Time's Assassin (audio story)

Time's Assassin was the fifth story in the eighth series of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Guy Adams and featured Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Jane Slavin as Ann Kelso and John Leeson as K9 Mark II.

	Fourth Doctor
	Ann, K9 Mark II
	Anya
	Elmore
	Kembel, 41st century
	Big Finish Productions
	Guy Adams
	Nicholas Briggs
	David Richardson
	Jamie Robertson
	Jamie Robertson
	Anthony Lamb
	2
	8.5
	The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 8: Volume 2
	13 February 2019
	1 CD Download Parts 3 and 4 of 4
	BFPTOMCD063
	ISBN 978-1-78703-297-2
The Fourth Doctor Adventures
← Previous	The False Guardian
Next →	Fever Island

It was the conclusion of a two-part story, which began in The False Guardian.

Publisher's summary

The true identity of the Director has been revealed and he wants vengeance upon the Doctor for past crimes...

But the Director is not the only danger to the crew of the TARDIS. Deadly experiments are coming to a head, and everyone’s life is at risk.

However, the greatest threat is yet to come. The Syndicate’s plans are in motion... and no one is safe from them.

Plot

Part one

The Doctor is left unconscious by Zephon's attack and Elmore takes him away, insisting that he be allowed to live long enough to take part in a genetic experiment. Zephon permits this, threatening the Doctor with the might of Zephon and the Syndicate and blaming him for his father having been executed as a scapegoat following the Doctor's theft of his identity. K9 rescues Ann from the locked ward where the hybrid results of Elmore's experiments are kept and they go in search of their companion as Foley and others infected by the Varga plants, now identifying as Varga themselves, prepare to attack the clinic.

Nigel informs Ann and K9 that the Doctor has been taken to the basement and panics upon learning of the hybrid monsters, recognising the species that K9 lists as those of the missing visitors. Elmore tells the Doctor that he is a creator of ethical and responsible weapons, including a control beam, a new strain of Varga and a temporal bubble to hold people back in time. Although previous attempts into such a bubble resulted in the creation of the chronon wave front, he believes that the Doctor as a Time Lord will be the key to making it work, disregarding the complications arising from the detonation of the Time Destructor on Kembel.

After killing the Duke dressed up as the Doctor to take out his frustrations, Zephon contacts the Syndicate and is promised rank, power and full membership of the group if he hands over the Doctor alive. He heads to the basement as Nigel stirs an uprising and the Varga attack and commands Elmore to stop his experiments on the Doctor, but Elmore informs him that he is too late; the Doctor has been vaporised.

Part two

Whilst the Doctor fights to remain substantial inside the chronon wave front, Elmore orders his hybrid creatures to join the drones in fighting the Varga whom Ann, K9 and Nigel fight back against using the light and heat of a tanning booth. The TARDIS materialises around the Doctor and he returns to the clinic, switching the force field back on and finding K9 and Nigel. Ann follows Zephon and Brox to his ship and the Doctor tasks K9 with going after her whilst he leads the wave front to the TARDIS to get it away. Nigel, meanwhile, kills the Varga with Thoroxian body scrub.

Ann kills Brox and demands that Zephon gives her coordinates for the Syndicate, but he does not have any and denies that she will be able to trace them through their call to him. She kills him before he can attack her and sends a message, identifying herself as a sleeper time agent, to update her superiors on her progress in tracking the Syndicate down. To cover up the deaths, she self-destructs the ship and is found by K9 and the Doctor, who got the wave front into a containment field in the TARDIS after it killed Elmore in revenge. Ann has no memory of her recent actions, however, and returns with them to the TARDIS from which the Doctor ejects the wave front into the Time Vortex. Once again, the ship proceeds to go out of control.

Cast

• The Doctor - Tom Baker
• Ann Kelso - Jane Slavin
• K9 - John Leeson
• Nigel Colloon - John Shrapnel
• Zephon / Syndicate Agent / Wave Front 3 - Jon Culshaw
• Brox - Anna Acton
• Elmore - Blake Ritson
• Mac Foley / Duke / Wave Front 2 - Roger May
• Drones / Wave Front 1 - Tracy Wiles

Worldbuilding

• Mac Foley was a reporter for the Channel 52 Telecast.
• The Zephon think they are so perfect that they name everything "Zephon." They come from the ocean world of Zephon. The Director mentions having developed lungs.
• Valerie is Nigel's wife. They have children.
• The Master of Celation informed Zephon's family of his betrayal by the First Doctor, who framed Zephon as a traitor. The Lady Zephon had to convince Vice President Zephon that Zephon was not a traitor.
• The Doctor becomes part of the chronal wave front but the TARDIS homes in on him before he completely loses his body, albeit slowly because of his ability to travel in time. He releases the people trapped in the wave front into the Time Vortex so they can have some form of existence.
• "Sleeper Time Agent" Kelso shoots Brox and Zephon, then sets his ship to explode.
• Zephon is not yet a member of the Syndicate. They are eager to have the Doctor as a member.
• This strain of Varga plants retain their memories and are able to organise an attack on the facility.

Notes

to be added

Continuity

• Zephon tells Elmore of his father's betrayal by the Doctor and how he is an enemy of the Daleks. Elmore believes "Time Destructor" is made up. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
• Zephon refers to the Sinestrans as one of the lower races affiliated with the Syndicate. (AUDIO: The Sinestran Kill)

Cover gallery

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  Textless cover

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  Alternate cover

External links

• Official Time's Assassin page at bigfinish.com