4. Future Nolland.

Chloe has heard of a fantastic hotel, built on the planet Nolland, but far into the future. She has taken Simeon to Nolland before, briefly, but in their own era when life there was simpler (ref. 32).

A developer had later built the hotel with a view of two tall natural structures that visibly sway synchronously, significantly and in opposite directions as a moon passes overhead. These structures have become known as The Tonsils. .

The local fauna, the Nolls, are football-shaped lifeforms who can roll around or gradually morph to other shapes at will but are said to be completely harmless. They participate enthusiastically with the hotel, enjoying being petted like dogs or cats in the sunshine.

Simeon and Chloe arrive in this luxurious hotel using her Wristwatch Tardis and check in.

Once in their room, they meet their room attendant, Violet, whose job it is to be there at a moment's notice at any time to serve their every need. A very swish hotel! Clients come from all over the Galaxy.

They get on well with their room cleaner, Violet, jovially.
"How is it to work here?" Simeon asks.
Violet replies with an "Okay," hesitantly.
"Where is home for you?" Chloe asks sympathetically, glancing at Simeon, hoping that he might join her in checking this out. She can tell that the working environment isn't quite what Violet had wanted.
"I'm from Skelp," Violet says.
"And the other staff?" Simeon asks casually.
"They're all from Skelp. The hotel is modelled on a hotel on planet Skelp," Violet volunteers. "So, we all feel at home here."

It appears there's much more to tell in the story Violet tells them. "Much of it is identical. The founder of the Hotel was from Skelp and when he told others of his intention to build here, everyone was fascinated. The view of the swaying structures is fantastic."

"But it hasn't stayed that way?" Simeon guesses from Violet's earlier hesitation.
"Well, no, it hasn't," Violet admits. "It was like heaven working here when I started, but recently we haven't been getting paid, and home leave has been cancelled. We feel trapped now."

Simeon glances at Chloe who looks concerned.
"How long has this been going on for?" Chloe asks with concern.

"Only a few weeks," Violet says. "But the Hotel Manager is very twitchy about it. One of the other managers told me that he said the Hotel Nolland has been taken over and has new owners. He said he'd been told that the hotel was running at a loss and the buyers had bought the hotel and the whole planet for next to nothing. Oh, I'm saying too much, I'll start to worry you."
"It's alright that you share your worries with us," Chloe says gently. "I can tell there's more you need to share. Please share it."

"Alright," Violet says. "For a while now, the hotel has been making a loss and the new owners won't pay anything to assist the hotel, and they haven't said anything about whether to close or continue. But the managers say there's so little money left they can no longer pay for refuelling the visitor spaceships for their return journey, so no more visitors will come."

Chloe glances at Simeon. This feels more serious.
"Or no more visitors can go," Simeon guesses glumly.

Violet starts shaking with nervous fear at her situation. Chloe sits her down and puts her arms around her. "I'm sure we can help."

"No, I don't think you can," Violet says, starting to sob. "You're the last set of visitors and you can't leave either. You're trapped here, too; and the managers won't tell you."

Chloe looks at Simeon.
"We're trapped?" Simeon blurts out almost hopelessly. He looks at Chloe, forgetting for a moment that she has other means of leaving the planet.

"We'll all be alright," Chloe says calmly to comfort Violet and soothe Simeon. "I'll make it all alright."

Violet looks at her as if she's just saying that to calm her. "That's all very well for you to say that, but we'll never get home." She sobs, then pulls herself together. "I'm sorry, I'd better let you get on."

Just then the whole hotel shakes with a severe ground quake.

Violet grabs the end of one of the beds and Simeon looks around for something to hold or somewhere to dive underneath. He chooses a sturdy looking table and dives under it in case the ceiling collapses.
Chloe stands up and prepares to activate her Wristwatch Tardis to get her out of there if the worst happens. She reasons that she can always return to that precise time later if she wants to, and she can then rescue Simeon and Violet.

The hotel stays standing.
"The hotel was built extremely solidly, thankfully," Violet says. "It's built on very squidgy ground like all the ground on Nolland, so it was built especially sturdily."

"What was that ground quake?" Simeon asks trembling.
"The Bicx," Chloe announces. "I recognise that style of ground quake, I've come across it before."
"But that was terrible," Simeon says. "How can you have felt that before?" He looks at Chloe with concern.
"When I was travelling with the Doctor," Chloe says. She knows that Violet won't possibly have heard of the Doctor, but Simeon has, so it's safe for her to mention him.
Chloe looks at Violet who has wrapped herself around the bed end.
"Violet, I'm going to stop them! They're mining the planet."

Violet looks at Chloe, then at Simeon in wonder. She's astonished. How can Chloe possibly do anything against this?

Chloe disappears suddenly right in front of Simeon and Violet.

Simeon has never seen Chloe disappear before. Whenever she has travelled using her Wristwatch Tardis with him nearby, she has been holding on to him and he's gone with her.
Suddenly Simeon feels scared; very scared! Chloe, his rock and fortress, has gone; his only means of escape. And now he is helpless on an alien planet that may soon become a desolate ruin.

What can Chloe do? Why has she gone on her own?