[OTA, tag Chuck]

[5th_doctor]

The Doctor wandered through the Observatory, taking time-wasting glances at the various exhibits. Plaster and paint representations of the planets and moons of Earth's own system, familiar to schoolchildren across the world. He took an odd sense of comfort from the ordinary surroundings, trying to keep his mind from dwelling on the whereabouts of

Comments

[commander_spock]

Spock would never admit it to Uhura, but the moon was an item of interest for him. Purely for scientific reasons rather than aesthetic, but there was no moon on Vulcan.

He looked at the moon's surface as well as he approached, his own busy mind churning in a not dissimilar way. But worry? It was something he couldn't concern himself with, despite Dr. McCoy's assertions. Instead, he was focussing on the similarity of telepathic field. A man of entirely different appearance, generating a sensation that was almost identical to the older one he met previously. But this one seemed a bit... unfocused.

Perhaps there was a focal point the Time Lord required that his younger self lacked.

"Doctor," he announced himself as he came up to stand beside of him, still clad in his teaching attire. "Mr. Data has informed me there is a situation. I am Commander Spock of the U.S.S. Enterprise."

[5th_doctor]

His spine went stiff at the sudden, unfamiliar voice. Swiftly, he tucked the crystal into his coat pocket as he turned to greet the stranger.

"Ah, the Vulcan?" He managed (or more accurately, forced) a grin and offered Spock his right hand. Looking the man over, the Doctor noted the ears with some interest. "Hmm, you wouldn't happen to be part Vessican, would you?" He searched Spock's eyes for confirmation or denial. "No, I suppose not. Your skin's not a fetching shade of deep green." There was, he saw, an underlying greenish tinge to the man's skin tone, possibly due to the color of his blood. Green blood, perhaps copper-based?

"How much as Data told you about this particular...'situation'?"

[commander_spock]

He didn't smile. You couldn't really describe his face as dispassionate or impassive either, really. Unintentionally stern would be more apt, though those steeply slanted eyebrows and naturally narrowed eyes likely contributed to that. He took the Doctor's hand with a firm grip, the energy that ran through his body and facilitated his tactile telepathy tingling in his fingers.

"No, I am half Vulcan, half human. However, my blood is green. Vulcan or Vulcanian is the human word for our race. We call ourselves the whl'q'n." The word came out half clicked, half nasally spoke, and almost impossible for a human to say.

"He has made me aware of the altercation with an individual calling himself 'the Master' that occurred previously within the pocket dimension that involved the breaking of the village barriers. Also, that Time Lords possessed certain telepathic abilities, though this I was able to discern on my own. And there might be some risk of his re-emergence."

[5th_doctor]

He made a serviceable attempt at repeating the native word for Spock's race, though perhaps not perfect at first try. A Gallifreyan larynx didn't resemble a human larynx but, of course, it wasn't a Vulcan one either.

"Data mentioned that your race is rather susceptible to telepathic fields, and you won't find a more intimidating mind than the Master's." Perhaps the Doctor himself, in certain incarnations, but not this one. "Even among my people, he's considered highly dangerous. His..."

He hesitated with voicing the idea, disliking even the suggestion of it though Spock already brought it up. "His apparent presence in the village puts every single individual in Haurvatat at pending risk. Data suggested that you might be able to sense him even when both I and my future self cannot."

[gatetechchuck]

Chuck had absolutely no idea what it was that could have come from the Doctor's world. The Doctor had seen, he gathered, a lot of things over his life time and it could be anything. Chuck was both excited and intrigued. He made his way up quickly, using the stairs since Jonh had mentioned something about him getting a little soft around the belly. When he reached the observatory, he looked around for the Doctor and smiled when he found him. "Doctor!" He held out his hand in a stationary wave to greet him and approached.

[5th_doctor]

He stopped pitching the crystal into the air at Chuck's approach, grinning faintly at the man. "Chuck! I didn't just haul you away from anything too important, I trust?"

He might have been holding on a bit too firmly at the piece of rock in his palm. Nervous? No, certainly not. Why would he be nervous? The Doctor was immersed in excitement, not worry!

[gatetechchuck]

"Me?" Chuck looked a bit surprised and then smiled sheepishly. "Nah. I was just about to go over archival logs." He paused. "I know, it might sound like a lot of fun, but the distraction is welcomed."

[5th_doctor]

"No rest for the head man, eh?" he said, expression sympathetic. "I don't recall planetary geology being among your interests but..." The Doctor lifted his hand, displaying to Chuck a fist-sized crystalline rock. "What do you make of this?" He turned it slowly, allowing the rock to catch and reflect the ambient light.