"Ow! I almost tripped over a tree root!" Tristan growled as she and the Doctor trekked through the path again.
"Here." The Doctor handed her the sonic screwdriver.
She lit it up and they walked down the path in silence. When they got to the gates, they saw the same castle-like building and all the lights were on. She handed the sonic back to him and they both took a deep breath before standing in front of the gates. She raised her hand to push the gate open, but it opened itself.
"The doors are…automatic." She gasped, "But they're using those giants as slaves? Couldn't they just get up and leave?"
"If you were that position," he whispered, "And you left, you would be scared of getting caught and faces whatever consequences would follow."
She never said anything back, but the knew that she was thinking he was absolutely correct. They inhaled at the same time, made the same faces as smoke flew up their nostrils, and stepped through the gates right feet first. After two steps, they stopped, exhaled, and looked at each other.
"Well that wasn't so bad." He shrugged.
It wasn't until they both took another step forward and an ear piercing alarm went off.
"Maybe that's why they don't escape," She sighed as several security guards dressed all in black came running towards them from the distance, "are we running?"
He shoved his hand into his coat pocket, "No need," he looked straight at her, "I've got it under control. Gentlemen!" He held out the psychic paper and they all stopped, "We are employees of the Intergalactic Fuel Trade Corporation and we are here to conduct a survey on your planet's fuel distributor. May we be taken to your leader?"
The security guards didn't seem fazed at all, "Come with us," one of them said.
Immediately, the guards spread apart and made a circle around the Doctor and Tristan as they all walked towards the building. Once they all got to the giant wooden doors, the guards on the left, right, and back dispersed and left while the two guards in front stayed behind. One of the guards grabbed a large door handle and hauled the right door open. Once they all got inside, the two guards, like a well-oiled machine, resumed their positions in front of the Doctor and Tristan.
Inside, there was a wide wooden staircase in the back center of the room; the floors were covered corner-to-corner in a gold and red carpet that sported a gothic foliate design. Deep burgundy wallpaper that, too, sported a gothic foliate design was plastered all over the top half of the walls while the bottom half was lined with dark wood panels. The light sconces were dim and looked like they were meant to look like torches. The ceiling was high and decorated with intricate copper designs and large, but delicate, crystal dim chandeliers. Almost every room looked the same. The only difference was the various unique pieces of art that hung on the walls in thick golden frames. The hallways had little mahogany tables with lion-like legs carrying expensive china vases or exotic flowers and the rooms were filled with luxurious Victorian style furniture, gold and red with fringes. Nothing was dusty, it seemed like someone cleaned the place every single day.
The Time Lord and his companion were led to some sofas and were told to have a seat. They smiled and did what they were told and the two guards went to the front desk and spoke to a smiling receptionist.
Tristan plopped herself down and the sofa was so deep she almost sank into the cushions, "Bilmey," She tried to haul herself back up, "this place looks like Dracula's lair, or I'm at a masquerade and the Phantom of the Opera is going to pop up in a cloud of smoke any second." She looked over at the Doctor but he looked like he was deep in thought, so she continued talking, "So…the Intergalactic Fuel Trade Corporation huh? It sounds like complete rubbish; I can't believe it actually worked. That must've been some fancy badge you thought up on that psychic paper."
The Doctor finally cleared this throat, obviously startled at the last thing she said, "How do you know how the psychic paper works?"
"We can go up now." One of the two guards said and the Doctor and Tristan quickly, but clumsily, stood up and followed them up the wide staircase.
Once they got to the top, they turned right and walked down a narrow hallway to, what else but a door.
"We will leave you to it." The guards said quietly and hurried back down the hallway and staircase.
On the door was a thin gold plate and engraved on the plate was the name Edna Ripley. The two companions looked at each other, remembering the carvings on the cave wall, and the Doctor knocked on the door loudly.
"Come in." A female's voice called out.
When they entered, the room looked like all the other rooms in the building, except it was smaller and there was a desk and several bookshelves inside. The woman, who they automatically assumed was Edna Ripley, motioned them to sit in the two chairs that were directly in front of her desk.
"Hello," She didn't smile, "My name is Edna Ripley."
So she was Edna Ripley. Her skin was like porcelain and she was wearing a very boring, very gray, power suit and black-framed glasses. She wore red lipstick on her thin lips, and her dark brown hair in a tight, tight, bun at the back of her head. She stuck out her hand with her deep purple-varnished nails out at the Tristan.
She took it and shook it firmly, trying to act as business-like as she could, "Nice to meet you, my name is Tristan Wolf and this is the—"
"John Smith." The Doctor cut her off and grasped Edna's small hand.
Edna flashed a friendly smile at the Doctor but not at Tristan, probably because he looked like he made an effort with his image.
"So," Edna clasped her hands together and placed them on top of her desk, her left hand donned a huge rock of a wedding ring, "What brings you two surveyors to our planet, Fossilius, in the middle of the night?"
"Um," Tristan said in an obvious tone, "a survey." She winced as she felt the Doctors right hand squeeze her thigh.
"…And one final question Mrs. Ripley," the Doctor started, pulling his glasses off, "What are the giants for?"
The three of them had been having a very intense time. Doctor wouldn't let Tristan say anything let alone ask any questions. He made them up all on the spot and didn't write any answers down. Edna didn't look like she was amused at all; in fact, she looked as if she could melt your face off if she stared at you for too long.
But after that single question, every muscle in her face nudged just a bit and her left hand reached for a button. When she pressed it, a shot of static filled the air.
"Benson, Rogers" She called, "I think it's time for you to take Mr. Smith and his associate back to where they came from." They could hear heavy footsteps walking towards the door instantly and she stood up, "It was nice meeting you, hopefully we can discuss business sometime."
The Doctor and Tristan were pulled all the way out past the gates.