In the same corridor, the Doctor used a speaking tube while Echo watched over everyone else. "Deck twenty-two to the bridge. Deck twenty-two to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"
"This is the bridge." a man answered only moments later.
He turned to look at Echo, silently telling he was connected as he continued. "Hello, sailor. Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?" he quickly asked.
The distress in his voice was obvious, but impressively stayed composed. "We've got air. The oxygen is holding, but the Captain, he's dead. He did it. I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try." he answered his fear beginning to intensify.
Recognizing the mentality, the Doctor immediately stepped in. "All right. Just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's your name?"
"Uh, Midshipman Frame." he answered shakily.
"Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?"
"They're, er, hold on." After a few seconds maximum, a grunt of pain was heard.
The Time Lord furrowed his brow in concern. "Have you been injured?"
Remaining strong, Frame did his best to keep himself from hyperventilating. "I'm all right for now." he tried to reassure. Though, after looking at the stats, horrified dread came crashing down. "Oh, my Vot. They're cycling down."
"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" he asked in return as Echo returned to stand at his side while listening in. "The moment they're gone we lose orbit."
"The planet..." Frame muttered with obvious horror in his voice.
He nodded to himself. "Oh, yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth." he explained so they could all be on the same page.
Echo then leaned in to speak of their best course of action. "You're going to need to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core." she quickly said, her thoughts running at top speed.
"This is never going to work." he answered doubtfully, especially when faced with such a difficult and Herculean task for survival.
"Don't worry yet. That should help to keep the engines going until we can get to you." she replied in an attempted reassuring manner.
Only moments later did the other passengers begin to speak their addled minds
"We're going to die."
"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?"
"We are. We're going to die."
"We're just a cruise ship."
Echo looked at her beloved, "Do something. I'm tapped out."
Doing as told, the Doctor stepped up to stop their panicking. "Okay, okay. Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush." he silenced them. "First things first. One. We are going to climb through this ship. B. No. Two. We're going to reach the bridge. Three. Or C. We're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in at a very low four, or D, or that little iv in brackets they use in footnotes, why. Right then, follow us." then turned to walk away.
But Slade, of course, just had to question their undeniable authority. "Hang on a minute. Who put you two in charge? Who the hell are you, anyway?" he demanded in a rich child's manner.
Without hesitation, they both faced them with the Oncoming Storm brewing in his eyes. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old and I'll be one of the people to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below." he stated matter-of-factually as he spoke nothing but the truth.
Stumbling over his words through the sudden intimidation he felt, Slade tried to put Echo down if he could. "Well... What about her, though? She can't do anything." still seeing women as less than.
Unable to hold herself back, Echo spoke before the Doctor could even open his mouth again. "My name is Echo Halifax. The Echoest Echo of them all. I founded the Resistance against the Galactic Federation. I've created and destroyed entire solar systems with one decision. I know how to turn a black hole back into a supernova. I've taken out the Citadel of Echos in a single day. I can travel through any dimension with ease. My age is a mystery even to myself, having stopped counting around the millenium mark. Now, I suggest you shut your gob and start listening while doing as we say so we can save your little lives." Without letting anyone refute her in any way, she then took her lover's hand and headed off in the correct direction.
When they came to the stairwell needed, the Doctor pushed open a bulkhead door with just a little debris against it. "Rather ironic, but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric." Mister Copper mused aloud.
"Actually, that's not true." the Doctor informed as they led the way. "Christmas is a time of, of peace and thanksgiving and what am I on about? My Christmases are always like this." he admitted easily. They then came upon a Host trapped under some metal plates. "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble." he elaborated hopefully.
Morvin immediately stepped forward with his lady at his side. "We can do robotics. Both of us." wanting to be as useful as they could be.
"We work on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff." Foon agreed.
With a nod of agreement, the Doctor accepted their help. "See if you can get it working. Let's have a look." and proceeded to lead the rest of them further up.
"It's blocked." Astrid observed as they came to a debris barrier.
