The first David A. McIntee story I read was Mission: Impractical which I thought was just a boatload of fun. Next came White Darkness which, again, was pure fun to read and had a touch of Cthulhu Mythos thrown in for good measure which added to my enjoyment. McIntee's name became synonymous with well-crafted tales that were a joy to read. And so I was looking forward to tackling his Second Doctor Missing Adventure, The Dark Path.
The Earth Empire collapsed. From its ashes has arisen the Federation which sees the remnants of the Empire join with its former enemies and subjects as equals, including the Terileptils and the Veltrochni. (Very Star Treky.) The story opens with a squadron of Veltrochni ships that meets its end at the hands of an old Imperial battlecruiser somewhere off in the ass end of the galaxy.
Not too long after this, we are introduced to a Federation ship that is headed to an old Imperial colony in order to establish contact and attempt to inveigle the colony's leadership to join the party. This way out of the way Imperial remnant is something of an enigma as it's on a planet that no one knows quite how it still exists considering its proximity to a past supernova. At the same time, the TARDIS is being followed.
In response to a question from Victoria, the Doctor replies, "Yes, another TA–" which immediately brought to mine that scene from The Omen when Father Brennan says, "His mother was a ja-".
The Doctor and company land at the colony - in a biodome that houses vineyards, as it turns out. The time travelers are mistaken for an advance delegation from the Federation and are treated as official types. I spent some time wondering why the local gendarme, known as Adjudicators, didn't look for a hole in their dome and could only conclude that they never saw the TARDIS and assumed that they had transmatted down.
Concurrently, another TARDIS materializes aboard the Federation ship on its way there, the Piri Reis. That time ship is owned by one Koschei who is, as we see on the cover, the Roger Delgado incarnation of the Master. I was wondering what language "Koschei" was from and figured it surely meant Master in it. Turns out the name refers to a figure from Slavic folklore who is known as "the Immortal" or "the Deathless", according to Wikipedia. Pretty apt considering the Master's future attempts to stay alive after having used up his regenerations.
The colonists are, unsurprisingly, distrustful of the Federation representatives, and still have an Imperial mindset. They also have a secret, a secret which can change all of time and space! A giant energy teat!
Our heroes notice that there are no children in the colony and theorize that the inhabitants are the original ones from 350 years ago. It turns out they discovered this big device, called the Darkheart, which, as we find out, was built by the ancestors of the Chronovores to send energy anywhere and anywhen one of their young or injured needed a boost. The Darkheart is preventing the colonists from aging and explains why the planet survived a nearby supernova.
McIntee deftly handles the various groups of characters, all with various motivations and committing various sins of commission and omission. You've got the colonists and their secrets, the Federation ship hoping to welcome them into the fold, the Doctor and his companions, Koschei and his companion, Ailla, a squadron of Veltrochni ships come to find out what happened to their brethren's ships that we see destroyed at the story's opening, and, finally, a mysterious creature roaming the colony and killing various Adjudicators.
I really liked how McIntee kept identities hidden, secrets secret, and motivations obscured for so long. And little did I know that this was a Master origin story. I kept waiting for him to take pleasure in an act of pure evil once his characters was introduced but he kept being nice. Well, by and large. He does murder someone and dispose of their body in a less than ceremonial way but I think he justified the action as being for the greater good instead of callously claiming the person got in the way of his evil, self-serving machinations. Then Ailla dies only to come back to life after having regenerated and revealing that she was sent by the Time Lords to keep an eye on him. Koschei comes to understand the enormous power given to anyone who could wield the Darkheart and temptation is just too much.
As he tells the Doctor, "That name no longer has any meaning for me, Doctor. In time you too will call me Master."
McIntee captures our heroes well or, at least in a TV-like manner, with the Doctor being very Second Doctor-like. Plenty of those moments of feigned innocence - "Who me?" - and the occasional bit of recorder when locked up. Victoria screams and lapses into despair. You can tell she is becoming disillusioned with life aboard the TARDIS. Jamie is, well, Jamie.
The story ends with the Scotsman observing, "...we’re landing in the sea!" Clearly a reference to our next television story. But first, a quick side step awaits...
Another winner from McIntee.
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