Empire of the Daleks
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Doctor Who and its characters, which belong to the BBC.
-O-
I wrote this story in the late 1990's for a couple of friends, who are Doctor Who fans. I only kept a printed copy and have now decided to transcribe it to the computer; and I am also posting it onto the Fanfic site at the same time, in case anyone would like to read it. The story is 'old school' Doctor Who: before the more 'modern' series (starting in 2005) was even contemplated. At the time when this was originally written, it was not known whether Doctor Who would ever return to our TV screens!
-O-
Chapter 1 - Invasion
The huge spaceship hung menacingly in the pink sky above the surface of the planet Gallifrey. To many hapless inhabitants of so many other worlds; it had become a familiar sight. Many electronic eyes scoured the terrain below for a suitable landing site. Aboard the craft, the rasping voice of the Dalek Emperor barked out its orders on the bridge.
"We will land in this desert area; near the Timelord's city. Prepare to set down and disembark!"
The three Dalek drones handling the controls all chorused in unison, "We obey!"
The Dalek Emperor's shining golden head turned so that its eye-stalk faced a monitor screen. Operating a control with its arm, the Emperor began to speak again, "Attention all Daleks! We will land near the Timelord's city in a few moments. The supreme Commander will lead a landing party of four and they will travel to the city to give the Timelords our ultimatum. If they do not agree to our demands; they will be exterminated!"
The giant, round bulk of the spaceship cast a dark shadow on the Gallifrean landscape as the craft descended onto the barren surface of the ancient world. The legs of the spaceship appeared from its underside and gently touched the hard, rough terrain; like tentacles feeling for a place to cling.
Inside the city of the Timelords, the arrival of the visitors did not cause undue concern. The city was virtually impregnable and the Timelords were expecting the Daleks to visit their world at some stage in history; such was their vast knowledge of time and space. Nevertheless, they decided that an absent member of their race should be on hand to help deal with the situation.
Inside the control room of the Tardis, the Doctor was busy adjusting his instruments on the central console when a light began flashing right in front of him. His head suddenly jerked back in surprise and his facial expression turned to a worried frown.
"Oh dear, dear!" he exclaimed, "What do they want with me, I wonder?"
A pretty girl with curly brown hair and clear blue eyes looked up from the electronic book that she had been studying and spoke, "What's the matter, Doctor?"
"It's the Timelords!" the Doctor replied, still wearing his worried look, "They want me to return to Gallifrey!"
"Can't you just tell them that you don't want to go?"
"My dear Jade, I'm afraid that I cannot ignore the summons! In fact, the Tardis is already under their control and heading back to my home planet right now!"
Before the Doctor had finished his sentence; the Tardis materialised within the Timelords' city.
"I suppose we had better go and discover the reason for my visit!" the Doctor said as he flicked a switch to open the doors of the Tardis. As the Doctor and Jade stepped outside, they were greeted by an elderly man dressed in long, maroon robes. He bore a resemblance to the Doctor himself, but looked older.
"Welcome back!" the old man said to the Doctor, then, turning to Jade he smiled and said, "and who have we here?"
"This is Jade," replied the Doctor, "she is from twenty-second century Earth. I rescued her from the neutron wars!"
"Hello!" Jade addressed the old man.
"Jade; this is Professor Gann. He is one of my old tutors," the Doctor said.
"I'm delighted to meet you!" Professor Gann replied and smiled at Jade again.
"Well," the Doctor enquired, "What brings me to Gallifrey, I'd like to know?"
"We are hoping that you might be of assistance to us my friend," the Professor replied, "You see, we think you have just the experience required to deal with our visitors!"
The Professor pushed a button in front of him and a picture appeared on a large viewing screen. The scene showed part of the desert outside the Timelords' city and, advancing towards the camera, were four creatures that the Doctor recognised immediately. "Daleks!" he exclaimed, "On Gallifrey?"
"Yes!" confirmed the Professor, "We always knew that they would visit us one day; and that day has arrived!"
"Why are they here?" asked the Doctor with a puzzled look, "They must know that the Timelords' city is impregnable!"
"You are quite correct," continued the Professor, "but I do not think they have come to conquer; not this time. But, they have come to take something that we have and they are desperate to get hold of!"
"Yes, of course!" the Doctor tapped his forehead with his finger, "Time travel!"
"But Doctor," it was Jade's turn to look puzzled; "I thought you told me once that the Daleks possessed their own version of a Tardis."
