Firefly/Doctor Who crossover fic: A Different Kind of Companion: A Lesson in History (3/9)
“They didn’t. This has to be the signal that pulled the TARDIS off course. A space time anomaly.” Reaching into his jacket pocket, the Doctor retrieved his sonic screwdriver. “But what’s it doing here?” he wondered out loud as he aimed the tip of the device at the door’s lock.
Inara placed her hand on the Doctor’s arm before he could sonic the lock open. “Perhaps we should wait. This man is clearly agitated. I’m sure he would be even less likely to give you answers if you barge in.”
An obvious observation, but one the Doctor had clearly missed. Preservation of the timelines was paramount. In his haste to learn the truth he was ignoring the important details. He put away the sonic screwdriver.
“Death ray,” he mused. Slipping off his trilby, the Doctor tossed it onto one of the work benches. The technology was all of the period, he noted as he wandered the room. “That could be anything. A laser pistol. Sonic disrupter. Sonic cannon. Atomic cannon.” He could go on and on. There were thousands of ways of killing someone.
“Perhaps it’s just a name.” Inara flipped through some of the stray papers though their contents were mostly formulas and equations.
“But he plans to demonstrate it. It has to be more than a name.” The Doctor paused to examine a small motor sitting on one of the benches at the front of the room. “I need to see the technology before anyone else shows up.”
“Good Lord, how many people does Matthews plan to swindle?”
The Doctor turned around at the sound of the new voice. An older gentleman had entered the room and he stared intently at the Doctor. Dressed smartly in a tweed suit with a long coat, the man’s outfit was topped off with a bowtie and glasses. His upper class accent matched the neatness of his dress. In combination, the elements lent the man an air of authority.
“Ah.” It seemed this death ray was attracting all sorts of attention. The Doctor reached into his pocket for the psychic paper. He decided simply giving the name of John Smith would be enough; the man’s mind would fill in the rest and create what he wanted to see on the paper.
But before he could pull it out, Inara stepped forward to greet the man. “It seems confusion is quite abundant today.” She smiled apologetically. “We thought we would be the only ones at the demonstration.”
The man took a moment to appraise Inara, his gaze examining her from head to toe. The Doctor watched them keenly, waiting to see how this encounter would turn out. Seemingly taken in by the sight of Inara’s beauty, the man smiled. “When Harry Grindell Matthews is involved, matters are always confusing. How do you do, Miss…?”
“Inara Serra.” Inara followed the conversation with ease, offering her hand for a handshake with a small smile of her own.
“F. Smith.” He shook Inara’s hand, though the Doctor noticed the man’s grip lingered for a second. “I’m here representing the Admiralty.”
Inara nodded her head, feigning interest. The Doctor took that as his cue to jump in. “The Royal Navy is interested in Matthews, too?”
Smith’s attention turned to the Doctor once more. “This is my associate…” Inara paused, clearly unsure of how to introduce the Doctor.
If only the man’s name hadn’t been Smith. Now he couldn’t be a Smith as well. F. Smith didn’t look like the type of man to believe in coincidences. Inspired by the presence of advanced technology, the Doctor walked over, brandishing the psychic paper. “Appleton,” he said simply.
Smith took once glance at the psychic paper and his eyes widened. Behind the lens of his glasses, the expression was magnified. “I see. You and Miss Serra are here to ensure Matthews’ claims aren’t a threat to the British Empire.”
The Doctor took a quick glance at the psychic paper before the imprint could disappear. Apparently he was from MI-5. That was a change. “Right, safety of the Empire. Nothing could be more important.” Dropping his voice, the Doctor leaned in close to Smith. “But let’s keep this strictly between us. I’m sure you know how the Service can be.”
Smith nodded his head knowingly. “Of course. I’ve been on a secret mission or two in my time.” The comment seemed directed more at Inara and Smith smiled at her as if he was parting the greatest secret known to man. To Inara’s credit she took the attention in stride and offered the man an impressed expression. The situation didn’t seem any different from what the Companion was used to in her time.
“Though, none of them were as infuriating at Matthews, if you don’t mind me saying. The blighter’s hidden himself away again, hasn’t he?”
They all glanced at the closed side door. The hour was creeping closer to noon but there was no indication Matthews would be appearing before then.
“You’ve spoken with Matthews before?” asked Inara.
“Oh, not directly. I haven’t had that unique pleasure. A few associates at the Air Ministry told me of their encounters. The man refuses to explain how this blasted ray of his works. Always turns to the press when the attention’s too much and they happily print every word that comes out of his mouth. This whole thing has become a circus.”
“I apologize. I don’t read the paper as often as I should. What has the press been saying about Matthews?”
The Doctor silently beamed at Inara’s line of questioning. She wasn’t raising any suspicions this way. With her gracious attitude, Smith hardly seemed to notice that they knew absolutely nothing.
