Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks (19 page)

'Forget it. If future Daleks gained mastery of time travel then you'd already know about it. They'd be here right this minute. In fact we'd
all
be trundling around in the old Mark Three Travel Machine chanting "exterminate" by now.'

'I
NCORRECT
. D
ALEK TIME-TRAVEL THEORY STATES THIS IS AN ERRONEOUS VIEWPOINT
. M
ASTERY OF
T
IME WILL BEGIN WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
T
IME
L
ORDS AND CONTROL OF THE
T
IME
V
ORTEX
. A
ND IT WILL END IN THE COMPLETE SUBJUGATION OF THE HUMAN RACE
!' For the first time, Dalek X's voice increased in pitch as he grew more excited. 'W
ITH THE
A
RKHEON
T
HRESHOLD WE WILL FIND A WAY INTO THE
V
ORTEX
!'

Bowman was pushed into a brightly lit laboratory bustling with Daleks. He turned angrily on the Dalek behind him. 'Keep your filthy sucker off me!'

The Dalek threw Bowman backwards. He landed on his back, winded.

'O
BEY THE
D
ALEKS
!' shouted the metallic shape as it loomed over him.

'Never.'

'S
TAND
!'

'Or what?' asked Bowman from his position on the floor. 'You ain't gonna exterminate me, remember. Not until you've picked
this
to bits.' He tapped his head.

The Dalek regarded him sourly for a moment but said nothing.

With a humourless smile, Bowman got slowly to his feet. 'I'll stand, but not because you tell me to. I'll stand because this way I'm
taller
.' He squared his shoulders and stared down the Dalek's eyestalk. 'Just remember that. Cos every human being you ever meet will look
down
at you.'

The Dalek glided forward. 'P
AY ATTENTION TO THIS SCANNER SCREEN
.'

Bowman looked at the bank of instruments to which it pointed. There was a circular monitor showing what looked like the surface of Arkheon – frozen, elegant ruins. The image zoomed in to one particular spot: a heavy, rough-looking spaceship that Bowman recognised only too easily.

'The
Wayfarer
,' he said aloud, momentarily stunned. It made his heart heave when he saw the old ship, left exactly where it had touched down only hours before. Almost as if it was waiting for him. Silent and patient.

'W
E HAVE LOCATED YOUR SPACECRAFT
,' the Dalek stated.

Bowman blinked. Was the Dalek expecting him to say
thanks
? And then a shadow passed over the
Wayfarer
, and a Dalek saucer came into view on the screen, hovering above the old ship. Bowman automatically identified the saucer: an assault craft,
Aggressor
-class, small, highly manoeuvrable and heavily armed. As he watched, missiles streaked from the underside of the saucer and struck the
Wayfarer
amidships. It exploded into a giant, silent fireball and the debris scarred the snow around it for hundreds of metres.

'T
ARGET DESTROYED
,' stated the Dalek.

It felt like a punch to the solar plexus. Bowman had to fight the urge to physically wilt. He took a deep, shuddering breath and stood up straighter, stronger. He looked at the Dalek.

'Think I've never seen a ship blown up before?' he snarled. 'I'm Space Major Jon Bowman. I've been blowing up spaceships and Daleks all my life. When are you going to get it?
I'm not scared of you.
'

'M
OVE
!' ordered the Dalek. It was joined by two others, and together they herded Bowman across the laboratory.

There were several benches arranged with clinical precision around the room. They were metal and looked like mortuary slabs. On each of them was a human being, lying face up, head shaved and exposed to the Daleks surrounding them. Some of the Daleks had surgical implements attached to their arms rather than suction cups or claws. Bowman felt physically sick.

'L
IE DOWN
.'

'This where you cut my head open?'

'L
IE DOWN
! O
BEY
!' The Dalek used its sucker arm to force Bowman back against the mortuary slab, so that he was bent awkwardly over it. Suddenly he twisted, lashing out with his foot, but the Dalek barely moved. Two more Daleks joined the first and together they manipulated him, kicking and fighting, onto the bench. Metal straps secured his wrists, ankles and throat.

