Gained Trust

((Closed to myself and Penelope))

The Doctor stood over his TARDIS' control console, hands resting on the edge of the controls as he waited. What am i waiting for? He asked himself before forcefully pushing off of the console and rushing down the ramp and thrusting open the doors. Immediately he was met by a little girl, her blonde hair curled into two pigtails, her blue eyes wondering across his face. "Why is you box bigger on the inside?" She asked, pointing back behind The Doctor with an array of curiosity gleaming in her eyes, "Oh..that's umm..that's..special affects" The Doctor replied, stumbling for a reply before closing the doors behind him and lightly pushing the girl forward with both his hands.

"I know what i saw mister" The girl insisted, The Doctor sighed, squatting down in front of her and placing both his hands on her shoulders, "Can you keep a secret?" he asked her. The girl simply smiled, answering The Doctors answer in more ways than one. The Doctor nodded, "Good" he replied before glancing around him, "Now..i'm waiting on my friend. Here's what i want you to do-" he stopped as he whispered into the girls ear. The girl's face lit up with comical joy before nodding and entering the TARDIS with The Doctor who hid behind one of the coral support columns and the girl stood by the control console.

Knock, knock

Ugh, no! No more knocks, no more phone calls...Just sleep. After the adventure she, Leah, and the Doctor shared things had been chaos. Nightmares plagued her; the little drums of insanity creeping closer and closer. It was as if when acknowledging the impossible, the impossible was suddenly visible to her. Already paranoid from horror movies and mystery novels, the extra wedge let the door open further. She could swear out of the corner of her eyes things, Hollywood worthy and terrifying, hid behind the masks of so many different faces. She felt almost as if she was being watched. Those eyes followed her into her dreams leaving her awaking with a blanket of dread shrouding her all day. That funeral shroud was seeping the life from her fragile body. Dark circles pillowed the normally bright, intelligent eyes. Fiery mane, once barely tamable, was now a mess of tangles and frizz. Even the clothes looked more rumpled and soiled. That might be because her wallet, now empty, hadn't supported washing the few garbs brought over seas. Thankfully she had found two part time jobs which sucked the rest of the energy out of her.

Knock, knock

"Uphm," she hollered at the door irritably. "I will have the rent tomorrow! I told you, I just now got a job."

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Fully irked now, Penelope wrapped the thin blanket around her decaying frame, and opened up the door. To the eyes of the mail man, she looked like a fearsome version of a Scottish warrior. All that ginger hair unkempt, those murderous blue eyes picking him apart... He gulped handing the woman a blue envelope. "I was given this to give to you by some man named-"

"The Doctor..." There was no self-denial toward the T.A.R.D.I.S. blue color of the envelop.

"Oh? He didn't pay postage."

"Not stamped...Didn't go through the system, so why should he? Is that all you wanted to give me?" She raised a fuzzy ginger eyebrow imploringly.

"No. I got your rent bill." The white paper was folded neatly. She took that with a frown. "Good day," he told her before turning around to walk away. Penelope's heart was skipping frantically, her mouth suddenly dry. Shaky fingers ripped the blue away to expose a neat little paper card. Written on it was an invite, in elegant scrawl, to meet up. He gave her an approximate location stating to meet him between the hours of 12-2pm. Judging by the light pouring through the blinds it was already about noon. Her other job would require her to be there in about 2 hours. If she dressed quickly, did something with her hair, and walked to meet him she could pack the rest of the stuff for work in a bag and be there in time. But...The real question was: Did she want to meet up with him at all? The whole adventure thing was so...So not her. She was uncoordinated and wanted to pee when danger happened. The man laughed it all off with a boyish grin. Danger ran through his veins.

"Adrenaline junkie," she said with a tired smile. With a fist she rubbed out the sleep in her left eye, moaning lightly in exasperation. She hadn't had a full nights sleep in a long time. Her body was tired and sore, the two jobs taking up most of her free time. If only they helped with all the other horrible things happening...

The shower took a few minutes. There wasn't any supplies left by the time she was done (which means she might be taking polite wipe downs until she gathered enough cash to buy more), dressed in her cleanist shirt (a blue v-neck) and zipped up the grey hoodie. Her necklace lay comfortably at her throat. Pants and shoes completed the outfit. No food today.... A tired sigh escaped her lips, a hand laying on her stomach as she left the small apartment. The letter stayed in her hands, just in case the directions were poorly remembered. Her whole body was shaking with nervousness, arms crossed tightly across her chest to help keep her calm.

As said in the note, the T.A.R.D.I.S sat in an ally way beside a row of apartments. A bakery existed nearby, judging by the fattening smell of sweets pouring in from the ally. Her stomach did an uncomfortable rumble. "Shut it," she told her stomach sternly, giving it a small slap. That didn't settle the unruly beast, unfortunately. Nervousness created butterflies and heart palpitations. Nothing seemed to be going quite...right.

Awkwardly she approached the door, her knuckles rasping on the blue wood. "Knock, knock..." She called out, feeling stupid.

