Captain Janeway looked around the staff table, noting the absence of both Seven of Nine and their new crew member, The Doctor. Sadly it wasn't a random couicidence, both of them often went missing on their off hours. Since neither one broke any rules or regulations she had no authority to command them, but she had brought her concerns to them both. Fortunately the exact minute Seven had a shift she reappeared as if nothing happened, and during that time the new Doctor would often walk around the ship and help in whatever function he could, assisting Neelix in the mess hall and with morale duties, helping Seven in Astrometerices or offering his help in Engineering. If he wasn't in either of those locations he could simply be bouncing around the ship talking to the crew. To his credit he had very little complaints about him.
Except for B'elanna, who seemed on an even shorter fuse whenever he was around engineering. It took her a while to understand why, but the Doctor's ever happy attitude and strange work habits no doubt rubbed the half klingon the wrong way.
"We're going to be arriving at the planet Hustrima V in about 3 days, so we'll try and resupply there and maybe get some R&R. Any questions or comments?" She asked as they neared the end of the briefing.
"I'd like permission to ban The Doctor from Engineering. I can't work with him hovering over my shoulder, making jokes and constantly bothering my staff." Janeway sighed and sat down in her chair.
"What happened this time?"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++the Previous Day+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
B'elanna smiled as the console reported that she had finally fixed an energy flux that made maintaining warp drive difficult. After a couple hours it looked like the issue had been addressed. Looking at her watch, she realized if she hurried to her quarters she could shower and be ready for her date with Tom sooner then she had expected. Turning, she slammed into the broad chest of The Doctor, who caught her before she fell back onto the console.
"Hello B'elanna, nice to see you to. Going somewhere are you? Good, you go have fun I'll just fix that pesky issue with the quickly travel thing. Here have a jelly baby." He said, his usual cheerful grin on his face, reaching into his pocket and taking out the white bag that always holds the confections he's so fond of. She noticed he was in an outfit she hadn't seen yet, some kind of grey jumpsuit with a dark green coat over it.
"Nice to be offered the hand, but I already fixed it." She replied. He turned and reached into his pocket again, waving a buzzing black and silver stick with a green light over the console, than looking at it.
"No you didn't, not completely. It will fail about an hour and a half into warp." He told her after analyzing the results from his sonic screwdriver. She shook her head.
"I appreciate you wanting to help, but the problem is fixed, now please get out of engineering. Go see your friend or something. I have a date to get ready for." B'elanna told him, pushing him out of Engineering and heading to the turbolift. The Doctor stood there, then turned and went back into the room, coming out a few moments later, heading to the cargo bay.
An hour and 28 minutes later, while B'elanna and Tom were enjoying a dinner in their quarters, the wrap drive failed, forcing her to go back to work. When she did, she found a holographic message beacon sitting on her console. Frowning, she turned it on, projecting an image of a stone faced doctor, who grinned pointed at her.
"HA!." The image then disappeared, leaving B'elanna cursing at The Doctor in anger.
Janeway listened as her chief engineer told her story, noticing that Ensign Kim seemed to be holding in laughter.
"Ok B'Elanna, I'll talk to the Doctor and tell him you don't want him in Engineering anymore. Any other comments regarding our new shipmate?"
"Well I for one find him quite remarkable, I don't have one bad thing to say about him, then again all he does when he comes to mess is stand there and talk and talk... Not that it's a bad thing; he's got quite a few interesting stories of his travels." Neelix reported.
"I've gotten a couple small complaints regarding him, nothing major. Some people think he's a bit too curious about people's lives and various things found around the ship. I talked to him about it and he's agreed to step back, I haven't gotten a complaint since." Chakotay told her. Janeway nodded and thinks or a few moments.
"Ok, since his pros outweigh his cons I say let's keep him on board for now. His work in Astrometerics with Seven of Nine has been pretty useful. So, if that's all I call this meeting adjourned." With that the group walked out of the briefing room. Janeway sat in her chair for a few minutes thinking about the Doctor, and then turned to the wall. "Computer, locate Seven of Nine and The Doctor."
: Seven of Nine and The Doctor are not on board:
Janeway nodded at the way. She wasn't surprised. Every now and then the ships computers would report that the two of them weren't on board Voyager. She checked and found that all of the ships shuttles were still in the hangers and the teleporters weren't used. Her main theory was that The Doctor altered the ship's sensors to show they weren't on board. Chances were they were on the Holodeck enjoying a nice simulation on a beach or something.
Why didn't we go to some planet with a nice beach or something like that? The Doctor thought as he desperately held onto the side of an alien mine cart as he and Seven raced to the top of the mine. He and Seven had originally arrived at a barren planet with the intent to study the unique rock structure of the planet. What they found was a group of aliens were using slave labor to mine valuable minerals and ore from the planet. As if the use of slave labor didn't irritate the Doctor, the items taken from the planet were being used to create weapons and the taking of the minerals and ore was causing large amounts damage to the environment. T
hat trifecta was enough to ensure that the Doctor, and reluctantly Seven, would sneak into the mine, cause enough of a distraction that the slaves were able to revolt and most were able to escape. After that they grabbed some explosives used to blast new tunnels and set them along support columns and weakened infustructure points and set them to go off with enough time for them to get to the surface. What they didn't count on was a pair of alien soldiers trying to hold them up. The soldiers were stopped by a group of former slaves who wanted to help get more slaves out and saw an opportunity to pay back the people responsible for setting them free.
With their time much shorter than the Doctor and Seven had estimated when setting the charges they needed a quick way to the surface. With that in mind the Doctor quickly grabbed a Magma Flinger used to turn a metallic mineral called Gev'taunce into a molten liquid state, and rigged it to release a constant thermal propulsion stream that sent them up the mine shaft. With the power of the modified rocket they were able to escape before the shaft collapsed, and even rescue a few stragglers, escaping with such a velocity that they were sent air born after reaching the surface.
