((So! This is based off the episode 'Future Tense' from season two of Enterprise. I specify this because I'm not going to be going out of my way to recreate every event in the episode, because I would just end up writing word-for-word recreations of too many scenes; this chapter will focus on the Doctor's contribution and interactions, and as such there will be 'time skips' that seem to bypass exciting/important moments from the episode itself. For that matter, unlike 'Mirror, Mirror,' this chapter actually begins halfway through the episode's storyline. If you haven't seen the episode, and can't find it online, AND want to know wtf you missed, you can find an episode summary on Memory Alpha's wiki entry on the episode.
It should be noted, I based the more episode-centered aspects around the episode's script I found online, and on an unrelated note, the site decided to refer to the ship in the transcript as a TARDIS. Epic.
Sorry not to include everything that happens in the episode, but again, too much of that would just be writing the exact events that took place.))
It had been an eventful day for the Starfleet ship Enterprise; they had found an abandoned ship, out floating in the middle of space with no power readings and a dead pilot. Mysteries had compounded mysteries as they'd found a dead pilot, seemingly human, on board... and then discovered that the ship was bigger on the inside than the outside, with a hatch in the floor that had led down a long shaft. They'd found some sort of device down there, of unknown purpose or origins, but thankfully they had finally found some solid information; more specifically, in the portable database that Daniels, a former crewman who'd turned out to be some form of temporal agent, had brought aboard. In it, they'd found enough information to at least settle the question of the ship's origins...
Unfortunately, the approach of an unidentified ship was swinging things right back into complicated.
"Twenty thousand kilometers and closing," Travis reported from the helm as Archer and T'Pol stepped from the turbolift, his fingers dancing over the console.
Frowning, Archer turned his first officer as she studied the readings at one of the stations; "T'Pol?"
"The vessel's Tholian," she announced, glancing up. "They're extremely xenophobic. The High Command has had limited contact with them. Captain, it's unusual for Tholians to travel this far from their system."
"I'm getting unusual thermal readings," Reed reported as his console gave a sharp beep, near incredulity on his face. "It's awfully warm inside that ship... more than two hundred degrees."
"They're believed to be a non-humanoid species," T'Pol explained, rather inadequately.
Head bowing, Archer considered it for a long moment before making a decision.
"Open a channel." Slowly pacing forward, he waited until Hoshi hailed the ship before speaking; "This is Captain Archer of the Starship-"
He was interrupted by a sudden series of squeals, clicks and hisses, each one drawing a wince from the bridge crew. A moment later, a translated voiced piped through over the speakers.
"Jonathan Archer, please establish communication."
"Is there something we can do for you?" Archer asked.
More clicks, whistles... and then; "We were sent to retrieve the vessel."
Archer glanced at T'Pol, surprised and more than a little worried before continuing. "I'd like to know how you heard about that ship."
"It is dangerous to you. Temporal radiation."
"Thanks for the warning," Archer replied slowly, "but we can't give it to you."
Another squeal, untranslated... and then the bridge shuddered, the entire ship rocking briefly.
"They've locked on to us with a tractor beam," T'Pol reported.
"We're losing speed," Mayweather added, a little less calmly.
"Hull plating," Archer instructed, turning towards Reed. "Arm the aft torpedoes."
"That beam's interfering with our targeting scanners," Reed replied grimly, shaking his head.
"Release us," Archer snapped, trying to keep the anxiety from his voice as he paced the bridge slowly, approaching his chair, "Or I'll destroy the ship in our launch bay."
There was no response, no reaction.
"Do you hear me?" Archer barked.
The ship shuddered again, more softly, as the Tholian ship released the tractor beam; a moment later, the ship broke its pursuit, sending off one last message of clicks, whirrs and whines that went untranslated. Frowning, Archer glanced at Hoshi, who was working the console to no avail.
"What did he say?" Archer asked.
"I don't know," Hoshi replied slowly, almost reluctantly. "But I don't think he was paying you a compliment."
Settling onto his chair slowly, Archer sighed, jaw set as he murmured; "I wonder if there's anyone else who thinks they have a claim on that ship..."
"Aaaand arrived!" The Doctor shifted towards the exit, then paused before turning back towards the console. "Should probably stealth her this time around, trying to be slightly more subtle about this, and I shouldn't be gone for too long this time..."
