The original Doctor Who episode Dalek is owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The author of this novelisation is in no way affiliated with the BBC, nor the original writer of the story, Robert Shearman. This work is not to be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the explicit written consent of the author.
Doctor Who
DALEK
by Robert Shearman
Prologue - Stuff of Nightmares
The TARDIS engines filled the cavernous room, the deep grinding sound rising and falling in sync with the flashing light on the top of the blue box. The words ‘Police Public Call Box’ slowly became legible, just before the engines stopped with a resounding thud, and the small door on the side opened. A girl’s voice broke the sudden silence.
“So... what is it, what’s wrong?” asked Rose Tyler, as the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS only a few steps ahead of her.
“I don’t know,” he said, looking around the semi-darkness. “Some sort of signal, drawing the TARDIS off course...”
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Earth, Utah, North America,” he answered immediately, looking around the room. “About half a mile underground.”
“And... when... are we?” she asked, a small smile stretching across her face.
The Doctor leaned forward to examine a glass display case. He peered through the glass at the stuffed body of a reptilian creature, its toothy mouth open in a silent roar. “2012,” he said absently, examining the creature.
“God, that’s so close,” remarked Rose slowly. “I should be... twenty six.”
But the Doctor didn’t seem to hear her. He leaned around the case in front of him, peering around it. He reached behind it, and after a moment, the room was brightly lit, revealing dozens of glass display cases aligned in neat rows along the length of the room - all of them containing pieces of stuffed creatures, bits of odd technology, and other strange unworldly objects. The lights flickered for a moment, then remained steady as they took in their surroundings.
“Blimey...” muttered Rose, staring, open-mouthed. “It’s like a great big museum.”
“An alien museum,” corrected the Doctor, starting his way down the aisle. “Someone’s got a hobby... They must have spent a fortune on this!” he exclaimed, examining each of the cases as he passed. “Chunks of meteorite, moon dust...” he gestured towards a case containing a round disc-like object with red, blue, and green lights, all dead, along the rim. “That’s the milometer from the Roswell space-ship!”
Rose pointed towards another case with a clawed green arm. She moved towards it, trying to place it. “That’s a bit of Slitheen!” she said suddenly. “That’s a Slitheen’s arm! It’s been stuffed!”
The Doctor continued down the aisle, transfixed by an exhibit a few cases down. “Oh, look at you...” he said in awe, more to himself than anything. He stopped in front of a case containing a metallic head, wires sprouting haphazardly from the base of the skull. It’s round, empty eyes stared forward blankly.
Rose turned to him, curiosity etched in her blonde-framed features. “What is it?” she asked, moving up behind him.
“An old friend...” he responded. “Well...” he corrected himself. “Enemy. The stuff of nightmares produced on exhibit... I’m gettin’ old...” he added, almost as an afterthought.
“Is that where the signal’s coming from?” asked Rose, trying to jerk him out of his revery.
“Nah,” he said, returning to reality. “It’s stone dead. The signal’s alive. Something’s reaching out. Calling for help...” He reached out, the tips of his fingers grazing the glass case.
Alarms blared throughout the room, resonating in the glass display cases, and making them both jump. Soldiers poured into the room from every entrance, their weapons drawn. They encircled the Doctor and Rose, the clicks of their guns stopping them in their tracks. They didn’t seem to notice the tall blue box not too far away.
Rose leaned forward slightly, eyeing the guards’ guns, all of which were pointing at her and the Doctor. “If someone’s collecting aliens,” she said. “That makes you exhibit A.”
Very good Doc and I'm looking foward to more. I remember seeing the original episode. I'm also looking foward to the Runaway Bride episode this Christmas.
Eh, nicely written, but excuse me, what's a "TARDIS"?
CSI my friend, you haven't seen Doctor Who. The Tardis is an acronym of Time And Relative Dimension (or Dimensions) In Space and is the Doctor's ship. It is bigger in the inside than the outside. If you want to read more about the TARDIS (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS) read here.
Eh, interesting technology, a mistake: Tardis, not Taris. You missed a "d". Thank you for the info.
Please don't hi-jack the thread either, CSI. ;)
The Momerator reminds everyone that spamming and advertising are against forum rules. I've deleted the offending posts. --Jae
I have the episode on DVD as well as on my computer, so I'll be able to keep going with the novelisation whenever I have the time - it's not like I have to wait for it to be aired each time I want to do a chapter.
Chapter One - The Metaltron
The heli-pad was bustling with activity as Bad Wolf One, the personal transport helicopter for Mr. Henry van Statten, descended, its gleaming black blades slowing to a halt as the helicopter touched down. A small contingent of soldiers flanked the six people that exited the craft. Four of the soldiers entered the main building first, taking up positions on either side of the rather cramped hallway. Van Statten’s aide moved up beside him as they walked.
