The Blonde Girl

By Lumendea

Chapter Twenty-Five: Eve: The Ship of Eve

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures because if I did this would probably be canon.

…

Rose and her friends calmly and carefully followed the rocky shoreline towards the point marked on the map from the coordinates that the ship had provided. The smooth pebbles that made up the shore were not easy to walk on as they shifted with each step and the larger rocks they had to climb around were wet and slippery. It was unlike anything Rose had done before and was far more difficult than movies made it look. She was just grateful that Harry had insisted they all get solid boots before coming out here.

Despite none of them being experienced, the three girls worked together in navigating over the rocks and kept a close eye on each other. When Shareen started to slip Rose was able to support her arm while Sharon freed her foot. It was only two hours later, even if it felt like much longer when they finally reached the marked area. The terrain shifted slightly with more soil and sand with a longer shore away from the cliffs.

"Didn't Harry say he found Eve on an evening stroll," Sharon panted as she leaned against a rock and looked out into the ocean. "This is not an evening stroll!"

"Eve was ejected from the ship and wandering towards the village," Rose replied. She shielded her eyes and looked around for any sign of the ship. There was nothing that she could see. "He never actually found the ship, just marked the coordinates on the map. I'm grateful the ship is this close to the town, and no one has found it." Rose pulled out her compact mirror and opened it as her friends set down their bags and drank some water.

A moment later, the red face appeared in the mirror. "My sensors are detecting three human life forms very close to me," the ship informed Rose. "All three of you are here?"

"Yes," Rose said. Sharon passed her over a bottle of water and gave her a pointed look. "It's us; drop the perception field if you don't detect anyone else."

"No other humans detected for one mile, the perception filter will be lowered until you are within the ship," the ship informed Rose before the mirror returned to normal.

Rolling her eyes, Rose gulped some water and ate a few bites of an energy bar before they all hoisted their packs back on and kept moving. Rose kept the mirror open and in her left hand for quick communications since they were close. They hadn't gone much further when the sandy area in front of them shimmered, and they all jumped back as it seemingly turned into metal before them. The ground vibrated, and Rose was aware of the fact that the ship was rising to the surface and not just dropping an image. Everything stopped for a moment, and a large metal surface that curved slightly and was covered with strange marking was in front of them.

"Opening top hatch," the computer informed Rose. "Please enter quickly."

A large round section rose and then slid back to reveal a twisting staircase down deeper into the ship. The same strange red glow was visible to the three girls. It made the metal shine, and below them, the sand took on a red hue. Rose couldn't help but grin in excitement.

Turning to her friends, Rose said, "Last chance to turn back."

"Not happening," Shareen said. She pushed some hair out of her face and laughed. "That's a spaceship. I'm going into a real spaceship."

"I'm with her," Sharon agreed. "I can't imagine living my life knowing I passed up this chance."

"Okay then." Rose grabbed her daypack and put the mirror into one of the smaller pockets. "Down we go."

Rose led the way down the narrow staircase. It sloped elegantly into a large room bathed in red light. She moved slowly as her eyes adjusted to the darker room and stepped into the large room with a curved ceiling. In the centre of the room was a white structure that twisted around and reminded Rose of both a piece of art she had seen at a museum and DNA. Moving around the structure, Rose smiled as a large screen switched on in front of her, and the red face of the ship's artificial intelligence appeared.

"Welcome Rose Tyler," the computer greeted.

"Hello ship," Rose said.

She looked around eagerly, not sure what she was expecting. The furnishings were simple, a large chair straight out of Star Trek was in front of the screen with a large console of controls in front of it. On one side of the room was a horizontal surface that Rose figured was a bed of some sort. Panels of controls lined the walls, different buttons and indicators flashing. Rose turned as Sharon and Shareen walked up next to her, both speechless.

"Wow," Sharon breathed.

"Yeah," Rose observed with a barely contained grin. "Very cool."

"We're in a spaceship," Shareen whispered. She clapped her hands together and turned slowly in awe. "A real spaceship."

Smiling, Rose took in the strange moment with a sense of glee, noticing that the ship's computer was calmly waiting for them. After a moment she stepped forward and leaned against the main chair that she had mentally dubbed the captain's chair.

"So where do you want me to start?" Rose questioned, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I will bring up the systematics of the damaged systems for you to study. The ship's operational guide and recent diagnostics will be made available to you for study," the ship said. "Please take a seat."

Rose sat in the captain's chair, and a large touchscreen control centre rose from the floor in front of her. A moment later a holographic 3-D image of the ship appeared in front of her. Carefully Rose reached out and touched a small section of it, causing the image to zoom in on the section.

"Wow." Sharon giggled nervously and shook her head. "Apparently that is my word of the day."

