Peaceable Kingdom (short story)

Peaceable Kingdom was the eighth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership. It was written by Steven Savile. It featured the Seventh Doctor.

Summary
As the Kortani warriors participate in the Winnowing, they are approached by the White Preacher, whom they cannot attack. When Kail fails to defeat the White Preacher, he is consumed by the other warriors.

The White Preacher tries to convince the Kortani to abandon their warlike ways, but they won't listen to him.

The Doctor lands on the planet and finds ancient drawings of a spacecraft. He then finds an identical spacecraft actually on the planet. After finding the carcasses of several Kortani, he is captured by the Kortani and thrown into a pit. The White Preacher gives him water, and the Doctor notes that the White Preacher is a hydrovore. The Doctor escapes from the pit.

The Doctor deduces that the hydrovore has been visiting this planet for centuries, planning to convert it into an aquatic planet. To stop the hydrovore, he sneaks into its spacecraft and starts a rainstorm. The hydrovore absorbs the rain, but it is too much and the Doctor must rescue him, forcing him to promise to leave the Kortani alone.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Orwen Kleth
 * Kail
 * White Preacher

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor uses his umbrella to shield himself from the sun and climb out of the pit.

Continuity

 * The Seventh Doctor refers to being 900 years old. (AUDIO: Mask of Tragedy)