Here Lies Drax was the first story in the audio anthologyConnections, produced byBig Finish Productions. It was written byJohn Dorney and featuredPaul McGann as theEighth Doctor,Nicola Walker asLiv Chenka andHattie Morahan asHelen Sinclair.

Publisher's summary[[edit] |[edit source]]

The Doctor,Liv andHelen are surprised to get aletter delivered tothe TARDIS from the Doctor's old school friend,Drax.

They're even more surprised when it's followed by aparcel also sent by the intergalactic con-man, asking them to keep its contents safe. Contents that seem to be a lot of worthless junk.

And their surprise gets even bigger when this parcel is itself followed by an invitation... toDrax's funeral.

And that's just where the surprises start.

Plot[[edit] |[edit source]]

The Doctor collects hispost and, amongst the circulars,Liv finds a letter fromDrax asking him to receive a parcel containing seemingly innocuous items to look after whilst he visitsAndrozani Major. There is also aninvitation to Drax's open-casketfuneral at the temporally-flexibleChrono-Chapel of Rest.

The Doctor, Liv andHelen are the only people in attendance untilCaptain Miles Rozann enters, intent on making sure that Drax is indeed dead and not trying to get out of paying him back. The Captain is followed byMimi, who wants to make sure that Drax is not trying to get around having todivorce her, andMr Stern, who checks Drax's breath with amirror. Beforethe celebrant can begin the ceremony, there is anexplosion which apparently destroys the body. The three travellers are surrounded by Valtrassi, who serve the Quantum Assassin and want the contents of Drax's parcel, but the celebrant shoots them.

The celebrant, claiming to be Drax, flees with the Doctor, Liv and Helen tothe TARDIS. There, he explains that, thanks to an accident with avortex manipulator, the Quantum Assassin can predict everything that he is going to do and killedDrax's sixth incarnation after he stolemoney from him. Drax claims that the parcel is only a bluff, but the Doctor is suspicious and believes that he is trying to recover something from it. To discover the truth, the Doctor pilots the TARDIS to Mimi'svilla and has her have a look through the parcel; she cannot help him, but tells him that Drax did most of his trading through Mr Stern.

Liv and Helen detect the Valtrassi approaching and leave the TARDIS to warn the Doctor. The Valtrassi kill Mimi and the Doctor, Liv, Helen and Drax run to the TARDIS with the parcel and Mimi's records and, when Drax continues to refuse to discuss the contents of the parcel, the Doctor pilots the ship to Mr Stern inthe City. Mr Stern denies any knowledge of the parcel's contents but hands over a second parcel which was given to him by Drax to give to the Doctor in the event of hisdeath. The Doctor opens the second parcel, which contains aGallifreyanwand, and Mr Stern reveals that he has contacted the Valtrassi. When the Valtrassi arrive, they kill Mr Stern.

The Doctor, Liv and Drax return to the TARDIS and find that Helen, who remained inside, has been taken captive by the Valtrassi. The Doctor flies to Captain Rozann's ship near theBlack Hole of Tartarus with the Valtrassi, who remove theirhelmets there and reveal that they are threeincarnations of Drax. Previously, they had pretended to be Rozann, Mimi and Mr Stern. They trap the Doctor and "Drax", who is actually the Quantum Assassin, in aSchrödinger cage, but the Doctor uses the vortex manipulator left in there by the Draxes to escape.

The Draxes tell the Doctor, Liv and Helen that the Quantum Assassin used the Doctor to work out where his money really was. Inside of theenvelope that contained the original letter are bills of ownership for a Schrödinger cage, Mimi's villa, Mr Stern's office and the Chrono-Chapel of Rest. The Draxes' scheme to get rid of the Quantum Assassin has proven successful, although they only have a few thousandcredits remaining, and the Doctor asks if they would mind if he should just sendflowers to their next funeral.

Cast[[edit] |[edit source]]

• The Doctor -Paul McGann
• Liv Chenka -Nicola Walker
• Helen Sinclair -Hattie Morahan
• Drax / Celebrant -Shane Richie
• Captain Miles Rozann / Valtrassi -Jeff Rawle
• Mimi / Valtrassi -Nina Wadia
• Stern / Valtrassi -Hugh Ross

Worldbuilding[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Drax's letter says that he is visitingAndrozani Major.
• Drax's parcel contains sheet music, an ordnance survey map ofInverness,Loch Ness andCulloden, ascientific calculator, a guide toEnglishcanals, aVHS copy of the1982The Hound of the Baskervilles and a brokenelectronic keyboard.
• The Doctor asks if the keyboard is made oftaranium.
• Mimi lives on theThird Moon of Reijus.
• The City is a massiveskyscraper.

Notes[[edit] |[edit source]]

• Here Lies Drax is John Dorney's 100thDoctor Who story to be released.
• Here Lies Drax was recorded remotely and atthe Soundhouse inJune2022.

Continuity[[edit] |[edit source]]

• In the letter, Drax mentionsRomana'sfirst andsecond incarnations, both of whom he has met. (TV:The Armageddon Factor^[+]Loading...["The Armageddon Factor (TV story)"];AUDIO:The Trouble with Drax^[+]Loading...["The Trouble with Drax (audio story)"])
• The Doctor mentions that when Drax first met Romana they were looking for theKey to Time. (TV:The Armageddon Factor^[+]Loading...["The Armageddon Factor (TV story)"])

External links[[edit] |[edit source]]

• OfficialHere Lies Drax page atbigfinish.com