The Enterprise Bridge.
"Hello again Doctor. How are you?" Guinnan looked at the Doctor with a smile that glowed from ear to ear. It somehow managed to grow larger as she saw the Doctor agog with surprise.
"Dinna be daft Doctor, this isna' Romana, it's Guinnan. We left Romana on Galifrey." Jamie said with more than a modicum of determination.
"I'm sorry Jamie, but I am Romana. Or at least I was, when I came back through the Warriors gate, something happened. I ended up here, with no way home. So I made a new home here."
"Not to put a damper on this reunion, that we will discuss later Guinnan, but we are in the middle of a battle for our very survival here Doctor." Picard stated so matter of factly that the Doctor was jarred out of his reverie.
"You're absolutely correct captain, there is work to be done. I have found more allies who are willing to help us, they should be here presently."
"Their arrival will not be a moment too soon, our forces have been diminished incredibly." Data reported, "The Klingon fleet is almost completely routed, the Romulan forces are trying to regroup on the Dark side of the moon, and we are being hailed by the lead Dominion ship."
"Put them through Data. This is Jean Luc Picard, to whom am I speaking?"
"I am Odo, representative of the new Confederation of planets, what was formerly known as the Dominion. Our forces are having some success with the Borg, but they are overwhelming us, there appears to be no end to their numbers."
As if to prove the point Data spoke, "27 more Borg ships have just exited transwarp and are taking an offensive posture."
"When are these allies due to arrive Doctor?" Picard looked again at the Doctor.
"Now."
"Sir, sensors indicate massive subspace distortions all around us 18 ships of unknown configuration have dropped out of, of, I cannot determine their means of propulsion." Data said, clearly perplexed.
"This is Commander Balok, of the First Federation ship Fesarius, in the name of all reality, we come to challenge the evil."
"The First Federation?" Picard, sat in his chair, "Mon Dieu, I had never thought it possible that I would encounter one of their ships, now I'm surrounded by 18 of them."
"Come on Romana, we have work of our own to do." The Doctor darted past Romana, into the Captains ready room. Ace darted after the pair, desperate to find out what was going on. The Tardis door was already open and Ace strode in.
The Doctor was positioned under the console, while Romana darted around the controls touching controls, and, occasionally, hammering her fist down on the console. That was the last bit of proof that Ace needed, this woman was Romana, she knew exactly how to control the Tardis, and this Tardis in particular. "So what are you two doing Doctor?" Ace looked under the console to where the Doctor was shuffling about rewiring and prodding with his sonic screwdriver.
It was Romana/Guinnan who answered, "These type 40 Tardises are old enough to have the Rassilon protocols in their memory banks, we're trying to bypass the Presidential level lock outs so that we can actually read them."
"How's that? Do we have access?" The muffled shout came from the Doctor.
"Not yet, wait, we've got the front page. Woe unto you who looks upon the word of Rassilon. Sounds like it's going to be a charming read Doctor." Guinnan stated glibly.
"I just need to adjust a few more controls and we should have full access. I was the President three times you know?"
"Yeah, but she still is Doctor." Ace added, "In our Universe anyway, she smiled in a lopsided way at Guinnan, who returned the sentiment with a smirk of her own. "You're noting like your other self you know?"
"What do you mean?" Guinnan asked.
"She's so, I don't know, prim and proper, a by the book kind of girl, you know? You seem so much more… I don't know, you know?" Ace suddenly lost the ability to articulate her thoughts.
"Well, I've had a few lifetimes in this universe to learn how to relax. If we survive this, I'll take you to Risa and show you how." Guinnan smiled full on at Ace again, and Ace couldn't help but smile back.
The Bridge.
"Sir, the Romulans are gone, their lead ship is taking heavy fire and their shields are failing." Worf tried to hide the faint glow of satisfaction from his voice.
"Beam survivors to sickbay." Picard didn't dare look away from the screen, he saw lights flash and ships explode, but none of them seemed to belong to the Borg, they were winning, and he was helpless to do anything about it. "Worf, open fire on the Borg ship at, 243 by 332, lets see if we can distract them long enough for that Klingon cruiser to get away." He could at least help where he could.
"Aye sir, coming about. Firing. Weapons are having no effect Captain. continuing to fire." Worf was doing exactly what Picard would expect from an officer he had helped train, anticipating, exactly what his captains orders were going to be.
Tardis.
"How's that?"
"We're in Doctor, the files are open, what are we looking for?" The Doctor was at Guinnan's side faster than she thought possible.
"I'll know it when I see it. The Doctor scanned the file listings, and stopped as he reached the one that he wanted. "There, if I'm right, opening that file will give us the upper hand."
