Across the Universe

"Very well" The duck replied, wobbling over to then stopping at the edge of the steps, where he looked up at the two, "Your sonic technology shall aid us well. We would appreciate your assistance, in return for you aid, i will treat what you found in the corners of my ship with great care and do what the captain should have done". The Doctor nodded then gestured towards the collar, "I'm guessing the collar makes you speak, yes?", the duck nodded, "It gives me the ability to speak in a hundred different language as well as comprehend human level intelligence. During the great third war on Earth in 2059, they invented these collars to send animals that were small enough to pass through enemy lines into battle. It aided in gathering intel, stopping bombs and other tasks that a human would be unable to accomplish".

"So, your a war hero?" Sonya asked with a smile, crouching down so she could see eye to eye with the duck. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir. And thanks for not tossing us off of the ship." She added wryly, casting a glance up at the Doctor. "Come on Evil Kanevil, we have some cleaning up and fixing to do." Getting to her feet, she pulled on the Doctor's arm to get him moving. Turning her attention to the crew member next to them, she nodded her head towards him. "Show us where we can start, no place is too difficult for us." She added, a slight shrug to her shoulders before she thought of something. "Well, small spaces we can't fit into might be a problem, but other than that..."

The man nodded, quickly going over the broken systems in his head before finding one and answering, "There is the automatic life support systems. They run when the life support systems are low, they are in all sense of the word, our backup system. We need that repaired immediately..then the flight controls". The Doctor nodded, peering around the room as he flipped out his sonic screwdriver and turned to Sonya, "Knowing you, you'd prefer the flight controls. So i will do down to the lower decks and get that system online and running" he said, patting her on the shoulder before dashing out of the bridge's doors and eventually, out of sight as he turned down a hallway.

Sonya grinned and shook her head, turning to face the smashed controls behind her. Well, not smashed, but nearly ruined by the looks of things. With a slight whistle, she knelt down and began examining the wires carefully, pulling out the useless ones and tucking the good ones back away from the rest of the mass hanging down. "This might take a little while. I really don't need any help with it anyway, I'm sure the Doctor could use some help down where he's at though." She said idly to the crew member standing nearby, her eyes flicking up to his face quickly then back down at the task at hand. "I will need a few tools though. Give me the ones you have now, and I'll pick out what I need at the moment."

The crew member nodded, "Yes ma'am" he proclaimed, gesturing for his men to get the tools needed for Sonya. Once they brought them over, the crew member handed them to Sonya, thrusting them out to her with power behind it as if he were trying to punch her but didn't want the others to see him. The crew member narrowed his eyes at her and lowered his head as his index finger rose up to his mouth and was placed over it, "Sssshhh" he hissed before his eyes suddenly flashing green before he closed them and they shifted back to human. "Is everything alright over there?" The duck called from the other side of the room, "Yes sir" the crew member immediately replied, turning to him and nodding before shifting back to Sonya, handing her another tool as if nothing had happened.

Down in the lower deck of the ship, The Doctor raced through the halls, kicking himself off of the side as he had too much force running down the hall behind him. Eventually he made it to the console in question, sparks flew from the sides every few seconds making it a hazard to even approach. Using his sonic screwdriver, he scanned for the most damaged systems, then proceeded to find the safest entry point to the broken system.

Sonya narrowed her eyes at the crew member and snatched the tool away from him, debating on if she should announce what she just saw or wait and see what he had planned. Deciding on silence, she resumed her work on the controls, carefully replacing the worn or missing wires with new ones and splicing them together. "Have a solder torch? Or maybe I could use your temper to melt them together." She said in an undertone that carried a warning on it as she stared up at the man with narrowed eyes.

Glancing over at her communicator on her arm, she shifted it just enough to where she could fiddle with it out of his line of sight, quickly running a scan over his body before resuming what she was doing once more. All she had to do now was wait on the results of the scan, thankfully the TARDIS was near enough to help with the work.

