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Helen feels well out of her depth with a lot of aspects of her new life, but never more than when she’s working with technology. She’d liked to think she was quite on top of things, back in 1963- technology was moving fast, but she’d been more than capable of working with the sorts of things she saw in everyday life. Then she ended up travelling through time and space, and frequently felt as if her home was no more advanced than the stone age.
Sure, the social aspect of everything tripped her up. There were plenty of times when she’d go to do something, expecting opposition, and then discover that apparently the women in this time and place were seen as just as competent as the men. Or the… everything… which followed, when she discovered that by Liv’s time it was not only legal for people to be attracted to others of the same gender, but that it was almost seen as normal. That… That had been a strange conversation. Good, in the end- wonderful, even. But she’d gone from not even knowing how to ask about these things to realising that her feelings for Liv were reciprocated, and sometimes she thinks her head is still spinning from the suddenness of it all.
Still. She’d managed to wrap her head around that side of things relatively quickly, all things considered. There’d still be the occasional surprise, of course, but she was getting better at spotting them, learning when to keep her mouth shut and let Liv or the Doctor lead the conversation until she could work out what was acceptable. The constant curveballs thrown by new technology, on the other hand…
It wouldn’t be quite as bad if Liv and the Doctor didn’t handle themselves so well. The Doctor’s a professional tinkerer, that much had become apparent within moments of meeting him, and she’d yet to see any kind of mechanical system or technological masterpiece, no matter how complex, that stumped him for more than a moment. Liv’s expertise was more confined than his, but they’d stopped by in multiple centuries, across multiple species, and she still hadn’t run into a spaceship she couldn’t pilot, or a robot she couldn’t pull apart.
Helen, meanwhile? Nine times out of ten, she was left fumbling for the “on” switch.
Even so-
‘You know, I could’ve sworn that the red wires were at the top, before.’
‘Huh?’ Liv glances up from where she’s elbow-deep in piping.
‘It’s probably nothing, but I almost thought that some of the wires had moved.’
‘They’re soldered in place,’ Liv points out. ‘That seems a little bit unlikely, Helen.’
‘I know, I know.’ She’s sure, though. Technology might be beyond her but pattern recognition certainly isn’t, and she knows that the wires have moved. It was red, then blue, then green, but now the green wires are at the top and the blue wires have decreased in number by half.
‘Can you pass me the wrench?’ Liv asks.
She blinks, forcing her gaze away from the wall long enough to find the tool in question. They’ve been in this room for going on a few hours now as Liv attempts to rewire what appears to be half the space station, trying to stop it from heating the labs, which also happen to be housing a giant mutant plant monster. The Doctor had mumbled something about fertiliser and run off with the surviving crew members, leaving them to deal with the heat source issue.
Liv’s well into her element, practically tearing the entire engineering department apart within moments of arriving and cheerfully setting about redirecting pipes. Helen, for her part, is mostly trying to stay out of the way. Spaceship design is not her forte and she’s a little worried she’d accidentally flush them all out into space, even if Liv’s insistent that such a thing is impossible from here.
Mostly, she just watches her girlfriend, standing beautiful in the glow of emergency lighting, clever eyes and clever hands darting all over the place as she does the seemingly impossible and saves the day yet again.
‘The, uh. Hmm. Fire extinguisher?’
‘Here.’
Liv takes it from her with a smile, then turns to the wall beside her and uses it as a makeshift hammer. Helen blinks.
‘Did the job, didn’t it?’ Liv says, with a slight shrug.
‘I could have passed you the actual hammer,’ Helen points out.
‘Eh. Less fun that way.’
Helen shakes her head, smiling, and lets her eyes drift around the room again. It’s absolute chaos, and-
‘Oh, seriously?’ The red wires are back on top again.
Frowning, she commits the pattern memory, then turns away, focusing her attention on Liv as she loosens a particularly stubborn bolt. After a moment she grins triumphantly, and there’s a quiet clink as it falls to the ground. Guessing that enough time has passed, she returns her attention to the wall.
Now the wires- which were running parallel to the floor a moment ago- are arranged in neat vertical lines.
‘All right, this is getting ridiculous. Liv, come look at this.’
‘What?’
‘You notice the pattern of the wires?’
‘… yeah?’
‘Okay, look away for a minute.’
Liv does, obediently returning her attention to Helen herself. ‘You think there’s something going on with the station, then?’
‘I know there’s something going on with the station,’ Helen admits. ‘Aside from the mutant plant monster, that is. I’m just not sure what it is.’
‘It does seem to be a bit of an odd build,’ Liv muses. ‘I’d almost say that half the station has been walled off, none of the corridors line up quite like I’d expect them to.’
‘Yes, I noticed that as well! I thought everything would be symmetrical, but did you notice the stretch of corridor by the crew quarters? If I didn’t know better, I’d say there was another room or two on the end of it, although there weren’t any doors.’
‘Huh, I didn’t spot that one.’ Liv pauses. ‘Can I look back yet?’
‘Probably.’
They turn to the wall, where the wires have now braided themselves together into a cheerful mess of knots.
‘Okay, that’s officially weird.’ Liv says.
‘It is,’ Helen agrees, faintly. ‘Is it… alive?’
‘I’d like the answer to be no, which means it’s probably yes.’ Liv admits. ‘Do you think… do you think I hurt it? Tearing everything out? Can… whatever this is… actually feel pain?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Helen pauses. ‘I wonder if there’s a way to communicate.’
‘You’re the linguist. If anyone can find a way, it’s you.’
Panic and pride surge through her in equal measure- it’s always nice to be appreciated, and Liv’s total confidence in her abilities warms her heart, but that doesn’t change the fact that she feels seriously out of her depth.
Still…
‘Can you understand us?’ Helen asks the empty air, feeling a little bit silly. ‘If you can…’
Liv scrambles forward, fiddles with some of the wires. ‘This one. If you can hear us, turn the light on.’
There’s no response. They both take a moment to turn around and stare intently at the other side of the room just in case it doesn’t want to be seen moving, but when they turn back, nothing has changed.
Frowning, Helen moves over to the wall, and starts untangling the wires. They’re still beneath her fingers and give no sign of life or animation.
‘What do each of them do?’ she asks Liv. ‘Whatever this is, I doubt it’s differentiating by colour.’
‘Uh… these two are tied to the lighting in this room. This one’s for a backup generator, and… these four are tied into the comms system, I think?’
‘Comms sounds promising,’ she mutters, separating those wires from the bundle. The moment she has all four, they come alive in her fingers, practically jumping off the wall as they encircle her palms and start creeping down her wrists.
Liv laughs. ‘That looks like a hello to me!’
‘We should probably get the Doctor,’ Helen admits. ‘I’m not entirely sure how to go about establishing contact with a space station, or what I’d even say to one.’
Liv reaches out and brushes her fingers over the wires. They leap into her hands, too, somehow managing to convey the same emotions as an excited puppy greeting a new person. ‘I feel like we’re making a friend.’
‘We are.’ Helen smiles. This is by far the weirdest handshake she’s ever received, but she’s certainly not complaining. Travelling with the Doctor is confusing and bizarre, yes, but standing here, Liv at her side, making first contact with something made of electricity and steel… she can’t think of anything better in the universe.