Running Scared
David Shaw had not wanted to be a coward, in fact he had joined the space corp and become a pilot 1st Class, which meant he could fly any ship he wanted. Now he found himself a member of the Presidential Elite Guard, but was he piloting a spaceship? Heck no. He had been given a desk job on the space station GB7 which orbited the planet Meelos.
One thing was certain, since the war with the Daleks had begun 33 years ago, space stations were not the safest places to be, and he would have preferred a fast fighter ship, or at least to be based on a planet which was well away from the troubles.
Instead poor old Dave, who was now in his 50's and still single after no woman had ever taken his fancy; and most didn't fancy him either........so here he was living alone and feeling very scared. Well not exactly alone, as there were 2 other guys on the station, and 5 droids; but he didn't really get along with Mark and Ted, as they were sci-corp and had little in common with Dave. As for the droids.......forget it, as they were incapable of meaningful conversation and could only give technical reports. All except for droid 3, whom Dave had reprogrammed to play chess and talk about music and other things that Dave enjoyed.
Just then the inter-stellar communicator burped into action. A female face appeared on the screen, a pretty looking woman of about 30 began to talk.
"Here is the latest report on the war" she said. "The Daleks have destroyed 3 major planets and enslaved 5 more. They have attacked and wiped out the 2nd and 9th fleet, leaving only the 3rd and 7th fleets now fully intact and operational. The main Dalek attack fleet is now only 4 light years from us, and we urge all of our forces to stand fast and face the oncoming menace.........Message ends!"
The screen went blank once more. 'This is it' Dave thought to himself, 'we are next in the line of attack.' He flicked the station intercom and muttered into it. "Did you guys hear the latest report?" "Yes" said Mark at the other end, "So what do we do know?"
"I think it is time we had a word with our captives" Dave replied.
He left his office and wandered down to the detention centre in the lower level, picking up a laser rifle as he went.
No one knew just how the captives had been taken alive. Maybe the prisoners had planned it that way, or had been ordered to be taken; but there they were standing motionless inside the holding cell of the detention centre.
"Cover me while I go in and talk to them" Dave asked. "Will do" replied Mark, as Dave opened up the cell door.
Inside the room the lighting was dim, but at a command to the central computer, it intensified to a brighter level.
On the far side of the room stood 3 Daleks, there weapons pointed at Dave, although they were totally useless as all power had been drained from them.
"I want to speak with you about why you were captured so easily" Dave asked the nearest Dalek. It did not react, except that the iris on its eye stalk opened and closed again.
The Dalek farthest from him suddenly spoke. "It is not relevant why we were captured" it said in the familiar metallic grating voice that all Daleks had. "We are here at the orders of our high command to offer you and your comrades a chance to live" the lead Dalek grated.
"And just how do we achieve that?" Dave asked. The Dalek glared at him for a moment, as if showing contempt for any lower being.....then it replied "By becoming a Dalek."
"This thing can't be serious" Mark shouted to Dave, "it is our prisoner and we are in control here, not them." Dave said nothing, but he knew that once the Dalek fleet reached the station, which was only a matter of days now, he and the others would either be killed or enslaved. Either way, they'd be out of the war for good, and they had no means of escape that would take them to safety fast enough.
"Let me confer with the others on this, and we'll let you know our decision" he told the Dalek.
Leaving the cell, Mark asked him just how they could possibly become Daleks anyway. It was beyond belief that these things could change humans into......well, whatever was inside those machines that were the Daleks.
Dave's cowardly nature began to kick in. If he couldn't beat them, why not join them he thought. If Mark and Ted wanted to live, they'd have to make up their minds too.
Oddly enough Ted had jumped at the chance to save himself from whatever fated him should the Daleks take over the space station. Mark reluctantly agreed also, after deciding that he would rather live than die. Dave was not sure what to do, but he went back to the holding cell to confront the Dalek prisoners.
As they were told, Ted and Mark stood before a Dalek and waited, while Dave watched from outside the cell.
The leader Dalek issued a command, and the entire front of the other two Daleks outer casing opened up. Long tentacles shot out and enfolded the two men. They both twitched for a few moments, then their lifeless bodies dropped to the floor.
"You never said you'd kill us" Dave yelled at the leader Dalek.
"Wait" it replied, "your companions are now Daleks." One of the Dalek machines next to the leader spoke. "Our minds have been transferred Dave, we no longer require human bodies." "It is correct" said the second Dalek, "for I was the human known as Ted. Now we need to have our weapons restored to us, and then you will become the other Dalek."
This was not what Dave had foreseen at all, and now he was not convinced that becoming a Dalek was indeed the right choice for him to make. "I'll be back later" he said, and rushed back to his office.
He jumped into a space hopper and flew down to the base on Meelos. There was a squad of troopers there, and he aimed to get them to help him. Becoming a Dalek was not an option he now wanted, as after seeing the fate of Mark and Ted, Dave's cowardly instinct had made him decide being human wasn't that bad after all.
He landed the pod-ship easily and went to find the commander of the troopers.
To his utter dismay and horror, Dave found the base had been abandoned 10 days ago, and the troopers had been reassigned to fight on another planet. What he did find however was a strange blue box, out from which emerged a very odd looking man dressed in the most outlandish and unsuitable clothing he had ever seen.
"Hello" said the stranger, "I'm the Doctor!"
"Doctor of what?" Dave asked of the weird looking character standing before him, who was dressed in a long frock coat, frilled shirt and a scarf down to his knees, most inappropriate for a space traveller Dave thought; and just what was that peculiar blue box thing this guy had sprung out from he wondered.
"Just the Doctor, and of nothing in particular, although I do have several qualifications" the stranger replied. "I hear that you've been having a spot of bother from some old friends of mine. Or should I say old adversaries to be more precise, rather than friends."
"Are we talking Daleks here" Dave said with a quizzical expression forming across his face.
"We most certainly are, as they are my worst enemies and have followed me throughout time itself; and I want you to tell me all you know about their recent escapades in these parts."
Dave went into great detail to explain how they had captured 3 Daleks, and how easy it had proved. Too easy now he'd come to think about it. Also how his two companions on the space station had been changed into Daleks, and how he'd decided to do a runner.
