Author's Note: So tired. So friggen tired. Two papers and two finals... All in one day. I was up to 3 am last night, and when I finally got home and 7pm, and still had to finish this chapter. I'm going to go and collapse now... So please forgive any typos, I'll get them soon...

Violet was a mousy young girl. It probably wasn't a great thing to admit about yourself, but she had never seen much point in lying about it. She was short, with flat brown hair she had tried unsuccessfully to curl and the kind of round face that couldn't be anything but plain. And, on top of it all, she was a worrier.

She worried about her friends, about whether they were really her friends, about her thesis paper, about the maths test from her Advanced Spatial Reasoning lecture she had taken before the trip. She worried about the rent on her flat, the stove, the rug, even the tile in the bath. She worried that her fiancé was lonely, that he was cheating on her, that she didn't deserve him, that it was all just a cosmic joke for a girl like her to even end up with a boy who liked her.

She even worried that she worried too much. They were, after all, silly worries and she did everything she could to ignore them. She worried about that too.

Right now, however, she felt her worries were quite valid. She stared across the crowded cargo bay at the company at the small company of mercenaries who were cleaning their guns, the exact same way they had been for the last three days. She worried that they would get bored and start doing terrible things, and that if one of the bullets breached the outer hall, she would be sucked out into space.

"You're staring."

Violet flinched slightly and directed her attention back to her teacher, a blush climbing into her cheeks. Professor River Song was everything Violet wanted to be. She was beautiful, with graceful blond curls that feel down to frame her face, the same kind of curls Violet had tried to copy, worried about, and eventually failed at. She was confident, intelligent, and though it would embarrass Violet to admit it, downright alluring. She was the kind of woman that wasn't just shrouded with mystery like a cape, but she used it to get what she wanted.

Violet had heard rumors about Professor Song's past, mostly from some of her other professors. Stories about murder and jail, but of all the things Violet worried about, she never gave them a second thought. Professor Song was amazing, enough so that she had caused Violet to change her entire life. She went from a girl focused mostly in the 'pure' sciences, especially Astrophysics, to a consumed history buff. She had taken Professor Song's History of Ancient Space Faring Cultures as a forced elective. Now, after only a semester, she had rearranged her entire schedule for the following two years.

She could still remember the first class, seeing pictures of those beautiful archeological sites while Professor Song had talked about what they were and what they represented. It had been inspiring, to the point that she stayed after they were dismissed to ask dozens of questions. And it wasn't just that class. Soon, Violet had found herself following Professor Song around, constantly asking for more. She worried that she was being annoying, but Professor Song seemed to enjoy her company. When she said she had found funding for an expedition after the year ended, and wondered if Violet wanted to go, the small girl had almost fainted.

That had been a month ago. They had 'taken off' just over a week ago, in what was probably the most beautiful ship Violet had ever seen. Professor Song, however, didn't seem particularly impressed in the least, so Violet had done her best to copy her. She worried that she hurt the crew's feelings and that they could tell she was faking.

Two days later, they had arrived the Galactic Core, a place very few ships went. And not just the outer reaches where, even despite the high levels of radiation and density of star clusters, ships could still travel with relatively few problems, but near the very center. Here, left over debris from destroyed solar systems, thousands of stars and thousand more dead stars, the gravity would tear most ships to shreds. Their ship, the Recovery, had been specially designed to travel here, but it had been slow.

Violet had spent the following the following four days worrying that the ship would get dragged into the supermassive black hole in the very center of the galaxy, despite assurances from several people that they were still much too far out to be affected by its gravity.

When they had finally reached the orbit of their destination, Professor Song told them to wait. So, here they sat, with all their equipment ready, waiting.

Sometimes, Professor Song confused Violet.

The Professor was busying herself with something on her tablet, maybe writing a book or something. Probably not, but Violet would love to read one if she did. She had known what her student had been doing without even looking up.

"I'm sorry," Violet whispered.

"I understand you're nervous, but you don't need to be rude," Professor Song said, smiling slightly, but not looking up from her tablet.

"Aren't you worried?" Violet asked, scooting carefully across the large case she was sitting on, worrying she might break the equipment inside.

"About them?"

"Yes."

"Of course not."

"But they're mercenaries."

"Yes, mercenaries hired to protect us. So long as they're paid, they're loyal. And they've been paid."

