The Vardon Horse (short story)

 was the sixth short story in Myths & Legends.

Summary
As the Vardon-Kosnax War approaches the planet Xeriphas, the Xeraphin Senate is divided over which course of action to take. The Vardon have a longstanding peace agreement with the Xeraphin, but they are equally prepared to destroy Xeriphas to keep its valuable knowledge away from the Kosnak. During the course of the heated debate, a visitor arrives on Xeriphas and offers his assistance to the Xeraphin Senate Principal.

The following day, the Vardon and Kosnak fleets arrive. Senate Principal Orfak imposes martial law and places the recently deposed Senator Furis in command of the planet's defence. Meanwhile, the Doctor makes plans with the Core Scientific to transform the essence of the Xeraphin and offer themselves as a gift to the enemy.

At the Doctor's direction, most of the Xeraphin are transformed into beings of pure energy and sent to a storage unit called "the sarcophagus". This sarcophagus serves as both the largest database in the universe and also an immensely powerful weapon, but when operated, it emits dangerous levels of radiation. After the last few Xeraphin enter, the Doctor tampers with the defence shields so that the fleets can enter the trap, and he departs.

The Vardon take the bait, bringing the sarcophagus aboard their flagship and using it to destroy the Kosnak fleet. When Odyson and Epeyak regenerate into physical form, they discover that Furis double-crossed the Senate and sent her own troops to kill the Vardon. Senate Principal Orfak calls an emergency meeting with Zarak, who has been dispatched to arrest Furis. At the meeting, it is discovered that the radiation is stronger than expected, and all regenerated Xeraphin have been poisoned. Zarak declares the Senators and scientists guilty of treason and imprisons them in cells, where they will quickly die of radiation poisoning. Zarak and his men return to the sarcophagus to wait out the sickness.

Characters

 * Odyson
 * Furis
 * Orfak
 * Zarak
 * Epeyak
 * Anithon
 * First Doctor

Worldbuilding

 * The Vardon made an alliance with the Xeraphin to protect their system.
 * The Silver Soothsayer is a folk story on Xeriphas.
 * The Xeraphin unleash radiation that kills both the Vardon and Kosnak fleets.

Continuity

 * The Vardon-Kosnax War devastates Xeriphas and the Xeraphin merge into a gestalt. (TV: Time-Flight)
 * Plasmavores are servants on Xeriphas. (TV: Smith and Jones)
 * The Doctor mentions his recent adventure in the Trojan War. (TV: The Myth Makers)