Part Two…
The Doctor immediately opened his eyes as the door swung open. Al entered, this time without the gun, and pulled up a chair and sat behind the desk. Peri had sat up from where she was and came to the Doctor's side when the door opened so they both were facing Al. Al looked at them, trying to figure out how much he could tell them. The Doctor saved him many minutes of anguished thought.
"Whoever developed that time machine of yours is a genius. I would very much like to meet him. I take it that would be Dr. Beckett," he said, pointing to the Time Magazine cover. The Doctor hid a smile at Al's quickly masked astonished expression and continued. "However, there seems to be some problems with it. You don't seem to have any control of where the traveler is going and the program to bring the person traveling back to his own time doesn't seem to be working like it should. I could be wrong, after all, I didn't have much time to look at it, but it seems to be slightly off. If you like, I could fix it for you."
Al jumped to his feet and leaned forward over the desk, eyes locking with the Doctor's. Words he had been hoping to hear from Gooshie for years, coming from a complete stranger, was not what he had expected. Stewart had warned him things would get weird, but this was unbelievable. And how had he figured out what was wrong after what could only have been a few minutes inspection time? "Just who exactly are you?" he demanded, his voice a very real threat. If this man though to intimidate Admiral Albert Calavicci, he had another thing coming.
"Well, I'm generally known as the Doctor, as I'm sure the Brigadier told you," he answered, correctly guessing that Al had checked up on him. "And this is Perpugilliam Brown, otherwise known as Peri," He said as he pointed to the girl who smiled shyly. "And we really didn't mean to land here, but since we did, I though I might be able to help you out." The Doctor gave the Admiral on of those smiles that could (almost) win over a Dalek. It (almost) won over the Admiral.
"How do you know so much about what's going on here?" Al asked. He was not, but nature, a very suspicious person, but life had taught him differently. Al was also very good at judging people and this young, innocent looking man was definitely not what he appeared to be. What had Stewart not told him?
"Well, I did give your computer a quick look. Marvelous piece of machinery, by the way, and it seemed to have a small glitch in it." The Doctor smiled again, in a mysterious sort of way, it seemed to Al. "I do know a thing or two about time travel and machines that are temperamental." That made Peri chuckle. "Well I do," he said, turning to her with a hurt expression in his face. "It's not my fault that the TARDIS brought us here."
"You said you were going to show me the most restful spot in the universe and instead you bring me back to my own planet." Peri had a disgusted look on her face. When she had asked the Doctor if she could travel with him, she had thought she was going to see the wonders of the universe. "I don't think you meant earth, Doctor."
Al's eyebrows shot up at this. "You mean you're not from earth?! You sound English to me and I know she's an American."
"I am," answered Peri. "I live in New York ... usually. The Doctor's from ... Where are you from, Doctor?" Peri asked, suddenly realizing she didn't know.
"Somewhere else," the Doctor answered. Al looked puzzled at the short answer. "Now, would you like me to help you fix your computer, or do you want to stay here and argue all day?" The Doctor had stood to face Al and patiently waited for an answer, hands thrust in his pockets.
The Doctor turned as the door behind him opened and Verbena walked in. 'Too late, Verbena' Al thought, 'Things got weird the minute I walked in the door.'
The Doctor smiled at her and held out a hand. "Hello. I'm the Doctor," he said pleasantly.
"Doctor of what?" Verbena asked him. She had been so stunned by what she was hearing that she had forgotten that Al had asked for a rescue.
The Doctor smiled at the woman. "Practically everything," he said. Verbena smiled back, shaking her head at his imp-like behavior. She had been observing him quite closely and believed everything he had told the Admiral. Now all she had to do was convince Al that the Doctor could help.
"All right, Doctor," said Al. "Let's just suppose for a minute that I believe what you're telling me. Do you really think you can fix Ziggy and bring Sam back to 2002?" Al had a worried expression on his face that he hadn't allowed the Doctor to see earlier. "We have to get him back soon, before he does something that he shouldn't."
"We're in the year 2002?" Peri asked. She had a surprised expression on her face.
"Of course," Al answered her. "What year did you think it was?"