The doors creaked open, giving way to the sight of the young girl manning the controls, peering over to Penelope with a bewildered facial expression. "Ah! Penelope! Decided to join me then?" She asked her, bolting around the controls before stopping at the edge of the ramp and peering down to her, "What? What is it? Oh! My form? Yeah, sorry, i regenerated...long story short..i turned into a little girl. First time i am a girl actually..interesting to say the least". Suddenly the girl erupted in laughter, stumbling down to Penelope as she tried to contain all of her laughter, "I'm sorry..can't do it. He's hiding behind the coral thing..he told me to do it to give you a spook" she explained before skipping down the rest of the ramp and, eventually, out of the TARDIS.

Springing, seemingly, out of nowhere, The Doctor emerged from behind one of the coral support columns, his eyes and attention focused on the girl as she left, "Oi! We had a plan!" he exclaimed, shaking his index finger at her before glancing over to Penelope. Quickly, he lowered his index finger, "Earth girls i swear. Never listen or get my humor..it's like i need a manual" he joked, smiling as he looked at Penelope. "So! Come to see me after all ey?" He asked her rhetorically before turning on his heel and walking up to the control console, "Sorry about the postage stamp, i don't like to use those. My people never used them..just zipped mail across the galaxies in mere seconds...this place takes weeks and you have to pay for it. It's one of the human systems that boggles me..can never get the hang of it".

Penelope felt her heart start to sink at the site of the little girl. I mean if you were going to regenerate into something, why so tiny? How was he (excuse me she) going to do when some big bad alien attacked? There was no way such a tiny Doctor version could go trampling through space and not die; thought that might be for the best. Just as she was about to consider putting this little Doctor doll in an orphanage, she started to giggle. Penelope turned her eye toward the Doctor, who appeared behind a coral column, all boyish grin and humor.

"I swear, you're the oldest 5 year old I've ever met," she said with a pronounced eye roll. "Honestly, a spook? I was ready to lock you up in a Little Girl school until you got old enough to fly properly through space. How much did you pay her?" Penelope entered the T.A.R.D.I.S properly, her long limbs swiftly carrying her near him. There she took a moment to properly look around, a tired smile appearing lighting the weather worn face. "She's a beaut," she told him, finger tapping on thigh as she spook. "A bit too good for an ol rascal like you." That was meant as a teasing gesture toward friendship, but it came out rather flat and weary.

"So, you invited me...To join in conquest for space travel?"

"I didn't pay her anything" The Doctor quickly replied before thinking about the question more, "Well..." he retorted, "I paid her in knowledge of where her prized teddy bear, mister snugglesworth, was..well..is. You'd be amazed how many people loose their things under the couch. See most people place their couches up against the wall, just in between windows in the living room. Leaving a small space where light wouldn't reach..without the proper light you would never see it back there..well...or it gets sucked into a temporal fracture in time and space and it could end up-". Before The Doctor could finish his sentence, a teddy bear fell from the top of the interior ceiling and down onto the control console before rolling onto the ground.

The Doctor spun around, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised with surprise and intrigue, "Well...that's new..ish" he commented, walking over to the toy and picking it up. "And before you ask, no this doesn't happen all the time..well..sometimes. You see the TARDIS when it travels through the time vortex sometimes picks up stray things...especially when the shields are down. That's what i've been meaning to do" he mumbled at the end, hitting himself in the head as he turned to the controls. Suddenly there was a loud thud from the opposite end of the control console opposed to The Doctor. Hitting the metal grate flooring was a tiny missile, the word help and a series of coordinates engraved in the steaming hot metal. The Doctor comically peered over the time rotor and down to the new object, "I really need to put those shields up" he mumbled as he walked over to the missile, squatting down beside it, waving his hand to clear the object of the steam it was engulfed in. "Help.." The Doctor read aloud, "That's one way to communicate" he mumbled before peering over his shoulder to Penelope, "Fancy taking a look?".

Anything impossible just happened to be possible. He was the Chuck Norris of the universe, and this was his throne room. Just as the teddy appeared, and as he was explaining the 'abnormality' of the situation, a missile landed on the ground. The steaming metal displayed gibberish to her, but appeared to make absolute since to him. All she could read out was the words help.

"Fancy taking a look?".

"Ah, no. 'Course not. Just some possible alien with an appetite for fillet Penelope with a sweet desert of cheesecake Doctor. They can use our blood as wine. Perfect ambush. Let's call out 'help' and he will come and look for us. Silly Doctor." Penelope cut him one heck of glance, those normally calmed blue eyes now shadowed with dark bruises of nightmare filled nights, cast a stormy glare. She wasn't truly irritated at him. The lack of sleep and food was causing her to be a bit more aggressive then normal. Realizing that, her hand laying on her rumbling stomach, she nodded. "Flllet Penelope it is!"

Without further argument she rushed over to where all the magic happened, her fingers caressing the different buttons and levers. Experimentally she pushed one, which started the TARDIS off in a deep thrumming roar. "Ah! Look at that!"

