Doctor Who and the Great Eclipse: Part 19/34
Discord
The Doctor had, as promised, gotten most of the survivors off to the crash site. Paris had proved a bit tricky until the Doctor dropped the mention of the liquor he'd left behind there. Remembering that made the art dealer eager to go and questioning why they hadn't left yet. Simon and River pointed out that there were still many things to move at the settlement too, and that they could keep working while the others focused on the crash. Since Riddick had not known where Johns was, he’d opted to stay with Simon and River, using the hydraulic lift to move crates, dressers, what-have-you, over to the hanger while the ‘cat and it’s attendant trailers were otherwise occupied. He argued that they could get more done that way and that too many hands in one place might make them trip over each other.
In reality, he wouldn't dare leave the Doc, his sister, or the alien unguarded and the merc was definitely the enemy here. He was sure that it was only a matter of time before the redheaded man started picking folks off. He wondered if Johns could fly the skiff and if the man had threatened Carolyn already. Whatever had happened, she acted spooked. And that was another reason to stay. He might be able to fly that old skiff, or not, depending on how much before his time the controls were. Fry might be the only one able to actually work the thing. Thankfully his stubborn nature was not taken as an affront by the Doctor when they butted heads. It almost felt like the fellow knew he'd insist on staying, and why, but needed to hear the reason spoken out loud for his own sense of security. Richard could tell when the Time Lord decided that it was wiser to not force him into going if he didn’t want to go. The expression on the alien's face went from stern to accepting and bright. That settled between them the taller fellow headed off to meet with the docking pilot. Richard turned to Simon and River and they set off to work on their own project.
When the Time Lord came into the cafeteria he could hear Carolyn pacing in the office. She was more than agitated -- anxious actually seemed to fit her mood. The charcoal wisps of her aura overflowed from the tiny space she was moving through. He made sure his steps were heavy enough to not go unnoticed and listened to her stride a few steps, the squeak of her heel as she turned, and then the pattern repeat. The Doctor didn’t really view himself as an empath, but humans in general were fairly easy to read as far as emotions went. The docking pilot was screaming practically with the negative tendrils of her feelings. Worried that she might not recognize him he spoke as he crossed the main room, “Carolyn?”
If she was concerned about his use of her first name it didn't show, “In here, Doctor.” The female voice drifted from about the middle of the small office, as she was mid-way through her pacing pattern.
'Well, yes. That much was quite established, thank you.' He snagged a pitcher of water from Ogilvie's small cooler, a package of dried fruit that he opened to give the pilot no excuse to not eat something, and some glasses before entering the office. One look was all it took to confirm that she was upset, and likely just barely staving off exhaustion. Closing the door he said, “You don’t look well. Sit down.” He busied himself clearing off a spot on the crowded desk for the pitcher and glasses. Whoever had been here before had not believed very strongly in filing. The papers had tantalizing clues as to what they were looking for, but really were not something he was concerned about.
Behind him, the blond made a half-aborted attempt to resist before collapsing into one of the side chairs closest to her. The ancient thing squeaked in protest to being used after so many years of sitting idle. Fry didn't notice. She stared off into space looking for all the 'Verse lost and alone. Why had she lived and Owens died? Why wasn't Mitchell here to help her? Why had she stayed on the Hunter-Gratzner when she could have gotten captain papers and her own ship? And what to do about Johns? Especially now that he was threatening her...
The Doctor knew the docking pilot needed something to give her strength, to prop up her faith. Too bad really that his own was so shattered. He'd asked for a break, and he supposed that this was sort of one. Rescuing survivors instead of manipulating cultures, focusing on a few instead of millions. Trying to keep them from each others throats instead of killing them... about as far from the Time War as one could get, he supposed. But then, he really had wanted quiet. The personal tensions here were not that. He sighed as he poured the water.
Finding Amadak was a surprise. Even more so than finding echoes of Susan. Even the short time apart caused the Bond to thrum and quaver. He figured that wouldn't change until they 'fixed' it. He turned to offer Fry a glass. But would Amadak want to fix it? That was the problem. He didn't know. Carolyn accepted the offer and managed a thankful smile; “You’re a godsend.” She drank slowly, savoring it.
