The Supreme Dalek analysed the readings it was regularly submitted. It was recent since the Daleks had based themselves on this planet and begun rebuilding their Empire. But already they numbered billions and were becoming the main power of this Galaxy. The Supreme Strategist glided into the room. "Report on availability of Dalek troop placements!" said the Supreme Dalek. "Seven Dalek Legions are available now and positioned within one cycle" said the Strategist. "Within 5 cycles Fleet Three will be available!" The Supreme Dalek went over this information and surveyed an area in the Picrogu Galaxy. Taking control of this would be of major strategic importance in invading that Galaxy. It turned to the Supreme Strategist. "Relay orders! A Dalek Legion is to take control of this position!" The Supreme Strategist scanned the coordinates. "I obey!" it said, moving away.
As the next cycle began 10 saucers lifted from the world. The Chief Strategist commanding them had not controlled such a force on its own before now. But the Supreme Dalek needed control of those worlds quickly, as the Empire was rapidly expanding. The Daleks, after a long journey, entered a double-star system containing only one planet, a ball of gas. But one of its moons would be a useful addition to the Empire. The Strategist turned to a Dalek. "Scan for area richest in minerals!" it ordered. "I obey!" said the Dalek. It began the scan and soon turned back to the Strategist. "Scans detect richest area is on Northern hemisphere, North-West." "Order the the Legion to land there!" ordered the Strategist.
Soon more than 20,000 Daleks were on the moon. There was no atmosphere and the temperature was far below freezing but the Daleks could easily resist it. They began setting up a huge mining operation. They didn't realise that another race of conquerors were watching them, from a distance hundreds of kilometres away.
Petran Captain Thetor heard the report from her Lieutenant. "Daleks?" she said. "Are you sure? They were wiped from the Universe centuries ago!" "It appears reports of demise were exaggerated" said the Lieutenant. "We estimate there must be thousands here, far more then we can take on with six standard crews." The Petran considered what to do. She turned to a Communications Officer. "Report this to Fleet command" she ordered. "We and the other ships will adopt a defensive position and send out a scouting party. But we must ready ourselves for immediate take-off."
A Red Dalek moved towards the Commander of the Legion, the Chief Strategist. "Transmission had been detected from short distance" it said. "What is its content?" said the Strategist. The Red Dalek turned to another Dalek. "Activate the recording!" it ordered. "I obey!" replied the Dalek. The message began playing. "Message to Petran Command… Thetor… 4th Battalion... Daleks… Decision…" There was a burst of noise and the message stopped. "Why has the transmission halted?" asked the Strategist. "Scrambler technology means we are unable to re-constitute the rest" said the Red Dalek. The Strategist gave an order. "Exterminate the Petrans!"
Captain Thetor had decided to take off. She called her women together to the ship. "Prepare for take-off!" she said. "We must get away…" "Captain!" cried one of the Petrans. Thetor moved over and saw on the screen was a small Dalek saucer, moving closer. "Activate weapons!" she barked. "Destroy it!"
Two saucers, each containing 10 Daleks, swooped towards the Petrans. The Petrans, once they realised their hand-held weapons weren't working, ran for the ships. "Exterminate!" cried a Section Commander. A hail of laser-fire shot down most of the Petrans. One of the ships fired a powerful burst of energy that the Saucer only just missed. "Destroy that ship!" cried the other Commander. A concentrated attack began to rupture the hull of the ship. But a blast from another ship brought down the Saucer. It crashed to the ground like a winged bird, shattering its occupants. The other Saucer fired a deadly rain at the ship, destroying both cannons. But several bursts shot towards the Saucer. It dodged them but one blast knocked it off balance. It tilted in the air, the Pilots working desperately to hold it upright. "Ship re-aligning!" said one to the Section Commander. "Petrans more deadly than anticipated! Retreat!" said the Commander. But before they could another blast brought the ship crashing down. "Remaining Dalek ship destroyed!" said a Petran Cannon Officer. "Excellent work!" said the Captain. "Once we have taken remaining Petrans we will leave."
Thetor and her troops moved from their ruined ship to the others. There would be enough room due to most of the Petrans dying in the initial attack. However the Dalek attack had cost this ship 7 troops, and several were wounded. One was unable to run. "Thetor…" she began, dragging herself along. "You are too slow and we can't have the Daleks learning about us" said Thetor. A single shot to the head of the wounded Petran brought her down. "To the ships!" cried Thetor. The Petrans moved towards the other ships, passing the bodies of their kind without feeling of upset. They had been told while in their pods that death was inevitable and that the best thing they could do was work for the glory of the Petran State.
