Dear Kerry,

How are you? Here's the latest news from beyond the stars.

I've been meaning to write for ages. Now finally got a minute. The Professor's busy somewhere in the TARDIS. When I last saw him, he was muttering something about checking the main logic junction, or some nerd-speak like that. I reckon he makes half these things up just to impress me.

I thought I'd teach him a lesson, right, which is why I'm writing. He always likes to be the one who knows what's going on. Sometimes I think he wants me around just to ask questions and blow things up. I never go off on my own without wondering what he's got in store for me this time, whether it's some totally weird journey of self-discovery – like therapy, but with danger – or finding he's been planning to wipe out some race of weirdoes for five thousand years and never got round to telling me I was down to help.

Anyway. He was buried under the TARDIS console as usual, mucking about, and I was bored.

So, I thought. Why should I wait for him to call the shots?

"Professor," I started. I was kneeling by the console.

He was in full Grouch mode.

"Quiet, Ace. I'm busy."

I rolled my eyes.

"When are we going to go somewhere?"

He popped his head out from the works.

"I've set the coordinates on random. Give the drive system time to realign to the navigational control bank – haven't you got some terrible explosive to manufacture, or something?"

It was already in the TARDIS fridge.

"As soon as I've finished work, we can go out and explore." He strained to see one of those weird BBC computer monitors he seems to go for. "Just ten of your incrrrredibly short Earth minutes to arrival time."

He disappeared again.

I'd had it. I was going out once we arrived, whether he was ready or not.

Sure enough, ten minutes later the column stopped moving. We'd arrived.

"Professor." I put my jacket on. "We're here. Wherever here is. I'm going out."

There wasn't a sound. He was still working away in there.

"I won't be long. You can put the kettle on for me when you're done."

Nothing. Not a sausage.

Right! I thought.

I grabbed the door lever – hoping he was holding the cable on the other end – and stormed out.

The first thing I heard was the announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Comet Club!"

And I stepped out into this massive room.

The Club was packed. All kinds of people. They were mostly dressed in silver and had mad hair, so I knew we must be in the future. Most of them were humans, but a few alien dorks as well. One was talking to a group of mates in some weird space language. Another had straws sticking out of his face, and he was using them to suck up this purple cocktail.

The bar covered about half a mile.

"Hiya!"

I turned round and saw these two girls. One was blonde and the other was a redhead. They looked like they were on their Friday night out.

"Welcome to Comet Club!" the first one squeaked. "Not seen you here before." She looked me up and down. "Hey, love the gear! Is it Eighties Night?"

"Don't take any notice of her," the other one said. "Couple of Proton Punches, she doesn't know what day it is. Typical Mirex girl." She grinned. "I'm Trudi. This is Stella."

"I'm Ace," I said.

"Come and have a drink!" Stella said. "We need to get a few in before we make planet-fall at three a.m."

Planet-fall?

Then I turned round.

There were these huge windows right behind me.

And I saw we were soaring through space. Below the window was this huge jet of flame.

The bar wasn't just called the Comet.

It was built on one.

They bought me a couple of these Proton Punches, anyway, so I was in a good mood. When the Professor's around, I usually find myself on lemonade. I was hearing all about Trudi's work. She was a secretary for a hexapod on the planet Promina.

And then, for the first time, I saw the cabaret.

A magician.

He was doing the usual stuff with cards and coins. I wasn't that interested, to be honest.

But Stella was.

"Not bad."

He was OK. I might have quite fancied him, year or two back. Nice-looking guy. Tall, with very blond wavy hair. Well romantic. He looked like he might have stopped off to slay a couple of dragons on the way.

He was doing the act for a girl further down the bar.

"And what was your card... seven of spades?"

He turned to the barman.

"Got that drink ready?"

The barman handed the drink over. And stuck on the side of the glass, like a slice of lemon, was the seven of spades.

"Whoa." Stella was sold. "Impressive."

"The cards were stacked," I told her.

"'Course they were," Trudi agreed.