"And if you're wrong?" Ace asked.
"We won't live long enough to think about it too much." The Doctor replied with forced cheeriness, "but when have you ever known me to be wrong?"
"Where do you want me to begin?" Ace answered smirking.
The Doctor closed his eyes and pressed the button, to open the highlighted file, with his fingers crossed. Guinnan saw the title of the document the Doctor was opening. "You can't be serious? We can't use that. It's been outlawed for millennia, it could completely destroy space time."
"It could destroy this timeline, yes, but this timeline shouldn't exist, so who's going to miss it eh?" The Doctor smiled, or at least his mouth did, his eyes didn't seem to get the joke, as they remained steely and grey.
The Doctor strode out of the Tardis and began looking around the ready room. "There it is, an ODN outlet, just what we need." The Doctor pulled the panel from the wall and ripped wires from it, and dragged the still live connections into the Tardis.
Bridge
"The First Federation ships have destroyed 43 Borg vessels so far, and their shields appear to be holding."
"If only we had shields and weapons like that, we'd be on top right now." Riker said wistfully. Troi smiled at him.
"We'll get through this Imzadi, somehow, I know we will."
Data spoke again, "Captain, the Borg have successfully assimilated one of the First Federation ships, they have adapted to their weapons and their shields are being compromised, they are in retreat."
"Damn, How many ships do the Borg have left?"
"89 Borg ships are still active and engaged in hostilities."
"How many do we have?" Picard knew before he asked that he would not like the answer.
"27, correction 26 the Klingon flagship has been destroyed." Data spoke dispassionately. Picard envied his second officers lack of emotion more than ever now.
"Sir, our weapons systems have just failed. We have no means of attack left." Worf practically shouted.
"LaForge? What happened to our weapons?" Picard spoke to the intercom system.
"No idea Captain, it seems the entire ODN network has been diverted, all capacity is being directed to, your ready room Captain."
Picard's eyes darted to the door to the small room and he stood. Ready to stride in, when the doors opened.
"Hail Davros, I want to give him one more chance to surrender." The Doctor Walked through the door, and glanced at Picard as he stood in the centre of his bridge.
"Do it Mr Worf."
"Frequency is open sir."
"Davros, it's me. The Doctor. I have decided to give you one more chance to surrender."
"Doc-tor, you never cease to amuse me. Well, you will soon, when you die." Came the rasping reply as the view screen was filled with the hideous image of Davros.
"I warn you Davros, I can destroy your entire fleet, right here, right now, but I'm giving you the chance to leave, return to your home dimension and leave us to undo the damage you have done here." Davros just laughed.
"I am not a fool Doctor, you have no more tricks up your sleeve. I know you too well Time lord. You fought well against us during the war, and you won. But then out of guilt and sadness you broke your cardinal vow and undid your victory."
"But." The Doctor was visibly shocked, "how can you remember that? You should have no memory of those events, I made sure.."
"I have an ally Doctor, one who knows you better than you know yourself. He knows all of your secrets, all of your lies, and he has shared them with me. Do your friends know what you did Doc-tor? Should I tell them?" The gleeful tone in Davros's voice was plain and open. "You destroyed our entire fleet, in defence of Galifrey, but did your friends and fellow Time Lords thank you? No, because you killed them as well. To destroy us, you destroyed your own home." Guinnan stared at the Doctor, her eyes filled with tears, she saw the Doctor shake, as the past was brought back to haunt him.
"Then, you undid your crime. The cardinal law of time states that you cannot change the past, but you did, you stole our knowledge of time travel Doctor, preventing the Time wars from happening. But I remember it all. I know…"
"You know nothing!" The Doctor shouted at the screen. "I regretted my actions for centuries, it was no easy life for me, but at least you weren't there. I brought my home back, in doing so, I brought you back. Do I regret it? No, because I will always find a way to defeat you. Today is no different. I have equipped this vessel with a temporal wave cannon. I will use it if you force me to Davros." A strange look of fear, and awe crossed the hideous face on the viewer, as it blinked off. "Tell me they're leaving. Please?" The Doctor looked wearily about him.
"The Borg or should I say, Dalek, fleet is moving." Data said, "on an intercept course with us."
"How many of their ships are headed here?" Picard asked.
"All of them it would appear."
"If you power up your main phaser banks captain, the cannon will begin to charge." The Doctors voice, barely above a whisper as he slumped into Commander Riker's chair and buried his face in his hands.
"Doctor? Can this weapon really do what you say?" Picard sat, next to the Doctor, almost compelled to comfort this strange man who had appeared such a short time ago, on his ship.
