Ten Minutes in Hell (audio story)
Ten Minutes in Hell was the fourth and final story in the audio anthology Agents of the Vulpreen, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by John Dorney and featured Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Petronella Osgood, James Joyce as Josh Carter, Chris Lew Kum Hoi as Jimmy Tan, Tracy Wiles as Jacqui McGee and Mark Bonnar as the Eleven.
Publisher's summary
On the alien world on the far side of the Arch, the Vulpreen put their human prisoner through an ordeal. Osgood must lead a desperate rescue attempt - and she's got ten minutes to do it.
Plot
On the Void World, Kate is sent through a prototype arch to an energy crystal mine by Lord Varliss. She meets Worrall, a Vulpreen slave who has almost forgotten her name, and learns that time moves differently in the punishment camp to both the Void World and Earth. She realises that the time differential is an advantage to frustrate Varliss, who tortures her for information on Earth's defences.
Josh prioritises the Vulpreen invasion over Kate's rescue and orders an airstrike to destroy the Arch whilst Jimmy has Jacqui taken to a secure location. With ten minutes until the bombing, Josh and Osgood manage to get past the Vulpreen and the Eleven and pass through the Arch to save Kate. They steal a Vulpreen transporter and, calculating that they have six hours before the Arch is destroyed, they head to the camp and evade a larger vehicle.
Varliss tells Kate that two of her friends have come to try to save her and, later, kills Worrall. In Worrall's memory, the slaves rise up against Varliss and Kate passes through the prototype arch and is reunited with Osgood and Josh. They take Varliss's flier and return to Earth, where Jimmy has incapacitated the Eleven with a personal electroshock device and learnt that the bomb will flood the Arch with energy. He tries to abort the drop, but it is too late and the Arch is destroyed. The Void World is freed from the prison loop and the Vulpreen receive a message saying that they have been waited for.
The Eleven tells Kate that the Vulpreen will be coming to Earth in full force from the Void World, destroying humanity. He laughs, saying that it is only a matter of time.
Cast
- Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
- Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
- Captain Josh Carter - James Joyce
- Lt Jimmy Tan - Chris Lew Kum Hoi
- The Eleven - Mark Bonnar
- Varliss - Alisdair Simpson
- Worrall - Susie Emmett
- The Vulpreen - Glen McCready
- Jacqui McGee - Tracy Wiles
Worldbuilding
- Kate once knew a woman named Worrall who worked in a bookshop.
- Josh mentions Sam Bishop.
- Jimmy carries a portable electroshock device.
- The Seven asks if human rights extend to Time Lords.
Notes
- The Eleven asks where Jimmy's red shirt is, referencing Star Trek.
Continuity
- Josh mentions Claire Duvall and how she came under the Eleven's control. (AUDIO: The Curator's Gambit)
- Kate says that aliens have been welcomed to live on Earth before. (TV: The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion)
External links
- Official Ten Minutes in Hell page at bigfinish.com