"But wait if they change their mind."

Professor Song glanced up from her tablet for a moment, an amused look on her face. "Violet, you've watched too many vids. They're professionals, very highly recommended. They aren't going to break a deal."

Violet began to fiddle with a necklace around her neck. It had been a gift from her fiancé before she left. She hoped it didn't mean something bad. "But why do we need them? Is it going to be dangerous?"

"Maybe." Professor Song pressed something on her tablet. "No one's been here in almost two hundred billion years. There aren't many records about it left."

"You don't know what's down there?"

"I have theories, but it's always best to play it safe."

Violet kept playing with her necklace. Minutes stretched on in silence, and her mind returned to her worries about home. "Professor Song?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have anyone special?"

Professor Song put the tablet down and looked up at her. "Why do you ask?"

Violet hesitated. "I was just thinking."

"About Oliver?"

Violet nodded.

Professor Song didn't say anything. She stared at Violet, but it felt like her eyes couldn't see the girl. Violet began to worry she had crossed a line. "Yes," Professor Song said finally.

"What's he like?"

She actually snorted at that. "Aggravating." She paused. "But calming. He's the opposite of me in every way, but also exactly the same. He's smart but ever so thick. He's amazing." Another paused. "And absolutely terrifying."

"He sounds," Violet hesitated, "complicated."

That drew an actual laugh from Professor Song, and Violet couldn't help but feel a little happy. Professor Song always seemed amused, but she almost never actually laughed. "Very complicated," she agreed.

"Professor Song!" a voice rang out across the mostly quiet cargo hold. Violet gave a small, involuntary twitch. Professor Song stood up slowly, turning to face the large, middle aged man striding toward them. He was a big man, the kind of man whose muscles rippled under his suit, and still had most of a head of sand blond hair. In fact, the only real sign of his age were the frown lines that etched his face.

"Mr. Hamilton," she said with a small grin. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Luis Hamilton bristled at her comment. "Professor Song, perhaps you can answer a couple of questions for me."

"A sometimes unfortunate duty of a teacher, but if you wish, ask away."

"Do you remember who is funding this expedition? Who paid for to build the most advanced space ship ever, who crewed said space ship, who provided the equipment for the expedition, who hired muscle to help you out should anything goes wrong. Do you know who that person is?"

"Well, I do believe that would be you, Mr. Hamilton."

"Then can you explain to me why we have sat in orbit of the very planet we are here to explore for three days!" he snarled.

Violet was cringing, trying to make herself smaller behind a crate. Professor Song was standing in front of him calmly, as if they were only discussing the weather.

"Do you know what's down there, Mr. Hamilton?"

"No."

"Neither do I."

"Which I believe is the point of the entire trip!" Hamilton snarled again. "To find out."

A noise tugged at Violet's ears. She glanced around. The entire cargo was still, except for the mercenaries, who had inched closer, listening with distant interest.

"Perhaps. But if that's planet is the one I think it is, it's going to be dangerous. There are going to be traps and defenses."

"Hence, the mercenaries!"

Another noise tugged at Violet's hearing. Curiosity overcame her anxiety, and she poked her head above her hiding place to look for the source.

"We're not talking about simple traps, Mr. Hamilton," Professor Song said, her voice still calm. "No 'Just avoid the pressure plates' or 'Jehovah starts with an I' puzzles. Most likely, they're going to be high advanced and involving solving problems far beyond just archeology. I'm good, but even I'll need help."

"Help! From who? That little student of yours?"

"He'll meet us here."

The noise was getting louder. Violet got her feet underneath her and kept searching.

"You mean you waiting for someone else!" Hamilton roared. "For heaven's sake, I thought you were smart! We deeper in the galactic core than anyone has ever been! How the hell is someone supposed to meet you here? What, is he going to appear out of the ethos?"

"Yes."

Finally, it was too much to bear. Violet turned to look at Professor Song and Hamilton. "Um, excuse me?"

"What!" Hamilton screamed, almost biting the word off. His face was beat red and his eyes were furious. She flinched. A flicker of annoyance crossed Professor Songs.

Violet cowered for a moment. They were all looking at her now, and thinking she was an idiot most likely, so she had to say something. Blushing, she managed to mumble out, "Don't you hear that noise?"

Hamilton blinked, and started looking around. So did the mercenaries. Professor Song just smiled.

