Prologue

"Gallifrey, come in, Gallifrey!" The Time Lord shouted into his communicator.

The Daleks were firing at him. It was only a matter of time before they shot him down. The Time Lord was using all his knowledge to find a way to escape. The inside of his Tardis began spark. Soon, sections were on fire. Then he came up with an idea. He would escape through a temporal-shift in the space-time continuum, and program his Tardis to locate him. That way, he wouldn't be stranded in one time and place. Only problem was, going through a temporal-shift inside a Tardis could damage the Tardis and scramble the space-time coordinates. The Time Lord could wind-up anywhere; anywhen. However, it was his best option; given the circumstances.

"May God help me," he prayed as he started the temporal-shift. "Curse the Time War. It must end."

Then the temporal shift activated. The Time Lord disappeared, and his Tardis was on a crash-course with planet Earth.

Chapter 1

Planet: Earth

Time: June 19, 2012

Tom Monroe starred at the clock as he waited for the school day to be over.

He couldn't wait for summer break, especially with what he planned to do tonight. His friend, Gregory Hunt, and him were going to a drive in movie theater with two beautiful girls from their school. Their names were Ashley Davis and Meredith White. Ashley was a red-head, with soft-brown eyes. Meredith was blonde and intelligent; perfect for Gregory. Since Greg was a bit of a nerd, Tom thought a night-out do him would some good.

"Come on, come on," Tom said under his breath.

The bell rang throughout the school. Everyone ran out of the school like they were prisoners making a jail-break. They pushed and shoved to get out of the building. The school was empty in less than five minutes. Tom found Greg outside, reading a book under a tree.

"How are ya, buddy?" Tom asked.

"Havin' a blast." He showed Tom the cover of his book.

It was a car-catalog from the 1950s. Gregory was very interested in old model cars. He says its strange how different they are from today's models.

Gregory was sixteen, and did not care much for his appearance. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair was a mess, and his glasses had a crack, which he did not notice. Tom was the opposite of Gregory. He usually wore a black leather jacket, a shirt with the U.S.A.'s flag on it, ripped jeans, and boots. His hair was nicely combed and he had a rather attractive face.

"Ready to see the movie tonight?" Tom asked.

"Maybe, if I wasn't a boy on a blind date," Gregory replied.

"Hey stupid!" The school bully, Nathan Pierce, yelled. He thinks he's better than everyone because his dad is filthy rich.

"Hey, dork face, you got any money you wanna give me?" He said that as more of an order than a question.

Gregory just ignored him, and went back to him book. However, he started to sweat, and shake.

"Are you ignoring me, nerd?" He looked like he was going to get violet.

"Like he'd give you money." Tom said straight to Nathan's face. "Besides, aren't you always boasting fact you're rich?"

Pierce turned to him and said: "Get lost, Monroe."

"You first."

"You just made me mad." Pierce said, then tried to punch Tom, but Tom dodged him.

"What is happening here!?" A teacher showed up. "May I remind you that even when the school is closed, no fighting still remains a rule on it's grounds. Understand?"

"Understood." They both replied.

Everyone left the school yard after that. Nathan and his gang left in there has car., and Tom and Gregory walked home. All the way, Tom bragged about how his dad let him drive his new car.

Yeah, better for you to make out you in the back, while I get stuck in the front with an awkward situation. Gregory thought.

They spent the next few hours at Tom's place. Tom and Gregory played chess during that time. After that, they went to pick up the girls. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the movies.

"So, Ashley, you looking forward to the movie?" Gregory asked her. Since they were sitting next to each other in the back.

"Yes, I do love a good science-fiction story." She smiled. She was wearing a pink shirt and blue skirt. Meredith wore a gray-red shirt and a skirt.

Gregory grinned. He was glad that Ashley liked sci-fi, just like him. Now he could talk to her about the plot. Maybe this would not be an awkward night.

Just then, he noticed the car behind them was getting dangerously close. A second later, they bumped into their car. Everyone jerked forward.

"What's going on!?" Tom yelled.

Gregory got a look at the driver. It was Nathan. His arm was hanging out the window; holding a bottle of whiskey. He ramped them again.