"They do become able to build a Tardis," the Doctor replied, "but that is in a future time from now."
"Which means," Jade's face took on an excited look, "that they are successful in stealing the secret now!"
"Not necessarily, my dear," the Professor interrupted, "Just because the Daleks become able to travel through time in the future, it does not follow that they obtained the information from us, nor does it follow that they are successful in stealing it from us."
"Isn't there a way of finding out?" asked Jade, disappointed that her theory had been shot down in flames.
"Yes!" the Doctor sounded a little impatient, "we can refer to the knowledge stored in the Matrix! But, surely the Timelords could have done that without my help."
Professor Gann looked at the Doctor apologetically, "I am sorry that you have been summoned, but the High Council felt that your great experience with the Daleks could help supplement the information held in the Matrix."
"Wait a minute though," Jade suddenly had another idea, "If we know the Daleks are here to take some information that we don't want them to have; why don't we just stop them from getting it? That way, we might prevent them from learning the secret of time travel in the future!"
"My dear Jade!" retorted the Doctor, "It would be very nice if we could do that! Unfortunately, you are failing to grasp the idea of time travel! If the Daleks are meant to travel through time at some stage in the future, then we cannot interfere with that! If we do, it could upset the whole balance of time itself!"
"The Doctor is right, Jade," said the Professor, "It seems likely that, because he has encountered them in the future and they had their own Tardis; then they are meant to gain that knowledge at some point in their history. We cannot alter that, as our own prime rule is that we must not change history!"
"Right!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Let's get on with it, shall we?"
The three of them left the room where the Doctor's Tardis had materialised and walked down a long corridor to a metallic door at the end. The Professor placed the palm of his hand on a panel to the side of the door and it quickly slid open revealing a small room with a console in the middle; not unlike the control room of the Tardis.
They crossed the room and stood facing the console. The Professor spoke again, "Doctor, are you willing to join with the Matrix and increase its knowledge of the Daleks?"
"Very well," replied the Doctor, "Though I'd rather go two rounds with a Zanuvian Swamp Devil! You know how exhausting the task can be!"
The Professor gestured to the Doctor to sit in a black chair to his right. He threw a switch on the control panel and a round, metallic helmet above the Doctor descended to cover his head.
"He will be alright, won't he?" queried Jade with a worried frown.
"Don't concern yourself, my dear!" replied the Professor, "He's in safe hands."
As the Professor worked the controls on the console in front of him, the Doctor began to fidget in his chair and then became very still. Jade watched with great apprehension as the Doctor appeared to go completely rigid and quiet.
"Are you sure he's alright?" Jade asked, nervously.
"Yes!" replied the Professor, "He's fine, don't worry! I'll soon stop the link with the Matrix if it gets too much for him!"
After a few minutes, although it seemed like a lifetime to Jade, the helmet lifted off the Doctor's head and he continued to sit in his chair, staring straight ahead.
"Doctor, are you OK?" Jade's concern was obvious.
The Doctor did not answer; he looked pale and shaken by his ordeal.
"What's the matter with him?" Jade asked the Professor.
"Give him a minute or two," he replied, "the link often has this effect; he'll be his old self in a moment."
As if on cue, the Doctor snapped out of his trance and looked at Jade, "Yes, of course!" he began, "We'll need our combined power to avert the timeshift reaction! But, at what cost to countless civilisations?"
"What are you talking about, Doctor?" asked Jade.
"Yes," added the Professor, "the timeshift reaction? What is that?"
"My dear Professor," the Doctor continued, "I know its way off in the future; but the timeshift reaction is an event destined to happen from the moment the universe was formed. Some might call it the end of time itself, although, in reality, it is a new cycle of time. However, since the reaction will cause everything we know to cease to exist, it could be described as the end of time. It will take a very great amount of power for the Timelords to avert this catastrophe; the Timelords alone do not have enough at their disposal; it will require a combination of forces!"
"The Daleks?" exclaimed Jade, wide-eyed.
"Yes," continued the Doctor, "The Daleks will join the Timelords and the effects of the timeshift reaction will be avoided."
"But," the Professor interrupted, "why would the Daleks help the Timelords? We all know they have no allies; only enemies!"
"Ah!" the Doctor spoke as if he had just discovered the answer to a riddle, "Faced with their own destruction, even the Daleks would work alongside another race to survive. The problem is, after the Daleks discover the secret of time travel, many civilisations suffer as a consequence of their knowledge as they are able to go back in time and alter history."