"I thought it was 1985. At least, that's what year it was when we left Sarn, wasn't it, Doctor?"
"It was 1985 when we left earth. That lurch was the TARDIS being dragged into this year, and it shouldn't have happened." The Doctor turned to Al. "You'll have to forgive my young friend. She's not used to time travel yet."
"Neither am I," Al said to himself, causing the Doctor to raise an amused eyebrow.
"Who's Ziggy? And what do you mean 'before he does something he shouldn't?'" asked Peri remembering what they had been talking about before they got off on this tangent.
"First question: Ziggy's our computer, or actually, she's Sam's computer. And be nice to her; she has an ego that won't quit and can be rather temperamental. Second: Sam's Leaped into a person who works at NASA. Unfortunately, he thinks he's there to stop the Challenger from exploding and he's not. We don't fix the big things. It could cause too much damage to time. He's there to help his host's daughter pass a big medical exam. He wants to stop the shuttle from going up and there's not much we can do to stop him from trying."
The Doctor had an intent look on his face. "What do you mean by host? Isn't Dr. Beckett traveling though time physically?" At least he could not figure out why he was here. The Time Lords must have diverted the TARDIS to make sure the Web of Time was not disrupted by Dr. Beckett.
"It's a bit complicated," Al answered. "Come with me, Doctor, I'll show you some of Sam's research. Perhaps you can figure out what he was trying to do before he Leaped. Have you ever heard of the string theory of time travel?" Al and the Doctor walked out the door, leaving Peri and Verbena looking after them; astonished expression on both their faces.
"What does he man about he shuttle exploding?" Peri asked Verbena. Peri had seen one of the earliest launches of the shuttle and had really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. The thought of one of the shuttles crashing was horrifying and she hoped that the Doctor would try to stop it from happening, no matter what the Admiral had said about not changing the big things.
"I'll explain as we walk," she said. "I'll show you around a bit and then show you where you'll be staying while you're here." Peri followed Verbena out the door. "Most of the Project is controlled from these rooms," she told Peri as she led her into the Control Room. "What is that?" she asked before she could start explaining about the time travel experiment that had gone wrong and what they were trying to stop Sam from doing. Verbena looked at the TARDIS which now stood right next to Ziggy's main control panel. She looked around the room for Al or the Doctor and saw neither of them. "Al!" she called out, still looking at the police box. "That's strange," she said after waiting for an answer to her call that never came. "I assumed that he was bringing the Doctor here."
Peri noticed that the door to the TARDIS had been left ajar. "He probably did," she told Verbena. "They're in the TARDIS." Verbena looked at the younger woman skeptically. "Honest," Peri answered the look. "Come on, I'll show you." She opened the door a little wider and gestured for Verbena to enter. The older woman gave her a look that said she was just humoring Peri. After Verbena entered, Peri started to chuckle, remembering how shocked she had been the first time she had realized the difference between the outside appearance of the TARDIS and the actual size inside.
Verbena stood in the control room of the TARDIS looking around in sheer disbelief. "This isn't possible," she whispered. "She circled the control counsel, looking but not touching anything. If nothing else, she had learned to be extremely careful around strange equipment since Sam had brought her into the Project. Peri left her looking at the controls and went through the inner door, looking for the Doctor and Al.
Verbena had just gotten up the courage to head for the inner door when Al, followed by a smiling Peri and Doctor, literally burst into the room. "'Bena, you are not going to believe this place." Al was practically bubbling and for a minute reminded her of Sam when he had solved a problem that had been bothering him. "There are more room back there than at the Pentagon. The Doctor also thinks he may have figured out a way to get Sam back, but he's going to have to talk to Sam." "Al, you remember what happened the last time Sam had to hear someone talk. I don't think we need to have the governor on our case again." Verbena was referring to the statewide power outage that had occurred when Sam had Leaped into a rape victim and he had needed to hear her for the trial.
"I don't need to use your equipment for this," the Doctor cut into the conversation. "I'll go in my TARDIS."
"Doctor, are you sure you'll be able to go where you want?" Peri asked him.
