With a Little Help From my Friends (SJ/River/11)

[River Song]

51st Century - Luna University

The woman who called herself River Song sat at a desk and looked over the file that she had begun amassing on The Doctor. She hadn’t found out much yet, but bits and pieces consistently continued to trickle her way, and one day... One day, River Song would have enough data to find him again, whenever and wherever he happens to be.

As River sat in her dorm room at Luna University studying her data on The Doctor, a menacing red light began to blink on and off on her recently acquired Vortex Manipulator. She was still learning how to properly use the blasted thing, and that blinky red light was new to her - River wasn’t sure what it was supposed to signify, but she went with her gut and pressed a button beside the blinking light.

A blueish-green holographic projection of The Doctor appeared in front of her, and River nearly burst into manic applause.

“There you are, Sweetie... I’ve found you,” River crooned saucily in a sing-song voice, as if the man himself could actually hear her, and her lips curled up into a very satisfied grin.

However, she couldn’t hear a darn thing The Doctor was saying, though he was gesturing wildly with his hands and flapping his lips frantically - something appeared to be wrong. River fiddled with some more buttons on the Vortex Manipulator, and she was soon rewarded with the sound portion of the message.

The Doctor hurriedly explained that he was in danger and was in desperate need of assistance. He explained that he sent this SOS out across multiple frequencies in hopes that it would reach someone who could handle the kinds of messes he tended to wind up entangled in. A date and coordinates were provided, and then the hologram fizzled into nothingness.

Without taking the time to properly plan for all possible contingencies, or to consider any possible repercussions, River Song grabbed her TARDIS diary, strapped the Vortex Manipulator on her wrist, set the coordinates and then slapped the ‘go’ button like a kid in a candy store, vanishing in a crackling of whiteish-blue energy.


1989 - Earth

River reappeared in the late 20th Century - 1989, to be specific - but The Doctor was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh, my Love... Where are you?” River murmured to the wind.

[Sarah Jane]

London 1989, 3:23 AM

K-9 woke her. He wasn't much more than a talking computer these days, but endlessly a help to her.

"Mistress. Mistress."

"Yes K-9?" She asked, sitting up in the dark and rubbing at her eyes. What had she been dreaming?

"Mistress, I am receiving a communication from the Doctor."

"What?" She mumbled. Maybe she was still dreaming.

"Relaying, Mistress. Incoming." Her Tin Dog announced with a cheerfulness that should not be allowed so soon after the human woke. A wee hologram of a man she did not know flailed about on K-9's nose. She didn't know he could do that.

It was two sleepless nights later that she wound up outside the gates at the National Physics Lab in Teddington, just on the outskirts of London. She was wearing her favorite camo and sitting in the tall dry grass with nothing but moonlight to see by as she timed the guards again.

www.npl.co.uk/

[River Song]

Upon closer inspection, River found that she had arrived at the National Physics Lab, just outside of London. Utilizing her Vortex Manipulator, River scanned the area for life signs, detecting the on-duty guards - and also one lone individual some distance off in the darkness. All life signs detected were Human... No Time Lord yet.

So... Why here? What was so special about this lab?

River again turned to her Vortex Manipulator, this time using it like one would to access the Internet on their mobile device. She Googled the lab to try to discern just what it was that this physics lab specialized in...

... and she found that the NPL was researching the creation of quantum fluctuation. In simpler terms, they were studying minute violations of the Law of Conservation of Energy. This law states that energy can neither be created, nor destroyed... Some theorized that the Universe had been created by quantum fluctuation, and others believed that if they could harness and control quantum fluctuation that they could travel through time (although, even Stephen Hawking admitted that it would only be at a microscopic level).

What seemed more likely to the woman with so much foreknowledge was that this lab may accidentally create Huon particles, or a black hole, or some such disaster - but, was that why The Doctor said he needed help? To shut down this lab? Or... Was he a prisoner somewhere within the lab's well guarded walls?

River closed the flap on her Vortex Manipulator, and drew her blaster. She began to do a perimeter sweep outside the gates of the NPL, deciding to scope out what she could before charging on in head-first.

Soon, River caught sight of the other 'blip' that her Vortex Manipulator had shown her earlier - the other Human outside the lab. She was dressed in camo and mostly hidden in the tall grasses that surrounded the lab.

River wasn't about to take any chances, so she held her blaster out at the unknown woman and cleared her throat, softly but loudly enough for the nearby Sarah Jane to hear.

