Earthrise from the surface of the Moon. There were few more spectacular sights in the universe, and he had seen most of them during his long and eventful life. There were of course still more left to see, but not many to match this. Even through the ClearSteel™ skin of the dome, it was still a sight of rare splendour.

Of course, Earthrise was something of a misnomer, as the Earth actually remained fixed in the Lunar sky. But it sounded poetic and he liked it, so Earthrise it was. And the view of Earth looming on the horizon was pretty amazing too.

Wrenching his eyes away with an effort, he turned his gaze inward, to the rest of Armstrong City. It had grown from a small scientific base, through a weather control station, into a fully cosmopolitan city by the 26th Century. Mankind's first stepping stone to the stars.

Heading in from the edge of the dome, he took in the sights and smells of Earth's premier off planet port.

Over there was a gaming establishment, offering huge jackpots and dancing girls at all hours of the day or night.

Opposite was a Martian restaurant offering the dish of the day, roasted Sand Mouse, for just three credit slips.

And if neither of those choices excited the jaded traveller, there was a house of somewhat less repute a little further down the street.

But this particular traveller had spotted something interesting at the end of the road. A bar, which promised live music. He smiled slightly. A beer and some soothing jazz would be very welcome about now.

So it was that he entered Club Lunar, a place he wasn't likely to forget in a hurry.

***

She spotted the newcomer as soon as he entered the bar. Well, the stage was a very good vantage point.

He was tall and rake thin, with his hair shaved close to his skull. A pair of fairly big ears framed a long, narrow face.

A dark, well travelled leather jacket hung from his broad shoulders, covering a dark blue T-shirt and black trousers.

And there was something oddly familiar about him.

When she finished her song, she determined to go and check him out.

***

He took in the bar with an experienced eye. It was dark, with a green lighting that he found strangely soothing. There was a well stocked bar to one side, a scattering of tables and chairs across the floor area populated by a range of humans and aliens, and a stage towards the back. And on that stage was a very familiar face belting out a 20th Century ballad.

"...My black eyed boy, you will find, your own space and...time."

He grinned, both at the singer and at the oddly appropriate lyrics.

As she finished the song he led the applause, whistling and clapping with great enthusiasm.

She bowed to the crowd, who had followed the newcomer's lead. Then, with a smile on her face, she made her way across to him.

"Doctor?" she ventured.

"Hello, Bianca," he replied with a grin that lit up the bar. "Or should I call you Iris?"

"Doctor, darling, I left Iris behind a long time ago." She looked around. "No little companion in tow?"

He shook his head. "I'm between companions at the moment."

She grinned. "Good, I'll have you all to myself. Now, can I, as the owner, get my newest customer a drink?"

"Low alcohol beer," he told her. "Got to watch the old waistline," he added, patting his flat stomach.

The two old friends laughed together as they approached the bar.

***

"A toast," said Bianca when they had got their drinks and settled into a quiet corner table. She raised her glass. "To friendship."

"To friendship," the Doctor echoed, and they both clinked their glasses together, taking long drinks.

"You've certainly changed since I last saw you, darling," Bianca drawled, her voice like a lazy dog on a hot afternoon.

The Doctor nodded. "More than once. So, do you like the new look?" He spread his arms wide, smiling that disarming smile of his.

"Well, it is a radical departure, even for you," she began. "But I think leather suits this new you. It seems to match your personality, as your clothes so often do."

"It did just seem to fit," he responded, examining his lapel. "And what about the new face? I've not seen it yet myself, its still very new, so go on, I can take it."

Bianca sighed. "It must be said, you have had more handsome models, but a girl could get used to it."

He grinned like a schoolboy. "I think the nose is a definite improvement on some I've had," he told her, feeling it with his fingers, "but the ears could have been better. I'm like a mobile radar station!"

"They're not that bad, darling," she said soothingly, smiling slyly. "And I just bet nobody can creep up on you!"

He laughed and she joined in.

"Another toast," he offered. "To mighty ears!"

"Mighty ears," she replied, clinking his glass once more.

As they lowered their glasses, his expression became more serious. "So, you set up again after Bianca's."

She shrugged. "I just decided to go with what I do best. And in this body, that's singing."

"And there are few finer," he replied gallantly.

"Thank you kind sir. And it does keep the big bad wolf from the door."

"But I do hope you've not hot-wired your TARDIS into the superstructure this time," the Doctor inquired.

"Please, give me some credit!" she protested. "I do learn from my mistakes you know."

