A/N: warnings for this chapter: minor character death, implied rough interrogation.
Arrogance and Desperation
He'd burn them all. He'd take them to the furthest reaches of the known universe and throw them in the haunted pit of despair.
They took Rose.
Threatened her.
And if they hurt her.
As if Son of Mine could read his thoughts, the insect stumbled and tripped as Jack shoved him up the Tardis corridor, his hands handcuffed behind his back. Gone was the coat tails and school uniform of the child he'd killed, and instead the Tardis had provided him with a plain set of scrubs – fitting.
When they reached the console room, Martha and Ulysses's vessel were waiting, ready to go. Without a word he stormed past both of them, through the Tardis doors and into the alley they were parked in, expecting them all to follow. Tomas was human for now. He'd fall in line.
In the street, the various shoppers took one look at them and moved fast out of his way. His eyes were dark. Just get in my way, the Doctor thought, I dare you.
Behind him, he heard footsteps jogging towards him.
"Doctor?" Jack called.
He walked on. Whatever it was, it could wait. Rose took priority above everything else. Everything.
"Doctor." Jack grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. That angered him. The audacity of it. His gaze fell to Jack's hand as though it was the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen.
Jack pulled away. "Doctor, listen. I think we need a plan -"
"We have a plan. Save Rose. Give Gate her Vortex Manipulator, then leave her and this place for good."
"But Doc -"
"Enough." he commanded. "We're wasting time. You're either helping me get Rose back or you're in the way."
Jack let it begrudgingly go with a sigh, falling back in rank and relieving Tomas of Son of Mine's care.
The Doctor whirled around, continuing on.
No more interruptions.
The meeting point, a storage room of an old cargo dock, where the once refrigerated rooms were now thick with the smell of mould and rotting meat, lingering long after being cleared. There were stains on the concrete and large wooden and metal crates, falling apart or rusting; stacked together - left behind.
The Doctor led them into a clearing between the crates. "Show yourself."
The three kidnappers walked out confidently from behind the crates in front of them, different rifles in their hands secured with a strap across their front. A Hamish, a Homoformatus Piscis, and a Foxkin, but no Rose.
"Where is she." he demanded.
The Homoformatus Piscis - a humanoid with a head resembling a pink blowfish - stepped forward. The leader, the Hamish, in worn combat gear and far away from the command seats of the Shadow Proclamation where his kind were usually found, blocked the blowfish's approach with their arm. Their red eyes focused on the Doctor. "Not until we see what we want."
The Doctor gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He signalled to Jack who shoved Son of Mine forward, looking so weak and frail in the child's body.
It was no surprise the Foxkin, tall but sturdy, arrogant fox-humanoid, chuckled. "You've got to be kidding." they said.
"I'm not." he shoved Son of Mine forward himself, getting the sonic out of his jacket pocket and aiming it at the Foxkin's gun. It sparked and crackled, falling apart in the alien's hands.
The Foxkin looked astonished, their gaze flickering in disbelief between the gun in pieces on the floor and their leader.
"I won't ask again."
The leader smirked. Unfazed and confident. "Your woman and the Time Agent are on our ship. We'll take you to them once you hand over the kid. Then, if he can do what he's supposed to, we'll give you back the two women."
The Doctor wanted to wipe that smile permanently off his face. How dare he. How dare he. "No. I see Rose first. Now."
The leader pulled out the trigger for the Overlife and his hearts sank. Rage was smothered by fear. The fear of Rose dying a painful death, leaving him and the universe without her.
"No, we test the kid first." he said with another sick smirk, wiggling the trigger at him.
"Fine." he snapped, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He could not lose her. Not again. He just couldn't.
The leader scoffed. "Thought so." He dramatically motioned his arm outward, towards a gap in the crates behind them. "After you."
He stepped forward.
"Ah, ah, ah, pass the probe first."
Gritting his teeth, he quickly flicked through his options. There wasn't a choice. He threw it away from the group, out of spite.
"Well, that wasn't very nice."
They led them through the hold, corralling them with their guns until they reached a dock in disrepair. Their craft was a standard space cruiser, nothing special in terms of power or manoeuvrability, easily hackable if need be.
The leader hit a button and the ramp to the craft lowered while the Foxkin gave them a quick pat-down and took Jack's guns and Martha's phone. They found nothing on him - bigger on the inside pockets were good for that.