“On behalf of all of us, I want to wish you a very happy birthday, sir,” he said, struggling to keep up with his boss. “And the president called to convey his personal best wishes, and--”
“The president is ten points down, I want him replaced,” snapped Van Statten.
The aide titled his head slightly. “I... don’t think that’s very wise, sir...”
“Thank you so much for your opinion - you’re fired.” He gestured behind him. “Get rid of him,” he said. Two soldiers placed a hand on each of the aide’s shoulders, pulling him roughly away, the small group of people trailing them parting to make way for them. “Wipe his memory, and put him on the road someplace,” continued Van Statten, ignoring the aide’s protests. “Memphis, Minneapolis... someplace beginning with ‘M’. So,” he continued, as a tall, slender woman with bushy red hair stepped forward, pulling her blazer tight across her chest. She would have been pretty, had it not been for the cold expression on her pale face. “The next President, what do you think?” he asked, not looking at her. “Republican, or Democrat?”
“Democrat, sir,” she said immediately, her face set.
“For what reason?” asked Van Statten, his expression not changing.
She faltered for a moment before answering. “Because they’re just so funny, sir?”
He stopped, causing the people behind him to bump into each other. He turned sharply to her, and glared. “What’s your name?”
She turned to him, her face full of fear - had she just lost her job after less than five minutes? She swallowed before answering. “Goddard, sir. Diana Goddard.”
He looked her up and down scrutinisingly. “I like you, Diana Goddard,” he said, smiling slightly. He resumed his quick pace down the hall. “So where’s the English kid?” he barked, as if nothing had happened. A young man from the back of the group fought his way forward. When he spoke, it was with a Londoner’s accent. “Sir. I bought ten more artifacts at auction, Mr. Van Statten,” he said.
“Bring’em on, let met see them.”
Goddard interrupted the exchange. “Sir, with respect, there’s something more urgent.” He looked at her enquiringly, and she continued. “We arrested two intruders, fifty-three floors down - we don’t know how they got in.”
“I’ll tell you how they got in: In-tru-der window.” There was silence for a moment. “In-tru-der window, that was funny!” he barked. Everyone laughed, albeit somewhat nervously. “Bring’em in, let’s see’em,” he went on. “And tell Simmons I want to visit my little pet. Get to it!” he yelled, snapping his fingers for the British kid to follow him, and quickened his pace.
Goddard broke away from the group, touching the control on her ear-piece, opening a comm-line down to floor fifty-three. “Simmons, you’d better give me good news,” she said. “Is it talking?”
The earpiece burst with a deep, gravelly screeching sound, accompanied by the tell-tale whine of a powerful electric drill. The whine stopped, and the screeching ebbed into silence. A man’s voice broke through the comm. “Not exactly talking, no...” he panted, his voice oddly muffled - of course, if he was downstairs with the Metaltron, he would be wearing a full bio-suit. For his own safety.
“Then what’s it doing?” she asked.
The man chuckled softly. “Screaming. Is that any good?” Without waiting for an answer, he activated the drill again, and the screeching continued once more. Goddard sighed slightly, and ran to catch up with Van Statten. He wasn’t going to be pleased.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The Doctor and Rose were led into a small room on floor one by a small group of soldiers, who were following Goddard. Two men were already in the room, one of them, the one with the moustache, sat in a chair at the desk, situated immediately in front of a painting of himself. The other was much younger, and was holding something out for the first that the Doctor recognised immediately. Goddard waited for them to finish before speaking.
“And this is the last,” said the younger man in a British accent, handing the device over. “Paid $800 000 for it.”
“What does it do?” asked the older man, taking it in his hand. The Doctor looked on, somewhat amused.
The younger man leaned forward, looking slightly uncomfortable with the way the other was holding the device that had cost so much. “Well, you see the tubes on the side must be to channel something - I think, maybe fuel, or--”
“I really wouldn’t hold it like that,” said the Doctor, as the man turned the device over in his hand.
“Shut it!” snapped Goddard, turning her head sharply towards him. The Doctor turned to look at her for a moment, then turned back to the two men.
“Really though, that’s wrong,” he said again.
The younger man straightened. “Why, is it dangerous?” he asked, arching an eyebrow in question.
“No. Just looks silly,” answered the Doctor, leaning forward. The soldiers raised their weapons, but were stopped at the man’s command. He stood slowly, and held the device out, a allowing the Doctor to take it. He held it by the side, and ran his fingers along the tubes. “You just need to be...” The room was filled with a bright, soothing pitch, followed by another, a tone down, and another, another tone down. “Delicate,” he finished, smiling.
Both men looked on in awe. “It’s a musical instrument!” he said in a hushed voice.