The Doctor smirked at her reply and flew to her side as she curiously pressed a button on the TARDIS control console, glancing up at the time rotor as it reacted and began to follow the point of origin of the newly arrived message. Looking over to Penelope, he released a slight sigh as he placed the teddy bear down on the control console then took his position next to her. "To get to wherever this came from, the TARDIS first has to fly through the time vortex...imagine..an endless spiral. A spiral of time, galaxies and endless stars. Now, it's our job to help her through it" He started her off, looking at her as he spoke before looking down to the controls, "First, fire up the helmet regulator. Helps shift through the unneeded scrap" he explained, pointing it out to her before dashing to the other side, "Next, pump that pump to your lower left. That's the neutrino stabilizer then press the green and red buttons near the scanner!" he told her from the other side of the controls.

Letting both of them pilot the TARDIS meant a much softer flight, opposed to him flying it alone and nearly causing all inside to get smacked from one side then to the other. This translated not only in the interior but also on the exterior as the TARDIS smoothly navigated through the time vortex, increasing and decreasing speed once and a while to avoid time fragments and fixed points. Quickly their destination approached them and The Doctor peered over the time rotor and over to Penelope, "Now quick! Yank down that main lever! It will place the TARDIS directly where we need to go!" he told her, holding on to the sides of the controls as the ride began to become more bumpy.

The Doctor patiently told her how it was supposed to be operated. She had thought he would directly show her all the whatz-its and gizmos too, as well as their functions and how to use them, but it appeared to be a crash course only. A little panicked at their initial take off, she did what instructed the best she could...with a little bit of help. Those noisy voices had centered into the calm of just one. Where once her fingers were moving awkwardly, they now moved with ease. All the initial running around the console, eyes wild eye with confusion and distress, was now done with a determined air. Penelope pushed a strand of wild hair behind her ear, beads of sweat decorating her brow.

"Now quick! Yank down that main lever! It will place the TARDIS directly where we need to go!" Penelope was already on it, her fingers yanking it. A small grin appeared on her face when she reached up, pressed one more button, and silenced the craft right before it landed.

"Got the brakes for you too, instead of leaving them on." A joyous grin lightened the strained features. For once there was no fear in those blue orbs, just a gleam of adventurous wonder. "So, where do you think we are? The deep, dark cold confines of space? A warm tropic planet? Oh! Maybe a frozen waste land!" Spinning around in excitement, she took off in a sprint towards those wonderful doors. Without a moment's hesitation she opened them, screeched, and promptly shut them again.

"Doctor...Were are we? It looks like we are in some slave pit." Those blue orbs looked at him in horror.

The Doctor's initial smile as he watched Penelope rush down the ramp and open the doors wore off as he witnessed her reaction. Raising his eyebrow, The Doctor made his way down the ramp and slowly opened the door, popping his head out to get a better look. Around them were rock based walkways and buildings spiraling up into the rocky ceiling. "It's an underground city" The Doctor commented as he stepped fully out and peered around him; the TARDIS sat on a hill that overlooked a pit where countless workers mined the rocks, carried them to teleport pads then resumed work. Suddenly the sound of footsteps penetrated The Doctor's attention, causing him to turn towards them and face the dark figure as it approached the duo and the TARDIS. Then, just a foot or two away from The Doctor, light hit the figure and revealed its identity. An ood.

Immediately The Doctor smiled happily, "Hello Ood!" he proclaimed before turning back to Penelope, "Say hello Penelope. It's only an Ood, won't hurt you", "Doctor" the Ood said through it's communication device. The Doctor turned back to the Ood, "The prophecies tell that you would return to help free the Ood once more from a greater evil. Please..come with me" it explained further before nodding and slowly turning around and walking the other way. The Doctor motioned after the Ood to Penelope with his head with a mumbled, "Come on" before following it himself.

"Ood," she muttered following after them. The fellow miners paused a moment to look at them before resuming work. Most of them looked to be Oods. The rest were different clash of aliens. Perhaps the Doctor could name them off, but they appeared to be nameless curiosity pieces to her. Especially the Ood. They looked to have a Davey Jones kind of face, their large eyes almost reptilian in appearance. What ever it used for a communication device stayed in its hands, the light dimmed once it stopped speaking. Prophecies? Again? He recognized them joyously. Perhaps friends?

"Doc...Do you mind explaining a bit more about the Oods? Or how you know them? Why are these rocks being mined? Hasn't civilization gone beyond enslaving people?" Normally she wouldn't make such rash conclusions. The way their eyes look, for just that moment they landed on them, had this sort of hope in them. Anyone free would never gaze at the Doctor as if he was their savior.

"As the need for objects grows, so does the sin of greed. Those of us unfortunate enough to go home were rounded up and brought here. We do not know why the rocks are so important, just that they are procuring weapons for it. The Ood are dieng, Doctor. Everyday they bring in fresh workers to supply the demand. We have but a few days left before the amount of minerals needed are collected. Then, they will kill us all."

Pen elope looked horrified, her head turning back to look at the workers. The Ood walked them into a small office space. There the weapons lay for all to see. "Can you identify them?"

