Fic: Tale of Space Channuka
Title: The Tale of Space Chanukah
Characters/Pairing: 10th Doctor, Donna, Space Jews
Rating: G
Spoilers: None. Set some time during series 4, between ‘Planet of the Ood’ and the Library episodes.
Word Count: ~2000
Summary: The Doctor and Donna have landed on a rebel starship in the 37th century, and, of course, there are complications. It's like Ninjas vs Pirates, but IN SPACE! Plus religion. (Not meant to be taken seriously)
Author's Notes: this is a
purimgifts fic written for batyatoon in 3 separate parts. All 3 parts are here in this one post, however I left the divisions in. Also, most of my knowledge of starship interiors comes from Star Trek fanfic.
Part 1 - Strangers entered the land
“We’re on a spaceship?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re on a. Space. Ship.”
“Yeah.”
“A real live spaceship!?”
“Donna, the Tardis is a spaceship too, you know? And technically this ship’s not alive, whereas the Tardis-”
“Yeah, but the Tardis doesn’t look like a spaceship. Now this, this is a spaceship.”
“And it’s not empty.”
Donna and the Doctor turned around at the unfamiliar voice to see a group of strangely dressed men and women with guns pointed at them.
“Now… what are you two doing on my ship, and how did you get here?” The leader asked.
~*~*~*~*~
“So-” one of the female engineers began, hopping up next to the Doctor, “you’re a doctor, huh?”
“Yup,” the Doctor said, focusing more attention on his food than the conversation, “well, sort-of. I’m The Doctor, actually. You know, this is really good.”
“Really?” she murmured, her voice dropping an octave as she leaned even closer to him, “my name’s Yael.”
“Nice to meet you Yael; can I have some more?”
Donna watched the proceedings in front of her with interest, the Doctor completely oblivious to being hit on, while one of the other women, hearing the Doctor ask for more food, proceeded to pile it on his plate while telling him to “eat, eat.” And that he needed some more meat on his bones anyway.
As soon as they had reassured the crew that they weren’t enemies, and they had heard Donna’s stomach rumble at the sweet smells that floated through the ship, they had ushered them into the mess hall and began feeding them. One of them insisted that dialectic should not be held on an empty stomach, all while praising the ship’s cooks.
It was hard not to openly laugh at the Doctor. She wondered how long it had been since he’d had someone mother him. On the other hand, the leader of these people-a man who’d introduced himself as Matthias-was leaning against one of the walls behind the Doctor and scrutinizing him as he ate.
When at last he was done eating, Matthias strode forward into the Doctor’s line of sight, his arms crossed.
“So if you’re not saboteurs sent by the High Commander or runaways, then who are you?” he demanded.
The Doctor’s eyes widened; “Wait, The High Commander? As in, High Commander Paniapetos? What year is this?”
“3618,” Matthias answered, holding a hand out to forestall action from those of his people that had drawn weapons at the mention of the High Commander’s name. “You are travelers from clearly a far-off land, are there other rulers who go by the title High Commander where you are from?”
“No, no, we just tend to lose track of time on my ship; happens all the time to us,” the Doctor said with a wave of his hand, “I assume this is a rebel ship, no?”
Donna groaned and buried her face in her hands. Did the Doctor have no sense of tact? But, to her surprise, Matthias smiled grimly.
“Careful there, Doctor, I can still have you and you companion locked away if I think it necessary. These are dangerous times.”
In the middle of Matthias’ sentence, a younger girl rushed into the room. She waited until Matthias was silent before urgently jabbering about unexpected complications and fuel shortages and how Matthias was needed on the bridge as soon as possible.
“I apologize for my daughter, Judith’s, interruption, Doctor, but I am needed elsewhere,” he nodded to one of the older women standing to the side, “I leave you in Chana’s capable hands for now…”
“Well isn’t that wizard!” the Doctor burst out, pointing at the two men who had made to leave, “rebels Matthias and Judith; you-you’re Space Jews!”
Part 2 - So the few took on the many… sort of.
After the Doctor’s exclamation, any weapons that had been holstered at his previous outburst had once again been drawn and were pointing at him and Donna.
“It’s not a bad thing, I promise,” the Doctor yelled, preempting the obvious question, “I just know that you are all very important and have a noble cause.”
“You’re a prophet?” Chana asked, stepping forward.
