Prisoners of War (Open RP!)

The Doctor kept his eyes glued to the screen as the group was escorted out by Charity, only glancing over when he heard Charity speak to them. Once all of them had left, The Doctor stood up straight and exhaled, placing one hand into his pocket and the other to the back of his head to relief  an itch. The familiar hum of the TARDIS engines now permeated the control room; The Doctor stopped to take a look around, noticing the emptiness, his eyes couldn't help but jet over to the open door where Charity stood outside of. He went to speak out to her when all of a sudden her head popped back into the doorway, surprising and catching him off guard, "Yes...yes! Oh! Well...could be anything" he mumbled a reply.

Turning his attention back down to the controls, The Doctor fiddled with them as he glanced over the monitor, "Whatever it is though...i'm not sure the Architects know what it is. I have a bad feeling it has to do with that man we saw earlier. I don't know...i could be overthinking it. Then again i might take a look...drop by and see what's what.." he sniffed as he stopped. Looking over to Charity, The Doctor motioned with his head for her to come in, "You could come if you'd like..well..that is if you don't have anything else to do. Definitely don't want to take you away from your duties or your family and friends. Not many can handle traveling time and space with a mad man in a box..it'll be dangerous, very dangerous".

((Sonya hasn't replied to help finish up our RP so we won't be able to connect the two right now. We could have them go on some adventures in the mean time? Not sure when that RP will get done. If it doesn't soon then we can just tie up the loose ends))

Charity couldn't help being slightly amused as she noticed that she had apparently caught him off guard. She smiled a little but then considered his words carefully. Dangerous, he said. He didn't even sound unsure about it as if it was an 'it might be'; but rather, he spoke as if it were a certain, positive thing that this would absolutely be dangerous.

Her head tilted to the side slightly as she considered that. She didn't mind danger so much. She would never have joined the Imperial Forces if she was afraid of a little danger. Then there was that thing he mentioned about traveling time and space. Space! That was the primary reason she joined the IGF, so she could travel in space and explore new planets and things. She'd worked hard to get through two periods of training to get there, then she'd had to wait a couple more years to get stationed on a spaceship so that she COULD go into space. And now he was offering a chance to travel in space... And time?

How could that be possible? Her curiosity piqued, Charity couldn't possibly pass up such an opportunity. She grinned as she came back inside the spaceship. She had plenty of questions about this ship too, but that could wait for another time.
"Well, it certainly doesn't sound like the sort of thing you ought to have to do alone, does it? Someone's got to come along and help you. Might as well be me." She half-grinned and then briefly hesitated with a last glance outside. "I probably should ask, though... how hard will it be to take me back home? I do have some responsibilities with the Imperial Forces, and I don't want my mother worrying if I disappear for too long. And my poor brothers would probably have to put up with it too, and my friend Felicia." She laughed softly.

Closing the door to the planet outside, she bounced over to the control things in the middle of the room where the Doctor was, and couldn't hold back a wide grin.
"Seriously, though... I've always dreamed of exploring outer space!" She announced with enthusiasm, bouncing on the balls of her feet slightly. "Exploring new planets, seeing strange moons and stars and everything... That's why I joined the Forces, actually, only it took me almost five years to get to go out in space... then my first trip out, all this happened."

She sighed softly, feeling a bit regretful about the Destiny, but there was no use in mourning about the wrecked ship. At least some of the crew had survived and they'd rescued many others from the Strabs that would otherwise never have been rescued; that was the important thing. Some small good had come out of the tragedy, so that was what she chose to focus on. Plus, she may never have met the Doctor, if it hadn't been for this day's events!

The Doctor listened and waited for his chance to reply to all of her questions and comments, "Well.." he started, a grin emerging as he spoke, "I wouldn't live up to the name of Time Lord if i couldn't get you back in time for dinner whenever you wanted to come home. Anywhere, any time guaranteed...well..that is unless the TARDIS brings us somewhere, sometimes she does that when she likes there's a better place to go". He began to stare up at the time rotor in the center of the control console as he spoke.

Looking down and over to Charity, The Doctor continued, "I've been known to participate in some police force like stuff..mainly UNIT but still. I don't see a problem helping out with the imperial forces, i'll just tag along when they call you in. Speaking of which, if you've got a communicator for the I.F just plug it into the console, i'll pair it with the TARDIS so you can still receive calls if we're out of this time zone". With that, The Doctor sauntered around the console, activating it as he glanced back over to Charity, "I'm sure you've got a lot of questions so, i just want you to answer one of mine then i'll try to answer all of yours. I can travel anywhere in time and space. Which one then? Want to go far into the past somewhere? Or maybe the far off future? Your choice".

Charity grinned, glad to hear that he could get her back easily. And he could plug her communicator into the console? That was good news and a relief to her.
"Perfect." She took out her I.G.F. comm device and offered it to him so he could plug it in. No longer worried about missing her duties and things, she was totally excited about this. For now dismissing what he said about being a time lord, she pondered his question. Where did she want to go? She had imagined one day exploring all through space, visiting new planets and things. But now that it had come to it, she realized she only knew of the planets in her own galaxy. Sure, she could ask to go to one of them and it would be somewhere she'd never been before, but where was the adventure in that?

She carefully removed the bandage on her head as she considered this question for a moment, but she didn't have any idea what other planets might be out there to pick from. She felt of her forehead, then glanced at something shiny to see how it looked. She was pleased to see that the wound looked partially healed already as if it had been healing for a couple of days rather than hours. She looked for somewhere to put the used bandage while thinking. Where did she want to go?

