A/N: Oh, so many questions…Well, them there blue hands might make an appearance way, way at the end. It seemed natural that Riddick might have heard about their liquefaction doohickeys and automatically think the Doctor's sonic screwdriver is one, because they look very similar at first glance. Remember, the Doctor can take River and Simon back in time, so this 22 week jump doesn't mean that none of Firefly happens here (How's that for a bone to gnaw on?).Riddick obeying? Heh. More like being path of least resistance for a lightning strike that, the feeler that comes up from the earth before a storm sends a powerful jolt back down… But yeah, he might seem to be doing some obeying there. Think Johns will have any idea about how to deal with that?Thanks to my reviewers, ck16 and My Reflection.

Summary: The Doctor, reeling from the effects of the TimeWar as the last surviving Timelord, stumbles into a situation he cannot ignore when the TARDIS lands him inside a ship that is clearly in trouble. But his reasons for staying once he's made planetfall might not be so benign.

500 years in the future, something has prompted humanity to explode out from their home world. Some of those leaving Earth behind view the world as nearly a myth. Others know better. In fleeing Earth-that-Was humanity scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Lets just imagine then that Blue Sun exists on the opposite side of this galactic arm from the rest of civilized space, and that one ship is taking a ghost run through the long route. Port of Departure: Eavesdown Docks, Persephone. Mixed Sino-Anglo culture. Port of Call: Tangiers-5. Darkside. Mixed Islamic-Anglo culture. Crew complement: Four. Passengers: Forty. Living 'Cargo': Two.

So what happens when a passenger by the name of Dr. Simon Tam and his cargo get on the wrong ship? Why does the Doctor's TARDIS insist on shielding a certain cryo-box? And just how is this related to the TimeWar?

Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick X-over.

Features Doctor 9, Pre-"Rose"; Simon and River Tam, Pre-"Serenity" Firefly episode 1 and the cast of Pitch Black…

Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse

Part Twelve

Caught

River knows that they will be in a world of trouble if the others find them, as they are right now. He brother's elegant hands would be crushed because he helped the wrong side. The Doctor would have his fragile hold over his temper ripped away and her sanity would shatter into a million glassy shards. There's a plan around this of course, but she is not sure what the outcome of it is going to be either.

Violence swirls on the morning sun like wisps of fire looking for an outlet when there is none. It's a misplaced fury. The animal is innocent in his darkness, inhuman and frightening, but intelligent and capable of making decisions for the greater good. He's not evil, just different with different morals. He's no more evil than the buzzing things below their feet who are waiting to feed their hunger.

But the others don't know this yet. Just her and the Doctor have looked and seen inside the blackness, and she needed help to do it. It's hard to look into another element. This one is sharp and dark and solid. It can burn hot and flow or be solid and immutable. It can stand up against the sky and absorb water. It can smother fire and birth life. But most importantly it can give charge and channel to power gathered in the Storm and show it the best path… She closes her brown eyes and reaches her mind out to the raw earth, free and wild, that lurks, coiled and waiting for release.

It's only now that she realizes her brother is like air to her water. Together they can be as the Storm is. Once they find their own Earth. But before that happens he must see beyond like she can. Simon trusts her. The Doctor is trying to break her brother out of his limitations. She trusts the Doctor. This is a beneficial thing, she hopes. Right now, she is numb. It's the Doctor's doing. He's keeping such a tight muffle on her mind that she can barely feel the anger and despair and new death here. But she can feel it and it is horrible. She is glad for his interference. Without she'd be forced to sleep again, with needles, and she is so tired of sleeping.

She tugs at Simon's sleeve. His turning toward her is all she needs to throw her arms around his neck. "Didn't think you'd come. Didn't think anyone would come."

"Of course I'd come, Mei-Mei." His arms loosely envelop her. No matter what has been done to his sister, Simon still loves her. He's more baffled by her jumps of mental ability than ever before, but he still loves her. That will never change.

"It was forever. So alone. Hurt. Thought you'd forgot." Her voice is muffled into his neck.

Simon catches her face with his fingers and turns it up so he can look into her clouded brown eyes; "You are a dummy, if you think I could ever forget you."

Her expression clears slightly, and Simon can see his sister inside this girl still, for just an instant. He hugs her back and looks around. Riddick is near the corner of the cargo bay keeping watch. The Doctor is pacing, apparently trying to plan his next move. Simon has been informed that once it is clear he is to go with River and approach someone. He's already decided on the blonde, Carolyn Fry, if he can find her.

