Short Circuits: Battleships

"There's no race greater than the Sontarans."

Writer: Alex Hewitt

Format: Audio

Released: September 2026

Series: Circuit Breaker #12.1

Featuring: The Conductor

Synopsis

Meet the Conductor. It's rare for a Sontaran to be unique, but this Sontaran is certainly that. Regarded as an aberration by the short-lived scientists who oversaw his clone batch, this cadaverous specimen is also a peerless tactical genius. But life is hard for a Sontaran who stands out from his fellows, and this formidable mastermind must outwit certain rivals of his own kind before settlings his sights on the true enemy of the Sontaran empire.

Verdict

Battleships was a decent start to the Short Circuits release that seems to serve as something of an epilogue to the Circuit Breaker multimedia adventure that finished this week with Full Circuit, whilst being a prequel! It's understandable why this story in particular couldn't be released until the reveal of the Conductor was provided, but considering that was actually spoiled ahead of time with the cover art of the aforementioned full cast adventure, I actually think this may have benefitted from being released prior to the explosive finale. Maybe I'm listen too soon after those events that this now feels a tad redundant? I tried to not think that way and judge the story in isolation as is always my aim, but sometimes outside factors can't help but be an influence. This is a prime example here as we hear what is basically the origin of the Conductor, and yet we already know he has been defeated. I think the timings there are a little unfortunate and it's actually a bit of a shame we didn't get more with the Conductor. His uniqueness amongst the Sontaran race is good to explore and I liked how that was done here. He was almost admiring of the Doctor in how he was the one that caused more defeats than anyone else. The moment of what must be considered blasphemy on Sontar when the Conductor was not interested in defeating the Rutan Host felt like a big one as he knew there was a bigger enemy that needed thwarting first. That obviously ties in nicely with what happened during the events of the recent overall arc but I would like more of an explanation as to how the Fugitive Doctor was specifically known. Another link back to Betrayal at the House of Sontar perhaps? I think there's potential there. I really liked Dan Starkey in his role as narrator because he really is the voice of the Sontarans now. Nobody else really comes close and he just gets them as a monster. He can be funny and absolutely excels when that is required with the likes of Strax, but no such humour was needed here and I admire how the Sontarans are taken seriously again. They're a favourite of mine so to throw the Conductor in is terrific as a kind of anomaly amongst the gene pool. The fact he was almost thrown out and regarded as an error was fun stuff too because imagine how different things would be for the Fugitive Doctor if that was the case! Hearing the Sontarans in full on attack mode with the battleships was good stuff and whilst we definitely didn't need it, it was a nice reminder that they were bred for war. Speaking of didn't need and whilst I did enjoy this adventure as my rating reflects, I'm just not really sure we needed it. Sure, it's a nice add on to the multimedia event but realising it two days after the main event just instantly makes it feel like an afterthought which is a huge shame. Overall, an intriguing little insight into the background and origins of the Conductor, but I think the timing was off to fully appreciate this story which is a shame. Hopefully the second one is a little bit of an improvement, but still a good listen here.

Rating: 7/10