The Flames of Cadiz (audio story)

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The Flames of Cadiz was the seventh story of the seventh series in The Companion Chronicles audio range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Marc Platt and featured Ian Chesterton and Susan.

Publisher's summary

The TARDIS materialises in Spain in the late sixteenth century. The country is at war with England — and the travellers find themselves on the wrong side of the battle lines.

When Ian and his new friend Esteban are captured by the Inquisition, the Doctor, Susan and Barbara plan to rescue them.

But these are dark days in human history. And heretics face certain death...

Plot

The Morisco (1)

The TARDIS lands once again on Earth in the past, and the four travellers - the Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian - go out and explore. From Barbara's recollections of a previous holiday of hers, and from observing their surroundings, they gather it's 16th century Spain. Their guesses are proven true as they assist, in a square, to a play regarding the execution of Mary Stuart on Elizabeth I's order. The Doctor and Barbara then decide that it is not safe for them to be here: at this point in history, religious contrast between the Catholic Spain and Protestant England is driving the two countries towards war, and if the four travellers are recognised as Englishmen, this could put them in grave danger.

As they try to get back to the TARDIS, the travellers assist to a squadron of monks and guards, members of the Spanish Inquisition, attacking and burning a house with an old woman inside. Ian wants to intervene, but the Doctor and Barbara restrain him. His actions, however, catch the eye of one of the monks, an Englishman like them, Father Richard. He asks them what they are doing here as Englishmen, and Barbara pretends they are, like him, Catholics in exile; Father Richard then offers them hospitality, but the Doctor politely refuses. The travellers are about to go on, when a young man, of African descent, arrives at the scene and starts fighting the guards to enter in the burning house. This time, Ian intervenes in his help, and both of them ended up being imprisoned.

The Doctor, Barbara and Susan, unable to trace back their way to the TARDIS, are meanwhile given shelter and protection by a young woman, Catalina. She explains to them that the burnt house belonged to a family of "morisco" - moors converted to Christianity - whose fault was actually that of refusing to sell the paper they produced to the Church for free. The same thing is explained to Ian by the young man (Esteban) as they are in prison; from him, Ian also comes to know that the year is 1587, and that King Philip II of Spain is preparing to launch the Invincible Armada against England. In spite of Barbara's protests, Catalina convinces the travellers to wait for the return of her husband, "Don Miguel", a merchant of spices and food who should soon return from the closing of a deal. From one of the papers on Don Miguel's desk, the Doctor also guesses what year is it, and what is about to happen.

Ian is led in front of Father Richard, who questions him about his faith. Unable to give the monk a satisfying answer, Ian is finally charged of being an English spy, and sentenced to appear before the Inquisition's tribunal. A 1962 bronze coin, with the head of Elizabeth II, confirms his presumed guilt.

The Justice of God (2)

At Don Miguel's house, the Doctor, Susan and Barbara finally meets the man. He presents himself as one who used to work for the Church, until he got hold of some unwanted money; now he works for the crown as a provider of food and supply for the fleet. Hearing that, Barbara asks whether the fleet is landed at Cadiz, while the Doctor has an idea. The next morning, as Ian and Esteban are led out of the prison to be put to trial and then executed in an auto-da-fe (a public trial and execution of multiple heretics) the Doctor and Susan disguises themselves as a Cardinal and his monk servant and present themselves to King Philip II as messengers from Rome, from the Pope.

The Doctor brings with himself a fake manuscript with the seal of the Pope, where he has only written Ian's name. He manages to talk to the king, avoiding his secretary, Idi Arguez, and tells him Ian is working for him, and has important information about the English fleet, which would get lost if he's executed. The suspicions of the secretary, however, are not easily put to rest, and eventually the Doctor sends Susan back to Don Miguel's house to tell Barbara they need to create a diversion, by making some of the smoke bombs (like they did in Peking in a similar situation). Susan returns to the house but, when confronted on her whereabout by Barbara (who knew nothing), Don Miguel (who only now realises they are Englishmen) and a friend of his, Lorenzo (an actor, the one playing Elisabeth I the day before), is so distraught she almost forgets.

In the square, Ian and Esteban are put to trial, whipped and finally sentenced to be burnt alive at the Grand Inquisitor's presence. Suddenly, the King arrives with the Doctor in tow, but, as the latter one starts demanding Ian's release, Father Richard also arrives and whispers something at the Inquisitor's ears. The Inquisitor then grabs the Doctor by the collar and tears open his robe, revealing his ruse. The Doctor tries to appeal to the people, but in vain: as Susan, Barbara and Lorenzo arrive with the bombs, the Doctor too is now chained and about to be put to death.

The Doleful Knight (3)

The Doctor, Ian and Esteban are chained to the stakes with the other heretics, but when the fire is lit, Susan, Barbara and Lorenzo throw the bombs. In the following commotion, and taking advantage of the smoke, the two women and the actor release the Doctor, Ian and Esteban, allowing all of them to escape at Don Miguel's house. He is still uneasy about having Englishmen and "enemy to the King" as guests, but he is also sympathetic to their plight, so he lets them stay. As the Doctor recovers, Esteban confides to Ian and Barbara that he is a spy for England, and he is supposed to meet Sir Francis Drake to inform him about the location of the Spanish fleet. Barbara tells him that the fleet is landed in Cadiz, and Ian, excited at the prospect of meeting one of his childhood heroes, decides to go along with Esteban and meet Drake.

