ChapterTwo

Temporal Distortion

Elsewhere in the seemingly endless expanse of space, a small shuttlecraft sped on its way to a distant rendezvous, its passengers all members of the elite aristocracy of the Alterran Empire, all of whom were friends of the Doctor's. They included his former traveling companion, Jason Krystovan, who was now the King of his home planet of Tel-Shye and whose rise to power had been through what he considered an ap palling technicality in the acts of succession. With him on his present journey were his eldest son, Crown Prince Juris, and his ward, Lady Asta, whose very existence could be traced directly back to the monarch's last encounter with the Doctor just one year earlier. Since her transformation into physical being she had exhibited no hints of her dark and violent origins, being instead the very model of the nonviolent Alterran she now was.

In spite of the miraculous change, and for reasons he could not explain himself, King Jason had grown distrustful of his ward. Eventually he stopped trying to mask his feelings, tolerating her presence only because he had taken it upon himself to act as her legal guardian.

The tension of the long journey was only heightened when something suddenly buffeted the small ship sending it spinning wildly out of control. It took several minutes for the pilot to re gain control and stabilize the ship. The instant this was done the King was out of his seat and at the doorway to the flight deck.

"What the hell did we just hit?" he demanded, grabbing the bulkhead as the ship shuddered again. The wall distorted in his hand and he blanched visibly, knowing at once what was happening.

The Captain exchanged glances with his navigator, irritated by the fact that someone would come barging into his sanctum at a time like this. He controlled his annoyance with effort, re minding himself that his passengers were all high-ranking and very powerful individuals. Throwing a quick glance at the man at door, he said, "Just a bit of space turbulence, your High ness, nothing to worry about. You can tell the King—"

"I am the King," Jason informed sharply as he came onto the flight deck. "And that was no space turbulence, either. It's a temporal distortion if ever I felt one."

The pilot gave the Alterran a more careful look and cursed under his breath. Despite the fact that the King was centuries older than anyone onboard, he still looked as if he were in his thirties; the twenty-year-old Crown Prince looking more like his younger brother than his son.

"Forgive me, your Majesty, I—"

"Never mind the protocol," the monarch snapped impatiently. "What's going on with the instruments?"

"I don't know. I've never encountered a temporal distortion before."

To the Captain's astonishment, the Alterran dropped into the unoccupied copilot's seat and scrutinized the readings. "Well, I have," he said quickly, "and I can tell you this. If you don't land this thing—and soon—we'll be shaken to pieces."

Inside the TARDIS control room, the Doctor—another Doctor—stood scowling down at the control console. This Doctor was a future version of the tall, fair-haired young man who had taken ill so mysteriously. His seventh incarnation. He was dark-haired, smaller in stat ure, older in appearance, and, of course, in fact.

The violent shuddering that had thrown Turlough to the floor and jarred the occupants of the small spaceship had continued to ripple through the fabric of time, affecting this Doctor's TARDIS at the other end. He did not know this to be the cause as yet and was going from panel to panel trying to find the problem. His current companion, Ace, stood leaning against the wall near the inner door watching him with a distinct air of suspicion. She was trying to decide if he were really worried or just trying to hide the fact that he was involving her in another mission without letting her know what was going on.

"I'll have to materialize so I can trace the fault," the Time Lord said at last.

"Is it really bad?" Ace asked, grabbing the wall as the time machine shook again.

"I don't know. Probably not. But it's always best to make sure." Activating the scanner, the Doctor saw a small planet in the distance. "That should do nicely," he grinned. His hands hovered indecisively over the console a moment before he finally operated the controls. "Anyway," he added cheerily, "we wouldn't what to hit anything, now would we?"

The TARDIS materialized with an uncharacteristic jolt in a small clearing at the edge of a densely wooded area. A full second later it shook violently again. This second unexpected spasm threw the Doctor and his companion to the control room floor.

"Now that shouldn't've happened," the bewildered Time Lord said as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Did we hit something?" Ace asked shakily. "Or did something hit us?"

Not knowing the answer himself, the Doctor went straight to the instruments, only to find that nothing registered. Completely baffled, he activated the scanner, getting nothing but static. Muttering to himself about the impossibility of the situation, he proceeded to crawl under the console.

A few metres away, and now inside the same TARDIS, Turlough was picking himself up off of the floor. He was amazed and delighted to find himself still in one piece and staggered to the console room to see what had gone wrong. He opened the door and received the shock of his life when he came face to face with the equally astonished Ace. The two stood staring at one another a moment before Ace finally hissed, "Professor!"