Decorative Purposes (short story)

Decorative Purposes was the twenty-first short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas. It was written by Eddie Robson. It featured the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller.

Summary
Sabine is working on the Excelsior when it is damaged by hijackers. As she tries to flee the hijackers, she comes across the Doctor, who is carrying equipment to repair the ship. He gets her to an escape pod and sends her to safety.

After five days in stasis, Sabine wakes up on a terraformed planet. She walks for two days but gets caught in a snowstorm. She wakes in a tent, suffering from hypothermia. Lucie Miller has rescued her, having also been sent to the planet by the Doctor.

Once the snow melts and Sabine recovers, the two girls head for town. On the way they notice strange things about the planet. Chocolate candy coins grow on the trees, as do Christmas crackers. The coins have Lucie's face on them. Inside each cracker are a map and a whistle. The Doctor has programmed the trees of the planet to leave clues for Lucie and Sabine. The whistles summon Christmas fairies, who do Lucie and Sabine's bidding.

When the girls and the fairies reach the town, they make their plans. The hostages from the ship are in one building with the kidnappers. The fairies draw the kidnappers out, and Lucie and Sabine sedate them. In this way, the hostages, including the Doctor, are rescued. Unfortunately, the fairies have expended too much energy and will soon die.

The Doctor synthesises a drug to extend the fairies' lifespans.

Characters

 * Eighth Doctor
 * Lucie Miller
 * Sabine

Worldbuilding

 * Lucie mentions The Lord of the Rings.
 * Lucie recalls a joke the Doctor told about Rutans.
 * The hijackers were attempting to capture the Draconian ambassador, Otlin.

Continuity
to be added