He had parked the TARDIS, now invisible and silent, in the same Launch Bay that the Time Ship occupied; the report on the entire incident that he'd extracted from the Relativity's stolen database had done wonders to help him craft his strategy, but there were curious gaps in it. For example, the report had mentioned that a dead pilot had been found on the ship, but there was no medical report, no autopsy details... only that an examination had been performed. So where was the report? There was similarly scant details on the composition of the Time Ship itself.
Therefore, the only thing he could do, like on Kirk's Enterprise, was to try and get it straight from the source; he intended to examine the ship first, and then find a computer access terminal to hack into for the medical files. With any luck, he'd only be there for twenty, thirty minutes, tops.
There was risk in doing all this; for one thing, this incident predated his encounter with Archer in Detroit, at least in terms of the Captain's personal timeline. He was very much trying to avoid making any noticeable ripples in the timestream, and being recognized in advanced of their 'first meeting' a year later would certainly count as that. Hopefully he wouldn't end up drawing the attention of the the Relativity's temporal hall monitors again.
Slipping out of the Police Box, the Doctor took a moment to scan the surroundings, confirming the room was empty before turning all his attention to the Time Ship. The TARDIS's stealth field fluctuated as he shut the door, then stabilized, leaving it entirely invisible; he would have a good few hours before the power reserves ran too low to maintain it.
"Hello, gorgeous," the Doctor cooed, starting to run his buzzing screwdriver up and down the scorched vessel, pausing for a moment to peer into the open hatch. "Hrmm... not a blue box, but maybe the chameleon circuit wasn't damaged in this universe... well, not damaged in a blue boxy way... dullest desktop theme I've ever seen, though, right cramped. Hatch there seems to lead to the spatial compression. I wonder if..."
A glance at his screwdriver had his eyes widening, and his priorities changing, as he realized a pair of lifeforms were just seconds away from entering the launch bay.
Without even enough time to get back to the cloaked TARDIS, the Doctor did the only thing he thought was reasonable; he slipped behind the Time Ship, pressing up against its curved surface and holding his breath as he heard one of hatches pop open. Footsteps clomped across the metal plating a moment later, a British and American voice carrying on some conversation they'd been having.
"Now if I had a chance to see the past, I'd jump at it. I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus," the American was saying.
"He'd probably make a quick meal of you," the Brit chortled.
"The stegosaurus was an herbivore."
There was some scratching and the squeal of metal on metal.
"If I could travel back in time, I know exactly what year I'd pick. 1588."
"Oh, no," the Doctor murmured under his breath. "Rubbish year, that, too much dust."
"What happened in 1588?" the American was asking.
"England defeated the Spanish Armada."
"I'm sure someone named Reed had a lot to do with that."
There was a loud snap, as if something was being pulled off the hull of the Time Ship... and then the Doctor felt a very peculiar sort of lurch, deep in the pit of his stomach, his eyes blinking repeatedly. By the time he'd regained his equilibrium, he realized that the very same conversation he'd just heard seemed to be... repeating itself.
"Now if I had a chance to see the past, I'd jump at it." The American, of course. "I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus."
"He'd probably make a quick meal of you."
"Oh no," the Doctor murmured, dearly wishing he had the privacy to take a scan with his screwdriver.
"The stegosaurus was an herbivore."
"It seems like we were just in here..." the Brit had said that, sounding puzzled... "If I could travel back, I know exactly what year I'd pick."
Both of them said the last part now; "1588."
"How'd I know you were going to say that?" the American asked, puzzled.
"Come on," the Doctor murmured, "figure it out..."
"I think we're spending far too much time together." the Brit finally replied, and both chuckled.
"Oh, you stupid sodding-"
Once more, the sharp snap of a plate being pulled off the ship, and once more...
"Now, if I had a chance to see the past, I'd jump at it."
"Ffor the love of..." the Doctor groaned.
"'I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus.'" It was the Brit who murmured it this time, brow furrowing.
"'He'd probably make a quick meal of you.'" the American echoed.
"'The stegosaurus was an-"
"I can't take it anymore!"
Both crewmen jumped as a strange man in a suit and bowtie burst out from behind the Time Ship, arms waving. Without the slightest hesitation, Reed hurried to the nearby wall-mounted security locker, tugging out a pair of phase pistols and powering the first of them to cover the strange man in the bowtie.
