Prologue

Pounding waves on purple sand. An enormous full amber moon. A tropical breeze. A pair of hands picked up two half coconuts with two straws in them. It was the Doctor sitting on a blanket on the sand of an alien planet with Nita. There was a decided tension in the air.

"Another Coco-no-no?" the Doctor offered.

"No, thanks, I think I've had enough."

"Yeah. Me too. Oh, I almost forgot."

He had those two coconuts in his hands. He looked around for what to do with them. Finally, he just sort of dropped them off to the side. He snapped his fingers and a gypsy violin player appeared out of the trees beside them, playing Johannes Brahms – Hungarian Dance number five, startling Nita. The Doctor desperately wanted to find the courage to make his move. The gypsy began to play romantic music. Finally, awkwardly, attempting to be casual, he moved closer to her…raised his arm toward her shoulder…he hadn't touched her yet…the Doctor had the stiff smile of someone who wanted to look comfortable but wasn't. Slowly…his hand came to rest on her shoulder…and now was the moment…and the instant he touched her…

"Doctor…"

The Doctor tensed. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I think I better go back now."

"You're chilly? You can have my jacket…"

"No, it's been a lovely evening, and I enjoy being with you…"

The Doctor worried about what was coming. "Yes?"

"You don't need to try so hard."

"I've just observed that this is what is usually expected on a human date."

"I didn't fall in love with you for doing things the human way. I love you for who you are. You don't need to feel obligated to do something that clearly makes you feel uncomfortable. It just makes it feel fake."

"All right."

The gypsy violinist played his soul out…irritatingly loud.

"Knock it off!"

The music continued.

The Doctor clicked his fingers again and the gypsy returned to the trees. He sighed in frustration as he watched Nita return to the TARDIS.

Later, The Doctor and Ace were playing chess in the library. One wall in the library was displaying the view outside, the asteroid remains at Oskerion IV.

"This was the final battle, wasn't it?"

"Neither side expected Oskerion IV to be the decisive conflict."

"There's not much left."

"The destruction is remarkable, considering the primitive period."

"So, how did the big date go tonight? It seemed to end kind of early."

The Doctor downed another glass of synthehol. He couldn't quite get drunk, no matter how hard he tried.

"Don't we have anything stronger than this, Ace?"

"Yes."

"Would it help?"

"No."

"Can you tell me something, Ace? You're a woman, right?"

"Yes, I can tell you that."

"What is it that…you want in a man?"

"Me personally?"

"As a woman. What's the first thing you look at?"

"His head."

"Uh huh…his mind, of course."

"No, his head. I'm attracted to bald men."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Why?"

"Maybe because a bald man was very kind to me once…when I was hurting. Took care of me."

"I'd like to do that."

"I'm taking care of myself these days."

"I mean take care of Nita. Ace, I just don't get it…I can fix anything on the TARDIS…why can't I make anything work with a woman like Nita? I don't know what to do, what to say…"

"I never noticed…as a woman."

"You're different."

"No, you're different."

"But I'm not trying now."

"Exactly."

"Maybe I should've taken her to Mardi Gras, something a little livelier."

"You ever consider taking her somewhere ordinary?"

The Doctor thought about that.

The Cloister Bell began to ring. The Doctor and Ace jumped up and headed for the console room.

Nita was already there when they arrived. "We're picking up a signal, coordinates two one one mark six one."

The Doctor looked at it. "It would seem to be an ancient interplanetary code."

"Survivors on Oskerion IV, after all this time?" asked Nita. "Not possible."

"Well, hardly possible, Nita. Let's track down the source."

As the TARDIS moved toward the source, the space debris sped by, some fragments dangerously close. The Doctor activated the view screen. An ancient warship lay dead in space.

"A Zarbi battle cruiser," the Doctor identified it. "With its Lang-cycle fusion engines
intact. Sensors indicate no life signs aboard. That ship belongs in a museum. I'm afraid we're a little late. That call for help was probably initiated...over a thousand years ago."

"Can't we go back in time and help them?" asked Nita.

"No, we are part of established events now."