Dr. Who –Dalek Retaliation
The shape of a large blue box cast its shadow in the evening sun, the area surrounding it was peaceful, desolate, almost abandoned. Not even the wind blew, everything was still.
Inside the blue box namely the TARDIS, a tall man wearing a very long coat and scarf stood over a computer like console, madly working away at a keyboard. His eyebrows moved up and down, as if he was confused by something and was trying his hardest to work out. Lights and buttons flashed but still nothing. The man scratched his head, what was stopping him from de-materialising into space?
Then as if by magic the TARDIS disappeared, the man inside smiled and clasped his hands together happily.
“Have you fixed it master?” Echoed an electronic voice.
“Why K-9 I believe I have, this old girl can be cranky at the best of times” The man smiled as he flung his scarf around his neck.
“Like you, Doctor?” The robotic dog scuttled away into the corner of the console room by the hat stand.
“I’d be careful if I were you K-9, I’ll beat you at chess next time, just you wait” The Doctor snapped back in defence at his robotic assistant.
“We’ll see” Replied the dog at a very high pitch.
The Doctor walked around the console room in deep thought. He had no human company. He had K-9 but that wasn’t the same as having someone to help out once they got in trouble or to show off in front of and make them look two inches high.
Drawn from his thoughts The Doctor was alerted to the sound of warning signals and looked down to his feet to see K-9 circling round him.
“Danger, danger” K-9 Continued “Danger, danger we have slipped out of the time vortex and into a worm hole”
The Doctor rushed to the console and tried to make sense of what was happening. Somehow the TARDIS had been drawn severely off course and to the outer limits of the time vortex and straight into a wormhole.
“I can’t control it!” The Doctor shouted “It’s too strong”
“Danger, danger, reverse polarity” K-9 Shouted whilst still darting around the floor like a dog possessed by The Master.
“K-9, will you shut up, I’m trying to concentrate” The Doctor shouted looking down at his robotic companion “Come on old girl, I didn’t mean to call you cranky” The Doctor added patting the console gently as if to restore some sort of confidence to the TARDIS.
Then there was nothing more that could be done as The Doctor was flung away from the console with great force, hitting one of the walls behind him which caused him to black out. K-9 was thrown backwards too, landing on his side, before the TARDIS landed with a heavy bump.
Sparks flew from controls on the TARDIS console, the lights inside dimming till darkness set in.
Hours passed before any sign of movement came from the Doctor. He opened his eyes slowly; his head felt as if someone hit him with a baseball bat. He slowly stood up and dusted himself down, looking around the console room to see nothing but darkness.
“K-9, are you alright?” The Doctor called out for his companion
“Yes master” Came a muffled reply
“What happened?” The Doctor asked scratching his head.
“We slipped out of the Time Vortex and into a wormhole” K-9 replied “I have no clue where we are in space and time”
“That makes two of us” Replied The Doctor as he pulled out a small torch from his pocket and shone it around the console room to see K-9 was lying on his back like a turtle in the sun.
“Oh K-9, let me help you there old friend” The doctor spoke as bent down to return K-9 to his rightful position “Now isn’t that better?”
“Yes thank you master”
The Doctor moved over to the TARDIS console K-9 following close behind.
“Now to work out what happened with old faithful here” The Doctor spoke out
“We have no power master” K-9 replied
“K-9 I know that, I’m trying to work out why. I’ve been through many wormholes, but none as strong as that one before. It’s almost as if the TARDIS was drawn off course on purpose”
“The master?” K-9 suggested as The Doctor fiddled with some switches on the TARDIS console.
“I wouldn’t put it past him, it’s certainly his style” The Doctor flicked a switch and the console room was filled with light once more. “I knew you wouldn’t me down old girl” The Doctor smiled as the console came back to life, shortly followed by a shrill warning siren.
“Ahh so that’s what happened” The Doctor cheered “We somehow managed to generate the wormhole and it sucked us in, and we are now, oh dear” The Doctors smile vanished into a very grim looking frown.
“Master?” K-9 asked
“K-9, we are in very serious trouble. We are on Skaro” The Doctor replied almost wondering off into a dream world.
“Skaro master?” K-9 asked innocently
“The planet of the Daleks” The Doctor replied again sounding as if he was in a dream world.
The Doctor typed a few commands into a keyboard to double check his findings, looking at the display in front of him his fears were confirmed.
“Master, I must inform you that TARDIS power systems are running low” K-9 reported.
“This is fantastic” The Doctor shouted “Not only have we ended up on Skaro but we have little to no power” He added hitting the console.
“Suggest course of action?” K-9 asked
The Doctor remained thoughtful as his mind ticked over various solutions, K-9 could almost hear the cogs turning.
“There’s only one thing for it” The Doctor announced as he jumped away from the console picking up his hat which was laying on the floor, placing it on his head and adjusting his scarf “We go find some power, there’s bound to be plenty of it about here on Skaro”
“But the Daleks Doctor?”
“Oh don’t worry about them K-9, I can handle those big tin cans on wheels” The Doctor replied smiling.
“But TARDIS records state otherwise, suggest alternative course of action”
“Never mind what the records say” The Doctor replied harshly “Now be a good dog and follow me” He added flipping the door release lever.
The door opened and daylight greeted The Doctor, K-9 poking his robotic head outside the TARDIS door to survey the area.
“Skaro never changes” The Doctor’s voice echoed inside K-9’s head
“How so master?” K-9 Inquired “I have insufficient data on planet Skaro”
“Cold, uninviting, evil. Just like it’s inhabitants” The Doctor walked away from the TARDIS, in yet another dream like state. This was not uncommon for The Doctor, well not his current re-generation.
