Homework

[Ace McShane]

Was she nervous? Ace would have never admitted it to anyone, but she was. When she was told that Romana wanted to see her, Ace was sure she’d done something wrong, and all the work The Doctor and she had done to get her into the Time Lord Academy was about to be for nothing.

To the best of her knowledge Ace had been the only human allowed to attend the Academy so as nice as the other attendees have been she could tell they tolerated her more than anything and she figured it was because of her being so much younger than them.

But, she sucked it up and made it her mission to prove them wrong. Laying her back pack against a chair in the observation room, it wasn’t as big as the one she used to carry, but under the circumstances, she’d opted for a smaller one, didn’t mean she hadn’t talked someone into making it transdimensional though.

She leaned against one of the windows looking out over Gallifrey, she’d have to wait she guessed.

@canis

[Deleted]

There was a small part of Romana that still wasn't used to treading the halls of the Academy from a position of power; a part of her that would always be taken back to the late nights and long hours of study, and the hum of data pads, and the endless, flowing tick of time, that she recalled so clearly from her days as a student. It had been so long ago, but there were moments when in almost seemed as though it were just yesterday. 

Tucking her hands into the ends of her robe sleeves, and threading her fingers together, Romana moved through the halls at a sedate pace, nodding to the occasional person as she passed. There was no need to hurry; she still had plenty of time, before she was due to meet Ace in the observation room, like Ace had requested of her, although she did like to be timely, in official matters.

She wasn't sure of why Ace had requested this meeting, however she could guess. After all, she had heard the whispers in some dark corners, and seen the way that some of the others reacted to the presence of an alien, in the Academy. There was a feeling, ranging from polite indifference, to outright hostility from a few of the sectors. 

She was happy to try and come to a compromise with Ace, though, especially if that was what it took to keep the human secure in the confines of Gallifreyan law. It would hardly do to work actively against the Doctor's work, and although she would never admit it out loud, she did approve of Ace's headstrong attitude, and the was that she demanded respect from all those that she dealt with. 

Quietly, she let herself into the observation room, and cleared her throat, to announce herself. 

"Good afternoon, Ace. What might I help you with?"

[Ace McShane]

Turning around when she heard someone clear her throat Ace crossed her arms behind her back, Romana was probably the only person she would bow for, but she didn't so much as bow this time as she didn't feel it was necessary

Instead she bowed her head "Lady President." Ace learned quick, how to address Romana after a little stint where she had fallen for The Doctors joke and mistakenly called Romana Fred, and paid her dues for it.

Bowing her head a little in respect she started to ask as to why it was Romana had asked to see her but stopped when Romana asked what she might help her with, “…I’m sorry?”

[Deleted]

Romana's welcoming almost-smile died on her face, only to be replaced by a flicker of confusion in her eyes. 

"What exactly are you apologizing for, Ace? I would not have made the time to see you, if I had no desire to be here, or if I had other pressing matters. And it's important, that you're comfortable here, so that you have the best chance possible to succeed."

She shifted, standing a little straighter, and a little prouder. 

"You may be the first alien here, but if everything goes to plan, you will also be the first of many. Your teachers also report that you are an exceptionally intelligent student, with some excellent questions to ask, so I'd assume it's not that you're having trouble grasping the work. Is the problem another student?" 

A few moments later, there was a beeping sound, as the door to the observation room slid shut, and a faint hissing sound, and a shimmering near the vents, as a gas started to seep into the room told them both that something was wrong. 

Very, very wrong.

[Ace McShane]

Ace shook her head when Romana started talking “No, Lady President that’s not…” Ace had started to say that’s not what she meant but she stopped short when the door slid shut. Oh, they were in trouble “I have a feeling neither one of us asked for this meeting.” she started coughing a little when the gas started to seep in.

Moving quickly Ace went over to her bag and started searching through it. She always tried to come prepared, and she knew one day she’d need it but, the problem was she only had the one. Finally laying her hands on it, Ace pulled out a small gas mask and tossed it to Romana. “You’re more important to this place than I am.”

[Deleted]

"I think you're right, that neither of us asked for this meeting."

Romana stared at the gas, taking in the consistency of it, and the faint sweet scent that seemed to seep into her nose, even without her breathing, mind already weighting everything up.

"Murana, if I'm not mistaken. Highly unstable, and flammable. Also, designed to cause loss of consciousness."

Romana caught the gas mask with one hand, and glanced at it, seeing how it worked, then held it back out. "Thank-you for the thought, Ace, but I think you need this more than I do. I need you to stay breathing long enough to help get us out of here, and I have my respiratory bypass. I can hold my breath for far longer than you."

Spinning for the door, she popped off the access hatch, and entered the door release code, but of course, it didn't work.

"Any thoughts?"

[Ace McShane]

Oh yeah, Ace had completely forgotten about the whole respiratory bypass that Timelords had, she had just instinctively gone into survival mode. Taking the mask from Romana, she put it on and watched as Romana went over and popped off the access hatch.

"Any thoughts?" She looked again at her bag then the door, weighing their options in her head for a second "How you feeling about blowing a door up?"

[Deleted]

Taking the smallest of breaths, Romana weighed the oxygen content of the air as best as she could without any instruments, before turning back to Ace. 

"That depends entirely on whether you think you'll be able to blow up the door, without also blowing up this room, as well. One wrong move, and we could well end up either charred, or in the outer stratosphere of Gallifrey herself."

Her head was aching from the slight breath that she'd taken, and her thoughts felt as though they were being transmitted to her, down a poor reception wire. 

"Do you think that..." her instinct was to inhale deeply, to try and clear her head, but she ignored it, "...that you could break the force field on the other side of the window? Then if we break the window, that would let the gas out, and you'll be free to blow up the door. I won't even add the cost of replacement, to your account."

Then her expression became completely serious. 

"After that, I believe you and I have some investigating to do."

[Ace McShane]

Ace watched as Romana controlled her breathing and was mentally kicking herself for not carrying a second gas mask.

"That depends entirely on whether you think you'll be able to blow up the door, without also blowing up this room, as well. One wrong move, and we could well end up either charred, or in the outer stratosphere of Gallifrey herself."

Without missing a beat and trying to keep the conversation light Ace started digging through her bag “I’ll have you know Madam President I've never once managed to." Ace held her hand up and did air quotations "Blow someone up." end air quote, ok so that wasn't entirely true, just no one that Ace could remember at that particular moment.

Pulling out a small can on Nitro 9 she shook it gently, listening to the contents of the inside And judging the potency of it, almost a dud. She heard Romana talking and returned her attention to the Madam President "...that you could break the force field on the other side of the window?" getting to her feet Ace moved over to the window and stuck the can to the window, "Yes, I think I can;" Then if we break the window, that would let the gas out, and you'll be free to blow up the door. I won't even add the cost of replacement, to your account."

Making a psh noise Ace made sure the can was secure "You might, want to take cover just to be safe."