Here is the last of my doctor who fanfics that I've got at least a chapter for. I have two Sherlock ones left (one novel based, one BBC Sherlock x Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One based) that I'll be posting later, but all other content I have is incomplete and will remain on my computer or in the discord until I finish it enough to post. Hope you enjoy!
Small warning for discrimination (alien but still) and suicidal thoughts.
Reese sighed heavily, leaning forward on the window sill as smoke drifted idly from the cigarette hanging from her maw. She wrinkled her nose a little at the scent but ignored the light burn in favor of the relaxation it brought with it. Slowly pulling it from between her sharp teeth, she tapped it lightly to drop some ash to the ground and laid her head on her forearms as a breeze ruffled her fur. Another day in this hell hole, she mentally complained, molten gold eyes glancing lazily at the skyscrapers in the background surrounded by honking hover cars. She took another drag from the cigarette, only to wince when something hard bounced off her brow.
"Get lost!" Someone shouted from down below and her lips pulled up in a snarl as she flicked her cigarette to the dirt below her apartment window.
"Love to," she growled, slamming her window shut and stepping back into the dump of an apartment she was living in—ignoring the rotten egg that hit the glass behind her.
There was no bed to sleep on, just a pile of thick blankets on the ground, but she ignored it and moved to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. Snout dripping, and eyes closed, she took a deep breath and let it out before looking into the mirror. The head of a wolf stared back at her—grey and white fur mashing together with the slightest hint of red creeping in around the edges. She scowled, showing off sharp white canines, and hastily turned away before she could break it like the last one. I don't have time to be angry. I've dealt with it this long, what's another day? The tension in her body relaxed and she stripped as she stepped into the main room and opened the closet. She pulled out the jeans and shirt she needed for work and slid them on over the pale skin of her human-like limbs. Once she grabbed her army green jacket and pulled that on, she made for the door and paused, hand on the knob.
"I can do this," she muttered, steeling herself for whatever she would encounter outside. "Even if I'm only half Aluzian; I'm still Aluzian. I have every right to be here just as they do."
She scratched the back of her head before putting on the final piece she needed for work from a small hook next to the door. The necklace hung around her neck and almost immediately, the wolf head shifted into the head of a young human-like woman. Hate that I have to do this, she mused, running a hand through her messy short brown hair and already missing the feeling of her soft fur. But it's the only way to avoid getting my uniform wrecked before even showing up to work. She stepped out of her apartment and locked the door behind her, beginning her walk to the large garage where she picked up jobs. She stepped in, ignoring the glares of those around her who knew who she was even with the perception filter necklace she wore and moved to her assigned ship.
"Don't know why you still bother showing up," a nasty blonde-haired man spat as he stepped up next to her. "You should just go off yourself like the rest of your kind."
"God morning to you too, Charlie," Reese muttered, keeping a tight hold of her temper. "Where am I going this time?"
He clicked his tongue, pulling out a small device and skimming the hologram list it brought up. "Some planet called, 'Earth.' They want discreteness, which is why you got picked. Small spacecraft, teleport down with the goods they need, get paid, and go. Coordinates are already input in your ship. Teleport location is set. You've got a time limit of 36 hours to get there. Don't bother coming back."
Reese shot him a dry look. "Yet, I still show up."
He snapped the device shut and tucked it into a pocket. "Don't know why the hell you do. People here want you dead anyway."
"Because leaving is expensive," she growled. "You know that as well as I do. Nobody gets paid well on this damn planet, especially me."
"Don't care. We'd be better off without your damn mutt-face around here," Charlie snapped, storming off. "Dock three is open for you."
"Thanks for the uplifting comments," Reese bit out under her breath, taking a moment to take a deep breath and relax the tenseness in her body. I know I don't belong here. I'd love to get off this damn planet too, you know. Why do you think I became a shipper? It's the only way to go somewhere where people don't throw shit at me just for looking the way I do. First chance I get you'll never have to see me again, asshole. She huffed, heading to her ship and making sure she had everything she would need as far as supplies went. 36 hours with at least the same amount back. Rations, health kit, and a final checkup on my systems. She checked the outside of her ship, then climbed up the side into the cockpit to run a system's diagnostic.
