PREDATOR AND PREY

Chapter Twelve

"Wow!" Amy said when they looked around the tent. "This place is bigger than it looks from the outside."

"Time Lord technology, eh Doc?" Jack said to the Doctor.

"Jack…I don't like…"

"I know, I know but think of the shortening of your name as a term of affection, Doc."

"Whatever you say, Ja!" the Doctor said.

Rose giggled when Jack gave the Doctor a wry look. They watched while he looked around the room before focusing in on a table near the door. The man there was selling credit sticks. About one hundred long white sticks were grouped on his table while he stood behind it. The man looked dangerous with several scars all over his bald head and an eye patch over his right eye. He was also built like Schwarzenegger and looked like he meant business. The Doctor seemed unfazed by that while he told his friends to wait. He took his depleted credit stick out of his pocket and walked over to the table.

"Now what's he up to?" Jack said.

"Buying another credit stick?" Amy said.

"With what? He told us he didn't have any money. That's why we had to disguise ourselves to go get Jack," Rory said.

"Oh, is that why you did that? I just thought you were trying to get hired on and saw me," Jack said.

They watched while the Doctor spoke to the man for several minutes, cheerfully engaging him in banter. To their surprise, the man was pleasant with him and even laughed at a couple of his jokes.

"Pirate with a heart of gold, perhaps?" Jack said when the man laughed again and clapped the Doctor on the shoulder.

"Or he's in an extremely good mood," River said. "Then again, the Doctor can put people at their ease when he wants to."

The Doctor said a cheerful goodbye to the man and walked back to his friends.

"Come along then," he said.

"Mind telling us what that was about?" Rory asked as they walked deeper into the tent.

"That, Williams, was a combination of distraction and slight of hand. I engaged the man in idle chit chat while I put down my empty credit stick in the pile and took three back. I don't know how much the stabilizer will cost so I wanna be sure I have enough. We probably won't find another one, at least not without a great deal of searching. I…"

The Doctor stopped talking and froze. Everyone froze behind him and looked where he was looking. Off to his right was a booth. Spread out on the counter were several items and there were several items handing off the posts attached to the sides. At the top of the posts was a large wooden sign that said ANTIQUITIES on it.

"The stabilizer is here?" Rose said in confusion.

"No. But there's something else important here that I need to get. Wait a tic," the Doctor said.

They watched while he took one of the credit sticks out of his pocket and walked up to the booth. He pointed to several items on the counter and began to haggle with the man for each one. The others glanced at each other and walked closer. When they got close enough to see the items on the counter, they stopped. The Doctor had already purchased a large leather bound book and they could see Gallifreyan writing on the front. He also purchased a necklace, a ring and a small brown rock. He thanked the man, took the things, turned around and was startled when he saw how close his friends were.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come up," he said as they walked away.

"Doctor, that book is Gallifreyan, isn't it?" River said.

"Yes, it's the reason I wanted it. It's a history of Gallifrey. At least one of the many volumes that were written about our history. This belongs with me, not in the hands of some smuggler. And I found a few other items pertaining to Gallifrey that were made into jewelry. So…Jack, hold this, if you will."

He handed the book to Jack and walked up to Rose. He held up the necklace. The pendant was Perspex and was leaf shaped. Inside was a preserved silver leaf.

"This is a leaf from one of the trees of Gallifrey. I thought you might like it," the Doctor said.

"It's gorgeous, Doctor. Thank you," Rose said, taking the pendant from him and admiring it.

He walked over to River and showed her the ring. In the center of the silver ring was a small diamond.

"This diamond is a white point star, only found on Gallifrey. I thought it would look pretty on your finger," he said to her as he handed her the ring.

"Thank you, Sweetie," River said, taking the ring.

"Okay, Pond, here's your gift. Petrified Gallifreyan dog poo, enjoy," the Doctor said, holding out the brown rock to her.

"Uh…no thanks, Doctor, I'll pass," Amy said while everyone laughed.

