Barbara was starting to think that it didn't matter where they travelled, they would always end up in some bizarre predicament. Usually, they ended up separated from the TARDIS or captured or something else.

Today, they were captured on an alien planet inhabited by talking possums. Business as usual.

The whole situation was ridiculous. The largest of the possums didn't even come up to Barbara's knees. It was only the nasty-looking crossbows that they wielded that kept the four travellers walking with their hands up. That, and two of them had managed to jump onto her and Susan's shoulders and had tiny knives aimed at their throats.

It was slow going through the forest, mostly because it was nighttime, but the possums seemed to be able to see in the dark perfectly well. The trees on this planet were huge, with trunks as big around as houses, and branches and fallen logs blocked the path. Barbara ducked under a particularly low branch and cringed as she felt the possum's scratchy little feet dig into her skin. A paw grabbed her ear as it tried to maintain its balance.

Eventually they emerged in the middle of a street in a city that was practically carved into the forest. Small catwalks criss-crossed overhead; little market stalls and vending carts lined the road; hundreds of other possums milled about alone and in groups. Miniature lanterns adorned the "buildings", looking very much like fairy lights, and threw off a dim glow. The whole city was built to a small scale, making Barbara feel a bit like a giant. One of the armed possums scurried ahead to clear a path, but it wasn't necessary. As soon as they had appeared, the inhabitants of the city moved aside on their own. Some of them squeaked in fright and ran indoors. Others stopped to watch in awe.

They were marched through the street, now silent except for the odd whisper, and into one of the larger trees. Conveniently, it had a set of double-doors large enough for a human to crawl through. On the inside, they found it had been hollowed out to resemble a basketball court, of all things. It was darker inside, but it was at least big enough for them to stand upright, although Ian had to stoop slightly. Once they were inside, their furry captors quickly dropped to all fours and ran outside, slamming the door shut. The Doctor produced a torch from his pocket and checked to see that Susan was unscathed.

Barbara shuddered and rubbed at the spot on her shoulder where her possum had been, trying to brush off the prickly feeling. "Ugh!" she exclaimed.

"Are you all right?" asked Ian.

"We're surrounded by giant rats, Ian!"

"They looked more like possums to me..."

"Giant rodents, then."

"Marsupials, actually."

"Oh, Ian!"

"That's quite enough from the both of you!" The Doctor snapped. "Now, what are we to do here, hmm? They'll be guarding the big door, and it doesn't look like we'll be able to fit through any of these other exits. It would appear that we're to wait."

Ian was examining their makeshift cell. "Odd sort of place. I didn't think possums did sport."

The Doctor scoffed. "Of course not! At least not on Earth. These aren't possums, Chesterfield. They are an alien race that bears a striking resemblance to an Earth mammal, but they're an entirely different species." He flicked his torch around the room. Ian made an exasperated sort of face. "Getting back to the matter at hand, I'm in no mood to play prisoner. Susan, come over here for a moment, will you?"

Susan tried one of the smaller doors, but she couldn't even get her shoulders through. There were a few windows embedded into the wood, but they didn't seem to open. Ian suggested that they just break down the big doors and make a run for it, but the Doctor pointed out that a large crowd had gathered outside. Even though they were much larger than the locals, they could still be overpowered. Barbara didn't care as long as they were able to leave as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, Susan gave an exclamation of surprise and pointed at one of the walls. In the half-lit gloom, they hadn't noticed the small balcony carved into it at about chest height, with a little door leading into another room. A small white possum wearing a blue scarf had been watching them from the doorway, but squeaked and ducked back in once they turned to look at it.

"Hello?" Ian asked, "Is someone there?"

The Doctor stepped forward and carefully rapped on the door. "I'd like a word with whoever is in charge around here."

The door opened again. The white possum was pushed through by another one and the door slammed shut. Frantically, it tried to run back inside, but the door was held closed. After a few moments, it stopped and turned around. There was a moment of silence, then it flung out its little arms and cried "Erm...GREETINGS, ALIENS! MY...NAME...IS...MAUDE! WELCOME... TO...BEKBERRY! WE...ARE...POSSUMS! WE...MEAN YOU...NO...HARM!"

Maude's greeting was punctuated with elaborate hand gestures to make sure her audience fully understood the message. Ian rubbed at his ear. For such a small thing, she certainly had a set of lungs!

"Good evening, Maude." said the Doctor, passing his torch to Susan, "I am the Doctor. This is Ian, Barbara, and Susan. You don't need to shout. I assure you we can hear you perfectly well."

Maude visibly relaxed. "Sorry about that. I've never initiated first contact before!"

"Quite all right, my dear. First contact, you say?"

"Oh, yes! You're the first aliens we've ever had around here."

"Really?"

"First official ones, at least. You never know who's been visiting...Anyway! They've sent me to greet you because I've got more experience in these sorts of things." said Maude proudly.

"So you're an ambassador?" asked Ian. The possum shuffled a bit awkwardly.