Then, having another idea, she grinned.
"Anywhere new." She decided. She might as well let him make the choice, he seemed like someone that knew all sorts of planets to visit. She smiled at the Doctor. "Somewhere I've never been before.. anywhere, anytime. How do you go in time, anyway? Is it hard?" She asked excitedly. "What do you mean by saying you're a time lord? What's that mean?" She bit her lip to keep from asking any more questions right now or she was likely to keep asking endless questions and not even give him a chance to respond.

The Doctor grinned, intently watching her as she asked questions and thinking of his response while she continued to speak. "It's not too hard to travel through time..well..i guess since i've been doing it for so long it's simple to me but. All it takes is some..wibbly wobbly..timey wimey...stuff and there you go time travel!" The Doctor replied, trying not to ramble about the specific machines needed for actual time travel, "That's what i'm called. Time Lord, or Gallifreyan, whichever you prefer. My people invented time travel...long time ago". As he spoke, The Doctor prepared the TARDIS for flight, pumping the regulator, turning and spinning dials and nobs and lastly cranking a lever under the console.

"Now! Let's see here!" The Doctor proclaimed, looking over at the scanner as it read possible planets to go to, "No...no...definitely not that one. Aha! There we go! You'll like this one..a bit cold but there's a special event there and if i can time it just right we can see it" he spoke aloud as he locked in the coordinates. Placing his hand firmly on the main lever, The Doctor looked over to Charity, "Any more questions?" he asked rhetorically, "Allons-y!" he proclaimed, yanking down the main lever and sending the TARDIS bursting into the time vortex.

The TARDIS shook and bounced; The Doctor holding tightly onto the control console with a wide grin on his face as he watched the time rotor roar as it moved up and down. The thrusting and harshness of the ride only stopping once the TARDIS had landed, signaled by three last groans of the brakes followed by a light thud. The Doctor slowly straightened up, his eyes dancing from Charity then down to the doors as excitement rushed through his body.

Charity listened curiously as the Doctor answered about the time lord question. She found it interesting and was curious about his people, but didn't ask anything further about that. She grinned a bit at his explanation at how time travel worked.
"Wibbly wobbly, huh?" She could tell that it was going to be fun traveling with him, and she couldn't wait to see where they were going.

When asked if she had any more questions, she thought of several she could have asked but he didn't actually give her any time to ask any. Before she knew it, the ship was going wild. She quickly reached out to grab something to keep her balance.
"Does it always do this?" She held on tightly to a beam until the wild ride had come to an end.

As the ship landed, she watched the Doctor head for the door. She grinned, realizing what that meant. They had landed on another planet! Someplace she had never seen before was just on the other side of those doors. She hurried to catch up to him with a thrill of excitement flooding through her.
"Where are we? What's this planet called?" Her eyes shined with eagerness. "Is there anything I should know about it? Like how many moons does it have? Who's the ruler of this planet? Oh! Do I need a coat?" She added, remembering he said it was a bit cold here.

The Doctor grinned as he placed his hand on the door, "It's called t-" he started as he pushed the door open, stopping as his eyes locked on a drunken man sleeping next to a large wooden barrel, a bottle resting in his hand. The smell of alcohol, salt water and something burnt or burning filled the air as The Doctor stepped out, "Never mind then..." he mumbled. The sound of water echoed as his shoes hit a small puddle of water that rested on the wood that made up the flooring. The lack of light made it hard to see objects on the floor and it if weren't from light following through an open hatch atop a small staircase the room would be pitch black.

Walking slowly over to the sleeping man, The Doctor nudged the man's boot until it woke him, "Who's..who's doorrring..dat?" the man drunkenly asked, "Would you be able to tell us where we are? Sort of got lost? Must have taken a wrong turn" The Doctor replied, "Wrong turn? Ha...Ahaha! That's funny..you're fun funny miss. You're aboard the Santa Maria of course..with the good cap'n Ponce..De..Leon!" the man belched. Laughing from his burp, the man lost his balance and toppled over onto the floor, immediately falling back into his sleep. The Doctor stood silent for a second, "No..there's no way!" he proclaimed rebelliously, "There's no way we're on Ponce De Leon's ship!".

Making his way over to the small stairs, The Doctor quickly climbed up and popped his head out and glanced around, "See! We're not on-" he started before being met by a sword that stopped inches from his face. The sound of unsheathing swords echoed as ten other men approached and surrounded The Doctor, "I do believe we got ourselves..an intruder" one man said, flashing his rotten teeth as he leaned towards The Doctor, "I stand corrected" The Doctor mumbled as he slowly raised up his hands, "Parley?".

Charity didn't get to find out what the planet was called, because if she followed the conversation between the Doctor and the drunk guy, they'd ended up in the wrong place anyway. Although the name of the place was totally unfamiliar to her, she could tell by the way the Doctor reacted that this was not where he had intended for them to be.
"Who's Ponce de Leon?" She asked, following after him curiously. She was going to ask more questions when she saw the men with swords pointed at them.

She stopped in her tracks in surprise, thinking fast about what to do. Were these pirates? It seemed like they might be. She'd never seen pirates before but she'd heard plenty of stories about them, growing up. She hoped the stories were much exaggerated, otherwise, she and the Doctor might be in deep trouble. And she didn't think that the IGF had any influence here, so she couldn't exactly use that to their advantage. But, seeing as the Doctor had decided that the best course of action was to surrender, she followed suit and raised her own hands. She offered a smile at the pirates, hoping they wouldn't be too much like the ones in the stories she'd heard.
"Hello!" She decided to be cheery and friendly, and hoped that perhaps they'd turn out to be friendly.

