This is the 5th novel published by the BBC to feature the 8th Doctor.  His companion is Samantha "Sam" Jones.  This also features the long time rivals of the Doctor, the Daleks.

Chayn and the Doctor stood with their backs to the bulkhead, the door to storage bay eight open.  'At least he's stopped shooting,' she said.

'I don't think whoever that is wants to kill us,' the Doctor mused.  'Just to stop us.'  His eyes lit up.  'I'm dying to get a Iook at whatever it is he's guarding.'

'I wonder if it's Harmon,' Chayn said.  She pulled out her palm comp and tapped in Harmon's access code.  'I'm sending a call signal to him,' she explained.

The call signal - two fast, one slow - sounded from the bay.

'It's him,' she said, feeling both satisfaction and irritation.  'He's always been a bit moody, but this is downright antisocial,'  She moved to turn off the comp, but the Doctor stopped her.  It felt rather nice to have him touch her, but this was neither the time nor the place to explore that.

'Maybe he'll talk,' the Doctor suggested.

To her surprise, Harmon answered the call.  'Chayn, stay back,' he said.  'I don't want to hurt you, but it's important that you don't open this artefact.'

'Why?' Chayn asked.

'I'm saving it intact for a client,' he replied.  'It's just business, nothing personal.  They should be arriving any time now.'

'Who should?' asked the Doctor gently.

The comp link switched off.

'I suppose it's a trade secret,' the Doctor decided.  'We need another way in.'  He glanced at the roof.  Can we get into the collection tubes?'

'I don't see why not,' Chayn answered, grinning.  'He'll be watching the doors, but he may not have thought about the tubes.  It''s this way.'  She started to lead him off when her palm comp chimed.  She opened. the link, expecting to hear Harmon again, and was surprised when she heard from Faylen.

'You'd better get to the bridge immediately,' Faylen said clearly agitated.  'We've got two battle cruisers closing in on us.'

'Dear God!'  Chayn signed off.  'This could be trouble.  We're not armed.'

'I don't think they'll open fire,' the Doctor replied.  'I believe Harmon's customers have arrived.  I wonder if they'll want their purchase gift wrapped.'

'I'd still better get to the bridge,' Chayn decided.

The Doctor nodded, and accompanied her as she ran along the corridors.  What had Harmon done now?  Maybe the owners of the battle cruisers weren't going to open fire, but just having them close by made Chayn very nervous.  She'd never trusted the military mind, of any race.  She tended to hate all violence but especially when it took the form of weapons being pointed in her general direction.

She burst in on the bridge just behind Balatan, who glared at the image of the closing ships.  The Doctor slipped over to join Sam, and he placed a kindly hand on his young companion's shoulder.

'Who the blazes are they?' Balatan demanded.