The Doctor mused over the tale for ages, then he asked Dave to get into the blue box thing which he called his TARDIS. Inside the box was amazingly big, but there was no time for the Doctor to explain just how it all worked, as he flipped a switch and the next thing Dave knew was that they were emerging onto the flight deck of station GB7. The droids were still busy going about their various tasks, and all seemed normal enough at first glance.
Then a metallic voice came over the station intercom, and Dave knew that the 3 Daleks had somehow freed themselves from the holding cell.
"Welcome back Dave" said the Dalek that had been Mark. "We have been waiting for your return to us, as you cannot escape your destiny."
"And you can't escape yours Dalek, as you still have some human ideals controlling you inside, and that will have a deep affect upon that blob of hatred you call your brain" the Doctor yelled back at the speaker.
"So Time Lord, you are here; but you will not interfere with the power of the Daleks this time" the leader Dalek's voice rose into a crescendo of venomous hatred as it spat out the words.
"Don't think I like your tone" said the Doctor. "Come on" he said to Dave, "time to go and sort out just who is running this space station" the Doctor smirked to himself as he realized the unintentional pun he had added in his retort, as he'd said "Who" is running the station.
He now found himself standing before 3 Daleks, but although the middle one kept yelling exterminate the Doctor, none of their weapons were working.
"It would seem I have you at a small disadvantage" he taunted the lead Dalek. "I think we have to talk to your old mates" as he looked over at Dave.
Dave spoke, not really knowing any longer which Dalek was Mark or Ted, but aware that the leader was still pure 100% Dalek. "Mark, what is it exactly that the Daleks want here?"
The Dalek that was Mark replied, "We want the station to be controlled by human Daleks so that scanners will not detect the presence of true Daleks. Then we can send all of your fleets into areas where they will be annihilated by Dalek ships which will hide in ambush. With your fleets destroyed, invasion will be easy and the Dalek Empire will be victorious and rule the entire Universe."
"Not the way I see things happening. No, that is most definitely NOT the way I plan this to go. Not on your Nelly!" the Doctor yelled back in defiance.
Out in deep space, Admiral Green had assembled his entire 7th fleet ready to meet the 3rd fleet and remnants of the others, which had been reduced greatly by the Dalek War fleet.
"We've had conflicting reports from the crew on the space station GB7" the Captain informed him, "What should we send back sir?"
"The first report tells us it's all clear and that we can move into sector F5, but the second report was from Dave Shaw saying the station has Daleks on board. My instinct tells me to trust Dave's report more than the first, as the first did not have the right feel to it. We stay put for now" the Admiral ordered.
"Yes sir, all ships stand on red alert but hold positions" the order went out to the fleet.
"What's your plan Doctor?" Dave asked. The Doctor had left the Daleks and gone with Dave back to the TARDIS. "How many of those droids can you call upon for help, as we need allies right now" the Doctor said.
"Well 1 for certain, and maybe all five; but the other 4 will need to be reprogrammed."
"Get as many as you can then, and I'll do the rest" Doctor Who replied with a hint of a smile on his face. Dave managed to round up 4 of the 5 droids, and the Doctor went about tinkering with the droids, making minor adjustments with his sonic screwdriver.
"Right, I've ordered 2 of these droids to capture the head Dalek. The other 2 will keep Mark and Ted as we'll call them for now, confined to the lower area. It's a good thing these Daleks have not got their weapons working, or the shoe would be other foot and we would be in real trouble" the Doctor said with a frown.
"I have managed to contact the 7th fleet again" Dave replied, "They are standing ready to reverse the ambush these Daleks on this station had attempted to set up. Perhaps now we can call the shots instead of them, and give the Dalek Empire a bloody nose!"
"Let's hope so" was the reply, as the Doctor sent the droids off into action against the station Daleks.
Without weapons the 3 Daleks were quickly overpowered by the droids, but this did not seem to bother the leader much, as he was still a full Dalek and fear was an unknown factor to a true Dalek.
The 2 Daleks called Mark and Ted were still partly human, so they had certain emotions which conflicted with their Dalek logic.
What course of action to take was their dilemma. Should they try and fight, surrender or just do nothing? The Dalek side said fight, but their human instincts told them to contact Dave.
In the end it was their human side that took over, and they requested a meeting with their former human crew member.
"Now I wonder what those two want to talk about" Dave muttered as he received the message.
"If they still have some human feelings left, we may be able to make it work to our advantage" the Doctor beamed. "Now that their leader is in our hands, they are having to think for themselves, and their human side is conflicting with their Dalek side. Tell them to meet us in a place you feel is safe, and I have a little trick up my sleeve which I hope will work on them; but keep those droids handy, just in case anything goes wrong. Which hopefully it won't."
"I have to leave for a short while" the Doctor told Dave, "but I'll be back almost before you know I'm gone, if that makes any sense."
"Catch you later then" Dave replied.
The TARDIS vanished before his eyes, only to reappear again 3 seconds later. Boy, had the Doctor really been anywhere, as his blue box had returned in the blink of an eye?
The doors swung open and out jumped the familiar sight of the Doctor, but it was not the Doctor which made Dave catch his breath; it was a lovely looking Oriental woman, possibly of Chinese origin whose race were not normally found in this part of the galaxy.
"This is Li Chow, and she's a very dear friend of mine who has had dealings with the Daleks before" the Doctor told him.
"Nice to meet you" Dave said to the stunning lady whom he thought to be about 27. He was totally transfixed by her beauty, although being old enough to be her father made him blush, as he stood no chance of forming a relationship with this lovely creature.
"Likewise" Li replied in a perfect English accent with just a hint of her native tongue, looking radiant as she smiled back at him. "I am not sure how I can help, but the Doctor said he needed me, so here I am."
Meanwhile, the Dalek that was Mark was beginning to have second thoughts. The human side of the Dalek had been reluctant to make the change over; and now it felt lost, undecided on what course of action to take next.
The Dalek that had been Ted was fast becoming less human, and it contacted the leader to seek assistance and commands. "The Dalek that was the human called Mark is malfunctioning" it reported. "He is no longer in control. What should I do?"
