Doctor Who Annuals Strips and Stories featuring the Fifth Doctor

Comic strips in blue Short stories in black Annual 1982 Released: September 1981 ISBN: 0 7235 6628 3 The Key of Vaga 5th Doctor and Adric Planet of Fear 5th Doctor and Adric   Comic strips in blue Short stories in black Annual 1983 Released: September 1982 ISBN: 0 7235 6653 4 Danger Down Below 5th Doctor and Tegan The God Machine 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa On a planet somewhere, ruins lay about and there’s a storm in progress. Tegan and Nyssa found visibility to be very poor and squinted against the driving rain, seeing little until a huge flash flared out into the sky before darkness fell again. All around were the remains of an ancient civilisation; Tegan and Nyssa observed their surrounds with awe; applauding the now deceased architects and builders. However they were even more impressed by the structure on which they were standing upon. They assumed it was a temple and attempted to locate an entrance, but they’re attempts met with no avail. The storm which started when they left the TARDIS was getting worse, and also they promised the Doctor not to wander too far. The pair soon found themselves seeking shelter for the night, climbing over the ruins around them. Nyssa and Tegan, looking down, suddenly noticed the ground below them was sinking. They were standing on a descending stone platform. As the storm raged on, the two girls stood still as the platform went down. Soon they were gone. At the TARDIS, the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and stepped outside onto the wet grass. The TARDIS exterior itself wasn’t damaged and the space-time disturbance that forced him land the craft wasn’t particularly severe, but repairs were necessary. These repairs had however been completed now and the Doctor found himself looking for his companions. He first walked to the top of a small hill to see if he could spot them, but this came to no avail. He then just turned around and strolled back into the TARDIS. Much later, in fact, 2 hours, the Doctor was standing at the end of an avenue in the city. Nyssa and Tegan couldn’t be seen and the Doctor decided that the city was the best place to begin his search. So the Doctor wandered up several streets and stopped only on the seventh, thinking about that nothing shed light into his companions’ disappearance. He then considered searching near the big pyramid when he heard a strange noise. The Doctor ducked into a doorway and thought to himself that he was not mistaken, it was chanting- there were other people in the city. The Doctor then cautiously followed the sound. When the Doctor arrived at the source of the sound he saw, hundreds of people walking down an avenue towards the pyramid. Most of the people marching did it in an orderly fashion, but in the middle of them were women and children dancing around in circles of varying size. What the women and children were running around was a large platform, carried by six strong men. This was judged by the Doctor to be a form of religious procession, and the moods of the marchers, sombre and respectful, confirmed this. From the attire of the people, the Doctor confirmed they were natives. But the natives abandoned the settlement centuries ago. Why return now? Are they responsible for the disappearance of the two girls? However this was shrugged off by the Doctor, TARDIS records said that these people were peaceful. So, hoping that this information was correct, the Doctor walked up to the people. Seeing the Doctor, the procession leader stopped the marching. Everyone turned to the Doctor, when the leader, an old man, stepped over to the Doctor. The old man identified himself to the Doctor as Sorl, the leader of the North Tribe… When the Doctor regained consciousness a few minutes later, he promptly shrugged of the premise of the natives being friendly and harmless. The Doctor could still feel the club blow that knocked him over on the back of his head. The place the Doctor found himself in was one of the domiciles he had searched through earlier, a place full of old and broken furniture and rotting curtains hanging off the wall. Looking around, in one dark corner the Doctor spotted a young girl. The girl explained to the Doctor that they meant no harm to him and that she was assigned to look after him. She looked at least sixteen to the Doctor. She then carried on speaking, telling the Doctor that they didn’t want the Doctor to interfere. The Doctor inquired about interfering and the girl said that they were holding a ceremony in gratification of there god Vi’Al. Upon hearing the word “Vi’Al” the Doctor twigged. On the TARDIS records Vi’Al was the ancient god of life, abandoned centuries ago. “Why are the people returning to worship him?” thought the Doctor. He then asked the girl that particular question. The girl replied saying that as time went by her people forgot him and turned to other beliefs, but one day her father