"Of course, Peri." The Doctor looked hurt at the look of disbelief he saw on the face of his young companion. "When it's important, the TARDIS always knows where she' going." Peri's expression was one of total disbelief but she quickly masked it so that Verbena and Al couldn't see it. It would be no use if they had any doubts in the Doctor's abilities.
"Come along, Admiral," the Doctor said, turning back to the main problem. "Show me when and where Dr. Beckett is and I'll see what I can do about getting him back."
"I'll have to show you who he is as well, Doctor," Al was saying as he and the Doctor left the TARDIS. Peri just shrugged her shoulders and moved to follow them out.
"The Doctor can control this thing, can't he?" Verbena asked Peri and the two of them left the TARDIS.
"It seems to go where he wants it to, but Turlough told me it sometimes goes where it shouldn't. We weren't supposed to be here, for example." Peri looked thoughtful for a minute. "Don't worry; I'm sure the Doctor knows what he's doing." Verbena didn't look convinced, but let it pass.
"Who is Turlough?" She asked, trying to change the subject to something a little less frightening.
"He traveled with the Doctor before I did." The two were walking towards the complex's guest quarters while Peri told Verbena about her first trip in the TARDIS.
Several hours later, Gooshie, Al and the Doctor, watched carefully by several computer technicians, Verbena and Peri, pressed on Ziggy's counsel and held their breath. After a moment or two, Ziggy's voice came over the speaker system. "New programming parameters will make it possible to retrieve Dr. Beckett. The retrieval program must be run at the exact moment that Dr. Beckett leaps out of Dr. David Grenig."
Whatever else Ziggy might have said was lost in the cheering that came from everyone present. The Doctor smiled softly, but everyone else was practically screaming for joy. Al had tears in his eyes as he hugged Verbena and planted a rather enthusiastic kiss on her lips. For once, she didn't protest his advances.
"We can get him back, 'Bena," Al shouted over and over. This was the happiest he had been in years. Although when he did get Sam back, he wasn't sure if he would hug him or knock him on his butt fro the stupid stunt he had pulled and the many grey hairs that he had given everyone at the Project.
Only the Doctor's grin held a bit of reservation in it. Yes, he had fixed the computer, but they would have a problem if Sam Beckett started interfering with established history. He had been talking to Al and he knew that Sam wanted to change a major turning point in history and that just could not be allowed. Small things were okay, but what Sam planned was much too large. Dr. Beckett didn't realize it but he was in a position to do a lot of damage.
Peri noticed the Doctor's pensive expression and moved to his side. "What's wrong, Doctor?"
"From what the Admiral told me, quite a lot, Peri. I have to stop Dr. Beckett from doing something that he very much wants to do. It is also something that could spare a lot of people a lot of pain." The Doctor looked thoughtful. It seemed as if he was looking into himself to find the courage to go on.
"If it will spare people pain, do you really think he should be stopped?" Peri looked at him carefully, weighing her words. "Dr. Beeks told me what happened in 1986. Don't you think you should let Dr. Beckett stop the explosion?"
"Peri, that's one of the problems with time travel. Some things are just meant to be. If he changes history, it could disrupt the entire universe," the Doctor replied, shocked at what Peri had been suggesting. "Besides, the shuttle explosion ends up causing a lot of good in the long run." The Doctor glanced over at the celebrating crowd. "Tell the Admiral that I've gone to talk to Dr. Beckett about what's going on and that I'll be back when I'm back." The Doctor grabbed some of the computer printouts that were on the table and disappeared into the TARDIS, closing the door before Peri could follow him.
The impromptu celebration was cut short by the grinding of the TARDIS leaving the complex. Although he had been told what it could do, Al hadn't really believed the Doctor until he saw the TARDIS dematerialize. He came dashing up to Peri. "Where's he going?"
"Wherever and whenever Dr. Beckett is," she answered. "He said he'd be back when he's back, whatever that means." Peri was worried. Turlough had warned her that the Doctor always seemed to get into a lot of trouble and this seemed like it was going to be a good opportunity for him to do so.
"Gooshie!" Al called out. "Get the Imaging Chamber fired up. I need to talk with Sam. Convincing him the Doctor's a friend is going to be a little difficult if the Doctor gets there before I do." Al punched a button on the counsel and a hand-link was produced from somewhere inside the table. Gooshie headed out the door into the control center, Peri following behind.
