"Being in an Empire protects you in war."
4012, on the edge of the Galaxy, a security station containing over 1300 Malphans drifted in orbit of a red star. "Solar Flare activity approaching!" said Technician 7. "Lowering screens!" As screens lowered the Malphan Commander's voice was heard through the station. "Do not forget, we will be vulnerable at this point! We should always remain on guard but there have been rumours of Dalek ships on the edges of the Galaxy."
As he finished speaking the flares hit the ship. The screens protected the Malphans from being blinded. They needed to hold this position as it gave them a point where they could monitor the whole system, which an attacking force would be very likely to pass through. As the flares passed, before them appeared a Dalek ship. It had ridden the flares in the guise of one. "Send a report!" cried the Malphan Commander. "Turn on shields!" But a pulse was directed at them, tearing the shield projectors apart. "Continue movement towards position!" cried the Saucer Commander.
The TARDIS materialised in a large city of bright green buildings and chemical factories and the Doctor stepped out. He was now in his seventh incarnation and had travelled alone for a long time.
He sighed. After all these centuries he was feeling so lonely. He hoped that in his next life he might be more open, less mysterious. But for the moment he felt responsibilities, which came above all else. He knew that the Daleks would attack this world, Yakrit-A.
The Doctor knew the exact casualties of this attack, 1,574,852,819, most of them innocents who didn't want involvement in the war. This arm of the Galaxy hadn't wanted a war and many of its worlds had been trying to secede from the Malphan Empire. However this attack would inspire them to remain with the rest of the Galaxy and eventually defeat the Daleks. It was part of the Web of Time. The Doctor knew the burdens of Time Lords, it could be very difficult knowing when tragedies should happen. But he knew the importance of this research, in another six years it would be needed to fight another Dalek attack, that would extend thousands of light years into this Galaxy.
The Doctor walked towards a University. "I am looking for Professor Ludmotre-Gequl!" he asked a creature that looked like a Skeleton with a Parrot's beak and four eyes.
The creature looked up and in a surprisingly quiet voice replied "He's in the Biology Division. Block 4, Row 3A, at the end, on the left, from my side." The Doctor gave a smile and walked away. The people, due to their force field and artificial defence Moon, installed 62 years ago, were quite unconcerned with what was happening outside their area of the Galaxy. They didn't realise the Daleks were preparing to attack even now. The Doctor was tempted to tell this receptionist, perhaps save them. But he had little time.
On the defence Moon Yakrit Security Agent 143 Xedobili strolled through the base. A scan went over his whole body, making sure he wasn't carrying anything he shouldn't be. "Pass through" said the automatic voice. He stepped through. There wasn't anybody controlling him. What he was doing was of his own free will. He just needed to get the code, and the blue ash smugglers would get through. It shouldn't carry too harsh a sentence if he was caught, there were thousands of officials who wanted it legalised, and the Blue Ash Smugglers were rich enough to get him off. He set up a data veil to prevent the order being found, typed in the code and sent it to the force field.
For a period of less then 5 seconds the field switched off. There was a bang and the Moon shook. Green lights, the symbol of danger in this system, began flashing. "Grade 3 Emergency! Grade 3 Emergency!" cried a voice.
The invisibility barrier round a Dalek Saucer, containing a thousand Dalek drones, switched off. The blue ash smugglers had been captured as they flew to make the deal. Once they had made their arrangements with Xedobili under Dalek direction they were exterminated. With control of the Moon base they could attack.
The Doctor marched into the Office. The robot guard was held back by his rebuilt sonic screwdriver. A Guard, who reassembled a blue frog-faced bull, had asked for his security slip, whereupon the Doctor had simply waved an important looking badge around and yelled at him not to disturb his work. Some tricks worked as well in the 41st Century as the 20th. He knew that the data on the Daleks, a new chemical that could break down Dalek brain activity over time, making them more irrational could prove useful. The Doctor searched through the drawers, knowing he had little time. One of them was locked. It was the work of a moment for the Doctor to use his sonic screwdriver to bypass the old-fashioned lock that had been bypassed a Malphan Millenium ago. An alarm went of outside and the Doctor looked at his watch. "The attack is about to start!" he cried in horror. He wrenched the files out and ran outside.
