CHAPTER 8
I do not own Doctor Who, and I am making no profit off of this.
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Amber Loch, a beautiful brunette with a Scottish accent who was in her late 20s, arrived out of nowhere on Iceworld via her Time Ring and instantly smiled as she looked at her surroundings. She had liked this place when she had been here before. A person could hide themselves on this massive ship for years and never be discovered. It was likely that she would never see anyone that she knew here which was a good thing since she had some very unfriendly people after her that she owed a great deal of money to.
She walked along the corridors of the ship for a while until she came to a bar. Here was a place that she was sure that she could lose herself in for a while. She didn't drink, but she could order something at random and pretend to be drinking it for an hour or so until she was sure that everything was okay. She wanted to make absolutely certain that no one was following her before she would even allow herself to relax for a moment.
She watched the one and only door to the bar for several moments as she tried to calm her nerves. She saw no one for the longest time and smiled in relief. She slowly began to relax when someone spoke behind her.
"Waiting for someone or trying to make sure that someone's not following?" a woman with curly blonde hair asked.
Amber almost jumped out of her skin as she said nervously, "I'm just sitting here drinking."
"Really? I haven't seen you touch a drop since you ordered it," the woman said.
"Are you here to kill me?" Amber asked in a timid voice.
"Sweetie, if I was here to kill you, then you would already be dead. I'm just wondering if I can help, that's all," the woman said.
"I'm wanted by some people who I borrowed a million credits from. I thought that I could pay them back, but I was wrong. Now they want to kill me. I thought that maybe I could hide from them here for a while," Amber admitted.
"You probably could if you knew what you were doing. Unfortunately, you don't. You stick out like a sore thumb. Luckily for you, I happen to be here though," the woman said with a mad grin on her face.
"Why is that lucky?" Amber asked.
"It's lucky because, unlike you, I've noticed that there are two bounty hunters sitting two tables away from you that have been watching you since you came in here. They would have killed you as soon as you were alone. Now that I'm here though it's not going to happen that way," the woman said.
"Why would you help me?" Amber asked.
"Let's just that I have a soft spot for hard luck cases. I even used to be married to one," the woman said.
"Who are you?" Amber said.
"I thought you'd never ask. The name's River. River Song," River said as she held out her hand to Amber.
Amber shook her hand as she said, "I've heard of you. You're like some kind of superhero, aren't you? You go around helping people."
"They're saying that I'm a superhero now? I really have to work on muddying up my reputation again then, or people are going to think that I've gone soft," River said unhappily.
"You actually want people to think badly of you?" Amber asked confused.
"The worse I sound the better. No one's going to be afraid of me if they think that I've gone soft," River said.
"I don't understand," Amber said confused.
"I'll show you," River said.
River walked boldly up to the men who had been giving Amber the evil eye and said, "If you want to hurt my new friend over there, you're going to have to go through me."
The two men laughed and said, "And you are?"
"I'm River Song," River said with a large grin on her face.
The two men jumped out of their seats and began running for the doors. River shot them both down before they could even get a few feet from her. She had used the stun setting on her blaster because she wanted to convey a message.
She stood over the two men until one of them woke up minutes later, and he looked at her in terror as she said, "Go back and tell your boss that this woman is under the protection of River Song. If he wants to deal with me, then let him send someone worth my time next time. You're not even worth killing."
The newly conscious man quickly woke up his partner, and they both ran for their lives. As soon as they went through the doors, River turned to the bartender and said, "Sorry about that."
"No problem, River. I figured those guys for trouble as soon as they came in here. I'm glad that you ran them off," the bartender said happily.
River gestured to Amber and said, "That's why I need to maintain my reputation. It comes in handy more often than you'd think. It's okay now. Come on. I'll take you to Earth. I have a friend there who can give you a place to hide until whoever those wonderful men worked for gives up looking for you."
"Thank you but I guess I should use my own method of transportation to go there instead of imposing on you any further," Amber said as she pulled her Time Ring out of her backpack.
"Where did you get that?" River asked in amazement.
"I used to travel with this Time Lady named Cliodna. She gave it to me the last time that I saw her. It lets me go anywhere in time and space that I want just by thinking about my destination. You know you kind of remind me of her. You're a lot like her," Amber said.
