The trio spent a few days in the Tardis, where Amanda was able to successfully avoid any questions about what had happened to her after being dropped off at Fraitaro. She was actually proud at her accomplishment and was also glad that the Tardis provided her enough tools to be able to upgrade her ring; giving it the necessary boost to be able to conceal her abilities and more. She even discovered a new door in her room, an office where she was free to write and practice her music in peace.
Martha was often in her room, just to talk about things back on Earth or about some events that happened when she was Amora- when she was in her other body or to explore and hang out by the pond that was connected to her room. The Tardis even placed a door that connected their rooms together; making it even easier for them to hang out. Martha would often complain with a smile on her face that they had seen more than enough of each other back on the flat, but she truly loved being so close to her best friend, it honestly would have felt weird if Amanda wasn't right next door.
"Do you miss it?" Martha asked once when they were floating on the pond, enjoying the tranquility that the area provided.
"Miss what?" Amanda questioned back as she looked up at the ceiling. The Tardis had projected a false Fraitaro sunny day, helping the Roiias relax.
"Your other appearance. You used to look differently, and I imagine you acted differently too, right? Do you miss the old you?" Martha questioned her curiously. She often wondered a lot about Amanda's other self, the life she must have had. She wondered if they would have been friends back then, but she knew that they would have become friends no matter what, she felt it in her soul.
This caused Amanda to freeze a bit before hesitantly answering, "I don't know. I relied heavily on a bracelet from back home to look human since I was unable to stay in a human form for more than a couple of seconds and now, I no longer need a bracelet to be in my human body. A body that is so different than what I was used to seeing every day. I went from looking in the mirror and seeing a girl with light blue eyes and brown hair to now having dark blue eyes and dark hair.". Amanda thought about her previous look, she could probably change forms if she practiced hard enough but going back to that appearance felt wrong to her.
Amanda swam to the edge of the pond before seating, her feet still in the water. Martha followed her actions.
"It's weird. I am Amora yet I don't really feel like the same person." Amanda tried to explain, trying to work through all the emotions that have been bothering her. "I am Amanda Reed yet I am also Amora Rey. A singer and a 'siren'. An alien turned human turned-"she paused before shaking her head. "It doesn't feel right. When I was 'Amora', I was just an outcasted alien hybrid who wanted to keep being 'normal' a bit while longer, I wanted to continue waking up in the morning and go to my classes or go to a shoot and come home to Jackie, who was waiting there with a cup of tea; ready to spill about our day and what gossip she was told by her friends. I wanted to continue listening to my friend Mickey talk about sports and random tidbits about computers while we went to the pub. Then I met the Doctor and Rose and all I wanted was to be with them forever, traveling the stars and having laughs." she recalled, her tone becoming distant as her thoughts trailed off. Memories played in front of her, all that warmth and love. It wasn't a perfect life but to her, it was.
Amanda could feel the tears swelling up in her eyes and it took a lot for her to push them down. "As 'Amanda', all I wanted was to know who I was. Hell, I became a singer just so that one day someone would look up and see a poster or a billboard with my face on it and recognize me. I wanted to use my voice to find out who I was, to find out my past but it was all hopeless. No one was going to recognize me, no one had ever seen this face before. Now I don't even know if I want to continue singing, I am so tempted to just end my career and just travel with the Doctor for as long as possible but..." Amanda trailed off, a burning feeling in her chest and her head.
Martha nodded as she attempted to understand her friend and tried fingering out what to say to her before taking her hand. "It is a lot to deal with, but you have me and the Doctor right there by your side. No matter what you decide to do or who you decide to be, I am always going to be right here for you. You have brought so much to my excitement into my life, and you have made life so much more livable. I would be stressing over my family and my studies right now and now here I am in a spaceship, traveling around the universe with my best friend!" she said excitedly. "I am just glad that I can be by your side." And with that, Martha pulled Amanda into a tight hug.
Amanda smiled at her and placed a light kiss on her cheek, enjoying the smile that blossomed on her friend's face. Amanda was glad that she had Martha beside her, she didn't know what she would do without her best friend.
The Doctor and Amanda would often be in the lab when Martha decided to study or to sleep. The Doctor was very worried about Amanda and her body, making sure to keep his word to heal her feet and looking over her DNA; making sure everything was alright with her and her human body. He was very curious as to what happened to her bracelet and as to why she was fully human when they reconnected and after looking over her DNA with clear eyes, it seemed as though her Roiias DNA was pretty weak.
