Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own anything, nor do I make any money from it.
A/N Thanks for the lovely response on the last chapter. I am glad you all liked it.
I did want to apologise for a minor mistake I made. The Time Lords from the Patrex chapters are called the Patrexes, not Patrexians. I have fixed that now.
I am hoping this chapter shows up in the alerts because ffn has been acting up a bit lately. Hopefully, I am able to upload this on the day that I intended.
Happy Reading!
The Deadly Auction: Platform Zephyr
Platform Zephyr was one of the most luxurious observational platforms in the solar system in the year 4 billion 57. It was owned by a conglomeration of private space cruise liner companies and was often rented out for posh private parties and events.
The auction in question was being hosted by Lord and Lady Warren and Mina Hilbert. They had co-founded several universities on Earth's outposts in the solar system, having built up their wealth through successful archaeological digs. The latest auction came after a rather fruitful dig in the colonies of Australia and the Pacific. The artefacts uncovered had been dated to be at least 3 billion years old.
Verification had taken close to a decade but they were finally ready to be uncovered and auctioned off. The biggest bidders at these sorts of things were usually museums and universities, although an occasional billionaire might take an interest in some of the more unique items. Warren and Mina had invested a lot into this affair, and were positive that they would have doubled their wealth before the night was over.
They had even gone ahead and hired well-known auctioneer Jermaine Silver to ensure a successful auction. Jermaine Silver was one of the elite in his profession, and it often cost quite a pretty penny to get him, not to mention that he would be booked out for months beforehand. Fortunately, he'd had a opening this week.
The hour was finally here, and the guests were starting to arrive. Zephyr had three main docking bays, though most of the guests would be arriving on a cruiseliner from Titan hosted by one of their investors and sponsors. It was due to arrive in five minutes, and Warren was scheduled to receive them.
On the other hand, Mina was waiting near the docking bays to greet the other guests. She and Warren always made it a point to receive their guests personally. They were all vouched for, of course, but it helped to get a feel for them. No one wanted to invite a criminal or a timewaster to their party.
The first of shuttles started to appear and Mina plastered her widest smile on her face as she greeted the Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light. Soon enough, she got completely busy with welcoming guests and having them escorted through to the main lounge for cocktails before the auction. She had just ushered two major representatives from the Museum of Terran History, when she heard the sound of a materialising time capsule.
Mina had only hosted one other event that the Time Lords had attended, and it was the event that had put her and Warren on the map. Having Time Lords coming to your event was a validation like no other. She patted her hair down as a blue Police Box materialised in the docking bay.
The door opened and a rather handsome Time Lord walked out of the capsule. He glanced around sharply before looking back at the box and giving a bow. The door opened again and a blonde woman dressed in a shimmering golden gown stepped outside. As soon as she had taken her first few steps away from the box, the Time Lord took his position on her right side, just a touch behind her.
Mina guessed at once that the woman was the one in charge, and the Time Lord had to be her escort. Perhaps her guard or her advisor, or both.
She walked over to them and sank into a curtsey. "Welcome to Platform Zephyr. I'm the hostess, Lady Mina Hilbert," she said with her best smile.
The two Time Lords did not smile. "Thank you for the welcome, Lady Hilbert," said the Time Lord curtly. "I am known as the Doctor, and it is my honour to present the most esteemed Lady Rose from the High Council of the Time Lords of Gallifrey."
"Lady Rose," said Mina respectfully, as she curtsied again. "It is an honour to have you both among us. This way, please. The guests are gathered in the main lounge for cocktails before the auction."
Mina started leading the way as the two of them followed her. They hardly spoke a word, but Mina saw that they were both taking in their surroundings with an almost practised sense of efficiency. It did make her wonder if she and Warren had come under scrutiny for some reason, though she dismissed the paranoid thought at once. They hadn't violated any law of time, nor done anything contrary to their legal system.
They arrived at the main lounge, and waited to be announced. The Head of Wait staff, Gladys Scarlet, was a willowy beauty with hair as red as her name, and rich purple skin that proclaimed her to be an Abrugine. Mina whispered to her who the two guests were, and she did not even attempt to mask her shock at the sight of them.
It took a pointed throat clearing from Mina to snap Gladys out of her shocked state, and her purple skin darkened with embarrassment. She looked down at the introduction card and cleared her throat."From the planet of Gallifrey, we have Time Lords: the Doctor and Lady Rose."
The doors slid open and as the Doctor and Rose walked into the main lounge, every eye on the room was on them. Mina walked in behind them, practically feeling the respect for her and Warren rise in the eyes of the guests.
Behind her, Gladys asked one of the other staff members to take over her duties and slipped away to the room on the side. She was joined almost immediately by her partner, who took one look at her agitated state and sighed.
"Calm down, Gladys," he said exasperatedly.
"Time Lords, in case you missed it!" she snapped at him. "We did not plan for this."
