The Peruclian Key

Chapter Eleven/"Evie and the Dastardly Prince"

By Johanna J. with MARVELOUS inspiration by Matt J. ~my son.

Note to the Reader: This is at the farther end of fan fiction. Come away anyway and discover a whole new universe with a different Doctor. She's off to face new adversaries and solve awesome mysteries on fantastic adventures with new companions. This little story has been slowly heating up. I hope I've captured a good portion of the Doctor's essence in this particular incarnation. I am always open to constructive suggestions and the occasional "huzzah". Enjoy. (So hard to wait till November 23rd, no?)

All in attendance of the impromptu meeting in Calico Jack's elegant quarters grew silent with the Doctor's impatient query, which finally gave a name for the mysterious pendant Avery wore. The only noise to be heard in the room was the whirring and odd clicking in Calico Jack's mechanical hand as he used it to scratch his head again. For a moment, it seemed as if he thought he could scratch his memory into fruition. Outside, the fighting and shouting continued on, but the silence in the room hung just heavy enough to dull the sounds of the pirate free-for-all for a short while.

"Well gor blimey! You know, I do believe that was it, 'the Peruclian Key'. Only they were all hush and mum about it. I never trust folks that can talk and dance circles around a thing without seeming to even ask about the very thing they're asking about, but they were most certainly asking about it nonetheless." He stood up and sauntered around his literary haven with his hands behind his back, then he stopped and knelt down in front of the fireplace and stirred up the smoldering ashes. He paused in his efforts to bank up the fire. "They smelled funny too." he said as he wrinkled his big nose at the memory.

Avery wondered who or what could possibly offend the man's nostrils after living in such tight quarters with those who seemed to bathe only on rare occasion. He found his own nose wrinkling at the thought. Suzy Q glanced up at him with newfound curiosity and briefly mimicked Avery's face with his own version of wrinkling his delicate nose, then his gaze drifted back to the enchanting telescope. The concept of smell was lost on him, he could sense odor and cite it's source, but the actual smelling part was something else. Avery smiled sympathetically at the bored android.

"Well, what is it then? How do you know anyway?" Calico Jack said. Then he waved his hand in mock defeat. "Nevermind. I should know better than to ask." he said with a broad smile as he settled into a comfortable chair by the fire. It creaked under his weight. He snapped his fingers and a small door in the back of the room opened. A Telnaxian trundled in bearing a silver tray laden with porcelain tea pot, five cups and five saucers, and an assortment of biscuits. "Thinking business is tea business, I always say!"

The Telnaxian poured hot tea for each of them at a snail's pace. He was slow and methodical as he went about the business of setting up a proper tea. He reminded Avery of the first Telnaxian he'd ever seen during his stay on Avalon-Smith. They did indeed all seem to look old and that boggled his mind.

"Come, come, don't be shy lads! You look like you could use a good cup of tea, and I only have the best. Hmmn, you two dandies could use a few hearty meals too." Avery and Suzy Q quickly took a seat on a wooden bench near the fire before Calico could clap them on the back again. The Doctor remained standing lost in thought for a moment before she sat in the chair opposite Calico Jack and began to absentmindedly leaf through a book on the round table nearby.

As Avery moved to take the fancy cup handed to him by the Telnaxian, the pendant he was wearing slipped from under his shirt. It glistened in the light of the fire. The Telnaxian stopped, set the hot pot down, bowed to Avery and went back to his tea-pouring ministrations.

"Why, uh, why did he do that?" whispered Suzy Q to Avery, who was just as puzzled. He recalled the other Telnaxian who had inquired about the pendant and bowed. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, he'd dismissed it as some alien cultural thing at the time.

"Because his home is in that galaxy, that's why." said the Doctor. "He is honoring you as its caretaker of the key just as the other one did." She took another sip of her tea as she watched the Telnaxian return to the pouring of the tea. He shuffled over to Calico Jack and set the largest cup in his hands, he smiled affectionately at the burly pirate captain who returned it with a toothy smile.

"He can't speak you know, had his tongue cut out by some thieving and murderous malcontents-and that's being too kind for that lot. I found him after we raided one of old Jericho's ships. Poor fellow, I couldn't leave him down there all bloody like that, he's been with me and Evie ever since. I call him Jasper. He doesn't seem to mind, he's one of the truest mates I've ever had."

"Who's 'Evie'?" asked Suzy Q.

"Why she's my ship of course!" boomed Calico Jack. "A man can't go sailing off to the stars without having a good ship under his toes! It's bad luck to not have a name for her! Can't have that, now can we? She's my Evie! A man needs all the luck he can get." said Calico Jack as he patted one of the wooden support beams, then he planted a light kiss on it. Suzy Q gazed all around the room as if he expected a woman to morph out of the walls.

Avery's attention, however; was on the Telnaxian named 'Jasper', somehow the name seemed to fit. He saw there were unshed tears shimmering in the alien's cloudy brown eyes. He surreptitiously studied the green alien a bit closer and realized poor Jasper bore many scars. Avery shivered, "Bloody hell, he's been through something and a half!" he thought to himself. Then he turned his attention to the Doctor. He was surprised she knew about the other Telnaxian in Avalon, he was sure he didn't mention it to her. She did indeed always seem to be a step-or a twenty, ahead of everyone else. She must have six sets of eyes in the back of her head hidden under all that hair!