"Okay, I'm sorry," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "I should have trusted you."

"Yes, you should," she pouted. Then she winked at him. "But I'll forgive you this once, darling."

They were laughing again when the Doctor suddenly stiffened in his seat and turned.

Approaching their table was a small, plump man accompanied by two Ogrons in sharp suits.

"Looks like I was right about that hearing," Bianca said quietly.

The small man stopped at their table, the Ogrons flanking him. His expression was grim.

"Kandorian, can I get you a drink?" Bianca offered, smiling at the new arrival.

Kandorian shook his head. "You know what I want, Bianca," he growled.

"Oh, you're so predictable," she complained, rolling her eyes.

A small but meaty fist banged onto the surface of the table. "Dammit woman, why are you so difficult to deal with?"

"And why can't you show a little courtesy to a lady?" the Doctor demanded, standing.

"Leave it, darling," Bianca warned him.

But Kandorian had already swivelled his head towards the Doctor. "Who made this any of your business, big ears?"

"You made it my business when you started hassling my friend," the Doctor told him. "And 'big ears' isn't exactly original, by the way."

Kandorian sneered. "You want original, huh?" So saying, he snapped his fingers.

It happened so fast that all the Doctor saw were a couple of tables hurtling past, followed by stars as he crashed into the far wall.

Picking himself up, he saw Bianca giving a thumbprint identification on some kind of electronic pad. That and an Ogron standing menacingly over him. An Ogron that had torn open its jacket sleeve, no doubt while sending him for a flying lesson.

"Back already?" Kandorian asked, glancing over at him. "Ready for round two?"

"No he isn't!" Bianca snapped, shooting the Doctor a look of her own. "He won't be any more trouble."

Kandorian smiled at her. "Then it has been a pleasure doing business with you Bianca. Same time next week." It wasn't a question.

With a contemptuous scowl at the Doctor, Kandorian and his two heavies left the bar.

The Doctor slid into his previous seat with care, massaging his bruised ribs. Bianca frowned at him.

"Why couldn't you have left that to me?"

"Bianca, that guy was demanding protection money!" the Doctor exclaimed.

She sighed deeply. "Really? I hadn't noticed that."

"No need to be sarcastic," the Doctor grumbled, a hurt expression on his face that had nothing to do with his bumps and bruises. "I was trying to look out for a friend."

Bianca's expression softened. "I know, and I'm grateful. But I can fight my own battles."

"Yeah, but protection money?"

She shrugged. "It happens. The authorities turn a blind eye. What can one person do?"

The Doctor frowned, his mind clearly on another problem. He looked up at her across the table.

"Did you notice anything about that Ogron that tossed me around like a salad?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," she admitted.

"It was much stronger than an average Ogron, and I think I know why." He then told her what he had observed when the ape creature had torn the sleeve of its jacket. His conclusion left her feeling cold.

***

"I'm still not sure how I let you talk me into this," Bianca said as she locked the doors of Club Lunar after the last patron had left.

"My winning personality, maybe," the Doctor replied, that reckless grin back on his narrow face. "Or probably you know I'm right," he added, his mood changing from jolly to serious like a switch had been thrown.

"You do know what Kandorian will do to us if he catches us," she grumbled as she led him behind the bar and towards her office.

"The key word being 'if'," he responded.

She glanced back over her shoulder at him. "I've known you too long to expect everything to fall neatly into place," she reminded him.

The Doctor shrugged. "What can I say? This version of me is a hopeless optimist."

Bianca paused, unlocking her office door. "I'll remind you of that when we're running for our lives."

He reached out, putting a friendly hand on her shoulder. She turned to look into his deep, dark eyes.

"You don't have to go," he said quietly. "Just point out Kandorian's compound on a map and leave it all to me."

She laughed lightly. "Then I would only have to ride to your rescue, darling."

He grinned in return as she let them both into her office.

The room was surprisingly neat and tidy. Knowing what a scatterbrain she had been when she was still using her original name of Iris Wildthyme, this was something of a shock to him.

The only thing in the office that looked at all out of place was the scale model of a red double decker London bus sitting proudly on the desk.

"Very clever," he commented, running his hand across the bus' roof. "How do we get aboard?"

"Simple," she told him. "Sit on the edge of the desk and swing your legs towards the bus."

Following her movements, he did as she directed. After a slightly dizzy sensation, he found himself reduced to just six inches tall.