"What do you suggest we do?" Echo wondered, wanting to know her thought processes in a subtle way.
She shrugged, undeterred. "We shift it." came her simply reply.
The Doctor smiled with a nod of approval. "That's the attitude. Rickston, Mister Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta. Look, can I just call you Banna? It's going to save a lot of time."
Having none of it, the small red alien shook his head in denial. "No. Bannakaffalatta." he insisted.
He then agreed without a fight. "All right then, Bannakaffalatta. There's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."
"Easy. Good." came his reply before making his way through.
To make their daunting mission even more worrisome the entire ship shook and caused more debris to shift. "This whole thing could come crashing down any minute." Slade grumbled with great unease.
Remaining composed, the Doctor turned to face the arrogant man. "Oh, Rickston, I forgot. Did you get that message?"
He gave a thoroughly confused look. "No. What message?"
"Shut up!"
Moments later, they received good news. "Bannakaffalatta made it." he informed on the other side of the blockade.
Astrid then stepped forward with realistic hope and confidence. "I'm small enough, I can get through!"
With an accepting nod, Echo moved to allow her access. "Be very careful and don't panic." she advised, believing her to be capable. She nodded and began her nerve-wracking task.
"Thing is, how are Mister and Mrs Fatso going to get through that gap?" Slade questioned with an infuriating tone of entitlement.
Echo glared at him with all the hate she felt for him. Though, before she could do or say anything, the Doctor answered with his own annoyance on display. "We make the gap bigger. So start."
As they waited for Astrid to confirm her safe success, they unexpectedly heard distant laughter from Morvin and Foon. "What happened? Did they find a doughnut?"
Thinking quickly, the Doctor held Echo back just before she could do anything of significant damage or land the punch she tried to throw. Though, when he flinched anyway, she felt sadistic joy in his sudden timidness. "You will shut your incredibly unimpressive hole before I sew it shut." she practically growled in promise.
"I can clear it from this side." they then heard from Astrid. "Just tell me if it starts moving."
They waited for only a few minutes before they heard Morvin give a positive update. "Almost done!"
"Good, good, good." the Doctor praised before connecting to the bridge. "Mister Frame, how's things?"
"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one." came the man's terrified reply, concerning those who had heard.
He looked at the worried Echo. "What is it? Are they losing air?"
"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host."
"It's working!" Morvin then exclaimed.
Dread swept through them in the same instant as they hurried back down to the technologically intelligent couple. "Turn it off, now!" Echo yelled as they swiftly moved.
"I can't!" Foon yelled back with obvious fear.
"Information. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill." the Host chanted robotically.
When they got there, the Doctor tried to use his sonic screwdriver and found it to be double deadlocked. The moment the Host had Morvin by the throat, Echo took action. She skillfully removed its hold and slammed it to the ground. "Go! Upstairs! Now!" she ordered as she and her love took the rear.
"Rickston, get them through!" he then yelled.
But the pathetic man had already made up his tiny mind. "No chance." and quickly scurried through the opening without hesitation.
"I'll never get through there." Foon said with terror shining in her kind eyes.
"Too bad, now get going." Echo answered as she helped her to squeeze through.
As Mister Copper helped to get them through, the Doctor connected with the bridge again. "It's the Host, they've gone berserk. Are you safe up there?"
Foon grunted as panic welled up within her more intensely. "I'm stuck!" making both Astrid and Mister Copper help her from their side as Rickston watched with no intention on helping them.
After she had gotten through, Morvin was next. When he, too, got stuck, Echo shoved him through before being forced to go next. The Host approached with murderous objectives. "Information override! You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!" the Time Lord ordered quickly.
"I can't hold it!" Mister Copper exclaimed as he and Echo held the debris from collapsing.
"Information. Deck thirty one."
Moments after he had slipped through the opening, the debris was released and crushed the advancing Host at the same time. "Bravo, Mister Copper. You are a tremendous help." the beautiful brunette praised with a smile before they continued on their way.