The Age of Ice (comic story)

The Age of Ice
Doctor:	[[doctor::Tenth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Majenta Pryce
Main enemy:	Skith Leader
Main setting:	Sydney, Australia (21st century)
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Panini Comics]]
Editor:	Tom Spilsbury & Scott Gray
Writer:	Dan McDaid
Artist:	Martin Geraghty
Colourist:	James Offredi
Release details
Format:	Comic -

Plot

Part 1 (The Age of Ice)

As a passenger aircraft approaches Sydney airport, it suddenly hits a patch of bright blue lightning. The plane is ripped apart and oxygen masks deploy as it attacks the plane.

Later, the TARDIS lands in Sydney, near the Opera House. Majenta heckles the Doctor about the fact that they're not on Panacea, but the Doctor's gaze shifts towards a landing helicopter. UNIT soldiers emerge from the helicopter, and one of them introduces herself as Captain Kath Braxton. The Doctor is taken to UNIT's underwater base.

As the Doctor and Majenta are taken down UNIT's corridors by armed soldiers, a takes them into a UNIT soldier named Colonel Tom McCay takes them into a hospital ward in their base. They are greeted by Corporal Manning, who is taken aback when he sees Majenta. The Doctor investigates the patients there, and is surprised to see that they are hundreds of years old. Tom reveals that they have aged while travelling in the passenger aircraft after it was hit by a Chronal Wave. He then reveals that prehistoric creatures have been rampaging across the city.

The Doctor then sees a small column of ice in display. Tom explains that the ice was found in the wreckage of the plane. He tells the Doctor that it doesn't melt, and is giving off electrochemical signals. Tom organises a helicopter for the Doctor so that he can see the Chronal Wave himself. They then realise that Majenta has gone.

Meanwhile, Corporal Manning has escaped, and is entering the bestiary. Majenta follows him down, and finds a room full of alien tech - Cybermen carcasses, Autons, War Machines and others. Corporal Manning is communicating with a sentient life form, when Majenta apears in front of him. Corporal Manning holds Majenta at gunpoint, only for Majenta to explain that she can tell that he is using a cloaking device. Corporal Manning, turns off the device...

As the helicopter approaches the origin of the Chronal Wave, the piece of ice begins talking to the Doctor, a message from a life form who have met the Doctor before. UNIT soldier Talbot notes that another Chronal Wave is approaching, as hundreds of prehistoric creatures appear near the bridge.

Back in the bestiary, Corporal Manning is revealed to be an alien, of the same species as Majenta, an old friend of Majenta called Fanson. He tells Majenta how much he's missed her, but Majenta pushes him away, and asks him to explain everything. Fanson reveals he can't, as suddenly Majenta is blasted away by a pulse of energy, as a sentient chrystalline life form called the 'Skith Leader' appears...

Characters

• Tenth Doctor

• The Doctor reminces when UNIT used to operate 'out of a draughty old house in the Home Counties' (in the 1970s)

• Majenta Pryce
• Colonel Tom McKay
• Fanson
• Captain Kath Braxton
• Skith Leader

References

• The previous year Corporal Manning dealt with an advance party Ice Warriors.
• Inside the UNIT Underbase 1 there is a section call 'The Bestiary' which contains: a Sontaran scout ship, a War Machine, a Robot Yeti, a Cyberman, half of a Dalek, an Osirian service robot, 13 copies of the Mona Lisa, a Sea Devil oufit, an Auton and a Dæmon's skull.

Notes

• There is a brown sofa that appears in 'The Bestiary' in Part One of this comic, the sign appears to say 'No Sitting', it could be a reference to the Nestene chair that appears in DW: Terror of the Autons, however the sofa that appeared in that story was black.

Continuity

• Fanson, who was last seen in DWM: Hotel Historia, makes a reappearance.
• The Skith, who were last seen in DWM: The First, make a reappearance.
• The 'grey haired fella' and the 'bloke with the recorder' are references to the Second Doctor and either the First Doctor or the Third Doctor.
• The Sontaran scout ship is of the same design as those that appeared in DW: The Time Warrior, The Sontaran Experiment and The Two Doctors. One of their Mezon guns from THe Two Doctors
• The War Machine is from DW: The War Machines.
• The multiple copies of the Mona Lisa were last seen in DW: City of Death.
• The Cyberman is a 1980s era Cyberman and could be from either; DW: Attack of the Cybermen or Silver Nemesis.
• The Dalek casing (given it is the lower half and black) could be the Renegade Dalek destroyed by Ace's Nitro-9 in DW: Remembrance of the Daleks.
• There appears to be an Ogri from DW: The Stones of Blood
• The Osiran service robot first appeared in DW: Pyramids of Mars and also appeared in MA: The Sands of Time.
• UNIT first encountered the Robot Yeti in DW: The Web of Fear, though went on to encounter them in RP: Downtime.
• UNIT has encountered the Autons on several occasions (and the Auton could be from any of these): DW: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, BBV: Auton, Auton 2: Sentinel, Auton 3: Awakening.
• The Dæmon skull is most likely from DW: The Dæmons.
• The Sea Devil outfit is from the Royal Navy's encounter with the Sea Devils in DW: The Sea Devils.
• A box with a piture of a cat is on it this couild be reference to the Kitlings who appeared in Survival.
• A Jar contains what appears to be the weed creature from Fury from the Deep
• The head of a Cyberman from The Invasion also appears

Timeline

• The Age of Ice occurs after: DWM: Mortal Beloved
• The Age of Ice occurs before: to be added

External links

to be added