( fargazing ) the boys are back in town.

[thatoldthatkind]

( continued from here)

[ The Doctor snaps his fingers at John at that. ] We've got to get you one of those. You'll need to be properly equipped if we're going to be running around the universe together every so often.

Stowaways! If we are going to do that, then we might as well just hop in the TARDIS. Although the planet does have a shield around it that she won't be too happy about. Not to mention the cloaking mechanism is on the fritz again... hasn't worked properly since I paid that visit to Nixon.

[ He does some more sonicing before grinning. ] Ah-ha! Here we are! We're now in business! Trusty old screwdriver, John, let me tell you! Never leave home without one. [ He flicks the screwdriver up in his hand and pockets it. ] Now then. Before we go sneaking in board their ship we should figure out where we are going to go...

Comments

[thatoldthatkind]

[ Amazingly for once, the Doctor follows Crichton's exact instructions. He glances over at the communications before checking back over his shoulder. The worry of how much control Pilot has over Moya is in his mind, given the control collar she has on. He makes a mental note to apologize for not freeing her yet and promising that one day John will be back to finish that job.

Time travel is always tricky.

Good thing that Crichton is making that promise known. Though this means the Doctor will need to have a conversation with Pilot about a few things. ]

Ah, they never do! Where is the fun in a plan going smoothly?

[ss_buttcrack]

[He was trying to be a good boy, but how else was he gonna get them out of there? At least he'd left off his last name.]

Living to see the next one.

[He steers the small craft towards the planet, but already he can see other ships on an intercept course.]

Hang onto your hat back there. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

[And he'll proceed to loop, swerve and turn his way around opposing pulse fire as he flies like a bat out'a hell towards the planet.]

[thatoldthatkind]

Oh, we'll live through this. Have a bit of faith! Also, are you always so dramatic? It is no wonder Aeryn gets so grumpy around you!

[ The Doctor stretches his hands out in the shuttle to make sure he stays still and isn't flying around like a truly drunk giraffe. ]

Hat! Yes! That reminds me, I really do need to get another Stetson.

[ss_buttcrack]

She does not get grumpy around me. No one appreciates my charm, I tell ya.

[He's pouting now. The Doctor can probably hear it in his voice.]

You didn't strike me as a hat guy. 'specially not one of those.

[He maneuvers the prowler through the choppy entrance into the planet's atmosphere and then begins their final decent.]

Doctor, I really hope we aren't going to need helmets to breathe on this planet, since I don't think we've got any in here.

[thatoldthatkind]

They're just not used to you humans. We should fix that!

[ Because really, Aeryn understanding humans seems like a very important thing to the Doctor. Especially given how --well, intimate -- she is with John. ]

I love hats. Especially fezzes...

[ He pauses to think. ] Nah, it should be fine!

[ss_buttcrack]

I've been working on it, but it would go better if half the ones I met didn't try to take my head of within a minute.

[It's important to him too, for the same reason. He really is trying.]

I know what to get you next Christmas then don't I?

[It would be funny to see at least.]

I hope you're right because we are comin' in hot!

[They're in atmosphere now, to the level where he can see the specific areas on the planet. There's a place that looks to be covered in what could be trees. A forest? There's what looks like a clearing too. That seems like as good a place to land as any. The ship will at least be hidden. He just really hopes, as the landing gear touches ground, that there aren't any dangerous creatures waiting to welcome them.]

Thank you for flying Peacekeeper Air. Watch your step now as you exit the space craft.

[thatoldthatkind]

Then why don't you simply ask? I could pop you and Aeryn back home and meet your family! They ought to know about in-laws anyways. Not to mention that weddings are a blast and I do love a wedding! Although I was rubbish at my own.

[ He chuckles at that comment. ]

You've got that lot celebrating Christmas? Good for you! Humans. Always sharing the best with other species. [ And the worst but he doubts that Crichton does that. ]

[ss_buttcrack]

[A wistful smile drags across Crichton's face. Bring Aeryn home to meet the folks, that sounds kinda nice. Really nice, actually. He doesn't know about weddings just yet though. That's an awful lot to ask of Aeryn still.]

I didn't know you were a married man. Why isn't your lucky wife with you now instead of me?

[He snorts.]

No. That was figurative. I don't know if I could even begin to explain what Christmas is to them. It would take a while, that's for sure. I'd have to start at what a calendar is first.

[thatoldthatkind]

I ran away from home ages ago with my granddaughter.

[ The comment is rather short and filled with a tinge of being bittersweet. He could have said his current wife was his TARDIS, which isn't all that wrong... then of course there was River... ]

Just explain the commercial part! Buying gifts for one another, dressing up the tree. Doubt that part would be too hard for them to understand!

[ss_buttcrack]

Sure, not hard...they'll just think I'm being a weird human again, that's all.

[Learning about the Doctor's family, now that is new. Even with all this danger, he can't help being distracted by it.]

Where's your granddaughter now?

[thatoldthatkind]

[ He does drop hints there and here, but he imagines that such details don't matter much between him and Crichton. The girls are always far more nosey than the boys. ]

...Gone. With the rest of Gallifrey. Off in a pocket dimension.

[ss_buttcrack]

[Crichton can get pretty nosy when he wants to be, that's for sure.]

A pocket dimension? What does that mean?

[Gone, he said. Sounds pretty...final.]

Doctor, does that mean you can't get to them?

[thatoldthatkind]

Now is not the time to explain that! Just... just think of it like a soap bubble on top of a bubble! Just not really. Remind me later.

[ A beat. ]

Yes. So, I suppose we are rather similar in that notion.

[ss_buttcrack]

[Sorry Doctor, his timing has never been great.]

I'll hold you to it. I wanna hear all about it once we get ourselves out of this mess.

[For now though, they should probably get moving since a couple of marauders just flew in on a landing trajectory overhead of them. They are in luck, it didn't look like too far away. Well, luck depending on how you look at it.]

Okay Doctor, we better get on with this mission. Maybe if we catch them before they even make contact we can take care of this all quietly.

[Quietly, with these two...? Ha ha ha...]

[thatoldthatkind]

You will need to remind me! Things do slip mu mind from time to time.

[ Given his old age, is it really that surprising?

The Doctor pulls out his sonic and begins to fiddle with it. It is far too small and not amplified to be enough use against enemy ships. However, maybe theirs... ]

I might be able to amplify the ship.

[ss_buttcrack]

Don't you worry, I will. You're not getting out of it.

[Crichton watches that fiddling, but for the life of him he still doesn't know what the hell that thing is supposed to be doing.]

Amplify? Meaning what?

[thatoldthatkind]

Good! Yes, good. Is this good?

[ The Doctor is replying playfully of course. ]

I could boost certain systems with the sonic or vice verse. I think. This tech is very different from the kind I am used to...

[ss_buttcrack]

We'll call it good.

[He can never tell with you Doctor.]

So, what systems are we trying to boost? Weapons? I'm more familiar with this stuff by now, been repairing it enough. Maybe I can give a hand.

[thatoldthatkind]

Well, I don't know. Does this craft of yours have a stealth mechanic? We could certainly use that one right now. Or, I could even try to disconnect it from the rest of the ships so they can't track it.