Her human DNA was way stronger, yet her Roiias DNA was quickly multiplying, seemingly accelerating at a rapid speed. He believed that she would be back to normal in a couple of months though he would be making sure to keep an eye out for anything that could pose a threat to her and her health. Amanda would keep quiet as she watched him work, her eyes vacant as she walked through her memories; often leaving her in tears, which caused the Doctor to stop and to hold her in his arms, calming her just enough to stop her crying.
They had deep talks about their issues, and she had forgiven him for everything though she did have some reservations that she kept to herself. She tried to pretend everything was alright but now that she had regained her memories, she was often haunted by the fight that they had before she left. His words would cut deeper and deeper into her heart and she knew that even though he regretted saying those words to her, it didn't stop her brain from tormenting her. She would often share with him her fears and the possibilities that often plague her mind: what would have happened if they never came across each other, if she truly died on Fraitaro, if she had just stayed with him and Rose instead of going home. He would just listen and would wait for her to finish before telling her how he would have never stopped searching for her. That he would probably spend the rest of his days blindly searching for her till they found each other once again Even if it had turned out she had died, he would spend forever mourning her because that is how much he cared for her. Even though they couldn't change the past, he was just happy that she was here now with him and that he was never going to lose her ever again.
Amanda thought it was silly of him, that he would care that much for her, but his eyes showed how serious he was, which caused her to bubble with emotions that she shouldn't be feeling. She honestly wanted to ask what was wrong with him, she had no clue why he was so nice and understanding with her. What made her so different from Martha and Rose and all his other friends/companions, but it was all blank for her. She would toss and turn in bed just thinking about it, but she didn't want to admit to what it was- what they could be to each other. She would even have silent conversations with the Tardis in her room, who she felt often laughed at her for ignoring the obvious or for just being plain stupid. Maybe she was.
The Doctor had set a random location on the Tardis when Martha and Amanda walked into the console room. He had asked them for their phones and Martha was quick to pull hers out and hand it to him.
"Right, there we go. Universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again." The Doctor said, handing the phone back to Martha. He couldn't do the same with Amanda, as she had accidentally left her phone behind. He offered to go back and get it but the ravenette said that she could live without it for a bit and if she needed to contact anyone, she would do it with Martha's phone.
"No way. This is too mad. You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?" Martha asked as she looked at her phone with excitement.
"As long as you know the area code. Frequent flier's privilege. Go on, try it." The Doctor encouraged but Martha was stopped when the Tardis started to judder.
"Distress signal. Locking on. Might be a bit of-"The Doctor was cut off when they were knocked to the floor. The Doctor stood up and walked over to the girls, offering his hands to them. "Turbulence. Sorry. Come on, Martha, Amanda. Let's take a look." he said to them.
They exited the Tardis, entering an area that was emitting a lot of heat and steam; causing Amanda to take the hair tie that was on her wrist and put her hair into a ponytail to cool down a bit. Even though she was wearing a crop top with jeans, which should have cooled her down, she was very tempted to go back into the Tardis and change into shorter clothes to cool down. Amanda looked around the room, not liking how everything seemed to glow red.
"Distress signal transmitted." A computer voice said from above them.
"Whoa, now that is hot." The Doctor commented as he looked around the walls of the ship.
"I would be making a comment about how I should be the only thing you call hot, but I am too busy dying from this heat." Amanda said as she wiped the sweat of her forehead.
"Automated distress signal transmitted." The computer voice said.
"Whuff, it's like a sauna in here." Martha complained as she tried to fan herself.
"Venting systems. Working at full pelt, trying to cool down. Wherever it is we are. Well, if you can't stand the heat." The Doctor says as he opens a bulkhead door and goes through it. Amanda and Martha follow him quickly, hoping to find the problem so that they would stop sweating so much. Two men and a woman come running towards them.
"Oi, you three!" A young man said, calling out to them.
"Get out of there!" A woman ordered, causing Amanda to raise an eyebrow at her attitude.
"Seal that door, now!" the young man demanded.
"Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" the woman questioned. Before any of them could say anything, the young man was quick to ask his own question.
"Are you police?" he asked them, causing Amanda and the Doctor to look at them suspiciously.
