Eris (Havoc)

Agent Eris was a Time Lord who served the Celestial Intervention Agency under Coordinator Romana and Deputy Coordinator Narvin during the early days of the Last Great Time War In the time shortly after Rassilon was resurrected to retake the mantle of Lord President of Gallifrey, Eris was the CIA's liaison with the War Council.

Eris helped Narvin investigate the murder of Commander Jevon of the Chancellery Guard by Trave. (AUDIO: Havoc) He later joined Narvin on a mission to the planet Ysalus, a key strategic position for the Daleks in the Time War, where they were forced to place the planet in a temporal freeze to prevent the deaths of all its inhabitants. (AUDIO: Partisans) Later, when Rassilon removed the temporal freeze in an elaborate plan to destroy a potential resource for the Daleks, Eris was sent back to the planet to organise the evacuation of its people. While there, he spent a year and helped Knyla Shen form a resistance movement. Because he used Time Lord technology to put out a rallying cry against his people's actions, Romana feared that Rassilon would come for him when he returned. To protect him, she insisted that take a TARDIS and disappear. Though initially hesistant, Eris agreed, stole a TARDIS and left the planet, becoming a renegade Time Lord. (AUDIO: Collateral)

Early life
Eris was a young Time Lord who hailed from the planet Gallifrey. As a student, Eris always did well in his exams. He learned to fly in an older, less elite TARDIS. (AUDIO: Collateral) Eventually, while still young, Eris joined the Celestial Intervention Agency, where he worked as an agent under Coordinator Romana and Deputy Coordinator Narvin. During the Last Great Time War, in the early stages of Rassilon's reign as Lord President Eternal, Eris succeeded Karla as the CIA's liaison to the War Council of Gallifrey. (AUDIO: Havoc)

Investigating a murder
When Commander Jevon of the Chancellery Guard was murdered, Eris and Narvin reported the news to Romana. They examined the remains together, and Eris pointed out to his superiors where the Commander had been shot with a staser. Although he felt he needed to report the incident to the War Council, Romana ordered him not to and reminded him that, while he was the liaison to the War Council, he did not work for them. Later, when Romana encountered General Trave, who already knew about the shooting, she asked him if Eris had disobeyed her orders and told him about it. Trave claimed he already knew about it, and had simply asked Eris to confirm. He also told her that Eris was a good agent and that she should cut him more slack.

When Narvin discovered that the culprit had used a device that emitted anachron energy, with which they could be traced, he enlisted Eris in a mission to the former Matrix building in Zone Six to track the murderer. The two split up to search, at which point Narvin came across the culprit and chased after them. While Narvin ran after the person in pursuit, Eris could hear the struggle over his communication device. When Narvin fell and nearly plummeted ten stories, he was close enough to rescue him. Eris asked him why a man of his rank was doing this type of field work, which the Coordinator interpreted as suggesting that he was too old for it. Afterwards, they resolved to go and see the vote for the creation of a domestic security force. However, since the proceedings were quickly ended due to Lord President Rassilon invoking the Drylands Precedent and unilaterally creating the Interior Defence Unit, they did not get to see it.

After the vote, the traces of anachron energy dissipated, seemingly putting the investigation at a standstill. Although Eris reminded Narvin that Romana wanted to keep the investigation contained to the CIA, Narvin suggested they may need to turn to Lord Cardinal Mantus' Interior Defence Unit for assistance. During the call, recently demoted Castellan Bovari contacted Narvin and arranged a meeting at Pandak Square. When the Coordinator left for the meeting, Eris offered to serve as backup but he declined. Bovari showed Narvin a complete biodata record of the Citadel she had taken before leaving the Chancellery Guard headquarters, which could be used to track the killer. Eris, however, was concerned that using a stolen file that rightfully belonged to the IDU was a serious breach of protocol. Ursing the biodata records, they located the murderer at a recently constructed refugee detention centre by the TARDIS docks near Zone Six.

Eris moved to get his staser to arrest him, but Narvin order him to stay and was determined to make the arrest himself. Nonetheless, he kept in contact with Eris, who monitored the data to ensure the suspect did not move. Narvin confronted the man and killed him in the process, thinking he was reaching for his staser. Back at the CIA headquarters, Eris performed a gene scan on the body that determined the murderer was actually a future incarnation of Trave. Narvin then met with the Trave from their own time who still lived, and Mantus came to arrest him during the meeting. Narvin suspected Eris had told the IDU, a suspicion he relayed to Romana when he reported back to her, but Romana revealed that she had done it to protect the Agency from the same fate as the Chancellery Guard. (AUDIO: Havoc)

First mission to Ysalus
Later during the Time War, Eris was sent on a mission to the planet Ysalus with Narvin. Although Narvin did not want Eris to go, finding him to be too young and enthusiastic, Romana insisted he take him. En route to the planet, they listened to a message from her that explained the purpose of their mission. Though largely unknown to Time Lords at the present, Ysalus was in the midst of its first planetary war, between the Neo Solitairian and Ysalarian factions. According to Romana, if the Neo Solitairians won, the faction would shortly accede to a government dedicated to pacifism. If the Ysalarians won, however, the remaining Neo Solitairians would deploy weaponry that would leave Ysalus devoid of all life. Its fate was vital, due to its abundance of ylirium a natural resource needed in Dalek time machines. During the message, Eris attempted to take notes so that he could properly remember what was said, but was told off by Narvin for doing so.