“Umm, okay, let’s go with that. I’m a time-traveler, really. So if you mean prophet in the sense that I know what’s to come, then yes, I’m a prophet; but if you mean prophet in the sense of receiving divine knowledge from a higher power then, no, sorry. Not a prophet.”
Matthias’ eyes narrowed, but he holstered his weapon yet again and communicated wordlessly with Chana for a moment.
“Come with us.” He gestured to the Doctor; “if you’ve been to the future then you have future knowledge and may be able to help us with this.”
~*~*~*~*~
On the way to the engineering deck, Matthias, Judith and one of Matthias’ other children who joined them, Simeon, explained briefly the current situation in their star system (Shalym Minor) to the Doctor, while Chana ushered Donna away to both interrogate her and show her around the ship.
It turned out that High Commander Paniapetos, years ago, had originally been one of the king’s main advisors, but when the king died suddenly of a foreign disease, Paniapetos and others on the king’s council had seized power, declared himself High Commander, and now the people were under martial law. Using the former king’s sickness as an excuse, the High Commander had begun an interstellar war against anything overtly foreign, forcing many of the people to escape to unsettled satellites and colonies on the outskirts of the Shalym System. Some ran because they looked different; some ran because they didn’t agree; and some had to run because they had fought and were branded traitors.
Unfortunately, being that far away from the central planets on worlds that hadn’t been ready for life on that scale yet meant that the refugees were not self-sufficient and relied on secret rebel ships to bring them supplies for survival. The ship that Matthias captained was one of these ships, but they didn’t only have to deal with the regular dangers of space travel and government spies and blockades, they also had to deal with pirates. Some of who actually were undercover working for the High Commander.
This was the scene that the Doctor walked into on the engineering deck. The aftermath of a pirate attack.
~*~*~*~*~
“So,” Donna began as she followed Chana, “must be an exciting life. Is it worth it?”
“Sometimes,” Chana replied. “We had just been attacked by pirates before you two showed up, so you can see why we were so suspicious. We don’t only carry supplies for refugees; we also carry weapons for the rebels who are hiding out among them. Matthias thinks that one day we’ll eventually be able to overthrow the High Commander and take back Shalym Minor.”
Donna had protested being sent off away from the Doctor, but he had explained that if she could better understand the people onboard, it would be easer for them to help and not be taken prisoner. Again. Chana explained that she was one of the cooks onboard, and showed Donna different aspects of the ship.
“This is brilliant,” Donna commented once they were back where they had begun, “you really have it down to a system here. The Doctor never seems to know what he’s doing unless there’s trouble. It’s fun, but it’s also wild.”
Chana laughed. “We’re usually on a schedule, so everyone doing their job is important. Other people depending on us, you know? I’d love to travel, but I know what I’m doing here is important as well.”
Donna thought back to all the places she had been with the Doctor so far, and all the people they had saved.
“Yeah, I know.”
~*~*~*~*~
“Any ideas, Doctor?” Judith asked.
“You were right,” he said eventually, slipping his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket, “one of the fuel cells is damaged, but I can’t fix it. I’m so sorry.”
Matthias swore and clenched his hands, “these people are counting on us! We have a day of fuel left, give or take whatever physics magic Eli can whip up, but our destination is still over eight days of travel away.” He turned to face the Doctor again, “go find your companion and go, Doctor, there’s nothing else you can do for us here.”
The Doctor didn’t budge.
“What are we going to do, father?” Simeon asked, ignoring the Doctor.
“I don’t know,” Matthias sighed, “the nearest place we can stop to safely fix this is Altos IV, but that’s still at least a day away in the wrong direction, and it’s not a sure thing. No matter what, we’re going to be letting down people that are counting on us. They need these supplies.”
“Would it be possible to borrow a smaller ship from Altos IV and go ahead?” Judith put in, “I mean, take some of the supplies so the rebels aren’t completely out of luck?”
“You know,” the Doctor interrupted, “I may not be able to fix your damaged fuel cell, but I can still help.”
Part 3 - And lo, there was a “Miracle” (in which the fuel tank is bigger on the inside)
“Enlighten us, Doctor,” Matthias said, barely keeping from growling at him.
“I can’t fix your fuel cell, but I can replace it,” the Doctor said with a smile, rocking back and forth on his heels, “I’ve got a lot of stuff in my own ship.”
The other three exchanged wary looks before Matthias shrugged.