When the Doctor learns about it, he gets enraged: now, he surmises, Ian and Esteban will prevent the Armada from ever leaving Spain, and that will change history forever. He writes a letter to the King's secretary, and he himself goes on to deliver it. In the meantime, Don Miguel presses the travellers to depart at once, but Barbara objects they have to wait for Ian, who's gone to Cadiz. Lorenzo then suggests that, since Don Miguel has to go to Cadiz for business (as a supplier to the fleet), they may go with him and catch on with Ian. The travellers accept, and they set on together with Don Miguel and Lorenzo's troupe, bringing the TARDIS with them. The Doctor in particular follows them riding a mule named Sancho, with whom he does not have a very good relationship.

Three days later, Ian and Esteban reach the Spanish coast, and they stop while waiting for Drake's ship. When they saw it come, they signal the mariners of their positions by setting on fire some nearby windmills. Don Miguel's caravan also happens to come by at that moment, and the Doctor urges his mule to ride towards the windmills - which he does, catching the eyes and imagination of Don Miguel. Esteban, however, is wounded by a soldier with a mosquet appearing from nowhere, and Ian is left as the only one capable to bring Drake the message about Cadiz. The schoolmaster gets to the boat sent by Drake and goes off before the Doctor can reach him, leaving the enraged Time Lord to accuse Barbara of having changed history.

The Queen's Pirate (4)

To the Doctor's accusation of them trying to change history because they are British, Barbara angrily replied that the year is 1587, not 1588, and in that year Drake raided Cadiz' harbour, delaying the Armada's departure of one year: with his actions, Ian is keeping history on track, not changing it. The Doctor is left dumbfounded, and says nothing as Barbara goes on calling him condescendent, arrogant and altogether ignorant of human history. The caravan then progresses into Cadiz, carrying also the injured Esteban, who Barbara retrieved.

Aboard Drake's ship, Ian delivers the message, but is disappointed by the reception of the mariners and by Drake himself, who reveals himsels as just a greedy, overbearing pirate, not the hero he imagined him to be. On land, as the Doctor and Don Miguel tell each other stories of their respective lives, Susan accidentally lets it slip that the Doctor wrote to the King's secretary: once again, an angry Barbara confronts the Doctor, and he admits having warned the Spanish army of the impending raid. If this is true, exclaims Esteban, then Drake is heading into a trap, and the raid would fail. Don Miguel hears everything and threatens to denounce them all, but Esteban forces at the sword to lead them into Cadiz.

In the town square, as Lorenzo's players prepare their exhibition, Don Miguel does indeed go and warn Father Richard, who comes to arrest the Doctor and his fellows. However, just at that moment Drake's fleet attacks Cadiz: in the following battle, Esteban and the players fight agains Father Richard and the Spanish, while Ian gets on land. He confronts Drake about his hypocrisy, and his using religion to loot and enrich himself, but saves him nonetheless when he gets stuck under a falling debris of a ship's cabin. As Barbara comforts a distraught Don Miguel, telling him it all had to happen, Father Richard attempts arresting the Doctor once more, but Ian comes in at the right time to provide a diversion, and Esteban kills the priest. Finally reunited, the travellers get back into the TARDIS, not without saying goodbye to both Esteban (who's going to Morocco with his family) and Don Miguel, revealed here to be Miguel de Cervantes.

Cast

Characters

Crew

Worldbuilding

Notes

  • This is the first Companion Chronicle to feature both William Russell and Carole Ann Ford.
  • The idea of a story set during the days of the Spanish Armada had previously been suggested by John Crockett alongside several others that became televised historical stories.
  • This audio drama was recorded on 11 and 25 June 2012 at the Moat Studios.
  • This was one of a handful of four-parters in the Companion Chronicles range, breaking the traditional two-part setup.
  • This story was originally released on CD and download. It is now available as a download only.
  • This story was told from Ian and Susan's perspective.

Continuity

External links

v • e
The Companion Chronicles
 
First Doctor
Susan
Susan, Barbara, Ian
Barbara, Ian
Barbara, Ian, Vicki
Vicki and Steven
Steven, Sara
Steven, Oliver
Steven, Dodo
Steven
Polly, Ben
 
Second Doctor
Polly, Ben
Polly, Ben, Jamie
Jamie, Victoria
Jamie
Jamie, Zoe
 
Third Doctor
Liz
The Brigadier
Jo
Yates
Benton
Solo travels
 
Fourth Doctor
Leela
Leela, K9 Mark I
Romana I
Romana II
Romana II, K9 Mark II
Romana II, Adric
 
Fifth Doctor
Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Tegan, Turlough
Peri
 
Sixth Doctor
Peri
Evelyn
"Jamie"
Jason, Crystal
 
Seventh Doctor
Ace, Zara
Bernice
Sally, Lysandra
 
Eighth Doctor
Charley
Iris Wildthyme, Jo Grant
 
Other adventures
Jago and Litefoot
Polly, the Brigadier, Brewster
Ian
The Master
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