==Chapter Four: Best Laid Plans==
But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
– Robert Burns, To A Mouse
Sec turned away from the monitor. "This death... was regrettable, Doctor. Your kinswoman's colleague, he showed courage. He would have made an excellent Dalek."
The Doctor frowned, thoroughly uncertain now of what Sec wanted. "He was brave. And that's... good?"
"Yes. Your words to me earlier, Doctor... their meaning has since become clearer." The hybrid beckoned as he returned to the body of Fiona Sinclair. "And what they might mean for our race. This Final Experiment—I believe it has... far greater potential than I previously envisioned."
All right, so Sec was sounding infinitely more sane than Davros, but he was still making the Doctor uneasy. "What do you want to do?"
"These people are empty shells now, stripped of all that made them who they were, ready to be converted into human-Dalek hybrids." The Doctor had figured as much, but hearing it stated so factually made his stomach churn. "I am the genetic template; my altered DNA was to be administered to each human body."
The Doctor frowned heavily. "And you're piggybacking off of all the work here on the atomic bomb."
Sec nodded and pulled up the specs of an energy conductor. "A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the two genetic codes and wake each body from its sleep. When the humans aboveground detonate the bomb, the radiation will be drawn to the conductor..."
"And the army will waken," the Doctor finished grimly. "I still don't know what you need me for." They'd done a pretty good job thus far, and if their military strategy was good enough, the warring human race could fall in a matter of weeks.
Sec's expression was earnest. "I need your genius, Doctor. Consider a pure Dalek: intelligent but emotionless."
The Doctor eyed the hybrid, trying desperately to figure him out. It wasn't working—Sec was sending him all manner of conflicting signals. "Removing the emotions makes you stronger. That's what your creator thought, all those years ago."
"He was wrong."
The Doctor blinked and did a double-take, certain he hadn't heard that right. "He was what?"
"It makes us lesser than our enemies. We must return to the flesh... and to the heart."
The two gold-cased Daleks swiveled to look at each other—the most concern the Doctor had ever seen from any of their kind. "But," he said carefully, "you wouldn't be the supreme beings anymore."
"And that is good," said Sec.
"That is incorrect," one of his brothers said immediately.
"Daleks are supreme," the other added.
Sec did not turn to them, his single eye fixed on the Doctor. "No, not anymore."
"But that is our purpose."
Sec turned then. "Then our purpose is wrong!" The Doctor stared, wide-eyed at the openly confrontational turn this conversation had taken. "Where has our quest for supremacy led us?" The hybrid's tone turned bitter. "To this. Hiding underground on a primitive world. Just the four of us left. If we do not change now, then we deserve extinction!"
The Doctor frowned. "All right, then, let me get this straight: you want to change everything that makes a Dalek, a Dalek."
"If you can help me." Sec's tone was humble—such an incredible range of emotions he was experiencing in the first half-hour of his new life... "Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours. The new race must be ready by zero hour, or all our efforts will have been in vain."
The Doctor's head was pretty well spinning by now. "But you're the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you."
"I want to change the gene sequence, increase the percentage of human DNA. Humans are the great survivors, Doctor; we need that ability."
He couldn't argue with that, but... He shook his head and raised a cautionary hand. "Hold on a minute. There's no way this lot are going to let you do it."
"I am their leader," Sec said primly.
Riiight. As if the Dalek Civil War had never happened... The Time Lord dragged a hand down his face. "All right, all right. Let's say you can manage it all. What happens next, hm? Where are you going to go? What are you going to do?"
"You have your TARDIS. Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again." Softly: "If you don't help me, Doctor... nothing will change."
The Doctor bowed his head. It sounded so good, so wonderful—a fresh beginning for a race that had been birthed in evil... And yet the origins of this hybrid race were scarcely less evil, kidnapping and emptying people to be shells for the process. And these were the Daleks.
And yet... Sec... the look in his eye was... hopeful...
And his purer brothers stood silent, watching. Brothers whom the Doctor could certainly not trust, whether or not he could trust Sec...
But a fresh beginning.
He knew only too well what it was like to crave that.
He nodded slightly, murmuring, "Well, then... Lots to do—not much time in which to do it."
Sec's expression was grateful. "We have forty-five Earth minutes—the test detonation is set for 4 am."
"Then we have plenty of time," the Doctor said drily.
The nearby lift stopped on their floor, and the fourth Dalek exited, followed by two humans and a Time Lady, who were themselves flanked by soldiers. The Doctor's breath caught in relief, hearts pounding a prayer of gratitude to whomever might hear, and he strode over to them. Holmes and Watson were trying—and failing, since the Doctor had noticed—not to stare at the transformed Sec.
