Objective: Earth - By Jacqui McGee

"Goodbye, Jacqui McGee."

Writer: Lisa McMullin

Format: Audio

Released: November 2022

Series: UNIT: Nemesis 3.02

Featuring: Kate, Osgood, Naomi

Synopsis

As Kate Stewart and the UNIT team race to escape a Vulpreen assassination squad, Jacqui McGee uploads the most important report of her career.

Vulpreen Commander Krillen is coordinating a hostile operation across planet Earth. But are the Vulpreen planning an immediate attack, or do they have something more sinister in mind?

Verdict

By Jacqui McGee was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Objective: Earth third series of UNIT: Nemesis! This was a really emotional story and judging from the title I ought to have guessed why the focus was so firmly on Jacqui McGee. She has been something of a help and hinderance to UNIT across the entire UNIT spinoff range and sadly her time has come to an end. But she went out fighting and with superb sacrifice. I'm jumping ahead to the end because it really does feel like the only place to start. Jacqui's prominence in this Nemesis era of UNIT has certainly felt more prominent but she has clearly had a little more than she bargained for when it came to her experience with the Vulpreen. She was isolated and indoctrinated and it's clear now that she never really recovered. She was used by both sides in The Vulpreen Encounter despite being in a safe house and with Kate targeted explicitly by Lord Varliss, Jacqui was the Vulpreen's way to get to her but also she was aiding her to safety on the run. I thought Kate showed some strong characteristics when it came to Jacqui and she wasn't in the mood for pointless negotiations. The way she just hung up on Commander Krillen was a sublime display of authority and the fact he called back immediately made him feel weak to me. His new orders from Varliss were to capture Kate so she could watch her planet be subjugated before she died so Krillen saw a simple exchange as an easy way to please his superior. Unto eternity. I thought the fact that Jacqui sacrificed herself with the time bomb was a fantastic way to showcase just how serious the Vulpreen were as a threat and I think something like this is what was required. I was almost wondering earlier in the episode if this fate was actually going to to befall Jimmy as the new recruit, but alas it was saved for who is basically a civilian and that's going to hit UNIT hard. Kate in particular. It was nice to have Naomi involved more in this episode as it still doesn't feel like her character has reached anywhere close to her potential, but having the action packed extraction of Kate was exciting stuff! I really did enjoy how well the action was presented in audio as that's something that doesn't always come across positively. It worked a treat here and it felt like the stakes were high given Jacqui's predicament. Yang Li as the Chinese tour guide was a lovely character and I liked how her knowledge of the ancient Chinese tombs and cities were of use to Krillen. The continued threat and build of arches disguised as asteroids is great stuff and linking the likes of Canada and Beijing is one hell of a shortcut! The Vulpreen's plan is obviously on the back burner given how this episode ended with Jacqui taking Krillen with herself, but the arches still had a strong purpose as the cliffhanger finish showed! The idea of a throwback to The Claws of Axos and the Axons taking on UNIT once again in this modern era is a delightful idea! UNIT really do have a lot to tackle here as they are clearly still reeling from Jacqui and picking up the after effects of the Vulpreen effort here, and now an entirely new and dangerous threat emerges! Overall, a fitting conclusion for a really good character and a fantastic episode to continue the series! 

Rating: 9/10