The Rani Elite (audio story)

The Rani Elite was the one hundred and ninety-fourth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Justin Richards and featured Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown.

It was the first audio story by Big Finish to feature the Rani, and featured the debut of a new incarnation played by Siobhan Redmond.

Publisher's summary
The TARDIS arrives in the CAGE – not a trap, but the College of Advanced Galactic Education, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in colonised space.

Not a trap. Or is it?

The Doctor's here to receive an honorary degree in Moral Philosophy. But there's something rotten at the heart of the Medical Facility. Someone is operating on the students. Someone without a conscience. Someone with access to a Sidelian Brain Scanner – a technology that hasn't been invented yet.

That someone is the ruthless Time Lord scientist known as the Rani – in her new incarnation. But will the Doctor and Peri recognise the Rani's hand before her trap is sprung?

Part one
The adventure opens to Lizzo being experimented on by Reev in an operating room in the Medical facility. Lizzo pleads for him to answer why, but he continues, causing her great pain.

The TARDIS arrives at CAGE, and the Doctor and Peri start to make their way to the Vice-Chancellor's office, with the Doctor revealing to Peri that he had been awarded an honorary degree in Moral Philosophy, the subject being a complete mystery to him; and that the ceremony was later on that day. On the way, they are pushed past by a student late to his lecture.

Meanwhile, Lizzo manages to break free from her restraints despite being sedated. Reev calls out after her, telling her she was only "delaying the inevitable", and begins to give chase.

While in the Vice-Chancellor's office, the Doctor and Peri are queried as to which doctorate they are wanting to study. Realising the mistake, they explain to the Vice-Chancellor that the Doctor is actually there to receive an honorary degree that day. The Vice-Chancellor explained that they got the date wrong - it was actually the next day that the ceremony was due to take place. He said that Professor Baxton was due to take part in the ceremony as well; a name the Doctor instantly recognised, having met her in a previous regeneration.

They both leave, and the Doctor finally reveals his motives to Peri - that he had intentionally arrived a day early because he suspected that something was not right about the whole affair. They both arrive at an information booth and find out that his nomination for an honorary degree was pushed through by the Vice-Chancellor, and realise that whatever is happening, it involves them having the Doctor in their possession. However, as soon as they reach this conclusion, Lizzo reaches them, pleading for their help. As the Doctor recognises her as a Garnachian, they learn that she had escaped from the Medical Facility, and proceed to go there to investigate. Lizzo complains of head pain, which leads the Doctor to realise that she had undergone a procedure involving a Sidelian Brain Scanner.

They reach the Medical Facility to find where Lizzo was being held. The Doctor starts to suspect that the Vice-Chancellor may be involved, noting that the Sidelian Brain Scanner shouldn't be in this particular time. Lizzo tells them that it was Reev that experimented on her, saying that he was in her class. With Lizzo still experiencing head pain, they find a water basin and a hanky from the Doctor's pocket to try to cool her head down. However, they hear Reev in the medical facility looking for Lizzo, and she gets scared and runs.

Leaving the Medical Facility, the Doctor and Peri go towards the Myra Vandaesi Library with the intention of finding out more about Lizzo and what happened to her. They find her diary entry from a few days ago in the University's system, noting she sounded happier than when they met her. They find her class photo, noting that the student who pushed past them earlier was in her class too, named Miklev. The Doctor hands Peri her own diary cube to record her own thoughts in, and she leaves to do so, giving the Doctor time to try to hack into the University systems to find Miklev's timetable. Having alerted the system and disturbed the library, the Doctor played it off as a wrong input, and a student from the University came to help. As he did, the Doctor recognised him as Miklev.

Meanwhile, Peri records her thoughts onto the device, reflecting on being with the Doctor again after her time with Yrcanos. She sees the Doctor return with Miklev, and they begin to question him about Lizzo. Miklev tells them that she and Reev had taken part in special tests and that people who usually take these tests usually return with extreme personality changes. Late for a lecture with Professor Bxton, Miklev runs off. The Doctor decides to check out this lecture to see if Lizzo had returned there.

It turns out that Lizzo was still hiding in the Medical Facility while Reev was looking for her. Reev eventually finds her and returns her to the operating facility.

The Doctor and Peri eventually reach the lecture where Professor Baxton talks about chaos theory and its implication in Moral Philosophy. She spots the Doctor and wonders if he has any questions. He asks if she was rather avoiding the issue of morality by suggesting that it was chaos theory that defined people's actions. She rebutted that her opinions were her own, and ended the lecture. The Doctor was suspicious of something and went to the Vice-Chancellor's office. Peri instead went to the University grounds and spots Professor Baxton. Trying to talk with her, Baxton refuses to talk, saying she had an appointment in the Medical Facility. Curious, Peri started to follow Baxton.

The Doctor reaches the Vice-Chancellor's office and starts to warn him of Professor Baxton, claiming that she is not who she says she is.

Meanwhile, Peri finds Lizzo, trapped in the Medical Facility. Lizzo mentions Professor Baxton, and Peri starts to question why. Baxton finds Peri and sedates Lizzo further, calling Peri by name. Knowing she never gave her name, Peri demanded to know why, but Baxton carried on, hinting that she knew the Doctor, but was expecting another incarnation. She hinted that she was herself a Time Lord, and Peri started to piece together Baxton's true identity. She was not Professor Baxton of CAGE - she was, instead, an old enemy of the Doctor: the Rani.

Part two
to be added

Part three
to be added

Part four
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Peri Brown - Nicola Bryant
 * The Rani - Siobhan Redmond
 * Vice Chancellor - Andrew Bone
 * Lizzo - Becky Wright
 * Miklev - Mike Noble
 * Reev - Charlie Morton

Crew

 * Cover Art - Anthony Lamb
 * Director - Ken Bentley
 * Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
 * Music and Sound Design - Andy Hardwick
 * Producer - David Richardson
 * Script Editor - Alan Barnes
 * Writer - Justin Richards
 * The Rani created by Pip and Jane Baker

Worldbuilding

 * The Rani was expecting to meet the Doctor's seventh incarnation, not the sixth. She describes the Seventh Doctor as "the little fellow with the hat and the umbrella".
 * The Doctor mentions the Deca, including Drax, Mortimus and Vansell, and calls the Rani "Ushas".
 * Peri is awarded an honourary degree in botany.
 * The Rani discusses chaos theory.

Continuity

 * Peri remembers the Fifth Doctor dying for her (TV: The Caves of Androzani) and wonders if she would die for him. (TV: Mindwarp)
 * The Sixth Doctor and Peri previously encountered the Rani in Killingworth in the 19th century, (TV: The Mark of the Rani) on a duplicate Earth (PROSE: State of Change) and on Koturia. (PROSE: Something Borrowed) However, the Rani had more recently encountered the Seventh Doctor. (TV: Time and the Rani)
 * In his delirium, the Doctor quotes his fourth incarnation about destroying the Daleks, "touch these two strands together...", but doesn't complete the sentence (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)
 * The Doctor says, "Leave the girl. Plainly, it's me you want." (TV: Time and the Rani)
 * The Rani and the Doctor mention the Deca, including Drax, Mortimus and Vansell. The Rani is also called Ushas by the Doctor. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)
 * The Doctor notes that Time Lords are "immortal, barring accidents." (TV: The War Games)
 * The Rani recalls her previous incarnation being partly responsible for the Doctor's sixth regeneration. (TV: Time and the Rani; AUDIO: The Brink of Death)
 * After her arrest, the Rani was imprisoned for 97 years. (AUDIO: Planet of the Rani)