A/N: Hey there, reviewers! Delphine Pryde, ck16, My Reflection, Robin Moto: Thank you for the feedback. Yep, I'm fast… not sleeping, because I've got an insane Time Lord babbling in my ear, but I'm fast. And I hate shoddy writing. If you're going to write at least do a good job at it. Make it worth reading, or don't bother. I'm glad you think this is worth reading.
Oops -- Shazza's full name is Sharon 'Shazza' Montgomery, so I've fixed that from "Shannon" to "Sharon", but yeah that's her. Look on the Pitch Black Website for a short bio. She's the only child of a trillionaire and got involved with some military rebels and ended up leaving Earth with Zeke. She's supposed to be a minor celeb, like Paris Hilton only tougher. ;-)

Summary: The Doctor, reeling from the effects of the TimeWar as the last surviving Timelord, stumbles into a situation he cannot ignore when the TARDIS lands him inside a ship that is clearly in trouble. He finds himself caught in a web spun of the choices he's made in the past…

500 years in the future, something has prompted humanity to explode out from their home world. Some of those leaving Earth behind view the world as nearly a myth. Others know better. In fleeing Earth-that-Was humanity scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Lets just imagine then that Blue Sun exists on the opposite side of this galactic arm from the rest of civilized space, and that one ship is taking a ghost run through the long route. Port of Departure: Eavesdown Docks, Persephone. Mixed Sino-Anglo culture. Port of Call: Tangiers-5. Darkside. Mixed Islamic-Anglo culture. Crew complement: Four. Passengers: Forty. Living 'Cargo': Two.

So what happens when a passenger by the name of Dr. Simon Tam and his cargo get on the wrong ship? And just how is this related to the TimeWar?

Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick X-over.

Features Doctor 9, Pre-"Rose"; Simon and River Tam, Pre-"Serenity" Firefly episode 1 and the cast of Pitch Black…

Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse

Part Fourteen

Sirocco

The Doctor, clad in his slightly weathered dusty black tee and wrist chains, waves with slight difficulty, to River and Simon as he emerges from the shattered hull behind the broad man who is slowly oozing blood across his shoulders. He wants his jacket back, for one, and knows Simon has it. River sprints over to him and throws her arms around his waist, and he understands that she needs back inside his shields because the emotions around her are running Herculean and scorching. He carefully places a hand on her head, which barely reaches his chin. The attached cable dribbles through her hair and he wants to avoid getting tangled up in the ebony strands.

"Off, get the metal off," she says into his chest. River, for her part, burrows into the cool of him, the peace, and the void. She's missed the storm and how it refreshes her. The faint ache across her scalp builds for a moment as if in protest before disappearing with a little pop like it's been sucked away. Although being with Simon helps, he can't shield her, and there's always the possibility that his needles will come back. She knows that they are useful, that they help, but she doesn't want that right now. There's too much to learn and too much to see to spend this time sleeping.

"Simon, my coat?" The Doctor calls. Simon pauses long enough to fetch it and the healer's bag, then follows his sister's path over to them. He hands the worn leather jacket over to the Doctor.

Riddick waits, feeling a deep desire to protect these three. Not that the Doctor needs protecting he figures, but it's an old demon of his, this need to guard and protect those things that are rare and precious in this impersonal and harsh 'Verse he lives in. Most times he satisfies it by stayin' away from those things that his presence might draw danger toward. This time he doesn't have that option. And he can't ignore the look he's seen in the merc's eyes either. If the Doctor isn't careful Johns will ghost him first chance he gets. Since the ex-ranger needs the alien on some level he's been very careful to not define, he'd better make sure the fellow lives.

"I heard the shot. It seems to be a wasteful way to release you." Simon said as he pulled out a tube of Derma-heal. He's had the time to get into his storage unit and replenish his bag. While he was at it he stuffed a few extra things into the Doctor's coat too. Far more than he thought would fit, even. River uncurled one arm and took the leather jacket by the collar so the Doctor can find what he's looking for in his pockets.

Riddick shrugs at the assessment. That's Johns for you. The dark haired lad motions him down so he can take a better look at the damage. His face morphs into a frown as the larger man complies and he gets his professional eye on the wounds. Simon makes a disgruntled sound in his throat. 'Gotta agree with you there, Doc,' Riddick thinks. He's none too happy about the situation either.

"See you used my coat to store some things, lad," the Doctor comments as it takes him longer than normal to locate the sonic screwdriver. "I'll have to fix your bag for you, so I can get this extra weight out of my pockets."

Simon has turned his attention to picking out the small shards of metal from Riddick's shoulders, now that the larger man has crouched so he can reach. "Sorry, things have been quite uncertain and I don't know when I'll be allowed back into my belongings." He plucks an antiseptic wipe out of the container he's got under an arm and begins to clean the broad planes of the bronze man's form. Once that is done Simon applies the Derma-heal.

