Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. :) Do I even need to bother telling you that?

Anyway, this story gets off to a slow start... for which I can only apologise...I tried... :)


Edging sideways, her back pressed against the frozen steel wall, Nova carefully adjusted the settings on the gun in her hands as the man next to her snorted scornfully.

"Bren!" Nova whispered, fiercely. "What is your problem?"

"Why do you insist on using that crappy, antique thing?" He said, holding out his flashy, new LB gun and waving it obstinately in her face. "You should use something like this, never fails!" Bren boasted.

Nova eyed the gun suspiciously as it seductively glinted at her, seemingly saying -'Look at me! Aren't I fabulous?'. Nova repressed the urge to snatch the wretched thing out of Bren's hands and start jumping on it. Instead, she ignored his jibe and continued to edge along the wall, which seemed to be getting colder the further down it they went.

Cautiously, Nova peered around the corner, her 'antique' gun poised at the ready but one quick glance showed her the corridor was completely empty. At the end of the corridor, about five feet from where Nova was standing, was a steel door, it too was covered in a thin film of ice. Bren peered over her shoulder to get a good look.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, right next to her ear. Nova jumped at the sudden cry, and then covered up her nervousness by pretending to have a sudden coughing fit. "Are you okay there, buddy?" Nova nodded her head as she brought her enthusiastic, coughing fit performance to an abrupt end.

"Yeah, fine. So why did you just yell?" She quizzed him.

"Well, maybe whatever's behind that door is the reason this floor is into the ruddy minuses! I just hope it's not your brother…" Nova grinned back at him playfully, hiding the fact that she had thought exactly the same thought just moment's before- 'maybe that's where they're hiding Damian…'.

"Shall we take a look?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him and made her way towards the frosted door. It looked as though it was meant to be automatic; the sensor that activated it was above the doorframe. However, the cold temperature had caused ice to form over the door and wall and literally fuse the door shut. Nova slid her fingernails into the groove between the door and the wall, unsuccessfully trying to prise it open. Bren stood in the background, and silently watched her futile attempts to pull the door open.

"Help! Will you?" Nova snapped, irritably. Stepping forward, Bren grinned widely as he pulled out his, glinting, LB gun and aimed it at Nova and the door. Nova's instant, innate reaction was to shut her eyes. She waited, frozen like the door, terrified. Nothing happened. Warily, she let her eyes flicker open and saw that the ice around the door had melted and Bren was now holding the previously sealed door open for her.

"Did you think I was about to shoot you?" He stared at her incredulously.

"Err…well…you see…" Nova stared at the floor, extremely embarrassed that she could have believed Bren was capable of such a cruel betrayal.

"Let's look inside." Bren said and walked briskly in through the door, Nova following him until Bren stopped abruptly. Nova could not see what had caused Bren to stop so suddenly as he was blocking her view, being such a 'well-built' young man as Bren continually referred to himself as.

"What is it, Bren?" Her voice sounded high-pitched, her panic evident. "Is it Damian?"

"No." Bren said, slowly. He stepped back to show her the room in front. The ceiling was dome-shaped with a hefty fan inserted in the middle of it. The walls, covered in a thick layer of ice making it impossible to discern what they were made from, went up at least forty feet above them. Nova could see the icicles clinging to the frosted ceiling, but what she noticed first were the bodies. Hundreds upon hundreds of frozen bodies, lined up against the walls, their empty and ice-covered eyes staring and unblinking.

"Oh My Lord" Nova said, weakly.

(Cue The Music! You all know how it goes! ;) )


"She had no body?" Mickey said in amazement. "What? So, she was like… just a stretched bit o' skin?" He looked from Rose to the Doctor, then back, seeking confirmation.

Yeah!" Rose grinned. "And it had to be moisturised regularly!" Mickey pulled a disgusted face.

"Yeah, but, who'd wanna live like that?"

"She wasn't what you would call normal…" The Doctor answered, sprinting round to the other side of the Tardis and flicking various knobs and switches. "Could you press that for me?" He added to Rose.

"Yeah. Definitely not normal, she thought Britney Spear's Toxic was an old English Ballad! Britney ain't that great!" Rose snorted as she pressed down a red button that was flashing and screeching ominously.

"Hey! I like Britney!" Mickey said, offended.

"That's one reason to hate her then…" Muttered the Doctor, distractedly, as Rose giggled at the expression on Mickey's face.

Mickey folded his arms crossly and glared at Rose, who was now biting her lip hard to stop herself from laughing. He was about to make some witty retort, when a sudden 'whooshing' sound rudely interrupted him and the Tardis seemingly crashed to the ground, sending Mickey and Rose to the other side of it, where they were hurled forcefully against the doors and then slid down onto the floor. The Doctor stood over them; one eyebrow raised, and then extended his hand for Rose. He pulled her to her feet then neatly stepped over Mickey and opened the door.

"Oh, I see! Just leave me here then!" Mickey grumbled darkly under his breath.

"Alright then!" The Doctor replied jovially, thrusting his hands into his pockets. "Well, well, well!"

"What is it?" Rose asked, appearing at the Doctor's side. "Where're we?"

"Spaceship," the Doctor stated matter-of-factly, "and an early one, if I'm not mistaken." He turned to Rose and gave her a huge grin, "And I never am!"

He strode forward confidently, surveying their new surroundings with an excited look on his face, like a child who has been given a new toy plane to fiddle around with, and he let out a few sighs of exuberance. "We seem to have landed in the cargo department." He got out his sonic screwdriver and ran it along the steel walls, frowning as he did so.

"Very early, actually. One of the earliest Earth models." He turned back to Rose. "Quite crude in fact. A rudimentary vessel." He thrust his hands into his pockets once again, and briefly stood on the spot, humming a tune. Mickey stood watching, completely bemused. Rose just smiled knowingly.

"Right!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Let's not idly, stand around!" He moved towards the door, and then turned on his heel. "Well? Come on then! Time to explore, comrades!"


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