Episode 20 - Legacy

The Palais de la Concorde stood majestically in the Paris skyline, a constant symbol of status for the City of Lights; its service as the capitol of the United Federation of Planets. Within the Palace the Federation President and Council operated the mechanisms of government for over a hundred and fifty individual civilizations and thousands of colonies and semi-independent worlds amongst them.

The newest President of the Federation entered the Wescott Room and gave a perfunctory glance to the portrait of the youngest President to ever serve the Federation. Nanietta Bacco was not quite so young, as the former Cestus III governor's silver hair testified to. "Ladies and gentlemen, I will remind you the Romulan Empire is dissolving as we speak," Nan Bacco said impatiently. "So I would like to get to the point of this meeting you shoved into my itinerary."

"Of course, Madame President." Admiral Ross of Starfleet sat at her left. He was joined by Admiral Kathryn Janeway and, to Janeway's left, a blonde-haired and curvy woman with a Borg-like implant around her left eye. Opposite them, on Bacco's right past where Esperanza Piñiero was seated, were three people in business wear. A female Rhaandarite and two Human men, both light-skinned. Bacco took a moment and remembered the Rhaandarite; Laarin Andos, Director of Temporal Investigations. "Starfleet and DTI have given this briefing to every incoming Federation President for the past thirty years," Ross explained. He looked at Andos who looked back passively "Although as of late, we don't quite see eye to eye on the subject anymore."

Bacco noticed the man beside Andos glower at the Starfleet officers opposite him. She sighed and readied herself for whatever crisis that Starfleet and DTI felt they had to drop in her lap. "Well, Admiral, if that's what I'm here for, start the briefing."

Ross nodded and pressed a key, showing a monitor display. Bacco noticed the subject of the image was a Human-looking male in a blue suit that looked fairly out of place. Brown hair, brown eyes... she took in all of his features. "Madame President, this is a being we know as the Doctor," Ross explained. "He is a Humanoid alien who calls himself a Time Lord."

"Well, that explains why you're both here," Bacco noted. "Go on."

"He travels in a time ship he calls a 'TARDIS'. So far Starfleet and other Federation authorities have had sixty recorded encounters with him since the founding of the Federation..." Ross went on to explain more facts about 'the Doctor'. Bacco noted that the DTI agent was growing increasingly aggravated.

When Ross finished his basic explanation, Andos took her turn. "Madame President, the Doctor is the most notorious and terrifying time criminal DTI has ever encountered. We have tried to arrest him several times and he has evaded us on each occasion. He is known for altering the timeline if it suits him."

"In what way?"

"The cure to the Valakian plague, for one," Andos explained. "And the evacuation of the Glicken Colony..."

"You mean that he prevented a species from dying out and rescued fifty thousand Federation colonists?", Bacco asked. "He hardly seems like a monster."

"You weren't there, Madame President," the agent in the middle said, his teeth clenched. "You didn't hear what he had to say. The Doctor believes he has the right to alter history on his whim He is the most dangerous being DTI has ever dealt with."

"And you are...?"

"Agent Gariff Lucsly, Madame President. This is my partner Marion Dulmur."

"I would call your objectivity into question," the blonde beside Janeway said. Bacco remembered that she went by the name "Seven". "The Doctor is a reasonable being."

"You weren't on Glicken, ma'am," Lucsly said through clenched teeth. "You didn't see what I saw."

"Yes." Andos remained more emotionally restrained than Lucsly, but she was clearly irritated as well. "Thirty years ago Starfleet agreed with our appraisal of the Doctor and implemented Standing Order 30, calling for his neutralization by any Starfleet officer to come into contact with him. This was undone during the Dominion War on the advice of Admiral Ross. Admiral Janeway also filed to have the rule suspended."

"The Doctor assisted us in liberating Deep Space Nine during the war," Ross said. "He has, in all encounters, acted to assist Starfleet and the Federation. We're not going to become part of whatever vendetta DTI has against him."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Lucsly grumbled. "Starfleet has always turned a blind eye to its captains playing god in the timeline." He directed a gaze at Janeway.

Janeway returned it. "If you're talking about me, Agent, I'll remind you that your own superiors approved of my judgements."

"No, they simply declined to prosecute," Dulmer retorted. "That doesn't mean we have no problem with what you pulled..."

"Enough," Bacco hissed. "I'm not here to listen to Starfleet and DTI scream at each other. You wanted to brief me on the Doctor. So brief me."

"The Doctor is a powerful and hyper-intelligent being," Seven said. "He is an ally of the Federation."

"He's a menace," Lucsly countered. "A power mad lunatic who..."

"Agent, I'm going to have you removed if you speak out of line again," Bacco said coldly. Lucsly bit into his lip and nodded. "Continue?"

"He saved us from the Borg," Janeway said. "With just a few hours of work the Doctor was able to create an anti-Borg program that nearly dismembered the Collective. If he had more time and desire? He could wipe them out. We need him on our side."

"The question of whether he is friend or foe aside," Andos said calmly, "there remains the fact that we can in no way predict his movements through space and time. His TARDIS is well shielded. All of our prior encounters were a matter of chance."

"So if we need his help, there's no way to ask him," Bacco said. "Is that what you brought me in here to say? 'He can be a lot of help, but we'll never be able to find him to give it'?"

"Actually..." Ross looked to Janeway. "Not anymore."

The DTI personnel stared.

"When the Doctor visited Voyager, we had a chance to take detailed scans of his TARDIS," Janeway informed them. "We didn't have the means to do much with the information. But once I got it to Starfleet Science, they were able to figure a way to track the TARDIS' arrivals and departures."

"You what?" Lucsly's voice was hoarse.

"You did not see fit to share this with the Department?", Andos asked pointedly.

"Starfleet no longer agrees with DTI on the proper way to handle the Doctor," answered Ross.

Bacco put her hands together. "Admiral Janeway?"

"Seven." Janeway nodded to her side.

"The Doctor's vehicle causes minute ripples in subspace when it shifts between dimensions," Seven explained. "This effect is too slight for most sensors to detect. It is easily obscured by other subspace technologies like warp travel and structural integrity fields. I used the knowledge of the Collective to determine a way to put together a subspace sensor focused enough to detect this effect. Admiral Janeway passed this on to Starfleet before we returned from the Delta Quadrant."

"So you can detect the Doctor when he moves?", Bacco asked.

"Within a radius of ten to fifty thousand kilometers," Seven answered.

Lucsly frowned. "That's not good enough. He could be almost anywhere on a planet and you wouldn't know where to look."

"It still gives us a starting point." Ross put his hands together. "In fact, I can verify the Doctor is on Earth right now."

"What?" Lucsly's eyes widened and he sat up. "Where?!"

"Somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the scan," Seven answered. "It was detected shortly after Voyager returned to Earth."

"That was over a year ago," Lucsly scoffed. "He's probably gone by now."

"He is not," Seven answered. "We have not detected any sign of his TARDIS shifting out."

"So he's here, on Earth? Now?" Dulmer gave Lucsly a look.

"Leave him alone," Bacco said.

The DTI personnel looked at her. "Madame President...?"

"You heard me." Bacco crossed her arms. "I'll remind you gentlemen that we're still facing a Borg threat. The Federation may need his help. I'm not going to have you chase him off."

"But he's a madman, Madame President!", Lucsly protested. "I was there on Glicken, hearing him rant about how he would change the timeline whenever he wanted! He's too dangerous to..."

"Then I'd rather have him on our side than against us," Bacco declared. "The security of the Federation may require it."

"I will protest to the Federation Science Council," Andos answered. "The Doctor is at the top of our wanted list. A chance to neutralize him..."

"...only if I okay it," Bacco finished for her. "Otherwise I will personally make sure your agency is disarmed and replaced by people who are less dogmatic and more willing to not provoke beings as powerful as this Time Lord. Is that clear?"

Andos nodded stiffly. "Yes, Madame President." She shot a look to a fuming Lucsly.

"Good." She turned to Ross. "You and Janeway had better be right about this man, Admiral."

"I know we are," Ross insisted.

"Good. Do what you can to find him. But don't approach him yet. See what he's doing first. I will make the call on making contact. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, Madame President."

"Good. Now, excuse me, but I'm running late for my meeting with the Tholian Ambassador." Bacco made a face. "You know how they are about punctuality."

Nothing more was said as the President left the room. The DTI personnel glowered visibly at the Starfleet personnel. "It wasn't enough that you lionize that bandit Kirk?", Lucsly said, his voice heated. "Or that you let Janeway get away with multiple violations of the Temporal Prime Directive? Now you have to protect him of all people?!"

"You don't know him as well as you think," Seven said quietly.

"I know him well enough," Lucsly hissed in reply before storming out, his partner behind him.

Andos made a barely-perceptible sigh and followed them out.

"I'll start looking into area monitoring," Janeway said to Ross. "We'll find him soon."

"Keep me informed."

Seven remained behind as Ross filed out, staring intently at the Doctor's image. Janeway looked back to her. "What is it?", she asked. "Seven?"

"I was contemplating what he is doing," she answered. "Why he came to Earth and stayed for so long."

"We'll find out soon enough. We should get going, I'll need you to arrange the search systems to find any trace of him."

Seven nodded and stood to walk out. She hit the key to turn off the image, but it was still in her head.

Where are you, Doctor?

Eight Months Ago...

The small town of Friday Harbor had survived the Eugenics Wars, the Third World War, the Post-Atomic Horror, and every other major and minor thing to come to the people of Earth over the centuries. It was still the main settlement of San Juan Island in the like-named chain between Haro and Rosario straits, situated on the eastern coast of the island facing Shaw Island and was home to four thousand people, mostly North American Humans with about a hundred non-Humans sprinkled around town.

Friday Harbor High School remained where it had been for so long; the corner of Blair and Guard. It was a small facility for just a few hundred children of ages 14 to 18 or equivalents of such when considering alien educational requirements could be different.

The school's newest teacher followed Principal Matterly through the campus. "You're our second new teacher this year," he informed Janet, looking up at her and her one hundred and eighty seven centimeter height (six foot two). Janet's skin was a dusky bronze from a diverse family background, but it was lighter than it might have been since she had lived in the Northwest her whole life. "I'm quite pleased to have you teaching the Language Honors students."

"Thank you, sir. I'm looking forward to it," Janet said. After all the time she'd spent in Seattle and Vancouver, teaching in a small town like Friday Harbor was something new and exciting. "But I'm the second new teacher?"

"Oh yes." Matterly walked her beside a classroom adjacent to the one she'd be using. "Our new physics and history instructor joined us at the beginning of the term. Here, his class should be getting out..."

Janet waited. The tone sounded over the school PA, signaling the end of the class period. Children ages 16 through 18 rushed from the doors, chattering excitedly. She wasn't sure what it was about, but she guessed it had to do with their lesson. Matterly gestured toward her and led her in.

The classroom's work stations were on low power status. An ancient chalkboard - a chalkboard! - was at the front of the class with a large equation on it. There were little things around the room. Books, models of rockets and starships, things that brought character and life to the room.

At the desk, a man stood up. His blue suit was crisp and well-made, joined by a dark purple tie. Janet was surprised to see he was rather tall as well, having at least twelve centimeters on her. Well-kept brown hair was combed to the side and his brown eyes shined with intelligence and humor. "Ah, this is our new Language Honors teacher," Matterly introduced. "She'll be in the room next to you."

"Oh, very nice. Very good to meet you." The man's voice was a fine English one. He sounded like he should be in Oxford, not Friday Harbor. He moved around the desk with swift grace and moved up to her, his hand extended. "Miss...?"

"Janet Peratrovich," Janet answered. Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement at the boyish grin on the teacher's face.

"Ah, local eh? Haida or Tlingit?"

Janet was surprised to hear him ask that. Typically her Caucasian-shaped face and bronze skin seemed to hide her Native ancestry. "Both," she answered. "Tlingit, mostly. But both."

"Oh, marvelous." The man pumped her hand gleefully. The way he looked at her made Janet blush a little. She felt like maybe she was getting an admirer. "I look forward to discussing lingustics with you some time, Miss Peratrovich."

"Janet," she insisted. "And I would call you...?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" He smiled. "You can call me John. John Smith-Stevens. I typically don't use the Smith, though."

"John Stevens. John." Janet let herself grin. "Well, John, I'm looking forward to getting to know you."

"And I you, Janet," John answered. "Welcome to Friday Harbor." He checked his watch. "Oh, look at the time. I'm supposed to catch the orca watching tour boat in ten minutes! I'd better get going!"

"You... watch orcas?", Janet asked.

"Oh, love 'em, one of the reasons I moved here," John answered. "You?"

"Of course. I grew up watching the Northern pods all the time."

"Well, I'm sure their cousins in the Southern population won't disappoint. Would you like to join me?"

She looked to Matterly, who smiled gently. "Um... I suppose?"

"The paperwork is ready for tomorrow, Miss Peratrovich," Matterly said. "Why don't you get to see our fair town a little more today?"

"Well, that settles it," Janet said. She nodded at John. "Shall we?"

"Oh yes we shall." John grabbed his bag of things to take home. "Our blackfish friends await! Allons-y!"

After several months in the small island town, Janet was finding her place in the school. Her Language Arts Honors classes were in the mornings; after lunch she taught elective courses on local history, using the tribal histories she'd learned from uncles and aunts and grand-aunts to fill in the actual material for the class. All the while she remained across the hall from the sophisticated Mr. Stevens.

Since so many other personnel of the school were locals living on the San Juan Islands, he was the only "outsider" like her, and that seemed to be bringing them together. He intrigued Janet; he didn't talk much about his past but displayed a remarkable amount of knowledge about history on a wide array of topics. And his students in physics were getting top marks on a planetary level. He seemed to enjoy teaching almost as much as he enjoyed showing her around the islands and talking about its history.

With the approval of the school, he was taking their students in common out for an examination of the two Camps on the western end of the island. They stood in the open field around the replica buildings of English Camp. An old British Union Jack fluttered in the wind above them and he eagerly fielded their students' questions about the purpose of the Camp, what life had been like for the British Marines stationed there, and the history that led to the Camp's establishment.

