We Will Rise |2| The Ascension

Chapter Twelve: 42

"Phone!" the Doctor requested as Martha walked into the console room a few weeks later, holding his hand out expectantly.

Martha frowned, but handed it over. "Why?"

The Doctor started sonicing it. "Hang on." He smiled as McKenzie entered, in shorts and a tank top. "Morning." He looked down at Martha's phone, stopping the sonic. "Right, there we go. Universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again."

"No way," Martha gasped as she got her phone back, seeing it had five bars. "This is too mad. You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?"

"As long as you know the area code," the Doctor joked. "Frequent flier's privilege. Go on, try it."

Before she could, the TARDIS juddered. McKenzie frowned, tapping at a few keys on the keyboard. "Distress signal," she read off the scanner, before typing some more. "Locking on. Might be a bit of—" She groaned as the TARDIS jolted, sending them to the grating. "Turbulence. Sorry."

"Come on, then," the Doctor grinned, pulling the girls up. "Let's take a look."

They opened the doors into a room that was filling with steam and glowing red with heat. "Distress signal transmitted," a tannoy reported. McKenzie rolled her eyes, fanning herself with her hand.

"Whoa, now that is hot," the Doctor stated, raising his eyebrows.

"It's like a sauna in here," Martha complained as she threw her jacket into the TARDIS before closing the doors.

McKenzie tilted her head, listening. "Venting systems," she identified. "Working at full pelt, trying to cool down... well, wherever we are."

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, if you can't stand the heat." He opened a bulkhead door and the trio went through.

Two men and a woman came running towards them. "Oi, you three!"

"Get out of there!" the woman ordered.

"Seal that door, now!"

McKenzie did so, then turned back to face the newcomers.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded. Her uniform named her as Captain McDonnell. "What are you doing on my ship?"

"Are you police?" the first man - Riley Vashti, if his tag was anything to go by - asked. The other man had been silent.

The Doctor frowned. "Why would we be police?"

"We got your distress signal," Martha stated.

"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?" McKenzie wondered, tilting her head again.

"It went dead four minutes ago," McDonnell replied, sighing.

"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering, Captain," the second man—his tag reading 'Scannell'—finally spoke.

"Secure closure active," the computer stated.

"What?" the captain demanded.

"The ship's gone mad," Scannell cried.

Another woman came running towards them, bulkhead doors slamming shut behind her. "Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked in to area twenty seven." She blinked as she realised three of the people there were strangers. "Who are you?" She was wearing her tag on a lanyard around her neck; it read Erina.

"He's the Doctor, she's Martha, and I'm McKenzie," the ginger explained. "Hi."

"Impact projection 42:27." the computer stated.