Darkel
Inquisitor Darkelastraquistahastrad (Darkel for short) served on the High Council of Gallifrey.
Biography
Darkel presided over the Doctor's trial on the Time Lord Space Station Zenobia, with the Valeyard acting as prosecutor. (DW: The Mysterious Planet, DW: Mindwarp) The Doctor himself would at a later stage act as his own defense lawyer. (DW: Terror of the Vervoids) (The Valeyard himself, apparently an independent Time Lord represented a dark side of the Doctor's personality.)
An honest woman, Darkel presided over a show trial designed to draw attention away from the corrupt High Council. With political unrest demanding a new Lord President and the Doctor unwilling to take on the job himself, he gave a symbolic vote of confidence to Darkel himself before departing in his TARDIS. (DW: The Ultimate Foe)
By the time of Romana's Presidency, Darkel had become by contrast a deeply conservative and ferociously ambitious figure in Gallifreyan politics. She vehemently opposed Romana's reforms, particularly her invitation of off-world students as members of the Time Lord Academy. She began her campaign innocuously when she was invited by Coordinator Narvin - another opponent of Romana - to undertake an inquiry into Romana's actions. (BFG: The Inquiry) After the mutually satisfactory resolution of the inquiry, Darkel began conspiring separately with Narvin and the disgraced Andred to overthrow Romana by any means. She allowed Andred to escape and then had Narvin frame him for the murder of the Archivist. (BFG: Lies) During this period, Darkel recieves advice and guidance from a disembodied voice in the Vaults - unknown to her it is the voice of Pandora.
She continued to plot against Romana with anyone she thought was useful. When she learned that Romana's genetics have been shaped by Pandora, she tried to convince Braxiatel that she was too much of a risk to be president. Darkel manoevered Braxiatel into having to go into exile when he absorbed aspects of Pandora into his mind. With him out of the way, she challanged Romana for the presidency. She also plotted with Commentator Antimon to plant bombs aimed at the alien students. Antimon however, was a follower of Free Time, and was using Darkel's patronage for his own ends. He tried also to kill Romana, Darkel and the High Council when they met for the election. The plot foiled, Romana declared herself Imperiatrix - effectively a dictator - denying Darkel the chance of election. At that moment Pandora took physical form and also claimed the Imperiatrix title. Darkel realised too late that she he had been duped by Pandora. (BFG: Imperiatrix)
Using her instincts for survival, Darkel sided with Pandora and prosecuted the civil war against the forces of Romana on her behalf. She proved to be a ruthless and determined war lord, but her arrogance led to her being captured by the enemy and finding herself on the losing side. (BFG: Warfare) Pardoned, and with Romana incapacitated, Darkel was appointed by acting President Valyes as his successor. The disputed presidency had again to be put to vote, but again Darkel was thwarted - this time by the returning Braxiatel. Provoking him into releasing the Pandora entity, Darkel discovered that Pandora had been targeting her ambition all along, and that Brax had been protecting her. The possession of Darkel destroyed her mind and killed her. (BFG: Mindbomb)
Behind the scenes
- On-screen Darkel had no name given to her, other than "the Inquisitor". The name Darkel was given to her in the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio spin-off series Gallifrey.
See Also