"Yes," came the muffled response. The Doctors face never leaving his hands, "it will."
"Captain, we may have a problem." Worf spoke from the tactical station, "we have more transwarp signatures on sensors, they are bringing in reinforcements."
"Let them come. They can die with the others." The Doctor's voice sounded distant and strained, as though he were fighting back sobs.
"Phaser power is now at 100 captain, no, 115 and still rising." Worf was stunned by the readings on his console.
"Let them get as high as 400, then let them have it." Guinnan's voice, like the Doctor's, barely audible.
"Sir, ships are exiting transwarp now." Data announced. "179 Borg… Cubes? And one Intrepid class starship."
"We are being hailed by the Borg ships and the federation ship."
"Put them both on screen"
"This is Captain Catherine Janeway, starship Voyager, I hope we haven't missed all of the fun?"
"Hello Locutus." Picard froze, as the image of the Borg queen filled the left hand side of the view screen. "Let us deal with this, internal matter, as your prime directive dictates."
"The cubes have opened fire on the Dalek/Borg fleet." Data emotionless though he was, sounded shocked as he said the words.
"We are the Borg." The voice, Picard knew it, so sweet, so innocent sounding, but along with it, he could hear the voices of billions. "You have supplanted us, and that will not be tolerated. We have assessed your defensive capabilities, and they will be insufficient. You will be destroyed. You have tainted us, for long enough."
"The Dalek fleet is being routed Captain." Worf exclaimed. "Half of their forces have been destroyed already."
"The Borg are usually true to their word, how is it progressing?" Picard said wistfully.
"It is over! The Dalek fleet has been completely destroyed. The Borg however, are at full strength." Data's fingers danced over his console, gleaning as much information from the ships sensors as he could.
"We shall dance again Locutus, when you hear our song, think of me."
"The Borg are jumping to transwarp. They're gone." Data still worked his console, eyes never moving from the sensor logs.
"That's it? It's over?" Riker asked.
"Would you have preferred to die Commander?" Guinnan asked, her lopsided smile working hard to diffuse the stifling atmosphere on the bridge. The Doctor still did not move. Jamie crossed to him and placed his hand on the Doctors shoulder. The Doctor looked up, tears flowing freely from his eyes.
"I almost did it again Jamie! How can I be so stupid? How can I……." The Doctors tears became uncontrolled and he shook in the first officers chair, all eyes on the bridge, filled with a mixture of sorrow and curiosity, were fixed on him. He neither noticed, nor cared.
Epilogue
Enterprise Bridge.
"So, uhm, is it over?" Ace looked around her, not entirely sure what was going on anymore.
"It would appear so, all hostile vessels have either been destroyed, or left sensor range." Mr Data turned from his post and looked at her with his earnest yellow eyes.
"Ah, that's all right then. Those metal beasties will na' be botherin' us again. Ugly beasts they were too." Jamie smiled at Ace, who couldn't help but return the grin. She turned to the chair that was occupied by the Doctor, he did not look happy though. If anything, he looked like the weight of the Universe had been dumped squarely on his shoulders.
"Are you alright Doctor?" She walked the short distance to where her friend sat, laying a concerned hand on his shoulder.
"I killed them all Ace."
"No you didn't, those big cubes came along and destroyed them." Ace added in a chirpier tone than she actually felt.
"I don't mean them, I mean the Time lords, Galifrey, the Daleks. I destroyed them all. In one second, I saw them all burn, the end to the fourth and final Great Time War." The Doctor stressed each word, Ace realised, this was what he had been keeping from her. The hidden pain that he couldn't, or wouldn't, share with her unless it was necessary.
"I destroyed it all, I wiped out my home planet to destroy the Daleks for all time, to save the Galaxy from suffering. The out of guilt, I undid it. I brought them back. This is all my fault. I am so sorry." The Doctor was now physically shaking now and Ace squeezed his shoulder a little tighter to try and absorb the pain from this gentle man she had grown to care so much for.
"No one can blame you for wanting your home back Doctor." Picard had retaken his seat in the centre of the bridge. "There are events in all our lives where we wish we could go back and correct mistakes, tweak history to make it better for ourselves."
"I made it better for myself at the cost of countless lives, how can I justify that? Tell me? How can the lives of billions outweigh the cost of trillions of lives? It can't!"
"The past cannot be undone." Guinnan stepped out of the shadows at the turbolift, bathed in the red glow of the alert lamps, still flashing as though the crisis had not passed. "You destroyed our people Doctor, but you saved countless lives in doing so. The Daleks would have won mastery over time, no sacrifice was too great for that."
