m_findlow

Title: The great race
Author: m_findlow
Prompt: 2 - Lucy, races, flag, on a holodeck at wintercompanion
Rating: Thirteenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Pairing: PG
Content notes: Spoilers for all seasons of both series, and the Torchwood Big Finish audioplays.
Length: 33,192 words
Author notes: Beta'ed by beesandbrews. I don't own them, they belong to their respective creators.
Summary: A new adventure awaits two old friends as they compete in the greatest race of a generation.

As Lucy navigated the ship through the thin atmosphere, it was quickly apparent where they needed to head once they'd landed. The only landmark in sight was a large protrusion of dusty red rock surrounded by barren wasteland. At its very base was a narrow opening.

As they stepped off the ship, Lucy pulled a face. 'There's a dozen ships still here,' she said, noting several from the front of the pack, now clustered together like the place had become a car park. 'Why haven't they already grabbed their flags and moved on?'

'Maybe it's a little trickier to find than we thought,' the Doctor said. 'That would lend itself to making this race a proper challenge.'

'Well, let's stop standing around here talking and go. We could make up some time.' Lucy rushed toward the cave entrance, leaving Jack and the Doctor to follow in her wake.

The cavern was dark compared to the exterior of the planet, but it didn't take long for her eyes to adjust to the lower levels of light. She paced about fifty metres down the narrow passage before the cavern suddenly opened up into a much larger space. Seeing the flag perched on a pedestal in the middle of the cavern, Lucy despaired.

The sound of footsteps from her two teammates came to a halt as they took in the sight for themselves.

'Who said they wanted this race to be a proper challenge?' Jack asked.

'Well,' the Doctor began, taking in the view, 'it does make more sense.'

The pedestal itself was only about ten metres away, but between it and them lay nothing but an inky blackness and a single thick rope strung from one side the other.

Lucy swallowed hard. 'I think we know where the pilots of those other vessels ended up.' She could picture them trying to climb across, hand over hand, or perhaps with legs crossed over the rope as well. One slip though and they'd fall straight to their deaths.

'Some of those ships would have had a full complement of three crew,' the Doctor said. 'Would they really be so mad as to all try, having watched one of their own die in the attempt?'

Jack leaned tentatively over the edge, taking a closer look. 'Fifteen million credits. You'd be amazed what some people will do.'

She raised an eyebrow at him. 'And us?'

'You're not usually one to be squeamish,' Jack said. 'Or afraid.'

'There's adventurous, and then there's just plain mad,' the Doctor replied.

'It's only the first flag,' Lucy said, remembering there would be six more after this one. 'It could just be a way to weed out weak contestants from genuine contenders.' She couldn't imagine anything could be harder than this.

'I once dated a tightrope dancer,' Jack said. 'Now she was talented. Little did everyone know she actually had six toes on each foot. Believe it or not, that extra toe made all the difference. Oh, and the other things those toes could do...' He looked faraway and dreamy for a moment before the Doctor clipped him around the ears.

'Ow!' Jack cried, flinching. 'What are you, my mum?'

'The things I'll refrain from saying about your mother.' The Doctor left the rest of the sentence hang, unfinished. 'Now, the question is, which of us is actually going to go out there and get it? That's got to be a three hundred foot drop at least.'

Jack picked up loose stone and tossed it over the edge, counting off the seconds until he heard it hit the bottom. When there was no sound, the three of them exchanged grim looks.

'Okay, so maybe it's a little bit deeper than that,' the Doctor said.

'Not that it really makes a difference,' Jack replied. 'Three hundred, five hundred, infinity… Any which way you look at it, a drop that far is gonna kill you.'

'We could draw straws,' Lucy offered. As much as she'd been willing to race on her own, having two other teammates who might be less terrified of heights than her was definitely a bonus. After all, they'd chosen to come along. Wasn't it only fair?

'We don't need to draw straws,' Jack said. 'I'll go. Our short courtship wasn't a complete waste. I did pick up a few pointers.' Jack shucked off his coat and tossed it at Lucy. 'Hold this,' he said. 'Don't lose it. Only one planet in the universe where you can get a coat like that, and I don't plan on going back there for a long time.'

A sudden wave of guilt gripped Lucy. Where it had come from she couldn't say. 'No, I should go. It is my ship after all.'

The Doctor rested a hand on her shoulder. 'Let him go.'

Jack tugged off one boot, and then the other. 'Don't worry about me, kiddo. I always land on my feet.' Looking into the endless black again, Lucy didn't feel anywhere near as confident.

Jack placed a foot on the thick rope, testing the feel of it.

'Are you sure that's wise, Jack?' the Doctor asked.

'Why not?'

'You seriously intend on just walking across? Most people would crawl along underneath it, hand over hand, not pretend to be some clown in a circus.'

