davros, you'd still be floating around in space. Your escape pod was damaged after the Doctor tricked you into using the Hand of Omega to destroy your own ship. If I hadn't picked you up, you'd probably be dead by now."

"That is the only reason I tolerate you, Master," Davros said. "But don't push me. You would find me a most deadly enemy."

The Master just chuckled for a moment, an act that made Davros steam. The Master turned his attention to the Queen. He walked past Davros until he was opposite her. He looked her right in the eyes as he spoke.

"All this bickering is pointless," the Master said. "We have a job to do, I suggest we get to it."

The Queen looked at Davros with some disgust and said, "We agree, but we still insist that some drones accompany Davros."

"No!" Davros screamed, "I created them, I will handle this."

"Please Davros," the Master said. "They hate you almost as much as they hate the Doctor. But he does have a point." He turned to the Queen to emphasize his statement. "The Daleks are very... touchy creatures. If you send a bunch of drones down with him, it's almost certain he will be attacked. He'll probably be attacked anyway, but he needs to talk to them. Or at least appear to."

"Then what do you suggest?" the Queen asked.

"Send one drone down with Davros and I. While Davros and the drone distract the Daleks, I will get what we came here for."

"I can convince them to give it to me," Davros insisted angrily.

"Possibly," the Master said hesitatingly. "But the item is far too important to leave to your powers of persuasion. We have to be sure."

The Queen considered silently for a moment, and then looked at the Master. "We agree. But do not fail."

"We won't," the Master said, now glaring determinedly. "We can't afford to."



----- V -----

The wind was blowing lightly. The air rushed slowly around the form of the solitary Dalek. It rolled along at a moderate pace, stopping at the edge of the canyon. It's turret surveyed the scene, then turned to head back toward the city. As it passed a boulder, the Dalek slowed as it's audio receptor detected a noise.

It never got to discover the source of the noise.

The Dalek was violently crushed under the tender ministrations of the Borg drone. The Borg caved in the Dalek's dome. It sparked, and managed a few spurts of "Out of control! Out of control!" before it exploded.

Davros wheeled up behind the drone and began reprimanding it. "That was unnecessary! We could've negotiated with him."

"We are to remain undetected until we have reached the city."

Davros was fuming, and was about to respond when the Master interjected, "He's right. The diversion is needed in the city, not here."

"No diversion is necessary, Time Lord," Davros said. "They will give me the temporal manipulator."

"Some how I doubt it," the Master said. "They went through a great deal in... acquiring it. They destroyed a space station with a crew of over 500."

"They will give it to me!" Davros shouted. "I created them."

"Creator or not, they're not just going to hand it over to you, and even if you're right, this plan is too important to leave to chance."

"Enough," the drone said. "We are to proceed to the city."

Davros and the Master glared at each other, but it was the Master who spoke, "Indeed." The trio then started across the wasteland toward the city, with a faint hint of desperation in the air.

* * *


The Doctor was leaning on his arms against the railing directly behind Captain Janeway's chair, with Ace standing beside him. The bridge was filled with crew dong duty of one sort or another, but the Doctor was entranced with the viewscreen.

"Fascinating," he said to Ace. "The visual effect of this 'Warp drive' of theirs is rather interesting. Their technology is quite remarkable."

Ace said nothing as she too stared at the screen. For a few moments more, the pair looked on silently, taking in the moments peace. The Doctor had a feeling it was the last moment they would have for a while.

The silence was broken by Tom Paris at the helm.

"Approaching coordiantes of the Borg ship."

"Very good Mr. Paris," Janeway said. "Bring us out of warp on the far side of the system. Try to keep us out of sensor range of the Borg ship. We're here to observe."

"Yes, sir," Paris said as he tapped on the controls in front of him. The stars on the viewscreen shrank back to pin-points. The Doctor stared intensely at the screen as the distant planet presented itself.

"I'm going to use the planet as a sensor block, keeping it between us and the Borg," Paris said. "Approaching at one-quarter impulse."

"Very good," Janeway said, as she rose from her chair and looked toward Harry Kim. "Mr. Kim, scan the planet for life signs."

Harry began tapping on his console, and was silent as the computer measured the distant sphere, gathering data, and other important elements.

"I'm detecting numerous humanoid life signs," he said.

"That'll be the Thalls," the Doctor interjected.

Harry noted the comment and continued with his report. "I'm also detecting numerous non-humanoid life signs..."

"The Daleks," the Doctor said.

"And one Borg signature."

Janeway approached Harry's station eagerly. "Isolate and locate."

Harry manipulated the console like a master painist. His fingers flowed rythmically across it's face as he tightened the scan. "It's traveling with two humanoids toward a city about a kilometer away from their current position."

"Two humanoids?" Janeway asked. "Not Borg."

Harry re-examined his readings, but shook his head. "No, not Borg humanoids, but not human."

The Doctor moved over next to Janeway. He looked across the console as Kim worked the scans. "Can you determine what kind of humanoids they are?"