The Doctor nodded. “And it’s a long way from home,” he said, smiling.
“Here, let me.” The device was snatched from his hands, and he watched as the man clumsily began to stroke the device. The room echoed with random tones, growing in volume.
“I did say delicate,” said the Doctor. “Reacts to the smallest fingerprint. Needs precision...”
The device let loose a deep, bright tone, followed by another. “Very good,” said the Doctor, like a teacher to a troubled student. “Quite the expert.”
The man looked up. “As are you.” He tossed the instrument to the side, causing the young British man to gasp slightly. “Who exactly are you?” he asked.
The Doctor looked at the instrument, now broken on the floor, then glared at him. “I’m the Doctor. Who are you?”
“Like you don’t know,” he said unbelievingly. “We’re hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake.”
“Pretty much sums me up, yeah,” said the Doctor, grinning.
The man nodded, still not convinced. “The question is: how did you get in?” he asked, stepping out from behind the desk and circling around it, moving towards them. “Fifty-three floors down, with your little cat-burglar accomplice...” he looked Rose up and down before turning back to the Doctor. “Quite the collector yourself. She’s rather pretty.”
“She’s gonna smack you if you keep calling her ‘she’,” snapped Rose, her cockney accent making the man smile. “And she’s English, too!” he said, not looking at her. “Hey, British, got you a girlfriend.”
The younger man ignored the quip. “This is Mr. Henry van Statten,” he said, as if there was no need to introduce him further.
Rose shook her head. “And... who is he when he’s at home?”
The stared at her, shocked. “Mr. Van Statten owns the internet,” he said, as if it were obvious.
“Don’t be stupid,” she snapped. “No one owns the internet!”
Van Statten smiled. “And let’s just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?” he said, looking at the Doctor.
The Doctor grinned slightly. “So you’re just about an expert in everything, except the things in your museum. Anything you don’t understand, you lock up.”
“And you claim greater knowledge?”
“I don’t need to make claims, I know how good I am.”
“And yet I captured you!” said Van Statten smugly. “Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?”
“You tell me,” said the Doctor.
“The Cage contains my one living specimen.”
“And what’s that?”
“Like you don’t know.”
“Show me.”
“You wanna see it?”
Rose couldn’t help but smile. “Blimey, you can smell the testosterone,” she said, looking sideways at Goddard.
Van Statten didn’t take his eyes off the Doctor. “Goddard, inform the Cage, we’re heading down. You, English,” he said, turning to the younger man. “Look after the girl. Go canoodle, or spoon, or whatever it is you British do.” He turned back to the Doctor. “And you, doctor-with-no-name,” he continued, moving towards the elevator. “Come and see my pet.”
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
“We’ve tried everything,” said Van Statten, as they entered the Cage on level fifty-three. “The creature has shielded itself.” He tapped the control panel next to a large metal door at the end of the room as he spoke. “But there’s definite signs of life... inside.”
“Inside? Inside what?” asked the Doctor.
Van Statten ignored the question. The man who seemed to be in charge moved up to Van Statten, removing a pair of thick rubber gloves. “Welcome back, sir,” he said. “I’ve had to take the power down, the Metalron is resting.”
“Metaltron?” interrupted the Doctor.
Van Statten nodded. “Thought of it myself. Good, isn’t it? Although I’d much prefer to find out its real name.”
The other man held out the gloves to the Doctor. “Here, you’d better put these on,” he said. “The last guy who touched it...” he shrugged, smiling darkly. “Burst into flames.”
“I won’t touch it then,” said the Doctor, smiling. Goddard and Van Statten smiled at each other. “Go ahead, Doctor,” he said before moving aside to allow the Doctor to enter the Cage itself. “Impress me.”
As the Doctor stepped into the dark chamber, Van Statten ordered the door shut. “Don’t open that door until we get a result,” he said. He motioned for Goddard to follow him, and they both proceeded to the monitor on the desk on the other side of the room, which had a direct audio and video link to the chamber.
Inside, the Doctor’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. The sole source of light in the room was a small, round blue light a few meters away from him, hovering about 6 feet above the ground. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out numerous devices sitting on a table beside him - all of them with sharp and sinister looking tips. He closed his eyes and sighed, turning towards the room. “Look, I’m sorry about this. Mr. Van Statten may think he’s clever, but never mind him,” he said, spitting the name out as if it would bite his tongue. “I’m here to help. I’m the Doctor.”
There was silence for a moment. It was finally broken by a quiet, gravelly voice coming from the direction of the light in the middle of the room. “Doc... tor...”
White lights lashed about a foot to each side of the blue one, in sync with the creature’s voice. The Doctor froze. Memories flooded back to him. Disc shaped ships swarming towards him. The sounds of weapons fire. The sounds of death. The sounds of war. “Impossible...” he chocked.
