A/N: This roughly follows "Serenity" Part two (the initial pilot episode for the TV show, not the BDM), and beyond. I'm summarizing parts of the Second Doctor serial "The Underwater Menace" in this chapter, focusing on the developing relationship between the Doctor and Jamie. Additional detail of the Underwater Menace Plot line will surface in a related side-story, All About the Doctor and Jamie. Because this will focus on them it won't be a full adventure, but selected scenes with enough of the plot preserved to make sense and follow canon.
Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse and Doctor Who and the Ties that Bind are the first two parts to this tale. If you've not read the other two stories then this one might not make sense to you. Go read them first, Ok? And while you're there, please vote in the poll, Aye?
Jelly Babies? Bananas? Mutant Plot Bunnies? :-D
Thanks for the story alert, Grim Sinistre Symer. And it's nice to be part of your C2 community, Favorites Of Grim, too. Thanks for the Favorite Story listing, Basia Orci.
Thanks for the reviews, OtherMeWriter, My Reflection and Basia Orci. Yeah, this is an instance of Book not being overly bright…
Summary: The Doctor, reeling from the effects of the TimeWar as the last surviving TimeLord, stumbled into a situation he could not ignore when the TARDIS landed him inside a ship that was clearly in trouble. But the situation turns not as cut and dry as he might like. His people may be gone, but the stamp he's made on the universe is still there, and he finds himself caught in a web spun of the choices he's made in his past… And there's more than his own existence at stake.
Humanity has exploded out from the home world. Could the events of 2164 be responsible? In fleeing Earth-that-Was, mankind scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Initial survey teams targeted likely planets and systems for habitation and not all of them ended up on the same side of the sector. Blue Sun exists apart, separated by a patch of 'wild space' filled with exotic binary and triple star systems, from the rest of civilized space. Few ships brave the route. But there are a few that do, and they connect the two sides of human habitation with a tenuous link…
So what happens to Dr. Simon Tam, his brilliant but damaged sister, a convicted murder by the name of Richard B. Riddick, one gal from 2005 London called Rose Tyler and 'Jack B. Badd' now that they are aboard Serenity? And just how is this related to the TimeWar?
A Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick crossover.
Features Doctor 9, companion Rose Tyler; The cast of Firefly; 'Jack B. Badd' and Richard B. Riddick…
Doctor Who and the Tangled Web.
Part Four
Outwit
Inara Serra could tell that the -- what? divine being, ally, Time Lord, man? -- in front of her was in emotional pain. Oh, he hid it well enough, if one didn't look too deeply into his eyes. But she was trained to look, trained to reflect. And the pain she saw there threatened to make her weep. She glanced over at Jacob who was sleeping, his head on Jon's leg. The boy had such thick wavy hair, and she could tell that sometimes the way it fell on the boy's head that there was some painful association with it. "You said we would talk. I'm here now, willing to listen," she knelt at his feet and looked up at him.
"It's complicated, 'Nara," he swallowed. He knew he had to open up to her, to win her trust, to make her see the living creature behind the godhead that the Elementals wanted to see him as. For some reason everything kept coming back to the pain. To Jamie. But perhaps that was the key. His personal Justice would be something to do with somehow righting that wrong.
She tried to give him a sympathetic expression, "Try saying what you can."
The Red Guardian closed his intense blue eyes; "I'm as fallible as any other. I don't deserve your faith or idolization. I'm not even sure I deserve your trust."
"Is it not better to place one's faith in the goodness of the living as opposed to the aloofness of the Gods? You're in tremendous pain, Jon, and yet you strive to do what is good and just for those around you. That's where I put my faith." She watched his face as he thought her words through. Then he looked away, his eyes unfocused as if he's looking across time and space. For all she knows, he is.
"Before Richard, long before… There was a young man, a remarkable one. He stole my heart. And I do believe he kept it. Not to say that I'm not totally, madly – well I'm sure you get the picture," He manages a smile that is all the more stunning for the intense pain behind it. She puts a hand on his knee. "Everything about this lad was unique. I swept him out of his own time and he just adjusted, without a hitch. I broke every cultural dictate, imprinting my psyche on his, and he lapped it up and begged for more. It's because of him I'm alive now, child."
She glanced over at Jacob then back to Jon, "Why is that?"
"Because it was Jamie's acceptance of Verity that finally, in retrospect, made me bond with her. If I hadn't I would have died in the aftermath of the Time War. I'd be dead now. You see, Jamie's trust in her saved me."
"It sounds like he imprinted quite a bit of his psyche on you as well."
