Chapter 7
The eleven companions slowly coughed their way out of the smoky TARDIS.
"Where are we?" wheezed Amy, rubbing the excess smoke from her eyes.
Susan followed her out of the timeship carrying some odds and ends she'd picked up from in there. "It looks like one of the resistance bunkers from the Dalek invasion". She then gravely corrected herself. "Sorry. The first Dalek occupation".
The room had a musty smell. It was cold and the dim light from the smoking TARDIS was the only thing keeping the companions from being in total darkness.
But Rory had another question. "Doctor, why is the TARDIS smoking like that?"
The Timelord emerged last, coughing and spluttering and also carrying some equipment as his granddaughter had been. He turned around and closed the door shut. He touched the blue box affectionately and cleared the last of the smoke from his throat. "Rory Pond, unlike some people I could mention, this old girl's civilised. She doesn't like flying through the air". A dreamy expression crossed his face as he went on. "She prefers phasing through the cold vacuum of space or wending her way through the time vortex".
His musings were cut off by his granddaughter. "Everyone look at this". She had got some kind of remote viewer working. To Amy and Rory it looked like a laptop. As best as they could, everyone gathered round. "I managed to get it working", Susan went on. "I think what we're seeing is being broadcast to every television and computer on the planet. I'll just try to get the sound working".
The bus driver spoke, half to himself. "Looks like the inside of the House of Commons".
He was right. But they were no longer in a debate. All of the people, from Prime Minister Wright-Chesterton, to Defence Minister Ronson were lined up against the far wall, behind where the Speaker normally sits. In front of them stood half a dozen Daleks. They were dusty and metallic.
"They look different to the ones I've seen before", said Amy.
Before anyone could answer, there was a feint buzzing sound. "I think I've got the sound working", said Susan. Sure enough, the screaming metallic droning voices of the Daleks could soon be heard. One of them, coloured a rusty golden hue, addressed the ministers.
"Until today you were the primary officials in this land. Now, like all other people of this world, you are our slaves. We have landed in all the main cities of the world, and are now taking control of your entire planet. All humans will await further orders. You now belong to us".
"You belong to us", echoed two Daleks flanking the gold one.
Instinctively a brave man, the Prime Minister took it upon himself to reply. "What do you want?"
The gold Dalek addressed him. "To rule. We want your world to be a part of the Dalek empire. Your resources will be mined and your population will be ours to control.
"Is there anything we can offer? Any terms of surrender?"
"Surrender is irrelevant. We have already won!"
The man Amy recognised as the Defence Minister then spoke. "Why now? Why come back now?"
"We have lied in waiting for over a century. We have improved our technology. Now we are invincible. We enslaved your planet back then, and shall do so even easier now".
Back in the bunker, the Doctor scratched his head. "That's wrong".
"Sounds pretty right to me", said Theodore. "I mean, the Daleks destroyed London in a matter of seconds. There's nothing we can do".
"Oh, aren't you a cheery one?" replied the Timelord, looking around to face him just for a second and then returning his gaze to the screen.
"What is it, Doctor?" asked Rory.
"Daleks don't wait", he replied. "They shift".
"'Shift'?" asked Amy.
"Emergency temporal shift. Waiting drives them insane. Whenever they know they're beaten, they shift in time. Not like I do in my TARDIS. Not nearly as precisely. It's all random. They appear all over time and space".
"But couldn't shifting like that be dangerous to them?" asked Rory.
"Yes, but they prefer to take the risk rather than to wait. And they claim they've waited over a century?"
"And another thing", said Amy. "What are those dishes on their backs? Are they trying to pick up satellite TV?"
"Well they always have those dishes, don't they?" said Sean.
"If I remember correctly", began Susan, "it's how they move around in earth's atmosphere. On their home planet, they couldn't move around outside of the city they constructed, so they needed to develop new technology to move around on earth".
All were suddenly quietened by a swift move of the Doctor's arm. They ceased all conversation and focussed on the television.
The gold Dalek, as it turned out, was barking more threats. "You are afraid of us. And you are right to be afraid of us. But you do not respect us. We demand respect. We demand respect. And to that end, we are going to assassinate your leader. Behold!" All the Daleks on the screen pointed their blasters at the Prime Minister. "They wouldn't", winced Jess. "They can't". But it was hopeless. As one, all the Daleks on the screen spoke. "Exterminate!" Green beams flew from each one. The Prime Minister screamed for an instant, as the beams struck him. And then he was no more.
Theodore started shrieking in despair. "They've won! They've already won! All we've worked for, all we've planned. We're just going to end up as Dalek slaves. Slaves, or worse!"
Jess decided she'd had enough. "Oh, just shut up will you? What about me. I was just about to get engaged!"
"So you were going to say 'yes'?" asked Sean excitedly.
The Doctor was irritated. "Quiet you lot!" He watched the television intently. A terrifying silence had followed the Prime Minister's death. It was broken only by Ronson. But he didn't address the Daleks, or even the other ministers. He faced the camera, seemingly hoping to address the other survivors of the Dalek attack. "Anyone, whoever's out there, please listen! All's not lost. There's a satellite, right above London. You can still save us. It's cloaked, but it's only an x=gamma firewall. You should be able to…" he was cut short by the gold Dalek.
"You will desist your speaking, or you will be exterminated". Ronson reluctantly fell back into line. The gold Dalek then turned to face the camera. This puzzled Amy. "What's he doing?"
But before she had her answer, the Dalek spoke again. "We remember the last invasion. We had humanity enslaved, but they were rescued by one man. The Doctor".
Ronson shouted at his captor. "The Doctor is only a legend".
"Silence", replied the Dalek. "Doctor, if you are watching, we demand that you present yourself to us. We demand your unconditional surrender. If you do not arrive at this building within the next hour, all the ministers in this room will be exterminated!"
From the screen, panicked cries were heard.
There was a stunned silence in the bunker, broken only by Amy's voice. "Doctor, what are we going to do?"
The Timelord put a hand on his chin. Rory could have sworn he was about to speak, when the granite wall of the bunker exploded. The eleven companions were flung back, but as they got back up, they could clearly see a smoking hole in the wall. And through the hole came a single white Dalek. The lights on its headpiece flashed as it spoke in menacing tones. "I have found you, humans. You cannot hide from the Daleks. You have attempted to conceal yourselves from us, and for that, there can only be one penalty".
"And what would that 'penalty' be?" demanded the Doctor.
The Dalek's blaster began to move. "Your immediate extermination!"
