A Rare Gem (comic story)

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A Rare Gem was the fourth issue of Prisoners of Time featured the Fourth Doctor and his companions Leela and K9.

Publisher's summary

Our yearlong celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary continues! Put on your scarves and munch on some jelly babies, as the fan-favourite Fourth Doctor takes the spotlight in this issue of a 12-part epic adventure featuring all 11 incarnations of the Doctor!

Plot

The Fourth Doctor and Leela witness the Judoon's patrols

The story starts with Leela, wearing the Fourth Doctor's hat and working over a math problem presented by K9. The Doctor promises to take Leela a banquet on the farmworld Agratis. He also mentions the Jewel of Fawton that has brought tourism to the world. They exit the TARDIS to find the world covered by armoured vehicles and rockets. The Doctor rushes them back to the TARDIS, gets his long scarf caught, and slams the TARDIS door before the Judoon close in on them.

K9 reports that he has found transmissions that indicate that the Judoon were called in because the Jewel of Fawton was stolen. The Doctor travels back to the planet to see his friend Mason Vox and his daughter Cilia. They all travel to the museum where they see Curator Frez. Cilia reveals to her father that her boyfriend, Roget, had stolen the jewel. The Judoon will rip apart the planet, but the Doctor hopes to find Roget, the jewel, and restore it to its proper place. The Doctor sends Leela and K9 to distract the Judoon while the others go after the jewel.

They travel to wind carved caves that resemble something out of 127 Hours' Canyonlands National Park. Mason Vox and Curator Frez explain that the world was harsh until they found the jewel, and terraformed the planet. They enter some crystalline caverns and Mason falls. Switch to topside at the city, where Leela leaps to the top of one of the armoured vehicles. She pops into the hatch and the next moment, the Judoon is seen hurtling out of the door.

Leela picks up two explosive bandoliers and has K9 pilot the vehicle as she kicks down a Judoon riding a hover bike. Then, she passes under the legs of a Judoon scout walker and uses the explosives to destroy its legs. Back in the cave, the Doctor uses his long scarf so Mason can pull himself up. They find the young Roget; he is busy placing the jewel back where it was found, with Curator Frez not wanting him to activate it Total Recall style.

Crystalline insect-like creatures start to move. Roget explains that when their crystal was removed, they went into a hibernation state. The Doctor explains that now that the jewel is returned to its rightful rulers that the Judoon will withdraw. Leela is sitting at a banquet table with three Judoon. The Doctor offers them a jelly baby.

The Cloaked figure captures Leela and K9.

The hooded figure watches the Doctor through binoculars and uses his vortex manipulator to appear at the banquet. Telling the Doctor that he "deserves" a lifetime of empty tables, he takes away K9 and Leela before the Doctor's startled eyes.

Characters

References