A/N: First off, I want to say that the Doctor's childhood nickname comes from the book Lungbarrow by Marc Platt. I didn't just pull it out of a hat somewhere. (Heh, I knew someone would ask about that. :-D ). His Cousin Innocet (who becomes the new HouseWife after the Doctor becomes the Kithriarch of Lungbarrow) gave him the name as a term of endearment when he was a child. 'Snail' is a reference to the fact that the Doctor was Loomed with a bellybutton. 'Wormhole' is another name he's given by other Cousins, who disliked him, for the same deformity. Most Gallifreyans don't have bellybuttons because they don't need connections to a womb during gestation (see page 3 of chapter 21; and page 6 of chapter 22; and page 9 of chapter 23 of the e-book at BBC's Classic Doctor Who page).
'Dickie' on the other hand I did just make up. ;-)
Is Riddick an alien? He doesn't know. He's different, yes. Does the Doctor know? Yeah likely, but he's used to dealing with aliens that look human. Remember Nyssa? Leela was different, not a normal human, either. She was the product of a breeding experiment that the Doctor inadvertently started. As for the bioraptors… well, that's coming.
Welcome to LoStorico, who has placed this on 'Story Alert' (my thanks to you).
Thanks for the reviews to My Reflection, Robin Moto, mirth513, and ck16. Have I told you how awesome all my reviewers are?

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 Eighteen

Gamble

Mysteries one through some huge number had been solved. The settlers had been caught here in the dark, twenty-two years ago after living here for over eight years. They must have had some warning; otherwise they wouldn't have had time to prep their ship. But something had kept them from actually leaving and the batteries had run dry.

Eclipse. Flesh eating natives. No lights to make a 'fake day' to keep them away. Yes, that explained a great deal.

The survivors had another problem, however, not that they wanted to become snacks for the local wildlife, but like those here before them, they knew the skiff was too small for the entire party. Some of them wouldn't be leaving. Carolyn Fry was finding that it was an issue that she was avoiding, something she didn't want to deal with on top of everything else. How to decide? How to make it so that those left behind had a chance until help could be found?

They knew now that they had limited time in which to do anything to correct the problem. But they did have resources that the settlers lacked. There were the cryo-lockers, and maybe there were enough of them and the remaining system to fit ten people into the skiff. They had the crash ship's lighting. They had power. The settlement relied totally on solar energy. There wasn't a battery in sight except for the six dry fifteen-gig cells. While this worked for the current conditions here, they were facing a lengthy, maybe even a two-year, blackout.

No Sun meant no energy. How much could they run off the power cells left on the Hunter-Gratzner? Of course, they meant to leave as soon as they were able. Sticking around for two years was out of the question. Absolutely, totally, out of the question. But they might have to live here for a month or more in darkness as she tried to get the skiff to work. Oh, God – The very idea of it made her feel sick. She pushed it aside and focused on what they did have. There was a lot at the crash site yet, and the other cargo bays might have something too, if they had the time to find them.

Part of Carolyn wanted to just run right back to the crash ship and drag the entire thing to the settlement. Right. That would not work. She needed things to start moving now, quickly. Why had she stopped and slept? Why?

It could happen tomorrow, or three weeks from now, the model was imprecise about that. Carolyn knew she couldn't get the skiff ready in time. They might be able to haul in into the hanger, move the food supplies and such into there, put up salvaged lights from the crash and buy themselves some time. Or they could just be delaying a certain death. 'No, one thing at a time,' she ordered herself.

The docking pilot that everyone saw as the captain looked over the shocked and mystified faces of the survivors. Young as ten, old as the middle fifties, all counting on her twenty-five-year old shoulders. She wanted to hand this weight off to someone else, to go back to being a follower. She was never meant to lead, and she knows it. Even Riddick, for God's sake, would make a better leader than she is.

