Erasure (audio story)

The Celestial Intervention Agency, a shadowy, unspoken of part of the Time Lord hierarchy. Beloved and loathed in equal measure by various Presidents and High Councils the millennias over. But they serve a very important function: they keep the time lines safe and clear - they do the darker, dirtier jobs that most Time Lords would prefer not to know even need doing.

CIA Sub-Coordinator Narvin has always taken his oath to uphold the Worshipful Laws of Gallifrey very seriously. But when he is sent on a mission to investigate the planet Bellascon, even he hasn't reckoned with the force of nature that is the Fourth Doctor, who has - one might say - his own way of dealing with things, and his own views on people like Narvin. But somehow the two must overcome their instincts and work together to stop the web of time being erased forever...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

To escape from an earthquake, Narvin enters the cellars of Heartshaven with an unconscious Leela, and begins to tell her a story about the first time he went off world and met the Doctor.

He recalls being called to a mission by Vansell to go to Bellascon, where the people had begun time experiments that were interfering with the Web of Time. The elite families there had begun to go back in time to 'correct' mistakes, and erase other people in order to increase their personal wealth and affect the present day.

When Narvin arrives, he is awed by the natural scenery, and meets the Doctor and Adric, identifying them by using a psychic pulse. He is astonished by how rude the Doctor is as the Doctor calls him, Vansell, and the rest of the CIA idiots. He wants to arrest the Doctor for being a renegade, and dislikes Adric, but decides that they can help him achieve his aim on Bellascon.

He accompanies them both to a meeting with the Bellascon scientists. He feels out of his depth as he is faced with another culture, and observes the Doctor interacting with the scientists. One of then, Riyan Cleeb, gives the Doctor a data disc with all the information about the Chronon Device. Narvin wants to destroy the technology, and threatens the scientists that he is authorised to use the Oubliette of Eternity on the planet. The Doctor is appalled by the idea of it, and calls Narvin an idiot again. Narvin threatens the Doctor with the Oubiette too.

A Time Eddy passes through, only noticed by the Doctor and Narvin. Once the effects fade, time has changed, leaving Riyan Cleeb and Riyan Tarth arguing over a small crystal that Narvin recognises as the source of the time powers. The Doctor and Narvin exchange a look to acknowledge the time change and the crystal, then the Doctor notices that Adric has vanished. He has been erased from existence becauses someone has used the crystal again.

The Doctor is furious, and Narvin explains to the scientists what had happened, as he believes they should have no knowledge of what had happened. However, he realises that they are at the centre of the problem, and that holding the crystal has enabled them to retain a knowledge of what has been changed. The scientists reveal that they have been using the crystal for 780 years, and that they have not aged since. They have been manipulating events on the planet all this time, changing and erasing the timelines so their experiments can continue.

While the Doctor tells the Bellascons off, Narvin accesses the Matrix and discovers that time has been in flux around the events of an Terradonian Starliner which has exploded when previously it had not, causing Adric's ancestors to have been wiped out. He tells the Doctor, who then goes through his pockets to find a tiny hammer which he uses to send Narvin to the Starliner. Narvin does not really care about Adric or the Doctor, and wishes to leave, but the Doctor has taken his Time Ring so that he is forced to reinstate the proper timelines and bring Adric back.

Narvin explores the Starliner and discovers that it is full of Terradonians in suspended animation. He hears a crash, and discovers someone else carrying a bomb - Riyan Tarth. He calls out for him to stop, then chases after them, noting how neither of them are particularly good at running. Narvin realises that Riyan Tarth is mad, and that he is not only willing, but happy to blow the ship up. He reveals that they have a plan to go back and erase all of the Doctor's companions in order to master time and create a business from manipulating timelines.

Narvin decides that he doesn't have the training for philosophy, so he shoots Riyan Tarth with his staser. Riyan Tarth and his bomb both flicker and vanish, and Narvin thinks for a second that he might have been abandoned, but then he reappears on Bellascon. The Doctor smiles at him, and Adric is beside him. Riyan Tarth does not want to give the crystal up, but then the Doctor reveals that he has recorded the entire conversation from earlier, incriminating the Riyans. They concede the crystal, and the Doctor takes it. He returns the Time Ring to Narvin, and leaves. Narvin warns the Bellascons not to experiment with time anymore, then returns home.

This is the end of the story, and Narvin hears a skimmer land outside, heralding their escape. He tells Leela that he's glad she can't hear him, because he has a conclusion to his tale. Once he became Coordinator, he had gone to the President and asked permission to use the Oubliette on Bellascon, as he had not trusted the Doctor or the Bellascons and feared that the experiments would be continued. Though at the time, he had felt satisfied at his work, he now tells Leela that he feels a great remorse for his actions. He tells her that his growth as a person is due to her, and that he's glad that he met her.

Footsteps descend into the cellar, and Narvin is startled, not having realised that he had been overheard. He asks how much was heard of his monologue, and Romana tells him that she heard everything. He tells her that they shouldn't tell Leela about him using the Oubliette, and Romana agrees - after all, it was her who signed the order for the Oublette to be used, and they know that Leela would never forgive or trust them again if she found out

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Narrated - Seán Carlsen
Cover Art - Lee Binding
Writer & Director - Gary Russell
Executive Producers - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Music & Sound Design - David Roocroft
Producer & Script Editor - Ian Atkins

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Vansell gives Narvin a Time Ring.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was recorded on 13 November 2017 at Bang Post Production.
Unlike most Short Trips, which are typically presented as narrated stories, similar to audiobooks, this one is presented as a nested narrative by a character in a manner similar to The Companion Chronicles. Specifically, Narvin tells the story of his first encounter with the Doctor to an unconscious Leela.
Lalla Ward makes an uncredited cameo at the end of the story.