Pandora's Comet
Chapter 2.

'Well looks it like you've got everything nicely out of control.' Q sat back into the Captain's chair. Data checked his helm controls. Something had disconnected the impulse drive manifold and the comet was gaining speed.

'Captain; I am unable to maintain impulse speeds.' That drew the captain's attention to him. 'Whatever is effecting the antimatter containment must be responsible. They are allowing the comet to gain distance on us.'

'Damn.'

'Sir, power to weapons has been disabled!' Worf shouted across the bridge.

'Mr Laforge!' he called to the roof.

His voce came back and the chief engineer sounded desperate 'I can't do anything sir. My whole staff are sealed on this side of the blast door and whatever is crippling the ship is doing it by hand.

'We have to do some thing; are they still in the blast range of a self-destruct?'

'Negative sir.' Data replied 'Even if they were it would require us to ram the comet at warp 6.798 or greater at the moment of detonation to have any real effect and the warp drive appears to be equally off line.'

'Face it Jean-Luc there is nothing you can do and as I said my hands are tied' Q put his wrists together like they were chained. 'Why are you clutching that relic Guinan? I told you there's no one left to...' he trailed off before jumping to his feet.

A sudden wind picked up across the bridge as it filled with a pale blue light. Between Data and the view screen a box like shape phased into existence bringing with it a distorted sound of grinding gears. He could make out the flashing light on the very top, pulsing like an ancient lighthouse before the whole thing fully appeared and the air became still again.

Pulling the spare tricorder from under his seat the lieutenant commander took readings of the latest new arrival.

The captain just held his head in his hands 'What now? Mr Data, report.'

'It appears to be a police phone box sir, from the mid-twentieth century. A primitive communications device for the use of law enforcement within the islands of Great Britain. Before portable systems became available.' he checked the readings again. 'In fact that's exactly what I am reading, composed of Earth woods and metals with an alternating electrical power source.'

The front of it opened and what looked to be a young human male stepped out. 'Mid twenty-fourth century. Galaxy class of the first human empire.' He looked at Data before stepping closer, a human woman stepped out of the box after him.

'Security to the bridge' Worf shouted pulling his phaser from beneath the crushed tactical console.

The man either didn't notice or care 'Ahh a Soong type android, only a handful ever made and a Klingon security officer. You must be Data, him Mr Worf, that makes this the Enterprise.' he looked past him to the command chair; 'and you are a Q.' the stranger said in a half humours, half deadly cold tone of voice.

Data looked down at the tricorder. 'Captain; he is not human.'

Guinan laughed; 'No Data, he's a Time Lord.'

'Guinan! It's been awhile, how's things been?' The Time Lord greeted her warmly, like an old friend. 'Last time we met I dropped you off in late 19th century America, How did you end up here?'

'The usual, caught a lift or two and got stuck in the Nexus for a couple of hundred years.' she laughed off the question

'Those pesky 9th dimensional rips. I knew a girl from the late 20th century once, she fell through one. Thought it was heaven, stupid woman, went on to become a general and save the world several times over.'

Data's tricorder was producing conflicting readings from the visitors. He was from a non-human bipedal species that was amazingly similar yet completely different to any other form of life in the Federation data base. Among numerous, seemingly random, differences in DNA and several organs that he could not identify the alien had dual circuitry system consisting of two hearts. An anomaly only seen in Elorians like Guinan.

While they had caught up with each other Q had sulked away from the intruder, trying to hide behind Commander Riker. The councillor had watched as he had shed away; 'You're terrified Q.' she half whispered in amazement.

He jumped in front of her 'Terrified I've no reason to be terrified,' the other intruder turned to him, 'I've done nothing wrong; I'm not interfering I'm just watching, not even that. I'm passing through. The events here caught my eye, I just wanted to help anyway I could... You believe me don't you Doctor?' His tone and the way Q's voice sped up indicated that he was not being earnest. A fact that was not lost on the captain who's demeanour suggested out right shock.

The strange intruder turned on the omnipotent being; 'We've met haven't we "Q". As I recall it was during you visit to Baltron. I promised to have a long talk with you if we ever met again.'

