The Isos Network

The Isos Network was the final story in Series 2 of The Early Adventures.

=Synopsis= The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are leaving Earth after having successfully defeated a Cyberman invasion… The Cyber-fleet is still exploding… But something is escaping through the mass of vaporising debris.

In hot pursuit, the Doctor and his friends find themselves drawn to a mysterious planet where strange beasts slither through the streets of a deserted city… And an old enemy lurks beneath the streets.

As a force of heavily-armed aliens arrives, a battle to save the entire galaxy from invasion begins.

=Plot=

Part 1
After the destruction of the Cyber-Fleet, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe noticed a spaceship escaping from the explosion. With little choice, the Doctor gave chase, but the TARDIS was hindered by a Warp Distortion Field. Materialising on a field on an unknown planet, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe emerged and the Doctor decided they should explore. High up in orbit on the military scout ship Braxos, Captain Seru checked the scanners for a faint power source from the planet below. Unable to pinpoint the location, they decided to land on the planet below. As they were about to land, they detected a strong energy reading from the outskirts of a city. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrived at a city. As they kept walking, Zoe stepped on thick slime on the ground. They looked on, they saw more slime leading into the city. They moved on, treading on more slime along empty streets. They sat down on a bench to rest and the Doctor concluded that the trails were made by giant slugs. As the Doctor realised this, the giant slugs emerged from a corner and surrounded them, although they quickly proved themselves to be friendly.

The Braxos landed on the outskirts of the city. Officers Enab and Alam emerged with scanners and sidearms, and they head off to find the source of the energy readings. Unbeknownst to them, the TARDIS was just ahead of them. Meanwhile, the Doctor and his companions rode on the slugs' back to an unknown location. They asked the slugs to stop, and they did. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe searched the buildings, they noticed they are all deserted. The Doctor realised they had entered a monorail station, and Jamie noticed a series of locked doors. Zoe realised they were lifts and the Doctor tried to use his Sonic Screwdriver to open them. When one of the lift doors opened, Zoe walked in to test it was safe. It was then the lift doors shut close and the lift plummeted down into the depths below. The Doctor tried to open the doors again but unfortunately failed. While they were finding a way to get to Zoe, Officers Enab and Alam found the TARDIS and transmitted the image to Captain Seru. Seru signalled the security squad and they disembarked with weapons drawn.

Zoe woke up confused and dazed. Zoe Heriot saw monorail lines going as far as her eye could see. Unknown to her, there was someone behind her slowly moving closer. Up above, Jamie found a set of escalators that lead underground and walked down them. Suddenly, the escalators turned on and moved downwards at an alarming speed. Jamie woke up at the bottom of the escalators and heard a noise in the distance. Walking along the tunnel, he saw a light at the end and went to investigate. The Doctor was now all alone when the Ison security squad surrounded him and trained their guns on him. The Doctor was brought on board the Braxos and met Captain Seru. Captain Seru interrogated the Doctor on why he was on Isos II and revealed the entire population vanished 5 years ago. Back underground, Jamie found empty Cyber pods and then he heard a loud bang at the other side of the room. He inched closer and he saw the same Cyberman escape ship they had followed before. Zoe continued walking and saw slug trails. She followed the trails when she heard someone warning her to not go any further. Fearing for her life, she ran forward and ran into a trio of Cybermen.

Part 2
The three Cybermen advanced towards Zoe aiming their guns at her. Suddenly, someone grabbed her and they ran away. The unknown person pulled her into a compartment in the side of the wall, hiding her from the Cybermen. They watched the trio of Cybermen walk past them. Jamie on the other hand sneaked out of the Cyberpod room and found some slug trails on the ground. Following it, he discovered a flickering light at the end of the tunnel. He saw Cybermen were attempting to cut through solidified slime with a device and quickly pressed himself up against the tunnel wall. Meanwhile, the Doctor was interrogated by the crew of the Braxos. They believed the Doctor caused the colonists' disappearance, and the Doctor requested them to bring up the energy trace they picked up before and compare it with the one they took from his TARDIS. This absolved the Doctor of the accusations.

