The Eye of Ashaya (comic story)

 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.

Part one
Majorca, Spain: After a series of stressful adventures, Amy Pond and Rory Williams were dropped off by the Doctor on the island of Majorca in the Mediterranean Sea for a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, the time they materialized in (to all appearances the early 21st century, though this was not made explicit) was less than ideal. Whilst waiting at the airport for a flight out, Amy complained that the hotel that looked so nice in the brochure wasn't actually built yet, it rained the whole time, and the only "exotic food" available were soggy fish and chips at a fake English pub. Rory, whose dogged attempts at optimism were repeatedly stymied by Amy's complaints, finally managed to point out "At least will be home soon, eh?" This turned out not to be true either, as an announcement immediately informed them that flights off the island were delayed indefinitely. Before Amy could finish threatening a dire fate for the people in charge, Lady Christina de Souza appeared, striding confidently to the front of the queue, explaining that she had a private jet and a pressing engagement in Utah. Before Rory's open admiration of Christina and her jet could get him in too much trouble with Amy, the Doctor saved the day by materializing 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 accepted the tickets over Rory's assurances that all they wanted was to go home. After a brief altercation with the local police was settled with judicious use of the psychic paper, the three made off to the Excelsis, which was 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 was introduced to Ambassador Trelayce of the Karkaptan Inheritance by his Ashayan first mate. The captain dismissed his first mate's attempts and asked him to go see if anyone needed their drinks refreshed. "These Ashayans forget their place," Vorsh explained to the ambassador apologetically. Trelayce acknowledged that the sight of the dying red giant at the nebula's core was beautiful to look at, but suggested that the native Ashayans might not find it so lovely to see their world die along with their sun. Vorch rejected the notion that the Ashayans were trapped on their planet, noting that the Vodiran Bloc had offered them all positions as vassals and thralls. Lady Christina de Souza strode in then, having somehow made it off Earth and on to the star-liner before the TARDIS and its crew. She introduced herself to the captain and allowed him to flirt shamelessly while her disgusted alien companion, a catlike creature she called Neko, abandoned her shoulder in order to mingle and cough up a hairball, not necessarily in that order.

Meanwhile, something was screwy with the TARDIS. As the Doctor tinkered with its controls, sparks flew from the console. The Doctor told Amy and Rory to go ahead while he tried to fix things. Upon exiting the TARDIS the Ponds found themselves falling, realizing the phone box was somehow parked at a ninety degree angle and perhaps a meter off the floor. The Doctor agreed that parking sideways was a bit odd.

The scene shifted back to Lady Christina and Captain Vorch. The captain was still flirting, but Lady Christina managed to get him to explain that the ship's shields were powered by the largest diamond in the galaxy, a jewel plucked from the center of the red giant the ship was approaching. In fact, it seemed that the extraction process was responsible for causing the star to die and dooming the Ashayan homeworld. "The price we pay for progress," said Vorch. "So much easier when someone else pays," Lady Christina replied, a look of disdain on her face. The two walked by Amy and Rory, who were shocked to realize she was the same woman they had seen at the airport on Earth not long (in their timelines) before. The Doctor interrupted them to give them the quick version of Lady Christina's backstory: she was a thief, billionaire, socialite, and bus driver who he had last seen on the run from U.N.I.T. Amy told him they had seen her in Majorca, where she had announced her intention of going to Utah. "Of course," said the Doctor. "The vault. Christina, you sly fox."

Meanwhile, Neko silently observed three Ashayans conspiring in a dark corridor. Two bald Ashayans urged the first mate to consider helping them with their plan, which the first mate described as mutiny and terrorism. The first mate refused to listen to any more of their plan, but declined to alert his superiors to their scheme. "Sooner or later, sir, you're going to have to pick a side," one of the conspirators warned him. "You either stand with the oppressors... or with the goddess." Neko ran back to Lady Christina's quarters, complaining that her perfume made the room smell like "a Betelgeusian bordello." Neko warned Lady Christina that the Ashayan crew was plotting something; Christina said she would have to keep them occupied somehow, but before she could elaborate Captain Vorch walked in. She shot him in the face with a neural pacifier and informed him that they were going to set the controls of the ship for the heart of the sun.

Characters

 * Eleventh Doctor
 * Amy Pond
 * Rory Williams
 * Christina de Souza
 * Vorch
 * Trelayce
 * Neko

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)