Kit slowly let go of Watson's hand, her gaze flitting back and forth between the Doctor and Sec, eyes sad.
The Doctor reached his Companions and placed his hands on their shoulders. "Are you all right?" he murmured.
Holmes smiled gravely. "Still in one piece, Doctor—thanks to you and Dr. Bennett."
The Doctor turned to Kit then, wonder surging through him. "And you," he breathed. "Time Lady. How didn't I notice it sooner?"
Kit smiled sadly, the expression not even reaching her eyes. "I've learned to hide my light under a bushel, Doctor. The fault isn't yours." Then he felt it. For the first time in a long time... he felt the brush of another Time Lord's mind against his own. The touch was light and gentle and soothing, and he could have wept—too many emotions and he couldn't... couldn't...
The Doctor shook his head slowly, pulling himself back together, and tentatively reached out, grasping her slender shoulders. "Look at you. You... Who are your parents?"
She shook her head, eyes closing. "I can't. Doctor, I just can't." She opened her eyes and whispered, "And you can't do this."
He frowned incredulously. "Of course, I can," he murmured back. "The Daleks—"
"Aren't going to change!" Her entire being radiated urgency. "Doctor, I'm from your future! I've seen the Daleks there, too, and it doesn't get any better. It never does."
"Time is in flux, Kit," he said firmly. "Can't you feel it? That future doesn't have to happen."
"No," she said sorrowfully. What had happened to her to make her so sad? "No... some things don't have to be Fixed Points... to be set in stone."
Sec chose that moment to step forward. "Dr. Bennett… I understand your hesitation." His voice sounded… sad… "You have good reason to distrust us, after all that our races have done to each other out of fear and hatred." He spread his hands entreatingly. "All I ask is a chance to prove that we have the potential to change. Please..."
Kit looked as conflicted as the Doctor had felt a few minutes ago, then she lifted her chin fractionally and glanced at the Doctor. "I suppose, then… that I'm in for the long haul, too."
The Doctor nodded slightly with small, proud smile. "Atta girl. Well, then!" He donned his specs and looked to Sec expectantly.
The hybrid smiled—tentatively, it was surely his first. "Thank you."
Kit's eyes widened at the smile, and she quickly turned fully to the Doctor, who was smiling widely himself now. This was good. This was good. "Right!" he said, and rubbed his hands together. "So… first thing's first: chromosomes."
In spite of the Doctor and Sec's explanation, Holmes could not even pretend to be satisfied with the new situation – and he couldn't imagine Watson was feeling any happier about it, either. The detective had sometimes been forced himself to use questionable means to achieve a positive end, but how could the former possibly justify the latter in this case? Heaven only knew how the Doctor was able to turn a blind eye to this... atrocity – there really was no other word for it! – and work with a race that earlier he had all but admitted he held in complete aversion.
As for the Daleks themselves... Caan, the Dalek from the holding cells, and his brothers, Thay and Jast, were meekly following every instruction – and that very docility was making Holmes incredibly uneasy, given what he already knew of the war between their people and the Time Lords. The problem was that Holmes was having a hard enough time reading Sec, and the Dalek-human hybrid was no longer even protected by a shell.
It was possible that he was worrying needlessly, but the detective hadn't survived this long by ignoring his instincts. He interrupted the Doctor at his work to borrow the spare mobile, then stepped out into the nearest corridor with Watson; his friend was eyeing the mobile curiously, clearly as intrigued as Holmes had been by the idea of a portable telephone.
Closing his eyes to minimise distractions, Holmes visualised Lt. Adams' desk in the personnel office, namely the telephone sitting in the top left corner, with its personal number in the centre of the dialer...
To his great relief, Adams picked up the phone after the first ring, sounding extremely weary.
"Personnel, Lieutenant Adams speaking."
"Ah, Mr. Adams, excellent," Holmes responded, voice lowered.
"Mr. Vernet?" Adams sounded equally relieved. "Thank God – I thought... Is everything all right?"
"Why would you think it was not, Lieutenant?" Holmes asked cautiously. "All is well aboveground, I hope?"
"Honestly, sir, I don't know." The young man's audible anxiety only served to strengthen Holmes' own. "I was able to keep Major Barnes busy for about an hour, but now he's disappeared – and no one's seen him pass any checkpoints. What with this storm and all, I can't help..."
Holmes' eyes narrowed. "Storm?"
"Yes, sir. We've had thunder and lightning for the last half hour, and it's heading south towards the test site. They've had to delay the detonation until it passes – General Groves is fit to be tied..."
