It was a testament to the incompetence of the government that there were still people running around. Screams and gunshots could be heard ringing out down every street as buildings were crushed and people were killed. Civilians weren't being evacuated, a couple of the shops were still even open and the situation had been going on for quite a while now. They didn't even seem to be getting the message out to the people who lived there. It was ridiculous.
One thing they had done, though, was gather whatever resources they had to fight back against the thing. Luckily the zoo seemed to have a contingency plan in case something like this occurred. It was a shame the mayor's office hadn't thought of something similar. That was going to bite them in the arse come election day.
There was an almighty crash as another building came crumbling down and all she could do was shake her head. Honestly, all she had wanted was to have a walk around the zoo, take a couple of pictures, just see the sights.
"Professor Song!" a voice called and she turned to see one of the curators running towards her. She lifted up her sunglasses so she could see them better as they came to a stop just by her. "The 'Rex is back in her enclosure. You were right, all she wanted was to have a bit of a play."
"People do like to doubt me," River replied. "What about the Albertosaurous?"
"All accounted for. Apart from the one who attacked the mayor's car, they were all still in the zoo."
Another building came crashing down and she sighed. "I'm guessing that's the Antarctosaurus trashing the shopping district?"
"We've got a couple of trucks coming in with food for it. I've been told he's a sucker for bamboo and mango," the curator replied. "What do you think we should do now?"
"We've still got a few to round up," River pointed out. "There's a couple of triceratops we've not heard about yet. Do we know if they're in their pens yet?"
The curator pulled out their phone and rang the people who would know. "Hey, hows the… Wait what?"
River frowned. "What? What is it?"
They held their finger up to tell her to be quiet and she had the rather overwhelming urge to grab it and bend it backwards until it broke. "No, no, of course I would have known," they told the person on the other end. "Why? Because I'm the bloody Jurassic curator, that's why! Who let them in? Didn't they check for… Nevermind, just… find out who they were and get back to me if you want a chance at keeping your job!"
"And that was..." River said leadingly.
"That was someone in my staff telling me that they'd let two inspectors into the Jurassic back offices. When we definitely are not due for an inspection."
"So they are our culprits, right?" River guessed. "Any clue where they've gone?"
They shook their head. "No, they just walked in, looked at they systems, took some readings and left."
"Probably wiped any interference they'd done," River commented. "Clever. Oh well, at least they can always blame you if they need to."
"This wasn't my fault!" the curator raged as she popped her sunglasses back down.
"No, but it was your staff that wiped any traces of the culprits away," she pointed out. "Which means that the blame will fall on your shoulders. You might want to consider looking in the wanted ads. For now, we really should get going."
"Get going?" they asked as she walked over to an abandoned motorcycle. She nodded and, with very little effort, got the engine started.
"Well, that Antarctosaurus is heading in our direction. We might want to get out of the way." She chucked one leg over the bike, mounting it like she had ridden one a hundred times. Well, she probably had. It wasn't her preferred mode of transport, but they did get you from A to B quickly. "Are you coming?"
The curator snapped out of their daze, rushing over to her side and climbing onto the back. "We don't have any helmets!" they protested.
River rolled her eyes. "That's your issue here?" she retorted. "My lord, how are you in charge?"
Before they could reply, she set off with screeching tires. She didn't really care what they had to say, after all.
~0~0~0~
The sound of a roar had them all pressing up against the alleyway wall.
"I've never seen them behave like this before," Robert the Curator told her in a whisper. "Whoever is behind this obviously knows what they're doing."
"I would think that would be obvious by the fact that they've managed to round up the dinosaurs without getting eaten," River retorted. The steady thudding of running dinosaurs was steadily approaching, along with the classic vibrations on the ground that suggested something rather large was about to reach them.
So River was rather stunned to see a bunch of golf balls to bounce past, as if they'd all been thrown down the adjoining street. They were shortly followed by three triceratops, which was what she had been expecting and that made her feel slightly better about what was happening. There was nothing worse than a disaster being unpredictable as well.
The blonde-haired woman was new, though. She was laughing as she ran passed the opening to the alleyway, dashing past seemingly not noticing the group of people hiding.
"Who-Who was that?" Robert the Curator asked as River sighed in exasperation, hanging her head and pinching her nose.
"Of course," she murmured to herself. Of course they were there. In the middle of a dinosaur rampage through a city, where else would they be?
"That would be my daughter," she answered the curator as Danni slowly walked backwards into view, a frown on her face.
"River?" she asked, confused and River nodded.
"Hello sweetie," she greeted and Danni's frown turned into a grin. She ran into the alley, hugging her tightly and River took a moment to enjoy it. After all, this Danni could either love her or hate her. It was nice to get the one who loved her.
"River!" she exclaimed before pulling back, a frown back on her face. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving the city from the escaped dinosaurs," Robert the Curator replied for her. "The ones you let free."
Danni shot him a look like she thought he was an idiot, River had long since decided this was so, before shaking her head. "We didn't let them go," she replied. "Why would we do that? That's a stupid idea."
