A man called Kasper stumbles drunkenly through the streets close to the port. As he places the change he has been given for his last drink in his pocket he finds a piece of parchment inside. He looks upon it and gasps; it is the Black Shadow. He tries to run but is confronted by an apparition resembling a large shaggy creature, which apologises before killing him by scratching his face with a giant paw. It sighs and fades away as Kasper lies on the floor, his blood carrying away the parchment.

In the TARDIS the computers are malfunctioning. Outside is what the Doctor describes as an Electromagnetic Pulse signature and inside, after the console explodes, the Time Lord pilot uses an everlasting match to find radiation pills for himself and Rose so that they can go outside, As Rose pockets the match the Doctor uses a crank to start opening the doors and when the two travellers step outside they find themselves in a Dikensian-type city. As Rose looks around the Doctor ponders what is wrong with the TARDIS.

The ship doors snap shut, incapable of opening until the internal infrastructure is repaired and the Doctor and Rose walk off into the city to find the source of the pulses, the Doctor theorising it could be the eighteenth century. They hitch a life on a cart and find themselves in a seaport where the Doctor realises they are not on Earth, the stars are different. They come to a halt and are confronted by a giant ship, half sailing boat half space vessel. The Doctor marvels at it before explaining the reason it cannot use more modern technology than wind power is because of the pulses, they stop all modern technology working. He admits it seems likely it will not be possible to stop them, as they are a naturally occurring phenomenon then decides they should find out more by visiting the local pub.

After looking at the other steam driven machinery in the city they arrive at the pub, called The Broken Spyglass, where the landlady is talking to a small boy called Jimm, who is shocked when he sees the Doctor and Rose. The Time Lord approaches him and offers to but him a drink before ordering for himself and Rose as well as the landlady, who turns out to be half steam-driven robot and half actual human. After Jim explains his uncle Bobb is on his way to collect him he explains his dreams of working on one of the ships outside.

After being asked, he and Sally the half-human barmaid tell the Doctor that the reason no electricity works on the planet, known as Starfall, is because of a field of electromagnetic gravitation called the Zeg, which interferes with electrical circuits. Rose asks why people still come here and they explains that it is because of the wealthy mining areas, which can help you make your fortune.

They go on to talk about the legend of the lost treasure of Hamlek Glint. Jimm explains how both his uncle Bobb and the ruler of Starfall Drel McCavity are big collectors of artefacts to do with Glint and as they talk another drinker in the pub, called Rodd (a friend of McCavity and accomplice in a gang consisting of four people called Kasper, Edd, Bonny and himself), empties his pockets to pay for his drinks he unravels a blank piece of paper. He looks at the markings on it and runs out of the building in horror as Sally explains the death of Kasper to the others, and how his body was ripped to pieces.

Outside Rodd tries to flee but the creature that killed Kasper appears and apologises, claiming it is his job. He claws him to death and then once again fades away.

In the pub Bobb arrives to take Jimm home and offers to tell the Doctor and Rose about Hamlek Glint should they call at their home. The two travellers then asks if there is any way they can make their way outside of the Zeg, perhaps by seeking passage on the ship. Sally ponders then tells them they may have to crew on the ship in order to get there. They are soon on a boat called the Clipper; using the psychic paper to bluff the crew into letting them see a recently found body, the body of Rodd. The Doctor asks if anything was found on the body and is shown by the captain a small piece of paper with a black blob on it. The Doctor explains it is known as the Black Shadow, a curse bestowed on people to mark them for death. As he talks he and rose look at the paper, which curls and crumbles to dust.

The Doctor agrees to tell McCavity, who was a friend of Rodd’s about his death and then tells Rose to try and find Edd and Bonny, the two accomplices of Rodd and their friend Kasper. Two of the group are already dead; the other two must be warned. After a bumpy ride and a warning from his driver about the volatile temper that rises whenever his late wife is mentioned of the man he is about to visit, the Doctor arrives at the house of Drel McCavity. Rose meanwhile goes back to the pub where the barman gives her directions to a warehouse Edd and Bonny apparently work in.

In McCavity’s house the Doctor looks around waiting for the man he has come to meet, finding the giant house covered in paintings and pictures, all of the same woman. He then finds McCavity’s collection of Hamlek Glint artefacts, models of spaceships and personal items including a lead statue of a man supposedly killed by Glint. McCavity himself finally arrives and having been told his visitor’s name is John Smith, he offers to show him round, as the Doctor explains why he is here and why he has never heard of him.