The Doctor took a small piece of dehydrated banana from the open packet of fruit and offered her the rest. “Ah, I wouldn’t push things quite that far, but you’re welcome.” He picked up his own glass and leaned against the wall near the window, studying the scene outside as River, Simon, and Richard passed between some distant buildings with another load of salvaged items. River was dancing in the sun as though there was nothing wrong with the world. Her warm ebony hair caught the sun and sparkled in the hot air as it fanned away from her head. He smiled slightly at the sight and nibbled on the bit of crunchy fruit. Even with his head pounding from the stress of filtering for her, she was worth it.
Silence sat between them for a few heartbeats. The only interruption was the rustle of the foil as she plucked out something chewy from the packet. That soft smile seemed to lighten the room, making it better. Maybe she could tell him. Maybe she should. Fry chewed on a bit of dehydrated peach, the thoughts circling her brain like vultures. He'd know what to do, even if he refused to take the lead. She could - should - rely on him, because heavens knew, he was the wisest of them all, wasn't he? Swallowing, the docking pilot said, “We have more than one major problem. As you’ve guessed, we won’t all fit on that skiff.” The man’s intense blue eyes swung back to hers, but unlike Johns’ eyes these she could fall into willingly. “I'm thinking we might be able to rig up ten bare bones, shared cryo-atmo, linked stations. If the hull is airtight.” Blinking and glancing away before she forgot herself she plowed into the negatives, “However, that also needs the autopilot to work from the Hunter-Gratzner, and the nav comp was way off. I don't trust it without a full overhaul.”
The Doctor made a face, “That means, even if it all fits, that two people are staying behind.”
“Yea, true enough. I have a feeling though that I'm overlookin' somethin'. Being too optimistic. So scale it back, huh? Figure eight, if we're really lucky, because the cryo systems ain't gonna be small, right? And the computer from the crash is easily twice the size of the skiff's. So that's four left behind. How do we decide?” The pale man said nothing. Carolyn stared at the wall. The feeling of panic gripped her. She really shouldn't have been the one to have lived.
He finally said, “Simon and River won't be on that skiff; they have a rare allergy and re-exposure to the cryo drugs will kill them. So optimistically, the problem is solved. If they stay here, then I'll stay here. Might be able to rig up some sort of sonic shield.” the Doctor looked at her with his intense stare, “So that leaves one. I know who I would pick to stay behind. And I'll fight to keep him here with us if I have to.”
She frowned, “You mean Riddick?” He nodded. She sighed, “Might be a problem there, actually.”
“Do tell?”
Fry fidgeted, “Johns.”
Something about the tone of her voice sent alarm bells off in the Time Lord’s head, “Did he hurt you, Carolyn?” His first thought was that the man might have attacked her. Flashes of her being raped jumped into his mind, brought into vivid detail thanks to the horrors of the War. But her clothes were not torn, there were no bruises on her arms, no signs of injury or scent of sex about her. So maybe he forced her into something, or threatened her instead.
It took her a second to understand the nature of his question. Once she did a slow blush spread over her face. She was really very glad that someone would care if Johns had tried something in the skiff. But that hadn’t even occurred to her as a danger at the time. Perhaps it should have. Looking at the Doctor’s face, she guessed that she’d been acting like it did, actually. “No. He didn’t touch me at all. Honest.” She put her glass down. He nodded to tell her that he believed her. “I’m just not sure we should be trusting him. Something is not right about his entire situation.”
“Have you just gotten that impression?”
She looked at her hands, “We’ve all done or seen things that we’re not happy about, I imagine. Who am I to condemn anyone? I gave him the benefit of the doubt, trusting him to do the right thing because he’s got a badge. But there’s more to being a good guy than following the law, isn’t there?”
The tall man moved away from the wall and settled his pale form into the other chair in the room. Surrounded by all the papers with the sunlight filtering in and back lighting him he almost looked like he could be a ghost of one of the settlers, not one of the living. “Not all laws are good or just. Sometimes bad legal structures must be broken. It’s the moral code that a person lives by that dictates good from bad, not the laws they operate in.”
“The marshal means to turn Riddick in, once he gets them both off planet, Doctor,” Carolyn confided. “And I think the rest of us are inferior to his concern. We could all die and it wouldn’t bother Johns in the least.”