"Docking pilot's out, chasing the bushwhacker," Riddick says from his hiding spot.

The Doctor paused. He's been weighing options and they don't have many. He must get Johns away from the others and then plant enough questions to keep the rest of the survivors from just listening to the redhead blindly. He can see only one way to accomplish this while keeping the Tams safe, "I suppose that it is time, then. Will you trust me?"

"You wanna just walk out there and lay it on the table? Are you fuckin' nuts?"

"There are some who do say so, yes." At least the alien is refreshingly honest…

Riddick is not sure why but he finds himself nodding. Anything to make the fellow come closer, even for a moment. The Doctor walks up and pats him on the shoulder and Riddick gets not only the wave of scent that he craves but a flash of the buzz in River's head, "What the hell is that?"

"Hunger." There's a beat in which Riddick thinks he hears 'Amadak, I trust you. Can you trust me?' but then its faded and he's looking at the alien and wondering how the fellow would taste, again. He wants to shake the thought out of his head. But the Doctor's order doesn't give him time.

"Now -- Run."

And he does.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Fry spotted a dark goggled figure darting out from the area of the cargo bay. She let out a cry of alarm that freezes Shazza in her tracks. Johns emerges from inside to hear, "Oh, MY GOD… There! I just saw him. He took off back toward the hills!" Carolyn is pointing and the marshal can just make out the black clad figure in the glare of the morning light.

"You, wait," he orders Shazza. "Let me catch Sir-Shiv-a-Lot first and then we'll find Zeke and the crewies. They have to be out there in the hills somewhere." This makes her put off her exploratory cave diving until he's taken care of the bigger issue. Johns gives chase.

What he doesn't realize is that Riddick is not completely stupid and wants to get caught. That's the point. The plan. A way to get River and Simon into the group safely with minimal risk to them. The ex-ranger knows that the Doctor is not going to let him take a fall for Zeke's stupidity if it can helped. That's where the trust comes in. So he gets to the hills and hides, waiting for the redhead to come into range. Once Johns is apart from the others Riddick calls out, "Hey Johns." He keeps moving surreptitiously and out of the other man's line-of sight.

"Riddick," the merc acknowledges. "Just us out here, why you playing this game?"

"Not just us, Billy. Somethin' else here you should be scared of." The deep gravely voice echoes and Johns can't pinpoint where it is coming from.

"What are you on about, trash-baby?" Johns replies as he searches. "Same crap, different planet, huh?"

There's a pause of silence, "Try to listen for once."

"Try putting your hands in the air and stepping out where I can see you."

The planet itself seems to sigh. Johns guesses it's his bounty being dramatic. The voice comes from what the merc thinks is behind him and to the right but once he turns it still seems to be behind him and to the right. "I'm guessing Zeke-man woke up something with his digging, Johnny-boy."

With a snarl, Johns places his back to a nice wide pillar and scans with his eyes for the other man. It's like tracking a ghost, though. He can't hear the other man move. There's not even the rustle of clothing to give the large figure away. Tracking in the wild has always been Johns' weak spot. He's much better in urban environments. He needs to keep Riddick talking though, "You, I'd bet. I always wondered how you coped in Slam with all those sweaty male bodies about."

He ignores the jab Johns makes at him and keeps tracking the marshal by his footsteps, while using stealth to stay just ahead of him. "Something woke up hungry for blood. Must have thought the bushwhacker was the appetizer. Didn't you hear them when the sun came up?" He waiting for the signal that the brother and sister are safe within the camp and that the Doctor is here to bail him out before he lays his life on the line. Not that he fears death, but he wants to know that it counted for something when it happens.

"What the fuck did you do with the bodies, Riddick?" William J. Johns can't get a fix on the man's voice or location rather due to the echoes. He's getting pissed off and really is about to just start shooting pillars to flush the bastard out.

Riddick smells that the alien is in place, and can feel a reassuring whisper across his mind. He's ready. Been ready. The goggled man steps out in front of his blue-eyed-devil, "Don't you listen, Billy? Can't you hear? The whispers are all around us, waiting for blood to spill. For darkness to fall." The large bronze-skinned man can feel the clicking vibrations rising up through the soles of his feet as if the creatures know blood will fall here. He sure hopes not.