Holmes cut him off briskly. "You've done well, Lieutenant, but there's something else I need from you now. Write this number down..." rattling off the absurdly long number for the spare mobile.
The lieutenant sounded understandably puzzled. "Is this... a phone number, sir?"
"If you hear your phone ring once, call that number exactly two minutes later," Holmes continued as if he hadn't heard, "and whatever you do, don't leave the office before then – stay by the phone!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Good man." Holmes ended the call, musing wistfully that the young clerk could teach the Yarders back home a thing or two about unquestioningly following his instructions when required...
Watson was frowning deeply. "Holmes, what is going on?"
Holmes had forgotten that telephones weren't designed to enable eavesdropping. "What are the chances that none of the other Daleks knew there was a storm coming to delay the test?" he muttered, half to himself as he searched through the mobile's settings. "Either way, we have to warn Dalek Sec and the Time Lords..." Excellent, that should be a suitable ringtone...
A moment later, a klaxon filled the air. Not stopping to think about the noise might mean, the two men rushed back through the laboratory door... only to find themselves once more being held at gunpoint. Holmes resisted the urge to swear at his own inexcusable carelessness, then raised his hands to the back of his head, the mobile concealed in his palm, Watson astutely copying the action. The soldiers escorted them back to the lab proper, where they found Sec, Kit and the Doctor also held captive.
"Release me," Sec demanded as his brothers advanced. It shouldn't have been possible for a Dalek to glide smugly, but they were giving that impression just the same. "I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec."
"You have lost your authority."
"You are no longer a Dalek." Just how long had Caan been planning this coup?
"This is your one chance for a better future!" Kit's angry frown wavered as she caught sight of Holmes and Watson, shoulders sagging, her eyes filling with fear.
"And he –" the Doctor jerked his head urgently towards Sec, "is your best hope for any real future at all!"
Sec looked utterly stunned. "You have... betrayed me."
"Negative." Jast's voice was contemptuous. "You would have betrayed all Dalek-kind – you meant to lead us away from our Emperor's vision!"
Sec gaped. "The Emperor was insane! His vision was of nothing but death and destruction..."
"Death for the humans alone. We will finish what he began..." Caan swung to face the Doctor, voice accusing, "before your pet human destroyed him!"
"Purify the Earth with fire!" Thay chimed in.
"Purify! PURIFY!"
A second alarm sounded, interrupting the Daleks' chilling chorus. There would be no better time than this... Taking advantage of the distraction, Holmes pushed the redial button on the mobile, then hung up again.
"Alert! Alert!" Jast called. "Elevator descending."
Caan moved to the nearest instrument panel. "It is the human slave. Why does he approach? We have not summoned him."
Holmes managed to catch the Doctor's eye. 'Two,' he mouthed, looking pointedly at the coat pocket which normally held the sonic screwdriver.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow back, giving Holmes the smallest of nods. Understood.
The lift reached their level and Major Barnes stepped out, looking even more anxious than he had aboveground.
"Major Barnes." Dr. Bennett's Midwestern accent dripped with acid. "I'd say 'what a surprise,' but in all honesty, it really isn't."
"We do not require your presence, human," Caan said dismissively. "Return to the surface and await further commands."
Barnes had reddened slightly at Kit's accusation, drawing himself up defensively, only to wilt slightly at Caan's order. "But, sir, I think that –" The Major paled as he finally noticed Holmes and the two male doctors . "Oh, no. Sir, I think I made a mistake in sending these men down here."
Dr. Bennett snorted. "Gee, ya think?"
"Incorrect. The two human males will make valuable additions to our army. You have served us well, human. Your loyalty will be rewarded."
"Major, listen to me," the Doctor cut in urgently. "Whatever they've promised you, whatever they will promise you, it won't happen. You're not them, and anyone who isn't them is the enemy! Look!" jerking his head at Sec. "Look at what they do to their own!
Still pale, Barnes glanced warily back and forth between Caan and the Doctor. "What will that reward be, if you don't mind my asking?"
"You will be privileged to witness the imminent destruction of the Daleks' greatest enemies! The last two Time Lords will be exterminated!"
Barnes' calculating gaze slid back over to the Time Lords. "Actually, sir..." he mused slowly, "I think I have a better idea. You should save them for the people over at Roswell. They know how to deal with alien threats."
"Oh, that's just brilliant." Dr. Bennett had also turned pale at the name 'Roswell'. "Your survival savvy astounds me."
"Major," the Doctor persisted, "you are not going to survive amongst an army of Daleks hellbent on destruction!"
