Head Start (comic story)

Opening Tag
When the Doctor and Martha pick up a distress signal they rush to help …

Summary
Responding to a distress call from Professor Dinsdale of the Interplanetary Archaeological Institute on Brendock Seven with an emergency materialisation, the TARDIS lands at the site of a dig beneath a circle of huge stone heads buried in the ground. They soon find the Professor who explains that the rest of his team were killed trying to open a door to an ancient burial ground they discovered at the base of one of the heads. The Doctor manages to bypass the doors sonic disruptor and inside finds The Vortex Cannon, a weapon so powerful it could destroy the universe, a dangerous weapon from an ancient and long dead civilisation that the Doctor had only heard of. Fortunately the rare treed crystals used to power the cannon have decayed, unfortunately the Professor is a shape changing Zaan Warrior, using the guise of the archaeologists to lure help in order to open the chamber. The Zaan are close to obtaining a new supply of treed and the Zaan Warrior makes his escape with the Cannon back to his ship, where his Commander has been watching events. By leaving the chamber and taking the cannon with him he activates the guardians of the cannon, giant stone like creatures whose heads had been visable when they landed. The guardians emerge from the ground and are quick enough to snatch the Zaan craft from the air as it takes off. Leaving his officers to die the Zaan Commander makes his escape in a pod. Knowing that treed crystals can only be found on the planet Garvrath the Doctor and Martha make their escape in the TARDIS in order to stop the Zaan powering up the Vortex Cannon.



Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Martha Jones
 * Zaan – Spiky-backed, green, bulky-but-agile, humanoid creatures with razor sharp teeth, they are capable of shape changing.

Original print details
Installment, publication title with page count and closing caption.
 * 1/4 Doctor Who: Battles in Time Issue 22 (4 pages) TO BE CONTINUED!!!
 * No reprints to date.

Continuity
to be added