The Doctor informed Captain Seru of the Cybermen and told her of their attempted invasion of Earth. When the Doctor said his companions fell underground, she realised that they must be in the old monorail system. They also detected power running in the supposedly abandoned monorail and the Doctor realised that was where the Cybermen were hidden. Underground, Zoe thanked her mysterious saviour for saving her life. The man questioned her and she detailed her story of the Cybermen to him. Exiting from the compartment, Zoe finally got a good look at the man, his entire body had plastic and metal woven into it, and his face was half-covered by a metal helmet. The man introduced himself as Hilsee. Jamie encountered a slug that attacked the group of Cybermen. It ripped through one of them and another Cyberman killed it. As they continue cutting, Jamie managed to sneak away.

The Doctor, Captain Seru and the security squad entered the monorail station. They looked at the lifts and the Doctor asked them if he could go down alone. The Doctor accused her of underestimating the Cybermen. Unbeknownst to them, Cybermen were watching and they announce their plans to revive the Cyber-Controller. Hilsee took Zoe to his hideout, which was a Cyberpod room when the lights started flickering. In the Cybermen's base, Cybermen were typing away when the Cyber-leader rose and checked the readings. Some power units had been damaged, resulting in insufficient power for their plans. It sent more Cybermen to repair the power units. Meanwhile, Jamie continued down the tunnels, seeing junction boxes encrusted with slime along the way. He made it to a lift and checked if Zoe was there. It was then a sound thundered from a distance, and the roof caved in. Masked men appeared and grabbed him and one pointed his rifle right at his face.

Part 3
Jamie put his arms up as the masked man pointed his rifle at him. As the man contacted Captain Seru, the Doctor confirmed that Jamie was with him. The Doctor and Captain Seru descended to join him. Jamie told them of what he saw. The Doctor finally realised that the Cybermen that invaded Earth were the colonists of Isos II and they had returned to the planet. The lights started to flicker and the security squad took defensive positions. The Doctor noticed a junction box covered in slime and a slug appeared from the darkness. Meanwhile, Hilsee stated that they were trapped underground, but Zoe insisted that there should be a way up. She rationalised that they could follow the power lines to the surface and she beckoned Hilsee to follow her. She found a junction box covered in slime, followed by more slime trails. She realised the slugs were responsible. Zoe found eggs leaking out of a junction box and slugs appear and surrounded them. Back with the Doctor, a similar phenomenon happened with the junction box, only this time the eggs hatched into tiny slugs and the box subsequently exploded. The Cyber-Leader were watching them and exclaimed the Doctor was an intelligent being. It was then Officer Enab detected a power reading above them and shone a torch towards the ceiling, revealing a surveillance camera. He then shot out the camera with his rifle.

The Cybermen detected the destruction of the surveillance camera and sent a squad to deal with the humans. Meanwhile, the slugs took Zoe and Hilsee onto their backs and rode off. The Cybermen had enough power to revive the Cyber-Controller. Activating the machine, the Cyber-Controller and its aides emerge from their pods. The Cyber-Leader transferred its information to the Cyber-Controller and it instantly recognised the Doctor. A trio of Cybermen approached the Doctor, Jamie and the Braxos crew. Enab drew his rifle but a Cyberman glowed brightly and burnt a security trooper alive. The entire squad opened fire but despite hitting every shot, the Cybermen were unscathed. They began to run but the Cybermen fired their guns and wiped out the majority of the security squad. The group tried to fight them off, with more soldiers dying as a result. Suddenly, a group of slugs arrived and overran the Cybermen, destroying them. Zoe and Hilsee arrived on the backs of two slugs, rejoining the Doctor and Jamie. Zoe explained Hilsee's story to them with the Cyber-Controller and the Cyber-Leader watching them. The Cyber-Controller then ordered all exits to be sealed and the travel pod to be activated.

Jamie, Seru and Enab voiced their distrust of Hilsee. It was then Jamie felt a vibration on the monorail line. the Doctor discussed with Zoe and voiced his curiosity about the slugs. He theorised that the slugs can feel certain strong mental impulses and brought Zoe to them. The Cybermen were viewing the progress of the travel pod on a monitor, and the Cyber-Controller ordered the Cybermen to increase the speed of the pod. As barriers close down around them, Zoe noticed another clutch of eggs were about to hatch from the junction box. The eggs hatched from the junction box as the travel pod nears the Doctor and was about to collide with the group.

