The Master was sitting on a park bench and idly watching a number of small earthlings, who were wearing brown and yellow and appeared to be called Brownie Guides. They had made a sort of 5x5 square and were holding hands so that there appeared to be corridors running from north to south. Up and down these corridors a further small earthling termed "a cat" chased after another little earthling "a mouse".
The Doctor had taken possession of the xyzellie bird. Many worlds told tales similar to the earth story of the goose that laid golden eggs. The xyzellie bird didn't lay golden eggs, but the eggs it did lay, if placed correctly, would set up a sonic resonance capable of destroying a small planet. The Doctor had reason to believe that the Master had plans for the eggs and he had therefore decided to take the xyzellie bird to a safe haven, where the Master would be unable to find the eggs until after they had hatched, when it would be too late.
The xyzellie bird was turquoise in colour, with a long neck and long legs, a bit like a flamingo. However unlike the flamingo it had pouches, rather like those of a hamster, in which it would store food. This ability meant that so long as it started a long journey with full pouches, the xyzellie bird could last for several days without needing to be fed, which would remove at least one problem from the trip the Doctor had planned for it.
The Doctor thought that the xyzellie bird looked a bit like a pelican, which reminded him of a time when he and the Master were in the Academy. The Master had found an earth rhyme about the pelican:
What a wonderful beast is the pelican
It's beak holds more than its belly can
It can hold in its beak
Enough food for a week
I wonder how the hell 'e can
Unfortunately they had both started to laugh in the middle of their lesson and their tutor, who was not amused, had made them write the verse out 200 times in their best Old Gallifreyan script, after which they no longer found it very funny.
The Doctor placed the xyzellie bird in the container he had prepared for it and, ensuring that its legs and neck were safely tucked in, closed the lid. He then carried the large box into the TARDIS control room and placed it into a small cupboard under the console. He had to push slightly to get it in, but was reassured that with such a tight fit it would be unlikely to move around should they hit any turbulence.
Moving to the console he set the co-ordinates for a small planet within the Phut nebulae. The atmosphere of a number of planets in this part of the nebulae was such that any passing vessel would be unable to probe through and see what was on the surface. The xyzellie bird should therefore have the best chance of hatching its eggs without untimely intervention from the Master.
In consideration of the xyzellie bird the Doctor had set the TARDIS to travel more slowly than usual and after a while he noticed that there were occasional unexplained electrical surges. At first he ignored them, but then he realised that the surges were occurring more frequently and were of greater intensity. His journey was being tracked and it looked as though his follower was getting closer.
His first thought was that Jack was trying to find him. He'd last seen Jack in the back of a small pub in London where he'd been chatting animatedly with a couple of young men. Feeling excluded by the conversation the Doctor had slipped out of the bar, without anyone noticing him going. Maybe Jack had got tired of his new friends?
On further reflection, the Doctor decided that if it had been Jack then the increase in electrical measurement would have been constant, whereas this was intermittent, as if someone was checking on his whereabouts periodically. As far as he knew, there was only one being who would want to do that. Worried that they would be caught before they reached the planet the Doctor increased the speed of the TARDIS.
There was a sudden sharp peak of electricity and then the TARDIS began to vibrate rapidly. From the box under the console the Doctor could hear chirps of alarm. He wanted to reassure the xyzellie bird but didn't dare move it from its place of safety. Instead he called out to it, saying they were nearly there and not to worry, everything was under control. It didn't sound as if the bird was convinced, as the chirps became louder and more agitated. To be honest the Doctor couldn't really blame it, he had enough trouble convincing himself that things were okay, let alone a frightened bird.
Then all of a sudden everything was quiet again. They had travelled through the outer layer of the atmosphere and were now drifting towards the planet's surface. Whoever had been following had lost track of them and there were no more signs of electrical surges. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to land.
He had chosen this particular planet, known only as Red2, carefully. One of a number of similar planets, there was nothing in particular to distinguish it. At the same time it wasn't the most insignificant and the Doctor reasoned that if the Master was after the xyzellie bird he would assume that the bird was on the least noticeable planet.
The Doctor left the TARDIS, carrying the box with its precious cargo, and walked across the planet's surface until he found a small cave. Bending down he entered the cave and carried the box to the back. He placed the box on a ledge at the back of the cave and carefully opened the lid. The xyzellie bird slowly raised its head, looked at the Doctor, who was smiling hopefully at it, leaned forward and pecked his arm. The Doctor squawked and took a step backwards, but not before the bird had pecked sharply at his knee.
The Doctor decided that the bird was well able to look after itself and hobbled back to the TARDIS to tend to his wounds. Having cleaned his knee and changed his socks where the blood had dripped onto them, he set the TARDIS co-ordinates for Red4. Whilst the bird clearly could take care of itself against most predators (and certainly any that inhabited Red2) it would still be vulnerable if attacked by someone who was armed. By sitting on a different planet the Doctor hoped that not only could he watch out for any unexpected visitors to the region but that he would be able to act as a decoy and if nothing else buy the xyzellie bird some time. After all a dark blue police box would be much easier to find than a turquoise bird.