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 After a bumpy entry into the Eighth Dimension the Doctor says that a fault in the modular transmission linkage means that he can't tell Adric whether the TARDIS has landed or not. The scanners flicker into life and show them a forbidding landscape of dusty plains and jagged mountains. In the far distance, a needle-like tower gleams. The Doctor says that Vaga is one of the most unfriendly planets in the universe. He adds that the Vagans had two suns. They developed into a peaceful, space-faring race but their neighbours on the planet Pyron blew up one of the suns with a plinium missile. The result was that the Vagans and their cities were gone within a year, leaving only the dust behind. The last few survivors managed to escape using time-space craft and the Doctor helped them to build the tower that they can see on the scanner: the Key to Vaga. It is a beacon should any Vagans wish to return. Even as the Doctor speaks, the tower begins to pulse with a silvery light. The Doctor says that they haven't a moment to lose. He and Adric run across the plain. Adric asks why they couldn't use the TARDIS to get there but the Doctor says that Vagans are approaching and to use the TARDIS might cause a massive explosion: two time craft so close together is catastrophic enough. When they reach the tower, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to open a panel in the tower. He then locates the frequency of the incoming ship and makes adjustments to buy them some time. They run back to the TARDIS but on the way the land around them begins to erupt and there is a scream of engines in the sky. The two of them shelter behind a rock as the Doctor points out a Pyron ship above them using a 'shoot first' policy. He says that the Vagans will be there in seven minutes and if the TARDIS is still there the explosion could rip apart the universe. The Doctor says that the only solution is for Adric to draw the fire of the Pyrons while he makes his own way to the TARDIS and gets it away for an hour using the automatic controls. Adric runs, the Pyrons follow, shooting through the dust, the Doctor makes it to the TARDIS and sets it to leave. He turns to see a large silver sphere appear above the tower. The Pyrons fire missiles at it but the Vagan fields explode them harmlessly. The Pyron ship dives to attack again and fires a plinium warhead. Again this is exploded by the Vagan defences and the blast destroys the Pyron ship. The Doctor and Adric decide to warn the Vagans of the imminent return of the TARDIS but a shining figure of a bearded man appears behind him. He is the Doctor's own friend, Valtar. He tells the Doctor that they have been aware of all of the facts and only came to say farewell to their home world. Adric asks how he will get back to his ship but Valtar says that they are looking at a thought projection. The Vagan ship disappears and Adric suggests that the Key of Vaga will remain as a monument to the people who once lived there. The Doctor says that it will give future visitors something to think about. Source: Mark Senior Planet of Fear 5th Doctor and Adric The TARDIS lands on Ixos-4, a planet covered in forests. The Doctor tells Adric that there is little animal life but the planet should prove interesting. Before he can say why, Adric is horrified to see a huge centipede approaching through the trees. He turns to run back to the TARDIS and sees it is engulfed by a giant grey slug. The Doctor grabs his arm and asks him to describe what he can see. Afterwards, the Doctor tells him that these are only figments of his imagination. The giant earwigs that pick them up and scurry off with them are real, however. The Doctor tells Adric that he has been in telepathic communication with the earwigs that are under the delusion that they are safe in a cavern, hiding from vampire bats. The Doctor assures Adric that none of these things exist. The earwigs landed here in a space ship a few years earlier but are terrified to return to it. The Doctor persuades the earwigs to follow him back to the TARDIS. While he strides purposefully through the trees, Adric and the earwigs find themselves appalled at every step as giant insects threaten to assail them. Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor creates a neutralising attachment. This will allow the earwigs to see the planet the way it really is rather than the fearsome place that the planet's atmosphere (a natural defence barrier) wants them to see. He says that he knew the horrors on the planet were imaginary because he had heard so many travellers' tales and no two were the same. The earwigs thank the Doctor and promise to destroy the attachments once they have repaired their ship and got back into orbit. The Doctor and Adric make their own departure. Source: Mark Senior   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 TARDIS lands on the arid desert planet Aronassus 49. Leaving Nyssa in the cool cloisters of the ship, the Doctor and Tegan walk out across the desert. They have come to answer a distress call from the Doctor's old friend High Minister Threll. The food production systems in Prime City, the underground metropolis, have ceased to deliver and people are beginning to starve. Two security men, below ground, watch the travellers on their screens and speculate whether they are the cause of the malfunction. They send orders and both the Doctor and Tegan are felled by high powered tranquiliser darts. When they wake, the Doctor demands to see Threll. The High Minister retrieves the prisoners from their cell and takes them to his office. On the way he tells the Doctor that three thousand people have died. The Doctor is relieved to arrive safely; as they walked he could sense resentment