He remembered like a sudden flash, the first time he opened the door of his time ship to Jamie. He'd safeguarded the lad's mind nice and tight and motioned him inside, keeping his eyes on the boy for signs of panic. The Scottish piper had accepted what he was seeing without a backward glance. That was the main difference right there. Jamie and he could both feel and hear the TARDIS trying to connect with him and Jamie accepted it, full stop while he was fighting her every step of the way. If he'd been paying attention then the latter admonishment to accept Verity might have been heeded before it was too late. Only he was a bullheaded, suspicious, manipulative bastard back in those days. Really he was. The thought of giving up his 'privacy' to his ship so that she had access to his mind the way she wanted at the time made his skin crawl.
But Jamie, Oh Jamie… He'd been ever so joyful to return to Verity after the first adventure. It was his words, his feelings, which stayed in the Time Lord's mind. The impression that the TARDIS was affectionate, warm, loving… The Doctor hadn't heard that since he'd left Susan behind. And then the boy came right out and demanded to know why he was resisting. Why, indeed? Jamie accepted her emotions as real, genuine, and true. It took him a very long time to see that the boy was right, when Jamie wisely chided him, 'Demanding? Nay, she loves you, you stubborn old man.' He'd been right. All along, the Scotsman was right.
He also remembers that Jamie had, the one time, openly flirted with him inside the ship. He wonders now if she would have protected him – them – if she'd known. But it was water under the bridge now. The lad had been a very fast learner, figuring out how to speak over the mental link inside the shields. He'd been shocked, but very happy at that. Now as he looked back he realized that Inara was right. Jamie had imprinted himself in his mind, his soul, and later, his flesh, "Oh, and more than… So much more." He lays a light hand on Jacob, carding his fingers through the darkened honey masses of the sleeping boy's wavy tresses, "More than he ever knew."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Whitefall was one of those worlds where terraforming had successfully created a desert climate. It weathered those who ended up living there. Even those that visited came away more sandblasted than they arrived. Because of that Mal wanted to get his business done and get off this planet. They'd spent about enough time here already. He's walking with his best friend in the 'Verse, aside from his gun, Zoë. She's one he trusts with his life. This little valley drags him down and he expects an ambush from every outcrop. Thus far it hasn't happened. They've almost reached the center of it before six men and one woman ride over the far ridge, all but one on horseback. The other steers a mule-on-wheels, an all-terrain vehicle workhorse used across the many worlds of Blue Sun. The first thing he notices is that this is just a bit overkill for someone making a trade.
Patience is older, and he won't mistakenly ever call her a 'lady', 'cause she's not. Might qualify as a female human, but she's never been someone's sweetheart, and he doubts that anyone calls her mother either. She's a tough old broad, able to whip 'em with the largest, brawniest bastards out there. They come within twenty meters and halt. She's in her old trusty weather-beaten duster, a ratty hat barely keeping her wild gray hair out of her face. None of the men with her give the impression of great training, or wealth for that matter with the hodgepodge of possibly scrounged clothing, but for one who has a new black hat an' a shiny rifle. "Ah!" she laughs. It's a gravely sound that gives away the fact that she's a heavy smoker, "Mal! How you doin', boy?" She's sounding friendly enough, like she's gotten the twitchy worked out during the ride here. He knows better than to let his guard down even a fraction no matter how friendly she sounds. This woman would stab her own mother for the gold fillings in her teeth.
"Walkin' and talkin'."
She then squints into the late afternoon glare, "Is that Zoë? You still sailin' with this old bum?"
Zoë is strung tight. She dislikes this old woman. Not passionately, because the Patience is not worth the effort that would take, but she does spare some negative emotion for her, "Awful lot of men to haul three crates."
The old broad shrugs, "Yeah, well, I couldn't be sure my Mal here wouldn't be lookin' for some kinda payback. You understand."
No, Zoë really doesn't. She and Mal are honest sorts, taking the hard road so they can stay free. Neither of them is after power, or wealth, or standing even. All they want is enough to make it by, to stay in the air, and out of Alliance turf. Mal voices her thoughts; "We're just on the job, Patience. Not interested in surprises."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Above them on the ridge both Jayne and Rich find their marks. They are on opposite sides, with opposite targets, one on Mal and the other on Zoë, those marks are. Jayne sneaks forward on the man at his lookout point and knocks him a good one over the head. Not enough to kill but the fella will have a hell of a lump in the morning. Rich uses a bit more finesse, landing a blow to the sniper he is after that will leave him numb for days and barely able to lift a gorram spoon. He don't care if the man's still awake, because he's temporarily paralyzed from the neck down. Dragging their respective wanna-be assassins back out of the way both men take the same position their targets had been in.
Jayne mumbles, "Heh, got you." His sights are set on Mal. The smile Jayne gets would disturb most folk.
