Etched in History

Another Revelation

Absolutely terrified, Rynne just watched in horror as the golden Dalek before her looked down straight at her, the young woman expecting to be exterminated at any time. It didn't make sense, of course, considering that if that were the case, all three would have been destroyed by now, but it didn't stop any emotions from bubbling to the surface. The tears that had been banished just a few moments beforehand were now rising back up to her eyes, making the base of her vision blurry, throat drying at the same time, the only thing that stopped her from screaming. An eternity passed in mere seconds, the being completely silent as the trio watched on, unsure exactly what they should be doing, eyes all transfixed on the metal monster that commanded all of their attention. The Doctor even looked on, utterly gobsmacked at the sight that stood so defiantly before him. "This is impossible…" he breathed, mostly to himself. "Absolutely impossible…"

Martha agreed, her eyes just as wide as Rynne's as she slowly moved her hand around the Doctor's arm, asking for protection without any words. It was ridiculous to anyone else that she was so dependent on someone that was basically only armed with his mind, a quick tongue and a sonic screwdriver, but that was exactly what she was doing. The Time Lord was her rock, the only constant thing during this travelling through time and space, as well as the only person – being – that she felt she could totally rely on. "But-but-but…" The trainee doctor couldn't get her words out properly, gaze trapped by the creature that had entered the room. "Is that Dalek… Dalek Caan?"

The Dalek finally moved again, the eyestalk lifting to the two at the other side of the small cell, head turning just a touch. "I serve Dalek Caan," the creature replied, metallic voice matching that metallic armour. "You are the Doc-tor," it then accused, pitch of its voice becoming a little higher as it finally made its realisation, first instinct to turn and destroy the Time Lord where he stood. However, there was something stopping it, an overriding factor that not even the Doctor could place. "You must stay here, with the human!"

There was an order, with the Doctor obviously opening his mouth to protest. Before he could accurately get out exactly what he wanted to say, though, two more Daleks appeared at the entrance of the cell, guards for such distinguished – and dangerous – prisoners. Deciding to be quiet, at least for now, the Time Lord closed his mouth, swallowing a sarcastic comment. Martha, naturally, couldn't help but say something, feeling as if she could fall into nothingness at any moment, just wishing that all of this was some terrible nightmare. "Doctor, I though Dalek Caan was the last…?"

"Obviously not," he then cut in quietly. To the Dalek, his voice was even more sharp. "What do you want? Why haven't you exterminated us yet?"

"Don't encourage it!" Martha then hissed, hating these moments that the Doctor had, always wanting to push the moment as far as it could possibly go.

"You will serve your purpose," it answered coldly, the two lights at the top of its armour flashing with every syllable like silent drums. Returning its own hard gaze to Rynne, it spoke again. "You will come with me."

Rynne then managed to break her gaze away from the creature that had been part of her nightmares. "B-but…"

"Follow! Follow!" A Dalek was never a creature to stop and talk with its prisoners for long, and this Dalek was no different from the stereotyped creation of a sick genius. Too terrified to disobey, Rynne slowly stood, not wanting it to think that she would do anything stupid. Her whole existence was currently balancing on a tightrope, and the last thing that she desired was the knowledge of a Dalek ray gun, and the pain that it would cause before death. With careful manoeuvring, the gold monstrosity then backed out of the room, the command given to the young woman obviously now in effect.

Rynne looked back at the Doctor and Martha, wishing that she knew that they would be okay. She knew all too well from her writing how the Daleks hated the Time Lords, so it could easily be conceived that they would finally finish off their war with the Doctor's death… "Wait!" The Dalek snapped its head around at the sound of Rynne's own command, pausing in its movements. "I need them both to come with me. They have to help me, I can't do it without them." Her words made it seem that she knew exactly what they wanted from her, quick thinking hopefully there to preserve both the Doctor and Martha's lives. There was no way of knowing what was to come, but if they were together, there was always more hope. "Please, let them come. I'll do anything you ask."

Pausing, the creature seemed to mull over the options, deciding to concede to Rynne's request. "They may accompany you to Dalek Caan." Resuming its movements, the two Daleks at the door stayed perfectly still. The trio within the room then left together, the Doctor nodding gratefully at Rynne, little emotion showing on his features. Martha was too busy following the Doctor's lead to give a decent set of thanks, but it was one of the least important things right at that moment.

Leaving the room, the first Dalek began to lead the way, the two guards following up behind to prevent any chance of escape. The corridors that they walked along were a mixture of silver and gold, all crisp lines, reminiscent of the cell's interior. The only noises that could be heard were the metal voices of communicating Daleks, the creatures too far away to make out anything but what could have just been the buzzing of a machine. Hearts pounded, as they travelled along this totally unfamiliar territory, something making the Doctor particularly nervous.

Dalek Caan was the only surviving member of the Cult of Skaro, a group of four Daleks with the power of imagination, something that had been stamped out of the race, simply so they could create new ideas to survive and protect the Dalek way of life. The Doctor and Martha had already met them back during the Depression when they tried to hijack the building of the Empire State building, and the other three had been destroyed, Dalek Caan using an emergency temporal shift to escape. However, the Doctor believed that Caan had been the only Dalek left in existence, so how could three drones be here, sent to guard them? More gene splicing?

Walking further into this unknown maze, the group finally reached a set of doors. The first Dalek approached the door, waited for a moment, and then had the doors open by accessing a panel on the side of the square arch. With that, the doors slid open, revealing a much larger room, complete with a number of advanced computers around what seemed to be an almost circular control room. The trio were all forced forwards, reaching the central panel, all to meet a single Dalek. "We meet again, Doc-tor," the Dalek announced, its voice much lower than the usual drones.

"Dalek Caan. I wish it was under more pleasant circumstances," he replied dryly.

"You are unimportant. Which is the girl?"

As Martha began to put her hand in the air, the first other Dalek they had seen turned its eyestalk to Rynne. The girl looking around, she then stepped forward. "I'm Rynne." Lowering her head slightly, her heartbeat was almost unbearable, pounding away as if she were about to collapse again. There was something holding her back, though, which was lucky. She was sure that the Daleks would do something as soon as there was any weakness shown. "I'll do anything you want. Please, just leave them alone. Please."

The eyestalk slowly reaching the desired destination, Dalek Caan moved forward so that it was only about a foot away from the young woman. Turning its head, the Dalek then screeched out another order. "Open the cage!" Another Dalek answered its instruction, a panel pressed, showing Jane trapped behind the soundproof glass, the old woman looking out at the trio with a look of terrible defeat about her. "You will obey the Daleks, or this human will be exterminated." Looking on in horror, fresh, frightened tears fell down Rynne's cheeks. Now, no matter what Dalek Caan asked, she would be forced to do it. Despite everything, Jane had saved her, had been her friend… and she wasn't about to be the cause of her death, whether the Doctor was involved or not.


A/N: Oh! I'm really starting to enjoy myself with this one... and I already have two follow-up stories from this one. Maybe I'll start a series... hmm... Anyway, I would adore some more reviews, guys... just don't complain about my writing style! I can take good, constructive criticism, but it annoys me when people get complaints just because they don't like a writer's personal style. If you don't like it for no other reason than you simply don't, please don't bother to write a review. Honestly. Thousands of people enjoy Stephen King, and although I like the ideas behind his stories, I don't personally like the way he writes his work... it doesn't mean I'll tell others that he's terrible. It's all personal taste!

Sorry about the rant XD Anyway, read, review, comment... I just hope as many people as possible are enjoying it! I've just added chapter titles and updated all of the chapters without any notes, too, which is immensely exciting - or not. There should be another update in the next few days, hopefully!