"Well, why are you here?" River asked. "Apart from your predisposition to find trouble wherever you go?"
"A zoo with dinosaurs," Danni pointed out like it was obvious. "The Doctor thought it would be a good idea, and then when we saw the ruckus we thought we'd try and help."
"And that involves chucking golf balls down the street?"
"Not just golf balls," Danni told her with a grin. She was having the time of her life, which in turn made River rather happy to be a part of it. "Used golf balls. We went and raided a golf course about fifty miles away. When the Doctor accidentally picked up Brian and took him into space we found out triceratops love grass covered golf balls. And, well, when do you get a chance to play with dinosaurs in a deserted city?"
River didn't really know what to say about that. There was so much more to that story than Danni was offering them at the moment, and if she started to tell one story there was always the chance it would turn into another, and then another, and they really didn't have time for that. Danni did always have the tendency to like to talk about past adventures, and unless they involved herself then River really didn't care to hear them.
"Well, now you're here you can help us work out why someone would let out all of the creatures," River reasoned.
"Oh, we already did that," Danni dismissed. "It's a funny story, really. There was this little 3-year-old called Haru who really had wanted to play with one of those bouncy balls in the gift shop. Apparently she bounced it straight into an office and saw all of the pretty buttons. Her mum didn't think about it until they'd gotten home and saw the news."
"Are you trying to say that a three year old let out the exhibits?" Robert asked and Danni nodded.
"It's not like she meant to," she pointed out. "She didn't know what she was doing. But it's alright, we've covered it up so her mother shouldn't get into trouble for it. You know what humans can be like. Blaming people who meant no harm, or are too young to actually know what they're doing."
"You were the inspectors," River stated and Danni nodded.
"The Doctor changed the records to make it look like a mechanical malfunction," Danni explained while Robert looked absolutely fuming and the other two zookeepers just looked baffled by the new information. "I'm not sure what he did. Poked his sonic screwdriver at a couple of things and then we were off. Oh!" she exclaimed. "That reminds me."
She pulled out her screwdriver from inside of the grass-stained blouse she was wearing and pointed out of the alleyway, setting it off with two quick beeps and then one long one.
"There, he should be here in a minute," Danni continued before clapping her hands together. "So, tell me, what are we doing in an alleyway?"
"Trying not to get trampled by your pet tricerotops," River replied. "They're the only ones left to get back into the zoo. Fancy helping?"
"I guess they can't run around the city forever," Danni agreed, although it was obvious that she was rather reluctant to cage the dinosaur back up again.
The Doctor appeared around the corner, a frown on his face. He'd obviously been brought there by her signal. He spotted River next to his wife and his frown deepened. "What are you doing here?"
~0~0~0~
Danni sighed as the cage was reactivated, trapping the triceratops back in their cage. They had to be in there for their own safety, not just for the people in the city. Still, as she'd become older and older she'd become more conflicted about zoos. Sure, they could be a giant help to dwindling species, bringing them back from extinction. But, usually, that was down to the people who held them captive. But, if it helped, then where they always a bad thing?
Either way she was rather conflicted as the gates finally closed and she was left looking in through the light blue barriers that held the dinosaurs inside.
"Here you go," she told them, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the last of the golf balls she had. "For being good sports."
She chucked the golf balls in and smiled as the dinosaurs ran after them like dogs playing with tennis balls. They were just too cute.
She turned around and found her husband and her mother stood enough apart that no one could ever wonder if they had come to the zoo together or not. They'd never really got on and that was kind of down to her.
"Stop being children," she chided both of them. "We've got to get going before someone comes and asks us to finish cleaning up."
"Wait a minute!" Robert the curator exclaimed. "You can't just leave! You have to explain what happened and that it wasn't my fault."
Danni frowned. "You'd rather a three year old got into trouble over you?" she asked incrediously. "Oh, you really need to get your priorities straight." She turned to River, nodding her head. "TARDIS is this way."
The curator sputtered his outrage, but the three walked off without even a glance back at them.
"It's not like you to want to help someone," River commented. "All you do is go around and try and make peoples lives easier, isn't it?"
Danni shrugged. "Well, yeah," she agreed. "They wanted to get a little girl in trouble, though. It's not exactly warming me to them."
The Doctor opened the TARDIS door, letting his wife in first before stepping in himself, in front of River who rolled her eyes at the petty behaviour. She caught the door before it shut in her face and walked in and up to her daughter.
"Fancy giving me a lift home?" she asked Danni, keeping her back to the Doctor as she did. Danni frowned, brows furrowing.
"Aren't you coming with us?" she asked in reply.
"What?" River asked, confused.
"What?" the Doctor asked, sounding rather surprised at this new development. She looked over at her husband, looking a little sheepish about not bringing it up with him sooner.
"Well, I just thought that her trip to the zoo was kinda ruined," she reasoned, shuffling from foot to foot. "And so I thought we could all go out on… well… a family outing or something."
The last few words she said were mumbled, as if she didn't quite want to admit to them both what she wanted. River's lips pulled up into a smirk and she turned to look at the Doctor, one eyebrow raised.