The voice spoke again, this time with more strength. “The DOC-TOR?”
The lights flickered on. The Metaltron was showered in light and mist, held in place by chains, locks, and cables. The Doctor stepped back slowly, still paralysed with fear at the site of the Dalek before him. Its yelling filled the room, as the Doctor pounded on the metal door, screaming for dear life to be released. “EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-ATE! EX-TER-MIN-AAAAATE!”
Outside the chamber, Goddard had gone paler than usual. “Sir, it’s going to kill him!” she said, tapping the controls on the desk. He grabbed her hand and threw it aside.
“It’s talking!” he said jubilantly.
“YOU ARE AN EN-E-MY OF THE DA-LEKS! YOU MUST BE DE-STROOOOOYED!” An apparatus on the front of the Dalek shifted menacingly, pointing towards the door.
The Doctor turned to face the Dalek, stumbling backwards against the wall, his mouth open in a silent scream. He closed his eyes, waiting for the hiss of its weapon.
It never came. He opened his eyes, and looked up at the Dalek. The apparatus was moving about frantically, buzzing as it moved. But it didn’t fire. The Doctor exhaled a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. “It’s not working!” he said, his voice exploding with relief. He let loose an uncharacteristically maniacal laugh, moving away from the door and to the opposite side of the room, keeping his distance from the Dalek. “Fantastic!” he yelled, still laughing madly. “Oh, Fantastic!”
The laugh stopped, and his face fell dark. “Powerless! Look at you! You great space dustbin, well how does it feel?!” he asked, running towards it angrily, brining his face within an inch of the Dalek’s blue lit eye-stock.
“Keep baaack!” it yelled, trying to move away. But the Doctor pushed forward, bringing his face closer.
“What for?” he yelled. “What are you gonna do to me?” He began to circle around it, his face contorted with anger and hatred. “If you can’t kill, then what are you good for, Dalek?” he asked bitterly. “What’s the point of you?” He continued to circle the Dalek, its dome-shaped head spinning around, keeping its eye stock fixed on the Doctor. “You’re nothing!” he barked, lunging towards it again. He backed away slightly, now back where he started. “What the hell are you here for?” he hissed, his voice seething with barely suppressed rage.
“I am wai-ting for or-ders,” said the Dalek, its eye stock still frozen on the Doctor.
“What does that mean?” asked the Doctor.
“I am a sol-dier I was bred to re-ceive or-ders.”
“Well you’re not gonna get any,” said the Doctor, smiling darkly. “Not ever.”
“I de-mand or-ders!” screamed the Dalek, shaking slightly in its bondage.
“They’re never gonna come!” repeated the Doctor, his voice rising again. “Your race is dead! You all burned, all of you! Ten million ships on fire! The entire Dalek race, wiped out in one second!”
“YOU LIIIIIE!” screamed the Dalek, the light on its eye stock burning a deeper blue in its rage.
The Doctor smiled cruelly. “I watched it happen - I made it happen!”
“YOU DES-TROYED US?!”
The Doctor’s face fell, and he looked away. He was silent for a moment, turning away from it and taking a few steps forward before speaking. “I had no choice,” he said sadly.
“And what of the Time Lords?”
Again, the Doctor was silent for a moment before answering. “Dead,” he said. “They burned with you. The end of the Last Great Time War. Everyone lost.”
The Dalek’s eye stock looked him up and down. “And the cow-ard sur-vived,” it said mockingly.
The Doctor smiled. “Oh, and I caught your little signal,” he said. “‘Help me, poor little thing’.” The smile slid from his face. “But there’s no one else coming, ‘cause there’s no one else left.”
The Dalek’s eye stock slid downward mournfully. “I am a-lone in the u-ni-verse,” it said.
The Doctor smiled again. “Yep,” he said.
The Dalek looked up at him again. “So... are... you,” it said pointedly. The Doctor closed his eyes sadly, fighting back the sorrow. The Dalek continued. “We are the same.”
The Doctor’s eyes snapped open, rage boiling through him. He turned back to face the Dalek, moving forward to bring his face as close as possible again. “We’re not the same!” he bellowed furiously. “I’m not...”
He trailed thoughtfully. “No, wait,” he corrected. “Maybe we are.” He moved away from the Dalek. “You’re right! Yeah, okay!”
The Dalek looked at him silently. “You’ve got a point,” continued the Doctor, moving further away from it - closer to the control panel across from the door. “‘Cause I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve.” He tilted his head, like a teacher waiting for a student to answer a maths question. “Exterminate!”
He stepped up to the control panel and threw a lever down. Electricity rippled through the Dalek, and screams burst from it. He turned to watch, a cruel smile playing across his face, his pupils dilated against the harsh light of the torture devices. The Dalek continued to scream, making the Doctor’s smile stretch wider.
