After a long and painful search, Braxiatel finally found what he was looking for- more accurately, whom he was looking for. The hotel really was lovely, but if someone could so easily barge into their kitchen and be a pest, that was going to be taking several points off of the review.

The red carpets held a tough grip on his bare feet- he'd forgotten to get fully dressed because of the distraction, and Bernice's own need to change for the purposes of getting to her job. It felt... indecent. But following the trail, eventually Brax caught on to their intruder.

Spanner in one hand, the Doctor seemed to be doing repairs to an external part of his TARDIS to pass the time, at the end of one of the dimmer hallways on the floor. Back facing away, Braxiatel tapped him on the shoulder and cleared his throat in a bid for his attention.

"Ahem, Doctor?" he asked.

The Doctor jumped, turning to face him uncomfortably. "Errrm... Yes, Irving Braxiatel?"

"...Just Braxiatel will do." He swallowed, somewhat nervously, somewhat ominously. It was a serious situation he was angry about, but something he recognized needed to be handled with care. "I wanted to speak with you about this morning's... situation."

The Doctor cocked his head and rolled his eyes, nearly dropping the tool on his foot. "Oh, god..." he groaned.

Brax tried to fiddle with his cufflinks- but to avoid snagging, the pyjama suit didn't have any. Instead, he resorted to straightening his tie, in this case to look serious and relaxed. "It was quite inappropriate showing up like that, you know." He explained. "It would be greatly appreciated if you did not do it again. Ever."

The Doctor attempted to seem nonchalant, not that his general air of grumpiness helped matters. The result was mixed. "It was unexpected. If you're going to be there I won't do it again. Professor Summerfield does happen to be important to me, you know," he explained. "I wanted to know where she was so I could make sure she was alright. I hadn't heard from her at all since I was last at your place. It was worrying."

Indignantly, Braxiatel responded. "Well, I assure you that she has been with me and she is quite alright. I'm quite sure Benny would appreciate it if next time you just call or text instead of just showing up unannounced. I would appreciate it too."

Attempting to make a calming gesture, but with one hand occupied with the spanner, it turned out quite a bit more aggressive looking than he intended. "Alright, but I admit, I still don't trust you. There's something fishy. She can protect herself though, I understand I did overstep."

Brax put a hand to his mouth in careful consideration. "You don't trust me? Well at least that's consistent across all timelines and universes. -Did I even exist where you come from?"

The Doctor wasn't sure whether to nod or shake his head at that, so the result was more of a wiggle. "...Yes- and no. I don't even have a brother, but I had a sister with your name. She was nothing like you though, I don't believe. She died rather young, in the war."

Brax stared close, analyzing the Doctor's expression and body language to the best of his ability. "I see. I suppose I could say I'm sorry, though regardless if I am the same Braxiatel, I am Braxiatel. And- well. Rather a lot of my alternate selves have had violent and painful deaths already, so it doesn't make a particularly huge amount of difference." He seemed a bit too calm at that.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and cracked the door of the blue box open. "Thank you for your sympathy..." he snarked. "But whatever you are, Irving Braxiatel- don't lay a finger on Professor Summerfield."

"I will lay as many fingers on Benny as she desires," Brax shot back, incredulous.

"Now that's what I was worried about..." he frowned and shook his head at the implication. "It's a horrible idea for both of you. A human and a Time Lord- no matter how extraordinary the human Summerfield is... You know it won't work out. We don't fit."

"Well, don't bother worrying. What Bernice and I do in our consensual relationship is none of your concern. And whether or not it works out, it is not your place to judge either." Braxiatel put it simply, shooting a glare and just barely remaining civil, arms crossed.

The Doctor furrowed his brow, then swallowed. "Well- that's left me... concerned too. But I won't barge in on you. It won't happen again! The stabilizer calibration is complete, I should go."

Brax nodded, gaze stern and cold. "Yes, you should. Farewell, Doctor."

The Doctor stepped in and the TARDIS doors closed behind him. A few seconds later, the light on top began pulsing, there was a loud scratchy groaning, and a strong wind was stirred up by the engines. It slowly faded in and out of existence until it was gone, leaving Braxiatel alone once more.

That was him told off.

He'd need to go to the hotel room again, and get the khaki clothes he said he'd be wearing so they could go into the Martian bunker together without ruining his suit. Brax hummed as he strode back to where they were staying.


Meanwhile, Bernice was getting up to date at the site. The finds so far were marvellous, but the lovely people running the expedition that she picked up from seemed to have another reason for her coming onto the project than just her expertise. She understood why they wouldn't exactly be thrilled with her at being so late, but they were acting... strangely. Benny had the distinct feeling something about her presence wasn't exactly appreciated.

She had a look down, in the ruins. But she was going to wait on Braxiatel and see if he wanted to have a look. Mysterious dark tunnels didn't usually seem to be his thing, but what they could find wasn't just artefacts of the past, but a potential opportunity. Test their trust? One thing Brax wasn't was the adventuring sort, but she could show him the way.