"I take it all back," he said to an equally reduced Bianca as they stepped aboard the bus. "That was the clever part."

Slipping easily behind the steering wheel, Bianca brought up a previous hidden control panel. She winked at her passenger.

"All aboard, the number twenty two to Putney Common is back in service."

With her words still hanging in the air, the bus slowly faded from the desk, accompanied by a raucous grinding sound.

***

The red London bus, full sized the time, materialised noisily behind a large warehouse.

The Doctor and Bianca stepped out through the sliding front doors and looked around their landing site.

"So, this is Kandorian's compound?" the Doctor inquired.

Bianca nodded. "I scouted the place out myself after his first visit," she replied.

"And you still did nothing to stop him?"

She sighed. "What would have happened if I had? Someone else would just have filled the vacuum he left, maybe someone even worse."

The Doctor frowned. "Point taken."

She looked around at the diverse collection of buildings. "I assume you have a plan, darling."

He pointed. "To me, those look like dormitories, or at least barracks of some type."

Bianca followed his finger. "That would be my guess too."

The Doctor grinned suddenly. "So what are we waiting for, Christmas? Race ya!"

He set off running across the compound, his leather coat tails flying out behind him. Rolling her eyes, Bianca ran after him.

Reaching the dormitory block first, he turned to Bianca with a triumphant smile.

"I win!"

She eyed him coolly. "Hardly surprising, given these," she replied, indicating her black cocktail dress and high heeled shoes.

"Well, maybe you should have changed before we left the club," he commented. She merely snorted in reply.

Carefully, the Doctor eased open the door, slipping into the gloom beyond. Bianca followed, letting the door shut noiselessly behind her.

The Doctor had removed a scanning device from the side pocket of his jacket and was sweeping it around the room. As her eyes adjusted, Bianca made out a number of beds, each containing a sleeping form.

"It's exactly as I thought," the Doctor said in a loud whisper. "They've all been augmented."

"How many is all?" she wanted to know.

He changed a setting on the scanner. "A dozen Ogrons life signs in this barracks, and a dozen more in each of the other five blocks. Plus two more elsewhere in the compound."

Bianca did a quick mental calculation. "That's seventy four augmented Orgons in a very small space."

The Doctor nodded grimly. "And there's another thing," he told her, indicating the nearest bed. "They're waking up!"

***

"Hey, what do you mean 'profits are down on the west side'," Kandorian yelled into his wrist-com. "Get them back up again! And that's an order, unless you want to take a short walk outside without a pressure suit."

He severed the connection, letting the threat hang heavy with Big Pete on the other end. And if Pete had to be 'spaced', then any one of his Orgons could do a better job.

Turning back to the air-screen above his desk, he began checking through his protection accounts. He had just reached that clever bitch at Club Lunar when a big fist banged on his door.

"Go away, I'm busy. Bananas are in the kitchen."

Another thud sounded. Kandorian was about to complain again, when a third try punched the door off its hinges.

Framed in the now empty doorway were his two Ogron bodyguards, eyes fixes blankly ahead.

"What the hell are you doing?" he roared at them, but the two ape creatures made no reply. Instead, they moved forward with automated precision.

Kandorian knew he was in trouble. What he didn't know was how he was going to get out of it.

***

The Doctor and Bianca scrambled out of the dormitory, finding cover behind some crates nearby. From this vantage point they watched as the six barrack blocks disgorged their Orgons, who moved on mass across the compound and out onto the streets of Armstrong City.

"What's got into them?" Bianca asked as the apes trooped past them.

"See that zombie-like stare?" the Doctor replied. "Looks like some kind of outside influence to me."

"You mean the original owners of that technology?"

He nodded grimly. "That would be my guess."

"But how much damage can seventy four Ogrons really do?" she inquired, though she felt she knew part of the answer.

"Enough," the Doctor responded. "Especially as they are just the shock troops. The cannon fodder for the controlling force." He consulted his scanner. "Anyway, its just seventy two Ogrons."

"What? Seventy two? Where are the other two?"

"Main building, with Kandorian," he snapped. "Come on!"

With that he was off and running again, a swirl of leather and long legs heading straight into trouble.

Sighing, Bianca followed him.

***

Kandorian had managed to back around his desk, which one of the Ogrons had overturned like it was a picnic table. Now he was trying to sidle towards the doorway, but somehow they had managed to cut him off.

"Now look boys, if this is about a pay rise, I'm a very reasonable man. How about an extra three bags of nuts a week? I can't say fairer than that."