"Stop looping, damnit, snap out of it!" the Doctor clapped his hands loudly. "D'you have any idea how much I loathe repetition?!"
"Who the hell are you?" Tucker snapped, accepting the second phase pistol and aiming it square at the intruder.
"It's fine," the man insisted, only now starting to realize he might have been a bit hasty, the Doctor's body language trying for a far more casual, and far less threatening, approach. "Everything is fine, under control, I'm John Smith, pleasure to meet you both, or it would be if you weren't pointing a weapon at me- and it should be noted, stun affects me just fine, don't get any ideas to the contrary. Take me to your leader. No, wait, I can't go to your leader. Take me to your second-place leader. No, wait, not her either, where's the next step on the chain of command?"
"I'll contact the Captain," Tucker told Reed, edging towards one of the communication panels.
"No, no!" 'Smith' snapped, starting to step forward... and then toppling backwards as a heavy stun blast from Reed knocked him flat on his back.
Mouth opening, Tucker looked from the unconscious body to Reed, then back again.
"What?" Reed shrugged a little, brows raised. "You saw it. He moved."
"Ohhhh, he bloody shot me... wait til I get my... uhhhn..."
The Doctor's head swam as his bleary eyes opened slowly, a long groan passing his lips. When he realized that the ceiling above him was entirely unfamiliar, he sat up sharply... or tried to, stopped in place by thick straps that bound his chest, arms and legs to the bed underneath. Squirming, hearts pounding, he glanced around in a near panic, grunting as he strained against the straps to no avail... the sounds seemed to draw the attention of the room's occupants, however, as the privacy curtain was pulled away a moment later, revealing half a dozen people.
"Remarkable," Phlox noted, his hand still on the edge of the curtain as he considered the squirming Time Lord. "I've never seen anyone recover from a stun so quickly."
"I'm terrific all right!" The Doctor barked. "I don't suppose anyone is going to let me out of these things, I don't much like being tied down!"
Two more faces drew to his bedside, and a sizable lump formed in the Time Lord's throat when he realized that they were the two faces he would sorely have liked to avoid. Not only was the first Captain Archer, but the second was his first officer, T'Pol... the only two people on the bloody ship who were destined to meet him again in a year or so. He could almost hear the smegging timeline being rewritten. With a low groan, the Doctor's struggles ceased and he slumped back on the biobed, eyes closing slowly. This wasn't going well.
"According to Doctor Phlox," T'Pol noted, ignoring the request to be set free, "you're nothing like a human, your... clothes... and appearance aside. In fact, you apparently have two hearts."
"Everyone always gets melodramatic about the two hearts," the Doctor muttered, starting to fidget against the straps again. "It's really not that big a deal, I mean, the few times I've only had the one working heart, I assure you, it struck me as the greater crime by far."
"Who are you?" Archer snapped, drawing closer to the Time Lord's bedside. "What the hell are you doing on my ship?"
The Doctor's mind, which had been working overtime to try and find some believable explanation, snagged on just a tiny piece of information from their meeting in Detroit. Specifically, it was a name, mentioned only a couple of times, and not even with much background. Mentioning it was risky, disastrous if Archer hadn't even encountered the man yet, but... well... what choice did he have?
"Daniels sent me."
That seemed to work, as Archer's eyes narrowed just a little, taking half a step forward and glancing towards the security personnel.
"Reed. Wait outside with your men."
"Sir?"
"It'll be fine. That's an order."
Not looking entirely convinced of the wisdom of that move, Reed nonetheless filed out of the sickbay along with his pair of security personnel, leaving Archer, T'Pol and Phlox alone with the Time Lord. A gesture from Archer had the Denobulan remove the restraints from the Doctor, even as he shifted to stand at the end of the bed.
"So," Archer said, "Smith, right? If Daniels sent you, then I take it the faction in his timeframe's aware of what's happening here."
"Not all of it, not yet," the Time Lord explained, truthfully, sitting up as he switched smoothly to a blatant lie next, making it up as he went; "The temporal interference thrown up by that ship is making it difficult for us to see what's happening from our point in the timestream, so they sent me here to investigate. And prepare a report. And such.. I was down there, trying to take some readings, and when your crewmen came in, I sort of panicked and hid. I'm new to this. Young, fresh recruit and such."
"We have this under control," Archer insisted, scowling.