The Doctor surprised her with his next statement, “Yes, I know.” It was all she needed to spill the entire conversation, nearly word for word, that she and Johns had over the power cells both outside the skiff and then inside. He didn't once interrupt her, instead encouraging her to let it all tumble out, and she found after that she was ever so grateful. He finally told her that there was little she could do until the others came back from the crash ship and that she'd not gotten nearly enough rest. He made sure she was settled down in the hanger office on the couch there, with the skiff manuals, and she somehow ended up fast asleep. Sometimes hypnosis was a very good skill to have.
The Doctor then turned his attention to the problem of time. How much did they have? How could he find out? He needed to make something that would allow for direct observation of the approaching eclipse. What bits and bobs did they possess for him to do it with?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Abu pulled the ‘cat up to the crash ship feeling urgency that had a very good cause. While the sun was in the air they were safe. But at sudown they would need to be near shelter just in case something blocked the sunrise. They had no way of knowing how much time was left to them, so they needed to keep moving if they wanted any chance of survival. “Ali, Jack - gather the fiber optics, every strand,” he ordered. “Hassan, Suleiman - come with me. We need to load the power cells into the back.” the boys nodded, all eager to get started. He shooed them out and turned to the art dealer, “Mr. Ogilvie? Here’s the locker card. Please open all the remaining lockers and load the items therein into the trailer.”
“My Scotch?”
“Anything, sir.”
He frowned, “And some help?”
Imam nodded, “As soon as we have what is here I'll move the 'cat closer to the cargo bay. But if things are open it will go much faster.” The pasty man huffed and headed over to the bay, card in hand.
They had been given just a few short hours to load everything up that they could pry loose. Imam got everyone started then headed over to the computers to see if anything could be salvaged from the Cryo-system. He was happy to find that in addition to the eight lockers that had survived in the passenger bay that two crew lockers were undamaged. That meant that they did have ten lockers, total. He however didn’t have the skill to disconnect them. Instead he concentrated on locating the backup life-support generators and the emergency power supply for the lights. Those he could remove. Once the last of the batteries were removed from the battery bay, Abu set the two pilgrims to work striping wires. Now that there was no power running through them there was no danger in causing them to short out by carelessness. However, the main systems, both Cryo and computer, he left alone for Carolyn and perhaps the Doctor to deal with on the next trip.
Jack and Ali worked to gather up lights then moved off to help Paris without needing to be told to. Soon thereafter the other three joined them in the cargo bay. By the dual sunset, they were heading back with a train of trailers loaded full with everything they could find, even what might be useless junk. They had no way of knowing if the disconnected consoles had useful parts or not, so they loaded them up. Abu use salvaged cable to re-enforce the hitches to keep the load from coming apart on the way back.
The Hunter-Gratzner looked nearly stripped bare.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Simon and Rich watched the Doctor as he took apart several toys and put them back together in an odd miss-match that was part solar powered etch-a-sketch and part half a dozen other whirling thing-a-bobs with a camera. They were taking an ordered break, because Fry, who had woken from her short nap, had brought them out water and insisted that they rest for a while. “What’s he doin’?” Riddick asked the Tam scion. The con found he was rather fond of the dark headed pair, even if River was rather strange at times.
“Don’t have any idea, actually,” Simon admitted. “Interesting to watch though, don't you agree?” The ex-ranger took a swallow of water and nodded.
River looked at them both and gave them an expression that said ‘you are both so stupid’ before speaking, “He wants to know the sky.” There were times when Richard thought he understood her too well, like now, in fact. The face she wore was deadpan serious, but the emotion rolling off her was teasing.
So he poked back, somehow keeping a straight face, “And he needs some funny way of doin’ it? What’s wrong with his eyes?” Riddick asked her.
“Too much brilliance,” the girl told him. “Must see past it to descry the aegis.”
Then again, sometimes she confused him. What did she mean by 'aegis'? The Doc posed another question, “So the Doctor is making a filter?” And a filter for what? His Slam education didn't do well with big words and social riddles.
“Yes.”
Fry caught the last bit of the conversation; “He’s trying to see the planets that are going to cause the eclipse?” She walked back to them and took up a spot in the shade. River nodded. 'OK. Now it made sense,' Riddick thought. But how would this contraption work?
Simon smiled, “That’s brilliant. If we can observe the planets over the course of a few days then we can figure out exactly how much time we have.”
The Doctor glanced back at them, “Don’t just stand there. Carolyn you have a timepiece?” Fry nodded. “Then this is ready, we don’t have time to waste, remember. River do you want to measure?”