In the warehouse Rose finds Bonny and Edd, who explains that Rodd’s death was no accident. They reveal that they were the ones who sold a lot of the Glint artefacts to McCavity, despite the fact they were fakes. Bobb had examined them and told them and he went mad, despite the fact the medallion they sold him many years ago was in fact real. McCavity wanted the cursed treasure, and now there certainly is a curse, both Kasper and Rodd are dead. They decide it is time for them to move on. They realise now someone is after him, it could be McCavity, even if they did give him his money back; but they’ve conned so many people over the years it could be anyone.

The Doctor looks around at McCavity’s collection of artefacts as he admits that some of them used to be fakes, but the rest; including a statue of one of the ship captains who tried to stand up to Glint. He briefly refers to the ultimate treasure of Glint, known as the Resurrection Casket. He then thanks the Doctor for his concern for his safety and shows him to the door. As he talks he begins to mutter to himself, as if there was another being with him. The Doctor remembers what the cab driver said earlier about McCavity having a bad temper whenever his late wife is mentioned. He decides to mention her and McCavity begins to shout that she will return to him, she has not left yet.

In the warehouse Edd and Bonny prepare to leave again but it is too late. The giant shaggy creature arrives, apologises and attacks. As screams ring out it finishes its work and apologises to Rose for the mess.

The Doctor returns from Drel McCavity’s mansion and arrives at Bobb and Jimm’s house. They show him around their vast collection of Hamlek Glint memorabilia and he sees a photo of him, his cabin boy Robbie and his crew of seven robots named Cannon-K, Elvis, Dusty, Stubbs, Octo 1-9, Smithers and Salvo 7-50, the fiercest most vicious pirate of the lot. As the Doctor muses at a shadowy figure at the edge of the photo Bobb explains that before Glint disappeared, he sold the robots to a scrap merchant and Robbie was never seen again. Some believe Glint made his way to Starfall to conceal his treasure, the Resurrection Casket, but Bobb supposes that his ship would have been incompatible with the Zeg and he would have thus gone somewhere else.

He explains to the Doctor that the reason he doesn’t want his son to visit the stars and try to find Glint’s treasure is because he knows what damage Glint did to people, the death and destruction he caused, he doesn’t want Jimm to follow in those footsteps. Silver Sally soon arrives, as does Rose who, after the Doctor tells Jimm a story that will hopefully put him off becoming like Glint, explains about the monster that killed Edd and Bonny.

The Doctor shows her around Bobb and Jimm’s collection, including the photo of the crew, and they then visit a custom built replica of Glint’s fortune. Jimm swears some of it is missing but Bobb dismisses it, it is not even real. The Doctor then gets Bobb and Sally to tell him what happened to Drel McCavity’s wife and they explain that she ran off with the Captain of the Watch, and Drel was the last to find out. He turned to collecting Glint memorabilia, which fuelled tourism to Starfall for people to mine, hoping to find the Resurrection Casket, Glint’s treasure. Drel makes a profit on anything found in the mines and thus makes a living from his collection.

Bobb and Jimm explain the Resurrection Casket is supposedly one of the things Glint stole on his travels, and has the power to bring the dead back to life, it was taken from a clone ship. Sally departs and the Doctor shows Rose the fuzzy figure in the picture of Glint’s crew; it could be the Black Shadow, the monster that killed Edd and Bonny. After vetoing Rose’s idea that Bobb is really Glint, having used the Casket to cheat death, the Doctor searches his pockets for some paper to draw a picture of the creature in the picture, but he finds that someone has planted the Black Shadow on him. Suddenly the creature has walked through the front door, apologises and swipes at the Doctor.

He dodges the attack and runs off into the exhibition part of the house as Rose goes to find Jimm, who answered the door to the beast. The Time Lord tries to dodge and ends up inside the display case containing the replica of the treasure. He examines one of the brooches before running off again. He confronts the beast, who’s real name is Kevin, and realises his is from the Black Shadow Dimension, with three honorary degrees and many books to read. He confuses the beast by explaining he has no name and thus cannot be the one he is after, seeing as he ahs been given a name to find and kill, as is stated in his contract. He bids farewell to the Doctor and fades away to his own dimension.

Later on the Time Lord explains to the others that someone is using an artefact of Glint’s to summon the beast and in return for being set free they do their master’s bidding. He muses that Kevin may well be the same beast in the picture of Glint and his crew. Bobb testifies his innocence of the matter and the Doctor decides it is time to inspect Glint’s ship. Using artefacts from the ship he can trace the energy emissions of the ship and find where it went after Glint disappeared. He will need specialist equipment and money to fund a ship, which Jimm points out he could get from Drel McCavity.