"I don't play that, so just try again. C'mon, Riddick, tell me a better lie," Johns levels the shotgun aiming to cut the ex-ranger in half with the blast.

He hears a whine off to the side. A new voice with a quaint accent says with deadly calm, "I wouldn't, if I were you, marshal. That gun of yours might just backfire in your face." Johns can catch out of the corner of his eye that the fellow is dressed in a leather jacket and black straight pants. Something silver peeks out of one largish hand. The fellow is pale with thin, short, brown hair. He's taller than Riddick by just a knuckle or so but not as broadly shouldered. The merc backs up a step to catch the newcomer in his line of blast if necessary. But he holds off on the trigger, because of a funny feeling that the gent is right about the 'backfire' part and that would be very messy.

The bronze man with the gun leveled at him is a warrior, a killer, and this could be his chance to end the man that has dogged his steps to freedom for so long that they have learned to sense one another. But he doesn't. He's keeping the Doctor in sight and his hands up to show he has no weapon. He's trusting the fellow. "Listen. Can you hear it?"

For a moment, William does hear – something. A faint clicking screech seems to rise from the ground itself, echoing through the odd spires and amplifying as time passes. The redhead remembers this man in front of him as a soldier, as Richard, always pushing him to pay attention to the subtle signs around him. But the swell of noise fades as he blinks the memories away. Johns can't be sure of anything when he's facing Riddick. They have played too many games in the past and there is always the chance this is just another mind-fuck. He scowls, "I don't hear shit. Stop playing the mind-games and tell me where the bodies are and maybe I won't kill you both where you stand."

He sees the jacket-clad man raise his now empty hands up slightly, to show that he's not armed. Oddly, Riddick's been in the same position. The ex-ranger has had plenty of time to make an arsenal. Yet there's no sign of a blade anywhere. Johns narrows his eyes at the pair.

"Johns!" It's Carolyn, running up with Paris behind her, "There were more survivors. Mr. Tam and his sister just came crawling up the crash scar."

"Oh!" came the art dealer's voice in surprise as he realizes that Johns is in a rather sticky situation. "Maybe we can talk this out?"

"Shut the fuck up, Paris. When I want your opinion I'll ask for it," Johns snaps. He pulls out a backup pistol and hands it to Fry, "Check the chamber and keep the bastard in leather covered." Then he carefully pops the shotgun open and removes the shell from it. He can see right off that several of the pins are displaced. He'll have to take the weapon apart to fix it. "Let's walk back to the crash site, all nice and calm here," he says as he hands Paris the shotgun and pulls another pistol.

"Ease up, ease up Johns. Just tell me what..." Fry begins. Paris starts at the gun in his hands, even unloaded. The Doctor simply puts his hands higher in the air and adopts an innocent demeanor.

Then Shazza burst onto the scene from the other side of the bronze man and tackles him to the ground, "What'd you do with 'im? You bloody sick animal you, what'dja do with me Zeke?"

Riddick puts up a block to the blows but doesn't fight back. Simon appears on the scene and pulls the distraught woman off, "Hey, easy there. Easy." He slips her a shot and she goes limp before she can do any more damage.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Now, why did I listen to you again?" Riddick asked the other man chained to the bulkhead next to him. Missing his goggles, he won't open his eyes because of the sunlight filtering in over his head from outside, but at least he's got company.

"Come on now, it didn't go that bad."

"Not for you. You just lost your jacket to the Tam boy. I'm the one with a knot on my head the size of a walnut."

The Doctor looks over at the other man, assessing the damage with a practiced eye; "It's not that bad." Actually the knot is slightly larger than a walnut but there's no way he's going to tell the silver-eyed fellow that.

Footsteps cut short any retort that Riddick might have made although he did manage a silver narrow-eyed glance the Doctor's direction through his lashes. The docking pilot comes around the corner and stares at them both, but finally settles on Riddick. "So where are they?"

"Still on that, are we?" the Doctor asks. Riddick refuses to answer the question again or even dignify it with a retort at all.

Carolyn looks at the strangely hairless fellow, then back to Riddick, "Okay, then tell me about the sounds. You said you heard something at sunrise." Her retort is a definite lack of one. It's like talking to a statue. Or a pair of them. "Do you want Johns and Shazza to take some cracks at your skulls? I can't keep them away from you forever. And personally, the longer you stay silent, the more likely Johns' theory sounds."

