Happy-Fun Splorey Times

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor, true to form and quite negating his earlier plans to keep a low profile, had decided to explore the city on his own. Also true to form, he was gawking like a natural born tourist fresh off the farm.

Well, if guys fresh off the farm kept up running commentary under their breaths about every single culture they recognized. And if they recognized quite a few, had an apparent habit of internal monologue, and occasionally ran over to point a buzzing little blue stick at seemingly random objects.

He was completely fascinated.

He was also bound and determined to get to the bottom of all this mess and get his TARDIS back. Now.

Ooh, look at that!

Comments

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

His eyes were sad.

"Lo Siento." It didn't translate because it was only a few words, interspersed with English. "I can't even imagine what that must be like."

As Peacemaker said, Superman wasn't an alien--he was an American. He was an Earthling-by-adoption, because the world had adopted him.

But a traveler? An explorer? With nowhere to go home to?

Some people just said they were sorry, as a courtesy, but Jaime was an empathetic kid. He meant it.

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor shrugged and sniffed. With a sort of full-body shake-off, the Time Lord regrouped quickly, closing off the memories and pain.

"Ah, well. Thanks." He said it awkwardly, already looking for a change of subject. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the sentiment; he simply couldn't afford to spend much time on the subject.

As a distraction, he pulled out the twisted brown bag of jelly babies, untwisting it and selecting a green one for himself. "Should probably be rationing these," he commented as he offered the bag to Jaime.

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"Probably," Jaime grinned, taking one. "Somehow I don't think Stacy's the type to give out free candy with her goop and plant-suits."

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor grinned back, returning the bag to safekeeping. "Probably not. I'll just keep the rest for emergencies."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"So, we're on a ship. Taken by aliens. And...they have a whole city in there." A pause. "...And that's the Dome of the Rock over there, I think. Temples and churches and mosques and...alien buildings. Why would they have a collection of churches in here? Did these aliens find religion? S? Plural?"

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor took a quick look around again, thinking. "Well, sort of depends, doesn't it? Could be a museum, though a war ship's an awfully strange place for one of those, could be places of worship for all their soldiers. Who knows? Might just have very strange ideas of interior decorating."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"One thing's for sure, they really do have a kinda Carmen Sandiego thing going on. I'm surprised they didn't stick the Eiffel Tower in here. If those are the real things, they can not only pull people from anywhere, but things as large as whole buildings. But if they're that powerful, why do they NEED an army?"

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"Weak bodies, strong technology? Really couldn't say. Though you don't see any of whoever they are around here, do you? Unless Stacy is 'them,' in which case she's a bit big to do in-atmosphere battle. No, so far it's mostly humanoids, all in top condition. There has to be a reason for that."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"Soldiers. Or... not. Slaves? There's more useful things for people than fighting. They might just be going for 'skilled, brainy, and able-bodied' because they'd be the most useful slaves. Skilled workers. Slaves or soldiers. Or both, technically, if they're forcibly conscripting us. You need more than soldiers to win a war. Inventors, doctors--the medical kind--technicians. Brains and brawn." A pause. "Diplomats. Spies. If you can, you use someone else, so that the casualties mean nothing--all your people are still alive."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"The real question..." comes a being stepping around the corner, apparently having overheard no small part of their conversation, "is why they want us here."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

Jaime whipped around, alarmed, and the armor started forming on his fist, at the very list.

That...

Was a very interesting getup.

But people judging on appearances had gotten him shot at, so he wasn't going to make the same mistake. He looked to the Doctor.

"You know this guy?"

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor looked as well, raising his eyebrows at the approaching figure but offering no other hint of alarm.

He glanced at Jaime. "A bit. Ran into each other earlier, wandering around. Didn't quite catch the name, though."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"We did not exchange them," he explains. "I am Scorpius." He eyes Jaime's hand. "You will not need that."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

Jaime started at him for a moment, and then the scary fist went away.

"I'm Jaime."

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"Ah, well, that'd be why, then." The Doctor grinned, to all appearances care-free. "I'm the Doctor."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"Tell me, Jaime, Doctor... have you considered why they have brought us here?"

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"To use us, most likely. Somehow."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"Precisely. But to what end? And for whose benefit?"

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

"From what the AIs have said, I'm assuming we're supposed to be some sort of army. Not all soldiers use guns, after all."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"And no army has only soldiers. Why they grabbed is what we're trying to figure out," he said, looking around at the buildings, trying to find...something that stuck out, something that didn't fit.

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"The skills of those present may be of importance as well. And I find it noteworthy just how many humans there are present thus far."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

"Not all human, but looks like humans and aliens that have lived on Earth." Like Starfire.

He pointed.

"That building doesn't look like a temple or church," he said, walking towards it.

[fluffinasuit.livejournal.com]

The Doctor followed Jaime; exploration was his reason for being here, after all. "Let's just settle on 'humanoids' for now, shall we? With the tentative label 'battle experience?' Lots of trigger-happy people around, it seems."

[leather-bastard.livejournal.com]

"I have not lived on Earth, though I have a familiarity with its existence." He turns to look at the building, taking in its appearance on several levels. "And while I am not a soldier, per se, I am not without some raw skill in that area."

[el-escarabajo.livejournal.com]

Going through the doorway of the building was like walking into an Escher painting. The staircases and walkways seemed meant to defy gravity and bled into one another.

"Weird."

Jaime trotted ahead experimentally.

What? You never learned about anything just looking at it.

After a second, he standing on a staircase, positioned horizontally compared to the way the Doctor and Scorpius were positioned.

"Very weird."