The monitors in front of Gooshie began to light up as Al stepped through the door into the Imaging Chamber. Ziggy's voice came over the speaker. "Admiral Calavicci had made contact with Dr. Beckett." On one of the screens, Al appeared to be talking to no one. He was walking around, waving his arms, and occasionally stopping, as if to listen to someone.
"What's happening?" Peri asked. The sight of Al yelling at thin air was rather amusing and she had the beginnings of a smile on her face. Her eyes never left the monitor that showed the Admiral. Gooshie noticed her fascination with the Admiral and had a knowing smile on his face. The Admiral was lucky that Tina had gone to visit her mother for two months.
"The contact is done through holographic projections," Gooshie explained. "Dr. Beckett and the Admiral can see each other and the Admiral can also see the environment that Dr. Beckett is in. However, we can't see any of that and we can't hear what Dr. Beckett is saying. From the look of things, though, Dr. Beckett is not happy about what the Admiral is telling him."
"But how can they see each other when no one else can?" Peri knew a little about holographic projections and this was unlike any that she had ever heard of.
"Both the Admiral and Dr. Beckett have a neurological implant that links their brainwaves. The images that they're seeing are really projected right onto the optic and auditory nerves, so it's more like a telepathic link than a true hologram, but holograms are easier to explain to politicians." Gooshie pressed a button and Al's voice came in over the speaker.
"...and you know you can't break you're own rules. You stop the shuttle and that's a major change in history. Just help the girl pass her med exam and then we'll Leap you home." Al paused, chewing on his cigar and looked disgusted at a blank wall. "We figured out your damned retrieval program. It will work, but only when you Leap." Another pause. "We had some help." Al's face lit up and he pointed with his cigar. "Him."
Peri could imagine what was happening. The Doctor must have made his own appearance and was probably right now at this moment explaining to Dr. Beckett who he was, how he got there and that he could help. She wondered how Dr. Beckett was taking all of this.
To be continued….
The Doctor immediately opened his eyes as the door swung open. Al entered, this time without the gun, and pulled up a chair and sat behind the desk. Peri had sat up from where she was and came to the Doctor's side when the door opened so they both were facing Al. Al looked at them, trying to figure out how much he could tell them. The Doctor saved him many minutes of anguished thought.
"Whoever developed that time machine of yours is a genius. I would very much like to meet him. I take it that would be Dr. Beckett," he said, pointing to the Time Magazine cover. The Doctor hid a smile at Al's quickly masked astonished expression and continued. "However, there seems to be some problems with it. You don't seem to have any control of where the traveler is going and the program to bring the person traveling back to his own time doesn't seem to be working like it should. I could be wrong, after all, I didn't have much time to look at it, but it seems to be slightly off. If you like, I could fix it for you."
Al jumped to his feet and leaned forward over the desk, eyes locking with the Doctor's. Words he had been hoping to hear from Gooshie for years, coming from a complete stranger, was not what he had expected. Stewart had warned him things would get weird, but this was unbelievable. And how had he figured out what was wrong after what could only have been a few minutes inspection time? "Just who exactly are you?" he demanded, his voice a very real threat. If this man though to intimidate Admiral Albert Calavicci, he had another thing coming.
"Well, I'm generally known as the Doctor, as I'm sure the Brigadier told you," he answered, correctly guessing that Al had checked up on him. "And this is Perpugilliam Brown, otherwise known as Peri," He said as he pointed to the girl who smiled shyly. "And we really didn't mean to land here, but since we did, I though I might be able to help you out." The Doctor gave the Admiral on of those smiles that could (almost) win over a Dalek. It (almost) won over the Admiral.
"How do you know so much about what's going on here?" Al asked. He was not, but nature, a very suspicious person, but life had taught him differently. Al was also very good at judging people and this young, innocent looking man was definitely not what he appeared to be. What had Stewart not told him?
