"Hey, Alan!" Danziger said. "You guys broke contact a couple of hours ago. What's up?"

"A lot," Hanson said.

Bess leaned over and whispered, "Baines – who's he?"

"That's Alan Hanson, head of ops," Baines whispered back. "He's Danziger's opposite number on the colony ship."

"Oh," Bess nodded.

Every single member of Eden Advance, gathered in the central hut, listened in stunned silence as Hanson recounted the events of the previous two hours. Tom was dead, Sheila was in critical condition, Romana was unconscious, and half the bridge had been destroyed. There was no evidence of a stowaway or forced entry anywhere, and everyone on board had been in their cold sleep chambers. Yet, someone had evidently woken up sometime during the 24-year voyage and canceled the revival, then blown up the bridge and killed Tom to cover it up. And whoever it was was still on the loose.

Devon had her fist up to her mouth, her eyes wide, as she tried to take it all in.

"Mr. Hanson," she finally said. "We have got to get those people safely on this planet's surface as quickly as possible."

"How will that help?" Walman asked. "Getting the colonists down won't mean that we'll be safe if there's a maniac on the loose! He could just kill them – and us, for that matter – just as easily down here as he could up there!"

"Not really." A new voice joined the conversation. It was deep and sonorous. The members of Eden Advance turned back to the screen to find a man with a large nose and dark curls staring at them. "The lady who spoke first is right. We're much more vulnerable while we're up here in space, because a lot of things can go wrong. You must be Devon Adair."

"And...you must be the Doctor," Devon answered, staring at him curiously.

"Quite right. But there'll be time for autographs later. Right now I need to know if there's a pilot in the house."

They all looked around at each other, startled by such an odd question. Finally Alonzo stepped forward. "I'm a pilot. Why, do you want me to relay instructions to help you fly the colony ship?"

"Oh, better than that," the Doctor grinned. "I want you to fly the colony ship! I'll see you in a moment." Then he was gone, the connection cut off.

They all looked at each other some more. "Well," Julia said. "He certainly acts like the Doctor...sort of."

"Yeah, sort of," Morgan said. "Look, it's a really big universe out there. There could be more than one whacko who calls himself 'the Doctor.' How do we know this is the same guy?"

With a groaning sound which grew louder in waves, a blue police telephone box with a whirling light on top quickly materialized in the middle of the room, making everyone jump back in alarm. The light shut off as the great engines heaved the box into existence with a resounding thud.

Danziger said slowly, "I...think it's the same guy."

The door opened and out stepped the man they'd been talking to over the gear channel just a moment before. He was as big as Walman or Danziger, with dark, curly hair and a large nose. He wore a rust-colored overcoat, and draped around his shoulders and hanging down to his feet was the longest wool scarf any of them had ever seen, patterned in deep browns and reds.

"Hello, everyone, I do love to make an entrance." He smiled an infectious grin as he spotted Uly and True and held out a bag. "Hello, there. Have a jelly baby. Pass it around. You're the pilot, correct?"

This was asked of Alonzo, who was still trying to take in the Doctor's sudden appearance. Finally, Alonzo just laughed once, and said, "Yes, I am."

The Doctor leaned in close. "If you're the pilot, what are you still doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, why didn't you take your ship back to Earth after dropping off these nice people?"

"We crashed," Devon answered. "Our ship was sabotaged, too, Doctor."

"Really," the Doctor said, not sounding the least bit surprised. "If you sabotage one ship, you sabotage the other. That's a standard rule for saboteurs, spies, and mean people in general. It even says so on page 424 of the Villains' Handbook. 'Chapter 8: How to Gimmick Spaceships.' Tell me – how was yours gimmicked?"

"Control boxes were fused together," Danziger spoke up. "So when the cargo pods were released-"

"They weren't really released," the Doctor finished. "You have my sympathy. It must have been a bumpy ride all the way down."

Danziger spoke softly. "It was."

The bag of candy was being passed around the room, each person picking out a few, fascinated by the unexpected treat. Walman and Cameron together were looking for purple ones. "Keep the bag," the Doctor told them, then turned to Alonzo. "Lets go."

"Well – wait!" Devon jumped up. "I'm coming too!"

"So am I," Julia stood up.

"Nononononono," the Doctor held up his hands, making shushing noises. "I'm only taking this young man – what's your name, by the way?"

"Alonzo."

"I'm only taking Alonzo. I need the rest of you to stay here."

Devon started to interrupt.

