Summary: Unknowingly, he ruined her life all over again. Unknowingly, he started it all….
Spoiler alerts: Mild spoilers for GitF, I guess, though not that many….
Disclaimer(s): I don't own Doctor Who. Or Converse, either (I'm not sure if I have to write that down if I only mention it, but I think I'll be on the safe side.)
This is the tenth Doctor (in case you couldn't tell), and it takes place at a time he's companion-less. Your imagination can fill in the rest.
What else? Briney is my own character…this was just a thing I worked on at midnight when I really should've been sleeping, so if it looks like crap, that's why…please review…and this is rated K. Right, that's it, roll clip!
SS Madame de Pompadour
The Doctor and Captain Roland von Brine walked down the hallway of the space station, the Captain's high-heeled boots clicking on the decorative tiles. The two were chatting amiably, despite knowing each other a only a few hours – when preventing an alien invasion, you can't help but befriend the person you are fighting alongside.
Roland von Brine, known as Briney to his close friends, was decked in an admiral's uniform, sashes and badges signifying his status as CEO of Dramus Spaceship Preparation, Inc. The Doctor, meanwhile, was dressed in his usual rumpled suit and Converse, casual yet somehow infinitely more regal then Briney.
"Did you see that alien's face when he saw me!" exclaimed the Doctor, laughing.
"You may have thought it was funny, my friend," said Briney. "I, meanwhile, was absolutely flooded with relief. They had taken me hostage, to kill me for the company! How could I have not been afraid?"
"I suppose you're right, but I keep telling you, it had all been a mistake! They thought that we hadn't sent them their share, when really it had been lost in the mail! It's all so absurd!"
"I am still glad you came," he insisted.
The Doctor sobered, remembering the true urgency of the situation at the time. It was easy to laugh it all off later, but if he hadn't arrived to explain the mishap, Briney truly would have been killed.
All dreary thoughts, however, were dismissed when they reached a door to the Inspection Terminal. Beyond it, inspectors scrutinized every inch of spaceships, making sure the vessels were ready to survive in deep space. Briney pulled out a keycard and after unlocking the door, they entered the huge room.
Only one ship rested here now – all the others were either passing preliminary tests or in space already. She was an Energy Trawler, the latest and greatest dark-matter-powered ship.
"Oh," the Doctor said, "That's…that's beautiful." And it was; it took his breath away. Powerful engines were poised to swoop and suck in huge amounts of dark matter, yet the power was balanced out by the grace and elegance of her sleek, modern figure. "What's her name?"
"That's the thing, Doctor," said Briney. "She doesn't have one, yet." When the Doctor looked at him questioningly, he went on, "I'd like you to name her. Least I can do, after you saving my skin."
The Doctor was touched by the gesture; he knew that in the nautical space society, to name a ship was the highest honor one could give. "I…I couldn't."
"You could, should, and will, Doctor, at least if I have a hand in it," said Briney, firm. "I value my life, and letting you name her will only partially fill my debt to you. Now, what will it be?"
The Doctor looked at the huge ship, mulling over its beauty and grandeur. Somehow, it reminded him of one person, a person full of beauty and grandeur, a person who deserved to have a ship named after her. A person whose life he had ruined, and naming a ship after her wouldn't even come close to making up for it.
He made his decision.
"I'd like to call her the Madame de Pompadour."
Review and receive virtual cupcakes! xD