Fabula
Object
Object

Mark Three Emergency Transceiver

A compact, outdated emergency transceiver amid the Doctor's collection of historic TARDIS equipment. Its metallic housing bears signs of age and disrepair, though K9's diagnostics confirm its internal components remain fully operational. The device hums with subdued electrical activity when reactivated, emitting a distorted distress signal that disrupts the TARDIS console's stability. Romana plugs it directly into the navigation system, triggering an uncontrolled temporal shift that hurls the ship toward an unfamiliar jungle planet.
3 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S17E9 · The Creature from the Pit Part 1
Doctor disputes Romana over TARDIS treasures

Romana identifies the hemisphere of the transceiver as potentially functional, ignoring the Doctor’s assertion that it does not work. The Doctor reactivates it, immediately destabilizing the TARDIS and sending them to an unknown planet. K9 confirms its operability throughout the chaos.

Before: Discarded or ignored component among clutter in the TARDIS storage hold, corroded and caked in grime.
After: Activated and plugged in, causing the TARDIS’s spatial instability and arrival in the jungle planet.
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S17E9 · The Creature from the Pit Part 1
K9 confirms usable TARDIS transceiver function

The hemisphere of the transceiver is identified by Romana as a component critical for its operation during her cleaning; she places it correctly into the unit, causing it to light up and activate prematurely. This partial assembly triggers the TARDIS’s violent lateral displacement, knocking both Time Lords off their feet and collapsing the coat stand. It represents the threshold between stand-by and catastrophic function.

Before: Isolated component within a discarded and disassembled transceiver unit, buried and neglected in storage.
After: Integrated and energized, triggering system-wide instability and spatial displacement.
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S17E9 · The Creature from the Pit Part 1
Transceiver malfunction hurls TARDIS to unknown planet

Buried beneath decades of junk, the Mark Three Emergency Transceiver is pried free by Romana and her hemisphere fitted into the console without the Doctor’s knowledge. Once aligned, it glows and emits a distorted Gallifreyan distress pulse, triggering an immediate spatial destabilization of the TARDIS. Only Romana’s physical plug-in and the Doctor’s later removal briefly stabilize it.

Before: Stored in cluttered disuse within TARDIS Storage Hold Four. Labeled and externally corroded but internally functional. Dismissed by the Doctor as a 'nuisance' due to past distress call intrusions.
After: Temporarily deactivated after Romana unplugs it post-lurch. The device remains structurally intact but now carries the taint of reckless activation. Its stigma is reinforced by K9’s insistence on improper prior usage rather than equipment failure.
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