Author's Note: Doctor Who and characters are property of the BBC. No infringement is intended.
The sound was absolutely piercing, and she had to cover her ears. It began as a low whine then quickly escalated to a dreadful, shrill screech that was literally painful to the human auditory system. As Rose pressed her hands as tightly as possible over her ears, she wondered whether the Doctor was at all bothered by the noise.
He was crouched beneath the console, aiming his sonic screwdriver at a panel thay lay open spewing wires across the floor. His face showed concentration and growing annoyance, but she could discern no pain in his expression. With a grimace she thought that the discomfort she was experiencing was enough for both of them.
She was about to leave the room when the noise crescendoed then abruptly ceased. He grinned triumphantly for an instant then jumped to his feet, scowling at the instrument in his hand.
"Is it over?" she asked. She thought that she might be shouting, but she wasn't sure; her ears were ringing, and she could barely hear her voice.
He looked up at her quickly then directed his gaze back to the sonic screwdriver. She saw his lips moving, but she could not hear what he said. She came closer.
"What?" She hoped that she could be heard.
His mouth moved again, but all she could make out were a few fuzzy, muffled sounds. She shook her head and pointed at her ears.
"I can't hear you," she said.
When he answered, "There's no need to shout," she thought that he must be ignoring his own advice, because she heard the words—albeit as a whisper. But given the fuzz in her ears, she was sure that he must have yelled in order to be heard.
"Wait a couple of minutes," he said, again probably shouting, at least judging by the slight strain of the muscles around his mouth.
The Doctor turned away to set the screwdriver on the console. He bent over it, fiddling with the case. Rose watched as various lights flashed on the device. Her ears were clearing, and after a short time she could hear him muttering in a language she didn't recognize. She was fairly certain, however, that he was cursing. Somehow expletives sounded nearly the same in any language.
"What happened? What was that noise?" she asked, moving to stand beside him.
He glanced up at her. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, just about."
"Ears still ringing?"
She shook her head. "No, jus' a bit fuzzy's all."
"It'll pass in a couple more minutes."
"What the hell was that? I never heard anythin' so loud in my life—"
"Yeah, guess you wouldn't have. Sonic screwdriver malfunctioned and blew a coupla solenoids, which made the marucassian circuit loop backwards, an' that set off the—"
"Wish I was still deaf," Rose interjected.
"Be careful what you wish for," the Doctor shot back, then he returned his attention to the sonic screwdriver.
After a few minutes, Rose asked, "Can you fix it?"
"Oh yeah, I can fix it… if I have any porquarnium."
"Pork-what?"
"Porquarnium—the nine hundredth sixty-eigth element on the universal periodic table."
"Chemistry was never my best subject, but I thought the periodic table only had somethin' like a hundred elements."
"On Earth in 2005. By the mid-3000s elements from a thousand other planets will be added."
Rose shrugged. "'Kay. So d'you have of this pork stuff?"
"Porquarnium. An' I don't know. Used to have a little in the lab—dunno if I used it up back in my cricketing days."
"What's cricket have to do with porquarnium?"
"Nothin'. But I used to tinker a lot back then. Never mind." He gave the sonic screwdriver a toss in the air and caught it deftly with a fancy spin as he headed out of the room. "Wonder if I still have any cricket balls around?"
When the Time Lord returned to the console room half an hour later, Rose could tell immediately that he had not found the element he needed. She looked up from her magazine to see his frown.
"No luck?" she asked.
"Nope." He quickly brightened. "But I know where to get some."
Rose stood up from the sofa. "Yeah? Where's that?"
"Closest planet from here is Cibron-7."
"Then let's go."
He seemed to hesitate for an instant then he walked toward the central console and began pulling at the various levers and flicking switches.
"So what's it like?" she asked.
"What's what like?" he replied absently.
"This planet—Cibron-7."
"Mining colony primarily… wasn't inhabited by humans 'til the porquarnium was discovered there. Now they've got about a dozen mines, maybe five hundred workers, an' a few droids."
"So no weird man-eating creatures or homicidal aliens?"
"Nah, don't think so." He glanced up at her.
The TARDIS shuddered and jerked, but Rose had developed rather impressive balancing skills during her short tenure on the time ship, so she kept her footing. Her ears still felt a bit cottony, but she thought that her hearing was nearly back to normal. However, she was facing the door when the Doctor said, "Not a lot of women there, either. Stick with me if we meet anyone."
She did not hear him.
When they stepped outside, they saw a barren land that seemed composed primarily of large, gray boulders. Flat areas stretched between the rocks, and a few scraggly trees grew up among the cracks. But even the leaves seemed dull and drab. Rose could see no colors that were not some shade of gray.
About two kilometers away a small cluster of buildings surrounded a skeletal metal tower. The Doctor pointed, saying, "This way."