"I would love to stay," she told them both. "But I don't think that he wants me here."
The Doctor glared at her. Once again he was being made into the bad guy. River had a habit of making sure that Danielle thought that he was the one trying to keep her apart from her friends. Which he would never do. Well, actually, there was at Christmas with Clara regarding Mr Pink, but since she came home he'd kind of let that slide. Not that he needed to worry about that anymore, not with Danni avoiding both of the humans all on her own.
He pointed at River aggressively, but looked past her and at his wife. "Not a word about my driving," he warned them both. "Or about how bad of a husband I am otherwise I'm heading straight to Stormcage and dragging her out myself."
Danni, instead of reprimanding him about his threat, instead smiled happily and nodded in agreement. "She won't, she promises," she replied for River. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"
She grabbed onto River's arm, bouncing up and down slightly on the spot. "Where to first?" she asked him.
He shrugged. "Let's find out," he said. "Random?"
Danni nodded eagerly in agreement. "Random!" Random was one of her favourite settings. It was always wonderful going somewhere new and somewhere you really wanted to visit, but there was something much more exciting about no one knowing what was on the other side of those blue doors until they were opened.
River found her excitement endearing. "Are we not picking up Clara?" she asked. Danni shook her head, her shoulders sagging slightly and she knew immediately that she'd said the wrong thing.
"Oh, no, Clara's not… Let's not bother her," Danni brushed off before finding her happiness again, turning and smirking at River. "I didn't think you liked to share me anyway."
"I don't," River replied shortly, making sure the Doctor saw the look she shot his way. "I was just surprised, that was all. Surprised, but rather relieved."
"Don't be mean," Danni chided lightly as the TARDIS gave that familiar little thud. Actually, it wasn't a thud. It was just the feeling that they were no longer travelling. She let go of River and moved to her husband's side, looking into the monitor he was stood by. "So? Are we good?"
He nodded slowly. "We seem to be," he confirmed. "Air's normal, some life signs, no signs of imminent war or destruction. Should be a nice day." He waved to the door. "Off you go, my Pet."
She grinned, then jogged over to the door, opening it happily. River joined her at a much more leisurely pace as the blonde stepped out, taking in the surroundings.
"Oh, it's a proper spaceship," she breathed happily as she looked around. "It's been ages since we've been on a spaceship."
The room they were in was all metal, the large panels riveted together. It felt very industrial, like it was built for a purpose and didn't need the glitz and glam of the rest of the ship. This was for work, and work only. Danni really liked to see the inner workings of the places they visited. And as the noise from the machines wasn't too much that she couldn't hear herself think, she guessed it wasn't the engine room.
The Doctor stepped out, closing the door behind him. "Well, I always find planets much more impressive to look at," he reasoned. "If you wanted more spaceships you should have asked."
"What's the point of random if I ask?" she countered. "So, where are we?"
"Somewhere new," the Doctor offered. "Somewhere we've never been before, isn't that enough?" She shot him a look. "What? You wanted random. This is random."
She stared him down for a moment longer then nodded her agreement. "Alright, you're right," she agreed. "Lets go find out."
She grabbed River's hand and began to walk towards the door at the other end of the room. River was on her best behaviour and only shot the Doctor a smug smirk at him being left behind. The Time Lord was obviously not pleased, which just made everything a little bit sweeter.
What they stepped out into wasn't the hallway that Danni had been expecting, but rather a large open space with giant windows and a lot of people bustling about. She had been right, though, about the decoration. What could be seen of the walls were white and shining, giving the whole room a very sleek feel. There was stalls lining the two sides without windows, and they were manned by a lot of people wearing suits. It seemed to be some sort of convention.
"Have you brought me to a business meeting?" Danni asked her husband, her nose turned up slightly in disappointment. "I mean, I know I said random, but really?"
"Of course I didn't bring you to a business meeting," he scoffed, placing both hands on her shoulders and removing her from River's grasp. "I brought you to see this."
He walked her over to one of the giant windows, feeling her take a sharp breath at the sight. The universe stretched out on the other side, with gasses and planets and stars all sparkling as far as the eye could see. It was simply stunning, a sight that would never get old and would never be the same twice.
"Oh wow," she whispered. "Good choice, Spaceman."
He looked up from the awe on her face, giving River his own smug look. "Yes, well, I'm not new at this," he reminded.
River tried to scowl at him, but one look down at her daughter had her struggling to maintain it. She looked so happy. She would always take Danni looking happy than looking sad, or worse looking like she wasn't feeling anything at all. Her daughter, and her best friend, had always shown her hearts to the world. When she was enjoying something, she was bouncy and happy. When she wasn't, when something terrible happened, she cried without embarrassment of fear. That was how it was supposed to be. So, whenever she could appreciate it, she would for all the times she would see her Danni-Girl and none of that was true.
The alarms sounded. The room lights dimmed and the warning lights flashed red above their heads. The room exploded into the screams and the spaceship tipped sideways and they were all crushed up against the glass of the window as everyone else tried to fight against the now gentle slope of the conference room floor.
