‘Is that another slight on my appearance?’ He gave a melodramatic sigh. ‘Fate’s been very good to me, thank you very much, and I’m quite content with that. Maybe we don’t have the control that they do, but we’re gifted with life many more times than others are.’
‘Fools are content with their fates,’ she snapped. ‘Those with sense seek to control and even change theirs.’
The Doctor was unmoved. ‘Well then, you’ll have to find another way. You will never, ever be able to influence a Koturian transformation, be it Jonos or some other poor soul whose life you would have warped – and then eventually ended. You cannot love. You cannot be a part of it.’
‘You’re one to lecture,’ she said, tossing her hair back. ‘Please, Doctor. Tell me more about your great experiences with love and sharing your inner feelings. For someone who always travels with others, you still seem remarkably alone to me.’
His smile tightened. ‘For you, we’ll have to start with something more basic. Like empathy.’
Jonos nervously took a couple of steps towards the Rani and reached for her. ‘We’ll figure this out. There must be some mistake. What he’s saying … it’s not true …’
He tried to touch her, but the Rani pushed him away. ‘Oh, be quiet. I’m so tired of your simpering. It’s no wonder you’ve never been married. Being free of your prattle doesn’t make up for the failure of one of my greatest endeavours – but it helps.’
Cries of shock and outrage followed. ‘Find some guards and seize her!’ exclaimed Evris. ‘She must be punished for the sacrilege she’s attempted.’
‘No,’ said the Doctor, holding up his hand as several men rushed forward. ‘Let her go. Let her go – as long as she tells us where she’s keeping the victims that are still alive.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Jonos and Evris in unison.
The Rani put her hands on her hips and laughed. ‘Thank you, but I don’t need any bargain of yours to get myself out of here, Doctor. As for where they are … Well, that’s one secret you’ll never know. Good luck searching once I’m gone.’
‘How about a bargain of a different sort?’ asked the Doctor. He reached into his pocket and held up the crystal storage device from the lab. ‘Won’t be much of a victory if you leave completely empty-handed, will it?’
The Rani paled. ‘How did you get that?’ she demanded, holding out her hand. ‘Give it to me!’
The Doctor set the crystal on the ground, his foot hovering over it.
She froze. ‘Wait!’
‘These are such contradictory little gadgets, aren’t they?’ mused the Doctor. ‘They can hold gargantuan amounts of data, but are so, so fragile. Such a shame.’
‘You wouldn’t dare. The results of all of my research are there! Destroy it, and it’s gone. All of it.’ For a few moments, she was all fury and outrage, and then … she faltered. ‘Please. Don’t destroy it. I’ve put in so much work here. Don’t make it all for nothing.’
The Doctor’s eyes widened in mock surprise. ‘My goodness. It appears I was wrong. You are capable of feeling emotion. Admittedly, it’s only for cold hard data purchased through the blood of innocents, but, well, it’s a start. Perhaps we’ll make a starry-eyed romantic of you after all.’
‘Doctor,’ she growled.
All levity faded from him. ‘The victims. Tell us where they are. Not in your TARDIS, surely?’
‘That rabble? Of course not.’ She fell silent, but as her eyes returned to the crystal under his foot I could see fear playing over her features. ‘Fine. There’s a derelict casino seven blocks from the house. I have them taken there for experimen– examination. It’s where my servants roost.’
The Doctor’s foot still hovered above the crystal, but his eyes flicked to Evris. ‘Send someone there immediately. A medical team.’ The Koturian man nodded to a couple of servants who scurried away. ‘And maybe a very large flyswatter.’
The Rani’s gaze never left the Doctor. ‘There. I told you what you wanted to know. Now prove you’re the alleged man of honour you play, and give me the crystal!’
‘Gladly.’ With hands as nimble as a magician’s, the Doctor picked up the crystal and tossed it towards the Rani who caught it with equal deftness. ‘Now, Evris, it’s all up to you.’
The guards Evris had summoned earlier began to advance. For a second, the Rani squeezed the crystal, relief flooding her face. Then the haughty look that seemed to be her trademark returned. ‘I don’t think so.’ She shot a glance to the opposite corner of the room. ‘Stop them!’
The contingent of lizard-men who’d seized Wira and me surged forward and intercepted the guards. In the clash and confusion, the Rani was momentarily forgotten, and I watched her slowly back away from the fray, a triumphant smile on her face.
‘You might regret not helping me with this one day,’ she called over to us. ‘Your next regeneration may be sooner than you think.’
‘Doctor –’ I began.
‘I see her.’
He started towards the Rani when suddenly she disappeared into one of the giant urns. That was soon followed by an all-too-familiar sound. The urn vanished.
‘It was her TARDIS.’
The Doctor nodded, his expression a mix of resignation and envy. ‘My kingdom for a chameleon circuit.’ He sighed and then switched into jovial mode. ‘I’m guessing she had it standing by there to spirit Jonos off immediately for experimentation once he’d changed. Probably not the exciting wedding night he’d had in mind.’
‘I can’t believe we were all so fooled,’ said Evris morosely.
He’d come to stand beside us, and I took a moment to survey the scene. People were on their feet, anxious and confused, but there were no real injuries or damage. The Rani’s minions had been subdued quickly, simply by sheer numbers – as she’d known they would be. I recalled what the Doctor had said about them before, how they never had a fighting chance.
‘Don’t beat yourself up,’ the Doctor replied, patting his friend on the shoulder. ‘She’s a clever woman – a very clever woman, which makes it all the more tragic that she uses that intellect with so little morality.’
‘Poor Jonos,’ said Evris. ‘Having his heart broken like that. How will he ever find love soon enough for his Phasing?’
I glanced back up towards the Imori stone. An obviously miserable Jonos sat on the floor while Wira knelt beside him, clasping his hands and doling out comforting words that I couldn’t quite make out.
‘Maybe he’ll find it in an unexpected place,’ I said.
Evris followed my gaze and frowned. ‘A serving-girl?’
The Doctor scoffed. ‘That’s your concern? Come now, you’re a civilised man. Let go of your silly and archaic classist ideologies and try focusing on the fact that that nice girl cares about your son – and isn’t an unscrupulous scientific mastermind.’
‘Compelling argument,’ Evris admitted. ‘Excuse me while I talk to my son.’
We watched him walk away, and I hoped Jonos and Wira might truly make things work in time. For now, he was too devastated to even notice her presence, but surely someone deserved a happy ending here. It was a cheering thought, but one that soon faded as I turned towards the Doctor.
‘You let her keep her data,’ I said. ‘Maybe she’ll try some new tactic with the Koturians.’
He smiled. ‘Not likely. I erased the crystal back in her lab.’
I gaped. ‘She was already pretty upset about her plans falling through here. When she realises what you did to the crystal, she’s really not going to be happy with you.’
‘She never is,’ he said solemnly. He held out his arm, and I linked mine through it. ‘Now then. Since we’re here, shall we go try our luck in the casino while the others sort this mess out?’
I laughed as we strolled out through the confused Koturian congregation. ‘Luck? I thought you said earlier that it was skill.’
‘As long as you don’t run out of it, it doesn’t matter what you call it.’
‘Not in the least, Peri. Not in the least.’
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, eleven ebook short stories will be available to download and collect throughout 2013.
ELEVEN DOCTORS.
ELEVEN MONTHS.
ELEVEN AUTHORS.
ELEVEN STORIES.
FIFTY SPECTACULAR YEARS.
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