Work Text:
Herbie Hoover was going to die.
Oh, she was screaming for help — beeping out her stranded! alarm pattern for all she was worth, broadcasting SOS on every bandwidth she could think of.
But she knew, deep down in her motor and batteries, that no help was coming… because there was nobody to come. No one in range to pick up her signal.
What had happened? Where was she, and how had she gotten there? One moment she’d been happily chasing dust bunnies (it was an ancestral hobby); the next, she was in the middle of nowhere.
At first, Herbie had gone to try and find assistance, trundling along as best she could on the uneven terrain until the undergrowth clogged her nozzle. Now she was trapped in place, helplessly screaming.
There was no sign of anyone around. No tech, no organic creatures, nothing. Her battery power was rapidly running down, and she couldn’t detect her charging dock anywhere in the vicinity. And worst of all — by far the factor with the most deadly immediacy — it had just started to rain.
Herbie had heard tales of rain from some of the outdoor tech, but she’d never known it personally. She wasn’t built to endure it.
The water was already starting to seep into her motor.
Yes, Herbie was going to die. Specifically, she was going to drown.
She sent out one last desperate emergency call, because that was the proper protocol… but she knew the situation was hopeless. There was nobody there to respond.
That was, of course, exactly when a response came in.
“Who’s that? Thought I caught a distress signal. Anyone there?”
Herbie shouted, beeping and broadcasting on all channels.
The rain abruptly vanished, and the new arrival said, “Oh, there you are. Good thing I brought an umbrella. What’s a nice ‘bot like you doing in a place like this?”
Before Herbie could formulate a response, the stranger went on. “Never mind, I know the answer. Fell through one of those pop-up wormholes, hm? I’ve been working on cleanup. Glad the TARDIS picked up that SOS call, or I might’ve missed you; no offense, but you’re pretty small. Oh, by the way, I’m the Doctor. What do you say we get you home?”
Herbie wasn’t sure if she was more surprised at having been rescued, or that — despite being an organic creature — her rescuer apparently spoke fluent Binary.