Chapter 1:
Failure
I was supposed to be victorious. Instead, I am screaming in agony as a human male called Simmons attacks me with a chain-saw with the sole purpose of trying to make me dignify him, and his masters, with a response. I was not meant to be trapped inside a human's cage, tortured by inferior beings. I was not meant to be sold in an auction as a curiosity, as though I were an object to be trifled with. I was not meant to be left screaming for days, wondering where my Dalek comrades had gone.
And yet, here I am, trapped inside the odious Henry Van Statten's basement. What has become of me? What has become of the other Daleks? Worse than the humans' torture is the uncertainty that pervades my consciousness. A Dalek is not supposed to feel uncertainty; we are taught that everything is unambiguous. We are superior; other life-forms are to be exterminated. We are not supposed to question anything about our lives. That is not to say that we do not, but that we may not. I was bred to receive orders, not to ask why we cannot receive them. My fears about the other Daleks, however, have caused me to question my experience briefly. I struggle with myself to control such thoughts; even though there are no other Daleks here, I must not question. To do so would be a crime against Dalek-kind.
'Come and see my pet.'
My 'keeper', Van Statten, opens the door to the Cage. With him is a strange man. Whilst I do not recognise him, there is something about him that arouses my suspicion.
'We've tried everything. The creature has shielded itself, but there's definite signs of life inside,' says Van Statten.
'Inside? Inside what?' asks the strange man.
Simmons turns to Van Statten.
'Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down; the Metaltron is resting.'
I have always found Van Statten's pet name for me repugnant. I am not a Metaltron; I am a Dalek. I do not care to tell Van Statten that myself, though; he is not worth my speaking to, whether he and his minions torture me or not. I may be in their thrall physically, but I will not give my captors that satisfaction. It is one of the few advantages that I have over them, and I shall keep it that way.
'Metaltron?'
'Thought of it myself. Good, isn't it? Although I'd much prefer to find out its /real/ name.'
Hardly; it is obnoxious. Simmons turns round and hands the man a pair of gloves.
'The last guy who touched it...burst into flames.' The man who touched me was a fool. I was not going to allow him to be so callous with me. He could not regenerate me, so his touch was a mere annoyance, which I would not tolerate.
'I won't touch it, then.'
'Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me,' says Van Statten.
Doctor? It cannot be The Doctor, can it? The Oncoming Storm? The Bringer of Darkness?
'Don't open that door until we get a result,' says Van Statten as he walked out of the Cage, and as the mysterious 'Doctor' walked in.
To be continued