Here's where my cross over bits are going to begin. I enjoy mixing characters from different series into the same story (like in my previous fics). It's challenging to try and write for those characters to make them sound true to the source material. The X-Men movie-verse has always been my favorite base universe for stories with outside and original characters thrown in for fun. Critiques and feedback always welcomed. :)
Professor River Song tapped her fingers rhythmically against the spaceship's command console, staring out of the large front viewport into a multitude of stars. The ship was nowhere near Earth, nowhere near anywhere really. Just adrift in the vast quiet of space...which was one of River's favorite places to be when she was trying sort something out in her head.
A red leather bound note book lay open before her, stylographic pen sitting to one side. The visible pages were marked with ancient symbols, arranged in a circular formation. There were twelve symbols that made up the circumference, each connected to its opposite by a straight line to form a radiating pattern. Where the beams met in the center, a dark point took shape, like the center axis of a great wheel.
Twelve, River thought, her chin gently resting on the back of her other hand, Why is it always twelve?
River was a professor of archaeology. The study of time and the things time left behind was her passion as well as her profession. Time marched forward, leaving remnants of past lives and civilizations in its wake. But while time may continue unceasingly on for most, there were a few who could leave its flowing stream and travel to moments in the universe of their choosing. Sometimes. When they felt like it.
A smile creased River's lips as her thoughts trailed off from her work to a certain man. A certain Doctor. Whose own ship had been made to break the barriers of time and travel the whole of history as he saw fit. However, time and the universe were neither predictable or unbreakable. And traveling out of time's main course could have... and did have... consequences.
Those consequences were the reason that River Song now found herself pondering the number twelve as she sat in the dim silence of her ship's main bridge. She was an experienced time traveler, had been born to it some might say. Exploring the mysteries of the universe kept her occupied as she waited for a certain Doctor to return to her. She expected to learn amazing things, visit fabulous places inhabited by wondrous and dangerous beings, worlds beyond her imagination.
What she had not expected were the patterns. The patterns of twelve. Coincidences hidden in plain sight of history that only a time traveler like her would have ever noticed. A pattern, a path, a beam... always leading her back to one place, the last place she had ever expected to find any kind of great secret since so often it had been right under her feet.
Earth. Terra. The home world of her parents. Of all human life in the universe. The path always seemed to lead back to Earth. Why that was, she did not know. But she did intend to find out.
The quiet was broken as the command console chimed and a soft voice called her name.
"Professor Song," the ship's computer said in a soft, melodic voice, "It is now 7:00 am by Terran standard time. I hope I am not disturbing your studies but you did ask that I alert you when..."
"Yes," River said, shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, "Thank you. Is anyone else awake?"
"Yes, Professor," the computer replied, and then added with definite annoyance in its soft voice, "All but Mr. Rimmer. I did try to alert him of the hour at 06:30 but he told me to... 'smeg off' and fell back to sleep."
River gave the computer a sympathetic smile which she dearly hoped it could understand. Her ship was now the temporary home to four other individuals from different points through time and space, all brought together because... it would seem... they were the best choices for their current mission. She had no idea why Arnold Rimmer was one of those choices. But she was not in the position to question the practicality of her crew mates. She left that to the assigned commander of their unique band of travelers.
"Morning," someone said from behind her as the bridge doors slid open. River turned in her chair and smiled.
"Good morning, Jack," she said in response, "Sleep well?"
Captain Jack Harkness sighed and moved to sit in the navigation chair to her left. He had a steaming mug of coffee in one hand which he took a long sip from before he spoke.
"As well as one can in those old D-class bunks," he said, "Who ever designed those for long travel ships should be fired."
"Sorry," River said, still grinning, "I'm not used to have long travel company."
Jack took another sip from his mug and nodded, "I guess not. I just wish I could convince you to upgrade from this old boat to something with a bit of..."
He paused and glanced quickly at the console screen.
"Oh, damn," he said and then added, "Do you think it heard me?"
"The ship?" River asked sweetly, "I'm sure it did. But I doubt it took offense. Compared to what Rimmer's been calling the ship, I'm sure 'old boat' sounded like a compliment."
"Hardly," the soft voice of the computer chimed, causing Jack to wince and River to chuckle softly.
Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I'm not used to ships like this having advanced A.I. intelligence."
"Only the best for my darling," River said, patting the ship affectionately.
"But D-class bunks?" Jack shot back.
River gave him a sly look, "I wouldn't call any of you my darlings. You've barely earned crony status at this point."
Jack laughed and turned his attention to the screen before him. He activated the command console and a map of Earth appeared, a blue-green orb marked with red pinpoints of light.
"Has your darling found us any new target areas?" he asked.
River shook her head, "Not yet. No new rift activity detected in any of the potential sites. Though it's only a matter of time."
Jack did not respond but River knew he agreed with what she had said. Jack had commanded the section of Torchwood that had specialized in time rifts in England during the early 21st century. He and his team were responsible for keeping the rift stable, preventing unsanctioned individuals and dangerous creatures from appearing on Earth. But the rift activity had changed over the centuries and now instances were appearing all throughout Earth's civilized history.
River's archaeological studies had been able to show these rifts occurred in locations that had frequent time traveling visitors. In essence, time travelers tearing through the universe were literally doing just that, tearing the universe apart. The consequences of time travel experiments were causing the walls between time and space to become thin and rupture. Creatures could emerge through those rifts, causing death and destruction for the unfortunate people living in the surrounding areas.