"Continue to monitor all that the Time Lord is doing, and report back to me when you know his plan" the leader commanded.
"I obey" said the Dalek as it moved off to investigate.
Dalek Mark spoke to Dave, as it eyed the female newcomer. "You are not my enemy, I wish to help as I am not going to allow myself to become a true Dalek. The Dalek leader and Ted are your true enemies on this space station."
"Prove it" shouted Dave. "Help us to destroy the others and show me that you're still human at heart."
"Agreed. I will assist you and the Doctor to defeat the other Daleks."
Mark was gaining more control over his Dalek host all the time, and was slowly but surely killing it, though he did not realize that this would ultimately mean his own death.
Li Chow had been told by the Doctor that he would return to the Da-Tech laboratory, and as he had promised, he arrived exactly 7 weeks to the day from when she had last seen him.
Only 7 weeks for her that was, as for the Doctor, he had been gone away in the TARDIS for almost 3 years now; but as he'd told her that he would return in 7 weeks, he had set the time and space co-ordinates for precisely 7 weeks to the day he'd left.
As the doors of the TARDIS swung open, young Horace Taylor had noticed the arrival of the time machine. Rushing over, he jumped with joy on seeing the Doctor once more.
"Hi Doc" he said. "How are things going with that dalek?"
Doctor Who looked a little tired, but explained to Horace about how he was now 1200 years in the future, and about the Dalek war, plus his dilemma with the ones on the GB7 space station.
"Wow" remarked Horace, "Anything I can do to help?"
"Sorry, but it's Li I really need" the Doctor replied. Just then Li Chow had entered the lab, and beamed that pretty smile of hers as she clapped her eyes on the Doctor. "I said I'd be back in 7 weeks, and here I am. Now I need you to come with me Li."
"Sure thing" Li had replied, "Whatever I can do to help is fine with me."
"You may be away for sometime, but I'll bring you back whenever you wish" the Doctor told Li.
Horace had pleaded to come too, but despite his urgent pleas, had been left behind as the blue police box vanished from the room. He wondered if he'd ever see Li Chow or the Doctor again, as he rather sadly returned to his work.
Inside the TARDIS the Doctor explained something to her which came as a bit of a shock. Li was told about a man named Mark Li, who had been transformed into a Dalek, but was now becoming more human again.
"So Mark Li is your very distant relative, making you his Great Grandmother only with a lot more greats in it" the Doctor informed Li. "I believe that you may just be the very person who can get through to Mark, as he's already promised to help us defeat the other 2 Daleks."
"Is there any way we can save Mark?" she asked.
"I cannot say for certain, but if there is anything I can do, then I will" the Doctor replied, although he knew it was beyond the realms of all probability. At that point the TARDIS had landed, and the two of them stepped out to be met by David Shaw in the far distant future on the space station GB7.
Dalek Mark felt an odd sensation as the strange Oriental female entered the room. She approached him and tenderly held out her hand, touching the metal head with her fingertips with a gentle, almost sensual caress.
Genetic code. Of course, this human carried the same genes as he, so they were connected by the very same gene pool and carried the same code.
"I am Li Chow, your most humble ancestor" she said softly to him.
Mark suddenly felt himself gaining his sanity and freeing himself from the last vestige of Dalek mind control. The creature that had been a dalek was finally gone, and now Mark was in full control of his faculties, even if he were still a tentacled blob trapped inside a Dalek machine.
"You've saved me" croaked Mark, sounding more human now than he had as a dalek. "Is there anyway you can get me back into my own body?"
"We'll do our best" Li replied looking across at the Doctor, who's returned gaze showed no hopeful reply.
Dalek Ted reported back to the leader, informing him that a Dalek fleet of 35 ships was now within striking distance of the space station, and were standing ready to attack and destroy the human space fleet also.
"Get the other 2 Daleks and place them in bay 9" Mark told Dave. "They will then make their escape in the shuttle, which will make it easier for us to destroy them."
"Yes, we can blow the shuttle as they leave. Good idea," Dave retorted. "Doctor, you and Li can surely do something to stop that Dalek fleet we can see on the monitors."
"Stop them, no; but I have a plan which will prevent them destroying us and your own space ships out there! Come on Li, you and I have work to do."
Li and the Doctor returned to the TARDIS, leaving Dave and Mark to do their bit and lure the Dalek Ted and the leader into a deadly trap.
The Dalek leader suspected something was amiss as he and Ted got into the empty shuttle, but by then it was too late. The doors closed and the small ship blasted off into space. Ten seconds later it burst into a thousand pieces as a huge explosion ripped it apart, killing the 2 Daleks instantly.
"That's the end of those two" Dave said with a grin of delight on his face. "How do you feel inside that thing?" he asked Mark.
"Now I'm back to being myself, I feel surprisingly good" Mark retorted; "And being inside a Dalek has the one advantage that I get to hear what they're doing on the leading ship."
The End
Dark World
Mike sat at his console, blissfully staring out at the vastness of space. The year was 2750, and Earth was a long distant memory of polluted air and water, with much of the life forms now extinct or dying from toxic diseases created by the worlds arch enemy...... otherwise known as MAN.
It had been decided that mankind should abandon his home planet, and search out a new home which hopefully he would not defile and spoil like he'd done to poor old Mother Earth. And so it was that a fleet of space cruisers had left with a total of 700,000 of the best selected humans, chosen for their abilities and skills.
Mike was a good pilot, but out here was completely uncharted territory for him, as the ship was now almost 3 billion miles away from Earth; and it had taken them the best part of 4 light years to reach here, yet still they hadn't found a suitable planet to call 'New Earth', and there were 11 other ships behind him in the fleet.
The last ship was called "Noah's Ark" as it did carry a few animals, but these were brought along more for necessity rather than conservation, as some were pets, while others were potentially to be used as food.
Sally Howes was Mike's co-pilot, and she suddenly beamed that attractive little smile of hers at him. "What's up?" he asked.
"I've finally located a suitable home planet just an hour away from us" Sally replied.
"Buckle up guys and gals" he said over the intercom to the 50 thousand passengers and crew of the Warrior, the lead ship of the fleet under his command. "We're going down real soon now!"
