The planet Lupta was large, for the system it was in, though in comparison to the heavenly bodies the human race might be more familiar with, it was only about the size of the fourth planet from Sol, Mars. Unlike the red planet, Lupta was teaming with life. It had bluish green grass and many vast cultural centers. And it was near the capital of these social areas that the Red Lady found herself when she popped in on one of her regular universal explorations. The Time Lords weren't the only ones who could travel through time and space having adventures, after all!

"Now," said the Red Lady to no one in particular, surveying the land around her, for it was a new planet for our heroine to experience. "Where are we? Hmm...I think my best bet would be to walk thataway." She pointed to the big city in the distance, and with a little spring in her step, she started walking in that direction.

When she arrived, the city looked usually decorated. There were posters and banners everywhere, donning red circles. "I wonder what's going on," Red muttered.

She didn't have to wonder for long. As soon as she walked into the city, a welcome droid approached her. "Welcome, newcomer," said the droid. "Is this your first time visiting us?"

"Yes, actually," said Red. "Could you tell me where I am?"

"Certainly. You have arrived in the city of Jallup, on the planet Lupta, in solar system 54KB, the Jargis nebula, O-space-"

"Thank you, that's enough," said Red, chuckling. "What are all the banners for?" she asked, gesturing all around them.

"That would be for the grand event. Tonight, our planet's moon, Kliplup, will take part in a lunar eclipse which will turn the moon's face completely red. It only happens every 68,000 years, so it is quite literally the sight of a lifetime. The legends call the phenomenon "the blood moon". The first recorded blood moon was in the negative 16th century-"

"A lunar eclipse?" Red cut it off, sensing that this information droid was the model which was programmed to give any and all information on what it was asked about until it was stopped, and since information droids know just about everything, they could tend to drone on. Red looked up at the sky. "Cool! I've only ever seen one, on Earth, but I was so young, I don't remember. And it's tonight, you said?"

"Affirmative."

Red grinned. "Is there any special place I can go to see this spectacle? An observation deck, maybe?"

"Affirmative. The Luptan Sciences Society is hosting a viewing at the Great Lupta Observatory in the center of the city. If you will just offer your wrist, I can scan your information chip with directions to the laboratory."

"Uh, but I don't have-"

"That's alright," said a voice, as a chubby teenage boy with short blonde curls, wire rim glasses, and a face covered in brown freckles approached them. "I can take her. I already know the way."

"Uh, yeah," said Red, nodding. "I'll go with him."

"Very good. Do you require any more assistance?"

"Nope, that's it. We're all good here," said Red, shooting the bot a double thumbs up.

"Affirmative. Please enjoy your visit to Jallup, and please come again." The droid rolled away.

Red laughed as it went. "Thanks, bud. You really helped me out. How'd you know I didn't have one of those chip thingies?"

The kid pointed to the Red Lady's black flats, blue jeans, red blouse, and black leather jacket. "Your clothes. All Luptans wear these uniforms." He tugged at his own clothes in emphasis. He was wearing a long sleeved, lime green shirt under a silver vest with his name stitched on the pocket-Enis-and beige slacks. "So you had to be a stranger."

"Do I need to wear a uniform?" Red fretted.

"No," said Enis, laughing. He seemed friendly, easygoing. "We're pretty relaxed around here about that. We all wear the uniform as a show of nationalism; we choose to wear it. But it's not a rule."

"Oh," said Red. "Well, thanks for covering for me."

"No problem. Who are you?"

"I am the Red Lady," said the enigmatic traveler, sticking out her hand to shake.

Enis looked at her hand sideways. Then he stuck his hand out, too, but didn't shake Red's. "I'm Enis Hakenlup."

Red laughed. "I guess you guys don't shake hands on this planet. How do Luptans show greeting?"

"Oh! Like this." Enis stood at attention, hand on his heart, and clicked his heels together, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. "High-o!"

Red mimicked him. "High-o!"

"Just like a native," grinned Enis. He gestured for her to follow him. "Come on. The observatory is in the inner city, so we better go catch the metrocart if we want to make it there in time before a lot of people show up. Night falls fast on Lupta."

"Okay." Red and Enis started walking together down the street, occasionally passing other people in similar uniforms to Enis's, but with varying names and colored undershirts. They'd click their heels at Red and call "High-o!"