returned to the camp and said that Vi’Al had returned. The Doctor asked how he knew, seeing the girl was getting uncomfortable. She went on to say Vi’Al had spoken to him, and everyone else followed him to the city and saw for themselves. Then she broke down and began to cry. She carried on telling the Doctor about Vi’Al, telling him that the Vi’Al that came was not the one that everyone forgot: this Vi’Al demanded sacrifices and offerings. Anyone who sees him now doesn’t live for long afterwards the girl explained, after the Doctor asked if anyone had seen him since. The girl told the Doctor that Sorl had to stop the Doctor from interfering or everyone would be punished. Upon hearing this, the Doctor frowned and thought to himself. There was something wrong with the premise of Gods that never existed coming back and demanding payment. Then suddenly it struck the Doctor, he could find Nyssa and Tegan inside the temple. He turned round to the girl as said that he needed her help. The Doctor moved carefully toward the pyramid, he was followed by the girl who agreed to help the Doctor expose the false god. Along with them were three of the girl’s friends, who agreed to help the Doctor into the temple. The three natives moved ahead of the Doctor, confirming the coast was clear. The Doctor noticed that evening was coming; he must’ve been unconscious for most of the day. The ritual had begun and so if the plan was to work the Doctor had to hurry. Looking round a corner, the Doctor and the natives saw that crowds had converged at the bottom of the temple. At the top were Sorl and the men who were carrying the platforms, taking their cargo to the top of the steps- sacks. But what was in the bulging sacks? An offering that’s for sure. Then the Doctor realised he’d never get in with the clothes he was wearing, he’d stand out like a sore thumb. He indicated this to his native helpers, who then chanced upon a man, then knocked him out and stole his clothes. The Doctor then slipped the loose robes over his cricket gear. Soon, the Doctor blended in with the crowds and casually went up the steps with them. They walked on but the crowds began to thin out and the Doctor realised he might be recognised by Sorl so he crouched down. The Doctor secured himself into position and watched. Sorl and the men began to tip the contents of the sacks onto the sacrificial stone and the Doctor noticed that they were gems and precious metals. The Doctor then concluded: the planet was mineral rich and someone had been researching the planet too; they realised that it was a wealth store so, impersonating Vi’Al, they began freeloading off the natives! Sorl had finished tipping the gems onto the stone. The others backed off, leaving the old man alone. The sacrifice was about to begin. Sorl chanted “To Vi’Al!” and stepped towards the sacrificial stone and placed his foot on what the Doctor believed to be a trigger device, confirmed when the stone began to descend. With only a few seconds left, the Doctor decided to make himself part of the sacrifice and descend to inside the temple. The crowd chanted “To Vi’Al!” and the Doctor made a run for it, followed by the three natives; who were driven by their desire to overthrow the false god. So, the Doctor and the natives jumped out and despite Sorl’s protests, they carried on running to the stone. At that, with Sorl still shouting the Doctor and natives reached the stone and they were enveloped in a bright blue light. The Doctor felt a bit strange with the after effects of a transmat. Next to him the natives were wondering what had whisked them away from the roof of the temple. The Doctor stepped away from the transmat pad and found himself swimming in enough treasure to fill Fort Knox a million times over. With the natives in tow the Doctor stepped through a low archway into a sloping corridor. The corridor spiralled into the bowels of the pyramid and ended at a junction. The Doctor spotted something in the wall; it was a trigger for a booby trap. They group had to move carefully. Soon they were walking again, soon finding what they were looking for. As they reached another junction the Doctor and the natives heard voices from a chamber on their left and froze. They looked inside and it was a bunch of intergalactic pirates; these men were the god Vi’Al. Then the Doctor heard someone whispering his name. The Doctor and the natives turned around and they spotted a barred room with Nyssa, Tegan and ten other natives. The group moved quietly over to the cell and they and the prisoners began to exchange relieved greetings. The Doctor then examined the cell lock and took out a pin and began to pick it. Within seconds the door was open and the natives, Nyssa and Tegan filed out carefully and quietly. However this was short lived as one native, excited, tripped something and created a noise which disturbed the pirates who jumped to attention, ready to fire their weapons. The Doctor reacted to this and one of the natives