"The Ood are a slave race..well...were. The humans came to their planet, the Oodsphere, and collected them as slaves to help build their empire across the stars. I thought i free'd them long time ago..but..it looks like something has brought them back" The Doctor helped explain before she brought up the subject of slaves and he sniffed, "There's slaves in your world..who do you think makes your clothes and shoes and cars? Just a bit more covered up is all..slave is a very loose word, all depends on how you see it". Moving alongside the edge of the walkway, The Doctor looked down to the tiring workers, each looking up at him and stopping their work as he passed by. Hope glimmering in their eyes, each one thinking about getting out of the hell hole they are forced to call home. "It's him..." One worker whispered, turning to other workers as he spoke, "Who? Who is that?" another asked curiously, "The Doctor. The blue box..they say that on the arrival of the blue box, the towers will fall. The workers shall be freed" he stopped as he peered back to The Doctor, locking eyes with him almost immediately, "He's going to free us....".

The Doctor looked slowly back to the Ood in front of him just before entering the room, a series of weapons laying across a center table, a burnt out control panel laying in the corner, three Ood speaking to one another before turning to the entering guests. First they spoke, then they directed his attention to the weapons on the table, Penelope asking whether or not he could recognize them, and he did. "Sontaron..." The Doctor spat, picking up the weapon and looking up at the Oods, "How did you get Sontaron weaponry?" he asked them, "They came in the towers. Blue men. The towers control all..they require these materials for a greater plan..a plan that involves our deaths".

Penelope turned toward the Doctor, his blue eyes glazed a little as if in thought. For a moment she bit her lip, eyes falling to the ground. It was then, hands balled into fists, she turned and looked him directly in the eye. "In my dreams, the ones that I have plagued me since you brought me home, I keep seeing blue men. In my dream there is a child, and this child drops a bear. As the child turns their eyes toward the windows on what appears to be a ship, I stand beside the child and watch a planet burn. The men are wearing patches on their clothes with the symbol of a phoenix and some horned beast that mocks a wolf. I keep hearing this whisper...A name..." Penelope snaps back into reality, her head jerking a bit as she centered herself. An embarrassed smile passes her lips, a nervous, jittery laugh dismissing the idea. "Just a dream," she told him. "I only mentioned it because of the coat of arms is on the weapons. I'm assuming someone wouldn't want to make Sontaron weapons with a coat of arms unless it was an organized army." Her fingers lightly brushed one of the weapons, her mind falling back into the horrible dreams.

"Is your companion a psychic Doctor?" Asked an Ood, those strange eyes of their species glancing at her. The orb in his hand lit up as it spoke.

"No," she answered for the Doctor hurriedly. "It was just a dream."

"Don't discount dreams, miss. Sometimes the fabric of the universe bleeds and goes into the minds of those sensitive enough to see it. Now, Doctor, you know of these weapons. We have little knowledge of the mineral we are mining, but they call it Quantum Silver. Can you help us?" Penelope turned toward the Doctor, her eyes not the only thing staring at him. He had the weight of at least 100 or more workers lives resting on those shoulders.

Listening to Penelope's explanation of her more than odd dream, The Doctor stared off as his mind took in all the details he was hearing. Even when she stopped speaking, The Doctor continued to stare off until the subject was brought back on him; the room going silent. The Doctor looked up at the surrounding group, "Hmm?" he asked, still not fully conscious, "Oh! Yes! Sorry!" he exclaimed, suddenly snapping out of his gaze. Looking back down at the weapons then to the Ood, The Doctor rubbed the back of his head, "Sontaron's don't usually use patches on their weapons, much less symbols on them" he began, picking up one of the weapons and flipping it on it's side, "You see how the symbol is engraved on both sides of this weapon? The edge marks would suggest a lower grade laser cutter..Sontaron's have some of the best lasers in the galaxy..well..besides the Daleks. Which means! Either we have a rouge batch of Sontarons. Or! We have ourselves an organization. Why does this matter you ask? I say it matters loads..a very well organized civilization or a rouge group, very different ways to beat them".

Stopping, The Doctor set down the weapon and leaned over the table, "I will do everything in my power to release every single person here" he told them, peering into each of their pairs of eyes as he glanced over each one, "But i need you to do everything i say. I need you to trust me". The Oods glanced at one another, "We believed there was no question of that" one replied, blinking innocently after speaking. The Doctor nodded his head as he straightened up, "Alright then" he said with a smirk, "First thing i need you to do is stop sending those materials into the transport pods". The Oods looked at one another once more, "But doing that will cause them to get angry" one replied, "I know" The Doctor nodded, "But it's the only way i can figure out who i am dealing with. I can go from there..what's most important is them not knowing i am here. With nobody guarding you lot, it shouldn't be that hard to rewire the pods and get a ride up..but i need that information first". The Oods nodded then slowly exited the room to inform their fellow slaves, The Doctor looked over to Penelope with a sigh, lowering his head slightly, "I could say i've dealt with stuff like this before but i haven't....every battle..every confrontation..i've come in knowing a little bit of knowledge..well..something to help me. But this is one of the few times i'm flying in blind. The more i know about this organization..that patch..the better...i've got a feeling this won't be the last time we see it".

The way the Doctor spoke brought a light of hope, but also a light of fear. There were things that could easily go wrong. She never knew him to carry a weapon (unless you counted the sonic). If they were to be found out, they'd both be dead. Not just them...But the Ood and anyone else who helped them. The lives of so many people depended one one man. Penelope didn't much count herself a part of this. She was just the drier lint in his pockets, far as she was concerned.