The metallic corridors lay dormant, almost silent. The sound of machinery could be heard going through their usual motions. Nobody was present to control these systems; to all intents and purposes the base was desolate.
As if by magic the corridor was now a buzz of light as lights mysteriously switched themselves on. It was evident that the base had been left vacant for many years, dust had settled on every fixture and fitting. A door right at the very end of the corridor opened, from which a pepper pot shaped object rolled out, followed closely by half a dozen more, all echoing the following.
“We are the Daleks, we are the master race, we have returned to conquer the universe and avenge our creator, Davros! All other forms of life must and will be exterminated”
The shrill voices echoed throughout the base, the speech was repeated again, almost like a chant. Once the chanting was over one of the Daleks rolled forward and turned to face the others.
“I am leader of the Daleks, you will follow my instructions and act upon them” The Dalek chanted.
“We obey” came the response from the rest of the Daleks.
“We must get this base fully operational if we are to continue the good work that our creator has started”
“All hail Davros!” Shrieked the Dalek squad.
“We will start by bringing those of us who are trapped in the caves below, to that we must thank the sworn enemy of our race, The Doctor. We will survive”
The Doctor walked forward, as if he was lost. He was looking for signs of life, human or otherwise. He stopped and looked around for as far as the eye could see there was a thick dark fog. He could barely see what was in front of him.
“K-9, where are you?” The Doctor called out
“I am right behind you, master” The electronic dog replied “The fog is very difficult to navigate”
The Doctor sighed “Yes K-9 I know, even I’m having trouble with it myself, it’s very dense, almost as if some natural disaster has happened here in the last century”
“Affirmative master. Readings show that planet has recently sustained an extensive missile attack, Master” Reported K-9.
“I wonder why” The Doctor pondered this, why, and for that matter who would attack Skaro. Skaro was worthless.
“Suggest we return to TARDIS until fog clears”
“You know K-9 that’s not such a bad idea” The Doctor replied as he spun round to face his companion “Then I can beat you at Chess” The Doctor added smiling.
The Doctor took large strides as he walked back to the TARDIS; K-9 was only just able to keep up with him. K-9 was then alerted to something falling from the sky above at a great speed, he worked out a quick calculation, he had to alert The Doctor before it was too late.
“Doctor, danger” K-9 shrieked “Get out of the way”
The Doctor didn’t hesitate, he did as he was ordered and jumped to the ground, falling hard on his right arm. He sat up and looked to see a space pod crash to the ground. He found he had to literally back away because the heat was so intense that if he stayed any closer he’d burn, causing him to use up one of his re-generations.
“K-9, that was close” K-9 didn’t answer “K-9, where are you” The Doctor stood up and looked around, the pod was now steaming as it became acclimatised to the atmosphere on Skaro.
The Doctor began to worry, K-9 was for the want of a better description, his right hand dog, and he couldn’t be without him.
“K-9” The Doctor called out again.
Silence followed before The Doctor heard a muffled voice.
“Yes Master”
The pod landed with such force that it had flipped K-9 over so yet again he was lying on his back like a turtle in the sun.
“Oh K-9, you poor dog, I’ll just put you right” The Doctor smiled as he saw K-9 had come to no harm. “Are you alright K-9?” The Doctor asked concerned for his companion.
“I’m feeling a little battered, but fully functional, Master”
“That’s a good boy” The Doctor smiled as he tapped the dog on the head.
After checking to see if K-9 was in one piece The Doctor turned his attentions to the space pod. Looking at it and thinking, bringing his hand to his chin and tapping it lightly. His eyes fixed on the pod, eyebrows twitching as his brain ticked over.
“I wonder” The Doctor spoke out loud as he walked closer to the space pod. It was still hot, but the heat more bearable. Creeping up to the pod very cautiously, trying not to make any sudden moves that may endanger his life, or K-9.
“It is quite safe master” K-9 reported.
“I was hoping you’d say that”
The Doctor rested his hand on the pod, it was now warm, but by no means boiling hot. He examined it carefully looking for a way to open it up and see what was inside. After several minutes of looking for some way to open the pod The Doctor walked away from it, shrugging his shoulders.
“It’s no use K-9, I can’t find a way to open it, you have a go there’s a good fellow “
“Right away master” K-9 replied as he slowly made his way up to the pod, his laser extension moved forward and interfaced with the pod. Computer like sounds could be heard for a few moments before the pod opened.
Steam poured out of the pod, as if something had been preserved in there for a long time. The Doctor knelt down and peered inside the pod to see a human female in some sort of deep sleep. He put his hand to her neck to feel a very weak pulse. Picking himself up off the floor and gently picking her up and removing her from the pod in one swift movement from the pod he ran toward the TARDIS with her in his arms.
“K-9, quick, back to the TARDIS she is barely alive”
“Yes master, I will lead the way” K-9 reported as he stormed off ahead of the Doctor.
The Doctor held the girl in his arms tightly as he carried her as quickly and smoothly to the TARDIS as possible. Doing his best to keep up with K-9 and avoid any rough terrain The Doctor soon reached the TARDIS.
“K-9, quickly, open the door, she’s very weak” The Doctor ordered.
“Yes master” The TARDIS door opened and K-9 rushed in
“Good boy” The Doctor shouted to K-9 “Now, this girl needs a blanket, do we have any onboard the TARDIS?” The Doctor called out, his voice showing his mind was wondering again.
“May I suggest Sarah Jane’s old room Doctor?” K-9 replied
“You clever dog, what would I do without you?”
The Doctor ran out of the console room and into another part of the TARDIS, K-9 following close behind. The Doctor stopped.
