|
Amorality
Tale
(David Bishop) |
|
Name: The Xhinn
Format:
Book.
Time of Origin: London,
1952.
Appearances: "Amorality
Tale".
Doctors: Third
Doctor
Companions: Sarah
Jane Smith.
History: The Xhinn's origins are
lost in the mists of time. According to legend, they were formed from
fire and banished from their plane back in the early days of the universe,
and have, ever since, travelled the universe, believing themselves
to be on a 'holy pilgrimage' of sorts across space, conquering worlds
and draining them of their vital resources. They possess remarkable
powers of energy-wielding and shape-shifting, and can even control
the minds of others so long as the minds in question have been specially
treated. The Xhinn are also controlled by a Triumverate that telepathically
communicates with each other and decide when the time is right to
strike, always dispatching an advance party before the main invasion
begins.
|
The
Third Doctor |
|
They eventually came to Earth
in London, November of 1946, planting a sleeper agent by killing an
American called Xavier Simmons and having one of them take his place,
his memories wiped to allow him to better blend in with the natives.
Believing that he had perceived an angel that night, Simmons became
the priest of St Luke's Church, managing to have a considerable effect
on the local population by 1952, even setting up a bread factory to
support the poor and provide jobs, as well as putting the fear of
Hell back into the community - something that Tommy Ramsey, head of
the Ramsey Gang who ran that part of the city, wasn't exactly happy
about, particularly when taken on top of a young man called Callum
having created his own gang, which was muscling on the Mob's territory,
and a new watchmaker who was leading the shops of the area in a campaign
to avoid paying protection money.
The
watchmaker, as it turned out, was none other than the Third Doctor,
who was working in the area with his companion Sarah Jane Smith following
Sarah's discovery of a photograph taken on December 8th, showing The Doctor and Tommy shaking hands outside a church that showed signs
of exposure to highly advanced weaponry. Attempting to avert the catastrophe
that may occur, The Doctor and Sarah had taken jobs in the time, Sarah
working as a barmaid in one of Tommy's clubs while The Doctor worked
in the clock shop, trying to figure out what was happening.
Eventually, things came to a head for the
Ramsey Mob when they faced Callum's gang in a confrontation outside
the Church, where Tommy cut off Callum's arm with a sword, forcing
Callum to reveal his identity as a Xhinn. The Doctor managed to persuade
the survivors to evacuate, before heading off to the TARDIS
to prepare a defence against his new foes, while Sarah was forced
to reveal the truth about her and The Doctor to Tommy as he prepared
to strike back against the Xhinn. At the same time, the Xhinn released
a smog weapon that poisoned London's atmosphere, turning it gradually
toxic to any human breathing it directly for longer than a few hours,
as well as activating a telepathic device that controlled anyone who
had eaten Simmons' bread- even if only on a subconscious level, he
had been aiding the Xhinn's invasion of his 'adopted' planet.
With
an army of brainwashed policemen after them - made even more awkward
by the fact that these cops weren't going to let a little thing like
death get in the way of tackling anyone opposing the Xhinn, - Tommy
and the Ramsey Mob were forced to join forces with The Doctor and
Sarah, and take the battle directly to St. Luke's Church, the Xhinn
having taken the place over after revealing Simmons's true nature
to him and stripping him of his powers. In a last desperate battle,
where they were tragically unable to stop several humans being fried
by the Xhinn in the name of their 'researches'- including Sarah's
landlords and a single mother of three who lived near Tommy's house,
- The Doctor was forced to use the weapon that the photograph had
revealed; a time bomb, a weapon that accelerated time in its immediate
vicinity, aging anything in the blast radius to death. When the Xhinn
still refused to leave after that, The Doctor triggered the weapon,
destroying all three of the Earth Triumvirate.
After
the photographic prophecy had been fulfilled - a newspaper reporter
taking the picture after questioning Sarah, The Doctor and Tommy about
the destruction of the church - The Doctor and Sarah departed, unaware
of the fate of Xavier Simmons; Simmons had only been stripped of his
Xhinn life force, and he would thus will walk the Earth as a human
for the next fifty years, growing older, waiting to find out if -
as was speculated by The Doctor - there was a signal beacon hidden
somewhere in the condemned church.
Waiting to see if the main Xhinn fleet
really will arrive on Earth in the early years of the 21st century... |
|