"It's going to be very dangerous!" the Doctor shouted. "I feel quite sure that the saboteur will strike again when it becomes known that we're approaching the planet, and quite frankly, I'm not sure everyone's going to survive this."

Eden Advance was quiet as those words sunk in.

"Come on," the Doctor told Alonzo.

"Doctor," Julia spoke up. "I'm a physician. I'm sure they could use my help up there."

The Doctor looked at her for a second, then motioned for her to hurry through the doors of the police box. He followed without a backward glance and shut the doors.

Inside, Alonzo and Julia found themselves in a room much smaller than they remembered. The Victorian decor they had experienced during their first trip in the TARDIS was nowhere to be seen. The brightly-lit console room had white walls, floor, and ceiling. Round indentations, each a foot in diameter, covered the walls in a neat pattern. Beside the door was a single chair and a hat stand.

As before, the controls were mounted on a six-sided console in the center of the room. But this console was made of metal instead of wood. It all looked futuristic and alien, rather than nice and cozy.

Alonzo and Julia looked around in wonder. "What-" Alonzo started to ask, then remembered he wasn't supposed to tell the Doctor he'd been in the TARDIS before. He would have to wait before finding out why the console room looked different.

The Doctor saw his reaction, but misinterpreted it. "Yes, it's bigger on the inside than on the outside. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

He flicked a switch and was surprised when nothing happened. Then he slammed his fist down on the console, and the central column started to rise and fall.

He gave a broad grin to Alonzo and Julia, who just looked worried.

 

After watching the TARDIS fade away, the members of Eden Advance took collective breaths. Several people got up and poured themselves a mug of water or tea, but no one left.

Baines was looking at the cup in his hand. "Well," he said. "They're here."

The others all nodded.

"After two years," Magus said, a smile on her face. "It...seems so unreal."

"There were many times when it seemed we wouldn't make it," Devon said. "But by sticking together, we always managed to pull through. And here we are."

There was silence for a moment, and no one wanted to look at each other. Finally, Walman said, "Well...I suppose...some of us will be saying good-bye soon."

Several of the ops crew looked at each other apprehensively. Walman had voiced what they were all thinking.

"You know," Devon said, "I've come to regard each and every one of you as close family, and for anyone who was planning to return to the stations...you know you're more than welcome to stay. In fact, I uh...don't want you to go."

For a moment, no one spoke. Finally, Baines asked, "John, are you staying?"

"I don't know," he said, and looked down at Devon. He smiled briefly, and she smiled back hopefully. "Something tells me I don't have to answer that just yet."

"But that is the question facing all of us on the ops crew," Cameron said.

"I have to admit," Denner spoke up, "I've thought about it a lot lately. But I just don't know."

"I don't know, either," Mazatl said. "But there's one thing I do know." He raised his mug.

"Eben should be here."

They all nodded and raised their mugs in agreement.

"To Eben," they said.

 

Barbara and Ian were sitting outside looking up at the stars. Barbara's head was on Ian's shoulder, and he had his arm around her.

"Ian," Barbara said, "what do you suppose life will be like when we get back?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been through so much, haven't we? I mean, there won't be anyone else we can talk to about everything we've seen and done."

Ian was silent.

"I keep thinking about little things in our daily lives," Barbara continued, almost embarrassed. "I'll never be able to call the exterminators out to my flat without hearing the Daleks in my head. 'Exterminate' seemed to be their favorite word. And I know I'll never be able to teach my class about Marco Polo without saying that I met him, or thinking about Ping Cho." Her voice faded away as she quietly thought about other times, other places, other people.

"We've seen a lot of death, haven't we, Ian?"

Ian sighed. "Yes. Yes, I suppose we have. But, as strange as it may seem...I think the more death we see, the more alive we really are. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"I think so," Barbara said. "Now I know what's out there. Now I know what the universe is made of, how tiny a slice of life I was living before. I never would have known about the Thals' struggle for survival, and become a part of what they were going through. I never would have known of the Sensorites, or the fear they had of mankind because of how we poisoned their planet. I never would have met Terrians. I would have lived the rest of my life, going back and forth from home to the school, and never known any of those other people existed. And...and now, I don't think I would have missed any of it for the world."

Ian smiled. "Neither would I," he said.

Barbara smiled also, perfectly relaxed, and felt the breeze and the warm night wrap around her, soothe her, as she looked up at the bright stars sparkling across the alien sky. "It feels so good to finally say it, instead of deny it. Because it's true. I'm glad the Doctor whisked us away, Ian."