Slowly, The Doctor exited from the staircase and onto the main deck of the ship, looking around at all the conquistadors as they held their swords firmly up to him and Charity, "Welcome to 16th Century Earth" The Doctor mumbled to her. The sound of cannons suddenly entered into frame as one was shot to the right of them to a far off ship, "Down with the English!" roared the conquistador. Then a pair of footsteps echoed through the ship, slowly making their way to the main deck, the conquistadors one by one turned to face their captain as he entered the huddle before coming face to face with The Doctor and Charity. A feather on his hat bounded up and down as he walked, his black beard prominently displayed across his face, complimenting his dark eyes which pierced The Doctor as he glared at him.

"Who are you to dare board my ship without permission" Ponce asked, his thick Spanish accent weighing heavily on his speech, "Oh..we're just travelers. Got mixed up with ships is all, meant to get on a different one" The Doctor lied. Ponce scuffed at The Doctors explanation before glancing over to Charity and immediately lowering his harsh offensive stance, "Men! Lower your weapons! We have a lady on-board! And a beautiful one at that" he flirted, gracefully bowing before her, "I apologize for my men's manors. I am Ponce De Leon, first governor of Puerto Rico and captain of his vessel". Leon's men slowly withdrew their swords, returning to their duties on the ship apart from his right hand man who stood by his side. "Unfortunately we are on the later half of our expedition so we won't be making port in Spain for a while. I can make accommodations for you to get dropped off at Puerto Rico if you wish" Ponce continued, The Doctor lowering his hands and defenses as he watched the captain flirt with Charity, "Might i invite you into my quarters so we may discuss more of your sudden arrival?" he continued, offering his hand to Charity.

Charity watched the man enter, and could tell by how he walked and how the others showed him respect, that he was obviously in charge. The fact the man was so short made it somewhat difficult for her not to giggle at the feather bobbing up and down with each step he took. She kept her amusement as well hidden as she could manage, however, and reminded herself that this was the captain of the ship that she and the Doctor had unintentionally stowed away on.

Charity's mind was, by now, racing to think of every nautical term she'd ever learned from her big brother Keith. It might just prove useful today. She recalled that Port was what they called left, and Starboard was right.. and Aft was front, Fore was back unless she was mistaken. There were main masts and various sails and even different ropes had their own names, and now that she was trying to remember all of this stuff she couldn't help wondering how sailors ever kept this information straight in their heads. She made an effort to remember the proper nautical terms and smiled the most friendly and non-threatening smile she could manage at the sailors that might be pirates.

Suddenly the captain seemed to notice her and scolded his men for pointing weapons at a lady. Her face went a bright shade of pink as the man called her a beautiful lady. She was pretty sure that no one but her mother and father had ever called her beautiful, so that was quite a surprise to hear. "Um... thank you, captain." She responded to the compliment. She wasn't quite sure what else to say to it but figured 'thank you' was always appropriate.

Next, he was inviting her to his quarters? She had to take a second to consider what exactly he was asking. If he was mistaking her for a different kind of girl than what she is, then she most definitely did not want to accept that invitation, but if he really did mean only talking... well, maybe she could find out some information that could be useful. But how could she know? She studied him for a brief moment before glancing uncertainly at the Doctor, thinking carefully before turning back to Ponce once she had made a decision. "I'd like that, thank you." She decided, smiling as she took the offered hand. "I've got so many questions about this place... where was it you said we were going to?"

She figured that she could maybe get some questions answered while the Doctor could investigate some other things, if he needed to. She didn't know what he might know about this place, but she knew absolutely nothing except that it seemed old fashioned compared to what she was used to. Also, she figured, if the guy did turn out to have more in mind than talking, she could handle herself. She was fairly sure that he had no idea that she was armed, and he certainly didn't know how well trained she'd been for battle. One had to be trained very well if they were to go into battle against Strabotunians, after all. And this short guy was surely not anywhere near as dangerous as a Strab.

The Doctor followed after the Captain and Charity, listening to the nearby conversations and glancing around him, trying to take in everything that he could to try and figure out when and where they were. Ponce De Leon lead Charity and The Doctor into his personal quarters, having two men stand guard outside the door and two stand next to The Doctor to make sure he didn't try anything. Letting go of Charity's hand, Ponce De Leon made his way around the long table in front of him; a map lay across the entire table, a map of the known world with various navigational tools laying across the table. "This my dear is what we face" Ponce De Leon began, "The known world! We on this magnificent ship believe there is more. So much more! Beyond these known reaches lies water that can grant you eternal life! And we are searching for that my love".

The Doctor chuckled slightly but tried his best to keep it in, only receiving glances from Leon's guards and nothing more. Looking up, Ponce De Leon peered at The Doctor resulting in a moment of silence before he motioned to his guards with his head. The guards promptly grabbed The Doctor by the arms and escorted him out of the room and back onto the main deck of the ship where he was to wait until the captain was done with Charity.

Looking out over the ship, The Doctor began to wonder where exactly he was now that he knew when he was. 1513 roughly. So he's about to land in Florida in search of the fountain of youth. But why would the TARDIS bring us here? This is just another historical event, nothing i really need to fix...unless . Captain Leon waited until The Doctor left for his attention to turn back to Charity who stood across the table in front of him, "So" he started, "Why are you here? I am captain of this ship. I know enough to know that no one else boarded my ship without my knowledge so unless one of my men are traitors i don't understand how you got on. And the fact that you come in this important time is even more intriguing. Do you wish to live forever? Is that why you're here? To benefit off of my hard work? Are you with the king?!".