“Jie-di is more precise,” she pulled out a notebook and a stubby pencil. The Doctor shrugged. Couldn't argue with that.
The ex-ranger found himself tugged over to the contraption, “What do you need me to do?”
Carolyn wanted to know that as well, as she looked at the negative image forming on the screen. There was a horizon line and the camera seemed exactly matched to it, and showing on the etch-a-sketch was the large, ringed planet. She looks at the Doctor. “Carolyn will time, River will make notations, and you will calculate the arc degree off horizon of one point here, so we can track movement. Normally this would take place over several days but we don’t know if we have several days.” The trio nodded. Simon stayed out of the way, but was too curious to leave.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Johns came to, noticing that it was slightly dimmer than it had been when he’d closed his eyes. He swallowed and blinked. The light filtering in was blue, not yellow. The single sun must be in the air, not the double one. 'No Eclipse, not yet,' he thought with relief. The merc reached out to his box of red shells, patting them. 'Must’ve been asleep for a couple of hours, didn’t mean to pass out.' But damn it, that woman made him so fucking pissed off sometimes. He slowly gathered himself together and picked up his pack. He put the red box back into it and ambled out as the ‘cat rattled back into the settlement with Imam driving. William squinted. There were a number of filled carts attached to the back of the cat, piled high. Fry must’ve not listened to him. Well then, he was going to just have to keep a tighter yoke on his bounty. Starting now.
The vehicle and trailers came to a stop by the hanger. The merc headed over that way, noticing that the Skiff had been towed inside, the bulk of the trash, mainly papers and such that they might not need, were stacked inside crates that looked to be re-enforcing the building. Far more than just the notes in the hanger proper. It looked like they were cleaning up and consolidating too. The front trailer had already been detached and moved inside. Johns slipped into the Hanger and noticed that there was a high level of activity there, with the lights being hung, generators under examination, parts moved about, and power cells loaded into storage. He narrowed his eyes. “What is going on?”
The Doctor spoke up, “I’ve been informed of your concerns and the captain’s as well. The solution is to place the cells we don’t immediately need into a storage crate and seal it closed. I trust that is an acceptable compromise?”
“And who has access?”
“Oh, I thought we’d give keys to Abu and Paris,” the pale fellow sounded flippant. Johns clinched his jaw. The Doctor had chosen the neutral individuals, the ones that haven’t butted heads overly much with anyone else. Of course there was always the possibility of using other means to get those crates open, like the cutting torch.
“Right. Lovely.”
“Good. All settled then.”
William felt his blood pressure rising into that ‘need to shoot someone’ level and then spotted Riddick watching him with a look that said, ‘do it and die’. That face deflated his temper right quick. He noted that the Hanger was being turned into a decent camp. There were signs of an inner set of walls being erected. Many of the traps from the crash were already here, and it looked like Riddick was being tapped to make more weapons too. Well that should keep the animal happy for a while. Johns imagined that the defenses were in case the creatures managed to break the outer walls.
There was a current lack of lights inside, with the windows being blocked, but the Doctor was chatting away about using the salvaged optic cables and solar mirrors to channel natural light into the interior. He and the Imam were deep in discussion about which solar units they should move, and how soon they needed to do it. The younger boys were hanging the said optic cables along various bits of other cabling to mark out spaces. This light would act as both illumination and deterrent. He moved out of the way as Suleiman brought in the cooking surface from the cafeteria, and Riddick helped him set it up near the central support pillar. The water unit was already nearby. And Paris' cooler along with a pantry cabinet were brought in by Hassan minutes later. Imam paused his conversation to hook things up, while the Doctor converted the cooler to work on solar power for the time being. Rather rattled by the sheer level of bustling activity, the marshal focused on the Imam, “What needs to be done?” He gestured around. Everyone was busy like a hive of stirred up ants, and he was out of the program.
“Unloading trailers. You can help Suleiman and the captain,” he said before turning to the younger boys who were now carrying in loads that look like they came from the bushwhacker’s storage area. “Ali, let us put the spare bedding inside the secure area.”
Johns walked outside and helped the older pilgrims and Fry muscle a console from the crash ship onto the hand truck before taking a stroll around the Hanger proper. He was surprised to find Richard walking next to him, “Carolyn said that you would point out weak spots. I’m supposed to move crates to secure the walls. I’ve already gotten the seams and stacked over the windows. If we have time I’m considering stripping off the siding from some of the other buildings to re-enforce the roof.” Johns looked over at the con with narrowed eyes, “You are planning on leaving alive folks behind, aren’t you, Billy?”
