The Deal

STORYLINE

This short tale follows a shady arms dealer named Grath, a man whose life philosophy can be summarized as “profit now, consequences later.” Grath is finalizing a lucrative sale with an alien warlord—rare weapons, high stakes, and the kind of handshake agreement that usually ends with someone being spaced.

But Grath has a problem: he’s cheated the wrong people one too many times, and a group of heavily armed bounty hunters arrive to collect his outstanding karmic debt.

Grath panics. The warlord panics slightly less. The bounty hunters do not panic at all—they’ve done this before, many times, and they enjoy their work a worrying amount.

Grath attempts diplomacy. Then bribery. Then begging. Then running.

Running goes poorly.

Just before Grath is vaporized—and you can tell he’s the kind of man who qualifies for multiple vaporization attempts—a mysterious benefactor contacts the bounty hunters and offers them a better deal. What deal? We never quite learn, but whatever it is, Grath is suddenly not worth the ammo.

The bounty hunters retreat.

Grath thinks this means he’s safe.

The final panel makes it clear he absolutely is not.

Someone else wants him alive… and not for reasons involving kindness.

Because in the Doctor Who universe, there is no moral, only foreshadowing.

End of the Line Part 1

STORYLINE

The story opens with the Sixth Doctor and Peri enjoying what they assume will be a peaceful train ride. Naturally this is the sort of optimism one only has in the opening pages of a Doctor Who comic.

Things get suspicious almost immediately: strange noises, flickering lights, and passengers who act like they’ve had their personalities swapped with damp cardboard.

The Doctor senses something is wrong—Peri senses that when the Doctor says this, something will explode soon.

The train passes through a tunnel. The lights go out.

When they come back on, the train is completely empty.

Not “slightly fewer people” empty.
Not “maybe they got off early” empty.
Totally, absolutely, existentially empty.

The Doctor and Peri investigate, discovering no signs of struggle, no footprints, no bodies, no clues—just a mysteriously abandoned train speeding into who-knows-where.

Peri reasonably suggests finding a way to stop the train. The Doctor reasonably suggests not doing that until they figure out what emptied it. The train reasonably ignores both of them and continues barreling ahead like it’s being driven by a very determined ghost.

The issue ends with the Doctor watching the dark windows and muttering that whatever removed all the passengers… might be coming back.

Because of course it is.

Star Tigers Parts 5 - 6

STORYLINE

We pick up with the Star Tigers licking their wounds from their daring penal asteroid rescue—an event that left the Star Council furious, the Daleks annoyed, and Daak deeply satisfied with himself.

The rescued prisoners reveal that the Daleks are planning something big—the sort of scheme that would normally require the Doctor to swoop in and monologue it into oblivion, except he’s not here, so the Star Tigers are stuck with Daak instead. The galaxy is, therefore, doomed.

The Tigers meet with resistance leaders from across the sector. It’s a classic war council: strategy tables, holographic maps, and everyone politely pretending Daak isn’t openly sharpening his chainsword during presentations.

The assembled leaders debate tactics. Should they target Dalek supply lines? Disrupt Star Council command centers? Attempt a diplomatic push?

Daak suggests “killing them all with fire.”

Amazingly, this is considered a valid contribution.

They decide their next strike will target the Star Council’s main fleet depot—because if there’s anything that slows down an oppressive galactic force, it’s blowing up all their stuff.

The Tigers launch a recon mission. They sneak, scan, and gather crucial intel, discovering that the depot is crawling with Daleks, armed drones, and at least one guard who looks like he hasn’t slept since three wars ago.

The mission ends with the Tigers narrowly avoiding detection thanks to their skill, discipline, and Taiwo’s piloting.

And Daak, who manages not to chainsword anything for nine consecutive pages, which is genuinely impressive growth for him.

Part 6: “Explosions Solve Everything, Except When They Make Things Worse”

The Tigers return to the fleet depot for the full assault. Their plan is elegant, precise, and well-coordinated.

Daak ignores it immediately.

The Tigers infiltrate using stealth suits while Daak charges in yelling “DALEKS!” like a man trying to scare the galaxy into submission. This proves surprisingly effective, because the depot’s defenses panic and fire wildly at the large, screaming human tornado.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team does actual work—planting explosives, hacking systems, sabotaging engines, and generally behaving like professionals.

The depot erupts into chaos. Daleks screech. Alarms blare. The Tigers sprint toward extraction.

Daak, of course, refuses to leave until he’s personally ventilated two more Daleks.

The team barely escapes as the entire depot explodes behind them in a glorious fireball—the kind of dramatic flourish Daak assumes is his birthright.

But the victory comes with a twist: the explosion reveals the Daleks have already built a new command platform—larger, deadlier, and powered by a technology the resistance has never seen before.

Prince Salander says this is a dark day.

Daak says, “Good. More to kill.”

The Star Tigers saga rolls onward, now officially in “things will get much worse before they get worse” territory.