"We do not take orders from slaves, human! We have awaited this day for millennia, when our Emperor's vision will be realised –" So much for Daleks being unable to experience emotion – Caan's tone could only be described as... exultant. "New Skaro will rise from the ashes of the Earth, and the Oncoming Storm will be the first to fall!"
Holmes was still silently counting down: ...30, 29, 28...
Barnes took a shocked step backwards; the Doctor was equally wide-eyed, except that his expression closely resembled the storm that Caan had termed him. "Sir, it was just a suggestion," the Major said cautiously. "And if you hate him that much... wouldn't you enjoy having him dissected on an operating table? Alive, no less?"
Sec gasped in horror. "No, you can't!"
Dr. Bennett's jaw clenched. "I am going to kill you, Barnes," she bit out, eyes ablaze.
"Kit..." the Doctor murmured in a calming tone.
"Daleks do not 'enjoy'. Such emotions are... irrelevant to our purpose." Except that Caan's voice now held a faint but distinct note of intrigue...
Barnes had obviously heard it as well, giving the Dalek an ingratiating smile. "But if he's been that great an enemy to you... wouldn't you want him to suffer a little for it first if you're going to kill him, anyway?"
Holmes hadn't thought he could possibly grow any angrier until that moment. He and Watson exchanged looks of silent agreement, twin gazes smouldering with grim fury. Fellow human or not, given the chance, neither of them would think twice about putting a bullet through Barnes' head.
He heard the Doctor murmur sympathetically to the Major, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."
And then the mobile vibrated in Holmes' hand, a split second before the sound of a massive explosion, loud enough to hurt the ears of anyone standing near.
The next minute was fraught with activity...
Holmes was already starting to move when the phone vibrated. As the soldiers recoiled, shock and pain overwhelming even the Daleks' mind control, the detective turned and levered the machine gun out of the grip of the soldier behind him, using the same movement to club the man up under the chin with the stock end.
The Doctor grabbed the sonic from his pocket and twisted free; Dr. Bennett drove her elbows back hard into her two captors, grimacing in pain at the noise, then brought her hands forward again, holding both soldiers' weapons. Her face was grim as she turned and aimed for the soldiers holding Sec. The hybrid had been completely surprised by the distraction, doubling over with pain, then fell to his hands and knees as his guards were cut down.
Watson had had the best idea of what to expect, swiftly obtaining his own weapon; his stance and hold on the firearm told Holmes that his friend had been keenly observing the soldiers ever since they first landed. The doctor coolly turned and aimed at Thay, whose missing side panels logically made him the prime target, pulling the trigger without hesitation. Unfortunately, the gun seemed to have a stronger recoil than Watson had expected, for the spray of bullets missed the Dalek by a whisker and struck the control panel behind him, which began to spark and smoke profusely.
"Protect the Final Experiment!" barked Caan, gliding in front of the nearest bank of instruments.
"Protect! Protect! Protect!" The other two Daleks hastened to do the same, and Holmes could see some kind of shimmering distortion being raised, like a wall made out of heat haze... which stopped his next bullets dead in the air.
He and Watson retreated to the lift as one, using the doorway for shelter as they laid down cover fire for the other three, concentrating on any remaining soldiers, since their weapons were now clearly useless against the Daleks.
The Doctor scrambled over to Sec, raising the hybrid to his feet and hurrying him towards the lift. Dr. Bennett slipped a small capsule out of her coat pocket and tossed it towards the Daleks, the capsule exploding as it hit the floor, then turned and ran to help the Doctor.
Holmes' eye was suddenly caught by movement to his left. Too late, he aimed his weapon at Major Barnes, who had obviously taken shelter the moment the fire-fight began, the coward; Dr. Bennett dropped to the ground with a choked gasp as the revolver shot rang out.
"Kit!" The Doctor's face was a study in horror, but he could do nothing to help her while hampered by Sec's weight. The Time Lord desperately hauled the hybrid the last few steps to safety and turned at once to go back... just as the Daleks recovered and opened fire on the lift... and Kit Bennett reached into the pocket of her lab coat, drawing out what could only be her own sonic screwdriver.
"Kit, no!" But the wounded woman paid no heed, raising a trembling arm and pointing her sonic at the lift controls. The doors slammed closed, the Doctor pounding his fists against them helplessly, as the lift began to rise at a dizzying speed. "No, no, no!"
Author's note from Ria: Something we couldn't really include in the story proper - the identity of the man sacrificed for Dalek Sec's rebirth. We chose the historical figure of Klaus Fuchs, a German theoretical physicist, and one of the most successful spies for the Soviet Union. And yes, he actually was spying at Los Alamos during World War 2! Bad luck this time, mein Herr...
Author's note from Sky: What can I say? Except... I just love this chapter. So much!