Fabula
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part 6

Leela and Andred part company

The Doctor and Leela regroup in the TARDIS sickbay as chaos erupts outside, but time is running out. As Stor breaches the ward with brutal intent, Andred makes the sacrificial choice to hold the invaders off alone despite being gravely wounded. Leela insists they must rejoin the team and escape through her route, but Andred lingers to buy precious minutes against overwhelming odds despite the futility of his weapon. This moment forces Andred and Leela to confront the emotional cost of protecting the Doctor’s plan and the deeper conflict between duty and survival. key_dialogue: [ LELA: You go on. I'll hold them off. ANDRED: With what? We must catch the others. We'll go my way. Come on. ]

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Leela and Andred decide to leave the sickbay to find the others, while Andred agrees to hold off Stor.

urgency to determination ['sickbay']

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

3

Determined resolve masking physical pain and resignation to fate

Hiding behind a cubicle during Stor’s violent entry, Andred is struck by a stray shot from Stor’s Rheon carbine and gravely wounded. Despite his injury, he offers to hold off Sontarans alone, showing quiet resolve and sacrifice.

Goals in this moment
  • Protect allies by delaying invaders
  • Fulfill duty despite overwhelming odds
Active beliefs
  • Sacrifice for the greater good is honorable
  • Loyalty to Time Lord mission transcends personal survival
Character traits
Resolute Self-sacrificing Quietly disciplined
Follow Andred's journey

Frustrated aggression fueled by failed containment and thwarted conquest

Stor smashes through the glass panel with his fist, bursting into the sickbay wielding his Rheon carbine, firing indiscriminately in frustration, wounding Andred and forcing the team to scatter.

Goals in this moment
  • Eliminate Time Lord resistance
  • Secure the TARDIS entrance for Sontaran forces
Active beliefs
  • Time Lords and their allies are obstacles to be removed
  • Force and fear secure dominance
Character traits
Aggressive Purposeful Intimidating
Follow Stor's journey
Supporting 1

Urgency masking deeper concern for those left behind

Commands the room quickly, directing Andred to lock the door and moving the group into the sickbay though not physically present in this small exchange.

Goals in this moment
  • Secure immediate safety for allies
  • Thwart Sontaran access to the Great Key
Active beliefs
  • Traditional barriers are insufficient against Sontarans
  • Speed and improvisation are necessary to survive
Character traits
Urgently directive Tactical Minimal physical presence here
Follow The Fourth …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

4
TARDIS Control Room Door (with Locking Bar Mechanism)

The control room door in the sickbay entrance is initially locked by Andred under Doctor’s orders, but Stor’s brutal breach with his fist and subsequent weapon discharge shatter the glass panel, rendering the barrier ineffective and opening the way for Sontaran incursion.

Before: Secured and locked by Andred under Doctor's hasty …
After: Shattered glass panel, door frame damaged, no longer …
Before: Secured and locked by Andred under Doctor's hasty order
After: Shattered glass panel, door frame damaged, no longer a functional barrier
Sontaran Rheon Carbine

Stor wields the Rheon carbine as both weapon and psychological tool, firing a burst that grazes Andred and startles the team into chaotic retreat; its violet plasma discharge and heavy report fill the sickbay with terror and urgency.

Before: Held by Stor as he enters the sickbay
After: Still held by Stor, now used to wound …
Before: Held by Stor as he enters the sickbay
After: Still held by Stor, now used to wound Andred and force dispersal of the Doctor's group
Sickbay Door Glass Panel

The sickbay door's glass panel is struck by Stor’s fist, then shattered inward by Rheon carbine fire, sending razor-sharp shards raining into the room and splintering the barrier into lethal debris that forces retreat.

Before: Intact tempered glass panel in reinforced frame
After: Fractured glass, jagged remnants clinging to frame, rendered …
Before: Intact tempered glass panel in reinforced frame
After: Fractured glass, jagged remnants clinging to frame, rendered dangerous and impassable without clearing
Sickbay Curtains

The sickbay curtains are torn violently by the shocks of gunfire and movement, their thin fabric snapping against walls and cubicles as the team flings them aside in haste, initially hiding Andred but later contributing to chaos when shredded by the turbulent entry.

