A Star In Her Eye (short story)

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***A Star In Her Eye*** was a short story written by Cornelius Blanc. It was the first prose story submitted by fans to the *Doctor Who: Lockdown!* as part of the 2020 *The Pilot* tweetalong to receive an official release on the *Lockdown!* website.

This story marked the first time that Doctor Who Adventures companion Heather McCrimmon was identified as the same character who appeared in *The Pilot*.

## Plot

Starting at St Luke's University, Heather McCrimmon discovers a Timeship - following it to a nearby construction site she meet an avatar of a man (whose form quickly changes to that of an elderly man and then a little girl). The little girl informs Heather that the ship is broken and, with the crew dead, they are seeking another pilot. However, upon looking at the defect in her left iris both the avatar and the ship depart - leaving only a puddle behind.

Believing herself to be an unsuitable pilot due to the fact that she is unable to travel in the Time Vortex, Heather plans to offer Bill Potts instead. Although, she later has second thoughts about this. Eventually, Heather pours her heart out to the puddle and the puddle deems her to be a fit pilot.

## Characters

* Heather / Heather McCrimmon
* Bill Potts
* Timeship

## Story notes

* *A Star In Her Eye* was the working title for *The Pilot*.
* Writer Cornelius Blanc commented on Twitter that he was surprised to find how similar Heather McCrimmon and Bill Potts adventures were; both visited colonies in space which relied on artificial intelligence in *Glum Culture* and *Smile*, both dived under the Thames in *The Aquarius Condition* and *Thin Ice*, and faced off against creatures that fed on solar energy in *City of Light* and *The Eaters of Light*. [1]

## Continuity

* Alongside the Tenth Doctor, Heather McCrimmon "visited a human colony in space - which relied entirely on the automated assistance of artificial life", (PROSE: *Glum Culture*) "dived below the Thames on a sunken Earth" (PROSE: *The Aquarius Condition*) and "faced off against creatures that fed on solar energy". (PROSE: *City of Light*)
* The Mighty Mozhtratta's ReCohesion Cannon had "momentarily split [Heather] into a thousand temporal echoes" which left her without "natural defences against vortex radiation" meaning "a single trip in the TARDIS would tear her apart". (PROSE: *Dead-line*)
* Heather was left with "a defect of her left iris". (TV: *The Pilot*)
* Heather pursued a career in archaeology. (PROSE: *Lucky Heather*)
* Heather continued to meet up with Wolfie, and the Doctor returned on occasion. (PROSE: *Lucky Heather*)
* Heather changed from the University of Edinburgh (PROSE: *The Chromosome Connection*, et al.) to St Cedd's College (TV: *The Five Doctors*, et al.) and the privately funded Sayle (PROSE: *The Dark Planet*) before arriving at St Luke's University. (TV: *The Pilot*, et al.)
* The Timeship is said to have "an inverted body like a curved pyramid and four pincer-like landing struts" which is similar to the timeship belonging to the Silence. Both ships also have three avatars, those of a middle-aged man, a little girl and an elderly man. These avatars repeat the same comments; "The ship has crashed. The crew are dead. A pilot is required!", and "Can you help me, please?". (TV: *The Lodger*)
* Bill Potts compares Heather's defect to a star. (TV: *The Pilot*)
* Heather decided to take Bill to see the puddle, but left soon after. (TV: *The Pilot*)
* Heather promised not to leave Bill, shortly before being absorbed by the puddle. (TV: *The Pilot*)