The ship wasn't very large, perhaps the size of a small house. It was the smallest ship in the hangar which explained why she got the jobs she did. The outer hull was dented in places, chipping the dulled yellow paint to reveal the metal beneath. Reese didn't mind though. The ship had gotten her out of a lot of tough places and it was the one piece of equipment she trusted most. More reliable than anyone else here, she mused as the system's diagnostic finished up and it was time for her to move the ship to the dock. She climbed out of the cockpit and slipped underneath the ship to remove the stoppers behind the wheels. Just as she pulled out one though, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned, prepared to scowl at Charlie for bugging her pre-flight check, only for something hard to slam into the side of her head.
She fell back, grimacing and trying to blink the black spots from her vision as she twisted on the ground to try and see who it was. She wasn't surprised to see some of her coworkers smirking as one kicked her hard in the stomach. Dammit. I've got a flight! Can't you all just leave me alone! She grit her teeth with a glare, only to feel someone climb on her back to hold her down, wrapping something around her wrists.
"W-What the hell are you—"
A gag went in her mouth and she spat curses until someone hit her upside the head again, sending the darkness creeping further in.
"Have a nice flight, disgusting half-breed," was the last thing she heard before everything went dark.
Reese groaned, blinking her eyes open and cringing as the blaring alarm that made her already aching head pound. Her head lolled to the side and she forced her eyes to open fully and figure out what was going on. Immediately, the mauve lights startled her, and she jerked to try and reach the ship's controls only to be pulled short. She cursed loudly, struggling in the rope restraints that had her trapped in the seat of the cockpit. Damn, damn, damn! Jaw tight, she fought and pulled, straining her body to try and get out as smoke began to fill the interior of the ship. Finally, she felt something give and let out a cry of pain as her right wrist popped out of place, giving her room to pull her hands free and remove the gag in her mouth. Choking on the smoke, she jabbed at the button she needed to turn on the extractor fans and clear the air. Smoke filtered out and through her coughs, she shouted at the computer.
"C-Computer! D-Diagnostic!"
"Engine one failure. Imminent crash into nearby moon. Time frame is less than three minutes."
"Shit, shit, shit!" Reese cursed, jabbing at the controls as quickly as she could with one hand and prepping what she would need.
"Escape pod, ready."
She grabbed the emergency pack under the console, scooping up a few extra rations and a laser knife before climbing into the escape pod and buckling in.
"Computer, release escape pod."
"Escape pod departing."
Reese grunted in pain as the escape pod jerked, bouncing her already painful head off the back of the hard seat.
"Directional thrusters offline."
"Oh, come on! They screwed with everything didn't they?" She bit out. "Computer, increase shielding! Redirect power from thrusters!"
"Redirecting power. Shields increased to 100%. Brace for impact in five, four, three, two, one—"
The escape pod slammed into the ground, shutting down everything in the escape pod and Reese blacked out for another moment, quickly regaining consciousness as the computer's distorted voice spoke up.
"D-D-Damage sustained. Escape pod is nonfunctional. S-Ship location is t-t-twenty meters away."
"C-Computer, give main ship status."
"S-Ship is nonfunctional. O-Over 84% damaged. Lifelines offline. Engine failure. Multiple—"
"Enough!" Reese snapped, unbuckling herself and sinking into the chair with a groan. "Enough… Dammit."
"Alert! Oxygen going offline in one minute."
"Perfect," she grumbled, reaching for her emergency pack and pulling out a mask to strap over her nose and mouth—a small oxygen container strapping to the belt around her waist.
Once it was on, she decided to not bother waiting around any longer, and—once her wrist was splinted—she stepped out onto the moon's surface. She looked around the grey landscape with a frown, eyeing the blue, white, and green planet in the dark sky. I don't recognize that planet and the moon is barren, which is rare nowadays. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a radio-like device, eyeing the readings it was giving. These coordinates… they're just off from the ones on the ship. The ones for planet Earth. Is this its moon? She tucked it away and instead moved toward her smoking ship in the distance.
"Oh, no… My ship!" She complained, seeing now just how bad of shape it was in.
The whole back half of the ship was gone, and the remaining front half was half-buried in moon dust and boulders from the crash. From what she could see, the ship was totaled and there was no way she could repair it or even get near it. And I can't leave it in this case. This says Earth isn't technologically advanced. They've only traveled to the moon and if they find this here, that would cause a lot of problems that I don't want to deal with. Reese put the comm away and felt her heart sink as she looked around the barren landscape. If I can even get back.
