Unto the Universe

Chapter Twenty-Two: 42: Countdown Starts

By Lumendea

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material, and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: Thank you for all the lovely reviews on Saving Hitler. That was a draining episode to write so let's do a rewrite, they're much easier! Here is 42 with the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Jack!

….

Rolling her shoulders, Rose yawned softly before starting to hum. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of the Doctor setting the table and smiled. For a man who rejected being domestic, he was very thoughtful. She stirred the simple scrambled eggs with bits of ham that she was cooking and glanced towards the toaster. A moment later, the Doctor's arm curled around her waist, and he pressed his chest against her back.

"Hello," Rose greeted, shifting just enough to smile at him.

The Doctor's smile reached his blue eyes, and Rose's grin widened. He leaned down and kissed her quickly.

"What can I do to help?" he asked.

"Call for Jack. Toast will be up" the toaster pinged, and the toast popped up. "Right now. Everything else is good to go."

"Right."

The Doctor kissed her one more time before releasing her. He stepped out of the kitchen for a few minutes while Rose pulled out the jams and butter for the table. Rose turned back to the eggs and stirred them before fetching a bowl from the cabinet. The kitchen was small and simple, but Rose could always find what she needed and utterly loved it. She'd always known that the TARDIS was alive, but after meeting face to face, Rose knew that the ease she navigated the TARDIS with was intentional on the part of the TARDIS. It was a good sign. If the TARDIS hadn't approved of Rose and the Doctor, Rose didn't want to imagine what horrible fate would befall her.

"I'm bored," Jack announced as he swanned into the kitchen. "Please tell me that we're leaving the TARDIS today."

Rose glanced over from her spot at the stove and rolled her eyes. "You seemed perfectly happy yesterday." She slid the eggs into the bowl with a smooth, practiced motion.

"I was," Jack answered. "Yesterday." He gave Rose a winning smile. "We all needed a couple of rest days, and a Pixar marathon is a great recharge chance, but I'm ready to run."

"We don't always run," the Doctor said from his seat at the table. "Could have a calm day."

Jack snorted and sat down in his chair. "That's not usually our thing, but I supposed it could happen." He grinned when Rose set the eggs on the table. "Thanks for cooking, Rosie."

"No problem, though if you two want to cook more, I will share the kitchen," Rose replied.

"I'm not the best cook, Rose," Jack chuckled. "By my time, cooking is all automated except at the highest caliber restaurants. Having a living person cook your food is a luxury."

"Not sure I like the sound of that." Rose curled her nose at the idea. "Cooking can be relaxing. Not to mention a good survival skill. I would have thought that the Time Agency would teach you that."

"They did, a bit," Jack admitted. "That's where the thin skills I've got came from."

"Well, you have breakfast tomorrow," Rose said. "You do fine with eggs."

"Yes, ma'am." Jack saluted, and Rose reach over to poke his arm.

They finished breakfast in good order, and Rose smiled at the boys took care of the cleanup. Their domestic life was comfortable, and she knew that both had her back whenever they left the TARDIS. A good life, the Doctor, had called it once, and he was very right.

"So, console room?" the Doctor asked, holding out a hand to Rose.

"Console room," she agreed with an answering grin. "So much universe, so little time."

The console room brightened as they stepped inside. Squeezing her hand, the Doctor stepped away from her to begin the preflight checks. He did so less and less frequently now, growing more confident in both his repairs of and the healing of the TARDIS.

"So?" Jack said softly beside her. "When are you two going to start sharing a room?" There was nothing malicious or even teasing in his voice. "Things are okay, right?"

"Things are great," Rose replied. "And… I'm not sure. It's a conversation we should probably have soon, but we both also like space for our projects… so, I'm not sure.'

"That is a boring, rational reason," Jack grumbled. "I have to live vicariously through you, Rose. Work with me."

Rose smirked and whispered. "There are things you will never learn, Jack. Accept it now."

Then the console started beeping, and the screen flashed. The Doctor grabbed the screen and frowned as he studied it. Rose closed it and noted the message flashing on the screen.

"Distress signal?" Rose asked, eying the screen. It flashed between blue and red, showing something that only the Doctor understood.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "Sorry, but it looks like duty calls."

Jack and Rose grabbed the console as the Doctor flipped a switch and adjusted the controls. A slight smile tugged at his lips, and Rose shared a look with Jack. Then the TARDIS heaved, and they were off. The trip was brief, less than a minute before the TARDIS set down.

"Oxygen, normal," Jack read off from the screen. "But the temperature is high. Nothing that makes the reason for the distress clear from the scan."

"Then let's find out the source," the Doctor said with a smile.

Rose and Jack followed the Doctor out of the door of the TARDIS, hitting a wall of heat that made Rose stumble. Jack put a hand on her shoulder and huffed in annoyance at the sudden temperature change.

"I knew it was going to be hot," Jack groaned. "Should have checked the humidity."

