The Bulb

The Time Lords exchanged a look as the Doctor attempted to process what Clara had just said. "You said…" he frowned.

Clara nodded, huffing slightly. "I know what I said. I was the one who said it."

"You said it was looking at you funny."

"I was tired, overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job."

The Doctor frowned. "It's a pretty cool appliance." He patted the console. "We're not talking cheese grater here."

Clara crossed her arms. "You're not getting me to talk to your ship. That's properly bonkers."

He leaned closer to whisper to the machine. "It's okay. It's okay."

Clara sighed, shaking her head and glancing at Adelaide. "He's like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves." She was quite pleased she got a smile out of the Time Lady.

"It's important to me, to us," he gestured between himself and Adelaide, "you get along. We could leave you two alone together."

She raised her eyebrows. "Now you're creeping me out."

"Take the wheel…"

"Not the wheel," Adelaide corrected.

The Doctor nodded. "I'll make it easy. Shut it down to basic mode for you." He moved to change the TARDIS mode.

"Basic? Because I'm a girl?"

"I'm a girl," Adelaide pointed out.

"You're a Time Lady."

"And you're a human." She leaned forward to switch a few things close to her for the Doctor. "Basic mode."

|C-S|

Everything seemed to be going okay, with the Time Lords teaching her the basic points of steering it. Adelaide had never actually taught anyone how to pilot a TARDIS, but the Doctor had, so he was mainly taking the lead.

However, they all stopped when, after Clara flicked a switch, all the lights went out, turning red a second later. "What have I done?"

The Doctor looked around. "Er…okay."

"Doctor?"

The Time Lords started to work. "All the electrical impulses are jammed. I can't get the shields back up. She's completely vulnerable."

Clara shook her head. "I swear I just touched it."

"You couldn't have done this, Clara," Adelaide said.

The Doctor managed to get the lever he'd been attempting to pull down with quite a lot of sparks. He ran around the console, going to a monitor. "Magnetic hobble-field. We're flying right into it."

Adelaide pulled Clara back. "Clara, stay by me."

"Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this."

"Oh, yes." The Doctor nodded. "Big friendly button."

"You're lying."

"Yep."

"To stop me freaking out?"

"Is it working?"

"Not so much!"

Something rolled across the ground, towards Clara, as a jolt of the TARDIS sent Adelaide falling in the opposite direction. Clara reached for it but instantly dropped it when it burned her hand.

There was another explosion and they were all thrown apart.

|C-S|

When the Time Lords blinked awake, they were a bit surprised to find themselves lying in a pile of rubbish. They looked for each other first, without thinking about it, before they both realized that Clara was nowhere to be seen. Since the TARDIS was still behind them, they could only guess that Clara was either trapped inside or somewhere else on this ship.

"…asks, that ship was already busted," a nearby man was saying to another two, speaking in hushed tones. "You got that? And you, make sure you keep your oily mouth shut, right?"

"It's rude to whisper," the Doctor called, making the men spin. "She doesn't like it when you're rude and trust me, you want her to like you." He grinned. "Hi, I'm the Doctor, she's Adelaide. And you are?" he squinted at their nametags, shaking their hands. "Van Baalen and Van Baalen. Van Baalen and Van Baalen." The third man didn't have a nametag, but he shook his hand anyway, looking back at Adelaide as he spoke. "That's going to get confusing later."

"We found you drifting," the first man said.

The second Van Baalen nodded. "Yeah, your ship was junked up pretty bad."

The Doctor turned to look at the TARDIS before stepping up to Adelaide again, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "What broke our ship was a magno-grab. Found this remote in your pocket." He held up the thing he'd stolen when he'd shook the first man's hand. "What are the chances?"

Adelaide raised her eyebrows. "Outlawed in most galaxies, that device could disable whole vessels…unless you have shield oscillators."

"Which we turned off so that Clara could fly. Clara, where is she? Girl, about so high. Feisty."

"She's still on board," Adelaide told the Doctor, already having reasoned it.

The Doctor ran for the box, but the third man grabbed him. "No, wait. Your pod is leaking fuel. If she's still in here, she's dead."

Adelaide studied their surroundings. "Respirators," she said, pointing at the small pile by the lockers. The Doctor darted over to them.

"We can open the doors for a split second, reach in, and grab her."

"Trust me, we can't." He soniced the respirators to ensure they functioned properly. "Now please, help us get her out."

The third man shook his head. "I'm telling you, she's fried…"

"Shut it, tin mouth!" the first man cut in. "What sort of fee are we talking?"

The Doctor glanced at Adelaide. "If you help us get her out, you get the machine, all the scrap, eh?"

The first man crossed his arms. "It's not worth the risk. Four feet of metal? Nah."