'Yeah, and most of them are now pushing up daisies,' Jack replied. 'Relax, I've got this.'

He placed his other foot out in front of him, taking his first step out over the pit. The second and third careful steps put him out of reach of the ledge and his companions, and now that he was further out, his weight began to cause the rope to sway.

Jack wobbled for a moment, throwing his arms out wide to counterbalance, somehow remaining upright. Lucy let out a small involuntary squeal, partly in fright, and partly from the sudden pain of the Doctor's hand gripping her arm as they both watched on in horror. He looked back at them and gave them a winning smile. 'Had you worried there for a second, didn't I?'

The Doctor let out a vexed breath. 'Might I remind you that the saying goes "pride comes before a fall"?'

Jack didn't reply to the quip, focusing all his attention on the feel of the rope under his feet.

Lucy could see the intense concentration in Jack's body language as he moved down the rope. It was obvious from the tensing of his back and the angle of his foot, balancing his weight in all the right places, trying to reduce the natural movement of the rope underneath. With each measured step, he moved closer to the pedestal and further from the unstable centre of the rope, before finally placing his foot once again on solid ground. He let out a little breath of relief, before turning back and waving at his team.

From the pedestal, he selected their flag, a bright scarlet colour. Dozens more in every hue remained unclaimed. He tucked the silver spoke into the back of his braces, and prepared for the return trip. Emboldened by his success, he stepped back out into the void.

'Be careful, Jack,' Lucy warned.

'I'm always careful. Used to have a boyfriend that nagged me like that. "Don't rush. You always rush and make a mess of things," he'd say.'

He was just feet away from the edge. It was the moment's distraction he didn't need as his foot slipped too far, sending him sideways.

'Jack!' The Doctor screamed, as she watched him topple.

Somehow he managed to grab the rope one-handed as he fell, hanging and swinging wildly over the void. He tried to reach up with his other arm to grab it, but his fingers slipped with each attempt, the rope too thick for his desperate fingertips.

Lucy couldn't explain what made her do it, but she was clambering out onto the edge of the rope, legs crossed tightly. She pulled herself along until she was just a foot from Jack, finally letting go, hanging only by her legs.

'Grab my hand,' she said, reaching out, upside down.

Jack stretched, his hand finding her golden one, gripping it tightly around the wrist. With her spare hand, she grabbed hold of the rope. Heaving with a strength she didn't know she had, Lucy pulled upwards and Jack chose his moment to let go of her wrist, regaining a hold on the rope with both hands, before pulling himself up and criss-crossing his legs over it, the same way Lucy had.

With a speed that surprised her, she was quickly crawling back to the ledge, the Doctor waiting there to help her up. Jack followed shortly after, gratefully accepting the offered hand.

Jack smiled at her. 'Thanks for saving my bacon.'

'Please just tell me you didn't lose the flag,' Lucy replied, getting her breath back. She couldn't bear their entire ordeal to have been a waste.

'There we go.' Jack slipped it out from behind his back, handing Lucy the plain red flag. 'Nothing to it,' he said, brushing off the near death experience as he pulled his boots back on. 'A few more pickups like this one and we'll be home free.'

The Doctor whacked him hard.

'Ow! Would you stop hitting me like that?'

'Would you stop being such an idiot, then?' There was an annoyed expression on her face. 'Tightrope walking, honestly!'

'Hey, it wasn't my fault I nearly fell.'

The Doctor set her hands on her slim hips. 'Oh, then whose was it, then? Honestly, I don't remember you being this cavalier with your life.'

'And I don't remember you caring about it all that much,' he retorted, sweeping past her, grabbing his coat from Lucy and slipping it back on as he continued to walk away.

Lucy watched as first Jack, then the Doctor, both disappeared back down the passageway, leaving her behind.

'Woah, woah, woah.' The Doctor jogged to catch up with Jack's long strides. 'Where did that come from?'

Jack turned to face her, sudden anger ebbing away just as quickly as it had appeared. He'd resolved long ago that he didn't want the answer to the one question that mattered more than any. Knowing wouldn't change anything. It couldn't bring back what he'd lost. 'Sorry,' he said. 'Just forget it. Adrenaline kicking in, that's all.' He added a chuckle. 'Come on, I'll let you tackle the next death defying challenge.'

'Can't wait,' she replied, rolling her eyes and following him out of the cave.

Jack paused at the entrance to the ship, turning and looking at the Doctor. 'Where's our trusty pilot?'

'She's here,' Lucy grumbled, stalking behind them. 'We still have to log this, in case you'd forgotten.' She jogged across to a set of short steps and stood on top of the white platform, letting the holodeck scan her and her flag. A brief moment later the flag faded from her hands and left her gripping a small chip – coordinates for their next leg.