Fire filled Guinnan's eyes as she spoke, "How many have paid the price for your foolhardy self interest? How many? Do you even know? Can the Tardis computer tell you?"
"Do not be so harsh on him my child." The Glowing figure of the Guardian filled the front section of the bridge, "he was selfish, yes, but he has been punished for it. He punished himself far more than anyone else could. Despite bringing his people back, he travelled alone for centuries, isolated, adrift in mind, body and spirit." The Guardian moved toward the Doctor now, "but all things that happen are dictated to happen, do you think that such a drastic change to the timeline was not predestined? He suffered a far greater loss in exchange for his actions. What was her name? Rose was it not?"
Ace could feel the Doctor shaking harder than ever in her grasp, his tears returned, he wept openly now with his hands clenched tightly around the arms of the chair. "That's enough!" Ace openly shouted at the Guardian, "He's suffering, if you think you can come here and rub salt in the wound, you're dead wrong. I know that you're supposedly all powerful, probably invincible, but I will not let you stand there and cause him any more pain. You hear me?" Ace smiled as Jamie moved to her side, a look of fierce determination on his face, the two fleas were facing the lion, with not a hint of fear in their eyes.
"Child, you misunderstand. I am here not to accuse or to punish the Doctor, merely to put things into perspective for all of the parties involved. He was no more in control of his destiny than any of you are, all is pre-ordained. If it should not happen, it will not happen, it is as simple as that."
"No! You cannot determine someone's destiny. They have to make their own choices, their own mistakes, learn and grow." The Doctor had somehow gotten loose from Ace's grip and stood now in front of the Guardian. "You lie as freely as your counterpart, you have no power but what we give you. And now, I say you have no power here. Leave!"
A half smile crossed the Guardian's face as he vanished. "We shall see who is correct Doctor, you still have much work to do."
"Come on Jamie, Ace, we're leaving. The crisis has passed, time should be resetting itself and we shouldn't be here when it does." He strode purposefully towards the door of the Captains ready room, and to the Tardis. He turned to Guinnan; "You can come with us if you wish." Guinnan merely turned and stalked to the turbolift doors and was gone. "I had to try."
Before the bridge crew of the Enterprise could react they heard the noise of the Tardis starting up. And fade almost as quickly. "Such a strange little man. I hope to never see him again." Jean Luc Picard looked around him, and then directly at Q. "I suppose, we won't remember any of this when things reset?"
"Not a bit of it!" and Q also was gone.
"Captain, we have finally restored internal sensors and we are reading a mass anomaly in the shuttle bay, it would appear that we have one more shuttle craft than we should." Data said looking at his console.
"Did we pick up any shuttles from other ships?"
"Negative sir. This would seem to have appeared only recently."
"Security to shuttle bay." Worf was already in motion, and in the turbolift before the captain had finished issuing the order.
Main shuttle bay.
"Which one is it?" Asked one of the security officers who arrived scant seconds after Worf.
"My guess would be the one with the unknown humanoid inside." Worf said looking at his tricorder and walking towards one of the little craft. He stopped next to the shuttle that his tricorder indicated, "Exit the shuttle and make no sudden movements.
"I think not, my Klingon friend. I must be off, I have plans to bring to fruition." The voice boomed throughout the hangar, and then Worf heard the now familiar sound of a Tardis dematerialising, as the shuttle vanished.
"Uhm sir? What are we doing in the shuttle bay?"
"I…. I am not sure ensign" Worf replied. We should report to sickbay I think."
Another Tardis.
"First round to you Doctor. I didn't think you had it in you. And I know you so well………"
The Doctors Tardis.
"So where to now Doctor?" Ace stared at the Doctor, worry etched across her face.
"Normally I would say, I don't know. But this time, I know for certain that we're heading for that CVE."
"Not again?"
The Tardis shook again as it was dragged towards the mouth of the anomaly. And then was swallowed by it.
After the shaking ended. Ace noticed that the rotor on the console had stopped. "So we've landed? Right?"
The Doctor was at the console as Ace picked herself up. "It would appear so, and would you believe, we're on Earth. America in fact. The city of Seattle to be exact."
"Let's go outside and have a look see shall we?"
"Doctor? I don't know what's up, but I feel strange." Ace blinked slightly.
"Do you want to stay here? We have been through quite a bit lately. You should rest."
"No, I feel as though I have to go. Something here isn't right"
The Doctor looked at her, genuine concern on his face. "If you're sure?"
The Tardis door opened. On a dark street "Oh hello there, sorry about our sudden arrival there. Are you alright young lady?"
"She's fine English, but you stay where you are."
"May I ask you, why are you holding a wooden stick to my chest?"