Arriving at his house the Doctor explains his theory that Glint was heading for Starfall when he disappeared, but was caught up in the Zeg and is now stranded. McCavity agrees to fund a small mission, with a select crew. The Doctor tells him the TARDIS must come as well and McCavity explains his full intention; he is coming with them. Soon the Doctor and Rose, along with Jimm are on their way to the pub again, and the Doctor reveals he pulled out a tuft of Kevin’s hair in the attack, which he will use to find the traces from the ship. He also explains to Rose that she must call herself Miss Taylor, so that if Kevin is sent to kill her she can ward him off with a wrong name.

In the pub Sally explains that she can find them a cheap crew, as well as a cook. She explains that they will have to be robotic so that they are cheap and don’t demand much, but the second condition is that she comes with them. The Doctor agrees and they toast to finding the treasure of Hamlek Glint.

Back at Bobb’s house Jimm storms off in anger when his father tells him he is not allowed to go on the mission, he is too young. He then tells the Doctor and Rose that he himself is not coming with them, he is getting too old. Jimm is all he lives for and the Resurrection Casket can stay a myth. As soon as Jimm is ready to fend for himself his time will have passed. The Doctor and Rose are left to board their ship, called the Venture, along with McCavity and an old chest of his, and soon they are taking off, and very uncomfortably so.

After Rose meets the robotic crew; Kenny the plumber, King the navigator and Jonesy who works in the boiler room, she observes a shark-like creature called a krark. It hurls itself at one of the portals but Sally assures her that so long as Kenny has done his job they will be fine. Over the days of travel Rose begins to wonder how Sally lost half of her organic body and had to have it replaced by steam-driven robotics. She never asks and is soon guilty for feeling sorry for her, as she doesn’t want or need sympathy.

As Rose gets to know McCavity’s body guard Dugg, she and the Doctor continue to try and get into the TARDIS, which is parked in one of the escape pods, but the doors remain locked shut. The Doctor thus decides to improve the ship’s engines to get them outside of the Zeg, into the Outreaches faster. After some time he does so and the powered-down TARDIS unlocks. As the Doctor sets about drawing a treasure map to find Glint’s ship Rose decides to go and find Sally and tell her how things are going.

She overhears Sally and King talking to each other in an abrupt manor, referring to each other as Elvis and Salvo. As the other robots make their way towards her she remembers the photograph of Glint and his crew; of which Salvo 7-50 was the ‘fiercest and most vicious pirate of the lot’. She runs and hides in a cupboard where she props her legs up against something soft. As the other robots, alias Smithers and Cannon-K join them they plot to wait until Glint’s ship is found, then they will kill the Doctor and the others then take the vessel for themselves, where they can abandon the steam technology they use to allow them to work in the Zeg. Suddenly the thing Rose is propped up against falls out of the cupboard and Sally, alias Salvo 7-50 advances on it.

Elsewhere McCavity, who continually talks to his absent wife, provides the Doctor with a medallion from Glint’s treasure hoard. The Doctor prepares to cross reference the trace signatures, hoping it won’t take as long as a minute. Elsewhere Sally closes the door, not noticing Rose and together the robot pirates leave. Rose inspects the cupboard and finds Jimm inside. She closes the door as Sally returns. She greets her then runs to the living quarters to tell the Doctor.

She explains what is going on and the Doctor helps her barricade the door. Sally tries to get in but after the Doctor tells her they know her true identity, she tells them they will not die until they have found the trace signature. If they do not agree to help, Jimm will be killed. She leaves them and the Doctor hatches a plot, fracturing part of the pipeline, weakening the hull of the ship. As Sally and the others return with the unconscious Jimm the Time Lord explains that the krarks outside will widen the breech and destroy the ship, unless they allow him outside to fix the problem. Reluctantly they agree to give him a space suit and the Doctor tells them to leave the others in a grounded escape pod, which can act as a prison cell. Sally agrees; musing it could be a prison cell or even a coffin.

Once inside the pod Jimm begins to awaken but is still groggy. Suddenly the pod is released from the ship, left to float in space. The Doctor soon arrives, hauling himself through the door, explaining there were no krarks; they were a way of getting him to the pod. He explains that he has tracked down Glint’s ship and they are on their way to find it before Salvo 7-50 and the others realise what is going on. Suddenly he realises something is missing; the TARDIS is not in the vessel with them. Rose realises this too and confirms that it is in the other escape pod.

