Echoes Through Eternity: Damned If You Do

"Alteration is not an option."

Writer: Gary Russell

Format: Audio

Released: November 2024

Series: Short Trips: Gallifrey 1.01

Featuring: Narvin

Synopsis

CIA Coordinator Narvin is unwillingly called upon to find some lost students – aliens admitted to the hallowed Academy. But when Narvin and Cadet Kransa enter the Catacombs, nothing will be the same...

Verdict

Damned If You Do was a really strong start to the Echoes Through Eternity edition of Short Trips! I love the idea of the Short Trips doing spinoffs and a collection of short stories from across the history of the Gallfirey spinoff range is such a tremendous idea! There is so much potential there as it's a series vast with exploration and just superb storytelling. We went back towards the start here and it was so fun to hear Narvin talk of Romana with something akin to distain. That's a very different approach to the Narvin of the current era of Gallifrey during the Time War. His feelings towards Leela and Romana have grown exponentially and he cares for them a great deal, but here he was at a point where he wasn't exactly becoming to outsiders, not really a fan of anyone on Gallifrey who wasn't from a noble house, and was trying to save his entire planet and people from its own Lord President! It's quite the place we find Narvin in at this point in time and it was just a delight to step back into that era. The story itself was a pretty simple one whilst being incredibly intriguing. I really liked how for Narvin this was almost something of an exploratory episode as we looked ahead to his character and the significance that he will bring to the future. His interactions with the Time Shade were fascinating and I liked how he knew of them as myths from the Dark Times. There is definitely something more to come with the way Narvin adventures of similar names are bookending this Short Trips release. I liked the way Narvin saw a flash forward of everything to come and the significance of the burning planet in particular was nicely done. His importance in setting alight the Time War was touched upon nicely and I like how once his time with the Shade was over, he could only think of Krasta when remembering blurs of that burning planet. She as a cadet was an interesting little character and I suspect she will become more significant in the finale. Before we got there though it was good to hear her inquisitive nature. Narvin showing distain towards Romana was amusing and I liked how he was not all too pleased by the Free Time movement. His reaction to hearing how some of the aliens had actually looked upon the Untempered Schism. That was quite a surprise for him and he wasn't impressed with that. It wasn't just for anyone to look upon it! He was somewhat boastful when it came to his nature as being time sensitive and being exposed to the Schism in the past, but with the aliens not being natives the potential trouble was there. He also wasn't a fan in general of just being sent on the lookout for a number of missing students. He didn't think they should be on Gallifrey in the first place so for them to go missing didn't sound all that bad as far as he was concerned! That wasn't something Kastra agreed with and Narvin having to stop himself on a couple of occasions was fun to hear. He wasn't quite put in his place but he knew that he was speaking out of turn in terms of being politically correct. The way things ended with the memory distortion was good and Narvin seeking to stop the President, whilst also touching upon Kastra's memory. A fine start to the series! 

Rating: 8/10