"Is he crazy!?" Meredith screamed.

"He's drunk!" Gregory shouted.

Tom looked around. He was searching for a house; someone to see them and call the police. However, there was no one around. Not a soul for a few miles. Bad night to forget his phone. Ashley's was dead, and neither Meredith or Gregory could get a signal. Then Nathan pulled up beside them. Suddenly, a bright light came crashing down from the night sky. It just barely missed them. When it crashed, there was an explosion, and the cars were literally turned upside-down. Everyone was injured severely. Tom felt his life slipping away. Gregory crawled over to him.

While he was heading to Tom, he found Ashley dead and Meredith was unconscious.

"Tom, we have . . . to get you . . . and everyone else . . . to a hospital," he struggled to get the words out.

"No good buddy," he was losing a major amounts of blood. "I'm dead."

Gregory started to cried as a light surrounded them.

Chapter 2

Ashley opened her eyes.

Gregory was leaning on her left shoulder, and Tom was leaning on her right shoulder. She shoved them away and tried to stand-up. Her legs felt a little sore. On her first try, she fell on top of Gregory. That woke him up. He groaned. Then the others started to wake-up as well. Gregory looked at Ashley as though he had seen a ghost.

"What are you staring at?" Ashley asked.

"You died." He replied

She made a confused face.

"When the car turned over, I stayed conscious." He said. "You were dead, and the rest of us were barely alive."

That is when they started to remember the accident. They examined themselves. There wasn't a scratch on any of them. Not even a speck of dirt.

"It's a miracle." Tom exclaimed.

"There's no such things as miracles." Meredith said, but she didn't sound like she believed her own words. "There must be an explanation."

"I think we'll find answers over that way." Gregory said, pointing a light source, not to far away.

"Let's investigate," Ashley suggested.

"Are you crazy!?" Meredith said. "We need to contact the police!"

"No, I was nearly dead awhile ago," Tom said, "Need to know how I survived."

Gregory was already headed to the light. Ashley followed him, then Tom. Meredith followed, not wanting to be left behind. It was short walk, and as they got closer, the light faded. When they were only a few steps away, there was a bright flash. Afterwards, the light had completely ceased. All that was there was a crater.

"What was that?" Ashley asked out loud.

The four of them climbed down into the crater. Ashley walked towards the center. In a few seconds, she hit her head on an invisible wall. When she recovered, she put her hands forward. There was definitely something there. She was baffled.

"Guys, come over here." Ashley requested.

"Did you find something?" Gregory asked.

"There's something here." She replied. "We just can't see it."

The rest of them felt it too. It was sphere-shaped, and felt like smooth metal. After a while, they found a sort of door-handle. She turned it, thereby entering a world of inside was bigger than the outside. Seriously. There was a console in the center of the room, that had a number of levers and buttons. In the center of the console was a glass pillar, with glass cylinders inside. Five feet to the right of was a burned sofa. The inside was dome-shape, with white circles on the walls. Everything was scorched, the walls, the floor, and some parts of the console.

"This is straight out of a science-fiction novel,"Gregory said. He sounded more amused than scared.

"Physically impossible." Meredith exclaimed.

"Cool." Tom commented.

Is this what saved our lives? Ashley thought.

Then Ashley noticed a blinking light on the console. It was an orange light. Gregory noticed it too. They both reached to touch it. When they did, this sort of blue energy shocked them, literally. It covered their bodies in microseconds. Tom ran to them, as did Meredith. Upon making contact, the energy covered them to. Next, they heard a sound. A sort of wheezing noise. The room began to shake. Tom and Meredith nearly lost consciousness, but managed to stay awake. However, Gregory and Ashley did not. After a while, the room stopped shaking, and the blue energy disappeared.

"Everyone alright?" Tom asked.

"Well, you and I are," Meredith replied, "but these two aren't."

Gregory and Ashley were a comatose state.

"We need to get them medical care, now!" Meredith was on the brink of tears.

"You're right," Tom said. "Stay with them, I'll get help as quick as I can."

He ran to the door. Once it was opened, Tom was shocked to see what was outside. It resembled a rain forest. There were big leaves and mud. Tom even heard a bird flapping its wings.

