Acting Captain Zachary Cross Flane (short story)

was the eleventh The Blogs of Doom short story, published in later 2018 in Doctor Who Magazine 529. Like other features in the series, it narrated events in the life of a minor Doctor Who TV character before and after their involvement in the Doctor's life — in this case, Zachary Cross Flane from The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit and — in first-person perspective as a series of diary or blog entries from the character.
==Summary==
The crew of the Walker Expedition have arrived on Krop Tor and Zachary Cross Flane, now acting Captain, begins to record a journal as the mission progresses, all while having issues with laundry...
Day 43K1.3: Zach mentions that they have successfully landed on the planet, mostly intact. However he mentions that they lost the captain and a dozen crew members in the landing. He mentions that they've set up the base and are ready to begin drilling. However, he also mentions annoyance at Toby's tendency for melodrama, resolving to have a discussion with him.
Day 43K1.8: Zach is unnerved by the planet, feeling it's evil. He mentions sending his laundry to be washed, and puts it in the drawer, but somehow is down to only one pair of underwear despite having enough for two weeks. Danny and Jefferson claim it can't be the Ood stealing them. He also mentions that someone wrote "The Beast shall rise and make war with God" in Habitation 5 with human blood. 
Day 43K1.9: Zach mentions having issues getting an espresso, where the machine made strange noises and gave him a Frappuccino instead. Ida tried to insist he just pressed the wrong button, but Zach insisted it unnerved him. He also mentions that all the doors were saying, "The Beast shall rise and make war with God."
Day 43K1.15: Zach reveals that he encountered an incident when Scooti tried to copy off some expenditure reports. It claimed there was a paper jam, but when she opened it, she found nothing. Scooti showed this to Zach. He also mentions a red horned creature keeps appearing on the computer screens.
Day 43K2.1: Zach rants about the current state of the expedition. Half the base is gone, two crew went mad after staring at the black hole, the doors are making ominous sounds, the demonic creature keeps showing up on monitors, Toby is convinced he's being followed by a voice, the Ood have a high telepathic field rating and have joined in saying ominous messages, he still can't get an espresso, the photocopier is messing up, and he's been wearing the same underwear for 3 weeks. On top of this, two new people have arrived.
Later, Zach mentions they're moving towards the black hole.
Later, Zach reveals that they've stopped, calling it a "false alarm"
Later, Zach mentions that they're flying away and that everyone is dead except for him, Ida, and Danny. He notes that many of the events he's not fully aware of due to being in the control room. However, he's thankful to the Doctor, since he gave him some underwear. Zach calls him the "stuff of legends."
==Characters==
Zachary Cross Flane
Ida Scott
John Jefferson
Danny Bartock
Toby Zed
Scooti Manista
Tenth Doctor
Rose Tyler
The Beast
The Ood
==Worldbuilding==
* It is revealed that an additional 12 crew were part of the expedition, and that they died in the landing
* It is shown, based on the times, that the crew were on Krop Tor for approximately a month
* The crew had access to a machine that made espressos and frappuccinos
* Scooti appeared to frequently take part in the expenditures, a task that would lead to her deadly encounter with the Beast
==Continuity==
* The dating system varies from what was mentioned in The Torchwood Archive, where it is "[century]K[decade].[year]", here it is "[Year]K[Month].[Day]", creating a discrepancy. 
* Two crew are mentioned being insane after staring at the black hole, a warning issued to the Doctor and Rose later. (TV: The Impossible Planet (TV story))
==External links==
to be added