Jonah (audio story)

Something is hidden beneath the sea: the Twelve knows the truth, if only she could drag it from her jumbled mind. And when the Doctor becomes the captain of a submarine boat, all omens spell disaster...

Plot

On the Bloodhound submarine in the oceans of Uzmal, Ensign Murti hears what the Doctor, going by "Captain Jonah", identifies as the sound of an approaching Dalek deep-sea battle-sub which fires its torpedoes.

Cardinal Ollistra records a report for the War Council in another submarine, the Peacemaker, captained by Major Tamasan, in which she discusses how energy weapons and time machines cannot function in Uzmal's waters. Executive Officer Omor interrupts, followed by Tamasan, and asks to know what the Peacemaker's mission is so as to improve morale. Ollistra shows him a chart of the waters drawn from memory by the Twelve, showing that the Daleks are looking for something under the ocean floor, and demotes him to Comms Officer whilst Tamasan becomes Executive Officer.

The Bloodhound is slowly sinking. Bliss is surprised to find that she is alive and wonders how the Daleks' missiles fused and self-destructed given that the waters are usual on a quantum level. The Doctor suggests that they let the Bloodhound drift for a while, hiding them from the Daleks' heat sensors, whilst he visits the Twelve in the brig.

The Twelve cannot remember the nature of the thing that she traced to Uzmal in a previous incarnation and the Doctor wonders if she has been conditioned by the Daleks as part of a scheme to lure the Time Lords there. He has the detonator to two charges which have been implanted into each of her hearts by the Time Lords which he is to use should she betray them but, whilst he will not use it, Tamasan has a second detonator which will also destroy the Bloodhound. The Twelve is irritated by how her people will never trust her and tells the Doctor that she believes that she wiped her own mind, not the Daleks.

The Admiral prepares to launch an attack on the Bloodhound.

The Doctor, accompanied by the Twelve, orders an engine restart with full power and confides in Panath that the Daleks' weapons most likely will not be able to reach them, but that he wants the Twelve to believe that the situation is extremely dangerous. He asks Bliss to keep an eye on the Twelve and to inform him, and only him, if she does anything strange.

to be completed

Cast

References

The Doctor becomes the captain of the Bloodhound, known to the crew as Captain Jonah.
Uzmal is in the Ortexis Nebula.
The Fifth Tamasan, meanwhile, is given command of the Peacemaker.
The Daleks turned some of the Uzmali into proteins for their consumption.
The Ourashima can see multiple futures, accurately predicting the outcome of every choice. They are widely believed to be mythical, but the Daleks seek to gain their power.
Jonah is a figure in Earth mythology who met an unlucky end at sea.
The Twelve has visited Uzmal before, but in a previous incarnation.
Tamasan gives the Doctor a first stage detonator for charges put in the Twelve's hearts. Tamasan had a secondary one, which also catalysed the Renegade Time Lord's artron energy.

Notes

This story features Jacqueline Pearce's final performance as Ollistra before her death in September 2018.
The Doctor references the title of "It's Grim Up North" by The Justified Ancients of Mu-Mu, who also performed "Doctorin' the Tardis".

Continuity

When asked about her family, Bliss mentions how she and the Eighth Doctor visited her homeworld and how it was erased from history. (AUDIO: The Lords of Terror)

External links

Official Jonah page at bigfinish.com