Return of the Rocket Men (audio story)

Return of the Rocket Men was the fifth story of the seventh series in The Companion Chronicles audio range. It was produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Matt Fitton and featured Steven Taylor.

Publisher's summary
Once before the Doctor battled the sadistic Rocket Men and once before he won. But when the dreaded pirates of the skies raid a remote frontier planet, he's not the only member of the TARDIS crew for whom they are old enemies.

Steven Taylor knows them well. Back in his days as a pilot, on his twenty first birthday, Steven's ship was brought down by the malevolent Van Cleef. He barely escaped with his life. And now he's going to have to go through that again.

But this time round, he knows what happens. And he knows there's no way out. Steven Taylor has to make a choice. A choice where either way... he loses.

The Scourge of the Skies (1)
''On his twenty-first birthday, Steven's cargo vessel is attacked by two modified short-range fliers and he sends out a mayday to a nearby Galactic Protectorate spaceship, but it suddenly disappears from the radar and he crashes onto the surface of Ulysses 519. He receives a transmission from an old man telling him to go back before the Rocket Men descend and begin stealing Steven's cargo; Van Cleef, the leader, orders Steven to remain inside his ship and, when Steven exits to help a girl, he shoots Steven in both of his legs before another Rocket Man saves him and returns him to his ship. Van Cleef shoots the Rocket Man, whom he calls Ramirez, and Steven loses consciousness, awakening some time later in a hospital on Valiant Minor.''

In the TARDIS, the Doctor uses his astral map to find out the date and, learning that it is Steven's birthday, Dodo finds Steven a diary from 1967 for a present. They land on Ulysses 519 and meet Bill Carson, the commander of the unfinished human colony, who explains that the colonists were raided every day of their journey by the Rocket Men and have been forced to live in a cave with a single damaged oxygenator. Dodo heads off with Carson's daughter, Carla, whilst the Doctor and Steven continue talking to him and argue about whether it is worth attempting to fight the Rocket Men, both of them having encountered them before and the Doctor believing it best that they simply wait for help.

The pilot Ford arrives with a second oxygenator and recognises Steven from their work together, making Steven realise that they are in his own past. The Rocket Men's ship approaches and the colonists hide the supplies that Ford has brought, which includes weapons, before eleven Rocket Men arrive. Steven and the colonists surprise them with their new weapons, but Van Cleef and nineteen others sneak into the cave and kidnap the women and children, including Dodo. Steven recognises Van Cleef and his gun, which Van Cleef uses to murder Ford before ordering Ramirez, who is only a boy, to kill Steven. They fight, but Ramirez refuses to kill anybody unarmed and has his helmet removed by Van Cleef, who shoots him dead.

The Rocket Men carry the prisoners to their ship. Steven blames himself for Dodo's kidnapping and, recognising Ramirez's damaged helmet as the one worn by the man who saved him on his twenty-first birthday, promises the Doctor that he will rescue her and leaves, putting Ramirez's helmet and jetpack on before taking Ford's ship. Despite knowing that he will die, he has no choice put to go to his death to ensure that he does not lose another of his friends after Katarina, Bret, Sara, Oliver and Semion.

The Trail of the Rocket Men (2)
Steven follows the trail of the Rocket Men to a nearby crater, where the pirates landed, full of abandoned and crashed ships (one of which could still fly), where he awaits for his young self to crash. The Doctor informs him via radio that some of the women taken prisoners, including Carsen's daughter, are trained pilots; after he delivers them, he could trust they will come back to the base.

When his younger self crashes, Steven quietly joins the other Rocket Men, and assists to Van Cleef and his men taking on himself and carrying the prisoners onto their ship, intending to sell them as slaves. Dodo tries to escape, and Steven goes to retrieve her; as he takes her back, he tells her they can escape through a hatch to avoid imprisonment. At that moment, the Rocket Men are informed that a ship of the Galactic Heritage is arriving ahead of schedule; hearing this through Ramirez's radio, Steven takes advantage of his disguise to sabotage their ship. Then, as he prepares to save his younger self, he finds the diary Dodo gave him as a present.

When Van Cleef attacks the younger Steven, the older one flies against him, distracts him and then brings himself back to his ship; Van Cleef shoots him, but Dodo's diary, which Steven put under the suit as a protection, in the exact position the bullet would hit him, saves his life. The Rocket Men, alarmed by the news of the Heritage coming, leave the planet, abandoning Van Cleef, while Steven comes back to fight him. The two engage in a fight, which eventually ends with Van Cleef's death due to Steven sabotaging his jet pack and sending him into space.

Back at the colony, the Doctor explains how he tricked the Rocket Men and made them think the ship of the Heritage was arriving. Carsen thanks Steven and asks him permission to name the colony "Taylor's Stand", but Steven refuses and insists they call it "Ford's Rest", in honour of his fallen colleague. As the travellers make their way back to the ship, the Doctor tells Steven he is proud of him, but he doesn't want him to waste his chance to leave his mark in history because of his loyalty to him.

Cast

 * Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
 * Van Cleef - Tim Treloar

Characters

 * First Doctor
 * Steven Taylor
 * Dodo Chaplet
 * Van Cleef
 * Ramirez
 * Bill Carson
 * Carla Carson
 * Ford

Continuity

 * Steven mentions having visited the far future, (TV: The Ark) the Celestial Toyroom, (TV: The Celestial Toymaker) the Old West (TV: The Gunfighters) and, most recently, spending several months in Russia in 1812. (AUDIO: Mother Russia)
 * The Doctor uses his Astral map. (TV: The Web Planet and Galaxy 4)
 * Steven recalls posing as a singer named Steven Regret on his visit to Tombstone, Arizona in October 1881. (TV: The Gunfighters)
 * Steven notices unassembled flatpack colony building units on Ulysses 519, and recalls having himself deliver such units during his days as a cargo pilot. (AUDIO: The First Wave, The Anachronauts)
 * The Doctor previously encountered the Rocket Men on Platform Five above the planet Jobis in the company of Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki Pallister. (AUDIO: The Rocket Men)
 * Following Ashman's death the previous year, more than a dozen groups of his fellow Rocket Men are fighting for control of his territories. (AUDIO: The Rocket Men)
 * Steven recalls the recent deaths of Katarina, Bret Vyon, Sara Kingdom, (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan) Oliver Harper (AUDIO: The First Wave) and Semion. (AUDIO: Mother Russia)
 * During his convalescence in the field hospital, Steven saw many injured soldiers and airmen coming home from the war. (TV: The Chase)
 * After he had recovered from his injuries, Steven returned to Earth and visited the ruins of New York City, (PROSE: Salvation) which had been completed destroyed by the Daleks during their invasion of Earth in the 22nd century. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
 * Steven refers to Mechanus (TV: The Chase) and Grace Alone. (AUDIO: The First Wave)
 * Steven wonders if it might soon be time to move on with his life. (TV: The Savages)
 * After Van Cleef's death, the Rocket Men put a bounty on the Doctor's head. He was eventually captured during his fourth incarnation. (AUDIO: Requiem for the Rocket Men)
 * Steven disguises himself as a Rocket Man. During his fourth incarnation, the Doctor later did the same thing on the Asteroid. (AUDIO: Requiem for the Rocket Men)