Sticking (More or Less) to the Script

I find myself mouthing the words along with the guy: "Merlin. Against all hope!" Bad habit I'm afraid I picked up in the days when this was all still a TV show to me...

Ace sticks to the script, too, more or less. "Merlin? You got it wrong, mate. This is the Doctor."

The Doctor, though, renegade that he is, doesn't pick up the cue for his next line, and instead looks at me questioningly.

"Apparently you are," I say. "Or will be. Or would have been. In this universe, anyway." OK, that doesn't sound particularly coherent, but the Doc understands it well enough. "Don't ask me for details, though, 'cause I don't know any."

The Doctor makes a "hmm" noise, rubs his chin thoughtfully, returns his gaze to the newly-arrived knight. He seems a little non-plussed by the whole thing. I don't blame him. This situation seems to be even more complicated than usual. Too many timelines, too many universes, too many crossovers... I'm still not remotely sure how the whole Farscape thing comes into play, and neither Ace nor Shou Yuing seems to be able to shed much light on that subject, though they seem nearly as frustrated about that fact as we are. Well, maybe eventually Shou Yuing will recover enough from her experiences -- and I have a sneaking, unpleasant suspicious as to what those experiences might have entailed -- to tell us more, or maybe Ace's vague visions will become clearer in her mind. In the meantime...

In the meantime, Ancelyn the knight is gazing up at the Doctor raptly. "Is this the time?" he asks.

"What time?" says Inquirer.

"Why, the time of Excalibur's call. The time of restitution. The time when Arthur rises to lead the Britains to war."

"I'm afraid you may be in for a bit of a disappointment," I mutter, but Ancelyn, perhaps fortunately, doesn't appear to hear me.

The Doctor starts to answer him, but Brigadier Bambera interrrupts. "Look, I still don't understand what's going on here, but you--"

1. And then she is interrupted... by an explosion!

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