“K-9, remind me, where is Sarah’s room?” The Doctor asked, he’d clearly forgotten. It had been several years since he dropped Sarah off to earth and had no real need to go into the other rooms of The TARDIS.
“It is to your left, master” K-9 replied, if only he could laugh.
“Ahhh, of course it is” The Doctor replied, as if he’d known all along.
Quickly grabbing the door handle and turning it without disturbing the girl he ran to the bed and placed her on it gently, placing the blankets which were in the same state that Sarah had left them in when she was dropped off at earth by The Doctor, in a pile on the floor.
“There” The Doctor smiled as he placed the last blanket over her and admired her pretty face.
She was very young looking she couldn’t have been any older than 18. Her long natural ginger hair cascaded over the blankets. The Doctor looked at her and just smiled, she had something about her, she was radiant with beauty, something that was hard to ignore.
The Doctor stepped away from her, looking at her for a few moments more.
“K-9, stay with her. Let me know if she wakes up” The Doctor ordered
“Affirmative, Master”
The Doctor left the room, pausing at the doorway to take one more look at the girl before making his way back to the console room. The Doctor rested his hands on the console, looking up at the ceiling, slipping off into deep thought.
Who was she and why did she end up on Skaro? The only logical clue was that she had escaped in the pod, but from what. As quick as a flash The Doctor’s brain fired into action, he set about the console, pressing buttons madly.
“Ah” He called out loud as he saw flashing blips on the screen “Hmmm” He called out, putting a finger to his lip studying the images on screen closely.
“K-9” He called out and waited patiently.
The robotic dog left the girl, even he was amazed by her beauty.
“Yes master, I’m coming” K-9 called out.
“Look” The Doctor ordered pointing at the screen as K-9 rolled into the console room.
K-9 positioned himself so he could see the screen.
“It is the trajectory of the space pod that girl was in, master” K-9 reported
“Yes K-9, I know that, look where it came from, the angle, speed and velocity”
K-9’s ears flapped as he calculated what he was seeing in his mind, working out all the angels, time and distance formulae.
“Earth, master. She came from earth” K-9 reported
The Doctor frowned.
“Yes K-9, I know, but why?” The Doctor put his hand to his forehead, grabbing his scarf with his other free hand “Why?”
K-9 flapped his ears again.
“To wage war on the Daleks?”
“K-9, don’t be so stupid, she would not be aware of the Daleks existence, nobody from earth would know anything about the Daleks”
“It is possible, master” K-9 replied
“Unless!” The Doctor smiled “The Daleks attacked earth, and the earth authorities are fighting back”
Meanwhile, the girl was now getting stronger, she was dreaming. The Dalek invasion of earth. She was one of the very few lucky ones to have been spared and sent off in a space pod, programmed to find a planet with the most earth like atmosphere, unfortunately this was planet Skaro.
Her eyes opened, as quick as a flash. Her eyes adjusted to the light in the room, everything was hazy and out of focus. Her head felt as if someone had been playing drums in her ears for the duration that she had been in the space pod.
She didn’t have the strength to stand or move. She lust lay silent looking up at the ceiling. Her mind trying to work out where she was and what she was doing here and who had found her, whomever it was they certainly seemed to care.
The questions that had been forming in her head now became answered as she heard a door open, it didn’t creak, it just slid open with the faint sound of some sort of pneumatic action. She adjusted her head to see a tall man wearing a brimmed had, a long burgundy coat and a scarf approach her. At first she thought she was dreaming, who was this guy? He must be a bit extrovert.
‘Who in the hell is he?’ Her question was soon answered.
“Ahh” The Doctor called out “I see you’re awake, I am the Doctor, who might you be?” He added as he approached the girl.
At first she felt too weak to answer, words, and questions that she wanted answered filled her head, but she had a hard time in getting them out, finally she answered, weakly.
“I’m Paula, what am I doing here?”
The Doctor sat down by her bedside.
“Well Paula, you see” The Doctor stopped and scratched his head for a few moments “I don’t know what you’re doing here either”
The corners of her mouth curled ever so slightly as she tried her best to smile.
“Space pod . . . escape from Davros and his Daleks . . . they invaded earth shuttle craft on exploration mission to . . . . Mars” She struggled to get the words out “Must sleep . . . need rest” She concluded closing her eyes drifting back off to sleep again.
The Doctor stroked her cheek gently as she went back to sleep.
‘I was right! I must tell K-9’
The Doctor stood up, stroking Paula’s cheek once more before he left the room. Strolling into the console room with a smile bigger than the North Sea The Doctor called out.
“K-9, I was right”
K-9 turned to face The Doctor “Right about what, master?”
“My theory” The Doctor replied in amazement as he did when he found out that his theories were right, a childish, yet amusing trait which Te Doctor carried from re-generation to re-generation. “Get me all the information you have on the Daleks and Mars” The Doctor ordered.
“Mars, master?”
“Yes K-9, Mars, now be quick about it, there’s a good dog”
“Right away master” K-9 replied as he interfaced with the TARDIS console to gain access to the Matrix to search for the information The Doctor wanted.
The Doctor watched the robotic dog work, lights on the console flashed as K-9 searched the required information. Moments later K-9 scuttled over to The Doctor.
“Matrix information indicates that in 2946, earth shuttle craft Alpha 2930 was indeed attacked by Daleks. Daleks entered craft via the aid of an old type 30 TARDIS which had been condemned by Galifrey high council as unsuitable use for time travel. A space pod was ejected from shuttle Alpha 2930, in it lies Paula Louise Johnson”
The Doctor’s eye focussed on K-9 as he took in the information.