"That's one of the mines?"
"Yep."
They walked briskly until they were close enough to see that the buildings seemed deserted. There was no one about, and the few tools and pieces of equipment that were scattered about as though they had been abandoned rather suddenly.
"Looks like they jus' up an' left," Rose commented.
"Mine must have been stripped. They moved on to the next one."
"So there's no porquarnium here?"
The Doctor stopped for a moment, and Rose nearly bumped into him. "Could be a bit left. I only need a coupla grams. It'd be easier to get it from here anyway."
"Why's that?"
"There's no one to ask for payment or try to stop us."
"Why would they try to stop us?"
"This element's kinda rare and sorta expensive."
"How expensive?"
"D'you have your credit card?"
"Think I left it in the TARDIS. How come?"
"Cause the two grams I need would go for about twenty thousand of your Earth dollars."
Rose gaped for an instant. "Twenty thousand?"
"Yep." He had removed the sonic screwdriver and now held it in his hand, stroking the case with his thumb. "Come on, then." He began walking again.
Rose trotted behind. "So you're just gonna take it?"
He shrugged. She was still behind him, and she couldn't hear his response in full. To her it sounded like, "Ut hey dough oh—urt em."
She caught his arm. "What?"
He looked down at her. "What they don't know won't hurt 'em." He paused again. "Ears still fuzzy?"
"A little, I guess."
He lifted the sonic screwdriver then lowered his hand. "Wish this was workin'. I could stabilise your hearing in a coupla seconds."
"It'll be fine—just need some time."
He nodded. "Yeah."
They reached the mine in a few minutes. All seemed quiet, and a quick investigation of the buildings confirmed that the little complex was deserted. They found two buildings that had been sleeping quarters, one that had served as a kitchen and mess hall, another two that had probably been offices of some sort, a small infirmary, and a couple of storage facilities.
Rose stood looking at one of the dormitories. "'S funny," she said. "They've left a lot of their stuff."
The Doctor had stepped inside the office next door, but he poked his head out to ask, "Yeah? Like what?"
"There's some clothes, some shaving stuff, shampoo… Looks like they left in a hurry."
The Doctor said, "They left some things in here, too."
"Why d'you think they left so fast?"
"Don't know. It could've been anything—another mine might've opened up an' they left to be the first ones there."
"But wouldn't they have come back for their stuff?"
"Maybe not. Depends how far away the other mine was. If competition for jobs was tough, they might just stay there to keep their new positions."
Rose and the Doctor made their way to the mine shaft that lay beneath the tower. A system of pulleys had been used to raise the ore up out of the mine. Peering down the dim shaft, the Doctor estimated that the veins lay about five meters below the surface.
"There's probably a system of tunnels down there," he said. "You can lower me down and I'll have a look." He was already reaching for one of the heavy chains that hung from the supports at the top of the tower.
"You'll need some light," Rose said. She returned to one of the offices to search for a torch or lantern.
The Doctor examined the pulley and the chains, twisting the crank to be sure it was operational and that Rose would be able to work it. It was a bit tight, but he found a half-full oil can nearby and poured some lubricant over the workings. It dripped down the chain, pooling on the ground. However, it had served its purpose; the crank was loose enough for Rose to turn easily.
As he was leaning over the shaft, the Time Lord felt a puff of air, almost like a small breeze. He peered into the darkness, trying to figure out where the air had come from. It smelled slightly stale, rather dusty, and faintly herbal. If air was moving through the shaft, there must be openings in other places.
He walked off a few meters to explore, clambering up onto a boulder to look out over the land. He could see ventilation holes stretching out for several kilometers; this meant that the mine shaft stretched out beneath him for some distance.
Rose returned to the tower with a torch in her hand. She was surprised to find that the Doctor had disappeared. She took a few steps toward the shaft, calling, "Doctor!" down into the darnkess.
From his position atop the boulder, the Time Lord saw Rose standing by the shaft. She was leaning over, looking down inside. Next to her feet lay the puddle of oil, slick on the surface of the rock.
"Rose! Watch out!" he yelled, already climbing down from his perch.
Rose could not hear the Doctor, but when she felt her foot slip she reached out automatically. Her fingers brushed the chain that hung from the pulley, but somehow it seemed to elude her grasp. In an instant she had leaned further toward it, and her foot slid out from under her completely. She groped again for the chain, grabbing it finally as she tumbled toward the shaft. She gripped at the chain with both hands before realizing that it was covered in oil. Her hands slid down, pulled by the momentum of her body. Frantically she reached for the hook at the end of the chain, her right palm hitting the sharp tip. A stab of pain throbbed through her, but she ignored it as she tried to grasp the hook with her left hand.
The oil had made her hands too slick. She lost her tenuous grip on the hook and, with a scream of primal fear, she plummeted into the depths of the mine shaft.