"They almost fought a war over a pig?", one child said, incredulous. "I know ancient people were militaristic and crazy, but that's just silly."

John looked at the boy with a bemused expression. "Ah, young man. You consider them mad?"

"Well, duh. Living out here, ready to fight over a small island when they already conquered much of the world." The boy turned his nose up. "It's why I don't like history. Humans were stupid, selfish, and brutal before we advanced."

Janet smirked and noted John did not. "So you're saying Humans aren't that way these days?"

"Of course not," the boy insisted.

"So Humans fought the Dominion and Cardassians without becoming brutal?"

The boy seemed to stutter, much to the enjoyment of his classmates. A few laughed. As he worked up his courage, John relieved him of the burden. "Young man, we study history to learn from it. History is the story of the legacies of those who came before. Legacies can be powerful. They can be good or they can be bad. And they can change the world we live in today." John smiled at his students. "And if you're wondering how men of the 19th Century thought about a war over a pig, Admiral Baynes of the Royal Navy refused to attack the Americans precisely because it was such a ridiculous idea. He called the men escalating the crisis 'fools'. Because of men like Admiral Baynes, there was no bloodshed and the dispute was resolved peacefully over a decade later. Isn't that what the Federation is built upon, Rickert? Peaceful resolutions and compromise to disputes. Just because their times were more brutish doesn't mean they weren't capable of living up to our standards of today. Humanity, at its core, does not change." John looked to Janet and nodded, noting her smile of appreciation. "Anyway, we should be going, yes? Or I'll be the one visiting the principal's office for a tongue-lashing."

The children laughed at that.

Later that day, Janet stepped into John's classroom as he finished some grading of the prior week's homework assignments. "That was very inspired," she said to him.

He looked up and smiled. "Ah, yes. Well, education does require inspiration to take root, doesn't it."

Janet nodded. She walked past the desks and took an empty chair to sit in. After she settled in she focused her blue eyes on him. "That talk about legacies. You seem to find it important. But you rarely talk about what has shaped your's."

"Oh, nothing more, life on the Pariana Cove Colony was generally quiet. A marine biologist's mecca. Well, save the occasional academic squabble."

"I see." Janet shook her head. "I just thought you'd have stronger emotions about what brought you here."

He blinked and shrugged. "Hrm. Strange that I don't, I suppose. Ah well..." After checking a paper off he looked up. "Give your vote already?"

"Yes."

"I voted for Nan Bacco. I like her."

"The same." Janet shook her head. "You're just... indulging in small talk now?'

"Actually, I'm working up the nerve to ask you to dinner," John confessed. "The Cask & Schooner. Just re-established ten years ago. Superb quality."

"Do they serve meat? Because I don't eat meat that isn't vat-grown or replicated."

"Oh, they can provide both," John assured her. "Don't worry about it."

"Well, I suppose... I can't say no to that offer."

He clapped his hands. "Fantastic! We can go as soon as I finish these papers. Actually, no..." He hit several keys on his PADD. "I'm famished. We can go now and I'll just grade these later!"

"I'd better get my own," Janet replied, holding back a giggle at the infectious enthusiasm of John Stevens.

She was beginning to realize that she really liked him.

Four months after the meeting with President Bacco, Seven was working on another project in her lab when her monitor began beeping. Curious, she reached over and tapped the key.

The screen changed to show a local news report from Earth. The Island Guardian, the publication read at the top. Below were some images of the local school and how the past term had seen the school's science testing scores skyrocket. She read the text describing how newcomer resident John Smith-Stevens had joined the faculty and ignited interest amongst the students with his approach to teaching physics.

Seven looked back up at the image of the class. Teenage children, virtually all Human, which was not something strange although entirely out of her experience.

Her computer confirmed automatic search patterns had flagged the news story, and the image before her. "Computer, enhance section three gamma." She let the computer zoom in on the picture, highlighting the class's teacher Smith-Stevens. Seven took in the image and ran the calculations in her mind. She double-checked a number of the logs. She did scans to compare the body dimensions with other images she had.

That investigation confirmed it.

Seven tapped the communicator on her suit. "Seven to Admiral Janeway."

"There was only a momentary delay before the replay came. "Janeway here, go ahead Seven."

"I believe I have found the Doctor, Admiral."

Janet was waiting when John Stevens came out of his class at the end of the day. "Ah, Janet. How goes the new school year?", he said cheerily.

"Oh, they're quite bright," Janet answered, smiling. "Your new students are doing just as well?"

"Oh, a few more trouble-makers this year, but I'll win them over." There was a twinkle in his eye. "Have one young lady who wants to get into Starfleet Academy, become a Science officer."

Janet didn't hide her emotions about that. "She'd do better going to a university."

"Oh, I don't know. Starfleet's not all that bad," John said.

Janet's smile turned wistful. "I just find it difficult to believe that freedom can be defended by taking a bunch of people and taking away their freedom and making them wear uniforms and stand at attention and all that."

"Unfortunately it's not always a gentle galaxy," John sighed, just as wistful. "So. Up for dinner again?"

"Yessss..." Janet screwed up her courage and forced down nervousness, allowing curiosity to come into play instead. "But instead of another restaurant, why not a dinner at home?"

"Oh?" He seemed amused by that idea. "Your place or mine?"

"Why not your's? Unless you'd prefer to come to my place first?", Janet asked.

John smiled after a moment. "Well, I have kept some things just in case I had occasion to host a guest. It'll be nice to bring out the family silverware," he answered. "I do warn you, however, that I've got very eclectic tastes as a chef."

"I'm looking forward to testing my palate against your cooking," Janet answered.

"Excellent. Nineteen hundred, then?"

"Nineteen hundred," Janet agreed.

"Fantastic!" John went running off, leaving Janet to stand there and gently smile at the man. After a year, she found the energetic Englishman growing on her.

Admiral Ross could scarcely believe what Seven told him. "So you're telling me that the Doctor has become a high school teacher?"

"A well-regarded one," Seven said. "Science test scores have gone up since he started teaching."

"And he's stayed in Friday Harbor the whole time," Janeway added.

"Do we know why?" Ross' expression turned grim. "Could there be a threat to Earth?"

"None have been detected at this time," Seven said. "The best method for ascertaining the Doctor's purpose is to ask him."

"It's probably better if we don't just yet," Ross said. "The President is still debating how to approach him."

"I could move to the islands," Seven suggested. "There are research labs on two of the islands, including San Juan Island. One has an existing arrangement with Starfleet Science for lab space."

Ross seemed to consider that. "Admiral?"

Janeway nodded. "Starfleet could take up its lab space for her. Seven will be able to continue all of her current projects while there."

"An excellent suggestion," Ross said. "I'll talk to Starfleet Science immediately."

The trip out to John's house was by the aircar he had leased. "You don't walk to work?", she asked.

"I prefer the aircar so I can travel around the islands easily," he noted. "You jog, right?"

"Every day," Janet answered. "I live out on Spring Street."

"Ah, not far then." The silence afterward was clearly not matched by a silence in his mind.

"I won't be offended if you notice the obvious," Janet said wryly.

"Ah. You mean that you have an admirable runner's physique that explains your choice of commute?" John smiled. "I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

Janet nodded, accepting the explanation. She could see it was more than that. He was nervous, just as nervous as she was.

They made small talk about their upcoming school year until they arrived at their destination. The small single-story house, blues and purples in coloring, was near the shore and looked out on Friday Harbor from the northern end. Janet thought it a better view than the flat she'd taken up that was inland. "A pleasant, cozy little place," John explained as they got out. He opened the door and they walked in, greeting by a living room with a viewscreen set into the far wall and comfortable seats. Images of students winning awards were gathered on one counter, as were images from a variety of locales around the islands and the Puget Sound-Juan de Fuca Strait region. Assorted mementos were scattered on various shelves.

"I'll be in the kitchen preparing dinner," he said to her. "Make yourself comfortable."

"What's for dinner?", she called out.

"It's a surprise," he replied.

Janet smirked and went back to looking over his things. There was a small fireplace at one end of the living room that was unlit. Above the mantle of the fireplace were a few nicknacks. She recognized a Tlingit hand-carving and moved on to another woodcarving that looked different than others she'd seen.

Beside these items was a notebook and colored pencils. She took it up and opened it. Inside were colored sketchings. "You're an artist?", she asked, looking at the image of what appeared to be an Orion woman with black tattoos on her face, hand-in-hand with a Human woman with light bronze skin.

"Oh, I sometimes scribble what's on my mind," John replied from the kitchen. "Say, what do you think about teriyaki?"

"Love it," Janet answered promptly, looking at an illustration of some kind of robot with a single red eye. There was a tentacled alien covered in green beside it, an hourglass-like green insignia on the creature's center mass. The next page was a tall man in a long mantled coat holding a wooden staff in his left hand and some kind of wooden stick in his right, adjacent to a young girl of blonde hair highlighted purple and in tattered-looking clothing. A woman with Janet's coloring was beside them, clad in a sleeveless blue top and long blue pants, bright blue eyes shining with dark brown hair arranged with pony-tails at her temples as well as a larger one at the back of her head.

Janet kept looking through the notebook curiously, seeing the product of John's imagination. The final page with a drawing was of a beautiful young girl with striking blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. There were wrinkled bits of paper on the page, as if just those spots of the paper had gotten wet. Beside her were the profiles of the first two women sketched, more detailed this time. Bright green eyes for the Orion-looking woman with the black tattoos, gray for the tan-skinned Human woman. And this time, unique amongst the other profiles and drawings, there were names. In order from the blonde woman to the brunette, the names were: "Katherine", "Janias", and "Camilla".

Ex-girlfriends? Ex-wives? Janet wondered about it but decided not to ask.

Janet put the notebook back in its place and looked at the last object on the mantle. It was on a little stand for such objects. Janet picked it up and looked it over, seeing it was an amulet or medallion of some sort. "Too big," she murmured, realizing it couldn't be a simple award medallion. There was some kind of script on the obverse but she didn't recognize it. An unknown solar system was on the back side. She looked at it intently for a moment, trying to think of what it was.

She found the button on the top and whispered, "Oh."

It was a pocket watch. A centuries-old pocket watch from before chronometers took over time-keeping.

Janet thought about opening it. But she had a sense of... discomfort with the idea. It seemed like a bad idea. Instead, she asked, "John, where is the bathroom?" Absentmindedly she put the watch back in its place on the mantle.

John's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Down the north hall, first on your left."

At his direction Janet was able to locate John's guest bathroom, where she freshened up a little. Leaving it she faced a door that clearly didn't go to a bedroom or elsewhere. She opened the door to reveal steps down to a basement level. Janet went down the steps carefully. An automatic light came on at the bottom, filling the basement room with light. There were some tools here, some books there. Painting materials were around in the colors of the house's external look; clearly John had painted the house to his preference.

As her eyes scanned the far end they locked onto one specific item.

"Police Call Box?", she murmured to herself. She could barely read it; while it looked like it was intended to light up, it was turned off. She read the text on the door and curiously opened the compartment that had the phone within. The phone was an ancient model, 20th Century, and clearly inactive.

There were footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned and saw John come down them. "Oh. There you are." He smiled. "Sides are getting ready, main course is in the oven. Perfect time for me to show you the harbor view from the patio."

"Oh, yes, of course," Janet said. "I.. I'm sorry, I was just curious, I didn't think many houses on the island had basements, it being an island and all."

"Oh, that's fine. I just use it for storage."

"Ah." She motioned to the large blue box. "And this is?"

"Oh. Authentic late 20th Century police call box," John answered, walking up to it. "Family heirloom of sorts. Family used to run a museum, when it closed they kept the box. A pain to move around, but it's family stuff."

"I understand. It doesn't work?"

"Not at all. Honestly I only keep it around as an heirloom." He put a hand on it. "Can't help but keep the poor thing though."

"I was looking at your drawings. You have quite the imagination." Janet tilted her head. "Are you doing a novel of some sort?"

"Oh, not now," John answered. "I just let my creative side come out to play once and a while. Then it's back to serious work." He gestured toward the stairs. "Shall we? You'll love the view of Friday Harbor as the sun goes down."

Janet smiled gently and nodded. "Lead the way, John."

As they returned to the stairs, Janet's mind wandered briefly. For a moment she could swear she'd felt something when she'd touched that pocket watch.

Which, of course, was silly. So she pushed those sensations of regret out of her mind and the night continued.

After dinner and an hour or so of looking out at the night sky over the San Juan islands, John drove Janet back to the building she was renting her flat at. "That was delicious," she told him. "You are a gifted cook."

"Another little hobby of mine," John answered. "I find cuisine to be an effective bridge between the principles of science and those of art."

"That's what it seemed to me." Janet let him walk her to her door, passing by the doors for her neighbors on their way. "I won't be able to match that."

"Oh, don't worry about it," John insisted. "I'll enjoy it regardless. How about Saturday night?"

"The Saturday afterward." Janet sighed. "I've got other things to keep me busy."

"Of course." John stopped at her door and sighed. "So, I shall see you tomorrow."

"I'll look forward to it."

At that point, Janet smiled and stood on her toes, lifting herself just enough to kiss him on the lips. It was a brief contact kiss, but it was enough to make her intentions clear. "Call me whenever you want to just 'hang out', John."

"I will," John answered, seeming almost mesmerized by the taste of Janet on his lips. Without saying anything else Janet stepped into the apartment and closed the door.

Seven spent two weeks laying the groundwork for her chance encounter. It was well-known she was a member of the Voyager crew and the town's leadership made it a point to announce her brief "assignment" to the San Juan Island Technology Research Lab, located on a small complex between Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor on the northern shore of the island. The cover was that she was researching transwarp drive technology. Which, of course, she was assisting with, as well as other anti-Borg systems she was helping to develop.

Of course, her real reason was the Doctor.

It was sixteen days into her stay on the island that Seven decided enough time had passed. She would attempt a light contact, a chance meeting that she would use to approach him publicly without making him feel cornered.