The magician handed the deck of cards to the girl.

"Keep 'em. Souvenir. I've got plenty more."

He gave her a cheeky wink before heading down the bar to us.

"Evening, ladies! Let me introduce myself."

He reached up and produced a business card from thin air.

"Magnus King. Magician from beyond the stars."

I moved forward and smirked at him.

"No such thing as magic. It's make-believe. All in the patter."

"Couldn't agree more, my darling." He looked straight at me, very blue eyes. "Hey. You want to watch out in this place. Full of pickpockets."

He opened his hand.

And he'd got my necklace! The one you gave me, Kerry.

Stella went hysterical.

"Catch you later." Magnus handed the necklace back before going to the tables near the bar.

"Oh, I'm having more of this." Stella made to follow. "Just hope he can read my mind right now."

"Stella!" Trudi looked embarrassed.

"Oh, let her go." I was still in my good mood. "Serve her right if he saws her in half."

Stella went.

It was quiet without her. I took a long look around the club.

All the tables nearby were watching the magic. Magnus was popular. A fat woman with purple skin at one table had her eye on him. So did a dark-haired woman who was drinking a silver cocktail near one of the potted palms.

I don't know how long went by. Trudi and I were chatting. After light years of waitressing, it was nice being a customer.

Then suddenly, Stella was back.

There were tears in her eyes, staining her makeup.

"He's had my money off me!"

"What?" Trudi whirled round.

"Over there!" Stella pointed to a table, now empty. I'd seen Magnus chatting her up, few minutes earlier. "I thought he was just doing another card trick, there was three cards, but then... " She gulped. "He said: "Fancy a small wager? Just to make it interesting...""

"He tried that one on me as well," a nerdy little bloke said, further down the bar. "I had to work out which was the Queen..."

"Find The Lady," I groaned. "Classic scam."

"How much?" Trudi asked.

Stella blinked.

"Thirty credits!"

"Scumbag." I headed towards Magnus. "I'll soon pick his pocket!"

"No!" Stella cried.

She was upset. She didn't want a fuss made.

I paused.

Then I smiled.

"OK."

I went over to Magnus. He was about to try his latest card trick on the dark-haired woman. I gave him my cutest smile.

"Hiya."

"Ah. It's the doubter." He sounded annoyed at me barging in. "The little girl who didn't believe in magic."

"Actually." I reached into my jacket, and fished out my own deck of cards. "I do. And I'd like to do some magic for you."

A crowd was gathering. He had to go along with it.

I handed him the deck.

"Deal out two piles of cards," I told him. "Then take each pile. And deal into two more. Now..."

I turned over the top four cards to show the four Aces.

"Very good." He sounded narked. "The first trick learned by every seven-year- old."

"Nope," I told him. "The second. Here's the first."

I picked up the cards and held out the deck.

"Pick one."

He still didn't want to, but the crowd was watching. He took one.

"Now," I said. "Memorise. And put it back." I cut the card back into the deck. "Now, I'm gonna turn over every card. 'Til I get to yours."

I started turning them face up on the table, one by one. He looked bored. Until I went past the card he'd picked. Then he smirked.

"Sure you've got it right?" His blue eyes gleamed suddenly. "Like to bet?"

"Why not?" I met his eyes. "How about..."

I'd come out without any money, just like the Professor.

I took my necklace off again and put it on the table.

"My necklace. Against my mate's thirty credits. And everything else you've had off those suckers at the bar."

The dark-haired woman had left the table.

A few of the audience were giving him dirty looks now.

He was still trying to play it cool.

"All right."

"Right," I said. "That's a bet. Witnessed by everyone here. The next card I turn over... will be yours."

I reached for the deck. But I didn't go to the next card in sequence, as he expected.

I went back, to the one I knew was his.

"This. Was your card."

I picked it out.

"And I'm now going to turn it over."

I turned the card face down.

"The Ace of Clubs."

I'd got him. And he knew it.