The only sounds during the process are the hiss of the spray and the rumpling noise of the Doctor's hand as he shifts through the deceptively 'empty' pocket. "Don't apologize for using your brain, young man. It's the only thing that separates you from the chaff here." The Doctor's hand emerges from a pocket with the silver tube gripped in his fingers. Seconds later the both con and Time Lord have shed the cable as four locks are opened. Then the cable is kicked away by River's boots. She returns to the Doctor's side and curls her fingers in a belt loop of his jeans.

"Thanks again, Doc," Riddick says to Simon. He ignores the removal of his wrist cuffs, as it was the Doctor that got him slapped into them in the first place. The alien doesn't seem to notice or care. But the con watches him, making sure he hasn't offended the man. He catches a slight hint of amusement in the gent's eyes and keeps his face blank as he stands back up.

"I want to look at that knot on your head too. Why don't we step over here and I'll see what I can do."

The ex-ranger goes from blank to glaring through his goggles at the Doctor. Damn liar, 'not that bad…' What does he define as bad then? Oh, there are tons of possibilities there; Riddick's mind can supply them easily. What has the Doctor seen that makes him view a possible concussion as minor? Better to not ask. He turns and nods to Simon. The alien shrugs at him, brushing off the expression as he slips back into his leather jacket somehow managing to not dislodge the girl nor hit her in the process.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The docking pilot had helped steer River back to the crash site. In spite of the fact that the girl had mumbled the entire way back about something 'shielding the fire' she was rather easy to get moving. Then Fry had waited for Paris to stop dry-heaving. The art dealer looked pale and pasty and in this heat that couldn't be good. She'd gotten him into the shade and one of his fans on him. Once the Simon emerged from the hull where he'd settled Jack down she suggested a shot for the man.

Dr. Tam and agreed to medicating Olgivie after scanning the art dealer over. But Fry disliked leaving Jack alone even though the boy would sleep for another hour or two at the very least. Now she found herself inside the nav bay where Jack was settled on a space blanket provided by someone's cargo sitting with the child. The boy was still out cold, his elven face twisted up like even his dreams hurt. Her hand brushed the golden bangs off the sweaty forehead as her mind wandered. It was very lucky that they had a medical doctor on hand, or Paris would have dropped from a heart attack, she figured.

Fry ran her fingers through the sleeping boy's hair. The amber tones of it reminded her of her brother, who had fled their parent's debt and negative records by changing his name and becoming a free-settler on some back-world or another. Last she had heard, two decades ago, he'd gotten married and had 'won' a homestead plot. The letter had been an invite to join him on his farm. She had turned it down, choosing instead to finish her schooling and become a pilot.

She couldn't imagine going from the technological world they'd been raised on, trash planet or no, to some untamed, prefab, ball of dirt to raise crops or cows. Not her cup of tea. And she would have never imagined that her mechanically brilliant brother would give up his company scholarship to become a farmer. But he had. She supposed that he was at the very least happy and free from the ties that keeping the Fry surname shackled her with. All she would have had to do to slip free of those bonds was add an 'e' to her name and move… She suspected that was all he'd done.

For all she knew this kid that she was trying to comfort was a relation.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of Arabic becoming louder. Shit. She'd totally forgotten about the Imam and his boys. But then so much had happened in such a short time… She scrambled to her feet as Imam's voice called, "Captain? I was told you were in here."

"Over here, Imam. God. I'm sorry. I – I forgot about you guys. Were you able to fix what you were working on?"

"Nearly. There's something broken on the pump, although there's water now filling the central chamber."

She blinks at him, "How about taking the pump out of the Hunter-Gratzner and replacing the broken one?

"If it is possible to remove it."

"I don't see why not. Let me show you where it is." Carolyn found herself leading someone else into the dusty interior of the ship toward the cistern hatch. The pump was easy to locate, and with the correct tools would be easy to remove. Abu and Hassan set to work on the project, as Fry went back to locate the other survivors. She noted Ali with Jack and was glad for it.

Outside she found Simon giving Paris a walkthrough on breathing nice and deep while he treated the man's condition. One of the other pilgrims, Suleiman she thought, was kneeling down near them helping to pad the art-dealer's back to prop him up. The fellow was looking better.

The other gent going by the title Doctor was with River. In his hands was a yo-yo that he was performing tricks with to keep the girl amused, Fry guessed. Riddick was leaned against the hull watching. "Seen Johns?" Riddick pointed up with a thumb. She frowned and scaled the ladder.

Johns up top the hull under Paris' misting umbrella, reclined in the man's chair. He was drinking a bottle of something quite strong. The suns were at about two o'clock, twin fires in the sky making everything looked overexposed. She stood there and raised an eyebrow at him. They still had shitloads of work to do if they were gonna make it out of this alive and here he was getting plastered.

