Cathy and the Doctor must find a solution to their problem once and for all...but will they do so in time to save the Earth??

“Are the charges all in place?” shouted the Klingon commander.

“Not quite, sir,” answered another. “As of their last report, the Bogron still have five left to set.”

“Tell them to hurry,” said the commander. “I want to be done with this mission and back home to revel in my glory.”

Under his breath, Simon commented, “A bit full of himself, isn’t he?”

“Watch it, Si,” hissed Stella.

Cathy looked at the Doctor, who returned her glance as if saying, ‘Hold on.’ The Klingon guards who were still holding them had allowed this to pass unnoticed.

“Take them back to the brig,” ordered the commander. “But don’t kill them…yet. I may still want to question them.”

The guards then escorted the prisoners back toward their cell. Again, they seemed oblivious to the frequent glances back and forth between their captives. As the journey continued back into the bowels of the ship, the continued lack of attention paid by the guards allowed the Doctor and the others the chance they needed.

As they turned into another corridor, the Doctor caught sight of the Tardis. He silently signaled to Cathy, who then did so with Simon and Stella. Cathy then began crying and clutching her abdomen, which brought everyone’s attention to her. When the guards were occupied with their apparently ill captive, the Doctor was able to reach into his jacket and withdraw what turned out to be the futuristic equivalent of a taser.

He quickly disable the guards, whispering to the others, “Quickly, to the Tardis!” They all ran as quietly as they could toward their ship and managed to all get in and close the door behind them before the next batch of Klingons reached them.

“What was all that?” asked Cathy once they were safely inside.

“The Klingons are a very militaristic race who in the future find themselves engaged in a bitter war with Humans,” replied the Doctor. “Somehow they seem to have traveled back in time with the intent of destroying Earth, thereby eliminating their enemy before they would have ever met.”

“Wait,” said Simon. “You mean ‘Star Trek’ is real too?”

“Not entirely,” stated the Doctor. “I did manage to persuade Gene to alter a few things when he started writing.”

“So you knew Gene Roddenbury as well?” asked Stella.

“He traveled with me for a while.”

Cathy then asked, “So what, he decided to make a television show about his adventures with you?”

“Something like that,” admitted the Doctor. “Now, back to the business at hand…”

“What can we do about this plan of theirs?” asked Stella.

“Yes,” added Simon. “It may not seem like much, but I am rather fond of our little planet.”

“As am I,” replied the Doctor.

Cathy offered, “Doctor? Is there any way to remove the explosive devices without the Klingons or Bogron knowing?”

“It could be tricky, but yes,” replied the Doctor.

“And I know exactly where to put them,” added Stella.

The Doctor set the Tardis back in action, placing it in an orbit exactly opposite the Klingon ship. Then with Cathy’s help they began scanning the planet for the explosive devices as well as the Bogron warriors who might still be on the surface.

Once all the devices were located, the Doctor started programming the Tardis to materialize around each device, picking it up and storing them deep within the ship until they all had been retrieved.

They also did the same thing with the Bogron before transporting everything back to the Klingon cargo bay, where the bombs were deposited seconds before detonation. The Tardis had barely dematerialized from the cargo bay when the bombs exploded, destroying the Klingon ship in the process.

“Doctor?” asked Cathy after they watched the ship explode. “Is there somewhere we could take the Bogron where they could live?”

“There are any number of suitable planets,” he replied. “Would you care to help choose?”

After selecting a new home for their guests, the Doctor set the coordinates and took them to their new planet. They dropped off the Bogron, then set a return course for Earth.

During the trip home, Cathy, Simon, and Stella decided to do a little exploring. Eventually, they found themselves in a huge room with pictures of all sorts of people hung on the walls. They spent several minutes browsing the pictures, until the Doctor made his presence known.

“These are all the people who’ve traveled with me over the years,” he said, letting the others know he was there.

“All these?” asked Stella.

Cathy then asked, “Why are these two portraits larger than the rest?” indicating two pictures side by side which were twice as large as the rest.

The Doctor was silent for a moment before he answered, “This one,” indicating the one on the right, “was my granddaughter Susan.”

“What about her?” asked Stella, indicating the other larger portrait.

“That’s Rose.”

Cathy asked, “What happened to them?”

The Doctor was silent, unable to bring himself to answer the question.

Eventually Stella asked, “You loved her?”

He was still quiet, though tears silently trickled down his cheek. Noticing this, Stella got Simon’s attention and led him back toward the control room, leaving the Doctor with Cathy.

“So, Lady Catherine,” the Doctor began. “How do you fancy a bit of travel?”

“I think I’ve had quite enough, thank you. I’d just like to get back to my furry little aliens, if you don’t mind?”

“Fair enough,” replied the Doctor. “I’ll just return you to Bristol then, so the three of you can collect your car.” He then exited the portrait room and made his way back to the control room, where he returned the Tardis to the television studios in Bristol.

Once they’d arrived, the Doctor said, “Cathy, Stella, Simon, it has been a privilege having you along. Perhaps we’ll see each other again.”

“Doctor, it’s been a pleasure,” said Simon as he shook the Doctor’s hand.

The Doctor moved closer and in a low voice said, “You take care of her.”

“I will, I promise.”

The Doctor then turned his attention to Stella, “Lady Stella, you bring honor to the Royal family.”

Stella, for once moved to the point of being unable to find words, gave the Doctor a gentle hug before joining Simon.

Finally, he turned to Cathy, “You would be welcome to join me if you’d like?”

She blushed furiously before replying, “I’ve many things left to do here. Not the least of which is planning a wedding!”

“Well, I promise we will see each other again,” the Doctor said as he embraced Cathy. “Until then, Lady Catherine?”

“Until then.”

With that, he opened the Tardis door and watched as the three of them exited the ship. Once outside, they watched as the Tardis dematerialized in front of them, returning them to the real world.

“That was quite an adventure,” sighed Stella. “Even for you,” she directed at Cathy. Cathy promptly stuck her tongue out at Stella, then turned toward the car.

At that moment, Simon also looked in that direction before shouting, “What?”

The Doctor wandered back to the portrait room, where he picked up a picture of Simon, which after a moment’s thought he hung next to portraits of Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and Rose’s friend Mickey. He next took a picture of Stella and hung it between Sarah Jane and Tegan.

Lastly, he picked up a portrait of Cathy. After several minutes of deliberation, he hung her between his granddaughter and Rose. He stood there staring at the pictures for some time before finally leaving the portrait hall and returning to the control room.

The End???