"You're not going to pay off these monkeys with peanuts," said a voice from behind Kandorian.

Turning, he saw the guy from Club Lunar, the one the boys had ruffed up. And beside him was Bianca.

"Look, biker-guy, take your management tips and shove them..."

"Fine," the man interrupted, holding up his hands. "You obviously have the situation well in hand."

Kandorian looked back at the two zombie Orgons and reconsidered.

"Well, maybe I could use an extra negotiator."

The man smiled. A slim electronic device appeared in his hand, which he twisted until it gave an electronic warble.

The effect on the Orgons was instantaneous. They stopped in their tracks, grasping the sides of their heads and wailing in pain. One of them sank to his knees.

"Don't dither," the man called, "this won't last long."

Kandorian bolted for the door, where Bianca pulled him through and into the corridor beyond.

"Get going!" the man ordered them. "I'll delay them a little longer." He made another adjustment and the warble increased in pitch.

Kandorian didn't need telling twice, as he and Bianca ran for the outer door.

***

The waiting was the worst part. Even though it had been less than thirty seconds since she had dragged Kandorian from the building, it seemed like forever before the Doctor ran full pelt through the door, skidding to a stop next to them.

"That should keep them occupied for a while," he said, grinning. "They're knocking lumps out of each other and the furniture, they seem to have forgotten about us."

"That furniture is antique!" Kandorian protested. "Genuine 23rd Century gothic reproductions."

The Doctor turned on the smaller man. "Ah yes, I want a little word in your ear."

"I didn't do nothing, I didn't see nothing. I know nothing about nothing."

Before he could even squawk in protest, Kandorian found himself lifted by his shirt front and pushed, hard, against the wall of a nearby warehouse.

"I'm only going to ask this once," the Doctor told him in a quietly menacing tone. "Where did you get the augmentation for the Ogrons?"

Kandorian glanced over at Bianca, who nodded her head slightly, urging him to tell all he knew to this mad stranger.

"Alright, alright. My men found a ship, half buried in a crater a few miles outside Aldrin township. The crew were dead, but we thought we could use some of their technology to make the Orgons more intimidating."

The Doctor released him and Kandorian dropped down the wall, landing in a heap at the bottom. "Oh, that worked just fine, didn't it? Now we have more than seventy augmented Orgons rampaging through the streets of the Moon's premier city! How's that for intimidating?"

"Hey, I didn't ask for this to happen!" Kandorian argued.

"I know you didn't," Bianca replied, stepping in between the two of them. She took an electronic notepad that the Doctor offered her. "Can you show us where this ship is located?"

It took Kandorian almost a minute of scrolling through maps, but he eventually highlighted one particular area.

The Doctor looked over the map and then turned to Bianca. "Back to the bus?"

"Only way to travel," she replied with a wink.

As the two of them walked away, Kandorian spoke up.

"Hey, what about me?"

Bianca turned back to him. "Get your own ride home, buster!"

***

Back aboard the bus, Bianca fed the co-ordinates into the destination computer, adding in an instruction to locate any power sources nearby and change the co-ordinate programme accordingly. Then she set it in motion.

"You've certainly been upgrading since I last met you," the Doctor commented, watching with appreciation.

"I'm sure you've been tinkering too," she responded.

The Doctor considered the current look of his own TARDIS console room and smiled. "Just a little," he admitted.

***

It was dark and chilly inside the alien ship. The bus had done its job perfectly, finding the needle in what could have been a very big haystack. Bianca shivered slightly, her little black dress not the best thing to wear when poking around old and cold spaceships.

The Doctor handed her his sonic screwdriver. "Now, you know what to do?"

She nodded. "I'm sure you'll find a way to signal me when you're ready."

"Count on it," he replied before he dashed off, looking for trouble as always.

***

The ship seemed deserted, but the Doctor knew it wasn't. The fact that the Orgons were on the march testified to the fact that something was still alive on board, despite what Kandorian thought. In fact, this could all be a very subtle way of using whoever stumbled aboard the wreck to the original owner's advantage. They had tried that strategy before.

It didn't take him long to find the control centre, having the advantage of knowing the basic design. And it was there that he found what he was looking for, a single figure standing over a monitor with its back to him. But it was more than that, a symbol of something greater, more evil in nature. Something all too familiar.

"Cybermen," the Doctor breathed.

***

Using a power supply from the bus, Bianca had been able to link the Doctor's sonic screwdriver into the alien circuitry just as he had described.