told everyone to get out as quickly as possible. The Doctor hesitated but knowing argument was futile, he took Nyssa and Tegan out of the building. The sounds of battle ensued, then crashing stone. The Doctor was quite sure that the natives were victorious. The false god Vi’Al, the pirates were no more. Source: Chris Gadsby The Armageddon Crysalis 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa On the Planet Isopterus 5th Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa The Doctor is showing out a new device of his that can conjure up images and sensations in a person’s brain to Adric. Tegan comes along and agrees to try the device out. The Doctor projects an image of fields of flowers into Tegan’s mind, Tegan saying that the sensation is overpowering. The Doctor says the device can make a picture for the senses to Adric, Tegan swearing she was surrounded by flowers. Adric asks if he can have a go but the Doctor has to see the TARDIS materialising. The Doctor saying that they’ve landed on the planet Isopterus, Adric saying Isopterus means termite and Nyssa showing her disgust. The Doctor, Adric, Tegan and Nyssa leave the TARDIS, spotting huge termite mounds when they’re suddenly ambushed by a group of termites and are coated in an immobilising substance. The four travellers are then carried over to the termite nest and deposited. The substance wears off and the Doctor suggests fleeing, only to find the entrance blocked by a giant Termite. The Doctor ascertains that the termites want to imprison them and as he wonders why a voice from the shadows says they’re to be eaten. The man steps out of the shadows and explains that they’re in the termite’s larder. The Doctor says that humans aren’t normal termite food and the man explains that a genetic accident caused the termites to grow larger and eat their way through the entire planet’s vegetation. Just then, Tegan and Nyssa come up and ask if the Doctor has any ideas on how to escape. The Doctor reasons that termites are on the bottom of the evolutionary scale and lack the intelligence of ants, therefore easy to out smart. But a local says that what the termites lack in intelligence they make up for in strength. The Doctor suggests a major distraction and is informed that the only thing that’ll lure the termites away is food. Then the Doctor suggests creating an illusion of food to distract the termites using his device. A few minutes later the Doctor asks Adric to check on the termites. Adric reports that they’re all gone. The Doctor then tells the local to round up his people and follow the Doctor to the TARDIS. The party then make their way through the labyrinth of tunnels and finally find the TARDIS. The local then asks where he and his people will go: the Doctor suggests relocating on another planet until they’re all sure that the termites have starved to death. Back inside the TARDIS, Nyssa and Adric ask when they can eat. It’s just then the Doctor remembers his promise to Adric and decides to conjure up the illusion of food to the Alzarian with the device; Adric saying: “Oh no! This is where I came in!” Time-Placement: Surely before Kinda since Tegan is not concerned using the Doctor's dream-manipulating machine. Source: Chris Gadsby The Haven 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa The Penalty 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa Nyssa and Tegan looked upon the Doctor. They sat there sipping coffee as the Doctor lied on the bed in a fever. The Doctor was nearly delirious as Nyssa wondered how long the Doctor’s ailment, Ponassan fever, was going to last. So they looked on as the Doctor writhed with pain, wondering IF his fever would break as he occasionally let out a scream… In the TARDIS control room the sounds of footsteps could be heard reverberating around the place. The Doctor was running towards the place. Suddenly he burst through the interior doors and stopped suddenly inside the frame. Something was calling out to him and he could hear laughter. The laughing was from the outside, he had to see what was there. Going towards the consol he activated the scanner screen but there was no outside; just faces! He knew all of them: old friends, companions, Time Lords and enemies. All were either dead or gone elsewhere. They wanted him to come outside, the Doctor looking upon their grinning and taunting faces. The Doctor didn’t want to come out, yet for some reason he couldn’t resist the urge. His hand hovered over the door button, and then he pressed it. Outside was a black void. A night which pulled out all the light and warmth from the TARDIS and didn’t return it. Suddenly the Doctor began to tumble and the voices began again. Speaking were a young girl, a tall brawny young man, a young Scot, a small blonde, a savage, a military officer, a Time Lady and a rather cheerful looking man plus many more. Swirling all around the Doctor was a cacophony of violent emotions lunging for him. The Doctor denied them all… The Doctor