Chapter Twenty
In the cavern Bettan was still waiting on Brextin to relay all the Bunker's security codes to the Alphans. Several of her field scouts ran into the cavern excitedly. Upon seeing Bettan, they tried to calm themselves down with little success. The older of the pair Gillam, who had previously been a former Kaled research assistant, couldn't contain himself and almost yelled out, "Several Daleks found something in the wastelands!"
"What do you mean found something?" Bettan asked.
"They found a large blue box and then attached some disks on its sides and then it disappeared." Gillam finished, now out of breath. The Daleks rarely went that far into the wasteland. They had to have been searching for that particular object to go there.
"Bettan?" Brexlin called.
"Are you finished with the codes?" she asked.
"Yes and they want to talk to you." he added as he handed the commlock back to her.
Tony was staring up at her and he looked anxious. "Bettan, did I hear him say the Daleks found and took away a large blue box?"
"Yes but I have no idea what it was or how they took it away." Bettan wasn't sure how any of this applied to their situation.
"We do." Tony stated gravely. "That blue box was the Doctor's ship."
"It's called a Tardis." Maya added.
"Yes. That's what the Daleks said before it disappeared." Gillam said. "They said, 'Target acquired. We have the Tardis.' But how did it disappear?" This was a technology that they'd never observed. They knew Davros was a scientific genius but this seemed to be a bit beyond even him.
"I believe they teleported it." Maya answered factually.
"But how…?" Gillam began only to be cut off.
"We don't have time for this." Bettan began before looking over the group's heads to see Bosh talking excitedly with two of the outer guards that had just entered the cavern. "Bosh," she yelled, "what's going on?"
Bosh quickly spoke to the pair and with a smile they turned and left again. Bosh ran back to Bettan's side. "Spies have heard movement in the ventilation shafts." When it seemed the information wasn't being received, Bosh decided he'd better spell it out. "There's a lot of movement. The walking dead would have no reason to be in the shafts in great number. It's almost beyond their programming."
On Alpha, Helena and the others looked horrified. "What are the walking dead?" Helena asked as she placed her hand over her mouth. She wasn't sure she really wanted to know the answer.
Bettan looked down at the small screen. How to explain the horror their lives had become? "When Dalek Jast arrived, they found that they still needed people to do some things the Daleks on their own were incapable of. So they went through the prisons first and with the technology that Dalek Jast brought, they converted those poor individuals into mindless drones. They're capable of only the simplest instructions and are controlled by Davros and the Daleks. They are only shells of a living being. They turn anyone they can capture alive into those…things. My people have started calling them the walking dead."
"And that's the future Davros had in mind for us on Alpha." Tony stated. The Doctor was right; these were the worst of the worst, pure evil in every way.
"I'm sure it was." Bettan replied.
"But John and the others!" Helena blurted out. "We have to go there and help them."
Everyone was so intently listening to the exchange between Alpha and Bettan that only the ones in the very back noticed the arrivals.
"Stay right where you are. That's an order Tony." John Koenig said as he entered the cavern and walked to the front of the group. "May I?" he asked Bettan with his hand extended.
"This must belong to you." Bettan answered as she handed the commlock to him. It was obviously his since it was his face pictured on the side of the commlock. Bettan stepped around him looking for the Doctor before she realized she was no longer sure of his face. "Doctor?" she called out.
"Back here." the Doctor replied. He was leaning over Sarah Jane as another man was taking vitals with Sevrin looking on concerned.
"They said you'd changed and they didn't exaggerate." Bettan commented.
"Yea, I tend to do that. Not a fan of the ears though. What do you think?" he asked intently.
"To me Doctor, you look great! You are here to help us aren't you?" Bettan asked.
"To be honest, I was looking for Sarah when I discovered all of this." he admitted.
"Is she going to be all right?" Bettan looked down at her, her face a mask of concern.
"She hopes she's going to be fine." Sarah answered.
The Doctor was at her side in an instant. "You're awake."
"Yes Doctor."
"You recognize me?" he asked amazed.
"Who else would drag me through a ventilation shaft and carry me across the wastelands of Skaro?" Sarah answered with tears in her eyes.
But the Doctor wasn't fooled. He knew the tears weren't only for him. Sarah was in a great deal of pain. He'd been there himself before regeneration. He only hoped this indeed would lead to regeneration, because the alternative was unthinkable. He exchanged a quick look with Ed Spencer as he watched Sarah's hands involuntarily clench in pain. "I don't suppose you'd let me go check on a thing or three and keep these gentlemen company would you?"
"It's not as if I have much of a choice right now, do I?" she said as she looked from Ed to her immediate right. "Sevrin, is that you?" she asked with delight.