"We've moved!" He said in amazement.

"What do you mean?" Meredith heard him.

"Exactly what I said," Tom replied.

He moved out of the way so she could see. That is when Meredith started to cry. Tom went back over to comfort her.

"We'll be okay." He said as comfortingly as possible. Still, he felt like crying too. All this had been so overwhelming for the both of them, but he knew he needed to appear strong for Meredith's sake.

"We won't be okay!" Meredith yelled. "Ashley and Gregory are probably going to die soon. To make things worse, we're stranded somewhere we don't recognized, in a space-ship. We're doomed."

"No, we'll be fine, I promise." Tom said. "Now, I'm going to find help, you stay here and take care of them."

"But we don't know what's out there!"

"If I don't go then Gregory and Ashley could die." Tom said. "There's no choice in the matter."

Tom gave Meredith a hug, then left the room. After he left, Gregory started to mumbled something. A word.

"T . . . Tar . . . Tardis!" He shouted.

Meredith had no idea what "Tardis" meant. She pressed her head against his chest to make sure he was alive. He had a heart-beat. Actually, he had two. One heart on each side. Meredith was shocked. She went over to check Ashley's heart-beat. She too had two hearts.

"What's going on!?" She cried.

**************************1

When Tom went out into the jungle, he wished he had stayed in the ship. There was mud and leaves everywhere he turned. In a matter of minutes, he was lost. He tried to find his way back to the ship.

Tom called out: "Meredith! Gregory! Ashley!"

Again, and again, he cried out. Animal sounds surrounded him. His shoes got stuck in the mud. The shoes were left behind. Tom did not enjoy walking through mud and sticks, barefoot. He walked for a mile, and his feet were sore. Just when thought he could not go any further, he spotted a group of five people by some sort of vehicle.

The vehicle was silver and resembled a car with no wheels. It had doors like a car's, and a visible engine. There were wires and pipes sticking out of the engine. The people consisted of two women and three men. They wore dark-blue clothes that seemed like soldier uniforms. Each of them held a black gun of sorts.

Should I go to them? Tom wondered.They have weapons. They could attack me. On the other hand, if he didn't, he might remain lost for the rest of his life. Plus, he needed to get help for Gregory and Ashley. What do I do?

He decided to make contact with them. As he walked over to them, he fell and rolled down a small hill. When his head stopped spinning, he saw that they had their guns aimed at him.

"Stand up slowly," one of the men commanded.

Tom did; slowly, with his hands raised.

"Who are you?" The same man asked.

"Tom Monroe." He answered nervously.

"I bet he's a Thal spy!" Another one said.

"No, he looks exhausted and weak," another said. "I doubt he is a Thal spy."

"Then who is he?"

Thal? Tom did not recognize that word.

"Please, my friends are hurt." Tom pleaded. "They need medical care."

The men and women looked him up and down. For whatever reason, they decided to help him. Two of them went to find Tom's friends, while the others loaded him into the car-thing. One of the women examined him, which he did not object to in the least.

"Good thing we found you when we did," she said. "You've been walking for miles. You were on the brink of collapsing."

"You a doctor," he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "The best on Skaro."

"'Skaro?'" Tom did not understand. "Where's that?"

She laughed. "You must be more exhausted than I thought. I mean if you can't the name of the planet you're on."

At that moment, tried to jump to his feet. However, she got him to lie back down. She injected something into his veins.

"Just rest, okay?"

Tom's final thought was: I'm on another planet. The ship took me to another planet.

Chapter 3

Meredith was terrified.

She could not believe that Tom just left her there. In a spaceship, in a jungle, with two of her friends injured. Not to mention the fact that they had somehow been altered by the ship. Then again, she could not hold that last one against him since he still did not know about it. This was like a nightmare to her. A nightmare that she hoped she would wake-up from soon. Meredith heard a noise outside. A rustling in the leaves. Next she heard people yelling.

"Hello, is anyone out there? Your friend sent us. We understand some people are in need of medical care?"