"Only joking. This is a piece of rock from Misty Mountain. An ancient mountain that was perpetually shrouded in mist and was one of the wonders of Gallifrey. To get a piece meant you had to climb up the sheer rock face and to get it from the top was even more arduous. I give it to you now."

"Thanks," Amy said, taking it from him. "But…um…how do you know it's from Misty Mountain?"

"Because the little plaque affixed to the back of the rock says so," the Doctor said.

Amy turned it around and saw a little gold plaque on the back that said, rock collected from the top of Misty Mountain on Gallifrey.

"Thank you, this is much better than petrified dog poo," Amy said.

"Thought you might like it. As for the men, sorry. Nothing else from Gallifrey was on the table but you are in my thoughts and that's just as good."

"Can I exchange your thought about me for one of your credit sticks?" Jack said.

"No. Now, come along, let's continue our search for the stabilizer."

Rose finished putting the necklace on and River put her ring on her finger and all of them followed the Doctor while he scanned the tables and booths for any sign of a stabilizer. Finally, near the back of the tent, the Doctor found a table that was filled with parts for spaceships and he motioned for everyone to stop. They walked over and stood with him while he looked everything over. A grizzled old man stepped up to the table and asked if he was looking for anything special.

"Yes, I'm looking for a warpstar stabilizer, 1st class," the Doctor said.

"Hmmm, those are hard to come by," the man said, stroking his graying beard. "Wait a moment, one of my mates might be able to help ya out."

The Doctor nodded and they looked around while they waited. At the very back, they could see someone selling animals in steel cages. Most of them looked like cats and dogs.

"Ooo, let's get a dog," Amy said to the Doctor.

"I don't think so, Pond," the Doctor said.

"Why? You got the extra Gallifreyan things with your credit stick. Why not a dog for the TARDIS?"

"Because those dogs are Anganese Flesh Hounds that are specially bred for killing people and ripping them limb from limb before devouring them whole. I don't think they'd be interested in playing fetch with you unless you threw your severed arm across the room."

"Never mind then," Amy said. "I'd rather have a Yorkie."

"Yes, much more sensible choice since a Yorkie is less likely to rip you open and eat your intestines while you're still conscious," the Doctor said.

The man came back to the table with another man that was close to his age. In his hands he held a medium sized grey box with five wires protruding from the back. Embedded in the sides were two glass tubes filled with a blue gel.

"This what you're looking for, mate?" the man asked as he pointed to his friend's box.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm looking for," the Doctor said. "How much do you want for it?"

"We need 1800 credits for it or we can take one of your girls and reduce the price," the man said, eyeing Rose. "That one there will bring about 500 credits on the slave market."

"No, thank you, I'm quite attached to these women. I'll pay the full 1800 for it," the Doctor said while the women glowered at the man.

"Suit yourself, mate," the man said, taking the Doctor's credit stick.

"By the way, I have had some dealings in the past with the slave market and I believe I could get a better deal for my girl elsewhere," the Doctor said while he ran the stick through a scanner. "She's young and healthy and worth far more than 500 credits."

Jack tried not to laugh as Rose's incensed look suddenly focused on the Doctor. The man glanced at Rose and chuckled as he gave her a wink.

"Perhaps, mate, but we're a small operation and we have to earn a living, you know," he said, handing the credit stick back to the Doctor. "If I were you, though, I'd think about selling all of them. Fetch a good profit for all those beauties."

"Thanks, I just might," the Doctor said cheerfully as the man's friend handed him the stabilizer. "Nice doing business with ya."

"Cheers, mate," the man said.

The Doctor turned and saw the pissed off looks on the women's faces while Jack and Rory tried not to laugh.

"Now don't get those sour faces," the Doctor said as they walked away. "Think of it as a compliment. Especially you, Rose. He was going to rip me off if I sold you to him. You're worth at least 2 million credits on the auction block"

"Oh yeah, that makes me feels so much better, Doctor," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

Jack put his arm around her and grinned.

"Nah, you're worth at least five million and a hypership and don't let anyone tell you otherwise," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze while they walked out of the tent.

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