But this is one of the few times I'm flying in blind. The more i know about this organization..that patch..the better...I've got a feeling this won't be the last time we see it" This he confided, those brown eyes filled with what appeared to be a tinge or worry and anxiety. Penelope moved beside him, her hand resting on those slender shoulders of his. Gently she squeezed, a small comforting smile directed at him.

"I think you work your best going in blind." A thought popped into her mind right then. Distracted she let go of his arm and went back over to the guns, blue eyes scrutinizing them. "You sonic scans things, yes? Can you find out the material made to use these? If you did, you might be able to pin point the origin planet of them. Yeah?" It worked on the popular crime shows.

Right then the Ood came back, the small translators in their hands lighting as one of them spoke. "They are scared, Doctor, but they do as we ask. We have about 10 minutes before they come to investigate as to why they are not receiving their ores."

"Do you have a computer system? Something that might be able to give us a little bit more information?" Penelope looked toward the Ood, those alien eyes blinking silent. The little light blinked on as it spoke.

"No."

"Intelligent then," she commented toward the Doctor. "Don't want anyone accessing information. Does that sound Sontaron, Doctor?"

The Doctor listened to Penelope, nodding as she dissected each bit of information, her deduction skills impressing The Doctor with each passing second. Only when she stopped to ask the Ood did The Doctor finally speak. "Who needs a computer when you have the biggest databank in the universe right across that pathway" The Doctor commented, directing their attentions to the TARDIS with the motion of his head before turning to the weapons and flipping out his sonic screwdriver, "And as far as pin pointed mineral origin, this should be able to tell me..well..that or at least tell me the minerals used and i can go from there". Scanning over the weapons, The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver back and read the readings from the small blue line on the side of his trusty device, Gallifreyan symbols rushing up the side.

"A lot of energy readings.." The Doctor commented as he turned his sonic screwdriver, reading the outputs carefully as he squinted, "But the main metal used is Hypinoite..planet of origin 3225". Placing the sonic screwdriver back into his suit pocket, The Doctor ran his hand down his face as he thought deeply about the planet of origin, mouthing the numbers as well as using his fingers. "Sontar" The Doctor concluded with a sigh, lowering his hand down and turning to the Ood and Penelope, "Either this is a radical Sontaron battle group or a batch of pirates using Sontaron weaponry and ships. It's a narrowed down alternative..well...the pirate bit is a ways out there. Not many Sontarons defect from their clone batches and join other aliens..well..unless they could find someone who see's things their way and that's not commonly found anywhere else".

Suddenly the teleports activated, blue flashes of light forming around three bodies in the center of the device before unraveling around them and revealing their true forms. In the center was a tall man, his hands relaxed on his hips, a mask covering his face and a robot parrot perched on his shoulder; two Sontarons stood strongly beside him. All three stepped out, "Why have you stopped sending up materials?!" the man proclaimed, walking in the center of the slaves, glaring down at them in disgust, each curling up defensively as he passed by. The Doctor rushed to the frame of the door to get a better look. The form was immediately recognizable and a name slipped from his lips, "Balthazar..." he mumbled before the Ood shoved him out of the way just in time to avoid the gaze of Balthazar and the two Sontaron guards. "What is the plan now Doctor?" The Ood asked as quietly as he could, slowly standing up and offering a hand down to The Doctor, "I now know exactly who i am dealing with..which is tremendously a good thing. So what i need you to do now is go out there and apologize. Reassure him that everything is ok, some mishap with the workers is all. The last thing we need is for him to find out we are here". The Ood nodded, and after helping The Doctor to his feet, made his way out of the small building and stepped out into the view of Balthazar.

"Sonta," he told them both, a sigh escaping those wilted lips. "Either this is a radical Sontaron battle group or a batch of pirates using Sontaron weaponry and ships. It's a narrowed down alternative..well...the pirate bit is a ways out there. Not many Sontarons defect from their clone batches and join other aliens..well..unless they could find someone who see's things their way and that's not commonly found anywhere else".

"Little too Treasure Planet for me," Penelope said in light of the events. "Should of thought space pirates. Only logical thing other then rogue clone warriors." A cynical smile escaped her lips. The Oood regarded the Doctor. Just as it was about to speak, the teleporters became activated. From the small view, Penelope could see three forms surrounded by blue lights. At first the image was unclear, until the full transition happened. A tall, steam punk style man stood in the middle. On his shoulder sat a robotic parrot. The masked face turned toward the slaves working. Disdain was heard in his words as he asked what was going on. Two soldiers stood beside him.. Penelope was stricken by the bald, rounded heads with human features.

"They look like rogue Mr. Potato heads," she hissed under her breath. She was on the other side of the Doctor viewing out of the room. Before he ducked she had already moved away, too scared to get caught to stay long. The Doctor was pulled back by the Ood. He stumbled and fell backwards. After the Ood asked him what to do, the Doctor got up and brushed himself off. Penelope watched the Ood walk out of the office to confront the pirate. When she thought it clear she poked her head up to see what was happening.