"Initiating thrusters to half impulse" Sally said, more to herself than to Mike.
The huge bulk that was the Warrior gently glided down towards a beautiful sight of a planet which was very much like old Earth, except this one had more land mass than water; and was 3 times larger than their home planet, plus it was warmed by twin suns.
The team sent out to check things over returned with excellent news. Air was perfect, water perfect; and no pollution of any kind anywhere. The perfect planet for their 'New Earth'. "Welcome home Sally" Mike said with a grin, "Now will you marry me?"
"Get me a nice home first and I'll think about it" Sally beamed back at him, "and it's taken you all of 4 years to ask me."
"Well I wanted to ask you before we started out, but thought it best to wait until we'd found our new home. Which it looks like we have now" Mike retorted. "This sure is a lovely place to start afresh and maybe raise a few kids." "Children" she corrected him, "kids are baby goats. Let's get this show on the road then."
They called this new home planet of theirs Dream World, but little did these new founding colonists know at the time, their dream would very quickly become a Nightmare.
Nightmares are nasty things, but these only occur during sleep. Or do they Mike thought to himself. Lately he had been hearing stories about the Ogla, a peaceful race of beings who had inhabited Dream World, but had mysteriously died out about 3,000 years ago. Why?
All plant and animal life on this planet was none hostile, and the human colonists were thriving; but why were some of them having these hallucinations, bad day dreams, call them what you like..... Mike didn't enjoy them and neither did the others who experienced them. Sally was lucky, as she didn't have the visions of thousands of humans lying in pools of their own blood, or charred beyond recognition by some hideous burning weapon or whatever.
Deep in the bowels of the planet, inside the Macros caverns, a creature of darkness and horror moved one of its tentacles. It had been a prisoner inside this tomb for far too long now, and it knew that although it was considered to be the last of its kind, it was not entirely alone in the Universe, as there were others like it; but they too were held in a state of captivity.
Soon now, it would find a way to free itself; but in the meantime, its thought waves emanated from the depths of the cave and brought visions of horror to some of the new settlers of this planet. For this had once been the home planet of the 'Ogrons' many centuries past, but the Ogla had destroyed them for crimes against them.
Mike and others like him felt more and more uneasy about their new home, as the hallucinations became steadily worse and more disturbing in nature from day to day.
"I've signalled the 2nd fleet not to land here for the time being" he told the council members, "as I don't feel it is such a good place after all."
"I admit that you and some others are having bad thoughts and visions" said Professor Hayward, "but this is no reason to defer their arrival date, as we do need more settlers now that we've colonized the planet."
"On your head be it" said Mike, "though I still think you're making a bad mistake, even if you are the council leader."
Fleet number 2 contained nearly 1 million people, many of whom were heading for their final few weeks of life; although they as yet had no idea of this, and smiled contentedly as they headed for a new home on Dream World.
The creature in the Macros caverns felt the presence of the Earthlings, long before they had even landed on the planet's surface.
The Doctor had enjoyed his little holiday to Rigel 4, and his latest companion was a fun person to have around. Her name was Kate Wood, a 27 year old nurse from Brecon in Wales back on Earth. He had met her quite by accident while buying a cake in a shop, and she almost fell on him as he rushed out of the doorway.
The year was 1977 when they met, and she appeared much younger than her age, as he had thought she had just left school, as she looked more like 17 at the time.
Kate could not believe it when the Doctor told her the year was now 2750A.D., "Where are we then" she asked? "Well, we're not where we should be" the Doctor replied. "The TARDIS has actually brought us to the planet called 'Dream World' by its Earth colonists. It was once the home of the Ogrons, who were used as slave allies by a race of beings known as Daleks. If my memory serves me right, both the Ogrons and the other race of beings that existed here, the Ogla, are now all dead; but the planet was colonized by people from Earth who had to leave because they'd made much of it uninhabitable due to too much pollution" he said with a look of dismay.
"That's terrible" Kate replied looking horrified.
"Let's go and check out the scenery then" the Doctor retorted, and they left the TARDIS and went to find Hope City, the home of the Earth colonists.
Inside the caves, the creature moaned as it studied a monitor in front of it. "So Doctor, you are here at last. This time there will be no escape for you, your companion or those inferior Earthlings on the surface of this planet. My vengeance will be swift and merciless."
The creature shuffled toward something hidden in the corner of the cavern. It was the outer casing of a Dalek Emperor.
Mike and Sally were walking hand in hand, as people in love often do; and were suddenly surprised to find themselves confronted by two strangers. After recovering from the initial shock, the male stranger introduced himself simply as 'The Doctor', and his pretty female friend as Kate.
"Where have you come from?" asked Mike looking slightly bemused.
"I am originally from Gallifrey, but Kate is from Earth" said the Doctor. "What part of Earth" asked Sally?
"Wales, from 1977 Earth to be exact" Kate replied. "How can that be possible" said Mike. "Time travel is my specialty" the Doctor replied with a look that gave nothing away.
"Welcome to Dream World, let us take you to our city of New Hope" Mike told them.
Professor Hayward related his concerns to the Doctor about the increasing number of colonists having dreadful hallucinations. "Just what do they see" asked the Doctor? "Death and destruction on a vast scale of horrendous proportions" was the Professors reply.
"Has anyone found any evidence of alien invasion, or died from unusual circumstances" Doctor Who asked?
"Nothing yet, although I have these visions, but Sally and some others have never had any" Mike interjected.
"Strange, very strange indeed" was all the Doctor could say.
Deep in its hiding place, the creature hauled itself into the machine and activated the controls. Power surged through the machine, and it slowly began to glide along a tunnel taking it up to the surface.
Many others of its kind had been imprisoned, but this one had found a way to free itself. During the time wars, many had died; and the Emperor of all the Daleks had been destroyed by the Doctor.
Now one of his clones was finding a way to take his rightful place once more, as the leader and supreme being of the Universe.
There would be time to locate any others of its kind, and the process to create an army was already being activated back inside the Macros caverns.
The time to conquer and the utter destruction of all inferior beings was at hand.