"Not exactly. I'm actually the best-selling science-fiction author in the country. Like I said, we don't get aliens around here, especially not giant bald ones." Realising that she might have inadvertently insulted them, she hastily backpedalled. "Not that there's anything wrong with being bald. I hear it's a good look for some people. And it's not like you're entirely without. You've still got a little bit of lovely fur on your heads. Isn't that nice?"

Susan silently convulsed with giggles. "Anyway, nobody knows what to do with you. I'm the only one who's spent enough time thinking about these scenarios so, well, I'm here!" she clapped her paws together in a getting-down-to-business sort of way. "Now, I'm sure you all have all sorts of alien-y things to do, but before we let you go running amok, I'm supposed to ask if you come in peace."

"Yes, yes we do." said the Doctor.

"No plans on taking over the planet, or abducting anyone, or destroying the world?" (This time it was Ian who had to stifle laughter.)

"Of course not!"

She narrowed her eyes and fixed him with as piercing a stare as she could muster. "...promise?"

"My dear," said the Doctor with the utmost charm, "I assure you, my friends and I have no hostile intentions whatsoever towards this planet or its people. We are merely travellers. We arrived here by chance, and we can be gone in a moment's notice if we are unwelcome here."

"Good! One moment..." Maude scurried back to the door, opened it a ways, and called out "They're peaceful!" A cheer arose from within as she closed the door and came back to the edge of the balcony. "Well, that's taken care of. Any questions so far?"

"May I ask why we've been arrested? We were minding our own business when your people surrounded us and forced us here."

"Just a precaution. It's partially my fault."

"How so?"

"You see, in my most recent book I wrote about an eerily similar situation. Giant aliens in a blue space box that appears out of nowhere. Part of a trilogy; it's got two sets of warring invaders, a hero from the stars, lots of adventure. Wrote it based on an old story that's been around for a while. Anyway, it's quite popular now and everyone's imagination is running wild. Here, let me show you!" She dashed back into the tree and reappeared a few moments later with a copy of the book, which she handed to Susan. "There. You can keep that if you like. Everyone says it's really good..."

The picture on the cover was of a blue box that bore a striking resemblance to the TARDIS.

"You know, Barbara? I think this is the best reception we've ever had." said Ian.

After Maude had finished with her questions, she then introduced them to the Mayor, the Chief of Police, and the head of the Parent-Teacher Association. It had taken well over an hour, but eventually the Doctor had managed to convince them all that they had no desires to incite political unrest, conquer the planet, or corrupt the children. Once that business was out of the way, the possums turned out to be surprisingly hospitable. To celebrate the arrival of the first extraterrestrial visitors to their planet, the locals had declared a spontaneous holiday and a festival was soon organised.

The planning committee only had the better part of the night to put it all together, but they managed it. A team of volunteers had arranged an elaborate banquet, set up an outdoor picnic area, and decorated the city with banners that proudly declared "WELCOME BALD ALIENS!" and "THEY COME IN PEACE!" (Although because it was such short notice, quite a few of them said things like "HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!" and "HALF-PRICE, TODAY ONLY!") And once they'd realised that their visitors didn't have night vision, they'd obligingly lit up a few more lamps.

Barbara smiled as she sipped the fruity drink someone had poured for her. "Yes, I suppose it is nice. Though I don't think I'll ever get used to being the 'alien'." It wasn't just the appearance of the locals; it was also the fact that everything was built for creatures that were considerably smaller than humans. Part of the reason the festivities were being held outside was that the only building that could fit them was the community centre. The possums had tried to accommodate their guests, but the table they'd built for them was roughly child-sized and didn't have any chairs. "This is almost like being Gulliver in Liliput."

"I suppose next time we'll be visiting the planet of the giants, then?"

"Or the planet of the horses! Still, it feels a bit odd, having this big celebration just for us."

Susan peeled one of the colourful fruits they'd been given. "It's probably because they're fans of Grandfather." Ian gave her an incredulous look and she elaborated. "It's that book Maude wrote. I read it while we were waiting in the gym." (She'd read it so quickly that Barbara had a difficult time believing she hadn't just skimmed it.) "The way the aliens are described in the book look an awful lot like me and Grandfather, although she got my name wrong."

"Oh?"

"In the book, I'm called 'Sarah'".

Ian chuckled. "Must be taking a few artistic liberties."

"I think so. She's even got Grandfather doing martial arts and wearing frills!" Barbara thumped Ian on the back as he choked on his drink.

"Are Ian and I in the book, too?" asked Barbara. Susan shook her head.

"No. And before you ask, we haven't been here before. I think Grandfather and I are going to come here in our future."

"That would explain why these children keep asking for his autograph. (It wasn't that funny, Ian!) Hold on, if this is your future and we're not there..." Barbara almost didn't want to vocalise her thoughts, lest she jinxed something. "Do you think this means we make it home eventually?"

"Possibly. That, or..." Susan paused. There weren't many ways to tactfully explain that she could very well outlive her friends. Ian, however, was determined to be optimistic about things and insisted that it was a good sign. "There's something that's not quite right, though." Susan leaned forward, as if she were sharing a secret, "If Grandfather and I visit in their past, then how are you and I the first aliens they've ever met? It can't possibly be a coincidence, because Maude got lots of details right."

