Enemy Lines (audio story)

Enemy Lines was a single release comprising the eighth season of Gallifrey and featured the return of Lalla Ward as Romana II and Louise Jameson as Leela.

Publisher's summary
In the distant future, President Romanadvoratrelundar will do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her allies and friends...

In the distant past, President President Romanadvoratrelundar will also do anything it takes to save her world, even if it means sacrificing her own life in the process...

Unfortunately for Romana, there is no easy option.

With the threat of impending war, and negotiations still ongoing, the Temporal Powers are growing restless. Every day, they find their future slipping away from them. Every decision they make proves critical. And no one can escape the fact that sacrifices have to be made...

Time is running out... and it's running straight to Gallifrey.

Part one
In a TARDIS running out of oxygen, Narvin and Ace wonder where Romana has gone, having disappeared after they heard the sound of another TARDIS materialising. A projection of Colonel Trave appears; she informs them that their TARDIS is surrounded and that they have been found guilty of high treason by the High Council. They are executed by the use of time torpedoes.

In the past, Romana's second incarnation materialises aboard the Moros, a Monan Host spacecraft which she plans to repair to show Ambassador Malkino that the Time Lords had no part in its sabotage following an incident on Terra Phallax. She sends her TARDIS back to Narvin so that, should the core of the Moros fail, the resulting singularity will not travel through the Time Vortex, and begins a recording in case she does not survive. After finding only armed droids aboard, she communicates with the computer and learns that it killed the 536 crewmembers with severe trauma as it believes that the ship runs more efficiently without them.

Romana believes that Moros has been deliberately infected with a virus. The computer wants the core to fail, but Romana goes to stabilise it, avoiding lasers on the way and hearing what sounds like the sound of a staser. She reaches the engine room and is confronted by several droids who block her way, but Leela appears and destroys them with a staser. Leela reveals that she had stowed away in the TARDIS and sneaked out whilst Romana was speaking with Narvin.

Continuing on, Romana tells Leela that she plans to regenerate in order to use the energy to stabilise the core. Leela loses her staser thanks to the gravity generators and tells Romana that, even if they do both die on this mission, she has no regrets and is glad to have met her and thankful to the Fourth Doctor for coming to Mordee. They climb to the core, where Romana tricks Leela into entering a teleportation unit and sends her away before the droids arrive. The computer tells her that he was not infected but given enlightenment. Before he can have Romana shot, she is rescued by a TARDIS.

Braxiatel greets Romana and tells her that he has come from a war-torn future, sent by her next incarnation. In his time, the High Council have found her, Narvin and Ace guilty of starting a war with Omega and have executed the latter two. Romana, however, was saved by Braxiatel's intervention and has tasked Braxiatel with ensuring that the Adherents of Ohm are stopped before they can begin to enact their plans. Romana agrees to help once they have recovered Leela; they do so and head back to Gallifrey.

Part two
Narvin informs Romana that more than fifty Time Lords have been arrested, including two members of the High Council, and that the Hand of Omega has been moved to a secure location. He is suspicious of Braxiatel, whom he had thought lost in the Axis, and says that the destruction of the Moros has indeed created a singularity, one which will almost certainly reach Gallifrey. The transduction barrier has, according to the Academy, stopped working at full efficiency because of a temporal storm or rift activity and will thus be unlikely to protect the planet. Romana tells Narvin to get in touch with his contacts at the embassies and to find out what the Monans' relationship is like with the other Temporal Powers.

Livia approaches Plutus and learns from him of the arrest of the Adherents, which she believes will work strongly in Romana's favour. Plutus tells her, however, that the singularity is worse than was thought and that the Monans seem to be prepared to leave Gallifrey.

Romana summons Braxiatel and asks about the war they have averted, one which involved tensions between the Temporal Powers and agreements being reneged upon. She worries that the averted timeline is reasserting itself and that not enough has been done to change it. Braxiatel agrees that this could be the case and that they should adjust circumstances by, for example, sending Ace away and Romana resigning. She agrees to think about it.