It had the added benefit that the Cask & Schooner was quite good.

She sat alone in a stall by the front door. A lovingly-built recreation of a wooden schooner of the 19th Century sat in an open display, but it didn't obstruct her vision of the door. Her chronometer flashed 1748 when she looked up and saw the Doctor enter. There was a young woman on his arm. She removed the jacket she was wearing from the brisk fall weather and revealed a sleeveless turquoise blouse that looked well on her, her black trousers well-fitting. The Doctor was doting over her like...

...like he was falling in love.

That intrigued Seven. She reached up to the device he had made for her years before and used it to depress the Borg implants that restricted her emotional range. She wanted to feel this reunion. To be happy at seeing a being who had done something so special for her as to give her that ability to be more Human.

To keep up appearances she waited until they were seated and ordered. It gave her time to finish her own meal and arrange credit payment. She still got attention from others, but not so much she couldn't go up to the Doctor. "Excuse me, is that really you?", she asked. "Doctor?"

When he didn't answer, she went straight up to the table, coming from behind him. "Doctor?", she asked again, in a firmer voice.

The woman looked up at her. "Excuse me, ma'am, who are you talking to?"

Seven finished walking up and looked down at the Doctor. It was him, that she was sure of. But when he looked at her, it was without a single glimmer of familiarity in his eyes. "Doctor?", she asked him.

He blinked. "Pardon, ma'am? Are you looking for a doctor?"

Seven thought on it for a moment. If he was seeking to hide his identity due to the zealotry of the DTI, it was clear he might not react publicly to the name. "I'm sorry. You reminded me of a doctor I've known," she remarked quietly.

"Oh? I see. Not a doctor myself, I admit. I'm John Smith-Stevens and this is my dear friend Janet Peratrovich. You would be?"

"I am... Annika," Seven answered. "Annika Hansen."

"Annika Hansen." He snapped his fingers. "Oh, right! You're the lady from the Voyager crew, you're working out at the lab right? Say, would your superiors mind a field trip? I'd love to give my class a tour!"

Seven thought on that quickly. "I can... make inquiries."

"Fantastic! You can reach me at the high school with the answer," "John Smith-Stevens" answered. Seven blinked. It was becoming clear to her that this was more than him just not publicly acknowledging her. "I've got a young lady in my class who's interested in becoming a Starfleet science officer, I fully expect she'll enjoy the meeting immensely," he said enthusiastically. He offered his hand to her.

Seven accepted the handshake. "I'll get back to you when I have discussed the visit with my superiors," she answered. "Mister Smith-Stevens, Miss Peratrovich, have a pleasant evening."

With the contact made and more questions surfacing, Seven left the Cask & Schooner. Her mind was busy considering the meeting. What had happened to the Doctor? Why hadn't he seemed to recognize her in any way?

This was a mystery she would need to solve, soon.

The Department of Temporal Investigations was headquartered, appropriately enough, in Greenwich. It was in their main offices that Agents Lucsly and Dulmer were summoned by Director Andos. "Agents. Welcome back to Earth." She gestured to chairs and walked over to her main monitor. "Your recent cases have gone well."

"Swimmingly," Dulmer muttered.

"Ah. Well, now that you're back, I have some information to share with you." Andos hit a key and brought up a picture. "This is from a security check Starfleet is running for civilian access to one of their minor labs."

They looked. And stared. "It's him," Lucsly finally said.

"Mister John Smith-Stevens," Andos said. "He's been living for over a year on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest of North America. He's a... school teacher, according to the record."

"Well, now we know where he is, we can go and pick him up, right?", Dulmer asked. "Maybe get the drop on him."

"No, he's too smart for that," Lucsly muttered. "He's up to something."

"So it would seem. And Starfleet may be involved." Andos' lips thinned. "It wouldn't be the first time Starfleet pursued inappropriate temporal research."

"What, you think they're hiring him to work at that lab?"

"According to the application he's simply to have a one day pass to give his class a field trip," Andos said. "But it could be more."

"So we'll need to get close," Lucsly said.

"I've got Agent Shelan working on that, we don't want him to see you," Andos answered. "But we will put you in an apartment in Friday Harbor. The moment we get authorization from the Science Council, you can move in."

"Finally." Lucsly stood up. "After all this time, we're finally going to nab him."

It took six weeks and the personal assistance of Admiral Ross for Seven to get the necessary permissions. She stood with a young officer, Ensign Vickers, who had enthusiastically taken up the role of explaining to the eager-eyed young students various physics experiments that Starfleet was performing, steering clear of secret projects. Seven stood on her own, keeping an eye on "Mister Stevens" as he directed his students to ask questions and in general kept their rapt attention alongside Ensign Vickers.

Despite all of her observations, Seven was still not sure what this was. Could an alien force have taken his memories? She knew from experience such things were possible; the Quarren were one example. But that didn't explain the lifesign readings.

The main reason Ross had agreed was her point that this would allow them a life sign and gene scan to confirm if he was or was not the Doctor. And the answer was... complicated. Genetically he was virtually a match in most of the key chromosomes. However, there was a slight issue.

John Stevens was Human.

It defied logic. If he was just a standard Human, his genetic profile shouldn't be so similar to the Doctor's. But if he was the Doctor, it meant the Doctor had changed species. Not mutated, not hyper-evolved, but literally transformed from Time Lord to Human through an unknown process. Just finding out that method was one of Seven's new directives.

"Thank you very much for this, Miss Hansen."

The voice prompted Seven to turn and face the other teacher, Janet Peratrovich. The younger woman's face beamed with happiness as she looked back at "John" and the children talking with Ensign Vickers. "Miss Peratrovich." Seven kept a level look. "It was a small favor, that is all."

"Not for him," Janet answered. "He loves giving his students new experiences. I think he'd arrange a field trip to half the Federation if it were permitted."

Seven nodded. "You and he are close, I presume?"

"Oh. Well..." Janet blushed faintly. "Yes. We arrived within a few months of each other so we got close. Talking about students, watching orcas, that sort of thing."

"Orcas?"

"Killer whales. We call them blackfish. My people have high regard for them."

"I see." Seven thought back to some of Chakotay's explanations of his own heritage. "And what is his interest?"

"Oh, they're intelligent, he likes that." Janet looked back to John, who was engaged in an enthusiastic explanation of a subspace principle that had even Ensign Vickers enthralled. "He's from Pariana Cove Colony and grew up among scientists."

"Really?" Seven filed that away for future research. "Pariana? Does he ever talk about it?"

Janet shook her head. "Not really. It's... it's a little strange. He talks about details, mostly. But never what he felt. Never anything about his family or friends or upbringing. It's like his entire life didn't start until he came to Friday Harbor."

Seven remained silent. This was the final proof. She'd found the Doctor. Now she just needed to find out why he was like this.

Janet moved away. "I'm going to go remind him we're due back at the school in an hour for exams," she said kindly. "Thank you again, Miss Hansen. Thank you very much." She turned and walked away.

And as she returned to John's side, as she smiled at him and he smiled at her, Seven found she had an overpowering urge to dampen her emotions to nothing. Seeing Janet and John together, so happy with each other, was painful to her.

Painful... because Seven knew that eventually they would have to bring the Doctor back.

And when that happened, John would cease to exist.

Dulmer and Lucsly had moved into a flat in the same structure as Janet's, although on the lower floor. Here they readied their stakeout space. Shelan was undercover in the school and beginning her part; the Suliban woman was moving with her customary energy, much to Lucsly's approval.

It had been well over a month since the Doctor had visited the Starfleet lab annex. Since then there had been no further contacts beyond running into Annika Hansen in Friday Harbor. Shelan had planted surveillance devices at their usual meeting points - the island ferry terminal pier, the Cask & Schooner, and the local grocers - but there was no sign of an exchange of anything but words. "Maybe he's transmitting things into her implant?", Dulmer suggested over their late lunch, looking over the images again.

"Possible," Lucsly mused. He was reading another report from Andos.

"I'd feel better if we had a chance to take him by surprise." Dulmur picked at his replicated rice. "He's always been slippery."

"Yeah."

"You alright, partner?"

Lucsly shook his head, almost imperceptibly. "Something's off about this. He's been here for what, sixteen, seventeen months? Why is he still here in Friday Harbor? And why is he so relaxed?"

"He's arrogant, Cocky. He probably thinks we can't touch him with Starfleet supporting him."

"There's more to it than that," Lucsly said. "There's something more going on..."

The door opened and Shelan entered. She held up a data chip and smiled. "Talk about sloppy," she said. "He left his remote entry key for his house in his office all day."

"Tell me you copied that," Dulmer grumbled.

Shelan shot him a look. "Of course, Dulmer."

"Well, this is good. As soon as Antos okays it, we can get into his house and get an idea of what he's doing," Dulmer remarked. He looked to Lucsly again, who seemed even more perturbed. "What?"

"This isn't right," Lucsly sighed.

Dulmer took a moment to get over his surprise. "You almost started a war with the Bajorans trying to nab the Doctor. Why is sneaking into his house suddenly 'not right'?"

"Not that," was the growled reply. "There's no way he'd be that sloppy. That's going to be a fake. Or it's a trap."

"For a chance to take down the Doctor, I'll risk it," Shelan answered.

Dulmer nodded. "I've got to agree."

Lucsly eyed them both. He couldn't escape the nagging feeling that there was something wrong here, something he wasn't seeing. But in the end, he wouldn't let that keep him from going after the object of his entire career; the capture and neutralization of the Doctor. "I'll tell the Director. This may be enough to take to the Science Council."

John's second year was just over halfway over. It was a bright Friday morning, dawn just showing over the islands, when he awoke. He did his morning routines. He took a few minutes to scribble a new figure that popped into his dreams, a scowling dark-haired man in a dark suit, while his breakfast cooked. With a glance at the chronometer, he jumped to his feet. Normally he'd still have time, but not today. Today was... special. And he had something to pick up before he was due for class.

He rushed out the door with all of his things and jumped into the aircar. It turned about and sped off.

The Starship Enterprise was a day out from Earth when Miranda Kudohata looked up from her board. "Captain, we're detecting a subspace signature on long range sensors. I'm trying to determine the source."

Captain Jean-Luc Picard nodded. "Carry on, Commander. Number One?"

Commander Worf, First Officer of the Enterprise, nodded. "Helm, change course to the source of the signature. Warp 8."

For the better part of an hour the grand Sovereign-class ship made her way through space to the unknown phenomenon. When they arrived the helm brought the ship out of warp. "On screen," Picard ordered.

A single ripple in space was fading light blue. It rippled around from its epicenter, not doing much. "Sir, the power is growing exponentially," Kudohata said. "I think something might be coming through in the next few hours."

"Yellow Alert. Inform Starfleet that we will remain here and observe." Picard watched the display on his screen. There was a sick feeling in his gut at what this meant.

Janet entered John's classroom just as the lunch period began. She carried the lunch she'd made both of them and pulled up the guest chair to his desk, offering the bag as she sat down. "My grandmother's recipe. With replicated fish, though."

"Of course," John replied, grinning. There was something in his grin. Janet found it exciting and intriguing. "So, the latest scans show Pod L is moving up toward Haro Strait. If we get to the tour boat in time for the launch after school, we should get to see them."

Janet nodded and smiled. "That's nice. But I've got exams to finish grading..."

"...and all weekend to grade them," John finished for her, smiling. "And I was going to have something special for our dinner tonight."

"Teriyaki pork and rice again?" Janet giggled.

"Oh, come now, you liked that," John protested. "But no. No teriyaki this time. Oyster sauce, I was thinking. And one of those spicy Thai peanut sauces."

"No!" Janet fumed playfully at him. "Too spicy!"

"I have my tricks to make it tolerable," John assured her. He felt a surge of impatience. A part of him just wanted to get it over with, to... no. It had to be done right.

"I'll trust you on that," Janet said. "But if you cause me to burn my tongue off..."

"...I shall accept punishment duly," John offered. "My lady."

The moment of decision came. Shelan stepped up to the door to John Smith-Stevens' house and used the code to enter. She scanned carefully as she moved through the house, looking for traps and the evidence DTI desired. Ten minutes of careful scanning and searching found nothing direct, not on the main floor. Shelan went to the last door and opened it, revealing stairs leading to the basement. She walked down carefully with her tricorder up and scanning. "Still nothing," she reported.

"He's got to have something there...," she heard Lucsly insist.

Shelan looked around the basement. Painting supplies, other things, nothing out of the ordinary... until she found the far corner. She smiled and held up her tricorder. "I found it, Lucsly," she said eagerly, looking at the blue box labeled "Police Call Box". She tried to scan it and found her scans actively blocked, confirming what her eyes were telling her. This was not what it appeared to be. "I found the Doctor's ship."

There was an intake of breath on the other end. "Compile the scans and get back here. I'll get the Director and have a team put together."

"We've got him this time," Shelan said. "We've got him."

The crisp blue waters of Haro Strait shined in the sun around the tour boat. People from other parts of Earth watched with enthusiasm as a pod of orcas swam near the boat, jumping into the air and crashing back down with large plumes of water shooting outward.

Janet and John sat in the back. "They're always so beautiful," she said wistfully. "It's hard for me to believe we almost wiped them out. Why? Why would anyone do that?"

"Short-sightedness," John answered. "A lot of people have an inability to understand the wider consequences of their actions. People can sometimes be that way, unfortunately. Time doesn't change that. We have to choose to be better."

"Being the philosopher again, John?", Janet asked, her eyes twinkling as she looked up at him.

"Ah, well, you know me. Can't help it." John smiled and offered her the binoculars. She accepted them and used them to watch the pod even more closely. "Our choices shape our world. They determine the kind of world we leave for our posterity."

"Our legacy," Janet clarified while still looking through the binoculars.

"Yes, exactly," he said. "Sometimes we forget that. We just... act, on what we think is right at the time. Right for us, right for others, it doesn't matter because the important bit, the bad one, is that we're being short-sighted regardless. And that has caused us trouble every time. No matter how much we want something, we're better off deliberating it. Planning, considering, making sure its the right thing."