He rolled his eyes. "The plan remains unchanged," he said firmly. "Their presence changes nothing!"
"All very well for you," said Gladys, her amber eyes flashing with anger. "I'm the one who will be risking my neck."
With a snarl, he grasped her throat tightly. "Watch your tongue with me," he said through gritted teeth as Gladys started choking. "I'll not let a mere Abrugine order me around. Know your place with me, Gladys Scarlet, or this purple neck of yours shall be white before you know it!"
He relinquished his grip and Gladys clutched at her throat, trying to get air back into her lungs. She watched him straighten himself up, before shooting her an almost mocking smirk.
"I promised you that little diamond, didn't I?" he said. "The one you need to liberate the remaining of your people from the human colonies?" Gladys nodded slowly, still looking a little frightened.
He smiled at her. "Then rest easy, my little Abrugine. The plan shall work flawlessly. The diamond shall be ours before the night ends."
"So, how am I doing?" asked Rose, a little nervously.
"Splendidly," said the Doctor, his gaze shining warmly through the tough Time Lord exterior that he had adopted. "Should I be a little worried at how easily you are doing this?" he joked.
Rose suppressed her smile, though her lips quirked up a little. "I am just imitating the Time Lords from Gallifrey," she said. "Pretending that I own the whole bloody universe and everyone else around me is a nasty bug. Charming, innit?" she asked, her accent slipping a little.
The Doctor raised his flute of champagne in acknowledgment before taking a sip from it. "Right, I think we ought to mingle with the guests," he said. "I think I'll speak to our hostess Lady Hilbert, and find out more about the auction."
Rose nodded. "And I think I'll head over there," she said, nodding towards a tall, burly man with dark gold hair and a bright smile that seemed to shine even across the room. "That's Jermaine Silver, the auctioneer."
"Hmm, be careful," said the Doctor, eyeing the man in question.
"You know I will be," promised Rose as she straightened herself up and started to make her way towards Jermaine. "See ya."
The Doctor watched her move with perfect poise and grace as she crossed the room, and smiled to himself. She really was doing a good job. Even a practiced eye was not likely to think of her as anything other than a Time Lady.
He thought back to her promise of discarding the dress once this was over, and couldn't help the smile that bloomed on his face. Sometimes, he wondered at his own good fortune.
Shaking himself from the thoughts of Rose, he located Lady Hilbert and started to make his way to her, the smile on his face replaced with a look that would have made Borusa proud.
"Lady Hilbert, a word?" he said politely, yet with the command clear in his voice.
"Doctor, is everything to your liking?" asked Mina, a little nervously.
"Yes, quite," he said. "I was wondering if I could inquire about the security at this event. It is part of my duties to protect Lady Rose, you understand."
"Oh, of course," said Mina. "Warren, my husband, has been responsible for managing the security teams. Rest assured, the security is completely foolproof."
"Regardless, I would like a quick rundown," said the Doctor.
Mina nodded quickly. "Yes, well, the exits are all password coded, so even if we weren't in a time of peace, there would be no chances of an invasion. There are four security teams of seven people each, monitoring every inch of this Platform, and an additional team surveying the footage from the security cameras."
"And what of the artefacts? Surely, there would be some who would try to acquire them through less than legal means," said the Doctor, raising his eyebrows.
Mina shook her head at once. "There is no chance of that happening, Doctor," she said. "Every artefact is kept in a secure vault, and has its own unique security key that's coded to my molecular structure. It cannot be transmatted, teleported, or even moved without my permission."
"And what of the vault itself?" he asked.
"Billions upon billions of ever changing combinations, not to mention a security team both inside and outside the vault," said Mina, a tad smugly. "Trust me, Doctor, it is impregnable."
"Well, I never quite liked impregnable, you know. Sounds too much like unsinkable. Poor Titanic," he said. "Very well, Lady Hilbert, you have put my mind at ease. Thank you."
"Of course," said Mina, looking chuffed. "I am glad I proved to be of help."
The Doctor gave her a small smile. "You most certainly did."
"Cruk." The Corsair swore loudly, startling Fitz.
"What? What's gone wrong?" he asked.
"The Doctor just sent a message," she said. "They have coded the security key of every individual artefact to the hostess' molecular structure."
"What's that mean when it's at home?" asked Fitz.
"It means even if we get through the vault and get the Peylix, she can recall it back to herself," explained the Corsair.
"How? By remote or something?" asked Fitz.
"No, it's literally coded to her DNA. All she needs is a small transmitter and wham! The Peylix will be back in her hands," said the Corsair.
"But isn't it an auction though?" asked Fitz. "How are people supposed to get those things then?"
"She will cancel the security code once the item has been auctioned off," she said. "Well, this changes things a bit."
"Yeah, clearly," said Fitz. "How are we even meant to get the damned thing if she can just call it back?"
"Several ways, actually," said the Corsair. "Come on, help me find a Riix molecular scanner."