Before: Neatly folded curtains partitioning cubicles, sterile and intact
After: Tattered and torn, hanging in strips, contributing to …
Before: Neatly folded curtains partitioning cubicles, sterile and intact
After: Tattered and torn, hanging in strips, contributing to the sense of medical space turned battlefield

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
TARDIS Sickbay

The TARDIS sickbay transforms from a sterile healing space into a contested battleground under Sontaran assault. The fluorescent lights flicker under strain, curtains tear from cubicles, and blood mingles with ionized plasma in the air, all while the team scrambles to regroup behind the failing door.

Atmosphere Clamorous urgency, sterile space corrupted by violence, tension thick with fear and desperation
Function Contested sanctuary and escape route, repurposed by crisis into a fortified delay point
Symbolism Represents the collapse of Gallifrey’s sacred medical sanctuaries under military occupation
Access Initially secured by locking the door, but breached by brute force and firepower
Flickering fluorescent lighting casting harsh shadows Medical curtains torn by gunfire and movement Scents of antiseptic overpowered by ionized plasma and blood

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

2
Time Lords

The Time Lords of Gallifrey appear only through their embattled agents—Andred and Borusa—who enforce resistance through institutional knowledge and improvised tactics, revealing fractured loyalty and desperate improvisation under occupation.

Representation Through Andred’s sacrificial defense and Borusa’s absent but implied support
Power Dynamics Defenders operating under severe constraint and heavy casualties, relying on improvised resistance
Impact Exposes the fragility of Time Lord institutional structures under external military pressure
Internal Dynamics Tension between duty and survival despite institutional hierarchy
Protect the Doctor’s plan to secure the Great Key Survive long enough to escape the Sontaran onslaught Use of institutional knowledge (e.g., escape routes) Willingness to make costly sacrifices
Sontaran Empire

The Sontaran Empire deploys a disciplined strike force under Stor’s command to breach the TARDIS sickbay, using overwhelming firepower to wound Andred and force retreat, embodying their relentless, militarized pursuit of Gallifrey’s extinction.

Representation Through Stor’s command and use of Rheon carbines against Time Lord defenders
Power Dynamics Aggressor force overwhelming institutional defenders, exercising technological and martial superiority
Impact Demonstrates the Sontaran Empire’s ability to penetrate even Gallifrey’s sacred and arcane defenses
Eliminate Time Lord resistance within TARDIS Secure the TARDIS as a staging point for Gallifrey’s conquest Imposition of superior firepower and intimidation Tactical breaches of reinforced barriers

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 3

"The Doctor’s early warning that something has broken upstairs (beat_28362cacf97cb933) foreshadows and leads to the confrontation in the sickbay (beat_6001fc61e98942c2), where Stor wounds Andred."

Doctor questions TARDIS before Leela’s interruption
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part …

"The Doctor’s early warning that something has broken upstairs (beat_28362cacf97cb933) foreshadows and leads to the confrontation in the sickbay (beat_6001fc61e98942c2), where Stor wounds Andred."

Doctor detects Sontaran threat signal
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part …

"The gathering at the sickbay entrance (beat_6001fc61e98942c2) directly leads to Stor and his forces entering and Andred being wounded by the Rheon carbine (beat_d306453f17e17b92), escalating the physical threat."

Sontarans seal the sickbay trap
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part …
What this causes 3

"The gathering at the sickbay entrance (beat_6001fc61e98942c2) directly leads to Stor and his forces entering and Andred being wounded by the Rheon carbine (beat_d306453f17e17b92), escalating the physical threat."

Sontarans seal the sickbay trap
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part …

"Andred being wounded in the sickbay (beat_d306453f17e17b92) leads the Doctor to assess his condition and send him to safety with Leela and Borusa (beat_9254c135c9482b1e), showing the Doctor’s protective strategy."

Doctor tasks Leela with safe escort duty
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part …

"Andred being wounded in the sickbay (beat_d306453f17e17b92) leads the Doctor to assess his condition and send him to safety with Leela and Borusa (beat_9254c135c9482b1e), showing the Doctor’s protective strategy."

Doctor commands Leela to lead retreat
S15E26 · The Invasion of Time Part …