"Oh, great," River exclaimed. "Can't just go somewhere where we're not about to die! You and your bloody driving!"
"Oi!" the Doctor protested, using all of his strength to push off Danni, who was now trapped between the two bickering people and the window. "I said don't mention my driving!"
"I won't mention it when you can bloody do it!" River snapped back.
Just as quickly as the room tilted, it straightened once again and Danni went tumbling to the ground with a bit of a grunt but not much damage.
"Oh, that's more like it!" She quickly climbed back up and sorted herself out, looking around to see if anyone seemed in distress. There was a lot of grumbling and shouting, but no one seemed particularly injured so she turned back to the other two.
"Mum, get off my husband," she chided as she caught sight of River sprawled over the Doctor, both of them groaning from the impact. "We've got work to do."
River quickly got up off the Doctor, brushing herself down more than what was actually necessary. The Doctor was also quick off the floor and the way he made sure to stand away from River made Danni want to put them both in separate corners until they decided to behave.
"Just because we tipped to the side doesn't mean anything bad is going to happen," the Doctor said. "There are terrible drivers everywhere. We're absolutely fine."
River scoffed. "You would try and pass off your terrible driving..."
"I'm not trying to pass off anything," the Doctor snapped before turning to his wife. "Danielle, did you really think this was a good idea?"
"I thought you two could act like adults for two bloody minutes," she retorted. "I just wanted to spend a day or two with the people I love, but apparently all I'm going to listen to is you two trying to find the best way to snipe at each other and make this as unpleasent as you possibly can for all of us."
The Doctor opened his mouth, ready to apologise because he hadn't thought it would get to her so much but she shot him a look that had his mouth snapping shut. "When you two want to behave..."
A bell-like noise sounded out. "Attention passengers," a voice proclaimed from all around them. "We would like to apologise for the slight upset in our otherwise smooth flight. An unavoidable engine interruption was necessary for your continued enjoyment. As a thank you for your patience, each cabin has been credited with 5 additional food and drink credits."
The bell noise sounded again, signalling the end of the announcement and the group stood for a moment in silence, all still looking up at the ceiling. The Doctor looked down first and caught sight of the two women staring then looking down in harmony. Danni looked nothing like any of her family – she used to have a resemblance to Amelia Pond before they'd realised that's what it was – her face and colouring mirroring a man that still terrified her to the core. But in that moment he saw a mother and daughter, side by side, brains ticking over in such similar ways. He suddenly felt rather guilty about trying to antagonise the archaeologist. He needed to be better. He may not be out of regenerations anymore, but she still deserved any family she could get. After all that his Danielle had given up to the universe, she deserved her mother and father.
He'd have to be better.
"Nothing going on, eh?" Danni teased her husband, a grin on her face. "You never listen to me."
"I always listen to you," the Doctor corrected, taking her hand in his. "Just only when it's time." He looked at River. "Want to come investigate with us?"
River blinked in surprise at the almost cordial invitation. Immediately she was suspicious, but she nodded in agreement. "Fine," she replied. "It sounded pretty fake, didn't it?"
Danni, who was suddenly beaming at her husband's attitude, reached into her top and pulled out her screwdriver. "I think we need to go visit the captain," she declared. "Or the pilot, or whoever is flying this thing." She pointed the screwdriver in the air, giving it a couple of bursts as she slowly turned on the spot before falling to a stop. "That way!"
"Is that where the engine room is?" River asked her as they started walking away.
"No," she replied. "It's where the phone is."
~0~0~0~
The captain lowered the leather wallet, looking over the trio with a distinct look of suspicion on her face. "Marketing?" she asked. "You don't look like you're in marketing."
"Well, we are supposed to be undercover," the Doctor brushed off, taking the phychic paper back. "Can't have people playing up to us just because we have a bit of swing."
"And why, exactly, would marketing be undercover?" she pressed. Danni couldn't blame her, to be honest. Marketing was a terrible cover to be under, wasn't it? Health and safety, or VIP guests, something with actual swing would have worked so much better.
"To make sure that you're keeping your end of the bargain," the Doctor replied simply. "So, start at the beginning. Why are we here?"
The captain didn't look particularly impressed with his question. "You don't know why you're on board?"
"Of course we do," Danni laughed off, hoping it didn't sound as odd out loud as it had done in her head. "We want to make sure that you know why we are. Step one of good marketing; Make sure all of your staff know how to sell your product."
Again, the captain didn't look massively convinced, but the way she rolled her eyes suggested that this wasn't the first time she'd been confronted by upper management. "Well, this particular voyage is a convention. A gathering of all the biggest and brightest fuel distributors looking for new sectors to break into. We've got three floors of convention halls, all with high tech booths and state of the art presentation software where over three hundred different small businesses are currently selling themselves. Outside the convention we've a selection of the galaxy's finest food and wine, cinemas, gambling and entertainment that means no one should be left wanting for the next four lunar cycles."