"Why would we be police?" the Doctor asked the man.
"We got your distress signal." Martha informed them as Amanda looked them up and down.
"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?" the Doctor asked them.
"It went dead four minutes ago." The woman said to him. Based on how she was the first to answer and the authorized look in her eyes, Amanda knew that she had to be the captain of the ship.
"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to Engineering. Captain." the older man, who had kept quiet throughout the whole exchange, finally spoke up.
"Secure closure active." The computer voice announced.
"What?" the captain asked out loud, in shock by the announcement.
"The ship's gone mad." The older man said to them. Another woman comes running towards them, bulkheads slamming shut behind her as she ran to them.
"Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked into area twenty-seven." She asked, panting. She noticed the three new people as the bulkhead behind her slammed shut. "Who are you?" she asked them.
"He's the Doctor, she's Amanda and I'm Martha. Hello." Martha introduced them. Amanda gave them a polite wave.
"Impact projection forty-two minutes twenty-seven seconds." The computer said.
"We'll get out of this. I promise." The captain promised her crew and the trio, though it was clear that she was panicking.
Amanda watched as Martha walked away from the group and looks out of a porthole before returning her attention to the others.
"Doctor." Martha called out to the Time Lord.
"Forty-two minutes until what?" the Doctor asked the captain.
"Doctor! Look." She called out again. Amanda walked over to see what Martha wanted to show him.
"Forty-two minutes until we crash into the sun." The captain said, fear clear in her tone as the reality of their situation hits.
"How many crew members on board?" Amanda asked as she watched the view, not liking how quickly they were heading to their doom.
"Seven, including us." The captain answered grimly.
"We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything's automated. We just keep the ship spaceworthy." The older man informed them.
"Call the others, I'll get you out. "The Doctor promises as he runs to the door then to area 30, where they had left the Tardis.
"What's he doing?" the younger man asked Amanda and Martha.
"No, don't!" the captain yelled but it was too late. The Doctor opened the door and is knocked down by the blast of heat, Amanda was quick to run to his side. The female that had just joined them puts on a welder's mask and shuts it again.
"But my ship's in there!" the Doctor cried out as Amanda held him still, giving her time to look him over for any injuries he might have sustained.
"In the vent chamber?" the young man asked the Doctor in disbelief.
"It's our lifeboat." The Doctor answered him.
The ravenette shook her head. "She's more than that." Amanda said to them.
"It's lava." The older man huffed.
"The temperature's going mad in there. Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising." The younger woman informed them.
"Channeling the air. The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get." The younger man said.
"We're stuck here." Martha realized out loud, her whole being going into shock or rather heat stroke.
"So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple. Engineering down here, is it?" The Doctor asked, pointing to a random hallway.
The captain nodded. "Yes." she told him.
"Impact in forty twenty-six." The computer reminded them, causing Amanda to glare at the ceiling.
"Am I the only one who finds it annoying? Can it please stop reminding us that we are going to die if this doesn't get solved!" Amanda said, waving her hands around as they walked towards the engineering room. The crew introduced themselves and mentioned the others, who were stationed in different areas in the ship that they would probably all meet later.
"Blimey, do you always leave things in such a mess?" the Doctor asked as they entered a room that was littered with trash and broken equipment. It was like someone went nuts and decided to release their anger on the ways and equipment.
"Your room is messier." Amanda commented without any hesitation as she bent down to pick up a broken tool from the floor.
"Oh, my God." McDonnell said in horror as she gazed around the room.
"What the hell happened?" Scannell asked as he too bent down to pick up some of the metal that was all over the floor.
"Oh, it's wrecked." Riley said, upset about the disaster around them.
"Pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing." The Doctor said as he inspected the wreck.
"Where's Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?" McDonnell asked her crew.
Scannell was quick to shake her head. "No." she answered.
"You mean someone did this on purpose?" Martha asked the captain.
"Isn't it obvious." Amanda said as she handed Martha what was in her hand. "Something fishy is happening here." she said out loud.
Martha raised an eyebrow at her wording. "Are you saying that because your half fish?" Martha couldn't help but asked her. Amanda glared at her before turning her attention back to the disaster around them.
"Korwin, Ashton? Where are you? Korwin, can you answer?" McDonnell said into the intercom. "Where the hell is he? He should be up here." She told the rest of the group present worriedly.
