Out of dozens in the local star clusters, only a handful planets in the Sumaton system boasted heavy metal cores. These tellurian planets were mined continuously to provide raw materials for the space station construction necessary to colonize the nearby gas giants.
The eighth planet, Sumaton Theta, was once a rocky, earth-like planet. The entirety of its inner crust, core and mantle had been systematically packed up and shipped off to zero-g construction sites. Air travel was necessary – the surface of the world was a honeycombed shell. Six-sided hollows cut clean through the planet. Its core-mounted gravity well flared visible through the missing chunks of earth: the only thing keeping the rest of the globe from flying apart.
With the last traces of its innards gutted to provide luxury to larger worlds, the doomed planet waited for its detonation. Surely one of these days, the paperwork would be processed. Sumaton Theta's gravity well would activate a self-destruct, compressing what remained of the world into hyperdense tile for some space cruiser's artificial gravity flooring. Or a controlled singularity to be used as a system-wide dumping ground. Regardless of the outcome, Sumaton Theta's usefulness had come to an end.
Its remaining inhabitants disagreed.
"Perfect place for a picnic, don't you think, Peri?" the Doctor said, adjusting his celery in preparation for their exit from the TARDIS. They had followed the mysterious envelope's coordinates to Sumaton Theta, unaware of the danger before them.
"That's the most depressing place I've ever seen," Peri responded, absorbed in the monitors of the console room. A hexagonal checkerboard crust was all that remained of habitable land. One false step would send you plummeting into the core.
"Oh, it's not so bad," the Doctor reassured her. "We've landed on a piece about—" he checked his own monitors. "Well, the exact size of Belgium, actually. And we're dead center. No chance of falling in."
Peri sniffed, unconvinced. "Unless we land on a weak spot and fall through what's left of the ground," she grumbled.
"Yes, well, that's always a possibility." The twitch of the Doctor's mouth left Peri wondering if he was serious. "Malbonalupo." The word flowed eloquently from his tongue, reminiscent of a sing-song nursery rhyme. "Largest shipping dock on the planet. Or, what's left of the planet I suppose."
"You sure can pick 'em, Doctor."
"Speaking of—" the Doctor fished a large picnic basket out from under the console, complete with gingham blanket. He presented it with a flourish. "Pick some snacks out for us from the storage cabinets, would you, Peri?"
Peri sighed, resigned to having a light lunch on the dismal grey-brown surface of this shell of a world. She slid a hand over a wall sensor, and the white panel in front of her lifted, revealing a stack of rotating shelves. The bright colors of sweets packaging assaulted her eyes in stark contrast to the monochrome console room.
She drummed a finger on her chin and debated which of the several dozen sweets would fit best in a picnic environment. Her nose wrinkled at the sight of bright blue Milky Way packaging. She reached behind the box, groping hopefully for anything that may have fallen behind. Elated, she pulled out a lone, American-style version of her favorite bar. Boring old brown, with sweet caramel goodness tucked away inside where it should be.
She tossed her Milky Way in the basket next to her and continued to peruse.
"Come now, Peri, we musn't be all day." The Doctor swiped open the panel next to her, revealing a red cooler the size of a house. He pressed a series of integrated buttons in rapid succession, and deftly scooted the picnic basket with his foot so that it caught the handful of soda bottles that rumbled down the cooler's attached chute.
"Sure. What do you want, jelly babies?"
"Some of the Bassett brand, if you don't mind. And a few rolls from the box next to it—we should arm ourselves in case we run into our mysterious correspondent."
Peri picked up some of the indicated tubes. "You hide weapons in your candy cupboard?"
"Of a sort. Less of a weapon and more of a…" The Doctor's lips pursed as he thought. "Precaution."
Peri's eyebrows knit together. "You don't like violence."
"Who said anything about violence? Now then, shall we away?" And without further explanation, the Doctor tucked their basket under the crook of his elbow and sauntered towards the TARDIS doors. Peri hurriedly swiped the wall panels shut and followed.