-1CHAPTER 2

"Explain, Mr. Spock."

Even as Captain James T. Kirk, blue eyes locked onto his Science officer and second-in-command, as he swiveled his white command chair toward his right, where the Science station was located, demanded such, Commander Spock was already allowing his fingers to frantically dance across complex controls in order to refine said sensor sweeps of nearby space.

"It would appear, Captain", Spock replied, without swiveling to look in his commanding officer's direction, "that the temporal anomaly entered our spatial surroundings precisely seven thousand, six hundred and twenty-two kilometers from our current position in warped space. It will intersect with ship's position in approximately thirty-five seconds."

Captain Kirk now stood, allowing his pivoting chair to rotate forward again, and strode straight and sure toward said Science station, as the rest of the bridge crew suddenly allowed at least some of their attention to be diverted to this ensuing conversation. No doubt wondering if said intersection with the ENTERPRISE might end up being offering an undetermined danger to both ship and crew.

And all this on top of a safe mission to ferry medical and other supplies to the string of asteroids acting as observation bases for the Federation along its side of the Romulan Neutral Zone. Such was why the ENTERPRISE was only traveling at nominal warp speeds, instead of straining its matter-antimatter engines further by traveling at higher warp speeds.

"Do the sensors indicate the size of this anomaly, and where it will intersect with the ENTERPRISE?"

No sooner asked by Captain Kirk, than Mr. Spock was already pulling up such significant information upon his display screens, before standing and turning toward his commander. His face, though never displaying even the slightest hint of emotion, at least not since his mother and his world, and billions of fellow Vulcans, were wiped out of existence by a rogue Romulan from over 120 years in the future, allowed for the lifting of a single slanted brow.

"It would appear to be somewhat taller than an average Human male, with an approximately square shape. And it would also appear", Spock said as stoically as ever during his sterling service aboard the ENTERPRISE, "that it will 'solidify' in cargo bay four."

Captain Kirk wasted no time in turning toward Communications and commanding, "Lt. Uhura, send Security to cargo bay four, armed with phaser pistols set to heavy stun."

"Aye, aye, Captain", the beautiful, slender Noyta Uhura replied promptly, before activating the necessary communications controls to make immediate contact with Security, and convey the Captain's commands.

Meantime, in cargo bay four...

Amidst the normal grinding and roaring sounds made by the TARDIS upon arrival at some Time and place, the blue London police call box slowly solidified on the deck. It's police light, situated atop its flat roof, flashing in concert to said solidification process. Until, at long last...

One of two doors opened inward to allow The Doctor and Rose Tyler to step out into the re-circulated air of a starship traveling at Warp One through otherwise normal space.

"Where are we, Doctor?" asked Rose with a combination of impending anticipation, which usually accompanied Time travel, to more than a hint of apprehension in regards to precisely where and when they happened to be.

"We're on a starship in the 23rd Century", The Doctor responded with his usual sense of excited exploration to his clipped English-accented tone. "But it's not the 23rd Century of your timeline, Rose."

"Wha' d'ya mean by tha'?" Rose asked, as her Cockney accent made itself known, as it so often did in situations such as this.

"I mean what I mean, Rose", came The Doctor's heady response, as if he expected the nineteen year old to already realize what he knew to be fact. "The magnetar we came across several parsecs back reached out with its tremendous magnetic field to yank the TARDIS out of its intended Time-Space flight path long enough for its correction, whilst tumbling helplessly through said Time-Space, to end up causing it to slip into an alternate universal reality. One that skews off what would normally be your 23rd Century into one that should not have been, but which is. Does that explain the situation, Rose?"

"Uh", hummed Rose Tyler, as such rapid-fire elucidation simply shot over her blond-haired head, "not exactly."

Just then, as the door to the dimensionally larger interior of a seemingly smallish exterior closed shut to lock...

"Halt! Stay right there!"

So said, loudly and with urgency to tone and facial affectation, one of the half-dozen Security officers, Lt. Jeremy Hatcher, as all six aimed from the hip with their silvery phaser pistols set with the blue energy end, representing all stun levels, locked in an outward manner toward these two individuals, standing before what seemed incongruous in connection with Spock's sensor readings up on Deck One.

"I suppose we'd better do as they ask, Rose", instructed The Doctor, even as he led Rose Tyler in lifting hands high over his head in a stance of standard surrender.

"Indeed", Rose stated somewhat sarcastically. "'specially seein' as how they're holdin' some sort'a ray guns."