Burnt Skies (Doctor Who)

Chapter 3 Part 1 - Here Comes the Sun

"Oh, I'll prove it to you!" Ember sent a challenging glare at Ivory, and went running around the console, flipping levers and switches, and pressing buttons like she had done it a thousand times, which of course, she had.

The TARDIS whirred and suddenly rumbled, sending them rolling around the room. Ember grabbed onto the railing, helping Ivory up. "You said it would be a smooth ride!" the girl accused. Ember shook her head, grinning with a certain insanity.

"Oh, she isn't taking my orders. The TARDIS is taking us wherever she wants to," the Time Lady laughed, clinging to the railing for dear life. Chipped paint flew off in flakes where her nails dug in, and she sighed. "She was also supposed to fix the console room!"

"She? Time machines have genders now?" Ivory mused curiously, earning her another glare. A few cables in the console suddenly sparked, making her flinch back.

"She also has a subconscious," Ember snarled. As if to prove her point, a sudden gust of wind sent Ivory tumbling into the white-lit wall, narrowly missing a Y-beam that supported the dome. She winced at the thought of hitting the beam.

She got up, holding out her hands in surrender and looking up at the ceiling of the time machine. "Oops, sorry if I offended you..." Ivory chuckled nervously, realizing her mistake. The Blaze giggled as the TARDIS sent a blast of warm air, like an "I-forgive-you" hug. Ivory smiled at the warm breeze.

"This is so cool..." She breathed. "I am inside a subconscious machine! Don't know about the 'time' part though.." Ivory glanced up at Ember, a spark of mischief settling in her eyes. Ember sighed in annoyance as the shaking stopped.

She got up, lightly dusting her skinny jeans off and with a "You'll see," opened the TARDIS doors to a red-lit room with a clearly defined metal path, both sides blocked off by machinery. Ivory shook her head, following her. That girl must be bipolar, she thought to herself.

The mismatched-eyed female stepped outside. "What time period are we in?" She asked, looking around in awe and curiosity. Ember tilted her head, looking at the machinery surrounding them, then sniffing the air. "Forty-second century, from the looks of this stuff."

She prodded a pipe with her foot. "From the way the air smells- note the absence of pollen- we're on a spaceship. Abnormally hot in here." She crouched down, inspecting. Her artfully torn jeans shifted a bit, causing one tear to show her knee.

"Automated distress signal transmitting," a computerized voice droned. The Time Lady tilted her head in mild irritation. She never liked those messages. Ivory, however, grinned with excitement.

"Ooh... The future... What do humans look like in the future?"

Ember gave her a look loaded with sass. "Like humans."

"Wouldn't they evolve and look a tad bit different or something?" Ivory reasoned through the sarcasm.

"Nah. They're already modeled after my species, so why should they need to evolve? Besides, some two thousand years? Not enough time to," Ember explained, making her way through the machinery, leaving Ivory to gape at her.

"But, you're human!"

"I own a time machine."

"So you're from the future!" 

"I have two hearts." Ivory snickered, but stopped when Ember glared at her.

"No! Seriously?!"

"Try." Ember made an under-handed toss, throwing a stethoscope to her and turning around. Ivory put it on, placing the chest-piece on her. A rhythmic four-beat pattern sounded, and the girl slowly lowered it, mismatched eyes wide.