The Third Encounter--Part 1

It is a realm beyond human comprehension, an interstitial void that links all times, all places. Only the most heavily shielded vessels can enter here without being ripped apart by the winds of time; that, and beings whose power is such that the forces of the vortex are nothing but a minor irritation. If such a being had been watching, it would have seen an oblong, blue box about two and a half metres high. But many strange things appear in the vortex, and such a being wouldn't have given it a second thought.

 But the old-fashioned gramophone that was playing within might have confused it for a moment.

 

"Time--time--time--time--time--time--"

 "Oh no, not again!" exclaimed the Doctor, leaping to his feet. He stormed over to the gramophone and lifted the arm, anxiously exploring the record for damage.

 Luckily, it was just a bit of fluff on the needle. He blew it off, and was about to replace the record arm when a soft chime sounded on the console. Sighing in exasperation, he walked over to the console and pulled an archaic lever. Instantly, a three-dimensional image of a woman resolved itself in front of him. She had long blonde hair, an aristocratic bearing (assisted somewhat by the ceremonial robes of a Gallifreyan President that she wore), and a sweet smile that softened her entire face.

 "Hullo, Doctor," she said, "that's a new look for you, isn't it?"

 The Doctor's face lit up in a smile. "Romana!" he exclaimed. "How goes the Interventionist movement?"

 "Oh, quite well, actually," she replied. "Better, it would seem, than your mission to return the Master's remains." Her face took on a concerned look. "What happened?"

 "The Master wasn't dead," explained the Doctor. "He'd done something to himself...supercharged his mental abilities to the point where he was able to exist for short periods of time as pure psionic energy--an ectoplasmic being. He forced a landing on Earth and possessed an inhabitant; then he tried doing the same to me."

 "But that's impossible!" she responded. "Even with enhanced powers, he'd need an enourmous source of energy to--"

 "He had one," said the Doctor. "He used the conduit to the Eye of Harmony as a booster element. He would have succeeded, too, if it wasn't for Grace."

 "Grace?" Romana said archly, raising her eyebrows.

 "A girl--an Earthling," responded the Doctor. "Don't look at me like that! We've been...over for 200 years now, and jealousy is _not_ becoming of you."

 "Not jealousy, Doctor," she said, "curiousity. She meant something to you?"

 "She could have," the Doctor said quietly.

 "So where's the Master now?" asked Romana, tactfully changing the subject.

 "He fell into the Eye," said the Doctor. "I tried to save him, but..." he let the sentence trail off. "But there won't be any more trouble from him."

 Suddenly, the entire TARDIS rocked as though battered by unseen hands. Books fell from their shelves, and the Doctor had to grab desperately at the console to keep from being flung across the room. Romana looked panic-stricken. "What's happening to you?" she asked, her image flickering.

 "I don't know!" shouted the Doctor as he frantically pulled levers, twisted knobs, and turned cranks. "It feels like we collided with something!" Another booming crash rocked the TARDIS, followed by a dull clanking noise.

 The Doctor and Romana looked at each other. "The Cloister Bell!" they both shouted simultaneously.

 The Doctor raced over to one of the monitors, pulling it down to check the information displayed on it.

 <> it read. <> Then the screen went blank, to be replaced by a single word: <>

 The Doctor's hands moved across the console like a ragtime piano player, while he ran around it like a particularly manic sprinter. All around him, alarms he didn't even know existed were going off. Romana's voice could be heard tinnily over the din. "Doctor, look ou--" she was cut off sharply as a section of the console exploded in a shower of sparks, cutting transmission.

 The Doctor looked up, his face transfixed by sheer horror. A gaping hole stood where the wall had been, and various objects were being sucked out--into the Vortex.

 The Doctor barely had time to grab onto one of the support struts before he was sucked out as well.

 Wind rushed past him as the hole widened, the very fabric of the TARDIS rending under the stresses inflicted on it. The Doctor was managing to cling to the support strut, but the console itself was out of reach.

 Over the rush of wind and the din of the alarms, the Doctor heard mocking laughter...laughter that was somehow familiar. He gritted his teeth and tried as hard as he could to reach even a single switch... The console exploded. Momentarily startled, the Doctor lost his grip on the support strut and went flying towards the hole. He grabbed at the edge in a last effort to stop himself, but it dissolved under his fingers.

 With a cry, the Doctor fell into the Vortex.

 TO BE CONTINUED...

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