"There's a reason for that," River said happily. Her mother was going to love this.
Meanwhile, Amy and Rory had finally mastered all of K'anpo's techniques to his satisfaction and were ready to leave Iceworld behind as soon as River arrived to join them. They were supposed to meet her here by Amy's TARDIS in the main lobby about half an hour ago, but she still hadn't come yet.
Amy began to worry that the Silence had decided to attack River again. Not that she had to worry too much about River she supposed since she was one of the most dangerous people in the universe, but Amy was her mother after all. That meant that she would worry about her no matter what. It was a part of her job.
K'anpo was on his way now to talk to Melanie. He was about to ask her for a date using some tips that Amy had taught him. Amy hoped that it would work out for him because she would love to see those two get together. She would have stuck around to see how he made out, but she really wanted to leave Iceworld as soon as possible. The Silence might still be hunting for Cassie after all, and she didn't want to stay in any one place too long so that they would have a chance to find her.
She heard a loud explosion in the distance, and then the sound of guns firing while people screamed. Rory came running out of the TARDIS, and both of them smiled at each other.
"River's here," they both said together.
River came running toward them a minute later with Amber following close behind her. The two of them kept looking behind them with worried glances as they stopped right in front of Amy and Rory.
"Who's after you this time, River?" Rory asked her with a grin.
"For once I have nothing to do with it. They're after her," River said as she pointed to Amber.
"Amber?" Amy asked in surprise.
"Cliodna?" Amber asked.
River had told her about Amy in the bar, but she still hadn't recognized Amy as Cliodna. She acted so different than she had before.
Amber and Amy stared at each other for a moment, and Amber began to smile. She laughed with pure joy as she ran to Amy and embraced her tightly.
"I take it that she knows you?" Rory asked.
"What tipped you off?" Amy said with a laugh.
Rory now recognized Amber as the woman that he had seen in Amy's memories when he had linked with her. She had been Cliodna's companion long ago.
"Cliodna. I've missed you so much!" Amber said.
"It's Amy these days, Amber, and I've missed you too. What I haven't missed is the amount of trouble that you used to get both of us into. What kind of horrible mess have you gotten yourself into now?" Amy said.
"I like that. No hello or how are you. Just 'What kind of horrible mess have you gotten yourself into now?' Thanks a lot!" Amber said.
"Amber, quit avoiding the question. What's going on?" Amy prodded as more explosions could be heard behind them. The noises were getting closer and closer by the minute.
"I love your accent by the way. Why couldn't you have used a Scottish accent when I travelled with you? It would have made me feel more at home," Amber babbled.
"Amber!" Amy said.
"I'm sorry, Cliodna. I owe their boss a lot of money, and I can't pay it back. I thought that I could hide here on this ship, but I was wrong. Now all of these people are in danger, and it's all my fault," Amber said upset.
"Why did you do such a thing? Didn't you know better than that?" Amy asked.
"I invested all of the money I borrowed into the stock market of Giga Minor and made myself a huge fortune. I was planning on paying it back with interest and still making a nice profit for myself, but then the whole planet gets blown up by the Rutans during one of their battles with the Sontarans. I lost everything. How is that my fault? I tried to explain that to Sil, but he didn't seem to appreciate my situation," Amber said.
"You borrowed money from someone like Sil? I thought that I taught you better than that," Amy sighed.
"Who's Sil?" Rory asked.
"He's a slug in every sense of the word. He not only looks like a slug with a face because he's a Mentor from the planet Thoros Beta, but he also deals in shady activities of the worst kind as a corrupt businessman. Why did you ever get involved with him, Amber? He almost got the Doctor's friend, Peri, killed once," Amy said.
"I didn't exactly know for sure who he was. I didn't find that out until after I lost the money. I'm sorry to drag you into this. I thought for sure that I lost him back in the 24th century when I used my Time Ring to come back to my own time. Who knew that he could time travel?" Amber said.
"Apparently, he's learned a few new tricks since the Doctor knew him," Amy said.