"Yes, it's me Sarah Jane." He reached forward and took one of Sarah's hands. After exchanging an unspoken word with the Doctor of his promise to stay with Sarah Jane, the Doctor moved away to the others.
"Bettan," the Doctor began as he put his arm around her shoulders and led her away from Sarah, "I need some medical supplies in my Tardis for Sarah."
"I'm sorry Doctor but I was informed right before your arrival that the Daleks have taken your ship."
"How? The Daleks don't have a decent lorry or forklift on this entire planet." he exclaimed much to Bettan's confusion.
Bettan decided to forgo any questions and state what she'd been told. "Apparently they placed some discs on the sides of the Tardis and it vanished. According to the Alphan named Maya, it was teleported."
The Doctor placed both hands on top of his head. He needed the Zero Room in the Tardis to help Sarah heal; get the Alphans home and above all, the Daleks should not have that technology. "Jast, the great Dalek Jast brought that bit of technology back to the past with him. This has to stop here and now. I have to do what I should have done centuries ago. I have to destroy every single Dalek on this planet."
"But Doctor, to destroy all of them…" John Koenig began.
"Commander I appreciate that you have morals, I really do. But you are so out of your element with the Daleks." the Doctor explained.
"Maybe they're not all…" Victor started, only to be cut off by the Doctor.
"Your little human brains simply do not understand the evil they're capable of." All the resistance fighters around them shook their heads in agreement. "I realize that you see something being born innocent as your people are. But that's not the case with the Daleks." He began to pace. How do you describe unspeakable evil to someone who hasn't seen what he has seen, lived through what he has lived through? "Daleks are genetic mutations grown in a lab with their only emotion being hate."
"Excuse me…Doctor?" Thonton interjected.
"Yes, that's me. And you are?" The Doctor put his hand forward.
"I'm Thonton." he answered as he reached forward and clasped the Doctor's hand. "I worked in the Dalek nursery." He looked to the Alphans and added, "Believe me nursery is just an euphemism for what it really is. It is nothing more than a laboratory where the genetic mutations are executed on what will become the new Kaled race. According to Davros our race will become those…things. Our people would rather have died than become Daleks." The heads of the Kaleds around him nodded in agreement. Turning back to the Doctor, "New genetic coding was added to the Daleks. The first coding came from Dalek Jast but then it was overridden and the newest coding came straight from Davros."
"What kind of change did he make?" the Doctor asked.
"I couldn't tell. But it appeared an additional component was entered in the Dalek brain's emotional sector."
"Why would Davros add something that would make them unique?" the Doctor puzzled.
"Because," Bettan began, "since Dalek Jast arrived, Davros' role in the Daleks' lives has been diminished. Dalek Jast is not happy with Davros' actions."
"So they've put their dog on a long chain." the Doctor commented to the confusion of everyone but the Alphans. Looking at the faces of the Thals and the Kaleds, the Doctor explained, "They're keeping a close eye on Davros and limiting his actions."
"Doctor?" Maya called from the commlock in John's hand. John aimed the screen toward the Doctor.
"Yes Maya?" the Doctor answered. "By the way, good work making Davros think the Commander here was still on the base."
"Not a problem. He was beginning to ask questions and get suspicious. I've been running the computations Brextin gave me and I believe I can lower the Dalek forcefield."
"I don't think it would be a good idea to bring more of our people down here." John Koenig stated.
"Right now, I have to agree. I need to find out how many of the Daleks are like Dalek Jast now." the Doctor lamented.
"Dalek Jast changed the Daleks' genetic code right away but none have left the nursery from that batch and now that Davros has changed their code again…who knows what those Daleks will be like?" Thonton contributed.
"When will they be placed in their Dalek casing? Is there a timeline that we have access to?" the Doctor asked.
"One of Dalek Jast's improvements was to fully automate the Dalek nursery. The first will be ready in 72,000 rels."
"Rels?" Alan asked.
"Their form of time." the Doctor answered before looking up and pacing while counting on his fingers. "Should be about twenty four hours from your perspective. How many of your people are left in the bunker?"
Bettan looked between her soldiers and the newly arrived Kaleds. "We weren't aware of any until Thonton and Brextin arrived." Bettan admitted. "My people that risked their lives attempting to bring us back information had never encountered them."
"They kept us under almost constant scrutiny. We were kept in our perspective labs only making contact with one another when absolutely necessary." Thonton confessed.
