Work Text:
Raine was close. The safe had three wheels, rather like the safe she'd found the Doctor in, all that time ago. She still wasn't exactly sure just why a starship in the far future had what must have been practically ancient technology. She supposed the owner must be fond of antiques.
Click.
Raine smiled to herself. That sound, of the fence dropping into place, was possibly her favourite sound. She tucked her stethoscope, notebook and pen into her bag and picked up the small device Ace had given her to stay in contact. It never ceased to amaze her how this kind of technology seemed to get progressively smaller with every trip into the future they made. She hadn't grown used to spaceships either, and she hoped she never would.
"Ace? It's open." Raine couldn't hide the thrill in her voice. There was nothing like the satisfaction of a job well done.
"Right." Ace's voice crackled loudly through the earpiece. "I'll let the Doctor—hang on, what's that noise?"
"What noise?" Raine frowned. The small room seemed silent, except for the low rumble of the engines and the other various sounds of the ship's machinery, all of which had long since faded into the background.
"That…ticking…" Ace trailed off, like she was listening intently.
"Yes, I think I can hear it, now that you mention it. Sounds rather like a clock or—"
"Or a timer," Ace finished grimly. "Raine, you've got to get out of there. Opening the safe must have triggered it. If I know the way these kind of traps work, it'll go off at any second!" Ace was rushing her words now, worry seeping into her voice. Raine tried to keep her heart calm.
"You're sure?" Raine hoisted her bag over her shoulder, then paused, glancing back at the safe. "There's no time to get what we came for?"
"There's no point. The safe was probably a trap. Raine—"
But Raine didn't hear what Ace was about to yell.
The blast threw her back, slamming her into the far wall. Her world turned white, pain exploding at the back of her head. Her lungs felt like fire, and she coughed once, then again and again and again. Each one shook her body, stabbing pains ripping through her, hurting in places she never thought possible.
She became aware of the piercing whine in her ears and the distant sound of even her own coughs. She couldn't see anything. Were her eyes closed? Was it the darkness of the room?
She tried to lift her head, reach for her earpiece, but the room started spinning, and she sank back into the wall. Her limbs would not obey her, and her throat was raw. Besides, Ace was somewhere at the other end of the ship, too far away to hear, even if she did call out.
Her earpiece spluttered into life all of a sudden. Oh good, so it was still working. She focused on the muffled crackling of Ace's voice, decidedly not thinking about how she was aching all over, how her ears were ringing. What she would do if it never went away.