Up to Spec [Ali, Doc^5, Nexus]

[onemorebounty]

*Samus had lost track of time in her reading, flipping back and forth through the manuals the Doctor had left, leaving off one to search for something in another. By now, she was surrounded by open books, an empty tea cup, and the crumbs of whatever sandwiches hadn't been liberated by anyone else. She pored on, seemingly oblivious, occasionally

Comments

[a_bit_put_upon]

(( posting as a new comment, in case you guys had more to say before he gets there xD ))

After a while, the Doctor can be found wandering back into the library with yet another glass of the odd cold tea the TARDIS has prescribed him, after yet another checkup on the rooms of his companions- he can't help but worry in a streak sometimes for no reason. He scans the massive collection, looking for a title that may catch his interest for a short while.

He really ought to be out researching some of the more spectacular things he's learned in and about the Nexus, but while amiable with his friends, he doesn't quite feel up to being stopped at nearly every turn and asked a load of... well, silly questions, most of them. Most of them tend to concern his romantic relations with companions he can barely remember, or possibly has yet to know.

He has decided that being silly is a trans-universal ailment.

[vicioussweetie]

((Nope! That's why we invited you to join the conversation. :P))

Silly truly is a trait shared by one and all. So is giggling, at least if the giggling he can hear from elsewhere in the library is any indication. Or maybe Ali has finally lost her last, tenuous grip on what he'd consider reality; that's always an option. Either way, she seems to be in a very good mood.

"It would probably help if somebody spoke Doctor," she comments to Samus when the laughter dies down, "besides himself."

[onemorebounty]

*It seems she isn't alone in her laughter; Samus, too, is indulging in a rare fit. At least when she goes crazy, her laugh will clearly identify her as such, and won't be as pleasant as this one.*

It probably would. But we can pick out the words we know, and make a good guess about the rest.

*Why, his ears ought to be burning! They're talking about him!*

[a_bit_put_upon]

His free hand is up and touching the spine of a book promising to break down the orders of thermodynamics when he hears the laughter. Curious, he ventures closer to the source, hesitating for a split second when he hears the remark about the way he speaks. Well, he's used to that- he's been hounded many a time in the past by Peri and Tegan alike for slipping into that sort of talk.

He rounds the corner, mildly surprised that Samus is here again- or has she never left?- and leans against a wall shelf, grinning a bit sheepishly. Several feet at Samus' back, he and his grin are in Ali's plain sight, and there he waits for an invitation or a sign of shooing him away, never having been one for interruptions unless they were terribly important.

[vicioussweetie]

Ali was not joking about how he talks so much as her own inability to understand. Maybe the fact she's not at all embarrassed when he appears will be a clue. "Indeed we could, darling," she remarks to Samus while shifting her attention quite deliberately to the Doctor. She's sure Samus has already noticed his arrival, but it never hurts to be sure.

"So, Doctor, what do you think of the idea?"

[onemorebounty]

*She doesn't jump at Ali's addressing him, so it's a safe bet Samus was aware of his presence. All the same, she appreciates the consideration. Waving a hand over her shoulder, she invites the Doctor to join them.*

And when you've spoken of that one, we may have a couple others for consideration.

[a_bit_put_upon]

"Hmm," he noises with mild amusement, venturing over and taking a seat at a respectable (but not too distant) distance. "Of what idea? Translating my babble? You could ask me to simplify, you know," he grins. "You've caught quite a lot of what I say on your own, after all."

[vicioussweetie]

"I do try, although I very often feel like I'm missing the nuances. Those aren't always available in the simplified version." Ali takes note of where and how he's sitting, although she doesn't adjust her own seat or posture. "But Samus speaks fluent Crazy Fairy Chick."

[onemorebounty]

And Ali's got a passing grasp of Raised By Birds, so between us we're quite fluent.

*Samus watches him sit, and he might have the impression that in her gaze he is being measured, and from those measurements, extrapolations, speculations, expectations are being made. But her next words are on the matter at hand.*

I've been at the manuals you showed me, and I have a possible idea for replacing your transpower unit. Ali had an interesting one, too, the feasibility of which you would know better than I. Which would you like to hear first?

[a_bit_put_upon]

"I fear I've yet to master either of those languages," he confesses, mock-ruefully. "Perhaps a lingual tea party is in order." The sizing up doesn't bother him in the least, having been under scrutiny in far worse situations in the past. It merely leaves him to wonder what he's being tested for this time 'round.

"I would like to hear both, actually. All ideas deserve an audience."

[vicioussweetie]

Ali gives Samus a shocked look, and protests, "I was only joking! I don't think we could really go around stealing stars!"

Whatever her idea was, she wasn't expecting to have to explain that part.

[onemorebounty]

Well, it could work--

*Samus seems to be responding to Ali's shock first, and seems a little surprised to find it had been a joke.*

--perhaps not as the part we need to replace, but if TARDIS tech is up to containing the tidal forces of a neutron star, there's plenty of potential to explore. And if we can find an agreeable star, or one that needs to be contained for the general safety of everything else, so much the better.

*She turns back to the Doctor.*

And that's the heart of one thought. The other has to do with a possible source of replacement parts. Do you know anything about the Luminoth, or the Chozo?

[a_bit_put_upon]

He blinks, having been stunned silent by the exchange, though his eyes show much more activity than simple shock. When he comes around to noticing Samus is addressing him, he sounds much more like he might have been doing calculations.

"Er- I seem to recall hearing a small bit about the Luminoth, some centuries back in my sequential past," he muses. "Something to do with souls in the light, I believe. What's this about stealing stars?"

[vicioussweetie]

"Well, Samus asked if I could think of anything that could handle the energy output of a star like the sun, and I thought a pulsar or some kind of dying star maybe could? But I didn't think she'd take me so seriously." Speaking science is bad enough--having people take her seriously is really worrying! "But there'd be all kinds of complications and anyway I don't really want to steal anybody's star. They might still be using it."

[onemorebounty]

*Samus has never been one to let the fact that a good idea was had by accident prevent her from seizing upon it. Luck is not to be relied upon, after all, but neither is it to be ignored.*

Certainly, we wouldn't want to steal anyone's star--and the star itself might not be pleased with the idea--but if we found an agreeable star that no one else needed... well, there are complications, but I thought it was an idea worth mention.

*One might think her odd, ascribing personality and motive to what are essentially massive balls of really hot gas, but she's odd in so many ways one more might not even register.*

"Souls in the Light"--they'd like that, I think. They're contemporaries of my own people, and I've recently seen firsthand a device of their design that was able to absorb, store, and release tremendous energy safely. If anyone currently available in my Facet could build new transducer cells, it's them.

[a_bit_put_upon]

He can't exactly help the foolish grin on his face for the split second it hangs there. Might still be using it? Granted, he understands the concept in terms of life in solar systems and that sort of thing, but that certainly isn't what her tone implied. It has to be one of the most adorable things he's heard in years- perhaps even centuries.

But back to the matter at hand. "If you believe they'd be able to build the cells, then I fully trust your judgment. Have you got any idea what they'd ask in return? D'you know if they might be able to build other parts as well?" He's not sure yet how he feels about harnessing the power of a star. The TARDIS is an impressive thing, but she's an old model, and he's not entirely certain she could handle such a load.