The crew member nodded and handed her the designated tool she required then turned his attention elsewhere as more important things needed his special attention. Then, the TARDIS sent a burst of energy through the communicator on Sonya's arm, shooting codes of Gallifreyan information every second until finally an image popped up. The image of a Slitheen and the description beneath it flashed on the communicator, causing curiosity in the crew worker as he glanced over his shoulder to Sonya. The duck glared at the crew worked, "Back to work!" he ordered, "yes sir!" the crew worker hissed, reluctantly turning his cold gaze away from Sonya. But his gaze around the room never faltered as he looked around, watching what everyone was doing until finally, he managed to slip out of the bridge. He knew The Doctor is currently working on the life support systems, and if he wanted to have his plan thread out the way he wanted it to, he needed that system destroyed along with...The Doctor.

Meanwhile,
The Doctor positioned himself directly under the control console, his legs outside of the console and his back on the floor, giving him the ability to look up at the bottom of the console and work on it that way. After seemingly hours of non stop work, The Doctor released a sigh and lowered his head, his eyes just catching the sight of a shadow looming over the bottom half of his body. "Who's there?!" He called out, but no reply, only the image of a big green foot swinging and hitting the support beam that kept the control console above The Doctor. Without that beam The Doctor would be crushed beneath hundreds of pounds of machinery; another strike, and another caused the console to shake, The Doctor put his hands on the bottom of the console to hold it up with all of his ability.

Jumping slightly from the sudden commotion from her communicator, Sonya's head came into contact with the underside of the controls hard. Swearing under her breath, she sat up and rubbed at the sore spot, glaring at the bit of technology on her wrist to see why it had thought it was important enough to scare the living daylights out of her. Her eyes widened at the information then jumped to her feet and sprinted in the direction the last saw the Doctor head in. "You three, come with me, now!" She snapped at the crew members standing idly to the side, unsure of what to do. Jumping at the tone of her voice, they cast a quick look at their commander before racing off after her. "Now I don't care what you see in there, you get the Doctor out and you leave me. Do you understand!" She shouted over her shoulder while turning a corner without slowing down, her hand flinging out to keep her shoulder from smashing into the wall.

Reaching the room, she shoved the door open quickly. The First thing she registered was the same crew member from before on the flight deck, the second thing being the Doctor trapped under a heavy piece of machinery. "Get that off of him. I'll take care of this one." She ordered quickly, pointing over at the Doctor before returning her attention to the crew member with a slight scowl on her face. "Slitheen? Care to explain why your hitching a ride with these lot? Oh wait, that's right, your family is dead and your the last one. I've forgotten." She hissed at him, unable to keep the sudden hot temper that always seemed to flare up in stressful moments under control.

The Slitheen giggled menacingly, then released a fart, which it turned around and sniffed then peered over it's shoulder to Sonya, "No you stupid human", it giggled once more, stepping closer to her, "My species isn't dead, no, not like your sad race. Instead, this lot are carrying some very important cargo..cargo i need to create the Slitheen initiative". It took another step closer to Sonya before extending out it's arm quickly, grabbing her by the neck and hoisting her up against the wall, "But you'll make for one taking snack. Sour..but still yummy!".

The crew was aiding The Doctor in getting the panel off of him before it crushed his entire body beneath it. Sweat dropped down the sides of their faces as they pulled up with all their might before, finally, it lifted up just slightly, allowing The Doctor to slide out like a snake. Immediately his eyes shot towards the Slitheen, without a further thought, pointing his sonic screwdriver at it, "Let her go" he hissed, "Because what she does next won't be too pleasant".

Sonya narrowed her eyes, feeling the grip on her neck, but the pain faded the second she focused on it's face. "You had better listen to him... Because you've neglected to actually pay attention to who we are." She hissed, struggling to contain the wave of anger that rose up inside of her. "I'm hardly human, far from it in fact..." She added, her eyes flashing a golden color before she forced it back and shot a glance over at the Doctor. Truthfully, the instinct to stop the Slitheen's heart was right there, nearly making her groan with the force she had to stop it from happening. But the last thing she wanted to do was kill it in front of the Doctor.

Quickly, she glanced at the arm holding her then at the human suit's face the Slitheen was wearing before her foot shot out quickly, connecting with it's stomach and causing them to double over in pain, letting her go as they did. Ducking quickly, she made her way around the creature and stood next to the Doctor, a hand rising to her throat as she rubbed the sore spot. "I'm going to have bruises because of you."

