trans_9 | The Bookworm Strikes Again (open)

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The Bookworm Strikes Again (open)

Who: Barbara and Anyone
Where: The Media Library and possible roaming
Summary: Research, tea, discussion and all that jazz. Feel free to simply come and bug her.
Warnings: None

After watching the Daligig slaughter the previous crew twice, Barbara went in search of any kind of material on the Daligig, Stacey, pod-popping and the crews which had traveled on Stacey. She didn't expect to find much more than what GLaDOS had told her but it was worth a look. Especially with all this talk of rebellion and distrust.

So, in a corner of the Media Library Barbara sat with piles books, stacks of visual recordings and audio recordings, plus pot of tea which had been sitting empty for a while. She was lost in her own world, memorising what she could and trying to gain a better picture of the ship, the war and everything else which could be considered relevant.

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"You are an awful stalker," she agreed, laughing. "I'm sure you'll improve with practice." Barbara patted his arm a little condescendingly and turned into one of the kitchens where the food machine was being kept for the moment.

"Oh, so I should continue practising on you?" he asked with a grin.

"Only if you wish to be bored out of your mind," she replied and matched his grin.

"I don't think you're boring." And because that was suddenly a bit serious he turned to look at the food machine. "What's that doing in here?"

"We are in a kitchen...sort of," it might have been a kitchen at some point, and to an extent, it still looked like one. But the counters were angled or had dips in them, and there were still a few stray bits from robots lying about.

"I think one or all of the Doctors use this as a bit of a science lab sometimes. Anyway, I was thinking that maybe you'd want to take some food blocks," she smiled up at him and pushed a few of the buttons, making the machine light up and squeak at them. "It's still not real food but it's better than slop."

"Oh, yes, that's a good idea." As well as eating them, he could also take them back to his kitchen/lab and experiment on them to see what they were made of.

When the machine gave them some blocks he picked one up and bit into it. "Sausage and mash." He looked at it - you really couldn't tell how it got that flavour.

Barbara 'hrmed' and looked thoughtful. "That wasn't what I was aiming for," at least Ian was of simple tastes and easily pleased. "Let me try again."

She pushed another combination, waiting for the flashing and squeaking to finished before she pulled out another bar, broke off a bit and ate it. It still wasn't right but tasted fine enough. "Here, it's a fruit salad."

Ian broke off a piece himself and tried it. "I suppose it's better than the slop, but I'd still prefer real food."

"Nothing beats real food, but taste is rather important, too." Barbara smiled and pushed the buttons one last time. The machine produced another food block but this time it was black. She smelt it and passed it over, pulling a face of distaste.

"I'm sorry if you don't like licorice," she said, folding her hands together before her.

"At least it's the right colour." He had a piece of that too. "I think I'll take these home with me and see what they're made of."

"I hope you eat them after," Barbara chuckled, "that is what they're for."

After making sure that Ian had a grip on all the food blocks, she took a step back and walked to the door of the sort-of kitchen. "Is there anything in particular you hope to find?" she asked to make further conversation.

"I'll just use a small bit of each." He did want to eat them given their taste. "I was just wondering what they actually consisted of. There must be something different between these, given that they have different tastes."

"There could be similar things, too," she pointed out, "Susan had told us that they were full of nutrients." But all Barbara could take from that was that the blocks were good for her.

"Then I'll find those too." He put them safely in his pocket, although it might mean his pocket would be full of crumbs later. "I wonder if they go off."

"You could leave one in your pocket for a while and see," she smirked.

"I will," he said. "But not in my pocket. I'll just leave it in the kitchen at home and see what happens to it."

"Thank heavens Stacey doesn't have mice."

They had reached the console room with it's ridiculous glass floor. Barbara meandered toward the doors, lifting a hand and placing it upon the locking mechanism which slid out of place as she turned her hand.

She held open the door for Ian to step through. "Here's hoping the next time I see you, it won't be during some tentacle-ridden mission, or something similar."

"Of course it won't be," he said, smiling back at her as he stepped out of the TARDIS. "There's more to Stacy than just tentacles."

"You're right. There are drones and clones, and irritable teenagers too," Barbara chuckled lightly, leaning against the door frame.

Ian chuckled too. "Is there any other kind of teenager?"

"I wasn't!" Barbara said a little defensively but was still smiling, "so long as I had a good book and a quiet spot, I was happy. Don't tell me you were moody and rebellious."

"Only sometimes," he said, guardedly.

Barbara folded her arms, her smile turning into a bit of a smirk. "Sometimes? What did you get up to?" Clearly this wasn't something Barbara was going to let go of any time soon.

"Nothing awful," he assured her. Given her expression he wasn't inclined to say any more in case she used the information against him. "Goodbye," he said firmly. "I need to take these food cubes home before I forget they're in my pocket."

At least Barbara wasn't the sort to hold anything against him in sight of other people. That would be far too low for Barbara's standards. Yet, her smirk deepened at his lack of specific answer.

"Goodbye," she said cheerfully with a small wave of her hand, "don't be too rebellious while I'm not there."

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splendid_roman - 2012-03-14 12:03 (UTC) - Expand

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