They had no answer for that. Before they could discuss it further, another group of possums joined them at their table, curious about these visitors. ("Don't you get cold with no fur on?", "What happened to your tails?", "D'you know, it really is Paul's birthday. Say hello, Paul...") Susan met a possum who appeared to be her own age, called Philly, and she went off with him to met his friends.

Barbara thought it was remarkably similar to social gatherings back home, only furrier. They made small talk, asked about each other's lives, swapped stories... She noticed, with some amusement, that Ian was amiably letting the younger children hang from his fingers by their tails. He assured the parents that the kids weren't being a bother at all. Shortly after the group left their table, Ian nudged Barbara. "You seem to be doing better."

"Oh?"

"Well, a few hours ago you were ready to leave this world and its...'overgrown rats', you said?"

"Marsupials, actually."

"I take it you've warmed up to our hosts? You aren't cringing so much when they come near."

"They're alright..." she hesitated.

He noticed. "They're alright, but...?"

"Promise you won't think I'm being silly?" He crossed his heart. "It's their feet that bother me." She looked up at him to gauge his reaction. "Oh, Ian, you promised!"

"I didn't say anything!" He held up his hands as if preparing for retaliation. "But honestly, their feet? After all the things we've seen and it's the feet that-"

"They've got thumbs on all four of them! They've got thumbs, and feet like rats, and I don't like the thought of rodents crawling all over me!"

"Hey now, it's all right." Ian put a reassuring arm around her. "It's a perfectly reasonable response to...feet. And they did pull a knife on you, so..." They sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company.

"...bit silly, though..."

She threw a piece of grapefruit at him.

They saw Susan about a half hour later with two possums in her arm, and one on each shoulder. "You remember Philly? This is Mimi, Skritter, and Nik-Nik." Her new friends waved enthusiastically. "We're going to have our picture drawn by Gustav!" She said cheerfully, nodding at a grizzled-looking old fellow across the crowd who was smoking a cigarette.

"That will have to wait." They jumped, not realising that the Doctor was standing behind them
with Maude on his shoulder. Barbara giggled at the sight of the possum-sized top hat he'd somehow acquired. He pretended not to notice "It's almost sunup, and it's high time we should be getting back to the ship."

"Oh, Grandfather, can't we stay just a little longer?" asked Susan. Her new friends chimed in, insisting that it was much to early for them to go, and they hadn't even shown her the swinging vines yet.

"You really ought to," said Maude, "Apparently, word of your arrival's gotten all the way to the Capitol! The General's even coming out. Sadly, he's not a fan of science-fiction." She sniffed. The thought of it clearly rubbed her the wrong way. "Well, to each his own I suppose. Anyway, he's probably not going to take too kindly to you all being here, so you might as well spend the night in your box. But don't worry, we'll take care of him for you, and the mayor says you're all welcome to stay as long as you please!"

Barbara had a nagging suspicion that whatever the issue with the General was, it wasn't as simple as Maude made it out to be. But if things started to go wrong, then at least the four of them would be safe in the ship and able to leave. So they said their good-nights and promised that they wouldn't rush off in the night. (After all, it wasn't every day that they received so warm a welcome.) Maude "escorted" them back to the TARDIS, riding on the Doctor's shoulders. As they neared the blue box, he patted his pockets in search of the key. He was relieved to find the key in the lock. He was, however, rather upset to find the doors wide open.

He was positively outraged to find several dozen adolescent possums scampering around inside, getting into everything.

"Good Lord" cried Ian, "They're everywhere! And they've been drinking!" he added on seeing tiny beer bottles strewn about.

"Stop this! Stop this at once!" shouted the Doctor as Maude jumped to the floor and began trying to shoo the youths out the door. "Everybody out!"

"Grandfather, look!" Susan pointed at the console where several of the possums were scrabbling at the controls. A female with a head of black fur succeeded in prying a smallish silver box off of one of the panels. As soon as she'd done this, Barbara felt a sharp, unpleasant sensation in her head. It was the oddest thing she'd ever felt, somewhere between actual pain and a tickle, and everything tasted purple for a moment. Ian appeared to be feeling the same way.

The feeling passed almost as soon as it came, and the furry little vandal danced triumphantly on top of the console chittering happily, wires dangling from the box. The Doctor pointed at her and shouted something. Susan made a grab for the possum, who scurried out of reach. Ian and Barbara tried to help catch her, seeing as that little box looked important. The young possums quickly began a game of keep-away, tossing the piece back and forth. Somehow, the black and white possum got hold of it again and disappeared out the door into the early morning light. The rest of the crowd followed.

Maude chattered and squeaked something that sounded like an apology. The Doctor was clearly upset, and launched into a loud diatribe while Susan tried to calm him down.

At least, that's what Barbara thought was going on. She shook her head, rubbed at her ear, and listened again, but she couldn't understand a word any of them were saying. Maude was making a lot of shrill, squeaking noises, and the Doctor and Susan were making strangely musical sounds that should have been impossible with one set of vocal chords.

"Barbara," Ian was clearly having the same problem, "What was that box that the possum ran off with?"