Chapter Text
Visiting Donna's home - or more precisely being in her room - had made Bialar realise that if she was going to accompany him, then she would need quarters. He thought about it as he flew the transport pod back to Talyn, after several attempts to engage her into conversation had failed.
He threw a sidewise glance at her: she had her feet on the edge of the seat, her chin on her knees as she stared out of the viewscreen. She had stopped crying, but grief was still very evident on her face. He sighed inwardly, knowing there was nothing that he could do for her this time.
He landed the transport pod and powered down the engine. Standing, he held a hand out to Donna. Nudged her arm. She jolted and blinked rapidly, as if coming awake, then looked up at him. He gave her an encouraging smile.
"Come on," he said softly. "I have something to show you."
Curiosity flickered over her face and she unwound herself. She stood up and let out a sigh. Bialar looked at her for a microt, then settled a hand on the small of her back, gently propelling her into motion. He snagged her bag on the way off the transport pod, activated the hatch and pushed her across the hanger and into the main passageway that ran through Talyn.
Donna tossed him a curious glance. "Where are we going?"
"Surprise," he replied and gave her a small smirk. "You'll see."
She arched an eyebrow and then shook her head. "Whatever."
He linked his arm with hers and escorted her to the end of the passageway, where his own quarters were also situated. The ones he'd chosen for Donna were opposite, a little smaller than his but slightly more palatial than the bunks where… Bialar stopped that thought dead, preferring to stay in the present.
"Seeing your bedroom reminded me that if you are to stay on Talyn, then you need a place to… well, stay. Sleep." He untangled his arm and waved a hand over the control. The door slid open and he ushered Donna inside. "The control can be calibrated to respond to you and you alone," he continued. "Meaning that only you can open it. Well, unless there is an emergency. But anyway, this room is yours."
Donna stepped away from him, her head turning slowly as she took the room in. "It's a bit… basic," she said, then looked at him with a guilty expression. "Sorry, I mean thank you. I'd not even thought about where I was going to stay. This is… this is okay."
"It's bare," he interpreted.
"Well…"
"No, I realise that it is. I did see your room, Donna. But you have a free hand here. I want you to feel… at home, I suppose. Welcome."
She stared at him for a moment, then her eyes went soft and a smile curved her lips.
"Thank you," she said, her voice husky with gratitude. "That means a lot."
Bialar smiled and swung her bag from off his shoulder. He dropped it on the bed. "I have some sheets and blankets in storage. Plain but serviceable."
"I'm sure they'll be fine," she said and came over. She fiddled with the zip pull on her bag for a microt, then looked up at him. "Are you sure… that you want me to come?"
"Yes," he said. He put a hand on her shoulder. "I also think you're doing the right thing."
Her eyes widened. "How did you know that was what I was going to say?"
"I saw the doubt in your eyes. I would imagine that you will have second thoughts fairly frequently."
"It's nothing personal."
"I realise that. But sometimes it is not easy to pursue something, even when you want it. There are always costs, Donna, and paying them is often painful." He thought of everything that he'd left behind him and sighed. "The result is supposedly worthwhile."
She stopped flicking the zip pull and moved towards him, her arms going round him in an embrace. It didn't surprise him, though he was still not quite comfortable with such familiarity; there had been no room for tactility in a regime that despised connections. Accepting Donna's hugs was, in a small way, a defiance against everything he'd been. Plus it was… pleasant to be so accepted by someone. He could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that had happened in his life to date, though he did recognise that perhaps he was partly to blame.
"I think it will be worthwhile," she murmured in his ear. "I think… I think we're going to be magnificent."
He blinked and then laughed. "Magnificent, is it?"
Donna pulled back, a wide smile on her face. "We have the whole universe, Bialar," she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "All those planets and suns and moons. All the different cultures to experience. Don't you think that's magnificent?" She slid her hands to his chest, her eyes never leaving his. "To breathe alien air, to see weird coloured skies and oceans, to feel the sands worlds between your toes… there's nothing else like it. It is magnificent and it's wonderful."