She tapped her oxygen tank, getting a small holographic number to pop up, and grimaced. 25% They drained this too. I'm lucky it has anything in it. She swallowed thickly and began to head toward her ship. That gives me maybe three hours before I'm out. This body can handle another 10 minutes in this minuscule atmosphere if I don't off myself first. It'll be quicker. She sighed and climbed up through the back of her ship, moving around the scattered material and broken metal beams to get to the cockpit. She tapped a few controls and gave a small pat to the console as the screen lit up with "self-destruct initiated" scrawled on it.
"You've done me good," she murmured as a final goodbye to her ship before heading out. She had set it for long enough to get out and a safe distance away—turning back as it went off. The ship dissolved into atoms in the atmosphere with little more than a small rumble in the distance. Reese sighed again and made to begin a trek around the moon in search of anything that might help keep her alive.
Two hours passed with nothing but grey rocks and dirt, and already her oxygen level was running out, leaving her slightly out of breath. Not good. She let out a bitter chuckle. Damn, they finally did it. They're finally getting rid of me. She hopped up onto a small boulder and fingered her perception field necklace. I should take it off. Die the way I want. Just as she went to jerk the chain off from around her neck though, something dripped onto her hand. She paused, blinking at the water as it rolled off her wrist, only for more rain to fall and a rumble to break the silence of space. She bolted up onto her feet, looking up to see clouds appearing overhead out of nowhere and her mouth dropped open in shock when a large skyscraper phased into existence not two hundred yards from her position.
"You're kidding…" she breathed out, making a run for it as her oxygen tank blared a warning that it was empty.
She pulled off the mask, fighting to keep from holding her breath as she slowly let out the last bit of oxygen as she ran. She rushed for the front doors to the building, before suddenly realizing something. I'm an alien dashing for their vulnerable front doors. I need another approach, or I could end up dead. She dashed around the side, feeling her lungs ache for oxygen, and took a leap towards one of the balconies. The zero-gravity allowed for her to throw herself further—once she turned off her gravity boots—and she barely felt the forcefield before she began to fall. Grimacing, she grabbed onto the edge of the balcony nearest her and cursed at the strain of her shoulder as her weight pulled her down. Hanging with her only good hand, she fought to pull herself up one-handed, only for her eyes to widen as a set of hands wrapped around her arm.
"Hold on. We got ya!"
A slim man in a pinstriped suit and a dark-skinned woman hefted her up over the lip of the balcony, where she rolled onto her back and caught her breath.
"Are you mad?" The woman scolded her. "We're on the third floor!"
Reese ignored her for now, still trying to get used to the air flowing back into her starved lungs to clear the fog in her head.
"Are you all right?" The man questioned, and she peered her eyes open with a small grumble.
"Been better…" she muttered. "Also, been worse."
His brows furrowed, and he went to say something more, but the woman threw herself forward, startling Reese.
"You're hurt!"
Reese—not knowing what to expect—jerked away from her in surprise. The woman slowed, eyeing her cautiously.
"I just want to look. I'm a doctor. Or, well, going to be. I can help."
Reese was hesitant but slowly allowed her to look over her splinted wrist as she spoke.
"So, what were you doing hanging off the balcony?" She paused when Reese hadn't responded. "Sorry. Introductions. I'm Martha. Martha Jones and this is—"
"The Doctor," the man introduced with a smile. "Though, she's right. Bit odd, you hanging off the balcony like that. You didn't cause this, did you?"
"What?" Martha questioned in surprise. "But she's—"
"Alien," he concluded immediately, making Reese stiffen as he gestured to the oxygen tank and mask hanging off her belt. "Oxygen supply tank, comm unit with holographic readings, perception filter as a necklace hiding what she really looks like. Need I go on?"
"I didn't do this," Reese grumbled. "I just crashed on this moon, was running low on oxygen, and then this showed up. I recognized an H20 scoop, knew there'd be air, and made a run for it."
The Doctor frowned. "And how can we trust you? I don't see your ship."
"It was wrecked, so I blew it up."
"Seriously?" Martha gaped. "What for?"
"Irreparable. And I'm a shipper. Information I received said the planet Earth was technologically inferior, so I couldn't leave technology lying in a crater," Reese muttered. "Unlike the rest of my coworkers, I feel some responsibility if our technology was taken at some point and used for primitive means."
Martha scowled. "Primitive? Inferior?"
The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder, eyeing Reese. "What's your name? Species?"
"Reese Sheppard," she murmured, making to stand. "Aluzian."