Coughing as they picked themselves off the ground, The Doctor and Seven looked behind them at the now ruined mine brushing themselves off before turning and checking on the hitch hikers they picked up. After making sure they were ok they set the transmitters found in the slaver's stationhouses to send a signal to have help come. After accepting the thanks of the greatful species, the two depart, heading into the TARDIS which was parked roughly a mile away. Snapping his fingers as they approach, The Doctor removes his jacket and tosses it on a chair.
"Well that wasn't so bad was it? We save a lot of lives, halt the production of weaponry, and save an interesting environment." He told her as he flipped a few switches on the console and pulled a lever.
"You caused us to become embroiled in a situation that had nothing to do with us and no doubt caused much chaos to Species 639." She replied as she walked over to the console with him.
"Yeah I know, it's what I do. Long story, maybe I'll tell you about it sometime. Why don't you go rest up? I'll set course back to Voyager." He told her. She turned to go to her room, and then paused at the hallway.
"I have noticed you have never referred to the process by its name: Regeneration. Why is that?" She asked him, noting his shoulders becoming tense.
"I'm not fond of that word. And before you ask, it's also a long story that I don't want to think about much less talk about." He told her, his usually fun and cheerful tone now having an edge to it. Seven decided not to push the matter and went to her room.
Naomi Wildman frowned as she looked around the cargo bay for Seven of Nine. Ever since the arrival of the Doctor she hadn't seen her friend as much as she had, and it made her sad. As she turned to head out the door, a whooshing sound filled the room and when she turned around she saw the strange blue box belonging to the Doctor beginning to appear, before fully materlizing. After a few moments, the door opened and The Doctor and Seven stepped out.
"Naomi Wildman, what are you doing here?" Seven asked as soon as she saw her.
"I hadn't seen you for a while so I decided to come down. Where do you guys come from? Is that a new type of teleportation?" She asked, looking at the box as The Doctor locked the door to the Police Box.
"Not exactly, The TARDIS travels through the use of a materialization circuit. Basically disappears here and reappears there." He told her as he tucked the key into his pocket. Naomi looked from The Doctor to the box back to the Doctor.
"Isn't it a tight fit with the two of you in there? Or is that the point?" The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"It's nicer then it looks in there. Maybe sometime I'll show you."
"Wait, if it disappears then reappears how long would it take you to get to Earth?" She asked.
"Well, given our current distance from the planet, any interstellar or cosmic interference I might encounter on the way, roughly 2 or 3 minutes." The Doctor said as he pulled his candy bag out of his pocket and had one. Naomi's eyes widened at his words.
"If it can get there that quick, why hasn't the Captain piled everyone into it yet?" She asked.
"Because she doesn't know it can do that. And we're not going to tell her because we're not going to use it. I told her when I got here that I would help, but when this crew arrives back to the Alpha Quadrant it has to be because Voyager brought them there. I can't swoop in and do the work for them. Besides, I don't know what timelines would be affected by an action like that. Say I went back to the exact moment Voyager was pulled by the Caretaker's Array and brought them back then, Seven of Nine here would still be with The Borg. Something like that would have drastic impacts that can't be measured. Look at how many people Voyager helps in a week." He told her. Naomi looked down, slightly embarrassed. The Doctor smiled and held out the bag. "Jelly Baby?"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++Four Days Later+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Doctor, Seven of Nine, Neelix, and Naomi were walking down the street of one of the many markets found on Hustrima V, looking at all the strange and exotic foods that could be found. Well, Neelix was looking at the food, The Doctor and Seven were looking at the people, and Naomi was looking at the Doctor and Seven. They were enjoying the R&R, though neither The Doctor nor Seven felt the need to inform anyone that they could have R&R anytime they wished. They had even brought Naomi with them on their last adventure to a jungle planet roughly 50o light years from the planet, where they studied the plant life.
The people of Hustrima V seemed very intreasting, they were a peaceful telepathic species that allowed their planet to be used as a trading post by various local species and visitors. They also believed in higher spiritual powers and as such burned strange incense that made the crew slightly light headed, but not enough to be worried.
Neelix was paying for the ingredients he had decided to purchase, when suddenly the Doctor spun around, looking directly at the castle where the planet's ruler, Queen Anir, resided. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, when he opened his eyes he had a look on his face that was both hardened and hopeful. It was the strangest thing that Seven had ever seen. Before she had any chance to say anything, The Doctor took off running towards the castle.
"I appreciate your allowing my people to have some rest on the planet, it means a lot to everyone." Captain Janeway told the youthful Queen, who smiled.
"It is no trouble. You have had a very hard journey from what you told me, and even relaxation can be a helping hand." The Queen replied as she led the Captain and Tuvok through the hallways of the castle. She opened her mouth to ask the Queen something when suddenly she stopped and spun around, looking for something before inhaling deeply.
Before she could ask what was wrong, the wall ten feet ahead of them suddenly exploded with The Doctor stepping out, one hand in his pocket the other hanging down at his side, wearing a hard expression. The guards were about to attack when the Queen held her hand out, silently telling them to stand down. The Doctor and the Queen walked towards each other until they were only a few feet apart.
"Doctor, I never expected to see you again." The Queen said, as though the two of them were old friends.
"I know the feeling. Anir, A-N-I-R. Switch a few of them around and you get your real name. Long time no see, Rani."
End of Chapter 2. Things get a bit rougher for the Doctor and the crew. Next chapter has more of the Doctor's confrontation with The Rani, how she got there and maybe Janeway finding out about the TARDIS's ability to return them home.
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