From the Dalek Saucer the Section Commander moved with 3 other Daleks. All were in a state of dis-repair but the Section Commander had been slightly more protected from its positioning. 4 deadly beams shot out, bringing down 4 of the Petrans. The others whipped out their weapons and began firing with unerring accuracy despite wearing protective clothing. One of the Daleks was quickly blown open, an explosion of slime shooting out. The Commander fired rapidly, killing two Petrans. But as they died so did another Dalek. The Section Commander scanned for the Commander and focused on Captain Thetor as she shouted "Concentrate all at once! Don't give…" The Section Commander fired and the words of Thetor were cut short. The Petran fire slowed slightly, and both Daleks began to relentlessly press their advantage, taking down more. But the Petrans soon recovered and blasted both Daleks apart.
The ships lifted from the planet. The Chief Strategist watched them go. "These Petrans are more dangerous than our data suggested" it said. It gave an order to its troops. "This is a Command to all Daleks! I will lead ships 1, 2, 3, and 4 to find out more about the inferiors! You will continue to mine for minerals. Once you have completed this task you will move back to Dalek territory. You will work with maximum efficiency. Ships 5 and 6 will remain on standby in case of attack. All ships be prepared for take-off!" The Daleks of the ships mentioned returned and soon 4 ships departed the world.
On Petran Central, a city that covered an entire island, the Petran High Council met, composed of the best of the specially-bred Officers. The Petrans were developed from the Drahvins by a Time Lord who had hoped to invade Gallifrey. However the intervention of the Doctor led to them falling into the Picrogu Galaxy, luckily next to an inhabitable world with life that put up little resistance. It was the second and only inhabited world in a well-placed and mineral rich system of four worlds. The Petrans had spent most of their time in this Galaxy fighting its Major Powers. Their creator Redglove had given them advanced technology but they had low numbers. However they were quickly able to grow millions more Petrans, though these weren't as well-formed and intelligent as standard Petrans. As the Petrans began to gain more of a foothold they created more standard Petrans, enabling them to conquer many systems and challenge the Major Powers. Through the making and breaking of alliances they had now become the greatest power of the Picrogu Galaxy.
Yet now the Daleks challenged them. The Petrans had fought the Daleks before, but the Daleks had suddenly disappeared. They still remembered how dangerous the Daleks were, so the Dalek presence had been immediately sent to Petran Central.
The Petran High Council activated the Petran Prime Strategic Computer, composed of the brain patterns of previous members of the High Council. In front of the Computer was a Petran, specially bred to interface with the computer, more machine then woman. Her verdicts were always obeyed. This Petran was the closest thing the Petrans had to a Priest, an intermediary between them and their God.
"What is your verdict Prime Strategic Computer?" asked one of the Officers, after the computer had analysed the data on the Daleks in under a minute. "My command is this" said the Petran intermediary in a flat, unemotional voice, merely stating facts. "You will send a force of 430 ships to attack the Daleks from Sector 18-03, with a further 120 in reserve." "But those numbers…" "The Daleks are a powerful force. By now they will have further knowledge on us. To strike quickly is of utmost importance. We must prevent them taking control of B-9D-1 Moon 4." That decided the matter.
The Dalek Legion continued to move through the systems, trying to find Petran activity. "Inhabitable planet found!" said a Dalek. "Within 300 Rels Travel time…" "Set course there immediately!" said the Strategist. The 4 ships moved towards the world at great speed.
On the planet more than ten thousand Petrans were preparing their forces, having been told that a hostile power had entered the Galaxy and they could be called upon to fight at any time. A Petran in an orbiting base suddenly relayed an order to the Commander. "Ships approaching rapidly. Not replying to our signals." "Prepare weapons. Fire on it if it continues to avoid responding!" said the Commander. She began sending a message to her troops. "This is the Planetary Commander! You are all required to arm, I repeat you…" The Petran from the orbiting station called again. "They are attacking us! We are in a state of emergency!" "If this persists self-destruct" said the Commander. The Petran on the base briefly looked shocked, but then reverted back to her normal state. "Understood."
The Dalek Strategist watched as the station began moving towards them. "Exterminate them! Exterminate!" it screeched through the communicators. The station was breaking apart, within 60 Rels it would be completely destroyed. But incredibly it kept moving. A Saucer moved closer to focus on more integral parts of the structure. But the station turned, scattering huge chunks behind, and crashed into the Saucer. There was an explosion with the force of many nuclear bombs, and both were torn apart. "Saucer 2 lost!" said a Red Dalek. "Continue attack!" said the Strategist. "We will exterminate all Petrans!"
