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Chapter One On the ruins of a planet walked the ruins of a man. The intense heat bore down on him, causing sweat to form on his brow. Sand whipped at his face, as he trudged along, clutching the heavy metal container as he went. He did not know where he was heading, only that it should be fitting for what he had to do. He finally reached a precipice and he knew that his journey was over. Crouching down, he laid the Vaj bomb to rest and sat for a moment with it between his legs. All he could hear was the whistle of the wind and the aching of blood in his ears. He slowly tapped the release code into the dusty metal sphere, and waited. As the planet ticked towards its doom, he closed his eyes and finally allowed himself to acknowledge that he would never be caught. Slowly, the faces of all his victims swam uncertainly in front of his eyes, maybe a hallucination, maybe the ghosts of his own guilt, calling out for retribution. Can’t be long now. Must be the end soon. Must be time to rest… ‘Is this the planet Vrij?’ said a woman’s voice loudly, ungainly and screeching, cutting through his uneasy solitude. ‘Shut up, Nan!’ said another. ‘We’re here to pick up a man, not so you can go sightseeing!’ Professor Invigh Endlemann looked up in surprise to see two figures standing over him. ‘Wh… what are you doing here?’ he stammered. ‘You’ll… you’ll die here.’ ‘Not likely, sonny!’ said the woman. Endlemann suddenly realised that the male was placing a silver bracelet around his wrist. ‘Hold tight,’ the man said. ‘Here we go…’ The three figures promptly disappeared, leaving only a tangle of footprints in the dust, an odd silver globe laying abandoned on the sand, and a steady, almost inaudible ticking, lost deep within the wind. The ticking stopped and there was an explosion mightier and more violent than this galaxy had ever seen before. The planet Vrij was no more. Nick ordered another drink with a confidence he did not feel. ‘Alf, isn’t it your round?’ he said as he brought the drinks back and set them down upon the table. ‘This has got to be the best assignment the Doctor has given us all week,’ Alf grumbled sarcastically. ‘He told us this was the best club this side of the Stellion. Shows how in touch he is.’ ‘It’s not that bad,’ Nick replied. He looked up and his eyes met with a stranger sat further along the bar. The boy was staring straight at him, his milky blue eyes intriguing and beguiling. His hair was a shocking blond, cut short and spiked. There was something different about this boy. The way he moved, his face, his hair, his lines. Divinity in motion. He could feel the aura of his presence. He was persuasive, untrustworthy, bad… dangerous. ‘Who’s that?’ Nick asked. ‘How should I know?’ moaned Alf. ‘I’m going to get some fresh air.’ ‘Sure, you go,’ he said, a little too quickly. He risked a glance at the boy again. ‘I’ll be fine.’ Honestly, Alf thought, as the cold Gidi night air touched her cheek. Finally a chance to be alone and to work out where we stand, and Nick’s more interested in some teenage boy in a bar. Sometimes she wondered if he took the Doctor’s assignments more seriously than their relationship. Suddenly, she realised that she could hear something strange. A kind of chanting, soft and lilting. No more than a whisper, but persistent and bewitching. She set off into the night, following the voices. She hesitated a moment, thinking she should go back and get Nick, but then she remembered the strange boy. No. He could come looking for her for a change. Nick found himself drawn to the mysterious blond stranger, who had just introduced himself as Cy. ‘Nice to see a new face round here,’ Cy was saying, his hand toying with his glass, just inches from Nick’s. ‘No one ever comes to Gidi. It’s a complete dump.’ ‘So why are you here then?’ Nick asked. Cy cast his eyes down. ‘I’m here with me Nan.’ he explained. ‘Well, she’s not really me Nan. But she likes me to call her Nan. Makes her feel wanted I think. I met her on the planet Bros. She was working as a cocktail waitress, I’d just finished with me ex, drinking meself stupid… and, well, we’ve been kickin’ about the galaxy together ever since. So was that your girlfriend in here just now?’ ‘Ah…’ Nick hesitated. ‘Nah, that was Alf. She’s, well she’s just Alf really. There’s nothing in it. Y’know?’ He was annoyed that Alf had upped and left, so he made a conscious decision to forget her for a while. Cy smiled. ‘Yeah I know,’ he said. ‘So, you got somewhere to stay tonight then?’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well there’s a spare bed back at my place if you want it.’ Cy offered. ‘Maybe I could show you stuff.’ ‘Yeah. Yeah that’d be good.’ Nick smiled. He suddenly thought of his mission, and the Doctor, and his dull quest to find out about Vrij… then he decided he deserved a night off every once in a while. All that could wait until tomorrow. Cy took his arm, and led him towards the door and out into the night. ‘This’ll be fun,’ he said as they left. ‘I promise.’
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