"Well, no," the Doctor replied, eyes widening a little. "You really don't. What you have is a very advanced, very dangerous piece of technology in your launch bay, and at least one species that is bound and determined to march over here and seize it by force. What you also have is absolutely no idea what you're dealing with, or any frame of reference with which to perform your analysis. Don't get me wrong, doing a rather bang-up job of it all so far, but you're walking a line so fine, all it takes is one slip to turn it into a self-made garrotte."
Archer's scowl only deepened, but after a long moment he finally growled; "What do you want, then?"
"Let me get a look at the medical data you've assembled on the pilot," the Doctor replied. "Please. It's important."
Sighing, Archer nodded to Phlox who, curiosity plainly stamped on his face, activated one of the nearby displays, turning it towards the Doctor.
Hopping off the bed, the Doctor checked the readings eagerly... but the smile on his face faded quickly when he saw what was there. "One heart, primarily human genetic structure... bit of Vulcan mixed in..."
"Yes, a most unusual genetic mix," Phlox confirmed; "Though not as unusual as yours, it's suggestive of several generations of inter-species breeding."
"We covered this before you even got here." Archer pointed out, scowling slightly. "We already know all this."
"Good for you," the Time Lord replied, lowering the sonic screwdriver as his head bowed. "...damn..."
"Is something wrong?" This was Phlox again, his obvious curiosity getting the better of him.
"No, just..." the Doctor sighed a little. "I thought it might have been somebody I've been looking for. I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed."
"I suppose it would depend on whether you liked whoever you're looking for," Phlox pointed, a bit of an ever-present smile quirking the corners of his mouth.
"The jury's still out on that one," came the slightly wry response as the Doctor started to back slowly towards the exit. "In any case, I suppose there's not much I can do about it. You seem to have things well in hand, I'm sure my associates will collect their property soon enough, I really should be going now to report to-"
As the medical bay's doors hissed open, the Time Lord felt two pairs of hands grip him by the upper arms, pushing him right back in with a stumble.
"Or not," the Doctor murmured, "staying's nice too, friendly bunch..."
"Captain," T'Pol said quietly, eyeing the stranger with nothing short of outright suspicion. "Considering the ship has already been boarded twice over this vessel's presence, I believe it would be advisable that we prepare to destroy it. The unknown radiation it is emitting could prove harmful to our systems:"
"Destroy it?!" the Doctor exclaimed before Archer could even make his own protest, eyes wide as he pulled away from the security guards, leaning towards an increasingly irritable T'Pol. "That's a terrible idea! Destroying a multi-dimensional, spatially compressed vessel? Are you insane? You wouldn't want to be within half a lightyear of that, it's a miracle the ship hasn't gone and expanded as it is, but if you smash it up enough, you'll... no, no, no, let's not do that, all right? Let's find a happier answer, happier and far more sane, please! Like activating the beacon "
"Beacon?" Archer's head snapped towards the Time Lord, eyes narrowing. "What beacon?"
"Um..." the Doctor's eyes widened a little. It was too early. They weren't supposed to figure it out for another hour. Damnit. "I don't know. I'm just guessing. Beacon? Crazy talk.. I tend to say random words without particular rhyme or reason, Pumpernickel, oh there I go..."
"Perhaps the device Commander Tucker discovered in Engineering," T'Pol suggested, utterly ignoring the panic-ridden Time Lord.
"Smith," Archer snapped, "if you're really here to help, then I'd appreciate it if you actually contributed something concrete."
The Doctor froze as his mouth opened, and then closed, a hundred different thoughts flickering through his mind. Finally, however, he cleared his throat and bowed slightly.
"Of course, Captain," the Doctor replied, trying to look as humble and agreeable as he could manage. "My apologies. Allow me to see the device, get a gander, take some readings, and if it is a beacon- not saying it is necessarily- then I would be more than happy to help activate it."
He was lying through his teeth this time. He had made a dreadful mistake, one that could very well put the Enterprise in terrible danger. Even though he could have found some brilliant solution to save them from the inevitable crisis, likely leaving a destroyed, or very confused, Suliban fleet in his wake, that would draw far too much attention. So the only way the Doctor was going to be able to help them- quietly- would be to act precisely opposite to how he normally handled a crisis...