Charity looked interestedly at the map and with much curiosity. She quickly studied it, hoping it might come in handy sometime later. Not only did she try to remember the land formations and things, but she also tried to memorize the names listed on the map, for future reference. She had no idea whether any of this stuff was information that she ought to know or not but figured it couldn't hurt to learn it.
"It looks very interesting..." She began saying, then paused as she heard something about a fountain of youth. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the idea. She noticed that the Doctor found it amusing as well, but she did her best not to let on that she was of the same opinion as him, especially after he was escorted out of the room.

She hoped that the Doctor wasn't going to be in any trouble for that, but now she realized she would have to get as much information from Ponce as she could manage to do. Taking note of the clothes the men were wearing, she thought they seemed rather old fashioned, and wondered if they were anything like the people on the planet Luvecem. If so, then she hoped they wouldn't find it too unusual that she was dressed in her I.G.F. uniform and wearing pants.

Before she had a chance to think much on that, Ponce was suddenly asking her why she was here and if she was trying to steal his work! She widened her eyes, genuinely surprised by this accusation.
"What? Oh no, of course not! I'm sure living forever would be nice, for a while at least, but no... I'm not trying to get in on that. I didn't even know about it until you just now told me." She frowned at the last part. "King? I don't know the king..." She stopped herself from adding, 'I don't even know the emperor!'

Still, it seemed as if she must provide some kind of explanation and story. She thought rapidly to try and come up with some story. Then, an almost true story popped into her head, and she quickly altered various points of it to fit better with where they happened to be.
"Actually... we were on another ship." She confessed. "And we were attacked, and the ship was shot down. Uh, you know... sunk. Me and the Doctor, my friend out there, are they only ones left. And... well," This was the part where she had to think a bit more and add things that weren't actually true, so she thought a bit more carefully about it. "It was dark, and we were just floating on the waves on a raft, and your ship passed and I guess you didn't see us but we were able to climb on board and..." She looked down as if shyly. "We were afraid you might be the pirates who sunk our ship so we were going to just wait til you came to a port or something and hoped to sneak off without you ever knowing we were here." She hoped he would believe her story, and that she'd be able to tell the Doctor what story she'd concocted before he gave a different one...

Ponce de Leon listened to Charity, pausing for a moment as he processed what she had said before finally sighing and shaking his head, "We too ran into these pirates. Filthy pests chasing treasure and drinking and pillaging wherever they go. We believe they were following the English, none the less i'm glad you two found your way onto our ship. You will be safe with us my love. We will drop you off at our port in Spain, Spaniards honor". Before he could say anymore, Ponce De Leon was cut off by the shouting of his men, "Land! We have land!" they proclaimed causing Ponce to rush out of his quarters, "Come" he said to Charity as he passed her.

The Doctor looked around, standing up straight as the crew began swiftly preparing the ship to make landfall, pulling ropes and fastening them as Ponce De Leon entered the scene emerging from his quarters. "Drop anchor! I want my best men with my on those boats to go to land!" Ponce proclaimed before glancing back to Charity with a smile, "Our friends are coming with us. To make sure they witness our great triumph!". Sauntering off to one of the small row boats to the port side of his ship ,as it began to be lowered into the water below, leaving an opening for The Doctor to rejoin Charity. "How was your date with the captain?" The Doctor teased, smirking as he placed his hands nonchalantly into his pockets, "This is actually one of my favorite time periods on Earth" he started as he gazed around at the working crew, "The year is 1513, America hasn't been discovered yet..well..until now. But pirates, Spaniards, sailing across great vast oceans in search of fame. The edges of the world being mapped out, swords, primitive gun powder based guns. Brilliant time to see! Well...apart from the lack of teeth cleaning and hygiene for the most part but besides that..nice very nice".

Charity was actually relieved to hear that the captain had run into some pirates recently, as it helped to confirm her story and make it sound more legitimate. She smiled in gratitude at him.
"Thank you for allowing us on your ship." She had no idea what a Spaniard was or whether their honor was anything to be counted on, but she hoped so. She smiled and then was glad to hear someone calling about land.

Hurrying after the captain, she glanced around for the Doctor and was relieved to see him heading toward her. She waited til he was close enough and then listened to what he was saying, and frowned slightly.
"It wasn't a date." She protested quietly but listened to what he said about where they were. She considered the information he gave her, and nodded a little. "I told him we were on another ship that got sunk by pirates and we were on a raft and climbed on board this one in the night and hid because we weren't sure if they were pirates or not." She whispered quickly. "And what's this stuff he's talking about.. a fountain of youth? Is he serious? And what is this America place we're heading to? Should I know about it?"

The Doctor leaned into Charity to reply to her as the men around them continued working on the small row boats to make land, "Well you see during this time period people still believed in these myths and legends. They'd travel to islands and foreign lands and hear tall tales from indigenous people then head back to let's say Spain or England and spread the word. Countless ships sailed across the seas looking for the fountain of youth but nothing was ever found..well..the only records of things like this would be logs the captains wrote down. Sorry i forget that you're not from this planet..get used to people from here traveling with me. But America is just a country on Earth..well..continent, this is North America to be exact and this is the first time the people of Spain or England or any developed country set foot on North America".

Before The Doctor could continue giving Charity a history lesson on Earth, Ponce De Leon turned his attention to them, entering into the conversation with a cough, "Excuse me, Doctor..madaam we are ready to depart if you'd please join me" he added with a swift wave of his hand towards the boats. Nodding, The Doctor stepped forward and followed after Leon into one of the row boats; "Take it down!" one of Leon's crew members yelled once all had boarded the boat, signalling those on the ship to lower the row boat down into the sparkling clear blue waters below.