"So what's up, Captain?" Johns said.

She frowned at him, "Don't start. You were wrong, twice. So just don't start, Johns. The Imam says they have the moisture reclamation unit working but for a tap. They are lifting the cistern pump out of the hull now. We'll need to get it back to the settlement. It might be a good idea for us to all go." The redhead made a face. Then he nodded and handed her the bullhorn.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The sound of Fry's voice amplified by the horn drew everyone onto the cryo-bay. By the time Ali and a sleepy Jack joined the adults there are enough scrounged crates and folding chairs for everyone to have a perch if they wanted one. Paris settled into one of the antique chairs middle of the group, not choosing either side over the other. Abu and Hassan have the pump and the required subsystems gathered together and settled into crates and are standing by the wall. Suleiman rounds up the younger boys and has them sit with his brother even though Jack looks like he would rather not be.

Simon, River, the Doctor, and Riddick made up another grouping, although the con seemed to be trying to stand apart from them. River is firmly planted between her brother and the Doctor, one hand curled around the edge of a leather coat pocket. The impression Johns gets is that Riddick is guarding the three others.

Fry situates herself between Imam and the Doctor, across from Johns and in front of Paris. "Right, this is everyone. We're sure there are no other survivors out there?"

"I found no other life signs as River and I came up the crash scar," said Dr. Tam. Johns figures he'd be the one to know.

Carolyn nods. "No point in staying here. There's a settlement, about half a day's easy walk due sunrise. Haven't taken inventory, mind you, but there is water, shelter, and -- a skiff. Might just get us off planet."

"Fuel source?" asked the Doctor. He looks thoughtful.

"Um, looks like six fifteen-gig draw liquid fuel cells. Drained of power."

"Won't work."

Fry looks at the man as though he's voiced her greatest fear, "Not as such, no. But enough systems have survived in the Hunter-Gratzner that I think I can rewire it."

Riddick speaks up, "You're talking about strippin' it out, this skiff, and rebuilding it from the ground up. Do you even know enough about the various systems to do something like that?"

It's a huge task. Could take months. But she does have the background to do it. As long as there are enough electrical systems left in the Hunter-Gratzner that she can use, at least. "Yes. My brother and I used to do similar all the time growing up. Often times it was the only way to put food on the table, taking two or three broken vehicles and making it so one worked." She ran her hand through her hair, "It's been twenty-five years or so, but this is an older boat, and the skiff is at least three decades old too. I should be able to do it, given the time."

"Well, we're not going anywhere else. How likely is it that a rescue ship will come for us?" Paris asks, "I mean, I've got half a million UD's worth of cargo insured."

The marshal says, "Not too sure we wanna wait, I mean, they are liable to send a squad of liquidators or bounty hunters, not rescuers." He nods over at Riddick, "You know the company is going to place the blame for the crash and the deaths on Rich here. Anyone able to say otherwise won't survive."

There's a pause of silence as everyone considers that possibility. It's not a pretty picture that forms.

"Owens did get out a partial distress, but I'm not sure how much transmitted. In any case it'll be twenty-two to forty-four weeks before anyone comes at all. We'll have to try to survive that long at least even if the company sends anyone." Fry sighs, "And they might not, Paris. They might just pay off your business claim, write off the Hunter-Gratzner as a tax loss and close the books on it. They had just incorporated the ship on it's own so they were trying to privatize it under Mitchell. I suspect now that was because it was getting too expensive to keep up repairs."

There was a rumble of discontent for a moment as several voices, Paris and Johns the loudest, attempted to place blame for the situation while others jumped in to defend. River hid her face in the Doctor's side as the noise level rose. The man curled an arm across her and glared at those arguing with each other. Simon was thinking that perhaps sedating the whole lot of them was a good idea as the babbling broke into strands of English, Arabic, and Chinese spliced together. Riddick finally let off a piercing whistle, "Hey, shut it. The only way to survive is to focus on what we have to do."

After a moment the room went from tense silence to thoughtful silence. Fry nodded at the goggled man in thanks for his help, as her voice had been totally drowned out.

"There is a sand-cat and several trailers at the settlement. If we get that working then stripping the hull will go that much faster. Clearly someone survived here for a period of time at one point. God must intend for us to do so as well," Imam stated.

"So – to the settlement?" Simon asks.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Over the course of the next few hours, everyone is called into service gathering together anything they can carry. Zeke's sled is pressed into use and loaded down with a large assortment of items that the survivors believe that they must have on this first trip. This includes spare oxygen containers, the pump for the moisture recovery system, liquor, medical supplies, survival gear, and even prayer rugs and holy books. It's hard to ignore the strange spires on the hills, and doubly so when folks keep spotting Jack standing and staring off at them blankly.