They'd modified the inside, typical cowboy DIY, illegal authority trackers and ship ID VPNs. As he suspected – it was the equipment that was shielding Rose, not that she was dead. No sign of any other crew, so only the three of them against his five, maybe six if Gate was any use, but he doubted it. Exposed wires and control panels also gave him options, like disabling the oxygen.
They led them to a set of three holding cells. He could smell that Rose had been there. Where was she? He needed to see her. To make sure she was okay. Unharmed.
The three bounty hunters stopped at the middle cell. Someone from Clom was kneeling on the floor, their head down and their hands bound behind their back.
The captain Hamish hit his gun on the bars. "Got a visitor Yrploo." he said, sounding very proud of himself. "This is Yrr. A known associate of Flouwder. Who just happens to have a massive price on her head. He won't talk - even through the memory extractor."
Jack glowered at the captain, knowing how disgusting that was to admit.
The Captain continued, smiling crookedly at Son of Mine. "And that's where you come in."
Son of Mine hesitantly studied the obese, slimy alien, sniffing loudly while the Doctor eyed the other room, calculating how long it'd take him to search for Rose and run away with the others.
It was too risky.
"There are lots of smells. I need something that belongs to the person you're trying to find."
The leader nodded to the Foxkin, who marched on and out of the room. There were some rustling-scraping sounds. A few seconds later he came back holding a small silk-like drawstring bag. He dangled it in front of Son of Mine.
"Kept it with her for four years, rumour has it." the Havish told him.
Son of Mine awkwardly angled his head, his lips dry from the fear. He sniffed, was still for a second, then pulled away and sniffed the air. And again. He turned back to the cell and took another long sharp sniff. "The person who owns this is a shopkeeper three miles from here, a female Fenix approximately twenty years old, and has never interacted with this man, who is from a planet two systems from here and has not set foot on the port."
It was obvious from the pleased glances of the three that Son of Mine had answered correctly. The Doctor glared at them. "There. Now take me to Rose."
The Havish looked him up and down, smirking again. "Sure thing Romeo."
Oh, how he would end him.
They led them to a hollowed-out room, most likely for this very type of exchange. Nothing around, nowhere to duck behind, only two exits directly opposite each other.
The leader nodded to the Foxkin. First out was Gate. Tall, bulky, and clumsy as the alien pushed her forward. She'd been roughed up and stripped down, hit with the but of a gun on her leg with cuts on her arm.
His jaw was tight, his body rigid. If Rose was like that.
Rose followed a second behind, brightening as soon as she saw him, lighting the whole dirty room. "Doctor!" she said happily.
But all he could see was what they'd done. She wasn't wearing any bottoms, her bare knees were scraped and there was a puncture mark on her neck. His fury raged ice hot inside. He turned to the captain, his gaze ancient and unforgiving. He could barely speak he was so consumed. They'd dared touch her. "Where - where are her clothes?"
Her face fell. "Doctor, it's okay. We're okay. Look see." she said, sounding a little bunged up.
He gave her his full attention, and, at the same time, Penelope sniffed - cracklely, mucusy and gross. Both of them sounded ill - an effect of the sedation?
"Doctor?" Rose called, nervous for him to smile back. Waiting. Wanting to know he was okay. "Long time no see." she said tentatively.
Only her. He smiled back, unable to help it, his boiling rage calming. "Long time no see." His body moved automatically. He went to her, guiding her away from her captors and to their group. They didn't try to stop him. Lucky for the crew, they didn't completely lack intelligence.
Gently, he examined her wrists, wishing he still had the sonic while Jack and Ulysses's vessel stood in front of them, tense and on guard.
The Doctor unbound Rose's hands tenderly as he could - so to not cause her pain. There was a red mark but no break in the skin, or burns from the rope. She'd not been struggling – good. That was good. Rose was always brave. She would've fought. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." she smiled at him.
"Are you sure?" Martha asked, studying her while he shimmied out of his coat and wrapped it around her, pulling it snug and keeping her close.
In his hold, she looked up at him, casting a weary glance at the guards before she spoke. Instantly, he moved his body to protect her and leaned in.
"It's not that Overlife stuff." she said in a whisper.
He pulled back. "What?"
"It's that perry-plex stuff. I'm fine." she said quickly. She was going to say something else but Gate cut over her.
"I'll have his coat." she said, walking over to join them, nodding to Jack.
