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Fill: Challenge #174 (DW)
Mar. 10th, 2023 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shivverThe crewmembers stared, glassy-eyed, as the Doctor blathered on, striding back and forth across the bridge to point at this display or inspect that device. With a sigh, Donna crossed her arms and leant back against the doorframe.
The Doctor stopped cold in mid-sentence. "We-e-ell," he drawled as he eyed her, then spun. "Another time, I think. Right now, to the engine room. Morax, Ileth, with me," he called as he beckoned them with a hand. "The rest of you, stay here. Don't move a toe, not even into the corridor. That means you, Donna." He dashed out, the two engineers sprinting after him.
Once ten seconds of silence convinced everyone he'd gone, Jarn breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't think he'd ever stop!"
"Yeah." Donna shrugged. "It took a bit, but he finally got the hint."
"What did you do?"
"This." Donna crossed her arms again, but this time, she pointedly wiggled her fingers against her upper arm. "It's a signal we worked out. It means, 'If you don't shut your gob right now, I'm going to slap you silly first chance I get.' Didn't work the first time I used it, but it took a week for the red to fade, so he's a bit more responsive now.
Jarn grinned. "Nice system. So, is it okay if we head back down to the canteen then?"
"No. The trick is to figure out which of his words are important. All those insults and that babble about electrofields and such? That's all nonsense. But he says, 'Stay here'? He's got something in mind." She plopped herself into the chair behind the navigation console. "So we stay here until we can't."
The Doctor stopped cold in mid-sentence. "We-e-ell," he drawled as he eyed her, then spun. "Another time, I think. Right now, to the engine room. Morax, Ileth, with me," he called as he beckoned them with a hand. "The rest of you, stay here. Don't move a toe, not even into the corridor. That means you, Donna." He dashed out, the two engineers sprinting after him.
Once ten seconds of silence convinced everyone he'd gone, Jarn breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn't think he'd ever stop!"
"Yeah." Donna shrugged. "It took a bit, but he finally got the hint."
"What did you do?"
"This." Donna crossed her arms again, but this time, she pointedly wiggled her fingers against her upper arm. "It's a signal we worked out. It means, 'If you don't shut your gob right now, I'm going to slap you silly first chance I get.' Didn't work the first time I used it, but it took a week for the red to fade, so he's a bit more responsive now.
Jarn grinned. "Nice system. So, is it okay if we head back down to the canteen then?"
"No. The trick is to figure out which of his words are important. All those insults and that babble about electrofields and such? That's all nonsense. But he says, 'Stay here'? He's got something in mind." She plopped herself into the chair behind the navigation console. "So we stay here until we can't."