"Yes." Janet's voice trailed off. His words were making her think. Think about them, mostly. Just where their relationship was going.

John swallowed his nervousness and kept his eyes on the horizon. "Sometimes it seems like it'd be nice to live like the blackfish. Just... running around. Taking care of our needs but not being held down by anything else."

"Just exploring." Janet lowered her eyes. "Who knows? Maybe one day we can afford a starship and go anywhere we want. Just like that. Just to see things."

"That would be something," he mused. It made him ponder. He always felt like there was something more to himself than an enthusiastic teacher in a small island town. What would that be like? To go where he chose, to move from place to place and never set down roots."

"I imagine eventually we'd quit, though," Janet sighed. "Eventually you get tired of the moving around and you just want to settle."

"Most people, yeah," John agreed. He reached his hand into his pocket and opened his mouth to begin speaking again. He thought about taking his chance, here and now...

No.

No, that was for them, privately. He wouldn't make her feel pressured by spectators. It was going to be their moment, the moment when he made it clear to Janet Peratrovich how much she meant to him. He eyed the chronometer instead. "Looks like the ship will be going back soon. We'll head to my place right away."

"Sure. I'm looking so forward to you trying to burn my tongue off," Janet needled.

"Such little faith, Janet..."

Seven was looking over a transwarp simulation when Ensign Vickers' voice came over the PA. "Miss Hansen, a call from Starfleet Command for you. It's Admiral Janeway."

"Patch it through." Seven turned to Janeway. The pale expression on the Admiral's face was the first sign something was wrong. "Admiral?"

"We're out of time, Seven," Janeway said. "It's time to get the Doctor back."

Seven's eyes narrowed. "But what..." Her eyes widened with realization.

Realization and fear.

John's aircar stopped outside of his house. He stepped out and moved toward the door. He nervously reached into his pocket and, after checking to see she was still looking away and getting something out of her back, he slipped the object in his pocket out. He gripped the small gray box with one hand and opened it with the other.

The gleam of a diamond answered him.

Was it time? Would it be better to do it now, before dinner? Not after dinner, when they would be full and tired? Butterflies rampaged in John's stomach. He... he didn't know what to do! Terror was gripping him and uncertainty and oh here she came he needed to...

Janet stepped up to him at the door. "Eager to use me as your culinary guinea pig?", she asked, smiling. A smile that made his heart flutter. His knees began to melt beneath him out of nervousness and the desire to just get it over...

The sound of transporters filled the air. Three figures materialized behind them. More materialized at various points around and in the house. John and Janet looked around in confusion as phaser pistols were pointed at them from various directions. "Doctor, this is Agent Lucsly, Department of Temporal Investigations," the lead man announced. "You are under arrest for possession of a time travel device and multiple counts of violation of the Temporal Prime Directive."

John gawked in disbelief. His stomach churned still, not from nervousness but sheer confusion at what was going on. "What...?! Who... who are you talking about?!"

Lucsly shook his head. "I don't know what you're trying, but you can't deny it. We found your ship in the basement."

"My what?" John motioned to his house. "The only thing in my basement is supplies and an old police call box! I've got no clue what you're on about, you've got the wrong..."

"Put your hands up, now!", the Suliban agent demanded. "Both of you."

"This is crazy!", Janet protested. "We're high school teachers, not time travelers! You've got the wrong house!"

"Hands up, now!", the man beside Lucsly shouted.

John grabbed his hair with his hands, grateful he'd slipped the box back into his pocket before this all happened. His day had been nearly perfect, why was this happening now?!

"I've been waiting for thirty-four years to do this," Lucsly announced, holding up wristcuffs. "Cover me, Dulmer."

As the man drew closer John's heart skipped a beat. He... he knew that face, didn't he?

Before the wristcuffs could come on, the thrumming of a shuttlecraft engine echoed in the air. Heads looked up to see a Starfleet shuttlecraft come to a landing beside the aircar. Several Starfleet security officers stepped out. Miss Hansen joined them. She eyed the DTI agents with irritation. "What are you doing?"

"Our duty," Lucsly announced. "Yours too, if you remember right."

"The President's orders were..."

"...the Science Council felt differently," Dulmer declared.

"The Science Council will change its mind," another voice declared. The low, husky female voice came from within the shuttlecraft and was revealed, a moment later, as Admiral Kathryn Janeway. "And if I knew President Bacco as well as I think I do, you'll be looking for a new job."

Lucsly glowered. "Leave it to one time criminal to come protect another one."

"What are you people talking about?!", Janet demanded. "We haven't time traveled at all! This is harassment and I'll go to the courts!"

"I'm afraid we're a little beyond the courts now, Miss Peratrovich," Janeway said. "I'm Admiral Kathryn Janeway from Starfleet Command."

"We're familiar with you, Admiral. I'm something of an admirer," John said.

"You would be," Dulmer grumbled.

"I believe you gentlemen are operating under a false assumption," Seven said. "This man isn't who you think he is."

"Thank you!", John declared. "Thank you, Miss..."

"...but he's not who he thinks he is, either." Seven walked up to him. "I'm sorry. But we need the Doctor back."

"What in the hell are you people blabbering about?!", Janet screamed. "What Doctor?! Doctor who?!"

John shook his head. "I'm just a teacher from Par..."

"We don't have time for this, Mister Stevens," Seven insisted. "We're out of time. We need you to tell us how to bring back the Doctor."

"Why? What can this 'Doctor' do that the finest minds in Starfleet, in the entire Federation, can't?!", John demanded.

Janeway responded by stepping up to him. She lifted her head to meet him eye to eye. "Because the Borg are invading the Federation," Janeway declared succinctly. "They're coming with a fleet. If we're going to survive this, if the Federation is going to survive... we need the Doctor."

There was utter silence outside of John Smith-Stevens' home.

"You're serious," Agent Shelan said, looking at Janeway. "The Borg?!"

"We received the confirmation an hour ago," Janeway answered. "The Enterprise is tracking their arrival. Right now they're gathering at a transwarp conduit near Earth. There's already two hundred Cubes and more are arriving every minute."

"Oh, oh no..." Janet clasped onto John. "No no no..."

"The Borg." John swallowed. Hard. "But... but what do you think I can do about that?"

"The Doctor beat them before," Janeway said. "He nearly destroyed the entire Collective just to get his friends away from them. I'm willing to bet he can defeat them again."

"But I'm not this Doctor!", John wailed. "My name is John Smith-Stevens. I'm... I'm a high school teacher! I don't know the first thing about defeating the Borg, I... I teach physics and history! I'm just a chap from Pariana..."

"Pariana Cove Colony has no actual evidence you were born there or lived there," Seven said, interrupting him. "Nobody with the colony remembers a John Smith-Stevens. The only proof of your existence are computer records that could have been planted by a being of the Doctor's capability."

"I don't bloody know what you're talking about!," John screamed. He looked in horror to Janet, who had grown pale. "Janet, Janet, I don't know..."

"...you never talk about your life before you came here," Janet said slowly. Tears were forming in her eyes. "You... you act like you didn't have one. Just here in the islands. With me."

There were tears of disbelief in John's eyes. He opened his mouth to protest and couldn't. Try as he might... he couldn't drudge up those kinds of memories. He remembered things. Dry facts. But parents and family and friends? Nothing.

Could they be right?

Could he be this... this "Doctor" being?

"Your notebook," Janet said softly. "There were so many alien things in it..."

"Janet, please," John pleaded. He took her hands. "Even if it's true, even if I was this... this time traveler, that's not who I am now. I'm not the Doctor. I'm John." He took one hand up and used it to wipe tears from her cheeks even as some flowed down his. "Please, you have to believe me."

"I do," Janet assured him. "I do."

"Mister Stevens, we're running out of time," Janeway insisted.

"Would you show me this notebook?", Seven asked.

John swallowed. He nodded. "Fine, I'll... fine." He opened his door fully. DTI agents inside were waiting, weapons held down, and at Lucsly's nod they did nothing to impede his progress into the house, followed by the others. John went over to a loveseat and collapsed into it. He put his hands over his face and felt Janet's weight against him as she sat beside him, putting her arms around him for support and sympathy. He moaned quietly. "This was supposed to be our day," he murmured to Janet. "Our's. And now it's... it's all gone mad."

Janet said nothing. She tightened the embrace.

"His ship is in the basement," Shelan said as the others gathered in the living room. "It looked inactive, but it did block my tricorder."

"What ship?", John asked wearily. "The only thing down there that's not supplies is the old call box."

"Yes. The call box is the ship," Seven stated as she went to the mantle of the fireplace.

"Oh, of course it is," John grumbled sarcastically.

Seven ignored him and picked up the notebook, which she read through. "I recognize the Doctor's former Companions," she said. "This would appear to be from the vestiges of the Doctor's memories that remain in your mind." Seven blinked. "It is possible that a telepathic contact could get the information we need."

Janeway nodded and pressed her comm badge. "Janeway to Voyager. Mister Tuvok, I need you to beam down to my coordinates."

While they waited, Seven flipped through the book to see if there were any hints in it. There were places and people, almost all not being recognizable. She stopped for a moment when she found an approximation of herself about thirty pages in. He had drawn her... smiling.

A transporter beam coalesced into the figure of Tuvok, now First Officer on the Voyager with Commander's pips on his collar. "Captain?"

"Could you mind-meld with this gentleman?", Janeway asked.

Tuvok turned to face him. "Ah. Mister Smith-Stevens. Are you willing?"

John looked at him blankly. Frustration showed in his brown eyes. "Just get it bloody over with," he murmured.

Tuvok pulled up a chair and sat in front of him. He set his fingers to points on John's head and closed his eyes. "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts."

John kept himself still as the Vulcan moved through his mind carefully. He briefly pulled away mentally as Tuvok neared his thoughts about Janet. Tuvok seemed to understand and diverted himself down a different track. John felt him rummaging around, going through memories, through the things John had in his head that he liked to sketch.

And then Tuvok hit something.

And he screamed.

John screamed too.

The connection snapped shut as Tuvok pulled away. Both men were afflicted by a blinding headache. "John! John!" Janet took his head and ran her hands over his cheeks. "John, can you hear me?!"

"Tuvok." Janeway knelt down beside him, concern all over her features. "What happened?"

It was a minute before either could speak. "I found... something..." Tuvok muttered. "There was a powerful mental block in his mind. When I attempted to work around the block the reaction force was overpowering."

"Could that be where the Doctor's mind has gone?", Janeway asked.

"It is possible," Tuvok said. "But I felt fragments of hie memories that do not indicate it as likely."

John sucked in a breath and looked down at his hands. "What am I?", he asked softly. "I... I'm John, but he... those images in my head!"

"Maybe if we brought him to his TARDIS." Seven looked back up on the mantle. She reached over and picked up a locket. "This was his control."

"There was something else," Tuvok insisted. He forced himself to his feet. "I believe the solution is... something else. There was an image deep in his mind. A chair. A sense of pain. And... an object of some form."

"What kind of object?", Shelan asked, looking over some of the items on a shelf.

"A disc. A solar system was engraved on it," Tuvok said.

Janet gasped. She'd tried to bite it down, but it escaped from her throat regardless. And it drew everyone's attention. "What is it, Miss Peratrovich?", Janeway asked.

Janet swallowed and looked to John. "I... I don't know. No, I don't."

"The Borg will be to Earth within two hours," Tuvok noted. "This planet, and the entire Federation, may be lost if you do not assist us."

"But what about John?", Janet asked. "If... if you bring this Doctor back, what will happen to John?"

The Starfleet officers looked at each other grimly. The DTI agents did the same as the consequences became obvious to them.

"I'll die," John said. He drew in a breath. "That's... that's what'll happen. He'll take over again. I'll be... gone. Overwritten, like an obsolete holo-program."

Janet pursed her lips and hugged him again. "No. No, you won't. I won't let that happen, John. Do you understand me? I won't let that happen."

"I understand your reluctance," Tuvok said gently. "But it is unlikely any of us will survive the Borg attack. You will both be killed or assimilated."

Janet swallowed. "I can't..."

Lucsly bit into his lip, a move that drew Janeway's attention. "Agent?", she asked.

"You're talking about bringing the most terrifying time criminal in our history back," Lucsly remarked. "And even if he can help us against the Borg..."

"The Doctor has shown himself to be a benevolent force in the affairs of the Federation," Tuvok pointed out.

"Not always," Lucsly said, shaking his head. "I was there, Commander Tuvok, at Glicken Colony. He beat my partner T'Lyr with his weapon and overpowered me before I could take him down. He knocked out our entire team like it was nothing. And the things he said... he has no respect for history, for the timeline. He called himself the 'Time Lord Triumphant' and declared that he would change timelines however he wanted. That he would 'make things better' regardless of what it meant. He was, is, a maniac."

The Voyager crew exchanged looks. "Perhaps it was losing his Companions that drove him over the edge," Seven wondered aloud.

John shivered as he heard Lucsly's words. "I... I don't want to be that! I... yanking history apart like that, it's wrong. It destroys the ability of ordinary people to shape their world, to leave their own legacies behind. Because... because you just come along and you pull strings and their actions don't matter anymore. Their choices are taken from them. And you want me to become someone... someone like that?!"

Lucsly looked like he'd been punched. He directed his eyes on John and sighed, unable to think of what to say. It was shocking to him to hear that voice say those words.

This really was a different man.

"Mister Stevens, without the Doctor, the Borg will assimilate the entire Alpha Quadrant," Janeway countered. "There won't be any legacies left for us, and what we do have will be consumed and twisted to the Collective's will."

"She is correct," Seven said quietly. "The Borg must be stopped."

John fought down a rising tide of despair and watched as Tuvok walked over to the mantle. He looked over the items on it. "Isn't there another way?", he pleaded.

Seven looked at Janeway. "It is possible the Doctor left something in the TARDIS for us to use. I cannot see him failing to appreciate this possibility."

"Seven..." Janeway sighed. "Very well. We'll look into that. But we're running out of time."

