Walk The Earth: Doctor Who/Studio C [Book 2]

Under Poisoned Skies

Under Poisoned Skies

There's a broken man praying for a wounded land / Oh why can't we shape the invisible? / The faith is blind / The voice of reason cries / Oh why can't we shape the invisible? -Martin Page, 'Shape the Invisible'

A/N: Hey so this story has finally started working with me again so enjoy an update! Quick reminder that any of the recognizable dialogue from this arc is from The Story Of Martha.

Twelve hours.

"Twelve hours?" Rath repeated incredulously.

In San Diego's port, the mousy dock worker nodded quickly, the look on her face plainly saying she had seen Rath's type before, and feared for her life.

"Twelve hours," Rath said again, spitting it this time. "We missed them by twelve hours."

In the early hours of the morning, the Crichton, bound for Yokohoma, Japan, had left San Diego. Now, twelve hours later, it was well out into the Pacific Ocean. Robert Barton, Rath's second, glanced out over the heaving waves as if he could spot the ship the objects of their search now occupied.

"With all due respect, sir," Sneed said, though his nasally voice betrayed no respect whatsoever. "If we hadn't stopped in Los Angeles we'd have been here a day and a half ago."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you Sneed," Rath snapped in return. "Damn it. Damn my ADC for telling me they'd been in LA," he continued, referring to his contact on the Valiant as he turned away. "I knew they'd be here."

"So what now, boss?" Haley piped up.

"Now, I'm going to call my damned ADC and get us a damned plane," Rath said, pulling his Archangel-enabled phone from his pocket. "We'll beat them to Japan and be waiting for them when they make landfall." He turned away, before glancing back. "Well, don't just stand there gaping. Do something useful, won't you?"

~~~

UNIT had put Matt and Mallory in contact with Jim Taylor, a worker aboard the bulk ship Crichton that made the run from Yokohoma to San Diego and back again with relative frequency. He, in turn, promised to get them to whatever Resistance group they could scare up when they docked in Japan.

Before that, though, they had an eleven-day sea journey in front of them.

Despite being nearly a time and a half the length of the Atlantic one, Mallory found that the Pacific wasn't called the 'peaceful sea' for nothing, and found this journey a little more bearable than the first. Not only that, but now she was a bit more trusting in her perception filter, this time she could dare to come above deck when seasickness got the worst of her. They had found a little, out of the way corner between two massive cargo crates that was rarely frequented by the crew and it had become her sanctuary when her need for fresh air grew ever-more desperate.

She stood there now, just after sunrise on the day they were due to dock in Yokohoma. Her head leaning against the railing, she wished the ship would stop rolling just for a few minutes so her stomach could do the same.

"I'd say good morning, but... doesn't look like you're having much of one."

"You don't have to sound so chipper," she groaned in response, peering at Matt from the corner of her eye as he stood beside her. She'd only been out here for a few minutes, so he'd likely woken simply from her absence-it wouldn't be the first time for either of them. She had gotten so used to sleeping tangled with him the thought of having to sleep alone almost repulsed her.

"Sorry." He sounded genuinely rueful for once as he wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning down to nuzzle her temple. "Hey. Last day of this, though."