“Yes I remember that. K-9 what caused the Daleks to attack Alpha 2930?”
“Davros sent one million Daleks to earth to conquer it, the earth authorities retaliated by sending a mass weapon of destruction to Skaro. Davros had already transported to Mars to save himself. By the time Paula’s pod arrived here, 750 years later all effects that the bomb had will have diminished” K-9 reported in parrot like fashion.
“And the type 30?” The Doctor asked.
“The type 30 is that of the master” K-9 replied.
“Hmmmm” The Doctor thought out loud, pressed a few buttons on the console “Hold on to your tail K-9, we are going to Mars”
Dalek base
“Alert, alert” shrieked the Dalek monitoring planet surface activity “I am getting a time distortion in sector 6”
Seconds later the newly self appointed Dalek leader replied.
“The distortions are that of a TARDIS, The Doctor has been here, EXTERMINATE, EXTERMINATE”
“The TARDIS is no longer on planet surface, it has materialised”
“Do not worry, he will return, we will get our revenge” The leader responded “How many new patrol units have now been activated?”
“100 more Daleks have been activated and are ready for patrol”
“Send a patrol to sector 6”
“I obey”
TARDIS – Console Room
The Doctor waited patiently for the TARDIS to take him to Mars, K-9 by his side. The Doctor pushed himself away from the wall and walked around the console room, fiddling around in his pockets.
“I think I’ll have a Jelly Baby” The Doctor announced, fishing around his pockets some more he produced a small white paper bag “Ahh, there you are” He smiled looking at the bag “now what colour?”
Putting his hand in the bag he picked one out at random, pulling out a black one. Putting the whole thing into is mouth he sucked it for a few moments, savouring the flavour before chewing it and then swallowing it.
“Ahh” He sighed “There’s nothing like a nice black Jelly Baby on a long journey, don’t you agree K-9?” He added reaching into the paper bag for another.
“I do not agree with you master, I can not eat, so there fore data on Jelly Babies is irrelevant”
The Doctor laughed.
“Of course you’d say that, what did I expect?” The Doctor looked at the readings on the console, still another 7 hours to go before reaching Mars “Do you fancy a game of Chess K-9, I’ll beat you this time” The Doctor smiled.
“I would love a game of Chess” K-9 replied
“Good boy” The Doctor replied patting K-9 on the head “I’ll go get the Chess set”
K-9 awaited The Doctors return from the storage room with the Chess set, he was really looking forward to beating the Doctor, yet again. The Doctor returned smiling.
“Here we go K-9, get ready”
“Yes master”
The Doctor setup the game, K-9 watching closely, already working out tactics on how to beat The Doctor. That was one of the advantages of being a computer.
Several hours into the game K-9 noticed that Paula was stood behind The Doctor, but he was right in the middle of a move and for the first time ever he was actually beating K-9 hands down.
“Master” K-9 called out.
“Not now K-9, can’t you see I’m busy making a move?” The Doctor snapped
“But master, it is imperative that you look behind you” K-9 reported.
“K-9, I just told you, please” The Doctor sighed as he made his move “There check mate” The Doctor added smiling “I think I won”
Paula stood behind him patiently, wearing nothing more than a blanket to cover her.
“When you’ve quite finished” Echoed her soft gentle voice “I need some clothes, then you can explain where I am” She added.
The Doctor stood straight away once he heard her voice.
“Certainly, you’ll find some clothes in the store room, they should fit you, I hope”
The Doctor lead Paula into his storage room where he kept all his worldly goods and a spare pair of clothes or two just in case he picked up anyone on his travels, and being a time lord usually meant you would pick someone up along the way.
The Doctor left Paula looking at his clothes rail, there really wasn’t much for her to choose from. A very short skirt and a woollen top and a pair of training shoes, or a very long and impractical dress, which looked as if it came from the 1970’s.
Paula settled for the skirt and woollen top, it certainly wasn’t her usual attire but it would do for the time being until she could find something better. Looking at herself in the full length mirror she was pleasantly surprised to she actually looked rather nice in this out fit. Having a final look in the mirror just to be sure she walked away, took a deep breath and opened the door.
The Doctor looked up from the console and saw Paula standing tall. Her long shapely legs were made for that skirt. The red woollen top looked quite nice too, her long natural ginger hair was the finishing touch, she looked stunning. The Doctor was starting to have thoughts that time lords shouldn’t, so he shook his head and emptied himself of any impure thoughts.
She walked confidently over to the console, she was still feeling weak and tired but now had the energy to walk and find out what was going on. She had been in the space pod in stasis for well over 15 years. She was only 15 when she escaped in the pod and the life support system kept her well preserved.
Looking round the console room and adjusting to her surroundings before speaking.
“Where am I?” She asked curiously, as she walked round the console looking at it closely.
“You are onboard a type 40 TARDIS” The Doctor replied as he entered some commands into a keyboard.
Paula looked confused.
“A type 40 what?” She asked, her voice puzzled.
“TARDIS, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. She’s knocking on a bit but for an old type 40, your doing well aren’t you old girl?” The Doctor smiled patting the console.
“What does that mean?” Paula asked again still confused.
“Well my dear girl, put simply your standing in a time machine, is that any better for you, or do I need to get K-9 to explain?” The Doctor replied peering up over the computer monitor.
“K what?”
“Me” Came squeaky electronic voice on the other side of the console room.
A robotic dog scuttled over to Paula, stopping just in front of her.
“I am K-9, Mistress”
She looked at first the Doctor, then the console and then at K-9 in disbelief, someone was playing a very cruel and nasty trick on her and she was starting to feel frightened.
