The Fearless Part 1

"We're becoming part of the Dalek Empire."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs
Format: Audio
Released: October 2007
Series: Dalek Empire 4.01

Featuring: Kade, Landen

Synopsis

The Daleks are conquering our galaxy. Nothing can stop them. But Commander Agnes Landen has an idea.

On the outer planet Talis Minor, Salus Kade is struggling to keep his colony alive. The last thing he needs is a war to fight.

Verdict

The Fearless kicked off the fourth series of Dalek Empire in superb style! I didn’t really know what to expect from this opening and how it would tie in with the first series, but I was absolutely delighted with what I listened to and I already can’t wait to continue! The cast was star studded as far as Doctor Who is concerned with Maureen O’Brien and Noel Clarke in starring roles which is just marvellous. I mean, this wasn’t a case of Vicki meeting Mickey which is just an incredible thought and I can’t really imagine how that would go, but it was just really good to have them working together. Placing this series during the first series of the spin-off was intriguing and I was very glad that the connection was quite loose whilst being obvious. That’s a magical element to have with continuity in an adventure and the little mention of Susan Mendes and how she was a traitor was very good. Agnes Landen kicking off the story with the idea of the spacers was great and I liked how despite it taking five years to manufacture a sufficient supply to do any damage to the Daleks, she was more than happy with that because they were being defeated slowly. The patience of the Daleks is quite chilling at times and that was fully on display here. The spacers having the ability to propel across the solar system was obviously useful, but not quite as much as the ability to attack and damage Dalek casing. The little line about the spacers being formed from ‘new ores’ was quite naff, but everything after that made me almost forget that terrible line! Landen wanting to seek out the remarkable humans that could be at one with their suits was very good and I loved the plan for a regiment of heroes. The introduction of Salus Kade into the story was brilliant and I liked his relationship with Fisk very much. It was also nice to know how much of a family man he was whilst not knowing what the Daleks were. That heightened the emotion in the audio because Talis Minor became an unwilling battleground in the war between the Daleks and Earth Alliance. The arrival of the Earth Alliance to the planet was quite disheartening with the recruitment drive. Salus stood right up to Sergeant Kennedy and defending his people was just superb and so passionate. A really fantastic speech by Noel Clarke. The Dalek attack during this drive was really exciting and I was a big fan of all of the action that took place during the story. Lajitta was a lovely character as Kade’s wife and the humour when Kade had come back to her about him being a fighter now was really good. Finding out from Kennedy that the spacer suits were all for show and were pretty much useless in a basic condition was unexpected and Kade’s reaction to that spoke volumes. The patience of the Daleks when the humans hid into the cave system was sublime and I love how they just waited to get what they wanted. More than that, they had been strategising and planned a detonation. The use of narration from events later in the audio with Kade was good and I was quite surprised to discover that he felt he’d let his family down. That wasn’t a nice thing to hear. The advancement of events with Kade having his own maniac squad was very good. The arrival of Landen to save her troops from Dalek attack was decent and I liked how Kade realised how important her role was. Despite time clearly having passed, Kade’s passion for his people still being there was mesmerising. I loved that with him not caring about anything other than his family. The comment from Landed about her not being in favour of forced recruitment seemed sarcastic at first but the prospect of her not forcing Kade to have his people conscripted was tremendous! She offered shields and supplies from the Daleks for the people of Talis Minor, but she saw a hero in Kade and she wanted him in her team. Croft being forced to allow Kade to see his family was a wonderful moment and the way in which he was clearly revered by those at the top of the Earth Alliance was excellent. Agnes having a mothering instinct with Kade was good and I’ll be very keen to hear that develop as the series continues. The conclusion was good and interesting with the arrival of the Dead Hand, a huge Dalek fleet, and then Kade shutting down the ship as the Daleks fire. A tactical decision? Agnes was certainly looking forward to seeing how he does. Overall, a superb audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10