THE YEAR IS 2540. TENSIONS ARE ONCE AGAIN rising between the two great spacefaring empires of Earth and Draconia. Each accuses the other of having attacked their cargo vessels, violating boundaries established after their last confrontation 20 years before. When the TARDIS lands the Doctor and Jo Grant inside the hold of Earth cargo ship C-982, an ultra-high-pitched sound causes its crew to see the pair as ‘Dragon’ raiders. In reality, the ship is under attack by brutish Ogrons – but only the Doctor can see the alien assailants as they really are.
With the TARDIS stolen by the Ogrons, the Doctor and Jo find themselves transported to Earth. There, the hawkish General Williams informs the President that he believes the pair to be Draconian agents, sent to sabotage the Earthmen’s preparations for war. The Draconians’ Prince, however, suspects them to be part of a plot concocted by the warmongering Williams. Unable to establish the truth – not even by use of the mind probe – the President invokes special security measures, sending the Doctor to a penal colony on the Moon.
“I’d like to try and take the Doctor alive if possible. If not, I’ll blast him out of space.”
The Master, Episode Five
The Commissioner for Sirius IV successfully petitions the President to release the Doctor and Jo into his custody. But this bogus policeman is none other than miscreant Time Lord the Master, plotting to pitch the two empires into all-out war on behalf of certain mystery employers. The Master’s plan to surrender the Doctor to this third party goes awry when Draconians board his stolen ship. Soon, the Doctor is able to make a personal appeal to the Draconian Emperor himself – but is it too late? Back on Earth, further cargo ship losses have led opposition leader Congressman Brook to make a televised demand for a full military attack on Draconia: “There is only one solution now! War! War! War!”
CRAFT