| “ | Attention, all troops. The Sontarans might think of us as primitive, as does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more. From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back, and we show them. We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do. | „ |
| ~ Mace's speech to his troops just before routing the Sontarans. |
| “ | You will face me, Sir! | „ |
| ~ Colonel Mace's to Commander Skorr, before shooting the bloodthirsty Sontaran commander dead; his most famous quote. |
Colonel Alan Mace is a supporting character in the two part Doctor Who story "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky". He is a high-ranking member of UNIT who leads the Earth's military response to an invasion by the Sontarans.
He was portrayed by Rupert Holliday Evans.
Biography[]
Mace is in charge of UNIT's investigation into ATMOS, a CO2 reduction system recently fitted into all cars that is believed to be alien in nature and has been connected to 52 deaths. Mace and his men lock down the ATMOS factory and detain the workers before having Martha Jones track down the Time Lord known as the Doctor to help with the investigation. He first appears when Martha introduces him to the Tenth Doctor, whom he is awestruck upon meeting and insists on saluting. Mace also salutes the Doctor's companion, Donna Noble, on her demand.
The Doctor is initially hostile to Mace due to his dislike of guns and the military. When Donna works out that the ATMOS staff never take sick days (due to their having been hypnotised by aliens), Mace orders Martha to perform medical exams on them. He later dispatches a UNIT solider named Ross Jenkins to accompany the Doctor as he interviews the ATMOS creator Luke Rattigan.
When ATMOS begins releasing poison gas all over the world, Mace has his troops seal off the factory. Martha, who at this point has been replaced by a clone, informs Mace that the force behind ATMOS is a race called the Sontarans. The Doctor warns Mace that he will lose if he tries to engage the Sontarans in battle. After witnessing the Doctor trying and failing to negotiate with the Sontaran leaders, Mace orders a nuclear strike on their fleet in the hope of destroying it, but Clone Martha hacks into the system to cancel the launch.
Mace later sends troops to fight off a squadron of Sontarans who arrive on Earth to protect the clone. The troops including Ross are slaughtered as the Sontarans have technology that prevents their guns from firing and a horrified Mace orders his men to retreat on the Doctor's advice. He tells the Doctor that Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart can't help them as he's stranded in Peru.
Mace also asks how the Sontarans' cordolaine signal works; the Doctor replies that it prevents guns from firing by expanding the copper shell of the bullet so it becomes jammed in the chamber. With this information, Mace plans a counter-attack against the Sontarans. He issues gas masks to his soldiers and the Doctor to protect them from the ATMOS gas, and passes out rifles containing steel bullets that will be unaffected by the cordolaine signal. The Doctor continues to insist that UNIT will be massacred if they fight the Sontarans, but Mace shuts him down: "Thank you, Doctor, for your lack of faith. But this time I'm not listening".
Addressing his men, Mace removes his gas mask and delivers a rousing speech calling on the soldiers to fight back. He then calls the UNIT aerial carrier Valiant, which uses its engines to blow away the ATMOS gas and clear the air before firing on the Sontarans with a laser. Mace leads his men in an assault on ATMOS, and without the assistance of the cordolaine signal the Sontarans are quickly defeated. During the battle, Mace is armed with a pistol and comes across Skorr the Bloodbringer, the Sontaran commander who killed Ross Jenkins. Mace has the opportunity to shoot him in the back but instead demands that Skorr face him. Skorr turns around to shoot him, but Mace is quicker and shoots Skorr three times, killing the bloodthirsty Sontaran commander in seconds and avenging Ross Jenkins' death in the process.
After the Sontaran threat is defeated by the Doctor and a reformed Luke Rattigan, Mace and UNIT officer Marion Price share a kiss.
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