"Well, I did give your computer a quick look. Marvelous piece of machinery, by the way, and it seemed to have a small glitch in it." The Doctor smiled again, in a mysterious sort of way, it seemed to Al. "I do know a thing or two about time travel and machines that are temperamental." That made Peri chuckle. "Well I do," he said, turning to her with a hurt expression in his face. "It's not my fault that the TARDIS brought us here."
"You said you were going to show me the most restful spot in the universe and instead you bring me back to my own planet." Peri had a disgusted look on her face. When she had asked the Doctor if she could travel with him, she had thought she was going to see the wonders of the universe. "I don't think you meant earth, Doctor."
Al's eyebrows shot up at this. "You mean you're not from earth?! You sound English to me and I know she's an American."
"I am," answered Peri. "I live in New York ... usually. The Doctor's from ... Where are you from, Doctor?" Peri asked, suddenly realizing she didn't know.
"Somewhere else," the Doctor answered. Al looked puzzled at the short answer. "Now, would you like me to help you fix your computer, or do you want to stay here and argue all day?" The Doctor had stood to face Al and patiently waited for an answer, hands thrust in his pockets.
The Doctor turned as the door behind him opened and Verbena walked in. 'Too late, Verbena' Al thought, 'Things got weird the minute I walked in the door.'
The Doctor smiled at her and held out a hand. "Hello. I'm the Doctor," he said pleasantly.
"Doctor of what?" Verbena asked him. She had been so stunned by what she was hearing that she had forgotten that Al had asked for a rescue.
The Doctor smiled at the woman. "Practically everything," he said. Verbena smiled back, shaking her head at his imp-like behavior. She had been observing him quite closely and believed everything he had told the Admiral. Now all she had to do was convince Al that the Doctor could help.
"All right, Doctor," said Al. "Let's just suppose for a minute that I believe what you're telling me. Do you really think you can fix Ziggy and bring Sam back to 2002?" Al had a worried expression on his face that he hadn't allowed the Doctor to see earlier. "We have to get him back soon, before he does something that he shouldn't."
"We're in the year 2002?" Peri asked. She had a surprised expression on her face.
"Of course," Al answered her. "What year did you think it was?"
"I thought it was 1985. At least, that's what year it was when we left Sarn, wasn't it, Doctor?"
"It was 1985 when we left earth. That lurch was the TARDIS being dragged into this year, and it shouldn't have happened." The Doctor turned to Al. "You'll have to forgive my young friend. She's not used to time travel yet."
"Neither am I," Al said to himself, causing the Doctor to raise an amused eyebrow.
"Who's Ziggy? And what do you mean 'before he does something he shouldn't?'" asked Peri remembering what they had been talking about before they got off on this tangent.
"First question: Ziggy's our computer, or actually, she's Sam's computer. And be nice to her; she has an ego that won't quit and can be rather temperamental. Second: Sam's Leaped into a person who works at NASA. Unfortunately, he thinks he's there to stop the Challenger from exploding and he's not. We don't fix the big things. It could cause too much damage to time. He's there to help his host's daughter pass a big medical exam. He wants to stop the shuttle from going up and there's not much we can do to stop him from trying."
The Doctor had an intent look on his face. "What do you mean by host? Isn't Dr. Beckett traveling though time physically?" At least he could not figure out why he was here. The Time Lords must have diverted the TARDIS to make sure the Web of Time was not disrupted by Dr. Beckett.
"It's a bit complicated," Al answered. "Come with me, Doctor, I'll show you some of Sam's research. Perhaps you can figure out what he was trying to do before he Leaped. Have you ever heard of the string theory of time travel?" Al and the Doctor walked out the door, leaving Peri and Verbena looking after them; astonished expression on both their faces.
"What does he man about he shuttle exploding?" Peri asked Verbena. Peri had seen one of the earliest launches of the shuttle and had really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. The thought of one of the shuttles crashing was horrifying and she hoped that the Doctor would try to stop it from happening, no matter what the Admiral had said about not changing the big things.