"But," Jade said excitedly, "if they do that, surely it would alter the course of events and cause a catastrophe anyway!"
"I am glad that you have a grasp of the problem, my dear!" the Doctor said, smiling at Jade, "However, it is not that simple. You are right in saying that meddling with time is to be avoided, however, for all their faults, the Daleks possess a high intelligence; they would not risk causing a disaster in their own future. You might say they would help shape history by their actions. After my link with the Matrix, it is obvious what we must not do; we must not prevent the Daleks from discovering time travel. If we did, it would trigger a sequence of events that could upset the balance of time."
Suddenly, the door of the room opened and a dark-haired man dressed in a blue robe entered, "Professor!" he exclaimed, "The Daleks have reached the walls of the city! They are demanding entrance! What shall we do now?"
Professor Gann gave a wry smile, "We had better go and greet them, hadn't we?"
With the Professor leading the way, the party made their way through the city to a large room on the outskirts, where a number of members of the High Council of the Timelords were already gathered. A door on the far side of the room opened to admit the deputation of Daleks.
The Black Dalek, or Supreme Commander as he was more correctly titled, glided to the middle of the room and faced the assembled Timelord party. The other Dalek drones stood in a line; three abreast behind their leader.
"Timelords!" began the Black Dalek, "We are the Daleks! We have come to your planet to learn the secret of time travel. You will give us the knowledge to build a machine to enable us to travel in time and space."
One of the High Council of the Timelords replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "And what if we refuse?"
The Black Dalek looked directly at him and spoke again, "Then your city will be destroyed!"
"Ah!" the Doctor spoke, "If you destroy the city, then how will you discover the secrets that you desire?"
The Black Dalek trained its eye-stalk on the Doctor, "We Daleks have eternal patience! We will take all the records from your data banks before you are exterminated! Then, we will learn your secrets for ourselves."
"What if we help you?" asked another member of the High Council, "Will you guarantee our safety?"
"Yes," the Dalek replied, "If you help us, you will be spared."
The Doctor spoke again, "I have had dealings with the Daleks before! Your race cannot be trusted; why should we help you when your guarantees are worthless?"
The Black Dalek looked at the Doctor again, "The Daleks are the masters of the universe! We could conquer your planet if we chose to. You will have to accept that we will leave you in peace in return for the knowledge that we seek; you have no choice."
"You must give us time to consider your demands!" said the first member of the High Council, "Please leave us now and we will discuss it further."
"Very well," the Black Dalek turned to leave, "We will give you one day of your time to decide. After that, if you do not agree to our terms, we will attack!"
After the Dalek party left the room the Doctor was the first to speak, "Well, I propose that we give the Daleks only limited information on time travel; just enough to enable them to build a Tardis and no more. That should satisfy them without giving away all our knowledge."
"Yes," agreed Professor Gann, "As it seems we have no choice in the matter, I think your suggestion is the best option."
So began an uneasy alliance as the Timelords and the Daleks worked alongside each other to provide the information that the robotic creatures hungered for. All the work took place on board the Dalek spaceship as the Timelords had insisted, as part of the deal; that the Daleks would not be allowed to enter the city again. Eventually, after many months of hard work, the Daleks were ready to return to their home planet of Skaro.
On board the spaceship, the Daleks summoned the Doctor, the High Council and Professor Gann to their control room. All the top brass were there; the Emperor, the Black Dalek and the leader of their scientists; the Red Dalek.
The Emperor was the first to speak, "The leader of our scientists tells us that we have all the knowledge we require about time travel," he looked at the Red Dalek, "Is this correct?"
"Yes," replied the Red Dalek, "We are now in a position to build our own machine; which will take us through time and space."
"Good!" exclaimed the Emperor, "We will return to our planet to start work on our project. As agreed, we will leave your world in peace. But, be warned, once we have the power to travel through time, we will be invincible! We will send out invasion forces to all corners of the universe and become its masters. We will crush all resistance, exterminate all opposition; we will be the supreme rulers over all life forms!"
The Doctor watched as the spaceship receded into the Gallifrean evening sky. He kept his eyes on it until it became no more than a speck in the pink, misty canopy above the surface of his home planet. He shivered as he realised that, for so many inhabitants of so many worlds, life would never be the same again!
...next chapter: The Timeshift Reaction