A sudden wind blew up, and for a heartbeat, Violet was worried that the out hull had indeed been breached. The noise grew even louder She tracked it to a single light, flaring up out of nowhere, floating. The light began to fade, as did the sound, till suddenly both flare up again. This time, the light wasn't floating. She could just barely see the outlines of a structure underneath it. Again they started to fade, before come back with another swelling noise. Now she could see it was a box, a blue box. But it was hazy and insubstantial, barely even there. The entire box started to fade out with the light.

Again, the light flared, and the blue box returned in full force. Suddenly, it was solid, with bright blue paint that seemed to glow of its own regard, and a blazing white crest on the door. The wheezing sound stopped and there was a loud hollow clicking.

Violet glanced back. Hamilton eyes were bulging out of his head. The mercenaries were doing their best to look unimpressed, although only one was actually pulling it off, and barely at that. Professor Song was smiling. Violet was taken slightly aback. It wasn't a smile she had seen before. It was happy. And excited. And mischievous. And something else that she wasn't sure she recognized on her Professor's face.

She returned her gaze to the box. It had small windows and the words 'Police Box' running across the top. Suddenly the door swung open and an annoyed looking man stepped out. He was… young. About average height, with short, black hair, and pale eyes, dressed in a dark shirt over a white one. He had some sort of book tucked under his arm.

"River," he said, scowling.

"Hello sweetie."

"Don't you 'hello sweetie' me. You already did." He waved a note at her. Then he hefted the book up. "River, this is the Tome of Kailum!"

"Yes, I know," Professor Song said, sounding both amused and pleased with herself.

The doors behind the man opened and a young woman stepped out. She was slightly shorter than the man, with gleaming dark brown hair. She moved gracefully, looking around curiously. Violet blushed a little. She wasn't wearing much, little more than a white tube top and skinny jeans. She also wore a pinstriped vest that looked a couple of sizes too big for her.

"River, I'm not helping you find the Lost Planet of Kailum," the man continued, apparently oblivious to the girl behind him. "That place was lost for a reason, stricken from the history so people wouldn't even try. I'm not going to go off on some stupid, life threaten adventure to find it just to feed your desire to explore. The kinds of dangers-"

"We've already found it," Professor Song said calmly, undercutting the man tirade.

"-that we'd fa-uh, wait. Okay, what?" he stumbled.

"We're in orbit."

"Oh."

Professor Song smiled again. She looked away from the man at the girl. "Hello Jenny."

Jenny frowned and drew herself behind the man, as if hiding. "How does she know my name?" she asked softly.

The man grumbled for a moment. "Jenny, this is River," he said, stepping aside slightly. "River, Jenny." He looked at the girl. "River and I know each other, but we don't exactly meet in the right order. Just because you've never met her doesn't mean she hasn't met you."

"Oh." Jenny studied Professor Song, her eyes still cautious, but with a new spark of curiosity.

"Wait, okay, wait," the man said, placing one thumb between his eyes. "Okay, we're orbiting Kailum, the Forgotten Planet of the Gods. Where exactly is that?"

"Galactic core," Professor Song said. "About two thousand light years from the gravitation pull of the supermassive black hole at the center. Due to a couple of hiccups in the gravity due to several of the stars and fields around, the system is under very few tidal stressors."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't make sense. I suppose there could be fleeting moment where something like that was the case, but to keep a planet safe like that for any length of time would be impossible." He paused. "No. Nope. River, even my people told stories about this place. It so old, even the Time Lords thought it was a legend. There's dangerous, there's risky, and there's suicidal. There is no reason to go down there."

"Really?" Professor Song's smile was almost wicked. "You're not curious."

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. I'm not letting you manipulate me into this one. It's been there for billions of years. It can wait for another billion for all I care."

"Alright," Professor Song said with a little sigh. "If you don't want too." She turned and started to gather up her tablet. "I mean, I would have thought you'd want to know. They say the people on Kailum had technology that was greaten then even the Time Lords, at least before they all disappeared. And that would be back before Gallifrey even had life. I would have thought you'd really want to learn about them."

The man was scowling again.

She glanced back at him. "Well, go on. Back into the TARDIS so you can gallivant off on some other adventure."

The man gave a defeated little sigh. "I hate you, River Song."

She grinned again. "No, you don't."