And there were things revolving around Saurians that even Benny didn't understand. A relic could recognize a relic, as they used to say.

Benny trod off to her tent so she could send a report back to the Braxiatel Collection. Inside was small, simple, more than most would expect if they already were spending their nights in a five-star hotel. She rested her pith on the floor by her bedroll and sat on it to fill everything out. She recorded most of this type of thing these days, rather than writing it down or typing it up. Her holowatch was always on her, durable and waterproof- Bernice elected to send it out with that.

Flicking it on, she offhandedly recited her start to the whole thing. "New Mars' Excavation- Log 01, Professor Bernice Summerfield to the Braxiatel Collection: Due to an interruption, there was a bit of a hit to morale. But aside from that sorry start to today, the dig itself has been going really quite marvellously. We're uncovering some lovely Martian colony artefacts, dating back farther than anticipated. Motives of the crew and other sponsors... questionable-"

Then it vibrated. She expected to get to finish the log before anybody sent something back, but apparently not. Then she realized her mistake. She wasn't recording a data log at all. Bernice groaned.

She was telling it to the communication link.

What she didn't expect, after noticing her error- was for someone to say this: 'Ooh...! That is sooooo cool. And you're the first one to dig?'

"Oh, to hell with it-" They were just a curious kid by the looks of things. Who probably shouldn't have found access to this, but apparently that wasn't for her to choose. Her teacher instincts kicked in and she started lecturing on it anyway. "The entrance was found by others and they asked me to come over. I suppose I'm quite infamous nowadays. Judging by the way our overseers are acting, their motive is probably getting the relics appraised for Braxiatel. I... have the feeling that they may have caught wind of him coming along, and- well. It's always hard to be prepared for him."

'I saw your name in books. And I've heard of the Collection, I think...? That is so cool!'

She had a fan on here- huh. A little bit heartwarming, someone that young already interested in the craft. Benny was flattered, and in a giving mood. "Oh, did you? I've written quite a few books, actually. And I happen to live in the Collection at the moment. You seem nice enough, and it is a big hub for academics- if you have the resources you could probably come."

'Yeah I- I have lots of good books! I Kerblam them- I'm not very academic really- but I like to read books on things that interest me and I wanna explore. ...Why would they want to appraise them?'

The way the other diggers were acting had left her unamused, so she put it plainly. "Money. People love money. So much, most 'priceless' artefacts can be bought and sold, just at exorbitant prices- at least if you're Braxiatel or involved with him in some way."

'But they should be in a museum, right?'

"The Braxiatel Collection is a museum. He just has to buy," under her breath she muttered, "(or steal) a lot of the artefacts."

'Oh so they want them appraised so he buys them? I get it now...'

"Very likely, yes."

'I think. So he might buy some of the things you're digging up?'

"Also likely. We'll probably buy the most intact objects they'll be willing to let go of and they can sell the rest to others or display it themselves," she explained, falling down onto her sleeping bag.

'That's awesome. Preserving them is a really good thing to do. You must make a good team.'

"Aww..." The sweet affirmation put her at ease. But Bernice actually used a few words this time. "If we didn't think so I wouldn't be an archaeologist and he wouldn't own an entire asteroid to put his things."

'The Collection is on an asteroid?! I've only seen photos of it. I didn't know you could live on an asteroid...'

"Technically an extremely small planetoid with unnaturally strong gravity and an artificially maintained atmosphere. But yeah, more or less." Benny nodded her head a bit at the statement.

'My room's really small. But most of my things are in the workshop. Koschei's TARDIS made it for me. I- don't have anywhere near enough things to go on an asteroid. Or a planetoid. That's such a cool place to live.'

"It really doesn't look like one if you're on it though, except at night. You can tell because the sky is completely clear in a way it can't be on a proper planet," she fawned over the little planetoid, thinking of all the beauty it could show someone. One of the many reasons she called it home- then and now.

'Woah. I've always lived in a TARDIS. L-long as I remember anyway.'

Benny raised a curious eyebrow. As anyone with practical experience regarding TARDISes would know, children weren't typically involved with that either. "But- an open TARDIS with an airshell has a similar effect. Just without the lakes."

'Oh! Yeah like that! Cool! But we don't have lakes, yeah... I'm gonna have to go, sorry-'

"What was your name again? I- don't think I caught it."

'Ni-Nikhedonia. Or Nix, Professor Summerfield.'

"Well then, Nix- I'll see you around," Benny said.

'See you, bye!'

Just then, the canopy of her tent opened. She turned her head to meet his gaze.

It was Braxiatel, wearing a khaki shirt, pants, wellington boots, a pith hat- the whole shebang. But he still had his half-moon rimmed spectacles. It really was just as cute as Bernice imagined it being. He looked like a sweet sort of awkward dork in them.

"How do I look?" he asked sheepishly.

"Like a proper archaeologist." She stood up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Braxiatel looked away bashfully.

Grabbing her own pith on the way back out, Bernice grabbed a torch and directed him over to the tunnel entrance. The stone doors, rather unfortunately, couldn't be unlocked earlier, so they had to get drilled open with a seismic quaratol digger.