Riddick utters softly, "Target locked." He finds that the scope was set to Zoë. His face stays completely unreadable.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Dobson heads to his old room where his stuff still is. He notices that his belongings have been picked up and he assumes sorted through. The majority of the cases he had with him are gone. He moves to the drawers and pulls them open. Empty.
He turns to his duffel bag. Quickly opening it, he digs through, pulling out clothes, making a mess, and trying to find his hand computer. It's not there. He then digs through the bag and finds a small two shooter that the crew overlooked that was stashed inside a fake soap bar. Considering how comprehensive the searchers were in finding everything else he's surprised to find this.
The merc pauses and listens before heading carefully back and around to the other dorm rooms. Surely one of the kids had a computer. He climbs to the top level and slips into the last room. He can tell by the clothes in the closet that the room belonged to Jacob. Dobson quickly rifled through it; finally finding the cortex linked book, which is frozen on the current subject. He tosses it aside; unable to figure out how to get an active link with it.
Backtracking, he tries the next room. It's the older boy's room. Simon Tam's room. He searches through for a hand computer and eventually finds one. It's a newer model and he has to spend precious time trying to get it to come out of sleep mode. When it finally does the strange icons on the desktop screen surprise him. He stares at some of the odd squiggly writing for a moment before finding the one icon that says 'connect to central cortex'. He selects it and waits. Finally the screen changes to read 'Interference: Unable to Connect.' Dobson knows this means he's being scrambled. Growling, he hurls the computer against the wall.
The small gun he's got isn't going to be good enough. He moves back out and down the ladder until he reaches the older men's room. Surely, they have weapons. He ransacks the room, tearing it apart. He comes up with a collection of six handmade shivs, perfectly balanced and razor sharp. They'll do.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Patience looks around; "I don't see my cargo anywhere..."
"And you're not gonna, 'til I'm holding two hundred in platinum," Mal says.
She gives him a disbelieving look, "Oh, come on, Reynolds. I'm supposed to take it on faith you've got the goods?"
Flipping his coat out of the way, exposing his best gun in the process, Mal reveals the shiny gold bar in his belt. He lifts it free, slow-like, so that none of the extra guns get twitchy. Holding it up so that it catches the sunlight for a moment, he then tosses the bar the distance right into the old battle axe's hand. She studies the outside for a moment before carefully unwrapping one edge and corner of the shiny gold foil. This she slowly peels back to reveal the mottled molasses and cracked grain pressed surface. She sniffs it. "It's pure, Patience," he assures her. "Genuine A-grade foodstuffs. Protein, vitamins, immunization supplements. One of those'll feed a family for a month. Longer, if they don't like their kids too well."
Not taking a chance on his word Patience takes the smallest of nibbles, "Yeah. That's the stuff." She carefully re-covers the bar in its foil before pulling out a small leather drawstring bag and tossing it to Mal. "So where's the rest?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
River, Rose and Kaylee are chatting, with River near the end of Kaylee's bed. The raven haired girl suddenly goes very quiet. Her face twists up in fear. "Saritha?" Rose says as she reaches for her.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Kaylee asks, sitting up a bit more looking concerned.
River's face contorts even more, "Simon…" She starts toward the door intending to warn her brother when Dobson steps in front of the portal. Freezing, she stares at the merc. Dobson flicks a shiv Rose's direction causing her to dive to the floor. The blade embeds itself into the seat she was sitting on. Quick as a flash, he's got another in his hand.
"Well now, Miss Tam. Here's the deal, and I know you are smart enough to figure this out. Come with me or I'll kill them both." River shakes her head. He flicks another shiv that hits close enough to Kaylee to remove a chunk of hair. The engineer gasps in surprise. River looks back at Rose then steps over to Dobson. He grabs her, a shiv to her throat. Kaylee and Rose both start forward, "Hey, now. I'm sorry about what happened before. But make so much as a sound; the next one goes through your throat. Or River's, I don't care much which." A thin line of red appears against River's pale skin, trickling scattered droplets of beaded thicker bloody tears. The dark headed girl doesn't even make a whimper.
Both Rose and Kaylee stare at him in genuine horror. Dobson pulls Saritha backward out of the infirmary.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"--Then east half a mile, bottom of the first hill. You'll see where it's been dug," Mal's saying.
Patience smacks her lips, "I reckon I will."
"Well then."
"Yep."
No one is moving anywhere fast. The tension builds.
"I'd appreciate it y'all turn around and ride out first," Mal says.
Patience cocks her head at him, "Well, you see, there's a kind of hitch."
"Both made out on this deal. Don't complicate things."
She shakes her head, "I got a rule." She sits up a bit more in the saddle, "I never let go of money I don't have to. Which is maybe why I'm running this little world and you're still on that dinky old boat, sniffing for scraps." Unknown to her both Jayne and Riddick are following the progress of the deal, which is going exactly like the captain predicted it would.