“HAVE PI-TYYYY!” it yelled, as the electricity washed over it, throwing its battle systems into painful chaos.
The Doctor glared at it. “Why should I?” he hissed darkly. “You never did!”
He threw another lever, and more of the torture devices activated, sending fresh ripples of energy through the Dalek, increasing the volume of its screams.
Outside the Cage, Van Statten watched, horrified. He turned to the soldiers at the door. “Get him out of there!” he barked, pushing past Goddard to get to the Cage. The door opened, and the soldiers ran towards the Doctor, grabbing him by the waist and shoulders and pulling him, kicking and screaming, away from the controls. “You’ve got to destroy it!” he screamed, helpless against the guards dragging him out of the room.
The Dalek screamed afresh as Van Statten, Goddard, and Simmons entered the room. “HELP MEEEE!” it screamed, trying to free itself from its restraints.
Simmons moved to the controls and shut everything down, and the Dalek’s screams ceased. Van Statten moved forward. “I saved your live. Now talk to me, God dammit! Talk to me!”
It stared at him silently, as if its confrontation with the Doctor had never occurred. Van Statten bristled. “The last in the Universe,” he said proudly. “And now I know your name: Dalek. Speak to me Dalek.” It remained silent. “I am Henry van Statten now recognise me!” he barked. But the Dalek didn’t respond. It simply stared ahead, ignoring everyone in the room.
“Make it talk again Simmons,” he said darkly. "Whatever it takes." He motioned for Goddard to follow him, and followed the guards out of the room, leaving the Dalek alone with Simmons, who was once again armed with the large drill and a wide smile.
The Dalek finally makes an apperance. Good Chapter Doc and much better than the Prologue in my opinion. Also, Doc, do you have the box-set of the Series 1 (Or whatever number it continues from the previous series) or do you have volumes? Anyway, I'm looking foward to more.
I have the box set. Sure, it was expensive, but well worth the price.
Another good chapter, The Doctor. Looking forward to see more. Still figuring out how TARDIS work...
Sorry, Jae, that won't happen again.
TARDIS (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS)
Hey Doc, I thought I posted the link to the TARDIS on Post 4 in this Thread. When is the next Chapter coming and are there any differences to the original episode yet, since I haven't noticed any?
I know you already posted a link, but Nihilus didn't seem to see it. So I posted it again. And no, the story isn't going to differ much from the original episode - it's a novelisation of the episode.
Oh right, thanks for the explanation. I might write a novelisation of an Only Fools and Horses episode, but I'll keep on-topic. Do you think you'll do any episodes of Doctor Who?
I'll probably do Rose after this, and then do them in order for Eccleston's season. I don't know why I started with Dalek. Probably because it's my favourite episode for that season.
I may do some of the older episodes, but that'll be harder, seeing as how I only own a few of them. I'll give it a shot for some of them, eventually, though.
The only old episode I've seen of Doctor Who is The Three Doctors Episode. That episode isn't really that scary now, when you look back at it. Will you do the David Tennant series as well?
Possibly. I don't really know.
The only old episode I've seen of Doctor Who is The Three Doctors Episode. That episode isn't really that scary now, when you look back at it. Will you do the David Tennant series as well?
Thanks to my good old friend youtube I've seen the creation of the Daleks and how they killed their leader. Also I've them return for their leader when they were fighting another robot race whose name I've forgotten.
Good work on the fic, Doctor.
Nice chapter, too. And looking forward to see more.
Chapter Two - Open Fire
The young British man had introduced himself as Adam Mitchell, and as Rose talked to him, she learned that he had been working for Mr. Van Statten for more than six months. “Sorry about the mess,” he said, leading her into his cluttered workshop. “Mr. Van Statten sort of lets me do my own thing. So long as I deliver the goods,” he added, moving around the laden table in the centre of the room. Rose moved around the other side, examining random objects on the workbench along the wall. “What,” he asked, drawing her attention away from the strange artefacts, “do you think that is?”
He lifted a heavy-looking piece of greyish metal from the table, and held it out to her. She took it, and examined its rough edges for a moment. “A lump of metal,” she answered.
Adam rolled his eyes. “Yeah. But I think - well, I’m almost certain - that it’s from the hull of a spacecraft. The thing is...” He leaned forward, dropping his voice slightly. “It’s all true. Everything the United Nations tries to keep quiet. Spacecraft, aliens, visitors to Earth... they really exist!”
“That’s amazing,” said Rose, trying not to smile as she put down the hunk of steel.
“I know it sounds incredible,” he went on, as if she hadn’t said anything. “But I honestly believe that the whole universe is just teaming with life.”