"Ah, Aluzians!" He grinned, making Reese eye him as he looked at Martha cheerfully. "They're relatively human-like. Same anatomy, just small horns poking out the top of their head." He paused then, eyeing Reese. "You could have just worn a hat. Why the perception filter?"
"What's it to you?" Reese snapped, not wanting to deal with people who would do what the rest of the Aluzians did.
"Just curious."
"Hold on," Martha paused. "Shipper?"
"Sort of outer space delivery boys," the Doctor answered. "What were you delivering to Earth?"
Reese said nothing, and the Doctor cracked a smile.
"Oh, come on. It's not like you could deliver it now. What's the harm?"
Reese went to inform him of the multitude of regulations and such that she could get in trouble for by revealing private information, only for the loud rumble of spaceships to draw their attention away. Oh, no.
"I know those ships," Reese breathed out as they landed, and the armed rhino-like creatures stepped out.
"That's aliens. Real proper aliens," Martha said in shock, apparently not counting Reese nor the Doctor.
"Judoon," the Doctor murmured. "Come on. Let's go check it out."
Reese shot him a look, trailing after him in concern. "Check it out? Are you insane? Do you even know what they're like?"
"Well, I've had a bit of dealing with them, yes. Not entirely pleasant, but we best find out what was so important for them to bring this hospital to the moon, shouldn't we?"
"I'm just a shipper," Reese argued. "I didn't want any trouble."
"There's only going to be trouble if you've brought some with you," he countered. "Or if you're who they're after."
Reese stopped walking, allowing Martha to move past her and join the Doctor as they crouched behind a glass barrier to watch the Judoon in the lobby below. They shouldn't be after me. Stupid git Charlie sent me on this job. I-I don't know the regulations of Earth. Was what I was transporting illegal? Are they here because of me? I-I didn't think I was transporting anything above grade for this level planet. Shit. I should have done more research about this. Those assholes who sent me here might have sent me with illegal goods in case I survived, so I'd get thrown in prison instead. She ran a hand through her hair, resisting a growl. Dammit, I'm going to have to just stay off the Judoon radar. She glanced at the Doctor's back. And since he's obviously alien too, maybe he could get me out of here and back… home…
She paused her thoughts, realizing that she didn't really want to go back. She'd dealt with so much harassment back on Aluzia for being what she was. Why should she go back? She battled with her feelings for a moment, before the Doctor took off again and she begrudgingly followed. He's my best shot for now. Even if it means I just go to another planet on his ship. I'll just stick around, get in his good graces and hopefully make it out of this mess fine.
They ended up in a computer lab and the Doctor began to hack away as he sent Martha to go keep track of the Judoon. Reese chose to just stay in the doorway and deter any patients, doctors, security, or nurses that decided to interfere. The Doctor though wasn't giving in that easily.
"So, still going to convince me they're not after you?" he asked, giving her a brief glance over his shoulder. "Seems a bit odd that they show up the same time you happen to crash on the moon delivering to Earth."
"I honestly don't know," she grumbled, a low guttural sound that the Doctor thought might not belong to an Aluzian, despite what she'd said. "My… coworkers sabotaged my ship to crash," she admitted, surprising him. "For all I know, they were making me transport illegal goods too as an extra measure that I wouldn't come back."
He frowned. "Well, they're not very decent coworkers, are they?"
She scoffed. "Nobody on that damn planet is decent."
Wonder what she means… The Doctor mused, eyeing her once more and taking note of the injuries she was sporting. Broken wrist, rope burns; she's got dried blood on her right temple and could be dealing with the aftereffects of a concussion. She's favoring her abdomen too and is managing her breathing rather well. So, she's been beaten. Severely. By her coworkers? And she understands the oxygen levels in this forcefield are going to run out and is compensating. Last I checked though, Aluzians have a similar lung capacity as humans, and those shallow breaths would only wear them out faster. Yet, she doesn't appear to be having any trouble.
"Why the perception filter?"
She paused, just as she had the first time he'd pointed out the simple square chip swinging on a chain around her neck. "I was delivering to Earth. Have to blend in."
Lying. "Hat."
She pursed her lips, but her green eyes shifted to something down the hall. "Martha's back."
Sure enough, Martha hurried back into the room, slightly out of breath from her running about.
"They've reached the third floor." She blinked at the device the Doctor was using. "What's that thing?"
"Sonic screwdriver," he replied.