With forceful pulls and pushes, the men stationed at each end of the small boat lunged the boat forward through the water towards the nearby beach. As the boat moved across the water, Ponce De Leon locked his eyes onto The Doctor, "Interesting tale your friends tells me, how you were sunk by pirates" he started, "Yes! Lucky that we found that drift wood to keep us afloat until we found your ship captain, we owe you". Leon nodded his head with a slight smirk, "I don't believe i ever got your names", "Right, sorry! I'm The Doctor and this is Charity" The Doctor replied, "A Doctor! A Doctor of what exactly?", "Well..a lot of things. Mainly..you know..wibbly wobbly timey wimey..stuff". Ponce De Leon went to address The Doctors response before he was stopped by the thrust of the boat making it into land, "Captain! We've made landfall!" one of his crew members called back to him.

Ponce De Leon quickly turned and exited the boat, along with the rest of his crew, and began to march up the beach, "History! History my friends! This land shall be claimed for Spain" he proclaimed as he looked out. "Come! Let us map out the surrounding area! Let's find us that fountain of youth!!". The Doctor exited the boat, offering his hand back to Charity so she may exit as well; turning back towards the beach, The Doctor squinted from the bright shining sun and quickly flipped on his sunglasses. "Gotta love that Atlantic breeze!" The Doctor exclaimed, grinning as he looked back to Charity, "Need glasses?" he asked, offering her a pair as he pulled them out of his pocket.

Charity listened closely to what the Doctor said, nodding slightly as she tried to keep up with all of the information. America, North America. Country, continent, respectively. She listened to the bit about the fountain of youth that they were after and she couldn't help but wonder where they could have gotten such a wild story from.

Before she could ask any further questions, like what is spain and england... surely the latter was some sort of land, maybe another continent? they were interrupted by Ponce, and Charity hurried along with the Doctor to board the boat that he was on. In this unfamiliar place, she was anxious not to get separated too far from him, but also eager to be exploring a new land.. and entirely new planet even!

She heard Ponce talking with the Doctor but since he was far more knowledgeable about this planet than her, she stayed out of it and instead looked all around, studying the beach ahead of them and the treeline and wondering what lay beyond it. She smiled briefly at the captain when she heard herself being introduced, but turned back to the direction they were heading.

Feeling a thrill of excitement flash through her as the boat landed, it was all she could do not to jump up and hop over the side. Instead, acting at least a little bit like the lady her mother had hoped to raise her to be, she accepted the Doctor's offered hand with a grin.
"Thanks." She looked around excitedly at the beach. "What is this place? Does it have a name yet?" She wondered curiously. Turning to the Doctor upon hearing him ask if she needed glasses, she was about to say 'No, my vision is fine, why?' when she realized he meant shaded glasses. With a light laugh, she accepted the pair offered to her and put them on without any idea that such a device had not been seen before in this time period.

The Doctor looked at Charity, feeling her excitement as she felt it and couldn't help but grin as he looked around with her, "Well..." he started, "Not quite yet. Ponce De Leon named it, called it Florida..meaning the land of flowers. He should have nam-" before The Doctor could continue Ponce De Leon proclaimed from across the beach, "Florida! It shall be named Florida and be claimed for Spain! Haha!". The conquistadors cheering with their captain as they began to march into the marsh in front of them, "Doctor! Charity! Come! Let us explore Florida together!" Ponce called out to them, "The fountain waits for no man! We must find it before those English do". The Doctor held in a chuckle as he glanced over to Charity, removing his sunglasses as he approached the captain.

Ponce judged The Doctor and Charity curiously, "These things on your eyes..what are they?" he asked, "Oh..just inventions i made..to help keep the sun out of your eyes" The Doctor replied just now realizing what he had done, "Hmph! That is why we have hats Doctor! Spainish hats are the best! Emmanuel!" Ponce called out to one of his nearby men. Running over, Emmanuel nodded his head, "Yes sir", "Let me have your hat". Grabbing Emmanuels hat, Ponce flopped it on The Doctors head, "see! Beautiful!" Ponce proclaimed before walking off with Emmanuel. The Doctor smirked, glancing over to Charity and flopping it on her head, "I'm not much of a hat guy anymore" he chuckled before walking after Ponce and his comrade.

Ponce and Emmanuel reviewed a map as they strode up the beach together, Emmanuel pointing out spots to his captain, "This could be what they meant" he suggested, "It's nearly impossible. Taking primitives descriptions as fact and using them as a map. How will we ever find the fountain?!". "Captain!" One of his men suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention as he slashed away at some brush, "What?! What is it?!" Ponce De Leon asked hurriedly, "There's some sort of path" the man answered as he removed the final foliage revealing a barely visible wavering blue lighted pathway leading straight into the seemingly endless marsh and jungle. "It's leading us to the fountain!" Ponce De Leon proclaimed, stepping over a branch and onto the path, "Come men!".

The Doctor gazed at the pathway, crouching down and placing his hand over it as the men followed Ponce De Leon into the wilderness, "It's a projection" The Doctor mumbled as he looked up, "Somethings projecting this...something wants us to follow".

Charity laughed softly as, before the Doctor could even finish his sentence about Ponce naming the land, Ponce had exclaimed what it was going to be called. She smiled happily, looking around at all of the pretty flowers. She wondered if this was what that one country in Luvecem was like, that they had named the 'flower haven land'. She imagined it must be similar to it, but she couldn't really say since she'd never been there.

