( video o9 )

[verylast]

[ The TARDIS is awash with light when the feed starts, device suspended on one of the many bits and bobs around the console. Somewhere off screen, the Doctor is muttering to himself repeatedly above the din of metal being pounded and things thrown about. Then there's a surprising silence for a moment only interrupted when sparks shoot out in front of the view and the lights dim, the hum in the background dipping a little in volume. ]

Sorry, dear. [ The Doctor's yell can be heard even as his feet hit the stairs from below the console, jogging up to the main part. He's got tinsel draped around his neck, jacket missing, his bowtie slightly singed at the edges.

He moves closer to the console, patting the side as he passes. He hasn't quite realised the video is recording, but he looks relaxed, happy even. ] Didn't mean to startle you. I suppose we'll just have to give up and buy new Christmas lights. They just won't work. I could get you blue ones, you'd like that, wouldn't you?

Comments

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[universaltranslator]

Who are you talking to?

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[verylast]

Ah, my ship. [ Rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. ] I like a good chatter with her now and again.

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[universaltranslator]

That's sweet. You remind me of a friend of mine. Scotty likes to sweet talk the Enterprise.

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[verylast]

I've heard tales of that ship. Is she as beautiful as they say?

[ A pause, lights dimming. ] Sorry, dear.

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[universaltranslator]

She's the most beautiful ship in the universe. But I might be a little biased.

[Was his ship...reacting to his comment? That's unusual.]

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[verylast]

We do tend to be a little protective of our own ships, don't we?

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[universaltranslator]

Why wouldn't we be? Our ships are our homes. We work there; we live there. I sometimes feel like the Enterprise is as much a part of me as my own family.

[She misses her ship. She may not be as over-the-top attached to the Enterprise as Scotty, but its absence is still an aching hole in her heart.]

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[verylast]

I've been with the TARDIS for almost a thousand years. I couldn't bear the thought of not.

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[universaltranslator]

You're an alien?

[How stupid of her, to assume he was human. She's getting thoughtless.]

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[verylast]

Ah, yes. Sorry. I'm a Time Lord.

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[universaltranslator]

A Time Lord? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with your species. [Kind of embarrassing, considering he knows the Enterprise.]

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[verylast]

Oh, it's all right. I'm the only one left now so I'm used to people being surprised when they hear of us. Well. Of me.

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[universaltranslator]

I'm so sorry.

[She wants to ask what happened, but she doesn't. All she can picture is the sight of Vulcan exploding -- another species all but lost.]

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[verylast]

Oh, it's all right. Long time ago now. [ He sounds cheerful but worn down, like an old man revisiting the past. ]

Christmas is a time to remember the good things, not the bad.

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[universaltranslator]

[Uhura can get behind that.]

You celebrate Christmas?

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[verylast]

I do, I'm rather fond of the Earth holidays. I spend so much time there.

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[universaltranslator]

Really? [That surprises her a little. She loves Earth -- it's home, after all -- but in her mind it's hardly the most interesting place in the galaxy.]