"Distress signal transmitted," a computerized voice announced.

"Someone left the thermostat on high," Jack said, fanning himself as he looked around. "Is the cooling system down."

"Automated distress signal transmitted," the computer said again.

"Bit like a sauna," Rose said. The steam rolled across her skin.

"The venting system is working at full blast," the Doctor observed. He eyed the piping around them. "Wherever we are, there's clearly a problem they're trying to fix. That's why it's so humid; the cooling system is at full blast. Engines and computers will burn out at this rate."

The room was long and made narrow by the piping surrounding them. Rose couldn't get a good sense of how large it was thanks to the steam and the strange reflective effect of the red lights against the walls. Everything was bathed in a strange and unsettling glow. The Doctor reached back and caught her hand before leading them towards the far side of the room along a grated floor.

With a flick of the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor opened the bulkhead and led them through. Rose glanced around, noting it was labeled Area 30 before two men and a woman came running towards them. All of them were human. One of the men looked about Rose's age with dark hair, though it might have been sweat making it look that way and a light beard. The woman was a bit older with long loose brown hair that hung past her shoulders and pale, worried eyes. The second man was about the same age as the woman with brown hair and a five o'clock shadow on his face. All of them were wearing sturdy-looking work clothing that was similar but lacked marks of a uniform.

"Oi," the young man shouted. "You two!"

"Get out of there!" the woman snapped.

"Seal that door, now!" the young man shouted.

The older man pushed past them and closed the door, turning the lock to seal it.

The woman, covered in a sheen of sweat, stopped in front of them. "Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?"

The young man had joined the older one and turned to look at them, panting softly. "Are you the police?"

"Why do you think we're police?" the Doctor asked the captain, turning back to them.

"We picked up your distress signal," Jack explained, smiling at the two men. He winked at the younger one, who seemed confused.

"Timing, Jack," Rose whispered.

"If this is a ship, why can't I hear the engines?" the Doctor asked.

"It went dead four minutes ago," the captain replied.

"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering. Captain," the old man said, speaking for the first time.

"Secure closure active," the computer announced. The three crewmembers looked around in confusion.

"What?" the captain snapped, looking at the older man.

"The ship's gone mad," the older man breathed fearfully.

Ahead of them, a woman came rushing through an open bulkhead. The doors snapped closed behind her, and she picked up her speed, jumping through the closest one. The young woman had short dark hair and a pleasantly round face. All seemed to be human or near-human.

"Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked into area twenty-seven.," the woman said. The closest bulkhead slammed shut behind her, the sound ringing about the group. "Who are you?" she asked, finally properly noticing them.

"I'm Rose, he's the Doctor, and that's Jack," Rose introduced. "What is happening here?"

"Impact projection forty-two minutes twenty-seven seconds," the computer announced.

Jack slipped past Rose and the Doctor, heading for the porthole. Rose saw him take a sharp intake of breath.

"We'll get out of this. I promise," the captain said, looking at the Doctor.

"Doctor," Jack called. "It's not good!"

"Forty-two minutes until what?" the Doctor asked the captain.

"Forty-two minutes until we crash into the sun." the captain replied. She nodded towards the porthole. "We're already too close."

"I'll say," Jack agreed, withdrawing from the porthole. "We need to get out."

"How many crew members on board?" the Doctor asked.

"Seven, including us," the captain replied.

"We transport cargo across the galaxy," the older man explained. "Everything's automated. We just keep the ship spaceworthy."

"Call your crew," the Doctor ordered. "We can get you out."

He turned and rushed to the door behind them that led into area 30. Rose followed him only to hear the crew shouting behind them in alarm.

"What's he doing?" the young man asked.

"No, don't!" the captain shouted.

As the door opened, a wall of heat blasted out. The Doctor twisted, pulling Rose behind him as they stumbled back. The young woman appeared beside them, a welder's mask pulled over her face. She slammed the door shut and sealed it as Rose and the Doctor caught their breath.

"But the TARDIS is in there!" Rose shouted.

"In the vent chamber?" the young man asked.

"It's our lifeboat," the Doctor huffed.

"It's lava," the older man scoffed.

"The temperature's going mad in there. Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising," the young woman explained, shaking her head.

"Channelling the air," the young man said, his accent thickening. "The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get."

"The TARDIS is alright, isn't she?" Rose asked.

"She's fine," the Doctor assured her. "But we can't get to her, and we won't be if we can't fix this ship." He turned to the captain. "Where is Engineering. I need to see what I'm dealing with."

"This way," the captain said.

"Impact in forty twenty-six," the computer announced.

They raced down a short corridor, heat radiating off the metal around them. It was even worse than the hottest days at the estate, where the cement and asphalt had reflected the sun's heat straight into the buildings. Pipes and covered wiring surrounded them and a few open access panels. The Doctor led the way down a staircase with railings hot to the touch.