Smith scowled. “They’ve been hailing it as science fact, not science fiction. Most of them haven’t even seen it. The reporters keep on insisting the government should listen to Matthews and give him funding, like we’re villains. They seem to be forgetting that we’ve been swindled before.”
“There have been other inventions like this?” asked the Doctor, trying not to sound alarmed. If there was more advanced technology appearing in 1920s London he certainly had a problem.
“Ha! If we had had energy beams and spaceships during the war we would have surely won in a few months. Sadly, we’ve only had inventors claim they’ve built some extraordinary new weapon. We give them money but the weapon never appears. You can understand the government’s reluctance to pay Matthews simply on some good press and his assurances.”
So it was only one man and one death ray. That was a relief, if a paradox could be relieving. “Well, this might not even be genuine.”
“I certainly hope it is. Three rounds of demonstrations. Can you believe that? We’re trying to protect our country and all the man gives us is three demonstrations. We can’t even come back after we’ve seen it the first time.”
“Is that why no one else is coming?” Inara asked. They had been on their own for a good ten minutes now.
“The other branches of the Armed Forces are sending their representatives separately. We’ll be the ones to put Matthews off-balanced for once.” Smith appeared rather smug, like he was the one who had fashioned this plan.
Saving Inara from another round of praising comments and smiles, the Doctor gently took her by the arm and they turned away from Smith. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment. I need to discuss something with Miss Serra.”
Smith deflated, his attentive audience no more, but he politely moved away to give them room to talk. Inara spoke in a hushed tone anyway. “What do you do in situations like this?”
“I usually find the source and shut it down but Smith’s eagerness might be a problem. If this ray looks promising then nothing will stop the British Government from rushing it into production.”
“Smith mentioned a war.” The Doctor glanced over Inara’s head. The man was examining a few of the technical drawings on the wall.
“It was meant to be the war to end all wars but they were totally unprepared for the battles that followed. Any technology that seemed like an advantage was quickly pursued. Mutual annihilation. It doesn’t stop, not even after humans head for the stars.” And it wasn’t just on Earth where he saw this. It was right across the universe. Two sides intent on wiping each other out.
“The government always does what it thinks is best,” Inara muttered softly.
“If I can convince them not to invest then… Oh.” The side door re-opened, and Smith, who had been standing right beside it, was caught off guard. He looked up abruptly and took a few steps back as Matthews emerged. The scientist, if he could be called that, did look slightly ominous with his dark glasses now over his eyes. The Doctor rushed to the centre of the room and waited for the appearance of the so-called death ray.
Inara placed her hand on the Doctor’s arm before he could sonic the lock open. “Perhaps we should wait. This man is clearly agitated. I’m sure he would be even less likely to give you answers if you barge in.”
An obvious observation, but one the Doctor had clearly missed. Preservation of the timelines was paramount. In his haste to learn the truth he was ignoring the important details. He put away the sonic screwdriver.
“Death ray,” he mused. Slipping off his trilby, the Doctor tossed it onto one of the work benches. The technology was all of the period, he noted as he wandered the room. “That could be anything. A laser pistol. Sonic disrupter. Sonic cannon. Atomic cannon.” He could go on and on. There were thousands of ways of killing someone.
“Perhaps it’s just a name.” Inara flipped through some of the stray papers though their contents were mostly formulas and equations.
“But he plans to demonstrate it. It has to be more than a name.” The Doctor paused to examine a small motor sitting on one of the benches at the front of the room. “I need to see the technology before anyone else shows up.”
“Good Lord, how many people does Matthews plan to swindle?”
The Doctor turned around at the sound of the new voice. An older gentleman had entered the room and he stared intently at the Doctor. Dressed smartly in a tweed suit with a long coat, the man’s outfit was topped off with a bowtie and glasses. His upper class accent matched the neatness of his dress. In combination, the elements lent the man an air of authority.
“Ah.” It seemed this death ray was attracting all sorts of attention. The Doctor reached into his pocket for the psychic paper. He decided simply giving the name of John Smith would be enough; the man’s mind would fill in the rest and create what he wanted to see on the paper.
But before he could pull it out, Inara stepped forward to greet the man. “It seems confusion is quite abundant today.” She smiled apologetically. “We thought we would be the only ones at the demonstration.”
The man took a moment to appraise Inara, his gaze examining her from head to toe. The Doctor watched them keenly, waiting to see how this encounter would turn out. Seemingly taken in by the sight of Inara’s beauty, the man smiled. “When Harry Grindell Matthews is involved, matters are always confusing. How do you do, Miss…?”
“Inara Serra.” Inara followed the conversation with ease, offering her hand for a handshake with a small smile of her own.
“F. Smith.” He shook Inara’s hand, though the Doctor noticed the man’s grip lingered for a second. “I’m here representing the Admiralty.”