The Doctor released a slight smirk, his sonic screwdriver still pointing at the Slitheen as he began to walk around it, "Nothing a spa on the TARDIS can't handle" he mumbled, replying to Sonya's comment then turning his attention to the men she brought with her to aid him, "Go, go, go" he whispered, motioning to the door with his head. The men obeyed willingly, dashing out of the room as fast as they could and straight up to the bridge, to surely inform the newly appointed captain. Looking over at Sonya, he extended his hand out to her to take as he took one more step closer to the frame of the door, "Come on" he whispered.

The pain that rushed through the Slitheen had caused it to pass out, but not for long as it began to stir; The Doctor figured they had less that fifteen seconds to get to the bridge and seal shut the doors to stop it from getting inside but they needed to hurry.

Sonya cast a glance at the Slitheen before grabbing his hand tightly with hers, slight pride raising it's head in her mind as she stared at it. Apparently her will was stronger than the instinct. Looking over at the Doctor, she flashed him a quick smile before pulling on his hand and through the doorway. "Start running space boy, we don't exactly have a lot of time." She added brightly, pulling on his arm as she started running down the hallway back towards the bridge as fast as she could.

"Really, I'm flattered your so insistent on keeping that thing at bay, but really. You should turn around and run rather than keeping that sonic pointed behind us." Sonya said suddenly, glancing over at him to see he still had his arm extended behind them, practically running backward with her as he stared down the way they came from.

Once the two reached the bridge, The Doctor jolted from Sonya's grasp, spun around and sonic'd the doors of the bridge causing them to slide shut and lock. "What is going on?!" The duck roared, flapping his wings, causing his feathers to ruffle and some to hover down to the metal floor beneath him; the startled crewmen gulped, "It was one of us..he was an alien sir" one stepped up and admitted, "Tried to kill us all". The duck turned to The Doctor and Sonya as The Doctor stepped forward and squatted down to reach near eye level with the talking animal, "That alien is called a Slitheen. Ruthless creatures..will kill anything that gets in their way. And right now it wants whatever was in that room we found earlier..it wants it..and we are in it's way".

"Why does it want the little slime guys?" Sonya asked curiously, turning to eye the Doctor with a slight frown on her face as she leaned against the wall behind her. "They can't exactly... Do anything, granted it's horrible that they're like that and everything, you know how I feel about it, but why on earth would it want them." She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, thinking back to when she heard about their last visit to earth. "You can't honestly think that it wants to sell them? Do you? How much would those things be worth in their present form? They are decaying, aren't they?"

She turned to eye the crew members off to the side, an raised eyebrow at them. "You lot can jump in at any time here. Brainstorming with him isn't fun because he's already got all the answers before I can think of it. Just lets me stand there like a fool, coming up with ideas of my own before he gets bored and tells me what it is in the end."

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a slight smirk and chuckle before turning his attention to the crew, who looked at each other, completely baffled as one finally just shrugged and mumbled, "How should we know?". The duck sighed and wobbled over to Sonya, pecking gently at her leg to get her attention, once having it, he offered his opinion on the matter, "If i may." he began, "Those slimy things as you title them were used for dangerous activities. Bonds connected that fake body with the mind of the person it was modeling after. Those have either been damaged, or are in freezing to preserve them until we need them. Now if this alien is alone and needs an army to strike us down..then all it really had to do was hook itself up with the bonding matrix control center and replicate itself into all of the double gangers".

The Doctor's eyes shot wide open as the duck finished his sentence, and immediately, he raced over to the bridge doors he had just sealed and tried frantically to get them back open. But, after three seconds of trying to get it open, The Doctor raced back to the duck, "We've got to get there before he does!! The fate of the ship rests in these next few moments" he pleaded. The duck simply nodded and gave a menacing grin to both The Doctor and Sonya, "follow me".

Sonya sucked in a sharp breath at what the Duck revealed, her own thoughts not even taking that road when she considered all the factors that could have happened. Turning to the Doctor, she bit on her lip for a second, in thought then looked back down at the Duck again with a nod. "Lead the way." She said quietely, still in her own thoughts as he began to lead them through a back hallway out of the control room, leading them through a narrow passage that was obviously meant for a small person. Turning sideways, she sucked in what little gut she had and struggled to follow their feathered friend the best she could.