Finally a small army of Sil's men appeared at last armed to the teeth with several blasters among them, and they all looked at Amber with murder in their eyes. Among them were several Ogrons as well. Sil it seemed really wanted Amber very, very badly and had hired every mercenary that he could find to kill her.
"You have a talent for making people want to kill you that even rivals the Doctor's," Amy said to Amber with a sigh.
"I didn't do anything but borrow some money from him," Amber said innocently.
"Did you tell her how much, human?" an alien voice said from behind the mercenaries.
Amy had never met Sil in person, but she was pretty sure that the slug-like being on a luxurious looking carry-all that was being carried aloft by a group of beautiful female servants was the being in question. He eyed Amy up and down and smiled at her.
"Well, hello there! Would you like to join me as one of my bearers or maybe as something more?" Sil asked as he leered at her.
"One, I'm married, and two, even if I wasn't married, I'd rather kiss a Dalek than even let you touch me for one second," Amy said as she shivered in disgust at the sight of him.
"A Dalek? Really?" Rory asked.
"Shut up!" Amy said before smiling sweetly at him.
"It's your loss, beautiful one. I'll still spare your life however because I would hate to kill someone so attractive. If you'll simply step aside and let me have that treacherous woman, I'll let you go in peace," Sil said.
"How much does she owe you?" Amy asked.
"I already told you," Amber protested.
"He wouldn't be going to this much trouble to kill you for that amount of money. That's chicken feed for someone like him," Amy observed.
"You're intelligent as well as beautiful. Are you sure that you won't take me up on my offer?" Sil asked.
"I'd rather swallow a hand grenade," Amy said pointedly.
"I see. You're playing hard to get. The answer to your previous question is that I gave her all of the liquid assets of the Galatron Mining Corporation to invest on my behalf. She assured me that it was a sure thing but she lied. She lost all of the money in a single day, and now my employers are looking to me to replace it. That was when I learned that she had a Time Ring in her possession. If I could give them that, then maybe they would allow me to live. Killing Miss Loch in order to get it will be a nice perk too of course," Sil said.
Amy was furious at Amber as she said, "You said it was just a million credits!"
Sil began to laugh loudly at that remark, and Amy turned her angry stare upon him next as she said, "Shut up, or I'll turn you into escargot!"
"That's snails. He looks more like a slug," Rory commented.
Amy glared at him without speaking and he said, "I'm wrong of course. I'm shutting up now."
"Smart man," Amy muttered as she turned back to Amber with a look of death in her eyes.
"I didn't think that you would help me if I told you the truth. I really did have a sure thing, or I never would have risked that much money. That's why Sil came to me because I had doubled a rival company's profits overnight the same way. It was how I made a living until now. It wasn't my fault that the planet was blown up!" Amber protested to both Amy and Sil.
"Whose fault it was doesn't matter to me. I want the Time Ring. Give it to me now!" Sil demanded.
"You apparently already have time travel capabilities so why do you need it for?" Amy asked.
"It comes from the Time Lords themselves. It is far superior in capabilities to what my species is capable of. Our time travel is still rudimentary compared to that of the Time Lords. Someone who had a Time Ring in their hands could rewrite history to their advantage and make an enormous profit off of it," Sil said greedily.
"The Time Ring isn't for making profits," Amber said defiantly.
Amy smiled at her proudly then as she realized that Amber could have done just that with it, but she didn't. It was why she had trusted her with the Ring in the first place. Amber was a bit of a rogue and a con woman, but she wasn't about to use the Ring to mess around with history for her own personal benefit. She knew better than that from her travels with her.
Besides that, Amber wasn't really that bad of a person. She was really very kind and sweet at heart. She just had a bit of a weakness when it came to money matters. She couldn't quite trust her own judgment. Amy had nipped several of her schemes for making money in the bud when she had traveled with her in the past.
Amber was trouble, but Amy thought that she was worth it. She had become like a little sister to her when she had traveled with her, one that caused her even more trouble than Selene as hard as that was to believe.
Amy sighed deeply as she realized what she was going to have to do to save Amber. She was going to owe her big for this one!
"How much did she lose exactly?" Amy asked Sil.
Sil gestured for Amy to come over to him, and he whispered a number into her ear. Her eyes widened in surprise as Amber looked away from her in shame.