“I don’t like this” Came a small frightened voice “I feel as if I’m dreaming and none of this is real, time machines and now talking robotic dogs” Looking down at the floor she began to cry.
The Doctor tried to ignore her cries at first but then found he couldn’t concentrate so he thought best to go and comfort her, if she’d let him.
“Now come on, everything you see here is all real, I am real, the TARDIS is real and K-9 is real” The Doctor spoke softly doing his best to re-assure Paula
He got closer to her and put his arm over her shoulder and held her close to him. Although he was at times a bit rough, course some might say, he could also be quite tender and caring.
“Are you sure?” She asked, still crying.
“Yes, quite sure. Would you like a Jelly Baby?” The Doctor replied, fishing around in his pocket for the bag of Jelly Babies
Paula smiled, the last time she had a Jelly Baby was when she was 10.
“Yes please, I’d love one” She sniffed, reaching into the bag that The Doctor produced from his pocket.
“Here, have the whole bag” He smiled “you do look as if you need food”
The bonding between Paula and The Doctor came to an abrupt end as K-9 made an announcement.
“Danger, danger, TARDIS power level critical”
The Doctor rushed over to the console, hit some buttons, turned a dial and shouted out “Hold on everybody, this is going to be a little bumpy”
The lights went dim as the TARDIS came to an abrupt halt, landing with a big bang.
All in the TARDIS stood motionless, daring not to breathe or move in the darkness. The Doctor scratched is head for a few moments before checking to see if anybody was hurt.
“K-9?” The Doctor called out
“Master” The Dog replied “I have sustained no damage”
“Paula, are you hurt?”
“I think I’m alright, a little shaken” She replied.
“Good, if I’m correct then we should be on the Mars space station, if I’m wrong then we’re trapped here” The Doctor announced trying to see if there was any power left at all.
“I would like to point out that the Doctor Master is usually wrong”
“Yes, yes K9 alright so I make a few mistakes from time to time, don’t you?” The Doctor retaliated.
“I am a computer, I have made no error. There is no room for error”
“Yes, and that’s what bothers me” The Doctor muttered under his breath.
“What was that master?” K-9 asked as he detected the Doctor’s speech tones were quieter than normal.
“Nothing, K-9” The Doctor replied.
“TARDIS energy depleted, suggest we find some Bizanium or other radioactive material” K-9 reported
“And no power to open the doors either” The Doctor thought out loud as he looked about the darkened console room “I’ll have to use the crank handle” He added as he walked over to the door and felt for the crank handle.
“This hasn’t been used for sometime”
“Like most things in this old rust bucket I shouldn’t wonder” Paula spoke.
“I’ll have you know” The Doctor carried on turning the handle “That there’s a good few million years left yet in the old girl, she just needs to recharge her batteries from time to time, like we all do, isn’t that right K-9?”
“Affirmative master” The Dog replied, scuttling his way to the door “The door is almost open”
“Good”
Mars Space station – Outer perimeter
A patrol of Daleks had gathered around the TARDIS. The space station scanner’s had almost been destroyed when the TARDIS came crashing onto the Space Station landing bay due to the massive energy surge that was created once the TARDIS had materialised.
The TARDIS door opened and the Doctor emerged, Paula peering over his shoulder and K-9 peering from his legs.
“Ahh” Called out the Doctor, clearly not expecting a welcoming committee. Responding in the only way he knew how “Would you like a Jelly Baby?” Nothing like a touch of humour when posed with a dangerous situation.
“I don’t think they want Jelly Babies. Doctor” Paula spoke softly, quivering behind him.
“hmm yes, I think you might be right there” He replied throwing on his floppy wide brimmed hat
“You will come with us” Echoed a shrill electronic voice “You are The Doctor, enemy of the Daleks. The girl will stay where she is”
“There’s no flies on you is there old boy, except on Davros” The Doctor smiled walking slowly away from the TARDIS, looking back at Paula and smiling as he did so “There’s no need to worry, you’ll be safe with K-9”
The Doctor saluted the Dalek patrol with his hat and then strode boldly in front of them, taking large confident strides as the leader of the patrol rolled in front of him.
The TARDIS was now unguarded, K-9 and Paula looked on as the Doctor disappeared down a corridor and into a lift with the Daleks. Paula stepped back inside, K-9 following her closely, he sensed she was frightened and the darkened console room only made things worse.
Leaning on the console, Paula looked around the darkened room. Not a murmur came from the TARDIS, not an echo. It was in every sense of the word, dead. An electrician by trade, Paula wondered if there was anyway to get the TARDIS working. She wasn’t at all sure that battery packs were dead.
“K-9, is it all possible that the energy store to the TARDIS isn’t depleted?” Paula asked, she wanted to keep her mind off the Daleks for as long as possible.
“There is one possibility” K-9 replied “The Cloaking device unit of this TARDIS has not been functioning for several hundred years, that has it own power store which could be diverted into main power banks”
Paula smiled and was about to respond when K-9 reported “However TARDIS energy is at 100% capacity”
‘Odd’ she thought to herself, what could cause that to happen.
“How do you explain that, first we have no power and now you tell me that we do, are you sure your functioning properly?” Paula asked, totally confused by the whole situation.
“I detect that there are no malfunctions, Mistress”
The Daleks never changed. Sitting in the interrogation room The Doctor looked around. Nothing of any great interest at all, a large room filled with nothing but one solitary restraining chair, to which he was sitting in. He struggled to free himself from the retrains that clipped his ankles and arms tightly to the chair.