landed on a musty green-hued planet called Thallis. The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and immediately come under fire from various robotic war machines. The Doctor tried to shut them out but the door was jammed. He could see his companions running towards him yet not getting any closer. The Doctor shouted for them to hurry as lasers and poison gas advanced. They still ran endlessly… …pursued by a race called the Dren. The Dren were heartless reptiles with artificial minds and they wanted to conquer the Earth! The nightmarish aliens poured out of their craft and began to annihilate the citizens of London. The Doctor watched as he stood in the doorway, in his hands a device which, when activated, will wipe the Dren from the solar-system forever! So he pressed the trigger… …it didn’t work! The Dren continued their advance coming closer… …and closer! The Omegans were nearly right on top of him! Running through the maze of corridors at the sea floor, the Doctor had to escape before the depth-charge detonated. If it blew up he would only have seconds to avoid drowning! Then a hoard of Omegans jumped in front of him and challenged him, mere seconds! The Doctor waited helplessly for the first tremor to sound, waited to be blasted out into oblivion… In the blackness the Doctor sat alone. He was cold and tired. He didn’t know who or WHAT he was. He had no memories of any shape or sort. All he knew was that just alone and that they were coming for him! On the horizon were hundreds and thousands of pin-pricks. Figures, machines, THINGS! At his hearts the Doctor felt terror clutch them. He had to run away but where? Who was he? What was it he had to do? He had to think! They were coming closer! The Doctor, that’s who he was. He was a Time Lord. He travelled in a TARDIS, but what was a… TARDIS? Time and Relative Dimensions in Space: a time and space craft! He had to get there and he could not forget! Along the blackness the Doctor ran on the impossible surface. He was being pursued by horrors familiar to the Doctor, old enemies that the Doctor fought and had seen die. The Figures and machines gave chase and the Doctor tried to run, but he couldn’t. His legs were rooted to the spot! The mass closed in and the Doctor’s mind cried stop! It objected and wanted it to stop! The Doctor fell to the ground and he felt their hot breath on his face. His hearts were beating like mad! Above the mass loomed like the angels of death from beyond time and space. As they crushed him to the ground the Doctor saw a long tunnel before his eyes… A voice somewhere chanted “Doctor!”. The Doctor just could not die! He could regenerate again! He had a gift all Time Lords had! The voice said “Doctor!” again. Suddenly the Doctor woke. He looked around and remembered he was in his own room in the TARDIS. He remembered whilst exploring the artefact he found was covered in Ponassan bacteria and that Tegan carried him back when he became feverous. “We thought we had lost you!” said Tegan. Later when the Doctor was about to materialise the TARDIS, he postulated that what ever horrors one sees in a nightmare are memories half-buried and warped; magnified by imagination and left loose when the body sleeps. He remembered someone saying nightmares were a penalty for enjoying an untroubled day and/or life. The more adventurous the life, the greater the penalty. The Doctor didn’t necessarily agree, but it felt like that in the time that had passed, his penalty had been collected. NOTE: In the bit with the voices, the “dark” companions could’ve been Jamie (the Scot), Vicki (the blonde), Leela (the savage), the Brigadier (the military man) and Romana (the Time Lady). Source: Chris Gadsby Night Flight to Nowhere 5th Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa A voice sounds over an airport P.A. It was Heathrow airport and people were busy rushing around, barely noticing the TARDIS materialising in a storage cupboard. Out came the Doctor and Tegan. Tegan was waiting for a friend of hers called Julie Harris. Tegan was excited at the prospect but the Doctor was indifferent, in fact bored at Tegan’s enthusiasm. Then Tegan spotted Julie, just as the Doctor was contemplating the first moment they met. Tegan ran over to Julie whilst the Doctor watched. At the same moment Nyssa walked outside, startled by the airport, she watched too. When Tegan walked up to Julie, she was startled to be ignored by her. After a while the Doctor was convinced by Tegan that something was wrong. So, the three followed Julie to boarding point D, the Doctor noting she was walking like a robot- stiff arms and glass like eyes, as if she’d been hypnotised. The Doctor had seen this sort of thing happen before. They continued following her until they reached the boarding point, only to be stopped by a security guard. Julie got passed when she showed her ID card but the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan were stopped. Disheartened, Tegan stomped off