The CIA plan was to pose as arms dealers and insert themselves into Neo Solitairian groups, in order to push the outcome of the conflict in the proper direction. When Eris and Narvin arrived on Ysalus, they landed outside a city that was at the centre of a crucial turning point in the war. If the city fell to the attacking Ysalarians, their faction would win, leading to death and destruction. Eris was displeased with their distance from their target, but Narvin did not want want to draw attention to themselves or their technology. Consequently, they were to swim into the city via the river. Before they could begin that journey, Commander Aladra of the War Council arrived, having found out about the CIA's plans. Narvin wanted to know her reasons for coming there, but she refused to reveal anything unless the agent accompanying him returned to Gallifrey. Narvin agreed to the request, wanting to learn her motives. Ordered return and tell Romana what was going on, Eris reluctantly left.

After arriving back Gallifrey, Eris met with Romana to report on the status of the mission. She was displeased to hear that Narvin had stayed behind, accompanied by an agent of the War Council and that what was meant to be a covert mission had come to their attention. Romana was also frustrated that people were talking to her about it in libraries. Upon Eris' confused response, she explained that Prime Minister of Gallifrey Livia had spoken to her in Braxiatel's library at the Time Lord Academy, to warn her that the War Council knew about Ysalus and would act against the Celestial Intervention Agency's aims. Eris asked her what they should do about the situation, and Romana instructed him to keep out of the way and remain where he was, while she spoke with Director Mantus.

After speaking with both Mantus, Romana realised that the War Council meant to help the Ysalarians win the war, ending all life on Ysalus. Eris initially couldn't believe that Mantus would send someone on such a mission, but Romana believed it was a sign of how far the Time Lords had fallen. Lacking proof of their suspicions, she spoke with Livia, who risked confirming but would not openly act against the War Council. She then returned to Eris and informed him of their findings. Romana determined they needed to warn Narvin of Aladra's plans and try to stop her, a role Eris immediately volunteered for. Romana warned him to be careful, as they did not know if Aladra was willing to kill other Time Lords, and Eris asked that she be careful too, as she dealt with the War Council.

Eris returned to Ysalus to find that Narvin had already learned of Aladra's intentions and she had been killed by Ysta, one of the planet's natives. (AUDIO: Partisans)

Second mission to Ysalus
At some point after Ysalus was placed in a temporal freeze, Romana was informed by Dalia of the War Council that he had been receiving communications from the planet indicating that the freeze had been lifted and that an attack by the Sythes was imminent. The communications, sent by a woman named Knyla Shen, purported that Romana had promised five years before to help evacuate the people of Ysalus. She claimed that at that time, she had encountered a Celestial Intervention Agency operative named Eris, who had made the promises on her behalf. Proving the authenticity of Knyla's claims was her ability to hack into War Council communications and the information she sent in Old High Gallifreyan, both of which only someone with intimate experience with the Time Lords could have known.

After he joined with Knyla on Ysalus, Eris spent a year on the planet and helped foment a resistance movement. Using his knowledge of Time Lord technology, Eris helped her to hack into the War Council communications, bypass the interception protocols and send a message directly to Dalia's communication feed. He also provided Knyla with access codes security bypass intel, with which she could prove her account. (AUDIO: Collateral)

Personality
Eris was a young and enthusiastic Time Lord, both traits that Narvin, his direct superior, disliked. (AUDIO: Partisans) Eris had a strong sense of protocol, and thus felt uncomfortable with using the misbegotten Chancellery Guard biodata records. While loyal and largely obedient to his superiors, he was also struggled with loyalties to other factions, including the War Council to whom he was liaison and the more powerful Interior Defence Unit. (AUDIO: Havoc) Eris was not quick to assume the worst in others, and thus initially did not believe that Mantus and Aladra would act to wipe out the population of Ysalus. He was also unwilling to give up and abandon the people of Ysalus to their fate when it seemed to Narvin that Aladra had succeeded. (AUDIO: Partisans)

Behind the scenes
Eris was voiced by Samuel Gosrani in the Time War: Volume Two audio stories Havoc, Partisans and Collateral. Both Gosrani and Seán Carlsen, who voiced Narvin, enjoyed the humorous interplay between the young and enthusiastic Eris and the considerably older Narvin.

Gosrani envisioned his character as a fairly naive person who wanted to do good, but was not fully aware of what he was getting himself into. Producer Scott Handcock also suggested Eris had been fed a lot of propaganda that Time Lords were right, and was only now seeing first-hand the effects of their actions. When asked where Eris might have gone after leaving Gallifrey, Gosrani stated he didn't know, but had high hopes for Eris' future because the character knew what he was doing and was much better than he got credit for. (BFX: Time War: Volume Two)