"High-o!" said Red back. "Boy, your people sure are friendly."

"Visitors on our planet are treated with the highest respect," said Enis. "Luptans pride themselves on being one of the most accommodating races in the galaxy."

"That's a great policy," said Red as they arrived at the metrocart stop. "On my planet, we'd probably just shoot anything with three eyes or blue skin."

Enis looked appalled. "What sort of planet are you from?"

"Earth. In the Milky Way galaxy," said Red. "And yes, it is a barbaric place. But, we're learning. Or will learn. Or have learned. I'm not sure. Timey wimey stuff."

Enis looked confused, but as the metrocart (which looked just like a bus) pulled up, Red changed the subject as she and Enis climbed on.

"So. A lunar eclipse, huh?" the Red Lady asked.

"Oh, yeah!" said Enis, excitedly. "It's gonna be great. There's a whole festival devoted to it. It's a super big deal. And the observatory is the center of it all. My friend, Professor Grenard, has been preparing for this for months."

"Professor Grenard," said Red thoughtfully. "He sounds like an interesting individual. I can't wait to meet him..."

"Hello?...Oh, no, no, no! I asked for white chrysanthemums, not pink! Oh, what's the use? Everyone will be looking at the stars, not the floral arrangements...yes, fine, pink chrysanthemums will do. But I want a discount!...Yes. Goodbye." Professor Agnor Grenard sighed tiredly as he hung up the phone. He'd been working on this gala for a month, and nothing was going right.

"Oh, hey, Ag," said Shelton, Grenard's supervisor, strolling into the office without knocking. Shelton was about half of the old professor's age. He'd graduated from the Royal Luptan Academy at about twenty-seventh in his class, in a class of fifty nine. Still, he had progressed far at the observatory because Shelton's parents were old friends with the owner. The younger man leered down at his elder underling. "Everything ready for tonight?"

Grenard himself had been the top of his class. He'd studied diligently in school, spared no time for socializing or the like, and had passed his exams with flying colors. His teacher had told him that he expected that he would be the greatest mind Lupta had known for five decades. But now, here he was, sitting in the same old office, doing the same old things he'd been doing for the last fifty years. He was nearing seventy now. He'd gone almost completely bald, and had lost the handsome figure he'd had in his youth. He had no achievements under his belt, no fancy title, not even a wife or descendants. What had happened?

"Oh, yes. I think I have everything arranged. Considering I had no assistance," Grenard added politely. It had actually been Shelton's responsibility to plan the festivities for the evening, but as usual, he had shirked his duties off on the Professor.

"Good man," said Shelton, clapping Grenard on the shoulder. "You know, I'm really glad you're here for all of us. I mean, this is where you belong. Not in a classroom or some laboratory. Right here-" He tapped the desk. "In your office. Filing and things. That's what you're good at."

"Thank you, sir," said Grenard, clenching his fists underneath his desk.

"Well, see you tonight, Ag. Oh, hey, do you have that speech I asked you to write for me?"

"Right here, sir," said Grenard, handing Shelton a small stack of index cards.

"Exemplary! Well, like I said, see you later." Shelton crammed the cards in his pocket and started for the door. "I gotta go try on my formal wear for tonight."

The door slammed shut.

Grenard glared at it for a moment, then turned to the left hand drawer of his desk. He pulled out a glittering green gem.

"Don't worry, my lord," he murmured to the jewel. "Tonight, you will be released. Then everyone will respect the talents of Agnor Grenard!"

It was nearly twilight by the time Enis and the Red Lady arrived in the center of town. Jallup was large, and the metrocart moved slowly. "Well, here it is," said Enis, hopping off the bus and gesturing to the large building they'd stopped in front of. "The Great Lupta Observatory. It's the most famous in the whole solar system."

"And we'll be able to get in to see it?" Red said with surprise.

Enis grinned. He pulled two tickets out of his inner vest pocket. "Professor Grenard gave me these. I'm an intern at the Observatory, so I got them for free!"

"Are you sure you want to waste one of those on me?" Red asked. "Don't you have a friend or someone you'd rather bring along instead?"

Enis looked uncomfortable. "Er, never mind," said Red quickly. "Come on, let's go. We can get a good spot for the viewing."

"Okay," said Enis, looking relieved. He showed the doorman their passes, then led the Red Lady inside.