The Doctor made a face, she sounded like she was from London. But it was most likely fake. "You're the Time Agent. Deal with it." he snapped.
This? This couldn't be where he came from. It didn't make sense. Of all the creatures to pick from in the universe, why would Ulysses even consider this woman's DNA. She couldn't be part of him. The level six DNA scan he'd used to try and track her signature to find Rose was wrong.
It had to be.
Penelope looked at him and her shoulders slumped, resigned. But she should be grateful he was helping her at all. She turned to the Hamish. "So, what now?"
While the Hamish was prattling on, Rose squeezed his arm. "Help her." she said softly.
He didn't want to. Why would he? What had she ever done for him? Nothing! That's what. Not that she should've done anything, because she meant nothing to him - absolutely nothing.
"Doctor?" Rose asked quietly, worry in her voice. "Please."
He could never deny Rose of anything. With a great, but just hidden resistance, he strode behind the Time Agent and reached to undo the rope.
At the contact, there was a blur of motion. Penelope jerked and spun. Spooked, she seemed about to kick him in the knee. Tomas slammed his hand on her shoulder, gripping her to keep her in place. Her eyes met Tomas's, and she stopped.
Confusion spread over her face for a long second, before she pushed down whatever she was thinking about and turned back to face the Hamish. But the event had left its mark. Her voice was shaky, floundering over the first few words.
The Hamish and the other two were already arrogant, and after that pathetic display their egos inflated to bursting, the captain laughing along with his crew.
"If she can't see you, you must tell her before you touch her." Tomas told him covertly, his hand still on Penelope's shoulder. Knowledge which clearly hadn't originated from his human memories.
"You stay, until we find what we need." the captain continued, while the Doctor cautiously undid the rope, admittedly a little thrown himself.
"Surely, you realise to what extent you've stretched your laws of governance." Tomas said, stepping next to Penelope.
"Yeah, even a trial in Opa would turn out badly for you." Jack added, keen to jump in. "Let us go before you go far enough that you lose your Grade-seven-one licence. And you know what happens then."
The binds came off and the Doctor stepped back, Rose taking hold of his arm.
"Thanks." Penelope said under her breath.
"Don't mention it." he replied tightly.
The Hamish scoffed. "Please, a bunch of tourists without visitor passes like you." He signalled with a flick of his hand. Between one second and the next, guns were pointed at their heads.
"But - I -" Gate's voice was still shaky, all her confidence and knowledge had fled. "I have a resident's pass, I don't… if you take me."
"You'll be charged with kidnapping. And do you really want to risk that?" Jack interjected, trying to salvage their play.
The Hamish looked at them with smug pity. "Really? That's what you're threatening us with, legislation that doesn't even exist? Your lanky, love-sick friend over there, just broke three intergalactic exchange laws, so we're acting in the safety of the crew."
The Doctor puffed out his chest, stepping in front of Rose and Martha, while Jack and Ulysses's vessel readied for a fight.
The blowfish raised his weapon at Tomas's head.
"No!" said Rose hastily. "We'll do it. We'll go." She looked to the Doctor. "Right?"
The cell they were packed into was crowded and stuffy. Bar Son of Mine, who'd been taken to navigation, all of them sat on the floor with glum or glossed over expressions. Tomas was next to Penelope against one wall. Rose and he against another. Martha and Jack were opposite. Each forced to wear a long scratchy uniform-like scrub shirt and shorts over their underwear.
He kept Rose close, holding her so the rugged iron bars wouldn't leave a mark on her back. She'd already been through enough. He'd get her out. Get them all out. Once they entered the planet's - or wherever Son of Mine was leading them to - atmosphere, he'd send a call out to their authorities, have them arrested by their own people. He'd already snagged what he needed when the Foxkin escorted them down here.
He glanced up from his position on the floor of the cell, observing the Foxkin keeping guard over the six of them, his back to them. He was obviously strong, but so was Jack and, even though this body wasn't the weightiest he'd ever had, he could still fight if need be.
It was just finding the right time. They'd been travelling at hyperspeed for three hours and twenty-one minutes - well out of range for the Tardis translation circuits now, but that didn't matter to him. He'd get her out.
Tomas cleared his throat, causing everyone in the cell to shift their attention to him, the man nervous and squirmy. "Since there's not much going on in terms of conversation…" He straightened. "Ms Gate."
