The Princess of the Water Nebula

A/N: I don't own anything about Doctor Who. Nothing. Zero. Zilch.

Pranis and the Princess, on the other hand, is 100% my fantasy imagination.

The Princess of the Water Nebula

For Pkarma42 - Thank you for all of your comments and reviews.

Chapter 1: Casablanca

The Doctor walked through the doors of the pub, looking for his contact. He had an appointment to meet a young man named Pranis, whom he promised the Shadow Proclamation he would bring with him to a treaty negotiation.

He paused, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light. It was the type of pub that you saw in almost every civilization. Dark, gritty and smelly. His nose crinkled up in distaste. Why did they always stink?

He started walking through, noting the groups of beings dotting the room. Not all of them were humanoid, but he was used to seeing antennae and webbing on creatures that were smoking, drinking and conversing. Skin was optional to life forms that had intelligence, although the definition itself was subject to interpretation.

At the bar sat a lone man that from the back seemed promising to the description that the Doctor was looking for. Even sitting, the man appeared tall, with dark skin and long braided hair trailing down his back. His back was wide, the muscles underneath the shirt pulling the fabric taut.

The Doctor approached cautiously in case he was mistaken. As he reached his target, the man abruptly swung around in his chair, confronting the Doctor and stopping him from coming any closer.

"I'm hoping you're Pranis," the Doctor said.

"And you're the Doctor." Pranis stood up and held out his hand.

The Doctor went to take his hand, by Pranis bypassed it and grabbed his forearm instead, grasping it firmly. Being used to diverse customs, he held up his other hand.

"I'm not used to this greeting. Please show me how to properly respond."

Pranis grabbed the Doctor's other hand and placed it on his own forearm so each of them, instead of shaking hands, were grasping each other's forearms in firm grips.

"There – you've already taught me something" the Doctor's grin covered his entire face.

"Sit awhile if there's time" Pranis said.

The Doctor looked around a bit, and made up his mind that there was no apparent risk in lingering. "The Shadow Proclamation liaison office said that you requested to come on this treaty negotiation mission. Why?" He asked Pranis conversationally.

"I come from Parakemble and my mother feels it's important that I get an education in diplomacy and negotiation skills. My mother is usually right, so I followed her advice."

"Your mother? What did your uh – wife – girlfriend – mate - think?" The Doctor floundered a bit, not knowing which word fit.

Pranis chuckled a rich, deep baritone eruption. "None of the above, thank you! I've been in universities and schools all of my life and now that I'm done I want to stretch about a bit before I get shackled! You know what I mean? What about you? Any wife – girlfriend – mate hanging about?"

He witnessed for the first time the Doctor looking over his head, as if he saw something that was there only for his benefit. His eyes lost their sparkle, and his entire bearing seemed – less as he answered.

"There was. Rose. I lost her recently. She was" – here he fumbled for a word.

"Beautiful?" Pranis interjected, trying to be helpful.

The Doctor made eye contact with Pranis, who saw the cloud disappear and the sparkle come back. "Well, of course she was beautiful! Why bother if she wasn't?" He answered.

"So, your mother wants you to get an education and the Shadow Proclamation thinks that I can provide it. This is going to be interesting!" The Doctor's voice was jovial, as if the prior topic had never happened.

"Where are we going?" Pranis asked.

"A place called the Water Nebula. It's a group of galaxies that merged resources and sciences and co-exist very peacefully."

"Then why do they need treaty negotiations?"

"They've decided to branch out to a new group of planets that have recently made contact with them. This group, called the Chrysoberyl Cluster, wishes to trade raw resources for science. The Chancellors of the Water Nebula want everything to be legal and moral, and have asked for outside help."

"Doctor, how did you get involved?"

"A moment of weakness. A friend of mine, Capt Jack Harkness, was in contact with the Shadow Proclamation, and they asked him to recommend someone. He and I had just gone through some pretty tense negotiations ourselves to save a group of planets, and he thought this would be a light task to keep me busy and out of his way."

"He asked, flashed his puppy dog eyes, whined a bit about everything he'd done for me, and I felt just guilty enough that I said yes." The Doctor concluded his story while reaching for his inner pocket, and with a flourish produced glasses, which he perched on his face. He also pulled out a pen like device and peered at it, pressing buttons while it flashed colorful lights.

"We need to leave now if we want to keep the schedule that I've committed to."

Pranis nodded, and reached for his gear that was stowed by his feet.