“What else can we do?” he asked them, before turning to the Doctor again, “fine, Doctor, work your wonders for us.”
~*~*~*~*~
After asking the rebels to tell Donna where he was going, the Doctor ran off to the Tardis. He always kept various types of fuel cells in storage for “just in case” purposes, and it looked like it was going to come in handy once again. He had modified the power sources so that they were bigger on the inside (much like the Tardis), and even though they looked small and flimsy, they could hold up under extraordinary circumstances.
The Doctor proudly brought Matthias his fuel cell, and had to hold back laughter when the man commented on its small size.
“This?” Matthias was incredulous, “this is what you brought us? We need power for more than one day.”
“Trust me, Matthias, it’s bigger on the inside.”
Judith grinned; “I’ll tell the bridge to stay on course to the rebel settlement. Should we find you and Donna some rooms as well?”
~*~*~*~*~
8 DAYS LATER:
It was a ship-wide celebration on board when the eighth day passed and the crew received a hailing from the rebel settlement. They had made it safely to their destination on time when almost everyone on board had doubted it. The Doctor had taken great pleasure whenever Matthias or one of his children had gone to check on the fuel cell, sure that it would have run out, only to find that it was still going strong.
The rebels had assured Matthias and his crew that they would be able to fix up his ship, and so it was with a light heart that Donna and the Doctor made their way back to the Tardis.
“You’re not going to stay any longer, Doctor?”
The Doctor turned around to see Judith standing casually behind him.
“We rebels know how to party, and I’m sure the colonists will welcome you,” she shrugged, but the grin on her face belied her nonchalance, “after all, you saved them as well.”
“Nope,” the Doctor replied, popping the “P”, “Donna and I have got other things to do, people to save, you know the drill. I heard somewhere that the Shalym System’s capital is being oppressed and is about due for an uprising.”
Judith threw back her head and laughed; “Good luck, Doctor. I hope we meet again.”
“I hope so too,” the Doctor said.
“This was good,” Judith could hear Donna say from inside the Tardis as she walked away, “there wasn’t as much running as usual. And the food was great.”
~END~
Reviews and concrit are much appreciated. Or, see the original with graphics HERE at AO3
Characters/Pairing: 10th Doctor, Donna, Space Jews
Rating: G
Spoilers: None. Set some time during series 4, between ‘Planet of the Ood’ and the Library episodes.
Word Count: ~2000
Summary: The Doctor and Donna have landed on a rebel starship in the 37th century, and, of course, there are complications. It's like Ninjas vs Pirates, but IN SPACE! Plus religion. (Not meant to be taken seriously)
Author's Notes: this is a
purimgifts fic written for batyatoon in 3 separate parts. All 3 parts are here in this one post, however I left the divisions in. Also, most of my knowledge of starship interiors comes from Star Trek fanfic.
Part 1 - Strangers entered the land
“We’re on a spaceship?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re on a. Space. Ship.”
“Yeah.”
“A real live spaceship!?”
“Donna, the Tardis is a spaceship too, you know? And technically this ship’s not alive, whereas the Tardis-”
“Yeah, but the Tardis doesn’t look like a spaceship. Now this, this is a spaceship.”
“And it’s not empty.”
Donna and the Doctor turned around at the unfamiliar voice to see a group of strangely dressed men and women with guns pointed at them.
“Now… what are you two doing on my ship, and how did you get here?” The leader asked.
~*~*~*~*~
“So-” one of the female engineers began, hopping up next to the Doctor, “you’re a doctor, huh?”
“Yup,” the Doctor said, focusing more attention on his food than the conversation, “well, sort-of. I’m The Doctor, actually. You know, this is really good.”
“Really?” she murmured, her voice dropping an octave as she leaned even closer to him, “my name’s Yael.”
“Nice to meet you Yael; can I have some more?”
Donna watched the proceedings in front of her with interest, the Doctor completely oblivious to being hit on, while one of the other women, hearing the Doctor ask for more food, proceeded to pile it on his plate while telling him to “eat, eat.” And that he needed some more meat on his bones anyway.
As soon as they had reassured the crew that they weren’t enemies, and they had heard Donna’s stomach rumble at the sweet smells that floated through the ship, they had ushered them into the mess hall and began feeding them. One of them insisted that dialectic should not be held on an empty stomach, all while praising the ship’s cooks.