He struggled, but uselessly. A sudden, wild fear swept through him, the kind of panic he had never experienced in his life before. His chest heaved and sweat broke from every pore. The bench felt hard and unyielding beneath him.

'N
OW YOU FEAR THE
D
ALEKS
!' observed one of his captors triumphantly.

'P
REPARE FOR FULL BRAIN EXCORIATION
,' said another.

A surgical Dalek glided over, a small metal saw whirring into life on the end of its arm.

'Go on, then!' roared Bowman. 'Do it! You might as well get your kicks, cos I did the same thing to one of you not so long ago.'

The Daleks ignored him, going about their business with meticulous care.

'I had to scrape him out of his shell like a snail!' Bowman screamed. 'And you know what? He didn't make a damn sound.
And neither will I!
'

Cuttin' Edge winced, straightened up, took a deep breath. He caught Koral's eyes, and she nodded at the woman and the girl. They were clearly exhausted, perhaps only minutes from collapse.

'Don't give in now,' Koral whispered.

Jenifa looked up wearily through bloodshot eyes. 'There's nothing more we can do,' she croaked.

Kuli wept. 'I don't want to die, Mummy! I don't want to die.'

'Hush,' said Koral. 'You will attract attention.'

Jenifa scowled. 'We can't go on much longer. None of us can. They're going to kill us sooner or later and that will be it.' She put her arm around her daughter. 'I'm sorry, Kuli. I love you. I will always love you.'

Kuli squeezed her mother tight, and Jenifa looked back at Cuttin' Edge and Koral with a sad smile. 'Thank you for helping us,' she said.

Cuttin' Edge gritted his teeth. 'No, you helped
me
. I could hardly stand and you kept me goin'. All of you.'

'It's not over yet,' Koral said.

'It is now,' said Cuttin' Edge. He was looking past them, to where a cloud of sulphur had dispersed to reveal two Daleks.

'W
ORK
U
NIT
D
ELTA
!' grated the first. The hard, metallic words were full of cold menace. 'S
TEP FORWARD!
'

'So this is the guided tour, is it?' asked the Doctor airily. Dalek X had taken him down into the granite bowels of Arkheon. Two of the Inquisitor General's black-domed guard Daleks had joined them. They hung back slightly, gun-sticks trained on the Doctor at all times.

Dalek X glided along a metal walkway installed the length of the cavern. Clouds of evil-smelling steam drifted by. The Doctor strolled along, hands in pockets, gazing all around him like a tourist on a holiday excursion. 'It's a bit stuffy down here,' he said. 'You need to get the heating fixed.'

Despite his casual demeanour, the Doctor was very worried. For a Dalek, the Inquisitor General was one cool customer. He was impossible to taunt. And he seemed to be two steps ahead all the time, out-guessing the Doctor at every turn. The Doctor was waiting for the chance to somehow turn the tables, but it was never coming – or showing any sign of coming.

'I suppose we're pretty close to the core here,' said the Doctor chattily. He tried a few light bounces, his trainers squeaking loudly on the metal walkway. 'I can feel the fluctuations in the magnetic field. Must be playing hell with you.'

'I
AM IMMUNE TO THE EFFECTS
,' Dalek X replied.

'Well,' said the Doctor. 'Good for you.'

They came to another part of the cavern and turned a corner. The Doctor stopped in his tracks. After a moment he let out a low, appreciative whistle. In front of them was an enormous machine, five storeys high and just as wide, filling the length of a massive tunnel. It curved away into the distance on either side.

'It's a particle accelerator,' said the Doctor, gazing at the towering apparatus. Dalek scientists hovered around the machinery, adjusting and monitoring the complex systems. 'A very big one.'

'T
HIS IS THE
L
ARGE
C
HRONON
C
OLLIDER
,' explained Dalek X. 'W
E WILL BOMBARD DISCRETE PARTICLES OF TIME AGAINST EACH OTHER AT SUPRALIGHT SPEEDS
. T
HE RESULTING HUON SHOWER WILL BE USED TO TRACE THE TEMPORAL PROFILE OF THE
A
RKHEON
T
HRESHOLD
. W
E WILL THEN BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE MAGNETIC SEPARATION AND BREAK THROUGH TO THE
T
IME
V
ORTEX
.'