Just as she was moving to follow after Ponce to explore the newly-named Florida, he noticed their eyewear and inquired about it. She was a little surprised, having just assumed that they would have had such things. She realized she really needed to learn a lot more about this place before she made a worse mistake. Then she couldn't help giggling as she saw the Doctor wearing that enormous hat. And then it was plopped onto her own head, making her laugh a little more.

Not minding the hat, she grinned as she continued forward, following the explorers toward the forest, and listened curiously as they discussed the directions and things. She moved back toward the Doctor, speaking quietly.
"Is this fountain thing for real?" She wondered, glancing toward the men that were looking over a map. "I mean, fountain of youth? Really?" She was about to say more when they suddenly discoverd a path.

Her curiosity piqued, she moved to follow but frowned as she stopped to look at the strange projected path. She crouched down to examine it as well, frowning as she glanced around to try and see where it was being projected from.
"What do you think it might be? Is this sort of thing normal for this point in time, here? I might be a little confused on the level of tech here, but a holographic path projected in the middle of a jungle doesn't seem like it fits here.." She frowned, trying to piece this stuff together.

The Doctor arched his eyebrow, listening to Charity as he stared at the projected path in front of him, trying to think of possible machines that could do this. "No you're right" The Doctor mumbled a reply to Charity, "It doesn't fit here at all. Or in this time period to be honest...either something very powerful is projecting this or..it's close by.". Standing up, The Doctor glanced around the surrounding jungle then back to the men as they trudged through the dense foliage, "Keep an eye open, if this is here..there's no telling what else might be".

Branches snapped underneath the boots and shoes of the party lead by Ponce De Leon, frogs croaked off in the distance, birds chirps and snakes hissed. Everything seemed normal, apart from the blue holographic path they were following, "We're almost there i can feel it!" Ponce shouted from the front of the group. The Doctor smirked slightly and shook his head as he glanced over to Charity, "The myth behind a fountain of youth has been around on Earth for hundreds of years. Countless people have tried but none have ever found it. Whether there is or not i'm inclined to say no" he chuckled. "Sorry about this by the way" The Doctor started again as he looked around at the surrounding forest, "Wasn't exactly my intention that your first trip is here but..sometimes the TARDIS just tells me where to go".

Ponce glanced down at his map, his curiosity growing with each step he took, "How much further.." he mumbled as he looked away from the path and locked his eyes on the map. Suddenly The Doctors eyes caught something; the projected line suddenly curved upward and into a nearby tree, "Gotcha" The Doctor mumbled as he broke from the group and dashed over to the tree. Upon inspecting the tree, The Doctor discovered a small projector embedded in the tree trunk; looking around The Doctor scrutinized the groups surroundings, trying to find something out of place. With his eyes fixated on the map in his hands, Ponce failed to realize he was no longer following the path and continued to walk straight.

Suddenly the captain tumbled, his foot having caught on the edge of a root, the map rolling across the floor of the jungle as his men quickly rushed to his side to help him up. Dusting him self off and trying to shrug off the embarrassment, Ponce straightened his shoulders and glanced around, "What?". The Doctors eyes widened as the ground in front of Ponce suddenly began to shift, it retracted into its sides revealing a circular hole, the sound of a machine cracking up echoed throughout the jungle. "Captain!" One of Ponce De Leon's men shouted, pointing to the hole as everyone began to rush over to it, including The Doctor who warned, "Stand back!".

Slowly a lift began to ascend up to ground level, the empty platform locking into place with a gust of wind expelling from it. "Good job" The Doctor said, looking over to Ponce, "I think you just found the entrance to the fountain of youth" he added, placing his hand on the captains shoulder, inviting the captain to join him on the platform with the nudge of his head. Ponce nodded and slowly began to grin, "Well of course! Yes! The fall was just me..opening the door to our glory my friends! Come!". Sauntering forward, Ponce joined The Doctor on the platform and looked out to his men who all stood in front of him shocked and silent. Their widened eyes looked onto their captain and fed off of his confidence and slowly but surely joined him on the platform. "Doctor..what is this?" Ponce silently asked The Doctor as he leaned over to him, "Not a clue..sometimes it's better that way" The Doctor replied. The Doctors mind quickly processing what had just occurred, This technology is far beyond this time period..the projector..this lift..somethings not right.

Charity listened carefully as the Doctor answered her questions. So she was right, this wasn't at all normal for this place. She frowned a little to herself as she tried to think of what it could be. Obviously, she knew very little about this planet and any other planet outside of the Lyrae Cloud Galaxy, but she was mostly familiar with technology and the sort of things they had on Astronia. She couldn't think of any reason why anyone would project a holographic path onto the forest, however.

At the Doctor's apology, Charity couldn't help a grin.
"Sorry for what? This is fascinating!" She had no idea what to expect, but whatever was going on had her curiosity aroused and she was very interested in finding out what was going on around here. Perhaps they really were about to find a fountain of youth! Or perhaps they were about to walk into a trap laid by some hostile race who had come to this planet with malicious intentions. Who could say? Whatever happened, she was curious and that was all that mattered to her right now.

She was, perhaps, the only one who noticed when the Doctor rushed off into the forest. She looked after him, a little curious what he was up to. She stood undecided for a moment, debating whether to follow after him or continue following the group. But, she could see what he was doing from here and she realized that he had discovered the source of the projection! She was so busy watching the Doctor that she didn't see the men straying from the path. It was their shoups that drew her attention back, as Ponce began to fall into a hole that had appeared. Charity stared at this new development in the ground with intense wonderment.

