Once Upon a Midnight

Phase 1: Hunt

"We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Val spoke up, gazing around in confusion.

"Are we there?" Biff added.

"Can't be." Dee Dee said.

"It's too soon." Rose continued the girl's thought and everyone looking at her as fear began to take place of the confusion.

"They don't stop, Crusader vehicles never stop..." The Professor spoke up. "Why've we stopped?" He asked the hostess.

The hostess was passing him, headed toward the back wall. "If you could just return to your original seats, thank you very much, it's just a small delay." Her voice projected across the small space. Rose heard the off tone in her voice.

The hostess spoke quietly to the driver through a phone on the back wall as Dee Dee packed up the projector and everyone moved to their original seats. When seated, Rose leaned to the Doctor.

"Something isn't right, is it?" Rose whispered so that only he could hear her.

"No, I imagine something is wrong, especially with the hostess's reaction." He replied back.

"Maybe just a pit stop." Biff said to the group, trying to lighten the tension.

"But there's no pit stops." The professor cut in, a panicked look crossing his face. "I've been on this expedition fourteen times, they never stop." The professor seemed to run out of breath.

"Well evidently, we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it." Sky said sharply from the front. Rose raised an eyebrow at her sharp response.

"We've broken down!" Jethro exclaimed gleefully and fear crossed over almost everyone's faces, except those of Rose, Jethro, and the Doctor. But even Rose felt a twinge of something in her heart.

"Thank you, Jethro." Val said.

"In the middle of nowhere!" He taunted back.

"That's enough, now stop it!" Biff exclaimed.

The hostess broke up the family's fight by approaching the front and saying, "Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon," Rose wondered how many time the hostess had said that number, "we're just experiencing a short delay, the Driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine. If you could just stay in your seats..."

"As if." The Doctor muttered, standing up. Rose followed short. She followed him as he approached the cabin door.

"No, I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Smith, if you could sit down, thank you-" the hostess rushed in a panic, trying to take control of the situation.

"Engine experts!" The Doctor explained, while shoving the psychic paper in the woman's face. "Two ticks!" He pressed the button for the door, ignoring the noise of complaint from the hostess and the two entered the small room.

The door whooshed closed behind them. The room was a small cockpit. It had two seats, each holding a man sitting in front of buttons and monitors. What looked to be a window was plain metal, causing the room to be in shadows, other than the light caused by the buttons and monitors. The metal window had graphics showing the outside world in analytical form.