The Eye of Ashaya (comic story)
The Eye of Ashaya was a comic published in two parts by IDW Publishing. It featured the first appearance of Christina de Souza since her debut in Planet of the Dead.
Summary
Part one
Majorca, Spain: After a series of stressful adventures, Amy Pond and Rory Williams are dropped off by the Doctor on the island of Majorca in the Mediterranean Sea for a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, the time they materialise in (to all appearances the early 21st century, though this was not made explicit) is less than ideal. Whilst waiting at the airport for a flight out, Amy complains that the hotel that looked so nice in the brochure isn't actually built yet, it rains the whole time, and the only "exotic food" available is soggy fish and chips at a fake English pub. Rory, whose dogged attempts at optimism are repeatedly stymied by Amy's complaints, finally manages to point out, "At least we'll be home soon, eh?" This turns out not to be true either, as an announcement immediately informs them that flights off the island are delayed indefinitely. Before Amy can finish threatening a dire fate for the people in charge, Lady Christina de Souza appears, striding confidently to the front of the queue, explaining that she has a private jet and a pressing engagement in Utah. Before Rory's open admiration of Christina and her jet can get him in too much trouble with Amy, the Doctor saves the day by materialising the TARDIS in the middle of the airport and offering the couple tickets to "the most luxurious star-liner in the galaxy." Delighted that her holiday might not be a total disaster, Amy accepts the tickets over Rory's assurances that all they wanted was to go home. After a brief altercation with the local police is settled with judicious use of the psychic paper, the three head off to the Excelsis, which is currently traveling through the Ashaya Nebula.
Ashaya Nebula: In the Ashaya Nebula (located "a couple of years" in the future and "a few galaxies over," according to the Doctor), Captain Vorch of the star-liner Excelsis is introduced to Ambassador Trelayce of the Karkaptan Inheritance by his Ashayan first mate. The captain dismisses his first mate's attempts and asks him to go see if anyone needs their drinks refreshed. "These Ashayans forget their place," Vorsh explains to the ambassador apologetically. Trelayce acknowledges that the sight of the dying red giant at the nebula's core is beautiful to look at, but suggests that the native Ashayans might not find it so lovely to see their world die along with their sun. Vorch rejects the notion that the Ashayans are trapped on their planet, noting that the Vodiran Bloc has offered them all positions as vassals and thralls. Lady Christina de Souza strides in then, having somehow made it off Earth and on to the star-liner before the TARDIS and its crew. She introduces herself to the captain and allows him to flirt shamelessly while her disgusted alien companion, a catlike creature she calls Neko, abandons her shoulder in order to mingle and cough up a hairball, not necessarily in that order.
Meanwhile, something is screwy with the TARDIS. As the Doctor tinkers with its controls, sparks fly from the console. The Doctor tells Amy and Rory to go ahead while he tries to fix things. Upon exiting the TARDIS the Ponds find themselves falling, realizing the phone box is somehow parked at a ninety degree angle and perhaps a meter off the floor. The Doctor agrees that parking sideways was a bit odd.
The scene shifts back to Lady Christina and Captain Vorch. The captain is still flirting, but Lady Christina manages to get him to explain that the ship's shields are powered by the largest diamond in the galaxy, a jewel plucked from the center of the red giant the ship is approaching. In fact, it seems that the extraction process is responsible for causing the star to die and dooming the Ashayan homeworld. "The price we pay for progress," says Vorch. "So much easier when someone else pays," Lady Christina replies, a look of disdain on her face. The two walk by Amy and Rory, who are shocked to realize she is the same woman they had seen at the airport on Earth not long (in their timelines) before. The Doctor interrupts them to give them the quick version of Lady Christina's backstory: she is a thief, billionaire, socialite, and bus driver who he had last seen on the run from U.N.I.T. Amy tells him they saw her in Majorca, where she had announced her intention of going to Utah. "Of course," says the Doctor. "The vault. Christina, you sly fox."
Meanwhile, Neko silently observes three Ashayans conspiring in a dark corridor. Two bald Ashayans urge the first mate to consider helping them with their plan, which the first mate describes as mutiny and terrorism. The first mate refuses to listen to any more of their plan, but declines to alert his superiors to their scheme. "Sooner or later, sir, you're going to have to pick a side," one of the conspirators warns him. "You either stand with the oppressors... or with the goddess." Neko runs back to Lady Christina's quarters, complaining that her perfume makes the room smell like "a Betelgeusian bordello." Neko warns Lady Christina that the Ashayan crew is plotting something; Christina says she will have to keep them occupied somehow, but before she can elaborate, Captain Vorch walks in. She shoots him in the face with a neural pacifier and informs him that they are going to set the controls of the ship for the heart of the sun.
Characters
References
- The Doctor refers to Lady Christina as a "bus driver." (TV: Planet of the Dead)
- Betelgeuse is mentioned. (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)
Notes
- Because Amy and Rory expect to get home by plane instead of the TARDIS, it seems likely that the comic begins in the Ponds' own era (the early 21st century). The technology and manner of dress of the locals support this.
Continuity
- Amy says, "I could use a bit of modern luxury after all that 19th-century stuff." (COMIC: Hypothetical Gentleman)
- The Doctor says he last saw Lady Christina de Souza escaping a U.N.I.T. tactical squad. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
- In their personal timeline, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory were last (as far as has been shown to date) in Utah during the Doctor's apparent death at Lake Silencio. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut, The Wedding of River Song)
External links
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