'Short Trips': 'The Warren Legacy' (1 Part) by Julian Richards

The governor of a storm-drenched Earth colony has spent too much time dealing with Lord Samuel Warren. One night, while wishing that his nemesis had never been born, the governor finds himself confronted by six monstrous figures encased in bone-like armour; the creatures name themselves as the Quell, and offer their help by making his wish real, in return for his first born son. The governor happily agrees, as he doesn’t have a son to give. Curiously, as the Quell disappear the governor notices there were seven of them, not six as he thought… Later that night, Lord Samuel Warren receives two unexpected visitors from the rain, an eccentric man and his beautiful companion. When the man comments that the Warren family portrait gallery only has six people, Lord Samuel explains how they were the only people to face the Quell, creatures who periodically appear and attempt to kill his family, but who are stopped by two mysterious people called the Doctor and Romana. The two strangers are surprised, so Lord Samuel tells them of his relatives’ encounters with this duo, and how they were saved from the Quell; oddly, as each story is told, there is one less Quell encountered each time… Having recounted all his tales, Lord Samuel guesses that his visitors are the Doctor and Romana. The Doctor promises to go back in time to save each of the Warrens, now that he and Romana know when and where to find them; he goes on to explain that the Quell are paradoxical assassins born from the echoes of people erased from their existence - the number of Quell decreased in each of Lord Samuel’s tales because they ceased to exist after failing to kill their victim; now only one Quell remains – and it has just appeared before them. As the Doctor and Romana struggle with the creature its mask falls away, and Samuel sees that it is his friend Jonathan, the governor’s son. Learning its true identity the Quell’s hold is broken, and the last of the creatures vanishes… Elsewhere, the governor sits in his office while his son Jonathan sleeps in his room; the governor still rages at Lord Warren, but this time no-one appears in his office, and he looks forward to the storm breaking in the morning…

Stephen Critchlow (Narrator)

Release Date:
September 2015

Notes:

*Featuring the Fourth Doctor and the First Romana

*A Big Finish Audio Production