"Takin' the headshot," Jayne says.
"I'm on the backguard," Richard responds.
Mal says to Patience, "Got the money back. There's no need for killin'."
"We're just gonna walk away, sir?" Zoë says all tight and pissed off sounding. She's ready for the fight, eager to take out a few scum, actually. Mal's the only one that can tell the difference when she's wound up like this.
Mal tilts his head toward her, "Guess that's up to Patience here." He directs his next words to the broad on her horse, "Could be messy."
"Not terribly." Patience chuckles, thinking she's got him good. "Mal, you just ain't very bright, are you?"
Mal smirks, steps closer and nods to one of Patience's men, "That's quite a rifle. Boy must be your best shot to carry that."
Oblivious, she says, "He's called Two-Fry. Always makes it quick and clean."
Two-Fry gives Mal a grin. His overall appearance is not 'boy' like in the least, but he's the one with the new hat. Malcolm directs his next words to the man directly, "Two-Fry." There's a pause, then the captain continues, "Nice hat." This is Jayne's signal to cut loose. He takes the man clean off his horse. Rich's shot not only takes out the fellow behind Patience but his horse as well, blocking any chance she has of fleeing.
All hell breaks loose.
Mal draws and takes out man number three while Zoe removes the fellow on the mule. Then gent number five hits Zoe with a shotgun blast to the chest. She's thrown back but Mal drops her shooter before she hits the ground. Mal dives for cover. Patience and her last man open fire, both aiming for the dodging man. The horses panic, stirring up quite a cover of dust.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Simon and Wash are in the bridge chatting. They aren't doing anything serious, just keeping each other company. Wash is saying, "—gonna have to look for those parts somewhere else, Whitefall ain't exactly civilization in the strictest sense."
"I'm sure we'll find them, there's no need to worry about it," Simon reassures him.
"Zoe's out on a deal, I always worry. So... it's not out of my way--" Wash begins, but he's interrupted by Rose whispering over the com.
"Dobson's loose, He took Saritha…"
Simon does not pause to ask questions, jumping up and taking off at top speed. Wash is about half a step behind him when the proximity warning goes off. The beeping sound sends chills up his spine. He glances at the screen. It's the Trans-U… "Oh, don't. Don't you dare."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Simon makes it through the dining room, emerging out on the catwalks. He spots Dobson, the blades in the man's hands, the blood trickling down River's throat… The merc has a loose grip on his sister, and she's not fighting him, as he looks around and begins moving toward the controls to open the airlock. Simon moves quickly to catch up as Dobson hits the release button and the cargo bay doors start opening.
He doesn't think about this, he just does it. Simon leaps over the railing and lands right on Dobson. Saritha makes a fast swirl to get away from the shiv, catching the man's arm and effectively snapping his wrist. The blade falls. She goes into a crouch and scoops it up. Dobson, screaming, and Simon, silent but for a grunt of surprise, both crumple under the impact, and somehow Simon manages to kick the other shiv away. Winded, he can't do more than just lie there after hitting the floor.
River clutches the bloodstained blade, holding it expertly even though it's made for a much larger hand, pointing it at Dobson, "Two… Blue…"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The shots on the ground are just a bit random. Rich gets a buzz in his ear from Wash and abandons his position, heading back toward the others double-time. Jayne aims at the last man, misses, and growls, "Hwin dan!" He also becomes aware of the buzz from Wash. He scrambles to his feet and begins running back toward the meeting spot. It makes no difference, as the last man turns to ride off Zoe aims and shoots him in the back sending him somersaulting over the front of his horse.
Patience and Mal are all that's left. She shoots at him and he dodges just a mite too slow he glares at her aware that he's got a bullet burn on his arm, "Zoë?" He looks at his coat with a frown.
"Armor's dented," she says, looking at it under her shirt. That's gonna leave a nasty bruise.
"Well, you were right about this being a bad idea."
"Thanks for sayin', sir." She's still on the ground, flat on her back.
Over by her horse, rather behind it with her long barreled gun resting on the saddle, Patience threatens, "Mal, don't you take another step--"
But Mal's had quite enough of this crap. He's done with this. Quickly aiming, he shoots her horse, which rears and then falls over on top of her. He stalks over, puts his gun damn near up Patience's nose, "Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear." He pauses to make sure she's good and scared. She is. Good. "I do the job." He takes the money bag back from her, "And then I get paid." He glares at her and spits in her face, "Go run your little world."
Zoë interrupts, "Sir, Call from base--"
Jayne runs up, "Mal! It's Wash! We got a ship coming in. They followed us. The gorram Reavers followed us!" Mal stares at him blinking. Oh, of all the hellish things to have to deal with…