"Very nice, very nice," Danni said with a bit of a nod. She then decided that she wasn't sounding 'marketing' enough, and if that was their cover then they really needed to stick to it. "Maybe not call it gambling, though. Comes with bad connotations. Call it high risk chance games."
The captain just stared at her for a moment with a look on her face that suggested she really was trying not to snap at her, before turning to the Doctor. "As you can see, we have everything under control."
Danni leant to her side slightly, nudging River, who looked down at her. Danni shot her a smug little look, as if to say 'see what I did there', and River couldn't help her little amused smile. It was nice to know that Danni could be a childish in any situation.
"If that is so," the Doctor started with an authoritative air, "what happened with the engines?"
"It was just a simple miscalculation of fuel," the captain brushed off. "We had a blip in the levels and we fixed it."
"A miscalculation of fuel on a voyage full of fuel giants?" River asked slowly. "Do you not think that's a little bit odd?"
"It shouldn't happen again," the captain said through clenched teeth, becoming irate at the questioning.
"Shouldn't, but probably will," River countered. "No one has a blip in fuel levels that causes an entire spaceship to lean to one side. That's a malfunction, not a miscalculation."
"Everything is under control," the captain reiterated firmly. "If you will please excuse me..."
"We'd like to see the engines," the Doctor declared as she'd turned around to leave. She immediately spun back, eyes burning slightly in anger.
"What for?" she bit out.
The Doctor shrugged. "Well, we need to see every part of the ship if we're to give a thorough report," he told her. "You wouldn't want it to get to Head Office that you weren't cooperative." He shot her a big grin and Danni pressed her lips together to muffle the little giggle that wanted to break out. Oh, he was cheeky.
The captain sighed. "Fine," she grumbled, pushing past the Doctor. She was going to be sending a rather strongly worded email once this was over. She was the captain, not a bloody tour guide. "Keep up."
~0~0~0~
The engine room was much like the room they'd landed in. It lacked all of the grandeur and style of the parts of the ship seen by the passengers and was made largely of steel. It was a lot bigger than the room they'd landed in, though, and the noise from the machinery was a lot louder.
The captain walked them over to a terminal where a man wearing a navy blue uniform was lying, his legs sticking out from underneath. Her face lit up and it was obvious she'd just found someone to palm them off to.
"Mark!" she cried, smacking on top of the terminal for good luck. The man underneath jolted and came sliding out, eyes narrowed.
"I almost dropped my wrench on my head!" he snapped. "What do you want?"
"This is the head of Marketing, Dr Smith and his associates," she introduced as the man slowly climbed off the floor. He was quite portly, and while his words suggested he was quite grumpy, the smile on his face suggested otherwise.
"'ello," he greeted. "Here to see the guts and glory of the beast?"
"Something like that," the Doctor drawled. "We just wanted to check up on the 'miscalculation' with the fuel."
"Well, I'm sure Mark can answer all your questions," the captain declared happily. "I shall leave you in his more than capable hands."
If it had been a cartoon, she would have left a cloud of smoke where she had been stood. "I didn't know we were that unpopular," Danni commented.
"You're not," Mark replied. "That's the upper management for you. Can't be seen spending time mingling with the people." He pulled up his trousers by the belt before placing his wrench down. "Looks like you're stuck with me, I'm afraid."
"Nothing wrong with that," Danni said. "Can you tell us what happened with the engines? She said something about a fuel miscalculation."
River scoffed. "That's not what happened," she insisted. "Anyone who knows anything about engines can see that."
Mark nodded. "She's right," he replied. "We've got enough fuel to travel round the galaxy at least four times and we're only doing the one circuit. To be frank, we have no idea what happened to the engine. We have four separate combustion chambers powered by the fuel supply which are used to steer the ship. Port, starboard, bow and stern." He pointed them out. "For thirteen seconds, for no reason I can determine, the fuel was cut off from port and bow. Then, like nothing happened, everything went back to normal."
"Nothing at all?" River asked. "No blockages? Or leaks? Or..."
Mark shook his head. "Absolutely nothing," he confirmed. "I was just checking the power to the control unit when you turned up, but I would bet me house that nothing went wrong."
Danni quickly scanned the console with her screwdriver, holding it up as the end popped out. "No, everything here seems to be fine," she murmured. "Could it be something in between?"
"There are plenty of fail safes and other mechanics that could have caused the same effect," Mark explained. "I was about to go through the manual step by step. I doubt it will tell me anything useful, manuals never do."
The Doctor nodded with the most serious look on his face. "They don't. They're useless." He motioned over his shoulder. "We're going to have a nosy about."
Mark shrugged. "Be my guest," he offered. "Just don't break anything. It's my arse who'll take the kicking, not yours."
"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor promised. "Thanks for the information." He nodded with his head and the trio started walking away.
"Do you think you can work out what happened?" Danni whispered to her husband.
"Of course he does," River replied lowly. "Sticking his nose into things he shouldn't is his specialilty."
"Like you're not just the same. You were rounding up the dinosaurs before we'd even gotten there," the Doctor retorted.
"Of course," Mark called over. "There is also the bodies."