Narvin meets with the Warpwright ambassador Kalbez, who has heard of the Adherents' arrest and that the Monan delegation might soon be leaving. He has also heard a rumour that the Monans themselves had sabotaged the Moros. They are interrupted by a public address by Romana in which she accepts responsibility for the Moros incident and declares that she is resigning and appointing herself as Coordinator of the CIA. She names her successor, subject to the approval of the High Council, as Livia. Narvin is angered by the broadcast and leaves Kalbez to speak with Romana.

Romana tells Narvin that he will continue at the CIA as Deputy Coordinator, denying that she had had designs on his job for some time and explaining that it would have been unconstitutional to appoint herself as his deputy. She chose Livia, with whom she shares an infamous rivalry, as her successor to avoid the consequences of appointing an ally. Narvin tells her of the rumour that the Monans sabotaged their own ship, a conspiracy which he believes make sense as it has forced Gallifrey to accept responsibility. He suggests that Romana opens up an unofficial channel of communication with the Warpwrights and to send somebody to Outpost Delta; she agrees and chooses to send Ace, despite her having only just finished training.

Romana meets with Leela and apologises for teleporting her away from the Moros, but Leela feels that she was punished and is hurt given that she might have been stranded forever on another planet. Romana asks her to keep an eye on things in the Capitol, particularly on Braxiatel as she is not sure that he is telling the truth about being sent from the future.

Ace is in the cells, where Adjutant Coordinator Tauras has been incarcerated. Narvin informs her that she is being sent to Outpost Delta on the Chasm, which marks the border with the Monans', to establish communication with General Gaal of Phaidon intelligence.

Romana completes a document which makes the Presidency as good as Livia's. Livia is suspicious of her motives, but Romana says that she only wants a stable future for Gallifrey, and asks for a full report of what happened on Moros. She leaves for the Panopticon to be scrutinised by the High Council. Braxiatel tells Romana that the science officers have confirmed a weakness in the transduction barrier, as well as artron fluctuation in the Eye of Harmony which might, at some point, stop TARDISes from working. He believes that this might be because of paradoxes caused by the changes to the timeline.

Leela approaches Narvin, who asks her about what Braxiatel said when he and Romana collected her. So long as Romana is associating with Braxiatel, Narvin says that Ace will report only to him and Leela whilst she is on Outpost Delta.

Braxiatel is summoned by Livia and meets her advisor and Acting-Castellan, Plutus. He explains that he will be remaining on Gallifrey so long as his services are required and is recruited by her as liaison to the CIA. His job will be to report to Livia anything that Romana tries to keep from her.

Narvin sees Ace off, telling her that she should report only to him or Leela and only to contact Romana in an emergency. She leaves in a TARDIS, equipped with a sonic screwdriver.

Narvin goes to the Matrix databank and makes a recording for the CIA as a security measure, having become aware of communications made from the Panopticon to the Monans. He is being followed by a woman in a grey cloak and senses danger in her presence, leading him to retreat deep within the databank. Once he finishes the recording, the woman tells him that she is the ending of a tale and the righter of wrongs. Narvin gasps and collapses.

Part three
Plutus informs Livia that Narvin has been found murdered and that the Monans have begun teleporting away, timing which they both find very suspicious. With the singularity caused by the Moros expanding and the science officers having found an irregularity in the transduction barrier, Gallifrey is defenceless.

Romana and Leela are joined in examining Narvin's body by Braxiatel. Romana mourns for her ally and suspects Malkino and his delegation of being responsible, but Braxiatel warns her not to be hasty. She leaves when she receives a call telling her about Narvin's recording.

Plutus presents Kalbez to Livia, who recognises the ambassador from a conference on Archetryx which resolved a conflict between Unvoss and Nekkistan. Kalbez gives his condolences for Narvin's death, having known him well, and expresses his concerns about the departure of the Monans. He believes that the Monans sabotaged the Moros themselves as an excuse to begin a war against Gallifrey; on behalf of the Warpwrights, Kalbez offers an alliance between Phaidon and Gallifrey.