“I’m Gobsmacked, yeah... And... you do what? Just... sit around, and catalogue it?”
Adam straightened, a smug look crawling over his face. “Best job in the world,” he said proudly.
“But imagine if you could get out there. Travel amongst the stars, and see it for real?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “I’d give anything. But I don’t think it’s ever going to happen - not in our lifetimes.”
“Oh, you never know,” said Rose, turning away from him and examining the shelves behind her. “What about all those people who say they’ve been inside of spaceships, and things? Talked to aliens?”
Adam took a sip of his coffee before answering. “I think they’re nutters,” he said, putting his cup down on the bench where there was room.
She turned to face him again, smiling. “Yeah, me too,” she said, laughing slightly. “So, how’d you end up here?” she asked, moving back towards his workbench.
“Van Statten has agents all over the world, looking for geniuses to recruit,” he said casually.
“Oh, right you’re a genius,” said Rose, smiling.
Adam shrugged. “Sorry, but, yeah, can’t help it, I was born clever.” He leaned closer conspiratorially, lowering his voice. “When I was eight, I logged on to the US defence system. Nearly caused World War Three.”
“What, and that’s funny, is it?”
“You should have been there! Just to see them running about! Fantastic!”
“You sound like the Doctor,” she said, smiling and looking away for a moment.
Adam’s face was suddenly serious. “Oh, are you and him...?” he asked, gesturing with his hands suggestively.
“Oh, no, we’re just friends,” she assured him.
He nodded. “Good,” he said.
“Why is that good?”
“It just is,” he answered.
They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, the silence building. It was Rose who broke it, saying, “So... wouldn’t you rather be downstairs?” she asked, moving around the workbench to stand at his side. “I mean, you’ve got these bits of metal and stuff, but... Mr. Van Statten’s got a living creature down there!”
“Yeah. Yeah I did ask, but he keeps it to himself. Although,” he said thoughtfully. “If you’re a genius, it doesn’t take long to patch into the comm system.”
Rose smiled. “Let’s have a look then,” she said. Adam moved away from her, towards the computer sitting on his cluttered desks. “It doesn’t do much,” he said, tapping a few keys on his keyboard as Rose moved up behind him. “The alien. It’s weird. It’s kind of... useless. It’s just like this great big... pepper-pot.”
He tapped a final key, and the monitor lit up with the image of a concrete room with a large steel door. A man wearing an orange rubber suit was moving towards the creature Adam had described, a large drill in his hands. He activated it, and they saw him force the device into the creature’s metal shell. It screamed, and the man pushed harder, forcing the drill deeper into the metal exoskeleton. Adam shifted uncomfortable as Rose watched in horror, her mouth wide open.
“It’s being tortured! Where’s the Doctor?” she demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, take me down there. Now!” she snapped, pushing past him towards the door. He ran to catch up, shaking his head as he followed.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The guards moved to the back of the large elevator to make room for Van Statten, the Doctor, and Goddard.
“The metal’s just battle armour,” the Doctor was saying. “The real Dalek creature is inside.”
“What does it look like?” inquired Van Statten curiously, almost innocently.
“A nightmare. It’s a mutation. The Dalek race were genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate.”
“Genetically engineered... by whom?”
The Doctor rolled his eyes impatiently. “By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world. You’d like him.”
Goddard paced to the other side of the elevator. “It’s been on Earth for over fifty years. Sold at private auction, moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?”
“Because I’m here,” he answered simply. “How did it get to Earth, does anyone know?”
“The records say,” said Goddard. “That it came from the sky, like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands, burned in its crater for three days before anyone could get near it - and all that time, it was screaming. It must have gone insane.”
The Doctor looked away from her. “It must have fallen through Time,” he said, more to himself than anything. “The only survivor...”
“You talked about a war?”
The Doctor nodded. “The Time War,” he said. “The final battle between my people and the Dalek race.”
“But you survived, too,” said Van Statten, speaking for the first time in several moments.
The Doctor looked at him darkly. “Not by choice.”
“This means,” he continued, as if the Doctor hadn’t responded. “That the Dalek isn’t the only alien on Earth, Doctor. There’s you. The only one of your kind in existence.”
He snapped his fingers, and the Doctor felt strong hands grip both of his shoulders, and a sudden lurch as the elevator reached its destination.
Blindingly bright lights burnt through the Doctor’s vision, his arms held in place above his head. Van Statten had relieved the Doctor of his shirt, saying something about it ‘interfering with his instruments’. The guards made the final adjustments to the Doctor’s restraints and took their place on either side, their weapons ready.
“Now, smile!” said Van Statten, standing behind a device that looked horribly like the eye-stock of the Dalek downstairs. It activated, and a red-hot beam of energy careened towards the Doctor’s exposed chest, sending stabs of pain through his body. He grimaced against the scream that threatened to burst from his lips, and forced himself to remain conscious. Van Statten was speaking, and he forced himself to listen.
