Sonic Tea Fic: Apocatastasis (4/5?)
Jul. 11th, 2007 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
intrikate88Title: Apocatastasis (4/5?)
Author:
intrikate88Disclaimer: I tried to seduce RTD and get him to give me Doctor Who rights, but he's not into women, and I tried with Joss for ownership of Firefly, and his wife didn't like that, and Joss said it would only bring me heartache anyway, so as it stands now, I own nothing.
Spoilers: "Doomsday" for Doctor Who, and possibly "Lazarus Experiment" if I really get plotty and ambitious. Post "Objects in Space", pre/during-BDM for Fireflyverse.
Rating: PG
Prompt: Two prompts! 1) Ten is intrigued. Inara is suspicious. There is banter. And eye sex. 2) "You don't want to wait until it's too late."
Notes/Warnings: One traveler (that strokes bits of his ship) is missing his companion, while one Companion is missing traveling. Then things begin to explode, several people are taken hostage, the Doctor is mistaken for another doctor, and a good deal of fun suspense is had by all, as the Operative tries his hardest to get to one little girl, River Tam.
In case you're wondering about the title, dictionary.com defines it as: the state of being restored or reestablished; restitution.
Beta'd by the fantastic
goldy_dollar. Written for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sonic_tea ficathon.Updated on Wednesdays. Hopefully will be updated next Wednesday, despite the fact the next chapter isn’t written yet and I have a paper coming up. But I shall do my best, dear readers!
Lileen struggled against the arms gripping her around the ribs. “Miss Inara!” she cried out, and the man’s hand moved to seal her mouth. Inara’s eyes narrowed. The man had just ensured that not only would he never be accompanied anywhere by a Companion, he would never be accepted in any society where Companions circulated.
“You are the man called the Operative, I believe?” Inara questioned tersely.
The man inclined his head. “Indeed, Miss Serra. I am a representative of the Alliance, an Operative of Parliament.”
“If Parliament wishes to speak to anyone here, I’m certain we can oblige them.” She waved a hand around. “Without demolishing the student dormitories, perhaps. Or taking my girls hostage.”
“The House will, of course, be recompensed for the damages.” He paused. “This investigation was intended to be quite subtle, as we had already conducted formal questioning.”
“Subtle?” asked the Doctor, speaking for the first time. He pulled a pair of glasses from the inner pocket of his suit and slid them on. “You might have forgone the explosives. Just a suggestion, mind. Stampeding elephants, perhaps.” He stepped forward, holding a hand out welcomingly. “I’m the Doctor, yes, just the Doctor, don’t bother asking who.” The Operative looked at him impassively. The Doctor looked down at his hand. “Worth a try, ah well. Anyway, since I can’t get you to release your hostage that way, what will convince you to?”
The Operative gazed at Inara. “I have already acquired it.” He let Lileen go, and she ran to Inara, half-hugging her and trying to hide behind her. Inara put an arm around the girl.
“Please clarify your intentions,” Inara requested.
“Miss Serra, the Alliance does not believe that you have been entirely forthright with us. Not only has your account of your time on the ship Serenity been spotty at best, there are also a number of inconsistencies in your student records, such as new students without complete records. As you might know, that is a violation of several laws intended to prevent non-consenting minors from enrolling in this establishment.”
“You may dispense with the vague threats and clearly tell me what you are looking for, sir. What are you accusing me of and what do you expect to gain from it?”
“To the point, then. You are suspected of hiding two fugitives, Simon and River Tam. It is of utmost importance that they are retrieved. They have stolen secrets vital to the security of this government and have destroyed a great deal of expensive property. They were believed to be traveling on Serenity during the same period as you. And I find it very hard to believe that you would be completely oblivious to their presence. It is even more difficult to believe it mere coincidence when sightings of them stopped at the same time you left Serenity.” He turned his attention to the Doctor. “And that now a doctor with no identity turns up here, with you? It would appear, Miss Serra, that you are hiding something, and not very well.”
“It would indeed,” said Inara noncommittally, “and yet that is not the case. I am not, nor have I ever, hidden fugitives. Moreover, I will be registering a formal complaint with the Alliance in regards to your inappropriate conduct and accusations.” She took a step forward, towards the Operative, and Lileen stayed behind, hesitating a second, then she ran away down the hallway where they had come from.
Inara looked up boldly into the Operative’s face. “And lastly, sir, I am requesting that you leave this property at once, and not return. You are not welcome here any longer.”
