The Age of Ice (comic story)

Part 1 (The Age of Ice)
As a passenger aircraft approaches Sydney airport, it suddenly hits a patch of bright blue lightning. The plane is ripped apart and oxygen masks deploy as it attacks the plane.

Later, the TARDIS lands in Sydney, near the Opera House. Majenta heckles the Doctor about the fact that they're not on Panacea, but the Doctor's gaze shifts towards a landing helicopter. UNIT soldiers emerge from the helicopter, and one of them introduces herself as Captain Kath Braxton. The Doctor is taken to UNIT's underwater base.

As the Doctor and Majenta are taken down UNIT's corridors by armed soldiers, a takes them into a UNIT soldier named Colonel Tom McCay takes them into a hospital ward in their base. They are greeted by Corporal Manning, who is taken aback when he sees Majenta. The Doctor investigates the patients there, and is surprised to see that they are hundreds of years old. Tom reveals that they have aged while travelling in the passenger aircraft after it was hit by a Chronal Wave. He then reveals that prehistoric creatures have been rampaging across the city.

The Doctor then sees a small column of ice in display. Tom explains that the ice was found in the wreckage of the plane. He tells the Doctor that it doesn't melt, and is giving off electrochemical signals. Tom organises a helicopter for the Doctor so that he can see the Chronal Wave himself. They then realise that Majenta has gone.

Meanwhile, Corporal Manning has escaped, and is entering the bestiary. Majenta follows him down, and finds a room full of alien tech - Cybermen carcasses, Autons, War Machines and others. Corporal Manning is communicating with a sentient life form, when Majenta apears in front of him. Corporal Manning holds Majenta at gunpoint, only for Majenta to explain that she can tell that he is using a cloaking device. Corporal Manning, turns off the device...

As the helicopter approaches the origin of the Chronal Wave, the piece of ice begins talking to the Doctor, a message from a life form who have met the Doctor before. UNIT soldier Talbot notes that another Chronal Wave is approaching, as hundreds of prehistoric creatures appear near the bridge.

Back in the bestiary, Corporal Manning is revealed to be an alien, of the same species as Majenta, an old friend of Majenta called Fanson. He tells Majenta how much he's missed her, but Majenta pushes him away, and asks him to explain everything. Fanson reveals he can't, as suddenly Majenta is blasted away by a pulse of energy, as a sentient chrystalline life form called the 'Skith Leader' appears...

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Majenta Pryce
 * Colonel Tom McKay
 * Fanson
 * Captain Kath Braxton
 * Skith Leader

Continuity

 * Fanson, who was last seen in DWM: Hotel Historia, makes an appearance.
 * The 'grey haired fella' and the 'bloke with the recorder' are references to the First Doctor and Second Doctor.
 * The Doctor references the 1970s UNIT as operating 'out of a draughty old house in the Home Counties'.
 * The Ice Warriors are mentioned.
 * Among the alien artefacts and replicas in the bestiary are Cybermen, Autons, Dalek casings, robot Yeti, Osirian service robots, Sontaran space pods, Mona Lisa portraits, War Machines, Sea Devils, and a skull that closely resembles that of the Beast.

Timeline

 * The Age of Ice occurs after: DWM: Mortal Beloved