Some chapters can be a real bore to write at times. But I knew I'd have to writethis one in order to set up what's about to happen in the next few chapters. Anyway, here it is. I'll try to do better with the next one.
"We can have your ship refuelled, if you'd like?" the Greeter offered the Doctor, as they walked down the hallway towards the lifts.
The Doctor declined. "Actually I'd rather it not be moved, if it's alright?"
"So, why is the ship called Paradise Five Billion, exactly?" Rose asked the Doctor.
"Well" said the Greeter, thinking the question had been directed at him. "Its maiden voyage was in the year five billion, being the reason for its name. It's called Paradise, because many consider it the ultimate paradise to live in. There are unlimited ways that our guests can enjoy themselves. Not to mention, five beaches and three casinos. And we are completely unbiased, any person from any species from any race from any planet can be granted admission. Assuming their credit rating is..."
"Excuse me" said the Doctor, cutting the Greeter off from his oral presentation. "I believe she was asking me."
The Greeter bowed his head in apology "So sorry, sir."
The Doctor turned to Rose to explain, but instead just pointed at the Greeter "What he said."
They eventually arrived at the lifts that took them up to the upper levels where the guest suites were located. And after a long uneventful stroll down the main hallway, they finally arrived at one of the rooms that the Greeter told them was theirs.
"If you don't like it we can always arrange to."
"No" the Doctor said. "This'll be just fine."
"Very well, sir. Call if you need anything." The Greeter quietly dismissed himself and left them.
"Oh my god, it's bigger than the Tardis" said Mickey, as they entered the suite.
"Oh be fair" said the Doctor, taking offence. "You haven't seen all of the Tardis yet."
He threw his coat onto the couch and sat down putting his feet up on the table, trying to relax. "So, what do you two wanna do first?"
"We could go check out that beach he was talking about." suggested Rose. "I haven't had a swim in ages."
Mickey however did not hear the question and was busy looking out the window, distracted by the stars "Can't believe I get a space ship my first go."
"I think there's a wardrobe in that room, if you wanna change" the Doctor told Rose.
"So this is sector five?" said Mickey, still staring out into space.
"Yep" said the Doctor.
Mickey, no longer distracted by the outside, came over and sat down opposite the Doctor. "What was that thing you and that Greeter bloke were talking about? Ya know, about sector five?"
"Oh nothing" The Doctor said, scratching his head, wondering if he should divulge what he knew about sector five to Mickey. "Just that sector five has a reputation for being one of the most dangerous sectors in the universe. Ships have been known to go…missing, or are sometimes attacked."
"Attacked" said Mickey sounding worried "Attacked by what?"
The Doctor then attempted to change the subject, by looking at his wrist, pretending as if there was a watch on it. "Blimey is that the time"
"You don't have a watch." Rose interrupted.
"So" said the Doctor "you don't need a watch to be able tell the time. All ya need is an info screen."
Mickey once again continued to display his lack of understanding for words the Doctor used. "An info what?"
His answer came when a small transparent screen appeared over the table in front of them. "Works the same as a computer" the Doctor explained "Tells you pretty much anything you need to know about anything. Normally guests are restricted from accessing certain files."
"But maybe," he began to say, while taking out the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and using it on the screen "with a little jiggery pokery."
The screen flashed and the Doctor smiled. "Oh I'm good. We have unlimited access now."
He then proceeded to ask the screen for the current time and date. The screen obeyed, and the date was instantly displayed.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, that can't be right." He stared at the screen, completely puzzled by what he saw. "This can't be right. It's the wrong year, and the wrong time."
Rose and Mickey both looked at him, concerned by his sudden change in mood.
"I must have miscalculated. We're supposed to be here after eighteen months from now." He shook his head trying to shake the thought away. "What am I saying? I couldn't have miscalculated."
He sat back down, and rubbed his hands against his face in frustration "I put in the right coordinates; it was suppose to be the right time. And we just happened to end up on this ship while it's travelling through sector five, the most dangerous sector in the universe."
"Could just be a coincidence" said Mickey.
"Yeah maybe" said the Doctor standing back up. "Or maybe" he sat back down again
"Or maybe what," Rose asked. "What's wrong, Doctor?"
"I think something's seriously wrong with the Tardis." The Doctor replied.
"What could be wrong with it?" said Mickey "it got us here okay didn't it?"
The Doctor stood back up, trying to think. "Some one could be manipulating the Tardis, from the inside, could be deliberately setting us off course." He sat back down.
"Is that even possible?" said Rose.
The Doctor took his hands away from his head. "If there's one thing I've learned from being a time lord, it's that anything's possible. And that he's not to be underestimated."
"Who, Doctor?"
But the Doctor didn't answer. He seemed to be deep in thought. Rose sat down next to him. "What are you thinking, Doctor?"
He turned to face her "I'm thinking….." his mood suddenly changed, his bright happy smile returning to his face once again "...that we should just chalk this all up, to perfectly normal paranoia and forget about it."
With the tension in the room suddenly lifted, Rose finally left to go and change in the bedroom. Mickey looked at the info screen asking it to bring up the easiest route to the beach from the suite. And the Doctor got up from the couch, retrieved his coat, threw it back on "I'm just gonna go talk to somebody for a second" and left.
Rose re-emerged from the bedroom, holding a blue towel over her shoulder and wearing a pink bikini.
"Where'd he go?" she asked Mickey.
"Oh he just popped out." Mickey replied, suddenly staring at Rose.
Rose seemed disappointed "Are you coming then?" she asked.
"Yeah, okay" said Mickey. "Just gimme a minute to change."
He turned back one last time and looked down at Rose's feet "Did you paint your toenails?"
……………………………………………………………………
The Doctor left the suite in a hurry, not making any attempt to slow down. He'd been confronted with strange coincidences like this before, but he wasn't about to take this one for granted like he had all the others.
Before leaving the suite he had made a mental list of things that had to be done, as soon as possible. The first was to find some way to help speed the ship up. The second was to get out of sector five. The third would be to check his reflection to see that his hair still looked good. Okay, the last one on the list could probably wait. But the first two couldn't.
There was something wrong, and he had to find out what it was. He wasn't about to let the matter go. He had to talk to somebody. He wouldn't feel at ease until he Rose and Mickey and the entire ship were out of this sector and out of danger.
And the sooner, the better.