Rubbing absently at the goose pimples on her arms, she waited for the Doctor's signal.

***

"Hey Shiny, can you tell me when the invasion starts?"

The Cyberleader turned from the monitoring station to see a humanoid, taller and thinner than average, leaning against the frame of the door with its arms folded across its chest.

"How did you find this place?" the Leader intoned.

"Well, you're not exactly powered up for security, are you?" the humanoid said, moving across the room towards the Leader. "I'm the Doctor by the way, I assume your memory banks have me on file."

"Doctor," the Leader repeated. "You cannot frustrate us this time."

"You mean your attempt to send the augmented Orgons to catch you a new batch of recruits for conversion? Nah, doubt that'll work." The Doctor grinned as he checked out the monitors, those that were working anyway.

"Our plan will succeed. You will fail."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Wingnut!" he replied. "There aren't many people I can call that now and get away with it."

The Cyberleader crossed the control area in two quick strides, seizing the Doctor by the throat and lifting him off the ground. "You have an accelerated heartbeat, though the left is a little slower than the right. Your body temperature is increasing, as is the flow of blood to your brain."

"And you're choking me to death," the Doctor gasped.

"Indeed," the Cyberleader replied without emotion.

The Doctor struggled, his feet swinging. One of them reached a nearby console and knocked one of the switches.

***

Down in the depths, Bianca's pacing was interrupted when she noticed a light blinking on a nearby console. Knowing instantly what it meant, she pounced on the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and activated it.

***

A blast of sound burst through the control room. A moment afterwards the Cyberleader dropped the Doctor, much as the Doctor had dropped Kandorian earlier. Landing in a heap, the Time Lord struggled to his knees, one hand rubbing his bruised neck tenderly while the other tried in vain to shield his ears.

The Leader was staggering around, an electronic screech echoing from wall to wall. The Doctor knew something of how it was feeling, as he felt blood start to trickle from his ears.

"Keep going, Bianca," he managed to mutter as he dropped into a black pit of unconsciousness.

***

The Doctor blinked, the fuzz around the edges of his vision finally clearing into the face of Bianca, softening from worry as she realised he was awake.

He sat up a little too quickly, his head swimming with mental sharks nipping at the edges.

"Ow! Can somebody please stop the Leprechauns tap dancing on my skull!"

Bianca nodded. "You're feeling better then."

He frowned at her. "I wouldn't say 'better' exactly. Just less scrambled."

"Not half as scrambled as he is," she commented, helping the Doctor to his feet as she indicated a slivery pile by a console.

The Doctor walked over to examine the remains of the Cyberleader. He turned back to Bianca. "You really did a number on this one."

She shrugged. "My charm works in different ways with different men," she drawled.

"The sonic pulse did its job," he decided, nudging the silver remains with his foot. "Fried his brain, and the brain of anything else wired with Cyber technology."

"Like the Orgons," Bianca said.

"Just like the Ogrons," the Doctor confirmed. "Well, lets find the self destruct and get out of here!"

Five minutes later, a double decker bus dematerialised from the ship, just before it exploded silently in the thin lunar atmosphere.

***

This time the Doctor had company as he watched the Earth from just inside the dome. Bianca stood at his elbow, one hand draped on his leather-clad shoulder. And he felt surprisingly comfortable with that.

"So, where will you go next?" she asked.

"Down there," he said, nodding towards the blue/green planet. "In the early 21st Century. I've heard that there's a Nestene infestation somewhere in London."

"Infestation?" she repeated, quirking an eyebrow at him. "When did you become a pest exterminator, darling?"

"I think I always have been," he mused. "Though I could do without the word 'exterminator' thank you," he added with a frown.

"Sorry," she told him, but with a smile.

The Doctor turned away from the view, regarding his friend. She had no idea what he had seen, what he had been part of. It was all in her future. But maybe, just maybe, there was something he could do, one life he could save.

"You could come with me."

She considered it for a moment, then shook her head sadly. "Fun as it has been, I've made a life for myself here. At least for now."

He smiled sadly at her. "You always could put down roots more easily than most of us. Well, take care of yourself."

"You too," she responded, pulling him into a hug, which he returned after a moment.

When they parted, the Doctor was grinning. "And you could always try out the new food place they opened today near the Club."

"Really? What does it serve?"

"Roast Orgon."

It took a second or two for her face to screw itself up in disgust, which was when the Doctor started laughing. A moment later, she was laughing too.