The Doctor's eyes bulged. No, no, no, no. He was actually going to talk. Stupid ape. He subtly shook his head, but the damn human was too lost in what he wanted to say.
"- there's something I've been meaning to ask you about."
Jack and Martha both braced. He'd told them Tomas was an arched Time Lord and, with what had just happened, it was painfully obvious the Time Lord knew Penelope and she, somehow, recognised them. Of course they'd have questions - he had plenty. But, now? Here? In front of everyone? No, please, no!
Penelope slowly brought her knees up to her chest, looking away from Tomas and curling in on herself, already knowing what Tomas was about to ask.
Tomas watched her for a few seconds, expecting her to say something eventually.
She didn't reply.
"It's just that I'm currently -"
"I know." she said.
"You do?" Tomas asked, sounding just as surprised as everyone else looked.
Everyone's gaze turned to Penelope, like they were the crowd at a tennis match. What were they saying.
"Yeah." Penelope said, still not looking at him, not looking at any of them.
"But -"
Penelope only hugged her chest tighter.
"Right." Ulysses replied, disheartened and a little hurt. He tried again "So… -"
"Yeah. If -"
"Yes, yes, of course. Although…" He glanced worriedly at the Foxkin, causing everyone else to do the same.
Penelope huffed, and everyone returned their focus to the two of them. "Yeah, I'm working on it though."
What the hell were they even saying!
Tomas deflated, his gaze finding the floor. Whatever she'd just said hurt him, and quite badly at that. "...Oh." he said, brushing something imaginary off his feet.
The Doctor felt a surge of protectiveness. His guardian was vulnerable, and Gate was upsetting them.
"Yeah." she said quietly, her voice containing, at least, some semblance of regret. She took a long breath in, finding the courage to face them. "Not that I want to… but"
Now it was Tomas who couldn't meet her eye. He stuttered on what he wanted to say, but Penelope already knew.
"Something's… yeah?" she asked, sadness in her voice.
No words came out, Tomas only hung his head further in defeat, nodding dejectidly. "You're correct." he admitted.
Penelope's eyes glossed over, focused on a problem. But the Doctor – nor any of them from the looks of it – had no clue what they were on about. How could he help Ulysses if he didn't know what was going on.
"Did you…" She made a twisting motion with her hands, like she had an imaginary jam jar and was trying to undo the lid.
Tomas blinked at her. "Shit." He tugged at his hair. "They have it now."
Then it clicked, and his face fell. The watch. They were talking about the watch. There was an additional safety mechanism – a twist and release. Rose must've told Penelope in the cell... but why?
Penelope nudged Tomas with her knee, making him look up. "Hey, I've got it, okay?" she said, a gentleness in her voice.
He cast her a weak smile, one from the soul. One that said 'okay, I'm trusting you'. He pushed his head forward so their foreheads touched. The Doctor tensed instantly, recognising the intimate telepathic gesture from Gallifrey - the sort only done with trusted relations, with equals.
Penelope hastily pulled back, floundering over her own response. "It's not cos, it's you know -"
Ulysses's vessel sat back "Yes." he said, embarrassed. "It was my - well -"
They looked at each other for a bit, and Jack took the chance. He loudly cleared his throat. "What the hell just happened?" he said, voicing all their inner thoughts.
Tomas made a face as if his question was odd. "Was I not speaking English?" he asked, confused, glancing at Penelope for guidance.
"Yeah, you were speaking English." said Martha before Penelope could reply.
Tomas still had no clue. He looked to Penelope again for help. Penelope waved her finger between his and her head. Which, apparently, was enough, as realisation spread across Tomas's face. "Yes, yes, of course." he said to himself.
"Of course, what?" the Doctor pressed, getting irritated. He was out of the loop and he didn't like it. "What are you saying?"
"And how come you two know each other?" Martha asked.
Tomas opened his mouth, but paused, unable to find the words. He searched, his brow knotting for a moment. Whatever he was trying to find was lost within the watch. He shook his head subtly at Penelope for her to take over.
She held her finger up to her lips, glancing at the Foxkin before she spoke. "I think maybe… story time outside the prison cell?"
Rose glanced at the Foxkin. "Think that's a good plan, yeah?"
Jack straightened his back, refocusing on the task. "Well, in that case, get any info?"
"Maybe… I saw they have bounty hunters' ID."