"Not at this distance."

"That's odd," the Doctor said, as he looked at Janeway with a puzzled expression. "I thought you said these Borg of yours assimilated all life they came in contact with."

"They do, usually," Janeway said looking just as puzzled as the Doctor.

"Then I wonder who these humanoids are?"

"As do I," Janeway agreed.

"I beleive 'The plot has thickened,' as you humans say."

* * *


They had been walking through the crystal forest, when they approached the edge of a clearing. The trio paused and stepped behind large trees. They advanced, slowly, using the forrestry as a cover. In the clearing, the Dalek city sat passively. Two Daleks sat near a large door, the were motion-less in the calm performance of their duty.

The Master looked over at Davros and whispered, "You know what to do."

"Of course, Time Lord," Davros responded, doing all he could too keep his voice low. "But I insist this isn't necessary. They will give it to me."

"All right," The Master said. "Go. Take the drone, convince them. I'll stay here."

Davros was taken aback. He was surprised the Time Lord was allowing him to try it his way, but Davros was wary of the Master. Davros had reservations about this, but it was the drone who spoke up.

"This is not the plan we are to carry out. We demand an explanation."

"One diversion is as good as another," the Master said. "Besides, if we can avoid an unfortunate confrontation, so much the better."

"You will explain," the drone said in it's flat monotone.

"You and Davros will go in to the city. You will engage in a talk with the Daleks, for all the good it will do us. Davros will try to convince them to hand over the temporal destablizer. I will sneak end, and retrieve it myself if need be. And trust me, it will."

"We are agreeable," the drone said. "We will proceed."

"Unnecessary," Davros said, clearly fuming, "They will give it to me."

"Well," the Master said, "Consider me the failsafe in case they don't. In any case, no mention should be made of my presence."

"Very well," Davros said. "We'll do it your way... for now. Let's go."

Davros and the drone approached the clearing, and made their way into it. The Master peered out from behind the tree. He watched them approach the two Dalek sentries.

"Halt," one of the Daleks said. "Identify yourself immediately."

"I shouldn't have to identify myself," Davros said. "I am your creator."

The Dalek scanned him and the drone slowly, taking in everything it thought vital about the pair. After logging the data, the Dalek spoke.

"The Daleks don't know you," the Dalek said to the drone. "We have many questions for you." It then turned it's attentions back towards Davros. "But we know you. You are Davros. You are the creator of the Daleks, as well as our enemy. You are to be exterminated."

"No," Davros yelled. "I am your creator! You will listen to me! You will obey me!"

"The Daleks obey no one. You will be exterminated!"

The Dalek leveled it's gun at Davros, but before it could fire, the drone reached out, and crushed it's weapon arm. The other Dalek began firing it's gun, but the drone's shield protected it. The drone caved in the dome of the first Dalek, all the while, the second Dalek continued firing at it while shouting, "Alert, alert! Assistance to the east entrance immediately."

The drone turned it's attentions to the second Dalek. The first Dalek was destroyed. It sat silently smould-ering where the drone had left it. The remaining Dalek was backing up as quickly as it could, all the while firing des-perately at the drone, who was still advancing. The Dalek kept going backward, until it hit the wall. It stopped there, but continued firing. The drone came close to the Dalek. The Dalek fired one more shot, mostly out of desperation before the drone ripped it's gun arm off. The Dalek started screaming, "Out of control! Out of control!" as the drone ripped it's eye stalk off, before caving the Daleks head in. The dome spat some sparks, before a small explosion sent a great glob of green material onto the drone, who totally ignored it.

Davros rolled up behind the drone, screaming, "That was unnecessary. They would've obeyed me."

The drone turned toward him. It's chalk white face was partially covered in green. "We find that unlikely. In any case, it is irrelevant now. We will proceed as planned."

Davros was fuming, but before he could retort, the drone said, "Sensors are detecting more Dalek units. Extrapolation of their heading indicates that their destination is our present position. We will intercept and engage."

"No," Davros said, trying to maintain some semblance of control. "Let me talk to them. Let me convince them."

"We are to proceed according to the agreed upon plan. We will intercept and engage." Without waiting for further rebuke from Davros, the drone turned on it's heel and disappeared into the city. After a moment, Davros followed.

* * *


The Master had watched this exchange from behind a tree, just beyond the edge of the clearing. He reached into his jacket, and extracted what looked like a padd. He tapped lightly on it, and an image came to the screen. He studied the image, a complete map of the Dalek city. The image had been extrapol-ated by the Borg sensors. His eyes danced across the screen until he found what he was looking for, an exhaust vent that led into the lower levels of the city, where the labs were. Davros and the Master were convinced the temporal manipulator was kept there. The Master, satisfied with the map, replaced it in his jacket and peered around the tree, out into the clearing. Satisfied the coast was clear, he too entered the city.

To be continued...

The Doctor's Trek - Part 2
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