With Archer's permission, the Doctor had been permitted- under guard- to join Tucker in Engineering, leaving Reed free to see to the ship's defenses. As a pair of security personnel flanked the door, the Doctor 'ooohed' and 'aaaahed' over the singed, dented piece technology sitting inert on the table, sonic screwdriver flipping between his fingers as he peered at it. Right now, Trip seemed more interested in the newcomer, his arms folded over his chest as he watched the strange man, almost instinctively moving his hand to his collar, as if wondering what the hell the Doctor was wearing on his. Or, rather, why the hell he was wearing it.
"So..." Trip's mouth twitched a little before he finally caved in. "You really a time traveler?"
"Well, yeah," the Doctor replied, humming something to himself as he passed his sonic over the device..
"But that means... that is... you've seen Earth's future? Our future?"
"More than I would care to," came the muttered reply, but when Trip didn't say anything else, and after a moment the Time Lord sighed, rolled his eyes and mumbled; "Why d'you ask?
"Just somethin' Lieutenant Reed, our tactical officer, asked me." Tucker shrugged a little. "Not too long before you showed up, that is. We were talking about whether we'd want to know about the future, if we had the chance."
"Aaah, philosophy," the Doctor replied idly, arms crossing over his chest as he glanced towards the Chief Engineer before taking another scan of the device with his sonic screwdriver. "What was your verdict?"
"Well, I told him I wouldn't," Trip replied, shrugging. "And I meant it, mostly, at least not when it comes to my personal future. But I gotta admit... with the Klingons, the Suliban, all that's happened during our voyage so far, I sometimes wish I knew if things were gonna turn out all right for us. Humans, I mean. Earth."
"Mmhmm," the Doctor replied, distracted by his readings as he said; "Yeah, they turn out fine. Eventually. In less'n a century, mankind'll found a utopian society that will extend across the cosmos, bringing peace and stability to countless worlds and representing a beacon of light for all civilizations. Bumps on the road, of course, even after it's founded, but things will only continue to get better, for hundreds of years."
Trip's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again.
Finally, he managed; "Um, great... but won't tellin' me all this, y'know, put the timeline at risk?"
"Nope."
"Just... nope? How d'you figure?"
"Oh, simple," the Doctor murmured, not even looking up from the readouts. "If you tell anyone what you've heard from me, if the knowledge falls into the wrong ears, then history as you know it will be irrevocably altered, and the lovely, utopian society you lot have in the future might very well be replaced with unending pain and suffering for your entire race, followed quickly by mass extinction."
There was a pause.
"Well," Tucker muttered, looking a little horrified, "when you put it that way, guess I'll keep from runnin' my mouth."
"I know," the Doctor replied cheerfully, giving him a brotherly pat on the back before focusing once more on the problem at hand. "Now! What we have here is a temporal beacon which, when activated, sends a signal to a specific point in time and space alerting whoever owns it that something has gone wibbly."
Tucker's nose wrinkled a little. "Wibbly?"
"Wrong," the Doctor clarified.
"Ah."
"Anyway!" Giving the beacon a poke with his finger, the Doctor continued. "This is actually a tremendously efficient system, because the laws of temporal analysis indicate that if you are capable of inter-temporal transport, are shielded from the effects of changes in the timeline, and are aware of a specific time and place of an important event, then you essentially have all the time in the world to accomplish it. All we will have to do is activate the beacon, and within moments, they'll be able to lock onto the beacon and, with any luck, their property, which should be tagged, I'm hoping."
"All right," Tucker replied, brows lifted as he drew a deep breath, letting it whoosh from his mouth. "So, how do we get it workin'?"
"Hmm?" The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, not a clue."
Trip stared at him for a good minute and a half, obviously waiting to see if the Time Lord was going to explain why. Instead, the Doctor's attention actually wandered, as he seemed to become far more interested in the humming warp reactor in the center of the room. Finally, Trip spoke up again.
"I thought you told the Cap'n you knew this sorta stuff like the back of your hand."
"Well, I do," came the slightly indignant reply, "but, and I don't mean to be catty, your technology is woefully underdeveloped at this point. At least last time I did a major project I had the benefit of a replicator-"
"What's a replicator?" Tucker interjected.
"Unending pain and suffering," the Doctor reiterated loudly.
"Right, right, forget I asked."
"My point is," the Time Lord sighed, "that I've already had fourteen ideas on how to accomplish this task, all brilliant, all certain to succeed, but tossed them all because I realized I didn't have the necessary equipment, and that building said equipment from scratch would take far, far too long to accomplish."
