Life on the T.A.R.D.I.S. was not all it was cracked up to be,
Koschei, was always fixing something and somehow or another, something else would inevitably break.
In this particular instance I had no clue what was going on with the time machine; which was normal for me; I just knew that one second we had been headed out to see exactly what had happened to the lost colony of Roanoake, and the next we were running from velociraptors.
Now, safe in the T.A.R.D.I.S. and away from prying claws I was starting to get kind of bored.
I ducked under the smooth ebony console and impatiently called out "Are you done yet?"
A side glance and an irritated glower were my answer, "No."
I rolled my eyes, "Great, so we're back to one word answers now?"
When he didn't answer I hopped down in the workspace below the console and moved across the platform to stand next to him.
I watched him fiddle about with the inner wiring on the inside of an odd red colored panel for a moment or two before I opened my mouth again, curious this time, "What are you working on anyway?"
Koschei bent down to grab something from a toolbox.
He came back up with the laser screwdriver, and gave me another one of those side ways glances, though this time it seemed more like he was trying to ascertain whether I was genuinely curious or just trying to get on his nerves. He moved back to the panel and began to go to work again, "I'm repairing the Helmic Regulator."
I gave that a moment to sink in before opening my mouth to ask what exactly that meant.
"So what's a Helimetric regulator do exactly?"
I peered over his shoulder, trying to get a better look at what he was doing.
"The Helmic Regulator, is the reason the T.A.R.D.I.S. keeps veering off course."
"So it's like a space GPS?"
"No, Hand me that circuit clamp."
I followed his pointing finger to a small little black box near the tool chest and picked it up, then with a shrug placed it in his outstretched hand.
"The Helmic Regulator provides accurate travel through the time vortex."
I nodded, "So not a GPS then, okay.."
After a minute or so of awkward silence; except for the sounds of Koschei tinkering inside that circuit panel of his, I spoke up again "So how do you know so much about fixing the T.A.R.D.I.S.? Is it just a normal thing for timelords?"
He gave me a flat look, "I read the manual."
"Oh."
This of course was followed by more silence which, surprisingly, was broken this time by The Master, " Pass me that Voltage meter."
Finally! Something I recognized; I moved over to the tool box and grasped the familiar tool, silently thanking my lucky stars for having a mechanic for a dad, and handed it to him.
After a moment Koschei withdrew from his work, looking somewhat satisfied, and closed the panel.
I perked up, "So will it work?"
This time he scowled, "Of course it'll work, I'm not an idiot."
I shrugged, trailing after him as he climbed back up to the console, and began flipping various switches and pressing buttons.
It wasn't nearly as exciting as The Doctor's console, but somehow it still made me wish Koschei trusted me enough to let me try for once.
Despite the obvious hurt feelings over The Master's lack of trust in me, I couldn't stop the grin that split my face when the T.A.R.D.I.S. rotor began to churn in it's calming up and down motion.
"So, Roanoake then?"
The ride was smooth, until suddenly it wasn't.
"No!"
Something about the way The Master shouted that one word made my heart drop into the pit of my stomach.
I didn't really have much time to consider why that was, because almost the instant it happened the T.A.R.D.I.S. made an earsplitting screeching noise and the whole world flipped sideways.
As I hit the floor and slid from one end of the console room to the other grasping for anything and everything in my vicinity hoping to regain my previously upright position, i got a good look at just how frantic Koschei actually was.
This, as you might imagine, did not make me feel any better about the situation.
Luckily for me the T.A.R.D.I.S. shifted again, sending me toppling back the way I came.