Part 4
The eggs hatching caused the junction box to explode, cutting off power in the tunnel and halting the travel pod. The Doctor noted the travel pod looked like a spaceship. In the Cybermen scout ship, the Cyber-Controller ordered them to reroute power immediately while it looked up information of the Doctor. Enab planted a demolition charge at one of the barriers and detonated it, creating an opening for them to escape. Captain Seru asked the Doctor to follow when she saw the Doctor, his companions and Hilsee breaking into the pod. The travel pod then activated and started to move. Captain Seru was forced to move out of the way and watched as they sped off. With little choice, she and the security squad returned to the Braxos. Hilsee felt the Cyber-Controller's presence in his mind and the Doctor questioned why it would want to control a train. The Doctor then realised the travel pod was a spaceship and they are travelling fast to generate centrifugal force to power the ship begin another invasion of Earth. The travel pod then slows down near the area where the Cybermen Scout Ship was.

The Doctor, Jamie, Zoe and Hilsee emerged from the pod and faced the Cyber-Controller. On the Braxos, Captain Seru phoned Isos for reinforcement. The Cyber-Controller took control of Hilsee and accosted Jamie and Zoe. Jamie and Zoe were strapped into pods. It was then the Cybermen intercepted communication, and answering it, discovered it was Captain Seru calling for reinforcements. The Cyber-Controller then revealed it was all part of the plan all along and the Doctor looked on in horror. The Cyber-Controller then turned its back and began operating the controls. Realising the Cybermen were distracted, the Doctor stealthily sneaked back into the travel pod. The Doctor then released Jamie and Zoe. The Cyber-Controller caught sight of the Doctor and gestured Hilsee to deal with him. As Hilsee stood behind the Doctor, he fought to regain control but failed as the Cyber-Controller walked up and controlled him again.

The Cyber-Controller opened a pod with a plastic cap within. The Doctor glanced aside and saw Jamie and Zoe escaping, but so too the Cybermen. The Cyber-Controller then ordered Hilsee to apprehend them, only for Hilsee to not respond. Giving chase itself, the Doctor took the opportunity to run back into the pod. Conflicted on what to do, the Cyber-Controller glanced at the Doctor and the escaping Jamie and Zoe. Hilsee then sprang to life and ran towards the Doctor and entered the pod with the Doctor, with the door slamming shut. Meanwhile, Jamie and Zoe ran into a group of slugs. Hilsee asked the Doctor what he will do, and the Doctor explained he is sabotaging the pod so it would destroy itself and the entire underground monorail. The Doctor then realised that the pod must be piloted manually and got ready to sacrifice himself. Hilsee insisted he should be the one to make the sacrifice instead, as he would have no future. The door then opened and walked in the Cyber-Controller, who grabbed Hilsee by the neck. The Doctor tried to help but was knocked out of the pod by the Controller. Hilsee then locked the Doctor out and piloted the pod with his free hand. Jamie and Zoe appeared and joined the Doctor alongside some giant slugs. The Doctor placed his hand on a slug and asked it to take them up to the surface. Back in the travel pod, Hilsee slammed down on a button before being tossed aside. The Cyber-Controller looked at the readings and concluded that destruction was inevitable. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe rode on the slugs out of tunnels and dismounted right outside the TARDIS just in time as the pod exploded and destroyed the entire city. As they watch the city collapse in the distance, the trio saw Ison reinforcements arrive. The Doctor decided they should leave before they land. Jamie questioned if that was really the end of the Cybermen and the Doctor said no, although they probably wouldn't hear of them in a long time. The TARDIS then dematerialized.

=Cast=
 * Frazer Hines - The Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, Narrator
 * Wendy Padbury - Zoe Heriot, Narrator
 * Rachel Bavidge - Seru
 * Nicholas Briggs - Cyberman
 * Kieran Hodgson - Alam, Hilsee
 * Richard James - Enab

=Notes=
 * This set was recorded on 19 November 2014 - 20 November 2014 at Moat Studios.

Continuity

 * This story takes place immediately after the Season 6 story The Invasion.
 * The Doctor has a Sonic Screwdriver, which first appeared in the Season 5 story Fury from the Deep.
 * Jamie noted the underground resembled the London Underground and hoped there was no Yeti present, referring to the Season 5 story The Web of Fear.
 * The Cybermen had an image of the First Doctor on record, acquired from the Season 4 story The Tenth Planet.
 * Jamie remembered encountering a Cyber-Controller on Telos in The Tomb of the Cybermen. The Doctor noted that that was in the future.

=Links=
 * The Isos Network