Engineering reminded Rose of the pits in mechanic shops that a car stood over. It lacked the sleek design that most humans from her time would have associated with the future, more junk than Star Trek. But the large machine in the center of it all looked especially like junk with large chunks of the metal pulled off and wiring sticking out.

"That doesn't look good," Jack said, voice ringing with worry and shock.

"Oh, my God," the captain gasped, running forward.

"What the hell happened?" the older man said. He surveyed the damage with wide eyes, and Rose grimaced as she noted the bits and pieces scattered around on the floor.

"Oh, it's wrecked," the young man breathed.

"Very efficiently too," the Doctor said. He walked around the engine. "Someone knew how to break this quickly and beyond easy repair."

"Where's Korwin?" the captain asked. She moved over to what looked like a comm system, complete with buttons and a hand-held transmitter. "Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?"

"No," the older man answered.

"Why would someone wreck the engine on purpose?" Jack asked. "There's no way off the ship; it would be suicide."

"Exactly," the older man agreed. "It's insane."

"You are?" the Doctor asked, eyes moving to the older man. He stepped over to a console system and began to work with it.

"Scannell," he answered briskly. He nodded towards the captain. "She's Captain Kath McDonnell."

McDonnell was paying no attention to them, plugging into the loudspeaker system. "Korwin, Ashton? Where are you? Korwin, can you answer?" When no answer came, she shook her head. "Where the hell is he? He should be up here."

"This is the Torajii system," the Doctor said. Rose joined him at the controls and found that he'd discovered the computer system. "You're a long way from home, Rose. We're half the universe away from Earth." The Doctor frowned. "Hold on; you're still using energy scoops for fusion? That's been outlawed by now."

Rose watched McDonnell and Scannell exchange looks and narrowed her eyes. Something in Scannell's face had an 'I told you so' quality to it. And the young man had asked if they were the police when they arrived, seeming more uneasy about that than concerned with rescue.

"We're due to upgrade next docking," McDonnell answered after a too-long pause. "Scannell, engine report."

And they were changing the subject. Something was off with their fusion scoop system. Clearly, they weren't supposed to have it, but the reaction was just… off. Rose couldn't pinpoint what about the reaction unsettled her, the heat and stressful situation meant that she couldn't rely on normal human tells, but she trusted her gut.

"They're burnt out," Scannell told McDonnell. "The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

"What about auxiliary engines?" the Doctor asked.

"We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship," McDonnell replied.

Scannell scoffed. "Yeah, with twenty-nine password sealed doors between them and us," he growled. "You'll never get there in time."

"Can't you override the doors?" Rose asked. "What's the point of auxiliary controls if you can't get there?"

"Sealed closure means what it says," Scannell answered, ignoring her other question. "They're all dead-lock sealed."

Jack, Rose, and the Doctor all groaned. "Do you have your firearm?" the Doctor asked Jack, looking like he hated even asking.

"No, not in the habit of carrying it," Jack answered. "But it wouldn't make it through that many doors anyway before the charge ran out."

"Not point groaning over what we haven't got," Scannell said, his voice mocking. "We've got no engines, no time, and no chance."

"Defeated before you even start," the Doctor huffed. "Your ancestors would be ashamed." He looked at McDonnell. "Who has the passwords?"

"They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of them," the young man chimed in. "Sorry. Riley Vashti."

"Then you best get moving, Riley," the Doctor said.

"Well, it's a two-person job," Riley answered. "One, a technish for the questions, and the other to carry this." Riley lifted up a large black backpack. "The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?"

"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?" McDonnell replied quickly. But the words bothered Rose. An old and cheap system blocking off a backup system and an upgrade that was overdue.

Riley pulled on the pack, allowing Rose to catch sight of what looked like a portable computer and keyboard. The technology here felt backward even to her time. Where was the compact nature of mobile phones? Or with the resources demands of ships systems, were there no longer resources to produce the sort of personal technology she was used to.

"Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice," Riley huffed.

"I'll go with you," Rose offered. She glanced at Jack and the Doctor. "Won't be able to help with the engines as much as Jack and the Doctor."

"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel," Riley explained as he pulled out part of the device and headed for the door. "That's why it needs two."

"Be careful," the Doctor said firmly, touching Rose's arm.

"You too," Rose replied. She kissed him quickly and then lowered her voice. "Doctor, they reacted strangely about the energy scoop. I don't know much about what it is, but based on the name, I'd try to learn what the last thing they scooped up was."

The Doctor met her gaze and nodded solemnly. Rose almost smiled. It was nice to know that he listened to her observations. But there wasn't time to linger. McDonnell was receiving a call about the med-by, and Riley was gesturing for her follow. Rose glanced at Jack, who nodded to her, silently promising to keep the Doctor safe. Turning, she rushed to join Riley while the Doctor, Jack, and McDonnell dealt with the latest issue.