She was not expecting his reaction, nor would her reflexes be quick enough to respond if she had. He gripped her arms, pushing her back against a nearby wall, and breathed, “I will go once I am satisfied. I will go once I have the Tams.”
From behind the Operative came the Doctor’s voice. “You’ll be wanting to let her go, now.”
The Operative didn’t turn around. “If I don’t, what do you plan to do, Doctor?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” the Doctor said breezily. Then his voice took on a harder edge. “But neither do you. And do you really want to find out? I mean, really?”
After a moment, the Operative released Inara. “Doctor, you have placed yourself in a very precarious position, associating with this woman. To conclude that you are the doctor she doesn’t wish to provide information for is not unreasonable. A very convincing case might be made for your being Dr. Tam.”
“All very well and good, that,” drawled the Doctor, “but how can you be sure you’re arresting the right man? Do I have the right face? The right identification? Seems to me, you’re not so great an Operative, if you just go around arresting the first doctor you see.”
“Do you deny that you are Dr. Simon Tam, then?”
“Didn’t say that, did I? One way or the other, you’ve no way of proving, have you?” The Doctor beamed at the Operative. He took off his glasses. “I could be anyone at all! Makes you wonder why I’d be rude, and not ginger, though, doesn’t it?” He bounced on his toes.
The Operative, by contrast, was as solid and serious as a badly-baked blueberry scone. There was no trace of anger growing on his face at the Doctor’s impertinence. “You have enough money to buy fake identification, and enough colleagues that could perform surgery on you. However, a DNA test will confirm who you are.”
“Not if I had a genetic flush,” the Doctor countered. He paused at the look of bemusement on both the faces of Inara and the Operative. “What, you don’t know about DNA replacement?” He paused again. “What year is this? Ah, never mind. I’m a daft dreamer. DNA flushes, they’ll never happen.” Jamming his hands in his pockets, he finished, “But I’m not Simon Tam, sorry to disappoint.”
“He’s a client of mine,” Inara suddenly volunteered. “He contacted me late this evening, and will not yet be on the records. We had… just finished our tea when the explosions occurred.”
“She promised she would show me a good time,” the Doctor concurred. His eyes met hers. “So far, Inara, you’re doing a fantastic job.”
Despite the situation, she still had to bite down on her lip to keep from laughing.
“If you are not Simon Tam,” the Operative replied slowly, “then River Tam will not be here, either. He would not leave her. If the sightings are true, that means they will be on board Serenity, still.” He looked over at Inara. “You would do well to ensure that Serenity comes here, Miss Serra. I will ensure she stays here.”
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-11 11:32 pm (UTC)“Oh, I don’t know,” the Doctor said breezily. Then his voice took on a harder edge. “But neither do you. And do you really want to find out? I mean, really?”
Love that bit. Because... dark!Ten is hot.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-12 12:11 am (UTC)Love that bit. Because... dark!Ten is hot.
Guh, yes. He can menace me anytime.
Heh, dark!Ten makes me think of Darktan, a talking rat from Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-12 12:20 am (UTC)I did the same thing, once. Which makes me deeply, DEEPLY paranoid now when I post stuff. And I didn't even have the whole "I was out until midnight" excuse!
Guh, yes. He can menace me anytime.
I can't believe you wrote that. *loves, like, a lot*
Heh, dark!Ten makes me think of Darktan, a talking rat from Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
I can honestly say that Ten has never reminded me as a rat, but that does not stop this from being a hilarious image. :D
no subject
Date: 2007-07-12 12:37 am (UTC)Yes, I have a problematic tendency to say things like that. Sometimes in British Lit class. I should probably learn to be more embarrassed? Ah, well. I like the menacing ones, what can I say...
I can honestly say that Ten has never reminded me as a rat, but that does not stop this from being a hilarious image. :D
ACTUALLY, I just remembered since I'm sorting my hard drive out, I think David Tennant was the voice of Darktan in the BBC Radio play of The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. I know he was the voice of one of the rats in there, I'm just foggy on who's who. He might have been Dangerous Beans, I'm not sure. I'll upload that play for you, if you want.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-12 12:44 am (UTC)I know, right? At first when you meet Ten, he's all squishy and soft and affectionate and you LOVE him, but then suddenly it's all REIGN OF TERROR AND GENOCIDE and you're like... "whoa, why is this so hot?"
Anyway. He can probably menace me any time, too. XD
I'll upload that play for you, if you want.
David Tennant reading anything makes me happy. So... yes! If you have it! :D
no subject
Date: 2007-07-12 06:28 pm (UTC)