"And if we can guarantee the best haul you've ever had?" Adelaide had, a few times before, bargained her TARDIS for help. She'd never had to give it up, but sometimes it was necessary when you were attempting to navigate the universe without relying on the power of the Time Lords.

Once, only the Corsair appearing had saved her from whatever circumstance she'd gotten herself into.

The first man eyed them. "Bram, open the bay doors."

"No, no!" the Doctor stepped forward. "Please, stop. Listen, listen. Right behind those doors is the salvage of a lifetime."

When the first man honestly looked tempted, the second stepped towards him. "Hey, are we really going to risk it? That thing is spewing poison. We should blow it back into space."

"Get your gear."

"Hey, I don't take orders from my kid brother."

The first raised his eyebrows. "Don't try and form sentences, all right? Stick to what you do best."

The men started to suit up, with the Time Lords moving closer together again, but they both eyed the third man. It was clear enough by the others' treatment that the third was some sort of android, which would have normally meant he wouldn't need a respirator. "Tell me," the Doctor called, "since when does an android need a blast suit and a respirator?"

"Flesh coating, same as us," Bram answered for him. "He'd burn up."

The android shrugged. "No fear, no hate, no pain."

Once everyone was suited up, the Time Lords stepped up to the TARDIS in order to unlock it. "Salvage of a lifetime?" the first asked them, joining them.

"I feel pretty confident we can deliver on that." The Doctor grinned. "Here we go!" he kicked the doors open, everyone leaning out of the way as smoke billowed out. The men pulled on their goggles, but it was the Time Lords who led them inside.

The gravity automatically righted them despite the fact the box was currently on its side. Gregor, the first man, shook his head as he looked around. "I don't get it. I thought she was lying on her side."

The Doctor waved a hand. "The TARDIS is special. She has her own gravity."

Adelaide nodded. "We'd explain if we had the time." They hurried to the console.

"It's…it's…it's bigger."

"On the inside." He glanced at Adelaide. "Do you know, I get that a lot."

Tricky, the android, nodded. "Whoa…awesome."

The Doctor pointed at him. "Well put. Whoa and awesome." Adelaide pressed a switch, venting the smoke from the room. "Safe to breathe." They all pulled off their respirators, the Doctor spinning in a small circle with his sonic. "Okay, now, the last thing I remember…you were right there," he pointed where Adelaide had been, "and she was right there," and where Clara had. "Come on, Clara, talk to us."

"How big is this baby?" Bram asked.

"Picture the biggest ship you've ever seen," the Doctor told him, Adelaide taking over the sonic scanning. "Are you picturing it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now forget it, because this ship is infinite."

Gregor raised his eyebrows. "It could take you hours to find the girl."

"Days. Plus this whole place is toxic. She could be dead by the time we reach her." He rubbed his hands together. "So, here's the mission. We're going to find her in one hour."

Gregor gave him a look. "We?"

He nodded. "You're our guys for this."

"That wasn't the deal."

"'tis now."

Bram frowned. "What makes you think we'll help?"

Adelaide flicked something else on the console, bringing up a countdown. "I just activated the TARDIS self-destruct system. We have one hour until the ship explodes." Bram ran for the doors, but the Doctor used his sonic to close the doors. "Don't attempt to leave. The TARDIS is in lockdown."

"We'll open those doors when Clara's by our side."

"You crazy lunatics!"

"Our ship, our rules."

Gregor frowned. "You'll kill us all. And the girl."

"She's going to die if you don't help us." The Doctor shrugged. "Don't get into a spaceship with a madman and his polite friend; didn't anyone ever teach you that?"

Adelaide raised her eyebrows. She'd bargained with threatening to explode the TARDIS before, but never for a human's life. It was an odd experience. She blamed the Doctor. "Gentle persuasion? Thirty minutes?" the countdown switched.

Bram gasped. "She'll die even quicker now!"

The Time Lord shrugged. "We all perform better under pressure. Anybody want to go for fifteen minutes?"

"Whoa!"

"Whoa!"

"It's your own time you're wasting." The Doctor nodded. "Salvage of a lifetime. You meant the ship. We meant Clara." He stepped back, grabbing Adelaide's hand, and left the console room. The three men joined them a second later, though Gregor lagged for a few seconds.

"Guys, guys, look, I think we should split up," he told them, holding out a scanner. "It's our best chance of finding the girl. You know it is."

The Doctor pointed at him, checking his watch. "Don't touch a thing. Adela-the TARDIS will get huffy if you mess." He grinned at Adelaide, the Time Lady shaking her head. "What? You will!"