The ships positioned on B-9D-1 Moon 4 had almost finished their work, though they constantly scanned the stars for any attacking forces. A Dalek on Ship 6 saw something approaching and contacted a Red Dalek. "Alert! Large number of Petran ships moving towards us!" "We will exterminate them!" said the Red Dalek. It turned to a nearby Dalek. "Report this to Ship 5!" "I obey!" said the Dalek.
The Petran force moved towards the planet, having been able to arrive without giving the Daleks enough preparation time by following the Computer's route. As they got within orbit of the planet the Dalek ships were only just there. The Petrans immediately attacked. The Dalek ships were far larger, but the Petrans had many more, highly manoeuvrable ships, dodging the Daleks attacks while sending many of their own at the ships, like insects attacking a Giant. Many Petrans were scattered across space but finally, through sheer force of numbers, both Dalek Saucers began to break apart. "Move at them! Concentrate fire on the weakened sections!" said the Commander. As the Dalek ships crumbled small saucers flew out, performing suicide missions to wear down the Petrans. But it wasn't long before the remnants of more than 4000 Daleks were spread through the skies. The Petran fleet began descending to the Moon.
"Emergency! Emergency!" cried Saucer Commander 10 to its subordinates. "The ships defending the Moon have been exterminated!" "Is it likely we can exterminate the Petrans?" said a Platoon Commander. "It is unlikely we can exterminate this force. We will transmit this information to our commander" said the Saucer Commander. "We are still capable of exterminating many Petrans! Eventually we will exterminate them all! Exterminate! Exterminate!" "Exterminate!" chanted the Daleks across the ship as the Petran fleet came into sight.
The Daleks put up a valiant struggle against the Petrans, destroying more than half their fleet, though by that time 2 ships had been brought down. Finally an opening appeared in the fleet. Saucer Commander 8 saw a chance. The ship shot from the battle like a bird from a forest while Saucer 10, badly damaged and barely able to stay in the air, fought back against the Petrans, succumbing to the attacks within 20 rels of Saucer 8 making the break. The Saucer hovered briefly as a route was calculated, received information that Saucer 10 was collapsing, then moved away before the Petrans could catch up with them. "Continue to transmit all data of this event to our Commander!" said the Saucer Commander as they passed from the orbit of the great gas planet. But just as they did so a new threat presented itself. 180 Petran ships, the reserve force, began moving towards the Daleks. "Exterminate them!" cried the Saucer Commander as again battle began.
The Chief Strategist had seized control of the planet with a mass bombing attack, the Petrans having been unable to get to their ships quickly enough. One of the Dalek Saucers had its warp engines badly damaged but would be ready for take-off within three thousand rels. At the moment entire Platoons of Daleks had been sent into the complex, trying to find information on the Petrans. Much of the data stores had been destroyed as the Petrans lost the battle. But the Daleks had still retrieved a lot of information. And on the Saucers examinations were being carried out on the corpses. The Strategist watched as the amount of energy it took to destroy a Petran was calculated. A Dalek turned to the Strategist. "A report has been sent from Saucer Commander 8." "Send it to me" said the Strategist. The data was sent through. When Dalek ships were close to destruction they were supposed to send all data to other Daleks, something Ship 8 had done. The Strategist analysed the data. 6 ships had been destroyed and there was a large number of Petran ships in the vicinity. "Begin an extensive scan of this sector!" commanded the Strategist. Within a few rels there were results. "Alert! Alert!" said a Dalek. "Scans detect large number of Petran ships will be here within 1300 Rels!" The Strategist calculated options. "How long will Ship 4 take for repair?" it asked. "It will exceed 1400 Rels!" said a Dalek. "Then we must leave it!" said the Strategist. 'Open communications with Saucer Commander 4!" The communications-link was quickly opened. "We must leave! When the Petrans arrive you will self-destruct to prevent information on the Daleks being gained! You will take out Petrans in the destruction! But report before the destruction!" "I obey!" said the Saucer Commander.
The Petran Commander Pulner watched 2 Dalek Saucers escape the world. She remembered more Dalek Saucers had attacked the planet. "Send 70 ships down to search the world" she said. "The remainder will annihilate the Dalek ships."
On the planet the Saucer Commander pulled all troops into the Saucer, preparing for the moment of destruction. "Petran ships sighted!" cried a Dalek using the scanner. A huge quantity of Petran ships dropped from the sky and shot towards the Saucer. "Prepare count-down and open communications with our Commander!" said the Saucer Commander. The Chief Strategist appeared on the screen. "We are about to self-destruct!" said the Saucer Commander. "Wait until maximum damage can be done to the Petrans!" said the Strategist. By now over 20 ships were in range, hovering just over the Saucer. They gradually descended, ready to drop bombs if there was any trouble. "Activate countdown!" cried the Strategist as more ships moved into view, the rest returning to space. "20 rels to detonation!" said a Dalek. The Strategist switched of the screen. "Maximum acceleration!" it ordered to both ships as the Petrans neared. On the nearest planet 25 Petran ships were torn apart as the Dalek Saucer exploded. The Daleks had been unable to escape but had taken many Petrans with them.