and revolution in the streets. Threll shows the Doctor photographs of scientists and security men who died trying to solve the problem of the disappearing food. Their bodies are horribly burned by a massive energy discharge. Threll says that the machines that produce the food are working but the deliveries never arrive. The Doctor shows Threll a small black ball that he found on the surface. He says that it is an antibody that lives outside the creature that it is defending: the creature down below. The creature is from another galaxy and, the Doctor adds, is under threat. Threll orders his men to stop searching in the lower levels which prompts Chief Security Officer Sholl to arrest him. He is accused of harbouring people responsible for stealing the food and of hoarding food for himself. In addition, the cessation of hostilities against the food stealers means instant death. As soon as the guards producer their blasters, the black ball flies at them and knocks each out with an electric shock. Outside, gunfire can be heard as the revolution gains pace. Threll and Tegan follow the Doctor to an elevator that takes them down to level nine. Inside a vast chamber is an immense amoeba. The Doctor recognises it as a Migrator from Andromeda, a life form that finds uninhabited planets to give birth to its thousands of children. He thinks this Migrator landed here by accident. He takes the elevator back to the surface and returns with the TARDIS. He coaxes the Migrator (and its army of defence balls) inside and then lets Threll and Tegan in. They materialise in deep space and allow the Migrator to leave. The Doctor sets the controls to arrive back on Aronassus 49 a week later, by which time the people should be ready to welcome Threll back. Source: Mark Senior 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 The Doctor wakes up on the floor of the TARDIS. Nyssa and Tegan are both unconscious too. The controls are dead and, when the Doctor checks, the power is almost fully drained from the reserves. The TARDIS lurches, as if somebody is pulling it. The Doctor staggers and falls again. In space, the Voorvolika, who some have compared to a vision of hell, is feeding. When the Doctor wakes again he realises that the energy readings must be zero: the room is almost dark. The fact that there is oxygen and warmth makes him think they are no longer in space. He vaguely remembers the ship being approached by something immeasurably massive. He sees Tegan is awake and she tells him that Nyssa went to the observation room. The Voorvolika senses that there is someone screaming in the TARDIS, someone called Nyssa. The Voorvolika reaches out and absorbs. When the Doctor and Tegan reach the observation room they see the panoramic window obscured by a mass of suckers and veins. Nyssa cowers in the corner saying only "Voorvolika". Voorvolika feels for the names of the others: Tegan and the Doctor. The Doctor has been encountered before. The Doctor stumbles. Tegan has trouble focusing. She collapses. The Doctor realises that all three of them are being drained like the TARDIS. He has only one option - the drug B929, potent enough to make a man literally explode - and takes it. Bursting with energy, he puts on a vacuum suit and oxygen tanks. He picks up a hand device. He opens the door and steps out. He pushes through membrane and slime. On the way, he notices the skeletal remains of ships and creatures embedded in the flesh of the Voorvolika. He makes slow progress, once having to fight through muscle that threatens to crush him. Looking back he sees that the TARDIS is only a speck in the distance. Barely able to carry on, he spots what he needs: a chamber containing the brain-heart. As he steps in, the brain-heart fires a massive blast of energy at him. The Doctor holds out the device he brought and the energy is transferred straight to the TARDIS. The TARDIS continues to drain the Voorvolika's energy until the giant chrysalis puts itself into suspended animation to survive. As the Doctor dematerialises the TARDIS he reflects that one day the creature will be ready to burst into the next phase of its life-cycle and he must be there when it happens. Source: Mark Senior 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 When the TARDIS detects signs of life on the supposedly barren planet 435, the Doctor decides to pay a visit. As he, Nyssa and Tegan step out they find the world is perfect. The sky is blue, the sun is warm and the landscape is full of green plants and trees. The girls think it is perfect but the Doctor thinks that it is a little too perfect. They discover a huge mansion called "The Haven". At the reception desk they find a register showing that people checked in 1993, but the calendar shows the date is 2330. An ageless man in white robes appears and welcomes them. His tone is expressionless. The Doctor asks who else is there but the man says there is only him. Tegan has walked away and calls the Doctor. He follows her to see a room filled with clear glass coffins. The man, Carnak, tells them that there are 49,867 people in suspended animation, awaiting the cure for what was killing them. When the time is right he will revive them. The Doctor leads the two girls away, out of the building. He does not trust what he has seen. They follow a passage that leads to another chamber. Looking at the 'coffins' they see that the people have metal implants in their necks. Carnak appears behind them. He is accompanied by three revived patients, each carrying a weapon. Carnak informs them that he has added the implants so that the patients will act as human robots and carry out his will. However, what he most desires is peace and solitude. The Doctor and his friends have disturbed the peace so they must be