Inside the ship, Carolyn, Abu, Suleiman, and the Doctor have been assessing the systems of the Hunter-Gratzner and noting how much they can save. The decision is made to take one power 20-gig cell back to the settlement along with an assortment of converters so that they can tell how much of the skiff's wiring will have to be replaced.

Once that is decided the four split up to gather some personal things. Or rather all of them but the Doctor. He instead steps out and looks at the overloaded sled with narrow eyes. Nearly two thirds of the load are items that he considers non-essential. "How many of us are pulling this?" he asks one of the pilgrims. The answer causes him to unload half of the items on the sled.

"What are you doing?" Johns asks.

"If Mr. Olgivie wants his scotch then he can carry it. The extra two cases are uncalled for. It will be here when we return with the sandcat. And the same goes for the misters. And the chairs. And your extra shells," The Doctor says handing the red box back to the merc. "Unless you want to assist in pulling the sled?" He gets a growl and the redhead snatches the box from him.

Riddick just makes sure that Johns knows where he is so that the merc doesn't do anything rash.

As the double suns slowly move to the horizon and the blue sun peaks up over, the group sets off on their trek. The older pilgrim boys decide to help with pulling the sled, and take up the first two positions. The Doctor and Riddick take up the positions behind Hassan and Suleiman. Together the four men can haul far more than each could carry alone.

Ahead of them Carolyn and Abu carefully balance a 35kilo-power cell in a sling made from some scavenged webbing. Ali, Jack, Simon, River, Johns, and Paris all carry their own loads of varying sizes, with Paris coming in as the lightweight.

The group walks with only the chanting, in Arabic, to keep time with. They don't really notice as the sounds slowly resolve into words they can understand, as the boys recite scripture and prayers.

The twin suns dip below the edge of the world as they approach the boneyard. Up ahead of the sled Paris looks at Johns, "So just like that. Wave your little wand and he's one of us now?"

The redhead rolls his eyes at the man, "Didn't say that. But least this way I don't have to worry about falling asleep and not wakin' up."

Abu said, "Well, I feel we owe Mr. Riddick and the Doctor amends."

"Right, it's not like Rich's killed people before this. Or that we know much about the Doctor." Johns says to the holy man.

"Neither have not harmed anyone here. If anything they have tried to save lives. We should at least share what we have…"

"Riddick's happy just bein' vertical. Leave him be." Johns is careful to not include the Doctor in that order but the Time Lord scowls at the marshal's back none the less. Richard notes the expression and vows to return the kindness.

Jack has been listening, and now decides it's time to find someone else's wing to tuck under, "So I can talk to Riddick now?"

Johns, Paris, Abu, and Carolyn all say, "No."

The boy's face twists up in anger. If Shazza had just listened then she'd still be alive and he wouldn't be alone. There's no reason to treat the large bronze-skinned man like a pariah. Being nice to him might save their lives, after all. River takes his hand, "Soon, little bird." Jack nods. Ali steps up and takes River's other hand and she joins the two boys in a rhyming game that combines English, Arabic, Chinese and about seven other languages that the two boys don't know but accept from her as being real languages none-the-less.

They are scaling the first rise now, and its tough going. Paris slips and slides and manages to drop one of his bottles from his beaded bag on the side of the sled that Riddick is walking on. As the sled passes, the con scoops it up. Paris finds that he's beside the man, "Um… Paris P. Ogilvie. Antiquities dealer, entrepreneur."

Riddick doesn't call the sled to a stop but quickly shakes the offered hand as they walk, "Richard B. Riddick. Escaped convict, murderer."

"That's a very expensive -- " Paris begins, as Riddick opens the bottle, drains half and offers the remainder to his 'pulling partner'. He ignores the two pilgrims because he knows they are on Hajj and can't have the liquor. He feels for them, because they are pulling a tough weight, but they don't seem to mind much with their faith providing them with what they need to deal with this trial.

The Doctor looks at the thin, elegant, rusty-toned bottle as he takes it from Riddick's hand. The wine inside is well aged and normally would be served in tiny glasses. He sniffs it. 'Not so shoddy,' the Time Lord thinks. It's not like the alcohol effects him much. With a smirk he copies Riddick's example and finishes the bottle. It wouldn't be polite to refuse, after all. " -- It's a fine drop." Paris finishes.

"Yes. Thank you. Hits the spot." The Doctor says as he hands the now empty bottle back.

Paris feels the bottle in his hand although it takes him a minute to really notice it. Then he stupidly blinks at it. It is empty. Almost a hundred UD's gone in a few seconds. He could bet that neither man really appreciated it either. But he glances at the Doctor's face and his very clear blue eyes, shaded by the brim of his leather cap, and realizes that perhaps he's wrong. The thanks seem genuine. "You're both quite welcome. I've got more if you want it." He is rattled but not stupid. The con smiles at him. It's a creepy smile. Paris is shaken further. He quickly turns to catch up with Imam and Fry.