Dissolution (audio story)

Dissolution was the second audio story in Time War: Volume Four, the twelfth series of Gallifrey.

Publisher's summary
With young Rayo in tow, Narvin looks for respite in an ancient bolthole and turns to an old mentor for help.

But a Dalek has been hunting him through space and time, and it will not give up his trail so easily.

Plot
As Yakob alerts the resistance that the temporal shield around Nisteria has been breached, Rayo searches for Leela and is hurried into the TARDIS by Narvin. Although Rayo wants to wait for Leela, Narvin dematerialises the TARDIS when the Daleks arrive and hopes that she was able to find another way to escape. They are ambushed by a Dalek craft and, to escape, Narvin connects himself to the telepathic circuits. Narvin and Rayo, who hit his head in the ambush, land on Micallon and are greeted by the Apothecary.

Hunter Dalek 4-3 reports to his superior and is ordered to continue to pursue the TARDIS as the Dalek Emperor wants all associates of Romana found.

Narvin tells Rayo that they have come to the one place that he swore he would never come back to: the Patrex Chapter retreat, of which the Apothecary, an old friend of his, is keeper. Narvin asks for her help in tending to both Rayo and the TARDIS, but she has not received any shipments in some time and is unsure if she will be able to repair the latter. They take Rayo to the infirmary when he collapses and she finds no evidence of concussion, proceeding to ask Narvin about how he has changed and turned his back on his Chapter. Over food, Narvin explains to the Apothecary how they came to be here. She says that he must have been too distracted by details to notice the Dalek ship, but he believes that it must have been lying in wait after following them from Unity.

The Emperor bids the Dalek Supreme to approach and commands that Narvin is captured, as he has information useful to the Dalek cause.

In the morning, Narvin walks in on Rayo and the Apothecary, overhearing Rayo say that Leela thought that he was keeping something from them. The Apothecary says that Rayo is angry about his mother and that the two of them need to resolve the tension between them. She invites Rayo to meet with her in the garden as she has something to show him. In the meantime, Narvin shows Rayo around Micallon, showing him the ocean that covers all the world but the rock that this citadel is on. He explains that this retreat was for the Patrexes to contemplate beauty before returning refreshed to Gallifrey.

''A young Narvin feels like he does not belong on Micallon and does not understand what it is for, seeing this place as a waste of time given that there are things that actually need dealing with. He tells the Apothecary that the Celestial Intervention Agency could be and do so much more if they would embrace him and gets into a TARDIS to return to the Capitol, saying that he is going to make a difference. The Apothecary suggests that he is going to make a name for himself, and asks if they mean the same thing.''

The Hunter Dalek contacts the Dalek Supreme and informs him that he is above Micallon and has detected the life signs of two Time Lords and one other. The Dalek Supreme has him stand by whilst he asks the Emperor for orders.

Narvin, Rayo and the Apothecary eat, with Rayo amazed by the vegetables. Narvin suggests that he stays here for a while, angering him and causing him to storm off. The Apothecary says that Rayo's real problem is not with his mother or Leela but with Narvin; Rayo is carrying more weight than he can bear and Narvin has to tell him what he is hiding. Narvin says that it is too complicated, however, and leaves.

The Dalek Supreme orders the Hunter to capture Narvin and exterminate Rayo and the Apothecary, although he is permitted to kill Narvin should he resist as he is not essential. They praise the Emperor.

Narvin is unable to sleep and walks around the citadel. The Apothecary approaches him and he tells her that he keeps on thinking about Romana and Leela and his guilt. They watch Rayo leave his room and follow him as he heads into the TARDIS and attempts to make it dematerialise. He soon emerges, choking on smoke, and says that he has to leave as he does not trust Narvin and wants to return to the resistance to help make the Time Vortex unusable. The Hunter attacks and the trio flee inside.

The Apothecary suggests that they reach the stock of weapons in the old larders and attack the Dalek. The only way for them to get to the larders, however, is by a transparent walkway which will expose them to the Dalek, so Narvin goes to distract him. On the way to the larders, the Apothecary tells Rayo that Narvin is risking his life to save him and that he should not judge him based on Leela's suspicions.

Narvin asks the Dalek why it has not exterminated him and learns that he is of interest to the Emperor as an associate of Romana. Rayo and the Apothecary attack the Dalek with stasers but are unable to get through its shield. Eventually, Rayo is able to kill it, avenging his mother and Unity. He says that Narvin talking to the Dalek to keep it busy was the bravest thing that he has ever seen and examines the mutant within the broken casing, which had been damaged by his entry through the shields. Narvin supposes that the Dalek had attached a tracker to the TARDIS and wonders why he was after Romana's friends.

The Apothecary patches the hole that the Dalek made and says that the TARDIS will be repaired within half a day. Once it is, Narvin suggests that he and Rayo get as far away from the Time War as they can and start a new life, but he knows from Eris that the resistance plan to make the pollute the Vortex using the Untempered Schism. Narvin says that he cannot ever return to Gallifrey as he will be executed and, when Rayo tries to persuade him to be brave once more, he says that Gallifrey can burn.

The Dalek Supreme informs the Emperor that the Hunter has been lost but fragments of a recording has been recovered, showing the Hunter's death. The Emperor is angered by the Dalek Supreme's failure and orders him to leave. The Time Strategist tells the Emperor that he has studied the timelines and has another plan.

Narvin works on repairing the TARDIS and again tells Rayo that they will not be going to Gallifrey. He confesses that he lied about Romana using the Chameleon Arch and says that the Apothecary might have been right when she suggested that he was just out to make a name for himself. Narvin realises that he is going to have to go to Gallifrey, but plans to leave Rayo behind as the Apothecary's apprentice; she says that, with another pair of hands, she might be able to activate the isolation protocols to slip the planet out of spacetime.

The Apothecary tells Narvin to be safe and that she and Rayo will be waiting when the Time War is over. Rayo asks if his mother would be proud of him staying here and making medicine to help people and tearfully thanks Narvin for everything that he has done. Narvin says goodbye and departs in the TARDIS. He scans the resistance channels and watches the shield close behind him, finding the planet beautiful from up here. He sends out a request for a secure channel to let Leela know that he is on his way.

On Unity, the Daleks interrogate Romana about the location of her associates, but she refuses to betray those that she loves. They fire their weapons, but she is saved by Braxiatel, who arrives in his TARDIS and takes her away. He says that he will explain on the way, although he does not say where they are going.

Cast

 * Narvin - Seán Carlsen
 * Rayo - Omar Austin
 * The Apothecary - Anna Carteret
 * The Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
 * Eris - Samuel Gosrani
 * Braxiatel - Miles Richardson
 * Romana - Lalla Ward

Uncredited

 * Yakob - Francois Pandolfo

Continuity

 * Rayo recalls being told not to trust Narvin by Leela and the resistance’s plan to pollute the Time Vortex. (AUDIO: Deception)
 * Narvin reveals to Rayo that he lied about Romana using the Chameleon Arch to become someone else. (AUDIO: Unity)
 * Narvin is not sure if his regenerations have been restored. (AUDIO: Reborn, Assassins)