All three froze in their steps. Danni looked up at the Doctor, who looked down at her. She then looked up at River, who then looked down at her. Neither of them had been expecting that, and Danni had to admit she hadn't either. Nothing that had happened so far had even suggested that something that sinister was happening. There was no panic, no murmur of disquiet. The captain had just been annoyed to be bothered and had not acted like she was covering anything up at all.
The Doctor turned, a sickly smirk on his face. "Bodies?"
~0~0~0~
Danni grimaced as the Doctor pulled the sheet from the body, surprised at just the state the deceased was in. She would never get used to seeing a dead body, but it was always worse when they were missing bits of themselves. The man in front of them had been laid out peacefully, apart from the chuck he was missing out of his side and his left arm.
"And you just happen to have a morgue and a coroner on board?" she asked the engineer who'd taken them down into the ship.
"The ship is multi-purpose, so the morgue was built in. As for a coroner, well, a lot of the people on the ship are rich enough to bring their own doctors with them," Mark explained.
The Doctor frowned as he leant in closer, examining the wound, and River pulled out her own little scanner and held it above the man. Danni took the executive decision to let them check him over without her assistance.
"Male human, early hundreds," River rattled off. Danni let out a low whistling noise.
"He looks good for his age," she commented.
"Says that six hundred year old child," River stated.
"I'm older than you," Danni grumbled. River just shot her a look at her pouting.
"He seems to have been good health when he died. His heart, lungs, liver all seem to be in good condition," she continued.
"Yes, apart from the gaping hole in his side he's in perfect condition," the Doctor replied, gently poking the edge of the hole as he inspected it. Danni wrinkled her noise as he did. The wound was pretty ragged in appearance and he nodded with his head to motion to it.
"Danielle, what can you see?" he asked her and after a moment considering telling him she didn't want to go anywhere near it, she reluctantly joined him at his side, ducking down slightly.
"A giant hole," she replied shortly. "It looks like," she frowned, "it looks like teeth marks."
He nodded, standing up straight and pulling a small wet wipe packet from his pocket. He wiped his fingertips then dropped it onto the floor. "Something made him their lunch," he agreed. "Who is he?"
Mark frowned. "You don't know who he is?" he asked incredulously.
"Would he have asked if we did?" River pointed out.
"I guess not," Mark agreed with a bit of a shrug. He was rather used to people talking rather short to him. "He's the CEO of Shell Interstellar Fuel inc. Mr Graham McDonald. He's worth about three hundred billion credits. Or, at least, he was."
"Would be a rather unfortunate coincidence for a CEO of a fuel company to be eaten at a convention about fuel," Danni suggested.
"At a convention his company organises," Mark told them.
"Well, that probably makes this quite the tragedy," the Doctor reasoned. "And yet no one seemed to be distraught."
"That's because no one knows about it," Mark replied. "We're to keep it from the guests until we're told otherwise. A lot of people will be very happy to hear he's dead."
"Tends to be the way with these things," River said in a bored tone. "You said there was more than one body?"
The Doctor pushed in the drawer as Mark pulled out the next one from the refrigerator. This time it was a woman, with dark skin and a chunk out of her shoulder and chest.
In fact, all seven bodies all had some portion of their bodies missing, and each person was rather high up in his or her field.
"So, something rather hungry is bumping off all the high flyers," Danni commented as the last body was put back into the fridge. "One or two would be unfortunate, but it seems that someone's bumping off the competition. We need to work out who and stop them."
"And find whatever beast they're setting on their poor victims," the Doctor agreed. This was where he was best. At the lead of the group, giving orders, fighting the bad guys. He was the man who fought the monsters, be they creatures or people…
"Alright," River started with a nod. "Me and Danni are going to go to go investigate where the bodies were found, maybe we can see something that's inevitably been missed. Doctor, you and your new companion can go see if you can find out who might be murdering all these people." She checked her vortex manipulator. "Lets meet up back here in an hour."
The Doctor was left staring after the two, mouth open in shock as River took over his job and gave everyone their tasks, before walking off with his wife in tow. The sheer audacity of it had him frozen in the spot, trying to compute it. As the door opened he jumped back into life. "Oi, you can't do that!" he called after them. "I'm the Doctor! Not you!"
"That was mean," Danni told River as they headed down the hallway. "Hiliarious, but mean."
"You know he would have waffled on for ages, showing off how clever and in charge he is," River pointed out.
"And he would have had me go with him and not with you," Danni said, shooting her mother a cheeky grin. "I know your game, Melody Pond."
"Well, what can I say? I deserve your time more than he does."
"River!"
~0~0~0~
The first room they had headed to had been grand and incredibly pompous. The kind of bedroom you would expect a CEO to stay in. Even down to the portrait of himself on the wall, which was impressive considering it wasn't his spaceship. There wasn't anything of any use there, though. It had already been cleaned up so they bypassed the rest of the rooms and headed straight for the place the last victim had been found.