Meredith was over-joyed. She had help. She dragged Gregory and Ashley as quickly and carefully as she could. In a minute, they were outside, and Meredith closed the door. If she could, she would avoid telling them about the ship.

"Over here!" she shouted. "Come quickly!"

About twenty seconds later, her help arrived. When they got there, one studied her and the others, while the other examined the surroundings.

"They aren't armed," one said. "This doesn't seem to be a trap."

"Alright, I'll call Headquarters for assistance." He pulled out a silver cylinder with two buttons on it. It projected this holographic-screen. The man spoke to it.

"Command, we found two females, one injured, and an injured male."

A voice came from the cylinder and said: "Take them back to main base. We will care for them there."

"Understood."

They helped Meredith to her feet.

"Don't worry, a vehicle will be here any minute."

Meredith smiled, and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she heard this sort of humming. It was coming from over their heads. She looked up to see a flying car. The thing had no metal wings she would have expected to see on a flying object. It looked like a car, was a silver color, with a blue light coming out of the bottom.

Meredith faited.

"What happened?" One of the men asked out loud.

"Perhaps she was injured as well?"

Tom awoke to find himself in a hospital bed. When he looked around, he discovered there dozens, and dozens, of people in beds. All of them looked extremely injured. They were moaning and their were doctor at half-a-dozen beds, tending to their patients. The doctors wore strange white clothes. It was like a hospital in a war-zone. Tom got out of bed. He moved carefully through the room, to a doors fifteen feet away. Just before he opened the door, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get you back to bed." A male doctor was standing behind him; an bald, old man.

"Yes, sir." Tom replied.

He followed the doctor back to his bed. On the way there, he noticed a vent next to the bed. After the doctor examined him, and when he was sure no one was looking, he slipped out of bed. When he got on the floor, with one quick yank, he had access to the vents. Tom crawled into the vent, and as a precaution, he closed the vent behind him. The vents were made of smooth metal. After crawling for what seemed like forever, he heard voices.

"The Thals are making multiple advancements on nearly every corner of our territory," he heard.

Tom found some bars that. When he reached the bars, he was able to just barely see between them. There were men standing over a table, which was incredible. On top of it, there seemed to be moving lights and writing. The people appeared to be generals, working out war strategies. They continued their conversation.

"We need a way to deal with them. Surrender is not an option! The Kaleds will win!"

"The scientist, Davros, is developing weapons for the war."

Davros. Tom recognized that word. His head started to hurt, then suddenly he knew who Davros was, and his entire history. Tom did not know how he knew, he just did.

Davros was an insane scientist that created a race called the Daleks. The soul goal of the Daleks was to exterminate all life unlike their own. His home planet was called Skaro. Skaro was in the middle of a civil war when Davros created the Daleks. Then there was an enormous nuclear explosion that turned the planet into a wasteland.

Skaro! Tom remembered the woman that treated him said the planet he was on was called Skaro. If this is Skaro, and Davros is still alive, then that nuclear explosion is still going to happened.

Tom and his friends needed to get off this world before that explosion started.

Another person spoke through a speaker in the wall.

"Have you decide to fund the development of my latest weapon?"

The voice sent a chill down Tom's spine. All the men looked at one another. Some shook their heads, while others nodded.

"We're sorry, Davros, we cannot decide at this time." One answered.

"Then I'm sorry too," the voice replied.

Gas started coming out of the floor. It covered the entire room. The vents became sealed, however, Tom could hear screaming. He wanted to get away from there, but he remembered the women that treated him. Tom realized even though these people were not human, they were kind people among them, and none of them deserved to die. So, he stayed, waiting to see what would happen next. In five minutes, the vents opened. All the generals were on the ground. Tom could not tell if they were dead, or just unconscious. Then a door opened.

What came in first was a monster. It was half man and half machine. The upper half looked like an decaying body. Its right arm was mechanical; metal, with visible wires, and the left hand and face seemed to be extremely wrinkled. The eyes of the creature were sewed closed. In its fore-head was a blue sphere, and these metal wires attached to its skull. The lower half of his body was this sort of metal-tank thing, with black spheres all over that part. He held a sort of control panel. Two more men followed him in.

"Place the control devices on the back of their necks." He ordered.