'Okay, now we can go,' she said, but as she stepped up the ramp into the ship, she twirled to face her two teammates. 'I'm not saying I'm not grateful for you retrieving that flag, Jack, but if you two can't get it together, I'm leaving you both here. I'm not stupid. I can tell this isn't just two old friends catching up. This is a race and I intend to win it. If you're going to get in the way, I don't want either of you here.'

'You're absolutely right,' the Doctor said, sounding genuinely contrite. 'If this was stage one, then it's fair to say that the rest won't be easy either. If we're going to win this, we have to work together.'

'Agreed,' Jack said. 'Perhaps that was a little egotistical and cocky, even for me.'

Lucy gave him the eye. 'You think?'

He sighed. 'Look, I can't in good conscience leave you to tackle this on your own. This clearly isn't just some ordinary space race. I talked you into partnering with me, so we're in this together. All three of us. But if things get too dangerous, don't think I won't hesitate to take you straight back home.'

Lucy narrowed her eyes at both of them. They'd have to tie her up before she gave in that easily. 'Well, come on then. We'll still be in last place at this rate.'

They boarded quickly and Lucy handed Jack the chip to plug into their ship's computer, loading up the next set of coordinates. 'Huh,' he said, 'not even so much as a "congratulations for not dying".'

The Doctor leaned over his shoulder. 'So, where are we headed?'

Jack zoomed in on the map and peered closely. 'Looks like a way-station or a space port of some kind. It's not coming up on the normal star maps. Must have been decommissioned.'

'And repurposed for today's events,' the Doctor added.

'What do you suppose we'll find when we get there?' Lucy asked, setting course before pressing the ship forward.

'I don't know,' the Doctor replied, 'but I'll bet anything it won't be friendly.'

'Look!' Lucy pointed as they cruised as fast as their little ship could manage. 'There's one of the other racers.' She wondered how many more of them had managed to snare the first flag.

'I remember that ship,' Jack said. 'Duo of Argantuas.' He laughed to himself. 'With six arms each they'd have made short work of the first checkpoint. They were probably the first ones out.'

She watched as it sailed past them. 'They're going the wrong way.'

'Either that, or they've got coordinates for the next checkpoint,' Jack replied. 'That makes them way ahead of us.'

'Or,' the Doctor suggested, her face a mask of concern, 'whatever is out there is so bad that they've turned tail.'

Jack leant back in his seat to look at her. 'Aren't you just a bundle of cheer?'

She shrugged unapologetically. 'It came with the face.'

They settled into their seats, Jack keeping an eye on their navigation maps whilst Lucy took control of flying.

'So, Doc,' Jack began, filling the silence. 'I can't help but notice you're on your own. That's not like you.'

She frowned, staring off into the starry blackness in front of them. 'I just felt like doing things on my own for a while.'

In truth, she was tired of losing companions. Each time she vowed she'd never do it again, and then she'd get sucked straight back into the same trap, taking them out, showing them the wonders of the universe, and then taking the adventure too far. Rose, Donna, Amy and Rory, Clara, Bill... Wasn't that why she'd come here? Just to be a spectator to someone else's adventure and nothing more? Then five minutes later, she'd fallen back into old habits, tagging along with Jack for yet another roller-coaster ride. She couldn't stop herself. By rights she shouldn't even exist. Fourteenth regeneration and still more left in the tank if her estimations were right.

'Yeah,' Jack agreed. 'It's fun for a while, but then you get lonely. Gotta find someone else because it's no longer fun anymore.'

She grinned morbidly at the thought. Well, Jack would know. He was probably the only one who could know. Both of them, stuck here, living far longer than anyone else they knew. Perhaps they should hang out more, drive each other mad like an old married couple. At least she'd never have to say goodbye to Jack.

'What about you, Lucy?' the Doctor said, trying to change the subject. 'Do you have friends back home cheering you on? You're a long way from any Artesian colony I know.'

'Just me and my brother,' she replied.

'He let you race?'

'He doesn't know.'

'Won't he be pissed when he finds out?' Jack asked. 'I mean, if you were my little sister...'

'He'll forgive me.' She was interrupted from saying more as a proximity alarm began to sound.

'There,' the Doctor pointed through the right hand windscreen, indicating the rusted out way-station.

'I hope the docking seals still work,' Jack muttered, setting the docking controls as Lucy maneuvered the ship sideways against one of dozens of ports. There was a clunk and a hiss, confirming a firm seal between the ship and the station.

'We're good to go.' Lucy depressurised the airlock, watching the indicator lights turn green.

There was another click as both she and the Doctor turned to find Jack holding a gun, arming it by sliding back the safety.

The Doctor cringed. 'Still with the guns?'

'You said it yourself. Who knows what's in there? After the last stop, I'm not taking any chances. This thing must've been abandoned for a reason. What's to say that reason isn't still here?'

Part four...