The Doctor had been stripped of his coat and hat, The Daleks wanted to search it for any threats. Laughing quietly to himself ‘I wonder if they tried one of my Jelly Babies’
The Doctor was drawn away from his thoughts; two Daleks entered the room, a third followed shortly after holding a tray with The Doctors belongings on it.
“You will answer our questions or be exterminated” Shrieked the first Dalek.
“Ahh good” The Doctor replied smiling “Then maybe you over grown pepper pots will leave me alone, I’ve better things to be doing , and instead I’m stood here talking to a group of egotistical freaks”
“Silence” Shouted one of the patrol Daleks “You will only speak when spoken to or be exterminated”
“You idiots never change do you? Just what do you plan to achieve?” The Doctor shouted
“This is your last warning, one more word and you will be exterminated”
The Doctor was highly amused. Out of all the enemies he had to deal with the Daleks were the easiest to aggravate and antagonise. The Doctor waited for the question and answer session to start, his wait was soon over as an odd shaped Dalek rolled into the room. It didn’t look like a normal Dalek, but it was clear to the naked eye that it wasn’t anything else.
It was taller than a normal Dalek, but it had the unmistakable bumps around it’s body, it’s head was like a bulbous mass with an eye piece but no weapon.
“Dalek leader is in the room, interrogation will commence”
The lights in the room dimmed as each Dalek took its respective place in the room, all most like a court room, each Dalek however with one final verdict before court and trial had even passed; exterminate.
“Please confirm that you are The Doctor”
“I am The Doctor, why you had to ask me that question I don’t understand, I know who I am” The Doctor replied
“Why are you here?”
“My TARDIS developed a fault and landed on the nearest planet in it’s orbit” The Doctor replied hoping that this would convince The Daleks to let him go.
“Please explain what this tool is” Came the next question from the Dalek leader, holding the sonic screwdriver
“Ahh my sonic screwdriver, I wondered what had happened to that”
“Answer the question”
“Well I use it to repair my TARDIS” The Doctor replied “That’s all it does, would you like a demonstration?”
The Daleks all grouped together and talked amongst themselves before giving The Doctor an answer.
“You may demonstrate the sonic screwdriver” Replied the leader as one of the patrol Daleks rolled over to the Doctor and handed him the screwdriver.
‘Whatever the outcome, they’ll still want to exterminate me, hmm time to use the sonic amplifier modification’
“Could you move over there, that’s a good chap” The Doctor smiled and pointed where he wanted the Dalek to go “And you three, go with him” The other three Daleks did as they were instructed, The Doctor couldn’t believe his luck.
Making a few adjustments on the screwdriver the doctor first aimed at a small box that lay in the middle of the room. “I’m going to destroy this box, and then repair it again” The screwdriver fired and the box disappeared into nothing.
“Impressed?” The Doctor asked the Daleks, who remained silent, clearly not amused by this feeble attempt of a demonstration. “Now for something bigger, I think” The Doctor smiled, aimed the screwdriver at the Daleks, adjusted the power and fired.
All but the Dalek Leader exploded, The Doctor jumped off his chair, grabbed his coat and hat and made a run for it, alarms sounding all over the place, the Dalek leader in hot pursuit.
“Escape, escape, the prisoner has escaped” It bellowed as it gave chase after the Doctor along the long corridors of the space station.
The Doctor always got such a buzz when he was being chased, it didn’t matter who or what was chasing him, it was just one of the many elements he loved about being a Time lord.
Meanwhile Paula was lying on her back under the TARDIS console, totally at a loss on how to connect everything back to where it should be. The wiring was an absolute shambles and if the Grand High council of Time lords could see it they’d have the old type 40 condemned on sight. Odd really as that’s how The Doctor found it among many other TARDIS’s he had to pick this one.
Paula noticed a very small black box wired into the console as if it shouldn’t be there.
“K-9” She called out
“Yes, Mistress” The dog replied as he scuttled his way over to her
“What’s this?” She asked as she unhooked the device and rolled it out in front of the dog.
“That’s a power inverter” Came the Doctor’s voice from above her “A very crude little device used for making us time lords think we’ve run out of power and cause us to crash land somewhere dangerous” The Doctor explained “How it got into my TARDIS I shall never know”
“Well it didn’t grow legs and install itself Doctor” Paula replied, in some amazement at The Doctor’s flippant attitude towards the situation.
“Do you think that I installed something as crude as that in my very own TARDIS?” The Doctor retaliated feeling a little hurt about that last comment, the TARDIS was The Doctor’s pride and joy.
“Well, no” Paula replied, now standing up and dusting herself down
“Good” The Doctor replied “A Time lords TARDIS is his castle, very much in the same way that an Englishman’s house is his castle”
Paula sighed.
“Well it had to get there somehow” Paula replied, now feeling somewhat annoyed with The Doctor’s arrogance
“I’m perfectly well aware of that” The Doctor snapped.
“Well have you any idea who might have done it then?”
The Doctor went quiet for a moment or two, walking round the console room, whistling and scratching his head, thinking who had the knowledge, skill and audacity to plant something as crude and effective.
“Ahh” The Doctor continued wondering round the room collecting is thoughts “It’s possible, and logical” He took off is hat, turned round and threw it towards the hat stand that stood in the corner of the console room, landing nicely on a hook “Hmm yes, of course, it has all his trademarks, crude, effective, annoying and quick”
The Doctor had been rambling for five minutes or more now and Paula’s patience was growing thin.
“Well?” Paula asked, breaking the Doctor’s thoughts.
Like he’d done with K-9 earlier he slipped off into a dream like state to give his answer.
