Captain's Log, Stardate 51369.4 - We have altered course to respond to a distress signal from an alien colony 10 light-years away. Scans have detected an odd absence of activity.

"Anything, Mr. Kim?" Captain Janeway sat in her chair on the bridge of the USS Voyager, still carrying the black coffee Neelix had poured for her earlier this morning. They had been traveling at high warp for two days to reach the colony.

"Nothing, Captain. I can't understand it. The colony is warp-capable, and after reviewing my scans...simply nothing. No ships, no communications, not even subluminal."

Captain Janeway considered this for a moment. She looked suspicious, her instincts about the situation giving her a sense of anticipatory caution that every experienced Starfleet captain knew.

"Yellow alert," she commanded. "Time, Mr. Paris?"

"One minute to the source of the signal, Captain."

Shortly afterward, Voyager arrived in the system, which had binary stars and three orbiting planets. But the crew on the bridge did not notice this. They instead sat in silence, staring at the viewscreen.

Captain Janeway stood and walked forward. Ahead of her, the viewscreen showed the colony planet - what appeared to be a fully habitable class M planet.

"Lifeforms, Mr. Kim?"

"I'm...not detecting any, Captain."

Janeway turned, stunned. "How many would have been in this colony?"

"Approximately 50. It appears the planet had several operable mines. It seems all the structures are undamaged."

Captain Kim received a notification from his console. "Wait, Captain...I'm picking up three lifeforms...they appear to be coming in and out of existence as I scan them."

"There could be injured. We'll have to take a landing party to investigate. Tuvok, Ensign Kim, you're with me." Janeway said as she walked with the pair to the turbolift. "Tell the Doctor to get his mobile emitter and med kit and to meet us in the Transporter Room."

"Aye, Captain." Commander Chakotay said, walking to where the pair were. "And be careful."

"Don't worry about us, Commander. All the same, keep a transporter lock."

"Ah, magnificent! The planet Siralos! One of the Wonders of the Galaxy here. It's made of pure psychic energy. You could stare at this all day and see whatever you wanted."

The Doctor and Donna were standing by the open doors of the TARDIS, admiring the odd planet, which seemed to shift before their eyes. It was a welcome respite from the planet Midnight, where the Doctor had nearly been killed on a tour by a voice-stealing alien.

"Is that why it looks so...odd?" Donna said, eyeing the planet suspiciously. "It's like it is looking at me."

"Oh, that's just the psychic energy. Nothing to worry about… Well, not at our altitude anyway."

A loud siren on the TARDIS console rang. The Doctor ran over.

"We're getting a signal!" the Doctor raced to the other side of the console, moving various controls back and forth as he readied the TARDIS to follow. Donna, meanwhile, closed the doors and eyed the Doctor cautiously.

"Oh, beautiful! Hold on Donna, this signal's coming from an alternate universe!"

"Alternate? What does that mean, Alternate!"

"It's like a parallel universe, but events branch off instead of mirroring…"

From Donna's face, the Doctor could sense she wasn't understanding him.

"Oh, no time to explain!... Just hold on!"

Right on cue, the TARDIS lurched into the time vortex, shaking from the strain of following the signal across universes.

Captain Janeway and Commander Tuvok led the party of Starfleet officers and crew through the eerily silent colony. It was nighttime. Large grey buildings towered over them, with the open end of a mine tunnel standing at the end of the dark alleyway. They had their phasers drawn, just in case. The Doctor was carrying a tricorder, locked on to the last position of the life signs. They arrived at the mine.

"Okay…," Janeway said silently to the group. She looked to the two security officers first. "Rogers, Adams. You two cover the entrance to this mine. Doctor, stay behind us. Harry, Tuvok, let's go."

They walked into the dark mine, using the lights on their equipment to guide the way. Still nothing.

The Doctor's tricorder gave a muted ring. "Captain, five metres down this tunnel." He indicated a smaller tunnel that branched off to the left.

They descended into the tunnel, which was narrow with sharp, rocky edges. The tunnel suddenly came to an end, and the tricorder indicated they had reached their destination.

They looked in wonder at what stood before them, barely lit by their lights.

"What is it?" Ensign Kim said, moving the light to get a better look.

"Whatever it is, it was alive. Or something nearby was." the Doctor said, very suspicious and curious.

Captain Janeway stepped in front, moving very close to investigate. The figure standing before her struck her as odd.

"It looks like a statue of an angel," she said, curious. "But why is it covering its eyes?"