Bars do not a prison make, but an electron field blocked the path of the tunnel which the new Dalek Emperor tried to escape from. This was not an unforeseen dilemma, but it was frustrating all the same.
When the Time lords had imprisoned these clones, they clearly had no intention of them ever being free to wreak havoc, that was a fact.
So it was that this creature, destined to become the new scourge of the Galaxy, now found it had to work hard to gain its final freedom.
This took several hours, but it eventually located the locking device and dismantled it. "Free at last" the creature that was the Dalek inside his Emperor's outer casing yelled in triumph!
The Doctor sensed an evil and malignant force present on this planet, though it had now become stronger than it had been before.
He only got this feeling when one being was close..... DALEKS, he knew that there may be a few of them left; but he felt sure that Dalek Caan had been the only survivor of that race. Now he realized that his arch enemies had perhaps been much more devious and clever than anyone had given them credit for. He may well be the last of the Time Lords, but it would appear that the Daleks had made several contingency plans to ensure their long term survival of the species.
Across Dream World, hundreds of people were suddenly finding their dreams turning into living nightmares, as the Dalek Emperor began to turn weapons of mass destruction against the citizens of Hope City and outlying settlements across the planet.
One moment there was a farm or small village, the next it was just a smouldering mass of death and charred bodies.
The creature that was the Dalek Emperor had spent thousands of years building and perfecting this arsenal; and now it unleashed all of the power, while deep inside the caverns an army of Daleks began to emerge, ready to conquer in the name of a new Dalek Empire.
"All is not well. We have reports of attacks in sectors 3, 5 and 8. The slaughter is on a vast scale" said Professor Hayward.
"I have a terrible feeling about this" Mike replied, "it's all those visions I've been having coming true, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so, and I think I know who, or what is behind it all" the Doctor retorted with a frown.
On the far side of the planet, Daleks were emerging from inside the caverns of Macros. "The war begins" said the Emperor Dalek, "Exterminate all humans and we will make this planet ours; a 'New Skaro' for us to live on."
"We obey, we will destroy and conquer" was the reply from hundreds of metallic voices.
The Doctor gazed at the familiar sight on the view screen, as a hoard of Daleks sped across the far side of Dream World, killing or destroying anyone, or anything that stood in their path.
"Take my advice and evacuate this planet now" said the Doctor, "as you don't want to make those things a present of your spaceships, and they must not be allowed to leave this planet."
"How do you know that they don't have their own ships" said Mike.
"We would have spotted any alien invasion fleet on our scanners" Sally butt in, "and these things are reported to be coming up from the cave system on the other side of the planet."
"They have been on this planet for several thousand years" the Doctor interjected, "My people placed prisons around the Galaxy to keep some of them in, but the one held here must have found a way to build itself a Dalek production line."
"Dalek" said the Professor, "What is a Dalek?" "You're looking at them. Those nasty things killing your people are Daleks, and their sole intent is to dominate this planet, and eventually the entire Galaxy" the Doctor replied. "Once they have taken control and exterminated most of the colonists here, their final victory will be to enslave what few of you are left alive."
"Get the ships up and take as many away as you can Mike" Professor Hayward ordered. "Will do. Right Sally, time to get out and save whoever we can get away!" was Mike's reply.
"What should we do Doctor" asked Kate? "We" the Doctor said with a look of horror, "We have to stay until I can figure out a way to try and stop those Daleks. If I fail, then 'we' run too, and this place will have to be abandoned to the Daleks. All I hope is that I can find a way to keep them here forever, as the last thing the Universe needs is yet another coming of the Dalek Empire." And with a very glum look on his face, Doctor Who led Kate back to his TARDIS, slowly formulating a plan of action in his mind to deal with the dilemma of the oncoming Dalek menace.
"All the ships are up in orbit and safe" Professor Hayward reported to the few colonists who were left behind on the planet's surface.
"What do you want us to do now we're up" asked Sally. "Just hold your position for now" was the Doctor's reply, "And we will advise you on the situation as and when anything happens. I have brought something back from my TARDIS which might just help."
"What could that be Doctor?" the Professor asked. "The Eyes of Nostradamus" was all the Doctor said with a smirk on his face.
"The humans have evacuated the planet" a Dalek reported to the Emperor. "There is only a small force left in their city, and soon our army will overrun them. Then the conquest will be completed."
"Reports have also reached us that the Time Lord known as 'The Doctor' is also with the remaining humans" a second Dalek interjected. "Then we will capture and destroy him, and rid the daleks of any possible interference from him forever" the Dalek Emperor said with menace.
"So Doctor, what will these 'eyes' do exactly?" asked the Professor. "They see into future time and give me the chance to change it" the Doctor replied. ""Not that it is a good idea changing time, but changing the future is fine as long as the past remains unchanged, as that would alter time lines which is a very dangerous thing to do."
The Doctor flipped a switch on the side of the box containing the 'Eyes' and peered into an aperture on the top. "Aha, I see now, it's all so simple really" he yelled out with a look of joy on his face.
Dashing back to the TARDIS, he shouted back "Get me a power pack and an empty laboratory, these particular Daleks have just made a big error which I am about to use against them."
He returned moments later, puffing and panting from the exertion of running. "Everything is ready for you" he was told. "Right, everything living on this planet outside of this lab is about to take a trip back-wards in time" he said, "So our friends the Daleks are in for a nasty shock, as they will find themselves back inside their incubators. That will mean I will only have the Dalek leader to contend with" the Doctor said with a huge beaming smile breaking across the contours of his face.
Pulling out a piece of chalk from his coat pocket, the Doctor drew a circle about 2 metres in diameter. "Everyone stay inside of this chalk mark and you'll be safe" he uttered; and then he activated the power pack attached to the device he'd set up inside the laboratory.
It hummed into action and an eerie glow was emitted, which slowly began to radiate from outside of the circle, out into the highways of New Hope city, and swept its way across the entire surface of the planet known as Dream World.
Outlying villages that had been destroyed suddenly began to reappear. People who had been killed were miraculously back in their homes as if nothing bad had happened at all. Daleks dissolved away as if they'd never been there, only to find themselves as blobs back in their incubators. The Dalek Emperor found himself back inside the caves of Macros, still trapped by the Time Lords force field.