At least Jack knows that, from the looks of things, with his shaved head and yellow swim goggles proclaiming silently exactly whom he's following here. Her eyes roamed over the other boys, dressed in their traditional Arabic robes and turbans. Perfect clothing for this environment, really. They would follow the mahogany-skinned Imam, who was looking to her for guidance here as much as he looked to God. Among the boys, decked out in his orange and rust silks, was Olgivie. He followed only himself, siding with whatever path seemed to lead to profit. Or currently survival.

Entering with that group is River. Her raven hair has been brushed, but she's still dressed in the ravaged-edge tunic, her arms wrapped in bandages because she refused the Derma-heal. It's clear that the girl knows, with a single glance, exactly what they have discovered and is there to comfort her brother. Simon has discarded his black vest and is wearing only his white button down shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbow, waist un-tucked from his black pants. He's not looking to Fry for clues; instead he follows someone else.

Someone in a charcoal tee and a leather jacket. She turned and caught a blue-eyed stare that was intense and unsettling. Every line of the man's face was bursting with barely controlled power. This – this was the person they should be following. But the Doctor wasn't trying to lead either. Instead he was allowing them to bumble through the situation, or trying to observe them for some other purpose. Who was he? Why was he here?

But Fry had more immediate concerns, "Is the sand-cat working?"

"It will be, give me two hours. I do however think that there are some larger issues to deal with."

"Besides racing time without knowing exactly how much we have?" the docking pilot asks. She gets a look that reads, 'Who is escaping and who is staying?' and the fact that she can read that expression drives home the fact that they won't all fit on the skiff no matter what she does. Carolyn opens her mouth, looks toward Paris and the children, and closes it without saying anything.

"This is not the time to get into it," Imam says. "Let us all focus on the task at hand. Captain, what should we do?"

God. They are counting on her to know how to survive this. It's just like Johns said back in the boneyard. Shit. She's not sure if she can do this. Okay. One step at a time, don't think too much and focus on one thing at a time. It's a mantra that she keeps repeating in her mind to keep the panic at bay. Carolyn thinks aloud, "If the suns are blocked tomorrow, we'll have to have a defensible location. We'll need as much of the crates, furniture, what have you, moved around to protect ourselves." She looks around, "The Coring Room is out. And I need a place to work on the Skiff. I'm suggesting that we focus on making the Hanger as solid as we can. All of the supplies should be located there. Fill up all of the emergency water containers, and store them there. If the eclipse happens with the next sunrise we'll need everything where we can get to it."

"Eclipse?" says Paris.

"Yes, and there's no time to waste." Fry takes off out the door with a burst of energy. "Johns, you're with me!" she calls. The redhead jumps out of whatever daze he had retreated to and sprints out after her.

"Eclipse?" the art dealer repeats.

Imam turns to Ali and Jack, "Take Mr. Olgivie and gather up all foodstuffs, medical and personal supplies, blankets, rags, what have you and move them into the Hanger. Now." Jack gives the holy man a serious nod and takes Paris' hand. Ali grabs the other one and the two boys tug the man away.

"Richard, why don't you help Hassan and Suleiman move crates? I spotted an old hydraulic lift that will make the task easier." The Doctor said. "In the meantime, I'll get the 'cat put back together." Riddick nods and motions for the two older pilgrims to follow him.

Simon looks at Abu, "How can River and I help?"

"There's a hand truck that we can move furniture with. I will assist you. Perhaps focus on beds for each of us first then whatever else we can move that might prove convertible into defensive measures."

Carolyn hears the others behind her scatter out of the room with the orrey, "We're going to need to figure out what should come over first, right?" she says back to Johns.

The marshal says, "Yeah? I mean, sure. What you want me to do?"

"Help me organize, Johns." She looks back at the redhead, "There's so much to do still, you've been in bad situations, chasing men like Riddick. What would you do to survive in a situation like this? There's no way that we'll be rescued before the eclipse occurs."

Williams caught the docking pilot by the arm, "And the rewire?"

"Depends. Might take a week, might take a month, or longer. Look, I'm doing everything I can, here."