Trip fell silent as the Doctor continued to poke idly at the device, occasionally running his sonic screwdriver across it, but otherwise looking more like a tourist than a proper engineer. The frown on the Time Lord's face was hardly comforting either, but somehow, if Tucker had to make a guess...
Well, he'd have said the strange man just wasn't really trying.
Stepping out onto the bridge, Archer tried to let the tension bleed from his shoulders as he paused at T'Pol's station, just long enough for her to shake her head and murmur that there were no signs of pursuit.
"Hoshi, contact the Tal'Kir, let them know we'll reach the rendezvous point in a few minutes." Settling onto his chair, Archer's fingers tapped restlessly at the armrest, leaning forward in his seat as he sighed. "If Tucker and the Doctor can't figure that beacon out, I want to at least make sure that we get the ship as far from the Suliban, or the Tholians, as possible."
"Captain," Hoshi said, frowning a little. "there's no response from the Tal'Kir. I'm not even picking up their transceiver. It could be interference of some kind, but at this distance, I can't imagine anything short of an ion storm causing that much of a communications blackout."
Reed cleared his throat a little, turning his attention to his tactical console. "Anybody else having a bad feeling about this?"
"Since this started," the captain murmured, then tapped the communications command on his chair's arm. "Archer to Engineering. Trip, how're things going down there?"
"You honestly call these composite materials?!" the Doctor's voice could be heard babbling in the background, his words not directed to Archer. "Honestly, it's a miracle you lot achieved faster than light travel in the fir-"
"Cap'n," Trip finally came through, more than a little irritation seeping through the Chief Engineer's words, "We need some more time to puzzle this out. We're havin' trouble getting an interface set up, it's a bit tricky meldin' one of our energy cells with this technology." Tucker's voice lifted a little, as if he was calling to someone across Engineering. "And some people are just draggin' us down by whinin' constantly about it."
"It's not whining when I'm constructively telling you this is a terrible, terrible excuse for a particle converter!"
Archer sighed a little, rubbing at his face as he murmured, as calmly as he could; "How much longer, do you think?"
"Well," Trip replied, still raising his voice. "If someone would get out of the damned crawlspace-"
"You do realize these conduits need replacing, yes?"
"-then I'm hopin' it'll just be a couple of hours, Cap'n."
"Captain," T'Pol interjected, just a hint of concern creeping into her voice. "Several Suliban vessels are approaching. They will be in range within five minutes."
"Trip," Archer said quietly, "you've got ten minutes."
"Did he seriously say ten minutes?!" The Doctor's voice piped up in the background.
"No problem, Cap'n!" Trip replied.
"How is ten minutes not a problem?!"
"Archer out! T'Pol, go to maximum warp!"
A little more than five minutes after they had been given their warning from the bridge, the Engineering Bay- as well as the rest of the ship- began to tremble and rock as the Enterprise was bombarded by the pursuing Suliban vessels. Engineering staff scuttled about like worker ants, keeping the warp engines functioning, and sending damage control teams where needed.
"You know," the Doctor groused, gripping the railing near the warp reactor's stairwell as the deck lurched to one side beneath them. "It would be really nice if your Captain could keep the ship from shaking so incessantly, it's very distracting!"
"You can complain to him after we're done!" Trip snapped back. "C'mon, I think we've almost got it..."
"That's a blatant lie, and you know it!" The Doctor replied, teeth gritting as the ship shook once again, forcing him to brace himself up on the stairwell. "There simply isn't enough base material to construct a proper interface, at least not enough to regulate the energy through the device without making it turn into very pretty little sparks and useless sizzling smoke!"
Suddenly, the ship lurched with more violence than any before, actually sending the Time Lord, Trip and half the Engineering staff sprawling to the ground; several conduits an consoles throughout the room erupted into sparks, the lights starting to flicker for just a moment before flaring to life. Cursing under his breath, Tucker hauled himself back to his feet and hurried down one of the narrow spaces beside the warp reactor, checking on what damage had been done, even as the Doctor sprang upright, glancing about.
"Right!" The Doctor beamed. "Excellent."
"How the hell's this excellent?" Trip called from a nearby console.
"Nevermind, you!"
Before Trip could question the madman further, Archer's voice crackled over the intercom.
"Trip, we could use warp engines right about now!"