"I'll explain as we walk," she said. "I'll show you around a bit and then show you where you'll be staying while you're here." Peri followed Verbena out the door. "Most of the Project is controlled from these rooms," she told Peri as she led her into the Control Room. "What is that?" she asked before she could start explaining about the time travel experiment that had gone wrong and what they were trying to stop Sam from doing. Verbena looked at the TARDIS which now stood right next to Ziggy's main control panel. She looked around the room for Al or the Doctor and saw neither of them. "Al!" she called out, still looking at the police box. "That's strange," she said after waiting for an answer to her call that never came. "I assumed that he was bringing the Doctor here."
Peri noticed that the door to the TARDIS had been left ajar. "He probably did," she told Verbena. "They're in the TARDIS." Verbena looked at the younger woman skeptically. "Honest," Peri answered the look. "Come on, I'll show you." She opened the door a little wider and gestured for Verbena to enter. The older woman gave her a look that said she was just humoring Peri. After Verbena entered, Peri started to chuckle, remembering how shocked she had been the first time she had realized the difference between the outside appearance of the TARDIS and the actual size inside.
Verbena stood in the control room of the TARDIS looking around in sheer disbelief. "This isn't possible," she whispered. "She circled the control counsel, looking but not touching anything. If nothing else, she had learned to be extremely careful around strange equipment since Sam had brought her into the Project. Peri left her looking at the controls and went through the inner door, looking for the Doctor and Al.
Verbena had just gotten up the courage to head for the inner door when Al, followed by a smiling Peri and Doctor, literally burst into the room. "'Bena, you are not going to believe this place." Al was practically bubbling and for a minute reminded her of Sam when he had solved a problem that had been bothering him. "There are more room back there than at the Pentagon. The Doctor also thinks he may have figured out a way to get Sam back, but he's going to have to talk to Sam." "Al, you remember what happened the last time Sam had to hear someone talk. I don't think we need to have the governor on our case again." Verbena was referring to the statewide power outage that had occurred when Sam had Leaped into a rape victim and he had needed to hear her for the trial.
"I don't need to use your equipment for this," the Doctor cut into the conversation. "I'll go in my TARDIS."
"Doctor, are you sure you'll be able to go where you want?" Peri asked him.
"Of course, Peri." The Doctor looked hurt at the look of disbelief he saw on the face of his young companion. "When it's important, the TARDIS always knows where she' going." Peri's expression was one of total disbelief but she quickly masked it so that Verbena and Al couldn't see it. It would be no use if they had any doubts in the Doctor's abilities.
"Come along, Admiral," the Doctor said, turning back to the main problem. "Show me when and where Dr. Beckett is and I'll see what I can do about getting him back."
"I'll have to show you who he is as well, Doctor," Al was saying as he and the Doctor left the TARDIS. Peri just shrugged her shoulders and moved to follow them out.
"The Doctor can control this thing, can't he?" Verbena asked Peri and the two of them left the TARDIS.
"It seems to go where he wants it to, but Turlough told me it sometimes goes where it shouldn't. We weren't supposed to be here, for example." Peri looked thoughtful for a minute. "Don't worry; I'm sure the Doctor knows what he's doing." Verbena didn't look convinced, but let it pass.
"Who is Turlough?" She asked, trying to change the subject to something a little less frightening.
"He traveled with the Doctor before I did." The two were walking towards the complex's guest quarters while Peri told Verbena about her first trip in the TARDIS.
Several hours later, Gooshie, Al and the Doctor, watched carefully by several computer technicians, Verbena and Peri, pressed on Ziggy's counsel and held their breath. After a moment or two, Ziggy's voice came over the speaker system. "New programming parameters will make it possible to retrieve Dr. Beckett. The retrieval program must be run at the exact moment that Dr. Beckett leaps out of Dr. David Grenig."
Whatever else Ziggy might have said was lost in the cheering that came from everyone present. The Doctor smiled softly, but everyone else was practically screaming for joy. Al had tears in his eyes as he hugged Verbena and planted a rather enthusiastic kiss on her lips. For once, she didn't protest his advances.
"We can get him back, 'Bena," Al shouted over and over. This was the happiest he had been in years. Although when he did get Sam back, he wasn't sure if he would hug him or knock him on his butt fro the stupid stunt he had pulled and the many grey hairs that he had given everyone at the Project.