He was met by three guards. "He went that way!" yelled the Doctor, pointing down the corridor. He ran past the Guards in the opposite direction, before they realised this wasn't his office. The Doctor dived round a corner, shrinking back as two Guards ran past him. He turned the corner to find another guard.
"Who are you and why were you stealing from the Office?" asked the Guard. "Doctor Johann Schmidt!" said the Doctor. "Those files are of essential importance!"
The Guard leaned forward. "Well you won't mind telling that to Professor..."
"Professor Ludmotre-Gequl!" cried the Doctor, looking behind the Guard, who turned to see someone coming along.
He walked over, then saw the person wasn't even the right species, and the Doctor was already round the corner. He pursued him, and saw an open office door. The guard dived in and tripped, finding himself in the dark office of the Professor. The Doctor pulled up his umbrella, which the guard had tripped over, ran out, and locked the door behind him with his sonic screwdriver.
"I am sorry to have to do this!" he said as the Guard hammered on the door. "But this will save countless billions of lives!" He ran back towards the TARDIS, not daring to stop. As he did so he heard alarms across the city. "Attention!" a voice boomed throughout the city. "The force field is down! The force field is down! The defence Moon has ceased transmission! It is believed the Daleks are responsible!"
Meanwhile on the defence Moon the Dalek Commander was giving orders. "Prepare to send Defence Moon at Yakrit-A!" it cried. "Modifications to drive of Defence Moon is completed!" a Dalek messaged. "Retreat to ships! Once we are in orbit activate!" ordered the Dalek Commander. "The inhabitants of this world will be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The chant was taken up by thousands of Daleks as they returned to their ships.
The Doctor turned a corner and walked towards his TARDIS, pulling out the key and opening the door. He looked round the city, with various species running about. He could even see fires, as panic clouded the world. It was among the most peaceful and pleasant in the Quadrant. This was why Ludmotre-Gequl had decided to study here. Now it was going to be destroyed by the Daleks, to prevent Project: Dalek Madness ever being used.
The Doctor sadly walked inside. The destruction of Yakrit-A was part of the Web of Time. He couldn't stop it. But he could save the Dalek Madness project. Perhaps this world could be avenged. He turned on the scanner and watched the world. It looked the same, then he saw a shape in the sky, growing larger. The Daleks knew that this world, though peaceful, had weapons capable of destroying a Dalek fleet. So they had decided to turn something of defence into a weapon, crashing it into the planet. Within another ten minutes, collision would happen. Some of the people tried to flee to spaceships, but Dalek forces, having taken information on all space ports, were already attacking. Bombs, capable of destroying entire cities, were dropped. Millions had already been killed.
On the scanner the Doctor watched the devastation going on and turned the screen off. He sighed sadly. A Time Lord had such responsibilities. Reckless time travel could endanger history. Sometimes he had to let evil succeed due to the bigger picture. The Doctor activated dematerialisation and the TARDIS had soon left the doomed world.
The Doctor sat down in his chair, took out the files and began reading them. "It is believed, that with this electromagnetic process penetrating the Dalek shell, Dalek brain activity will gradually break down. This will work better then outright killing them, as it will make the Daleks more irrational over time, though it will take days for signs to show to a significant degree." The Doctor plugged the data store into the TARDIS computer and began analysing them. "Should make Daleks more irrational... Won't plan... Won't notice until spread..." He remembered how in the wars the Daleks had briefly become more dangerous, then become very logical and been stuck in a war with the Movellans, losing their cunning and their Empire-building basically stopping for centuries. "So that's why those Daleks were so logical" said the Doctor. "I found it odd they were in a stalemate with and acting like rrrobots!"
4014
"So you see, true order comes from being flexible, even allowing some chaos." There were various types of applause, from the thousands, emanating from many worlds, that were in the Cult of Augustus. Some had even been there when it started, well over a century ago. A Malphan sitting next to Dominus stood up. "Thank you Callidus" he said. "Let us hope the power of Augustus prevails against the Daleks!" There was more applause.