Chapter 4
The TARDIS came out of the time vortex and drifted through a backdrop of stars. Two attempts to retrieve the Doctor had failed. And now Shayde, a mysterious visitor from their past, had reappeared. He was friendly and wanted to be helpful, at the same time he was a clearly superior being and was a bit smug in his knowledge.
"And then I sent a message by subspace to Gallifrey asking for help… but I didn't think it would reach there for days…" said Nita.
"Actually, it didn't reach me… not by subspace…"
"Then how did you know about the time bubble?" asked Ace.
Shayde looked at her with a vaguely patronizing smile… "It would take too long to explain…"
"Is he alive?" Nita asked impatiently.
"As long as he thinks he is alive, he is alive," Shayde reassured her authoritatively.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Shayde sighed with controlled frustration. "Your species have very narrow perceptions of time and space and thought." He tried to make it simple. "When the Doctor was caught in the static time bubble, he created his own reality. His thoughts at the precise moment he was trapped determined its shape and form."
"Can you go in and get him back?"
"No, it is his reality. I cannot enter it… any more than I can enter his thoughts."
"But you said there's still a way."
Shayde moved to Nita – and there was an intensity between them… Clearly, in Nita, Shayde saw a being who could begin to reach beyond her limitations and was excited by that possibility. "I can help, but I can't do it myself. Nita, there is a power within each of us that most people haven't begun to realize… you have, or I would not have know to come here now… Together, we may be able to open a gateway for him. But he must choose to walk through it."
The Cloister Bell continued to ring. The Doctor walked slowly everywhere, examining everything, looking for something out of place, any clue that might help him… he'd been doing a lot of thinking… took a deep breath… ( and there was a thread of gallows humour in all this for him now)…
"Sexy, we're going to apply precise diagnostic methodology. Once we've catalogued the symptoms, we'll proceed to determine the illness, and find a cure." He considered. "We'll start with the assumption that I'm not crazy… if I am, it won't matter one way or the other…" He thought about that a beat. Then… "Sexy, who is usually aboard?"
"Theta Sigma."
"Have I always been the only person aboard?"
"Yes."
"If this was a bad dream, would you tell me?"
"That information is not available."
He walked into the corridor, opening doors as he walked down the deserted hallway… glancing inside… "What date did I come on board?"
"101,188 TL."
"That sounds about right. Sexy, is there more than one TARDIS?"
"This time capsule was given the name TARDIS by yourself. Other Time Lords later named their time capsules TARDIS. I am currently the only one away from Gallifrey."
"What is your primary mission?"
"To explore the universe."
"Do I have the necessary skills to complete that mission alone?"
"Yes, but you perform better when you are not alone."
"Then why am I alone?" A beat. "Aha, gotcha there…"
"That information is not available."
He frowned and entered the Control Room. The Cloister Bell continued to ring.
"Sexy, are you familiar with the inhabitants of Gallifrey?"
"Yes."
"Are any presently located on a starbase or vessel within communication range?"
"No."
"Estimated time to Gallifrey through the vortex?"
"One hundred and twenty-three hours."
The Doctor made a decision and set the coordinates for Gallifrey, and sent them a subspace message advising his arrival. He hit the dematerialization lever. Nothing happened.
"Sexy, did you change course?"
"Set new destination or coordinates."
"I set it, dammit… Gallifrey…"
"There is no Gallifrey listed on current star maps…"
At the direction of Shayde, the TARDIS was returning to Starbase One-Three-Three and the precise position where the subspace bubble was formed.
Nita and Shayde moved to the pool table. Ace worked in the background. Nita was very task-oriented here… Shayde was patient, calm…
"Our goal will be to create a stable gateway between our reality and your fiance's reality…"
"We've tried to stabilize it. The link won't hold."
"Of course not. The equations are only the first step. We will be going beyond mathematics."
"Just tell me what I have to do."
Shayde studied her… "It's nothing I can tell you, Nita…"
"Then how am I supposed to do it?" asked Nita, frustrated. Shayde stared at her evenly. "You said you'd help."
"You must allow me to help."
"I don't know how."
Shayde took a long look at the distressed young woman… put an arm on her shoulder. He motioned for Nita to sit down at the pool table in front of a panel display… "Begin by letting go of your guilt, Nita."
"It was my fault. I should never have tried…"
Shayde interrupted her. "Focus on the present. You will have to be here… completely… to help him back. You must open yourself to time and space and the intricate threads that bind them."
Shayde sat opposite her at another station. "Begin entering your time field equations…"
Nita began to enter data into the panel, eyes watching her hands, smoothly professional, determined to do it right… Shayde began to enter data at the same time, eyes on Nita…
"Close your eyes."
Nita glanced up curiously at Shayde who nodded encouragement… Nita closed her eyes…
"Continue to enter the equations…"
"I don't have any more equations."
"See past the numbers. Trust yourself…"
Nita tried but she couldn't go on… she opened her eyes… groaned with frustration. "I can't. I can't do it."
Shayde looked calmly at her, supportively. "When the time comes, you will, Nita. You will. Now, begin again…"
Nita was not convinced… but she took a deep breath, and began to enter the equations.
The Doctor was at the console. The Cloister Bell was still ringing.
"Starbase One-Three-Three, this is the TARDIS." There was no response. "Starbase One-Three-Three, this is the TARDIS. Please acknowledge." A beat. "Viewscreen on."
There was nothing on the viewscreen but a grey, misty void.
"It's not just people… Everything is disappearing!"
He continued to stare at the viewscreen, trying to put it together.
"Sexy, what is that… mist… I'm seeing?"
"Sensors indicate it to be a mass-energy field seventy-five meters in diameter."
"It surrounds us?"
"Yes."
"If there isn't anything wrong with me… maybe there's something wrong with the universe… Sexy, what is beyond the mass-energy field?"
"Sensors cannot penetrate the field."
"Sexy, here's a question you shouldn't be able to answer… What is the nature of the universe?"
"The universe is a spherical region seventy-five meters in diameter."
The Doctor stared at the grey mist on the viewscreen in shock.
The TARDIS neared Starbase One-Three-Three. Nita and Ace were in the Control Room.
"Approaching Starbase One-Three-Three, Nita…"
"Ace, prepare to materialize on the station."
Ace was at a console… "Ok, setting materialization sequence."
Nita and Shayde were still at the pool table… Nita was shaky as the moment approached. Shayde worked his panel alone… closed his eyes… "We're moving into phase now… there's your time bubble, Nita…"
But his eyes narrowed as he took a close look… and even his calm exterior showed some concern now…
"What? What's wrong."
"It's collapsing."