"Honestly, I'm one of the skinniest people I know, how can I not fit into this hallway." Sonya complained under her breath, not daring to look back and see the Doctor's amused expression she knew he had to have on his face at the moment as she slid along the walkway, following the duck as he continued to walk ahead of them. "And don't you dare mention its because I'm a woman. Because I will smack you over the head with a hammer once all of this is done and over with."

The Doctor held back his amusement and laughter as best he could, before he too was unable to proceed any further into the ever growing smaller hallway. It was almost like walking through alice in wonder land, with the rabbit and the small doors. Finally the tour was over and the duck dropped The Doctor and Sonya off at the normal sized hallway, the door of which was conveniently disguised as a larger vent, moving the attention of all who walked past, away from it. The Doctor nodded back at the duck as a sign of appreciation before turning his attention over to Sonya, "Come on. We don't have much time" he told her before storming off down the hall.

He seemed so confident in his direction down the hallway until he fully turned the corner and his eyes were immediately greeted by the sight of a door. Slowly opening the door, The Doctor peered through. A man sitting on the toilet, wearing an Abraham Lincoln outfit, gazed up at The Doctor with wide eyes along with another man who was kneeling in front of the toilet, peering down between the legs of Lincoln wearing a pig mask. With both of the men gazing at him, The Doctor slowly closed the door and ran back, "Definitely the wrong way!!!!" he proclaimed as he past Sonya and the duck in the hallway.

Sonya shot a startled look at the Duck as the Doctor ran past in the other direction, the look on his face something she couldn't describe at all. A cross between horror and shock if anything. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and saluted the duck before turning and running after him, catching sight of the Doctor's coat and trainers just as he turned a corner ahead of her. "Oi, wait up!" She called, her shoulder hitting the wall as she took the turn a bit too sharp in her rush to catch up with him.

Letting out a soft groan, she rolled her eyes upward only to skid to a stop and stare at the ceiling in confusion. Where they were running, there should have been power cords, energy wires, anything that was needed to keep the ship running, but nothing, in fact, there was no ceiling, there was only sky, stars and space. "Um... Doctor?"

The Doctor stopped immediately at the familiar sound of Sonya's voice, first slowing down at her request then completely stopping once her voice ended in a stutter. Spinning on his heel, he turned his attention and body to Sonya, meeting her gaze and looking up at the roof less hallway above him. "Would you look at that" He mumbled, walking slowly to Sonya's side as he stared out to the stars, his mouth partially open, "Some sort of atmospheric hold just above the exterior hull of the ship. Keeping the air in just in case something happened...well...make that..just in case we happened". A chuckle escaping just before his ears caught the echoing sound of someone running through the series of hallways to the right of him.

Shooting his attention back down to the hallway, The Doctor's eyes widened just slightly as he cautiously moved to the side of the hallway to his right. "Hear that?" He asked Sonya in a whispering tone as he placed his ear and hands up against the side of the hallway, "Someone...is busy..".

The Doctor stopped immediately at the familiar sound of Sonya's voice, first slowing down at her request then completely stopping once her voice ended in a stutter. Spinning on his heel, he turned his attention and body to Sonya, meeting her gaze and looking up at the roof less hallway above him. "Would you look at that" He mumbled, walking slowly to Sonya's side as he stared out to the stars, his mouth partially open, "Some sort of atmospheric hold just above the exterior hull of the ship. Keeping the air in just in case something happened...well...make that..just in case we happened". A chuckle escaping just before his ears caught the echoing sound of someone running through the series of hallways to the right of him.

Shooting his attention back down to the hallway, The Doctor's eyes widened just slightly as he cautiously moved to the side of the hallway to his right. "Hear that?" He asked Sonya in a whispering tone as he placed his ear and hands up against the side of the hallway, "Someone...is busy..".

Sonya frowned slightly, her ears perking up at the sound he mentioned, trying to pinpoint the exact location it was coming from. "Well then... Why don't we see what we can do to help them, yeah?" She shot him a sly grin before slowly walking in the direction of the noise, carefully stepping so she wouldn't make as much noise to echo back to their friend up ahead. Turning her head, she guestured for the Doctor to follow her with a tilt of it. You coming or not? I'm not going to go and say hello without my banana-weilding friend here. She thought towards him, an eyebrow raising up as she did before turning back to the task at hand and moving once more.

