Night fell quickly as the drop ship was lowered to the planet's surface. A make shift camp was set up around it, flood lights illuminating the area.
Amy watched from a safe distance as soldiers busied themselves setting up the camp, occasionally stopping to question the Doctor. Aderyn stayed close to River and Amy wasn't sure whether that was entirely Aderyn's choice. When River got too far ahead of Aderyn, or Aderyn held back to look at something, River would catch her attention and wait for her to catch up. When she looked around again, the Doctor was deep in conversation with Father Octavian. The Doctor looked less than impressed.
Father Octavian had been told that this was the man they needed to stop the angel. But he didn't see how. This was just one man and the angel was deadly. Between the Doctor and his clerics they may stand a chance. But he didn't hold his breath.
"The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship. Our mission is to get inside and neutralise it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to the scans, behind the cliff face there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."
"Oh good." the Doctor muttered.
"Good, sir?" Father Octavian asked.
"Catacombs. Probably dark ones. Dark catacombs. Great." he grumbled.
Amy walked over to them in time to hear Father Octavian say "Technically, I think it's called a maze of the dead."
The Doctor turned to him "You can stop any time you like."
A soldier called for Octavian and the Doctor welcomed the break from his, somewhat unsettling, talking. "Excuse me, sir." Octavian snapped a quick salute before walking away.
Amy sat on the table where the Doctor stood. "You're letting people call you sir. You never do that. So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"
The Doctor looked up at her "You're still here. Which part of wait in the Tardis till I tell you it's safe was so confusing? It's bad enough Aderyn is insisting on following River around like a lost puppy. I don't want you in danger as well."
"Awwww someone's Mister Grumpy Face today." Amy teased.
The Doctor slammed the piece of, no doubt delicate, equipment he'd been studying back on to the table top before fixing her with a glare "A Weeping Angel, Amy, is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and right now one of them is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in after it with a screwdriver and a torch, and assuming I survive the radiation long enough and assuming the whole ship doesn't explode in my face, do something incredibly clever which I haven't actually thought of yet. That's my day. That's what I'm up to. Any questions?"
Amy looked over at Aderyn, who was still following River "is River Aderyn's mum?"
"What?"
"Well River keeps her close by all the time, I mean she doesn't let Aderyn out of her sight at all."
The Doctor sighed "yes, you're right. I am definitely Mister Grumpy Face today."
They looked round to see River emerging from the drop ship. She signalled for them to go over. She scanned the area before seeing Octavian. He had is back to her. "Father Octavian!" she shouted. He turned and raised his hand, acknowledging her shout.
"Why do they call him Father?" Amy asked, as they headed towards the drop ship.
"He's their Bishop, they're his Clerics. It's the fifty first Century. The Church has moved on." The Doctor explained.
In the drop ship, a grainy image flickered on a monitor on the far wall. The Doctor regarded it with distaste and hatred. The image showed a stone statute. The statue had fabulously detailed wings, which they had a perfect view of as it had their back towards them. It's hands covered its face.
"Yeah, it's an Angel. Hands covering its face. " the Doctor stood close to the screen, closely observing the angel.
"But it's just a statue." Amy said.
"It's a statue when you look at it." River said. Aderyn took a step backwards. The sight of the Angel sent shivers down her spine.
"What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it? " Amy looked from River to the Doctor. She couldn't see why there was so much fuss over a stone statue.
"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen. So legend has it." River shrugged.
"No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock. In the sight of any living creature the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone," the Doctor traced the shape of the wings on the screen "The ultimate defence mechanism. Being a stone until you turn your back."
They turned as the door was pulled open and Aderyn fled from the drop ship.
"I'll go." River said, following her.
Aderyn stood as far away from the drop ship as she dared, shivering slightly.
"Are you ok?" River asked as she caught up with her. She put a comforting hand on Aderyn's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Aderyn wrapped her arms around herself as another terrified shiver made its way down her spine. "it's just so creepy. Where I live there's a statue across the street. A statue that looks just like that one. A few weeks ago it had moved."