Moving back towards the end of the warp reactor, Trip shook his head. "The antimatter injectors are fused, I'll need a few hours to replace them!"
"How about weapons?"
"Every power relay on the ship's been scrambled!" the Chief Engineer replied, starting to stabilize the reactor's shielding.
"Then forget everything else! Get that beacon working!"
Tucker paused in the middle of his diagnostic, head tilting upwards a bit. "Sir?"
"Whoever built that ship might be able to send help."
"Aye, Cap'n." Returning to the table, the device, and the Doctor- the last of which seemed to be working with a great deal more enthusiasm now- Trp's eyes lit up with excitement. "Run a raw current through the entire thing, the beacon'd be turned on-"
"-for ten seconds before that unregulated current fuses half of the components together!" the Doctor pointed out, but he was grinning.
"-which would be long enough!" Trip continued, raising his voice a little to be heard, "Like you said, Doc, laws of temporal mechanics... time agents can detect the beacon from any point in time, then does it really matter if it shorts out after ten seconds, five seconds, one damned second? The signal would still reach them, whenever they are, from that five second time period, and from their perspective, they'd still have all the time in the world to work out where it's coming from!"
"Hmm." The Doctor frowned pensively, fingers drumming on the table as he thought about it... or, rather, pretended to. "Force a current through it. That's so primitive, it just might work."
"Gee," Trip muttered, scowling a little as he turned his attention back to the device. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Snapping his fingers, the Doctor waved off Tucker's hand as the Chief Engineer lifted one of his many tools, instead holding up his single sonic screwdriver. "All right! Let's get this done."
"I'm going to hold you to those four minutes," Archer was saying- for the second time- as they pulled the casing off of a torpedo in the Launch Bay, intent at getting the warhead out of it.
Having decided that they couldn't risk letting the ship fall into the hands of the Tholians, Archer and Reed had commandeered a torpedo and brought it to the launch bay, intending to destroy the vessel if it became absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, the safest and simplest method was to remove the warhead directly next to the damaged timeship, which seemed to be resulting in some decidedly unfortunate side effects... one being a time loop.
"It was only an estimate, Sir..." Reed paused, eyes flickering as his mouth thinned a little. "It's happening again. We've had this conversation before."
"You're right." Archer sighed slightly. "How far do you think we got last time?"
Reed shook his head. "I'm not certain."
Sighing, Archer murmured; "I think we may have removed the warhead."
"If time's not repeating outside the launch bay, the Tholians could be-"
A sudden, indistinct sound cut them both off as Reed took a single step back, eyes widening and face paling. Archer whirled around, just in time to see the entire time ship ripple with distortions, and vanish into thin air. Eyes widening, Archer's first thought was that perhaps the Tholians had beamed it off themselves, but common sense suggested that if they'd had the capability, they would have done it earlier.
"Bridge to Captain Archer," T'Pol said quietly, a hint of relief coloring her tone. "The Suliban fleet was destroyed, and the Tholians have broken pursuit, and gone to warp.
"The ship vanished, Sub-Commander," Archer replied, "Any chance they were responsible?"
"I do not believe so," T'Pol replied. "We detected no signs of a transporter beam. I believe they may have departed because they realized we no longer have the ship."
"Fortunate they're not the sort to hold a grudge," Reed muttered under his breath, drawing a wan smile from the captain.
"Thanks, T'Pol." Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out with a 'whoosh' of air, Archer gestured to the torpedo, silently instructing Reed to return it. "Try and contact the Tal'Kir, offer whatever help we can to them, and have Phlox prepare for potential casualties. I'm going to stop in Engineering, make sure we have that beacon to thank for... whatever just happened."
"Aye, Captain."
Less than five minutes after the last Tholian ship had gone to warp, the Doctor had announced, quite urgently, that it was time he went on his way, now rather than later. Trip had been more than happy to see him go, as a muttered, very testy report to the Captain made between gritted teeth had indicated. Given T'Pol was coordinating aid aboard the Tal'Kir, and was still in denial about the very concept of time travel in the first place, Archer ended up being the only one who escorted him to the turbolift. Stepping in together, the Doctor quietly asked that he be brought back to the launch bay, and though Archer did want to ask specifically why, he kept the questions to himself.
"So," the Time Lord said after a few moments of silence. "Think your crew'll miss me?"