"I'm sorry sir," The Ood apologized, blinking slowly. "We had a small problem. Everything is resolved now."

Penelope turned toward the Doctor, question marks in her eyes. "Doctor, what are those space potatoes? And who is...Bathlazar? I'm going to guess space pirate, but that might just be a stupid assumption thanks to the pirate at his shoulder. You've seen him before? Where?" She whispered this softly to him as to not raise suspicion. She poked her head back up, tucking a stray strand of red behind her ear.

"Mishap?" The voice was surprisingly clear for being behind a mask.

"One of the workers, sir," the Ood lied smoothly.

"Another death?" The man asked impatiently. The masked eyes kept a straight line of view.

"No, sir. Just a small mishap. The worker in question was slightly injured. We were able to patch them up and move on with our work. As you can see we have plenty of materials mined to you." The tall man turned toward the workers.

"Is this true."

"Yes," a few said. There was a look of unease in their stance, tired eyes looking sturdily at their master.

"Oh? We aren't trying for an act of rebelliousness are we? A mutiny, to put it bluntly."

"No, sir," said the Ood. "We are ready to serve you, as always." The man turned toward the window in the office. Just as those eyes about met Penelope's, it as if she vanished. Slowly she stepped out of view, heart racing. Just as fast as she disappeared, she reappeared beside the Doctor.

"Ah," the man said. "Strange here we have readings of something else entirely. Please, Commander Skahk, check the area for any stowaways. Once we have checked to make sure nothing is amiss, we will leave. If anyone has any information, it will prevent them from an untimely death."

"Doctor," Penelope hissed. "We need to hide..." It was stating the obvious, but she didn't much know where to hide. Unless she could blend in with the workers. She took off her jacket and started tearing the fabric of her shirt to look rugged and worn down, while trying to find a spot in the small, cramped space.

The Doctor kept a keen eye on the frame of the doorway, glancing back to Penelope every so often to acknowledge that he was listening to her before looking back as the Sontarons began their patrol of the area. Taking Penelope's hand, The Doctor made his way out of the room and immediately to the left of the building where a series of rocks and stones stood, easily covering the forms of Penelope and The Doctor as they hid behind it. "Balthazar, universally hated pirate..well..used to be. A while back i stopped him from possibly destroying the entire milky way galaxy..the potatoes as you call them are Sontarons. Warriors cloned in batches of millions with only one purpose...to kill and do. There are a few that have defected or been punished due to their performances on the field but besides that i can't see a reason why someone like Balthazar would have Sontarons at his side".

Just as The Doctor finished, a Sontaron walked past the edge of the building, his eyes wondering past the form of rocks that The Doctor and Penelope hid behind without a further thought in his mind before turning around and walking the other way. Peering over the rocks, The Doctor's eyes landed on the glowing blue form of the TARDIS in the distance. Inching from the side of the rocks, the sonic screwdriver extended before activating and immediately the TARDIS' light glowed brightly before the entire box disappeared. Just as the infamous vessel disappeared, Balthazar's eyes made it over to where it previously was, squinting at the spot for a moment before looking back to the Ood as the Sontarons returned to him.

"Get those materials up to us..or else, next time there will be no mercy" Balthazar warned, pointing his index finger at the Ood before turning back to the teleport pod and with a flash of light, disappearing with the two Sontarons. Releasing a sigh of relief, The Doctor stood up and offered a hand down to Penelope as the Ood turned the corner and met eyes with The Doctor, "Now it's time to get to work" The Doctor mumbled as he peered back to the Ood, "Let's see just how much Balthazar has learned since he last met me".

Penelope squeezed the Doctor's hand a little as he led her into safety. The refuge was perfect for hiding their forms, the rocks shadowing their appearance. At this point she had stopped working on her shirt, the garment now looking rather ratty, as if a homeless woman had been wearing it for decades now. Using the dirt from the ground she patted herself with it, creating a dusty sort of appearance. She patted it in her hair, which tamed the color enough to be a little more rustic. She hoped the Doctor wouldn't ask what she was doing. The words Plan B might not suit well. He might think her a bit of a nutter. Though that was true, any sort of harsh scrutinization from the man would severely dampen any sort of hope.

The man, this Balthazar, warned them of the repercussions of not following through with their job. He made her uneasy. There was a feeling of cruel cunning that radiated off of him. A dumb villain slipped up more. Easier to defeat. At least the Doctor knew both parties. He wasn't flying in as blind as he had initially feared. They left, the blue lights flashing. Right as they disappeared, the crew stopped for a moment watching them depart from their hiding place. The Ood went over to them. There the Doctor confronted it, giving them that bit of hope again.

"Don't delay on your work," Penelope addressed the workers. "As freedom is coming, now is not the time to raise suspicions. Any sort of delay will cause them to scrutinize more closely. We cannot help you if we are caught. I promise this will just be a nightmare soon. Remember the suns of your planet, and whatever families you might have. Be strong for them." He words echoed, their eyes sliding over to her. There was a look of distrust at first, but seeing who she was with they all complied. Whatever kept them going stayed lit in their eyes. The ore that had been mined was now going to the transport pods.

"What do you propose to do, Doctor," asked the Ood? Penelope turned toward the Doctor, then back at the pods.