The Doctor kept close to the walls, his ear hovering over the side of the hallway as he continued on, keeping his distance from Sonya to allow her room to move about. But then, his attention was shifted immediately by the sudden presence of the slitheen, bursting into view and mind as it let out a shriek. The Doctor stood firmly, watching the Slitheen as it looked from Sonya and back to The Doctor, "You're too late...." it hissed with a chuckle, "They've already been born hehhehehehe". Before The Doctor could do anything, a series of footsteps echoed throughout the hallway, then it escalated into a run, then mad dash. "Sonya..." The Doctor mumbled, reaching out to Sonya, inches away from her hand, he was forced to back away as the sight of countless Slitheen running down the hallway caught his attention, "RUNNNn!!!!!" he proclaimed, spinning on his heel and making a mad dash back down the hall.

Sonya's eyes widened in surprise at the sight before she jerked herself back into reality and spun around to follow the Doctor back the way they had come from. Ducking her head down, she concentrated on following his feet, pushing herself past it's limit for the first time in a while. Sucking in a sharp breath, she glanced up at the back of his head, struggling to keep up with his much longer stride as they ran from the army behind them. "So... What exactly... Do you suggest... That we do about this?" She managed to get out between gasping breaths before ducking her head back down and focusing on the floor once more.

Before long they were back at the narrow hallway the Duck had brought them through, slipping tinto it, Sonya grabbed the Doctor's hand and jerked in him after her. Pressing her back to the wall, she struggled to control her breathing as the group of Slitheen ran past the entrance where they hid in the dark. Turning her attention to the Time Lord beside her, she let out a low sigh and slumped against the wall. "Well then..."

The Doctor took the time in the small hallway with Sonya to grab his breath back, his lungs growing then lessening with each inhale then exhale. Peering out of the hallway, The Doctor glanced side to side before walking into the hallway, sniffing and straightening his coat with a crack of his neck, "Nothing like a good run to get the brain going" he commented, glancing back to Sonya as he turned to the right then peered over his shoulder to the other side of the hallway, making sure no Slitheen was coming towards them, "Alright then, let's see. About twenty or thirty Slitheen, a handful of bridge workers, a duck and two time lords with a barely operational ship".

Suddenly, an idea hit him and he quickly spun back to Sonya, "I need you to get everyone to the TARDIS, you've got a key so get them inside. Once on the bridge tell the captain to shut down everything. Set the ship for self destruct" he told her before looking back down the hall then back to her, "I will distract the Slitheen to give you enough time..if the Slitheen want this ship they can have it...but we never said what condition the ship has to be in".

"And what makes you think you'll get to the TARDIS before the ship blows the Slitheen along with you, to smithereens?" Sonya asked curiously, an eyebrow raised up as she studied the Doctor with a slight tilt of the head. Before he could reply, she reached under her shirt and pulled the chain she kept her TARDIS key on out to show him with a warning glare. "You had better get there before the ship does explode, because you know Lady, she'll stay until you get your butt through those doors, no matter if the ship she is in will blow or not."

Turning around, she stopped then looked over her shoulder at him with a slight frown on her face, a worried look in her eyes. "Just be careful, Doctor. Please. I don't know how I'd deal with loosing my best friend." She added quietly before turning back in front of her and running back towards the bridge, ignoring the walls as they bruised her shoulders with each jolt of the sharp jog she set herself at. Deep in thought with what she had to do, she nearly passed the door into the bridge before skidding to a stop and backing up to it.

Flinging it open, she burst through and stood there, staring at all of the crewmembers, along with their captian with a deep breath. "The blue box. Where is it at?" She asked quickly, ignoring the startled glances they threw at her, One of the members stood up and went to show her. Shaking her head quickly, she waved a arm at everyone gathered. "You lot, all of you go to the box and wait for me there. I mean it, every one of you." Without waiting to see if they followed her orders, she turned her attention to the control panel and began typing in commands, searcing for the self-destruct orders.