Gregor glanced at Tricky as he moved to follow the Time Lords. "Keep in radio contact, alright?" Tricky nodded, following them, while he turned to Bram. "Get back to the console. Strip it apart."

Bram grinned and hurried off.

|C-S|

Gregor was careful when he entered the room his scanner had brought him to. It had a large metal tree-like thing in it, with glowing bulbs dangling from the ends. He scanned it. "Everything," the computer told him.

"I don't understand. Give me a price tag."

"Incalculable."

His eyes widened. "What?"

"More valuable than the total sum of any currency. Living metal. Bespoke engineering. Whatever machine you require, this system will build it."

Gregor put the scanner away, walking up to one of the bulbs. When he touched it, it went dark, which was a good thing in his mind. He pulled out a laser cutter to cut it free but was interrupted by the Time Lords running in.

"No!" the Doctor shouted. "No, no, stop! Please, don't. Don't touch it! Please. She won't let you touch it." He looked around them. "I can feel a TARDIS tantrum coming on."

"What the hell is this place?"

"Architectural Reconfiguration System," Adelaide told him. "It reconstructs particles according to your needs."

He raised his eyebrows. "A machine that makes machines?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes, basically." Gregor held up the laser cutter again. "What are you doing? No, no, don't! Don't! If you walk out of here with that circuit, the TARDIS will try to stop you." Gregor didn't stop. "Look, the clock is ticking. We must find Clara."

Gregor just pulled the bulb from the tree instead of cutting the branch, making all of the others flicker off for a second. There was a high-pitched noise and Gregor turned to the door…or where there had been a door, only they'd vanished. "What the…where's the door gone?"

"Ever seen a spaceship get angry?" Adelaide asked.

Gregor shook his head. "This isn't happening."

"She won't relinquish it," Adelaide said. "That's her basic genetic material."

Gregor threw a device at Tricky. "Torch it." The android hesitated. "I said torch it!"

"Can't you feel it, Gregor? The ship…the ship's in torment, like it's a living thing. You can't hurt it."

He just shoved the bulb into his bag, taking the device back from Tricky and moving to the wall again. But the doors reappeared, making him quite pleased with himself. "What's the matter, TARDIS? Scared to fight me?" he strode out of the room, leaving the Time Lords to look at each other before they followed.

|C-S|

The Time Lords led the group through the TARDIS, glancing back at Gregor every few seconds to ensure he hadn't wandered off again. They stepped through a corridor, entering an intersection…that they recognized.

"It's the same," Tricky muttered. "It's just the same."

"It's diverting us, spinning a maze around us," the Doctor reasoned. "We will never reach Clara in time." Gregor just pushed past them, moving through the right corridor. "Hey! Hey!" But they just walked back into the intersection from the other side.

Tricky shook his head. "It's just the same, again."

"No point in building walls," the Doctor shrugged. "You'll just know how to smash them down. It's found other ways of controlling you." He slung an arm around Adelaide's shoulders. "Smart bunch, Time Lords. No dress sense, dreadful hats, but smart."

Adelaide nodded. "If you want to get out of here you have to let go of that circuit. The TARDIS is creating a labyrinth."

"Bram?" Gregor called into the comm. "Bram, can you hear me? Bram, the ship is alive. Get out of there. Bram, don't touch anything. Bram? You've got to get out of there fast." He froze when they heard Bram scream. Then they heard static. "Channel's dead."

Tricky's eyes widened. "We've got to help him. Gregor, do something. Do something!"

Gregor shook his head. "It's too late, he's gone. Let's just worry about the salvage."

"You care more about that circuit than you do about him!"

The Doctor frowned. "Your concern for your brother is really touching. The android is more cut up about it than you."

"Now, will you two stop bickering and listen," Adelaide said. "Notice everything. There's something else down here."

The men quieted, gasping when they heard a growling sound somewhere around them. "We've got to get out of here! Gregor, give it back. Give it back to her!" Tricky took the bulb from Gregor's bag.

"What are you doing?" He pushed Tricky against the wall. "You're always on the side of the machines."

"Fellas!" the Doctor called. "Multiple lifeforms on board the TARDIS with us." He held up his sonic. "I am getting a massive signal."

Tricky glanced at him. "Where are they?"

"Oh, you're not going to like the answer." The Doctor pulled Adelaide a bit in one direction. "About two steps away. One step…" A strange charred looking conjoined creature emerged from the darkness, swiping at them. "Gregor, look out! Careful! Gregor, no!" the man ran down one of the halls. "We have to stay together!"

Adelaide glanced at Tricky, grabbing his arm. "Tricky, you need to run." She forced him to follow them.

A/N: More teamwork from the Time Lords...and another hint at Adelaide's slightly unsavory history ;)