Monday 14 May 2018

D is for... Draconians


A proud race whose empire matched that of Earth in the 26th Century. Reptilian bipeds, they came from the planet Draconia. The Doctor had visited their world during the reign of the 15th Emperor, when he helped save the world from a terrible plague. For this he was made a nobleman of Draconia. Around the year 2530, the two great empires of the Milky Way Galaxy had expanded to meet each other. Diplomatic moves were begun to ensure they could live peaceably side by side, but the Earth ship sent to meet the Draconian ambassador was damaged on its way to the rendezvous. They were greeted by the sight of the Draconian ship - a battle-cruiser - approaching with its gun ports open. The commander of the ship - Williams - opened fire in a preemptive attack. This incident led to a long and bloody war between the two empires. Peace was restored, but the two sides remained wary of each other. Williams rose to the rank of General and became chief adviser to the Earth President. Ten years after the war, the Draconians found their spaceships being raided by vessels from Earth. However, the Earth people were reporting that it was their ships which were being attacked by the Draconians. When the Doctor and Jo Grant arrived on an Earth space-freighter, they discovered that the raids were really being carried out by Ogrons, who were employing some form of hypnotic device to make people see what they feared most. They weren't believed by either the Earth government, or the Draconian ambassador - Crown Prince of Draconia. Each thought the Doctor to be in the pay of the other. Later, after being taken prisoner by the Master, who was the person responsible for the Ogron attacks, the Doctor found himself back on Draconia. He informed the new Emperor of his previous visit, and was able to prove the truth about the raids when an Ogron was left behind after the Master summoned the creatures to rescue him. The Prince accompanied the Doctor back to Earth where they finally convinced General Williams to mount an expedition to the Ogron planet. It was revealed that the Draconian vessel he had fired upon ten years ago had been unarmed. It had also been damaged on the way to the rendezvous. The Prince joined the expedition, where they discovered that the Master was working for the Daleks, who planned to provoke a war between the two empires. They would then invade the galaxy. The Prince returned to Draconia to notify his people of the truth and prevent the war.

Played by: Peter Birrel (Prince), John Woodnutt (Emperor). Appearances: Frontier in Space (1973).

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