'I... I've never been to Baltron VI.' Q practically shouted in his defence.

'I never said it was Baltron VI.' the man smiled innocently, an action that had the opposite effect on Q 'But I doubt Guinan would call me over for somebody as petty as you Q.' Data was not reassured by the description of Q as petty.

Guinan stepped in at that point. 'Jean-Luc can explain better. Captain Picard; may I introduce the Doctor.'

'It's good to meet you. I would enjoy discussing many things with you but right now we need help. According to Guinan your people have heard of these Cybermen before can you...'

'Cybermen!', the Doctor had seen one of the destroyed Cybermen before but had decided to ignore it, he turned to Guinan. 'You could have said.' he scolded before seeing what Rose was doing,

Rose hadn't bothered to pretend not to see what was right in front of her and she had been investigating one of the fallen cyborgs. 'Doctor, they don't look much like the one's we saw.' she said as he knelt next to it. With his sonic screwdriver he scanned the damaged portion. X-ray laser damage; the Federation crew must have used the Cybermen's weapons against them when the found their own useless.

'Parallel dimensions Rose. Just because something is immutable fact in one doesn't make it any more real than fiction in the other. They'll head for the power core.' he jumped to his feet. 'You people still using matter/anti-matter drives?' He didn't have to ask but there was always a hope intelligence prevailed.

'Yes we are. Does your ship use a different form of energy?' the Android asked.

'Yes, I prefer it when my TARDIS does not explode at the drop of a neutron, thanks. Rose stay here, if something goes wrong get everyone in the TARDIS and set course for Earth.' The Doctor ran up the ramp and stood next to the Klingon who was still pointing the phaser at him.

'But...' she started

'I've shown you the controls and Guinan knows the co-ordinates.' Deftly he snatched and pocketed the phaser. Turning he headed to the turbolift; 'Don't move Q, I'll be back in a moment.' he shouted as the lift sped away to the engine core.

'Captain! He took my phaser.'

'He can disarm a Klingon warrior without anyone noticing?' Will Riker asked Guinan. The first officer felt like he was loosing control of the situation, and would have bet his next ships' leave on Risa he wasn't the only one.

The captain held up a hand and tapped his comm badge 'Picard to Mr Laforge; A friend of Guinan's is on his way to help. I want a full report on his actions. Mr Worf is on his way.' The big Klingon nodded and ran to the under used lift at the front of the bridge and the captain nodded to the bar tender

Guinan had used the pause to walk up to the still unexplained box. 'The Doctor is a man of many talents, not all of them constant. He's a pacifist and a scholar, a philosopher and scientist; a wizard, a thief, a rebel and Lord President of the Time Lord high council. He has as many facets as a flawed Qubran seed crystal and is just as sharp.' she turned to the pretty young woman that had come with this "Doctor" 'So you're his new assistant?'

'That's what people tell me. I take it you travelled with him for a while too?'

'Oh no, just hitched a ride in this old thing.' She smiled at it while Data walked around it with his tricorder.

The captain on the other hand was busy with a different angle. 'Diana, is there anything you can tell me about our guests?'

'Q is obviously afraid of this Doctor. I would say with good reason from Guinan's feelings in the matter.'

'What did you sense from him though?'

'Your uncertain about him sir, you respect the fear he puts into Q but you are worried why.' she looked at the Captain for a moment as one of his eyebrow's did a fair impression of a Vulcan. She stopped and looked at the floor. 'He has strong defences captain. My empathic abilities were... deflected is the best word for it. My attention was bounced to yourself and Q, away from him and his companion.'

'And now?'

'It's still there. There's nothing I can do.'

The young companion tapped on his shoulder 'You could just ask you know.' she said indignantly.

'Yes your right, I apologise for my rudeness. I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise.'

'Rose Tyler, Powel estate, Earth.' she smiled back at him.

'Earth?' Will exclaimed; 'How did you end up travelling with an unknown species in a 20th century wooden box?'

She made a strange face; 'It's called a TARDIS. I don't really know what that means but it can travel through space and time.'