frozen, too. They are led to the chamber to be frozen. The Doctor lies on a trolley and tells the others that the link from Carnak to the guards is through willpower. He then engages in a spell of mind wrestling with Carnak and eventually overpowers him. The guards crumple. The Doctor has passed out with the effort so the girls wheel the trolley back to the TARDIS. When the Doctor recovers he tells them that the people in the Haven are dead and always were. There is nothing to be done for them so he sets the controls and takes the TARDIS somewhere warm. Source: Mark Senior 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 The Doctor has taken Tegan and Turlough with him to Oxaqua to get some Rellium crystals for an experiment he is working on. While he is there he becomes embroiled in a water dispute between the two sentient species. Te humanoid Basks are building dams which take water from the Theigs (a bizarre looking race with squat bodies, conical heads and eyeballs that writhe around on long tendrils). Matters have come to a head and Ghum, one of the Theigs, is threatening to blow up the outlet from one of the energy collectors attached to the planet's core. Lava will engulf the city. The Doctor follows Obedee, leader of the Basks, to the scene and talks Ghum out of blowing the place up in exchange for mediation. The Doctor offers to arbitrate, but Obedee abruptly has Ghum arrested, along with the Doctor and his companions. They are all sentenced to death and taken to a room where they are tied to a slab. A rock with metal spikes is suspended above them, ready to drop. Before that can happen, a Theig attack blows the walls and the prisoners are freed. They are chased across the city and hide in a house which is demolished by a Bask ray. They find themselves in the cellar and Ghum uses his conical head to burrow out into the next cellar. The four of them flee into the desert. Ghum tells the other three to go on without him - he has a plan. The Doctor and his friends are soon overtaken by Obedee and his men. Before the Basks can issue any punishment, tiny tornados sweep across the desert. They are a product of the Basks' damming of the water. Obedee is caught in one, the skin flayed from his body. As the tornados surround the others they are saved by a sudden inrush of water. Ghum has blown up one of the dams. The Theigs and the Basks are reconciled and the Doctor is given his Rellium crystals. He is also awarded a replica of the Oxaquan sword of Office. He leads his friends back to the TARDIS and they leave. The Doctor tells them that the people of Capu 2 would say "Skirri bip hoom da lunce" at this point. Tegan asks him what this means but he says that he has no idea; he just knows that they always say that on Capu 2. Source: Mark Senior Winter on Mesique 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough The TARDIS lands among snowy mountains on Mesique. It is an Earth colony and the Doctor has been there before. Putting on cloaks, the Doctor and his companions make their way to the city nearby. A cold wind howls around them as they reach the building of Sellot, the leader of the people and a friend of the Doctor's. It takes a while to get into the building as the various locks and chains are unfastened. Sellot tells them that there are predators outside, a result of the unusually hard winter. The Doctor introduces Tegan and Turlough to Sellot when they are in the leader's warm chambers. He tells them that the unusually harsh winter has brought them trouble from a rodent type creature and, more alarmingly, a flesh eating beast they call the Sasquatch. A man named Varl is introduced who, apparently, has brought one of these creatures to the cells after he captured it in his barn trying to eat his cattle. They find the furry beast in one of the cells, huddled miserably in the straw. While they are watching, the creature captures and kills a rodent and begins to eat it. Tegan suggests that the Sasquatch may be the solution to the city's rodent problem. The Doctor enters the cell and offers his cloak to the creature. He tells the others that it is a gentle animal, probably one of the last of its kind. Further, it is pregnant. He says that it needs to be rehoused in the city. Sellot agrees, and offers to take the creature into his own house. Touched by the leader's kindness, the Doctor and his companions make their way back to the TARDIS. Source: Mark Senior The Creation of Camelot 5th Doctor and Tegan Tegan and the Doctor are in a cell in a castle, arguing about whether their captors are Vikings (as Tegan insists) or not (as the Doctor would have it). They are taken out and brought before King Arthur. The Doctor finds it hard to believe that Camelot actually exists. Under questioning, he says that he arrived in the TARDIS. Arthur says that the Merlin mentioned that word before. The Doctor wonders why he says "the" Merlin. Arthur says that it is the name he gives his necromancer. He remembers that his Merlin arrived in a TARDIS just after the coronation. Tegan assumes this means that the Merlin is the Master and the Doctor warns him that Merlin is evil and will try to bring Arthur down. The Doctor adds that Mordred is not dead. Arthur is astonished, he sent Merlin to Lothian so that he could kill Mordred so that the prophecy of Arthur's death could not be fulfilled. In addition, the Doctor says that the invading Saxons are part of the Merlin's plans to help Mordred in the Battle to overcome Arthur. He finishes by saying that both he and Merlin are not human but Time Lords and have met on many occasions. Arthur summons Merlin who is not pleased to see the Doctor and insists that the Doctor and Tegan are the enemy. Arthur thinks about how his former lover, Morgan (Mordred's mother) and her husband