| "I need to talk to a few people ASAP in regards to that," Baley
sighs, "Things like getting my hands on R. Sammy and getting a private
car to Spacetown before they raise their Forcefields!"
And so the car arrived soon, along with R. Sammy (the robot that Baley
determines was the one who carried the murder weapon to and from the scene
of the crime). Tight lipped and determined, they all pile into the car
and take it via an express tunnel to the Spaceport...only to find.
"They raised the Forcefield," R. Daneel says softly, staring at the
glittering barrier before them all.
"This is bad," Betty says softly.
Speaking softly with the distraught Daneel, Baley's shoulder's slump.
"Now what?" Baley mutters, feeling tired all of the sudden. With that
thing up there was no getting into Spacetown and heading off any retaliations
against Earth. Daneel's built in communicator wasn't powerful enough to
break through to those inside. With Daneel outside and their query inside,
it wasn't looking good.
"Now....we use unconventional transportation to get inside," Doctor
Who says, smiling slowly.
Baley blinks when it dawns on him what the Doctor (one of the two geniuses
who'd created a new means of travel, he'd been told by Inquirer) is talking
about. They were going to use those odd blue boxes to breach the barrier
and....then talk the jumpy people within out of a war?
It was insane, but it was the only thing that looked like the best chance
of success.
So while frantic ambassadors of Earth try to contact the Spacers within their various high tech fortesses and try to advert a war that they have no idea as to why is in the works. So, after some people get over the surprise of the TARDIS' large interrior, a lowly Earth plainclothes policeman, a Spacer Robot, Dr. Who, and the other Champions tries to bypass a barrier from one angle in Dr. Who's TARDIS while the others use the other Doctor's TARDIS to attempt the same at another angle. Inquirer suggests this because a two prong attack doubled their chances of success. That was the theory. Leela goes along with the other Doctor because....well..... She felt sorry for anyone who got into a fight with them. This other group, however.....they could use a few good women warriors (especially armed with those "phasors" set on stun that Inquirer had given them). Hopefully it wouldn't come to a fight, but if it did, both Leelas were willing and able! R. Daneel gave them passwords and codes to make the guards listen to them as the other Doctor brought R. Sammy (who had in his memory banks proof of who murdered Dr. Sarton) in to Spacetown. R. Daneel himself would be the other means of delivering the proof in
this desperate ploy to get to some moderate Spacers who'd listen....and
halt this insanity before war broke out!
Now, other Doctor hoped that his TARDIS will be nice and actually go
where he steered it. She had a tendency to go where the Doctor was actually
needed, and if this wasn't a time where he wasn't needed....
The other TARDIS grinds out of existence....and appears elsewhere. Not in the place where they'd hope to go. However, it wasn't the other
Doctor's or the TARDIS' fault!
When they opened the doors they found themselves inside a large room,
with two sets of elves in front of them. One set Betty 1 and Betty 2 recognized
as....the fourth Doctor and the second Romana....done over as elves! Romana
was having a discussion with another elf (they found out later his name
was Rugen). She seemed flabbergasted that her TV counterpart would have
stayed behind in "Warriors' Gate" instead of being with the Doctor (later
they'd find out about what love does to elves....but not right now).
The other elf (a human sized female one...rather lovely really named
Morgana) then apologized for interrupting their planned flight....but if
nothing more had been done then their TARDIS would have destroyed itself
(and them) in a similar manner that Dr. Who's original TARDIS had. Somebody
named Randal Flagg had had plans of highjacking this TARDIS (had tampered
with it while the Doctor had been in jail.....door had been unlocked) and
after killing everyone inside (slowly....Flagg was powerful and evil) he'd
use it's Eye of Harmony to destroy a parallel Earth.
That, and in an unrelated incident, the Defiant of the Star Trek universe
that the Military was familiar with had been on it's way back from Cardasia
with an Orb of unknown power. The Orb had an unintended interaction with
the Defiant's new style transwarp engine (remember....there was no more
warp travel there due to the Omega dumping by the Enemy), and had ended
up....over Solaria.
"When I asked the others to go there I hadn't known that this would
happen," mutters Morgana Wordeni to herself.
Instead, their TARDIS first got diverted to an Earth who mimicked Amimov's
Caves of Steel. Now, after the meddling was repaired, it was going
to be returned to their proper place and time. There would be no return
because the sad fact of the matter is that the TARDIS didn't have the coordinates
in it's memory banks...and these elves have a special guest to tell them
why.
Now, orgy of destruction had already happened elsewhere, but these elves
weren't in the mood to talk about it. It had created a branching
reality called Nantucket Earth....but that was a different story. These
elves were on a Rules given Quest to minimize the rampaging RF would still
do until he was finally destroyed....sometime up in the future....
Note: this is a similar situation that Queen Astra been in with her
new group in a Quest to aid Roland get to a certain Dark Tower. To learn
more about what I'm talking about then go here: http://www.chattown.com/home/gen/mystories5/Xanth/Questers.htm
Basically, by this Quest, the elfin Doctor and Romana are legitimizing
their Champion status....
"And the irony is that after this we're going to go out and bring some magic to another universe," the elfin Doctor added, telling about a "sleeper ship" who contained the now hopelessly brain dead occupants of a now defunct planet. This ship's computer had malfunctioned and not only had deviated off course on a now endless trek through the blackness of space, it had also malfunctioned and caused the life support system of the cryogenic tanks to malfunction and introduce a toxin that destroyed all but the most basic functions of the sleepers within the ship. The bodies still were alive...but only technically. They were going to crash the computer system and cause it to ram into
an uninhabited planet. Combined with the time this would happen would bring
about something that had happened back on the world that Morgana and Rugen
had come. Magic was going to be coming to a Star Trek universe....catching
it totally unaware. Boy, Spock is going to be surprised!
And who is this guest that had been referred to earlier?
She jokes about how that disinformation program that UNIT is using by
showing the Doctor's adventures as some kind of kid's science fiction show
was a good way to hide the Time Lord's antics in plain sight (What? Dalleks
invading? You've been watching too much TV!) for the sake of security and
such (humanity at large wasn't.....mature enough to handle real aliens
yet).
Her name was Stacy....
"But that is happening back there?" the Doctor asks, finally at patience
end.
Stacy has an odd look, and...... Meanwhile
"Glad to hear that they only sterilize the clothing instead of burning
it," Sigin says, glancing down at his oufit, "I spent a lot of time and
effort getting these clothes made."
"That and I'd rather like to use this cloak if I need it," Inquirer
added cryptically.
Baley and Daneel look like they want to ask what that is all about,
but the "Control Console" then stops wheezing.
|