"Who are you? What are you doing out here?" River asked in a hushed voice. She would holster the blaster if the woman proved to not be a threat.

[Sarah Jane]

The woman had a spray of clock spring bright hair that caught every drop of starlight. She was an imposing figure, standing there clearly armed and dangerous. She also startled Sarah Jane half out of her wits.

The newcomer certainly didn't sound like she worked at the lab. She would expect any of them to snatch her up and drag her up to management, not ask her for her name here in the dark.

"I'm Sarah Jane Smith, and I'm a reporter. I have every right to be here." She explained boldly in a harsh whisper. Then she looked at her watch again. It is not a Time Vortex Manipulator. It isn't even an Alien Detector. It is simply a watch, but her best and only defense this moment.

"If you're going to shoot me, you better get to it. The guards walk through her again in less than 30 seconds."

She hoped it was dark enough that the woman couldn't see her shaking. She hated weapons even more than she hated getting caught.

[River Song]

"I'm Sarah Jane Smith, and I'm a reporter. I have every right to be here."

That name... It sounded familiar... But, River couldn’t quite place it.

“And, so do I – I’m an archaeologist,” River said very matter-of-factly, not that it was relevant, but because it sounded important.

River watched Sarah Jane examine her wristwatch, and River observed that it was just that – a wristwatch. Whoever she was, she didn’t seem to be an enemy, and her Vortex Manipulator revealed Ms Smith to be a regular Human.

"If you're going to shoot me, you better get to it. The guards walk through her again in less than 30 seconds."

River let out a mad little chuckle and said, “I have no plans of shooting you – I just like to be prepared… You know, like the Girl Scouts.” River then chose to return her blaster back to its holster at her hip.

“If you’re trying to get inside, Ms Smith, I suggest we pool our resources and work together,” River hurriedly proposed, keeping her voice low. “And, we’d best move – quickly… Stay low to the ground and stick to the shadows…” River whispered, nimbly hiding herself from view of the oncoming guards, who would be there in about ten more seconds…

~
After the guards had passed them by and the women were alone again, River turned to face Sarah Jane Smith and curiously asked, “So, wot brings you here tonight, Ms Smith?” After a brief pause, River added with a grin, “Oh! Don’t worry – I’m not here to steal your ‘scoop’,” she said with a chuckle to her words. “I’m here to help a dear, dear friend…” she vaguely explained, a bit worried about The Doctor and what he may have gotten himself into this time… “And, I need to get in there to do so.”

“So! What do you say? I daresay we’d make a brilliant duo…”

[Sarah Jane]

Her flare of anger muted a bit as the woman put her large gun away. As she did, Sarah Jane saw it more clearly. It looked like space stuff, shocking her, but she tried not to show it. She was never very good at that, but the dark helped.

Space stuff.
The Doctor's message hadn't been just for her, she realized that instant. He had not once said her name. Girl Scout indeed. Who was this cheeky woman? Stunned by all that, Sarah Jane almost forgot about the guards but the other woman got her moving again. The other seemed to simply melt away. Sarah hid low behind a hummock of grass that looked too small to hide an adult and wouldn't provoke a close look.

She was still holding her breath, still waiting for the guards to get far enough away to move when the woman seemed to come out of nowhere beside her. She was an ageless, bold, handsomely pretty woman about her own age with stars in her eyes. She commenced to drop both hint and challenge, a grin like Puck's on her face and mischief in her eyes. The space woman was dropping big fat whoomping hints that left Sarah Jane feeling rather patronized.

"Don't play 'tease the human' with me, whomever you are." she said with quite a bit of starch. "Tell me your name and who you have come for. You clearly have the upper hand so stop toying with me."

The woman moved like a cat, or perhaps a soldier. Sarah Jane hoped they weren't going to have to wrestle.

[River Song]

River winced and held out her hands defensively. "Sorry - I meant no offense," she gently stated before pausing to consider just how much she should tell this woman, and then she figured she may as well go for broke. She did, after all, have the upper hand, as Sarah Jane had just pointed out.

With a sigh, River spoke again, saying, "Like I said, I'm here to help a friend - he sent out a distress signal that included this date, and these coordinates. He said that he's in danger and is in desperate need of help, but... I don't see him out here," River explained, glancing about in the darkness for any sign of The Doctor or his TARDIS; she found nothing.