“Paula my dear girl, the only person besides one or two members of the Grand High council of Time lords could have done this, the most dangerous person I’ve ever encountered”
“Doctor!” Paula shouted
Still in a dream like state The Doctor answered
“The Master”
K-9 rolled up beside The Doctor.
“The Master, the most evil time lord to have ever existed. He has never stopped trying to kill the Doctor Master but has failed”
Paula bit her lip
“Certainly someone I wouldn’t fancy bumping into at the dead of night in a dark alley”
“You wouldn’t want to bump into him” The Doctor replied “He’s the kind of person you don’t bump into” he added, walking over to the hat stand and picking up his hat and swiftly resting it on his head.
“Now then, what sort of a mess is the old girl in then?” The Doctor asked Paula, who was looking confused, she knew very little of this strange man who called himself The Doctor yet she dared not to ask the questions that formed in her head.
Paula didn’t answer. Questions, thoughts, feelings and emotions were all forming in her head and she just couldn’t escape them. What had happened to all the people she knew? Friends, family. Did they all survive? The Doctor, The Master, TARDIS. She knew who the Daleks were and wished she and her people had never heard of them. Her life had been turned upside down and she was powerless to do anything about it.
“Paula?” The Doctor asked enquiringly looking in to her eyes at the same time and seeing a void of nothingness within them. “Paula, I say my dear girl are you alright?” The Doctor asked grabbing her by the arm gently and squeezing it
Paula came out of her thoughts just as she remembered the painful moment when the Daleks attacked.
“What?” Came a very confused and disturbed response.
“Paula, come my girl, the TARDIS, what’s the damage?” The Doctor asked again, this time letting ho of her arm and resting his hand on her shoulder gently.
“Oh that, just connect the wires back together and she’ll work again, that’s if the power inverter hasn’t already done any damage” She replied dreamily.
“Hmm yes” Replied The Doctor “I think you need some rest, go lay down for a while, me and K-9 can manage from here” The Doctor added.
Paula didn’t reply, she slowly walked out of the console room and to her living quarters. Her head still spinning with thoughts, elements of fear, fear of the Daleks. She lowered herself down onto the bed. Sitting on the edge of it she placed her head in her hands and found herself crying. She felt so alone, all she wanted was to feel loved, enveloped in someone’s arms. That someone was James, her boyfriend from earth. With him in her mind she spread herself out on the bed, and cried herself to sleep.
The Doctor was intently working under the TARDIS console, connecting the wires to where they should be after it had been so crudely cut by The Master to install his latest box of tricks. Looking at the power inverter the Doctor thought about what he could do with it. Twisting the last pair of wires together The Doctor pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket made an adjustment and then fired a short pulse of energy at each join in the wires to seal them off, and to ensure a good reliable connection.
“There you are old girl” The Doctor smiled “That should see you right again” He added as he slowly stood up and reached for the power button. But before he pressed it he stopped and paused over it, as if he didn’t want to switch on just yet. His index finger lingering over the button, quivering ever so slightly. Then with out giving it another moments thought he pressed the power button. Nothing happened.
“Blast!” he shouted out “Come on old girl, you’ve never let me down before” The Doctor added, tapping the console gently, hoping that somehow his faithful old TARDIS would come back to life
Still nothing, not a flash or flicker of light. The Doctor scratched his head pondering what the problem might be. Then he remembered the last time something similar happened.
“Ahh, of course” The Doctor called out, his words echoing around the console room. “The re-set switch” Scratching his head again “Now where would that be?”
K-9 came to The Doctors aid “Try under the console, Master”
The Doctor’s eyes lit up light tiny light bulbs.
“Why didn’t I think of that? K-9 what would I do with out you?” The Doctor responded, his voice clearly showing he was excited.
The Doctor peered under the console. Could do with a clean he thought, what with all the light years of dust that had gathered under there. A clear button, no larger than a circular door handle, painted in red with the words “Press in case of EMERGENCY” around it.
“Here goes” He reached out to press the button, he couldn’t quite reach, so he had to lean further forward. Edging his fingers ever closer to the button. Then moments before he pressed it the console room filled with light followed by the console firing into life. The Doctor stood back and stood up to his full height once more, smiling like an idiot.
“I knew the old girl wouldn’t let me down” He smiled again, tapping the console gently “What do you make of that then K-9?” The Doctor asked as he checked all the TARDIS systems to see if they were all working correctly.
“A very cranky TARDIS, Master” K-9 replied
“Careful K-9, or I’ll forget to charge your batteries when you least expect it” The Doctor replied, he knew very well that his TARDIS was cranky, but he loved her like that, she had character, which is more than could be said for the new Micro Processor based TARDIS which were now in circulation.
“Now then, where was I before I was messing with a power inverter?”
“Dealing with Daleks, Master” K-9 replied
“Ahh yes now I remember, I’d ran away from them after showing them my sonic screwdriver” The Doctor put his hands in his pockets looking for his bag of Jelly Babies “Those Daleks never change, they’ve always got one thing on the mind my dear friend” He added, after popping a Jelly Baby into his mouth.
“What’s that master?” K-9 answered as he knew very little of the Daleks and was fascinated by them and the way The Doctor talked about them, as if somehow they were old friends.
“Their lust to exterminate anything that lives”
Paula smiled at the Doctor. The way he worked, his brisk actions and spontaneous responses to new situations amazed her, she wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. The Doctor picked up the power inverter which lay useless on the TARDIS console, looking at it for a few moments before tossing it up in the air with one hand, catching it with the other and putting it in his pocket which never seemed to fill up.
“A crude, but still useful device” He announced
Paula looked at the Doctor, not quite sure what he was planning to do with the inverter.
“What are you going to use it for?” She asked bravely, a little frightened to question his actions.