They are soon trawling through the lost ships floating around the Zeg and after finding several dead ends arrive at the sight of the Buccaneer, Hamlek Glint’s ship. They arrive onboard and as they walk around in the dimly lit ship (Dugg following carrying the trunk McCavity brought onboard.) They walk through a gallery of weapons and then to the treasure vault where all that is left is a large coffin-like casket. The Doctor warns them not to open it; it could contain the most dangerous pirate ever to walk in the universe.

As McCavity curses at the lack of actually treasure Kevin appears suddenly appears in the room. He reveals that the ship is his home and the Doctor realises that he is under McCavity’s control. Rose warns him not to let him put the Black Shadow on anyone as McCavity reveals the medallion he wears upon his neck is the device that controls Kevin. Suddenly the room shakes and the Doctor realises that Sally, alias Salvo 7-50 and the other robots have got the ship working again and traced them to the Buccaneer.

Kevin tells them to move and helping them to lift the Resurrection Casket, he guides them to the recreation room. Dugg brings McCavity’s space trunk and when they arrive decide to barricade the door to keep the robots out. They stack furniture up against the door but Sally is already on the other side. The Doctor tells the others that they want Glint out of the Casket to seek revenge but then realises that it is not a device capable of bringing the dead back to life, merely a way of sustaining the body in stasis.

As McCavity demands that the Casket be opened the Doctor wonders why he is so insistent and as Sally tries to dislodge the barricade, McCavity’s chest falls open, revealing the skeleton of his lost wife Larissa. The Doctor sees a bullet hole in the skull and realises Drel killed his own wife as an act of revenge for her betrayal. He then remembers the lead statue in Drel’s Glint memorabilia collection and realises it was not Glint who killed him; it was McCavity killing the man Larissa ran off with.

McCavity demands the Doctor make the Resurrection work to revive her but he explains that it is only a preserver and only works on living tissue. Drel orders him and then plants the Black Shadow on him before running off. As the snooker table gives way and Rose and Jimm are thrown to the floor Kevin turns on the Doctor. He explains that the only way to be free from the Shadow is to give back the parchment to the one who dealt it or be granted a reprieve. The Doctor begs him not to, but the beast is bound by contract.

As before the Doctor jumps out of the way as Kevin strikes, diving out of the room warning them to move the Resurrection Casket and reminding Jimm of his action figures. Kevin makes to follow but Rose stalls him, and when he sees Sally breaking through the blockade, hides behind the sofa. Rose suddenly remembers seeing an old snooker table and the rubber in the cushions. She begins to rip it off of the table and prepares to use it as a catapult. Jimm meanwhile remembers his action figures of the group of Glint’s robots and how Cannon-K had a weak neck. Rose prepares to fire a ball at it, as it makes its way across the barricade.

The Doctor runs, trying to find McCavity so as to hand back the Black Shadow and free himself from Kevin. McCavity appears and lunges at him with a sword. He manages to knock him down and continues to run off as the unhinged McCavity hurriedly gets to his feet. Elsewhere Dugg desperately tries to get the Resurrection Casket to safety but cannot lift it. Kevin arrives and picks it up leaving Dugg to run to help the others. He arrives to find Cannon-K’s head has been knocked off. As Sally and the others tell them they have forgiven Glint for selling them for scrap they start to break through, claiming they want him back to start their old lives again. Dugg stays behind to control the catapult as Rose and Jimm runs to find the Doctor, taking Dugg’s notebook with them for safekeeping.

The Doctor arrives in the main engine room and arms himself with a fire axe as McCavity enters still wielding his sword. A fight ensures and soon the Doctor has damaged one of the cooling tanks, blasting both McCavity and his axe with sub-zero steam. The axe smashes to pieces and McCavity recovers. As the Doctor stumbles and falls to the floor McCavity leans over him and brings down the sword.

Kevin arrives and stops McCavity, claiming killing is his job. Rose and Jimm follow them inside and tell McCavity that if he allows the Doctor to be killed they will be unable to stop Glint’s robots. He calls off Kevin, who seals the safety hatch of the room and the Doctor hands back the Black Shadow. He then formulates a plan and tells Kevin, who can survive without air, that he will be an important part of the plan.

As the robots break into the recreation room, glancing at the dead body of Dugg, they fix Cannon-K and prepare to revive Glint. They arrive at the engine room and manage to break inside, only to find the Doctor and the others have gone.

