The Gunslinger [Compassion]

[Deleted]

This week, in contrast to the others, had been abnormally busy for Dante and co. Monday had been taken up with a rather sticky raid on an important looking long haul passenger ship; Tuesday through to Wednesday had seen the ship out of service for repairs to damage sustained in said raid (paid for by the loot, of course), Thursday had been market day and Friday had seen a succession of four small raids, each rather tedious and needlessly stressful.

After all that, Dante felt she deserved a treat. Whilst for others, a treat might be a weekend away or a box of chocolates; a treat for Dante in her line of work would be an exotic looking ship or a rather big booty haul. Her crew seemed to echo that sentiment, as did Ood; though he would probably just agree with anything any of them said anyway, such was his nature.

On a table in the corner of the bridge, the crew were trying to teach Ood how to play rummy with a dog-eared deck of cards. Dante was looking rather smug, Lars was loosing rather badly, Irwin was exasperatingly explaining the different suits to Ood and Dax was currently in the fridge below deck searching out a few cans of liquor that they had managed to ‘borrow’ from the passenger ship. The record player in the corner was belting out some old tune that spoke of them all living on a ‘yellow submarine’. Quiet what a submarine was, the crew had no idea; but the tune added to the rather jovial atmosphere.

If there was a moment of peace in the making, something else obviously had to shatter it. Without warning, the entire bridge was bathed in flashing red light and the soul deep klaxon shouted out its tune. For a moment, nothing happened; then the whole bridge erupted into (organised) chaos. The crew moved to the deck at a run, cards and liquor abandoned, as the red light at the console formed into a holographic shape in the middle of the room.

“Unkown.”

The computer announced in a scarily generic female voice, no doubt Lars or Irwin’s choice. A ship without a name was common, not all smaller vessels were in their database or even had names in the system they were clandestinely keyed into.

“Set out from unknown destination with unknown cargo. Schematics unavailable. Port records note the planet Gallifrey. Other data is non-existent. Occupants unknown. Oxygen levels unavailable. Next port of call unknown. Tactics unavailable. Scan in progress.”

The faces of the crew members seemed to grow more confused as the computer continued. Never before had they encountered such an enigma. This was exactly what Dante had been waiting for. A challenge; perfect! Lars and the others had gone to fetch the kit; and the three re-appeared with an array of items, Lars handing over Dante’s assortment to her.

“Scan complete.”

The computer announced, displaying a 3D holographic image of their new target in the centre of the bridge. The measurements were completed, though appeared to fluctuate with each passing second. Dante’s expression changed from confusion, to admiration to anticipation and finally to excitement; though all the while maintaining a cool exterior. It wouldn’t do for the captain to loose her composure.

“What is it?” Irwin asked, studying the hologram intently with a air of awed wonder. “Perfect.” Lars replied confidently, tracing his fingers over the red light and breaking the pattern. Dax agreed with a grunt, loading more charge into his rifle. “But wasn’t Gallifrey destroyed?” Irwin countered, ever the voice of stupidity reason. “That’s why it’s perfect.” Lars countered, infecting Irwin with his grin as the younger got the drift. According to him; this enigma ship was either dead or dying and it was only their duty to strip it of anything of worth and try to make a tidy profit.

“Computer, find us a point of origin and set us up for boarding.”

Dante ordered with a grin at Lars, assembling her vast array of tactical equipment from guns to grenades. The rest of the crew were dishing out rifles and ear pieces. Irwin and Dax exchanged a few looks, rather used to the captain’s fixation on the enigmas but already they were beginning to feel the same excitement. This was uncharted territory, something new and different. It was rare they’d come across another opportunity like this again. All ready to go, Dante turned and headed for the teleports with the rest of the suited and booted crew following at a quick march, fiddling with her earpiece until it was at the same frequency.

“Right, we’re flyin’ blind here. We don’t know jack about this ship but don’t let that dishearten you. Lars, you’re with me. Irwin and Dax you’re team two. You focus on locating the loot and transporting it over whilst Lars and I’ll search out the captain or any occupants and deal with them. Stay in contact and if you need backup just holler.”

Dante finished turning to face the rest of them from inside the teleportation cell; her determined face masking pure excitement and her voice coolly confident. 