'Oh, that was good,' nodded the Doctor. 'You've been taking gobbledegook lessons. I like it.'

'I
T WILL WORK
.'

'Ah, well, yes – it might.' The Doctor craned his neck, looking up at the highest parts with a critical eye. 'It's
possible
, I'll give you that. But it is also insanely dangerous.'

'N
OTHING IMPORTANT CAN BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT RISK
.'

The Doctor frowned.

'Was that a bit of Dalek philosophy I just heard? You're going soft.'

'Y
OU CONCEDE THAT OUR PLAN IS VIABLE
.'

The Doctor couldn't tell if this was a statement or a query. But it was true, nonetheless. He nodded thoughtfully, suddenly serious. 'Yes. It will work. But – and it's a big but – you'll need some sort of control element to stabilise it. Then it will work
properly
.'

'A
CONTROL ELEMENT
?'

'Yeah.' The Doctor sniffed, scratched his ear, looked away.

'S
UCH AS A
TARDIS.'

There it was again. Statement or question? The Doctor wasn't sure. He pulled a face, weighed up the factors involved, shrugged. 'Well, yeah. That'd do it. I suppose.'

'S
UCH AS YOUR
TARDIS?'

A grim look stole across the Doctor's face and his eyes became deep, dark pools. 'No,' he said bluntly. 'Absolutely no.'

'Y
OU ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO REFUSE THE
D
ALEKS
.'

That was definitely a statement. And it was also a fact. But the Doctor shook his head nevertheless. 'No. Sorry. No. N-O spells no. It's not even negotiable.'

'Y
OU WILL PROVIDE YOUR
TARDIS, D
OC–TOR
!'

'Never.'

'T
HE
D
ALEKS WILL USE ITS CONTROL SYSTEMS TO ACCESS THE
T
IME
V
ORTEX
!'

'I said never.'

Dalek X moved closer. His voice continued to grate out calm, unhurried statements as if they were facts. 'Y
OU REQUIRE PERSUASION
.'

'I do not.'

'C
OERCION
.'

'Not possible.'

'L
ET US INVESTIGATE
.' Dalek X turned to one of the other Daleks as it glided by. The Dalek almost seem to cringe as the black and gold machine addressed it peremptorily: 'A
LERT THE
C
OMMAND
D
ALEK
!'

The Doctor was taken back to the detention levels and then into the high-speed lift to the prison control room. He walked out into the busy chamber with Dalek X in tow, as if they were old buddies. The feeling made the Doctor's skin crawl.

The Command Dalek swivelled hurriedly to face the Inquisitor General. 'Y
OUR ORDERS HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT
!'

The Doctor had an uneasy feeling. Dalek X glided silently forward and then turned. 'S
UMMON THE PRISONERS
.'

A door opened and four people shuffled into the control room.

'Koral! Cuttin' Edge!' the Doctor exclaimed in delight. His face fell. They looked awful. 'Are you all right?'

Cuttin' Edge was limping badly, and he seemed smaller than before, his shoulders hunched and his face haggard. Koral also seemed bowed, and her red eyes looked cloudy. Behind them, in chains, were a woman and a girl the Doctor had never seen before. They looked equally weak, and the girl was crying.

'Hi there,' said Cuttin' Edge. His smile looked fake, although the Doctor sensed he was genuinely pleased to see him. At least at first. When he looked around the brightly lit control room, saw the Doctor standing with the Daleks, his expression turned sour. 'What's goin' on? You colludin' with this scum now?'

'No,' said the Doctor. Then he cleared his throat and said, more firmly, 'No, I'm not.'

'T
HE
D
OC–TOR IS REFUSING TO COOPERATE WITH THE
D
ALEKS
,' stated Dalek X. 'T
HAT POSITION IS ABOUT TO BE REVERSED
.'

'No,' said the Doctor again. 'You can't do this...'

'I
NCORRECT
!'