Only the Doctor's grin held a bit of reservation in it. Yes, he had fixed the computer, but they would have a problem if Sam Beckett started interfering with established history. He had been talking to Al and he knew that Sam wanted to change a major turning point in history and that just could not be allowed. Small things were okay, but what Sam planned was much too large. Dr. Beckett didn't realize it but he was in a position to do a lot of damage.
Peri noticed the Doctor's pensive expression and moved to his side. "What's wrong, Doctor?"
"From what the Admiral told me, quite a lot, Peri. I have to stop Dr. Beckett from doing something that he very much wants to do. It is also something that could spare a lot of people a lot of pain." The Doctor looked thoughtful. It seemed as if he was looking into himself to find the courage to go on.
"If it will spare people pain, do you really think he should be stopped?" Peri looked at him carefully, weighing her words. "Dr. Beeks told me what happened in 1986. Don't you think you should let Dr. Beckett stop the explosion?"
"Peri, that's one of the problems with time travel. Some things are just meant to be. If he changes history, it could disrupt the entire universe," the Doctor replied, shocked at what Peri had been suggesting. "Besides, the shuttle explosion ends up causing a lot of good in the long run." The Doctor glanced over at the celebrating crowd. "Tell the Admiral that I've gone to talk to Dr. Beckett about what's going on and that I'll be back when I'm back." The Doctor grabbed some of the computer printouts that were on the table and disappeared into the TARDIS, closing the door before Peri could follow him.
The impromptu celebration was cut short by the grinding of the TARDIS leaving the complex. Although he had been told what it could do, Al hadn't really believed the Doctor until he saw the TARDIS dematerialize. He came dashing up to Peri. "Where's he going?"
"Wherever and whenever Dr. Beckett is," she answered. "He said he'd be back when he's back, whatever that means." Peri was worried. Turlough had warned her that the Doctor always seemed to get into a lot of trouble and this seemed like it was going to be a good opportunity for him to do so.
"Gooshie!" Al called out. "Get the Imaging Chamber fired up. I need to talk with Sam. Convincing him the Doctor's a friend is going to be a little difficult if the Doctor gets there before I do." Al punched a button on the counsel and a hand-link was produced from somewhere inside the table. Gooshie headed out the door into the control center, Peri following behind.
The monitors in front of Gooshie began to light up as Al stepped through the door into the Imaging Chamber. Ziggy's voice came over the speaker. "Admiral Calavicci had made contact with Dr. Beckett." On one of the screens, Al appeared to be talking to no one. He was walking around, waving his arms, and occasionally stopping, as if to listen to someone.
"What's happening?" Peri asked. The sight of Al yelling at thin air was rather amusing and she had the beginnings of a smile on her face. Her eyes never left the monitor that showed the Admiral. Gooshie noticed her fascination with the Admiral and had a knowing smile on his face. The Admiral was lucky that Tina had gone to visit her mother for two months.
"The contact is done through holographic projections," Gooshie explained. "Dr. Beckett and the Admiral can see each other and the Admiral can also see the environment that Dr. Beckett is in. However, we can't see any of that and we can't hear what Dr. Beckett is saying. From the look of things, though, Dr. Beckett is not happy about what the Admiral is telling him."
"But how can they see each other when no one else can?" Peri knew a little about holographic projections and this was unlike any that she had ever heard of.
"Both the Admiral and Dr. Beckett have a neurological implant that links their brainwaves. The images that they're seeing are really projected right onto the optic and auditory nerves, so it's more like a telepathic link than a true hologram, but holograms are easier to explain to politicians." Gooshie pressed a button and Al's voice came in over the speaker.
"...and you know you can't break you're own rules. You stop the shuttle and that's a major change in history. Just help the girl pass her med exam and then we'll Leap you home." Al paused, chewing on his cigar and looked disgusted at a blank wall. "We figured out your damned retrieval program. It will work, but only when you Leap." Another pause. "We had some help." Al's face lit up and he pointed with his cigar. "Him."
Peri could imagine what was happening. The Doctor must have made his own appearance and was probably right now at this moment explaining to Dr. Beckett who he was, how he got there and that he could help. She wondered how Dr. Beckett was taking all of this.
To be continued….