"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly…"
"No, really, it is," he pouted. "It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look."
"What else have you got, a laser spanner?"
"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman."
Reese shot him a strange look, but it wouldn't be the first. Martha though, whipped to her.
"What about you? Have you got a sonic screwdriver?"
"No." Reese pulled out a blade, the edge lined with glowing orange. "Sonic knife."
Martha sighed as Reese put it back in the sheath tucked in her boot. "Right, course. Makes more sense than a sonic screwdriver though."
A little annoyed they were picking fights with his tools, he shouted and slammed a hand on the computer in his frustration.
"Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon. Because I was just traveling past. I swear I was just wandering. I wasn't looking for trouble. Honestly, I wasn't, but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so I checked in. I thought something was going on inside. It turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above."
"But what were they looking for?" Martha asked.
"Something that looks human but isn't."
"Like you two, apparently."
The Doctor glanced at Reese, who avoided his gaze. "Like us, but not me."
"Haven't they got a photo?"
"Well, might be a shape-changer or have a device allowing one to change their face."
"I told you, it's not me," Reese complained. "It's impossible for them to have found me so quickly, and I was here before the hospital. Why take it if they wanted me?"
Good point. She's clever.
"Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?" Martha complained.
"If they declare the hospital guilty of harboring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution," the Doctor stated seriously.
"All of us?"
"They don't discriminate," Reese murmured, voice cold. "And they don't typically hold trials either. A quick, 'did you do this?' and if they think you're lying, you're dead. You're only saving grace is if you have information they could use, then you get taken back with them and interrogated. Typically, to death, unless they find the real culprit while you're tied up."
"W-Wha—"
Quickly, the Doctor distracted her from Reese's words. "Oh! You see, they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever."
It did the trick, though he was suspicious of why Reese had such extensive knowledge of the Judoon. She's dealt with them before too. As a shipper, it's not unexpected, but that extensive? No, there's something more going on with Reese Sheppard, and if she's connected to this mess, we're going to have a problem.
"What are we looking for?" Martha asked.
"I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back-up."
"Just keep working. I'll go ask Mister Stoker. He might know." She rushed off again and Reese kept her gaze pointedly away from the Doctor, informing him that he wasn't going to get anymore answers out of her.
She knew how bad this looked and was tired of everyone automatically assuming it was her who did something wrong. I can't catch a break. Even on another planet.
Martha skidded to a stop when she returned, nearly toppling into the Doctor as he steadied her.
"I've restored the backup," he chirped.
"I found her."
Reese frowned. "What?"
A man in a motorcycle helmet broke down the door behind Martha and the Doctor quickly grabbed her hand.
"Run!"
The trio bolted for it, heading down the stairwell only to hastily change directions upon spotting the Judoon heading up. Taking a chance, the Doctor pulled Martha into radiology and slammed the door shut behind Reese, locking it.
"When I say now, press the button," he ordered them both, gesturing to the x-ray controls.
"But I don't know which one."
"Then find out!" He said shortly, moving to the hanging x-ray in the middle of the room.
Martha looked to Reese, but she took one look at the controls and grimaced.
"How do you all work with such primitive technology?" She grumbled, informing Martha that she'd be of no help in this.
Groaning, Martha turned her attention to the operation manual binder and hastily began flipping through it as Reese fingered the perception necklace, eyeing the rattling door that the motorcycle man was pounding on. The Doctor worked his magic on the x-ray machine, jabbing his sonic into the side of it and turning it towards the door just as the creature broke it off its hinges.
"Now!"
Martha grimaced, having not found the button in the manual, and took a gamble—hitting the biggest one she could find. It worked, and the x-ray machine shot the creature with a massive dose of radiation before it shut down and the creature toppled over; dead.
"What did you do?" Martha questioned as Reese stepped out from behind the protective glass to take a look.
"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent. Killed him dead."
"But isn't that going to kill you?"
Reese let out a small snort, earning the crack of a smile from the Doctor. Oh, innocent human minds. Thinking every little thing is impossible when creatures all over the universe can accomplish things beyond their wildest dreams.
"Nah, it's only roentgen radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out. I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it. If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go. Easy does it. Out, out, out, out, out. Out, out. Ah, ah, ah, ah! It is, it is, it is, it is, it is hot. Hold on." He bounced around on one foot, shaking his leg and earning a look from both Martha and Reese.
Though Reese's was a little more short-lived. She'd seen stranger things on her travels.