I turned to see Trudi and Stella grinning behind me.

"And," I told Magnus. "You can buy us all another drink as well."

The Professor was still buried under that flipping console.

I was pleased with myself, actually. I even made him a mug of tea.

I knelt on the floor again.

"I'm back."

"Ah." He came out. "Interesting planet?"

"Wicked." His hat was lying on the floor. I picked it up and threw it expertly onto the hat-stand. "You missed some fun."

"Ah well." He reached inside the console, and the central column started to move. "Time to move on."

"Met up with a couple of girls," I told him. "It was a good laugh. Actually." I was feeling very smug. "I found time to do my Brownie's good deed for the day, as well."

"Did you?"

"They had this magician there." I started playing with a springy thing out of the works. "Total con artist. Still. I taught him a lesson."

I brought out Magnus's business card.

"And I came away with a souvenir as well."

"Oh yes?" The Professor gave it a quick glance. "I'm surprised you didn't keep one of his decks of cards."

"Yeah, well." I shrugged. "I'd had enough magic for one n –"

I stopped.

"How did you know?"

"Mm?"

"That he was using cards? I never said that."

Long silence.

"Didn't you?" He did his best to look innocent.

"Professor?" I kept my voice very calm, which he should have known was a danger signal. "What's going on?"

And then he used an old line of his.

"I'll explain later."

"Professor...!"

So much for calm. I went from nought to sixty in two seconds. I lunged at him.

"What's going on!"

"Ace..."

"Tell me!" I grabbed the mug off the floor. "I'll chuck your tea down the console!"

"No!"

That got him.

He sighed.

"These two friends of yours. Did they happen to say where they were from?"

"Yeah..." I said. "One was from Promina. And the other was from somewhere called... Mirex."

"And did these friends happen to tell you that Promina and Mirex were on the verge of a galactic war, one that would cause the deaths of millions?"

"No," I admitted. "Well. It's not the sort of thing you talk about over drinks."

"Now," the Doctor went on. "This con artist."

"Magnus -" I started.

"– King," the Doctor finished. "Was giving away decks of cards to spectators?"

He smiled.

"And did you see him give a deck to a somewhat solitary woman with dark hair?"

"Well," I remembered. "He didn't. I went over, he never got the chance."

The Doctor looked very satisfied.

"Excellent."

He started on his repairs again.

I wasn't letting him leave it at that!

"So?"

The Doctor paused.

"You might read up on that war in the TARDIS library, it's most interesting. Especially how it started. The crashing of a comet into Promina's largest inhabited city. Thousands of deaths."

It didn't take me long to cotton on.

"The Comet Club!"

"Cruising harmlessly through space, and making safe planet falls every closing time."

He put one of his spooky looks on.

"But if someone overrode the master control... gained the ability to pilot it... the Comet Club could become a very nasty weapon indeed. If the Mirexians got hold of the passwords... from someone who actually worked in the Club..."

"Wait..." I blinked. "You're saying, Magnus wasn't just a shyster. He was a spy?"

"Meeting with a representative of the Mirexian intelligence services. It all got into the history, eventually. There were a few counter-agents in the bar that night, from Promina. They had all the classic methods in mind. Dead letterboxes. Lists of names concealed in newspapers. But no one seems to have thought of a list of passwords... encoded in the backs of a very special deck of cards."

He picked up tools.

"As you would say, you did good. When the passwords weren't delivered, the comet never crashed. You saved thousands of lives tonight. It didn't stop the war, but it delayed it. Of course, it would be quite wrong for me to change the course of history."

He leaned inside the console once more.

"It's surprising how easy it is to pilot the TARDIS from in here."

He disappeared, but I saw his face. And I swear – he smirked!

Then I slammed the panel shut on him.

"Aagh!"

Say hi to all the gang, Kerry. And if I can persuade him to take me back to the right time, and find a postbox, I might even be able to mail this letter to you. You could even send it on to Mum! That'd get her thinking. Wouldn't it?

Love

Ace xxx