“Not my choice, Rich. You know that.”
“Sure it is. You have the gauge.”
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
River paused in her stacking of warmer clothing into a dresser. Red and black spikes danced around her, choler jagged edges like obsidian smoke and intense flame. All fire, no earth. She stiffened her spine against the angry emotions and then turned to see who it was. The spears of hate rent the air, lancing ebony and ember intense maroon that she traced back to the redheaded marshal. He was just coming back inside, still over by the open hanger door, far away from her, but his aura overflowed the space, practically screaming out his presence. Johns managed to taint all his interactions, even the pilgrims wanted to avoid him, their auras darkening in caution while he helped them.
There was no privacy here, no way to avoid brushing against his mental state. She couldn't rely on Lei-yu to filter her perceptions all the time. He was stressed and pained as it was, and that was only going to become more difficult as time when on. But she didn’t like what she saw with the merc among them. He stood on the edge of a hole of darkness filled with demons and rage. The man was just teetering on the brink of falling in. Problem was, he had weapons and could take them all with him when he went.
Bubbling waves of russet, salmon, and pale mouldering oily bluish-green blotted out the black and red jagged edges. Paris strode past her line of sight with his misters and fans. Orange, smothering frowsty clouds of sickly peach-toned puce... poisonous selfishness. But at least it was better than Johns' spikes and points. Nothing he did was done for the group. He was oleaginous, sickly. She shivered and tried to not retch while he was near. Now that there was water he saw no reason to not make the hanger as comfortable as possible. Because the devices work on battery power however, Imam insisted that they be converted over to the solar sources. The pilgrims promised to do this once the lines are in place and thus the art dealer was taking them off the umbrellas and putting them around selected locations, like the eating, lounging, and sleeping areas. Places he intended to spend most of his time in. The outlined plan was to move one or several of the larger solar units over and run lines to hook up everything so that they can save battery power until they need it.
She shifted her attention to the tropical hues of the imam and the alive spring greens and warm coppers of the pilgrims. Hassan finished unloading the last of the salvaged items from the last trailer, setting everything into piles for others to sort. “Let’s get the solar units now, aye, Suleiman?” he called. Abu replied that it was a good idea and the three headed out with the hydraulic lift. ‘Odd,’ River thought, ‘He doesn’t speak English. But that was English I heard. How?’
But before she could puzzle it out further, Carolyn settled down near her and ran a hand over her back. She became aware of the smoky embers of the woman's aura, the concern she had for others and her deep guilt. Faint flickers of dying flames licked across the heavy charcoal mist, “Here are more sweaters from the crash site. Are you ok, hon?”
Interesting question, that. Was she? No. She’d never be ‘Okay’ again, really. Not like she was before anyhow. She took the stack, “Red is acrimonious.” The statement was followed by a tired sigh. “Disseminates off on all.”
Carolyn made a face and glanced around. Her eyes settled on Johns who was helping remove some of the heavier pieces of the crash ship from the hand truck. “Do you mean Johns?” She got a blank look. “Is ‘Red’ the marshal?” River glanced past the docking pilot and let her eyes settle on the man in question. She made a slow nod. Fry squeezed River’s hand. “He’s got a pissed-off attitude, I agree.” The blond regained her feet. “Try not to let him get to you.”
Ali and Jack carried in several crates of toys and other diversions. “What do you need that crap for?” Johns questioned.
“Johns! Leave the boys alone. It’s better for them to have something to distract themselves then for them to be underfoot all the time.” Carolyn jumped in. Behind her Jack made a rude gesture at the redhead.
“You tell that kid that I’m gonna bust his ass if he keeps up, Fry,” Johns started to walk out. “Why does it look like you’re setting to go back to the crash site already?”
“Because we are, actually. There’s the Cryo system and the computer still to salvage. You can come with the Doctor and I, or you can stay. Simon, River, Abu and the boys are staying. Riddick is coming with us to help with the lifting.” River was quite relieved that he decided to go.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The ‘cat pulled up neatly to the Hunter-Gratzner. Riddick moved around to the back and pulled out the hand truck from one trailer. “I’ll disconnect the lockers,” said the Doctor, “then come up and start on the Cryo-systems.”