Lot seem to be causing a deal of trouble for him. He orders a trial. The Master accepts this and strides away to his room. Tegan thinks that was all too easy and the Doctor agrees. They race to Master's turret room but it is empty: it was a TARDIS all along. The Doctor says that the only way to thwart the Master's plans is to build the Arthurian Legend. He asks if Arthur has a round table. Source: Mark Senior Class 4 Renegade 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough Finding his records on the 23rd century staging post Melphis a little incomplete, the Doctor takes Turlough and Tegan to gather some information. Within the hour they have met DaSamPete, a bizarre three-in-one human that was put together by surgeons from Tandemus after a crash. DaSamPete asks the Doctor to locate his (their?) robot. The Doctor reluctantly agrees. With a video of the robot for identification, the three time travellers ride Hovva-Hoppas (anti-gravity armchairs, basically) through the city. Wondering whether the robot ran away or was stolen, they go to the Robo-Mart where the Doctor pretends to be a buyer. He is told to look in the Free Zone (a walled section of the city where the laws don't apply) if he wants to find a runaway robot. The Free Zone is full of beggars and thieves but, after fixing a class 2 domestic for free, the Doctor hears that a Class 4 robot was seen that morning trying to set up some business deals to sell Antherack (an illegal energy source) before being taken away by two men working for The Brothers. Turlough finds out that The Brothers are actually DaSamPete. As they ride back into the city a huge transporter, driven by a class 6 robot, jack-knifes into a vid-helmet store. The Doctor removes a vial of green liquid from the robot's head and then uses a vid-helmet to trace where it came from. He then leads his friends to a recycling factory. On the way he tells them that DaSamPete is actually the leader of an Antherack smuggling gang. The Class 4 robot clearly discovered their secret store of Antherack in the desert and tried to sell it for its own ends. They arrive at the factory just as DaSamPete is lowering the renegade robot into a vat of acid. The Doctor calls out to stop them; distracting them as the robot pulls the platform holding The Brothers and itself into the acid. There is a hiss and then silence. All that survives is a small ball of metal (the robot) which Turlough asks to keep as a paperweight. Source: Mark Senior The Volcanis Deal 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough The Doctor and Turlough land on Volcanis but, apart from a few powerful electrical storms and a lot of sudden volcanic activity, see nothing to keep them. They decide to head to Ilium for a holiday. On the way they are suddenly beset by horrific hallucinations: the Doctor's cricket bat is a snake; the computer is a spider; the Doctor has two heads. They also receive a message from Ilium where somebody claims that the people are being brainwashed. The Doctor lands on Ilium and tells Turlough that the hallucinations were intended to keep prying eyes away. He leaves the TARDIS alone and is promptly shot down by an electric bolt. When he wakes up he is in court and being told that he will be brainwashed so that nobody will ever find Ilium. Turlough is mad with worry until the Doctor reappears. He cheerfully announces that the problem has been solved. Ilium has had an outbreak of lawlessness and has been brainwashing its criminals and sending them to Earth (much like the British did when they sent convicts to Australia). The Doctor has brought that policy to an end by trading the people of Ilium the planet Volcanis. Source: Mark Senior The Nemertines 5th Doctor, Tegan and Turlough The Doctor has called in on his friends at UNIT to say hello when the Brigadier gets a phone call to say that the Thames is full of worms. He takes the Doctor and his companions to the Houses of Parliament. On the embankment, the police are gathered around the shrivelled corpse of a man. A UNIT officer has a jar containing a worm the size of a snake. It has suckers along its body which, the Doctor says, drained the fluid out of the man. The Doctor says that he needs to check the salt content of the tidal Thames and the salt levels in the worm. He goes to a nearby laboratory and concludes that the worm has recently mutated and had to absorb the man's fluids to balance its own salt levels. One of the UNIT officers tells him that a chemical plant near Oxford recently released toxic waste into the Thames recently. The Doctor solves the problem by borrowing a UNIT experiment that recreated the Dead Sea in laboratory conditions. He lowers this into the Thames and the worms, attracted by the salt, flood in. The mass of worms is removed and lowered into a tank, killing them. The Doctor suggests that they go for fish and chips but Tegan says that the thought of sat makes her sick. Source: Mark Senior Fungus 5th Doctor Cats all over the country begin attacking their owners. Professor Lloyd consults the Doctor about it and, as the men drink tea, the Doctor notices a mushroom flavour in the milk. Professor Lloyd admits that new tanks have been used for milk processing. They pay a visit to a local dairy and find a strange fungus in the pipes. The Doctor recognises it and pieces together the tanks' origins in Houston, the space centre and the extraterrestrial fungus. When one of the fungi falls on the professor's arm and grips him, somebody whistles and the fungus falls off. The Doctor guesses that high pitched noises are the answer. He tests this theory with a dog whistle. He suggests that a week of changed radio frequencies would solve the problems in Britain and the fungus would make excellent fertiliser. Source: Mark Senior