"You haven't seen anyone else poking about here, have you? Maybe a sort of tall, trim fellow with a mess of brown hair that tends to fall just right...? He favors tweed jackets and bow ties... goes by the name of 'The Doctor'... drives a blue police box - the TARDIS - through Space and Time... You haven't seen him, have you?" River asked, doing her best to hide the fact that she was starting to actually worry...

Usually when she met up with him like this, The Doctor was actually there... right where he said he'd be. But this time, he was nowhere to be seen - unless he was inside of the lab...?

"I've got to get inside..." River muttered. She started to fiddle with her Vortex Manipulator and used it to gain access to a map of the lab. She'd need to know where to teleport to, if Sarah Jane was up for such a thing. Some people claimed that teleporting made them feel sick, so... if it wasn't an emergency, River wasn't going to force it on anyone.

"Do you fancy the easy way, or the hard way...?" River asked with a grin.

Teleporting via her Vortex Manipulator (ie: the easy way) would get them inside in an instant - they just had to be sure to arrive somewhere where they wouldn't be spotted. Breaking into the building without the aid of teleportation was what River considered to be the hard way - though, she wouldn't be opposed to some good, old fashioned breaking and entering...

[Sarah Jane]

Unexpectedly sweetly, the woman recanted her attitude. Perhaps this one was more than the arrogant soldier she appeared.

With each word the woman spoke, Sarah Jane became more and more convinced that this newcomer had received the same message she had herself, and was here on the same errand. Surely, Sarah Jane intended to whisper, but her words came out almost inaudible in her shock.

"I haven't seen the Doctor in years." She swallowed, braced herself, and gave report. This woman was an Allie, she could feel it. "Two nights ago there was a message from someone who I believe to be him, though I'd never seen him look like that before, not that it matters. I don't think he's out here. I think he's in the laboratory somewhere." Then eyes flashed down at the blaster at the woman's side, and back up to that steady gaze, challengingly. "What does the Doctor think of that blaster you're sporting, Rangy Lil?"

[River Song]

With Sarah Jane's statement that she hadn't seen the Doctor in years, River was finally able to piece things together - this woman must have been one of his companions! River grinned, though she wished she had her research nearby so she could better place which face of his - or faces - this woman had known... or might come to know - Ooh! Spoilers! River had pictures of all of them, after all... but they were all back in her office at Luna University.

River had a better time remembering the Doctor's companions after she'd actually met them - having only heard or read about them from another source didn't do well to secure the data in her brain. However, once she knew them, River would never forget them.

Sarah Jane went on to explain that she'd gotten the same message from the Doctor that River had - only, he had a face that she hadn't ever seen on him before... So, River could divine that Sarah Jane had been with the Doctor sometime before his eleventh regeneration.

As River continued to mentally place Sarah Jane in the Doctor's timeline (without the aid of her research, that is), Sarah Jane took her completely off-guard and asked her what the Doctor thought about her using that blaster gun of hers.

River smirked. "Well, I know he hates guns," she began, fondly reminiscing about the time that she remembered first meeting him, when she held him at gunpoint and had him take her back in time so that she could kill Hitler. She had a different face then, but still... He had been very upset with her, but that hadn't stopped him from proposing to her before she regenerated. Sure, she'd been shot in the gut by Hitler's bad aim, but still... It had so been worth it.

And, she still couldn't believe that Amy never told her that the Doctor was hot!

"He's not seen me with this blaster, yet... Though, he had seen me with a regular pistol once," River went on. "He managed to swap it out for a banana before I could use it," she said with another grin.

"He's just ever so clever... I wonder what kind of scrape he's gotten himself into this time...?" River mused, glancing at the dark lab up ahead.

"How do you feel about teleporting in?" River asked, nodding towards the lab. "Or, would you prefer some good old fashioned breaking and entering?" she added, cocking an eyebrow to see which one Sarah Jane would prefer.

One way or another, they were going to get inside!

[Sarah Jane]

When the woman relayed her tale, Sarah Jane was certain that she was, in fact, affiliated with the Doctor. The banana was so perfectly him. She relaxed just a little bit, but gave this woman a steady gaze.

"Good old fashioned break in. You know why? You haven't told me your name." Brisk as those worlds were, they were accompanied by a friendly sock to the elbow and a flash of a smile. "If we get into trouble, you can transport us out. Besides, that place is all science and measurement. So we take the low road, so to speak. Lock picks, eh? Come on."