"Oh, we're in the Torajii system. Lovely. You're a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away." The Doctor said.
"Yeah. Feels it." Martha muttered as Amanda reached over to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze to let her know that she was there for her.
"And you're still using energy scoops for fusion? Hasn't that been outlawed yet? It wasn't allowed on my planet, the radiation of the materials harmed so many of our forests." Amanda asked McDonnell curiously.
"We're due to upgrade next docking." McDonnell quickly responded before turning to Scannell. "Scannell, engine report." She demanded to know.
"No response." He replied to her.
"What?" she asked him.
Scammell shrugged. "They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online." he told her.
"Oh, come on. Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliaries." The Doctor said, his suspicion rising.
"We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship." McDonnell explained to him.
"Yeah, with twenty-nine password sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there in time." Scannell informed them.
"Can't you override the doors?" Martha asked him.
"No. Sealed closure means what it says. They're all dead lock sealed." Scannell explained to them.
"So a sonic screwdriver's no use." The Doctor said in an unhappy tone.
"At least it's not wood, then we would be in actual trouble." Amanda joked, as she pointed to his pocket, where his sonic screwdriver was at.
"Nothing's any use. We've got no engines, no time, and no chance." Scannell grumpily quipped.
"Oh, listen to you. Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?" the Doctor asked them.
"They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of them. Sorry. Riley Vashti." The younger man, Riley, said.
"Then what're you waiting for, Riley Vashti? Get on it." The Doctor ordered him.
"Well, it's a two-person job. One, a technish for the questions, and the other to carry this. The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?" Riley joked though McDonnell was obviously not in the mood.
"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?" McDonnell jabbed as Riley put a massive backpack on. It contains a portable computer and a keyboard.
"Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice." Riley complained.
"I'll help you. Make myself useful." Martha said as she stepped closer to Riley.
"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel. That's why it needs two." He informed her.
"I'll go with y'all. I can help with answering the questions, it'll be better with three." Amanda pipped in, moving to join Martha but the Doctor was quick to stop her.
"I think it would be better if you stick with me, just in case your health takes a turn." He said, worry clear in his eyes as he looked her over.
"I should be fine Doc; plus, Martha's the best doctor I know." Amanda said confidently as she held Martha closer. "Nothing bad has happened yet, I'll be alright." she told him.
"I'm not a doctor yet AJ. As much as I am glad you have so much confidence in me, it would be better if you stay with the Doctor." Martha said to her, patting her back. Amanda pouted before moving closer to the Doctor, who seemed visibly more relaxed.
"Oi. Be careful." Amanda said as she pointed a finger at Martha, who was quick to point one back at her.
"You too." She spoke though this time with hesitation. "I'll see you later." She promised her.
"Skinny dipping at the pond later." Amanda proposed jokingly, a playful smile on her face.
Martha laughed before nodding. "You bet." she told her.
"McDonnell. It's Ashton." A male voice sounded from the speakers above them.
"Where are you? Is Korwin with you?" McDonnell asked worriedly.
"Get up to the med-center now!" Ashton ordered urgently. The Doctor grabbed Amanda's hand as they and McDonnell began to run in the direction of the med-center. Amanda looked back and waved goodbye to Martha, quietly praying that she would be alright.
"Impact in thirty-four thirty-one." The computer said.
Once they made it to the med-center, Amanda saw who she presumed was Korwin, laying on a metal table underneath the MRI scanner in agony as the doctor that was there trying to help him; though it was very obvious that she was struggling to hold the poor man down.
"Korwin! What's happened? Is he okay?" McDonnell questioned the ship's doctor.
"Help me! It's burning me!" Korwin pleaded to them, his eyes shut from the pain.
"How long's he been like this?" The Doctor asked as he led him and Amanda to the man. Amanda took note on how sweaty the man was and placed her hand on his forehead before quickly pulling away in pain. The Doctor noticed her action and pulled out his sonic screwdriver and began to scan Korwin.
"Ashton just brought him in." the doctor informed McDonnell, who looked at the Doctor in confusion.
"What are you doing?" she asked him, moving closer to her husband warily.
"Don't get too close." The Doctor warned her.
"Don't be so stupid. That's my husband." McDonnell snapped at him.