It was hard not to openly laugh at the Doctor. She wondered how long it had been since he’d had someone mother him. On the other hand, the leader of these people-a man who’d introduced himself as Matthias-was leaning against one of the walls behind the Doctor and scrutinizing him as he ate.
When at last he was done eating, Matthias strode forward into the Doctor’s line of sight, his arms crossed.
“So if you’re not saboteurs sent by the High Commander or runaways, then who are you?” he demanded.
The Doctor’s eyes widened; “Wait, The High Commander? As in, High Commander Paniapetos? What year is this?”
“3618,” Matthias answered, holding a hand out to forestall action from those of his people that had drawn weapons at the mention of the High Commander’s name. “You are travelers from clearly a far-off land, are there other rulers who go by the title High Commander where you are from?”
“No, no, we just tend to lose track of time on my ship; happens all the time to us,” the Doctor said with a wave of his hand, “I assume this is a rebel ship, no?”
Donna groaned and buried her face in her hands. Did the Doctor have no sense of tact? But, to her surprise, Matthias smiled grimly.
“Careful there, Doctor, I can still have you and you companion locked away if I think it necessary. These are dangerous times.”
In the middle of Matthias’ sentence, a younger girl rushed into the room. She waited until Matthias was silent before urgently jabbering about unexpected complications and fuel shortages and how Matthias was needed on the bridge as soon as possible.
“I apologize for my daughter, Judith’s, interruption, Doctor, but I am needed elsewhere,” he nodded to one of the older women standing to the side, “I leave you in Chana’s capable hands for now…”
“Well isn’t that wizard!” the Doctor burst out, pointing at the two men who had made to leave, “rebels Matthias and Judith; you-you’re Space Jews!”
Part 2 - So the few took on the many… sort of.
After the Doctor’s exclamation, any weapons that had been holstered at his previous outburst had once again been drawn and were pointing at him and Donna.
“It’s not a bad thing, I promise,” the Doctor yelled, preempting the obvious question, “I just know that you are all very important and have a noble cause.”
“You’re a prophet?” Chana asked, stepping forward.
“Umm, okay, let’s go with that. I’m a time-traveler, really. So if you mean prophet in the sense that I know what’s to come, then yes, I’m a prophet; but if you mean prophet in the sense of receiving divine knowledge from a higher power then, no, sorry. Not a prophet.”
Matthias’ eyes narrowed, but he holstered his weapon yet again and communicated wordlessly with Chana for a moment.
“Come with us.” He gestured to the Doctor; “if you’ve been to the future then you have future knowledge and may be able to help us with this.”
~*~*~*~*~
On the way to the engineering deck, Matthias, Judith and one of Matthias’ other children who joined them, Simeon, explained briefly the current situation in their star system (Shalym Minor) to the Doctor, while Chana ushered Donna away to both interrogate her and show her around the ship.
It turned out that High Commander Paniapetos, years ago, had originally been one of the king’s main advisors, but when the king died suddenly of a foreign disease, Paniapetos and others on the king’s council had seized power, declared himself High Commander, and now the people were under martial law. Using the former king’s sickness as an excuse, the High Commander had begun an interstellar war against anything overtly foreign, forcing many of the people to escape to unsettled satellites and colonies on the outskirts of the Shalym System. Some ran because they looked different; some ran because they didn’t agree; and some had to run because they had fought and were branded traitors.
Unfortunately, being that far away from the central planets on worlds that hadn’t been ready for life on that scale yet meant that the refugees were not self-sufficient and relied on secret rebel ships to bring them supplies for survival. The ship that Matthias captained was one of these ships, but they didn’t only have to deal with the regular dangers of space travel and government spies and blockades, they also had to deal with pirates. Some of who actually were undercover working for the High Commander.
This was the scene that the Doctor walked into on the engineering deck. The aftermath of a pirate attack.
~*~*~*~*~
“So,” Donna began as she followed Chana, “must be an exciting life. Is it worth it?”
“Sometimes,” Chana replied. “We had just been attacked by pirates before you two showed up, so you can see why we were so suspicious. We don’t only carry supplies for refugees; we also carry weapons for the rebels who are hiding out among them. Matthias thinks that one day we’ll eventually be able to overthrow the High Commander and take back Shalym Minor.”
