THE ALLIANCE
by Robert Morganbesser

CHAPTER 4: STRANGE VISITOR

Deck nine of the Voyager was mostly unused. Other than some cargo bays and Sevens alcove, it was rarely visited by the crew. Had Seven or any of the crew been present in her alcove they would have been amazed at the sound could now be heard. A wheezing, asthmatic sound filled the alcove, followed by the slow appearance of a blue police box almost two meters tall. A white light on the top of the box flashed and blinked in time to the wheeze, then both stopped.

Silence reigned in the alcove. The ships computer, a tireless sentinel, reacted as the door to the blue box opened and a white haired gentleman stepped out. Holding onto the door for support, he looked at the area where Seven would regenerate and collapsed to the floor.

In the crew's lounge, Tuvok was the first to react to the computers cry of "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Deck Nine." Tapping his communicator, he said, "Security team to deck nine. I will join you there." Followed by Seven and the Captain, who paused to say, "Chakotay, stand by here. If it's something bad, I don't want to lose both of us!" The trio dashed out to the turbolift.

"What's going on in there?" Demanded Captain Janeway. The head of the security team, Lieutenant Jen Lauren, a former Maquis of Bajoran ancestry, spun. Phaser rifle held at port arms, she replied. "I don't think you're going to believe this Captain."

Janeway moved past the security officer into the Alcove. Before she could say another word, she stopped. "What is that?"

The other security officer, Ensign H.M. Brand, knelt by an unconscious man. Head topped by a jumble of white curls, nose prominent; the being was clearly unconscious. Tuvok stood next to Janeway and stared at the box, the doors of which were closed.

"Police box?" A note of curiosity tinged the Vulcan's words. "What is a police box?"

Janeway chose to ignore that for a moment. Tapping her communicator, she said, "Transporter room. Two to beam directly to sick bay. Energize." With a shimmer, she and the strange invader disappeared, leaving Tuvok, Seven and the security officers to ponder the mystery of the Police Box.

Having been left behind, the Doctor went to sickbay. He had just arrived when Janeway and the strange being materialized. Quickly the pair of them put the man - that's what he appeared to be - on the diagnostic table.

Lifting his tricorder, the Doctor began scanning. After a moment, he looked at Janeway. "Captain, where did he come from?"

Janeway made a face of distaste. "From a big blue box. Don't ask. I don't know how it got on the ship. We'll solve that mystery once we can communicate with him. Will he live?"

The Doctor consulted his tricorder, then a screen near the bed. "Yes, according to these readings though, he's of a species totally alien to us. He's not in the Federation medical database, nor the Delta quadrant database we've begun creating."

Janeway moved to the Doctors side. "Look at these readings! Two hearts?"

The Doc nodded. "There's more. His physiology would make a Klingon envious. More ribs than a human and they are crosshatched. A liver, kidneys, and an organ I can't explain filter his blood. His blood has two oxygen bearing cells and more antibodies than I've ever seen. Make a Klingon jealous did I say? He could make species 8472 take notice. He shows sign of massive exposure to chronoton radiation."

Janeway wiped her eyes. "A time traveler?"

"Most likely." The Doc pressed a hypo against the alien's neck. "A shot of Cordrazine should help. He's suffered shock. Perhaps from traveling across time."

Seven entered the sick bay. "Captain, there is nothing disturbed in the alcove."

Janeway nodded. "Good. Any results on the box?"

"Nothing good," Seven replied. "It is resistant to our scans and the doors will not open."

"That," said a voice behind them, "is because the blue box, is programmed to respond to my genetic code."

At those words, all three Voyager officers turned and stared at the bed. The alien sat up and smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the Doctor. I've come here to assist you."

Janeway smiled at the man's candor. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway. You're on board the Federation starship Voyager. Assist us in what?"

The Doctor stretched his long legs and rolled off the table. As he did, he looked at the Doc. "Ahhh," Amazement colored his voice. "You're not quite real."

The Doc looked indignant. "I am too real. I think therefore I am. How do you know anyhow?"

The Doctor grinned. "I can see a bit more of the light spectrum than humans. Am I right in guessing that you are humans, as in from Earth?" Janeway, who felt an odd trust for the stranger, as if he were familiar to her, nodded. "Most of us."

The Doctor came close to the Doc whose brows went up. "Brilliant engineering, if I may say so." The Doctor spun and looked at Seven who stared back, dispassionately. "Yes?"

"You're not totally human, either. Cyborg?"

Seven nodded. "Your observations are astute ones. I was once a member of the Borg. Now I am a member of this crew."

The Doctor slapped his forehead with an open palm. "The Borg! That's why I'm here. Captain we have to talk. I'm here on a mission of great importance to both of us."