She glanced at her watch, and saw she was within a few seconds of her target, so she tuned and started scrambling up the overgrown bank, keeping low.

[River Song]

When Sarah Jane said that she favored an old fashioned break in, River grinned - but then, Sarah Jane added that she hadn't learned River's name yet and gave the Child of the TARDIS a playful jab in her elbow and a smile of her own.

"Oh!" River said with a soft chuckle. "Sorry about that - I seem to have forgot my manners! I'm River Song," she revealed, not that the name would mean anything to Sarah Jane - and neither would her birth name, Melody Pond. "And, I'm very glad to meet you, Sarah Jane."

"If we get into trouble, you can transport us out. Besides, that place is all science and measurement. So we take the low road, so to speak. Lock picks, eh? Come on."

River nodded her agreement and followed after Sarah Jane. She wished that she had some sort of sonic device like the Doctor's, but... she'd have to make due with her Vortex Manipulator, her gun, hallucinogenic lipstick, a basic lock pick and her wits.

No sweat.

[Sarah Jane]

"It's nice to meet you, River." Sarah Jane's smile flashed in the dark,

Soon they were running up the hill. Sarah Jane is lithe and strong and becoming more stealthy with time. She did not go for the back door. This was the third night of surveillance, and she knew the routine. She was glancing at her watch.

"Wait for it." She whispered. In second the man with the supply pallet would come to the back door, needing to open it before he could drive through. He came with his tiny forklift, unlocked the door, punched the alarm code, and went to get back up into his small truck with it's cargo held high.

"Now" She said, darted inside, and ran like hell.

[River Song]

River ran after Sarah Jane towards the building, and she stopped beside the other woman for a moment while a delivery truck pulled up beside a bay door. River pulled her laser pistol from its holster and prepared to make a dash for it when Sarah Jane gave the signal.

The two women were fast and scrambled into the door before the driver could notice them.

Once inside, the building was semi-dark - only the emergency lighting was on, but it was enough.

"We should find the security desk and disable their systems..." River suggested. "You don't happen to know the layout of this building, do you, Sarah Jane?" She knew that the former companion of the Doctor's was absolutely brilliant, and it wouldn't surprise her if Sarah Jane had somehow managed to get herself a guided tour around the place, perhaps just yesterday...

[Sarah Jane]

River was never quite where she expected, which was apparently, usually, soundlessly at her elbow. Sarah Jane jumped as she spoke. She found herself glad to have the right answer, and flashed the woman a smile that was bright even in the dimness.

"I landed a tour yesterday." She whispered, obviously excited by the adventure, whether or not she would admit to it. She was also unutterably thankful to have company. Sarah Jane had become used to handling her own forays in to trouble, but they were all Sarah Jane sized problems. Sometimes when she was challenged, England trembled, but if the Doctor stumbled, the whole Universe shook. This River Song seemed a cool head, if a touch batty around the edges.

"You must be a friend of the Doctor's. We'd run in to more trouble than I can handle at the front desk." She reached out, almost automatically for River's hand, but it suddenly seemed like too girlish and too tender a thing to do. She simply taped the woman's wrist, then turned and strode quietly as she could the corridor to the left. Her voice dropped until she could barely be heard. "It would help a lot to have the security down."

She went well and quickly along to the next turn, then hugged the junction wall with her body, pointing up sideways through the door at a security cam panning above.

[River Song]

River followed behind Sarah Jane, who had indeed managed to score a tour of the building (which was absolutely brilliant). When Sarah Jane stopped at an intersection in the hallway and pointed up at a security camera that was panning back and forth, River really wished that she had a sonic anything just about now...

Sure, she could just disintegrate it with her laser pistol, but then that would cause one of the security monitors to go out, thus gaining Sarah Jane and herself some very much unwanted attention.

River watched the camera as it panned back and forth... and back and forth... It was on a consistent loop, capturing everything in its line of vision. But... If they were quick, they could slip past this camera, so long as it wasn't aimed directly at them.

They'd have to run.

"We can slip by it as it's panning away from us. On my mark, let's run past it and into the clear - and then on to the security station, yes?" River asked in a low, soft voice. Once they were in the security area, they could deactivate any remaining cameras - AND perhaps unlock the security doors...

River waited until she was certain that Sarah Jane was on-board before she timed it just right, and then she called out in a harsh whisper, "Now!" and sprinted down the hallway and out of range of the security camera.