"How do you know all that?" Avery and Suzy Q asked at the same time. They glanced at one another and smiled as if their constant thinking alike never ceased to amuse them. They knew it never would.

The Doctor didn't answer, but only sipped her tea. She closed her eyes as she savored the flavor. Truth be told, she needed a moment to gather her boundless thoughts and rein them in. She loved a good mystery and once again, she was more than happy to tumble into it and get lost sorting out all the tidbits. For whatever reason though, humans especially seemed to get rather grumpy when she did that. She'd often been accused of leaving them miles behind in more ways than one. She smiled at that thought, sometimes it was funny to make them grumpy.

"Gor blimey, but she's got a story to tell, I just know it. Oi, look at her, it's just like a storm brewing." said Calico with a hearty laugh. Yet he leaned in just like a child eagerly waiting for a bedtime story nonetheless. "What I really want to know it what it's like being a girl now." he said with a wink.

"Well, it's not rocket science Avery," she said deliberately ignoring Calico Jack's last remark. "The Collector did say it was one of the 'original three', the TARDIS analysis seems to agree, you have these mysterious pirates coming after it, the whole universe seems to be looking for it, and now you have a Telnaxian named Jasper bowing to you. You add all that up, and what do you get? It is the Peruclian Key, I am certain of it; well part of it anyway. He may not be able to speak, but he just answered my question with a simple bow. Plus, that's what it says on your pendant, it just took me a bit to decipher all the symbols. I spent a fair time in my library, I can tell you that!"

"Uh, well yeah. Yeah, I still don't get it though." said Avery as he scratched his head, although three-quarters of his confusion was due to Calico Jack's remark about the Doctor 'being a girl now', the other part was really about a whole library in the TARDIS. Given the look of irritation on the Doctor's face, he wasn't inclined to ask about either one. Still, it kind of startled him once again a little to think where he was at the moment and how little he knew about the Doctor still. His tea cup clattered lightly in his hands, but all he said was, "I never had a name for it like that, my father and grandfather didn't know either, and we looked."

"Well me neither." said Suzy Q not wanting to be left out of any conversation. He fidgeted a little as he stirred heaps of sugar into his tea and took another hefty dollop of cream. Calico Jack cringed to see him slowly sip the syrupy mix. "Oh, I do like tea! Oooh! Jammie Dodgers!"

"You would not have been given a name for it, most likely to protect you. You are wearing the actual galaxy Avery, there are a lot of quantum physics involved here; but if that ties your funny little human brain all up in a knot; consider it kind of like a real-time image for the moment and is itself part of the key to unlock . .. well, itself. It's a long story. I believe this one has twelve parts. Most people think it's all just legend, but in all legends, there is always a spark of absolute truth-always go for the truth, Avery. It will take to you to amazing places that will pop your mind wide open!

Now, galaxies are usually locked away for only two reasons really, one is to protect the precious inhabitants inside, and the other one is to protect us from something lurking inside-we can't ever risk the thing inside ever getting out. You know, 'destroyers of the universe' and all that dodgy business. I won't go into millions of years of history with you, but there are things out there bent only on total and utter destruction of every living thing; things you just can't imagine. The entire Izzicearin race for one, the Dollumides, Ulgens, and the Maeloks; and even the Daleks at one time. Personally, I like living. Living is good.

Of course, there are more. There are also the Pallagues, and to them, you are nothing but a cosmic crumb on a universe-size dinner plate really. If you think black holes are frightening-and I know a thing or two about those; try to imagine a massive, colossal creature who dines on the stars with whole planets for dessert. There is no reasoning with them; their only thought is to consume. They are poised in the space between universes. The only saving grace for you and me against that lot is that it's surprisingly difficult to get inside a universe when you're outside of one."

"Aye, that is the truth, laddies." said Calico Jack as he popped four biscuits in his mouth. "Nasty things out there."

"There's also the Nightmare too-the name alone should tell you something. It sought to devour every living and nonliving thing in sight to feed its utter and terrifying darkness-which was quite sentient by the way." she paused and sighed. "It did terrible things to people I cared about and I couldn't stop it in time." She sighed again. "Anyway, I believe this is why a galaxy might have been hidden-as well as a few others, to protect them from the clutches of the Nightmare. This is never done lightly mind you, and all the councils must be in absolute agreement."

The Doctor finished her tea and bounced up, she began to pace again. Avery caught the strange look that had come over the Doctor's face as she mentioned the thing called the Nightmare, but the troubled and almost sad expression moved over her features so quickly, he wondered if he'd imagined it. He had a little trouble envisioning what a 'sentient darkness' might be like, but didn't doubt there was anything wonderful about it. His mind was reeling of course, he had never considered what kinds of demons and monsters might be out running about in the universe. He had enough trouble just in dangling his foot over the edge of a bed lest the old specters of childhood days munched it wholly away.