Ace arrives on Outpost Delta and meets Gaal. She learns of the Monans' departure and Narvin's death and thinks about returning to Gallifrey, but Gaal suggests that she stays so that they can begin a contingency plan should war break out.

Romana, Leela and Braxiatel listen to Narvin's recording. Braxiatel recognises his description of the woman as that of the Watchmaker, a Time Lord myth.

Concerned about the unofficial alliance between the Nekkistani and the Monans, Plutus advises Livia to give Kalbez's offer further consideration. She agrees and asks that he arrange a meeting with the Phaidon delegation following her inauguration.

Romana is suspicious of the Monans, as the last of them teleported off Gallifrey only thirty minutes after Narvin's death. Leela, however, cannot think why the Monans would kill Narvin rather than Romana or herself and instead suggests that Braxiatel could be responsible. Romana finds it unlikely, although she is still not sure that she can trust him.

Braxiatel is at the Matrix databank when Plutus approaches and asks to know why Romana is conducting an internal inquiry into Narvin's death rather than relying on the Chancellery Guard. Braxiatel informs him that he has found that there was a tachyon spike in the Monan embassy when Narvin died and that there was a 500% increase in artron energy at the databank during the murder. He believes that "something impossible" was behind it.

Livia summons Romana to her office and offers her condolences, telling her that she would understand if she wished to take time off from the CIA. Romana refuses and insists that she will continue her investigation into Narvin's death as, if it involves politics, it comes under the CIA's remit. Livia informs her that Braxiatel was at the databank and that, in a break from tradition, she wants her to be the one to pass her the Rod and Sash at the ceremony, which will be held at Pandak's Square. Romana agrees.

Returning to Leela, Romana learns from her that the last Monans to leave Gallifrey were politicians and unlikely to be assassins. Braxiatel calls regarding the energy that he has detected and Romana sends Leela to find the energy source at the Monan embassy whilst she attends the inauguration.

Plutus reminds Livia of how the ceremony will proceed and they await Romana's arrival.

Leela calls Romana from the embassy, which is completely empty. She comes across a teleportation platform through which she can see the Moros and hear the computer. Romana tells her to leave and goes to Pandak Square, interrupting the beginning of the ceremony and telling everybody to get away from the Monan embassy as quickly as possible. There is an explosion and Livia orders an evacuation of the area. As further explosions occur, Leela finds Romana and they flee and run into Braxiatel.

Livia makes an announcement about the explosion and the assassination of President Zaldair of Phaidon in Bazar. These are seen as an act of war, giving Livia the power to create an alliance with Acting-President Kalbez. She warns that Gallifrey's response will be swift and merciless.

Part four
to be added

Part five
to be added

Part six
to be added

Cast

 * Romana - Lalla Ward
 * Leela - Louise Jameson
 * Ace - Sophie Aldred
 * Narvin - Seán Carlsen
 * Braxiatel - Miles Richardson
 * Livia - Celia Imrie
 * Plutus - Tom Allen
 * Gaal - George Watkins
 * Trave - Hannah Genesius
 * The Watchmaker - Eve Karpf
 * Kalbez - Nigel Fairs
 * Moros - Sean Biggerstaff

Uncredited cast

 * Trave - Sean Biggerstaff

Continuity

 * Leela remembers learning the word "anomaly." (AUDIO: Square One)
 * The Time Lords once went to war with the Vondrax. (PROSE: Trace Memory)
 * In one timeline, Leela is left on Legion. (AUDIO: Vesuvius Falling)
 * Ace lists the phrases time storm, milkshake, Time Lord, (TV: Dragonfire) Daleks, (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks) Cheetah people (TV: Survival) and Spacefleet (PROSE: Deceit) when giving Gaal a potted history of her exploits.
 * Livia and Kalbez mention the Archetryx Convention. (AUDIO: The Apocaypse Element)
 * Livia mentions Space Station Zenobia. (TV: The Mysterious Planet, Mindwarp, Terror of the Vervoids, The Ultimate Foe, AUDIO: Trial of the Valeyard, The Brink of Death)