Those two then went around the room, place these little black things on the backs of everyone's necks. After they had finished, Davros pressed a button on his control panel. All the generals stood up.

"Let's test the control functions." He flipped a switch.

All the men started jumping up and down.

"Now the vocal controls." Davros pushed a button.

"Davros is the supreme being." He said, as did the generals, all at the same time.

Tom realized what Davros had done. He now had control of the Kaled leaders. There was no way to know what he had planned.

"Gentlemen, you are to order that all possible funding will be put into my new creation, the Daleks." Davros smiled, showing his yellow teeth.

Daleks, Tom suddenly knew a lot more about that word, just like when he heard Davros. The Dalek were a genetically engineered race with only one emotion; hate. Their greatest enemy was a wanderer called the Doctor. They look like a purple blob of mush, inside a mechanical armor. The armor had a singlemechanical eyestalk mounted on a rotating dome, a gun mount containing an energy weapon and a telescopic manipulator arm which is usually tipped by an appendage resembling a sink plunger. Daleks have been seen to be able to use their plungers to interface with technology, crush a man's skull by suction, measure the intelligence of a subject, and extract information from a man's mind. The lower half of their armor was exactly like Davros'.

Just then, a black Dalek entered the room.

"What are your orders?" It asked with a screeching voice. When it spoke, these two light bulbs attached to opposite sides of its domed top lit up.

"None yet," Davros said. "Return to standby position."

It then left the room.

"Now, generals, you will in thirty one hours, you will order a retreat to the capital city." Davros commanded.

Before he said anything else, Tom got out of there. He did not want to risk being discovered, so he crawled. A problem occurred; a rat appeared and made a noise in the vents. All eyes turned to the vents.

"Generals, grab your guns." Davros ordered.

Everyone went to a cabinet and when they opened it, they pulled out the same type of guns that the people in the jungle had.

"Take aim." Davros pointed at the wall where the vent was located.

Tom started crawling like a mad man.

"Fire!"

All of them fire these laser beams from their guns. There was this "Zzzz Rrrr" sound. Most of the beams missed him, but one brushed his leg. It took all his willpower not to scream. They did not fire again. The same rat that caused the noise was blasted out of the vents, completely dead.

"Just a rat." Davros sounded displeased. He seemed to have been hoping someone was in there, so that he could have the pleasure of killing.

Tom kept crawling. No matter what, he planned on getting out of there. So he crawled even though his leg was burned and every movement caused unbelievable pain. All he thought about was surviving.

While Tom was in the vents, Meredith and the others were being examined by doctors. The Doctors that treated them were quite shocked at what they found. When they compared their biology, there was nothing unusual about Meredith, but it was the opposite for Gregory and Ashley. Their biology was like a Kaled's. The two hearts made it obvious. The doctors were completely and utterly stunned by, well, everything about them. They quarantined them for analyses. Meanwhile, Meredith was taken for interrogation.

"Who are you?"

"Where are the aliens from?"

"Are you a Thal spy?"

When Meredith couldn't take it anymore, she screamed: "Stop!"

Next, she started crying.

"Now, I think that's enough." A women walked in.

It was the same women that treated Tom. Meredith studied her features. She had short black hair, and kind eyes. The women wore a sort of black army uniform.

"Can't you see the poor dear is terrified and confused?" She said. "Now, I have the authority to take her with me."

She took Meredith by the hand and got her out of there. The walked to a room with a table, along with a counter and machines on one side. The women sat Meredith down at a the table and put a coup in front of her.

"Go on, drink," she said.

Meredith drank from the coup. The liquid tasted like coffee. When she swallowed, her whole body felt warm. She began to calm down.

"What's your name?" Meredith asked.

"Vaspa Ader."

To Meredith, that was a very strange name. However, she was on another planet so that wasn't surprising. She did not comment on it because she did not want to be rude.

"I'm sorry about my comrades," she said. "They can be very demanding in times of war."

"War!?" Meredith exclaimed.

"Are you trying to tell me you don't know about the war." Vaspa was surprised. "But that's ridiculous. The war between the Thals and the Kaleds has been going on for a thousand years."