This death stood out slightly by being the only one not in one of the bedroom suites. Mr Lang had been found down the side of a bar, his leg torn clean off and it was never found. There was still blood splatters on the wooden bar and glass on the floor where his drink had been knocked over. It was being preserved as a crime scene, it would seem, and the bar had been locked when they'd found it.
Danni's sonic screwdriver took care of that problem very easily, and the two split up in the dark, large room looking for anything out of place. River headed straight to where the body had been and Danni started by walking around the edge of the room.
River crouched down by the bar, scanner back in her hand. "There's nothing here," she called over. "If it wasn't for the blood you'd think he just drank too much and fell off the stool."
"I'm not sure what we're going to be looking for," Danni told her. "Whatever it was can't still be here, can it?"
"No, but maybe we'll find prints, or..." she trailed off as she spotted a long, coarse brown hair. She picked it up slowly. "Or a hair!"
"Found something?" Danni asked as she pulled out her screwdriver, opening the door on a cupboard with 'Employees Only' on the front.
"Give me a moment!" River retorted. "I'm just going to scan it, see if I can pull some DNA."
Danni shrugged, opening the door and looking inside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just some mops, a brush, just general cleaning stuff. She turned her screwdriver on anyway, using the blue light to take a look in all of the corners...
She froze at the low growl, and her eyes widened as her light fell on the creature sat in the corner. It wasn't any taller than a small human child, but it's black, beady eyes glistened when the light hit them and its large front teeth were unmistakably crooked and sharp.
It hissed loudly, pouncing at her and she screamed, slamming the door shut before it could get out. She felt the body thud against the door and she quickly locked it again.
River joined her as whatever she'd trapped tried to break free, the thuds steady as it threw itself against the door.
"What the hell was that?" River asked.
"It was a giant rat!" Danni shrieked. "Like- Like a rat, but not a rat, like it was humanoid!"
"Humanoid?" she asked. "Big enough to take a bite out of a grown person?"
Danni nodded. "And then some!" she confirmed. "I think we've found our monster."
The thudding stopped, and they both waited with held breath to see if it would try anything else. When there was no more movement, Danni unlocked the door, reaching for the handle. River caught her hand, pushing it out of the way. She then pulled her gun out, aiming it ready.
"River!" Danni hissed. "You know I don't like guns! They're so unnecessary. It might have just been scared."
"Or you might have been its next meal," River countered. "You'll be happy I have it when it tries to rip your face off."
She opened the door, slowly at first, before chucking the door open and pointing the gun ready to shut the rat-creature-thing.
But nothing jumped out and it became very obvious that the cupboard was empty. River lowered her gun. "It's gone," she said lowly. "How?"
"More importantly; where?"
~0~0~0~
The Doctor and Mark ran as fast as they could around the corner, the snarls and snaps of a good dozen creature's jaws following them echoing in the metal hallway.
"This is ridiculous!" Mark exclaimed, panting heavily. "They're- They're rats!"
"No, they're not!" the Doctor snapped. "They're Ratforms, but either way they're going to eat us so I think the name isn't that important."
"Not really, no," Mark agreed. They turned around another corner and ran straight into Danielle and River, who also appeared to be running. His hand shot out and grabbed his wife's hand.
"No, not that way," he told her. "Killer rats."
"We know!" Danni exclaimed as they turned and ran back the other way. "We were looking for you. We just lost a couple!"
They quickly froze on the spot as another group came up the same way River and Danni had come, snarling, looking ready to tear them all limb for limb. They were cornered. Trapped.
"This is exactly what I said!" River snapped. "Every trip ends with everyone almost dying!"
"Yes, yes, I know. I need to check. Now is not the time to play the blame game," the Doctor scolded. "Have you got your gun or not?"
"You can't shoot them!" Danni protested. "They're just hungry!"
The Doctor looked down at her, wondering if she was actually serious but the defiant look she sent back said that she was. He sighed heavily. He couldn't let her down when her hearts were so kind.
"Fine," he snapped. He stepped forward, hands out, as if he was trying to stop each group. "You don't want to talk!" he told the Ratforms. "That's fine! I understand, but you will listen to us. We're not here to hurt you. No one else has to die today!"
The creatures did seem to be listening, scuffling on the spot and still acting like they were going to attack, but they didn't seem to be about to go in for the kill. The Doctor slowly lowered his arms.
"We need to know who your master is," he continued. "We can stop them, and we can take you home. We know this is not something you want to be doing. You feel trapped, but we are here to help."
Again, none of the creatures attacked, but for a long moment nothing changed. They were still cornered, and they were vastly outnumbered. Danni smiled, feeling rather loved as both her husband and her mother seemed to be covering her, protecting her from the threat. She was capable, even when she was scared, but the thought was lovely.
Then the Ratforms started to form a line, and began scuttling away all at once. The foursome watched for a moment, confused.
"What are they doing?" River asked.
"I think they're leading us to their master," Danni stated slowly. The Doctor nodded in agreement.
"Best follow them, then."
~0~0~0~
Fredrick Halster had wanted it all. Instead, his classmates were promoted again and again over him. He'd worked his arse off, and nothing had every come to fruition. He had a poxy upper management job and he wanted the glory of the CEO position. McDonald hadn't deserved it, he had.
