Hi all. I'm back. I'm so sorry it has taken me this long to update the series. Hope you enjoy this new installment.
A little rest and relaxation, that's what the three time travelers wanted. Just some place where they could detox from their last thrilling adventure in a place called The Library. Thrilling was really the right word for it though, more like terrifying. So they landed in a beautiful spa and resort on the gorgeous world of Midnight. The only problem with this planet was that the sun produced a deadly ray called Xtonic; it could kill you the exact moment you came in contact with it. So the spa, or leisure place as it was called, was built out of materials that purposely filtered the sun light till it was harmless. The only horrible thing that could happen to you in there was getting a sunburn. Donna loved it; she had found the pool area and plopped down in a lounge chair wearing a plush white robe. That was yesterday; The Doctor and Jenny however were getting antsy, they couldn't sit around for too long. So, the two of them searched the palace from top to bottom and found a tour that took them out of the spa to a waterfall of sapphires. Without a second thought they booked two tickets and tried to Donna to join them. But, she was having none of it; she wanted to stay right where she was and be waited on by handsome men. Jenny and The Doctor were standing outside of the tours massive metal transport vehicle when The Doctor made one last attempt to get Donna to join them. He picked up a near by phone and rang for Donna. "I said, no." came Donna's voice through the phone the second she answered.
"A sapphire waterfall… it's a waterfall made of sapphires. This enormous jewel the size of a glacier reaches the cliffs of oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge. They fall 100,000 feet into a crystal ravine." replied The Doctor excitedly.
"I bet you say that to all the girls." said Donna.
"Oh, come on, they're boarding now. It will be no fun to see it without you. Four hours, that's all it will take" he said.
"No, that's four hour there and four hours back. That's like a school trip. I'd rather go sunbathing." she replied.
"Come on Donna. You can look at all the pretty rocks." said Jenny coming to stand next to her dad who tilted the phone so she could hear too.
"Hmmm… look at rocks and sit in a stuffy compartment or get waited on hand and foot while drinking a cold beverage." said Donna strongly hinting the second choice was the better option.
"Oh, alright. We give up. We'll tell you all about it later." said Jenny.
"You better take some pictures. That's why you got the camera isn't it?" said Donna. Jenny looked down at the camera in her hands that she had purchased at the little shop since that was the first place The Doctor had wanted to go. "Will do, chief." said Jenny giving a small salute to the phone before walking away.
"Have a good trip." said Donna.
"You be careful." warned The Doctor. "That's Xtonic sunlight."
"Oh. I'm safe. It says in the brochure this glass is 15 feet thick." confidently said Donna.
"We'll be back for dinner." said The Doctor, his eyes focusing on Jenny, who was waving him over to board. "We'll try that antigravity restaurant, with bibs."
"That's a date." said Donna before she quickly amended, "Well, not a date. Oh, you know what I mean. Oh, get off."
"See you later." amusedly said The Doctor.
"Oi! And you two be careful, alright?" said Donna.
"Nah, taking a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight? What could possibly go wrong?" said The Doctor before hanging up and boarding the vehicle with an excitedly bouncing Jenny. Once they were inside the metal vehicle and in their seats, both of them had a chance to take in their surroundings. The transport vehicle was rather comfy. It wasn't too elaborate, but there was enough comfort that a 4 hour trip to the destination and back wouldn't feel so daunting. The seats were paired in twos with 6 rows on each side. Jenny and The Doctor also made note of all the people boarding. To their right and a bit ahead of them sat a lone woman and right behind them were an older man and a college age student. Then a couple of rows back sat a family with the parents on one side and their son on the other. Jenny and The Doctor were pulled from their observations when the stewardess stepped up on the left. "That's the headphones for channels 1 to 36, modem link for 3-D vidgames, complimentary earplugs, complimentary slippers, complimentary juice pack, and complimentary peanuts." she said as she pulled out two of each item had gave them to the pair. "I must warn you, some products may contain nuts." she added.
"Wouldn't that be the peanuts." said Jenny. The stewardess gave her a look of exasperation and Jenny had to wonder how many times she had done this. "Enjoy your trip." said the stewardess with a forced smile.
"Oh, we can't wait. Allons-y!" happily stated The Doctor.
"I'm sorry?" said the stewardess giving a heavy sigh. From the weight of the sigh Jenny could tell that this woman had been on the vehicle one time too many.
"It's French for 'let's go'." explained The Doctor, losing some of his cheeriness.
"Fascinating." she replied almost snidely as she pushed her little cart with all the complimentary items to the two passengers behind them.
"Well, she seems pleasant." said Jenny as she shoved most of the stuff she received under her seat.
"She's done this trip on time too many." commented The Doctor.
"That's what I was thinking." laughed Jenny.
"No will ever doubt you're my daughter." said The Doctor with a big smile of his own as their attention turned to the conversation the passengers behind them were having. "They call it a Sapphire waterfall, but it's no such thing. Sapphire's an aluminum oxide, but the glacier is just a compound silica with iron pigmentation." said the man who looked to be in his late 40's/early 50's. "Have you got that pillow for my neck?" he asked the 20 something woman sitting next to him.
"Yes, sir." she replied.
"And the pills?" he asked.
"Yes, all measured out for you. There you go." she said handing him the said pills. It was at that moment that the older man noticed The Doctor looking back at him. He leaned forward and cheerfully introduced himself. "Hobbes." he said. "Professor Winfold Hobbes."
"I'm The Doctor. Hello." he replied happily as the two of them shook hands.
"It's my 14th time." said Hobbes.
"Oh. My first." The Doctor replied.
"You've been on this 14 times." asked Jenny as she kneeled on her seat facing backwards. "Wouldn't it get boring after awhile. I'm Jenny." she introduced herself at Hobbes curious gaze.
"Pleasure to meet you and no, something like this could never be dull." stated Hobbes.
"Maybe you should tell the stewardess that." mumbled Jenny as the young woman leaned forward and introduced herself. "I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco." she said shaking The Doctor and Jenny's hands.
"Don't bother them. Where's my water bottle?" asked Hobbes almost sounding annoyed that Dee Dee was talking. All was quiet until voices farther back in the vehicle floated to the front. "Don't be silly." said a female's voice. "Come and sit with us. Look, we get slippers."
"Jethro, do what your mother says." said a man's voice.
"I'm sitting here." demanded a young man's voice.
"Oh, he's ashamed of us, but he doesn't mind us paying, does he?" came the older man's voice again.
"Oh, don't you two start." said the woman. "Should I save the juice pack or have it now? Look, it's peach and Clementine."
"Ladies and gentlemen and variation thereupon," the voice of the stewardess filled the vehicle drowning out the other conversations. "Welcome onboard the Crusader 50. If you would fasten your seat belts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors." the doors immediately sealed themselves shut. "Shields down." she said as metal plates slid over the windows. Jenny briefly wondered if this was what prisoners felt like in solitary. "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the waterfall palace." continued the stewardess. "Also, a reminder… Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it, you first." she said with an amused chuckle. "Now I will hand you over to driver Joe." There was a crackle and a beep before a voice came through an intercom system. "Driver Joe at the wheel. There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see from the diagram on the map. The journey covers 500 kliks to the multifaceted coast. Duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for traveling with us, and they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll."
Let me know what you thought and write me a review. :)