"It's on the top floor," Enis said. "We can take the elevator...huh. Broken?"

"Guess we'll take the stairs then," said Red, shrugging at the sign taped to the doors of the lift. "Come on."

After a long hike (the observatory had four floors), the two finally made it to the top. "Niiice," said the Red Lady, looking around the grand viewing room. It was made up just like a reception hall, with several tables and banners around the room. There were pink floral arrangements in the middle of each table, and there was flawless china and silverware set up. "Your Professor sure knows how to plan a party," Red commented, looking around.

"Well, he has to," said Enis. "That rat Shelton doesn't do any of the work he's supposed to, so the Professor has to do all the grunt work, while Shelton takes the credit."

"Sounds like this Shelton guy's a real jerk," said Red.

"Yeah," nodded Enis. "But he's the curator. He can do whatever he wants, I guess."

Red looked up at the curved, stone ceiling. "How will we see the eclipse?" Red asked.

"Oh, the ceiling's retractable. They just keep it closed most of the time so that the glass doesn't get soiled or broken."

"Interesting," said Red.

Suddenly, the doors opened, and an older, balding man with large blue eyes, magnified by his wide round spectacles, dressed in a white lab coat over his Luptan uniform, came trundling in. His watery eyes immediately landed on the pair. "Enis! Oh, glory! Is it good to see you! You've saved the boy, m'boy!"

"Professor?" said Enis. "What's up? Oh, this is the Red Lady."

Red stood rigidly, clicking her heels together. "High-o!" she pronounced.

The Professor returned the gesture. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Lady. Enis, m'boy, I must ask you for a huge benignity."

"Anything for you, sir," said Enis.

"Capital, m'boy, capital! I know you were looking forward to viewing the blood moon, and that's why I hate to ask this. Some of my servers I have hired for this evening have dropped out unexpectedly. Would you mind terribly filling in? It's not laborious work, and I would of course be willing to pay you." The Professor rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Sure, Professor, no problem," said Enis amicably. The boy seemed to have a kind heart, which the Red Lady admired.

"I'll help too, sir, if you like," Red piped up.

"Really? Would you? Oh, I wouldn't want to impose-"

"Oh, why not," said Red, shrugging. "I'll still get to see the blood moon. Might as well help out a fella in need."

"Oh, thank you, my girl! Both of you! Here." The Professor reached into his pocket and handed them each silver namepins, inscribed with the word "SERVER". "Wear these on your uniforms tonight. Oh, yes, you'll have to have uniforms. I'll go and fetch you some. Excuse me." He hurried out of the room.

"Poor chap. Seems awfully nervous," said Red sympathetically. "Shouldn't he be retired?"

"He doesn't want to be," Enis replied. "This place is his livelihood."

"Poor chap," Red repeated again, shaking her head.

A few hours later, it was time for the event to start. Enis and the Red Lady waited with the rest of the servers. They were all outfitted with black undershirts, slacks, socks, and shoes, along with the silver vests. Enis pinned his "SERVER" nameplate over the stitched name on his vest, and the Red Lady followed his example, putting hers over her blank pocket. Then she noticed something. "Hey. Enis." She elbowed her new friend. "None of these other guys have pins."

Enis looked around. "Huh. You're right."

"Well, don't you think that's weird?" Red tried to ask, but then the head caterer alerted them that it was time to serve, and Red's question was left unanswered.

As the party went on, Red served the lavish guests food and drink, with a classic Red Lady charmer on her face. She was serving a three legged woman some deviled eggs (at least that's what they looked like), when she noticed something in the wall.

"Hey, Enis," Red called to her new friend who was walking by with an empty tray. "Get a load of this."

"What?" asked Enis.

Red was looking at a hand-sized, circular groove in the wall, where there seemed to be a greenish camera lens peering back out at her. "What is this?"

"Dunno," said Enis, shrugging. "Security camera?"

"Nah. Too low in the wall for logical vantage point. Hmm..." The Red Lady ran a finger around the rim and found a jagged edge, where there were tiny collapsible pincers. "This is some sort of retractable laser beam, I think."

"Does it matter?" Enis said.