"Well," Archer replied, "Trip's made it pretty clear he never wants to see you in Engineering, ever again. He said it was like being a tour guide for an ADD-addled ten year old on a sugar high."
"Well, what can I say," the Doctor replied, not seeming bothered by the comparison. "I express myself."
"You ended up complaining and distracting him without providing one useful idea, or contribution to the effort. Tucker's convinced he would have gotten it done faster without your help." Archer paused for a moment before glancing at the Time Lord. "You were stalling him deliberately, weren't you?"
The Doctor's head snapped around in surprise, and he instinctively opened his mouth to protest... but then just grinned ruefully. "Maybe a little."
"Well, everything worked out, so I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but... why?"
"Well," the Doctor replied, frowning at his watch. "The Suliban would have wiped you out regardless of whether or not the time ship was sent back, so it wouldn't have been wise to activate the beacon before the Tholians dealt with them. That's exactly what happened during the original incident, but my arrival in the time stream sped things a little more than I anticipated, in terms of your work on the beacon. I was concerned he'd have finished it too soon, and I couldn't be certain you'd believe that it would be wiser to wait before activating it, so... I stalled, let things work out for themselves. You should congratulate your Commander Tucker for his idea; it's exactly what I would have done."
"Next time," Archer growled a little, though he couldn't muster much genuine anger. "Clue me in to what's going on."
"No promises."
A bit of a smile crossed Archer's face at that, albeit reluctantly, his head shaking just a little.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" the Captain asked, for perhaps the third time as they reached the proper deck, stepping out of the turbolift and making their way towards the launch bay. "Chef's told me he's preparing something special to celebrate somehow surviving two hostile fleets and a time paradox, and really, we at least owe you that much for your help... such as it was. Besides, our reason for being out here is meeting new life, and you qualify."
"Well, I would," the Doctor replied, clearing his throat as he glanced at his watch yet again. "But I really, really should be going, I mean, just look at the time!"
Archer's eyes narrowed a little at that. "You're a time traveler, why would the time bother you?"
All was essentially lost; he doubted there was any way the captain wouldn't report this incident. For that matter, he fully expected it would alter his own personal timeline, adjusting the circumstances of his meeting with Archer in the first place, and a change like that was bound to draw notice. He was actually quite shocked he hadn't been accosted yet, but wasn't about to hang around and tempt fate.
"I don't mean time in such silly measurements as a planetary spin cycle!" the Time Lord protested, subconsciously accelerating towards the launch bay door. "I mean as in designated event times! Lunch time. Cricket time. Tea time! Unnecessarily risky danger time, one of my favorites, second only to cricket time. In this case, my watch tells me quite clearly that we have just reached 'Depart The Enterprise Before Anything Goes Wrong Time,' which is somewhat less favored, but I have always considered myself very punctual, except for when I'm late or I don't want to go, and- oh, dear."
As they entered the launch bay, two things became immediately apparent. First, the TARDIS was there. Or, rather the TARDIS wasn't cloaked any longer, sitting there in all its blue, boxy glory. Second was the man who stood beside the time machine; not trying to touch it, or get in, but just... waiting.
The uniform this man wore was entirely unfamiliar, seeming to be a one-piece suit that, all at once, was the purest black even as it shimmered with a thousand colors. Every other feature of this man, from the receding hairline, to the average height and girth, said nothing but the most ordinary of things... but for the Doctor, who was quite accustomed to wearing so harmless a mask, it didn't fool him in the slightest.
It was Archer who spoke first; he didn't sound thrilled. "Daniels."
"Hello, Jonathan." Daniels smiled, just a little, then lifted a curved weapon, wincing. "Sorry."
"Wait, what-!" The rest was cut off by a grunt as Archer was knocked back by a compact, blue beam, slumping against the far wall, even as the Time Lord stumbled to one side, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and pointing it forward. Another man, in a similar uniform, stepped out from behind the TARDIS, a weapon of his own raised, but Daniel made a sharp gesture with his free hand, instructing the second time agent to stand down.
The Doctor was hardly going to lower his guard, and kept his screwdriver raised, prepare to turn up the gravity plating if he had to. Daniels didn't make any further hostile moves, however. Instead, he just looked at Jonathan's fallen body for a moment, gestured for his companion to tend to the man, then turned his attention to the Time Lord.
"Doctor, could I have a word?"