“Two hearts!” he was saying excitedly, rubbing his hands together as he watched a small screen in front of him. “Binary vascular system... Oh, I am so going to patent this!”
The Doctor glared at him. “So that’s your secret,” he said darkly. “You don’t just collect this stuff. You scavenge it.”
“This technology,” said Van Statten, moving out from behind the device and pacing around the Doctor. “Has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to use it properly.” He smiled at the Doctor reminiscently. “Oh, the advances I’ve made from alien junk... You have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell.” He moved toward the Doctor, coming within a foot of his prisoner’s restraints. “Just last year, my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian cater, and do you know what we found?” He leaned forward. “The cure... for the common cold!” He moved back again. “Kept it strictly within the laboratory, of course - no need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?”
“Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten?” asked the Doctor. “A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do, for the survival of its species. That creature in your dungeon is better than you!”
Van Statten glared at him. “In that case, I will be true to myself, and continue.” He moved back towards the alien device.
“Listen to me!” yelled the Doctor, his voice dripping with urgency. “That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!”
“Nothing can escape the Cage.” He activated the alien device again, making the Doctor writhe in pain again.
When it stopped, the Doctor had to struggle again to speak. “But it’s woken up! It knows I’m here, It’s gonna get out! Van Statten, I swear: no one on this base is safe! No one on this planet!”
But Van Statten ignored him. With the flick of a switch, he sent the Doctor screaming in pain again as the red-hot beam of energy arched towards him again, until his world became black.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Adam walked swiftly into the Cage, Rose right on his heels. One of the technicians stood. “Hold it right there,” he said, moving to stop them. He froze as Adam flashed his ID card. “Level three access,” he said, shifting it to face Simmons, who was standing at the door to the Cage. “Special clearance from Mr. Van Statten.” Then, ignoring them, he lead Rose past a large metal door. As they stepped through it, Simmons closed the door. But Rose wasn’t watching Simmons.
She was staring at the creature. The video feed in Adam’s lab hadn’t done it justice. It looked larger in real life, and she could make out the details in its metallic structure - including multiple holes where Simmons must have forced the drill into its core. She heard as if from a distance Adam telling her not to get too close, but she ignored him, moving towards it slowly. The long stalk protruding from its domed head was aimed right at her - and only then did she notice the chains and latches holding it in place. Undaunted, she moved closer, leaning down a little bit to look straight into eye-stock.
“Hello,” she said, once she was within inches of touching the strange sucker-like device on its front. It simply stared at her, not making a sound. “Are you in pain? My name’s Rose Tyler. I’ve got a friend, he can help - he’s called the Doctor. What’s your name?”
It was silent for a moment, before speaking in a deep gravelly voice. “Yes.” She looked at it questioningly. “I am in pain,” it elaborated, the lights on either side of its dome flashing in sync with its voice. It moved its eye-stock upwards, looking her right in the face. “They... tortured me. But... still they... fear... me... Do... you fear me?”
Rose shook her head slowly, her eyes brimming with tears. “No,” she said.
The creature lowered its eye-stock again, staring at the floor. “I am... dying...” it said, its monotone voice somehow dripping with sorrow.
“No, we can help!” said Rose, leaning forward, trying to comfort it.
“I... welcome death. But... I am glad... that.. before I died, I met a human who was not afraid...”
“Isn’t there anything I can do?” she asked desperately.
“My race... is dead... I shall die... alone...”
Its eye-stock dropped even further, the blue light at the end fading slowly. Rose shuddered, suppressing her pity. She reached out comfortingly, laying a hand on its metal head.
Searing pain shot up her arm as her hand was scorched, the Dalek’s dome growing suddenly white hot. She pulled back, gasping in pain. The creature began to shake, struggling against its chains. Its quiet voice was slowly growing to a scream.
“Gen-et-ic ma-ter-ial ex-trap-o-lated! IN-IT-IATE CELL-ULAR RE-CON-STRUC-TION!”
Rose backed away towards Adam, horrified. The chains holding the creature in place snapped as it pulled away from them, its eye-stock moving around, taking in the Cage. Simmons pushed past them, drill in hand, and it was only then that Rose noticed that the door had been opened. “What the hell have you done?!” he snapped. Not waiting for an answer, he pushed them out of the room, and moved towards the creature. It pointed the sucker device at him.
“What are you gonna do?” asked Simmons, smiling darkly and brandishing his drill. “Sucker me to death?”
The sucker pushed forward out of the creature’s casing, latching itself to Simmons’ mouth and nose. There was a sickening crunching sound, and Simmons’ face began to elongate as the bones in his skull were crushed.