"I had a small gap each day that I was alone. I searched the security cameras in vain hoping to find another Kaled other than Thonton." Brextin admitted, then quickly added while looking at Thonton, "Nothing personal Thonton, I was just hoping more of us survived the Dalek purge. All I ever saw on the cameras were former scientists now being used as Dalek drones." Brextin bowed his head as did all the natives of Skaro. This was a shame and sadness they all shared.
"So we have 24 hours or 72,000 rels to destroy the bunker, Davros, Dalek Jast and all the other Daleks." the Doctor said, summing everything up.
"Problem?" Alan asked the Doctor with a smile.
"You'd think so wouldn't you?" the Doctor smiled back.
"Inspiration hitting yet?" Alan teased.
"Oh ye of little faith." the Doctor answered before approaching Bettan. "How much explosives can you get your hands on?"
"Some of my people are on an exploratory trip into what's left of the Thal dome to look for any that may have been overlooked. There was a secret armory. I believe they will be able to find it."
"Will it be enough to blow up the Kaled bunker?" the Doctor asked hopefully.
"I hope so." Bettan answered.
"I don't believe we can count on the ventilation shafts as a way back inside to set the charges." He looked to the Alphans knowing they'd understand the next reference, "At this point, we've used it though it were the London Underground one time too many." He walked back over to John Koenig. "I know you don't want to hear this Commander, but we need to use your Eagles."
Before he could protest, Sarah being heavily supported by Sevrin and Ed was at the Doctor's side. "What about the Eagle we came in? What about Eagle Four? They had to have taken it over and landed it, right?" Sarah asked rather weakly.
The Doctor was in shock that Sarah was standing albeit with a lot of help. "Sarah you should be resting. You don't understand what's…" the Doctor began to protest.
"Happening? Yea, I have a pretty good idea. I was hit head on with a Dalek laser, not once but twice." Sarah admitted.
"Twice?" the Doctor questioned. He knew that she'd saved the Professor in the cavern but when else had she been hit. Though looking back he shouldn't have been surprised. He felt that she'd been hurt when they were crossing the wasteland but with everything happening he'd momentarily forgotten.
"Let's say Davros wasn't happy with my answers." Sarah said as she remembered the pain that had traversed through her body. "I know what's happening Doctor. The Tardis prepared me." Sarah said as she reached out and stroked the Doctor's cheek.
He tried to revel in Sarah's presence but he could see what this was costing her. In his opinion she should have regenerated by now, which meant there might be a problem. "I wish we had the Tardis and you could go into the Zero Room." Sarah looked her question. "It's a room to help with difficult regenerations. I'm not going to sugarcoat this Sarah. There's never been a regeneration like the one we're attempting. I don't even know for sure that this will be possible. But…"
"Don't…we did our best. It allowed us to get back together again. It was worth it." The Doctor opened his mouth to speak before Sarah silenced him. "I would do it a million times if it meant I could be back with you, even for a short while." She reached forward and the Doctor embraced her. It didn't matter to either that they had a large audience.
"Sevrin, I need you to look out for Sarah." he said as he placed Sarah on a nearby smooth topped boulder. Sevrin walked over and stood behind Sarah, helping support her.
Looking down at Sarah, the Doctor said, "I need you to stay here while I climb to the top of this hill and use my sonic screwdriver and scan for the Alphans' Eagle. Can I count on you to stay here?" he asked Sarah with a smile. She was never known for staying where he told her.
"This time, I don't think you have anything to worry about." Sarah answered with a smile as she tapped Sevrin's hand on her shoulder.
Bettan approached, almost hesitant to break into their conversation. "Doctor," she extended her hand with a pair of field glasses in it, "these may come in handy."
"Thank you Bettan, I believe they will."
Bettan also addressed Alan who was to his right. She had matched the face on the other commlock with its owner. "I believe this belongs to you." She extended her hand forward to return his coommlock.
John Koenig exchanged a quick look with Alan. "Wait, why don't you hold on to that? That way we'll all be able to talk to Alpha."
"Good idea Commander." the Doctor said and started to move away when he felt as if he were being followed. He looked back to see John Koenig, Alan Carter and Professor Bergman following him. He didn't mind them going but he didn't think the Professor was up to the task. "The less of us there are, the better chance we won't get caught. When Alan and the Professor exchanged a look, the Doctor took advantage of their attention being elsewhere. Meeting John's eyes he quickly looked at the Professor and shook his head no.
"He's right." John began, "Alan, you and I will go. Victor, I need you to stay here and take charge of our people. If it's close enough, Alan may need to check it over."
Victor wasn't fooled but he decided it wasn't worth protesting. After all, they were right. Today had almost done him in. "Of course John." He stretched his hand forward. "Good luck John, Alan, Doctor." After shaking their hands, he turned and walked back to the group.