"You need to focus on the Skiff, Carolyn. I'll look over the hanger for weak spots. We'll need a power supply. Too bad these geologists didn't have a generator. Just… I'm leery of having too much in one place with Riddick free."

She narrowed her eyes at Johns. "We'll need all the power cells from the crash ship, as soon as possible. We don't want to get caught outside when the eclipse happens."

"But what if we bring 'em over as we need 'em? Like one for the stove, one for the water, and so on, but wait to bring over the seven we'll need to launch?" Johns said.

"Why? Why make more trips then we'll need to? We can wagon train the trailers and fill everything up as soon as the sand cat is ready to roll."

Johns steered her over to a location where he could see Riddick in the distance loading up crates onto a hydraulic lift, "Let's wait on the power cells. Bring over everything else we need but the final cell." He keeps his blue eyes glued to the ex-ranger.

"Wait for what? Until it's so dark we can't even find our way back to -- "

He switches his gaze back to her; "We're not sure when it happens, so let's not -- "

Fry glares, "I'm trusting you. Get the fucking cells over here, Johns. Take Imam, Riddick, the Doctor, I don't care who goes, just make sure that every damn cell is brought with you when you come back. I'll run the physical hull check. Once you return we can patch the wings." He went to open his mouth in protest, "Not up for discussion! Just for once do as I'm asking."

He stares back at her for a moment and once he's sure she is not going to yell again he says, "Ever tell you how Riddick escaped?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

River has gone with Simon. She knows he feels left behind a bit because of her connection, however accidental, with the storm. He's also feeling numb and condemned by the situation that they can do nothing about. But the Doctor has a plan, and staying is part of it. Simon needs this experience, to grow. She just hopes he survives it.

The work doesn't leave much time to think, but she knows that maintaining her emotional interdependence with her brother is very important, so she chooses to be with him now instead of the Doctor. At least the ghosts are quiet. They are moving cots, picking them up and carrying them outside. She discovers that the frames fold; "Simon." He looks at her. She gives him a significant look and with a click condenses her end of the frame leaving the thin mattress off-center.

He laughs. "Well, that makes this easier. Let's stack the mattresses and fold the frames."

She shakes her head and transfers her end to the ground so she can move the mattress to the hand truck. By the time Imam catches up with them they have the frames folded, the mattresses together, the shelving apart and stacked, and are about to head into the next room. Abu snags the filled hand truck and wheels it out. "Subsequent residence?" she asks.

"Yes," Simon drapes an arm over her shoulder and hugs her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It takes the Doctor less than a quarter of an hour to put the parts back together to make the sandcat run. He can't locate Carolyn or William right off the bat, and that bothers him. He pulls the 'cat around to the first trailer and hooks it to the tow hitch. And since he doesn't spot Fry and Johns still, he proceeds to have Jack, Ali and Paris load the trailer up.

As he hauls the entire thing over to the Hanger the Doctor notes that around him others are working too. "Load the trailers, I'll come by and haul them over," he calls out to Simon. Abu and he begin piling cots and bulky but lightweight frames into the various flatbeds.

Rich pulls up along side the 'cat and hops on the side rail while hanging onto the lift. It's dangerous but much faster than walking the stack of crates over. "Seen my blue-eyed Devil around?" he asks over the rattle of the load.

"No. And I've been looking for him." The Doctor slows the 'cat and lets the first load off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Carolyn is sitting in the pilot's chair, surrounded by the evidence of her work, open panels, exposed wires, and things hanging from the ceiling. William sits in the co-pilot chair. She's trying to absorb what he's told her, "He can pilot?"

The redhead nods, "Hijacked a prison transport outta Ursa Luna's Slam City. Made a helluva good run 'fore I tracked him down." Johns isn't going to mention them leaving Butcher Bay together in the prison boss's personal ship or the adventure they had after.