"It's in the basement," Shelan volunteered.

As she said that, Tuvok's eyes settled on the fob watch. Janet was looking at him and swallowed. Before he could reach for it, Janeway's words caused him to turn and join the others.

Janet nudged John, who got up wearily and followed them. She did so as well. But not before she grabbed the watch herself and slipped it into her pocket.

They stood before the Police Call Box. Seven held up the locket and focused. She imagined the Doctor used mental commands, so clearly the device should...

The TARDIS lit up. A beam of light came from the light on the top and formed a figure in front of the door. It looked like John, but with a navy blue suit jacket, a light blue shirt under an even lighter-blue vest, and blue pants matching the jacket. Green shoes filled out his appearance. Even as upset as John was, he didn't have the look of sadness in his image's eyes. "Hello Seven," the image said.

"Doctor," Seven answered.

"This is a recording I'm leaving before I... before I go away,," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm just... I can't be this anymore. I'm not the Doctor. Not... the real Doctor. And trying to be nearly turned me into something horrible. Well... you're not here to listen to me cry, obviously. If you're here, that means something horrible is happening, and you need me. And since it's you, I can guess." The image of the Doctor sighed and looked up. "I was such a fool. This is my fault. I provoked the Borg, Seven. Even the Q know better, but in the height of my arrogance and insanity I decided that didn't apply to me. I poked them everywhere. And now you will pay the price for my arrogance." He laughed. "How irresponsible of me to do this, I suppose. But I can't take it anymore." There was a sound as he cleared his throat. "The TARDIS will open for you with the locket. I set aside a data chip with some anti-Borg settings and a new version of my anti-Borg virus. I haven't used it on them yet or anything like it. You should be able to use this effectively. Just transmit it into their network and watch them fall apart." He swallowed. "Just... leave John alone. Please. Let him have a happy life. He deserves to be happy. Please, Seven. Let him live his life. As a favor to me." For the first time in the recording, the Doctor smiled. "Goodbye, Annika Hansen. May you find happiness."

The image disappeared. And the TARDIS door opened.

One by one everyone filed in. John and Janet gawked in amazement at how big the inside was. The control panels lit up. All save one, the one to the right of the panel facing the door, which remained dark and on closer inspection was clearly disassembled. There were clear paths leading out of the control room but they were all shuttered up. Seven walked up to the controls and found a box listed as being for her. There was a second box labeled "For Nerys". Above them both were the Doctor's sonic devices. She left them there for the moment and opened her's instead. Inside was a packet of isolinear data chips, compatible with Federation systems. And underneath...

...underneath was a picture of her parents, holding a child. Seven realized it was her, aged 2 or so, dressed up in a frilly pink dress. A letter was attached to it addressed to her. "A special gift" it read.

Seven resisted the impulse to open the letter. She closed the box and held up the chips. "Here. We should get to Voyager immediately."

"Yes." Janeway turned to Lucsly. "Agent, the Everett is in orbit. If this doesn't work, have your people bring the TARDIS up and get it out to Deep Space Nine. Captain Ro has instructions. We cannot let the TARDIS fall into Borg hands."

"And what about the civilians?" Lucsly looked to them.

Janeway drew in a breath and walked up to John, who was holding hands with Janet. She had to lift her chin to meet his weary eyes. "Mister Stevens, I'm going to ask you not to fight me on this. We might still need the Doctor. And if the Borg were to capture you they might find a way to access him once they assimilate you. I need you to come with me."

"So that you can kill me to bring the Doctor back," John said pointedly.

"I hope it won't come to that."

John swallowed and forced down a breath. He looked to the others assembled there. The sheer magnitude of the situation threatened to crush him. "I'm just a physics and history teacher," he said. His voice was low and hoarse. Full of strain, of fear. "I'm not sure what I can do for you."

"Hopefully we won't need you to do a thing. But the entire Federation is at risk," Janeway pointed out. "Your students and fellow teachers will be killed or assimilated if the Borg win." Janeway looked over to Janet. "So will Miss Peratrovich."

Janet squeezed his hand. She looked up at him, her crystal blue eyes filled with tears and worry. Not for herself. He knew that wasn't it. It was about him.

"Don't go," she whispered. "Please."

He almost agreed. Almost. But as he touched her chin and her cheek, John imagined the scene of her being taken by the Borg. Her screams as the assimilation process took her, claimed her... and destroyed the light that made Janet Peratrovich who she was. She would become just another drone.

And he imagined that for every single one of his students.

"They'll probably take the blackfish too," he murmured to her. "Assimilate them. Or exterminate them if they can't." John sighed. He was terrified. Completely and utterly terrified. But he realized he was more afraid of those images in his head than of his own demise. He turned to Janeway. "I'll come with you," he said, his voice seeming to nearly crack under the weight of his terror.

Janeway nodded. She hit her comm badge. "Voyager, prepare to energize, four to beam..."

"Five," Janet corrected.

Janeway shot her a look. "Ma'am, I won't put you in dang..."

"You just said that if this doesn't work, the Borg will kill or assimilate me," Janet shot back. "So what does it matter if I'm on your ship or here? If he's going, I'm going."

"Janet..." John's voice trailed off as he put an arm around her to hold her close. "You don't have..."

"I must," she insisted. "You need someone there you know."

Janeway looked to Tuvok, who only brought up an eyebrow. Seven nodded. She picked up the sonic screwdriver and disruptor and stepped away from the controls. Seeing their reactions, Janeway said, "Very well. Janeway to Voyager, five to beam up."

Once they were off the transporter pad, Janeway was in the lead heading toward the turbolift. Janet went to go with John and heard Tuvok call out to her from the rear. She turned. "We need to speak alone, Miss Peratrovich," he said.

Janet sighed and looked back to John, nodding. He nodded back and followed Janeway and Seven on to the lift.

Tuvok walked up to her. "You brought his old Earth pocket watch?"

Janet shrugged. "I'm... what?"

"Your attempt at prevarication is flimsy," Tuvok told her. "I was watching you take it up. You noticed my interest."

Janet's mouth dried. "Yes."

"The back of the watch bears a solar system design, does it not?" When Janet didn't speak for several seconds, Tuvok nodded. "Your silence is suitable affirmation."

"It's.. just a watch," Janet insisted.

"I believe it is more," Tuvok said. "May I see it?"

Janet frowned at him. "I don't see why." She crossed her arms. "If it is what has this... this 'Doctor' being, you would use it to bring him back. You would kill John."

"Only if the situation demands it," Tuvok said. "Otherwise, I see no reason to take that course of action."

"I'll be the judge of that," Janet hissed. "I'm not letting Starfleet sacrifice him."

"You are being illogical," Tuvok pointed out.

"Yes I am." Janet turned and walked away.

Tuvok let out a faint sigh and followed.

The Voyager moved into formation alongside the Enterprise and several other starships, waiting near Utopia Planitia to meet the Borg ships. More were warping in every few minutes as Starfleet called in every ship it could get to face down the approaching Borg forces. Seven stood at Operations with newly-minted Lieutenant Kim. A newly-arrived Tellarite woman was at tactical; Chakotay and Tuvok were in the main command chairs and extra ones were brought up for Janeway, John, and Janet. Seven looked up. "I have disseminated the code to the rest of the fleet. As soon as the Borg arrive we will begin transmitting it through subspace."

"Good," Janeway said. She opened her mouth to speak and stopped herself, looking instead to Chakotay.

Chakotay nodded. "Red alert! Lieutenant Glesch, activate the ablative generators."

With a press of a button, Voyager's surface was covered in an advanced nanotech armor, courtesy of a future alternate timeline's Admiral Janeway.

John sucked in a breath and took Janet's hand. They looked at each other and John tried to smile. He realized that the gray box was still in his pocket. He felt sustained by that weight; it represented the hope for his future if this all worked out and they went back home.

Janet felt a weight of her own with the watch. Deep down she knew it was what they were looking for. She could remember the time she lifted it and had thoughts come to her. Thoughts that insisted she not open it and put it away. Now they made... sense. Too much sense.

"Borg ships coming out of warp," Kim warned.

On the screen, the Borg Cubes appeared. They were large, menacing structures, green light showing underneath dark gray armor and hull plating. "I'm reading at least fifty tactical cubes along with a hundred standard cubes and forty spheres," Kim said.

There were intakes of breath. Nobody was certain the entirety of Starfleet stood a chance against that amount of force. And the Borg were clearly sending more.

"Transmit the virus," Janeway ordered.

At that command, every ship in the fleet started transmitting the Doctor's anti-Borg virus. Tense moments passed by without anything happening. "The Borg ships are entering firing range. They're hailing."

"Ignore them," Janeway ordered.

Nevertheless, the voice came over. "WE ARE THE BORG. YOU WILL LOWER YOUR SHIELDS AND SURRENDER YOUR..." It stopped, courtesy of Kim cutting the speakers directly.

"It's not going to work," John murmured fearfully. "Look, it's not work..."

The large Borg tactical cube on the screen suddenly shuddered. All the lights on the ship dimmed to nothing.

And then it exploded.

One by one the Borg ships started exploding.

Janet's hand squeezed John's. Hope filled them as the green explosions flowered on the screen.

"Twenty-five percent of the enemy fleet is gone," Kim reported. "Thirty percent. Forty. Fifty. Sixty..."

Voyager suddenly shuddered underneath them. Violently. John and Janet fell to the floor from their seats. "Armor down to eighty percent!", Glesch shrieked. "The armor... the armor isn't working!"

"Evasive maneuvers!", Chakotay shouted. "Lock transphasic torpedoes and fire!"

"How many are left?", Janeway asked.

"Fifteen tactical cubes, at least fifty cubes..." Kim shook his head. "And I've got warp signatures on long range sensors, there's more coming in!"

Janeway looked to John as he helped Janet up off the floor. "We need him," she said. "We can't win this without him."

John looked at her and felt his heart quail. "But I don't know..."

Janet swallowed and looked to see Tuvok staring at her. She felt like screaming while her stomach sunk as far as it could go. She looked up at John and saw his fear. It rekindled her defiance. She couldn't let them kill John. Not... not him. He was too important...

"I believe Miss Peratrovich has the..."

Before Tuvok could answer the ship was rocked by several more hits. "Two tactical cubes are pursuing us!", Kim shouted. "Several more cubes are locking on! They're focusing on us!"

"Enterprise is trying to maneuver to protect us," Glesch added. "But there's too..."

The ship rocked so violently that everyone trying to stand was thrown to the floor. "Armor is down to twenty percent!" Glesch's hands moved over her controls. The ship rocked again. "Fifteen percent! Ten per...!"

The next strike of the Borg on the ship caused the roof to explode. Tuvok jumped from his seat and threw himself on Janet as a girder fell on top of her. It smashed into his shoulder and the back of his head. An explosion of sparks sent Lieutenant Glesch flying back from her broken console.

"We're losing impulse control!", Tom Paris warned from the helm.

"We're losing the armor, I'm bringing the shields back up," Seven added.

John and Janeway got to the collapsed beam at the same time. The ship shook again and nearly threw them off-balance as they pulled away the girder enough to get Tuvok out from under it. Janet struggled to her knees, blood flowing from a cut on her temple. Her blue blouse was now marked with crimson and emerald stains. The latter's origin was clear from the green blood coming down the side of Tuvok's head. Janeway looked into his eyes, clouded with pain. "The watch," he said weakly. "The watch." He fell unconscious before Janeway could ask what he meant.

"Medical emergency on the bridge!", Chakotay called out.

The ship shook again. "Shields down to forty percent!", Kim shouted.

On the screen a green energy beam reached out from one of the cubes and seemed to latch onto the screen, causing the ship to shudder. "They've got us in a tractor beam," Seven said. "Fifty seconds to shield failure."

"I'm trying to feed power into the shields." Kim shook his head. "I might be able to buy us another minute."

For the moment the shaking stopped. John swallowed and looked at Janet. "I heard him," he whispered. "And I... remember when he melded with me." John took in a breath and tried to force down his fear of what was going through his head. "You have it, don't you?"

"John, no." Janet shook her head. Her face twisted into an expression of grief and she began to sob, putting her arms around him. "Please don't leave me."

"I... I don't want to go," he admitted to her. "I'm scared."

"You don't have to," Janet insisted. She knew she was wrong. She knew they were doomed if something didn't change. But she didn't care. For the last year her life had been happier than ever before. And John was the main reason why. The thought of losing him agonized her like nothing else. "Please don't."

Terror gripped John's throat. He croaked his next request. "Let me see it."

"I don't want to," Janet cried.

"Forty-five seconds to shield failure," Kim reported. "I can't do any more."

"All hands prepare to repel Borg boarders!" Janeway was already going for the phaser rifles installed in the new bridge armory station.

John closed his eyes and reached into Janet's pocket. She wept into his chest, but she didn't stop him as he pulled the watch out of her pocket. He bent his head down and pressed his lips to her mouth. She welcomed the act, opening her mouth and exchanging a strong, heart-felt kiss with him. Tears flowed down their eyes.

"Thirty seconds!"

The kiss ended. Janet almost pleaded again but didn't. She stepped back. Her face was full of pain.

John lifted the watch and felt something stir within. A single voice called out to him.

Don't open it! Don't open the watch! Please don't open the WATCH!

"He's got so much despair. So much pain." John swallowed. "I..." I don't want to be this!, he thought.

But he knew he had to.

"Twenty seconds!"

Kim's warning jolted John into action. With a final effort of will he took his terror and his sense of self-preservation and he pushed them away. He focused his tear-blurred eyes on Janet. Her face was contorted in a sob. "I love you, Janet," he said to her.

Janet sobbed again. "I love you, John," she cried.

All John could think about were the dreams he couldn't fulfill now. Getting on his knee and offering her the ring he had in his pocket. Marrying her. Living a happy life on San Juan island with her, growing old and dying together... leaving a modest mark, but a good one. An honest legacy for the people of Friday Harbor.

When the day had begun, it had all seemed within his grasp.

