Damned If You Don't (audio story)
Damned If You Don't was the fourth and final story of Echoes Through Eternity, marking 20 years of the Gallifrey series, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Gary Russell and read by Seán Carlsen. It featured Narvin.
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
As the Time War rages, Narvin is at the heart of the action - but he has lost so much, he may not have the will to carry on. Until his past returns to haunt him...
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
Fighting the Daleks on Askran, Narvin thinks about how the Time War has separated him from Romana, Leela, Braxiatel, K9 and the Doctor and how, according to the Matrix and its coordinators, he is the one responsible for triggering the conflict. He records a message for Eris as he sets out to destroy a platform and prevent the Daleks from using cobalt warheads against the star system, although he is at a loss at how to do so without taking himself and a sizeable portion of the planet with it. He is approached by somebody in the uniform of the Chancellery Guard who struggles to remove their blast visor, but she eventually manages to get it off and Narvin gets a feeling of déjà vu. He is unsure why she feels familiar, however.
The soldier explains that she was separated from her party and she insists on assisting Narvin in his mission, having heard his message for Eris, despite his attempt to get him to join his fellow resistance members elsewhere. Narvin, she says, is invaluable whilst she is expendable. His mind enters a shard of the Untempered Schism's essence and he sees various things, including his old friends, the resistance, sending Ace to the Obscura, Daleks, a man with a bandolier, the Fall of Gallifrey, Valyes blaming him for the war and the Watchmaker. When he returns to Askran, he recognises the soldier as Kransa and remembers how the Shade of Portent had oublietted her out of existence. He also learns from Kransa that the planet's name is Sargol and realises that the Shade must have rewritten reality again.
Rather than explain how he recognises Kransa, Narvin claims that he knows who she is thanks to his data controller and decides to melt the Dalekanium of the platform's tower with his staser to reach the warhead chamber. After several hours, Narvin and Kransa are able to shimmy up a pole and access the control panels which Narvin uses to delete the Dalek commands and coding to prevent them from being accessed remotely. He notices that the warheads were due to be sent through a vortex corridor to the Capitol and that Kransa has not been responding to him for a while, after which she vanishes and the Shade of Portent appears in her place. The Shade reveals that the Time Shades have been using manipulating Narvin into saving them from the Daleks' attack and that it was his guilt that gave Kransa form.
Now that the Time Shades have been saved, Kransa has been returned to existence at the point from which she was oublietted. However, she died in a fire in her family home shortly after graduating Narvin's class at the CIA with honours. The Shade turns the warheads to dust and disappears. On the last day of the Time War, Narvin is ready to face the Moment and wonders where Leela is.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Eris does his best leading the resistance.
- Targ is a Nekkistani.
- Syzyg is a Sunari.
- Hoth is an Archetryx.
- Narvin wishes that he had a sonic lance or his screwdriver.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Narvin refers to “Rassilon the Resurrected”; a title Rassilon cited himself in TV: Hell Bent [+]Loading...["Hell Bent (TV story)"].
- Narvin recalls Livia’s last moments, as depicted in AUDIO: Homecoming [+]Loading...["Homecoming (audio story)"].
- Narvin recalls his involvement in the mission to avert the creation of the Daleks, as depicted in AUDIO: Ascension [+]Loading...["Ascension (Gallifrey audio story)"], and is aware it’s been pointed to as the start of the Time War, including by Valyes personally. He previously saw a vision of Valyes accusing him in AUDIO: Damned If You Do [+]Loading...["Damned If You Do (audio story)"].
- Narvin mentions that Eris saved his life, as occurred in AUDIO: Homecoming [+]Loading...["Homecoming (audio story)"].
- Narvin sees a vision of him sending Ace off before she was lost to the Obscura, as occurred in AUDIO: Soldier Obscura [+]Loading...["Soldier Obscura (audio story)"].
- Narvin sees visions of the future including the War Doctor and the Fall of Gallifrey.
- Narvin sees a vision of the Watchmaker, who he’d encountered in AUDIO: Enemy Lines [+]Loading...["Enemy Lines (audio story)"].
- Narvin recalls his mission with Kransa and encounter with the Time Shade, as depicted in AUDIO: Damned If You Do [+]Loading...["Damned If You Do (audio story)"].
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Official Damned If You Don't page at bigfinish.com
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