A thrill slid down Bialar's spine, much like the sensation he'd felt when he and Talyn had chosen to follow the song. Excitement. He felt the pull of her words just as Talyn felt the pull of gravity.
"And that is what you want," he said hoarsely.
"Who wouldn't?"
What she had described held a lure was too strong to resist. "You have a point." His eyes went to her bag. She could unpack later; there was something he wanted her to see, to experience, first. "Come with me," he told her.
Earth was visible through the wide window in Command. Donna quickly looked away, studying the consoles so that she didn't have to look at the planet she'd once called home. Not any more. She swallowed and blinked back tears.
"Talyn, move us out of orbit," Bialar ordered. "Set speed at hetch three."
The deck beneath her feet tilted and the stars shifted. She caught sight of the moon from the corner of her eye and looked up, watched it as Talyn sailed past. One small step… She smiled slightly.
"Here," he said then and took her arm. She gave him a curious glance as he positioned her forward of the centre mark. "You want to experience new things? I can give you something new."
Her pulse jumped. "What?"
"You'll see." He stood right behind her and put one arm around her, over her stomach. She tensed, wondering what the hell he was doing. "Brace yourself," he murmured, his breath tickling her ear.
Donna gulped, more nervous at his behaviour than whatever he was going to… show her. "Um," she said. "What exactly for?"
"You remember that blue room, the Starburst Chamber?" he asked. She did, so she nodded. "Well that is how Talyn covers large distances in a short space of time. We just need to be far enough away from Earth that the charge doesn't attract attention. Not that anyone could do anything by that time, but I'd prefer it if our presence went by unnoticed."
"There was a pub-full of people that undoubtedly noticed you, Bialar," she returned snidely. "You made a memorable entrance."
"Thank you."
"I didn't mean it as a compliment."
"No? Oh well."
"So how long will it take?"
"Not much longer. Be patient."
She rolled her eyes but held her tongue. It wasn't really lacking patience so much as being very aware of him. Her back was warm from where his chest pressed against her, and she could smell leather and spice and something she couldn't place because it was nothing she'd encountered before. Alien. She shuddered.
"It won't hurt," Bialar assured, clearly mistaking her nervousness.
"I'm not scared," she said, lying through her teeth. His chuckle reverberated through her body and raised goosebumps along her arms.
"Ready then?"
"Are we far enough out?"
"According to Talyn, yes."
"Right."
Bialar chuckled again. "Are you ready, Donna?"
She honestly had no idea, because she hadn't a clue to what he was about to do. If it was anything like the stunts he pulled in that transporter thingy, then probably not.
"Well…"
"All those planets," he said. "All those stars and suns and moons." His voice was low, his tone rich and darkly seductive. "We have the universe, remember?"
Her mouth had gone dry. Bloody hell. "Yes."
"It's quicker this way."
"Okay."
"Are you sure?"
No. "I said okay, Spaceman. Come on, I know you're dying to show off, so get on with it already."
"Now there's the Donna I know," Bialar laughed. "Talyn… Starburst."
It began as a low hum.
Static prickled up her arms as the noise grew steadily louder. Vibrations shuddered the floor beneath her feet, rather like the aftershocks of an earthquake. The hairs at the back of her neck stood up as the charge built. Outside the window, Talyn's hull was covered in lines of glowing red light.
"What the-"
A blinding flash brought tears to her eyes. Talyn lurched and then shot forwards at such a speed that her breath whooshed out of her lungs. She grabbed at the arm anchoring her in place as the view from the window blurred.
How long it lasted, she'd no idea. It seemed to go on and on, but when Talyn slowed and the blur cleared to stars, she thought it was over rather soon. She tried to catch her breath, to calm her thundering pulse. Sweat slid down her back. It had been like nothing she'd ever experienced; not even the TARDIS being caught in a paradox, that violent flight to Messaline, compared to Starburst.
She extracted herself from Bialar's arm. Regretted that momentarily when her shaking legs almost folded up on her. She caught herself on one of the consoles and then turned to stare at him.
"What the hell was that?"