"We understand that he is your husband, but you have to step away from him. We do not know what is wrong with him and he could lash out from the pain." Amanda said as she separated the couple.
"And he's just sabotaged our ship." Ashton informed them, causing McDonnell to look at him in disbelief.
"What?" she asked, not believing what he was telling them.
"He went mad. He put the ship onto secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls." Ashton told her.
"No way. He wouldn't do that." She denied his accusation.
"I saw it happen, Captain." He added, and that was enough for her to believe him.
"Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second." The Doctor asked the man in a soft voice.
"I can't!" Korwin said as he shook his head.
"Yeah, course you can. Go on. Just a tiny bit. Let us see those gorgeous eyes." Amanda tried to coax as she took off her ring. She placed her hand on the man's forehead once again, ignoring the heat that was burning her hand, and was about to ask again when Korwin's tortured voice stopped her.
"Don't make me look at you, please." He pleaded as he twisted around. Amanda removed her hand and looked to her side to see a table with a hypo-gun on it. She reached over and grabbed it, adjusting the settings as she looked at the medic, who watched her with keen eyes.
"All right, all right, all right. Just relax. Sedative?" she made sure to confirm.
"Yes." The medic said.
Amanda nodded at her before returning her focus back to Korwin. "This is going to help you relax a bit. Don't worry, we are here to help you." She said before pulling the trigger, successfully sedating the man.
"What's wrong with him?" McDonnell asked for what Amanda believed was the fifth hundred time. She felt a headache coming in and decided to lean against the Doctor a bit to relax, he quickly started petting her head as he adjusted himself a bit to make sure she was more comfortable.
"Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings. Stasis chamber. I do love a good stasis chamber. Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature. And, just for fun, run a bioscan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail." The Doctor told the medic, who was quick to follow his orders. The medic ran to a computer and began to type in a fast pace.
"Just doing them now." She replied.
"Oh, you're good." Amanda complimented as she stared at the woman, who looked up to give her a quick smile as a thanks. "Anything else your good at?" she flirted, causing the Doctor to smack her arm softly. Amanda rolled her eyes before rubbing the spot he hit. "Couldn't help myself." she said before fixing her posture. "Anyone else presenting these symptoms?" she asked her.
"Not so far." Abi informed them.
"Well, that's something." The Doctor said in relief.
"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?" McDonnell demanded.
"He's turning into a dragon, why else is he sweating bricks, feels like he's made from lava and attacking people." Amanda grumbled under her breath.
"Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results. Now, allons-y, back downstairs. Hey. See about those engines. Go. Hey. Go." The Doctor said as he ordered McDonnell and Ashton out.
"Allons-y?" Amanda said, turning to him.
The Doctor grinned at her. "Allons-y, it's-"
"I know what it means Doc." Amanda said before tilting her head, mouthing the word until a smile appeared on her face. "I like it! Alonsy! It's fun to say." she said cheerfully.
"Call us if there's news. Any questions?" He asked Abi, who looked them up and down though she paid close attention to Amanda, who sent her a wink once they made eye contact.
"Yeah. Who are you?" Abi asked him before sending a wink back to Amanda. "And who is she?" she asked him.
"I'm the Doctor. And this is Amanda." He introduced them before pulling Amanda away, stopping her from making anymore flirtatious advances towards Abi.
"Heat shield failing. At twenty-five percent. Impact in thirty-two fifty." The computer said as the Doctor and Amanda make their way to the main engine room.
"Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?" the Doctor asked into an intercom.
"He's under heavy sedation. I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know." Abi responded before cutting out.
"Call Martha, ask what she is doing." Amanda told him. The Doctor nodded before connecting to Martha.
"Martha? Riley? How're you doing?" the Doctor asked before being pushed to the side by Amanda.
"Is everything alright darling? Are you in need of any assistance?" Amanda questioned as she waited for an answer back. The intercom was silent, which panicked her but then she heard a small chuckle that obviously came from Martha.
"I'm fine AJ, Riley is too. We are at area twenty-nine, at the door to twenty-eight." She informed them.
"Yeah, you've got to move faster." The Doctor told them.
"We're doing our best." Martha defended her and Riley. The intercom went back to being silent for a moment before Riely voice came out.
"Find the next number in the sequence three one three three three one, three six seven. What?" He said obviously confused with the question.