“That’s fine,” Fry told him, “I can get the computer. Would it be better to take it apart or to move it in one piece?”
Johns made a face, “Wouldn’t it be less likely to get filled with dust if you move the entire thing in one go?”
“It doesn’t matter. Carolyn, don’t attempt to move it in larger chunks than you can carry,” the sparsely haired gent suggested.
The blond nodded, “Want to help me or Rich, Johns?” It was not really much of a choice. He didn't like leaving Riddick and the Doctor together, but he was more than a little scared of the intense pale fellow. All it took was one long glance from those impossibly deep blue eyes to convince him that he was not wanted with the other men. Johns moved off to help Fry.
The two teams set to work, pulling apart systems and loading trailers. Many of the tanks that the Doctor found looked full. He also located enough tubing to connect each of the lockers back to the drug feeders. The required drugs and subsystems were stored inside cryo lockers, and it took both the ex-ranger and the Doctor working together to get them up into the trailers. They settled four lockers to a trailer and then two in a third. Then they striped out whatever they could find to remove from the broken lockers that was salvageable.
Fry and Johns found that the computer systems fit into the space left over. Once the larger bits of the salvage were finished, the Doctor and Carolyn walked through one more time to make sure they have everything that was useful. The marshal and his bounty are left with the 'cat. Johns glared at Riddick. The con shrugged it off, but maintained the stare. “What the fuck is going on with you, Sir-Shiv-a-lot? No blades? I never heard of such a thing before.”
Richard kept his face neutral, “Found a better weapon.” Johns frowned, 'What weapon?' and then swayed as the morphine started to exit his system. He needed another hit, bad. The dizzy-spell morphed into nausea. He gripped the sandcat for dear life and tried to stay upright as his mid-section cramped up. The bronze skinned man was totally unsympathetic, “Bad sign. Shakin' like that in this heat.”
He snarled at the ex-ranger, “Wouldn't have the shakes if not for your blade in my fuckin' spine.”
“I told you to walk away, Johns.” Richard fixed the merc with a deadly glare.
The redhead turned, “Fuck you. You don't know shit, you know that, Trash Baby? Bottom of the heap you are, where you'll always be. I don't care how many brass you impress. You belong in the gorram slam.”
Richard tightened his face and then smiled, “Yeah. Problem is, none of 'em can hold me. So unless you want to pull your trousers down and spread 'em, you can kiss my ass. We have a god-damn deal, and you are gonna keep it, right, Billy? Because if you ain't then tell me and ghost me now, mother-fucker.”
Before the marshal retorted the Doctor's voice rang out, “Boys. The future may or may not happen, so agree to disagree and stay out of each other's way. Or I'll gag you both.” Richard looked his direction and got a finger shaking that kept his mouth closed. “There is a woman present, and she is likely to kick you both in the family jewels. So be quiet.” He then looked over at Johns, “Are you all right, marshal? You look a little pallid,” William glanced from Riddick to the Doctor and the docking pilot. The later two looked rather concerned.
Instead of taking it as a second chance of redemption Johns blew it off, acting pissy and making the Doctor wonder why he was even trying. “I’m fine. Let’s get this load back to the settlement,” the redhead snapped. By the time they returned the pilgrims had hooked up a number solar generators to the roof and ran lines for the various items inside. Clearly Abu had decided on 'more is better'. It looked like some increased support work was being put into place too. They were gathered at the eating area enjoying a meal. Imam called for the newcomers to join them. “I'm not feeling like eating, I think I need to lie down,” Johns mumbled. When Simon started to come over to check him he practically darted away, leaving the young surgeon totally mystified.
Riddick smirked, “Not a medical problem, Doc.”
Simon gave the bronze man a questioning look but before he could say anything Fry spoke up, “He told me that he’d picked up the flu at Conga.” She set down filled plates for herself, Riddick and the Doctor next to Paris at one of the tables and slid into a seat.
The Doctor settled into one near her and raised an eyebrow, “Did he now?”
“Funny, he said it was Swamp Fever, to me,” Paris countered between bites.
The con looked at all of them as he sat down next to the Doctor, “Not my right to say, but if I were you I’d be wondering about the truth of the matter.”
“Red is soaring.” They all stared at the ebony-haired girl who was gazing off into space. Richard smirked. He imagined that indeed Billy was - higher than the clouds. How long would it take for the others to catch on?