The Runaway Train (audio story)

The Runaway Train was an audio exclusive story featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond.

Originally announced as the second Eleventh Doctor audio-exclusive adventure, with a release date of 3 June 2010, it was subsequently indicated by online retailers such as Amazon that release had been delayed until 3 February 2011, before being brought forward to 7 October 2010.

However a free copy of this story was given away with The Daily Telegraph on 24 April 2010.

The Hounds of Artemis, originally announced as the first Eleventh Doctor audio-exclusive adventure, with a release date of 8 April 2010, was delayed to 3 June 2010, and was only finally released on 5 May 2011. As a result, The Runaway Train was technically the first Eleventh Doctor audio release, although BBC Audio treated The Hounds of Artemis as the first in the series.

Publisher's summary
Arriving on Earth in the midst of the American Civil War, the Doctor and Amy must get a posse together to help them retrieve an alien artefact that has fallen into the clutches of the Confederate Army. The terraforming device belongs to the Cei, a race of invaders who plan to use it to turn the planet into a new home world.

But neither the Army nor the aliens are keen to let the Doctor and his gang interfere with their plans, and give chase across the Wild West. The only hope of escape for the Doctor and friends is to catch the 3.25 to Arizona and race along the newly-built transcontinental railroad...

Plot
In 1864, Bernardo, Vin and Hilario are all waiting at a remote train station in the American west. Vin realises they're waiting for the same person. The TARDIS suddenly materialises and the Eleventh Doctor steps out. All three men recognise the Doctor and claim that he asked them to meet him there three weeks ago in return for a reward, but the Doctor does not remember this. Amy exits the TARDIS and asks what they were offered. Bernardo says that Amy and the Doctor both promised them a plot of farmland in return for aiding in the transport of their goods. The Doctor is incredulous, pointing out that he isn't a landowner and they are in the middle of the desert. He declares he doesn't need their help: the object they need is only half a mile away and all they need to do is put it in the TARDIS and leave. Vin says that he told them he'd say that.

A few minutes later, the Doctor agrees that he needs their help. The object has been dug up by the Confederate army and is under heavy guard. After confirming via a scan that the item is inside the Confederate camp, the Doctor suggests explaining to the soldiers that they are in possession of a dangerous alien device that must be disposed of by 9 p.m., but Bernardo, a Confederate deserter, says they clearly regard the object as important and will never let the Doctor take it. He has his own plan: he and Amy pretend to be bringing supplies to the Confederates and then steal the object once they get inside. The Doctor is against the plan, but Amy agrees.

Twenty minutes later, a guard waves the two of them into the camp. Amy says the item is in a storage area near the officers' quarters. Bernardo and Amy provide wine to the Confederates to distract them before sneaking into the storage area. Amy finds several barrels of gunpowder and tells Bernardo that the item is cylindrical. Bernardo finds the device in the back of a wagon. The cylinder is too big for them to carry, but before they can work out what to do, a Confederate officer catches them. Bernardo is horrified, recognising the man as Captain Britt.

Britt reveals that Bernardo deserted his regiment at the Battle of Galveston. He beats Bernardo and produces a gun, announcing that he intends to execute Bernardo for desertion. Amy tackles Britt before he can kill Bernardo. Britt's gun goes off, missing Bernardo but attracting the attention of the soldiers. Amy begins harnessing a nearby horse to the wagon, but Britt recovers and attacks her.

From his vantage point, Vin prepares to shoot Britt. The Doctor grabs his rifle and tells him not to shoot anyone, so Vin instead fires on the barrels of gunpowder Amy found. The explosion scatters the Confederate soldiers and creates enough smoke to completely obscure the camp. The Doctor questions how this is any better than shooting people; Vin responds that it looks prettier.

Although the wagon is now on fire, Amy and Bernardo ride it out of the camp. The group escape with the alien device, but the soldiers regroup and pursue them, led by Britt.

Returning to the station, the group find themselves unable to fit the wagon through the TARDIS doors. Amy asks why the Doctor can't just materialise the TARDIS around the device. The Doctor agrees that it's possible, but the Confederates will shoot them before he can.

Hilario asks for the time. The Doctor says it's 3:25. Hilario, having worked on the railroad, reveals their salvation: the 3:25 to Arizona, which is just arriving at the station. He runs to the train and threatens the driver before hijacking the train, allowing the others to haul the wagon aboard and escape. Britt's men fire at the retreating train, damaging the device which begins emitting a distress call.

Amy goes to check for other people aboard the train.

Bernardo asks the Doctor what they are transporting. The Doctor reveals that it is a terraformer. After a war between two alien species, the last survivors of the loser's army found themselves stranded too far from their homeworld to return. Unable to breathe Earth's atmosphere, the aliens are using the terraformer to turn Earth into their new homeworld. If the Doctor cannot stop the device, which will detonate that evening at 9 p.m., all life on Earth will die.

The Confederates are almost out of range, but continue firing. Vin runs out of bullets and is shot in the shoulder. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to extract the bullet from Vin's body.

In the cabin, Hilario is enjoying being the driver rather than doing manual labour. Looking back towards their pursuers, he realises that the Confederates have caught up to them.

