Tom hung back, uncertain. Allowing the more confident members of the party to get ahead of him, hands wrapped nervously around the straps of his backpack. It has been exhilarating to come down to the planet, but now that he was here he wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't sure why he'd been selected for this mission, or what how he could help when everyone else seemed like they knew what they were doing.

The place looked empty, empty and abandoned. There was a tiny corner of his mind that still wondered if this ruin of a city was what Earth would look like, someday, if the Yeerks got their way. Nothing but a corpse, a remnant of something once full of life and laughter.

Iniss had said he should just..try to make himself useful. Which sounded great on paper, but was lousy when confronted with a lot of people he didn't know.

Sam or Dean would have been better for this, even Kaylee. He knew he'd be lousy for missions.

He scuffed his foot against the sun bleached ground, taking a deep breath of the dry air. He'd try, that was the best he could do. The Doctor was here, and Cassie. He'd be a lousy brother if he didn't look after Jake's girlfriend, and he...still wanted the Doctor to think well of him, just being Tom or not.