Donna had protested being sent off away from the Doctor, but he had explained that if she could better understand the people onboard, it would be easer for them to help and not be taken prisoner. Again. Chana explained that she was one of the cooks onboard, and showed Donna different aspects of the ship.
“This is brilliant,” Donna commented once they were back where they had begun, “you really have it down to a system here. The Doctor never seems to know what he’s doing unless there’s trouble. It’s fun, but it’s also wild.”
Chana laughed. “We’re usually on a schedule, so everyone doing their job is important. Other people depending on us, you know? I’d love to travel, but I know what I’m doing here is important as well.”
Donna thought back to all the places she had been with the Doctor so far, and all the people they had saved.
“Yeah, I know.”
~*~*~*~*~
“Any ideas, Doctor?” Judith asked.
“You were right,” he said eventually, slipping his sonic screwdriver back into his pocket, “one of the fuel cells is damaged, but I can’t fix it. I’m so sorry.”
Matthias swore and clenched his hands, “these people are counting on us! We have a day of fuel left, give or take whatever physics magic Eli can whip up, but our destination is still over eight days of travel away.” He turned to face the Doctor again, “go find your companion and go, Doctor, there’s nothing else you can do for us here.”
The Doctor didn’t budge.
“What are we going to do, father?” Simeon asked, ignoring the Doctor.
“I don’t know,” Matthias sighed, “the nearest place we can stop to safely fix this is Altos IV, but that’s still at least a day away in the wrong direction, and it’s not a sure thing. No matter what, we’re going to be letting down people that are counting on us. They need these supplies.”
“Would it be possible to borrow a smaller ship from Altos IV and go ahead?” Judith put in, “I mean, take some of the supplies so the rebels aren’t completely out of luck?”
“You know,” the Doctor interrupted, “I may not be able to fix your damaged fuel cell, but I can still help.”
Part 3 - And lo, there was a “Miracle” (in which the fuel tank is bigger on the inside)
“Enlighten us, Doctor,” Matthias said, barely keeping from growling at him.
“I can’t fix your fuel cell, but I can replace it,” the Doctor said with a smile, rocking back and forth on his heels, “I’ve got a lot of stuff in my own ship.”
The other three exchanged wary looks before Matthias shrugged.
“What else can we do?” he asked them, before turning to the Doctor again, “fine, Doctor, work your wonders for us.”
~*~*~*~*~
After asking the rebels to tell Donna where he was going, the Doctor ran off to the Tardis. He always kept various types of fuel cells in storage for “just in case” purposes, and it looked like it was going to come in handy once again. He had modified the power sources so that they were bigger on the inside (much like the Tardis), and even though they looked small and flimsy, they could hold up under extraordinary circumstances.
The Doctor proudly brought Matthias his fuel cell, and had to hold back laughter when the man commented on its small size.
“This?” Matthias was incredulous, “this is what you brought us? We need power for more than one day.”
“Trust me, Matthias, it’s bigger on the inside.”
Judith grinned; “I’ll tell the bridge to stay on course to the rebel settlement. Should we find you and Donna some rooms as well?”
~*~*~*~*~
8 DAYS LATER:
It was a ship-wide celebration on board when the eighth day passed and the crew received a hailing from the rebel settlement. They had made it safely to their destination on time when almost everyone on board had doubted it. The Doctor had taken great pleasure whenever Matthias or one of his children had gone to check on the fuel cell, sure that it would have run out, only to find that it was still going strong.
The rebels had assured Matthias and his crew that they would be able to fix up his ship, and so it was with a light heart that Donna and the Doctor made their way back to the Tardis.
“You’re not going to stay any longer, Doctor?”
The Doctor turned around to see Judith standing casually behind him.
“We rebels know how to party, and I’m sure the colonists will welcome you,” she shrugged, but the grin on her face belied her nonchalance, “after all, you saved them as well.”
“Nope,” the Doctor replied, popping the “P”, “Donna and I have got other things to do, people to save, you know the drill. I heard somewhere that the Shalym System’s capital is being oppressed and is about due for an uprising.”
Judith threw back her head and laughed; “Good luck, Doctor. I hope we meet again.”
“I hope so too,” the Doctor said.
“This was good,” Judith could hear Donna say from inside the Tardis as she walked away, “there wasn’t as much running as usual. And the food was great.”
~END~
Reviews and concrit are much appreciated. Or, see the original with graphics HERE at AO3