The Doctor’s plan was to have Kevin carry him, Rose, Jimm and McCavity in storage lockers around the ship and into the secondary control room where the Time Lord plans to switch everything back on again within the ship. Slowly the power begins to return. The robots realise what is going on they set to find the Doctor and his friends, preparing to blast them out of the sky with the ships newly-restored weaponry should they attempt to undock in the other ship. As they go Sally realises she needs to top up her joints with water and sets out to the galleys.

The Doctor realises what will happen if they try to leave in the other ship and instead leads the others off to the control deck, Kevin following on from behind with the Resurrection Casket. As the robots arrive they prepare to shred the wires that will allow the other ship to dock. Suddenly the Doctor appears on a communication screen and tells them that he will make a deal with them, they allow them to return with the Resurrection Casket to Starfall and they will send the Buccaneer out of the Zeg field. They refuse but the Doctor threatens that he has the power to kill any one of them. Cannon-K laughs as the Doctor tells him his method is on a piece of paper on the floor nearby. Cannon picks it up and realises it is a trick, on the paper is the Black Shadow. Kevin, alias Polly to the robots, arrives and apologises, before severing his robotic neck.

Kevin appears in the control room as over the intercom Sally appears and threatens to use the medallion McCavity uses to control Kevin to send him to hell. She tells Smithers and Elvis not to touch anything encase it is engraved with the Black Shadow. The Doctor offers her one last chance to take him up on his deal but she thinks he is bluffing and orders the others to break down the control room door, linking the two ships.

As the Venture starts to push the Buccaneer back into the Zeg; Sally tells the Doctor that the Zeg does not affect her and Elvis and Smithers will revert to steam power, he cannot kill them by entering the Zeg. However as the Doctor tells the others in the control room that they must get back to the escape pod containing the TARDIS, the Buccaneer begins to rock, damaged by explosions. As the newly powered-up systems of the Buccaneer start to overload, the Doctor and the others hold onto the control room computers for support. As McCavity notes they will be torn apart along with the Buccaneer the Doctor claims there is somewhere they will be doubly safe; he gets up and staggers out of the room.

As Smithers and Elvis seize up the Buccaneer’s systems all start to overload and the ship is beginning to be torn apart. The pod containing the TARDIS and the group of travellers departs, ready to enter the Zeg again and as an angry krark lunges into the ship to take care of Smithers and Elvis, McCavity tells the Doctor about his ultimatum again; activate the Resurrection Casket or die. Again the Doctor dismisses the idea but it is too late, McCavity has already planted the Black Shadow on him again and Kevin is ready to strike once more.

The Doctor once again lunges and runs around the pod as Jimm sees Sally standing in the air lock, sandwiched between two doors. She pleads to be let in and as the Doctor and Kevin discuss a crossword clue the creature was solving before the trouble on the Buccaneer started, McCavity looks on. Finally the Doctor gives in. He says goodbye to Rose, telling her to do as she thinks best. She thinks about it and lets Sally in before ordering her not to speak. The Doctor then says goodbye to Jimm, asking if he knows what to do. He claims he does and launches at McCavity in rage, calling him a murderer. He pushes him away and Kevin prepares to attack, but it is McCavity he turns on, not the Doctor.

Kevin tells him the paper in the Doctor’s pocket says the Black Shadow is in McCavity’s pocket. Sure enough he pulls out a piece of paper on which is printed the black shadow. The Doctor reveals that he has tricked him using his psychic paper and as Kevin turns on his master Sally and the others look on. McCavity scrambles to open the Resurrection Casket and Sally languishes, urging him on. The Doctor tells him not to and explains that it is empty.

Sure enough as McCavity opens it he sees it is empty and concludes it is a fake. The Doctor tells him it is not and as McCavity edges away from Kevin; he stumbles and falls inside. Jimm closes the Casket and takes the fallen medallion, claiming he is the new master and orders that Kevin is to leave McCavity inside. Kevin claims he cannot do that but the Doctor claims that the man inside is no longer the same Drel McCavity who murdered his wife and his lover, as Kevin knows. He trails off as he looks over at Sally, who has Rose’s throat in her clasp.

As Sally warns of Kevin, remembering how he used to do all of the mundane jobs on the ship, she tells the Doctor to let her take the pod back to Starfall with Glint. The others will be left on a ship awaiting rescue. Rose tries to tell her that Glint is dead but she dismisses her. The Doctor however has everything in hand and tells Rose to take matters into her own hands. Sure enough she does and stamps on Sally’s human foot. She releases her and the young traveller rejoins the Doctor, who tells Sally he’s about to propose a new idea and if she doesn’t agree he will use the sonic screwdriver to boil away the water in her mechanical side, leaving her paralysed.

