Voyager (comic story)

Voyager was a Sixth Doctor comic published in Doctor Who Magazine. It introduced the character of Astrolabus and began the Voyager arc.

Summary
The Doctor and Frobisher find themselves in Antarctica, but things take a turn for the worse when they meet Astrolabus and the mysterious Voyager.

It Was a Devil Ship... (1)
The Doctor is a prisoner aboard Voyager's "Death-ship". They journey to the edge of the world and fall off. The Doctor wakes in the TARDIS to find the door open. Outside, his coat is draped over a snowman, his umbrella under its arm. He collects them and continues to journey the wastes, considering how he has come to enjoy Frobisher's companionship.

The Doctor meets with Frobisher, and they spot a ship frozen in the ice, which the Doctor recognises as the one from his dream. Boarding it, they find star charts in the hold and prepare to leave with them when a man enters behind them, threatening the pair with a gun.

The Lighthouse at the End of the World... (2)
The man ties the Doctor to a chair, then makes his escape with the charts. Frobisher goes up on deck and the Doctor quickly frees himself. They watch through a telescope as he makes his escape in an original da Vinci flying machine.

The Doctor and Frobisher return to the TARDIS and follow the man. They arrive at a lighthouse. The TARDIS picks up powerful energy readings. Outside, the Doctor finds Frobisher has gone into the water. He emerges to regurgitate a fish for the Doctor. Suddenly, a robot-like humanoid appears and advances upon them.

The Lighthouse... (3)
The Doctor tells Frobisher the being is an Automaton, a living soul in a mechanical body. It walks past them and into the sea. The Doctor guesses that it could be connected to a craft Frobisher saw under the water.

The Doctor instructs Frobisher to return to the TARDIS. He peers through the lighthouse's keyhole and sees the man he chased sitting within. Opening the door with his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor threatens the man with his own gun. However, the man notes the Doctor would not kill him and makes his escape. The Doctor follows and falls. He finds himself hanging on to the side of the lighthouse, far above the ground. The man leans over him and suddenly the Doctor finds he is hanging from a table, inside, with his legs safely on the ground. He asks the man who he is. The figure tells him various aliases and then proclaims himself legend.

Dreams of Eternity (4)
Astrolabus tells the Doctor the story of Alexandria, a city he helped make great. It fell and Astrolabus took to the stars. However, the Doctor identifies him as the thief who stole The Book of the Old Time. The Doctor flees and finds the world around him transforming.

Running down a winding staircase, he sights only a door left in the blank interior. Tentacles come from behind and try to squeeze him, but he breaks free. With a final effort, he escapes and finds himself in space.

The Final Chapter (5)
The Doctor finds himself back on Earth, in the sea. Inside the TARDIS, Frobisher activates the TARDIS scanner, spots the Doctor in the water and runs to help him. Astrolabus makes his way to the top of the lighthouse and it turns into a rocket. Voyager appears in his ship as the rocket takes off, disappearing into the clouds.

The Doctor finds himself once more on Voyager's ship at the edge of the world. Again he wakes to find himself on a rocky outcrop with Frobisher. They return to the TARDIS. The Doctor sees Voyager once more, instructing him to return his star charts.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Frobisher
 * Astrolabus
 * Voyager

Individuals

 * Frobisher claims to have spent fourteen years as a till in a Walthamstow supermarket.
 * Frobisher's idea of a "disguise" is a pair of glasses and false nose, perhaps explaining his difficulty as a private eye.
 * Astrolabus claims to have an appointment in Cathay with Marco Polo.
 * Astrolabus tried to follow Voyager in a skyship, but his efforts were defeated by electro-magnetic storms.
 * Astrolabus stole the The Book of the Old Time from Gallifrey before the Doctor was born.
 * King Ptolemy I of Egypt built a lighthouse at Alexandria.

Earth fish

 * The Doctor ponders whether there are angler fish in the waters.

Technology

 * An Automaton is a living soul in a mechanical body.

Foods and beverages from the real world

 * The last time that the Doctor left Frobisher alone with the food machine, he nearly filled the console room with Mars Bars.

Entertainment

 * Astrolabus tells the Doctor to pick one of his playing cards.
 * Angered by the Doctor's assertion that he is mad, Astrolabus hits him with a Punch doll.

Continuity

 * Astrolabus stole the Book of the Old Time. (TV: The Deadly Assassin)
 * The First Doctor met Marco Polo and Astrolabus claims to have an appointment with him. (TV: Marco Polo)
 * The First Doctor previously visited Alexandria. (PROSE: The Book of Shadows)