The Doctor whipped off his shoe and tossed it into a wastebasket. "Done."
"You're completely mad," Martha murmured.
"You're right. I look daft with one shoe." He tossed the other in too and wiggled his toes. "Barefoot on the moon."
Martha, shaking her head, moved on and turned her attention to the creature on the ground. "So, what is that thing? And where's it from, the planet Zovirax?"
"It's just a Slab. They're called Slabs. Basic slave drones, see?" He squeezed its arm. "Solid leather all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish."
"But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant," Martha went on, though the Doctor was more concerned with his fried sonic screwdriver.
"My sonic screwdriver…"
"She was one of my patients, but—"
Reese moved over to have a look. "Can't you use it for spare parts? Make a new one?"
"She had a straw like some kind of vampire."
The Doctor pouted. "But I liked this one. New one won't be the same, I don't think."
"Doctor!" Martha snapped, seeing that he wasn't paying attention.
"Sorry," he apologized, tossing the device haphazardly over his shoulder and making Reese roll her eyes. "You called me the Doctor."
"Anyway?" Martha pressed. "Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mister Stoker's blood."
"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding. Unless…"
"Assimilating?" Reese offered, and the Doctor snapped his fingers at her.
"Yes, that's it. Shape-changer. Internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it! If she can assimilate Mister Stoker's blood, mimic the biology, she'll register as human. We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"
They started to head out again, but Reese caught the scent of something and grabbed the Doctor and Martha, pulling them around the corner just as another Slab turned and walked down the hall.
"Good call," the Doctor muttered. "How'd you sense him coming?"
"Good nose," she grunted, and he hummed.
"That's the thing about Slabs. They always travel in pairs."
"What about you two?" Martha asked.
"What about us?"
"Haven't you got back-up? You two must have partners or something. Reese, you said coworkers. Didn't you come with anyone?"
Reese suddenly had a dark look on her face. "No one wants to ship with me. I fly on my own and it's better that way."
Martha went to press the issue, but the Doctor sensed something more to Reese's story and cut in before she could get aggravated.
"Oh. Humans. We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, you're asking personal questions? Come on."
"I like that, 'humans,'" Martha smirked. "I'm still not convinced you two are alien."
They rounded the corner just in time for some Judoon that Reese hadn't caught the scent of; both of them getting scanned.
"Non-humans."
"Oh, my God. You really are."
"And again," the Doctor grumbled, turning around as they made another run for it—Judoon firing after them. "How come you didn't sense them, Reese?"
"Air con blowing the other way," she muttered through grit teeth. Beginning to feel her injuries more and more with every minute spent running. "They were downwind."
"Aluzians don't have that sense of smell," he said, testing the waters and Reese immediately went quiet. She's hiding something.
They made it up to an upper floor and paused to catch their breath.
"They've done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky."
Martha knelt down to check on someone as Reese gave the Doctor a side glance.
"If she's assimilated as human, she might have been checked by them already and passed. We'll either have to have her assimilate with one of us or get her scanned again somehow and the Judoon aren't easy to convince, especially if they're looking for aliens."
The Doctor nodded in agreement, checking up on Martha, who was running on enough adrenaline to ignore the lightheaded feeling of oxygen deprivation. Before either of them could question Reese though, she responded.
"I'm fine. I have enough lung capacity to last a minute or two after the oxygen runs out."
Another aspect that Aluzians don't have. The Doctor went to go find Stoker's office with Martha then, but Reese offered to go keep track of the Slab, the Judoon, and search for Miss Finnegan—claiming her sense of smell would be able to pick her out of the crowd of humans. She found the elder woman and Slab first; the latter having given up on hunting them down and sticking around its owner. What is she doing? Planning something to distract the Judoon to take their ships? But what? Reese only watched her for a moment before hurrying back to the Doctor, assuming he'd want to know. If I keep helping him, he should help me. So long as he's more decent than the people on my planet. She caught up with them outside of Stoker's office.
"The Slab and woman are in the MRI room. The Judoon—"
There was a crash and scream nearby and Reese frowned.
"—are over there, apparently."
"Right. Martha, stay here. I need time. You've got to hold them up."
Martha looked at him in shock. "How do I do that?"
"Just forgive me for this. It could save a thousand lives. It means nothing. Honestly, nothing," he pressed, before grabbing her face and suddenly kissing her.