The Doctor thought for a moment before asking, even he didn’t know exactly what he was going to use the inverter for himself.
“My dear girl, that’s a very good question” He responded as he allowed him self to think again. The passing moments that followed like an eternity, finally the awkward silence broke “Ahhh, it’s simple!” The Doctor exclaimed as he ran round the console like a headless chicken “it’s a well known fact that Daleks rely on power to survive” He cheered.
“It’s a well known fact that your TARDIS is cranky” Paula responded.
“It go us here didn’t it?” The Doctor snapped patting the console as if to restore any confidence the TARDIS had lost from Paula’s comments.
“Well, yes” She replied awkwardly.
“Well there you are then” The Doctor smiled before returning to his original train of thought “As I was saying” He continued “It’s a well known fact that Daleks rely on power to survive, to operate their weapons machinery etc” The Doctor waffled on for sometime about Dalek power systems.
“Doctor” Paula shouted cutting him off mid sentence.
“Yes” He responded, quite annoyed he’d been cut off mid lecture.
“What do you plan to do with the power inverter?” Paula asked
“Simple my dear girl, attach it to the power supply of the space station, all I need is to make a few adjustments and there will be an almighty explosion which will be seen for millions of thousands of miles throughout the galaxy” The Doctor finished his speech as he drew breath.
“So to put a finer point on it, we’re going to blow this place up?” Paula asked.
“Give that girl a Jelly Baby!” The Doctor cheered
“Then why didn’t you just say so?” Paula asked clearly annoyed.
The Doctor couldn’t explain or give an answer to that question, he just shrugged his shoulders and then reached into his coat pocket taking out a paper bag, opening it and offering it to Paula.
“Would you like a Jelly Baby? I like to bite their heads off to relive tension” The Doctor smiled.
“Oh Doctor” Paula smiled back at him. He had this knack of turning a very serious situation into a very humorous moment.
“All joking aside, have you got a plan?” She asked
“Well not yet” The Doctor replied “hmm lets see” he added as he ran over to the console and pushed a few buttons to open the scanner.
“I don’t like the look of that” He thought out loud, Paula looking at the screen to see that the TARDIS was surrounded by 5, maybe 6 Daleks “Over grown pepper pots on wheels”
The Doctor looked around the console room for a minute r so, thinking how to handle this situation.
“K-9” He called out
“Yes master” Replied the electronic dog instantly
“I’m going out side, when I give the word come from behind me and give the Daleks closest to the door a good blasting”
“Yes master” The little dog replied in compliance.
“Paula stay here, and if I don’t return in an hour then press the green button” He announced as he pulled the lever to open the doors.
“Why?” She asked
“Don’t argue, just do it” He shouted back at her.
As The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS he saw the Dalek patrol waiting for him.
“You will come with us” They all announced in unionism “The leader wishes to interrogate you further” The electronic voices droned on.
“You oversized, arrogant, dominant Spam cans on wheels never did learn the fine art of persuasion did you?” The Doctor tormented them.
“You will come with us” they chanted again.
“And if I won’t?” The Doctor asked, with a glint in his eye.
“We have orders to exterminate you”
“Then so be it - K-9! The Doctor shouted and jumped back, K-9 lurched forward and carried out his orders, gave two of the Daleks a very strong blast each. Both the Daleks exploded, causing damage to another two, blasting the eye pieces clean off.
“Out of control” Chanted the Daleks as they went spiralling into the walls of the space station, exploding as they did collided.
The Doctor stood up to see the fight was now between him and one Dalek. He looked the Dalek in the eye, grinning like a Cheshire cat. The Daleks had no facial expression which is why they were so brutal. Inside that hard intimidating exterior lived a caged and very vulnerable, insecure mutant.
“You will be exterminated, by order of the supreme renegade Dalek leader” The shrill electronic voice echoed.
The Doctor took a deep breath and stood quietly and calmly “Oh really?”
“Prepare to die” The Dalek shrieked.
“Look behind you!” The Doctor shouted and pointed at the rear of the landing deck behind the Dalek “It’s a Cyberman”
It was a well known fact among Time lords that the Daleks a Cybermen were sworn enemies, both just as ruthless as each other.
The Dalek turned round to the direction the Doctor was pointing to.
“K-9, now” The Doctor shouted.
An easy target, K-9 could hardly miss, just as he was about to fire he stopped dead in his tracks.
“K-9!” The Doctor shouted
“I’ve run out of power Master, blaster will not function” K-9 replied in a state of panic.
The Doctor wasn’t about to give up with out a fight as the Dalek turned back round and faced him.
“You tried to fool me. Dalek’s are not fools” The Dalek taunted as it got ever closer to The Doctor.
“Oh no?” The Doctor asked “You see the thing is, you’ve been making fools out of yourselves for centuries, why stop now?” The Doctor taunted back.
The Dalek stopped dead in its tracks focussing on The Doctor.
“We are the superior beings, the master race. We are the Daleks, we will conquer the universe, you will be exterminated”
The Doctor smiled “I wouldn’t be so sure of that” reached into his pocket and pulled out a grenade, which he’d taken from the Brigadier. Pulling the pin out, and throwing it violently at the Dalek and then running round behind the TARDIS for cover he shouted “Eat that Spam tin!”
The grenade hit the Dalek square on, blowing into millions of pieces which scattered around the launch bay.
Looking at the pile of metal that lay before him, the sound of the explosion echoed round the room, till a deathly silence fell. The Doctor waited for a few moments before he moved any further.
“Good work K-9” The Doctor smiled
“Thank you master” The little electronic voice responded as The Doctor drifted off into a dream world.