Outside the Cage, Rose pushed past Adam to get to the view-screen, manned by a single technician. “It’s killing him! Do something!”
He tapped the communications controls and opened a channel across the entire base. “Condition red, condition red! Repeat. This is not a drill!”
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Alarms blared around the room, and Van Statten began barking orders to the soldiers in the room, telling them to converge on the Cage. He turned to the Doctor, his face etched with barely controlled shock and fear. The Doctor spoke, his voice soft and sad, his face covered in sweat.
“Release me if you want to live.”
Five minutes later, the Doctor, Van Statten, Goddard, and two guards came bursting out of the elevator on the first floor. The Doctor ran straight to the large view-screen at the other end of the room, already barking orders.
“You’ve got to keep it in that cell!” he said urgently.
Rose moved to the forefront of the screen, and the Doctor’s hearts sank. “Doctor, it’s all my fault,” she said. He could see the fear in her eyes. He closed his eyes and sighed. He had to open them again when the guard next to her spoke.
“I’ve sealed the compartment. It can’t get out - that lock’s got a billion combinations.”
The Doctor shook his head. “The Dalek’s a genius. It can calculate one thousand billion combinations in one second flat!”
Rose turned to face the door, and saw that the Doctor was right - the lock’s possible combinations were being attempted as lightning speed, the numbers flashing by before she could see what they were. She could picture the Dalek on the other side of the door, its plunger-sucker device latched to the panel, flying through every possible combination. The two guards present raised their weapons, and pointed them towards the door.
The panel flashed eight pound signs, and the light above the door began to flash. The steel came unloose, and the door began to swing open slowly.
“Open fire!”
The room was filled with the sounds of gunfire, bullets flying across the room, only to bounce right off their target. Rose heard through the din the Doctor’s voice, yelling at her to get out.
The commander ordered cease fire, and turned to his fellow. “DeMagio. Take the civilians and get them out alive. That is your job. Got it?”
She nodded, and turned to Adam and Rose. “You two, with me,” she said, leading them from the cage. The other guard reloaded his weapon and turned back to the Dalek, opening fire again. The Dalek’s eye-stock flashed a few times as it moved across the room, heading towards the view-screen. It stared at the Doctor for a moment, then pounded the screen with its plunger-sucker. The monitor cracked, and its plunger went straight through it. Electricity arched out of the screen, gliding across the Dalek’s casing. It screamed, the blue-white light ripping across its bodywork.
The guard looked on in terrified awe as the damage the Dalek’s bodywork had sustained seemed to slowly repair itself. The loose panel on its side shifted back into place. The dome shaped bubbles on its lower body brightened as years of scratches and dents were repaired. The muddy brown of its body armour took on a red hue, and the slightly bent eye-stock shifted back to normal.
The guard lowered his weapon, and spoke into his earpiece. “Abandoning the Cage, sir,” he said, backing out of the room.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The lights on floor one were flickering as the Doctor stood behind Goddard, monitoring the Dalek’s status. “We’re losing power,” she said helplessly, her fingers flying across the keyboard, trying to compensate for the drain. "It’s draining the ba... Oh my God... it’s draining the whole power supply for the whole of Utah!”
“It’s downloading...” muttered the Doctor.
“Downloading what?” asked Van Statten, who was standing behind the Doctor.
“Sir, the entire west coast has gone down!”
“It’s not just energy,” said the Doctor, leaning forward slightly. “That Dalek just absorbed the entire internet. It knows everything.”
The view-screen at the front of the room flashed as the Dalek moved away from it - it couldn’t see them anymore, but they could still see it from the cameras in the room. It was screaming angrily.
“THE DA-LEKS SURVIVE IN MEEEEEEEEE!” With a half dozen shots from its beam weapon, the cameras in the Cage were destroyed, and the audio feed fell into a dark, pressing silence.
The Dalek is back. Good Chapter as always, but I've never liked Adam. He has been the worse Sidekick in the series and I'm glad the Doctor dumps him an Episode later in The Long Game. I was always expecting him to get revenge on the Doctor in the Episode in Series 2 when the Doctor is in 2012 again. Anyway, I'm looking foward to:
The Dalek killing everyone.
Adam was a weak character. I never liked him either, really. Probably because he was the first attempt at a romance plot in the series - and romance simply has no place in Doctor Who. Part of the reason I disliked Tennant's whole season was the romance bits.
Wow, this is amazing. I really like how you put this into words. I love the way you use descriptive verbs and adjectives instead of a bunch of adverbs. And the sentence variety is just right. :D Your writing is most impressive.
Glad you liked it so far. This won't be a very long story - only about 4 chapters more, at most. But I plan on doing all of Eccleston's season in the next few months.