"It is improbable we will get back to Dalek Territory!" a Red Dalek said to the Chief Strategist. "We can still send information to the Supreme Strategist so the Daleks will easier exterminate the Petrans!" said the Strategist. "Alert! Fuel levels low! Will need to re-fuel!" said a Dalek. The Strategist considered this. "We will have to take fuel from Ship 3!" it said. "Report this to them!" As the message was sent both ships slowed down. They were faster than the Petrans, but they were deep in Petran territory and the fleet was close behind. Fuel was given to Ship 1 to Ship 3, which was itself quite low on fuel. The Petrans were gaining on them. "We must transmit data to the Dalek Empire!" said the Strategist. "We will find a suitable area to do so! You will cover our retreat!" "I obey!" said Saucer Commander 3. The Saucer turned and moved towards the Petran fleet while the other Saucer moved away. Saucer 3 would soon be destroyed but hopefully would hold the Petrans long enough for a full information transmission. Saucer 1 moved back towards the edge of the Galaxy, calculating the best position for transmission. As they flew on a transmission came from Saucer 3, a store of all their data.
"This is the Chief Strategist in command of Picrogu forces!" said the Strategist. "We have encountered a hostile power called the Petrans! All the ships except this one have been destroyed! We are sending through full details on events!" The transmission moved from the Galaxy, back to the Dalek Empire. "Petran Ships closing in!" said a Red Dalek. The Strategist knew the Daleks couldn't escape. "We may be exterminated but the data we sent will assist the Daleks in exterminating the Petrans! Keep the transmission stream constant!" it cried. "Prepare immediate self-destruct!" The Saucer moved into the midst of the Petran fleet, despite the storm of lasers enclosing them. "Exterminate them!" cried the Strategist as the ships closed in on the Saucer. "We will annihilate…" began Pulner, but her sentence remained unfinished as another explosion, even more devastating than that of Saucer 3, happened. Thousands of Petrans were turned to ash. The Dalek Legion had been wiped out. But the Petrans had learnt fighting the Daleks bore a heavy toll.
At the Capitol of the Petran Empire the Petran High Council considered the matter. "These Daleks have been annihilated" said one. "But our transmissions show that they came from outside the Galaxy. We have located the area. It is likely that there is a Dalek Empire in place there. We should begin defence…" "It is hard enough keeping control over our territory within guarding the borders" said the other Petran. "But the Daleks have proven themselves a powerful enemy. We must face them!" said another Petran. "This number caused terrible damage. If there are more it would prove a serious threat to the Empire." The Petran High Council finally agreed that they must put up defences against the Daleks. Now they had made a serious decision of war it was time to consult the Prime Strategic Computer. They put the data in, and the Intermediary soon began giving instructions, words which no Petran disobeyed…
At the capitol of the Dalek Empire the Supreme Dalek analysed the information Ship 1 had sent as it was destroyed. A mission to another Galaxy would be a huge drain on troops and resources, when the Daleks were already strained for these, not even having full control of this Galaxy yet. But the data had shown the Petrans were formidable, having caused the destruction of a Dalek Legion. Their technology did not seem at an inter-galactic level yet, but they were close. It was probable the Petrans would soon challenge the Dalek Empire, who believed the best form of defence was to attack first. The Supreme Dalek turned to the Supreme Strategist and gave its answer on the Petran matter with a single word. "Exterminate!"
The Supreme Strategist turned to the communicator and began to transmit orders. "A Dalek Fleet will be sent to the Picrogu Galaxy immediately!" Soon 200 ships were being prepared, a force of hundreds of thousands of Daleks were gliding into the ships. The Supreme Strategist glided to where the Supreme Strategist of the fleet was overseeing events. "How long till they are ready?" it said. "We will be ready by the next work cycle" said the Supreme Strategist. "Acceptable!" said the Supreme Strategist. It addressed the troops. "Soon you will be in the Picrogu Galaxy! The Petrans are inferior to us! All life is inferior to us! The Picrogu Galaxy will become Dalek Territory! All will be ruled by the Daleks! The Petrans will be exterminated! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" As the Supreme Strategist said this Dalek fleet also chanted "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" It was the beginning of war.