"I know we're leaving today, Lord Doctor," gasped the young Time Lord breathlessly. "But why the secrecy? Why are we leaving on the quiet watch?"
They entered Shuttlebay One, to see Magus' old ship, The Lord of the Isles, before them. She was no longer painted apple green and white but wore the colours and emblem of the Free Federation.
Soon, they stood aboard.
"Reminds me of a Tardis I know," smiled Drathro.
"More so than you think," returned Magus.
Drathro looked at him, shocked.
"You mean you are using time travel technology? But what do the Time Lords say?"
Magus gazed at his protégé sadly.
"Dear boy, you Gallifreyans have a touching belief that you are the only ones who control time! I am of the Maia, a far older race than yours. You may be able to travel in time, we can stop it!"
"Suspend it," corrected Teddy, opening one eye and gazing lazily at Magus.
"Oh, very well," continued the wizard. "Suspend it. Wait until we are in flight and I will fill you in on the new features I have had added."
Soon the engines were running.
"Aren't we going to get clearance?" asked Drathro.
"We already have it from Captain Pendragon," replied Magus. "The fewer people who know we have left the better."
"But Doctor, the hangar doors are closed," shrieked the young Time Lord.
He braced himself for impact. Then suddenly they were in space heading for the far reaches of the galaxy.
"Why didn't we crash?" asked Drathro dazedly.
"We have a phased cloaking device. We can pass through solid matter," smiled Magus.
"But that is against the Treaty of Algeron..."
"Which," interrupted Magus, "was signed by the U.F.P., which body is still in existence. The F.F.P. is not bound by it. You forget, my boy, I am a lawyer!"
Over in one corner of the bridge Teddy awoke and wandered over.
"Have you told him what else it does?" he asked.
"What are the ship's capabilities and weapons?" asked Drathro.
Magus led his friend to a newly installed computer bank. Soon a schematic of the ship appeared before them.
"As you can see we have the now standard cavourite modification of warp drive. We have also got a variation of the Imperial double jump-gate technology linked in."
"Why?"
"As you know, cavourite is the nearest substance in the universe to the material Istorians are made of. We are primarily not carbon based lifeform, although we share characteristics with you. For want of a better term we are cavourite based! Cavourite is an excellent material for gathering and focusing any form of energy, solar, chemical etc."
"This explains why Magus drinks so much," said Teddy.
"One more word from you and I'll have you put into kennels!"
Teddy fell silent as Magus continued.
"The modified warp drive as installed in all F.F.P. ships serves to focus the warp power generated much more efficiently than the dilithium crystals did. This gives a greater field for the same power output available through dilithium."
"You mean you could travel at warp three for the same energy it took to travel at warp one with the dilithium drive?"
"Theoretically. It is now possible for the Free Federation ships to travel to the further parts of the Delta Quadrant in weeks where before it took years!"
"But why do we need double jump-gate as well?"
"Not for itself. The Lord of the Isles has the capacity to create a double jump-gate but does not need to use it! Creating a jump-gate within a jump-gate releases a tremendous amount of energy which is usually wasted! Our engines create the gates and release the energy in a warp Field, channeling it through the cavourite drive! Thus we can create our own route to the Delta Quadrant!"
"A wormhole?"
"Of sorts. I have only been able, however, to create the effect of one around the ship itself. The hole will close behind us as we move along. We will, in effect, be inside a bubble, like a warp bubble, but outside of time as well as space."
"In hyperspace?"
"No. We cannot take that risk. I don't intend to go to the edge of the Delta Quadrant, my boy, I intend to land smack bang in the middle of it. In areas only I, of all the F.F.P. leaders, know of."
Drathro sat down, looking thoughtful.
"Mr. Scott told me he'd been thinking along similar lines, how to effectively combine jump-gate and warp. He said you would need a grand unified theory and a piece of finest quality cavourite."
"I have both," replied Magus.
"If you have a unified theory why not share it with the others?"
"I cannot. The various races have to arrive at it for themselves."
"What about the cavourite?"
"Follow me!"
They walked down several corridors which seemed longer than they ought to be.
"Have you used TARDIS technology as well?" enquired Drathro. Magus snorted irately.
"No. Good old fashioned magic! These corridors all lead to rooms at Craigmillar. I have no intention of travelling through space and time without a decent lab or library."
"Or wine cellar," observed Drathro.
"Your mentor on Gallifrey was half human. Do you have any Border Collie blood, perhaps?" replied Magus sadly.
"Does that mean we can return to the Time whenever we want?" continued Drathro.
"No. Effectively Craigmillar has been loaded into the ship. It doesn't exist on the Time at the moment. Unlike me, it can't be in two places at once!"
Soon they stood in the engine room. In the central crystal chamber, heavily reinforced with mitheil silver, stood an unflawed cavourite gem the size of a football.
"Is that?" asked Drathro.
Magus materialized his pipe and lit it from one finger. Then he nodded.
"The Eye of the Serpent. Drathro, my boy, let us return to the bridge. Our friends may take weeks to visit the edges of the Delta Quadrant. We shall be there in one week!"
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