"'Mean the whispers?" For some reason the Doctor isn't stopping him, so Riddick decides to see how far he can push this.

The docking pilot, almost at the point of giving up, turns and asks, "What whispers?" It's only after she asks that she realizes the Doctor is shaking his head at her. That must have been the wrong question to ask.

"The ones tellin' me to go for the sweet spot -- just to the left of the spine, fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta. What a gusher. Had a cup on his belt, so I used it to catch a little run-off. Metallic taste to it, human blood. Copperish. But if you cut it with peppermint schnapps, that goes away. Course, that's more for winter. Summertime, I take mine straight." And of course Richard B. Riddick, convicted murderer, jerks her chain for all it's worth.

"You really get off being the boogey-man don't you?" Carolyn snaps. "Let's try again, huh? The truth this time?"

The Doctor said, "I don't know. Few folks can handle the truth. Are you sure you want it?"

She snarled at him, "Stop playing games! I'm sick and tired of the bullshit. I'm trying to defend you both! Johns is convinced that you helped him haul the bodies away and fill the pit with blood from the others in the cryo-lockers while Zeke was away from the grave."

The Doctor gives her a look that reads, 'preposterous,' but seems to signal to Riddick to talk without saying a word. Fry is slightly startled by the non-verbal and non-physical communication that she figures must be occurring here.

"All you people are so scared of me -- " Riddick begins, "an' most days, I'd take that as a compliment." He paused, took a breath and glanced over at the Doctor again. He really wondering if this woman will listen to him. " -- but it ain't me you gotta worry about now."

Carolyn Fry catches that flash of quicksilver and sucks in a breath. So it is true. He does have eyeshine. She's completely sidetracked by her curiosity about his eyes, "Show me your eyes."

Richard tilts his head and raises an eyebrow but keeps his eyes closed fast, "What you gonna give me? What you gonna trade, Captain?"

She ponders that; "I'll trust you, Riddick. I'll trust in you."

It is quite a trade. He inclines his head toward the Doctor and then says; "Okay, but you'll have to come closer."

One thing she hadn't planned on was getting within reach of either of them. But she can't refuse, not now. She steps inside that invisible line and starts back when Riddick stands up and is nose to nose with her. His eyes are beautiful. She can feel the soft puffs of his breath on her face; he's standing so close. She smiles at him, a childlike delight showing on her face at the beauty she sees in his eyes.

A child's voice cuts into the moment, "Where the hell can I get eyes like that?"

Carolyn frowns at Riddick as his eyes flick over to where Jack is standing. "You gotta kill a few people," he says with a shrug. The docking pilot can still feel his breath on her skin, as he's close enough to nearly kiss her.

Jack says, "Ok. I can do it."

If Riddick is trying to scare the boy off it's not working, "Then you gotta get sent to a slam, where they tell you you'll never see daylight again. You dig up a doctor and you pay him 20 menthol Kools to do a surgical shine job on your eyeballs." Riddick looks back at Carolyn and adds, "Well, we called 'em 'Doc' anyhow."

Her patience is frayed to its ends, "Jack! Out! Now. Leave!" she orders half turning to look at the boy. The child glares at her, "Go on."

The boy spits out some rather colorful Chinese that Fry can't understand. She glances back at Riddick. The look on the convict's face makes her think that she doesn't want to know, actually. "Heh. Cute kid."

The Doctor comments from below them both, "Oh, I don't think 'cute' is the right word, myself."

"Nah. Gonna be trouble, that one," Riddick agrees on second thought.

Fry clears her throat, "I've heard about eyeshine, but this is the first time I've seen it."

Richard lets his eyes settle on her and nods, "Fairly fuckin' ironic, wouldn't you say? Went from light so dim that you go and get your eyeballs taken out and shined up to here with three ass-kick suns." She nods in agreement and finds a crate to use as a seat. Riddick settles back into the shadows, but keeps his eyes open for her. "Did I kill a few people? Sure. Did I kill Zeke-man? No. Have I played with a few minds? Yeah. Did I mess with your dead? No ma'am, not this time."

"Then where are they? Not in the hole. We looked."

The Doctor says, "Shining a beam into obscurity only illuminates a tiny area at a time."

The killer smirks at that, "Gonna have to look deeper, if you intend to find -- "

"The pieces," says River from the ladder. "Only bits and pieces left of your ghosts. Sorry. All devoured."