"But I had been too low," he continued, swirling his drink in his hand as he sat behind his desk. The four troublemakers were tied up in front of him, and his little pets were ready to attack if anyone tried to escape. "If he died, then there were people above me who would get the job above me. I needed help." He downed the last of his whiskey. "Then a woman came to see me."
"With a magic mirror and a fix all, I'm going to guess," River snapped.
"She knew exactly how to get me what I wanted. All I had to do was help her get something she wanted, and luckily I know how to get my hands on some of the universe's harder to locate treasures."
"What? Diamonds? Jewellery?" Danni asked with her disgust clear in her tone. He was talking about death in such a calm and relaxed way it made her stomach turn.
"No, a vortex manipulator," he replied. "Much like the one on your wrist." He motioned to River, who glared and struggled slightly.
"You're not getting your filthy hands on it," she swore and he chuckled at her, like her attitude amused him.
"Oh don't worry, she wanted her payment up front. I managed to save a bit of money by getting her a faulty one. Although," he eyed River almost hungrily. "I could sell that for a quite a profit."
"Don't you dare lay a hand on her!" Danni exclaimed. "That's my mother!"
"Really?" the man asked, sounding surprised for a moment. "And he's your father, I'm guessing? How quaint, a lovely little family murder mystery team. Too bad you won't be able to see the end of it, but at least you'll die all together."
River and the Doctor, always seeing the most important aspect of every situation, both began to furiously deny being married or having ever had any sort of close relationship at all.
"Quiet!" Fredrick demanded. "I don't have time to listen to you arguing or begging for your life. I have stuff to do."
He stood up from his chair. "My little pets here will be quick with you. Unfortuntely it will still be terribly painful."
"You think they're really going to help?" the Doctor asked, trying to stall for more time. "What did you promise them? A way to get home?"
"I wouldn't be so stupid," Fredrick laughed off. "And let witnesses lose on the galaxy? No, they're mine for the rest of their short little lives. They're just happy to have a full meal for once."
The Doctor smirked. "Well, that's where you're wrong. They don't want your sloppy little seconds, or a master, or to be trapped on a spaceship. They want freedom. And this is how they're going to do it!"
He surprised them all by pulling his hands from behind the chair as if he'd never been tied up. He jumped off the chair and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it upwards. As he set it off, all the speakers around the room screeched painfully as he turned them on.
"But I had been too low," Fredrick's voice proclaimed. Danni grinned as she realised that the conversation was more than likely being broadcast through the entire spaceship. ""If he died, then there were people above me who would get the job above me. I needed help. Then a woman came to see me."
"What have you done?!" Fredrick screamed.
"Your little 'pets', as you called them, want to be free. They want justice, and this is how they're getting it."
Danni leant over as far as her ropes would allow, smirking smugly at River, who refused to acknowledge the look. "Go on," she crowed. "Admit it. He's awesome."
"You think so?" she asked as the doors opened and security guards rushed in. Danni nodded, looking back at her husband who was helping the guards arrest their murderer.
"I really do," she replied honestly.
"And yet he's not exactly rushing to get us free, is he?" River pointed out and Danni blinked as she realised they were all still tied up.
"Oi, Spaceman!" she shouted over, annoyed. "Wanna let us go?!"
~0~0~0~
The Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS for his wife, but River stepped in first. "I have to admit," she said as she looked around the TARDIS. "This has definitely been a trip out I won't forget in a hurry."
"Oh, ha ha," the Doctor murmured as he let Danni in, then followed, cradling his arm against his chest. "Yes, let's make fun of the man with the broken arm."
"Oh, it's not broken," Danni dismissed. "I'll clean it up. I did tell you to not let them pull you in for a hug. You said it yourself that the Ratform were a bitey race."
"I thought they just wanted to celebrate how I had helped them be free rats," the Doctor protested.
"We know," River interrupted before he went into another rant. "It was funny, we all had a laugh."
He glared at River before turning to his wife. "She's doing it again," he moaned and Danni sighed.
"River, behave," she warned her mother. "He promises the next trip will be a lot less dangerous, don't you Doctor?"
"The next trip?" River asked, hoping that it wasn't wishful thinking. Were they not just dropping her off back at Stormcage?
Her whole mood lifted as Danni nodded. "Well, after I've had a shower," she clarified. "I'm covered in rat hair and I want it off my right now."
"I'll join you," the Doctor called, jogging after her. River rolled her eyes. She really didn't want to know what they were getting up to. That was her daughter. There were going to be words.
For now, though, she effortlessly set the TARDIS into flight. She was staying on the TARDIS. She was travelling with Danni and the Doctor. She hadn't been this happy in as long as she could remember.
~0~0~0~
Sorry this is late, and a little bit subpar. I'm not feeling well, but I didn't want to miss another week of updates. I kinda like it, though.
No review replies today, I'm afraid. My head is hurting too much. Thank you all for each and every one.
Oh, and Wiped Out was updated.