A/N: The above is not a representation of what I imagine Rebecca to look like. I just couldn't find a picture xD. If you do want to know what she looks like, I suggest you Google Aisha Dee. :) Happy Reading.

Khan swung the door open, and then in an instant, Rebecca understood why he adored the room. With a gasp, she stepped over the threshold and dropped to her knees.

"Oh my God."

The room was dimly lit, with a few soft blue tube lights running across the ceiling. It was to conserve the view. The floor was transparent, and they seemed to be hovering directly above the reef.

"This was the initial study area – the biodiversity here is insane. We've constructed an artificial carbon filter, allowed water currents to pass, and tried to keep it as pristine as possible. As connected to the outside world as we could possibly keep it."

"But it's not the same" Rebecca breathed, and leaned down, looking closer.

The colours hit her like a tidal wave. A hundred times more beautiful than anything that she had ever seen – even more so than the reef that the TARDIS had landed in the middle of. She dragged her finger along the glass, tracking the path of a purple and pink jellyfish. It pulsed slowly, mesmerising her. If she looked closer, she could see the coral behind its translucent body. The holes in the reef contrasted sharply with the jelly.

A darting motion to her left caught her eye and her eyes snapped over there. A shoal of fish swam together, bodies streaked purple and silver. In and out, left and right. It made her dizzy just watching it. A jiggling motion to her right, an octopus had detached itself from next to a fan coral, and took residence next to an anemone, changing its colours to blend in. But something interrupted the sight and bile rose in Rebecca's throat. The activated carbon filter. Swallowing, she drew her gaze away, looking instead at her reflection on the glass. Her nose was as beaky and ever, and her chin couldn't be squarer. That was normal, but something had changed as well.

Instead of a wobbly chin, her jaw was set.

Instead of nervous, shifting glances, her eyes looked straight back at her. Tear filled, yes. But filled with steel she had never had before.

Rebecca sat up on her haunches, and looked up at Khan, who was smiling at her sheepishly. She was a strong woman now, and she could do this.

"I'm gonna rant a little now, Khan. If that's okay." She stood, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Um.. sure. Go ahead, I guess" it was evident that he did not quite know what to say.

"In all my mind, I cannot fathom how humans can harm the environment. How we can be such parasitic creatures and not feel one ounce of remorse. How can it not pain someone to see great forests decimated? How can it not hurt someone to see animals being lost forever. Nature is beautiful, nature is unfathomably complex and simply gorgeous. So what do we as a race do? We laugh at the incomprehensible intricacies and proceed we claim to know what we're doing. We plant the wrong trees in the wrong places and tear down the ones we can find. The main reason? A little something called economic development. We would be nothing, nothing without the" she cleared her throat.

" A planet's resources and what it gives us We look to get better by means of environmental destruction. Countless animals species, lost never to be discovered once more. Places which were homes to animals for aeons wrecked in the blink of an eye.

Why?

Accumulating wealth, that's why. And what will you do with said wealth? Use it to fill the hole in your soul?" Rebecca laughed bitterly.

"Y-you're not from here, are you?" Khan took a small step back.

"Erm... how did you know?" Rebecca sounded sheepish, and inside, she was cursing her big mouth.

"That fire" his tone was filled with wonder now, and he stepped forward again, nearly toe to toe with her. "That fire. We lost it. No one imagines anymore. No one... cares anymore."

"I know, I used to have a cousin that did nothing except watch TV and play on his iPad." Rebecca took his hand, and looked down again, trying to memorise every inch of what she saw.

"TV? iPad?" Khan sounded confused, and then shook his head. "But yeah, I guess I know what you mean. This is a freaking OCEAN WORLD and our colony could only scrounge up FOUR scientists to come work here. That was pisses me off the most. If we let Blagula become a tourist planet, they'll ignore all the hidden beauty" he snuck a sideways glance at Rebecca.

"They'll just glance at it, say 'ooh that's nice' and walk away."

"You mean, you don't want Blagula to become a tourist destination?" hope shone in her eyes.

"Of course not. And when you think about it, we Nooria, Syria, Leo and I probably only retained our imagination because our families weren't... particularly well off."

"I-I don't know what to say."

"We don't know WHAT to do" his voice held much rage "If we don't declare Blagula safe, we'll lose our jobs, and then our families are screwed."

"I'm sure you could find something else..."

"Vetro would ruin our reputation" he drew something out of his pocket. "Look at this."

The phone was so slim that Rebecca was afraid it would snap, but she held it tightly all the same. His wallpaper was a picture of him and what looked like his sister. She looked older, with a long flowing mane of black hair and deep brown eyes like pools of melted chocolate. As beautiful as those eyes were, they seemed empty – vacant. And her mouth was parted slightly gormlessly. It didn't stop Khan from clutching to her and smiling the widest smile he could smile on his tiny toddler face.

"Your sister..." Rebecca trailed a finger along the picture. Her voice held a question.

"Handicapped. I've all she's got. Every time I look at the reef, I look at her face again to snap myself back to reality. Because however beautiful that may be, I try to convince myself that her face is even more beautiful."

Rebecca drew him into a hug, and buried her head in the crook of his shoulder.

"Nooria and Syria have worse times. Leo may be OK if he gets fired by Vetro, But the rest of us? No chance."

"Khan, there has to be a way. There's always a way." Rebecca racked her brain, trying to figure out a solution.

"There is no way. Ok, Rebecca? Blagula is screwed. In six months, when our project is over, I'll have slaughtered an entire planet's worth of biomes."

"Well, then" A fire lit in Rebecca's eyes. "We'll have to figure out a way for Blagula to slaughter humans instead.