Quietly moving forward, she peered cautiously down the hole and, along with the others, watched the lift rise up from the ground. She couldn't help but think that it reminded her of the ones on Aquoshillon. Not that she had been there before, but she knew much about the planet and knew that there was a lift that went down from the surface to the underwater part of the planet.
"Where do you think this goes to? I'm guessing things like this aren't normal here..." She whispered to the Doctor, having hopped onto the platform along with him and Ponce. She had overheard Ponce asking what it was, and a small part of her mind was asking if it was really a good idea to get on a lift when you don't know where it goes, but the curious, excited-for-adventure part of her was far stronger and she wasn't about to miss out on an opportunity to explore something new and exciting!

A gust of air roared up from the engines as the lift began to descend, the light of the sky above slowly fading as they were lowered deeper and deeper. Just before darkness completely took over, a brightness suddenly flashed as the lift finally rested on its destination. In front of them was revealed long white halls, blue strips of light lined the corners of the walls, the sound of bubbles and mechanical beeps echoed. Cautiously, The Doctor took a step out into the hall, his eyes wide and looking for any potential danger, "Hello?" he called. Suddenly a white metal hand burst from a nearby corner and grabbed The Doctors arm, quickly restraining him, "You must be treated. You are sick" it said as it looked over to the others on the lift.

The Doctor struggled the best that he could to be released from the robots grip, "You are expected..come" the robot said, loosening it's grip on The Doctor and motioning for the others, "come" it repeated. Turning to proceed around the corner, the robot released The Doctor completely, leaving The Doctor to rub his arm, "Well that's one way of getting someones attention". Ponce rushed over to The Doctor, "What was that thing?!" he exclaimed, The Doctor looked over at him then glanced to Charity before responding, "Let's just say..metal man for now..i'll explain later". Ponce sternly looked back at The Doctor, "The lives of my men are of great importance to me Doctor. So i think carefully before making decisions. I don't know what this is but something's not right".

The Doctor exhaled, his mind half on Ponce and half on the robot and the facility they were in, trying to think of a proper way to respond to the captain and yet still be truthful to some extent. "Listen" He started, "I have no idea what's going on. You need to trust me right now, that robot could have killed me but it didn't. It says we're expected so i say we follow it and act the part until we know more information. Just follow me and when i say run, you run..don't look back just run. You got me?". Ponce slowly nodded his head before looking back to his men, "Come" the robot suddenly proclaimed, reentering the scene and poking its head around the corner, "You are expected. Come".

Ponce's men stood in their places, too scared to move until their captain approached them, "Listen to me comrades. The road to the fountain is tough but we can do it..none have gotten this far that we know of. We could discover it then claim it for Spain! Riches and fame beyond your wildest dreams! Follow my lead". His men stayed silent for a moment before nodding their heads and forming up behind him as Ponce lead a marching formation after the robot, moving past The Doctor and following the machine around the corner. Baffled, The Doctor tossed up his hands, "What part of follow me didn't he understand?" he mumbled tiredly as he chased after them.

Charity kept her hand near her blaster - not drawing the weapon, but just keeping her hand near enough to draw it quickly if needed - as they rode the lift down to a new place. She looked up and watched the sky get further and further away, and tried not to feel too nervous. She was having adventure, at least. That's what she wanted, right? She couldn't help feeling a little flutter of excitement at the thought that whatever was happening, it was something new. Even the Doctor seemed surprised and like he didn't know what to expect. That made her both nervous and excited at once.

When, at last they reached the bottom, the Doctor started to explore, and suddenly a robot had grabbed his arm!
"Doctor!" She exclaimed in surprise, jumping forward and ready to fight off the robot in case it was hostile. But then, hearing it say something about him needing to be treated, and that they're expected, she tilted her head in puzzlment at it and was relieved when it released her new friend's arm. "Are you alright?" She asked him in concern.

She listened as he spoke to Ponce, and silently agreed with a nod. She was curious, of course, about what was going on here. The robot didn't seem hostile, despite being a little pushy. She wanted to find out more, but she was also going to keep her blaster close at hand, just in case. As Ponce went to talk his men into following them, Charity looked at the Doctor.
"This place is... odd." She commented quietly, glancing around. The long white halls, the beeping noises in the background.. it seemed a little eerie. "Any guesses about what it might be?" She asked quietly. She was trying to think of some clues as to what it might be, but was drawing a blank. But the Doctor seemed like he'd seen a thing or ten and so she thought, if anyone of their group would know, it would surely be him.

Suddenly Ponce and his men were marching after the robot, which had again demanded them to follow it. Charity ran to catch up to the Doctor as he chased after them, complaining about them not following him like he said to do. She couldn't help a slight grin as she heard that.
"I think Ponce believes himself to be mostly in charge..not you." She told him quietly. "He IS the captain of the ship, after all, while you're basically... just a stow-away who happens to know things." She pointed out, grinning slightly. She just couldn't resist a little bit of friendly teasing.

The Doctor grinned as he listened to Charity's last comment, finding her comment quite fitting for countless of his adventures and predicaments he found himself in, "You're getting good at this, but last time i checked you are a stow-away too. A stow-away with a gun from the future from a far off world traveling with a mad man in a box. Sounds like we jumped straight out of a book" he chuckled. The team ventured further into the compound, the white hallways leading into a vast central lobby filled with beds and chairs. An overhead screen flashed an arrival timer with the destination set on Earth; The Doctors eyes danced across every detail, the beds which had monitors hooked up to them,with hanging bags off various colored liquids, and the rooms that lined the halls around the common room underneath a sign that read, High Risk.

