Prologue
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An ancient, yet modern, steam train powered through the dark expanse, speeding past stars and planets as it embarked on its maiden voyage. To its passengers, the train was nothing more than a modernised version of an ancient Earth relic called the Orient Express. There was a sense of nostalgia behind the decision to recreate the train in this manner, and a fine vehicle it was, surpassing even the attempt at recreating the Titanic a few years earlier.
Even though it was a space liner, measures had been put in place to ensure that the passengers had the full Orient Express experience, to the point where the train itself shook as if it were really running along a set of track.
On this particular day, the Orient Express was playing host to the Royal Family of Peladon, to celebrate the birthday of King Pelleran's youngest daughter, Princess Rilara. A mere slip of a girl, long dark hair fell down her back, and her grey-green eyes sparkled with mirth. She was the apple of her father's eye, and that was part of the problem. Threats had been made against the Princess, but they'd generally been considered harmless because... well... because there was no reason for them. They had no enemies, none that they knew of, and whenever trouble befell them, a man from another world, the Doctor, was always at hand in their hour of need.
But this time, things were different. Unbeknowst to the passengers, or the crew, of the Orient Express, a top secret cargo had been transported aboard the train. The cargo's owner, Dr. Percival Winthrop, came from a very old Earth family, dating back many, many, generations... all the way to the Scarman family. Both the mysteries of science, and archeology, ran through Winthrop's blood, and the cargo that was in his care, was a very rare find from a seemingly deserted planet.
Now, Percival Winthrop had no personal quarrel with the Peladon Royal family, nor did he even know that they were also passengers on the train, but someone he knew, a contact from the Greater Lunar University, did know that the Royal Family was on board, and they were the one sending the threats, for they were part of a group that had plans for both the Princess, and for Dr. Winthrop's cargo.
The cargo in question was very large, and very heavy, so much so that it had been necessary to transmat it into the baggage car. What it was, no one could say, for only Dr. Winthrop and his associate were allowed to see it. But Dr. Winthrop knew how great and important his discovery was, and he knew he could do a fair few things with it. His discovery would open doors that he had never been able to access before, and he had no intention of allowing it to fall into the wrong hands.
But his associate, Dr. Neville Thompson, also knew how great and important Dr. Winthrop's discovery was - for a different reason. Dr. Percival Winthrop had found something that Neville himself had been searching for, and it was something that Neville kept in high regard.
For Dr. Percival Winthrop's great discovery was the Seventh Obelisk...
Which had Sutekh's Consort, Nepthys, sealed inside of it.
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