"Are we going up now Doctor?" She bent down pocketing some rocks, tucking them in her pocket. Just in case, she thought. A little bit of paranoia shined in those eyes, a small swallow of nervousness at the prospect of facing the evil Sontarons. Cloned warriors..."Doctor, how do we defeat the potato warriors? I'd rather not go into a possible fight without knowing what I can do to defend ourselves. Remember, I flail when I'm in danger. A heavily armed warrior with the cunning of veteran foreknowledge isn't something I can just hope to make contact with. As for this space pirate..When we have time, you'll have to tell me that story. Sounds like something we can discuss over marshmallows and hotdogs on a tropic planet after we are done with this."

The Doctor smirked, gesturing over to the room with his head as Penelope finished her questions and the Ood all turned their attentions to him. After all followed into the room, The Doctor unraveled a bit of paper from the table to the left of the door and flipped out a pencil from his pocket. Sketching out a rough outline of a Sontaron, The Doctor did his best to show as much detail as he possibly could before looking back at the massing group around the table. "Now the Sontarons are one of the most formidable species in the universe. They are bred to kill, they invent to help them kill better. Their armor and their weapons are their everything in battle, but! There is a weakness. On the back of their neck plate is a feeding tube, a probic vent. It converts air into food for them, if a Sontaron is hit on this vent then it will immediately knock them out, so in battle they always have to face their enemies. Brilliant isn't it?".

Grinning, The Doctor glanced around the room before coughing and looking back down the sketches then back up, "Anyways! If you have a Sontaron with their back to you do not hesitate to take the shot..you may not get it again". Standing up straight, The Doctor looked over to Penelope then back over to the Ood, "Our next step is to me to find out exactly what Balthazar is doing here..and..well..stop it. So that means going up there and asking" he concluded with a sniff, "Besides, i've got an advantage they don't know about". Nudging Penelope's arm, The Doctor smirked before walking out the room and peering down to the teleport pod, "Balthazar is smart bu he is thick..he'l over think the simple things more than anything else. Once i do reveal myself to him then it won't be long until everything falls into place. I wonder though...Penelope..how much do you know about computers?" he suddenly asked, peering back to Penelope, "Think you can override a teleport pod with the help from an Ood?".

Penelope had been looking over the crude picture of the cloned warrior. That metal bit in the back of their head, thwack it and you live. She mulled over the details a bit, her mind going over different scenarios. Right then she felt the Doctor elbow her playfully. Glazed blue eyes looked up at him, her gaze cutting to the Ood. "Hmm," she went to ask, but he had already finished talking at that point. So she thought, until he asked her about computer skills. An embarrassed smile was directed at him. She pulled at the sleeves of her jacket nervously.

"Well, yes," she told him. "It was how I hacked into one of your fan sights...And Torchwood."At this point a little giggle escaped her lips. Just a bubble of nervousness at the eyes falling on her dirtied form. "I mean, this is alien technology, but I'm sure if the Ood can help then I'm your woman. Are you going to want me to active the coordinates so we go in the right place, rather then where the ore is going, Doctor? Or are you wanting to send he weapons somewhere or...?" There were all sorts of questions falling from blabbering lips. She slapped a hand over her mouth silencing herself. It was tacking questioning a legend like that.

The Doctor smiled at Penelope's ramble before turning to her and looking into her eyes, "No..not at all" he replied, "You see i know the outline of a standard Sontaron battle cruiser inside and out in my mind alone. But i am not sure what they have...or what this ore is being teleported up to. So i am going to get myself in that ship..do some sight seeing...once i figure out what kind of ship it is and what exactly they i have i can come back down" he explained. "Once i am back down we can coordinate the teleport pods to the engine rooms of the ships..well..engine and weapon rooms. Each of those blasters inside of that room are still working..i can wire them to self destruct. In a few teleports we can disable their engines and weapons..then the advantage is ours" He continued before looking over to the Ood who continued to listen to the plan, his head tilted in curiosity, "What do people do when a room is smoking from a fire?" he asked the Ood rhetorically, knowing he wouldn't answer, "They run out of the room..or in their case..they run out of the ship and come to the only place they can..here".

"Are you insane?! Not only are you in danger of getting trapped on a battle ship filled with Sontaron warriors, but you could also be endangering the lives of everyone here. If the slightest thing goes wrong, Doctor, they could all die!" Penelope turned to face him, a finger poking his chest. "What do you propose I do, hmm? Do you want me to gear up the slaves, just in case they come down here to kill them? We have weapons, but as starved as they are..." She shut up, her eyes boring into his with such an intensity. A snort of derision escaped her lips. Abruptly she turned herself around to calm down, fists clenching themselves together. It was a solid plan, but it had so many holes in it. The Doctor was just one man.

"Let's say we can teleport, we have to do this between their ore shipments. If the slightest bit of delay happens, they will come down her. Someone will die." She sighed softly, eyes falling on the ground.

"You should trust the Doctor," the Ood told her calmly. Penelope turned to look at it, a guilty expression across her face.