down the corridor. When the Doctor and Nyssa were about to follow, the Doctor spotted something. A man filed into the boarding point and the Doctor followed, only to be stopped once more. The Doctor asked who chartered the flight and the guard said it was a Rupert Masters of the Masters Corporation. The Doctor asked for a description of the man and as the guard began explaining the Doctor noticed the increasing whine of the Turbo-Engines on the plane. The guard then finished giving his description of the other man; the Doctor noticed that Mr Masters had somewhat compelling eyes. Then airliner began to taxi down the runway. The Doctor stared. In the TARDIS Nyssa was horrified when the description of the man the Doctor gave was that of the Master. So, after a bit of thinking, the Doctor set the TARDIS and the craft dematerialised. Minutes later the familiar shape of a blue police box materialised in the cargo hold of the plane, displacing a few cargo boxes on the way. However the re-materialisation wasn’t smooth and it took a few minutes to get right. When it did finally reappear, the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan stepped out unhurt, albeit shaken, and were promptly greeted by the Master. The Master was accompanied by three zombie like stewardesses, one of which was Julie Harris. Tegan tried to contact Julie but the Master said only he could communicate with them. The Doctor and the Master then had a little confrontation before the TARDIS crew were escorted to the passenger deck. In the passenger hold, the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa were all strapped down to their seats, whilst on a screen in front was a hypnotic display. Around them were other people all in a trance, mesmerised by the display put on by the Master. As the Doctor and company struggled with their bonds, they also tried to prevent themselves from becoming like the other victims, snatching their eyes away from the display. Nyssa asked who all the other people were; the Master said they were Governmental Aides and Security advisers, people who had the knowledge of the secrets of those in power. All once willing guests of the Masters Corporation, now the Master’s helpless puppets. As the Doctor sat in his seat he wondered, wondered how the Master could’ve enticed all those people over. The Master noticed the Doctor’s puzzled expression and then offered to elucidate. He called over Julie Harris and she walked over before stopping dead in her tracks. The Master then revealed Julie to be an android, much to Tegan’s displeasure. Then the Master started to gloat and talk of conquest and destruction and then told the Doctor that his destination wasn’t San Francisco as scheduled, but elsewhere and they’d be arriving in two hours. Two hours had passed, the Doctor and the others had successfully avoided succumbing to the hypnotism, helped by the fact that raindrops were splattering on the windows near by. The Doctor for a moment thought that Tegan had succumbed but instead she had managed to cut her bonds loose and said she was going to help the others, cutting the Doctor and Nyssa free as well. The three then escaped when Tegan, and the Doctor, looking outside, realised where they all were, above the Bermuda Triangle. The Doctor realised that the Master intended to “disappear” the plane and then “reappear” it once he’d replaced all the officials. At that he made his way to the flight deck and saw that the Master intended to fly the plane through a Time/Space gash in the sky. This soon led to a physical struggle, but the Doctor soon overpowered the Master, the former having a younger and fitter body plus the strength that came with one. Soon, with no time to loose the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa managed to bundle all the passengers into the TARDIS. The plane with the Master in then disappeared through the gash. The passengers were returned to Heathrow airport and just before the hypnotism wore off too, so they had no memory of what happened, or the TARDIS for that matter. So, with Nyssa in her room and Tegan searching for the real Julie, the Doctor had a rare moment alone and pondered to himself. Would the Master be back? Yes, yes he would. Note: This story seems to bear a slight superficial resemblance to the story Timeflight, which also featured the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa, Heathrow Airport and the Master. Source: Chris Gadsby   Comic strips in blue Short stories in black Annual 1984 Released: September 1983 ISBN: 0 7235 6685 2 The Oxaqua Incident 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough Winter on Mesique 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough The Creation of Camelot 5th Doctor and Tegan Class 4 Renegade 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough The Volcanis Deal 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough The Nemertines 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough Fungus 5th Doctor