Some time later as Sally admits she now knows the truth about Glint and his treasure, the Doctor tells her that they are nearly at the edge of the Zeg. Once there they will find a modern-style escape pod and will place Sally inside. She will be free to go where she pleases; so long as it is not Starfall or across the Doctor’s path, and if she does she will have to face the consequences.

He invites Rose and Jimm to sit down and they do so as he prepares to tell them a story; whilst Kevin stands in the background. The Time Lord begins by talking about a pirate named Hamlek Glint, who decided to give up piracy. He theorises that perhaps he never wanted to become a pirate and kill people but his robot crew egged him on. Now he had got rid of them he has the chance to settle down. His cabin boy Robbie also decided to leave him, having been disillusioned by his travels in space. When Glint climbed inside the Resurrection Casket Robbie fled in an escape pod leaving the Buccaneer drifting in space. The pod looses power and Robbie, along with the treasure he has taken, is left to drift until it lands somewhere. All the while Kevin is left alone and the medallion that controls him is found and sold to Drel McCavity, who had developed an obsession with Glint as a way of living a life without his wife and also in order to cover up for the statue of her dead lover.

Rose asks what happened to Glint and the Doctor tells Kevin to continue. The creature explains that in the years between living under Glint and McCavity’s control, he spent time on Starfall and onboard the Buccaneer. On Starfall, ten years ago, he found Robbie, who was guilty about leaving Glint, and he took him back to the Buccaneer. There he let him release Glint and together they went back to Starfall.

The Doctor realises the pod is about to drift back out of the Zeg and prepares to find a pod to seal Sally inside. Sure enough they locate one and the Doctor tells Sally to go off and find a civilisation zone where she will be picked up. Despite Rose’s protests that the Doctor is letting her go he lets the pod drift away, before returning to the others standing in the pod.

He decides it is time to go, and as he unlocks the doors of the TARDIS, tells the others to set a course for home. Jimm decides it is time Kevin had his freedom and returns his medallion. He thanks him and the Doctor and Rose make a move to get inside their ship the Time Lord realises they had better open the Resurrection Casket. Jimm does so and Rose finally realises what it is the device does. Inside is a pile of crumpled clothes, and a small baby lying amongst them.

As Sally, alias Salvo 7-50 drifts away she realises that the Doctor has out her inside a pod that will not be affected by the Zeg. She realises that it will only take a while to turn around and soon she will catch up with them.

Elsewhere; a man is purchasing a steam-yacht on Starfall. Money is no object and despite the fact it has been years since he crewed a ship, he is soon into the regular routine and is steaming his way towards the Buccaneer.

The Doctor decides to keep the baby in the Casket until they return to Starfall and he and Kevin then reveal that it was the same thing that happened ten years ago when Bobb returned to the Buccaneer. As Rose and Jimm look on stunned Kevin explains that Bobb is Robbie, and it was he who raised the baby of Hamlek Glint for ten years…until he grew up into Jimm.

As the Doctor tells Jimm to live his life as he always has, not to be jaded by this new revelation, he and Rose prepare to leave before the TARDIS runs down again. Kevin then explains he has a few things to take care of and fades from view, promising to return shortly after bidding farewell to the Doctor and Rose. The two travellers then say goodbye to Jimm and Rose hands him Dugg’s notebook, which she has realised is a sort of logbook. The Doctor tells him to use it to remember them but also the death, to remember Dugg and how he died saving others. He walks inside the ship and Rose follows.

Inside the ship the Doctor prepares to take off and as the engines ground to life he tells Rose that with the start Bobb and Kevin have given him it is unlikely that Jimm will grow up to be a pirate like Glint. He explains that the treasure mock-up Bobb has in his collection is in fact real, and he was selling bits of it off to raise money; including the medallion, which Glint would have kept a secret encase anyone found out it controlled Kevin. Rose then asks about Sally and the Doctor claims that she too has made her choice.

Inside her pod Sally realises the Doctor tricked her. He knew she would try to follow the other pod and so sealed her in a vessel, which had several systems that would be affected by the Zeg. As the pod begins to break up she prepares to make her own way out in space, even if it means the human half of her will die. Suddenly Kevin arrives in the pod and warns her of the krarks waiting for her outside. She tries to bluff him into thinking she always liked him but he doesn’t believe her and then leaves, leaving her to be sucked into space as the observation screen gives way.