To help
him get over the departure of Peri, the 7th Doctor takes
Frobisher to the artificially created pleasure plant of A-Lux. Once they
arrive, they are surprised to find that A-Lux is buried under snow.
Realizing something must be wrong with the weather controls, the Doctor
decides to investigate.
Starting
the investigation in an apparently abandoned recreation center, the Doctor
is attacked by Olla, a Dreilyn “heat vampire”, a species that survives by
drawing tiny amounts of heat off of others. Apparently driven mad by the
cold, she tires to drain the Doctor completely. Frobisher knocks her
unconscious to save the Doctor, then the Doctor and Frobisher are discover
by a group of Ice Warriors. Led by Arryx, who was inspired by Azaxyr's
attempt to secure Peledon's trisilicate mines, he has changed the temperature of A-Lux
so it can become the New Mars.
The Doctor
creates a diversion long enough for Frobisher to escape with Olla.
They band
together with the remaining population of A-Lux to destroy the Ice Warrior’s
Machine, which has made the planet cold. Using her ability to draw heat,
Olla absorbs the heat off of a pipe, which Frobisher crawls through to reach
the Doctor and help destroy the machine, which the Doctor already has done.
As the band of rebels is attacked by Ice Warriors, Olla violently fends one
of them off, discharging her stored up heat and killing him.
As
Frobisher decides to end his travels with the Doctor and remain on A-Lux,
Olla sees her opportunity. She asks a surprised Doctor if he will take her
back to her people. The Doctor agrees and they depart A-Lux together.
Olla's
second and final story begins with her waiting on the Doctor. Although
uncomfortable with her level of servitude, he reluctantly enjoys himself to
a meal she has prepared. Then, a Vachysian Gunship, sent by the
Federation, attacks the TARDIS. Commanded by Skaroux, a Warlord of the
Galactic Federation, he is determined to capture Olla, who eluded him on
A-Lux, but who has now traced to the Doctor's TARDIS. Skaroux demands
that Olla be turned over to him, but the Doctor vows to keep her safe.
Olla claims that her race have no planet to call their own, roaming space
like gypsies, begging for what they need to survive. She then explains
to the Doctor that she was sold into slavery by her father to Skaroux.
Armed federation guards, along with Skaroux are beamed aboard the TARDIS to
apprehend her and he reveals the truth. In reality, Olla was his
willing consort. A criminal who had gained the trust of Skaroux by and
fled with his money. She was a criminal on the run. Once she is
confronted with this truth, she turns on the Doctor and Skaroux. The
Doctor quickly destabilizes the interior of the TARDIS, throwing Olla off
her feet and knocking her unconscious. Skaroux takes Olla away, and
the Doctor requests that she be given a fair trial.
An interesting idea
for a companion, sadly Olla stays in the strip for only five issues.
Though she does turn against the Doctor in her second adventure, her debut
story depicts Olla in a somewhat better light. She actually helps
Frobisher and the citizens of A-Lux defeat the Ice Warriors, and does seem
genuinely concerned for her new friend's safety. Her darker side does
appear though when she murders an Ice Warrior while saving someone's life.
Perhaps she wanted to reform but wasn't given the chance when she was
captured at the end of her second story. Olla, we hardly knew ye... |