“Keep your wits about you and your eyes on the prize,” 

were her parting words, before she grinned mischievously and activated the system. The four of them were surrounded by a bright light as the teleported beamed them across. On the targeted ship, that same bright light blasted into life on the bridge before fading to leave four crew members with their rifles out in front of them in a battle ready stance

“Ladies and gentlemen; this is a takeover.”

Dante announced to the empty room, regarding it with an air of sharp disdain and with a look about her that spoke no nonsense. The pirate was home.

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She would never understand the desire of humanoids to claim ownership on what was not theirs. Compassion had seen it with the irritating male who had tried to ‘hitch’ a ride with her – he’d claimed a human girl as her prize, and so Compassion had pretended to steal it. She had seen it in the Doctor as he kidnapped another TARDIS – her mother, if one wanted to put things into perspective. He kidnapped humans (or, in her case, synthetic humans) and claimed them as his companions. He turned her into a TARDIS without asking for permission to suit his needs. Was it a common trait in sentient beings to be selfish? She had rescued a Gallifreyan from destruction to serve as her mechanic, but he had proven boring so she... evicted him.

It was during these thoughts that she was aware of being studied. Pale, swirling grey eyes moved across from where she was drifting to the ship that was doing much the same. A smile tugged at her lips as she crossed her legs, assuming the lotus position as she waited for the ship to continue its scans. She was curious about how this would play out – she had managed to be quite entertained by playing with Nico and his insecurities and fears. It had gotten boring after a while, but it was worth it to see the look on his face when he realized ‘his’ precious female human had never been in danger. She tilted her head, bright red hair falling over her shoulder.

Compassion grinned widely as she felt it begin to take measurements of her. She rather hoped that whomever this was wouldn’t be boring and predictable. Nico had wanted to use her for transporation. The Doctor had wanted to use her in lieu of the ‘actual’ TARDIS. Nivet had wanted to use her for the safety she provided. What would these want her for? She examined the ship – it was nothing entirely out of the normal, a little larger than most space vehicles she’d encountered, but there was nothing special about it. She had a suspicion that they were something akin to pirates due to the fact they were scanning her without making any attempts at communication. Compassion sighed and raised her eyes. Hopefully it wouldn’t be that. She was getting so tired of the tedium.

She felt the ship begin to search for an entrance and she rolled her eyes, her suspicions becoming evident. She cracked her neck and allowed her toe to open. What were the things that ‘pirates’ most craved? Riches? Gold? Power? Compassion had no valuable objects inside of her, although perhaps she was valuable to someone who knew of TARDISes. The Gallifreyans had seemed particularly enthused to own her when she was traveling with the Doctor, after all.

Excitement. That was the driving force behind most people who dabbled in the illegal fields of work, was it not? Compassion smirked, shutting her eyes and redecorating the inside of her. A bland white color with no walls or doors. Just a wide expanse of white nothing. Compassion examined each as they materialized inside of her as she herself entered their ship. She looked around the ship, and her lips twitched as she encountered the Ood. “Ugly little creatures, aren’t you?” she murmured, her outward appearance shifting match the Ood as she slid into a seat, examining the cards.

“Ladies and gentlemen; this is a takeover.”

Compassion rolled her eyes, letting out a scoff of derision as she plucked a card from an Ood and messed with another set of cards. Inside of the TARDIS, there was another Compassion with her arms crossed and staring with a quirked eyebrow at the crew. They certainly seemed armed to the teeth, but if the woman was fazed by it, she didn’t look it. The woman could certainly use a bit of originality in her word choice – what was next? Take me to your leader? We don’t come in peace?

“Oh no,” Compassion said finally, her tone bored and apathetic. She raised her hands to show they were empty and shook them a little. “Not a takeover. My, whatever shall I do?” she asked, her voice positively dripping with fear. “I suppose the only thing I can do is give up. You have fought a valiant fight, I must surely surrender.” She crossed her arms and stared at the crew expectantly. “Have you no mercy? No... compassion?”

A smirk found its way to the bland expression on her face as she looked away from them, losing interest. They were a ragtag bunch. The blank expanse rapidly grew smaller around them, thick walls lining them and creating a maze. Compassion walked closer and tilted her head, examining the four. Her eyes were the only indicator she wasn’t human as they reflected the Vortex. She glanced pointedly down to their shadows, which were struggling to pull away from their bodies.

“I don’t suppose you’ve ever heard of the Faction Paradox,” Compassion said idly, watching as the shadows joined hers in running off through the maze. “But perhaps you’d like to be Cousins.”