The Highest Stake (comic story)

Summary
After being captured by the Lords of Jelsen, the Tenth Doctor and Heather McCrimmon are forced into a spaceship race-or-die ‘game’ through the ruined cities of the abandoned planet of Jelsen. Their opponents in matching spacecraft are two young friends, Jossi and Karter, who were captured when they went too close to the planet.

As the two ships race it out, the Lords of Jelsen watch their progress. Pleased, they summon the N-fish -- large green stingrays of the sky. The N-fish attempt to trap the ships, but realising their tails are their weakest point and about “as tough as hair”, the Doctor and Heather break through. They are followed by the other ship at the Fork of Fate, a corner offering several possible routes.

Trapped ships surround them, hanging like ghost ships. Each has been forced to race… and lose! Avoiding the routes with the ghost ships, the Doctor and Heather take the clear and safe route to the finish line. Fearing the ship behind will become trapped, the Doctor engineers it so both ships cross the line in the same split second.

With a dead heat, the Lords of Jelsen are unsure what to do next. While they ponder their decision, the Doctor uses the distraction to bail out of his ship with Heather. He sends the ship on a collision course with the tower in the city that houses the Lords’ capture system. With the system destroyed, all the ships are released. They make their escapes before the Lords can get their act together. Jossi and Karter pick up the Doctor and Heather offers them a lift.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Heather McCrimmon
 * Lords of Jelsen
 * Jossi and Karter

Original print details (Publication with page count and closing captions)

 * 1) DWA 148 (4 pages) NEXT WEEK! An underwater menace

Reprints

 * None to date

Continuity

 * The story is set without a context, with no explanation as to where the TARDIS is or how the Doctor and Heather came to be on Jelsen and get captured.
 * The N-fish bore certain similarities to the Stingrays that appeared in DW: Planet of the Dead.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after DWA: We Will Rock You
 * This story takes place before DWA: Hook, Line and Sinker