Bittersweet and strange ~ Doctor who [3]

Flesh And Stone

"How impossible?" River asks her, still working.

"Two minutes" the hum of the engines powers down and their way in has reopened and they can see the cavern outside.

"The hull is breached and the power's failing" Octavian tells them.

The lights go out. The arm of an angel can be seen through the opening. "Sir! Incoming!"

"Doctor! Lights" Andy orders.

The Doctor uses the sonic to help River. The lights come on briefly and they see an angel making its way inside. The lights go out again and come on brighter to show four angels inside the corridor with them.

"Clerics, keep watching them" Octavian demands.

"And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes. I've isolated the light grid. They can't drain the power now" the Doctor tells them.

"Good work, Doctor" Octavian compliments her.

"Yes, good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far..." the Doctor turns to Octavian before she turns to the door again.

"So far?" Andy questions her.

"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control" the Doctor explains.

"Good, fine, do it" Octavian tells her, as she moves to the front to look at the angels.

"Including the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights" the Doctor reveals.

"How long for?" Octavian asks her.

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer" the Doctor guesses.

"Maybe?"

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!" the Doctor snaps, going back to the door.

"Doctor, we lost the torches. We'll be in total darkness" Andy reminds her.

"No other way. Bishop?" the Doctor goes to Octavian.

"Doctor Wolf, I've lost good clerics today. You trust this woman?" Octavian asks River. The Doctor stands watching them.

"I absolutely trust her" River tells him truthfully.

"She's not some kind of madwoman then?"

"I absolutely trust her"

"Excuse me" the Doctor goes back to work on the door.

"I'm taking your word, because you're the only one who can manage this girl. But that only works so long as she doesn't know who you are. You cost me any more men, and I might just tell her. Understood?" Octavian threatens River, quietly.

"Understood" River says, going back to his work.

"Ok. Doctor, we've got your back" Octavian tells her.

"Bless you, Bishop"

Octavian announce to his clerics "Combat distance, ten feet" the two closest clerics to the angels move back without taking their eyes off them.

"Andy, when the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns" the Doctor tells him.

"Ten" Andy says randomly.

The Doctor turns back to him, "No, four, four turns"

"Yeah, four, I heard you" Andy takes his position at the door.