"Lady Rose, it's a pleasure," said Jermaine as Rose approached him.
"Likewise, Mr. Silver," said Rose with a small nod.
"Oh, do call me Jermaine," he said, flashing his bright smile again. Rose wondered what sort of alien teeth whitener he had used to make them gleam like that. "I must say, it was a surprise to us all that the Time Lords thought to attend this event."
"We prefer the occasional excursion outside of our realm," said Rose in a tone she remembered former President Flavia using.
"Oh, of course," said Jermaine, his smile slipping a bit. "So, how do you find the venue?"
"It's adequate, of course. A little primitive for my taste, but adequate," said Rose. "Tell me, Jermaine, have you hosted many events with Lord and Lady Hilbert?" she asked, deftly steering the questions away from herself.
"It's my first one," said Jermaine. "To be honest, I was not very keen on it. Archaeological artefacts are not really my forte. I usually auction art and the likes."
"As I understand, there is a fair bit of art on the auction list," bluffed Rose.
Jermaine nodded at once. "Oh yes, there is. Unusual stuff, but people pay a lot for it," he said, and then flushed a little. "Of course, the crowning glory will be the diamond," he added quickly.
"The blue diamond, I believe," said Rose with a nod, glad that her bluff had paid off. "Have they managed to trace the origins of that artefact?"
"No, I don't believe so," he said, furrowing his brow. "Doesn't really matter though. It's a valuable diamond, and will fetch the biggest share of the night, just you see. Will you be bidding on anything?"
"I find it far too frivolous, I'm afraid," said Rose, with a wry smile. "If you will excuse me, Jermaine."
"Of course, my lady," he said, giving her a short bow.
Rose nodded in acknowledgment and went off to find the Doctor. Jermaine had been more help than possible. Now, they were certain that the humans were definitely unaware of what the Peylix was, or what it did. It had perhaps made things a little bit simpler.
Gladys nodded at the security team waiting outside the vault as they let her in. The team inside searched her person again, making sure that she wasn't armed.
"What do you need, Abrugine?" asked Duncan, the leader of security unit 8A.
Gladys' lips tightened but she didn't react to the disrespectful way that he addressed her. "Lord Hilbert has asked me to do a final inventory of the artefact and present the results to him," she said monotonously.
"Check her story," snapped Duncan to one of his unit members who immediately got on the comm. link to speak to Warren Hilbert.
A few moments later, she nodded at Duncan, who glared at Gladys and gave a nod. "Be quick, Abrugine," he ordered.
Gladys didn't respond as she got to work. She quickly took inventory of all the items before she reached the finely carved wooden box which held the diamond. She slid the box open and took the diamond from it.
"What are you doing with that?" demanded Duncan. "Put it down!"
Gladys rolled her eyes but placed it next to the box, instead of inside it. "Lord Hilbert said that the diamond needed to be kept separate from the box," she said.
"What for?" asked Duncan rudely.
"So, that it makes the required impact on the guests when Mr. Silver transmats it up to the podium during the auction," said Gladys, as if explaining to a child.
"Whatever. Get out if you are done," said Duncan with an eye roll.
Gladys shot him a cold smirk. "I am indeed done," she said. "Thank you."
With dignity, she turned around and stalked out of the vault. Duncan and other members of unit 8A relaxed a little after she left. Even after years of peace, the presence of Abrugines put humans at unease. It was a good thing they had won the war, since the alternative would have been the enslavement of the human race instead.
The blue diamond that was resting beside its box started to glow a little, unbeknownst to the security team. As every moment passed, they started to feel more and more suspicious of the Abrugine who had come into the vault.
Duncan started remembering the stories of the wars with the Abrugines that his grandfather had fought in. Never trust an Abrugine as far as you can kill them, he had said. Duncan began to feel the restlessness again. The Abrugines were still a very powerful race. They could attack at any moment. They could attack this very Platform on this very day.
Paranoia took hold, and Duncan picked up his comm. to contact the main security team. "This is Duncan, from unit 8A. Prepare for lockdown, we are about to have an Abrugine invasion on our hands. Sound the alarms!"
There was silence on the other end before the head of security spoke. "You are absolutely right of course, Duncan," said Quentin, the Head of Security. "We are about to have a war on our hands. I'll sound the alert and send a message to Earth. The Abrugines are going to enslave us all!"
Duncan cut off the communication and looked at his team. "Round up every stinking Abrugine you can find, and blow their heads off," he ordered. "Don't leave any of those filthy purple bastards alive. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" they chorused and left the vault at once.
In the vault that was now empty of all personnel, the glow of the Peylix started to brighten.
A/N End of Part 3. Thanks for reading.
Time Lord artefact made by Omega, the maniac. Hardly likely to be something nice, is it? You might be able to guess what it is if you have listened to Lucie Miller's audios with Eight. So what did you think?
The next chapter will conclude the adventure. It will be up soon. See you then!
~ Phoenix