"Of course, the galaxy inside isn't called the 'Peruclian Key', that would just be silly to name the thing you're trying to protect. I do believe it's actually name- -."

Suddenly the Doctor was interrupted rather rudely; for just then, there came a bright flash of light followed by an enormous blast. Calico Jack's ship shuddered and rocked back and forth. To Avery, it felt like the ship was actually in the water for once rather than sailing through space, and his stomach did a funny nauseating little flip inside his gut. He gripped the edges of the bench while Suzy Q slid clean off. Tea sloshed in cups and clattered in saucers as biscuits fell from shaken hands to the floor. Calico Jack jumped up sending his cup crashing to the floor, but the Doctor beat him to the door and bolted out first. Avery and Suzy Q ran after them not wanting to be left behind. Jasper merely sighed quietly and bent down to clean up the mess.

The other ship now listed heavily on its starboard side; a plume of thick black smoke poured out from a gaping hole there. Avery could see pirates scramble to and fro on the injured ship's decks and they looked like spiders crawling around. Several men started to clamber up the two rope ladders connecting the two ships purely for looting purposes in a desperate effort to get aboard the unscathed Evie.

"Sir, the Dastardly Prince has been hit; but we don't know who's doin' the hitting! It ain't us!" said a tall blue alien pirate standing in the doorway to the bridge. "Sensors ain't sensing nothing either! Why ain't they hitting us?"

Just then, another blast came roaring out. It violently rocked the Dastardly Prince so hard that the ship nearly went completely sideways, but it quickly righted itself up. More smoke poured out, only this time, the mainmast went down.

"There goes his warp drive! She's got pulse cannons like I ain't never seen before!" someone shouted as he ran by oblivious to the shock wave now roving through Evie.

"Think your mysterious pirates found us." said Calico Jack.

"Well, it's perfectly brilliant that way, don't you think? My sensors can find them. Avery and Suzy Q, back to the TARDIS, be quick about it!" the Doctor quipped. Calico Jack followed with big long strides. Once inside the safety of the TARDIS, she quickly started to push buttons, smack the screen once or twice, pulled various levers, and flip three different switches.

"I've extended her shields. It's coming from underneath you closer to the aft. Please tell me you finally fixed your gravity tether." said the Doctor.

"Drop the anchors laddies!" shouted Calico Jack as jogged back to Evie's wheelhouse. He grabbed hold of the ship's wheel and started to turn it hard to port. "Why yes, yes I did!" he said with a grin. A loud crashing noise came from below Evie with much splintering and mechanical groaning. Calico Jack beamed. "Found 'em. That should put a knot in their panties for a spell or two. Amateurs-or cheap labor." he muttered.

Avery and Suzy Q couldn't help but lean over the railing on the starboard side gangway for a look at the thing doing the blasting, but they didn't see anything save for a plume of yellowish smoke and with an eerie red flashing cast. Everything else beyond that was pitch black with the occasional red light. Before they leaned over any further. they were bodily yanked back once again by two small hands.

"What the devil are you doing? Get back inside. They're probably looking for you!" snapped the Doctor. "In the TARDIS now! I'm going to see what I can do to assist, but do not leave the TARDIS!" With that, she waltzed out of the door into the ruckus.

A single blast later and Avery and Suzy Q bolted out of the TARDIS. It hadn't occurred to them to be scared until they were told to stay put in a quiet place with the image of the Collector still standing there; their thoughts ran like wild rabbits darting to the darkest holes. They raced toward the Doctor who was up on the quarter deck standing there like a beacon of hope; at least to Avery anyway with her coat and hair waving in the breeze like that. Calico Jack was nearby shouting various orders as his crew worked together like well-oiled machine. However, Avery could see the Doctor was quite irritated when she whirled around to face him.

"Tell me, was there any part of what I said that indicated you should just go and do the polar opposite? Was I suddenly speaking Gork to you? Is there something about my face that beckons humans-and nosy androids, to ignore dire warnings?" she demanded as she stalked towards them with anger plastered all over her face. Avery and Suzy Q stumbled backwards thinking perhaps it would have been wiser to stay put, because he swore he saw a few sparks shoot out of her eyes.

"Sirs, you're uh, you're going to want to see this." Amid the smoke and chaos, a pair of half-scorched pirates came dragging a prisoner still bound in rope and rusty chains with a filthy burlap bag over his head. "We found him in the Dastardly Prince's hold all tied up. They shore wasn't letting this bloke wander off anywhere."

Calico Jack slowly pulled the bag off the unfortunate man's head and let out a gasp. With wide eyes, he glanced quickly at the Doctor, who showed very little emotion other than her passing anger, then he turned back to the man. The Doctor hesitated a moment before taking out her sonic screwdriver; without a word, she waved it all around the scruffy man and frowned at the apparent readings.

Through blackened eyes, the prisoner blinked several times as if he'd not seen the light of any kind for months. His skin was pale, he was bruised, battered, and obviously malnourished. The poor fellow was quite unsteady on his bare feet too, but his newly appointed pirate assistants hoisted him back up.

Once his eyes adjusted to his new surroundings, he smiled through broken teeth and said. .. .

"Hello, I'm the Doctor."