"What's happened?" asked Kate looking somewhat bemused. "I have reversed time back by exactly 7 days. Look, those ships that were in orbit just 5 minutes ago are now back on their launch pads" the Doctor said looking very pleased with himself. "Now to deal with that Dalek before it can begin the process of starting a war all over again."
"Will it do that?" asked Professor Hayward. "Oh yes, I have only turned back time, but it will still take the same path unless we stop it from doing so!" Doctor Who replied. "And I can only reverse time once, as to do this again would cause a time rift implosion which could destroy us all. Now to work, I will need to make up a lock which will never allow that Dalek to find its freedom ever again. One that will put it and its nasty plans for dictatorship of this planet away for good, and for all time."
Deep inside the caverns of Macros, the creature that was the Dalek Emperor forged his plans for mass extermination of the humans, and the conquest of the planet.
The Doctor has sealed the caves of Macros using a Temporal Time Vortex, so if the Daleks ever tried to leave the caverns then they would be frozen in time itself. He had done this long, long ago.
Now the years had passed into centuries, and the centuries into millennia. The people of Dream World had prospered, the descendants of Mike and Sally were happy that their old ancestors had colonized this planet.
Now the thing causing concern was the suns were dying and the planet grew colder and darker with each passing year.
The smaller of the two suns had dwindled to become a Red Dwarf Star, while its sister had not long to go before it too went the same way, or might even go super nova and incinerate all the planets in the system.
The council agreed that it was time to once more evacuate this place and head off into space in search of yet another 'New Earth' type home; and so it was that the entire population of Dream World left the planet and headed out into deep space in yet another convoy of spaceships seeking another place to begin anew.
It took a further 7 centuries for the second sun to die, and with it total darkness now ruled over the cold, apparently dead planet that had been known as Dream World. The power packs that kept the Doctor's Temporal Time Vortex machine running needed sunlight to power them. Without it the packs died and the machine failed.
Deep in the caverns of Macros the Daleks sensed what had happened on the planet's surface. "Daleks do not require sunlight to live" said the Dalek Emperor triumphantly, "Even with the suns dead, we will find a way to create our own energy sources and escape from here."
"We have been mining the minerals from inside the core of this planet, and we have what we need to build our own ships" reported a Section leader Dalek to the Emperor.
"It may take us a few decades to finally free ourselves and leave here, but we then take our rightful place once more as the supreme beings of the Universe" yelled the Emperor, "The Doctor will not stop us again, and we will destroy and conquer all humans."
The Daleks set about their tasks with renewed confidence, as they now knew it would not be long before they could begin their conquest of space, after being confined to this planet for thousands of years.
Gliding across the now dead surface of Dream World, the Daleks made a menacing sight and gave the planet an even more sinister aura of death. It would be another 75 years before they could leave the planet.
The Daleks renamed the planet of Dream World before they finally left it, giving it the new name.........DARK WORLD.
THE END
Ancient Wonder
Chapter 1 - Museum of Time
Ragos had been the curator of the museum on the planet Sovas for as long as he could remember, and even beyond that. Sovasians lived for an average lifespan of 300 years, and Ragos was already 270 years old; but as his family were very long lived anyway, he hoped to live as long as his father had done before him, and that was to the ripe old age of 310.
The strangest things had been gathered inside the museum, from across many as yet unexplored parts of the Universe. The oddest was a metallic box which had been sealed up with odd looking symbols all over it, standing on a table in the far corner of Unknown Origin exhibits area of the museum. Next to this room was another room called the Death War collection, where the war machines of long since ended wars were homed. Among these were to be found such things as Cybermen, and one dead Dalek, which had been there for over 1,000 years.
Luckily for Sovas, the Daleks had never found the planet, as it was hidden by a cloaking device to avoid any detection of unwanted visitors.
This stray had been found floating in deep space, just after a Dalek ship had been blown apart during one of their past wars, and taken to the museum in secret.
But it was still that strange silver box with the odd inscriptions that fascinated Ragos, as it had an air of mystery about it.
The metal box glowed slightly, and if anyone had put their ear close close up to it, they would've heard a steady thrumming noise from inside. Deep inside the box, the being could only sense its surroundings. It had no feelings other than that it existed for some unknown purpose; but just what that purpose was, it did not yet know. Had it known its destiny, the thing inside the box might have felt differently about its existence; but as it was, it felt nothing except a longing to be released from this utter misery. Hatred was the only emotion that kept it alive, but hatred of what or whom, again it did not know.
Ragos went about his duties as curator of the museum. He had other, younger staff who could have done such menial work as dusting the old relics in this part of the building; but for some odd reason, he had always preferred to do this area himself.
He hummed a Sovasian battle song as he went about his work, a happy old man, despite having many ailments these days to slow him down.
Chapter 2 - The Warning
Young Arlec was a regular visitor to the museum, as she was studying old artifacts in her work for the science university of antiquities. Ragos welcomed her with a cheery grin, as she followed him to the strange box with the odd symbols all over it.
"We have finally been able to find out which language it is" Arlec said with a smile of satisfaction crossing her youthful face. If only he were 77 again thought Ragos, he would show this 47 year old girl a thing or two.
"So can you decode the message" he asked her? "I will get to work on it right away" she replied, and began checking her notes against the symbols. "The language is old Gallifrean, but there are no Time Lords alive that I know of " Arlec said.
"There is just 1, but I haven't heard or seen anything of him since I was 210, though I think he's still floating around somewhere."
"What was his name" she asked? "The Doctor, just the Doctor, as I never knew him by any other name" Ragos replied. "He left me a device last time I met up with him. It will contact his spacecraft apparently if I ever need him; but I have never found the need to use it."
Arlec worked for hours, which then passed into days and eventually weeks, before finally bursting into Ragos's office. "I've deciphered the message" she cried with a rather worried look. "It's a warning never to open the box, as it contains some being of complete evil that must never be released."
"So don't open it then" Ragos replied.
"I think it's too late" Arlec said with a terrified look, "As I touched something when I was reading the inscriptions, and the entire box began to grow bigger."
