Part 3 – Never Go Shopping With a Summers Girl
(By Booster)

"Thanks for going back and getting Emort, Clark" said Dawn happily, clutching her pet vole. His new, somewhat upgraded, travel sphere fit comfortably in her arm as they walked through the space station concourse.

The seven foot tall lizard in their party was drawing most of the looks from the crowd of people around them, but that was mainly due to Clark's height more than anything. Clark shrugged. "Ath it wath a thpace thtation rather than your backwardth planet, I figured if I could come along for the trip, tho could Emort."

"It's not totally backwards! Well, not everywhere. You'd fit in fine around my sister's area, they've got lots of non-humanoids lurking around there."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow as they carried on though the crowded market. "Excuse me, sir," he muttered, squeezing around a large Judoon striding through the lanes of shoppers. "Sounds rather enlightened for the twenty-first century. Oooo! Lets try that stall over there."

Dawn rolled her eyes and angled towards the stall in question. "You so need to get out of Britain more. Try America for a change. Live a little."

"No thanks," the Doctor said quickly, "Last time I was in San Fransisco, I almost left my hearts behind. Not to mention being convinced I was half human for some time." He turned to the stallkeeper and indicated the array of parts laid out before him. "Any chance of a Klining resonating crystal and some copper wiring?"

Dawn sighed. Another stall some distance away caught her eye. "Just going over there for a look, kay?"

Distracted, the Doctor nodded. Clark, already laden down with the aluminum tubing, smiled. "Thhouldn't take uth too long, Dawn." Dawn grinned as she and Emort headed over to the new stall. Clark's wide grin, exposing all those teeth of his, was turning out to be quite the negotiating tool when actually purchasing stuff. Almost like a ten percent discount card.

She slowed down as she approached the stall, all its jewellery and bangles laid out in rows. "Ooo, shiny!" she whispered. She stood before it, and stared around. One piece, a green mineral polished and set in a gold ring seemed to call to her. She reached out for it. She slipped it on one finger, and admired it. "A snip at only 450 credits, dear," said the stallholder, correctly recognising the must-have-this look on Dawn's face.

There was a loud explosion, quickly followed by another one. And then a third and a fourth. The deck shook, then tilted, sending Dawn staggering to the side. Then the floor buckled and collapsed.

Dawn fell, along with most of the one side of the market. The sudden jar as they hit the next floor underneath took her feet out from under her. Then the next floor groaned and also collapsed. "Shoddy construction," she gasped, desperately trying to hang onto Emort. She looked upwards, and her eyes widened as a large section of wreckage fell straight towards her.

"Oh, f--!"

Back in the market, alert sirens were going off everywhere, and an automated sprinkler system had kicked in, trying to douse a couple of fires that had already sprung up. The Doctor and Clark tried to make their way through the stampeding crowd to where Dawn had been. Clark's smile was gone, but his sharp, pointed teeth cleared as much of a route for them as possible.

"I can still feel here, in the back of my head, Clark," the Doctor yelled over the pandemonium, "She's still alive somewhere."

"We'll find her, Doctor," grunted Clark, and redoubled his efforts.

They arrived at the edge of the gigantic hole in the deck, and gazed down. At least ten floors had also collapsed, and gone with the remains of the market. The Doctor gazed down, eyes full of repressed fury. "We can't get down this way," he said tightly, "Head back for the liftshafts."

Clark raised one scaly paw upwards. "You hear that, Doctor?"

Above the sirens blaring, the Doctor could make out one other repeating message.

"Alert! Alert! Station under attack by unknown forces! Proceed to defense stations immediately. Boarding parties are already on board."

Choking and gasping for air, Dawn pulled herself out of the wreckage, still clutching Emort's travel sphere. Crawling into a nearby corridor that seemed solid and dependable, she finally stopped. Covered in dust, she wearily slumped down against one of the few still standing walls nearby. She could hear a couple of arguing voices drawing near, but just couldn't bring herself to care.

The voices stopped bickering, and Dawn was mildly aware of two people coming over to her. "Hey," one said, gently shaking her shoulder, "You okay, hun?"

"Typical," said the other strangely familiar sounding voice, "Middle of a disaster, and he stops to pick up the pretty girl."

"Ignore my partner," the man said, "I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and this is my partner Captain John Hart. Anything we can do to help?"

Dawn's eyes finally focused, and she looked at the man kneeling next to her. Good looking, with a smile that could cause people to go weak at the knees. She looked up at his partner, and her eyes grew wide.

"S..Spike?" she stammered.