The pair descended down into the darkness, Benny pointing out various things on the walls. "Have a look. Definitely Saurian in origin. Ancient- the dialect of the runes isn't something even I'm the most familiar with, but I can gather it's a very general sort of base. The survey suggests it's quite large. Not an entire city exactly, but we think there's a good variety of location types."

Brax had a look himself, nodding in approval. "Yes, very interesting- would any of what's being found here be worth keeping, taking to the Collection?"

Bernice reluctantly nodded her head, but spoke her mind about the group. "Yes- there's some rather good stuff. But- they just want your money, you know."

"Is that why they were acting so strange to me?"

"Well, it's not every day that kind benefactor Irving Braxiatel actually shows up for a look," she commented from ahead of him, swaying her torch and lighting the way as they descended deeper.

"If they're worried about that, then your crew is sorely lacking. My standards are high, but not impossible- and I have plenty of disposable income. Provided that the artefact prices are reasonable-" but Bernice cut him off.

"Think they might even just want to keep everything and screw you out of the funding money. And they can't exactly do that so easily with you here in person. They're good archaeologists, don't get me wrong. Just not honest ones," Benny explained.

"Oh."

"Oh indeed. But, I promised you a look around- and if you can call them out on it before they snatch the finds, I think things will go swimmingly," he couldn't see her smile. She liked him being around, getting to show him something.

The yellow ring of light danced in the darkness, disappearing farther away when it passed by a corridor. "I think I'll need to turn up the brightness on this thing. Less time on a charge before it runs out, but we won't be here long, I don't think." Her steps echoed on the stone floor.

"And if it does run out?" he asked.

"Well, you'll just have to hold my hand and let me protect you then." Bernice did indeed turn the brightness up on the torch, making the thing itself extremely bright, but dimly giving life to the rest of the crossroads and letting them be able to see each other's features.

"Benny-" he mumbled, hiding mild embarrassment.

She grinned and huffed with fondness. "We're going down alone. Nobody will be here to hear you freak out about a spider on your face."

"...I'd rather not end up with a spider on my face, but fair point."

"Well, you know what they say about me..." Benny implied.

Then Braxiatel started listing things about her credentials and reputation across the universe."You're an accomplished archaeologist, teacher, mother, author, alleged deity in multiple cultures, snippy, intelligent but lacking impulse control to allow for wise decisions, noted functioning alcoholic-"

"Brax!" his name echoed across the walls and ceiling.

"-And a rather attractive woman who's funny, sarcastic, kind and loyal to her last breath," Braxiatel finished. "Hopefully not literally to your last breath, but you know what I mean," he added, just in case.

"Oh. Very nice- but that's not exactly what I was referring to. The song?" Benny hummed a bit of it. She knew he knew it- sometimes she caught him humming it or in the background on an antique record player- how Braxiatel managed to get a vinyl of it she never knew- but she was sure it was some kind of guilty pleasure of his, always seeming to pause it when that could be managed. "You know what I'm talking about, Brax. Don't try and hide it."

"Ohhh... Adventure is my name, adventure is my game? That one? Really?" He seemed surprised. "I thought you hated it."

"Yes- I do hate it, but that part was really the only bit that stuck. Still remembered for it centuries from now. But- I want to play it with you."

He finally got it. "Ah, so you want to take me on an adventure. Is that really such a good idea? I mean, with your track record-"

"Oi! Stop pretending yours is spotless too, Mister Irving 'Solve problems by making more problems that bite my arse later' Braxiatel." Then she added, much more politely, "The 'adventure' I wanted to take you on was mostly just going to be showing you around, looking at wall carvings and salvaging computers. Even if the lights went out, I can send a distress signal to base and they'll find us on the radar scan."

Something darted across the room in the dim light, just being caught in the corners of their eyes. Turning the torch around and catching a glimpse, a very large rodent emerged from the darkness and jumped out at them. It couldn't have been smaller than a husky, and had the teeth to match. Likely it was mad about the light- or it was hungry.

Brax's expression was grim. "...Should this be a regular occurrence, or should we run?"

"Both."

Without warning, Bernice grabbed hold of his hand and yanked hard as she bolted out of there, Brax eventually catching up rather than being dragged along. At least Benny knew the way, they really hadn't gone too far down, only making a couple of turns and descending a few hundred metres from the surface.

They were running out of stamina and the creature was starting to catch up, right as there was a loud bang.

A gunshot. One of the crew members had shot and killed it. "Should've warned you. This planet has ROUSes," the man stated.

Braxiatel sighed in relief as he caught his breath, but Bernice still seemed hesitant. "Let's get back to the surface then. I think you'll do much better negotiating and appraising, don't you?"

He nodded. "Definitely more up my alley, so to speak."

They finally caught sight of the light at the end of the tunnel and started trudging back up the long flight of stairs back into the day, the man who shot the ROUS leading the way back.

Not the best start, but hey. That certainly was an adventure.