Five Confederate soldiers jump aboard the train. The Doctor and Bernardo remember that Amy went to check the other carriages. Entering the second carriage, the Doctor immediately gets attacked by one of the soldiers. Bernardo tries to shoot the soldier, but his gun empty. He instead throws the soldier off the train before he can uncouple the carriage.

The Doctor realises that there are more soldiers on the roof of the train. Climbing atop the carriage, he startles two soldiers, causing one two immediately fall from the train. The second soldier overpowers him, but Bernardo knocks him off too. The Doctor is relieved, but Bernardo remembers that there are still two soldiers aboard.

The soldiers uncouple the final carriage, separating a trapped Amy from the others. Bernardo prevents the Doctor from jumping, telling him it's too late to save her.

Amy is questioned by Captain Britt, who threatens to bring her back to camp if she doesn't tell him what the cylinder is. Amy tries to deny knowledge of the item, but Britt knows otherwise. Amy tells him what the device is, that it is controlled by aliens called the Cei and that it is completely useless to him, but Britt doesn't believe this either, declaring that his children could think of a more convincing lie. He decides to take her back to the camp for questioning by his Lieutenant.

The Cei warship, responding to the distress signal, appears above the camp. Britt and Amy watch as the ship opens fire, destroying the camp in a gigantic explosion before pursuing the train. Britt is saddened by the deaths of the other soldiers, but Amy tells him that they need to stop the Cei from retaking the terraformer. Britt initially refuses, but Amy points out that they will all die if the Cei succeed.

Vin forces the Doctor to continue working on the terraformer, which will detonate in under an hour. The distress call is still sounding, and the Doctor gives up on silencing it. Vin opens up to the Doctor, revealing that he is an outlaw who has spent his entire life shooting people and getting paid. His new injuries mean he will now have to find another vocation, which he thinks is probably for the best. He asks if the Doctor has a plan to stop the terraformer. The Doctor has been building an inhibitor into the terraformer using alien technology he brought with him. The inhibitor will reduce the device's range from the entire planet to just a few miles. The Doctor also plans to work his way into the environment circuits, but does not explain why.

Bernardo sees the Cei warship following them. The Doctor says that the Cei will not blow up the train because they need the terraformer intact. Humanity's only hope is that the Doctor will be able to finish work on the terraformer before the aliens work out how to stop the train.

Hilario thinks he can outrun the Cei ship, but realises to his horror that they are approaching Soledad Valley. Panicking, he tells the others to abandon the train. He explains that the tracks were never finished due to the outbreak of war, and the end of the tracks is at Soledad Valley. Specifically, halfway across a bridge that was meant to span the valley. The train is headed for a thousand-foot drop.

The Doctor announces that he has finished working on the terraformer. Vin immediately opens the freight doors and everyone jumps out. The Doctor almost falls off the cliff, but a small bush prevents him from going over the edge. He watches as the train plummets off the bridge to the bottom of the valley. Bernardo asks if the terraformer was destroyed. The Doctor tells him no, and Bernardo says that the starship "seems like it wants a word with you".

The ship has crash-landed nearby. Bernardo begins examining it, but they are interrupted by a new arrival. It's Captain Britt, who followed the ship along with Amy. Britt declares that he is claiming the ship on behalf of the Confederate Army for war work. He shoves Bernardo out of the way and knocks on the Cei ship's hull with his gun, demanding that the occupants come out.

The Doctor and Amy reunite, but are interrupted when the ship opens. The leader of the Cei emerges, wearing a space suit to avoid being poisoned by the atmosphere. It demands to know who interfered with the terraformer. The Doctor takes responsibility and accuses the Cei of genocide for trying to terraform Earth at the expense of the planet's inhabitants. Britt, driven half-mad by fatigue and the deaths of his men, becomes angry that the Doctor took the alien weapon from him and brandishes his gun. The Doctor tries to explain that he couldn't have used the weapon, but Britt ignores him and attempts to take the Cei hostage. The Cei produces its own weapon and points it at Britt.

The standoff is interrupted when the Doctor takes out his fob watch and reads out the time: 9 p.m.. The terraformer detonates, transforming the desert around them into fertile farmland. Britt and the Cei are thrown to the ground by the blast, and Vin and Bernardo disarm them. The Doctor explains that he fitted the inhibitor into the terraformer, and then reprogrammed it so that it would create a natural Earth habitat instead of one the Cei could survive in. He tells the others that he's a man of his word: here is the modest plot of farmland he promised them.

Vin wants to execute Britt, but Amy intervenes, having heard him mention his children earlier. The Doctor agrees and says they should just give Britt a horse and let him ride off. As for the Cei, the Doctor gives it a hyperdrive booster to help it return home and tells it to leave and never come back.

As they walk back to the station, Amy questions how the three men knew where to meet them. The Doctor realises that they need to return to the TARDIS and travel back three weeks to recruit them.

Characters

 * Eleventh Doctor
 * Amy Pond
 * Vin
 * Greg
 * Captain Britt
 * Bernardo Durantees
 * The soldiers
 * Hilario
 * Cei Leader

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor carries a tape measure and a large pair of binoculars in his pocket.

Continuity
The Doctor refers to his love of steam trains. As a boy, he had wanted to drive one. (TV: Black Orchid)