"You said the crew knew all the answers." Martha said as Amanda thought about the question. It was a basic question, but she knew that Martha was probably not able to answer because of Earth's education system.
"The crew's changed since we set the questions." Riley informed her.
"You're joking." Martha said.
"Three seven nine." The Doctor and Amanda answered at the same time, causing her to mouth 'Jinx' to him; which caused him to roll his eyes at her, though there was amusement and joy in his eyes.
"What?" Martha asked in confusion.
Amanda started, "It's a sequence of-", the Doctor finished, "Happy primes. Three seven nine."
"Happy what?" Martha asked, still confused on what they were saying to her.
"Just enter it in darling." Amanda told her.
"Are you sure? We only get one chance." Riley warned them, causing Amanda to roll her eyes as she leaned against the wall.
"Any number that reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits, and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. Any number that doesn't, isn't. A happy prime is a number that is both happy and prime." Amanda quickly explained. "Now come on darling and type it in. We do not have time for me to be explaining all this." she told Martha.
"Don't they teach recreational mathematics anymore?" the Doctor asked Amanda, who huffed and shook her head.
"We're through!" Martha announced happily.
"Keep moving, fast as you can. And, Martha, be careful. There may be something else on board this ship." The Doctor warned her.
"Any time you want to unnerve me, feel free." Martha said to them.
"Will do, thanks." The Doctor said cheerily as Amanda elbowed him.
"Be safe darling! Talk to you soon! Mwah!" Amanda said before pulling away from the intercom.
"Impact in thirty fifty." The computer informed them.
"We need a backup in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time. Come on, think. Resources. What have we got?" The Doctor asked as Amanda looked at the equipment available and what she had seen on their way over.
"Absolutely nothing." She told him. They went back to brainstorming when they were interrupted by the intercom.
"Doctor? Amanda?" Martha's voice called out.
"What is it now?" the Doctor grumpily replied as Amanda walked to the intercom and responded back to her. "Whatcha need darling? I know I said talk to you soon but I didn't mean this soon."
"Who had the most number ones, Elvis or the Beatles. That's pre-download." Martha asked.
"Elvis. -"Amanda was cut off by the Doctor. "No! The Beatles!" he interrupted.
"I'm the one with the music career, I would know the right answer." She argued against him.
The Doctor ignored her as he continued to search his mind for the answer. "No! Wait! Er, er. Oh, what was that remix? Er, I don't know. I am a bit busy." he told Martha.
"Fine. I'll ask someone else." Martha said.
"It's Elvis! Why does no one believe me?" Amanda whined loudly. The Doctor was quick to just place a quick kiss on her cheek to silence her before focusing on the issue at hand. Amanda looked at him shock before lightly touching the kissed check.
"You need to stop doing that." Amanda told him.
"Stop doing what?" he asked her, not looking at her.
"You know what you're doing." She said as she picked up some screws and metal that were on the floor.
"What if I don't? Would you tell me then?" he playfully asked before sounding more serious. "Can we talk later? I want to have a serious conversation with you when we are not on a ship heading towards a sun." he told her. "It's about us." he said, looking deeply into her eyes.
Amanda nodded shyly and decided to stay quiet as she thought about what he might tell her.
"Now, where was I? Here comes the sun. No, resources. So, the power's still working, the generator's going. If we can harness that. Ah!" he said. Amanda walked over to join him as McDonnell and Scannell walk in.
"Use the generator to jump-start the ship." She tells them.
"Exactly. At the very least, it'll buy us some more time." He informed her.
"That is brilliant." McDonnell said as Amanda shot the Doctor a proud look.
"He is a genius." She complimented him. The Doctor sent her a happy smile, which fell a bit when she continued with "An idiotic genius."
"Can't you ever just compliment me?" He asked her, which she just answered with a shrug and a smile.
The Doctor then turned to McDonnell. "I know. See? Tiny glimmer of hope." He spoke.
"If it works." Scannell grumbled.
"Don't ruin the mood." Amanda warned him before returning to her wires.
"Oh, believe me. You're going to make it work." McDonnell said to him, putting him to work.
"That told him." Amanda said, shooting her a wink. They all begin to work as fast as possible, with the computer chiming in at almost every minute, which greatly annoyed Amanda.
"Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me." Abi said from the intercom.
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked her.
"Well, Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make-up." Abi informed them. "It's impossible." she told them.
