Doctor Who: Panic Moon Ch. 25

Silence followed, Dulcimer's irritation rising as it became apparent that her friend wasn't going to volunteer any more information. Briefly, she considered just brute forcing her way into Lysithea's mind and shuffling through her short-term memories like a deck of cards. It would have been well within her power to do so, and in this case possibly even justified; she decided against it only by dint of the fact that it would turn one problem into two. What she found out wouldn't be worth having to deal with the Trine-form's anger at the violation. Besides, Sally and Lorna seemed to be recovering alright...

'I want to go back,' Lysithea said finally. 'Suddenly, being out here isn't fun anymore. Come on, let's go...'

************

Naga's reappearance had rather altered Sander's plans for the day. The alien's large stature precluded returning to Nirvana via the shuttle they had arrived in; a larger form of transport would be needed. Luckily, Selestene was nothing if not obliging, and it was the work of but a moment for Sander to hail a high-ceilinged transport ship to ferry the lupine creature to a more accessible location.

After speaking with the pilot and technician of this new ship- no doubt preparing them for one of Naga's somewhat rare breed- he returned to Amy and Mara, giving one last look to the house he grew up in.

'You thinking of blowing the place up, Hackett?' Mara asked, inspecting the man for any sign of instability and, oddly, finding very little. Leaving that house, even if only to stand in its shadow, seemed to have lessened the pressure on him; the ghosts of his past couldn't reach him, out here under the false sky.

'No, I'm not,' There was, however, a note of testiness in his voice at that. 'I just... this place. It isn't just mine, is it? Maybe I should call Cohen, let him know the old house is still standing...'

'He might appreciate that,' Mara said. 'But then again, I dunno. That guy, he's never really seemed to be that sentimental. I mean, you tell me one time he's gotten serious about anything, because I can't remember one.'

'I'll tell him,' Sander nodded. 'It's up to him what he does with the information.'

'And what do happens after that?' Amy piped up finally, after keeping her peace for so long. All she knew was that she had a better than average chance of disliking the answer, 'You've gotten what you want, so what now?'

Sander gave her an odd look, as though the answer should have been obvious, before checking his watch. The nighttime transition was still a few hours away, plenty of time to make it back to the hotel and prepare to emerge into Selestene's nightlife, and face that gloomy, neon-lit wonder of a city head on. He had lived here for years, and even he didn't fully understand what was out there, though of course he had heard plenty of rumors about the extent of it all. For the newcomers, it should be quite the experience.

'What do you mean?' He smiled. 'It's a vacation, isn't it? What happens now?'

Well... he had his crew, he had his money, and now he had his telepathic alien guard dog...

'Now we find out what Selestene really has to offer us.'

To be continued...