"Yeah, me too." said Jack. "Know the branch?"
"Udon-Roe… I think."
Martha grimaced. "Udon-Roe? That sounds like a Japanese restaurant."
"It's code. So, they don't pick out the name - English is pretty uncommon in these parts." Jack explained, careful not to glance at the Foxkin, wary of their presence. "That's even more legislation heavy than the legal Piracy code."
"Is that good or bad?" Martha asked, looking between Jack and the Doctor.
"It's good, yeah?" Rose added enthusiastically, looking at Penelope for clarification.
The Time Agent nodded once.
The Doctor felt a stab of jealousy. He knew it was unreasonable. Rose always got on with people. She didn't know the history - well, neither did he. And anyway there wasn't any history between Penelope and him. There couldn't be - Penelope was not special at all. So… Rose should not be trusting her so much. He'd checked her records. She'd failed twice before she got into the Agency. And even when she passed, her mission reports were always riddled with mistakes.
"So, like is there some protocol we can say or something to make them let us go?" Martha asked, not him, but bloody Penelope and Jack. Like his authority had been completely dissolved. But she was just a human. She didn't outrank him, no matter what she was.
And she wasn't even anything!
"I'm sorry." the Doctor interjected loudly, sarcasm layering is voice. "Just who -
"Quiet in there!" the Foxkin snapped. "Or we'll separate you."
The Doctor's grip on Rose tightened. Over my dead body, he thought. Yet, he kept quiet all the same. For he already had a plan – unlike the Time Agent. And he needed to sit and wait for the moment to strike.
One hour and forty-one minutes passed in silence. Rose was sleeping against his shoulder, Penelope too was struggling to stay awake; her head kept drooping onto Tomas or against the wall behind her. It matched with the side effects of Periplex – exhausting them as it left their system.
Oh, how he wanted to get Rose out of here. Scoop her up and back to the Tardis. Back to safety. He knew the ship had to dock soon, fuel capacity only allowed for five-hours at the most for full-speed faster than light travel.
As if on cue, the ship rattled as it came out of hyperdrive. It startled everyone but him into alertness. The guard's radio crackled and the Doctor heard the name of the planet. Yik-Tyun. His mind flicked through what he knew, most of their technology was imported, pretty standard. They had a global police force. It would be easy to contact them once he narrowed down the wavelengths of their communications.
The tricky thing would be getting their stuff. He needed the sonic, his key and of course Ulysses's locket. He'd luckily slipped it into a secret part of his suit jacket so hopefully they wouldn't take it.
Minutes later, the blowfish appeared, a smug smirk on his face. "Close enough to get a lock on the tracker. That kid's pretty good. Captain said to bring them to the flightdeck."
The Foxkin smirked, then turned to them. "Did you hear that? Your friend pulled through?"
"What?" exclaimed Penelope, in Rosc - the merchant language. "Level three. Level three." she repeated in a horrid accent. L-3, that was basically elementary level. A toddler could do better.
The Foxkin rolled his eyes. "Kid do good job. Got that? You're kosher."
Penelope needed time to process the simple words. Then nodded. "Now what?" she said brokenly.
"What did he say?" Martha asked him, but Penelope replied.
"Son of Mine found who they were looking for." she said. "I'm asking what happens now."
The Doctor fought not to roll his eyes. That was definitely not what she was doing.
The Foxkin spoke slowly and patronisingly, like speaking to a small child. "Now you, and your friends go to the flight deck, understand?"
Penelope still required time to translate. "Okay." She addressed all of them. "They're going to take us to the flight deck."
"Why's that?" Rose asked.
"To let us go." she explained in English, using the wall as support to push herself up. "Or at least release us from custody." She took Ulysses under the arm and pulled them up.
Her actions irked the Doctor. You didn't just 'handle' Time Lords like that. Especially not Ulysses.
"Only now we'll probably have to 'do a favour' for them to take us back to the port." Jack added begrudgingly, getting up and turning to help Martha.
Rose shifted. He rushed to help her.
A new gun was jabbed in his back as they were led to the flight deck. The room was small, Son of Mine and the captain were standing on an elevated platform, large navigational screens behind them with a one-man steer in the centre front, the blowfish driving. To either side of the steer were two smaller command hubs. The shabbiness of the place meant wires ran down from vents above and panels were exposed.