But it wouldn't happen now. Now, all he could do was save her life, even if meant losing his own.

That would have to be his legacy. Not a modest life of teaching the young and having a family with the woman he loved. His legacy would be this. This act of sacrifice.

All in the hope that the Doctor could save them all.

John lowered his eyes on the watch. It felt warm to the touch. He could feel the being inside. The Doctor. The man who could save Janet. He was pleading with John to put the watch up. I can't was his reply in his thoughts.

With a movement of his thumb, John opened the fob watch.

Bright light circled out of the watch's face. It pierced his eyes. He felt something, an energy, an essence, begin to fill into him. There was no pain, but he could feel something tingle inside of him. Like a transporter beam, almost, but... different. A power, a force, that was re-arranging him from the inside.

And he felt something enter his mind. Something not very old, but full of power and majesty. A mind far more advanced than his own. He felt despair and sadness and pain. A hunger for identity.

John reacted to the feelings with his own. Save Janet, please! Save her, save my students, save them all! You're the only one that can do it! He poured his will into his pleas even as he felt things slip away.

Don't let this be wasted. Please. Please save them all.

That was the last thought of John Smith-Stevens before he died.

Pain.

Despair.

Grief.

That was all that I felt.

Most people don't think about their names, about their identities. That's how powerful they are. They're a part of us without it even being thought of.

I didn't have that anymore.

My name was locked away in my head, beyond the help of even the most powerful telepathics and psions to recover. I had taken another. A name that had power. And it was power I had failed to keep in check.

It almost cost me everything.

And so I threw away that name for my misuse of it. But this left me with nothing.

"Surely you can come up with a new name", one might say. "How hard can it be?" Very hard. Very hard when the new name isn't just an alias but an attempt to sum up who you were, what you were. I couldn't.

At the beginning of my exile, I thought that attempts to undo the damage from my rampage as the Time Lord Triumphant would help. But it didn't. I couldn't fix some of what I did. I couldn't alter my own timestream.

And all the while, I yearned for the sense of identity that I kept failing to find.

Until, finally, I just... gave up.

The pain became too much. I decided to become something else. Someone new. Someone who could have an identity without the baggage of what remained of my past. And so I used the Chameleon Arch.

There was fierce, steady pain, my screams of anguish as I was changed from within... and then the cool silence of the watch. My essence reduced to a gentle slumber.

I had found peace.

And then the peace ended.

"Don't let this be wasted. Please. Please save them all."

The thought jolted through me as I awoke. The dying wish of John Smith-Stevens echoed in my hearts and my mind. His tears of fear and loss still flowed down my cheeks. I could see Janet, the woman he loved, bloodied and bruised on the damaged bridge of the Starship Voyager.

Janeway - Admiral Janeway now - was looking at me intently. "Doctor?", she asked.

I felt a stabbing pain at that name.

I almost barked back my refusal of being called the Doctor. Before I could, columns of green light began appearing on the bridge. I recognized the Borg transporter effect. I felt fury build up inside of me at what the Borg had done.

"Doctor, here!"

I turned in time to see Seven toss me my sonic disruptor. I grabbed it in mid-air and swung it about at the nearest gaggle of Borg drones. I set it to Setting 24 - one the Borg had never experienced - and let loose with a full pulse. Sparks erupted from their implants and they collapsed. I whirled about and used Setting 4 on the drones coming at Janet and Janeway from the front of the bridge. Their shields were set to absorb phaser fire; the raw kinetic energy threw them into the bulkhead so fast that the Borg drones dropped uselessly to the deck.

Other Borg went for Operations, where Seven brought up my sonic screwdriver. Its purple tip lit up and the whir sounded across the bridge. The Borg drones before her dropped to the ground.

Another group materialized. Setting 24 washed over them and a visual distortion appeared over their chests. The Borg had adapted. I swapped to Setting 31 and fired it again. Waves of nano-disruptive force flew out and struck the Borg. Their implants dissolved inside of them and the bodies collapsed.

"Borg on all decks," the Tellarite woman at tactical said. "Security teams are moving to intercept!"

"No need." I stomped up to operations and wedged myself in between Seven and Kim. My hands flew over the controls as I reconfigured Voyager's internal systems in a matter of seconds. At my button press, a large-scale energy pulse erupted from the warp nacelles, passing through the ship and the nearby Borg. The cubes surrounding Voyager went lifeless. Across the ship Borg drones collapsed. "That should deal with them for the moment. Let's get your shields back up."

"Welcome back, Doctor," Seven said. I thought I saw a hint of a smile on her face.

"Please," I said, "don't call me that."

"Call you what?", Kim asked.

"I'm not the Doctor," I replied coldly while working the panel. "I'm transmitting waveform signatures to the rest of the fleet. It should buy us a little time..."

"Time for what?", Janeway asked.

"To deal with that."

On the screen a new Borg cube appeared. It was at least ten times more massive than standard cubes. "Flagship Cube," I murmured. I looked over the controls again. "Okay. I need to get my virus over there."

"But the virus didn't work," Kim protested.

"Oh, it worked fine. It's not even something they can easily adapt to, because it adapts to their adaptations," I explained. "They had to self-destruct their own cubes fast enough to beat its transmission vectors to stop it. I underestimated the speed of their communication protocol alterations." I was still running my fingers over the controls. "I'm fixing that, now. But they know better than to leave communication channels open to us, so I've got to deliver it manually to their systems."

"We'll ready an away team," Chakotay said.

"No need." I looked to Seven and nodded. "Nice to see you again, Seven."

Before she could respond, I hit a final key on the board. And the Voyager transporter whisked me away.

The inside of the Borg flagship cube was enormous. Fabricating facilities to launch more Borg spheres and probes were everywhere and there were regeneration nodes as far as the eye could see.

I materialized in the very heart of the cube. A super-sized Borg viniculum offered access to the entire Collective. I rushed up to it and went to furious work. Installing the virus was the last step I was going to take; the first steps involved making sure they couldn't catch it before it went out over their communications network, and that meant taking control of their system from here.

"We knew you could not resist."

I turned and watched a body descend from the upper planks, accompanied by wires holding the head section of the Borg Queen. "Hello again, Doctor."

"Hello Queen Bee," I murmured. I fought to keep my anger under control. "Let me guess. This was all for my benefit?"

"This quadrant is long due for assimilation into our perfection," the Queen announced. "The chance of drawing you out made it a higher priority."

"I told you what I'd do to you if you attacked the Federation," I said. My anger slipped out into my words.

"Yes." The Queen smirked. "Yet you still attacked us. So why should we allow that threat to restrain us when we were to face your enmity anyway?"

I frowned. As the Time Lord Triumphant I had repeatedly acted to keep the Borg from attacking worlds. That included making anti-viruses and sabotage programs that devastated entire Borg fleets. In my... madness, I had not considered the consequence that the Borg would no longer heed my warnings regarding the Federation.

Of course, I knew that wasn't the whole truth. But it was sobering. And very, very upsetting. And I was already rather upset. "Like you wouldn't have tried this eventually anyway," I grumbled.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," the Borg Queen purred. "But now we are. The Federation has rejected our perfection long enough. It has proven itself a threat to the Collective, just as you are."

"So now you're here to assimilate us?", I asked.

The Queen seemed to smirk at that. And I suddenly realized I had miscalculated her intentions.

Her answer was cold and sinister. "Only those who survive."

The drones seemed to come out of nowhere. I had to jump away from the control panel to evade a barrage of fire from the tactical drones. I used Setting 42 to deflect their shots as I fled toward a corner. At the last moment I turned and saw more coming at me from that direction, preparing to fire. I jumped out of the way just in time. Searing energy fire went by my face as the drones ahead of me opened fire. I swapped to Setting 32 and let loose with a burst that took out the drones ahead of me, clearing my path.

The drones behind me opened fire again and I barely got setting 42 back up. I rushed to another control panel and used my free hand and the sonic to input more commands to prepare the spreading of my virus while batting off shots from the others with my setting 42 shield.

"A few seconds more," I muttered. I almost had it. I almost had it!

Pain exploded through my left side. I cried out and crumpled. Through the pain I realized what had happened before I hit the ground. The Borg were adapting to my shielding system and had overloaded the disruptor's setting 42 shield.

I turned on my right side, ignoring the burning in the left, and saw the drones stop, keeping their weapons leveled at me. The Queen walked up amongst them. "We have wondered what to do with you, Doctor," she said. "You would be a marvelous addition to the Collective. But... a dangerous one. A mind as powerful as your's could undermine our unity. You may have set a trap within yourself again that would threaten the Collective with destruction." The Queen's expression hardened. "You are the gravest threat the Collective has ever faced. I believe it would be far safer if we terminated your existence."

The drones shifted their aim to face me.

The Queen's eyes focused on mine. Cold, black, malevolent. "Yes. That is what we will do. You are a threat to the Collective. You must be destroyed."

I barely got the sonic disruptor up in time to absorb the barrage. I lifted my sonic and triggered it. One drone fell. Another. But the weight of fire continued and the shield began to crackle, fighting to beat the speed of Borg adaptation.

I was running out of time.

I was also getting really bloody furious.

Before I could act on my fury and desperation, more transporter beams coalesced around the chamber. The drones turned away from me. But they were too slow.

"Fire!"

On one end of the room, Admiral Janeway and a security team from Voyager opened up with phasers on the drones. On the other, a growl and the sound of metal slicing through air spoke of the arrival of Commander Worf from the Enterprise. An Indian Lieutenant - Jasminder Choudhury I presumed - led another tactical team in opening fire on the Borg while Worf went after the nearest drones with his mek'leth.

The Queen fell back, trying to get out of the crossfire. I forced the pain out of my thoughts and got to my feet. I held up my sonic and pointed it toward the Starfleet team. "I'm uploading new frequency shifts into your weapons!", I announced. "They won't be adapting to it any time soon!"

More drones were arriving and the fight was growing chaotic. "What is your progress, Doctor?", Janeway called out.

"Almost there," I answered while limping back to the control panel. I brought up the sonic again and prepared to load the virus into the Borg Collective.

The others were too wrapped up in the fight to stop what came next. I saw the shadow a moment before it was too late. Which is a way of saying that instead of getting impaled through the midsection, I turned and shifted myself enough that when the Borg Queen struck at me with a bladed arm, it ripped into my upper left hip. I let out a cry of pain and gasped. I could hear the console sparking beside me from where the blade punctured it directly, destroying it.

I looked down into the Borg Queen's dark eyes. "We will not be stopped," she rasped angrily. "We are the Borg. Resistance is futile!"

I gasped and tried to move, but the Queen was keeping me locked into place. Pain was radiating all across the left side of my body. Thick blood was flowing around the blade. I could feel my blood flowing down my left leg. The Queen brought up her left arm. Her hand seemed to melt together, forming another spike.

I had only seconds to act. The control panel behind me was out of commission; I couldn't use it anymore. Nothing else was close enough. Nobody else saw my danger at the moment. I began to raise my voice.

The spike drove into my right heart. I screamed again and watched blood flow outward. "You do not deserve our perfection," the Queen said to me.

I struggled against the pain and started bringing my right hand up. I had only one chance now. One possibility. And the Queen had made it possible.

"This is for John," I hissed.

The Queen looked at me in curiosity. Before she could ask who I was talking about, I pushed the sonic screwdriver right up to her head and activated it at full power.

At full power, at the setting I was using, the sonic screwdriver was like an arrow, going right through her armor and into her core being. She screamed as the sonic disrupted her functions. She had more reason to do so as the sonic uploaded the virus right into her central processes. She slumped down against me, making me groan as the spikes drove further into my body. "What..." She looked at me with...

...with terror.

"It's over," I growled. "The Borg Collective ends today."

The Queen screamed again. The drones around us began to spark and fall over. Lights around the cube began to flicker. Control surfaces exploded in sparks.

I heard a grunt of effort and noticed Worf had come up to us. He grabbed the Borg Queen and pulled her off of me. Blood flowed freely from my wounds as I fell into his arms. My blood poured out onto the deck and all over his uniform. "It's done," I wheezed. "They... they can't stop it..."

"Doctor!" Janeway ran up with her security people - those not dead or wounded - beside her. She looked as ragged as her subordinates. "What did you do?"

"Put the virus right into the Queen," I wheezed. "She... she didn't think I could penetrate her defenses. The virus went right through their subspace network to every control node in the Collective."

Janeway's mouth gaped open. "Do you mean..."

"The Borg Collective..." I smiled. "...the Collective is being torn apart. The virus is destroying its central control program. It's taking the Hive Mind apart."

"Admiral." Picard's voice crackled over Janeway's comm badge. "The Borg vessel's reactors are going critical."

I sucked in a breath. This could be the Collective trying to stop the spread... no. No, it was too late for that.

"Oh no," I breathed. "I need to talk to them! Help me! Get me to a living drone!"

Janeway nodded to Worf and helped him pull me over to the nearest twitching drone. A look of horror and terror was on the figure's face. He... no, she looked up at me with horrified eyes. I reached down and put my hands on her head. Janeway undoubtedly recognized it as similar to the finger placement of a Vulcan mindmeld. I pushed the pain in my savaged body away and reached with my mind into the drone's mind. I felt her emotions, strong and violent. Her memories of being seized and assimilated. She wasn't pleased by her liberation; her mind was so used to being drowned out by the Collective that being able to think again was hurting her. Be calm, I said. You're free. I know it hurts, but it won't last. You're free. You're all free. I felt her settle enough that I reached through her mind and into what lay beyond.

The minds of what were once the Borg Collective were out there. They almost overwhelmed me with their grief, their terror, and their anger. I clenched my teeth and focused, fighting through it.

Listen. The Hive Mind is gone!, I said to them. You're all free! All of you! You can rebuild your homeworlds and your societies!

Their memories of lost families and loved ones rippled around me. I felt myself began to weep at the sheer sadness. Panic filled my hearts as I realized how many were ready to die just to end their suffering.

