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.

Omor points out to Tamasan that, unable to use torpedoes, the Daleks are using themselves as undetectable missiles. Tamasan chooses to abandon the Bloodhound to the Dalek attack.

Panath finds a group of Daleks infiltrating the hull and orders the crew to abandon their posts. The Doctor suggests that they flood the engine room to stop the Daleks, but Murti says that this can only be done from the inside and joins Panath there. Meanwhile, the Twelve collapses and starts shouting "Daleks conquer and destroy!" Murti knocks Panath out and moves her to safety before asking the Doctor to order her to sacrifice her own life to stop the Daleks per the rules of her culture. The Doctor cannot do it and Bliss tells him not to, so Panath gives the order instead. She is angered at having to do the Doctor's job and, with the Bloodhound sinking into the Undula Abyss, goes to start work on the secondary engines on the Doctor's orders.

Bliss wakes up the Twelve, who remembers being interrogated about the Ourashima by the Daleks using a mind probe, which she avoided by retreating into her own mind. The Twelve asks Bliss about her own past, but she is unable to remember exactly what she was doing and escaping from when she met the Doctor, prompting the Twelve to suggest that the Daleks had done more damage to the timeline than either of them realised. With the Ourashima, the Twelve believes that the Daleks will win every war.

Tamasan orders Omor to scan all channels, which he initially refuses to do as it would make them visible. They find an Old High Gallifreyan message from the Bloodhound informing them that the Twelve has remembered that the Daleks are looking for an entity in the depths of the ocean. Omor recognises the name "Ourashima" as one belonging to a legendary figure.

Panath tells the Doctor about the Ourashima, a huge creature with a million tentacles which lives in the deep and can perceive every possible variation of time. If the Daleks were able to find it and wire it into their battle computers, they would be able to win the Time War, the Doctor says, but Panath does not believe the myth. Bliss arrives and tells them that the Twelve was acting strange and has disappeared, so she and the Doctor go looking for her. Bliss soon finds her talking to herself and evades her when she attacks.

Bloodhound hits the sea floor. The Doctor calls for absolute silence and for the submarine to go dark in order to keep them from being detected; however, the Twelve is singing loudly to herself elsewhere. Depth charges detonate and the Dalek sub continues its attack, the Admiral sending further charges before receiving a signal from within the planet. Omor contacts the Bloodhound and Tamasan informs them that the Daleks have left, meaning that they have found something. On the Dalek sub, the Admiral proclaims victory.

Tamasan tells the Doctor to have Bliss send her her quantum readings so that she can chase the Dalek signals. She asks to speak with the Twelve, but she believes that she is a Dalek reborn and has been restrained; the Doctor lies and tells Tamasan that she is busy working with Bliss on complex calculations. Tamasan seems to accept this, but has the detonator at the ready.

The Admiral makes contact with the Ourashima and demands that it obeys the Daleks and shows them the path to victory. However, the Ourashima says that they are all going to die and begins to grow. On the Bloodhound, Bliss plots a course towards the Dalek screaming that she can detect. The Admiral orders the Ourashima to be destroyed in order to keep it from the Time Lords, having judged it incompatible with the Daleks. There is an explosion.

Bliss is surprised at how little energy she is detecting, so Panath kicks the machine and finds a small spike of energy. The Twelve comes free and Tamasan, hearing her delusions, orders the Doctor to detonate her, which he agrees to do when Ollistra says that she is the eyes and ears of the Daleks now. However, he realises that the Twelve is actually possessed by what remains of the dying Ourashima, which offers to transfer its powers before it ceases to exist. Ollistra asks for its powers to be placed in the Matrix, but Omor draws a gun and relieves Ollistra and Tamasan of their position to keep them from getting the powers. The Ourashima dies and the Twelve falls unconscious.

Ollistra has the Twelve put in stasis and makes a report for the High Council, informing them that TARDISes can now function in the sea and that she will soon be leaving. Panath is in a rush to return home and Omor will not be punished given that there are no military courts on Uzmal. The Bloodhound and the Peacemaker approach the surface.

Cast

Crew

Cover Art - Alex Mallinson
Directors - John Ainsworth and Helen Goldwyn
Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
Music - Jamie Robertson
Producer - David Richardson
Script Editor - Matt Fitton
Sound Design - Benji Clifford
Writer - Timothy X Atack
Series Director - Ken Bentley

Worldbuilding

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.
Murti came from a fishing village on the Cobalt Coast and worked as a teacher for three years before deciding to study architecture. When the Daleks attacked, she tried to save her family from her burning house.
Tamasan studied Old High Gallifreyan under Councillor Hedin.
Time Lords generally do not have sea shanties.

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