Son of Mine must've been enjoying his slightly increased freedom. He was smirking when they entered, mid-conversation with the captain, but that fled his face as soon as their eyes met. Good, the thing was still afraid of him. Last thing he needed was these pirates to know he was a Time Lord.
"You are a Time Agent too, right?" the captain asked Jack in 'Gens' a standard intergalactic language used in planets under the Shadow Ploclamation. He smirked that sick smirk, looking at Jack up and down. He moved to Gate. "You can translate."
Jack straightened. "We demand a med-eval on the kid. Given the state of your other prisoners." he said, speaking in the language, much to the surprise of Rose. He motioned up and down Gate's body. "That bruise there sure looks like a butt of a gun."
The leader's mouth twitched ever so slightly, not in arrogance, but in annoyance. Good. Jack was doing his job, distracting them.
The Hamish jerked his head at Son of Mine to move.
Son of Mine rushed over quickly, standing between Gate and Jack. "Our doc John will check him over."
With a glare Jack signalled Son of Mine to walk over towards the Doctor.
Well done, Jack. Now he could use the prisoner. Stealthily, he took Son of Mine over to an exposed panel by the doorway, pretending to check on him while he fiddled with a loose and already exposed control box, out of the crew's line of sight.
Rose and Martha quickly caught on, and were sure to stick close by Jack to further shield him from view. Although, Tomas seemed to be too focused on Penelope and Jack's conversation to notice what he was doing.
As the Time Agents continued to bargain, he plucked a wire to divert the system. He knew this model had a switch, it was just -
"You're signalling the authorities?" Son of Mine asked quietly. "But -"
He glared at it, and it shut up. He moved back to the original exposed panel. Just one more trigger. He delicately unplugged a few cables and switched their positions.
Done. He glanced back to the Time Agents.
"And, I've got to say, I think you're really stretching the vested interest clause." Gate added, also in Gens, with much better flow than her last language attempt.
It didn't take long. An alarm blared through the room. A flashing light coated everyone red. The captain made for the navigation station, frantically hitting buttons and turning dials.
"Proximity trigger." The blowfish pulled up the feed from an exterior camera on one of the large screens. Three RASP cruisers, slower but more agile than their ship, appeared. "Shit. It's the fuzz." he said in Gens. He leaned back in the chair. "Captain?"
Like time stilled, the captain turned around, and stared right at the Doctor, ignoring the chaos. He knew, his shoulders sagging in defeat, angry at himself for missing the trick.
The Doctor smirked cruelly. 'You took Rose.' he thought. 'Whatever happens next I'll make sure it's the worst day of your tiny life.'
Another blast hit. Martha yelled and time returned to normal. The captain snapped out of it and screamed at his crew. "Activate shields, they've found us. Kun get us out of here."
The Foxkin rushed forward and manned the weapons station, strapping himself in. Another blast hit and the ship shook violently in protest.
The Doctor made for Rose and dragged her over to something sturdy; a single railing along one side of the upper platform. "Hold on." he told them in English. No one needed telling twice, all rushing into action. Martha and Son of Mine stumbled to the nearest pillar, while Tomas grabbed another pillar closer to him and Rose. Jack and Penelope's Agency training was apparent, they moved together, as a team, stable despite the rattle, before bracing themselves in the door frame.
A voice crackled over the radio. 'You're trespassing in our airspace, land now or be shot down."
A ceiling panel crashed down millimetres from Rose's head. The ship jolted, and dropped. They'd been hit.
It was fine, the Doctor tried to tell himself, it was all fine. Now it was time for part two - convincing them to tell him where their stuff is being stored. After he had the sonic and psychic paper it'd be easy to convince the authorities who the real criminals were. He opened his mouth.
"Take us down over the river." Penelope shouted over the noise.
The captain turned to her, his calm sauntering demeanour gone, his brow now beaded with sweat. "What?"
"There's a weakness in their tracking systems. If you fly low over a wide river then the heat from the land and reflection of the water messes with the tracking."
There was a touch of hope in the captain's eyes.
No. No. No. This is not what he wanted to happen.
"Do it!" Jack added.
In the second it took the Hamish to make a decision, another blast hit the ship. Rose screamed, and he pulled her close.
"Go. Go." the captain yelled.
The blowfish swung the navigation left, and the whole ship banked, so hard the Doctor lost his hold, both on Rose and on the pipe. He dived for her just in the nick of time. "I've got you." he said, unsure if it was for her or himself. This was getting too risky. Too dangerous. What did Gate and Jack think they were doing?