Reese said nothing, keeping her gaze pointedly away from the two until the Doctor released her and nudged Reese.
"Let's go."
They hurried to the MRI room and the Doctor walked right in, eyeing the flashing machine briefly before turning his gaze to Miss Finnegan. Choosing to give away their position, he spoke loudly and frantically, playing the part of a panicked patient.
"Have you seen them? There are these things. These great big space rhino things. I mean, rhinos from space. And we're on the moon! Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon. And I only came in for my wife, look." He said waving vaguely at Reese's injured wrist and pointedly ignoring her annoyed expression aimed his way. "The nurses were lovely. I said to my wife, I said I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon. And did I mention the rhinos?"
"I'm not your wife," Reese spat under her breath before Miss Finnegan sighed.
"Hold them."
The Slab went for them and Reese reacted as expected. Namely, not well. She swung at the Slab with a growl, pulling out her sonic knife and slashing it deeply in the arm. The Slab didn't take things well either and managed to knock the blade away and hit Reese hard in the gut. The moment she doubled over with a gasp for air, it punched her face, grabbed her by the hair, and bashed her skull into the nearby wall.
"Reese!" The Doctor called out as she crumpled to the floor unmoving. I should have either left her guarding outside or informed her of what I was planning. Dammit, I hope she's all right.
The Slab grabbed the Doctor, seeing no more harm coming from Reese and the Doctor took a breath, preparing to bluff his way into figuring out what was going on with Miss Finnegan.
Reese shifted slightly, feeling a few fingers on her neck checking for a pulse before they were gone. Her head was pounding, her body heavy and breathing getting shallower. An alarm was going off in the background and the thundering footsteps of the Judoon retreating were only adding to the headache with Martha's shouting. Reese pushed herself up onto her elbows, unsteady and vision swirling, turning to see Martha collapsing just as the Doctor took in a desperate gasp of air. He started moving towards the sparking MRI machine and Reese struggled to go and help as well, ignoring the blood dripping from her head as the Doctor looked at the controls.
"R-Reese."
She shook her head slowly, not recognizing any of the plugs, buttons, or wires. He needed a moment before he pulled one of the plugs, shutting down the machine, much to their immense relief.
"Do you… need help?" He asked, making to scoop up Martha, but Reese shook her head, regretting it as her vision swirled.
"J-Just need… a second."
She pushed herself up using the wall and the Doctor kept an eye on her as she stumbled out after him towards another room with a view.
"Come on, come on, come on, come on, please. Come on, Judoon, reverse it," he breathed out before rain began to splash against the window. "It's raining, Reese. It's raining on the moon." He turned towards her with a small smile, but it quickly faltered when he saw how heavily she was leaning on the bed, eyes unfocused. "Reese? Reese, stay with me. Can you hear me?"
She made a small nod, but the Doctor didn't trust her to be able to walk properly. I can't leave her here for treatment either. She's obviously more than just Aluzian, and if human doctors discover that, it won't be good. I'll have to take her to the Tardis. I just need to be careful. He went and pulled her arm over his shoulder, not getting much resistance in her dazed state, which was probably best. He spoke quietly to her as he brought her out of the hospital; people beginning to wake up now that the building was back where it should be. Once in front of the Tardis, he used his key to open the door and helped Reese in with a grunt. One look told him she was drifting off again and try as he might, he couldn't get her to keep her eyes open. Shifting to grab her legs and carry her, he brought her to the infirmary and ran a scan.
He undid the split on her wrist, grimacing and hastily setting her hand. From there, he went and grabbed medical salve for the cut on her head, cleaning it and using the salve to seal it. When the scanner went off, he turned to see what the damage was, hoping it wasn't too bad.
"Let's see. Broken wrist is set, bruised ribs, a large bruise on the abdomen, strained shoulder, two head injuries which caused a concussion." He ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell happened to her?" He eyed her, remembering some of the things she'd said before.
"No one wants to ship with me. I fly on my own and it's better that way."
"My… coworkers sabotaged my ship to crash…"
He frowned slightly, looking over her and eyeing the perception filter necklace. Could it be… Aluzians aren't known for their friendliness towards other races. The good sense of smell she has proves she's not full Aluzian, but to need a perception filter to alter her appearance? He reached for the chain and slowly pulled it up over her head. Once it was off, his eyes widened at the wolf head that laid against the pillow with a grimace of pain.
"Oh…" he breathed out, surprised. "Well, I certainly didn't expect that."