The Sinestran Kill (audio story)
The Sinestran Kill was the first story in the eighth series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Andrew Smith and featured Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and Jane Slavin as Ann Kelso.
Publisher's summary
When the Doctor decides to trace an anomalous energy signature on twentieth century Earth, he stumbles into an assassination attempt.
Gangland thugs are trying to murder a seemingly innocent shopkeeper, and it's only the intervention of the Doctor and Ann Kelso – a WPC who happens to be on the scene – that prevents a tragedy.
But why do the gangsters want the shopkeeper dead? And what does this have to do with alien technology?
The first stages of a grand conspiracy are about to be revealed. And finding the answers will take Ann Kelso on a journey like no other.
Plot
Part one
In London, 1978, WPC Ann Kelso goes to Tony Reynolds's shop and advises him to close early after known criminal Jimmy Lynch makes a brief visit. Jimmy informs his boss, Hugo Blake, of her presence in the shop but is told to complete his job regardless, Hugo telling him that he has "a little something" which will help. Meanwhile, the Doctor is building another K9 in the TARDIS when he receives a notification that a warped field damper is being used in 1978, three centuries before its invention, and decides to take a closer look.
With the shop closed, Ann attempts to call for backup but finds that neither her radio nor Tony's telephone will work. The TARDIS materialises outside and Ann goes to investigate, opening the door for the Doctor when he knocks. Jimmy breaks into the shop and attempts to kill Tony, but the Doctor flees with him and Ann into the TARDIS and determines that the warped field damper was behind Ann's inability to contact the police. After Jimmy flees due to the sound of sirens, the Doctor and Ann exit the TARDIS with the unconscious Tony and speak with DCI Neilson.
Jimmy explains to Hugo what happened and leaves with him. The Doctor searches the shop for the damper and realises that it must have been projected from elsewhere. He uses his UNIT credentials to avoid being taken for questioning by DCI Neilson and is recognised by him as "that Doctor" when he sees his TARDIS, after which DCI Neilson allows him to leave whilst Tony goes to stay at Ann's flat. The Doctor leaves in his TARDIS, leaving Ann bemused.
Jimmy and Hugo go to Kathy Blake who orders them to find another way to kill Jimmy, saying that they would not be safe until he was dead. Meanwhile, Ann goes to her flat with Tony and DCI Neilson, who leaves to arrange a proper safehouse and, in his car, requests a background check on Tony. The Doctor visits Kathy and Hugo and accuses him of being an alien in possession of the warped field damper before realising that he is simply fat of face and not in disguise. He does, however, tell the pair that he will stop whatever they are up to.
Ann leaves her flat to get fish and chips for Tony, telling him that she will be back in ten minutes. The Doctor is picked up by DCI Neilson, who heard that he had visited the Blakes and wanted to know why. He tells an unsurprised Doctor that Tony does not have any sort of past and that he is going to take him in for questioning, warning the Doctor to keep away from the case to avoid jeopardising it. Upon returning to her flat, Ann finds that Tony has disappeared and goes to his shop, finding him searching for something there. The Doctor appears, holding the encrypted microparticle multibank communicator that Tony was looking for.
Hugo gets a call from Frankie the Shiv telling him that he saw Tony return to the shop. Hugo and Jimmy leave with technologically advanced guns to make sure the job is done properly.
Caught out by the Doctor, Tony confesses that his real name is Trenix and that he has been put into witness protection by the Lawkeepers of Pandrin V after testifying against the Sinestrans, criminals who use empathic Lemurans to make others kill their victims. Hugo and Jimmy arrive with Ray Lennon, Benny Malone and Frankie and laugh off the Doctor's claims that they are being controlled. They are, however, surprised to find that they have been conditioned to see the Sinestran killrods that they are carrying as ordinary revolvers. The Doctor takes one from them and shoots Trenix, saying that there is no other way.
Part two
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Tom Baker
- Ann Kelso - Jane Slavin
- Hugo Blake - Ewan Bailey
- Jimmy Lynch - Nicholas Khan
- Tony Reynolds - Leon Williams
- DCI Scott Neilson - Frank Skinner
- Kathy Blake - Glynis Barber
Uncredited Cast
References
- The Doctor tracks the use of a warped field damper, which is 300 years too early for 1978.
- DCI Neilson runs the Gang Squad.
- The Blake gang includes Ray Lennon, Benny Malone and Frankie the Shiv.
- Tony owns Reynolds Hardware, located at 282 Morgan Street.
- The Doctor looks up Hugo in the Yellow Pages.
- A DNA coder transforms DNA, making it perfect for disguise. It can be disrupted by a stun gun.
- Ann is WPC 166, which the Doctor says are his three lucky numbers.
- Neilson was in Special Branch for five years.
- The Sinestrans use a cordolaine signal, which the Doctor notes is a Sontaran invention.
Notes
- Andrew Smith, who served as a metropolitan police officer in the anti-terrorism group for five years, incorporated elements of his time there into this story.
Continuity
- The Doctor is again believed to be a Time Agent. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
- The Doctor is working on assembling K9 Mark II in his box, (TV: The Invasion of Time) and learns his brain is positioned "arrow A to the front." (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)
- The cordolaine signal is associated with the Sontarans. (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky)
External links
- Official The Sinestran Kill page at bigfinish.com
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