"So am I, Barbara," Ian patted her on the arm. "So am I."

"Ahem," a voice delicately said behind them. They stood up and turned to find the Doctor standing there. How long he'd been there, they couldn't say.

He couldn't seem to meet their gaze, however.

"I'm sorry to disturb your reverie," he said, examining his cane and the ground with minute detail as he approached them. "But I'm afraid I have some disturbing news for you."

"Oh? And what's that, Doctor?" Ian asked.

"My earlier assumption that we are in the future is wrong, I'm afraid. It seems we have, in fact, gone very far back in the past."

"Well, under the circumstances, I don't think it matters much," Ian said. "But how do you know?"

"Well, I was taking a look at the night sky, in much the same way the two of you were." He swung his cane to point upwards. "Take a look at that constellation, young Chesterton."

Ian looked up at the area of the sky the Doctor was pointing at. "What about it?"

"Do you recognize it?"

"No. Should I?"

The Doctor tutted gently. "You led me to believe that you are a science teacher of some sort, and you don't recognize that particular star pattern?"

"Doctor, I come from 1963 London," Ian said with a smile. "I teach a general science course to Earth children. We only spend a week on astronomy, and during that time I'm lucky if I can get half of them to understand the basics. We don't cover what the stars look like from other planets."

"Hmp," the Doctor replied, but didn't press the point. "Well, then, I'll tell you. That, my dear boy, is the constellation Ursa Major."

"What, the Big Dipper?" Ian was astonished. "You can't be serious. It looks nothing like it!"

"I spent some time in the libraries of your world in the time that I was there," the Doctor said. "One of the texts I researched was a fascinating look at the movement of the stars, as seen from the Earth, over the course of time."

"But Doctor," Barbara interrupted, "the constellations Ian and I are used to seeing in the night sky only look that way from the Earth. From any other planet, the patterns they make are completely different!"

"Not completely different, my dear Barbara!" The Doctor smiled smugly.

"He's right," Ian said. "Most stars are so far away from the Earth, that if you were to travel a few light years in any direction from Earth, the constellations would still be the same. You would have to travel a great distance away for the patterns they make to change considerably."

"Quite so, quite so," the Doctor agreed. "And that –" he pointed at the sky again "– is almost exactly what the constellation Ursa Major looks like from the night sky of Earth around 300,000 years before you were born."

"But- but that means we're close to Earth!" Ian exclaimed.

"Exactly," the Doctor said with a smile. "Within about 25 light years, I should say."

"Does this help us any?" Barbara asked.

"Yes. Yes, I think so. If I can tell which of these stars we see is the one which the Earth orbits, I may be able to project a course."

"So that means our next stop is...home," Barbara said. Somehow, she didn't seem excited.

The Doctor gave her a peculiar look, as if he understood exactly what she felt. "Yes. The next stop is 20th-century Earth. That is...if you still want to go."

Barbara and Ian looked at each other in amazement and smiled, both of them at a loss for words. Finally Barbara said, "Well, why don't we see if you can really get us there, Doctor. Then we'll see what happens."

The Doctor grasped the lapels of his coat in outrage. "What do you mean, young lady, 'Why don't we see?' I'll have you know-"

His voice was drowned out by the laughter of the two school teachers.

He shook his head and gave in, allowing them their moment of mirth. Clebadee and Susan came out of the cave entrance to join them, Susan looking back and forth, wanting to be let in on the joke.

"Are you in pain?" Clebadee asked.

"No, we're perfectly all right," the Doctor asked. "Why?"

"You were screaming very loudly," the young Terrian said, looking at Ian and Barbara. "It sounded as if you were in pain."

"Oh, we're just laughing," Ian said. He and Barbara hadn't quite stopped giggling yet.

"Laughing?" Clebadee asked.

"Yes," the Doctor replied, a mischievous look in his eyes. "It's something humans do far too rarely, and when they do, it's at the most inappropriate times." He looked meaningfully at Ian and Barbara. "But I assure you, there is nothing wrong with them. Nothing beyond the ordinary, anyway. I shall explain later. What has your tribe decided?"

"We have decided to take the information you have given us, Doctor, and formally contact every other tribe within the area. We want to explain to them what is going on, and what the Dreaming is all about."

"Excellent, excellent," the Doctor said. "Very commendable. It won't be easy, you know. But it will be well worth the effort."

"We should like you to help us."

