The Sontarans (audio story)

 was the fourth and final story of the third series of The Early Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Simon Guerrier, narrated by Peter Purves and Jean Marsh and featured the First Doctor, Steven Taylor and Sara Kingdom.

This was part of the series of stories which take place between Episodes 7 and 8 of The Daleks' Master Plan, a narrative gap opened by The Mutation of Time and filled by The Little Drummer Boy, The Anachronauts, Home Truths, The Drowned World, The Guardian of the Solar System, and An Ordinary Life. While later stories would add to this series of adventures with the release of Men of War, The Sontarans is the final story to occur within this narrative gap from a chronological standpoint. The ending leads back into Episode 8 of The Daleks' Master Plan, 'Volcano', with another time machine pursuing the TARDIS, while the Daleks make a cameo appearance, preparing to test the Time Destructor back on Kembel.

Narratively, this is the Doctor's first encounter with the Sontarans, as both the Second and Third Doctors knew of them and the Rutan Host in their respective television adventures.

Publisher's summary
The TARDIS arrives on a moon-sized asteroid orbiting two gas giants. With an amazing view, it's a chance for the Doctor, Steven and Sara to unwind after their recent adventures.

But they quickly find themselves in the midst of battle — on one side: a familiar group of space-suited soldiers — members of the Space Security Service. On the other: strange, squat aliens in body armour.

Surviving the initial hostilities, the Doctor and his friends discover that the SSS squad is on a terrifying mission. With many lives at stake, they have to venture deep inside the asteroid in search of a hideous weapon. But who can they trust in the battle against these Sontarans?

The Sontarans (1)
to be added

The Descent (2)
to be added

The Blind City (3)
to be added

The Rule of War (4)
to be added

Cast

 * Steven/The Doctor/Narrator - Peter Purves
 * Sara Kingdom - Jean Marsh
 * Corporal Ellis/Slite/Shrok/Stack/Commander - Dan Starkey
 * Captain Daphne Papas - Jemma Churchill
 * Corporal Gage - John Banks
 * Tinder/Human Soldier - Rosanna Miles

Continuity

 * The Doctor, Steven and Sara still have the taranium core. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
 * Steven mentions Natalie Lang. (AUDIO: The Anachronauts)
 * Steven explains how he was a prisoner of the Mechonoids (TV: The Chase) after he was shot down by the Krayt. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)
 * The Sontarans also made cameo appearances in The Empire of Glass, although it was not made entirely clear whether the Doctor or Steven were aware of or encountered them.
 * Sara recalls her time in 1950s London with Michael and Audrey Newman. (AUDIO: An Ordinary Life)
 * The Sontarans come across the Daleks when researching the history of the Mechonoids. (TV: The Chase, COMIC: Eve of War, Impasse, The World That Waits, PROSE: War of the Daleks, Birth of a Legend)
 * While interrogated, Steven tells Slite about his recent battle against the Daleks. He ends explaining how he ran into the TARDIS while protected from Dalek fire by a force field. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
 * Sara tells Papas that in the future there will be peace "for a time." This period lasts from 3975 until 4000. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
 * The Doctor learns about the Sontarans, Rutans and their war. (TV: The Time Warrior, The Two Doctors)
 * While talking to the others about war, the First Doctor recalls his adventure to the year 100,000 BC. According to the Doctor, Ian Chesterton had stopped him from murdering a caveman that was slowing them down. (TV: An Unearthly Child) According to another source, it was in fact the Eighth Doctor who dissuaded him from doing so. (PROSE: The Eight Doctors)
 * An unidentified time machine, presumed to be a Dalek one, is detected by the TARDIS, while the Daleks prepare to test the Time Destructor. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)