In the commotion, Penelope made a hand signal in Ulysses's vessel's direction, while Jack silently beckoned Martha and Son of Mine towards the door frame, the g-force crushing.
The ship levelled. On the screen he could see they'd reached a wide man-made river - a straight line leading directly to a city on the horizon.
"That's it!" Jack cried, acting as a distraction.
Ulysses's vessel grabbed him hard and shoved him, and therefore Rose, towards another door along the same wall as Gate and Jack's, the two pushing Son of Mine and Martha through to the corridor.
He opened his mouth, ready to protest. They were obviously planning to escape, but they couldn't leave, their things were still hidden away.
"Move - that's an order." Ulysses snapped in a harsh whisper – actually Ulysses. They'd told him in Gallifreyan.
The Doctor closed his mouth, too befuddled to argue, as his guardian pushed them both out.
The Foxkin cried. "It's working!" The whole crew too caught up to realise what they were doing.
He and Rose were marched through narrow corridors, leading to the hanger room at the back of the ship. Ulysses shoved them through and closed the door behind them.
At the back of the room Jack yanked the fuse-box-like panel, welded into the wall, open, while Penelope cut through the wires with a small laser device chained above the box. They moved in frantic synchrony, Jack punching the button hidden by the panel just as the trigger was cut.
The hatch opened without an alarm. Warm muggy air of the planet's atmosphere flooded the cool compressed oxygen of the ship, nothing but river below them. Before he had time to think, Ulysses pushed him and Rose over the edge, while Jack grabbed Martha, and Penelope took Son of Mine.
In the moment the Doctor's stomach plummeted, his need to keep Rose safe overrode his confusion. He pushed her away mid-air to avoid them colliding. "Feet first!" he yelled, crossing his legs and tensing to reduce the chance of broken bones from the impact.
The water on his body felt like a slap. Luckily, the current was weak and water deep and lukewarm. Good. All good. Chances of survival were high. He waited until he stopped sinking, then started kicking towards the surface, grabbing Rose with him.
"Doctor!" Rose cried.
"I've got you." he said quickly. "Are you -"
"Are you alright?" Tomas - or was it Ulysses? - asked him, treading water close by.
"Where's the other girl?" Penelope yelled.
Frantically, they all looked around.
"Martha?!" Rose cried.
"There, she went in over there." Ulysses said quickly, pointing to a spot by Jack.
Jack instantly dived for her, while Penelope started to swim towards the spot.
Tense seconds passed, the whole jungle seemed still.
Suddenly, a bone-shaking boom resonated from further down-river. The Doctor whipped his head around to see a ball of fire mushrooming into the sky, thick black smoke billowing from the flames. The heat hit his face a moment later, just as Martha and Jack broke the surface, gasping for breath.
The medical student coughed and spluttered, while Jack and Penelope helped her float.
"Swim to the edge." Penelope ordered.
The Doctor tore his gaze away from the wreckage. Did she just blow up the ship - kill them, taking all their belongings with it?! He was furious, but Rose wasn't the best swimmer, and she would always be his priority. He stuck close to her, and when they reached the bank, Rose clung to him for support, losing her footing in the thick mud which squished between their toes.
Last out was Penelope, Jack and Martha. The two Time Agents stood either side of her as she continued to cough.
Rose turned around. "You alright?" she asked.
Martha nodded, unable to speak.
"Head towards the trees." Penelope said.
The Doctor wasn't going anywhere. The Oncoming storm, ready to fight. Not only was she stupid, she was a murderer. He opened his mouth.
"Now!" Ulysses said, switching to Gallifreyian again. "Quickly."
The others obeyed, and Rose was leading him away. With a glare he turned towards the opening in the forest. If it was any other Time Lord.
"What the hell was that!" he yelled, as soon as they were under cover. "You murdered them. Nearly killed us! All our equipment was on the ship. And for what?"
Penelope was helping Martha sit on a tree branch, her breath heavy from the exhaustion.
Martha gaped at her. "Was that what just happened?"
Penelope didn't say anything at first. "In a way."
The Doctor scoffed loudly. "In a way." he repeated, making his imitation sound as stupid as possible. "You told them to come up the river. To distract them. They trusted you. They believed you were going to help them, and you betrayed them. You were meant to look after them, but you didn't." That last bit seemed to cut her - good.