"I have seen what happens when a man fails." She turned toward the Doctor, eyes meeting his with a defiant fire. "I will do ask you ask, because I am your companion. We have to trust each other. Now tell me what I need to do, and I will carry on. No questions asked."

The Doctor turned to Penelope, knowing full well the implications if his plan failed, "Someone has to lock down the teleports" he began, "I can only isolate them from the ship, once i do that then i can dead lock it to my sonic screwdriver and come back down. Then we send the weapons up and boom..well..hopefully. If it doesn't then i am stuck up there with them on the ship and Balthazar can't get down without using this" he finished, wiggling his sonic screwdriver in front of Penelope before turning to the pod. Releasing a sigh, The Doctor thought over his so called plan which in all honestly was just a lie to keep Penelope and the Ood from an outright panic. Over the thousands of years he had lived, The Doctor quickly learned to make people believe he always had a trick up his sleeve and no matter what, he would always end up on top. This time it was different.

The Ood workers peered up at The Doctor as he walked by them, their eyes staring into his with worry but sparks of hope shinning in the edges of their pupils as they saw him. The Doctor glanced over to the pod, ready to activate it as he entered before an Ood stepped out in front. "Doctor, we shall await for your arrival with heavy breath" The Ood said with a nod of his head before returning to his work, an idea immediately hitting The Doctor; his eyes grew wide as he turned to the alpha Ood, "How adaptive is the Ood respiratory system?!" he asked. The Ood turned his head slightly to the left as he thought, "Well sir" he finally replied, "Thanks to being a slave race, the Ood are able to adapt to several different kinds of air..why do you ask?", "The sontarons require certain substances in the air if their probic vents are malfunctioning. Clone feed mostly. But! Without properly altering foreign air, the Sontarons could possibly die..at the very least, pass out. A massive shut down signal code from a central terminal on one of the sontaron ships would force them all to come down here..where we, have the advantage. Sontaron's are thick but their not stupid..if their ships were spewing out toxic air chemicals they would flee down here..all i need is the code and a high enough frequency to control the activation of their probic vents".

Turning once more to Penelope, The Doctor's facial expression turned serious and stern, "Now i would never put you in harms way...so i'm letting you choose because i need your help" he told her calmly, "I can't be in two places at once, that's why i need you for this. Either stay here and use those weapons to build an EMP emitter, use my sonic screwdriver to send out the signal to disrupt the Sonataron probic vents...or go to the ship and deactivate their air filters. Either way they are coming down here...there will be danger so i will need you to trust me more than ever this time..i can walk you through it".

Penelope listened closely to what he was saying. It was a briliant, solid plan. Better then the one prompted before. Rather ashamed of her outburst, she stayed quiet until he was done. Thankfully the Ood could change their oxygen intake. Hopefully any other alien species on their ship could do the same. If not...Sacrifices had to be made, right? That's what the heroes in those fantasy novels always said. You had to be brave and proper. Like the Doctor. Her eyes fell on him with an almost loving stare. He didn't seem to be the bit afraid. Either he was truly mad, or he was just very closed to showing any sort of emotion. Blue eyes emitted tiny bits of worry toward the Doctor wondering exactly what was going through that thick head of his. Just as he turned his head she quickly changed the stare into one of determination, rather then the more expressive view.

"Doctor, being with you means that I am walking step by step with Lord Death." She fixed him an even stare. "Being with you is like going on a roller coaster that hasn't been checked over in a few years with loose bolts and rickety railing. Whatever happens, I don't blame you. I just want you to know, in case I accidentally bump into a Sontaron aboard the ship like the clumsy oaf I am. It will be easier to turn off a button rather then building a weapon. You're the tech geek, so it will be easier to stay here and make the weapon. If I fumble down here you will die so..." She blew out a bit of air, a hand running through the thick auburn curls. "What do I do, huh?" She cracked a little grin

"First off there are never weapons..if you're going to travel with me you need to understand that. Especially guns. No guns! We don't kill! We protect, we be Doctor's to this universe, not vengeful rebels" The Doctor sternly told Penelope before shedding the sternness with a sudden grin, "Now! All of the Sontaron battle fleet ships follow the same strict model and interior outline..and..let's just say i've explored a few. So! I will be able to guide you through it with these". The Doctor stopped as he searched through his pocket and pulled out two wrist pads, extending one to Penelope as he put his one onto his wrist.

"Glamorian wrist pads, a lot more than you think they are" The Doctor explained as he finished attaching his and turning his attention to Penelope's, "Turn it on by pressing down on the lower left hand corner. It will give you a holographic display screen, show you the outline of your surrounds..kinda like..echolocation. Red dots will appear when an enemy is nearby..to communicate, just tap the center, it will connect with mine and we can talk". As he explained, The Doctor carried out the steps to show Penelope on his wrist pad; the holographic screen exploding up from the pad as he activated it then his voice shooting out of Penelope's pad as he taped the center of the pad and spoke into it.

"I can shift the spot where you are transported onto the ship by a few feet..make sure you aren't in the middle of all them" The Doctor continued, turning around and sauntering towards the teleport pod, "Once your inside we can begin, i'll work on the counter attack..the Sontarons aren't stupid but their thick..if they think they are under attack they will fight back and we'l be ready".