The four travelers looked at each other. "Well..." the Doctor said. "We were planning on going back to our traveling craft and leaving. We were lost, you see, and now that we know where we are, we would like to be on our way." His words were for Clebadee, but he casually eyed Ian and Barbara, as if he knew what they were going to say.

"But...you have helped us so much in the short time you have been here," Clebadee said. "Will you not help us for a while longer?"

"We would love to stay and help you," Barbara said.

No one noticed that the Doctor seemed quite pleased with her answer.

"It's just that one of the tribes you will no doubt be contacting will be the one which wanted to kill us," Barbara continued. "And I really don't want to meet them again."

"Your safety will be assured," Clebadee answered. "Any meeting which takes place will be very public and open. We hope there will be many Terrians from many tribes there. If any try to harm us, we can go where they cannot follow – into the ground."

"Oh, grandfather, lets stay just a while longer!" Susan said. "It's really lovely here! And Clebadee has promised to take me flying through the ground again!"

"Well," the Doctor said with a smile. "If everyone's agreed, then I don't see why not!"

 

Alonzo made his way to B ward, on the starboard side of the ship. He found Julia lifting a six-year-old boy from an examination bed and setting him on the floor. "There we go!" She smiled brightly. "You're all clear!"

"Thank you," a woman said, taking him by the hand. "Come on, Alex."

Julia tugged on the woman's sleeve. "Come see me later, okay?" she whispered.

The woman seemed to panic. She said to the boy, "Alex, wait for mommy outside, okay?"

The boy squeezed past Alonzo as he held the door open for him.

The woman looked briefly at Alonzo standing in the doorway, then turned to Julia. "Why?" she asked. "Is something wrong with Alex that you didn't want to say in front of him?"

Julia was surprised for a second, then realized how the woman had misunderstood her. "No, no! It's nothing like that! It's just that, well," she glanced at Alonzo, who held up his hand and started to leave. But before he could, Julia said, "I don't work for the Council any more, Sarah. And I know you don't, either."

Alonzo stared at the two women. He saw that Sarah was just as stunned as he was.

"How- how did you...?" Sarah tried to ask.

"Blalock played both of us against each other," Julia said. "He didn't tell either of us the truth, and we were both considered expendable." Julia squeezed her arm. "I just wanted you to know that if you need a friend, if you need someone to talk to, I'll understand just about anything."

"Wha-, well," Sarah didn't know what to say for a moment. "Th- thank you, Dr. Heller. But, my name is Angela Williams, now. Never Sarah."

"Of course," Julia said. "I've been awake for two years longer than you have, and I just forgot."

Angela just smiled and nodded awkwardly, then left.

Alonzo walked into the room. "What was that all about?" he asked.

"Ex-Council stuff," Julia sighed. "Come here. I need a hug."

Alonzo stepped forward and put his arms around her.

"Angela isn't Alex's natural mother," Julia explained, relaxing in his arms. "She was a Council spy sent by Blalock, just like me. And just like me, she didn't like what she was doing any more. And now she's his mother for real."

They pulled away from each other. "Boy, you spies just seem to pop up everywhere."

Julia smiled, and playfully punched him in the stomach. "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't we going to run into something if you're not on the bridge?"

"No, I've done all I can for now, and we'll be reaching the planet in a few hours. That's why I came looking for you."

"Are you all right? You seem kind of glum." Julia started putting her instruments away.

"No, I'm not all right. It's spooky on that bridge."

Julia stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

"There's this wreckage everywhere," Alonzo explained. "Machinery burnt black. And I can't help but remember that that's where Tom died, less than six hours ago. Murdered.

"And then I sat down in the pilot's seat, and it all came back to me. The last time I was piloting a vessel, I couldn't hold her. Do you know what it's like to feel 500,000 tons of machinery slide completely out of your control?" He shook his head. "The nightmare came back to me, Julia. Suddenly, I was on the Roanoke, and the cargo pods wouldn't release, and people were screaming, and the alarm was going off, and O'Neill was yelling at me to abort. And I had to leave. I had to run away-"

"It wasn't your fault!" Julia interrupted him. "You know that perfectly well, Alonzo. Even if you were the best pilot in the universe, which you may well be, you couldn't have kept the advance ship from crashing. None of us could have."

"It doesn't matter!" Alonzo snapped.

"I know," she said, and took his hands, then reached up and stroked his hair. "I know."

"I'm still haunted by the crash, Julia," he said.

This time, it was Julia's turn to hold Alonzo.