Inara nodded her head, feigning interest. The Doctor took that as his cue to jump in. “The Royal Navy is interested in Matthews, too?”
Smith’s attention turned to the Doctor once more. “This is my associate…” Inara paused, clearly unsure of how to introduce the Doctor.
If only the man’s name hadn’t been Smith. Now he couldn’t be a Smith as well. F. Smith didn’t look like the type of man to believe in coincidences. Inspired by the presence of advanced technology, the Doctor walked over, brandishing the psychic paper. “Appleton,” he said simply.
Smith took once glance at the psychic paper and his eyes widened. Behind the lens of his glasses, the expression was magnified. “I see. You and Miss Serra are here to ensure Matthews’ claims aren’t a threat to the British Empire.”
The Doctor took a quick glance at the psychic paper before the imprint could disappear. Apparently he was from MI-5. That was a change. “Right, safety of the Empire. Nothing could be more important.” Dropping his voice, the Doctor leaned in close to Smith. “But let’s keep this strictly between us. I’m sure you know how the Service can be.”
Smith nodded his head knowingly. “Of course. I’ve been on a secret mission or two in my time.” The comment seemed directed more at Inara and Smith smiled at her as if he was parting the greatest secret known to man. To Inara’s credit she took the attention in stride and offered the man an impressed expression. The situation didn’t seem any different from what the Companion was used to in her time.
“Though, none of them were as infuriating at Matthews, if you don’t mind me saying. The blighter’s hidden himself away again, hasn’t he?”
They all glanced at the closed side door. The hour was creeping closer to noon but there was no indication Matthews would be appearing before then.
“You’ve spoken with Matthews before?” asked Inara.
“Oh, not directly. I haven’t had that unique pleasure. A few associates at the Air Ministry told me of their encounters. The man refuses to explain how this blasted ray of his works. Always turns to the press when the attention’s too much and they happily print every word that comes out of his mouth. This whole thing has become a circus.”
“I apologize. I don’t read the paper as often as I should. What has the press been saying about Matthews?”
The Doctor silently beamed at Inara’s line of questioning. She wasn’t raising any suspicions this way. With her gracious attitude, Smith hardly seemed to notice that they knew absolutely nothing.
Smith scowled. “They’ve been hailing it as science fact, not science fiction. Most of them haven’t even seen it. The reporters keep on insisting the government should listen to Matthews and give him funding, like we’re villains. They seem to be forgetting that we’ve been swindled before.”
“There have been other inventions like this?” asked the Doctor, trying not to sound alarmed. If there was more advanced technology appearing in 1920s London he certainly had a problem.
“Ha! If we had had energy beams and spaceships during the war we would have surely won in a few months. Sadly, we’ve only had inventors claim they’ve built some extraordinary new weapon. We give them money but the weapon never appears. You can understand the government’s reluctance to pay Matthews simply on some good press and his assurances.”
So it was only one man and one death ray. That was a relief, if a paradox could be relieving. “Well, this might not even be genuine.”
“I certainly hope it is. Three rounds of demonstrations. Can you believe that? We’re trying to protect our country and all the man gives us is three demonstrations. We can’t even come back after we’ve seen it the first time.”
“Is that why no one else is coming?” Inara asked. They had been on their own for a good ten minutes now.
“The other branches of the Armed Forces are sending their representatives separately. We’ll be the ones to put Matthews off-balanced for once.” Smith appeared rather smug, like he was the one who had fashioned this plan.
Saving Inara from another round of praising comments and smiles, the Doctor gently took her by the arm and they turned away from Smith. “If you’ll excuse us for a moment. I need to discuss something with Miss Serra.”
Smith deflated, his attentive audience no more, but he politely moved away to give them room to talk. Inara spoke in a hushed tone anyway. “What do you do in situations like this?”
“I usually find the source and shut it down but Smith’s eagerness might be a problem. If this ray looks promising then nothing will stop the British Government from rushing it into production.”
“Smith mentioned a war.” The Doctor glanced over Inara’s head. The man was examining a few of the technical drawings on the wall.
“It was meant to be the war to end all wars but they were totally unprepared for the battles that followed. Any technology that seemed like an advantage was quickly pursued. Mutual annihilation. It doesn’t stop, not even after humans head for the stars.” And it wasn’t just on Earth where he saw this. It was right across the universe. Two sides intent on wiping each other out.
“The government always does what it thinks is best,” Inara muttered softly.
“If I can convince them not to invest then… Oh.” The side door re-opened, and Smith, who had been standing right beside it, was caught off guard. He looked up abruptly and took a few steps back as Matthews emerged. The scientist, if he could be called that, did look slightly ominous with his dark glasses now over his eyes. The Doctor rushed to the centre of the room and waited for the appearance of the so-called death ray.