His mind raced over what this compound could possibly be, "I don't know" he mumbled as he, and the others, continued to follow the robot across the huge central lobby and into another hallway, "Some sort of hospital from the looks of it...but there's no crew..and it's location isn't exactly the best place". Ponce's firm marching stance and expression quickly faded as he and his men continued to follow the robot, looking over the lobby with widened eyes and a gaping mouth, Ponce immediately felt out of his comfort zone. Deep down, however, he knew his men needed his leadership and pressed on despite his overwhelming feeling of uncertainty and fear. The robot slowly came to a stop as it lead the group to a large safe like door, a scanning pad to the left of the door acted as the key to opening the huge contraption. The pad glowed to the touch of the robots hand and immediately the sounds the door opening began to echo. Cranking noises roared as the levers around the door pulled back and a firm pull on the handle from the robot allowed the door to slowly creak open.

"You are expected" The robot stated once more, urging the group to enter the room past the door with the wave of its hand. Ponce paused for a moment, gulping before slowly entering the room as he unsheathed his sword, his men following right behind him with their swords at the ready. The Doctor walked in after Ponce's men, arching his eyebrow as he glanced at the robot who held the door open for them. The room matched the rest of the facility with white walls and flooring and a thin blue lighting. Bubbles rose from two long cylinder shaped tubes that sat next to a curtain concealed bed in the center of the room; the red liquid in the tanks traveling through a cord from the tanks and into a dark form laying in the bed. "You have brought them to me?" A strained feminine voice asked from behind the curtain, "Yes, as commanded. I brought the expected to you" the robot replied as it entered the room and closing the door behind it.

Charity grinned a little at the Doctor's reply.
"Yeah, you're right. I am a stow-away too, but I'm not trying to take charge, am I?" She pointed out with a friendly smirk. She laughed a little at him saying it sounded like they jumped right out of a book, then glanced around more seriously as they walked down the hall, following the strange robot thing.

Glancing up at the screen, Charity paused to look it over and tilted her head thoughtfully as she read it. Hearing the doctor mention that it looked like a hospital, but had no crew, she nodded slightly and glanced around as well.
"I noticed that too, I wonder where everyone is?" She thought about that as she walked. "They wouldn't all have the same night off.. maybe they all got sick? That robot said something about you being sick.." She frowned. "Are you sick, Doctor?" She tilted her head at him in concern.

She continued looking around curiously as they progressed further, and finally stopped at a safe-like door. Charity wondered what was behind it. This whole place made her a little uneasy, but she really didn't have any reason to be afraid. It just sort of made her uncomfortable. She watched the robot use the palm scanner, and wondered how that worked for a robot. Shrugging it off, she followed the Doctor into the room, stepping softly despite her combat boots. She paused to study the strange bubbling tubes, and wondered what that was about.

Suddenly an unfamiliar voice spoke, making her jump a little. She looked toward the curtain curiously, wondering who this was. She glanced at the Doctor curiously, then back at the curtain. Leaning a little closer to the Doctor, she whispered softly,
"Any idea who this is and why she's expecting us?" She was wondering if maybe he knew anything more than the rest of them. It made no sense that they would be expecting them. Except that there was that strange hologram path. But how could anyone know they were coming? And did they mean they were expecting Ponce and his men, or the Doctor and Charity and Ponce and them? She was rather confused by all of this and hoped to get some answers.

The woman behind the curtain coughed and struggled for air before finally replying, "Good..good" breathlessly. The Doctor shook his head to reply to Charity's question as he approached the bed cautiously, "I don't believe we've met...i'm The Doctor, do you need help?" he asked. "I know who you are..Doctor. I saw it in a premonition..you imprisoned my sisters long ago and now i am the last" The woman replied, intensifying The Doctor's curiosity as he quickly grabbed the curtain and yanked it back. Inside the bed lay an elderly woman, her long gray hair trailing down the bed side and wrinkles covered her face, "Ooohh.." The Doctor mumbled with widened eyes, "You're a carrionite..why are you way out here? what have you done with the crew?!".

The woman chuckled as her head fell towards The Doctor, her eyes locking onto him, "I was alone and dying on a deserted planet when these..kind people found me. They brought me back to life but my powers are fading..so i needed a life source. A fountain of youth you might say; the crew gave me back some of my powers with their lives but i need more..i need my fountain refilled Doctor, with you're blood!". Suddenly two doors on the sides of the room opened, revealing two additional robots who quickly walked over to the group. With needles in their hands, they marched and quickly grabbed two of Ponce's men as they injected them then walked them then dragged them over to the tanks. The robot who escorted the group, turned the remaining members, the fingers on its hands retracting to reveal a small blaster which it pointed at Ponce and Charity, "You will cooperate. You're deaths will commence momentarily".

The Doctor looked around with widened eyes, "What are you doing?!" he exclaimed, "They will be used to replenish my powers Doctor. As will you" the Carrionite replied with a grin as the two robots hooked the men up to the tanks which immediately began to drain their blood. The Doctor reached into his jacket, "Oh no Doctor. Move one inch and my friends will pull the trigger on your friends" the Carrionite proclaimed. The Doctor slowly retracted his hand as he looked back to Charity then turned his attention over to the Carrionite, "My sisters will be freed Doctor, our time will come again. I can feel my powers returning my the second...soon my revenge will be complete. Once all of you are drained, i shall drain this world with my sisters beside me".