"I'll pay it," Amy said.
"What?!" Sil, Amber, and Rory all said at once.
"I said that I would pay it. I'll give it all back to you if you'll leave Amber alone and forget about the Time Ring," Amy said.
"How do I know that you have that much money?" Sil asked suspiciously.
"I am Cliodna of the House of Brightshore. I've got your money, Sil," Amy said as she looked at him with disdain.
"A Time Lady! I never would have guessed. You seem so human. You fooled me completely. Yes, I have heard of the wealth of the House of Brightshore. Give me the money, and I will leave your friend and her Time Ring alone," Sil agreed.
Amy signed a promissory note over to Sil, and he looked at it with glee. He just kept laughing as he realized that Amy had given him a few hundred credits extra for himself.
"You gave me a profit, Cliodna. Does that mean that you might like me just a little bit?" Sil asked with a wide grin on his face.
"The extra was to make sure that you left Amber alone. I can't stand you, Sil. If I didn't have such a high regard for life, I'd have already atomized you by now," Amy said with utter contempt in her voice.
"I think she likes me," Sil whispered to one of his bearers.
"Why don't I just kill him for you anyway and save you the money?" River offered with a devilish grin.
"No. It's better this way. His company would just send someone else in his place sooner or later," Amy said.
"I could take care of them too," River said.
"Melody," Amy said in a warning tone.
"I just thought I'd offer," River said as she winked at her.
"I knew that you had money, but I didn't know that it was that much," Rory said in astonishment.
"So? What of it?" Amy asked him curiously.
"Maybe I'll have to add a few extra things to my Christmas list this year," Rory said with a gleam in his eyes.
"If you ask Santa very nicely, she might get you one or two of them," Amy said with a giggle.
"This should satisfy my employers. That will conclude our business then, Miss Loch. Don't ever try to contact me again, or I will kill you. I still wish that you would reconsider my offer, Lady Cliodna. I would love for us to become partners in more than just business," Sil said with an evil smile.
"Okay, that's enough. Get out of here now, or I'm going to turn you into a shish kabob," Rory said as he finally lost his temper.
"I'm not afraid of you, little man. A little nothing like you is no match for my trained assassins," Sil said as he laughed at him.
Amy grabbed Sil by the neck in one swift motion before any of his mercenaries even had time to act to protect him, and his laughter choked in his throat as he saw for the first time now just how dangerous that she could really be. Sil instantly knew that if he persisted in insulting her husband that he would learn firsthand why the Cybermen ran from her whenever they knew that she was near.
"Leave," Amy said in a cold voice.
"Let's go home," Sil said as all trace of humor was gone from his voice now.
"Good idea," Amy said.
They all left now as Amber looked at Amy with tears in her eyes. Amy could tell that she was torn by guilt for bringing all of this trouble to Amy's doorstep and for making her lose all of that money.
"I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen," Amber said in a completely miserable voice.
Amy walked over to her with a smile on her face and hugged her tightly. Amber smiled and gasped in surprise at the same time.
"You mean you're not mad?" Amber asked.
"No. I'm used to bailing out troublemakers with a heart of gold. Don't worry about it," Amy said.
"Was that remark about me?" River asked with a laugh.
"If the shoe fits, Melody," Amy said as she laughed along with her.
"I'll pay you back somehow, I promise," Amber said.
"Well there is one way that you could pay me back if you really want to," Amy said.
"Name it. I'll do anything," Amber said eagerly.
Amy looked at Rory for a moment, and he nodded as he realized what she wanted.
"Travel with me again. I've missed you," Amy finally said.
"I'd be glad to. I promise that I won't cause you any more trouble. I swear," Amber said in excitement.
"Right," Amy muttered under her breath.
"Are you sure that you want her around? She gets in even more trouble than I do," River said.
"Yeah. I think that I should keep an eye on her for a while," Amy said.
"So you want her around so that you can protect her?" River asked.
"It's not her that needs protecting. I need to keep an eye on her so that I can protect the universe from her," Amy said with a grin.
Next: My final Silence storyline continues here next time as Amy and her crew find themselves on Trenzalore. What secrets from Davros' past will they discover there?