Racing out of his office with Arlec on his heels, Ragos saw that the silver box was now taking up most of the corner of the room, and was almost 7 feet square. There were still no obvious signs of entry or exit, like a door for instance; but the thing throbbed and pulsated like some gigantic heart, and gave off an eerie greenish glow.
"Get museum security here right away" Ragos yelled out, as if he sensed danger. "I'm on it" Arlec retorted.
Meanwhile, inside the box, the being had grown also; and was now taking on shape and form. Its memory was still blurred, but things were flooding back which would help him remember just who, and what he was. The first memory he had drawn out from his twisted evil thoughts was a name. That name was The Doctor, for it was his mortal enemy and would have to be dealt with. But for now, the being had to grow stronger and then find a way of breaking out from this prison cell it was confined in.
Outside the box the museum security had set up a containment field, as they did not want anything to get out and contaminate their planet. For the time being, this box and its contents were going nowhere.
Chapter 3 - A call for help
A security zone had been set up around the strange box, but any of the guards who got too close suddenly experienced a sense of fear, so that the chief security officer kept his men back some distance as he was worried by this.
The being inside the box had managed to make a mind link with one of the young guards, a man called Telin. He was now under the control of the trapped being, although the others knew nothing of this.
Telin was found to be attempting to open the box, but luckily was stopped by 3 other guards before being able to do so. None of them could get any sense out of Telin, as he garbled something about he must free the omnipotent one from his cell, the one he called his Master.
Ragos had decided to try out the device that he'd been given many years ago by the Doctor. To his surprise it worked fine, and before he knew it he was talking to the familiar face of his old friend.
"Can you describe this box" the Doctor asked. "I can do better than that, I have a female here who can tell you all about it in detail" Ragos replied.
He put Arlec on, as she told the Doctor all about the box and its warning symbols.
"I think it's time I paid another visit to Sovas" the Doctor said sounding rather glum, "And I have two new companions with me since last time I was there, but I am sure I can help once we get there."
Shortly after this brief conversation, the familiar blue box that was the Doctor's TARDIS arrived in the entrance hall of the Time Museum. The doors opened and out stepped the Doctor followed closely by his two companions.
"Hello again Ragos. This is Li and Dave, my fellow time travellers" the Doctor said. "Now show me this problem of yours."
Ragos led the Doctor to the strange silvery box, which pulsated with an eerie green glow and seemed to beat like some giant heart.
Reading the symbols on the exterior of the box, the Doctor cried out, "So this is where the enemy of all Time Lords was imprisoned. Now the trick is, can we keep him in there and get rid of this thing?"
Chapter 4 - Know your enemy
"Just who, or what is inside this box" asked Ragos? Everyone else in the vicinity of the box looked either terrified, or in awe at what it might be. "It has many names, according to which planet you happen to live on; but its name is not important, it is the power that it has to destroy if it gets out from this prison that we need to worry about" the Doctor replied with a grim look of concern on his face.
"Even the Daleks fear this creature, and look upon it as some kind of god like being. They know him as Zagrod the first Dalek ever produced by the Kaled scientist Davros, and he was one of their race who even the Dalek Emperor cast out as a renegade, but since then he has merged himself with other evil minds to become a super-villain."
"So it is no longer a Dalek" Li butted in, "but a mixture of many things that are nasty." "That is exactly what this thing is, totally evil incarnate" was the Doctor's reply, "And very powerful if it escapes from this prison cell that has held it there for the past 3 thousand years."
"This Zagrod, what exactly is it going to do Doctor" asked Ragos?
"I imagine it will want to become leader of the Daleks, as it once was before the Daleks elected an Emperor to lead them; and it most certainly does want to be the supreme being of the Universe, even more so than Davros or any of the other Daleks" Doctor Who retorted.
The creature that was Zagrod felt the presence of the Time Lord among the others gathered around his prison cell, but he also detected another, more akin and allied to himself not far away.
In the Death War collection room, the apparently 'dead Dalek' began to stir from its cryogenic state in which it had placed itself out in deep space, prior to its capture by the Sovasians. It heard the cries from what seemed to be a fellow Dalek inside its mind, but it would be ages before it it could reactivate itself and bring its weapons to a state of battle readiness again. For now both Zagrod and the Dalek were confined and unable to act. The Dalek waited patiently to engage any enemies, Zagrod however, being the paranoid maniac that he was, was frantically attempting to break out from his confinement and gain his freedom.
The Doctor and the others watched as the eerie green glow of the prison box began to send out sparks, and then bolts of energy as the thing inside it tried to get out.
Chapter 5 - Mind Battles
The Doctor knew that it was only a matter of time before the thing that was inside the box got out, as the Time Lords had made this prison to be escape proof; but the Doctor knew that such things had a nasty habit of failing just when you didn't want them to.
For Zagrod it was simply a case of using his superior mind over this inferior matter. The outer shell of the prison box began to buckle and bulge outward at an alarming rate, and a huge crack started to appear as if a door or portal of some kind was magically opening.
"Not long now" said the Doctor, "Get everyone back behind those exhibits for safety." He was just in time too, as a huge bolt of energy hit the spot where they had just been standing, and the box opened up before them. The Doctor could hardly have expected the vision of the life form which his eyes rested upon. "You!" he gasped, "You're the last thing I expected to see come out from inside there."
"Yes Doctor, it is I The Master; but other beings are part of me now, including the Dalek creature known as Zagrod. We are many, we are legion; and you cannot stop us" the Master yelled triumphantly. "Don't be too sure. It's typical of you to be counting your chickens before they hatch" Doctor Who replied rhetorically, "You thought you'd beaten me once before and lost."
"Not this time Doctor" the Master grinned, but the Dalek creature inside his mind was fighting for dominance, and wanted to kill all those inferior beings in the room. It would have its chance later, but for now the Master was in full control. "Come along Doctor, we have much to chat about" the Master said without so much as a glance at the others.
