Prologue
The TARDIS had materialized at Starbase 133 in the 24th century, on the edge of a planetary system. The Doctor was looking forward to welcoming aboard his dear friend, Doctor Bill Erwin, who was going to be travelling with the Doctor and his companions to his home planet, Kenda Two.
The Doctor stood waiting patiently in the control room. Nita was at the console. There was a knock at the door. The Doctor opened it to reveal a quite elderly man in an Alliance uniform. Bill Erwin carried a small bag. As he stepped slowly through the door, the Doctor moved to embrace him. "Bill!"
"It's good to see you again, Doctor."
"You look wonderful."
Bill smiled. "A lie I can live with. It's kind of you to ferry me home."
"It's on our way."
The Doctor and Bill exited the control room and walked along the corridor.
"Bill, I was sorry to hear about Patricia."
"She'd been ill for some time."
"Is her death the reason you're giving up your post here?"
Bill nodded. "We had a lifetime together, doing all the things we'd never dreamed. And more. But when she was gone, I couldn't continue to work in that office, sleep in that bed without her… the absence of her was too… distracting…" He shook his head. "I'm not sure I'm making any sense."
"I understand. I suppose when you realize someone you love is lost forever…" He shook his head.
"You know what the worst part of growing old is? So many of the people you've known all your life are gone… and you realize you didn't take the time to appreciate them while you still could… I'm sorry. There was no reason to heap all this emotional baggage on you. I usually travel light."
The Doctor put his arm through Bill's, comforting him, as they walked on. The Doctor's face was reflective as he thought about what Bill said.
In the Control Room, Nita was immersed in work at a computer as Ace makes final preparation for departure.
"Nita, time for the experiment is over… I want my time engines back. Now."
The Doctor entered, stood near the time drive, watching Nita in silence, Bill's words still fresh in his mind.
"Almost done, Ace," said Nita, working furiously. On her computer screen was the CAD representation of her experiment: the time drive and a network of shifting lines of energy forming distinctively-shaped bubble with it.
"Almost isn't good enough. You want to explain when the Professor says "Dematerialize", and we just sit here?"
"Just a couple more minutes! I'm ready to try the new time field!" She saw the Doctor. "Doctor?"
"Don't let me interrupt," said the Doctor pensively.
"Hi!" said Nita on the fly.
"Nita!"
"Right! Okay!" Her fingers danced across the console. On the computer screen the bubble suddenly flared larger. There was an odd flash of light, almost subliminal, but everybody noticed it.
"TARDIS, level two diagnostic on time drive systems."
A message flashed up on Ace's screen: "Antimatter containment positive. Time drive within normal parameters."
Ace hurried over to Nita. "Talk to me."
Nita was stunned. "That shouldn't have happened."
"Nita-"
"Why would there be any visible phenomena outside the drive?"
"Are you done?"
"Uh, yeah…"
Ace quickly returned to her station. Nita saved her work, shut down the experiment, looked around for the Doctor. He had gone.
"Ok, set coordinates, start dematerialization sequence."
Ace stabbed at her console, setting the coordinates that the Doctor had told her, working methodically. "Coordinates set, ok. Beginning dematerialization sequence."
Nita started to go, stopped, shot a last concerned look around the Control Room.
The TARDIS dematerialized.
The Doctor walked down the corridor, heading for the door to some quest quarters, and knocked on a door. There was no answer. He tried again, then opened the door. The Doctor entered and looked around the room. Nothing looked disturbed. "Bill?"
There was no reply.
"Bill, it's the Doctor." He looked up to the ceiling. "Sexy, current location of Doctor Bill Erwin."
The thought was transmitted to his head: "There is no Doctor Bill Erwin aboard the TARDIS."