Rose squeezed his arm to comfort him.
"Oh God, you really are a complete imbecile!" Son of Mine interrupted in his disjointed voice, making the Doctor remember he was there. Which was not a smart move.
"That's enough." Ulysses cut back.
"Enough!?" Son of Mine scoffed in disbelief. "It's not nearly enough and you know it!" He turned his calculating glare towards the arched-Time Lord.
"That was an order." Jack added firmly.
"Well you spell it out to these inbreeds then! Before they get us all killed!" Son of Mine bit back.
Now, that comment really, really got under his skin. He did not like being out of the loop. "What're you talking about." he demanded. "Tell me. Now!"
"It's." Penelope began. She closed her eyes and took a calming breath. She was trying not to cry, and part of him revelled in it. It was revenge – compensation for all his suffering. "I'm pretty sure I know why you're really upset with me." she said carefully - softly - her palms facing him, like she was trying to calm an animal.
His face immediately dropped. Instead of blind anger, now he was afraid - utterly afraid. He felt like his whole hearts were beating in a glass display for all to see. He was exposed. It was true. It was true! She knew and was about to tell everyone.
But she didn't. "And you're right I did kill them. But it was a choice - either the three of them or all ten of us."
"What?" Rose gasped, looking between Penelope, Son of Mine and Jack.
Jack's gaze found the floor, and dread bubbled in the Doctor's gut. Jack wasn't saying anything, because Penelope was telling the truth. He'd missed something - something important.
"I told you." Son of Mine sneered at him. "You're an idiot - human or otherwise."
"This whole sector was 'colonised' by the Church of the Papal Mainframe fourteen years ago." Penelope explained. "They're all gone now, people fought against them and won, but because of it, those in power use 'off-worlders', 'immigrants', 'outsiders' whatever you want the term to be, as a political blame tool to detach from their own agenda. The anti-immigrant laws here are disgusting. If we stayed on that ship, we would've all been killed, if not by the barrier around the city, then by the police. Psychic paper doesn't work - not after the Church invasion."
The Doctor couldn't speak. He was in denial. In shock. Because now they were marooned on a hostile planet with nothing to protect them. They didn't even have shoes on their feet.
Penelope sighed, her mind somewhere else. "Did you notice the Foxkin had a scar on the back of his arm, but not the other?" she asked despondently.
"Claire, that's something I think best kept between us." Ulysses said, a slight warning in his tone.
She looked at Tomas, holding her gaze, then nodded. "Yeah, yeah, you're right." She let out a long breath, in and out, closing her eyes for a few seconds. "These are the sort of choices we might have to make now that we're trapped here. And, if we keep fighting between ourselves, that likelihood only increases." She looked towards the jungle. "There's an embassy we just might be able to make, but that's a big if."
"Leaving out an important truth, don't you think?" Son of Mine asked, while the enormity of just how much trouble they were in set in for the others. The Doctor could feel Rose's eyes on him, expecting him to interject and come up with a plan to save the day. He dare not look at her. There was nothing he could do. He'd failed her, and he only just got her back. "Embassies generally require residence of the planet, which I doubt anyone but you has."
"There's a lot of things I'm leaving out." Penelope said, which sounded more a threat to Son of Mine more than anything. "But this embassy will accept illegals, if not granting residence will result in certain death. Which it absolutely will."
"But what about our gear." Jack asked. "…If it survived."
"I am already a resident." she admitted. "Policy is the planet must hand over any investigation said to involve a pre-existing resident to the ambassadorial investigators. So…" She turned her attention to Son of Mine. "You're meant to be a tracker?"
He was startled by the question. "Yes."
"Then you can take us there, right? Once they start to ship the evidence – our stuff, you can follow it to the embassy?"
Son of Mine considered for a moment, then a smirk spread across his face. The slime had power now. "Why, yes."
"I wouldn't smile about it. I know it's going to be far. Really far. We have no tools, clothes, or food." Penelope sighed. "But it's the only chance we have… so, which way?"
Before they moved, he felt the other's eyes on them – boring into his skull. They were waiting – waiting for him to pull of the impossible. But he had nothing. He'd messed it all up.
Oh, what had he done?
A/N: I posted a little earlier this time, woo.
I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing this one. I love writing dark-ten. If you would like to, please feel free to leave a review 3 3 3