The Planet of Oblivion (novel)

The Planet of Oblivion is the seventh book in The Darksmith Legacy series.

Publisher's summary
The neutral ground of the usually lush and beautiful Ursulonamex, known as The Planet of Oblivion, is now scorched and charred.

This is where the Darksmiths met their clients to discuss the Eternity Plan, but there is no sign of the clients now, nothing to suggest who they were… as though the mysterious clients have made sure of it.

The Doctor and Gisella learn from the few survivors of the Rain of Fire, and that the only clues there might be of what happened could be stored in the observation stations in orbit round the planet. Do any of the observation stations still exist?

Are the Doctor and Gisella as alone on board as they think? Who are the Dravidian Hive and are they as benign as they seem…?

What is a Dreadbringer? Find out by reading the next exciting instalment of… The Darksmith Legacy! Continue the amazing Darksmith adventure with the Doctor online at www.thedarksmithlegacy.com.

Story Synopsis
The Doctor and Gisella arrive on the planet to find the once proud and peaceful City of Green devastated, a smoking ruin that covers half the planet. A sign that the Darksmiths were determined that no-one should find out about their meeting with the commissioning ‘clients’ of the Eternity Crystal.

Surviving the devastating attack are the Cities on the other side of the planet and a number of orbiting Space Stations, partly shielded from the blast. The Doctor and Gisella journey in the TARDIS to Orbit Station 3 where Commander Sarla is grateful for the help of the giant insect-like Dravidians (under command of Hive Captain Mantis), who oversees their work on repairing the life support systems.

Passing themselves off as agents of the Galactic Bureau of Investigation (GBI), the Doctor and Gisella are allowed to roam freely. On their way to have a look at the Dravidian cruiser that has docked, the Doctor manages to make an optical sphere data disc of the incomplete station records of the attack that lasted a day and a half. The Doctor is suspicious of the Dravidians being so local at the time of the attack and is more suspicious when they realise there are more than the stated two Dravidians assisting Mantis more so when they discover that the cruiser is actually a Hive ship, containing thousands of Younglings.

When they raise their concerns with Commander Sarla, he doesn’t seem surprised and the Doctor is forced to accept Mantis’ explanation for events (two Dravidians were all that Mantis could spare at the time, and the guards were only protecting the Hive), but afterwards the Doctor is warned in the corridor not to interfere with the Dravidian plans. It is a conversation however that has been monitored by Sarla who has been keeping an eye on the Doctor since his arrival with the security systems that are back working.

In private Commander Sarla voices his concerns to the Doctor; the Dravidians almost obsessive need to get the life support systems workings, (and they are still running high in oxygen), and the unexplained power drain that the Dravidian craft seems to be using, far more than would be needed to recharge their fuel cells. The Doctor leads Sarla, Lieuenant Jagellan and Gisella back to the Dravidian Hive ship, where they find that the extra power is being used to raise the temperature and accelerate the growth of the younglings. They hear Mantis address his awakened Hive force, explaining that they are on the verge of a new age, the stations data banks will lead them to discover the secret of the awesome firepower and by using the x-ray lasers onboard the orbiting stations, they could devastate the planet below. With that knowledge the Dravidians would be the most feared and powerful beings in the galaxy. Like the Darksmiths before them they too will destroy any remaining witnesses and evidence of their involvement. Returning to the main ship the emergency siren is sounded instructing all the crew to get to their designated safe areas, an approaching spacecraft has been detected which the Doctor identifies as belonging to the Dreadbringers. Time is running out. As the Dreadbringers craft approaches and the Dravidians begin to emerge from their Hive ship, the Doctor realises that the life support system has been modified to produce the oxygen rich environment the Dravidians need to function. While the Doctor sets about undoing the Dravidians work, Gisella is forced to hold off Mantis (who has broken through the secure area), with a fire extinguisher, that helps buy them some time until oxygen levels are reduced and the Dravidians, no longer able to breathe as effectively are forced to return to the Hive ship. Weakened by being deprived of oxygen, Mantis swears revenge on the Doctor as he is ‘carried’ back to his ship.

With oxygen levels now returned to normal (for humans) the Doctor hears the Dreadbringer’s ship dock. Nipping quietly away back to the TARDIS, the information the Doctor acquired he finds is near useless, showing only an energy trace leading back to Karagula. Suddenly remembering something, the Doctor leaves Gisella in the TARDIS while he just nips out for a moment only to be captured by a Dreadbringer.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Gisella
 * Commander Sarla
 * Hive Captain Mantis
 * Lieutenant Jagellan
 * Chief Engineer Tyrall

Continuity

 * The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to open the doors of the Dravidian Hive ship.
 * The Doctor pops his glasses on and off while examining the Dravidians modifications to the life support systems while aboard the main control room on the Orbit Station 3.

The Books

 * Interspersed with the main fiction is;
 * TARDIS Data Bank (extra information on The Forests of Ursulonamex and The Dravidians ).
 * Activity pages x4 (The puzzle solutions give the reader the chance to think like the Doctor!)
 * The Story so far, next installment cover preview and opening preview.


 * The Darksmith Legacy's overall story was devised by Justin Richards who contributed four of the ten titles.
 * The Darksmith Legacy was certificated to 13, with under 13's needing parental approval.
 * This first book in the series was released along with the second before the remaining titles saw a monthly release throughout 2009.
 * Each book in the series was priced £4.99 (UK) and featured a foiled cover with illustration by Peter McKinstry.

Interactive Website Content
By visiting the website and participating in the Quest participants can unlock additional content like computer wallpapers to download. The Quest itself features; games - (like finding a specific target in an image, by using the sonic screwdriver as a detector, to hone in (to register 100 on the scale). Once located the 'Target' then provides additional information used in further puzzles involving both words and numbers.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after TDL: The Game of Death
 * This story takes place before TDL: The Pictures of Emptiness