Sorry 'bout the delay. Writer's block, work, school, and finals have been taking up most of my time lately.

And major thanks goes out to the lovely Lisa for beta-ing.

Chapter 10

The man called Captain Jack and I walk in silence for a while.

I'm starting to think I might have hit my head harder than I previously thought, because undertaking a rescue mission is something I, in my normal, sane state, would never do. It's so totally out-of-character for me that Jack keeps sending me sidelong glances, like he expects me to suddenly reveal that I'm one of the aliens he spends his time fighting.

I don't know what I'm doing, and I'm really hoping I don't screw up by doing something stupid like announcing our presence or getting us captured so that we're of no use to Martha and the Doctor, wherever they are.

According to Jack, Martha's probably just a captive somewhere and the Doctor's trying to secure her freedom, making stuff up as he goes along. Trouble is, while he normally succeeds, the Doctor doesn't plan ahead very well, and usually almost gets himself (as well as Jack and Martha) killed in the process.

It's not reassuring.

"Katie?" I blink.

"Huh?"

"Are you all right?" I stare at Jack, confused.

"Um. Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Jack sort of shrugs. "You look a little dizzy," I shake my head.

"I'm fine, Jack. I'm not going to faint or anything." He nods, accepting this for now, but says nothing. We continue to walk.

"So, um," I start, in an effort to break the awkward silence, "d'you know what we're looking for?"

Jack shrugs. "I guess… Find something conspicuous. Something that doesn't belong," he adds quickly at my blank look. I start to tell him that I know what the word "conspicuous" means, but something up ahead stops me.

"Uh…Will that work?" I ask, pointing. Jack's eyes follow my finger, and he grins.

"That'll do it!" he says happily.

It's… well… a Disney castle. I swear it looks exactly like one of those castles from the Princess movies, the ones I used to watch when I was like five. It's even sort of pink.

Could they pick a more obvious place?

Jack flashes his blank piece of paper at the guards.

"It's slightly psychic," he says, with the air of someone who's explained this countless times over and is getting kind of sick of it. "Shows them whatever I want them to see."

Uh, okay. If you say so. He doesn't tell me what it said, but I guess that if it works, it doesn't really matter.

Besides, it got us in, didn't it?

We make our way down the entrance hall. Jack says he's seen places like this before, and I wonder if the whole universe has seen Disney.

Actually, that wouldn't surprise me.

Anyway, he says the room we want will be at the end of the hall, so we keep walking, and we are ambushed by more guards.

One of them brandishes a knife at me. I step back and end up tripping over Jack, who manages (somehow) to catch me before I hit the floor.

They demand to see our identification. Shrugging, Jack fishes the leather wallet out of his pocket and flashes the psychic paper at them. The guard attacking me puts his knife away, and I glare at him

They wave us through, bowing slightly, and we continue.

I'm still not sure what's going on.

We've reached the… audience…room…thing. The (I guess) ruler guy is sitting in a big chair at the end of the room, with Martha on a smaller chair by his side. She's staring straight ahead, unmoving, barely blinking. She doesn't acknowledge our entrance.

Meanwhile, the Doctor's standing in front of them, pacing back and forth and occasionally in circles, gesticulating wildly and doing what I can only describe as "emoting". He's good. I have no idea what he's going on about—I'm not listening to what he's saying—but whatever it is, he's obviously completely absorbed in what must be a moving and eloquent monologue.

The ruler-guy says nothing. He just watches the Doctor, looking supremely unconcerned. As for Martha, I don't think she's listening or paying attention either. Her expression remains blank and she doesn't move or draw any attention to herself. I think she's hoping the ruler-guy will have forgotten she's sitting next to him.

In fact, there's only one sign that she's perfectly aware of herself and isn't under some sort of mind control. Her hands are clasping the armrests of her chair desperately, her knuckles turning white, and an occasional panicked look crosses her face. Just barely, but it's there, I think.

"Katie?" Jack whispers in my ear. I flinch uncomfortably but don't say anything. "When I tap your shoulder, go to her and lead her out. Just walk out, don't run unless you have to, and don't look back. The Doctor's got him distracted." I nod.

The Doctor continues to emote at the ruler-guy. Both seem incredibly engrossed in their one-sided conversation. He doesn't look at Martha. Neither does the Doctor, and I figure that's his way of making sure the ruler-guy doesn't remember she's there.

Jack taps my shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, I tell myself I can do this. I don't like the idea, but I don't think I have much choice, so I nod shortly and go to stand behind Martha.

"Come on," I mutter in her ear. "Jack's got a plan, and the Doctor's got the ruler-guy distracted. Now's our chance."

She says nothing, but stands up as quietly as possible. "Walk," I tell her. "Don't run. Not unless we have to. Just walk out like it's the most natural thing in the world. I'm right behind you."

She nods again and begins to walk out. I follow. The ruler-guy screams. Blaster fire follows, and more screaming, this time in the Doctor's and Jack's voices, and the clanging of metal.

True to Jack's orders, I don't turn around. I don't look back.

Martha tries to return to her companions. I stop her. "No," I hiss. "Jack said no. I can't… We can't…"

She ignores me, pushes me out of the way, and runs off to rejoin the others. Swearing irritably, I follow.