Red didn't answer him. She looked around the room. "Look. Over there. The opposite wall. There's another one. And on the sides..." She pointed out the rest of the hidden lasers, placed at regular forty-five degree angles around the cylindrical room. "But they're not just in the walls. Look-this one's angled up slightly..." The Red Lady's eyes followed the potential path of the lens up to a high spot across the hall. Suspended unassumingly was a small, circular mirror, and as she looked around more, she spotted several others. "Why would someone set up this intricate laser-and-mirror scheme?"

"I don't know. Hey, maybe it's a light show. Or a disco party!" Enis shimmied his hips and pointed his finger several times for emphasis, John Travolta style a la Saturday Night Fever.

"Not likely. The blood moon is going to be spectacle enough itself. This is strange-"

The Red Lady's musings were interrupted by the head waiter rushing toward them. "Ex-CUSE me! There's a table over there that's run out of wine, and I don't see either of you two doing anything of importance!"

"Would you call interplanetary detective work important?" Red asked politely.

"Not particularly, no. Just get back to work," said the head waiter huffily, stomping away.

"Come on," said Enis, touching Red's elbow. "We better do what he says."

"Yeah. Okay." Red gave the lens one last suspicious look, then followed after him.

First the pins, now this. Something was going on.

The party carried on. As the great hour approached, the level of excitement in the room arose. Finally, an important looking man in formal wear, with a buxom blonde woman on his arm walked to the center of the room. "Welcome, welcome, everyone!" he called grandly. "I am Doctor Jaco Shelton, and-where's my podium? Agnor!"

"Er, yes, sir, here it is." Professor Grenard hurried and bumbled through the audience, carrying a clear plastic stand equipped with a microphone and decorated with a large green gem.

Poor old man, thought the Red Lady. Having to carry around heavy items when that toerag is perfectly able-bodied! A shared look with Enis showed he felt the same.

"Thanks, Ag. Man, so hard to find good help these days, eh? Alright, back to the booze with you." The crowd laughed as Shelton shooed Grenard away. "Now," he continued, speaking into the mike, "the hour has come. The moon of our fair planet will now be its shadow, blocking it from the light of the sun. Tonight, Kliplup will become a shade of crimson like blood, which is why we call this the 'blood moon'. So now, I ask you all to direct your gaze to the ceiling. Parsons! Unfold the magic for us all!"

Someone in the back flipped a switch, the lights in the room were dimmed, and the opaque roof began to perforate and fold away, exposing the wide sky, and above, the giant Lupta moon.

"Wow!" Red whispered. "That's amazing."

"Look! It's happening!" Shelton cried.

The moon was becoming pastel pink, and turned more toward rose, and then blood, every second. Everyone was watching, their eyes pasted to the sight.

Suddenly, the laser that Red and Enis had been inspecting earlier activated. It sent a strong beam of green light across the room, which rebounded from the mirror, and continued to refract until many tiny beams were scattered around, finally focusing in the middle of the patrons' foreheads. The other seven lasers did so as well. Every person in the room, man, woman, other extraneous genders, scientist, socialite, and server, were struck dumb by the beam, completely immobilized and turned catatonic.

That is, except the Red Lady and Enis. "Hey! What's going on!" the boy exclaimed, poking one of the victims. "Red Lady! They're all...asleep!"

"No, I don't think they're asleep," said Red, twirling around as she tried to observe everyone at once. "I recognize these lasers now. They've been concentrated to where they absorb strong mind energy. Everyone's focus was on one thing-the moon. They were all thinking as a unit, so the laser was able to triangulate on their thought patterns more easily and siphon them out. This was planned."

"But..." Enis pushed through some of the dazed people to reach her. "Where's the energy going?"

"Look..." Red's fingers pointed to one of the beams, then trailed down to the center of the room, where the beams concluded-on the podium. More specifically, the gem in the podium.

"Huh? What's so special about an emerald? Well, except that it's super valuable," Enis said.

"I'm thinking that's no ordinary emerald," said Red, walking toward it. "It must be some kind of psychic crystal. It needs mental energy for something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," said Red. "But we know who's behind all this."

"We do?"

"Of course we do," said Red, turning around to face Enis. "I should have seen it before. I did see it before. Who's the only two people in the room who aren't under the spell?"

Enis looked around, then back at her. "Us?" he asked, as if it were a trick question.