There were few ways to close a rift once the fabric of time had ruptured. Organizations like Torchwood had worked to find those ways and keep time whole. Jack was not with Torchwood anymore but his knowledge had lead River down the path to one such weapon which could effectively repair a rift. And that weapon was on her ship.
The bridge doors opened again and a young woman appeared from the hall beyond. Her auburn hair hung down her back in a braid, wisps loosening around her head. She was panting slightly, as if she had run the length of the ship, and had a comically panicked look in her blue eyes.
Rebecca Malloy glanced between the two time travelers and spoke between breaths, "Morning. How are things?"
"Peachy," River said with a smile and then asked her guest, "Looking for Rimmer?"
Rebecca rolled her eyes and shook her head, flopping down in one of the cabin's rear chairs.
"No no no," she replied, "I'm sure I'll run into him soon enough. Just trying to get a head start on the timetable of assignments he gave me."
"Timetable?" Jack asked with amusement.
"Oh yeah," Rebecca replied, taking a folder paper from her pocket and passing it to Jack for inspection, "He's the king of timetables. We were supposed to meet about 15 minutes ago in the cargo bay for morning exercises. Bucky's back there doing his thing but hadn't seen Rimmer."
After giving the extensively detailed timetable a quick read, Jack passed it back to Rebecca.
"He's just trying to keep you on your toes," Jack said, trying to not sound too skeptical, "That's his job, right?"
"Right," Rebecca confirmed and sighed heavily, "Drill sergeant Ace Rimmer..."
"Hardly," Jack said before he could stop himself. River raised her eyebrows at him with amusement. Jack had sounded as insulted as the computer had earlier.
"I've met Ace Rimmer, remember?" Jack continued, ignoring River's expression, "Well, one of the Ace Rimmers anyway..."
Jack sighed and looked dreamy for a brief moment, "What a guy..."
Rebecca rolled her eyes again as Jack checked himself and got back on track.
"This Arnold Rimmer isn't quite an 'Ace'," he continued.
Perhaps in time, River thought, but chose not to share the sentiment with her two guests.
"Maybe not," Rebecca agreed and stood from her chair, "But he's the Rimmer I've got. And that Rimmer's got a time table I'm trying to stick to before I get another lecture about Space Corps discipline. Computer, where is he anyway?"
"In his quarters," the computer replied, "Still sleeping it would appear."
Rebecca grinned and shrugged, "Guess I'm the time table king this morning. And stack of space pancakes are about to be a new addition to it. But if he asks, tell Rimmer I reread the entire rift bestiary this morning while doing push ups and calculating some astro... navigation...whatever... crap."
"You got it," Jack said, "Just save me some of those pancakes."
Rebecca grinned again and left the bridge. River's own smile faded as she watched the seemingly young woman go. Jack caught the concern starting to spread over River's face. He turned toward her again, folding his arms across his chest.
"She still makes you uncomfortable, doesn't she?" Jack asked. River met his eyes and then looked away toward her open notebook.
"I suppose," she said, her fingers lightly touching one of the ancient symbols before closing the book, "I'm not comfortable with anyone who has the kind of power she does."
Jack raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, "Really? Even though you're married to..."
"I know who I'm married to," River cut him off, more harshly than she had intended, and then softened her tone, "It's not the same. And you know it."
Jack remained silent, watching River as she placed her red notebook into the inner pocket of her long coat. The silence lingered between them for a few more moments until River spoke again.
"If she is..." River began, searching for the right words, "...what you think she is. Then she could be one of the most destructive forces in the universe..."
Jack's neutral expression did not change, "Could be. But isn't."
"You can't know that for sure," River said darkly, "Not even you can know that, Jack."
"What I know," Jack replied, "...is that Rebecca Malloy is one of the few people in this universe who can close a rift. The rifts are one of the greatest threats the Earth has ever faced. And they're spreading. If we don't get a handle on them now, everything will fall apart. It's too dangerous to wait until..."
"She's dangerous," River interrupted, "Whether or not you want to admit it. She's dangerous, Jack. Her mind will not be able to manage jumps through time for long. And what happens when she starts to remember who... remember what she is? Do you think you'll be able to keep her contained? Or Rimmer? Or Barnes?"
Jack did not have an answer for that. He frowned as River turned her chair, stood and headed toward the bridge doors. She paused and turned back toward Jack.
"I trust your judgment, Jack," she said, "Because the man I married said I should. I'm just trying to be honest about our situation. We've been tasked to close the time rifts. An impossible mission... for which we do need improbable individuals. I just want you to keep one thing in mind..."
Jack sighed and shook his head, "And what is that?"
"She's just one, Jack," River said, putting a hand over to coat to touch the shape of her hidden note book, "Which means there are eleven more. Will you be a confident about them as you are about her?"
Jack opened his mouth, trying to respond, when the computer's soft voice chimed.
"Professor Song... I seem to have located an instance of the energy patterns you were searching for," the computer said.
Jack and River exchanged knowing looks, the tension between them evaporating as the computer displayed the information on the console screens. A rift had been located, somewhere in Earth's past.
"Well," River said, "It would appear we have our next objective. We'd better add some pancakes to our own timetables while we have the chance."
Jack nodded and watched as the computer zeroed in through time on the blue-green globe of the Earth.
Earth... Eastern Hemisphere... Asian continent... South China Sea... Vietnam...