"Okay, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe I can use him to help with navigation or -- " The docking pilot attempts to find a silver lining to the situation. She needs some hope here. She wants to keep her trust in Riddick, for some reason it's valuable to the man and that makes it more important to her.

Johns is shaking his head at her, "He also figured out how to kill the pilot, Carolyn."

Talk about a bubble-burster. But then Riddick said he'd killed people, he'd admitted to it. She accepts that, doesn't she? It's part of who Rich is. Fry frowns at the redhead, "You said we were going to trust him now. You said there was a deal." She's getting the feeling that maybe the marshal isn't so much on the up and up.

"That's what I said." His expression is blank. Not denying the truth of the words but not saying he stands behind them either. Oh, that really makes her wonder about his motivations. Hell, not just wonder, but to be actively frightened by. It's not too hard a stretch to figure out what he's thinking.

He means to trick the bronze-skinned man and haul him back to slam once they get off this planet. She takes in a shocked breath, "Oh, this is a dangerous game you're playing, Johns." She has promised to trust the ex-ranger, and part of her trust has to be to tell him what is afoot. But she can't let Johns know which side she wants to stand on. Not yet.

"May've noticed chains don't work on this guy," the marshal tells her. "Only way we're truly safe is if he believes he's goin' free. But if he stops believin' -- "

"You mean, if he learns that you're gonna royally fuck him over?" Fry blurts out. Inside she's filled with a mixture of anger and horror. Who exactly is the bad guy here? Somehow she can't see Riddick pulling this kind of shit.

Johns keeps talking, right over her question, "We need a fail-safe. Bring the cells over at the last possible minute – when the wings are ready, when the rewire is finished, when we know we're ready to launch."

"No matter that people are gonna die if we venture out into that desert in the dark, Johns? Are you insane?" She finds that she's looking at him with a new paradigm. Her entire world just shifted. And Johns fingering his gun doesn't help flip it back.

"We don't know that."

"Don't we? Shazza and Zeke are dead. Thirty settlers died the last time. I think we damn well do know that. And furthermore, Riddick hasn't harmed any of us. Far as I can tell, he hasn't even lied to us." She leans back into the seat, "Just stick to the deal, Johns. Let him go if that's what it -- "

The marshal does more than finger his gun; he points it at her. There's a blaze in his eyes that makes her very, very scared. "He's a murderer. A merc-killer. You have no idea how high his body count is or how many people I've seen him take out personally. The animal deserves to be in Slam, and the law says he's gotta do his bid."

She can't maintain that eye contact. Instead she shakes her head and looks off through the skiff's window. She can see that the 'cat is running and that the Doctor is putting it to good use. "Dancin' on razor blades here..." she mumbles. Not just about his double-cross but she's less than a hair away from revealing her own feelings about it. Johns is no normal marshal out of Conga escorting a prisoner to Tangiers no matter what he told Merritt when he got on the Hunter-Gratzner.

Johns doesn't hear her, or doesn't care to. "I won't give him a chance to grab another ship -- or to slash another pilot's throat. Not on my watch."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The kids hop out of the back and Riddick off the side as soon as the 'cat halts. Paris climbs out slower, but begins grabbing stuff to carry inside. The Doctor unhooks the trailer and walks over to the skiff, just in time to see the docking pilot and marshal exit. The redhead gives him a glare, which he pointedly ignores. "Shall we haul the Skiff inside before taking a trip back to the crash site?" he asks.

Fry walks right over to the Doctor, half hugging herself as Johns storms off another direction. "I want to talk, alone. Can Abu drive the 'cat?" The Doctor gives her a curious look and nods. He's positive that the Imam can drive the vehicle just fine. Carolyn glances back toward Johns' last direction, her cheeks losing color as she remembers his actions in the skiff. "How about in the Cafeteria Office, in -- say 5 ticks?"

"I'll tell Abu to take Riddick and the boys to the crash site and fill up a trailer or three and meet you there." The Doctor says.

"Tell him to grab the power cells and lights, all right?"

He catches her eye and nods.