"Exactly. But we're servers. What makes us different from all the others?" She strode over to one of them standing on the side, as out of it as the rest of the room. She tapped the monogram-Cappy-on his silver vest. "The pins." She gestured to the one on her vest. "They're blocking our mental waves, somehow. Someone wanted to spare us. And who gave us the pins? Who set up the podium with the crystal in this exact spot? Who had the know-how, and the opportunity, to set up this entire thing?"

Enis paled. "You don't mean..."

"Very clever, my girl, very clever indeed," said Professor Grenard, stepping through the crowd of statues. "You've intellect beyond your years."

"Why have you done this? What do you need mental energy for? What's the crystal's purpose?" Red asked him.

"Oh, this is not a crystal," said Grenard, plucking the "decoration" from the podium. "Good. Fully charged. It's a prison."

"For what?" the Red Lady inquired.

Professor Grenard gave her an excited smile. "Megadite."

Enis gasped. "What's Megadite?" Red asked him.

Enis gulped. "I...I thought he was just a legend."

"What is he?" Red persisted.

Enis took off his glasses, wiped them off on the hem of his shirt, then put them back on, blinking fearfully. "Well, according to Luptan folklore...Megadite was a god of great power and mental energy. Megadite is Luptan for 'mighty head', because he was known to be so smart."

"Yes," said Grenard, staring at the glowing gem in adoration. "And now that his crystal has been fed the psychic energy it needs, Megadite will be freed!"

"Is Megadite...bad?" Red said to Enis.

Enis gulped and nodded.

"I thought so. Otherwise, why would he have needed to be trapped inside a crystal?"

"The people of old were jealous of Megadite's mighty power," Grenard said.

"The legends say that the ancient Luptans were enslaved by Megadite, that he treated them cruelly, even feasted on their young." Enis licked his lips nervously.

Red nodded. "Sounds like a typical all-powerful demigod."

"Is he hurting them?" Enis asked concernedly, looking at the transfixed people.

"No," Red answered him, not taking her eyes off of the Professor. "The mind is always giving off signals. Like a radio. It's just that now someone's actually turned on the set and is listening, so to speak. But he knew that. Just like he knew that wearing these pins would block out our thoughts. Must be made of Gallifreynium, or something like it."

"Gallifreynium?"

"An ore found only on one planet known to the living, known to have temporary defensive psychic properties. And then there's the elevators."

"The elevators?" said Enis in surprise.

"Look around. There's no lights in this room, except for the lasers and the light of the blood moon." The Red Lady gestured to the ever reddening orb in the sky. "These cannons must take up all the power in the building. Professor Grenard marked the lifts as out of order so that no one would be stuck in them when the power went out." She looked at the old man. "Professor Grenard, you're a good man. So why are you doing this?"

Grenard looked angry, but also a bit ashamed. "Because. All my life I've been used. I've never been allowed to succeed. I've always had to stand in others' shadows. But not anymore. Now, I will be recognized for the genius I am!"

"So be prepared for the coup of the century! Be prepared for the murkiest scam!" the Red Lady suddenly sang.

The two Luptans looked at her blankly.

"Sorry," said the Red Lady. "Seemed like you were going a bit Lion King there. Anyway...what are you planning to do?"

Professor Grenard looked at the glowing gem in his hand. "With this crystal, I shall absorb Megadite's mighty mental powers and become the most advanced brain in the cosmos. No one will be able to stop me. And everyone will have to respect me!"

"So BE PREPARED! Okay, last time, I swear," said the Red Lady. "Look, Professor, you can't do this. It was wrong for them to treat you this way and I'm truly sorry, but you can't do this! You have no idea what you're meddling with!"

Grenard wasn't listening to her. He was gazing up at the wide moon. "It's the height of the blood moon!" he cried. He held up the crystal. "Now, o mighty one! Bestow upon me the knowledge of the universe!"

In the crimson light, the verdant gem began to glow even more intensely. "It's happening!" Grenard gasped.

"Professor, please, there's still time! You have to listen to me!" Red beseeched. "Absolute power is evil!"

Suddenly a great shaft of light came from the center of the gem and encapsulated the professor.

"What's happening?!" Enis shouted.

"I don't know!" Red cried back, eyes wide open and glued to the elderly man in the white lab coat.

The professor's muscles began to contract, and he started to writhe, his head shaking. Then he threw his head back and howled to the sky. He whirled around and growled at the two of them. The pupils and whites of his eyes had hazed over with incandescent green. I have risen.