He laughed. "Starburst."
"Well, duh! I know what it's called. But what is it?"
"It is a superluminal form of space travel that a Leviathan uses to cover vast distances," he said. "Talyn can create a rift in the space-time continuum and then ride the seams between dimensions." He tilted his head. "But more importantly, did you enjoy it?"
"No!" It burst from her before she really thought about it. He blinked, looking slightly disappointed and a little hurt. She sighed. "Well… I don't know. It rather took me by surprise. I guess. At least I didn't end up on my bum." She looked at the window, at the stars outside. "Where are we?"
"One moment." Bialar went over to the navigational console and looked at it. "Several hundred thousand metras from Earth," he said. She just stared at him, so he expanded. "Far beyond your galaxy."
She continued to stare at him for a moment, then turned and went to the window. One thing the TARDIS had lacked was windows, though she had opened the doors on occasion. But not actually when they'd been travelling through space. It was awesome. And just a little bit scary.
"Oh." It came out as a squeak.
"Are you alright?"
Nothing beyond the window was familiar. "I don't know."
Footsteps sounded as he crossed the floor. She turned her head and looked at him as he stopped beside her. He gave her a smile and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed slightly.
"Three cycles ago I left the Peacekeepers behind. I did it because I wanted to survive, but I'd no real idea what I was getting into. Being on Moya was… nerve-wracking, not simply because I was amongst those who had a genuine reason to dislike me, but also because I had no control over my fate." He smiled wryly. "I don't like not having control."
Donna let out a snort. "You? Really? I never would have guessed."
"What I mean to say," he said, "is that I understand if you are feeling that events have rather escaped your control."
"I chose to come," she replied and shrugged, the nonchalance forced.
"You did, but that doesn't mean that you can't feel… overwhelmed."
"I'm fine." She looked out at the stars. "Do you know where we are?"
"Not really. I know where Earth is and approximately where Peacekeeper-held space is in relation to our current position, but I don't know anything about this region." He grinned. "New planets."
"God, well I asked for an adventure, didn't I? We could get into a fair amount of trouble."
"Yes, I know."
"I mean real, proper trouble, with shooting and everything."
"Yes, I know."
Donna looked at him. He seemed utterly unconcerned, even cheerful about the fact.
"I'm not going to let you shoot people," she told him and folded her arms. "I won't let you be that person anymore, Bialar."
"I know that too," he replied, his voice soft. "I was rather counting on that."
That rather took her aback. She blinked and tilted her head at him. "Oh?"
"I learnt that going through the universe in such a manner only won me one reputation; a killer to be avoided. I wanted to leave violence behind me and I tried, though it was not always possible." He lifted his chin and a determined look settled on his face. "I will not venture onto a new world unarmed, but I will not use my weapon unless it is absolutely necessary. Do you agree?"
"Well, I'd prefer it if you didn't, but I suppose I can live with it. It's sometimes hard to put down a weapon, especially when faced with the unknown."
"You have experienced this?"
"I wasn't armed, but yes. I have seen a war fought for no other reason than those fighting it didn't know how to stop." She looked at him. "It wasn't pleasant."
"No, I would imagine not," he said. "Nonetheless, I'm not going… experience new cultures unprepared."
"By which you mean armed."
"Yes."
She looked at him. Though she'd not known him long, she knew there was no arguing with that expression. At that moment she realised how different he was. Not to her, because that went without saying, but to... He was alien. Just not the alien she had gotten used to. It was time she stopped comparing them.
"Okay."
Bialar arched an eyebrow, clearly having not expected that response. Then he smiled and pressed a button. In the air between them appeared a hologram of stars.
"Pick one," he said.
Entranced, Donna walked towards the hologram, into it, and turned slowly. The stars surrounded her; a million semi-transparent, glowing points of light. She debated, then closed her eyes and straightened one arm, waved it in a loose circle and stopped.
"There," she said, and opened her eyes. "Wherever that is."
"Talyn, set co-ordinates," Bialar said. He grinned when she looked at him. "I believe we have a lot of running to do."