I know it hurts. I know you had terrible things done to you. I know some of you were then made to do terrible things in turn. But that's over. Don't give in to those thoughts. Think of what you could accomplish now! Please! Don't let the Collective continue to destroy your lives! I forced a breath through my agonized chest. Don't make it all for nothing, please. You can rebuild your shattered worlds. You can help each other find or grieve over what you've lost. You can find others who will help you with that, civilizations like the Federation that would do everything to help you build new lives. You could be something so beautiful... just don't give in to the despair!

As I made those thoughts, as the minds in the link spread them about and rippled them back to me, I realized... the same could be said for me. I didn't have to be a nameless being condemned to pain. I was still a Time Lord, I still had a TARDIS, and a wide Multiverse with wonders I had yet to see. And I had friends to show them to. Friends everywhere. I wasn't really alone. I didn't have to give in to my despair.

There were screams of anguish over the link. A good man died to give me this chance, I said to them. I began projecting the final thoughts of John Smith-Stevens into the link. The simple things he loved, his feelings for Janet and his memories of what they'd done together, everything he'd been. He sacrificed it to stop the Borg. And that's been done. You are something new, you are free. Don't throw that away, please! There's been enough death today!

I realized I'd been speaking these messages as well as I looked up and saw the Starfleet officers who had helped me standing around us. But I returned my focus to the link. I felt hope and fear. Hope that I'd gotten through to them, fear that it wouldn't matter.

And then... the grief and terror and anger subsided. Other powerful voices, former drones, began to echo what I was saying. We are free!, they said, over and over, until a wave of realization washed over the link. I felt joy and elation begin to settle into the linked minds of what had been the Borg. The cacophony of voices became more and more diverse. Individuals were re-asserting themselves. Names and memories were being thrown about as families and friends sought each other out across the breadth of the former Collective.

It wasn't total. I felt some voices silence. Those who were... too far gone. Who couldn't handle it. I didn't save them all.

But I saved most of them.

I... I'd done it.

I started to laugh. I heard laughter. Not just mine. I looked down and saw the drone I had been interfacing with looking up at me. Her remaining eye sparkled and she laughed, oh she laughed so loudly. Tears flowed from the surviving gray eye. "Thank you," she said to me. "Thank you, Doctor."

"You're welcome," I said. I didn't bother protesting her calling me that. I was too happy.

Oh, and... too weak. I toppled over to my side. I tried to lift my head and couldn't. My body had overtaxed itself given all of my wounds.

I didn't stop smiling, even as I realized I was dying. No regenerations for me, after all, and with the damage to my right heart and all of the blood loss and tissue damage... Well, I might be joining John.

But I wasn't panicked this time. I just... sighed in contentment. This felt good. So good.

I half expected to see Death again. But it was only Janeway and Worf, shouting orders for a transport to sickbay.

And everything went black.

I woke up to sunshine coming through a window. I blinked my eyes and instinctively felt toward my torso. It wasn't for any practical reason, it was simple reaction. It took much of my energy to sit upright. I could feel the machinery attached to my right heart on the inside. Cellular regeneration devices, slowly and carefully rebuilding the damaged tissues so as to not overtax my body, combined with artificial mechanisms that kept my cardiovascular system operating. My left side was stiff and burning with low, painkiller-reduced aching.

I turned my head and saw the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. Small shuttlecraft zipped about outside. Ah. Starfleet Headquarters, obviously, specifically Starfleet Medical.

Shortly after I woke up an Andorian nurse entered and checked on me. I found myself drifting back into sleep even as he completed the examination. This did not surprise. My wounds were terribly severe and surviving them had taxed my Time Lord healing to its limit. I might have regenerated if I still had any.

When I awoke again it was dawn. This time I had a visitor. Seven sat in a nearby chair and looked up as I sat up. "You are feeling better?", she asked.

"Rather," I said hoarsely, reaching for the pitcher of water left out for me. My left side flared with pain when I tried to twist. Seven noticed and came to my assistance, pouring the cup. "It worked," I said, smiling weakly and taking a drink.

"Yes." Seven answered with her own smile and nodded. "The new... Cooperative, they are calling it, has had some issues with the drones who were such from birth. But they will develop individuality in time."

"Good, good." I drank down the rest of the cup to wet my throat. "I felt that some destroyed themselves."

"Yes." Seven poured me another cup. "You sustained critical injuries and nearly died. The former Borg you interfaced with directly attempted injection of regeneration nanites. Without the Collective's guiding programming, they were insufficient to fully repair your body."

"I see," I murmured. "But they did help save me?"

"It appears so, yes." Seven nodded. "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted and famished," I answered truthfully. "A bite to eat and some more sleep feels about right."

"Yes," Seven agreed.

"Where's my TARDIS?", I asked.

"It has been returned to yo... to John Stevens' home," Seven said. "For your return."

"I see." I laid my head back. I felt a final inquiry come to my mind. "And Janet Peratrovich?"

"Debriefed by Starfleet and returned home as well," Seven answered. "I extended her an invitation to visit you."

"But she won't," I said. "She can't. Not now. Not with the wound so fresh." I closed my eyes. "If you talk to her, tell her I understand, please."

"I will, Doctor..."

Within seconds I was fast asleep.

Time Lords heal fast under normal conditions. Normal conditions, I must stress. My condition hadn't been. My body had been turned back into a Time Lord's body just before the traumatic injuries. I had been infested with Borg nanites from the Queen's attack on me. My right heart had to be rebuilt at a cellular level. It should surprise no one that it took weeks for me to recover.

About twenty-one days after I woke up I was due to be discharged. The EMH Mark 1 from Voyager and Doctor Crusher from the Enterprise gave me separate examinations, feuding quietly in the way that doctors can sometimes do over disagreements, but both gave me the clean bill of health.

At the end of their examinations a figure appeared in the door. The traveling robes of the Bajoran clergy looked out of place in Starfleet Medical. "Excuse me," the EMH said. "I'm afraid this patient is not to be..."

"Nerys," I said, my mouth forming a smile. "Don't worry about it, Doctor, she's a friend."

Nerys smiled and nodded. "I'll wait, if that's necessary."

"No." Doctor Crusher shook her head. "We were leaving anyway."

Nerys walked up to me and sat down by the bed. When the two physicians had left she said, "I came here as quickly as I could."

"Thank you." I extended a hand and took her's. "So, Ranjen Kira, I see? A new career for you."

She nodded. "Yeah. I... I've had some experiences since the end of the war. I had time to think about the path I wanted to take. And I realized that the Temple was my future."

My hearts warmed to hear that. She had reached another stage in her life and become something more than the angry Resistance fighter I'd once seen her as.

I nodded. "I'm very happy for you. I'll make sure to be there the day you're elected Kai."

That made Nerys laugh. "Oh, I don't see that hap..." She stopped and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "...this isn't some playful attempt to tell me my future, is it?"

"Oh, not at all. It may be a possible future. But the timeline's not set in stone. Our free will can change how it will go, at least for us. It can determine the legacy we'll leave." My smile turned sad. "I... still have that poor man in my mind. His memories, I mean."

"You really turned yourself into a Human?", she asked.

"Yes, I did. He was a nice chap, too. A teacher. He just wanted a simple life out in the San Juan Islands." I sighed wistfully. "And then the Borg came along. He... sacrificed himself in bringing me back. Left behind grieving students and a woman who loved him very deeply."

"I'll... say a prayer for him," Nerys assured me. "Can I ask why you did this? Why you... sealed away yourself?"

"I..." I faltered for a moment. "I was too full of guilt and despair, Nerys. Guilt for the things I did in my madness and despair for... my realization that I had no identity. I had let the mantle of the Doctor take the place of the mind that is sealed away inside me. But it went wrong. You saw that."

She nodded quietly. "Yes."

"You... saved me, Nerys." I felt the tears well in my eyes. "You stopped me from going past the edge. Had I fired those missiles I..."

"It's okay." She took her other hand and put it on the one I'd already reached out to her with. "You saved my life. You showed me that there was a better way. All I was doing was returning the favor."

"You almost died."

"So did you."

I stopped speaking for the moment. Nerys let the quiet last for a time. "What will you do now?", she finally asked.

I remained quiet for about ten seconds, gathering my thoughts. "I suppose I'll... go back to traveling," I finally said. "Nothing fancy. Just... exploring what's out there."

Nerys smiled and nodded. "That's good. Have any ideas on who to travel with?"

"A couple," I admitted. I looked to her. "I could take you if that's what you want."

Nerys shook her head, although her smile was still radiant. "I'm not the adventurous youth anymore, Doctor, and I'm not the little girl who asked you to live in your magic box. I've found my place in the Temple."

"I'm happy for you," I replied. "There is... one thing." I reached into the drawer and pulled out the box I'd left in the TARDIS, marked for her. "I had anticipated Seven would need my anti-Borg measures. For you, I worried about a couple of potential threats that I laid out in the data chips. But that's not the important thing."

Nerys took the box and opened it. She removed the data chips I'd left her and went for what was in the bottom. Her mouth partially gaped open as she pulled out the image within. It showed her family shortly before her mother was taken to be a comfort woman. Tears formed in her eyes even before she got to the envelope below. She opened it and pulled out a note written in Bajoran script. Not the best script, but passable. I saw her chest heave slightly and the tears start flowing down her eyes. "You were with my mother before she...?"

"I made her comfortable," I answered. "It was the best I could do."

"And you told her about me?", Nerys said, her voice almost a low squeak.

"She was dying. I decided it didn't risk the timeline that greatly."

This time I remained silent for her as she read. Tears flowed freely down her face. "Thank you," she finally said. She said the words in a low, quiet tone.

"I've caused you pain," I remarked, my voice equally low.

Her mouth twitched. "Yes. But it's a good pain. After all these years I was starting to forget what my brothers looked like." She sniffled. "I've always had problems with this."

"I know." I put my hand on her shoulder. "Thank you again, Nerys."

At that point, there was nothing more to be said.

Nerys left after lunch to get to the ship that would return her to Bajor. With nothing else to do, I was in the middle of gathering my things when Seven appeared at the door. "I have arranged a shuttle to return you to the Stevens house," she said.

"Thank you." I looked out the window at the clear San Francisco day. "So, I hear the Cooperative are applying for Federation membership?"

"Assistance first, but yes." Seven's eyebrows went up. "It has caused quite a stir in the Federation's political circles."

"I imagine so." I put my sonic screwdriver in my pocket.

"I heard that you asked President Bacco to not act against the DTI. I'm curious as to why."

I nodded. "They were trying to do the right thing," I said. "How many times have Starfleet captains defied orders and proved it was proper?"

"They have sought to imprison you for a long time." Seven shook her head. "And despite the President's official pardon, I suspect they will continue to be opposed to you."

"Good," I said. I lowered my eyes. "I need someone willing to do that. I need a check. I can't let the Time Lord Triumphant ever come back."

"I see."

"Speaking of that..." I brought my eyes back up and looked into her's. "I could use a traveling companion, Annika. What do you think?"

For a moment she remained quiet. I could see her considering it. Finally, she shook her head. "Thank you for the offer," Seven answered. "But I have built a life here in the Federation."

"With Chakotay," I stated.

I was answered with a nod.

"Well." I nodded. "I'm happy for you both." I tucked the sonic disruptor into my belt and put the bedsheets back into place. "Well, I'd better be off to that shuttle. Would hate to make your pilot wait too long."

I admit I felt some disappointment, but not too much. I couldn't blame her for holding onto the life she'd built. I took up the new cane I'd picked up in my left hand and used it to hobble on to leave. I got to the door when she called out to me. "Yes?", I said, turning back.

"I read the letter you left in my bag," she said. "How much did they know?"

"Your parents?" I sighed. "Not enough, unfortunately. All I said was that in the future you would appreciate getting to read their thoughts."

"I see." She nodded. A tear was forming at the side of her eye. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Annika." I smiled gently. "By the way, would you and Chakotay like a house?"

Seven tilted her head slightly. "You mean your house on San Juan Island."

"John's house, actually," I remarked. "I'm going to offer it to Janet but I suspect she'll say no. It's your's, if you want it."

"I will speak to Chakotay," she said.

"Yes, well, I'll leave it in your hands, whether you keep it or not. For me..." I turned back to the door. "...I think it's time to start traveling again."

Most of the things in John's house weren't mine. They were his. And I had no real need or use for them. So I put them in containers and set them to the side.

As I worked on some of the things in the living room I heard the door open. I knew who it was even before I turned to see Janet Peratrovich step into the room. "Hello Janet," I said.

John's memories of her were full of vibrant life, a depressing contrast to what she looked like now. Her clothing was muted and dark. Her expression showed she was trying to hold back pain. Her entire world had been torn apart.

And to make it worse, here I was; the body of the man she loved, but not the mind.

"I see you've recovered," she said.

"Mostly." I tapped the cane at my side. "Left hip still needs some healing. I'll be limping for a little bit."

Janet nodded. Everywhere she looked in the room, she could see the signs of John's life. Tears were forming in her eyes. "I... have questions for you, Doctor."

"That's not my..." I sighed. "Yes, Janet?"

"Is there... anything of John left?", she asked.

"His memories," I answered. "I remember him. His experiences, some of his thoughts and feelings."

Hope, ever so fleeting, flashed across her face. My gut twisted as I anticipated her next question.

"Could you bring him back? Could you repeat whatever that process was and bring him back?"

I let out a breath. "I'm afraid not," I said. "If I were to use the Arch to become Human again, the resulting man would be a new being. Tabula rasa. A total blank slate." I turned to face her. "I could give him the same name but it wouldn't be him. He wouldn't be the man you fell in love with."

"I see." With her hopes dashed, Janet found a nearby chair and buried her face in her hands. "Do you know how happy he made me, Doctor? Do you understand what I've lost?" I could hear she was starting to sob. "I'd... I'd never felt that w-way before and... and now he's gone."

I swallowed. I didn't dare think about the box that I was keeping in my pocket and the diamond ring inside of it. I had considered giving it to her; now I saw that it would be base cruelty to inflict that on her.

"It's not fair," Janet wept. "I-it's not f-fair..."