Meredith wondered if she should tell her she was from another world. Meredith had no idea what they would do to her if she told them the truth. On the other hand, if she did not tell them, things would continue to get more and more complicated. Plus, they were probably find out anyway.

Meredith made up her mind. She told Vaspa everything, about the ship, the blue energy, and her finding herself on another planet.

Vaspa looked at her. Really looked. She was probably trying to decide whether Meredith was crazy, or telling the truth. Then they heard a noise from the vents. The vent bars fall to the ground. Vaspa pulled out a gun. Meredith was overjoyed to see what came out of the vent.

"Tom!" Meredith said. She went over to give him a hug.

"You're the boy from the woods." Vaspa said.

They then noticed his leg had been burned, and that he looked worn down. Meredith help get him into a chair. Vaspa got him a drink, and examined his leg. She told Meredith to grab a box on counter. Inside were some bandages.

"What happened Tom?" Meredith asked.

"I . . . was shot at." He was out of breath.

"By who?" Vaspa asked.

"Some people; I think they were generals."

"Why would you say that?"

"They were in a room; discussing a war."

"You saw the Command Conference!" Vaspa exclaimed. Obviously Tom saw something he should not have.

"Yes, and this . . . creature called Davros came in."

Meredith looked to Vaspa for answers to that last sentence.

"Davros is a scientist in charge of all war weapon development. He was severely injured in an accident a few months ago. In order to survive, he modified his body with equipment from his lab. However, I don't understand what he would be doing at a Command Conference."

"He released this gas during their conversation. Everyone was unconscious for awhile. Then he had these things put on the back of their necks. After they were on, those guys obeyed Davros like puppets."

"What do you mean?" Both Vaspa and Meredith asked.

"It was like their minds had been turned off. They did everything he commanded."

"That's ridiculous." Vaspa said.

"I tell you its true! He ordered them to shoot at me!"

"Then how did you escape them?"

"Luckily, I was in the vents. Most of the shots missed me. They did hit a rat though, and assumed that was the only thing in there."

"Look, you've got to believe me, because if Davros has taken control of those generals, he now controls the military. There is no telling what he will do."

"What are you saying?"

"He commanded those generals to have the entire military to undergo a massive retreat in a day. Also, you said he was injured in an accident. That probably scarred him not only physically, but mentally as well. He is insane!"

Tom decided not to tell her about the sudden burst of information on Davros. She would not believe him, and he could not understand it himself.

"I'll go talk to my father." Vaspa said.

"You think he can help us?" Meredith asked.

"Since he was one of the generals at that conference, I think so." She replied. "I will see if he is under mind control."

Tom tried to stop her, but she insisted.

"Please, be careful." Tom said as she left.

Vaspa nodded.

A few minutes after she left, Tom asked where Ashley and Gregory were. Meredith told him everything. That the two of them had two hearts each, and that they were being examined by scientists.

"What!?"

Meredith remained silent.

"Well then, lets go get them."

Vaspa was worried about her father. If any of what Tom said was true, something bad had happened to her father. She hurried down the hallways. Upon entering her father's office, she saw him working at his desk. For a second, she was relieved.

"Hello, father."

He did not answer her.

"Father?" She touched his shoulder.

He turned around and asked: "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Her father pushed a button on his desk. A man walked in and asked: "Do you need something sir?"

"Please escort this girl out."

"'this girl'". Her father had never referred to her that way.

"Father, I want to speak with you."

"Get her out of here." He ordered the man.

Vaspa tried to make him face her. She grabbed her shoulder. He shoved her.

"Remove her."

The man did as he was told. Vaspa did not struggle.

Tom was telling him the truth. She thought. Davros has done something to her father and the other generals. He has control of the entire Kaled government.

No, he doesn't," she realized something. The Supreme Commander wasn't at the conference. He might not be under Davros' control.

After Meredith told Tom where they took Ashley and Gregory were taken, the two of them crawled into the vents. They crawled for a few minutes, then Tom saw the other two. They were on these tables, hooked up to a dozen machines. Tom did not like that one bit. He tried to force the, but found it thoroughly screwed into the wall. His hands could not fit through the vent to reach the screws.