The waking Dalek across the hall in the Death War room was now aware of two time lords, both considered deadly enemies of his race. It was also aware of the presence of another Dalek being, but this one was merged with one of the Time Lords. It searched its memory banks for data, and came up with Zagrod. This being had been cast out from the Dalek race by the Emperor Dalek, and was not just an outcast, but listed as a traitor and renegade to the Dalek Empire. The Dalek was almost ready to move, it just required more power for its weapon, then it would be at full battle readiness and could attack and destroy all in its path. It considered the prime directive; and that was to exterminate all none Dalek lifeforms, and that included any traitor to the Dalek race, it included Zagrod.
The Master did not know about the feeling the Daleks has for Zagrod, otherwise he would never have let his mind become part of this mutation of minds. True that his body was the one which had formed from the shapeless matter that had been imprisoned in the box, and he wasn't even sure how he'd got to be in there, except for the fact that Zagrod had found his energy patterns floating in space; but he was now a part of the numerous beings which were collectively known as Zagrod. In a way he welcomed the sight of his old rival the Doctor, but could not help feeling that something was wrong. He did not fear the others around him, and even the Doctor had tried to stop him from dying as they were the only 2 remaining Time Lords in existence. Still, the master suddenly had a deep sense of foreboding, as though something really bad was in the air. He grinned at the Doctor and said "I think I'm not likely to be around for long old friend, out of the frying pan and into the fire so to speak."
The Doctor wondered what the Master meant by this, had he finally gone mad and lost it altogether he thought?
Chapter 6 - Only the strong survive
Doctor Who could hardly believe it. Here was the Master, alive and well; and yet it wasn't him entirely, as he could sense the Dalek mind of Zagrod and 2 others inside the body of his old adversary.
"Do you have any plans for dealing with this?" asked Ragos to the Doctor and his companions. "Not really, I will just have to play this by ear as things go along" was the Doctor's reply.
The Master then turned the crowd of guards and other people inside the museum, and said "I am the Master, WE are Zagrod. You will all obey me without question, or you will die. It is as simple as that. Now choose, life or death, you have no other choice."
Some of the guards raised their weapons, ready to kill this intruder; but then they began to drop dead as if touched by some invisible hand or magical force. "Do you think your puny weapons are any match for me?" roared a voice that could only have been Zagrod, as it was far too shrill to be the Master. "He is using some kind of mind energy transference and is literally exploding their brains" the Doctor said to those nearest to him.
"We've got to contain him here in the museum" replied Ragos, "Otherwise he can take over this entire planet of Sovas, but how do we do that?"
"Divide and conquer. We simply split his entities up into their own selves, and hopefully they will have an internal power struggle as to which of them is the superior being, and who should be dominant.
I'm guessing it will be between the Master and Zagrod himself, as the other 2 seem weaker."
"I hope you're right Doctor" muttered Dave, who along with Li Chow had been listening to the conversation very intently. "Fingers crossed that it works."
"Hey Zagrod or whoever or whatever you are" the Doctor shouted, "How do you control the minds of your other beings? The Master is not someone you can control easily you know."
"The others are under my superior mind power, and I control them completely" retorted Zagrod. "NO, you are in my body, and I will dictate who lives or dies and who is in control" the Master's voice broke through. The war of minds had begun, as the Master and Zagrod struggled to gain domination over each other.
Meanwhile the Dalek exhibit inside the Death War room was now at 75% battle readiness, and was preparing his attack plan. But still had yet to decide on the prime target, but that would come later.
Chapter 7 - Death Bringer
The being that was Zagrod had tried hard to take full control over his lesser entities, but soon found out that the Master's mind was the stronger. The Doctor meanwhile felt an empathy with the spiritual side of his fellow Time Lord; but knew that this multiple entity which has been a Dalek had to die, as it was the only solution left to save Sovas and the entire Universe.
"I can't let you live, surely you know that" he said to the Master, "As you are host to a very nasty death threat to many planets and races."
"Quite honestly Doctor, I don't really think you can stop me, or should I say US, as you simply have no weapon with which to do so" was the reply.
Ragos interjected, "I am sure that there will be something inside this museum of mine that we can use to destroy you."
"Go ahead and try, you are all inferior to me." It was the voice of the Master, but the message had all the venomous hatred of a Dalek, and could only have been Zagrod speaking.
Everyone was at a loss what to try next, when suddenly a flash of a very familiar shape crossed the Doctor's gaze. It was a Dalek, and it was moving straight toward him.
"You are an enemy of the Daleks, you must be exterminated. All inferior lifeforms will be eradicated, this Dalek will conquer and destroy" it yelled as it entered the room.
The figure of the Master spoke, issuing an order. "Dalek, I am Zagrod, you will obey my commands."
The Dalek stopped its advance on the Doctor, and swung its eye stalk in the direction of the Master. "You are not a true Dalek, you are corrupted. You have elements of inferior beings contained within you. YOU ARE A TIME LORD" it screamed.
Before Zagrod or the Master had a chance to say more, the Dalek had levelled its blaster gun and fired. The Master crumpled into a lifeless heap, just before the voice of Zagrod was heard to yell "This cannot be happening?" But it had, and the being of multiple entities now lay dead before them.
The Dalek now turned back toward the Doctor and the others, preparing to fire once more; but nothing happened.
"Thought you'd got us all didn't you Dalek" the Doctor said with a smile. "Well, while you were so busy firing your weapon at this creature" he pointed down at the dead body, "I had my friends Ragos, Steve and Li Chow here set up an energy drain. You are now completely powerless for all eternity. How does that feel, for a superior being like you to be outsmarted by your inferiors, eh?"
The Dalek tried to speak, but it had no power left to activate any of its devices. To all intents and purposes, it might well have been a dead Dalek. The security guards placed it back inside its exhibition case on a small raised podium. This particular Dalek was doomed never to move or be an active threat again. All it could do was exist. Trapped inside its own casing and hating the thought that it would remain like this until it finally died, which would be a long time away yet.
"Well, my friends and I are probably needed in some far flung part of nowhere, so we'll be off now" the Doctor said, looking very pleased with himself.
"Glad to see you anytime" Ragos replied, as the TARDIS vanished just as quickly as it has arrived.
A good friend to have around thought Ragos, but he never seems to want to settle down in one place for very long. "Back to work" he said to the other Sovasians, as he began humming a victory tune from his childhood days. "I think it's safe to do the dusting now!"
THE END