I walked over to sit beside her. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She recoiled from me and jumped off the seat, heading for another. "You're not him!", she screamed. "You're not!"

"I know," I answered. "But he would want me to comfort you. John would want me to make sure you're okay."

Janet lowered her hands and looked at me with tear-filled eyes. "I know," she sobbed softly. "But I can't bear it. It's like you're some alien wearing his skin! You're not him but you look..." She stopped, breaking into sobs again.

"I could take you with me," I said. "I could give you the chance to explore the wonders of creation. To see things you've never imagined." Even as I made the offer, it felt hollow in my throat. It was a show, that was it. I was giving a show of being supportive when I could never actually be such to her.

"You're not him," Janet said. "I wouldn't want to go. In fact..." Her lip tremored a little. "I... I don't want you to be around. Please. Just leave me alone. I'll... I'll be fine. Eventually. But I never will if you're around."

I drew in a breath and nodded. "I understand," I said. And I said nothing more as she left. Janet Peratrovich would need to rebuild her own life. Make her own way. Forge her own legacy to the world.

I lowered myself into the seat she'd left. For a time I sat there, gathering my thoughts. The thought of jumping back into the Chameleon Arch had an appeal. Perhaps a different world this time. I could just become Human again and the resulting man could grow old and die.

...and as I thought that, I thought of John, and I realized I couldn't.

John was dead because of my actions. I provoked the Borg into an attack they would not have made. How many lives had been lost due to the actions of the Time Lord Triumphant? How much blood could be laid at my feet for my arrogance?

No. I couldn't hide with the Arch again. I had to move on. No matter how much I hurt. To do otherwise would be to spit on John's memory and ignore my responsibilities. I couldn't do that again.

And, perhaps, the answers I sought for myself were out There somewhere, yet to be discovered.

I drew in a breath and sat up. It was time to finish packing and get going.

I ended up choosing a new suit from John's wardrobe. His trousers were much the same color as my preferred ones. Deep blue shoes replaced the green ones I'd once worn. My old blue silk shirts and vests were in his closet and I donned one set. Without any jackets to be found in my original navy blue, I opted for a dark purple one. I smiled a little as I pulled it on. Finally, a purple jacket that didn't make me look like I was going to start trying to plot death traps for Batman.

I stopped for a moment as I came upon the ties. Specifically, one tie, of a brighter purple than the jacket. A set of them that were gifts from Janet to John.

I normally detest ties. If I wore a tie at all it was a bow-tie. But... I found myself putting it on anyway. Somehow it felt right. It was, perhaps, my own little memorial to John Smith-Stevens.

Once I was done I took my bags upon my shoulders and back. They weren't heavy. If there was any burden, it was needing the cane to walk with any speed given the stiffness and pain in my left hip.

I ventured downstairs to the basement. I stepped into the TARDIS and put my bags down, intent to set everything up later. I turned to the controls...

...and faced Agent Lucsly.

His expression was neutral. "You've been pardoned," he said flatly. "The President has declared you a recognized temporal power and DTI has no authority to arrest you."

"Yes," I said.

Lucsly nodded and drew in a sigh. "I liked John Stevens," he finally admitted.

I went through John's memories. "He agreed with you on time travel," I pointed out.

"Yeah." Lucsly nodded. "He didn't have pretensions like you. He was willing to accept the world as it was."

"You first met me at the lowest point in my life," I said. "The Time Lord Triumphant was a mistake. I know that. I'm moving on from that."

"I'll wait to see you prove it," Lucsly countered. "Because I know you. You won't be able to stop yourself. You will interfere in events."

I glowered at him. "You are bound and determined to be my Nemesis, aren't you Lucsly?"

"Someone has to," he answered. "Someone has to be willing to stop you when you go too far."

"Well, I suppose you could travel with me," I retorted sarcastically. "Keep me under control, eh?"

Lucsly laughed harshly. "Yeah, that'll be the day. I'll be watching you, Doctor. I'll be..."

As he spoke, my eyes moved to the TARDIS controls. Everything seemed in order. Everything seemed ready.

Which was why I felt my face pale. "What have you done?!", I demanded in a hoarse tone. I forced myself past Lucsly, cane and all, and went to the controls.

"What are you talking about?", Lucsly asked. Evident confusion was on his face. "We haven't done a thing to your TARDIS, if that's what you're..."

"Haven't done a thing?!" I pointed to the controls. "What do you call that?!"

Lucsly blinked. "Your... station. It was disassembled. We put it back together. We didn't want it said that we sabotaged you."

"You stupid..." I felt like I could tear my hair out. "I pulled it apart for a reason, Lucsly!" With a feeling of panic I went to the controls. Much to my horror, the light was blinking. Messages. I'd received calls while I was recuperating.

And because of the way the calling system worked, the TARDIS had been anchored to those points of the timestream relative to its own. Jumping back to help would be like jumping into my own timestream.

"What are you grumbling..."

"When people connect calls to the TARDIS, it anchors the TARDIS' timestream to theirs!", I shouted in reply. "Because of you, if any of my friends called for help, I'm going to arrive late, or not at all!"

Korra's voice came over the speaker. "Doctor, I could use your help. My uncle has gone insane and is going to destroy the world! I can explain when you get here, but we need your help to get to the South Pole and around his army. Please come as soon as you can."

"Another timeline you were interfering with?", Lucsly asked angrily.

"Shush!", I hissed. My mind raced. I didn't do anything to change Korra's world enough to divert how things would go, had I? She'd still beat Unalaq and Vaatu. She didn't need me.

I hoped.

The next message played. "Doctor, this is Wes Collins. I have an emergency. The other Time Rangers have returned to their time, but Ransik is going to destroy Silver Hills if he's not stopped. I need help!"

I blinked. I knew I'd done almost nothing in that cosmos. Certainly nothing to cause butterfly effects. That meant Wes' friends would return and they would win in the end. Ransik would be converted away from his bottomless rage. I was not needed.

Lucsly was staring at me. Before he could speak the next message played.

"Doctor, everything's okay," Korra explained. "I mean, Unalaq and Vaatu are gone. I stopped them. It turned out I didn't need you after all." There was a tinge of sadness to her voice. I closed my eyes. Had I been there... I might have helped her seal Vaatu before he and Unalaq destroyed her connection to the prior Avatars. "I hope you're okay."

The next message was Korra again, this time her voice exuberant. "Doctor, you won't believe this! There are new Airbenders! I mean, not the ones we rescued, but actual people becoming Airbenders across the world! Tenzin and I are heading off to search the Earth Kingdom for them. I don't know if you're busy with something, but it'd be great to have you come along and help find more Airbenders!"

I blinked. I knew nothing of what was to happen in Korra's timeline past Unalaq's defeat. Harmonic Convergence had created more Airbenders? I actually laughed at that. That was going to make the situation with the rescued Air Nomads quite interesting, but at the same time would hearten them all, or so I thought. Could get tricky, I imagine...

And there were yet more messages. I noticed Lucsly was still watching. Curious? Perhaps. But I didn't care. I triggered the next.

"DOCTOR OLD CHUM!" The voice came through in a bellow, but I couldn't help but recognize it. "Say, Stibbons, is this thing... it is...? YES, DOCTOR! PLANNING ON COMING TO THE LECTURE CIRCUIT THIS TERM?! LOTS OF EAGER YOUNG LADS TO TEACH!"

I had to smile. Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully of Unseen University believed any device to be spoken into needed to be shouted into to make sure he was heard. "Good old Mustrum," I murmured. Seeing Lucsly's look, I paused the playback and added, "I happen to be the Visiting Lecturer in Quantum Wibbly and the Chair of Temporal Irritation Studies at Unseen University."

Lucsly blinked in confusion. "Unseen University...?"

"In Ankh-Morpork," I explained. "The oldest and most prestigious wizard university on the Discworld. I was given honorary doctorates and the title of Wizard after I, well, saved their world from a six-dimensional crack in the fabric of space-time." When he gave me a blank look I sighed. "No appreciation for the classics..."

I noticed there were three more messages. A feeling of dread settled over me. So far everything had worked out, but had I missed a call from a friend that truly needed help...? I resumed the messages.

"Doctor! I don't know if you're getting this, but I really need your help!" My breath picked up as I heard Korra's voice yet again, now strained with fear and urgency. "I don't have time to explain. There are some lunatics called the Red Lotus after me, they're going to attack the Northern Air Temple where all of our Airbenders are training! They're taking them hostage to get at me! But if you can get the TARDIS to them and get them out before the Red Lotus arrives, we'll have time to come up with a plan! Please, Doctor, hurry!"

My first thought was on just who these 'Red Lotus' were. The connection to the White Lotus seemed fairly obvious. A splinter sect of some sort?

But I barely considered it more. A sick and terrible feeling twisted my gut. I checked the time stamp on the message and gasped. Nine days ago. The event had already passed me by due to the linking of the timestreams. I leveled a hot glare at Lucsly, who said nothing as the next message played.

Now Korra's voice went from urgent to desperate. "Doctor... please, please tell me you're there," she pleaded. "The Red Lotus have the Airbenders at the Northern Temple. Even Tenzin and his family. They're going to kill them unless I surrender to Zaheer. I.." I heard her voice strain with fear. "I'm scared, Doctor. They've got something horrible planned for me. But I can't let them kill Tenzin and the others. I... I'm going to surrender. I don't know what they'll do to me..." Her voice choked. I imagined tears forming in her blue eyes from fear at what this group would do to her when she was at their mercy. "I need your help, Doctor. Please. You told me you'd come if I called you. Please... please come help me."

The Borg Queen stabbing my heart was a mere pinprick compared to the pain that now pierced my chest, focused on my hearts. I double-checked the time. Just hours after the last. "No," I breathed. No, no no no...

There was one last message. I felt my breath stop as I waited for it to play. Maybe... she won without me. She would have, wouldn't she? With all of the other friends she had, the allies she could call, she would win. They'd be smart, they'd thwart whatever treachery was in store at the exchange...

The next message played. I tensed, waiting to hear Korra's voice.

But it wasn't her.

A baritone male voice came over the line. "I don't think we've met, Doctor. My name is Tonraq. I'm Korra's father."

Oh no. I couldn't breathe.

"The Red Lotus took Korra. They betrayed the exchange and still have the Airbenders. Listen... I don't know what has kept you, but you need to know that Korra believes in you. And she needs you now. Whatever you're doing..." I heard the rough voice weaken. "...please. We're doing all we can but... I'm a proud man, but she's my daughter. Please, I'm begging you Doctor, help us save her. Korra needs you..."

I looked to the light. It had stopped. There were no more messages.

No more messages.

And the time stamp for the last message taunted me. Within a day of the prior ones. As far as the TARDIS was concerned, these events were a part of its timestream.

I couldn't go back and help.

I had no knowledge of this Red Lotus group, or whom this 'Zaheer' fellow was. For all I knew... for all I knew, this was going to be her death. They might kill Korra, they might kill them all.

And Korra would die believing I had failed her.

After she saved my life. My life and Nerys'.

"No," I breathed. "No, I won't let it happen!" My breathing picked up as my hand reached over and grabbed the vortex regulator. I twisted it nearly all the way. A slow thrumming filled the TARDIS.

"What are you doing?", Lucsly asked.

"I'm super-charging the TARDIS," I answered, too full of horror to dissemble with Lucsly. "If I apply enough power to the shift, maybe I can push back the temporal anchor and arrive as that last message was sent."

Lucsly's face paled. "You're talking about undoing your own timestream!"

"Not exactly," I said as I twisted another knob.

"Who knows what damage you're going to cause?!", Lucsly shouted, not convinced by my reply. "If you cause a large enough temporal event, entire timelines might become hopelessly..."

"SHUT! UP!" I stabbed a finger at him. "I promised her I'd help! And because of you I can't, not unless I do this! So I'm bloody well doing it! If you don't like it, get out of my TARDIS!" I made a few more adjustments, frantic in my movements, and reached for the TARDIS control lever. "Or better yet, you come and help me undo the mess you caused by your blunder!"

Lucsly didn't move as I pulled the activation lever. Honestly I was an idiot. I should have made him get off before I acted. But I was in a blind panic. All I could imagine was Korra's face as she was killed, the pain of a broken promise and shattered faith accompanying her to her death.

The TARDIS engine picked up speed and pitch until it sounded like an overtaxed pump. She shook under my feet. "Hold together, girl, I know you can," I urged her. "Korra needs us!"

Consoles sparked. The TARDIS protested as I drove it against the anchor its timestream had fixed to that point in space-time. I grimaced at the pain in my left side and hobbled about, manning every station as was necessary to keep the effect up. "Come on," I gasped. "Come on girl! You can do it!"

The TARDIS engine wailed in protest. I ignored it. I couldn't fail my friend, not like that. I'd promised her...

And then the TARDIS rocked hard under me. The engine's pace started to decline. I looked up and saw Lucsly twisting the vortex regulator back to the original position. "Get your hands off that!," I screamed.

"I'm not letting you rip a hole through space-time!", Lucsly screamed back.

I shifted over and reached for the regulator. Before I could reach it, Lucsly's leg scythed under my right leg, toppling me over. He brought a fist up to strike me. I used my cane to smack him in the stomach to stun him, after which I slammed it across both of his knee caps with such force that I was surprised my cane hadn't broken at the blow. I heard one crack from the strength of the blow.

Lucsly cried out and fell to his knees. I started to scramble back to my feet. He grabbed my legs to hold me. "Lucsly! Stop it!"

"I won't let you wreck space-time!", Lucsly hissed.

The TARDIS rocked hard under us, throwing both of us to the ground. She was shuddering violently as I tried to regain my footing. "She's out of control!", I shouted in horror. "We're trapped in a Vortex pocket, if we don't get her out she's going to tear a hole through the fabric of reality!"

I lunged forward, tripping again, unable to put weight on my left leg. I was almost out of time.

If I didn't open up the regulator again and give the TARDIS enough power to finish a proper transition...

...well, then we were dead.

And we'd probably take a few cosmoses with us.

To Be Continued...