"Tom." Gregory said. He sounded pretty groggy.

Tom made a sign to tell Gregory to be silent.

"Don't worry, there's no one in here."

"Good." Tom got his pocket-knife out of his pocket. He managed to slip it between the vent's bars. Gregory caunt it.

"See if you can use that to unscrew the vent." Tom suggested.

Gregory got to work, but it was slow going. It took five minutes to remove a single screw. After he had just started on the third screw, he heard voices outside the door. Gregory grabbed a needle from the a near by tray. He stood next to the door. In a minute, a man walked in. When he closed the door, Gregory snuck up behind him and injected that needle into the guy's neck.

"Is he dead?" Tom asked with great concern.

"No, just unconscious." Gregory said. "They put some of this stuff in me awhile ago. Its a drug. He'll be out for a hour."

"Okay, but hurry, and wake up Ashley."

Gregory ran to Ashley's bed, and shook her till she awoke. After she was on her feet, they both hurried over to the vent. Gregory got it open, and had Ashley get in first. Just as Gregory closed the vent behind them, another doctor walked in. He pulled out this silver remote, and pushed one of the buttons on it.

This alarm sounded after that. Gregory and the other crawled through the vents as though their lives depended on it, and they just might have. They continued to crawl for half-an-hour. They made an infinite twists and turns. As they moved, Tom finally stopped everyone. Through some vent bars, he saw the woman that had helped them. She was crying.

"Hey," Tom whispered to her.

When she saw him, she checked outside her door. Then she signaled them to come in. Vaspa dried her tears as they got out of the vent.

"Will anyone look for us here?" Meredith asked.

"No, they already searched in here," Vaspa was happy to see all of them.

"So, have you confirmed what I said before?" Tom asked.

"Yes, something was definitely wrong with my father."

"Who is this?" Ashley asked.

Tom and Meredith explained everything to them. They told Gregory and Ashley that they were on another planet, and everything that had happened since they arrived. Tom told them about the Command Conference, and Davros. The two of them took it surprisingly well.

"Like history repeating." Ashley murmured.

"What do you mean?" Meredith asked. "And why aren't you freaking out?"

"The ship," Gregory said. "It downloaded us with all its data files."

"The two hearts that each of us have," Ashley said. "They prove that our biology was altered to enable us to survive the download. We're not human now. I believe we are now Time Lords."

"'Time Lords?'"

"That is the name of the species that built the ship." Gregory said.

Tom and Meredith reacted differently. Tom seemed envious. He thought it was awesome that his friend now knew and understood things that were way beyond him. Plus, he got a cool new body that could do who knows what. Meredith, on the other hand, made an expression of dread. Her friend had been turned into something she did not recognize. She could not know if she was the same person any more.

"Never mind that now." Gregory said. "I know what Davros is going to do."

"How?" Vaspa asked.

"Are you familiar with the theory parallel worlds?"

"No."

"A parallel world is basically an alternate version of reality. Each world is different from the are own in a major or minor way. Do you follow?"

"Just barely."

"In one parallel world, Davros created a race of monsters called the Daleks."

"Hey, Davros said something about having all available funding being put into his new creation. He said it was called 'Daleks'." Tom said.

"What else happened at that conference?"

"Well, there was this robot-thing that came in. It seemed to take orders from Davros."

"Describe it."

"That won't be necessary." Tom said. "I think the ship downloaded information into my head too. The minute I hear certain words, I learn things. Facts and histories."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Meredith asked.

"Well, I couldn't make sense out of it." Tom replied. "I did not want you to worry."

"I think we could be in serious trouble." Gregory had an expression of dread. "One Dalek is the equivalent of an army. Has Davros had the generals give any unusual commands?"

"Yes, I believe so." Vaspa said. "You see all the generals have forced a peace. By all of them voting for it, the Supreme Commander couldn't refuse. The Thals have agreed as well. Tomorrow, most of the Thal and Kaled armies will be at a specific location at the border."

"Why would Davros want a peace conference?" Meredith asked. "If the war stops, then there will be no more reason for the military to fund his Dalek project."

