Running Beside the Veteran, a Doctor Who fanfic
Chapter Ten – To be a King in The Long Game
The Doctor carried a half-asleep Cosmina through the cantina, followed closely by Rose. Adam had wandered off, not that the Doctor cared about that. "Have you ever been up there Cathica?" he asked, gently shifting Cosmina a bit so it was easier to carry her.
The girl shifted and kicked her feet a bit, like a little kid, which she was. Rose walked next to the Doctor and Cathica shook her head. "No. You need a key for the lift, and you only get a key with promotion. No one gets to 500 except for the chosen few," she explained.
"That's weird," Cosmina mumbled against the Doctor's shoulder.
"I agree," he stated and carefully reached up, tugging one of her pigtails out of where it was caught between Cosmina's shoulder and his own.
"So, only those promoted have gone up and no one sees them ever again?" Rose questioned.
"Yeah. No one wants to leave. It is the best place to go. The walls are gold!" Cathica exclaimed.
Rose and the Doctor shared a look before Cosmina suddenly twitched. She let out a pained sound and thrashed a bit, holding her head. For a brief moment, her eyes were the amber color before they faded back to their deep grey. She sniffled and buried her head against the Doctor's shoulder, despite his questioning of what was wrong, Cosmina just clung tighter and cried.
/
They were back in the spike room with Cathica following them. Cosmina had stopped crying and mostly just clung to the Doctor, half-asleep. He walked around, staring at everything. "They only give us twenty minutes maintenance; can't you give it a rest?" Cathica demanded.
"But you've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" he asked as he settled in the chair, Cosmina now resting on his chest, while Rose leaned against the back of the center chair.
"I went to floor 16 when I first arrived, that's medical, that's when I got my head done, and then I - I came straight here. Satellite Five - you work, eat and sleep on the same floor. That's it, that's all!" Cathica exclaimed, growing frustrated. She then paused and stared at them, before she focused on the Doctor. "You're not management, are you?"
"At last, she's clever!" the Doctor exclaimed.
Rose and Cosmina both felt satisfied as the Doctor began to press and question Cathica. He questioned Satellite Five, and finally finished up his argument with, "Trust me. Humanity's been set back about 90 years - when did Satellite Five start broadcasting?"
"91 years…ago," Cathica responded and the Doctor nodded, as if this confirmed something he knew from the beginning.
/
Cosmina sat on the floor next to the Doctor as he scanned the side door. "You're not allowed to touch the mainframe, you're gonna get told off," Cathica, who was hovering around them, stated.
Rose, who was standing behind the Doctor, rolled her eyes while he asked Rose to tell Cathica to 'button it.' Cathica let out an annoyed sound and shook her head. "You can't just vandalize the place, someone's gonna notice!" she persisted.
Cosmina groaned and twitched her head to the side as the Doctor opened up the side door with a grin. He pulls out some wiring and begins to mess around with it. He twisted and pulled wires, grinning. Cathica shifted nervously as he continued to work, Rose helping along the way. Cosmina got to hold things. She was feeling a bit better by the time Cathica tried to walk away, again. However, she came back when the Doctor seemed to get fed up.
"I can't just leave you, can I!" she nearly shouted, though Cosmina was pretty sure the only reason she hadn't was because she wanted to keep her job.
Cosmina rolled her eyes while Rose turned and addressed the 'journalist' in the tone that showed her annoyance. "If you wanna be useful, get 'em to turn the heating down. It's boiling. What's wrong with this place, can't they do something about it?"
"I don't know, we keep asking - something to do with the turbine," Cathica brushed off.
The Doctor mocked her and she threw her hands up in exasperation. "Well, Idon't know!"
"Exactly! I give up on you Cathica! Now Rose, look at Rose!" the Doctor stated and Rose beamed. "Now, Rose is asking the right questions!"
"Thank you!" Rose stated, puffing up.
"What about me?" Cosmina asked, obviously feeling a bit put out.
"You don't know what questions to ask, and you're tired. That and the heat doesn't bother you. And for you, this is already so weird you don't know what was to be normal. We'll work on that. You're also nineish years old," the Doctor answered, fiddling with more wires.
Cosmina beamed. "However, why is it so hot?" he added, looking at the stuff, which lead to Cathica complaining about his changing concerns.
As the Doctor chastised Cathica, he accidently snapped some wiring. Cosmina grinned a bit and Rose chuckled as she shook her head. Cathica just looked even more annoyed than before.
/
The plumbing was wrong and channeling tonnes and tonnes of heat down. Something up there was big and incredibly hot. The Doctor stared over it curiously and glanced down at Cosmina. "What do you think?" he asked, looking over at the girl.
"I'm thinking I should have stayed asleep."
The Doctor chuckled and Rose looked at the little computer screen as well. "Well, I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?" she stated and Cosmina nodded.
"You can't. You need a key," Cathica reminded them.
"What's a key but a few codes? And I've got the codes right here. Override 215.9," the Doctor stated.
"How come it's giving you the code?" the woman demanded.
The Doctor glanced at Cosmina, who was staring at the camera that was focused on them. "Someone up there likes me," he stated.
"Or wants you dead," Cosmina added.
"That's a pleasant thought," Rose murmured.
"Isn't it?" Cosmina questioned with a grin, before she yawned widely.
"I'm hungry and Adam has the credit stick thing," she added, carefully getting up.
"I'll get you another one," the Doctor muttered, carefully shutting the panel.