Paradise Frost (audio story)

Paradise Frost was the fifty-ninth Bernice Summerfield audio story released by Big Finish Productions. It was the third story of the Road Trip series.

Publisher's summary
Kaff Zarnak was once the holiday destination of choice for the rich and famous. At least, it was until the planet spun off its axis, and a deadly virus wiped out its population.

Now it's absolutely the last place anyone wants to visit: a barren, ice-encrusted wasteland, sitting amongst the stars. So when Bernice, Ruth and their loud-mouthed cab driver Ray are drawn off course, it's fair to say that they've all had better days.

Taking refuge inside the Xanadu Tower resort, the trio encounter Kaff Zarnak's only survivors... and maybe the only remaining clue to what took place there. But supplies are low, Sandroaches are attacking on every side, and the only hope of their survival seems to be locked at the top of the Tower.

Perhaps there's a reason what happens on Kaff Zarnak stays on Kaff Zarnak...

Plot
After being kicked off of the medical ship because of Benny arguing with a robot whilst drunk on mescal, Benny and Ruth continue their journey to Legion with Ray, a taxi driver. The taxi is pulled to Kaff Zarnak by a tractor beam and explodes because of the damage, after which Benny, Ruth and Ray find sanctuary from a sand roach in Xanadu Tower. Physicist Dr Carol Bauer and Yukon 9, a Killoran, explain that they have been stuck in the tower for years, under siege from the sand roaches, and brought Ray's taxi down in the hope that they could escape with them.

Kaff Zarnak was once a tropical planet, but the largest moon of the neighbouring planet was knocked out of its orbit and pulled Kaff Zarnak away from the sun and it is now freezing. Dr Jared Jones, genetic engineer and founder of J-Netics Industries, closed the resort when a virus spread around Xanadu Tower, killing a hundred thousand people and leaving only Dr Bauer, Yukon and, possibly, Dr Jones himself. Dr Jones's apartment is at the top of the tower and is the location of the tower's sole shuttle and Benny suggests that they go there after lunch.

Based on the tower being in the shape of a double helix, Benny deduces that there is a hidden tunnel that leads to the tower's unmapped internal area. In the canteen, Ray eats half of a ten-year-old Zanabix snack bar and Dr Bauer takes him away, ostensibly to the medical bay. She tells the group that he was killed by a sand roach and they journey through the tunnel, with Yukon being attacked by a sand roach who has a scrap of Ray's clothes. He kills it and summons Dr Jones's private train to the station; Benny, Ruth and Dr Bauer get aboard and head to to Level 305, with Yukon fending off sand roaches and only just managing to get aboard.

Benny and Dr Bauer work out Dr Jones's password based on the train's route through the double helix and the group enter the penthouse. Dr Jones is part-sand roach and Dr Bauer explains that the lower-level workers became the sand roaches after eating the Zanabix bars, which were designed to increase productivity and contained genetic material from roaches; when Dr Jones did nothing, Dr Bauer infected the water supply in order to force him into action, believing that it was only for the upper levels, but she accidentally infected everybody in the building. He managed to create an antidote which kept him from being completely transformed.

The shuttle is surrounded by hundreds of sand roaches and Dr Jones refuses to open the door. Having conditioned Yukon with a control word, Dr Bauer has Yukon hand her his gun and shoots Dr Jones. She uses his control word again to make him carry her out to the shuttle, but the sand roaches kill her, leaving Benny, Ruth, Yukon and Dr Jones be. Dr Jones warns Benny with his dying breath not to trust anybody on Legion and she and Ruth leave in the shuttle with Yukon, intending on dropping him off on a nearby world.

Benny and Ruth enter Legion space and fly into the barrier around Legion City, which lets them through. They enter the White Rabbit and encounter Jack and Peter, who is now a hardened security officer and is dismissive of Benny. Irving Braxiatel welcomes them and explains that he has come from Gallifrey in another reality and prefers to go by "Irving", having learnt from Peter of the Braxiatel who had manipulated Benny's life. He found Peter by chance and brought him to wait for Benny on Legion, a "hellhole" to which he welcomes the two newcomers.

Cast

 * Bernice Summerfield - Lisa Bowerman
 * Peter Summerfield - Thomas Grant
 * Irving Braxiatel - Miles Richardson
 * Jared Jones - Arthur Darvill
 * Ray - Alan Ruscoe
 * Yukon 9 - Scott Arthur
 * Doctor Carol Bauer - India Fisher
 * Ruth - Ayesha Antoine
 * Jack - David Ames

Continuity

 * Benny mentions the White Rabbit in London when she sees Braxiatel's version on Legion. (AUDIO: The Harvest, A Death in the Family)
 * Braxiatel mentions that he's just left Gallifrey. (AUDIO: Disassembled)