Ashley thought for a moment, then had a horrible realization.

"Who will be attending the peace conference?" Ashley had expression of dread on her face.

"Just the Supreme Commanders and their negotiators." Vaspa answered. "You have an idea of what Davros has planned, don't you?"

"The Thal and Kaled leaders will be together, in one place," Ashley said. "If Davros takes the proper actions, he will have control both the Thals and the Kaleds. In a matter of time, he will control the entire planet."

There was a moment of silence. They all had to let the horrible reality sink in. Then Gregory spoke: "We need a plan!"

"Can you get that ship working?" Meredith asked.

"Probably," Gregory replied. "But its extremely damaged, and the weapons aren't likely to work."

"Will it still fly?" She persisted.

"Yeah, but I don't see-" He realized what Meredith was suggesting. "You can't seriously be want to leave now!?"

"But this isn't are fight!" She shouted.

Tom tried to quiet her down, but she refused.

"This isn't even are home planet. Why should we have to do anything?"

"Because lives are at stake, that's why!" Gregory was furious. "If people die when we could have saved them, their deaths is on our hands."

"However, you have done so much already," Vaspa said. "You don't need to be involved in this any further."

"We will leave when we know for a fact this world is safe." Gregory said. "And I think I know what to do."

"What do you have in mind?" Ashley asked.

"Vaspa, do you know where I could find a laboratory?" Gregory asked.

"Yes."

"I need you to take me there."

Tom stopped him in his tracks. "Just what have you got up your sleeve?"

"I'm gonna impersonate the negotiator," he smiled.

Chapter 4

Vaspa carefully got Gregory and Ashley to the laboratory at the end of the hall.

She got them some Kaled uniforms from the laundry. They put them on in her bathroom. Separately, of course. As they made their way to the lab, they bumped into another soldier.

"Hello, Vaspa," he said. "Who are these two?"

"Some recent graduates of the academy," she said, "I was just showing them around the base."

"Pleasure to meet you." The soldier shook their hands. "How is the academy these days?"

Vaspa became nervous.

"Not bad," Ashley answered.

"But the food is still terrible, right?"

"The worst." Gregory chuckled with the soldier.

"Well, see you around." He walked away.

They made it to the laboratory without running into anyone else. Gregory scanned the lab. There was a number of beakers and test tubes. Also, there was tons of mechanical devices; computer and other sorts of things. Ashley and Gregory got to work. She grabbed some metals and beakers, Gregory sat at a computer, pressing dozens of buttons in seconds.

"How is this going to help you impersonate the negotiator?" Vaspa asked.

"Well, with this equipment, I plan to build a holographic cloak." Gregory explained. "With it, I will be able to create a hologram around myself that will allow me to appear to be anyone. Then we simply need to do something about the real negotiator, and I'll take his place at the peace conference and ensure that nothing bad happens."

"Okay, but you need to hurry," Vaspa said. "If were caught here, no one will be able to stop Davros."

"I know." Gregory went back to working with Ashley.

Meredith wanted to leave.

She and Tom stayed behind in Vaspa's room and Meredith tried to convince Tom to leave with her. Meredith was not going to leave without him. There might need his help getting out of the city.

"Why do we have to stay here?" She said.

"Because people are in danger, and we can help them." Tom said. "It's simple really."

"But these 'people' aren't human." She said. "This isn't our home. So why do we need to help them?"

"There are still living beings. They helped me when I was exhausted, and they are not that different from us humans."

"You and I are the only humans here, so let's just go to the ship and wait for Gregory and Ashley."

"If we did that we would be leaving two good friends to face danger alone!"

"They are not human any more!" Meredith said, cruely.

Tom was horrified by that statement. He could not believe she was being so cruel. Though, this has been a stressful experience. Tom doubted that she meant what she was saying.

"I will not abandon my friend." Tom said sternly. "And just because people are not the same species as us, it doesn't mean we can just let them die. Especially when there are good people among them."

Meredith, stopped and thought. She remembered how Vaspa helped her when she was being interrogated. She also thought about how long Ashley had been her friend. Tom was right. Abandoning them because they were different from her was wrong.