Amanda waited for Abi to say more but her nerves shot up when Abi's frantic voice emitted from the speaker. "This is Med-centre. Urgent assistance requested. Urgent assistance!" she yelled, panic clear in her voice.
"Stay here! Keep working!" the Doctor shouted as he and Amanda ran to the med center. Amanda noticed that McDonnell and Scannell had followed them as well, ignoring the Doctor's orders.
"Captain?" Scannell called out.
"I told you to stay in Engineering." The Doctor said as Scannell scoffed at him.
"I only take orders from one person round here." Scannell sassed.
"Oh, is he always this cheery?" Amanda said loudly.
"Amanda, what were those screams?" Martha asked from the intercom.
"Don't worry about it darling, just concentrate on those doors. You've got to keep moving forward." Amanda responded.
"Impact in twenty-seven oh six." The computer said as they all made it to the med center.
"Korwin's gone." McDonnell said as Amanda stared at the charred body of Abi Lerner.
"Oh, my God." Scannell gasped once he saw what Amanda was staring at. "Tell me that's not Lerner."
"Endothermic vaporization. I've never seen one this ferocious." the Doctor said before reading the message on the wall. "Burn with me." The Doctor read out loud.
"That's what we heard Korwin say." Scannell said as he continued to stare at the remains of his friend.
"What? Do you think? No way. Scannell, tell him. Korwin is not a killer. He can't vaporize people. He's human!" McDonnell said in disbelief.
"Even humans can commit the most heinous of crimes." Amanda muttered as she moved to stand behind the Doctor. The Doctor made sure to cover her as she closed her eyes and took a second to breath, she should be used to all the death, but it still managed to upset and pain her each time.
"His bioscan results. Internal temperature, one hundred degrees! Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Your husband hasn't been infected; he's been overwhelmed." The Doctor informed McDonnell.
"The test results are wrong." She snapped at him.
"But what is it, though? A parasite? A mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body, but how did it get inside him?" the Doctor questioned her.
"Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment." McDonnell demanded with a heated glare.
"You guys must have been out here for a while. Where's the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?" Amanda pressed on.
"What is this, an interrogation?" McDonnell asked, overwhelmed with the constant questions from the duo.
"When someone is on here killing innocent people? Yes." Amanda answered.
"We've got to stop him before he kills again." The Doctor told her.
"We're just a cargo ship." McDonnell insisted, causing Amanda to sneer.
"Bullshit." Amanda said angrily. "You and I both know that was a big fat lie. You need to tell us the truth before someone else dies."
"Doctor, if you give her a minute." Scannell said, trying to give his Captain some time to calm down.
"I'm fine. I need to warn the crew. Everybody, listen to me. Something has infected Korwin. We think he killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?" McDonnell said.
"Impact in twenty-four fifty-one." The computer alerted them.
"Is the infection permanent? Can you cure him?" McDonnell asked.
"I don't know." He said as he and Amanda shared looks. They stared at each other before looking down, Amanda knew that there was no way that they could save them; the only way to help him was to end his suffering.
"Don't lie to me, Doctor. Eleven years we've been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest, so I don't want false hope." McDonnell said as tears began to form in her eyes.
Amanda looked at how sad the Doctor was, how much he did not want to tell her the news and decided to do it for him.
"The parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's gone. There's no way back. I truly am sorry but there's nothing that we can do." Amanda informed her as gently as possible, but McDonnell still seemed as though she could not process the information told to her. She still hoped there was something they could do to save her husband but there honestly was nothing they were able to do.
McDonnell nodded. "Thank you."
"Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me." The Doctor asked her.
"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing." McDonnell replied.
"Then why is this thing so interested in you?" the Doctor asked her.
"I wish I knew." McDonnell responded.
"Doctor, we're through to area seventeen." Martha informed them over the speakers.
"Keep going. You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines." The Doctor responded.
"Amanda! Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock." Martha yelled, causing Amanda to immediately look at the Doctor in worry. He had to hold on to her hand to prevent her from bolting off to find Martha. "One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us! Tell me you can stop it."
"Why is this happening?" McDonnell asked them.
"Stay here. I mean it this time! Jump start those engines!" the Doctor ordered, pulling Amanda with him, though it was more like Amanda pulling him. Amanda held her breath as she ran towards the escape pods, hoping to make it in time to save Martha.