The Command Dalek said, 'B
RING FORWARD THE PRISONERS WHO CAME TO
A
RKHEON WITH THE
D
OC–TOR
.'

Two guards unfastened the chains that connected Cuttin' Edge and Koral to Jenifa and Kuli. They were marched forward into the centre of the room. Koral looked uncertainly at the Doctor, as if wondering whether to attack him or the Daleks.

Dalek X moved forward, fixing the Doctor with his steady glare. 'I
F YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH
D
ALEK INSTRUCTIONS THEN INNOCENT LIVES WILL BE LOST
. I
T IS YOUR DECISION
.'

'I won't be bullied into helping you,' replied the Doctor. His voice was steely. 'There's too much at stake!'

Dalek X looked at Cuttin' Edge and Koral for a long moment and then said, 'T
HESE TWO PRISONERS ARE COMBATANTS
. T
HEY EXPECT TO DIE IN THE LINE OF DUTY
. T
HEREFORE THERE IS NO VALUE IN THEIR EXTERMINATION
.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' Cuttin' Edge demanded.

Dalek X turned away, addressing the Doctor only. 'T
HESE PRISONERS WILL NOT BE KILLED
.' There was a longer, colder pause. 'B
RING FORWARD THE HUMAN MOTHER AND HER OFFSPRING
.'

'No!' said the Doctor.

'No!' Cuttin' Edge shouted. 'Kill us instead!'

Jenifa and Kuli were herded forward, looking panicky and frightened. Jenifa had her arms around her daughter, her fingers were rigid and white on her shoulders.

'F
ORMATION THREE
!' ordered the Command Dalek.

A trio of Dalek guards lined up in front of the woman and her daughter. There was no doubt that it was an execution squad. They turned their faces away from the Daleks, hugging each other tightly. No one drew so much as a breath and the only sound that could be heard was Kuli's muffled sobs.

'E
X
—' began the Command Dalek.

'
All right
!' yelled the Doctor. His voice echoed around the control room. 'All right! All right. Stop! I'll do it.'

Dalek X's eye swivelled slowly to face him.

'I'll give you the TARDIS,' said the Doctor quietly.

The eye glowed, full of greed. It bathed the Doctor's face in its cold blue light.

'But there are conditions,' the Doctor added.

'N
OT VALID
.'

'Wait. It's important.'

The Doctor took a deep breath, his face solemn.

'I'm giving you everything here. All of history opened up like a book for you to rip the pages out and start again!' His voice was shaking with fury. 'The very least you can do is hear me out!'

'C
ONTINUE
.'

'My TARDIS requires a crew of six to function properly. Together with myself, I need Koral, Cuttin' Edge and Space Major Bowman.'

'T
HAT IS ONLY FOUR
,' said Dalek X.

The Doctor indicated Jenifa and Kuli. They were looking up at him with haunted, disbelieving eyes. He hardly dared give them hope but he had to try. 'These two make six.'

'T
HESE HUMANS ARE NOT CREW MEMBERS
.'

'I know. But they can be trained. They can help. I can show them what to do—'

'N
EGATIVE
.' The three syllables were ground out like pieces of broken rock. There would be no negotiation on this. 'Y
OU WILL HAVE FOUR CREW MEMBERS ONLY
.'

'It can't be done!' the Doctor argued.

'I
T WILL BE DONE
! T
HESE HUMANS ARE NOT MEMBERS OF YOUR CREW
. T
HEY ARE NOT NECESSARY
. T
HEREFORE THEY WILL BE EXTERMINATED
!'

The Doctor leapt forward. 'No! No, wait. They must be allowed to live. Even if they can't come, they must be allowed to live.'

The execution squad was already moving back towards the Jenifa and Kuli, taking up extermination positions again. The Doctor ran over and placed himself between the Daleks and the women. 'If you really want to kill them then you'll have to go through me first.'

'Y
OU CAN BE DISABLED
,' warned Dalek X.

'Try it.'

The Dalek guns twitched impatiently in their sockets. All eyes were on the Doctor, but he met the pitiless blue stares unflinchingly.