Will looked between her and the box Data had been examining. 'How can a wooden box do that?' he said before realising Data had vanished.

Geordi pulled the emergency lever, the bolts blew and the magnetic locks flicked off. Only for a moment though, then the blast doors were electrified and the seals dropped like an anvil. 'Damn.' he pounded on the door only to get a nasty shock from the emergency force field.

Barclay called over from the main console; 'They've activated the atmospheric shields, the computer thinks there's a hull breach on the other side.'

'That's good to know, that means there either is a hull breach or they've got control of your computer.' A strange man entered the room like a tornado, his long brown coat went one way, he went another; 'Take care of that will you.' he asked the ensign who had caught the coat. 'Right then, I'm the Doctor and I'm here to help. What happened?' he asked the room while opening the front of a hand phaser over the diagnosis table.

Geordi tried to shake some feeling back into his hand; 'Our shields were up, somehow they beamed aboard and killed three men before we knew what was happening. I was on this side of the blast doors when they closed them. We've lost internal sensors and the magnetic containment bottles are slowly being breached.'

He blinked. 'Great. So they have a working trans-mat, a grasp of rush tactics and your computer controls. You're still using gold in your wiring right.' he put the phaser down and pulled a short tube from his jacket.

'Yes.' how did this guy know so much about the Enterprise's wiring?

'Replicated gold though, that will only slow them down. When will you people learn.' Geordi's visor picked up a strange disturbance coming from the tube aimed at the weapons inner workings. Worf then entered with his short sword in hand, a knife tucked in his sash and a black look directed at this strange friend of Guinan's. 'Ahh there you are big feller, I need to borrow this.' The Doctor pointed at the scattered phaser components.

Worf growled, clutching his mek'leth tightly.

Geordi got the distinct impression that was not something he wanted to know about, anyway there was something else bothering him; 'What did you mean by "when will we learn"?'

The Doctor put on a pair of thick rimmed ancient spectacles. 'Natural gold is endomagnetic, it absorbs and neutralises magnetism. The Cybermen's technology can't handle it and they blow up.' he started putting the phaser back together, using the device as a spot welding tool. 'Replicators can't do that, they end up producing something entirely, but not quite, unlike... anything you want really.' He stepped up to the blast doors and pointed the completed phaser at the force field. 'Sort of like trying to get drunk of synthahol, a big waste of time.'

The Doctor smiled and fired his phaser. Instead of a beam the whole force field warped and bent towards the phaser until it was sucked into it with a sharp bang. 'Now on to the doors.' Throwing the smoking phaser away he ran the device across the door's seems. 'Dead bolt seals, wonderful. I don't suppose at any point in the design process you thought of a way to open it from this side.'

'N.. no...not when the atmosphere safety protocols are engaged. Only when the computer reads positive atmosphere inside the warp core room, will it realise the locks.' Barclay stammered to the man.

He whipped his glasses off; '24th century mentalities, prepare for the absolute worst possibilities imaginable but oh look you trip over you're own shoelaces when the going gets a little rough.' he ran the tube across one of the near by screens and it cracked with interference. 'There.' he bent down and the tube blasted a panel from the wall. Worf backed off as the panel bounced next to him.

Geordi knelt with the Doctor. 'What is that thing?' for some reason the strange man was accessing deflector control

He was pulling out processor chips and it looked like he was reprogramming the odd one or two with it, scattering them across the floor. 'Sonic screwdriver.'

'How does that work then?'

He snapped two chips in half and mixed the four halves. 'It works very well thanks, hold these.' Geordi was holding two uneven halves, the Doctor pointed the screwdriver at the join fusing the two together.

'That's impossible!'

'Impossible is a big word for something that makes you comfortable and complacent in you're little life. Nothing is impossible, only incredibly unlikely and against the natural law of the universe.' he bit the sonic device and started rearranging the chips at warp speed by hand.

Reg glanced at the report on the magnetic bottles. 'Good God! SIR!'

'What is it Reg?'

'The Antimatter containment is down to twenty two percent.'

The Doctor looked up from his work, spitting out the screwdiver; 'In other words:- were dead.'

End Chapter 2