The Queen of Eros (short story)

The Queen of Eros was the sixth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips and Side Steps. It was written by Trevor Baxendale. It featured the Eighth Doctor and Sam Jones.

Summary
The Doctor and Sam have landed on Eros. Asheya, the queen of Eros, is intrigued by the Doctor, and orders him brought to her, but Sam is to be killed.

They are taken under guard to the huge throne room, where two men, armed with whips, are fighting each other. When one man loses the fight, one of the queen's guards decapitates him with a sword. The queen then addresses the Doctor. The Doctor convinces Asheya to spare Sam's life, and she is taken away to be part of the planet's breeding program.

Zoleon, Asheya's Royal Adviser, protests the queen's actions. The queen, who is attracted to the Doctor, has taken his TARDIS key and wears it on a chain around her neck. The Doctor visits Sam in her quarters and warns her to be careful. She warns him that she will not be bonded to any Erosian man.

The Doctor and Asheya ride on kelmaks. Asheya tells him that she does not want an arranged marriage and each time a male has been selected for her, he has died tragically. The people of Eros cannot bear children until she consummates a marriage, and she has chosen the Doctor as her mate.

Back at the palace, the Doctor criticises the violence on Eros and tells the queen that she should not permit it. That night, Zoleon sends five men to attack him and leave him outside the city walls. He then tells Asheya that the Doctor was killed trying to escape. She doesn't believe him. He also tells Sam that the Doctor is dead.

Asheya rescues the Doctor from the scavengers, and takes him to her private island to recover. The Doctor's priority is to ensure that Sam is safe. Asheya returns to the palace and tells Zoleon she wants the breeding program halted. The Doctor is glad to hear the news but still wants her to stop the institutionalised violence on Eros.

Zoleon, on learning that Asheya has rescued the Doctor, challenges the Doctor to mortal combat. The winner will have the right to marry her. She visits Sam, who tells her the Doctor will leave Eros if given the chance.

The Doctor and Zoleon duel with whips, at which Zoleon is an expert. He consistently hits the Doctor, who is unable to hurt Zoleon. Zoleon wraps his whip around the Doctor's neck, choking him, but before the Doctor loses consciousness, Zoleon steps away, Asheya's knife in his back.

Asheya, deciding that she doesn't want the Doctor if he isn't willing, lets him and Sam leave. She tells him she has learned from him that she can change things on her planet.

Characters

 * Eighth Doctor
 * Sam Jones
 * Asheya, Queen of Eros
 * Zoleon

Continuity

 * The Doctor gets occasional visions of the future. (TV: Doctor Who)
 * The cluster of nerves beneath the Doctor's left clavicle is mentioned. (PROSE: Set Piece)