The Doctor was on his knees as he ran his sonic screwdriver over the soldier, mentally blocking out the smell of the body. He was a doctor, after all, and all doctors saw death eventually. He could not, however, block out his latest companion. He was proving to be his most diverting yet.
Castiel appeared content to simply monitor the area, dividing his attention between the surrounding area and the body. The Castellan stood across from him, dividing his own attention between the body and Castiel himself.
"Can Castiel cast off The Castellan?" The Doctor muttered with a small smile, "Try saying that three times fast."
"What purpose would that serve?" Castiel inquired.
"It's an expression," The Castellan snarked.
Castiel shot The Castellan a sideways glance before returning his attention to The Doctor, "What have you found?"
"Metal," The Doctor declared, using his screwdriver to manipulate the shard away from the body.
"From the armor?" The Castellan knelt down beside the body.
"I shouldn't think so," The Doctor stated, "It's not red."
"Can you identify it?" The Castellan asked.
The Doctor shook his head. The Time Lords looked lost for a moment until Castiel reached out and took the metal from The Doctor, holding it up to his nose.
"Dalekanium," the angel declared, "A silver-colored variant."
The Castellan shot him a wary glance, "You, a human, can tell that from the smell when a Time Lord cannot?"
Castiel looked between them timidly, "The nose...knows?"
The Doctor cracked a smile, "Oh, my dear Castiel, you are very quickly becoming my favorite. So! We've now got incontestable proof of a Dalek presence on Dronid, and yes, I know, that's not its correct name, but sue me, I prefer it to Drornid, such a bore! We know that most Daleks prefer a light blue, black or bronze variant, very rarely silver! Judging by the amount of force used, it would seem as though something drove a Dalekanium spear or rod through this soldier."
"Hardly the standard battle tactics of a Dalek," The Castellan noted.
"Agreed," The Doctor said, rising to his feet, "I'm beginning to think we're not dealing with a Dalek."
"What makes you say that?" Castiel asked.
"The height," The Doctor stated, "This soldier stands at roughly 1.75 meters in height, and this hole is centered just above the waistline. A Dalek stands at roughly 1.5 meters, so why reach down to puncture someone when you can simply go for their chest?"
"You wouldn't," The Castellan nodded in agreement, "So you believe this is a puppet?"
"Perhaps," The Doctor frowned, folding his arms in thought, "Perhaps a puppet on a fact finding mission, gathering intelligence? But why here? Castellan, why are all these supplies here?"
"I've brought that up with the Council, but no answer is forthcoming. It would...Doctor, have I your word that you will keep this to yourself?"
The Doctor shot a glance at Castiel. The angel was not sure what to do in this scenario, so he decided his best option was to simply nod. The Doctor turned back to his fellow Time Lord and smiled, gesturing for him to continue.
"The Council are aware of the situation, but they have yet to do anything about it," The Castellan frowned and ran a hand through his hair, "It's as if they're...stalling."
The Doctor glanced back at the supplies before asking, "Castellan, as the highest ranking officer in the Guard, you would be aware of any military actions, yes?"
"Things have changed," The Castellan told him with a frown, "The Celestials no longer answer to me, for example."
"Blimey," The Doctor muttered, stunned, "The Celestials meddle far too much with time and space, they need some oversight."
"We say that about you, funnily enough," The Castellan smirked, earning a scoff from The Doctor, "But I see where you're going, Doctor. The Celestials could easily be involved somehow, but regardless, we have a much higher priority."
The Doctor nodded in agreement, turning to his new companion, "Castiel, do you know anything about the Dalek puppets?"
Castiel frowned, "I've never personally encountered one, but I know the basics. A Dalek nanocloud infiltrates a host and manipulates their body and mind until it is reformed as a Dalek...what?"
Both The Doctor and The Castellan were staring at him with looks of horror on their faces. The Doctor turned away and held up his sonic screwdriver, scanning the air as thoroughly as he could.
"Nothing," The Doctor confirmed after a moment, "Blimey, Castiel, you know how to scare a person. Alright, so, it's a nanocloud in the future. As far as I was aware, the process of creating a Dalek puppet was much more involved, but things have changed."
"You, human," The Castellan marched up to the angel, "How do you know this?"
"...Spoilers."
"What in the bloody Hell does that mean?!"
"He's from my future time line," The Doctor told him, a little timidly.
The Castellan slowly turned to face his fellow Time Lord, a look of abject rage covering his features, "You...a Time Lord...would dare to bring someone with knowledge of future events with you in your stolen, obsolete TARDIS?! Oh, how far you have fallen, Doctor."
"If we could please get back to the problem at hand," The Doctor suggested, "We have a small Dalek puppet on the loose in a Time Lord colony. We really must find it, before anyone else is harmed."
"Agreed," Castiel said.
The Castellan reluctantly nodded, reaching into his armor to withdraw a small communicator, "Attend to my location."
Within seconds, a duo of Gallifreyan soldiers transmatted to the warehouse.
"We have a possible incursion on our hands," The Castellan stated, "I want complete discretion, no one is to learn of this. All soldiers are to travel in pairs, armed at all times. If you encounter anything suspicious involving someone of smaller stature, isolate and contain them. It is possible they are our target."
"And if they are?"
The Castellan growled, "Terminate with extreme prejudice."
Castiel noted the look that dawned on The Doctor's face. As soon as the words left his mouth, The Doctor made his way over to The Castellan.
"What nonsense is this?" The Doctor demanded, "We're talking about someone who has been turned into a puppet against their will! We owe it to them, to ourselves, to do everything we can to save them."
"We haven't the time or the luxury of high morals," The Castellan stated, "If it is a puppet, and it is a nanocloud, it could spread like an infection, contaminating the entire colony and turning them into Daleks as well."
"If we arbitrarily kill them, we become Daleks ourselves!"
"Doctor," Castiel laid a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder, "I'm afraid he's right. A leader must protect his own."
"At the cost of an innocent life?"
Castiel nodded sadly, "It's a terrible thing, but the alternative?"
"At its worst, yes, but we can try!"
"There is no debate!" The Castellan interrupted, "This is how it shall - Castiel, look at me when I speak to you!"
The angel was no longer looking at either Time Lord; he was, instead, looking over at the far wall. Without any preamble, Castiel disappeared from their view in a flash of wind that The Doctor would later swear reminded him of the flapping of wings.
"Cass, Cass!" The Doctor called out.
"Did you know he could do that?" The Castellan demanded, his own stazer pistol drawn.
"I'm finding there's a great deal about this man that I know nothing about," The Doctor determined.
"Spread out," The Castellan ordered his men, "Find him!"
"No need," The Doctor determined, holding up his sonic screwdriver and scanning, "I have him...and..."
The Time Lord sprinted off as fast as a could, signaling the three others to take off after him. The Doctor rushed through the doorway nearest to Castiel, using his sonic screwdriver to push through it. In an alleyway to the side of the warehouse stood Castiel, and in front of him, dressed in faded and torn Time Lord robes, was a small girl, staring up at him in terror.
"It's alright," Castiel explained, "There are no...robots around her," he seemed a bit confused at that but pressed forward, "Little girl, we mean you no harm."
"S-stay back," she whispered, "I-I can't...control-"
"You will not harm me," Castiel whispered to her, bending down slightly to be at her eye level.
"Stay back!" The girl cried out, raising her hand slightly.
"Moran-"
Castiel was interrupted as the girl pushed her arm forward, out from her palm sprang a large cannon that The Doctor recognized immediately.
"Cass!"