Turning, Rose grinned at her friend over her shoulder just before two chairs emerged from the floor for them. Sharon and Shareen glanced at each other before setting down their bags and sitting down.

"Uh Rose," Shareen said. "Let us know if there is anything we can do okay."

"I will," Rose promised as she pulled out her sketchbook and notebook to start drawing the system designs and taking notes. "Let me know when we have to start heading back."

Shareen spun in her chair to look at Sharon. "Why did we come with her again instead of staying with Eve?"

"One: Eve needs to rest and two we didn't want 'Miss I attract trouble' to be crawling around a spaceship by herself," Sharon informed her.

"Right, thank for clarifying," Shareen replied with a teasing smirk. "I don't suppose you packed a book?"

"We're in a spaceship, and you want to read?" Rose asked without looking away from her work. "That is so sad."

She ignored the answer and the rest of her friends' conversation as she pulled up the diagnostic reports and started trying to make sense of the new strange information she had been handed. Parts of it were almost familiar. The ship was logical in its design once she started to recognise some of the basics. There were various systems with backups which were made up of hardware and software just like the computers she was used to. As each piece started making sense Rose grew more and more excited.

Sharon and Shareen demanded Rose's attention in the early evening and reminded her that it was two hours back to the village. With a sigh, Rose gathered up her notes and stuffed them into her bag. The three girls quickly said goodbye to the ship computer with a firm promise from Rose to come in the morning. Rose was quiet through most of the hike back to the village while Sharon and Shareen talked quietly, careful to not disturb her. It wasn't until they were back in the cottage and Sharon had returned with their dinners to heat up that anyone approached the subject. Rose had taken over one end of the dining table with her notes and drawings spread out around her.

"Can you do it?" Sharon asked as she handed Rose her food. "Fix Eve's ship."

"I think so," Rose replied thoughtfully. "Only a few things are actually damaged, and mostly minor repairs are needed there, the power loss is the biggest issue. The only reason the ship actually needs me is that it cannot complete the last of the repairs on its own." Rose tapped one of her drawing of the ship's systems which looked like a mess of circuits and lines to her friends. "The biggest possible problem is that the final repair to the energy relay is going to require turning the whole ship off since I can't get close to this section of the inner workings without being fried with it on. I need to speak with the ship in the morning about how safe that option is and what the limits are."

"Okay," Shareen said. Then she reached over and gathered up all the sheets and notes, ignoring Rose's protests. "But now you are going to eat something, relax for at least an hour and then get a good night's sleep. We'll set the alarms early so we can head out when it gets light."

Rose huffed but nodded as Shareen placed the papers back into Rose's bag. "Fine," she conceded.

They had just finished dinner when Harry called the cottage and put Eve on speakerphone. Rose, Sharon, and Shareen described the ship to her in detail and tried to sound as positive as possible. When Eve asked how soon things would be ready, Rose admitted that it would still take her a few more days to figure out the rest of the repairs that were needed and determine the best course to complete them. Eve sounded happy and calm which made Rose feel better until Harry quickly took the phone away and informed them that Eve had started shaking. The line went dead and Rose curled up on the sofa without another word to Sharon or Shareen except to thank Sharon for the tea she brought her a few minutes later.

It was almost an hour later when there was a knock on the door. Sharon quickly answered it with a huge smile at the young and rather fit delivery boy. He smiled in return as Sharon signed for the letter and started flirting. Shareen rolled her eyes and walked over to grab the letter from Sharon's hand. Glancing at the envelope, Shareen smiled and handed it to Rose who turned it over and smiled as well seeing the envelope was addressed to her from Eve. She tore it open and slumped again this time with a smile.

Hello Rose,

Ship was able to establish contact with me briefly and helped my latest seizure pass without injury. Her energy is still weak, but just being close to the ship is helping and she has begun communicating the methods for better controlling my abilities to me. It is strange after so long to have such a strong link to my own species. I was also informed that you made strong progress in learning the ship's systems. Thank you for helping me like this. I knew in you that I would have a friend, but I didn't know just how amazing friend I would find. I love you very much, the best friend that I will ever have.

Eve

Sighing softly, Rose looked up to see Sharon and Shareen smiling at her. She glanced back to the front door and grinned at Sharon. "I see the poor boy escaped."

"Oh I have his number," Sharon answered with a wide smile. "We're going to be here for a while."

"Maybe," Rose replied with a chuckle. "Maybe not. I'm thinking two weeks and then Eve goes back to the stars." She stood up and folded up the letter and put into her bag which she swung up onto her shoulder. "I'm turning in and fair warning I'll be knocking on your door nice and early. A lot to do and we're the only ones who can do it, exciting isn't it."