1
The weapon had a nice heft to it. Sweet, light, with an easy one-hand grip. Jenny tossed it from hand to hand, absentmindedly factoring in the planet's lighter gravity, then checked the aim with a studious expression. Probably a good three-hundred meter accuracy range. An easy fit in a back pocket or a satchel, easy to conceal.
Behind her, there was an ostentatious sigh.
"A weapons stall. All the shops in the plaza and I find you in a weapons stall. Why am I not surprised?"
Jenny glanced back at her father, then shrugged and laid the gun back down on the table.
"Just looking."
"Well, come an' look at this. Lovely little shop over here selling tarts. Rather good tarts too."
"And how many pastries have you had today?" Jenny asked, blinking in the bright light outside the shop. The Doctor looked upwards, thinking, and shrugged. "Lost count on the sixth."
Jenny glanced at him with a half-smile, brushing silvery bangs out of her eyes. Turning, she looked up as a bright shadow passed overhead, just in time to watch the fellow shopper alight on a shop doorway above. The Pa'aqui were an aviform people, and probably the most beautiful Jenny had ever seen. She'd been trying to figure out how to explain how they looked to her friend Luke, next time she got to Earth. Take a macaw parrot, she thought, cross it with an ostrich and give it two pairs of wings, one pair vestigial and hand like, cover its chest with ultraviolet-fluorescing feathers, make the whole combination graceful and agile, and you basically had the Pa'aqui. That explanation almost did them justice, but it didn't explain how their feathers flashed in the sun or the beauty they showed in flight. They strutted all around the Plaza of Tu-re-d'rhuit, sometimes taking wing over the heads of visitors, space-porters and crews on shore leave. High above, levels of stores rose in graceful arches and geometric patterns. If they hadn't installed airlifts around the Plaza their earthbound visitors wouldn't be able to reach more than a third of the shops.
"I hope you didn't mean that gun for a gift." The Doctor said over his shoulder. Jenny cocked her head, her face thoughtful.
"Martha might appreciate it if she works for UNIT. It's got a nice range and good recharge time. The grip's a bit slick, but you compensate with a bit of-" she broke off at the sight of her father's scandalized face.
"Kidding, Father."
The Doctor eyed her for a long moment, before Jenny changed the subject. "What made you think about Christmas shopping anyway?"
"Oh, I don't know" the Doctor said, fingers running over a woven scarf, "Just about that time of the year, relatively speaking. And I'm in the mood to check on Martha anyhow. She'll be married about now. What about this feather blanket?"
Jenny appraised it, and shrugged. She nodded to the store keeper. Male or female? The females were usually larger, but it was hard to tell sometimes.
"Why don't we shop on Earth?" She called over the noise of the crowd.
"Because I wanted to get presents, not junk." The Doctor called back. "Besides, you ever seen the crush in a store right before Christmas? Worse than murder. How about this?" he asked, holding a large jewel up to his eye and looking through it. Jenny cocked her head.
"Kind of nice, I guess. Too bad the Walker had to work; this place is amazing."
"Yes, well, that's what happens when you sign in with a government, they'll always find more work for you to do. Ooh, now that looks interesting. C'mon!" He grabbed her hand, striding through the throng. Jenny glanced in the direction they were heading. To one side there was a shop selling sonic devices. Jenny perked up. She'd been meaning to get into a store like that and pick up something along the lines of her father's sonic screwdriver; something small, but tactically advantageous.
Suddenly there was a hard tug on the strap of her satchel, a loud ripping noise. Jenny whirled on her heel.
"Hey!"
Two wide yellow eyes stared out of a child's face. Then the kid took off into the crowd.
"Damn it!" Jenny hissed, glancing down at her bag. That was the pocket she kept her credit sticks in. Pushing her satchel behind her, she took off running. Bent on her quarry, she barely noticed her father's shout back in the crowd.
'Wha-what-Jenny! Wait! Where're you going?!"
The Doctor pushed past a few freighter workers, ducked under a basket carrier, shouldering his way through the crowd. The glint of golden hair was gone, swallowed up in the bustling crowd. The Doctor pushed forward. She had to be around here. But she could've gone in any direction, knowing her.
It was times like this that he wished he'd kept some of the height from his fourh body, or the presence from his ninth. Made crowd situations so much easier. Where was the girl? He did his best to stand still and relax.
Jenny, where are you?
He wasn't getting anything back but emotions. Anger, excitement, a hint of joy. Her mind was focused.
Jenny, talk to me and tell me what's going on!
Anger. Surprise. Then the Doctor stumbled as the connection between them was snapped in a wave of vertigo. He righted, his brown eyes wide with shock.
He couldn't feel her. She simply wasn't there.
Jenny shoved past another shopper, earning an indignant squawk. The little pickpocket was always just ahead of her. At least it hadn't flown off; it hopped, skipped, then flapped for a few seconds and fell back to running. The only problem was that even a short flight took the kid over the heads of the crowd, while Jenny fought through the throng below.
She supposed she could just let the kid have the credit sticks. They weren't that important. She really ought to. Her brain told her to forget the chase as a lost cause. But Jenny kept running. She couldn't stop now. She almost had her target.
"Oi! Kid!" She shouted, jumping over a low cart. "Kid, those are mine!"
The kid took off over a stall, landed in a pile, but righted itself and kept running, darting down a side street. For a little thing, it was bloody fast.
"Oi! Give those credits back!"
Another side street, then another and another. But Jenny was gaining.
A shadow passed overhead. Glancing up, Jenny saw another Pa'aqui, an adult, diving like a hawk after the kid. Great, she could use a little backup. She was almost on top of the kid-
Then her stomach did a double flip into her throat. The ground beneath her feet had given way. She was falling.
Where'd the ground go?!
The light disappeared overhead.
What the hell?! What's a hole doing in the middle of the street?! How-
Pain.
Nothing.